totm nov 2023 Thread to discuss negative things in a very general way, just see where it goes y'know?

[tater]

7 hours ago, AlamoVampire said:

I live in an area where there are white tail deer, opossums, raccoons, skunks and coyotes and small (i think they are at least) foxes and the odd armadillo that can randomly be on the road. Cats too. High beams are a safety thing in my eyes so that critters are easy to see. But the bad part are those who have high beams on coming at you or directly behind you, especially in areas with tons of street lights and refuse to turn them down to lows. High beams need to be used responsibly imho.

Yeah, that's how we used them in CT. Here in NM, you have streetlights in town, no need for highbeams, and out of town you can see 50 miles, lol, not even much in the way of bushes.

[tater]

6 hours ago, TheSaint said:

One thing I learned when we started to look for a replacement for my wife's 2007 Pilot a couple of years ago: New cars are awful. The newer, the awfuler. In their ongoing effort to create new features to charge more money for, they have begun to treat new car buyers like they are idiot children. I've never been a classic car enthusiast before, but the automakers are really trying to make me into one.

Some of the features I like. Back up cameras are extremely nice, even though I'm one of those who reverses their body, head dead center of the vehicle looking straight back to reverse. Was actually planning on taking my son to a large open lot by the balloon fiesta to drive in reverse at speed to teach him this.

Changing simple UI things though is insane. Pushing a automatic car gear shift forward to reverse is bizarre—even though some of my manuals have had reverse forward on the stick, it also moves, you can simply touch the stick and know it is in reverse because it's WAY forward/left compared to first gear. The idea of the thing not moving so you can do it by feel is just terrible. A previous Rover loaner I got had a KNOB for this. That rotated, click, click. Still had to look at it to see where it was pointed (or look at dash indicator). Dumb.

[AlamoVampire]

I just want to scream. A scream that is inconsolable in its rage and sadness and frustration. I have an update on the saga of my car that was in an accident this past June. I warn in advance that if you turn wrenches as a profession or even as a hobby what comes next may be disturbing.

Ok, so, as I said my car tried to eat another car in June. This absurd farce with the body shop started strong when they (at this point I think this was not a simple accident but a symptom of this shops gross negligence and incompetence and dishonesty) dropped my hood on my windshield then failed to tell me, then lie about it when asked then admit it when told I could prove they did that damage. Red flags already. I count 4. 
 

Strap in, this is where it goes down hill not at a slow pace but at orbital velocity. 

So as part of the rebuild of my car they put in a new radiator and reservoir tank. Now, those of you who turn wrenches as a profession or as a hobby know that even if the hoses look fine its best practice not to mention cheap insurance to swap them out for new. This shop? They looked at them and said “eh they look good, lets risk this guys car and not replace them.” Or to quote the shop exactly: “They didnt look damaged.” Yup. They actually said that today. Ill tell you in a minute why thats relevant. So, accident June 5, car at shop June 5, work starts 4-5 days later. I get my car back 85 days or so later. But this is where we go from orbital velocity down hill to escape velocity. Oh boy it gets sad. 
 

The car is returned to my possession after 85 or so days, September 2 or 3. Not 3 days later I see coolant on my driveway. The radiator was leaking at the filler neck. These people when they installed the non oem radiator not only reused my hoses that were in an accident where 1 was very near the damage, but they somehow FORGET A SEAL which lets it leak. How does this happen??? Had they legitimately done their jobs right, theyd had replaced the hoses (i promise my harping on the hose thing will make sense in a moment), they would have correctly installed the seal and performed a pressurized leak test which would have shown the missing seal preventing at least that leak if not high lighting the very next leak that would be found shortly after.
 

