WFH Equipment Review Series: Espresso

When I started working from home, I was lucky enough to already have a basic home office setup. I had a desk that worked, a monitor setup that would get me by, and a space in my house dedicated to office work. However, a challenge that I'm sure gets overlooked by quite a few people when they transition from the office to home is the lack of a trip past a Starbucks or a Caribou coffee, or even the free office coffee to keep them going every morning. This is why the first WFH Equipment Review post is all about espresso.

The Espresso Machine

Now a lot of people are fine with any type of drip coffee pot. I'm not most people, I'm a coffee snob. I'm not sure how I became a coffee snob, but I am. What this means is I needed an espresso machine at home to match a quality similar to an actual coffee shop. This meant that it was time to retire the Keruig and move onto the Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista machine.

Mr. Coffee Cafe Barista and my KRUPS bean grinder

Now I absolutely love this machine. It has a high-pressure rating vs most of the cheaper espresso machines you might find (which means it will taste a bit closer to a coffee house with a multi-thousand dollar machine). It is fast, produces consistent espresso, and the bonus features of automatic frothing and milk warming make it a one-stop-shop for your coffee beverages. Of course, I'd love to upgrade to the next step up at some point, but it's just a wee bit hard to justify a $700 espresso machine.

The Espresso Bean Grinder

Now that you have your coffee machine, you're going to need to have a way to grind fresh beans, because hey, if you're going to have an espresso machine and are looking for that coffee house flavor, you better be sure you're grinding fresh beans. So that is why I'm all in on my KRUPS burr grinder.

This thing has been amazing. Not only does it grind my fresh beans in the best way without concern of burning the grounds, but the settings allow me to grind coffee for espresso, cold brew in my french press, or coffee for a standard drip pot when my folks are visiting. I did start out grinding every day but realized that got to be a bit much, so now I'm grinding enough to get me through about 3-4 days for a double espresso every morning. It is easy to clean and consistently allows me to have the perfect grind of fresh beans.

The Espresso Beans

Fire Dept. Coffee Espresso Beans

On my quest for a great coffee experience at home I knew tracking down fresh quality beans were also important. When I lived in the upper peninsula of Michigan, I had a coffee roaster just 4 minutes from my house where I could easily get amazing fresh roasted espresso beans. When I moved to Ann Arbor, I knew I had to try to find another high quality product that would take it's place. That is where Fire Dept. Coffee comes into my life.

Being a firefighter was a huge part of my life. It gave me the ability to lead a team of volunteers in service to our small community. It also allowed me to get on Chicago Fire as an extra. So of course supporting a coffee roaster established and run by Chicago firefighters and veterans is where I want to give my money for high-quality coffee. The best part, it is some of the best espresso beans I've ever had in my life. They are always coming up with new roasts and I honestly can't get enough. It is the only coffee I'm stocked up on anymore.

Ultimately, you need to make sure you are set up the way you need so you can be productive. Whether you are temporarily working from home or you're in a work from home job, you're going to need your coffee. So take the time to do some research, treat yourself with some high-quality products, and make sure you start your day the right way every morning.

My MacBook Pro Docking System

As my desktop iMac continued to age and start to show, I realized that the cost of maintaining a home computer and a laptop was really starting to bog me down. On top of dealing with software licenses, it just stopped making sense. Twice the amount of updates, dealing with syncing files, transferring photos between different Lightroom catalogs just became a lot of extra time. After a lot of thinking and research, I decided to pull the plug on the iMac and look into a docking system for my laptop.Having a 2016 15" MacBook Pro w/touchbar, I knew I had the raw power to make this work. It was just doing the research to figure out what it would take to get everything to hook up, make it easy to connect/disconnect and to investigate what type of burden this setup would case to my MacBook Pro.

