JamesBlog2014

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Back to School: 7 Ways a Smart Home Can Help

Written by Christi Nelson on August 5, 2014

It’s that time of year. Shopping for new clothes, buying new backpacks and school supplies, registering for classes, getting the first-day jitters. And for a lot of parents (like me), it’s time to figure out how to manage kids before and after school. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use my Control4 home automation system to “school” my family.   1.      GET UP! The kids certainly got used to sleeping in late during the summer break. Now they have to get up at the crack of dawn in order to get dressed and ready for school. No easy process. Personally, I hate starting a bright new day screaming like a banshee at my kids to get them out of bed. So we set our Control4 smart home system up to do a few things to help them wake up on their own. The bus leaves at 8:18 (give or take 5 minutes) so at 7am, the lights in both kids’ bedrooms come on automatically. Both kids have their own special soundtrack that starts to play in their rooms, gradually becoming louder to ease them out of bed. They each have a checklist by their door with their morning to-dos: get dressed, make bed, brush teeth, brush hair, get backpack, go down to breakfast. If the kids are not seated at the kitchen table by 7:30, I just grab my phone and hit the “GET UP!” button. This flashes the lights in their bedrooms and bathroom while broadcasting “You need to be downstairs in 5-4-3-2-1” over the speakers. Works like a charm.   2.      I’M HOME. I swear by this one. When the kids get home from school in the afternoon, they use their own special code on the Yale smart lock on the front door to let themselves into the house. A text is automatically sent to my smartphone reading “Noah is home” with a time stamp. If the code on the smart lock has not been entered during the 30-minute window the kids should have been home after school, I also get a text so I can track down my errant child. (No, you were not allowed to go to Bobby’s house after school without asking me.) Brilliant.   3.      HOMEWORK. It’s borderline impossible to keep kids focused on homework and chores when there are so many electronic distractions around, right? And if you’re a working parent, forget about it. You may not know this, but…kids lie. Sure their homework was done in 5 minutes, dishes put away and chores completed. Or they’re just playing Xbox and you’ll end up doing all of this at 10pm or 7am in a crabby rush. I have our electronics set up so that we can shut them down from our iPhones. No TV, no gaming until homework and chores are complete. Once the kids have proven that they are, in fact, compliant with the rules, I can turn all the fun stuff on – right from my phone. (This is also great when kids are grounded.) And if they try to sneak one past me, I get an alert from my Control4 system that the Xbox was turned on – busted!   4.      DINNER TIME: Once I get home from work and dinner is finally ready to be served, rounding up the kids can be an issue—one I don’t usually have the energy to deal with. So, again, I enlist the help of my Control4 home automation system. A broadcast message goes out over all the speakers in the house announcing “Dinner Time,” while the lights flash in the kids’ rooms and the electronics shut down. I can even use my phone or the touch screen in the kitchen to check the security cameras in the game room and outside to see if the kids are on their way in to eat.   5.      BEDTIME: Once chores are done, homework is finished, dinner is complete and cleaned up, lunches are packed, and all of the after-school-activity equipment is loaded into the car, the kids and I get to relax and have some fun. Well, for about eight minutes. Then it’s bedtime. The worst time of the day for most kids. Personally, I can’t wait to curl up in my bed and get some shut-eye, but my kids have no such need. So it’s a fight. I have my system set up to flash the lights at 8:30pm, signaling that bedtime is coming. They have 30 minutes to get pajamas on, teeth brushed, showered, and get to bed. At 9pm sharp, the lights go off along with all the electronics in their rooms. It’s really slick. All I have to do is read a book and give goodnight hugs and kisses.   6.      BABYSITTER: Occasionally, I get to have a night out. Or go to a Zumba class after work. Or I just have to work late. On those days, I have a nanny who comes to sit with the kids after school. I have asked her to limit the kids’ TV and game time but sometimes I think it slips through the cracks. I get the same text messages letting me know she’s using the “electronic babysitter” instead of actually engaging with the kids. This has been a great way to make sure my kids are in good hands when I can’t be at home with them.   7.      FUN STUFF: Sometimes getting back to school can be a real grind. Not just for the kids, but for mom too. It feels like every day is a race with nothing but schedules, calendars, to-do lists and homework. So sometimes it’s nice to just take a break and have some fun. That’s when we hit the “Play” button and the whole entertainment center kicks on so we can play Black Ops or watch the latest Transformers movie with some popcorn. That’s when my kids think I’m the world’s coolest mom. And I’m pretty okay with that.

