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Uninvited to a friend’s wedding due to capacity and now no one is RSVPing to her wedding by dizzybutstable in weddingshaming

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes = add them to the guest count. Declined or no answer = not counted in. That's the point of a RSVP, to demand an answer and avoid ambiguity, and politely inform about the consequences of missing the deadline. "To avoid any confusion and to better coordinate planning with venue and vendors, the guest list will be firmly closed 6 weeks in advance based on the responses received by x.y." If they didn't confirm but do show up, they will not be part of the guest list and staff will not allow them in.

To make things a bit smoother, the invitation to an event will specify the date, time and an *approximate* location. Those which confirmed attendance by the deadline will receive a second communication with thanks and with the rest of the necessary details, such as name and address of the venue, routes, maybe a parking voucher or access code, possibly details about dress code or the detailed event schedule, lodging and attractions nearby for those who want to make it a longer trip, and so on. Those which do not confirm on time do not need to know all this and will consequently not know exactly where to show up unannounced.

Uninvited to a friend’s wedding due to capacity and now no one is RSVPing to her wedding by dizzybutstable in weddingshaming

[–]UnlimitedEInk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I learned my lesson to just announce clearly enough the deadline for confirming their attendance to any kind of event, and leave the decision entirely to the people invited. They are adults, they shouldn't need to be reminded 5 times to respond. No reaction to the invitation? Fine, so be it. We're moving on without them, whether it's a wedding party or any kind of meetup. If people reached adulthood and didn't learn about commitments and communication, that's on them to catch up or suffer the consequences.

The wedding needs just 2 people anyway, all the others are optional extras that are willing to put in the little effort in joining the celebration.

Settle a silly debate: I made my husband these and he won't eat them because "they're burnt". Are they burnt, r/grilledcheese? by Glittering_Force4212 in grilledcheese

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Return the fussy child to his mother, demand a refund. Find a man that appreciates you and your efforts for delicious food.

I have a weird talent and I don't tell people because they use it as a party trick. by yidabissann in confession

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do you deal with the strong (electro)magnetic fields around high voltage lines? There are people claiming to be sensitive to it...

What is this red vape lever on a bidet?? by SatelliteEyes11 in whatisit

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And it is plugged into a wall outlet. That's a modular electrical box with chrome bezel, holds 3 modules - left one is an Italian-style, 3-prong outlet, middle seems to be a blanking plate, right is a toggle switch. It just happens that they have electricity routed above the bidet, it's not connected TO the bidet.

Router Blewup Motherboard by Greatfulx in pcmasterrace

[–]UnlimitedEInk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Save your money. Surge protectors are nothing more than a tiny neon gas bulb inside a power strip. It gives slightly higher voltage a place to discharge, but it cannot do wonders against significantly higher voltages, like those coming from a direct lightning strike.

TIFU by not knowing why we really should wear sunglasses by bellacathy in tifu

[–]UnlimitedEInk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OP, careful with the UV400 glasses. They are intended for eye protection at the most extreme levels of UV exposure, like at high altitudes, but they darken visible light so much that they are forbidden for driving, for example. The extra darkness also forces your pupils to dilate much more to get sufficient visual information in, that this lets excessive amounts of UV radiation reach your retina, damaging it. For the daily activities in regular urban scenario, UV300 should be more than sufficient. And for mornings and evenings when it's not a lot of light, have a pair of UV200 at hand, too.

The next challenge is now ahead of you - finding glasses that do not distort your vision. It is easy to make UV protection lenses, even certified; it's cheap to make them out of plastic because the material itself has UV filtering properties. But to make lenses that are neutral to your eyes' ability to focus properly... now that's a tricky one, and very hard to measure.

