Slow-motion action of a .50 BMG muzzle blast blowing everything off our shooting table Carlos Alvarez 2023-10-03 | We forgot to account for the muzzle brake blast, and blow most of the stuff off the shooting table. It's a bolt action .50BMG upper on an AR-15 lower. The brake is whatever they provided stock, which is fairly effective.Link to the full video with drone shots, which really helped with sighting in at distance: youtube.com/watch?v=NhFZEUZOMwE
Cleaning the idler wheels pulleys on a Creality K2 Plus 3D printer Carlos Alvarez 2026-08-14 | Many 3D printers have these pulleys or similar. At high print speeds, junk on them may introduce vibrations and print surface quality problems.
Review of the twraps.com windshield protection film after six months Carlos Alvarez 2026-02-10 | I had their PPF and WPF installed in early September of 2025. Now six months later, it's still in excellent condition. I've done a few thousand miles of road trips where I used the windshield washers, and four off road trips where I did the same. It still looks great. It has taken a few rock chips--one what I think was very capable of causing real glass damage. That chip is visible, but there are no noticeable scratches. The film was never fully invisible, but it has always been MUCH better than a previous film I had done at a local shop. That one was always awful, and in less than six months, had become absolutely terrible and I removed it.The previous film was called "Clear Plex SS" and installed by Arizona Auto Glass Direct. That was installed on 5/6/24 and I removed it, as a total mess,
Raccoons fly free *(Limit one raccoon per paying passenger, other terms and conditions may apply) Carlos Alvarez 2026-01-27 | The groundbreaking of the new airport in Slowjamastan was an awesome event.@slowjamastan Related joke:A buzzard walks up to an airline gate with two dead raccoons, one under each wing. The gate agent says, "Hey, you can't bring those on the plane!"The buzzard says, "Why not? They're carrion." (Say it out loud if you don't get it.)
Rivian front center console review Carlos Alvarez 2025-11-07 | This is the Twraps storage tray and organizer for the front center space on the Rivian, which is normally just an open tray but too shallow to be useful. I've tried two other solutions that were mediocre at best. This one is excellent.twraps.com/products/floor-console-organizer-for-rivian-r1t-r1s
3D printed syringe injection helper Carlos Alvarez 2025-09-08 | This little device helps with injections by holding the syringe at a precise angle and depth, while shooting it into your skin painlessly.printables.com/model/1379936-magnetic-needle-guide-injector-assist-for-insulin
Comparison of GHK-Cu color to Methylene Blue some vendors are selling fake GHK-Cu peptide Carlos Alvarez 2025-09-08 | I've seen a number of reports of people getting GHK-Cu peptide that seems to be fake. The color is wrong, and it has unexpected side effects. I know that vendors have used Methylene Blue in the past to make fake GHK-Cu which can have dangerous consequences. This is a comparison of what they look like, so you can check it.Of course, this again shows us that reliable lab testing is the only way to know what you are putting in your body. Janoshik is the most commonly used lab for peptide testing, but there are others too.
Using a 3-way combiner on a Creality K2 Plus to connect the CFS, spool holder, and dryer Carlos Alvarez 2025-08-06 | I added this 3-way feed combiner (sometimes called a splitter, but really, it's combining inputs) to make it more convenient to switch filaments. Some of them can't go in the CFS, such as TPU, most carbon, and some other abrasive/super-hard filaments. In other cases it's just easier to quickly connect of my my storage dry-boxes for single colors that I don't use often. This is the model: printables.com/model/659196-ptfe-bowden-y-splitter-3-wayI printed it in Sunlu EasyPA because nylon has the lowest friction by far, and prints super cleanly. I then used the nozzle cleaner to make sure it was clean inside with no burrs. Attached the typical connectors, and put it on the input to the extruder. Pretty easy, and it's been perfectly reliable, zero jams.
Road raging moron crashes himself and totals his car Carlos Alvarez 2025-07-13 | And it's perfect, he didn't involve anyone else, and hopefully learned something about being an asshole. Maybe?
