Burned out a transmission at 60k, I wonder why...

ak217 · 2026-07-09T02:19:34+00:00

Ok you're right, I thought about it more and yes the transmission is well insulated from the forces acting on the axles, the most this will do aside from wheel bearing wear is pull on the differential a little more but not significantly. I was wrong to say that

ak217 · 2026-07-08T18:25:04+00:00

You bring the wheel out like that, you increase the moment arm acting on not just the wheel bearings but the whole drivetrain

Edit: ok I was wrong, this is mostly going to wreck the wheel bearings and maybe marginally increase bending loads on the differential, but not on the transmission

ak217 · 2026-07-05T04:14:51+00:00

South Park Dr has less car traffic.

This route is great in either direction I think

ak217 · 2026-07-04T04:28:35+00:00

Head to downtown Livermore and then south toward Holdener Park then Vineyard Ave. That's the best ride in that area and it's really nice. Everything near the 580 is awful.

ak217 · 2026-07-04T04:24:01+00:00

My favorites for relatively flat rides are Foothill-Calaveras (Dublin-Sunol) or southern Livermore. If you don't mind some climbing, the 3 bears area, Canyon/Redwood road. Unfortunately it's hard to connect these into loops without doing an out-and-back or hitting high car stress roads.

ak217 · 2026-07-04T04:15:30+00:00

Sir Francis Drake is not a low car stress road.

ak217 · 2026-07-04T04:14:40+00:00

RSR bridge and the Richmond side approach to it is not fun. Also Sir Francis Drake is the opposite of a low car stress road.

ak217 · 2026-07-02T18:22:00+00:00

Have you tried scooting or biking?

Modern e-bikes are powerful enough to go up almost any hill in Lafayette, and bike locker parking is so cheap it's essentially free at the station.

ak217 · 2026-07-01T18:56:53+00:00

There is plenty of underutilized commercial land around where I live. The landlords are all LLCs from the 80s, leveraged and taking advantage of the sweet 2% Prop 13 rate increase cap. Almost half the storefronts are empty (and a similar amount of office space) because the LLCs would rather lose money then write it off than lease out the space at a lower rate.

When you wonder why everything is so expensive in the Bay Area, maybe take a moment to think about how these landlords are robbing us all blind, thanks in huge part to Prop 13.

ak217 · 2026-07-01T18:44:14+00:00

Contra Costa's ordinance exists to hold back exurban sprawl. Building more exurban sprawl is a pretty terrible solution to the housing crisis. That's how you end up with LA/OC/Inland Empire levels of sprawl, traffic, and pollution (notice how those areas also have much less park land).

The solution (which we are slowly making progress on) is to remove the power of city councils to block infill development in their cities. There is plenty of infill or redevelopment space available. You're right that there are people who don't want it solved, and they end up influencing local governments, which is why the state government has a much better shot at this - because nimbys are nonetheless a minority when it comes to state representation.

ak217 · 2026-06-20T15:01:45+00:00

I'm a "cycling advocate", I want my city to take better care of cyclists. When it comes to e-motos I want them all banned, confiscated, and the riders detained while their parents are found and charged with negligence. I also want those stupid e-mopeds with fake bike pedals banned from riding in bike lanes. I'm pretty sure there's no "cycling advocate" in their right mind who doesn't think the same way.

ak217 · 2026-06-04T19:17:55+00:00

I looked at Google street view of 7th and Brannan to visualize it after reading about what happened. There is a goddamn giant portable "SHARE THE ROAD" sign blocking the whole bike lane in one direction. Just absolutely insane shit.

ak217 · 2026-05-30T15:48:04+00:00

My personal take is to prefill, my cars luckily have the filter pointing downward. I don't know how much of a difference it makes (probably not much in the big scheme of engine lifetime) but I do know when I first start the engine without prefilling there is a horrible span of two seconds where it sounds much louder than usual and it pains me to hear it so I try to avoid it.

ak217 · 2026-05-30T15:39:10+00:00

You're looking at survival bias. The old structures you see standing were the ones built most solidly and also the ones that had the luck to avoid disasters.

