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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Culinary Torch by A Full Measure Market

You can find it here

I received a torch with a manufacturing defect so I've edited this review. The company was very helpful in quickly sending a new one and it works perfectly.

Culinary torches have many uses but I generally focus on finishing sous vide steak or as you can see in my photos, toasting some marshmallow creme based frosting. Operation is simple with a large button on the back that both releases the gas and lights it. You can control the amount of gas as well as it's concentration and there's even a "continuous" mode that allows you to not have to hold the trigger. These adjustments allow you to tailor the flame to just your needs be they a long directed one or just a light licking flame. When I used it on the afore mentioned steak it quickly added a nice sear so as a culinary torch torch it works fine. Build wise I'd really only say I'd prefer less plastic. The flame never heats it up but I just prefer more metal. The cylinder seems to be and the nozzle is as well. All in all it feels solid and there is little play in the controls. My word of advice for you is that when buying butane skip the Coleman cylinders. The fill port on this is just enough recessed that the short tube on the butane can't quite reach. I stopped by Lowes and grabbed a BernzOmatic Butane cylinder which had a nice long tube and worked great.
My experience has been very positive with the manufacturer and product after the defect in my first item. It lights fine and the adjustablity make it perfect for the kitchen. You can of course use the torch for any other fire need too. The simple operation along with the intense heat really allows for a wide variety of possibilities outside your food needs. I received this product at a discount in exchange for nothing more than my honest opinion.



Sunday, July 24, 2016

PiTech 2.5A Raspberry Pi 3 Power Supply


Grab one from Amazon here

I'll keep this to the point. Do you have a Raspberry Pi 3? Do you need a sufficient power supply? Then you need this one. The Raspberry Pi 3 comes with higher power demands than previous iterations and if you've ever wondered what that rainbow square in the corner of your screen is then your power supply isn't cutting it.

I've been able to run on one I found around my house but if you want the best reliability you need a good one.I ran into problems as soon as I tried to plug an SDR into it where I would get random reboots that were solved when I added a powered hub. Once I replaced the old supply with this one though I don't even need the hub anymore and the rainbow square is gone as you can see in the pic of my screen. I say again; if you need a Pi supply, this one works great. I received this product at a discount in exchange for nothing more than my honest opinion.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Men's Waterproof Analog Business Watch by CakCity


Grab one on Amazon

I'm a very digital person but when it comes to watches I appreciate analog style. With our day's determined so much by time I kind of like being able to just glace down and have a rough approximation of where I am in an hour without being too exact. This watch by CakCity has an elegant combination of analog while still keeping the accuracy of a digital movement.


Form- This watch is marketed as a business style but it probably leans more to business casual; the stainless hands look striking against the black background and pair well with the also stainless case but the reflective blue second hand and accents add a little fun.With the face's white divisions everything is easy to read at a glance and the glow in the dark feature is a nice touch. For the strap you get an interesting vinyl-like top with a carbon fiber weave type pattern while the underside is genuine leather. Note that genuine doesn't mean full-grain so it's probably got a non-leather material int he center.



Function- First and foremost it's a watch so I'm happy to say it seems to keep time well. Over several weeks it at most lost a second but that may have been my error in setting it. While we're talking about setting it operation is a breeze. You get two levels on the crown for setting the time and date but digital buttons for controlling the stop-watch functionality. This works well allowing you to stop the dials with the top button or pause to record a split time with the bottom while the internal time continues. Just press the bottom again and the dials catch up to the current recorder time. Probably pretty simple internally but it looks good doing it. I'm a person who prefers a slightly thinner case but this is by no means large. I think it still looks good on my wrist so it's really a taste thing. The band is comfortable and I wear it daily with no issues.




I enjoy having options when it comes to watches. This one fits nicely as a casual watch that has no trouble blending when you need to dress up a bit. Any flashiness is understated but anyone glancing at it will get an impression of a little fun. The watch operates as it should so the only thing I would change it to make the top covering of the back different. Again- a taste thing but with everything else so classy I think it could benefit from being leather as well to really round everything out. I received this product at a discount in exchange for nothing more than my honest opinion.