Side by side comparison of a black ceramic cooking knife and a high end Damascus knife Carlos Alvarez 2025-06-30 | Testing a Kyocera black zircononium Santoku style chef’s knife against a John Whittle Japanese Damascus standard chef’s knife. The metal knife is brand new while the ceramic was professionally sharpened by Kyocera’s authorized shop about a month ago. The bottom line is that there’s no loser here. Both do a great job overall. While one may be slightly better than the other on specific tasks, there isn't a huge difference. For me the ceramic wins on being low maintenance; you use it and forget it. Dishwasher? No problem! The metal wins on being pretty and having a nice feel at the cost of more work to maintain it. Dishwasher? Hell no.I can’t figure out the cost of the metal one. The Kyocera is $75 on Amazon.
You can start an XR650R in ballet slippers if its well tuned and you get the process down right Carlos Alvarez 2025-05-25 | "Everyone" says it's so hard to start and you have to wear motocross boots to keep from damaging yourself. Here is evidence this is not true. When properly tuned with a good carb, it doesn't kick at all, and just starts.The original Honda carb is ok but finicky, and I replaced it with a Mikuni TM40 pumper configured by XRsonly.com. They did a great job, and offered good support. It starts much better now and has a nice jump off idle.
Rocket surgery with a stick and a hairdryer Carlos Alvarez 2025-01-30 | This has to be the dumbest interaction I've ever experienced. A big box store's paint department couldn't figure out how to possibly match paint that I had in a container. They needed it on a surface. Couldn't figure that out...
Rivian CarPlay & Android Auto display mount Carlos Alvarez 2024-11-12 | Unfortunately Rivian has decided that they will never support CarPlay, which makes everything easier while driving. Their use of Alexa is absolute garbage, so I decided to add my own CarPlay device. I used a modified mount that I found on a 3D printing file site, and bought a CarPodGo T3 Pro. It is a great device at a very reasonable price.These are not affiliate links and I'm not associated with any of these companies or products. I recommend them based on my experience using them. I've replaced the phone mount and MagSafe charger since making this video, new info is below this.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CKXF3RSTcarpodgo.com/products/t3proamazon.com/dp/B0CM689XXZamazon.com/dp/B0BZYPW2JWamazon.com/gp/product/B0CLRPMXPDYou will also need a short 1/4-20 screw, and a washer would be useful but not critical.I now have a dash mount from Twraps, which is excellent, and a MagSafe charger with better cooling which has proven important here in Phoenix: everyamp.com/products/qi2-wireless-charging-phone-mount-with-semiconductor-cooling3D print files:printables.com/model/1062514-rivian-r1tr1s-dash-mount-for-carplayandroid-auto-sprintables.com/model/554385-opensourceev-left-side-phone-ball-mount-v2-for-riv
The most fun pit bull attack ever Carlos Alvarez 2024-10-05 | Arlo gets bored and wants to play by 9am. He will not be ignored.
Rivian Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio issue Carlos Alvarez 2024-09-24 | Some time around September 20th 2024, many/most or maybe all Rivians lost the ability to play Dolby Atmos audio. The symptoms are that the Apple Music player simple stalls and goes to pause, or skips to the next song then stops. It will never play Spatial Audio but if you disable that, it will play normal audio.
Four tire off-road air up kit Carlos Alvarez 2024-08-19 | This easy addition to the onboard air system on my Rivian R1T lets me air up all four tires at the same time, to exactly the same pressure, while I sit in the air conditioned cabin and watch YouTube or something. I am in AZ and it's just no fun to babysit tires when it's 110 outside. I had some of the parts on hand from doing air things before, and from having trimmed back on my air tools and keeping the connectors. The total cost without them would be around $100 without the auto air-down parts.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R8LH3Eamazon.com/dp/B07D13V72Qamazon.com/gp/product/B07MTSSHB3amazon.com/gp/product/B07X42MDFNamazon.com/gp/product/B07CXJ81FPamazon.com/gp/product/B09SZ1PQTVamazon.com/gp/product/B073R7GG98amazon.com/gp/product/B0B49V4H3Pamazon.com/gp/product/B07HF2LZJFamazon.com/gp/product/B011DF61YYamazon.com/gp/product/B0BX3P96ZKFront hose length (2 hoses): 12 feetRear tire hose (2): 22 inchesSplit to passenger side: 8 feetSplit to driver side: 4 feetThe remaining hose will be the single hose to the onboard air outlet. The measurements aren’t highly critical, just get it close. If anything go a tiny bit short on them to be sure your 50' hose is enough.
