Product review: Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar System

I learned about Gold Clay Bars in a Honda CRV forum, where car enthusiasts shared their favorite products. This was three years ago. Since then I clay my car twice a year, in the spring and the the fall.
I just finished my spring treatment when a fellow walked by my car and asked if this was 2012 CRV that I was washing. I told him it was almost 4 years old and he could not believe it. I have to admit that the car does look like new with much of the credit to regular claying and using back-to-black
on plastic parts.
 

I should mention that I store Gold Clay in a plastic container which used to contain onion dip. This keeps it pliable and clean. It is a bit strange that the container for clay did not come with the package. If clay dries out it will stop working. And it is sticky, so if you leave it without some sort of container it will pick up dirt that could scratch the car the next time you use it.

Claying system removes contaminants that attach themselves to the car. Clay does not polish the car or remove any paint of finish, so it is totally safe to the finish if used properly (i.e. with plenty of lubrication). The clay material (which feels like play-doh)makes the small particulars that are deposited on the car finish attach themselves to the clay and get lifted from the car finish. Clay needs to be used with heavy lubrication, which Showtime Instant Detailer, included in this package, provides.

I start by washing my car. I don't dry it as this time as water drops will be removed by other steps. Then I clay the car. I don't clay every inch of the entire car. I just examine the car by sight for any imperfections and by my running my hand over the paint to feel any tiny bumps. When I feel some grittiness or see some dirt on the paint, I generously spray that section with Showtime Instant Detailer, then knead the piece of clay in my hand and rub it against the spot I identified. Normally, you see the dirt disappear in a few swipes. Sometimes you need to reapply the Detailer and repeat. Kneading is important as you want to work the little pieces of dirt into the clay, and not leave it on the surface of the clay ball where it can scratch the car. This year we had a rough winter and I had some rubber marks from my snow removal tool in addition to the regular dirt specs. Clay did a great job on removing those marks.

I also use the clay on non-painted areas such as glass and chrome. It does a great job as well. After the claying step I wax the car is small sections. This wax on Amazon in this listing Mothers 05701 California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax

As my final step I apply Back-to-black (You can find "back to black" on Amazon by following this link.
) to non-painted surfaces. This turns the dull plastic into shiny new looking surface. Back-to-black is also effective in removing any wax that might have accidentally got on the plastic, that's why I do back-to-black as the last step.

You can find "mpther's clay bar" on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Formula 3 Anti-Fungal, Athlete foot

I saw a podiatrist several weeks ago and I requested treatment for fungus nails without oral medication. He told his patients have good results with Formula 3. His office sells it for $35, the expiration date on the bottle I received in July 2016. He told me that I will need to be patient with this medication. It takes a minimum of 6 months for the medicine to work, often it takes over a year. Note that the label on the bottle says use for 4 weeks and then consult a doctor if there is no improvement, which may lead you to think it will work fast.

The doctor also told me that that Tetra (manufacturer of Formula 3) provides unconditional money-back guarantee if the patient is not completely satisfied. Full refund can be received by calling 800-826-0479. If someone needs their mailing address it is: The Tetra Corporation, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827.

Formula three comes in a bottle similar to nail polish, with a brush applicator attached to the cap. The active ingredient is Tolnaflate 1%. The solution is oil based, so when you apply it put something under your foot to avoid oily stains. I had to learn from experience :-) The bottle has 1/2 oz of solution, but is fairly long lasting. After 5 weeks of twice a day use I am still only a little bit down.

Here are doctor's instructions on applying the medicine:
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1. The podiatrist told me to apply it generously to both toe nails and the skin around the toe nail.
2. After applying it he told me to massage it into skin using a q-tip, especially near the nail bed.

I have been using Formula 3 for five weeks and noticed the following changes:
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1. The nail color has become better. Rather than being totally white the nail has a more natural opaque color. Not back to normal, but better looking.
2. The nails used to have an unpleasant odor when I touched them or cut them. This would happen even when I was fresh out of the shower, so the scent was not sweaty feet it was the nail itself. The bad smell is totally gone.

I am pleased with the results so far. What I see so far is already better than other prescription cream I have tried in the past. I will keep this review updated with additional changes.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

5/29/2013 update

I started in September 2012, so it has been 9 months.  The nails are NOT clear.  There are some positive changes - there is no bad smell when I cut the nails, and they are slightly less thick.  I see the podiatrist every 9 weeks for another issue, and he tells me not be discouraged yet as it take some people over a year.  I am still using the original bottle, so it has lasted pretty well.  I have not given up yet!

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:
--------------------------
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
---------------------
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:
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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:
----------------------------
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 ★★★★★