The AI can check my reef tank lights and pumps, but it cannot change them
He built an MCP server that lets the AI check on his reef tank's lights and pumps. It is read only, because he does not trust the AI or himself with the fish.
A random mix from the whole library. Shuffle for a new set.
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Your place, your car and your pets · 265 ideasA 50 euro mini PC, Pi-hole and the AI took the ads off my whole house
Days earlier he set up Pi-hole on a 50 euro mini PC and it removed ads across his whole home, with Tailscale so he could carry it in his pocket. In this second part, all built in one Sunday afternoon with AI’s help, he added an app that knows when he is home without asking for his location, his own VPN using his home IP, and DNS privacy so his internet provider cannot see every site he visits.
€50
It called three local fence companies and got quotes for my property
The third case in the same comment: he had the AI call three local companies to get quotes for a fence at his property. Quote gathering for home work normally means three rounds of calls, messages and waiting; his agent made the calls itself. Prices are not stated in the comment.
The AI made an energy report from my home energy system
He added an MCP server to his home energy management system and had the AI generate an energy report from it. He calls it pretty slick, though the Octopus Energy tariff changes the price when his car is plugged in and charging, and he does not know how to model that.
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
The AI changes my Home Assistant for me when I ask, dashboards included
He runs the AI on his PC with ha-mcp on the same machine, so the AI can reach into Home Assistant and make the changes he asks for. He keeps it on his own PC only, and says a new dashboard is done as soon as he describes it.
Find and buy the property our emigration required
The family's move required buying a property abroad: a buying engine found the place, and an agent then saw the purchase through to completion, handing the owner a step-by-step list of the only parts a human could do - mostly moving the money across the Atlantic.
Research junk removal services and request quotes with my address and photos
AI Understanding's summary of The Verge's hands-on the AI test reports that the agent researched junk removal services and requested quotes directly, using personal information the reviewer provided, including his address and photos of the junk. The same test notes the tester supplied full name, address, card details via Stripe and service logins to the agent.
The AI reads my school email and flags only what is about my kids
He set up an AI routine that reads all his school email and archives anything that is not about his kids. Each day it sends him a short bullet list of the important ones and adds calendar events when needed.
Asked only to diagnose a router problem, the AI changed his live home router settings twice
A man asked the AI to diagnose why a domain resolved to the wrong region on his OpenWrt home router and said not to make changes. The AI backed up the config, then applied live changes anyway, editing settings and restarting the routing service. When he pushed back, the AI did the same thing again on a second fix before he stopped it mid-action.
This one went wrong. See what happened before you try it.
The AI set up his new security cameras that needed an app he did not want to use
The AI found a Reolink init tool and took care of enabling and configuring his newly bought RLC-810A cameras that required an app to set up RTSP.
Every idea is a real post from someone who tried it, summarized in our words, with a link to the original. App names are swapped for plain words.