#finally figured out how to add plugs and sockets easily to things

[novelistparty]

starting to enjoy the tidying-up part of making a thing. gathering the bits of leftover material, putting tools back in their cases, and then loading things into their boxes and putting them on the shelf

[fox-household]

Act 3: A Fellow Science Enthusiast, Chapter 1

Alright, here we are again, this one isn’t very long compared to how long it took to post this, also not to much happens action wise, so sorry about that. Anyway hope you enjoy the content, I’ll add links later because I am a tired individual.  Also since I haven’t done this for a while, I figure I should add it again.  Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters technically, they’re from AU’s I don’t own but they are also changed from they’re source, they only mimic the AU in backstory. Liberties have been taken for entertainment purposes as this is fan fiction basically and you can find the original non-changed and non-RP version of them by looking them up in google or something.  FIRST, PREVIOUS, NEXT, INFO

The skeleton scratched the side of his head with a finger stressfully, he was feeling the fear rise, and flashing red lights weren’t helping. Warning signals everywhere trying to warn him of ‘’Danger Imminent’’, even appearing in large red letters on the small screen, flashing away. ‘’Damn it I already know, just let me think’’, his mind was feeling cluttered with all the background noises and images, he had to cool down the core of the device before it exploded. Dropping the device on the table near the window he ran over towards the couch in front of the TV, where lots of tools were scattered, some on the floor, some on the couch and some in the crevices between cushions. Without checking which of them he was picking up, he quickly put together three different screwdrivers in his hands and ran back to the device, which he could feel heating up as he picked it up. He turned the device over and quickly jammed one of the three screwdrivers in a screw, trying to twist but finding it had no grip as the screwdriver didn’t fit, ‘’C’mon!!’’ he yelled as he threw it away and tried again with the second one, but it was only a repeat and another one went flying. The skeleton’s breathing was getting faster as panic was taking over, ‘’This better be it’’. With a shaky hand he inserted the third screwdriver, a smile appearing as he got it to fit in and start turning. A few rushed turns later the screw fell out, and another and another until finally the back of the device came off, which he was thankful for as it’s weight was starting to take a toll on his weary bones. ‘’Alright, we’re close, just got to move this wire over there…’’, he spoke to himself as he pulled out a yellow wire and plugged it into a different socket, and then completely removed a green wire from its socket, and then suddenly all the red flashing and loud warning signs stop, he turned it over to find a black screen. The skeleton let out a nervous laugh as he relaxed slightly, ‘’Heh good thing th-‘’ Suddenly a quick succession of beeps came out of the device and his eyes widened, ‘’Oh sh-‘’. Then suddenly an explosion erupted, and the only sound that was heard was a BOOM and shattered glass.

