This is very cool and I'm glad you were able to build it.
On the contrary though, I've been fascinated with simple non-technical solutions to problems lately. For example, my buddy hates it when people use his driveway to turn around. He lives on a corner lot and the layout is prone to people turning around in his driveway, and apparently this is a pet peeve of his. He was talking about installing a gate, or a retractable pole that he could extend from a hole in the driveway, all these intricate technological solutions, etc. I gave it some thought and got him a street cone off eBay to put in his driveway. I leveraged human psychology over technology and it worked like a charm and only cost $30.
For your example, I would just put a do not disturb sign on the door. The flip around kind they have at hotels. It takes getting up, but just as effective and you get a few steps in. Of course you don't get to learn and build stuff, but like I said, I'm fascinated by simple solutions right now.
But you have to remember every time to flip it before a meeting starts and after it ends. If you don’t then it will start being ignored because its never accurate. It also doesn’t work if you get an impromptu call or meeting you weren’t planning for. If you have a simple, predictable meeting schedule, a sign could be fine, but an automatic solution can work a lot better in other situations.
>But you have to remember every time to flip it before a meeting starts and after it ends.
Agree, but it's an easy habit to pick up.
>If you don’t then it will start being ignored because its never accurate.
Yes, that pavlovian response works both ways. If people keep interrupting my meetings, I'll remember to put up the thing. Remembering to take it down when the meeting is over is more problematic though.
>It also doesn’t work if you get an impromptu call or meeting you weren’t planning for.
It does. I've never had a meeting where it didn't take me a few rings to get my AirPods in anyway.
I totally agree with most of what you said and I appreciate the technical solution presented. Like I said my mind is just into finding simple, non-tech solutions right now. Also another benefit of the simple solution is it costs probably a buck or two, cheaper if I made the tag myself with scissors, part of a cardboard box and a marker.
The problem with both solutions is it doesn't work for dogs who typically can't read. An even simpler solution just occurred to me. Shut the door when I'm in a meeting.