The Visits

As he finished up his visit, the old man struggled to get back up off bent knee. Time had ravaged his bones, but his memory was still strong. The long walk back to his old pickup truck was getting harder each time, but it was well worth the trouble.  

Sometimes the visit was rather short, but usually there was much to talk about. This visit was a longer one, thus the extra struggle to get upright.

There were decades of memories to talk about. Good memories, struggles, and golden moments of the past to talk about. Time seemed to move quicker and quicker as he aged, but the memories were still strong, even long years later, and the emotions still tugged on his heart.

This time the discussion centered on the early years, the fun times of youth, the magic of not knowing what the future held. Time talking about how wonderful things had turned out, the fun times had, and the wonders of life experienced. Those times may be long past, but they were a joy to reminisce about.

As the old man finally made his way to his old truck, a tear flowed down his cheek and the emotions of a lost love came bellowing up. This visit was over, but there would be more, as he will never forget his lost love and soul mate that left his life too soon.

Missing Li Li (Lee Lee)

 

This little guy would have been 16 years old today, if we wouldn’t have had to let him go last December 6^th. Li, or “Lee-Lee”, as I usually called him, was a good friend, part of our family, and a “good boy”. He spent his whole life with us, and we spent nearly nearly a quarter of our lives with him. From a fun, fluffy puppy, to sometimes a grumpy old man, Li was a good dog, friend, and companion. Like a lot of guys, he wanted to be close, but not too close. He always hung around us, slept in our bed, and followed us around the house, but wasn’t a big fan of close up loving.

His ashes now sit in the corner in a small wooden box along with a tuft of his hair, his collar, a paw print, and his little stuffed dog. He kept and played with that little stuffed dog his whole life. The stuffed dog was bigger than he was early on, but he quickly outgrew it, and even when he was old, he would still pick out that toy among all the others to play with. He was really in pretty good health up until the last week of his life, still trotting around outside with his show dog looking prance, playing with that toy even by himself, and keeping us entertained and loved. I should feel blessed we were able to spent that much time with out little man, but there hasn’t been enough time pass for that phase yet.

As I age out, it’s obvious that I appreciate the little things like our pets, more and more. The more you see the end of your time coming, the more you understand how fleeting life really is, the more you wonder if you appreciated the past like you should have, and the more you realize that all good things come to an end eventually. Time heals all, but we should never forget the joys we have everyday, from family, friends, and even our precious fur babies. Thanks for the memories Li!

Remembering 2024

Last day of 2024. Where did it go? We lost Ginger, Bruno, and Li Li this year and nearly lost my mother, which makes it harder to say it was a good year. I’m here, apparently healthy, and still enjoying my life and nearly every day, so I need to be grateful for what God has given me.

Years move much faster the older you get. Those goals and plans for the year go unattended to rather quickly. Although I can’t say I accomplished a lot, I did get to live another year, enjoy time with friends and family, and time alone when I wanted it. Twenty twenty four may not have been a great year overall, but I do appreciate being able to actually live it.

I always try to be optimistic, so I generally assume things will be better in the future, and the reality is they usually are in the longer run. Time heals losses, but time steals the future as well if you aren’t paying attention. Enjoy today, plan tomorrow, and remember this year for what it was in your life is all I can really say. On to Twenty Twenty Five.

Bruno Growing Old

 

Growing old is one of the many things you can’t explain to others, you just have to experience it, if you’re lucky enough to actually experience it that is. Your mind doesn’t seem to age as much as your body does. The older I get, the more I recognize aging in everything, but especially in our pets. It’s hard watching our parents age, but in most cases we can talk with them, understand how they are coping or not, and at least try to help them mentally. With our pets, I just see an innocent life long friend, at least for their life usually, who doesn’t understand why he or she can’t jump on the couch, run through the yard, or simply walk a straight line anymore. They look to you for their everything; food, water, loving, attention and in many cases their survival, but you really can’t help them understand aging.

Bruno came into our lives many years ago through our son. He spent a year or so living with us while our son was in college, so I had time to really bond with him, and we became friends. It was actually difficult letting him go back to live with our son back then because we had become so close. As we recently visited Bruno, and our son, daughter-in-law, and grand daughter, I watched sadly as Bruno slowed down from his rambunctious young years of playing tug of war with me and inflecting some scars I still carry today from our rough housing. He was a very loving guy, but was also quite a rough play friend.

Recently, we dog sat Bruno and Pivot while our kids were taking a short trip, and it broke my heart seeing the fearless, rough housing Bruno unable to jump and have fun like he used to. Watching him struggle to simply get up on a low chair, walking with much difficulty, and just struggling to get up and move was hard. It was hard on me watching, and I know it was hard on him physically. I would imagine it is hard on him mentally as well. Surely he still had memories of younger days just like we do, when he could rule the house, rip the toy from my hand, and get around with ease.