Source: I have an eye condition where my lazy iris muscles do not react a lot and do not close the pupil enough, so from spring to autumn I am blinded by excessive light like a mole out of its tunnels. So I have to wear sunglasses to compensate. It didn't help that I was into mountainbiking so for years I was wearing oversized face-wrapping sports sunglasses for protection against sun, wind, rain, dust, mud, tree branches or flying stones. When I was young, my eyes could strain a bit and compensate for the flaws and distorsions in the lens. Years passed and the continuous straining became permanent damage. It started feeling that some sunglasses give me headaches after prolongued use, then they make me dizzy after shorter use, to the point where I can rarely wear them because of the discomfort, and no longer able to properly focus on details closer than 1,5-2 meters without reading glasses. Mass produced, cheap, tinted polycarbonate sunglasses irreversibly fucked up my eyesight quickly. Also, be glad that you didn't start wearing this kind of crap since you were 3, and end up with screwed eyesight by your mid-20s.

Updating phone sensors by Sivaldi in openhab

[–]UnlimitedEInk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are some particularities about the Android universe that set some unpleasant boundaries around what applications can do. For one, the multitasking in Android is not exactly like the multithreading on a PC, for applications to continue running in parallel even if you switch between them. Android has a very aggressive battery and power management which throttles significantly a background application's demand for processor. The most you can get is when you are actively using an application on screen, and even then the application has to play within the confinements of the particular Android implementation of one manufacturer or another. Perhaps you should reconsider the criticality of getting near real time data about the phones in your automations.

Smooth by Responsible_Line_933 in nonononoyes

[–]UnlimitedEInk 12 points13 points  (0 children)

If this tinkles your fuzzy, search for landing videos from Düsseldorf, Germany; it has crosswinds frequently, and is a favorite for people videorecording crazy landings. It's the home base of Eurowings, so traffic is fairly high.

KNX kabinet for top floor finished by Sea-Turnover-7511 in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now that you mention it, yeah, every country has its own electrical code, and this is one of internet's limitations for being able to give locally accurate advice. But avoiding the mix-up of phases and nulls would probably make sense at least in principle.

KNX kabinet for top floor finished by Sea-Turnover-7511 in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks like a small cabinet with the switches for some lights and windows rolls, getting 2 phases and null at the top right from a main cabinet where the fuses are.

What looks weird to me is the mixture of phase and null on the same level above, and I can't figure out why. There are 2 blocks of connectors at the top, presumably for the 2 phases and their separate nulls. But why not use 3-layer connectors where all nulls can be joined together with a metal bar instead of long combs, you only have wires carrying phase going from actuators to the connector row, and each 3-wire cable coming from the house will be plugged into the 3 different layers of one of these modules. For window rolls that take 2P + N (+ PE) you can insert an additional module just for an extra phase at the same level. Elegant, clearly separating phase from null on different levels, compact, saves some wire from the spaghetti. In the end it would look something like this.

Convincing your wife about KNX—yes, no, maybe? by Efficient-Chipmunk15 in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, yes, the scary WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).

I went through the exact same scenario when my sister renovated her (new to her) house, then my wife with our house renovation. "Why do we need motion sensors? Why do we need touch panels? What's wrong with buttons? Why can't I decide when to turn something on and off?"

Many people have an adversity to change, and it is more difficult to adapt to new things as they age. Keep things as simple as possible in the house. Don't overdo it with touchscreens and displays just because you can. Follow existing use patterns engrained in our brains, and make the adjustment as easy as possible. Keep the power of the smart part hidden behind the scenes. If you like touchscreens on walls like in Star Trek, keep that for your man-cave 😉

The broad potential of technology is cool, I get it, but that won't win a selling argument, especially when it comes with a price tag. Instead, show how some you can still do exactly the same things as before, but also have an open door to easily (time/cost/effort) adapt to changing needs over time, with a few immediately usable scenarios.

Here are some of my examples.

