u/simple-solitude — reddlx

How to block off washer/dryer gap from cats?

Our cats like to hide behind the washer/dryer, just under the duct. We added a door to the laundry room, but they dash in and hide there when we go in and out, and need to be blocked off completely.

What would be reasonable to use to block it off without creating a fire risk? A little bit of some kind of mesh?

EDIT: Thanks for the advice, but I'm not looking for an alternative solution. I know my cats, and blocking off access is the best way to make them forget about a convenient hiding spot. My question is whether something like an air vent screen cover could be adapted in a DIY way to improve this area as a house with cats, or if that would be a fire hazard/not enough ventilation.

u/simple-solitude — 7 hours ago

▲ 2 r/suggestmeabook

Twisty mystery thrillers that unravel but the answer was right there all along

Like Piranesi or Before I Go to Sleep for example. I'm tired of complicated mystery-thrillers with tons of extraneous information as red herrings. Thanks!

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u/simple-solitude — 1 day ago

▲ 141 r/slp

SLP influencers getting into facilitated communication...

Obviously Boho Speechie... and after checking her IG, it seems she also believes that her acupuncturist could tell the sex of her fetus just by feeling her pulse. 🤦 Pseudoscience begets pseudoscience, it seems...

Now I see Rachel Dorsey, even though she isn't outright supporting S2C, is interacting with accounts like Reach Every Voice and I-ASC Spelling.

And not an influencer, but Barry Prizant believes S2C is authentic for some people...

It's so, so disappointing. Are there other popular influencer-SLPs getting into S2C/RPM?

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u/simple-solitude — 4 days ago

▲ 3 r/reolinkcam

Best battery camera?

Hi all,

Does anyone have recommendations for a basic battery camera? Needs to:

be battery powered (I'm aware that wired is better)
have a siren alarm option
good for a truly tiny, one-person-at-a-time sized porch
needs to be able to operate well while angled to only capture the porch - we live on a very high foot-traffic street
preferably an option for solar (I'm aware I'd still need to charge the battery)

The one I'm thinking about is the battery-powered Altas with a solar panel. Any reason I should consider a different battery-powered camera?

Would appreciate any advice/recommendation - although if your only advice is "get PoE," I really appreciate that- but it's just not an option currently. We may look into wired WiFi down the line, but not now.

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u/simple-solitude — 4 days ago

▲ 5 r/reolinkcam

Are you all DIYing or calling a contractor for wired? Is battery-powered really that bad?

I am not competent enough to deal with wiring, especially with our plaster walls. Is everyone here DIYing it? We live in a condo, and there's no outlet anywhere near our front door (which is down an internal staircase, while the rest of the unit is upstairs), or an existing wired doorbell. I'd need to drag a cable through one of the bedrooms, into a closet, then down the staircase, and then through the house. And I'm more at the put-together-Ikea-furniture level of handiness.

I was thinking we'll just do battery-powered/solar, but the more I look on this subreddit, I see they aren't recommended because they don't record 24/7 and there's a lag. How much would I really regret my choice with a battery-powered camera?

My main interests are: 1) knowing if we have packages (lots of porch piracy), 2) talking to anyone who rings the doorbell, and 3) knowing if someone is actively trying to kick down our hardened door/pick our locks so I can yell at them even if I'm not home (our police don't pick up the phone where I live, sadly).

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u/simple-solitude — 20 days ago

▲ 3 r/booksuggestions

main character gets/finds out they have powers or becomes more than human

Any books that have a story in which the MC finds out they have powers or becomes in some way powerful, magical, super human. Harry Potter would count. Could be magical or paranormal, like a vampire origin story. Or superhero story. Whatever.

Strongly prefer no romance as a genre.

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u/simple-solitude — 1 month ago

▲ 19 r/interiordecorating

How to style our living room?

We just moved from a tiny apartment to a much nicer place, and are in a place to, over time, make some changes.

We have an avocado green couch. (Which, in retrospect, wonder if that was a weird choice to make, but it was expensive, so it has to stay.) I don't like our rug at all, especially next to the couch. My wife doesn't mind it as much as I do. Is it just me, or is the combination weird?

Whenever I see green couches in professionally styled living rooms, they are always darker than ours, and I see them paired with a lot of terracotta and mustard pops of color and off-whites. But I don't know if that would work for our avocado green. What would you pair with this shade of couch? Rug, accent pillows, wall art. The windows (not pictured) have light-filtering blinds, so no curtains needed.

(We're also thinking the round table doesn't really go well in the room, but it feels like simple nice tables are really hard to find these days...)

u/simple-solitude — 1 month ago

▲ 2 r/BayAreaRealEstate

Just bought a condo, looking for an alarm system to protect two doors with cameras. (We're on the second floor, so no accessible windows to worry about, and no garage - just front and back door.)

I tried Bay Alarm and was baffled by the cost at ~$500 for install, $56 monthly, and a penalty if we cancel before 3 years. And that is with NO cameras... ADT was even worse.

I've seen UniFi and Reolink recommended here, does anyone have a specific product they really like and would recommend?

Are those of you using one of those products also using some form of security system/alarm to go with it?

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u/simple-solitude — 2 months ago

▲ 1 r/homesecurity

Moving into a 2nd story floor condo in a 4-plex, with the front door accessible from the ground (internal staircase). The backyard is protected by a tall wall covered in plants and spiked metal gates, and our backdoor is up a flight of stairs. No accessible windows, no garage. After getting some help here, my current plan is:

Door upgrades:

upgrading locks to grade 2 (seems like grade 1 isn't the best choice with hollow core doors?)
hardened strike plate on both doors
new screws that will go through the studs on both doors
maybe upgraded door hinges?
either plexiglass to go behind glass on door in the back OR the security guy I talked to suggested an alternative is a grade 1 lock that has a removable bit so that even if our window was broken, no one can get in if we take that part out
possibly a security screen door (e.g., Titan brand) if our HOA lets us... sadly I am pretty sure a standard security door is not going to be allowed, not sure how worth it this would be?

Security system:

learning towards a local security company, definitely an alarm system, would prefer cameras too but my wife is not sure

Would take any other HOA-friendly recommendations!

u/simple-solitude — 2 months ago