Your Daily...Thing!

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
We got sick of all this cold up in the Great White North, so we banished it down to the U.S. Sorry for that!
Oh, thanks a lot for that!

... Not that I would know, seeing how I'm in California... :p
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
It's actually warmer up in the Canadian prairies now than it is in parts of Texas :eek:
 

chronodekar

Obsessively signs his posts
Staff member
Just had the biggest snowfall I've ever seen in my area of GTA (Toronto, not the video game). Took me a bit of time to shovel it away.

And yet, I'm told that the GTA has seen worse. If nothing else, I feel like I'm acclimatizing more and more each year. :)

-chronodekar
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
Also, my local newspaper had a cursed news article today. Basically saying that a nearby community was the 'ONLY' one to break record lows Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Meanwhile, every other community including my own merely set record lows on Friday and Sunday o_O
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
This time, Ohio has only been on the edge of this storm front, not full head on in it... inconvenient, and cold, and I've had to shovel the drive 1-2 times every day for the last several days. But not the super cold some are getting. And Ohio is better equipped than places like Texas for this type of weather though. I've seen colder, and I've seen way more snow than we've gotten this time around.

Per weather forecast I saw yesterday, by Tuesday, we in Ohio should be back up to mid 30's (F not C),
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
Finally decided that after yet another utility bill came almost too late to pay it that it was one too many with the U.S. Post Office slowdowns caused by none other than the Postmaster General (thank you Louis Dejoy, not). Not sure why that guy seems to want to keep the job to be honest, since he certainly does not seem happy to be there.

So I finally broke down and went and made 8 of my monthly/quarterly bills auto pay (Gas, Sewer, Water, Electric, Internet, Phone, Mortgage, and Garbage). I tried to make one other auto pay (my Storm Water, which is separate from Water/Sewer), however, they do not offer an auto pay option.

I had always held off doing all this as I'm the type whom does not particularly want 3rd parties having access to my accounts, but this thing with the mail the last few months was getting ridiculous.

I may go back and also make them all paperless, which except for my Electric on most of my billing sites was an entirely separate option.

I also started looking into switching my gas and electric account managers to get lower rates... Ohio allows for switching account managers but not suppliers (for me that is Dominion Energy and Ohio Electric), as it lets consumers find more competitive rates... not something I bother with most of the time, but since doing all this other switching might as well do that too.

Also may go into the payroll system for my company and request my pay be deposited a bit differently to cover the changes better...

EDIT:
That leaves a few left unchanged... but those are all the annual and semi-annual bills, most of those I know are not offered an auto pay option. Of them...
- Auto Insurance (Semi-Annual), not sure if they have an auto pay option, can either pay online manually, or by mail.
- Home Insurance (Annual), not sure if they have an auto pay option, can either pay online manually, or by mail.
- Property Taxes (Semi-Annual), no auto pay option, can either mail, or go one of a few approved banks to pay
- DMV Registration Fee* (Annual), no auto pay option, can either mail, or go in person.
- Club Card membership (Annual), no auto pay option, can either pay on line manually, mail, or go in person,

Note I discovered looking into it that the DMV Registration Fee can in theory be paid on-line in OH, but it is run by a 3rd party for profit administration. That sounds all sorts of not good.
 
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PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
Grrr... started having a intermittent furnace issue late yesterday, where the furnace would sometimes kick on for a few seconds then shut back down, do it a few times, then go on normally. But at that point it was still kicking in and heating the house, just took a few extra tries... I even actually had left a message on the website of the guys I normally go through for furnace maintenance and repair. I noted it was intermittent and needed an appointment to get it looked at.

Overnight, it stopped entirely... so now without heat. I also turned off the furnace, since I was worried the constant on/off might further damage it.

So... a short while back, I called them directly, and of course on a Sunday just got a secretary. They are going to have someone call me when they get freed up. Hopefully not too long.

Thankfully, it waited until this weekend to have issues, rather than at any other point in the last few weeks, as it is reasonably warm for this time of year in the 40s and 50s (F, not C) outside. Also thankfully the house is well insulated. Currently, while house is down from where we normally keep it, but it is still internally floating around 66 (again, F not C). That is enough for us to certainly feel it, but it is not so far too harsh to deal with.

Hopefully, it can be resolved easily and without a huge expense. Furnace was installed by the prior owners, but is only from 2008, so is not really all that old as far as furnaces go..
 

Lord Raa

Exporter of Juice Tins
Intermittent faults are really annoying.

In other news, my refurbed "gaming" PC will be getting an upgrade this week: A new 27" monitor and a 1TB SSD for faster boot times.
Last week, I changed the graphics card, but it doesn't have a VGA port, so I had to back down to a single monitor.

