control panel
i've always been a little crazy about technological gadgets, and one of the little delights of my room at the empire hotel is this control panel next to my bed.
it has the look of custom electronics built for the absurdly rich. (since the empire hotel and country club was originally built by the sultan's family as one of their palaces with plenty of room for guests, i'm guessing that this gadget was ordered for the rooms in those days.) no brand name is present on the console, just a simple set of buttons and a vaccum-tube display.
the panel begins with the usual clock with alarm, along with the gratitous world time feature (but only for the 4 "cool world time zone" cities -- london, new york, tokyo, and sydney). the air con controls are a nice touch. but ah, the joy of controlling the room's lighting from the console! it reminds me of my geeky youth wiring up my room with X10 light switches so i could control the lighting from the X10 control panel / transmitter.
but the best feature is the control of the window curtains from the panel. nothing says "i am so lazy that i don't need to lift more than a finger in the mornings" than remote-controlled curtains. i love it.
when i get home from this trip, maybe it's time to investigate the world of DIY home automation again...
it has the look of custom electronics built for the absurdly rich. (since the empire hotel and country club was originally built by the sultan's family as one of their palaces with plenty of room for guests, i'm guessing that this gadget was ordered for the rooms in those days.) no brand name is present on the console, just a simple set of buttons and a vaccum-tube display.
the panel begins with the usual clock with alarm, along with the gratitous world time feature (but only for the 4 "cool world time zone" cities -- london, new york, tokyo, and sydney). the air con controls are a nice touch. but ah, the joy of controlling the room's lighting from the console! it reminds me of my geeky youth wiring up my room with X10 light switches so i could control the lighting from the X10 control panel / transmitter.
but the best feature is the control of the window curtains from the panel. nothing says "i am so lazy that i don't need to lift more than a finger in the mornings" than remote-controlled curtains. i love it.
when i get home from this trip, maybe it's time to investigate the world of DIY home automation again...
