Elevating Piano Learning with modern technology: From the One Smart Piano to Piano Vision App

In the whirlwind of life changes brought about by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, my aspiration to learn the piano took a backseat amidst the chaos. Before the world turned upside down, I had invested in a One Smart Piano, enticed by its promise of illuminating keys to guide my fingers through the melody. However, as remote work blurred the boundaries between professional and personal life, my structured practice routine fell by the wayside.

But as the dust settled and I found myself navigating the new normal, I decided to reignite my passion for piano with a modern twist—virtual reality. Enter Piano Vision app for the Oculus Quest headset, a revolutionary tool that has redefined my learning experience.

Gone are the days of struggling to find motivation amidst the blur of working from home. With the Piano Vision app, learning feels like a thrilling adventure rather than a mundane chore. Utilizing the Quest's mixed reality capabilities, the app transforms any flat surface into a digital piano , or better yet, synchronizes seamlessly with a MIDI-compatible piano for unparalleled accuracy.

One of the app's standout features is its ability to display upcoming notes akin to the iconic interface of Guitar Hero, providing a visual roadmap of the melody ahead. It's as if I'm embarking on a musical journey, chasing notes instead of frets, with each successful keystroke bringing me closer to mastering the song.

The genius behind the app has harnessed technology to enhance the learning process, bridging the gap between traditional piano instruction and modern innovation. While I may not rival Mozart anytime soon, I'm fueled by the prospect of mastering the two songs that initially inspired me: "Walking in Memphis" and the beloved "Cheers Theme."

Beyond mere proficiency, my goal is simple— answering that all-too-familiar rhetorical question that people ask after they see someone playing an instrument for the first time: "You can play the piano?" with a truthful sarcastic sounding answer that I can actually only play that one song. And while my repertoire may be limited to either one or two songs, each note serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and the boundless possibilities of technology-enhanced learning.

In this digital age, the journey from novice to virtuoso is no longer confined to the confines of a traditional classroom. With tools like the Piano Vision app, anyone with a dream and a Quest headset can embark on their musical odyssey, one keystroke at a time. So, here's to the future of piano learning—where innovation meets inspiration, and the notes of tomorrow are just a VR headset away.

Keto Chronicles: A Weight Loss Journey with Determination and Data

Since July 2022, I've been on a serious mission to shed those extra pounds, and the journey has been nothing short of transformative. Over the past year and a half, I've bid farewell to around 50 pounds, employing the keto diet in strategic bursts. It's been a dance with water weight, the elusive companion that seems to vanish and reappear with every foray into or retreat from the ketogenic realm.

As the calendar turned, I decided to make a New Year's resolution that would challenge my commitment to keto like never before. The goal? Stick with the ketogenic diet until March 14th—a significant date that not only marks Pi Day but also heralds the celebration of annual bonuses at my workplace. A dual incentive to maintain discipline and savor the rewards both on and off the scale.

So far, my dedication has been unwavering, and my trusty breathalyzer, the ketone-tracking companion, reports a consistent 0.3 mmol/L. The result? A remarkable drop from 298.6 lb to 287.3 lb in the first three weeks of the challenge. The numbers on the scale tell a story of commitment and progress.

Embracing a new tactic to amplify my keto success, I've welcomed the Carb Manager app into my routine. Now, not only am I monitoring carb intake, but I'm also keeping a watchful eye on ketones, glucose levels, and weight. This holistic approach aims to propel me into the ideal ketone range, as I strive for a more profound understanding of the intricate dance between nutrition and ketosis.

The journey continues, with each breathalyzer reading and Carb Manager entry serving as a testament to the commitment and discipline required to achieve weight loss goals. As Pi Day approaches, I'm not just anticipating a slice of celebration but relishing the triumphs of a keto journey that extends beyond mere numbers on a scale. It's a holistic transformation—one that's shaping not just my body but also my understanding of mindful eating and the resilience that comes with unwavering determination. Here's to March 14th and the victories that await both in the workplace and on the wellness front!

Navigating Smart Home Updates: A Cautionary Tale and the Importance of Due Diligence

In the ever-evolving landscape of smart homes, staying up-to-date with software updates is crucial. However, there are times when the convenience of modern technology clashes with the fear of potential disruptions. Let me share my recent experience with delaying updates on my Home Assistant instance and the lessons I learned along the way.