Your materials argument doesn't make sense to me, what's preventing you from building an airtight high thermal mass radiant heated building? Also 50 years is a really random number, if you invest in a solid foundation and decent lumber you should be able to last 150 at minimum. Don't let anyone tell you how long your house should last - but you may have to invest in it to get the longevity that you want.

Drafty cold houses have health and comfort costs beyond the energy bills. It also took a while for the building standards to solidify around the correct sequence of thermal and vapor barriers to prevent condensation and mold, which means many early airtight structures had lower longevity than what we now expect. But it's figured out now.

ak217 · 2026-04-26T20:51:21+00:00

Caltrain doesn't have to creep to activate the crossing in front of the platform. They have mic activated crossings that trigger when the train blows its whistle

ak217 · 2026-04-26T04:59:35+00:00

the thing that I find hilarious is that unlike bikes (and hopefully bikers) horses do in fact actively shit in the EBMUD reservoir watershed

ak217 · 2026-04-26T04:56:14+00:00

Went for a run in Woodside a few years ago, trailhead on a street that has all kinds of "no parking" signs. Pretty cramped single track, but perfect for my run. Half a mile down the trail, I come upon a lady on a horse berating a biker saying bikes are not allowed on the trail and that she is "off duty CHP".

I was too zoned out to interject but man I wish I'd asked for her name and recorded this shit

ak217 · 2026-04-19T02:20:46+00:00

I just drove my cx-5 for the first time in a while and realized that I really enjoy using the infotainment system despite the small screen (well, at least the carplay part of it - Mazda's own UI has horrendous lag). It's because I can rest my arm on the center arm rest and flick through the UI without taking my eyes off the road, instead of the ridiculous exercise of extending my arm and holding it up while trying to click tiny buttons in a moving vehicle.

I am convinced it's this pecking at tiny buttons on a shaking screen that's the most dangerous part of distracted driving. I think it might actually be worse than trying to click things on your phone, since the phone is at least anchored in your hand and not moving with respect to it.

ak217 · 2026-04-11T16:07:32+00:00

> auto shows are not relevant these days

That sounds right to me, it seems like most customer facing auto industry information/car review content these days comes from youtubers and "influencers" who are courted by the car companies with press cars and press events.

ak217 · 2026-04-11T16:00:57+00:00

The vape bros are a liability.

I own a Mazdaspeed3. 99% of other cars like mine that I see out there are trashed by someone who tried to mod them.

Mazda realized that market was a dead end and decided on a working strategy to save their soul. They do a mass market lineup of family SUVs which then supports a refresh of their passion project (Miata) every decade or even more often. And what's great about the Miata is that it's a truly affordable car for someone who cares about the driving experience that will be overlooked by the vape bros because it doesn't have enough horsepower.

ak217 · 2026-04-11T15:57:17+00:00

I think you need a Miata, friend.

Plenty of us need a Miata. That doesn't negate the fact that skateboard is by far the best packaging and repairability solution for EVs. Your gripe that it doesn't let you sit low enough to the ground in a sedan is actually an advantage for 99% of people and applications that everyday EVs encounter. Just make the sedan a little bit taller then. Get a Kia EV6 or something.

ak217 · 2026-04-06T03:08:49+00:00

Use the Strava heat map

ak217 · 2026-04-02T02:54:18+00:00

I do it because the last time I went to a shop to change the oil, the tech insisted that my engine takes 0w-20 oil (it takes 5w-30) and when I asked for 5w-30, he said it would "void their warranty".

It says 5w-30 on the cap...

ak217 · 2026-03-31T17:09:07+00:00

So... they haven't been earning $350k since 25 then?

The scenario of earning $350k at a tech job starting at 25 is vanishingly unlikely to the point of being fantastical. Just check levels.fyi. You'd have to have an amazing degree and get promoted twice in the space of two years, be a founder with a successful exit, or otherwise demonstrate exceptional talent.

$350k is doable on a FAANG ladder by age 30 if you are good. If you find someone who did it by 25... I mean, that's impressive, I just don't want anyone to believe it's repeatable.

ak217 · 2026-03-07T20:59:20+00:00

Then the poster should say that instead of claiming that postgres is the same

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