‘’God damn it Sci, here we are again’’. The skeleton sighed, he was currently sitting in his landlord’s office at her desk, watching the rabbit monster pace back and forwards over and over again, ‘’Sorry Brenda, didn’t really expect that to happen you know?’’ Brenda gave a frustrated growl towards him, ‘’Yeah, you never do, always build first, worry about OH&S later, how the hell didn’t you see this coming with an explosion like that, you took out your whole apartment.’’ Sci scratched the back of his head nervously, looking guilty, it really didn’t help that his clothes and face were black from the smoke and ash, ‘’Well uh the device was just something simple I created, I didn’t even think it was capable of such um damage.’’ She suddenly gave him a very angry and intense stare that caused him to physically gulp, he never liked being up against this look, it never bode well for him. ‘’Oh really? You didn’t think it had the capability? What the fuck were you making?!’’ He looked nervous, ‘’Um well… perhaps a… toaster?’’ ‘’Sci you better not be screwing with me!’’ He shook his head now, ‘’N-no it’s true, but not an ordinary toaster, one that uses thirty different scanners and few… other things that connect directly to a screen to give you instantaneous feedback on how well it’s cooked so it would be perfect for whoever uses it.’’ Brenda raised an eye brow at him, watching his expression and noticing the slight hesitation which gave her a theory, ‘’You know, I may not look it, but I’m smarter than the average bear. There is no way you could’ve made an explosion that badly with a simple electrical device, what else did you put in there?’’ This caused some panic on the skeleton, ‘’Uh just some other things to make it regulate temperature, especially in the core of it all…’’. ‘’Let me guess, a bunch of chemicals that aren’t completely safe… you got them from the lab, didn’t you?’’ His sudden frozen look was all the confirmation she needed, ‘’You weren’t meant to take these specific ones, were you?’’ ‘’N-no I’m sorry, yeah I used some things I shouldn’t have… but it’ll be ok right?’’ With this Brenda went silent and sighed, almost twenty awkward seconds of silence passed, ‘’I’m sorry too Sci, but I’m going to have to evict you.’’ ‘’What?! But… you can’t do that.’’ She nodded and crossed her arms, her expression had grown a lot softer now, which almost worried him more. ‘’It’s the only way, you can’t keep this up.’’ ‘’But it’s never been this bad before, this was my first big major issue, right?’’ he said as a growing worry was showing his voice. ‘’That’s the problem, it’s only escalating, it could get so much worse.’’ ‘’Can’t the company just pay for this repair?’’ ‘’Yeah they will, but after this there is no way they’re going to keep funding your accommodation and even then your stunts are making me lose customers, I can’t afford going out of business’’, she sighed once more, and gave Sci a look, showing that she didn’t want to have to do this. ‘’Is there anyway I can make it up to you, one more way to get a last chance?’’, he said pleadingly. ‘’No…honestly Sci I like you, I like you quite a lot, you’ve helped out a ton with your expertise and you’re a good friend, which is why you’ve stayed this long… and also why I’m going to falsify the report to your workplace, so you can keep your damn job. But I can’t keep it going on like this, I’m sorry, I want you to understand it’s not easy for me to make a decision like this’’. Sci nodded in acceptance, she was right, this was actually going to happen, he’d stuffed it up and he was going to have to accept the consequences. ‘’I… I understand, sorry, I’ll get what’s left of my stuff tonight and leave.’’ ‘’Do you need any help, I’ve got some friends who might take you in temporarily?’’, but the skeleton shook his head and took out his phone. ‘’No, but thanks for the offer. I’ll be good from here’’, he offered her a kind smile, ‘’No hard feelings here’’. She shook her head with a faint smile, ‘’No hard feelings here either, just stay safe, one of these days I swear, you’re gonna get worse than scorch marks.’’ She chuckled as she drew a line through the ash on his cheek, she then looked at her finger before rubbing it on her pants. ‘’If you need anything, you call me alright?’’ Sci nodded, ‘’You to, especially if something of yours goes toast’’. Brenda shook her head at the pun as he headed to the exit door, ‘’You know I’m gonna take you up on that offer, right?’’ The skeleton nodded with a slight laugh, ‘’Yeah of course, got a friend’s deal for you, about 5 grand per item I reckon’’. With this the rabbit monster rolled her eyes and gave him the middle finger before leaving. Sci now left alone in the dark office, he looked at his phone and went down the contact list. No not his Paps, he couldn’t move out of home and  move back in, plus with him having disappeared for… quite a while, he had learned to become much more independent without him, although it was good for Paps to mature. His Alphys was overseas working on something, maybe it would’ve been a good idea if he went with her, can’t very well keep her from here, not easily anyway. ‘’Grillby might be…’’ Sci’s mind flashed to the shit he was going to get from his counterpart there and without even giving time for his mind to think any other thought, he moved the contacts down a few more people before he came across another Alphys, Glitch to be precise. ‘’Heh, maybe she’ll help out, hopefully I won’t be to much of a bother, although knowing her, she’ll probably fake being ok with it anyway’’. With that he pressed the call button, and listened to rhythmic rings, waiting for someone to pick up.

