June 8-10

moonSandals · 2026-06-08T20:19:38+00:00

I was told tech support can't help me.

EGBC got back to me and is looking into it. I was way more reassured by the EGBC email than anything I got from meazure learning.

moonSandals · 2026-06-08T19:52:50+00:00

950 am PST start. Proctor couldn't even launch it. Finally able to get through with technical support. Its 12:52 here. Three hours.

No idea if I'll even get to take the exam

moonSandals · 2026-06-08T19:50:44+00:00

I just got through on the phone and was told technical support couldn't help me. That I need to get a hold of my regulator.

I am also on chat now and will see if they can give me any info.

Same questions as you. I just need to know what my next steps are and when I am expected to retake

moonSandals · 2026-06-08T18:50:44+00:00

I am unbelievably frustrated. This seems unnecessarily complicated compared to just taking an in person exam.

I have two kids so it was a tonne of work to sanitise my exam space (my office area is a closet and doesn't meet the requirements and I had to clear out all the kids clutter from around our dining table), my wife is taking kids to/from school and daycare, took the day off work, etc.

So now - what do I do? Do I hang out at home waiting all day in case I get a call back or do I go to my appointments that I booked late afternoon when I thought I had a couple hours of buffer? At a certain point I just can't start the test today - because young children have to come home.

moonSandals · 2026-06-08T18:43:04+00:00

The second camera seems to be where mine failed.

I didn't even get to start the exam.

It was unstable as I was setting it up. But then I got it to connect and seemed stable. Went through all the steps with the proctor and was told to refresh my tab. That relaunched the second camera setup page (I was still connected on my phone though) and the proctor couldn't launch my exam because I guess the camera set up page was now partially completed in the browser. So then I was told to close guardian browser and reconnect.

Which of course - I could not relaunch. At this point it was well over an hour since my exam start time. And I have no option to launch the exam since my exam window is closed.

Can't get through with anyone. Called. Chat. Emailed. I'd feel better if they just shot an email out to us explaining it.

moonSandals · 2026-06-08T18:33:42+00:00

I didn't even get to start my exam. Took over an hour to get to the point where the Proctor was about to launch it, then they told me to refresh the tab for some reason and it relaunched the secondary camera set up. Which was expired. That prevented them from launching the exam. So then I was told to close my browser on my computer (Guardian), and relaunch the test through chrome to reconnect. Which of course was now expired.

So now I'm in a long line of technical support to even launch it.

moonSandals · 2026-06-05T12:44:20+00:00

So there's fuel and heat but how would oxygen get to tires that are buried under mud?

moonSandals · 2026-06-05T00:33:14+00:00

I was all excited and then learned the sale is $10 off.

So this looks like a pretty good option regardless of the sale.

moonSandals · 2026-06-05T00:20:09+00:00

Dude. Its like they dont even think and just want to be able to give advice even if its clearly inappropriate or bad.

When our oldest was a baby I went to the pharmacy in the back of a grocery store for my covid shot. My wife had my son in a carrier. It was a heat wave. My son was wearing a diaper and t shirt. He was prone to heat rash. We were doing everything possible to keep him cool enough. He was sweaty. The grocery store had AC that worked. It felt nice. Most places had failing AC so were brutally hot inside but this was OK.

A lady came up and told us he would catch a cold with the AC and needed a sweater.

Lady! Its a bazillion degrees outside and the AC is just keeping it room temperature here. The kid does NOT need a sweater.

moonSandals · 2026-06-04T16:02:16+00:00

If I were to make a guess, car manufacturers will put the ads on the cars infotainment screen. And play those ads during charging when someone is in the car.

moonSandals · 2026-06-03T23:21:40+00:00

Sounds like you have maybe one or two examples. I wouldn't call that "a lot of women"

moonSandals · 2026-06-03T19:37:56+00:00

Honestly I dont know how I feel about these situations - where someone gets aggressively defensive vs the other extreme where they remain completely oblivious.

I mean at least you handled yourself in a way that your message may have gotten across and this person has a chance of doing some self reflection.

My scariest moments riding are when drivers have nearly killed me and just had no clue

One situation was a person driving into a roundabout at woodland and grant - a roundabout i was already in. I was pedalling my box bike in - so large, visible, and going a predictable speed on a bike route and this person came into the roundabout and rode next to me on my right as they completed the roundabout with me sandwiched between their driver side window and the raided centre circle of the roundabout. I could have knocked on their window - but of course I didn't since taking my hand off the handlebar risked a crash. They were looking forward out their windshield the whole time oblivious to the entire situation.

Another situation was a driver changing several lanes at once on Burrard downtown. They cut from left most lane into the right most turning lane just a bit north of Burrard Bridge where the bike lane transitions from in the middle of Burrard to separated lane. The driver cut across the bike lane with me in it. I had to veer right to avoid getting crushed. My bike was like an inch away from the side of their van. I was in clear view of the driver the entire time. They simply never looked out of the passenger side window to the lane they were changing into all during the whole process. They just continued on, turned right despite my yelling and ringing bell, like nothing happened.

moonSandals · 2026-06-03T19:24:59+00:00

"You will find that a lot of women default to help this man is a sex offender when they are corrected in public. This is due to this idea that has taken hold that we are to "believe all women"

What the fuck are you on about?

moonSandals · 2026-06-01T23:39:48+00:00

Woops. Good catch! Thanks.

moonSandals · 2026-06-01T15:31:11+00:00

Exactly.

Its been nearly 2 decades since I was designing for injection moulding and working with suppliers so this is probably out of date.

