Neal Wagner, 40, has sold his paintings to Rhianna and Rebecca Romijn, and owns an interior design store with new husband Thomas Piscitello Dr Phil is an outspoken supporter of same-sax marriage

By Annabel Fenwick Elliott

Published: 14:51 EST, 26 June 2014 | Updated: 16:46 EST, 26 June 2014

Dr Phil has been spotted playing an honored role in a Californian same-sex wedding ceremony between a celebrity-artist and his interior designer partner.

The smiling talk show host, 63, walked his friend Neal Wagner, 40, down the aisle - in place of the groom's father who passed away - before he married Thomas Piscitello in a lavish service at the Vibiana church in downtown Los Angeles.

One guest likened the ceremony to the wedding scene between Sex and The City characters Stanford Blatch and Anthony Marantino, describing it as 'over the top but amazing,' according to TMZ.

Beaming groom: Talk show star Dr Phil (right) walked his friend, artist Neal Wagner (left), down the aisle as he married his partner Thomas Piscitello over the weekend

Lavish: The ceremony was held at the upscale Vibiana church in downtown Los Angeles (pictured) and was described by one guest as 'over the top but amazing'

Dr Phil is said to have attended the wedding with his wife Robin Jameson, 61, and his sons Jay, 35, and Jordan, 28, and is a friend and client of the couple; who run an interior design company together.

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Dr Phil walks fatherless artist down the aisle at lavish same-sex wedding ceremony

MOCLIPS Friday was the three-year anniversary of a day that still brings tears to Jess Owens eyes.

The grandson of the longtime owner of the Ocean Crest Resort and Restaurant chokes up when he recalls how his aunt Shari Curtright suited up with the District 8 Fire Department that fateful day when the view restaurant its priceless artifacts and family heirlooms, its cherished collection of native baskets and renowned wine collection went up in flames, with no way to save the cedar building.

Part of the restaurant was the home where his grandmother, Barbara Topete, had once lived.

Last Friday, however, also was a day of tears of joy as Owen and his wife Sara were overseeing the finishing touches of a multimillion-dollar rebuild of the restaurant that features perhaps the most breath-taking view of the Pacific Coast in the state combined with what Jess vows will be the same culinary class that set the Ocean Crest apart from just about anything anywhere in the region.

Original artwork was being displayed with special care by Barbara Bennett Parsons, who was providing silkscreens and other pieces from her father, the late Grays Harbor artist Elton Bennett (1910-1974).

My dad did things for Ocean Crest that he wouldnt have done for anyone else, Bennett Parsons said.

Elton Bennetts work often ended up at Ocean Crest because of a longtime family friendship, she explained.

The charm of the family matron, and dad would do something for her once a year. It was supposed to be for my mother, and mother would put it up on the living room wall and Barbara (Topete) would come over, she said of the longtime tradition of Bennett art being showcased at the resort. Barbara always had the best eye.

Some of the pieces include Bennetts designs of early Ocean Crest folding brochures from the 1950s.

We had a colored-pencil drawing of his that he did on black construction paper in the old building that unfortunately got lost in the fire. That was beautiful, Jess Owen recalled. About 30 Bennett pieces were lost in the fire.

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Finishing touches to rebuilt Ocean Crest restaurant

SAN FRANCISCO -- It was a poetic convergence of tech trends this week at the corner of Fourth and Howard streets`.

Over in Moscone Center West, Google was getting its Internet-of-things groove on at its developers conference, touting plans to tie digital devices together with products like TV sets inside our homes.

Meanwhile, across the street in Moscone North, thousands of the people who will actually be building these tech-savvy abodes -- developers, architects, manufacturers and contractors -- were having their annual powwow, giving each other a peek of what awaits us all just inside our front doors of tomorrow.

Carrie Drier holds up the latest fire sprinkler head made by Viking at the PCBC home show at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on June 25, 2014. (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group)

All across the exhibitors floor at the annual builders trade show, amid the nontechy stalwarts like roof tiles and toilets, you could almost hear the mantra humming just below the surface: "When it comes to the home of the future, all ... is ... one."

"We put the backbone wiring inside the new home so that everything we use in that home is more connected," said Joey Hill, a market representative with Legrand, North America, a global rock star of switches and sockets. It's partnering with GE on cutting-edge home security and home entertainment technologies, the very stuff that the Googlers were crowing about nearby. "We provide the infrastructure that supports things like Netflix on your Apple TV," Hill said. "This is where the industry is going: You'll control your home lighting, security and audio, all from your smartphone or tablet."

While this trend has been picking up steam in the past year, Hill and others at the show painted a picture of an ever-rapid advancement in the digitally driven household. And borrowing a page from companies like Apple, where powerful computing is dressed up in sleek designs, Hill said, "It's not just cool gadgets around the house, but we'll be seeing much more of a focus on style."

And with that, Hill demonstrated a "pop-out outlet," a wall socket that's tucked into the wall and emerges -- abracadabra! -- with the push of a finger. "This technology has to be beautiful," he said, "if it's going inside your house."

Standing nearby, Shannon Stafford was nodding her head in agreement. "I've got that system installed in my own house," said the owner/president of Illuminations Lighting, an electrical equipment supplier in El Dorado Hills. "I can completely control my entire house with my phone."

Stafford sounded like a kid in a candy store, describing the magic-wand features coming soon to new homes across the country. "I can dim any of the lights down to 10 percent. I can customize every switch, outlet and night-light."

Link:
A peek inside the home of the future

SAN FRANCISCO -- It was a poetic convergence of tech trends this week at the corner of Fourth and Howard streets`.

Over in Moscone Center West, Google was getting its Internet-of-things groove on at its developers conference, touting plans to tie digital devices together with products like TV sets inside our homes.

