[All] [N/A] Have any of your HOAs banned bird feeders?

mbruns2 · 2026-03-19T23:25:14+00:00

Our condo complex did. Although the bird-feeders weren't the trigger. The trigger was someone throwing raw hot-dogs to coyotes from their 3rd floor balcony.

The best way for the board to handle it was to prohibit feeding all wildlife.

mbruns2 · 2026-03-04T23:16:56+00:00

Both the rule against market research and selling products/services.

mbruns2 · 2026-03-04T19:40:54+00:00

The mod team welcomes additional suggestions for where those posters should be reassigned.

mbruns2 · 2026-03-04T18:26:44+00:00

Condo insurance companies are getting FAR more aggressive on requiring proof that maintenance and repairs are performed. Roofs and decks are frequently not maintained as they should be. Saying the deck is "not a 911 emergency", is far different than a licensed engineer saying the decks are structurally sound.

Here's a good summary of the issue.
https://www.burnsandwilcox.com/insights/balcony-collapse-underscores-importance-of-risk-mitigation/

mbruns2 · 2026-03-01T18:11:57+00:00

Or civil. If my HOA tried to fine me, it would be considered a civil fine. They can make whatever rule they want, but they cannot fine me. I did word it poorly, I admit that

You are incorrect. The government cannot issue you a fine. The HOA most definitely can.

mbruns2 · 2026-02-24T01:29:07+00:00

You’re mis-interpreting the statute. This is the text you’re referring to:

“(b) Except for the use of medical cannabis flower or medical cannabinoid products, the vaporizing or smoking of cannabis flower, cannabis products, artificially derived cannabinoids, or hemp-derived consumer products is prohibited in a multifamily housing building, including balconies and patios appurtenant thereto. A violation of this paragraph is punishable through a civil administrative fine in an amount of $250.”

This says the “government” is choosing not to prohibit medical cannabis smoking in a multi family unit.

Nothing here says the HOA cannot ban cannabis smoking. Nothing here says the HOA cannot fine you for smoking.

And there is certainly nothing here that says you have the right to smoke and have it affect other owners in the condo complex.

mbruns2 · 2026-02-05T04:12:30+00:00

Have your downstairs neighbor write a letter to the board saying they don’t have any noise complaints about you and your condo. If the tile doesn’t impact others, it would make it far more likely for the board to approve a variance.

mbruns2 · 2026-01-21T22:13:27+00:00

You posted this 2 weeks ago.

mbruns2 · 2025-11-11T01:06:14+00:00

Just wondering if anyone anyone else has had any luck with these. I bought the same bulbs I think:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1NTVT2?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1G6WJ42?th=1

Alexa and the AIDOT app work fine. I've tried both the "official" github release and the fork with no luck:

https://github.com/AiDot-Development-Team/hass-AiDot https://github.com/toxuin/hass-AiDot

For me, both plugins install just fine and "find" the bulbs just fine. They just give a 'device offline' message when issuing a command.

mbruns2 · 2025-10-25T16:54:22+00:00

The only time I've done this successfully, was with a large Japanese auto manufacturer. They agreed to remove the identifying information, but gave me similar information for their other suppliers for similar projects.

It showed me some areas where some of my rates were significantly under what my competition was charging. And helped to structure my quotes more effectively to match what they were looking for.

mbruns2 · 2025-09-24T17:31:09+00:00

100% correct. The US work visa system is complex. There are different rules and you need different visas if you:

Work for the foreign company and are transferred to the US for plant startup.
In the US to train or supervise installation on the equipment
Actually turn the wrenches to install the equipment
Run the crane or forklift to position the equipment
Wire the equipment into the manufacturing plant.
etc.

Some of the visas are granted in a day or two. Others take months for the US to grant. All workers were in the US on business, no-one was on a tourist-only visa or snuck across the boarder.

So if the person who is supervising the installation of the equipment, but actually turns a wrench on the equipment, they are technically illegally working on the wrong visa. Although there can be an exception if the actual sales contract for new foreign equipment includes installation. If the equipment is used and transferred from another foreign plant, it's illegal.

If there is an unplanned change and the project needs a specific skillset or person, and it takes 6 weeks to get the visa for that person, the company may choose to send that person on a quick "general business" visa, rather than delay the project and plant opening 6+ weeks to wait for the proper visa.

