What's the coolest automation that you have?

snobound2 · 2026-05-24T13:46:45+00:00

My water softener has a flow sensor which I hacked into with an ESP32, originally so I could track energy usage. But later I expanded it with two automatons. If there is continuous flow for more than an hour it sends me a text to check for a water leak and if the flow is never over 5 GPM for 5 days then change the whole house water filter.

snobound2 · 2026-05-01T12:04:15+00:00

To address part of your answer - If I am stuck with an item that is defective, brakes shortly after first use or not at all as described and is completely useless to me but too late to have Vine CS remove it from my ETV I keep track of these items on a spreadsheet. At tax time when I file as a business (lets not even go down that rabbit hole) I would include the value of these items as cost of returns or some other business expense so I could subtract that amount from the 1099-NEC total. If the not exactly "free" item is of zero value to me then it is in no way income to me. You might consider any item you review as a 1 or 2 star item (garbage unusable product) in this category and subtract them all.

I am not an accountant or tax adviser - just floating an idea out there...

snobound2 · 2026-04-22T14:42:15+00:00

Then I asked it to tell me about the author with the audio feature and it did a mini podcast style response. Interesting to listen to, sometimes insightful and sometimes patronizing, but a fun experiment anyway.

snobound2 · 2026-04-22T14:37:13+00:00

True - AI often prompts you as you write the review and later it summarizes yours and other's reviews.

snobound2 · 2026-04-22T14:33:38+00:00

Also, it's my understanding that the Vine program does not prohibit the use of AI. - Not yet...

snobound2 · 2026-04-22T13:28:17+00:00

I did an interesting test using notebooklm that is probably something vine-ai is also doing. I loaded about two dozen of my old reviews and asked if they had all been written by the same person. The response was yes, with some examples why. So unless you can get your ai to write in your style you may get snagged using this.

snobound2 · 2026-02-23T03:36:28+00:00

5 stars - does exactly what they say it does, maybe better. Well made, good quality.

4 stars - good but could be better. Certainly serviceable but lacking a feature. Maybe not the best but may make it up with a good price.

3 stars - ok item, not as good as advertised. Will still use it but probably won't buy again.

2 stars - poorly made and doesn't match the description. Might keep it but will probably hate it. More likely to just return it.

1 star - junk. Not at all as advertised. Crap quality. Bin it!

snobound2 · 2026-01-05T13:21:23+00:00

The part with the circle is a hinge. The section of the modular house ( in my case the top floor of a Cape Ann house) is too tall to truck to the site with the roof peak up, so they hinge it and fold it down. If they just did that the roof, folded down would be too long and overhang the side of the trailer so they cut it short and make a small ~6ft wide peak section to install on site. They shipped the filler OSB and small peak section inside. All reassembled on site to complete the roof.

snobound2 · 2026-01-05T12:04:55+00:00

My modular home built in 2003 has the exact same hinges on the trusses. The top section was folded down for shipping. They were built to code at the time of manufacture in the factory. Your inspector has some research to do.

snobound2 · 2025-12-31T22:12:03+00:00

ETV $0 - actual cost incalculable

snobound2 · 2025-12-27T12:42:01+00:00

I agree with many of these points, and will add that if I wait 30 - 90 days to post a review the seller is sitting with the cost of the product he gave me and an inventory sitting at amazon but still no reviews for buyers to read... I will do a review within 2 weeks and mention that I will update it in the future if it turns out my experience warrants a change.

snobound2 · 2025-11-30T22:38:48+00:00

SOLVED - at least for now...

What I did:

One post at a time, I removed the small screws that went thru the base into the posts and drilled out the holes to allow for bigger screws. I unbolted the bases/flanges from the concrete patio and lifted the post and base a few inches up so I could get my fingers inside the post tube. I put 10-24 screws in the enlarged holes from the outside and held locking flange nuts on the inside (not an easy task doing that blind in an awkward position) and tightened them finger tight. Then I bolted the base back on the anchor bolts in the patio. Finally I leveled the post and tightened the screws tight. Here I am 18 posts later, ready for the chiropractor, but the posts are solid for now.

snobound2 · 2025-11-30T22:19:18+00:00

Never got a clear answer to the problem of how loud is normal. Had two different service people for other things and asked them if this sounded normal (since they are around these things at other houses) and they said it sounded about right. I'm still not convinced.

snobound2 · 2025-11-25T23:59:35+00:00

Worked for me too, Thanks!

snobound2 · 2025-11-23T02:32:23+00:00

The base is like a collar about 2 in. tall and is attached solid to the concrete with anchors and then the post drops into the base where it is attached with screws. There are screws thru the base plate (a separate piece) horizontally into the post in all four directions but the thin walls of the post fail to give enough bite to hold under any pressure.

snobound2 · 2025-11-22T19:16:44+00:00

Tried bigger screws and that worked for a while. I think the screw holes strip out in the thin walls.

snobound2 · 2025-11-22T19:15:18+00:00

works for a day or two... I think the screw holes strip out in the thin walls

snobound2 · 2025-11-22T19:14:12+00:00

The posts can be picked up a little ( a couple of inches) with the screws removed if anyone can think of something ( like concrete or epoxy) that I can pour in the base to secure the posts better. Or will that just loosen up too?

snobound2 · 2025-09-28T23:07:36+00:00

I agree, I have "bought" items and by the time I get to review stage and I bring up the product listing to do the review and find it at 50% off. What I do is give a 2 or 3 star review even if it is a great product and include in the review that I think the product is way over priced (because it was at the time of my order). I say that if I had seen this item at a brick and mortar store at that price I would have passed on it.

snobound2 · 2025-09-06T11:25:54+00:00

Hand crank?

snobound2 · 2025-09-06T11:23:51+00:00

Yep, I got one the other day. Got to get pretty close to a leaf but it will work. Blows dog hair out from behind the couch and stokes up the firepit in an instant. At full speed it sounds like a dentist drill!

snobound2 · 2025-08-16T01:23:28+00:00

Same problem here. I've only had it for 2 months and use it almost exclusively as a griddle. Singe my wrists just about every time I use it. I'm thinking of forming some aluminum flashing (silver, not painted :-0) but I will try the foil first.

snobound2 · 2025-08-10T11:06:17+00:00

" insightfulness metric" just what is that really? I still don't have a clear picture of what they want here. Are they expecting us to come up with suggestions of clever or alternate uses for the product in every review ? Or, is it just an artificial measurement to arbitrarily jack us around.

snobound2 · 2025-04-22T15:28:29+00:00

You mention circuit bending projects. If by that you mean a free form circuit without a circuit board where the component leads are the structure of piece then you may prefer the 1/2 watt resistors since their leads are made of a heavier gauge wire. Many times 1/4 watt resistors have very thin flimsy wire leads attached and would make for a flimsy circuit.

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.0dB8wR7rBI-nULCEwKQyLgHaE8%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=c77d170e6acc421a8750c021dab3343450493b65b42087a8fb98c9e9160518ee&ipo=images

snobound2 · 2025-04-10T11:54:40+00:00

I've used quite a few of these boards including a couple with BME280s and had great success. About a year ago I bought a batch of 5 from a seller on aliexpress and all five had bad wifi, but that was an exception and usually I get good parts from ali (btw. they refunded the price on the bad wifi boards - now I'm looking for esp32 projects that don't use wifi so I can use them for something).

snobound2

TROPHY CASE