I’m glad I was able to spend time with Bruno those last few days he was here. I helped him into my chair when he worked so hard to walk over to me during that visit and wanted up. He laid on me and looked up at me just like we did many times before. He and I took time laying around outside just soaking in the times together and I know at least I was reminiscing about our old times. Maybe he was too, I’ll never know for sure. Seeing him was hard, but knowing the inevitable was harder I guess. Even with that, hearing the news that Bruno passed on November 19^th, 2024 still hurt my heart. Even more so knowing our son, daughter in law, and grand daughter had lost part of their family that day. I lost an old friend myself. Rest easy Bruno, rest easy.

 

Remembering Ginger

January 8^th, 2024

From the first time I saw your picture shared at the rescue, I told Karen we have to get this dog. I can’t say why I felt like that, it just struck my heart. We made the contacts and it wasn’t too long before you were in our home doing zoomies when you ran into our living room and into our hearts on that February 2012 day.

You were always the sweetie, but also the sneaky one, stealing toys from your brother Li. We were able to enjoy nearly twelve years with you, snuggling with you, loving you, and watching you run, play and be the active one.

Always the picky eater, you drove your brother crazy long after he had scarfed down his own food and thinking he should get yours too. You shared your love with us, but also scared us when you’d run out of the house when the front door was opened even slightly. When you disappeared from my mother’s yard one Thanksgiving day, we grieved and searched frantically until mom’s neighbor came carrying you up to us having found you in their garage.

Life is short and it was hard to watch you begin to age with kidney problems and slow down from your usual fast pace. However, each day was enjoyed and appreciated as you snuggled up in our bed at night. Once the picky eating turned into no appetite, we knew in our heads your time was near, but it still doesn’t stop the heart from hurting.

Karen snuggled you in her chair during your last days, and I carried you around our land trying to let you see the outside world you used to enjoy when you could run away  mocking us slow humans trying to catch up with you.

You enlightened our lives, kept your brother busy, and gave us unquestioned love. 

We hope you enjoyed your time with us, as much as we enjoyed it with you. We will miss you, girl.

Lessons of Appreciation

It’s interesting how we tend to take things for granted in our lives. We don’t notice it until it’s gone, which is quite a shame. From relationships, to housing, jobs and careers, friendships, and family, we really do not often consider what we have until it’s gone.

When a storm recently knocked the electricity out at our house, I couldn’t count the times I automatically turned on a light switch thinking the light would come on like it always has. Luckily we have a generator that can power key portions of our house, but it’s still odd how I flick those switches in the areas that don’t have power.

One of the most common situations we take for granted is our health. When we are healthy, we don’t even consider being unhealthy. I know personally, I never had second thoughts about walking and getting around until my hips began to fail. Even today, as I recover from my second hip replacement, I watch people get up and simply walk, and immediately understand how lucky they actually are.

As I continue to improve, I hope I can remember what it was like not being able to easily walk without a cane or walker and hold that privilege closer in the future. Look around, you likely have many things are well that you won’t appreciate until they are gone. Appreciate them today, just in case.

Let the New Year Begin – Welcome 2022

Well it’s over – 2021 is past history. Good, bad, ugly, or wonderful, those times are gone and we start our new adventures now. Personally 2021 wasn’t a bad year. I did try to “enjoy every day” and tried to fill my time with as many things I like doing as possible. I was slowed down greatly by advancing osteoarthritis in the process, but kept on keeping on as best as possible. The last two weeks were the toughest with my hip replacement and starting that recovery, but again I feel I was lucky and just took each day as it came, easy or hard.

Twenty twenty one did present some insane changes around the globe. Especially scary trends towards dystopian societies with obvious government over reach forcing people to make decisions of liberty versus livelihood. Decisions people should never have to make, especially in a “free” country such as the United States. Will we recover from this in twenty twenty two, or is this the trend that is now accepted by society as the new normal? We can only hope and pray freedom and liberty wins in the end.

I continue to feel very fortunate that I have the benefit of being retired and not in the mess of choosing liberty over livelihood. I also feel lucky I live in an area that isn’t quite as insanely bent on controlling the people like many areas around our nation an world. But things can change quickly, so I plan to continue to be prepared for the worst, while planning for the best for 2022.

My goals for 2022 are pretty simple; Enjoy Every Day doing the things that I like doing as much as possible. There is likely another hip replacement in my future, but I will deal with that when I’m ready to hopefully. I love my hobbies, or interest and am thankful and happy I have the ability to work and enjoy them. My newest hobby will be learning the ropes of my little CNC router and finding uses for it, but the cars, motorcycles, 3D printers, home automation, solar power, gardening, writing, robots, electronics, bicycles, RC cars, and more will hopefully all be in the mix as well.

