Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Working from home may have its benefits - but staying in the same place each day can gettiresome after a while.

If youre looking for inspiration to brighten up your home office or improve your workspace environment, here are some tips.

Find a comfy chair

If you have a comfortable chair you can use as your work chair, this will make a big difference if youre sitting at a desk or table all day.

Make sure the height, arm rest and comfort level suits your needs and youll find youre comfier and have fewer aches and pains at the end of the day.

Clean up your mess

A clean and tidy working environment can make the world of difference.

Making sure your desk or table is free of clutter so that you have space to work, and that its clean and tidy can leave your feeling calmer and more productive.

Tidy your wires away

If you have a lot of electrical equipment at your desk, wires might be getting in the way.

Managing them with clamps and zip ties can help keep your work space neat and tidy.

Plants

Adding plants can also make a positive difference. Green or colourful plants add colour to your home office, boost your mood and reduce stress.

They can also help to increase productivity levels too. Picking a plant that is easy to maintain could be a good option.

Natural lighting

If possible, choose a place for your workspace environment that has natural lighting. This can be beneficial to your mood and increase productivity.

Being near a window while working can also up your Vitamin D levels, which helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, and these nutrients are needed to keep muscle, teeth and bones healthy.

Separate work computer

Your brain usually associates your work computer with work, so it usually helps to improve productivity if you have a separate work computer.

If not, make sure any personal documents or tabs are shut when at work so as not to get distracted.

Separate work and living areas

If its possible to do so, your workspace should be in a room or space as far away as possible from the place where you sleep if you want to increase your productivity.

Your brain tends to associate certain spaces with certain tasks, which is why its important to keep your work and living areas physically separate if you can.

Try to keep to office hours

Although it can be difficult then working from home, try to stick to your usual office hours rather than working overtime or unusual shifts.

Working for a set period of time each day helps give routine and structure to your day.

When youre finished work, close your laptop and put away your things to revert your home to a comfy living space.

Continued here:
Eight tips to improve your home working space - Hereford Times

Power crews were restoring service to customers but thousands of users were still in the dark early Thursday evening. Several houses were damaged by trees as well, but there were no reports of serious injury. Delaware News Journal

Numerous New Castle County residents reported power outages on Thursday as a result of the day's high winds, which also felled trees throughout the county.

More than 9,000 customers in Delaware were affected on Thursday, the power company reported, with more than 180 outages across the state. As of Friday morning, about 1,700 people were still affected.

The power company said the outages were due to weather conditions.

Agencies respondedto weather-related emergencies,Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder Company said in a Facebook post.

RELATED: Damaging wind gusts expected in lower Delaware on Thursday

Closures, damages and injuries werereported in different areas of the state.

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A person wastaken to the hospital with minor injuriesafter a tree fell onto a homeon Forest Drive in Forest Brook Glen near Newport, according to New Castle County Police.

Newark Police partially closed Capitol Trail for about three hours whena tree and wires fell into the road. Route 41 at Brackenville Road wasalso temporarily closed due to a fallen tree and wire, according to the Department of Transportation's website.

High winds also reportedly damaged the Saville apartments at Wilmington's Sixth and King streets.

Send story tips or ideas to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, followher on Twitter at @izzihughes_

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Thursday power outages in Delaware blamed on high wind - The News Journal

Thursday, April 30th 2020, 11:36 am - With more people staying at home due to the pandemic they are paying more attention to wildlife in and around their homes. Of course, springtime also means baby time.

Springtime is baby time and animals are on the lookout for places to start their families and that includes our homes.

Every home in North America typically has anywhere from 35 to 50 areas on one particular home that animals can get into, said Bill Dowd, the president, CEO and founder of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control.

That includes chimneys, vents, downspouts, soffit vents and any other cracks.

Homeowners should always be looking at their home. Everybody kind of thinks that the roof is up there, it's out of sight, it's out of mind but it's your most important part of your entire home. Raccoons, squirrels, birds, bats and mice and rats can gain access into your attic from the roof, said Dowd.

Raccoons are the first babies seen in the season. They arrive around mid-march and continue into the end of June, sometimes July.

Then we'll see squirrels which will typically arrive towards the end of March, start of April. We'll see them, same thing, all the way through till June, said Dowd. He says they even saw their first baby skunks. They will continue to be born until June and July.

Courtesy: Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control

Baby birds typically arrive around mid-may and continue through the entire summer into The Fall season.

