A blog about automations, food and country life

Finally wrote a book – Introduction to a Smart Home

Having an automated house has been great. Not just to save money, but also time and brain power (the little I do have). After Elma , Mom and Dad pushed me to write a book about it. Here is the first version of what could be more. Hope you read it, enjoy it and eventually […]

A retrospective of my dirty 30s

As I step into the next decade of my life. Do I feel any different? No. But do my bones crack louder? Hell Yah! Looking back at the person who stepped into his 30s, around 10 years ago, do I feel like the same person? Not really, I think, there have been a lot of […]

The Reverse Honey-do list

For some of you who know my wife, Elma, knows that she is very forgetful. Which normally isn’t an issue as I keep on top of things. Elma lately wanted to take more in charge and be on top of things, but due to her short term memory she would ask me to remind her […]

A trip to Devil’s Oven

Contrary to the name, the Devil’s Oven are actually ice caves. This was quite a find a few years ago and we finally decided to go and visit this year. Luckily these caves were out in Minto, NB which meant that they where only an hour drive away from home. While doing my research around […]

From Simple to Complex: Building Home Automation Rules with SharpTools’ Visual Rule Builder

The beauty of a smart home lies not just in the ability to control devices remotely but in automating actions based on specific conditions or triggers. SharpTools’ Visual Rule Builder offers a user-friendly interface to create such automations, from the most basic to the intricately complex. In this guide, we’ll delve into the process of […]

The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up SharpTools with SmartThings for a Seamless Smart Home Experience

In the realm of smart home automation, the combination of SharpTools and SmartThings stands out as a powerful duo. Whether you’re a seasoned smart home enthusiast or just starting out, integrating these two platforms can elevate your home automation game. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to set up SharpTools with SmartThings, […]

An off grid Thanksgiving in Grand Manan NB

Like how all good or disastrous trips start, Dad went: “Don’t you have a long weekend coming up? I hear it will be sunny”. Which normally means, PLAN A TRIP! We went on the hunt and found something that would be unique and something that we hadn’t done before. After looking around on AirBnb, I […]

2022 – A year in review

As most of you would know, that I am a huge fan of the “Agile” way of life, which I picked up from my software development years. Keeping in tradition for this year’s Retro, its time to reflect and answer the usual questions: What went well? What could be improved? Any Ideas This year ended […]

2021 – A year in review

For many years, I have adopted some of the “Agile” learning from software development back into my personal life. One of which was the retrospective event. Which effectively was three questions that I would ask myself at the end of the day or in this case, this year in review. The questions where: What went […]

See you over the rainbow bridge Chance

Chance, you entered our lives around 6 months ago. Almost two years after patches passing away. We thought we were ready for another pet and there you were looking from a home. The ad on Facebook from Relinquished Souls said that a 2 year puppy was looking for a forever home, even though we found […]