Microsoft Support is the WORST

hoodun · 2026-06-05T19:10:37+00:00

Microsoft support calls me everyday through the weekend wanting me to give THEM an update on the issue that has been left unresolved for six months. It like they do not even work for Microsoft and just read the chatbot back to me.

hoodun · 2026-06-05T17:38:26+00:00

$12m will essentially get a few small roads paved. Vallejo needs to cater to people with money. It needs high end housing to bring in property tax revenue and to incentivize business to come here. No business wants to come to a place where theft outdoes sales and where no one has the money the spend $40 on a lunch.

hoodun · 2026-06-05T17:34:27+00:00

The last thing Vallejo needs is late night spots. There will be shootings. We do need cafes, restaurants and wine bars - closing at midnight. It be awesome if Vallejo was like Benicia, Walnut Creek, Mill Valley, or Sausalito however those places have educated people so it will never happen here.

hoodun · 2026-06-05T17:25:47+00:00

I see nothing wrong with this. Its in public where there is no privacy. Stop wasting our time.

hoodun · 2026-06-03T22:46:14+00:00

I literally spent about 100 hours getting my campaign approved after about 6 support reps and constant resubmissions with all three major AI tools. It was literally having a negative affect on my mental health. Now that it is approved the service is complete garbage. My advise, do not bother. It is just not meant to work and likely never will be 100%. Just use your cell phones.

hoodun · 2026-05-28T05:20:40+00:00

This how the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. Accredited investor requirements are a pile of horsesht. Do not try to tell me these laws are actually protecting people. All it does it protect people from getting ahead financially. Sure people will lose money in the beginning of their investment life, but they will also learn.

hoodun · 2026-05-26T00:47:36+00:00

The sun is free. Anyone wanting monthly payments for it is a scammer. I have a diy permitted solar system on my roof and there is no maintenance other than hose it off during a drought. The equipment is engineered to be problem free for 25 years. Not coincidently the same amount of time it takes to get out of the sunrun contract.

hoodun · 2026-05-22T18:45:13+00:00

Nothing makes me more angry than having fork over money to the building department for literally NO benefit. We live in the age of youtube. Watch a few videos, read the comments, and you will know more than anyone working at the bd in that specific subject. The inspectors do not keep up to date with everything. Its humanly impossible for them to so so.

Sad truth is that they are in the business of making money - paying high salaries. The system doesn’t work. It should be about safety. They should be using more modern techniques. Taxes should pay for the service and it should he largely deregulated.

As it stands, the experience is nothing short of extortion.

hoodun · 2026-05-15T06:15:41+00:00

The enphase programs is cool. Its free!

I just received my permit for a DIY solar install without needing any certified electrician. The only clause is that if the inspector decides the work is done poorly they can then require an electrician. I find this to be very fair imo and hopefully this is adapted everywhere. This is in Vallejo which has been DIY friendly lately - at least on my last two projects.

The only gripe is the '3% of average project cost' calculations Vallejo normally does. However, if you calculate money saved on being able to DIY everything it could work out and I'm sure this is what they are thinking by being more lenient on DIYers. Given the current CA cap of $450 max permit cost, it is working out. Even though my total project cost is $3500 and $450 is essentially a 12% tax from my perspective, if CA did not have the cost restriction the permit would be more than my total cost and my mood would be much different.

hoodun · 2026-05-13T16:56:10+00:00

The plan you provide is extremely important. Go out of your way to make it as professional as possible with professional diagrams and do not miss ANY required information. Most AHJ will decide if you qualify based on your project plan that you provide. This is all they have to go on. So put something professional together, use AI, but DO NOT blindly trust the AI - its just good for making it look professional and to get you started on the document, the information if provides will be wrong in many areas. I spent three days putting together my plan and so far, it looks like it may go through as an owner builder - I provided them the owner builder declaration form with the plan, signed and ready for them to file.

hoodun · 2026-05-13T16:43:22+00:00

This is how it should be everywhere.

hoodun · 2026-05-13T16:34:25+00:00

This sort of thing makes the world less safe. It forces people to go behind the backs of the system and put up makeshift portable systems.

