Making your Home Fun and Smart Without Giving up your Privacy

Having used several home automation platforms (X-10, Vera, Lowes Iris, Smart Things, OpenHab, Hubitat, Home Assistant) and decided that none of them fully supported everything I wanted to do. I stopped trying to find the do-it-all platform and focused on taking what I liked about several different platforms and finding a way to tie them all together. My automation / 'smart home' is always a work-in-progress, but come learn from my mistakes and learn about some of the successes and failures I've had to hopefully inspire your own journey. I'll be doing a tiny smart-home example live....so wish me luck.
By @Klipper