teknoman2 Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 tonight some junkie (most likely) broke the window of my brother's car to find something to steal. there was nothing to take though so it was a pointless damage, at least the insurance covers it. the weird thing is that besides breaking the window, for some reason the junkie opened the hood and disconnected the battery. didn't cause any other damage or took any engine parts, just disconnected the battery... probably thought there was an alarm and wanted to stop it from going off but who knows. 1 The words freedom and liberty, are diminishing the true meaning of the abstract concept they try to explain. The true nature of freedom is such, that the human mind is unable to comprehend it, so we make a cage and name it freedom in order to give a tangible meaning to what we dont understand, just as our ancestors made gods like Thor or Zeus to explain thunder. -Teknoman2- What? You thought it was a quote from some well known wise guy from the past? Stupidity leads to willful ignorance - willful ignorance leads to hope - hope leads to sex - and that is how a new generation of fools is born! We are hardcore role players... When we go to bed with a girl, we roll a D20 to see if we hit the target and a D6 to see how much penetration damage we did. Modern democracy is: the sheep voting for which dog will be the shepherd's right hand.
ShadySands Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Realized that I've started associating full size pickup trucks with ****, obvious work trucks generally excluded. Edited February 12, 2020 by ShadySands a-holes is the **** 1 Free games updated 3/4/21
Malcador Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 35 minutes ago, ShadySands said: Realized that I've started associating full size pickup trucks with ****, obvious work trucks generally excluded. Add in luxury cars, apparently Audis, BMWs and Lexus cars have chemicals in the steering wheel which degrades their drivers into arrogant douchebags. Company is having some video game night spurred by the millenials they hired recently, alas, just to play Smash Brothers. I'd suggest something like UT, but that game predates their existence. Edited February 12, 2020 by Malcador 1 Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
Skazz Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 10 hours ago, Malcador said: Company is having some video game night spurred by the millenials they hired recently, alas, just to play Smash Brothers. I'd suggest something like UT, but that game predates their existence. Is this for real or are you making a joke?
Malcador Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Skazz said: Is this for real or are you making a joke? Nah not for real. I mean they are annoying millenials and console peasants... but they're 25 or so, so they were alive when UT99 was created. It would be nice to have that though, our sysadmins may not care as UT99 doesn't have to leave the network, hmm. Edited February 12, 2020 by Malcador Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
LadyCrimson Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) While back hubby found some mechanic to change the sparkplugs in my car, since the dealership is uber-pricey and always too busy. My car started making a rough engine noise after a while. Finally had the dealer at least look at it. Turns out the spark plug ... holders? ... are sorta stripped (that mechanic did it wrong ...) so the plugs aren't staying in place properly. Hubby found one of the wires almost completely off not long ago cause air is pushing/pressuring them off. Anyway, dealer wanted $8k-$10k to fix since they want to replace whole block. Expected, no thanks, car's not worth that much. So hubby found someone else who claims he can bore it out, put in brass inserts that will work. Guy says he's done it before. $3k estimate for that option. My car is very low mileage (40,000ish) but over 21 years old. I'm not sure what I want to do, now. Low mileage and (was) a nothing special but reliable thing, yes but ... is it worth the $3k and do we trust another mechanic, haha? I swear most mechanics don't know how to service Subaru's engine design, here. Maybe I should just get a new-ish car. Not sure I'd like that either tho, don't like most new car designs. Bah. I don't like decisions. Edited February 12, 2020 by LadyCrimson “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
Gfted1 Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 Go get you a spiffy Tesla Model S. Is the only way to charge a Tesla is to go to some charging station, or is there a "home charging" option? "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa"
Amentep Posted February 12, 2020 Author Posted February 12, 2020 You can home charge. AFAIK, they recommend a Wall Connector be installed for best results, but they have a NEMA connector as well. 1 I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man
Azdeus Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, LadyCrimson said: While back hubby found some mechanic to change the sparkplugs in my car, since the dealership is uber-pricey and always too busy. My car started making a rough engine noise after a while. Finally had the dealer at least look at it. Turns out the spark plug ... holders? ... are sorta stripped (that mechanic did it wrong ...) so the plugs aren't staying in place properly. Hubby found one of the wires almost completely off not long ago cause air is pushing/pressuring them off. Anyway, dealer wanted $8k-$10k to fix since they want to replace whole block. Expected, no thanks, car's not worth that much. So hubby found someone else who claims he can bore it out, put in brass inserts that will work. Guy says he's done it before. $3k estimate for that option. My car is very low mileage (40,000ish) but over 21 years old. I'm not sure what I want to do, now. Low mileage and (was) a nothing special but reliable thing, yes but ... is it worth the $3k and do we trust another mechanic, haha? I swear most mechanics don't know how to service Subaru's engine design, here. Maybe I should just get a new-ish car. Not sure I'd like that either tho, don't like most new car designs. Bah. I don't like decisions. 