Tolifo LED Photo / Video Lights

So, I have had this YouTube channel HERE for a year or two, and have uploaded a fair amount of content (something like 25 videos), most of which have been product reviews that I filmed using my DIY overhead camera rig (pictured below). As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have found it difficult to actually appear in my videos. It's pretty normal from what I've read for new creators to feel a fair amount of stagefright.

One thing I was really worried about was the fact that I had no 'real' lighting for filming interview/vlog-type videos. Everything I've seen online said that you need good lighting, so I kept using that as an excuse not to do those types of videos - until Tolifo came along.

I started looking for lights that I could use for my overhead rig, and figured that if I could get some either for free or with a discount coupon, I'd give them a shot. Tolifo gave me some discount coupons to buy several different models of their lights, so I bought three different ones. The PT-15B Pro, the PT-176S, and the PT-C-160B. FYI - The letter designation at the end of each model indicates if the LEDs are single color or bicolor. Single color LED panels use colored diffusers to get different color temperatures.

My overhead camera rig consists of a PVC frame, the sides of which are glued together, so that I can simply remove the rear cross braces (and paper roll holder), and break the rig down for storage, as I don't have a dedicated place to keep it. The lights, as you can see above, are clamp shop lights with 5500k LED 100w equivalent light bulbs that I wired into a DIY dimmer switch. The camera is just visible in the top center of the screen, looking down on the white paper.


Anyway, it turned out that these lights really weren't suited to replacing my DIY lights, so I got a fourth, more powerful light shortly thereafter in order to attempt a vlog-type video. When playing with the lights on my overhead rig, I wasn't all that impressed with them. That all changed when I used them for their intended purpose.


The following pictures are screen-grabs from the video on YouTube with the specifics of which light I was running at the time.

'PT-176S as a 'hair light' at a 45 degree angle behind with no key or background light

PT-15B Pro (at 100%) as a key light with the 'hair light'.

PT-30B (at 100%) as a key light with the 'hair light'.

PT-30B (at about 25%) as a key light with the 'hair light' and a PT-C-160B fill light on the bookshelf set at 5500k color temperature.

PT -30B (at about 20%) as a key light with the 'hair light' and the fill light at 3200k.

For the purposes of evaluating the lights, you can see that these lights really can hold their own for making videos. As a first go-round with these lights, there are a lot of areas I could improve upon, such as dialing down the 'hair light' so that it's not quite so bright on the right side of my face in the image. 

The key lights are at the same distance (about 6 feet), and for the purposes of comparison, were both at 100% for the initial image. You can see that the PT-30B has a lot more power, so it was dialed back for the last two pics where I was looking at the fill light. The 25% power seems to be just right, while the 20% was a bit too dim, especially with the over-powered 'hair light'. It's still small enough to fit in my hard case (just under 10" wide) along with all three of the other lights plus the batteries, chargers and AC adapter:

One thing to keep in mind is that none of these lights come with batteries or AC adapters. They are sold separately, but are the Sony standard NP-F batteries that are used all over the place. I purchased a kit by of Wasabi Power that contained 2 batteries and a charger. It was around $40 here, and is great. I ran the units for almost two hours with no issues. 

So, I have roughly $150 in a set of 4 lights that I can use indoors, outdoors, anywhere, and have the flexibility to infinitely adjust placement, color temperature, etc. Going forward, I'm going to do some more playing with various elements to see what kind of effect I get. I do like the look of the last picture with the 3200k light on the bookshelf. I think it makes the books look a lot warmer, even though I'm lit by 5500/5600k lights.

I could look at a set of softbox-type lights, but for the price, they aren't going to be as flexible. They're also quite large and unwieldy, and really meant for in-studio use. They're AC-powered, and not as flexible because of that fact. Still, I'll look at getting a set of either umbrella lights or softbox lights to play around with if I can find a set that isn't too expensive.

YouTube is Hard

So, I started doing more videos for YouTube, and in this latest batch of product reviews (some LED lights for photography and videography), I actually appear in the video. For those folks who just watch YouTube and see the various 'YouTubers' talking, demonstrating, etc., you wouldn't think just how difficult it is for someone to film themselves, and put your image, voice, hell - your whole person out there for all to see.

For someone who can't even stand to listen to their own voice on a recording, this is doubly difficult. You find yourself second-guessing everything you say, everything you do, how you look, and even who you are. "Am I good enough?", you ask yourself. "Do I know what I'm talking about?" There are tons of questions you end up asking yourself. Then, when you finally get something posted and move on, you see that you got a 'Thumbs Up', and you feel good, until you see a 'Thumbs down'. Those suck.

You start to ask yourself why did you get a Thumbs Down? Is it the content? Is it the product (since I have been heavy on product reviews)? Or is it the Fraggle Rock T-shirt I was wearing? Nah, no one Thumbs down a Fraggle. No one sane, anyway.

