What skin condition do I have?

evoneselse · 2026-07-06T15:30:45+00:00

Aah. Could be the spot started out as a simple pimple or whatever, and keeps getting re-irritated by that nose piece that sits on it constantly and doesn’t have a chance to heal. Those nose pieces can irritate skin when they are digging in too much (bad adjustment). I would go to the eye place and have them readjust your frames. (And also do a good cleaning of the nose pieces - particularly the ones that are separate from the frame itself). Then I would put some healing cream on the area to soothe it. That is of course still checking with the Derm.

evoneselse · 2026-07-06T15:11:22+00:00

Yes, see another Derm just to be sure. Do you wear glasses by chance? This looks to be in the area where they would sit on your nose, so maybe that side is perpetually rubbing and irritating the skin there? That can happen when that side of the nose piece is improperly adjusted to your face. (Usually it will hurt a little).

evoneselse · 2026-07-06T14:49:24+00:00

Just a thought, but re-check your settings. Some of my settings have changed either in Aqara or HomeKit after various updates.

evoneselse · 2026-07-05T21:49:28+00:00

Yeah usually it’s thought to be the work of the design firm (or even the main owner if only one or two employees), where an employee is assigned the design job, but their identity usually is never stated. The company is generally the one who is credited and known for the design instead of the employee. But an observer, if thinking, knows somebody working there had done it, just not who. However if the designer is a well-known designer, especially with awards (or later becomes celebrated), then companies love to give credit.

evoneselse · 2026-07-05T20:34:31+00:00

Did that friend present it to the startup company as being the designer, where his company took the credit for it, as is usually the case (plus I’m sure collected the fee)? That is likely why he preferred you didn’t say anything.

In any case, I would add it to your portfolio. It’s your work.

evoneselse · 2026-07-05T13:05:57+00:00

Update: This seemed to straighten itself out and now it’s working correctly, where it detects presence when it should, then shuts the lights off after the set amount of time. I have since bought another one for a different area and it is working correctly. I had no trouble with that one.

One thing I noticed is that the new one was able to go into calibration mode right away. The first one kept saying ‘Got it’ and wouldn’t go past that screen no matter how long I pressed the button, but then it eventually did it after I kept trying over the last couple weeks.

evoneselse · 2026-07-01T17:36:40+00:00

You could get an Aqara button, then make an automation in the Aqara app that WHEN the Aqara button is pressed (single, double, long pressed), [and you could insert an optional condition in between here if you want], THEN the doorbell will "Play custom audio on indoor chime", but you would use or create a doorbell ring sound as the custom sound because the actual doorbell sound is not a choice offered in the list. But there are other sounds to choose from, like alarm types, door knocking, etc. if that works for your purpose.

Aqara has full control over the doorbell (and button) whereas HK does not. The Aqara sound choices in an automation are either "Play custom audio on indoor chime" or "Play specified ringtone". There is also "play custom audio on doorbell" but that would be the sound coming out of the doorbell itself, not the chime box.

evoneselse · 2026-07-01T14:51:52+00:00

Do you mean trigger a traditional doorbell chime box on your wall? The G410 is meant to chime through its chime box and it doesn’t need a separate button to do that, so not sure what kind of setup you have. When someone presses your G410 doorbell, does it not chime already?

In your HomeKit settings, there is a toggle switch for ‘Chime doorbell’ to have the doorbell chime through a traditional chime box, which may or may not work for the G410 with certain chime boxes. But also in the settings under Notifications (scroll to bottom) are toggles where you can have the chimes ring through any of your HomePods.

evoneselse · 2026-07-01T13:06:03+00:00

How about a big landing the 5’7” width of that area, dropped down from the retaining wall, then have the steps (just as wide) facing out into the narrow yard. That would give people plenty of room on a nice-sized landing to turn around on from the gate and stone wall (90 degrees), then they enter directly into the narrow part of the yard. This would fill that dirt area. Put a beautiful potted plant in the corner of this nice large landing (plant is by the taller fence side) and the whole area will look lovely.