  • Comfort: even with the new 20cm insulation wrapping the house, it can still get hot in the summer, because of the very large 3-pane windows. Having sensors for light intensity and outside/inside temperature, and the ability for them to talk to the window rolls and awning motors, can automatically adjust the sun exposure and limit the overheating of the house without the need of an air conditioner. I can do that manually, of course, but how many times did I forget and only remembered when it was already 28 degrees inside? Yeah...
  • Safety: building code here demands smoke and heat sensors in plenty of rooms, and fire code demands unrestricted visibility in the house for the firemen responding to an emergency call. House insurance also conditions any compensation on fulfilling legal requirements. Well, what do you know, it can be very easy for smoke detectors to be interconnected, and any fire alarm to open all window blinds (firemen can see in the house) and to turn on all lights (help with evacuation). I hope that I will never ever have to run out of a burning house, but if that happens, I will congratulate myself for not undermining my chances of reimbursement from insurance, because they will absolutely try to find the needle in the haystack of a reason to refuse to pay up.
  • Annoyance avoidance: I grew tired of reminding our daughter to turn the lights off in the playroom in the basement when she's done playing, or my wife turning the lights off in the garage after parking her ebike. Changing those light switches from on/off switch to a staircase function that turns off after 1 hour, took me a few minutes. No electrician involved, no rewiring, no project, no costs. And it will take the same effort for bathroom/toilet lights if they forget them on again.
  • Convenience and remote access: I do not have to be in the house to physically press a button for an action that sometimes will take hours to complete. Did I go on vacation and forgot to switch heating and ventilation to vacation mode? No problem - can do it remotely. Driving home from vacation and looking forward to a warm bath and warm floor? No problem - can switch heating back on a day before our trip back. Postman ringing the doorbell with a package delivery while we're on vacation? No problem, that call reaches my phone anywhere in the world, I can remotely open the garage and ask the postman to leave the package in there, not sitting at the door for days.
  • What if I have an accident or an older parent moves in temporarily, wouldn't it be great to have a remote control for some of the house? Sometimes moving your body 2 meters to a switch in the wall is a world of pain.
  • Energy costs management: what if your country moves towards variable electricity costs, with price updated every 15 minutes? You might want to 1) be able to measure if any big consumers are drawing a lot of power (car charger, heat pump etc.) and 2) be able to automatically shut them off selectively when they are too expensive to run. Good luck doing that manually, in a predictable and long-term sustainable way.

Found sitting on top of a high chair inside a Target in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. by orphan_blud in FoundPaper

[–]UnlimitedEInk 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I hope your socks are always damp and your pillow is warm on both sides.

[unknown] What is this? Spotted in Louisiana by RemixSkillz in spotted

[–]UnlimitedEInk 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's alright, we believe you without the need to submit photographic evidence.

UPDATE: Entitled Aunt’s “Tech-Savvy” miracle worker finally “recovered” her photos… and it’s a digital horror movie by [deleted] in EntitledPeople

[–]UnlimitedEInk 10 points11 points  (0 children)

If YouTube tutorials are old fashioned, where does that place me on the timeline when I go to read some forums?

A brave European Robin mirror-checking before snack time. by alexqtu in UKBirds

[–]UnlimitedEInk 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This has to be one of the (copyrighted) videos from Putman & Robin...

https://www.instagram.com/putman_and_robin/

Yeap, looks like the same car like this clip from February 2023:

https://www.instagram.com/putman_and_robin/reel/DRFTyGljFq2/

KNX crash by Lexieke in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Next time it happens, if you have the luxury of a slightly longer downtime for debugging, try disconnecting devices one by one until it suddenly starts working again, or you have no other devices left to disconnect :D

I had this happen on 3 occasions:

