Product Reviews

Product Reviews


Honeywell EconoSWITCH RPLS741B 86
For years, I’ve used programmable switches at our Utah vacation house to turn exterior lights on at dusk and off at dawn. Having a well-lit exterior is a deterrent to potential thieves, and creates a nice visual setting when returning home at night. Previously, I used four Intermatic EJ500 switches, […]

Review: Honeywell EconoSWITCH Programmable Timer


Desert Eagle .50 in the bath 3
In a previous post, I reviewed the ultrasonic cleaner I now use to clean my firearms. But a good ultrasonic cleaner is only part of the process. What you put in the tank (apart from the guns, of course) is just as important — and maybe even more so. But […]

Review: UniqueTek Premium Firearms Cleaner™


Gun parts in the CP1100HT 3
How one cleans and cares for their firearms is a deeply personal decision. Some take it to almost religious levels of zeal. For me, it’s always been about making it as effective, fast, and easy as possible; the easier the process, the more likely I am to reliably perform it. […]

Review: Crest CP1100HT Ultrasonic Cleaner for Firearms Cleaning



.44 Magnum cylinder face - before 5
I currently own two stainless steel revolvers: a Smith & Wesson Model 629-6 Performance Center (.44 Magnum) and a Freedom Arms Model 83 Premier Grade (.454 Casull). They are both fantastic guns that I cherish, but they’re not museum pieces. I use my guns, so they get dirty. But I never […]

Review: KleenBore Lead Away Cloth


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Since I was already in an LED mood after upgrading my Maglites, I decided I’d punch up the performance of my M3 Tactical Illuminator with an LED upgrade of its own. The ubiquitous M3 Tactical Illuminator, a favorite among law enforcement and military personnel, is a rail-mounted weapon light produced by […]

Review: Insight/EOTech M3/M6 Tactical Light LED Upgrade Bezel Kit


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I love my Maglites. I’ve owned a number of them in different sizes since I was a Boy Scout. And while their rugged construction, reliability, ease of use, and excellent customer service never go out of style, bulb technology has changed dramatically since the years when I was collecting merit […]

Review: TerraLUX Maglite LED Replacement Bulb Upgrade



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After considering a couple of upgrades for a while, I decided to add a threaded barrel to my Sig Sauer P226 MK 25 pistol and replace the forward pivot in in my Sig Sauer 556 SWAT with a push-button version for easier field stripping. Here’s a quick report on the […]

A Tale of Two Sigs: Adding a Threaded Barrel to ...



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As you may be aware from one of my previous posts, I decided to ditch both of my analog phone alarm companies in favor of digital monitoring using my Envisalink 2DS adapter which connects my DSC alarm panels to my in-home networks and, along with a host of other features, […]

How to Disable Phone Options on a DSC Alarm Panel ...



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Here’s a copy of an email I just sent (on Feb 11, 2012) to the customer service email address and my salesperson at Bedroom Furniture Discounts, from whom my wife and I recently purchased new bedroom furniture. They were fantastic to work with on the sales side, but I think […]

Bedroom Furniture Discounts & Exel Direct’s “White Glove” Delivery Service


Locked House 17
This is somewhat of a different blog post for me, as I’m starting it before I even know what’s going to be in it. Maybe everything will go smoothly and this will be a boring story of how I made a couple phone calls and quickly and easily cancelled two […]

A Tale of Two Alarm Monitoring Cancellation Requests: Fire Protection ...


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As part of our preparations for winter, my wife gently reminded me last week that she’s been asking me to fix the gas fireplaces in the house for months. But as a geek’s geek, I can’t just fix a fireplace, I have to upgrade a fireplace! We have three gas […]

Review: Skytech SKY-5310 Fireplace Remote Control



Home Depot Credit Card 14
I shop at the Home Depot. A lot. And, as I do with absolutely every purchase possible, I used to always pay with my American Express Centurion Card (Membership Rewards points + hassle-free purchase protection). And, every time, as I’m sure Home Depot’s company policies dictate, the cashier would ask “Would you […]

Why I’m Canceling my Home Depot Credit Card


CTEK OEM Chargers 11
As some one with a small car collecting problem, I don’t always get a chance to drive all my cars all the time. Some are stored in remote locations. Some are less amenable to rainy weather (the Atom). Some stay parked when gas prices are higher (the Hummer). Some might […]

Review: CTEK Multi US 3300 & Multi US 7002 12-Volt ...


ecobee Firmware Update Screen 4
I’ve already discussed most of the pros and cons of the product in my ecobee Smart Thermostat review, and detailed my experiences with installing a second ecobee unit and using the group features. I’ve also documented some of my frustrations with ecobee’s tethered device approach, especially in the rare cases when […]

Installing Ecobee Smart Thermostat #5



iTAC-TDL1 Tactical Light 23
I picked up a Sig Sauer STL-300J STOPLITE tactical light this week to mount onto my Sig Sauer 556 SWAT. Here’s my review of this accessory. The retail price on this piece (which you’ll pay if you purchase it direct from Sig Sauer) is $215. The street price, however, is […]

Review: Sig Sauer STL-300J STOPLITE Tactical Light


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As I do a fair amount of air travel, I sometimes convince family members to drop me at the airport, sometimes I use a car service, and sometimes I drive my own car and park it at the airport. For me, the latter is the most convenient, but depending upon […]

WallyPark Premier Garage Review


Jiffy Lube Check-in Special 4
(The following is an email I just sent to the contact address on http://jiffylubeutah.com/) SUBJECT: Feedback for Jiffy Lube #2892 To Whom it May Concern: The purpose of this email is to inform you of my experience at one of your Utah Jiffy Lube locations on May 16, 2011. After picking my […]

I had a Jiffy Lube Coupon, but instead got “Stiffied.”



I’ve had a sick Xbox 360, flashing the dreaded Red Ring of Death (RRoD), sitting in my Utah office for almost a year now. I’d replaced it with an Xbox 360 Elite, and since I’m only in this office for a few days each month, I didn’t feel a rush […]

Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death Repaired



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A few months ago, I wrote a product review for the ecobee Smart Thermostat (along with complete installation instructions and photos) which had I purchased to remotely monitor and control the thermostat in my Utah house while I was away. Overall, my review of the ecobee was

Installing my 2nd ecobee and Using Group Admin Features



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One of my favorite movie lines is from the 2001 movie Bandits, starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton. Billy Bob plays a neurotic genius who, at one point in the movie, states “You know the hardest thing about being smart? I always pretty much know what’s going to happen next. […]

ecobee Mothership Won’t Let My Thermostat Phone Home


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As the owner of a couple of vacation homes in climates more extreme than Seattle’s, I’ve had plans for a while now to eventually install thermostats in those houses which I could control remotely. In the winter, I could turn on the heat at my Utah house the day before […]

Product Review: ecobee Smart Thermostat


I’ve been using my Drobo for a couple of years now, but not for anything “industrial strength.” I’ve had it connected to my desktop as  a storage location for music, video, and archiving old website data that I no longer need. But mostly, I just enjoyed looking at the cool […]

I have 3TB (and you don’t!) thanks to my Drobo!