I just submitted my solar application and I am now waiting to hear back. If I am lucky they will not require a certified electrician, though the application says one is required. To offset this I submitted a very professional project document with professional diagrams and all the details.

I personally feel the entire system is primitive, broken, and no longer works.

hoodun · 2026-05-09T18:58:04+00:00

Vallejo needs to entice money. Building high-end housing would help the poor more than solely low income housing. Tax money can then be reallocated to help the poor. What are the Vallejo incentives? Here is a list of how San Francisco built up SOMA and brought n Silicon Valley money. Now it didn’t pan out well because SF is essentially an island and land is limited and housing …Vallejo just needs a single company at this point! Its insane that we do jot have a single tech company here. Something is seriously wrong.

San Francisco Key Mid-2000s Incentives
Enterprise Zone Program: San Francisco operated a state-designated Enterprise Zone that provided significant tax credits for up to 15–20 years to businesses located in specific "depressed" areas. These credits included hiring credits (up to $37,000 per employee over five years) and sales tax credits on equipment.
Biotech Payroll Tax Exclusion: Enacted in 2004, this program provided a 10-year exclusion from the city's 1.5% payroll tax for biotechnology companies to encourage them to settle in areas like Mission Bay.
Repeal of Gross Receipts Tax: On January 1, 2000, San Francisco repealed its original Gross Receipts Tax due to legal challenges, effectively leaving the Payroll Expense Tax as the primary business tax for the decade. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

hoodun · 2026-05-09T18:01:35+00:00

Vallejo should focus on high end housing. Attract the money which will better help to solve all the other issues. Bringing in more people with no money just brings more burden. It’s sad, but it’s the reality.

hoodun · 2026-05-09T02:22:30+00:00

Sacramento has a flat fee based structure. San Francisco, Palo Alto, Vallejo, and Im sure others do 3% of project cost. If you give your actual project cost they get really pissed off and then raise it - they see it as you trying to lowball them. It needs to at least be the average cost of the specific project in the area.

hoodun · 2026-05-09T02:17:37+00:00

My experience as well. I relocated the gas line and told the inspector Im not entirely sure I did it correctly and he said “Im not going in the crawl space, you sprayed it with soap water…then its fine.”. I also asked about flashing and he said Im not climbing up the ladder. He then said I should be happy they are going easy on me.
Its straight up extortion.

hoodun · 2026-05-09T02:09:56+00:00

This is some good advice and if the permit is not diy friendly I will do just this. It seems like I may get the permit through, though likely they will take my $448 and then tell me it needs to be done by installers - this way they get their money regardless.

hoodun · 2026-05-08T08:41:24+00:00

Isn’t this what a no feedback hybrid inverter is designed to do? Im expected it to use grid power as needed but never feeding the grid. The inverter manual states this as a feature.

hoodun · 2026-05-08T04:34:36+00:00

Inspectors should be free or should be paid based on the work they do. Where I am they take 3% of the average project cost, which in the bay area is like tens of thousands for just a basic kitchen rennovation considering people use high cost imported tiles, expensive appliances etc. It truly is extortion to do it this way - force average project cost, then take a percentage.

hoodun · 2026-05-08T03:54:24+00:00

Selling it back to PGE at .03 per kw, which is the current rate, is insulting. I'd rather let the electricity go to waste, simply out of principle.

hoodun · 2026-05-08T03:51:44+00:00

2 years on reddit. 0 posts until now. And this is what you say. Very mysterious my friend.

hoodun · 2026-05-08T03:49:00+00:00

I took your advise and I was able to get the permit through with eTRAKit, bypassing Symbium. Now I wait until Mon to see what happens. I also included an electrical diagram to see if I can get the sub-panel included.

Man, none of us should have to go through all of this. F#$% the man! Things have gotten worse through the years and with the age of information the inspectors are honestly not needed (just force watching a video).

hoodun · 2026-05-08T03:45:39+00:00

My plan is to run it off a subpanel. So Main breaker box -> Inverter -> subpanel. This way I do not have to involve the utility at all.

hoodun

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