u/RandyHW

Need testers for a Google Timeline helper app

Do you use Google Timeline on Android? I need testers for my free Timeline Tracks app. DM with your Google Account (ie email address) and I'll add you to the testers list, then you can download and try it!

Background: Google Timeline usually gets locations by triangulating nearby Wi-Fi. That uses almost no battery. But when you're in the outdoors, the phone guesses badly from distant Wi-Fi or cell towers, so your paths and distances are a mess. Same for location-sharing apps: my wife stresses when I'm off-grid and she can't see where I am. Strava et al can give you GPS quality, but drains battery.

The fix: Timeline Tracks. Next time you go hiking or boating or hang gliding, start the app. It runs in the background, fetches GPS-quality locations occasionally (saving battery), and forgets them. But as a side effect, other apps on your phone get the accurate locations.

The app itself is 100% private (it doesn't even have network permission) and will always be free with no ads. I built it for my own use, and others might find it useful too.

I need testers to use the app once and keep it installed for 14 days, so the app can graduate to production. And I'd love to get any feedback!

Wanna help me out? IIUC, I have to add your email address to my list in the Play Store. DM with your Google Account (ie email address) and I'll add you to the testers list, then you can download and try it!

Note: I worked on Google Timeline, but everything in the app and this post are from personal experience and public info.

Link to the app (but I think I need to add your account before it'll work)

reddit.com
u/RandyHW — 4 days ago

Risk of e-bike getting stolen in SB?

I use the BCycle system occasionally, and I've thought of getting an e-bike to get around town. SB is just about the perfect size for e-bikes; I could get to 90% of my destinations.

One of the big concerns I hear, from my wife and others, is about the e-bike getting stolen. I'm willing to pay the price to buy it, but the fear of having to buy one again is worse.

Does anyone have any experience or data whether this is a real concern in SB? How much do I need to worry? Is it possible to get a strong enough lock to protect against determined thieves looking for a big payoff?

reddit.com
u/RandyHW — 10 days ago

"... controversial housing behind Old Mission grinds forward"

https://www.newspress.com/2026/04/29/developers-lose-round-in-court-but-controversial-housing-behind-old-mission-grinds-forward/

I spent some time looking for info about this project, and can't find what I'm looking for. Two questions in particular I'd like to know:

  1. I want to see a rendering of what this will look like next to the Mission, for example viewing from the Rose Garden. It's supposedly 112' high; the Mission towers are 87'. It's "blocky and utilitarian, like a ... Class C office building" according to Siteline, which also gives enough location info to reconstruct it in 3D if I had to. https://www.sitelinesb.com/more-on-the-proposed-apartment-complex-behind-the-mission/

  2. Who are the humans behind this? They seem to be using the "builders remedy" law during SB's COVID lapse of its housing element, to make money while ruining an important part of SB's beauty and culture. This article says it's "SoCal Holdings, a ... LLC registered in New Mexico". https://dailynexus.com/2025-10-03/state-senate-bill-provision-targets-unpopular-santa-barbara-housing-project/ They should stand behind their work publicly. I think they should be ashamed. Isn't there some way to find out who they are?

(Side note: Are there any good reasons to allow corporate law to hide the owners of an LLC? Seems to me it mainly enables people like Epstein and this case.)

Note that this project isn't ALL bad. It would bring 270 units of badly-needed housing to SB, including 50 marked for affordability. But it should be debated out in the open, knowing the full impact and who will profit from it.

u/RandyHW — 22 days ago