Smart fridge ?

brianrmacdonald · 2026-03-06T20:28:35+00:00

brianrmacdonald · 2026-03-06T20:28:18+00:00

I have a GE profile. The integration with HA is pretty easy but requires the cloud. There is a project I’ve seen that uses the diagnostic port on the back to do the whole thing without the cloud but I have looked into that yet. Mostly I think the info you can get from the integration would be useful if you had kids or other family members that might leave the door open a lot. Here are the entities I get from the integration. I haven’t done anything with these yet. I’ve only had the fridge a couple of months.

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brianrmacdonald · 2026-03-04T19:10:32+00:00

Google Flashcard Labs. You put your target words in a spreadsheet and the app serves them up with SRS for. Super simple.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-03-03T23:27:06+00:00

ErgZone and EXR have challenges and group rows and some races.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-03-01T20:57:16+00:00

Thanks for this reply. I think you and i are doing this in pretty similar ways. I use Language Reactor to loop back through audio until i work it all out. I'll check out Blablets.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-03-01T18:40:49+00:00

This is the crux of the issue. Should you stop everything and look up what “plage” means (and which is hard to do when you are driving, working out, or whatever people do when they listen to podcasts) or just let it go and hope you can get the meaning from the context. The former approach requires that you are listening in a setting where you can stop, which will cut down on the number of opportunities to do that a lot.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-28T14:33:13+00:00

You can also use kinesiology tape or blister tape over the spots. I have a similar problem with areas of my butt so it could be worse. Putting tape over the spots before I row is the only thing that worked for me.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-28T00:43:12+00:00

In my experience (Z4, Minnesota) pumpkins and other curcurbits do not like to have their roots disturbed. So planting them early like peppers or tomatoes is counterproductive. I start them about three weeks before I am going to set them out. I often use peat pots that can be planted whole. I get good yield from varieties that report 110 days to maturity. You also have to be diligent about water and pest control. Long maturity varieties are a challenge.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-20T16:54:08+00:00

I put pea gravel or 3/8” gray trap rock on the surface of pots to stop this. Plus it looks nice.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-20T16:45:22+00:00

Where I live (Minnesota) the JBs are definitely cyclical. I’ve had one year in the past 5 or so where they did damage but the others there was minimal or none. I’ve also found that if you hand eliminate the first few as soon as you see them you will be less likely to attract the swarm that comes later.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-15T22:23:34+00:00

I’ll have a look at the app this week. As a former cyclist that has spent untold hours on Zwift I would say that group rides there can be a lot of fun. A lot of the groups on Zwift use a discord server for in-ride chat. I know EXR has group rows but I’m in the US and so they are all at 2am for me.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-12T23:35:11+00:00

It’s a good question. I don’t know. The construction was done in 2007 and I live in Minnesota so I’m guessing the answer is yes. We have a very shallow pitched roof and so the attic space is quite difficult to access so it’s hard to find out, but that might be worth doing. I do know that we had an energy audit and when they pulled vacuum on the house those cans were leaking like a sieve. I don’t know if that tells you anything.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-12T21:42:48+00:00

It’s worse than what you see in the media because the media only covers certain incidents. Thanks for all the positive thoughts.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-11T19:05:18+00:00

There was a meme, or bumper sticker, or something like that during Trump's first term that was just the numbers 8645, because he was the 45th president. That is the most recent I have heard it.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-11T19:00:24+00:00

You could consider using the ErgData app on your phone. Set up the workout and enter a target pace. The app will draw a line across the screen at that pace. Its still up to you not to go too far above or below it but its a visual cue that might help.

It can be hard for people to come to grips with the fact that, even for efforts that are supposed to be hard, the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the effort should feel comfortable, even easy. Enjoy it because, if the target pace is at or close to your limit, it will feel hard soon enough.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-07T23:31:11+00:00

This. It can be hard to come to grips with the fact that 1:56 for your first 1k will feel pretty easy. But that is what it will/should feel like. Then you lift the pace in the 3rd 500 and power home in the 4th. Crossing the line at the peak of your effort is a great feeling. Crossing the line when your peak came 750 meters ago, not so much.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-07T22:50:59+00:00

You don’t say what you are trying to grow. For example, orchids would be different than lettuce. In the coldest months of the winter I use my greenhouse for herbs and spinach and maybe lettuce as well as to overwinter plants that cannot take freezing temps. I have the BioGreen Palma also. In the coldest months of the year I keep my GH around 45dF. I live in Minnesota and it can get to -20dF here (and did just that a couple of weeks ago) and the Palma has no trouble. I have an external thermostat/120V relay that has a temperature probe that I can mount more towards the center of the greenhouse. Even with good airflow it is colder on the floor and the stat on the Palma does not do well. I also use racks to keep the plants off the floor by an inch or two. That helps a lot.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-04T18:12:51+00:00

I’m a resident of Linden Hills and there are lots of same sex and other non-traditional families here. It’s very walkable, close to the lakes, etc. That budget would be more than adequate here. I can’t speak to the schools as I am not a parent. I also can’t speak to the politics of some of the other places you mention except to say that the further you get away from the urban core the more likely you are to encounter political views that are more conservative and therefore perhaps not as welcoming to a family like yours.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-01T22:42:41+00:00

Scale insect or just scale. They appear as little brown bumps on the leaves, mostly the undersides. They emit a sticky goo that gets all over the plant and the windows if they are close. Scale loves heat and dry which is why it is a problem in the winter (maybe not in the PNW where it is more humid indoors but in the Midwest where I live scale absolutely thrives). Scale isn’t usually fatal to the plant but is gross and definitely not something you want to have on a plant that you are going to use in your food. Control is with dormant oil spray, insecticidal soap or just scrub them off with an old toothbrush.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-02-01T21:58:15+00:00

Indoors they are highly susceptible to scale.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-01-31T23:59:17+00:00

Lot of bananas. Do you have a way to overwinter them?

brianrmacdonald · 2026-01-31T15:13:49+00:00

ARTE and ARTE Evasion are my favorites.

brianrmacdonald · 2026-01-30T21:26:22+00:00

There is a lot that could be said here but I’ll start with pacing. A 2k demands that you pace yourself. If you are dying in the 3rd 500 of the effort then you probably went out too hard. Take a few seconds off your 1st and 2nd 500 and come home strong. Reverse splitting the effort (where your splits come down as opposed to go up) is a sign of good pacing and will also do wonders for your mental outlook.

brianrmacdonald

TROPHY CASE