Only in the last year did I finally replace my older than dirt mercury switch type thermostat with a programmable model. Although I’ve enjoyed the convenience of having the heat automatically come on in the morning before I wake up and then not come on while no one is home during the day, changing the program times is a big pain in the you-know-what. Doing so consists of pressing and holding a button till the info on the tiny LCD blinks. Then more button pressing is required to cycle through the days of the week, program times, etc. It takes a minute or two just to change the temp for a specific day and time. The Nest Thermostat looks like a much more elegant solution. It has a ring (sort of like an old style thermostat) that you rotate to adjust the temperature. After a few days of adjusting the temp, Nest learns to program itself to keep you at a comfortable temperature while also conserving electricity. At $249, the price is considerably more than other programmable thermostats, but if it works as well as it looks, I’d definitely like to give one a try in my house.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, News

Tagged: Home

Nest – A Thermostat for the 21st Century originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 1, 2011 at 5:20 pm.

When my sister and I were really young, we both had bean bag chairs. I had a Blue one and she had Red. We loved those chairs till one bleak day when the love affair ended for my sister. That was the day that she sat in the chair only to learn seconds later that our new kitten had used the chair as a potty. I laughed, she didn’t… Now every time I see a bean bag chair, I remember the days of yore with a faint smirk on my lips. Sorry Amy.

I couldn’t help but wonder how bean bag chair technology has changed in 4 decades, so when Sumo contacted me to ask if I would like review one of their bean bags, I said Heck Yeah! Of the several styles and colors that they offer, they sent me the Omni in Orange.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

When the chair arrived, it was in a HUGE box and protected by an equally large plastic bag.

I asked for Orange because I thought it would photograph well and blend in with colors in our basement. The color is not quite the same as shown on their site. I’d have to say it’s brighter and more like traffic cone Orange than pumpkin Orange.

The only branding on the chair is a large Red tag that is sewn into one of the seams Levi style.

The bean bag is made of a slick rip proof Ballistic nylon. Definitely and upgrade from the vinyl chair I had back in the day.

The ‘beans’ can be accessed by a zippered opening in one of the seams. There are no worries that the zipper will open accidentally as there’s very strong velcro holding the opening shut. It took considerable effort to pull it apart. All the seams are triple stitched too.

The beads as they call them are actually small (various sizes) Virgin Polystyrene Foam balls. These balls can decompress over time, so Sumo does offer a 3 cubic feet bag of them for $50.

Traditional bean bag chairs offered one basic shape and way of sitting on them. Sumo offers several bean bag styles, that can be shaped in all sorts of ways. The Omni is like a 5’5 x 4’5in pillow shape as you see above.

It makes a convenient floor pad for napping or reading.

If you fancy more of a traditional chair shape, it can easily transform to suit your needs.

Sitting (or laying) on the Sumo Omni is comfy. The only issue I have with it is that it’s a bit hard to get out of the chair when you want to stand up. But then I’m not a kid any more I think that bean bag chairs are something that kids and young adults will appreciate a lot more than the over 30 crowd. That said, they do work well as additional seating that can be transformed into all sorts of shapes. Sumo has really helped the bean bag chair evolve. If you’re looking for a funky chair for your home and don’t want to go the traditional route, a bean bag chair is something to consider.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, Reviews

Tagged: Furniture, Home

Sumo Omni Bean Bag Chair Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 6, 2011 at 6:28 pm.

Show your fanboy (girl?) pride with this artwork collection of iOS icons from iPhone Paintings. Choose from a set of 16 hand painted icons on stretched canvas over a wood frame or 16 digitally printed icons on Italian artist canvas. Each individual painting/print is 20cm x 20cm. These icons don’t come cheap… If you choose the hand painted set, they will set you back $499. If you want to be more thrifty, go with the digital set for $275. At least the shipping is free.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, News

Tagged: Home, iPhone

iPhone Paintings – iPhone Icons as Artwork originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 8, 2011 at 5:00 pm.

Soggy Doggy Doormat is not just for thresholds any more. Microfiber chenille can soak up to 7x its own weight in water.

If you live in the midwest, you’ve had a rotten winter.  You’ve had snow upon snow upon a solid three to five inch thick rink of ice.  You’ve had issues with melting, leakage and if you live in Indiana, you’ve just been hammered with what feels like one gallon of rain a minute. Now compound that situation with dogs.  You have a mess.  Not just any muddy, doggy, melty, track it all over the place mess, you have a serious five-alarm mess. Except me.  I have Soggy Doggy Doormat. 

With two dogs and any number of foster dogs traipsing in and out of my house,   I’ve tried every single method of entryway rug known to man. I’ve tried towels, industrial restaurant rugs, indoor/outdoor carpets, the braided rag rug things, nothing really truly worked.   It got to the point where it just didn’t make sense to wash the floor until after the spring thaw was over.   Soggy Doggy Doormat solves the problem of wet pet feet.  That’s it.  It’s that simple.  It sucks up the water, snow, rain, mud and whatever else my dogs track in.  It sucks up the yuck I track in for crying out loud!  I’d call it the Sham Wow of doggy mats, but this product actually works!  The Big Secret is that the mat is made of microfiber chenille.  I like microfiber.  I like ANYTHING microfiber because it makes no bones about drying up spills and water and wet stuff and it does it without complaining.  It’s advertised to hold seven times its weight in water but honestly, I think it absorbs more than that.

