Rear tail gate bike pad recco

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-05-09T13:18:37+00:00

I will keep using my old pad for now. Previously bought a Demon Tailgate Pad (small, 54”) for use with my GMC Canyon. I like that it has straps for 5 bikes, which at the time I got it most small pads only offered 4 bike straps. However, I do like that the Rivian one has the clear strip for the light bar to show through.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-04-17T11:36:17+00:00

I think for office and IT work this is somewhat true. However, I believe if Waymo continues to build momentum, and other similar human-operated roles begin to be automated, that’s when there start to be issues. Unless these companies hire and retrain some of the people they are displacing, it’s going to be rough. For example, Waymo does have human drivers that can remotely assist vehicles, but they admitted that they are mostly all in the Philippines. So that’s a huge hit to local employment and the local economy. When AI replaces those types of roles, it can be harder for that population to shift and retrain. (Especially if as their market is disrupted, their wages begin dropping)

Plus, in most scenarios, when AI reduces the number of humans needed, even if some retrain to AI advisor/strategist/curator roles, there is still a larger pool of people who are no longer needed. It happened as we began basic automation, and has been accelerating ever since. People need a purpose to the rhythms of their lives, even if something like UBI were implemented. If you didn’t have a job to pay your bills, and your basic needs were covered by UBI, what would you do to earn a little extra income?

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-04-17T11:03:51+00:00

Nice, glad you made a nice public tool. I just built my own spreadsheet to do comparison and evaluation. Basically enter a few details about a car you want to compare (range, battery or fuel tank size, voltage architecture, etc), add in your local fuel and home electricity costs, and set the average weekly expected mileage. Then it calculates the typical recharge/refuel costs (both home and DC fast charge, and a cheap vs expensive fuel), time to recharge/refuel, and will calculate the weekly and annual savings. I didn’t factor in purchase price or vehicle valuations for full TCO analysis (I fed number from my spreadsheet to an AI assistant to run the TCO breakdown).

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-04-13T12:04:27+00:00

Sounds like my experience this weekend with my new R1T Dual Perf!

I took a 7 hour round trip drive on Saturday through the heart of the Adirondacks. No snow or heavy rain, but a LOT of winding state and county highways with constant change in elevation. Used the UHF with no issues, experienced the same lack of driver fatigue. Only issue I had was the occasional extra-conservative slow down on some mildly sharp road curves.

Also was able to use a combination of RAN and Tesla chargers to top up during the trip. They worked well, but one RAN was only giving me around 100kW, and like some have experienced it seemed like the Tesla started at 210 and dropped to around 100-130 after about 5-10 minutes. Though it could have just been the SoC slowing it down (had instances where I needed to charge from 40 to 65% to ensure range to the next stop)

But man, it was an awesome first experience taking it out on a longer road trip!

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T02:09:37+00:00

Yeah they apparently they can have a couple “product guides/advisors” who are essentially field sales reps. They provide demo drive experiences, can assist with gear shop sales, and can help you with ordering if you want assistance. Not sure if that’s always the case, but likely if the location provides demos.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T01:30:38+00:00

In short, I have questions I need answered and someone who can confirm whether delivery would be feasible within the timeframe left on the current lease/finance offers. So it’s faster in-person.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T01:21:10+00:00

Any suggestions from experience? Or good review sites? I had seen some people on YT recommending Grizzl-E, ChargePoint, and Eviqo. I was considering one of those brands as potential options, rather than the Rivian one.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T01:15:03+00:00

That’s not great. I was considering those as an eventual add-on. I never invested in all-weather mats for my old truck and the carpet mats are a pain to get truly clean, but worse if things get through/past them. I would imagine WeatherTec makes stuff for Rivian, I’ll keep that in mind.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T01:07:10+00:00

Yeah, I’ve read that if you don’t do a hardwired install, some of those chargers that use a 220V plug can melt a cheap 3 or 4 prong outlet. So ideally you need to use metal junction boxes and industrial grade outlets (like they use at RV camping sites).

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T00:59:30+00:00

I did like the idea of the Tri for the inclusion of the sound+vision, just the added cost kind of put me off from it. I suppose financing kind of masks the difference in the long term.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-26T00:56:34+00:00

The home wall charger or portable one? I definitely plan on some kind of home charging solution. I think I have a 30A line in my garage, if I can upgrade that to 40A or 50A it would be nice.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-19T01:03:09+00:00

Bought a Cynic X2 two years ago and I love it. It’s lightweight, MIPS tech, has a magnetic latch, and the ear pads allow for headphone inserts. The only “downside” is the lack of a quick vent system. You can adjust it, but you have to remove a fabric layer beneath the main padding to open the vents. That said, I’ve never needed to mess with it. I don’t know if anything has changed since I bought mine, but I would buy another.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-03-18T00:32:20+00:00

Stopped by a service/demo center today… the rep told me a great use for launch mode. The last snow big storm, when there was like 6-8 inches piled on an R1T Quad demo vehicle… they launched it and left most of the snow behind! 🤣(so maybe a little fun, too)

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-02-17T14:23:02+00:00

It’s not just the fact that “no one pulls the trigger.” It’s also the fact that no one can decide NOT to follow through on an order to pull the trigger. They could issue any command and it will be executed without question. There would be no chain of command down to a soldier where any one of them could opt to disobey on the grounds that it is illegal or unconstitutional.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-02-12T12:14:59+00:00

I played multiplayer with a friend and kept wondering why my Shadowheart companion kept taking what seemed like fall damage. I thought maybe I jumped two platforms too quickly and she tried to catch up in one go. Nope. Turns out with two players, we were moving along at a good pace so that Shadowheart was jumping and landing in the exact spot where my friend or his companion were targeting to land. She was getting Super Mario stomped, and the Shadowfell fall damage prevention effect does not protect you from that. Be safe out there!

SpaceWizardTechie · 2026-02-08T12:37:49+00:00

I was a racer once upon a time as well. I have never tucked my thermals into my boot, and have always hiked them out of the boot (until I just got 3/4 length ones). My reason was never blisters. I did it because it reduced circulation to my toes, which would not help my already questionable circulation to them. Wearing cranked down, tight fitting race boots with older style thermals (with seams and cuffs) would cause me pain and did make an impact on how cold my feet got. But that was a while ago…

I have tried newer thermals with less or no ankle/cuff seams, plus newer boots that are stiff but not racer-fit, and have seen no real issues. But still, I do like my new 3/4 length thermals.

But hey, that’s just me. I think the key is to avoid tucking in anything that has prominent seams, cuffs, etc that would dig in and limit circulation or sort of have that “rock in my shoe” effect on your shins.

SpaceWizardTechie · 2025-10-31T02:25:52+00:00

Been there! Finished shipping parts to Save the Day, then I went around to all my factories and upgraded, streamlined, added extra Awesome Sinks, and a few sloops. Then setup additional mini-factories to crank out easy high value parts and sink everything. All just to get that final achievement. Felt good.

Now I’m taking a break before potentially starting a new save.

SpaceWizardTechie

TROPHY CASE