Coulax Cx10 in-ear headphones

These headphones came in a really nice box with a magnetic seal.  Very gift worthy and nice looking.  Inside, the headphones were set inside a foam and cardboard cutout.  Not as nice as the outside packaging, but still gift worthy and functional as a protective case.  

You get 3 different sizes of earbuds, a wire clip, and a very short USB cord.

The instructions are very clear and well written and explain very simply what the accessory buttons do and how they should work.  I will get into this more in depth later on in the review. 

The headphones are very nice looking.  The silver accents on the earpieces themselves are sharp looking and would make a nice present for a man. The rubber hooks help hold the earpieces in.  I think this is a nice touch and surprisingly comfortable.  

I do think the earpieces are a little big and a tad bulky and I did have some trouble with the right one falling out.  I tried all the different earbud sizes to try to remedy this, but maybe I just have an odd right ear.  The description boasts lightweight, and I agree.  For the size they are lightweight, though weight and bulk are 2 different things in my opinion. 

I was able to listen to music most of the day with these.  Again, the instructions say 8 hours of continuous music on a full charge, though I am happy to say I had them going about 10 hours total. 

I did experience occasional skipping while in use, with the phone right there in my pocket.  I am not sure why and it was barely noticeable; however, when testing range, I sat my phone down and walked away, getting about 7 meters away before there was regular, noticeable cutting in and out problems.  The description says up to 10 meters is the range.  I disagree.  They were not usable or enjoyable at more than 7 meters and were not usable at all at 10 meters.

The sound was actually very nice.  Isolating, though not noise cancelling in the sense that all outside noise is not gone.  The sound is rich and clear without excessive base, crackling, or at all “tinny.” As a medical transcriptionist, I tried these out on voice files as well as music, just to see how they would do.  Voice files are completely different than music files in how you need to listen to them, so I can comfortably say that I am rather picky when it comes to hearing voice files.  I am happy to say that I would be more than comfortable using them for work, as even the more difficult files were coherent.  This is actually a good thing, as transcriptions are often tethered to their computer with wires and big bulky over-ears headphones. 

These are sweat proof in that everything is sealed and rubberized.  I like the rubberizing anyway, because there is no wire nose, i.e. you don’t hear the wire rub on your shirt.  The wire is very flexible, though I would have been happier to see more reinforcement at the connections, especially on the right side where there is a little more abuse from using the accessory buttons.  

The accessory buttons.  Remotely, I was able to answer the phone, reject a call, manage the volume, and with 2 taps of the multi-function button, I was able to dial the last number dialed.  This was the only remote call-out feature I had.  Everything else had to be done from the phone.  Sometimes, the music went lower while on a call and did not pause.  I did not like that at all.  

Sometimes it did pause completely while on a call, but I was not at all in control of that. It kind of did what it wanted to when answering the phone, though it may simply be the player I was using.   Phone-wise, the description says Android compatible, so I am unsure why there was difficulty there.  

I was unable to pause, fast forward or repeat a song with my phone.  I was, however, able to do those things when synced up with my laptop. This may be due to my media player.  I was not able to confirm this anywhere online, so I will write it here as an issue I had personally on my particular phone.

Bottom line:  Nice sounding, nice looking, workout friendly headphones.  A nice, affordable gift.  Personally, I would say these would be better suited for a man simply because of the bulk of the earpieces and overall style.  I think they would fit a bigger ear better.  If you are looking for something wireless, affordable, clear sounding, and functional for an active individual, I feel that these would be a good choice.  

Homeless Bunnies, No more

For my daughter's birthday, she got a sweet little Netherland Dwarf bunny.  While we were equipped with a hutch for said bunny, it was in no way made for being outdoors and was not weather proof.  It was actually a depressing little enclosure overall.  Mr Bunny was indeed, homeless.

Of course, if one had time, a very nice little house could be made with scrap lumber and bits of the depressing cage, but frankly, I had no time to invest in such shenanigans.  I went on Amazon looking for a deal.

I found the Advantek The Penthouse Rabbit Hutch and after staring at it for a couple of days, I decided to go ahead and chance the price-vs-quality ratio and buy the thing.  I was pleasantly surprised!!

First of all, the construction side of it could not have been easier. I tend to throw all caution to the wind and go with my instincts always, so there could have been a lot of swearing and sweating here.  Of course, there wasn't.  I didn't even need to throw anything--caution or otherwise.   All the holes are marked and drilled for you, so you can easily set this pen up in less than 30 minutes with just a screwdriver.  All the hardware is included with very clear and easy-to-follow picture instructions.  You don't even have to know how to read!!!

Look Ma!  I'm a carpenter!!!

