What are /r/askaustin's favorite Products & Services?

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Avoid campus area like the plague. being from SoCal, it’s a good thing you visiting first; while that area can get hot in the summer, it’s nothing at all like austin.

https://weatherspark.com/y/1705/Average-Weather-in-Los-Angeles-California-United-States-Year-Round#Sections-Humidity
https://weatherspark.com/y/8004/Average-Weather-in-Austin-Texas-United-States-Year-Round#Sections-Humidity

You can combine sources for daily observed July 2016 temperatures with daily July estimates. One way to do this would be to look at this page here: https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USTX0057:1:US, which shows observed and near-term forecast temps for July. You can then use the dropdown that shows the month and skip forward to July 2017. Doing so, you'll be able to see that July averages are certainly lower than what we've experienced this month so far.

I'm certain there are more elegant ways to do this, but this gets the point across.

Your dad may be experiencing recency bias since we've had some blistering summers recently. For example, 2009 and 2011 were two of the hottest three summers on record in Austin: http://kxan.com/blog/2011/08/23/all-time-heat-record-to-be-tied-today/

Good luck.

According to Fandango, it's having a limited opening in NY and LA. I didn't see anything on whether it's eventually showing in Austin, but it's not here now.

I had Google Fiber and also (at the same time) AT&T Fiber in Austin. Both were Ok, Google Fiber was beyond great. I was hitting 940 Mbits/sec up and down with a RIDICULOUSLY low ping. Screenshot of the speedtest: https://i.imgur.com/uyfi2LT.jpg With AT&T Fiber it was way more hit and miss, but always above 400 Mbits/sec so who really cares?

Side Note: during the 4 day power outage at our house during the snow on February 15, 2021 the Google Fiber stayed up the WHOLE TIME, as opposed to my cell phone which barely could get text messages. I powered my WiFi hotspot on a battery and used a laptop, and it was an amazing lifeline. Obviously Google has thought through power outages and somehow kept all their routers powered up and running just fine.

> did you just use like the router and stuff that Google Fiber gave you

No, I couldn't get the two Google WiFi "pucks" that came in the self install kit to work. In frustration, I plugged in my my old $60 Netgear Nighthawk (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F0DD0I6/) as a temporary work-around and it just worked, and I left it alone from there on out. For bonus points, all my online devices like Nest cameras and doorbell camera and wife's laptop just connected seamlessly, yet blazingly fast.

Sadly, I moved in Austin to a place that doesn't have Google Fiber and I'm Spectrum cable now. It is "pretty good" by non-Google-Fiber standards, I get 600 Mbits/sec down, but it is capped to 40 Mbits/sec up. It works for all my needs, like I video conference as part of work, and it works fine. It does "blip out" waaaaaay more often than Google fiber (three or four times a day), these strange little 3 second hiccups where no network traffic flows. But it's fine, expecting it to be flawless like Google Fiber is silly, it's better than anything else I've had before Google Fiber.

You can buy compostable bags at most grocery stores (though they're often sold out in my experience). We keep a small bin in the kitchen with a compostable bag in it, and then just throw the bags in the bin.

These are the best in my opinion. They don't break down and rip quite as quickly as others I've tried

> Are all you all used to paying for air pressure for the tires?

It started a couple years ago, more and more places just stopped offering free air. Then for a while, if you pumped gas at a gas station they would often flip a switch behind the counter and allow you to fill air for free. But yeah, recently it's all pay.

Side note 1: For $15 or so you can find these air compressors that plug into your cigarette lighter in your car and fill the tires. Like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Slime-40050-Inflator-Portable-Compressor/dp/B074X4XFGS/ They are slower than the ones at gas stations, but it is nice that it is always with you.

Side note 2: Car tires are only supposed to drop by 1 PSI per month. So if you are adding air more than once every 6 months, you probably have a slow leak that can be fixed by a tire shop for not much money.

