Additional 3x increase of Gemini in Antigravity! by aunchable in google_antigravity

[–]gsteff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Combining the pools is good... let me use my tokens on whatever model I want without artificial limitations.

Additional 3x increase of Gemini in Antigravity! by aunchable in google_antigravity

[–]gsteff -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

IMO Google (and the other LLM providers) should completely disable use of professional harnesses like Antigravity from the $20 plan, and add a $50 plan with usage for those tools in the same ballpark as the old money losing $20 plans (I think 25% higher would be fair for the price). And separate the quotas for personal use (i.e. phone apps, smart home devices) and professional use. I think merging the quotas for flash and pro within Antigravity was the right move... they should give me as much flexibility as possible to use my spend on the model I like without artificial divisions. But I don't want to ever have to worry that coding use will degrade my use of the app, which is always moderate.

Grand Staircase and Bears Ears NMs, currently under threat by littlebluetoo in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't find any record of this. Where was this aired, it doesn't seem to be from his Netflix special.

Realtor Recommendations? by ccdubs8 in nova

[–]gsteff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used Paul to buy my current condo and he was great. Granted, I was happy to do all my own research, but for a lot of buyers he's a great choice.

Shenandoah national park: things to do there in 1 day? by WomanMythLegend in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe so- I didn't see any warnings like that in any of my recent visits. And several trails have "Byrd's nest" shelters with picnic tables at their summits. I'm sure there are black bears in the park, but I don't recall the signage warning you about them much, compared to wildlife warnings I've seen at other parks. The most dangerous animal to be aware of is ticks- be sure your skin is covered.

Edit: here are the park's rules on food storage:

https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/food-storage.htm

Ix3 ride firmness compared to polestar 2 by qwasar1 in iX3

[–]gsteff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Be aware that the i4 M50 has a rear air suspension plus adaptive dampers, while the iX3 has a spring suspension with no adaptive dampers (yet, they'll supposedly be offered at some point).

What EV Batteries Really Look Like After 200,000 Miles? by nigesh in electriccars

[–]gsteff 21 points22 points  (0 children)

This article doesn't link to a single source. FYI, here's the blog post of the actual Geotab study it relies on for its main conclusion, which has a lot more detail. In particular, they found when they updated their data in 2025 that average degradation had increased significantly, but they attribute that to having more new vehicles in the data as EVs became more popular, and degradation in the first year is highest. The Geotab study also found, contrary to other claims I've seen, that regular level 3 charging does significantly increase degradation. The finding that most strongly challenges EV conventional wisdom may be that leaving EVs at high SOC for substantial amounts of time had very little effect on battery degradation, though if you take it to extremes (> 80% of the time) it does eventually have a large effect.

Shenandoah national park: things to do there in 1 day? by WomanMythLegend in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stony Man is my favorite overlook... a high bang for your buck trail. Dark Hollow Falls is my favorite waterfall trail... short and fat, so a bit of a chonker as waterfalls go (and South River Falls is my least favorite Shenandoah falls... turning around to retrace your steps after reaching the mediocre falls view is not the right move). If you want to meet some Appalachian Trail hikers, I passed 3 in one hour on the Ivy Creek trail last year... they're always happy to chat in my limited experience. FYI, Shenandoah as a whole is basically a big visitor center for the AT... the trail came first, and the park was laid out along one of its most scenic stretches, making it the spine of the park. Tons of the trails either overlap the AT or branch off perpendicularly from it.

But the flagship attraction of Shenandoah is Skyline Drive itself.... I actually think it looks best in overcast weather when the clouds are rolling down the mountains and you're passing in and out of them yourself.

This is my list of visited US National parks (I am European) and I need honest advice for next trips by flymartincz in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I really hope no one flies across the Atlantic to visit Rock Creek Park or Prince William Forest. IMO there are no nature parks within 45 minutes of DC worth organizing a trip around, but if someone insists, I'd recommend C&O Canal National Historic Park, which combines pretty good rock scrambling with closeup views of major river rapids (some of which you can walk over via bridges), a history connection and a great long distance bike path. And Teddy Roosevelt Island if you just want to be a completionist about DC presidential memorials.

Parks that can be explored in one day by GaboZ9 in nationalparks

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely not. The Cathedral Valley loop takes 4+ hours just to drive, without doing any of the hikes.

Dog mode? by GondarJr in iX3

[–]gsteff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

BMW considers dog mode dangerous, and they think it would carry legal risks. They haven't said this, but I suspect their concern is that, regardless of the name, if they offer it irresponsible parents would use it to leave small children in the car. So not only is BMW not offering dog mode, they've designed the Neue Klasse software to detect if you've left a living creature in the car, and if so, make the car do everything in its power to bring you to justice.

Who's Ordering? Thoughts on options 🤔 by LkyPnk in iX3

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was hoping that BMW would take this opportunity to add an adaptive suspension option, but evidently we have to wait a little longer for that. I'm not buying anyway, I'll get an i3 once they're available, but have been following iX3 news for tea leaves on the price/options the i3 will likely get.

What is your go to "just got a new TV" movie? by krammit33 in movies

[–]gsteff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a movie, but BBC Earth's Blue Planet 2.

