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u/DavefromCA

r/Tacomaworld r/PublicAdministration r/arrma r/BaseBallglovers r/mildlyinfuriating r/BaseballGloves r/RoadBikes
▲ 4 r/PublicAdministration

What is a Public Records Request/Freedom of Information act to you?

I've worked with Public Records Requests/Freedom of Information act requests for over a decade. In that time they have evolved into something very different then someone just looking for records. When I started, there were two categories of requests we would see....people looking for records, and people using our form to ask questions such as "regarding the subject property ADDRESS, is it a violation if the property does not have certificates of occupancy" (questions are NOT a records request and we respond as such to the requester).

At some point, someone figured out they can get their work done by submitting records requests and having us do it. After Covid, we went from getting about 60 requests a year, to possibly 300+ this year.

A modern records request fall into these categories:

Requesting actual records (mostly building records)

Asking a question

Needing help with a college or a commercial research project (big one right now is "we are conducting research on solar permits....)

Business License Listings (same person submits the same request monthly going on 11 years) last request we got was from someone obviously angry this business even existed and was trying to find a way to close them down due to noise

A Union rep making sure city projects are paying the proper wages

Wanting to know who we do business with for certain services so they can undercut the competition, IT services is the most popular, janitorial services is the most recent that actually went to an award to a new vendor

Wanting to know how we are in compliance with INSERT NEW LAW HERE (we have a pending request that has been going for months.....has been a huge lift for our staff)

Residents trying to find out which of their neighbors submitted a complaint to city regarding the tenant illegally living in the RV parked in their driveway

Arrest records for themselves

And then there is the requests for EMAILS....this last one is killing us, we actually added another staff position to our division because the email requests can take months to get through. Requester requests emails for certain subject>We make request to IT to perform search>IT provides us with 10,000, many of which have multiple attachments>Our staff goes through every single email and attachment to remove anything privileged (this step is what kills us)>We provide records to requester on a rolling response basis until request is satisfied. The file sizes are so large, IT had to give us all new computers to handle the processing.

I engaged with another member on this subreddit who said they use records requests for research purposes, and I saw right away the requests they were making would tie down city staff for months. California is working on a law aimed at reducing the burden on how requests need to be responded to afetr one city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a legal team as one CA city as a whole was being bogged down due to requests, and of course tons of people think its a conspiracy to HIDE THE TRUTH OF THE CRAB PEOPLE!!!: California bill would limit access to public records

So I am curious, what do people who do not normally work in records requests think about when they think "Public Records Requests/Freedom of Information request,"

u/DavefromCA — 1 day ago
▲ 5 r/RoadBikes

Overhauled the Front Brakes on my 2019 Cannondale Synapse Sora

I’ve had my 2019 Synapse Sora since new and have always liked the bike, it does what I need it to, but the stock mechanical disc brakes was easily my biggest complaint, and this is a known issue on this bike. On long descents, the brake would start out soft and progressively get worse even though I always kept them adjusted. On a steep decent, even braking on and off to keep the heat down, after 10 minutes of heavy braking (Yes I am a wuss) I could end up pulling the lever almost to the handlebars, which never inspired much confidence.

I finally decided to overhaul the entire front brake system.

I replaced the stock caliper with a TRP Spyre, installed a new TRP 160mm TR 43 rotor and replaced the brake housing with Jagwire compressionless. The caliper also comes with TRP's ultra-grippy semi-metallic pads.

After bedding everything in, the difference is drastic. The brake actually bites and holds, the lever feels much firmer, and stopping power is significantly better than it ever was with the stock setup. TYP also makes adjusting the brakes very easy.

