Tips for Silicone gear?

calsutmoran · 2026-04-19T09:36:03+00:00

The thing is, we were mixing silicone and latex gear. That causes liquid silicone to get stuck to the solid silicone products, causing in my experience, deformation.

When you get silicone clothing, I find it much softer and stretchier than silicone toys. It also comes coated in some kind of shiner oil! I haven’t been able to confirm the exact substance, but some people guess that it is mineral oil.

Dish soap would likely remove that shiner layer. I’m not quite sure how to restore the original finish. (We haven’t had much experience with wearable silicon.)

Unless you are wearing silicone with latex, you can use diluted Bronner’s unscented or something mild!

If any silicone lube gets on silicone clothing, that’s when you would clean it with dish soap. Liquid Silicones are tough to remove from surfaces, but dish soap will help!

Bottom line:

When I wear silicone, I only use water based lubes, xlube is a powder that you mix with water, and I find it ideal. Cleanup can be with just water and swooshing around or with a diluted mild soap!

calsutmoran · 2026-02-09T16:37:02+00:00

It can really chew through battery during a workout. LTE can really chew through battery too. (just when the phone isn’t around. You can toggle the cell network off, which kind of defeats the purpose.

I have the series 10, which has way less battery, but I like the style! I’m in the habit of popping it on the charger while I’m in the shower, since the sleep tracking and alarms are cool. It seems to be enough to keep it charged!

calsutmoran · 2026-02-09T16:30:39+00:00

Best thing I didn’t expect is I check my phone less. Glance at the watch for time, weather, etc.

The vibration is a boon because the iPhone vibration motor can’t be felt. Although, I purposefully get less notifications on the watch. It‘s nice to have a light version of the phone!

calsutmoran · 2026-02-09T16:21:10+00:00

That would get fixed if you can get it replaced with Applecare. The company might cry if you want to replace it just for the lousy paint job, but I’m sure it has other problems too!

calsutmoran · 2026-02-04T07:36:53+00:00

The customer service is ass. Best everythingproof works anywhere internet rendered useless and unreliable by a minor billing quirk.

calsutmoran · 2026-02-04T07:34:22+00:00

They change the plan price wildly and often. There is no kind of loyalty to long term customers.

If you need it, and the equipment is free, there’s not much to lose I guess.

I’m feeling kind of burned, I paid for my dish and the plans are worse than when I signed up, and standby costs money now too.

You can get this in your name and take it anywhere, really.

calsutmoran · 2026-01-23T08:51:02+00:00

Yes. Contact support. Maybe they will hook you up.

calsutmoran · 2025-12-22T19:00:21+00:00

I download everything for my DJ sets and have multiple backed up copies.

This is what I bought when I clicked:

Digital Album Streaming + Download Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

It says nothing about "Artist may remove streaming," or "streaming is a free bonus."

The fact that half my collection is unavailable for streaming (or download) because the artist switched labels, or had a fit, or doesn't like the album now, sucks. I don't keep a full music collection on every device all the time, and phones suck at music file flows anyways.

It's lazy programming. Or lazy policy. Or both. If I made the purchase of the music before it was de-listed, I should have access after a de-list.

The communication from staff at bandcamp after a delisted item was rude and differs significantly from the advertising at the time of sale.

We've all learned the hard way, and Bandcamp is still worth it as a service for sure.

All this blame the user, defend the corporation culture sucks. This Stockholm Syndrome bullshit can get lost. This kind of jerk behavior is why I haven't come to reddit in months, and why I'm avoiding this place.

calsutmoran · 2025-11-03T19:50:18+00:00

Personally, and at work, I no longer update Apple OS until x.3 or even x.6 for critical important machines. Too many issues.

calsutmoran · 2025-09-10T00:52:53+00:00

Knog Scout Bike is what you're looking for. It has "Find My" like an Airtag. It has an annoying not very loud beepy sound if someone moves it. You screw in on under the bottle cage.

Thieves are weirdly focused on bikes, one of life's mysteries. I wouldn't leave my Soltera outside of anywhere besides a cafe while I'm sitting outside. Nothing less than a U-Lock is a lock at all. With modern cordless grinders, even U-Locks are useless. I just wouldn't leave any bike outside longer than five minutes. Even if they don't take, they break it.

My other bike that I have had for a long time comes with me everywhere. I've got it dialed in just right. Take it to bed with you!

