Product review: Kassa Chalkboard Blackboard Contact Paper

This chalkboard roll is a roll of black contact paper. One side is black, the other side is white paper with guide lines so you can make a straight cut. You can cut the roll into any shape you need to make labels or cover some larger area. You can write labels with regular chalk or use a Chalk Pen. In both cases you can erase the writing and do it again. To erase I use a slightly damp paper towel.

I found many uses for the chalk labels, my favorite use is for labelling my seasonal clothing. I give myself extra room in the dresser by packing away the opposite season clothing in storage boxes that sit on the top shelve of the closet out of the way. I like using chalk labels because now I can change the label as easily as I can change what goes into each box.

I like the roll more than individual pre-cut labels because the roll is more economical and I can decide how big each label needs to be. For writing I prefer a chalk pen to regular school room chalk because it allows me to write in smaller more legible handwriting. In attached video I show how I use both. Both write and erase well, my preference is based on my ability to write in a neater smaller handwriting.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Catch Caddy Car Seat Catcher

I saw a similar product on Shark Tank. This is not the same product but it has the same function. I have not used the Shark Tank product so I can't compare all features, but I remember that it was soft made out of neoprene where as this product is made out of plastic.

Catch Caddy is a plastic pocket that goes between the seat the central console. Catch Caddy width flexes but it is pretty stiff and has a minimum width of 5/8" of an inch. It fits only on one side of the console in my car (I never realized my car has gaps with different width). But the side that it fits into is the near the driver side, so if I had to pick one that would be that one. The edges of the caddy are hard so I lowered the caddy below my seat so I don't accidentally hurt myself on the edge. If the car seat is moved the caddy needs to be repositioned, but that is not an issue for me as this hardly ever happens. The benefits of the hard pocket is that it is easy to take out and clean. Because the fit is tight it does not move as I drive or corner. The opening is very narrow so it is not a general purpose storage area, however I did use it to store driving directions once until I needed them. I am attaching a video which shows how it fits into my car (Honda CRV).

The caddy is 14.25" long. The top is 3" uncompressed, the bottom is 5/8". 5/8" gap is required, if you gap is smaller than 5/8" at any point (as it is on my passenger side) the caddy will not fit.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Product review: Large Silicone Suction Lids

These silicone covers work really well. I have a couple of Corelle pots that don't have lids and these covers work very well on them. They form a nice tight fit. In my video you can see that the hold is strong enough for me to lift the pot by the handle on the lid. I don't recommend doing this in regular life, but I thought this was a good way to demonstrate how well the lid seals the container. These lids work in the refrigerator and microwave. As you cook and open up a lid to see how the content is doing be careful - it is easy to get a steam burn as the steam really builds up inside.

In my video you see my test a couple of lids on several different containers. You can see that they work really well with glass and not as well as on plastic containers.

These covers are very practical with many uses and especially good if you broke or misplaced a lid for one of your favorite containers.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: 5w Wedge White LED Light Bulb (dome, map, door, trunk) - not for Honda CRV

My car's user manual did not the describe the type of bulbs I have in my dome, map, and cargo lights.Turns out some cars have bulbs which have two contacts on one end (they are mounted vertically) and other cars have bulbs which have contacts on opposite sides (they are mounted horizontally). These lights are compatible with bulbs that have contacts on one side and are mounted vertically. After I got the lights and opened the cover I discovered that my car (Honda CRV) has the bulbs that are mounted horizontally, so these bulbs did not work in my car. In attached video I show how I removed the light cover (this is the trickiest part of the install and I hope people will find it helpful) and what I did to test to bulb and putting the cover back on (which again is a generic operation and should be helpful for any light cover).

Finally, since I wanted to have some way to test if the bulbs in the package I received work and to see how bright they were I used a car jumper cables (they run at 12V just like the car) to turn on a couple of the lights. As you see in the video they worked, and they produced a bright white light. LED lights are a diod and polarity matters, which means the current flows in one direction, so if the bulb does not work on the initial attempt flip the contacts to change the direction of the current flow. Note that 12V is a very low level of current and it you touch the wires by hand it will not hurt.

Bulb size: 1.125" long, 0.25" at the widest part.

Overall, the lights produced nice bright light. Its too bad that my car does not take these bulbs but this, as they say, is a user error not the issue with the bulbs themselves. If you are not sure what type of a bulb you have (or don't realize there is more than one type as was the case with me) open one of your covers before ordering.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: HD Vision Visor for your car

This visor was designed to be used instead of the built-in car visor. However, I am short and my car is tall with a large windshield and what I needed is to have the visor to extended below my built-in visor because when the sun is low and my car's visor is down the sun gets into my eyes. I mounted my visor different from the way it is shown on Amazon photos and documentation. I attached the visor not to the top of the car's visor but the bottom. My second goal was to have cover the area between the car's visor and mirror which now also covered by the HD Visor. You can see how I attached HD Visor in my video: it mounted to the left of the center (leaving my built-in mirror on the back of the visor still operational).

