litchralee

joined 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

This is fair, but one would hope that manufacturers see the writing on the wall: if using USB C as the charging input, the products (ebikes, phones, laptops, etc) have to be resilient, because we already have a world where the USB C connector is the "lingua franca" but each charger's capabilities are different.

Phones already have logic to detect "slow chargers" or poor cables, by way of sensing the voltage drop when ramping up the charging current. That's the minimum level of sophistication I would expect in a production ebike, and it'll certainly have to be more than that for 100+ Watts.

Fortunately, charge controller chip manufacturers are mostly on top of this, marketing their wares for very advanced charging profiles and feedback inputs. Especially for an ebike, I would further expect variable charge rates, so that users who know that their charger isn't high power -- or if they're concerned with the slightly elevated risk of battery fires at higher charge currents -- can choose to use a lower level, or to prolong battery life.

But I'm not an electrical engineer; I just watch in awe the things they produce.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

If you were already contributing to your 401k and into specific funds, a market upset shouldn't change much, except that your contribution buys more shares now, due to the share prices falling. I wrote this comment earlier, for a similar question in a different community.

That said, this assumes your 401k was already set up to: 1) match your risk tolerance, and 2) aligns to your investment objectives and timelines. My investment philosophy draws heavily from the Boglehead school of thought; see inline links.

Market timing -- such as waiting to "buy the dip" -- rarely turn out to be great moves, since no one can predict the future, and so no one knows where the bottom is. A dip could follow another dip, or a sudden recovery means you've lost out on gains. That's from a financial perspective, and certainly there will be other considerations such as whether the country will still be stable or socially habitable. But from a personal finance perspective, we must make choices in the here-and-now, not from speculation.

To that end, if your 401k asset allocation doesn't let you sleep well at night, then it's worth changing it up. But don't turn too many knobs at once, and carefully consider the long-term picture when doing so. Many a "black swan" event will occur between now and when you draw upon your 401k, so even short-term events can be weathered out.

As for the near term then, what should you do? Aim to be financially resilient: this doesn't mean you need to start eating ramen every day, but rather, make a plan for what would happen if any of these things happened: the car is totaled, the credit card debt gets called, a job loss, a family member is injured, an HOA assessment to fix the common roof, or the refrigerator or HVAC system breaks down.

To repeat, this does not mean going full-on off-grid prepper mode. But making a plan goes a long way. And if you're doing this, I'd suggest also making an emergency plan, kinda like an earthquake plan: where would you go if the house is gone, how would you communicate, and what resources can you depend on. Include friends, family, and allies in your planning, and exclude dependencies on any levels of government that may be unreliable.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

USB-C is kind of a mess in terms of having a unified or at least clear standard. Inb4 people unknowingly damage their bike battery by using the wrong cable.

USB in general is a mess, but it's the best mess we've got lol. That said, when I briefly perused the spec a while back, I understood that 100+ W operation requires active validation of the attached cables, to make sure they're built to a higher standard.

I'm hoping -- ignoring the issue of shoddy or counterfeit cables, which isn't a technical issue per se -- that this should be enough to prevent damage to end-devices. The newest USB PD spec simply hasn't been as widely deployed as earlier specs that were more than enough to charge a phone.

It will, however, be awesome when one day, an ebike can quickly top-up a friend's phone in the field. But I'm getting ahead of myself, dreaming of an all USB C world.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

300 kph is 186 mph, which is well beyond the posted speed limit of any jurisdiction I can think of. For reference, here in California, a conviction for driving over 160 kph (100 mph) is punishable as a felony, meaning at least one year in state prison. The highest speed limit in California is 113 kph (70 mph).

In metric units, a triple digit speed (eg 100 kph) is the domain of motorways (aka freeways or expressways). And even arrow-straight motorways have a maximum posted speed limit of some 140 kph. In Germany, the motorway can sometimes have no limit, but the recommended speed -- equivalent to the yellow speed signs in the USA -- for German autobahns is 130 kph, with some speedy cars occasionally doing 200 kph, I've heard.

For further reference, the fastest speed achieved during an F1 motor race is 372 kph. Also, Japanese bullet trains heading west from Tokyo on the Tokaido Shinkansen route run at 285 kph.

