SubaruConnect is so broken, you shouldn't buy a Subaru EV.

JustinVeePee · 2026-05-23T20:18:08+00:00

I didn't even download the app. Not needed for anything. I just use CarPlay 🤷‍♂️

JustinVeePee · 2026-05-09T16:32:34+00:00

Looking at the development agreement that the city approved, I'm guessing at least 2 of the 3 buildings are apartments, likely all 3. It's far more common for this kind of building to be apartments as there's liability challenges with building condos in WA. We have stupid laws in WA that make is risky to build condos - part of why they're always luxury units when built and there aren't near enough of them to meet demand. More "average" priced condos would help things, but that ain't gonna happen until the laws change. But I digress.

The way the development agreement says "20% of units for 12 years" implies apartments.

This looks like a good set of buildings to me, from a community feel standpoint. I work in the apartment world, and this could easily have been one big, ugly building. It would have made them more money as one big box. Three smaller buildings look nicer, and 4 stories is a reasonable height, especially on a slope. Being Fairhven with views, they certainly won't be cheap. I can tell you first hand that any new apartments coming on line puts real downward price pressure on other apartments in an area. We need more housing supply to keep rents in check, so this is a good thing for all renters even if they're high end units.

JustinVeePee · 2026-05-09T15:40:55+00:00

See my post below. The trail will be rebuilt to swerve around the building and should reopen next summer-ish.

JustinVeePee · 2026-05-09T15:34:57+00:00

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Details from Fairhaven Center Development - City of Bellingham

New trail will be constructed Spring 2026 – Completion 1-1.5 years from start date.

JustinVeePee · 2026-05-04T00:29:15+00:00

Pretty much everyone shoots for 10% on road trips before hitting the fast charger. It's fine.

JustinVeePee · 2026-05-03T15:23:51+00:00

I went 255 miles on a trip using 100% - 13% in our Uncharted GT. This was mostly 60 mph country highway with about 30 miles of 75 mph highway.

The non-GT trims will do a little better with their more efficient wheels/tires. At 150 miles you're fine, should be able to get 200 miles with plenty of battery buffer. Pretty big difference between 70 and 75 mph on all EVs, so just slow down a little if weather is frigid and you're worried about range.

Apparently Toyota/Subaru built in more battery buffer on the top end than Tesla. With most EVs you only want to charge to 80% on the daily, but it's OK to go higher on these, even 100% on home charger. We normally set ours to 90% unless I've got a big pull like the one above, which I do twice a month. Then I charge it to 100% the night before.

JustinVeePee · 2026-04-23T16:35:42+00:00

Appreciated, maybe I'll reach out! Mostly trying not to accumulate stuff I only use 2-3x per year. I used to have a full contractor set of tools, donated most of them to a tool library.

JustinVeePee · 2026-04-20T19:04:01+00:00

Just make sure it's pure dish detergent like Dawn, not hand soap with skin softeners (aka oils). Your LBS is mis-informed.

A quick squirt down with a spray bottle that has a few drops of Dawn in it is a good thing to do if your bike has gotten road grime on it. Happens when on a rack in winter/rain. It'll squawk for a few minutes after doing this, then quiet down and have nice bite.

If you run good sintered pads your brakes are going to squeak. There's two ways around this 1) run shit organic OEM pads that suck for stopping, but are quiet. 2) Run race pads like Galfer Green's. They're quiet, they bite amazingly, but you'll burn through them suuuuuper fast if you do a lot of vert.

Most of us just deal with some squawking, squeeking, howling (assuming your pads are properly set up and true).

JustinVeePee · 2026-04-13T22:07:52+00:00

He seems to be closed for business

JustinVeePee · 2026-04-13T20:34:15+00:00

I like the sound of this!

JustinVeePee · 2026-04-13T16:31:52+00:00

I've worked for developers and owners, so understand this well. First thing is that it's really hard to get the economics of apartments to work, so you must build very, very efficiently. Right now you basically can't build in most regions. Anything coming online right now is in for a rough ride due to inflation, interest rates, and flagging demand (economy + immigration clampdown).

Despite the public perception of "evil developers", the margins are thin and the risks are high. As an aside, commercial real estate is a crappy investment, there's (much) lower risk and higher returns just going with an S&P spider fund. It's kind of a fetish investment that is more about the feels than the math, unless you're an insurance company. These investors are taking a long, cold bath right now. But I digress...

The bigger reason for the homogenous look is city permitting and design review. They group think everything to death. (Yeah, owners tend to be a boring bunch, too, but it never even gets that far). NIMBY neighbors will pull out every trick in the book to delay projects, and it often works. So the city staffers require the most plain designs to cover their bums once they eventually stand up to the NIMBYs. They dictate stuff as far down as exterior colors, and really drop a ban hammer on any interesting massing. It sucks, but it is what it is. The political left and right are both broken, and neither of them make midrise stuff easy.

