What you've done today - The Edge of Night

[Azdeus]

10 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Well, *I* bought a Subaru Crosstrek 2.5L. 

 

 

...did look at others with similar sizing/shape but just like 23 years ago, Subaru is seemingly only co. making cars like I want. I'm no speed/sportster driver but I cannot go back to the 1.5L type cars or whatever, especially w/an Automatic. And I hate trunks.
...unlike 23 years ago, we just wrote a check.   
...I'm going to hate all the computer crap of modern cars but oh well times are what they are. At least this one still has a manual parking brake, ffs.
...most importantly, the sales dude was a tall geeky fellow who saw my Pillars of Eternity t-shirt and thus we were talking games, tech, and gpu shortages during waiting moments. 

My personal peeve with newer cars would be the DRL lights come dusk/night. The vast majority of people tend to forget to turn on the proper lights.

[Sarex]

16 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

My personal peeve with newer cars would be the DRL lights come dusk/night. The vast majority of people tend to forget to turn on the proper lights.

Newer vehicles have automatic lights, that turn on by them selves. Although I did turn that off by mistake one time and the DRL were so bright I didn't notice the headlights were out...

10 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Well, *I* bought a Subaru Crosstrek 2.5L. 

...did look at others with similar sizing/shape but just like 23 years ago, Subaru is seemingly only co. making cars like I want. I'm no speed/sportster driver but I cannot go back to the 1.5L type cars or whatever, especially w/an Automatic. And I hate trunks.
...unlike 23 years ago, we just wrote a check.   
...I'm going to hate all the computer crap of modern cars but oh well times are what they are. At least this one still has a manual parking brake, ffs.
...most importantly, the sales dude was a tall geeky fellow who saw my Pillars of Eternity t-shirt and thus we were talking games, tech, and gpu shortages during waiting moments. 

Congrats.

Mine is a 1.3 turbo... But nowadays they squeeze out a lot from these little engines, as the one I have has 160hp. The only regret I have is it not being AWD, but the upside of that is that it gets 36 Miles per gallon when it's driven optimally.

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Sarex

[uuuhhii]

just finished liar's island

have a great ending much better than expected

though this series does have the most frustrating main character

never liked the incorrigible rogue type of main character

[Azdeus]

4 hours ago, Sarex said:

Newer vehicles have automatic lights, that turn on by them selves. Although I did turn that off by mistake one time and the DRL were so bright I didn't notice the headlights were out...

 

Mine is a 1.3 turbo... But nowadays they squeeze out a lot from these little engines, as the one I have has 160hp. The only regret I have is it not being AWD, but the upside of that is that it gets 36 Miles per gallon when it's driven optimally.

 

The thing is that they don't until it's really dark, sure the lights turn on in tunnels and the like, but not in twilight/early night, especially up here. And, if it's a dark or grey car they will blend into the surroundings.

36 mpg sounds low, did you get the conversion right? If I really take care my old Volvo 940 does 30mpg, and that's a 250hp 2.3L turbo. How many litres/10km?

[Sarex]

3 hours ago, Azdeus said:

The thing is that they don't until it's really dark, sure the lights turn on in tunnels and the like, but not in twilight/early night, especially up here. And, if it's a dark or grey car they will blend into the surroundings.

36 mpg sounds low, did you get the conversion right? If I really take care my old Volvo 940 does 30mpg, and that's a 250hp 2.3L turbo. How many litres/10km?

I'll have to pay attention to see when mine turns on the headlights, but I think it's pretty sensitive.

6.5l/100km at least that is what the computer shows, but those are usualy highways miles or VERY carefully driving, in the city it's 7-7.5l/100km. I just googled the conversion and copied the first result.

[Azdeus]

1 hour ago, Sarex said:

I'll have to pay attention to see when mine turns on the headlights, but I think it's pretty sensitive.

6.5l/100km at least that is what the computer shows, but those are usualy highways miles or VERY carefully driving, in the city it's 7-7.5l/100km. I just googled the conversion and copied the first result.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that it doesn't react to fog. -.-

[Sarex]

1 hour ago, Azdeus said:

I can tell you with 100% certainty that it doesn't react to fog. -.-

Just checked it, it did turn on in twilight, as for fog I get the anticollision warning light in my dash turning on when the windshield gets fogged up, does that count.

[LadyCrimson]

So, hubby thinks he figured out what was wrong with my original car. Went to a junk yard, pulled a part out of a car there (an alternator, which apparently Subaru discontinued making for my car/year), put it in.  He says "the symptoms were really weird for that part, otherwise I would've  realized sooner, but all fixed."  I'm all "are you sure."  "Yeah. ....so should we take that new car back then?"      Honestly the Legacy drives better (ride, steering), but mostly since we felt so rushed buying the Crosstrek.  We could maybe then just wait the 3-9 months for lot stocks to go up again, and be more picky then. Maybe I'd get a mid-life crisis sports car instead and hubby can get a Forester.    I dunno wat to do guys!  

