Boomers get too much blame

Much of what boomers get blamed for was their parents or grandparents mistakes, and in some cases their childrens. The destruction of American cities with urban renewal and urban freeways was the 50s and 60s, as was the introduction of neoconservatism with the cold war. Boomers did a lot of good, especially by rebelling against their parents: they invented the PC, started the historical preservation movement, the environmental movement, re-introduced cycling as transportation, created consumer safety standards, began the eradication of smoking, created the modern volunteer military, feminism, civil rights, and allowing 18 year olds to vote. Boomers do deserve some blame in that they created unintended consequences by making it impossible to build new housing and transit in their attempt to preserve cities, fuel economy and safety standards perversely led to car bloat, and boomer's desire to "return to nature" by living in the woods has exacerbated the western wildfire situation by making it ever more difficult to do controlled burns. But society's new headaches such as the rise of social media, everything-as-a-service, loss of privacy, and the death of the old internet was the doing of gen x and millenials.

reddit.com
u/paleogizmo — 5 days ago

Shifter cable keeps coming loose [Brilliant L-Train]

Got an L-Train a couple months ago off FBMP and it's a cool ride. Except every ride the housing for the shifter cable comes loose from the downtube (please refer to helpful red circle in the photo) and it's driving me nuts. Any solutions besides pliars/zip ties?

u/paleogizmo — 5 days ago
▲ 0 r/onebag

Folding bikes

Does anyone here do folding bikes for airplane travel? I get that this sub is one bag, but technically a bike isn't a bag? Maybe? I've seen a few nice ones on Facebook Marketplace and am tempted, but the rational part of my brain keeps telling me that I'm probably better off sticking with the docked/dockless bike/scooter rentals which I don't need to worry about packing or getting stolen.

reddit.com
u/paleogizmo — 7 days ago

A modest proposal by an American

I hear that things are very very bad and that you are going through prime ministers like I go through bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. I was made aware of your problems thanks to YouTube Shorts of Count Binface, and propose that the UK be purchased from the royal family at fair market value. It will be rebranded as New New England, with London to become New New York. All other cities will become Cleveland, Ohio. I hear there's basically nothing there besides vape shops. See attached graphic for details. Key benefits:

  • Strategic location of the UK relative to Greenland
  • Restore the NHS to profitability
  • Install new Flock spikey boat-popping drones to pop dinghies and make Fr**ce pay for it
  • Expansion of Buc-ee's into the lucrative UK market
  • Introduction of Taco Bell Mexican Pizza into the UK market
  • Acquisition of valuable Games Workshop intellectual property and prevention of brand dillution due to woke ideologies
  • Golden Hulk Hogan memorial statue to be installed at no cost to taxpayers thanks to donations

Please feel free to respond with other synergies in the comments, and thank you for your attention to this matter!

-Concerned American

u/paleogizmo — 25 days ago

[Regular Flashlight Review] Energizer Hardcore Professional Project Plus

Purchased at a yard sale for $2 on impulse as it looked cool. I think it looks like a Star Trek TNG prop. The likes of a Hollywood prop designer globbing on some putty, applying a new paint scheme, and using it as a Space Weapon in some direct-to-Netflix production is high. It mostly hung from a shelf until my father-in-law misplaced my Wurkkos FC11 a couple months ago, and Black Friday is a long ways off. Now I use it to look for the cat when he has escaped into the backyard at night. I live in the southwestern US where Coyotes are common, so the cat should not be going out at night. Also, there was the time a couple months ago when he caught a large packrat under the porch, ran inside with it while my wife was distracted, and deposited it on the carpet in my office. The flashlight works well enough for this purpose and runs a long time on 4 NiMH AA batteries. It includes both a high and low-beam LED, which can be toggled by pressing a pleasantly clicky button under a rubber membrane. It's not particularly bright, so I always use the high setting where both LEDs are illuminated.

Upon deciding to write up this review I looked it up via Google image search. The lengthy product name in this post title came directly from the relevant Amazon listing. It is listed as 400 lumens, IPX4, drop-tested to 7 meters, and up to 50 hours runtime. Google Gemini says that 200-500 lumens is expected for a decent 2AA NiMH flashlight so the brightness seems fine. While I have no means to verify the brightness and runtime claims, it works well enough for near-medium distance use. Gemini also says that IPX4 just means splash resistant. This is disappointing given the chunky rubber body, prominent screws, and sizable threaded endcap. It is also not that surprising as closer inspection reveals a lack of O-rings. I have no idea if the drop-test rating is impressive or terrible.