So the timeline of coolant issues: car returned to my custody 8-30/9-2. Coolant found on driveway 9-4. Car brought back to shop for repair 9-9 (parked in the driveway until i had time to return, drove my camaro in the meantime). At this point they replace the seal and ALLEGEDLY pressure and leak test the system, which had they ACTUALLY done it that hose I keep harping about would have revealed its self. You see, it has a pinhole leak. Its very near where my car took damage. Its a skinny little hose crossing from drivers side across the radiator to the filler neck. How long was it leaking? No idea. It very well could have been pierced in the accident, but since incompetence and ignorance rule supreme in that shop I think thats the most likely. But again, I cant know for sure. What I do know is that this “new” leak was found by my neighbor on 9-18 when he changed my oil. Here is why I suspect it had been leaking since I got my car back after they “finished” rebuilding the car. The engine and radiator fans had way too much crystalized coolant both times, (they allegedly cleaned the engine when they installed that seal) with the seal leak and this time, the area it was spraying looked horrific. A small sudden pinhole doesnt leave a massive crime scene, but a small constant leak over 18 days absolutely will. So, 9-19 I take my car back. They insist on getting my insurance to pay for yet more of their incompetence to cover their screw up. But my friends here is where this broke me clean in half. I left my car at their shop because they said it would be a day at most for them to get the part AND approval from insurance. I naïvely trusted them and thought Id have my car again wednesday latest. Reality? The adjuster never went to them (they failed to tell me this) AND that hose is back ordered until 10-5 at the SOONEST!!! My father in an attempt (he had to play middleman because I will not be civil with the shop now) to resolve this first checked last night what was going on with insurance which is how we know the adjuster never went, but today he called the insurance AND the bodyshop to get the insurance to verbally authorize this idiocy which is how we learned the back order status which shocker (eye rolls hard enough to snap the optic nerve) they did not communicate, but he got them to “try” to locate an after market hose from any parts store in town which allegedly none have it, so he calls an actual toyota dealer which locates the only hose of its type across the state 120 miles away. But it gets sadder and worse. He prepays for them to ship it. IF no one gets to that hose first it will reach the dealer he worked with tomorrow but wont be able to get it installed until monday. If it gets sniped away, my car and me are screwed until 10-5 at the earliest. I love my camaro i really do, but, it has 10 year old tires (made week 33 2012) and being a 6.2L v8 specced for premium only (bare minimum) that gets at best 210 miles to the tank its unsustainable as a daily driver. My camry if done right can do 480-500 miles a tank on regular.

So here we are with me wanting to scream. 
 

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[TheSaint]

7 hours ago, AlamoVampire said:

I hate this fact so so much. I hate the fact features that remove us from the equation of driving are lauded with thunderous applause. Features that cars should not now or EVER have unless humans are 100% removed from having ANY direct driving input beyond target destination address being given:

Lane departure alarms, lane departure systems that attempt to force the car back into the lane, self driving, autopilot, summon to your car to you (where it drives on its own to reach you), blind spot indicators, auto braking (where if it thinks youre at risk to impacting the car ahead, but that risks you getting rear ended), parking assist.
 

These features I have listed create a false sense of security which creates complacency which leads to recklessness and carelessness. I hate it.

041409232022

When we were looking at new-to-us cars for the wife, the first question we had on each car was, "Does this one have a driver assist system? Yes? We're not buying it. Next." Heard way too many horror stories about outrageous maintenance costs, systems quitting in the middle of the road due to resets, etc. Sure, you can turn it off. But why pay for something I am going to pull the fuse on and never look at again?

[tater]

29 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

When we were looking at new-to-us cars for the wife, the first question we had on each car was, "Does this one have a driver assist system? Yes? We're not buying it. Next." Heard way too many horror stories about outrageous maintenance costs, systems quitting in the middle of the road due to resets, etc. Sure, you can turn it off. But why pay for something I am going to pull the fuse on and never look at again?

Unless you want to buy a comma ai and make your car self driving, no reason to get any of those. Comma is pretty cool, a fairly cheap aftermarket "tesla autopilot" for any car that has lane keeping, etc. Seems to actually work. Not sure I'd actually want that, lol.

Our problem is that my wife wants a manual. Right now she has a 9 year old BMW, and really likes it, but wanted something newer—at this point for the last couple years the only manuals they make are M series, which are ridiculously expensive. We might try to find her a few year old M2, I'll drive the 2013 bmw, let the kids drive the rover (the point of driving that into the ground is to have a tank for kids, all things being equal, mass wins, and it also has all the airbags, etc., and is almost 3 tons)

[TheSaint]

27 minutes ago, tater said:

Unless you want to buy a comma ai and make your car self driving, no reason to get any of those. Comma is pretty cool, a fairly cheap aftermarket "tesla autopilot" for any car that has lane keeping, etc. Seems to actually work. Not sure I'd actually want that, lol.

I have a self-driving car. I drive the car myself.

27 minutes ago, tater said:

Our problem is that my wife wants a manual. Right now she has a 9 year old BMW, and really likes it, but wanted something newer—at this point for the last couple years the only manuals they make are M series, which are ridiculously expensive. We might try to find her a few year old M2, I'll drive the 2013 bmw, let the kids drive the rover (the point of driving that into the ground is to have a tank for kids, all things being equal, mass wins, and it also has all the airbags, etc., and is almost 3 tons)

Dream mod for the truck is still to convert it to a manual transmission. All I need is the transmission, the transfer case, the drive shafts, the engine computer, the interior trim parts, and about a week of downtime. And all of those are getting harder and harder to find these days.

