Well now I’ve seen everything

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1636170/Bike_Mechanic_Simulator_2023/

^ This is the problem with the metaverse. Just fix things in the real world instead of overheating GPUs. FFS! (:^B

Jules said:

Well now I’ve seen everything

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1636170/Bike_Mechanic_Simulator_2023/

Somebody doesn't understand the real world, either.

The chain tool was turning counter-clockwise to push out the link pin, then an allen key was turning clockwise to back out the front derailleur clamp bolt.  

#metaverseproblems.

I'm impressed you spent the time to notice!

Home printer question.

My old printer is dying.  It's an HP multi-function job.  Spent about $100.  Looking to get a new one.  Would like to keep it under $150.  

I find the price of the printer seems to pale over the long term compared to ink. (I realize this is potentially in tension with my pricing desire above)  So, with whatever printer you recommend, how is the ink lifetime/cost or replacing?

Suggestions?

I use a Canon TS200.  It's cheap and ink isn't too bad - I just buy the cheap stuff on Amazon.  I think I got about 250 pages from the stock cartridge.

Printers are usually sold as a loss-leader, so you've got the right idea to shop based on ink.

Ink jet cartridges end up costing you a lot over the lifetime. I like the Brother laser printer and multifunction printer/scanner/copier/fax. a quick look online and I find monochrome multifunctional starting at $150 going up to over $300 for multicolor. perhaps more than you were planning on spending, but you get many more pages for the cartridges and it prints far quicker than ink jet

Agreed, laser printers last longer in general, have long lasting cartridges and are generally better for "office" type use. Not super great at colors. This is the one we bought early pandemic for kid school stuff when everything was remote and we've been using the same cartridges that came with it (though our printing has significantly decreased since 2021).

https://www.brother-usa.com/products/hll3210cw

The toner cartridges cost $100-120 each for the extended ones and there are like 3 of them (maybe 4? for black?) but these things last a really long time. We gave away a b&w only one that lasted over a decade of home office use with I think a single toner swap.

One note about laser printers - I'm pretty sure there were studies around how they contributed to some pretty bad indoor air quality specifically if it is close to the user. Hopefully newer models since the study came out have gotten better. We keep ours in a closed cabinet in the back room to limit exposure.

Thanks for the insights.

Looking at both Wirecutter and Consumer Reports, it seems that Brother generally does very well on the ink front, which is to write that they have a combination of big tanks and low cost replacement ink.  They have an all-in-one for $269 that probably wouldn't need ink for somewhere between 1-2 years (1080 black-and-white pages), and then the ink for the next 2-4 years would be another $120.  Considering the ink for my current printer runs around $100 and pre-pandemic was filling it 2-3 times a year, I'd break even even if I burned through the included ink cartridges in just a year.  

^ JP. We’ve been using the “Brother compatible” laser toner off Amazon. Quality is all over the place from cartridge to cartridge, but if you’re not super picky you get 5 for the price of one!?

Continuing on my repair odyssey.  This time with iPhones.

I'm looking at a specific tool from iFixit.  Wondering if it's worth the cost.

So, my daughter cracked the screen on her XS. My wife's 8 has a battery that needs replacing, as does my son's SE.

I have all of the tools needed, and have replaced batteries before, both on iPhones and iPods.  But there are a few extras that could be worth buying to make the jobs easier.

1.  Though I do have four or more suction cups, iFixit makes a vise for lifting the screen off.  It looks like it could do the job more easily, and possibly reduce risk of damage.  Wondering if anyone either has one or experience with one.  https://www.ifixit.com/products/anti-clamp

2. Adhesive (seems to be a sticker, really) is much of what holds the screen in place.  iFixit sells a microwaveable heading pad for softening the adhesive to make lifting the screen off.  Wondering if anyone either has one or experience with one.  https://www.ifixit.com/products/iopener?variant=39371673763943



  

I’m curious as well. I haven’t changed screens or batteries myself for several years now. The screens became more sensitive (e.g. was it called Force Touch?) and the possibility of my f’n it up increased so as much as I like to tinker and do it myself, I’ll have someone do it for me so I don’t end up with a paperweight. Perhaps the tools you found prevent this and are worth it if you’re going to do this with any frequency (I’m surprised my kids haven’t broken their phones more often)

I've used ifix kits to replace laptops keys and batteries. Recommend.

Personally, I would call Apple to see what the price of any of those repairs can be, don't quite remember what year, but 2017ish they replaced my iphone battery for $50ish, in like 15~20 minutes.

eloy said:

I've used ifix kits to replace laptops keys and batteries. Recommend.

Personally, I would call Apple to see what the price of any of those repairs can be, don't quite remember what year, but 2017ish they replaced my iphone battery for $50ish, in like 15~20 minutes.

