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SittingOnTheFence

We have had State Farm Homeowners for 40+ years. Because we also have State Farm auto insurance, we seem to get a significant break for having both Homeowners and Auto from State Farm. For both coverages, I review the policies regularly and make changes that often reduce our premiums. As with all i...

SittingOnTheFence

Another issue is clearance to wall. Some tanks may be dimensionally larger and not fit.

SittingOnTheFence

I don't shut off the water because I need it for lawn & garden, which runs on a timer. You definitely need to shut off hot water in case of a leak, if it runs out of water you can fry the tank.

SittingOnTheFence

I just bought the mini for my wife. It's "in the mail" so can't comment on functionality. She wants to use it to read books because she can adjust the text size. I didn't want to get her a Kindle because it means a different system floating about my house (apple ecosystem) and more to keep...

SittingOnTheFence

I am absolutely perplexed by your comments.Of course if you are feeding 2 people you have to put thought into the quantities of perishable items you buy How can you be perplexed at DrGoogle2017 comments? I find those comments totally accurate. The only thought to be put into perishables is to not b...

SittingOnTheFence

Prime and choice are different grades, so there are certainly differences. Costco does not own ranches or cows. Sticking with the most common grade of choice, requirements are FDA mandated. I'm not sure what exactly a difference between a choice ribeye or pork tenderloin you think there is between ...

SittingOnTheFence

- No good browsers available (eg. Opera) (Oh and I won't run Safari) I'm typing this on a Mac, so I'm not anti-apple, I just don't care for their phones or tablets. The Apple ecosystem is very restrictive. (ever try to just drag & drop music files to an iphone and have them play? Not possible) ...

SittingOnTheFence

I like my 12.9" iPad Pro (2015), I upgraded to it from an older 9" iPad. I upgraded to the Pro because I use a larger font and wanted to see more on the screen (old eyes are getting harder to see stuff). It may not seem significant but believe me, it is significant for my eyes. I also have...

SittingOnTheFence

Though I spend a lot at Costco, I don't find the meats to be competitive with local sales. My father was a butcher for many decades, back when butcher shops were common. He always thought highly of Costco meats. It's true that local sales can be competitive in price but I've never found local meat ...

SittingOnTheFence

Now that I'm retired my 1 ton pickup is too big to park in most places I go. I'll keep it for pulling my RV but it is not practical for 'around town'. I've been thinking about an electric car, primarily the Telsa. After Musk started making odd statements, starting with comments on the rescue in the ...

SittingOnTheFence

If the cash value is $21k and the policy value is still at face value, you're only insuring the remaining $4k. That's an interesting observation. I'll have to check it out. You are right about it being irrelevant and why I just let it ride. My annual statement arrived same day as prior post so the ...

SittingOnTheFence

Have you asked for an in force illustration? Although different, I had a Universal Life policy and when I looked at the illustration, I saw where the insurance premium increased every year. I too was letting the cash value pay for the premiums. Never heard of that illustration. I'll look into it. M...

SittingOnTheFence

Recent thread on whole life was interesting and has me wondering. 50 yrs ago I bought a 25k whole life. For decades the dividend has been paying the < $400 annual premium. I don't feel like I need life insurance any longer and when my term life came due I declined to renew (high rates due to my age)...

SittingOnTheFence

I took a lump sum and threw it all into Vanguard and didn't touch it, even through the financial crisis. My rational was the uncertainty that my multi-employer (union) pension plan would remain solvent for the balance of my life. I also assumed that if I pre-deceased my wife that she would have a la...

SittingOnTheFence

Every computer clock I've run across uses a 'coin battery'. The battery keeps the CMOS settings, which also is part of the clock settings. When the clock starts drifting a lot it is almost always a sign that the coin battery is on it's last legs. Some motherboards have these soldered into place, oth...

SittingOnTheFence

I too have an excellent defined benefit pension (it is not a public service pension). That said, when I retired I took a lump sum payment because I was fearful that the benefit could be altered or changed over time. Thus, I became my own Benefits Manager and personally, feel as if I am doing better ...

SittingOnTheFence

I just had a new R-410A unit (& furnace) installed in my 60 yr old house. I research a lot before I bought this replacement unit. My house was originally designed for an oil furnace and the ducting is 4". This is technically insufficient for running an R-410A system because of constricted a...

