For a long time people told me I should start a podcast. I was told time and time again that I would be great at it, that I would love it, and that it would be easy. They were actually right for two thirds of that equation, because I am good at it, and I do love it. But it is very much a complicated affair, and not at all easy. It takes me about two weeks just to complete and finish an hour long podcast. The learning curve on this has been substantial, but I think I am finding my groove. Installing a smart thermostat, and connecting it to my Alexa home assistant, has really made things go a lot smoother. Since I live on the thirteenth floor, my apartment always feels like the furnace has been left running overnight. Heating always rises, and with twelve floors of people below me, I always feel that heating. The problem comes when the A/C runs while I am recording one of my segments. Although i can barely hear the sound the air conditioning makes, the central equipment vibrates enough that the microphone picks up on it. It almost sounds like the humming of a power line, which means the AC has to remain switched off whenever the mic is on. This new smart thermostat really helps, because now I can just tell Alexa to shut it off until further notice. Now I don’t even have to get up to turn the A/C on and off as needed for my recording sessions.