Today, right around when I was about to leave for the Matrix test drive, I got a call from the dealership: the loaner was available, but it wasn’t in a totally safe state due to a huge crack on the windshield. They asked if I still wanted it and I said I’d rather not. Then the service advisor mentiond that another loaner, a Kia Sorento, should be available tomorrow, and would I like to reserve that one? I said, yeah, probably, but I might have other arrangements now and I’d keep him posted. So, I rendezvoused with the Matrix’s owner, and took it for a spin. You know how I was so nostalgic about the Matrix I used to own? Well, I guess my nostalgia should stay in the past. It was in pretty awful shape; cosmetically it was fine, but the transmission was super janky, and it felt like it needed a new clutch. There was also a lot of engine knocking (which was probably due to the variable timing solenoid which is a known issue and a cheap/easy fix) but like. Yeah. I did not enjoy driving it at all, and it would not be worth the money it’d cost to get it to an enjoyable condition. I let the dealership know that I would be taking them up on the loaner tomorrow, and my main stipulation is I need to be able to pick it up by 4 PM. They said they’d see what they could do. Anyway, I’m fine with this sequence of events. They’re moving forward on repairing my Niro, and I should soon have access to a decently-sized (gas) SUV in the meantime (one that’s actually quite a bit bigger than the Niro but hopefully not so large that I’ll feel like a menace on the streets), and I have no regrets about what could have been regarding the Matrix. I don’t like how aggressive I had to be with the dealership to get to this point but at least things are happening (and I 100% believe that me opening up the complaint with corporate is why things are actually moving forward). Given recent history I doubt I’ll actually be able to get the loaner in time for my show tomorrow but I already have a backup plan for that as well, and hopefully if I can’t get it tomorrow I can get it Saturday instead. Or I can just rent something and then get reimbursed now that Kia’s rental reimbursement policy is definitely in effect. I do want to emphasize that Kia’s vehicles are fine, it’s just that some of their dealerships aren’t great about servicing them in a timely manner. My frustration is with this particular dealership and with how long it took to get any status updates whatsoever and to get a loaner vehicle in the interim, and I absolutely believe that Kia/Hyundai vehicles are some of the best being made right now, especially in the EV and PHEV space. I’d say to check out dealership service center reviews for your local dealership before deciding whether to go with them. And, lesson learned, if I do need to take my car in for EV-specific servicing again, I’m going to be a lot more up-front about needing a loaner, and possibly try to find a different dealership to go with. It looks like Sunset Kia of Auburn isn’t that much further away, although their reviews aren’t great either. On Reddit folks had absolutely glowing reviews about the North-side dealerships but that’s getting into hour-plus drive territory. But, as far as I understand, the specific issue I’m having serviced is the only thing I’m likely to need done from Kia specifically, so this will hopefully not be a repeating problem. comments #car #Kia #Matrix (via busybee)

blep Car shit I finally have forward momentum with Kia. On Tuesday they said they might have a loaner for me today. Today they said they might have a loaner for me tomorrow. So, okay, I’m not holding my breath, but at least they’re responding to things now. After a bunch of thinking and asking around, I have decided it’s not worth the stress to list my Niro on Turo; apparently all of the issues I had with Turo in the past are still present, and there’s a bunch of other new issues to deal with. But I’m still interested in the Matrix as a secondary fucking-around car, so I’m still going to do the test drive tomorrow. The loaner Kia has promised me is a Forte, which will get me around (assuming it materializes) but won’t be sufficient for a bunch of the stuff that I have on hold for the Niro. But it at least lets me get on with my life… but so will the Matrix, assuming I end up buying it. Other stuff Today was a really good rehearsal for choir. And I’m really looking forward to Friday’s fundraiser show. Yesterday Tyler caught a mouse, and very carefully and gently brought it over to Fiona as a gift. Fiona proved herself completely incapable of actually hunting a mouse, bless her. So the mouse escaped, traumatized but physically unharmed, to the neighbor’s yard. (We were all hanging out outside at the time. Tyler snuck off when I wasn’t looking and that’s when he brought the little friend back.) I’ve finally made a decision about how I’m going to build the stairs for my garden. It will have to wait until I have a vehicle with more cargo space for hauling retaining wall blocks, though. Tomorrow I should be getting 8 more bisque-fired espresso cups back, and I’m looking forward to glazing them. I have a referral to see a neurologist about my vertigo. I should get around to scheduling an appointment. I’m also still in my usual levels of pain but I’m making do. comments #kia #matrix #cars #garden #pottery #stream of consciousness (via busybee)

