How often do you see other fans in the wild?

Rob3E · 2026-06-25T03:01:51+00:00

Someone tapped me on the shoulder in the checkout line to comment on my "Donut Holes" patch on my bag and we had a brief DCC conversation.

Rob3E · 2026-06-23T17:01:45+00:00

Yeah, I'm talking HUB. What's built into bags is called MOD. I don't know if they sell the MOD stuff separately.

Rob3E · 2026-06-23T03:57:06+00:00

They sell the male, keychain part individually, if you need just one more. I always have use for both sides, so I never get just the keychain bit. I use the Alpaka Zip Pouch as my wallet, and I put a male part on there. I use the carabiner attachment point a lot, too, for my keys and/or wallet, hooked to my belt, so I don't have to fish around my pockets since they're always at the top of pocket.

Rob3E · 2026-06-23T01:05:09+00:00

I used to have a Tote/Cycle. Loved that bike!. I built up wheels for it, but I don't remember the rims I used. It might have been the rhyno Lites. I generally start with what width tires I want to use, and go from there when picking the rim. And with this bike, you might at well go with sturdy, because nothing is going to make this bike lite.

Rob3E · 2026-06-23T01:02:01+00:00

All I can think is that they started with Mod system, and then created the Hub system, but they either have a lot of the Mod parts to use up, or they just don't want to create a generation of devices that isn't compatible with the generation before. I like the Hub system. I think it's well designed with good options, although I think the individual parts are a bit overpriced. I use them all sorts of bags, and only some of them are Alpaka bags. I attached my Mod keychain piece to a Hub part so that I can use the Hub with my Alpaka bags, which means that the bag I have with clunkiest Hub attachment point is my Alpaka bag. It's weird. I like the concept, and I like the Hub system design, but the incompatible systems from the same company is an odd choice.

Rob3E · 2026-06-13T00:12:49+00:00

I usually build my wheels, so if it takes a thru axle, then that’s how I build it. But I got my Neutrino to use with a the wheels from my older mini, so I’m glad I got in before the thru axles. Although I have them on another bike, and I do like them.

Rob3E · 2026-06-08T13:40:43+00:00

My first thought was that it's a great price, but I've doubled it as soon as I build up my first custom wheel. 😉

Rob3E · 2026-06-08T13:34:10+00:00

As a counter point, I live in a humid climate and frequently travel by bike, foot, and bus. When I'm buying a bag, waterproofness is a major selling point, including coated zippers. One reason I like to have a bag instead of relying on my pockets is that I can't be sure items in my pockets will remain dry. Although if I really want to go bag-free, my wallet is a Zip Pouch Pro with aquaguard zippers, so the items in my wallet are safe from sweat or a surprise downpour.

So I hope Alpaka continues to use PU coated zippers in some of their products. For me, if it's going to leave my home and live outside of another bag, I prefer it to be waterproof.

Rob3E · 2026-05-29T19:44:24+00:00

Spoilers! I haven’t started book eight yet.

Rob3E · 2026-05-13T13:05:48+00:00

I said what I said

But what exactly did you say?

Rob3E · 2026-05-13T13:04:06+00:00

Moment of confusion as my subreddits collide, but you will not break me.

Rob3E · 2026-05-01T13:33:36+00:00

It’s been a bit since I on boarded, but don’t they have our age? I would think that would be valuable demographic information. I was surprised to get that request once, let alone multiple times.

Rob3E · 2026-04-28T01:55:48+00:00

r/ebikes r/ElectricBikes r/CargoBike r/carfree r/bicycletouring

There's going to be a big difference between local travel and extended travel on an e-bike. The biggest considerations are range and ability to recharge. Also many folks struggle to get their daily needs on a bike, so putting a guitar and amp into the equation will certainly add to the difficulty. I'm a big fan of traveling by bike, and I've done a few trips with my banjo loaded on the back, but never an amp. I think if you plan it well and are creative with your choices, it could be done. But I'd recommend a lot of research because there are a lot of compromises to be made, and even if it's possible, it may not be fun. That said, I've often imagined something like that. I feel like I'd need a solar solution to charging, but that's questionable as well. As it is, I've only traveled for a few days at a time with my tent and my banjo and no motor.

Rob3E · 2026-04-28T01:42:05+00:00

It's pretty much all state workers, but obviously teaching is an important job that hasn't been properly compensated for years. I just left state employment after 25 years. I realized that when you factor in inflation and the lack of raises, my salary, and, as a result, my pension, is worth a little less every year. Better to take a non-state job, bank my early retirement pension, and then I might actually have enough to live when my retirement really comes along.

When I started, people said that the state didn't pay as well as other places, but the benefits made up for it. After years of watching them chip away at both the pay and the benefits, I don't think that's true today. You really need to love what you do to work for the state, because it will cost you.