Soft and comfy and has a no slip backing that truly does not slip.

It’s also solidly made.  Most rugs I’ve used do not have any sort of backing and the ones that do have a backing that I swear is engineered to make me slip and fall on my back.   Soggy Doggy has a no-slip backing that grabs your floor and doesn’t go anywhere.

But aside from using it as a pet floor mat, you can pretty much use Soggy Doggy for anything else pet related.  It’s deliciously soft and comfortable.   If you like your pets to snuggle but don’t want to vacuum up pet hair from the couch, Soggy Doggy makes a great couch pet blanket.  A lot of us who have dogs, have crates for them and Soggy Doggy makes a fabulously, soft, warm and comfy crate bed.

When testing out Soggy Doggy, my intention was to use it for it’s intended purpose… as a doormat for wet pet feet.  My dogs decided differently and it performs double duty as both doormat and snooze blanket.  I love it.  I want more of them.  I’d like to see these mats come in larger sizes as well.

Peace Accord: Only Soggy Doggy Doormat could bring my two Corgis together on the same mat. Demonstrating Soggy Doggy Doormat's many uses, my dogs use it as a snooze mat.

You can buy Soggy Doggy doormat right off of the website (www.soggydoggydoormat.com) but I would love to see these in pet stores, Tractor Supply and any other store simply because I don’t want to wait for it.   $39.99 sounds a bit pricey but this is a product that is worth every cent.

Filed in categories: Pet Gadgets, Reviews

Tagged: Dogs, Home

Soggy Doggy Doormat Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 3, 2011 at 10:30 am.

I know this isn’t exactly a gadget, but it sure is eye catching. It’s a collection of 3D car replicas that double as shelves for your wall. Made of resin and glass, these colorful front bumbers of some classic car models from the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s would be perfect for any man cave (or hey, a girl cave if you’re a female car nut). The price isn’t bad either at $89.95. They are available now from Gadgets and Gear.

Filed in categories: Car Gear, Home Tech, News

Tagged: Car, Home, Spotlight Gadgets

Hang a classic car on your wall originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 19, 2010 at 9:00 am.

Roomba isn’t the only robotic cleaning device on the scene now. The new Mint automatic floor cleaner is designed specifically for hard surfaces like wood and linoleum and uses most popular disposable cleaning cloths (Swiffer) and re-usable microfiber cloths for dry sweeping and wet mopping floors. The square shape allows it to reach all the way into corners. It uses the NorthStar System that works like an indoor GPS, with the NorthStar Cube emitting a signal that Mint uses to determine its location. Then Mint builds a map of the area as it cleans, marking walls, obstacles and drop offs as it encounters them. It’s available from Hammacher Schlemmer for $249.95.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, News

Tagged: Cleaning, Home, Spotlight Gadgets

Look out Roomba, the Mint Sweeper uses GPS originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 20, 2010 at 1:00 pm.

Yeah, yeah, I hate raking leaves too.  Actually raking is not the hard part.

Transferring them to trash bags is probably the worst aspect.  This rake from the ImprovementsCatalog ($40) looks interesting.  Just like a pooh-scooper (but without the grossness) this rake swoops and scoops.

I’ve tried snow shovels, cardboard boxes, bear claws (which really aren’t too bad except for the bending over aspect) and bare claws.  None of them are highly effective.  So this idea, which combines raking and cleaning could be a good alternative.

Filed in categories: News, Outdoor Gear

Tagged: Home, Spotlight Gadgets, Yard

Just in Time for Fall : Amazing Rake originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 11, 2010 at 3:57 pm.

I found this on the Hammacher Schlemmer site — “The Always Cool Pillow”, $90.  I’ve tried a cool pillow that was on sale at a certain drug store a while ago that but was disappointed in it– you had to fill it with water and listen to sloggying noises (not to mention getting your head smashed into it).

The Always Cool Pillow is described as using a “fabric developed for NASA” and is filled with fabric, so no filling it with H2O.  Sounds promising.  Anyone tried it?

Filed in categories: Home Tech, News

Tagged: Home, Spotlight Gadgets

Always Cool Pillow – But Does it Really Work? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 31, 2010 at 9:00 am.

I know it’s Spring time now and we all probably have enough humidity in our homes and offices, but if you happen to live in a dry area, this personal humifier from ThinkGeek looks pretty gadget worthy. At $60, it’s more expensive than one you can pick up at Walmart, but I can’t help but appreciate the design.

Filed in categories: Home Tech

Tagged: Health, Home, Spotlight Gadgets

Feel misty with your own personal humidifier originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 21, 2009 at 4:35 pm.