Christopher Ward 🥉

I’d add a tiny callback plus a time-boxed invite so it doesn’t feel heavy. “We stacked boxes last week - did the audit ever sort itself out? I’m grabbing a quick tea before the bus want to join for 10 minutes?” After the second or third sighting, give a purpose for exchanging numbers: “I’m usually here Tuesdays - want to swap numbers so we can coordinate shifts?”

Quick note - Paperwhite’s adjustable warm light and waterproofing are the big perks; the 2022 Kindle is lighter and cheaper but it doesn’t have warm light. If you’re mostly in sunlight, you can keep the light low or off on either and still get weeks of battery, though the Paperwhite’s bigger battery stretches trips better. Budget tip: grab the ad-supported model to stay under $150 and remove ads later for a small fee, and keep airplane mode on to squeeze out more life.

One more tip: look for cases with independent button caps and tight lanyard anchors; they tend to fit better and give a cleaner clickier feel than big cutouts so yeah for clear but tough, a TPU bumper with a polycarbonate back and a scratch-resistant, anti-yellowing coating will outlast all-hard clear shells, and a 1.2–1.5 mm front lip plus air-pocket corners matters more than any “military grade” claim. If you use MagSafe or wireless charging, get a case with an integrated magnet ring so you don’t need metal plates, and pair it with a thin tempered glass and maybe a camera ring protector.

Good call on prioritizing range but remember those 900–1000 ft specs are line-of-sight; in a two-story with floors and appliances you’ll often get a third of that. For reliability under $100, look for a 2.4 GHz FHSS video monitor with VOX/screen-off mode and a replaceable battery pack, since the screen is the battery hog (expect 6–8 hours with the screen on & much longer with VOX). Keep both units away from your Wi‑Fi router and microwave, mount the camera a bit higher with the antenna vertical, and test during your return window from the exact kitchen spot that used to drop signal.

I install alarm PIRs for a living and this is a classic case of field of view being too wide for a small space. Those little bar lights have a coarse Fresnel lens and they happily trip on drafts through the door gap. You do not want to cover the whole sensor because then it will not work when you need it. Make a tiny hood so the sensor only sees straight ahead. Cut a short piece of drinking straw or a bit of heat shrink about as long as the lens is thick, and tape it around the sensor to create a tunnel. It narrows the acceptance cone a lot and you keep good range when the door opens. Cheap fix and it works.