Your Vermont Home

Indestructible Protection

Fliq Suite iPhone apps

These are the best I've found for combining notes, todo's, and documents on my ipod touch.
Mark/Space is the company that first made it possible to sync my Palm to my Mac....really.
It's a company that has an understanding of how we use our handhelds.

Fliq is the application that resides on your desktop that you simply drag docs, notes or todo's to.
Magically they appear immediately on your iphone/touch. Fliq,  Fliq Notes, Fliq To Do and Fliq Docs are all separate programs. I am still looking for them to combine all four of their programs into one but here is why that won't be happening soon. If you have Fliq on your iphone and your buddy has it too....and you are in wifi range, you can send a note, to do, photo or even a contact to your buddy, straight up.

I imagine it will be used for sharing photos primarily and maybe for sending contact info. But what I use it for is getting word docs and pdf's onto my ipod touch. I refer to docs daily on my touch. I am on so many boards and in so many meetings and now I can always have the info I need at my fingertips....literally.

All their programs are free except for the desktop version which is $20 for either Mac or PC

Check them out here

Neko Case's New Album

This is a different post for me. I don't usually post about music, mostly because I have eclectic taste but really there are more music blogs than you can count.....but this morning on my public radio station I heard Neko interviewed. I had never heard of her before, but was completely taken by her voice and her personality. Then of course when she mentioned she owned a barn in Vermont where she records her music and has 8 pianos off of Craigs list, she had me. But she didn't stop there, she is also an animal advocate and will donate money every time this song is posted on a blog.....that sealed it, so now you know the rest of the story.....

go here to download her new song "People Got A Lot of Nerve"

People Got A Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

New Fire Safety Laws

If you live in Vermont, you need to be aware of the new fire safety regulations that affect everyone, at some point. Here is the place to go to read all about it, but in brief:

"In 2008 the Vermont General Assembly amended the smoke alarm (detector) law by requiring the photoelectric smoke alarm (detectors) be installed in new single-family dwellings and dwellings that are sold or transferred after January 1, 2009.

The alarms must be located in the vicinity of any bedrooms and on each level of the dwelling, along with one or more carbon monoxide detectors in the vicinity of any bedrooms in the dwelling, installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions."

Here is a pdf you can download:

Download Fact_sheet

This is rather current for me. A month ago I came close to losing my house to an electrical fire. It started in my attic and luckily I found it in time enough for the damage to be contained there with no structural damage. But now you know I have updated fire extinguishers and fire alarms.

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iPhone Arrives!!!

Finally it's here in Vermont.

I opted to purchase an iPod Touch 2G a while ago because I didn't know when the iPhone would actually arrive. Well we wait no more. As expected the response has been overwhelming.

I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of combining all my devices into one, simply because of laws that are beyond my control....electronics break & electronics malfunction. So, I never made the move to a smartphone and said I never would.

That was then, and this is now. Having used the iPod Touch, I can now envision making the move to an iPhone. I still have a two year contract to complete with Sprint, but carrying two devices all the same time, everywhere, is starting to take it's toll. The seamless ability of my Touch to work both on and off the internet, makes me feel like I have a handheld computer......really. It will never take the place of my desktop or laptop, but it is far beyond the experience I had on my much beloved Palm Tx.

The one thing that still wows me is my Touch's ability to sync contact, calendar and mail activity by itself whenever I am in wifi range. So get this, I put an appointment on my iMac at home this morning, I get to work, turn on my Touch and there is the new appointment. No attaching wires, no clicking to sync, no pointing my device at my computer....it's just there. Same thing with changes or additions to my contacts.
Very useful and very cool!

I'll post some of my favorite apps in the future.

Levitating Magnetic Wind Turbine

Jay Leno is featured on his site talking about green energy and a new style of windmill that is quite engaging.....have a watch.

Untapped Energy Source?

Believe it!
I have been an advocate of energy efficiency for a long time now.
Time has a recent article that clarifies the distinction between efficiency and conservation. The latter is doing less with less and efficiency is doing the same or more with less......which means that there is no need to sacrifice to save.

We don't have to discover more oil in Alaska or offshore. All we have to do is be more conscious of ways we waste and stop it, or replace it with more efficient ways.

I am about to replace an old refrigerator I have that was in the house when we bought it. I will cut the electrical usage from one of my home's biggest energy consumers by 2/3's.

Give the article a read, I think you'll get some ideas too.

Live Greener

If you are like me, you are always looking for tips and ideas on how to live a little lighter on the planet. Seventh Generation is a Vermont based company that has been committed to sustainability for more than 20 years. Their products are amazing and their commitments unparalelled. This blog is a great place to keep pace with what's new and important in the world of "greener living" on a daily basis.

Save Big, A Little At A Time

With all the ups and downs in energy prices, it is a good thing to keep an eye on how we use it in our homes. One place that gets overlooked alot is the kitchen. Here are some things we can pay attention to that will reap rewards over time.

- use the right size pot on the stove burner. A six inch pot on an eight inch burner, wastes over 40% of the heat produced by the burner

- close the refrigerator door faster. In other words, avoid standing with the door open while deciding what to cook for dinner, or if you are like me, stand with the door open while I try and remember why I even opened the fridge in the first place.

- If your refrigerator is ten years old or more, a new one will use as little as half as much energy. (according to the Alliance to Save Energy, the refrigerators in the US alone use the equivalent of the output of more than 20 large nuclear power plants.)

- clean the heat reflectors under the stove top burners. They really are designed to be more than a catch all for spills, they help reflect heat back up to the pot.

- once water boils, it won't get any hotter, so turn it down or off.

- check gaskets on your oven and refrigerator doors to make sure they are not leaking.

( information from The Home Energy Diet, Paul Scheckel)

Looking for a Rental?

I just found out about this site that was created by a fellow realtor friend of mine. He owns a number of rentals himself and has been frustrated with the current avenues for renters and landlords to find one another. Some sites were useful, but charged for you to list a property or even to get in to see what was available. Other sites were just plain awful. So, he has spent an amazing amount of time and money creating this site that allows landlords to list their available units and allows renters to find just what they are looking for. It works on a grid system that shows you how many 2-8 bedroom units are available in your area, when they are available, how much the rent is, whether pets are allowed, if it is handicapped accessible and much much more.

Not only is this an amazing resource for renters, but landlords can list any number of units for free, too. No kidding, this is the real deal. There are no gimmicks, nothing. Information is sent directly to the landlord, not to him.

Right now, listings are in the greater Burlington, VT area, but since it is totally open, anyone, anywhere can participate. I love this idea.  I developed a site a few years ago, too that allows you to search our whole MLS without having to divulge any info and get full details about listings.

Making it easy for people to get into a home is always a good thing. Check it out, you'll be amazed, too.