Anyway, I better get used to appearing in my videos, as I've started a whole new channel (thefictionscribe) on YouTube, and it's going to be 90+% vlog-style where I'm just going to be talking to the camera. The new channel is going to me mostly updates on my writing projects, writing and publishing information, and writing tips for those interested in creative writing.

I haven't created any videos for that channel yet, as it's a whole ordeal getting everything set up to film. I film in the dining room at my house, and all my equipment was built, by me, to break down for storage. It's all piled up on shelves, standing up in the corners, and tucked behind the easy chair in the bedroom. Needless to say, I have to set up the equipment the night before I film. I do the filming, break everything down, and upload the raw video on that second day. I then spend free time the following few days to get the video (and sometimes audio) edited for upload to YouTube. I don't have studio lights, something that I desperately need, but I've been hesitant to spend the $100-$200 that the lighting will cost, owing to the costs of getting my writing project completed. The lighting will make a HUGE difference in the quality of my videos, but I just can't pull the trigger on it at this point. Eventually, I will though.

Tolifo PT-15B Product Review

One of the things I've been wanting to do is to get some better quality lights for making videos that I post to YouTube. I reached out to Tolifo, a company who makes budget LED video lights, and they gave me some discount coupons in order for me to be able to purchase some lights for review. One of them is the PT-15B. That said, here's my review.

The packaging is nice, and the product is fairly well-protected. The first thing I noticed when I opened the box is the metal housing of the light. It's thin, but has a little bit of heft to it owing to the fact that the housing acts as a heatsink for the LEDs.

The one thing that I was torn on was the fact that the diffuser is built into the housing, and is not removable. I wondered about it, until I first fired up the light. This thing is BRIGHT. It's rated at 15 watts, with an output of 1500 lumens.  When I make my YouTube product review videos, I use DIY fixtures I put together with a 16.5 watt 5500k bulb that is rated the same. I use a diffuser made of an opaque shower curtain, which does a really good job, surprisingly. This is much less diffuse, and is much more directional. More on that in a minute.

I used NP-F750 batteries that I bought specifically to use on lights like this, as they are all standardized on this Sony format. I can purchase just about any LED light out there, and will have batteries for them, as almost none of the lower-priced units come with either batteries, or AC adapters.

I found that this light is much less diffuse than my DIY solution, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I tested it by placing it at the same distance from a photography subject (a Lego truck), and it seems much brighter, but that's because of the proximity. If I were to pull the light back to where it was more spread out, the intensity would be comparable to the DIY light. I didn't test that specifically, as I was trying to do an apples-to-apples comparison - which ultimately failed. Here's why:

The DIY fixture is built using a plain old clamp shop light (silver reflector) with a 100 watt equivalent LED light bulb in it, with the opaque shower curtain diffusion material over the opening to the light, connected to a light dimmer switch. Here's the issue - the bulb itself is already diffused, so by adding the shower curtain, I'm getting double the diffusion, so the comparison to the Tolifo light isn't really fair.

The light is about $29 on Amazon (plus about $12 for the battery), and by comparison, my DIY lights cost roughly $16 ($9 for the clamp,$3 for the bulb, $1 worth of shower curtain, $1 extension cord, $1 dimmer, $1 electrical box)

$41 - Tolifo solution
$16 per light - DIY solution (I have three)

All that said, I'm going to have to do some real-world testing to really evaluate the light, but so far, it looks like it has found a home in my YouTube-making parts list.


The basic (paraphrased) information Amazon provides on the product is below:

• FUNCTION: The CRI95 provides you with a professional quality compact LED light panel with a high definition LCD display – perfect for your DSLR, camcorder or tripod and an excellent addition to any photography studio lighting kit
• FEATURES: Smart LCD display panel, warm to cold color temperature adjustable LED (3,200 – 5,600k) bulb for outstanding reproduction of color, dual power design, and hot shoe adapter camera light mount
• DESIGN: Light panel is made with a super lightweight aluminum alloy housing, with a portable pocket-sized frame, a dual power supply (DC input adapter or battery powered) and built-in diffusion panel to ensure efficient light transmission
• EASY TO USE: Controls include a power button, long press color temperature setting mode (for indoor or outdoor), and 2 buttons that manage the brightness (from 10-99%)
• COMPATIBILITY: Supports applicable battery NP-F550/ NP-F750/ NP-F970 series or DC input adapter 13-17V (Note: battery and ac adapter ARE NOT included)

The Tolifo PT-15B is available here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0VDOGX

Roraima Camping Table Product Review

As a self-described 'regular guy with a wide range of interests', I enjoy camping. I'm a Cub Scouts Den Leader for my local Pack, and just enjoy being out in nature. So, when I found Roraima was looking for people to try out their camping table, I was happy to test it out for them. They sent it to me at no cost to myself so that I could get it and see what I thought of it. As I always tell companies, you get my opinion. You don't get a free pass on anything. If I see something I don't like, I'm going to let people know about it. That said, here's my review.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the rather large box it came in was that it came in a nice nylon bag with a shoulder strap, making it easy to carry. It's quite light. More on that in a minute. As you can see, I have it sitting beside a 5 gallon bucket that contains some of my tent equipment.

