sunnySide ↑ BBS

sunnySide ↑ BBS was established by Jordan Heinz in June 2020 as a long-term, nonprofit art & science open knowledge web log (blog) to promote STEM learning & sustainability.  Over the past 30 years on the Internet, I have determined that technical blogs have driven my curiosity & allowed me to explore subjects that were not formally documented on any other source or platform.  I have decided to begin sharing this knowledge over time to continue learning, document, teach & display my commitment to these subject matters.

The term ‘BBS’ refers to a bulletin board system & is a throwback to an era of dial-up modems, focused communication between individuals or groups, & the exchange of data & knowledge between the users of the BBS.

Welcome everyone, and thank you for beginning this journey with me.  Subscribe & join the BBS at the bottom of the page if you enjoy what you read or learn.  Ads are strictly prohibited.

In scope ->

Home landscape

  • understanding sunlight exposure
  • understanding soil types
  • understanding terrain & drainage
  • understanding plants
  • … to be continued

Building home avian communities

  • identify birds by call or sight
  • learn bird behavior by species & how they fit into the community
  • establish living cavities for target birds
  • establish feeding stations for target birds
  • establish sustainable food sources for target birds
  • establish sustainable water sources for target birds

Philips Hue ambient & mood lighting

  • familiarization with the technology
  • familiarization with software that drives it
  • integration with Spotify or Apple Music
  • apply principles indoors & outdoors using groups & zones

Dark sky, low-voltage LED architectural landscape lighting

  • familiarization with light pollution & applying dark sky principles

familiarization with landscape transformers

  • converting 120VAC to 12VAC

familiarization with direct burial wire & its limitations

  • how to attach each light to the main line
  • selecting the right gauge of wire

understanding the different measurements of electricity involved

  • power = current x volts
  • understanding voltage sag & how to overcome it
  • learning the purpose & use cases of each type of landscape light

designing your own low-voltage landscape lighting system

  • understanding shadows
  • understanding over-saturation of light
  • apply creativity & art

Smart home landscape

familiarization with smart light switch technologies

  • lutron caseta
  • honeywell

familiarization with smart technologies surrounding exterior lighting

  • philips hue
  • outdoor RGB LED strip lights

familiarization with smart technologies surrounding sensors

  • motion
  • light
  • temperature & humidity

proximity

  • ultrasonic

familiarization with smart home device communication & radio technologies

  • z-wave
  • zigbee
  • bluetooth
  • WiFi

Smart home automation

familiarization with smart home hubs

  • samsung smartthings
  • apple homekit
  • openHAB

Microcontroller programming

  • … to be continued.

DIY Solar power & photovoltaics

  • … to be continued.

Mini & micro smart farming

  • … to be continued.

Retro arcade & console gaming

home

wiki

Single board computing

  • … to be continued.

Private, open source home cloud storage

  • DIY Micro, Mini, or Full size
  • ODROID
  • … to be continued.

HiFi computing

  • Schiit Audio Ragnarok
  • … to be continued.

Minecraft Java Edition

  • Family Survival
  • Family Creative
  • … to be continued.

Home surveillance

  • POE
  • Hikvision IP Cameras
  • …to be continued.

WiFi

  • POE
  • Ubiquiti UniFi
  • …to be continued.

Clean eating

  • Lazy oats
  • Soy — the healthy choice
  • Goodbye cheese
  • Diets are just guides, not religions
  • … to be continued.

Smartphone addiction

  • … to be continued.

Gaming addiction

  • … to be continued.

Practicing Mindfulness

  • eyes-closed bird listening
  • … to be continued.

Out of scope

  • Politics
  • Religion
  • Current events