Search found 82 matches

by Pluto9th
Sat Jan 14, 2023 5:35 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Migrating Tracfone plan to Verizon network?
Replies: 9
Views: 2285

Migrating Tracfone plan to Verizon network?

Anyone has a Tracfone plan originally on a non-Verizon network and has migrated to Verizon? I've had a cheap Tracfone plan for several years using AT&T network, the plan is officially 60 minutes/60 texts/60MB data every 90 days, for about $20 total with auto payment, but at one point earlier on I bought a 90-day plan card that had "Triple everything" (it might have been Tracfone's old "Triple Minutes for Life") so it has been 180 min/180 text/180MB every 90 days, and anything unused gets rolled over to the future. Most of the time I don't need much, but would on occasion use say 0.5GB of data in one hour, so the roll-over feature works well. Since the acquisition of Tracfone by Verizon I've been getting periodic prom...
by Pluto9th
Sat Sep 25, 2021 5:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kindle Paperwhite vs. iPad/Similar Tablets?
Replies: 72
Views: 7707

Re: Kindle Paperwhite vs. iPad/Similar Tablets?

For simple undemanding reading the Paperwhite is fine, but if extensive annotation/multilingual dictionaries are involved, I much prefer the Kindle app on iPad/iPhone. Could you elaborate on this? I thought one could only do foreign dictionary lookup when the Kindle app was running on a Kindle and not when it is running on anything else? On my kindle, I just press the foreign language word with my finger and the English/foreign dictionary meaning pops up. I did have to purchase the electronic dictionary from Amazon. It is one of the reasons I read foreign language books on the Kindle. I have an ancient Kindle Paperwhite and so I will either be upgrading to the Paperwhite announced today or else I could put the money into an Ipad and skip t...
by Pluto9th
Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kindle Paperwhite vs. iPad/Similar Tablets?
Replies: 72
Views: 7707

Re: Kindle Paperwhite vs. iPad/Similar Tablets?

I got a 7th gen Kindle Paperwhite, after years of using the iOS Kindle app on iPad/iPhone. While the Paperwhite is lightweight with a pleasing e-ink display, I find its screen much less responsive to touch than that of i-devices. For simple undemanding reading the Paperwhite is fine, but if extensive annotation/multilingual dictionaries are involved, I much prefer the Kindle app on iPad/iPhone. The last couple of e-books I bought were Apple 'books' rather than Kindle books - trying to get a sense whether Apple ebooks are better than Kindle books (in e.g. quality of photographs). By the way from my limited recent experience it seems that Apple Books prices move in tandem with Kindle books when an ebook goes on sale (I've been keeping a wish ...
by Pluto9th
Sat Jul 11, 2020 12:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tip Dental Hygienist for Teeth Cleaning? Thanks everyone.
Replies: 72
Views: 6968

Re: Tip Dental Hygienist for Teeth Cleaning? Thanks everyone.

[/quote]
mnsportsgeek wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:06 pm No. I wouldn’t tip a lawyer either.
tooluser wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 11:31 pm One should always tip what one thinks is appropriate.
What about the judges? They are likely underpaid compared to their legal brethren in private practice. Shouldn't one tip the scales of justice in one's favor? :twisted:
by Pluto9th
Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Walk or taxi to bus stop to get to the airport?
Replies: 66
Views: 4091

Re: Walk or taxi to bus stop to get to the airport?

A mile is a short distance, and it's not that hot yet at ~9am, so walking seems to me a pleasant little break to be outdoors before getting trapped in a flying petri dish (but if you don't do much walking otherwise, a mile under the July sun/humidity might be too much). If you get sweaty/smelly, that might help you gain extra social distance on the bus, and maybe even on the plane. Suggest that you skip the deodorant that morning :twisted: .
by Pluto9th
Sun May 17, 2020 10:58 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to connect washing machine drain hose to narrow standpipe
Replies: 17
Views: 8739

Re: How to connect washing machine drain hose to narrow standpipe

Thanks everyone, appreciate your replies, esp. those that pointed out that the standpipe is too short/narrow. Found out that apparently that's the original set-up for houses in the neighborhood built decades ago. Yes, it's time to call a plumber.
by Pluto9th
Sun May 17, 2020 5:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How to connect washing machine drain hose to narrow standpipe
Replies: 17
Views: 8739