Go here for our complete coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic

Dowd says with more people staying home during the pandemic, they are probably more aware of the wildlife in and around their homes.

We're all being safe. as we're being safe we're noticing that scratching or clawing in the walls are in the attic and rather than homeowners waiting, they're picking up the phone immediately and calling, said Dowd.

Homeowners should be inspecting their properties for points of entry.

Go outside. Take a look on the roof. Look for missing shingles that are torn off or ripped apart. Soffit or aluminum being torn to indicate something is in the Attic, said Dowd. When you're talking mice and rats they can get in small little weep vents that are vents that allow proper drainage and ventilation of your home that need to be secured with a screening.

Racoons in the attic of a home. Courtesy: Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control

Be aware of garages too.

Anytime the soffit comes in and meets the shingles that's another common entry area. Garages that are left open that have joist spaces allow the animals to go in and get into the attic space, he said. The dryer or the kitchen stove. We get birds, mice, rats, squirrels go in through those.

SEE ALSO: 24 cats rescued from hot car near Los Angeles

If cars are sitting vacant, especially because we're not working and they're sitting in their garage or the driveway, squirrels and mice or rats will get into the cars. They'll actually chew the wiring in the cars coated with a vegetable biodegradable coating, which is actually attractive for those animals and they'll actually chew the electrical wiring so the cars won't start, said Dowd.

He suggests starting the car every few days and taking it for a drive around the block. That will prevent animals from gaining hold of nesting and engine compartments.

Squirrel nest found under hood of car. Courtesy: Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control

Dowd and his teams dont relocate the animals. They specialize in animal-proofing peoples homes.

Typically there's anywhere from 35 to 55 raccoons in a square kilometre. They're going to be always around and they're always going to want to come back and get into that home so the most important part. Animal proofing, us installing our screen or fixing it so they can't get back in, he said.

The key is to learn to live among the animals.

All urban wildlife typically have anywhere from 7 to 10 den sites in a neighbourhood so that's where they're staying. They're here.We're never going to get rid of them and homeowners need to recognize this and animal proof their home.

Original post:
'We are in baby season': Dealing with wildlife nesting in homes during COVID - The Weather Network

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Railway Contact Wires Market 2020 Analysis by Geographical Regions, Type and Application Till 2025 with Top Key Players: Jiangyin Electrical Alloy,...

Issued on: 02/05/2020 - 08:07

Havana (AFP)

These are hot, humid days in Havana. When the afternoon breeze sweeps in off the sea, William Roblejo steps onto the roof of his building, draws his bow across the strings of his violin, and runs through his repertoire of music to soothe an anxious city.

Access to a rooftop and a breeze is a coveted luxury in the Cuban capital, areas of which have been in lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic for several weeks.

On other Havana rooftops, the country's top ballet dancer rolls out a mat and runs through his positions and pirouettes, an Olympic pentathlete lunges at an imaginary rival with an epee, and a Greco-Roman wrestling champion pumps iron.

Cuba has imposed lockdowns only in certain barrios, but the government has called on people to stay home as the number of confirmed infections climbed above 1,500 this week with 64 deaths.

With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, water shortages in some areas of the capital and long lines at food stores, Cubans have grown more anxious under weeks of confinement.

Adrian Sanchez, first soloist at the National Ballet of Cuba, fears above all that his muscles and his posture, used to a daily nine-hour training regime, will atrophy.

"When all this is over we have to return to the ballet, and if we come back untrained, that will be very hard," said Sanchez, 22.

He practices "two or three hours" a day on the roof of his building, reached through a skylight and overlooking the iconic Revolution Square.

"That way the time goes by faster, and I don't feel I'm being locked up so long," he says.

Like everyone else, a good part of his day is spent queueing up for food.

- Making do -

After decades of living under a US blockade, Cubans are adept at making do, even under the most difficult of circumstances -- not least their athletes and performers who now have to find a way to pursue their dreams during the uncertainty fueled by the pandemic.

Leydi Moya pulls out her epee to practice her fencing as part of her preparations for the next Olympic pentathlon event, whenever that may be.

Moya, youth Olympic champion in Singapore 2020 and triple-medallist at the Panamerican Games in Lima last year, was returning from a training camp in Mexico when the pandemic hit the region.

She knows that the makeshift training regimen she is reduced to at home is a far cry from Olympic-standard fitness training.

"Performance is going to drop," she admits.

It's a similar situation for Daniel Gregorich, a Panamerican champion in Greco-Roman wrestling at his 87 kg weight level, who made Cuba's Olympic team at a recent qualifying event in Ottawa, Canada.

