pi-rat's recent activity

  1. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Again, super helpful, thanks so much!

    Again, super helpful, thanks so much!

  2. Comment on Are Swedish dishcloths more environment-friendly than paper towels? We investigate. in ~enviro

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    They kind of did, but in a round about way: Which I guess means that a 3-pack of swedish towels aprox. 11 gallons of gasoline to produce? Not as clear as it could be and if they really want to do...

    They kind of did, but in a round about way:

    If a three-pack of Swedish dishcloths has the same carbon footprint as a roll of paper towels, Earth911.com estimates, then switching to dishcloths can help families eliminate about 200 pounds of CO2 emissions each year.

    Which I guess means that a 3-pack of swedish towels aprox. 11 gallons of gasoline to produce? Not as clear as it could be and if they really want to do an article on the benefits of maybe switching.

    I'm surprised they even mentioned Microfibers clothes which I think are made from petrol chemicals.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Re: riced cauliflower - I find that I can get enough spices and fry time with it to get much more flavor than I would with flourettes of cauliflower. I still att straight up cauliflower and...

    Re: riced cauliflower - I find that I can get enough spices and fry time with it to get much more flavor than I would with flourettes of cauliflower. I still att straight up cauliflower and broccoli to my stir-frys that have riced cauliflower but they don't hold into the spice nearly as much. I get it pre-riced and frozen as it's cheap and eliminates the mess for me. A bit part of it for me is how quickly I can throw it together and have a super flavorful meal.

    Re: vegetable spiraler - I got an attachment for my kitchen aid mixer which is super easy to set up and clean. All in all to prep a single zucchini I think it takes me less than 5 minutes to set up, spiral, and then clean/put away. Not advocating to replace or get more gear but I've been very happy with this tool set.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

    pi-rat
    Link
    I've been doing low carb recently. I've been making a lot of: Parmesan Crisps Zucchini noodles (stir fried with spices and some protein Riced Cauliflower with spices, veggies, and protein A recent...

    I've been doing low carb recently.
    I've been making a lot of:

    • Parmesan Crisps
    • Zucchini noodles (stir fried with spices and some protein
    • Riced Cauliflower with spices, veggies, and protein

    A recent experiment that I did was trying to make a zucchini, almond flour, and egg white patty that I pan fried. On top of it I served chopped mushroom medley fried with bacon, and holindaise sauce.

    I miss making fresh baked bread.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Awesome! Super helpful info; what I hear you saying is that I need to look into routers that can run OpenWRT. Also I kinda smacked my head when you said that a mix can run, I had been reading up...

    Awesome!
    Super helpful info; what I hear you saying is that I need to look into routers that can run OpenWRT.

    Also I kinda smacked my head when you said that a mix can run, I had been reading up on Home Assistant and it makes sense being able to bring all those device types under one hood.

  6. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    I am not comfortable with Unix and Docker; really this whole project is also an opportunity for me to learn more about coding, unix, and other bits of scripting.

    I am not comfortable with Unix and Docker; really this whole project is also an opportunity for me to learn more about coding, unix, and other bits of scripting.

  7. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    That seems like it makes things less of a headache for certain; I can't remember the last time I owned an apple device. I've mostly committed to "this is going to take time and lots of head...

    That seems like it makes things less of a headache for certain; I can't remember the last time I owned an apple device.

    I've mostly committed to "this is going to take time and lots of head scratching" for myself at this point.

  8. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Thanks for all this info - it's super helpful. I don't have an old pi lying around - so suggestions on this are great. Is there a way to set these up so if there is a power outage these will...

    Thanks for all this info - it's super helpful.

    I don't have an old pi lying around - so suggestions on this are great. Is there a way to set these up so if there is a power outage these will automatically restart and get going?

    I think I'll probably go with zigbee so I can utilize some of the Ikea smart lighting stuff / sensors / etc. Also getting the HomeAssistant sky connect seems like a reasonable way to get this set up as well.

    I'm planning on getting a new router - do you have any suggestions on what to look at - this was what I was going to try and set up my pihole with, but I just need to learn more about pihole and how to set it up. As you mentioned I could use the same HomeAssistant hub for this as well.

  9. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    This is the second time Tailscale has come up. It seems I really should upgrade the router and get pihole running in it with Tailscale.

    This is the second time Tailscale has come up. It seems I really should upgrade the router and get pihole running in it with Tailscale.

  10. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Super helpful; I've got 125 year old home that has wiring in a whole mishmash of states (some knob and tube, other bits some what modern). If I'm reading this correctly Home Assistant has a...

    Super helpful; I've got 125 year old home that has wiring in a whole mishmash of states (some knob and tube, other bits some what modern).

    If you're wanting to use Home Assistant's GeoFencing, you're going to need to expose your Home Assistant instance to the Internet. While pretty easily doable, it's not for the feint of heart and my recommendation would be to just pony up and pay for their subscription, help fund the project, and get hassle-free encrypted ingress through a tunnel through their systems so that your phone can ping your system when you leave.

    If I'm reading this correctly Home Assistant has a subscription? I'm not finding on their page - do you have a link to it so I can read more about it.

