Photos Comparing Samsung Galaxy S22+ to Google Pixel 6a

 Here are some side by side photos comparing the Google Pixel 6a vs. Samsung Galaxy S22 android phones.    Side by side photos of the Pixel 6a and Galaxy S22 Plus.

Photos to compare Pixel 6a vs Samsung S22+

Compare Galaxy S22 + Plus vs Google Pixel 6a Phones

Replacement Delonghi coffee carafe that doesn't make a mess

 If you are looking for a replacement Delonghi coffee carafe that doesn't leak when you are pouring it, I found the answer with DeLonghi 10 Cup Coffeemaker Carafe, Black

Like me, many of the people that bought the Delonghi BCO40 coffee maker and espresso machine, you are incredibly frustrated with the Coffee pot spilling everywhere when you use it.

In fact, almost every review I read about the Delonghi BC040 coffee machine talks about how it makes great coffee but is an absolute mess.  The coffee carafe (coffee pot) on the delonghi is garbage, and it makes it impossible to pour water or coffee without spilling and leaking everywhere.

New alternative delonghi carafe on left, original on right.

 

Notice the nice spout on the alternative left pot.

The new non-spilling pot fits perfectly in the espresso coffee pot combo.  Unfortunately, the handle is grey instead of black or chrome, like the coffee maker, but it doesn't look bad.

Frustrated by cleaning up spills constantly from the BCO430 combination coffee maker, I finally set out to find a replacement coffee pot that doesn't leak but is compatible with BCO430

So, if you are looking for a non-spilling coffee carafe that works with the delonghi bco430, you will want to buy this replacement ....

I've been using it for about a week now.  It fits well into the Delonghi, heats properly, and the coffee machine drip works properly.   The lip of the alternative pot has a nice angle on it so that it doesn't make a mess.

For about $30 this carafe is a tad pricey, but worth it to not spill anymore.  Replacement alternative coffee carafe for BCO430

Xbox App Keeps Pinning to Taskbar Windows 10

 Every time I would reboot my Windows 10 computer, the Microsoft Xbox app would reappear on my taskbar.  I could unpin the x-box app and it would go away, but as soon as I reboot the computer, the xbox app repinned itself and showed back up.

I spent a long time trouble shooting user profiles and looking in the registry but could not find a solution that stopped the xbox app from reappearing on my windows 10 task bar.   Finally I found a solution.

Open Explorer and navigate to:

1. C:\Users\your-username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\
   (if windows is installed on a different drive, replace the C: with that drive.)
2. Open the file in Edit mode (right click and edit) Layoutmodification.xml
3. Look for this line:  <CustomTaskbarLayoutCollection> or <defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>
    (use ctrl-F)
4. Delete everything between <defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout> and </defaultlayout:TaskbarLayout>
   It should be something like <taskbar:TaskbarPinList> through </taskbar:TaskbarPinList>

Reboot!.  That should remove the xbox icon from your Windows 10 tray permanently.

It seems that MSI computers and MSI laptops (computers with MSI motherboards) often have this xbox app hard-coded to the taskbar.  You'll need to implement the above fix to stop the xbox icon from reappearing on your taskbar after reboot.

Political Memes, 2020 Edition

Feel free to repost and see how people will make what they want of each nonsensical image.

Trump Memes, Biden Memes, 2020 Election Memes.

2020 election memes

biden vs trump

swing state voter map

voting conspiracy memes

Trump Waldorf Statler Biden

O365 = Obama 365

 O365 by Microsoft release June 28th, 2011.  Coincidence?  I think not.

/sarcasm, O365 Office 365, Obama365

Fuel Menace Wheels on Sting Grey Jeep Rubicon w/ Nitto Ridge Grapplers

I recently purchased and installed a newly designed and released Fuel Wheel on my Sting Grey Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited JLU 2019.

