History of my webcam publically controlled Lava Lamps

January 2025

I’ve been being a lot more productive for the past few months, partially because I had to pick up all the animal chores and partly because there is very little else to do, so I’ve returned to spending all day on my computer instead of watching TV. After a long time off, I finally figured out a way to have my webcam(s) back online better than ever before. No bandwidth use except when you watch, optional audio or not, and even full two way video chat if I want, all without needed to port forward my IP – which isn’t an option when using Starlink Satellite Internet. With webcams back online, it only made sense to bring the lava lamps back – except I left them all behind when I ran away from home. So you got a $3 plastic light to turn on and off. Enjoy.

Updated May 2024

For a long time, I have had something in my bedroom/home office that could be turned on and off by the website while looking at my live stream webcams. For a while, it was a single bulb and then later it became a set of three orange lava lamps. They went offline when I moved out west and gave up the lamps, but this past week I have been trying to get them back online since I’m streaming a lot more these days.

With the help of ChatGPT and IFFT and a smart lightbulb, I finally got the right code to bring back the feature.

I intended to use a $3 ceiling glow light instead of Lava Lamps since they were all left behind when I moved out west, but my Smart Plug is the only one in the universe that seems incompatible with IFTTT. I’ll keep searching, or replace the plug with another one. For now, it turns on or off my ceiling light so all the webcams can see it.

December 2024 Update

I finally found a free working solution again. It doesn’t need IFTTT now that they started charging a monthly fee. This version is much better, and currently still free. The buttons work again, although I am still strugling with ways to show the webcams online. Out on the farm, we are pretty much forced to use Starlink satellite internet that shares bandwidth and doesn’t allow for port forwarding easily. The hoops I need to jump through are complex especially if I want it to be free. So at this moment, you can turn my lights on or off, but you’ll have to trust me. There is no easy way to prove it. It’s an ongoing project there are many paid solutions to it. I’m holding out for a free solution.

I’ve had a webcam and a Lava Lamp in my office or bedroom since I discovered the original X10 power control boxes. Some of you may remember X10. For a while, their ads were plastered everywhere. My roommate at the time wrote a small utility to activate the plugs from a web-based click. Those X10 boxes still exist, but they’re cheaply built and the ones I had for the control box all broke.

Rather than buying another cheap X10 box, I wanted to figure out a way to get the Lava Lamps (now in 3 sizes around my room) to work using the new SMART PLUG technology. The ones that work with Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby and Alexa.

It took me over a month to finally figure out how to do it. My first attempt was successful but irritating. I actually had the web links play a small WAV sound file of my voice saying; “OK Google, Turn on the Lava Lamps”. IT worked but every time it played, any time of the day, I jumped out of my seat startled. It scared the poop out of me. It was fun to watch, and so visitors were doing it all the time just to see me jump.

I shut it down. Today, with some helpful suggestions I discovered the joys of IFTTT and figured out how to make it work to trigger my Lava Lamps silently on and off. I’m super happy, and also surprised it was so hard to find. I would have expected this would have been an easy project.

It was super hard to find anything online that used words and terms I was familiar enough to figure out. There didn’t seem to be anyone else talking about it. A web link or button to control a smart device. To me, that seemed like an obvious need.

Today, my need was resolved, and I finally got a WEB BUTTON/LINK to turn on my Lava Lamps! Finally. No more crappy breaking X10 boxes for me. I can now control any of my smart devices from the web/Wordpress. Only the Lava Lamps are on the website for now.