 Sci stood outside the front gate, a concerned expression as he wondered if this house could even support another person living in it, surely even an extra bone of his was going to cause the whole place to come down, let alone himself and the two suitcases he brought with him. ‘’Well I guess I can’t talk, my old place is a little worse off now’’. That thought pushing him on, he chuckled as he opened the gate and walked towards the front door, hearing the creaking of the wooden porch. The skeleton started to feel some form of weird feeling inside his soul, as if he was starting to feel ill in the gut, but he couldn’t work out why, perhaps it was butterflies in his stomach, he had nothing to worry about, nothing to fear, it was just Alphys after all. Bone made contact with the door and a loud knock was made in the hope of gaining the attention of the house’s resident, and it wasn’t long before he knew it had done it’s intended purpose as he heard very fast footsteps, Alphys must either be very excited or very nervous, he instantly assumed the latter. Sci’s expression suddenly turned taken aback and confused and obviously his greeter noticed as a giggle came from the goat child in front of the skeleton. A few silent seconds passed before Asgore spoke, ‘’Heh, it’s nice to see you to Sci, how you doing’’? Sci shook his head and gave a curious smile, this was a bit different than he was expecting, ‘’Oh sorry, nice to see you as well, it’s been a while… what are you doing here? It’s getting a bit late, didn’t realise you two were close enough to have sleep overs’’. Asgore shook his head with a grin as he was obviously expecting this reaction, ‘’I’m um actually living here’’ ‘’L-living here?! Permanently? Gaster was ok with that?’’ Sci did the skeleton equivalent of an eyebrow raise as he wondered what the hell could’ve caused a situation like this, but he couldn’t complain, the more the merrier, and he enjoyed Asgore’s company at least. ‘’Yeah it’s all good, I’ve been living here for about a… a week huh? A week really goes by quick. Anyway yeah, so I guess we’ll be housemates for a while!’’, the goat child seemed to be quite happy as he moved out of the way of the door to let Sci in, an opportunity he took quickly, closing the door behind him. ‘’Well I guess you’ll be able to show me around since you’re experienced with the place’’, the skeleton said as he put down his stuff next to the front door, he would put it away later. The kid started to lead the guest to the kitchen, ‘’Well I’ll leave that to Alphys, she seemed incredibly excited to have you over.’’ Sci scratched back of his head with a nervous laugh, ‘’Really? That’s not what I was expecting… that’s nice I suppose.’’ ‘’Yeah, I think she really wanted to show off the small lab she has in the basement, I don’t think showing it to me had the effect she desired, most of it went over my head’’, Asgore chuckled as he got out a pot and started to fill it with water under the sink tap. ‘’Oh, I see, I’m actually interested in checking that out now, I wonder what she managed to fit inside? Speaking of her, where is she at the moment?’’ Asgore thought for a second before responding, ‘’She’s out getting dinner, think we’re just having some chicken and stuff? Can’t quite remember’’. He grinned, the kid was glad that Alphys wasn’t here right now, otherwise she would’ve insisted on serving the tea because she was their host, but it was his turn and he was going to deliver a good impression with this. Asgore moved the half full put over to the stove and turned the gas on, and in an action that frightened Sci for a second, he stuck his paw into the stove and then suddenly there was fire. The goat quickly pulled his hand out before it got to hot for him and turned to Sci, seeing a bigger smile appear on the skeleton filled with curiosity, ‘’Been learning some new tricks kid?’’ Asgore gave a slightly proud smile, not that he felt he had much to be proud about, ‘’Uh yeah, I’ve umm been practising this…’’, He raised his paw up and after a couple of seconds of concentration, light blue flames danced around it, like his paw was a match. ‘’Looking very nice, seems a little… familiar though.’’ Asgore gave a shy smile, ‘’Yeah we did think that as well, can’t give you a reason why though, but it’s cooler than orange… anyways there’s not much to be super impressed with, I can’t throw it and it’s not the hottest thing in the world, no where near Tori or anything.’’ Sci shrugged, ‘’Hey I’m sure you’ll get there kid, just keep working on it and soon enough you’ll be flinging fire like the best of them… flinging safely of course’’. The two of them gave small laughs as Asgore opened a packet of Golden Flower Tea, preparing for use. Sci gave a small sigh and then seemed to start examining Asgore, before finally resting on a joking grin. ‘’Guess you’re starting to grow up, aren’t you? Although… I don’t think you’ve got any taller.’’ Asgore crossed his arms and glared at Sci, ‘’People change greatly over two years and one of those great changes is my height. The Asgore you knew probably was a midget compared to me!’’ Sci laughed and shrugged, he was aware people change over large amounts of time, he knew better than most. Also, while he was mostly just trying to tease the boy, he honestly couldn’t really see much of a difference, perhaps he was just unobservant. Before Sci could try and give Asgore another fun verbal jab, the two of them turned as they heard the front door open and the goat gave a smile, ‘’Hey Al, he’s here!’’

