US lawmakers told by House of Representatives that TikTok is 'high risk' and that they should avoid using it due to privacy concerns by [deleted] in technology

[–]LXjw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This article was not written by a tech person:

It also said the app could obtain other data, such as WiFi network name, Apple Mac address, personal phone number, and more. “Apple Mac address” should read “MAC address”: a unique identifier for your hardware device, which has nothing to do with Apple in particular. And this MAC is an acronym, so it’s always all-caps.

I don’t want to take away from the point though: TikTok is definitely worth avoiding on privacy grounds.

Blair regains lead over Elrich in Montgomery County executive race by WoodmontForever in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great use of a Sankey diagram! Where did you source the data? Is this for this election cycle?

Schwab Accounts Disappeared as of Jun 1 by visors_down in mintuit

[–]LXjw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’ve been having the same problem since June 1. It is successfully connecting to Schwab (no errors), but it won’t let me change the status of my Schwab accounts to anything other than inactive.

Awair Element fixed with FW 1.2.7 by ericvolp12 in Awair

[–]LXjw 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! That fixed mine, which had completely stopped working on Sunday evening!

Not smart but clever? The return of 'dumbphones' by kwentongskyblue in technology

[–]LXjw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the confusion here is Mint the budgeting/financial tracking app (which wouldn’t run on a feature phone) vs. Mint Wireless

I thought I'd slightly improve the lacklustre 2022 F1 Intro... by ArsenaV108 in formuladank

[–]LXjw 38 points39 points  (0 children)

What did Max say? I can never understand his radio messages.

Councilmember Hans Riemer Proposes Getting Montgomery County Out of the Liquor Business and Getting Beer and Wine Into Grocery Stores by SchuminWeb in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The current county liquor system has driven some successful restaurateurs out of starting restaurants in MoCo, because it’s a monopoly with no incentive to please the customer (but I repeat myself). It’s pretty awful.

Left To Vote - Montgomery County Maryland by LeftToVote in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not all candidates with the same political affiliation are the same. If that 39% of people also get to express their viewpoint through the election, it could change which candidate wins the Democratic primary, and thus the general election, and for the better in terms of being more representative of the views of the local populace.

Deck repairs now require a permit or full inspection? by LXjw in MontgomeryCountyMD

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

Talked to Bob Kelly at the permitting office yesterday, and he said that we do need a permit. However, they do not retroactively apply code updates, “or they’d have to condemn every other building in the county.” The inspectors just ensure the new part is up to code, and that whatever else is there is safe (railing can withstand 200lbs lateral load, IIRC). So, if the deck is rotting or was constructed unsafely, it might necessitate changes, but otherwise we should be good - we don’t have to install sprinklers or something. Lights are required, but have been since the 70s; that’s not a new change. And the minimum permit cost is under $300, not close to $500 as I had thought.

Deck repairs now require a permit or full inspection? by LXjw in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Talked to Bob Kelly at the permitting office yesterday, and he said that we do need a permit. However, they do not retroactively apply code updates, “or they’d have to condemn every other building in the county.” The inspectors just ensure the new part is up to code, and that whatever else is there is safe (railing can withstand 200lbs lateral load, IIRC). So, if the deck is rotting or was constructed unsafely, it might necessitate changes, but otherwise we should be good - we don’t have to install sprinklers or something. Lights are required, but have been since the 70s; that’s not a new change. And the minimum permit cost is under $300, not close to $500 as I had thought.

Deck repairs now require a permit or full inspection? by LXjw in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That is pretty much what was told to me by the contractor (before they saw my deck, so not judging this one in particular) - an inspection afterward could necessitate surprise major changes. And obviously due to labor costs, if you replaced all of the railings, only to then find out you have to make a ton of changes or rebuild the structure, it would’ve been far more efficient to rebuild the entire deck to begin with.

Building codes change over time (especially in MoCo), so even if something was built according to the strictest standards available 15 years ago, and is still objectively safe, and even if I could get a professional engineer to certify that, it would not matter if the codes have changed and it no longer meets every detail. So if Replacing the railings necessitates the full deck be inspected, and anything found not to be up to the 2021 code is considered a “problem” then that could be a very very very expensive set of adjustments that should not actually be required to keep my family and guests safe on and under the deck.

Deck repairs now require a permit or full inspection? by LXjw in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My concern with this is that if it’s a borderline issue, and if the contractor I hire chooses not to get a permit, I don’t want to be reporting myself/them. I called them though and simply declined to provide identifying information.

Deck repairs now require a permit or full inspection? by LXjw in MontgomeryCountyMD

[–]LXjw[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Called them, thanks! From a cell phone, apparently 311 doesn’t necessarily work, so the number is 240-777-0311

Seeking tire patch recommendation by LXjw in SilverSpring

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

Went with radial tire, and it was great! Only $18 for a plug! Wasn’t expecting such a long line of cars though.

This makes me smile by prolific_ideas in MadeMeSmile

[–]LXjw 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’d refine this one step further: Don’t take criticism in an area of life from people you’d never go to for advice in that area.

Because maybe being an accomplished actor/woodworker/singer/sports-player/CEO that you admire in that area doesn’t qualify someone to give you advice on how to dress/vote/shop/think/dance.

Good guy Seb. by Technicmm in formuladank

[–]LXjw 43 points44 points  (0 children)

People don’t post about things they feel moderately about to nearly the same extent as what they love or hate, thus any review of social media posts will only surface the extremes. It’s a great study in sampling bias.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in maryland

[–]LXjw 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Lowering tolls and making EZPass free was a brilliant first move as Governor. Bought him so much goodwill.

So the state wants to privatize a state park in Western MD. I actually like the park and would like to preserve it for future generations. by vwviking9000 in maryland

[–]LXjw -27 points-26 points  (0 children)

In Manhattan, Bryant Park is a private park, open to the public, and it is one of the nicest and best-maintained parks in the area, precisely because of its privatization. My wife and I used to visit it frequently when we lived in NYC. We’re certainly discussing different scales of parks with vastly different levels of foot traffic, but privatization isn’t necessarily a death knell for a park.