REVIEW – I’ve been on the hunt for the “perfect” clear case with Magsafe for my iPhone 12 Pro. I found the original Apple clear case with Magsafe to be too slippery, and the buttons were too stiff. Would the Smartish Gripmunk with Magsafe Slim Case fare any better? What is it? The Gripmunk with …
REVIEW – One of the main frustrations I’ve had with the Apple Mac Mini (M1, 2020) is the low number of ports, and that they’re always on the back. I’ve tried various hubs but none seem to be as slick as the Satechi stand that sits neatly under the Mac Mini itself. I got to …
Satechi Apple Mac Mini Type-C Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure review Read More
REVIEW – When the iPhone with MagSafe charging came out last year, there was only one clear case with Magsafe- the Apple one. I found that case extremely slippery with buttons that were hard to push. Eventually, a few “no name” brand cases trickled out into the market. I tried a handful, and they were …
Speck Presidio Perfect Clear iPhone case with MagSafe review Read More
REVIEW – My son ran track in his freshman year of high school, and has been lifting weights at home. He’s seen these cordless massagers at track meets, and I’ve seen dozens of lookalike models available online. Now we’ve got a chance to look at a packable model with an extendable handle. Let’s take a …
REVIEW – In the last few years, my son was introduced to airsoft. One of my Dad Pet Peeves is how he keeps his airsoft rifle in the flimsy cardboard box it came in. Fortunately, an affordable, well made alternative came my way from LA Police Gear (LAPG). What is it? The LAPG 36″ Rifle …
REVIEW – About 20 years ago, I had one of those older lead-acid jump start battery packs. It was very heavy, but it saved the day more than once. It even had an air compressor on board! Newer jump start battery packs are much smaller with lithium batteries. Today I get to try one with …
REVIEW – As I’ve written before, I’m active in Scouting (Eagle Scout, Assistant Scoutmaster). One of the Ten Essentials for the outdoors is appropriate rain gear. I’m not sure if it’s because we’ve had crippling droughts in California for years, but I actually don’t own a packable rain jacket. Thankfully, now I have one to …
LA Police Gear Expedition packable waterproof rain jacket review Read More
REVIEW – Although I grew up as a Scout (and made Eagle) I’ve never used a hydration bladder. For me, it was always canteens. My son is training for a 50 mile hike this summer, so he’s got many training hikes planned. I thought I’d have him try it out! But first, a look at …
REVIEW – Spring is here and allergy season has begun! This time, I’ve got a new weapon in my aresenal: A portable , USB powered air purifier from Scosche called the FrescheAir that fits into a cup holder. What is it? The Scosche FrescheAir is a compact air purifier with a 3 stage HEPA filter …
Scosche FrescheAir portable HEPA air purifier review – Clean air for your car Read More
REVIEW – I’ve thought about ways to spruce up my video calls with interesting things in the background. I’ve seen these LED tiles before but the price seemed out of range. I had a chance to take a look at these hexagonal shaped LED lights from Lamp Depot. How did they work out? What is …
Lamp Depot Honeycomb touch sensitive modular wall light review Read More
REVIEW – I send many packages that require labels- most of them Amazon returns or eBay shipments. Normally I’d print out a sheet of paper, cut out the excess, and tape the remainder on the box. Seems a little wasteful. With a label printer, I figure I’d save a lot of steps, plus no more …
ARTICLE – For years I had this idea to decorate my garage with all the tail lights of all the cars I’ve owned. Not the originals, of course, but junkyard specials, eBay finds, etc. I finally had some free time over the holidays so I finally assembled my collection and wired it up for some …
My garage has an awesome feature that yours does not Read More
REVIEW – I strongly dislike exercise (see photo above). However, I do like my indoor rower (or “erg” for you crew fans) which is something I fell in love with in college. My particular machine has a heart rate monitor receiver, but that usually means supplying your own chest strap, which always felt slightly burdensome …
Scosche Rhythm+ 2.0 armband heart rate monitor review Read More
ARTICLE – About a decade ago, the government agency I work for declared they were going “paperless”. Haven’t we heard that since electronics were invented? Just before the pandemic hit, our office was starting to have an all-electronic option for nearly every kind work we do- then we were told to Work From Home. Good …
Gadgeteer team’s work from home (WFH) setups – Andy Chen Read More
REVIEW – Ever since I picked up the iPhone 12 Pro, I’ve been looking around for MagSafe charger accessories. It’s still a little early, but RAVPower has released their own MagSafe compatible charger that comes with a pleasant surprise: A teeny, tiny 20W USB-C charger. What is it? This is RAVPower’s wireless charger with MagSafe …