Product Review: Jabra Evolve 75 UC Wireless Headset

 

I have to participate in many calls and web meetings in my job. Working from home made it harder to do so just trying to use computer audio and my cell phone. This works very well as a solution. The headset has excellent noise reduction, it seems like people can hear me well on the other end. It has 14 hours of battery life on a full charge, which, depending on how often you are on the phone, can last several days.. The only issue I have found is that if you are on a web meeting on your computer, then later, after the meeting is over, want to use this with your phone, you will need to turn it off and back on so it can re-pair with your phone. Aside from that, this works great, and although a bit pricey, is worth it.

Supplement Review: Hydroxycut Hardcore Next Gen

 

I used these more as a pre-workout jump start than I did with any expectation of fat burning. In that vein, they were good, but at a full dose gave me too much of a caffeine jolt, and made it seem like I had a harder time getting to sleep when I was taking 2 in the morning and 2 in the late afternoon. So, you will definitely have to adjust the dose based on your response. I found I did better with taking 2 in the morning and one after lunch.

Product Review: Dial Complete Foaming Antibacterial Hand Wash, Soothing White Tea

 

This is an antibacterial soap that smells nice, does not leave your hands dried out, and will last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month, depending on how many people are using it, and how often. I used it in my master bathroom, and it was just me using it, and it lasted the better part of a month (3+ weeks). If you can get your hands on some, it is worth the pickup.

Product Review: Wooster Brush, 4-Inch Roller Frame

 

This is a good, sturdy, small roller that allows you to roll paint in smaller spaces. You can attach it to a paint pole, if necessary, and it stays tight without coming loose. Definitely a good deal.

Product Review: Mounting Dream TV Wall Mount Swivel and Tilt for 26-55 Inch TVs

 

I got this to mount a 55" TV over my fireplace. I cannot say how easy it is to install, because I had the contractor who was renovating my townhouse install it, but he did not seem to have any trouble doing so and it is very sturdy on the wall. I should note that it was mounted entirely into wood supports. We added extra wood between the studs before the drywall was installed on the fireplace for the express purpose of mounting this. 

The instructions do say that it should not be installed just into drywall alone and warn against overtightening the bolts. The placement of the holes would make it hard to get all the screws/bolts into studs (unless you actually have an open wall like I did where you can add wood supports between the studs). If you can get all of the bolts into the studs it is extremely sturdy. Even if you cannot get them all into studs, you should easily be able to get about half the screws/bolts into a stud and if so it will still be very secure. I am very satisfied with it.

Product Review: Paint Roller Cover, Paint Roller Kit 9 Inch 3/8 Inch Nap

 

You can get a couple of coats in a decent-sized room or front entryway with these before they start shedding. They also do rinse off fairly well with water so if you have not used them up at the end of your paint job, they can be cleaned and reused. They are not as durable as some of the more expensive roller pads, but they give you good coverage and are good for smaller jobs. If you are painting multiple rooms in the same color, however, you may want to get ones that last a bit longer.

Product Review: Wooster 48493 Deluxe Metal Paint Tray

 

This is an affordable and very sturdy paint tray. It is reusable, especially if you use paint tray liners while you are painting. And, it is large enough that you can get a good amount of paint in it and do not have to constantly refill it. It is definitely worth the price.

Product Review: Scotch Heavy Duty Packaging Tape

 

Strapping tape is, at least for me, one of those things that I either have too much of or that I always need more than I have on hand. The former is not really a problem, but the latter is because it is always a pain to stop what you are doing to go to a store to get more. This gets you six "regular" sized rolls, of 3M strapping tape. Each of the rolls has a dispenser on them so you do not have to mangle the end of a new piece of tape every time you need one to separate it from the roll. I definitely recommend this.

