Blog
On the Right Foot
Using your feet to power the car or house? The Flintstones would be proud…The FreeCharge Weza portable generator/battery from Freeplay stores enough juice to jump your wheels or get the lights back on, and all it takes is a heart-healthy step workout on the pedal to...
Release Your Inner Plier
There’s been little that’s news in the basic toolbox over the years. Since the advent of battery-powered drills, we’ve been waiting for the next revolution. Who knew it would be in pliers? Problem exposed: Difficulty releasing the locking mechanism and lack of wiggle...
Shag or Soy?
If you have carpet in your home, or you’re thinking of installing carpet, you’re probably aware of some of the health risks. Installing, cleaning, and removing carpet can pose some pretty serious dangers to those with respiratory problems such as asthma. Carpet can...
To Air is Human
Anytime NASA technology can affordably make its way into the home, I am in favor of it. The AeroGarden from AeroGrow International is no exception. Using the NASA-tested science of aeroponics (whereby plants are grown in air, as opposed to soil or water), the...
Going Batty
If I could have just one of God’s creatures wiped completely off the face of the Earth, it would be the mosquito. Nothing ruins an outdoor event like the mosquito—swarming, buzz-in-your-ear, blood-sucking mosquitoes. Sadly, none of my prayers have been answered, so I,...
Wonder Water
Just how many ways can water be improved? Plenty, apparently, and Jupiter Science just found another. The Jupiter Melody Water Ionizer is the first water ionizer in the world to have BioStone/Tourmaline, which generates negative ions in the water. When we drink this...
Toilets Go Green
Global warming has been getting a lot of attention recently. As a result, my head is cluttered with thoughts of melting glaciers, raging forest fires, and tongue-swelling droughts. I’ve got Mother Earth on the brain. So when I came across something like this toilet...
Cooking For Dummies
Low on culinary confidence? You’re not alone—plenty of folks can’t cook. But hiring a personal chef is not an option for 99% of us, and Ramen gets old quick. Vita Craft has a solution—the RFIQ. It’s an induction-powered cooktop and cookware system that uses...
Keep Informed with NOAA Weather Radio
As a friend and I discussed the terrible killer tornado outbreaks we’ve seen so far this year in the Midwest, she told me how much tornadoes frightened her because “unlike a hurricane, you don’t have any warning with a tornado.” Not true, I thought. I quickly told her...
Get Steamed
Okay, I'll admit it—I'm just loving these laundry wars! LG Electronics has come out with the LG Tromm Steam Washer, a first in the effort to reduce water usage while using technology to get clothes cleaner. A steam chamber heats the water and feeds steam into the 4.0...
Portable Flame
Temperatures stay on the chilly side for much of the year here in Vermont, so any sort of clever and classy heating fixture is going to catch my eye. The German-designed Plaza Fireplace sure did, especially when I learned that it was both portable AND ventless. So you...
Not A Dumb Doorknob
Biometric technologies have long been the stuff of government agencies, spy games, and movies in the James Bond vein. In a move to further biometrics’ jump into affordable residential application, Tychi Systems of New Hampshire introduced the BioKnob, the first ever...
A Faucet that Cares
The writing is on the wall, and it reads: “Our Earth Is Hurting.” Global attention to conservation and efforts to reduce rampant consumption are on the rise. Faucet companies like Delta are getting on board and doing something about it. We’ve all seen the electronic...
Look Out Formula One
The Formula One look on this European lawn trimmer by Toro is more than impressive. The Toro Recycler comes in gas and electric styles, with a small and large version for the electric models. Recycler technology means shaped blades throw the cuttings into the air for...
Mirror, Mirror
I’ve always thought of the moments spent in front of the mirror as Me Time. Just me and, well, me. Seura is looking to change all that with their Television Mirror—a television within a mirror. Seura's patented mirror technology plays Jekyll and Hyde with your...
Cool Your Jets
For the record, I am not a conservation nut—but I'm working on it. I mean, I don’t use the water I brush my teeth with to wash my hands or anything of that extreme nature (pun intended), but I’m trying to be a little more conscientious about matters concerning energy...
Shower Power
Everything is a “system” these days. Even the simplest of tasks can now be programmable, run on electricity, and “smart.” Kohler’s new shower system, the DTV, is all of the above. As much a spa as a shower, the DTV employs a Digital Interface, a Digital Shower Valve,...
Hot News for the Photovoltaic Tile Roof
If you're looking to go carbon-free or carbon reduced, look no further than the roof for your technological upgrade. The Complete Solar Roof from solarcentury generates electricity and hot water through its photovoltaic roof tiles.The tiles arrive pre-assembled and...
Don’t Leave Home Without It
Why not carry every tool you own everywhere you go — the portable ones, that is. This toolbox/dolly has more pockets than a herd of kangaroos and practically guarantees you will never again leave a needed tool back in the truck. All of the pockets are numbered and...
Your Number’s Up…In Lights
How many times have you driven around a strange neighborhood at night, looking in vain for a house or apartment with no visible numbers? Wouldn’t it be great if all house numbers lit up like Christmas trees? These Solar LED Numbers from Matterinc use the sun’s energy...
Water-Free Lawn?
I love spring as much as the next guy—birds singing, kids playing, me rebuilding my lawn, AGAIN. I appear to have struck a deal with all the lawn-eating insects in my neighborhood: Come here, eat my lawn, it's fresh and young every year. Well, I've found a...
Hot Water Hero
For those of you who don’t like to wait for your hot water, but do not want to be limited by a traditional tank water heater, I give you the Eternal Hybrid Water Heater. Bringing together the best of traditional and tank-less water heaters, the Eternal can supply...
Phone Ringing? Keep Singing…
Ok, this is one addition to the home that EVERYONE can use. No more jumping from the shower and needlessly tracking water all over the house to answer the ringing phone only to find…it’s a telemarketer!!! Or an in-law. Or the boss, insisting you work the weekend. This...
Burning Clean
An earlier blog entry highlighted a ventless, portable fireplace that burned gel for fuel. I’ve found a similar product, but this one appears to go the distance to reassure someone like me that a portable, ventless fireplace can be environmentally friendly and safe...
An Endless Supply of Hot Water
No, not Old Faithful but a high-tech heating device called The Vulcanus Mark 4. Small and sleek enough to fit in a pantry or stand alone, the Vulcanus Mark 4 spews hot water instantly like other on-demand hot water heaters, but it does it without gas. By taming...
Mailbox on Steroids
Identity theft is no joke. An estimated 10 million people in the U.S. are victims, elevating identity theft to the #1 consumer concern. Prevention is critical, and of the many steps homeowners can take, the Federal Trade Commission’s identity theft website advises us...
New Wrench on the Block
There’s always some new-fangled invention or tool looking to do the job of many or replace all those old what-nots and what-have-you’s from the work bench. Most are quickly passed over. Once in a while, though, a new tool comes along that's worth considering. Take...
Très Cool Paint Tool
I love it when a great idea goes mainstream. Paint sticks have been around on TV ads for years, but how nice to have one that I can buy locally and get parts for easily! Take a look at the picture of the paint roller to the left. Notice anything missing? How about the...
Four Door Fresh
With a name like Quatro Cooling Convertible Refrigerator, I don’t know if Samsung is selling me a fridge or a car. After all, it does have four doors—two doors and two drawers—that open to four separate compartments, each with its own evaporator, fan, and temperature...
Heating Stones
I'm a huge fan of innovation, especially when it takes advantage of age-old principles. Radiant heat, for example, is one of my big favorites. It just makes sense to have heat accumulate in objects and then radiate out to warm the rest of the room. Redoing my house to...
