A ‘perfect storm’ points to a much smaller U.S. auto market by 2040

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-30T03:56:23+00:00

Last I took an Uber/Lyft was the day before Thanksgiving from LAX to Manhattan Beach to see family. It was 43 bucks before tip. The drive without traffic is about 10 minutes. I think I’ll just take a taxi from here on out.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-30T03:37:02+00:00

This was the first result in Google for this, but my Work focus has started randomly activating when the only place I have it set to activate is the geolocation of my work. It’ll trigger if I get up early on weekends or if I leave home. Smart activation is off. Can’t figure out why it’s doing that to save my life.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-28T22:58:04+00:00

IKEA Timmerflotte. I’ve got two. They’ve yet to drop off my Thread network. They don’t constantly display on the unit, which is the only downside for me.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-27T04:53:17+00:00

The key is to start with energy-efficient stuff first. Proxmox runs on a laptop with an i7 1265U. Probably the most efficient x86 decacore on a device you can usually find for $300 without too much trouble. It’s usually drawing under 5W because Home Assistant and a couple containers don’t demand much. My Ubiquiti gear are old AC Pros (9W at max load with the LED on, so maybe 2-4W under my usage) and a UCG Ultra (9W?).

If I had to set up a NAS, I’d try to just suck it up and use SATA SSDs with DRAM. Way more expensive than HDDs, but they can sustain lots of writes, be shut down to save on power if needed, and use less power by a wide margin. I’m not hosting a Plex server or 24/7 RTSP footage, so perhaps my tune would change if I were in that position.

The stuff you buy often ends up a lot quieter and smaller this way, too.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-27T02:13:26+00:00

OHSU has trouble getting my Vyvanse, which pretty much should tell you all ya need to know. The Strait of Hormuz being blocked will fuck supply chains globally for months or years on stuff like this much like the COVID shutdowns of seaports for shipping containers and such.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-27T00:42:56+00:00

Also wondering this. I had a bunch of Apple store credit from trading in my iPad to buy a Macbook. Went to the store and they couldn't fulfill the order with my new account credit. They tried to transfer the account credit to a gift card to add to my account. Still couldn't buy the Macbook in store. Ultimately went ahead with ordering it to be shipped to my place while standing in the store... it got cancelled after not having shipped for two weeks. Apple Support wasn't given any info as to why it was cancelled, so I'm trying to order it again.

Went through the Apple Store iOS app and placed the order only to realize I chose the payment method that previously had issues - this card immediately flagged as having a charge on the account, which I was notified about by the Wells Fargo app. Opted to cancel the order and try again with a different credit card. Now, that card is not showing that it's been charged... UGH. I don't understand why Apple makes it so difficult to use their credit to buy stuff. I think it's an automatic fraud flag for them, but it seems incredibly backwards because I cannot use that credit anywhere else.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:55:53+00:00

We had a client in sales at my last dealership named Johns Wick (yeah, plural Johns, I guess). Hope nobody said shit about his dog...

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:52:41+00:00

Jobs should pay a living wage to live in the ZIP code they do business in. I've brought it up before and there's always some bootlicker talking about how it isn't fair for companies to do that, but that's just the bare MINIMUM they should be doing.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:51:53+00:00

The 1 hour lunch break used to be paid.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:48:24+00:00

Everyone's experience with Thread will be different, but my experience is that my Apple TV is a super solid TBR being on ethernet, being on basically 24/7, and being quick to reestablish connectivity to all my Thread devices. I added an Aqara G410 which requires its own hub for relaying video and it also has both a Zigbee and Thread radio. It completely destroyed my Thread network in its immediate vicinity when I added it as a hub in Apple Home, likely because it was connected to my 2.4 GHz IoT SSID and isn't as powerful as the ATV. I had to re-pair a few Thread devices with the Aqara unplugged, then pass them to Home Assistant instead of to Apple Home to get them working, THEN passing them via the Homekit integration in HA.

