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len_mullen

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Everything posted by len_mullen

  1. When I was a kid, there was a field of blueberry bushes down the road from our home. Around this time of year (when my mother got sick of summer vacation, I suspect), we were sent into the field with coffee cans to harvest. Blueberry pancakes, blueberry syrup, blueberry muffins, blueberry...I don't eat blueberries anymore. There was collateral damage -- blue fingers, tongue, and lips plus an occasional bee sting.
  2. Looking forward to hearing of your experience. We love the air fryer, but only use it for chicken.
  3. Just one time, wrap up pieces of coal for them. You will no longer have to beg for lists.
  4. 39 Justin Drive Danville, NH 03819 No pressure!
  5. I don't budget for anything. I used to. I found myself blowing 'found money' at the end of the pay period. Now, I direct deposit my check and remove what I need. I have accumulated a lot of 'found money' in savings. You should too! How do I do Christmas? I am always keeping a list of gift ideas. I research best brands/reviews and best ever prices (entitlement). I set alerts on deal sites and jump on items that I consider a great deal. As soon as I hit the return/rebuy/price match date in advance of BF, I start buying good deals. I return, rebuy, and price adjust until Christmas. There are exceptions. I will overpay for 'must have' gifts. You cannot miss on those.
  6. For those of you who have been following along, Amazon is Wooting a lot of cool stuff. Login with your Prime credentials for free shipping... https://www.woot.com/offers/amazon-echo-show-first-generation-black-or-white $50 1st Gen Show https://computers.woot.com/offers/amazon-fire-hd-8-2018-32gb-tablets $50 Alexa Enabled 8" Fire Tablet https://computers.woot.com/offers/echo-dot-3rd-gen-smart-speaker $20 Dot https://computers.woot.com/offers/amazon-echo-connect-black $13 Echo Connect
  7. I tried to stick to credit cards. Brad once slapped my pee pee for mentioning a cash back program. His forum, his rules.
  8. Discover was my first credit card. Between the cash back, bonuses for spending cash back on partner gift cards, warranty and price protection, lack of annual fees, and outstanding customer service, I am very happy to be a Discover customer since 1989. When I was going to school on the company's dime, I paid my tuition with Discover so I got my refund before I had to pay the bill. That was before the internet and electronic payments, so I used to put the check in an envelope and hang it on the fridge with the 'date to mail' marked on the back of the envelope. One day I get a really big bill with including penalties and interest. As I am pleading my case to the CSR, I notice a recipe hanging where I usually put the envelope. Sure enough, the unmailed payment is underneath. "You're a good customer. Just send this amount and don't worry about the penalty and interest." They advertise that now, but have been doing it for thirty years. I'm getting 5% back on gas this quarter. Discover, however, is not accepted everywhere. While 5% back on quarterly promotions is great, 1% on the rest is just OK. I have an Ally Bank credit card which pays 2% on gas and groceries all the time. They pay a 10% bonus on cash back if you deposit it in one of your Ally accounts. I have a PayPal Visa card which pays 2% on everything every day. I also have an Amazon store card which pays 5% on on most Amazon purchases. In the last year, I have gotten $430 in cash back from Discover, $190 from my Ally card, $180 from PayPal, and $21 from Amazon. $821 is a nice start to anyone's BF savings plan. One store card worthy of mention is Kohls. If you shop at Kohls, this magic card will get you 30% off sale prices once a month plus free shipping or in store pickup at least once a month. A lot of people prefer to pay cash. If you have the discipline to put that cash in a checking account and pay your balance each month, fee free credit cards have a lot of benefits.
  9. Thank you, but it's not that bad. I have a nice carpet cleaner and the dog is at his life expectancy. He sleeps with me in a waterbed at night and is attached to a wagging tail all day long. It's been a lot better since I figured out what he could easily digest. Once in a while I give him a steak bone and accept the consequences (I did this just before I sent him to my MIL's -- don't tell her, please). I hope he just does not wake up some morning. I really do not have the stomach to pull the plug. In the mean time, Rug Doctor owns me.
  10. Mine is ready to check out -- cancer, congestive heart failure. Unfortunately, the damn thing is just too happy to put out of my misery, so I make boiled chicken and rice for him every morning and clean the carpets every weekend.
  11. You know what stinks at 105 and 1800%? Every spot my dog peed on a carpet. My dog and my kid are having a 'sleepover' at my MIL's this week. I am deep cleaning carpets. I AM SO HAPPY! LOL. My so called life... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rf2x7YGo84
  12. http://cache.lovethispic.com/uploaded_images/332047-Glitter-American-Flag-Memorial-Day-Gif.gif
  13. Sign me up for a nice Champion hoodie. Let's take a survey of designs. While I prefer a traditional gray hoodie, my favorite GD Ts were dark gray and dark blue.
  14. @brad, do we have any Canadian friends in the club?
  15. USB battery charger is a really good idea!
  16. I think Walmart could offer Vudu + free shipping + member events (early access to BF prices when the Walmart card is used) + free layaway + free money orders + a cash back card to compete with Prime. Rooting for Walmart in this bout.
