Misc Gear

Lifehacker’s ‘Top 10 Awesome MacGyver Tricks that Speak for Themselves’ Is Awesome

I love to find tips and tricks that make my life easier, and that’s why a recent post on Lifehacker caught my eye … the title might have had something to do with it, too, as I do love MacGuyer-esque fixes. 😉 Three of my favorites include how you can: Make Perfect Pancakes with a Squeeze Bottle Yes, this one is pretty self-explanatory! Whip up the pancake mix, use a funnel to put it in a large squeeze-bottle, and then make perfectly round pancakes. The best part is that if you don’t use all of the mix, the container can…

Reviews

iSafe Urban Crew Backpack Review – Wired with Protective Lights and a Loud Alarm

In the last few years we have seen reports of violence on college, high school and even grade school campuses. The Virginia Tech and Newtown shootings aren’t necessarily a confirmation of increasing crime on school campuses, but they certainly serve as reminders that we can’t always be with our kids to protect them. While the iSafe Urban Crew backpack will not protect your loved one in overtly violent incidents such as a shooting, it might be helpful in other threatening situations by creating a significant amount of commotion, calling others to you or your child’s aid. How? Simple, the iSafe Urban…

News

LapDawg’s o-Stand Review – Expensive, Impractical, and Awkward

I have been looking for a convenient way to read from my iPad while freeing up the use of my hands. I’ve tried makeshift holders made from pillows and magazines, and I’ve tried maneuvering my case to double as a mini stand, but nothing has really worked. The o-Stand by LapDawg seemed like the perfect solution. I could use a completely adjustable iPad stand to hold my iPad at any angle without having to hold it. According to LapDawg’s website, the o-stand has a number of appealing features: 4 removable metallic “flexy” legs that you simply bend to any…

News

Moxtra Parters with Salesforce.com, Evernote, and Kaffeine for Easy Group Collaborations

Have you heard of Moxtra yet? Don’t worry, it’s not a large insect about to attack — Mothra. Moxtra is a collaborative platform that lets you take all the different kinds of content around the web, from videos to notes to pictures, and stick them in a collaborative “binder”, making group work fast and efficient. They’ve been growing like crazy since their launch, and today they are getting an even bigger boost by integrating with Salesforce.com, Evernote, and Kaffiene! The Evernote integration is a pretty great concept. Evernote lets you share notebooks, but this makes it a bit cleaner, since all…

Reviews

Ronco Coffee Time Brew System Review

As you know, we at Gear Diary love our coffee. My Keurig is still a great system, but I love to make coffee pretty much any way I can; that also includes on ice. Quite some time ago, I was exposed to cold brew coffee by one of my local coffee shops. I only had a small sample, but what I tried was amazing. So I looked up devices like the Toddy T2N and other systems for making cold brew including tryin to make it in the brewers I already have. The Toddy was what I was planning on…

Editorials, How to Do It Yourself!, Outdoors

DIY Ice Chest Air Conditioner Project

Spring time in Texas is hot; we do not really have seasons, just hot and not so hot. We are deep into the spring turkey hunting season, and some days it is just unbearable. I hunt with a bow, so that is done in a pop up tent blind. Turkeys can see extremely well, so I wear a long sleeve black shirt and black ninja mask. Of course I always wear my snake boots and long pants. The blind is basically an oven. I recently heard about people turning ice chests into an air conditioner on the go and decided…

News

Startech Flash Drive Duplicator and Eraser

As we move to a virtually paperless society, sharing digital files becomes an issue. While there are many avenues to exchange files in a large setting, many businesses do not prefer to email or share the files over servers for fear of being stolen or damaged. Giving the files on a flash drive insures control until it reaches the end-user. Startech.com has introduced a device to make duplicating flash drives or erasing them a snap, which means no more watching files copy from a computer over and over. I once wondered how companies that pass out large numbers of flash…

News

Gtech AirRAM Vacuum Cleaner Is Light, Clean, Cordless, and Longer Lasting

Yesterday I wandered the aisles at the San Angelo Sam’s Club, and I couldn’t help but stop in front of the Dyson vacuum cleaner display. I really hate our current vacuum cleaner — a traditional heavy upright with hose that must weigh at least 25 pounds. The least expensive Dyson was around $359, but it was a low to the ground canister model. I prefer uprights, and the one I was particularly interested in was the Dyson Animal Upright. It’s a 7 pounds cordless model that is supposed to have excellent sucking power for cleaning both carpets and floors. I…

News

The Lifesaver Bottle Is the Filtered Water Bottle That the World Needs

The problem with most consumer filtered water bottles is the fact that they are really only good for everyday uses; like removing Chlorine, Lead, Mercury, etc, and making the already mostly safe water taste a little better. You would not want to trust those bottles to keep yourself safe while out for a hike without access to clean, trustworthy water. I use a filtered water bottle every day at work in order to improve the taste of the tap water and to cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles I use. The Lifesaver Bottle takes a whole new,…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

No Scream Cream – Waxing Poetic (and Pain Free) in Jamaica

I’m on vacation in Jamaica with my wife, Elana, her brother Rob and Rob’s girlfriend, Alison. We had a casual breakfast in our villa this morning, after which Rob headed to the beach to read. I lingered a bit too long over my last cup of coffee and, as a result, had the opportunity to hear a FASCINATING conversation on shaving, electrolysis, and waxing. (It made me happier than ever to have been born male.) So why am I sharing this here on Gear Diary? Because Alison told Elana about the “best product ever” in this regard – Relax and…

