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My Perfect Home!
For a while now I've had the dream of my perfect home, but its been more or less a vague generalization and dream. Since I currently have some time available I feel that it would be a good start to crystallize my thoughts onto my page so that when I finally start looking for this place I can implement my plans immediately. Its also a good idea for people who start looking for a place to grab some ideas. What's interesting is that as every day goes by I read another article online talking about things I have mentioned on this page having been built and coming on sale soon.
Location
One of the major aspects of my place would be that it would
have a great view of the city - prohibitive costs would prevent
it being from within the city itself, and my desire for a car
would make it unlikely that I would settle for one of NYC
boroughs such as Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island. Other
requirements would be close proximity to public transportation,
preferably a train station but also bus routes as well as <20
minute ride into Manhattan.
Apartment
Why an apartment as opposed to a house? Simple - I believe a
house is only necessary when you have two or more children who
are older than 5 years old, and since I'm nowhere near that I
think an apartment would give me more bang for my buck, allowing
me to spend the extra cost difference on intangibles such as a
nicer place, location, extra luxuries etc. When I figure
out how I'll put a drawing of a potential apartment here, but in
the meantime some of the requisites would be a nice open kitchen
bordering on a large living/dining room - 2 bedrooms, a large
bathroom with Jacuzzi - this would be the base model apartment -
depending on cash I would prefer a penthouse like in the movie 'Ghost'
where you actually had an upstairs where the bedrooms were
situated - I can live without the pottery studio though.
Electronics
Now this is where my apartment is really going to set itself
apart as a 21st century living space - a smart
home , as it were. I envision a small closet
which hosts all the electronics and a fully wired apartment which
allows me to view/listen to anything I want in any room I want via home
networking (12/99) -
monitors in every room which double as Hi-definition TV screens,
mikes and speakers in every room which allow me to interactively
communicate with the Computer that Controls the House (CCH). Electronics in the closet would
include a large server connected to a TiVo* type player/recorder
(records on hard-drive as opposed to normal VCR tape), DVD
carousel player and any other type of media device. My long
term goal is to have all my favourite media such as songs, movies
etc. recorded either on a hard-drive or accessible via
broadband
(Scientific
American article) for a modest fee (high
speed availability in your area). I
should be able to be in any room in the place and command CCH to
play any song/movie and have it available within 10 seconds.
Communication with CCH should be primarily vocal
, although a wireless keyboard can be used as a supplement (Latest
PC World article regarding Digital future - 1/2000)
As of now we're not too far from this in regards to music. I can currently record my favourite songs on a harddrive using RealAudio Jukebox - as of next year an English company will allow you to have a harddrive in your car to play music - probably about 2 GB, which means several hundred songs - these can be updated either directly via a USB connection or maybe wireless, although that would take a huge amount of time. Right now I'm going to download music from my computer to my Handspring Visor Deluxe and use it as a music player
A lot of buildings are now upgrading their wiring in an attempt to include all possible ways to access data, and doing it in an aesthetically pleasing way.
The Kitchen
What else is going to make my place significantly different?
For one thing, I don't anticipate having to schlep down to the
grocer ever again. My fridge will have a barcode and screen
on the front - I will scan all food items before putting them in,
touch-typing to enter partial quantities (e.g. 1/2 bottle of milk).
That might seem a lot of work, but will only take an extra couple
of seconds and the payoff is in inventory management. While
sitting down on my couch in the evening, I can talk to my
computer and tell it what I feel like for dinner that night -
Thai, Indian, Chinese? Let's say Chinese - the computer
scans an inventory of my fridge as well as other items in my
kitchen and using its vast database of chinese recipes lets me
know what I can make given the inventory constraints. Of
course, as time goes by the computer will learn my favourite
dishes, make suggestions based on these as well as be more active
when it comes time to re-order groceries via the
net. The database can also search the net
and come up with other suggestions, such as which Wine goes with
my favourite food etc. I would also rely on my database 'agents'
to order from the lowest priced 'net' grocer given my shopping
list as well as keep its eye open for bargains, coupons and new
local competitors.
The Bathroom
In a word, SPACIOUS! I'm not a morning person at all,
and since the bathroom is the first place I see in the morning I
want to have the space jump out at me, remind me of how good I
have things and set me in a good mood for the rest of the day.
This means that the sink cannot be right up against the toilet
against the bathtub. I want a jacuzzi, one that doesn't
involve me doing contortions to get in - preferably it will
comfortably fit 2, ideally 4. I may have to sacrifice the
bathtub for the Jacuzzi, but if not I don't want one of these
stupid standard ones that involve me folding my legs - I want one
where I can stretch out in luxury, all 5'8" of me without
concern. Needless to say I want an adjustable monitor at a
convenient point, one that I can control and watch from wherever
I am - one that connects to the Internet as well as TV (either
cable or satellite, depending on what I choose to go with).
Living Room
Large, Open - I'll find some woman to help me decorate it
since I don't have much of a sense for these things but have
plenty of friends who do - comfortable couches, definitely a
convertible pool/ping-pong table, an enormous screen on one wall
which can be used as either a TV or a computer screen or
preferably both at the same time(12/5/99
- article on Yahoo says double tuner TVs will allow you to do
this circa fall '00). Large windows with
potentially a balcony for barbequeing as well as a phenomenal
view of the city. The room will be a combination living
room/dining room.
This page is always under
construction!
© Last edited January 3rd, 2000