When I used to ride, I used a Spot satellite tracking/alerting gadget that only worked on these. Fortunately, they lasted quite a while, and I would often take 12hr rides or even an entire week-long trip. I’d carry spares just in case.
(Up in the hills of N.GA, E.TN and W.NC, there is often no cell coverage. Although I know the roads like the back of my hand, I also would cache Google Maps areas to cover my intended routes. I do that when traveling & driving internationally to save on data usage. The SIMs you get from the vending machines in immigration are prohibitively expensive if you want a lot of data.)
We lived in a rental with these and the great was the “Warning there is smoke. If it continues the alarm will sound. The alarm is very loud.” which you’d get at an almost conversational tone - and yes, the alarm is very loud so we were good about turning them off before then (finishing steaks was my bane because our “vent” was a fan on the top of the microwave that just pushed right back into the house.
The bad though - we had WiFi throughout that house. At no time could we get more than 1 Nest to acknowledge it was on the network. They would turn off via the app if you told them to - and when one battery gets low they all chime in (presumably because you installed them all at the same time) so they were clearly connected, but if you wanted to do something app based like run tests, “Nope. WiFi? Never heard of it.” UGH!
I looked into them for my new house, but wow the are brutally expensive!
Probably more annoying is when the smoke alarm keeps going off every time you cook something. Which I would not even mind if it announced itself and shut off, but hard-wired, and unreachable would get beaten with a hammer after an hour or so. So all my detectors are battery only and if they announce that my food is cooked I let them hang out in the bedroom for a while.
It’s funny… I was cooking at my ex’s last Sunday, and her kitchen smoke alarm kept going off - nothing was burned, I was searing the glaze on some ribs and that is intended to get a little char. She said “take it down, take out battery”… I just blew on it and it stopped.
We were married for 20 years (and I’d say she is my best friend despite divorce several years ago.) She has saved my life (literally) three times this year, hopefully not “so far”… Just got off the phone with her, my 1-minute update on some good news turned into shooting the breeze for an hour.
I had one built-in at a place I rented years ago and had to climb on a chair to take the battery out. I can no longer climb a chair or ladder, so ever since I have had them sitting free. I do want them to warn me if a burner causes a fire, but wished they would have a way to shut them up once you have been warned for a few minutes at least.
If I am renting a place sometime (which I doubt) I will keep that in mind for sure and have one handy, but just sitting on top of the refrigerator or the next room with the Glowforge accomplished the goal for now.
I have several extinguishers around my home, and one in every vehicle. Although I have many for dealing with “real” fires, I also have a couple of these, and one lives besides my Glowforge.
I also have fire-escape ladders in the two upstairs bedrooms that are actually used as bedrooms, besides the windows.
I have never had any kind of fire, but I know a couple of people that have, and were not prepared.
For me they would be useless as the last two times I was on a ladder I had to deliberately fall off them as there was no other choice and would happen soon anyway. So I stay off them now. Fortunately, this place is one level, but even the floor to ground steps are an issue for both of us.
I could probably just tumble out a window and be OK, but they are there if needed. The “spare bedroom” was set up for my daughter to stay with me, so I know she has that option. As a US Army graduate, and very accomplished athlete, she could probably leap out the window on to the deck just for morning coffee!!!
She has three medals after less than 2 yrs in the service. Overall physical performance, against everyone in her battalion, is one. She also had the highest score in marksmanship.
… but don’t get me started. She was selected to support a global, joint-forces exercise over the summer. It’s based out of 4 countries in North Africa, she’ll be in Morocco…
My knee was first damaged by something similar. I lept off a boat into the water and misjudged the depth so my legs were straight when I hit and bent to the right rather than the front as they should have.
One of my riding buddies jumped off a 4th-story balcony while inebriated. Learned of that while around a fire pit, drinking bourbon, during a bike rally in the TN/NC hills.
He was not injured, other than bruises. Nut case.
For those that may have just dropped in, this is MY thread so it can go in any direction I choose!!!
Tonite’s dinner - 5.5lb leg of lamb cooked 12hrs @ 131ºF, seasoned, in the sous vide, then seared on the luau pit over coals so hot you could barely look at them. I have no words…
I bought the pit to roast a whole sucking pig luau-style, as my daughter is living in HI for the moment… This was a break-in/test cook. A coal starter chimney is an ideal way to produce insane heat over a small area.
iI weighed the final cooked leftovers - 3.2 lbs, that after a night in the fridge, will be deli-sliced for sandwiches, although I am willing to give a sizable chunk to my ex. I am going to make up some jerky, so the slicer will be out anyway…
Wait until the talking, wired, and fully interconnected fire alarms hit end of life and decide to let you know at 2AM. And you can’t shut them off. You will acknowledge EOL and replace or else. AMHIK.
If she’s got a shipping allowance on her return you should ask her to look at carpets or wood work - the Moroccan stuff is gorgeous! Of course she’d have to get enough time to travel outside Fez!
We don’t know how it will work but it’s unlikely she will be anywhere near any major population center, and certainly without transportation.
As a combat medic, she runs a mini-hospital/ER of sorts that is set up in tents in the field. Her performance during state-side exercises resulted in her being nominated and selected for this.
