richie510

First, your writeup here is extremely helpful, thoughtful, and I am very grateful.

I am in the USA.

I actually just cancelled my Amazon Prime membership today after more than a decade. We used them for everything including grocery delivery, but no more.

I have primarily shopped at Maggard Razors (online) for my wet shaving needs and have been happy with their service, though I'm open to anything (except Amazon).

I just started my experimentation of finally trying these sample packs of blades I bought more than a year ago. I used one derby blade twice now. Seems fine. I'm not looking for the holy grail, just an affordable blade that gets the job done. I prefer to use a blade only once or twice before replacing, and I only shave between 2-4 times a week. It feels a lot easier to use a blade once or twice when it only costs $0.11 rather than $0.40 per blade.

FYI, I started off with a POS Viking razor from amazon, then got a Rockwell 6S. The Rockwell was fine, but I eventually got a Razorock GC84-P (Game Changer in the more aggressive gap). I love this razor.

Maggard Razors has the Derby blades in a 100 pack for $11.95. This seems reasonable to me. I will use all 5 in my sample pack (plastic tuck with writing read while tuck is in vertical orientation). Then I will try my tuck of 10 Sharp Durablade.

When I was first buying shaving soap I found it so confusing. It was only after I was informed that the main difference between the soaps was the fragrance that I finally started to "get it". I have tried several soaps and found them all to be serviceable. I am primarily going with Stirling because it is highly available, reasonably priced, and works well for me.

I think that most blades should be fine for most people barring any bad batches. I do wish the terminology was more logical when describing these things.

ESR. They have cases as low as $13 with strong magnets and a premium feel.

I really wish razor blades came with a "nutrition label" that said what they were made of, where they were made, and their initial sharpness. Terms like "super stainless" "sharpedge" and "superior stainless" just do not do much to help me figure out what I'm potentially introducing to my bloodstream or how the blade will perform.

I actually have a 8 packs of samples of "silver blue" "7 o clock" (green and yellow?) "Sharp Durablade" "Astra superior stainless" "ladas" "Derby" and "Shark". I have not appreciated Shark in the past. The Ladas appear to have Russian writing, but do not clearly say where made. The 7oclock and super blues say they are made in Russia clearly. The Astra does not say where it is made, but it is clearly a P&G brand, so should I assume Russia? The "Derby Extra Superior Stainless" says it has a "Platinum Tungsten Polymer Coating", should I assume this is still teflon?

Planning to continue my "experimentation" with the derby (made in Turkey, maybe not teflon?), but would also love to know any details about Sharp and Astra as this stuff is just not "google-able".

People should never trust Amazon or the "% off deal" that Amazon is advertising. Always verify against camelcamelcamel.com to ensure that the price is actually a deal and not artificially inflated due to some demand spike or their algorithm thinking that you really need it right now.

I have no suggestions for a hub that does what you want. However, Homeassistant does all of what you want and more.

If you have a box that HA can run on, just try it. You can integrate things you would not even expect. You can get the official Zigbee usb dongle from Nabu Casa or from anywhere you choose. Then just start pulling over one device at a time getting comfortable with HA. You can add a Z-Wave dongle, a Thread dongle, and more.

With Home Assistant the best place to start is to just get it running on your network and see all the stuff it finds on its own. Then get a Zigbee dongle and start moving things over as slow as you like. This is by far the best path rather than relying on some other hub that will eventually EOL and leave you hanging again.

Automations in HA are very easy, and coming from HomeKit, they are an absolute dream to work with.

Don't wait to order something to get started with HA, just install it on whatever you have lying around or install it in a VM with VirtualBox if you have nothing else. Get used to it and then plan out how you want to go forward. If you find that you hate HA, it would be nice to know before you drop any $$$ on it.

I want to add that in many places in the US it is not just the distance, but the danger and outright discouragement of walking somewhere. For example, I contemplated using a train to get to Lego Land in California from Oceanside, California. After getting off of the train I would have to walk 1.3 miles, which is only a minor inconvenience. However, after reviewing the walking route google has this qualifier: "Use caution - may involve errors or sections not suited for walking". This prompted me to review the walk using street view and I came to the conclusion that there was not a safe route.

This is just one example of something that I think should specifically be available. There are many places where walking is encouraged and convenient, but it is by no means universal.

I'm not sure if they updated the website after I purchased it, but now the blurb for the Unifi Express says this:

Manages up to four additional UniFi Network devices when operated as a gateway

I have more devices than that, but still, it was literally not functioning with what I had. I also loaded my whole system backup including all historical data. That may have been the other thing that just killed it.

I just want to comment to push this comment higher. On a PC, the answer is usually Firefox.

I just want basic running shoes that are $30/pair and will not change in any way for the next 40 years. Basically, I just want a pair of New Balance shoes on sale from joesnewbalanceoutlet.com for the good old price they used to offer 3 years ago. The only problem with them at the moment is they have raised the price floor to $40 and the style rotates too much. I just want the same stupid thing every time.

Some key features:

1. a little rubber around the toe to keep the puddles out
2. breathable top
3. cushy bottom
4. dont change

I hear a lot of this BIFL for shoes stuff. I have no intention of keeping my shoes longer than 6-9 months. At $30/pair, they are disposable. When I accidentally step in dog crap, they become disposable immediately.

I also have no interest in leather. Might last a long time, but for me it is like putting a ziplock bag on my feet and it turns into a swamp real fast.

Absolutely nothing other than voting. Any individual "reducing their plastic use" is just a drop in the ocean. The only meaningful change is through legislation or some economic situation. The only positive outcome of reducing your own plastic use is that warm and fuzzy feeling that you get from believing that you are doing something good.

However, I do not want to discredit that warm and fuzzy feeling. It brings people joy, and I think that is great.

I am using it for the flashlight. I hope to get fancy with a shortcut, but I don’t have one picked out yet.

I’m thinking maybe I will try it for my receipt scanning shortcut on a future business trip.

I’m also using for the flashlight.

It can only be accessed by the Lock Screen button and the control center widget. The camera can be activated by app, Lock Screen swipe, control center widget, Lock Screen button, search, etc.

I like the idea of using shortcuts to make it more flexible. However mute toggle and camera are not likely something I will pursue. (Why do people need to intermittently mute their phones, isn’t your phone always on mute?)