Gear Bits, News

40 Years Ago We Emerged From the Desert of Disconnect

The Jewish festival of Passover ended earlier this week and with it members of the Jewish community returned to eating leavened products known as chametz in Hebrew. (Most people I know end the holiday with the Jewish delicacy known as pizza.) According to tradition the Exodus from Egypt introduced a 40 year period when the Israelites wandered in the Sinai desert. (Three cheers for living in an era of GPS!) Having spent a few weeks hiking and camping in the Sinai I can only begin to imagine what 40 years (were the story historically accurate) must have been like. I…

Reviews

Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses Review

A number of months ago I reviewed the PivotHead Video Sunglasses. (Read the review.) I used them in Aruba (watch the video) and then again in Cuba (watch the video). I really enjoyed using the glasses and was bummed when the time came to return the sample I was using. I sent them back and planned to shoot future video “the old-fashioned way”… with my iPhone. That’s when I was offered a pair of Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses to review. “Another pair of video sunglasses to review?” I thought, “Why not.” The Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses came a few…

News

Just Mobile AluCup and AluFrame for iPhone 5

We’re fans of Just Mobiles iPhone, iPad and Mac accessories and enjoyed spending time with them during CES 2013. During that meeting the company was kind enough to give us a look at some of their upcoming products- the Just Mobile AluCup and AluFrame. The Just Mobile AluCup and the AluFrame have now been formally released and are currently shipping. Let’s take a quick look at them. The Just Mobile AluCup is described as a multi-purpose desktop stand for iPhone and iPad Mini. As is the case with almost all of Just Mobile’s products, the AluCup is made from a single…

News

Gomadic SunVolt Portable Solar Power Station Review

Last year my congregation became the first Reform synagogue in the country to attain certification in environmental leadership from GreenFaith, a nationally recognized interfaith environmental coalition. This winter our Pre-School completed a nationally certified outdoor classroom. The goal is to help kids, and parents, better balance “screen time” and “green time”. It should be no surprise then, that I love the idea of using the sun to charge and run my many mobile devices. After all, if the sun can fuel plants, then why not have it fuel my iPhone, iPod touch and various accessories? That’s where the Gomadic SunVolt…

Reviews

My Macbook Case MacBook Pro Rubberized Case Review

Currently, I’m sporting a brand new Lifeproof case for my iPhone 5 and a Smart Case cover for my iPad, but unfortunately, I’ve neglected by MacBook Pro…until now! When I first received a My Macbook Case MacBook Pro Rubberized Case, I was very pleased with the shade of blue and the overall look of the case. The packaging was very simplistic, as both the top and the bottom cases were wrapped in a thin plastic bag. Once I removed the plastic, I noticed that the case itself was extremely lightweight. While I was happy that the case would not add…

Reviews, Yum Log

Travaso Fine Wine Decanters Make Something Good Even Better

Let’s talk about decanting. I think that most people who enjoy wine are familiar with the process of decanting, introducing air to a liquid by pouring it from one container into another. This serves two major purposes. First, if you’ve stored your wine correctly with the neck slightly below parallel to keep the cork wet so that it doesn’t dry out and crack (you do that, right?), then any sediment in the wine will settle into the wider bottom of the bottle. Thanks to the large dimple in the bottom of the bottle, called the “punt,” (see, you learn something…

News, Vehicles & Gear

Survey Says Japanese Motorcycles More Reliable Than American and German Bikes

Consumer Reports has just released its first-ever motorcycle reliability survey and – as if mimicking recent automotive surveys – Japanese motorcycles ranked better than American and German models. The survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, says about one in four Harley-Davidson owners reported a major problem in the first four years of ownership, and that BMW motorcycles had even more problems reported than that. By comparison, the study showed only one in ten Yamaha owners had issues, followed closely by Kawasaki and Honda. Despite experiencing a higher rate of problems with their motorcycles, Harley and BMW owners…

Reviews

PhoneSuit Lightplay Media Projector with Android Review, Part 1

This is part one of a two-part review of the PhoneSuit Lightplay Media Projector.In this post we’ll look at the actual hardware included in the PhoneSuit Lightplay Media Projector box. In the second post we’ll delve more deeply into the actual functionality of the PhoneSuit Lightplay Media Projector . About here and a half ago, Judie and I used the BenQ GP2 Projector. We were amazed that something so small and light could push out such a large, clear image. Watch our videos… Bringing the BenQ Joybee GP2 to Aruba? Why Not! Benq Joybee GP2 Saves the Day When Rain…

Reviews

Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon Action Camera Review

If I had a dollar for every time I said “Dude, you had to have been there, that stunt was epic!,” I’d have, well, about $1, because let’s face it, I’m not very adventurous. However, if I were one of those adrenaline seekers, there would be only one camera on my wishlist. I recently had the opportunity to take the Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon action camera out for a spin. This unique camera has two, count ’em, two lenses. You’re able to film a first-person view as well as a secondary angle. Each lens shoots in 720p and has a…

News

Ventev Chargesync Cables and USB Chargers Review

I found out about Ventev shortly before CES. The original plan was that their PR company would send some cables and chargers direct to our hotel, but that box got lost somewhere along the way. After returning home, a new shipment was arranged, and what was inside the box was quite impressive — not only because Ventev sent me such a generous assortment of items to try, but because of the quality of the items I was sent. Let’s jump right in and start with the Ventev Chargesync Cables … Have you ever paid attention to the quality of the cables…

Reviews

Twelve South BookArc for iPad and iPad Mini Video Review

Twelve South’s tagline is “We’re not just Mac friendly– we’re Mac only!”. They mean it. Each and every one of their products is designed to work with a specific product or family of products from Cupertino. That, in turn, means that each and every time Apple releases a new product line, you can expect to see new products added to Twelve South’s ever-growing portfolio. Case in point — the iPad mini. The release of the iPad mini meant the company began offering scaled-down versions of their iPad products. That’s why they released the BookBook for iPad mini, and it is why…

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