Welcome 2022 – Let’s get rolling and pray for the best possible outcome!

Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer... 

Divide by RACE, pitch the blacks against the whites, the natives against the non natives, the east against the west.

Divide by AGE, pitch the young against the old, the boomers vs the hipsters, the babies against the abortionist.

Divide by ECONOMICS, pitch the rich against the poor, the entitled against the workers, the middle class against the rest.

Divide by POLITICS, pitch the left against the right, the capitalist against the socialist, the anarchist against the communistic.

Divide by HEALTH, pitch the frail against the healthy, the fear mongers against the conspirators, the logical against the emotional, use the pandemic to it’s full fear factor.

Divide by MASKING, shame people who do, shame people who do not. Make it required by law even though loads of evidence state otherwise.

Divide by RELIGION, Christians are the current targets. Shame them for their beliefs, force them to “bake the cake”.

Divide by Vaccines, make the un-vaccinated second class citizens, shame them for their “selfishness”, generate fake hate between the sides.

Divide by GEOGRAPHY, big dirty urban vs hillbilly rural, make them hate each other for all their various differences, instead of common beliefs.

Divide by FEAR, keep the public afraid of anything and everything. A citizenship shaking in fear mongering of all types is less likely to come together and fight the true threat.

Divide by the PAST, stir up the hate, make it personal, offer rewards for the past transgressions than none of the living experienced to keep the hate alive.

The can be NO balance, races must hate each other although they rarely do. Ages cannot work together, although they have for eons, the rich can’t help the poor and the poor can’t help themselves, although one can rise above being poor and the rich do share their wealth. The left hates the right and the right hates the left, there is no compromise, although the best times have been achieved through balance and compromise.

Make sure the healthy are shamed for not protecting themselves, or protecting everything else by their personal actions, even though true science proves neither. You’re an idiot if you don’t mask, but only idiots wear masks, but a personal choice makes the most sense. You must be vaccinated, but the cure has caused more damage than all past cures combined. 

The city sucks with the most homeless and crime, but those rural rednecks are a threat to the nation, but the nation is great because we have had both to support each other. Make sure and drag up the past as something evil and dangerous to the present. Erase the history to protect the future, although the history will be repeated without the knowledge of the past.

But most important of all is divide by FEAR, fear of national security, fear of health, fear of the future, fear of the past, fear of the government, fear of your neighbor. You must continue to be afraid, very afraid, and the government will come to your rescue. However, that “rescue” will be complete control of your life, your travel, your money, and eventually your mind.

Divide and Conquer, Divided We Fall. 

What will it take to become “United We Stand” again?

Land of Equal - Opportunity, Not Life

It seems that too many Americans have forgotten what this country was built on in my opinion. The entitlement mindset is quickly taking over our nation, and apparently our world as individuals believe they are "owed" something in life. One would think this would be unique to to the U.S. but it is quickly becoming a world wild downward slid.

That mindset quickly leads to a lazy ass world where people think someone ELSE is supposed to take care of their needs and generally that someone else appears to be the "government". This country was founded on hard work, individualism, and persistence and without that mindset I think we will quickly fall into yet another "3rd world" country that can't support themselves much less others.

This is indicative not just economically but in many other areas as well. We want a pill to fix all our health issues instead of taking on the responsibility of our own health. It's someone else's fault that we are mad, or sad, or hurt, or even happy anymore. It's someone else's fault I can't get a job, not that I have no skills or a degree that is useless in a productive world. It's the policeman's fault I'm in trouble because he caught me, not like I was doing illegal things. It's the judges fault I'm in prison. It's the legal gun owners or NRA's fault some idiot killed someone. The list goes on.

I hear these things daily and it's full blown entitlement and lack of self responsibility. It's also the easy way out, which is why it's likely so popular as we have fallen from a nation of self support, self confidence, and self building to it's someone else's job to do it.

No easy fix in sight either which is the worse part of the situation. My two and 1/2 cents...

Don't Be Stupid

In today's world it seems every time there is some problem, some concern, something different that people don't like some lawmaker somewhere comes up with a new law to address it. We are a country of millions of laws... literally. Nobody knows them all and I'd imagine we all be surprised at how few are enforced.

With all these laws in place and all the law makers trying to keep us all "legal", it seems to me nearly all of these could be fixed with one single law...

"Don't be stupid"

That seems to sum up all that is needed to function as a society. Think about how that can be applied across the board.

Don't be stupid and kill people.
Don't be stupid and steal stuff.
Don't be stupid and cheat.
Don't be stupid and hurt anyone.
Don't be stupid.

Just Don't be stupid- fixes a lot of the worlds problems.

Not like that's going to happen but seems to be a solution.

