Book review: The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking

I found this book very helpful as I was learning kayaking. This book covers a large variety of topics with detailed cartoon-like illustrations as well as some photos. I am attaching a sample page from the book to show you what a typical explanation looks like. I found explanations to be a great reminders/re-freshers of the kayaking classes I took on the water. I read the book several times as my skills improved and every time I was able to find something new and useful.  

Here are the chapters of the book:
1. Equipment
2. Basic strokes and techniques
3. Advanced strokes and techniques
4. Surging
5. Rescues
6. Waves
7. Winds and weather
8. Tides and tidal streams
9. Navigation
10. Arctic origins of the sea kayaking

This book is not just a manual for learning how to improve your kayaking technique and tips on outfitting your boat. This book covers kayaking history and shares author's passion for the kayak. I enjoyed every page no matter how many times I read it! I recommend this book.

You can find this book on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: InterDesign 12-Inch Med+ Multi-Level Organizer

I originally bought this organizer to put into a medical cabinet. My medical cabinet has three section, the center part is a 12" closed section where I hoped to put this organizer. But it did not fit by a few milimiters.

Luckily my vanity had enough space to fit it next to the sink and I am very pleased with it. It works very well especially on things that otherwise would not stand vertically, such as toothpaste and scrub brush.

I am attaching a collage of two photos. The first photo shows the organizer next to a ruler. You can also see how the bottom is textured. The texture is on the outside, the bottom of the inside compartments is leveled, which makes it easy to clean.
The second photo shows the caddy loaded up with various items. It keeps things organized and keeps tall items from falling down.

Here are the detailed dimensions:
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12" end to end (wide side)
3" depth (front to back)
tall parts 3.3" high
short parts 2" high

Compartments:
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There are a total of 8 compartment.
Left to right:
First section: 2" long by 3" tall by 3" wide (when I say wide, I mean front to back)
Second section:1" long, made out of 3 compartments, each one is 1"x1"
Third section: is 4.5 inches long by 2" tall by 3" wide
Forth section is 2.3. inches long, made out of two compartments: 1.5"x2.3" each
Fifth section is 2 inches long, 3.3 inches tall, and 3 inches wide

I am very pleased! I gained quite a bit of space on my vanity top and everything looks neat and organized.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Kitchenability 101 by Nisa Burns

All recipes in this book have a few things in common:simple ingredients, simple to put together, and easy to make.  This book grew out of a culinary school student Facebook page called "Nisa's Cooking"  where Nisa Burns began publishing recipes, incorporating people's comments and suggestions.  Her original readership were mostly college students, but the book really is targeted at anyone who wants to eat tasty food without spending much time on preparation.

The book starts with an introduction of basic ingredient and techniques targeted at someone who never cooked.  This the part that makes the book accessible to anyone, even college students that never cooked before.

The book contains 7 sections (1 introduction and 6 recipe sections), and a total of 69 recipes. I am including a complete table of content at the end of this review.

 Each recipe is fairly short. Each one fits on half of a page, each starts with a couple of sentence of description, a list of ingredients followed instructions. Each recipe comes with a photo, which really helps to imagine the dish before you cook it.  I have tried several recipes out of the books and enjoyed them.  One of the recipes I tried (and liked!) is Fancy Mac and Cheese. It was very simple to make, delicious, and a bit different from you plain Mac and Cheese. I am including a photo of that page which shows the layout of the recipe and the photo.  The recipes in this book are not going to dazzle your friends, but they are tasty and simple.  Whether you are in a dorm or just in a rush, this is a good reference for a quick tasty meal.


If you are looking for simple delicious recipes this book is a good choice.
You can find this cookbook on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Sony DVPSR510H DVD Player (Upscaling)

I purchased this DVD to play movies on DVDs attached to a high definition SONY TV via HDMI cable. I was looking for basic functionality that works well at a good price, and this is exactly what I got in this unit.

I am attaching a collage of three photos that I will be referencing in this review.