3000$?! That sounds like a real con-job to me. What model is it? As far as I know the sparkplugs are all held in place the same way, with screw threads. There are ready-made kits for that as far as I know, he doesn't have to bore anything, it's a job you can do by hand. Sure, it'll be a headache with the boxer engine design, but I bet your husband can do that in less than an hour per stripped plug. If he decides to do it, make sure he knows to start the engine without the currently rethreaded holes plug in it so that the engine can blow the metal bits out of the plug hole. If you have a turbo-charged car, don't do that - you'll have to unmount the turbo or you'll ruin it. Might be easier to just manually crank the engine a bit and fish out the aluminium bits in whatever fashion he wants. Then again, that price might not be much in 'Murica, I really don't know how that'd compare to here. Checked what a universal kit would cost over here, and it's around 12$ for a low quality one... Edited February 12, 2020 by Azdeus Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken
Hurlshort Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Do you really even need a car if you only put 40k miles on it over 20+ years? There are so many other transportation options nowadays, you might want to think about just letting it go. Get an e-bike. Edited February 12, 2020 by Hurlshot
LadyCrimson Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 55 minutes ago, Azdeus said: What model is it? 1998 Legacy 2.5L GT (wagon). I'm not the one who talked to all the mechanics since I know jack. It could be the mechanic meant "bore" in the sense of what I'm seeing in YouTube videos for the HeliCoil kits I just searched for, where they're all using drills at some point for some reason (not to get a broken plug out). Assuming, of course, that I've looked up the right thing, like in this video (he has the block removed for ease of access) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIL-cQLYiow Those kits look like they run anywhere from $20-$50 maybe. I doubt hubby would want to attempt it - he's never worked on a Subaru engine (not enough hand-room, in his large-hands opinion) and he's reached the point where he rarely does engine stuff himself anyway. So I'd guess either the $2700 is a rip off price or maybe it's a quote for removing the entire block to do it vs. doing it while it's still in the car to make keeping "bits" out easier. But where I live, it wouldn't surprise me if at minimum it'd be $600-$1000 regardless, because that's just the way it is here 95% of the time. I'd tell you how much the dealership charged for a tuneup/oil-change etc - that did NOT apparently include changing the spark plugs because they go by mileage and they saw my odometer and didn't change them even tho we told them to - but you'd probably faint. Which is why hubby tried to find someone else to change the spark plugs. 1 “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
LadyCrimson Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Hurlshot said: Do you really even need a car if you only put 40k miles on it over 20+ years? There are so many other transportation options nowadays, you might want to think about just letting it go. Get an e-bike. Since hubby's vehicle is a van I can't physically drive at all and I have knee/hand arthritis and upper back issues that make carrying anything remotely heavy not easy anymore, and I do pretty much all shopping/errand running, even if it isn't much in miles, yes I do. Also, hubby uses it whenever he has to work on-site at a place with a parking garage that his van barely fits under, or whenever we need a car that's more worry-free. Edit: I suppose I could call Uber or a taxi but ... nah. Edited February 12, 2020 by LadyCrimson “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
Gromnir Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 1 hour ago, Hurlshot said: Do you really even need a car if you only put 40k miles on it over 20+ years? There are so many other transportation options nowadays, you might want to think about just letting it go. Get an e-bike. as a northern california resident, hurl may be unaware o' the fact the weather sucks in most o' the country... it sucks 90% o' the year in most places. example: shady lived in az. tell him to bike home from work when it is 110F. summer in some part o' az seeming lasts 9 months o' the year. am knowing hurl has visited east coast. hilly cities such as boston and pittsburgh is not bicycle friendly. by comparison, chicago residents is so lucky 'cause is one o' the flatests cities we has ever seen (one o' the few advantages of being built on marshland) but if you have ever endured chicago winters, you can can only guess where such residents suggest placing your e- bike... oh, and summer T- storms and general wind means +20% o' non-winter days is like something out o' the wizard of oz. bicycle is a good idea for non 3-piece suit guy, but for those living outside northern california, is gonna have less functionality than hurl suggests. HA! Good Fun! "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
