I really liked Synology Photos except for the fact that the mobile app would log itself out, presumably after a fixed time, and neglect to tell me that my photos were no longer being backed up as a result. It was infuriating and I couldn't find a fix so I had to ditch it.
Currently drinking Origin because I wanted to use a B Corp roastery, but shout out to Jericho Coffee in Oxford who are all very friendly with a good line of beans.
So many Google products are either crippled or completely unavailable outside the US, it's honestly quite ridiculous. I'm still waiting for call recording to be made available in the UK.
The thing with a manual is that they're great when the road is twisting away in front of you and you can really engage with the experience, but let's face it, most of the time you're stuck in traffic with an aching left foot. I've also driven many different kinds of autos, some great and some truly terrible. Even the best automatics are in no way comparable to driving an EV.
Sure, sometimes I do miss the feel and engagement of a manual when the conditions are but I stick the EV into sports mode, which gives a decent approximation of engine braking, and use the instant torque that you only get with electric to make my own fun through the corners.
The rest of the time, when I am stuck in traffic or just going from A to B, it's so relaxing and smooth and so much less stressful than anything else. I wouldn't go back.
The only issue I can foresee is that unless you want an SUV your choice of EVs is very limited. I certainly can't think of anything Mazda 2 sized.
I have something like this setup for my porch lights. Light goes on when it detects motion, then it uses wait_for_trigger to wait until the motion stops before starting a 20 second and turning off the lights.
All simple enough so far but, crucially, the "mode" for the automation is set to restart. That way if the sensor detects motion during the 20 second countdown it cancels the whole run and starts again from the top.
I do something very similar with my connected dishwasher and Home Assistant. It's way over-engineered due various limitations/odd design choices with the API and the machine itself), but I've got it setup to store the selected program when I press a button on a Hue Tap switch, and then it turns on and runs that program when our off-peak energy rate kicks in - which is better than working out how much to set on the delay timer each evening to start it in the right ballpark.
Of course I've also got it setup to announce the selected program, and that the machine is "armed" via Google Home when the button is pressed, and again each time the door is opened/closed to add new dishes. And it sends notifications to my phone when the program starts (mostly for debugging purposes) and ends.
Like I said, massively over-engineered but it was a fun little project.
I don't have a smart washing machine (yet) but I do have it plugged into a smart plug with an energy monitor. When the power usage drops to near zero for more than 2 minutes it sends a notification to tell me that the cycle is done.
I don't know if this counts but I was always disappointed that real life pea shooters and water pistols were nothing like their comic representations, that worked like machine guns and hoses respectively. I suppose the closest we ever got was the Super Soaker.
Oh, and I've never seen a catapult made from a Y shaped stick.
I didn't say you're wrong, I said you're not wrong. My point was that it's easy for us who are already used to home charging to preach about how cheap and easy it is, but it flies over the heads of the average joe who seem to only think about it in terms of the public infrastructure - like petrol stations.
Hence, ignoring or downplaying the price of public charging because, in reality, it's a rare occurrence to actually need them does nothing to convince non-EV drivers to switch.
That was what I was getting at, but ultimately we're in agreement. If you're able to charge at home it's super cheap and super convenient, but the cost of public charging needs to come down drastically if we're going to convince ICE drivers to make the switch.
I really liked Synology Photos except for the fact that the mobile app would log itself out, presumably after a fixed time, and neglect to tell me that my photos were no longer being backed up as a result. It was infuriating and I couldn't find a fix so I had to ditch it.
Presumably you don't have that issue?