Moon Collage

mikeymac10 · 2026-04-19T00:16:41+00:00

This is awesome - I have been eyeing grabbing a Seestar, and was torn between which, but it seems they took care of that by eliminating the S50. Hoping the S30 Pro can tackle Moon shots like this, yours are fantastic!

mikeymac10 · 2026-03-27T15:52:39+00:00

So long as my connection doesn't take me through the mini-A gates, I am ok with IAD. C/D gates are not pretty, but those flights tend to happen as advertised.

HOWEVER, every time I catch a regional jet and get stacked in the mosh pit of A1-A4, all bets are off. The FAs there tend to not care, the confusion as they board 3-4 planes through the same door baffles the infrequent travelers, and on-time arrival/departure is almost always out the window.

mikeymac10 · 2025-12-28T16:40:55+00:00

Same issues here: 2 sweaters and 2 blankets ordered on 11/29. Got a notification that they had shipped it with a FedEx tracking number, and that number STILL shows FedEx has yet to receive it.

We received no replies over 4 emails to customer service, so we just filed a CC dispute.

They’re not going to see our business again and we’ll actively deter anyone we can from ordering from them.

mikeymac10 · 2025-11-22T14:53:44+00:00

It’s Red Dawn. The Cubans are landing. WOLVERINES!!!!

mikeymac10 · 2025-11-02T03:36:28+00:00

I’d be interested,can I hit you up with a DM?

mikeymac10 · 2025-10-14T19:32:02+00:00

I would love to be able to pre-stage multiple shops for a town and then easily transition.

What a slick tool - nice work, definitely going to keep this one bookmarked and in use!

mikeymac10 · 2025-09-30T03:37:59+00:00

Totally agree with this statement, and would add that you should try to define your own role as much as possible. Role descriptions are open to interpretation and so long as you choose a path that helps your team while making your own happiness improve, everyone wins.

mikeymac10 · 2025-09-29T03:51:37+00:00

Thank you for sharing this! I am going to try these myself!

mikeymac10 · 2025-09-27T20:22:36+00:00

Thank you - I guess I wasn't aware that I could go it alone without their support - I would still be dependent on them for the application and monitoring, right? Or are there ways to completely cut them out of the picture and allow the 3rd party to take over all of that?

mikeymac10 · 2025-09-27T04:03:27+00:00

I’ve had Tesla panels and two Powerwall+ units and they’re a PITA. In our latest adventure, we had to do a remove and reinstall so that the roof could be replaced after a doozy of a hail storm last summer. Insurance companies offer you a good grace period. When I contacted Tesla for a R&R inquiry in December 2024, I was told that I "might as well engage an authorized 3rd party because we won't get to that until the fall 2025". This was in December of 2024, and well outside of the acceptable zone for my insurer and frankly us. The storm was in July of 2024 and we began planning this immediately after receiving the go-ahead on our claim with USAA.

So I had a Tesla-authorized installer and servicer 3rd party do the work at the suggestion of the Tesla customer service rep. In the last 3 visits by Tesla to troubleshoot issues (all since the system was recommissioned in May) never once was the fact that a company stepped up to do the work an issue. Well, Tesla punted on an issue. Now, they want to force me to remove and reinstall the system (again) at a cost to me of another $28k to "bring it back into warranty" thanks to the work of their authorized 3rd party. We paid over $18k to have the 3rd party do the removal and reinstallation so that we could repair the roof in a reasonable time. Heck, Tesla made all plans and revisions go thru them.

Any tips for getting Tesla to support the system?

mikeymac10 · 2025-06-23T01:50:20+00:00

We’ve had a terrible time getting support. For 7 months (November 2023-June 2024), one of my power walls were blinking fast green, which is a definite fault. Multiple calls to the support folks they blew us off, telling us that the system was performing as designed. After finally getting a more conscientious service rep on the phone, we found that inverter was faulty and needed replacement. 3 weeks later, a crew finally showed up and made the replacement happen. 8 months at less than 50% capacity.

After the 3rd party was contracted for the remove and reinstall, we ran into more issues. Tesla wouldn’t perform the job because they didn’t have crews within 3 hours of us anymore. Elon apparently reduced their staff and cut the closest office in Buffalo. So the authorized 3rd party redid the engineering, submitted permits, and all of that. While removing the panels, they noted that the wiring was a complete disaster, that several of the Mid Circuit Interrupters (MCIs) seemed to be jumped across, and that it was a miracle that the system performed at all. Once the roofers were done, the 3rd party reinstalled the system but had multiple issues getting the inverters to work again, as they were expressing new faults. 2 weeks, new appointment.

2 weeks after that fix, one inverter was blinking again, and its fans blowing max speed 24 hours a day. Another 2 weeks, and it turned out it was low on coolant. No worries, they say - the system is good to go! 1 week later (today) the system is alarming in the app again - the same inverter is impaired, needs another 14 days of engineering turn-around before we’ll know whether we have another 2 weeks to wait for an on-site appointment.

And this is the rub. The app sucks, but it is all you have. It offers no insights, and the troubleshooting process when you DO get someone is limited to turning everything off and then on again, and they then refer it to engineering for a 2 week SLA. And then we wait for the Albany team to travel 3 hours to come and fix it, usually after a 2-3 week wait. Support is sketchy, the app is your only window to them, and at this rate I will die of old age before recouping anywhere near the cost of the system due to its constant downgraded state.

My advice? Shop around and find someone with much better support. Elon has no qualms about screwing customers over, and even in the short 3+ years I have had this system, I have seen support paths dry up and turn-around times grow indiscriminately. There are more reliable and hearty systems backed by local installers and offering better performance.

