Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

LAS VEGASHome automation has a public relations problem: If the non-tech obsessed public views it at all, it views it as complicated, intimidating and possibly unnecessary. And home-automation technology is still in an emerging state, with many products still working out various kinks and tanglesunderstandable, maybe, but still frustrating for any person brave enough to give home-automation systems a try.

Kwikset's Kevo lock looks like a normal deadbolt, but it's actually a smart lock that lights up and unlocks when you tap it.

However, people seem more likely to try out home-automation tech when it comes a la carte. Color-changing Bluetooth light bulbs and smart thermostats are good examples, and another area thats on the rise seems to be smart locks.

I kept running into smart locks at booth after booth after booth. From the all-inclusive Okidokeys, to the sleek Goji, to the deceptively standard looking Kevo, smart locks were making themselves known on the show floor.

Each of these smart locks have slightly different features and advantages to make them appealing to consumers looking for smarter functionality at their front doorOkidokeys locks can be unlocked with either smart or feature phones, the Goji Smart Lock will not only greet you by name but will also send you a picture alert of who is at your front door, and the Kevo lock can recognize your phone as you approach and will unlock your door when you tap the lock.

The Okidokeys lock, like most smart locks, uses Bluetooth, can generate temporary keys, and will even notify you when people lock or unlock your door.

However, there are also similarities: Most of the locks I saw operated via battery power, most use Bluetooth functionality, almost all of them included the traditional key-and-lock structure into the device as well (and many also provide a key fob or alternate method of access for those who dont have access to an app or web dashboard), most eschewed subscriptions or any fee-based services, almost every one featured a notification system of alerts via text or email, and more than one used rules or modes that are similar to IFTTT recipes.

The majority of the smart locks that I saw on the show floor were not part of a complete home automation system (although a few did feature Z-Wave capabilities, meaning they could potentially be added to a larger system), and all focused on serving a common need: An easier way for you to control access to your home from anywhere.

And this is where the smart lock trend is really poised to succeedby addressing real-life use cases where the technology is truly needed. Airbnb hosts, for example, could provide guests with a digital key that can only be accessed during their stay (after which permission is revoked). Parents can receive notifications when their children arrive home from school, homeowners can give access on specific dates and times for the nanny, house cleaners, or even the plumber. If someone attempts to tamper with your lock or force entry into your house, you can receive alerts. Some of these smart locks will even recognize your presence (via your smartphone) and unlock your door for you.

While some smart locks look pretty unremarkable, the iBlueOpen flaunts its 21st-century style.

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Will smart locks open the door for home automation?

Published: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014, 9:00p.m. Updated 1 hour ago

Officials at the Community College of Allegheny County have scrambled to relocate science labs and classes as they assessed damage from water pipes that burst in the K. Leroy Irvis Science Center.

The spring term starts on Monday.

Water damaged all five floors of the new $28 million facility when copper pipes in a green heating and cooling system split open sometime during the winter break, which began on Dec. 21. Staffers returned to the campus on Jan. 2 to find extensive water damage in the labs on the west side of the third, fourth and fifth floors of the building located off Ridge Avenue.

Officials still had no estimate of the damage on Friday. Allegheny Campus President Donna Imhoff said that won't be apparent until workers remove drywall and ceiling tiles and repairmen are able to review lab equipment that water permeated.

Right now my priority is students and safety. We're still assessing the damages. Hopefully, we will have it repaired before midterm, Imhoff said, pointing to a panel of copper pipes in a heating and cooling panel that burst above the ceiling in a fifth floor chemical supply room.

Classes will be held in some rooms and labs on the eastern side of the building that escaped damage, Imhoff said.

The Science Center, years in the making, houses modern labs and classrooms for programs in biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy and physical sciences.

Even before the ribbon cutting in March, officials suspected problems with the building when a section of snow and ice accumulated on the eastern side of the roof then fell several stories to the plaza below.

On Nov. 7, CCAC trustees, acting at the recommendation of an independent architect, approved spending $82,000 for an upgrade to an electrical de-icing system for the roof and gutters on the east side of the building. Imhoff could not say whether the work was completed.

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CCAC scrambling to repair water damage

Gisborne residents are continuing to save water following a large landslide which severed a water pipe, causing major issues for the town's water supply.

Water consumption in the area is now down by a third, meaning water rationing planned for next week will likely not be needed.

Gisborne District Council deputy chief executive Peter Higgs is happy with what residents have managed to achieve.

"Our target was to reduce water use to less than 14,000 cubic metres per day. This was achieved yesterday. Thank you to all the Gisborne people who have made this happen."

A large landslide in the Mangapoike area resulted in a total ban on watering lawns and gardens and left engineers working frantically to stabilise land affected by the pipeline.

"Good progress is being made fixing the pipes," says Mr Higgs. "Fulton Hogan, the contractor tasked with the repair job, has had staff working 24/7. They have brought in a range of subcontractors to get the job done as soon as possible.

"While yesterday's rain was brilliant in reducing demand for water, it had the potential to delay the pipe welding. This hold up was overcome by erecting rain proof gazebos above the areas where the welding was required."

It is expected water will be flowing freely through the pipe again by mid-way through next week.

