Product review: Pill Organizer, CHC Weekly Pill Planner Portable Travel Pill Container

This pill organizer has the best closure mechanism among a fairly large number of pill boxes I have owned.  To open each compartment you need to press a level which releases the cover.  It opens easily when you press, but does not open when you just shake it or press on the cover. 

I was looking for a new pill organizer is as the old one I have been using became too small to hold all the pills I need to take. The size of each compartment is not clearly marked and I was not totally sure if it would be the right size, so I will start with size.

The inside dimensions of each compartment are:
1 3/4" long x 1 38" wide x 13/16" deep

The outside dimensions of the entire pill box (7 compartments):
8 3/4" long x 2 1/4" wide x 7/8" high

I also measured how many pills of common size I was able to fit into each compartment.

I can fit thirteen 600mg Calcium pills in one compartment and still be able to close it.

Summary:

1. The best clothing mechanism I have seen, holds very well
2. Very roomy
3. Each lid is clearly marked with a day of the week

This has become my favorite travel pill box because its clothing mechanism is so secure.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Okea-Nami Reusable Cotton Mesh Produce Bags

I do all my grocery shopping using re-usable bags. Many stores in my area no longer offer plastic bags, and some don't offer paper bags with handles, so re-usable bags are the best solution.  These bags are made out of cotton mesh.  I like this material as it is very light weight yet strong.

These bags come in three sizes

* 3 large bags measure 16.5 x 10.5 each (note the sizes of the large bags is slightly smaller (1/2 inch) than Amazon description)
* 4 medium bags measure 12.5 x 10.5 each (note the sizes of the medium bags is slightly smaller (1/2 inch) than Amazon description)
* 3 small bags measure 8 x 11 (matches Amazon description)

For my shopping needs I found that even the large bags are a bit on the small side, especially since my favorite place to shop is Cosco which sells items in large sizes.

However, the bags are made out of cotton and I was able to sew two large bags together to make a larger bag, and 2 medium bags together, giving me three larger bags.

One other thing to note that the bags have no built-in handles. They do have a draw string across the top that came used as a handle, but that makes a bit less balanced to carry than bags with built-in handles on each side of the bag.

I really like the mesh material, and I hope future versions of this product will be larger and have handles. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Namay Cooling Towel

These towels are made out think microfiber -one side is a net-like material you see on exercise clothing, it is supported by black netting to prevent stretching. This materials is cool when damp and it does not hold a lot of water so it does not drip.  I wring it out before cleaning. It dries quickly against the body, so I re-wet it about every 20 minutes or so.  I also like throwing it in the freezer for a few minutes to get it really cold.

Each cooling towel size is 19" x 11" (a little smaller than the Amazon description) and they come in a pack four with different vibrant colors. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: NM Microfiber Cleaning Cloth for Polishing Wiping Dust

Namay Microfiber cloths are 11.75" x 11.5" (slightly smaller then Amazon description).  They are very soft and absorbent. I use microfiber cloth for many jobs: dusting around the house, cleaning computer and TV screens, washing windows...

Another great use I found for them them is by sewing two of them together to form a square "mitt" for the window washer pole I use to wash my car. I have a tall SUV and cannot reach across the windshield all the way to clean it. Using the extended reach of the window washer squeegee with a microfiber towel mitt on it gives me streak free window with very little effort. Once the the mitt on the squeegee I tie it to the handle with a thin short rope to keep it from sliding off. I have one mitt for washing and one mitt for drying.

The tag on the towel recommends washing it before first use, and in general washing them in warm water.

Overall, this is a nice set of micro fiber cloth.  They make a lot of cleaning jobs easier, faster, and better. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Fenniu Ultra Thin 14 inch laptop, Windows 10 PC, Rose Gold

This laptop is Microsoft's answer to Chromebook.  It similarly sleek and thin, long battery life, built-in virus protection.  It is best for surfing the internet, watching YouTube or Netflix's videos, answering mail, using Skype.  It is not a replacement for a gaming laptop, or a laptop where you want run complicated memory and disk intense programs like Photoshop or Video editing.

The package include the laptop and the power supply.  It comes with 4GB of memory and a 64GB SSD drive (which can be upgraded to 512GB at an additional cost by the owner). The laptop comes without a manual. Even though the built drive is small, it has more space available than I expected.  The operating system and pre-installed programs took only 15.7 GB (which is pretty good for Windows!) leaving 42.5 GB free to use.  This laptop comes with a stripped version of Windows, but it has everything you need for doing Chromebook-like activities.

For a slim computer it has in a reasonable selection of ports, with two USB 3 ports, a display port, a USB  type C port and a micro SD card reader.  It has a large sensitive track pad. I prefer to use a mouse and I am using one of the USB ports for a mouse.