When you open the bag via the drawstring at the top, you see that the bag is actually sewn into sections where the various components go, helping to keep them from flopping around inside the bag while you're walking with it. That's a nice feature that I didn't expect. When you pull out the items from the bag, you see the table top (top), the table top support rods (2nd from the top), the storage shelf/bag (2nd from the bottom), and the table base (bottom).

To be honest, I didn't read the instructions at all, based on how simple the table is to set up. The first thing I did was to unfold the base and attach the table top support rods. There are U-shaped clips that they drop into that have a metal peg that fits into a hole in the rod, making it so that the table won't fold up on you. Another nice design feature that I hadn't expected. One thing I did notice was that the base seemed a little difficult to unfold. This could be due to it being new and having never been unfolded before. It could also be an indicator of poor manufacturing, causing stress on the joints, making them hard to slide and fold. I'll hold judgement on that until I use it a bit more to make sure it's not an issue with the table.

The next thing I did was to attach the table top. In hindsight, I should have attached the storage shelf/bag underneath, as it's a bit difficult to manage once the top is on. More on that later. The table is built from multiple slats that run parallel, and are connected via elastic cords, so that you can stretch the table to insert the ends into the support rods on each end. This is another nice engineering aspect that I found pleasantly surprising.

The last thing I did was to attach the storage shelf/pouch underneath. This is the one area that the table has an issue. The shelf attaches to the legs at the top by a clip, and at the bottom by a hook and loop strap. The weight of the shelf is supported by the cross-support of the table. You can see this arrangement below:

The problem with this arrangement is that it makes getting things in and out of the shelf difficult. You can see in the final pictures at the end of this post that I have a few things in the shelf, including a roll of paper towels, which had to be inserted at an angle and I didn't dare lay it down completely, as it would be almost impossible to get back out. What I ended up doing (not pictured) is using some inexpensive carabiners that I had with me, to clip onto the table's cross support, and then hooked the shelf/bag hook onto the carabiner, thus lowering the entire shelf by about 3". This made getting things in and out much easier. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but Roraima should consider a way of lowering this shelf for better ease of use.

I used the table briefly without the shelf as you can see below, but later decided that I wanted to add it back on with the carabiners.

Ultimately, it's a pretty nice table for camping. It's light, as I mentioned before. Really light. Part of my brain kept telling me that light=cheap, but I should know better. As a former mountain biker, current camper, etc., I know that companies spend a lot of money trying to make things light, and that in many cases, light=expensive. This table runs around $50, which is a little bit more than a cheap, white-topped folding table that you can by just about anywhere, but this is much more portable, making it ideal for camping, when every pound (and every inch of space it takes up) counts. I'd rate this table a solid 4.5 stars out of 5, with the half star taken off just for the way that the shelf it includes is difficult to use without banging into the leg supports every time you put something in or take something out. Having recently paid $40 for a white, plastic-topped folding table that is quite difficult to carry around, not to mention store, I would definitely pay an extra $10 for the storage space usage and portability that this table provides.

The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:

• Sturdy construction with Aluminum frame, with capacity of 120 Lbs, product size is 27.56"x27.56"x27.56", Perfect height, weight, Family of 4 could easily eat off for camping.It is a great company with a folding camping chair, or great for Outdoor BBQ
• Sets up fast & folds small within 30 seconds, Folding in a carry bag with only 3 steps to put up and down. Extra mesh storage nets included, great space for preparing camping stuff,like dishes, fruits, toys and others.
• Rustproof,Fire proof, do not need to worry about too close to fire, you can even cook directly on this table, save money to buy extra camping kitchen table.
• Easy to clean , wipe all the messy stuff with a microfiber towel, Clean and tidy just so simple. Easy to carry with you in the Cars, RVs, etc
• All RORAIMA product includes a 1-year warranty with life time custom service, if you have any questions, pls feel free to contact with our custom service team. Thanks for again to buy RORAIMA products.

The Roraima camping table is available here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077YTG9Y6

#campingtable

Sarki Air Fryer XL (12 t) Product Review

I was recently contacted by a company called Sarki, who makes various types of small appliances. They asked me if I'd be willing to do a product review for a thermal laminator for them. They offered to send me this laminator at no cost in order for me to look it over, review it, and post my reviews on various social media platforms that I use. I agreed, and while I was waiting to receive the unit, I started researching them, and found that they also made an air fryer.  I'm a 'regular guy with a wide range of interests', and one of those interests is cooking.  I've always wanted an air fryer, so I asked if I could review it as well, also for no cost, and they said YES! I was so excited, as I've read great things about air fryers in general, and have wanted to get my hands on one.

