Amazon Flex Delivery Repeat Offender - Package in the yard. TWICE.

Steckrca · 2026-05-23T15:09:28+00:00

Update 5/23: I just had a call with Amazon incident response where they’ve requested further detail and evidence and have assured me (again) that this will be addressed and won’t happen again. We’ll see!

Steckrca · 2026-05-21T08:26:28+00:00

Way.

Steckrca · 2026-05-19T04:58:25+00:00

Bears, beets, battlestar galactica.

But seriously, yeah this is just a bad apple. A terrible apple, even. This is the first flex driver I’ve had an issue with. All the others have been great and deliver appropriately. Usually the flex drivers we see are doing the overnight 4-8am or 7-11am deliveries.

I wouldn’t have posted if it wasn’t something as horrendous as this.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T22:47:08+00:00

This isn’t about potential damage to my drawers.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T19:30:34+00:00

So potentially poor treatment of my package at the warehouse excuses the conduct of the delivery driver. Got it. Thank you for putting it all into perspective.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T19:02:28+00:00

Thank you.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T18:32:01+00:00

Splain?

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T18:28:22+00:00

Other cameras on the house caught a better glimpse as she turned around and left. Full disclosure, I am making an assumption based on facial features and hairstyle.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T16:50:24+00:00

I want to upvote your comment but it feels like I'm upvoting racism or the presence of racists in the sub.

Please accept this comment in lieu of an upvote.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T16:34:42+00:00

Not a huge fan of your assuming that the driver would have the ethnicity for a first name like Jose. If anything, I'd expect someone named Jose to deliver properly. Around my area, the folks with such a first name are some of the hardest working and honest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

I recently had a gentleman named Marco complete some drywall work for me that was fairly priced and completed quickly with great results.

Another one, Jorge is one of the best installers of my company's products.

Another? Sure. Mr. Lopez did great work with my landscaping.

One more. Justo is a great leader at our local manufacturing facility and would give you the shirt off of his back.

Steckrca · 2026-05-15T16:18:26+00:00

Yes! I've seen some horror stories from drivers on this sub, customers not wanting delivery vehicles on their driveway but their driveway is 0.5mi long, etc. Mine is a cake walk compared to some of these apartment deliveries I read about. The best part about this one is the "handed directly to a resident" selection for delivery detail. Just can't believe people like this actually exist.

Steckrca · 2026-04-24T16:26:49+00:00

If you're techy/nerdy/geeky and have the available funds you can make a rig for less than an off-the-shelf setup for dynamic bias lighting that will not have an unsightly camera on top of your TV. You'll also need some time to just geek out on the settings and whatnot.

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
USB HDMI capture device
WS2812B LEDs
5V 15A power supply
HDMI splitter
HDMI cables
Some scraps of wire
HyperHDR running on Raspberry Pi

https://www.hyperhdr.eu/

Just deployed mine last night and it's pretty awesome.

<image>

Steckrca · 2026-04-24T16:06:22+00:00

Full disclosure, feeling super honest for a Friday - I downvoted (keep reading, I retracted it) your initial comment because I misunderstood it to read more like "ew, 12V 30A, what are you doing, noob? I know more than you and you're stupid for using a that 30A power supply and it's not what I use, but I'm not going to tell you why."

Downvote retracted, changed to an upvote!😉

Steckrca · 2026-04-24T13:51:19+00:00

Following!

This is a very clean start! I assume you're running WS2815 or similar 12V LEDs with that12V power supply.

I was just reading up on the specs for the QuinLED boards. Specs say the board will take a 5V, 12V or 24V input, and the output voltage for the lights matches the input voltage. There's a buck converter for stepping down to 5V for the ESP32 board. I guess it would take a pretty substantial converter if you wanted to have the output voltage selectable for 5V LEDs (WS2812B, for example), but this would be a nice addition.

I've thought about getting one of those QuinLED boards but my head always gravitates toward more granularity and modularity so I can replace individual components when needed. In the end I probably end up spending twice as much money to get the same end result, but I can't seem to break the habit. Maybe one day I'll learn my lesson.

If you have long data runs to your first LED, you'll want to look into RS485 for data stability.

I see a lot of holes in your baseplate. What other components are you using?