How to mix and safely use nasal peptides and other medicines Carlos Alvarez 2024-07-16 | The best way to mix something for nasal use is to use sterile saline solution. You should not use bacteriostatic water, which is for injection.Here's what I used: amazon.com/gp/product/B075RJGTBYNOTE: Unfortunately that product no longer exists. I left the link in case it comes back. These are the only ones I've used so I don't have another suggestion.Here is a good peptide dosage calculator specifically for nasal use: peprecon.com/intranasalTypical nasal peptides:SemaxSelankNoopeptPE-22-28DSIP
Rivian R1T and R1S noise reduction and windproofing Carlos Alvarez 2024-06-11 | The Rivian is very quiet, particularly with a better tire than stock. So wind noise becomes obvious, and solving it is pretty easy and cheap.This is what I used, but anything similar should work. I chose tubing instead of solid rubber/silicone because I wanted a *little* pressure but not to add too much friction.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Y8JL94Lamazon.com/dp/B0BCP55HNX
Rivian R1T truck bed cargo tie-down rails from Core-Trax. Carlos Alvarez 2024-06-09 | These are a nice and solid cargo attachment with a lot of versatility. In addition to the tracks and attachments, I bought some stainless steel 6mm bolts to make sure they had enough thread. The truck has huge cup-shaped washers under the stock bolts, which I simply inverted so they formed a spacer. Perfect fit.The tracks had to be drilled and chamfered to accommodate them. You'll need some basic tools and knowledge.Parts used:COR-CT48S - Core-Trax 48" Tie Down Trackrealtruck.com/p/core-trax-tie-down-track-system/cor-ct48sAttachments:amazon.com/gp/product/B0CT969FDRamazon.com/gp/product/B09QCNSYQDBolts:amazon.com/gp/product/B089DZQY82Bungees with carabiners (must have):amazon.com/dp/B0DHKKP29MSelf-retracting cargo ratchet straps for heavy loads:amazon.com/dp/B0C5QN7NKY
Off road recovery with my new Rivian R1T Carlos Alvarez 2024-05-27 | I came across this scary scene while just cruising around in the desert. I hope the people made it out ok, and that they are happy when they come back and find their Jeep upright again. Good luck.
Rivian RADAR detector mirror mount Carlos Alvarez 2024-05-24 | This is a good way to mount and power accessories in your R1T or R1S, such as a detector, action camera, or dashcam.Here are the parts I used.amazon.com/gp/product/B097MGX318amazon.com/gp/product/B08XYC5ZX3amazon.com/gp/product/B09T31L1YHHere are parts that another owner used, and Iike his results a lot too:Amazon link and Home Depot link for the locking bolthttps://a.co/d/0ex7M3Vhomedepot.com/p/Everbil...-Steel-Nylon-Lock-Nut-3-Pack-800131/204274167
Crashed boat in Clearwater Carlos Alvarez 2024-05-14 | I have no idea how it got here. Sat there for a few days and then got pulled off today.
We need a Waymo vs Waymo PVP option. The riders are the players, all other drivers are the NPCs. Carlos Alvarez 2024-05-07 | The cars are so polite to each other. I think they should have alternate versions of the software so some cars are super aggressive and will lay on the horn when the other car is a little slow. Maybe paint them black or white and let the riders choose normal or Mad Max. On occasion the black car will take you to South Phoenix and leave you there alone. Or to Van Buren. Good luck.
Fuck Around and Find Out ratio Carlos Alvarez 2024-05-02 | Many people have proposed that the fuck around to find out ratio is linear and each side goes up equally. I propose that finding out is exponential to your level of fuckery. You can fuck around quite a bit and find out almost nothing, until you go a little too far.FAFO : Fuck Around and Find Out
The Alexa in-car assistant in my Rivian R1T is so damn useless. Carlos Alvarez 2024-04-29 | The Alexa in-car assistant is so damn useless. I get maybe, maybe one out of 6-8 requests handled. The majority of them are either mistaken for something else, or it tells me it can't do it, or just does nothing and turns off. Documented car commands are 50/50 at best.Language at the end. Appropriate for the situation, not for soft ears.
Rivian R1T tonneau cover fix Carlos Alvarez 2024-04-22 | There is a common problem with the bed cover on this truck, where it moves erratically or gets totally stuck. It seems like a big part of it was the front seal, and all of the seals being dirty and sticky. It runs really well now. I neglected to get a "before" video but it was VERY clunky and scary sounding.
