blitz's recent activity
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Comment on Review: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the best Star Wars game since Knights of the Old Republic in ~games
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Comment on My first electric road trip into rural Colorado in ~talk
blitz (edited )Link ParentYeah, I forgot to mention that I was also pretty apprehensive driving around a rural town in a shiny Tesla. I've seen videos of people vandalizing parked Teslas in the midwest, so that was a worry...Yeah, I forgot to mention that I was also pretty apprehensive driving around a rural town in a shiny Tesla. I've seen videos of people vandalizing parked Teslas in the midwest, so that was a worry of mine as well. Tesla has Sentry mode to at least record if people are hanging around your car, but that drains battery so I chose not to use it.
How far is your commute? Are you not able to charge at home enough for the trip to work and back? Having to rely on public charging every day seems like a real hassle. My absolute favorite thing about driving an EV and charging at home is that I don't have to deal with fueling my car at a gas station anymore, and in fact on the vast majority of days, I don't have to worry about range or charging at all.
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Comment on My first electric road trip into rural Colorado in ~talk
blitz (edited )Link ParentThey also seem to have much higher individual reliability as well! Whatever their internal design is, they seem to break down much less frequently than other charging providers. And they also get...The nicest thing about Tesla Supercharger stations is not the chargers themselves, but the simple fact that they tend to have a lot of them in one spot, so you don't have to worry nearly as much about outages or excessive demand.
They also seem to have much higher individual reliability as well! Whatever their internal design is, they seem to break down much less frequently than other charging providers. And they also get repaired much faster as well! I can't wait for more of the network to open up to other users. More charging availability in general is better for the EV community!
I considered renting an ICE car for the trip, but I decided that I wanted the challenge. The main driving force was that there were two towns with separate fast chargers nearby, so if any were broken I would have ample backups. There are also a fair number of 6 kW slow chargers in the area, that could get us limping back to the Tesla supercharger if we needed it. I judged that at best, having an EV for the trip would be a minor inconvenience, and at worst a major inconvenience, but we wouldn't get stuck somewhere and need a tow.
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My first electric road trip into rural Colorado
Last weekend, my girlfriend and I drove down to attend the Monte Vista Sandhill Crane Festival. It's a roughly 4 hour/200 mile drive from Denver down to Monte Vista, with lots of variation in...
Last weekend, my girlfriend and I drove down to attend the Monte Vista Sandhill Crane Festival. It's a roughly 4 hour/200 mile drive from Denver down to Monte Vista, with lots of variation in elevation. I got a Tesla Model Y last June, and since then haven't really had the chance to go out into the remote mountains of Colorado with it.
This weekend would be my first such excursion. Getting down to Monte Vista is absolutely no problem. At about the halfway point in the trip, there's a Tesla Supercharger. That, combined with the range of the car meant that conserving battery was no problem at all.
I was worried, however, about how the car would fare down in Monte Vista for the three days we would be there for the festival. There are no charging stations of any kind in downtown Monte Vista itself (though there are a couple of slow chargers on the outskirts of town, slow chargers with nothing around them are kind of useless). However, there were fast chargers in the towns nearby! One in Del Norte, and another couple in Alamosa, both a 20 minute drive out of Monte Vista. My plan was to charge up at those every evening while we were down there.
On the trip there, we left Denver at 100% SoC, and the battery and cabin preheated for 30 minutes beforehand. We arrived at the Poncha Springs supercharger with about 17% SoC, plugged in and charged to 90%, which took about 40 minutes. The reason for charging this high was because I wasn't sure what state the non-Tesla fast chargers would be at when we got down to our destination area. My plan was to head from Poncha Springs toward the Del Norte fast charger; arrive at 60% and charge back up to 90% before driving around to look for the cranes.
We arrived in Del Norte at 60% SoC as expected, but we found the one fast charger already occupied when we got there. Thankfully, we waited less than 5 minutes for the owners to get back finish charging, after which I was able to plug in and start charging.