Photo #1 shows everything that came in the package: the DVD player, instructions, 3-RCA component video coax cable, remote and batteries. NOTE: HDMI cable is NOT included.
I placed the unit next to the rulers so you can see the dimensions of the unit: 10.5 inches long x 8 inches wide x 1.5 inch high. The power cord is 58 inches long.
The top of the DVD player is flat, so I was able to stack other things on top of it. The unit has no display, other than a green light next to the power button which tells you when the unit is on.

Photo #2 shows the DVD on a digital scale. It is very light weighing in at 2 pound and 1.4 oz

Photo #3 shows the back panel and the HDMI cable (not included). HDMI (High definition Multimedia Interface) delivers audio and high def video over the same cable. When you use HDMI cable you don't need to use the RCA cables that came with the DVD. I am showing the shape of the HDMI connector in case someone will find it helpful as it needs to be purchased separately.


Amazon sells HDMI cables at a really good price like this HDMI Cable from DVI Gear


UP-SCALING
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This unit provides good up-scaling. Up-scaling is the ability to play standard definition DVDs on a high definition TV. Standard definition TV set and regular DVDs have a maximum resolution of 720x576. The high definition sets have higher resolution. If you play a standard definition DVD on a high resolution TV the video without up-scaling feature the video will look pixelated. Up-scaling adds pixels to the video to smooth out the pixelated images. The final image is not as good as tru Blu-Ray DVD, but I find it completely acceptable. I am watching the movies on LCD TV. Up-scaling works best on LCD and Plasma TVs, and not as well on CRT-based high definition TVs.

The default HDMI output from HDMI OUT output is set to 1920x1080p. This can be changed if needed, and is controlled by the TV/projector settings.


SUBTITLES and FAST/SLOW SPEED CONTROLS --------------------------------------------
The DVD player supports  5 speeds: 0.6x, 0.8x, 1x (normal), 1.2x, and 1.4x.  The speed is changed by repeatedly clicking on the fast/slow speed button on the remote. There are two ways to turn on subtitles: at the start of the DVD and at any time via remote. The sound is very good at each speed, however the subtitles are only shown at normal speed. When I tried forcing them on at another speed via remote control the player generates a message "operation not possible".  As soon as I return to 1x speed the subtitles are shown again.

DVD player supports the following file formats:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Video: MPEG-1
2. Photo: JPEG
3. Music: MP3

Supported extensions:
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.mpg, .mpeg, .jpg, .mp3, .wma, .m4a, .wav,

Supported disks:
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DVD, DVD+-RW/+-R/+-R DL, Music CD/Super VCD, CD-R/-RW

RESTRICTIONS:
---------------------------
Files with copyright protection (digital Rights Management) cannot be played
Lossless files cannot be played
The player cannot play images in DVD-VR mode with CPRM (Content Protection for Recordable Media)
The player is designed to play disks with Compact Disk (CD) standard. DualDisks and music disks encoded with copyright protection do not conform to CD standard and may not be compatible with this unit.

WARNINGS from the manual:
---------------------------------------------------
1. To play a complex hierarchy of folders may take some time. Create albums with no more than two hierarchies.
2. The player will recognize a maximum of 200 albums and 600 files
It can recognize 300 photo and 200 music files if Photo(Music) is selected
3. The player cannot play a video file of size more than (720 width x 576 height)/2 GB

The remote is compatible with the following TVs:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sony (default)
Hitachi
LG/Goldstar/NEC
MGA/Mitsibishi
Panasonic
Philips
Pioneer
RCA
Samsung
Sharp
Toshiba

INSTALLATION:
---------------------------
1. Plug in HDMI cable
2. If you are using HDMI cable ignore RCA cables enclosed in the box
3. Plug in DVD into power and attach HDMI cable to the TV
4. Now you need to configure your TV to recognize the new HDMI component
For my SONY TV there were three steps
4a. Under components menu - Label Video inputs
This option tells TV which HDMI input to use and which one to skip. My TV has four HDMI connections, one already used and three were available. I was not sure which one I used for DVD so I enabled them all in this step
4b. I went to the list of all inputs where I saw all 4 HDMI connections I tried each one. Two of them generated an error that there was no input, one was my old connection (DVR) and one was the new DVD. This told me
which inputs I should disable.
4c. I went back into "label video inputs" and set the label to "skip" for the two HDMI connections that told me "no input"