"Sport is health, sport is life and at least it calms my anxiety," the 23-year-old said between sessions of lifting weights and doing push-ups.

- A little gratitude -

Roblejo, the musician, is at times frustrated by not having his usual concert audience because "musicians are used to delivering art live."

But he is also grateful for some of the quarantine's gifts as he plays on his rooftop above the deserted barrio of Playa, where the lulling sounds of the sea are more noticeable now there is no traffic.

"I have to thank this quarantine a little bit, because I studied a bit more and I think I've advanced in my music. Now I want this to be over so that I can show it," said RobLejo, head of the string section of Havana's Conservatory.

In many ways, he admits to being "very happy. I've been locked up and playing alone at home for 20 or 25 days now."

Psychologist Patricia Ares, writing in Granma, the daily of the ruling Communist Party, said "all of us will have to learn to live with adversity.

"We cannot avoid the wind, but we can build windmills."

2020 AFP

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Artists, athletes cling to their dreams on Havana's rooftops - RFI

I bought a house without an in-person viewing. When I signed the contract, I noticed something interesting

I grew up in Newmarket during the 1990s. We lived in Stonehaven, a neighbourhood with lots of young families, which meant there were always kids running around. It was a typical suburban upbringing. We hung out in parks with our dogs and, when we played road hockey on the street after school, cars would actually slow down. After high school, I took film studies at Queens University. Thats where I met my girlfriend, Hilary, who was in the nursing program.

In 2018, Hilary and I moved into a 700-square-foot condo at Lakeshore and Fort York. We liked the location. There were plenty of parks nearby, which made us feel close to nature, but we could also walk downtown in five minutes. Plus, it was pretty close to both of our workplaces. But after living there for a year, we decided we wanted more rooms and square footage. Well probably have a family in the future, so we needed to find something that we could grow into.

We knew one thing for sure: we wanted to move to Newmarket. Ive still got a bunch of family in the area and Hilary likes it there, too. Its got a small-town feel, with friendly neighbours and quiet streets. And nice-sized lots are affordable. Its about an hour-long drive from Newmarket to Toronto, just close enough if we want to drive in for concerts and sporting events. We realized that moving would complicate our work commute, but my schedule is fairly flexible and Hilary doesnt mind driving that much.

In late 2019, we officially started house-hunting. We set a budget around $550,000, with a maximum of $600,000, and started looking. We werent too picky about the number of bedrooms or bathrooms, since anything would be an upgrade from our tiny condo. Our ideal place: a detached home, with a big kitchen because we love to cook, and a spacious backyard where we could barbecue and get to know our neighbours.

We found a three-bedroom, three-bathroom semi in Newmarket with a beautiful kitchen and a long, rectangular yard. It was in our price range, too. We were pretty skittish, since it was our first time bidding on a home, but we submitted an offer. The sale became a bidding war and we backed off quickly. We were only willing to spend $560,000 and it ended up going for roughly $570,000. After that, nothing worked out. There were only a few places within our price range and everything seemed to get scooped off the market immediately. After a few months, by February 2020, we thought, Okay, this is just not going to happen right now. We have to wait until theres a bit of a lull.

On March 11, we took a week-long vacation to Cabo with my family. Everything felt relatively normal when we took off. But the day after we arrived, the bad news started coming in. I remember being out for dinner on our first night there, just enjoying the beautiful weather, when we happened to glance at our phones and see an alert about the NBA shutting down. Im not a huge basketball fan, but being a sports guy otherwise, I thought, Woah, this is real. In the days that followed, I received panicked messages from family, friends, and co-workers. A couple days before we were set to leave, I remember Prime Minister Trudeau looking very seriously at the camera during one of his public announcements and saying, Its time to come home. There were plenty of other Canadians vacationing in Cabo. We all wondered how things would be when we got back. Fortunately, given that we were Canadian citizens, we were allowed to return under the governments travel ban.

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When we arrived back in Toronto, on March 18, we immediately went into a 14-day quarantine, per the federal governments mandate. We figured that our house-buying dreams would be put on hold, at least for the moment, since everything was so chaotic and we figured we wouldnt be able to see anything in person anyway. But a couple days later, on March 22, we got a notice from our realtor about a three-bed, three-bath detached that recently hit the market for $579,000 in Newmarket. We could tell from the listing that the layout was just like the first home we bid on, with a big kitchen and a long backyard. It had these amazing half-century old trees, which shielded the house from the street and offered a sense of privacy. It also had some sentimental value, since it was located on the same street as Hollingsworth Arena, where I played hockey as a kid, and right near South Lake Hospital, where I was born.

