So I was asked to replace a ceiling light fixture for a relative. Not a problem – having done many I gladly offered my assistance to roll up my sleeves and do the job. The previous light fixture had died (probably needed it’s ballast replaced) and the decision was made to get something a bit more updated looking – the old patterned plexiglass light fixtures was simply not cool anymore. We rolled into Lowe’s and this one immediately caught their eye. Simple, clean, white and under a hundred dollars! Score.

We picked up some new T8 light bulbs too, and decided to go with the ‘cool light’ temperature since this did not come with any. Having installed many appliances/fixtures in the past – I also went ahead and also purchased some toggle bolts screws just in case.

So we proceeded to open up the box and in the instructions it recommends 3000K lamps! Great – wouldn’t it have been nice if that recommendation was written on the box it came in!? Oh well, so as I start analyzing the fixture and I already am noticing some concerns..

• The fixture does not have a backing white reflector – it relies on the ceiling. So, if your ceiling is uneven – expect light spillage. I was hoping this would be a completely encased fixture – not the case.
• The fixture has mounting points in the opposite side corners – naturally this results in the fixture slightly twisting when mounted. I was pretty ticked off about this aspect the most, and looked over and over for additional mounting points but found none except in the center which I could not use. Why didn’t they have mounting points in all corners or down the middle of the fixture!? This is where my additional purchase of toggle bolts came in handy!
• If you tighten the fixture too flush against ceiling then the finials (end caps) won’t fit. I ended up having to loosening the fixture a couple of times just so that the finials could slide in comfortably.
• It relies on two threaded screws on each end to keep the finials attached, and one of the screws was rusted out. Glad I had some WD40 and a brush handy to somewhat restore the screw to a usable state.
• I would have liked the center wire hole to be a tad bit larger for pulling the wires through but this one worked out ok.

So this is a decent product, especially when you consider comparable ones for the price & size, but a few adjustments (HINT HINT PORTFOLIO / LOWE’S) would make this even better. The installation took about a half hour from start to finish and does the job well.

There is one more aspect that I’d like to point out that just confused me.. while I was browsing through the instruction manual.. I just happened to notice that the ‘Estimated Assembly Time’ in English and French was 30 minutes, but for the Spanish portion was listed as 60 minutes! Could someone explain this discrepancy?

I included a snapshot below of that section from the manual:

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Fast-forward to today’s pressure cookers that have multiple safety mechanisms and are now even electric! Im pretty fluent with crock-pots but they take literally all day long! Yes, it does make the whole house smell amazing but thats just torture to a hungry family. So I decided to purchase the Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker based on a family recommendation.

Fresh corn in 5 minutes: Jasmine rice in 8 minutes, pot roast and potatoes in 50 minutes. Makes me want to buy a second one to cook the side dishes in parallel. Everything comes out extremely tender, and moist. I felt like a pro chef and would be willing to compete on the Food Network provided they let me use this appliance. Keep in mind, everyone seems to say it takes such short times to cook, but it actually takes time for the unit to get the temperature and pressure up before the timer starts. For speedier cooking cycles you can let the food warm up to room temp and use hot tap water but I prefer the convenience of cooking frozen food, the less steps the better.

One last piece of advice, the pressure cooker also comes with a trivit and a condensation trap. Be sure to check the box it comes in completely because these two items didn’t jump out at me when I removed the cooker. The condensation trap is wrapped in bubble wrap and placed in the packing foam making easy to miss. The trivit is tucked away at the very bottom of the box.

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What can I say about wanting to keep my hair in good form and health? Its a requirement damnit! Ive suffered through the years with having to deal with gels and hairspray and always HATED the “crunchy” feeling that those products left. Being able to run my fingers through my hair and not worry about getting caught due to the gel or spray was irritating. Oh, and the shine factor that those products left used to tick me off too.. Ive got jet black hair and last thing I needed was it to shine.

Fast forward to the modern age of pomades, wax and clays.. Ive tried quite a few of them out there (and I am still open to trying more) but Ive been pretty happy with Woodys’s Web pomade product. It adds just the right amount of texture to hair; thickens it without making it greasy or shiny looking. Looks natural, and you don’t have to use much to get good results. Make sure you rub it thoroughly in your hands before applying else chunks show up in your hair. The tub lasts a good long time. Of course there’s no “crunchy” feeling either. I will admit that it does not hold like Woody’s Clay, but then again it serves a different type of style. I wouldn’t mind a bit of a stronger hold – which would put me in the Woody’s Cream product line but unfortunately it adds the dreaded shine affect.