Living in a smart home powered by Home Assistant adds a layer of dependency on technology. While the ability to control lights or adjust the thermostat manually still exists, any prolonged outage feels like a leap back into the stone age. With this mindset, I found myself hesitating to install new updates, considering my Home Assistant instance as mission-critical.

One of the key lessons I've learned is the importance of diligent research before applying updates. While I acknowledge the need to read release notes thoroughly, I confess to being occasionally lax in this due diligence. This oversight nearly led to a significant issue with the recent update to the Nginx Proxy Manager.

The update, marked as version 1.0, clearly stated that it would remove all configured proxies. This critical piece of information, was clearly outlined in the release notes, could have caused substantial disruptions had I not taken the time to review them. It's surprising that there isn't a built-in backup/export option within the Nginx Proxy Manager, adding an extra layer of caution to the update process.

Fortunately, my delay in applying this particular update proved beneficial. Browsing through the HomeAssistant subreddit, I stumbled upon numerous users sharing their grievances about the update. Leveraging their experiences, I manually documented the various routes I had exposed for my services running as Home Assistant addons. This documentation might aid in future recovery efforts if I ever encounter a catastrophic failure as Nginx Proxy Manager relies on the MariaDB which is notoriously difficult to recover backups of with Home Assistant.

This step-by-step approach helped me avoid the pitfalls that others had encountered. Also by conducting the update during a period when I knew I would have ample time to address any issues and deal with a planned outage of critical services by adjusting my various smart devices to ideal states while the update was conducted.

While I typically include screenshots in my documentation, I refrained from doing so in this instance. Unlike exposed ports, various subdomains aren't readily advertised to the general public. Recognizing the potential security risks, especially considering the days of exposed ports and basic port scans, I opted to keep this information confidential.

In conclusion, my journey through this smart home update serves as a cautionary tale. It emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to updates—promptness tempered with thorough research. In the realm of smart homes, where technology is both a convenience and a vulnerability, staying informed is the key to a seamless and secure experience.

Second Home Assistant Instance

Expanding in the realm of smart home automation, I recently subscribed to Nabu Casa's Home Assistant Cloud—a decision driven by my desire to support the development team and simplify the management of the Home Assistant instance at my parent's home. The promises of seamless remote access without router/domain configurations proved true, bringing convenience to a new level.

While the subscription streamlined the connection process and allowed me to link my parent's Amazon Echos effortlessly, I encountered a significant hurdle when attempting to integrate a 5TB external hard drive into the system. My initial plan was to use the external HDD as the boot device, but an incompatible USB adapter thwarted that effort. Undeterred, I repurposed the drive as a data disk, only to face issues with the filesystem after heavy disk writes within a week.

Caught amidst holiday chaos, I lacked the time to order the appropriate hardware for a more sustainable solution. In a pinch, I turned to the third-party SambaNAS addon, which enabled me to mount the disk and create a Samba share of its filesystem. This workaround seemed promising, allowing Home Assistant to connect to the external drive using the Samba protocol and providing access to its contents. However, a new challenge emerged as the Samba connection failed every few hours, requiring manual re-initialization.

Despite these setbacks, my ultimate goal remains unchanged: to mirror media in a second Plex server running as an addon and establish a Nextcloud instance for offsite backup of personal files. The prospect of running critical services and data backups on a low-power Raspberry Pi holds great appeal, anticipating the day when proper hardware configuration replaces the current makeshift setup.

In navigating the complexities of smart home integration, this journey has become a testament to the evolving nature of technology. Despite the challenges, the allure of a seamlessly connected and automated home, backed by robust backup solutions, keeps the momentum alive, promising a future where smart homes truly live up to their potential.

Podcast Hype Realized: Streamlining Remote Access with Tailscale in my Smart Home

Intrigued by the incessant plugs on various podcasts, I finally took the plunge into the world of Tailscale—a decision fueled by the allure of a free-for-life basic account and the promised ease of setup. True to the advertisements, the setup was a breeze, prompting me to explore its potential in enhancing remote access to my smart home.

While I had been using the Wireguard addon in Home Assistant for a VPN on my cell phone, Tailscale presented itself as a compelling alternative. The idea of ensuring constant network access, even in the face of an ISP-induced IP address change while I'm away, fueled my desire to experiment further.

