Food Review: Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Hazelnut candy

Ferrero Rocher Chocolate candies are one of my favorite candies.  I found that the 48 candy box on Amazon has a good price, they taste fresh, and the boxes I purchased so far have expiration date of a year (although they never last that long in our house).

The candy tastes chocolaty and crunchy. The crunch comes from the small nut pieces on the outside and a hazelnut in the center of the candy.

The serving size is 3 pieces.  One serving is 230 calories. YUM!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: andobil Car Phone Mount - Mount / Dash / Windshield

I got Andobil car mount for Nexus 6p phone, which is a large phone measuring is 6.5"L x 3.2"W. This car mount fits well, holds well, and gives me three options for mounting: the air vent, the windshield, and the dash.  My favorite mounting option is the air vent because it puts the phone in the best position for navigation - close enough that I can see it well, I am able to reach it easily, and it is not covring the view out of the windshield.  The jaws maximum opening is 4".

The car mount has a push button on the side which opens the jaws easy and then squezes close.

Andobil vent mount works on both horizontal and vertical vents. Mounting on the vent does block most most of the air from the vent blowing into my face, but the cool air does come into the car.

Overall, the mount feels securily attached and holding the phone securily as well.

The dash mount and the windshield mount has many control so it is possible to mount and aim in various way. The mount stay firmly attached on a trip when I tested those mounts, but I prefer the vent mount because I find it easier to reach and see.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Narrative Clip video camera

I like the concept of taking photos continuously not to miss any special moments, but I do not like the model of how Narrative provides this service.

1. I am not able to prevent the upload of my photos to the web before I had a chance to censor the photos I don't want to be uploaded. As soon as I installed the application it began uploading the photos to the cloud. I would have liked to have an option to examine the photos locally first, and only then upload a subset to the cloud. I want to be able to censor and remove some photos before they hit the internet. As we all know once on the internet you cannot get the photos back. Any software can have bugs and security breaches and I want control over what gets published.

2. The camera is bigger and more noticeable than I expected. It is 1.4" x 1.4" x 0.25". It is made out of white plastic. I would have liked it to be pretty, so I can wear it as a broche so I would look nice with my outfit, not just like I am wearing an electronic monitoring device. In attached video you can see how I changed the way Narrative looks. My suggestion to Narrative is to make a variety of jackets be available for the camera so people can make it different colors and designs based on what they are wearing.

3. I did not like the manual that came with the camera. It has child-like drawing with very few words on each page. The manual tells you how to wear the camera, but surprising does not tell you what to do to see the images you took. It has no information on what you need to install, how to access your photo, or any other practical information. I had to Google for an answer of what I needed to do. That is an indicator of a badly designed manual.

What you need to do:
♦ Enter start.getnarrative.com into your browser url
♦ You will need to down load software for you PC. The download is 35.4 megabytes so it takes while to download
♦ The software will give you access to your images
♦ You need to be connected to the internet to run the application

4. When I am using Narrative I have no control of when the camera takes pictures. When I did not want to take pictures I had to remove the camera and put in my pocket, but it continued running and thus ran out of juice faster than I was able to turn it off when I did not want it to record. Narrative Clip supposed to go to sleep when the camera is in total darkness, but my Clip continued to take pictures. More than half of the pictures it took were just black. I want to have control of my devices, I need on/off button.

5. Quality of the photos is okay, but far from being as good as my SLR camera or even the camera on my phone. The camera does not do well in the dim light. The camera is not waterproof. My video contains 5 best pictures taken my Narrative during the first day I had Narrative Clip on. I also included 2 picture which were representative of 90% of the photos taken. Majority of photos are either too dark or I could not tell what the picture captured. These pictures are not editing in any way. I did not rotate them to make them appear in the proper orientation, the photos appear exactly as they were saved on my computer.

6. One feature that I liked is the ability to mark a picture as special. If you want to record a special picture you can double tap on the Clip. The clip will recognize it as an important picture and save it in the Starred Photos category.

7. The photos that are copied locally do not have geo-tags. In order to charge a monthly subscription Narrative makes local organization of photos more difficult. 

