3 degrees

[susandennis]

I have thermometers in every room which have been doing yeoman's work these past few days. The one in the living room next to me has been at 77 for the past few days. This is exactly 5 degrees above what I'm happy with. Today, we're splitting the dif. It says 74 right now. And the sun is behind the clouds so not frying the terrace. It's still 70 degrees out at 9 am which is ridiculous for downtown Seattle but it's sooooo much better.

Last night, on the news, no sooner had they blown up the weather hopes with cooler temps, then they popped it completely by explaining that this weather will bring on the fire season earlier and longer and so we can look forward to days and weeks of smoky air. Fuck. I do have some unused N-95 masks left over. I guess they will be getting some action after all. Fuck. My lungs are already not happy campers. A summer of smoke is going to really piss them off.

Oh well.

In other news... at midnight, Washington State removed all COVID restrictions. This will be interesting. There is at least one restaurant in town advertising $1000 signing bonuses for line cooks.

I have one natural light source in this house - the windows at one end of the living room. In normal times, I have low energy lamps throughout the house that basically stay on as long as I'm awake. They are all controlled automatically. Alexa turns them on in the morning and off when I go to sleep. While none generates much heat at all, they give me the allusion of heat so I have kept them all off except the essentials in the room where I am.

I set up a dashboard on a Fire Tablet I have so I can easily turn them, individually, on or off as needed without getting off my ass - or searching for their on/off buttons which, because I don't use them, are not readily accessible. The dashboard is quite handy. BUT Amazon throws up an ad every time I turn the tablet on. I get it. For $20 I can make those go away. I'm a cheapskate about the weirdest stuff.

This morning I got an ad for baby diapers. Come on! At least be relevant! It's not like you don't know me! So I fired up an Amazon customer service chat window and very politely asked to get those ads removed without paying the $20. I had to wait a while but sure enough, I got a 'one time exemption' from paying the $20. Victory is mine. Made my day. It's the little things.

Yesterday I read a story about the HOA for the condo that collapsed in Florida. They were looking at an assessment for fixing the place that would cost each home owner anywhere from 8k to 30k depending on the size of their unit. Many had balked at the bill. I get it. We've have a couple of assessments in this building over the past 30 years. I think $3k was the biggest. I suspect any maintenance assessment going forward will be 'marketed' on the pay now or rubble soon message. Ugh.

I think I'll go no where again today. I'm getting good at that.

Biggie is very busy this morning.



I need a shower.

Comments

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

I get ads all the time that are in Spanish or Chinese or assume that I live with my family.

[stainsteelrat.livejournal.com]

Does Alexa sense you getting up somehow, or does it go on at a prefixed time? I've a luddite when it comes to home automation.

First I've heard of adverts on Amazon tablets, and also a subscription to get rid of them. Is the subscription an annual ad removal thing?

[susandennis]

Alexa probably does know when I get up but she doesn't turn on lights until I tell her good morning. Ditto for night. When I tell her good night, she turns on the ceiling fan and turns off the lights.

The Fire Tablet ad thing is actually not a subscription. When you buy one (at least over here) you have the option of getting one that is 'ad supported' or paying extra for the same one that is 'ad free'. You can also buy the ad free version and then pay the extra to have the ads removed.



Some while ago, I heard that if you buy the ad supported one and then ask nicely they will turn it into the ad free version (at least for some customers). I've tried it a few times and it's worked. A nice little frequent flyer perk.

[stainsteelrat.livejournal.com]

Ah OK, so it's some sort of routine trigger for Alexa?

Now that you mention the ad support it rings bells. I think I remember seeing it when it was launched, and thought it was damn crafty.

[susandennis]

yes, routine is exactly it. i set up the routine to turn off the lights and turn on the fan when I say good night.

i have a bunch of routines i use for different things. timers for pasta, turning off the tv (especially in the bedroom — i have it set to go off at 11, in case i fall asleep or go off when i tell her to turn it off), etc

[picosgemeos.livejournal.com]

Reading this post, especially about all your gadgets, made me suddenly wonder if your LJ will just keep going and going, eventually updated by Alexa on your behalf, hundreds of years from now! :-)