The Fuel Menace Wheels come in an Anthracite and Machined color combination which, to me, is much better than the black wheels everyone is sporting nowadays.  They come in 17" with 4.5" or 5" backspacing and are listed as Fuel Model D684.   As of this writing (early summer 2020), they are not that easy to come by.  Quadratec was the only place that had them.

I have a non-lifted 2019 Jeep Rubicon JLU (4 door) in Sting Grey.  I wanted to maintain the excellent road quality while having a slightly more aggressive look to the vehicle.  I didn't want to get involved in lifts (the Rubicon JL has a stock 1" lift already), but was interested in something a bit different than the standard ride.  I decided to go with a tire I have some history with, the Nitto Ridge Grappler.  I have owned both BFG KO2 tires and Nitto Ridge Grapplers in the past. 

I think the road quality of the stock Rubicon 33" BFG KO2 is slightly better, and just a tad quieter, but I attribute that to the fact that the Ridge Grapplers are both bigger and much wider than the stock Rubicon 33"s.  The Ridge Grapplers have a much better aggressive appearance and handle slightly better offroad; while still maintaining a decent ride quality.

Ultimately, I paired the Fuel Menace wheels with 5" backspacing with LT305/70R17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my Jeep JLU Rubicon 2019 in Sting Grey.   This gets me a 35" tire experience without worrying about tire rub or needing a lift.   The Nitto's measure 34.4 x 12.4" at this size.  For reference purposes, the KO2's 35" tire (KO2 35X12.5R17LT) actually measures at 34.5" x 12.5", just a hair bigger in both directions than the Ridge Grapplers.

I think the combination looks great.   The fact that no lift is required is a huge bonus.  The tires do stick out from the fender just a tiny bit, I would say just under 2 inches.  They might just fail the coin drop test, but you'd need a really aggressive cop to pull you over for it.

The Fuel Menace 17" Rim with Nitto Ridge Grapplers fit onto the stock tire carrier with enough clearance and no rub too.

Buy: Nitto Ridge Grappler - LT305/70R17 
Buy: BFGoodrich alternative 35" KO2 - 35X12.5R17LT 
Other Posts about this: 2019 Sting Grey JLU Wrangler Rubicon

Samsung S20+ Has second camera punch bug defect

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ is defective and Samsung's support sucks.    I just received my pre-order of the Samsung S20+ (Galaxy S20 Plus) direct from Samsung, and it is defective.   It looks like a software bug, but I actually think this is a hardware issue.  Specifically, it has a second black dot on the screen that looks exactly like the top hole punch.   See below pictures for the extra black dot on the samsung s20+ phone.

I went through all of the steps to set it up, tried changing themes and wallpapers, but nothing fixed the problem, the black dot hole punch appears on every screen on the right.   It is almost as if there actually is no display pixels there.    

I tried factory resetting the Galaxy S20+ to get rid of the second hole punch, but that did not work.  I also rebooted into safemode on the S20 Plus, and that did not work either.  The black dot is there to stay on the screen of the S20+.

Now here is the worst part.  I called Samsung's support line, and after a half hour on the call, all they offered is for me to send it back.  That means that I don't get the pre-order discounts for returning my old phone, nor do I get the accessory credits.  I will also need to check my credit card to make sure they refund everything properly.  Samsung support sucks for the Galaxy S20+

Don't buy the Samsung S20+ Galaxy phone directly from samsung.com

SEO search terms:

Samsung Galaxy S20+ extra black dot

S20 Samsung second punch hole

S20+ Second camera hole on side.

Replacing Alpine Stereo in JL Jeep Wrangler

This post is about a complete stereo upgrade to a 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.  I replaced the upgraded UConnect Alpine 8.4 system speakers and Alpine subwoofer to something substantially superior.  Read on to learn about this $2,500 to $3,500 Jeep JL Stereo Upgrade...