The unit they sent me turns out is one of the largest, if not the largest size of air fryer made. It's a 12 quart capacity model, but what I like about it the best is that it has a door on the front, and not a basket like many other models. I think this gives a much greater degree of flexibility on its use.

I filmed the unboxing of the unit, which includes a 6.3 quart air fry pan (pot) with an integrated stirring gear in the bottom, a three-bladed strirrer, a pizza tray (which I used as a drippings catcher (more on that below), a roasting rack, a chicken roasting rack, and even an oven mitt. I was rather impressed with the heft of the pizza pan and the air fry pan. They are both quite heavy. For my testing, as outlined below, I used the roasting rack, and the pizza pan.

I was immediately struck by the controls, which are a very nice touch panel:

The items on the touch panel are pre-programmed settings for various foods, such as french fries, fish, pizza, etc. These can be altered after they are selected.  For my first test, I chose the french fries option, which automatically set 400 degrees for 20 minutes, because I was cooking some chicken nuggets. I figured that 20 minutes was too long, as my usual cook time for chicken nuggets was about 12 minutes. I changed it to 10.  I fired it up, and it got hot pretty fast.

It got so hot so fast that I only let the nuggets go for 6 minutes, because I was worried that they would be too crunchy for my son to eat. I asked him when he was eating, and he said that they probably could have gone 1 more minute and would have been perfect. 7 minutes for perfect chicken nuggets is fast. Not microwave fast, but certainly fast enough for everyday use. It's faster than our convection toaster oven, which we do most of our small-scale cooking in, by the way.

My next test was some beef sausages by Kiobasa. They were frozen, so I used the defrost setting, which ran for, I believe, 6 minutes.  After that was done, I set it on 350 for 7 minutes, and they came out perfect. They were hot in the middle, had a good crisp snap on the outside, and were really juicy.

I threw a quick spinach salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette on a plate with one and had an excellent, keto-friendly lunch.

Juicy and delicious!

After filming and playing with the unit, I'm rather impressed. The retail price of the unit is ~$230 and, while steep, makes it a bit of a fringe item I would think.  It's not going to take over the spot in the kitchen that the microwave holds.  It's just too pricey, and that's unfortunate, because I see this as having a much wider range of cooking options than the good old Radar-range.  For example, I couldn't imaging cooking a whole chicken in the microwave, unless I wanted a slimy mess afterward.  The same goes for thinks that are pre-cooked and frozen, such as chicken nuggets, fish sticks, etc., unless they come in special microwave-crisping packaging. The bottom line on this is that it's essentially a convection oven on steroids. It has dual-zone heating, which is activated by your selection on the panel.  If you choose something that should be heated from above, the top element lights. From below, the bottom one.  I didn't test it, but I assume that there's a setting that will light both elements. Overall, I'm think this is something that I would have saved my money for if I'd seen one in action at a friends house, or on TV.  It might very well replace our toaster oven, as it heats faster, cooks faster, and is just cooler in general.


The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:

• 12QT XL CAPACITY --- 12 Quart airfryer with 6 Quart frying pan. Equips with 5 removable and QuickClean accessories, the family sized fryer can fry up all favorite snacks and foods for your friends and family with ease and less time consumed, is the best choice for your family.
• RAPID AIR CIRCULATING TECH --- New version air fryer with rapid hot air circulating system, enable your food cooking in all directions and evenly heated with little oil to no oil added. LESS FAT, MORE HEALTHIER.
• AUTO-STIR FUNCTION --- Auto stirring blade combines with unique bottom design moves the air throughout the air oven for an even, perfect cook. ONE-CLICK STIRING, WITH NO TURNING NEEDED.
• EASY VIEWING WINDOW --- ETVR air fryers feature a large see through cooking window with a working light. Let you monitor cooking progress without opening the door. Now, begins your healthy frying lifestyle with ETVR Air Fryer.
• Lifetime Warranty --- Warranty for 100% satisfaction: return or refund for any reason within 3 months , exchange or replace for any quality issue within 1 year , and lifetime for repairing and technical support. Please feel free to reach us if you have any problems.

The Sarki Air Fryer XL is available here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GQRG4Q2

Sarki Thermal Laminator Product Review

So, I was contacted by a company called Sarki, who makes various types of small appliances. They asked me if I'd be willing to do a couple of product reviews for them. They offered to send me this laminator at no cost in order for me to look it over, review it, and post my reviews on various social media platforms that I use. Here's an overhead screen capture from the video that I made and will be uploading to YouTube soon. I got the black one here, although they also make a white one here.

