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ADT's new voice-activated Pulse Voice app brings hands-free control to your connected home.

ADT's new Pulse Voice app. ADT

ADT has just unveiled Pulse Voice, a companion app for its existing Pulse home security and automation service. The new app uses voice control to help you monitor and make changes to your home security system and other devices.

Current ADT subscribers can get Pulse Voice for free today on their Android and iOS devices.

Once you've downloaded the app, you need to come up with a five-word password -- this becomes your verbal login identifier. The app is also supposed to rely on voice recognition and confirm the identity of the mobile device being used before it allows anyone to sign in.

After successfully getting past these three levels of security, you should be able to tap into your Pulse service remotely. You'll be able to arm and disarm your security system and control compatible lighting, thermostats, and locks -- all with verbal commands.

ADT's logic here is clear -- Pulse Voice is designed to provide a convenient gateway to your home security system and other connected home products. Whether you're struggling with bags of groceries or would simply rather "tell" the app to lock your front door instead of interacting with it directly, ADT wants to give you another option. Supposedly, the voice control technology will tune into key words, names of products, and certain phrases and even respond to confirm that it "heard" you.

The ADT Pulse service has a wide range of home security and automation options. ADT

This isn't the first time we've seen voice activation paired with home automation. Athom, a startup based in the Netherlands, recently launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for Homey. Homey is a glowing sphere that can sit in your living room and act as a protocol hub, much like Revolv or other more mainstream offerings. Interactive Voice's Lowes Iris and Staples Connect-compatible Ivee Sleek personal home assistant is another home-automation gadget that can respond to voice commands.

We also reviewed the $349 Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat with Voice Control and found the feature useful, but ultimately too limited and gimmicky to justify its price. But ADT's Pulse Voice app certainly isn't doomed. The direct voice-control functionality on the app, as well as the home security component, might just make for a new and welcome connected home experience.

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ADT has its finger on the Pulse of voice control

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 02, 2014

Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc. is one of the largest family-owned and operated service and repair companies in San Diego. Plumbers working for Bill Howe have been proud to be a part of the Local Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors of San Diego (PHCC-SD) since 1985. They have continued to successfully grow the company by adding divisions in restoration and flood services, heating and air conditioning repair, and dedicate their time and resources to focus on education and training for their 100 + employees.

Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc. has been a proud member of the PHCC-SD for over 25 years. Bill and Tina have each served as the chapter President, most recently Tina stepped into the role for the 2013-14 year where she increased membership and successfully saw the opening of the HVAC training program. For the past decade, Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc. has been proud to send their employees through the PHCC-SD apprenticeship program. The company pays for all tuition, materials and offers support, on the job training and all resources for them to become Journeyman plumbers.

On Saturday, June 28, the San Diego PHCC celebrated the 122th annual Installation of the Officers, as well as the 2014 Graduation Ceremony. A total of eleven students graduated from the program for 2014, including five San Diego plumbers from Bill Howe: Louis Zimmerman, S. Bruce, Ryan Cook, Tyler Cervantes and Matt Saille. Each graduate successfully completed the four-year program with outstanding grades while working full time as field technicians.

It was a very proud moment to be part of the success of all of our PHCC graduates this year, said Tina Howe, Vice President of Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc. We are especially happy to recognize the hard work and dedication of our own employees. We believe that proper training and education are so important to continuing to deliver the best services to our valued customers.

For more information about the Bill Howe Family of Companies services in San Diego: air conditioning, heating, restoration, flood remediation or plumbing, visit http://www.billhowe.com, or to speak with Bill or Tina Howe regarding this announcement, contact Bill Howe Marketing Director, Julie Riddle at Julie(at)billhowe(dot)com.

About Bill Howe Family of Companies Bill Howe Family of Companies is comprised of Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc.; Bill Howe Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.; Bill Howe Restoration & Flood Services, Inc. The family-owned and operated company began in 1980 with the plumbing division and has grown into San Diego Countys largest low-cost one-stop-shop for service, repairs and installation, offering both residential and commercial services. 9085 Aero Drive, Suite B, San Diego CA 92123. Call 1-800-BILL-HOWE because We Know Howe!

