Friday, March 1, 2019

Gen 2 Prius Troubleshooting


Rough notes for edit later

A big no-no for cars, especially hybrids, is to jump start it backwards, like black to red (negative to positive) instead of black to black /red to red (negative to negative/positive to positive). This can blew some main fuse or a fusable link, DC/DC fusible link. This may be a part that plugs in or a grey fuse assembly with an embedded wire that can burn out, underneath the main fuse box under the hood, or a fuse on top of the 12 volt battery in the back in a Prius. Still looking it up. Concept is same for other cars as well.


Prius 12v batteries are more expensive than most other car batteries because they are Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) car batteries, referred to as dry cell batteries, instead of the more common and traditional lead-acid based battery. Toyota uses dry cell batteries in hybrids because it's safer to not have hydrochloric acid a few feet away from the ~26 NiMH (Nickel-metal Hydride) hybrid batteries under the rear seat used for the actual hybrid power part of the car, because apparently there could be an explosion if there was a rear end crash and the HCl and NiMH batteries mixed. Being dry cell may be why AAA and Walmart don't carry Prius 12 v batteries. They may stock only lead-acid batteries.



Tools - Voltmeter.

https://priuschat.com/threads/how-to-change-fusible-link-under-hood.96616/


----
Misinformation I was told
False - If your Prius 12 v battery has no sloshing, it's probably frozen. Once it's frozen, it's dead. --Got that from Autozone. There is no sloshing because it is dry cell. Test it with a voltmeter. There is some truth to the idea though.

-https://www.cars.com/articles/2014/02/can-a-car-battery-freeze/
A quote from the link above. 
"A 100 percent fully charged battery will not freeze until approximately minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. A fully discharged battery can freeze at or around 32 degrees," Kimbrough said in a telephone interview. The difference between a fully charged and discharged 12-volt battery is not that big.
Related: How to Store Your Car for Winter
"When I'm talking about a fully discharged battery, I'm not talking about zero volts. A fully discharged battery is just below 12 volts. There's only about eight-tenths of a volt difference between a fully charged battery and a discharged battery," Kimbrough said.
A 12-volt battery has six cells, and Kimbrough said that if one cell is damaged, the voltage will drop below 12. Cells are connected in series, like Christmas lights, he added, and "you're never going to be any stronger than the weakest."
The electrolyte inside the car battery is made up of about 25 percent sulfuric acid and 75 percent water. The acid interacts chemically with lead plates to create electricity, leaving mainly water in a discharged condition that is more susceptible to freezing.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Frequent Flier Miles

Generalizations are bad in this case. Go airline by airline.


Southwest
Points aren't directly related to miles. Some $72 fares can be redeemed for different miles. Not sure why.

Chicago to LGA  New York one way in Southwest

April 28 - $55 - 2725 points = Redemption value is $20.18/1000 miles
April 13 return - $66 - 3462 points
April 4 - $72 - 2,956-3,416 points
April 3 - $74 - 3,416
April 5 - $96 - 5,471
April 9 - $104 - 5,426
April 20 - $116 - 6,811 points = Redemption value is $17.03/1000 mile
$365 - 25,445 = Redemption value is $14.34/1000 miles













Thursday, September 29, 2016

2014 Relationship thoughts

Here are my brainstorming thoughts from 2014 that somehow got bumped up to look like my most recent post in 2016. I'm keeping it because I'm curious to compare what I was thinking or reading in 2014 to what I am today.

Going through this blog with ideas about how to make a marriage work brought up some ideas.

http://stepbystepjourney.com/?p=3682

1. Purchases/Freedom to fail: Remember you are in a relationship, not an autonomy. A relationship where both people feel valued by the other person regardless of their contribution. If one person is artistic and one loves functional comparisons between a lot of options, they can both have input, but realize you may have to make compromises. The person who has compared features, and come up with the one with the best value and ease of use may not be able to get it because if the significant other severely dislikes it because it doesn't come in the right color, or match the theme of the room, there could be a difference of priorities you get to talk out. 

