• 4 Posts
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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 2nd, 2023

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  • I’ve thought more on this yesterday, and I think my issue is-

    I don’t want something that ‘just works’, I want to BUILD something that ‘just works’

    The distinction is that I don’t want to buy premade solutions. I want to make them. Not because of the customizability, but because the fun is in the building. Think Lego- hundreds of people build the exact same product in the end, but why are they sold in pieces? Just assemble the damn things and sell them complete (with markup). You think more people wanna buy that?? I’d bet against it.


  • Hard agree. In fact, I think there’s a market for JUST the guides. It’s true that there’s a TON of guides out there already, from old blogs to YouTube, but the issue is: all of them start or end with: “your use case might differ, so perhaps this solution isn’t for you.” Or “make sure this setup is compatible with your specific hardware”

    For example: I want to set up some sort of backup/cloud storage type system. Well there’s about 1400 ways to accomplish that. I can easily just grab one and go, but I’ll always wonder- should I have done this a different way? Would my life be easier/more secure if I chose a different set up?

    So offering hardware that is compatible with whatever “stack” of services included would be a huge plus. Sorta like getting a raspberry pi and following a specific raspberry pi tutorial- you know the issues you get aren’t gonna be due to incompatibility.

    I think it really boils down to the scale of one’s home lab- are you just tinkering to get some skills and make something cool? Or are you hoping to do something much much bigger? Different software solutions fit those extremes differently.

    Sorry, got off rambling there. I guess I’ve been down the home lab hardware/software wormhole for too long these last few weeks.











  • This is an instance where I think the folks at nobu casa (paid branch of home assistant development) could dedicate some resources to hardware. Instead of the prebuilt SBC stuff like HA-blue, or yellow or whatever. Create an esp device that just has a reliable microphone, and crank them out. I’d buy one for every room in my house!

    I’ve got an esp army in my greenhouse that runs wLED, and one of them has a mic for doing the sound reactive display stuff, but it’s running wLED, not ESPHome… I wonder how easy it would be to just slap a digital mic on some of the other esp things I’ve got floating around?


  • Nice, I like that Time article better. It reinforces the GINI articles analysis: middle class folks wages didn’t go up with lower class wages. I think that’s sorta a good thing? Ideally the top 10% would not grow, but the bottom 90% would. But help getting to the bottom 50% is definitely not a bad thing.

    Also, I never said the income inequality growth is Biden’s fault. But more that it’s the reason all these articles about how good the “economy” is doing might not be seen in the same light by people who are still struggling.

    We can do better, and I think closing that gap is everyone’s goal, but the methods to achieve it can vary wildly.


  • Thank you for the sources. Some comments:

    1. I don’t think a narrowing of the income inequality between races is the same as a generalized reduction in income inequality across a whole nation. Yes it probably contributes, but it doesn’t tell the story.
    2. your article on GINI tells the exact opposite story that you’re saying here. The headline says it all: pre-tax income inequality has fallen slightly (1.2% or so) but after people pay taxes, the income inequality actually ROSE!! Easily demonstrating the regressive nature of the tax structure. The article mentions some expiring tax breaks for low income households.

  • Thanks for this. I guess I should have expected that answer. Bluetooth in general already tests my patience, so I’m not sure a new project revolving around things that already piss me off would be a smart move for my already rising blood pressure.

    I’ll stay tuned to that protocol though, as it could probably help me in some other less complicated projects I’d like to tackle.


  • I’ve never heard of someone doing something like this before, but it sounds like it could have some pretty cool downstream applications (thinking Bluetooth speakers)

    With your setup would it be possible to pair your headphones to your phone (iPhone in my case) and be able to pass audio from different computers to a central one that my phone could then relay to my headphones?

    I often walk around my house/yard while listening to something playing on my laptop/desktop. And if I get too far from the source, it breaks the Bluetooth connection. So I usually end up having to drag my laptop around the yard with me. A much nicer solution would be to have my phone on my person, and use the wifi to keep connected to my “audio source” without needing proximity to the actual pc playing the sound.



  • That makes sense. Can’t you give PSE a call and see what the schedule is?

    Otherwise you could check what the cash price is anyway, and use a HELOC or personal loan to get a fixed interest rate (this really only makes sense if you’re serious about paying it off quickly)

    But seriously ask about the “cash price”. Because I was shocked at how much more the principle is on the financing offered through the Solar company. It seems solar companies are partnered with financing companies to make the monthly price palatable for larger groups of customers.


  • What’s with the financing? 0%-11%

    Is the rate adjustable?

    Ask for the cash price and see what the actual interest rate is. Generally the financed price is higher, and the interest rate is low. But if you’re planning to pay it off in 2 years, you might be better off saving up and buying in cash.

    That’s just been my experience (oregon, not Washington)


  • I’m missing your point. Do you think that moving the clocks is having an effect on the tilt of the earth? Or are you just trying to explain to me how daylength and latitude are related?

    I know quite well how dark it gets in the north. I live in the north. Luckily, the sun still rises and sets at very predictable intervals. If I want to enjoy sunlight, I simply need to be awake at some point that coincides with when the sun is up.

    You are also aware that not everyone works the exact same hours, right? And windows exist?

    Use a different example to make the opposite point: I’d like the sun to be out for at least an hour after I get home from my “9-5”, so if the sun sets at 1700 I’m standard time, I am depressed. But in DST, I get to spend an hour in my garden.

    See? The debate is stupid. Do you want more daylight in the morning or afternoon. That’s the only question. The amount of daylight is not affected by clocks.