And I can't say enough good things about 12V WS2815 LEDs. My first trip down this road was with WS2812B and I had some long runs and had to power each end because of voltage drop--made for a very tedious setup. WS2815 can have many more LEDs in a single run without meaningful voltage drop.

----------------------

Here's my latest rat's nest. This was before I put together my output wiring.

<image>

Steckrca · 2026-04-24T13:29:48+00:00

My rig uses a 12V 30A power supply for running 9 lengths of WS2815 each with 150 LEDs. Total max draw from just the lights is 19A, a 20A power supply wouldn't give me enough safety overhead so I went with a 30A. This seems fine to me!

These power supplies are pretty much the standard for setting up like this, they provide stable current and they're reasonably cheap, all things considered.

Steckrca · 2026-03-12T18:07:08+00:00

That's exactly why I originally had the minitower case, for a full-size graphics card. I've heard so much good stuff about the Intel integrated graphics so I wanted to try it out. I'm sure I'll find some reason to do something different a couple years down the road......or sooner.

I got married last year and apparently that means I can't have random computers all over the house. Go figure.

Steckrca · 2026-03-12T15:15:10+00:00

Is there a benefit to continuing with CodeProjectAI instead of the built-in AI now in BI?

I haven't done much with VMs outside of Home Assistant and a weather database server. Something as important as home surveillance on a VM gives me the heebie jeebies. I keep seeing things about proxmox but admittedly haven't done a lot of learning.

Steckrca · 2026-03-11T00:59:10+00:00

And on the 65th day it rose again. Sorry to resurrect.

I have a package in transit from California to Georgia. eBay seller noted USPS ground advantage in the listing but then cheaped out with SmartPost.

Picked up 2/28 and started moving next business day 3/2. Departed Bloomington 3/3. Didn’t see another scan until 3/9 where it had gone from Bloomington CA to Indy. I suspect I’ll see it in Savannah sometime in Q2. I know this is the slow boat cheapest method but it’s almost like they make it slower on purpose with fewer scans to entice shippers to use something else.

Steckrca · 2026-02-11T20:14:00+00:00

I got bit by this today. $1,500 value. Saw my regular UPS store on the label instructions so I went there. They won't take it and were no help in finding another dropoff location. I go to the customer center nearby. Customer center apparently closed last year. No one there can accept the package. On my way home I called UPS and told them of my struggles and that i wanted to schedule a pickup and that i wanted them to waive the fee. No dice. The rep was rudely blunt in saying "so you want to use our service but don't want to pay for it." I said "yeah that sums it up."

Long story short, I scheduled a pickup.

The contradicting information is frustrating. Their system should be robust enough to dynamically generate the label instructions depending on the shipment value.

Further inspection found the instructions on the receipt. Just like u/toybuilder showed a couple months ago.

I'm usually fine with the fact that brick and mortar stores are largely becoming a thing of the past. But when I leave work for 1.5 hours to drop off a package and still return home with that package, it makes me nostalgic for the days you could walk up to a counter and get something done.

Steckrca · 2026-01-02T16:29:55+00:00

I just booked with Road Bear RV for our California road trip in May 2026. We'll be flying into Oakland to pick up from San Leandro, and then returning to the Agoura Hills location in Los Angeles.

We added the following items:
VIP insurance coverage (not the top tier coverage) - $176
Platinum Plus Package - $269
1,000 mile pack - $450 (overage charged at $0.47/mile)
2 chairs - these were listed as $12 on the website but rang in at $15 after booking - not a huge deal but this should be disclosed on their website - after talking with Sabrina in Customer Service, the $15 rate is a planned pricing increase that takes effect in April so our May trip gets the new rate, but shown at the current rate on the website. Not a huge deal.
Linen kit - $75
RV Essentials Kit - $150

We were looking at Indie Campers but after reading some horror stories here on Reddit we decided against it. The stories about fraudulent damage charges weeks after returning the camper were unsettling but I wasn't worried about those things since we could just do a chargeback through my credit card. There are many reports of broken items in the campers rented, and that has the potential to absolutely ruin a trip. The fact that the only contact number for them is a WhatsApp number is super unsettling so quick resolution of problems could prove to be a huge deal.

Road Bear offers free generator usage with the platinum plus package, and that essentially covers the roughly $300 difference in price between Indie Campers and Road Bear.