This charger was advertised as a 62 kW charger, but for the hour we spent charging there, the charge rate never went above 30. I'm sure part of this was that I was charging from 60-90%, and part of it was that it was cold out, and the Tesla lacks the ability to precondition the battery en route to non-Tesla fast chargers. We ended up charging there for about an hour to get the same charge that the supercharger gave us in 15-ish minutes.
Luckily, there was a brewery/pizzeria and a neat antique shop just a block away.
At some point in the trip, I became aware through Plugshare that the fast chargers down in Alamosa were being taken down that weekend for upgrades. They were installing more stalls, and I guess that necessitated taking the existing ones offline. Now instead of 3-4 fast charging options in this area, I was down to just one. I was certain that because those chargers were down in Alamosa, many more people would come up to use the single charger in Del Norte. Further, I knew that lots of people came down for the crane festival, and so I was worried that there would be an increase in the number of EVs competing for this one charger.
When we got to our hotel in Monte Vista, I noticed there were outlets near the parking lot. I asked the front desk for permission to charge my car in the lot overnight, but was denied because "it would cost them too much money". I thought about offering to pay for the privilege, but the person at the desk didn't really seem interested in pursuing that line of conversation further.
Overnight, the battery stayed charged at pretty much the same level, only losing 1% indicated charge. We got up at 5 AM in order to see the cranes take off from their roosting location in the wetlands, and go out into the fields to loaf (this is the technical term :D). We spent the rest of the day driving around the back roads and farm roads, watching the cranes in the fields.
The whole day I was checking the charge point app to see if the one fast charger available to us was in use, in order to judge how busy it was, and to plan when we might go charge there. Surprisingly, not once did I see it in use!
Since we had had a great day watching cranes, we decided to leave a day early. We had enough charge to get to the Poncha Springs supercharger, and from there back home with no issues.
I thought I would conclude with a few bullet point takeaways from this trip:
- Range anxiety is real. I spent a lot more time thinking about where to charge and if I could charge enough on this trip
- Being away from the Tesla Supercharger network sucks. A whole set of fast chargers I was relying on was taken down exactly when I needed them. They're slower, you have to worry about them not functioning much more.
- Tesla is opening a supercharger site in Alamosa! They filed for the permit just this week. This will basically erase the anxiety I had last weekend on future trips
- Total energy costs for this 500 mile trip were about $35. That feels pretty cheap to me!
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Comment on Betty Who - The Hard Way (2022) in ~music
blitz LinkThis is great! Thanks for introducing me to a new artist!This is great! Thanks for introducing me to a new artist!
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Comment on I'm buying my first ever new car tomorrow in ~life
blitz Link ParentHave you had great experiences with them? How often have you needed a tow truck? I've read conflicting reports of some people waiting hours for a tow when they rely on AAA, and some getting very...Have you had great experiences with them? How often have you needed a tow truck? I've read conflicting reports of some people waiting hours for a tow when they rely on AAA, and some getting very good results.
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Comment on I'm buying my first ever new car tomorrow in ~life
blitz Link ParentYou've got it correct! But I still like to keep the mobile charger in the car so that if I end up somewhere not near a charging station and low on power, I can find an outlet in a garage or...You've got it correct! But I still like to keep the mobile charger in the car so that if I end up somewhere not near a charging station and low on power, I can find an outlet in a garage or something to charge up a bit (this will take forever as Akir said, but it's better than being stuck completely somewhere).
The charging infrastructure is growing so rapidly however that this habit may be getting outdated.
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Comment on I'm buying my first ever new car tomorrow in ~life
blitz Link ParentOh yeah, most EVs come with a "mobile charger", but I found that I wasn't comfortable leaving my home without that charger in the car, for emergencies. So I found myself plugging and unplugging...Oh yeah, most EVs come with a "mobile charger", but I found that I wasn't comfortable leaving my home without that charger in the car, for emergencies. So I found myself plugging and unplugging that charger a lot (I read that's not great for these things, it puts a lot of wear on the contacts), and packing and unpacking it from my car. This wasn't the hassle-free charging experience I was promised, so I bought a second wall-mountable charger for my garage, and keep the mobile charger packed away in the car at all times.
