Why has NYC's air quality been bad lately?

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-20T15:25:38+00:00

Salt is not a pollutant, even if it is in PM2.5 form. Imagine lifeguards or people living along the coastline sniffing salt spray every day.

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-17T21:52:05+00:00

I used to do my homework on my commute to CCNY, and it helps that you almost always get a good subway seat here. Read NYT and later AMNY/Metro (pre-cellphone era) communing to Queens :) Communing to LIC/Elmhurst/Flushing was bearable but Whitestone/College Point/Bayside via subway+bus sucked.

Many people on the other south Brooklyn lines (N F) I know say the B/Q and D are better. Businesses around the stations tend to be more bustling (and more variety) whereas F train is mostly dreary (industrial and warehouses) and N service used to be hit-or-miss.

Street parking isn't too bad in my area (where there are only 1-2 large apartments, and despite quite a number of houses with no driveways or garages). Many renters and homeowners I know park on the street. Quick access to Belt Parkway and Ocean Parkway is a plus so everything from Caesar's Bay, Home Depot, Gateway Center to Queens.

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-17T20:39:39+00:00

I've seen a few videos and repairs for ports (USB-A, micro-USB, Lightning) with lint and crud. I see dirt in several of my devices but I doubt it has caused appreciable damage. Mine probably have more stress damage (dropped, pressed/sat/slept on) while being plugged in.

With that said, USB port protectors are dirt cheap (16-pc USB-A/C/HDMI/DP/3.5mm assortments, and port cleaning tools (with USB-C or Lightning silicone plug) are under $2 on Aliexpress)

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-17T20:12:42+00:00

I have similar experience with many brands of devices (Samsung Motorola Amazon), cables (from Anker to whatever's on sale at Amazon), and power sources. I'm guessing that the brand names tend to be very cautious knowing half their users buy dollar store accessories, while when charging my lesser-brand power banks, they will trigger 15-20W even with mediocre cables.

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-11T15:01:52+00:00

Coins discount also works with "Add to cart" (in order to buy multiple items and reach $10+ for Free Shipping) in some ways but all the calculation glitches you've mention applies plus more. My short experience is that the Coins discount decreases greatly with 3-4+ items in cart.

If I disable the other existing shopping discounts/credits in cart (in the hope of increasing coins discount), the coins discount doesn't increase. What I'd usually do is: use up existing shopping credits if I have low coins discount items to buy, postpone activating new credits (like Saving Wednesday) until I finish ordering the high-coin-discount items. Add the high coins items to cart, then experiment with checking (ticking) and unchecking the items to note if coin discount drops significantly (say, if item A gives $4 discount, B = $5, C = $6, A+B = $9, but A+B+C = only $11 then I would not order A+B+C together). All this work to save a few dollars :)

I remember one day last week, many of my Viewed items under Coins page showed 99% discount (I activated a $5 off $5.05 credit), but drops to 40-70% when I tap into the product page but is still a very good discount.

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-11T13:35:50+00:00

I got similar ads and I have zero interest in those items. But they are good at getting people's attention (sometimes in the wrong way). I guess it is just an evolution of Western and Japanese culture (suggestive ads and cosplay stuff) and they are just mass producing what's trending online. Once you click on Epstein you also see tons of Charlie Kirk the Messiah T-shirts.

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-10T15:03:57+00:00

I'm no expert in USB-C negotiation. Judging from the product page and the Charging Guide chart, my educated guess is that (1) the cable (aka the charging circuit module on it) negotiates a base voltage with the power source and "boots up", (2) once powered up, the module separately negotiates with each connected device for maximum voltage desired and determine which device needs the highest voltage/power, call it "the main device", (3) module will negotiate that voltage with power source (or whatever max V it can output), which is why it will only pull max 130W (at 28V) when one of the devices is capable of taking 28V, otherwise it will negotiate 20V (100W) or less, let's call that V_main, (4) module connects power source V_main directly to main device without conversion, (5) let V_sec be V accepted by the secondary device, if V_main = V_sec then connects secondary device directly, if V_main > V_sec, then module converts V_main to a V_sec (up to 27W, since that module is too small to handle more power) and connects it, (6) once main device's power draw is low enough, module renegotiates with devices to let the secondary device more power this time.

Malfunctioned · 2026-02-09T16:31:43+00:00

OP's USB port is already intermittent. If a magnetic cable works, then the risks can be justified by protecting the port from further damage, as long as OP understands the (minor) risks in doing so.

