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Continue reading →: HomeKit Part 4.0: RainMachine sprinklers, Water and Flood Detectors, Belkin Soundform Connect and Smart Blinds
Ok, getting down to the last licks on HomeKit devices, but here is the next batch. RainMachine is great, HomeKit glitch First of all, we’ve been using the RainMachine over the weekend and I have to say I’m impressed, it automagically works remotely without having to do a sign on…
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Continue reading →: IPad Pro Smart Folio Keyboard vs. Magic Keyboard
Well, it’s iPad Pro (3rd Generation) since 2018 and have just loved it. There have been improvements with cameras and performance, but since this is mainly a read the Internet and research papers machines it has been great, even three years later. Smart Folio Keyboard good but not great When…
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Continue reading →: Ribs! Carmen Ranch, BBQ Guru Paradise
OK, we are in the heart of the summer and I’ve always wanted to really smoke. Just to define terms, what most people call a BBQ is actually a grill since it applies lots of direct heat, then there is a real barbecue which is low temperate heat for a…
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Continue reading →: Smarthome 2021: Homekit, Vocalinc, Tailwind, Rainmachine, Raspberry Pi Homebridge, Matter, and Thread too
Well, time once again for the bi-monthly update on home automation. The main things are that we now have four different houses laid out with Apple Homekit as a base and here is what is working, some tips, tricks, and some traps that cover how to handle multiple homes, multiple…
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Continue reading →: Annoying things with Wowchemy and Hugo
Ok, in trying to finish gracetong.com, I’ve had a lot of little glitches with the template that is Wowchemy. This is a really nice quick and dirty way to get a resume up, but one big thing you give up when going to WordPerfect to Hugo is that many of…
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Continue reading →: Massive Git Rebase how to avoid and what to do
OK, I made a big error the other day, I’ve been using Wowchemy Academic and working with the sample site. The problem is that I wanted the latest fixes to the sample site but I had made lots of edits. Here are the big lessons on to avoid a 350…
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Continue reading →: Argh, when you never print, issues with Brother HL-2380DW and Canon Pro9000 and doing passport photos
About the only time I ever print anything anymore are for government forms (they still need lots of paper) and passport photos. I seem to never even do print photos anymore, so as a result, literally, our printers seem to be “bit rotting away.” So here are some notes if…
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Continue reading →: The latest update on low-cost mobile plans with T-Mobile One vs Magenta vs 55+ vs. True
OK, time once again to look at the cost of cellular, last week, we had visited with Pete and Dave, so it a good time to review the cost of cellular plans. About five years ago, we switched from Verizon to T-Mobile. Thanks again, Mike for the “join discount” which…
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Continue reading →: Creating a Low-cost, supportable UniFi Network in a non-Ethernet house
So, in an era, where there are widespread semiconductor part shortages, what should you do if you have a house like Dave’s that doesn’t have any Ethernet and gets uneven coverage from a single Access Point. And where there is *a lot* of interference from neighbors that makes it hard…
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Continue reading →: American Express Rewards on Apple.com and also trying Best Buy rewards
It is really hard to get any additional credits with apple.com or Best Buy for that matter, here’s one interesting hack:. The big issue is that with most rebate items there are lots of exclusions. Everything from electronics to anything well useful American Express has a promotion with Rakuten. If…