USAA Insurnace and Resideo / Honeywell have teamed up to offer a Connected Home Discount Program . But there are many unanswered questions and Red Flags to be examined

 I have a retired Dr friend who asked me to put in 2 Water Leak Sensors which I did  because he could get a discount on his Home Owners Policy thru USAA .

OK no issues send him a letter to give to his Carrier but no that's not what they wanted.

 

He calls me and says his Resideo Total Connect  User name has to be a certain way so USAA can pull data from the sensors in his house.

What the hell are they thinking

https://www.usaa.com/support/insurance/homeowners/connected-home/?akredirect=true

 Appears USAA and Resideo have decided to join Forces  to offer this discount and way they do it is by 

going on to USAA site then click a button go on special  Resideo site enter your Total Connect User Name and Password .

So they can pull the data.

Sorry USAA  NO  WAY  .

What exactly are you pulling and how often are you pulling it. ??? What are you using it for??

This has all the earmarks of Big Brother  and needs investigated .  there is too much data being given away in peoples hands who have no business having it.

Just one more reason I have been slowly getting away from Resideo and Total Connect because all Honeywell is lately is Honey Fail.  This is a big one.

Exit Signs One Foot off the ground it makes sense in Mt Lebanon and other towns who reccomend it.

 If your ever in the Mt Lebanon Pa area or in some other towns you will find a strange sight in Office Buildings where there are 2 exit signs at doors one above and one below  as can be seen in the below picture

Now you might think what sense does it make putting one so low? Well there is a dam good reason and I agree with Mt. Lebanon and other depts who enforce this code 

Your in a building the alarm goes off as you enter the middle of the hallway it is filled with smoke which way do you go? You cant see a thing its all smoke .

You get down on your knees like fire experts recommend and what do you see when you look down the corridor that low hanging sign  because smoke tends to stay off the floor as it starts building .

You make it to safety instead of guessing and guessing wrong . I commend the efforts of Mt Lebanon and other towns who encourage the use of these lowered  exit signs .

Although they can be a pain to install in existing buildings its well worth the effort 

Plus  now you know

Very Disapointed in these outdoor under canopy LED lights

 Was asked by a customer to replace some under canopy  lights at his Shopping center and I said sure he had already bought them and they looked like a decent brand until i went to put them up.

First the way they mount is not very secure they slide into a bracket barely and are held in place with one screw

I installed it used the safety cable to help hold one in place and it slide wright out of the mount and crashed to ground  safety cable did not hold the mount is much cheaper material than cooper fixture it replaced and was held much more secure in the bracket.

Seems cooper like everyone else keeps lowering their quality 

Visiting old Cemetery and Grave Yards need to exercise Due Caution. Due to unstable Grave Stones Falling over and Soil Slides

 

I enjoy visiting old Cemetery and Grave Yards you can learn so much history let alone the paranormal experience some claim to have .

I don't go ghost hunting I visit to learn history and make sure veterans flags are taken care of. 

But this past 2 years while visiting my uncle Buzz grave to make sure he got a flag I noticed over a dozen tombstones around his which had toppled  over since last year. Even fairly new stones

Very sad this happens but it does due to badly laid stone foundation for top heavy markers  to unstable soils under the cemetery and all the rain this past 2 springs has caused cemetery which never had problems to start sliding away  which recently happened in Wheeling WV. 

https://wvmetronews.com/2024/04/04/mudslide-damages-historic-wheeling-cemetery-where-many-veterans-are-buried/#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20A%20mudslide%20caused%20by%20recent%20heavy%20rains,and%20damaged%20about%2025%25%20of%20the%2019%20acres.

 

While this slide was extreme many cemetery have smaller ones so you must pay attention especially going at night .

Just recently a young man was injured when a local cemetery he was visiting had a tombstone topple and trap his leg  when he lost his balance and grabbed for it and an older gentle man was killed earlier this year 

https://www.wtae.com/article/400-pound-tombstone-falls-on-man-he-avoids-serious-injury/30020919

 When visiting a grave yard or cemetery consider every stone unstable till proven otherwise beware of noises around you especially pops and cracking noises  because plenty of trees have been toppling over as well .

If you come across a precarious situation where something is getting ready to topple over report it to the cemetery office. 

Visit in pairs  or if going alone let some one know where your at and check in regularly

Cemetery can be fun to explore but do so safely.

Bottled Water Sitting in the Sun outside C Stores is it safe to Drink?

 Now that its hot again you see stacked up outside Convenience Stores piles of Bottled Water  sitting and broiling under the Sun

Take one of those bottles after its been sitting in the sun all day and you can taste the plastic bottle  This can not be good for you

Scientists warn all the time about leaching plastics from bottles and containers  yet C stores and other retailers  regularly put these stacks of bottle outside 

I will not drink it and you should beware as well.

https://prostack.com/2020/07/10/leaving-bottled-water-in-the-sun-is-it-safe/