Here is unsolicited phone service advice. (a friend asked me about phone service recommendations and you gain the benefit)
TL;DR: Mint Mobile good. Use the referral code below to save $15.
I’m very happy with my Google Pixel 5, bought used on Swappa.com last year, they’re now available there for ~$130. I’ve been happy with Cricket Wireless for ~5 years. I switched to Mint Mobile a month ago and I’ve found that service is exactly the same as with Cricket but 40% less expensive. Mint uses T-mobile towers while Cricket uses AT&T towers if that matters in your area. About 10 years ago, AT&T had better service in my area than T-Mobile but service has filled in apparently! There’s no way to know how good service is in your house or office, etc… except to ask a friend with the same provider to use their phone in your space, or to just try switching.
After the first 3 months of service, to continue getting the $15/month rate that Ryan Reynolds keeps touting, you’ve got to sign up for a 12-month plan (see image below). I might switch to the mid-priced 6-month service before I do a year of pre-paid service. I use the 10GB/month plan so it’s a little more expensive.
If you use my phone number or this referral code when signing up, you’ll get $15 free money
Actually, I like Mint Mobile better than Cricket because they allow me to use my phone as an internet hotspot and wifi calling works. And the Ryan Reynolds Youtube commercials give me a laugh too. :-)
I’m also very happy with my phone case from Crave
First, we made this on our sidewalk on Tuesday!
Yesterday at College of Marin, we had a bit of rain interspersed with freezing rain! Some of the rain drops left crusty clear specs of ice on my jacket!
And on my way home, a rainbow!
Last night it rained like crazy. At 11pm, a few lightning bolts were so close and the thunder cracked so crisply, shaking the house suddenly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the lightning bolt hit the house itself!
This morning on my way to work over the Richmond bridge, I spied snow on top of Mount Tamalpais!
We got a new Whirlpool refrigerator last week. The light bulbs in it (model w11125625) suck: they have a color temperature of about 7000k and they flicker like crazy (they flicker fast, not everyone can see it, but OMFG I can!).
What is far far worse is that Whirlpool made a proprietary light socket! The socket requires that the bulb be narrow far longer than a regular bulb.
I felt trapped with Whirlpool’s crappy bulbs! After scratching my head and getting a hint from my local hardware store, I was able to fix it. I bought a E26/E27 base adapter to candelabra base adapter. Then I had to take a Dremel tool to the adapter to get it to fit. Then I put a candelabra-base bulb in it. Problem solved.
The light bulb also goes by these model numbers: W10311527, 2260802, W10194423, WPL-4396822
Can I borrow your digital camera with manual controls?
I’m trying to capture something called the phantom array effect using a still camera. This is how some LED lights flicker, making what looks like a series of dots across your vision. I’m working with scientists and regulators to decrease this growing problem in the lighting world. I’m trying to make a compelling demonstration photo but my smartphone won’t do it! Are you bothered by flicker as well? I’d love to hear from you! More.
Milestone! Abigail broke her arm Thursday on the playground at school. She was playing with friends, tripped over a rock and says that she kept herself from hitting her head with her outstretched hand. Yesterday we went to the doctor and got a splint! “I stayed strong when things got tough!”
It is a small but very real buckle fracture at the end of her radius from a “FOSH” Fall with out-stretched hand. She’s to wear her splint nearly all the time for the next several weeks.
