Auto Shut Off Faucet and Leak Sensor
I was worried about water leaks and about forgetting to turn off the water, so I installed an auto shut off faucet and a water leak sensor. Here is how to do it.
Archives: Solutions
Solution or potential solution to a "problem"
Zoom Meetings on Mom’s TV
Although my mom really does enjoy video calls from me on her Echo Show, I have problems getting the rest of my family members interested in Alexa Calling as they are only familiar with Zoom calls. I arranged it so my Mom can Zoom on her big screen TYV. Here is how to do it.
Daily Family Remembrance Video
My Mom has advanced dementia and I’m worried that she is starting to forget me.
I’ve been looking for a way to automatically play a “remembrance video” for dementia sufferers to help them remember their family members. Here is a solution that use the Echo Show and can be set up to operate automatically without needing a caregiver to operate it.
Simple Smart Door Lock
I wanted a simple smart door lock, that did not require major “installation”, and which I could use to have Alexa “check” whether my doors were locked at night when I went to bed.
Sleep Tracking Without a Wearable
I wanted a way to track sleep without having to use a “wearable”, because I thought that would be preferable for the “loved one” I was researching this for. Here is the solution I evaluated. It worked well for me.
Making It Easier to Command Alexa
Remembering the specific name of lights in each room can prove difficult, even when we use them daily! Here are solutions to that issue.
Alexa Calendaring
A partial solution to this problem is to create an Alexa Calendar for your parent. Here is a detailed "How to" published by Frank Engelman on Tech-enhanced Life.
Add a Calendar to Alexa for Your Parent
This solution is for people who want to be able to help a parent with appointments; or possibly enter joint appointments into a calendar that they are able to see; or generally facilitate them being able to use Alexa for calendaring issues.
How to Share Photos on Echo Show
We have recently been exploring ways to leverage “shared photos” as another way to encourage remote interactions among family members, and we wanted to find ways that an Echo Show could be used for photo sharing. The good news: there are several ways to do that, and this solution explains how.
Simple Smart Home Lights
This DIY solution describes several different approaches to setting up automatic lighting. It comes out of work I did to set up this type of lighting for some relatives of mine.