All dimensions are in Imperial units. Specification 2005 Matrix XR 2004 Matrix XRS 2019 Niro EV Fuel efficiency (combined) 29 MPG 24 MPG 112 MPGe1 Range (combined)2 380 316 230 Horsepower 130 173 201 Length 171.3 171.3 172.2 Width 69.9 69.9 71.1 Height 60.6 60.6 61.8 Wheelbase 102.4 102.4 106.3 Cargo, seats up 21.8 21.8 18.5 Cargo, seats down 53.2 53.2 53.0 Spare tire Temporary Temporary A can of fix-a-flat 120V power outlet 400W 400W No, and there isn’t even a 12V adapter to plug an inverter into Purse holder No No Yes Acceleration time, 0-60 9.0 7.8 6.2 Stick shift Yes Heck yes No :( This rating is equivalent to 3.3 mi/kWh, but in actual driving I get more like 3.8, but I also primarily do city driving. It's all splitting hairs anyway. ↩ And of course refilling a gas car takes only a few minutes, while an EV takes longer, but I passively charge the EV in my garage most of the time. This also only really matters for road trips, which I don't really do. ↩ comments #Niro #Matrix #cars (via busybee)

The Kia service person finally got back to me several hours later, and I have learned: The parts for the repair have been ordered and are on their way Which implies that they actually did diagnose it, phew Also they might have a loaner available for me tomorrow, but they’re “uncertain” Also they still haven’t told me how much these repairs are gonna cost or if the warranties are going to cover them, bla bla bla, not looking forward to a surprise bill Meanwhile, I’m scheduled to test drive the Matrix XRS Thursday afternoon, and my in is currently in a state which has me overcommitting to just buying it, without having seen it in person yet. Maybe let’s think this through, and make sure I’m not just doing my usual self-convincing/rationalizing of something stupid. So. Back in 2005, when I moved to Seattle for the first time, I bought a Matrix XR, 5-speed manual transmission. I loved that car. It had a great combination of cargo space, versatility, driveability, and reliability, and was just generally a great fit for me. I have only two regrets with the Matrix: That I sold it shortly after moving to San Francisco (because parking was expensive and I wasn’t driving enough to justify it) That I didn’t get the XRS model The difference between the XR and XRS wasn’t huge, but the XRS, being the “sport” model, had significantly more horsepower, and the XR sometimes felt like it chugged a bit, especially when driving on steep Seattle hills. Although with a 20-year-old car (with over 200K miles on it!) who knows how it’ll actually feel. But anyway. Regrets and nostalgia for the first car I bought as a working professional aside, I have the idea stuck in my head that if I buy the Matrix, it’d be my for-fun messing-around car, and would mostly not get used… … unless I start renting my Niro out on Turo. A year after I had sold my Matrix, I ended up moving into a place in San Francisco which came with a parking spot. It went pretty much unused, until 2009 when I got a boyfriend in Cupertino and needed a car so that I could actually visit him on the weekends. I actually tried to get another Matrix but they were super expensive and that’s why I ended up with a Honda Fit as a compromise, which is neither here nor there except that during the week I didn’t need the car at all, so I rented it out on Turo (then called “RelayRides”) and it was a nice little source of supplemental income, and the car basically paid for itself. When I moved back to Seattle I kept renting the Fit out on Turo, but due to a combination of factors it became a pretty horrific experience pretty quickly (mostly due to my home’s location and its awkward underground parking space). However, those factors aren’t the case anymore. So what I’m thinking I’ll do is I’ll buy the Matrix, rent the Niro out on Turo, and have the Matrix as the car that I’ll drive when the Niro is unavailable. And then that means also having better range if I opt to take a road trip, and being able to drive stick again, because historically, driving stick has done a lot to reduce my anxiety because it gives me more control over the drive. (Also, historically, the L2 self-driving features on both the LEAF and the Niro have actually made me feel more anxious because I’ve felt less in control!) Also I’d probably be way less anxious about damaging a 20-year-old economy hatchback/wagon than a 5-year-old midrange SUV. Spec-wise, the Matrix is a little smaller than the Niro in every dimension, but yet has somewhat more cargo volume (due to the seats folding fully flat and also not needing to accommodate a gigantic battery in the floor). Also being from the pre-infotainment era it’s trivial to upgrade the car stereo to something with wireless CarPlay, which actually makes it a little nicer UX than the