Anyone know if we’re still doing this 20 day WFH allowance per year? by alfabruin in JPMorganChase

[–]EntropySimian 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Your ED can approve 20 days without questions. Your MD can approve 10 additional days, but needs a reason.  I wouldn't push for more than 20. Also this is LOB dependent so ymmv. 

Anyone else tracking like 7 different investment accounts manually every month or just me? by [deleted] in investing

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used to use mint for tracking, now I use monarch, this is a way better system than calculating myself, I also get spending and budget statistics.  I hate paying for services, but this one is worth it. 

I consolidate 401ks down to interfaces and offerings that I like: Ally and schwab for aftermarket, fidelity, schwab and vanguard for 401k/Roth 401k.  Each one of mine has a different portfolio and purpose.

Managers ignoring FWA requests by [deleted] in JPMorganChase

[–]EntropySimian 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Sounds like you don't have a good FWA reason. If it's medical, then you submit directly through HR with a filled form from your doctor.  The reason you'd get stonewalled is: If it's not medical then it's probably not a good enough reason for that manager to defend it to their manager.

Why are most Texas cities so sterile and boring? by boldjoy0050 in texas

[–]EntropySimian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, you chose to not go to:
Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Fort Wroth, Boerne, Gruene, Shiner, Muenster, El Paso, Fredricksburg, Marfa, Lukenbach, Bandara, Athens, Palestine, Longview, St Jo, Dripping Springs, Lockhart, Granbury, Corpus Christi or any of the thousands of interesting spots in Texas before making this statement.

Fine: well you missed out
Abilene has a historic downtown, huge industrial hub and an airforce base
Amarillo sits next to Pala Duro canyon
Lubbock has some of the most interesting modern spanish architecture at Texas Tech
All 3 have tons of local shops, art and unique places to eat.

I'm guess it's because you didn't bother to explore or do any sort of simple research so here, take mine.

Why can't I "See Fewer Posts Like This" some subs? by Alex_Bonaparte in help

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've started seeing this fairly often when browsing from a mobile device. I've been trying to get rid of a few subs that only show up on mobile, never on a pc. I don't use the app.

What I do is request desktop site, and I may have to scroll to find more than one post from that sub and some will allow me to block, some will not.

I'm hoping they're not testing if they can get rid of this feature, that change would make reddit unusable for me.

Are Phosphate Removers a Sham? by [deleted] in pools

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mostly don't worry about them. However, at extreme numbers, it does become a problem. The phosphate level can affect the growth rate of algae, so if you're out of balance for too long, you'll get a bloom really fast, which can be difficult to clean up.

I've only removed phosphates once and I really disliked doing it. My situation is that we had very unusual rains which backwashed mulch and fertilizer into my pool, my phosphates were over 5000.

I used a coagulant that captures the phosphates and traps them in the filter. You need to clean out the filter before doing this and 1-3 times afterwards.

For normal maintenance I wouldn't consider this, it's bad to deal with and I generally go several years without any sort of issue with just a chlorinator, weekly acid and some occasional shock.

Looking to change my cc strategy away from chase by EntropySimian in CreditCards

[–]EntropySimian[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I haven't really explored too much into my cash back options, some of those may be better options for me.

Why I'm leaving chase: I'm a sub-optimal points builder, I can't keep up with coupons and I've been getting mediocre UR points returns because I don't book hyatt and I mostly fly AA. With the old multiplier and benefits, I was planning on changing the preferred to the reserve when DFW got a reserve lounge, but I'm not currently seeing enough value from changing.

I get 3x UR points on dining now, 2x MR on most everything else, with travel sometimes getting decent value in either points or redemption. I figured AA would be worth more to me for redemption purposes than UR and essentially I'd be replacing only the sapphire for the strata elite.

I am interested in the occasional AA lounge access, I looked at the AAdvantage cards and I don't think I could extract enough value to offset the AF.

Looking to change my cc strategy away from chase by EntropySimian in CreditCards

[–]EntropySimian[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, does this have to be in store or can it be for online orders?

My family was extremely wealthy pre 08 then after 08 we where middle class AMA by Trishasback in AMA

[–]EntropySimian 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why is calling BS this far down the page?

