Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

You don't need to completely rewire your home to make it future-friendly. This holiday season, you can buy plenty of plug-and-play devices that will automate and app-control your home, and most of them cost $300 or less. They're great gift ideas for anyone interested in hacking their house, revolutionizing their bathing habits, reinventing their kitchen, or controlling connected devices with the tap of an app.

Above:

Chances are there's someone on your gift list that thinks they have everything. We're willing to bet they don't have a tray that beams all manner of egg-related data to a mobile app. This joint project between Quirky and GE is a 14-spot tray loaded with sensors and a AA-battery-powered Wi-Fi chip. That means it's able to tell you which egg to fry up next (the oldest one) and how many eggs you've got left simply by checking your phone at the supermarket. LED indicator lamps light up next to the oldest egg in the tray, and a light sensor keeps battery life in check by only using power when it senses the fridge door is open. The Egg Minder ($70) displays an egg-centric dashboard via the Wink app for iOS and Android, which controls other devices such as the Pivot Power Genius power strip and the Nimbus personal dashboard.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

If you're out buying groceries and somebody rings your doorbell, does it make a sound? Yes it does, but nobody could say for sure until the Doorbot ($200) existed. This Wi-Fi enabled monitor/doorbell initiates a video call from your front door to your smartphone whenever somebody rings your buzzer. Actually, it's more like half a video call: You can see them, but they can't see you. That makes it useful for talking to delivery men while you're away, answering the doorbell from your couch, or even screening your visitors. The mobile app mimics an intercom, letting you press a button to tell those kids to get off your lawn. The app side of the Doorbot equation is available for Android and iOS.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

If you know anyone who owns a few app-controlled home systems, here's a secret: Their smartphone is probably a mess thanks to all those disparate remote-control apps. Revolv's hub is a multi-protocol wireless receiver with a 65-foot range that also consolidates controls into a single streamlined app. In addition to cleaning up your app arsenal, it'll let you make presets that adjust several of your devices at once; one tap will adjust your lights, speakers, and thermostat to the perfect levels for watching a movie or getting work done. It also uses your phone's location services to automatically perform certain actions -- turn the lights on, flip on the air conditioning, or open the garage door -- when you're approaching your home. Revolv supports several devices in this gift guide, including Sonos speakers, Nest devices, Philips Hue bulbs, and Belkin's WeMo products. It only works with the iPhone and iPad right now, but an Android app is coming in early- to mid-2014 -- as is compatibility with more devices.

Image: Revolv Inc.

The Moxie ($200) is a full-service showerhead with a detachable 1.5-Watt Bluetooth speaker right in the middle of its spray nozzles, making it the most ingenious way to listen to music in the shower we've seen yet. The speaker is obviously water-resistant, but it isn't hydro-powered. You'll need to charge its internal battery back up periodically, and Kohler rates its life at seven hours per charge. The speaker unit's magnetic mount makes it easy to pop in and out, so you can use it as a portable speaker outside the shower too. It'll work with any Bluetooth-capable device that's up to 32 feet away, so you can even have someone else DJ from another room. There are two versions of the showerhead -- one that pumps out 2.5 gallons per minute and another that pumps out 2 gallons -- as well as five different color options for the speaker.

Image: Kohler Co.

Link:
Your Gift Guide to the Home of the Future

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) December 20, 2013

Window Genie has earned the service industrys coveted Angies List Super Service Award, reflecting an exemplary year of service provided to members of the consumer review service in 2013.

Window Genie is a locally owned franchise offering home services such as window cleaning, window tinting, pressure washing, gutter cleaning and more.

The owners, Mike and Karen Angle, have been servicing the surrounding Southwest Indianapolis areas such as Danville, Mooresville, and Plainfield since 2011. Were extremely happy to have earned this award. We think our team is excellent, it's really nice to have that recognized by our customers on Angie's List, Mike said. Our commitment to customer service will continue to be a priority at Window Genie Indy.

Only about 5 percent of the companies that Window Genie competes with in Indianapolis are able to earn our Super Service Award, said Angies List Founder Angie Hicks. Its a mark of consistently great customer service.

Angies List Super Service Award 2013 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include an A rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade; the company must be in good standing with Angies List, have a fully complete profile, pass a background check and abide by Angies List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angies List. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in areas ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality. Members can find the 2013 Super Service Award logo next to company names in search results on AngiesList.com.

###

Angie's List helps consumers have happy transactions with local service professionals in more than 720 categories of service, ranging from home improvement to healthcare. More than 2 million paid households use Angie's List to gain access to local ratings, exclusive discounts, the Angies List Magazine and the Angie's List complaint resolution service.

More:
Window Genie of Southwest Indianapolis Earns Esteemed 2013 Angie's List Super Service Award

Jack Emberly is a retired and environmentalist.

image credit: The News/Files

We in B.C. are blessed by waterpower the best way to generate electricity, providing environmental impacts are properly addressed John Kelly, Alouette River Management Society.