Product Review: Shur-Line 2007053 Premium Corner Painter

 

I like the concept of this, but the execution is a bit off. The idea is that you can edge two walls at the same time by putting paint on each side of the edger. However, I found that to get good enough coverage that you do not leave bare spots you have to coat both sides with so much paint it is prone to dripping on the floor, so you definitely need to keep any floors you do not want paint dripped on covered with a drop cloth. And, while you can put it on a paint pole, it is very hard to control the paint coverage when doing so.

Product Review: Scotch Painter's Tape Delicate Surface Painter's Tape

 

As a part of renovating my townhouse, I painted many of the walls and the existing doors and door frames. I used this around the door frames to get an edge where the wall and the frame meet. While the edge did look good, it did pull up some of the paint from portions of the door frames requiring touch-ups after removing the tape.

Product Review: Three-Way Plastic Side Wall/Ceiling Register in White 10" w X 6" h for Duct Opening (Outside Dimension is 11.75" w X 8" h)

 

I repainted rooms in my townhouse from a tan/almond color to a very light blue and wanted new sidewall vents to replace what was likely the original vent cover from the 1970s. As long as you correctly measure your ducts, this is very easy to install and looks great against a newly painted, light-colored wall.

Product Review: Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens, Medium Point (0.7mm), Black, 2 Count

 

They are perfect for things like signing cards, marking events on calendars, etc. Basically, it is good for anything that you may want to use something darker and thicker than a ballpoint pen on, but not as thick as a "regular" Sharpie or a wide marker that has a lot of bleed through.

Product Review: Industrial Grade Paint Stir Stick

 

This is great as a reusable paint stirrer if you are painting with different colors (such as painting an accent wall). Unlike the wooden stirrers, you can easily wash this off, or peel the dried paint off, and use it again. It definitely comes in handy if you are doing a lot of painting with different colors.

Product Review: 10x6 3-Way Wall Register

 

I recently finished my basement, and the old ceiling registers that were likely original to my townhouse, which was built in the early 1970s looked old and grungy. I definitely did not want to put the old ones back on in what was essentially a brand-new room, so I got these as replacements. As long as you measure the duct correctly these fit perfectly and are very easy to install, and are an easy way to spruce up a room.

Product Review: Cuisinart CPT-320P1 Compact 2-Slice Toaster

 

This is a very good toaster. It is definitely an upgrade from the cheap plastic toasters you can get at the grocery store. Once you find the setting you like on the dial for how toasted you want your bread, it does it perfectly all the time. And, it has a warming feature that will warm your toast up again without toasting it any longer. So, if you toast your bread but do not eat it right away for some reason, you can warm it back up without risking burning it. And, it has a bagel setting for thicker slices of bread, as well as a crumb tray that pulls out completely (as opposed to a door that opens and dumps crumbs all over the counter). While it is not ultra high-end, I definitely recommend it if you are looking for an intermediately-priced toaster.

Product Review: Glacier Bay Irena 4" Bathroom Faucet

 

My old bathroom faucet, which was probably original to when my townhouse was built in the early 1970s started leaking and needed to be replaced. I went with this due to the low price, and so far, I am satisfied with it. It is sturdy and outputs a good stream of water. The model I have comes with a drain plug that you push down to fill the sink and does not have a pull on the back of the faucet spout.  The handles turn toward the front to turn the water on and then back to the side to turn it off. I feel that the handles are very sturdy and, as long as you do not crank on them with a lot more force than normal, it does not seem that they will somehow break. It is a decent-looking faucet but is certainly not as fancy-looking as the more expensive models out there. But, if you are looking for a good, inexpensive faucet, this is a good option.

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 63

Day 63 was the first Phase 3 cardio workout in 645, which was supposed to be yesterday's workout, but as I explained in the prior post, I was not up to it after a long day. But, I got back on track and did it today. It was tough and tiring. As has been the case with all of the Phase 3 workouts so far, this one mixes new moves with things that have been done in prior workouts. On the whole, there are a lot more jumping/plyometric exercises in this one and I definitely got more winded. Even so, it was a good workout and the cast was pretty funny including some good banter with Amolia. 

