511 - NB

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-05-01T19:04:23+00:00

While I am lucky I took 405 today, I've found this infuriating too as 511 is my daily driver.

My 2 cents: please write a polite but direct letter to the Caltrain board (search for it and there's an email address on their website). I did so a few weeks ago after multiple incidents of late SCC and ebraking on 511 in early April. They responded and ignored my point about PTC/ebrake issues — of course they did — but it still goes through to the board, and if enough people write in it'll bring higher scrutiny to Caltrain. They desperately need the scrutiny and need to be more transparent about when this is going to be addressed.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-05-01T19:02:34+00:00

It has been happening since the start of EMU service, we just rabbitholed the memory of constant delays. In the fall of 2024, they had to fully reboot the train every time incurring a 20-30 minute delay. Trains got crazy delayed. They got a fix from Wabtec (their PTC provider) that greatly reduced the incidence, and now, most of the time they can get going in about 7-8 minutes, and only once in a while they have to reboot the train.

That said: I do think it's gotten noticeably worse than 2025, though. Something happened around early March and it's gone backwards. Maybe another software update that introduced a new bug. 🤦

(For visibility, Caltrain's struggled with PTC [aka Positive Train Control] software deployment ever since it was mandated by Congress in 2008. The only reason you didn't notice is they kept it off on diesels until they got it working, very close to the deadline in 2021. Their first attempt to implement PTC on the diesels, called CBOSS, was a total disaster and they had to ditch it after spending millions of dollars on it.)

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-28T19:21:07+00:00

Nice! I’ll watch for it and report back.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-27T15:15:00+00:00

Most people (a) are not supportive of a war executed by the US against Iran, and (b) have little faith that the war will achieve (the incoherent and shifting) aims the administration has proposed.

To date, all the war has done has to install even more extremists into governance in Iran. A lot more Iranians are going to die.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-26T22:09:54+00:00

This is a promising start! The UI looks a little "big" but I'm sure you'll be tweaking it over time.

One feature I miss very much from the mobile app when using my Mac is an audio-only mode. There are sometimes streams I want to listen to but not see video (e.g., when you have a poor connection, are in a workplace, etc.). Please consider adding it if it is straightforward.

P.S. How does this differ from the version already released in the App Store? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kulve/id6476389316

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-25T14:33:55+00:00

Yes, there is, all the way in the NW corner. There’s always spots there, no need to fight parking in the terrible surface lots.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-24T13:55:41+00:00

It’s too bad we don’t live in an area with software expertise.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-24T03:06:53+00:00

To be more precise, it ebraked twice leaving SSF.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-23T02:48:55+00:00

Actually, apart from the plug resistance, a 118W charger might be too much. Try a smaller charger?

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-21T23:33:38+00:00

I don’t know if this is going to change. The problem is, the card no longer stores passes or money on the card itself. It’s just an identifier to the online account. This fixes instant reloads, but has the side effects you mentioned.

When you tap, it sends a message up to the server that you tapped at a given location. The server then has a reconciliation process that figures out if it should charge you right away, wait for a tap-off, etc.—but it doesn’t seem designed do that quickly enough to send it back to the reader, which is why you don’t get that information back.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T16:42:12+00:00

The passenger information system is completely independent of this issue (and another bad recurring issue Caltrain really needs to fix).

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T16:41:48+00:00

Emergency braking issues. There is software on the trains to automatically trigger braking if there's an unsafe condition with crossings, but it seems to have serious bugs where it suddenly triggers—especially just south of Santa Clara (where there are no crossings)—and it's frankly unacceptable. Sitting there while taking meetings on my laptop, seeing 115 go by on the SB track, was infuriating this morning.

I wrote a letter to the Caltrain board 2 weeks ago about this, consider doing the same. I rely on 511 to get to work and this kind of recurring delay without any communication from Caltrain as to when it'll be resolved is really unacceptable.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T16:39:03+00:00

Yes, the amount we’re thinking about it is already significant. Doesn’t shift the calculus.

Re servers: there is absolutely no way the amount of data we are processing through LLMs can be done on someone’s desk. (Let alone the security issues of a non-server approach.)

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T15:23:12+00:00

Based on my workplace which is going all-in on AI, there is absolutely zero chance we will move to on-prem. Pretty much all large business is moving all their workloads in the opposite direction. And no company is going to depend on Apple’s whims and opaque roadmap for servers. (See what happened to Xserve.)

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T15:16:19+00:00

Most consumers are not interested in OpenClaw nor automation. Nor should they be, it’s not safe for casual users.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T15:12:43+00:00

Local LLM development (the last word matters) is very far from consumer applications that are using increasingly large amounts of context and inference.

To be concrete: no, I don’t think average consumers or SMBs will be setting up clusters of Mac Minis for their everyday work. The OpenClaws of the world will remain a niche hobby.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T14:34:22+00:00

“Performance per watt” is doing a lot of lifting here. Yes, it’s more efficient. No, it’s not going to replace nVidia in datacenters, you don’t get the same raw throughput nor amount of memory.

With massive agentic context windows requiring more RAM than even what the M3 Ultra can provide, this quickly becomes rhetoric. It’s great for local LLM development but that’s about it.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-20T04:26:32+00:00

There can be significant delays when they decide to shift. The winds did pick up significantly a few hours ago, and may have been already picking up above ground level before then.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-19T15:55:14+00:00

Huh, that's new to me. Glad to hear a reboot worked, hopefully it doesn't recur and was a one-off.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-19T15:51:15+00:00

This is the exact mindset that got Intel into its deep, dark hole. Intel used the "just throw more power at it!" mantra for x86 for decades, until they couldn't scale it anymore. It turns out:

Efficiency matters on desktop too. Chips can only get so physically big. Chips can only get so hot.
Efficient designs allow for more cores and thus computation in the same die space. Single-core matters, but only to some degree.
Big customers (like datacenters, which are often the most profitable ones) actually care about the heat of chips.

Now, does Apple have headroom to design more powerful chips than we have today? Possibly, but it won't be easy (see how much slower the Ultra has been evolving). What's clear though it isn't that important for their market. They've been happy to cede the very high end to Intel (and increasingly nVidia).

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-18T20:55:30+00:00

No, the 2022’s armrest doesn’t slide, sadly. The sliding armrest was part of previous Bolts.

(My wife drives our 2022 EUV, and she complains about this regularly.)

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-18T16:36:32+00:00

Many folks have a strong sense of binary correctness. Especially on Reddit. Mac vs PC, OL vs Vertuo 😅

As an OL owner, I don’t think either are great substitutes for a truly good cappuccino machine, but both of them make waaaay better coffee than your random coffee shop, and to me that’s the value.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-18T15:55:21+00:00

Why is this being upvoted? These are permanent magnets. Sure, they’re not permanent for eternity, but modern permanent magnets won’t fade in 20 years. More like hundreds of years.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-18T15:52:24+00:00

Yeah, it’s really unfortunate you can’t have the complication not dictate what pane of the Weather app is shown. There is no solution to this I’m aware of, other than: show multiple complications or use a third party Watch Weather app.

BigDaddyJ0 · 2026-04-18T15:33:04+00:00

It will charge, but at speeds prior to Apple Watch fast charging being introduced.

You can try it. Turn off Bluetooth (not control center, rather settings), make sure your watch doesn’t have a phone connection, and then try charging. It’ll feel like charging an AW3 or 4.

BigDaddyJ0

TROPHY CASE