First Impressions Really Are Everything!

I know it sounds cliche, but it's true a first impression can make or break a relationship whether it's a person, a car or a thermostat. As you may know, tonight was my opportunity at a first impression with the Nest Learning Thermostat.

The packaging:

 did I just open "Hal 9000"? It's a tad creepy, or maybe not. clearly the packaging is meant to support a pleasent first impression. They could have just thrown it in the box and wrapped it up, but they took the time plan your opening of the box, and how you'd see it. Is it looking at me?

Below the nest you'll find the baseplate and the tools to install.  Yes, folks that's a nest screwdriver kit included in the package. The cool part about this is that litterally I didn't have to walk to my garage for any tools to install this, everything needed was included inside the convinient packaged product. This is genius if you ask me, who wants to fumble around for tools. Oh did I mention they also included 2 different back plates, in the event your old thermostat left a giant hole or was in a box? Yes, again they are thinking ahead, though I chose the Hal style mount directly to the wall.

Here's the base plate installed and wired up, oh yeah, notice the little bubble level? Another genius addon. No need to level it yourself just use the device. Brilliant!

It's really pretty simple to install, I mean it's like 4 or 5 wires depending on your HVAC setup.

So, you've seen the packaging the attention to detail and the physcial product. That's fine and dandy, but what if you need help or have a problem? How is the support from the company you may wonder...

You're in luck, I just happen to know! It turns out that I may have jumped in a little too fast and forgot to power down the HVAC system prior to disconnecting the old thermostat. I was sad when I plugged in the Nest and it didn't power up. I fumbled around for a bit and thought about testing a few things, then I decided to call Nest. I'm extremly happy that I did, not only because I got above exceptional customer support, but that I also get to share this with you.

I got connected to a guy named Craig at Nest Support, first off he was friendly and easy to communicate with. We ran through a couple tests with the connections, then he suggested that I power on the device via the mini-usb connection on the back. Essentially I just plugged it into my laptop to get it powering on, after that we connected the  Nest back to the base and it told us what the problem was, well sorta. The device wasn't getting power from my HVAC. After a couple more tests; he even waited while I reconnected and tested the old thermostat, Craig stated that he was going to check with his next tier support team and run the situation by them.When he came back he had already approved a service call from a technician from my area. WHAT!? I was thinking oh man, what's this going to cost me... No, he said Nest would be paying for this.... After I regained myself from surprise of a company offering real technical support... I was like wow! Ok?

In the mean time, Craig mentioned that usually there is a fuse that gets blown on the board, which I immediately began looking for. Viola! there it was, a small 3 amp fuse, and yes it was blown. I said to Craig let me replace this before we send someone out, it'd be a shame to send out people and waste time for a silly fuse (which btw, was the result of my not turning off the power first)... I couldn't immediately find a fuse so I suggested to Craig that I hang up and work on this so as not to take his time. I'm convinced he would have waited but that would have been silly. I scavenged my tool box and finally found one. I installed it, and powered things on and BINGO, I was in business. The moral of the story is disconnect the power to the HVAC before you disconnect the old thermostat! For my friends in Support, I called him back to let him know I was up and running without any further problems.


So this time, we power up and get things going, excellent. I follow the onscreen display and setup the WiFi connection to the internet, when the Nest immediately checks for an update and installs it. I walk through the simple setup and away we go.

I'd previously downloaded the "Nest" iPhone app so I kicked that up to see what it looked like. As soon as I fired it up on the iPhone the app recognized that there was a Nest on my network and since I was already logged in on the app, it simply asked me on the base if I wanted to assign it to my account. How simple was that!

Next I set the temp and let the learning begin, I didn't leave it at 73 :)

iPhone App Screenshot:


So you're wondering how would I rate the  Nest Learning Thermostat  on a 1-5 scale?
Appearance and Presentation: 5
Installation: 4 (because the "flip power wasn't big RED letters" even though this was an error on my part)
Support: 5+ Amazing and knowledgeable Support Personnel. Saved me time and money.
Setup/Configuration: 5
iOS App: 4.5 (I'm probably being a bit hard here, it is after all just a thermostat) though the setup was very simple.

