Product review: EearFun Over Eear Bluetooth Headphones

EarFun headphones work both as wired and Bluetooth wireless headphones. I thought the sound was equally good in both modes, and I could make the loudness as loud in both modes. I normally listen to the headphone with the sound down about halfway. Otherwise, it is too loud for me.   The Bluetooth range is very good with the phone resting on the desk. I can walk away about 20 feet until the sound starts breaking up occasionally.

The headset is extremely comfortable, it fits over my ears. It can be adjusted in so many ways, and it feels very comfortable for both my husband and me, even though our heads are shaped very differently. 

Both the headphones and the headband are well padded.  The headphone cups have a lot of degrees of freedom: they both twist around and pivot up and down.  The headband can flex easily to fit heads of different sizes. The pads are made out of soft leather. While being super comfortable, sound isolation is not 100%. The comfort is comparable to my husband's Bose headset, but not the sound isolation in Bose is better (but at a much higher price).

It is fairly lightweight; it weighs 9.5 oz.  Some days at work I wear it all day long. If the headphones are heavy, my head/neck gets tired from the extra weight, but these have been working just fine.

To test the sound, I listened to several pieces of music I use to test headphones. Using the same piece of music allows me to compare different headphones in "apples to apples" comparison. As a stress test for the base, I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. There are several sections in Toccata which some headphones cannot handle they crackle or sound muddy.  EarFun headphones did very well. The sound was crisp, and the base was impressive.

I had no problem pairing the headphones with my mobile devices for listening to music. To pair I needed to push down the on/off button until the light began flicking red/blue. Then the phone detected "EarFun" and connected.  It also worked well with my laptop's Bluetooth.
I am using the phone in an office environment to cover up the noises from loud neighbors so sometimes I wear these headphones all day long and they feel comfortable, and the charge lasts all day long.

When the headphones are charging the small light on the right headphone is red. When it is fully charged, it turns green.  Overall, they do an excellent job, and I have been very pleased.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Ultimate Guide To Making Live Organic Kefir by Kinnary Trovdeo / Brendan Watson

The content of the book was not what I hoped for. It has results of internet search about the Kefir making bacteria, marketing spiel about why Kefir is good for you.  It has very little about the actual making Kefir. You might as well search the internet yourself. This book has no additional insight that is unique to the author.

Another reason I can't recommend this book is that this book has confusing attributions.  The cover contains the author's name as "Kinnari Trivedi," but the author on the product page is listed as "Brendan Watson." If I look at the author's page under "Brendan Watson," books by other authors appear on the same page, but other books are not cookbooks. When I look under the "Kinnari Trivedi" author's page, she has several cookbooks.  The relationship between the two people as the author is not clear.


Ali Julia review

Product review: USB C Hub 5-in-1 Type C Adapter USB 3.0, SD/Micro SD Card Reader Slots, HDMI

Kuyia hub is a solid feeling hub with two USB ports, one HDMI port, and two card reader slots.  I am using the reader slots and the USB slots with my phone.  The port has a Type-C USB port on a short cable to plug into the phone's Type-C port.  So every media  I tried worked and the media was recognized by the phone.  I like that the hub is relatively small (see the video in this post where it is shown on 1/2 inch grid for size reference), and when I take along, it does not take much space and does not weight too much (10.4 oz on my digital scale).

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Kuyia Travel Packing Cubes

I love traveling with travel bags to keep my luggage organized. 

1) These bags are made out mesh on one side and nylon on the other side.  The mesh allows me to see what is in each packing cube.
 
2) Each bag closes with a double zipper. This allows me to put the opening where I want it.

3) Each bag has a handle so I can carry them around.

Because these bags have a mesh on one side, they are not compression bags that can be used with a vacuum cleaner to suck out the air and compress.  They provide organization, not luggage shrinking.  I use the drawstring bag for things that require laundry after they have been used.

The package includes:
Large packing cube( 17.7" x 12.6" x 4")
Two Medium packing cube(14.2" x 12.6" x 4", 14.6"x10.2"x4")
One small packing cube(11.4"x7.5"x4")
One drawstring bag(17.7’’x 13")
One shoes bag(15"x7.1"x3.3")

I can't imagine traveling without travel bugs now, I have several sets, so absolutely everything is in the bags - clothing as well as electronics/cables.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Star Brite Premium Golden Teak Oil - Sealer, Preserver, & Finish for Outdoor Teak & Other Fine Woods

I purchased Star Brite teak oil to treat teak furniture, which somehow developed stains.  In the attached photos, you can see "before" and "after."  Definitely, a good improvement even though it is not perfect (i.e., not totally back to how it was when it was new).