I almost got used to having a second monitor just for displaying a document for writing so I can second-screen while catching up on TV.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
Intermittent faults are really annoying.
It was really annoying for the furnace guys too... turned out to be a pressure regulator, though getting to that point was an experience and a half. But they actually had determined it was not the blower motor assembly, then thoguht it was the main electrical board, but determined it was *not* that after replacing it and discovering I had the same issue... so they put the old board back, and worked from there....
 

ThreadWeaver

Beware of Dog. Cat not trustworthy either.
It was really annoying for the furnace guys too... turned out to be a pressure regulator, though getting to that point was an experience and a half. But they actually had determined it was not the blower motor assembly, then thoguht it was the main electrical board, but determined it was *not* that after replacing it and discovering I had the same issue... so they put the old board back, and worked from there....
Usually it's the flame sensors that fail in this area. It's so humid in the summer it causes the sensor to rust and degrade. My furnace has a winking light inside that will pulse out error codes telling me what component failed. Originally my furnace was installed (20 yrs ago) with a faulty batch of sticky pressure sensors, and it took all of a couple months for them to crap out. I gave them the code and they asked me over the phone to tap the exhaust fan with a screwdriver and it started right up. This year though, I am definitely glad ours survived the cold snap. Doesn't take long for a house to freeze at -30F (-34C). I guess the stupidly overpriced Anderson windows we had put in last winter helped too though. It's amazing how they can change a room from drafty as hell to (mostly) tolerable. Not looking forward to having to pay the huge utility bills they say are coming because of Texas' lack of planning...
 

seitora

Well-Known Member
Absolutely nothing. They're trying to increase their revenue because newspaper revenues all over the western world have plummeted, but...opening a casino seems to have nothing to do with the newspaper business. I'm certainly not going to gamble on an online casino just because it has the Toronto Star branding!
 
What kind of logic does somebody need to have that "My Newspapers aren't selling, so I should open a Casino" makes any kind of sense?
 

chronodekar

Obsessively signs his posts
Staff member
I'm unhappy with the characterization of the Toronto Star newspaper as either a political propaganda rag or as a left wing newspaper chain. When I first came to live in Toronto, they were the newspaper I subscribed to. And while they have a bias, it's not *that* bad. ... Actually wait, let me put my words where my money is - I unsubscribed to them because of their critiscism of the Toronto subway system (run by the TTC). A few years ago the TTC actually won an award for "North America's best subway system" and if you read the Toronto Star, you'd walk away with the impression that they were the *worst* subway system to win any kind of award.

Me? I've lived a good chunk of life outside North America and have experience with many not-so-world-class transit systems. In contrast, the TTC is simply amazing. Like - I can actually plan a trip or journey somewhere and *actually* rely on the transit system getting me there on time. Sure, it wasn't perfect, I've had my share of late arrivals ... but compared to others, the TTC works. It's probably not the best out there, but it does what I expect from it.

The Toronto Star's portrayal of the TTC was/is grossly unfair. I had to stop paying for it - and moved to another paper instead (the National Post).

Huh ... I might have just agreed with the point I was attempting to refute! o_O

-chronodekar
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
Usually it's the flame sensors that fail in this area. It's so humid in the summer it causes the sensor to rust and degrade. My furnace has a winking light inside that will pulse out error codes telling me what component failed. Originally my furnace was installed (20 yrs ago) with a faulty batch of sticky pressure sensors, and it took all of a couple months for them to crap out. I gave them the code and they asked me over the phone to tap the exhaust fan with a screwdriver and it started right up. This year though, I am definitely glad ours survived the cold snap. Doesn't take long for a house to freeze at -30F (-34C). I guess the stupidly overpriced Anderson windows we had put in last winter helped too though. It's amazing how they can change a room from drafty as hell to (mostly) tolerable. Not looking forward to having to pay the huge utility bills they say are coming because of Texas' lack of planning...
They did check the flame sensor but determined it was not really the cause. They did clean it up though as part of the tune up they gave it after getting the furnace working again.

I do not have Anderson windows, but I have Empire. I replaced in stages all the windows on this house between 3 and 5 years ago. And the basement windows were removed and replaced with glass block 7 years ago. They are not perfect, but far better than had. I think that plus the new roof I put in at end of 2019 allowed the house to maintain 66F to 69F with no furnace... There is no way however, it would have done so had we the far colder weather we had a week or more ago...

Otherwise, I've been busy...

I did call and had the account administrators to my gas billing and electric billing changed to a different company offering a lower combined package budget deal with locked in fixed rate prices... I mentioned before Ohio allows that to prevent monopolies. Was going to do last weekend, but the furnace took priority and delayed me a few days. Pretty painless. Main drawback is I will pay a penalty if I switch before the term is up on the budget rates.

Also discovered I was incorrect, my club card does offer auto pay on its yearly membership, so switched to that. And confirmed that while there is no auto pay on my property taxes, there is a little known method to pay on line manually every 6 months it comes up. So no need for mail or walk in to the bank anymore.

