|| SMART BATHROOMS: YEP, THEY’RE A THING NOW || 

Centenarians in the 21st century might remember a time when indoor bathrooms were new. Indoor plumbing apparently caught on, for various reasons, more quickly in the US than in other parts of the industrialized world. Even psychologists have noted Americans’ insistence on and delight in private residential bathrooms. 

The upgrades and progress for bathrooms are a long way from the first indoor water closets. 

But as far back as 2006, sports agents were tricking out their bathrooms with flatscreen TVs to stay on top of their client's performance during games. Hands-free phones and other add-ons for the digital workspace became the norm for hard-driving, full-time-plus jobs. 

Some people may even remember the tales (which, according to the former president’s biographer, Robert Caro, were true) of Texas native Lyndon Johnson voicing letters for dictation from the commode. 

Your own home has been, perhaps, a jungle gym for three months with the kids home. In fact, even long past presidents had trouble keeping adult kids in line at home. Apparently, our 25th president had one such lively 19-year-old daughter named Alice (who supposedly liked to smoke cigarettes on the White House roof). 

• Novelist Owen Wister: “Theodore, isn’t there anything you could do to control Alice?”
• Teddy Roosevelt: “Well, I can do one of two things. I can be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both.”

(Keep in mind that Roosevelt was also a hearty outdoorsman, explorer, and police commissioner.)

Eventually, Alice went back to college. Teddy Roosevelt probably didn’t have a spa day at home afterward. (Bath bombs probably meant something different in those pre-WWI days).

You’re not trying to create the Panama Canal like TR, but when August drags on, your home might sound like the Charge Up San Juan Hill.

Evolve Technology can help you get just the right lighting, and crystal-clear audio for your white noise spa playlist, and with Control4 as our base automation platform, we can integrate thousands of secured apps, smart devices, and software to work on voice control. With that voice control, the best part of a spa day is in place: you don’t have to get up.

In 2007--the debut year for iPhone 1 and other devices--a man in Italy wrote a 384-page novel on his cell phone. Using a 12-button keypad Nokia 6630, he thumbed out the sci-fi volume over a few months on his train commute. This writing prodigy illustrates how the classics of reading, writing, and arithmetic are increasingly done on smart devices and computers. 

Home Network Becomes Home Room: Distance Learning 

The US census said that distance learning was part of the learning equation for 93% of kids in 2020. As such, home internet service is now a definite utility for most American homes instead of something just for streaming video or other entertainment. Over-reliance on screens and constant access to connected devices has risks. However, syllabi, class announcements, schedule changes, and even Advanced Placement exams can happen remotely, essentially requiring an excellent home wi fi network. 

Evolve Technologies can help you get the most from your internet service provider. We'll also help you rev up your at-home wireless connectivity to provide truly seamless digital experiences. 

Why Fi? Because Few Devices Can Run without Wi-Fi 

Porches are part of the unique American social architecture. the space between public and private life. The US, having the second-largest average house size in the world, gives us an added location out front to chat with neighbors or throw parties. A singular display to everyone nearby, they're a veritable profile avatar. Evolve Technology will add sights, and sounds, and can resolve security issues for porches. 

Porches Are Making a Comeback

As life outside the home returns, people are rediscovering the power of community. porches can help with that. Access the neighborhood and the outdoors, but without leaving home. 

The rate in this country for new single-family homes built with porches is up 10% since 2005. and two-thirds of such houses built in 2017 had them. 

The uptick in preference for porches parallels the collective thirst for a better-connected neighborhood. in days of yore, the porch was just that, the settings for an analog social network, a kinetic next-door app.

A liquid-oxygen-fueled grill was actually one of the first viral videos from the 90s. Despite being done by engineering students, it's still not a *smart* way to cook food.

Memorial Day, but also the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and any rando weekend can be an occasion for fun and outdoor cooking.

Let's talk about *smart* ways to barbecue.

And Propane Accessories - the 3 Types of Grills

We know about propane and charcoal. There are also some stylish garden firepit units with amazing smokeless engineering. But let's quickly review anyway.

Propane. Propane is not out of reach, but it's expensive right now and might mean checking several filling stations to hit paydirt. Despite that, it burns "cleanly and evenly" as Hank Hill might say.