Party Wednesday: Things you should buy part one.

            Hi everyone, I’m starting a segment on Wednesdays called Party Wednesday (just incase you didn’t read the title).  This will focus on party themes for adults that are nerd/gaming based.  For example a Mass Effect party set in Afterlife night club or Walking Dead where a majority of the party goers are zombies and a few are survivors. 

Every party will have a specific food, drink, attire, décor, music, and lighting system. 

            To start off I am going to recommend/ review a lighting system that can be used for every party (and everyday life) and you won’t have to change a bulb.

            This amazing system is called Philips Hue. It is wireless lighting systems where you can create you own personal ambiance threw light.  I have been using this in my apartment for the past two and half weeks, it is wonderful. 

            I can setup when the lights come on and off in the morning, before I get home from work or even change threw out the day.  It’s an LED bulb that is energy efficient but the best part is that IT CAN CHANGE INTO ANY COLOR!

            Ok let me be real it can’t change into every single color in the world (if you choose black the light will turn off and browns aren’t picked up that well).  That said it is still amazing.  Another feature I love is that brightness setting.  Gone are the days where you had to go to Home Depot, buy a dimmer switch and risk electrocution because you were to cheep to hire an electrician to do it for you.

              Now you must be asking your self “how do I do all this?  Is there a remote for this?”  Well it’s easy my friend, all you need is the Hue lighting kit and a smart phone, tablet, or computer.

            First let’s see what you get in the box.   You get 3 bulbs, the wireless bridge (which you can add up to 50 bulbs on one bridge) and cables for the bridge to your router.  I won’t go into the details on setup but it is pretty easy and getting the app for your phone or tablet is free. The bulbs will fit into the average socket and once set up this is where it gets fun.

             I like that they have preset lighting features for concentration or the warm glow of Tuscany. But what I love is you can grab your own photo from your library and create your own lighting scheme.  I will demonstrate this once I have a proper camera. Also I will show you the picture I use and which colors I pick for each party idea.  I do find it disappointing that you can not dim bulbs individually, but maybe a third party app will let you do that down the road. 

            So now here is the down side.  This all costs $199.98 before tax and each light bulb that you buy is around 60 bucks.  Before you have a heart attack just remember this is a wireless system for your home and Philips claims that the bulbs will last 15 years.  Another down side is that you can only buy the system and extra bulbs online or at the apple store.

            That said you can always limit where you want to put the lights (like only having them on one level of a house or room).  But if you live in a one bed room apartment or loft, the 3 bulbs that come in the starter pack will light your place just fine. 

            If you want more information check out the Philips Hue web site:

            http://www.meethue.com/en-US

           

            See you Friday for a rant on some topic.

See you on the other side.