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St Pat's day is right around the corner, March 17th. It is a holiday that my family always observed and claimed to be mostly Irish. My DNA seemed to support that but as years pass I'm far less Irish and mostly Scottish. I don't feel less Irish and it certainly will not slow me down from celebrating the holiday. I don't party as I did in my younger days but I will have my family's traditional corned beef brisket and cabbage. I don't know that I've ever missed enjoying the meal on the 17th of March. I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable St Patrick's day.

I really hoped no companies in the states have microchipped their employees, so I Googled it and found:

........July 2017 that Three Square Market, a retail technology company in River Falls, Wis., microchipped its employees.........

I'm glad Illinois is thinking about banning mandatory microchipping employees
Proposed Illinois law would make it illegal for companies to microchip their employees

During my employment, I agreed to drug testing through my labor union, but that got out of control real quick. I got randomly tested 3 times in the first year. Then General Contractors started requiring drug testing. Then I had a Hospital job and Nurses would run around in the morning having random people blow into an alcohol detector.

I stumbled upon this, which has been around since 2012. Works like a charm for my Gmail account, with no more spam.
I opted for the $5 monthly plan since the free version tops out at 25 blocks...
Multiple email accounts would cost you $9 a month.

Samsung has started to roll out their latest update for the Fold5 international devices, F946B. bringing with it the March Security patch.

Build number = F946BXXS1BXBM

Build date = 28 February 2024

Android Security patch = 01 March 2024

Download size = 399.27MB

Camera version = 14.0.00.46

It is a FOTA, (Firmware Over The Air), update and you can check... Settings > Software update... to see if it is available for you. Alternatively, you can connect to the Samsung PC suite, Smart Switch and check via that.

System information

Hi, folks.
Since this is now the "Early Bird" forum with presumably lots of early adopters of technology, perhaps that carries over elsewhere. In any event I know there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here, and to be honest I tend to trust some folks here rather than on generic forums out there on the interwebs.

Anyway: our water heater has died; it's a 50 gallon conventional natural gas type. In days past I would have simply found a new replacement, called my brother-in-law to help me heft out the old one and drop in the new one, plumbed it out and called it a day.

However...we recently finished a solar installation on our house, and we also opted for a pretty substantial battery backup, so we don't have to be as concerned either about using electricity or having a power outage. (That is always one of the great things about a gas water heater...even if the power is out, at least you have hot water, right?)

So aside from having to run a new circuit to the location, we have a decision to make whether to go with a conventional electric unit or a new hybrid type (electric and heat pump). We are in a location where heat pumps are quite effective, so that makes it feasible. One drawback, however, to the latter seems to be that when something is wrong it's hard to find a technician who knows both systems, but we are guessing as these things become more common, so will the people who support them.

Now you might be wondering, if we have solar, why do we care about installing a hybrid? Well, for one, our solar system is in some ways close to capacity, and two, there's really no reason to "waste" electricity just because you aren't paying for it in the conventional sense. Also, our utility company will give us a rebate for a chunk of the purchase price, which makes it cost about the same as a conventional electric unit. But maybe I'm just overthinking this and making it too complicated? Certainly with the hybrid units there is more to go wrong.

So I thought I'd tap the wisdom in our group and see what thoughts you have, and if some of you perhaps own one of the hybrid units please chime in. And obviously if you might happen to work in these industries please share your experience.

Thanks, folks!

Best picture

"American Fiction"
"Anatomy of a Fall"
"Barbie"
"The Holdovers"
"Killers of the Flower Moon"
"Maestro"
"Oppenheimer" --- WINNER
"Past Lives"
"Poor Things"
"The Zone of Interest"

My "U" and "O" key had something underneath both that prevented me from typing anything, the rubber nub is still in the keys, underneath them, the retainer key, the square key and the hexogon shape key somehow connected with the "U" key but the problem is they are all black color and I cannot seem to figure out how to snap on the key, I did it once though but the "O" key underneath got stuck on a moment, tried typing with it, it went to stuck ville until I removed the key.

I have massive hands and I always trim my fingernails. Help is much appreciated.

Is Nox Security any good? I'm wondering because I'm trying to get rid of some apps on the Blu phone to make it run better. If I should keep it, I will.

I have an Android. I started out at 16gig of memory. I haven't added any apps and the memory available keeps declining. Like now I have 17 gig. Thought maybe it was temp files but I cleaned out that still says 17 gig. Was wondering if maybe the cleaner wasn't doing a good enough job for any noticeable difference. Is there anything I can do app wise to free up memory and or get a better temp file cleaner or phone cleaner. I currently use Zero Cleaner.

So my wife has been blaming the cat for peeing on the bathroom rug. Turns out the drain pipe disconnected from my wife's sink 🤣

Well, it's not working on my S24 Ultra. I have the settings correct, but I still have to enter my pin because it locks up.

Any suggestions short of a reset?

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This is a strange problem. An example would be of a contact that I had to edit to add a *82 prefix. I actually have several versions of the contact with different titles.

When I ask the Google Assistant to call the number, it shows me list of the related contacts, in order to select one of them, but when the call is generated, the non-prefixed number is used.

Previously, after editing the contacts, if I went back to a couple of them, and tapped on them, to display the phone number and "History" and "Storage Information. The original phone number, without *82, was still listed there down below the current version of the number, but when I chose "edit", that non-prefixed number was nowhere to be found. I deleted and remade all the related contacts.

However, now, when I repeat the sequence with Google Assistant, and choose the preferred contact, it still dials the number without the prefix.

