Miscellaneous

Sigh... It's not like Time Warner was a beacon of excellence. But when Spectrum took over, many things have gotten even worse. In no particular order: Monthly bill went up through various reasons including higher prices for newly "developed" bundles/packages. Spectrum got rid of the best mbps per dollar plan and offer either slow or "fast" plans, not the middle one Timer Warner had. My Spectrum cable box keeps stop working randomly, displaying messages like "To receive this channel, call customer care." When called, customer care has no clue, does not speak English, and I have to go through the algorithm hell multiple times until I waste my time to sc…

Love that I'm just noticing this today lol. Seriously need to consider cutting the cord, what are some of the more popular options out there? The kids for sure can survive purely on Netflix, and the wife and I just need enough TV for a few shows and major sports.

For those vinyl users, what online vendors do you use and trust? This would be for mostly new releases, I've got a few places around here that have bargain used bins but mostly the older stuff.

Anyone willing to assist in picking up and shipping a set of speakers located in Lafayette (just outside Walnut Creek)? They are average two-piece tower speakers that should fit easily in most SUV/Truck/Van. I will pay for your time and shipping/packing at a local UPS store. Shot me a PM and I can forward more details.

I saw this on a license plate: "3958 HZ", and since it's within the audible spectrum, I thought I'd ask here. Anyone know the significance?

You know you want to talk about it ... e.g. http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/7/12694772/apple-event-live-stream-new-iphone-7-announcement-schedule https://live.theverge.com/apple-iphone-7-launch-event-live-blog/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelhelft/2016/09/07/liveblog-all-the-news-from-the-iphone-7-event-as-they-happen/#2b41f8b72472

I realized that I have a ton of portable equipment that has a lithium battery in it and that has been sitting unused for years (long before Tim passed away): Pico, Pico Slim, cell phones, cameras. How dangerous is it to charge up a battery that has been sitting around discharged for a long time (evidently you are not supposed to do this ever)? I know that lithium batteries are not as likely to leak as alkaline batteries but can be really bad if they go. What should I do with this stuff? The cell phones I can recycle but I am not sure what to do with the Pico and Pico Slim. I was going to sell them or give them away since I never use them but now I am worried a…

I thought about upgrading my iphone 5s to the 6s and then I thought that maybe I should consider switching cell phone carriers. I've been with Sprint since around 2000 and for the last 10 years I've been on a family plan with Tim, Tim's daughter, Tim's dad and now I am off contract (and Tim's dad just passed away so I should be able to cancel his phone without penalty). I was thinking about switching to Verizon for better/faster LTE coverage. My phone plan at Sprint is an unlimited plan and I'm a little worried about getting rid of an unlimited plan... this is my one fear about switching. I would probably get the 12GB option at Verizon which would be around $100+ tax …

Hello, this saturday day we are flying out for our first family trip to Disney world - Molly (age 5) and Myles (age 3) do not know yet, so don't say anything. The wife has appointed me to find a nice backpack that will hold all the typical little kids survival tools that will be needed - snacks, juice, rain ponchos, electronics, etc. I would love to know what you guys are using for family trips, this would be a backpack I would wear big enough to hold a bunch of stuff without being too bulky.

You know we'll all be talking about it, might as well have a thread devoted to it. The Register was on (sarcastic) point as ever with it's live tweet stream https://twitter.com/TheRegister/timelines/641647543785381889 Or taking the piss out of the hype http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/09/apple_iphone_ipad_event_live/ Other reports are available. Key Points iPad Pro Apple Pencil (new) Apple TV iPhone 6S(plus) Discuss

Looking for a very thin/slim and simple wallet to carry in my back or front pocket. Any suggestions? Does anyone know anything about these? http://www.all-ett.com/

Because of my mold problem, I am looking to get another air purifier. Right now I have the Winix Plasmawave but I am going to keep that in the room with mold and put the other one with in the room I sleep in. Any recommendations? The Winix is good but doesn't have activated carbon filters so I don't know if it is as good as some others. The mold specialist said that Honeywell makes good ones. Anyone tried those? What are the important qualities. I know that a good HEPA filter is the most important. Should UV sanitizer be avoided because of Ozone? Avoid ionizer (the Winix Plasmawave has this)? Are activated carbon filters a lot better than regular carbon filters?

