Lee.org

I came across an Android app that requires all of the permissions, made by someone with a small reputational footprint. How am I supposed to install it without legitimately worrying that I am doing a dumb thing?
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I’m looking for an app that will ring a loud alarm whenever Google Calendar rings its (quiet) event alarm. I’ve been using the paid version of Calendar Alarm Clock Reminder by zzappbros but it doesn’t work perfectly. I can’t get it to ring alarms at the right times. When I tell the app to ring when the when Google Calendar Event Reminders ring, it erroneously rings 5 minutes before the event instead.

In this thread, the author of ZenLendar promoted his app. The app requires full permissions and I can find scant info about the author.

What’s a guy to do? I’m not giving my entire phone over to a random author.
I wrote to the author asking for reputation info. What else can I/we do?

I’ve been using Obsidian to keep track of my life for a few weeks now and I’m very very impressed. It stays out of the way when you want it to and it has a mega-zillion features that are there when I want them.

For me, it has replaced Notion and Dynalist, and my occasional reminders to myself. It’s on track for replacing my Google Docs notes. It’s also keeping my client list straight. If I can figure out how to get it to make my phone ring an alarm at a particular time of day, it’ll replace most of my events as well.

I keep discovering new features and then tell myself, “Self, STOP! You don’t need that shiny bell, or that beautiful whistle.” But then the next week, I’ll be like, “Ugh, what I really need is a tool to… oh look, there it is!”

If you try it, start slow. Just use the Markdown editor to keep some notes. Maybe sync it to your phone. (for $5/month, or a more cumbersome free option), and go from there.

Makeuseof.com just gave me a GREAT hint on how to use NotebookLM to make hilarious and accurate summaries of hard-to-read documents.  I had NotebookLM give me an audio podcast summary of the Jonathan’s Landing Country Club Bylaws and it was viciously hilarious and informative!

Here, give it 30 seconds and tell me you don’t agree! Jump to 45 seconds for the first zinger. Jump to 6:20 for the zinger that made me laugh so loud, my nearly sleeping daughter and my wife on the other side of the house both asked me simultaneously, “Why are you laughing so loud?!”

“It is a highly sophisticated equity structure.”
“It is a Ponzi scheme with a dress code.”

For reference, NotebookLM is an AI tool that reads documents and answers questions or even makes podcasts out of them. I gave it the prompt that Makeuseof.com suggested called “chaotic podcast hosts”

Host names: Amber & Rick.

Hosts dislike each other and the topics they’re discussing.

Dialogue style: Dry, sly, witty, and hilariously underhanded insults. Incorporate sarcasm, thinly veiled cynicism, and unrestrained contempt.

Storytelling: Improvise implied backstory, history, relationships, and personal knowledge to create fodder for embarrassment or humiliation. Include a few underlying story arcs that gradually unfold.

Escalation: Have the hosts go at each other increasingly viciously until they lose their temper and yell venomously.

Resolution: End with one host making a completely unexpected, hilarious joke that breaks the tension and makes both laugh uncontrollably.

We use Eco Egg laundry detergent. It works great, is crazy simple to use, leaves our clothes smelling like nothing, and it really inexpensive. You should use it too.

While the Eco Egg gets out normal dirt and many stains, I still need to stain treat. I’ve used a bunch of products and they all work pretty well… Clorox 2, Shout, Oxyclean, some others.

I’ve got a few shirts that have underarm stains that I’ve never been able to get out… until now! Here are 2 cotton-poly shirts that cleaned up well with the fad “Laundry Spa Day”.

The instructions for Laundry Spa Day are stupid long. Here is the brief version:

1. Soak the clothes in Tide Clean & Gentle powder for 3-12 hours in hot water for 3-12 hours.
2. Run through the wash normally
3. Celebrate

Slightly longer version:

Use Tide Clean & Gentle powder (what I used) or 365 by Whole Foods Unscented Powder. Consider using Ammonia

Directions
1. In very hot water, soak clothes in 1/4 cup of detergent for 3-12 hours in a small container. Make sure the powder is dissolved first. Consider using an insulated cooler because it will keep the water hot.
2. Do a regular wash in hot water, consider adding 1 cup ammonia. Make sure the powder is dissolved and keep the undissolved powder away from the ammonia. Don’t add other products.
3. Consider adding vinegar in the final rinse to reduce the pH from the ammonia.
4. Consider rinsing twice to get the ammonia smell out of your clothes.

This process is poorly suited to rayon, acetate/triacetate, viscose, Tencel/Lyocell, “bamboo”, modal and similar semi-synthetic cellulosic fabrics because of the extended soaking time and high pH. To try this on these fabrics, use a delicates mesh bag for both steps, so that the fabrics aren’t being stretched or jostled as much in their weak state.

It’s not suitable at all for silk, wool, cashmere, Angora, alpaca, vicuña, leather, suede or fur – anything of animal origin – because of the protein-destroying enzymes, high temperatures, long wash motion and high pH.

