jps246's Reviews

Great way to be reading all the time - Kindle 3 Wi-Fi

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

I am one of those people who love books.  I have bookshelves all over my house filled with them, but the Kindle 3 Wi-Fi electronic book reader has won me over.  This device has made it easy to read just about any book almost anywhere.  I can browse the thousands of titles available over any wi-fi connection, purchase a book and then be reading it anywhere I bring my Kindle, even if there's no wi-fi connection available.  Not only is it easy to use, but the electronic ink technology it uses provides crisp and easy to read text that does not bother your eyes after long periods of reading.

I have to say that overall Amazon has done a great job at creating an e-book reader t...

Not much better than regular powder - Anti-Monkey Butt Powder

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

Anti-Monkey Butt Powder is advertised to help keep you dry and helps prevent and soothe skin irritation with the calamine that is included in the powder.  I’ve found that Anti-Monkey Butt Powder works well for driving and for situations where you won't be that active, but for more intense activities like hiking or exercising in general, I haven't found the Anti-Monkey Butt Powder to be any better or worse than traditional powders. 

The Anti-Monkey Butt Powder comes in a shaker bottle that holds a little over 3 ounces of the powder.   The powder is a mix of talc and calamine.  The talc absorbs moisture while the calamine soothes your skin (think of calamine lot...

Eucalan Lint Remover Sheets come in handy

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

At first I didn't think the Eucalan Line Remover Sheets would be much different from the lint rollers that I've had over the years.  It turns out that the idea really isn't much different, but thanks to their small size and portable nature, I've found them to be really handy when I'm at work or when I'm traveling and don't want to be bringing a full-sized lint roller with me.

Each pad is a little less than 3 inches square and you can pretty much clean the lint and pet hair off a regular sized shirt or sweater with one pad.  Stuff with lots of lint or pet hair might take two pads.  The usage is pretty straighforward.  Just push the pad against the lint filled area and pul...

I wouldn't get these again - Sundown Naturals 500mg Niacin pills

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

Over-the-counter slow release Niacin seems to be pretty pricey no matter where I look for it, so I'm always trying to find the best deal and Niacin that actually seems to work without too many side effects. That's how I came across the 500mg slow release niacin caplets from Sundown Naturals. What I've found is that they are cheaper than other products I've used, but they do have their issues.

I take 2000mg of Niacin a day on my doctor's orders, so I have to take 4 of the pills from Sundown. Not a huge issue, but the pills are larger than I had with another product I was taking. That said, there are more pills in this bottle than the other brand I was taking, so even though the pills wer...

Wash & condition my hair in one step - Suave for Men 2 in 1

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

I like simplicity in the shower and that's why I like to use the Suave for Men's 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner. I like the convenience of only having to lather up and rinse once instead of shampooing and conditioning.

The Suave for Men 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner comes in a 14.5 ounce bottle, which for the two of us lasts for about a month or so of daily hair washing for both of us. The mix is scented with a somewhat sporty scent. It leaves my hair feeling clean. I have had problems with other shampoos drying out my scalp, but between the shampoo and the conditioners in the Suave for Men, I haven't had any problems, except for very dry weather. I do occasionally switch over to the ...

Decent coffee maker - Mr. Coffee TF12 12-Cup Coffee Maker

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

I can't say that I'm overly impressed or disappointed with Mr. Coffee's TF12 12-Cup Coffee Maker. The coffee it makes is not the best I have ever had, but I do not think it is that bad either. I guess you could say that it is pretty standard home coffee maker coffee. It does brew the coffee at a nice and high temperature, so that is a plus.

On the plus side, this coffee maker is about as simple as they come. The only option for the TF12 is to turn it on or off. There is no timer or any special functions available on this coffee maker. The only "special" function is the brew and pour thing, which lets you take the pot and fill a cup and stop the brewing before it's completely finis...

Nature's Bounty keeps my Vitamin D levels up!

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

After working on my cholesterol for years, I was at an appointment with a lipid specialist when they suggested that they test my blood for Vitamin D levels. When the results came back, it appeared I had really low Vitamin D. Of course, that was wintertime in New England so the chance to get sun to generate your own Vitamin D is limited, but the vast majority of my time is outside of sunshine and she said that even with sun, it was unlikely that my level would be high enough considering how low it was. She pointed out that a low Vitamin D level makes it hard to have good cholesterol numbers. So as part of my lipid therapy, we introduced Vitamin D tablets into my diet. I've been taking th...