Hilary and I knew it was a great price, and we thought hard about it. Within a few hours, our realtor got back to us and said someone else had bought the house. We figured wed be stuck living in the condo for a while. Then, on March 28, our realtor got back to us and said the place was back on the market because the first deal fell through. He asked if we were interested. Since we were still in quarantine, we thought, Lets just put an offer in, conditional on home inspection. At this point, wed only looked at the pictures online.

Some people might be anxious about buying a home without seeing it in person. We were comfortable, though, because wed seen nearly identical homes in the same neighbourhood. Having been through the process of bidding on those other homes, we knew what to expect in terms of things that might go wrong. For instance, the houses in that neighbourhood are a bit older, so theyre likely to have aluminum wiring, which is generally a no-no for insurance companies. But I have an electrician and an insurance broker in the family, so I figured wed be fine. And we didnt think we had the luxury of time to ask for a showingeven a virtual showing. We just jumped on it. That said, if we werent in the middle of a pandemic, we probably wouldnt have been so aggressive.

When I signed the offer, I noticed something interesting. The sellers name looked familiar. I asked the realtor if he could find out whether the seller used to teach at Stonehaven Elementary, where I went to school.

Back in elementary school, I loved telling stories. There are a lot of teachers who dont have the energy to deal with a kid who constantly wants to be performing for everyone else. Except for my homeroom teacher, who always encouraged me to express myself artistically. She was creative, too. In her class, we put on a 1970s adaptation of Macbeth, which included big hair, flared jeans and weird Star Wars references. Its one of my favourite memories. That teacher encouraged me to use my imagination, and shes a big reason why I went on to become a video game developer, a job that involves a lot of creativity. I liked her so much that, when I left her class, I gave her a set of wood and metal wind chimes.

Our realtor contacted the listing agent. It turned out that the seller had in fact been my old homeroom teacher. According to the realtor, she remembered me and said that I was one of her favourite students. When I finally saw her at the home inspection at the house, on April 2nd, we were giving each other air hugs because of the social distancing rules. She and her partner introduced us to their neighbours and showed us around their garden. It was such a warm feeling. Sure enough, dangling from a tree in the backyard, were a set of wood and metal wind chimes.

The home inspection was clean and the closing date is May 14. Hilary and I plan to move in at the end of May. Going back to Newmarket makes it feel like my life is coming full circle. Im not sure if my old teacher will take those wind chimes with her when she moves out. But if she leaves them behind, Ill be sure to buy her a new set.

As told to Liza Agrba

More here:
I bought a house without an in-person viewing. When I signed the contract, I noticed something interesting - Toronto Life

Issued on: 02/05/2020 - 04:12

Sydney (AFP)

The New Zealand Warriors have been cleared to fly into Australia as the National Rugby League moves further toward a season return.

Australian officials granted the team an exemption from a ban on international arrivals into the country on Saturday morning, taking a big step toward the planned May 28 resumption of the sport.

The NRL season was suspended on March 24 after just two rounds amid a government shutdown of all non-essential gatherings in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.

"It has been a challenging and often frustrating time for all parties over the last few weeks with so many issues on the table but it has finally come together as of today," Warriors chief executive Cameron George said Saturday.

The Warriors are expected to land in the rural town of Tamworth on Sunday afternoon and begin a 14-day isolation in the town, about five hours drive from Sydney, before the start of the NRL.

George said a negotiation over player pay had been resolved and the team had also been given permission to train in Australia.

Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton confirmed 36 players and staff had been granted an exemption from the travel ban, clearing the flight to arrive in the country.

"This is an excellent outcome for rugby league and another step towards the competition resuming on May 28," Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V'landys said.

"The club will follow the strictest biosecurity protocols and, like all clubs, will participate in an education day about the protocols on Monday morning."

On Friday, the league cleared another hurdle after the Queensland government said players would be able to play, train and travel across borders currently locked down as part of coronavirus restrictions in the country.

"I said I was as keen as anyone else to see the NRL return and I meant it," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

But after several players were caught breaching social distancing requirements earlier this week, V'landys warned players would have to be responsible to assure the league's return.

"It's up to the players -- if there's a slip-up... and they do the wrong thing -- that puts the whole rugby league season in doubt," he said.

