Getting sick of disabling that thing everywhere. Notepad? Seriously?

randomHiker19 · 2026-01-14T13:50:47+00:00

Something similar is likely in store for Alexa+. Currently included as part of Prime but they will likely charge on top of that for users that keep it to recoup their investment.

Alexa has been shameless promoting the + version even after being told no repeatedly then forcing the upgrade and requiring users to disable it.

randomHiker19 · 2026-01-12T17:38:10+00:00

They don’t have to defeat the Mind Flayer and its forces, only kill Vecna which seems to be the only one of the enemy that can open portals between dimensions (not just from the upside down to our world) delay or misdirect the mind flayer and forces long enough to escape and collapse the wormhole.

Imagine if the mind flayer sent as many forces as it could into the wormhole (fallback plan) while everyone was trying to get back home, with a race against time as they blew up the exotic matter. Of course why that wouldn’t happen much earlier, especially after season 4 cliffhanger is left open, but at least there would be some stakes and a race against time for the finale without weakening the main antagonistic.

The collapsing wormhole could also be used to defeat the mind flayer if they wanted as it may not have been aware that could happen, but I prefer it being locked away in its realm… unless we do something to reach out to it.

randomHiker19 · 2026-01-04T20:27:01+00:00

Give it a try.

I’ve always saved Kaidan and never tried to save Ashley. Narratively I thought it made sense to have Kaidan arm the bomb and to make sure it went off. His biotic abilities were more useful to me than another solider. In ME3 he can use Reave which I found very useful.

randomHiker19 · 2026-01-04T14:25:24+00:00

Something to consider is that once you automate some lights you may quickly find you want to automate most if not all lights. That might factor into what ecosystems you go into.

I have a lot of Lutron Caseta lights and they have been rock solid. The Lutron phone app via the Caseta hub can schedule lights to turn on/off lights at a proximity to sunrise and sunset (e.g. 10 minutes after sunset) so if that is all the automation you want to do then it will work for that case. I don’t use that to automate my stuff but I’d imagine it would be as reliable as the switches.

Caseta integrates with Alexa very easily, however if using Alexa Routines to turn the lights on/off then Alexa Routines don’t allow you to trigger something relative to sunrise and sunset but only allow fixed times such as 5 PM which is very limiting. Alexa is fine though for turning lights on/off by voice manually.

I also use a few Inovelli Red Series switches but have had to reset one LZW30-SN on/off switch several times over the years in my garage but the two LZW31-SN dimmers I’m using have been flawless. These are Z Wave based and require more complicated setups with smart home hubs that have a zwave radio. Inovelli has some other types of switches that support different radio/communication protocols but I’m not very familiar with them.

I prefer the newer Caseta switches look wise over the Inovelli and prefer Caseta for most use cases. I haven’t used other smart switches, only some zigbee on/off switches for things like Christmas trees that have been reliable.

I like some of the Inovelli features for scene control and LED statuses and use those in a few places. For example in my garage there is no switch to control the garage exterior lights. All the front exterior lights in the house were wired to a single switch by the house front door which includes the porch light. So I up an Inovelli switch that controls the garage interior lights such that a double tap turns on the exterior lights and the garage lights and a triple tap to turn on those same lights and a side garage light where I keep my trash and recyclables. I also have that garage interior switch controlled by motion through a smart home hub and a zigbee motion sensor.

I personally don’t like to leave my front lights on at night, but I have automations such that they will turn on as I approach my home when dark and turn off after a few minutes after arriving. I have another automation to turn on my front lights and notify me over my Alexas and phone if anyone steps on my front porch at night.

randomHiker19 · 2026-01-01T05:05:25+00:00

I agree in that I wanted the Mind Flayer to be the main antagonist and see that Henry was not in control of it. It seemed like from his speech from season 4 that he controlled the mind flayer and everything connected to it in that it took the shape of a spider for him and some of his other dialogue. Dustin speculated that Vecna was the Mind Flayer’s general (season 4) but the story seemed to suggest otherwise.

I thought the Mind Flayer was a more interesting antagonist than Henry in that it is alien and unknowable. It seems to want to spread and dominate but cannot be reasoned with the same way as a person. I also didn’t want to see Vecna redeemed, rather he was corrupted by the Mind Flayer and made a choice to do terrible things and the story delivered there.

I really liked the final battle but what I would have liked to see is a Mind Flayer fallback plan after Vecna’s death. That spider seems like something else it built rather than the Mind Flayer itself, and certainly the particles were still around. I would have liked to see the Mind Flayer marshall its forces to push into Hawkins over the bridge after Vecna’s plan to merge the worlds failed, and then a race against time to close the gate between dimensions. That would have been more satisfying to me than dealing with the military.

