Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

Scary stuff on Halloween seems appropriate.  I recently got an extortion email.  Some miscreant had gotten one of my old passwords most likely through one of the highly publicized data breaches that have occurred over the last year.  Said idiot threaten to pillage my finances, crash my computer, sully my reputation by spoofing my presence on porn sites and trashing my social media.   To prevent this catastrophe all I needed to do was send money through bit coins to the address in the email.  They even instructed on how to get bit coins and threatened even dire consequences if I called the cops.   They said they were overseas so local cops couldn’t touch them.  (Although they could be sitting at the local Starbucks.) I googled extortion emails and the third hit was nearly word for word the email I received.   My first thought was who buys into this crap.   Then I pondered the sheer volume of emails that go out daily ...

Universal Power Travel Adapter,RXSQUL International Power Adapter Smart 2.4A 4 USB, European Adapter Converter,Plugs Adapters Europe, Canada, UK, US, AU, Asia-Blue I took a very similar item to the UK last month that failed out of the box.  The failure was the inability to retract the plugs after they were extended.  I tested this one by extending the plugs and retracting them multiple times.  Each time it allowed you to retract one plug and extend another.  That was the feature I was counting on, one adapter for multiple uses.  It also has 4 USB charging ports on it, a great feature.   A couple of bucks more than the $12.99 unit and well worth it.  If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

This is kind of cool, pun intended.  It blows out a steady stream of air and is very quiet.  A hand bellows is cumbersome and subject to vagrancies due to the manipulation by erratic hand movements.  This provides a steady stream with a flame retardant nozzle.  Another function that occurred to me was a golf bag cooling tool, blow a stream of air at your face.    from the vendor:   ·         Rugged plastic construction; no-roll triangular shape and non-slip grip ·         Impeller style fan & vent; provides optimum air flow for fire starting needs ·         Flame retardant nozzle ·         Powered by AA Alkaline batteries (not included); battery Run time: up to 180/1 min. Bursts ·         1-Year warranty If reviewing a product, it may have been...

This is a handy gadget.  I tested it on my desktop and it worked fine. My phone would not see it.  It is a worthwhile thing to keep in your drawer for those circumstances where you would otherwise be stymied.   My biggest complaint is the “manual” is printed in a font that is beyond the ability of my bifocals.   I wish vendors would charge a penny or two more and proved a readable startup manual.  If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Sliced bread comes to mind as in the best thing since sliced bread.   I ordered this after replacing my desktop computer which resides in my desk. It is dark in there and if I put a light behind me, that’s where the light is behind me, not in front of me where I am plugging and pulling cables.   I held a small flashlight in my teeth for awhile and as much as that sounds fun, it isn’t.   This is so light and the light goes where you are looking without holding or adjusting.   The light is very bright but can be dimmed down.  I’m not sure what, if anything, I will do with the red light, the blinking red light and the green light.  Perhaps a Halloween costume or riding a bike I don’t own after dark would be a use.   This is a tool that every happy home DYI person should own.  ·         Pivoting head directs beam where you want hands-free light, while VisionGuard minimizes impa...

Shark ION Robot Vacuum R85 with Wi-Fi, Smart Sensor Navigation 2.0, Powerful Suction and XL Dust Bin, and Self-Cleaning Brushroll (RV850), Ash Gray This is pretty nifty.   It performs as advertised.  It was able to go from my workroom floor over the threshold and up on the rug with no issues.  I put it in a tight area and it was able to work out how to get out.  The dust bin appears to be 50% larger than the one on my iRobot model.  The brushes should make it great with pet hair. (Should since we have no pets now, I can’t swear to that.) My wife will not talk to it so I did not use the Alexa aspect or the cell phone aspect.  Just push the button marked CLEAN and off it goes.  The boundary strip will keep it from tumbling down the stairs.  Overall it works well for general every day clean up and from what I could see should be invaluable if you have pets.   From the Vendor: ·       ...