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PHCC-SD Graduates Five San Diego Plumbers From Bill Howe

Reliable Handyman Services - Naples, FL
http://www.handymanservicesdirect.com As a professional handyman business, Reliable Handyman Services (RHS) provides a wide range of services to our customers. We pride ourselves on our...

By: Michael Chalfin

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Reliable Handyman Services - Naples, FL - Video

Published 3:40pm Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The City of Hartselle has given Woodward Construction and Burleson Pools a punch list of 26 items that are unacceptable with the construction of the Hartselle Aquatic Center.

Ronnie Woodward, owner of Woodward Construction, said he is planning to work with the city to get a resolution on each of these issues as soon as possible. He said some of the issues cannot be fixed until the pool closes for the season Sept. 2.

However, he is looking to get help to get several of the issues fixed before the end of the summer season. Specifically, he wants to get the rusting stainless steel ladders, guard stands and gutter system parts replaced as soon as possible.

Woodward said the supplier will be at the pool Wednesday to resolve those issues, along with issues with the diving boards.

Department of Development Director Jeff Johnson said the company said the reasons for the issues with the diving board, much like the stainless steel issues, were due to improper cleaning.

The company used what looked like dish washing soap and scrubbed it, Johnson said. They said it would need to be done on a weekly basis.

However, city councilman Tom Chappell disagreed that a fiberglass diving board should need that kind of attention.

If we have to scrub the diving board with Joy dishwashing soap every week, then we got screwed, Chappell said. You can drive up the road and look at diving boards and stainless steel ladders that have been in the pool for 40 years and they dont have that kind of a problem.

Council President Bill Smelser said he has a 30-year-old pool that still has the same stainless steel that it had originally and it hasnt had the same kind of issues with very little cleaning.

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Pool contractor given citys demands

Story published: 07-02-2014 Print Article E-mail Story to a Friend

Jones Hardwoods has continued to grow during slow economy

Any good business has to be able to adapt and change with demand. Through the dramatic economic shifts of the past few years many companies have faltered or failed altogether, especially those having anything to do with the housing market. Yet a few have been versatile enough to take advantage of what opportunities are still available and have not only remained viable but have actually grown. This is the story of Jones Hardwood Flooring, a business that has called Johnson County home from its inception and which has worked hard to build a strong reputation for quality products that are shipped nationwide and beyond.

Jones Hardwood Flooring officially began back in 1998 when Johnny Bauguess and his business partner and nephew, Greg Jones, bought the company from Gregs father, Harold Jones. At the time, the companys focus was mainly on installation and finishing. The flooring itself was all coming in from distributors and nothing was made in house. Much of the flooring was narrow strips ranging between 2 inches to 3 inches, and most of the demand was for gymnasium floors in schools.

According to Bauguess, jobs were being taken all up and down the east coast from the Maryland border to Florida. Even now the company still replaces or installs gym floors, albeit in much smaller numbers and all relatively local. Changing with the times, demand now calls for mostly wide plank flooring and even with the housing bust starting back in 2008, Bauguess has been working hard to provide increasingly better products to meet the growing orders.

Over the past few years the company has grown to begin its own manufacturing process, opening up a plant in the Johnson County Industrial Park in Doe Valley and now up to nearly 20 employees in total. Purchasing wood from local yards in Trade and the surrounding counties of Western North Carolina, Jones Hardwood Flooring operates their own dry kiln and pretty much handles every step of the process from rough boards to finished flooring.

In fact, the only thing that the company still regularly sends off for are engineered and pre-finished products, and even in those scenarios Bauguess explained that it is their own rough finished materials that are being treated. We manufacture just about everything we install, Bauguess said. Its been about four years since we started manufacturing and so far were having probably the best year since 2008. We were buying select flooring in wide widths but it all came in short lengths. The customers kept complaining and thats when I wanted to go into manufacturing.