It's The Process That Counts

I've now spent about 60 years on this big round ball (yeah, I'm not giving into the flat earth stuff yet) and have completed a few things during that time. With "things" being jobs, projects, goals, challenges and more. I've built things, broke things, fixed things, rebuilt things, re-broke things, explored new things, enjoyed old things, and tried new things. These things range from bicycles, Lego animation, go karts, old cars, motorcycles, automated homes, big and small computer networks, dynamic websites, patios, carports, computers, robots, 3D printers, relationships, policies, processes, and beyond.

I've found for my purpose, it's not the end result thing that counts, it's the process of getting there. Figuring out the process, finding the right design, making the new part, making it all work out, getting the right algorithm, assembling the code or finished up parts, or working through the wording on that new policy, is the part I actually enjoy, usually more than using the finished "thing". It's not that I don't want or enjoy the end result, be it a paper, car, bot, process, computer or whatever, it's just that getting there was as much or more fun than the results often to me.

I guess that's a good thing since, as in life, getting to the end isn't the real goal. I'm glad I never felt I was only "working for retirement". I worked for 45 years from car hop, cashier/sacker to outside plant engineer and on to Chief Information Officer, but enjoyed each of those stops along the way and what was involved in making each job work the best it could. I remember working on Long Range Outside Plant Plans (LROPPs) for many Bell wire centers and, although I was happy to be finished with each, the end product didn't have as much meaning to me as the working through the process.

Interestingly enough, in the Information Systems career that followed, the end result of your work had a very short "shelf life" so the job required constant "processing" to keep it updated and relevant. Maybe that is why I liked it as much as I did. The same feeling is there for cars, bikes, robots, and more. The end result is cool and fun, but the process was the most fun.

I'm glad I enjoyed the process of life so far, and hope to enjoy the process of retirement for some time to come. In reality, life is just a series of "now" moments strung through seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and decades, so life's plan really should be "enjoy each day" ... and the "process" of that day you have been given.

-Stephen W Nolen

Saying Goodbye to the City

When I walked through the City of Shawnee Oklahoma City Hall doors on January 10th, 2000, and sat waiting for then Finance Director Jim Wilsie to welcome me to the City of Shawnee as a new employee, I really didn’t have a clue of what the future really looked like here. I had actually always wanted to work at the City of Shawnee, having spent seven years at the City of Tecumseh, and three at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation building technology solutions and supporting their goals. When I received a phone call from James Roberts about Shawnee exploring a possible “Systems Administrator” position, and what it should pay and how it should look, it peaked my interest.

Little did I know I’d spent nearly 19 years here, and at least try to keep us moving along the never ending technology treadmill. We did make progress, deploying working solutions, and continued to improve our operations. We were ahead of some cities, and behind others in our technology ventures. It all depended on time, money, and motivation during that time. 

Sadly to me we’ve watched the core function of information systems department move from being change and efficiency drivers, to “defenders of the fort” simply trying to keep the bad guy from burning down what we have built. I truly believe that has slowed down progress in our department as much effort has had to be made on building security systems, training users, and deeply monitoring systems to identify and stop any threats. I hope that gets better before it gets worse, but the online world really is a nasty place anymore.

As I walk away from the City of Shawnee I see big changes on the horizon, and that’s a good thing. It’s time to explore new options, solutions, and processes and actually deploy some of the true cost saving solutions that have been “in the list” for way too long. Here’s wishing good luck to everyone that will making the future with the City!

Chapters...

Life really is like chapters of a book when you look back. The introduction to the story of your life, the rising action and build up to exciting times, the climax where you've done the best you can and are enjoying every day, the falling action or wind down when you finish out your career or see your children go off to their own, and finally, the resolution or closing, where hopefully you are happy with it all.

We all experience some of these during slightly different ages, I suppose, but I'm sure all of us who are older can identify with the basic concept. Unfortunately, many do not get to enjoy the full book of life, when things end early or abruptly, so those who get to enjoy the book of life all the way through, are indeed quite lucky.

Our Introduction

During our youth, we are establishing our character, building our ethics and morals, and deciding where we are headed. As toddlers learning right from wrong to teens testing the limits of parents and society, we mold ourselves into the human we will likely be from now on. Our parents, grandparents, friends and enemies, all play roles in these early days and make us the unique individuals we turn out to be.

Our Rising Action

During our late teens and twenties, we may be learning the skills of life, building our careers, work and life experiences or having our own children to mentor and enjoy. Often our children help drive our motivation to do good in the world, to do the best we can and to be the person they would be proud of. We are learning, living and loving life and beginning to realize how special it is.

Our Climax

At some point we may feel like we've done our good for the world, be it our children, work, volunteerism or other life accomplishments. We should be happy with our accomplishments and look back at our life, so far, with pride. We aren't all so lucky to feel or see that, but I believe that should be our goal. For some this may be our 40's, other 50's, or even older, depending on the individual.