infotainment system in the Niro (which is wired, although I have a somewhat janky wireless adapter for it). Of course, getting a gas car (and a 20-year-old one at that) is a pretty big step backwards, especially for an avowed EV nerd/absolutist. EV conversion kits do exist but they’re expensive and probably not worth it, at least not until the engine dies completely (and being a mid-00s Toyota, that probably won’t be for a long time). I’m also, like, anti-car, so why would I own two of them? Sometimes I don’t understand how my own brain works and I just have to roll with it. But anyway. If I do end up buying the Matrix, and things don’t really pan out with it, I can always just, y'know, resell it. Which is definitely less of a concern than paying for a rental and just hoping that Kia gets my car back to me in a reasonable amount of time and reimburses me for the rental (assuming they can’t actually follow through on a loaner, and I mean, given their track record I’m not expecting there to actually be one, no). I do know that the Matrix is going to need some work. The current owner says that it needs a new variable timing solenoid (which is pretty cheap to replace) and I’m sure it’ll need its brakes and tires inspected and serviced. The price is considerably lower than KBB value and it hasn’t sold after being on the market for a week, but I suspect that’s just because it’s a stickshift and also, y'know, old. I’ll know more on Thursday. comments #car #Kia #Matrix #Turo (via busybee)

Today I finally got in touch with Kia’s corporate customer service after filing a complaint yesterday, and they said that they also haven’t been able to get in touch with the dealership. I asked them how I can go about getting a loaner, and they said that it’s up to the dealership to do so. If the dealership doesn’t have a loaner available, then they have a rental reimbursement program. I asked about that, and the answer was that from the time the car is diagnosed, if there’s a long-term repair that needs to take place, then they will reimburse the rental fees. However, they will only do so after the car has been diagnosed, and as far as I can tell, it has not. I asked them why the policy was based on diagnosis time rather than dropoff time, and their response was that it is Kia’s policy to be that way. I said that for me the issue is that I’m without a car, and that it shouldn’t matter when the car is actually diagnosed, what should matter is when I am without a car. It seems to me that the service center has absolutely no incentive to actually move forward on things based on this policy, because it means they can just hold on to my car for months without any forward progress and any compensation to me. The CSR said that she would file a complaint on my behalf about this policy, but that for now, Kia’s policy is that the reimbursement period only begins when there’s a diagnosis. And she will try to find out if there’s been a diagnosis, but the dealership hasn’t been responsive to Kia Corporate either. So, yeah. Kia has great cars but their customer service is FUCKING AWFUL and based on this series of interactions (and lack thereof) I can no longer recommend Kia vehicles. Which is sad, as of all the current EV manufacturers available in North America, they have the best value proposition (and some of the best EVs available in general). In the meantime I have a lead on a 2004 Matrix XRS for a good price and in good condition and it seems like I might end up owning a second car anyway. At the very least, it’ll be a temporary car that I can then turn around and sell for nearly the same price when all is said and done. Of all the cars I’ve ever owned, the 2005 Matrix XR I had was my absolute favorite, so this is particularly tempting. Plus, I still love driving stick shift and that’s the one thing I miss from having an EV. I don’t want to buy a second car (especially one that’d require me to go back on my goal of never going to a gas station ever again) but this feels like the least-bad option for me. comments #kia #car #customer service (via busybee)

I took my car to the local Kia dealership to get TSB ELE234 taken care of on Tuesday. I still don’t have my car back or any indication of when I’ll be getting it back. Backstory The 2019 Kia Niro EV has a design flaw which causes an estimated 2% of vehicles to develop a grinding noise in the reduction bearing (commonly referred to as the “Wheel of Fortune click”), which in turn can lead to drivetrain failure. This issue usually appears at around 60,000 miles. When I test-drove my (used) 2019 Niro back in January, I made sure that there was no reduction bearing noise, but as the car was approaching 60,000 miles, I opted to buy an extended warranty so that if this issue did occur, it would be paid for. Kia’s own warranty situation around this is confusing; the car has two different warranty periods depending on whether you’re the primary or secondary owner, and while the drivetrain warranty should still be active for me, Kia has historically tried to claim that this issue is not covered by the