Review: Minute Key kiosk machine for copying door lock key

A Minute Key key copy machine showed up at a nearby Wal-Mart years ago. I'd been meaning to try it out but didn't have any keys to copy until recently in late 2022. When I finally went, the machine was in the corner of the store behind the registers. It wasn't hard to find even though they had moved it since the last time I went to that store. The machine was big and labelled well enough that I saw it half-way across the store -- check the Minute Key website or Google to know what to look for. Only thing I had to keep in mind was that it was likely placed by the checkout.

The Original Key

I needed a backup of a door key which should have been a fairly common Kwikset KW1 blank. The original key was likely a copy of the original which isn't recommended for copying keys -- all I got so not much I could do.

The Process

There was no line. This was my first time using a Minute Key machine and it was fairly straightforward. The upper portion was a big touchscreen with instructions. Below the screen was a slot to stick the key into and a credit card scanner. Lower was a window to see the carousel and innerworkings of the key cutting machine. And finally even lower, there was the slot for the completed key to be dropped into. 

Review: Cooler Master ControlPad Gateron Red, 1st Impressions

Price

Picked this up a couple weeks ago for about $100 (CAD) in June-ish 2021. Full price was listed as $130 on Amazon.ca but that seemed a bit steep even though I'd paid $100 for a non-programmable mechanical keyboard or two -- I was ready to spend $150 on a compact Ducky keyboard. It dropped to just under $100 and I jumped on it.

Shipping

I missed the part on the product page where I was supposed to request a box... It got shipped with no additional packaging with a shipping label slapped on one side. For a $100 item to go through the shipping system with no protection, I was ready to send it back but the box was in okay shape and nothing seemed broken.

Planned Usage

It was purchased for productivity purposes only and to be paired with AutoHotkey. I just wanted something the size of a numpad that custom keys could be assigned to and any fine-tuning would be done via AutoHotkey. Specifically, custom keys like Shift/Alt/Ctrl + <key>. Something from a company I'd heard of before was a big selling point too. Unfortunately, the Ducky Pocket One no longer appeared to be available. I had tried to use a Logitech G502 mouse with F13 to F24 assigned to the buttons but it was a right-handed mouse and finding the buttons to push didn't feel natural -- maybe if I had a left-handed or ambidextrous mouse like a Logitech G903. The infinite scroll wheel was amazing compared to the G600's wheel on my actual mouse though.

Dear Diary #86: Patching Jeans without Iron-On Patches, Rice Bubbles

Dear Diary,

Jeans I'd been wearing for over five years are falling apart and I could barely keep up with the patching. So, I was in the market for denim patches but I didn't want the iron-on patches, I just wanted denim fabric. Never bought fabric from a bolt or by the foot before so I was a bit lost... Then I remembered that I could cannibalize an old pair of jeans. Then I remembered I gave them all to a thrift store. That led me to the toddler's section of one of the clothing stores I frequent: $7 for a pair of toddler jeans on sale. Iron-on denim patches were $6 for a half dozen so jackpot?

Lately, it seems like a bunch of channels on TV only show Star Wars movies, Star Trek movies, Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and Marvel movies... I like them all, just not weeks/months straight.

Dear Diary #85: Worn out index finger, Food regrets

Dear Diary,

Giving my index finger a break from mouse clicking lately. Been using my middle finger on my two-ish button Logitech G5 mouse and using my ring finger now with my new three-ish button mouse -- it's a Logitech G600 so there are many more buttons but only three-ish in the front section. The G-Shift malfunctioned for a couple minutes, so I did some googling and decided to just get rid of it since I was having trouble figuring out what keys to map to those G-shfted buttons anyway. Now, the G-shift is a second left-click -- wanted something relatively harmless since I found myself accidentally hitting it with my pinky finger often. Just hope the mouse doesn't go crazy with two left-clicks mapped to it. So far so good.

Had spicy chicken biryani for lunch. It was amazing, my nose was melting down the entire time I was eating it. Enjoyed it a lot. Then about 12 hours later something happened in the middle of the night and let's just say that I don't think I'm going to order the spicy version next time. I'll go to mild and spare some of that pain, hopefully.

Dear Diary #84: Ball Fell Out of Ballpoint Pen

Dear Diary,

Got desperate for Halls to alleviate some cold symptoms and I caved at a grocery store. It cost just under $2 for a single roll of Halls... I can usually get a bag of four rolls for $4 at pharmacies or big box stores, so that was a painful one to swallow. Even worse was the fact that I dropped one piece on the floor and had to chuck it.

Twas craving a salad with chicken and blew about $9 on one at a fast food joint. Couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I've turned all of my sandwiches into given the way that I eat them -- with a fork and knife, cut off or taken apart because I don't eat with my hands anymore.

Still coughing but mostly only in one building where the air is dry as a desert. Outside and in other buildings, no problem. This one? Lung is about to come flying out.