What would make me like it more? If it behaved as a regular memory stick, allowed me to mount it on my computer and examine, edit, and censor the photos without uploading the photos to the cloud first. The current subscription fee is too expensive for the capabilities the camera provides.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Clorts Women's Hiking Shoe Waterproof Suede Outdoor Boot Waterproof

Clorts Hiking shoes are super comfortable. They have a good arch support and overall comfortable shape. They have become my favorite every days boot. Their soles are pretty nobby and have good tractions. I am wearing them in the New England winter with a thick wool socks.  They keep me steady in the wet and icy weather, and with a warm wool socks they are comfortably warm.

I normally wear size 7.5 and purchased size 8.5 so I can wear them with thick winter wool socks.  Each boot weighs 13.8 oz.  They made out of Cow Suede leather and textile mesh.  The toe is reinforced with hard plastic.  The boot is waterproof.

The hack of the boot has a loop which makes it easier to pull the boots over thick socks.  The last loop of the laces goes over the metal anchor so it gives me a good strong hold.

I was pleased with how the boots were package, they stuffed with paper so they were not deformed in shopping.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Ocusoft Lid Scrub Foaming Eyelid Cleanser. Comparison to Thera Tears Sterilid

I have been a Thera Tears Sterilid user for several years and found that it really helped reduce the irritation of my eyes. Thera Tears Amazon's price is better than the price a local pharmacy but still pretty expensive.  A few month ago I decided to try Ocusoft, which is not only cheaper but comes in a much larger bottle (7.25 oz). Now I have been using it for several month and it works just as well for me as Thera Tears.  I get the same results at a much better price, so I am very pleased and plan to continue to use it in the future.  The foam it generates is a little denser than Thera Tears, this is neither a plus or a minus as the results are the same.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product Review: BENIQUE Necklace Bracelet Extenders for Women - 14K Gold Filled

I have a pretty necklace that has a closure that is difficult to open, so I bought this 2.5" extension to  make it easier for me to take it off and put it on.  This extension is not as easy to open and close as I hoped: its closure is pretty tight, pretty small and it does not open as wide as I hoped. However, it gave me enough length that I can pull my pretty necklace over my head without opening it.  Problem solved.

The extension looks fine. One end has the closure, the other ends with a small glass bead.  I would have preferred no bead, but it is okay as is.  In attached photo you can see it next to several different chains just to see how it would go with different styles.  I also display it on 1/2" grid for size and width reference.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector (Avoid!)

If you are looking for a product to remove dark spot (sun spots) this product does not help. It is pleasant in texture and odor free. It is absorbed well and does not leave the skin shiny as some other preparations. The skin is left softer after the application. However, it has no effect on dark spots.

After using the serum for several months I saw a dermatologist and asked her if there is any chance that this serum will work. She said no.

She said freezing the skin where the spots are however is very effective. I went ahead and did it. Several weeks later my spots were totally gone, there is not even a faint mark where they were. It cost me $25 per spot (insurance does not cover it since it is cosmetic). For a week it looked like I had a couple of pimples until the skin totally healed. If any spots appear again I would do the freezing again. I can't tell where the old spots used to be.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: St. Ives Radiant Skin Exfoliating Face Scrub, Pink Lemon and Mandarin Orange

The St. Ives has a pleasant texture, the scrub h incorporates a lot of tiny grains in its creamy texture. I use a face brush to work into the skin of my face and it feels great.  The scent is pleasant but very light and subtle. I hoped for more intense scent, but the light pleasant scent is not a bad alternative. I spread it with a brush and wipe it off with a hot textured cloth, it feels great.  I use it once a day.

The only negative I can say that the seller requires you to purchase two items as a minimum. If that was not bad enough (since it was my first purchase and I did not know if I would like it), I could not order two different scents, I had to order two identical items.  That definitely could be improved to at least the customer to select different scents to meet the minimum items requirement.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Book review: The Coaching Mindset: 8 Ways to Think Like a Coach by Chad Hall

The coaches job is not to solve problems it is facilitate other people to solve problem. This is is exactly what a good people manager does in a corporate environment, and this is what I was interested in learning from this book.  It always struck me that a technical group should work just like a sports team. I want to bring the same techniques that make a good team a team (supporting each other, selflessness, people knowing their roles, overall team concept) and was looking for a book to help me. 