I have a 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with the upgraded 8.4 Alpine stereo and alpine speakers/subwoofer.   While this Alpine was a huge improvement over the stock Jeep Wrangler stereo, it still wasn't exactly what I was looking for.  This was especially true when I had the sky one-touch top open, the Alpine sub and speakers had a hard time overpowering the wind noise from having the roof off of the Jeep.

So, I set about looking at my options to replace the Jeep Wrangler Alpine stereo and Alpine subwoofer. I quickly discovered the JL Audio Stealthbox for 2018-Up Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.   The model number is: SB-J-JL4DDRV     This is actually a pretty difficult speaker to research because of the confusion of "JL Audio" and a Model "JL Jeep".   Note that JL audio is by far one of the absolute best manufacturers of speakers, and it can get a bit tricky googling them for a JL Jeep unlimited.


Here is a picture of an Alpine Subwoofer and Jeep Alpine Speaker Enclosure removed from a 2018/2019 JL Wrangler Unlimited: 

First off, a few points: 

• The SB-J-JL4DDRV JL Stealthbox subwoofer is NOT compatible with the 2 door Jeep Wrangler, it is only compatible with the JL Unlimited Wrangers from model years 2018 and up.  I have a 2019 and it fit perfectly.    
• Second, this subwoofer, powered by the proper amplifier, will blow the doors of the Jeep (see what I did there..)   Seriously though, the upgrade of the JL Stealthbox over an Alpine subwoofer is astounding.   It can handle way more volume, it can hit faster highs and deeper lows, it is incredible for what they packed into the footprint.  Further, it actually takes up LESS room than the factory-installed Alpine subwoofer in your JL Jeep.
• It is NOT plug and play.  You'll need to install an amplifier and run wires to the Stealthbox subwoofer itself.

Let's get into the JL subwoofer install and swap for the Alpine Subwoofer in my Rubicon.... But, a word of caution, the model listed above is actually for the driver side wheel well installation, it does not replace the factory installed Alpine subwoofer.   I decided I didn't want to do that, and instead installed the JL Stealthbox in the original location of the factory subwoofer in my Alpine upgraded JL Wrangler.   In other words, I only wanted one speaker, and I wanted to replace the existing Alpine that was there.  Unfortunately, several high-end installers said that replacing just the sub itself would not accomplish my sound goals (deeper bass and louder bass), and they all recommended getting a completely new enclosure too; so the stealthbox made a lot of sense. 

Photo of a JL Audio Stealthbox installed in place of an Alpine Subwoofer in a 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited

As such, I decided to do a complete swap and replace of the subwoofer and plastic surrounding it.   This became a bit more complicated, but I am very happy with the results.  Instead, of a driver's-side JL Stealthbox, I used the passenger side JL Stealthbox for my JL unlimited jeep.  This unit's model number is: SB-J-JL4DPAS   Note: they make 2ohm and 4ohm units of the passenger and driver side JL Jeep JL Stealthbox subwoofers.

In order to replace the factory Alpine subwoofer, you need to order some replacement parts from Mopar/Jeep in order to make the back look stock again.  You see, the Alpine subwoofer and enclosure actually takes up most of the passenger side rear cargo area in the Jeep JL.  So, when you pull it out, you'll need several trim pieces to replace it with when you put the JL Stealthbox in place.  Here are the same (or similar parts) to what I needed to buy from Mopar when I replaced the Alpine subwoofer enclosure:

• (x1) 6LU84TX7AD
• (x1) 6BM34TX7AA
• (x1) 6QJ13TX7AA
• (x1) 6BP30TX7AD
• (x1) 6BM28TX7AC
• (x1) 6BM29TX7AC
• (x30) 6510407AB  <--- these are the clips that go on the back of the panels, we used all new ones to ensure there were no unwanted rattles

Now, you'll need to be careful when you buy each of the above items.  If you have the rear back-up sensors or lane assistance, you might find a similar model to each part that includes an extra adapter or plug here-or-there.  That being said, all of the parts are available from your dealer or online (Mopar) and they are all black no matter what color jeep you have.  As far as I know 2018 and 2019 Jeeps are the same parts.  I have a 2019, but I ordered parts for a 2018 Jeep Wrangler.

