Monday (61) - It was 70°F this morning and seemed to be a good day for a bike ride. I rode around the park initially then out to the highway on one road, down the highway and back on another road. Just enough to get a little bit of exercise. This carving was next to the exit to the RV park. There are a number of these carvings scattered around the park so I think it must’ve been a hobby of one of the employees. Surprisingly, we still occasionally see people leaving and arriving even though they don’t “have to” leave.
We talked to one couple yesterday (from over 10' away) who just sold their house last week to be on the road full time. They just joined TT that day in order to stay here which isn’t too far from their former home. I wonder if they regret their full-time on the road decision...
Tuesday (62) - It’s only 11am and it’s already 75°F. I went for a two-mile walk around the campground. Most of the spaces are occupied now and many areas are much more packed in than where we are. In the picture on the right, we are the RV in the middle. Both of the RVs on each side are still mostly unoccupied. They stopped by for a couple of days a few weeks back to check on them.
I’ve been messing around with Home Assistant some more but I need to order some modules to play around with. I’m thinking of some WeMos D1 Mini Arduino boards. They have WiFi and 11 digital input or outputs. With appropriate circuitry, they can be connected to drive relays or sensors. And are like $20 for a package of five boards.
And just another note, today was the first day this year that Fairbanks no longer gets completely dark at night. At least based on the definition of astronomical twilight. The last light of dusk and the first light of dawn meet in the middle of the night. It says 2:00 pm but that’s just a flaw in the way their site calculates the time.
Wednesday (63) - This is what happens when there is a new toy to play with. Since I don’t have anything “real” to interface with the Home Assistant software, I just have it doing speed tests on our WiFi connection. Initially, it was just every hour but I changed it to every 20 minutes for today. Just out of curiosity. Obviously, there are other devices using the service which is going to influence the results.
The bar labeled “Richard M” updates whether I’m in the RV based on my phone responding to ping. As you can guess, the WiFi on the phone turns off when not being used to save power. Not the most reliable method to determine presence. But, it’s something to play with. Especially since we are well on our way to 90°F today! It seems like only a few days ago when we had the propane furnace running. But like others have told me, that’s Texas weather for you. This is hot enough that the induction cooktop has come out. It hasn't gotten a whole lot of use since we started as it really hasn't been this warm.
Some other things on the screenshot of the Home Assistant overview page are the status icons. Since it is in the middle of the day, you will see that the network speed tests are horrible and since my phone is on Verizon, my status is “Away”.
What a lovely lush green campground. Part of me envies you... the other part is more sensible and wants to stay put. Take care!
ReplyDeleteThe campground has gotten much greener since we arrived. The oak trees around us were just starting to put out leaves back then.
Delete