Managing my Home Assistant instance, housed under my physical control, I took a proactive step by disabling key expiry. This ensures that I won't inadvertently forget to renew the key, providing uninterrupted access even when I'm miles away from home. The newfound confidence in always having access allows me to fine-tune my home's heating and cleaning settings with ease, even when on vacation.

The initial results have left me impressed, and I'm inclined to explore using Tailscale to simplify remote access and potentially enhance the security of my home network. The prospect of closing every single port on my router using Tailscale and Home Assistant Cloud is a realistic consideration, given the smooth performance thus far. While I usually steer clear of relying on third-party services in my smart home, Tailscale seems like it might end up being a permanent exception. The flexibility to switch back to Wireguard and an open port if Tailscale falters ensures a safety net, making it a reliable addition to my smart home arsenal.

In a world of endless possibilities and evolving technology, Tailscale has proven to be more than just podcast hype—it's a tangible enhancement to my smart home experience.

Freedom Unleashed: Disney's Iconic Mickey Mouse Breaks Free from Copyright Shackles

It is a day I never thought would come; the renowned Mickey Mouse has broken free from the clutches of the Micky Mouse Curve. The iconic character, a cornerstone of Disney's empire, is now on the loose as Disney's copyright on the 1928 short film "Steamboat Willie" has finally expired, landing it in the public domain. Had I shared this short just a day ago, it would have been deemed a criminal act—talk about the winds of change.

While "Steamboat Willie" may seem quaint by today's animated standards, it served as the launchpad for a colossal entertainment empire. Reflecting on the stark contrast between this early animation and today's sophisticated films and shows, it's awe-inspiring to witness the humble origins of a cultural phenomenon that has stood the test of time.

Yet, Mickey Mouse is just one of many creative works that have now been set free for the people. The shackles of copyright have loosened, allowing a multitude of artistic treasures to enter the public domain. If you're curious about the plethora of works that have joined the ranks of freedom, CopyrightLately has compiled a list of some of the more popular items on their website: Public Domain Day 2024.

This significant moment marks a celebration of creativity, as once-guarded treasures become accessible to a wider audience. It's a testament to the evolving landscape of intellectual property and a reminder that even the most iconic characters, like Mickey Mouse, can now be embraced and reimagined by new generations. So, let the adventures in the public domain begin, and may the legacy of these timeless creations continue to inspire and captivate audiences around the world.

Garage Door Local Control

 In an effort to further remove my homes dependency on the internet for my smart home gadgets I have just replaced my smart garage door opener.  While my MyQ opener worked fine for the last few years, it did have a single outage caused by MyQ service changing a header requirement which one of the open source contributors fixed in the following release of Home Assistant.  To eliminate the posibility of this happening again and as that I could stop worrying about a door to my house being exposed directly to a third parties servers.  This also removed the dependency on batteries that the MyQ sensor required.

ESP home was the solution I turned to. This allowed me to use one of the many D1 Minis I have on hand for WLED projects and gain complete local control. Since I used ESP home I was able to directly integrate with my Home Assistant instance without having to expose the opener to the broader internet.

All I had to do was use a rely hat wired to the same contacts to dumb button uses and add a magnet and reed switch to detect when the garage door is closed. I could also add an additional reed switch sensor for the fully open position, but I don't feel need to have that at this point. 
All of this circuitry was able to be mounted directly to the existing garage door opener. It is a little crazy to think that my garage door opener that is almost as old as I am is now hardwired to the internet in a round about way. 

Chore tracking

As the seasons have changed I have started to have to mow my lawn again. This had me once again considering buying a smart lawn mower to automate this task. I think that is both driven by my not wanting to waste time outside and several youtuber's reviews of the EcoFlow BLADE.

While that does look really cool and a leap forward in technology for smart mowers, it still has a price tag that makes me hesitate upgrading. Two other factors have stopped me from buying one;  I don't really know how much time this will truly save me and I don't know how well those mowers will hold up.

Only time will tell if they are truly well made enough to last and function week after week. As I wait for that technology to mature a little more I have decided I should probably quantify the time savings I would get if I do every purchase one.  Que Home Assistant to track this data.

 I have added a few helpers and scripts to Home Assistant to collect this data. A new chores tab has been added to my dashboard. Scripts are called when they are selected on the dashboard; this triggers an update to the Last Mowed  date/time value and increment the count for the season.