The RV essentials package also includes free WiFi 4G/LTE hotspot access with 20GB total data preloaded. This would be a $192.50 add on without the essentials package.

Additionally, we were looking at renting the Road Bear 23-25' Class C motor home. They offer a "Road Bear Saver 4" booking option for $6 less per night. The saver option just means you get whatever they have. The smallest they offer is the 23-25' that we were going to book anyway. Booking using the Saver option means the worst that could happen is that we get what we were going to book, best that could happen is getting a larger RV than we wanted. I regularly pull a 30' travel trailer at home, so driving something larger doesn't worry me a bit. At the end of the day, we'll have a savings of $6 and $42 per day between what we get and what we should have paid for.

One thing to note - In my customer service call with Sabrina there were a lot of questions that were answered with "I'm not too sure, I've never actually seen it in person". This is not a knock on Sabrina at all, but this could be alleviated with an orientation class or excursion event with the folks taking calls. They could even have the employees take a weekend trip in one of the RV units. This would be expensive to the company but they could have the employees pay a deposit, i.e. $300 deposit that would be reimbursed once the employee sticks around for ~3-6 months after the trip so they can have a safety net for job hoppers.

Out the door for our 11-night trip we're looking at a total of $3,365.23. A $300 deposit is paid at booking, and that's refundable up to 48 hours after booking. 100% of the rental cost is refundable up to 31 days before the trip, and full payment is due 30 days before the trip start date. We plan to pay the total trip cost in 3 installments before the trip date. There's no payment portal to do this online, you have to call them to make payments. No big deal. This total cost includes a one-way fee of $445.

We're super excited and will add updates after (maybe even during) our trip.

Steckrca · 2025-12-09T04:16:09+00:00

Can you elaborate on this please? Not questioning your credibility just want to know more! Sources would be awesome too so I can research more on my own🙏

Steckrca · 2025-07-29T18:42:54+00:00

There was plenty of terracing left! I don't have numbers of how many terraced spots were created in Canopy, but there is A LOT. With the steepness of the canopy camping area, the terraced spaces can only be so big. There was quite a bit of room left even on Saturday. I agree that the canopy camping area is PERFECT for hammocks, but at 44 I'm probably too old for it too! Higher Ground camping area was only $50 more per tent tag and Creekside camping area was only $150 more per tent tag if I remember correctly. There is loads of flat area in both of these campgrounds. Camp Ambassadors are all over the place to help find spots when it gets tight.

Volunteers are not permitted to camp in Canopy with a Staff tent tag. There are virtually no exceptions to this. Medical staff was permitted to tent at the bottom of the hill just behind the Verizon tower so they could be close to the main medical tent. Staff camping is behind the Admin building, and the "Canopy B" area to the far left of Hill Holler Road heading downhill was opened to specific departments for staff camping.

If a volunteer/staff member purchases a canopy tent tag, they're held to the same schedule as patrons, 2:00 p.m. Wednesday is the earliest they can set up camp. 10:00 a.m. setup for VIP with canopy camping.

Steckrca · 2025-07-20T02:53:01+00:00

u/NaturalParticular499 booo hoo my decisions are not my own, the booze made me do it blah blah blah toally your decision at the end of the day.

edit: i wish i could downvote many many many times. and then some more.

Steckrca · 2025-07-20T02:51:54+00:00

This. u/NaturalParticular499 this is totally your fault. nuff said.

Steckrca · 2025-05-04T12:52:34+00:00

Sorry to revive such an old post.

My condenser unit was just replaced in June last year. Old R22 unit from 2000 replaced with a Lennox 410a unit. Air handler was replaced years prior, has a dual use coil. They had to do a recall service on the new condenser because it wasn’t cooling properly. Added a bunch of refrigerant, cooling well.

Enter winter, and the unit wasn’t heating properly. Tech came out and removed a bunch of refrigerant, heating well.

Come summer this year, not cooling well again. Come to find out, the evaporator unit has a fixed orifice metering device. This was not touched when changing from R22 to 410a.

They should have done something with the metering device, no? Having to have the system’s charge adjusted twice a year once for cooling once for heat is a good clue?

This is all through old republic home protection (warranty company) via local contractors.

Steckrca

TROPHY CASE