We moved into a free-standing house (in SF) from an apartment and for the first time in my adult life, security became something I had to think about.
I bought 3x Arlo cameras -- a doorbell cam and 2x 4K cams to cover our patio & driveway, and I have to say, it's one of the best hardware purchases I've ever made. I never thought myself to be a "worried about home security" guy, but it's REALLY been great to have these.
First, I get to watch the raccoons come by at night and wander through our yard, which is funny and fascinating :)
Second, I get instant notifications when a delivery person is approaching so I can go greet them and they don't even have to ring the doorbell, and
Third, it provides actual security. A homeless dude parked himself in front our garage a few weeks ago and settled in with his crack pipe (Welcome to SF everyone!), and I quickly and politely got on the remote audio (from overseas!), said "Please leave the area" in my most authoritative and polite voice, and he got up, waved in the universal "sorry, didn't think anyone would notice" way, and all was fine.
Non-electronics:
I've rediscovered my love for numismatics lately and I just bought an 1883 Morgan dollar, toned in proof 63 and man oh man does that bring me joy.
If you're a coin nerd, you know what that all means. If not, it's a gorgeous colorful piece of handheld art in form of a silver dollar that the US mint produced in 1883 specifically for collectors, and it's stunningly beautiful (and was entirely out of reach for me when I was a 10 y/o and first got into coins).
5 arlos here and I love the hardware but the software is so bad and unreliable, especially mobile that I regret going this direction. I'd probably go with unfi if I did it all over.
We moved into a free-standing house (in SF) from an apartment and for the first time in my adult life, security became something I had to think about.
I bought 3x Arlo cameras -- a doorbell cam and 2x 4K cams to cover our patio & driveway, and I have to say, it's one of the best hardware purchases I've ever made. I never thought myself to be a "worried about home security" guy, but it's REALLY been great to have these.
First, I get to watch the raccoons come by at night and wander through our yard, which is funny and fascinating :)
Second, I get instant notifications when a delivery person is approaching so I can go greet them and they don't even have to ring the doorbell, and
Third, it provides actual security. A homeless dude parked himself in front our garage a few weeks ago and settled in with his crack pipe (Welcome to SF everyone!), and I quickly and politely got on the remote audio (from overseas!), said "Please leave the area" in my most authoritative and polite voice, and he got up, waved in the universal "sorry, didn't think anyone would notice" way, and all was fine.
Non-electronics:
I've rediscovered my love for numismatics lately and I just bought an 1883 Morgan dollar, toned in proof 63 and man oh man does that bring me joy.
If you're a coin nerd, you know what that all means. If not, it's a gorgeous colorful piece of handheld art in form of a silver dollar that the US mint produced in 1883 specifically for collectors, and it's stunningly beautiful (and was entirely out of reach for me when I was a 10 y/o and first got into coins).