Reviews by ngai

ngai says "nive even cooking" about Panasonic Microwave - Inverter NN-T945SFX - 1500 watts oven

ngai — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:24:08 GMT

This microwave replaced a very old Sharp microwave that served me for over 7 years. Nothing was ever wrong with it, so we never really paid much attention to it. We finally decided to upgrade because we were renovating the kitchen and got all new appliances. This Panasonic microwave blows away the old Sharp. It's the inverter technology. It heats things quickly and very evenly. I am amazed when reheating things that are straight out of the refridgerator. No more cold spots. I have heard that microwaves with the inverters are not as reliable as the classic ones, which is why I'm taking off a star. I have not has an issue yet, but time will tell.

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ngai says "convenient" about Bialetti Casa Italia 2-CUP COW PRINT MUKKA EXPRESS

ngai — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:05:11 GMT

You've probably seen these stovetop coffee makers a million times before. If you've ever been in a thrift shop, I'm absolute certain that you've seen one before. The Bialetti machines are an institution in Italy. Every household has one. They produce near-espresso quality drinks at home without the need for expensive equipment. This particular one is specifically designed for cappucinos and works wonderfully. The cow print really makes it fun and the 2 up size is perfect for servicing one person. Th quality is outstanding and with no moving parts, it should last a lifetime, unless you decide to donate it to a thrift shop. The reason for the 4-stars is that ultimately it isn't a real espresso shot and it not as good as coffee shop coffee, but it's pretty darned close.

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ngai says "multi-function device" about Apple - iPod Touch

ngai — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:33:10 GMT

I bought this iPod to be my music player, but it has become so much more. It becomes a potent web-enabled device when you hit a WiFi spot. You can easily a quickly check your email and surf the web. It's not limited to mobile-only sites either. This comes in very handy when traveling. I used to lug my laptop around everywhere just so I can stay connected. Sure, I also had a smart phone, but it was just too limiting when you really needed to get down to business. But now I can travel with the iPod Touch only and not feel like I'm limited in any way. And I didn't mention all those wonderful apps available at the App Store.

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ngai says "smells foul" about The Tide Pen

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:36:13 GMT

I thought the Tide Pen was the greatest thing ever when it first came out. Get a stain on your shirt and this thing rubs it away. Does this thing work as advertised? Absolutely! It's easy to carry around and always have with you when you need it. Throw it in the glove box and you don't even have to carry it. So why is this not a 5-star review? Because it starts to smell after a while. I don't dirty myself too often, so a pen will last me 3-6 months. After about 4 months, the pen start to smell like rotten eggs. I suppose the contents have an expiration date. So, when I have a stain in month 5, I just leave it. I would rather have a stain than smell bad.

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ngai says "Million and one uses" about WD40 10011 11oz Aerosol wd-40

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:50:29 GMT

It's WD-40. Everybody should have a can of this in their house, apartment, boat, car and office. It has a million and one uses. Quite those squeaky doors, make that drawer easier to pull out, remove that annoying residue from stickers, loosen those rusted on bolts, etc. Use your imagination. I'm sure you can come up with some great ones. But what if you're not creative? You can always go to the wd40.com and read about one of their 2000 official uses to get you started. Go ahead, buy a couple of bottles and get creative.

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ngai says "folding utility knives are the best" about Craftsman Folding Lockback Utility Knife

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:49:58 GMT

If you haven't tried a folding utility knive of this kind, do yourself a favor and RUN out to get one. The knives of this design are very solid. There is no play with the knife blade no matter how hard you push down on it. You have total control over the blade, which is something that not all utility knives can claim.

This particular Craftsman Folding Utility Knife is a good example of this kind of knife. It has nice wood inlays and is very thick and solid. It feels great in hand and will definitely survive years of use and abuse.