How to connect washing machine drain hose to narrow standpipe

Hello. A new washing machine delivery was supposed to include installation, but the delivery guys said they couldn't connect the drain hose to the standpipe because the old drain hose was connected to it. I think they are contracted by big box stores to deliver furniture, appliances etc. so their plumbing knowledge might not be a whole lot more than mine ... before calling a plumber to deal with this after the weekend, I wonder if this is something I could tackle, with the help of wisdom from the Bogleheads. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1JLNih3-eyF20gk3uiCLdMbh0ghmcWn34 In the photo above, the important items are (the terminology might not be correct): #1 The standpipe #2 "Sleeve" covering the connection betw...
by Pluto9th
Thu Mar 12, 2020 1:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Coronavirus Movie Suggestions
Replies: 104
Views: 8576

Re: Coronavirus Movie Suggestions

1. The Day After
2. Life After People
by Pluto9th
Mon Jan 20, 2020 2:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Virgin Mobile is now Boost Mobile
Replies: 8
Views: 1387

Re: Virgin Mobile is now Boost Mobile

I was a long time Virgin Mobile $20/90-day plan user and it worked out very well. It was my first cell phone, and that was a year before iPhone came out. It seemed crazy what people had to pay at the time ($60/month?) just to use a "smart phone". The service seemed to have gotten worse when VMobl USA was separated from the Virgin Group, but I was happy with my nifty little flip phone, the low price and how the unused "credit" from the $20/90-day got rolled into the future, and was planning to keep the phone/plan as long as the company kept the plan going. A few years ago I had to find a different phone carrier due to lack of Sprint cell coverage, and I ended up with a "smart phone" on a Tracfone plan that is a ...
by Pluto9th
Sun Jan 05, 2020 9:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Exercise machine for a small apartment
Replies: 56
Views: 4377

Re: Exercise machine for a small apartment

Lynx310650 wrote: Sun Jan 05, 2020 8:39 pm ... is looking for something for cardio.

We live in a small 1br apt on the 4th (top) floor
Would she be willing to run or walk up/down the stairs for exercise? Great cardio workout.
by Pluto9th
Sun Jan 05, 2020 7:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cosmetology School vs Traditional College
Replies: 99
Views: 7368

Re: Cosmetology School vs Traditional College

I once asked a highly accomplished physician what she would have liked to do if money were no object, and she said she would have liked to be a beautician/hairdresser. She is very good at pretty much everything but happens to be a homebody by nature.

Don't have a clear idea how economically viable it is for the average practitioner, but hairdressing IS a marketable skill and not easily outsourced over the internet.
by Pluto9th
Sun Dec 22, 2019 2:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help identifying an insect
Replies: 4
Views: 901

Re: Help identifying an insect

Thank you very much, livesoft!
by Pluto9th
Sun Dec 22, 2019 2:07 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help identifying an insect
Replies: 4
Views: 901

Help identifying an insect

Asking for help identifying this winged insect:
Image
Thanks!
by Pluto9th
Sun Dec 22, 2019 1:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What happens if you have an auto collision while on a road trip?
Replies: 35
Views: 3119

Re: What happens if you have an auto collision while on a road trip?

Bookmark Car Talk's Mechanics Files https://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files ... all-states before you leave for your road trip. The Car Talk audience is the nicest group outside of Bogleheads.
by Pluto9th
Sun Dec 08, 2019 4:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Target gift cards 10% off tomorrow (Sunday Dec. 8)
Replies: 65
Views: 7065

Re: Target gift cards 10% off tomorrow (Sunday Dec. 8)

Thank you 7eight9 and kacang! I bought a $100 card with $90 from PayPal (linked to Chase Freedom).
by Pluto9th
Sat Aug 17, 2019 9:58 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I really do not like using credit cards. Do any of you have a good credit score with no credit cards?
Replies: 247
Views: 11389

Re: Does anyone here have no credit cards? How is that working out for you? Do you have any trouble without them?