I think it is time to have a thread for everyone to discuss their cars, what they are doing to them and where we are going to have our first HC Road Trip Meet. Brent seems to think a trip to the Tail of the Dragon in NC/Tennessee would be in order. Maybe a road trip to a track for a track day? Of course a primary reason for this for me is to follow all of Nate's functional updates and Rex's rocket booster upgrades to see what works and doesn't. Not that I do not think your rockets will work Rex.

Google Announce Project Fi http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/google-bursts-into-the-wireless-industry-with-project-fi/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/22/google_project_fi/ https://fi.google.com/about/ https://fi.google.com/about/faq You'll need a Nexus 6 Initially (or pay for in only 24 easy monthly payments) - so they're not pitching to iPhone users, yet and the pricing of $20 + (GB used * $10) may only seem cheap because of how expensive / data non-PAYG other plans are ... What usage patterns does this make sense for (in terms of TCO/coverage) , compared to say T-Mobiles $30/5GB plan ? But interesting to have a virtual / MVNO plan that allows ro…

link My attitude on "less than an hour a day of listening" (which seems to be the takeaway on Facebook, although it should be "...less than an hour a day of too loud listening...") is this:

I was just washing some sheets and heard some noise in the washing machine. There were two AA batteries in the washer that got in with the sheets. They were submersed in water. I took the batteries out and they seem to be ok - no obvious swelling or tears. Will the sheets be ok to use after washing again? Should I do anything to the washing machine? I guess I am worried that some battery acid might have leaked out.

Hey guys, Just a heads up of a post I saw on Facebook. For a small company in a niche market, that kind of loss can threaten being able to stay in business. Avoid crazy deals and no buying off the street or in back alleys/white vans.

Hi! A few weekends ago, we visited my wife's grandma's house for a final time, as she was recently admitted into a home, and they are going to have an estate sale. This was a chance for the grandkids to sort of go through and pick any momentos they wanted. I thought it would be nice to take home her grandma's old vinyl and possibly play it a bit. I am not a vinyl guy at all, nor do i see myself really getting into it. So all I am looking for is a very cheap, small space, functional vinyl rig that my wife can listen to her grandma's old records.

Hi, we are a potential problem. The specific problem concerns lying.

Like Chrome Cast for video, but with without the video, for (audio?) devices without HDMI inputs ... http://www.google.com/cast/audio/ http://chrome.blogspot.ch/2015/01/introducing-google-cast-for-audio.html EDIT: Interesting that they have the root "cast" directory. http://www.google.com/cast/ Hmm, whats next. Text cast (or should that be cast for text)?

Anyone have any recommendations or suggestions of what to read? Jeff recommended using a fire hose to fill it with water, but I do not think that would be ideal. More prefer to put some sort of absorbent material (foam? fiber board?) behind canvas prints. Also, speaker decoupling, to reduce noise transmission to the neighbors, seems like a good thing to do.

I am in the process of finalizing some wood choices for a custom ukulele to be built for me, and have settled on myrtle for the back and sides, and port orford cedar for the top. Both have excellent tonal and resonance properties, and both (at least on paper) offer the right combination of a heavier, denser hardwood for the back and sides, and something light but stiff for the top soundboard. Any guitar people out there can probably chime in, as well as any woodworkers. The builder has even sent me some pics of some wood choices he has available. I like the look of this particular one for its consistency and striping and overall lighter hue (see image2) Ho…

So, we're closing on our new house on Friday, and we have a month to take care of a few things before we move in. The biggest project is a gut on the kitchen. Recommendations for the major appliances? Leaning towards a slide-in gas range instead of separates, though I do like the cook top and wall oven. And we're trying to decide if a French door fridge is worth the extra coin vs side by side. Liking the Kitchen Aid stuff I've seen, but we're not sure. And washer and dryer... We've been really happy with our LG combo unit, so we were thinking we'd stick with that, but I'm more than happy to hear real world experience and advice. Thanks.

Julie and the girls just moved into an apartment and I'd feel a lot safer if the apartment had some sort of security system. The ADT type subscription services seem less expensive per month but start to add up over a bit of time. Has anyone set up a system themselves or has suggestions for a diy system? 2 bedroom with windows, a living room door and a main door need to be covered essentially. I am thinking buying a cheap netbook and throwing a couple of tb drives in an enclosure and connecting them to some cameras. However, if there is a break in, I don't see why someone would leave the netbook behind. Cloud based services all require subscriptions at which point we might…

Because I can't remember what thread this tidbit belongs in. http://www.businessinsider.com/bose-dismisses-patent-infringement-lawsuit-against-beats-2014-10 Bose Agrees To Dismiss Its Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Beats