Home-Automation on Rusty Bower

Fleet-Managing Fire Tablets from Kubernetes

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have three Amazon Fire tablets mounted around the house running Fully Kiosk Browser as Home Assistant dashboards. They’re cheap ($35-50 each during sales), they have decent screens, and Fully Kiosk turns them into locked-down kiosks that show a dashboard and nothing else.

Whole-Home Audio with Music Assistant: Kubernetes Gotchas and a Silent Raspberry Pi

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My music setup had accreted into a mess. Across two Kubernetes clusters I was running Navidrome, Lyrion Music Server (LMS), beets, and my own AI radio station (SUB/WAVE) - plus a Raspberry Pi running piCorePlayer wired into a Dayton DAX66 matrix amp for whole-home audio. Four things that all “played music,” none of which talked to each other, and no single place to control any of it from Home Assistant.

Teaching Security Cameras to Describe What They See

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A notification that says “person detected on doorbell” is useful. A notification that says “a delivery driver in a brown UPS uniform placed a medium-sized box on the porch and is walking back to the truck” is significantly more useful — especially when you’re in a meeting and trying to decide whether to get up.

Unit-Testing Home Automations That Run in Kubernetes

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Home automations are code that controls physical things. When they break, the consequences aren’t a 500 error — they’re a garage door that won’t close in a snowstorm, or window shades that open at 3 AM, or a tablet that charges to 100% and stays plugged in for months until the battery swells.

Building a Home Assistant Dashboard with Whole Home Audio Control

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My Home Assistant dashboard has evolved significantly over the past year. What started as the default auto-generated cards has become a carefully organized interface that my whole family actually uses. Here’s how I built it, with a focus on the whole home audio system that ties everything together.

Optimizing Z-Wave Thermostats for Home Assistant Control

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I have six Honeywell T6 Pro Z-Wave thermostats throughout my house controlling a multi-zone HVAC system. Out of the box, these thermostats have their own scheduling and “smart” features that conflict with Home Assistant automations. Here’s how I configured them to let HA take full control.