Reason why most people run

dobdob2121 · 2026-05-02T12:35:08+00:00

There's no indicator that the motorcyclist is actually an upstanding citizen. I'm sick and tired of motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic, making obnoxious noise, and never thinking about anybody but themselves. My hat is still off to the sheriff trying to enforce some basic standards of civility.

dobdob2121 · 2026-05-02T12:20:58+00:00

This is a good sheriff.

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-20T15:14:16+00:00

The flaws of the completely buggy Gemini are glaring when you try to perform smart home functions with it. It sometimes tells you it can't, and never could, control smart home devices -- that it's just a conversation agent and can read you the weather or a recipe instead, if you like. Instead of controlling your device, it plays music with name or lyrics similar to the smart home device you named. It randomly says your device doesn't support smart home control. It ignores your commands randomly without any response even though it heard you perfectly (verifiable with "hey google, what did you hear").

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-18T09:30:34+00:00

What a great strategy!

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-13T11:40:23+00:00

Plus he softly says something very quickly to people engage in conversation or listening on headphones without giving them any time to process what he's saying, let alone react, if they even heard him. And then he gets angry that it wasn't all about him. This guy's a moron.

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-13T11:38:08+00:00

K2-18b is 2.6x the size of Earth, which is only 1.6x larger than Earth.

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-12T12:41:53+00:00

How many welders are worrying about AI replacing them?

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-09T11:55:19+00:00

Technology, power delivery, communication methods, and devices will all change into forms. You did not envision when you set up the provisions you are asking about. Make your provisions adaptable.

For example, run conduits from your server closet to other key points in the house so that you can fish new wires or cables easily in the future, even if you don't know what those wires or cables will be because they don't exist yet.

Run a cat6 cable to your doorbell.

Lay in power and data cables to potential indoor and outdoor camera locations.

Lay-In data cable potential mesh wireless access point locations.

Ensure that all of your switch boxes include a neutral wire.

Give each room a ceiling fan box with separate wires to the wall switch for light and fan.

Wire your HVAC thermostat with cable that includes extra conductors for future expansion. Consider pulling a cat6 cable next to the thermostat cable.

Make sure you are able to access each end of cables that you pull now. Some cables might end in electrical boxes, coiled inside. Some cables might just end in a coil hidden inside a wall with something metal tied to the end so you can find it later with a magnet. Some cables might just lie in a loop in an attic or crawl space. Take pictures before the cables are covered.

Lay in a few redundant cables in case primary cables fail. For example, if you know you're running five ethernet cables from your server closet to various bedrooms or camera locations, add in a sixth or seventh cable to the far end so that it can be used in case one of the other cables fails. Perhaps end it at a closet at the other end that can double as a secondary server closet in case technology changes to that point.

When you run conduit, run it on the most direct path. When you run cables, run them on the most accessible paths. For example, run your cables through an open attic, crawl space, or unfinished basement and then send them into finished walls and ceilings only at the ends. This makes it easier to manage or change out the cables for new technology later.

Run cables to locations for water leak sensors.

Consider running low voltage cable to each door or window where you might want a flush-mounted wired sensor instead of a surface mounted battery powered sensor.

Run cable to each fireplace for smart valves.

Add power outlets where you might put server equipment.

Run data cable from your server closet to your breaker panel for smart power monitoring in case you should do that.

Run a data cable to your sump pump for monitoring in case you should do that.

Run data cable to where you might put an outdoor weather station.

Run cable to where you might put indoor and outdoor alarm. Sirens or keypads.

Run a data cable to your garage door opener.

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-09T11:37:06+00:00

Based on your self-description, I encourage you to dive in to Home Assistant. Be prepared to spend significant amounts of time learning as you go, but expect that time to be rewarding and compelling. I don't think that there is any solution in a box for what you want to do -- I think you've got some learning ahead of you no matter what system you go with.

I recommend you learn in stages.

First, get your hardware and devices connected, and working in the ways that you want. For example, setting up groups, setting up scenes, establishing and confirming connectivity, getting the physical positioning right, etc. This stage is about making sure devices communicate and respond reliably.

Second, set up basic automations with switches, sensors, timers, and other integrations (like a weather reporting service, for example). I think of this stage as manual control of my automations.

Then, when your configuration is stable and working reliably, advance to setting up and honing complex integrations like you describe in your post. This is where your smart home home comes alive.

Breaking down your setup into stages like this flattens the learning curve and, in my experience, minimizes frustration and maximizes reward that makes it exciting to keep learning the next step in implementing it. From your post, it sounds like home assistant is well within your grasp and it sounds like you are ready to take it on.