The clip that holds the visor extends slightly below the visor when the HD Visor is retracted. Because I am short this protrusion is not in my field of vision. When I attach the visor this way, I can use either the dark colored visor or double up both visors for extra protection, but the light colored visor cannot be used on its own.

The visor is 12" long, 5" wide. It clips to the car's visor by a large tight plastic clip. The visors themselves are made out of plastic and come covered with thin plastic film for protection from scratches. When I removed all four sheets of film the visors were in excellent shape, no blemishes or scratches.

The visor does help with sun shine during sunsets and does not get in my way otherwise. I am pretty pleased with it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Yubi Power Desktop Power Charging Station

This charging station has a 47" inch AC cable, 2 USB ports, and 3 grounded AC ports. The station has a retractable tray stand for the phone. The tray is a bit sticky at first, so it takes a little force to open it for the first few times. The tray is on the opposite side from the AC outlets. I include the video of opening it in my video. The charging station size is 4.625" wide x 3" tall and 3.375" front to back when the tray is extended, and 2.75" front to back with the tray retracted.

Two AC outlet are positions close to each and accept regular size plugs, one is spaced out enough to accept a large plug. However a battery charger such as SONY Eneloop does not fit because there is no enough room to extend beyond the outlet.

I measured the performance of the 4 USB ports. I used both an Apple device and an Adroid device. I tested each device when it was the only one charging on each of the ports, as both of them charging at the same time. Both devices worked, the performance for my iPad Mini was very good, but the performs for my Android phone was below optimal. I am including the detailed current monitor readings below for those who like to see the technical details.

➨ Test results
======================
--------------------------
✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (the only device charging)
--------------------------
Port 1: 0.89A / 4.95V
Port 2: 0.87A / 4.95V

--------------------------
✔ iPad Mini (the only device charging)
--------------------------
Port 1: 1.43A / 4.95V
Port 2: 1.42A / 4.90V

--------------------------
✔ iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone at the same time
--------------------------
Nexus phone - Port 4: 0.79A / 4.95V
iPad Mini - Port 3: 1.59A / 4.95V
--------------------------
Nexus phone - Port 3: 0.76A / 4.95V
iPad Mini - Port 4: 0.95A / 4.95V
--------------------------

To summarize I like that the charging stations combines USB and AC ports without an additional charger. However, USB ports on this charging station did not perform as well as the other chargers for more Android phone. If you have Apple devices this is a no brainer good charger. If you have an Android devices it is not as clear cut. The decision here is between the convenience of having a charging station and relatively slower speed of charging. I am using this charger to charge the speakers attached to my TV rather than to charge my phone and I always can use a couple of extra AC outlets near the TV. Because the phone holder is retractable it does not take up any room when it is not used.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: My Konjac Sponge All Natural Fiber

I like using sponges to wash my face as well as my body. The sponges I use on regular basis are made from cellulose (i.e. wood pulp). Konjac sponge is made from the root of the Konjac plant (which is a potato-like plant). By comparison to a cellulose sponge my Konjac sponge has smaller holes and feels softer and more resilient. I included a photo of the Konjac sponge next to the cellulose sponge in my video, you can see the difference just by looking at them side by side.

The Konjac sponge feels very soft when wet and very hard when totally dry. It absorbs quite a lot of water. It suds up fairly well. It takes quite a long time to dry. Out of curious I left one sponge to dry without using it for several days and it took 3 days to totally dry. Each sponge has a string loop that allows you to hang it to dry, which helps to dry it on all sides. Because the sponge is soft it has a fairly limited life span. Based on what I read I expect to get 3 months out it.

I got 6 different sponges to compare them to each other as it was not clear if they would feel significantly different from each other. I they feel quite similar to each other in terms of softness and resilience. I was happy to see that none of them had a scent. The difference in color comes from what the sponges were injected with, but none of them bleed any colors. The water runs clear as you can see in my video.

♦ Volcanic Scoria Kojac sponge is recommended for mature skin as volcanic scoria supposedly is good for purifying skin. Size: 4" x 3"
♦ Bamboo Charcoal Konjac Sponge is good at gentle exfoliation. Size: 4" x 3"
♦ French Green Clay Konjac sponge is recommended for Oily skin because it absorbs dirt and oil. Size: 4" x 3"
♦ Original Pure Konjac Sponge works on all skin types including very sensitive. Size: 4" x 3"
♦ Red Clay Sponge improves elasticity and texture of the skin. Size: 4.5" x 2.5"
♦ French Pink Clay Konjac sponge is good for dehydrated skin. Size: 4" x 3"

I have been using two sponges on regular basis for about 2 weeks now. I have to say that other than color I am not able to tell the difference between the sponges by either how they feel or by the effects on my skin.

The sponges feel pleasant and soft. I like how my face feels after using them. If I have some flaking on my face the sponge removes the loose skin very effectively. Does it reduce the appearance of the pores? I can't say I notice any difference.

The sponges are very soft, so they do very gentle exfoliation. If you like the feeling of something rough on your skin this sponge is not going to give you that feeling. It is very gentle and soft. I think some of the marketing is just marketing (i.e. is a bit exaggerated). Don't expect miracles this is just a nice sponge.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