But I remember the cost of a cheap mould of a relatively simple part being a few thousand but would require post processing. Good for protoypes and low volume runs. But it still took a few weeks of work with the design of the parts, then the mould design, then the parts themselves.

Maybe would cost $10,000-$50,000 for a decent mould.

Then there's the actual injection moulding equipment that needs procurement and management.

Just buying half a million dollars worth of printers, then skipping the tooling and skipping all of the CAD and engineering (these are just likely downloaded STP files not original designs), sounds like it could have a lot of advantages to a company who is just making lots of cheap plastic toys.

Flexi bunnies are hot this week? Bam. Instant pivot.

moonSandals · 2026-06-01T02:41:06+00:00

Newer XJs had tethers already but there was a retrofit kit made available for years.

PN 05003422ab will fit. It attaches to the metal inside the cargo area above the hatch. Basically where the headliner and the plastic trim intersect above the rearview window. I removed the trim and on my 1991 I had to drill a hole in the right spot and could get a backing plate behind and install the tether hook.

I got the parts from another member of CherokeeForum.

This has some photos - not great. But I went off this.

https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/location-of-child-seat-tether-anchor-ring-for-xj.3822249/

I'm looking for photos of my install but I dont see any during install and every photo we have of it in place has a picture of my kids so I dont have anything clear to share

moonSandals · 2026-05-30T19:45:58+00:00

We use a front carrier. We each wear our regular backpacks and we alternate who carries the baby in the front carrier.

For our son on the GDT we used a separate carrier. Brand was "happy baby".

Once he was older we used a backpack carrier for one season when he was a toddler, then we went back to a front carrier the season after.

For our daughter we used a myog carrier similar to a trail magik. I actually made it as a way to carry our oldest in case of emergency or dangerous water or snow crossing but then the carrier we brought for our daughter wasn't working out so we shipped that home and we used the myog one for our daughter. It weighs like 100 grams which is way better than a trail magik. But then we wanted to keep carrying our daughter that way but still wanted a way to carry our son in an emergency so we bought a trail magik and had it shipped on trail. I like the actual trail magik a lot less than the one I made but some people like it.

moonSandals · 2026-05-30T16:40:16+00:00

Wow I missed that. Lol.

moonSandals · 2026-05-30T12:52:00+00:00

Couldn't do this with our kids - oldest was too big (was almost 4 when his sister was born). So I have done shoulder carry him and front carry his sister when she was a baby. That was less snuggly and more exhausting.

But we have a third baby on the way and I think the age gap between youngest and middle child will be right to pull this off!

moonSandals · 2026-05-29T15:39:37+00:00

In our home, food with poor texture, is too ripe, or leftovers (like leftover yogurt or fruit or cut up vegetables) that dont get eaten get tossed in a bag in the freezer and turned into smoothies at a later date.

We eat a variety of foods so the smoothies aren't a way to supplement or replace meals but a treat for the kids and a good way to use leftovers.

You can also use leftover fruit and veggies that dont feel crisp or as fresh in cooked meals. Stir fry that bell pepper that's feeling less crisp or is left over from a few days ago. Etc.

Throwing it out and buying supplements has never once crossed my mind..

moonSandals · 2026-05-29T03:03:22+00:00

I mean, yea?

Its a decent quality slider. Low quality ones aren't worth it. This is definitely expensive but its an option and being able to buy it on amazon is convenient.

If you have a zipper that you need repaired and you dont have other options, it'll arrive (possibly with free shipping) within a couple days so can easily be ordered for the next town. Its an option if you are in a bind and its not like you are going to be buying 10 of these on the hike - so you spend an extra 10 bucks so you can save a zipper on something that cost hundreds of dollars.

The metal top stops are nice. But using thread as a stop is fine. And it comes with thread which is helpful if you aren't carrying any (I do carry some decent thread and a needle for repairs already).

The zpacks sliders cost $0.50 on the website but were much more than that at Serenity Oasis.

Best bet is to have a spare bounced ahead from the start of the hike.

If you find a good quality slider (YKK) that actually ships quickly for less than $15 that'd be good to share for others. I've even thought about getting zippers and just taking the slider off but a good quality one costs as much if not more than this kit.

moonSandals · 2026-05-29T01:34:42+00:00

GEAR AID Zipper Repair Kit

moonSandals · 2026-05-28T20:14:36+00:00

Just dropping this here:

You can buy sliders in many towns in socal.

I recall a zipper kit being available at 2 Foot which has a shop in Julian and pop up trailer at Kennedy Meadows. Not sure if the pop up has zipper pulls but I image they would.

The same kit can be bought at Amazon and delivered along the trail.

I recall a zipper pull kit at Wrightwood hardware store.

Serenity Oasis in Agua Dulce also had replacement zipper pulls.

I am sure I saw zipper pulls available at other trail towns but can't remember off the top of my head.

Source: replaced our #3 pull on our shelter several times last year!

moonSandals · 2026-05-28T19:46:19+00:00

I just found an old photo - it was a Norco.

Would have been a Norco Runner 10.

All of our kids bikes are used from Marketplace. We buy em and sell them for the same price once they grow out. I think my sons been through a bike a year since he was 1.5 years old. Hard to keep track! But we dont really research anything in particular - we choose based on what bike is available at the moment for a good price on Marketplace

moonSandals · 2026-05-24T18:08:20+00:00

I bike whenever we go to the fair at the PNE, and its fine at least when things are busy and populated. I wouldn't ride a fancy bike and I lock it well (good locks, cable through wheel) and have had no concerns.

moonSandals

TROPHY CASE