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ngai says "excellent...for gas" about Weber Genesis E310 Gas Grill LP, Black

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:38:29 GMT

I was really on the fence about this grill. I'm a charcoal guy and have always been, but decided to supplement my smoker with a nice gas grill. I settled on this Weber Genesis E310 Gas Grill LP, Black because Weber's are the best. I was pleasantly surprised. It's not as good as smoked meat, but it's about as good as you're going to get with grilled. The temperature that you can get up to on this grill is outstanding. I got the cast iron grill version. It gets hot enough to get a nice char on you meat and as a result you get nice juicy burgers.

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ngai says "solid" about Mag Lite LED Upgrade Module for 3 C- or D-Cell Maglite Flashlights

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:30:19 GMT

I have brighter LED lights. I have smaller LED lights. I have brigher and smaller LED lights. However, I still went out a bought this Mag Lite 3-D Cell LED Flashlight. They just have the solid feel and weight that you just want sometimes. The runtime on these things are amazing; they are packing 3-D batteries after all. There is a lot of criticism that they're not the latest and best LEDs out there. That's all true, but if you don't need the absolute best (and are willing to pay for it), this light is certainly bright enough for your project needs and will last a lifetime.

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ngai says "one deal, one day" about Woot.com

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:20:08 GMT

They sell one thing a day at a significant discount. At least that's the Woot.com tag ling. Their stuff is generally cheaper than you would find elsewhere. The problem is that they sell alot of fluff too. I'm shocked that some of these things sell at all. However, when they do have something useful, buy 3. Shipping is a flat $5. There are great deals to be had, so check daily, and don't forget to check out shirt.woot, wine.woot, and sellout.woot. At least you'll only have to check once a day then get back to work.

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ngai says "better than paypal" about Google Checkout

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:14:28 GMT

I don't understand why Paypal is the king of the hill. Sure they're the first ones on the block, but Google Checkout is much easier to use, at least from a buyer's perspective. You can hide your contact information from the seller. Checking out only requires one step, and the layout is clean and clear. The flow between the Google Checkout pages and the store pages is smooth. I only wish it was accepted at more retailers. If you have an online store, please support Google Checkout. It makes your customers' lives a lot easier.

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ngai says "sets the bar for e-commerce" about Amazon.com

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:07:53 GMT

You all know what amazon.com is all about. They're the Internet superstore. What's great is that you can find anything you want, either through Amazon themselves or through one of the affiliate stores. You can even find reviews on most of the stuff. Its really a great resource for research and usually have decent prices as well. One word of advice; if you're not in a hurry for something, just throw hte item in your cart and check back regularly. Amazon changes their prices on things on a regular basis and will let you know so when it changes.

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ngai says "grips like you wouldn't believe" about Craftsman 3 pc. Metric Extreme Grip Wrench Set

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:57:59 GMT

I've wanted these wrenches even since I saw an advertisement about them in a magazine. What a great idea I though. Grip on the sides of the bolt, not the edges. I finally saw them on sale one day and added them to my collection, and I'm glad I did. You can feel these biting into the bolt when you turn. They are just slightly longer than a standard wrench, which gives you better torque. I was pleasantly surprised but how well they work. It's really all in the design. They don't have any of that flex that you're used to with standard open wrenches. This Craftsman 3 pc. Metric Extreme Grip Wrench Set seems to go on sale more often than the 6 piece set, so you might be better off getting the standard & metric separately like I did and end up paying less than just buying the 6 piece.

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ngai says "extreme torque" about Craftsman 3 pc. Standard Extreme Grip Wrench Set

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:56:06 GMT

I've wanted these wrenches even since I saw an advertisement about them in a magazine. What a great idea I though. Grip on the sides of the bolt, not the edges. I finally saw them on sale one day and added them to my collection, and I'm glad I did. You can feel these biting into the bolt when you turn. They are just slightly longer than a standard wrench, which gives you better torque. I was pleasantly surprised but how well they work. It's really all in the design. They don't have any of that flex that you're used to with standard open wrenches. This Craftsman 3 pc. Standard Extreme Grip Wrench Set seems to go on sale more often than the 6 piece set, so you might be better off getting the standard & metric separately like I did and end up paying less than just buying the 6 piece.

