TheBolt

If you are an avid golfer like myself, you’ve had similar thoughts after a challenging round.  Sometimes I genuinely feel like I would have had more fun if I’d just paid someone $50 to punch me.  Try as you might, it is darn near impossible to separate how much fun you have from your score.

So what is the solution?  Well, lessons, of course.  But barring that, what else?  Most recreational golfers feel like spending hundreds of dollars on new equipment is the key here.  In all honesty, spending $300-$500 on a new driver won’t take a stroke off you game, although you will look cooler!.  Buying a new set of irons at $500-$1000 will have similar results.  I know the equipment manufacturers would like to argue this point with me, but it really is the pitcher, not the baseball.

So where should that hard sought after golf money go in an effort to reduce your score?  Well, there is simply only one piece of equipment that is almost guaranteed to take strokes off of your game.  And imagine that, Abt happens to carry it! It is the Garmin Approach G5 North America Golf GPS.  Having a range finder when playing is something that once you do, you will never golf without one again.  How many times do you find yourself yelling at your ball, “BE THE RIGHT CLUB!!!!”?  How great would it be to know you already have the right club even before you hit that frustrating little white ball?

Think about it.  For the price of a new driver (which, again, won’t make you score lower), you can almost assuredly take several strokes off your game.

Happy golfing everyone!

–Tim S.

Women today have lots of status symbols available to them.  Designer clothes, shoes, bags (like our Tumi selection), hats, sunglasses, bracelets, rings, necklaces, and the list goes on.  For us guys, we have two.  Our cars and our watches.  While Abt doesn’t sell cars (although if you are in the area, come see our souped-up Smart Car with a Focal system) we do sell watches.

Not only does Abt sell watches, but did you know that Abt sells watches ranging from very nice, basic models all the way up to a line that is worn by some members of royalty around the world?  When I say royalty, I mean actual monarchs, like HRH Prince Edward of Wessex and King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and worldwide celebrity royalty, like Michael Jordan and David Beckham, both wear watches by Franck Muller.  You can see a large assortment of these watches right here in our Time Watch Boutique in the atrium.  (An interesting note is that Franck Muller doesn’t pay anyone to wear their time pieces!)

So what if you’re not the biggest of big dogs, a king or world wide soccer phenomenon?  You can look like one with a great new time piece by Franck Muller.  You can also find fine watches by the likes of Ball, Oris, Gucci, Movado, Rado, and many more.  There’s nothing like putting on a nice watch.  Get out there and show ’em who the big dog is by showing off your brand new watch from Abt today!

–Tim S.

Hello again, I’m back with more green tips for you!

Last time we talked about your refrigerator which uses the second most energy of any appliance in your home.  What’s the first?  Your HVAC system.  At this time of year it is your air conditioner using the bulk of your electricity.  I thought we should take a moment to review what you can do to get the most from your AC.

• If you are buying a new AC, of course buying an energy star unit should be your first choice.
• If buying central air, get the highest SEER (seasonal energy efficiency rating) you can.  The higher the number, the less energy you will use.
• Add a programmable thermostat to your existing central air unit.  That way you can program it to cool your house around the times you are actually there.  No reason for the AC to be running full tilt when no one is there.
• If adding a window unit, try to place it in a window that is in the shade.  Placing your window unit AC in direct sunlight can reduce its efficiency by up to 10%.
• If you don’t have shade, plant a tree or two.  Trees naturally cool the air and will cut the heat generated by the sun significantly.  Not to mention trees clean pollution from the air!
• Can’t plant trees?  Install vinyl shades and opaque drapes to your windows.  Both of these can drastically reduce interior temperatures and allow less use of the AC.
• Don’t run heat generating appliances like dishwashers, clothes dryers, or ovens during the hottest times of the day.  Save those chores for the morning or evening.  The added heat just makes your AC run even harder.
• Change your light bulbs.  Incandescent light bulbs emit a good amount of heat.  Going to CFL or LED light bulbs can reduce the heat output of your bulbs by 65-80%.
• Finally, don’t run the AC when the temperature outside is at or below what you have your AC set at.  Open up those windows and let mother nature cool your house for you.  Best of all, she won’t send you a bill!

Stay green and stay cool everyone.

–Tim S.

Hello!  It’s Tim again and I’m back with more green tips for you!

Today, with the current heat level around here, I thought I’d talk about refrigerators.  After your HVAC system, your fridge uses the most energy of any appliance in your home.

When buying a new or replacement fridge, keep these things in mind:

• Buy an energy star unit.  The slightly higher purchase price will be offset by your lower energy bill in the long run.
• If you are in the process of planning product placement, keep the fridge away from heat registers and out of direct sunlight.
• Look at a French door unit.  When the kids, or you, go to peruse the fridge for what you may want to eat, only having half of a door open lets less cold out than having a full door open.  This is one of the biggest benefits of a French door unit.  Plus they look great!

When using the fridge you should:

• Plan on what you want before opening the fridge.  Standing with the door open quickly raises the temperature and makes your fridge work harder than needed.
• Plan when putting your groceries away.  Separate which products go into the fridge or freezer.  Then, only open each door once to put it all away.  This is much better than opening a door for each individual item.
• Keep the fridge at 36-38 degrees.  This is the sweet spot for energy efficiency.
• Check the seal around the door.  Make sure it is in good condition, seals all the way around, and that nothing is keeping the door from closing all the way.
• Let your leftovers cool on the counter before putting them in the fridge.  Putting hot food in the fridge is a sure way to increase your energy use.

With summer here, your fridge will get lots of use taking care of you by giving you cold drinks and ice to cool off.  Take care of your fridge by helping it to work as little as possible! For more information on choosing a fridge, view our Refrigerator Sizing & Buying Guide.

Stay green!

-Tim S.

Earth Week is a good time to look at what we all can do to help our planet. Often times, helping the planet also helps our pocket books! Take a moment to look at what is probably the most used piece of electronics in your home: The TV.

If you don’t need to buy a TV now, there are several things you can do to reduce how much energy you use watching TV:

1. Watch TV with a DVR. A digital video recorder allows you to record your favorite shows onto a hard drive. By doing this, you can watch your favorite TV shows and fast forward through the commercials. For every 30 minutes of programming on TV, there are 10 minutes of commercials. By fast forwarding through commercials, you can immediately cut how long your TV is on by 33%!

2. Do you fall asleep with the TV on in your bedroom? Most TVs have a sleep timer. Start using it when you go to bed and you’ll see a couple of benefits. First, the TV won’t wake you up at four in the morning when someone selling a Snuggy starts talking waaaay too loud. Second, you’ll eliminate the hours your TV is on when no one is actually watching it.

3. Check to see if your TV has a power saving mode. Many brands have included this feature lately. It reduces the brightness and power consumption of your TV. Turning it on makes the picture a little less bright, but the benefit is that the picture is often more realistic and has better depth.

4. Try and limit the number of TVs on at any given time. Watch TV as a family instead of everyone watching in different rooms. If you’ve got a family of four all watching four different TVs, only watching one TV cuts your energy consumption by 75%!

5 And, of course, there is the ever unpopular watch less TV! Maybe go outside and hug a few trees instead!

If you do need to buy a TV now, you should definitely check out the Sony environmental set or the Samsung LED sets. Those use the least power of any TV out there.

Happy energy savings, all!

By Tim S.