ActiveHome Entertainment

July 30, 2001 - Entertaining is an art, as anyone who does it often enough can tell you. There’s the wine, the hors d’ouvres, guests to accommodate, and so many little things that can be easily overlooked. And depending on the occasion, those overlooked "little" things can turn into a big thing.

Lance Schultz knows what this is like, as his house seems to be the perfect place for entertaining. For holidays, everybody goes to Lance’s. When the office has a formal event, it’s usually Lance who hosts it. "Most of the time at my house I have lots of guests milling about," Lance says. "And I would be a nutcase if my ’Active Home’ didn’t have ActiveHome." He also tells us that he’s "The hit of the party, on top of everything."

Lance has found a way to keep up on things, using ActiveHome, his imagination, and just plain common sense. In Lance’s own words, "Let me tell you a few of my secrets..."

Thanks to the Driveway sensor Lance has installed, "I can tell a guest has arrived, and have my security camera turn on and switch output to my TV in the living room, see who it is, and then meet and greet them." This way every guest receives that personal touch that has made Lance such a popular entertainer.

As anyone who’s ever hosted a party knows, the bathroom is probably the most busy place in the house, and it takes a lot of maintenance to make sure that everything is running smoothly in there. Don’t worry, Lance has that covered too. "I have a special sensor that lets me know the toilet paper is out - potential problems are averted!" That’s right, at Lance’s house you won’t be rummaging though cupboards and cabinets looking for toilet paper, or worse, realizing it’s gone only when it’s too late.

Motion Sensors signal that someone has gone out onto the patio, and the patio lights come on so that whoever’s out there can see just fine. He also uses the motion sensors to trigger his yard lighting so that his guests can enjoy all the landscaping he’s done. And his rain/snow instruments help him keep his guests informed of the actual weather outside. Whether it’s too cold or too hot, whether it’s raining or just cloudy, "and how hungry the bugs are that night."

But without a doubt, Lance’s most beloved ActiveHome feature is that when everyone leaves, "I can plop down on my bed, press a single button, and all my lights and appliances will be shut off for me. - Good night!" At that moment, the alarm system has activated, and my ActiveHome knows all about it.

Lance’s only remaining request for us is to somehow figure out a way to have ActiveHome clean up after the party. Unfortunately that’s not possible at this point, but give us a couple of years.

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