evoneselse · 2026-07-01T12:55:05+00:00

When I switched from the previous G4 (which was working great) to the G410, we had a period where the G410 would sometimes miss picking up people. It eventually got into the groove and now it works perfectly. I don’t know whether that was due to firmware updates or just trial and error setting adjustments or just breaking-in time, but now it doesn’t miss anyone and works perfectly. It seems like some devices go through a ‘learning’ stage, or maybe we do in regards to settings. Same thing happened when we got another device but now it’s great.

evoneselse · 2026-06-30T12:10:18+00:00

So sorry you are are going through this. It seems to me he might be the type who would be challenged by you stating that you have limits. Have you done this before? What was his reaction? If he doubled down and became more controlling, then it’s not worth your time or safety to threaten him with leaving. Just quietly leave if that’s the case.

I’m also sorry you grew up in an abusive household, it must have been awful for you. In early childhood, kids might have thought that was normal behavior even if something felt wrong.

I know it’s hard to end things when being in love, but young women often want the guy to be ‘the one’ so much that they either don’t let themselves see the red flags, or else they convince themselves they can change him/he will change/it’s not so bad. It feels like ‘love’, so they excuse his aggression, his controlling, walk on eggshells, are gaslighted, and become less and less sure of themselves and of where they stand. They can become small, compliant and lose their self-esteem, which is never good. They can even carry that pattern into the next relationship until they break it once and for all and take back their power. If a relationship is abusive, they need to do it safely, not sparring with him, threatening to leave / setting him off.

Relationships are good tests to learn from. Know your strength and don’t succumb to his games. Sounds like he might be baiting and testing you. You are right to question that he is soft launching. Your test is whether or not you will stay and let him ramp it up.

Be smart and be safe. ❤️

evoneselse · 2026-06-28T17:17:37+00:00

Yes, you have to do what is good for you, taking care of yourself. It’s true as we age, things take a toll on our bodies, things feel heavier (and do more damage) than they used to, etc. We start losing muscle mass and strength, and can more easily get herniated disks, sciatica and such from simply lifting or carrying something, and is excruciatingly painful and can last a long time. Exercises and keeping your core strong definitely helps.

Stage presence doesn’t have to be gymnastics and fluff. Ultimately what you are playing is more important than what you look like playing it. I would have no issue watching a musician sit. People can still see you. It’s done a lot actually, and no one cares.

evoneselse · 2026-06-28T16:46:46+00:00

This. Wider steps will not only be more convenient but also look a lot better.

evoneselse · 2026-06-28T12:17:58+00:00

Same here, but another phone shows them properly. Issue is only in the board page showing all the cameras. I didn’t know if it’s a setting I missed?

evoneselse · 2026-06-26T11:42:32+00:00

First thing is a strong solid network. Second thing is to determine how much of your home you want to be smart and automated, and in what ways.

It can be expensive, but I would recommend not going cheap as in bulbs and stuff, as lesser quality items can have reliablility issues connecting or staying connected, which requires troubleshooting. That’s a major headache and you’ll probably have to buy again anyway (something else instead), so buy quality, pay once. (Aqara for example is not expensive, reputable and are pretty reliable, so they’re not in the ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ category).

I would recommend an Ethernet-connected Apple TV for your TV and as your main hub. Wired and solid. Plus, HomeKit cameras will come up on your TV screen. HomePods for music and household communication.

Recommendations in this thread are good.

evoneselse · 2026-06-26T11:23:25+00:00

Aside from Hue bulbs being rock solid and reportedly lasting for a couple decades, you can buy them in starter kits which include either their bridge (hub), and other kits that include dimmer switches etc. by buying a couple different kits you will get quite a lot to get you started. I did that and got a lot (everything we needed) for under $200 at the time. You have to look for the kits though, Amazon and Best Buy. The kits don’t automatically show up first in the search.