drivetrain warranty. Anyway, about a month ago, I started to hear a faint click, and over the ensuing weeks, the click got louder and more concerning. So, I took the car in to be evaluated and, ideally, repaired. Current status When I dropped the car off on Tuesday, they told me that they would hopefully be able to get me back in my car by the end of the day. Knowing the nature of the TSB I found this highly unlikely. Half an hour later they called and said, oh yeah, this TSB involves the EV system and will require detailed evaluation, and they’d be able to tell me more on Wednesday. I said, yeah, I figured and was expecting that, just let me know as soon as possible since this is my only car and I need to figure out if I need to rent a car in the meantime or not. Wednesday was complete radio silence. So I called in the afternoon to get a status update. Thursday morning I got a response: oh yeah, they only have one EV technician, and that technician has been out sick, so nobody’s been able to look at it, but the tech was “looking at it right now.” Fine, stuff happens. All of Thursday and Friday passed without any updates, so Friday afternoon I contacted them again to ask if there’s any updates. No response from the “service advisor.” Saturday morning I get an email from the dealership telling me that my car is in high demand and they want to talk about buying it back from me for use as a trade-in, and that they are going to offer me “110% of the market value.” I’m not terribly interested in that but I figure I’d find out what they’re going to offer me anyway, just out of curiosity. This sets off a process where their used car person gets in touch with me asking me what car of theirs I’m interested in and he’s just like, totally fucking clueless about the nature of this thing. I explain to him that I’m not looking to trade in, I’m just curious about what the offer would be. Used car person tries to get me to take the car in and provide information and so on and I clarify that they already have the car and they’re working on it, and I’m not actually interested in this, but since they’re making an offer, please let me know. A couple hours later, he gets back to me with an asininely low offer: he says that the “market value” is now only $11,000. Which is, of course, complete fucking bullshit as even KBB’s lowest estimate for the same car is $17,000. So I assume that what’s going on here is that they have evaluated the car as needing a $6000 repair (which is, you know, why I have the extended warranty) and are trying to strongarm me into dumping it or something. Anyway my response was “Absolutely not, but thanks for looking into it.” I still have no idea about the status of my car but I can guess, based on the estimate, what the expected repair is going to be. And perhaps there’s now an indication that they aren’t all that interested in actually fixing it, which would be, y'know, pretty fucking unfortunate. In the meantime, I don’t drive often but when I drive it’s because I need to do so. My extended warranty covers a rental car at up to $40/day (which barely covers an economy shitbox around here) and only for up to 5 days. So if I’m going to take advantage of that part of the warranty I really need to know that it’ll be worthwhile. I have a bunch of projects that involve hauling building supplies, which I can’t do on a bus (or using an economy shitbox, for that matter). I also have a choir-related show coming up very soon, and would like to be able to get to it (although I do have a standing offer for a carpool ride to that at least). I also have a potential upcoming gallery show which would require me to be able to get downtown, which would also be obnoxious (although not impossible) to do by bus, although that’s at least not for a couple more weeks. If Kia decides they can’t actually repair my car, though, it’s incredibly unethical and shitty for them to try undercutting me on the cost like that. That’s not how a fucking dealership buy-back works. I also rather want this car back! Aside from this one defect, the Niro is my favorite car ever. I’m also not about to buy a second fucking car (or spend oodles of money on a rental while I wait for my car to get back to me). Nor am I able to switch to non-car-based locomotion. I’m just, like, supremely disappointed in the lack of communication and understanding that’s coming from the Kia dealership, here. Now, if Kia wants to offer me a loaner in the meantime, at no cost to me, that’d be great! But that’s never been on the table. Maybe I could call them and ask, though. Because this is getting frustrating. Above all else, I want my freaking car back. comments #Kia #Niro #capitalism #car #venting (via busybee)

