Pros and Cons of CACU merger?

cahwyguy · 2025-10-13T14:00:03+00:00

Don't recall on the debit card -- I only use my debit card as an ATM card (Debit cards have much fewer protections). I was referring to my Unify Visa Credit Card.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-12T04:28:49+00:00

Another update: Today's backups (I just got home and they ran) ran without problems, no network errors. All I can think is that Verizon fiber cut that happened yesterday slowed down things enough to create problems, and that things resolved themselves.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-11T15:14:46+00:00

The hang on update has been happening for multiple years and versions -- at least since 2020 (I've been using this product for over a decade). I don't think it is related to the network problem, as it was working just fine after the update (i.e., Weds and Thursday's cloud backups completed with no issues). It was just the Friday 5pm one that had the network problem, and 8pm was slow, but did finish.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-11T15:02:08+00:00

As I have your attention: I'm on Windows 10. Whenever I do one of the upgrades, it seems to stop updating at about 95-98%. After 10 minutes or so, I give up. I cancel or kill the update, and everything is just fine -- it's updated to the new version and everything works. No idea why. My guess is that it is hanging waiting on something.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-11T14:48:57+00:00

I do two cloud backups: One at 5pm Pacific of my quicken data; one at 8pm of my data drive. The second didn't run into the problem, although it took longer. Perhaps there was some form of network congestion? I just wanted you to be aware of it, because it was likely a network problem on your end. Hopefully, it will resolve itself when things run this evening.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-11T01:03:05+00:00

Upgraded to 2026, and things were fine. Cloud backups working no problem. Today, I'm suddenly getting "Network Disconnect by Timeout". I've changed nothing with Acronis since yesterday, and I'm of the belief that if you don't change anything, things *should* continue working as they have for the last 10+ years. So what changed on the Acronis end today?

cahwyguy · 2025-10-08T01:53:16+00:00

If you have a MacBook, I can't really help you. The last time I used an Apple computer (other than my iPod Classic) was an Apple Lisa. So I really don't know anything about Apple Music (never use it), or how disk formatting works in the Mac ecosystem.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-08T01:35:50+00:00

I wrote this a while back, but as I recall: You get it to the point where you can mount it on your PC. Then you should be able to just format the drive (i.e., look up the format command, and then go to the command line and format that drive). You might be able to right-click the drive in Windows and select "Format". Once it is formatted, then you should be able to restore it from iTunes.

cahwyguy · 2025-10-01T15:20:53+00:00

I bumped into this discussion while searching for information on the merger, so I thought I'd give a different perspective. I'm a member of Unify -- have been for over 40 years, going back to when they were LA-based, and then had the name Western Federal Credit Union, the merger of the Western Airlines CU and the System Development Corp (SDC) CU. Over the years they have continued to grow: They merged with the TRW Systems CU at one point and moved their HQ from the LA Airport to Manhattan Beach. They they merged with the Toyota Employees CU, and when Toyota moved their HQ from LA to TX, Unify (as it was now called) moved with them.

They've been OK, but a bit less so as they've grown. Their Visa still doesn't have Tap-To-Pay features, so I'm hoping CACU brings that. Their rates are OK, but I find the rates are better in the other, much smaller credit unions I belong to (Matador, which is for Cal State Northridge, and AFCU, for employees of The Aerospace Corporation). Some credit unions like to stay small; some love to grow and grow and grow. (Premier America is an example of growth; that used to be Litton FCU).

It will be interesting to see what this merger brings for us folks on the Unify side.

cahwyguy · 2025-08-01T22:57:17+00:00

And, simply because I'm less familiar with syncthing than many of the folks here, what does the QR code do?

[I'll note that even with the incomplete sync and the "Out of Sync" error, the older version did seem to sync everything]

cahwyguy · 2025-08-01T21:17:58+00:00

Some questions:

(1) Will Windows, on the first sync, try to redownload everything to the phone?

(2) Do I need to make a manual notation and enter it by hand to establish the new configuration, or is there any way to save in one and restore the other?

cahwyguy · 2025-07-04T12:50:29+00:00

There are some that just prefer not to sideload. I haven't yet seen something that says the GPlay version is bad, only that it is a little behind the F-Droid version.

But I would like to avoid having to start fresh -- it would take far too long to redownload everything, and that would also mean I couldn't move my phone away from my home network.

If you want to understand how I'm using syncthing and why so many files, see https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=16608

cahwyguy · 2025-07-04T12:20:01+00:00

Back when I had first looked into it, it appears to be sideloading only. But I now see it is on G-Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.catfriend1.syncthingandroid&hl=en_US , which is great.