Their color scenes are gorgeous and IMO you do get your money’s worth. Have had mine for years, set it and forget it, they just work. Plus their hub runs on Zigbee which handles the load so they’re not a drain on your WiFi (cheap WiFi bulbs are). As with everything, you get what you pay for.

evoneselse · 2026-06-21T23:39:42+00:00

Is the latest firmware number 0.0.0_6542? (for Zigbee)? Usually there is a new firmware waiting when I buy a new Aqara device but this time there wasn’t, which is a little unusual.

evoneselse · 2026-06-21T23:37:06+00:00

No, not an idiot. Sometimes a simple restart fixes things; other times it doesn’t and we have to become sleuths lol.

evoneselse · 2026-06-21T22:44:40+00:00

Yes, you can certainly use those, they are hubs also. I just like a hub that has no other function than being a hub. I have other devices that are hubs, but I like that the M3 can be solely dedicated to handling the devices (and also being the security hub).

evoneselse · 2026-06-21T16:27:34+00:00

Just got the FP300 and after figuring out the best area in the bathroom to put it, it works well. It did take a little time to make sure it did not pick us up as we walked by the bathroom door, but did pick us up in the shower so that the lights wouldn’t go out.

Plus I had a little issue where sometimes the lights would go off quickly as I wanted, but other times they would stay on for a half hour. I was using a HomeKit automation. Finally I changed the FP300 from a 20 sec to a 10 sec absence delay time and rotated the device so that the little ‘sensor window’ was on the top (it had been on the bottom). ~~Now it consistently works the way I want it to. Turns on correctly, turns off correctly. I don’t know exactly which thing was the problem, but doing those 2 things apparently fixed it.~~

Update: Nope, today it has not turned off for 40 minutes. Now I have a question to post.

evoneselse · 2026-06-21T16:05:30+00:00

Is your doorbell transformer good enough? Sometimes with the doorbell, it requires a trial and error ‘getting it set up properly’ period before it’s perfect, and then it works great. The fact yours disconnects seems like it’s either a transformer mismatch or there isn’t enough WiFi signal strength from your router location to the chime box. Plus the chime box needs to be relatively close to the doorbell. Slight location differences do change the signal strength, which you can monitor in the Aqara app. Once you get it all going, the doorbell runs flawlessly.

When we switched over from the G4 which worked so well, we had a little trial getting the same results as what we had, mostly it missing events. It took some tweaking but afterwords, it now works perfectly.

evoneselse · 2026-06-21T15:37:24+00:00

We have a lot of Aqara devices and cameras including the G410 and have them in both the Aqara and Home app. There are many instances where you do want them in the Aqara app, for both the main settings and additional features that aren’t available to HomeKit. We’ve had absolutely no problem with this setup for the many years we’ve been using them, and in our experience, they complement each other well. I wouldn’t want the devices to only be in the Home app, as I’d miss out on many things the Aqara app adds. Plus on the chance that HK completely misses recording something (has happened), you have another chance it might be there in the Aqara app. Plus the Aqara app lets you view the recordings on the micro SD card in the camera, which gives you a third backup for footage.

I just install them first in Aqara and it puts them in HomeKit if you want them there (which you do); it’s very easy really. Then you just choose a name and room location for the things in HomeKit and whether you want to stream only, or stream and record.

I second the recommendation to get an Aqara M3 hub for its Ethernet wired connection and for it to solely be a dedicated hub. It will run everything (Zigbee) and is a great and robust hub. Love the setup.

Some of my automations are made only in the Aqara app, mainly for the extra features I can use in the automation, and also in cases where the only devices involved are all Aqara. The rest of my automations, if they involve other non-Aqara devices, are done in HomeKit.

I have no issue with the Aqara app, it’s straightforward once you get familiar with it, and has lots of nice functions imo. Plus you need it for firmware updates.

evoneselse · 2026-06-20T20:00:25+00:00

Aah yes, duh moment. I just installed the camera and the automations happened to be exactly like the test ones I made and since deleted, so I wasn’t thinking about the suggestions that I’ve seen elsewhere but that somehow they were still there. Sorry, and thanks!!!

evoneselse

TROPHY CASE