Eat / Tech / Dad

Home Assistant Plant Monitoring: easyplant Review + Zigbee Soil Sensor Setup Guide

I have a confession: I'm terrible with plants. Like, really terrible. My track record includes killing succulents (supposedly unkillable), letting herbs wither into dust, and somehow overwatering a cactus. So…

March 24, 2026

Home Automation

Optimizing Home Assistant: Reduce Wasted Resources with Duplicate OneDrive Backups

If you've been using Home Assistant for a while, you might have installed the popular OneDrive Backup addon to automatically sync your backups to the cloud. But Home Assistant overhauled…

December 9, 2025backups, home assistant, home automation, optimizing home assistant

Home Automation Tech

Aqara M100 Hub Setup and Review

If you've explored the smart home world, you know that Zigbee devices often get a bad reputation for reliability issues. This stems partly from Zigbee's open-source nature, which I covered…

May 2, 2025aqara, home assistant, home automation, thread

Home Automation Tech

Getting Started with Home Assistant

In a world overflowing with smart home options – Alexa, Google, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings – one platform stands out as the holy grail for tech enthusiasts: Home Assistant. If…

April 21, 2025home assistant, home automation

Zigee and Z-Wave Coordinater with Anker Hub

Home Automation Tech

Zigbee vs Z-Wave: Choosing the Right Protocol for Your Smart Home

When embarking on your home automation journey with Home Assistant, you'll quickly encounter both Zigbee and Z-Wave devices. Many new smart home enthusiasts wonder which protocol is superior. The simple…

April 7, 2025home automation, zigbee

Dad Life

Surviving and Thriving in Economic Downturns: Lessons from the Great Recession

The Day Everything Changed It was January 2009. I was living what seemed like the perfect life—a great-paying job at a company where I thought I'd retire, an apartment in…

March 12, 2025layoffs, recession

Dad Life Travel

Exploring El Yunque with Kids

El Yunque National Forest is a true tropical gem and the only rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System. When visiting Puerto Rico with your family, this lush paradise offers…

March 3, 2025