It’s coming towards the end of my Samsung SmartThings trial but I thought I’d make one more video as I had fun last time. The guinea pigs are back with another way we’ve used the SmartThings.
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Author Archives: Richard
SmartThings
I’ve been trying out Samsung’s foray into the Internet of Things (IoT) with a few of their SmartThings. Generally I’ve found them useful for security and linking them with If This Then That (https://ifttt.com). I have the starter pack which contains:
- A motion sensor.
- A multi-purpose sensor.
- A presence sensor.
- A connected plug socket.
- The SmartThings hub.
Being able to access the status of the things on my phone has made me wish that our burglar alarm was equally connected. I made a little video describing how the guinea pigs are very pleased with the multi-purpose sensor.
Tea Towers BBQ
Another July means that Jess is another year older and it’s time for the Tea Towers BBQ. The weather was kind to us today and everyone had a great time eating BBQ food and cakes.
Teryaki chicken kebabs
The Wii U was very popular this year and it was sometimes hard to get the children out of the lounge to enjoy the outdoors.
The next PewdiePie?
The garden was full.
To finish off the day we all sung happy birthday to Jess and enjoyed some cake.
What’s up with Sam?
10 Years
Last month Jessica and I celebrated 10 years since we first started dating. I knew that Jessica would make a card and so I wanted to avoid buying one and make my own. With time running out I struck on the idea of using the Lego mini-figures that we have in or (very approximate) likeness.
You can see the picture that I attached to the card below, Samuel ‘helped’ me make the house in the background.
Jessica throws her cup in surprise
3D Printing
If some tech journalists are to be believed, it is only a matter of time before we all have 3D printers in our homes. I’m not convinced that there are many times when you need to print a simple object, but I recently thought of one. There is a 3D printer at work and I thought I’d give it a go.
I have a rear light that attaches to the seat post of my bike. Unfortunately the seat post is not vertical and so the light ends up pointing towards the ground. I’ve previously solved the problem by wedging bit of rubber under one edge of the light but I thought I might be able to 3D print a better solution.
The image below shows the software I used to design the object – I got the dimensions and angles from the bike specifications.
Describing the object ‘in code’
The software exported a 3D object fie that I then imported into the 3D printer software. The printer software translated the object into a set of movement instructions for the print head.
This software creates the printing instructions.
The printer starts to follow the instructions.
The printer gets to work.
The 3D printed object is very light but quite tough.
The finished item.
Here it is on the bike, ensuring the light is level.
A perfectly level rear light.
Lego
Samuel is a big fan of lego and I think he already has more Lego than I had as a child (before you take into account handed down Lego!). Yesterday Sam and Emily had some birthday money to spend so we took them to the Lego shop. Samuel picked out a treehouse set and Emily looked at the Lego Junior range as she is eager to start her collection. Emily chose a very pink Lego carry case that contains a number of starter bricks.
Whilst we were in the shop we decided to complete the mini-figure representation which can be seen on our mantelpiece or the image below. Sam and Emily were responsible for creating themselves and I have no idea why Sam picked a banana as his ‘accessory’.
A mini-family
The kids absorbed in their Lego.
No singing at the table
Watch the video below and see if you can guess which song Emily is singing.
We are pretty sure it’s Emily’s rendition of “Let it go” from Frozen. I’m not sure why this has lodged itself in her head as she has only seen the film once…
Smile!
Last week Jess and I were lucky enough to spend the day at Alton Towers trying out the roller coasters. My Mum and Dad were good enough to look after Emily all day… and they still live to tell the tale.
Whilst my parents were busy trying to resist Emily’s cheeky cuteness we managed to ride every roller coaster in the park (including the epic runaway mine-train – choo choo!). Pictures from our day of freedom below.
The Smiler – a 14 inversion roller coaster.
Still smiling after our second ride on The Smiler.
Jessica isn’t scared of Nemesis.
Aaarr! (There’s a pirate ride in the background)
Everything is Awesome!
Jessica recently put all Sam’s Lego into a big box to see if he’d enjoy making something new. He’s already made some interesting contraptions but enthused by our trip to see The Lego Movie I thought I’d have a play too. See how we got on below.
Lego!
Master builders
My car complete with retro spaceman
Sam’s altogether more creative vehicle
Movie rant
Jessica and I went to see the second Hobbit film last night, we enjoyed the film but I was reminded of a couple of movie annoyances.
Number one – we sat through 15 minutes of adverts followed by 10 minutes of trailers before we got to see the film. It started me wondering whether it’d be possible to have a web service that could tell you the start time of the main feature. If anyone knows of such a service or a cinema chain that shares this information it’d be great to know.
Number two – re-makes. I’ve recommended the film “Starbuck” for a while as it was funny and charming. Whilst waiting at the cinema we saw the trailer for “Delivery Man” which is the same film without the need for subtitles and (judging by the trailer) none of the charm.
Perhaps I’m just getting old.