We have a pretty big apple tree in the back yard that Shirley planted when the boys were quite young. Over the years it has produced a lot of apples and this year has been no exception. In fact it’s probably been a bumper crop this year.
Picking has taken four half days and produced many 10lb bags that we’ve (Shirley) have given away. There were still some apples on the tree but I’d had enough with picking.
So, we went to the lake for 4 days and before leaving I’d cleaned up the yard and there were no apples on the ground. We came home to this.
Sadly, once the apples hit the ground they are bruised and not so nice or, half eaten by wasps and rabbits or just dissolved into mush.
With renewed energy I picked another 10 bags today. There are still a few (I hope it’s just a few, they are good at hiding) in really hard to get at places. But, I’m done. Nature you win
I’m beginning to get more and more interested in the Smart Home or home automation now that it seems like there is a unifying standard that is beginning to take hold with several of the big players in this market place.
So, what is a “Smart Home”? Well, according to these guys…
A smart home refers to a convenient home setup where appliances and devices can be automatically controlled remotely from anywhere with an internet connection using a mobile or other networked device. Devices in a smart home are interconnected through the internet, allowing the user to control functions such as security access to the home, temperature, lighting, and a home theater remotely.
It started innocently a couple of years ago with a spur of the moment decision to buy a Google Mini speaker which was followed by a couple of smart plugs. Nothing to crazy but when were watching TV in the basement it’s “Hey Google, turn on/off the lights”.
I started getting interested in upgrading my stereo, specifically the upstairs speakers in a way that would allow me to stream audio, initially Apple Music, to these existing speakers from the Pioneer receiver in the basement. However, the receiver is quite a few years old now and had no such capability. What to do? Well, a little internet searching and voila, a relatively inexpensive solution was found.
But in the meantime I was still contemplating updating the speakers, after all they are 15+ years old and a couple of things have changed over the years. With streaming in mind a new speakers had to work with Google and now more importantly with Airplay 2. More searching and product reviews on Airplay speakers etc. and the Sonos One was looking pretty good but pricey. Then I remembered that I’d looked a speakers in Ikea of all places and they have some bookshelf speakers that are Ikea branded Sonos products. The Ikea speakers had the features I was interested in and almost half the price of the Sonos One. This was on a Sunday and on the way to church we drive right by Ikea so a nice new pair of SYMFONISK wi-fi speakers came home with us.
SYMFONISK speakers
The setup of these speakers had a few bumps along the road but after doing a factory reset on both the install went flawlessly. Streaming away in stereo to my heart content. But hey, what about the old stereo receiver speakers?
Well, the Belkin SoundForm adapter arrived on Monday and gets hooked into the Pioneer receiver and now I have another Airplay streaming device that can send the audio to both downstairs and/or upstairs speakers. Very nice, but still a minor detail to be resolved to make them easier to use. The stereo upstairs speakers are powered by a separate pair of power amps that have to be turned on. While the Pioneer receiver and all it’s components can be managed from upstairs by the multi-room remote I got way back in the day, the separate power amps require a trip to the basement to power them on. Smart Home to the rescue.
I re-purposed one of the smart plugs from a light that I hardly ever used to the power amps in the basement. Now I can power up the amps and the Pioneer receiver from upstairs and stream whatever from the iPhone/iPad etc. to the upstairs stereo speakers in both the kitchen and/or living room. I’m liking this!
This Smart Home stuff is now looking pretty interesting! Remember the “unifying standard” that I mentioned at the start of this post? It’s “Matter” and “Thread” and Apple, Google, Amazon and others are rapidly adopting this standard in their software and hardware. A good article explains all this is on The Verge called “What matters about Matter the new smart home standard”
Matter is a common language for smart home devices designed to simplify everything about the smart home, from purchase to setup and everyday use. Its biggest promise is making smart devices work with each other across platforms and ecosystems, no matter who made them. No more checking for the “works with” HomeKit, Google Home, or Alexa badges — Matter devices work with all of them. It’s also entirely local, so gadgets should respond more quickly. Yes, Matter should make your smart light bulb work just as fast as your non-smart light switch.
Since retiring in 2017 I’ve switched away from PC products to Apple and over the years I’ve been getting in deeper and deeper. MacBook Pro, several iPhones, several iPads, a watch, TV, AirPods and several services.
Yesterday, I received a notification about my monthly bill for Google’s YouTube Music which we use because we have several Google Nest speakers around the house. It seemed a bit expensive. And now Google has opened up a bit and will support Apple Music. As it turns out Apple Music is a few dollars a month less that YouTube Music so the switch is on.
But hey, what about Apple One? I already have iCloud 200GB which is bundled, Music is in there, Arcade I don’t care about (I’d rather have News) and then there is TV+ which I’ve used on and off. Apple One seemed like a good deal for a couple of dollars more that YouTube Music.
Now we’re in very deep, guzzling the Kool-aid, and generally liking it!
