17 February 2026
I saw a tire was low on the display of my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, so I topped up the tire with the tire inflator jumpstarter I keep in the car. The next day, I noticed it was still low, so I hit it again and brought it up a little higher. When I checked in the car again, I saw it’s still low, but the back tire is high. The TPMS sensors aren’t in the right place.
They apparently are the type of sensors that I can receive with my RTL-SDR as they drive by the house.
To get the car to register each sensor in the right place, I needed to tell it to relearn the IDs. I bought a little tool for $10 to trigger the sensors, but I apparently could have also done it by deflating the tires in turn to also trigger the sensor on demand.
Activate the Service Mode by pressing the Start button for 5 seconds with no foot on the brake.
On the driver’s display, select the Tire Pressure display, and click it to activate Relearn Mode. The horn chirps twice at the start, and the display says it’s active.
Start at the front left tire.
Place the relearn tool next to the sidewall near the valve stem and pointing the antenna toward the center of the wheel.
Press the button once and it’ll transmit for 10 seconds or so, to trigger the TPMS sensor.
The car chirps the horn when it registers the actiated sensor.
Go around to the others tires clockwise (front left, front right, back right, back left) activating each in turn. The car will chirp the horn as each sensor registers.
Done!
27 November 2023
I have Samsung SmartThings automatically setting the thermostat and turning things on and off for me based on the location of my phone (and me).
Of course, it stopped working, so I needed to debug. All the other things connected to the hub were working fine.
Restart my phone
Wipe the SmartThings app data on my phone and login again
Restart the SmartThings Hub
Check app permissions on the phone: no optimization, fine location access always on.
Open SmartThings app on the phone
Menu
Settings Cog
Get your location from this phone
Turn it off, then back on
Visit my 2 location-based triggers and re-add myself as a member.
Fixed!
24 September 2022
2022-08-03 Wednesday
Saw Ani Difranco at XL Live in Harrisburg
Didn’t think I stood so close to people, but no mask.
Show was great.
Helped a stumbly drunk guy find a seat, so he could stop bumping into people
2022-08-04 Thursday
Had a work day
Ran ben around to sports practice
Helped with fixing the well pump at parents'
Got home at 12:30am or so
2022-08-05 Friday
Woke with a sore throat and stuffy, not a big deal
Took a Covid test in the afternoon - negative
Went to Penn Cinema drive-in to see Goonies
Marie and Emily in the car
Doug, Sarah, Fizz, and Sarah in other cars
Rained and cut short
Took Marie home
2022-08-06 Saturday
Woke with sore throat and whole-body soreness
Covid test again at emily’s suggestion: positive
Notified kids, movie friends, and parents
Tried online appointment, but no one available but receptionist
Ran to Penn State Health walk-in clinic, got Paxlovid RX
Sat around all night watching Love, Death + Robots
2022-08-07 Sunday
Noon: Emily picks up Paxlovid and groceries and drops them off
Paxlovid day 1
Watched lots of Love, Death + Robots
2022-08-08 Monday
Sore throat
Stuffiness
Aches
Paxlovid day 2
2022-08-09 Tuesday
Terrible sore throat
Start trying throat spray
Stuffiness
2 Ibuprofen every 4-6 hrs seems to manage throat pain
Paxlovid day 3
2022-08-10 Wednesday
Terrible sore throat. Is this Strep?
Call nurse line at doc: this is fine.
Paxlovid day 4
2022-08-11 Thursday
Slept fine!
Throat not bad!
Bad taste in mouth sometimes for past couple days: like bitter, old tea
Gargled full-strength white vinegar. emily then informed me it should be dilluted.
Paxlovid day 5, last day
Last dose, then went to bed pretty early: tired and cranky
2022-08-12 Friday
Slept well
Feeling fine
Tested (slightly) positive today
Test expires today, so i’ll use them all over the next couple days
2022-08-13 Saturday
Listening to "attack surface"
Finished 30 Days Lost in Space Arduino kit — pretty cool
Tested negative at 7pm or so.
2022-08-14 Sunday
Finished "Attack Surface"
Finished Love Death + Robots
Tested negative again at 11am
2022-08-15 Monday
Worked normally
First bike ride in over 2 weeks: 28 miles on Northwest River Trail
28 January 2022
My Google Assistant on my phone has been refusing to turn on and off the 2 devices I have on smart plugs: "Can’t reach SmartThings."
I found an article about the Google Home doing the same thing. Fortunately, the advice there worked: go into Assistant’s settings → Devices → Add Devices. Upon clicking on the SmartThings entry that was already there, it gave me the option to re-link. Once I authorized access, I could again ask Google to control those devices.