Product review: BestSounds Cotton Tote Bag- Music G clef

This heavy cotton bag is 14.75" tall, 13" wide, and the bottom opens up to provide width of 2.75".  The top closes with a zipper.  The handles are 7", just long enough to snugly fit around my shoulder. The bag is made out of heavy duty cotton canvas and is sturdy.  I use it for grocery shopping and it held up well for fairly heavy shopping loads.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Friends with the Scale: How to Turn Your Scale Into a Powerful Weight Loss Tool, by Laurie Spangle

Are you a person that blames your scale for your weight problems? Then this book is for you.  The title of the book is not just a cute way to talk about weight control, the author really really relates everything she says in the physical object - the scale.

I am no stranger to dieting, but I had trouble relating to the main premise of the book: breaking the pattern of hating/blaming/being afraid of the scale, so the content did not resonate with me.  The entire weight loss experience in this book is being related to the scale, so if you do not have scale "issues" you probably will have a similar dissatisfaction as me.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Smart Plug Wifi Outlet with Energy Monitoring

The smart works well, it was easy to pair with the phone and it has not failed to turn on or off the plug since I got it. I used it both within the house using WI FI as well as while being away from home using an external network.

The smart power plug requires no hub, it has a built-in hot spot that can be paired with a phone or devices like Alexa and Google Home.  Once the plug is paired one can turn the power strip on and off using the phone, as well as set up a schedule and count down timer for when the outlet will be turn on  and turn off.  It also shows power consumption of the device plugged into the outlet.

The app is called Smart Life and is available from Google Play.  There is also a version for an iPhone.  The app is simple and intuitive to use.  The only thing that I thought could be made better is that the password only accepts letters and numbers, it does not allow any special characters.

The plug is fairly wide, but narrow, so it can be placed next to other regular sized plugs.  I show the smart plug on 1/2" grid in the photos.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Soothing Styles Handcrafted Folding Teak Shower Mat

The teak mat is 27.5" Length x 19.5” Width x 0.3" Thickness.

This teak mat is very attractive. It is made out of nice looking teak slats, they have  a typical teak color.  I am using the at on tile floor and it does not slip. This is because the reverse side has non slip grips. The grips are glued on and they are black in color, so the mat is not reversable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Kenruipu Power Bank 24000mAh

♦ size: 6.5" x 3.25" x 0.75"
♦ weight: 15.7 oz
♦ number of out ports: 4
♦ capacity: 24000 mAh
♦ number of in ports: 2 (mini USB and lightening)
♦ charge indicator: digital display
♦ flashlight: yes
♦ pass through charging: no (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cables: 1 charging cable and 1 AC cable

This battery has a large capacity (24000 mAh) and four ports.  This capacity and a large number of ports works well for traveling.

One of the things that is important to me is how quickly the battery charges my phone. To test how well the battery performs I use the same phone, at the same level of charge to compare the current draw for each external battery I test. This corrolates to how quickly the battery is charged. This allows me to do a relative comparison of different external batteries.  The battery performed at a good rate, even though it was not the absolutely optimal I have seen.


I also tested to see if the battery supports pass-through charging (i.e. whether the battery can charge mobile devices while it is being charged). This battery does supports charge through charging. It continues to charge the phone while the battery is being charged, but does so at slower rate than when the battery is not being charged.

Finally, I check if the cable that came with the battery is a charging cable (i.e. capable of charging at full AC rate) or a data cable (charging the battery at USB rate). The cable that came with camera charges at AC rate.

The battery has a flashlight, but it is quote dim.  Never the less it could be helpful in an emergency when you need to light a small area like a keyhole.

Samsung Nexus phone:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
port 1: 1.02A/5.06V (excellent comparing the performance of the same device with other chargers)
port 2: 1.00A/5.06V (excellent comparing the performance of the same device with other chargers)
port 3: 1.02A/5.06V (excellent comparing the performance of the same device with other chargers)
port 4: 1.00A/5.06V (excellent comparing the performance of the same device with other chargers)

(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Birkenstock Betula Licensed Womens

My first Birks and they do not fit as comfortably as I expected.  I ordered 7.5 (they arrived labeled 38 using European sizing) and they fit fine in length and width.  However when I walk the way the heel area is shaped rubs me the wrong way and gets painful after a few hours even with the socks on.  Also one of the straps rubs my foot in a way that starts to hurt even after I tried different adjustments of the straps.  The sandales are nice looking and feel like a high quality shoe, just not up there in comfort.  I am disappointed as I hoped they would be the most comfortable shoes I have based on the "legend" of the shoe.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Smart Plug Mini Outlet Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, TECKIN Wifi Enabled Remote Control Smart Socket

The smart outlet works well, it was easy to pair with the phone and it has not failed to turn on or off the plug since I got it. I used it both within the house using WI FI as well as while being away from home using an external network.

The smart power plug requires no hub, it has a built-in hot spot that can be paired with a phone or devices like Alexa and Google Home.  Once the plug is paired one can turn the power strip on and off using the phone, as well as set up a schedule and count down timer for when the outlet will be turn on  and turn off.  It also shows power consumption of the device plugged into the outlet.

The app is called Smart Life and is available from Google Play.  There is also a version for an iPhone. There are several apps by the same name, I am attaching a video of the app I am using. The app is simple and intuitive to use. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★