MBB_Boy wrote: Sat Aug 17, 2019 8:29 am I work at a bank, and trust me.....our interchange on your swipes is not paying for your rewards. The revolvers are.
Why would banks want non-revolvers as customers? I suppose with their existing long-term non-revolving cardholders it's not worth the ill will dropping them might generate, but why would banks offer reward credit cards to persistent non-revolvers? Purely on the off chance that they could one day fall on hard times, or slip up and forget to pay a balance? It's not clear to me whether the monthly balances on my credit reports are revolving (just "paid on time") but I assume banks can easily tell from the pattern.
by Pluto9th
Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are you a "solo ager?"
Replies: 133
Views: 22232

Re: Are you a "solo ager?"

Another good book: Katy Butler's "The Art of Dying Well". It isn't about solo aging specifically, but it discusses a number of practical ways to increase one's odds of having a better ending, and there are things one can do (or avoid doing) decades before the end. Though of course one can do all the right things and still have a bad ending. Likewise with my mother, who is still living at 102 and has suffered from dementia since her mid-late 80s. Without my sister and myself I can't imagine how she would have fared. I have no children to see me through this "tail risk" scenario, so have to figure out how to take care of myself before I can no longer take care of myself. A long-time caregiver might have a significant short...
by Pluto9th
Sun Jul 28, 2019 11:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why do my Oral-B brush heads wear out so quickly?
Replies: 16
Views: 3138

Re: Why do my Oral-B brush heads wear out so quickly?

Thank you all for the very helpful replies! It's most likely operator error. I got the brush heads at Rite Aid/Target/Walmart/Sam's Club, they can’t all be counterfeit (gosh I hope not). Tried the Rite Aid store brand once years ago and it didn’t fit the handle well. I suppose generic brush heads are much less likely to be counterfeit, so if one can find a well-fitting store brand and the counterfeiting of the Oral-B brand is rampant, then the store brand would actually be the safer choice.

I'll try to correct my technique and see if it makes a difference.
by Pluto9th
Sun Jul 28, 2019 6:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why do my Oral-B brush heads wear out so quickly?
Replies: 16
Views: 3138

Why do my Oral-B brush heads wear out so quickly?

I've been using Oral-B eletric toothbrush for years, most of the time using the small round brush head ("Precision Clean"). Oral-B recommends replacing the brush head every 3 months, and it always seemed that I needed to replace them much sooner than that, just from brushing twice a day, 2 minutes each time. Recently I noted down the date of replacement, and found out just how quickly I'm wearing them out: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=19XWdyG-_tBadl7FhPGUBodOjzNG_CBzP What am I doing wrong, and how can I make them last longer? I try not to press down, just have the bristles touching the teeth while brushing, but perhaps I'm still pressing too hard? I've tried other roundish Oral-B brush heads (e.g. the FlossA...
by Pluto9th
Sun Jul 28, 2019 3:52 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Please Try Out Test Posts Here
Replies: 445
Views: 375734

Re: Please Try Out Test Posts Here

Test posting image, following instructions in the BH wiki and using the Calculator.png:
Image
Hope it works.
by Pluto9th
Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:06 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Uber Without Smartphone
Replies: 103
Views: 10361

Re: Uber Without Smartphone

cheese_breath, until a few years ago I also had zero interest in getting a smartphone. Then I found out that for low-volume users a smart phone plan can be quite cheap. Tracfone, $20/90 days for 180min/180mb data/180 texts, unused data keep getting rolled into the future; customer service isn't great, but Tracfone might use multiple carriers (AT&T, Verizon, TMobile etc.) in your area and you can choose the network that has the best coverage for the places you'd use your phone at (your neighbors and the sfaff at your DW's residence can tell you which networks they use and how the coverage is for them). Now I find my small iPhone an indispensable tool, besides being a communication device, it's an ebook reader while waiting, GPS, compass,...
by Pluto9th
Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:55 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is Grass-fed milk worth it?
Replies: 82
Views: 7127

Re: Is Grass milk worth it?

tigermilk wrote: Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:24 pm You can taste the difference. For that reason alone, we get it. It is worth the $12/gallon price to us.
Wait, you don't drink tiger's milk? Assuming that you were not referring to grass-fed tigers.

I've only had cow's milk (plus human milk, in infancy) and vegan "milk". Wondering what alternative animal milk other people drink. Goat, horse, tiger, killer whale?
by Pluto9th
Sun Jul 07, 2019 12:04 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?
Replies: 17
Views: 2029

Re: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?

