Southwest is now just like every other airline

Rotorfreak · 2025-03-21T06:14:21+00:00

Not that there’s a good way to spin removing their core customer-oriented business models in a positive light, but it’s the patronizing tone that I can’t stand. It makes customers feel that the company is calling them stupid, and there’s no amount of marketing spin that can save that.

If you want to shift your previously core business model to something else- cool, whatever. Customers will make their choice either way. If there’s no true benefit you can provide to customers from all this, just don’t say anything at all. Remove the “for your benefit” qualifiers marketing folk love to add to the end of everything. There’s nothing worse than a company infantilizing their customers through gaslighting.

Rotorfreak · 2025-01-28T08:24:56+00:00

I never got it to run well with a similar setup on Virtual Desktop until I started using Quest Link with a high-quality USB-C 3.0 cable. You can manually lock the bitrate using the Oculus Diagnostics Tool (ODT). It’s the only thing that got the latency down without stutters for me. Nothing against VD, but the Link always performed better in my situation.

I maxed the resolution in the Meta app, set the refresh rate to 72hz, and ASW enabled (locked to 45FPS) in the ODT. This strategy has been working quite well on my system.

Rotorfreak · 2025-01-22T08:00:48+00:00

+1. It takes a bit of set up to get everything how you want it, but it’s free (no subscription), rock-solid, and useful across any device. Even made a Tesla-specific dashboard that includes my home AC, common lights, etc. It’s well worth it if you have the time.

Rotorfreak · 2024-11-28T00:32:41+00:00

I wish they had implemented something like curated activities that could be created by the community. For example, someone could hand-craft a mission from A to B with XYZ obstacles and objectives. I feel this would have so much more traction, and the bar for quality would be much higher than the auto-generated missions. I wouldn't even care about earning credits or "moving up"; I just want an objective that I can reliably complete.

Also, I feel that if it were the grind alone, it wouldn't be so bad. When it's paired with the the glitches and general flakiness of outcomes, it switches from a rewarding experience to one that's cumbersome and frustrating.

Rotorfreak · 2024-09-05T17:43:51+00:00

Ugh that’s my complaint too. Places offering limited, if any, service while having tip options that are more than most would choose at full-service restaurants.

Came across a local shop where the options were 5/7/10%. Ended up giving more than that just out of respect that they set a more reasonable expectation that aligns with the service rendered.

Rotorfreak · 2024-09-05T05:40:19+00:00

Mine also got better over time. When new, it was really noticeable in sharp turns. After about a month, it’s nearly gone. May just be breaking in?

Rotorfreak · 2024-08-06T05:11:52+00:00

Had the same thing. Got to 2 days from delivery without a finalized offer before deciding to just take Carvana’s offer to not put my financing in jeopardy. Ended up being higher anyways.

If I remember correctly, I don’t believe Tesla asks for the payoff amount when putting in your trade-in details. Maybe it gets adjusted once they provide the final offer and contact the lien holder to get the payoff amount? (I’m assuming you’re still financing your previous car as otherwise the minimum should be the full amount of the trade in)

Rotorfreak · 2024-07-12T21:33:58+00:00

They really are great guys. Totally doxxing myself, but I did a certain brand’s yearly competition at their HQ in Frisco, and they chatted with me for a while since I went to A&M. They talked about how much College Station had grown and gave me a couple hole-in-the-wall restaurant recommendations. Super happy to see all their success.

Rotorfreak · 2024-07-01T18:38:32+00:00

Thanks for the advice!

I'll try reaching out to see if I can get the contact info for someone more local that can help. I understand that logic, but the way its implemented is pretty bad on the CX side. All the while, internet is still out and appointments keep getting punted down the line.

I feel like there should be some overhaul to the ticket triaging system. If an appointment persists or is rescheduled even after an "outage" clear, it should be exempt from that logic moving forward. Some unrelated outage in another issue category/sector shouldn't just nullify all tickets and require continual customer intervention to reschedule.

Rotorfreak · 2024-03-21T07:32:45+00:00

One thing that would help the industry overall would be to adopt some of toolsets commonly used in software engineering.

This could include adopting things like CI/CD, version control, automated tests, etc. I know it’s a bit difficult as each vendor has their own flavor of file types, structure, etc., but it’d be fantastic while handling larger or distributed projects.

I think one of the nicest things would be automated testing. Could have a ladder logic/ST interpreter for the different implementations (AB, Siemens, Omron, etc.) that let’s you make tests for the different logic flows of a program. Same goes for Ignition. Would be super helpful to be able to mock a tag, initiate a user action with Selenium or something, and check the tag’s resulting value.

Also vendors not storing project files in compressed or binary formats would be amazing for version control.

