My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on May 2, 2026

After having a positive Tesla Mobile Service call on our 2019 Tesla Model 3, I opted to schedule another “not all that important” upgrade. This particular improvement switches out a circuit board in the rear of the car, near the NACS plug, that will allow us to charge at non-Tesla DC Fast Chargers. I say this is not necessary unless the SuperCharger network is busy or at inconvenient intervals while traveling.

Personally, I thought it would be handy to be able to utilize some of the newer high-speed DC chargers at some of the plazas and larger fuel centers (ie. IONNA, Wawa, Flying-J, etc). I’m planning to give one a try this weekend … just so that I’m familiar with them in the future. Some of the non-Tesla charging location use the NACS (Tesla) plugs, but other use a different CCS plug which requires an adapter … similar to the J-1772 AC adapters that are used for slower overnight charging (Hm, are the DC CCS and CCSi adapters also called J1772 … at least according to the chart above?)

(more…)

Category: Automotive, Repairs, Technology, Tesla | No Comments »
Tags: ccs adapter, charging, model 3, tesla, tesla mobile service, upgrade

Posted By RichC on May 1, 2026

For over a year, my Apple Watch occasionally changes the look of the face and created a frustrating restart “fix” for me. Over our beach walks this winter, I noticed that it was happening a bit more often — which starting me thinking that it might be my jacket sleeve or bumping my arm into Brenda.

Finally I did a little more digging into the problem, looking for software updates or reported issues causing the screen to balloon to a large size. Eventually I stumbled on the two-finger toggle and realized that I could have just two-fingered tap of the watch display to return to the normal size.

Since I’ve never used the setting, it was a no-brainer just to toggle it off. What a simple fix. DUH! 

Category: Apple, Technology, Watch | No Comments »
Tags: apple watch, simple fix, tech friday, techfriday, two-finger

Posted By RichC on April 30, 2026

While attempting to move away from the computer based software helpers (used for years – Parallels tools) or stand-alone “multi-step” software like Photoshop, Preview or Gimp … I’m tinkered with programming and setting up a couple of web-based “single purpose” apps to solve my everyday needs.

1. First up was a Proportions Calculator
   => LINK
2. Second a Poster Maker for .MP4 videos
   => LINK 

*** disclaimer *** subjected to change due to
    improvements and tweaks

Below is a test video using the PosterMaker:

(more…)

Category: Coding, Computer, Productivity, Software, Tidbits, Video | No Comments »
Tags: helpers, html, postermaker, programming, proportions

Posted By RichC on April 29, 2026

Our first Tesla Mobile Service call went well. The car was parked outside the garage and the technician arrived within the 7AM – 12PM estimated time — he actually arrived at 11:30AM and was finished by noon. 

Since I was working from home, I decided to talk to him a bit to see if he was willing to share some wisdom as to what else I should be looking for?

First off was the “the car is pretty good at detecting problems” comment, but then he offered some thoughts as to what vehicle an options he chose for his family. Due to tire wear, he recommended the long range Model Y with 19” wheels in the “Chill Mode” if the expensive tires are a concern (it was what he chose). Other than that, he said rotating tire front to rear on each side every 6500 miles seems to extend the tire wear, but then commented that he’s seen tire last as little as 10,000 miles or as long as 50,0000 — suspected driving style. Good to know. 

Category: Archive, Automotive, Tesla, Video | No Comments »
Tags: review, tesla app, tesla mobile service, tesla model 3, thoughts

Posted By RichC on April 28, 2026

One would think that there would be some financial incentive in being a do-it-yourselfer when replacing the low-voltage battery in a 2019 Tesla Model 3. It doesn’t seem to exist, at least in my Internet sleuthing and comparing of prices.

The procedure isn’t all that complicated and Tesla does a pretty good job of providing step by step instructions (as do videos and 100s of How-To posts) … but finding an appropriate high-quality group 51R battery at a good price isn’t easy. I looked around and could only find a few of them locally that were under $200 and those that were, seemed of unknown or questionable quality.

Hankook AtlasBX provides the Group 51R battery for the MF51R-430 (430 CCA) and MF51R-500 (500 CCA) models, which are OEM-standard replacements for vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Several do-it-yourselfers commented that buying cheap seemed not to last as long; they advised purchasing directly from Tesla service centers and mentioned that the price was about $130 (cheaper). I called the nearest Tesla service center and it was $135 (plus core charge which is refundable). 

Now factoring in that I would need to remove the one from Brenda’s Tesla, put it in my BMW X5 35d (diesel fuel is expensive — the Hormuz Strait – Iran situation) and make the round trip to and from Cincinnati to purchase and exchange the battery, that’s at least $10 more dollar plus my time. Rethinking it … maybe giving Tesla Mobile Service a try isn’t a bad idea?

So I set up an appointment a couple of days out using the Tesla app and it gave me an estimate to approve: $174 in my driveway. Hm … this is a service model I can live with (I expected a much higher price). Yes, I can save $40, but the convenience and time element is well worth the few dollars. 

As an aside: I created a PDF with a few links for a pre-2020 Tesla Model 3 low-voltage battery how-to. 

Category: Automotive, Financial, Repairs, Tesla | No Comments »
Tags: battery, group 51R, hankook atlasBZ, low-voltage, mobile service, model 3, oem, replacement, tesla

Posted By RichC on April 27, 2026

Recent music listening habits have shifted towards country music on SiriusXM. For this week’s Music Monday, here’s a 1995 song by David Lee Murphy, “Dust On The Bottle.” 

It was released as a single in August 1995 from his debut album Out with a Bang. It became Murphy’s first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in late 1995, a peak he would not reach again as a solo artist until June 2018 with “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.“

The song was reportedly written in just 15 minutes while Murphy was playing guitar at his kitchen table. Its lyrics tell the story of a young man seeking advice from an older man named Creole Williams, who shares a bottle of homemade wine and imparts the metaphor that love, like wine, “gets sweeter with time” despite any imperfections on the surface.

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: country music, david lee murphy, dust on the bottle, music monday, musicmonday, siriusxm, wikipedia, youtube

Posted By RichC on April 26, 2026

Do we really need sushi that is this fresh? 😊 

Category: Humor, Video | No Comments »
Tags: filler, Humor, mp4, video