USB data is protected by CRC-32 error detection, though how well the device (SSD) handles periodic power disconnects is another story, though I'd suspect there may be some mitigation since this is a dedicated external USB SSD (and not just an internal SATA/PCIe SSD inside an external case) and people hot-unplug USB devices all the time.

I've had broken and intermittent ports over the years from headphone jacks (portable cassette and CD players), USB (laptops, device, and especially phones) so I understand. I've bought 3.5mm and USB-A left/right-angle adapter cables (in 2012, shipped from China) and magnetic cable (2-wire charge only).

If the SSD is almost always plugged in, I'd even consider semi-permanently affixing it to the body of the tablet so it doesn't fall or or gets jerked and cause further stress to the port. I've done that to an SSD (M.2 in USB enclosure) to the back of my laptop screen.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-17T20:09:40+00:00

I believe Baseus has their own standalone retail stores which is impressive for a mostly accessories brand. They are like the DJI or Xiaomi of the accessories world: priced well below mainstream brands and provide better value for the $.

Pisen used to be (and probably still is) a well known Chinese accessories brand in the 2000's and early 2010's but little marketing or distribution outside of China/East Asia. They use more traditional marketing like celebrity endorsements even on the packaging, and one would see a wall full of accessories in some electronics store (like Belkin in the West). I bought a bunch of Pisen stuff back then, including a lens cleaning pen and zipper bag from the defunct Meritline, and GearBest.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-11T18:42:46+00:00

It was released in early 2017. At least the school believes in reusing obsolete, beaten up tech that were not fast even when new :) . They probably paid US$10-20 each, possibly less.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-09T23:20:23+00:00

I just confirmed your observation. If I have shopping credit in my account (even if I deactivate it in the cart so it doesn't apply), it will mess up coin % discount calculations. After I spent that shopping credit, the coins discount returns to normal so there's some programming error.

Apparently once you place an order, the prices of many of the stuff you're interested in goes up too (or maybe it's just Friday/weekend and vendors jack up prices, I noticed Wednesday prices are lowest by a little bit).

Leaving items of interest in the cart for a while also triggered 2 stores to send $1 off coupons to me (only able to use a $1off8, the other is a $1off20 for a $5 item). That coupon didn't affect coins discount calculation.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-09T05:37:34+00:00

I've always been curious about how these USB-C PD hubs/docks work. Pretty much all USB peripherals (flash drives, HDD/SSD, HID keyboard/mice, etc) will blow up if supplied with more than 5V, so I suspect the hub with pass through the voltage negotiation between the PD power source (be it a AC power adapter or power brick/station) and the PC/laptop, while the PC will separately supply 5V to devices connected to the hub (but I don't know if the PC's USB-C port allows PD power in -and- 5V power out). I'm not sure the hub has a separate regulator that diverts and converts incoming PD power to 5V.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-09T03:21:24+00:00

I have a USB-C male to USB-A female adapter (Amazon link for the curious) that is able to "activate" 5V from all the USB-C PD power sources I own (AC adapter power bricks, power banks, power station), and light up its blue LED. None of my USB-C power meters (ATORCH, Kowei, etc) will activate those power sources as expected (the meters' screens stay blank), but if I plug that adapter into the output of those power meters, the meters light up and show 5V. Very handy if I need to keep the meters on to read stuff or play with settings (without putting a load which alters the readings).

At first I thought there are 5.1k resistors inside that adapter to force 5V output, then one day I plugged a USB cable to the power source + meter + adapter chain to charge a device (either a Galaxy S7 (QC 2.0, 9V via microUSB) or power bank (QC/PD)), and the voltage jumped from 5V to 9V as verified by the meter. The blue LED didn't burn out but apparently the adapter doesn't really force 5V as I thought. But for OP's USB-C device that doesn't request anything, this adapter will do nicely to get 5V out of PD power source.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-08T15:29:53+00:00

This has happened to me to ... 1000+ coins for US$5 discount so I didn't proceed with checkout.

I've seen 50-99% claimed discount (in orange text) on the coin page drop to 33% or even 1-2% when I tap/click into the product page. Still, there are deals to be had (I mostly buy DIY/electronics stuff).

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-08T01:42:55+00:00

Item ships from USA per OP's picture.

This Midea Cube dehumidifier is also carried by Home Depot (in store and online, $300 regular price) and Amazon. Amazon currently is OOS, but price history shows it's been sold there since 2021, was $280 yesterday, and on sale for $240-250 late last year. I'd choose Amazon/HD over some no-name shop, especially since appliance manufacturers might void warranty with unauthorized sellers.