SittingOnTheFence

I've been retired 10 yrs. I didn't read the referenced article but when I was planning retirement and pondering if I had enough funds and how long they would last I thought the 4% rule was a good rule-of-thumb as a guideline.

I note that RMD starts at 3.65% and goes up from there.

SittingOnTheFence

bltkmt wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 7:35 am
SittingOnTheFence wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 12:47 am My primary wifi reboots itself automatically every week.
Curious how you enabled this, as I would like mine to do that.

The router has a built-in option to select that in it's web interface. I selected once a week at a time no one is likely to be using it.

SittingOnTheFence

My 3 wifi routers are not directly connected to the internet. They are all behind a very robust pfSense firewall. My primary wifi reboots itself automatically every week. The other 2 are rarely used, one of them is an old wrt54g in my basement to give greater coverage when I happen to be there. I do...

SittingOnTheFence

There is a guy in the UK who tries to use my email (xyz@gmail.com) but since I use that he then tries x.yz or xy.z Google strips the '.' so when this guy gives out an address for correspondence (x.yz or varient) the original xyz acct (me) gets all of it. Since Gmail treats xyz is the same as x.yz, ...

SittingOnTheFence

I don't know if the syntax implemented for the email host at gmail is a good thing or not. Only last night I was trying to change my Reddit email from Yahoo (dropping them due to new Terms of Service) to my gmail acct. Well, someone apparently is trying to use my gmail host name and Reddit says it i...

SittingOnTheFence

Regarding cost, last month I received a quote for a Mitsubishi Ductless heat & cooling heat pump plus 3 ductless heads. It was ~$13k. I figured I would need 2 heat pumps and 7 or 8 heads for my rambling ranch style home. I didn't accept the bid.

SittingOnTheFence

I dropped DSL and signed up for cable internet to get a speed boost. It cost more than DSL but I am happy with the results. I'm currently getting 115 mb for a cost of $60/mo. I still have ATT landline for $60/mo that I am mulling over dropping. Recently ATT installed fiber in my neighborhood, they a...

SittingOnTheFence

gtd98765 wrote: ↑Fri May 18, 2018 3:53 pm Thewirecutter.com did a review recently.

+1 on wirecutter review.
They have done more than one review in the past year, updating as the technology improves.

SittingOnTheFence

Did the AC previous work correctly, ie: fan on when AC on in Auto? It could be that your system will only work with a thermostat that has heat & cool (that is how my original 3 wire thermostat worked). When I upgraded the thermostat I also upgraded the wire to 4 wire, the old furnace & AC wo...

SittingOnTheFence

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has courses at various levels. Read the descriptions online and sign up for one. MSF course is excellent suggestion. This is a must. Get a modulated headlight so that it flashes to wake up oncoming drivers. Not sure if this is legal in all States. I have 45k miles u...

SittingOnTheFence

Twinings English Breakfast loose in the tin is my preference.

SittingOnTheFence

They are robo-dialing all those numbers, cell included. I don't give out my cell number. I still get calls, which I never answer. It MUST be robodialing, there is no other way they got my number. I also don't answer unrecognized numbers to my land line phone, most of them just hang up. Other than th...

SittingOnTheFence

I have fond memories of the time I spent in N Vt. For many years after I left I bought syrup from my friends who sugared. I live out west now. About the only place to buy syrup is Costo. It's gotten more expensive over the years. Used to get 1/2 gallon of Canadian syrup grade A Dark for the same pri...

SittingOnTheFence

It no longers matters if the number is published. I've been paying extra for decades to be unpublished. Nowadays it's all robo-dial. I don't even bother blocking anymore unless the same number calls multiple times. My strategy is let it go to machine & monitor if they start talking. 99% just han...

SittingOnTheFence

Another thing you can try for 'peace-of-mind' is after closing browser and waiting, say 10 minutes, go back to the site. If it opens without asking to sign in (assuming there is a sign in like there is here at BH) then presumably the original session is still active. If it asks you to log in then yo...

SittingOnTheFence

And Apple won’t let anyone sell replacement parts to the public. On my first iPhone I purchased the mic, speakers at top & bottom, & power connection. Granted, parts not purchased directly from Apple, but certainly readily avail for purchase online. I swapped out parts I ruined when I dropp...