If you're happy with the included charger that's great! But you may find yourself annoyed with having just the one charger sooner rather than later.
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Comment on I'm buying my first ever new car tomorrow in ~life
blitz Link ParentCongratulations on your new car! I bought a Tesla Model Y last year in June after renting one for a road trip. Driving electric cars is such a new world! I second that 1 pedal driving is awesome...Congratulations on your new car! I bought a Tesla Model Y last year in June after renting one for a road trip. Driving electric cars is such a new world!
I second that 1 pedal driving is awesome once you've gotten used to it; definitely make an effort there.
How's your home charging situation? One of the best parts of EV life is always starting the day with a "full" battery (my battery chemistry dictates that I keep it charged only to 80-90% most of the time).
If you're still looking for an EVSE, I can heartily recommend the Grizzl-E Classic. It's wired for 50 amps from the factory, but you can open it up and swap out the cable and dip switches to have it limit the current to whatever your location can safely supply. I'm renting at the moment, and to put a 20-amp outlet in my garage cost me $300, but to put a 50 amp outlet would have cost $2000+, so I changed out the plug for a 6-20R and limited the current to 16A. They're very flexible and very sturdily built!
I don't recommend buying random amazon EVSEs because they seem to have a habit of failing in "exciting" ways.
My state also gave me a tax credit for part of the cost of the EVSE and installing it. Be sure to check your local tax code for such things!
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Comment on Anker finally comes clean about its Eufy security cameras in ~tech
blitz LinkThe answers Villines gives here are trying very hard to make the us feel better about this whole incident but I think they actually make me feel worse. To me this is one of the worst bits, the...The answers Villines gives here are trying very hard to make the us feel better about this whole incident but I think they actually make me feel worse.
Since the very beginning, eufy Security was designed to allow users to stream live and recorded footage from their devices to their eufy Security mobile app. These streams have always used end-to-end encryption. And that encryption has always been done locally either directly on the camera or on a eufy HomeBase device.
The eufy Web portal was created for users to manage their account details and add optional services such as service plans and cloud storage. After receiving requests from some users, the product team decided to add a live view function to the Web portal so users could extend their security monitoring to their desktops. The Web portal was designed to require the user to login, but it was not designed using end-to-end encryption.
To me this is one of the worst bits, the product team added a new feature to the application with apparently no regard to the security of the product. A company whose engineering culture works like this is not a company I want to be writing software for cameras in my home, even if they've fixed the specific problems found by third parties.
I've been working for a company that handles very sensitive user data for about seven months, and the commitment to security that I see from every single employee still surprises and impresses me; it's in the culture of the company. That seems to be missing from eufy.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
blitz LinkI find that Qobuz surfaces a lot of new releases that I really like. Recently, I found this pretty cool Classical Cello + African music crossover artist: Where is Home by Abel SelaocoeI find that Qobuz surfaces a lot of new releases that I really like. Recently, I found this pretty cool Classical Cello + African music crossover artist: Where is Home by Abel Selaocoe
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Comment on Advent of Code 2022 is live in ~comp.advent_of_code
blitz LinkI've been doing Advent of Code in Rust for a while now, and in June I had an interview with a company for a Rust developer position, and I was able to pass the technical interview in large part...I've been doing Advent of Code in Rust for a while now, and in June I had an interview with a company for a Rust developer position, and I was able to pass the technical interview in large part because of my experience with programming Rust for Advent of Code!
Thanks for my job Advent of Code!