Our Falling Action

Our falling action years would hopefully be our golden years of retirement, resting, thoughts of our past with good memories and taking time for ourselves to enjoy the world, without the need for work or daily actions, unless that is what we really enjoy doing.

Our Resolution

In the end we finish out, hopefully knowing we did do the best we could, that we stopped and smelled the roses along the way, that we presented the best example we could as a human being, and that we enjoyed each day to our best ability. Those late years in life are very special and hopefully we have no regrets during this time.

We all should step back and make sure we are writing our book of life the way we hope it will be.

References:
https://literarydevices.net/plot/

The Lucky Life

I would imagine that most of us have lived the "Lucky Life". We've been blessed more than we usually realize. Some of that "luck" may be partly due to hard work and perseverance, but you may be lucky to have that drive.

I have to remind myself of the Lucky life I've often had. I wasn't born into a rich family but never lacked for things as a child. I watched my dad and mom work very hard for what they had and provided for us. From trying their own business to my dad driving hours a day for a better job, and mom working when she could downtown, they set a great example. Maybe I was lucky to have those examples in front of me that helped my "luck" continue in my life.

Maybe I was lucky to always feel valued and loved by my parents, sister, family, and all those around me. I remember friends that weren't so lucky in that area, but most of them changed that luck as adults ensuring their kids never felt the same. I was lucky to be smart enough to do well at what I wanted to do but also lucky to not be so smart, making it a burden to feel normal.

I was lucky to find employment when I wanted and never lacking for a job, but then again I was "lucky" enough to see those opportunities and follow through at the right times. I used my skills and brain to make sure my luck continued in my career by trying to learn all I could and be ready for the next big thing. That helped luck along often I feel, as I watched the technology world grow, change and accelerate at an amazing pace as I rode along these past nearly four decades.

I've been lucky with health, I'm sure, as well, never having had major problems although "luck" may be lacking in that area as one ages. This is the one area that seems the most important as you get older, as without good health, other things in life are harder to enjoy, I'm sure. I have tried at least to hedge my bets on the lucky health side by not abusing the one body we have too much, and by never smoking or drinking to excess. Some things you can't change, and heredity is obviously one, so luck may not have a whole lot to do with health... but then again it may.

I'm lucky to have my wife, Karen, through thick and thin and enjoy our time together every chance we get. I've been lucky to have a close immediate family and a wonderful son, who was a joy to raise, teach, and learn with and experience life with. He's now lucky to have a family of his own with our first grandchild little Stella Jo Nolen. His and Tandra's luck has already started with an extended stay at Children's hospital from an early showing by Stella, but a joyful outcome of them settled into their new home and life. 

I hope to be lucky in old age and retirement as well, and enjoy the twilight years on my own terms,  enjoying simple things I like to do in life and time with family, friends, kids and grand kids. Time will tell if the future is lucky or not but I'm doing what I can to help luck along.

I'm lucky again to be offered an opportunity to retire a little bit earlier than I had planned to start that "old age" phase. I'm lucky that I'm reasonably prepared to take advantage of this offer and do understand others may not be in the same position. I hope they have luck in moving on to new and hopefully better opportunities in their life as I hope to experience as well.

I'm sure you've been lucky too, if you really look at things from the right perspective.

Wandering Ways...

It’s odd to me how the world, including people, companies and governments, grab onto the latest bandwagon or “viral trend” and jump out of their seats to “change things”. An actual small number of people get attention for feeling “offended” and suddenly everything must change… that is until the next viral topic comes along and then that has to change too.

I’m no angel but from my life observations this is usually due to the individual, corporation or even country not having guiding principles, morals, or ethics. Basically no “moral compass” to keep on the right track during turmoil or disruption. Based on what we’ve seen in the USA the past decade or two it’s pretty obvious. Corporations driven by greed, governments driven by control, and individuals driven by entitlement.

Without that moral guiding compass, people, companies, news media and governments lose their way during the temptations, disruptions, and squeaky wheel situations and jump at the latest “threat” usually over reacting and creating more turmoil in the long run. Nothing actually gets improved and now the rest of the world is offended or unhappy.

To me, a “moral compass” doesn’t mean a certain religious, lifestyle, political ideology or other. It means doing the right thing for everyone involved with logic, sustainability, and compassion be it individual, company or government. It means taking care of yourself first but taking care of others in true need. It means not being distracted by the latest viral trend. It means staying the course you planned but being aware of what is short term versus long term concerns.

If we would guide our life, companies, governments and world with true quality principles, we can weather the storms and truly assess what should change and what should not change just because it’s the latest “trend”.

My two cents… no returns or refunds.

-Stephen

Smart Home Version 10?