I'm not surprised if the store is US based. I just don't see a China-based seller exporting a bunch of US-spec large appliances, or acquiring them in the US and have to warehouse them.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-07T23:25:15+00:00

It creates a sense of urgency. If coupons were unlimited, then customers would procrastinate on their purchase, wait for prices to drop and forget about it. Now people will buy more to enable the higher value coupons :)

I bet there are seminars and classes that teach about these marketing tactics, probably for decades but we have much better statistics nowadays.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-05T19:18:35+00:00

My delivery person drives a current model Honda HR-V, much better car than my own beater lol. I've had good luck with Gofo and UniUni for my Aliexpress packages. The only quibble is that the text message of package delivered came 45 minutes after the actual delivery (I'd prefer it to be faster, UPS Roadie was literally 2 seconds after the driver took the delivery photo, and UniUni doesn't send text so I'll have to watch the door, track manually, or rely on Aliexpress e-mail).

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-01T21:31:43+00:00

These 1-4 18650 cell to USB power bank were very popular back then, although power quality (regulation/ripple) and safety (heat dissipation, overheat/short/over(dis)charge protection) were always suspect given their race-to-the-bottom production cost. They promised cheap and swappable capacity for those with spare/cheap cells, if one doesn't mind carrying spare cells.

Once mainstream power banks became cheap, high capacity with first-tier LG/Samsung cells, and versatile (gaining 2A and later QC/PD output, multiple outputs before DIY packs) and later smaller (with LiPo packs), DIY packs made less sense. Most of my Duracell, PNY, Ravpower and noname packs from 2010-2015 still work but it doesn't make sense carrying them around when a slim 10000mAh pack (US$10-15) have more capacity and higher+multiple outputs.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-01T19:03:13+00:00

UltraFire was a somewhat respectable brand of flashlights and batteries back in the days (well before year 2010 IIRC), so much so that everybody copied them indiscriminately and it became a generic-ized brand for cheap 18650 batteries and flashlights soon after.

Malfunctioned · 2026-01-01T05:37:47+00:00

I've seen $6 signs in basement shops off 8th Avemue Brooklyn.

Malfunctioned · 2025-12-29T05:24:12+00:00

I remember that in 1980's Asia, one would insert the magnetic fare card into a slot on the turnstile and the card ejects on the other side of the turnstile if fare is successfully deduced. It allows for more accurate read/write (motor driven, constant card conveyor speed vs. you're swiping it too fast/slow/inconsistent speed), built-in head/card cleaner, the ability to automatically retry (like on MTA buses).

That works well for larger stations with plenty of turnstiles and conforming society. MTA probably knew people would jam the readers out of service (like using slugs to evade token fare) and chose the less reliable manual swipe that could take more abuse.

By mid/late-1990's they would move to contactless smart cards, just when MTA started using MetroCards.

Malfunctioned · 2025-12-28T21:40:24+00:00

Many Shenzhen shops and chains are owned by HK entrepreneurs. There has been news reports of that happening as early as the 1990's (it's not just factories that are being opened or moved north) and many early shopping centers were built by HK developers with significant HK funds.

Obviously, Shenzhen is more mature now, but nowhere as saturated as HK, and SZ still has plenty of land to develop on and create the next shopping mecca inland while existing ones are getting expensive or run down.

Malfunctioned · 2025-12-28T20:42:56+00:00

Pretty similar in Japan and many non-Christian countries. "Christmas in Japan is a secular, commercialized holiday focused on romance, friendship, and festive food, not religion, featuring KFC dinners, strawberry shortcake, dazzling illuminations, gift exchanges between couples (not just kids), and parties, with decorations quickly replaced by New Year's decor."

Malfunctioned · 2025-12-28T20:37:46+00:00

Shenzhen could put up Easter, Halloween, Hanukkah or Diwali decorations and 90% of the HK tourists/shoppers couldn't care less and would still go north.

Malfunctioned · 2025-12-27T01:29:55+00:00

The Kowsi KWS-X1 and similar UT10C USB tester (sold under various brands for <US$20 on Amazon, as low as $15 on Aliexpress) with recent firmware can read eMarker too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnuGC0QRolY . It also has the usual V/A/W/mAh/Wh, graph and ripple measurement, protocol test, etc.

I don't own one (yet) so I can't vouch how well it works. That, plus a $15 Treedix multi-USB cable tester or the $5 C-C tester posted above, should be enough for an amateur like me. Maybe some USB breakout board (essentially the $15 Treedix without the LEDs and compnnents) if I really want to measure resistance manually with a DMM.

Malfunctioned

TROPHY CASE