At Home with Tech

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July 15, 2018

Don’t Forget These 5 Pieces of Tech on Your Vacation

If you’re staring at your suitcase, it’s probably time for your next vacation. Here are my packing tips to help maintain your tech Zen…

If your next vacation is coming up, you might be thinking about what to pack. Some would say that you should leave the shackles of your technology behind to truly liberate yourself. Only then can you truly recharge and ‘vacate’ from your day-to-day existence.

I say… “No way!”

Now’s the time to have some real fun with all of your home tech!
Here are my top five pieces of gear to bring along…

1.
Portable Bluetooth Speaker
You can’t pack your entire home audio system, but you do have access to many of your tunes via your smartphone… So, taking a portable Bluetooth speaker that can pair with your smartphone will quickly enable you to generate your happy sound bubble wherever you are.

2.
Apple TV
It’s super simple to pop your Apple TV in your bag and then activate it using the Wi-Fi of your vacation location.
(Don’t forget the remote… like I did last year.)

Who cares if your hotel room has ‘HBO?’ You’ve got instant access to all of the content that you’re used to at home. And now, you’ll have a little more time to enjoy it!

Some hotel rooms even have their own Apple TVs these days. All you have to do is log into your account.
(Just don’t forget to log out when you check out.)

3.
HDMI iPhone Adapter
Your iPhone and iPad can actually do the same trick as your Apple TV as long as you bring along an Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter to connect your mobile device to your hotel room TV via the HDMI cable.

4.
Beach-Proof Camera
Water can certainly damage a typical camera, but the hidden danger at the beach is all of the sand blowing about. Even if one grain gets stuck in your retractable lens on your point-and-shoot camera, your lens mechanism could jam.

A smartphone isn’t going to have that problem, but you still want to be careful.
(Dropping it on a rock is a great way to crack the screen.)

A GoPro is made for the kind of punishment beach time can serve up.

A less expensive, waterproof ‘family’ camera like a Nikon COOLPIX W100 ($156.95 on Amazon) is another worry-free solution to taking your action pics at the beach…

5.
Portable Power Stick
Even if you’re not ‘roughing it,’ you might find your smartphone or camera low on power by the afternoon. It’s always smart to carry along a little power stick to help your gear make it through the day.

I’m partial to Anker power sticks.

3 Bonus Ideas
If you have extra packing space and if your vacation activity planning allows, you should consider taking…

Time to Party!
If using your tech on vacation is a stressor, leave it behind. For everyone else in the vacation party, let’s power up and bathe in pixels and bytes by the shore!

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July 8, 2018

In Search of the Perfect Coffee Maker

If you’ve been doing your research to find the ‘best’ coffee maker, join the quest! Here we go…

My old Krups coffee maker finally gave out. I knew this disruptive day would eventually arrive. So, I’d already been considering a replacement.

Originally, my big requirement was to identify a unit that didn’t project one of those annoying beeps at the end of the brewing cycle. I didn’t want to risk waking up my son, as I’m the first to rise every morning…
(He’s eight years old now. When do you think this blogger has found the time to write a new post every week?!)

But then, I had this crazy thought… What about getting a better coffee maker?
I do drink my java every single morning…

No, I wouldn’t consider myself a coffee snob, but I do enjoy a good cup of joe.
(My current go-to brand is Caribou Coffee, which Amazon Prime delivers to me every month, thank you very much.)

It was time to explore the larger landscape of home-brewed drip coffee makers.
And that’s when I fell face-first down the rabbit hole…

At Home with Coffee
Here’s my wish list for the perfect coffee maker:

  • No unnecessary sounds and NO beeping- So my family continues to sleep undisturbed
  • Programmable- So a freshly brewed pot is ready for me when I walk bleary-eyed down the stairs in the morning
  • Warming plate auto-off feature- So I don’t have to worry about accidentally leaving it on all day and burning down the house
  • Filter basket temporary shut-off mode- So I can steal a cup before the brew cycle completes
  • Pour-over feature- So my coffee grounds get an even shower of water in the filter basket to improve flavor extraction

I didn’t really covet a thermal carafe. Glass is just fine, as I typically drink my joe before I head off to work.
(I don’t have the need to retain hot coffee for hours…)

Certified SCA Home Brewers
There are dozens of coffee makers out there at different price points ranging from $40 to well over $300. It’s absolutely mind boggling.

I eventually developed a short list of coffee makers that are certified SCA home brewers. The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is a nonprofit that “works to make coffee better by raising standards worldwide.”

SCA certification ensures that an in-home coffee maker satisfies certain requirements, including being able to brew at wicked-high temperatures to extract the nuanced flavors from your coffee beans and thus create the perfect brew.

There are currently 14 certified SCA home brewers, but here’s the catch:
I have not found one review that gives an unequivocal thumbs up to any of them!

What the Experts Say…
That said, many reviewers loved the Bonavita Coffee Maker BV1901TS. However, it comes with a thermal carafe that has a design limitation…
You have to brew with the lid off and then screw it back on before pouring. At 5:30am, that’s sure to feel like an entirely unnecessary step. Plus, this model doesn’t have a timer.

The Bonavita BV1900TD has a timer, but doesn’t feature a slide-in hanging filter basket. You have to balance it on top of the carafe.
(That also feels unnecessarily clunky, because you’ve got to deal with unmounting the filter basket before you get to pour…)

The OXO On 9-Cup is well regarded, and The Wirecutter put it on the top of its own list of the best. Unfortunately, the OXO is really big and wouldn’t fit well on my kitchen counter.

The Technivorm Moccamaster is essentially the champion-emeritus of the SCA-certified group, but Technivorms also have a large footprint. Plus, they cost over $300!

Bunn Heat N’ Brew
Then, I came across floor9.com, a coffee blog written by Dave Sheranko.

