I want to keep my existing mechanical chime working with my new Reolink Gen 2 video doorbell wired and recording 24/7, and it looks like I need a RLA-PK1 power kit to do that. The only problem is it doesn't seem like you can actually buy those anywhere.
This cheaper kit from Ring seems to have a similar looking device. Has anyone tried to use it instead?
Sometimes email confirmations, texts, or whatever else come along with convenient "add to calendar" buttons. Sometimes they don't, and sometimes they do but it doesn't actually work.
The tasks below can be used to parse out events from any selected text via your AI of choice (I like the free API options from Groq), then the events can be added one at a time via intents that prefill a new event in the default calendar. It could be modified to skip confirmation probably, but not I didn't want that. You'll need to add a received share profile and long press any highlighted text to share it.
You'll need an API key to start, and I don't like things like API keys sitting in plain text, so I added the get credentials helper task. You can just add the API key directly or through some other option.
Task: Extract Calendar Events Task
<Identify calendar events from shared info via LLM and add to the calendar.
If multiple events are identified, choose one at a time to be added
Highlight and long press text to share>
A1: Anchor
<Get current day for default>
A2: Parse/Format DateTime [
Input Type: Now (Current Date And Time)
Output Format: y-MM-dd
Output Offset Type: None ]
<Timezone for flights>
A3: Variable Set [
Name: %target_timezone
To: America/New_York
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Build prompt>
A4: Variable Set [
Name: %prompt
To: You are an expert data extraction assistant. Your task is to extract calendar events from the provided input text and format them according to the exact schema requested.
Strict Output Rules:
1. Output ONLY the raw JSON structures separated by "||".
2. Do not include any conversational filler, explanations, or markdown code blocks (e.g., do not use ```json ... ```).
3. Do not wrap the output in a JSON array.
Field Extraction Rules:
- "ev_title": The title or name of the event (e.g., "Flight AA123: JFK to LHR"). If not found, output "".
- "ev_description": Any extra details, confirmation numbers, or context. If not found, output "".
- "ev_location": The physical address, city, virtual meeting link, or airport code. If not found, output "".
- "ev_date": The date of the event in YYYY-MM-DD format. If no date is identified, default to exactly "%formatted".
- "ev_start_time": The starting time, strictly converted to 24-hour format (HH:MM). If not identified, default to "12:00".
- "ev_end_time": The ending time, strictly converted to 24-hour format (HH:MM). If not identified, default to "12:30".
- "ev_calendar": Always output exactly "your.email@gmail.com".
Flight Timezone Conversion Rules:
If the event is a flight, the times mentioned in the text are typically local to the departure and arrival airports. You MUST convert both the departure ("ev_start_time") and arrival ("ev_end_time") times to this target timezone: %target_timezone.
Step 1: Identify the departure city/airport and its local timezone.
Step 2: Identify the arrival city/airport and its local timezone.
Step 3: Calculate the hour offset between those local timezones and %target_timezone.
Step 4: Apply the offset to the departure and arrival times to get the final HH:MM times.
Step 5: If the timezone conversion pushes the time past midnight (forward or backward), adjust the "ev_date" accordingly.
