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ILoveMyPiccoloFire alarms are an important part of safety of oneself, one's family as well as property. The value of the alarms came to light yet again in the recently rated 'world's best city to live in' i.e. Melbourne.
A house in the Australian city was up in flames when the alarms that the smoke and heat triggered off sounded. The alarms were the difference between what could have been a major accident at the abode. Three people escaped from their burning home in Melbourne's bayside suburb of Sandringham after smoke alarms woke them up. On hearing the alarms and the commotion, fire fighters were called at the site of the one-storey building at around 11:45 in the night.
An elderly couple and one more member of the same family escaped the premises without injury, since they had been woken up in a timely fashion by the fire alarms. The cause of the blaze is yet unknown.
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TobyotterHome improvement stores and a range of home centers feature an endless assortment of cool gadgets designed with the grill master in mind. There are meat-branding irons, flexible skewers and baseball bat salt and pepper grinders, just to name a few. Some of these gadgets are more useful than others, and the sheer variety of choices can be overwhelming.
One good bet is the Oxo BBQ Tongs, which are a grilling essential. This particular model features an 18" long reach, sturdy steel grips, and they are dishwasher safe as well. Flexible skewers from Fire Wire have won awards as one of the most innovative new grilling products. These stainless steel skewers are the first to conveniently coil, making it easier to go from the marinade bag to the grill. Another cool gadget is the Tool Wizard grill brush, which is guaranteed to make your grill cleaning less of a chore.
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Numinosity (by Gary J Wood)Numerous companies are charging high prices to install flashy home automation systems in new "smart homes", but for the technology savvy homeowner it's possible to make some DIY home improvements to create your own home automation system. For example, a digital imaging grad student in the UK has rigged up his own home automation from scratch, with a focus on increasing home security. He later began adding more features that would increase convenience and energy efficiency as well.
For security, Sam Cox was looking for a cheap, scalable solution that wouldn't involve a monthly fee. His solution was a custom-built security alarm that operates with a set of IP webcams throughout the house. The alarm produces an audible warning siren and the cameras record footage and email a still images to Sam's smartphone.
