Strav's blog

Motorized Blinds - Settings

strav — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:32:00 +0000

I have some motorized blinds in my home. Zigbee AM43 is the type. Occasionally, I need to reset the upper/lower limits. The manual is located at: R:\Manuals\Household\Home Automation and the process is:

Upper Limit Setting:
Hit the setting button for 3 seconds - Indicator turns red
Press the Up button - Red indicator flashes quickly
Move the blind to the desired position
Hit the setting button for 3 seconds - Blue indicator flashes 3 times

Lower Limit Setting:

Hit the setting button for 3 seconds - Indicator turns red
Press the Down button - Red indicator flashes quickly
Move the blind to the desired position
Hit the setting button for 3 seconds - Blue indicator flashes 3 times

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Android phones are always scanning - disable these settings to add hours of battery life

strav — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:42:00 +0000

https://www.howtogeek.com/your-pixel-phone-is-always-scanning-disable-these-two-settings-to-add-hours-of-battery-life/

Wi-Fi Scanning and Bluetooth Scanning. Turning these off don't change the ability to find and connect to known networks/bluetooth - it just impacts location services.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

DIY Peppermint Spider Repellant

strav — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 16:03:00 +0000

Spiders love to build webs in front of our security cameras - if I clean them, they often will start rebuilding almost immediately. I ran across a recipe for a DIY peppermint oil based repellant, tweaked it with AI and am going to give it a try. Here is the modified recipe as well as the link to the original video.

16 cups (1 gallon) distilled water
2 oz peppermint oil

1–1.5 oz polysorbate 80

2 oz isopropyl alcohol (70–90%)

DIY Peppermint Bug Repellent Spray - Homemade Essential Oil Insect Control

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Outlook read only PST files

strav — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:50:00 +0000

I've run into a scenario where Outlook PST files are being placed in a read only mode. This is not ideal for managing email and keeping it for historical purposes.

In the following keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\PST
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\PST
Setting the PSTDisableGrow to 0 will allow writing and setting it to 1 will disable writing.

Unfortunately, these registry entries require admin to modify.

Use a policy to control PST files in Outlook
If I am not an administrator but I want to read the registry, what is easiest way to do it?

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Parity - Android/iOS App for Unraid

strav — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:39:00 +0000

Someone built an app for Unraid on Android and iOS. I've not been able to get it to connect to my Unraid instances yet but it does look promising.

https://www.reddit.com/r/unRAID/comments/1p1ejpd/built_a_native_unraid_mobile_client_for_ios/
https://github.com/shreyaspapi/parity/releases/tag/v1.0.2
https://github.com/shreyaspapi/parity/issues

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Proxmox Setup

strav — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:41:00 +0000

I'm moving a number of my physical machines to Proxmox virtual machines. Here are some notes on the process.

There are a number of community scripts for Proxmox located here: https://community-scripts.org/

After installing the Proxmox software, run the PVE Post Install script here: https://community-scripts.org/scripts/post-pve-install. This will set up a number of things such as the enabling the correct repositories and disabling the nag screen.

I'm going to run Pi-Hole in a LXC container via this script here: https://community-scripts.org/scripts/pihole

How to download Container Templates (CT) in Proxmox Server:

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

41% Glyphosate (Roundup)

strav — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 21:57:00 +0000

Here is the mix ratio I use for the 41% Glyphosate (Roundup) that I use to spray weeds in the yard.

4 Gal Water
1 1/4 Cup Glyphosate

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Fixing a crooked bumper on a VW Beetle

strav — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 02:39:00 +0000

The bumper on my 72 super beetle was crooked (the car didn't sit level either but that's another story). Here are links to some of the information I found about it.

66 Crooked Bumper

Original post blogged on b2evolution.