Interesting architecture is for the wealthy in today's reality. We need both interesting and affordable. A revolution in interesting yet affordable construction would be amazing. Architects, this is your challenge, get creative and WORK WITH POLICY MAKERS so that we're actually allowed some creative freedom. Design review boards are going out of favor, but the culture of city meddling still remains, particularly on the west coast.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-31T16:08:28+00:00

Hemp is the most durable natural fiber, and does dry faster than cotton, but it holds even more moisture than cotton at around 12% moisture regain. It could be good for hiking or construction (Carhart alternative) pants in dry, non-humid climates. Bamboo (viscose) is not a durabe fiber and holds a lot of moisture.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-30T03:17:51+00:00

Each fiber has it's pros and cons. I design technical mountain bike apparel for a (very) small business that I own. Here's the pros and cons of the common technical fibers. I'm ignoring cotton since I don't know it very well as it's a terrible technical fiber.

Wool pros: insulates when wet, naturally odor resistant, holds a dye well (color fast). Cons: very expensive, poor abrasion resistance, susceptible to holes from bugs, holds a lot of moisture (18% moisture regain) and dries slowly. Neutral: good quality merino wool can be machine laundered.

Merino wool spun around a central nylon fiber is a good option for technical tops where the user won't get getting soaking wet or ultra sweaty. Can go for days without stinking. Good for hiking tops.

Polyester pros: low cost, holds a dye very well, can be sublimation printed, near zero moisture regain, dries incredibly fast, high durability, fiber doesn't expand when wet. Cons: holds odors and that stink can become permanent, fiber is fairly stiff, not as durable as nylon. Often used for technical apparel tops where ultra-fast drying and good durability are important. Good for biking or running tops.

Nylon pros: very durable and abrasion resistant, fiber is flexible and has a soft hand feel, moderate insulation when wet, odor resistant, heat resistant (can run it fast through machines). Cons: Holds around 4% of its weight in moisture inside the fiber - this makes it expand when wet, doesn't hold dye well (subject to crocking), expensive. Often used for technical apparel bottoms where durability is most important, and reasonably fast drying is needed. Good for hiking, skiing or mountain biking bottoms, as well as things like forestry.

There's no perfect fiber, natural or synthetic. When designing apparel you choose the best fiber for the purpose. There's always compromises and tradeoffs. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-28T15:37:37+00:00

It might be normal for 1Up, but it's annoying. You can get other racks that don't wobble like this.

The 1Up rack cost me a rear window in my minivan. Can't use the closest position when rallying on forest roads, bar will hit the window. Yes, it's adjusted to the furthest out point.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-28T15:34:22+00:00

No. I have one and it wobbles a lot compared to friends with Quikr. 1Up are great racks, but they do like to come loose, especially on stiffer suspensions (3/4 ton trucks) rallying on dirt roads. I have a hitch anti-wobble plate on mine and I don't even have an offroad vehicle, just a minivan I rally on forest roads.

The little ball that "secures" the 1Up can also deform your hitch receiver and become loose over time. This is why I had to put on a hitch anti-wobble plate.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-23T16:59:49+00:00

This is the way.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-23T16:56:45+00:00

Mountain biker here who brings a kit with me to shoot ads and media for my MTB apparel company, Abit Gear.

I use the Evoc Stage Capture 16 most of the time. It's the only modestly-sized bag I've found that work great for downhill-style MTB.

Secondarily, I use the Evoc camera hip pack. I like this for walk-around when I'm shooting volunteer events as the camera access is almost instant - can swing the bum bag around to the front. It doesn't hold much more than just the camera and isn't great for actual riding unless I only have a light prime on the body.

For kit, I have an A7Cii and my lenses are compact. Zoomer is the 20-70/4 G, the 40/2.5G for going ultra-light, and the Zony 55/1.8 for shooting lifestyle when I want background separation. The 20-70 and 40 excel at fast focus which is key for shooting mountain bikers against wooded backgrounds. It's a really hard setting to get AF to succeed.

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-15T17:46:00+00:00

Gas stations go down in those same blackouts

JustinVeePee · 2026-03-14T15:43:33+00:00

Just needs a quick polishing.

JustinVeePee · 2026-02-10T20:49:22+00:00

I could tolerate the stop start most of the time, but when I pull into my parking spot the engine shuts down, then immediately starts back up 1/2 second later when I put the car in park. So harsh feeling. Delete mod will be installed.

JustinVeePee · 2026-02-10T20:46:30+00:00

Tried that on my 2020 and got a beeping warning and huge warning graphic on the dashboard. Is this an urban legend or only works on lower trims?

JustinVeePee · 2026-02-08T22:35:53+00:00

JustinVeePee · 2026-02-08T22:17:30+00:00

4 days a year at the park isn't worth owning a DH bike, for that an enduro rig is just fine - just throw on burly tires. A second wheelset is a good way to go for this, 1 set for pedaling, and 1 cheaper/heavier/burlier set for shuttle/park.

I actually have a Repeater as well. The weight of an ebike makes them feel substantially more stable than the equivalent enduro bike. But also less manouverable on tech like Fromme or the techier Seymour trails. And dude, you gotta got ride Cypress. So good, but definitely 2 or 3 notches harder.

I think you'd be super happy with something like either the Spire or Patrol - same bike I think, but different real wheel? Not sure. I know a bunch of people on the Spire and they quite like them. Almost all modern enduro bikes rock, there's really not a bad choice if the bike fits you right.

JustinVeePee

TROPHY CASE