The keyboard is responsive and has a nice feel to it.

This laptop is 14" 1920x1080.  The actual screen measurements are 12" wide and 7" high. Its weight is 2 pounds and 15.2 oz.

In my video you see some typical uses such as YouTube and Skype.  Overall, it is a nice computer for the price and its usage as an internet computer.

The laptop comes without documentation.  If you need to boot into BIOS you need to hit "delete" key multiple times as soon as it starts booting. To start booting from a USB stick (which you would need to do if you plan to replaces the SSD drive) you need to format the USB stick as FAT32,

and then use F7 to boot from USB stick.

This laptop has an expansion slot M.2 2242 SSD (support up to 512Gb), it can be used add an external SSD to get more storage without replacing the  SSD that contains the operating system.  The first photo below (the one with the door open) is the SSD compartment, all you have to do is remove one screw, open the door and put in the card. The second picture shows the latop with the back cover removed. The M.2 slot is on the bottom right just below the copper shield, the M.2 connector is clearly visible.

Here are a couple of updates after using the laptop for a while:

To create a recovery disk (needed for upgrading the SSD or just to have a backup of the operating system) you need to use a USB stick with a minimum 8G space.

The power plug on the laptop is made out of two parts.  The body which is common to all countries, and prongs attachment which is specific to each country.  This two part construction is not as good as a once piece power plug.
I noticed that my laptop does not always charge as the prongs become loose.  When the laptop drains to 7% the screen does not stay on for long, just enough to show you that it is almost out of juice.

WiFi on the laptop is not very speedy and it has no Ethernet plug. So doing updates is pretty time consuming.  I found that using USB to Ethernet converter gives me better speed than WiFi.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: PYLE PLDM22 Handheld Laser Distance Meter with Backlit Lcd Display

This laser meter is very accurate. It is rated to be accurate within 1/16 of an inch. The key to getting a good reading is to position the back of the unit (i.e. the side opposite to where the laser is emitted) where you want the measuring to begin. The meter is 5 inches long so if you think you are measuring from the front of the unit it would look like the measurement is 5 inches off.

I started by measuring the accuracy on the gridded mat which is 18 inches long. As you in attached video I placed the laser meter one inch into the grid and got a reading of 17" inches. In all experiments with different distances and different background colors the measurements were accurate.

I also liked that the I could turn on back lighting on the meter, so I could see the numbers very clearly. The meter comes with study canvas pouch, which has a loop on the back so you can carry it on a belt or hang on something when you need free hands.

The laser meter runs on two AAA batteries (which are included). It auto-shut offs after 3 minute of inactivity.

The unit is 5.1" x 2.16" x 1.1" and is splash proof.

Pyle laser meter has several functions: it can measure as a single measure, do continuous measuring, perform additions and subtractions of the measurements, it can calculate areas, volumes, Pythagoras (given 2 sides of a triangle calculate the length of the third side) and so forth. I found the manual explained the functions clearly.

The only negative I can say is that the laser meter has no memory of my settings. For example, when I switch units to inches the next time I turn it back on the units go back to meters, so I have to reset it every time.

Overall, I am impressed. Very accurate measurements and it is easy to use.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Cambond Clip On Fan (5" fan fan battery powered)

This fan is 5" across and it can be moved 360 degrees in two directions, so I can aim it at any angle I want. It has a large clip which can serve as a stand, the clip opens up to 2" wide and holds well. I can mount it in various places, I use this clip fan at work clipping it to a shelf.

The fan has three speeds from low to medium to high. On the low setting the fan is very quite and it gets progressively louder with increased air flow.  I show all three speeds in the video.

The fan rans on 18650 battery.  One was included in the package but it appears to be defective.  When I put in the charger it shows that it is full, but the fan does not run when it is inserted. However, when I used another 18650 battery it works fine. The battery can be charged in the fan or in an external charger.


The fan has been in use for a week, and functions well. It has not developed any noises and I had it running all the time for these two weeks.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Book review: Knitting: Learn To Arm Knit Scarves & Blankets In Under 30 Minutes! by Kitty Moore

I am pretty sure this is worst craft book I have ever seen. This book is not for beginner knitters. It is impossible to learn to knit without seeing pictures that show how to do it.  This book has only short verbal descriptions. 

The book also has no images of completed project.  Only text, so one has no idea what the project would look like. What is worse the author provides links that promise images of completed products, but the link lead to advertizing pages for the author's other books not images related to the products.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: the fifteen twelve 4 Reusable Silicone Food Bags

I liked this bags because they can be used in a microwave and freezer and a nice alternative to zip lock bags.

