A helpful list! I think an additional point worth mentioning is that a heated blanket can keep you warm while consuming much less electricity than a space heater can.

My reason for preferring Zigbee over wifi was pretty simple: I don't trust IoT manufacturers, so I want as few smart home devices connected to the Internet as possible. With Zigbee not providing Internet connectivity, that's one less thing for me to worry about.

Additionally, lots of Zigbee devices act as repeaters, so it's unlikely you'd need multiple Zigbee hubs. My only Zigbee hub is in the basement, and I can control my Hue lights in the attic no problem, thanks to the devices in-between rebroadcasting and commands they see.

A guy made an intractables guide (and an accompanying youtube video) that would be an excellent starting point for you: https://www.instructables.com/Recycle-Cardboard-Into-Anything-With-3D-Printing/

It's a bit involved and messy (and will ruin your blender if you do this a lot), but you can get totally usable parts from this method!

Statically, that's not true, and is bordering on decades-old fear mongering about EVs.

In modern EVs, the battery will likely outlast the car body it is sitting installed in, or at least match the expected lifespan of the vehicle. There are a few EVs on the road right now with battery packs that have been driven many hundreds of thousands of miles.

The upfront cost of EVs is still a problem, but most people won't need to spend thousands on a new or refurbished battery pack after a few years.

Here's a well-made (and broadly pessimistic) source if you're interested: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01698-1

I really wish they were not using a Mediatek chip so there would be custom ROM support. That said, this does seem like a good choice, especially for the relatively low cost of the Communicator.

I'm really interested to see what this device database will actually look like, aside from a "please share your automations and the device integrations they rely on." There's a lot of information to sift through, there!

I loved the changes made from their previous big roadmap (the new dashboard is so much better), but this seems a lot more ambitious, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

When a friend broke the saw blade on my Leatherman (which was ~15 years old), I sent it back to them for repair. A short while later I received a brand new Leatherman with a letter saying they were so sorry, but they didn't have parts for my old model anymore, so they sent me a brand new, better model. The letter also said they understood people had emotional connections to their tools, so if I decided I wanted the old broken tool back instead, they would hold onto it for me for a few months, and all I'd need to do was email them asking to swap.

10/10 the best customer service I've ever received.

The one I went to in my city was the biggest crowd I'd ever seen downtown! I hear lots of people say that these protests are useless, but I don't think so. I felt really encouraged to see so many people, and I'm sure others did too.

History can teach us a lot.

I have a ninja professional and my brother has a Vitamix. Yes, his is a little quieter and nicer feeling, but it is nowhere near $500 better.

I absolutely love projects like this. I feel like my class 1 Bosch ebike controller is really limiting what the rest of the hardware can do.

On a slightly-related note, I'd also love to replace the Bosch battery charger my bike uses for a DC-to-DC one. I'm usually charging my bike directly from a portable solar panel, and skipping the DC-to-AC-to-DC dance would make things much more efficient.

I know this is a joke, but it did make me start thinking about it.

I'd probably buy a car that Surly made. It'd be very outdated and simple, but also unkillable and practical, kinda like the original Toyota pickup truck.

I wouldn't buy a Trek car purely because you know they'd make the front grill enormous specifically so they can make the trek logo bigger.

Checks are still used all the time, though, so I'm sure someone has said this recently.

I have Type 1 Diabetes, and I'm always looking for fun/interesting ways to help me manage it, including some Home Assistant tools, like the Nightscout integration.

If your son is using an insulin pump, why are you taking a vial of insulin with you day-to-day? Even small pumps like the omnipod hold much more than one day's worth.

When I do need to bring vials of insulin with me (if I'm camping in the summer for more than a few days, for instance), I just use a Frio pouch. They're little evaporative coolers that keep the insulin cold enough. I'm sorry for ignoring your question, but it sounds like you could be making things more difficult for yourself than you have to.

The three drinks I'm making for my New Year's celebrations are:

1. Mimosas (I like mine with pineapple juice!)

2. Whiskey sour. I have some orange-infused synple syrup from making candied orange peals and it's an excellent addition to the traditional whiskey sour.

3. I'm not sure what the proper name is (or if there is one), but I've been enjoying what I've called a "Christmas Morning:" 2 oz each of espresso and good, non-alcoholic eggnog, 1 oz each of amaretto and congac. It's delicious. If anyone knows if this already has a name, please tell me!

I can't really give you a step-by-step guide, but here's the gist of how I did it: I have a dexcom CGM, and use the dexcom share functionality in the app to sync the CGM data to a Home Assistant plug in. From there, the blood glucose data is treated like any other sensor value in Home Assistant, so the sky is the limit.

How you could implement this for your mom would depend on what brand of CGM she can get, and the level of tech aversion or savvy she is. xDrip and Nightscout are excellent projects which would also help you make something that uses or displays CGM data, if you didn't want to use Home Assistant.

Little devices like this are popular amongst some Diabetics for displaying their continuous glucometer data (I built something similar using an eink screen and the Dexcom home assistant integration). It's fun to see what people use these for!

I was handed this tract once! It is so bad it's hysterical.

Ok great! Best of luck and have fun.

I share your anger about LaRose's blatant attempts to sabotage Issue 1, but that didn't stop me from voting early and in-person. The line looked long, but moved quickly and I was on my way home in 30 or 40 minutes.

We only lose if we don't vote! If you can vote early, I would encourage you to do so!