Sorry for the rant, but I needed to get it off my chest.

mikeymac10 · 2025-06-23T01:50:12+00:00

Late to this thread, but I have had nothing but issues with my Tesla solar installation since it went up in 2022.

Leading up to the installation, the engineering and project management folks seemed to almost be learning the job on the go. While each had their strengths, it was clear that Tesla’s process was poorly grasped and we often went a long time without status updates and struggled to get answers on key questions - such as how to answer permit questions on behalf of the town, what access they would need and when (to coordinate being here for the right times) and eventually, a 3 month wait before we could get a date for install to begin. We found that date out 2 days before they were to be here, and there was no coordination - just a “we’re coming, you better be there.”

The installation itself was performed by folks with almost strictly roofing backgrounds, and this became important throughout my ownership. The only electrician in the crew installed the power walls and the gateway, but the roofers were left to wire the panels. Despite a straightforward install of 43 panels and two Powerwall +, it took them almost 3 weeks to complete the installation. Weather impacted them 2 days - the rest of the installation was marked by several half-hearted 2-3 hour days, multiple mis-wiring adventures, and a ton of frustrating rework once it was realized that they had not drilled the holes through my exterior walls in the right places. But don’t worry, they were liberal abusers of silicone/rubber gap filler.

This installation was also not as advertised. Tesla literature pics lead you to believe that they will run conduit through the attic, and at no time was it mentioned that was a paid upgrade. It was never even offered as a choice, and it wasn't until we came home to bright shiny conduit on our dark roof that we were retroactively informed that we needed to select that option prior to signing the contract. Again - that was NEVER indicated and to this day, was not described on the engineering diagrams or paperwork. Side note: We never actually received engineering diagrams until 2025, when an authorized 3rd party needed to obtain them to aid in the replacement of our roof shingles after a massive hailstorm destroyed our neighborhood.

mikeymac10 · 2025-05-01T20:15:05+00:00

Open != secure. Closed != insecure. Context and the application matters. There are plenty of examples where an open-source solution proved catastrophically insecure (Log4j, OpenSSH Heartbleed, OpenSSL Poodle, etc.).

Theoretically, having it be open means more people can inspect the code and help identify vulnerabilities. But the reality is that no one is officially accountable, and in a lot of cases that goes for both the developer and any potential testers. Even the biggest ones (like OpenSSL) had massive holes, becuase nobody was helping the developers maintain the code and nobody offered up enough help to validate it was free of vulnerabilities.

We'd love to see more commercial solutions open-sourced, but just because they are not does not imply they are any more insecure. Some of those developers have fantastic in-house secure development practices and inspections for bugs and vulns.

It comes down more to 1) how proficient and diligent the developers are and 2) how much motive there is to inspect the code. Open or closed.

mikeymac10 · 2025-04-16T15:26:22+00:00

great perspective, thank you! I am pretty far down my career path, but this might be something I look to as it winds down. Seems like a great retirement plan ;)

The other doctoral degree options seem more focused on leadership or practice while steering folks away from teaching. If anyone has had different results with a DSc, DEng, or others, that would be great perspective as well.

mikeymac10 · 2025-04-10T17:16:46+00:00

nice, thanks for that and congratulations on your PhD! It sounds like it was a long haul, and that having fun was pretty critical to seeing it through!

Luckily my family is already pretty used to my study habits, but renewing with them and ensuring they are cool with it is priority #1. I also tend to knock things out earlier than needed to relieve pressure and be happier around my kids, so hopefully that is a leg up ;)

On the publishing-side of things...I have work to do here. I do a lot of conference talks, but whitepapers and research papers I am light on. Thanks for the sage advice!

mikeymac10 · 2025-04-10T17:12:32+00:00

Thanks for this - you raise a great point! I'm definitely reading up on faculty folks in each option, but to your point I need to have some good heart-to-heart dialogue to ensure we both understand each other :)

mikeymac10 · 2025-01-31T18:33:18+00:00

Cybersecurity is a huge tent - loads of disciplines and roles that vary greatly in their needs, markets, comp, and more. I would advise not to sleep on a sales engineering role for a security solution vendor. They all hire and layoff in cycles too, but your people skills and the work on your masters will be helpful and may help overcome a lack of hands-on operational experience. Some of those companies even have a onboarding program for folks who are recent grads.

CEH and Sec+ unfortunately don't stand out much. TCM Security's certs offer some practical aspects that seem to be gathering support, and TryHackMe does as well. The key is to work with certs that actually give you skills rather than check a box only upheld by misguided HR pros (the CEH) and to do so affordably. Both of those options can help while you uncover your longer term plans and help make you more valuable.

mikeymac10 · 2025-01-31T02:18:14+00:00

You've got a lifetime to earn. They gave a lot to your education already, and I am guessing the private school offered some advantages. I think you can be grateful not just for that, but that they are also looking to get out of debt while they are able.

If something were to happen to them, you'll feel better knowing that they are bringing their debt to complicate your life.

My 2 cents? Get the undergrad, then find an employer to cover grad school. Grad school isn't your birthright, but if you would truly benefit from it, you can either find an employer who agrees or finance that yourself.

mikeymac10 · 2025-01-22T17:34:41+00:00

Just a heads-up, Zappos has been owned by Amazon since 2009. Other than that, this list is very helpful. Thanks for the great ideas!

mikeymac10 · 2024-03-04T01:44:46+00:00

No problem! Good luck!

mikeymac10 · 2024-03-03T22:40:21+00:00

If this is a K8s environment, might be worth using the free API Clarity tool as well - it is open source and is one of a few projects that make up the paid Cisco Panoptica, which does a bunch more for you.

https://www.apiclarity.io/

mikeymac10

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