Re: new car headlights - I think the Crosstrek lets you turn the automatic-ness off by setting them (on the lever) to O instead of Auto.  Then they don't do anything on their own/stay off and you just turn them on/off manually like usual.  Which is what I'd do, because I want ME to be in control of what my car does, when, as much as possible, not some microchips.

Also, the way the Crosstrek largely turns engine off while idling (like at a stoplight) then starts again when gas pedal is pushed is too weird for me. Supposedly you can turn that "gas saving feature" off, but you have to do it again every single time you get in the car. It all feels like struggling to wrest desktop control back from Windows10....

 

[LadyCrimson]

1 hour ago, LadyCrimson said:

I dunno wat to do guys!  

Ok, I discovered a problem which basically decided for me.

Testing it with a grocery run. Got groceries. Opened hatch, put in bags. Went to close hatch ... and I cannot reach it!  The top/edge of hatch is too high/over my outstretched arm even on tippy-toes. I jumped and jumped. There's a rectangular plastic depression at bottom of door that I could juuuuusssst reach with the right jump, jam my fingers in that and try to pull it down, which I finally managed to do after a few tries.  Went home, showed hubby.  He said I'd need a stepstool in the car all the time or we'd have to tie a rope somewhere.

There is no automatic lowering of hatch etc, and it never occurred to me to check for such a thing because I've owned many many hatchbacks + been in friends larger cars etc. and never encountered such before, there was always a way to reach/close doors/hatches.  Didn't occur to hubby either, ha.  Lesson learned.  I wonder if this will be only the Crosstrek or if modern hatch cars are often going to be like this now. Most of the ones we looked at were largely similar looking.  I'm too short!  Low-slung sports car it is?!

Thankfully that $250 for the remorse-return option was well spent. I think we just lose the extra electronics warranty fee.

[Azdeus]

7 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

So, hubby thinks he figured out what was wrong with my original car. Went to a junk yard, pulled a part out of a car there (an alternator, which apparently Subaru discontinued making for my car/year), put it in.  He says "the symptoms were really weird for that part, otherwise I would've  realized sooner, but all fixed."  I'm all "are you sure."  "Yeah. ....so should we take that new car back then?"      Honestly the Legacy drives better (ride, steering), but mostly since we felt so rushed buying the Crosstrek.  We could maybe then just wait the 3-9 months for lot stocks to go up again, and be more picky then. Maybe I'd get a mid-life crisis sports car instead and hubby can get a Forester.    I dunno wat to do guys!  

Re: new car headlights - I think the Crosstrek lets you turn the automatic-ness off by setting them (on the lever) to O instead of Auto.  Then they don't do anything on their own/stay off and you just turn them on/off manually like usual.  Which is what I'd do, because I want ME to be in control of what my car does, when, as much as possible, not some microchips.

Also, the way the Crosstrek largely turns engine off while idling (like at a stoplight) then starts again when gas pedal is pushed is too weird for me. Supposedly you can turn that "gas saving feature" off, but you have to do it again every single time you get in the car. It all feels like struggling to wrest desktop control back from Windows10....

 

Oh, just you wait... You think you hate it when Windows 10 updates and **** goes wonky? Then imagine your car recieving an update and starting to think that, no, I'm not a Crosstrek, I'm a BRZ and the dashboard going from MPH to KMH

Or when it bluescreens! =P

[Gfted1]

Heh, I read a story about how someone bricked a Ferrari by trying to perform a system update in an underground garage. No signal = no worky and the entire car locked up.

[Bartimaeus]

I've slowly been in the process of moving away from using Google email to protonmail. Seems like that's been a fortuitous call, given that this morning Google decided to lock me out of my account. Try to log in, the password is correct but they want to "confirm it's [me]". They ask me what my recovery email address is, I type in the correct email address. Not good enough: they want to send me a confirmation code to that same recovery email address; I get that email on the recovery account and type it in. Still not good enough, please enter a phone number to receive a text message with a verification code. I get the code, I type it in, get "we can't verify it's you, try again later". What a great system we have where you setup these different recovery and authentication options and then Google just arbitrarily decides they're not good enough anymore even though nothing's changed. I'm still logged in at a different location, thankfully, so now I'm in the process of moving my remaining stuff over to the protonmail account. This is exactly what I want to spend my morning doing, thanks Google. I already had so many reasons to want to move away from Google, but literally no longer being able to use my email address has jumped right to the top of the list. And it's not like there are any actual humans to talk to resolve this sort of thing at Google...everything is automated, so if the automated systems don't work, please proceed to lay down and die.

