Last weekend I went to a (home) hardware auction at the Nick’s and Ding’s hardware store on Herring Cove Road. Nick’s and Ding’s is closing their doors and were selling off all their floor models and select items from their warehouse. I picked up a lovely vanity ($175.00 – estimated value of $600.00) as well as a Garden Door ($400.00 – estimated value of $650.00). These things have obvious use in the house.

I’ve also been looking for a thermostat that I can connect to my home computer in order to monitor the house temperature and the furnace usage. After being disappointed with what I could find locally, I picked up an 8 port USB relay and a USB Thermometer.

I’m more confident in the relay than I am in the thermometer, and I’m not that confident in the whole system, but we’ll soon see how hard it is to jig them together.