Stuff continues to happen! Health! I saw my (latest) new doctor yesterday and she’s really good. She actually listened to my concerns and let me take all the time I needed to talk about them, and she actually understands shit about trans healthcare and fibromyalgia and the various vertigo disorders and so on and, yeah, really good. I hope she’s here for the long haul because I am so tired of having to switch doctors every time one burns out and disappears. My insurance, on the other hand, is being a butt. The copay for an ointment my doctor wanted me to try for an issue would have been $100. And they’re also requiring an additional appointment to justify the continuation of my estradiol for some reason. I’m sure the new doctor will be able to take care of that pretty quickly at least. Fortunately I have a stockpile to tide me through for a little while in the worst case. Car! My Niro is in the shop for at least a few days, getting the “Wheel of Fortune” issue taken care of. Hopefully they can repair it quickly and it won’t cost a lot. At the very least I have an extended warranty which will cover most of it if Kia has decided it’s not under the standard warranty, although it should be. I opted to not get a loaner car for now, although depending on how long the Niro’s out of service I might end up having to get one. I’ll know more tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile I’ll just need to see about bumming rids off people or taking Lyft places or whatever. Trees! Today I got a bunch of plants delivered. Fortunately I knew this was coming, and remembered to buy a bunch of soil a few days ago in preparation, not even thinking about how I was going to be without a car for a while. I have now planted: Three butterfly bushes Three azaleas A Rose of Sharon An Eastern redbud Okay, only one of those is actually a tree. But still, hopefully those’ll add some nice texture to my yard. Of course I really want to do some of the pathway and stair building but without a car I have no way of getting the materials with which to do so. Anyway, now I need a nap, especially since the planting came right after an hour-long walk that I took after getting home from the mechanic. I feel like I’ve earned it. comments #trees #car #health (via busybee)

It’s been a little while again! I think I like these collected updates rather than doing daily micro-dumps, and it’s also nice posting it here instead of on Mastodon or whatever. Timeline-based social media kinda bums me out these days. But yeah today I’m feeling pretty accomplished! Food YouTube’s been inundating me with videos about seitan (vegan meat made primarily of vital wheat gluten) so I figured I’d start experimenting with that a bit. Today I made some pretty simple seitan nuggets, just gluten + nutritional yeast + water, kneaded and cut into little nuggets and then rolled thin and fried in olive oil. It was okay. It didn’t have much flavor on its own, but adding a little bit of barbecue sauce made it tasty. The latest YouTube seitan recommendation was this video about teriyaki not-chicken and it looks pretty good, so I made up a bunch of the dough and have that resting in the fridge and I’ll cook it tomorrow. I’ll probably just use bottled teriyaki sauce though, and I’ll serve it with, I dunno, rice and broccoli? That sounds good. The funny thing about frying up seitan is that the gluten lent itself really well to inflating like a balloon with the steam inside, and I was afraid it was going to pop and splatter oil everywhere! But as soon as I took it off the heat it shrank back down. I think letting the dough rest for a while would have made it a lot better, but first time’s always the most experimental, right? Choir Last night we performed at the Kay White Choral Fest and it went amazingly well. Vashon Island is a nice little community and there were so many supportive people in the audience and the person who presented our set is a trans man who got to use this as his first opportunity to present anything after transition! So that was super cool. A recording was taken but I don’t know if it’ll be public. I hope it is, and I hope when it is people don’t notice all the times I missed my fucking cues and came in early, oops. Fitness/health My cardio fitness has gone in the toilet ever since I had to stop doing DDR because of my joint issues. I need to find some other form of cardio workout that I enjoy doing. Beat Saber was never really much of a workout for me and I mostly just get frustrated by it at the higher skill levels these days. I don’t really have room for a full-sized exercise bike, and the compact one that I have isn’t a great experience to actually use. Maybe I should get a real bike and ride around on it. I’m super unsure if my knees would be able to handle that, though. But I definitely need to be doing something that gets my heart rate up! Also I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday. Maybe this new doctor will have an idea about what’s going on, or at least care enough to try to figure it out. Vertigo/anxiety I’m still having vertigo issues, but today I needed to run some errands, and of course had vertigo while driving, but I was able to push through and get to where I was going without having a panic attack. I did get anxious of course, and I’d rather not be having vertigo or anxiety right now! Gardening So, I finally got a pole pruner so I could cut down some branches on a Very Tall Bush