(e): Oh, also, I can't log in at all through Firefox anymore - I only get to the "type in your email address" bit of the login address, hit enter, and they don't even ask for a password, they just say my browser is insecure and I should try using something else...like Chrome, perhaps? At first, I thought it was because my version of Firefox is one version behind, but I think it's actually because of one of my privacy add-ons (possibly my canvas spoofer) is interfering with their authentication process. I use an insanely long randomly-generated unique password - frig off and let me log in, Google.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I've slowly been in the process of moving away from using Google email to protonmail.

I actually just started this over the weekend. I'm hoping to get free of Google aside from my Android phone and some work stuff.

Anyways it's relatively cool here at around 90f/30c, but it's storming and hurricane season is upon us so it may not be good for long. If I get hit with a hurricane after that freeze I may just leave Texas.

[LadyCrimson]

Wait ... cars these days "force" you to update their software? I assume it's kinda like how phones want you to update all the time?  Does stuff stop working if you don't? I know that Crosstrek had a bunch of stuff but I was hoping I could turn off what I could and ignore the rest, just treat it like a "car." Arrgh. Edit: I couldn't even tell where the fuel gauge was initially...it was a dotted blue bar surrounded by other led display stuff and...

Hm.  Maybe I should just buy one of these instead (Toyota Supra, 1990). I see some for dealer-sale with 50-80k on them, for $20k or so, sometimes. I wonder if you can get parts for it still tho. Not to mention, trusting the used car sales....

Edited June 21, 2021 by LadyCrimson

[Sarex]

They don't force you they just offer updates to fix issues that arise and possibly software improvements for the multimedia. It's just that nowadays you can connect to wifi and do it easily, so you don't need DVDs or USBs to load the new firmware. Bedsides the multimedia the ECUs get service updates too and are usually done by the dealer when you service the car (This has been the case for a long time).

[Azdeus]

My friend brought his Skoda diesel to service around the time of the hubbub about manufacturers cheating the exhaust tests, and was quite dismayed to find that once he got his car back it was all of a sudden slower than my standard Volvo, which he could beat easily before.

[LadyCrimson]

3 hours ago, Azdeus said:

once he got his car back it was all of a sudden slower than my standard Volvo, which he could beat easily before.

So did you two drag race down the town strip? 

Me: "search:  "best cars for short people"  result: main focus is on seating position and step-out heights, = a lot of cars I don't want (sedans). Although the Subaru Outback might be the best option (I can reach it to close, it has a grab handle, and it has automatic button). Maybe a small truck? No hatch then? Pffft. Darnit, I'd give 5 years of my life for another 6 inches in height (I'd be ... 5 foot 5" then!)

I know I said I didn't want a plugin car, but maybe I should just get one of these for about town.    Ah well, I don't have to think about it for a few months anyway.

[Bartimaeus]

Lungs started inexplicably hurting yesterday, and I just woke up now with a terrible raspy cough and a headache, and now my lungs feel like agony. If I didn't have the vaccine, I'd probably assume I had covid right now...but hopefully it's something else that'll pass quickly. No fever, so I'm not sure what's going on. Miiight have to go in if I start feeling any worse.

13 hours ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

I actually just started this over the weekend. I'm hoping to get free of Google aside from my Android phone and some work stuff.

Anyways it's relatively cool here at around 90f/30c, but it's storming and hurricane season is upon us so it may not be good for long. If I get hit with a hurricane after that freeze I may just leave Texas.

I've been meaning to do it for years. What a gosh danged hassle. At the very least, nothing had trouble communicating with protonmail, every re-activation message and "this is your new email address" message seems to have gotten through, so that's promising.

Hope all goes well re: weather - I remember that the last Texas freeze wasn't so great.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

Lungs started inexplicably hurting yesterday, and I just woke up now with a terrible raspy cough and a headache, and now my lungs feel like agony. If I didn't have the vaccine, I'd probably assume I had covid right now...but hopefully it's something else that'll pass quickly. No fever, so I'm not sure what's going on. Miiight have to go in if I start feeling any worse.

Hope you get better soon.

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I've been meaning to do it for years. What a gosh danged hassle. At the very least, nothing had trouble communicating with protonmail, every re-activation message and "this is your new email address" message seems to have gotten through, so that's promising.