The Alouette River Management Societydirector John Kelly is a retired B.C. Hydro employee who advised construction crews on environmental practices when constructing transmission line right of ways.

Right of way clearing creates environmental impacts, said Kelly. The challenge is to avoid damage, or mitigate the impacts.

Kelly said Hydro missed the mark recently on a local section of its Interior- to-Lower Mainland line, 250-kilometres of new towers and cables through bush from Merritt to Coquitlam.

On Nov. 28, forester Cheryl Powers drove us to a clear cut in the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest that she and Kelly are concerned about. Here, towers 5035 and 5034 stand atop a road that dips to three small streams feeding Millionaire Creek, a coho producer.

Virtually the entire road has been rough graded to the mineral line to remove native vegetation, said Kelly. Alder, and invasive species like blackberry and Japanese knotweed take over. This results in ongoing clearing costs. One of my frustrations is the failure to have learned from years of managing vegetation to avoid erosion, fouling waterways, and invasive species.

We met workers about to lay straw down, and poke willow shoots into the ground to lessen the impacts of unmanaged water erosion, and stream siltation.

Kelly said this should have been done before the rainy season.

Read the original:
Along the Fraser: Hydro misses mark on power line

Fulton Bank expects to have the excavated site of its future downtown expansion temporarily filled by late April.

The Lancaster-based bank announced the new timetable for the interim East King Street project on Wednesday.

Initially the fill-in project was to be done this fall. But devising a plan for the task took longer than expected, Fulton explained in a letter to neighboring property owners and businesses.

Then, Fulton elected to wait until Jan. 6 to start the process.

The bank wanted to avoid bringing hundreds of dump trucks laden with fill into downtown over the holidays, when the city has extra visitors and events.

Wednesday's statement marks the latest twist to Fulton's plan for constructing a significant center-city expansion.

The addition now on hold indefinitely could cost tens of millions of dollars, industry sources have said, and create hundreds of jobs.

The fill-in project is no small matter either.

It will take about 900 dump truck trips to bring the approximately 12,000 cubic yards of clean fill (clay and stones) needed to fill the hole.

The top six inches will be topsoil, said Jeremy Coble, project manager at Flyway Excavating, the general contractor for the fill-in project.

See the original post here:
Fulton Bank will fill excavated hole; time frame set

Topics: angling, christmas, fishing

ANYONE who fishes much will tell you it's important to have the right gear and, for non-fishing people, choosing useful angling gifts can be tough.

It's important to get the right advice when faced with such a bewildering selection.

That's where your local tackle store really shines.

The staff sell nothing but fishing gear all year and they know what works and doesn't, what is junk, what colour, type and size of lures catch local fish and a whole lot more.

Many locals are parts of buying groups and their products are often as cheap as, or cheaper than, the big stores.

So head down to your local for gifts and be confident you're buying the right thing.

Christ Doust at Suffolks Sports in Keen St, Lismore, says Megabass lures have been very popular since the prices dropped about 25%.

The Griffon 6CC deep diver has done well on local bass and is retailing now for $29.95.

Suffolks also have the popular Gulp soft lures at three packs for $25, plenty of crab dillies and some great rod and reel combos from Shimano for estuary, beach or offshore.

More here:
How to always hook a winner

A la Veracruzana - Lizbeth Pintero. Feng Shui - TVMS

By: TVMasVeracruz

Go here to see the original:
A la Veracruzana - Lizbeth Pintero. Feng Shui - TVMÁS - Video

Hello from New York! Feng Shui in Long Island, NY
Great sign! Flew in this morning and it started to snow...worked on recommendations to improve Pattaya Thai Restaurant in Long Island, New York, and good new...

By: Aileen Soo

Read more from the original source:
Hello from New York! Feng Shui in Long Island, NY - Video

Feng Shui! - SoupWooop #39;s Minecraft Series #006
Thanks for watching! Please leave a like, it helps a lot!:) Stay updated on what I #39;m doing!!:) https://www.twitter.com/soupwooop https://www.facebook.com/Sou...

By: SoupWooop

Visit link:
Feng Shui! - SoupWooop's Minecraft Series #006 - Video

Extrait Confrence 2013 Feng Shui et Bien tre Guillaume REY
Extrait de la confrence " A la dcouverte du Feng Shui" de GRENOBLE Novembre 2013. Anim par REY Guillaume, Expert, formateur en Feng Shui. Site : http://www.fengs...

By: REY GUILLAUME

Continue reading here:
Extrait Conférence 2013 Feng Shui et Bien Être Guillaume REY - Video

IHSA Novice Over Fences at Standford University
Riding in Novice over fences at Standford University for UC santa cruz.

By: msalliemorgan2

Read more:
IHSA Novice Over Fences at Standford University - Video