Posts

Review of Newhai Yogurt Maker Machine 250ml, Multifunctional Greek Yogurt Maker

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I purchased the Newhai yogurt maker machine on Amazon on January 24, 2023. Unfortunately, it's no longer available, but I still want to talk about it in case you run across one of them at the thrift store or eBay. Cons: You need to supply your own adapter.  It ONLY works with a 5-volt 2-amp adapter. I happened to have an old Samsung adapter in my junk cord box. If you use any other adapter, it will not turn on. If you follow the instructions that came with the manual, you will NOT get yogurt. You will end up with cold milk. The instructions fail to mention that the milk must be first be heated to 180 degrees. This unit doesn't get hot enough to do that for you. Heating the milk is a must. It alters the structure of whey proteins. This modification aids in forming a stable gel during fermentation, resulting in yogurt with a smooth, thick texture. If the milk isn't heated, the yogurt won't firm up. If you break the glass container, you're screwed. You can't buy re...

Star and Galaxy Room Projector

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 After reviewing many LED star and galaxy room projectors on Amazon, I bought the elephant-shaped  Rossetta Galaxy Projector, Star Projector  for my grandson for Christmas.  Several months later, I bought one for myself.  This is why I returned it. The projection was amazing.  It was like having like the Northern Lights flickering across the walls and ceiling.  What I didn't like about its design is that the "elephant" needs to be placed in the middle of the room on a table.  If you want to use it in the average-sized bedroom, it needs to be placed on the bed, right where you're trying to relax.  The reason is because the projection shoots straight up in a 1/2 dome shape.  If you place it on a dresser that sits along the wall, the projection shoots up from the dresser and you don't get proper coverage in the room. This is the model that I bought and returned: But I didn't give up.  I looked at the other Rossetta models.  I foun...
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Hey everyone, I have a very sedentary job as a programmer.  I'm in an office chair at least 12 hrs a day.  After work I pour myself into my Lazy Boy for the rest of the evening because my brain's so drained that I don't feel like doing anything.  And when the weather get hots like it is now with day after day over 100, my lower legs and ankles feel tight and inflamed.  Maybe they're full of lymphatic fluid from lack of movement.  I started squeezing and dragging my hands up my legs when I remembered something…  I wanted to share a bit about my recovery process in ICU after my recent heart attack and stent procedure. It’s been quite a journey, and I've learned a lot along the way. One thing I didn't expect was to be put in a compression bed and have leg wraps on my calves. At first, it seemed a bit odd, but now I get it. Compression Bed:  Have you ever been in bed so long that your back started to ache and you wished for a massage?  Now imag...

Mounting Ring Doorbell Video Cam on Metal Mesh Security Door

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 I have one of those metal security doors with mesh screen behind the bars.  I couldn't find any kind of mount for my new Ring Doorbell Video Cam that I bought on Amazon.  I also purchased a sturdy metal mounting box for it.   This is the doorbell I bought:   Ring Battery Doorbell Plus | Head-to-Toe HD+ Video, motion detection & alerts, and Two-Way Talk (2023 release) This is the mounting box I bought:  Anti-Theft Doorbell Mount for Ring Battery Video Doorbell 1/2/3/3 Plus/4/Plus/(2020 Release) I noticed the holes in the mesh screen were big enough to coax into accepting a screw.  I dug into my parts box and found two small screws with nuts that  worked with the box's mounting plate.  Here's what I came up with:

ChatGPT Lies - Breakfast Cereal

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Breakfast with ChatGPT  When I ask ChatGPT to rephrase something I've written, it does a fantastic job of finding just the right words.  However, it sucks at math word problems and writing SQL code (close, but not quite).  It frequently coughs up such audacious narrative that I decided to begin documenting our conversations.  Here's one of them. In my childhood, I remember a flake breakfast cereal that was similarly shaped like Special K with smooth-edged flakes.  It had the most amazing flavor, but it wasn't sugar coated.  Here's how the conversation went down. Me:   I'm looking for the name of a flake breakfast cereal that was around in the 1970's.  The flakes were not raggedy shaped like Wheaties, Corn Flakes, or Total.  They were smooth-edged, but it wasn't Special K.   ChatGPT:   Ah, I see! Given the description, it's possible you're thinking of "Rice Krispies." Rice Krispies is a flake cereal made of crisped ric...

Best Small Iron for Quilting

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I have a shelf full of steam irons, and nearly every one of them leaks water on the fabric when quilting.  When looking for yet another one, I decided to look into a small iron for quilting, preferably one with a nice point for piecing. I've seen a lot of YouTube videos using this small mini steam iron. But, people kept ironing the fabric over and over and the wrinkles were not coming out.  No wonder, it's only 420 watts!  Additionally, there are only 4 steam holes on the sole plate. One quilter recommend the Rowenta Compact Steam Iron.   Best Small Iron for Quilting It has a pointy precision tip gets into the tightest places and flatten the narrowest seams.  It's perfect for quilting, but I use it for all my ironing. 1000 watts of power.  This little iron works better at getting out wrinkles and pressing seams on my quilting pieces than any of the other irons I have on the shelf.  In fact, even when ironing full yardage, this Rowenta small iron i...

Quilt As You Go (QYAG) Thread Trick for a Neater Quilt Back

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I've seen many quilt as you go videos where each block is sandwiched and quilted, but it's always bothered me to see anchored back and forth stitching, over-extended stitching past the end of the blocks, or thread nests on the back of the block. Quilt As You Go Videos The Sewing Channel has a 1 Hour Quilt As You Go log cabinesque QYAG design where each "log" in the quilt is made of 4" blocks and I got to thinking, when she sews a row, before turning the quilt to sew the next row, she doesn't explain what she's doing with her bobbin thread.  Does her machine have a push-button thread cutter?  Does she have to lift up the quilt to cut the bobbin thread?  The problem with machine thread-cutters is that they leave a little tail that needs to be trimmed.  Even worse, when you start sewing again, unless you hold the tails, you end up with a thread nest on the back. Here is another quilt as you go log cabin block video tutorial from Tulip Square. The Thread Tri...