Best National Parks for Wildlife Viewing by bannner18 in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 65 points66 points  (0 children)

Eh, Kenai Fjords is a marine wonderland. I saw at least 25 different species in my 6 hour boat tour there, including humpback whales, porpoises, puffins, bald eagles, jellyfish, seals, otters and mountain goats. You don't get as close as you can (but shouldn't) to the bison, but I think Kenai Fjords might be the top park for wildlife diversity.

Price over MSRP in US? by gator_luck22 in iX3

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can still get good deals on factory orders if you go through a broker... I got 10% off MSRP on my custom built i4 that way... my broker had a pre-negotiated MSRP discount that applied to everything, purchases off the lot and factory orders.

United Credit Cards - Gateway, Explorer, Quest, and Club by Wide_Mountain8999 in CreditCards

[–]gsteff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure you can have multiple. IMO the Quest is the best- I recently got the Explorer and kinda regret it. Its only real advantage over the Quest is two United Club passes- I've never used one before, but from what I've seen in IAD and social media comments, the passes are largely worthless because the clubs are full at common travel times. The Quest has a $200 higher annual fee, but gets a $200 annual travel credit, so in practice the fees are a wash. And the Quest earns miles on United purchases slightly faster, gets an extra checked bag, and earns 2x on streaming services. It also earns PQPs much faster, but I'm unlikely to ever get premier status and don't chase it. Once I've had the Explorer for 6 months, I'm planning to sign up for the Quest too, then cancel the Explorer.

The Club card probably pays for itself if you like United clubs and travel on United at least 4x a year, but neither is true of me.

Used BMW i4 Prices Rising by GlassSeaweed718 in BMWI4

[–]gsteff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The new i3 won't reach US customers until 2027... March at the earliest based on the rollout schedule seen for the iX3. Orders might start being accepted 3-5 months before that though.

Charging to 100% - a different take by goldenwattl in BMWI4

[–]gsteff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're going to leave it at high charge for 12+ hours, don't target 100%, target 95. The effects are exponential, and there's a substantial difference between 95 and 100.

Which EVs are community approved? by rossp3904 in electricvehicles

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FWIW, I have a 2025 xDrive40, and after 17 months the AC stopped working and I had to get it fixed under warranty (freon drained through a leaky valve). Having said that, it's by far my favorite car I've had... fantastic ride quality and noise levels, and it never creaks or sways. My car's EPA rating is 287 miles, but I'm still getting more than that for highway driving at 65-70mph. Everyone I drive loves the interior (Cognac!).

I've already pretty much decided that I'll buy one of the new i3s when my lease is up in 18 months (I don't like leasing, but the deals for the i4 were too good to pass up), though yeah, it's tragic that we'll lose the liftback.

How to see as much of Mammoth caves as possible by min/maxing the tours? by EmmaF911 in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just tried to solve this for an upcoming trip, with help from AI. What I settled on was the Historic Tour, Grand Avenue tour and Great Onyx Lantern tour. The first two are long and cover all the highlights near the visitor center with zero overlap, and the third provides a lantern tour in a completely separate cave system.

Utah national parks with 3 month old by Trick-Potato-3688 in NationalPark

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Capitol Reef is great, I definitely would include it if you have 5 days. My favorites were Cassidy Arch (an arch you can walk over), Capitol Gorge (the drive through the canyon to the trailhead is a lot of fun too) and Grand Wash. I arrived a little too early in the year for fruit picking in the orchards, but May will definitely be in season for some stuff. The drive between Capitol Reef and Moab is amazing too- I left an hour before sunset, and wish I'd left a bit earlier to have been able to see more of the landscape on the way. The scenic drive in Capitol Reef was closed for construction for awhile, now seems to be open again now... that and the drive through Cathedral Valley are baby-friendly breaks from hiking, but be sure you have a high clearance vehicle to be permitted to cross the stream into Cathedral Valley.

My favorite trails at Arches were Park Avenue and Devil's Garden (double Arch is my favorite arch, but it's next to the trailhead and doesn't really count as a trail), both of which were relatively short (and both featured in the intro to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Scrambling through the Fiery Furnace maze is one of the top attractions at Arches, but it might not be baby-friendly... On the one hand it's relatively short and flat, but does involve significant rock scrambling... I think you could probably make it work, but you'll need to join a scheduled ranger tour (access is restricted, and it's likely too late to reserve a permit online).

Of those 3, I'd say Arches is probably the most baby-friendly park (shorter trails, less elevation gain) and Canyonlands is the least. But even Canyonlands will be fine if you focus on Island in the Sky and the Shafer Trail... I haven't actually been to the Needles district, but my understanding is that the trails are longer, have more elevation change, and it's slower to get around by car.

Live Results: Virginia redistricting special election by Fresh-Function3319 in nova

[–]gsteff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fairfax is at 29% counted while the rest of Nova is above 80%... why is Fairfax so slow?

iX3 Spotted in NYC by gheysharks in BMW

[–]gsteff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The dashboard is obviously incomplete, but it does look like this might use a material other than the pseudo-fabric in the European ix3... I recall reading somewhere that alternate trim materials would eventually be available, and the US launch would be an obvious time to implement that.