  17. Very disappointed to hear this. I cherish my collection of BF t-shirts. T-shirt for this, right?
  18. No. The problem is that they target their code to their current top model and shoehorn the code onto the other devices. If you spend much time in their forums, you would be aware as it is often talked about. The Roku 2XS seemed to be particularly susceptible. I have a couple TCL Roku TVs and I love them. I use them as regular televisions and do not have internet active, so I am not vulnerable to updates. Thank you!
  19. https://freetvforme.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/amazon-prime-something-for-everyone/
  20. Over the weekend, I added Philo and Starz (Prime Channel) just to see what Amazon would do... Each channel's programming is added to my Live Channels EPG. I have TV in a room not near network or cable. I had a TiVo Mini installed using Powerline adapters. That worked fine, but I was able to unplug everything and replace it with a Fire TV Stick and that works better. For a lot less money. I was able to power the stick using a usb port on the tv, so there is not even a cord running to the power outlet.
  21. I feel like Brad is going to get spoken to about this
  22. Second try at fries tonight. Sliced them myself, blanched, towel dried, and air fried. I am encouraged -- fries were crispy and tasty. Far from perfect. Much work to do! Cajun French Fries with Creole SauceServes 4 Ingredients:2 large russet potatoes (about 1¼ pounds), peeled and cut into ½-inch sticks2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (see recipe below) Cajun Seasoning:2 teaspoons salt1 teaspoon cayenne pepper1 teaspoon garlic1 teaspoon paprika½ teaspoon oregano½ teaspoon thyme½ teaspoon onion powder1 teaspoon black pepper Creole Dipping Sauce½ cup mayonnaise1 tablespoon coarse brown mustard2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning1 teaspoon lemon juice Directions: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan while you peel and cut the potatoes. Blanch the potatoes in the boiling salted water for 4 minutes while you pre-heat the air fryer to 400ºF. Strain the potatoes and rinse them with cold water. Dry them well with a clean kitchen towel. Toss the dried potato sticks gently with the oil and place them in the air fryer basket. Air-fry for 25 minutes, shaking the basket a few times while the fries cook to help them brown evenly. While the fries are cooking, combine the ingredients to make the Cajun seasoning. With 5 minutes left on the air fryer, sprinkle the potatoes with the Cajun seasoning and drizzle in a little more oil. Toss evenly to coat the fries and continue to air-fry for the final minutes. To make the Creole Dipping Sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Serve the Cajun Fries hot with Creole Dipping sauce on the side.
  23. I have both. I don't love either. Roku has too many products and too few programmers. Once a device falls from Flagship status, it is an afterthought. I have found that every new software update leads to a period of instability. Roku makes things worse by forcing updates. I like the current 4K Fire TV stick. They got CEC right and the stick is fast. Still don't love it. Amen. My opinion on OTT all around is that everything is always a little bit broken. Great for hobbyists, but low WAF. I'm preparing a blog post on this idea. Nothing in the Amazon ecosystem thrills me, but I like the whole of it a lot. I'll link to the post when it goes up. Can't agree with this. Check this out. I like the Roku channel. It doesn't have local channels or a DVR. With the Recast and the ability to integrate Cinemax ($9.99/mo), HBO ($14.99/mo), Showtime ($8.99/mo), and Starz ($8.99/mo) plus many other channels Amazon is really providing a la carte options. Vue and Philo skinny cable packages can be integrated into the Fire TV grid style guide as well. I'm no Roku fan. (Been banned from their forums four times, as I recall.) It's strength (independence) it also it's weakness. Things could be better now. The last Roku I bought was a Roku 2XS. Had a bunch. Awesome except when they weren't. No fan of Amazon either, but for $400 up front and $70/month, you can build something special with the Prime Ecosystem.
