Parrot Mini Drone review

Drones come in all shapes and sizes but for those who don’t want a larger more expensive model, Parrot has a cool range of mini drones that are fun to fly and can be controlled with your mobile device.

For our review we took the Parrot Airborne Cargo Drone called Mars for a test flight.

The device is small and light ( as AUKEY MINI DRONE ) – it has a wingspan of about 15cm without the propeller shields and 18cm with the shields with a weight of 54g and 63g respectively.

It links wirelessly via Bluetooth to your smartphone or tablet with the FreeFlight 3 app that’s available for iOS and Android.

From here you can access the flight controls and get flying right away.'It doesn’t take long to master thanks to the intuitive app and its well-designed layout so that when you hold your device in landscape mode it puts the controls right under your thumbs.

Take off and landings are a breeze – there’s a dedicated control for that on the bottom of the screen.

As soon as you hit it, the Parrot mini drone comes to life and lifts gracefully off the ground.

From it here it goes up to of about 1.5m and hovers while it waits for you to take control.

The left controls offer elevation and sideways movement while the right controller is for your directions.

The craft is surprisingly nimble so give yourself plenty of space. It does have an autopilot function and a stabilisation system so that it flies smoothly.

Once we got the hang of it indoors, we decided to attach the propeller shields and try our luck outside.

The Parrot Airborne Cargo Drone is pretty light so it’s not advisable to fly it outdoors in a strong wind because it might get away from you and you could possibly lose it.

In calm conditions it’s fine and being outdoors gives you more room to perform some tricks like flips and rapid turns simply with a swipe of the app’s control pad.

And being the cargo model there is a Lego-like surface in the top so you carry some bricks or a little figure (one comes with the drone). But don’t expect to put anything too heavy on it.

Also on board is a small camera that points down from the base when you’re flying. The quality of the camera is pretty average but it’s still fun getting shots of the top of your head and your bemused pets.

Pictures are stored on the internal memory and can be transferred from the drone to your mobile device with the FreeFlight 3 app.

Battery wise you can get up about eight or nine minutes of flight time before you need a recharge.

The good news is you can be fully recharged in about 25 minutes through the microUSB port on the back of the device.

If that’s too slow, you can buy a second battery and pop it in to keep flying while the first battery is charging.

VERDICT

Parrot’s Airborne Cargo Mini Drone is aimed at those customers who don’t want to spend a small fortune on a photography drone but rather on a product that gives them the sheer enjoyment of flying it. That product is the Parrot Mini Drone.

There are other Parrot devices in the range including other mini drones, the Jumping Night Drone, the Jumping Race Drone and even the Hydrofoil Drone.

Top Hunting Gadgets for 2017

Hunting is one of the most basic skills of human kind. It literally put us on the top of the food chain. In today’s world, hunting is obviously significantly different than in the days of our ancestors, specifically with the use of technology. Hunting Gadgets are a great way to get a little more enjoyment out of your trip. Whether the gadget is a sophisticated piece of technology or something closer to one of the 6 simple machines, these little tools are pretty cool and very effective. For the purposes of this list, hunting gadgets are simply neat things to take with you. Here are the top hunting gadgets for 2017.

Firefield FF16001 Night Vision Riflescope –
For those of us who enjoy hunting Hogs, and down here in Texas, we get that chance a lot, a scope with Night Vision is pretty sweet. Is it essential? No. Is it badass? Yes. Some key features to this scope are the quick release for swapping between Day and Night hunts, Hi-Res images, adjustable brightness on the cross hairs, and is pretty affordable.


Sportsman Camo Pocket Chainsaw –

Whether you’re clearing room for a tall camper, cutting some fire wood, or clearing a tree off of your trail, one of these Pocket Chainsaws can absolutely save your day. Typically you can pick them up for around $30, and they are worth every penny. The Sportsman Pocket Chainsaw is a legit tool. There are other brands out there – and Sportsman Industries is a small brand, but these guys make a quality product. This particular saw has fewer teeth than most pocket saws meaning less friction when using it, and the teeth are able to avoid binding up on any wood chips. This one also comes with a fire starter, and you can’t have enough of those.


Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker Knife Sharpener –


Ok, the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker isn’t new. When I got mine, it came with an instructional DVD that was definitely a converted VHS recording. I’ve used this thing to sharpen my hunting knife, kitchen knives, and my hatchet. Using this gadget takes a little more practice and time than other knife sharpeners, but it is well worth it. There are other sharpeners like this one out there, but I haven’t regretted this purchase one bit. There’s a certain level of confidence that comes with knowing your knives are sharp and ready for any task required. The worst part about this is now that I know how sharp my knives can get, I’m frustrated at quality of the steel because they don’t stay sharp.