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Book review: The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

Imagine being a law student with a huge debt, dropping out of law school, and pretending to be a lawyer hustling clients in hospitals and police stations... How much trouble can you get yourself in? A lot!

I thought this book was okay. Maybe if it was not written by Grisham, one of my favorite authors, I would have felt better about the book. However, it was not as interesting and gripping of some of their other Grisham novels. Maybe part of the problem for me was the characters were unlikable and most of the time chose to do the wrong things and got away with it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Other books for Grisham
Jake Brigance series
1. A Time to Kill (1989)
2. Sycamore Row (2013)

Theodore Boone series
1. Kid Lawyer (2010)
2. The Abduction (2010)
3. The Accused (2012)
4. The Activist (2013)
5. The Fugitive (2015)
6. The Scandal (2015)
7. The Accomplice (2019)

Novels
The Firm (1991)
The Pelican Brief (1992)
The Client (1993)
The Chamber (1994)
The Rainmaker (1995)
The Runaway Jury (1996)
The Partner (1997)
The Street Lawyer (1998)
The Testament (1999)
The Brethren (2000)
A Painted House (2000)
Skipping Christmas (2001)
The Summons (2002)
The King of Torts (2002)
The Last Juror (2003)
Bleachers (2003)
The Broker (2004)
Playing for Pizza (2007)
The Appeal (2007)
The Associate (2009)
The Confession (2010)
The Litigators (2011)
Calico Joe (2012)
The Racketeer (2012)
Gray Mountain (2014)
Rogue Lawyer (2015)
The Whistler (2016)
Camino Island (2017)
The Rooster Bar (2017)
The Reckoning (2018)
The Guardians (2019)

Product review: Travel size Pepto-Bismol To-Go Chewable Tablets Cherr Flavor

I was looking for a travel size Pepto Bismol with a better flavor.  This cherry flavor is not too strong but definitely more pleasant the mouth-washy taste of the original.
The packaging is excellent.  Small and compact, closes well and stays closed in my purse. Each container is 2 5/8".  It does not get crushed like a blister pack I used to carry before this purchase.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: New England Coffee Blueberry Cobbler, Medium Roast Ground Coffee

I really enjoy flavored coffees and blueberry in particular. New England Blueberry Cobbler Coffee is one of my favorites. It is smooth, and the blueberry flavor is there but not over-powering. It smells terrific while brewing, and when you drink it. If you like flavored coffees, I would definitely recommend that you try it.  My local grocery sells it for $5 to 6 dollars and Amazon price is often in line with that.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Prodcut review: MOSFiATA Mini Portable Air Cooler Conditioner

This air cooler is a fan that blows water through a wet filter, so the air that comes out of it is slightly cooler than the room temperature air.  I put a regular fan next to it to compare, and the air from the air cooler makes me feel cooler on a hot day.  This unit is not an air conditioner. It does not make the room temperature cooler. You need to be sitting directly in the airflow of the unit (3 feet to 5 feet works well for me) to get the benefit of the cooler air.

The unit is surprisingly light - it is only 1 pound 8.8 oz (before water is added). The cooler fan works best if you soak the filter before using it.  I found that I need to add water every couple of hours. If you don't add water, the unit becomes a regular fan.

The airflow can be directed by adjusting the movable levers on the front of the unit.  The cooler has three speeds; I usually run it on the lowest fan speed.  At that speed, it is very quiet and gives me the right amount of airflow at 3-5 feet distance.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: First Alert CO605 Plug-In Battery Backup CO Alarm

My old FirstAlert plug-in alarm died 7 years after the initial installation. It was supposed to last 5 years, so I got my money worth.  I read some reviews that folks got an alarm which was manufactured many months before the purchase.  This is significant because the expiration date is based on a manufactured date, not the date when the alarm is deployed.  I purchased this alarm mid-May, and the manufactured date on the back was March 2019.  I thought two months old alarm was fairly reasonable.

What I did not realize is that this unit has no display of any kind (not even a light), you can't easily tell that the unit is plugged in. Only in the darkness, I can see a red glow on the front of the unit. The unit communicates everything via beeps -  ok, alarm, end of life. This is not as good as my previous alarm, which had an LED display.

