Be sure to identify as “an avid driver… but sometimes I want to bike on Central, and it’s just not safe!” ;)

Same here: I pay contactless with a Garmin vivoactive3. It cost $30 on Craigslist, runs for ~3 days without charging. My thought was that Garmin has less “ecosystem” and is less likely to be monetizing purchase history, vs. Samsung… but I don’t have any inside info.

I have the GarminConnect app in my “Google Crapola” profile, and for a few months I even deleted the app, and tap-to-pay on the watch kept working.

I tend to buy <$200usd phones and use for 4 years (so: ~$50/year). I’m on a Pixel6A now, and plan to upgrade to an 8A at EOL in summer 2027. An unlocked 8A in “good condition” is $255 now on Swappa, and would get updates until summer 2031, so that meets the $50/year metric.

I’ll be interested in GrapheneOS’s new partner, but I suspect only their brand new phone will work, so… I’ll consider it in 2031 :)

The way I read it is:

• if you never plug-in overnight, and the vehicle is big, and you drive aggressively, you get 34mpg (believable)
• but if you plug-in a small car every night, and you get 75% of your miles electric, and you drive like a grandma, then you get 223mpg (believable)

Sadly, it sounds like Porsche drivers may fall into the first category and Toyota drivers in the second. And there are enough Porches to skew the MPG of the whole PHEV class.

(it’s also possible that Porsche/VW/Audi just make PHEVs that score well on gov’t tests but poorly in the real world, though I’d lean towards the drivers. But the article title really implies that all PHEVs get shockingly bad mileage)

The article is horribly unclear: it seems to say that PHEVs are no good, but “the main reason for the higher-than-stated fuel usage was …that the PHEVs use two different modes, the electric engine and the combustion engine”. Well, so do non-plugin hybrids. I doubt they’re saying that plug-in hybrids are worse than non-plugin, but you might guess that from the title.

The article states that Porsche PHEVs used 7 liters per 100 miles (33.6mpg), but Kia/Toyota/Ford/Renault used “85% less” (1.05L/100k or 223mpg… maybe about right if driven 75% from plug-in energy).

Porsche mentioned “different usage patterns”. I can buy that a typical Prius owner is plugging-in every night, filling low-rolling-resistance tires to 54psi and driving like grandma, and a typical Porsche owner… isn’t. If you want apples-to-apples, then compare a gas Corolla vs a Prius vs a Plug-in Prius, where the cars are from the same city/suburb, and similar owners (e.g.: no ubers, no regional sales reps).

This “study” is evaluating real-world use of one class of vehicles, and not other vehicle types; then using the dismal ways some people drive to imply that this particular class of vehicles is the problem.

sorry, I think I was confusing bank transfers with credit card transactions.

Most Americans understand the swing-out STOP signs on school buses: American trams with this type of stop could put one of those at the rear edge of the tram (on the curb side).

There’s also the risk that credit card companies are claiming that fraud done using your phone app (for example, someone stole your unlocked phone(*)) is not covered, and you are on the hook for losses.

But stolen physical credit cards are always covered.

(*)EDIT: I thought I’d read a report that someone who had been mugged and forced to give their phone+PIN had an issue with their CC company; but it looks like this is mostly a problem with money transferred out of a bank account, not credit card purchases… and even then, hiring a lawyer will usually get the bank to pay-up.

I use several banks and several credit unions, and the only thing I can’t do with a laptop is deposit checks (which is getting pretty rare).

FinTech products like PayPal, Venmo, Cash.app, BlueBird and such often require a phone app, but aren’t regulated banks, and are best avoided when possible.

Reading the Houston city council discussion, it looks like they intend to curfew standup (platform) e-scooters. But the ordinance uses the term “micromobility device”, which is not really a legal definition of anything, and could include lots of things (even 50cc scooters). Hopefully the ordinance could be amended to clarify.

Since the vast majority of these will be app-rented e-scooters (ERYD/Lime), and those companies already operate under franchise agreements with the city, it seems like the easier path would be to put hours-of-operation limits on the rental companies.

Not that I think limiting e-scooters is a good idea, either.

I have separate profiles:

• main user has no Google Play services or Gapps: just F-Droid apps and a couple of play store apps I use daily (anonymously via Aurora Store app)
• Aurora profile has other playstore apps that will run without Google Play Services
• PlayStore profile is for anything that requires full Google Play Services (banking, purchased apps)
• Work profile is full-on Google everyting (Google school)

• Location is on, but only shared with Organic Maps, FindMyDevice (FMD) and Transit.app
• USB port is power-only (no data).

Some compromises I’ve made:

• I have fingerprint unlock enabled (but not on my password vault or PlayStore/Banking profile)
• I tap-to-pay with a Garmin watch ( you only need the Garmin app to set-up the credit card, then it can be deleted )

But… I think starting-out, don’t worry about it. If you load all the same apps as on your old phone, into a single main profile, it’ll still be a huge improvement.

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Great! I’ll look at my Wards and see if there are markings on the top of the needle bar.

Bosch sells its 2A charger (~80w) for $93, and it’s still 3x6x8 inches and weighs a pound. If I could use my MacBook Pro 96w brick, I wouldn’t have to haul the Bosch charger to work.

I also have a Serial1, and there were no available chargers for a few years.

There is also fire risk when bodegas try to charge many bikes. If the bikes had the BMS and DC-DC on-board, and just used USB-C to get the electrons, we may see fewer fires.