  24. Nine years. How much have I saved? How much have I suffered? I grew up with television. I never remember not owning a color television. We had cable for most of my life. I remember looking forward to weekends at my sister's house where they had HBO and we chowed McDonalds to movies featuring nudity and profanity. Good times. When I bought my own home, my first call was to the cable provider. When they told me installation would be $5000 (in 1990), I installed an antenna. At that time, Pats home games were generally blacked out, so everyone [who cared] came to my home on Sundays as I could pull in a Maine station that was outside the blackout area. When my first born started kindergarten, we decided it would disadvantage him to not know what Sponge Bob Square Pants was all about, so we hired Dish. Dish was fine, but as we started paying separately for phone, local long distance, long distance, 'technology', high speed internet, and cell phones, the cost of communications and entertained topped $300/month at my house. Comcast consolidated everything except my cell service for $99.99/month...for 24 months. At the end of the 24 months, my bill increased dramatically. I offered them $149.99 for my package if they guaranteed the price for life. They countered with a bare bones package for 6 months for $99.99. I took this as a challenge. I immediately purchased an OOMA Hub and Scout VOIP hub. It cost me $205, but home phone has been free since October of 2009. So, $1.80/month for unlimited local and long distance calling. I called Comcast and told them I wanted to drop phone service (on my bill at $50/month) and they took it off, but the savings was offset by loss of my triple play discount. In January of 2010, I purchased a DB8 antenna from Amazon for $90.22. When we lost power and cable for a week in February, I plugged in my generator and hooked up my new antenna. We watched the winter Olympics via an antenna. Good stuff. When cable came back, I left my television on the antenna. At the same time, Comcast began their transition to digital. We had digital televisions, but they started moving the 'good stuff' to channels that required a box. Local broadcast television was SD without a box. Within a few weeks, both of my kids asked to have their televisions put on the antenna. The wife was a holdout -- we had a DVR in the living room and food network was the background music of her life. By April, she had warmed up to the PBS Create channel and we decided to fire Comcast. Fairpoint offered me unlimited internet for $49.99/month guaranteed for life. So, we were saving $100/month off the bare bones post-promotion Comcast price. In the first year, I spent $1000 on five DTVPal DVRs. I broke even in the first year, but had DVRs in all three bedrooms, the living room, and the kitchen. DVRs would be my biggest expense going forward. I've spent about $3000 on DVRs over nine years -- $333/yr, $28/mo, $5,56/mo/set. When we fired Comcast, we did not think we needed a DVR. The one DVR in the house was loaded with unwatched episodes of Bonnie Hunt and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. It did not take long for us to fully appreciate the DVR -- pausing for dinner or a phone call, rewinding after a snooze or to re-see something that could not be unseen. Putting a DVR on each television dramatically enhanced the television viewing experience. I am very happy with my DVR+ DVRs and TiVos, but I just bought a Recast and a Tablo TV DVR. Right now, I have DirecTV at a steeply discounted price as a consequence of having an obscenely expensive cell phone plan. I'm halfway through the promotion and will not likely have the expensive phone plan after that, but, for now, I have a lot of channels including HBO. I still mostly watch broadcast television and my kids mostly watch Netflix. If you want to know what I have spent or played with over the nine years, take a look at this page... https://freetvforme.wordpress.com/my-network/ So, I saved $11,400 and spent $6,000 on infrastructure and toys netting about $50 per month in savings. Not much savings really, but I would not trade what I have for what I had. In fact, once when I was researching Comcast prices for a blog post, my wife walked in and let me know she was not willing to give up the antenna for Comcast. So, what exactly do you get with an antenna? That depends on your location and your antenna. I recommend people interested in broadcast television start at http://tvfool.com/. A report for you address or coordinates will help you understand how easy or difficult antenna reception will be at your home. Google the wikipedia page for each station you are likely to receive to see if there are sub-channels. Pick and point an antenna and you are good to go. If you want help analyzing a TVFool report, selecting an antenna, or cutting the cord, PM me or respond to this post. Most people want to know what I would buy if I were cutting the cord right at this moment. For me, right now, I think I would get an Amazon Recast and a bunch of Fire TV Sticks. In fact, I have done that. It's not for everyone, but it works for me. I have had Amazon Prime for some time. Mostly for shipping, but I enjoy the streaming media and use a photo library as the background for my Amazon Shows. I have a Recast, so I am able to watch television on my Shows (I have seven) or any device that is attached to a Fire TV Stick. The Recast only supports two concurrent streams, but that is plenty as my kids tend to watch Netflix. Some things I like about the Prime solution... Integrate Philo TV for 'cable' channels like A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, AXS TV, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, Discovery, DIY, Food Network, Hallmark, HGTV, Nick Jr., Nick, Lifetime, MTV, History, TVLand, and moreIntegrate Amazon Channels like Cinemax ($9.99/mo), HBO ($14.99/mo), Showtime ($8.99/mo), and Starz ($8.99/mo) Integrate Pluto channelsIntegrate Vue channelsLet's say your family enjoys some of the cable channels, network programming, and HBO for Game of Thrones. You get a Recast for $200, get a pair of 4k Fire TV Sticks for $100, pay $50/month for an ISP, $119/year for Prime, and $15/month for HBO. $300 up front and $75/month. Add Philo TV for $16/month for a $91 'skinny' cable killer. Most of the cord cutters I know simply run a cable from an antenna to a digital television. That is FREE TV. Respect! If you are thinking along those lines, consider a TCL Roku television. These are the best televisions for cord cutters. They get guide data from the broadcast stream (PSIP) so there is no need for an ISP or phone line to get updated guide data. If you plug a USB stick into one of these, you can pause, rewind, and fast forward through four hours of programming. If the USB stick is loaded with pictures, music, or videos, you can play those. If you have come to rely on a smart phone for online activity and are thinking you need to keep your high speed internet for streaming entertainment, think again. I'm also a fan of the Tablo TV DVR. No Prime integration and no OTT integration, but it's a great whole house DVR. You can get one for $100 at Best Buy right now. You will need to add a usb disk. I own five TiVo Roamio OTAs. Awesome set top box. I paid $300 for my first three with Lifetime and $200 for the last two. Great set top box. The Mini is the best implementation of remote access I have seen. I wish I could recommend a TiVo, but the only OTA TiVo is out of stock and $500 with 'All In' service plan. Add a Mini for a second set and you are in almost $700! As much as I paid for my last three TiVos combined. Keep an eye on Woot for deals on the Roamio/OTA and previous gen Minis.
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