I’m not even sure.
I’ve got some lights that turn in when my alarm sounds in the morning. I’ve got some lights that turn on when the sun sets, and others that turn on when it rises. My thermostat knows to adjust the set point when no one is home, and my front door unlocks when I pull into the driveway.
Does that meant my home is smart? I’m not so sure
Continue reading “What makes a smart home?”A place for the grownups
The new house has both a family room and a living room, where the old house only had one, so I’ve been one entertainment system short since we moved. Also, my wife and I like to watch some things that a bit too adult for the wee ones, so it will be nice to be able to watch an episode of Vikings while they are playing on the Switch in another room
When I bought the seating last Christmas (we got volunteered to host and had ZERO furniture in the room) I decided that I was going to decorate this room.
I don’t believe there is a single room in the house that doesn’t have hand me down (or road side found) furniture. I want a room that looks designed & planned.
This is going to be a room for the grownups.
Continue reading “Living Room Update (part 1)”When you finally start looking at home automation, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of technology, platforms, protocols, and marketing hype. The goal is to make sure that you spend money on equipment that will work together and continue to be supported in the future.
As of January 2021, there are three major platforms – Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. There are probably hundreds of manufacturers who support some combination of these platforms. Personally, I use HomeKit with equipment from probably a dozen manufacturers.
Continue reading “Smart home platforms & protocols”This summer, as I invoked Siri to light up the dinner table on the patio, my father-in-law’s girlfriend said, “You have a smart house?”
I’ve never really thought about it, but I suppose I do. I’ve got lights that are tied to sunset & sunrise. I’ve got lights that turn on if the wife or I come home after dark. I can control the HVAC system from anywhere in the world.
It’s not something that I consciously set out to do, it just slowly happened over a course of several years. In this post I’ll describe some of the lessons about “smart homes” that I’ve learned the hard way over the years.
Continue reading “Adding smarts to an old house”I read an article years ago (can’t find it now) about using two checking accounts to simplify and automate your finances. After trying to explain it to a friend recently, I decided to write it down.
This financial hack will make it easier to pay all your bills on time without any ongoing effort, thought or stress on your part.
Continue reading “Automate your bills – The two bucket method to reduce monthly bill paying stress”Shortly after we moved to the new house, I spotted this stone in the woods behind my house. Originally, I planned to haul it out of the woods when we replaced the fence, but since the fence was down for the mulberry tree, I moved up the time table.
It took me a few hours with the come-along to get this stone out of the woods, now I need to get it to the front yard
Continue reading “Getting stone(d)”Used the chainsaw caddy today for the first time. Not only was it phenomenal to be able to grab all the bits & bobs at once, there were two unexpected bonus features.
Continue reading “Chainsaw Caddy (Use notes)”This didn’t work out as well as I hoped. I’ll probably end up modifying the design to improve the performance. It may also be that the gutters were too clogged and that this tool will work fine if it’s used on 4-6 months worth of debris as opposed to several years.
At two hours, this takes too long to cook during the week, but it is quick enough that you can do things on a Saturday and still have time to enjoy a bird roasted over charcoal.
*hat tip to Dennis Leary for the title.
With an eight-year -old and a six-year-old, I can’t believe how long it took me to figure this out. Anyone with children knows the pain of loud toys, especially early in the morning.
Continue reading “The toys that make noise*”
Modern Anachronist 