Original Web Front End

Ok, maybe it’s not version 10 but I have been through a LOT of major version changes in my home automation / smart home history. Starting way, way back in the 1980’s with a Commodore Vic20 running as a dedicated controller for turning on and off X10 lights based on my “programmed” schedule and some X10 control pads around the house, through SEVERAL different PC versions of X10 based controls, to a dedicated Time Commander+ setup in the middle 1990’s, to a TC+ version and my own interface to fake keystrokes into the control software, then an integrated TC+ and web services version.

WAP Access - Simple Pull downs

Around this time some very basic WAP pages were developed to allow remote phone access for those nice limited Nokia phones. It worked just fine and was just a list of things to scroll up or down to and click on. With smartphones showing up the mobile interface was updated to a full html style page and formatted to fit the small screen. That interface is still the main front end I used day to day but is on it’s way out. Next to an expanded version of that with Arduino and ESP8266 end points and now my migration from my now “legacy” system over to a dedicated Raspberry Pi3 running Home Assistant / Hassio. That could be more than 10 actually.

Mobile Web Access

I’ve been questioning myself over what is the next version or phase of smart home I’ll be moving to for a while. Actually for a few years now. Obviously X10 is dead and has been for some time but that is what all my controlled devices were built around. Watching the Z’s (Zigbee and ZWave) battle it out, I never made a commitment to either. I did buy one Insteon wall switch that could do both X10 and their own power line carrier (PLC) but at their price point I could see it was going to be way more than I was willing to pay for budget wise to move everything that direction.

Then along came the Internet of Things (IoT) and WiFi device disturbance along with what seems like a million different protocols, options, and “apps” to use. I always loved how my home built web service put everything into a single site of controls so there was no way I was going to “app hop” to turn lights on, then arm the alarm look at cameras, etc. In the meantime I was slowly deploying my own ESP8266 IoT things on my network for temperature monitoring and some endpoint / relay controls but using my own HTTP API processes to do so. I had checked out Smartthings when they were a startup but after being bought out and up by a corporate giant my interest waned.

Hassio Control Screen

Finally during my wanderings around the web I ran across Home Assistant, or more specifically for me Hassio. I had actually recently picked up a Raspberry Pi3 on a whim as I knew I really needed to learn more about them and I had a $50 gift card on Amazon burning a hole in my pocket so to speak. I’ve coded in microcontrollers for years, check that, decades from 68HC11 devices through BX24 chips and for the last several years on the Arduino platform. I’m not saying I’m good by any means, just have been using them for my own fun. Seeing Hassio was basically made to run on a Pi3 with little effort I figured it was worth a try. Honestly the install was dead simple and before long Hassio was running and finding devices on my network.

So my goal now is to slowly, well I really want to do this quickly but time and money come into play so it's slowly, migrate all my old light switches, inputs and outputs, and automation routines over to Hassio and grow it from there. I’ve migrated quite a few switches, have text to voice working, have Alexa and Siri listening and responding, and am working on migrating my automation routines over. Learning YAML and its idiosyncrasies was a bit troubling at first as I am a quite sloppy coder but after a few thousand errors and fixes I’m getting better.

HA Dashboard Master Screen

Although the Hassio control screen does it's job well, it's just too much at once and not that easy to customize. Fortunately, the wonderful HADashboard add on for Hassio and Home Assistant, makes it super easy to build out new web interfaces to replace what I’ve built before. With HADashboard one can configure multiple dashboards and customize them for the particular endpoint display as needed. For example my small old phone displays are laid out different than my larger phones versus the Android tablets versus the old Ipad devices. You can setup your “widgets” and then include them in your dashboards adding easy re-usability of existing code.

I have to say version “10” (or maybe even higher) of our automated home is better than the old versions of the past and continues to improve. There is much work to do including moving inputs and outputs such as the washing machine, dryer, garage doors, alarm system and other sensors over to the new system but this will actually be easier as ESP8266 end points will be much easier to build out than running wires everywhere.

Watch for more details in the future as this decades long adventure continues…

Resources:

Home Assistant/ Hassio:

https://home-assistant.io/

HADashboard:

https://home-assistant.io/docs/ecosystem/hadashboard/ 

My ThingiVerse Things for 3D printable items I've used:

https://www.thingiverse.com/Protowrxs/designs 

To learn more about Home Assistant and DIY Smart Homes in general check out these Youtube channels:

• Dr Zzs at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7G4tLa4Kt6A9e3hJ-HO8ng
• Bruh Automation at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLecVrux63S6aYiErxdiy4w
• diyAutomate at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwpl3ZLLDx_LqOnhtFDq8iQ

Believing in Change

I believe in change. I’ve been a change driver my whole life through technology and the deployment and use of it. “Change is the only constant” as they say. The older I get the more I do see the other side too however. Age brings experience and when you see what works historically you stand by it.