OVERALL: 4.7 out of 5


So there you have it, my first impression of the  Nest Learning Thermostat . I'd have to say it's been pretty good so far... Let's see what the next week or so brings, I'll share some of the and other info presented from the device. I'm really curious to see how it plays out when it determines a schedule. Hopefully this review helps you a bit.

Gluten Free: Day 2

Today was day 2 of my Gluten free lifestyle, so far it's not been to difficult though considering we just got grocery's there's plenty to eat and try. I'm not a very picky eater so that helps too.

Today's challenge was going out for breakfast. Every second Wednesday of the month I take the three school aged kids out for breakfast. It's our way of connecting and we all quite enjoy it. This morning's location was IHOP, where I'd read something about gluten free pancakes. I wasn't too surprised when I got there and they didn't have them. Normally I'd have something like biscuits and gravy or eggs and toast. This morning I went with 2 eggs, some sausage and bacon, hash browns and fruit.  To my surprise, it wasn't nearly as difficult to find something that I wanted within the plan.

Today's lunch consisted of last night's chicken veggie soup. It's a really tasty recipie that wifey came up with from . Along with it was the gluten free bread from Pamelas's Products mix that she'd made yesterday too.

Supper, was tacos with turkey meat. Originally we were going to use a taco seasoning but it had wheat and flour in it. So wifey flavored the meat on her own and it turned out fantastic! I passed on the corn shells and went with a salad style, placing the meat on spinach leaves and adding cooked corn kernels and some taco sauce.

All in all so far this isn't a huge issue for me. Clearly the beer issue will be the biggest hurdle for me to overcome, though even this I think will prove not too daunting an effort.

I'm probably not going to blog every day, but I'll sure try to keep a consistent pattern to the updates. The next few weeks will be interesting to track my health and general well being. I'm going to try to the following rating scale to track my change. It's worth noting that I also started taking my one-a-day vitamin a few days ago, so there's likely to be an added benefit there too.

Vitamin: Yes
Guaifenesin: Yes 1AM  - 1PM
Pseudoephedrine: No
Sinus Pressure (1-10): 4+
Weight: 193
Attitude and Mood (1-10): 7+

[ + = improving ]
[ - = declining ]

New link: Celiac.com

Gluten Free - the beginning

Over the past several years, I've struggled with a lot of sinus infections. I've been poked, prodded, cut in efforts to find and resolve the ongoing issues I've had. 

It seems that the majority of my problems revolve around the fact that I produce a larger than normal amount of mucus that tends to get clogged and infected in my face. In September of this year 2011, I had sinus surgery to help re-open and hopefully lessen the impact of my on going problems.

My allergy testing proved negative. My sinus surgery went fine, but does nothing to reduce the amount of mucus.  I'm growing tired of feeling worn down and painful faced all the time.

Today we're starting a gluten-free diet. My hope is this will move me towards a more raw or natural diet. The end goal is a more healthy feeling body and mind. 

I intend to document the process here, not just for you but for my own personal tracking of the progress, changes and outcomes.

-me-

Happy 13th Anniversary to my wife

410,140,800 seconds ago the sun was hot, the humidity high and I was about to marry the girl of my dreams. I learned later that my dreams would never be as good as the reality that followed. Happy 13th Anniversary to my wonderful wifey Rachelle Eash.



It all started December 9th 1992 when a cute girl from the color guard finally said yes to being my girlfriend. I was a freshman and she a sophomore. It was a few weeks later ~December 28th, when I finally got that to kiss that shy gal while riding “The Haunted Mansion” at Disney's Magic Kingdom during the band trip to the Gator Bowl. This trip, our first together would not be our last.



The high school years that followed were filled with long nights on the telephone; waiting to see who'd hang up first, and chatting about when we'd see each other again. I fell asleep more than once while sitting cross-ways in that comfy chair talking late into the night. We knew pretty early on that we'd get married one day, we talked about what we wanted in life and how we'd grow old together. Then the inevitable happened Rachelle graduated and went to college at Ball State leaving me alone at home.



The distance didn't stifle our relationship, we wouldn't let it. We continued to talk on the phone, and send email. I would visit her often on the weekends, one time we even concocted a plan where she would call into the school for me, so I could leave early that Friday and head to see her... It mostly worked :)



A year later, I graduated and went to Manchester College. While closer, it was still about 1.5 hours between schools. Thinking back, I’m wondering how many miles we put on vehicles between 1996 and 1998... Must have been a lot! We traveled between Muncie and North Manchester so many times, we had the trip memorized. One little town “Bippus” was in between, and we always joked about how one day that would be a great name for our first dog.