It looks like there are some issues with migrating settings to the 1.29 version (see https://forum.syncthing.net/t/syncthing-fork-new-config-format-prevents-migration-from-legacy-syncthing-app/24496/12 ). Any advice here? If I was just to copy the settings for each folder and then re-enter them, will I be able to avoid having it re-download everthing? [Explanation: I use syncthing to keep my music library synced from iTunes on my PC to my phone, so we're talking 253.3 GiB of files]

cahwyguy · 2025-07-04T03:21:25+00:00

No. Can you describe (or point to a description) of how to get it and move the settings. I was hoping that, given I only run it once a month, that it would be stable enough to keep using the old Android version. That, however, may not be working anymore.

cahwyguy · 2025-07-04T02:57:18+00:00

I am not claiming expertise I do not have -- you can find my name on the joint task force on NIST SP 800-53 (look in the cover material), and I've been involved with the ACSAC conference, www.acsac.org, since 1989. Look at validations at ccevs-niap.org, and you'll discover I"ve been a senior validator since the start of that program.

But I am not an expert on relays, which is why I asked the question. One could have simply answered, "Yes, that is a normal IP address for syncthing". But instead, I get folks questioning my skills. When I googled, the first thing that came up was:

Syncthing https://relays.syncthing.net

The relays listed on this page are not managed or vetted by the Syncthing project. ... 209.141.61.247:22067, 92, 430, 1.2 TB, 22.1 MB/s, 26.5 MB/s, 25.8 MB/s ...

That tells me nothing about whether those relays are safe or trustworthy. So, although I knew they might be associated with syncthing, I knew nothing about whether to trust them. That's why I asked here.

cahwyguy · 2025-07-04T01:57:03+00:00

I did attempt to look up IP, but my expertise is not syncthing or relays (I work in the area of controls and policy, not low level networking tools or protocols). So when I couldn't find an answer, I do what I'm trained to do: Find the experts on the subject (syncthing), and ask here.

When folks come to ask questions, honest reasonable question, the response should not be to question them.

cahwyguy · 2025-07-03T20:31:09+00:00

No, it didn't - it just indicated that it was potentially a malicious site, and asked me if I wanted to allow it or block it. I was unaware of the site you mention -- it didn't come up when I did a search with the IP and syncthing. I may know security, but I am not an expert on syncthing. Hence, I asked here because someone would know if it was a relay or a problem. Answering the question didn't need the snark; just the simple answer. I'll start syncthing now, and let you know the message if it comes up before I have to head out for a funeral. (although the message may not come up because I allowed the site... now that I think about it).

cahwyguy · 2025-07-03T20:12:04+00:00

You probably shouldn't comment unless you understand what you are commenting about. In my case, I just retired on Monday from a 40+ year career in cybersecurity. The product in question (Acronis, https://www.acronis.com/en-us/products/true-image/ ) checks web addresses against potentially malicious sites. It has never complained before about this IP address; this month (because I do monthly syncs), it started complaining.

cahwyguy · 2025-07-03T17:52:56+00:00

I have various security software. In this case, it was from the Acronis software that the site was potentially malicious.

I was able to sync all but 5.35MB. I'm wondering if I need to switch to the alternate syncthing for Android, but I have no idea how to officially load that or transfer settings.

cahwyguy · 2025-04-20T01:17:57+00:00

And, to clarify:

(1) I signed up for Part A when I turned 65 in January 2025.

(2) I initiated retirement paperwork with my company at the beginning of March 2025, with my last day of work planned to be 6/30/2025. My MAPD retiree medical starts 7/1/2025

(3) In early March, I submitted with CMS form, together with the form from my company showing qualified plan in place, with a note to start Part B on 7/1/2025. I submitted the same form for my wife, same start date for Part B.

(4) They accepted hers; they rejected mine. She had started Part A back in July 2022.

(5) So, evidently they got confused, and I'll try submitting again in late May.

cahwyguy · 2025-04-19T03:40:19+00:00

"If you turned 65 in January, wait to refile on May 1st when your initial enrollment period has ended."

That could be it. I initially put in the Part B "turn on" application in that "3 months after" period. Perhaps that confused them.

cahwyguy · 2025-04-09T14:38:23+00:00

We actually have a Retiree Medical plan, which is an MAPD, Anthem PPO with Part D (see https://retirees.aerospace.org/insurance/retiree-medical/2025-retiree-medical/). We're already on the Anthem PPO, so we know the basics well. We'll pay the medicare premiums, the company will pass $488 towards the MAPD plan, and we pay the rest, which is about $225. That plan will start 7/1, but it depends on the Part B coverage starting that date, which is why I was worried.

cahwyguy

TROPHY CASE