Quantcast

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Colorado to become a CARB state in 2023: https://www.autoblog.com/2019/07/30/colorado-adopts-california-zero-emission-2023/

The state, which plans to join the California program starting in the 2023 model year, has agreed to allow automakers to earn credits for selling electric vehicles in the two model years prior and use other transitional credits available in other states.
I wonder what this may portend for the CO alt fuel tax credit program. As I've posted about multiple times before, in its current iteration for BEVs and PHEVs it's at $5k through the end of this year, $4k through calendar 2020, $2.5k in 2021, then vanishes.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark

Dockless electric scooter life cycle emissions estimated at 200 g CO2/mile. That’s not very good. The electricity to power them is only 5% of their overall impact (manufacturing, transportation from China, disposal, and the fleet of “juicers” who charge them and thus drive around the city in gas vehicles).
Around here people should just ride a bike.

Btw this is what you need to do and get extra power to mine crypto currencies and you don't even have to work

 
Last edited:

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Around here people should just ride a bike.
Flat country with great cycling infrastructure? Most definitely yes, +/- some e-assist to get adoption rates and trip lengths higher yet. Justin Le of ebikes.ca did a brief paper years ago in which he concluded that a li-ion batteried e-bike was more efficient in terms of CO2 than just a human pedaling a regular bike along.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
Flat country with great cycling infrastructure? Most definitely yes, +/- some e-assist to get adoption rates and trip lengths higher yet. Justin Le of ebikes.ca did a brief paper years ago in which he concluded that a li-ion batteried e-bike was more efficient in terms of CO2 than just a human pedaling a regular bike along.
Sounds about right and I think that is happening a lot at the moment. More and more cargo bikes and then I see a non scientific study tells me a lot of older ladies has discovered ebikes around here making it a good alternative for transportation beyond picking up milk.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Bike related content!

My Kryptonite New York Legend 1515 chain/lock combo was ingloriously cut off of the bike rack at work back in March or so. (They didn't inform us that this was happening! They used an angle grinder to cut off every last lock.)

So I needed a replacement, and this time not one that could double as a motorcycle lock as well. I went with this:



That'd be a Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 1016 Integrated Chain Bicycle Lock. It is much easier to work with at 10 lbs versus 15, and the ergonomics of the lock are much better.

With the New York Legend chain one would thread it through the spokes with great difficulty, then put one link of the chain through the other, then put on a shackle, slide on the lock, then lock it. With this integrated one one threads the chain (which is easier at 10 mm versus 15 mm links), sticks the last link directly into the lock, then turns the key. Much better.

IIRC the Lock Picking Lawyer was able to pick this lock's mechanism, but he still approved of its design.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Latest purchase, a 1995-vintage piano from Piano Dude:

Item:
Yamaha U1 Piano Serial # - 6329232

Total:
$4274 ($4000 for the piano plus $274 in sales tax)

Includes:
Delivery – (8-11-19 at 10am)
Bench
One in-home tuning
100% trade-in value
 
Last edited:

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
So today was my day to see the bariatric surgeon.

Cliffs Notes are that he doesn’t think it’s insane to be considering gastric bypass, and that I’m going to march along and jump through the hoops that insurance says I must jump through.

More specifics:

- I measured at a fraction under 40.0 BMI at check in today but given that I have documented (albeit mild) OSA and HLD that doesn’t matter
- he only wants me to lose 5 lbs preop
- must find out how many MD/NP visits my insurance requires before authorization, visits at which diet and weight change are discussed. Choices generally are 0, 3, 6 dependent on plan.
- have to attend a 3 hour nutrition course they put on, which is annoyingly held once per month but also booked out until October
- have to be assessed by a clinical psychologist to make sure I’m sane
- operation of choice is robotic/laparoscopic gastric bypass, especially since I have lax joints and thus might be at a higher risk for leak along a long staple line for a sleeve, not to mention that such a sleeve might dilate due to said laxity itself
- 2-3 night inpatient stay post-op, going home on full liquids only
- first 6 mo after operation then on a ketogenic diet. Before and after this basically eating like one is diabetic, which is what people should do anyway, IMO.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Just booked a seat to see Endgame on Thursday. 4th time.