Under plans thrashed out by the league and its broadcast partners this week, the season will be cut from 25 rounds to 20 -- including the two already played -- with a four-week playoff series ending in a Grand Final on October 25.

The three-match State of Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland, normally played mid-season, will shift to November for the first time.

2020 AFP

Go here to read the rest:
NRL steps toward return as Warriors cleared to land - RFI

When do we draw the line between early adoption and, uh, regular adoption? With virtual reality, maybe its right now. Years of sluggish sales had me convinced that virtual reality might disappear with nary a whimper, but then the hardware got better, the games got better, and suddenly people are talking about VR again. And hey, being essentially trapped in your house for weeks on end doesnt hurt.

The hardware landscape has gotten a lot more confusing since the first-gen Oculus Rift and HTC Vive debuted in 2016. We have tethered and untethered headsets, different resolutions, different lensesand what the hell is MR anyway?

Were here to guide you in the right direction. Below youll find our recommendations, whether youre a first-timer or an early adopter looking to upgrade. And if youre looking to buy right now, youre probably going to have to settle for whatevers in stock. Headsets have been in short supply since the Half-Life: Alyx reveal in November. Still, lets pretend all these headsets are in stock for the moment, at least.

Well update this list periodically to accommodate new releases as well, though with the Valve Index and Oculus Quest less than a year old (at time of writing) it might be a while before we see better hardware worth buying.

It's pricey, but Valve's new virtual reality headset is the one to beat thanks to its crisp display and high field of view.

The Valve Index is the best all-around headset you can buy at the moment. Best optics, best audio, best comfort, best tracking, and (once you get used to them at least) best controllers. Best everythingexcept the price, which at $1,000 (for the headset, controllers, and base stations)Remove non-product link is bound to make even the most enthusiastic adopter wince.

Its 2880x1600 resolution and 130-degree field of view mean you can see the digital world clearer than ever, and more of it. The Index also supports up to a 144Hz refresh rate, though youll need a monster of a PC to hit that frame rate consistently.

But its the less immediately noticeable features that make the Index stand out to me. The tracking is rock-solid, just like withthe original HTC Vive. Valve still relies on base stations, which make the Index a pain to set up and dismantle, but ensure the system will almost never lose track of a controller or the headset. The audio is top-tier as well, replacing the old headphones method with two speakers that float over your ears, creating an ultra-realistic audio field that surrounds you instead of merely sounding like...well, headphones.

Last but not least, the Index Controllers (or Knuckles) are the most advanced on the market today. The controllers strap over the backs of your hands and sensors embedded in the grips help track each individual finger, allowing you to open and close your hands, squeeze cans until theyre crushed, or (most likely) flip enemies the ol middle finger.

Nobody else allows you to do that. Maybe thats worth the $1,000 cost of entry on its own.

At $799 for just the headset, the HTC Vive Pro is probably destined to remain a niche product. Early adopters who've been pining for a resolution bump though will find it hard to go back after trying one out.

Valve isnt the only high-end headset in town. Though Valve is no longer partnered with HTC, the Vive Pro is still a solid alternative to the Index. It has the same 2880x1600 display and uses the same rock-solid Lighthouse tracking. The only real difference is that the Vive Pro uses headphones instead of speakers, and ships with the old Vive wands instead of the more futuristic Index Controllers. It also costs more than the Index ($1,200 vs. $1,000 for the whole system, sans PC), so theres really no reason to opt for the Vive Pro insteadunless of course the Index remains in scarce supply.

The Oculus Quest feels like the first virtual reality headset with true mass-market appeal, providing a room-scale experience without the need for a gaming PCor wires of any kind.

If you dont want to plunk down $1,000 for the Valve Index (and I dont blame you) then my next recommendation is the Oculus Quest. Why? Because its a VR headset youll actually use.

Quest is the first untethered headset thats actually worth a damn, by which I mean it provides a desktop-caliber experience without the need for a desktop PC. If youre simply looking to play Beat Saber or Job Simulator or The Room VR or any of a dozen other VR games with minimal fuss, Quest is the way to go. No wires means you can set it up anywhere youd like, or even take it on the road.

And as an added benefit, the Oculus Link Cable allows you to turn Quest into a full-fledged PC headset to rival the Oculus Rift. Sure, an $80 cable is ridiculous. I think we can all agree on that. The Quest/Link combo feels like magic though, enabling you to play top-tier VR games like Half-Life: Alyx and Lone Echo (and my favorite Google Earth VR) when you have a PC handy, and then return to your carefree wireless life when youre done. Its the best of both worlds.