HomeStretch wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 4:23 pm Glad to hear your damage was minimal.

You are lucky to have a very responsible neighbor (assuming in your state, like ours, a homeowner is generally responsible for any damage/removal costs of trees that fall from a neighbors property). We haven’t been so lucky!
Yes, luckily my neighbors had acted exceedingly well after the incident, otherwise the situation could have been more stressful. Sorry to hear of your unless-than-lucky experience. I'm going to make an effort to be more neighborly and thoughtful day-to-day.
by Pluto9th
Fri Jul 05, 2019 2:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?
Replies: 17
Views: 2029

Re: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?

Doom&Gloom wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:38 am I should have mentioned upthread that one helpful thing I learned in a very similar situation several years ago was that if the insurance company sent an adjuster out that a claim would be initiated whether they found significant damage or not. YMMV depending upon location and insurance company.
This is an important point, thank you for mentioning it. I understand it now but yesterday in the middle of things I was pretty muddled.

Thanks all for chiming in. Yes, this could be considered a dry run - should something worse happens in the future I'll be better prepared.
by Pluto9th
Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:19 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?
Replies: 17
Views: 2029

Re: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?

Thank you, Yooper16, quantAndHold, Summit111. Nice to hear of other people's experience (and of positive experience with insurance company/agent). Yes, it's a smallish tree as trees go but the house is quite small so the toppled tree looked quite impressive actually. Thanks livesoft, Doom&Gloom. I did make a follow-up call to the insurance agency today, saying that I looked at the area after the tree removal, saw no damage and prefer not to file a claim/have a claim on my record. They told me that they would just leave a note and the email/photo I sent yesterday in my file in case later damage is discovered, and there should be no record of a claim on my file. Guess I was paranoid about CLUE and regarded insurance as a doomsday machine ...
by Pluto9th
Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:58 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?
Replies: 17
Views: 2029

Re: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?

livesoft wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:49 am :) I guess you didn't tell us that the tree trunk was only 2 inches in diameter. The trees in my yard are 2 feet in diameter. How big was this tree anyways?
It's a bit less than a foot in diameter at the base, branches of around 4" where it met my house. About 17' high, the top 1/4 - 1/3 of it landed on the house.
by Pluto9th
Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?
Replies: 17
Views: 2029

Re: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?

Thanks livesoft, Swansea and Shallowpockets. The tree has just been removed, I am not seeing obvious damage. As I said in the original post, the impact wasn't violent enough for me to notice in the midst of the storm - so does it mean one can be pretty sure there's no structural damage, or could there be something akin to a subdural hematoma developing after a bump on the head?
by Pluto9th
Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:09 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?
Replies: 17
Views: 2029

Tree fell against house. Assess possible damage?

Neighbor's tree unrooted in storm, leaning against my house. Maybe no damage - I was in a nearby room and didn't hear or feel the impact amidst the heavy rain and wind, until I walked by the window, likely some minutes later. Neighbor is having a tree service removing the tree. I understand that any damage to the house is for me and my insurance company to deal with (and that my insurance company/insurance agent do not necessarily have my best interest in mind). If, after the tree removal, I do not see any damage or only minimal damage (below the threshold I'd want the insurance company involved), should I hire a neutral party (a public adjustor? a roofer?) to inspect the side of the house to access possible damage and advise me of the best...
by Pluto9th
Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:15 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: .
Replies: 34
Views: 3333

Re: Shower room with Window but no Exhaust Fan: Mildew Prevention

I have a humidifier in there, turn it on when showering. Very effective in keeping the room dry, and the water tank only needs to be emptied every month or two. Prior to the humidifier I used to place a twin window fan and run it as an exhaust fan, but keeping the fan in the window was letting too much outside air in in winter and summer.
by Pluto9th
Sun May 26, 2019 12:23 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Meaning of "high/low tolerance" in precision engineering
Replies: 12
Views: 20040

Re: Meaning of "high/low tolerance" in precision engineering

Thank you all for your replies! This is interesting, I'm learning to look at this from several different angles. :sharebeer
by Pluto9th
Sat May 25, 2019 4:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Meaning of "high/low tolerance" in precision engineering
Replies: 12
Views: 20040