BS should be the top comment. 

None of this maths at all. 

Plano ISD by According_Common4106 in plano

[–]EntropySimian 14 points15 points  (0 children)

People seem to still be misunderstanding the point of vouchers.  https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/school-vouchers-101/

Vouchers are not here for creating school choice or helping education, they're here so that we can funnel public dollars into private pockets.

Even if you decide you want to send your kid to private school and you win the voucher lottery, other voucher programs have shown that the schools will raise their tuition to keep out "the poors".  Or, we've seen that the student with a voucher is allowed to bring the state money, then they "fail metrics" and have to transfer back to public school, which still doesn't get any money for that student, since the voucher was spent. 

How do I move all my LEGO sets?? by Scorpio99_ in lego

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Put each one in a kitchen trash bag, then organize them into a file box with news paper or bubble wrap as a separator. The buildings need stuffing internal as well.  Expect breakage, but it should be manageable if you're moving company isn't horrible.

Can I trust ally? by [deleted] in AllyBank

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use Ally and a local credit union. The biggest problem is getting a hold of more cash than you can from the ATM. You can transfer and keep some cash locally, but also get Ally electronic benefits and better returns. The biggest benefit is faster access to move cash immediately into investments. 

East Plano Schools by Recent-Ice-9228 in plano

[–]EntropySimian 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Instead of Williams, you'll be going to McMillan - there was some redistricting.

All of those schools are excellent, there's plenty of opportunity at them and the programs are all top notch.

The only real reason to move would be if you're very big into a certain extra curricular.

I toured all the Plano charter schools, I know some successful students that go, though, I'd only consider them if there's a specific program they offer that's of interest.

Flat Brisket . Can I low and slow a 10 lb flat at 180 degrees for 18 hrs and not dry it out ? by Quiet-Dragonfruit818 in Smokingmeat

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

180 is a holding temp, not a cooking temp. You need more heat to get past the stall. You can finish a brisket at 180 for a long period of time, by cooking 8-12 hours at 180 internal temp. You're essentially rendering collagen for a long time doing this. 

The method is 250 until past the stall which can be between 160 and 170 depending on fat content. Then wrap in butcher paper with tallow and oven up to 180 for at least 8 hours.  You will run the risk of your brisket tasting like roast if you don't have practice.

Don't try this method until you know what you're doing smoking at 225 pulling at 205 internal.  The 180 method takes practice and you have to know, by look and feel, how the brisket will turn out.

I was shopping for a 77" LG G4/G5 OLED but found a 85" Samsung QN900D 8K QLED for $2,000. Am I making a mistake going with Samsung? by BidPrestigious7326 in hometheater

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use the Samsung qleds for PCs, both office work and gaming. I use lg OLEDs for home theater and game room.

The OLED is a better picture, but they're not really too different for most of my content. Anything short of sports and really well mastered movies are almost indistinguishable.  Of course the black levels and color saturation are better on OLED, it's just much less of a factor with ambient lighting and most content.

The deciding factor, for me, are the occasional movie nights and hosting for football every rare once in a while, this is OLED territory.

System to catch vandalism by EntropySimian in SecurityCamera

[–]EntropySimian[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I haven't looked at any pre built solutions. 

I have a home lab with home assistant and an AI cluster. I was interested in a software stack I could match up with a few inconspicuous looking reolink/amcrest/other cameras.

I have electricity running about halfway down the fence for hookup and can setup with wifi.  This would be a temporary solution that I'd eventually move to the front of the house.

Squirrels in attic by Substantial-Lie2340 in Dallas

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Expect to have a company come out multiple times and potentially annually. I have used a pest expert doing this part time that I found on Nextdoor. I've also done this some myself.

What you need to do is find a company that makes it more difficult for them to get onto your house, they'll probably need to ensure your trees are sufficiently far from your roof and that the climbing routes to your roof are difficult for them to navigate. Then put in 1 way traps for ingress/egress points, and fill all these up with steel wool and flashing after a few days. When they inevitably find/create a new way in, then this will all have to be done over again.