Sure, theres some image compression when you use Link, and Quests tracking isnt quite as good as Oculuss tethered alternative, the Oculus Rift S. But its good enough, and youre essentially getting two headsets for the price of one. Even before Link, I wouldve probably recommended Quest to most people over one of the tethered headsets. With Link? Theres no contest.

That said, if youre really, absolutely, totally certain youll never want to use your VR headset away from your PC? Oculuss Rift S is a perfectly serviceable fallback. Again, I find it hard to recommend the Rift S personally, but thats only in comparison to its more capable cousin.

Side note: Its also worth noting that buying a Quest or Rift S is technically the only way to play Oculus exclusives, including Lone Echo, Asgards Wrath, Wilsons Heartbasically, a significant portion of the best VR games. Index and Vive owners can try LibreVR/Revive, but the results are sometimes lackluster and its very much a community-built workaround. Oculus has been pretty hands-off with Revive for a few years now, but theres always the chance you wake up and it simply no longer works.

If we chart the progression of video games from Spacewar and Zork all the way through to 2016, then the HTC Vive is the next logical step towards realism.

This is less of an official buy-it-here recommendation and more just a practical suggestion. If youre looking to get into VR on-the-cheap, keep an eye out for secondhand HTC Vives and Oculus Rifts. The Vive, in particular.

While its now 4-year-old hardware, the Vive is still a perfectly suitable entrypoint for VR. If youre playing in a living room or bedroom, the original Lighthouse tracking will be just as solid as the upgraded version that ships with the Valve Index. The Vive wands are also perfectly suitable, and the only thing youll probably want to replace is the faceplate (because gross) and the strap, assuming your secondhand unit comes with the original elastic instead of the superior Deluxe Audio Strap add-on.

After years of dev kits and prototypes and behind-closed-door demos, the Oculus Rift is finally ready for consumers. Welcome to VR.

On the Rift side, youll want to make sure your secondhand unit comes with the Oculus Touch controllers and at least two (but preferably three) of the cameras used for tracking. Room-scale support for the original Rift isnt nearly as good as with the Vive, but if you can find one for cheap, go for it.

And nows your chance, really. A lot of people are dumping their old Vive and Rift hardware to upgrade to the Quest, Rift S, and Index. You might be able to get in on-the-cheap if youre lucky.

A few years ago Microsoft decided it was also going to get into VRor rather, into all of the Rs. Combine virtual reality (VR) with augmented reality (AR) and you get...Mixed Reality, or MR. Or thats how Microsoft pitched it, at least.

But really, all of the MR headsets are just VR headsets. I know, its confusing, but Microsofts AR tech is still confined to HoloLens, which targets enterprise use cases. The consumer-focused Windows Mixed Reality headsetsby companies like Acer, Dell, and HP dont really do anything more than the rest of the competition.

They are really cheap though, which might make you wonder: Is this a good place to get into VR? If its your only option, sure, go for it. Just know that youre signing up for a compromised experience. Windows MR was the first platform to mount cameras on the headset to track both the players position and the controllers.

Being first out of the gate has drawbacks though. All of the Windows MR headsets are restricted to two front-facing cameras for tracking. This works fine if youre holding your hand out where the cameras can see, but the tracking is easily broken by any number of everyday actions: Hand behind your head, hands down at your sides, and so on.

Can you deal with it? Sure, and if its your first VR experience you probably wont know any better. Its a lesser experience though, and given how much prices have come down for the Oculus Quest and Rift S, the Windows MR headsets no longer seem like as much of a bargain. Hell, the $649 HP Reverb (the top-tier Windows MR headset at the moment) costs more than either the Quest or Rift S, and provides a lesser experience.

We used the headsets. And used them. And used them. And used them.

No, seriously. Whenever we review products at PCWorld, we use them for some period of time. I might put a keyboard through its paces for a few weeks, for instance. But Ive been covering VR since the early days, when all you could buy was the original Oculus Developer Kit.

With such a limited hardware pool, you can trust that Ive gotten a lot of use out of our VR headsets. The original Vive lasted two years until the Vive Pro came along. That, in turn, stayed on my desk until the Index arrived last year. And the first-gen Oculus Rift had the best run of all, making the trip in and out of my closet fairly regularly from 2016 until the Quest and Rift S released last yearand on the day I finally retired my original Rift, I celebrated, because I no longer needed to use four different USB ports for a single VR headset.