Monitors

The first thing I wanted to research was getting a good pair of large monitors that would work out best. I immediately began looking for USB-C monitors. Since it had been a solid year and that there should be plenty of options out there. I wasn't a fan of the large price tag that came along with the LG monitors from Apple (plus the 4K monitors are only 22"). So the quest for the best monitor at a decent price began.My findings, there really isn't anything out there that would do what I wanted. A few models came highly recommended but were now backordered for months or non-existant. Disappointed, I gave up the search for USB-C and looked into HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort connections. I knew that there were plenty of cables/adapters around so no matter what, I could make this work. I finally settled on a pair of Samsung U28E590D 28-Inch UHD LED-Lit Monitors. My MacBook Pro could drive these two 4K screens and give me a pretty solid experience. With my monitors selected, it was time to find the perfect dock.

The Dock

Now there are a ton of docking stations still in Kickstarter phase or being developed. The problem was I was switching computers now and needed to find a solid solution. Something that could handle driving 4K screens, had audio in/out (for podcasting), and had a solid ethernet port (when streaming I'm always hardwired in). This didn't leave me with a lot of options, especially ones that were available. I first hit up the Apple store to see what was there, and all I found was a single docking system with terrible reviews.Trusting the audience of my fellow Apple-folks, I ended up looking into the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock. This slim dock would power/charge my MacBook Pro (meaning I wouldn't have to dedicate another port just to charging or worry about another power brick), it had all the connections I could want, and it matched my laptop in look/feel (now I know that sounds dumb, but when Apple puts that much effort into the design, I want to respect that and not dump on some large black accessory). For added connivence, I picked up a laptop stand to help with height and also give me place to stash this new Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Dock. This thing is truly solid, looks great, and places my laptop at a great height.

The Complete Docking System

This entire docking system together has been absolutely great. If I want to sit on the couch and work, I can. But if I need the extra power behind monitor space, a keyboard and mouse, it just takes two plugs and I'm good to go. Here is the full list of products I have to accomplish this docking station with links to Amazon. Every purchase you make through these links helps fund the server space for this blog - we appreciate you!

Technology Wellness: Say What?

Going tent camping this summer made me take a look at just how connected I am. And honestly, I wasn't happy about it. I'm a work-a-holic (by choice) but when I realized I hadn't actually relaxed in a long time. I knew I had to make some changes. Leaving my data connection off on my phone while I camped allowed me to still utilize technology. It kept me disconnected from the world unless I chose to connect. From that experience, came this thought process.

The Presentation

One of the things that people find shocking about me is that I feel there is a time where you need to just disconnect or unplug. This phrasing gets used all the time, however a lot of people tend to go about this in the wrong way. Devices and technology get blamed for why we find our society fat, lazy, and stressed about dumb things. However, this isn't the case. Devices and technology are tools that we utilize to live our lives. They aren't the "evil" that so many people are quick to blame. Let's break this down a bit since you are probably scratching your head wondering how a "gadget guy" could be promoting the non-use of gadgets.Below is the presentation I will give at the Michigan Tech Student Affairs and Advancement Retreat on Using Technology to Disconnect on June 7, 2017.

Using Technology To Disconnect from Jeremiah Baumann

Home Automation

The Building of My Digital Home

Home automation is something that you find a large split of opinions about. Some people absolutely love the IOT (Internet of Things) concept and can't wait to have everything digital and connected to their devices. Others fear government spying, hacking, and general concern of privacy and connections taking place in their home. No matter how you feel about home automation, it is up to you to do the research, and I'm going to try to make that a bit easier.

I've always loved the idea of home automation or having a smart home.

The concept of controlling everything from one remote (your phone) and having seamless interaction with your house as you move between rooms was a concept I always wanted to achieve, even as a kid. Yes there are dangers about hackers gaining access, but if you're smart, have your system locked down, and realize that your life isn't that interesting to most, you will start to feel more relaxed. With HomeKit being opened up finally, we will see new product lines that support Apple's home integration system coming very soon. With the addition of the HomePod coming in December, we will finally have a system in place that will allow Siri to have a standalone contact point within our households.Now as you know, I live in a very Apple universe. However, at this point in time, Apple is a bit late to the party. The Amazon experience and Google home really are leading the home automation frontier. Due to this, I had to make some sacrifices. I needed some home automation features but didn't like what was out on the market that was HomeKit compatible. So I did my own research and bought products that had great apps, did what I needed, and worked just fine. The following is the setup that I have currently and love even if it isn't Siri compatible (at the moment).