The wood is very thin and light, my guess is it is pine (indeed the description says fir!), but the entire structure was not all that expensive, so you kind of get what you pay for.  It is stained a pretty reddish brown with white painted trim.  The wire cage is black and sets off the white and red very nicely.  The cage bars are actually a nice sturdy material and is featured at the front and along the right side of the cage.

The front cage door

The nesting box door or, as Mr. Bunny insists, 

the bathroom area.

Shut the bloody door!  Can't a bunny poop in peace!?

There are 2 doors in the front.  One on the left is a rustic boxcar-siding-type door with white trim.  A simple heart screwed to the front serves as a very cute latch.  On the front right, the wire cage also opens with a secure latch. (see photos above)

I think my favorite part of the Advantek The Penthouse Rabbit Hutch has to be the top, which is hinged and easily opened with a support bracket that holds it in place during cleaning, giving you 3 different entrances to the cage.
Inside, the bottom is a plastic drawer, or litter pan, that is easily cleaned, but to follow the theme of the hutch, is trimmed in white painted wood.  There is also a removable, wood “room divider” with an opening to easily allow your bunny to go into his own private room (nesting area-er...bathroom) to the right side of the hutch.

The roof, with the solid shingle feature and white wood trim

The single propping hinge that holds the roof up for cleaning

The removable room divider leading into the nes...bathroom.

We are almost done sweetie.  I promise. 

I have the Advantek The Penthouse Rabbit Hutch sitting outside and so far it has weathered well.  The roof is a solid shingled area and the unit does not leak at all.  Of course, you would want to have the wire cage part turned away from the weather; however, with half of the unit being enclosed, your bunny can easily hide in the more enclosed side of the unit if he/she needs to.  If you do use this as a winter enclosure, I would suggest keeping the snow off of it as much as possible and giving it a good paint job every spring to ensure the wood stays protected, otherwise it is a very cute, very good and comfortable little hutch for your bunny.

I have also gotten Mr. Bunny a heated water bottle and warming pad, to further make his winter home comfortable.  This being a farming community, he is a very spoiled bunny compared to most.

I am seeing all the wild bunnies showing up in the yard just so they can pick on him and call him a sissy.  I don't care.  We love him and if that makes him a sissy, then he's a sissy.  Look at that cute little sissy bunny boy...awwww

Kay's Crochet Edge Fleece Blade for Making Perfect Holes for Crochet Edge Projects

My niece, now a mother of 5 boys, had recently undergone the birth of twins after the conversation with her husband that they should try one more time for a girl.  You can imagine the shock and awe when she found she was having twins, boys no less.  <insert maniacal laughing here>

Since they were born so near Christmas, snugly blankets were requested and I set out to buy somewhat manly fleece, in which I decided a simple crochet edge would be appropriate.  

The chaos started when I sat down to cut tiny little holes, by hand, in the edge of the fleece, in which to stab my hook through to begin this endeavor.  Sadly, my cutting was much like a drunken sailor and, after a rousting bout of curse words, a declaration of, "There must be a better way!" was decided upon.  My Google search commenced.  

This item was perfect for what I needed. I had been trying unsuccessfully to poke holes in fleece to crochet a lace edge--impossible to get an even cut on my own. My freehand is far too free and artistic for the rigid constraints of fleece edging, obviously. I was thinking that a blade that was made for in a rotary cutter would be perfect and I was told by my more sew-savvy friends that such a thing existed, but what it was called...they had no clue.
Some very interesting google searches brought me here.

Now, I am aware as to how deeply sheltered I am, realizing far too late that this "wheel" invention has existed far longer than I could have imagined...

This little wonder invention fit perfectly in my Fiskars rotary cutters, it is super sharp and within a few minutes I had perfect, even holes, a modest 1/2 inch consistently from the edge of my blanket. I could have cried. Best thing ever! I'm absolutely certain, the babies who received such perfect blanket edging will grow up to be life-saving doctors and Pro bono lawyers now...

Welcome

With every new thing being the next big thing, how often have the reliable been forgotten for the substandard, plastic, disposable, garbage?  Here is where I want to express quality over quantity, an attribute that has been forgotten in new age society.  What ever happened to pride?  Where is the humanity?  What happened to taking your time, slowing down and appreciating what you have?This blog will be dedicated to ideas and products that may just be the Renaissance of what we once had...quality, pride, durability, human concern.

Please note:  As I am approached to do reviews on products, let it be known that I will be happy to do a review for you; however, I will not do anything but an honest review in exchange for your product.  Do not bother emailing me with please don't give us a bad review or please change your review to 5 stars.  You will be instantly ignored.  My goal is to weed the bad from the good, so that online shoppers can get what they need the first time, at a good value the first time.