It's a brownout here, and I've read I shouldn't plug in the Jackery during a brown out.

BUT I feel like I should be able to utilize this power that's lighting the lights up to help keep my Jackery going. It's not like the fridge & freezer are constantly going...

Maybe something that converts the 120V to a lower voltage and goes in the solar 8020 port? Or something that gives me 12 volts-ish and I could plug in the cigarette adaptor. Someone must have figured out something like this?!?

I'm just brainstorming here...?

I've been staying at mom's and driving over, unlplugging, taking to mom's to charge, and re-doing the trip (but it's just over 1 hour round trip and that's too). Today, I'm spending a few hours topping off at but it's hot and not a lot of sun, so it's probably even going to run out sooner tonight.

I do have a Jackery 600, but it won't run the refrigerator (to big of a spike when it kicks on), but works with the 5 cu ft freezer, so that's been good so far (so it has power during the swaps).

edit: I had to give up on the refrigerator, it uses too much power. I should’ve cleared it out earlier, as 70%+ of the refrigerator isn’t stuff that’s gonna spoil.

I moved a few things in the freezer that had thawed or was super old to the trash, anything else that looked good and I moved to their freezer.

My freezer uses less than a quarter of what the refrigerator uses, when they’re running. I have no idea which ones runs more often. But the refrigerator is closer to the sliding glass door. So I’m sure it gets a bit more heat.

Next time I’ll get my 42 quart bodega 12 V cooler and move that 20% or 30% in the fridge that’s perishable to there.

Can anyone help me with this? I've got a pension, and it has an increase every year which is a fixed dollar amount and I can't find a calculator that supports this.

So if my pension is $38,000 and my increase is $1,000. Then in year two, it's $39,000; year three it's $40,000 (numbers simplified for the example).

It's a 30% increase every 10 years, so it's a significant amount to not factor in my calculations. But if I check a box that uses COLA estimates (if the calculator has that) it goes way too high.

To be clear, I'm looking for a calculator that has multiple features, not just this function (I can do this in Excel easily enough). I'm looking at something that Roth conversion calculations, RMDs, etc. and if it suggested withdrawal strategies (this much Roth + Traditional keeps me in better taxes and avoids IRMAA stuff).

This could be a possibility: one that lets me put in a specific percentage increase (which would still be wrong), but I could probably trick it with a percentage that would giver a correct total at age 75 and it'd be more reasonable (low for one half of my retirement, and high for the other half).

The closest thing I can see is a future one-time expense option, but I'd have to do 40 entries from 60 onwards, and put in the $1000, $2000, $3000, etc. And I don't know if doing that many is even an option (I just went to check out one, and it's only 10 entries). It might just seem like a one time thing, but it's a "one time" thing every time I try a different calculator (and I do like trying different calculators!).

Anyone else having 4k shows pop up this way?

This was NOT a recent purchase, I bought it from Apple in '24.

Photos attached (screenshot from TV app on macOS and playing on Apple TV 4K).

u/Old-Meringue3590 pointed out that "Heated Rivalry and The Hunting Wives are in 4K. Both of which are Lionsgate shows like Mad Men."

And if you at the individual episodes, some are available to purchase as 4k!

macOS 4k HDR category

From 4k Apple TV playback

Someone mentioned a smart playlist, so I created on my Mac.

Today it jumped from 19 episodes in 4k to 32 (s1-s4).

It's those cheap $3.99 and sometimes $1.99 discounts that I'm looking for! Multi-book sets for $4 or $5. Careful, some of those $1.99 ones are Virtual Voice.

Signed up at https://amazon.com/kindleunlimited for their current free 3 month promo.

Canceled at https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/ku/ku-central

Now I'm good until Dec. 2nd!

---

Some KU eBooks come with audiobooks that you can listen too and some have them for sale for a discount.

If you already own some Kindle books check out https://amazon.com/matchmaker to see how cheap you can get the audiobooks for.

---

Here is how I canceled: I signed up at the KU web page and then did the following to cancel on a desktop https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1tvazko/3_more_months_of_kindle_unlimited_for_999_333mo/

After signing up for the current Kindle Unlimited (KU) 3 month promo (just started in June), I canceled and got 3 more months offered to me for $9.99, that's $3.33 per additional month. I'm covered until Dec. 2nd now. They immediately charged me the $9.99.

