Category: ‘T’ for Tech

A Lovely Stardew Valley Inspired Kitchen
Art, design, and coding for funsies! The kids and I have been making pixel art lately and I’ve been using mine to change the look of my farm and and farmhouse in Stardew Valley with some personal aesthetic mods that I’ve made.

I had a pink Smeg or Big Chill fridge in mind when I was changing the vanilla kitchen. Then I added the Portal cake (no lie) and thought I should add a mixer too. And if I need a rug, you know I’m going to make a teeny pixel version of the wool kilim I designed for Annie Selke.

I stand by this as a solid farmhouse kitchen design, digital or otherwise. I’ll leave it up to you to find Leah’s sculpture and a giant wooden chicken.
I mentioned on Instagram Stories that I’d share some of the resources we’ve been using to make mods, so that will be a future post. My SV house is all pinks and flowers, books and bugs, crystals and skulls, plus a good dose of my ever-favorite black/white/brass/wood combo. A lot like my own house (though I need more skulls IRL is what I’m taking away from this.)

The base recolor I’m using is Toned Down Stardew Valley (ATDSDV) and the art is from Elegant Victorian Interior. I don’t have a mod ready for you to download if you want to add any of my customizations into your own games, but I’m giving you the pixels for now if you want to mess around with cutting and pasting them in on your own. If you already know what you’re doing, fit the kitchen into your farmhouse_tiles.png and the flowers and rugs into furniture.png files. The subway tiles belong in walls_and_floors.png.
January 17, 2020
Boosting Our Wi-Fi Signal

This post is sponsored by Samsung.

A typical day for us might have one of us streaming music or a podcast in the kitchen, the kids watching a show or using a tablet, and someone on their phone or the computer — all at the same time. Our house is just over 3000 square feet, but the modem is at the back of the house in the snug. Meanwhile, I work on the top floor, completely on the other side of the house, and we have plaster walls that can interfere with the Wi-Fi. We’ve always had to rely on devices to boost the signal, but the system we had wasn’t terribly reliable, depending on where you were in the house.

I’ve just added the Samsung Connect Home to our house. It’s a new Wi-Fi router and SmartThings hub all in one, and you guys. It’s solving problems.

I was a little nervous about setting it up because if I don’t have an internet connection, I can’t work. But it was easy! I used the Samsung Connect App to set it all up; it walks you through the process and the whole thing took about 10 minutes. The router has a range of about 1500 square feet, but the system is expandable for mesh network coverage. We have three devices connected and the app verifies that they’re spaced closely enough to communicate with each other. Our internet connection is awesome now! I can walk around with my phone and not lose the signal! Hooray!

The main hub, the one connected to the modem, is in the snug. Our old one was in the same spot, but it was not nearly as inconspicuous. (I had hidden it before when taking photos — that one was triple the size and so ugly with its trio of chunky antennas.)

The second is in the den, where we watch movies and play games. It’s kind of in the middle of the house, so the first one covers the back and bottom of the house (including the yard), and this one covers the center and links to the third one all the way upstairs.

We just bought a new 55″ TV to upgrade from our old one that clocked in at 32″. It feels HUGE. Nice though! The TV is by Samsung too (MU8000) and it connects beautifully to the Wi-Fi and the Samsung Connect App. I can even use my phone as a remote if I wanted to.

And here’s the third hub, up on the third floor of the house in my office. I’m proud to say I haven’t had a signal drop yet (which was a constant problem before)!

I like to hide away technology a lot — it’s the kind of quirk Brandon just loves about me — but routers work better when they’re out. Thankfully these are small and nicely designed (a welcome change from the old eye-sores).

We had gotten used to the unreliable internet connection, as frustrating as it could be, and now we have Wi-Fi that just works! The Samsung Connect App made the whole process easy, and even works with all of our existing smart devices so I can control them all through just one app instead of multiple. And with the Samsung Connect Home I didn’t have to compromise on aesthetics. Nice.

What about you? What kind of Wi-Fi struggles could Connect Home help you solve?

December 12, 2017
2017 Video Game Gift Guide
Your friendly nerdy blogger here offering up a guide to this year’s games for gifting!

The age distinctions are fluid, so when I say “& up” I mean it. We enjoy a lot of the “kids” titles but you probably don’t want to buy one of the violent games for littles or something that’s going to be too difficult, so that’s how Brandon and I approached the categories.

