Tech Trends | At Home with Tech

November 30, 2025

What’s Really Happening in the Sci-Fi Series Pluribus?

I’m hooked watching ‘Pluribus’ on Apple TV. That said, this series doesn’t easily fit easily into a particular genre. ‘Pluribus’ or ‘PLUR1BUS’ (which is how the title credits spell it) is technically science fiction but isn’t what you’d expect from a traditional sci-fi series today.

Created by Vince Gilligan, this show plays more like an episode from ‘The Twilight Zone,’ but quite not as ominous. That said, in one sense, it couldn’t be more frightening. It’s about the days (spoiler alert) after the human race is infected by an alien virus.

The first episode is effectively a chilling variant of the famous ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ The result is a complete ‘Star Trek’ Borg-like psychic takeover where everyone is suddenly connected to a hive mind. The twist here is this alien-mind collective makes everyone happy and is supposedly benevolent.

Is Resistance Futile?
Only 13 people in the world aren’t absorbed into this global cult (for some unknown reason) including Carol from Albuquerque, New Mexico, played by Rhea Seehorn.

Carol, a romance writer, is generally a cranky person, and her negative energy later turns out to be something of a superpower for her.

She’s immune to the virus and determined to find a cure. Each episode follows her efforts to figure out how to reverse the takeover.

While this set up might be perfect for a tight sci-fi thriller, ‘Pluribus’ takes its sweet time revealing its clues. It’s actually way more mystery than sci-fi.

I’m five episodes in, and the writers are clearly more interested in exploring Carol’s understandably overwhelmed reactions to this insanity rather than furthering along the main pieces of the plot.

And that’s just fine with me.

Fan Predictions
I’ve seen some online reactions where fans are intensely studying every detail of each scene to reveal the plot ahead and even how the series is destined to end. (Who has the time for this radical deconstruction?)

Frankly I’m not buying all these spoiler predictions. I just want to watch this story unfold. No need to rush it.

In one scene from episode 5, Carol is trying to get some sleep, and the camera focuses on her nightstand with a book clearly in focus. It’s Agatha Cristie’s ‘And Then There Were None.’ Okay… so, that’s certainly a clue for rough times ahead.

Happy Zombies Vs Unhappy Person
I’m really enjoying ‘Pluribus.’ It’s quirky and offbeat. It’s dark but not without its lighter comedic moments. For now, the plot is clearly simmering. You can tell there are likely twists to come.

We’ve got billions of happy, connected zombies living in harmony. Is that so bad? Will Carol save the world? Does the world even need saving?

The writing throws big questions at us: Is restoring individualism worth the price of returning to our horribly fractured society? Isn’t total harmony the utopia we all thought we wanted? But at what cost?

I think this is what ‘Pluribus’ is about. (Yes, it’s hard to describe succinctly.)

It’s the End of the World as We Know It
If I had to put it in one sentence… This series is a mystery about how one average person tries to repair the human race by saving the essence of humanity.

But I know this is too simplistic an answer. It’s just the framework. Who knows what’s really happening here.

The success of any mystery depends on the answers we eventually receive. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you how the mysteries from other famous TV series (‘The X Files,’ ‘Lost’) have not always been as satisfyingly resolved as we wanted.

The answers simply need to be as good as the questions.

Season 2 is already confirmed, and the producers want to make a total of four seasons. Here’s hoping ‘Pluribus’ delivers on the expected payoff.

For now, I’m sitting back and simply enjoying how one woman fights back against the end of the world.

November 2, 2025

How to Delete a Retired Nest Device from Your Google Home App

I really had no choice but to retire my old Nest Learning Thermostat. It’s an aging 2nd generation model, and Google finally stopped supporting it. So, I recently upgraded to the current gen 4 model and successfully installed that one. Problem solved, right?

Well, not entirely.

The final step was to delete the old unit from my Google Home App on my iPhone. (Who wants to see a deactivated device lingering on your app’s interface as ‘Offline?’)

According to an email I received from Google, the gen 2 model was supposed to automatically evaporate from the app. But it defied that directive and remained in place… stubbornly so.

When I tried to remove it manually, there was no obvious way to do that. So, I had to dig deeper.

If you’ve been trying to crack the same code, here’s how to delete your decommissioned Google Nest Learning Thermostat from your Google Home app:

4 Steps to Remove a Device from the Google Home App

#1 – First, tap on the circular icon with your initial on the top right of the Google Home app.

#2 – Then, tap on “Home settings.”

#3 – Under “Device, groups & rooms,” find and tap on your old device.

#4 – At the very bottom of the next page, tap “Remove device.”

So Simple…
That should do the trick! It’s super simple for any of your Nest devices, but you need to know where to look in the app.

After this tweak, you’re back to where you started… with remote and clutter-free access to a sleek Google Nest Learning Thermostat at the center of your smart home experience.