Meaning of "high/low tolerance" in precision engineering

I started reading Simon Winchester's "The Perfectionists - How Precision Engineerings Created the Modern World". In the book, high tolerance is positively correlated to high precision - e.g. a slipper is a thing of low tolerance since it may have "an agreed or stated amount of allowable variation in its dimensions" of half an inch or more, while making of a space telescope requires much higher tolerance. I am no engineer and this definition of high/low tolerance grates on my ear, since I keep thinking that if tolerance is defined as the allowable deviation from a standard, then higher tolerance would mean higher allowed deviation from the standard. Looked around a bit online ... http://aspe.net/technical-publications/med...
by Pluto9th
Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are independent garages cheaper than dealer?
Replies: 58
Views: 5739

Re: Are independent garages cheaper than dealer?

Dealerships don't necessarily have more competent mechanics. There are probably bad/dishonest independent shops along with good ones. I'd suggest finding an independent shop that has a reputation of being good and reasonably priced, then try it out first with a little job like an oil change, then gradually on to bigger jobs. Once you're completely happy with a shop, give them all the work you don't want to do yourself. A shop should be thought of as a car's primary care physician that the car is taken in for routine maintenance/upkeep, so the mechanic would know the car's history before something goes wrong. My shop has a tiny waiting room with one plastic chair, they're not good at "letting you know the cost ahead of time", but t...
by Pluto9th
Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What are your property taxes?
Replies: 375
Views: 29808

Re: What are others paying for property taxes around the US?

jucor wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 7:12 pm
dwickenh wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:05 pm
Toons wrote: Thu Dec 06, 2018 4:47 pm 670.00 per annum
1400 sq ft home
Large lot.
:happy
You gotta love Tennessee!!
If you want to live in the state ranked as the No. 8 least-educated state in the U.S. -- TN is also the 6th least healthy state -- both according to stories in the Tennessean Newspaper... Hmmmm.
Good for you, Toons.

TN’s got a full-sized replica of the Parthenon, which I long to visit.

As for education, well I’ve got about 20 more years of schooling than Abe Lincoln (from KY), and I can’t even make a PowerPoint half as good as his (https://norvig.com/Gettysburg/).

Property tax: about 1.6% of house value. Lousy school system.
by Pluto9th
Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 1024.99 for a book. Why?
Replies: 21
Views: 3843

Re: 1024.99 for a book. Why?

"Selected Nuclear Materials and Engineering Systems" (https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Nuclear ... 540484744/), multiple used and new copies, from $3,420 and up. Years ago on the New Yorker, Nicholson Baker, writing about the Kindle, mentioned the high price of the Kindle version of this book. Some amusing customer reviews of the book on Amazon, but none was from a verified purchase.

Don't leave "voice purchase" on your Alexa on w/o requiring a confirmation code! :D
by Pluto9th
Thu Jun 28, 2018 8:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone using Obitalk for Google Voice?
Replies: 38
Views: 9225

Re: Anyone using Obitalk for Google Voice?

The Simonics gateway to Google voice will be discontinued: see the 28 Jun announcement on https://simonics.com/news/. Those who have been using the old Obi 1xx devices connecting a regular phone to Google Voice through Simonics Gateway will need to upgrade to newer Obi devices (e.g. the Obi 200).
by Pluto9th
Sun May 13, 2018 1:38 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?
Replies: 7
Views: 1955

Re: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?

Are you clicking on the Request Desktop Site? The voicemail I checked was on April 6. I just did a test, and it worked for me using my iPad/Safari (iOS 11.2.5, but that should matter too much). .... BTW, are you having same issue with Firefox on desktop? No, I didn't actually "Request Desktop Site" yesterday, that's why it didn't work. I was dense. So to summarize, the simple solution - many thanks to inbox788 - is this: click on the "play message" link in the email containing the voicemail as before, when it opens in a Safari window (it would be a google voice page directing one to log in or sign up), tap and hold the refresh button in the URL bar, that would call up the "Request Desktop Site" option. Click o...
by Pluto9th
Sat May 12, 2018 8:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?
Replies: 7
Views: 1955

Re: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?

