Home Automation

Over the years, I've been very interested in Home Automation. We setup a HAI Omni LT in our cabin long ago, and I've enjoyed the technical aspects of it since.

So I thought I'd go through some of my Home Automation setup.

I've been using Home Assistant, having tried several different things, such as Smart Things hub, Home Seer, and so forth, but I've been pretty impressed with Home Assistant.

Currently I have the Home Assistant OS installed on a small computer.

The computer is the MeLE Fanless Mini PC Quieter3Q 11th Gen N5105 8GB 256GB, Micro Computer WiFi 5 Small Desktop Service with USB-C PD, Gigabit Ethernet, Dual HDMI 4K, Auto Power on, PXE Support M.2 SSD.  If has a M.2 slot, which I have a Google Coral installed to.

The Google Coral, SOM Google Edge TPU ML Compute Accelerator, Integrate The Edge TPU into Legacy and New Systems Using a Standard M.2-2280-B-M-S3 (B/M Key), allows for object detection, and is a pretty neat interface, allowing some of the video software to do object recognition.

For a Home Alarm and the basis for sensor, I have what is now a legacy device, a Leviton Omni IIe/LTe.

It is wired into all the doors and such for sensors on what is open and closed in the house.

As well, the Mele computer has a Z-wave Dongle.

The zwave controller is the AEOTEC Z-Stick Gen5 Z-Wave Hub Z-Wave Plus USB to Create Gateway (Ordinary White).  With Z-wave, there are several Zwave outlets, zwave light switches, zwave water sensors, zwave power monitoring, etc.

I also have a Home Assistant SkyConnect - Matter and Zigbee compatible dongle, though I haven't plugged it in, because I don't have any devices that 'matter.'

With the Mele box and Home Assistant, I also have a RF controller, a RFXtrx433XL Transceiver, USB HA Controller 433.92MHz. It interacts with the automated Blinds, form Blindster - Automatic. They are Battery powered motorized blinds, and can be controlled from Home Assistant and a battery remote. They are also solar powered.

I have permanent Christmas lights, running WLED.

The controller for the led lights is a QuinLED-Dig-Quad Pre-Assembled. With the controller, I picked up some lights from Amazon, BTF-LIGHTING WS2812B IC RGB 5050SMD Pure Gold Individual Addressable LED Strip 16.4FT 150LED 30LED/m Flexible Full Color IP67 DC5V for DIY Chasing Color Project(No Adapter or Controller) 16.4FT 150LED. I also got some from Ali Express, though that takes longer to arrive, WS2812B Led Lights DC5V WS2812 RGB Led Strip Light Individually Addressable Smart Pixels Magic Light Black White PCB IP30 65 67. Emitting Color: WS2812B White PCB Color: 1m 60 IP65. I also have some stranded lights that are controlled as well, 100pcs WS2811 LED Module 9/12mm 2811 IC Black/Green/White/Crystal/RGB Wire IP68 Waterproof RGB Digital Led Pixel Module DC5v/12v.

Anyway, another neat feature of the Home Automation and security cameras integration is the use of Frigate.

Church History

 

I had the pleasure of teaching a church history course for our adult Sunday school last fall. It was a fun time highlighting bite size bits of events in church history.

Devo

While exercising the devotional approach to scripture, it is important to maintain healthy exegesis. Often the devotional method will parcel up scripture into small portions and the interpreter will plunge ahead looking for application without appreciation of the context or authorial intent. Remember the first rule of interpretation is context, context, context!

Bernard Ramm rightly points that we should approach the scriptures devotionally, but there are some dangers:

The devotional and practical emphasis in Bible teaching is absolutely necessary. The purpose of preaching is more than doctrinal communication or exposition of the meaning of Scripture. It must reach over into life and experience, and this is the function of the devotional teaching of Scripture. The vital, personal, and spiritual must be present in all the ministries of the Word.

There are two weaknesses of devotional interpretation:

(i). It/falls prey to allegorization especially in the use of the Old Testament. In the effort to find a spiritual truth or application of a passage of Scripture the literal and therefore primary meaning of the passage is obscured. If it is not a case of bald allegorizing it may be excessive typology. Given enough allegorical and typological rope one may prove a variety of contradictory propositions from the Old Testament. One may prove Calvinistic security (the central board in the wall of the Tabernacle) or Arminian probationalism (the failure of faith at Kadesh-Barnea). A Reformed expositor may prove that the soul feeds on Christ while discussing the sacrificial system, and a Catholic prove his doctrine of the mass. 

All sorts of distortions have been made of the historical records of the Old Testament (and occasionally the New) in order to derive a spiritual blessing or to make a devotional point.

(ii). Devotional interpretation may be a substitute for the requisite exegetical and doctrinal studies of the Bible. Strong doctrinal sinews and solid exegetical bones are necessary for spiritual health. If the emphasis is completely devotional the requisite doctrinal and expository truth of Scripture are denied God’s people.

Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation (Grand Rapids, Mich. Bake Book House, 1970), 62-63.