Speaking of kids: Thing #1 gets his permit next month. I have attempted to disbelieve this multiple times, but somehow it is still happening. He wants my truck more than anything else on God's green earth, so when he gets his license next year we'll probably give it to him. Then I'll have to start looking for something else, probably a late 2nd-generation Tacoma.

[tater]

4 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

Speaking of kids: Thing #1 gets his permit next month. I have attempted to disbelieve this multiple times, but somehow it is still happening. He wants my truck more than anything else on God's green earth, so when he gets his license next year we'll probably give it to him. Then I'll have to start looking for something else, probably a late 2nd-generation Tacoma.

I know a few guys with Tacomas who love them.

Gotta teach the boy to drive the manual one of these days, he's got his license now, and he's a good driver, time to make him have to do all the things. Pros: no one can steal a manual these days, the youths are too dumb to drive them, and you can't text and drive with both hands occupied. Cons: manual is a sportier car, and I remember how I drove at his age with a non-sporty car.

Man, insurance on the bmw with a teen is INSANE.

[TheSaint]

2 minutes ago, tater said:

I know a few guys with Tacomas who love them.

That's what I'm driving now, a first-gen (AKA best-gen). But it's getting hard to find a first-gen with less than 200,000 miles on it, and I'm not getting any younger either. Pulling axle seals and wheel bearings is a game for thirtysomethings.

2 minutes ago, tater said:

Gotta teach the boy to drive the manual one of these days, he's got his license now, and he's a good driver, time to make him have to do all the things. Pros: no one can steal a manual these days, the youths are too dumb to drive them, and you can't text and drive with both hands occupied. Cons: manual is a sportier car, and I remember how I drove at his age with a non-sporty car.

When my dad taught my brother to drive he took him down to the National Guard armory and put him behind the wheel of one of the old Jeeps (which they still had there in 1981, no HMMWVs yet). Three-speed manual, crash gearbox, no synchro. No forgiveness, from the Jeep or the instructor. But my brother knew how to drive a manual after that, for sure. By the time it came around for me to learn, Dad had retired from the Army, so he didn't have access to the armory anymore. I just got yelled at in the Toyota Van. But I was more like Dad than my brother was, I yelled back.

2 minutes ago, tater said:

Man, insurance on the bmw with a teen is INSANE.

Yep. And I think we both clearly remember why that is.

I'm nervous giving the truck to Thing #1 because it's one of the old-style 4x4s with the high CoG, rollover risk. Very easy to over drive the vehicle, especially on dirt roads and inclines. Going to spend a lot of time with him on that.

[AlamoVampire]

Well… <screams in frustration> update… Im in possession of my car. They “found” a hose that “was meant for another car” that was redirected to mine. They say its new. If that was true it would not have witness marks showing it was at a minimum under clamping pressure by hose clamps and a bracket clamp. They also did not clean the crystalized coolant off the engine. The hose right now isnt leaking but Im going to keep the hose my father sourced as insurance. <screams, then cries in frustration>
 

185009232022

[Rutabaga22]

People at school can't get their crap together for a class project.

I attempt organization and the teacher encourages it, but no one listens

People just do their own thing.
Now there is a strongly worded letter in my journal.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Rutabaga22

[kerbiloid]

4 hours ago, Rutabaga22 said:

People at school can't get their crap together for a class project.

What a rather strange project...

But I believe it will succeed if they come together, sit around, and join their efforts.
Unity is strength.

4 hours ago, Rutabaga22 said:

People just do their own thing.

Explain them that their social atomization is frustrating.

[tater]

19 hours ago, TheSaint said:

Yep. And I think we both clearly remember why that is.

I'm nervous giving the truck to Thing #1 because it's one of the old-style 4x4s with the high CoG, rollover risk. Very easy to over drive the vehicle, especially on dirt roads and inclines. Going to spend a lot of time with him on that.

My son has been driving the rover on road. Maybe one of these weekends we'll take it out in the dirt, he should learn that, too. I wish my daughter was interested... she's at the U now, knows how to drive, is 18 and can just take the test, but is NOT a confident driver. Told her when she got a free ride for school here we'd buy her a car, too (the difference between her second choice and free in NM was ~$50k a year, even with 30k in scholarships, so we were open to a pretty nice car).