"In the meantime it is vital that we all keep our water use to a minimum. Until the pipe can reliably bring water from the Mangopoike Dams into the Waingake Treatment Plant we will continue to rely on emergency supplies from the Waipaoa Treatment Plant, and a small amount from the Te Arai River.

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Gisborne avoids water rationing

Libertatea TV - Maestrul Feng Shui Cristina Groza
Moderator: Mirela Dinica Invitata: Cristina Groza, maestru Feng Shui O productie http://www.evenimentelive.com pentru Libertatea.

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Libertatea TV - Maestrul Feng Shui Cristina Groza - Video

NEW DELHI, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- India's foreign minister said Saturday the dispute over the arrest a diplomat in New York did not mean relations with the United States were in trouble.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters that the two nations would sort out their differences of opinion over the arrest of Devyani Khobragade on charges of visa fraud, Voice of America said.

Khobragade, 39, arrived in New Delhi late Friday after being kicked out of the United States. She was expelled after India increased her level of diplomatic immunity so she would not be prosecuted by New York authorities.

"Devyani Khobragade given G1 visa with full diplomatic immunity on 8 Jan 2014. Airborne on way back to India," Syed Akbarrudin, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said in a statement on social media, Britain's The Independent said

Khobragade was arrested last month for allegedly failing to pay her housekeeper minimum wage and lying about it when she applied for her visa to work as the deputy counsel-general for the Indian delegation to the United Nations.

India responded to Khobragade's arrest and her alleged treatment in jail with a protest and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat stationed in India. Press Trust India said the ousted American, identified as Wayne May, had helped authorities develop their case against Khobragade

Despite Khobragade's increased level of immunity, the U.S. State Department said the charges would remain in effect and she faced arrest if she ever tried to return to the United States.

"We deeply regret that the Indian government felt it was necessary to expel one of our diplomatic personnel," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday.

"This has clearly been a challenging time in the U.S.-India relationship," Psaki added. "We expect and hope that this will now come to closure and the Indians will take significant steps with us to improve our relationship and return it to a more constructive place."

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India, U.S. seek to mend fences after diplomat's ouster

Police took the car keys from a drunk driver only hours before the same car crashed through three fences and overturned in Thames early this morning, killing an 18-year-old man.

The rear-set passenger died and four other occupants suffered minor injuries when the allegedly unroadworthy car came off Pariwai Rd about 4.25am today.

Waikato police district commander Superintendent Win van der Velde said the police serious crash unit was still investigating.

"However, initial indications are the 37-year-old female driver of the Holden Commodore lost control of the vehicle and left the road, crashing through three fences."

The crash was particularly concerning because it came less than three hours after police had stopped the same car and caught its driver at the time, a 31-year-old man, over the legal breath alcohol limit.

Mr van der Velde said the car was also found to be unroadworthy when police stopped it about 1.30am.

"It was issued a non-operational order and the keys were taken by police so it should not have been on the road at all, let alone being driven at the time of the crash."

Waikato police and emergency services diverted traffic away from the crash scene this morning and had warned of delays. The residential road has since reopened.

The crash brings the number of deaths on Waikato roads this month to two - double the same period last year. It was the sixth fatal or serious injury crash in the region within a week.

Last night, four people were injured, one critically, in a head-on collision on State Highway 24, south of Matamata.

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Car in fatal crash was unroadworthy

Copy of driveway paving
A quick vid for driveway paving and pavers. - created at http://animoto.com.

By: Stehlin Will

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Prull Custom Home Builders in Santa Fe, New Mexico - Monte Sereno Home
Award-Winning Prull Custom Home Builders in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Carpet Cleaning in Orange County and Newport Beach CA
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Carpet Cleaning in Orange County and Newport Beach CA - Video

A Virginia court insists that seven people who posted anonymous reviews about a carpet cleaning company should be unmasked, because the company believes they were not real customers.

Thinking different?

I recently stayed in a hotel that was described by a Yelp reviewer like this:

I thought the hotel was lovely. Which was just another support for a thought I've had for some time: Why would anyone trust a Yelp reviewer?

But people seem to. So much so that companies' livelihoods can be affected by those who leave their whinings.

Now a court in Virginia has insisted that Yelp name seven reviewers who posted their dissatisfactions about a carpet cleaning company. As the Washington Times reports, the Virginia Court of Appeals declared that Yelp comments weren't covered by the First Amendment because the posters weren't customers of Hadeed Carpet Cleaning.

Yelp insists that Hadeed Carpet Cleaning hadn't justified its need to know the posters' identities. According to the Times, Yelp spokesman Vince Salitto said: "Other states require that plaintiffs lay out actual facts before such information is allowed to be obtained, and have adopted strong protections in order to prevent online speech from being stifled by those upset with what has been said. We continue to urge Virginia to do the same."

Virginia seems to have given that view one star. Raighne Delaney, representing Joe Hadeed, explained to the Times: "The Virginia statute makes the judge a gatekeeper to decide whether or not there's a common-sense reason for someone in our position to get this information."

When lawyers lurch to define common sense, we reach dangerous waters.

Hadeed's defense was that, in examining his database, he couldn't identify the reviewers as customers. Which allows for a certain possibility of, say, database error or, perish the idea, accidental erasure.

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Court to Yelp: Reveal names of negative reviewers