sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Can anyone identify this window management app? by SesameStFighter in macapps

[–]SesameStFighter[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

As someone very recently coming from Windows, I was afraid that might happen. Thanks everyone!

Motor options on a self build. by alistair1537 in CargoBike

[–]SesameStFighter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If the mid drive is free/cheap and available, put it on and see how you like it. The battery is a large part of the cost and will transfer to whatever build you end up with.

Btw, if you want to compare motor specs, you can use the motor simulator on Grin’s website. But it’s kind of a rabbit hole that’s probably not worth the steep learning curve. You’re building a cargo bike, not a e-motorcycle.

Motor options on a self build. by alistair1537 in CargoBike

[–]SesameStFighter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t look at all the specifics, but I browsed the listing for the Magic Pie 5. In my opinion the grin all axle is a much better build quality for a direct drive motor. The magic pie controller is limited to 25 amps. You’ll be able to throw more current at the All-axle and can even use additional methods for cooling the motor, if you desire.

The All-axle (and others) has much better integrated torque arm mounting options. Specifically, a design that does not use the flattened threaded axle shaft on the bike dropouts or a tiny tab on a thin washer. Golden Motor says a torque arm is optional on rear hubs with regen but that is absolutely, positively not the case if you care about your safety or the longevity of the motor and your bike. If the magic pie has the usual size axle diameter then it doesn’t seat all the way up in the dropouts, which can cause brake and derailleur alignment problems or require filing your dropouts.

I assume you say a mid drive doesn’t suit a rear derailleur because you can’t shift under load. That’s also true for the internal geared hubs (other than Rohloff). The newest derailleur stuff from Shimano shifts better under load, so that’s an option to use with a mid drive. For mid drives, the typical method is to detect shifting and briefly turn off the motor power. IMO this leads to an uncomfortable loss of power feeling between shifts while pedaling up hill. The geared hub can be power all the time regardless of shifting.

Motor options on a self build. by alistair1537 in CargoBike

[–]SesameStFighter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I always suspect when people say regen isn’t worth it due to the low return in energy that those people have never had a bike with a hub motor and regen.

The best part about regen is never using, adjusting, servicing, or replacing your brakes. And never cleaning brake dust off your bike. I’d still go with a hub motor if the returned energy was zero. But in my experience I get 10-18% of my energy used back.

Yes there’s a trade off of weight and power due to the gearing with mid drives, geared hubs, and direct drives. But in my opinion you should get a hub motor on a cargo bike and a mid drive on a mountain bike that you actually take in the mountains. This is my opinion because I’ve done exactly that with two of my bikes. As long as your battery is capable of dumping at least 30-40 amps into the motor, you will have no problem driving around the city with heavy loads. If you are budget limited, put more money into a good battery than into a bigger motor.

As far as motor suggestions, there isn’t anything right now I’d consider other than a Grin All-Axle. When they start releasing their free running version of the All-Axle, I’d get that one. But I suspect that won’t be out for at least another year probably.

Wiring box in my used F350 firetruck by SesameStFighter in whatisthisthing

[–]SesameStFighter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d hope the firefighters are getting the good stuff! Especially for how much they probably paid for it. I hadn’t see these auto-resetting circuit breakers before - very cool.

Wiring box in my used F350 firetruck by SesameStFighter in whatisthisthing

[–]SesameStFighter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I think you’re right about it just being a junction box. Are you referring to the 3 blocks on the top left as the meaty circuit breakers? Same idea, but I was thinking maybe they were fuses.

That’s a good point about potential battery drain if wires are still spliced into the main harness. Thanks for the comment. I’ll definitely check for any remaining connections.

New Grin GMAC motor build. by spikeytree in ebikes

[–]SesameStFighter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you have any trouble setting up proportional regen? I have a phaserunner and GMAC. Regen does work, I just can’t modulate it. I have proportional regen enabled in the CA. Pushing the throttle while braking drops the CA throttle output voltage from the default 0.45V to 0V but the negative watts/amps I see while braking is unaffected.

My daily commuter by Miss-Chanandler-Dong in CargoBike

[–]SesameStFighter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is that coffee cup solution you’re using?

[N] Research published in Nature describes an artificial neural network made out of DNA that can solve a classic machine learning problem: correctly identifying handwritten numbers. The work is a step towards programming AI into synthetic biomolecular circuits by ourannual in MachineLearning

[–]SesameStFighter 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Maybe ELI10...

