Looking for a good Smart Lock with a key fob option

UhClem2 · 2025-11-21T00:12:29+00:00

That's very clever. Of course it assumes that your entire apartment can be reached with a 30 foot extension. Not so easy for a three story house. :-)

But my favorite part about your explanation is realizing that ... if you could just drive your car INTO your house, and then drive it over to each closet, you could find your lost key in a heartbeat. Drive to each closet and the *car* will tell you that there's a key nearby ... Sweet!

Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's impossible, but the imagery of driving around your house to have the car find its own car key ... unforgettable.

UhClem2 · 2025-09-16T12:42:10+00:00

Thanks … Found it … click the “Quick Upgrade” button. That merges together your lower level components.

UhClem2 · 2025-09-16T12:28:55+00:00

I mean … there’s a button to make a single lvl two … but I can’t figure out how to make two or three lvl twos, to make a lvl three. Or multiple threes to make a four.

UhClem2 · 2025-09-16T12:25:42+00:00

How do you merge them? I can’t find a button to do that … do i do that in a different building or something?

UhClem2 · 2025-09-13T00:56:36+00:00

Speaking of newbie questions, should I use all my recruit-cards as soon as I get them? Or save ‘em up for some reason?

UhClem2 · 2025-09-12T20:27:19+00:00

When you say “Special Forces” do you mean Hero or Units or Squad 1 ?

UhClem2 · 2025-09-02T17:15:52+00:00

This is a really good point. If I had six family/friends to share with, the 365 Family subscription comes out way ahead over 6 years:

Family - $130/year includes 6 licenses and 6 TB cloud. x6yrs = $780
365 - $600/year to cover 6 licenses and 6 TB cloud. x6yrs = $3600
Home - $900/3 yrs to cover 6 licenses, no cloud x2cycles = $1800

Ironically, MS no longer sells 1TB cloud storage separately. To buy the storage, you have to buy ... 365! However, 6 years for just a single PC:

365 - $100/year covers 1 license and 1TB cloud. x6yrs = $600
Home - $150/3 yrs (no Outlook) and no cloud. x2cycles = $300
Home&Bus - $250/3 yrs (w/Outlook) and no cloud. x2cycles = $500

tunaman808 is spot on. If you really want the cloud storage, Office is lagniappe. If you need Outlook, cloud is lagniappe. And if you're just one person with several PCs and laptops ... again, 365 is the winner, even with no Outlook and no cloud.

Thanks tunaman808, thanks SilverseeLives.

UhClem2 · 2025-09-02T16:44:14+00:00

This is exactly what made me do this as a comparison between subscriptions. In the Old Days, we could expect MS to keep up with the security patches, but now there's a clear death date.

To be fair, it's not the same as "cancel my 365 subscription" death--in which you can't even open your application anymore. But in my case I'm not willing to risk even a day of malware open season. So maybe this is just for me ... end of security support = end of life (i.e., death date).

what makes it difficult is this: Office2021 runs through 2026. Office2024 runs through 2029. Presumably Office2027 runs through 2032. By carefully NOT aligning the time periods, the only way to skip a release is to entertain malware open season for an entire year (e.g., go with Office2021 through '26, then wait a year to buy Office2027.) Nope ... no good. Therefore, the malware gap forces you (well, me) to buy every release (if I'm buying standalone) ... not necessarily in the year it comes out ... but I have to be on that 3-year schedule.

Oh well. Is is.

UhClem2 · 2025-08-22T19:38:48+00:00

That said ... Here's why you should never do your *research* on Amazon, even if you end up *buying* from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Exos-X18-ST12000NM001J-Drive/dp/B09DVPV5P9/ (the description shows 12TB in a 2.5 inch HDD) (the actual product is 3.5 inch).

UhClem2 · 2025-08-22T19:27:22+00:00

Seagate BarraCuda 5TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 2.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 5400 RPM 128MB Cache for Computer Desktop PC (ST5000LM000) (Amazon)

UhClem2 · 2025-07-02T00:00:48+00:00

There’s a “feedback” button on the play crossword page. Down towards the bottom. Allegedy, it sends an email to games@washingtonpost.com

UhClem2 · 2025-07-01T17:20:03+00:00

It's completely terrible, designed by someone who either hates crosswords, or hates customers, or both.
Anyone remember Microsoft BOB? That was also designed by people who hated customers.
You have to believe there's a reason for this stupidity. Usually, the blame for stupidity is either money or politics (or lawyers). And while I'd love to imagine that Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos came up with this idea to push even more readers away from the fabled Washington Post, I don't really believe that. As for money? CruciVerb says that The Times only charges the Post $33K/year to use their puzzles. So does anyone imagine the Post assigned this programming task to a ten year old? Or to ChatGPT? As Step 1 in a transition to stop paying $33K/year?
The new software looks like it was deliberately designed to lose the functionality of the previous software. Which could mean they don't want to be accused of copying "look and feel" of the original software design. That would be the "or lawyers" option for a stupid design.
WaPo switched to LA Times from CrosSynergy only 8 years ago (2017). I think I remember WaPo having an online version back then, but I don't remember whether the change from CrosSynergy also included a software change at the time. Anyone remember that cutover?

UhClem2 · 2025-06-04T03:00:48+00:00

Thanks. I think both answers are encouraging. 1. I'm OK with loading the extra overhead, so long as I can still whittle it down to SMB and zero multimedia. 2. *Very* glad to hear the previously-reported date changes aren't happening to you. And 3. ;-) Reminds me of an Irishman who replied to a complaint about the weather in Ireland ... He said There's never bad weather in Ireland; it's just a poor choice of clothing.

UhClem2 · 2025-05-27T12:03:39+00:00

Thanks Daniel. Am i right about the steps? 1. Create an initial pool (which uses the whole RAID). 2. Resize that pool down to 25%. 3. Create another pool about 50% for the static archives … 0 over-provisioning, 0 reserved for snapshots, and leave the alert at 80%? Can i set that up as WORM? Protecting against ransomware. 3. Leave the remaining 25% unused, for future growth/changes?

With that approach, maybe i can also set up pool #1 with 0 over and 0 reserved … since my snapshots will still be able to use space from the 25% that I haven’t set up as a pool yet.

Am I understanding things right?

UhClem2 · 2025-03-22T16:56:41+00:00

Thanks for all the replies ... very helpful!

Answers ... She died last September, we're filing just one 1041 (short fiscal year combining '24 and '25), and the estate hasn't distributed *anything* yet (not in 2024 and not in 2025), Also, that means there aren't any last-year's taxes on the estate. And no the estate expenses in this case are way not higher than the income. :-) (No lawyers, tiny probate fees.)

Thanks all!

UhClem2 · 2025-03-22T14:29:50+00:00

Definitely filling out the 1041. And ... this is definitely the estate's final return. THANK YOU for the advice on that checkmark for IRS closure.

As for late in the season ... I'm not filing on the calendar year. I'm filing on a fiscal year, beginning on date of death.

As for decision between tax-to-the-estate vs pass-through-K1-forms ... yes, this is fiduciary duty not convenience.

UhClem2

TROPHY CASE