After filming and playing with the unit, I'm rather impressed. For the retail price of $79'ish, I sure hoped that I would be. This thing is business-class. It will laminate using 3-5 mil pouches of varying sizes, giving a fair amount of flexibility. I purchased the package (out of my own pocket) of laminating pouches below from Amazon to do the testing, and if I decide to keep the unit, some home laminations. I wanted the maximum amount of flexibility, so I spent a little of my own money, just in case. If I decide to do a giveaway on my YouTube channel for it, the pouches will go ,too.




So, for the demonstration in the video, my inner nerdness came out. I decided to laminate a character sheet from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. I used a classic character sheet, because that's how I roll. Laminating a character sheet is excellent because during gameplay, as characters take damage, they can use dry- or wet-erase markers to keep track of things like hit points, wounds, armor class, etc. as they can often change during the game.

The laminating process with this unit is simple. You turn it on, and press the button for the thickness of the laminating pouch you're using. This button will light up. There's an LED light beside the 3mil button that will turn green when the unit has warmed up sufficiently to laminate that thickness. It only seemed to take about 30 seconds to heat up for the 3mil pouch.

Then, simply slide the item to be laminted (in the pouch) into the unit from the top, as indicated by the red flashing arrow, and the unit will pull the pouch through, laminating it as it goes. My 8 1/2" x 11" 3mil lamination took right at 45 seconds as you can see in the image below:

The finished laminated character sheet would be indestructible at the gaming table. If you know that you're playing with kids, or just dirty slobs who eat while playing, you don't have to worry about drink spillage, pizza droppage, or any other calamity that might befall your character.

In general, I have to say that I really like this product, as it's made very well. In a small office environment is where this would really shine. At home, where I have it, it will only occasionally get used, but that's okay. There are lots of things I can use it for, such as laminating phone number lists to stick in the kids' school backpacks, or if the print is small enough, in my wallet. It can be used to laminate certificates, pictures, just about anything you want to protect, but I think, if I keep the unit, that I'll use it for things like character sheets, etc.


The basic information Amazon provides on the product is below:

• ◆Fast Warm-up: Only takes 3 minutes to warm up, definitely time-saving while laminating.
• ◆2-Roller system: Hot and Cold Laminating system satisfies different pressure requirement with an amazing speed of 12.6 inch/min and makes the project material laminated in a perfect and flatten way.
• ◆Perfect size: Laminator with maximum width 13.3 inch (A3 size paper) and speed of 12.6 inch per minute. Supported thickness of laminating item is up to 0.02 inch.
• ◆Automatic shut off: Laminator will automatically turn off, if it stays idle for 20-30 mins. Which is more convenient and safe for you.
• ◆Easy-to-use Design: 4 temperature settings for cold pouch, 3 mil, 4mil, 5 mil with LED Indicators, and single operation switch, clearly show you the status of machine and quite easy for the beginner to use and suitable for applying in home, school and office.

The laminator is available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DVQ8X4D

Keto by Design Weight Loss Supplement

Due Diligence:

I received a complimentary bottle of Keto by Design. The company 'Created by GOD, LLC', asked me to try it out, and give them an honest review of the product. I started the supplement on Tuesday, September 4, and plan on taking weight and body fat measurements weekly on Tuesdays to check my progress.

Weight Loss Background:

I've done a keto-based weight loss program, and lost some 16lbs a year or so ago. I've managed to keep most of that off, but the weight slowly started coming back on after I fell off the wagon, so to speak. This couldn't have come at a better time! I've started back on a low-carb, Keto diet, and if this product will help with my weight loss, I'll be a fan for life. The regular price is a little steep, at ~$25 for a month's supply, but if it works, it'll be worth going on as a regular supplement. Currently, I weigh 197lb, and have 35% based on my bodyfat scale. Accurate or not, that at least gives me a quick and easy way of testing to see any changes that might be occurring.

What is Keto:

Keto is short for ketogenic. In a nutshell, it's a different metabolic path by which your body gets its energy. Currently, most of us are on a glucogenic (sugar-based) metabolism where carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars that can be directly used by the body. In keto, your body switches to a ketogenic (ketone-based) one, where your body breaks down fat into ketone bodies to use as fuel, rather than carbohydrates. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) state: "..there is no clear requirement for dietary carbohydrates for human adults", and there is clear evidence of ketosis as being better for long-term health aside from weight loss.  It has been shown to help with seizures, it has been show to slow Alzheimer's Disease progression, and a number of other issues, including aiding in cancer treatments. Also, many metabolic disorders like diabetes are directly tied to sugar metabolism (or lack thereof), and thus are helped out with keto as well.

Product Background:

The product is based on medical and supplement research going back a number of years. One thing I noticed immediately is the similarity between the active ingredient, BHB (beta-Hydroxy Butyrate), and HMB (beta-Hydroxy, beta-Methylbutyrate), a product that has been used for decades in athletes:

   

BHB

HMB

With the slight difference being two additional methyl groups on the left side (ignore the jargon), there shouldn't be much difference in the activity of the compounds, but I wanted to research them to be certain. What I found is that there's been extensive study of both. The compound of interest, BHB has been in at least 2 NIH studies, and a number of consumer studies as well, and safety and effectiveness have both been shown at the concentrations available for supplementation.