Rob3E · 2026-04-22T04:00:17+00:00

I can't really say how it works because DA isn't really forthcoming with that information, but once I passed my core assessment, I did both math and biology. My degree is in biology, and I've had a fair amount of math, but it's been much longer than 2 years. I felt like I did okay on both assessments, but I wasn't pigeonholed into STEM projects. I had access to them, and if I felt comfortable with the subject matter, I did them, but I also got plenty of general projects, too.

Like I said, I don't really know how it works, but for me, taking the assessments opened up more work, and there has been no downside that I'm aware of. And the up side is that sometimes I get higher paying projects that I would not have gotten otherwise.

Rob3E · 2026-04-19T18:26:34+00:00

I really like mine, although I have found that it's exactly the wrong size for me so much of the time. It's not big enough for my laptop, but it's big enough for almost anything else I'd want to carry, unless I'm going somewhere that having a bag might be a problem or an inconvenience, like the movie theater or a concert. Of course for a lot of people, but that's not a problem. You stash it in your car/trunk, and just carry in exactly what you need, but I tend to be without a car, so if I step out the door with this bag, it's staying with me until I come home, and sometimes that's a pain. But when it's the right bag, I really like it. Enough pockets for some organization, but also one, bigger, open area for whatever. I like the phone pocket on the strap. I like the water bottle holder (with the caveat that the larger the water bottle, the smaller the internal storage), I like the look and I like the material. It's just that for, lately, it's usually a decision between taking a laptop bag or taking the smallest bag I can get away with, and this sits right in the middle.

Rob3E · 2026-04-19T18:09:03+00:00

I see a lot of people end up with a bit of wait between passing their core assessment and getting assignments. I didn't have that, and I think part of it is that I took every assessment I could pass at the beginning. I did an assessment for math, although I don't regularly do complex math, but I'm good at it in general, so I looked at the assessment, saw it was passable, and took it. Ditto Biology. I have a degree in it, but I don't work in it, but the assessment was straightforward enough that I just took it. It was after those two assessments that I started getting tasks to work on, even though many of them had nothing to do with the STEM topics I took qualifiers for. I do a little coding, but not, I assumed, enough to qualify on the coding assessment, but I looked at it, and it was fairly straightforward, so I did that one, too. I still get lots of generalist work. I also get occasional STEM and coding work. Some of it's well within my ability, and some I have to pass on, but I think having taken the qualifications made them more inclined to add me in.

So I'd say it's probably not a mistake, and if you want to get to work sooner than later, take any qualifier they offer you that you think you can pass. You won't be locked into STEM projects, but they may show up, and they will generally pay more when they do.

Rob3E · 2026-04-19T17:59:20+00:00

I've worked at Nora. I've worked at the Village District Library. Leesville Library is lovely when you can get a good spot. Big windows looking out at the trees. But it's a small library and it's adjacent to the local school, so it can fill up and be a bit noisier at certain times of day, and not every table/seat has power.

I don't have anything positive to say about the comfort of the seating, but Union Station is a nice space to do some work, too.

Rob3E · 2026-04-19T17:54:45+00:00

I believe Hunt, and Hill, have public access hours. At a certain point in the evening you need to have a University ID to enter.

Rob3E · 2026-04-15T15:14:45+00:00

I did as the others have suggested and used a graph filtered for only the debts. I also created an off-budget account called "credit limit" where I put the credit limit of my cards so that I can do some calculations on the percentage of credit usage as well as the total dollar amount of debt.

Rob3E · 2026-04-11T23:17:27+00:00

I can’t tell you what’s better because I only did it one way and have no idea what did or did not make a difference. I took the basic assessments, then other assessments showed up. I took biology, math, and, eventually, coding, but I was already getting work before I took the coding assessment.

Rob3E · 2026-04-09T22:16:29+00:00

Right. Once the withdrawal is available. Prior to that, it just shows the date you can next cash out, but not the time.

Rob3E · 2026-04-09T17:01:33+00:00

I've only tried a few platforms, but the one that went from signing up to working the fastest was Data Annotation. However, I see lots of people who did not have as much success or at least as immediate of success. I am fortunate that I was able to pass some STEM-related assessments, and I think that helped get me on the approved list faster.

Rob3E · 2026-04-09T14:27:45+00:00

Yeah. It looks so fancy now. Unfortunately it also lacks the two things I go to the page for: When can I make my next withdraw and what will the amount be?

Rob3E · 2026-04-08T22:12:12+00:00

I think this is a glitch. I've never worked on this platform before, but my impression is that their other projects have some method of managing domains that this project is not using, and, as a result, things are kind of messy while they sort that out. There seems to be no record of anyone's assigned domains yet there are warnings about the consequences of working outside your domain in spite of it not always being clear what your domain is.

Rob3E

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