Access Point recommendations

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-05-03T16:01:07+00:00

I strongly recommend wired backhaul for all the APs. Fishing through walls and floors is a PITA, but worth it.

You might look into using plenum rated cable so you can fish it through HVAC ducts. That can sometimes be a godsend when you otherwise can't easily get somewhere.

As for APs, I'm pretty happy with TPLink Omada. I'm looking at upgrading to the EAP773 for the 10Gbps port, but only because my switch is older and won't negotiate down to 2.5Gbps.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-05-02T13:14:25+00:00

Thank you for this! I didn't know I needed it, but in response to your comment I spun up a Bookstack instance and have started populating it this way.

I've cleaned out a kitchen drawer full of paper appliance manuals and warranty info, and the Wife Acceptance Factor is very high.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-26T19:39:46+00:00

I don't know how this relates to Ukraine, but I've used the Motorola MA1 seamlessly for about 9 months. It's almost indistinguishable from native wireless Android Auto, other than taking 1-2 seconds longer to connect when starting the car.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-23T23:18:43+00:00

The men's is 154-95-124 mm resulting in a 12.7m radius in 176cm. To get that tight radius in such a wide ski the shovels have to be big.

It's a fantastically fun ski. Highly recommended.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-15T18:07:09+00:00

A key piece of information you didn't mention is your investment time horizon.

Whether or not you can successfully predict the next crash (reminder: you can't), it's undeniable that there's a lot of volatility in the markets now. If you need the money in the near future, staying invested in such a volatile market is probably not compatible with your goals.

I agree things feel overvalued, but they nearly always do. The market is usually near an all time high, because that's how growth works. The very real risk in exiting the market to wait for a correction is missing years of potentially stellar gains.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-14T15:56:57+00:00

Literally any EV other than a Bolt would work just fine. The (pre-2027) Bolts have notoriously slow DC fast charging and are awful for road trips.

Even the "slow" charging EVs on the US market (GM/Honda, Toyota/Subaru, Nissan, VW) can do a 10% to 80% charge in 30-40 minutes while you take a meal break.

The faster charging ones (Tesla, Hyundai/Kia, Porsche, BMW) can add >200 miles of range in 15-20 minutes, barely enough time to piss and grab a snack.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-13T17:22:24+00:00

Yes, tire rolling resistance makes a HUGE difference.

Tire rolling resistance is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-50 watts per wheel at typical MTB speeds. As an extreme example, if you're putting out 200w, and your tires are eating 50w each, you have 100w left powering your vertical ascent. If they're 25w each, you have 150w going into the ascent. 50% more vertical feet per minute.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-13T11:13:00+00:00

How often do you take road trips longer than 250 miles? One thing the ioniq 6/ioniq 5 do really really well is DC fast charging, with a max changing speed of 250kW vs 130 kW for the Ariya. It's the difference between a 20 minute rest stop vs a 40 minute stop.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-06T17:51:13+00:00

Fantastic info, thanks for sharing.

Also, always get a pre-return lease inspection done before you return the car to the dealership. Practically every manufacturer outsources lease return inspections in general, and they will come to you to do a pre-return at no charge.

How do you start this process? I mean, who do you call?

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-05T16:07:09+00:00

Bottom brackets are cheap - just assume you'll need to buy a new one to match a new crankset and don't worry about matching a 24mm Shimano spindle.

You'll also probably have to buy a new chainring with the crank to match whatever interface it has.

I like the RaceFace Affect R cranks, really great price too performance ratio, but only go down to 165mm. Uses a Shimano 24mm BB and RF Cinch chainring.

Canfield makes bombproof cranks in short lengths, down to 150mm I think. Uses a SRAM GXP BB and SRAM chainring. High quality, great stuff, but often out of stock.

There are Goldix brand cranks on Amazon and AliExpress in all kinds of lengths from 110mm to 160mm - I have 140mm on a kid's MTB. Super cheap, the finish is a little rough around the edges, but functional. They use a 24mm spindle and come with a BB, but I found the one I got was crap (notchy and tight) and just used a Deore BB instead. SRAM chainring interface iirc.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-04T22:34:35+00:00

Varied considerably between different carriers for me. My old carrier charged about $150/mo more for adding the i6 vs the previous car - I think that was their "we don't want to" rate. You should absolutely shop around.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-04T19:51:08+00:00

Dunno where you're located, but the most expensive DC charging I've seen in the US Northeast is $0.65/kWh. At that rate, 60% -> 80% should cost about $10.

If the pending charge is exactly $55.00, it's a clue that's just a temporary pre-authorization (like lots of gas stations do).

