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Joined 11 months ago
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Cake day: August 5th, 2023

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  • Regarding integration to a home network, well… I’m not up on residential stuff, so consider this a starting point

    If you’re looking for a higher security keyway or a more durable lock, I’d go with a smart lock retrofit kit like August or Yale Approach. These will mount to an existing deadbolt inside the door and turn it into an electrified DB, but the outside remains unchanged. I will say Medeco has some interesting standalone deadbolt solutions, but they are geared for larger systems and commercial use.

    On the hardware side, you can’t go wrong with a Schlage B250 with a Primus cylinder. Other options are the ASSA 7000 series, the Medeco Maxum, or the Mul-T-Lock Hercular. Add a reinforced strike plate, and, if your really worried, a door wrap for another layer of metal reinforcement on the door, and you’re sitting pretty. Now the bad guys will take over look at your Fort Knox door, shake their heads in despair, and break a window instead.


  • Kwikset Obsidian

    No key, use a 9V battery on the exterior terminals if you get locked out because of a dead battery

    User codes 4-8 digits in length

    Smudge resistant touchscreen, sometimes annoying to activate

    Discontinued, but you can find them on Amazon

    Compatible with standard US deadbolt prep, no additional drilling required

    Has an automatic relock option, locks itself after 30 seconds. Just didn’t forget, if you propped the door open for a minute, the bolt is extended. Don’t mindlessly slam the door

    Because this doesn’t have a keyway, I have no problem recommending this Kwikset. Kwikset Smartkey has gotten better, but still has vulnerabilities that I didn’t like.


  • Locksmith here. What specifically are you looking for? I can tell you now, avoid Level, they are incredibly vulnerable to brute force attacks. I would also steer clear of any “Amazon” type smart locks. If it’s not a major brand, it hasn’t been vetted and there’s little one can do as a consumer if it fails.

    I’ll give more detailed recommendations depending on your needs, and pro/con of the options available that meet that need. Do you need:

    • A key override if batteries die?
    • (Or no key at all, ever?)
    • Internet connectivity/app integration?
    • Latch monitoring?
    • Price range?


  • I think the word you’re looking for is ruminate. The word comes from ruminant animals like cows, who partially digest fibrous plants, regurgitate them, and “chew cud”. Which is what we do when we regurgitate negative memories.

    My tool, which works for me but i am not a mental health expert, is this:

    When i find that I’ve entered a ruminant thought cycle, I’ll start asking these questions and working through it logically

    • Does this memory have something beneficial to teach me in this moment?
    • Can I learn any more from this memory?
    • The moment is in the past, and I’m alive here and now
    • I am the only one who still remembers
    • This memory is no longer useful, I will think about something else
    • I’ll think about something now, because I’m alive now

    I’m sorry your psychologist was ineffective. A good one can be hard to find


  • As with the lowest posts in this thread, this will not be popular, but I’ll say it anyway.

    I’m not concerned. Not because I think everything is fine. It’s because it’s not been fine for a long long time. Now the curtain is being pulled back and everyone can see the reality that’s always been there. Privilege just means private law, and the president is the most privileged person in the US. As time moves forward the window dressing is removed and we can see reality for what it really is. It reminds me of This Vicious Cabaret:

    But the backdrop’s peel and the sets give way and the cast gets eaten by the play / There’s a murderer at the Matinee, there are dead men in the aisles / And the patrons and actors too are uncertain if the show is through / And with side-long looks await their cue but the frozen mask just smiles.



  • That could be Mama. Nests are not the safest place for fledglings, so mom or dad will push them out of the nest, but they are not abandoned. (Predators can find a nest easier than an able-bodied fledgling).

    I once rescued a baby chickadee from a neighborhood cat that was stalking it. The parents were going nuts in the tree above, so i set the little bugger in a yew bush and took the cat away and gave it treats. Everyone was happy that day





  • If the urban area is too densely populated there may not be enough blooming plants to support a colony. TBH close neighbors wouldn’t really be affected, or even notice, unless they are hyper-aware of bees due to an allergy or phobia. Our neighbor kept bees right beside our apartment complex and no one noticed at all

    These wall units look really slick, but the hive entrance needs to be accessable from the outside, and the inside of hive itself needs to be accessable from time to time, even if the beekeeper doesn’t plan on harvesting honey. I only have a little knowledge of beekeeping, but I do know they don’t just run themselves. Keeping a hive healthy requires regular attention and work. Kind of like houseplants, actually






  • I had one like that a while back. I’d heard the song on Pandora a few times and liked it, but it was just background music while i was working. The tune was catchy, but I couldn’t remember the lyrics at all. I tried humming it into sound hound and stuff, but to no avail.

    Finally my wife was playing Pandora when I came home from work and it was on.

    Welcome Home, Son - Radical Face

    Back in the late nineties I had the reverse problem. I heard a cover of Bakers Street by the Foo Fighters on an independent radio station. I knew it was from a Japanese version of The Colour and the Shape, but no one had the CD. (Actually it was the UK version of the single My Hero, but either I misheard or the DJ was wrong. No wonder I couldn’t find it.) Then, Napster happened. I’ve still got that song somewhere on an old HDD, in all its 128 Kbps glory




  • I don’t dislike most animals. I love all of God’s creatures… sometimes with barbeque sauce. Except chihuahuas, screw those guys

    In all seriousness though, aside from the bitey and parasitic insects I enjoy animals for what they are. The only reason I dislike chihuahuas is their behavior within the realm of a domesticated animal. However, just like a small child that will kick you in the shins, punch you in the nuts, and scream until they get what they want, I’ve found with chihuahuas that punting them into a wall just once usually solves the problem.

    My wife on the other hand does not like larger birds. She thinks chickens, ducks, and geese “look weird” and “shouldn’t be able to stand up, shaped like that”. She does, however, like them with barbeque sauce.