MOULTRIE HD VIDEO GLASSES

Moultrie HD video glasses looks like ordinary glasses, but with it, you can record very high quality videos. After the first use of the gadget, Moultrie HD video glasses will become your favorite simple camera. Take it with you when you go hunting or fishing.

What are fidget spinners?

What exactly are spinners fidget?
Is hot new toy dangerous, or beneficial to kids?  Hand spinner fidget have exploded in popularity, leaving many parents to ask: What is a spinner fidget?  And so are they harmful to my children?

2017's the popular new toy is most popular with middle and elementary school-aged kids.  They are bright and vibrant plastic or metal devices that fit in the palm of the hand and include a ball bearing that allows one to bend.As the name implies, spinner toy may be marketed as "stress relievers" for kids (and grownups) to soften with, and may supposedly help with ADHD or autism.

They could spin on a table like a dreidel or at your hand, developing a mesmerizing irregular pattern; the goal among enthusiasts is often to see who can spin it to the longest.Where to locate fidget hand spinner. Because of this, they are sometimes tough to discover.If you're fortunate, you can discover the coaster-sized gadgets to get as inexpensive as $1 on eBay and other sites, or even $ 5 at national chains such as Five Below.

Amazon.com has a bunch in the $8 to $18 range, but some high-end shops actually sell versions for up to $1,000.According to PennLive.com, though, many stores are fighting to maintain them at the stock.  A Five Below at Pennsylvania sees them fly off the shelves; about a single Saturday, 200 hand spinner fidget toys were gone in less than 2 hours of availability."It's the hottest thing," store manager Andy Chelednik told that the book.

"It's only picked up with everyone for a few reason"Because of this, some parents are driving from store to store to get the toys, placing names on waiting lists or spending marked-up costs on reseller sites.Are there any benefits to employing spinner?

CNN reports that the devices were initially made to help students with eye disorders such as ADD and ADHD.  Experts say it can help children occupy their hands at their desk while focusing on school work; some therapists and counselors have also been encouraging their use.

"Promoting fidgeting is a frequent way of managing care management," Elaine Taylor-Klaus, co-founder of all ImpactADHD, which assists parents of kids with attention deficit disorders, told the news channel.  "For some people [with ADHD], there's a demand for continuous stimulation," she states.  "Exactly what a fidget permits some people -- maybe not all people -- together with ADHD to do would be to concentrate their attention on what they need to concentrate on since there's sort of a background motion that's occupying that need."

Solar power and solar panels

The basic PV or solar cell (for example: Goal Zero Nomad 20 ) typically produces only a small amount of power. To produce more power, solar cells (about 40) can be interconnected to form panels or modules. PV modules range in output from 10 to 300 Watts. If more power is needed, several modules can be installed on a building or at ground-level in a rack to form a PV array.

In addition to solar cells, a typical PV module or solar panel consists of these components:

• A transparent top surface, usually glass
• An encapsulant -- usually thin sheets of ethyl vinyl acetate that hold together the top surface, solar cells, and rear surface
• A rear layer -- a thin polymer sheet, typically Tedlar, that prevents the ingress of water and gases
• A frame around the outer edge, typically aluminum.

Energy performance ratings for PV modules include the following:

• Peak Watt -- Measures the maximum power of a module under laboratory conditions of relatively high light level, favorable air mass, and low cell temperature. These conditions are not typical in the real world.
• Normal operating cell temperature -- Measures a module's nominal operating cell temperature after the module first equilibrates with a specified ambient temperature. It results in a lower Watt value than the peak-Watt rating, but it is probably more realistic.
• AMPM Standard -- Measures the performance of a solar module under more realistic operating conditions. It considers the whole day rather than "peak" sunshine hours, based on the description of a standard solar global-average day (or a practical global average) in terms of light levels, ambient temperature, and air mass.

Home Solar Electric System Arrays

For home solar electric systems, the most common array design uses flat-plate PV modules or panels. These panels can either be fixed in place or allowed to track the movement of the sun.

The simplest PV array consists of flat-plate PV modules in a fixed position. These are some advantages of fixed arrays:

• No moving parts
• No need for extra equipment
• A lightweight structure.

