Product review: Masterworks 20V Cordless Drill

Besides the drill this drill contains drill bit, screw driver heads, flexible shaft for hard to reach places, the charger, and the manual.  The package does NOT include a case.  For now I am keeping it in the box, but I am plan to buy a separate case tfor storage.  The drill has 3/8" (10 mm) chuck.  The drill has variable settings for torque: 0 to 15 settings.   Larger screws require more torque to drive than small ones.  More torque will set a screw deeper into material, less torque will prevent it stripping.

The drill runs on 18 volt lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it is shipped partially discharged and needs to be fully charged before first use.  The firs time it took me overnight to charge it.  Subsequent recharging requires 5 hours if it is almost fully discharged, less if it is partially discharged. The green light is the power indicator. When the charger is connected to AC the green light is on. The red light is the charging indicator. Both red and green light are on when the battery is charging.  The red light will turn off once charging is complete.

To remove the battery from the drill you need to depress the button on the front of the battery pack to release it and then it slides out. When you put it back in make sure it clicks to latch in.

The drill's weight is 2 pounds and 8.6 oz.  I find it easy to use.  The handle is comfortable and 3.5 pound is pretty easy to handle.
Instructions say to prolong the life of the tool, do not continually for work more than 20 minutes at a time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★

Product review: AUSDOM ANC8 Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones, Wireless Over-Ear Headset

Ausdom ANC8 headphones work both as wired and 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 half way, otherwise it is too loud for me.

The head set is extremely comfortable, it fits over my ears (not touching the ears) it can be adjusted in so many ways and it feels very comfortable for both me and my husband, even though our heads are shaped very differently.

Both the headphones and the head band 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 flexes easily to fit heads of different sizes. The pads are made out soft leather. While being super comfortable the sound isolation is not 100%. The comfort is comparable to my Bose headset, but not the sound isolation in Bose is better (but at a much higher price).

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

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 "Ausdom ANC8" and connected.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Video Sunglasses, OHO 16GB Ultra HD Video Recording Camera

A camera in the eyeglasses has one huge advantage over other spy or action cameras - you know exactly where the camera is aimed, all you have to do is look in the right direction.

This is a comparison review for two OHO video sunglasses.  This review contains video taken by OHO sunshine, 16GB ($44).   You can see the video from OHO video sunglasses, 32G ($90) here.

Both video sunglasses cameras generated good videos under different lightening conditions.  Attached video contains clips taken during a sunny day, indoors, and during night time. The videos are not as good as my SLR camera or but they are pretty good as you can see in attached videos.  The video is a little jerky because my head is not as still as a tripod or even hand-held camera. I did not realize how  much my head bobs when I walk but it is obviously is not the video camera fault.

Each camera records only for one hour, and it takes 2 hours to recharge the glasses.  I planned to record for two hours and got two glasses.  This gave me a chance to compare the two OHO sunglasses (OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB ($90) and OHO sunshine, 16GB ($44). I will refer the $90 pair as video glasses #1, and the $44 pair as video glasses #2.

Both glasses did a good job recording, but there were significant differences between them.

1. Video glasses #1 have non-changeable polarized lenses.  The lenses are excellent, I can see very well with them, as well as my nice sunglasses purchased as sunglasses. But because they not changeable they are limited for being used out-doors. Because they are quite dark they look odd if used in-doors, and attract attention if you actually trying to do stealth recording.  Video sunglasses #2 have interchangeable lenses and come with dark, clear and amber lenses.  I thought their lenses were not as good as video glasses #1, but since their main function is video that really does not matter to me.  Even though there are no instructions the lenses was easy to change.  Hint: pull down away from the nose.

2. Video glasses #1 give feedback via vibration when I turn them on and turn them off.  This is a very good interface that does not require me to check for the red blinking light that tells me that the camera is working.  Video sunglasses #2 provide feedback only via a blinking red light on the inside of the glasses.  I have to look at the light to know that the sunglasses are working, this is less convenient and more noticeable.

3. Video glasses #1 get slightly warm during use, but not too warm.  Video glasses #2 get hot during usage.  The skin on my head did not get burned after recording for 1 hour, but the glasses got so warm that I was worried about that.

4. The on/off button on video glasses #1 is on the bottom of the frame (good), the on/off button on the video glasses #2 is on the top of the frame (more noticeable).  Video glasses #2 in general appear more bulky and have thicker frames.