You simply take 2 pills on an empty stomach 20-30 minutes before a meal, once a day. I chose breakfast, as that's the only meal I can regularly plan, so it's the easiest for me. I started, and will post some results in a couple of weeks!

Aside: 

On a side note, the company donates $1 of every sale to Big Oak Ranch, a Christian-based organization in Alabama that adopts abused, neglected, and abandoned children. Since 1974, they've helped over 2000 kids, and are currently support 140 as of today, September 6, 2018. That makes them okay in my book.

Pick up a bottle of it here: https://www.amazon.com/Keto-by-Design/dp/B07FS3GYK8/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=



As a side note, there are a number of great books on the ketogenic diet, including meal plans, etc. available. Some of my favorites are below:




The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners: Your Essential Guide to Living the Keto Lifestyle

This book is my Keto Bible. Written by Amy Ramos, an expert on Keto. I prefer the spiral-bound version, but for cost-saving, I recommend the softcover book.




The Keto Instant Pot Cookbook: Ketogenic Diet Pressure Cooker Recipes Made Easy and Fast

I am also a huge fan of the Instant Pot, or in my case a less-expensive brand of electric pressure cooker, but the recipes included here work very well!

#keto #ketolife

HuDieM Solar Lights Waterproof Outdoor Solar Led Security Light

I was just sent a product for review, and I'm really excited. I've wanted to install a solar light in several places around my property for quite a while, and this will give me the perfect time to do it.

I was provided a HuDieM Solar Light in exchange for an honest review, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited looking at it. The package contains a 56 LED light panel, a motion sensor, and a solar panel that's connected by a cable that's roughly 16 1/2 feet long. This would give me a ton of flexibility on where I wanted to place the panel in relation to the light. I've looked at a number of models from other manufacturers that the solar panel is attached to the light, which doesn't seem ideal to me.

The light, available from Amazon here (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CM4JGNS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) is very affordable at around $26 at the time I got mine.

For the price, the item feels pretty sturdy. I can't wait to get it mounted and tested. I'll do a full review once I have it and can test the brightness in my locations.

So, I Test Drove a Tesla...

Yesterday, I got the opportunity to test drive a Tesla Model S, and let me say, I think I'm in love. This is a long post, as I wanted to do the experience justice.

I found myself winding down a back road, looking for the 'dealership', which isn't really a dealership at all. It sort of reminded me of going to a cell phone store. There are a lot of displays inside, but the product is kept in the back (or somewhere else, as in the case of Tesla). When I got to the office, I found several other groups of smiling, happy, wide-eyed people who were being given pre-test drive tours of the various models Tesla offers. I was there to look at a Model S, but really love the Model X.

I was immediately greeted by a hip, young staff, which reminded me of an Apple store. They are a bit like the Geniuses at Apple - nicely dressed, friendly, knowledgeable. They confirmed who I was, and started giving me the rundown.

In the back, I was shown the various charging options. Included with the vehicle is a cable for a standard 110v/120v outlet that you can plug into any household outlet for top-up charging. Various estimates on how much charge you get on a standard home outlet range from 3-5 miles of driving per hour of charge, hence my designation of 'top-up charging'. If you get home from work at 6:30pm, and then leave the next morning at 7:30am, that gives you 11 hours of charge, so you've regained between 33 and 55 miles' worth of driving.

Tesla sells various adapters for the charging cable, including one for, a 240v outlet that can charge the entire vehicle from essentially dead batteries to full overnight, (roughly 10.5hrs). Tesla also sells an add-on power booster called a Wall Connector that can charge the batteries in of a 75kwh model in 8hrs, 45 minutes, or a 100kwh vehicle in 5hrs, 45 minutes. Obviously, you want to have one of these 240v outlets installed in your garage by an electrician if you drive much more than the 33-55 miles per day, unless you plan on marathon charging over the weekend, or pony up for a Wall Connector. Of course, none of this matters if you have a Supercharger station close by, or have a charging station at or near where you work.

What is a Supercharger station? Tesla motors runs a network of high-power charging stations - the equivalent to gas stations for Tesla owners, free of charge. Yep, I said it. Free of charge. Tesla states on their site that your Tesla can regain 170 miles' worth of battery charge in as little as 30 minutes. These stations tend to be built along major US highway corridors, such as I-40, and I-85, the two that I was most concerned with. The current (October 1, 2017) map of their over 1000 stations in North America is below.

Tesla also lists 'Destination Charging Stations' on their site. I wasn't sure how these differed from Supercharger stations, so I investigated. Destination Stations are essentially located at common destinations for consumers, such as museums, shopping malls, hotels, etc., with the bulk of them being located at hotels. These would be places you might go for a longer period of time than the 30 minutes Tesla references with their Supercharger stations.