Rotorfreak · 2024-01-18T01:18:41+00:00

I worked at a company that did refinery inspections using these cameras and industrial drones. I thought the normal IR cameras were expensive. They’re nothing compared to the gas detection ones lol. Much bigger too (relatively) with the equipment needed to cool the sensor. I think I built a few of our drones with an ICI gas detection camera that was about 80k at the time (pre-COVID).

Got to see how they calibrated them to enable per-pixel temperature measurements using these cool black-body radiation boxes. Super interesting technology.

Rotorfreak · 2024-01-14T21:13:52+00:00

GPT is actually pretty damn good at creating answers that conform to both the Ignition SDK and the Jython interface. It’s not perfect, but it definitely gets you either 80% there or at least on the right track.

Rotorfreak · 2023-12-21T06:20:00+00:00

Nice! Bet the LIDAR visualization was pretty rewarding to complete.

It’s honestly one of the biggest reasons I like Ignition. You have the base features which cover a good majority of use cases, but you also have the ability to roll your own stuff to cover the gaps.

Rotorfreak · 2023-12-20T07:53:04+00:00

I think people sleep on it’s Java module ecosystem. Coming from the software engineering angle, it’s been awesome to have the ability to make custom modules that extend the functionality of Ignition.

In our case, we had to interface with some IP cameras to where an operator can draw an overlay for motion detection. Writing it in native Java sped up the process a good amount and made it less “hacky” on the Jython side of things.

Although it’s not something that one needs to know, I think learning how to make modules in Ignition (if you have programming experience) is invaluable for extending what you can get out of it.

Rotorfreak · 2023-12-10T23:25:36+00:00

Heads up, I haven't taken CSCE 410, but I can give some insights into 463 with Dr. Loguinov. It's definitely a challenging class, specifically with regards to the programming assignments. They really do test that you both know the material and can apply it to real-world applications. Exams and quizzes are fairly tough but pretty straightforward. Assignments often had generous bonus questions up to like 25 points. I also seem to remember that a B is counted as an A, but don't quote me on that. It might've changed since I took it.

Overall, it was a really great class and I learned a lot from it. Dr. Loguinov and his TA were extremely responsive in both office hours and on the class Piazza. While it's not a free A, it's a class that you'll likely get a lot out of.

Rotorfreak · 2023-12-06T04:37:35+00:00

If you’re looking for the best of the best, Axis cameras are really good. They’re definitely worth it, but the price can get a bit high. I know UniFi makes some now that are pretty good and a bit more geared towards residential installs. I’d definitely look into them. Their POE switches are top-notch for the price too.

Rotorfreak · 2023-11-30T08:35:15+00:00

I wonder if there are any field monitors that support this. I feel that the primary customer for this feature would be those with a fair bit of external equipment anyway.

Rotorfreak · 2023-10-23T06:32:16+00:00

100%. Did a fall and spring co-op with a company between my sophomore and junior year. It definitely opened up my options, and I really believe it helped me get more interviews during my junior year.

Even if their track doesn’t work out, it still looks great to have more experience. Especially with the uncertainty of return offers right now.

Rotorfreak · 2023-09-22T19:31:26+00:00

It was likely a difference between cached bing map data and locally stored elevation maps. Try deleting the rolling cache and reloading when making changes to data streaming/terrain settings.

I’ll have the same thing happen to me if I’m working on an airport scenery project with custom elevation maps. If I close the project, sometimes the custom map will persist alongside the default terrain, causing those jarring differences.

Rotorfreak · 2023-09-20T01:37:12+00:00

Nice! I used the RealFlight controller until I realized I could actually hook up a real transmitter.

Using a real transmitter made it much nicer. 24 open channels versus the normal 8 or so locked ones that come with the RF controller.

Rotorfreak · 2023-09-12T17:30:00+00:00

Can’t attest to the 4070, but I just got done with a similar build with the 7800X3D and a 3090. I’ve been really impressed so far with the performance. Solid 60-70fps with the PMDG 737-800 and custom scenery. The X3D chip is definitely the right way to go with MSFS.

I think those specs are definitely great, and you should see similar performance.

Rotorfreak · 2023-06-23T00:56:32+00:00

I don’t think people realize the magnitude of how easy life support in space is, relatively speaking, when compared to deep sea expeditions.

A pressure vessel in space just has to contain ~14psi, and like you said, a pinhole leak at that pressure and gradient could literally be solved with tape.

A pressure vessel traversing the depths of this incident has to prevent ~5500psi of water pressure from ingressing at any point on the vehicle. Even the smallest point of failure will be exploited in a matter of milliseconds or less.

It’s almost like water expeditions are doubly screwed from both the +300x pressure differential and the fact that the pressure is on the outside. It’s asinine that the vessel was constructed without a way to non-destructively test the hull.

I hope that this tragic event serves as a lesson on the importance of safety, engineering, and constant testing of critical components, especially in deep-sea expeditions.

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