5. Both video glasses have built in storage.  I have no problems seeing the storage in the computer as a mounted disk when the glasses are connected to a computer.  Glasses #1 have a init.txt file where one can set the date and time.  Glasses #2 do not have a file that allows one to set time.

6. Both video glasses use USB 2.0 interface, so copying files from the glasses to the computer is fairly slow if you are used to USB 3.0 devices.  For example to copy one hour of recordings took over 20 minutes.

7.  Neither camera has any no controls other then on/off buttons.

8. Glasses #1 are waterproof, glasses #2 are not waterproof.

Overall, a very good combination of stealth and video.  I liked glasses #1 more, however glasses #2 with interchangeable lenses have an advantage for in-door video.  The quality of the video from both sunglasses is good and quite similar.

You can find glasses #2 on Amazon by following this link.

You can find glasses #1 on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB IP66 Waterproof Ultra HD Video Recording Camera

A camera in the eyeglasses has one huge advantage over other spy or action cameras - you know exactly where the camera is aimed, all you have to do is look in the right direction.

This is a comparison review for two OHO video sunglasses.  The video is this review is taken by OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB ($90). The video from the second sunglasses is in this post dedicated to OhO, 16G video glasses.  Both video glasses cameras generated good videos under different lightening conditions.  Attached video contains clips taken during a sunny day, indoors, and during night time. The videos are not as good as my SLR camera or but they are pretty good as you can see in attached videos.  The video is a little jerky because my head is not as still as a tripod or even hand-held camera. I did not realize how  much my head bobs when I walk but it is obviously is not the video camera fault.

Each camera records for one hour, and it takes 2 hours to recharge the glasses.  I planned to record for two hours and got two glasses.  This gave me a chance to compare the two OHO sunglasses (OhO sunshine Video Sunglasses,32GB ($90) and OHO sunshine, 16GB ($44). I will refer the $90 pair as video glasses #1, and the $44 pair as video glasses #2.

Both glasses did a good job recording, but there were significant differences between them.

1. Video glasses #1 have non-changeable polarized lenses.  The lenses are excellent, I can see very well with them, as well as my nice sunglasses purchased as sunglasses. But because they not changeable they are limited for being used out-doors. Because they are quite dark they look odd if used in-doors, and attract attention if you actually trying to do stealth recording.  Video sunglasses #2 have interchangeable lenses and come with dark, clear and amber lenses.  I thought their lenses were not as good as video glasses #1, but since their main function is video that really does not matter to me.  Even though there are no instructions the lenses was easy to change. Hint: pull down away from the nose.

2. Video glasses #1 give feedback via vibration when I turn them on and turn them off.  This is a very good interface that does not require me to check for the red blinking light that tells me that the camera is working.  Video sunglasses #2 provide feedback only via a blinking red light on the inside of the glasses.  I have to look at the light to know that the sunglasses are working, this is less convenient and more noticeable.

3. Video glasses #1 get slightly warm during use, but not too warm.  Video glasses #2 get hot during usage.  The skin on my head did not get burned after recording for 1 hour, but the glasses got so warm that I was worried about that.

4. The on/off button on video glasses #1 is on the bottom of the frame (good), the on/off button on the video glasses #2 is on the top of the frame (more noticeable).  Video glasses #2 in general appear more bulky and have thicker frames.

5. Both video glasses have built in storage.  I have no problems seeing the storage in the computer as a mounted disk when the glasses are connected to a computer.  Glasses #1 have a init.txt file where one can set the date and time.  Glasses #2 do not have a file that allows one to set time.

6. Both video glasses use USB 2.0 interface, so copying files from the glasses to the computer is fairly slow if you are used to USB 3.0 devices.  For example to copy one hour of recordings took over 20 minutes.

7.  Neither camera has any no controls other then on/off buttons.

8. Glasses #1 are waterproof, glasses #2 are not waterproof.

Overall, a very good combination of stealth and video.  I liked glasses #1 more, however glasses #2 with interchangeable lenses have an advantage for in-door video.  The quality of the video from both sunglasses is good and quite similar.


You can find glasses #1 on Amazon by following this link.

You can find glasses #2 on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Melody House 3-Tier Metal Mesh Storage Shelf Organization

This metal shelf is roomy and it has a nice set of wheels that make it roll very well.

The size of each shelf is 13.75" x 17.75".  It can be use with and without the top handle. I am using the handle and the cart's total height is 34.25".