Point being, Ive put these headsets through their paces and feel confident speaking to the pros and cons of each, be it comfort, optics, the controllers, or even just the price.

Want to delve into more detail? Check out the list of reviews below, where we go more in-depth on the products above, and a few more besides. Well keep updating this list on a regular basis (meaning whenever there are new headsets to cover) so be sure to check back in and see whats going on with VR.

The rest is here:
The best VR headsets for 2020: Every option reviewed and ranked - PCWorld

A tulip table, one of the authors favorite pieces for small homes, anchors a dining room featured in her new book. Photo: Weston Wells fromThe Little Book of Living Smallby Laura Fenton. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith.

I have been living in (relatively) small spaces since I moved to New York City 22 years ago, so Ive learned firsthand how to make the most use of limited square feet. As a journalist whose career has focused on home design and dcor, Ive also had the luxury of snooping around other peoples homes to find out what works for them. Last year, while writing my first book, The Little Book of Living Small (which came out in April), I got to see how all kinds of people were living in their own small spaces. While those homes had custom solutions and DIY fixes, they were also filled with a lot of affordable, off-the-shelf products their owners bought to maximize their spaces. Below, Ive listed the best 13 of those products, some of which serve very specific functions, while others are more versatile. All, however, work hard to make a tiny home feel (and sometimes even look) much grander than it is.

Photo: retailer

The Stool 60 by Alvar Aalto is a classic design that can be a stool, a side table, a bedside perch, or a plant stand. Fortuitously, if you dont have the budget for the real deal, there are dupes on the market. A telling detail of the dupes is their four-legged construction the original Stool 60 is three-legged but if youre really committed to the originals look, Ive met people who have removed the fourth leg and rejiggered the other three with the help of a power drill. Piled on top of one another, they take up the floor space of a single seat and you can still rest a drink or a plant on top! This set of four from Home Depot is a great deal at just $16 per stool, but if you only need one or two, Bed Bath & Beyond sells them for $22 apiece.

Photo: retailer

For years, I used clear plastic shower liners as my shower curtain because they made my small bathrooms look bigger (I liked to think of them as a poor mans glass shower door). But while space-opening, those always looked like cheap shower liners. So I was delighted when my friends Michael and Lisa Fine at Quiet Town started making these sun shower curtains, which are a fancy version of my budget solution with a little pop of color at the base. West Elm has them in a few more fun colors if you dont like the yellow. And if you do go the inexpensive-liner route, be sure to get one labeled crystal clear not a frosted liner, which will look cheap.

Photo: retailer

This genius sculptural stool is actually made of paper, and the material makes it reminiscent of a sculptural Noguchi lamp. The stool has a felt seat, collapses down to flat, and weighs next to nothing. I first saw a stool like this in decorator Sally Breers apartment, when it was featured in T magazine.

While nobody will be squeezing in guests anytime soon, the time to gather around a table will come again. Whether youre dining with one, two, or more, a tulip table like the Odyssey from CB2 (a riff on Eero Saarenins iconic mid-century table for Knoll) is an ideal small-space table because it takes up less floor space than a rectangular counterpart while offering just as much seating. Plus, its single pedestal makes it super-easy to add extra chairs when needed (no legs to get in the way). Tellingly, six out of the 12 homes featured in The Little Book of Living Small had some variation on a tulip table.

Photo: retailer

While stools like the Aalto lookalikes and the folding-paper model are great for guests, you want something sturdier with a back for your daily meals (especially if its a chair that does double duty in your work-from-home setup). Seats with a petite footprint can often feel really flimsy to sit upon, a fact I became acutely aware of when I was pregnant. Not so with these hardwood, spindle-style Salt Chairs manufactured by Ton Design Team for Design Within Reach, which are similar to some vintage chairs I have in my own home. DWR has been selling them for more than a decade; while not exactly cheap, at a retailer where other dining chairs can go for $1,000 or more apiece, they are kind of a bargain, especially considering the European-made quality.

Photo: Amazon

See-through furniture made of glass, Lucite, or acrylic keeps things looking light and airy. While glass is less likely to show scratches than the plastics, it also poses the highest risk of chipping and is much heavier to move. Lucite is the highest-quality version of acrylic but will be priced accordingly, which is why acrylic can be a better bet if youre shopping on a budget. No matter the material, a transparent, waterfall-style coffee table like this acrylic one goes a long way in opening up a cramped living room (just know youll need to keep its surface tidy to maximize its space-opening potential). Another bonus of clear furniture: It (literally) blends in with most any style of dcor.

