Recent Family Blog Posts

  • Mud Run - MuckFest 2013 Anastasia & Rick will be doing the MuckFest Mud Run on June 8 this year to have some fun and to raise money for MS. 
    Posted May 16, 2013, 8:26 AM by Rick Dziekan
  • Been a while Trying to get the website up and going again
    Posted May 14, 2013, 11:41 AM by Rick Dziekan
  • Untitled Post hi!
    Posted Oct 10, 2011, 2:42 PM by Anastasia
  • hi hi and stufff
    Posted Jul 18, 2011, 5:34 AM by Anastasia
  • swimming lesson update! very proud of Anastasia for passing swimming with flying colors! Looking forward to practicing at the shore and moving on to Beginner 2 and standing dives, backstroke!
    Posted Jul 1, 2011, 8:37 AM by Rick Dziekan
Showing posts 1 - 5 of 11. View more »













Recent Product Reviews

  • Here are some product reviews of technology products I have tested
  • New Trent NT89T
    This item is a 2 pack of dual chargers including the NT80C and the NT88C. 

    These two devices appear to have similar capabilities, with a different industrial design and slightly different packaging. 

    The NT80C features a Y-design which works great ergonomically in the car's charging port, as one USB port faces the driver and the other faces the passenger. According to the packaging, this can charge up to two devices at a time at up to 2A. I presume that means that if 1 device is attached and charging that it will charge at 2A, but if two devices are charging simultaneously, they each will get 1A. I have not attached a multimeter to check this, but they do seem to charge as expected. I like the color scheme of this product with the blue accents on a black case. This product also included something called a Samsung charge adapter, which is very nice, as without that, my Samsung devices would not take a charge. 

    The NT80C features a straight design from the car's charging port, and each USB port faces directly towards the back of the car. According to the packaging, this can charge one device at 2.1 A and another at 1A. The ports are clearly labeled as to which is which. Again, I haven't attached a multimeter to check this, but they do seem to charge as expected.  I like that this charger outputs enough juice on the two ports to fast charge from one and also another 1A port. 

    I may take the Samsung adapter from the NT88C and use it with the NT80C as that will probably be the one used in the car most often used for long trips, when I'd most likely need to charge a tablet on the go. 

    All in all I'm pleased with both devices and they are replacing the single-port USB adapters I had in my cars previously. 
    Posted May 25, 2013, 3:00 PM by Rick Dziekan
  • Motorola Razr-M
    I have been using the Motorola Razr M for 6 months as I sit here in May 2013. 

    I switched from a Motorola Bionic. 

    The Razr-M's primary thing going for it is its size. Its small and thin, where the Bionic was larger (had a larger screen too though)

    The Razr-M's battery life is nothing special. It lasts through a whole day in use IF it is fully charged overnight. If I forget to charge it, it pretty much becomes a corded phone. As the Razr-M does not have replaceable batteries, I cannot just carry a spare. A somewhat reasonable workaround is to use the New Trent external battery as an extender, but that's probably less than ideal. 

    Otherwise, everything else is pretty much standard Android jellybean. Not much else to report. 
    Posted May 17, 2013, 7:45 AM by Rick Dziekan
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet
    This is a quad core tablet that is optimized for a stylus. The handwriting recognition and the built-in stylus enabled s-note and photoshop are really useful. Battery life is great.

    Another new feature is that most apps can be shrunk to a window, and I believe up to 6 apps can be running, visible, and useable all at the same time. This can make for a real productivity tool. 
    Posted May 14, 2013, 11:40 AM by Rick Dziekan
  • New Trent IMP52D
    This is a very nice unit. It is easily pocketable and will be rather convenient to have on hand in my carry case or just in my pocket. I found it to be easy to use. The unit came with some charge, but I fully charged it before testing. I charged it initially in a rather slowish charger and have since tried a couple of others. It charges in about the time I'd expect depending on the charger itself. 

    When fully charged, it had enough juice to charge my Motorola Razr-M fully in about 2 hours, with a bit remaining in reserve. If I carry the IMP52D, I have more than doubled the effective life of my phone. The little bit extra would serve as a nice reserve if I completely drained the phone's battery twice; I expect I'd have another 25% in reserve. 