The assembly was fairly easy and took about 30 minutes.  The only problem I had that the screws included with the cart were a bit too short to hold the sides as well as I wanted, and I used my own longer screws which gave me a better hold.  The directions have no words but show the pictures with the order in which the cart should be assembled.  Even though the instructions are sparse they were sufficient to assemble the cart without problems.

The shelves are metal and made out of attractive mesh pattern. The mesh is fine enough that it hold small bottles without problems.

Overall, I am pleased with the cart.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: HBQ I7 TWS Twins Mini Bluetooth Earbud Wireless

These earbuds were a disappointment.  They comfortable, fairly light, and the sound is actually not bad, but I found it impossible to pair both earbuds.  I can only hear sound from one of them.  I am very experienced person with setting up wireless headphones yet despite reading and following instructions many times, I could not pair the two earbuds to each other.  The connection between them was lost as soon as I attempted to pair the pair with the phone.

In addition, I did not like that they require the use of special two headed cable to charge the earbuds.  If the cable breaks or if I lose it the earbuds are useless. Many earbuds use standard micro USB  cable and it is so much better as I have plenty of spares.

These earbuds looks promissing and inexpensive, but not being able to pair both of them is a deal breaker.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Yuns Soft Cashmere Scarf Pashmina Shawls Wool

I got the red version of the this scarf. It is a beautiful fire truck deep red color. It feels very soft and pleasant to touch.  Given the inexpensive price I was not sure what to expect, but it over exceeded my expectation. Nice quality, nice color, pleasant to touch.

The scarf is 61" long (not counting the fringe) and 53" wide. The fringe is 3".

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: DISO Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Headphones

Diso Bluetooth headphones paired flawlessly with my two phones.  The sound is nice and clear without distortion.  The Bluetooth range is excellent with the phone resting in my pants pockets phone or on the table while I work.  I use these headphone while working to cover up the distracting conversations and noises by pleasant music. The headphones are comfortable and I am able to wear them all day long.  If I leave the phone on the table I can walk away a good distance before the sound starts breaking up.

The area that has DISO sign on both headphones is a button. You press the to turn it on and to give commands. Attached image shows where the indicator lights are.

I really like how comfortable they are and their sound.  They are much better then having wired headphones as I can move between my two computers without having to worry about the cord

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: YUNS Women Genuine Greased Leather Tote Bag Shoulder Bags

This is a review for YUNS Gray leather bag.  The bag is quite large:
* it is 16" across at the top
* it is 11.5" deep from top to bottom
* the long strap is 19" (enough to put across the body)
* the short strap is 11" (enough to sling over the shoulder)
* the width of the bottom is 5"

The purse is made out of PU leather.  I was not sure what "greased" leather mentioned in Amazon description meant and I looked its definition. Greased leather is nu-buck leather to which a greasy waxy finish is applied. This is a scratch-sensitive finish, the leather quickly gets a vintage-patina, which is a desired effect. The patina arises by folding, scratching and stretching. This patina is created relatively quickly by use. When leather has been given a binder-based color layer on top,it takes significantly longer for the first traces of use to become visible.

I really like the organization of this bag. It has three amin compartments, with the middle having a zipper.  This allows me to organized the content of my bag really well. In addition to three main compartments there are 3 pockets on the inside (one zipped).  The bag does not have an outside pocket, however it has two "hidden" compartments.  There are open spaces on both sides of the bag (I show them in the video). I used one of them to tuck in the long strap when I am not using it. 


The inside lining is deep brown.  This is very practical because it does not show dirt and will look good for a long time.

Last but not least, this bag looks great. I ordered the grey color and I think it looks very nice. The hardware is has silver finish.  I love this bag and I use it pretty much use it all the time.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Egg Poacher Pods Silicone Egg Boiler Cups for Microwave

I really wanted these things to work.  My mother only has a microwave (she has been forgetting to turn off the range and it has become too dangerous for her to use anything but a microwave) and she likes eggs, so this looked like a possible solution for her.  Unfortunately they don't work well enough, the texture is not quite right even when the appearance is okay.

I spent quite a bit of time experimenting on my own so I would be able to tell her how to make eggs that taste good.  In attached photos you see results after 20 seconds in the microwave, 40 seconds,  and 30 seconds. I decided the 30 seconds is the best period in my microwave. The 40 second eggs were very dried out, 30 second eggs were still just a little runny in the center.