These bags are a little difficult to open the first time because silicone sides really were stuck to each initially, but this happened only for the initial opening of the bags.  The lock slides in and out from the side and the lock is water tight as I show in the attached video.

The bags come without any instructions, so the first time it is a little difficult to figure out what to do to open it especially because the sides are stuck to each other, so the thing I would change is packaging. Adding a little flyer would remove much of the frustration on the initial attempt to use these bags.  If you pull the lock up rather than sideways it is possible to break it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Sept.Filles Socks Women's Sock Ultra-thin Transparent Lace Socks

These socks are pretty unique. The soles, the toes, and the cuffs are very much like a regular sock, but the middles section is made out sheer material similar to a sheer stocking. The sheer material keeps the skin cooler than cotton, they will be good to wear when it is hot. They are made out of 90% acrylic and 10% cotton.

I normally wear size 7.5 shoe. Many socks labeled the standard 7-9 size are a little large on me, these socks are perfect. From the way they fit me I would say they run small, so if you have a large foot that maybe a negative, for me it was a plus. They have a little stretch and likely to fit a somewhat larger foot (size 8) as well, I think they will be too small for size 9 foot.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Handmade HM&LN Genuine Leather Planner Organizer

I am a big note taker, so always have various lists with me anywhere I go.  This journal is small 6.5" by 4.25" in size and fits well in  my purse. Its thickness can vary as inserts can be added and removed easily, as the sections are held together by elastic cords attached to the binding.

It comes with 4 inserts in the organizer and one spare insert.  To make it a little thinner for every day use I removed two inserts, and right now have just two of them.  It is a big plus that it can be so flexible.

In addition to the writable pagest it has a couple of card slots and a zipper pouch for notes, receipts, or business cards.

The  cover is made out of leather and it is a mauve color with "antique" type finish.

This package also includes a set of stickers.  The stickers I really liked have a calendar with a tab, so I can add dividers into the organizer as months change.

Pretty nice organizer, I particularly like how easy it is to change which inserts I carry with me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Baonuor 8G Music Player, FN Radio, audio book player, bluetooth mp3 player

My main use for this MP3 is listening to music and audio books.  Not all MP3 players are well suited to audio books because they don't start from the same place where the previous play was stopped, but this MP3 player does do it.  This means I can resume listening to the music from where I left off. Big plus!

The MP3 player also has FM receiver and can record FM stations.  I have listened to some music and local sports and the receiver works quite well. The MP3 can work with bluetooth and wired ear buds, but if you want to listen to FM radio you have to use wired ear buds because the wire serves as an antenna for the radio.

This MP3 player also plays videos and allows picture viewing, which are features that exist but I don't use them much.

The MP3 player comes with 8G of memory and can be expanded to 128GB.

I had no problems pairing bluetooth with my wireless ear buds as well as blue tooth wall speakers.  In  my video you can see and hear Grace Digital wall speakers being paired with the MP3 player.  The sound is good and clear as I moved around the room.

The battery life is pretty good, I can use it for several days without recharging.  The manual states 60 hours with wired ear buds, and 20 hours with bluetooth buds.

To add content to the player I just plug it into the computer and it shows up as any USB device. The connection appears to be USB 3.0 as books copy pretty quickly.

MP3 buttons are pretty sensitive so it is good that it has a lock. All you need to do is press the power button briefly one time and it locks the screen.

The MP3 has some minor things I don't like.

1.  It has a nice menu driven interface, but the small font of the text makes it difficult for me read the text. This is curse of being over 40! When I was a youngster small font was never an issue.
2. Controls take a little getting used.  The screen is not touch sensitive, you need to use controls on the bottom part of the unit. When you want to move up/down on the menu, you need to have left/right controls.  The up/down controls control the volume.  I think with the menu layout it would have been more logical to reverse this, as I keep hitting up and down keys trying to navigate the menus.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Rectangular Color Coding Labels 1 3/8 inch by 1/2 Inch / Organization aid

These label stick well and come off clean when needed without leaving sticky goo for a short period of time.  After about a month they do not come off easily especially from paper.  So think of them as permanent after the initial short period.

For writing on the label I needed to us a felt tip pen (a ball point pen does not write on the labels).  Yellow is best for writing with a dark pen.  I use dark ones just for color coding, a gold or silver pen will work on dark colors.

The labels are 1.25" long and 1/2" wide. This small size a very useful size for labeling bottles and containers or just color-coding.

Ali Julia review

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Mesh Spa Bath Pillow Neck & Back with Powerful Suction Cups for Bath Tubs Beauty Life

I have a bad back and hot baths are really helpful for my condition. Prior to this pillow I used inflatable pillows. Unlike my other pillows this is not an inflatable pillow, this is foam pillow.  Note that this is NOT memory foam pillow, it keeps its shape. It is quite soft and very comfortable.  It is generously sized 14" x 14" x 4" (thickness in the thickest part). The back of the pillow has 4 suctions cups, they hold well. I find it very comfortable. 