300 kph on a public road is grossly irresponsible, since even with no one around, the road is not designed for that speed. Compare race tracks with freeways, and it becomes clear that surface quality, drainage, sight lines, clear space, and other requirements for 200+ kph just aren't present on public roads, with the notable exception of very special public roads like the Nürburgring.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I'm not sure what this critique is. Is a 1 year warranty on defects not sufficient for an ebike? This isn't an automobile with thousands of moving parts, and that's a good thing. If more warranty is desired, aftermarket warranties are an option for purchase.

Be advised that credit card extended warranties often broadly exclude any motorized transport, intended to exclude motor vehicles but that language typically also excludes ebikes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

To make a bike highway proposal more palatable in all corners of the state, Liias and the Senate transportation budget writers included a 10% tax on new electric bike sales, which was stiffly opposed by bicycle advocacy groups.

Though Liias relented some and narrowed the tax to apply to only the fastest, least regulated ebikes, he said he was “comfortable” with the tax overall.

“It’s a fair arrangement. You chip in and you get a system you can use,” Liias said. “It’s not that we’re taxing ebikes and investing it in something else.”

There's so much to unpack here. What "corners" of the state were so anti-cycling yet pro-tax that they were persuaded into agreement by a 10% flat tax on ebikes specifically? And while I get that ebike salsa are making up a larger part of overall bike sales, what does this mean for acoustic bikes? And what should happen to tax revenues if the cost of ebikes plummets due to, say, very welcome competition in the entry-level space?

Second, this is a state senator speaking about how the "least regulated" ebikes would be taxed. Uh, you're in the legislature. If such ebikes aren't being sufficiently regulated, that's a job for the legislature to fix. It is a tacit admission that they're not looking at the whole picture, either to write and enforce clear laws on what ebikes are or aren't allowed, or to bring those ebikes into the scope of the laws, and put them on equal footing from the law's perspective. Don't do halfway measures.

Finally, why would only ebikes pay to use a network which ostensibly serves all micro mobility users, electric or otherwise? It would be bizarre for an ebike to pay in but not an EUC, an acoustic bike, or even a Lime scooter.

As the article says, many states do have a state bike system. Here in California, we have ours numbered in the same scheme as US Highways, but they're almost always just paint on the ground or numbers on a map. If Washington can realize a system of connected, non-road adjacent paths for cyclist to use to get to existing trails and nature destination, that would substantially move the needle.

I would however warn against leaning too heavy in terms like "bike superhighway" or "bike freeway", which London UK did early on, before they standardized on "cycleway". After all, most people wouldn't find bicycling on a freeway to be very comforting, but the idea of a dedicated path to build connectivity -- rather than just another recreational path -- is a sound idea.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Up until the astronaut part, I was fully convinced that this is a law school theoretical question for an inheritance class, because that's exactly where the vagaries of "is she my sister?" would also arise.

Then again, if we include time dilation due to near-lightspeed travel, we then have to deal with oddball inheritance cases like if your sister dies mid-travel but then you also die. The Uniform Simultaneous Death Act adopted by several US States would only apply if the difference in time-of-death is within 120 hours, but the Act is silent as to which reference plane will be used, especially if your sister is considered to be traveling "internationally" due to being in space, thus not being in the same US state or time zone as you might be in.

So maybe the entire question is a valid inheritance case study after all.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago (2 children)

FYI, some domains can genuinely be acquired for an indefinite period, as the delegation has no expiration period. So long as the domain is kept in good standing (eg two working authoritative nameservers) and doesn't violate the parent domains' policies, it will persist. Granted, few people go through this rather-old process to get such domains but they do exist. See my earlier comment.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean, this guide would be applicable for non-electric bikes as well. Although I would argue that the electric air pump is superfluous, insofar that (e)bike tires should not be going flat on a daily basis. That said, topping up the air is well-advised on a weekly or monthly schedule, depending on how often it's ridden. And with that sort of frequency, using a manual air pump to add 0.3 bar (~5 PSI) is hardly a strenuous task.

