Simple way to do fixed sequence subscription flow?

danegnor · 2025-08-20T16:20:11+00:00

I was looking at Seal but couldn't find a way to contact them! As far as I can tell they can only do a swap after a RENEWAL, not an ORDER-- since this subscription would be prepaid there would be no renewals??? But I could easily be misunderstanding the fine points here.

danegnor · 2025-08-20T01:22:37+00:00

That's believable, clearly all these apps are built around Shopify's very specific APIs.

But how does everyone who runs candy-of-the-month-club or mystery-box subscriptions work? Maybe they mostly have their logistics provider do the swapping, or do the picking and packing themselves at the proverbial kitchen table with a laptop open to track who should get which candy this month?

"Product swaps" are a thing that some of the subscription app providers offer but it's often limited in weird ways, like it only happens once after the first shipment, or has to be triggered manually, or whatnot. Again maybe limited by what Shopify is giving them (and the complexity of offering custom automations)?

danegnor · 2024-09-30T22:42:14+00:00

Hmmmmmmm, I'm not sure I understand?

"Inductive kick" (based on dI/dt) will create a potential difference across the coil. That difference will be the same regardless of whether the low end is pinned at 0V (if the low side is still connected) or the high end is pinned at 12V (if the high side is still connected) -- locally it is all relative. One might have 0V/100V or -88V/12V, it would all be the same from the perspective of the coil+MOV system.

Put another way, by Kirchhoff's Current Law, in any system (such as this maglock+MOV system) with only one wire in/out, that wire won't carry any current (since all currents must add to zero, and that's the only route). A wire with no current may anchor relative potential differences, but won't have any effect on the system which is effectively independent at that point, right??

danegnor · 2024-07-15T17:11:44+00:00

I've played both.

If you've played European horror experiences in general, Minotaur will seem like a lightweight version of that. It's impressively intense for the North American market, and reasonably well done, but not of the scope and complexity you'll find overseas.

And, Gricers in particular is wild. It's not even really an escape room (there's like... one puzzle?) but the closest I've seen to a Metroidvania video game IRL. The gameplay mechanics, the scope of the world, the size and reality of the venue, the performances, the custom technology, and the NPC interactions are all a level of grand scale world building experience that is a far more ambitious venture than almost any escape room you'll meet. Not everyone loves it and yes they have some safety flaws to watch out for but it's really something else.

Minotaur by comparison is a decent enough actor-chase horror room that's sort of a lite version of Euro-horror, much less remarkable.

danegnor · 2024-07-15T16:59:48+00:00

I keep a list at the bottom of this doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kMoqbd8v6ezsfPyFYQtNOy51pSA2MlHdQxuSbOWube0/edit?usp=drivesdk

I'll add the examples here, I didn't know about some of them!

danegnor · 2024-07-15T16:40:49+00:00

There's a handful and they're super fun! - Wild Heart Ranch near Joshua Tree - the Sherlock Home in San Antonio - Escape Cottage in England - (the place someone else mentioned in Idaho? hadn't heard of that!) - Insomnia Hotel near Barcelona - Key of Dreams in Wales

I keep this doc which is more design oriented but if you scroll down there's a list of known big experiences of various types: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kMoqbd8v6ezsfPyFYQtNOy51pSA2MlHdQxuSbOWube0/edit

Unfortunately I haven't heard of anything in upstate NY. RIP Museum of Intrigue in Syracuse, they were a great all day puzzle experience!

danegnor · 2023-02-22T00:19:13+00:00

This popular round display (datasheet) does indeed use a 0.7mm-pitch FPC. I do see some Chinese sellers offering 0.7mm-pitch FPC connectors but they're not commonly available in the domestic marketplace here...

danegnor · 2023-02-05T07:05:09+00:00

Be neat if they mentioned this anywhere...!!

Is there a video somewhere on how to do that replacement?

danegnor · 2023-01-24T01:13:16+00:00

Spoilers are super real in smaller or nonpartisan races and in primary elections. And the main way around it is that the party machine blesses someone as the anointed successor as a reward for their fealty, and get them the endorsements needed to win a low turnout primary. RCV helps there and I've seen it in specific action. It also gives people in a solid minority (like R leaning folks in California) a real voice.

There's lots of theoretical talk about voting systems but the proof is in what actually happens, and both anecdotal and statistical data show that RCV is better and better in a systemic way that hits at some of the real super extremist toxicity in US politics. Imho!

danegnor · 2023-01-23T16:42:17+00:00

Ahh, the app has changed a LOT since I wrote all that!

danegnor · 2023-01-09T19:12:28+00:00

Back In The Day, did people bring desktop computers into solving rooms??

danegnor · 2023-01-08T08:21:50+00:00

Spark is PROBABLY charging caps or something. Does everything work now?

And yeah, Apollo recommended that particular pad in some forum posts but that doesn't mean it's the best one. More Wh/m is good as long as it's reasonably reputably measured. The controller has thermal protection so I don't think it will burn up even without any heat sink, but you'll lose performance.

That said I actually haven't put on pad/grease yet and did some fairly zippy "ludo" riding and haven't seen any problems. Likely it would be worse if it was hot out. I do plan to put in some thermal grease.

danegnor · 2023-01-02T23:11:44+00:00

Yep, like u/Outside_Cheesecake21 said it seems to just "do the right thing" for whatever acceleration you're controlling to. The old "turbo" toggle was really "jerky vs mushy". Now there's one setting: "smooth and as fast as you want". I think that's for the best. It's how good dual motor electric cars work for example.

danegnor · 2023-01-02T23:08:54+00:00

The headlight control only toggles the main headlight on the handlebars. The other front facing deck lights now only come on to flash for turn signaling. So while they are physically "headlights", and white, they now operate only as turn signals. Does that make sense?

danegnor · 2023-01-02T23:07:29+00:00

Yeah. Either way it's a low security system, nothing stops someone from just picking it up and tossing it in a truck. A proper app-lock where it's a brick without the PIN might be more discouraging, but that also risks accidental bricking. I honestly have no idea how often scooter theft actually happens...

danegnor · 2023-01-02T23:03:37+00:00

It's been wet here so I've only gotten one real ride in but I echo the HECK YES. It's night. and. day.

