Kyle Niewiada

Indigo Bunting

Great Blue Heron

Eastern Bluebird

Common Yellowthroat

Some of my favorite shots from the last month. 📷

Taken with my phone held up to my binoculars.

Bose QuietComfort 35 with the USB-C mod fully installed

Sony DualShock 4 with USB-C mod installed

Today I modded my 2016 Bose QC 35 headphones and DualShock 4 controller with USB-C ports. I continue to reduce the number of different charging cables I need to keep out.

The Bose QC 35 uses a pre-assembled board from starkdrive and the DS4 uses a USB-C board from ElecGear. Both are working great!

The Smart Coaster That Keeps Me Hydrated Forget smart water bottles! I created a ‘temporarily permanent’ smart coaster to solve my dehydration woes. If I’ve lost track, my coaster nudges me to drink water, and refrains when I’ve kept up.

Earlier this year I built a smart coaster prototype to help remind me when I haven't had a drink of water in a while. Since then, I've received over 700+ reminders!

I wanted to make a nicer version. So I did.

Here is my revision using black walnut and a fully hidden sensor using a clever trick.

Backyard Bird Tracking With AI-Powered BirdNET-Go Turning security cameras into AI bird detectives! How I use BirdNET-Go & Home Assistant for 24/7 bird detections & alerts. Identify every chirp!

I turned my security cams into AI bird detectives! 🦉🎤 My new blog post guides you through setting up BirdNET-Go & @home-assistant.io for 24/7 backyard bird tracking, custom dashboards, and alerts. Learn how to identify every chirp!

#AI #BirdNETGo #HomeAssistant #Birding

Automating Attic Pest Control Automating mousetrap notifications for hard-to-reach areas (like my attic) that I don’t want to check daily.

Last year I heard mice scratching overhead at 2 AM with a newborn in my arms. Did I want to climb into the attic daily to check traps? Nope.

Here's my journey into automating pest control notifications using a (now extinct) Z-Wave mousetrap (+ an easier option).

#HomeAssistant #Automation #Z-Wave

Last week I discovered BirdNET-Go.

github.com/tphakala/bir...

This awesome project continuously monitors the audio from my camera microphones and uses AI to identify the birds surrounding my house.

Today I spotted a beautiful Osprey pair overhead, and BirdNET-GO confirmed it.

#Birds #BirdNET

Apologies for any post spam. I just migrated all of my old posts away from Twitter.

The Smart Coaster That Keeps Me Hydrated Forget smart water bottles! I created a ‘temporarily permanent’ smart coaster to solve my dehydration woes. If I’ve lost track, my coaster nudges me to drink water, and refrains when I’ve kept up.

I built a smart coaster to battle my dehydration woes. When I lose track, my coaster nudges me to drink water through @home-assistant.io, and refrains when I keep up.

It went from an idea to a fully built prototype in 48 hours using wood, glue, an ESP32 board, and a ToF sensor through ESPHome.

YouTube Music listener badges showing that I am in the top 0.05% of listeners for Yellowcard.

My toddler is absolutely obsessed with @yellowcard.bsky.social and has put me as one of their top listeners on YouTube music. I'm glad they have a bunch of songs. Rock on little dude.

I did it! Nearly 3 years after purchasing it, I finally beat Ring Fit Adventure on the Nintendo Switch! All while reaching my goal of finishing it before 2024 ended. 💪

It took ~150 gaming sessions and a lot of sweat. But we got there. 😎

#RingFitAdventure #NintendoSwitch

I did it! Nearly 3 years after purchasing it, I finally beat Ring Fit Adventure on the Nintendo Switch! All while reaching my goal of finishing it before 2024 ended. 💪

It took ~150 gaming sessions and a lot of sweat. But we got there. 😎

#RingFitAdventure #NintendoSwitch

AI supercharged my quest to unearth the forgotten history of Soo Machine & Auto, sparked by a family connection. Explore my findings & how AI (NotebookLM) transforms research, breathing life into the past.

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2024/09/soo-machine-and-auto-ai-aplified-legacy/...

Never miss trash day again! I built a DIY system with Bluetooth beacons & @home_assistant that automatically reminds me when to take out the trash (and tells me when they've been emptied!) ♻️

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2024/06/bluetooth-beacon-waste-bins/

#homeassistant #smarthome #D...

#RingFitAdventure #NintendoSwitch

This past summer I started tracking my final utility, water. I'm tracking water consumption for my whole home and irrigation with @home_assistant using @esphome_ and my @OpenSprinkler controller.

You can read about my project here:

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2023/10/tackle-tracking-wate...

I receive push notifications when the mail arrives at my house by using a Z-Wave contact sensor to trigger an automation in @home_assistant. It's supposed to have a 5 year battery life! Here's my write-up. https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2022/10/mailbox-alerts/

Want to hear a good pun? Here's how I "transformed" our old doorbells to send us smart alerts using @home_assistant and some @usa_shelly Shelly 1 relays.

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2022/07/doorbell-alerts/

After a chunk of research, I'm happy to say I've cornered affordable options for water-leak detection and temperature monitoring inside @home_assistant using an SDR. I've posted my choices, device templates, and automations on my website.

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2021/10/affordable-wate...

Thanks to the "Notifications for Android TV" @HomeAssistant integration, I can see who is at the door while watching TV.

Also, no one rings doorbells anymore. :(

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/nfandroidtv/

Having trouble launching the #GoogleAssistant on your #Android work profile because you can't set the default assistant app? I think I have the solution to get around that without resetting. #Bug https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2021/04/android-work-profile-assistant-bug/

Our house has an old shower drain that hasn't been made in decades. Rather than cutting our toes on it or retiling the shower floor, I decided to recreate it.

I think I did pretty well.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4725691

#3dprinting #functionalprint🖨️

In July I posted about how I was monitoring my older 240V electric dryer with a vibration sensor and @esphome_. After overcoming incorrect alerts I switched gears to use a CT clamp with a split-phase meter for unequivocal monitoring.

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2020/09/dryer-notification-...

Since my washing machine and dryer are missing buzzers, I've tapped into using @esphome_ to monitor their states using power and vibration readings. Now I receive a friendly broadcast on my Google Homes when they are done.

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2020/07/appliance-notifications-throug...

I recently switched over all of my smart plugs in @home_assistant away from Z-Wave to @esphome_ and I couldn't be any happier with that decision. My new plugs are more accurate, reliable, and easier to manage.

https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2020/07/replacing-z-wave-with-esphome/

Google Meet's new noise cancellation allows me to run my robot vacuum without requiring me to mute my mic.

#AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch

#AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch

#AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch

A few weeks ago my co-workers asked why I had a fire extinguisher in my car. I explained it was because I didn't fully trust the wiring job on my remote starter. If you're interested in the full saga of achieving remote starter serenity, check out my post.
https://www.kyleniewiada.org/blog/2019/1...

I'm famous now. I just found my Amazon review of a product inside of a booklet that came with my package. Any day I'll start collecting royalties. #Zooz