Azdeus Posted February 12, 2020 Posted February 12, 2020 2 hours ago, LadyCrimson said: 1998 Legacy 2.5L GT (wagon). I'm not the one who talked to all the mechanics since I know jack. It could be the mechanic meant "bore" in the sense of what I'm seeing in YouTube videos for the HeliCoil kits I just searched for, where they're all using drills at some point for some reason (not to get a broken plug out). Assuming, of course, that I've looked up the right thing, like in this video (he has the block removed for ease of access) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIL-cQLYiow Those kits look like they run anywhere from $20-$50 maybe. I doubt hubby would want to attempt it - he's never worked on a Subaru engine (not enough hand-room, in his large-hands opinion) and he's reached the point where he rarely does engine stuff himself anyway. So I'd guess either the $2700 is a rip off price or maybe it's a quote for removing the entire block to do it vs. doing it while it's still in the car to make keeping "bits" out easier. But where I live, it wouldn't surprise me if at minimum it'd be $600-$1000 regardless, because that's just the way it is here 95% of the time. I'd tell you how much the dealership charged for a tuneup/oil-change etc - that did NOT apparently include changing the spark plugs because they go by mileage and they saw my odometer and didn't change them even tho we told them to - but you'd probably faint. Which is why hubby tried to find someone else to change the spark plugs. I would probably throw a fit hearing the prices they take, I know what the dealer wants for new spare parts for my '98 Volvo... I spent two hours doing the service on my own car, changed oil, coolant, almost all the seals. Parts, oil and coolant cost me 350$. ... just for my own drunken amusement I checked the prices for a flight to San Fransisco. It'd be cheaper to fly there and fix it, then go back, hahaha! I really dislike "professional" mechanics, it's insane how much they overcharge. 1 1 Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken
LadyCrimson Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 Ok, got more info from hubby. The repair estimate *is* for pulling the whole block out, so a lot of labor and hourly labor rates here are very high. >.> Both hubby and he know of those kits - repair guy says they're not strong/reliable enough (on average or for Subaru, no clue). He sent photos of what he uses to hubby. I personally can't really tell the difference from the kit but something about an actual solid insert (not a coil sleeve like in the kits) that has a rim to lock it in place or something. Similar yet different, dunno. I think he and hubby talked a while re: how the late 90's/early 2000's were the last "good" years before hi-tech took over. Ha. The dealership had better workers than last times we were there - they normally charge $350 just to look/diagnose and he waived it because he felt bad or something about our past experiences w/them, lol. Guess that was nice. Anyhoo, since I really don't want a car that runs by app (hahaha) with tons of electronics/software I don't need/want and envision needing repairs/rebooting/whatever I'll just try the repair first. Altho a Tesla would be fun to get just because. Wouldn't fit my lifestyle/needs atll, but it's the "it" thing to get so I could finally be WITH IT again! “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
Guard Dog Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 1 hour ago, LadyCrimson said: Altho a Tesla would be fun to get just because. Wouldn't fit my lifestyle/needs atll, but it's the "it" thing to get so I could finally be WITH IT again! That feeling is seriously overrated. Besides... Tesla's are not that much fun when the inevitable battery replacement rolls around. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Guard Dog Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 Insomnia has been a problem for me for as long as I remember. Sometimes I just can't turn my brain off unless I drown it in booze. I've tried melatonin but you build up an immunity to that real quick. It's a hell of a thing to be exhausted and still unable to sleep. I'm sitting on the couch in my darkened office listening to Bela snoring next to me and Sunny snoring in her bed downstairs. I listen to them and envy them their fortune. They never worry about tomorrow. They waste no time brooding over past wrongs and roads not taken. Old ghosts never visit them to torment them at night. When they get sleepy no anxiety hold them from it. Lucky bitches! Actually they are really lucky I'm more considerate than they are. When they get up at night they don't give a thought to waking me up! 1 "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
Azdeus Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 8 hours ago, LadyCrimson said: Ok, got more info from hubby. The repair estimate *is* for pulling the whole block out, so a lot of labor and hourly labor rates here are very high. >.> Both hubby and he know of those kits - repair guy says they're not strong/reliable enough (on average or for Subaru, no clue). He sent photos of what he uses to hubby. I personally can't really tell the difference from the kit but something about an actual solid insert (not a coil sleeve like in the kits) that has a rim to lock it in place or something. Similar yet different, dunno. I think he and hubby talked a while re: how the late 90's/early 2000's were the last "good" years before hi-tech took over. Ha. The dealership had better workers than last times we were there - they normally charge $350 just to look/diagnose and he waived it because he felt bad or something about our past experiences w/them, lol. Guess that was nice. Anyhoo, since I really don't want a car that runs by app (hahaha) with tons of electronics/software I don't need/want and envision needing repairs/rebooting/whatever I'll just try the repair first. Altho a Tesla would be fun to get just because. Wouldn't fit my lifestyle/needs atll, but it's the "it" thing to get so I could finally be WITH IT again! I'd agree with him if you were driving a WRC Subaru or similar, a turbo charged sports version, but from what I know you've got a plain naturally aspirated version, if so then it should be able to handle your needs more than enough, I've got two of those sleeves in my car from when I bought it (Before me, only repaired in Volvo shops; Two stripped plugs and the oil pan plug aswell), and I'm running a turbo that's been upped from 0.3 to 0.8 Bar/11.5Psi boost, and I've redlined it frequently enough, and they still hold in place. Granted that I might be lucky in this one case. His variant will definetly be stronger and more secure, that I'm sure of, the question would be if you actually need it. I personally would go for the cheaper variant first, but I've got 3 extra heads on my own, and access to dozens more so I might be a bit overly brazen here. They are absolutely right about the "good" years though, atleast when it comes to a DIY person. Modern cars with fiddly fickle ****ing frustrating functions are the bane of my will to drive cars... I want a knob or switch that I can just feel what setting it is in without having my eyes leave the road. Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken
Gromnir Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 7 hours ago, Guard Dog said: Insomnia has been a problem for me for as long as I remember. Sometimes I just can't turn my brain off unless I drown it in booze. I've tried melatonin but you build up an immunity to that real quick. It's a hell of a thing to be exhausted and still unable to sleep. I'm sitting on the couch in my darkened office listening to Bela snoring next to me and Sunny snoring in her bed downstairs. I listen to them and envy them their fortune. They never worry about tomorrow. They waste no time brooding over past wrongs and roads not taken. Old ghosts never visit them to torment them at night. When they get sleepy no anxiety hold them from it. Lucky bitches! Actually they are really lucky I'm more considerate than they are. When they get up at night they don't give a thought to waking me up! reverse. the reason we do not drink is 'cause o' pain and sleep issues. if alcohol worked to mitigate symptoms, we would use, and then we would eventually need to use more 'cause that is the way the liver processes alcohol. am actual extreme lucky we is one o' those rare folks who gets negligible beneficial results from opioids. if such worked, am suspecting we would so abuse 'em. perhaps gd could join a fight club? HA! Good Fun! "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
LadyCrimson Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, Guard Dog said: That feeling is seriously overrated. Besides... Tesla's are not that much fun when the inevitable battery replacement rolls around. I was joking. Y'know, because I'm "old" and not with it. Electric cars aren't for me, plus I'd refuse to pay more than around $28k-$30K for a brand new car and even that's pushing it. Edited February 13, 2020 by LadyCrimson “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
ComradeYellow Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 Public transportation is the cheapest and best way to keep societies veins flowing.
Guard Dog Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 40 minutes ago, ComradeMaster said: Public transportation is the cheapest and best way to keep societies veins flowing. Unless you live in the sticks. "While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before" Thomas Sowell
LadyCrimson Posted February 13, 2020 Posted February 13, 2020 Just now, Guard Dog said: Unless you live in the sticks. Or live in a place where local area transportation kind of still sucks because everything/neighborhoods is/was almost specifically and originally designed around cars. I mean for long work commuters there's a main trainline that is ok these days. Or if the only places you frequent are specific shop spots on one or two main roads it's workable. But if we're talking a dentist 12 miles away not on a main road, then also wanting to run an errand on the other side of town after, not so much. It'd take three or four times as much time for one thing. We have no subway either. Can it be done where I am? Sure, if you really want, and don't mind some lifestyle compromises. But it's not convenient or practical at all most of the time. 4 hours ago, Azdeus said: I'd agree with him if you were driving a WRC Subaru or similar, a turbo charged sports version, but from what I know you've got a plain naturally aspirated version, if so then it should be able to handle your needs more than enough, Eh, I don't think it really matters what "kit" type thing is being used, that's going to be a tiny tiny bit of the cost. The point is neither hubby or I are going to/want to do it at home, so pay for labor we are going to do. :P It's also fine since if he's going to take the whole engine out, he can also do other things that a 21+ year old car could have done, while it's already out. Like some seals - nothing drips yet but you can see a tiny bit of seepage around edges, the timing belt, etc. 1 “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
Azdeus Posted February 14, 2020 Posted February 14, 2020 11 hours ago, LadyCrimson said: Eh, I don't think it really matters what "kit" type thing is being used, that's going to be a tiny tiny bit of the cost. The point is neither hubby or I are going to/want to do it at home, so pay for labor we are going to do. It's also fine since if he's going to take the whole engine out, he can also do other things that a 21+ year old car could have done, while it's already out. Like some seals - nothing drips yet but you can see a tiny bit of seepage around edges, the timing belt, etc. Oh, I wasn't as much saying that you should do it yourself as that he wouldn't need to do more than use a repair kit himself. As I said, it seems overkill for a standard motor. It is a good idea to fix other things that will be easier to do once the engine is out though yeah, those engines have some troubles I've heard. Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken
LadyCrimson Posted February 15, 2020 Posted February 15, 2020 Hubby: "$2700? No no, it was $2300" Me: "Oh ok, I swear you said $2700, whatever." (couple hours later) Hubby: "I double checked, it was actually $2600, I have no idea what I said then." Me: "I still think you *said* 2700, but who knows." (we stare at each other a few beats) Me: "Happy Valentine's Day. We're truly getting old together." (another beat) *huge simultaneous guffaws* 2 “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
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