    The laser pointer and the LED flashlight are also unique features. I have not yet had a real reason to extensively try them out, but I assume they are fairly low power draws, and if this IMP52D is going to be in my carry case anyway, these might have use someday. 

    It appears in brief tests to charge my other Motorola smartphones similarly. I have not yet tried to charge my Samsung Note 10.1 Tablets. The chargers I use for them are more or less fixed in place. I'd love to have a portable solution for them, but I am reluctant to steal the charge cables I already have in order to dedicate one to a portable charger. If a Samsung tablet charge adapter was included in the box, as the instructions seemed to indicate, that would have been super. My Motorola Xoom and my other two tablets use a proprietary charger and I have no charger cables for them with USB on the other end. As an optional accessory, additional adaptors would be awesome. I don't think the standard product needs to include every possible adaptor though, because of the cost adder. If adapters were available from Trent, then a single coupon in each pack would probably be a nice thing to discover. 

    I love the size, and that the charge contains enough for a full phone charge plus a bit more. In an ideal world I'd like to be able to charge the phone twice fully, but I realize that's a different product with additional cost, weight, and size

    I would like if the IMP52D had an integrated wall plug AND an integrated micro-USB cable so that I could take the IMP52D and my phone on the road and be completely independent of extraneous cables. 

    If Trent is thinking of additional features akin to the laser pointer and flashlight on the IMP52D, I personally would like to see that space within the product used for an external speaker and/or retractable earbuds.

    I'd also like to see some sort of audible alert if the IMP52D is getting low or maybe hasn't been charged in a while. If it's not used every day, it may get low, and I fear that when I need it it will be low on juice.  Will take further in-use testing to see if this is a real issue or just a false concern.

    Finally, a quirk with certain phones vs the IMP52D. The IMP52D works great with phones which have their micro-USB ports on the top (or bottom). On the Motorola Razr and similar phones, the micro-USB port is on the side. Thus, when putting it into a pocket, the is a protuberance from the top/bottom of the IMP52D AND from the side of the RAZR. I'd love to have a version of the IMP52D with side USB ports so that it lines up better with the phone when attached and the whole setup is a bit more compact. 

    Clearly, I haven't had enough time to evaluate the product's quality over a long sequence of 100's charging/uncharging cycles, nor how well the battery retains power when disconnected for long periods.

    All in all, the IMP52D is a nice little product that will go into my carry case immediately.  
    Posted May 14, 2013, 10:39 AM by Rick Dziekan
Showing posts 1 - 4 of 4. View more »

Recent Book & Movie Reviews

  • New Trent NT89T
    This item is a 2 pack of dual chargers including the NT80C and the NT88C. 

    These two devices appear to have similar capabilities, with a different industrial design and slightly different packaging. 

    The NT80C features a Y-design which works great ergonomically in the car's charging port, as one USB port faces the driver and the other faces the passenger. According to the packaging, this can charge up to two devices at a time at up to 2A. I presume that means that if 1 device is attached and charging that it will charge at 2A, but if two devices are charging simultaneously, they each will get 1A. I have not attached a multimeter to check this, but they do seem to charge as expected. I like the color scheme of this product with the blue accents on a black case. This product also included something called a Samsung charge adapter, which is very nice, as without that, my Samsung devices would not take a charge. 

    The NT80C features a straight design from the car's charging port, and each USB port faces directly towards the back of the car. According to the packaging, this can charge one device at 2.1 A and another at 1A. The ports are clearly labeled as to which is which. Again, I haven't attached a multimeter to check this, but they do seem to charge as expected.  I like that this charger outputs enough juice on the two ports to fast charge from one and also another 1A port. 

    I may take the Samsung adapter from the NT88C and use it with the NT80C as that will probably be the one used in the car most often used for long trips, when I'd most likely need to charge a tablet on the go. 

    All in all I'm pleased with both devices and they are replacing the single-port USB adapters I had in my cars previously. 
    Posted May 25, 2013, 3:00 PM by Rick Dziekan
  • Motorola Razr-M
    I have been using the Motorola Razr M for 6 months as I sit here in May 2013. 

    I switched from a Motorola Bionic. 