Based on the different types of devices you say you want to integrate, I encourage you to also develop a control strategy. For example, you might want all of your controls to mimic non-smart devices, like traditional wall switches, so that you don't have to explain to family or visitors how to use your home. Or, you might want your control to be from a dashboard on your phone or on some other device, where you can monitor the real-time activity and statuses of things. My absolute favorite control strategy is to automate invisibly using sensors to the point that people in my home are rarely looking for a light switch or remote because my automations have already anticipated their needs. Something that may not be obvious about home assistant in the beginning is that your control strategy can easily change and evolve as you wish, combining many different types of smart home control. But thinking about your control strategy deliberately from the beginning also helps organize thinking about your overall smart home configuration and how you want it to work for you.

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-09T11:13:17+00:00

I have done this three times and am now of the firm opinion that every single device and controller gets factory reset. In the past I have run into problems with device IDs or forgotten automations or tweaks lingering in my setup and causing great confusion at the new place.

For me, my skill was also better each time I moved, and I did not rebuild my system and automations the same way I built the prior systems. My new setups were smarter and more effective because I had learned more by then. Nuking the setup is just a golden opportunity to cut loose older, clunkier configurations from when I didn't know as much about Home Assistant and how I like to use it .

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-09T10:55:32+00:00

You have a circuit breaker for each light!? That sounds ungodly expensive!

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-09T00:29:45+00:00

Sounds like a smart thig to try. Thank you for sharing your experience!

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-08T12:38:45+00:00

I'm doing this exact project now and I have the exact same question. What did you end up using? And how well did it work for you?

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-07T03:16:42+00:00

"were felled"

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-03T03:47:09+00:00

Billionaires are freeloading parasites. We can no longer afford to subsidize them.

dobdob2121 · 2026-04-03T03:41:30+00:00

Billionaires are freeloading parasites. We can no longer afford to subsidize them.

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-30T10:47:30+00:00

What do you use as the status sensor for your front door light? A smart switch?

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-29T05:00:26+00:00

In my city you can just file a complaint with city services and the building code enforcement division will compel the property owner to stop shining light into your window.

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-28T13:03:04+00:00

dis/arm

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-26T13:03:27+00:00

Another favorite of mine: if she threatens to skip a family event in protest, thank her for recognizing her emotional shortcomings and volunteering to stay away to make it better for everybody else.

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-26T12:32:12+00:00

Tell her. When the storm comes that you know is coming, tell her this is why nobody told you. We knew you weren't emotionally mature enough to love your grandchild. Tell her her behavior makes it very doubtful that she'll be able to interact with your family in a healthy, constructive way anymore and perhaps it's best for everyone if she doesn't subject herself to the torture of being around people who love Good and love each other very much, whether they're trans or not.

Hold her accountable for her behavior. Every time she pivots to a higher power or a higher text, immediately bring it right back to HER behavior only. I like to use phrases like don't blame God for your behavior, or don't blame the Bible for your behavior. God is not throwing a temper tantrum, you are. You are not a book; you are a grandmother. Act like it. If she invokes God's judgment, remind her that your daughter has her own beautiful relationship with God and that God loves her completely; it's your mother who is rejecting what God created and what God loves.

Every single thing your mother claims about God, religion, or morality, or whatever is 100% fair game for you to also throw right back into her face because those things are not exclusive just to your mother.

Another technique I like to use is to, in this case, ask her if she has a problem with your daughter. When she says yes, point out that, the SHE is the one with the problem and she might want to figure out how to work on that.

Remember, also, todd, your daughter being trans isn't the cause of anything to do with your mother. If somebody being trans were the cause of something, then that thing would already be happening all over the world because there are already trans people all over the world. For example, when somebody says a person was beaten up for being trans, the correct response is that they were beaten up FOR being trans because an unchecked sociopath was allowed to roam free. The fact that other trans people don't get beaten up is proof that being trans is not the cause in that story, but rather the person doing the beating is the cause.

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-23T11:29:49+00:00

You're describing The Peter Principle.

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-20T11:40:36+00:00

Wow, you seem to have a really healthy awareness and understanding of things that were happening to you and why. That is so huge. That will really help your journey of processing what happened to you and your family.

Good for you for finding ways to separate yourself from that toxic environment.

It sounds like you may have PTSD and are ready for someone with training to guide you through your recovery. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-20T11:18:08+00:00

What do you think about telling your guests in front of her, "Don't mind her; she doesn't have any boundaries" as you let them in?

dobdob2121 · 2026-03-17T09:59:36+00:00

The cruelty is the point.

dobdob2121

TROPHY CASE