Home Security

As of late, home surveillance has become my newest obsession, but as not to completely compromise the details of my top-secret security layout (lol), I'll just say that I've gone a little overboard - it's a little like baby London in here! Adults & children alike, should have absolutely NO expectation of privacy upon entering my home. 

It's not that I've had any issues with security, I simply enjoy having that added peace of mind, even when I'm away. Over the past several months, I've added quite a few enhancements to supplement the standard security system currently installed in my home, all of which have remote monitoring capabilities for the added ease of deployment of law enforcement or emergency personnel should something happen. 

Throughout the home, I'm now monitoring interior movement, air climate/carbon monoxide levels, lighting conditions, wireless data management, so-on & so-fourth. But in an attempt to at least preserve the sanctity of the sleeping quarters, I've managed to minimize the camera coverage in the most upper level of my home, but that area is indeed surveilled too, lls. Certainly, there's no way to completely prevent a break-in, but if one does indeed occur, it damn-sure won't be a secret to anyone & that's my primary goal.

Every event captured on video goes straight to the cloud - those days of holding your captive(s) at gun-point, all the while demanding the video surveillance tape before making the great escape are long gone,

lol.

I love stuff just as much as the next man, but that's not at what motivated my efforts here... at the end of the day, the items I own aren't as important to me as the safety of those I love - their safety reigns paramount! In that regard, each of the above described upgrades were worth each & every penny spent.

Cheers

The year-end is now upon us & I guess I could consider 2015 to be a pretty banner year for myself. I took care of some very old debt, purchased my first home & for the very first time in my life, successfully maintained a fully-monogamous (adult) relationship for more than an entire calendar year. I pray the lord continues to bless me throughout the next year of my life as well. There will be no vision boards completed this go-round, but don't get it twisted, there are most definitely plenty of images for 2016 swimming around in this head of mine!

Unfortunately, I did lose some connections with some really great folk between this year & last, but that happens... people lead very busy, separate lives in this day & age, so I've definitely learned that there's no need to take anyone's absence personally, it's just life & business of course.

Following a wonderful Christmas holiday with my family, I plan to spend New Year's Eve at home this year. 

After briefly entertaining the idea of attending yet another ball, dressed to the nines, I decided I'd simply prefer a safe, quiet & CHEAP (lol) evening in my humble abode.

I'll simply experience NYE vicariously through the various Facebook & Instagram posts that I see from my friends & family this year. Yea, I'm definitely cool wit that.

Home Automation 101

Ok, so for pretty much the entire fall, my tape measure & I were attached at the hip (& quite literally too).

"Will this fit here? How much room do I need there?" - I imagine all new homeowners probably remember the drill well. 

But now that the furniture buying, moving & assembly is done, I've been busy upgrading my home with all sorts of residential tech toys.

Yunno, completely unnecessary sh!t like a wifi thermostat, smart controlled entertainment hub, room-to-room audio, remote home security services, security webcam network, wireless lighting system, smartphone commanded garage door controller, remotely operated deadbolt, so-on & so fourth.

Hmmm... ok, perhaps it's not all so unnecessary after-all. For the sake of argument in this post, let's just call 'em all pieces convenience tech, yea - we'll go with that for now, lol.

Simply put, I've now become obsessed with controlling even the most mundane of activities even when I'm miles away from home - all in an attempt to make my new spot a smarter one. 

So while I no longer need to pull-out the hammer or paint brush nearly as often, I now live in front of my computer & pretty much know my 16-character wireless network WEP key by heart after performing so many initial setups to get my smart devices & components to play with one another. But I'd say the optional upgrades have all been well worth it thus far.

Admittedly, it was a bit of a challenge, trying to limit my purchases to pieces of tech that I thought were likely to catch-on, or would soon become the standard versus those trendy fly-by-night tech ideas that simply aren't practical in real-world application.

But I think I managed to make a lot of right choices in that regard & I've even been saving a few coins when it comes to my monthly utility payments, as a result, so I'm most definitely glad I decided to make the place a more efficient one.

For the spring, I've got my eye on a remote controlled window shading system for the living room (who's got time to get off their ass just to open & draw-back window shades, lol). But seriously, as with my previous tech investments, it's just a matter of researching my options before settling on the right manufacturer & product.

By next winter, I'd really like to get my hands on some sexier, newer & (most importantly) more energy efficient appliances for the home. Help me Lord, I've clearly got myself a bit of a problem here.