Doing the research and comparisons doesn't mean that your result is always "right". The other person who puts less effort into the selection process, or has a different method of decision making, such as referrals from friends or prefer a particular look or color, something that may not matter to the other person, just as some additional features may not matter to the other person ("You'll never use that." "But I might in the future!" ... and you end up using it once or twice and not could mean they were right. One may come up with the most logical solution, but that may not be the right decision for "the team". Both people in the relationship need to feel just as valued in the decision making process no matter their level of research or commitment to the decision.

This can be difficult for someone who, for example, spend a few hours comparing Consumer research, longevity, features, value, etc and having a spouse walk in and say they want one of the ones that got poor reviews, less functionality, but looks pretty. The point is that you have to trust the other person's descision making, even if it is not like your own. So marry someone you respect enough, so give them a break and let them fail sometimes. You can't be a perfectionist. If you don't respect their opinion, you can become controlling and the other person can feel suffocated and not valued and the relationship will fail. It comes off as you thinking you are better than them and don't value them, and that can wear a person down and make them not not feel valued. "Why did you marry me if you don't trust me to make any decisions? Do you think I am stupid?"

Some people consider themselves very good at making decisions. An outside person may objectively disagree when they look at how they do it, but it doesn't change the original person's perspective that they are good at decision making. I'm sure we are all a bit not perfectly self-aware in some areas.

A grandma may say they did a lot of research for a product because a reviewer they like on the radio recommended it and their friend likes it. To them, they spent 2 hours researching something. To you who looked up consumer reports, comparison articles, and tech specs, you may find something very different. Devaluing someone has consequences. Tone matters.

One person may know that they have a tendency to not make logical decisions, but not know how to control it. One may be impulsive and know it, but not be able to stop it despite being aware of it. How your partner helps you and works with you, or criticizes, shames, or devalues you matters. 

Second guessing a decision after you turned the decision making over to the other person is devaluing to them and can show you don;t trust their decision making. If the result of the decision is not ideal, remember you gave the person the decision making power. There is an argument that you shoudl give them the ability to fail, and continue loving and support them. If there is a way to reverse something that may be pretty bad, do so in way that doesn't hurt them, or just let them fail. A possible rule of thumb is to just let it slide and be happy if it won't matter in a year. Another argument is to just let them fail and go through it together because how they perceive you feel and value them is more important than money. Ultimately it is just money, which isn't the most important thing.

In economics, the assumption is that people make the best decision for themselves. In behavior economics, it's realized that people will not necessarily make the actual best decision for themselves since they are impacted by convenience, intrinsic, brand, feeling, sales, etc. Realize there are several factors that play into a decision, and realize that not all of them will be valued the same by any two people.

One helpful thing to think about is to imagine a spreadsheet with ALL the aspects of a particular item, hobby, etc. For example, knitting. A traditional guy may think that knitting is a waste of time because you

If one person, just becomes a yes person who isn;t involved in any descison making, then the other person may not respect them or their (lack of) opinion and start talking down and controlling them, telling them, or guilting them into doing something their way.

Counterpoint: Okay, so if a husband a wife are looking at getting a new washer. The husband is grilling the salesman to learn all the features, steam cleaning to save on water, dirt removal options, steam ironing, etc. The electronics jargon is going over her head because she has no interest in reading the manual despite her being the one to use the washer very often and usually puts stuff on regular wash and cold or hot depending on the pile. Her husband may decide that the best value one to spend more on an extra large front end loader with steam cleaning options, a rack for shoes and sweaters, several different options for reduced consumption of water, electricity, or gas depending on what was most expensive at the time, and despite the higher price, could pay for itself in 3 years. He may be tempted to ask her if this one with all these options was her first choice too. She may have been eyeballing the super basic top loader, the cheap washing machine that she'd used her entire life, knew how to work, and didn't think she had time to learn the wizardry of all the other options the model her husband thought was good. She also has the perception that the fewer features something has, the less likely something will break

2. Explore the origins of issues you have. Issues come up in a marriage. Deal with them in a loving non-judgemental way because you are with the person regardless of their past, something they can't change.

3. When talking, put yourself in their place. Acknowledge how they will likely feel. If you do fight, learn to do it in a healthy way that gets a resolution and fixes it. SOme people want to deal immediately. SOme people want time along to collect and recover.

