I owe deep gratitude to the Journal for publicizing my invention. I’m hoping to be able to run a regular advertisement there as a thank-you.
Before the journal article there was Will Pierce, and his Evaporative Cooler Forecaster app. We’ve been talking every Tuesday about how to make our concoctions work together. Then there’s David Perkowski, who has vowed to get our device working with Matter and beyond so that we can be one more smart home appliance that you can talk to. Then, we just might get even smarter. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I’d like to make some improvements to our mechanical design, so I’ll do a posting on Reddit and see if there’s any interest. [I’ve changed my mind – this is going to wait until next year and the RC3 design, which will have a different housing – NRN] I’d like to make the physical design open source and let people customize to their hearts’ content. Since it’s 3D printed, someone could buy a controller then redesign the enclosure to look like a kitty holding a tablet, or a spaceship ascending. First, though, I need a professional-calibre mechanical engineer to check it out and suggest some ways to implement improvements I’d like to see.
The journal referred to my ‘invention’; it feels weird to me to call it that. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be an inventor. It seemed like a good way to make a living, no boss but yourself, play with cool scientific toys. Then I soured on inventors, maybe because they were so thoroughly ridiculed on TV. But Gordene kindly calls me an inventor, and maybe it’s time for me to take pride in that, too.
As an engineer, I always worked a job, first as an employee then as a contractor. Either way, I was expected to be there and get my work done. Now my work is never done! And I love it. As my collaborations with others grow, it becomes more fun. And what started out as a simply immodest dream is growing.
Thanks to all who have bought product, encouraged me, written reviews, and forgiven me and the controller for our inadequacies. And thanks to those adventurers who, years ago, allowed me to install pilot units in their homes!