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Electric Bicycles - The Way to go!

An electric bicycle is a cycle that is powered by an electric motor. These electric bikes are also called motorized bikes. These bicycles have small electric motors or combustion engines. These electric motors ensure that the rider does not have to continue pedaling to ride the bike. In other words, if you are looking for a flexible means of transport - ebikes are your answer. One can ride them using either the motor to make it run, or one can opt to use the pedals if one wants to do some exercise, or in case the rider's electric bike runs out of power.

The popularity of electric bicycles is fast growing; more so in countries like China where bicycles are considered a popular means of transport. Electric motorbikes are not a new invention; its origins can be traced back to the late 19th century. The many attempts to power conventional bicycles with electric power has resulted in the latest electric bike or ebike. In fact, if you have seen a moped you would know that this is direct descendant of these attempts, as they still include pedals. Some mopeds also use pedals as a starting aid and for propulsion. Hub motors, geared, chain drive, direct drive, and friction drive are some of the popular varieties of electric bicycles. You can also classify electric bicycles as power-on-demand where the motor is activated by a handle-bar based throttle or the pedelec one, where it is activated by pedaling.

Electric bicycles are different from motorcycles, as they still contain pedals. Although some electric bicycles require pedaling, it is not essential for others. However, they can be pedaled if the engine fails for any reason. Electric bikes have similar construction as regular bikes but they are made of stronger components. These bikes come with a stronger frame to take care of the motor. Most batteries included in ebikes are the rechargeable variety.

These many advantages explain the growing popularity of ebikes in most countries. Therefore, if you are looking for an easy, simple, environment friendly, quiet, and economical means of transport; these bikes are the answer. They are also an easy to use means of transport for everyone. With increasing traffic congestion, heavy pollution and concern for health, electric bicycles are slowly but surely becoming a preferred alternative for many. When compared to conventional bicycles, they are faster; and the best part, you don't need a license to ride these bikes in most countries. Some of the popular brand names that offer electric bicycles are General Engines, Sanyo, Emmo, and EV Warrior.

If you want to know more or want to read more resources about electric bicycles, we recommend that you visit this website.

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The Most Popular Vehicles can Be the Most Expensive

After you have looked through several magazines and compared the difference between a BMW and a Mercedes you have to actually take a step back and see if there may be some true quality into the product that they are selling or whether or not there may be something to just fluff for what you pay for. To be honest with you the vehicle has a wheel four tires and get you from point a to point b. So why would you pay 80%-300% more for a vehicle that does exactly what the other car primary responsibility is.

 From one destination to another is a luxury in terms of traveling by car bus plane or boat. I mean good old fashion walking or riding a bike seems almost sinister. For some people they usually choose to take public transportation to avoid high costs of taxes fees and insurance. These are some of the costs that you forget about during the time of purchase when buying a new or used car.

These costs can certainly add up pretty quick especially when you are at a point when you monthly budget can only afford so much. After you come to the conclusion that you can purchase a vehicle you now need to escape the desire to fix the vehicle up even more after you have spent several thousand during the time of driving the car off the lot.

Wanting to add rims or a new stereo system to a vehicle can be somewhat pointless in improving the value unless you purchase these upgrades from the manufacture. I mean who wants an upgrade that is not include in the warranty or one that has poor quality even though it may be a great or cool name brand.

Having these items on your vehicle may impress yourself or your friends but in terms of resell value you don’t always get the same appreciation so we often recommend people to just avoid these extra add-ons if at all possible.  Take the most advice as possible when you pick out a vehicle and always make sure you know when you have too much for too less. Usually there is a catch when some things seem too good to be true.

Saving up a little bit more can be something you have to ask yourself because when you are desperate or have a certain urge to get something usually you will go out of your way to get it no matter who stands in the way. We often feel that is fine but make sure that the things you want do not put too much of a strain or hardship on your financial goals.