Kids & Up
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch — released Apr. ’17)
  The game has a ‘smart steering’ option so that you don’t have to worry about falling off the track, making it easier for players of different ages and abilities to play together.
- Lego Super Heroes 2 (Nintendo Switch, XBox One, Playstation 4 — released Nov. ’17)
  My 6-year-old loves this, but even my 3-year-old likes to be Spider-Man and run around, so they can play together (split-screen).
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch — released Oct. ’17)
  Wahoo! Fun for all with some clever throwback gameplay in there.
- Animal Crossing Pocket Camp (iOS, Android — released Nov. ’17)
  Free! Not really a present you can put under the tree, but do put this on your phone or your kid’s tablet. I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it.
Teens & Up
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch — released March ’17)
  You can never go wrong with a new Zelda title.
- The Sims 4 (XBox One, Playstation 4, Mac, PC — released Nov. ’17 for consoles, 2014 for Mac/PC)
  I don’t know why I never picked this up for our computer, but the console version has just been released. I introduced my 8-year-old to the game and we’re both super into it, but she’s a little young to play and needs some help. Meanwhile my in-game house is goood.
- Stardew Valley (Nintendo Switch, XBox One, Playstation 4, PC — released 2017 for consoles, 2016 for PC)
  Resource management, whee! (We debated putting this in the kids/teens category. Our oldest plays, and she’s 8.)
Adults
- Assasin’s Creed Origins (XBox One, Playstation 4, PC — released Oct. ’17)
  A fun addition to the series, this time set in ancient Egypt. Supposedly there will be a mode coming without fighting where you can just tour the location.
- Wolfenstein II (XBox One, Playstation 4, PC — released Nov. ’17)
  Very violent, but if you’re good with killing video game Nazis, there you go. Surprisingly moving at times.
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Playstation 4 — released Feb. ’17)
  An amazing game with a female protagonist set in a beautiful post-apocalyptic world.
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Playstation 4 — released Aug. ’17)
  Hey, more ladies! This is a spinoff from the Uncharted series, taking two ancillary characters and exploring their story.
- Golf Story (Nintendo Switch — released Sep. ’17)
  The 16-bit mechanics of golf with throwback 8-bit style and a fun story.
p.s. Here’s the cute “Letters to Santa” mailbox, and a smaller ornament version.

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November 30, 2017
Up North, and the New NOOK

This post is brought to you by CJ Affiliate’s VIP Content Service. Thank you Barnes & Noble for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Barnes & Noble, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

The newest Barnes & Noble NOOK 7″ Tablet just launched, and it’s their most affordable NOOK yet at $49.99. We received one a little early to test out, so we took it up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin with us over Thanksgiving.

We all gathered for Thanksgiving dinner and did plenty of sledding and playing in the snow while we were up there, but we also relaxed and read a lot. I got started with our NOOK by adding a few books for each of us from the NOOK store. The tablet is Android-powered with full access to the Google Play Store, so I added some of the kids’ favorite apps too. Eleanor’s current obsession is horses and she has been making an e-book about them. She even figured out how to add audio and narrated each page! I have two favorite excerpts: “horses are beautiful and nice and strong and helpful and they like you too,” and “woohoo woohoo go horses!!”

We packed light and each kid could bring two toys and one book. We were gone for four days though, so it was pretty handy to have the NOOK with more books for everyone when we wanted to read something else. Brandon and I had our titles on it too, saving a lot of room in our bags. The tablet has all kinds of features (front and rear-facing cameras, a 7″ LCD screen, expandable storage from 8 GB up to an additional 128 GB, and more), but it’s still nice and lightweight — super easy to pack or just slip in my purse.

The feature I appreciate most is that you can create up to 6 individual profiles. I can hand the NOOK to one of my kids and not worry that they’re accidentally going to get into my email or delete something that I need. Plus it’s easier for each of us to find what we’re looking for; nobody has to scroll through a bunch of books or apps that are on there for someone else.

(Are you loving my Northwoods props? Mr. Raccoon is such a help when I need to stand something up.)

The new NOOK would be a great gift for readers, and I love it as a tablet for the kids. It’s available now at Barnes & Noble.

December 5, 2016
Cut the Cord(s)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DuPont™ Corian®.

All opinions are 100% mine.

NeoCon is a huge annual show for the commercial interiors industry held at The Merchandise Mart, here in Chicago. I attended the show last week for the debut of the new wireless Corian^® Charging Surface, and you guys. We are living in the future.

You probably already know Corian^®. It’s a solid-surface material that comes in 110 colors and patterns that can be custom-cut and fabricated with near seamless installation. It’s durable, stain-resistant, and easy to clean, so while most people are familiar with as a countertop for the kitchen or bathroom, it’s often used for commercial and hospitality applications too.

The Corian^® Charging Surface is a transmitter that can be installed below the surface of a counter to wirelessly charge smart devices, stopping automatically when the battery is full. Zodiaq^® quartz counters work with the technology too and there’s no difference in appearance with it installed (unless you want to add an identifying mark), so you get this secret little charging spot that doesn’t change the design of your room! We usually have a phone or tablet (or both) charging in our kitchen, and the tangle of cords drives me nuts. I’m forever gathering everything up to squirrel it all away in a drawer, so to be able to charge everything without wires would be awesome.

Samsung is already offering phones that can be charged wirelessly, but you can adapt other phones with a special case or Powermat^® wireless charging ring. Powermat^® is also making the technology work for commercial spaces (coffee shops, restaurants, airports, etc.) with multiple charging spots and remote cloud-based management. Both the residential and commercial transmitters’ firmware can be updated and are PMA and Qi compatible to support upcoming technology.

I liked the new Corian^® design at the show that looked like marble (without marble’s tendency to stain and etch), and it would work in almost any kitchen or bath. I was into some of the darker options though — almost black, but with enough interest to keep them from looking flat. A dark counter with painted cabinetry in a beautiful color and an integrated Corian^® Charging Surface would be fantastic. Adding one to a piece of furniture in an entryway or mudroom would be smart too. And wouldn’t it be amazing for the technology to take off on a large enough scale so that you could head out with your phone, sans-cords and cables, confident that there would be a spot where you could set your phone down to charge wirelessly? Hello, future.

You can follow Corian^® on Facebook and Corian^® Twitter to keep up with them and their latest innovations.

June 22, 2015
Chromatic Typewriter

Amazing! This is a conceptual piece by artist. Tyree Callahan, who modified a typewriter by replacing the keys with pads of color.

p.s. Check out another artist’s take on a different ‘type’ of typewriter art.

[via Collossal]

January 16, 2012