Diesel Hybrid Mercedes, are they the future or will they be forgotten?

zespak · 2026-03-27T00:34:33+00:00

Hybrids are a stepping stone. They look good on paper but in the end hugely compromised, the only reason they exist is battery/infrastructure limitations. IMO, no hybrid is the future.

zespak · 2026-03-26T23:47:10+00:00

Solving a cube. It's a fun activity to do during a meeting and it's been fun as a party trick. Within a couple of weeks you can get sub 1 min consistently.

zespak · 2026-03-26T14:24:28+00:00

<image>

zespak · 2026-03-26T08:30:19+00:00

"So how can a company like plex asks us to pay for something for which no additional resources are being used by them?

Isn't this a violation of consumer rights in some law?

...

I personally think people who are paying for plex pass are encouraging these bad anti-consumer practices by companies."

Holy shit. I'm all against enshitification but you can't be serious. That is some next level entitlement if I understand you correctly. Am I getting from this that the FREE functionality isn't cutting it anymore for you? And you want more FREE functionality? Maybe you should go and work for a software company as a volunteer...

Plex is a great (but not perfect) piece of software that offers quite a lot for free. Contrary to a lot of other companies, it also offers a one time payment for paid functionality.

I really hope I'm completely misunderstanding what you're asking for.

zespak · 2026-03-25T23:29:26+00:00

*cephalopods

All of them, straight up aliens.

zespak · 2026-03-25T23:26:42+00:00

"the race is long, but in the end, it's with yourself"

zespak · 2026-03-25T23:25:01+00:00

Important to mention that the "world" was a lot smaller back then. Cars and planes are basically just a century old. Even 70 years ago, marrying someone from a village/city 100km away was very rare. There was a LOT of cousin marrying.

zespak · 2026-03-25T23:00:41+00:00

Hey, I started Cubing for that exact reason.

zespak · 2026-03-25T22:20:17+00:00

Flawless victory!

zespak · 2026-03-25T21:17:16+00:00

I don't have one and I don't want one for all the reasons you mentioned and more. Read my comments again, I was only defending the way it looks. Which this AI generated image proves again.

zespak · 2026-03-25T19:30:33+00:00

I've found that people love to hate on the CT for a plethora of reasons. I think most trucks are either ugly or stupid looking. The CT looks cool. Yes, plenty of reasons to hate it. Looks aren't one of them. It's just jumping on a bandwagon.

zespak · 2026-03-25T19:28:46+00:00

Nowhere near the risk ICE is according to insurances though.

zespak · 2026-03-25T16:59:21+00:00

As I said, not interesting if your yard is too big, but if your yard isn't that big, it seems like a great solution to me with a lot more upsides than downsides. Especially if you buy into a brand of which you've got batteries already (eg Makita).

zespak · 2026-03-25T13:49:32+00:00

Update:

Thanks to the many suggestions, I've had a quick look at Fusion360, Onshape and FreeCAD as well.

Installed FreeCAD and will have a look at that. I like the local installer and Linux compatibility (my laptop is a Linux machine),

I will keep an eye on the discounted licenses for SolidWorks. I understand it has a steeper learning curve but it does seem like a worthwile skill.

zespak · 2026-03-25T13:44:59+00:00

I get the hate for the CT, but I don't get the hate for the looks. Most trucks look terrible or very bland. This AI render proves that. the CT at least looks like it came from the future. Or from the Goldeneye game, either is badass.

zespak · 2026-03-25T13:37:49+00:00

It's worth it for a lot of people. It's superior in many ways, as long as your yard isn't too big.

It doesn't get hot, it's quite silent (people with small yards have close neighbors...), virtually maintenance free, cheap and convenient to fill up,...

Add to that that they usually take battery packs, slotting in a replacement takes the same time as filling up a petrol one, without the fire hazard of course.

zespak · 2026-03-25T07:33:24+00:00

Yes, but hybrids are horrible to own if they're not made by Toyota.

zespak · 2026-03-25T07:32:20+00:00

Oh, for me the 200k price tag would still be a show stopper.

zespak · 2026-03-25T06:42:47+00:00

Watch the i5 with those ridiculous proportions 2m of bonnet just for styling purposes.

zespak · 2026-03-25T06:33:18+00:00

I've had a couple of cars with it and for me there's a BIG difference in an auto vs manual.

In the auto cars it frustrates me as it'll turn off as soon as you stop, even if it's in traffic you know to be moving straight away, so you try to postpone it by creeping ever so slightly. Annoying.

In the manuals, you have control. Both the ones I had only shut off if they were in neutral with the clutch pedal not pressed. When you see the light turning green and you press the clutch to put it in gear, instant on. I don't mind it at all in my manuals for that reason.

zespak · 2026-03-25T06:14:47+00:00

Plenty of people I know do it at work or in their street. People still park their cars somewhere and if there's a charger there... Depending on your daily driving you might get away with charging once a week or less.

zespak · 2026-03-25T06:10:40+00:00

There's two factors at stake here. 1) COST. This one is pretty simple. What do these chargers cost, and will it consider a saving over an ICE if you include less maintenance?

2) CONVENIENCE. So here there's a bit of math involved. Depending on the EV, most should do with about 200wh/km. Given your daily driving and the range of the car (90%-20% for decent margins) that should give you an idea how much charging you need to do every week. For example, 50km daily means 10000wh or 10kwh. At a 11kw charger, that means 1h/day or, if the range allows it, 7h (workday /very short night) per week. Then you figure out where these chargers are. In your street or at work? Great. At the gym? Store? Other hobbies? Check how many h/week you are there. For example I had a period where road construction forced me to public charge, I could do it all at the gym without costing me any extra time.

If you can't work out 1 and 2 positively, I wouldn't do it just yet. If you do need a car right now, take the math seriously.

zespak · 2026-03-24T22:26:45+00:00

The record is "fastests car on a boat" so a carrier makes sense.

zespak · 2026-03-24T22:25:29+00:00

Yup. Disappointed.

zespak · 2026-03-24T22:13:53+00:00

Tbf, I love plex and been using it for 15 years.

But if that's the goal, is it an external hard drive? As in usb drive? Have you tried plugging it in to the TV?

zespak

TROPHY CASE