Since I have this new tab setup I decide I should add similar chore counters for devices that could automatically be tracked based on existing integrations/data. So far this includes laundry, dishes, and vacuuming. This might eventually be enhanced to include car charging and collecting the mail. 

Additionally I have started adding tracking for less frequent tasks including routine pest control spraying. I also moved the details for my air filter changing since it seems to fit here well. 

Smart Doorbell

 I keep my Home Assistant instance up to date by ensuring I install the latest release once the second or third patch has been published. I have just updated to 2023.4.2  By  delaying updates I avoid the bugs that sometimes crop up in the initial release each month as new features are added. I only install the initial release if there is a fix I am waiting for or a new integration/feature I am really excited for. 

A new integration that was added in the 2023.1 release that peaked my interest was the integration with Reolink.  I already had a Reolink  camera setup as an RTSP camera, so testing out the new integration was easy. The only problem I had with it was that motion sensors integrated into Home Assistant was not consistently functioning. Home Assistant clearly informed me of the issue with basic steps to resolve the issue, but those steps didn't work.  This was due to my instance of Home Assistant using port 8123 with https and Lets Encrypt to use my own domain. 

I thought I was just stuck, but someone else posted the same issue to the Home Assistant sub-Reddit. Someone there suggested setting up a reverse proxy to get around the issue, in this post. Following a basic tutorial for that setup, restarting Home Assistant, and adding some additional firewall rules to re-direct 8123 externally to 443 internally resolved the issue. 

With my existing camera working I was able to see what all the fuss was about.  The motion, person, vehicle, and pet detection was simply awesome. All of that worked on the device without having to run processing on my raspberry pi or involve another server or service. 

I was so impressed with how it handled things I decided to start the process of converting my remaining cameras to Reolink, but saw their new doorbell that several youtubers have given glowing reviews recently was on sale. I purchased the wifi version to avoid having to run an additional POE run or replace my POE switch that is already at capacity with my current cameras. 

This device was almost as easy as installing a simple replacement button. The only additional step was to add a jumper in the chime. All told it took about 25 minutes to get physically installed and connected to the Reolink app. Adding it to Home Assistant and fine tuning the motion alert area and recording settings took a bit longer but I am very happy with the edge storage, batch FTP backup, and ability to control alerting from inside Home Assistant.  

Given how simple this was to setup I will probably be ordering the remaining cameras to tackle that project next week end so that I can get it done before the summer heat makes it a less appealing chore.

Date Time Helpers

I am trying to simplify my Home Assistant dashboard to be able to provide clear information without having to drill down into sensors. The first step forward in this goal has made me realize how great the helper entities for date/time are.  I have been able to add helpers to track the start and stop time of my car charger.  

This allows me to more easily guess how long is left till my car is charged. This isn't critical information as my car is a plug in hybrid, but I do sometimes find myself waiting for the charge to complete to run additional  errands a couple times a month.  I know some different EVs actually expose that info directly and whenever I show for a new vehicle I will keep that in mind. 

While I am not thrilled with the current display being and input text box for the helper entities it is much better than having to switch to my vehicle view and select the current sensor in order to manually check the history to find out when exactly I started charging.  These helpers are set when the current spikes and dips when the charging cycle starts/ends.

Additionally I have started to add helpers for routine chores that I sometimes forget to do on their proper cadence. This includes changing air filters, watering plants, and changing sheets.  I am still working out how to get notifications based on this tracking. So far my best plan is to have a separate days counter incremented in my midnight chron task and reset in the same NFC automation that sets the date/timestamp helper.

 

Cutting the Internet out of Smart Devices

For the last couple years I have made an effort to choose devices with local control whenever possible. I have decided to remove dependency on a constant internet connection from as much of my smart home as possible. At this point the devices I have that rely on internet are  a Nest thermostat, Shark vacuum, Withings bed sensor, Withings scale, Zmodo cameras, and Chamberlain myQ garage door opener. 

The first step in this journey was the most mission critical, my home thermostat. After looking at the various options I settled on the Centralite Zigbee based option. This has allowed me to have completely local control. 

While I do miss the nice information that Nest provided, if I really want to I can re-create any of those features locally. The one feature that I really need to replicate is the reminders for changing the air filters.

The next step in cutting my dependency on the internet will probably be using Esphome to create a custom garage door opener.