Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

One can only hope the neighbors are not surveilling me as I test water guns.   It would probably set them to scratching their heads and wondering now what is he doing.    Things like my zip line testing have set a negative baseline, no doubt.    This is a big squirt gun.   I guess the politically correct folks don't want the word gun used with a toy so this is a really big water blaster.  It is approximately 4.63 pounds when fully loaded with water.   It's maximum range was just over 30 feet.  The three nozzle selections did mean that there was some difference in range.  The three stream nozzle did not make 30' but it has kind of a shotgun effect that should make it very effective in close water battle encounters.   This is a nice addition to the pool arsenal I am building for when the grand kids visit. . ·                 ...

UnLock The Box Sick and tired of equipment fees from your Cable/FIOS company? UnLock The Box Go to the Consumer Report Link and let the FCC and your elected representatives know you are unhappy with high equipment fees from your TV and Internet providers.

For those of you who are away from home occasionally there is always the possibility that your power will go out.   You can usually tell by the blinking lights on your gadgets.  It used to be the blinking VCR but those days are gone.   What you may have difficulty determining is  how long was your power out, it could be days, and is the food in your freezer safe to eat.  I looked online at freezer alarms and most were exorbitant in price, cheaper than replacing a freezer full of food but still pricy.  Here is a simple solution. marble on ice I happen to have a goodly supply of used pill bottles. (the joys of aging)   The ones I used held approximately 4oz of water.   I filled the bottle to approximately 3/4" of their capacity and froze them.   Then I placed a marble on top of the ice and put the bottles in the freezer.   I use four bottles, one on the door and the rest through out the free...

This is a familiar design for water blasters.   You fill it up, tighten the water tank lid and pump the handle.    The pumping action provides the push for the water.    If you continue to pump while you squirt it continues to squirt.    If you don't continue to pump it squirts until the air pressure bleeds off.    It worked fine but the maximum distance I was able to achieve with vigorous pumping was 35'.    Not a deal breaker but it didn't approach 42 feet under my testing conditions.   The packaging left something to be desired.   It was wired into it's box with industrial strength twist ties.    Someone with a tool or fingers substantially stronger than mine twisted the ties closed.   It took wire cutters for me to get it out of the box.   Gross overkill on the packaging from my perspective.   Otherwise it should be fun toy for the pool.   ·       ...

Ortho products have been reliable over the years.  This spray is no exception.  I like the foam as it covers the area, in this case, a ground wasp nest.  Then they have to crawl through it to get out or get back in.   A word of caution, give a test spray before you need to use it.  My initial spray was more like 4 feet than 20 feet.   However after the first spray it did reach a distance, more like 15 feet horizontally than 20 though.   Still that keeps you well away from the nest and if they get the foam on them, they don't fly more than a foot before crashing.   Kills wasps; yellow jackets; mud daubers and hornets Entrapping foam stops wasps instantly and kills insects that return to the nest Jet spray reaches nests up to 20 feet above ground If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Bank of America has a toll free number on the back of their card and I have to wonder why as they apparently do not have a human being anywhere in their phone tree.   I have called multiple times and when I hit the thirty minute wait time, I give up.   There is only so long I can stand being on hold.  My calls were probably going to benefit them as I was looking for information on adding a card or finding out how to check an existing card.   The result of multiple calls and no human beings is that I will not be using their card.   Discover is the only credit card company I have found to actually have a person on their phones.   So Bank America you have successfully driven another customer away from your services.  

Clipped to show size, young lady is not me.  Showing my advanced years, this is a pretty nifty gadget.  Nifty for you whippersnappers is akin to cool or sick.   It has surprisingly good sound for such a small form factor.   I haven't tried it long enough to testify to the 12 hour battery claim.  I have paired it with both my phone and tablet and it worked great.    I tried music, Clash of Clans and general sound effects all of which worked fine.  The documentation needs to be better.  There is a phone symbol and button but the included documentation does not address that button.  The online documentation addressed it.  The speaker can be used as a speaker phone.  You can't dial from it but you can answer calls when connected via Bluetooth through your phone.  The microphone in the speaker had good clarity and the voice coming out of the speaker was equally good.  It is surprising they don't...

This unit has a much lighter feel than my previous unit.  It really does have a super flexible hose that is much better than the stiff hoses that come with many shower heads in this price range.  The settings are fine,  really not a lot of difference between a couple of them.   I did remove the water saving feature that would probably be ok in an environment with good water pressure.   Removal did not seem to benefit the water pressure.   However that is no doubt due to my well as opposed to the shower head.   Installation was a breeze, tool less and hand tightened only to no leaks.   As far as durability, I will report back if it does not hold up. ·                           ·                    ...