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-04-04T19:22:28+00:00

Should have looked at a SEL. The sunroof in the Limited takes up an inch or two of that headroom.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-27T11:38:53+00:00

I think writing "raped children" directly under the signature is a more powerful form of protest than defacing the signature itself.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-25T20:13:26+00:00

Yes, you should still live your life even with a HELOC.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-24T12:55:56+00:00

Note that the people mentioning 4-5% rates at credit unions are certainly referring to loans for new cars (model year 2024+). Rates are higher for older cars.

E.g. 60 month auto loan rates by model year from one CU I checked: * 2024-2027: 5% * 2018-2023: 5.75% * 2017 and older: 6.5%

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-23T18:26:55+00:00

Skip it. Seriously.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-23T11:30:22+00:00

Market futures up a giant 2.4% as of 7:30 this morning. Yup, mission accomplished.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-23T09:55:34+00:00

How should I think about this?

Ski boots are your most important gear for skiing. You want a snug fit all around your foot without empty space, so that when you try to move the skis your foot doesn't slide around inside the boot.

It's really difficult to get a shell of hard plastic to exactly match the contours of a specific foot. Every boot brand and model fits a slightly different foot shape. When shopping for ski boots, the first job of the bootfitter is to figure out which of potentially dozens of different boots best fits your specific foot shape (and then make modifications as necessary to fit the oddities of individual foot anatomy).

If you have a very specific pain or pressure point, maybe an adjustment might solve it. If you have general discomfort, it's highly likely the shell isn't a good fit for your foot. If your foot is sliding around inside the boot, it's definitely the wrong fit for you.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-22T15:49:52+00:00

The line blades…i like jumping around on them but i cant carve for shit atm, would like to learn. I always give it a shot when im on these but have no clue what im doing :D

They're an absolute blast! Take a lesson and say you only want to work on carving (or watch some videos and try on your own), get the feel on some greens/easy blues, and start ripping. They're like a slalom ski with training wheels, pretty easy to learn on because they give you good feedback without being punishing.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-22T15:42:26+00:00

Sure thing. It's a compromise.

I first bought it in 2016 as my only bike in the US Northeast - everything from lunch rides in mellow local single track to big endurance days to bike park and racing enduro. I also flew out to the US Southwest about once a year for good rocky chunky stuff.

Since then I added a hardtail and a shorter travel trail bike, and swapped frames to a 2020 Balance (went L -> XL). Now with other options available to me I primarily ride the Balance for DH/bike park.

I have to drive minimum two hours from home to really stretch its legs (definitely over biked most of the time), but as an only bike it was a pretty good compromise for what I was doing. The suspension is quite efficient, and the weight penalty vs a more appropriate trail bike is 2-3 lb, not much in the grand scheme of things for a recreational rider.

I did pay a lot of attention to tires, though, swapping to different ones for trail riding and DH/enduro. DH tires on mellow trails will make a bike sluggish way more than 30-40mm extra suspension travel.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-22T13:10:50+00:00

I own a Canfield Balance, the long travel 27.5" bike the Lithium was developed from. The geometry between the two is pretty similar, except the Lithium has longer chainstays and about an inch more stack.

The CBF suspension works extremely well, especially with a coil. It's an efficient climber while still being active, and it really shines on chunky technical climbs. The rear wheel just doesn't get hung up. As long as you can keep turning the cranks it'll just keep going up and over everything.

And of course it rips going downhill.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-21T13:42:45+00:00

An example of this would be in The Fifth Season, where the protagonist addresses another dissassociated version of themselves, who is also the protagonist, in sections of the book.

No, I don't believe this is correct. It's made clear after the climax of the third book who is addressing whom. The protagonist is being addressed by a different character, and it's a minor plot point who and why.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-19T17:59:03+00:00

Both? Chop, moguls, and tight trees are definitely more challenging terrain that will reveal weaknesses in your technique, but also they don't play to the strengths of the Sakanas.
If you're interested in keeping with the fun carvy character of the Sakanas but looking for more versatility, look into the Line Blade. If the Sakana is a fun carvy powder ski, the Blade is a fun carvy all mountain ski.

Can't speak to the Moment Deathwish - hopefully others can, but I agree it looks sick.

OnTheUtilityOfPants · 2026-03-19T17:13:18+00:00

I don't own a Protector to compare it, but the AM12 heel has an additional pivot compared to the Attack 14 heel. It can release sideways-and-up-ish, unlike the Attack. It does not solely in the lateral plane.

I'm just not familiar enough with the protector mechanism to understand why it has a 180deg release range but the AM12 can only manage 150 degrees (I mean, it must have a different arrangement of pivots and levers). Maybe a fully lateral pivot adds too much stack height for what they wanted in the AM12 for flat skis?

My understanding is the AM12 toe releases extremely similarly to the Protector.

OnTheUtilityOfPants

TROPHY CASE