My Recommendations

Don't be fooled by cheap imitations. By that, I am explicitly calling out Masterchef USA and Masterchef Canada, which is based pretty much on the same premise as Masterchef USA. After ten seasons, Masterchef Australia is a comprehensive cooking contest with a real focus on the contestants. It feels like a throwback to earlier episodes of Top Chef moreso than Masterchef. They did expand at one time to Junior, All Stars and Professionals but scaled back to focus on the quality for one show and it shows. We came across the Australian version thanks to Gusto , a lifestyle channel in Canada that was introduced as a competitor to the ubiquitous Food Network. The first season we saw was six but after that we were completely hooked. Why? 1. As noted above, it's comprehensive . It's a three month competition with challenges every day. But the kicker? Each day is broadcast. So when they say "get ready for tomorrow"", the next show IS tomorrow. When it airs on Ten

With the announcement that Google would be shuttering Inbox, there's been a lot of articles about what to use as its replacement. I've pretty much been living in web mail for the past few years - but on my iPhone and iPad, it's been a bit of a toss-up. Mail on my MacBook Pro hasn't worked properly for months now (and solutions never worked properly) so I figured I would use this as an opportunity to find a better solution overall. Spark  is an email client for iPhone, iPad and Mac OS from Readdle . I started with it on my iPhone, evaluating a few other alternatives but what sealed the deal for me was its clients for the Mac and iPad. Spark has a "Smart Inbox" which combines multiple accounts into a single inbox, making it easier to stay on top of all your mail. Since the feature was offered, I've been using Gmail with its support for multiple email addresses but some mail clients don't support it easily. Spark handled it without a problem.

There are lots of devices available for a Smart Home. The Nest thermostat was one of the first that truly ushered in the current batch of tools. Sure, before that, you could use X-10 to automate as much of the house as possible and there were always custom solutions but the current idea of the automated home made it feel so much closer to reality than ever before. I have a Nest thermostat as well as a Nest Protect. When Nest was purchased by Google, I was excited about the possibilities but then discouraged by the founder leaving . But still there was a lot of promise in other areas. I purchased an outlet switch at the Apple Store for an iDevices switch. It worked as a HomeKit device. We used it for patio lights and they worked amazing. They offer an Foundation Kit which includes two plugs and an outside adapter . ALMOST a perfect fit. I did have some troubles with the outside adapter communicating with our at home network. Company sent a new one after a number of troubleshooti