    The Razr-M's primary thing going for it is its size. Its small and thin, where the Bionic was larger (had a larger screen too though)

    The Razr-M's battery life is nothing special. It lasts through a whole day in use IF it is fully charged overnight. If I forget to charge it, it pretty much becomes a corded phone. As the Razr-M does not have replaceable batteries, I cannot just carry a spare. A somewhat reasonable workaround is to use the New Trent external battery as an extender, but that's probably less than ideal. 

    Otherwise, everything else is pretty much standard Android jellybean. Not much else to report. 
    Posted May 17, 2013, 7:45 AM by Rick Dziekan
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet
    This is a quad core tablet that is optimized for a stylus. The handwriting recognition and the built-in stylus enabled s-note and photoshop are really useful. Battery life is great.

    Another new feature is that most apps can be shrunk to a window, and I believe up to 6 apps can be running, visible, and useable all at the same time. This can make for a real productivity tool. 
    Posted May 14, 2013, 11:40 AM by Rick Dziekan
  • New Trent IMP52D
    This is a very nice unit. It is easily pocketable and will be rather convenient to have on hand in my carry case or just in my pocket. I found it to be easy to use. The unit came with some charge, but I fully charged it before testing. I charged it initially in a rather slowish charger and have since tried a couple of others. It charges in about the time I'd expect depending on the charger itself. 

    When fully charged, it had enough juice to charge my Motorola Razr-M fully in about 2 hours, with a bit remaining in reserve. If I carry the IMP52D, I have more than doubled the effective life of my phone. The little bit extra would serve as a nice reserve if I completely drained the phone's battery twice; I expect I'd have another 25% in reserve. 

    The laser pointer and the LED flashlight are also unique features. I have not yet had a real reason to extensively try them out, but I assume they are fairly low power draws, and if this IMP52D is going to be in my carry case anyway, these might have use someday. 

    It appears in brief tests to charge my other Motorola smartphones similarly. I have not yet tried to charge my Samsung Note 10.1 Tablets. The chargers I use for them are more or less fixed in place. I'd love to have a portable solution for them, but I am reluctant to steal the charge cables I already have in order to dedicate one to a portable charger. If a Samsung tablet charge adapter was included in the box, as the instructions seemed to indicate, that would have been super. My Motorola Xoom and my other two tablets use a proprietary charger and I have no charger cables for them with USB on the other end. As an optional accessory, additional adaptors would be awesome. I don't think the standard product needs to include every possible adaptor though, because of the cost adder. If adapters were available from Trent, then a single coupon in each pack would probably be a nice thing to discover. 

    I love the size, and that the charge contains enough for a full phone charge plus a bit more. In an ideal world I'd like to be able to charge the phone twice fully, but I realize that's a different product with additional cost, weight, and size

    I would like if the IMP52D had an integrated wall plug AND an integrated micro-USB cable so that I could take the IMP52D and my phone on the road and be completely independent of extraneous cables. 

    If Trent is thinking of additional features akin to the laser pointer and flashlight on the IMP52D, I personally would like to see that space within the product used for an external speaker and/or retractable earbuds.

    I'd also like to see some sort of audible alert if the IMP52D is getting low or maybe hasn't been charged in a while. If it's not used every day, it may get low, and I fear that when I need it it will be low on juice.  Will take further in-use testing to see if this is a real issue or just a false concern.

    Finally, a quirk with certain phones vs the IMP52D. The IMP52D works great with phones which have their micro-USB ports on the top (or bottom). On the Motorola Razr and similar phones, the micro-USB port is on the side. Thus, when putting it into a pocket, the is a protuberance from the top/bottom of the IMP52D AND from the side of the RAZR. I'd love to have a version of the IMP52D with side USB ports so that it lines up better with the phone when attached and the whole setup is a bit more compact. 

    Clearly, I haven't had enough time to evaluate the product's quality over a long sequence of 100's charging/uncharging cycles, nor how well the battery retains power when disconnected for long periods.

    All in all, the IMP52D is a nice little product that will go into my carry case immediately.  
    Posted May 14, 2013, 10:39 AM by Rick Dziekan
Showing posts 1 - 4 of 4. View more »