It’s not the heat; It’s the combination of sun, heat and humidity. Texas is tolerable for anyone given shade and a breeze (or A/C), it’s the times when those aren’t available that‘s an issue. Personally, I grew up in west Texas (less humidity and higher elevation) and I still love that weather. I’ve never gotten used to Austin in June-September, I’ve just learned to deal with it.

The bigger issue coming from Vancouver might be the relative lack of public lands and outdoor activities. The lakes and greenbelt are fine, and you can always fly somewhere, but day-to-day opportunities are crowed and rare.

there’s a reason that Texans who can afford it spend their summers in Colorado.

Vancouver

Austin

Most people here beg for wind in the summer, unfortunately there’s not a lot.

https://weatherspark.com/y/8004/Average-Weather-in-Austin-Texas-United-States-Year-Round#Sections-Wind

Austin does have an in-town state park, which is a good place to camp "official", but unfortunately it's closed due to flooding. Emma Long does have campsites as well. The downside is that gates close at 10:00.

This dude will let you camp on his property for $15/night: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/945803?s=_L8hvARk

I heard them starting at exactly midnight last night, and another one at 12:04PM. There were 6 of them unevenly spaced between midnight and 12:12AM. Then I may have fallen asleep. Haven't heard any this morning since 7:AM.

I'm sure if you check Nextdoor.com, they'll have explained that its due to either Trump or Biden.

BTW: It's "ManSlaughter".

I got a nice suitcase for a decent price at the Marshall’s (off 35, Barbara Jordan). I don’t know about garment bags though. Could you bring a steamer with you? Something like this:

Hilife Steamer for Clothes Steamer, Handheld Garment Steamer Clothing Iron 240ml Big Capacity Upgraded Version https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HF3X6Y4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_0E3251PE59SC4B1H3F7Y?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The website mynoise.net has a feature that lets you create and save a custom white noise profile. I have had luck using it at work to eliminate a whistling air vent. Since it is one very specific noise, it might work for you.

No local recommendations (I’m new here)

But this worked great on my cat:

Vet's Best Flea and Tick Home Spray for Cats | Flea Treatment for Cats and Home | Flea Killer with Certified Natural Oils https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N19GGJJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_C78HT1NNK6P2XHC20YYZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

If the cord chewing is the only issue, you might consider getting this cord protector from Amazon. We've been using this for the past year after our cats chewed through some wires. No problems ever since! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FW3GTXB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_3DC9XQQ78JDNQEMP9N6Y?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

We we're lucky that we are impulsive and have disposable income. Thus, we had a lot of water, blankets, wool socks, and battery powered lights on hand. I just happened to have a snow shovel (for leaves and rocks) and we just happened to have two extra power banks for phones (Pokemon Go).

I do want to prep for future disasters though, mainly because I feel like we should have had more to share with our neighbors. I agree with another poster here, that community is the most important thing in a disaster. We walked around passing out gallons of water on Wednesday and shoveled snow for all of our neighbors, but I wish I could have done more.

I plan on buying a water storage bladder for the bathtub Like this. I also want to get a little camping stove and mini propane tanks, wool blankets, and a small solar generator.

have you read Dave Ramsey's "Complete Guide to Money"?

https://www.amazon.com/Dave-Ramseys-Complete-Guide-Money/dp/1937077209

Dave does talk about budgeting but also retirement and investments...

You can also get this from the Austin Public library

Home Depot has this https://www.homedepot.com/p/302735271 Which I believe has a Torx but in the correct size. Could also probably order something off amazon if you have Prime if you want something that includes spudgers and things like the iFixIt kits.

e.g.

XOOL 80 in 1 Precision Set with Magnetic Driver Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0718ZM6R1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0MvuEb1M8NNAH

http://smile.amazon.com/Wahl-79300-400-Color-Complete-Haircutting/dp/B000JNQSIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437515769&sr=8-1&keywords=hair+trimmer

or

http://www.dorcousa.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw27etBRDA3-ux4p3c58EBEiQAkJzTAH-Kw1Brd3-n7zxREL-Z-B7wAz-w-Zpj-asLbXSUdCgaApB28P8HAQ