Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

A lot of people seem to want the Roku to enable to cut out their cable provider.   If you are getting your internet access from your cable provider, you are still going to be tied.   I have not explored the Roku thoroughly yet however what I have seen I like, for the most part.  I am somewhat dismayed that accessing the Slingbox still necessitates use of a computer or portable device in addition to the Roku.   That dismayed was enhanced geometrically when I tried to make the Roku and the Slingbox talk to each other.  Neither Sling or Roku point out the small symbol on the Slingbox Android app that initiates the process.  I was not able to find that on either site but I did find a YouTube video where the user pointed out the appropriate little symbol and Voila! connection.  So thank you to YouTube and no thanks to Roku or Sling for their poor documentation. Once I was able to connect, the beaming of the Slingbox and resultan...

The brand name led us to purchase this coffeemaker.  It was in the $50 range on sale and I see it is now only $31.95 on Amazon.   We have not been happy with this coffeemaker.  I am cognizant that appliances do not have cognition for do they harbor malice but this one might.   Each and every time we have had people over and used the coffeemaker it has overflowed.  Now it also overflows on the timer so we now only turn it on when we are ready to have coffee and we do not leave it unattended.   That is annoying not to be able to come down and have my coffee ready.   The instructions have been followed, we are not using paper and permanent filter together which is apparently the primary reason given for overflows.   The caveat in the manual is that if your coffee is too fine of a ground you may have an overflow.   We have tried three different blends and brands of coffee and still have had overflows. ...

This is one of those high/low reviews.  I liked the LED work light, having a light on the inflator is simply brilliant.  No trying to hold a flashlight and a tire inflator at the same time.  I liked the storage for the accessories.   I was not impressed with the air pressure gauge.  I compared it to a digital tire gauge and an old fashion mechanical tire gauge.   I would run the tire pressure up to 40psi and as soon as I released the input button the pressure dropped to 30psi.   I had to hold it consistently on 40psi to get it up to 35psi.  It is compact which is nice.  The optional 4" air hose isn't really an option.  I was not able to use their suggested method of air input which does not include the 4" hose.   The valves on my tires were not nearly long enough to use their "no hose" method.   I guess for the money this is ok.   $20.00 ish at Amazon Quick 5 minute fill...

LED bulbs are the wave of the future.  (until something better comes along)  My biggest complaint about LED bulbs has been price.  In fact, that has been my only complaint about LED bulbs.   The astounding lifetime of an LED bulb can be illustrated by the average use in a child's bedroom, install a LED bulb when the child is born and with 3 hours of use, each and every day, that same bulb will still be burning when said child is finishing up their junior year in college.  This makes the LED bulb ideal for those hard to reach places.   Tottering on a ladder once instead of tottering a couple of times a year with an incandescent bulb or every year and a half or so with CFL bulbs vs. over twenty years with and LED bulb is sort of a no brainer.  Verbatim addresses my only complaint with this 60 watt incandescent replacement which draws 10 watts and is a clear white light that to my unassisted eye seems a smidge brighter than the equivale...

I have used these fertilizer spikes on some evergreens for three years.   I have gotten at least 2 feet a year of growth.  Frankly I have no idea if that is normal but my lawn guy was quite impressed with how well they did.  We had a particularly cold winter here in Pennsylvania last year and many evergreens were "browned out".   Mine were no exception but they have bounced back beautifully.  That was also mentioned by my lawn guy that he has seen many that browned out but did not come back very well.   I used these in spring and fall and they really seem to help.   I am not an arborist and this a purely anecdotal review. If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

This knife is a little larger than a paring knife and smaller than a butcher knife which probably isn't correct knife terminology but it is how I see it.  The handle is a comfortable fit for a large man's hand.  I tested it by cutting and then dicing a couple of apples.  It cut easily and the large handle made it feel very secure in my hand.  It fills in a gap in my knife block and I like it.   One negative and not on the knife, the packaging is cumbersome and it is very difficult to get into it.   Typical clam shell, military grade plastic which defies your average pocket knife and necessitates either a chain saw or a specialty tool to open.   Since I don't keep a chain saw in the kitchen I used my Zibra ZPCOPEN-OR Open It Universal Package Opener.  Frankly when I got it as a gift I thought it was dumb but since then I have realized what a terrific tool it is.  If fact, I think I will review it next. From the ...

What's to review?  It works, I plugged it into Netgear router, plugged my laptop in and it saw a wireless router (the other Netgear) and a local connection.  The laptop is a bit aged so it does not have gigabit speed but the 100 was obviously quicker than my wireless connection.  A nice little switch to handle some of the many Ethernet add ons that run better hard wired at a low price of $30 on Amazon. ·                         Rigorously tested for reliability, built to last ·                         8 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports, up to 10x faster than Fast Ethernet for maximum performance ·                      ...

Note the wheel kit is not installed when you get the generator.  My initial reaction to this generator was colored by the difficulty in installing the Wheel Kit.   At 130 pounds, I have no interest humping it around so I immediately installed the wheel kit.    Immediately being a major misnomer, primarily due to Polaris's neglecting to mention the bolts are all metric sized. m6x16 must mean metric but I didn't know that.    (so sue me, I don't know everything I should)    This lack of understanding initiated a humorous to someone else I'm sure but not so much to me, series of bleeding knuckles as I failed to find any way of successfully installing the wheels.    Google to the rescue, to find out m preceding a bolt does mean metric and the wheel kit was installed with no more bloody knuckles.    Now in my defense the wheel kit started me off on the wrong foot or wrench as the case may be.  the quick start guid...