October 26, 2025

Avoid this Surprise When Installing Your Google Nest Learning Thermostat Gen 4

Getting 12 years out of any piece of tech is more than anyone should expect. That said, if it’s still working and doing the job, why would you want to replace it? (Unless you simply need the latest and greatest.)

Well, you’d pull the plug when the manufacturer forces you to. If the old unit’s tech is so obsolete, it can’t be maintained by the manufacturer’s current standards. And that’s what’s happened to my trusty Nest Learning Thermostat (2nd gen) from 2013.

Goodbye Nest Learning Thermostat Gen 2
In tech years, it’s like a century old. A lot’s happened, including Google buying Nest to enter the smart home market.

So yes, Google has walked away from its older Nest Learning Thermostat population. The official Google language is “end of support.” What that means is 1st and 2nd-generation models can no longer be reached remotely via the app on your phone as of October 25, 2025. (They’ve been “unpaired and removed” from the Nest app or Home app.)

Poof.

It’s Time to Buy Gen 4
Yes, you can still operate these ‘relics’ manually, but I’ve always spent more time interfacing with my Nest Learning Thermostat through the app on my iPhone.

Most significantly, these units are no longer supported, which according to Google “may lead to decreased performance with continued use.” So that’s code for… it’s just a matter of time till they stop working altogether.

Look, I get it. No web-connected piece of tech is going to last forever.

So, if you want your Google Nest Learning Thermostat ecosystem to remain reliable and fully operational, you have no choice but to upgrade to the current 4th generation model, which costs $279.99.

Ouch!

Fortunately, Google has softened the blow by offering a $130 discount for current 1st and 2nd gen owners. So that effectively drops the price point to $149.99 plus tax. (Shipping is free.)

Registered owners should have received an emailed discount code towards the purchase of the current 4th gen model.

Three Color Choices
So Barrett went ahead and bought himself an early holiday present with his discount code. (Thank you, Google.)

My hardest decision was deciding which color to get. I decided on Obsidian with a black base. (I felt it would present a cleaner, unified aesthetic in our living room. (The other choices are silver and gold with a white base.)

My Installation Surprise
Happily, installing my new 4th gen unit was the essentially the same as my old 2nd gen model.

The only relevant difference was the size of the circular base plate, which you screw onto the wall. (The thermostat clicks onto the base plate.)

Here’s the problem:

The new base plate is slightly smaller than the old one. And that tiny footprint difference can be a really big deal.

Why? Well, the new base plate will reveal a little more of your wall…
that might be unpainted!

Surprise!

Yes, that’s exactly what happened to me. I realized there would be dark, thin paint ring behind my new, gleaming Google Nest Learning Thermostat that revealed our living room’s paint color from years ago.

Granted, the 4th gen thermostat’s beautiful face is bigger than my gen 2’s screen. It’s plenty big to effectively block the view where the thermostat’s smaller circular ‘neck’ touches the wall.

But I would know, and if you looked from an angle, you’d definitely see the old paint. Ugh!

Sure, Google has thought of this and provided a white trim plate to use that would cover up this kind of problem.

But I didn’t want to use the trim plate. I liked the clean look of the black, circular orb perfectly protruding from my wall like a futuristic Cylon interface.

I just need to get rid of that thin ring of old paint.

I Had to Put on My Painter’s Hat
So, I hurried downstairs and rummaged through my basement to see if I still had a little bit of our living room’s current paint in a can somewhere. I eventually found it, picked up a brush and performed the paint fix.

This of course delayed my installation process, as I had to wait for the paint to dry before continuing. But it was clearly a step worth taking.

So just remember that you might need to bake that extra time into your own installation plan.

Cool New Sensor Pucks
If you’ve been living with a 1st or 2nd generation model, you may not know about Google’s little wireless ‘satellite’ temperature-sensing pucks to pair with your main thermostat. (I didn’t.)

These “Nest Temperature Sensors” (now 2nd generation) can be placed throughout your home to help create a more even temperature throughout your rooms (effectively simulating some of the benefits of a multi-zone HVAC system).

When you buy a 4th gen Google Nest Learning Thermostat, it also comes with one Nest Temperature Sensor. (You can purchase more separately.)

With multiple sensors, you can schedule which sensor controls your thermostat at different times of the day. You can always default to the sensor in your base unit. And you can also average between your sensors.

I placed my temperature sensor in our sunroom, which tends to be cooler during the winter months than the rest of our house. Hopefully, the sensor will convince my base unit (in our living room) to keep providing a little more warmth in the early evening when my family tends to hang out in our sunroom. (That’s how I programmed it.)

Upgrade Complete!
I’ve always enjoyed my old Nest Learning Thermostat as the center of my smart home experience. And now that I’ve upgraded, I’m pleased that I’ve refreshed my relationship with Google’s gen 4 model.

I hope it takes me all the way to 2037. But with the pace of change these days, something tells me we may be discussing this again a tad sooner…

Category: Tech Trends

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4 Steps to Remove a Device from the Google Home App

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