4. People should feel responsibility to the family unit, despite different contributions.

5. Be careful not to try to force the other person to be just like yourself. Let them be the best version of themself. While this sounds nice, the difference is simple. "Accept them for who they are, but be tactful and not forceful when giving suggestions. Don't expect them to change, only share things that could help." Phrase things like "I

People will interact with people differently.

6. Phrasing is key. Don't come into a conversation thinking you have the answer, even if it is your current understanding. Come into it with "some knowldege" bu that you'd like to have other opinions as well. Not "I have an opinion right now. Here is why. Give me a counter argument and I'm open to changing." Say "I'm interested in this topic, let's chat." they can say no and you avoided spewing out facts they don;t care about. THis can be very good."

7. I like how he writes, "I've failed. Told her,, and SHe;s forgiven. SHe's done the same. i can't stress thsi enough."

--
Differences in financial viewpoints and intimacy expectations are likely the leading cases of hardships in a marriage.

-
Question: Current thoughts about marriage
-Physical attraction and cont romance
-

What do you envision marriage to be?
-
Why might arranged marrages last longer than love marriages?
Different expectations. You expect an
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General stuff. Say I want to learn more about this. Don't force people to be Deveil's advocate. It is not generally pleasant in everyday conversation. Don;t come at something like, "i know something. Prove me wrong."

What I'd like in a phone 2015

A while ago I posted what I thought a phone should have. Without looking at that post, I wan to write one again.

Camera that can take a clear picture despite having it taken by someone with shakey hands.

Water resistance ip67 or ip68 (or free/cheap replacement program) - I may be paying extra for peace of mind, but I get caught in the rain with my phone every so often.

Removable battery 2800 mAh or greater for a 5" phone (ideally 3500)

Either SDXC card slot or affordable internal storage at 64GB, though ideally 128 GB. *My S5 just had a 64GB SanDisk card go bad and a 32GB one died in my S3 a few years ago. I currently use about 60 GB. As apps get larger, more local space will be needed for use in no data areas.

A louder speaker phone for calls and music than the S5

Screen size variants for small handed people (~4" screen), people with large hands (~5" screen), and phablet size with similar specs (~5.7). 720p is fine for the 4-5" variants. 1080 is fine for 5-5.7". Much more just burns battery.

Strong, unlikely to break screen. Maybe make it thicker with the current Gorilla glass instead of thinner with the newest glass. Cracks are more common that scratches

A screen that has low battery draw.

Software that has low power drain options. (Maybe greyscale, only allow certain apps to recieve data, like google hangouts, a web browser, text, calling-like Samsung)

Rapid OS patches and updates (for security reasons)

Bonuses
Shock resistant

A way to use the screen if the screen is wet (in the rain on a wet phone)

fingerprint reader for fast unlocking

Givens
current bluetooth platform to work well with car stereos

Friday, May 13, 2016

2016 Mac Applications For a New Computer

I got around to reinstalling apps on a computer. Here are my current thoughts about what to install, if you have the money.

Internet Browsers - Chrome and Firefox (with TabMix Plus extension) at the minimum (Chrome Canary, Sea Monkey, OmniWeb, Opera, Maxthon, Seamonkey are options if you have a lot of e-mail addresses) - Then install AdBlock Plus on all of them that it is supported on. Install Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, and Adobe Shockwave. You will need to manually allow Microsoft Silverlight to work on Firefox for Netflix to work on it.

CleanApp version 3 instead of 5, and do this before installing most other apps. Version 5 can auto-select associated files, like DocumentIMade.xlsx and delete that, if you don't unselect it. The earlier this application is installed, the sooner the log file will be created that documents all files created when a new application is installed so it can be fully uninstalled when it is ready to be removed. It does best

Office App - Microsoft 2016 (not free) or Openoffice.org or LibreOffice for Macs which are free

Audio recording app - Audacity or Garage Band. I like Audacity.

Photo editing App - Adobe CS6's Photoshop or Gimp (free)

Video editing App - iMovie/Final Cut Pro/Adobe Premier

Volume increaser/recording app - Audio Hijack (systemwide) or old Audio Hijack Pro (app specific)

AeroSnap for Mac - Just pay the $4 and buy Better Touch Tool. I haven't seen a good free option.

Backup Apps - Time Machine is free, but it doesn't let you browse your files easily when viewing the backup drive. I like Carbon Copy Cloner, not free, and/or Super Duper (free + paid version).