Change isn’t always good. Most software companies motto should be “new ways to do things you already know how to do”. Add a couple new features and then change how you do the rest. Do I want to still be using Windows 3.11? Of course not but then again I don’t want to have to use “search” to find a simple setting that used to be two clicks away.

But on a bigger note, I can’t support change that is more destructive. I can’t support change that criminalizes victims and makes them the bad guy for defending themselves. I can’t support change that victimizes criminals and looks for outside excuses for their actions no matter their race, creed, religion, or culture. I can’t support change that ignores laws such as immigration when there are legal methods in place. I can’t support change that disrespects our country and those that have fought for our freedom. I can’t support change that seeks to legitimize violence to suppress free speech and then uses free speech to justify their actions. I can’t support change that attempts to divide our citizens by race, religion, geolocation, or culture. I can’t support change that encourages reliance on others and ridicules self reliance. These may be change, but there is good and bad change and sometimes it seems we can’t see the difference.

These are changes we have seen for years now that is destroying what we are about as a nation and change that does not move us forward but backwards as a nation. I can only hope we change how we see these actions sooner than later and keep what works, actually appreciate living in the greatest nation on the planet, and actually change what needs to be fixed instead of tearing down what works.

That’s my two cents of change...

Does Your 3D Printer Tweet? Or Email or Text?

Does Your 3D Printer Tweet?
Or Email or Text?

Get an email, text or Tweet from your 3D printer lately? No, why not? Well, OK, it’s not REALLY from your printer but it’s still pretty handy to get a notice when that print job is done if you’re not sitting there babysitting it.
If you’re using PronterFace or any other PC based printer control that supports external commands you can easily get email or text notifications when print jobs are done or if there is an error. In fact with some free email to Twitter options such as TwitterMail.com you can put your 3D printer online and have it Tweet when it’s done.
This will cover how to do this on a Windows machine for the details but Linux gurus can easily replicate the end results I’m sure.
PronterFace has an option under the Settings / Options menu item and the External Commands tab to run external programs for printer start, printer final, and printer error situations. With this we can run any program we want to for our purposes we will use some simple VBScript to make it happen. This could just as easily be done in PowerShell if you’re a PS expert.

First we need ability to use an SMTP server somewhere. If you have an account with SMTP.com or are running your own SMTP server somewhere then it’s easy. For a local SMTP server just ensure the IP you’re PC is using is able to send email through the server if local and make sure you know a valid username and password for either option.

You can even use Gmail to send the messages if you desire but it takes a little bit more and lessens the security on your Gmail account. If you want or need to use Gmail it might be best to create another GMail account just for this to insure your main account doesn’t have any other risk. The reason is that you do need to lower the security level for “Less Secure Devices” after you log into the Gmail account by visiting this link and making the change: https://www.google.com/settings/security/lesssecureapps. Additionally you will have to store the email password for the gmail account in open text in the script which is obviously not good either. Once you turn ON access for less secure apps, our script can then send email through that Gmail account.
Once you have an SMTP server accessible then the rest is rather simple. We can setup the following command in the PronterFace or other print controller to run your .VBS script to email the notice. In PronterFace your external command should be like this: “Cscript.exe C:\3Dprinting\SendEmail.vbs” where the path is where ever you put the VBS script from below. The script is a little messier with the TLS requirements vs if you run your own email server and can simply whitelist the IP of the host computer but either works.

Super easy way with your own SMTP or use something simpler like SMTP.com:

Set Arg = Wscript.Arguments
If arg.count > 0 then strJob = arg.item(0)

SendEmail “WhoTo@from.com”, “Gray Hair 3D printer just finished print job “ & strJob

Sub SendEmail(ToAddress, Subject, Text)
 Set MyEmail=CreateObject("CDO.Message")
 MyEmail.Subject=Subject
 MyEmail.From=”MrWallace@Protowrxs.com” ‘ Whatever you want/need the FROM to be
 MyEmail.To=ToAddress
 MyEmail.TextBody=Text
 MyEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing")=2
 'SMTP Server
 MyEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver")=""
 'SMTP Port
 MyEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport")=25 
 MyEmail.Configuration.Fields.Update
 MyEmail.Send
 set MyEmail=nothing
End Sub

More Complicated when using GMail:

Set Arg = Wscript.Arguments
If arg.count > 0 then strJob = arg.item(0)
‘Call the sub like this
'SendEmail "", "", ""
SendEmail “WhoTo@from.com”, “Gray Hair 3D printer just finished print job “ & strJob
Sub SendEmail(ToAddress, Subject, Text)
    Dim iMsg 
    Dim iConf
    Dim Flds
    Set iMsg = CreateObject("CDO.Message")
    Set iConf = CreateObject("CDO.Configuration")
    iConf.Load -1
    Set Flds = iConf.Fields
    With Flds
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpusessl") = True
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpauthenticate") = 1
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusername") = "@Gmail.com"
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendpassword") = ""
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver") = "smtp.gmail.com" 'smtp mail server
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing") = 2
        .Item("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport") = 465 'stmp server
        .Update
    End With
    With iMsg
        Set .Configuration = iConf
        .To = ToAddress
        .From = "@Gmail.com"
        .Subject = Subject
        .TextBody = Text
        .Send
    End With
    Set iMsg = Nothing
    Set iConf = Nothing
End Sub