Dave gushed over the Bunn Heat N’ Brew.
So, I decided to take a closer look…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bunn HB has a somewhat unique brewing process… It heats its water first to the perfect temperature while holding onto it. (That takes about 6 minutes.)

And then, it releases the water through your coffee grounds (another 3-4 minutes).

Unfortunately, you can’t steal any coffee until it’s all done. So, if you’re looking for the fastest unit around, the Heat N’ Brew isn’t for you (but it only lags by a few minutes).

The Bunn didn’t take the top prize on any other sites I found other than Floor9, but most of the Amazon reviews were glowing.

Amazon’s got the Heat N’ Brew for $129.99 (same price as on Bunn’s website).

I was originally drawn to the Bunn brand, because of its solid reputation in the restaurant arena.

Okay… Bunn and done!
Click.

Now, let’s see what actually happened after I plugged it in…

Superior Experience
I’ve been using my new Bunn for over a week, and here’s my take:

  • The Bunn’s easy-to-use design is a joy to operate
  • It’s really quiet! (NO BEEP!)
  • Plus, there’s no burping or gurgling or coughing at the end of the brewing process
    Just the sound of a stream of coffee entering the glass carafe
  • The water does ‘shower’ over the coffee grounds
  • The ‘no-drip’ carafe pours perfectly… very nice
  • The overall ‘experience’ of using this machine is superior

Uninspired Results
And how does the coffee taste?

Well, the resulting brew… is somewhat weaker than I’m used to. To compensate, I’ve needed to add an extra scoop or two…or three. (There’s no ‘bold’ button to press.)

Have I been able to get to the intense taste I prefer?
Truthfully?

Well, I’ve gone through 10 brewing cycles… using the coffee I normally use.
…Actually using a lot of the coffee.

And I haven’t created a truly strong cup yet.
It’s a good cup of coffee, to be sure… Just not a terribly powerful cup.

Yesterday, I bought a pound of ‘Brooklyn Blend’ beans from the Kobrick Coffee Company. I ground them up right before the brew. And I cut the amount of water I normally use to try to juice the intensity of flavor.

It was my best cup yet… but it still didn’t blow me away.

Would continuing to search for really dark-roast beans make a difference? Perhaps, but my baseline comparisons have been troubling.

Some online reviews complained that the Bunn’s coffee wasn’t hot enough. That wasn’t a problem for me. Scalding coffee isn’t my idea of how to enjoy your first sips.

The Bunn’s coffee is plenty hot.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Bunn and done?
Well, now… I’m not so sure.

 

 

 

 

 

There’s certainly a lot to like about the Bunn Heat N’ Brew:

  • Cool overall look
  • Simple programming
  • Super quiet brew process (no beep at the end)
  • The no-drip glass carafe design is ingenious
  • The warmer plate shuts off after two hours. (You can also manually turn it off.)

But I haven’t been able to create my golden cup of coffee yet. (Maybe the Bunn’s design is a little too simple.)

The Bunn Heat N’ Brew isn’t the most expensive unit you can buy, but it’s not exactly cheap either.

To Be Continued…?
If you’re looking to find a clear consensus out there for the best coffee maker, I certainly couldn’t find it.

And my Bunn HB selection has left me somewhat lukewarm.

If you have a suggestion for a coffee maker that can brew up some serious rocket fuel, please let me know!

I must make a strong cup of joe… every morning!

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July 1, 2018

The Borg Advantage of a Shared Cloud Calendar

You don’t need futuristic “Star Trek” solutions to properly sync to your partner’s schedule. Your smartphone already provides that connectivity…

I’m sorry if this confession surprises you, but I am about to describe how my wife and I used to coordinate our schedules… Once upon a time, we’d take out our iPhones during dinner and open up our individual calendars for the upcoming days. We’d discuss our son’s schedule and imminent family events to ensure we were both on the same page. Each of us then added in the requisite events into our own calendars.

Tap, tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, delete, delete, tap, tap.

(This can really ruin dessert.)

While this antiquated process facilitated a nice conversation about what was going on in our busy lives, it was totally unnecessary from a calendar-syncing perspective.

Create a Synced Calendar to Better Connect Your Family
To upgrade from all of this unnecessary manual coordination, all you need to do is simply create a new ‘shared calendar’ in the Calendar app through iCloud and then invite your partner to join it via email.
(It’s really not that difficult…and not at all as painful as joining the Borg collective on “Star Trek.”)

When you create a new event, just make sure you assign it to this new calendar category.

Once your spouse accepts your invitation to the shared family calendar, any new event you create will also immediately appear in her own Calendar app. (She does need to ‘accept it.’) And she can do the same for your calendar!
(Remember, you can view multiple calendars together on one screen.)

It’s a perfect two-way flow of information to schedule your active lives.
Totally synced… so the two of you can be in sync!

And you don’t have to change or give up anything about your existing personal calendar. It’s all additive.
(The shared events show up as a different color.)

Brilliant!

Cloud Calendars Rock
My wife and I have been using our shared iCloud family calendar for the past few years, and it’s been a game changer for us. It even keeps us organized between our check-in scheduling conversations, because our Calendar apps let us know when a new event has been added.

So, it effectively provides real-time updates to our ever-changing family schedules.

I know there are any number of shared-calendar apps out there, but I’m always partial to using native applications for my technology solutions.

Resistance is Futile
Our son is eight years old, but I know he’s already just a few years away from using smartphone tech. (Exactly how many years is a topic for another conversation.) I expect that shared cloud calendars are already firmly established as a key digital tool for families with older kids.

But if you’re not yet savvy to this Borg-like connectivity, I urge you not to resist joining the ‘collective-think’ advantage of using a shared iCloud calendar.

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