Ask MetaFilter

Are these pants comfy?

Bella Donna — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 07:34:22 GMT

Have you worn pants like these? I have basic machine sewing skills and would like to make pants that are not styled like pajamas. If you have sewn similar styles, how easy was it? More importantly, if you have worn this style of pant, were they comfortable? As an oldster, comfort is the main thing for me these days. Please share your experience with barrel-style pants.

Repurposing an old smart phone as a security camera

vortex genie 2 — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:51:56 GMT

I want to use an old smart phone as a security camera on my porch while out of town for a week or so. The idea is that a local helper person can see when my semi-feral porch kitty's food needs to be refilled without having to come onsite to check. If you have successfully set up an old phone as a security cam or similar, I'd love to hear how you did it and how things went.

As we all well know, the internet is lousy with slop these days, and real people who can share their experiences with me would be the best thing. I have
a) a semi-feral cat under my care who is terrified of nearly all humans
b) some trips coming up, and
c) an out-of-use Pixel 6a that I can stick on my porch and connect to power and wifi.

Needs:
- a method that will allow me to set up the old phone as a camera on my porch and leave it unattended for about a week. I don't plan to run this all the time forever, just when I'm out of town.
- Ability to view the camera feed remotely from my actual in use android phone
- Ability to share access to the camera with android- and iOS-using local helper people so they can check on my porch.

Bonus Points For:
- Motion activated functionality that can send me a still image when a cat visits the porch.
- Open source stuff that isn't spying on me (yes I know Big Evil Tech is always watching and all that but I don't want, for example, a Ring camera that stores everything for the cops)

Not interested in:
- Suggestions on commercial products to purchase, I am only looking for information about repurposing an existing smartphone.
- Storing footage anywhere, I truly do not need to save or review the footage of my feral cat's food dish
- Suggestions or information about how I should not have a semi-feral porch kitty, how cats should not be outside, etc. She is healthy, spayed, vaccinated, and has access to vet care when needed, and the situation will not be changing in the short-term.

A few misc details:
- I'm not particularly concerned about the phone getting stolen, but it'll get a wipe before I leave it unattended. Are there other security issues I should be addressing?
- Some people on the internet say that they ran into issues with battery failure, is this something I should be worried about?

I am looking into VDO.ninja, this seems like it would work but I'm not sure it's the right tool for the job. A big thing I like about it is that it doesn't require registration/login, I can just share a link. It does seem a little bit techy but not too far out of my skill set to handle. Input from folks who have used this tool would be awesome, even better if used for a similar purpose.

There are a bunch of apps that get recommended, I genuinely can't tell how intrusive, predatory, or annoying these are because the internet is trash these days. Input from folks who use an app for this purpose would also be swell. Free would be best, could pay a one-time fee for something great, not interested in subscription-based. Android and iOS compatibility needed.

Back story on trash can kitty: A few years back, a young cat started sleeping on my recycling barrel. That summer I decided to try to buy her love with food. She quickly decided that she loves cat food and being petted, I TNR'ed her, and we've been hanging out ever since. Trash can kitty enjoys belly rubs more than any other cat I've known. She loves the two humans who live here, but if anyone else sets foot on the property she completely disappears into the ether. Thus, I feel that a proper house/ cat sitter is not the best choice. We have used a loaner web cam for this purpose in the past with great success. Cat tax for those who made it all the way to the bottom <3

Where to even start (my Scion xB)?

under_petticoat_rule — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 21:32:37 GMT

I would like to replace the starter relay (not the starter solenoid) on my 2008 Scion xB. Where is it?

The shop manual says it's in the engine room electrical box. It is not. None of the fuse and relay diagrams show it. it's called IG2, and it's referred to as an Integrator relay, not a starter or ignition relay.

There's also an IG1 relay in the cabin behind a panel, but that is not the one I want.

The ignition circuit diagram shows IG2, but the list of relays etc. doesn't mention it. The Engine Control section of the manual claims it's in the fuse & relay panel in the engine room (engine bay - they call it the engine room), but it isn't. In the relevant "Removal" subsection it has a diagram showing it as an inline device in wiring, but I can't see anything in the engine bay that looks like the diagram. That's the only visual figure showing its alleged location.

I'm going to take the airbox off (again) tomorrow to see if I can spot it, but I'm not hopeful.

All the reddit posts I looked at either fail to answer the question or mistake the starter solenoid for the starter relay, and are therefore useless. My web searching yields, almost exclusively, copies of the lists and diagrams from the shop manual, which I already have. The Toyota parts website lists an ignition circuit assembly which contains the relay, but it doesn't show its location, and the part number shown for the relay is the product number for the whole assembly, not the individual relay (and also doesn't show where it is).

This was supposed to be easy. I have hit a dead end. If anyone has any knowledge or suggestions for resources, I'd be very grateful to hear them.

In case you're wondering about my process, replacing it is meant to be a cheap way to see if my problem is the relay or something else. Earlier I was getting rapid clicking with no cranking. I replaced the starter and now there's not even a click. The instruments and lights are all strong, steady and bright. I checked all the fuses. I'm going to take the new (rebuilt) starter out tomorrow and have it tested.

I expect I'll eventually have to have the car towed to the mechanic and just pay the price, but now the mystery is just eating me up.

Thanks for any help!