's something I've been thinking about on and off for a while now, just not abot Google. I have a Google account, of course, but I barely use it for anything. My primary mail address that I use for anything important is from a small, local youth community non profit organisation. It's been active for ages now and started out as a bulletin board service. I joined them way back in the olden days, where I arguably was still a part of the target demographic and Google wasn't even founded yet.

There's still some discussion in the BBS part of the service. The somewhat cumbersome client software was replaced with an equally cumbersome web interface a while ago. I doubt that there are many youths left that partake.

There are no membership fees, there are no adds, the spam filter's doing a fine job. In other words... I have no idea how they fund themselves, and I doubt the brand is worth enough - if anything at all - to have some other company take over operations in case they go kaputt.

Guess I should really look into preparing an exit strategy, just in case. Hmmmm.

[Azdeus]

6 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

So did you two drag race down the town strip? 

Me: "search:  "best cars for short people"  result: main focus is on seating position and step-out heights, = a lot of cars I don't want (sedans). Although the Subaru Outback might be the best option (I can reach it to close, it has a grab handle, and it has automatic button). Maybe a small truck? No hatch then? Pffft. Darnit, I'd give 5 years of my life for another 6 inches in height (I'd be ... 5 foot 5" then!)

I know I said I didn't want a plugin car, but maybe I should just get one of these for about town.    Ah well, I don't have to think about it for a few months anyway.

Not so much the town strip as down a straight road right by work There's a red light and speed limit is 80 right after the lights, so that's what we set the limit to.

Is there a special reason why you don't want a sedan?

[Sarex]

2 hours ago, Azdeus said:

Not so much the town strip as down a straight road right by work There's a red light and speed limit is 80 right after the lights, so that's what we set the limit to.

Is there a special reason why you don't want a sedan?

I'm not LC but I personally would drive a tank in the US if I could, too many stupid people on the road and from everything I have seen driving regulations in the US are much too lax.

[LadyCrimson]

4 hours ago, Azdeus said:

Is there a special reason why you don't want a sedan?

Because in terms of our generation automobile terms, they're typically trunk cargo vehicles.  If they are not trunks, then they get called hatch or liftbacks. Occasionally you have the sporty coupe with a liftback, but then they tend to be low-slung with at least half of it being very short cargo height that often not even a full grocery bag would fit under.

eg, I like being able to put seat backs down and slide a 55" TV box into the car, having the passenger be able to access all stuff while the car is still moving (being small I will often climb over the front seat and into the back to grab stuff, hah) and not having to get out of the car, and have the potential for a medium to large pet crate.

Thus partitioned off cargo space is not acceptable, and those "pass thru" holes are not good enough at all.

Edit: if hubby ever gets a car that I could actually drive comfortably (vs. a giant full sized van or something), that could change the equation a bit, but it's not a given
Edit:  I still miss my cat. Dunno if I'll get another one, but it's not completely off the table. Maybe w/a bigger house one day.

Edited June 22, 2021 by LadyCrimson

[Gfted1]

Heh, I was just playing fetch with my kitties. For whatever reason they really love these elastic hairbands that my wife uses, so I shoot them like a rubber band and they zoom off to retrieve it. Ive even got it down to a science where they will bring it back and drop it right at my feet. Its freaking adorable.  

[BruceVC]

17 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Heh, I was just playing fetch with my kitties. For whatever reason they really love these elastic hairbands that my wife uses, so I shoot them like a rubber band and they zoom off to retrieve it. Ive even got it down to a science where they will bring it back and drop it right at my feet. Its freaking adorable.  

I love the way some cats enjoy those types of games 

[Azdeus]

6 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Because in terms of our generation automobile terms, they're typically trunk cargo vehicles.  If they are not trunks, then they get called hatch or liftbacks. Occasionally you have the sporty coupe with a liftback, but then they tend to be low-slung with at least half of it being very short cargo height that often not even a full grocery bag would fit under.

eg, I like being able to put seat backs down and slide a 55" TV box into the car, having the passenger be able to access all stuff while the car is still moving (being small I will often climb over the front seat and into the back to grab stuff, hah) and not having to get out of the car, and have the potential for a medium to large pet crate.

Thus partitioned off cargo space is not acceptable, and those "pass thru" holes are not good enough at all.

Edit: if hubby ever gets a car that I could actually drive comfortably (vs. a giant full sized van or something), that could change the equation a bit, but it's not a given
Edit:  I still miss my cat. Dunno if I'll get another one, but it's not completely off the table. Maybe w/a bigger house one day.

So a station wagon then.

I wholehearedly recommend the Volvo 145/245/745 or 940.

If you're worried about having trouble reaching the rear door, I can point you to a Volvo Duett, the doors hinge to the sides

Volvo has the solution.

Volvo is life.