Automate All The Things

So much has been happening lately that I forget to sit down and take the time to write about it all.

I had surgery, started a new job, finished building the Ultimate Gaming PC, and the kids are learning woodworking by making Mom’s (belated) birthday gift. I also designed a project that should make building amazing forts for kids super simple and accessible. We have new bots that help us shop for a car, I’m automating indoor gardening with microcontrollers and data collection, AI is managing my stock portfolio through APIs and databases, we added Cloudflare Tunnels so home resources can be accessed externally - and so much more.

Let’s knock out one or two real quick.

Our family van is on its last legs, and we need a replacement. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon since I’m out of commission, so that gave me the opportunity to write bots that scan local Hyundai inventory for Santa Fe options. We test-drove one a few weeks ago, and the family has fallen in love with it. It’s comfy and holds a lot of nonsense - perfect for hauling kid crap on long trips. The hybrid gets around 35 mpg, which will be nice when gas prices in California start hitting over $6 in July.

Our family Discord gets all kinds of important updates. For example, MovieBot 9000 tells us what movies to watch on Family Night, WeatherBot Pro provides the forecast and tells the kids how to dress for the day, CountdownBot Alpha informs us how many days remain until the next important calendar event, Rosie the Robot monitors the kids' bedtime and chore progress, and Hey Jambi! gives us a random secret word of the week (à la Pee-Wee’s Playhouse).

Back when all my health issues started, it was really difficult to continue cooking and meal prepping. Food services like Factor75 (no affiliate link here - unless you want one) offer a lot of options that fit within my new renal diet requirements. The convenience far outweighs the price, as I can simply toss a box in the toaster oven, eat, track, and continue with my day. The problem is that I never know when they’re going to deliver. Enter FactorBot.

My days are typically spent automating tedious and repetitive tasks. Why open a browser, log into a site, and click around for what you need, when you can just get the information in one place? Now that the family is on Discord, I can start automating things for them too. I’m not an expert programmer trying to develop the next groundbreaking SaaS system, but it’s incredibly fun to solve problems and learn along the way.

Oh! One more thing. I’m a big EDC (Everyday Carry) nerd who always has a Leatherman on me. They fit snugly in the coin pocket of my jeans, but when I’m wearing lighter clothing, a heavy chunk of Leatherman metal flops around in your pocket and becomes incredibly irritating. Most EDC dorks buy a pocket clip that can cost up to $70 for fancy etched titanium. Forget that nonsense. I printed one for $0.01 and couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing what a little 3D printing knowledge can solve.