Overall, DVD player works well. The tray operations smoothly, the quality of the display is good, the remote works well. The only thing I don't like that the DVD turns off itself in 30 minutes if I put it on pause. I would have liked the ability to control this manually, or alternatively have the automatic power of be 2 hours. The unit does not shut off if it is being used. The auto shut off happens if the unit is in pause or stopped.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Estate Planning Essentials (Wills, Trusts, Probate)

"Estate Planning Essentials" is easy to read, it has rich content and is quite extensive. I am including a complete table of content at the end of this review so you can see exactly how extensive it is and what is covered.

I think this kit is useful whether you plan to go to a lawyer or do it yourself. Even if you go to the lawyer this book is helpful because, for example, it will help you determine what type of will you need. It talks no only about advantages of Living Trusts, but disadvantages as well. A few years ago my company had a benefits fair where they invited some legal firm to talk to us, and I recall that company tried convince everyone that they needed to set up a trust. I had a suspicion that they were just trying to sell an expensive option to everyone not just to the people who really needed it. If I had this book it would have given me an unbiased explanation who needs a trust and who does not.

In addition to wills and trusts, it covers probate and probate avoidance measures.  As well as a section on avoiding estate taxes.  There are a lot of tips and small details that I would not have thought of on my own.

This book includes not only explanations but worksheets and forms. It also has line by line instructions on how to fill out the official forms.

This is the second addition of the book.  The basic information in the book will continue to be educational and correct even with the passing of time, but some laws such as taxes may change. Keep this in mind as the publication date gets further away in time.

Overall, I found this to be a very helpful book. Not only was it helpful with the forms, but it helped me organize my thoughts and served as a reminder of the things to think about.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Benjamin Moore Aura Interior Matte Paint

My laundry room has a fairly new white washer and dryer. Between them I have an old laundry cart that is yellow in color with a few rust spots here and there. This laundry cart has been bugging me for a while, but it has such a perfect fit into the space between the washer and the dryer that I have not replaced it even though it is old and yellow and does not match my washer and dryer. 

This is a photo of my laundry room before the transformation:

Here is a  photo of the cart as I was working on it:

 


Benjamin Moore paint was a pleasure to work with. It did not smell and it dried very quickly.   I was able to put a new coat almost as soon as I finished the first coat.  When I finished painting I was able to put back in its place and put back all the items in one hour.  How perfect is that?

I used about 1/3 of the pint of Aura® Interior Eggshell Paint in “Simply White” for this project.

Here is a photo of my laundry room after the transformation:

I expected to get good results, but I did not expect that it will be so easy and pleasant to work with the paint. No smell and such quick drying - what else can you ask for?

A handy color chart of all Benjamin Moore paints can be located here.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Amerx - Amerigel Care Lotion for Callus treatment

I recently saw a podiatrist. One of my complaints was a callus on the bottom of my foot. It hurt when I walk and I wanted to know how best to remove it. The podiatrist recommended a combination of the Pumice Sponge Block  and Amerigel Care Lotion . His office sold it for $20. The doctor office price is a little more expensive than Amazon.com price but could be use with your pre-tax medical account as it comes with a doctor note as required by the tax regulations.

To treat my callus the doctors instructed me to leather up the sponge with soap and use it every time I take a shower. After using the Pumice Sponge he told me to use Amerigel Lotion. He said he finds it particularly effective THICK dry skin. It has been three weeks since I began using the pumice sponge/Amerigel and I am pretty impressed with the results. My callus no longer bothers me, and my foot feels smooth and soft.

I am attaching a photo of the bottle and a drop of lotion on my hand so you can see the consistency. It is fairly thick, does not feel greasy, and absorbs very quickly. It is totally unscented which is a big plus in my book. It is helping me quite well and I am recommending it.

You can find "Swissco Pumice Sponge Block " on Amazon via this link



YOu can find "AMERIGEL BARRIER LOTION" on Amazon via this link




Ali Julia review ★★★★★