Fun removing devices permanently from Alexa

 
I have dozens of smart home devices, and lotsa smart home plugs. Over time, I've ditched devices and added new. I got rid of third party apps and got new ones.

Recently I had Alexa scanning for new devices, and in doing so, she restored many of those devices which I no longer even own.

I had to reinstall third party apps on my phone and try and figure out how to log back in.
There is no shortcut to doing this. Once the devices are removed from their manufacturer's apps, then they can be permanently removed from the Alexa app.

One helpful tip: Open the cog settings (the gear) for each device in the Alexa app, On this screen it will say Connected Via: <followed by the manufacturer or app name>

Create mailing labels from Google Sheets for free

 
These instructions are taken from this Youtube video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCK7l14pLTI

You'll Need Three Things:

1. Google sheets with names and addresses
2. Autocrat which is an extension in google sheets
3. Merge document template which you can find here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Xyf4P9ESdlP8Z6uoaFYbrlSWRvcrSInnNpoZbnC1i8/copy

Follow These Steps:

1. Choose autocrat, then open
2. Select new job
3. Give the job a name and then click next
4. Choose template from my desktop
5. Choose select and then next
6. Choose merge tab if you see it
7. Choose columns (this is where you are mapping)
8. Click next, enter a title, leave type as google doc
9. Change the output to be single output mode
10. Choose no to add page break between data rows
11. Click next
12. Leave the rest of the defaults or skip them
13. Click save
14. Click play
15. When it's done, close the window
16. Now you can preview and print the labels doc

Google Contacts Verizon Contacts Oh my

1. Sync Verizon contacts from my phone to Verizon cloud
2. On my phone, go into google contacts
3. Click on my profile picture
4. You will now see you can switch over the Phone - Cloud. Click that
5. Now look where your profile picture used to be. Instead you will see a blue phone
6. Now you are looking at all your Verizon cloud contacts
7. Go into each one, one a time:
1. Click the pencil
2. Click delete (or click move to another account if you want to move it to your google account)
8. You're done. If you moved any to your google account, it should sync and you should see them. Check on both your phone's google account, and your computer's google account. It can take five or ten minutes.
9. Now I can stop verizon contact sync to cloud
10. Go to charging bull and wish prosperity on Saundra (the Verizon agent who tried so hard to help)

Printing labels Christmas 2023

 

1. Go through my Google contacts as best I can
2. See if I can get them to synch with my phone
3. Print at 200% two sided
4. Read them to Mike a few per night, and fix on paper
5. Then update in Google contacts
6. Then do hand-written labels. It's easier that way

Google Drive for Desktop is even worse than Google Backup and Synch

 

All I wanted Google Drive for Windows desktop for was to map my Google drive as a drive, so I could run backups to Google Drive.
It was a fail, as it insists on synching files. 

Could find no way to turn that off.

So instead, I am not running backups to google drive, and I'm keeping Backblaze.

Google Workspace Admin and other fixes

After I switched my email from free to Workspace, I had to make some changes. Some changes were admin settings, while others were transition damage.

1. ADMIN: To fix Discover, I went into the admin, chose Devices-->Mobile & Endpoints-->Settings-->Universal and got this screen: https://admin.google.com/ac/managedsettings/724141353720?vid=EMM_UNIVERSAL_SETTINGS_VIEW
   
   I turned Google Assistant on, which you can see from the screen is still on. That's what got it working.
   
   This was the empty screen on our phones that should have shown news.
2. TRANSITION: Enable 3D mode in Maps

   3D mode: This version includes smooth zooming and transitions, 3D buildings and features, satellite images and additional detail. To activate 3D mode: 

   1. Open Maps in satellite mode.
   2. Make sure that globe view is enabled.
      1. Hover over the 'Layers' icon.
      2. Click More.
      3. Click the tick box next to 'Globe view'.
   3. Click the 3D icon at the lower right below the compass.

