When You Need a Serious Flashlight for Safety or Convenience

A good friend that knows flashlights recommended this as his best ever. Fenix is the brand name.

http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-Upgraded-Lumens-Flashlight-Black/dp/B008UEU6ZM/ref=sr_1_1?s=hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1415767755&sr=1-1&keywords=fenix+tk41+flashlight

It is $96, but read the reviews.  It is a “serious” flashlight with many advantages. One reviewer said that getting rechargeable AA batteries was a good idea.  He got a number of the Amazon basic NiMH 2000mAh batteries, and he charges them using a BC-700 Lacross Charger. Always a good idea to keep some good Alkline batteries around as backups.

With winter storms coming, this might be a good thing to have at night. Whether you are in an attic, or a crawl space, or outdoors at night, this is a wonderfully bright light that is still light and portable. Some reviewers said the batteries last a long time, 10 minutes a day for several weeks, with no problem.  Note, it takes 8 AA batteries.

As a less expensive but wonderful alternate, try these, they are favorites of mine for a long time.  Great light, beautiful design :

 http://www.amazon.com/Techlite-Master-High-Intensity-Tactical-Flashlight/dp/B0074D6PE6/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1415774516&sr=1-3&keywords=techlite+lumen+master

Techlite.  Sometimes available at Costco for $33, or less. 3 Pack.  Quite a good deal for this caliber product.Takes only 3 AAA batteries, which last quite awhile. 

Phone Is Still Half The Expression "Smart Phone"

Phone is still have the word in “Smart Phone”, so while there are many useful apps, and texting is taking over, don’t forget there are some nice ways to dial a phone number from a smart phone as well.  Here are some interesting links on that topic.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Dial-A-for-Android-the-best-dialer-apps-for-Googles-OS_id59886

http://www.fonewiki.com/blogwiki/2014/08/7-of-the-best-free-dialer-app-for-your-android-phone/

Esper Dialer in the list says it acts like the apple interface.

Thanks to Kerry Barlow for this great tip. 

GrubHub Food Delivered To Your Home, Fast

There is a good story on GrubHub in INC Magazine this week. I like the concept, and the IPO was so successful the company is now valued at $3 billion.  Very high, but they seem to own the high ground in a very hot area of smart phone technology  -- taking your hunger and turning it into a great meal, at your house, in 60 minutes or less.

Some fast facts:

1.     they have 28,000 restaurants signed up in 600 plus cities

2.     they monitor your order, so they call the restaurant if the order is not confirmed in 5 minutes or less

3.     they put tablet computers in all the restaurants, so they get the orders correctly (no longer sent to them by fax).  The restaurants must fix the meal in 20 minutes. 

4.     they store your PayPal or Credit Card, and so there is no payment hassles, also they can store your address for reorders from the same restaurant.

5.     far easier and fewer clicks than on the various restaurant’s own websites, which are not usually well designed, up to date, and or user friendly.

6.     by using your smart phone, the app knows where you are, and can show you all the restaurants in your immediate area that participate --- and you can choose by type, Chinese, Pizza, and so on.  It works so well, restaurants biggest problem it keeping up with the flood of orders coming in.

7.     coupons and discounts, they have ‘em too.

8.     it is a rare APP that gets 1,000 plus reviews in the iTunes store, and survives with 4.5 stars out of 5.  But this company has that, pretty amazing.

Concept is low advertising budget, mostly in big cities they use ads on subways and busses or outdoor ads, to get you in your car, or on the subway when you are “hungry”.  Order then, and by the time you get home and cleaned up, your food will be there.

“Innovation works best when there is a problem to solve” .. is the opening line of the story by Liz Welch.  That’s a good quote, and this company found a serious problem to solve since they had bad experiences ordering their on food on line in Chicago – too many clicks, too many phone calls, too many orders not correct. People eat, people don’t like hassles.  That’s a good combination to work on.