Impatient idiot runs a red light Carlos Alvarez 2024-03-25 | Dumb/impatient driver goes through while the light is still red.
XR650R first start with new Mikuni TM40 carb as configured by XRsonly.com Carlos Alvarez 2024-02-25 | XR650R first start with new Mikuni TM40 carb as configured by XRsonly.com. They were super helpful on the phone, and assured me the carb would run well as it is. They also provided other jets if needed, but it started on the second kick, from brand new. Now it starts and runs great, and the pumper gives it super-snappy response to throttle input. A little blip in first gear will slide the tire on pavement easily. Haven't tried to wheelie yet.Jetting:Idle mixture out 3.5 turnsMain jet 150Idle jet 17.5Accelerator pump set to about 1/8" clearanceI have the stock header pipe and the XRs Only muffler, removed the intake restrictor. I don't think it was modded at all otherwise. I also just did a valve adjustment and set everything right at the tightest side of the recommendations.
Drunk, stupid, or texting truck driver Carlos Alvarez 2024-02-17 | I have over half an hour of this idiocy recorded. I passed him and he re-passed me twice, also couldn't hold speed. And at another moment he cause my car to auto-swerve, but I failed to hit record after that one (I was cleaning my underwear). What do you think? Drunk? Texting? Just an idiot?
Logitech Saitek G PRO Flight Yoke System problems Carlos Alvarez 2024-01-23 | This flight simulator controller has a major flaw that makes it impossible to use with a realistic sim. There's no way to make subtle adjustments near the center of the travel, which is where you'd spend 90% of your time trying to have stable flight or trying to land/take off. Doing some research on the problem finds dozens of similar complaints on various forums and on Reddit, with the only solution being a controller replacement as detailed here:youtu.be/BWC2Uq-Fm0kThis is ridiculous, so I returned the yoke and ordered the Honeycomb Aeronautics Alpha to replace it.logitechg.com/en-us/products/flight/flight-simulator-yoke-system.945-000023.html
Fanttik X8 Portable Tire Inflator review Carlos Alvarez 2024-01-21 | It's a decent size, and quick enough. It will work well for small vehicles like compact cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. I would not expect it to work at all for truck tires or larger cars. My uses for this compressor will be on a dirt motorcycle and a mountain bike.Unfortunately there's no way to set the correct pressure for my mountain bike, which runs at about 22 psi. None of the modes will let you store that, you have to just do it manually every time. Dumb. But still fully usable.
Walmart delivery drone returning home Carlos Alvarez 2023-12-25 | Walmart drone deliveries are live now in my area. We happened upon them while landing one after a delivery.
Ocotillo Wells SVRA December 2023 Carlos Alvarez 2023-12-19 | Riding UTVs and motorcycles in the Anza-Borrego playground.
Vacuum hose hanger for sanding woodworking projects Carlos Alvarez 2023-12-12 | The vacuum hose tends to pull on the sander pretty hard, particularly with taller projects like this. Here I solve it cheaply with some stainless steel braided wire, which I have around the shop for a lot of uses. Another is to tie the dust collection parts together to prevent static build-up.
Heated motorcycle glove test and review Carlos Alvarez 2023-12-12 | This is a test and review of three different heated motorcycle gloves. I had found so little info on what works or not, and sizing, that I decided to help other riders with a video. Please excuse the random and crappy zoom levels and out of frame shots, I didn't realize that the wires in the gloves can activate the Apple Watch which I use to control the camera. I had to just try to deal with it with what I could edit out.Winner of the test: amazon.com/dp/B07Y1KVT87?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1&psc=1Runner up: amazon.com/dp/B07ZJ8L7MJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1Loser and not recommended at all: amazon.com/dp/B0CDHFBJL1?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1I tried three brands but a couple of them are also sold under other names. The winner was the Day Wolf brand. Kemimoto was the second place, and I've seen what seems like an identical model on Amazon with another name on it. The Borleni and Iron Jias brands are exactly the same, and they ship with the Iron Jias brand on the glove.
Nanoleaf 4D lights Carlos Alvarez 2023-11-25 | I duplicated the setup shown on the #nanoleaf site, and it's beautiful. It's a lot of work and cost but well worth it. There's a lot of tweaking to do with the setup, but it's been fun. It takes a lot of Nanoleaf Lines and Triangles to create, along with a controller for each on both sides. I ran the power wires inside the walls, but left the linkers on the surface. They are almost invisible anyway.