SittingOnTheFence

I think the biggest risk of a MAC having a problem is through 1) bad website or 2) clicking on a link in an email. You should modify your preferences -> security -> General to "allow apps downloaded from app store" only. Then you have to give a pw to install. Although bad links can still c...

SittingOnTheFence

I opted to not port my number as well as it was well known to the telemarketers and spammers. One advantage with getting a new number, you can set it up in parallel (do not connect the OBIbox to your house phone jacks until you remove dialtone), I used an old spare corded phone to test. Then you ca...

SittingOnTheFence

socal: Thanks for that detail about disconnecting the copper. I was unaware of that, it's easy enough to do. I found a pretty decent write up at the forum at ObiTalk Community. But no one mentioned the disconnect. I really don't feel like jumping through the hoops to port my copper landline: buying ...

SittingOnTheFence

Not having used VOIP, and assuming the quality to be poor and choppy, I'm surprised to see many positive comments. So for a landline ATT user, is it correct that I perform these tasks: buy obi200, then port existing landline to GV, register at obiTalk, find a 911 service, plug in my Panasonic cordle...

SittingOnTheFence

Have you checked to see if you have latest version of OO?

SittingOnTheFence

I did that.....Once. In late 70's - 80's. I thought high local prices were outrageous and decided to go outta State. Had Property Manager doing work. Big mistake. Not the property manager, although that bit into profits. Because it was absentee ownership it became outta sight - outta mind. And.....T...

SittingOnTheFence

Your copper landline only ever worked in a power outage because your phone company had battery backups keeping their systems running. Today, the cell towers have those same systems, in many cases full generators that will keep the towers operating indefinitely without power. The copper systems are ...

SittingOnTheFence

Thanks for posting the links to commentary on this policy. I was intending to look into this and you made it very easy for me. I'm in nearly the same situation as jhfenton. I have 2 email accts for various forums I am registered at and 1 much older acct relating to yahoo groups which I almost never ...

SittingOnTheFence

If reliability is your concern then landline via copper (aka POTS) is there to serve. If the power goes out a 'traditional' plugged in phone will still work. I've kept POTS for this reason, but at ~$55/mo w/o LD it's getting hard to justify even considering the reliability of copper landline. I also...

SittingOnTheFence

Pay attention to the type of refrigerant used in the system. The Montreal Protocol has resulted in a change of the refrigerant. I just received a bid to replace my R22 installation (R22 refrigerant is no longer manufactured) with a 'dry' R22 unit (this can be done because of a loophole in the law). ...

SittingOnTheFence

Between retirement in November 2018, and start of pension and SS in August 2021, we will be living on the severance plus whatever we need to withdraw from the 401(k). Not sure about rules for 401-K but for TIRA if you withdraw before age 59.5 there is a limitation. I don't recall exactly what it is...

SittingOnTheFence

Mr Fence: Glad to hear their is better functionality - item #2 - than what pfSense web page eludes to. When I read the term blacklist, it reminded me of the ancient days when we managed the HOSTS file, not the concept of a professional actively managed bad-boy list. The blacklisting is achieved by ...

SittingOnTheFence

What you are missing by doing yourself with pfSense or similar, is the professional list management, where badboy Addresses/Names are blocked ( not resolved ) because somebody already knows that address is a trouble-maker. Not in this case. pfSense #1) blocks all inbound unless allowed or requested...

SittingOnTheFence

got it up in running for dirt cheap. And pfSense is easy to install and should work upon first-boot with very good default settings, in regards to security. +1 Rather than build, I bought their appliance. Not that expensive, love it. But there is a learning curve if you want to go beyond default se...

SittingOnTheFence

I previously used openDNS with secondary DNS of Google. I have heard that google grabs search queries but maybe this is BS. I started using 9.9.9.9 (quad9.net - a non profit) about a month ago when I first heard about it protectings against malicious domains and not using my searches for marketing p...

SittingOnTheFence

iMac & Apple Watch

SittingOnTheFence

I thought about it...briefly. Some of the ductwork runs through finished basement. Would require pulling sheetrock ceiling in 4 locations to access those runs. Most of the rest of ductwork is accessible except for 2 runs that are in a crawl space w/ about 2.5' of clearance. All 20 air registers are ...

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