Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Klein Tools ET310 AC Circuit Breaker Finder

Posted on May 31, 2026

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If you have ever needed to find the circuit breaker that controls a certain electrical outlet you know how difficult the task of finding the right breaker can be.

It usually involves plugging a lamp into the outlet and then switching off all the breakers, one by one, until the lamp goes out.

If you don’t have a partner watching the lamp, that means you have to switch off each breaker and then make a trip to the outlet to check the status of the lamp. If the lamp is still on, you still haven’t found the right breaker.

What’s worse, after you have finally found the right breaker you discover that you have flashing clocks and powered-off appliances all over the house. [Read more…]

Q&A: Where can I get a really old roll of 110 film developed?

Posted on May 30, 2026

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Question from Toniah: My mom recently passed away and we had to clean out her house so it could be listed for sale.

While going through one of her closets I found an old Kodak 110 camera with a half-used roll of film in it.

Are there any places that still process 110 film? [Read more…]

4 tips for protecting your computer from lightning strikes

Posted on May 29, 2026

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Well, summer is officially here, and that means the long, hot days to come will be spawning plenty of electrical storms.

There’s really nothing you can do to keep the coming storms at bay, but there are several things you can do that would greatly reduce the risk of a lightning strike damaging your expensive computer equipment.

Here are a few tips for protecting your computer from lightning strikes: [Read more…]

Q&A: What does the term ‘bottleneck’ mean?

Posted on May 28, 2026

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Question from Alvin: I recently retired after working for the same construction company for 43 years.

Now I’d like to take up something new to occupy all this free time that I suddenly have to fill.

I’ve always wanted to learn about computers so I’ve started reading a few tech blogs, and RicksDailyTips is one of them (thanks to my brother Keith for recommending it).

I’m not tech savvy by any stretch (I hope to change that eventually) but I do believe I’m progressing ok for an older dude who still uses a flip phone.

There’s a term that keeps popping up in the articles I read that I just can’t seem to get my head around. Can you tell me what the word “bottleneck” means in regards to computers? [Read more…]

Small business technology decisions that work until employee count hits 40

Posted on May 28, 2026

Your Atlanta company started with eight people sharing a handful of laptops, using Google Workspace for email, and calling your tech-savvy employee whenever something broke. It worked fine. You grew to 20 employees with the same basic approach—added more devices, same IT setup, occasional help from that one person who knows computers.

At 30 employees, you started noticing friction. Systems that used to be fast felt sluggish. The informal “ask whoever knows technology” support model created bottlenecks. But nothing was completely broken, so you kept going with the same approach. [Read more…]