Is it the cloud, or some stored memory on the phone that this number is being retrieved from? Is there a way to fix this?

I would like to introduce my recently published app 'Has-Happened' to the community.

In a nut-shell: 'Has Happened' is a blend of event-tracker, diary and calendar.
It's task is to keep track of what Has Happened in your daily life -
focusing on 'events that have happened'
- like 'get praised by the boss', 'receive flowers from a loved one', 'experience some head-ache' etc - events that just happened
and second, 'events that you do once in a while'
- like 'send the car for washing', 'your pet for grooming', ' visit your old aunty', or 'wash the curtains in your living room'
These are all events you want to keep track, in an easy and fast way - just by double-clicking on the event.

Here are some features of the app:
- Organize Events into Categories
- Personalize your Categories and Events with an icon, an image from your gallery, a unique color
- Ultra-fast logging of events - just a Double-Click
- Secure selected Categories via Biometric Authentication
- Set absolute (at a specific time) and relative (in a specific time) reminders
- Reminders will survive re-boot, and re-installation
- Synchronize events to an on-device Calendar
- Analyze events over Time, and get valuable insights
- Add widgets to your Home-Screen, for ultra-fast One-Click access
- Create 'Timed-Events', to track Start- and Stop Time
- Add 1 or 2 data-fields to events, and evaluate important trends like fuel-consumption per km
- Select Day, Night or System Mode
- Backup and Restore the Database (Full Version)

The app is free, without advertisements, and offers an "In-App-Purchase" (less then USD 4,00) for the full version.
The app does (besides the communication with Google for licensing) not require Internet, and data is only shared with on-device calendars (like Google-calendar) after switching on this feature.

I have been using an initial version of this app for almost 10 years running on a home-server, and it became 'my indispensable memory' for events mentioned above.

Please have a look at Google Play Store , and hopefully you like it!
I am grateful for feedback and ideas for improvement.
Thank You!

What is the use of the Android Data folder. I just read that it's a folder for data to run the apps. I thought each app had its own data/cache area. Is this different.

Can the info that's in the Android/Data folder be erased safely or no.

I've never been one that tried to eat healthy and certainly never consumed any health food supplement. In my attempt to maintain a very low sodium diet I found that I inadvertently was consuming far too few proteins. I even became weak with the lack of proteins. I have found a couple of products that I've found that are high in protein without being high in carbs, sugars, or sodium. My nightly snack has now become OIKOS Triple Zero Vanilla Blended Greek Yogurt. It has zero added sugar or artificial sweeteners and zero fat. It contains 15g of protein for a 5.3oz serving. Ninety calories and 7g of carbs per serving with only 55mg of sodium. They have two or three fruit flavored versions but I prefer the vanilla. The other product is a protein shake called OWYN 32 (Only what you need) I'm drinking the Pro Elite chocolate version. It contains 32g of protein in a 11.15oz serving. It is 100% plant based and contains no net carbs or sugars. It does contain 200 calories and 325mg of sodium. The best part about this product is it tastes good and isn't chalky of gritty. It's just a smooth healthy shake that's loaded with protein.

I know there are a list of super healthy foods that we all should eat more of. But these are two supplement foods to help out. I'm interested in trying more supplements if you have something to recommend.

For my moto edge plus, auto rotate my cell also customization everything,
but I do not want to heavy resort to something I did not want.
I tried Nova, too complicated.
I tried ADW and the rest, just looking for something I cannot yet reach for..

There's a lot of talk about the NFL Draft on April 25, 2024 in Chicago since the Bears have the first pick and their QB Justin Fields in on the trading block.

There's a lot of talk about J.J. McCarthy (Michigan Wolverines QB) moving up into the top 7-10 QBs available. He's a Junior, not a Senior at Michigan. He's a local kid from Illinois. I watched him a couple of times this year, including the Champion game. He's okay, but he's not great. I wasn't impressed with him at all in the Championship game. His stats look good. I think he should play his Senior year at Michigan.

Just my 2 cents since there is so much draft talk here.

Highest Paid Athletes In Each Sport In 2023

The NFL just announced that there will be a 30+ million dollar increase in each teams salary cap for next season.
NFL increases 2024 salary cap to $255.4M in historic spike.

It's been at least 15 years since I used Windows. What I've been doing is going to NewEgg and buying a refurbished laptop with no OS or needing Window licensing for a few hundred dollars. Then loading Linux on it.

My last laptop has lasted about 3 years, but the keyboard started going bad. I was going to replace it with a Pixel tablet, but found a new discounted Asus laptop at the same price with Windows 11 so I bought it.

I'm really starting to hate Windows 11. It wants me to buy, buy, buy. Buy more drive space, buy Microsoft games, Your McAfee protection expires in 30 days, buy an extension now. This never happens with Linux. I tried using the Edge browser. It's difficult to change which search engine to use, it's basically hidden and you have to watch a YouTube video to see how to change it.

I'm going to see how long I can last using Windows before I dual boot Linux or just wipe Windows out.

After using Linux for so long, Windows sucks 👎

March madness is right around the corner. Here are the important dates to keep in mind.

Here is the schedule for March Madness 2024, which begins with Selection Sunday on March 17, 2024:

• Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 17
• First Four: March 19-20
• First round: March 21-22
• Second round: March 23-24
• Sweet 16: March 28-29
• Elite Eight: March 30-31
• Final Four: Saturday, April 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
• NCAA championship game: Monday, April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.