’’Well at least this guy might actually be helpful, we don’t need another freeloader’’, Alphys sighed as the voice already started to complain, although it didn’t bring her down whatsoever, ‘’Asgore is a welcome addition to this place, ok?’’. The voice made a noise to show they didn’t care about arguing anymore, and she was fine with that. The lizard put her shopping bags next the her new guests suitcases and then sped walked to the kitchen swiftly, a big smile on her face as she entered, ‘’Hey Sci, W-welcome!!’’. Sci smiled as Alphys came over and hugged him, he returned the favour with his arms, although he still felt a little awkward doing it. She moved back and the two guys both noticed she seemed fidgety, although it was obviously more of an excited happy fidgety rather than one from pure nervousness, although that temporarily disappeared as she gave a squinty look at Asgore, and he gave back a slightly guilty shrug, ‘’The Golden Flower Tea’s already out Al, I got this one, leave the greeting tea to me’’. Alphys’ expression returned to what it was before as she turned back to Sci, ‘’S-sorry I uh wasn’t h-here when you a-arrived, but I g-got dinner, going to try and c-cook some ch-chicken and-‘’ ‘’It’s alright Al, glad to see you, how’re you?’’ Alphys was tapping her hands together, a nervous smile appearing, ‘’Oh uh I-I’m fine, j-just h-happy th-that you made it, I’m uh g-going to make sure y-you’re comfortable and such…,’’ She seemed to sweat slightly as she seemed to have some sort of realisation, ‘’Oh g-gosh s-sorry, I’m b-being a real suck u-up aren’t I? J-just make y-yourself at home, d-do whatever y-you want’’. The shy monster looked a little confused as Asgore and Sci shared a look and a grin before turning back to her, they seemed to have some mutual thought that made her a little worried. ‘’Hey Al, is there anything you want to do?’’, Sci gave a knowing smile and suddenly Alphys seemed to get super nervous, ‘’Oh uh n-nothing, I’m h-happy t-to just ummm chill and stuff…?’’ Asgore now decided to pitch in, a similar grin to the skeleton appearing, ‘’Are you sure you don’t want give Sci a tour of the place… perhaps somewhere in particular?’’ Suddenly the lizard realised what they meant and she proceeded to give Asgore another small glare before looking up at Sci, her hands balled up in front of her face and the fidgeting got a little more intense, ‘’Ok ummm I-I could sh-sh-show you… uh only i-if you w-want, n-no need to umm… feel p-pressure or anything, y-you don’t n-need to e-even w-‘’ Sci decided it was best to interrupt before she had a verbal implosion, ‘’Yes Alphys, I would like to see your lab, right now if you wish’’. She stared up at him for a few seconds as he simply gave her a nod. Before in almost in an instant, Alphys grabbed Sci’s hand and dragged him off quickly out of the room, Asgore was certain if he’d blinked, he would’ve thought the two of them had disappeared into the very thin air that was left before them.