With the above parts, an Alpine PDX-V9 Amplifier  and some other parts, I successfully replaced the Alpine subwoofer in the JL Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with a JL Audio Stealthbox.   The sound is absolutely incredible, and I have zero regrets.

But, if you are going to do the work of installing all of that, you might as well upgrade the rest, right?!

I also swapped out all of the rest of the speakers on my JL Jeep with Focal high-end speakers, and they sounds awesome too! 

So, here is the rest of the inventory:
(x1) Alpine PDX-VP 5-Channel 900W Amp with wiring kit - installed under passenger seat
(x1) Focal Access 100AC 2-way speakers in the soundbar
(x1) Focal ES 100K 4" 2-way components for the front w. crossover
(x1) PAC AmpPro Optical Interface 

I had this complete stereo installed by a high-end installer, and inclusive of taxes; it came to $3,500.  I was able to sell the factory Wrangler Alpine subwoofer, enclosure, and old speakers for $400 easily on Facebook Marketplace.   So, for about $3K, this was not a cheap upgrade, but it was an incredible one.  I think, with some shopping, and doing the work yourself, you could do this whole thing under $2,500 if you sell your old equipment.

The sound quality is outstanding, and the volume is able to hold up to the roof being down and the doors being off of my JL Jeep Wrangler.  Further, the quality of the voice and vocals are incredible, and it doesn't just sound like noise, it sounds like music.  If you can swing this stereo upgrade on your Wrangler JL, you will not regret it.  I kept the factory head unit, and aside from the subwoofer enclosure, which still looks very much like the OEM Mopar/Alpine original, everything else looks completely stock.


Alpine Subwoofer for JL Jeeps terms for search engines:

• Replacing Alpine Subwoofer in Jeep Wrangler
• Replacing Alpine Speakers in JL Jeep
• Swapping JL Stealthbox in JL Jeep
• Stereo Upgrade in Jeep Wrangler JL
• Speaker Replacement in Jeep Wrangler JL 
• Photos of JL Stealthbox in Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JL
• Replacement OEM parts when removing Alpine Subwoofer from JL

Sting Grey Jeep Rubicon with Tinted Windows

Here are before and after photos of a 2018/2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in Sting Grey before and after window tint.

Before window tint, factory dark rear windows (standard on JL)

After, added 50 llumar tint to the rears for heat reduction and 30 llumar tint to front two windows of the JL Rubicon.  It came out darker than I expected in the front.

-------------

Pictures of Windows Tint on Sting Grey Jeep Wrangler

Wrangler JL with Windows Tint

Pictures of 30% front tint on JL Wrangler

Bull Bar for Jeep JL Steel Bumper

Here are some pictures of a Mopar aftermarket Bull Bar on the 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon JL.

This is a Sting Grey Jeep JL 4 door with the Mopar (over rider brush guard) mated to the factory Jeep steel bumper.   Installation was a breeze, as long as you have the Jeep Torx kit that came with your JL Wrangler.

The Mopar 82215351 Jeep Wrangler Grille and Winch Guard is an exact match in color and texture as the stock Rubicon JL bumper.  It is a bit smaller for a true bull bar, but is a nice little addition for around $215 bucks.

Buy it from Amazon with free shipping, cheaper than Mopar direct:

https://amzn.to/2HUgmJ6

This blog post showed you pictures of the Mopar Winch Guard installed on a 2019 Jeep Wrangler Steel Bumper Rubicon. This Grille guard fits Fits the 2018-2019 Jeep Wrangler JL 2 door and 4 door models with the steel bumper package.

Sting Grey Mopar Winch Guard

JL Wrangler Brush Gaurd

Rubicon brush guard JL Jeep

Pics of Jeep Wrangler with Mopar Brush Guard