Tweeting Your Print Info using TwitterMail.com

You can have your printer Tweet when it’s done as well by using the free Twittermail.com or TwitterCounter.com service.
Visit the http://www.TwitterMail.com site and login with your Twitter credentials. Once logged in go to the Settings / TwitterMail option and you’ll see a unique @Twittermail.com email address that can be emailed to in order to Tweet something. Then you can simply email to that @twittermail.com email address to Tweet your printer message.

Doing the Text Thing

I’m sure there are some better ways of sending an actual text and this will likely only work for some carriers but at least for AT&T one can send an EMAIL to @txt.att.net and it will forward it as a text messages. I believe Verizon and other carriers offer similar but have no clue on non US carrier options. It work for me on AT&T at least.

Other ways? Your Way?

Of course this will not work if you are printing from an SD card or MKS controller, etc that I know of. But I usually have a PC running my print jobs so I have a bit more control over it.
 Do you know a better or different way of doing this? Post up your solution.

Left/Right

Don't be so Left you don't see what's Right but don't be so Right you don't see what's Left.

Make sense? Let me explain then. When did we become a nation of Left VERSUS Right? Where did the balance go and the blinders go on where we can't see that politics, like everything else in this world, has to have a balance or things simple are not sustainable.

So don't be so Left you Can't see what's Right. That we can't see its Right to want people to support themselves and be responsible for their own lives. It's Right to abide by the second amendment and allow us to bear arms. It's Right to insure business and capitalism grows and provides jobs and economic growth. It's Right to allow freedom of speech and expression even if you are offended by it. To see that it's Right to have a strong military even at the cost to protect ourselves and our interest. We have to see it's Right to use natural resources to better our world and lives.

But don't be so Right you don't see what's Left. We have to take care of those Left behind in today's world and help them succeed. We have to deal with what's Left over from racism and history and acknowledge the hate and work towards solutions. We have to insure big business leaves something Left for the middle and lower class that isn't just left overs. We have to insure what's Left of the world and environmental resources is everything that was there to start with to sustain it long term. We need to understand there is room Left to have other or even no religious beliefs if one so desires. 

We need a mending of extremes in this country to restore the balance required to survive. But it should be noted that sustainable "balance" isn't two extremes way out on each end of the limb balancing each other out as that situation is ripe for catastrophic failure when, not if, one extreme fails taking the whole system down. 

You don't have to agree with me, your neighbor, your friends, family or the President of the United States, but you do need to understand that "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" and recently we seem to be more divided than I've ever witnessed in my life at least. Time for all of us to look for the balance. 

The Age of Magic?

Do we live in an age of magic? Yes? No? Follow along and see if you agree or not...

Magic

noun

1.

the art of producing illusions as entertainment by the use of sleight of hand, deceptive devices,etc.; legerdemain; conjuring:

Things we take for granted would likely be magic to those from the past, or even really for us here today. Look around your house, do you know HOW your TV works today? Your computer? Your cell phone? Heck anymore even your computerized refrigerator? You drive your car every day but I bet you have little knowledge of how the thing really works inside, computer controls and all?

Now think about someone from 75-100 years ago seeing this stuff.... "Maaaagic". Today we take this stuff for granted but most of us do not really have a clue how it all works. Of course things are only going to get worse... or is that better? With the advancement of artificial intelligence and self learning algorithms even the experts that designed and started them admit they really do NOT know how it is now working after being trained. Would it all be magic if we jumped forward 75-100 years? I'm sure it would!

Indecernable human looking robots with the knowledge of the Internet and beyond hooked into their brains for instant ultimate intellegence. But more than that the ability to understand, feel, express, and either have compassion... or have true anger at the "robot repression" of the "past". Will they integrate with humans or force humans to integrate with them? Maybe just toss us aside as a nuisance. Sound too far out? So did a handheld device that billions would own that you can ask questions by voice and see or talk to someone around the world anytime you want to just a few decades ago. 

Even today, from self learning AI algorithms that schedule your planes push off times to those that automate the selection and delivery of your on one orders, to those that will drive your future self driving car, to learning the best settings for your personal home heating and cooling, the magic continues. The magic of yesterday is the reality of today. Will it be white magic or black magic? Only the robots know for sure. 

BTW yes that is a robot girl, HRP-4C is her name and that was seven years ago - More here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HRP-4C