laddhorn

So far, I haven't had any issues with my Rokus. The Fire Stick was different. I purchased it several years ago (I believe it is a 3) and every time I have reset it, I have had trouble getting the remote to reconnect. When I first purchased it, I called Amazon about to return it. Shortly after they answered, the remote finally connected. I'm sure the rep thought I was not very tech-savvy, but I had just did the exact same steps multiple times to get it to go. It didn't matter if I put fresh batteries in and got up close. Perhaps I got one that skipped by QC, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I appreciate your input and really enjoy your blogs.

What are your thoughts on Roku vs. Fire Sticks? I have both. I have side-loaded Kodi onto the Fire Stick to get the "free everything", but the trouble I encountered with that is it is more of a hobby. It constantly broke, or it would lag. It was difficult to watch sometimes from all of the buffering. I would tweak it to get it working good, then a few days later I would need to tweak it again. It seemed every few months I would have to try a different app. It was too difficult to keep going. For everyone (most people) who will be using it without side-loading anything, the Fire Stick seems to be rather limited. It streams from Amazon great. You can do Netflix on it. There are a handful of other apps you can easily load. That's about it. The Roku is a different animal. It has many free channels you can easily load. It even has "hidden" channels that you can research if you are interested in "more". There doesn't seem to be any legal issues with any of the channels I have dealt with, unlike the side-loaded apps on the Fire Stick. The Roku has the Roku channel. It also has Netflix, Hulu, HBO, ESPN, and, yes, even Amazon. It has the typical subscription channels. It even offers a few exclusive ones. My wife appreciates TFC, one of the exclusive channels. So with the Roku, you can get EVERYTHING you can with the Fire Stick, plus much, much more without the need to constantly tweak it. It just works. What are your thoughts?

I will likely wait several weeks. I couldn't go tomorrow anyway as I have too many conflicts.

I agree. $50 is a bit steep to try something out. I actually ordered from the first link after some research. $15 per plant. $12 flat rate shipping. I expect them to arrive around Saturday. ETA of production will be next summer. Hopefully I don't kill them.

My DW flew out today to get her parents. They are coming to the US as permanent residents! This process has taken over a year and cost us a BUNCH of money. They arrive here on Easter. Most everything is done already, although when I was installing the Roku in their room today, I messed up the cable cover. Luckily, I had another piece, but it will require some paint. On another note... Have any of you heard about the "Ice Cream Banana" or Blue Java Banana? The flavor is described as "Vanilla pudding". They can grow in zones 8-10 outside. Hardy to 20 below. http://www.banana-plants.com/Ice-Cream.html I have to have me some! AND Amazon to the rescue! https://www.amazon.com/Cream-HARDY-BANANA-PLANT-Tasty/dp/B018U3QSUO

Yesterday it got up to high 70s. I took my daughter fossil hunting! There is a site roughly an hour away from our house where you can collect for free. There were many fossils easily found laying on top of the ground. We did do some digging and found a few nice ones, though. We mostly found crinoid stems and a few thin shells. Not very exciting, but that is typically what you find at that location. Great way to get outside with the kids, though.

Yesterday, it was in the 70s. Today's high was 36. Tomorrow will be in the 60s. Sunday will be back in the 30s. Weird weather!

I wonder if they are going to do the same thing KB Toys did. Basically shut all retail year-round stores and open in the mall for just the Holiday season.

Hello February! Just checking in.

Starting on my taxes.. Still missing a portion, but if I do it in small chunks, it isn't so bad.

Happy to say that my MIL has been approved to come to the US! My FIL had a "spot" on his chest xray, so they are making him wait 2 months for another interview. With as many people that had "spots" on their xray that day, we actually suspect an issue with their film. He has already been cleared medically, but the gov wants those 2 months. I expect we will be flying both of them here in late March.

I can't remember if I posted something for December. Anyway: Happy New Year's Eve-Eve! Be safe out there tomorrow!

So...My DW decided AFTER Black Friday that she wanted an outdoor patio heater ($99 on BF), a Ring Video Doorbell ($139+free item on BF), and a Roku device (out of the blue. I wasn't looking for that). Luckily, I found a similar patio heater for $100 off Amazon still. No luck on the Ring (back to $199 everywhere) and I can't really find anything on the Roku. I guess the current stick + would work as I saw Fry's Electronics has it for $45 today (everywhere else $49 normal price $60). The Roku isn't important as we don't really need it until February. Any thoughts on if I will score a better deal on the bottom end Roku device later?

Happy December everyone! For those into smart home stuff, I am interested in thoughts on the wifi door locks. Are there any out there that do NOT require a hub? I've seen the bluetooth ones, but I'm not sure if I want to do that. I'd rather do wifi where I can unlock for my parents when I am at work.

I suggest the Essential Phone: $409 128GB https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Phone-Unlocked-Display-Camera/dp/B078SQ7GWK/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1543456923&sr=1-2&keywords=essential%2Bphone&th=1 Another possibility is the OnePlus 6T "starts at" $549 https://www.oneplus.com/6t Both can "hang" with the Samsung S9. There is a way for him to download the app that makes the camera work as well as the Google Pixel on the OnePlus 6T.

Yay! I enjoyed this! Glad to see it is back. The bags are nice!

I am wanting a router and router table this year. Looks like I'll be going to Lowes as no one else listed one.

This!

I still use mine, but I'm looking at moving toward what Monstermile suggests. Use the phone through a head unit with Android Auto/ Apple Car Play. You could have one installed in your car for about $250 and you wouldn't need to worry about updating your map next year, or worry about it's memory being "full" the year afterward.

Glad I got my shirt. I wore it on Halloween at my work!

My daughter wants one of these for Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/UBTECH-JIMU-Robot-Mythical-App-Enabled/dp/B07GQJ1W4B Great for a young techie! Build and PROGRAM the unicorn.

Not sure if this is a server problem or an app problem, but the android app will not launch. I uninstalled and reinstalled with no luck. I use samsung s9+ runing android 8.0.0

Got my shirt and coin purses! No giftcard, though. Congrats to whomever got one! Thanks so much!

I've been using it via the Walmart Pay app for a while. If you qualify to get an employee discount, you can also have that added in there. It is NOT required that you actually pay through the app. I don't have any payment type tied to the Walmart app. After I scan, it uses any savings catcher amount I have, then it requests payment. I can pay in cash, check, card, etc. My choice. The only problem I have encountered, is you cannot save up your saving's catcher stuff as it uses any balance first.