Welcome to Inyerself, my very own passion project filled with unique and engaging content. Here you will find General Lifestyle Decisions & Choices. Explore all that I have to offer; perhaps Inyerself will ignite your own inner passions as well.

I wrote about a subscription service called Gadget Discovery Club a while back. They send you a package of the latest up-and-coming technology, and you pay them an annual fee. Given my love for technology and anything that might make my life more “exciting,” I was quick to sign up. I wrote about my first package here:

Yes, You Can Subscribe to Technology! Just another thing I don’t need, but it gives me something to write about!

I would be lying if I said I utilized these first items daily. I have yet to open either key devices, and the Clean Tray is used only in passing. Now that I am thinking about it, I will throw my phone in it right now….

Now on to the following package which arrived yesterday. There are three additional “techie” items, and I will start with package number one.

Rise Shield (Carbon Fiber Wallet)

There is no doubt the rise wallet is smaller than my already beaten down wallet. To be honest, I was ready for a replacement, and now is as good of a time as any to downsize. I had several unnecessary cards and expired IDs that needed to be purged. This Rise Wallet promises the following:

Lighter, Stronger, Slimmer, and Stylish

Holds up to 10 bank, membership & ID cards

Advanced RFID-Blocking Technology. This will also prevent card skimming.

I agree on this wallet's slim, stylish, and strong aspect. I was able to pare down my card selection to the advertised ten. The jury is out on the RFID blocking technology but I can attest to this being of some concern. I was in a restaurant the other day ready to pay by touch with one of my cards in one hand, with another card being charged in my wallet. I am hoping this wallet prevents this in the future.

The next item is the miniBOOM, also by Rise. This little speaker is exactly that, little!

I come in to listening with absolutely no expectations except to hear sound. As someone who owns many portable speakers much larger, there is no way this little speaker will impress me. Initial observations are:

Again, I didn’t have high hopes for this speaker but if you are in a pinch and need a slight boost to your cell phone this will be adequate.

The last item is a wireless charger by nativeHQ.

I use the MagSafe chargers for my iPhone, but we still have devices throughout the house which can use this. My initial thoughts:

All in all, I was happy with this second box offering. The wallet is most likely to get the most use of the three items. I will have to get used to this type of wallet. I wonder what the next box will bring.

Welcome to Inyerself, my very own passion project filled with unique and engaging content. Here you will find General Lifestyle Decisions & Choices. Explore all that I have to offer; perhaps Inyerself will ignite your own inner passions as well.

It was enjoyable seeing my friend’s fully restored 1958 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible for the first time since its return. Purchased in 1977, it has toiled away in his garage for 44 years. Sure there were the occasional small trips, but the unit was in serious need of some TLC.

Jeffrey Clos is a participant in the Amazon Associates LLC associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. There are some links within this article to the described product.

Jeffrey Clos signed up in the affiliate Aptera plan designed to provide a means for sites to earn referral credit by linking to Aptera.com. There are links within this article to the described product.

I recently came across an article that sums up my thoughts on the Grandview property listed above. Florida is the least affordable place to live in the U.S. Sally Starkey thought moving from Chicago to Florida would be easy. The 33-year-old publicist moved to Naples, Florida…

I have no less than three large Hibiscus plants, and such is standard practice; they get moved indoors whenever the weather turns cold. Trust me, living in Michigan; there is never any shortage of cold weather. It’s been a long winter, and my Hibiscus plants are looking forward to being moved outdoors. It never fails; when there are signs of Spring, the Hibiscus plants start to adorn the stores nearby. This is the main reason I have three, and probably the number one reason I will add another Hibiscus plant this year.

I swore to myself I couldn't own a watch because I couldn't get used to having anything on my wrist. I relied heavily on my cell phone or the people around me for knowing what time it was. It wasn't until Apple took the concept of a watch and exaggerated all of the functions a watch can do that I noticed.

I have claimed for years I am addicted to the flavor of vanilla. There are countless items I steer towards which contain or have hints of vanilla within them. I like Diet A&W Root Beer, and I am a glutton for baked goods with plenty of this flavoring. Don’t get me started on vanilla ice cream or shakes. Even the smell of vanilla brings a certain amount of calm into my life. I know vanilla is the culprit for certain, so I finally decided to look further into it to see if there is any validity to my addiction.

Depending on your age and the generation you grew up in, you might be familiar with the saying, “You don’t know shit from Shinola!” This is a pretty simple American saying, and it originated during World War II in the army barracks. Can’t you imagine being yelled at by your bunkmate or drill instructors with this particular vulgarity? If you were to look at human excrement and a container of Shinola (pronounced “Shine” “Ola”), you could see the similarities.

Jeffrey Clos is a participant in the Amazon Associates LLC associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking toAmazon.com. There are some links within this article to the described product.

Let's Put Winter Behind Us and Welcome the Tulips of Spring!. As I woke up this morning to the cold weather and the promise of another snowy drive to work, I was reminded winter wasn’t entirely done with the state of Michigan. It was a rather unpleasant feeling, and I couldn’t help but think of how nice it would be to experience a nice amount of warmer weather right about now. As I wrote in an earlier article, I know that the promise of summer is not too far away when my Hibiscus flowers bloom.

First deadly boat encounters, now pollution. The poor manatee has been an endangered animal for as long as I can remember, and it was only recently they were arguably delisted off the endangered list. Nicknamed the “Sea Cow,” they first had to contend with damage from boat propellers from passing water vehicles. Now they are suffering from starvation as their number one food source, seagrass, has slowly disappeared.

I Received Less Than Originally Quoted. I have written two articles about my success with the new 2021 Macbook Pro. First, with the 14" and then my jump to the 16". I can't rave enough about how much an improvement this new model is over my previous Macbook Pro, but my next task was to sell the 2014 model.

Jeffrey Clos is a participant in the Amazon Associates LLC associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking toAmazon.com. There are some links within this article to the described product.

Strand Craft, a Miami Beach, Florida-based company, has been working diligently to realize a dream eight years in the making. They want to bring to market a personal luxury watercraft that pushes the limits of everything the Waverunner and small water vessels alike represent. I introduce you to the Strand Craft V-8 Daytona GT.

All the rage today is about bringing smoking to the home, and it is unlike the past when smoking and curing played a part in preserving the food. Today this process is primarily used to improve or add a new dimension to the food we enjoy daily. Over the last few years, there has been an explosion in the types and amounts of smokers available at the local retailers. Available in all sizes and combinations and with a plethora of features, there seems to be no end to the excitement.

Everyone knows about the struggles at the gas pump as of late. For this reason, demand for alternative transportation has increased exponentially over the last few years. It is one of the reasons a growing amount of the population and I have decided to seek out a portable, folding e-bike option. I wrote about finally making an e-bike purchase that met most of my needs.

East Jordan Iron Works (Now Known as EJ Group Inc.) I remember for many years walking over or near manhole covers and taking them for granted. They always had a good deal of writing on them, but never once did I think to look at where they were made. It took me many years to become interested enough to discover where these covers came from. The surprise came when I realized they originated in my home state of Michigan, in a small town called East Jordan. With an estimated population of fewer than 2300 people, it is the smallest town in Charlevoix County.

A few months ago, I felt compelled to buy a portable induction burner. After using it for a few months, I think I can speak intelligently on why this was a solid purchase. If it's good enough for professional chefs, it's good enough for me.

These Fish Hawks Can be Found Worldwide. It wasn’t long ago I encountered the Red-Tailed Hawk, but I have become more and more aware of the Osprey, another raptor. We have several local nests here in Michigan, and what was once a rare sighting event has become increasingly common from year to year.