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Comment on Solar Protocol in ~enviro
blitz LinkLow Tech Magazine has a solar powered server that sometimes goes offline if there hasn't been enough sun yet. This clearly takes it a step further and gives more redundancy. From an energy usage...Low Tech Magazine has a solar powered server that sometimes goes offline if there hasn't been enough sun yet. This clearly takes it a step further and gives more redundancy. From an energy usage standpoint though, I wonder how much more energy transmitting a page across the world takes than a local CDN; each router uses some energy to direct the packets, how much energy do they use as compared to the amount needed to generate and send the packets in the first place?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
blitz Link ParentYeah, I've tried to play Divinity 2 so many times and so frequently get stuck in the swamp just outside of Fort Joy. The fact that enemies don't respawn means I can't farm XP until I can get past...Yeah, I've tried to play Divinity 2 so many times and so frequently get stuck in the swamp just outside of Fort Joy. The fact that enemies don't respawn means I can't farm XP until I can get past a boss or some big fight but have to find the other avenues to gain XP, which is not my playstyle and becomes very frustrating for me! But the characters and setting seem so cool!
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Comment on What is the Cyrillic alphabet? in ~humanities
blitz Link ParentThat's funny, my dad immigrated to the US from Moscow in his 30s, and during the rest of his life he never learned to pronounce the English "th" sound, instead approximating it with "Z", ("zere").For example the English “th” (as in “there”) to me is closer to the French “V” (Victor) than to “Z” (Zero).
That's funny, my dad immigrated to the US from Moscow in his 30s, and during the rest of his life he never learned to pronounce the English "th" sound, instead approximating it with "Z", ("zere").
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Comment on What is the Cyrillic alphabet? in ~humanities
blitz Link ParentDo you know why the opposite holds as well? A lot of English words/names use Г in Russian where we would use H in English. Harry Potter -> Гарри Поттер Hamburger -> Гамбургер Robin Hood -> Робин...Do you know why the opposite holds as well? A lot of English words/names use Г in Russian where we would use H in English.
Harry Potter -> Гарри Поттер
Hamburger -> Гамбургер
Robin Hood -> Робин ГудIt really confuses me when Russian has Х which seems much closer in sound
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Comment on I've been on the hair loss drug Dutasteride for two years now. AMA. in ~talk
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Comment on I've been on the hair loss drug Dutasteride for two years now. AMA. in ~talk
blitz Link ParentI feel like this is pretty common knowledge by now but it's a cool fact: Male-pattern baldness is coded for on the X chromosome, which as a man you only get one copy of and it's from your mother...My father is in his 50s and he has zero signs of hair loss.
I feel like this is pretty common knowledge by now but it's a cool fact: Male-pattern baldness is coded for on the X chromosome, which as a man you only get one copy of and it's from your mother (you get your father's Y chromosome), who got one of her two copies from your grandfather. It's therefore your mothers father you have to look to if you're worried about going bald; there is no connection between a man's father's baldness and his baldness.
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Comment on When should you really use a NoSQL database? in ~comp
blitz Link ParentI don't know about that. Postgres has a pretty good built-in full-text search! You can create functional indexes over multiple columns in a table in order to make Postgres FTS pretty damn fast....If full text search is your goal, it's hard to even compare the abilities of ES vs Postgres.
I don't know about that. Postgres has a pretty good built-in full-text search! You can create functional indexes over multiple columns in a table in order to make Postgres FTS pretty damn fast. You can weight different columns differently in the search results. Postgres can also weight searches based on the proximity of the search terms in the text.
It is limited in that you can only index the search across one table, so if you need to join tables in your search, ES is probably better, but it comes with its own downsides: now you have to manage essentially two databases and two services.
I've found Postgres full-text search to be brilliant in all the applications I've needed to implement full text search so far.
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Comment on Megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - March 11-13 in ~news
blitz LinkDoes anyone know of ways it’s still possible to send money to people in Russia? My grandma is 86 and lives in Moscow, I’d like to make sure she can still afford to buy groceries, and my Russian...Does anyone know of ways it’s still possible to send money to people in Russia? My grandma is 86 and lives in Moscow, I’d like to make sure she can still afford to buy groceries, and my Russian language teacher can no longer receive payments through the platform we use.
I tried to play the original Jedi Survivor game on top-end hardware and ended up returning it through Steam because no matter what I did, I would consistently get framerate stutters. I heard they never fixed this problem. I would not expect the PC port of the second game to be much better.