One of my summer projects is to finish writing Home Attitude: Everything You Need to Know To Make Your Home Smart, the fourth in a series of Attitude LLC books. The target publication date will be in the Fall. I had hoped to publish in August, but some major back surgery in July slowed me down. I may limit the weekly e-brief to one post per week instead of two. Get a glimpse of the book cover at johnpatrick.com. The following two paragraphs will offer a hint at what the new book will be about.
Imagine you are driving home from a winter vacation. You had put your departure time on your smartphone calendar, and at the appropriate time your smart home turned up the thermostats to ensure it would be warm when you arrived. As you arrived within an eighth of a mile from the house, the garage door opened, and the security system was disarmed. The lights turned on in the mudroom, hall, and kitchen. When you walked into the kitchen, the counter top speaker made an announcement. “Welcome home. Today is Sunday, January 14, and the time is 9:15 PM. The temperature outside is 28 degrees and the humidity is 31.5. There are two messages on your house phone. Would you like to hear them now? Someone came to the front door last night, but did not give a name. I saved a picture to your smartphone. Have a nice evening”. Classical music from KDFC then began to play throughout the house. If there had been a water leak while you were away, the water main would have automatically turned off, and you would have received a text message and a call would have been placed to your plumbing service. Any malfunction with the electrical, heating, or air conditioning systems would have likewise resulted in a text to you and a call to the appropriate service organization.
The preceding paragraph is not science fiction. All these actions described for a smart home can be done today. The question for many consumers is how best to make their home a smart home. If reading the paragraph gives you an appetite for a smart home, you have the beginnings of a home attitude.