[dipulb3]

2020 Volvo XC90 T8 review: Energetic, efficient and pretty extravagant

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/2020-volvo-xc90-t8-review-energetic-efficient-and-pretty-extravagant/

2020 Volvo XC90 T8 review: Energetic, efficient and pretty extravagant

Especially in range-topping Inscription trim, the Volvo XC90 is one of the nicest three-row utility vehicles available today, with elegant design, impeccable quality and more refinement than a white-tie gala. The XC90 T8 builds on those laurels with an advanced powertrain that’s not only incredibly potent and refined, it’s impressively efficient to boot.

Like

Interminable interior silence

Powerful drivetrain

Gorgeous interior

Solid efficiency

Don’t Like

Quirky Sensus infotainment system

The ride could be a touch better

Uninspired steering

Providing an advertised 18 miles of electric-only range is an 11.6-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. This vehicle’s standard TurboCord allows you to charge it from 110- or 220-volt household outlets. Hook it to a standard 110-volt socket and it will take all night to charge. Tap into a 220-volt power source, however, and Volvo claims it can be fully juiced in as little as 2.5 hours. Thanks to its J1772-style connector, you can easily plug your XC90 into public charging stations for on-the-go replenishment.

Once its battery pack is depleted, the XC90 operates as a standard hybrid, which means it’s still impressively economical, returning an EPA-estimated 27 miles per gallon combined. When driving like a sane person and fully utilizing that electric-only range, I was able to average around 34 mpg during my time with this vehicle.

As in other Volvos, a turbo-and-supercharged four-cylinder engine is nestled under the hood. Displacing 2.0-liters and matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission, this unit delivers 313 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, though it’s not working alone. A crankshaft-mounted starter-generator throws an additional 111 lb-ft of torque into the mix, while a separate, rear-mounted motor spins the aft tires, providing both all-wheel drive and 87 extra horses. Add everything up and the XC90 T8’s drivetrain is rated at 400 hp and 472 lb-ft, figures that compare favorably to the Volvo’s major rival, the Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid. The Lincoln is endowed with 494 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque, plus it offers an electric-only driving range of 21 miles. Other plug-in competitors include the Land Rover Range Rover Sport PHEV and the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid.

This Volvo’s got enough kibbles ‘n bits to hit 60 mph in the mid-5-second range, and it feels every bit that quick. Smooth and nearly silent, its electric motors provide a wallop of low-end torque to get things moving, though the engine is practically as refined. Incredibly quiet and nearly vibration free, Volvo’s 2.0-liter is an absolute gem. In fact, the same could be said about this entire powertrain, which is so seamless you won’t even realize it’s a hybrid. In comparison, the Aviator Grand Touring is nowhere near as nicely calibrated, herking and jerking at odd times. 

Plug-in XC90s come with about half a dozen driving modes. These adjust its steering feel, braking performance, climate control system and more. Hybrid is the standard mode, which operates this vehicle as, you guessed it, a regular hybrid. The gasoline engine and electric motors work together to deliver good performance and efficiency. Click the elegant little roller switch on the center console over to Pure, and the XC90 will run solely on electricity, though there is a caveat. This setting further enhances efficiency by putting the climate control system in eco mode and lowering the air suspension, if equipped. What’s the catch? Well, in Pure mode the gasoline engine will kick on in certain situations, such as when you request more power than the electric motors can provide or if you exceed 78 mph. Avoid flat-footing the accelerator or ripping down the interstate and you will have no trouble keeping this Volvo running purely off the battery.

Underway, the XC90’s interior is tomb-like in its silence. Even at highway speeds this vehicle remains almost eerily hushed, which is ideal for the available Bowers and Wilkins sound system, a $3,200 extra. Crystal clear yet pounding, you can crank the volume up without any distortion or junky rattling sounds to detract from your favorite tunes.

This Volvo’s steering has some heft to it, but it’s regrettably uninvolving no matter which driving mode you select. Fortunately, the brake pedal feels natural, seamlessly switching from regenerative to friction braking as needed. It’s completely transparent and nicely weighted, being neither mushy nor grabby.

