Dropcam Setup on Verizon FIOS

After researching dozens of products to be used as a baby cam, I purchased the Dropcam home video monitor primarily because the video stream could be accessed through computer, iphone, ipad and other mobile devices from anywhere in the world.  Setup was also marketed aggressively as quick and easy and should be completed within 90 seconds, however, that was not the case.

Step 1: unboxed the unit, followed the instrucions (30 seconds)
Step 2: attempted to connect to Wi-Fi on my Verizon FIOS network (60 seconds)
Step 3: received the error "Wireless network not found. Please make sure the camera is within range of the router, MAC filtering is disabled, and the password is correct." (15 seconds)
Step 4: I searched the support pages and found that changing the wireless router (which requires logging INTO the router admin screen) channel to 1 or 11, but that did not work (5 minutes)
Step 5: called Dropcam support, but at 9:45 PM EST, they were closed (1 minute)
Step 6: woke up Saturday morning, 9:30 AM EST, spoke to Aaron at tech support, he helped me test my internet connection speed at speedtest.net, reboot the router, and move the camera to about 10 feet away from the router.  None of those tests worked, so he indicated that I would have to speak to advanced tech support, but they are not available on the weekends. (20 minutes)
Step 7: went online to Verizon chat support and the agent typed "I regret to hear of the trouble that you are having. For Technical Support for your Home Monitoring and Control system, please call 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966) and follow the prompts for Home Monitoring and Control Technical Support" (3 minutes)
Step 8: that agent directed me to call 866-785-8153 which turns out to be closed on the weekends... (6 minutes)
Step 9: I finally spoke to a higher level tech at Dropcam who was actually pretty nice.  He walked me through setting up a higher level of network security so that the camera would work.  

1 Month later... Now that it's working, I actually love the product.  I can access it from any device and/or multiple devices simultaneously. I would highly recommend this product after using it for about a month! 

Smart Mailbox in Apple Mail

I love the "unread"mailbox on my phone.  It's a quick way to see exactly what has not been read yet, and hides all of the other emails that I have already read.  I don't know why it took me 5 years to realize that I could do this on my desktop as well, so I opened my Mail application, went to the Mailbox menu and chose "New Smart Mailbox...".

Then I created a new rule and from the drop down menu, selected "Message is unread" and labeled the new mailbox "Unread".  Now I have a new mailbox and can quickly see my unread messages at a glance.  Kind of psyched, but I'm sure the excitement will wear off in a few hours...

Don't get ripped off at MODERN VAC & SEW

If you happen to be near the Roxborough/Andorra Section of Philadelphia, PA, avoid the MODERN VAC & SEW in the Andorra Shopping Center...  Here was my experience:

I took my vacuum machine in for repair.  They charged a $29.95 fee up front to look at the machine.  A few days later, they called with a laundry list of items that needed repair, totally $106.00.  The machine new was only $20 more than that, so I went to their store, picked up the machine and took it to the Oreck store in Ardmore, PA.  They looked at the machine, flipped it upside down, replaced the belt, charged me $7.10 which included 2 additional replacement belts in case I wanted to do the repair on my own in the future, and sent me on my way.  Keep in mind that I am using a Hoover Windtunnel vacuum cleaner, so hat's off to Oreck and avoid getting ripped off at MODERN VAC & SEW.

RECOMMENDED:

My Oreck Store

myoreckstore.com/‎

16 Greenfield Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003 (610) 658-0728

Is there one room in the house that is not getting warm? It may not be the HVAC and in fact may be solved by better insulation...

In my quest to better insulate a room in the house that never seems to get warm, I have finally made progress.  The room is now approximate 4-6 degrees warmer, however, still remains about 2-3 degrees cooler than the rest of the house.  Caveat:  the room faces east, so it does receive direct sunlight in the AM.  Prior to our upgrades, the room was always frigid.  Here is what we did:

1. We purchased a laser temperature gun for about $19 (http://www.amazon.com/Nubee%C2%AE-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1392060740&sr=8-8&keywords=laser+temperature+gun) FYI: this is a fantastic gift for all of you DIY'ers out there.
2. We measured the exact temperature of all of the walls, ceiling and floor to establish a baseline.
3. We met with an HVAC specialist who helped us rearrange the furniture in the room so that the heat coming off of the ventilation would be better disbursed throughout the room (and not blocked by any furniture).  During that time, he put his hand over the vents and could clearly feel warm air coming through.  He also put a tissue over the return while the HVAC was running and the suction was apparent in that the tissue sucked up immediately against the return.  He told us our biggest problem was insulation.
4. We noticed that the wall with the window was clearly the coldest and that tons of heat was escaping right there.  We went to IKEA, purchased curtain liners along with clip on decorative curtains and installed them across the entire wall.  It was almost immediately noticeable that we gained about 1-2 degrees of warmth.  Just by blocking these windows and the wall, we were able to trap heat in the room.
5. We hired a GC to come to the home to insulate.  The strategy was two fold:  a) make sure all of the existing insulation was well buttoned up and created an “envelope” that is required to trap the heat and b) use a blow pump to shoot insulation into the hard to reach areas.  

After doing a little investigation, we were SHOCKED to find out that the insulation that was underneath the bedroom was resting on the garage ceiling (per code), but there was a 3-4 inch GAP between the insulation and the sub-floor above it. This means that there was no real insulation on the floor.  Cold air was circulating under the room.  The room was essentially an ice box.  We rented a blow pump from Lowes/Home Depot and shot about 8 units of insulation in between that small gap below the floor.

Before and after pictures of the insulation above the vaulted ceiling: notice the GAP at the peak.  Heat was escaping through this area which lacked thorough insulation:

With the combination of the heavy curtain wall, and the insulation, the room is now much warmer and noticeable more comfortable.

