A few years ago a friend gave me an "Urban Shop" glitter lamp as a gift. It was a neat twist on a lava lamp that used LEDs and glitter with a motor that spun the fluid using a magnetic string bar.

While it was a great vibe, it used three AA batteries and the stirring would cycle on and off regularly causing the noise to start and stop, which I found more distracting than just leaving it on.

I found that the on-off switch was actual an on-on switch without a second connection, so I took an old USB cable and hardwired the second switch terminal so that I could power it from a power supply or batteries.

This was a drastic improvement to me, but I didn't like the cord always being attached and the motor cycling was still annoying. Eventually, the lamp ended up on a shelf for a later date.

Today, I pulled the lamp down because I finally tried ESPHome because I keep hearing about it in other people's projects and wanted to finally try the full smart conversion of this lamp. After several hours of trying to reuse the existing surface-mount LEDs and wiring, I gutted the whole damn thing and installed my own 5mm LEDs, rewired the motor, and added a button for controls and wired everything into a Raspberry Pi Pico W I had bought years ago.

Now I have a lamp that can be controlled locally from the button, can be reprogrammed from my computer without moving the lamp, can be controlled from Home Assistant, and performs exactly how I want.

I just finished a project to make my own orb and now I can contemplate properly.

Given how many people treat speed limits as suggestions, at best, having your vehicle obey the limit would turn some people off of them.

Too cold to enjoy or too hot to eat?

With the release of Tapo version 3.0, TP-Link integrates their two lines of smart home devices into a single application, reducing the number of apps needed to control their devices.

Additionally, the update claims improvements to the user interface, optimized camera features, a sleeker status page, and faster responses and startups.

The blow post also suggest that improvements to lighting effects, smart actions, geofencing, and a dark mode will be coming in the future.

I think the best takeaway is that I can have one less app on my phone!

TP-Link Blog - Brand-New Tapo Version 3.0

A picture of a Loon sitting on its nest in a lake. Taken July 2023 on a Pixel 6 Pro at full zoom and through a waterproof phone bag.

A picture of a Loon sitting on its nest in a lake. Taken July 2023 on a Pixel 6 Pro at full zoom and through a waterproof phone bag.

A picture of a Loon sitting on its nest in a lake. Taken July 2023 on a Pixel 6 Pro at full zoom and through a waterproof phone bag.