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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 5th, 2023

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  • It can’t do both at the same time.

    By remapping I assume you mean changing the ECU (engine control unit) programming.

    Depending on what all it controls, usually fuel injectors and ignition, and what it reads, air pressure, rpm, oxygen, throttle input, the mapping adjusts timing of ignition, and how much fuel is injected based on how fast the engine is spinning, and where the throttle is set.

    Most cars from the factory have a very simple mapping based around what most drivers do.

    A fancy prototype CRX I had back in the 90s had very custom mapping that meant when I drove mellow, it got about 45 mpg, but had very slow acceleration. If I pushed the throttle past a certian point, it spun up like a bat out of hell, but the fuel economy would plummet.

    What you can do with custom mapping is change the way the engine behaves under various conditions and based on the inputs. There is no magic get more out of the engine. Want more power? Eat more fuel and lose economy, and likely not burn off all the fuel so more dirty exhaust. Want more range? Limit power and lose acceleration.




  • I have a few times in life, but I’ve always found a new one.

    Each time I’d get deep enough into something, tech advancements always made that thing functionally obsolete.

    Once again I’m watching my skill set being phased out, but am working on my big last hurrah project right now that I’ve dreamed of for years. Having a great time doing it, but have already started the process of replacing it over the next 18 months.

    The one plus side now is that the company I’m with has already invested in my training for the next big thing. I’ve been through it enough times that I don’t feel like I’m losing something or wasted my time.




  • I went into one of the larger local shops to buy some risers or something to try and adjust my old setup. Older sales guy about my age took one look at my gear and said “Your knees must hurt like hell”.

    I had the money, so I just went full in on new gear, and came away with something I would never have picked for myself.

    Not only did he size everything proper for me, he made sure all the pieces were right together. For the first time in my life toe and heel line up exactly with the edge, and where they belong on the pressure points. I’d always riden too small a board and had far too wide a stance to make up for it.

    I was still skeptical, but he told me if I didn’t love it he’d do a full price exchange.

    Even though it’s about the longest board I’ve ever had, the banana camber makes it feel half the size. Took about three runs to actually trust the board, and I was completely sold, you couldn’t pay me to ride the old gear again.



  • It’s like going from moms station wagon to a high end sports car. Do I need the performance sports car? Usually no, but those few times you push it, it’s ready for all that and more.

    Thermal form boots are a must, though I guess that tech is more than 15 years old in ski boots at least. I no longer cringe and grunt when I put on my boots, they are as comfortable as any footwear I’ve owned.

    The flexibility in modern plastics means the straps and bindings themselves are stiffer where they need to be, and have give where they don’t. Combined with the boots there are no more pinch points at all, and all the force you put into riding goes where you want it.

    I ride almost exclusively in the midwest US, so hard, rough, icy conditions that most people wouldn’t consider snowboarding in are the every day. A board with reverse camber, often called banana, and magna tractions, serrated edges for holding grip on ice, are a must.

    “Turns ice into powder”, well I dont know if I’d go that far. I can lay into turns in the worst conditions and completely trust the edge to hold. When you get that horrible downhill edge that wants to catch and slam you into the ground, the newer complex curves in the camber means more often than not you will pivot out instead of hanging up. I can’t count the number of times I’ve felt that edge wanting to catch and end my day, only to slip around switch and get away with it.

    I’m sure there are more now, but a product called 3DO gel was the first I saw. Flexible and soft normally, it turns ridged under force. I have pads of that stuff basically all over my body, knee and elbow pads, but also tail bone, forearms, and in the liner of the helmet. Saw a demo where they were hitting a guy with a shovel and instantly thought “That’s for me”.

    If I had to pick one, a board with C2 or C3 gen camber from lib tech, or its equivalent makes the biggest difference. The over all package of a new setup bought and sized together for my cough, um, “modern” weight requirements, took riding from a painful and nervous experience, and made it relaxed and enjoyable again. Due to many old injuries, I used to ride an hour, maybe two, and had to quit. Now I can ride a full evening, and feel good about doing a few hours the next day as well.


  • The advances in material science and manufacturing in sports equipment in the past 15 years has been amazing.

    That means boots, bindings, and a snowboard that would have seemed like alien technology to me when I started riding. Same goes for all the saftey gear, knee pads, helmets, integrated wrist guards in gloves.

    The performance, comfort, and saftey offered by modern equipement means I can still enjoy my favorite sports at 50. The thought of getting on a hill with gear I had just 15 years ago makes me shudder.


  • My earliest gaming memory is my dad taking me to a local hotel bar to play Pac-Man when it came out, which suggests spring of 1980.

    I know I played pong, river raid, and pitfall on home consoles as well, not sure which was first.

    One xmass we got an Atari, but when my dad realized it came with a poker game he returned it a few days later.

    First system I had actual private access to was a TRS-80.




  • If you don’t feel it, don’t do it. Some injuries don’t heal right, and many of the hobbies I enjoy have a pretty damned high risk factor. Almost every single time I’ve had a serious injury, that little voice was telling me “This one might not end well”, and I went for it anyway.

    I could have walked away, called it a day, and come back another time. It wasn’t a contest, I was just out filming a few tricks for my “You’re turning 40 and still doing it” video. Didn’t stretch, didn’t warm up, and my over enthusiastic filmer was all “Try this, do that”. Ended up collapsing my knee and fully tearing my MCL.

    Between that and a few neck and back fractures over the years, my mobility and flexibility are pretty well shot. There are things I just can’t do anymore.

    Sure I still skate, and am amazed just how much I can still get away with, but now every minute on the board includes a constant “Is this safe? Is this worth it?” chant.






  • So train lines instead of belts, and inserters directly linking assemblers to each other? Wow, that base must be huge.

    I have done some basics with trains, and a bit with circuits, but multi resource trains always jammed up on me and became unbalanced so I’ve basically kept them to single item type each. Plus, playing on console without keyboard means naming things like stations is a slow pain in the ass.