These features make them suitable for many locations, including most residential roofs. Because the panels are fixed in place, their orientation to the sun is usually at an angle that is less than optimal. Therefore, less energy per unit area of array is collected compared with that from a tracking array. This drawback, however, must be balanced against the higher cost of the tracking system.

Energy Performance

Solar arrays are designed to provide specified amounts of electricity under certain conditions. The following factors are usually considered when determining array energy performance:

• Characterization of solar cell electrical performance
• Determination of degradation factors related to array design and assembly
• Conversion of environmental considerations into solar cell operating temperatures
• Calculation of array power output capability.

The amount of electricity required may be defined by any one or a combination of the following performance criteria:

• Power output -- power (Watts) available at the power regulator, specified either as peak power or average power produced during one day.
• Energy output -- the amount of energy (Watt-hour or Wh) produced during a certain period of time. The parameters are output per unit of array area (Wh/m²), output per unit of array mass (Wh/kg), and output per unit of array cost (Wh/$).
• Conversion efficiency -- defined as "energy output from array" ÷ "energy input from sun" × 100%.

This last parameter is often given as a power efficiency, equal to "power output from array" ÷ "power input from sun" × 100%. Power is typically given in units of Watts (W), and energy is typically in units of Wh, or the power in Watts supplied during an hour.

To ensure the consistency and quality of PV systems and increase consumer confidence in system performance, various groups -- such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) -- are working on standards and performance criteria for PV systems.

Home Solar Electric Components

A typical home solar electric system consists of these components:

• Solar cells
• Modules or panels (which consist of solar cells)
• Arrays (which consist of modules)
• Balance-of-system parts.

The balance-of-system equipment required depends on whether the system is a stand-alone system, connected to the electric grid, or a hybrid system. Balance-of-system equipment can include:

• Mounting racks and hardware for the panels
• Wiring for electrical connections
• Power conditioning equipment, such as an inverter
• Batteries for electricity storage (optional)
• Stand-by gasoline electric generator.

North Texas State Rep. targets fly by night roofers with state certification bill

ROWLETT -- An effort is underway in the Texas House of Representatives to protect storm victims from roofers with big promises and shoddy work.

On December 26, 2015, a tornado left Joyce Ghormley's house with significant damage. Desperate to get their kids back home, she and her husband hired a contractor to do their roof and more. They say he was a friend of a friend.

"We thought this was someone we could trust, they’re local and we felt confident with using someone that we thought we kind of knew," she said.

Their instincts would be wrong, when two and a half months later, they say their $17,000 new roof had a faulty chimney, broken rafters, and cracks big enough to let daylight in.

"Honestly at one point we thought about just letting our house go," said Ghormley.

That meant more frustration on top of already serious stress, and their story is one of many.

State Representative Giovanni Capriglione serves parts of Tarrant County.

"I’ve just heard from countless constituents that have quite frankly lost their money and have had really bad workmanship when they’ve had their roofs repaired," he said.

This month, he introduced House Bill 3293, that would create a state certification for roofers.

"Texas is one of the only states that doesn’t have a roofer’s certification," he said.

Capriglione envisions a voluntary program, where roofers could say they are state licensed if they can show they’re certified to work in Texas by the Secretary of State’s office, have enough liability insurance and pay a small fee.

The big target is fly-by-night roofers who swoop in after storms. Ghormley’s roofer was local and she did settle with him out of court. But she supports any bill that could keep people who’ve had damage to their home, from losing more.

"Anything that would help a homeowner with feeling more confident that their work will be done correctly and they have some grounds for repercussion if it’s not, that’s definitely a benefit," she said.

In Texas, some cities and counties have their own rules about what type of contractors need licenses to operate.

How To Increase Profits This Year

The goal of any business is to increase profits every year and continue to grow. However, rising costs and a changing financial market may affect your day-to-day living as well as the profitability of your business. Thankfully, you can rely on flexible, accessible strategies to manage and increase your overall profits throughout the year.

Provide services that help you stand out

Your small business is essentially a boutique that offers similar services other businesses also provide. Take the opportunity to provide services your competitors do not offer to enhance your business prospects in the long run. For example, customers often prefer one-stop shopping over visiting multiple stores for their needs. Time is as valuable as money in today's fast-paced world; take time to ask customers what other services would assist them when they visit your business.

Cut back on expenses

There are always ways to go through your budget and cut expenses.. Some products used on a daily basis may be available at cheaper or discounted rates. Buying in bulk, for example, often results in discounts, especially if you can form a partnership with the vendor in question. If unable to store bulk items in your office, keep them in a different location until needed. Micromanaging every element about your office expenses will allow you to use that money on more profitable business aspects over time.