It’s still listed at AMC the following week but with very limited showtimes, so this is effectively my last chance to see it on a big screen.

(Plus with my AMC movie subscription the marginal cost to me is electricity to drive 14 miles each way, which is approximately 85 cents for the round trip.)
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552


I have been getting W011 errors with Shimano STEPS since the switch to 29” rims, likely due to spoke angle. That error is for wheel speed sensor not detected.

I put some superglue down the spoke-hole of the magnet, which worked a bit, but I also ordered a 100 pack of tiny rare earth magnets. I popped two onto the existing magnet (didn’t even glue them) and they both stayed in place throughout the ride. No W011 errors today.

:banana:

So if anyone needs some tiny magnets and is local I’m your source. They were absurdly cheap, 9 cents per magnet shipped.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552

Look what you've done, @6thElement , by not choosing the Cummins and DEF and particulate filters and downstream maintenance nightmares!
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063

Look what you've done, @6thElement , by not choosing the Cummins and DEF and particulate filters and downstream maintenance nightmares!
One of the things which turned me off a Sprinter too.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
One of the things which turned me off a Sprinter too.
New ones have a gas option, at least. From their configurator seems one can't pick the long wheelbase extended version, or 4x4 and pair those with the gasser. The cab chassis also is diesel only.

Ok, so not really an option across the board. Hmph.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
4k for a U1, not bad obama.
4k shipped and tuned, no less, with credit for the full value if I step up later. The closest local alternative was a 1975ish U1 for $2,750, but not shipped and without the free tune.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552






4 miles with my 4 and 6 year olds to get the latter to her camp. They did great. The 4 year old finally is reliably braking and following directions, key since the path is crossed by multiple streets, driveways, and a freeway offramp (at the end of the ramp, at least).

They pushed a tiny bit on one gravel hill but otherwise rode the whole thing without much complaining at all besides “my fingers are getting numb”.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552


5 valves per cylinder. 9,000 rpm redline. And look at that headroom! Of course, it is still a kei car so about the size of a large boot overall.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552

The max grade that my Land Cruiser may be able to do now seems so... inadequate.

:D

The top two comments are pretty amusing:

B758E547-38EC-4C77-8F88-F590251F6906.jpeg
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
If the kids get into it then yes, we’ll rearrange that room and put in a grand. (Thus the trade-in policy.)

But if this doesn’t last then we can get out of it for close to even.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,379
12,533
In a van.... down by the river
If the kids get into it then yes, we’ll rearrange that room and put in a grand. (Thus the trade-in policy.)

But if this doesn’t last then we can get out of it for close to even.
Yeah - I suspect we'll get out around even when we dump the baby grand. Still have one kid that hasn't lost interest (that will still be living with us) in playing... so it'll be around for a bit longer.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Oh, that’s your piano in that weird non-black color. Who convinced you to go with that? :D



In other news, got an echo done today and my heart (and ascending aorta) look just fine. 121/80 blood pressure, too, which is not bad at all given that technically it’s supposed to be measured after 5 minutes of sitting in a dark room doing nothing, not immediately after hopping up onto an exam table.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552


Mariko had quite intense abdominal pain this afternoon. She didn’t localize her pain for me but localized it to the right lower quadrant for the pediatrician at Children’s. Ultrasound of the appendix was normal. Home now—presumed constipation.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
I bet this quick ER visit will end up costing $2,000. I’m ok with that as we will hit the out of pocket max this year anyway, certainly if I get cut.

Also better to have gone to the Children’s ED than the pediatrician’s office or a freestanding urgent care—one way or another she was getting an appendix ultrasound tonight and better at 6 by competent techs than by one of dubious skill at a freestanding all-ages urgent care.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
One of the things which turned me off a Sprinter too.
If @johnbryanpeters went 4x4 as I theorized in the gmt then he’s in for such shenanigans in the future.