TL;DR, I had a bad experience at Shake Shack at Bay Street, Emeryville. I wrote to them and they gave me an apology and a gift card, so I’ll try going again. That said, Super Duper makes a fantastic burger! And Habit Burgers is a bit different but also delic’!

My letter:

I really was ready for this to be a fun dining experience. A few things stood in the way.

I did not like that my only option was to order on a screen at your Bay Street Mall location, with no one to take my order. The person at the front was busy fulfilling orders.

There is no indoor seating at this location so my only option was to stand in the vestibule, waiting for my food order to be called with many other people, which was not ideal.

It was very busy on a Saturday with a long line out the door. My order took a long time so I stepped out of earshot for a few minutes. I never received a text on my phone telling me that my food was ready, which was unfortunate. When I came back a few minutes later, I did not see my order on the counter so I waited some more. When I finally asked about my order, The cashier found it on the shelf behind the counter. Unfortunately, the food was cold by then.

It was a strange experience seeing all of the fast food workers making meals as fast as they could and they’re not being a buffer between me and them. Normally that would be a counter, a low wall, a cashier, tables and chairs… Etc.

The burgers we received looked and tasted a little.. weary. Maybe that’s just because they had been sitting for several minutes.

My aunt, my dad’s sister, passed away last month. Here is the obituary from Vander May Funeral Home

Rita Obituary

Rita E. Temes (Sonko), of Wayne, New Jersey, passed away peacefully and went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at the age of 83, with the comfort of her loving family by her side. Rita was born on May 27, 1942, in Elmira, New York to the late Irene Polachek and Lee Sonko. They moved to New Jersey when she was a pre-teen and spent most of her life in Wayne, NJ. She was predeceased by her beloved sister, Marcia, and her brother, Lee.

Rita graduated from Boonton High School and went on to attend business school. She enjoyed a long and successful career as a sales representative for the Mars, Wrigley Jr. Company and later in the pharmaceutical industry.

A devoted and loving mother and grandmother, Rita’s greatest joy was her family. She is survived by her three children: Wendy Sabino and her husband Justin; Craig Temes; and Bart Temes. She was a cherished grandmother to Alexa and Arianna Sabino; Tiffany and Craig Temes; and Jenelle Temes, all of whom brought her immense pride and happiness. she also has family in Pennsylvania.

Rita had a passion for gardening and decorating, and her favorite pastime was shopping. Rita was an awesome cook and even a better baker . She was constantly making home cooked meals for everyone. She baked for every holiday and on weekends making her signature Hungarian desserts. She enjoyed reading, which was one of her favorite pastime hobbies -especially if it was a good mystery novel. Above all else, spending time with her family and grandchildren brought her the greatest excitement and joy. She especially loved family vacations to the Jersey Shore, which held a special place in her heart and created memories that will be treasured forever.

The family will receive friends on Monday, January 12th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Vander May Funeral Home, Ratzer Road, Wayne, New Jersey. A funeral service will be held at 5 PM, at the funeral home, during the visiting hours. Cemetery services will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rita’s memory to the Wayne Memorial First Aid Squad, PO Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07474, whose compassion and dedication were always there to help her.

Rita will be remembered for her warmth, devotion, kindness and the deep love she shared with her family. She was truly a one -of -a -kind person with such grace and elegance. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

I’ve been listening to the Harry Dresden books for the last several years. The Latest, Twelve Months, just came out. Would you join me in a book club reading? That’s us reading a bit and talking a bit about the book.

When I first notice gopher holes, I get a rake and smooth them over. The next day, I go out and look for new, fresh holes. I use the gopherhawk probe (just a 2′ long metal stick) to find the tunnel under the ground; I stick the probe into the ground looking for it being really easy to push through. When I’ve found it, I use the wedge tool to open the hole a bit, stick the trap into the ground, arm it, and walk away.

If I don’t catch the gopher in a day, I start the process anew.

There’s a zillion videos of the Gopherhawk in action online. Here’s one.

Saturday, we went out to Abigail’s choice, Gran Milan Cafe in Richmond for breakfast. It is astounding how terrific their food is!

Then we went indoor skydiving with her friend, Q. Megan and I flew too and it was EPIC!
We made it to Habit Burger before chillaxing the night away, dreaming of flight.

Sunday we hosted 8 of her friends at Urban Air in Concord, where they had giant indoor ziplines, lasertag, obstacle courses, towering climbing structures, and trampolines! Instead of cake, we had an amazing selection of primo cupcakes from Cupcakin’.

After the ziplines, pizza and flashing lights, we chilled at home for a few hours, waiting for 3 friends to come over for a sleepover party! There was caramel popcorn popping, a Bluey mini-marathon, and a wedding in the hot tub! The party-goers had fun late into the night. The next morning, there were pancakes, sausages, and Wii Sports Resort. As the overnighters left, Abigail’s long time friend L arrived and they played Minecraft on a local server for a while, building a beautiful house in the mountains.

It was a great party weekend for our now-11-year-old!