One small thing that turned out to make a big difference is a hook built into the side, it allows me to hang the pillow after it has been used to dry.  After it has been totally soaked in the evening it totally dries overnight.  Keeping it hanging and dry will prevent the pillow from getting moldy which eventually happened to all my old bath pillows (even the ones that claimed not be anti-mold) that were left in place. This pillow can be washed in the washing machine.

The only down side of the foam pillow compared to inflatable pillow that foam pillow cannot be folded away for storage.  However, for me this is not an issue as never deflated inflatable pillows in the past.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Tea Tree Oil Shampoo Anti Dandruff Dry Itchy & Flaky Scalp from First Botany Cosmeceuticals

The first thing I want to mention is how much I like the scent of this shampoo. Some of the tea tree shampoos smell I've used in the past smelled minty and somewhat like medicine, this shampoo has a lemony scent mixed in with the tea tree scent.  This scent is very fresh and refreshing.

The second thing that I liked that it came with three caps for me to select from: a regular cap, a cap with a slot for dispensing, and a pump.  I like the cap with a slot best and was happy to see that it was one of my choices.

My hair feels really good after washing my hair with this shampoo, clean and fresh.  The hair looks full and shiny after it dries.

This shampoo generates a medium amount of suds (i.e. this is not a low suds shampoo but it is not a hugely sudsy shampoo either). I am including a video where I use it on my hands to show the amount of suds it generates as I wash  my hands.

Amazon description does not contain a full list ingredients so I am including the list of ingredients copied them from the bottle:

Ingredients: distilled water, Argan (Moroccan) oil, tea tree oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, camellia seed oil, botanical keratin, almond oil,coconut oil, acyl sarcosine, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium lauroyl sarcosine, grecat btms-350.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Remote Control Holder Organizer Storage Caddy by Archi

Our household, like many others, has a large number of remotes - tv, dvr, stereo, fan, wall clock...  Archi caddy is a five compartment organizer that  helps me to keep them in one place. Keeping them upright also takes up less space on the night table.

The caddy is made out of leather cover over the cardboard dividers which keep the caddy stiff. The leather is soft to touch and not shiny.  It smells like real leather, it is either real leather or a really good imitation leather. I ordered the black organizer. It blends in the background  because of its dark color and, thankfully, it has no logos or writing of any kind.

The size of the caddy is: 2.76" wide, 4.53" high and 8.46" length.  Each compartment is 1.5" wide.  The middle compartment is the deepest and is 2.5" deep, the side compartments are the shallowest and are 1.5" deep.

It is exactly what I was hoping for - simple and functional.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Sunyou Marco Raffine Fine Art Colored Pencils

If you are used to buying pencils you probably want to know the value of pencils from Graphite Grading Scale. Unfortunately, this information is not available. The pencils are made in China and they do not have the numeric scale or HB scale marked on the pencil.

How do they compare to a well known brand like Prismacolors? They are not as soft as Prismacolors, but the difference is not significant, and they work well with color build up. Ability to build up colors is what I look for in a colored pencil, and these do fine. Each pencil generates a light color and I can make a deep color depending on how hard I press when I use it.

The pencils come already sharpened. They come without the case, but they can be kept in the box as the box has cardboard separator inside so it is easy to slide out just one pencil from the top or the bottom row.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Book review: Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb, by Tinky Weisblat

If the word "rhubarb" makes you think of pies this cookbook will expand how you think about rhubarb. Yes, this book has rhubarb pie recipes, but also rhubarb in sides, salads, and breads.  The author shares a nice tip that she often adapts cranberry recipes to be used for rhubarb as cranberries and rhubarb has a lot of similarities in their taste profile.

I really liked the Persian rhubarb stew with chicken, delicious and I thought the flavor was unique.  Another recipe I tried and really liked is rhubarb-glazed meatballs.  My mother used to use pomegranate to make meatballs sauce and this recipe reminded of that this old favorite.

This cookbook is well organized.  There are a couple of things that I expect in a well organized cookbooks - I want to see pictures of completed dishes (check!)  I want each recipe to fit on a page, or be on the two pages facing each other so I don't have to touch the pages while my hands are covered with food stuff (check!), I want to hear a little bit about each recipe before getting into ingredients and preparation (check!)

What is missing?  The recipes do not tell me how many people they will feed, how easy/difficult they are, caloric information, and how long it will take to prepare. However, the interesting recipes and good organization outweigh the few short comings, it was a 5 star cookbook for me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★