Positives? Very fast, easy clean up, can be used without any oil (a slight oil spray makes it easier to slide them out).

Cons? The texture in the microwave feels somewhat different and both I and my mother prefer the eggs made in a traditional way.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Alloyseed Portable Tire Inflator with Auto Shut Off

This is a very fast tire inflator.  It works much faster than my old air pump.  My favorite feature is that it has auto shut-off when it reaches the pressure I pre-set in advance. I do not have to stop and measure the pressure until I get it right.  The valve has a lever closure, so very little air escapes when I open and close it. I prefer it to the valve that require screwing in.

I attached video you see how I set it to the goal of 33 PSI.   When I set it to 33 PSI my 4 tires ended either with 32PSI.  At each step I double checked the pressure with a different pressure meter and the pressure was correct.

This inflator has a long power cable that allows me to reach the front and the back tires easily.  In addition it has a fairly long air hose that reaches the nozzle even if it is at the top of the wheel.  The unit weighs 1 pounds and 14.4 oz.

The unit is easy to operate: pressing 'M' button on the front of the pump changes pressure unit (bal Kpa, psi,kg/cm). Up and down arrows change the pressure.  Big on/off button starts/ends the air flow.  The light on the unit is not super bright, but it is okay.  The light has sos mode and warning light, the mode can be changed by pressing the button on the front.

I also like how easy it is to pack up.  The power cord wraps around a wheel in the back,  The tire hose easily fits into a compartment on the side.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Honmax Interval Timer and Stopwatch

This is a small timer with ability to have two interval timers. The two interval timers allow you to set workout time and rest time.

Its size is 1 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 1/2"(width).  It comes with a clip in case you want to clip it to something.  Be aware that the package include three tiny screws and a small screw driver.  They are needed to attach the clip to the body of the timer.

The timer runs on 320mAh rechargeable lithium Battery which is included and installed. It comes with a charging cable.  This is a proprietary cable so if you lose it you can't recharge the unit any more.  I would have preferred the charging cable to be a standard mini USB, of course, so I can use any cable I want.  But the charging cable is the only minor complaint, the rest of the time works well.  Included video shows it in action.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Melophy 50ft Expandable Garden Hose

I have been using flexible hoses for several summers: I use one to wash the car, another for watering the garden. They are great to work with - they are light and when empty become very short.  However they are more fragile than regular hoses, so you cannot treat them the same as a regular garden hose.

Here are a few things I learned: you cannot leave them in the sun when not in use, you can not drag and pull them like you would a regular hose, you cannot step on them when they are full with water. It is best not to hang them to store (this puts pressure on the internal hose).  I store them curled up in a bucket and bring it into the cool basement when they are not in use.  When I use a hose I lay it out in the direction of where I want to use it, fill the water and then stretch it out as needed. I have strong water pressure, so when I use the flex hose I do not put the water pressure all the way up.  I use it at a half force setting.

This hose has brass connectors which give me good no leak connections. Also included in the package is a sprayer.  The sprayer has all plastic construction. You can see all settings in the attached video.

Yes, this hose requires extra care but I really like that it is so light which makes it easier on my bad back.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Beinhome Solar Garden Lights

These lights are very pretty during the night.  They change in rainbow of colors and the prisms in the ball make the colors look very attractive.  During the day they do not look as attractive as some of the other solar lights I had because they are made out of plastic not glass, and the plastic is one color - it is transparent.


The lights glow as lovely lawn ornament at night, but don't count on them to provide any light. They are not bright enough to light a path, they are decorative lights.  I hope the video gives you a better idea what to expect.

Installing the light took about 10 seconds.  All I had to do is attach the ball to the stake and assemble the two parts of the pole.  Be careful inserting the poles into the ground, they look metal but really are made out of plastic and one of them broke at the seam where two parts of the stake are inserted into each other when I pushed into the ground.

The battery came per-charged, so it was nice to be able to see how the lights look with the lights on right away. These garden lights are photo sensitive, they only come on when it is dark outside. Under the solar light there is a switch, which you need to flick on when you want the lights to start working.  The switch moves left to right and is marked "on/off". The light runs on AA 600 NI-MH and recharged by a solar recharger.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: ZAKOO Bone Conduction Sunglasses Wireless Bluetooth Glasses Headset Headphone Sport Earphone

This is my first set of bone conducting headphones. If you are the type of person that does not like earphones in your ears like my husband this is a good solution.  You can hear the sound in a similar way as if you had the ear buds in your ears.  However, you also hear all the other sounds.  Which is great if you are using the headphone and want to hear the other sounds for safety reasons (say, running or exercising outdoors). However, if you are listening to the music in the office to suppress noise and chatter they don't work because your ears are not blocked.  The package includes ear plugs for that reason but I suspect people who are interested this type of headphones do not want to use ear plugs.