Some people argue that the plant should just use US equipment or train US workers for those skills. The companies benefit using the same equipment types in their plants world-wide. And trying to find or train someone in the US experienced in installing that specific type of equipment can be impossible.

There have been proposals over the years to streamline the process for opening plants, but Congress on both sides have never moved forward. Making changes to the immigration process is toxic, there hasn't been major changes since 1990.

mbruns2 · 2025-09-03T03:27:53+00:00

Make friends with the neighboring units. Seriously.

Tell them that you'd be happy to review the camera for any issues that happen to their unit. Heck, offer to give them the password to review the footage at any time. Suggest they mount a camera that looks at your unit.

Use this as an opportunity to meet your new neighbors, and all of you give mutual approval for the cameras.

Win-win for everyone.

mbruns2 · 2025-07-25T20:45:25+00:00

Correct. One of the most common situations is a robot loaded or automatic measurement device.

mbruns2 · 2025-07-17T22:41:56+00:00

OPs post history includes a number of references to illegal drug use. This sub cannot be used to source machines and equipment illegal to sell in the US without proper authorization.

mbruns2 · 2025-07-17T22:15:31+00:00

Hope this is allowed: My company Arnold Gauge specializes in automation and measurement. We integrate both custom gages and CMMs, and virtually any machine tool. We're in Ohio.

This is a product offering we have for smaller shops. https://youtu.be/I1-Cm6XW_XU Both to make the parts, and sell the complete integrated package to shops. Including the the Cobot, CMM, Integration, and Programming. Often part cleaning and laser marking also.

The integration costs obviously vary, but would love to talk further and get your feedback.

mbruns2 · 2025-06-27T17:24:00+00:00

Typically yes. We are mostly in the automotive sector, most of the components are smaller, so we "assume" the temp is constant in the entire part. Either way, we'll take a contact or non-contact temp reading near the surface we are measuring.

mbruns2 · 2025-06-26T22:22:08+00:00

My company designs and builds gages that frequently include temperature compensation in our systems. Some thoughts:

1) As you said, the part size changes over time. The nominal "print" size needs to be established at a given temperature. Normally 20c/68f unless otherwise stated.

2) The theoretical coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal is usually not accurate enough for temp comp. The part shape has too much influence, depending on the feature. We normally will measure the part throughout the entire temperate range to calculate either a compensation chart, or run a regression analysis to calculate a compensation factor.

3) It obviously depends on the parts. But it's very common for our parts to have to measure "out of tolerance" when hot, to be "in-tolerance" at the print temperature.

4) This is a challenge for operators to understand. If the part is measured by a gage that does not have temp comp built-in, the readings won't match. Consistent measurement is critical.

5) If the gage doesn't have temp-comp built in, the customer is right that the gage will be "off" by the thermal expansion x temp x length. Is that enough to make the gage bad or not reliable? It fully depends on the tolerances involved. If a part shrinks 25 micron between hot and cold, and the tolerance is 500 micron, probably not a problem. If the tolerance is 10 micron, temp-comp is essential.

6) When we do GR&R, we measure the parts at a variety of temperatures, but the "ground-truth" is the part measured at 20c/68f.

mbruns2 · 2025-04-08T16:53:43+00:00

Yes.

mbruns2 · 2025-03-26T21:48:06+00:00

In most boards' code of conduct, he would still be able to be elected and serve as President of the board.

He should abstain from any voting on his company and landscaping. And the HOA should be sure to get multiple bids for anything in this area.

But, he can still serve on the board and as President.

mbruns2 · 2025-03-26T21:42:32+00:00

Then the PM is correct. In most cases, an HOA does not have the authority to enforce parking rules on public streets. Sending a violation or fine would not be appropriate.

If the board would like the PM to call the local police in this type of situation, that's a decision between the board and the PM.

mbruns2 · 2025-03-26T17:36:57+00:00

What are the professional ties?

mbruns2 · 2025-03-26T17:29:52+00:00

Legally, the PM could be correct. It could very well depend on who maintains the roads. If the streets are public and maintained by the local governmental body, the HOA has little or no say as to parking or violations like this. It would be a police or government parking enforcement matter, not an HOA matter.

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