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 62

For Day 62 I switched things up. It normally would have been Cardio in 645, however, I was installing a new garage door opener, which, even with help is, to quote Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "a job of work." By the time we were done, I was exhausted and then had to go to a birthday party. Needless to say, by the time I got home and had time to work out, I was not feeling 45 minutes of cardio, so I did the Realign routine in XB. Even doing that routine was tough, but I got through it.

Product Review: LED Edison Light Bulbs

 

I got these for new pendant lights to go over my kitchen island. They look great and throw a lot of light. If you like the look of Edison bulbs, these are definitely great looking. And, because they are LED bulbs, they will likely last a lot longer than traditional filament bulbs.

Product Review: 4K HDMI Cable 10 ft - Atevon High Speed 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 Cable

 

When I remodeled my townhouse I switched out my old wood-burning fireplace with a gas fireplace. I decided to mount my TV above the fireplace on the drywall bump out where the gas insert is mounted. I got this to run through the drywall from the side of the bump-out to the front where the TV is mounted so I did not have to run a cable down the wall and around the corner to plug it into a Roku or blu-ray player. The cable is a perfect length to go through the wall and has enough length on either end to easily reach the HDMI ports on the TV and place a device at the other end where you want it. So, if you are looking to do something like that, I highly recommend this cable.

Product Review: Shur-Line 6620 9" Premium Grip Paint Roller Frame

 

This is a very solid, and well-put-together paint roller. It is much better than some of the cheaper rollers out there. It holds the roller brushes on well, and I have had no issue with them sliding around. My only complaint, and what knocks it down a star for me, is that when you attach it to an extension pole, as you paint it unscrews itself and becomes loose, so you keep having to tighten it to the pole. That can be a pain when painting elevated areas like vaulted walls. Aside from that, however, if you are just holding onto it and not using it on a pole, this is absolutely worth the price.

Product Review: Emliviar Mini Pendant Light

 

I got two of these when I had my kitchen remodeled back in 2020 to put over the newly installed kitchen island. I was looking initially at a slightly different light which was sold out and decided to go with these. I am not sure how easy they were to install, I had an electrician install them, but he did not seem to have any issues and had them up in about 10 minutes per light if that. I used LED Edison bulbs in them which look awesome in the fixture. Everything was well packed and nothing was broken in either of the lights I received. I am definitely happy with the purchase and highly recommend these if you are looking for nice-looking, affordable, pendant lights.

Product Review: Filtrete 16x25x1 Air Filter, MPR 300, MERV 5 Basic Dust 3-Month Pleated 1-Inch Air Filters

 

I had an older furnace (about 20 years old, give or take) that could not handle one of the heavy-duty filters. These are perfect as basic filters that I can replace every 1-3 months and are not prohibitively expensive. Even though I now have a newer furnace, these do keep it from getting too dusty and dirty (that and regular yearly maintenance), which is really the point of the air filters. 

Product Review: RIYCUOWT Damaged Screw Extractor

 

I got this because I had three braces for large floating shelves that had screws with stripped heads in them. I was able to use these to get some, but not all, of them out. If the head is damaged too much, these will not get them out. But, if they are not, these work as advertised. It is important that you have the drill in reverse at all times when you are using these otherwise it will not work to get the screws out.

Product Review: Ropeless Jump Rope

 

I got this because I do a lot of the Beachbody workouts (as anyone who reads this blog knows), including ones like Insanity: Asylum which uses a jump rope in some of the workouts. But, my basement has low ceilings, so it is difficult to jump rope exercises down there. Plus, I was never super coordinated with a jump rope even when I was a kid, and that has not gotten better as an adult. This allows me to do the moves without having to worry about tripping over the rope, or the rope hitting the ceiling. The ends are weighted enough that it mimics the feel of swinging a jump rope, but not so much that it gets your arms or shoulders too tired. I definitely recommend this.