Probably going to be ordering new notebook computers in the next day or two... Probably looking at getting 2 custom configured Toshiba/Dynabook Tecra A50's to replace my current Toshiba Tecra R850's.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
It's slightly depressing to see Business Insider running an article that explains what ethernet cables are and how and why to use them. Especially when I've been using them for my desktop for the past 15 years. Mein Gott, you cannot possibly be saying that casual users don't know what they are!
Well... I can see it actually. While I of course deal with them, and redid my house for central wiring. In no way can I be considered a casual user. The problem is many people are so used to wireless these days that they don't even think abouut wired networking anymore. And less and less people are bothering with such things as central wiring. And I get why, it does cost money, and it is more equipment.

Realistically, no matter what some would have people believe. A good Cat 6 and above is a more stable, faster, and more useful connection than wireless. It is also harder to hack unless someone is actually spliced in or the hack is off site. And it can also be used as a multiple phone line carrier wire, which I also used them for in my central wiring. But it is more troublesome to those whom want the wireless instead.

Of course, I like the bang on benefits... stable connections, and smart switches and both more overall and more efficient use of bandwidth capability. Shrugs... to each their own.
 

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
It's slightly depressing to see Business Insider running an article that explains what ethernet cables are and how and why to use them. Especially when I've been using them for my desktop for the past 15 years. Mein Gott, you cannot possibly be saying that casual users don't know what they are!
Actually, I've only had the barest idea of what ethernet cables were for years. I never knew the benefits of them. Before I had wireless, I had dial-up. Neat article.
 

chronodekar

Obsessively signs his posts
Staff member
Of course, I like the bang on benefits... stable connections, and smart switches and both more overall and more efficient use of bandwidth capability. Shrugs... to each their own.
Is wiring truly more cost-effective in the long run? I've thought about wiring up more devices at home, but with updates in wifi technologies every year, it feels like one might need to keep upgrading/changing your wires too often to keep up. Or to re-phrase the concern: if a homeowner laid out a big wiring project connecting needed rooms with CAT-6 ethernet cable, can than be expected to last for 10-15 years?

-chronodekar
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
I will state it was worth it to *me*. But I also had the skill to do it myself and did not contract it out.

The house when I bought it back in 2012 had terrible phone wiring (so thin looked like straw) and substandard coaxial going all over the place, and some odd repeater/splitter as it entered the house... and practically no RJ45 of any type (no cat 4, 5, 6, or 7).

I removed all that and put in full central wiring (used specially designed cabinets and doors from a company called Open House) for digital TV, internet and phone... for the latter two I used cat 6. Network/Internet goes through Netgear 16 port business grade metal housed switches. Phone goes through a special phone splitter from Open House. The coax I used special coax splitters from Open House. Each bedroom, kitchen, laundry room, living room, and basement great room equipped with 2 internet, 2 coax, and 2 phone. In all this time, repairs have been IMHO light. I've lost two switches in the central unit at separate times, 1 switch in the office area, and 1 line ended up needing new end connectors on. I replaced router three times (twice due to router going bad, once due to upgrading thhe internet to 500mbps).

- To get house wide wired internet I merely have the company place the router in the laundry room, where I have the central wiring along one wall. 1 cat6 connection from the router to one of the switches in the unit wires the whole house for internet.
- To get house wide digital TV, I have two coax lines going from the coax splitters to the attic, were a attic mounted antenna is used for the signal reception.
- To get house wide storage I also have two NAS devices I use for local central storage located with the central wiring units.
- To get house wide wireless, I have a separate simple wireless device connected to the wired internet, mostly for the printers and the tablets/gadget devices my mother and brother own. That is not part of the package from the ISP, as they charge extra for wireless. Instead I have that for best coverage in the kitchen. This works well as the connections in the kitchen are the least used and the devices do not care where the unit is, only that they can find it.

My entire 500 mbps internet/tv bill is well under 100 mo. My entire phone bill is well under 20 mo (edit actually was under 10, not 20, when had it, and currently not in use, due to no need since we all have cell phones, we found we did not use it, but left the wiring in place to support it in case change mind).

And since my company has made me a permanently home based employee now (been one unofficially since last March, officially since last November)... they now actually allow me to expense over half of my internet to them and I get a monthly check. I merely need to give a copy of the bill when I make the request each month.

EDIT: Quite frankly... most houses do not need more than Cat5E for gigabit... I say that because most gigabit hubs/switches, and routers (including wireless routers) need minimum of Cat5E for full bandwidth. Netgear also states Cat5E, but recommends (or at least used to recommend) at least Cat6 for stability of connections. I had Cat5E in old house, but went with Cat6 in this one. If you are questioning the wiring for a specific device, you can check with the maker... But in general for a home almost no one needs Cat6+ or newer... the cost difference is too great to make it affordable in most cases, and the extra band width can't be taken advantage of in most devices.
 
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