I Switched from AT&T Wireless to Spectrum Mobile

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AT&T has been shit inside my house for the last six months or so. My phone makes weird noises to the people on the other end of a call and often cuts in and out unless I’m standing by my big kitchen window. So I’d been planning to switch to Verizon. Then a friend told me about Spectrum Mobile, which actually uses the Verizon network. They have two plans:

  • By the Gig: $14 per GB of data usage
  • Unlimited: $45 a month

The By the Gig plan sounded really cool and perfect for me because I usually use less than 1GB of data per month and rarely more than 2, unless I’m traveling. In the Spectrum account you can set notifications and it’s easy to switch between the two plans in the middle of a month, with no penalties. So if I was going to go over 3GB of usage, I’d just change to Unlimited for the month and then back after the billing cycle.

I’ve been paying about $73 a month for service through AT&T! That’s ridiculous for how little data I use and the handful of times I talk on the phone each month. If you don’t have a family plan, these cell phone companies basically rob you. $14-28 for most months with a maximum of $45 is much more reasonable.

The decision to switch was a win-win; better network and cheaper bill. I paid off the remaining 5 installments for my iPhone X and made the request for AT&T to unlock my phone. Then I ordered a free SIM card from Spectrum, paying a one-time activation fee of $10, plus $14 for the first month of service.

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Apparently the monthly charges even include the taxes and fees here in Michigan.

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I couldn’t believe how easy the entire process was. I never had to talk to anyone at AT&T to pay off or unlock my phone, which felt like a miracle. The Spectrum sign-up process was much better than any other time I’ve signed up for something with them (or the old Charter). After the SIM card arrived (in 3 days) I went through the activation (also a breeze) and I did have to call AT&T to cancel service with them.

Yesterday I called my mom for her birthday and I was able to have a conversation from my office, so it’s already much better than AT&T.

Franken-treadmill

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Last August I picked up a free treadmill and didn’t use it once because it had a major issue. When I’d get on it and crank up the speed, either the belt was slipping or the motor couldn’t handle the load. I never got around to troubleshooting the problem. A couple of weeks ago I saw another free treadmill which was able to fold up. That was another problem with the first treadmill; it took up way too much space in the garage.

So I picked up this second treadmill and gave it a quick test when I got it home. It worked just fine at speed, but the front end wanted to tip back. I found the manual online and noticed it was missing the support leg extensions and wheels. I grabbed a couple of 1.5″ posts from my scrap wood, hammered them in, and they fit perfectly.

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No more tipping over!

Last weekend I disassembled the first treadmill to salvage a bunch of parts, like the motor and speed controller. The support wheels were part of a framed piece, which I thought I could fit on to the treadmill I was keeping, so I saved them too.

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Today I cut a couple of spacer blocks, chopped the leg posts, drilled some holes, and voila! The bolts I used were also saved from the other treadmill. I love when a plan works out and especially when it involves upcycling parts.

I was a little worried the posts wouldn’t be able to handle the weight of the treadmill when propped up to wheel around, but it works great. I probably won’t move the treadmill around the garage often, but it’s nice that it’ll be easy to do with the wheels instead of having to pick it up or shuffle it across the floor.

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How many times will I use this treadmill in the next year though?

Another Garage Reorganization

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A couple of years ago I did a big reorganization of the garage before I moved all of my tools to the basement and created a workshop down there. The high shelves on the front wall of the garage turned out to be a terrible idea because I couldn’t reach anything; I’d have to move a bunch of shit out of the way and use a ladder. I finally had enough and moved everything around. Here’s a before and after.

A lot of the room I got back was due to removing the treadmill (both were free!) that didn’t fold up. I disassembled it last week to salvage the motor, speed controller, and a lot of other parts. I can easily access the shelves by moving the lawn mower out of the way and it won’t seem like I’m going to slam my car door into something (I back in so the charge port is next to the charger).

PUMA Ignite Pwrsport

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I started wearing PUMA golf shoes in 2016 and loved them. The pair I bought last year weren’t very good though. When I was looking for a new pair for the 2019 season, I found these. With the golf course drying out, I finally wore them today. The grip was great and there were comfortable. Since I walk most of the time, shoes make a huge difference over 4 hours on my feet.

Funk

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I haven’t been making anything in my free time lately. No woodworking. No electronics projects. I think I got burnt out from doing so many projects over November, December, and January. I have several projects started in the basement workshop and my main workbench is piled with salvaged parts from various things. My hobby desk has several electronics kits I haven’t opened. So it’s not like I don’t have projects I could be working on. I probably need to find the motivation or inspiration for that one project that gets me going again. It’ll come.

When I’m not making things, it’s a lot harder to come up with content for blog posts and continue my daily posting streak. This post marks day 938. If you’ve been following along you probably noticed a lot more pictures and random shit over the last few months. It seems like I’m getting to 6, 7, or 8 pm more often before I finally post something. I’ve thought about ending the streak, but I’m so close to 1,000 days!