Author Archives: f2x

The State of Flush Twice Address

It has actually been a while since I have done an introspective write up, so this week’s rant will touch on where things stand. There aren’t any bombshells here, but rather the mundane assessment of the journey so far.

Flush Twice is coming up on its 18th anniversary in a couple of weeks. We are older than Facebook, and I think that alone is something of an achievement. I have also been publishing my own comic here for the last 17 years as well, and throughout that time, the art style has undergone several drastic permutations. I think this is the longest running web comic that has had absolutely zero notability on the internet.

So much has changed since it all began. It started with me building my own web pages using some WYSIWYG abandon-ware on a server in my basement. Today the site is running on a low cost hosting platform with WordPress. From time to time the look has changed, and there have been many, MANY hiatuses, but I have managed to keep things running and have no plans to retire the site anytime soon.

Some things haven’t changed. The jokes are still the same jokes. I have come to accept that there are only so many jokes out there, and then it moves into the realm of variations on a theme and retellings. Every once in a while a new one comes up, but I have not actually heard a new joke in quite a long time, however I still enjoy the old ones.

I am still using Paint Shop Pro 4.14 for all of my comics and graphic designs. PSP 4 was a “shareware” bitmap editor from the 1990’s that due to some oversight could be upgraded to the full version (4.14) with their free upgrade patches. For what it is, it still has a great interface and some highly effective tools. It does have some bugs and limitations that make it a bit dated, but every time I try to use the new stuff, I get frustrated with the rather cumbersome and un-intuitive layouts. I suppose if I were not so set-in-my-ways, I would not have such difficulties, but it is what it is.

It looks like my original partner in crime has finally returned to lurk and contribute jokes. While the former co-sysop from my ancient BBS days isn’t being too conversational, it is good to know he is still alive and well. Thanks for having my back Big D. I missed you old friend.

Sadly, viewership is at an all-time low. Over the past month, fewer than 20 people per day have visited the site. Some days the visitor count has been in the single digits. That is probably due in large part to the lack of effort I have been putting into curating the jokes. Nevertheless, Flush Twice is still chugging along.

I have been periodically moving the submitted jokes into the scheduled queue. I have about a month’s worth of jokes in the queue and almost 2 months of jokes left to schedule. Thanks for your contributions, and please keep ’em coming!

In Conclusion

As usual, our submission page remains up and running for your convenience. I really appreciate all the contributions I have gotten, and look forward to seeing even more.

See you next week!

Pax,

-f2x

It’s a Strange Calm

The family gathering was a bit smaller than usual this year. Not because of Covid, but because they could not make it for other personal reasons. It also felt like something was off, more tense, quiet, and perfunctory. The food was excellent, and the weather was beyond perfect, but still something was off.

It will be a couple months before I see them all again. Perhaps by then things will start to seem more normal… whatever normal may be.

Kudos

Thanks for stopping by. I shouldn’t have to tell you that our submission page is available, but feel free to drop off a couple of jokes.

Pax,

-f2x

Things I Wish I Knew Before I Bought My Leaf

So this is by no means a complete list because there are still some things out there I do not know, and things I do not know that I do not know. That being said, I am still thrilled with my Nissan Leaf, but I really wish I had better understood when I bought it.

Battery State of Health is really important, but 30KWh battery packs have an 8 year warranty.

I passed up a really cheap Leaf with a severely degraded battery. It was a 2017 and would have qualified for the free replacement, and since Nissan no longer makes the 30KWh pack, I would have gotten a free 40KWh battery instead.

The Capacity of the Battery in KWh (Kilowatt hours) is King!

Your range is going to be determined by how many Kilowatt hours the battery can hold. You need to know what the car originally came with, and how many Kilowatt hours of storage are left. Sometimes (like on my Leaf) you have to use a Bluetooth OBDII reader and a mobile app and some math to figure it out. Make the effort and DO THIS.

Your Driving Habits and Conditions are Queen!

I actually kind of knew this, but I had no idea just how drastic the range difference can be. Driving down the interstate at 70MPH with the heat on is going to use up the battery more than 3 times faster compared to driving down a country road at 45MPH on a sunny day with the windows down.

Just Leave it in ECO Mode.

At first it was fun zipping in and around traffic, but I have since cooled my jets. Because these types of cars are so quiet and smooth, it can be very easy to turn into a jerk on the road. Put it in ECO mode and drive with the flow of traffic around you.

Pay More Attention to Your Miles per Kilowatt Hour

If you really want to get the most range out of your vehicle, don’t fret over the battery percentage level gauge and ignore the GOM. Watch that Mi/KWh bar. Make it into a game to see how high you can get that bar without driving like an idiot for the conditions you are in.

Unless it Qualifies for a Warranty Replacement, You Will Never Replace Your Battery.

There are a lot of YouTube videos showing electric cars getting replacement batteries and even upgrades. These are in the extreme minority and will never be mainstream. Make sure that the car you are getting has more than enough range for your current driving needs. Your battery capacity WILL degrade over time, and it is simply not practical to replace the battery once the range has dropped below the level that can meet your needs. Your best option will be to get a newer used car.

Certain Problems are Nigh Impossible to Fix

This is a bitter pill for me to swallow, but unless the cause of a problem is something blindingly obvious, do not expect any dealership to be able to figure it out and fix it. The heater in my car STILL has an intermittent problem, and of course it always works fine when I take it into the shop.

EV Haters Will Never Get It (So don’t bother trying.)

Some people will never be OK with EVs. There is no argument you can make that will change their minds. Gasoline could cost $10 per gallon and new battery electric vehicles could be half the price of an internal combustion engine, but they would still try to justify why they think electric cars are a bad idea. {smh} I should have told those guys it was a 3 cylinder that got really good gas mileage.

Kudos

Our submission page remains open for any and all contributors like my good buddy Darin. Thanks old friend!

Pax,

-f2x

Just a quick addendum, I’m still posting these side bars late Sunday / early Monday, so don’t let the post dates fool you.

A Note About Updates

While the timestamps for the comic and the rant are still being posted as Saturday and Sunday respectively, the simple fact is I typically don’t have time to work on the comic or site until Sunday evening, so the upload isn’t until late Sunday, and often early Monday morning.

Honestly, until I sit down late Sunday, I actually have no idea on what the comic will even be about. It is as much a surprise to me as to anyone who reads it.

Oh, and I got the job.

Kudos

Thanks for the jokes, Darin, and I know it has been a few months, but congrats on your new job! I’m kind of envious. If anyone else would like to contribute our submission page is always at your disposal.

Pax,

-f2x

Spring Ahead

It is that time of year again, and lacking anything better to do, certain congress critters have come up with this plan to make daylight saving permanent.

Now I don’t have a problem with getting rid of the twice yearly time change, but here is where it kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth: Daylight Saving Time is not the correct time!

In actuality, Daylight Saving is about an hour off or more from the actual local time. The whole point of AM, Noon, and PM was based on the idea that at Noon, the sun would be at its highest point in the sky. Under Daylight Saving, actual noon occurs around 1:00PM, plus or minus a half hour.

But I get it. If your job has you coming in from 9 to 5, you just wouldn’t have enough time to go play golf after work, and changing the working hours to 8 to 4 would be akin to socialism… So let’s just fuck with the clocks and pretend we’re coming in at 9 when it’s actually 8. Yeah… That’s such a smart idea.

For the life of me, I have no idea how humanity ever managed to make it this far.

Kudos

Again, thanks for the jokes, and if you want to contribute more, our submission page remains open.

Pax,

-f2x