Slight change in plans ( plus PO Box! )

Just a heads up, if you find some information you didn't share online--like your address, that would be worth reporting, though I am yet to get proper directions to this.

Thanks for responding. Hope you and yours have a Happy, Healthy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Vince C.

Vincent G. Calvacca

Sorry about that Alec. Guess I didn't read the entire overview when I became a Patreon member. My bad!

Vincent G. Calvacca

I'm not even planning on making this public. What I'll probably do is set up another email that you can write to and I'd lay the ground rules there. I already have a horrendously awful auto-reply on my "business" email that scares away the would-be product review offers. It's a mix of Tom Scott's warning and a sort of "please don't hate me for being forward, but go away" type of response. Followed by niceness for those who are just being friendly :)

Technology Connections

Sharpies have proven to be the best method from my testing so far (that's what's in the photo!). There is one other method that I briefly experimented with last year that looked promising for red/yellow/green but is very challenging for blue. I'm going to work a little bit on that tonight to see how/if I can improve it.

Technology Connections

Another box option to use a mail forwarding service. Several exist that cater to RVers without a permanent address. Advantage is they eventually forward to your house if that's what you want. The forwarding will cost you.

R Brooks

I use to always get a PO Box when I moved to town. I tended to move every couple of years and as long as it wasn't to another town I didn't have to change all my addresses. I've also had UPS store boxes; their problem is you can't do an address change from them when you move. You can keep that box by paying for it and also pay them to forward your mail until you decide that can be stopped. It works but does co$t over time.

R Brooks

I have two sets of 300 warm-white LED sets which I painstakingly (and I MEAN painstakingly) coloured in every single bulb using Sharpies. The results are amazing, I have something like 12 distinct colours of lights. But, this took literally forever and so I investigated other methods. Look on ebay for model railway (railroad) suppliers, as they do bulb covers intended for creating the red, yellow and green lights on signals. They come in purple and blue as well, and they do an excellent job when placed over the bulbs of a warm white LED set. They are kinda fragile, and LED lights tend to be cylindrical rather than... bulb-shaped... bulbs, so they can tear the covers if you aren't careful.

K.o.R

Oh, I loved the “Twinkling {mmm-hmmm-hmmmmm!} Lights” video. If I had more skills and tools I'd try to create something to generate different kinds of "random" (chaotic) twinkling and flashing patterns, from casual to flickering-flame. (RGB would be easier to tack on later since there are more resources for that out there already.) Just be careful with your PO/UPS Box info too because Dave "The 8-Bit Guy" started getting a lot of junk that people didn't want but just felt about guilty tossing in the trash. Warning though: I always keep a USPS PO Box for certain things (like sending certified-return-receipt letters to the building managers... who also handle the incoming mail), but for two years in a row their web site has choked when I've tried to renew my PO Box online - it ends up (preliminary) charging me five or six times and telling me that I'm not renewed. The charges disappear on their own, but the online people were exceptionally rude about it. So yeah, pay in person and be prepared to pay in person every time you renew. Anyway, I hope you, the family, and fellow fans have a fantastic Thanksgiving Day (even if that's just a really good day in places that don't celebrate it).

I wonder if any service there does a locker-style box. Here in Ireland, we have a service called Parcel Motel, which they give me two virtual addresses (one UK and one Irish) for deliveries. When either address receives a delivery, I receive a PIN number by text message. I then go the local locker I designated, enter the PIN and the locker door with my package opens. As they charge €4 per delivery (instead of rental), it would not be possible to publish the address, but I sometimes use it if I need something in the UK (as UK sellers often charge a lot to send to Ireland) or if I'll not be at home and don't want to risk having a package sit outside the house.

Seán Byrne

While somewhat unrelated, you should heed a lesson learned from other large youtubers (I'm thinking LGR and 8-bit guy here) in that you should start thinking of very strict policies about people sending you stuff. At a minimum, you should state up front that anything sent to you unsolicited does not have to be returned, and has no demands or restrictions placed on it. (The obvious lesson here is to stop people from sending you a trinket and then practically demanding that you unbox it on the channel with a shout-out to their channel as free advertising, which is something the larger guys get peppered with every month, unfortunately.)

Jim Leonard

My first name is Alec, and at the risk of sounding rude, my Patreon overview actually has my full name, so you've seen it at least once! (edited for better wording)

Technology Connections

Good thinkin' . I remember the Christmas light video and eager to see the follow-up. B T W......I know your name couldn't POSSIBLY be "Tootles". Am I the only patreon member that doesn't know your first name? Sure wish you would end your posts with your name. Just makes it feel a bit more personal 'tis all. Thanks. Vince C.

Vincent G. Calvacca

That's funny, I just went back to watch that video because I wanted to make programmable LEDs with the qualities you explained and wondered if I missed the experiment video.

Hmm. Good point. I was thinking that since this was just for eBay stuff the UPS/FedEx thing wasn't so important. But perhaps it's worth looking into the UPS option. Plus it would be slightly more convenient location-wise.

Technology Connections

I hated dealing with the Post Office with my PO Box. I had much better luck renting a box from a UPS store. Plus UPS and FedEx do not deliver to a PO Box, but would my UPS address.

Jason McMillon