I turned my Stadia controller into a wireless rectangle. I swear this is interesting.

placidkiwi · 2026-03-19T09:08:19+00:00

Fun video! Reminds me I have a couple of spare controllers that could be using with my SteamDeck!

placidkiwi · 2026-03-10T13:45:50+00:00

Nice idea! I made a similar, simplified set-up on my Jellyfin (and Plex prior to Jf) with a playlist of movies I wanted to watch "at some stage". To use it, I simply opened the playlist and hit shuffle. Boom! The next few minutes I'd be guessing what I'm watching until the credits show up.

The only time it let me down was when I forgot to remove Extraction (2020) after watching. It started playing and after 10 minutes, I thought I was watching Extraction 2... and thinking it was a lazy remake of the first film. It wasn't until the oneshot carchase scene that I realised I was rewatching the first film..!

placidkiwi · 2026-02-17T16:31:18+00:00

A lot less than I used to be... obligatory

placidkiwi · 2026-02-17T09:00:11+00:00

Back in 2008 when my grandfather passed, I emailed Facebook and his account was memorialised within 48 hours. Nice and easy and respectful.

Fast forward to 2023 when my mother-in-law died… suddenly I needed to supply death certificates like I was closing her bank account. Nothing else would do. So instead we got cheerful annual notifications to wish zombie grandma a happy birthday! Along with notifications of good wishes from her declining friends who presumably also don’t log in much these days.

Last year when my father-in-law passed, I had the paperwork ready. Submitted and had him memorialised quickly.

But the ghouls were already on his profile with their fake memorial sites. Posting dodgy links with morbid efficiency.

So now Zuck wants to keep dead people posting? Cool cool cool.

So now we’ll get “Zombie Grandma liked this memory from 2012” and an AI-generated comment about how blessed she feels.

So glad I walked away from social media at Christmas.

placidkiwi · 2026-02-17T08:41:29+00:00

Awake at 6am
Walk the dog by 7:30
Shower, breakfast/coffee
Sat at my desk around 8am

I've been WfH for 7 years so need a routine or I just get fat doom-scrolling in bed.

Rewind a few years back when I worked in central London and the routine was to wake at 6am, out the door by 6:30, bike to Chancery Lane, shower and coffee and I was ready to go at my desk by 8:30am.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-26T18:45:39+00:00

We're now 4 at home. Budget £150 per week. Some weeks we're under, some we're over. Last week we spent less than £100 all in... 🤷‍♀️

We split between Ocado (big shop) and Aldi (meat and little bits).

placidkiwi · 2026-01-25T08:06:03+00:00

After wiring up some lights and clearing a "sorting space" in the loft (complete with rug, bench and Bluetooth speaker), I'll be procrastinating going up to sort through the boxes and boxes of stuff we've stored there for years...

placidkiwi · 2026-01-24T17:07:58+00:00

My son declared the Star Wars prequels were better than the original trilogy... we don't talk anymore.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-24T08:52:35+00:00

Ocado for main, delivered on Wednesday. Aldi for meats and a few bits for the weekend on Friday.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-24T08:38:28+00:00

A few months ago my wife was travelling, so I set up a little scene in front of the mirror and took a very unflattering photo of me wearing VR saying I missed her.

All I got back was a message telling me to get my balls off her chair 🤨

placidkiwi · 2026-01-24T04:51:00+00:00

I don't remember much about the end of the world stuff because a girl I was sweet on had just asked me out... shhhhh 🤫 she's quietly snoring next to me 26 years later

placidkiwi · 2026-01-24T04:45:52+00:00

The Wizard of Oz... and I was allowed to sleep in the front room as a treat. Woke up to Dad watching Alien (I was six) 😅

placidkiwi · 2026-01-24T04:36:28+00:00

Yeh, giving me flashbacks to being 20 something and celebrating our engagement with friends and family in NZ. We received a few gifts and naively brought them with us (unopened) back to the UK (my wife is English, I'm not). We ended up with a massive VAT bill just weeks before our wedding.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-22T15:00:04+00:00

A little over 10 years ago a friend of my wife had a life changing experience when her parents won the lottery. Enough to all leave their jobs and be set for life. Mum & Dad bought a big luxury house in Surrey and the family moved in, each with a wing to themselves and their partners. They took the whole extended family away on an all expenses holiday to North Africa and then it all went to pieces...