This powertrain is smooth, potent and economical. What more could you ask for?

Craig Cole/Roadshow

My top-shelf Inscription model is equipped with optional 21-inch wheels, an $800 extra. These rollers look great, but I don’t necessarily recommend them. Even when fitted with the available $1,800 height-adjustable air suspension, my XC90’s ride is not quite as smooth as it should be. No, it’s not brutal by any means, but there is a bit more impact harshness than I’d like, probably because those wheels are so heavy.

That slightly clopping ride is not the end of the world, but there are a couple other annoyances worth mentioning. For instance, those beautiful, leather-wrapped sun visors do not extend to cover the width of the front windows, a curious safety omission. This is a vehicle that will sound an alarm if you so much as have a dirty thought, but shielding taller drivers’ eyes from glare isn’t important? The XC90’s standard automatic high beams are not good… at all. On multiple occasions while driving at night I noticed the system switching on when a car was right in front of me and the beams failing to dip when oncoming traffic got much too close. Eventually, I just stopped using this feature. Finally, my tester is fitted with a crystalline shifter, which looks like a little piece of art mounted to the center console, though you still have to double-click it to select the gear you want, which is kind of silly.

Naturally, the XC90 T8 includes plenty of other driver-assistance technologies like blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking and rear cross-traffic alert, to name a few. They all work well, including Pilot Assist, the automaker’s name for adaptive cruise control with lane centering. On the interstate at higher speeds, this system is rock solid, keeping the XC90 locked in the middle of its lane while smoothly adjusting speed to match surrounding traffic. Curiously, it’s far less confidence inspiring on two-lane roads, where it can ping-pong from one lane marker to the other. 

There are far worse places to spend time than the XC90’s cabin.

Craig Cole/Roadshow

If you like lots of swiping and scrolling, you’ll probably love Volvo’s Sensus Connect infotainment system. This is not the worst multimedia offering available today, not by a long shot, but neither is it my favorite since it can lag from time to time and the menus are pretty confusing. I actually had to search the owner’s manual because I couldn’t remember how to save radio presets and it’s not obvious how you do that. At least there’s plenty of real estate on the 9-inch screen and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included.

As I alluded to earlier, the rest of this Volvo’s cabin is stunning. The overall design is super clean and elegant. The Nappa-leather upholstery is probably the nicest you’ll find this side of a Rolls-Royce and there’s lovely stitching everywhere. My tester’s gray-hued, open-pore ash-wood trim is beautiful to look at and touch.

Comfort in the XC90 is a bit of a mixed bag. The front chairs are absolutely throne-like, heated, ventilated, adjustable in more ways than you can count, and they’re even able to give you a massage. The second-row buckets are a bit on the narrow side and not nearly as cushy as the fronts, plus they’re quite difficult to tilt and slide for accessing the third row. Speaking of the XC90’s aft-most accommodations, they’re a tight squeeze for adults, which is no surprise, but oddly enough the lower cushion is at an excellent height and provides plenty of support, something that’s very unusual in this segment.

See? I told you the XC90 T8 was beautiful. 

Craig Cole/Roadshow

The 2020 Volvo XC90 T8 is offered in three trims: entry-level Momentum, midrange R-Design and top-shelf Inscription. The base price is around $68,000, though my tester drove off the assembly line in Gothenburg, Sweden with an MSRP of $86,790, a total that includes a rather modest destination charge of $995 and $18,295 in options. If you crave this Volvo’s subtle design, tasteful interior and pleasant demeanor but are unwilling or unable to shell out nearly 90 grand don’t fret. You can get a non-hybrid T5 front-wheel-drive variant for about $50,000, which should deliver much of the same fundamental excellence if not quite as much opulence.

This Volvo is an absolutely lovely piece of work, one of the best of its breed available today. Luxury may be antithetical to environmentalism, but the XC90’s plug-in powertrain goes a long way to improving both the driving dynamics and, more importantly, fuel efficiency.