For in-the-field repairs, a compact manual pump is lighter, or even a CO2 cartridge inflator. But ahead of even those, many flats can be avoided through tire liners, which can deflect common perils like small nails. For an acoustic road bike, the rotating weight penalty can be substantial, but on an ebike, I think it's a great benefit overall.

 

You must have exactly two 5x7 glossy prints in your cart for the code to apply.

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm also old, but I understand people do watch portrait videos. Sometimes a lot of them, in a single sitting. There's a popular social media app which exclusively has short-form portrait videos.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago (10 children)

Some charging pads also prop up the phone at an angle, making it easy to read the screen while also not having to hold the phone up. Most phones have their charging port on the bottom, so a phone stand couldn't be used while charging with a cord.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This 100%. The other comments addressed the "should I withdraw?" aspect of OP's question, but this comment deals with "should I stop contributing?". The answer to the latter is: no.

The mantra in investing has always been "buy low, sell high". If the stock market is down, continuing your 401k contributions is doing the "buy low" part.

 

Use the code on the Walgreens app and the website to claim the same offer twice!

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

2
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

(fairly recent NewPipe user; ver 0.27.6)

Is there a way to hide particular live streams from showing up on the "What's New" tab? I found the option in Settings->Content->Fetch Channel Tabs which will prevent all live streams from showing in the tab. But I'm looking for an option to selective hide only certain live streams from the tab.

Some of my YouTube channels have 24/7 live streams (eg Arising Empire), which will always show at the top of the page. But I don't want to hide all live streams from all channels, since I do want to see if new live streams appear, usually ones that aren't 24/7.

Ideally, there'd be an option to long-press on a live stream in the tab, one which says "Hide From Feed", which would then prevent that particular stream ID from appearing in the feed for subsequent fetches.

From an implementation perspective, I imagine there would be some UI complexity in how to un-hide a stream, and to list out all hidden streams. If this isn't possible yet, I can try to draft a feature proposal later.

 

Use the code on the Walgreens app and the website to claim the same offer twice!

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

29
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

A while ago, I wrote this overview of California's Coast Rail Corridor project, which would run conventional trains between the existing, popular, state-subsidized commuter rail systems in Northern and Southern California. This is nowhere near as sexy as high-speed rail, but imagine a single seat that rolls through the rice paddies outside Sacramento, past the oil refineries of Richmond in the Bay Area, down through Oakland adjacent the Coliseum, bisecting Silicon Valley, then hugging the coast of Central California towards the beaches of Santa Barbara entering Los Angeles County and then further to San Diego.

Then make it affordable and timely, and all of a sudden there's a way to spend time watching the scenery slowly, while also being practical. Trains are much less of a slog than sitting on a bus. High speed rail is important and laudable, but this humble, rather dull project will likely carry passengers between north and south a decade or more before high speed rail does, which is why the state is pursuing it in parallel.

I hope this type of content is an alright fit for this community.

 

You must have exactly two 5x7 glossy prints in your cart for the code to apply.

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

 

In the thumbnail is my freehub after running a new set of wheels for 1700 km. From how I understand the "anti-bite" feature, it should prevent the cassette from gouging further into the soft metal of the splines, by taking up those forces on the strip of steel on one of the splines. And that seems like a reasonable idea, since further gouging beyond a cosmetic issue would prevent removal of the cassette.

My question is whether the higher torque caused by a mid-drive torque might one day overwhelm the steel strip, resulting in a locked cassette to the freehub. So far, I don't see any evidence of the strip giving way, and I'm normally under the assumption that the allowable torques of standard bicycles -- although tested by ebikes -- should still tolerate this sort of application.

Does anyone know of scenarios where the anti-bite strip fails in-situ? Note that this isn't a particularly pricey freehub, and I mostly built up this wheel as a long-term test to see how long it would last. For when it does fail, I plan to rebuild with a DT Swiss hub, finances allowing.

 

Use the code on the Walgreens app and the website to claim the same offer twice!

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

 

(Does this community allow posts about product restorations? I didn't forge these skillets, but I did make them usable and appealing again.)

