So IT guys are antennas.

Already do that via a custom domain and SimpleLogin/Proton.

Nothing pops a vein quite like companies acting like a one-time expense should be a monthly fee. Paying monthly for heated seats in certain cars is where I first heard of this. They already put the hardware in the car. I guarantee they already charged you for the parts and labor to put in those heated seats when you bought the vehicle. No way they’re losing money on it in the hopes you start paying them.

But I’ll get off my owner’s rights soapbox now.

I’ll have to try that smart plug idea. I have some heavy duty Z-wave plugs I used for Christmas decorations last year and that would work great for the fridge.

For those who are saying I shouldn’t have bought these half-baked smart appliances, I agree. But I wasn’t always this aware of the privacy issues involved. The washer and dryer were purchased before I grasped how problematic cloud-connected always online IoT devices are, and as mentioned in the OP the ability to tell me when my laundry was done seemed like a genuinely useful feature. In the case of the fridge it was an emergency replacement and we took what fit the preexisting niche in our kitchen, and the complete lack of output on the fridge itself necessitated the app.

Washer dryer and fridge are TCP only

And some lore for the curious

Background: I just got my first printer (Bambu Lab A1 mini) last year. I am also not an engineer and, like you, don’t want the printer itself to be the hobby.

Based on my experience, and what I’ve seen others say online, Bambu Lab is still the king of “it just works”. If you’re not as ideologically motivated by right to own as I am, I’d say go with Bambu.

While I have zero experience with the company, Prusa seems to be the most consumer friendly, though they have their own issues. If I buy a second printer, it’s likely going to be the Prusa Core One.

Thanks. Not sure if this is what you meant. The shape is distinct but the colors are similar. My avatar is from a worldbuilding project I work on as a hobby.

I forgot about dev mode. How does that compare to pre-enshittified firmware?

I was going to say about 10x10x10 inches, but after recalculating the dimensions of the latest thing I’m making (a pill bottle organizer) I may be able to squeeze it onto the mini, so the thing that prompted this post may be a non issue, at least for now. Continued suggestions are welcome though.

What exactly does the mini do that makes it worth keeping if I get a larger printer? I’m not sure I can justify owning more than one.

There are tons of conlangs, but here’s the one I’ve been working on the last few years.

https://www.frathwiki.com/Commonthroat

fiat lingua is Latin for may language be made, a reference to fiat lux (let there be light) in the Vulgate translation of Genesis.

I imagine adopting an already senior dog can be hard. It certainly would be for me. My condolences for your loss. I’m slowly coming to terms.

A sudden loss is really hard.

She’s been through multiple cancers over her years, 2 of them with us, and she always seems to make a comeback to where I keep on thinking she’s going to be here forever

Thank you. I’ve been on that roller coaster. That was by far the hardest, seeing her decline only to bounce back, then decline again. When she retired I would jokingly say “Remember, you can’t die on me, you’ll just have to live forever.” Toward the end I started telling her she could go if she wanted. I know she neither knew what I was saying nor did she have much control over when she passed (though I’m still mystified by how perky she acted for the hour or so before her death.)

It still kills me how brief a time we have with such loving creatures. I’ve tried to look at it from the dog’s point of view. We humans are effectively eternal and immutable constants of love and comfort, present from nearly the time they are born until they draw their last breath, and that makes me a bit happier.

A wiki is probably what you want. I was going to suggest tvtropes, which is great for, say, a list of every superhero with X-ray vision, or every work of fiction containing dwarves, but I’m not sure that fits what you want.

I just checked this out. It’s not quite what I’m looking for right now but it does answer my question as asked. I can see it coming in handy later.