Thursday, June 26, 2025: 9:14 PM: I successfully finished up with the NJ FamilyCare paperwork yesterday, Bernice at Social Services here in Sussex County being good enough to help me fill out the forms. She kept the original copies having stamped them as received right in front of me, giving me a copy to hang on to as well. Once I got home, I took my copy and uploaded it to my NJ FamilyCare account to ensure that everything that needed to be seen would be, “One way or Another.”
I also took care of some general housekeeping in the Apartment. I then dove into cPanel server records, attempting to ascertain just how much AI can help me accurately breakdown data about my web traffic. I can’t say things went very well. But since I can work with Copilot in Excel or simply feed it a CSV or XLSX file now, “I might have better luck.”
Yesterday, I realized my air conditioner wasn’t working as expected after accidentally brushing its touch display while adjusting the window blinds a day or so prior. “I thought I heard it beep!”
Copilot helped me navigate some functions, while my phone’s adaptive apps for the blind also assisted me in setting my GE air conditioner back to Eco Mode. I can’t determine the model since the number is on a hard-to-read sticker in a rather strange place.
Most sighted people would likely need to remove the AC’s front casing to see the model number. The manual covers three models, which isn’t very helpful, either. However, with the AC remote and other tricks, I managed to get what I needed.
Of course, these things take time and patience when you are hell bent on doing something on your own and hate having to ask for sighted assistance to use a stupid appliance. I’m an annoying bastard that way. But I got what I needed out of the software I used and picked up a few things about the remote that helped, too.
On the AC remote, you cycle through the different modes using the Mode Button. The arrow keys for adjusting the temperature, as well as the button for setting the fan speed, are unresponsive in Fan Mode. Additionally, in both Cool Mode and Dry Mode, the fan button does not respond. Eco Mode is accessible by pressing the Mode Button twice from Fan Mode, and it covers both Dry Mode and AC modes effectively.
Of course, there’s one extra step once you land in Eco Mode. You need to use your ears and listen as you press the Fan Speed Button on the remote. This is because, although you’ve landed in Eco Mode, it doesn’t mean Eco Mode is actually on. So, you press the button until you are certain you’re hearing the fan in the AC on high and then press the button a second time. The sound of the fan will not change. It should also be noted that each keypress on the remote that the AC has responded to is accompanied by a beep from the AC.
In Eco Mode the fan speed self-adjusts as it cycles through Cool Mode and Dry mode. Then, once it senses the room is at temperature, the unit turns itself off and takes a break for a while.
It took me a while to work it all out. But, having been flying by the seat of my pants since October of 2020, I think I might have been a bit overdue. It really was pissing me off that I needed to FaceTime people in order to get things back on track when I accidently triggered a button on the General Electric AC’s display panel. “I feel better now!”
I also discovered that when you talk to Copilot, it will now reprimand you for telling it off with expletives when it’s feeding you a line of crap. I was actually told by the software “I pay a subscription for” that I should be more respectful. “That’s different Microsoft!”
While the software is helpful for doing some tasks, like the above described, it’s hit or miss. In short, when it comes to describing what it sees through the video camera on my phone? “Its consistency is a bit lacking!”
But Copilot was a part of today’s project. It was helpful in a frustrating sort of way. But… Yeah… “It was Helpful!”