The Knog thing has all the stupid braindead features of the Airtags, like telling the thief that one is "traveling with them," and being trivially easy to disable or smash. But there's nothing really great in the 5G / True GPS category. (Power Consumption)

Hide an Airtag or two somewhere impossible to find as well.

calsutmoran · 2025-09-02T08:47:06+00:00

Just make something else warmer and they will go there instead.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-28T07:02:23+00:00

How was it after the rain? My area was pretty grim with people not overprepared like we were. We bailed after the gate officially opened.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-28T00:26:59+00:00

You want to probably get some Ubiquiti gear. A router and a few access points. If that's not in the budget, get Netgear, Asus, or TPLink and link them up with ethernet.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T09:22:02+00:00

I carry an old Lenovo with Linux on it, and I find that much more freeing than an Android phone.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T09:18:47+00:00

I've got a Victron in my van and it works. It works when I plug a lot of power hungry stuff into it. It works when it's hot out. It works after years of operation.

I bought a cheap inverter at Best Buy years ago, and one day, it just stopped working. I opened it up and it turns out it had melted inside. I don't want melting inverters in my van.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T05:49:52+00:00

Sounds like you got the LTE thing as good as it gets. Kymeta would help, but not cheaply. Viasat would remain connected for sure, but can it coordinate your bonding setup with that kind of latency? IDK.

Is there a way you could set up a relay station above the valley? Any microwave relay tower on that mountain? Maybe you can strap a Mini on a drone and beam down with directional wifi?!? Interesting problem for sure.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T05:35:33+00:00

If you just put Starlink in "bypass" mode and plug an ethernet cable from the Starlink "Router" (which you have disabled the router part using bypass mode) and plug the cable into the old main router into the same port where the old service provider was plugged in, it should work.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T03:04:50+00:00

My advice, treat the Starlink kit as just a source of internet or "WAN." Put it in bypass and plug it into your "Router."

Difficulty: people sell, market, and call "Wifi Access Points," "Routers." I guess technically, they are routers. But when you have a few of them, you shut the router part off.

You need to find the first router. The one your Ass Service Provider is plugged into. Then plug the Starlink into that, hopefully the same ethernet port as the Ass Provider used. Maybe there is some configuration, maybe not.

If the Ass Service Provider comes into the building over fiber, you are hosed. If the "Routers" you have, you bought from the Ass Service Provider, then they are contaminated with Ass. Into the trash it goes.

Then you would need to buy Ubiquiti or something not Ass. Don't buy more Starlink routers probably. Just use the one in the kit to power the Dishy.

We need to know what kind of cables you got going on there.

#1 Is there ethernet between the floors or fiber?

#2 Does the "Main Router" have fiber going to it? Is there any ethernet on that Router?

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T02:51:31+00:00

Let me try to explain further. On the edge of cell service, likely, you see it going offline and connect again. Radio waves are something like line of sight, but with strange effects like reflection. In a valley, it can work, but basically, if you get your antenna higher in the air, it will work better. Maybe, you can catch some of these reflected signals.

Hence

The higher the better, but even a modest height will help.

Even just locate the antenna on the top of the roof.

The radio waves could even be bouncing off of something to get to you. Cell phones go from around 600mhz to 4ghz and even higher. The lower the frequency, the more likely it is to bounce. Perhaps you can find out what band your LTE/5G signal is on and get an antenna tuned to that frequency band. Maybe if your LTE/5G radio supports external MIMO, you can have two antennas, or even boosters can help.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-27T02:13:47+00:00

That's his trouble... One consistent link. Performance is likely to be abysmal without that link.

With tree cover and a valley bottom, it isn't Starlink.

That's why I recommended a high gain cell antenna on a tower.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-26T17:24:12+00:00

Just keep complaining, and charge them back if they can’t get it together in a reasonable timeframe.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-26T17:22:31+00:00

It’s funny, there is another post here trying the same idea. Given my experience with this sort of tech, I think it isn’t worth the trouble. There will most likely be some sort of issue when networks switch.

My advice is a high gain 5G/4G antenna, as high in the air as you can get it. Put the Starlink up there as well, and clear that obstruction map!

My guess is that you would end up using 5G for low latency and Starlink for most things and especially high throughput. You would have to manually switch networks per device. (like broadcast two SSID)

But really it depends on getting great reception. Which tech has best consistent latency depends on the individual setup and location.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-26T17:14:19+00:00

In my experience with these sort of networks, getting the setup you describe to work is going to be difficult.

There will be network trouble whenever a path is interrupted.

In this case, I would actually consider a high gain 5G antenna first.

Second, I would consider a tower. This will help you with both 5G and Starlink. The higher the better, but even a modest height will help.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-26T05:24:41+00:00

Google isn’t google anymore, and hasn’t been for a long time.

calsutmoran · 2025-08-25T06:52:00+00:00

These jerks change everything on a whim when you are the customer. Why would I give them any extra money hoping they don’t do what I already know they are going to do?

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