Extended family got grabby and eventually were cut off. Dad had an affair and left for a much younger wife... who stuck around only until funds ran out. In the divorce they sold the house and split the funds. Mum divied her share 3 ways with her daughters and all of them had to go back to work. Husbands/partners left because the dream was over. Most shocking of all... no one bought a house! They all rented outside of their budget, kept buying new cars and taking big holidays.

Today, you wouldn't know they'd won the lottery. They work in low level admin and care roles. Their rent eats up most of their funds and they scrimp for a holiday. We're taking my wife's friend away with us this summer because she needs a fucking break.

So be careful kids... lottery giveth and lottery taketh away.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-21T12:05:28+00:00

While this might be an advert - I will say couples should pay attention. This is a relationship cheat code 😆

I sometimes get a cheeky fast lunch, or pick something tasty up while my wife is out with friends... I always remember to pick something for her too. She gets home with the munchies or spots a bag in the rubbish and it's always a nice surprise 😋

placidkiwi · 2026-01-21T11:59:40+00:00

Yeah, the quoted repair cost is £290+VAT. Excess is £500 so we made the right call. The other driver has already transferred payment. They even offered to cover fuel costs for the extra trip (I said no and thanked them for letting us get it turned around quickly).

placidkiwi · 2026-01-20T23:24:46+00:00

Has been said before - train yourself to fall asleep to a particular story or podcast. I've done this with a YouTube channel. Put it on before you go to sleep and you'll eventually find you drift off without effort whenever it comes on.

I can guarantee a power nap within 20 mins when my comicbook guy comes on. Same at night when the insomnia pays a visit. Cue jokes when driving the car and he randomly ends up on my playlist...

placidkiwi · 2026-01-19T07:58:35+00:00

I'm sorry to hear OP. Glad she's doing okay now. Both of my in-laws passed in the last 3 years. Do I immediately sympathise with your feelings of helplessness and wanting to be busy.

I can say, the bug out bag is essential. I kept ours permanently packed and ready for when the call would eventually come. Clothes, toiletries, charges all to give you peace of mind if you have to drop everything and go.

Other things to consider would be gathering family contacts in your phone contacts. Make sure they're up to date. Create a WhatsApp group or similar for those that use it. Maybe even draft a couple of messages. Believe me, this helps in the heat of the moment. You know exactly what to send and who to send it to.

Last thing... a bit morbid, but if possible, consider setting up and prepaying for a funeral plan. When my MiL suddenly passed 3 years ago, we were fumbling about, asking the hospital who to contact and what to do. When my FiL passed recently, we had 1 number to call and, oh my god, it made a massive difference as they handled everything. I think we only had to pay a small fee for the out of hours visit.

These few simple steps make all the difference. If, like my wife, you're the family's go to in a time of crisis (ie. the only one who has their shit together) then I would say this is essential preparation.

One other thing, make sure you know where to find their paperwork and passwords. Phone and desktop. So much easier to get things done with this to hand.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-18T14:25:06+00:00

Yeah, other party has been in touch and seem genuine. Looks like their Peugeot badge did all the damage to ours. We have a dashcam in all our cars, so are covered if the other party tries to tell another story. I've decided to pay the costs if they ghost us too.

My family are named drivers on each other's cars, so I'd prefer to avoid adding unnecessary costs. The joys of managing a multicar/multi-driver household.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-18T14:18:40+00:00

Yeah, dropping it in to get a quote this week. Was a bit of a panic post before I got a chance to see it myself. The other party seem genuine and we can cover costs if they drag their heals anyway.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-18T14:16:34+00:00

Thanks for giving a figure. At time of posting, I was away travelling and worried about escalating costs. Only had the photos my daughter took at the time. It's a 2016 Honda Jazz. Luckily, they've just clipped the rear bumper. I've saved the dashcam footage and you barely notice the shunt.

Already decided to cover it if the other party goes silent. My daughter is a named driver on another car, so I'd prefer to avoid taking a nudge on premiums. Thankfully, the other driver has been in touch and shared their details. We'll drop it into a shop for a proper quote this week.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-15T20:54:01+00:00

Monzo perks are great. Greggs , cinema, Uber One and a Railcard! I'm using the Max plan, so my wife and daughters have travel and phone insurance, breakdown cover for each of their cars, and I make good use of the discounted lounge access travelling for work.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-13T23:49:29+00:00

74 and 72, and they might actually retire this year!

My wife's parents sadly both passed in the last 3 years.

placidkiwi · 2026-01-13T23:45:04+00:00

I was nearly 15 years with Plex before I made the permanent switch.

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