I just looked at this. It's one of those mobile vs desktop issues. If I Request Desktop Site ( https://www.imore.com/how-request-desktop-version-website-your-iphone-or-ipad ), I can still play the messages in the browser. Hmm, that does not work here. The "PLAY MESSAGE" button in the email has a link of "https://www.google.com/voice/fm/[long string of numbers]/[even longer string of numbers & characters]. If I copy the URL and open it in either safari or Chrome in iOS, the browser would jump to Google Voice's sign up/sign in page, there's no "m." prefix to get rid of. I dug out an old email containing a voicemail from two months ago, at the time the voicemail could still be played easily. It had the same type o...
by Pluto9th
Sat May 12, 2018 4:46 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone using Obitalk for Google Voice?
Replies: 38
Views: 9225

Re: Anyone using Obitalk for Google Voice?

Soon2BXProgrammer wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 10:27 am upgrade to a 200 series.. they announced a while ago the 100 series was end of life, then google changed something as well..

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/google- ... s-2139232/
OP: note that the link above also mentions the $5.99 solution (one-time fee, you can keep using the Obi 100 device) through a new SIP gateway at simonics (https://simonics.com/gw/index.php). Or get there through http://nerdvittles.com/?p=12807 for some nice discussions on the topic, along with a $1 discount on the $5.99 fee.
by Pluto9th
Sat May 12, 2018 4:26 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?
Replies: 7
Views: 1955

Re: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?

Thanks to fortfun and stinkycat for the Chrome suggestion. I tried it on a desktop and a laptop, and it seemed to work - the voicemail can play directly and can be downloaded as voicemail.mp3. It doesn't seen to work on iOS devices (iPad or iPhone). On iOS, the recipient of the forwarded voicemail would just get asked to "log into/create google voice account", whether it's through Safari or Chrome.

My solution for now for forwarding voicemail is to download the voicemail.mp3 on a non-mobile device, then send the mp3 in an email so the recipient can play it directly on an iOS device. If anyone reading this in the future has a better idea, please post a reply. Thanks!
by Pluto9th
Thu May 10, 2018 4:25 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?
Replies: 7
Views: 1955

Google Voice voicemail via email: recent changes?

Has anyone else seen a change in Google Voice voicemail message starting about 1-2 months ago? I have "get voicemail via email" in my Settings, and in the past when a voicemail came in through email, I could just hit 'play message', and a browser window (Safari on iPad/iPhone; Firefox on desktop computer) would pop up and ready to play, and when the message was for someone else (have been using Google Voice paired with an OBi device as a home phone) I could simply forward the email containing the link to the voicemail. Now when I click on the voicemail link in the email, I have to log into my Google Voice account, and forwarding the audio voicemail (not the voicemail text) becomes much harder. Is there a way to get around this new...
by Pluto9th
Mon Apr 02, 2018 12:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS free fillable form: confirmation of scheduled withdrawal?
Replies: 7
Views: 961

Re: IRS free fillable form: confirmation of scheduled withdrawal?

By paying on 14th of April instead of 7th, I'm saving ... ~15¢ in interest :P
by Pluto9th
Sun Apr 01, 2018 11:36 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS free fillable form: confirmation of scheduled withdrawal?
Replies: 7
Views: 961

Re: IRS free fillable form: confirmation of scheduled withdrawal?

Thanks for the replies. I checked my efile status on the IRS site and it just said that the return has been accepted, be sure to pay before the deadline if there is any tax due, and refund info can be found at ... Alas Get Refund Status is not set up for a dual-purpose check - it requires the expected refund amount, and won't accept a negative (or zero) amount.

Wait - I found this page https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-taxes- ... withdrawal and called the number listed. They verified that I did have the withdrawal set up for that day. So all's well.
by Pluto9th
Sun Apr 01, 2018 12:05 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IRS free fillable form: confirmation of scheduled withdrawal?
Replies: 7
Views: 961

IRS free fillable form: confirmation of scheduled withdrawal?

At the end of e-filing of fed tax using free fillable form, I picked the option of having the balance due drawn from a checking account on 14 Apr, but did not print out/screen-capture the page when it was done, assuming that the info would be included in the filing summary. It wasn't. Is there a way to find out whether the withdrawal is indeed scheduled (sort of like the counterpart of "where's my refund" function)? Waiting until the withdrawal date (or the following business day) to check my bank account might not leave enough time to correct the problem if the scheduled withdrawal wasn't set up correctly. Thanks!
by Pluto9th
Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Books that have actually changed your life, in a way.
Replies: 172
Views: 22799

Re: Books that have actually changed your life, in a way.

