favorite iPhone apps: Mailbox

I am having so much fun with my birthday iPhone. And more than merely fun, it is turning into an essential tool.

Here are some of my favorite apps.

Mailbox by Orchestra. Oh this is a beauty. Set it up to handle all your gmail. When you get an email, you can chose to Archive, Delete, or Save for Later. Whatever you choose will be updated across all your platforms (phone, tablet, or computer).

Save for Later is awesome as it will let you take that email about where and when to drop off your child next Tuesday and set it to reappear in your inbox next Tuesday. You don't need to think about it until then, so why have it sitting in your inbox all weekend?

So, if an email is read-only, that is, no action on my part is required, I just read it and archive it. If action is required of me, I can deal with it immediately, or save it for later. Alas, it is not yet available for my desktop, but it is coming.

nest learning thermostat

Last January I took the plunge and bought TWO Nest Learning Thermostats .  No regrets. They were super-easy to install and program.  I can even adjust the temp from afar via the app for iTouch or iPad.

The best part is that, when I compare this year's gas bills with last year's, the bills are lower (despite a rate increase) and yet we experience a warmer house.  How so?  It is warm when we are in it.  When we leave and forget to turn it down, Nest turns itself down.  It has a little sensor that sees motion.  If a couple of hours go by without motion, it goes off.

Once a month I get reports in my email about usage:

But if I am ever curious between reports it is easy to peek at the last ten days of use on my Nest Thermostat website.

My old Honeywell thermostat had four settings (Wake, Leave, Return, Sleep) and three days (Weekday, Saturday, Sunday).  The Nests have unlimited settings and all seven days.  Given that we live in our home full-time, this works so much better for us.  I can change the programing from the thermostat, or from my computer.  The computer interface makes arranging a rather complex pattern of off/on/off/on really easy.  I have all the days set the same, but I could easily drag those temps over to change the time.  Or add other changes.

The thermostat for the newer part of the house required a slightly different set-up.  The helpful and easily accessed support team talked me through the diagnostic and when it was confirmed that I needed a professional they arranged for one (at their expense).  He would have come that evening had I wanted it.  I was very impressed. 

Yes, the Nest Learning Thermostats are expensive to purchase, but they will pay for themselves in lower heat bills.  As they do that, however, we have the benefit of a warmer home.  It doesn't hurt that they are pretty too.

Ore Ida's Steam n Mash Potatoes

As a member of SheSpeaks, I occasionally get a sample of a new product to try. The most recent was Ore-Ida®'s Steam n' Mash™ Russet Potatoes.

For 3-4 bucks, depending on where you shop, you can pick up a 24 oz (1 lb 8 oz) bag of frozen peeled and chunked potatoes with a little bit of salt and some additives (flavoring and preservatives). You then microwave them, mash them, add butter and milk, and you are good to go.

On the table they looked, smelled, and tasted exactly like real mashed potatoes, because they are actually real mashed potatoes. They were yummy and we gobbled them up. No complaints there.

I had a little bit of trouble with the microwaving, as some parts of the bag remained frozen whilst others were cooked to mush, this in spite of the fact that my microwave does indeed rotate.

My chief complaint though, is price. I can buy a 50 pound bag of potatoes for $5.00 if I buy off the farm. Even if I go to a grocery store, potatoes are cheap. You can have them delivered from Huge Idaho Potato for about $1.09 a pound, including shipping! Of course these ones are not peeled or chopped, as the Ore-Ida ones are, but really, how hard is that?

In fact, if you are willing to pay an extra 2-3 dollars a pound to have them peeled and chopped, offer the work to your kid. They will learn a useful skill and you will at least keep your hard-earned dollars under your own roof.

So, though they were tasty, I really don't see the need for them either in my own life, or in our community. This is one more example of food being turned into a product that requires assembly, packaging, storage, marketing, shipping, and more storage. For what?

I'm sorry Ore Ida. Would you like me to send the free masher back?



:: one year ago today: Ron Paul in the news and U.S. Constitution - Article 1: Section 1 and Greek Potatoes