Pros: Inexpensive when purchased second-hand. Looks cool, like a sci-fi prop or something an offshore oil rig worker would use during some hardcore North Sea storm. Button feels nice. Claimed brightness is good given the battery technology used. Includes loop for lanyard to hang in the garage.

Cons: Not actually for hardcore use. Way too bulky for a pocket and too heavy for a backpack (at least one packed by a sane person) so this is for at-home or car trunk use only.

Verdict: Garage-sale gem works surprisingly well with limited expectations

Edit: The listed name is hardcase, not hardcore which is only a little less silly. Auto-correct got me again

u/paleogizmo — 1 month ago

[Retro Review] MX-991/U "Moonbeam"

Found this one in a cardboard box marked "free" by the side of the road while walking the dog. This is the Fulton MX-991/U "Moonbeam," the lighting workhorse of the US Army before whatever way smaller thing with LEDs replaced it. The one I found included most of the color filters: red, violet, and frosted white. It is unmistakably military, though in more of a dated oh-shoot-I-lost-the-birthday-lottery-now-I'm-going-to-Nam-and-this-is-the-garbage-I'm-provided-with sort of way, and less of a tactical-Chris-Kyle-turning-Taliban-into-pink-mist sort of way. This one turned out to be Gulf War 1, not Vietnam era though based on the plastic guard surrounding the switch. Probably it was made only about a decade before LEDs took over. It is a terrible light. With the stock incandescent bulb it is extremely dim. Apparently the military does something called light discipline, so this is good, actually. I replaced it with a Dorcy LED drop-in bulb from Amazon, and it is now slightly less dim. With the red filter on, it works well enough for finding my phone/keys/retainer/water bottle when the wife is sleeping so I keep it by the bed. I think it is only on the 2nd set of batteries after having it for 4 years, a pair of the Harbor Freight alkaline D-cells. The budget ones, not the pricier Thunderbolt line.

Verdict: Iconic piece of military kit is outclassed by a $6 Rayovac AA flashlight I grabbed from the battery end cap at the grocery store. Review on the Rayovac light to follow when I have had sufficient beer to motivate writing it up.

u/paleogizmo — 1 month ago

[Cheap Flashlight Review] Daiso Multi-Light

Bought 3 of these guys at my local Daiso for use during blackouts. Cost: $6 each plus $2.25 each for the Daiso banana holder which makes a suitable table stand (see second photo). Appears to be a knockoff of the pricier Snowpeak tent lantern. Had the opportunity to use them for multiple wind-related outages and during replacement of the main breaker panel. Worked well for reading and brushing teeth.

Pros: Probably the cheapest thing you can buy with a warm white LED. Has a loop with clip so you can hang it from things like the Daiso banana stand. The Daiso banana stand can be used to hold bananas when not used for lighting purposes. Includes a magnet so you can stick it to the underside of metal surfaces. Works with rechargeable NiMH AAA batteries.

Cons: Looks like it costs $6 with water-pistol grade plastic construction. Unnecessary button pushing needed to cycle through the useless DIM and FLASH modes when turning off. Magnet is weak so it will slide down when stuck to a vertical metal surface.

Verdict: Quintessential Japanese dollar store gadget is worth the money, especially when paired with another quintessential Japanese dollar store gadget.

u/paleogizmo — 1 month ago
▲ 3 r/ebikes

2026 July 4th Sales

For context, I'm looking for an ebike for my short (5'1") wife. Looking for an entry-level bike with a 500 - 750 W hub drive and leaning to a Lectric XP4 750. Here's what I've found, but sales don't seem great this year. The Lectric prices are probably just the same ones they have the rest of the year. Please feel free to critique or add in the comments. Thanks and happy American Freedom Day.

Edit: added Ride1up, removed non-discounted bikes

Vendor Model Sale Price Regular Price Nominal Power (W) Sizes Available
Ride1up Portola $995.00 $1,195.00 750 One size fits most
Lectric XP4 $999.00 $1,078.00 500 One size fits most
Lectric XP4 750 $1,299.00 $1,772.00 750 One size fits most
Ride1up Vorsa Lite Step-Through $1,395.00 $1,495.00 750 One size fits most
REI CTY e2.1 Electric Bike $1,438.93 $1,799.00 250 S, M, L
Lectric XPeak2 Step-Through $1,499.00 $1,835.00 750 One size fits most
Aventon Pace 4 Step-Through Ebike $1,599.00 $1,799.00 500 L
Aventon Level 3 Step-Through $1,699.00 $1,899.00 500 M, L

^Table ^formatting ^by ^ExcelToReddit

reddit.com
u/paleogizmo — 2 months ago