I was curious about the range, and asked, and was shown real-world numbers, as they differ from EPA published numbers and information I had gotten from various online sources. The 75kwh Model S, according to EPA gets roughly 250 miles per full charge. The real world data indicates that this is closer to 300 miles. The 100kwh battery pack is listed at 335, but real world driving numbers indicate that this is close to 360.

One thing to keep in mind about this car is that it's wired. Seriously wired. The EPA mileage estimates are just that - estimates. Tesla cars are all connected to Tesla via a complex wireless network. They upload telemetry data, download software/firmware patches, and navigation maps automatically. That said, Tesla knows exactly how well or how poorly the vehicles are performing under certain conditions. This way, they can send out software updates to make the car more efficient., or even add features or options to the vehicle's software. This is another free service that's offered for the life of the vehicle.

We were then off to meet the car I was going to 'pilot'. It's not a test drive, and you're not taking a salesperson with you, you're taking a 'copilot'. Here was my baby, a 75kwh, rear-wheel drive only Tesla Model S, in black:

I had seen the car in passing when I went in, but when I got up close and started looking, I was dumbfounded at the luxury of the vehicle. The LED daytime running lights were brilliant, the shape of the car was sleek, and the fit and finish was impeccable. This particular unit was a holdover of a set of options that are no longer offered, as this is rear-wheel drive only, and all new models are the 75D, which means dual motor - both front and rear. Interestingly, the copilot told me that the all wheel drive model is more efficient with respect to battery usage, and therefore has a longer range on the same 75kwh battery pack. Who knew. I asked the copilot, "What's under the hood, since there's no engine in there?", so he popped the hood and showed me:

There's a trunk up there! It's a bit small, owing to the need to include things like air conditioner compressors, brake boosters, etc, under the plastic panel, but still, a trunk in the front! Very cool!

I had to see what the 'actual' trunk looked like. Absolutely HUGE.

One thing that I thought was neat was that Tesla offers an optional third row seating for children in the back. The area of the bottom nearest the rear of the vehicle is hinged, and has a deep well, that the children's legs would go into, and the rear-facing seats would be back-to-back with the rear seats. These are only good for smaller children, and maybe young teens, but I think this is a really need option that I've never seen on a sedan before, as this is usually in the area of the minivan.

We walked around and I got a feel for the vehicle interior, which is very nice, and quite comfortable. The rear set in this vehicle seats three adults quite comfortably.

The front seats looked just as good as I had expected based on the rear seats:

There were multiple cup holders in the center console, as well as plenty of storage. There were also two USB ports, as well as a 12v accessory port.

Then I got in, and almost started giggling like a madman. The car automatically powers on when you get in, and the climate control, stereo, etc, all come alive in all their high-tech glory. The first thing I noticed was the MASSIVE 17" display in the center. I've owned televisions smaller than that! It's really a thing of beauty, and is the control center for the entire car. This is where you set all of your vehicle details, such as your climate preferences, your radio, your navigation, phone and bluetooth connection/control, camera views, your calendar, and even your heated seat controls. I immediately started playing with the navigation display:

The navigation display is powered by Google Maps, so anything you can do and see with Google, you can get on this display. The onscreen keyboard is massive, and easy to type quickly on. I was looking at local charging stations, and didn't do much else, as I was overly-sensitive to the charging aspect of the vehicle while I was there.

I was so hooked on the range, charging and charging stations, that I decided to map a virtual trip from Durham, North Carolina where I live, to Pasadena, Maryland, where my in-law's live. The system gave me this:

The system, based on the current range of the batteries, recommended a stop at a Supercharger station in Chester, Virginia for a 40 minute stop, and then drive the remainder of the trip without stopping. Keep in mind that the battery wasn't fully charged as you'll see in a moment. I was still hung up on the Supercharger stations, so the copilot did a search and randomly selected the one in Wilmington, North Carolina as a reference:

The system shows the location of the station, current usage of the station (how many available charging stalls are there), and even amenities that are nearby, in this case restrooms, dining, coffee, hotels, shopping, and wifi. Very cool.

After the amazement of the touchscreen display wore off, I realized that music was playing, and I looked at the instrument panel. It was there that I noticed the album art for Heart.

There's a lot of information here, even if you don't realize it. The center top shows your speed. Just below that shows your vehicle, which in reality is surrounded by a matrix of cameras and ultrasonic sonar waves. This is how the vehicle determines your proximity to things like other cars, curbs, and even lane lines. The 'fuel gauge' is to the bottom left, which at this time shows that I had 197 miles left on the charge. It was a nice 86 degrees outside, as you can see next to that. On the opposite side from the charge indicator and temperature you can see the clock and drive train indicator, showing that we were in park.

