Garry Kolb

After a successful 35-year career in information technology in mid-Michigan, I am now happily retired and living the dream life in The Villages, Florida with my fun-loving and very tolerant wife of over 37 years. When not playing golf, pickleball, or water volleyball, I like amazing our neighbors with our automated home and fiddling with new gadgets.

Grand Fusion no-leak, non-stick silicone baking mat review – all the yum, none of the yuck

By / September 25, 2021 / Reviews / , / 3 Comments

REVIEW – What’s the worst part of baking messy things?  The cleanup, of course.  Silicone baking sheets can minimize the mess, but since they’re flat, the goo can still leak and bake onto your pan. Grand Fusion Housewares, a maker of all kinds of home goods, introduced a twist on the silicone baking sheet. Let’s …

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High Camp Flasks highball shaker – mix a drink at home or take it to go

By / September 24, 2021 / Reviews / , , / 1 Comment

REVIEW – If you’re a beer or soda drinker, there are a ton of options for taking your beverages with you and keeping them cool. But for the mixed drink crowd, unless you’re willing to tote all the ingredients with you as well as some sort of mixing container, you’re really out of luck.  High …

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Computer Engineering for Babies – so they’ll pay for your retirement

By / September 18, 2021 / News / , / 6 Comments

CROWDFUNDING NEWS – Remember the Baby Einstein books?  Well, a guy named Chase Roberts has one-upped them with a new Kickstarter campaign – Computer Engineering for Babies. The book teaches the basics of computer engineering – AND logic, OR logic, and so on.  Because little kids love buttons and lights, the book breaks down the …

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The Electricianz Blue Z watch review – A watch fit for a Blade Runner

By / September 15, 2021 / Reviews / / 2 Comments

REVIEW – A little while ago, I wrote up a news article about a new hybrid electric/mechanical watch by The Electricianz.  The Electricianz fancy themselves as creators of unusual watches that feature interesting colors and lighting. Electricity keeps the world moving. The Electricianz is on a mission to put that energy in the spotlight. We …

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Olive Pro earbuds review – earbuds and hearing aids in one device

By / September 8, 2021 / Reviews / , / 3 Comments

REVIEW – If you’re a regular reader of The Gadgeteer and my reviews, you’ll know that I have been on a quest to find the perfect earbud.  I’ve tested several, but so far, none have had that ‘wow’ factor that ended my search.  The latest contestant is the Olive Pro from Olive Union.  These aren’t …

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Add some pizzazz to your wrist with a new hybrid mechanical watch by The Electricianz

By / August 24, 2021 / News / , / Leave a Comment

CROWDFUNDING NEWS – Watches seemed to be a dying thing a while back.  With everyone carrying cellphones, there didn’t seem to be much use for another way to tell time.  Innovative watch manufacturers are turning the tide by introducing interesting and unusual new timepieces that are as much fashion as they are function. The Electricianz …

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WLWYB Ambient light Lego letter lamp review – personalize your light with Legos

By / August 22, 2021 / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment

REVIEW – Are you info creative lighting?  Are you also into building things with Legos?  If the answer to both of those questions is “yes”, then read on!  The Lego enthusiasts at WLWYB (we love what you build) have come up with an interesting USB-powered feature light built from Lego bricks.  Let’s check it out! …

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Twinkly Line review – not your father’s boring old LED strip

By / August 21, 2021 / Reviews / / Leave a Comment

REVIEW – LED light strips are cool.  They can add accent colors to your home decorating.  Most LED strips display one color of your choosing.  Twinkly, a maker of app-controlled, addressable LED lights recently released Twinkly Line.  Let’s see why this isn’t your father’s boring old LED light strip. What is it? Twinkly Line is …

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Goodpapa K1 4-in-1 All Purpose Spin Scrubber review – a different spin on kitchen cleaning

By / August 20, 2021 / Reviews / , / 2 Comments

CROWDFUNDING REVIEW – Spending time cleaning, sucks, am I right?  I’m all for anything that can reduce cleaning time and effort, especially if it also improves cleaning performance.  Goodpapa is putting its spin on kitchen cleaning with its new Kickstarter campaign for the K1 4-in-1 Spin Scrubber. They have some history with spinning cleaning products …

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Thrunite Catapult Mini flashlight review – over 600 lumens in the palm of your hand

By / August 16, 2021 / Reviews / , / 2 Comments

REVIEW – Flashlights are important safety items.  If you need bright light, it usually means carrying a big light with you.  Big light = big light, right?  Not if you’re carrying the new Catapult Mini from Thrunite! What is it? The Catapult Mini is a high-powered flashlight styled after Thrunite’s Catapult V6 SST70 flashlight, just …

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WP Standard wine tote review – tote your Two-Buck Chuck in style!

By / August 15, 2021 / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment

REVIEW – Do you ever take wine with you to a gathering?  Imagine showing up with a classy bottle of wine wrapped in a tacky plastic bag.  Oh, the horror!  WP Standard, maker of fine leather bags, wallets, and accessories offers up their wine tote as a means to class up your arrival. What is …

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Twinkly Flex app-controlled LED light strip review – get creative with your indoor accent lighting

By / August 13, 2021 / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment

REVIEW – I’m into interesting indoor and outdoor lighting and have written too many reviews of different products to link here.  One of my favorites is the Twinkly series of app-controlled lights, like the Twinkly Strings. Twinkly is back at it, bringing new products to market.  This time, it is indoor lighting with Twinkly Flex.  …

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Amazon’s connected soap dispenser – why?

By / August 4, 2021 / News / Leave a Comment

NEWS – Prompting the question, “Why?”, Amazon recently introduced a connected soap dispenser. Don’t get me wrong – I love internet-connected things.  My whole house is automated.  I even tried an Alexa-enabled device for the shower, but that crashed, quite literally. But not everything needs to be connected. Amazon is back at it with their …

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SunJack 25W solar panel with batteries review – power your portable life with the Sun

By / July 25, 2021 / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment

REVIEW – I’ve talked before about how reliant we Gadgeteers are on power.  We love gadgets and gadgets love power.  How about a gadget that doesn’t run on power – it creates power!  Let’s take a look at the SunJack 25W foldable ETFE monocrystalline solar panel charger with two 10,000mAh power bank batteries system.  How’s …

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