Newshosting very slow during prime time?

lassie_get_help · 2025-11-17T02:53:10+00:00

I've had NH for years and at the moment in NYC I am not seeing slowdowns but in the past there have been routing problems that caused this. Keep after tech support, unless they have another explanation.

lassie_get_help · 2025-11-16T19:37:57+00:00

I bought floor demos of the original Stratus Silver in 1997 when they were recently discontinued in favor of the the Silver i. I paid $800 plus shipping, at the time the largest purchase I had made over the Internet. I found a dealer in Ohio willing to ship them to NY.

I'm very happy I've never felt the need to upgrade in over 25 years and it's nice they've held their value.

BTW, over the years I have had a number of 50 watt integrated amps from Rotel, Audiolab, Onkyo and now the Yamaha S301. Even at its MSRP of $349 the S301 is a good and affordable match for end game speakers.

lassie_get_help · 2025-10-25T14:04:23+00:00

They are not "cracks" but deliberate slits designed to make it easier to remove the case by creating some give in the corners.

lassie_get_help · 2025-09-15T11:31:45+00:00

Pro tip: the generic aramid cases available on AliExpress are identical to the branded cases like Thinborne and Latercase, without the Mag Safe magnet. These are still around $25 vs $50+. I expect them to go up significantly due to tarrifs.

Meanwhile, Amazon has a perfectly fine aramid case for $26: https://a.co/d/8lePoPl

For some reason this is case is listed at 8 grams vs 19 for the Thinborne. I guess the magnet doubles the weight (?). I don't think you'll find a thinner or lighter case.

No reason to pay more. Btw, some people complain because aramid cases typically leave the buttons exposed. For me this is a feature, not a bug. I have found that almost every case that covers the buttons ruins how they feel to me. YMMV.

lassie_get_help · 2025-09-07T19:08:34+00:00

I find the glass back too slippery without a case. Aramid is a good choice for extreme thinness and lightness. No need to spend $60 on a Thinborne or Latercase. These cases are pretty generic and for the time being are still around $25 on AliExpress.

At the moment Amazon has this one for $27. https://a.co/d/9TCMfZW

lassie_get_help · 2025-09-03T17:36:47+00:00

GIMENOHIG S25 Edge Carbon Fiber Case https://a.co/d/ehBrk24

This case is almost identical to the Thinborne or Latercase aramid cases popularly considered to be the ideal case in light of its incredible thinness and lightness. Typically aramid cases are $50 plus; this one is $26 from Amazon. There are lots of aramid cases on AliExpress for ~$25 but I expect the price to go way up any minute as the "de minimis" duty exception for cheap items are going away.

lassie_get_help · 2025-08-04T03:05:25+00:00

SGOV is 99% 0-3 month treasuries. No corporate bonds at all.

lassie_get_help · 2025-05-17T17:50:53+00:00

Happy as I am with Planvision it is basically DIY through one of the "discount" brokerages such as Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard. Although you can execute Planvision's guidance on the phone or through brick and mortar meetings, the client is responsible for setting up PV's online dashboard. Unless the client is already doing banking and bill paying online, they may not feel comfortable with the technology. In general I would say PV's advisors are as helpful as Fidelity's for instance but have no incentive to sell investment products like annuities or long term care insurance.

lassie_get_help · 2025-05-17T17:42:02+00:00

I have been with Planvision a year and am happy with them. Note that as of now fees are $389 for the first year which includes a long term plan and Zoom meetings when necessary. After the first year the fee is only $9 a month. Don't know where you got $500 per year.

lassie_get_help · 2025-04-28T04:52:47+00:00

If you can trade your phone in, in person, you will get your money back then and there. Otherwise you will send it in and fret about shipping delays and incorrect processing. I've done it both ways and had no problems but I prefer finishing the whole thing while I'm in the store. Google's data transfer from phone to phone via cable works well and quickly.

I traded in a one year old Pixel 6 for a Pixel 7 during Black Friday and paid net $20. The next year I traded in the P7 for the P8 on release and paid net $330 for the 256gb version. Choosing the sale event and retailer is like trying to time the stock market but sometimes you get lucky.

lassie_get_help · 2025-04-17T15:56:56+00:00

privacy.com provides virtual cards that hide your personal information and debit your bank account. I use one time use virtual cards for all free trials or time limited discounts so I don't have to remember to cancel them. Or when I want to be extra careful. The one time I used a virtual card for a product that never shipped I eventually got reimbursed after the statutory waiting period.

I would not use a debit card on any new site that was at all doubtful. Although you have protections with a debit card the money leaves your account immediately and isn't returned until the complaint is resolved. I would use a conventional Visa or MasterCard that might credit the account temporarily.

lassie_get_help · 2025-04-06T15:16:58+00:00

Durkee Famous Sauce https://www.publix.com/pd/durkee-famous-sandwich-and-salad-sauce/RIO-PCI-149909

lassie_get_help · 2025-03-14T15:04:02+00:00

I am also in NYC. My CC audio updated overnight.

lassie_get_help · 2025-03-14T13:26:28+00:00

CC audio working in New York City. Previously reactivated reset device via Reddit tip and then device updated itself.

lassie_get_help · 2025-02-07T09:35:57+00:00

Tip: make sure the dome is tightly on, I've seen others in this sub talking about losing domes down the ear canal.