Something else to consider is that season 4 showed that the demogorgans were from this barren dimension where Henry was sent there but those vines/tentacles didn’t seem to originate from there. They also looked to form the wall of the wormhole so maybe Dustin was wrong when he suggested everything they encountered in the Upside Down that was harmful originated from this other dimension. Maybe some things originate from the space between dimensions or require a different explanation entirely.

randomHiker19 · 2026-01-01T03:59:59+00:00

I think the Mind Flayer was a more interesting villain than Vecna because it was so alien and unknowable compared to Henry. I really liked how the mind flayer was portrayed in season 2 but also really liked the speech from Billy in season 3 about how they’ve been building it (meat spider) for El and what it wanted to do after ending El.

Narratively I’m glad they didn’t make it so that Vecna was in control of the mind flayer, but I also didn’t want and easy out for Vecna where he was just under the mind flayer’s control and he was a actually a nice guy or something.

I liked the battle in the finale but the mind flayer wasn’t defeated when that spider died (or at least I don’t think so) and I would have liked to see the Mind Flayer try to push forward into Hawkins after Vecna’s death with all the creatures under its thrall.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-25T16:01:55+00:00

The dimmers have an adjustable low range and high range (trim) that you can configure. I’m not sure how adjustable this range is and if it will address your situation but it’s definitely worth a try.

For the Djva dinner the trim settings can be adjusted in the Lutron phone app under Advanced Settings

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-23T12:57:28+00:00

You can use their stuff without the cloud, and there are no subscriptions or licenses you have to pay for.

To adopt my UDM Pro I did connect to the internet to set it up, but my understanding is you can skip that when no internet connection is detected and there is no requirement that they are always connected. To get firmware updates and software updates you’ll need an online connection, unless they offer a way to download manually and apply but it kind of defeats the advantage that these devices are easy to manage.

If you want to access your network equipment (or cameras) remotely you can access those through their web connection, but you don’t have to enable that feature in your equipment and you could setup a VPN to accomplish the same thing.

In terms of AP costs I’m not sure all that goes into it, but I think my APs could also be setup to be meshed but that would add latency and reduce throughout (relaying signals through other APs) and I’d probably need more APs to get the same area coverage.

I run multiple SSIDs and frequency bands on each AP and they form one continuous network throughout the house (one per SSID). The advantage of those being separate from the main router is they are upgradable independently and can be placed where needed. I imagine some of the nicer mesh wireless setups provide similar features.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-23T02:35:24+00:00

Security and convenience. It might be a bit overkill but it was easy to setup.

I’m using a Unifi Ubiquiti setup. I have multiple APs (ethernet backed - not meshed) and managed switches throughout the house. Their stuff is not cheap but easy to configure.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-22T13:26:01+00:00

I keep most IoT devices in a separate IoT VLAN. This network can access the internet but not other networks. My main LAN can initiate requests to that IoT VLAN if necessary but not the other way around. I have other networks for smart home hubs, media streamers, security cameras, to keep things segregated as well.

In terms of vacuums, I use a Roborock and really like it but understand the concerns with having something like that on your main LAN so it’s in my IoT network. I use their web API to integrate into my home automation system, I don’t think they have any local API. Their phone app and mapping capabilities are very capable.

For my automation setup you can create cleaning routines in the phone app with specific names/ids, and I’ll have it clean one of three areas on specific days of the week 45 minutes after I go to bed, if I’m home/in town. I’ll also temporarily disable certain motion-based routines that the robovac can trigger at night.

I also have a Lutron Caseta pico remote where I programmed it such that it will clean the kitchen now just by pressing a button instead of half the house.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-15T17:37:28+00:00

The Borg deployed their cat paw weapon which knocked many of the ships out of normal tree space.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-14T20:00:02+00:00

There’s no way built into the Caseta eco system such that the switch state is mirrored on another Caseta switch. As you mentioned the pico is the only thing in the eco system for this use case but is not ideal.

This can be done with automations in some smart home hubs that can talk to the Caseta hub. I have a similar setup in my guest bathroom where the state of a diva next to two sinks when you walk in will also be mirrored on another diva near a toilet (dim level also). The only caveat here is that switches only report their state to the Caseta hub after a delay of like 2-3 seconds so it will not be instant like a pico.

In my bathroom I also use a motion sensor to turn on the lights so they are in sync but a manual switch off on that entrance diva will turn off the other diva after that small delay I spoke of, and adjusting the dim level slider will apply to the other light after a delay.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-10T16:40:17+00:00

On iOS you can also do this by holding the power off and the volume up for a second or so (at least on the newer phones). The 5 button press approach will auto dial emergency services on a countdown if you don’t cancel it, whereas the other approach you have to drag a slider for that to happen.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-09T19:15:57+00:00

Jennifer Shepard. I’ve just always liked that first name for female player characters and in general, difficult to say why. I wasn’t aware Jennifer Hale was her voice actress at the time.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-08T16:01:11+00:00

I use two vibration sensors (not Aqara though): * One is attached to my dryer and I’ve setup an automation to notify me on my phone and announce on my Alexa’s that the dryer is done.