Whereas most customers were looking for longer lengths because of ease of installation and cosmetic appeal, most of the distributors were sending material only one to three feet long. The problem came from the fact that many companies were trying to save money by getting only the best wood out of lower grade logs. Making the leap to supply their own flooring, Jones now has the capability to offer a much wider range of products as well, including the most popular recent development, reclaimed lumber.

Considering how aged, weathered, and worm eaten the board are initially, most people would not consider the lumber from old barns and houses as the top selling source for flooring in million dollar homes but that is exactly the case. With a little work and finishing, this much-used wood becomes a true work of art, with each board having its own little unique qualities. Used in everything from commercial restaurants to rustic cabins and to high end hunting lodges, reclaimed lumber has been the hot product of the past couple years and Bauguess has been very busy as a result.

We ship a lot of reclaimed to Cape Cod, Massachusetts right now, Bauguess said. We get orders every week from them. We ship to the west coast, even to the west coast of Canada. We send to California, Texas, Lake Tahoe, and a lot of the high-end areas especially with the reclaimed. Most of the reclaimed goes into million dollar homes and is the most popular that we ship. We do some local reclaimed. We started a job today in the Grandfather Country Club but its all really high-end houses. A lot of it comes off local barns, some out of beams we rip, some we buy from a reclaim company. If we can find a barn or an old house, we get it. Thats why its a big deal in Canada. They have all the natural resources, all the timber, but theyre looking for the reclaimed.

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Jones Hardwoods has continued to grow during slow economy

The Selection - Fences (Fanmade)
It was all inside my head when I heard this song and I was like "why not?". Then I made it, hope you guys like! 🙂 Some scenes are from Shetter me and Beyond...

By: Daniella Silva

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The Selection - Fences (Fanmade) - Video

Gwinnett #39;s Boggs clears the fences
6/26/14: Gwinnett #39;s Brandon Boggs hits a solo homer in the Braves #39; 9-1 loss to the Toledo Mud Hens Check out http://www.MiLB.com/video for more! MiLB.com is the official site of Minor League...

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Gwinnett's Boggs clears the fences - Video

The track's barns, parking area, fences, signage, press box and other "major parts of the complex" suffered damage, according to the suit.

A $20 million dispute over insurance coverage for damage caused by Superstorm Sandy at the Monmouth Park racetrack has been moved from state court to federal court at the request of the insurer, Lexington Insurance.

The filing, called a "notice of removal," was made last week based on the fact that Monmouth Park, its subsidiaries and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority the plaintiffs in the case are all New Jersey-based, while Lexington is based in Boston.

The policy calls for a $1 million flood deductible and a $500,000 wind-and-hail deductible, and the parties disagree on the specific cause of the damage at the Oceanport horse track from the storm in October 2012. The track's barns, parking area, fences, signage, press box and other "major parts of the complex" suffered damage, according to the suit.

There also is a dispute about whether Sandy qualifies as a "named storm" according to the policy, and thereby is subject to the higher deductible.

Representatives of Monmouth Park say no. "It is clear that Sandy was not a hurricane but was declared a post-tropical storm prior to landfall in New Jersey," Dennis Drazin, an attorney whose firm runs the tacks, said in the suit.

Drazin also maintains that an executive order issued by Governor Christie prohibits insurance carriers from applying a hurricane deductible to Sandy-related damage.

According to Monmouth Park officials, delayed or unpaid claims at the racetrack have resulted in putting off numerous repairs as well as out-of-pocket expenses that have yet to be repaid including $400,000 incurred by the sports authority and postponement of work on revenue-generating new amenities like an amphitheater and boardwalk, now not scheduled to open until next summer.

Damage to the barns on the backstretch was so severe, according to the suit, that two contractors recommended they be demolished and replaced at a cost of $20 million. The partial payments have been insufficient so far to allow for such a replacement, according to the suit.

