• 9 Posts
  • 130 Comments
Joined 3 months ago
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Cake day: June 30th, 2025

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  • If you’re in USA, Canada, Australia or UK, check out MySudo.

    They have three different plans starting at $19.99 USD (year) for one VOIP phone number; when my subscription expires, I plan on renewing and possibly upgrading.

    There’s a Free version but it’s just email and no phone number. They’re cheaper than Hushed and more reliable.

    Avoid TextNow, it works fine until you need it or expecting something important (voicemail or text) and that’s when they lock you out until you pay up.

    NOTE: I didn’t read the fine print or ToS for MySudo UK so I don’t know what they need from you if you sign up.

    EDIT added link for TextNow https://www.textnow.com/wireless






  • Congratulations!

    Yes, you’ll definitely need a good quality ladder and:

    – Set of screwdrivers. My Stanleys are over 20 years old

    – Separate flathead for kitchen use only (instead of using your forks to open stuff)

    – Fire extinguisher (leave one in kitchen)

    – All-purpose or silicone caulk and caulk gun. (In case of emergency and if your house is old).

    – Scissors

    – First Aid Kit (you can make your own, I did)

    – Multi-tool or Utility knife (I love my SOG)

    – Flashlight (combination of battery-powered, rechargeable, heck even a tealight will do). Ideally, some form of light for each room in the house if you lose power (nothing expensive).

    – Shovel and Salt before it snows (If you have pets, get the [blue] pet-friendly salt). Always buy it before it snows. Keep it in the house the night before it snows so you can dig yourself out.

    – If your windows are old, read up on removable window film, magnetic window film (3M makes them also)

    – 409 (they clean almost everything)

    phone number of a good electrician and plumber (my GC is awesome but she’s stateside only)

    – Plunger. Don’t buy the orangey-plastic snake - they don’t work.

    – I have DeWalt (and a bunch of batteries) but prefer my Makita. Black & Decker is a toy, don’t do it. Milwaukee sucks. If you’re not using power tools now, don’t buy them or wait until they go on sale.

    – Surge protectors (the higher/more joules, the better). You definitely need those.

    – WD-40

    Canada has some very good quality wind turbines (for home use, not the gigantic ones) that you might want to consider; I hear your solar panels are pretty good, too.

    Buy what you can afford; check out thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets for some tools.

    Most of all, know your limitations. My house is old and I knew what I could do myself, what I would be willing to do and the rest I need for someone else to do.

    Every year you’ll have more questions and we will be here for you… with answers you may or may not like.

    Good luck and Enjoy!






  • Brave and DuckDuckGo because they’re cross-platform and give you the option to sync your bookmarks.

    DuckDuckGo has Duck Player which I use if I need to watch something on YouTube, I have it set to open in a new window and no ads.

    I like Brave because it’s fast and the search is fairly accurate. You can add a video to it’s Playlist for later viewing. Brave gives you the share option to Copy Clean Link.

    I used (and loved Firefox) until they revoked their promise of not selling user data and seems sluggish for the past several months, but I still use Firefox Focus.

    I use both android and iOS which is why I prefer cross-platform software.


  • This article is from The Guardian:

    On the advice of various experts, people are locking down social media, deleting photos and private messages, removing facial recognition, or even traveling with “burner” phones to protect themselves.

    In Canada, multiple public institutions have urged employees to avoid travel to the US, and at least one reportedly told staff to leave their usual devices at home and bring a second device with limited personal information instead.

    It seems like you already know what you’re doing and I agree with everyone else: backup your data and reinstall later. Create an iCloud account specifically for travel purposes.

    This article mentions someone who opted to delete their social media accounts before coming to the US. So don’t be surprised or offended when some of us start deleting our comments, lol. Good luck.

    EDIT: As long as you have a travel account you shouldn’t need Advanced Data Protection but perhaps after you/she reaches her destination.