Smart Home

[Unorthodox]

...aaaaand I now officially have a ticking clock.  TV service ends on the 28th. 

[Lorizael]

What device do you use to do the streaming?  And how easy is it to find something if you don't KNOW which service it might be on?

My situation might not be generalizable. I just watch stuff on my laptop. Just recently I bought a chromecast so that I can stream to a TV, but in the past I've hooked my laptop up to the TV via HDMI cable or had a TV I could stick a USB drive in. As far as searching... I'm just googling, usually.

Is there a streaming box that does similar?

My parents have a Roku that does that. I know that's the idea behind Apple TV and similar options as well.

[Rusty Edge]

I only know about bundling landlines, cell phones, cable tv and internet and playing the companies against each other, old school. I'm of no use this time.

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On the Smart Home front- 
Actually, compared to how hard it was to set up, it hasn't been that much trouble with the power outages. I had to log into the ecobee and turn the Alexa feature on and off to restore voice control to the HVAC sytem, but you can still use the thermostat before you do that. Also, the smart vents and the bee sensors resync themselves when power comes back. I never did get the accursed doorbell resynched. On the other hand, it still functions as a conventional doorbell, and the flashing light which changes colors attracts the eye immediately. It lets you know there's a video doorbell actively dooing something, even though in this case it's simply having fits. 

Winter being what it is, I'm powering the roof cables rather than putting up Valentines Day lighting to ward off the gloom.

[Unorthodox]

Valentines day lighting? 

[Geo]

Valentines day lighting?

Heart-shaped skulls.

[E_T]

More likely, Skull Shaped Hearts...

[Rusty Edge]

Valentines day lighting?

I have some red LEDs for around the widows, front door and transom. Some red light-up plastic hearts with arrows through them to hang in the windows. I have some early white LEDs, too, but they are bluish in a starlight sort of way, so it doesn't look Valentine's day ( well actually they are supposed to be dual color blue or white.) I enjoy the red glow around the windows at night when I'm inside, and the red tint it gives the snow drifts.

The red strings can also turn green, and I have some electric shamrocks, too. But, because the weather has been harsh I didn't swap the Christmas lights. Or just add lights so that I could do the red/white& blue thing for President's Day and put up the electric American flags in the windows. I wouldn't want to be seen as celebrating [Sleezebag] anyway.

Actually, I haven't had the Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms this year. I credit extra vitamin D and fish oil. So, I haven't had as much of an urge to light. But the weather being as it is, I have greater need to run the roof and gutter cables to prevent ice dams. 

[Unorthodox]

Would it not be advantageous to procure some of the smart string lights, string them for the December holidays, and alter the color for the rest of winter, taking down after, say, Easter? 

(while the insert holiday C-lights is about as much my thing as making charlie brown characters for halloween, I do appreciate the time and effort involved.  I haven't seen anyone around these parts doing Valentines.) 

[Rusty Edge]

Would it not be advantageous to procure some of the smart string lights, string them for the December holidays, and alter the color for the rest of winter, taking down after, say, Easter? 

(while the insert holiday C-lights is about as much my thing as making charlie brown characters for halloween, I do appreciate the time and effort involved.  I haven't seen anyone around these parts doing Valentines.)

 Yes, at least for the windows and door on the front and one side. One thing about these LEDs, they last longer than I expected, even when the wind is beating on them. I kinda like to wear stuff out before replacing it. Probably a farmer's habit.   Well, I've saved money and frustration by finally learning to remove the shrub net lights shortly after the New Year. Normally the snow buries them in January and then the bunnies chew them just to floss their teeth.

[Lorizael]

Because I will soon have an apartment all to myself (no roommates!), I've decided to dip into the smart home thing with a Google Mini and devices that play well with Google Assistant. So far it's been fun and even mildly useful, but not without its complications and headaches.

Useful: I've programmed in a routine so that when I say, "Okay/hey google, nap time," it turns off the lights in my bedroom and sets an alarm to wake me up in an hour. Nice.

Not so useful, an episode from last night...

Me: Hey google, remind me to take out the trash tomorrow morning.

Google: Sure, I'll remind you tomorrow at 8:00 AM.

M: Remind me at 7 am.

G: Alright, tomorrow at 7:00 AM. What's the reminder?

M: Take out the trash.

G: Sure, I'll remind you tomorrow at 7:00 AM.

M: Cancel the 8 a.m. reminder.

G: OK, I'll remind you tomorrow at 7:00 AM.

M: What are my reminders?

G: You don't have any reminders for today.

M: Erase my reminders.

G: It looks like you have 3 reminders.

Which do you want to delete?

The one called "cancel the 8 a.m. reminder" for tomorrow at 7:00 AM, the one called "take out the trash" for tomorrow at 7:00 AM, or the one called "take out the trash" for tomorrow at 8:00 AM?

M: All of them.

G: Sorry, which did you want to cancel?

M: All.

G: I'm still not sure which one to cancel, so here are those choices again: "cancel the 8 a.m. reminder" for tomorrow at 7:00 AM, "take out the trash" for tomorrow at 7:00 AM, and "take out the trash" for tomorrow at 8:00 AM.

(You can also say, "never mind.")

M: Nevermind.

G: Alright, no problem.

M: What are my reminders for tomorrow?

G: You have 3 reminders: "cancel the 8 a.m. reminder" for tomorrow at 7:00 AM, "take out the trash" for tomorrow at 7:00 AM, and "take out the trash" for tomorrow at 8:00 AM.

M: Erase the reminder to take out the trash tomorrow at 8 a.m.

G: Since I don't know which one you meant, I won't make any changes. (I'm really sorry about that.)

M: Cool.

G: Anytime.

Then I went into the phone app and manually erased/set my reminders.

Semi-useful: This whole conversation was recorded, allowing me to reproduce it here.

[Elok]

It got bored, went on YouTube, and discovered the old "who's on first" routine.  This wasn't a very faithful replication, but as an AI it has a hard time with humor.

[E_T]

.... Third Base!!

[Lorizael]

I'll say this, though; I didn't forget to take out the trash this morning.

[Rusty Edge]

I'll say this, though; I didn't forget to take out the trash this morning.

When I first started reading your anecdote, I could relate it to my Alexa experience setting up a garbage reminder, but then you kept going... Clearly you win.

A voice assistant is handy for reminders, calculations, weather reports, timers, and spellings, I find. According to reviews, Googla excells at answering questions, while Alexa is better at human interface.

My wife mostly uses it for climate control, intercom, and tracking her packages from Amazon. I'm paying for a music service add-on, so I use it.

So Lori, do you have any Nest devices? How are they working out?

[Lorizael]

I don't have any Nest devices yet. I'll probably get some once I'm in the new apartment, but it'll depend on what management allows. Definitely want a thermostat, if I can replace whatever one they have, and maybe some of the door/window sensors.

Right now I have a smart plug for the lamp in my room and a chromecast for my TV. I can control both through the Google Home Mini, although I've found that it appears to be intentionally difficult to stream media you just plain own. It always wants to create a radio station based on the artist I told it to play or tell me I should subscribe to Google Music. There are workarounds (setting up playlists, giving very specific voice commands), but it's still a little annoying.

I'll also want to get a Roomba (or one of the other robovacs) once I've got my own place, which should work with google, too. And probably more lighting options, either via bulbs or plugs.