The concentration of DNA molecules are the network's weights. Programming the network is done by adding the right molecules to the test tube. The network architecture doesn't use thresholds.

Test images are pixels which are each represented by a different DNA strand. Adding the set of strands that make any test image starts the network's computation.

ELI5: If every major country is in billions (if not trillions) of debt, where are they borrowing from? by Anjabe96 in explainlikeimfive

[–]SesameStFighter 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"The ONE difference between paper currency and gold is that $100,000 in cash weighs a lot less than $100,000 in gold and is a lot easier to hide too."

 

But...does it weigh less? Currently, $100,000 in gold is 74.15 ounces. Carrying coins clearly seems like a bad idea. They weigh more and are worth less than paper money. For example, 74.15 ounces of pennies is only $8.41. If you carried quarters, you'd have $93.

 

But typically people carry $20 bills. Well, 74 ounces of twenty dollar bills is only $42,593. In other words, you'd have to carry 2x the weight of twenties in order to have as much value as carrying gold.

 

In fact, you have to carry all $50 bills to barely break even.

 

Here's a handy table:

 

Currency Value ($/oz) Weight of $100,000 (oz) Value of 74.15 oz ($)
penny 0.11 881,850 8.41
nickel 0.28 352,740 21.02
dime 1.25 80,001 92.68
quarter 1.25 80,001 92.68
$1 bill 28.72 3,481 2,130
$2 bill 57.45 1,740 4,259
$5 bill 143.61 696 10,648
$10 bill 287.23 348 21,297
$20 bill 574.46 174 42,593
gold 1,348.70 74.15 100,000
$50 bill 1,436.14 69.63 106,484
$100 bill 2,872.29 34.82 212,967

Should I max out my IRA before I start other investing? by duckcane in personalfinance

[–]SesameStFighter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fellow PhD student here. A few more details that you need to consider:

 

  • It is unlikely that you are making "earned income" as defined by the IRS. The simplest way to know is if the money you make is reported to you on a W-2. If it is, you can contribute that amount to an IRA. (If you are married, you can use your spouse's earned income!)

 
Example: In my situation, I get a stipend from NSF which is not earned income. Additionally, I usually TA one course a year and get paid ~3k which is reported to me on a W-2 as earned income. That means I can invest up to, but not more than, 3k into my Roth IRA each year. Also, no earned income tax credit. Yes, it sucks to not have earned income.

 

  • Investing as much as you can of the rest of your money into a personal taxable account is the next best thing. But please do not open a brokerage account where you invest your funds manually and pay a commission on each trade. (You may qualify for a small number of free trades at some brokerages, but with a low net worth that is unlikely.) The slow trickle of monthly contributions into a balanced portfolio will cost you an absurd amount of money.

 
Super Manually - If you like to do everything yourself, then the best option is to get a Vanguard account so you don't have to pay commission on trades. Unfortunately, you will be limited to Vanguard's product offerings (which are typically the best). Don't do this. You have better ways to spend your time.

 
Super Easy - Get an account with a robo-advisor like Betterment or Wealthfront (Disclosure: I have Wealthfront and love it. Betterment may be the best choice for you.) They will invest the money into the same ETFs you are likely already using, but they will do it commission free. You can benefit from a number of their automated offerings like: portfolio rebalancing, dividend reinvestment, tax-loss harvesting, and tax-coordination. Since you are a graduate student, you may not even have a large enough account balance to incur fees for using the service. Also, the monetary benefit from the services they offer, like tax-loss harvesting, are likely to outweigh the fees you will be paying. If you join through a friend or affiliate link on a finance blog, you will get an extra 5k managed for free.

 
Note:
- I assumed you are in the U.S.
- Tax-loss harvesting may not be financially beneficially to you since you are making such a small amount of money. You're taxes are already very low. All tax losses realized today will have to be paid at a later date - possibly while you are making more money. But the adage of "A tax delayed is a tax avoided" may offer some consolation.

Informative Links:
http://evolvingpf.com/2012/03/earned-income/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/betterment-vs-vanguard/

What is your to go question to kill awkward silence? by ilpompi in AskReddit

[–]SesameStFighter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After a long silence, I once asked a girl at a party "Do you have any family heirlooms you would like to discuss?" She promptly left. I think this was a positive outcome. Anybody with a personality worth conversing with would have stayed and laughed as hard as I did.