in front of my house which was starting to cause me some concern with possibly taking out my house’s power and Internet. The bush is now trimmed. There’s still a few branches sticking out on top that I’d like to take care of but couldn’t quite get to, but it’ll be easier to do in the winter, or when it isn’t friggin' raining. I also am still dragging my feet on actually building steps for the slope along my driveway. I have three major competing ideas, all based on things I’ve seen on YouTube: Get some 6x6" timber, cut it into 3' sections, terrace the slope, and drill some holes and tie it to the ground using rebar. This approach would cost around $200 (mostly for the timber) and be a bunch of work, and would look fairly rustic. I’m not sure about its longevity. Get some 2x6" boards, cut it into 3' sections, terrace the slope, and either tie it to rebar with nails or cedar spikes with decking screws. This would look a bit more modern, but would also not be as sturdy, but it would only cost around $50 to do. Same as #2 but build the steps into a wooden frame as well, which would cost around $80 to do and also be way sturdier, but I’m not quite sure how to make it work with the specific shape of the slope and it would be a lot more work. Build steps out of retaining wall blocks, using paving sand as a substrate for them. This would cost around $90 and would look nice but I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up to erosion, since there wouldn’t be anything to pin the blocks to the ground. I also want to make a better pathway between those theoretical steps and the basement entrance, and maybe have some other nice pathways around my yard in general. I’d probably do it with cheap paving stones, maybe on a gravel bed. I should probably draw up some plans or something. I’ve also thought about using those concrete paver molds but that feels like a hell of a lot of work, and the results look kind of cheesy to me. It’d probably be cheaper overall though. Entertainment Tomorrow night I was planning on seeing The People’s Joker with a bunch of friends, but nobody else actually got tickets for the showtime I’d decided on, and now they’re sold out. But I got a ticket, so I’ll be seeing it on my own. Yay. Car My Niro still has the “Wheel of Fortune” sound so I’m taking it into the dealership on Tuesday. It’ll probably be a multiple-day repair so I will probably need to rent a car. Fortunately my CarMax extended warranty covers up to $40/day in rental fees, and Enterprise has rental cars for like $40/day and a location near the dealership. Or maybe I could rely on Lyft? I don’t have all that much driving to do right now, just choir practice (which is around $25 each way) and, of course, getting between home and the repair shop (which is around $35 each way). Or, y'know, rely on the bus, although taking the bus between home and those locations is awful, at about an hour and a half each way, although with surprisingly little walking involved. Well, for choir there’s some folks I can carpool with, so that’s less of a concern. So, I dunno. Whatever. I’ll figure it out on Tuesday. Pottery Oh yeah! My first small batch of tiny coffee cups came back. They look great! They’re a bit on the small size; the one with the hexagonal lip (and circular base) is 140mL (just under 5 ounces), and the one with the circular lip (and hexagonal base) is 100mL (around 3.5 ounces). So, large enough for espresso/lungo/cortado/macchiato, not enough for a latte. I do have a larger round-lip mold that I’m experimenting with as well, and my next greenware firing will include one of those cups, and hopefully it’ll be large enough for a 6-ounce drink. But, cortado cups go for a pretty good price on Etsy, so I’ll definitely want to keep on making and firing a bunch of these anyway. I’m also looking forward to experimenting with different glazes. The blue rutile I used for these had a really interesting effect, but it might not be the best color for coffee. Anyway, the cool thing about slipcasting is that it’s relatively easy to mass-produce with. Right now I only have one mold for each shape and I’m still learning the best way to trim and clean the pots afterwards, but there’s some really neat possibilities with this technique that I’m only just starting to play with. Music I haven’t made much progress on the new music website. But I have been putting my own visualizer videos up on the YouTube page with the hope that this will help me get access to YouTube’s copyright tools. I actually do have access to the manual-takedown process now (because I ended up submitting a takedown request against that fucking ad that was stealing my music) but that hasn’t yet gotten me access to the content-matching stuff which is what I really care about. Meanwhile, Mirlo, which I’m now considering to be my primary sales platform, is having a Kickstarter drive and I’m hoping for the best for them! I’m looking forward to seeing what some of the backer perks might be. comments #blogging #food #music #choir #gardening #pottery #anxiety #vertigo #fitness (via busybee)