This is nice, earthy, cold-weather comfort food. I like to eat it over Basmati rice cooked with chicken stock instead of water, and with some added turmeric. The spices in the recipe can be adjusted such as reducing some of the more “earthly” flavors like cumin, coriander, and cloves, and adding things like thyme, sage, …
There have been a number of times in the past where the garage door has been left open all night or when no one was at home. This could be due to issues such as someone forgetting to close the garage door, or the door having problems closing without anyone noticing. I wanted to get …
When I am getting ready to leave the house I like to be able to issue a single command such as “turn on leaving mode” and have the home automation perform the following actions: Then, after a certain period of time passes, do the following: When I am returning home through the garage, (meaning the …
As part of the changes to the Stein Home Network (see Stein Home Network – 2021 Edition), the core home automation server is being moved to a new virtual machine and a new version of the openHAB software I use. While it is the same software, it is a major change and it is recommended …
In order to implement a cohesive way to control and monitor you home, you need some sort of controller to integrate with your devices. This can take the form of a “hub” hardware device (or multiple hubs) that you place in your home, or the use a third-party (or multiple third-parties) over the Internet. Since …
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a way to securely access a private network over a public one such as the Internet. For example, when I am away from home I may want to access and use my desktop computer located in my home study. But I do not want other people who may have …
When computers connect to each other over the Internet or on your home network they usually use something called an IP address to know how to reach the destination computer. Unless you have a “business class” Internet package, you are likely given a single, Internet-accessible IP address for your home network. Your network equipment then …
DNS and DHCP are core services that many home networks provide. Usually these services are handled by an appliance such as a router provided by a person’s Internet Service Provider. Even though one of the major goals of the 2021 edition of the Stein Home Network is to simplify the infrastructure, (see Stein Home Network …
Every year over the holiday season there are usually changes to the Stein Home Network. This is because I have extra time with vacation and the like to work on projects. Usually those changes are limited to one or two modifications such as installing some new equipment, switching an existing service to a new technology, …
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way in which people can subscribe to a feed on a web site. Instead of visiting a web site to see what if any new articles of interest have been published, RSS may be used to detect new articles and possibly alert you when something new is available. An …