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/30170080

(long time lurker, first time poster)

A few months ago, a friend convinced me on the benefits of cast iron skillets. Having only used Teflon-coated non-stick pans, I figured it would be worth a try, if I could find one at the thrift store. Sure, I could have just bought a new Lodge skillet, but that's too easy lol.

So a few weeks pass and I eventually find these two specimens at my local thrift store, for $5 and $8 respectively. It's not entirely clear to me why the smaller skillet cost more, but it was below $10 so I didn't complain too loudly. My cursory web searches at the store suggested that old Wagner skillets are of reasonable quality, so I took the plunge. My assumption is that the unmarked, smaller skillet is also a Wagner product.

10-inch skillet ($5) 9-inch skillet ($8)
a crusty 10-inch cast iron skillet with "Wagner" vaguely visible in the inscription
a crusty 9-inch cast iron skillet; no brand name

It's very clear that both these skillets are very crusty. Initially, I tried to remove the buildup using a brass wire brush. This was only somewhat successful, so I switched to a stainless steel wire brush. That also didn't do much, except reveal some of the inscription on the bottom.

the 10-inch skillet after stripping with a wire brush, with "Wagner Ware Sidney" and "1058 1" visible in the inscription

Some research suggested I could either do an electrolysis tank, a lye bath, or try lye-based oven cleaner. For want of not over-complicating my first restoration attempt, I went with the oven cleaner method, using the instructions from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pvf0m9jTeE

For both skillets, I had to apply the oven cleaner six times to finally shift all the crud, each time leaving the skillets in the garbage bag for a full day-and-a-half in the sun. In between applications, I would brush off more buildup, with the handle root and the skillet walls being the most stubborn areas. The whole process smelled terrible and hunching over the garage utility sink to brush pans is not my idea of a pleasant time.

Nevertheless, having stripped both pans, I proceeded with six rounds of seasoning with very old corn oil -- it's what was handy -- at 450 F (~230 C) using my toaster oven. This happened over six days, since I wanted to use my excess daytime solar power for this endeavor. I wiped on the oil using a single blue shop towel, to avoid the issues of lint or fraying with paper towel.

I don't have a post-seasoning photo for the larger skillet, but here's how the 9-inch skillet turned out. I think I did a decent job for a first attempt. And I'm thrilled that these are as non-stick as promised, with only minimal upkeep required after each use.

9-inch skillet, top side, with "7" inscribed on the handle

9-inch skillet, bottom side, reading "9 3/4 inch skillet"

2
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

Following up from my earlier query, my Tucktec 2025 Pro folding kayak arrived at the tail end of October, which is just about within the window when I expected it. When placing the pre-order in late July ($273 shipped), they said it would not ship for at least 60 days, so 90-ish days later was indeed correct on their part. The currently listed price (December 2024) appears to be at least $430 after shipping.

It arrived in a single large cardboard carton, easily brought indoors. Inside, I found the bright-yellow kayak already folded up. Opening it out, the various parts were: the kayak itself, the brief instruction manual, the seat, the seat's support struts, the skeg, and the Velcro belt used to hold the kayak in its folded state.

When I say the instruction manual is brief, I mean that it basically said to go to the website and watch the assembly and folding video. No actual procedure is given in the printed manual, which is a minor annoyance. It should also be noted -- and I knew this when ordering, but it's worth mentioning for other folks -- that this kayak does not come with a paddle. So this is definitely not any sort of turnkey kayaking product, and it never claimed to be.

The seat itself is made from foam with similar consistency to packaging material -- not a bad thing -- and backed by the same plastic sheet as the main kayak body. The support struts are actual Schedule plastic piping, the same sort used for plumbing. When assembling, the seat is very easy to attach/detach, although I do find attaching the struts to the kayak to be rather cumbersome. Essentially, you have to bend away a plastic hole to let the strut slide in. The exact procedure in the video seems to be the only way to make this work.

As for building up the kayak body, the metal latches (aluminum?) on this model make this a breeze. That said, of the four latches surrounding the cockpit, the two forward latches seem to be inopportunely placed where they might interfere with the paddle stroke. But maybe that's a matter of paddle technique.

