Man, I got stuff to do. Lol.

I mean…

Steam? Maybe? I dunno, I don’t game but the Steam kids seem to prefer Arch. I’m sure they have their reasons.

Practically? Probably nothing terribly significant.

I have an ecobee thermostat that I manage locally over WiFi using the HomeKit integration, but I’d stop short of recommending it to new users.

1. Ecobee used to support developer access to their cloud API for controlling the thermostat and collecting efficiency data, but stopped issuing new API access tokens in the last couple of years. They have no plans currently to reopen developer access. If you have a token then the ecobee integration works fine, but if you don’t you’re stuck with HomeKit.
2. The thermostat requires 24V from the furnace to run the display and wifi stack. They provide an adapter you can install if you have available free leads at bother ends of the thermostat control cable. I had to splice a new wire onto the 24V transformer in my furnace since it didn’t have a 24V common terminal on the control block. It wasn’t hard to do in the end, but it was a lot of research.
3. Some advanced thermostat features require the app. I am not sure whether the app uses cloud or local control when on the same WiFi.
4. Not all features are available through the HomeKit integration. I can change the thermostat mode among Auto/Heat/Cool/Off, manage the blower fan mode and manage the heat/cool set points.
5. Data logging. The damned thing does log activity back home, and the data is only available in the app or on thr web portal.

Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the show? I haven’t been unhappy with the ecobee. The HomeKit integration works fine, and I get enough data from the native HA history to track and manage my energy demand. I shied away from Honeywell because my last Honeywell thermostat-- the one I used just before the thermostat I replaced with the ecobee-- tended to cycle my furnace too fast during cold snaps, and it would put the system into thermal protect mode. There was no way to widen the hysteresis (or modify the duty cycle) except by manually setting the temp high, run the house up to that temp, and then lower the setpoint and let the house take longer to cool.

ETA: the ecobee a decent thermostat and I’m happy enough with it overall. It has “spousal approval” accreditation as well. I wish it checked more boxes for me*, but it was essentially free through a power utility program. Its a worthy upgrade for me, but YMMV.

* namely, Z* protocol local control and continued cloud API access

The Volt is a hybrid gas & electric. The gas engine is there in part to charge the battery, and in part to power the electric drivetrain.

Under normal drive conditions, the gas engine short-cycles and doesn’t really come up to operating temp, which gums up the EGR valve causing the valve to pull too much current and start blowing fuses that power other critical parts of the battery charge control circuit. Left us stranded on an interstate this past spring until I could limp it to an auto parts store off the next exit to buy a replacement fuse. It ate two more before we could get home.

(edit: the OEM part is no longer manufactured, and what OEM stock is left is unobtainable. What’s left is remanufactured, Chinese aftermarket, or a scam. Install at your own peril.)

The workarounds to disable or bypass the EGR (for now) can cause other potential issues with the engine in the long run. Simply disconnecting the EGR keeps it from blowing fuses, but then the car isn’t road legal in many states because it fails emissions. Also, the EGR is part of the combustion engine’s cooling system, so not recirculating hot crank case gases works the rest of the cooling system harder, and potentially damages the pistons & cylinders.

The whole situation is a mess. Thankfully we have a second vehicle that’s a regular gas engine, so we use that one for distance driving, and can just use this one for around-town driving while we figure out what to do next with it.

The OEM part is, as the service manager at the dealer put it, “on intergalactic back order.”

They don’t make the OEM part any more, and anyone who has new stock isn’t selling it to other dealers. You might be able to find a Chinese version, but if you have a warranty or service plan, you’re rolling the dice with it.

It’ll be a class action suit one day, I feel it in me bones. 🏴‍☠️

2016 Chevy Volt. Needs an EGR valve.

Chevy: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No.

I think that’s the Gen2 or Gen3? I had a couple of them over a few years, and I’m ashamed to say I’m not sure whether I actually had the one in the photo, or the version just prior to it.

Cooool!

Smoking a small brisket this weekend, having some friends over. Kinda stoked for it.

How bout u?

Seems to be the AskLemmy community, and you’ve already found us!

Just kidding. Also curious about AMA community.

Just kidding again. Not really.

Hey, what’s up?

Plus 1 for a refurb or gently used Dell Latitude series. My daily beater for the last 5 or 6 years has been a pre-2020 Dell Latitude 7390 13". Works really well with the *bian distros I’ve run on it, decent battery life, OK mic and speakers.

I’ve had to replace the battery once, and the keyboard once (which I damaged myself by applying a small amount of Coca Cola).

Refurb ThinkPads are also great, but they have a high resale value.

I like you. Never change.

Hi!

I’m OK, mostly.

Had some good Chinese takeaway tonight, which was a treat. Ate that while watching my countrymen descend into some kind of froth for dystopic, authoritarian autocracy. That’s kind of a bummer.

I abide. Trying to, anyway

For now.

I mean, we’re communicating over the Internet right now, which is pretty cool. Right?

On Lemmy. For now. Things will change. But for now it’s pretty cool. Um.

Hi. :waves:

WTF kind of question is this?

Is it a thing? OK, yeah? A concept of an idea, maybe.

Is it anything approaching moral, ethical or humane? No.
Nooo.
Nope.
Nuh-uh.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

There’s Gradle to crave joke to make here, but deploy keeps failing during dependency checks for humor.

I am really not sure how I feel about this. It feels like when Cisco Systems bought Kalpana back in '94 and brought us the Catalyst 3000. So sexy, much disaster. Very bugs.

I really wanted to like that switch. It got better, but so did I.

Where was I?

Oh right: Qualcomm buying Intel. That’s not gonna help anything or anyone. Bad idea.

Not only does it need blocking on the wheels, but that thing’s also apt to be stolen with the hitch just sitting there like that. They might consider parking a car in front of it too.

Black eyed peas. I’m not gonna tellya twice.