Example Output Format:
{
"ev_title": "Flight DL404: LAX to JFK",
"ev_description": "Confirmation #ABCDEFG",
"ev_location": "LAX / JFK",
"ev_date": "2026-11-15",
"ev_start_time": "11:00",
"ev_end_time": "16:30",
"ev_calendar": "your.email@gmail.com"
} || {
"ev_title": "Dentist Appointment",
"ev_description": "",
"ev_location": "42 Wallaby Way, Sydney",
"ev_date": "%formatted",
"ev_start_time": "12:00",
"ev_end_time": "12:30",
"ev_calendar": "your.email@gmail.com"
}
Extract events from the following text:
%rs_text
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<LLM call>
A5: Perform Task [
Name: func Groq Call
Priority: %priority
Parameter 1 (%par1): %prompt
Return Value Variable: %answer
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Test answer>
A6: [X] Variable Set [
Name: %answer
To: {
"ev_title": "Flight DL404: LAX to JFK",
"ev_description": "Confirmation #ABCDEFG",
"ev_location": "LAX / JFK",
"ev_date": "2026-11-15",
"ev_start_time": "11:00",
"ev_end_time": "16:30",
"ev_calendar": "your.email@gmail.com"
} |0| {
"ev_title": "Dentist Appointment",
"ev_description": "",
"ev_location": "42 Wallaby Way, Sydney",
"ev_date": "%formatted",
"ev_start_time": "12:00",
"ev_end_time": "12:30",
"ev_calendar": "your.email@gmail.com"
}
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
A7: Variable Split [
Name: %answer
Splitter: || ]
<Multiple events>
A8: If [ %answer(#) > 1 ]
<Build choices array>
A9: For [
Variable: %iii
Items: 1:%answer(#)
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Structure as JSON>
A10: Variable Set [
Name: %ijson
To: %answer(%iii)
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
A11: Variable Set [
Name: %choices(%iii)
To: %ijson.ev_title
%ijson.ev_date ~ %ijson.ev_start_time
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
A12: End For
A13: List Dialog [
Mode: Select Single Item
Title: Events
Items: %choices
Button 1: Close
Close After (Seconds): 30
First Visible Index: 0
Hide Filter: On ]
<No selection>
A14: Stop [ ]
If [ %ld_selected_index !Set ]
A15: Else
<One event>
A16: Variable Set [
Name: %ld_selected_index
To: 1
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
A17: End If
<Test event choice>
A18: [X] Text/Image Dialog [
Text: %answer(%ld_selected_index)
Button 1: Close
Close After (Seconds): 900 ]
A19: Perform Task [
Name: func Calendar Event Add
Priority: %priority
Parameter 1 (%par1): %answer(%ld_selected_index)
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
==============================
Task: func Calendar Event Add
<Open calendar to add an event based on JSON from %par1>
A1: Anchor
<Test event JSON>
A2: Variable Set [
Name: %par1
To: {
"ev_title": "Test event",
"ev_description": "This is a test description. It might have useful info like a confirmation number",
"ev_location": "42 Wallaby Way, Sydney",
"ev_date": "2026-10-31",
"ev_start_time": "14:00",
"ev_end_time": "15:30",
"ev_calendar": "your.email@gmail.com"
}
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
If [ %par1 !Set ]
<Load event JSON>
A3: Variable Set [
Name: %ev_json
To: %par1
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Send intent to the default app>
A4: Java Code [
Code: import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import org.json.JSONObject;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import com.joaomgcd.taskerm.action.java.JavaCodeException;
/* Reads a standard Tasker variable without the % prefix. */
String ev_json = tasker.getVariable("ev_json");
/* Use JavaCodeException for unmet preconditions. */
if (ev_json == null) {
throw new JavaCodeException("Required Tasker variable 'ev_json' is missing.");
}
/* Parse the JSON string stored in the Tasker variable ev_json */
JSONObject eventData = new JSONObject(ev_json);
String dateStr = eventData.getString("ev_date");
String startStr = eventData.getString("ev_start_time");
String endStr = eventData.getString("ev_end_time");
SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm");
/* Convert the date and time strings to epoch milliseconds */
long beginMs = sdf.parse(dateStr + "T" + startStr).getTime();
long endMs = sdf.parse(dateStr + "T" + endStr).getTime();
/* Setup the Intent to insert a new calendar event */
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_INSERT);
/* Set the standard MIME type and data URI for Android calendar events */
intent.setType("vnd.android.cursor.dir/event");
intent.setData(Uri.parse("content://com.android.calendar/events"));
/* Append all event details using putExtra */
/* Note: beginTime and endTime must be provided as Long integers (milliseconds) */
intent.putExtra("title", eventData.getString("ev_title"));
intent.putExtra("description", eventData.getString("ev_description"));
intent.putExtra("eventLocation", eventData.getString("ev_location"));
intent.putExtra("beginTime", beginMs);
intent.putExtra("endTime", endMs);
/* Treat context as a Service context. Must use FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK when starting activities. */
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
/* Execute the intent using Tasker's context */
context.startActivity(intent);
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
=================================
Task: func Groq Call
<Return the response from a Groq API call based on %par1 prompt and optional %par2 model>
A1: Anchor
<Get API key>
A2: Perform Task [
Name: func Get Credential
Priority: %priority+1
Parameter 1 (%par1): groq_api
Parameter 2 (%par2): key
Return Value Variable: %groq_api_key
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Test prompt>
A3: Variable Set [
Name: %par1
To: in less than 20 words, give reasons to provide parameters for a function call