Apple store prices--XS is $150 to replace screen.  The 8 is nominally $40 I believe to replace the battery but they won't repair because there's a nick in the screen and don't want to be responsible for that breaking; I don't think it will break as the nick is tiny and on the edge, but not a corner.  Beth didn't ask about replacing the screen and battery.  The SE is too old.  Batteries cost about $25 each.  

For those home repair folks, it seems that the smart move with cracked glass is to tape it up before attempting to remove.  This should reduce the likelihood of shards dropping all over.

With the XS, a screen from ifixit is $85 for an LCD, $110 for OLED. My daughter thinks hers is already LCD.  So if I use the two tools, about $37 for the pair, across three devices, possibly a fourth as we have an old iPad with a battery that doesn't hold a charge, the cost seems more worth it. 

I ended up losing an AirPods the other day and went through apple's self service repair portal to buy a single replacement. It seems like they also sell tools and random other bits and bobs you need to do repairs at home. Could be worth checking it out to see what they have

Since I don't think there's a local race this Saturday, if you need/want some speedwork on closed city streets, this could be the ticket.  

It's organized by Henry Francisco of Montecci.  

Interesting.  Is it just me, but that seems like crashes waiting to happen, no?  Good to raise interest and awareness though!

BTW, I did buy the parts and tools to fix the three iPhones mentioned above.

The microwaveable heating pad seems silly, but it works.

The vise is indeed helpful, but it's doesn't seems dramatically easier than just pulling on suction cups.  Then again, tearing a thin cable would be pretty bad.

The repairs went fairly smoothly.  The only hiccup was with the XS.  It didn't restart initally.  I feared I didn't hook up the cables properly.  I pulled the phone apart again, and checked my work. It was fine. After searching online for the problem, it seems that occasionally, you need to work the buttons in a hard reset to get it started after putting it back together.  This meant that the seal I put in was broken, so I needed to order another one, and I did open the phone for a third time to get that seal in.

The older phones are definitely easier; the newer screens, aka the ones without buttons, seem to have more cables to separate and more screws to undo.  

GregHoge said:

Interesting.  Is it just me, but that seems like crashes waiting to happen, no?  Good to raise interest and awareness though!

I don't know.  

On the one hand, the road is fairly wide and straight.  and there aren't that many intersections.  However, that could mean that other folks will just be wandering around, which could be bad, and the space might invite people in the pack not all that much attention.

FWIW, there will be a lead moto.

I kind of want to go for the speedwork, and because Henry is hoping that a successful exhibition this year will lead to a race next year.  And we could use another race site.

Been listening to my MIL talk for an hour about the shenanigans happening during her retired ladies golf tournament which has been going on Wednesdays since April. Screaming matches over petty stuff like wiping the ball on the green, sneaky mulligans or five every hole, moved markers - owned and others… holy cow, what a trip. Park racing is downright civil in comparison.

David Yang said:

Been listening to my MIL talk for an hour about the shenanigans happening during her retired ladies golf tournament which has been going on Wednesdays since April. Screaming matches over petty stuff like wiping the ball on the green, sneaky mulligans or five every hole, moved markers - owned and others… holy cow, what a trip. Park racing is downright civil in comparison.

Reminds me of an old quote that "people are so savage because the stakes are so low..."

Since Bentonville is becoming the new bike mecca, Rahsaan Bahati is getting in on the action.

He owns a condo there that's his AirBNB rental.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/49891105?adults=1&viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76&unique_share_id=19FCB9B2-2C35-45F8-8E38-E3E470AE4B67&_branch_match_id=1186345738283354027&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0zKS9LLTdU3NC72dXK08DV2TgIA7%2FGbLBsAAAA%3D&source_impression_id=p3_1694718776_Z0NSvjXSWmeswhAI

Bold move going with a mostly white interior design when the area is known for off-road cycling.

@GregHoge

Good point.  I hadn't thought about that.  But since you mention it, I generally find the white interiors to be either an older person thing, or someone who works in a white collar office and only works out at a gym.  on the former, both my parents and mother-in-law have white sofas, which I don't understand at all.  On the latter, I'm surprised because those are often the red wine-sipping types.  

Quick Step + Jumbo Visma merger?!?

Translated article: https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/jumbo-visma-working-on-merger-with-soudal-quick-step/

Shot in the dark here; my old Drobo NAS is starting to show it's age; anybody have strong opinions about a replacement?

Not sure where to post this, but Sebaj Adele, a stalwart presence at park races, passed away from colon cancer. He was 66 and as recently as this summer was kicking ass at the local races with the rest of us. We were only acquaintances of circumstance (Sebaj and I started racing around the same time in the same cat4/5 fields and at one point was one of my main "competitors" on race-results), but to me he was a reliable and familiar face to check in at the reg table or as a solid wheel to follow in the field.

He will be missed, RIP.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/193398570683532/


Photo from this summer:

Sad.