Zero Motorcycle cruise control button swap Carlos Alvarez 2023-10-09 | The cruise button is a pain to use on Zero bikes, so I swapped it with the hazard button which is easy to reach (and the least useful function ever). This applies to the SR/S, SR/F, and possibly others. You no longer have to do the awkward reach to the cruise button while trying (and for me, mostly failing) to keep the throttle stead. It was a really dumb place to put that button. Now I can engage it without drama, and also prevent the sharp deceleration that happens when you disable cruise. Also since Zero failed to provide an up/down function, it's now pretty easy to either speed up and do a quick disable/enable, or to disable it, slow, and re-enable it. I use cruise a lot so this was a big deal to me.Credit and thanks to user Peterwarm on electricmotorcycleforum.com for providing the expected wire colors, which were also correct on my bike. Be careful however, because I found that my brake light wire colors didn't match someone else's bike. Double check it.Other threads about the cruise:electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=11450.0electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=11606.0electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=10235.0Expected questions...No, this won't void the warranty in the US. The Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act assures that consumer warranties cannot be summarily cancelled unless the user did something to DIRECTLY cause the problem. Also this is easily reversible if there was any question.There's no way to harm the bike unless you get the totally wrong pins. These are just simple switches with no special signals or voltage on the wires.Can you use a test light if you don't own a meter? Maybe, I won't recommend it at all, and won't say how to. Your risk of damage goes way up if you make a mistake with this.
Shooting 50 BMG upper with AR lower Carlos Alvarez 2023-09-29 | First time shooting a new bolt action .50 BMG upper on an AR-15 lower. And using a drone for sighting in at long range was super useful. It also gives us data on the exact range and the wind conditions.We forgot about the brake/muzzle blast and hilariously blew all the targets and other items off the table. Link to the slow-mo of just the blast: youtu.be/24Sp_yfZbBQ
Zero SR/S auxiliary brake light installation and wiring Carlos Alvarez 2023-08-29 | Many or maybe all of the Zero Motorcycles have a negative signal wire going into the tail/brake assembly. Normal vehicles have a positive signal wire. So if you want to add any auxiliary brake lights you will need to convert that to work with normal lights. This is the same on the SR/F which is the same bike without the fairings. It appears to be the same on all of the modern Zeros but I don't know for sure.You might be fine with just a relay. I don't know. I went with this isolated circuit because saving $2 on a $20,000 bike makes no sense. You will always be safe with an opto-isolated relay circuit.Yes, I know I had my microphone set wrong, and it sounds terrible.Below are the parts I used. These are not affiliate links and I'm not involved with these companies, they were just what appealed to me most. I have also ordered the Givi light kit for my top box, but it won't arrive for a week or more. That will be wired right to the output of the relay also.There is a wiring diagram at the end of the video that shows all the connections.Plate frame with lightsamazon.com/dp/B00M9ME4IG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1Cable (5 conductor)amazon.com/dp/B08XBNYF18?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1Electronic relays (must be 12v version!)amazon.com/dp/B095YFJ69T?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1Tap connectorsamazon.com/gp/product/B089297MD2?ie=UTF8&th=1amazon.com/gp/product/B07GXJ46K7?ie=UTF8&th=1@zeromotorcycles
QSC peptide vial issues Carlos Alvarez 2023-08-04 | NOTE: I no longer recommend QSC at all. There are many reports of problems all over the forums and Reddit. I have a dispute open with them about bad product I got. I have switched to ordering from another vendor, XCE, and they do have a web site.Original text of this post:QSC is a great vendor of various peptides, but their vials have a defect that you have to be careful with. The tops tend to pull the sealing ring off the vials, which you don't want. When reconstituting these peptides for injection, be careful and don't remove the band.
Idiot merging Carlos Alvarez 2023-07-31 | Driving into Kingman AZ, I'm on AutoPilot, obviously holding an exact speed and course. This pisses her off, somehow. No idea why she thinks she has right of way when merging? Particularly from what is a bit of a blind spot for many cars. She's really pissed though that I'm just driving along normally and predictably.It's Sunday and the bars probably close early in that town.
Our dog chasing the ball in the pool Carlos Alvarez 2023-07-15 | #insta360 Arlo having a great time in the pool.