In 1997 we decided it was time to revisit Orlando and the Magic Kingdom. Little did Rachelle know, she was being set up. Maybe she’d overlooked the timing, but she’d soon be reminded. She did decide to drive the last few hours, which put a wrinkle in my plan.. You see I’d changed the hotel we were going to stay on Disney property instead. Luckily for me, she was (still is) directionally challenged and followed my directions. It wasn’t till she pulled up to the gate of the resort that she realized we’d had a change of plans.



I’d been keeping a secret for months, and being this close made it so hard to continue. Little did she know, that I’d tucked a diamond ring in the bottom of my camera bag. I carried that thing around all day, at one point she was carrying it.



Finally it was the time I’d been waiting for as we approached The Haunted Mansion, it was show time. We rode the ride just like before, and I snuck in my kiss. :) Then afterward it was time to take a photo. I had her stay put as I shared my plan with an unsuspecting line attendant. I remember telling her, “just keep taking photos!“ I dropped to one knee and asked the love of my life to be my wife. I was only afterward, by the roar of applause and whistles, that we realized how many people were witness to this event, one that I’ll never forget.



The wedding planning started quickly, we had a lot to do and we did it mostly on our own. The date, August 8 1998. (8/8/98) one that I could easily remember. The time High Noon! With the help of family, friends, and strangers we made it all happen. The days leading up to the wedding was full of excitement. Rachelle and her girlfriends stayed up late decorating the reception hall, I was up early with my guys to set up the wedding site, and rain was in the forecast. I made the decision to go forward and we did.



410,140,800 seconds ago the sun was hot, the humidity high and I was about to marry the girl of my dreams. Nothing would stop us now, especially the heat of the day! It was an amazing feeling to know that the future we’d spent so many long nights talking about was about to begin. The love of my life was walking down the isle to be my bride. She was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.



The wedding was a success, so many family and friends in attendance. On to the party! I could go on and on with details, as the day was certainly to remember. That night, exhausted from the planning and excitement … we slept!



The 13 years that have followed have been amazing, challenging, exciting, trying, rewarding, and loving. To say the least, marriage is not simple or for the faint of heart. We have been through many ups and downs. The good times and the bad, but in the end we’ve always come back to what is important. Our Love for one another.



We got or first cat "Bippus" in 1998, we bought our first home in Pendleton in 1999. On September 10th 2001 we found out that Rachelle was pregnant with twins. On April 19th 2002 Nolan and Jillian made their presence into the world. In July of 2003 we moved to our second home, August I started a new job and on September 5th 2003 Sullivan was born, and dealing with 3 hungry little mouths was not an easy task. Rachelle has always an amazing mother to our children, I’ve yet to figure out how she does it!



January 29th, 2007 brought our next little bundle of joy Brendan who came into the world smiling and hasn’t stopped yet. In 2008 we moved yet again. This move was followed by a new baby boy Adrian; born October 1st 2009.



Together, we’ve managed to continue to grow our family and our relationship. It’s funny when you look back and think about the dreams we shared so many years ago. We’ve achieved so many of them. I can say, that I know without a doubt, that these dreams would have not been possible had we not been such a team.



I don’t recall who to credit for it, but someone once called us “Team Eash”. It’s amazing how appropriate that name really is. One of the strongest features of our marriage is our teamwork. When we’re a team we are so strong. While our team is no longer growing in size, we’ll continue to grow in strength, trust and togetherness.



While we’ve enjoyed with all our hearts the family we’ve built today. There’s no better time than when the two of us get to enjoy each other alone. Some of the most precious times we’ve ever spent together have been while traveling and visiting those we love. We’ve seen tropical islands, desert resorts, Hollywood hills, and warm sandy beaches. The location changes, but the company is what makes it great. I can’t wait to see what life brings next. There’s few things I enjoy more than traveling with my wifey.



13 years later I love my wife more today than ever before. Without her I’d not be the man I am today. I know these things sound cliche, but when I look back I think about how different I’d be with without Rachelle in my life. She is my constant, my love and my life. I can’t wait to see what the next 13 have to bring!



Happy 13th Anniversary.



-matt-