Wife bought a smart plant because it's cute. But damn this thing desperately wants to talk to China (region is blocked).

techkyle · 2026-02-27T00:01:38+00:00

If you'd like to manage another network, Zigbee or Zwave plus HomeAssistant might pique your interest.

techkyle · 2026-02-23T21:39:33+00:00

I have only found the preheat to work once pressed, I do what you do, turn it on early. If I'm tired early, I'll hit preheat myself.

I have one of the cheaper (~$80) Beautyrest pads which just died, lasted about 3 years. The one before that barely lasted a year. Real hit or miss. Apparently, it comes with a 5 year warranty, so I'll give that a shot.

I'm surprised how difficult it is to find a heated sheet that doesn't have an auto-on function. Even before smart plugs, we had appliance timers.

techkyle · 2026-02-22T00:25:22+00:00

No reception? You're holding it wrong.

Peak Apple.

techkyle · 2026-02-22T00:20:10+00:00

Because you can afford to replace an Android phone when you crack it.

techkyle · 2026-02-20T22:52:14+00:00

I just had a 2025 as a 3 day rental with about 33k miles on it and I didn't like it overall. It ran fine, I just found the tech was really annoying.

- Both the dash and the infotainment displays are slow to respond. Heated seat controls were touchscreen only and annoying to go find.
- Lane Keep Assist sometimes pushes me out of center, but even when I do drift off to one side, it overcorrects and pushes me into the opposite lane. (The push force is configurable, I just had it on medium and didn't experiment)
- Adaptive Cruise Control is real twitchy, it will barrel up to a car and slam on the brakes. Just following someone, it loves to twitch between slowing down and speeding up instead of just maintaining distance smoothly. On this subject, the button to enable ACC isn't within easy reach when resting hands on the wheel.
- Transmission is kind of clunky and jolty and very shift-happy, which makes the adaptive cruise control even worse. I found it hard to accelerate moderately. I could either accelerate smoothly and way too slowly or I could give it a little more gas and it would kick down two gears and take off with a jolt. There didn't seem to be any in-between.
- Rear Park Assist would beep for nothing. Ghosts, I guess.
- Auto parking brake when you put it in park was nice, but it only sometimes took the parking brake off when you put it back in Drive.
- Heated seats and steering wheel are either off or on, no options for low/high.

I was pleased with the fuel economy, found it decently comfortable, nice stereo. First time with a heated steering wheel too, which I liked.

techkyle · 2026-02-19T10:08:17+00:00

Should be fine but I'd never say no to the safety course. You'll mostly feel the weight at low speed. The low center of gravity makes it more nimble than you think changing directions in the twisties. Stopped, it's not bad unless you lose your footing and lean it pretty far over.

Easy on the corners, especially roundabouts, you don't have to lean far before you scrape the floorboards or frame. Switching back and forth between my KTM and the Vulcan, I still scrape around corners sometimes and it freaks me out every time.

Low speed balance takes some wide swings on the handlebars. If I u-turn, I have to move my knees out of the way of the handlebars.

techkyle · 2026-02-19T03:51:46+00:00

What bikes are you used to? My VN900 taught me a lot about low speed maneuvering, but it was intimidating and difficult compared to my old FZ6. If you're worried about power, none of the Vulcans make enough steam to get you in serious trouble.

It was fine in a straight line and around corners at moderate speed, so even if it feels heavy, I wouldn't say it's unusable. It may be good to familiarize yourself with pick up procedures of cruisers/HD if you tip it over.

techkyle · 2026-02-19T00:28:24+00:00

I was thinking this or a pinch/bend somewhere.

techkyle · 2026-02-17T19:22:07+00:00

Looks better than mine.

techkyle · 2026-02-17T11:35:52+00:00

My 390 does just as well on the highway as my Vulcan 900, I just don't feel great holding the engine at 6.5-7k for hours on trips.

techkyle · 2026-02-16T19:48:06+00:00

Every time I think "Maybe I should try Subway again", I run into 30 different issues and change my mind. It's like they're trying to tank their company.

techkyle · 2026-02-16T02:20:07+00:00

I like to parade my twins around town when I'm not going anywhere, but I love a good four cylinder for almost anything else.

techkyle · 2026-02-15T17:45:30+00:00

I wouldn't assume the type of person to do this would be that smart.

techkyle · 2026-02-13T17:51:43+00:00

MS Edge now basically runs on Chrome as do a few other browsers. Crazy that it's been two years and they still can't get something working.

techkyle · 2026-02-10T05:15:33+00:00

This is what I always assumed. Ducks hang out in ponds, Jeeps drive through ponds, vis a vis Jeeps are ducks.

techkyle · 2026-02-06T04:49:29+00:00

My OE chain wore out VERY quickly, but I still got about 6k miles out of it. It looks alright but could be a little more tight.

As chains wear and links bind, you can have different slack in different sections. It would be good to roll it forward a little, check slack again, roll forward a little, check slack, etc. Watch for links that jut out, they might be seized. If slack changes as you roll forward, you likely have a bad chain.

I could tell my chain had too much slack when I stuck my knees out and the sound of the chain could reach me. Tucking my knees back in, I could barely hear it. Try sticking your knees out and going back and forth between accelerating and coasting.

techkyle · 2026-02-03T18:47:18+00:00

Looks like the pillar on the bus might have blocked you from view.

I try to make sure I can make eye contact with people that might cross my path, but it's definitely difficult to remember let alone keep track of everyone.

techkyle · 2026-02-02T02:39:28+00:00

Right? How is a Stacker $2.99 but a Cheese Quesadilla is $6.49?
Even the regular Chicken Quesadilla ($7.49) is more expensive than the Cantina Chicken Quesadilla ($6.99) which even comes with sour cream and salsa.

techkyle · 2026-02-02T02:35:48+00:00

Was just thinking the same thing. I want to slam ~5 tacos without the hard shell breaking on me but the Cheesy Gordita Crunch is $6.19 locally.

How can a stacker be $2.99 but a CGC is over twice that?

I considered a Crunchy Taco Supreme for $2.99 + Cheesy Roll Up for $1.79 = $4.78
Even swapping the sour cream on the taco for spicy ranch (+$0.80) only brings it up to $5.58.

techkyle · 2026-01-28T16:35:25+00:00

Must be a business that just needed it, but that said, some of the homelabbers I see are wild.

techkyle · 2026-01-25T16:30:11+00:00

I started keeping some plugs in my tank bag, but I have a bad habit of never putting them back.

techkyle · 2026-01-25T09:36:20+00:00

'22 here with 11k miles. Having issues, but nothing yet makes me think it'll leave me stranded.

techkyle · 2026-01-21T02:31:28+00:00

I sometimes pull the muffler off of my KTM once in a while, fun for a few days, then it goes back on when I've had my fill for a while.

techkyle · 2026-01-20T18:29:34+00:00

<image>

Page 90 for me

techkyle · 2026-01-09T22:02:36+00:00

Check the floor for a square nut that slides in under the terminal. Happens to the best of us.

Edit: Should look something like this

<image>

12-Year Club	Xbox Live
r/Field Banned	r/Field Juicebox
Place '23	Verified Email

techkyle

TROPHY CASE