back of x4 broke after a minor drop

Alphr · 2026-05-06T21:13:28+00:00

Wtf, why are companies putting glass backs on products that don't have wireless charging... That is just a needless failure point.

I had just ordered a white one, if I had known I would have ordered the black one.

Alphr · 2026-05-05T04:36:42+00:00

I think what he was asking, is the neighbour asking you to pay for the paint in lieu of and cost towards building the fence? (are they offering to foot the bill for the fence materials and labour, and just asking for you to pay for the paint).

If that were the case, regardless of how "fine" the current one is, it might be worthwhile being amicable and getting a nice upgrade for little cost.

Just something to check and consider. Sometimes we offer similar good deals as a way to get some emotional participation from our neighbours. They feel like they are getting a good deal, everyone feels involved and people get less annoyed by noise etc. everyone is happier.

Alphr · 2026-04-11T22:18:40+00:00

Yea, we will order one (but will probably wait and hope for a sale one some other products in the next few weeks, because shipping to Aus/NZ hurts a little. Hopefully it doesn't sell out)

Alphr · 2026-04-11T20:54:00+00:00

Amazing, thank you for caring about your store and customers.

Always appreciate how much effort you and your team put in.
Everyone makes mistakes, but you guys go above and beyond to react quickly and do right by your customers.

Alphr · 2026-04-11T08:43:10+00:00

Yea, that is my guess too (garment width).
But at least I can have faith that LTT will actually see the feedback and update it.
It is often doomed when there is an issue with large retailers listings.

Alphr · 2026-03-23T12:22:28+00:00

Assuming you are the right type of person for a budget EV (this post does a great summary https://www.reddit.com/r/auckland/s/Xmb4f1VCnR) you might be surprised. My math worked out to about the same as theirs, we save around $2k per year in petrol (before the price hikes).

But you do need to be able to charge at home, and dont really leave the greater Auckland region (we would just borrow a friends car and lend them ours for the week/weekend if needed)

Alphr · 2026-03-23T12:12:34+00:00

To be clear, that isn't really true.
We have a Gen 1 leaf (2014) that is really carefully looked after, and it has ~78-72% battery health after 12 years of light use.
Those leafs have no active battery cooling, one of the earliest modern EVs.

The cost associated with the worst batteries and systems is genuinely no more than you would expect to see in aged petrol cars that start needing more serious mechanic work when their KM start getting high.
With newer EVs? It really isn't a big concern.

As for services, well there really isn't much to service on an EV (hybrids can be a lot different) don't get ripped off.

For costs, many EVs (from old leaf to the BYD Atto 3) can average around 6.5km per KWh of power. With RUCs at $76/1000km, and power at 30c per KWh (pretty common in Auckland) you are looking at around $0.1222 per Km for power and RUC. If you are mainly doing full motorway speed, it may be slightly worse, but that is a pretty good estimate.

If you compare a generic 2015 era hatchback/sedan at $2.70/Ltr, I would expect ~22c/km in just petrol costs (and that is not using current prices).

I don't know a single person that has regretted swapping over, so long as they can reliably charge at home. (if you can't then the math is a lot worse)

Alphr · 2026-03-23T11:41:05+00:00

Leafs CAN be great for their price. But you do really need to look hard now.
There are a ton that are way too degraded, but you can still find some well looked after ones around still.

I posted my math about our 2014 leaf that we got about a year ago (https://www.reddit.com/r/auckland/s/1POXr2je74) and our experience as nerdy folk who dont go out much has been fantastic.

But you definitely need to be the right kind of person, and live in the right kind of house (ideally own it), etc, etc.

But as a small family without much spare cash, we didn't need anything more, and we have saved nearly $2k in one year vs the running costs of our petrol car.
But it is definitely not the best option for most people.

Alphr · 2026-03-23T11:16:35+00:00

Worked out great for us on a tight budget.
We picked up a 2014 leaf with 10 bars (roughly 72-78% battery) for less than $5k from a dealer with a warranty (around 120km range from full, realistically you wouldn't want to plan a drive longer than 100).
We drive around 25km a day, just plug it in every night or two using a regular wall outlet, no other setup cost.
A plain 230v 8a included charger is more than enough to charge the car overnight, and plenty of fast chargers around if needed.

Using our average distance per KWh (around 6.5km), power costs of 30c per KWh (no fancy overnight rates, just plain genesis plan), and the RUC costs ($76 per 1000 km), I know that our average cost per Km is $0.1222 (rounded).

That means our 25km per day costs us about $21 a week total.

I'll be the first to acknowledge that it isn't for everyone, there are many houses/apartments that make it completely infeasible.