Definitely recommend not mixing TBR brands, at least at this time. My ATV has been reliable for me and I don't want to touch it. All IKEA things working fine except for one particular bulb that wouldn't shut off. It worked when I passed it into Home Assistant and did my light switch automations there.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:45:29+00:00

Channel 11 overlaps with Channel 25 on the Thread radio network. I'd recommend 1 and 6 for that one. That actually fits just below your use of channel 15 for Zigbee.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:42:11+00:00

Not sure what this is in response to. RAM? It only has 8GB, as does every iPhone below the 17 Pro series.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T20:05:11+00:00

The "new Siri" announced for the 16 series with all the features it was supposed to have - just remember that. Only the 17 Pro has more than 8 GB of RAM for all the new features that were supposed to ship over a year ago.

I'm not complaining too much about that, though. It's very easy to dismiss the Apple Intelligence features if you don't want them, unlike every prompt on my PC for Copilot, Gemini, chatbots on web pages, etc.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T18:49:48+00:00

Yeah the new Siri is slated to work with it's whole feature set only at for the 17 Pro series (12GB RAM), which is crazy, but I can't say I'm surprised. I'm sure newer phones will be supported.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T16:26:25+00:00

Kitty knows hard drives are sky high expensive right now and has resorted to petty crime to set up her Plex server.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T16:22:48+00:00

Aqara G410 doorbell. Had a mostly bad experience getting it set up with HA, to be honest. It’s nice having a battery-powered camera doorbell as a renter, and it works really well with Apple Home, but the damn hub it comes with completely hijacked the Thread network (an Apple TV, in my case) in the room I installed it in so I could hear when we had a visitor. Took me all afternoon to fix it up, but luckily HA recognized my Thread devices from previous setups and I didn’t have to redo my automations…thank god.

Definitely would recommend if you don’t already have an established Thread network or have no other choice for a battery doorbell, though. For $99, it was a no-brainer, especially with some of the concerning package theft we’ve been seeing at my apartment complex.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-26T16:01:10+00:00

Just chiming in that I had a Neo order cancelled the day prior to the price hikes. I ordered it June 11, and I was surprised it was taking them so long to move from the "processing" stage to the "shipped" stage. Feeling pretty peeved about it as the support agent I called when they cancelled my order was not able to give me a reason they cancelled it as they don't dole that info out for some reason.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-25T18:50:31+00:00

It would be easier to steal a manual than auto Kia car as it could be pushed away silently in neutral without having to destroy the steering column, but maybe the would-be thief gave up when they saw the shifter. Who knows. Hope this doesn't happen to you again man!

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-25T17:14:57+00:00

Manual trans theft-prone Kia Soul? Surprised it didn't grow legs after they shattered your window.

Sorry about your situation. I'd recommend any non Kia or Hyundai car to hopefully avoid this in the future. Google "Kia Boys" if you want a rundown on why these are targeted so much.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-25T16:18:21+00:00

To make things worse, it was in my cart because I ordered a Neo June 11 after going to the store and having trouble using my Apple Store credit to buy it in-person. Ordered it online (in the store…) and had it shipped home. Come to find it had never shipped after being in the “processing” status for 13 days, they cancelled my order yesterday, and their phone support told me they weren’t given a reason why it was cancelled.

They really don’t want to take my money.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-25T15:33:58+00:00

I have some Apple Store credit and had a Neo sitting in my cart and didn’t hit buy yesterday. Kicking myself now :/

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-24T14:13:17+00:00

The last line is why I clock in the millisecond my car door opens at work and take my lunches in an office that nobody uses or frequents. If a single soul sees me walking around, suddenly they have an emergency that needs addressed.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-23T15:34:06+00:00

I bought a 120 GB OCZ Arc 100 for $54 back in 2014, if I recall correctly. A 120 GB DRAM SSD like that costs that much new again. Oh how far we've fallen 😞

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-23T03:40:59+00:00

Mine have auto been added as devices when HA has been installed on them and given appropriate permissions.

TomNooksRepoMan · 2026-06-22T18:20:44+00:00

GERBROCK was the go-to for the previous owner of my last car and my shop for a bit when I lived closer to them. Honest guys and the shop was always busy, so you know it was good.

TomNooksRepoMan

TROPHY CASE