Related: I wonder if this is the part in question that prompted @eric strt6 to dump money in his rig:

 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552


Ridiculousness spotted today. The Infiniti, not the bro-250, although that is pretty stupid as well.

A close second would go to the 4Runner driver seen on I-70 later today with every last item from the ARB catalog installed on his rig. RTT, jerry can holder and full bumpers, spare apparently held on the back with tie downs for quick mid-race access (?), snorkel.

The absurdity of it is that one must go far out of one’s way to create situations in which one’s rig is needed in any sense. Do they really risk getting their late model 4Runner’s interior filled with mud with super high river crossings?
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
Speaking of ridiculous things, my vanity-inspired choice of 33” BFG AT KO2s for the Land Cruiser is up there.

They do look awesome and have handled everything (mild) I’ve subjected them to, but on my stock-geared, slow to begin with, 5600 lb vehicle at altitude they were likely not the prudent choice.

At some point I’ll return to stock 31.0” diameter meats, perhaps even going a touch smaller than stock. (Would that mean my penis would get longer if I went smaller? Hmm)
 

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,188
13,447
directly above the center of the earth
If @johnbryanpeters went 4x4 as I theorized in the gmt then he’s in for such shenanigans in the future.

Related: I wonder if this is the part in question that prompted @eric strt6 to dump money in his rig:

Yes it is the same pump in Ford GM and Dodge
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru

Sounds as good of an ownership experience as my old Wankel RX-8 was.
What the guy says is true, in every detail, except for the "contaminated fuel" part being a "defect". Having also worked at technical/management levels for MB, I´ve also seen the same issues with bluetec and the OM651/OM642 engines.

You need those insane 400Mpa injectors/fuel systems to reach the atomization/multi pulse injection needed for Euro6. At those pressures, any hard contaminant will bore-out the injector nozzles and destroy them. Thats just the way it is, cant engineer around that. European diesel solutions for storage/distribution account for this.

Otherwise, I´m actually surprised to read somebody spilling the beans with that level of details outside factory bulletins. Thats not shop-level access to information.


Wrong oil is the biggest problem. You absolutely require CK4 or any bevo 229.51.
This is true for most european low-emission low-displacement diesels. They are all heavily dependant on specific lubricants , its a fact of life after Euro6.

Solution? Use the exact oil MB requires. Change it at 10,000km at most (we recommended 7,500km/5000 miles in Peru), or send the oil for analysis if you are feeling fancy; and absolutely nothing will happen.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552






Took the 4 year old up Green Mountain on the Mac Ride. Rooney Valley Trail is perfect… for riding with a 4 year old.

:D
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,032
7,552
I'm starting to second guess this bariatric surgery plan of mine.


Go to 1:00:55 in if the embed starts you at the beginning. Watch for about 3 minutes or so until about 1:03:27.

<checks watch, waits for you all to watch it>

It is an interview with a medical doctor from Toronto, whose research is focused on the hormonal underpinnings to weight gain and loss. His framework really speaks to me, because the issue clearly isn't of physics, of calories in and calories out as that explanation totally ignores the body's own self-regulation system. (The first hour of this video has much on that, as well as some ad shilling by the presenter dude for crap like tape to put on one's mouth while sleeping--wtf?)

Anyway, if you didn't watch that short clip the gist of it is that he explains the mechanism behind the quick and drastic changes in insulin resistance with gastric bypass by saying it kicks one into a months-long essentially fasting state. On an intellectual level this is compelling--I've posted links to papers above where authors note that this effect kicks in on the order of days from surgery, and that it may involve this or that pathway, but I haven't seen a coherent explanation for why it happens.

If I can get this effect through intermittent fasting as he proposes (and does a good job of explaning, imo) then I will hold off on more drastic, irreversible measures. Iteration 1 in this experiment of mine is of fasting from 6 PM until 12 noon the following day, combined with a reasonably low carb diet a la The Perfect Health Diet.

Stay tuned.
 
Last edited: