BillDaCatt

You only need a key to activate Windows. Windows 10 and later will install and run just fine without activation.

I use it to control some of the lights in my house. WiFi enabled plugs and switches are more convenient than having to go to each one and manually reprogram them. In my bedroom, I have one set to turn on every day at 7am and again at 9am in case I turn it off and go back to bed. It’s basically a silent alarm clock.

I also have WiFi control for the mini-split (AC and heat) in my workshop. I can view the set temperature vs the actual temperature from my phone and I can adjust the temperature remotely if I want.

Pi

The main character is an unemployed mathematician with schizoid personality disorder whose social interactions are mostly with his old professor and the people in his apartment building. The movie is a thriller, but the main character’s isolation from the rest of the world is rather stark. This is helped by the fact that it was filmed in high-contrast black and white.

UPS used to give real time tracking info here, but that disappeared sometime in mid to late-2023.

Agreed on the rest though, Amazon and UPS delivery are both much better than FedEx. I could not think of FedEx being a good retailer until they can improve the quality of their deliveries.

MS Solitaire, Space Pinball, and Minesweeper come to mind. They were not my favorites, but I know a few people who have a few hundred hours on one or more of those.

For me it’s C&C Generals Zero Hour. I have had a copy since it released in 2003, it still works, and I still play it in single player mode at least once a week. It’s great because it does not require a huge time commitment and campaign missions take about an hour or less to complete. To me it’s one of the best RTS style games out there. My second favorite? C&C Red Alert 2 and Yuri’s Revenge.

I have also very much enjoyed the Assassin’s Creed series up to AC Odyssey.

I was looking at one of those new washer/dryer combo units recently (I have heard these are common in Europe but they are fairly new to the US market) and it had a unique feature where you could fill the detergent reservoir, scan the barcode on the bottle, and the machine would dispense the appropriate amount of detergent for the load.

I can see connecting to the Internet on occasion might be helpful here to update the local barcode database, but I doubt it should need updating more often than once or twice a year. Does that mean the feature will work without constant live updates? Probably not, but I doubt it needs to update very often to remain current.

Interestingly, I learned how to make ranch dressing from scratch a few years ago. I always have the ingredients on hand, so I can make ranch dressing whenever I want.

The proportions are NOT super important. At least 1 teaspoon of each of the main dry ingredients but you can use more if you want.

Most of that list is not brand specific.

Smart plugs! These outlet switches come in packs of four for about $25 dollars. Once installed and set up in the app, you can automate them with scheduled timers or turn them on or off remotely. They will also integrate with Home Assistant, Google Home, and Alexa.

The bigger question is this: How much energy would be required to collect and sequester 101% of daily carbon emissions?

I think it absolutely should be done, but getting there will be a huge undertaking and we will need creative solutions to get there without contributing to the problem.

Maybe you could spray them with a little silver or gold cake paint? It’s made specifically for spraying on food and gives it a metallic color. Probably would wear off in a day or two, but won’t hurt the snakes.

A FUCKING FEE for a $10 an hour job? WTF? Nope!

At first it was cost. Android phones and tablets were (and mostly still are) less expensive. Now that I have used both, I very much prefer Android devices.

For most people I’m sure the difference is negligible or maybe they even find Apple devices easier to use. For me iOS has always been a struggle between what I want to do and what the software requires before it will do it. Although Android devices are not as open as they once were, they are far more customizable than the iPhone.

Imagine that someone has made a false accusation about you and it becomes part of your online profile.

Within less than a day, maybe even before you aware of the claim, every major online database has marked you as being something that you are not.

Who do you call to correct it?

Will a correction fix it?

Will the false information even get deleted?

When you don’t control the data, you are always vulnerable.