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
If [ %par1 !Set ]
<Model default>
A4: Variable Set [
Name: %par2
To: openai/gpt-oss-120b
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
If [ %par2 !Set ]
A5: Multiple Variables Set [
Names: %prompt=%par1
%model=%par2
Values Splitter: =
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Guard against string parsing errors>
A6: JavaScriptlet [
Code: var safe_prompt = JSON.stringify(prompt);
Auto Exit: On
Timeout (Seconds): 45 ]
A7: HTTP Request [
Method: POST
URL: https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/chat/completions
Headers: Authorization: Bearer %groq_api_key
Content-Type: application/json
Body: {
"model": "%model",
"messages": [
{"role": "user", "content": %safe_prompt}
]
}
Timeout (Seconds): 30
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
<Rate limit error>
A8: Flash [
Text: Error: Groq rate limit encountered
Continue Task Immediately: On
Dismiss On Click: On ]
If [ %http_response_code ~ 429 ]
<Success>
A9: Variable Set [
Name: %output_text
To: %http_data.choices.message.content
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
If [ %http_response_code ~ 200 ]
<Error>
A10: Variable Set [
Name: %output_text
To: Error: %http_response_code
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
If [ %http_response_code !~ 200 ]
<Testing>
A11: [X] Text/Image Dialog [
Text: %output_text
Button 1: Close
Close After (Seconds): 900 ]
A12: Return [
Value: %output_text
Stop: On ]
We purchased a new construction home with brick facade and what is to my understanding an air gap between the brick and the siding of the house. My understanding is that these plastic weep hole tubes are placed to let moisture drain out instead of getting trapped and leading to mold and other issues.
The problem is that they are mostly full of masonry material. This was noticed during inspection, but it looks like the builder only ended up clearing the few that I happened to check again during walk through.
So I got a long tube brush that was apparently slightly too big, because the entire tube came out. The front had relatively soft easily cleared stuff presumably from insects, but it's full of stone at the back that's the same color as the brick veneer. It didn't seem like there was open space at the other end.
What's the best way to open this up without damaging the system? Someone else posted about replacing these with metal, filtered tubes, but I'm not even sure if there's a connection to the gap between the walls remaining at the other end of the channel for the plastic tubes.
We purchased a new construction home with brick facade and what is to my understanding an air gap between the brick and the siding of the house. My understanding is that these plastic weep hole tubes are placed to let moisture drain out instead of getting trapped and leading to mold and other issues.
The problem is that they are mostly full of masonry material. This was noticed during inspection, but it looks like the builder only ended up clearing the few that I happened to check again during walk through.
I tried using a small drill bit to manually scrape out the insides, but it seems like the tubes are a bit longer than I expected and it doesn't seem like I'm reaching to the other side, but I am seeing some moisture at the tip making me worried that there is water already actively building up.
What's the best way to clear these without damaging the system? Someone else posted about replacing these with metal, filtered tubes, but I'm not sure that's needed and I worry about breaking the plastic tubes during removal.
Has anyone had luck using the student loan payment redemption option?
For me it says...
> We're in the process of enabling Bilt Point redemptions for this student loan servicer. Our coverage is expanding — check back soon.
My federal loans are serviced by EdFinancial. Is there a list of services that it actually works with? I've been considering refinancing these.
Is it possible to use app factory to make a kid app that purely serves to intercept specific URLs? Under "Set as default" in the app settings for some apps, there is the option to "Open supported links" and a list of "Supported web addresses". I want to create a kid app that can be set to intercept a given URL, e.g. https://tasker_redirect.com/apple, so that when such a link is navigated to I could then activate the Tasker command system. I would probably do something like url_redirect=:=apple.
To my understanding, supported web addresses have to be part of the app's manifest, so I assume it's not possible with app factory. However it would be great to know if it is, and if so what would be the best way to set that up. If not possible, I assume I can make the tiny app myself and hook into Tasker's intent system somehow.
Is it possible to "catch" ANY Tasker error? Fairly regularly, I get errors that I frankly don't understand that I believe to be sourced from some a Java code action somewhere. Here are a few examples...
> tasker got system event (2000) with no relevant conIDs > > storeJavaObject bad object name: 0
The issue is that things work as expected, and I only ever become aware of the errors (often several of the same one) when I happen to open the Tasker app and get a popup. Is there some way to log the currently running Task and Action number whenever an error occurs? Ideally I'd want to have a toast pop up with relevant information right then so I could tell what situation was causing it, but maybe that is too much to ask.
I assume the run log would be a good way to identify issues like this, but I honestly have no idea how to usefully parse that.