Reimbursement for $1.4 million also is sought for damage at the track grounds because of the site becoming an emergency staging area for thousands of first responders and other personnel in the months after Sandy. Additional, unspecified compensation for "punitive damages for willful and wanton violation of the executive order" also is sought.

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Monmouth Park still in $20M fight over Sandy claims

Aranda Jr.

Long-time El Paso union leader Juan Aranda Jr., who for years represented workers at the former Asarco copper smelter in El Paso, died recently at age 90 after a long illness.

Texas state Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, in a Facebook post, called Aranda a giant in El Paso's labor movement.

"Better known in our community as 'El General,' (Aranda) was a major force in building El Paso's steelworkers' union," Rodriguez said.

Hector Arellano, 70, a retired electrician and long-time leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 583, said Aranda was called "The General because he is the man we (union organizers) would all follow for directions."

He was a tough negotiator who was not afraid to speak his mind, said Arellano, who represented electrical workers at Asarco when Aranda was representing the majority of the smelter's workers.

"He had no college degrees. But he had common sense, and a heart for the working people," Arellano said.

"People seem to have forgotten about him. He helped so many in organized labor," Arellano said. He also was very active in organizing union members to work for political candidates, he said.

Aranda, who was born in Mexico, served in the Army during World War II, and eventually got a job at Asarco, where he worked for 27 years, said his son, David Aranda.

He organized the first union at the Asarco smelter, his son said.

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El Paso union giant Juan Aranda Jr., remembered as great leader

CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) - This week's Hot Jobs report is courtesy of Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend.

Location Alice, Texas Job Number 2763650 Title Lab Assistant Salary $13.00 Hour +Benefits Qualifications Minimum nine (9) months prior experience and a High School Diploma or General Education Development (GED) required. Candidate must be able to perform general lab maintenance and support for a lab specializing in in-vitro biological testing services. Must be available for occasional weekend and holiday work as assigned or directed. Valid Class C - Standard driver's license required. Location Refugio, Texas Job Number 8295943 Title Roustabout Salary $12.00 Hour to Start Qualifications One (1) year prior experience and a High School Diploma or General Education Development (GED) required. Must be able to perform all job-related duties as assigned or directed. Duties to include keeping pipe deck and main deck areas clean, moving pipes to and from trucks, digging drainage ditches around wells and storage tanks, etc. Valid Class C - Standard driver's license required. Location Corpus Christi, Texas Job Number 6952962 Title Experienced Ironworkers Salary $13.00 - $15.00 Hour, Depending on Experience +Benefits Qualifications One (1) year experience required. Candidates must be able to perform the following skills and/or possess the following knowledge: Stick welding, Bold Up Iron, Spreading & Screwing Decking; Work at heights greater than six (6) feet; Work outside; possess own tools. Certified to operate Lifts preferred but not required. Location Bishop, Texas Job Number 6949342 Title Industrial Electrician Salary $85,000.00 - $120,000.00 Year, Depending on Experience Qualifications Eight (8) years prior experience and an Associate's Degree required. Candidate must possess knowledge and/or be able to perform the following: inspections/PMs for UPS systems & station batteries; knowledge of PLC's, be able to perform instrument calibrations & troubleshooting. Must possess computer ability in the use of Microsoft Office and use of SAP. Location Corpus Christi, Texas Job Number 4981943 Title Social Services Coordinator Salary $16.50 Hour Qualifications One (1) year prior experience and an Associate's Degree required. 21 years of age or older due to company/insurance requirements. Candidate must be able to develop and coordinate reentry programs to ensure continuing care for the special needs of each resident. Must be able to develop programs to address the unique reentry needs of female residents. Basic computer skills to include Windows 2000, XP or higher, Word, and Excel. Some weekend work required.

To learn more about these jobs, call Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend at 888-860-JOBS.

Hot Jobs is a segment that is found every Tuesday, on 3News at 5 p.m.

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Hot Jobs: July 1, 2014