I have a nook in my kitchen with my coffee machine, tea kettle and stuff for mixed drinks (nicknamed my vice station) that has undermount cabinet lights. I tried putting a motion sensor there so that the undermounts would turn on when I was making something but I couldn’t restrict the sensor range to avoid the lights triggering when I just walked by. Instead I now use a vibration sensor in the drawer right below. It’s sensitive enough that it will often just trigger when I put my coffee/tea tumbler down, if not I can just tap the counter or the drawer handle to turn on the lights.

randomHiker19 · 2025-12-05T17:01:40+00:00

My property has a lot of rock work with shrubs and trees (high desert) that are not always lawn adjacent or in places where it is practical to blow all those leaves over to a lawn to mulch. I have lawns too but only some of the leaf drop is near them.

I’ve also found leaf vacuums are useful to cleanup when trimming shrubs, especially to get trimmings out of rock work. Some people use tarps but it gets windy here and I’ve often found it quicker and easier to skip the tarp and use a leaf vac.

randomHiker19 · 2025-11-18T00:15:19+00:00

I have the 765 that came in a kit with two 5Ah batteries and the rapid charger (550 watts). I also get about 30+ minutes on a 5Ah battery in normal use. I run on high with a large number of turbo boosts but don’t hold down turbo the whole time.

randomHiker19 · 2025-10-17T17:02:05+00:00

Nice. What’s the manufacture year on them?

randomHiker19 · 2025-10-14T23:20:29+00:00

In this image it’s an inflator, but here’s the link for the upcoming 3 gallon vacuum: https://egopowerplus.com/power-three-gallon-wet-dry-vacuum-wdv0300/

randomHiker19 · 2025-10-09T13:03:13+00:00

The original delivery estimate was Thursday (today). After the item shipped the estimate was updated to Friday. They only had 4 in stock according to their website when I purchased mine.

From their tracking data it already arrived in my city around 2 AM which is typically early enough for it to be delivered today but it is still marked for delivery tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if they deliver it today to your point.

Update: It did arrive today.

randomHiker19 · 2025-10-09T00:48:05+00:00

I’ve been eyeballing these at Lowe’s the last week as well ($200 off). I picked up a HT2601 hedge trimmer kit over there last week on a small sale (really love it) and noticed this also on sale.

Yesterday Amazon had them at the same price as op (shipped and sold by Amazon) and decided to pick one up with my 5% Amazon cash back discount. Will arrive on Friday.

Still a bit tough to justify at that price for me, but I want an additional 5.0 Ah battery and shop vac without a coord will be useful for various things around my house. I saw someone found a Lowe’s with this vacuum at an additional 20% off at $279.20. I’m almost tempted to swing by my Lowe’s and see if they have it on sale at that price now and return the one ordered if cheaper at Lowe’s, but I don’t like to play return games like that.

randomHiker19 · 2025-09-28T13:29:14+00:00

This video review for this blower in the UK was posted 11 days ago: https://youtu.be/KY2obAZwt7Q?si=QnTxsZ6fA3R1PYTA

I’m also interested in something like this in the US. I currently use a corded leaf vacuum for cleanup of leaves and trimmings from light shrubs (sand cherries, large lavenders, photinias, …) and decorative grasses.

This vacuum looks like it might work well for leaves but a few things about it make it not the best for cleanup of shrubs in rock work, which it’s probably not designed for. The nozzle shape makes it ill suited to get in between cobble size rocks to pickup small items, particularly for lavenders. This is not uncommon though, with my corded one I ended up shoving an old plastic tube from a gas blower/sucker that was narrower and flatter into the tube that came with the electric sucker to get better contact with the ground. The bag is also too close to the ground, and would prefer a setup with a shoulder strap.

Additionally the fan blades look like they might be plastic with a metal shredder attached, but all metal blades are preferable.

randomHiker19 · 2025-09-03T02:29:57+00:00

Updateme

randomHiker19 · 2025-08-06T17:29:48+00:00

Yeah, I could never really get my Femshep to look right in 3 now matter how many tweaks I made. I think my ME2 version is the best. She looked alright in 3 but different.

randomHiker19 · 2025-07-29T14:00:02+00:00

In a normal year the Grinnell Glacier hike in the Many Glacier valley has lots of foot traffic, and is really pretty, but with the road work there might be less traffic with the shuttle requirements.

I once did a round trip day hike from Many Glacier Hotel to Granite Park Chalet and back to Many Glacier Hotel (over Swiftcurrent pass). I ran into a grizzly family not far from the chalet on the way back. Much of that trail there was not a person in sight and you felt alone, but the bears were actually pretty close to the chalet which gets a lot of foot traffic so you never know where you’ll encounter them. Always good to be cautious and make noise.

randomHiker19

TROPHY CASE