Lastly, the skeg has a fairly simple design, such that it slots into one of the existing folds when building up the kayak body, and will pivot up if it hits an underwater obstruction. There is no user-operated retraction feature. The video says that only the Pro model has the skeg, suggesting the skeg is optional. But having taken this kayak out onto the local reservoir without the skeg, I had a difficult time keeping it tracking straight. I suspect the skeg may be functionally required for reasonable performance.

I will note that I have no kayaking experience to reference, apart from briefly paddling around in other people's kayaks during camping trips on calm water. However, I did review REI's comprehensive articles and did invest in a PFD before going out. My choice of paddle was partially based on it splitting in two and sliding within the folded kayak bundle, and that worked as expected.

As for transporting the kayak in its folded state, I believe the hype is warranted, as it will fit into the width of a typical car trunk, or will fit with just one seat folded down. Carrying it from a parking area to the beach is also fairly easy with the shoulder strap, provided that one hand is available to stabilize it in the wind. A nice quirk is that the final fold of the kayak forms a nice "base" so that when setting the bundle down on pavement, it will remain standing and not just fall over. This could be useful for longer jaunts to the water's edge.

Lastly, unfolding the kayak at home makes it trivial to hose down, as part of post-paddling clean up. It also seems to dry faster this way.

Overall, as a novice kayaker, I think this is a reasonable product, although their website certainly doesn't sell it as well as a comparable Oru folding kayak. Later, I will pursue taking this kayak with me by bus and by bicycle (with a custom mount to stand it up). I think it fits the bill for someone wishing to paddle recreationally but without committing to storing/moving a hardshell kayak, or wishes to start with minimal investment.

28
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

(long time lurker, first time poster)

A few months ago, a friend convinced me on the benefits of cast iron skillets. Having only used Teflon-coated non-stick pans, I figured it would be worth a try, if I could find one at the thrift store. Sure, I could have just bought a new Lodge skillet, but that's too easy lol.

So a few weeks pass and I eventually find these two specimens at my local thrift store, for $5 and $8 respectively. It's not entirely clear to me why the smaller skillet cost more, but it was below $10 so I didn't complain too loudly. My cursory web searches at the store suggested that old Wagner skillets are of reasonable quality, so I took the plunge. My assumption is that the unmarked, smaller skillet is also a Wagner product.

10-inch skillet ($5) 9-inch skillet ($8)
a crusty 10-inch cast iron skillet with "Wagner" vaguely visible in the inscription
a crusty 9-inch cast iron skillet; no brand name

It's very clear that both these skillets are very crusty. Initially, I tried to remove the buildup using a brass wire brush. This was only somewhat successful, so I switched to a stainless steel wire brush. That also didn't do much, except reveal some of the inscription on the bottom.

the 10-inch skillet after stripping with a wire brush, with "Wagner Ware Sidney" and "1058 1" visible in the inscription

Some research suggested I could either do an electrolysis tank, a lye bath, or try lye-based oven cleaner. For want of not over-complicating my first restoration attempt, I went with the oven cleaner method, using the instructions from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pvf0m9jTeE

For both skillets, I had to apply the oven cleaner six times to finally shift all the crud, each time leaving the skillets in the garbage bag for a full day-and-a-half in the sun. In between applications, I would brush off more buildup, with the handle root and the skillet walls being the most stubborn areas. The whole process smelled terrible and hunching over the garage utility sink to brush pans is not my idea of a pleasant time.

Nevertheless, having stripped both pans, I proceeded with six rounds of seasoning with very old corn oil -- it's what was handy -- at 450 F (~230 C) using my toaster oven. This happened over six days, since I wanted to use my excess daytime solar power for this endeavor. I wiped on the oil using a single blue shop towel, to avoid the issues of lint or fraying with paper towel.

I don't have a post-seasoning photo for the larger skillet, but here's how the 9-inch skillet turned out. I think I did a decent job for a first attempt. And I'm thrilled that these are as non-stick as promised, with only minimal upkeep required after each use.

9-inch skillet, top side, with "7" inscribed on the handle

9-inch skillet, bottom side, reading "9 3/4 inch skillet"

 

Use the code on the Walgreens app and the website to claim the same offer twice!

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

view more: next ›