For $15, I’m happy with this though, its got the Matte finish that I love that it gives me good hold and texture, but remains flexible. Woody’s is available in salons and online only and they’re worth checking out.

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Story is simple and gets going fast: New York mafia guy (Frank Tagliano played by Steven Van Zandt) rats out his ‘family’ to the FBI and is entered into the witness program. Instead of choosing to go somewhere climate-friendly and in the US, he goes to Norway after having fond memories of the 94 Winter Olympics. As you can imagine there’s quite a clash of cultures between the ex-mafia boss and the quiet, socialist and subdued culture of Norway. Add some romance, crime and friendships and you’ve got a great story.

This is a satire/comedy series and apparently created by the Norwegian TV channel NRK and originally targeted for Norwegians. A lot of the show is about typical mafia dealings (i.e. running a nightclub, and managing the local riff-raff, etc.) and the absurdities of the politically correct Norwegian bureaucracy / Norwegian culture in general. I also want to mention that I LOVE how they’ve incorporated spoken Norwegian in the show, its easy to understand (they do have subtitles) and it makes the show seem more authentic and international-friendly.

I won’t go into all the characters, but Frank’s flunky partner, Torgeir Lien, is quite hilarious (whats up with his baseball cap?), kind of like a Norwegian Barney Fife. The female police chief has a soft soul. The immigration integration guy is a bumbling idiot, and almost all are soon under Frank’s thumb. And there is even a love interest for Frank, a woman who is attractive enough, but is even more sweet and unquestioning – just take a leap of faith and go with it!

Love the Norwegian scenery, actors, English subtitles and mobster mysteries. This show is easy for anyone to fall in love with. Det er bare Fantastik!!! (It’s just Fantastic!!!) Great job Netflix!

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All I knew about Feynman was that he was a great physicist but I didn’t know how eventful of a life he lived. Richard Feynman gives the reader a first hand look into the experiences that made him into one of the most successful physicists of all-time. He gives a glimpse into fixing up radios as a youngster, experimenting in his college years, and working with other physicists in his older days with such humor mixed with an obviously enormous amount of knowledge. Besides making a significant contribution to the Manhattan Project at Los Alomos, and receiving a Nobel Prize, Feynman constantly developed many varied interests and pursued them passionately. Don’t worry if you aren’t a physics major for Feynman spends relatively little time on physics and instead concentrates on his many other interests – his interpersonal relationships (he was married three times, and also wrote quite a bit about his efforts to meet women in between), and his scuffles with government and university bureaucracies. In one amusing anecdote, he agrees to give a talk for a government program only on the condition that he will not sign his name more than thirteen times in the required paperwork… and sure enough a 14th signature is required and the aftermath is hilarious.

There were some elements that were interesting – his attitude and experiences towards women, how he tormented a waitress by giving her a tip in a very unique manner which probably resulted in her yelling expletives at him.  He is amusingly curious, taken either way. I’m not sure if he’s likable, but he is certainly brilliant and I enjoyed his stories.

This book is light reading. As mentioned earlier, you won’t get a much deeper understanding of physics from reading it. I did fee that it was a lesson on how to think about things colorfully, from first principles. To get an idea of the man, I highly recommend seeing “The Pleasure of finding things out“, which can be seen on YouTube. It’s an interview from 1982 and would help paint an image of what his childhood experiences, personality and quirky essence was all about.  This is definitely a book I see myself re-reading simply because of the number of times it made me laugh and that its all based on, at times, very serious reality.

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Yes, I managed to find another somewhat old hard-drive in a box that I packed almost a year or so ago and I have no idea what contents are on it.. this had me want to zip down to my local computer store to buy an external hard-drive enclosure… wait.. such stores don’t exist anymore! I miss Circuit City! I called up Office Depot/Max but they do not carry such items in stock and unfortunately I am no where near to a Fries. So now I have to buy it online and wait. Great.

I bought myself the Rosewill METAS external hard-drive enclosure and am overall OK with it. There are some aspects/features I wish it had.. such as an LED light to indicate when and if the attached Hard drive was working, and I wish it had a power switch on the front. If I wanted to place this nondescript black/silver box somewhere out of the way, then I’d like to not have to constantly reach around it to turn it on and off.

On to the Pros.. I really enjoyed how easy it was to literally slide the hard-drive in and out of the enclosure, OK there are two screws you will have to manage (which affixes the drive to the tray/sled) but that’s simple. It would be nice if Rosewill sold additional trays so that you could easily swap out other hard-drives with them already attached that would make it even more efficient (HINT HINT Rosewill!!) The other aspect which I appreciated was that it has both USB 3.0 and eSATA ports, and it has a fully adjustable fan speed switch!. The fan can be pretty loud but no one likes machinery operating at above normal temperatures. The enclosure is also somewhat heavy/sturdy which makes placing it horizontally or vertically more comforting (it wont tip that easily).