Sensi Home Wifi Thermostat

I did a LOT of research before jumping into a wifi home thermostat. There are so many out there that have a ton of wonderful features, if your house is new and has all those features. Since I live in an older house in the middle of nowhere in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I don't have a lot of those things. I don't have central air for starters. This means that a fully functioning smart thermostat "studying" my ways doesn't do me a whole lot of good.I also got very nervous when the Nest Thermostat servers had issues, and some people couldn't turn on their heat. If that happens in my town, your pipes freeze and explode. Not a risk I wanted to take. However the Sense Home Wifi Thermostat has been absolutely amazing. The Wifi component is just an added extra to an already great programmable thermostat. If the Wifi goes out or the servers go down, I just lose connectivity, not control. It is very easy to install and operate. The app is designed with the user in mind, which is a nice change to see. Overall, it has been great just being able to check to make sure the furnace is running, my animals are being kept at a comfortable temp, and the peace of mind keeps me at bay. 

Chamberlain Garage MyQ

As someone with a detached garage, there have been a few occasions in the past where I've gone to bed with my doors wide open. Luckily, living in the middle of nowhere, I don't have to worry about my items walking off. However, this still made me uneasy. I can't see the doors from any of the windows in my house so I needed a solution to keep better control. That is where the MyQ came into play.It is compatible with virtually all door systems including old ones. Very easy to set up, and within about 10 minutes, my doors were content to my smart phone. I can open and close and see the time stamps between usage. I can easily open the door for a friend while I'm traveling if they need to borrow something or if someone wants to just stop by to see my dogs while I'm at work.The app is simplistic to use, click the door to open, click the door to close. In terms of safety, there is a flashing light and a beeping that takes place if you are trying to close the door from the app, so nobody should get trapped or surprised by a closing door. Overall, it has been a great product and just another fun addition to my smart home system. 

Nest Cam

The Nest Cam gave me an opportunity I had been looking to find for many years. Having a fence for my dogs is great, until it snows. And in the UP, it SNOWS! We had over 200" of snow last year. When the snow decides to dump off of my roof, it makes a bridge for my husky and lab to go on an adventure. This happened twice and I knew I needed some type of solution to keep an eye on them. That is how I found out about Nest cameras.I immediately bought an indoor cam (the outdoor ones didn't exist yet), pointed it out a window, and could now tap in and see my dogs anytime I had an internet connection. All the cameras have two way audio, so I could listen in and yell at a barking dog as well. Once the outdoor camera was available, I bought it right away. Now I have full access to all my doors and backyard. Not only do I have the peace of mind with my dogs, but I have a security system in place at the same time.

Even with these additions, I'm still waiting for a few things.

I haven't 100% chosen a lighting ecosystem to follow. However with the latest update to Phillips Hue, it is now HomeKit compatible. More than likely, I'll be going that route in the near future. I also haven't found a set of electrical outlet switches that I truly like. There are a ton on the market and as always, I didn't want to bind myself to yet another ecosystem.The final challenge for me is finding a lock system for my house. Everything in my house is un-level and definitely not straight, so standard deadbolt locking systems won't work. The last thing I want to worry about is the door not being aligned. This would mean the auto lock actually opening up my door instead of locking it. Once I start seeing some more automated handle systems in place, then I will finally be able to jump on board.So I have a pretty decent (and cheap) initial setup. I can't wait to see what new products start to support HomeKit. With Apple opening the system hopefully we will see a lot more next year.The links inside of this article may link to sources that will benefit The Creative Technologist financially. Gotta pay the bills right?