Decent All In One Printer Choice - HP Photosmart C5580

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

I've been using the HP Photosmart C5580 All-In-One Printer for about 6 months at the new office I'm working in. It's the printer that's on my desk and that I use most often for draft printing and for scanning documents and images. I didn't think much of the printer when I started, but considering all that it can do, I have come to like this printer. The only thing I really don't like is how quickly you seem to go through ink with any sort of regular printing.

This All-In-One Printer can copy, scan and print. There's no fax function. You can also directly print photos from memory cards if you want to without having to use the computer. There's a small color LCD screen on the corner of ...

Tide Washing Machine Cleaner works, but so does an empty wash

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

It probably speaks volumes that I had my washing machine for several years before I even thought of getting this product.  Over the years I had run an empty wash from time to time with some detergent to rinse out and wash the machine, but overall I just figured that, along with the fact that you are washing clothes with soap would probably keep the machine mostly clean. 

When I did run across the Tide Washing Machine Cleaner in Walmart one day, I figured I would give it a try.  It wasn't that expensive and since I had the washing machine for a while without 'officially' cleaning it, I thought it would be a good investment.

I do think that the Tide Washing Machine Cleaner doe...

Makes popcorn for my movie nights - Waring Pro Popcorn Maker

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

I have to admit to liking the idea of having a miniature old fashioned popcorn maker for my home movie theater. I don't know, it's just cool. So when I got the Waring Pro Popcorn Maker for my birthday, you can imagine that I was looking forward to using it. Turns out it's been a great addition to our home. If you take a full size popper from a movie theater or a carnival and shrink it and you have Waring Pro's popcorn maker. The popcorn maker's base is square and measures a little over a foot on a side. It's just shy of two feet in height. It consists of the outer shell, which holds the popcorn kettle inside along with a tray to catch the popcorn as it pops. There's a removable door o...

When I have no other coffee options - Folgers Singles

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

Folgers Singles are not my favorite way to make coffee.  Generally I have them when there are no other options available or if I'm camping and don't want to bother with other brewing options.

It isn't so much that the Folgers Singles make really bad coffee, but it isn't all that good and several other options, including a french press, a small coffee maker or even a keurig coffee machine make small servings of coffee that taste a whole lot better.

I will give the Folgers Singles the convinience factor.  They are easy to use.  Just put the teabag (which is filled with coffee) in the cup and fill it with hot water.  I generally let it brew for a few minutes, then squeeze ...

Edward Jones has made a difference in our investments

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

While not the perfect place to invest, Edward Jones, my partner and I have been happy investing and saving there. We have rolled over our previous retirement moneys, set up new Roth IRA's and have a joint brokerage account that lets us save up and invest outside of just retirement money. Since our initial start up we have had excellent personalized service and the accounts themselves have done as well as could be expected over time.

There are a few things you should know about Edward Jones before you start investing there though. Number one is that you are going to pay more than you would at a discount brokerage. The second thing to know is that Edward Jones makes money when you invest ...

Has helped us save and offers great service

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

Everyone knows they should save, it's just that it's not always the easiest thing to do.  This is especially true for retirement accounts and that's where Edward Jones comes in and helps my partner and I out for our retirement savings.  Now we are both fairly young at 32, but several years ago we wanted to start saving for retirement and just start investing in general.  We attended a seminar at our local Edward Jones office and soon signed up.  I moved the majority of my brokerage accounts to Edward Jones and we rolled over other IRA's that we had over to Edward Jones.

Edward Jones offers a number of different account options.  We both signed up for the Roth IRA's ...

My mobile email powerhouse - Blackberry Curve 8310

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

What makes the Curve more than just a fancy cell phone? Well the Curve makes it easy to connect to your email accounts so that you can send and receive emails, both via personal email accounts and business accounts; it allows you to browse the internet on its web browser; lets you take photos with its 2 megapixel camera; makes it easy to organize contacts and appointments; and lets you download various applications to expand its use to name just a few of its abilities. Sure you can do some of those things on various cell phones, but the Blackberry pulls it all together and puts it in a package that's easy to use, small and lightweight. Another big plus of the Curve over a standard cell ph...

The only primer we use - Zinsser 123 Primer

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

In years past we've used other primers, but once we discovered Zinsser 123 Primer, we have never used anything else.  This primer does an excellent job at covering up stains and providing a great base for our regular paint on the various home improvement projects we've done over the years.

We've used Zinsser 123 in just about every room in our current house and in the process discovered that there is pretty much no surface that it doesn't prime well.  We've used it on walls, trim and even ceilings.  In all those cases, it's done a great job, especially on the trim, which in our house is that polyurathaned pine, which can be hard to get paint to stick to.

The Zinsser is prett...