How long does it take to change a lightbulb?

My wife's 2006 Hyundai Sonata headlamp bulb died, so instead of taking it to the mechanic, I figured I would save some money and replace it myself... Three hours and $46 later, the joke was on me! Here is what happened:

1. Went to pep boys, asked the parts guy for the correct bulb part number... Went home ans started to remove the boots that hold in the headlight box housing. Two screws were easy and accessible, but the 3rd was tucked away about 8 inches deep. My 1/4" rachet set for home hobbies was not compatible. The 3/8 was too ss all and the 7/16 was too large.
2. I went back to pep boys and talked to a new parts personal. She must have been no more tha 21, but knew more about car parts than the previous parts guy and showed me where to find a 10mm. This time, I brought my rachet with me, so I went to the parking lot, popped the hood, and quickly learned that the rachet and socket were both too small and made the first comedy of errors, and dropped the rachet down into a crevasse.
3. Third trip into pep boys, found me helpful parts girl and she suggested I use a retractable magnet to extract my ratchet. I also bought an extended length 10mm socket, whet back out to the parking lot to fish out my ratchet, and in the process, inadvertently knocks the ratchet down even further into the abyss. I dropped to the concrete and was able to pull the rachet out of the bottom just by a small opening near the drivers side wheel base. Using the extended socket, I realized that my 1/4" ratchet handle was simply too small.
4. Back to pep boys, my parts girl recommended a 3/8 ratchet upgrade since they are more durable and more commonly used, is I returned my two 1/4" sockets, and picked up and extended handle ratchet, along with and extended 10mm socket and a rice crispy treat. Upon returning to the parking lot, I quickly realized that this was the right fit, so decided to drive home and compete the project in the garage. Once I was home, I handily removed the entire light housing. From that point, I was able to remove the bulb. Once the bulb was out, I compared it to the build I had purchased, and guess what... It was the wrong bulb! At this point, I was fuming....
5. Quick trip back to pep boys, and it turns out that the car is a 2006, not 2005, so that was clearly my fault... I purchased the correct bulbs, along with a giant 3 musketeers and went back home. Removing the bulb was easy, but reseating the new bulb was a huge pain. There was an awkward paperclip like part that needed to be secured to the base of the bulb so that it would stay in position... It was so annoying that I started laughing at myself because the paper clip kept detaching. My wife and I had to leave, and I was going to have to put down the project for now, but just beforehand, I learned that the extended ratchet was simply too long for the passenger side... So later that evening, we stopped at an auto zone about 5 minutes before 9 pm, and of course, the did not have the right part.
6. Next morning, went back to pep boys for a 6th time... Purchase another 10mm socket, went home, replaced both bulbs, easily spent and hour fiddling with the paper clips, and finally completed the job.

Posted with Blogsy

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America

According to the CDC, Carbon monoxide (CO) is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, (nearly 500 deaths annually in the United States) yet many people don't know they are suffering from CO poisoning until its too late. Since symptoms of CO poisoning are like the flu, you might not even know you're in danger at first. CO monitors can detect the CO you can't see, smell or taste in the air.

I was originally going to order a $20 unit that was ranked highly on Amazon: "The First Alert CO600", but then I checked with Consumer Reports and found that there is a big difference in CO detectors...  The quality of detection increased drammatically at around $50, so I'm probably going to puchase: " First Alert OneLInk SCO501CN" instead.

 "Every home should have smoke alarms, and CO alarms are a must in all homes with fuel-burning appliances such as a furnace, water heater, range, cooktop or grill. Even an all-electric home may benefit from a couple of CO alarms" -Consumer Reports  http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/co-and-smoke-alarms/buying-guide.htm

Ditch your cable yet???

If you are a serious sports fan, then stop reading... but if you are just a regular TV watcher and want to eliminate your cable bill, then you should seriously consider DTV. Digital TV is the next generation of "over the air" broadcast T.V. Some of you may remember growing up with 4 channels: ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS, that over time expanded to include FOX and other local stations, but ultimately around 2009, the broadcasting via analog was discontinued and DTV was born. Digital TV sends digital signal over the air for free. You need a digital converter box, unless your TV is new and equipped to handle this reception. In some cases, the DTV is High Definition (HD). In other words, you can get HD for free!

When the DTV service started, I ordered a converter box, but the only output was RCA, so even though the HD was free, the quality of delivery was not as sharp as it could have been. Several years have passed and I have been able to enjoy the DTV to a degree, although there are probably just as many commercials as you would find on cable. We have also added the AppleTV to the mix to view any movies and T.V. shows on demand. We are able to pay for specific HBO shows as well as dozens of other popular premium channels. Last year, my sibilings gifted HULU subscription and that has only added to our growing array of "on demand" video.

Then trajedy struck...the other week the DTV remote disappeared. We looked in the couch crevices, in every possible corner of the home to no avail. After a week, I started searching online for information about a new DTV converter box. I found one that was well ranked on Amazon: HomeWorx HW-150PVR ATSC Digital TV Converter Box w/ Media Player & Recording PVR Function / HDMI Out. I noticed that it included a "PVR" which is essentially a DVR, VCR, VHS, Betamax, or any other similarly named recording device. I ordered this product and it arrived less than a week ago. Let me just tell you that this thing works great. Firstly, it has an HDMI output, so now ALL of our channels are so much more crisp and clear. HD is fantastic and the reception seems to be stronger. The PVR requires that you hook up a USB hard drive for storing your recorded shows. I grabbed an older drive, hooked it up, and it would not work at first, so I had to format the drive using the built in interface on the converter box and it has worked flawlessly since. I have been able to record shows easily and watch what I want, when I want.

I'm really happy with this purchase, and for $46, I would consider it a great investment.