Clipboard manager - ClipMenu is free and holds dozens of copied text and images for use later. Great if on an unreliable connection to have in case whatever you typed gets lost.

DiskInventory X - Lets you view the size of files and apps on your computer, jut do NOT use the delete function built into this app. Uninstall them through CleanApp or a drag and drop.

External Drive Recovery - If you have cash to burn, Disk Warrior 5 can repair externally connected drives, including though 2012 computers connected via Firewire and in target disk mode.

Media Apps - iTunes is very functional for audio, especially if you want to change the format or bitrate. VLC can play most file types. Not sure of the best app for video. ITunes will do it. You may want to set up the default import settings to 128 or higher MP3 for good compatibility across platforms in iTunes.

Pictures - Not sure of the best app. Photos works, but isn't my favorite, but there aren't a lot of options. Picassa is another. My current understanding is that when you right click on the application and show Package Contents there is a Masters folder and another folder called Edited or something and combined they may be 16 GB, but iPhoto may be 30 GB large. Seems bloated and I can't drag and drop photos to an email, which is annoying. I have to drag to a folder of my desktop I create, and from there drag to my e-mail to attach.

Dual Boot Software - Bootcamp (free), for 1 OS operation at a time, or VMware (paid) if you want to run Windows and Mac at the same time (or Parallels (paid), but VMWare has better reviews). You can create a Bootcamp image and access it via VMWare (or probably Parallels), th downside being it takes up a static amount of storage on the hard drive (at least it used to). If the image created by VMWare or Parallels is on the variable disk space setting, which i think is the default, it will expand as needed without the need for preallocating disk space like you need to in bootcamp. Supposedly, VMWare has near native performance in version 8, so you don't loose much. Though I am not sure how much RAM or how many processors you have to allocate to the image. I am currently assigning all, or all - 1, of the processors to the VMWare, despite the warnings for good performance, but it is super sluggish on Core 2 Duo computers.


Monday, October 19, 2015

Android Apps 10/19/2015

Barcode Scanner
Beep'n'go
BitStrips
C:Geo
Calendar widget
Cash
Chrome
Coffee Meets Bagel
Device Manager
Docs
Drive
DropBox
Duolingo
Ebay
FillUp
Facebook
Gas Guru
GPS Test
Groupon
Hangouts
Happn
HBOGO
Hinge
Inbox
JuicePlotter
Keep
Lumocity
Lyft
Lync
MapMyRun
Maps
Memo
Mint
My FitnessPal
Nova Launcher-backup most recent profile
OkCupid
PayPal
Peel Smart Remote
Google Photos
Pic Stitch
Play Music
POF
Sheets
Skype
SleepBot-backup online account
SMS Backup And Restore-backup SMS
SoundCloud
SoundHound-back up music online account
Speedtest
SpotHero
Spotify
Tinder
Transit
Bank App
Uber
Venmo
Viber
VLC
(Google) Voice
Weather
We Transfer
Zillow

All these are pushing my 16 GB internal storage limit even with the ones that could be moved to my SD card moved there.




Thursday, December 4, 2014

A chat with Motorola Phone Engineers and their thoughts on Android phones

I had the opportunity to chat with two Motorola phone engineers in November 2014, a hardware lead and a developer. Here are some of their paraphrased replies to my questions as I understood them.

Me: What are the advantages of a Motorola phone?
Them: 1. Because the user experience is very close to pure Android, it takes us much less time to get Android release updates to Motorola users than competitors that use skins and have to update the skin to fit the new release.

2. Some of the devices are made of Kevlar/ ballistic nylon and are very durable. We do extensive drop tests for normal use, from about 5/6 feet as if people are putting the phone in their upper jacket front pocket, (the highest place someone would store their device).

3. The new Droid Maxx Turbo can give you 8 hours of battery life in 15 minutes of charge.
ME: Does the phone have to be off to charge that quickly?
Them: No. You can charge it while it is on.
ME:
Now this could mean that it charges it up to 10% in 15 minutes and the 8 hours comes from that much charge and depends on use, but hey...
 in (CNET reports that it takes 2 hours to fully charge the 3,900 mAh battery on the Turbo charger, which is due to the Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 which will be showing up in other devices.)