Procedure for fixing my blog contents

Blog Contents 

Just go through each blog, see what they look like, fix, delete drafts, and so forth. Use "stopped"

1. Port Authority Engineer (working on contents now)
2. Madeline's publications
3. Catty Cook
4. Moynihan Connector
5. PATH Substation
6. Long Covid Mind
7. Computerish
8. Django Joy
9. Geek Around the House
10. NYC No Car
11. All My Blogs (this one)
12. Recovery Spots

Quicken CC502 on Citi Cards

The problem

I had a OSU connection to Citibank, which started throwing a cc-502

How I fixed it

1. After trying several things, I luckily landed on a helpful page in Quicken, but I don't remember how I got there. 
2. This advice led to my solution
3. I went into the link https://citi.com/datamanagement
4. It then started its time and told me to now go to my desktop app which is Quicken
5. In Quicken I had to pretend I was adding a new account
6. When choosing the bank, I had to chose Citi Cards instead of Citibank
7. I put in my credentials, and this time, Quicken was happy, and offered to connect to my current Citibank register which I did
8. All good

Migrating to a new email id caused a few problems

In Sept. 2023, when I switched over my email address from stayathomegeek@gmail.com to linda@moranmails.com, I tried everywhere I could to ditch the old one

Here's where I couldn't:

1. In youtube I couldn't switch, without upgrading to a brand account. So at least for now, If I want to to see all those choir videos and recordings that I uploaded to Studio, I have to sign in to geek. But I found that I have all of them on the plex media server as well, so no big de
2. I thought I could get to Bard when I changed an admin setting, but then it broke, even with that setting on
3. Google blogger is storing most of my pictures through my old account. I haven't figured out yet how to move them. They are in https://www.blogger.com/mediamanager/albums different in each account. So now I have pictures being stored in two places. What I've done for now is to give us both administrative permissions - geek and the new email. That means google blogger will go to two places to find pictures. It's okay.
4. Google Maps Local Guides -- I have start over as a new guide: "Only Google Maps contributions from the Google account you used to sign up for Local Guides will count toward your level. Contributions cannot be transferred between accounts and you may only sign up for the program — and receive relevant rewards — with one account."
5. I had to keep the table of google blogger pictures in case I need them. That is in mediamanager, in my old account https://www.blogger.com/mediamanager/albums

In Sept. 2023, when I switched over my email address from stayathomegeek@gmail.com to linda@moranmails.com, I tried everywhere I could to ditch geek.

Here's where I couldn't:

In youtube I couldn't, without upgrading to a brand account. So at least for now, If I want to to see all those choir videos and recordings that I uploaded to Studio, I have to sign in to geek. But I found that I have all of them on the plex media server as well, so no big deal.

I thought I could get to Bard when I changed an admin setting, but then it broke, even with that setting on

Google blogger is storing most of my pictures through my old account. I haven't figured out yet how to move them. They are in https://www.blogger.com/mediamanager/albums different in each account. So now I have pictures being stored in two places. What I've done for now is to give us both administrative permissions - geek and the new email. That means google blogger will go to two places to find pictures. It's okay.

Procedure for fixing my blog pics

Blog Pics (light gray means it's done)

It's all done!

1. Catty Cook 
2. Madeline's publications 
3. Port Authority Engineer 
4. Moynihan Connector
5. PATH Substation  
6. Long Covid Mind (working on pics now)
7. Computerish
8. Django Joy (working on pics now)
9. Geek Around the House (working on pics now)
10. NYC No Car
11. All My Blogs (this one)
12. Recovery Spots 

The only geek album I didn't erase was the Port Authority Engineer

Instructions for blog pics

1. Make sure you're in the right account
2. Follow the order of the blogs below
3. One post at a time, save the pics to hard drive using save image as
4. Delete each pic in the post and replace with the pic you just put on your hard drive
5. Use "xxx" for the label as you go
6. In just one post, save all its pictures to my hard drive
7. Now upload them again. 
8. Check everything. Here's the link: https://www.blogger.com/mediamanager/albums
9. After completing each blog, I can test get a count using above link old and new and then geek as an admin in the new blog settings, and see if it works.
10. If it does work, you don't have to add geek back
11. Note: this doesn't take the pics off of the old account, and I don't think we need to.

Setting up Google Maps all over again

 

1. Add our kids addresses as labels
2. Go into timeline and mark that I never want location history to be deleted
3. Give our 3 kids addresses a label
4. Add the 3 kids plus all of Mike's relatives to MORAN ALL 
5. Follow the model for Dwight and Madeline. I think what I'm doing is labeling them first, and then I'm adding them to MORAN ALL