I'm currently a Prime member and I've had KU promos before, but it's been since last fall since one of the web page deals worked for me. A few months ago I had a 3 month KU promo that worked when I activated a Kindle from Woot.

But nothing has worked since then.

Signed up at Amazon for KU.

I canceled afterwards (tip from SlickDeals) and got the $9.99 offer!

Paid my $9.99 and now have 6 months total!

Image attached for those who like visuals.

Step by step for the 3 additional months for $9.99.

• I went to cancel KU (on a desktop)
• Clicked cancel membership,
• then chose "view special offer",
• then clicked "redeem offer".

https://preview.redd.it/b05lkaom2z4h1.png?width=1066&format=png&auto=webp&s=702c4337e9b8e3240d7fefebd68a63f4f646f1b0

Not sure what to read?

My fav authors on KU:

I like Laurence Dahners' books, he's got 50+ books in multiple series.
I've read them all multiple times. Some are science-y, some are sci-fi, some switch as the story progresses.

In order of preference:

• Ell Donsaii (17 book series)
• The Stasis Stories (7 book series) 
• Hyllis Family (7 book series)
• Proton Field (2 book series) 
• Vaz (4 book series)

More details:

• Ell Donsaii is his earliest writing, but it starts slow and takes a couple books to get in to it. It's the best though.
• Stasis and Proton field, more harder-ish science, probably better written over all.
• Hyllis, wholesome family, post-apocalyptic world, a little more violence than the others (slow start also).
• Vaz, if you make it through book one (early writing), you'll like the rest (written more recently).

Other KU Authors

• Saul Herzog - Spies
• Kaylie Hunter - The Kelsey's Burden series. Some of the covers look romancey, but they're actually action/vigilanty-ish (do not mess with her friends or family!!!) with a little romance tossed in.
• Glendy Vanderah! - Only 3 books, but they're all different and all interesting.
• Barbara O'Neal - Write My Name Across the Sky is all I've read by them, but I really enjoyed it.
• Western Lights by C.P. Schaefer - newest one on the list (science/sci-fi, sad it was only one book).
• Stardust Beach series (Florida rocket launch dramas)- I was hoping for a bit more Astronaut Wive's Club, but it's a little more Nantucket/Erin Hildebrant-ish.

Other Series

• I enjoyed the Leif the Lucky series.
• and the Colony Mars Series.

 

There are others but I can't remember...

I don't always have KU.

I always subscribe when they offer me a deal. I'm a teacher and I'll sometimes pay full price when it's summer vacation. I've also paid full price before when I see a series that has a new book, and my choice is to buy the book for $6 or pay double and get a bunch of books for the month.

I don't think I've ever seen AT&T do so many different related changes in such a short time with a new plan: UYW 2.0 comes out, price changes for older UYW plans, adding Elite 2.0, and lowering prices on the brand new plans.

Since there have been so many changes to UYW in the last few months, I've created a new post as the old post had lots of comments/answers that aren't necessarily relevant (or true) any more.

^(If you haven't seen those changes yet, you should see them on your next bill or if you make a plan change.)

Customers can no longer choose Premium PL, Extra EL, & Starter SL but they are included for comparison as those plans can mix & match with the new plans. Signature/appreciation discounts they had on the old plans continue on your old plans, but they may be different for new plans (see chart).

The main differences:

• Value 2.0 is cheaper than Starter SL in most new configurations (even with discounts?) as of the late-April increase and is prioritized for the first 5GB (but has 2 GB less of hotspot). It might mess with promo credits, so double check (see info at bottom of this post [it links to a different post, so ask you r promo related questions there).
• Extra 2.0 has more prioritized data than previously (100GB vs. 75GB) and more hotspot (50GB vs. 30GB). It may cost more or less depending on your discounts and number of lines. This is probably most similar to older unlimited plans.
• Premium 2.0 has a lot more hotspot than Elite EL or Premium PL (100GB vs. 50GB/60GB). If you need the hotspot, it's a great deal. You can also get a ½ price tablet or wearable line with this plan.
• Elite 2.0 Includes everything Premium 2.0 has, but 250GB of hotspot, Turbo, free tablet line, free wearable line, and instead of International Day Pass (IDP), it looks like when you are international you'll get free calling/texting and 20GB of data (this last part is kind of limiting considering the other UYW plans data are unlimited, so I'm wondering if you can pay extra for more, otherwise it drops to 512Kbps, which is pretty slow). I'm assuming these free international countries are IDP countries. No Fan/Signature discounts on Elite 2.0. A few people reported their internet discount works with Elite 2.0.