[DDE]

Quote

The pessimist is reading All Quiet on the Western Front

The optimist is reading In Storms of Steel

But the realist right now is reading The Adventures of Good Soldier Švejk

 

[tater]

What does it mean if I read all three?

[Rutabaga22]

Bullying, please don't do it. I have recently had it affect a friend of mine and it is terrible.

[AlamoVampire]

@Rutabaga22I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of bullying. It isnt fun at all. I agree that bullying needs to be stopped. In all forms.

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[Nuke]

after my dentist appointment today, i am now down to 15 functional teeth. get to go back in 2 weeks for fillings. yay. 

[LHACK4142]

I wish I could get around circumlocutory writing styles. SO many AMAZING books are written in a way that makes them difficult for me to read. The Gallic War, Crime and Punishment, Pride and Prejudice, Charles Dickens, etc. Pretty much all old books. This writing style I have so much trouble with is not the easiest to describe, but I can give a troublesome sentence and a self-produced simplification of it:

"This privilege, as he pointed out, had fallen to the lot of but few"

"He pointed out that this privilege was conferred to very few people"

It's so frustrating! I really wish I could just read these with ease! I guess I just have to plow through and it'll eventually get easier.

[AlamoVampire]

Im getting frustrated with MSFS. I love flying. I do not love the headache updates are causing. I play/fly full screen. They push out an update and it discards my setting. Each. And. Every. Single. TIME!! Worse yet, as you know I fly both the PDMG 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft. They take 11-15 minutes to load in each time the sim updates. They are gargantuan aircraft in terms of complexity so each initial load is a pain. Oh to make it worse, if I load the commercial passenger variant this long load is only for that. Wanna fly the cargo versions? Each one (not livery only airframe) needs its on compilation load. BBJ? Yup same. Now suffer this with the 600 and its variants, the 700 and 800 too! Soon the 777 (currently in production at PMDG) and its variants and the 747 and 737-900 all coming down the pipe…. BTW this whole post? Written as my 737-700 is loading….

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[Ben J. Kerman]

I don't even know where to start, my life recently hasn't been going great, and that's sort of an understatement. I do know, however, that the amount of times I have said "mierda" and "Scheiße" this week has increased at least 70% from last week. Yeah, not going great, pretty much all because we are being forced to move. At least I am staying in the same town and school district...once my parents find a home.

[StrandedonEarth]

The smoke here from forest fires is just stupid. Air quality is off the scale, 10+. Stagnant air has the smoke lingering around. No rain for 100 days, hopefully on Friday it'll finally rain to wash this crud out. This is the Sun at 8:30am, very easy to look at. A different kind of Red Dawn...

This mountain is only a few hundred meters away. Visibility is maybe two kilometers ...

[Rutabaga22]

I know this isn't as bad as a lot of stuff in this thread, but I've just been tired. I just don't get a full sleep when I have to wake up at 6:00 AM for school each day, then on the weekends I end up waking up at the same time, so I don't recharge on the weekends. I then end up feeling most awake in the evening, which doesn't help because I have the most energy right before I go to bed. I also can't nap. Napping is not something I do and falling asleep during the day is extremely hard for me. Any advice from humans more experienced than me would be nice.

[tater]

1 hour ago, Rutabaga22 said:

Any advice from humans more experienced than me would be nice.

Can you try and get to sleep earlier? There are probably some resources for not just scheduling your sleep, but a sleep process. Avoiding screens for some time interval before bed is supposed to help. It's certainly hard when you are younger, I know I was always a night owl, and I still tend to stay up late and get up early, but I sleep very soundly, and it's now a schedule I am well adapted to. I also wish I could sleep in weekends, but the pets won't let us, lol.

Anyway sleep is something that a lot of serious people pay attention to, I bet some of the researchers have youtube or podcast interviews that might be instructive.

[Superluminal Gremlin]

Ok now im really scared about manuals. In a few months i am legally allowed to drive, but that doesn't mean that i will. 

Im screwed

[StrandedonEarth]

On 10/24/2022 at 6:47 PM, Rutabaga22 said:

Any advice from humans more experienced than me would be nice.

Try taking melatonin 30-60 minutes before bed, and avoid screens or any other blue-ish light ("daylight" LEDs, warmer, reddish LEDs are better for simulating sunset).

You don't say how much sleep you get. Sometimes too much sleep can leave you feeling more tired than not enough.