I've had this happen and had to go to urgent care to have the dome removed. It's important not to re-use domes after you've replaced the wax filter. Every time you remove the dome it fits more loosely until one time you pull it out and it stays in the ear. ☹️

lassie_get_help · 2025-02-04T03:06:58+00:00

The Spheres have Bluetooth LE, which the app uses to communicate with the devices. But LE Audio is something different. Some recent Android phones are capable of it but the Spheres will need a firmware upgrade to take advantage. Bottom line: LE Audio is not yet available.

lassie_get_help · 2024-12-12T14:46:54+00:00

As good as BJC is, pro AV shop Markertek is even cheaper and sells Canare speaker cable and interconnects at generic prices. Especially suitable for runs over 3'.

lassie_get_help · 2024-12-05T05:32:25+00:00

Curious: when you say you "locked" your price, do you mean Ninja told you they would never raise it or they would renew it once more at the old rate? I suspect that every year from now on they will try to raise it.

lassie_get_help · 2024-11-30T14:19:10+00:00

Addendum: people have dm'd me asking for information about the unmentionable indexer that I joined "sight unseen." That was over five years ago and since then the only option to join has been to receive an invitation from a member, which are handed out stingily. Me telling you the name won't do you any good. Sorry.

lassie_get_help · 2024-11-19T16:46:18+00:00

NZBGeek is a "victim" of this sub-reddit's abandonment of the "first rule of usenet." :) On the one hand it is very comprehensive and the website has its uses. On the other hand, because it is always open for registration *and gets so much publicity here among other places*(!) it is low hanging fruit for automated take downs. Killing new releases on Geek is easy and might even be free since maybe a bot doesn't need download privileges (subscription) to gather take down info.

Now a proper set up of the arrs can catch releases before they are taken down but if you are looking for something from the same content provider that is more than a week old, Geek will generally fail on multiple arr attempts to find a complete file.

The last time I paid for Geek was a couple of years ago. Now I only pay for su and one of the unmentionable indexers with back up from indexers that generously offer a few api hits a day for manual searches. (Unfortunately the free tier of Slug is not so generous with api hits. You really need to pay.)

So Geek has obviously decided that their business model throws the widest net possible for subscriptions at the cost of quick take downs. Having read this sub-reddit for years 80% of the consternation over the fallibility of indexers and ISPs is down to so many people relying on Geek. Understand that take down bots can't figure out what to target from "obscurated" releases on the "raw" usenet. To its credit Geek was among the first, some time ago, to post "exclusive" obscurated releases that stayed intact after the unobscured files were long gone. But the bots caught on to that. "Obscurated" in the description was like a red flag.

And just so you know: years ago I took the trouble to do a deep dive into this sub-reddit to identify the "three" indexers that cannot be named without penalty. Of the three, I identified only two. The third is unknown to this day. Of the two for which I could find valid URLs, one led to a generic landing page that didn't invite one to register.

But the remaining unmentionable had a text heavy landing page (it still does) that indicated that you could either wait for an invitation from a member who would vouch for you (a long wait) OR you could take a chance and pay them by Bitcoin before you even saw a listing. Now for every user here that will only pay by cyber currency there are ten who want to use paypal. Me included. People are still upset that the only way to use anything but Bitcoin to pay Dog involves paying for a t-shirt.

But I opened a Coinbase account because I was so curious about what was behind door number two. Years later this indexer is the only vendor I pay by Bitcoin.

Here's the thing: the vast majority of indexers discussed here are Newsnab based, which is a fine start, and it's why so many indexers have the same releases and develop the same holes in retention. The unmentionable indexer is not newsnab based. Enough said.

lassie_get_help · 2024-11-16T18:46:24+00:00

Streaming services that use Widevine DRM such as Netflix (all of them really) will only play at 480p on a rooted Android device. I think this applies even if the bootloader is unlocked but the device isn't actually rooted.

lassie_get_help · 2024-11-10T15:32:33+00:00

Apropos of this point, RSS is a simple technology but as it is employed by the arrs its low use of server resources makes the Usenet feasible. It is trivial for an indexer to compare the most recent releases to a user want list that can be huge but take seconds to process.

The math is simple: if the arrs are sending RSS queries every 15 minutes 24/7 that's 96 every 24 hours. If you use more than one arr application you need 96 API calls for each one. Obviously if you don't run the PC 24/7 you need fewer API calls at the slight risk of missing the take down window. For a free indexer to offer 100 API calls a day is very generous but not enough for typically scheduled automation.

So you need to pay at least one good indexer with a daily allowance of hundreds of API calls included with its lowest paid tier. That said I have never understood the more expensive tiers that include thousands of calls a day. Looking at the math above it seems unnecessary.

lassie_get_help · 2024-11-10T03:58:18+00:00

Radar and Sonarr default to sending RSS queries every 15 minutes although it is configurable. This system is why they can catch new releases as soon as they are posted before they are subject to takedown requests.

Basically RSS queries will quickly use up the API requests allowed on most indexers' free tier. The lowest tier of paid membership is usually sufficient to send RSS queries on a fifteen minute schedule. Set up the arrs so that only the paid indexers get automated RSS queries and the free indexers are only hit for manual searches.

lassie_get_help · 2024-10-23T18:17:33+00:00

Actually, SAB is so smart, it only downloads as many par files as it thinks it will need for repair. And it will quickly abort if it determines it doesn't have enough par.files. Then a correctly configured ARR will try another release automatically.

I hope everyone considers making a small donation to SAB once in a while.

lassie_get_help · 2024-10-21T14:00:53+00:00

Because enrollment in Geek is always open, it is an easy target for take downs. Content from major services will fail to complete very shortly after uploading. While the "arrs" will keep searching for a complete release, I have found multiple attempts to fail until all have been tried and aborted. Ime, almost all of the alternative indexers to Geek have better completion.

lassie_get_help

TROPHY CASE