This is a plug-in unit with a backup 9V battery (one battery is included). To activate the backup battery, one has to press the test button after installing the battery.  The unit has to be plugged in low, i.e., close the floor  (unlike the smoke alarm) and a regular wall outlet is at a good height.  The unit is large, but most of the bulk is below, so in a double outlet you can still use the top outlet when the alarm is plugged in the bottom outlet.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: IZO Home Goods Upholstery High Density Foam 2 inch X 20 X 20 Foam Replacement Seat Cushion Foam, Set of 4

I purchased this foam to make my own car seat cushion as I was dissatisfied with the two cushioned I bought (they were too short for a car seat).  This foam was perfect, I only needed to trim it a little bit to get it to be the right shape for the car seat.  I used 3M spray glue to glue two foam pieces together to get the shape I wanted. 

The foam came shrimped wrapped but sprung to 2" height instantly.  The photos of foam in the bag were taken a few minutes after the package was open - no creases, fluffed up to the expected height.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: 3M General Purpose 45 Spray Adhesive for high density foam

I purchased this spray to glue upholstery high-density foam, and it did a really nice job.  Not only did it do a good job, but it also had no odor.  The fact that this is an unscented glue was a pleasant surprise!

When you spray it on, you, need to wait a bit until it becomes tacky. I found wearing gloves very helpful as when it gets on your skin; it is hard to get off (yep, I started without gloves).

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: MOSFiATA Rechargeable Headlamp

This headlamp has 10 different lamps (6 white LED bulbs, 2 yellow bulbs, and 2 red bulbs), and several settings are very bright. I was worried that so many bulbs would make the headlight heavy, but that worry was unfounded. The headlamp weight 8.5 oz.

The straps on the headlamp are highly adjustable and fit both my relative small head and my husband, who has a larger head.


This headlamp has a nice feature that allows me to see how much life the batteries have left.  If I press a button on the battery compartment,  the battery power indicator lights up, showing me the battery level.

The light is mounted on a bracket which can be ratcheted to angle down so it can be aimed.  The ratcheting mechanism is smooth and re-positions the headlamp easily.

The top of the headlamp has two buttons that control which bulbs are on. There are quite a few combinations, I usually keep pressing until I get the amount of light I desire in a given situation. There are a lot of combinations, so I have not memorized all of them.

The headlamp runs on two 18650 batteries (included). It has a built-in battery charger, and a micro USB cord is included in the package.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Water Flosser Cordless Dental Oral Irrigator by MOSPRO

This is my second water flosser and I, guess, until you try a couple you don't know the differences between features that work well and those that do don't work well.  Don't get me wrong, this flosser works, but I don't like many of its features in comparison to my old flosser made by Gurin.

1. The reservoir of this flosser is smaller compared to my original flosser, I often need to refill it during one flossing session.
2. The bottle is thick, so it is not as comfortable to hold as a more ergonomically shaped bottle
3.  This flosser is made out of two pieces. The reservoir is a removable part. I prefer a one-piece flosser I had before because it never leaked.  The locking mechanism on this irrigator is flimsy, and it feels like it will not last a long time.  Sometimes it is difficult to lock. If it does not lock correctly, the bottle leaks. Yes, this design allows me to clean the container, but the locking mechanism is flimsy.
4. The water is re-filled from opening at the very bottom of the container, and I can't fully fill it, so it adds to the first issue of having a small reservoir
5. The opening for refilling water does not close well sometimes, and if it does not close well then it leaks
6. The flosser comes with a little silicone plug that covers the recharging port. The plug is not attached to the bottle and is very small. The plug is very easy to lose, and in fact, it did get lost after about 2 weeks.

Why did not I buy the old flosser again? I was hoping to find one with a battery that lasts longer. The battery of the old flosser no longer can hold a charge long enough to provide a full flossing session. I used it somewhere between 1 to 2 years.  Now I am thinking I would have been happier if I bought the old one again.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Clorox ToiletWand Disinfecting Refills, Disposable Wand Heads - Rainforest Rush

I have been using Clorox refills for many years.  I tried the original scent and the one label "rainforest," I like the "rainforest" better as it does not have a strong Clorox scent of the original.

The design of the pads changes over the years. Initially, they had more loft, and I liked them, then they became thinner and initially in that that new design adhesive was not strong enough and they fell apart during cleaning.  However, during the last two years, they fixed this problem.  The rainforest variety smells much better.  I use them once a week, and this keeps the chore from being unpleasant.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★