Meanwhile, across the street in Moscone North, thousands of the people who will actually be building these tech-savvy abodes -- developers, architects, manufacturers and contractors -- were having their annual powwow, giving each other a peek of what awaits us all just inside our front doors of tomorrow.

All across the exhibitors floor at the annual builders trade show, amid the nontechy stalwarts like roof tiles and toilets, you could almost hear the mantra humming just below the surface: "When it comes to the home of the future, all ... is ... one."

"We put the backbone wiring inside the new home so that everything we use in that home is more connected," said Joey Hill, a market representative with Legrand, North America, a global rock star of switches and sockets. It's partnering with GE on cutting-edge home security and home entertainment technologies, the very stuff that the Googlers were crowing about nearby. "We provide the infrastructure that supports things like Netflix on your Apple TV," Hill said. "This is where the industry is going: You'll control your home lighting, security and audio, all from your smartphone or tablet."

While this trend has been picking up steam in the past year, Hill and others at the show painted a picture of an ever-rapid advancement in the digitally driven household. And borrowing a page from companies like Apple, where powerful computing is dressed up in sleek designs, Hill said, "It's not just cool gadgets around the house, but we'll be seeing much more of a focus on style."

And with that, Hill demonstrated a "pop-out outlet," a wall socket that's tucked into the wall and emerges -- abracadabra! -- with the push of a finger. "This technology has to be beautiful," he said, "if it's going inside your house."

Standing nearby, Shannon Stafford was nodding her head in agreement. "I've got that system installed in my own house," said the owner/president of Illuminations Lighting, an electrical equipment supplier in El Dorado Hills. "I can completely control my entire house with my phone."

Stafford sounded like a kid in a candy store, describing the magic-wand features coming soon to new homes across the country. "I can dim any of the lights down to 10 percent. I can customize every switch, outlet and night-light."

Robert Robinson and John Daley, right, show off their products from S&P USA Ventilation Systems at the PCBC home show at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 25, 2014. (Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group)

Link:
A peek inside the high-tech home of the future

MATTOON (JG-TC) -- A home at 86 Old State Village southwest of Mattoon was apparently a total loss after a fire Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters arrived at the scene about 12:15 p.m. and found fire showing through the front windows of the modular home, Mattoon Assistant Fire Chief Sean Junge said.

There was one person at home at the time but neither the occupant nor any firefighters were injured, Junge said. He said the investigation determined the fire was caused by a wiring problem in the home's bedroom.

The resident's dog was already outside when fire crews arrived and firefighters rescued two cats, Junge said. However, four cats died in the fire and two others couldn't be located, he said.

He described the damage to the home as "very extensive" and said it was likely a total loss.

Fire crews were at the scene for about 2-1/2 hours and firefighters from the Charleston Fire Department helped with the fire, Junge said. Mattoon police and the Coles County Animal Rescue and Education Center also assisted, he said.

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Old State Village home likely a total loss after fire

Landmark Home Warranty Class

By: Summer Sweaney

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Landmark Home Warranty Class - Video

hss 01 6 5
Home Security System #39;s Eric asks, "What home security system do you need?"

By: Ryan Smith

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hss 01 6 5 - Video

Watchbot 3 0 Home Security CCTV Camera Review
We have received one WatchBot 3.0 and inside this box, it comes with: WatchBot camera Wall mounting kit Alarm connection adaptor Network cable User guide Set...

By: Eileen Teo

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Watchbot 3 0 Home Security CCTV Camera Review - Video

Beagle cam part II
Caught Monty have a good howl on the home security camera.

By: daver654987

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Beagle cam part II - Video

Heres a new idea: an alarm system that piggybacks on your existing landline-based home security system and makes it smarter. Instead of replacing it entirely, you simply retrofit your oldschool setup with a web-connected box to give it more capabilities.

Pretty novel, right? Well thats the idea behind an upcoming product from Chicago-based startup Scout. The company, which already offers a line of DIY home security devices, is currently running three separate crowdfunding campaigns to launch a trio of new products one of which is the aforementioned Takeover box.

The potential product lineup also includes a connected security camera and a smart light socket adapter.Each device has its own crowdfunding campaign on Dragoninnovation.com, and the first one to reaches its goal will ship before the other two.

Weve seen other iterations of the security camera and connected socket adapter before (i.e. Dropcam, Emberlight), but as far as we can tell, the Takeover box is a completely new idea. Theres currently nothing like it on the market right now.

Most traditional alarm systems like those youd get from a provider like Brinks or ADT are tied to wired telephone lines, and relay information using a series of tones to indicate when something happens. Therefore, if a window opens/is broken in a particular zone, for example, it sets off a fixed series of tones over the phone line that is interpreted by the alarm company. Scouts takeover system uses those same tones, buttranslates them over a cellular or IP connection so instead of getting a call from your security provider, you can get an instantaneous alert on your mobile device and can act accordingly.

Speaking with GigaOm, Scout co-founder Dan Roberts said about 90 percent of home alarm systems in North America would work with this system, so nearly anybody who has an oldschool alarm system hardwired into their walls already could easily install one. Right now, the companys planis to charge $19.99 a month for the monitoring services, plus $199 for the Takeover box itself. Sounds a bit steep at first, but it would essentially allow you to ditch your current provider and pay a considerably lower rate in exchange for a one-time 200-dollar hardware investment.

Not a bad deal if you ask us.

DT

Drew's fascination with technology began at an early age - shortly after he licked a 9-volt battery for the first time. It was this first taste of technology that sparked his interest in how electronics work, and he's been obsessed ever since. Aside from keeping up with the latest developments in tech, he enjoys shock humor, and working puns into his writing at every opportunity. You can find his work on Digital Trends and The Manual.

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Smarten up your oldschool home security setup with Scouts Takeover box