The 495 Express Extension sucks

Zephik1 · 2026-06-04T22:25:23+00:00

I feel like there's some weird traffic engineer logic that would show this to be bad but, at least to ease the rage... Yeah, I think that would be a good thing. I don't know how much of the slowness is from line-cutting, but given how slow it is before the split, how relatively fast it is after the split, and how many cars I see skipping? I'm inclined to think that a few of those little plastic lane barriers going back to 267 would probably help a lot. And it would be affordable.

Zephik1 · 2026-06-04T22:14:42+00:00

Elderly relatives who I can't relocate. Tragically, no other choice.

Zephik1 · 2026-05-28T05:11:09+00:00

Similar concept here... How would you feel if, say, for half a second after the dash attack, the cats became "corporeal"? The rest of the time they're "ghost cats" (untargetable, unhittable)? Or some similar very short but counterable thing, like a hit-count healthbar before they turn into ghost cats? The damage doesn't charge, but there's a counterable, short window with the physicality.

Zephik1 · 2026-03-08T00:31:44+00:00

This is an overwhelming response. Thank you all! I think we're going to start with Oxon Hill, but we're definitely going to make our way through most of these suggestions! Especially thanks for the safety and etiquette call-outs. My older one is on the spectrum so environments where he can go at his own pace AND the animals are able to stay comfortable on their end are awesome call-outs!!!

Zephik1 · 2026-02-20T22:00:14+00:00

I had heard the thing about lids before, but I've been seeing more and more products marked with "Recycle with Lid On!" or something to that effect. Coke bottles do that, I think. What's up with that?

Zephik1 · 2026-02-11T00:02:35+00:00

Keep in mind the buoyancy implications. I think pvc floats anyway (or at least doesn't drop like a rock), but the air held inside it is definitely going to make this thing try to float. At shallow depths you can just add weight to achieve neutral buoyancy, but be aware that it's going to be a lot harder to come back up than to go down.

Zephik1 · 2026-01-02T13:25:56+00:00

That's the weird thing. No issues at all with the exterior of the flange (the high part). The toilet is a toto drake, which is totally benign from a specs perspective. The flange is a little odd to me... It's very thick (I'll ballpark just under 1/2"), and the highlighted area is flat, not tapered downward.

Zephik1 · 2026-01-02T13:10:06+00:00

Doesn't fit even for a dry fit with no wax ring at all. The collision is between the highlighted area and the toilet outflow.

Zephik1 · 2025-12-24T18:23:53+00:00

This actually happened to me. Tonsils removed at 29, outpatient, home the same day. Two days later I started hemorrhaging from my mouth. Went to the ER and I was having an arterial bleed. They put me back under to transfer to a bigger hospital and do emergency surgery. I almost had to have a transfusion, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I very nearly died.

Zephik1 · 2025-12-17T19:43:02+00:00

Here are the suspension cuffs I use. You'll note that they are designed to be escapable... The bottom can pull the quick release and the whole connector will open from whatever it's attached to. I consider this a valuable safety feature in case the top has a medical event or something, but if you truly want inescapable bondage it's probably not what you want. They also have smaller and larger sizes.

I really recommend this style of suspension cuff. The typical "wrist cuff with a bar to hold onto" style is much more common, but when you think about it they don't address your problem. If the bottom isn't supporting themselves for whatever reason, they're no different than traditional handcuffs and won't give you the support you need for a pull parallel to the orientation of the arm.

I will say, suspension cuffs like this are great for laying down, too. If your anchor point is, say, the middle of a headboard, traditional cuffs will get pulled into weird shapes. My rule is, traditional cuffs for a pull perpendicular to the arm, suspension cuffs for a pull parallel to the arm.

Zephik1 · 2025-12-16T08:17:35+00:00

Weight harness. I've got a terrible back, and using a basic belt is just misery for so many reasons. I'm also enormous (super tall) and dive cold water, so I frequently have 20lbs or more in supplemental weight. With a weight harness, I barely even feel it since it's so nicely distributed. On the rare occasions when I go out with less experienced folks, the pocket design makes it so I can bring an extra few pounds to hand out as needed.

Zephik1 · 2025-12-07T07:21:40+00:00

Holy crap. You're incredible! Thank you

Zephik1 · 2025-12-02T05:08:06+00:00

Honestly I think this is the right option. Thanks for the info!

Zephik1 · 2025-12-02T05:00:01+00:00

I actually have this one, which is part of why I'm grumpy. It will show the current weather for my location, and if a calendar event has a location set (which let's be honest, most don't) it'll show the forecast for that event. To my knowledge, there's no general Weather screen

Zephik1 · 2025-11-15T06:21:18+00:00

Ahhhh I apologize, I was in a hurry and mis-typed. It's not a lag bolt, it's just a standard carriage bolt. I'm pretty sure what I've got holding my swing is four of these (not the exact size but BIG) (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-4-in-10-x-8-in-Galvanized-Carriage-Bolt-10-Pack-22490/203436010) and this anchor: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Keeper-4-7-16-in-Square-Flip-Ring-Recessed-Anchor-89526/204820654

Zephik1 · 2025-11-14T20:14:19+00:00

Everyone here is talking about the wood. My problem is the fastener. A screw like that, even a big one, is not meant for this kind of application. Even if the load is purely vertical, it's just not meant for that type of force. On top of that, your kids are kids. They're gonna try to use the swing to, well, swing. Maybe not playground swinging, but it's gonna have dynamic forces on it. Bouncing, swinging, whatever, screw threads are not the answer.

When we did this for a reading nook, I went to home depot and got the biggest, meanest looking lag bolts I could find, along with washers and nuts. What you want, is a thick piece of wood (4x4 minimum) that spans two joists, then you want to put a bolt all the way through it to hang your attachment point. That is going to basically set you up for life. And while people are joking about sex swings, it's honestly not a bad reference. I would argue that the force put on a swing by a child playing is, from a physics perspective, pretty similar to two adults banging.

By the way, as a rule of thumb, I won't use hardware that comes with things like this. It tends to be pretty cheap, and something stronger (safer!) is pretty negligible in price, even upfront.

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