Reward employees who strive to increase profitability

As you find solutions to increase company profits, reward employees who show initiative by making suggestions or following your lead. Even casual rewards, such as a small gift, can go a long way, helping everyone feel motivated to work collectively toward the same goal. Always express your acknowledgment and personally thank them. This positive reinforcement and treatment ultimately leads to reciprocation, as others see the mutual benefits involved.

Get to know your customers

For many customers, the feeling that a business they frequent is almost part of their family is enjoyable and preferable. They feel like they are doing business with a good friend, rather than an organization. Always spark a friendly conversation with a customer by asking about their well-being, their family, or local events and other interests. Simple gestures can indirectly lead to increased profits, as many would choose your business over competitors.

Create a customer rewards program

There is always great joy when a customer refers other people to your business, and their gesture should be acknowledged. Advertise a rewards program offering various goodies to participants who refer others. Likewise, offer similar rewards to those who make a purchase of a certain price or frequently buy from you. If this sounds too stressful for your business goals, give the referring customer a small discount or coupon next time they come to your business.

Accommodate customers efficiently

In today's fast-paced world, customers simply lack the time to stand in line and wait to be serviced. When possible, have other employees postpone their active duties and assist in servicing others during these hectic situations. This works especially well with foot-tracked businesses, such as convenience stores and pharmacies, proving excellent and efficient customer service can gradually lead to increased company profits.

Get involved in your community

Involvement in your community can assist in recognition of your business. Donate or help with charitable events, making your brand or logo relatively visible while giving back to the community. In most cases, organizations allow you to casually advertise your business at the event through eye-catching logos and related graphical designs. Actively participate throughout the year, especially in causes that align with your company's vision.

Taking small steps can improve profitability, while simultaneously helping everyone involved. Assessing your priorities and acknowledging your audience are excellent ways to ensure your business continues to flourish for years to come

6 Benefits of Joining a Coworking Space

With start-ups popping up across the country and the freelance workforce growing exponentially, modern office space is taking on a new form. We have heard of billion-dollar companies that started out in a garage in Seattle or in an Ivy League dorm room, but most entrepreneurs need a space that falls between those humble digs and an elegant downtown office. Enter the coworking space, which allows multiple businesses to operate out of the same location. If you are in need of a base for your operations, here are six benefits to joining this movement:

1. Lower office costs

The most obvious benefit of sharing an office space with other companies is a break on monthly rent. While you can expect to pay several thousand dollars to rent an office space in any major U.S. city, dedicated desks at a shared space in New York's fashionable Soho district start at just $450 per month. You will find the numbers to be more than palatable as you start out with a handful of employees. Printing, coffee, conference rooms, and 24/7 access are usually included in the price.

2. The ability to work in peace

Never underestimate the lure of your living room couch or the impact of your children in the next room when working from home. Even if you are comfortable working at home, the reality for many small business owners is that the system does not work. Busy home environments can distract you in both good and bad ways. In order to work in peace, you need a space where you can sit and talk with your team without your private life interfering with the plan of attack.

3. Positive peer pressure

Peer pressure can be a good thing when it engages your competitive spirit and encourages you to aim higher. In a coworking space, you will feel this type of pressure on a daily basis. Across the room, you may notice a rising technology company with an owner who has an effective management style. While you will most likely feel inspired by the company's early success, you may also get some pointers on how to manage a growing team. This positive impact is easily worth the monthly costs.

4. The chance to network

If you need a web designer for a site overhaul, you may be sitting across from the best in the business for your budget at a communal work space. You could even be neighbors with someone who offers you your next big client as a referral. When you are surrounded by hardworking people who know what it means to rise from the lowest level, you have the opportunity to network and grow your business in several ways. After a short period, you might consider a shared working space to be the best investment you ever made for your business.

5. A healthy work-life balance

What would you pay to not have a big project staring you in the face after the end of a 12-hour day? Divide the monthly fee for a coworking space by 30 and see if that number works. By avoiding working out of your home, you have the chance to live a more conventional life that consists of doing your work at another location and leaving it there when you return home to relax or be with your family. This benefit is priceless to small business owners.

6. A path to your next big idea

You might find more than the spirit of healthy competition when sharing a work space with other companies; you could find your next venture. Seeing another company operate with a good idea but the wrong execution tends to get entrepreneurs thinking about what they could do with such a business under their control. You will have to differentiate your own company from anything already in existence, but by sharing a work space, chances are that you will find inspiration and ideas from others in the room.