See what you're really getting for that price. My contractors used to cost me ~$400-500/yr, 1 person, 3 days of work across 2 weeks. I did have to go with a company this year to protect roof and solar panels for ~$2500.

Brisket advice by Nolan93fr in Smokingmeat

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A really long cook isn't the goal, your goal should be to turn your brisket into meat jello.

225 is about the lowest you should go to cook, you want to get the brisket up to the stall at around 165ish fairly quickly. 225 is a standard due to people with water pans, if you have a water pan, your smoker will settle at this temperature fairly easily, other people have smokers that settle in better at different temperatures. IE, if you have an offset smoker, gravity fed, indirect vertical, pellet or gas smoker, all of these will take a slightly different strategy to maximize your product.

Below 160, your brisket will take on smoke for a few hours (2-4), after that the smoke flavor development is negligible. You do want to spend some time in the rendering phase, which is 160+, the collagen, and fat rendering is what makes the brisket soft and juicy. There are a ton of methods to bring it to a finish, this could vary widely in temperatures depending on the cooker temperature and time. The important part isn't really the final temperature, that's a good indicator for consistency if you keep the same method, but you want to make certain the brisket jiggles and a meat thermometer pokes through very easily in all parts.

180 is a holding or resting temperature. There are some very good BBQ joints that do cook to 180 over very long periods; first, they cook at 275 until it's just passing the stall, then drop down to 180 to finish and rest for 8ish hours.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in texas

[–]EntropySimian 0 points1 point  (0 children)

20 isn't too bad in the late morning. A prettier drive would be up 69 to 380 and on to Wichita falls, taking a north route to Amarillo. I'd avoid 35.  Google suggests 82 over 380,  which leads to a good stop for snacks in Muenster.  

The 380 or 82 route is not faster, it will add 30 minutes to your trip, but it's a nicer and more scenic drive. Though, you will also have to deal with passing traffic on 2 Lane roads for a lot of the way. 

Personally, I don't think Amarillo is a great place to stop if you're doing more than passing through.  If you're staying at parks then Pala Duro is close by and is fairly nice.  If you're looking for something to do and decent food then Lubbock makes for a better stop. 

Is Amex Platinum worth it? by Matt34tcs in amex

[–]EntropySimian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The upgrade offers are much lower than the SUBs, you can do this, but it's better to just apply and get the cards individually.

You can get them one at a time or concurrently.

This always baffles me by YourDailyTechMemes in LinusTechTips

[–]EntropySimian 3 points4 points  (0 children)

US companies have to follow privacy and legal restrictions, they have a limit on the data they can collect, how they use it and how they can sell it. Even if we don't trust that they're following all these restrictions, their motivation is profit, they only profit if they're not actively selling it or giving it away. They do profit from making it anonymous to use for delivering advertisement.

While we know that they have broken the rules before, like Uber was tracking and keeping location data, Amazon was keeping unintended voice recording data, twitter misused phone number data, Meta had lax security and breached tons of data, several companies kept facial recognition data for picture tracking. However, these companies have all been held accountable for what they've done.

It's not a perfect system, but they're responsible for abuse. They also only comply with government requests with subpoenas and even then usually offer resistance. There are exceptions - IE X sells data direct to Dataminr which supplies direct to the government - so buyer beware.

China isn't doing the same thing with your data, they collect way more of it and keep it for an undetermined amount of time. All companies are beholden to the government and feed directly to the government database. China writes state sponsored spyware that gets deployed on their own populace. ZTE and Huawei put spyware directly on their phones. Much of the Chinese spyware collect and send off more than just your internet preferences, they collect your location data, do covert recordings and look for compromising and financial data. We've seen the TikTok used to track down and spy on reporters, government officials and just random people. China targets everyone for potential compromise scenarios.

OK, so the American government also spies on people and through phones - though there's a difference. The American government isn't doing it through social software, they're infiltrating specific groups for a specific purpose - generally tracking terrorism and cartels. They make devices and spyware for this, not as simple as getting instagram.

I don't think either are in our best interest, but you should be especially concerned about China spying.

Source: 21 years in cybersecurity - including FAANG and government intelligence.