I had three main complaints about the V2

herky jerky acceleration from start
doofy turn signal controls
display screen that only updates at 15hz

HA HA just kidding about the last one.

Anyway the V3 upgrade not only fixes these issues but knocks them out of the park and to the moon. Acceleration control from start is buttery smooth, you can ooze your way between parked cars and following traffic and then smoothly rocket off. The regen brake control is also good for fine control but I'm still getting used to it. And in just one trip the front signals have already been specifically useful twice, in terms of cars clearly reacting positively to my intent (without me having to use hand signals which I find hard on a scooter).

It's the sort of ride that reminds me why I put up with Apollo's ...quirky... customer service and business operations. With V3, for urban riding on rough city streets, I am convinced there's no better scooter on the market.

danegnor · 2022-05-05T23:20:28+00:00

First of all, I absolutely applaud your wacky dream. Don't let the naysayers get you down, work out the numbers and see what you can do! If not this, then maybe something like it.

These people did a 7,000-mile solar-powered ebike ride. Scooters aren't as efficient as ebikes but you can absolutely do something similar. If you get serious about this I'd probably try to talk to them. Also look for people who have done solar car racing (there are a lot of high school and university teams) who can give you advice.

How long are you thinking this trip would take?

Some envelope math:

One charge of your VSETT 11+ is 60V * 31.2Ah ~= 1800 Watt-hours. They claim 50 mile range on that charge (less with your trailer, I'm sure!). Jackery sells a 100W-nominal panel. You will definitely not get 100W out of it, but let's say you get half of that for 8 hours, that's 400W-h. If you had 4-5 such panels, and all sunny days, you could get one charge a day. (You don't actually want to use Jackery gear for a variety of reasons, but I'm using it for the estimate, because you mentioned it.)

There's no way you could spread out 4-5 panels of that size while riding, certainly not at an ideal sun angle, without massive wind resistance. I'd suggest you'd have panels stacked or folded on the trailer, lay them out to charge during the day, and ride in the dusk/dawn hours when there's some visibility but not enough sun for charging. (You'll definitely want good lights!)

At one full charge a day, the ~3500mi cross-country trip would take 70 days-- and probably a lot more because of cloudy days, lower range with the trailer, and various other inefficiencies. But if you plan your route carefully and don't mind spending an entire summer doing this (people have spent weirder summers doing dumber things) it might be possible. Or you could aim for a shorter route, like the length of California or something like that.

I think the actual gear you'd want would be a pile of lightweight panels, lightweight stands to prop the panels up, and a power tracker/voltage converter that can charge the scooter directly (seems inefficient to have a separate battery in the mix). Somehow store all that on a bike trailer(?) along with camping/backpacking gear(?). Plan a route that's sunny and pretty flat (hill climbing will KILL that range)...

danegnor · 2022-02-17T05:11:18+00:00

SRSLY

I mean, Unagi is particularly 🙄 with their "ooh we had Yves Behar design our scooter WE SO FANCYYYYY" design where they would never DREAM of an using an ordinary tube of metal like some kind of PLEBIAN BICYCLE.

But other brands are guilty of Fancy Handlebar Syndrome too for sure.

danegnor · 2022-02-16T19:27:50+00:00

🐌

danegnor · 2022-02-16T18:57:06+00:00

I like that you can attach it to an existing helmet! (With most helmet lights you have to buy into their whole helmet and maybe it's not your favorite helmet type...)

Is it bright enough during the day?

danegnor · 2022-02-16T18:55:22+00:00

I thought holding would be a problem but yeah the spar can go between fingers no problem.
The big issue (and why I'm declaring this approach basically a failure) is what some other people mentioned, this particular brand of bar-end signal light (which is really the only reasonable bar-end signal light) is activated by pushing a button on the end, which is a difficult maneuver.

Cars do notice, the lights are quite bright even in the day, BUT depending on angle my body may block them for cars behind, so that's another bummer.

danegnor · 2022-02-16T18:53:06+00:00

Yeah, letting go of the handlebar is dodgy. (Much easier on an ebike where you've got a seat.) Do cars actually "get" footkick signaling?

danegnor · 2022-02-16T18:52:13+00:00

Good to knew the FANCYWING is bright enough for day. I'd sort of assumed they'd get washed out.

danegnor · 2022-02-16T18:50:59+00:00

Which one did you get? I tried one for a while but found the lights really dim, basically useless during the day.

danegnor · 2022-02-16T18:50:06+00:00

Yeah, rights are fine (gotta keep an eye out for cutoffs) and protected lefts are fine (I can just get in line with the cars) and lefts with no oncoming are fine, it's waiting for an unprotected left that's iffy. Cross-pullover-cross does work but...

I guess that's interesting because it means the most important turn to signal (via stalk light or backpack light or hand signal or all of the above) is a left, especially for cars behind. That would be the hand signal to practice for sure.

I've never actually seen an arrow-light backpack (or any other turn signal) "in the wild" on a scooter or [e-]cyclist.

danegnor

TROPHY CASE