This earphones work by conducting sound through the bones in your skull.  This means the sunglasses has to be pretty tight in your face so the silicone circles  press against your face. The sunglasses are a pretty good fit on me, and I did not need any adjustments. They fit tightly but not uncomfortably.  The sound quality is not as good as really good earphones, but I found them acceptable for background music and audio books.

The sunglasses have one light indicator.  When it is green the earphone is fully charged, when it is red it is not fully charged.  Pressing the on/off button for give seconds seconds puts the unit into pairing mode, and the light starts flickering in alternating red and green color.  Searching for Bluetooth devices I was able to see Vision 5B and connect with the earphones.  If you can't seem to switch to these earphones check if the battery is low, once I fully charged the sunglasses I could easily pair and switch to the headphone by pressing the on/off button for 2 seconds.

The sunglasses come with three removable lenses including plain no color lenses. I was able to use the earphones as background music while I work for 7 hours.

The sound quality is not as good as high quality earphones, and it also depends on how well the sunglasses fit your face.  Both the volume and the sound quality are effected.  

For people who listen to music while jog or bike these headphones offer greater safety and convenience that traditional earphones.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product Review: iHuniu IHN10157 Precision Screwdriver Set

This tool kit really shines especially in comparison to my old tool kit. I hoped to find a tool kit that is better in two areas where the old tool kit falls shot and iHuniu does:

1) iHuniu case holds all tool tips well. Even if I turn the case upside down or shake it every tip stays in its slot. My old took kit case does not hold the tips well, sometimes when the case is tipped during storage the tips fall out so I have to put tips back into their slots. Not with iHuniu!

2) Every tip in iHuniu kit is labeled with an engraved size so you know exactly what each tip is. Common sense, right? But not all tool kits label tips. My old tool tips have no labels so by now I am not sure what each tip is, I just have to eye ball their size.

The tools are machined well - every tip has nice clean edges.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: CORKAS Can Opener, the Smooth Edge Can Opener

There is a trick to using the smooth can openers,  They need to latch on the edge of the can.  To achieve this trick one has to first turn the handle counter clockwise to open a space between the rotating head and the body of the can opening,  and then once it is attached to the can rotate the can opener clockwise to cut the lid.

However, even knowing the trick and having used a smooth can opener before I was not able to open using this can opener. I was able to latch on to the can (for example, I was able to lift it by just holding the edge in the can opener), yet I was not able to make a cut that went through the lid.  This can opener is made in China and it is possible that Chinese cans have slightly more shallow edges, but it appeared to me that the blade just did not drop low enough even though I spent a good amount of time trying to make it work.

I was able to open the can with a regular non-smooth can opener, so there is nothing odd about the can. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review

Product review: Haber Turkish Bath Towel, 100% cotton

I am very fond to Turkish towels in the kitchen and had owned them for years.  This is the first time I purchased a Turkish bath towel and I am very pleased with it.  It is made out of high quality cotton (100% cotton, made in India), it is very absorbent, and works great especially on my hair.  It is very soft to touch but does not have loops like a regular bath towel, so it is much lighter and thinner.  By now I washed it three times and it seems it becomes even softer with each wash.

I got the red color, I tested it for color fastness and it is slightly not color fast, the water became slightly pink. After tree washes I no longer see any color change in the water. I use cold water in my washing machine.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: NAKZEN Golden Women Watch

Nakzen lady's watch is really attractive: good size, nice looking band, easy to read time and it shows the day of the month.

The band is made out stainless steel, the finished is brushed, and it is gold in color.  It is water resistant for rain, but not for being immersed in water.  The band is 8 3/8", and has removable links to adjust the size.  The face is 1 1/8" wide, it is a nice size making the watch easy to read without looking large on my hand.

A nice bonus was that it came with correct time and date already set.  If you need to adjust time or date, the knob has to setting: the first clicks allows you to adjust the date, the second click (i.e. all the way out) allows you to adjust the time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★