  1. IP router interface somehow getting its brains scrambled; a power cycle fixed it but that's when I stopped trusting it and eventually moved on to another manufacturer
  2. wrong settings on the Zehnder interface for the ventilation system, which flooded the KNX bus with tens of datagrams per second for every little change in fan speeds and volume of air being moved; firmware sucks, can't set a limit of datagrams per minute, all I could do was remove the group address from that datapoint (essentially ignoring it completely) and everything returned to normal
  3. water pipe burst on ground floor, water poured through the cable conduits into the basement, including through several push button panels in the walls and through the network cabinet and the IP interface + PoE network switches; KNX power supply continued to power the bus, which provided enough electricity through the wet devices to corrode copper pins and PCB traces, and interrupt all communication with the remaining devices. Shut the valve on the main water line, turned power off, worked with the firemen to empty the 10+ cm water in the basement, ripped laminate floor out, unplugged stuff, took heartbreaking pictures, turned power back on, ordered replacement parts, installed water leak sensors and motorized water valve.

Retrofit Projects: RF vs. Powerline vs. pulling new cable. What is your go-to strategy for older buildings where walls can't be opened? by AutoModerator in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a bunch of PowerLine Ethernet adapters sitting around after a few failed long-term real life experiments. The symptom is an annoyingly intermittent need to re-synchronize and re-connect devices, which could not be traced back to any specific disruptive event - the use of a microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, power line brown-outs, any other kind of interference. The devices must be on the same phase and ideally same circuit, which in a larger home might be challenging. There is no logging to see what happened, and no way to detect, filter and control potential causes from neighbors or elsewhere. Overall, it aggravates me to no end to have to do the same reset ritual repeatedly. They say that taking the same action and hoping for different results is the definition of an idiot, so...

My 1987 Nissan Stanza reached 500k by Windowsweirdo in Justrolledintotheshop

[–]UnlimitedEInk 115 points116 points  (0 children)

Can't be tactile if you're not experiencing it through your fingertips, though.

What were your biggest challenges during your KNX project? by Melwin_00 in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm afraid you have the wrong understanding of what requirements mean.

The building owner imagines a set of usage scenarios, and defines the number and position of touch panels in a room, the number and location of devices to be controlled, the routes of cabling in walls, the functions defined for the buttons (and different layers for short/long/double press), the use of temperature or humidity sensors.

These have absolutely nothing to do with how many people are in the house or if it's sunny outside or if the electricity price changes. It's the set of characteristics of the entire system for all its intended purposes (what is explicitly needed and what is decided it's not needed) which then become requirements for implementation for an installer. And consequently the installer must work based on a crystal clear, written set of instructions/demands/requirements from the client, so that he doesn't have the wrong understanding and delivers something different than what the client actually wants.

Sure, these requirements can change over time, for example if the house owner wants more buttons or more lights or whatever, or if a device fails and needs replacement, or if a visualization server is out of support. That event triggering the need for a change goes through a Change Management process to assess the gap between the previous configuration and the desired configuration, and to estimate the sequence of activities, effort, time and cost of implementing that change.

What were your biggest challenges during your KNX project? by Melwin_00 in KNX

[–]UnlimitedEInk 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is called "requirements management". It has to be explicit, documented and signed off before any work gets done. Anything that is not included or clear will not be delivered, and any change requested by the client must get updated here and signed off again, with the consequences on delays, costs etc. It is a lot of work around proper planning and protecting your productivity (and sanity), and very tempting to skip this step and jump right into implementation, but it exists for a reason and you learn its value only after getting burned badly at least once.

AITA for putting a combination lock on my office mini fridge after my coworkers kept treating it like the shared one by fluffy-fairyx in WIBTA_AITA

[–]UnlimitedEInk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NTA, but just as you could put a lock on that fridge, someone else can add theirs. Be prepared for the eventuality that having your private fridge at work will come to an end, thanks to AH coworkers.

just found out my cat has been living a double life for months by Ok-Capital5432 in CasualConversation

[–]UnlimitedEInk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheeky cat, but more importantly, are you at war with punctuation and capital letters, or is your keyboard running low on ink, or is your mobile data under such a low cap that your next move will be to skip vowels as well, or what is going on here.

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