I managed to pay just under $40 (shipping included) and it recognized my hard-drive easily and I had a pleasant smile on my face when I saw all the old pictures/files on my working hard-drive. Great job Rosewill!

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They’ve got a very limited product line and every single product is one of a kind since they do recycle genuine older ties and such to up-cycle them into these new nifty accessories. I like their catch-phrase “Our goal is to create an accessory that feels as good to own as it does to make“.

I ended up buying the Wheeler Dealer wallet because I figured this would be a cool piece to use on special occasions – where I simply did not need a thick wallet (i.e times where I might need to wear a suit or my slim fit trousers and the last thing I need is a bulging wallet) and it would be an homage to a style I associated with my parents – my dad was always wearing ties with the fun patterns back then. The form factor of the Wheeler Dealer is pretty slim (the Sattley Slim is the slimmest), has 2 slots that could accommodate up-to 4 cards and a lil pocket to hold some cash – just perfect for a night out. I’ve had mine for a good year now and it is still in great shape.

The Wheeler Dealer runs around for around $22, but my advice would be to look at all their offerings because every product is unique you will need to JUMP when you see a wallet that you like because there will never be another like it offered. Know someone who might appreciate the retro styling in a modernized package? It’s the perfect gift for the fella in your life!

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Ok, so I should state that the device has a 10:1 spot-to-distance ratio. The ratio means that from 10 feet away you are measuring the average temperature over a square foot of area., so the closer you are the more focused and accurate of a temperature reading will be taken.

I decided to make a list of why one would need such a device:

• Check the oven temperature calibration
• Check for abnormally hot spots on stereo, TV, etc electronics items, and lighting fixtures
• Check the refrigerator and freezer compartments for the right temperature
• Look for hot or cold spots on the wall due to lack of insulation.
• Take readings all along the seams of your kitchen door to identify the drafty sections
• Check your AC vents to make sure your system is pumping out air at the appropriate temperature,
• Check the efficiency of your skylight windows to make sure they are still in good condition.

There are countless other times when you need to take an accurate temperature reading and this device allows you to do it easily and at a really great price too.The Ryobi Tek4 Infrared thermometer is very rugged and solid built. The laser pointer makes it easy to aim and as mentioned in my earlier post about another Ryobi product (the Tek4 Utility LED Light) the rechargeable Tek4 battery lasts a long time and works with all my other Tek4 tools

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I’m at Office Depot and trying to figure out how to use my $40 gift card when I saw these little speakers all over the display ends of the ‘Techie’ isle. I was on the fence about the JAM HMDX speaker, I was quite skeptical about the quality of sound this could produce but then I realized the speakers on my laptop are downright atrocious so they were worth a shot.

I successfully connected my laptop with the speaker. Be warned that you need great eyesight and/or a strong magnifying glass to read the instructions on the leaflet that comes with the speaker, so jump on YouTube and search for an instructional video on there instead. So the speaker itself, is no bigger than my fist and the sound that comes out of it is big! I had it up and running in less than a couple of minutes and listened to music for probably an hour seeing how it handled different styles. No crackling, bass buzz, etc. For a small and relatively cheap Bluetooth speaker, I am very impressed.

I enjoyed the fact that I was no longer relying on my laptop’s speakers (terrible) and because of the speaker’s somewhat smaller footprint, I even had the ability to grab it to take with me when taking a shower (to put on the counter, not literally in the shower – it is NOT waterproof) – the shower was next door to my office (Bluetooth limitations in distance) but the speaker’s battery life is another major limitation.

Battery barely lasts 3-4 hours when using wireless. Makes it pretty much worthless for camping and other outdoor activities that last more than a few hours. The cord provided is only about 6 inches long….BUT…its your standard Micro USB Charger (i.e. android type charger) so you should have no issues finding cheaper longer replacement Micro USB cords. I tend to have it constantly plugged in for power and so that when I do rarely take it with me – it’s got at least a couple of hours run time.

A decent product – definitely a great stocking stuffer or gift to give to anyone in need of a better speaker if they currently use their laptop and are used to hearing muffled audio.. this would brighten their day and at the perfect price point. One caution…the price varies DAILY on Amazon for these! And you will find that different colors have different prices, again the costs vary daily. So check each color carefully before ordering

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