To the right, opposite the Heart album art is the historic battery usage meter. This shows how much juice the car has been using, and during your drive, a meter bounces between power used, and power regained through regenerative braking - something I'd heard of, but didn't understand it's inner workings. To fix that, I asked how it worked. It's something like this:

You have a car with a big battery in it. That big battery powers a motor. When you let off the accelerator pedal or press the brakes, the car 'assists' by basically changing the motors from motors to generators, which then pump energy back into the battery - a very efficient process, by the way. The aggressiveness at which the car does this when you simply remove your foot from the accelerator can be adjusted in the vehicle driving options.

So, we got strapped in, and headed out for our drive. The first thing I noticed was that the car had a ton of power. The acceleration is smooth and linear. There was no acceleration curve you see with a gasoline-powered vehicle with a transmission, as an electric motor doesn't have a sweet spot for power like a gear driven transmission does. It's simply all power, all the time. I never tried to see just how hard I could get the car to accelerate by pressing the pedal all the way down. I resisted my every childhood, teenage, and even adult male instincts to do so. I'm sure the copilot was wondering about that, as I'm sure every single person who gets into these cars does just that. It felt like the luxury sport sedan I had just driven about two weeks prior on a business trip to Utah. This had all the power, all the stability, and all the suspension of that car, and then some. The stability is due, I assume to the car's low center of gravity due to the battery pack, which is situated in the belly of the car between the wheels. This makes the center of gravity so low, that I'd be surprised if one of these could be rolled over without really, really trying.

We tooled around on some side roads for a while, and then hit the highway. The car accelerated very quickly as I expected. One thing I immediately noticed on the center display was that the car shows every sonar echo on the instrument panel, going so far as to actually show other vehicles. I activated the autopilot feature, and let the car drive for awhile. Weird. It was a little jumpy, as it stayed in the lanes, but it did so very well. The one place it got confused was where I was in the far right lane, and passed an off ramp. The vehicle started to move over slightly, but as soon as we passed the off ramp, it realized that the lane wasn't turning, and it immediately corrected. This is why they say that autopilot is no replacement for hands on the wheel, and eyes on the road.

One cool thing that the copilot showed me was the voice search on the radio. I asked the radio to 'Play Joe Satriani', and so it, like Pandora, built me a 'Joe Satriani' station, playing his music, interspersed with a mix of music from other, similar artists. I was in hog heaven, buster. HOG HEAVEN!

We went back to the sales office, and I didn't want it to end. I decided right there that if or when I ever get the opportunity, I'll buy one. The cost is high for the Model S, but the Model 3, which is currently getting it's first units out to customers, is less than half the cost, and might be a more realistic option for me, but it's still something that's out of my budget for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, the Model 4 (or whatever they decide to call it), will be even more affordable, with the bulk of the cost of the vehicle being battery costs, and Tesla doing much to reduce this cost.

Inexpensive 4K Action Cam (Like a GoPro) Review and Giveaway

I'm in the process of ordering an inexpensive 4K action camera, sort of like a GoPro.  I wanted to see if any of the off-brand cameras out there are worth the money for someone who is not a professional surfer, snowboarder, skater, etc. I just want something durable that I can take hiking, camping, out in inclement weather, and even use to do a bit of vloggin with. At the end of my evaluation, I'll be giving this camera away on my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/2fsvM6O), so keep an eye out for the review video.


The GoPro Hero 5 models were released late last year and weigh in with these specs:

Model	HERO5 Session[70]	HERO5 Black
Video Modes	4k30, 1440p60, 1080p90	4k30, 1440p80, 1080p120
Still Image Resolution	10MP	12MP
Photo burst	30fps	30fps
Connectivity	WiFi, Bluetooth	WiFi, Bluetooth
Water Resistance	10 m	10 m
Wired Connectors	USB-C	USB-C, micro HDMI
Battery	built-in 1000 mAh, Li-Ion	replaceable 1220 mAh, Li-Ion
Screen	none	touchscreen, 51 mm
Location Capture	none	GPS

Current Price                              $299.00                                    $399.00
(via GoPro.com)

Because I want something with a screen, the Hero5 Black is what I'm basing hardware specs for my purchase on. I found a unit that seems to fit the bill. Here are the basics:

4k30, 1080p 60, 720p 90
16MP
170 deg wide-angle lens
2" non-touchscreen
Built in WIFI
Timelapse, Slow Motion and car mode.
IP68 waterproof case
2 rechargeable 950mAh batteries. Each battery can record from 88 minutes to 176 minutes.
Supports most High Speed Class 10 and up to 64GB Micro SD Card

Retail Price ~$60.

Keep in mind that I don't have a GoPro Hero 5 Black to do a side-by-side comparison. That's not what this is about. This is about deciding if an inexpensive camera would fit the bill for someone who wanted an 'action camera' for casual use, without having to spend $400. The review will be ready in a week or two, with the giveaway shortly thereafter.