Bertrand Russell’s Autobiography and Conquest of Happiness.
Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series.
Richard Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast.
Oh, when I got my first car (a horrible crate), Deanna Sclar‘s Auto Repair for Dummies. I wonder if that was the very first “for dummies” book.
by Pluto9th
Fri Mar 09, 2018 8:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What do you pay for your phone/cable/internet? REAL total with tax?
Replies: 61
Views: 7960

Re: What do you pay for your phone/cable/internet? REAL total with tax?

pondering wrote: Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:54 pm What is a PEG fee?
Public, Educational & Government access. Mainly Public TV, I assume.

$50/mo all inclusive for Verizon Fios internet; Google Voice with an Obi device; $7/month Tracfone (have wi-fi nearly all the time so 180MB/90day data is sufficient). So, $57/month. Have a TV antenna and Apple TV for vegetating.
by Pluto9th
Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Annotating locked pdfs
Replies: 13
Views: 1537

Re: Annotating locked pdfs

Tamales wrote: Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:13 pm At a minimum, is there a way to save a pdf which currently has all properties set as 'not allowed,' to at least allow commenting (e.g. highlighting, or drawing boxes around sections, or adding notes in the margins with the typewriter function), and copying sections of text so you don't have to type them out manually or use a screen capture?
This might work: upload the file to Google Drive, then "print", and save the print to a PDF file.
by Pluto9th
Sun Feb 11, 2018 7:32 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can I track a friend's trip on my Windows computer?
Replies: 12
Views: 1957

Re: Can I track a friend's trip on my Windows computer?

CULater wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:28 pm Would like to be able to use the phone with Android Auto at the same time, but it looks like Android Auto pre-empts the phone and cannot also run the Glympse app at the same time.
What if you set up the Glympse sharing, then leave it running in the background while connecting to Android Auto? I have no experience with AndroidAuto/Apple CarPlay-type set up, but the Glympse on my phone seems to run/share OK in the background.
by Pluto9th
Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can I track a friend's trip on my Windows computer?
Replies: 12
Views: 1957

Re: Can I track a friend's trip on my Windows computer?

CULater wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:53 am Only thing I've noticed so far is that it defaults to 15 minutes of sharing location and you have to tediously increase that in 15-minute intervals. I'd like to be able to more directly select the time; usually it would be about 12 hours to allow viewing location during the full day of travel.
To quickly set share time to up to 12 hours, try the set up as in this iPhone screenshot, it might work for an Android phone as well: http://imgur.com/a/baroW (I uploaded the screenshot to imgur, but the Post Preview complained that it was not possible to determine the dimension of the image. Oh well).

For hours of use, the phone probably would need to be plugged into a power source.
by Pluto9th
Sat Feb 10, 2018 11:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Can I track a friend's trip on my Windows computer?
Replies: 12
Views: 1957

Re: Can I track a friend's trip on my Windows computer?

Have your friend install the "glympse" app on his phone and send you a glympse invite by email, specifying a length of time the glympse is valid for (I think the maximum is 12 hours at a time). You should be able to see his location/movement on your web browser without having to do anything special on your computer.
by Pluto9th
Sun Jan 21, 2018 10:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Going to one income-seeking testimonials
Replies: 101
Views: 8175

Re: Going to one income-seeking testimonials

KlangFool wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2018 8:46 pm
BradJ wrote: Sun Jan 21, 2018 7:59 pm
I currently make a little over 108k, plus the possibility of 15k bonus (or 15% of current salary).
BradJ,

That is not low six figures income as per my comprehension. In any case, Roth 401K still may not make sense. You should max up 2 X 5.5K = 11K of Roth IRA instead of Roth 401K if you want to put the money into the Roth space.

KlangFool
If I had an income of $100,001 I'd call it "low six figures" :D. Why wouldn't ~108k be called that? I'm not familiar with the terms - is it usually understood to be 200k-300k? Or are such things done in hexadecimal, so what I would have naively thought of as "low six figures" is properly understood as "low five figures"?