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ngai says "not exactly low profile" about Craftsman 5 pc. Wrench Set, Ratcheting Metric

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:46:06 GMT

These Craftsan 5 pc. Ratcheting Wrench Set are good tools. I've used them extensively and they're holding up like champs. I have two issues with this set. First is that they seem to be not as good quality as they should be. It's two pieces of metal sandwiching plastic. It has held up well, but it's plastic in the middle. The other problem is that the lip around the opening is rather large. If your nut is close to a wall or in some tight space, you might run into issues with these wrenches because they're not low profile. Neither of these has been as issue for me yet, but I can see how they might be a problem at some point.

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ngai says "does the job" about Craftsman Bypass Pruner

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:33:55 GMT

I'm going to be honest. This is not as good as the Friskars one, but these Craftsman Bypass Pruners are also half the price and does the job. They make nice clean cuts, and even cuts through some decent sized branches. They even come with a lifetime warranty, so should this ever fail, you can just bring it back to the store for a new one.

My advice is to buy this in the store. Not every one is created equal. I looked through about 5 of these before finding one where the blades have a nice tight fit. Again, if you run into problems, you can always exchange it, but might as well find a good one on the first go around.

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ngai says "sssmokey" about Weber Smokey Joe Gold Charcoal Grill

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:22:00 GMT

OK, so you have a nice large propane grill that can feed 20. Why do you need this? Well, let me tell you, you need this. Sure you can grill up those burgers and dogs, and that's great. While you're doing that, throw a pork shoulder or some ribs into this Weber Smokey Joe Gold Charcoal Grill and forget about it. Then when you're done grilling for everybody else, you can enjoy some great BBQ meat when everybody else is too stuffed. This is the only way to ensure that they'll leave some for you. There's nothing like BBQ meat, and this is grill can bring that Texas flavor to your backyard.

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ngai says "sure sign of summer" about Weber Chimney Starter for Charcoal Grill

ngai — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:15:16 GMT

You know summer is here when the birds are singing and the smell of charcoal is in the air. That's right, charcoal. Not propane. That's not serious grilling. To be fair, I do have both a charcoal and a propane grill, but when I want to take my time and put out some unbelievable food, I always turn to charcoal. This is there this bad boy comes in. There is not better way to get the party started than with this Weber Chimney Starter. There's no guesswork and no lighter fluid taste. Its just pure convenience and pure summer fun.

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ngai says "nice power" about Craftsman 4.8 volt Pistol Screwdriver

ngai — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:20:11 GMT

Nice power, but I wish it had a slow start feature. It's either on or off. This can lead to stripping of the screws. Also, the "chuck" doesn't hold the bit tight. Its a slide-in friction hold, no lock. It's to the point that when you're trying to remove a bit from the magnetic holder, the entire holder comes out of the "chuck". So, it requires two hands to get change bits.

On a positive note, this Craftsman 4.8 volt Pistol Screwdriver has a rocker switch which is very nice. Good to be able to go forward and reverse quickly. The battery lasts forever and again, the power is nice.

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ngai says "no lifetime warranty" about Craftsman 2 pc. Socket Adapter Set

ngai — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:16:56 GMT

Bought this Craftsman 2 pc. Socket Adapter Set without really having a purpose for it, just to round out my collection. They serve their purpose, by allowing me to use my mechanics sockets in my little cordless screwdriver. It's convenient to have this option when doing some light work around the house. Also great for starting out a long bolt using a cordless screwdriver. My beef is this does not carry the lifetime warranty. Their socket adapters do. Why not these? This isn't a "wear item". I just makes me use them more gingerly.

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ngai says "quality" about Craftsman 3/8 to 1/4 in. Socket Adapter

ngai — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:14:41 GMT

I don't know when I'll use it, but I'm glad I have it. Useful if you have a small cordless screwdriver (like the 4.8 volt pistol grip Craftsman) and want to get those larger bolts out quickly. Also, lifetime warranty, so no worries about over torquing it.

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