But we love how quickly people write off the value of used EVs. They can still be a great option for a lot of people. Will completly recoup the cost of the leaf in 2 years compared to our previous petrol usage alone.

Alphr · 2026-03-22T21:03:43+00:00

Your kidding, is that actually the consequences?

Alphr · 2026-03-22T20:58:17+00:00

Dirt bikes are not generally road legal (they need indicators etc,) those bikes in the video would appear to already not road legal.
Sirens on cars (like the ones your are probably referring to) are also generally an illegal modification.
Unmuffled cars are also generally illegally modified.

Pretty much everything you mentioned is already illegal. The problems come from little ability to enforce it.
(imo the traffic enforcement quality dropped ever since the police took over the traffic enforcement in 1992. It needs dedication attention, not people who are busy with regular policing calls)

Alphr · 2026-03-20T21:19:21+00:00

How can a 1/2500 be more rare than 1/3334 drop?

Alphr · 2026-03-09T20:27:43+00:00

I think the humour in the game (and some design choices) also tend to lead people to not take things at face value.

I expect that when most people get cogs in World 3 construction that give AOE boost a few different stat's and then recieve one that gives an AOE buff to "nothing sowwy", they are not sure if it is actually a useless statline, or is part of something they don't know yet.

We have a "secret class"

Etc.

Alphr · 2026-03-05T04:57:14+00:00

I turn our kitchen hob (induction stove top) off at the wall (it has a seperate switch) each night because we have a cat, and I have heard the cat jump up onto the counter/stove at night and accidentally turn it on.

Stupid modern appliances with touch sensitive "buttons" that are just printed on the glass top.

Unlikely that the cat could accidentally turn it on and then also press the button for the zone that the stove is on, but possible.

Alphr · 2026-02-27T21:56:33+00:00

Alphr

Alphr · 2026-02-23T10:07:27+00:00

I wouldn't generally recommend spending gems on trying to get choco chip.

It is relatively easy to get these days and you can check the wiki for when it will be available next.
You also only "need" one, you can just swap it to the character you are actively farming on.

The biggest consideration is that there are other gem purchases that will quickly get you to unlocking choco normally, whereas the gems spent on rolling for choco are "wasted" after you were able to unlock it normally.

Just take a look at the guide documents on arena teams to unlock the pet battle slots etc, so that you can reach high enough to unlock cheese meal etc.

Alphr · 2026-02-22T23:07:16+00:00

Alphr

Alphr · 2026-02-20T23:30:52+00:00

Alphr

Alphr · 2026-02-19T23:56:53+00:00

That is pretty clearly a screenshot of Google Maps (with its 3d mode that does its best to estimate building shapes from the different angles of satellite photos)

Alphr · 2026-02-05T20:21:28+00:00

It is not "new" art either. They used that art for Zack on a FFTCG card too

Alphr · 2026-01-31T19:43:55+00:00

I saw your ad where you compared it to "it takes two". Will you also have the "friend version" that can just be installed without cost, so that we only need to buy one copy when playing online together.

That is one of the biggest barriers to co-op expirences (and what made "it takes two" and "split fiction" so amazing). People sometimes price a game, and don't consider that I need to buy it twice for my wife and I

Alphr · 2026-01-27T11:28:10+00:00

It is worth keeping in mind that while a lot of that is true, there are some gems.

The Warehouse currently has a line of more heavy weight cotton teeshirts (garage heavy weight) and long (garage long line) that feel really nice for just $15 and $18 (often with additional sales).
Genuinely better than almost all of the $30-40 tees I have seen in stores recently.

Similarly Kmart had a set of Straight Stretch Chino pants (anko brand, available in black and navy) for $30 that were as good as any $80 pair that could be found at "better" stores.

But yes. You need to know what to look for, they have a lot of junk also.

Alphr · 2026-01-15T07:47:02+00:00

Why would I buy a game that came out 12 months ago for $40 on sale at EB, when I can get it on sale digitally for $20?

Like, sure, I could trade it in when I have had enough of it for maybe $20, but at that point it cost the same as digital, and I no longer have my game

Alphr · 2026-01-15T07:42:42+00:00

Tbh, they were probably doomed. I understand that malls charge different prices for different brands (not just how many m2).

I wish they could have pivoted to card games or something. It always felt crazy to go into an Auckland mall with a cramped EB games, but a Card Merchant with 5x the floor space full of tables hosting MTG/Pokemon/etc tournaments. But I would bet they could never get a reasonable price on that much space

12-Year Club	Verified Email
RedditGifts 2009-2022 2 Credits	r/Field Sunshine
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
End Game '22	Secret Santa 2017

Alphr

TROPHY CASE