This book is very brief but direct and clear, it does not have any filler material. A good coach helps people to do the right thing themselves, rather them tell them exactly what to do. In fact it says to never solve the problem for your clients, it will be a disservice. The book helps by helping to know the right questions to ask, the best way to interrupt, when not to interfere, and how to help people who are stuck. 

Then I suddenly came to the end of the book and wished there was more to read, more secrets revealed... but there it was, the first lesson of coaching  - the book told me how to do it, now I am on my own.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Drill brush for cleaning bathtub

These brushes worked better and easier than scrubbing by hand, but don't think it is easy or fast.  You are using a screwdriver (your own) to clean so you are moving around something that is fairly heavy.  It takes many many passes if you are working with some caked on dirt.

I was glad I got the three brush set, because I thought I would use the flat brush most, but turns out I liked the round most. This is because of the angles the brush attached to the screwdriver gives you.  Holding it perpendicular to the surface (which is what the flat brush does) was not very uncomfortable.  The small brush was also useful to get into corners where the large brush simply did not fit.

I took me about 30 - 40 minutes to clean the tub (medium dirty tub, not terrible but it had some scum that was really stuck on).  After I was done the bristles were still in good shape, not mashed up, so I will be able to get multiple uses out of this set.

Finally, there are many vendors offering exactly the same sets that very in price by about $10 so shop around.  I almost paid twice as much for a set because it was offered on Black Friday promo, when I noticed this set at a better price.

Ali Julia review

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Allied Tools Portable Work Station

This work station has a nice size and shape. The gap between the particle boards can be adjusted. The work stations folds up for storage. I like its overall design.

The legs are made out of metal and the top particle board. Unfortunately, the metal parts are extremely flimsy. How flimsy? The corners of each leg got bent during shipping and the metal is so soft that I was able to straighten most of the pieces with my bare hands. And I have very weak hands! This workstation is not for heavy duty work.  

I purchased this work station in the summer of 2017.  I am not using it for anything heavy so it held up fine through several summer projects. 




You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Wideskall Heavy Duty Bike Storage Hooks Set Ceiling Mount

I selected these hooks because they seem to have the best price per hook among many options for the bike hooks.  I purchased many bike storage hooks for hanging various things on the rafters of my basement.  These hooks are exactly as I expected.

The hooks are 6" long and 2.25" wide.  The steel of the hook is covered by a silicone coating.  The package had 4 packages with 2 hooks each for a total of 8 hooks. The hooks are made in China and are distributed by a California company. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Swiffer Sweeper Heavy Duty Mop Pad Refills for Floor Mopping

I have been using Swiffer sweeper for many years, and I love using my swiffer sweeper - it is effecient, light, easy to use and quiet. 

Recently I saw a TV ad that featured Heavy Duty Mop Pads and decided to give them a try.  The pads fit my original mop head without a problem.

After trying the heavy duty pads I decided that I am not going to buy them again if the price is higher then the original pads. I did not think they did any better job then the originals, and frankly if the pad is holding a lot of dust I rather switch to the new pad then risking the dust bunnies jumping onto the area rugs when I get to close to their edge.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Swiffer 360 Dusters Extendable Handle Starter Kit

I have been using Swiffer duster for many years.  This my first experience with extended handle and 360 duster.  The extended handle is a little flimsy by comparison to the regular handle, but it is very convenient. I am able to reach things without bending or standing on a step stool.

The assembly was easy - all I had to do was pull out the handle and let the nobs settle in the holes to hold the extension.  The handle collapses easily for storage.  The head can be locked at any angle.

Both the original dusters and the 360 dusters fit the extended handle. Neither one slips out during cleaning.  The old handle has a clip that holds the duster very well.  The extended handle does not have a clip, but I have not noticed a difference in use.

Even though I liked the 360 dusters I do not think they worth the extra cost and I will continue using the original dusters with the extended handle.  The extended handle is great, definitely an upgrade. It allows me to get done faster.  In addition I have a bad back so anything that allows me to get stuff done without bending is a good thing.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★