ActiveArmor: Some 2.0 plans that come with ActiveArmor, only come with the standard, not advanced. Premium 2.0 can activate the advanced for free in your plan (I'm going to guess you can do the same with Elite 2.0). There is a free version and another version that is listed with "At no extra charge".

Standard price on non-phones: $20.99 per tablet, $20.99 per camera, $10.99 per wearable. If you have Premium 2.0, you can get one of these at ½ off. If you have one of these non-phone devices, it would probably make Premium 2.0 more cost effective for you (although the additional hotspot may max it so you don't need a line for your tablet). If you can have Extra 2.0, then you get a tablet and wearable for no extra charge.

^(If you have HBO "free" with your current cellular plan and switch, or you change all your Elite EL lines over, you'll lose HBO. You need to compare how much you'd save to see if it matters.)

The prices on the chart assume autopay/paperless/checking discounts. You need autopay/paperless for a $5 discount and autopay/paperless checking for a $10 discount (and as of now, the AT&T Citi card also qualifies as a checking discount). Add $5 or $10 to each line if you do not do these discounts.

There is no way anyone can help you compare the cost of the newer plan to the older plan if we don't know what discount you have, how many phone lines, and which plan those lines are on.

Additional info on this plan can be found in this AT&T PDF.

DISCOUNTS:

• Standard FAN/Signature discount: Previously this got you Premium PL for the Price of Extra EL, but on the new plans it gets you 20% off the Premium 2.0 plan.
• Appreciation discounts: You get a 25% discount on the older UYW plans if the account holder fits in one of these categories: teachers, doctors, nurses, military, veterans, and first responders. The newer plans are NOT 25% off, check the bottom of the chart as it varies per type of line. I'm not sure if these 2.0 discounts are supposed to include Healthcare and First Responders if you are not on FirstNet, but people are reporting that their plan says so. https://www.att.com/offers/discount-program/appreciation/
• You did NOT lose (nor did it change) your 25% appreciation discount for Elite EL, Premium PL, Extra EL, and Starter SL, it's still 25% for those lines. AT&T made a mistake on a bill a couple months ago and gave you too big of a discount, the next cycle they corrected it (and let you keep the extra they took off) so it looks like you had a price increase. But if you look at the previous few bill totals, you can see it dip (for no reason, other than the mistake), and then it goes back up to where it has been for a few months. Obviously, I cannot see your bill, but everyone that I've talked to about this and has looked back on their bills (previous to the lower bill) has seen this is what it looks like. If you've made changes during those three months, it would be difficult to see by just looking at the totals.
• This generic-ish union discount might be applicable for some and some may waive activation/upgrade fess. https://www.att.com/offers/discount-program/union-discount/
• For all discounts, the account needs to be in the name of the FAN/Signature holder.

AT&T Latin American roaming: Click these links for more info at https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1486292/ 
Please note that while the change plan comparison page (when logged in) shows that Elite 2.0 plan is not included, the Latin American roaming page specifically says it does and so does att.com/unlimited

Value 2.0 warning: There seems to be a bit of inconsistency on how Value 2.0 lines can be used for promotional trade in deals (if at all) since March 12, 2026. Please see the following for more information on this. https://www.reddit.com/r/ATT/comments/1rsb36o/warning_a_value_20_line_may_or_may_not_cause/

Maybe it's me or maybe it's my Jackery 1000 Plus. Maybe not the MOST, but it's been making me cRa^(Z)y!

It shouldn't have to be a secret multiple key press to get it to re-pair.

It seems like it should be easy enough when you tap the power button (to turn it on), it could easily reconnect. As long as I don't wander off, it's fine. But if I wander away from my campsite, it's time to re-pair.

It's been extra useful (when it works) because I've got a Starlink Mini dish, so being able to turn that on and off from my tent is handy (it's been raining on/off today and is now muddy).

My Bodega powered cooler reconnects over and over with no problem (not 100% sure if it's bluetooth of wifi, but it works!).