2015 Kia Sedona LX Review

Recently I had the opportunity to drive a rented 2015 Kia Sedona LX.

Following a car accident where my existing minivan was rear-ended and subsequently declared totaled by my insurance provider, I rented a comparable minivan from Enterprise. Having driven it for over 2 weeks now, I have a fairly good feel for the vehicle.

With the LX, the minivan came with power everything, Microsoft UVO infotainment and navigation system are included, but otherwise not the complete range of possibilities offered by Kia for this model (heated / cooled, seats and cupholders, for example, were not present).

I'm 5 feet 7 inches tall, and my legs are a bit short, and this seemed to be problematic with the Sedona. Even with the powered driver's seat moved fully forward, my feet could just barely reach the pedals. This wouldn't be a big deal if not for the fact that with the seat so far forward, each time I got in the top of the door frame threatened to knock me in the skull unless I contorted my torso awkwardly.

Aside from an annoying creaking noise coming from the rear, ride noise was minimal. Given that the Florida summer is arriving, the front and rear AC were sufficient. The 3.3 L V6 engine and accompanying 6-speed automatic transmission were nicely peppy and responsive. The braking was excellent, and upon glancing at a Consumer Reports review of this model, it appeared to be among the best as far as braking goes for minivans. However, one gripe with the ride is that it's a bit brutally stiff. It reminded me of the last time I'd driven a pickup, and even over fairly minimal potholes the suspension was unforgiving. Handling is a bit ponderous, given the 19-inch wheels and somewhat unrefined steering.

The infotainment system is definitely a plus for the Sedona. Navigation is straightforward and simple, and the backup camera is a nice touch. Those of you who use a USB flash drive for your music might be annoyed occasionally, though, as perhaps every 1 out of 3 attempts or so my USB stick chock full of MP3s would need to be reinserted after starting the vehicle after failing to detect the device.

Kia, in typical Korean automaker style, has tried valiantly to copy the success of, say, the Toyota Sienna, and although it comes close, it isn't quite there. I think you'd be better off buying a prior year top-of-the-line minivan by Toyota or even Dodge rather than plunking down some $30K+ for this model.

#Kia #minivan #2015

Listen to Kirill

#420 #marijuana #JohnWick# #USA

Mars Won

"We made it, guys! We've arrived on Mars!"

Trekking to the Mars One habitation facility...

"Let's see... ok, guys, it's a few kilometers away. Breathe easy and let's move."

Meanwhile, at Mars One headquarters back on Earth, budget shortfalls are apparent.

"Hey guys! I see it, look, it's the habitation facility!
Mmm hmm, tasty oxygen, fresh-frozen rations, here we come!"

"..."

"What. The. FUCK."

"It looks like Woodstock, only without the chicks, weed, and beer."

"We are SO fucked right now."

"Well... let's scrounge for oxygen and supplies. Surely there must be some up here...?!"

Meanwhile, at the Mars One launch gala in Las Vegas...
"Enjoy the ride, suckers!"


#MarsOne #FAIL #RedPlanet #Mars

Vegan Slaughterhouse Five

John Wick's Red Matrix

#JohnWick #KeanuReeves #TheMatrix

Logitech k400 Wireless Touch Keyboard Review

As many "smart TV" owners know, "typing" with your TV remote control can be a hassle at best, a pain at worst. Fortunately, there are alternatives when you want to access your TV like you would a PC. 

One is a smartphone app, such as this unofficial one for use with Samsung TVs. Another, especially handy if you don't use a smartphone, is the Logitech k400 keyboard.

The keyboard has smallish keys and is nearly full-size, but may be a bit irritating for those with fat fingers. The package includes a small transceiver which plugs into a free USB port on your smart TV, as well as a USB range extender smaller than many USB flash drives. 

Samsung, manufacturer of my particular smart TV, "...does not guarantee compatibility with all devices..." (source), but freely list their very own keyboard as wholly compatible, which is convenient for them. However, at least for my Samsung UN46EH5300, this particular keyboard worked out of the box for me.

The keyboard itself uses two AA batteries, and the transceiver runs off the TV's USB power. For your Samsung TV, a button with a right-mouse-button icon will, assuming you're viewing a TV channel, pop up a menu which lets you open Samsung's trademark on-screen menu. From there you can open YouTube and various other online services, and thereafter type URLs in as desired.

So far, my only complaint is that as far as Samsung's built-in web browser goes, you're stuck with ads (which might otherwise be blocked on your PC with the AdBlock Plus browser add-on or other means), and the browser itself for the few sessions I've opened with it so far has frequently crashed.

This does not impugn my impression of the Logitech k400 itself, though; it seems to do exactly what I expect it to do, enable both keyboard and mouse control of my smart TV.

 

Videos Added To Serviio Do Not Appear In Library

Recently my DLNA setup based on Serviio version 1.4.1.2 running under Windows 7 inexplicably started to not recognize newly-added videos. When attempting to browse them via my Samsung smart TV, the latest entries did not appear.

Serviio console, showing status and devices configured for streaming.

I hadn't dramatically changed the file and folder structure from which Serviio streams recently, nor had I made any huge changes to the configuration of Serviio nor my server. Finally though I found a solution which seems to have done the trick. It involved simply configuring Windows' file and folder permissions and file sharing permissions to allow the Everyone group to have read access.

Modifying Windows file and folder permissions to enable Everyone to have read access.

Modifying advanced file sharing permissions to give Everyone read access.

Some users in the Serviio forum suggested giving the PC's local system account read access to one's video repository. I tried this, but after restarting the server and the TV, the situation remained the same. I later discovered a blog post which clarifies the difference between Everyone and other authenticated accounts in Windows:

The Everyone group includes all members of the Authenticated Users group as well as the built-in Guest account, and several other built-in security accounts like SERVICE, LOCAL_SERVICE, NETWORK_SERVICE, and others.

The "local system account" I'd read about in my research on Serviio's forums might not be the same one I gave read access to, so I tried simply giving the Everyone group read permissions, and upon forcing Serviio to refresh its database of videos, it began churning through them and finally resulted in them being visible again via the TV.

One drawback to doing this is that anyone else on my LAN would be able to access my video collection, given that the folder is now openly shared to essentially "everyone". I might need to ramp up the frequency with which I routinely change up my WiFi passphrase, but in the end this is no big deal.