Photo: retailer

For anyone (everyone?) trying to shoehorn a work-from-home situation into an already-full home, a corner desk will work wonders. It makes an often underutilized part of any room instantly super-functional, and because of the triangular shape, you still have plenty of leg space. I have a vintage version in my living room that looks kind of like this unfinished one from Home Depot, which even has some storage in the form of a drawer. If youd prefer something stained, this mid-century-inspired model has a more finished look (and is $11 cheaper).

Photo: retailer

Ive often seen shelves mounted next to beds in teeny spaces, but I personally need a bit more space than a ledge to stash my stuff. Thats why I bought a pair of minimalist floating nightstands on Etsy (the seller, right now, is only taking requests for custom orders). This simple style, from Crate & Barrel, is spiritually similar and has a drawer for keeping anything you dont want out on display. Another virtue of a floating nightstand: If you, like me, have drawers under your bed, wall-mounted furniture will never get in the way when you need to open them.

Theres a reason mini-cribs are the choice of small-space power bloggers like Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves and Alison Mazurek of 600sqft: They have wheels and fold up so you can have a mobile or tuck-away nursery. Ive used and recommend the Babyletto Origami mini-crib, which is bigger than some mini-cribs on the market; it feels plenty sturdy even though it folds. That said, experience taught me that its a good idea to buy Babylettos mini-crib mattress, too, because the one included with the crib is pretty skimpy (and finding another mini mattress that fits is a lot harder than youd think).

Photo: retailer

These wall-mounted ledges from Ikea are a cheap and practical way to store books, magazines, or toys for kids or pets. Weve got three installed in my sons room to hold his various books, and with a little styling, their colorful covers look like wall art. If youre hanging them in a home with kids, a word of warning: Mount the shelving high enough that your little one cant try to climb it like a ladder!

Photo: retailer

Clip-on lamps like this are a dime a dozen at hardware stores: Theyre dirt cheap and you can attach them (almost) anywhere you need a little extra illumination. We have one that I spray-painted red and clipped to a book ledge, but they can also latch onto bookcases or directly on a bed frame.

Photo: retailer

Okay, technically this collapsible step stool can only support up to 300 pounds but thats still a lot of weight for something that can fold flat and be tucked away in such narrow nooks as the gap between a fridge and a wall. In your average city apartment, the Rhino can help you reach most things, making it great for maximizing vertical space. It comes in lots of fun colors, too; Amazon has it in green, white, and black in addition to the red shown, and Buy Buy Baby has it in pastel pinks and blues as well as a pleasing light gray (while its two bucks more at Amazon, it qualifies for either free or Prime shipping; at Buy Buy Baby, the price of the stool alone doesnt qualify for free shipping).

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Original post:
These 12 Things Will Make a Tiny Home Feel Much Bigger - New York Magazine

VANCOUVER, Wash. A big part of the economy in Washington state is moving again. At construction sites large and small, they are working with new health safety rules in place.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee calls this "phase one" of restarting construction, which allows construction to resume at current job sites. The requirements to do it runs several pages long. Among them: employers must provide personal protective equipment, including gloves, goggles, or face shields as appropriate. And of course, masks and social distancing.

From along the Vancouver Waterfront to a custom home build in Camas, subcontractors like Carter Murray are following the rules.

"(Home builder) Affinity's done a really good job of laying it out for us, right when we walk in, sign in sheet and everything like that, its not too hard to follow at all," said Murray.

Tim Gordon, KGW

"Were working under some pretty strict modifications but we think its super important that we follow that to the 'T'. We definitely dont want any kind of interruption in the workflow again," said John Colgate of Affinity Homes.

Colgate says it is great to be back to building, great for clients with a timeline for moving in, and great for workers.

"Theres a lot of families that are fed based on the construction industry here in this county, and its gonna be different from here on out. But I think everyones adjusting quickly, and the new norm, I dont think its gonna slow things down at all," said Colgate.

In Oregon, construction with safeguards never stopped.

The Building Industry Association of Washington estimates its workers lost out on $690 million in wages. They want everyone to stay safe, so the next phase can happen to open up more of this industry.

RELATED: Washington's stay-at-home order will extend past May 4; no reopening date set

RELATED: Some fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting can resume May 5 in Washington state

Continue reading here:
Washington gets back to construction, with safeguards in place - KGW.com