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| March '04 newsletter: the X10 Files
If you can Automate your Home, you might (not) be a redneck.
Sometimes it just takes a while to get everything together. I moved into this newly built house almost two years ago now - and it still isn't really newly built. It's only almost newly built. Though right now it's almoster than it's ever been before. One thing I accomplished last week is to finally get my driveway sensor hooked up. Well, almost. I have the thing installed next to my Stargate, and it beeps reliably when a car pulls in to the drive. I still have to run an 18-inch long piece of cable to interface it with the rest of my system. Why do I delay such an elementary task, you may wonder? The answer to that is unnecessarily complex (I've been married for 20-something years, you see). I have always enjoyed having "fun" with my automation skills. For instance, somewhere on the web I found a guy who could do great imitations of other people (wish I could remember where). Anyway, he produced a .wav file for me using the personality of Forrest Gimp (as he called him). Forrest faithfully reminds me to take the trash out on Monday nights. My wife Linda isn't crazy about Forrest. When caller ID recognizes a call from my wife's sister, a funny (at least I thought so), though perhaps unflattering (according to someBODY) sound is heard from our house audio speakers. Linda isn't crazy about that, either; but "Gee," I said, "it's only to let us know who's calling." She apparently thinks that such novelties are "redneck." Well, I'm not a redneck. I could go on and on with the fun that you, too, could have with your automation system, and the hours of challenging discussion it can provoke among your loved ones - but at this point, you probably think that I'm talking much too much about myself. So let me move on to give you a few ideas about how you can begin to develop your own suave, urban, and sophisticated system. Let it never be said that I recommend a redneck design. Still, I'd like to know what's wrong with being a redneck? If I were. Which I'm not.
In all seriousness, you really can do your family a big favor by taking a few steps to ensure their safety. Simple measures like X10 floodlights outside the house can make for a safer environment after dark. A camera mounted outside the front door will let you (or your kids or wife) see who's ringing the bell before opening the door. Even better, some means of verbal (as well as visual) communication from inside will add tremendously to everyone's peace of mind. Check out this link for a simple standalone system that will do just that for you. There are a billion and twelve simple things you can do to improve security and convenience around your home (relax - I won't itemize). A little surfing around www.SmarthomeUSA.com will provide you with more than enough ideas. And the one thing that I always say (in fact, this could become my "mantra"): YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN EXPERT in home automation to pull this off! You'll probably find too, that as you become familiar with the possibilities, your confidence and desire to do more will grow. In the process of making home a safer place, it becomes a natural step to use the same processes to increase convenience. It works the other way around, too. As you add "convenience" features to your system, it often follows that security grows right along with it. For instance, my outside cameras, driveway sensor, and front door motion sensor were really installed as conveniences. It's nice to have 60 seconds or so advance notice when guests are about to arrive; and we actually live in a pretty safe area, so security wasn't a major concern. However, these devices serve both purposes nicely. The one thing that you might want to be thinking about as you get into all of this is how far you might eventually go. As I said, you can do numerous simple things with standalone devices. In the long run, if you're going to do very much, you might be better off basing the whole design around a central brain. That way, you don't have to buy "intelligence" multiple times. Simpler devices can be connected to a single smart controller. I make no secret that I'm a Stargate fan, but there are other less expensive ways of centralizing your automation. Homeseer is a great software-based system, Elk makes modules that can be programmed from your PC, Adicon, HAL .... lots of stuff. You just need to compare the features with your budget and decide what's right for you. If you were interested in pursuing the Stargate route (my method of choice), Integrating the Smart Home & its Owner will provide you with lots of detail on how to put a flexible system together. By the way: guess I never dealt with the question of why I've delayed interfacing the driveway sensor with the rest of the house: I'm just not sure what I want (dare) to happen when it detects a car. Linda already doesn't like the beeping sound it makes by default. Well, now - I can easily disable that and initiate some other event. But for that matter, she doesn't like the beep that plays when the motion sensor at the front door detects movement outside. I'm just not sure what to do anymore. This has the potential of putting a serious damper on my fun. Might be that her nerves are just a little on edge from all my experimentation.
Can somebody please tell me what's redneck about a beep? And heck, it's not even possible for a redneck to have a mantra, is it?
Till next time, Andy Jackson, to unsubscribe send an email to unsubscribe@integratorpro.com
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