    I'm trying to learn python better so this seems like a good excuse to continue with that.

    As far as switching over sockets and switches - is it pretty straight forward as long as I know the right charges for things?

  11. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Awesome, thanks for clarifying for me.

    Awesome, thanks for clarifying for me.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    A little bit of a learning curve doesn't scare me as long as there are resources to learn it.

    A little bit of a learning curve doesn't scare me as long as there are resources to learn it.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    This is helpful for certain. I currently have a Nest thermostat but am looking to switch to Ecobee in the future. I'll look into zwave and see what I can figure out with those systems. I am not on...

    This is helpful for certain.

    I currently have a Nest thermostat but am looking to switch to Ecobee in the future.

    I'll look into zwave and see what I can figure out with those systems.

    I am not on the apple ecosystem, so that won't work. How does homekit differ from HomeAssistant? As I thought HomAssistant was that central home automation tool?

  14. Comment on Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help) in ~life.home_improvement

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Totally get that I'd be giving up a lot due to no OOTB solutions / app connectivity. I am fine taking the time to learn how to do some scripting and connecting things that way. I imagine using...

    Totally get that I'd be giving up a lot due to no OOTB solutions / app connectivity. I am fine taking the time to learn how to do some scripting and connecting things that way.

    I imagine using more sensors and timing for lights, fans, etc; I also want to set up a little box to run Kodi off of for the main TV as well.

    As far as the PiHole goes I've been wanting to do something like this as well - and upgrading my router / mesh is on the list. I hear you saying I should probably start here and expand from that.

    3 votes

  15. Want to automate my home with a privacy focus (but I'm a bit slow and need help)

    ~life.home_improvement Ask (advice)
    Hey folks - I've been wanting to go whole hog on automating my home, I read through this smart home automation - tips and tricks thread started by @Merry and had a lot of useful information. Some...

    Hey folks - I've been wanting to go whole hog on automating my home, I read through this smart home automation - tips and tricks thread started by @Merry and had a lot of useful information.

    Some of the things I took away from it:

    • Home assistant is pretty great (if you don't mind tinkering)
    • Getting something that will boot back up after a power failure is great
    • Use smart plugs / switches vs bulbs
    • Maintain it's usefulness if there is an internet outage

    Like I mentioned I'd really like for this to be privacy focused and mostly self contained. Sure I'd love to be able to control stuff from my phone while I'm home and also recognize that I'm home or away.

    I just am a bit smooth brained when it comes to even seeing "would something like this work with the wiring / circuity that I have in my home already?"

    If there are any good guides to follow or really specific advice / steps I could follow to begin this process I'd really appreciate it.

    25 votes

  16. Comment on Most bingeable book series? in ~books

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    I mean, super enjoyable. I think I read the whole series in a month or two. People are allowed to like what they like, no need to gatekeep the joy of others (as long as it isn't actively hurting...

    I mean, super enjoyable. I think I read the whole series in a month or two.

    People are allowed to like what they like, no need to gatekeep the joy of others (as long as it isn't actively hurting someone else).

    2 votes

  17. Comment on Most bingeable book series? in ~books

    pi-rat
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    I am not a fast reader, but I blew through "old man's war" series by John Scalzi. It is what I'd file under 'brain trash.' Easy to read and entertaining.

    I am not a fast reader, but I blew through "old man's war" series by John Scalzi.

    It is what I'd file under 'brain trash.' Easy to read and entertaining.

    8 votes

  18. Comment on Anime for someone who doesn't like (shonen) anime that much in ~anime

    pi-rat
    Link
    I'm honestly shocked that no one has mentioned these: Made in Abyss: I cried at least once a season Mononoke (2007): probably my favorite anime of all time at least visually. I don't think there...

    I'm honestly shocked that no one has mentioned these:

    • Made in Abyss: I cried at least once a season

    • Mononoke (2007): probably my favorite anime of all time at least visually. I don't think there is anything that comes close to its style, and macabe atmosphere

    • Kaiba: I... Uh... This one is weird but is good, I don't even know where to begin with it. Very stylized and strange.

    1 vote

  19. Comment on Issues with NGS Library Prep in ~science

    pi-rat
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The bad news that the post pcr clean up looked the same. the good news is that the post pippin prep quant came back at 2.3ng/μL

    The bad news that the post pcr clean up looked the same.

    the good news is that the post pippin prep quant came back at 2.3ng/μL

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Issues with NGS Library Prep in ~science

    pi-rat
    Link Parent
    Things didn't go as I had hoped, I will return to the lab tomorrow to try again. What I did observe during elution is that the speed beads didn't easily come off the walls when I pipetted in mH2O,...

    Things didn't go as I had hoped, I will return to the lab tomorrow to try again.

    What I did observe during elution is that the speed beads didn't easily come off the walls when I pipetted in mH2O, but when it did it was quickly in solution.

    I didn't observe any cracking during drying but these are in a 96w plate and a touch hard to see as clearly as I'd like.

    I'm back at the start of digestion again tomorrow.
    Wishing for a nanodrop for a bit more clarity on before / after clean up.

    1 vote