I haven’t taken it down a steep, sustained grade yet, which will be the real test, but so far I’m very impressed. For a relatively inexpensive upgrade, it feels like I addressed the one part of this bike that I genuinely had a problem with. I also lost my only excuse to upgrade to a Trek Domane SL 5 that is on sale :(

reddit.com
u/DavefromCA — 16 days ago
▲ 32 r/Tacomaworld

The Trail Hunter is Worth the Price Tag

Goal: Remote travel through rough roads, (ruts, rocks, washboard, mud, or snow and rock crawling if necessary) to go camping, fishing, mountain biking, kayaking, exploring forest roads, reaching trailheads, remote lakes with the ability to carry wet/dirty/bulky gear in a 6' bed while maintaining decent on-road manners, avoiding horrible MPG, and having the capability to get out of sticky situations.

People on reddit do not seem to hate on the Trail Hunter so much, just the general attitude in person, on the internet, facebook, instagram offroad forums, offroad channels hate the $65,000 Tacoma. "Who in their right mind would pay $65,000 for a four cylinder?!" When I price out a TRD Off-Road the way a lot of people would build it, the Trail Hunter starts making sense.

A basic TRD Off-Road is a great value. But one thing I keep reading is how much time and effort trail cameras saves you (more time to have fun instead of spotting) regardless of what vehicle you are off-roading in, so in my mind, if you can afford it, the trail camera is worth the premium package. Once you add the package, then start pricing lift, skids, sliders, onboard air, etc., you’re suddenly not that far from Trail Hunter TSRP.

The Trailhunter already comes with the hybrid torque, cameras, OME suspension, armor, 2400W power (awesome), onboard compressor (awesome), and, very importantly, factory integration/warranty for all that stuff.

No aftermarket lift drama, no chasing quotes, no warranty finger-pointing if something goes wrong.

It’s certainly not cheap, and it’s not for everyone. But if you were already going to buy a TRD Off-Road and build it into a better overland/trail truck, the stock Trail Hunter (plus some good tires and a ham radio antenna) seems like the clean choice for me.

The Tacoma has been my dream vehicle for 20+ years and life has finally placed me in a position to obtain one in the short term.

EDIT: Appreciate all the comments positive and negative. I enjoy writing very much, as well as getting negative feedback when its well thought out. While I have studied and read a ton about offroading and offroading vehicles, thanks to living in Santa Barbara, I have never had the money to offroad. I am still driving my 10 year old base model civic. Now we own a great single family house, kids are out of the $2700/month daycare, and our household income is about to go through the roof, Id very much like to join the scene, so its nice to hear from people who have actually done it.

reddit.com
u/DavefromCA — 3 months ago
▲ 8 r/BaseballGloves

Okay which 1 of these 3 outfield gloves for old guy?

Who: 42 year old dad making his kids hit him fly balls so he can run around until collapse

What: outfield glove that has good reach but not huge on the hands

When: while all these sales are going on

Why: Has money burning hole in pocket and needs another exercise to add to routine that involves children

Contenders:
Jax LJ-10s, have never owned a Jax, I like that it seems very nimble

A2k MH23, love A2Ks, unmatched quality, but this one looks huge

Marucci Capitol 79R1, cheapest of the bunch by far, I’m sure it’s not in the same tier but why not? I’ve also never owned a Marucci and am intrigued.

u/DavefromCA — 3 months ago
▲ 11 r/mildlyinfuriating

Waiting for my package to be delivered in Santa Barbara

I couldn’t even fit the entire tracking in my screen shot….no words

u/DavefromCA — 3 months ago
▲ 6 r/BaseBallglovers

Wilson A2000 RHT 1785 11.75 (has palm ripple)

Selling my Wilson A2000 1785 11.75” super skin.Purchased new on August 1, 2025. Has never seen game use, only used to teach my kids baseball. Tag has been cut out.

Glove feels mostly broken in via glove wraps, mallet work and catch. Has a ripple in the palm.

Price is $130, UPS shipping to lower 48 is included in the price.

Edit: SOLD

Thank you all

u/DavefromCA — 3 months ago
▲ 15 r/BaseballGloves

Alright can someone fix this bubble ?

On the other side you can see the fold, the glove isn’t even broken in yet. Who around here breaks gloves in that could work this bubble out?

u/DavefromCA — 3 months ago