Home Automation
Wire your home to respond to you, with lights, locks, and routines on autopilot.
~$138Cost to start
ModerateDifficulty
1–3 hrTime / session
2 setup steps, ~$138 all in. Nothing to buy until you say so.
Is it you?
Nobody has scored this against your answers yet. 1–3 hr at a time, $138 to find out whether it sticks.
SpaceDedicated room
The path14 quests
ASetting up2 things to sort, in any order$36
- Start with two smart bulbs or a plug
- Check everything still works with a dead phone
Then the quests
- Control a device from your phone
- Set a schedule or routine
- Automate one thing and stop thinking about it for a month
More on Home Automation
Everything else we have written about it. Free to read, no account needed.
Guides2
Arduino vs Raspberry Pi: Which to Start Robotics WithEvery beginner in robotics hits the same fork: Arduino or Raspberry Pi? They are different kinds of thing, and which you pick shapes your first robot. Here is the real difference and how to choose.How to Program a Repeater Into a Baofeng UV-5R (So It Actually Talks Back)You bought the cheap Baofeng, you can hear the local repeater, and now you key up and nothing happens. This is the wall almost every new ham hits, and it is almost never the radio. Programming a repeater into a UV-5R comes down to three numbers and one tone setting people forget. Here is exactly how to do it, both the easy way and the keypad way, and how to tell which setting you got wrong.
What to buy2
Best Smart Lights for Beginners (2026): 3 Picks from a $10 Bulb to a Full Hue SetupSmart lighting is the easiest, most satisfying way into a smart home, and the first real decision is not brand but plumbing: do you want bulbs that connect straight to your Wi-Fi, or a system that runs on its own hub? Wi-Fi bulbs are cheap and take two minutes to set up, but they get slower and flakier the more you add. A hub system like Philips Hue costs more up front for the little bridge box, but it stays rock-solid across dozens of lights and reacts instantly. Here are three good starting points, from a single cheap Wi-Fi bulb to try the idea, to a proper hub-based Hue setup you can grow for years.Best Smart Thermostat for Beginners (2026): 3 Picks That Cut Your Heating BillA smart thermostat is one of the few smart-home gadgets that pays for itself, by learning your schedule and not heating an empty house, most people save enough on energy to cover the cost within a couple of years. The first thing to check is not which brand but whether your heating system is compatible (most standard systems are, but you need to check your wiring, especially the 'C' wire). After that, the choice comes down to how hands-off you want it: a simple app-controlled thermostat, or one that learns and adjusts on its own. Here are three good ones, from an affordable no-frills model to a premium learning thermostat with room sensors.
From the blog2
Best Hobbies for INTJs: What Genuinely Fits the Architect MindIf you are an INTJ, you have probably opened a dozen "hobbies for your personality type" lists and closed every one. They are generic, interchangeable, and clearly written by someone who has never sat with the specific way an INTJ gets bored. So here is the honest version. The wrong hobby for you is not merely dull, it is actively irritating: a social ritual with nothing to master, a pastime with no underlying logic to optimise, a game with a ceiling you will hit inside a week. You do not want to pass the time. You want to spend it building deep competence in something with a real skill curve, ideally alone, ideally for years. This is a properly considered list of the hobbies that fit that mind, whether or not they are the obvious ones.Tech Hobbies for Adults: The Best Technical Hobbies to Start in 2026Tech hobbies cover everything from 3D printing and mechanical keyboards to ham radio and home automation. This guide covers the best technical hobbies for adults, what each one actually involves, and the honest cost of getting started.
Same shape of evening, different thing to hold at the end. Or follow a tag sideways.
Desktop CNC$390
Design parts in CAD and watch a desktop machine carve them from wood, plastic, or metal.
Combat Robotics$196
Design, build, and drive a fighting robot, then send it into the arena against another.
Robotics$116
Build a machine and write the code that makes it move on its own.
Drone Building$320
Solder and tune your own FPV quadcopter, then fly it first-person through the air.