Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

plantar fasciitis: It hurts and apparently takes an eternity to get better.

GameboyRMH wrote: Plasti-dip or paint over the soldered area for safe containment. It's not plutonium or anything.

I've been trying to think about how to explain this to someone who is unmarried, and I can't.

Will you marry me?

T.J. wrote: I cut my right index finger pretty good a few days ago. May have been the most bleeding I have ever done. I had to stop what I was doing and duct tape a paper towel to my finger and then hose off the area to wash off all the blood that dripped. It very well may have needed stitches, but after 3 days of trying to keep the finger mostly straight (cut is close to a joint, so bending caused it to gape open and bleed.) it pretty much closed up on its own. Yesterday I went to see my doc about it because it still hurt and it was a bit Bob Costas. Mrs TJ was worried about infection. Good news it that they told me to keep up with the neosporin and band aids that I have been doing. Bad news is that I have to get a tetanus shot. Oh, well, that is not much of a rant.

Try super glue next time.

Spent a good two weeks tracking down a major error in someones code that controls a larger robotic arm.

Yeah don't mix seconds and milliseconds in your code-bank. Especially if you don't document it.

tuna55 wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: Plasti-dip or paint over the soldered area for safe containment. It's not plutonium or anything.

I've been trying to think about how to explain this to someone who is unmarried, and I can't. Will you marry me?

Well you do have the right knowledge to avoid these kinds of frustrating problems, which is something I'd look for in a life partner, but you don't have the type of equipment I'm looking for, and not enough hair on top, so it can't work, sorry

GameboyRMH wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote: Plasti-dip or paint over the soldered area for safe containment. It's not plutonium or anything.

I've been trying to think about how to explain this to someone who is unmarried, and I can't. Will you marry me?

Well you do have the right knowledge to avoid these kinds of frustrating problems, which is something I'd look for in a life partner, but you don't have the type of equipment I'm looking for, and not enough hair on top, so it can't work, sorry

It's the car, isn't it?

So the solder broke anyway. Here is the new rant. I can buy the frame only from Zenni, and I would expect shipping to be quicker, so I made the mistake of asking (phone after trying the chat window)

I am paraphrasing the structure for glasses

$4.99 14-21 days
$8.99 10-14 days
$14.99 7-10 days

Now my kid is nearly blind in one eye, so I want them fast. I write and ask if they are quicker since I am not buying lenses:

"Yes, they are 7-10 days with standard shipping"

"Cool, how long if I pay for priority or express shipping?"

"We can't tell you"

"no, really, that seems kind of important"

"We don't think it will be any faster"

So that seems like a miss on their part.

mtn wrote:

T.J. wrote: I cut my right index finger pretty good a few days ago. May have been the most bleeding I have ever done. I had to stop what I was doing and duct tape a paper towel to my finger and then hose off the area to wash off all the blood that dripped. It very well may have needed stitches, but after 3 days of trying to keep the finger mostly straight (cut is close to a joint, so bending caused it to gape open and bleed.) it pretty much closed up on its own. Yesterday I went to see my doc about it because it still hurt and it was a bit Bob Costas. Mrs TJ was worried about infection. Good news it that they told me to keep up with the neosporin and band aids that I have been doing. Bad news is that I have to get a tetanus shot. Oh, well, that is not much of a rant.

Try super glue next time.

Works great but does sting a bit.

Toyman01 wrote: This is another useless function that makes cars more complicated than they need to be. My 05 Colorado has it. I don't know that I have ever conscientiously used it. I hold the key until it starts, just like I do with every other vehicle in my fleet. It's not complicated to do and costs me near zero effort. Just another function that leaves me wondering why.

Engine computer already controls the starter anyway for antitheft and a dozen other reasons. So letting the computer control the starter until the engine is started is a no-brainer. It's just a handful of lines of code, the hardware is already in place for other reasons.

Streetwiseguy wrote: As a mechanic, it is irksome. Sometimes I want to just bump the starter.

Buy a set of these, stick the appropriate one in the starter relay socket, bump the starter by flipping the switch. Also good for a bunch of other uses.

Actually, no, don't buy those. There's a set that came out right after I bought these, that has a loop of wire sticking out, so you can amp-clamp the circuit and watch the pattern on your scope. Buy those.

Streetwiseguy wrote: As a mechanic, it is irksome. Sometimes I want to just bump the starter.

I was ambivalent about ECU-controlled starting until you mentioned this...now I'm against it.

GameboyRMH wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: As a mechanic, it is irksome. Sometimes I want to just bump the starter.

I was ambivalent about ECU-controlled starting until you mentioned this...now I'm against it.

It does make it hard to bump the starter, but wow it is handy. Especially in a diesel where you have to wait for the glow plugs. I get in, turn the key to start, let go of it, and then go about getting my phone plugged in and in its holder and start putting on my seat belt. By the time I'm all situated, the car has started itself and we're ready to go. I'd jump for joy in gratitude for them enabling my laziness, but it sounds like too much work.

My rant: Stupid freaking weather. My plan was to leave right after lunch to take the kiddos camping but there's this stupid storm system that they say is going to be "severe". I can't tell how much of that is the stupid news people trying to get eyeballs and how much is actual danger. The NWS has declared severe thunderstorm warnings for some counties, but those are all pretty far east from where I'm going. So now it's a bunch of hurry up and wait to see where this storm is going to track.

Day just keeps getting better. Shoulder came out again about ten minutes ago. Vicodin is going to be my new friend when I get home.

GameboyRMH wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: As a mechanic, it is irksome. Sometimes I want to just bump the starter.

I was ambivalent about ECU-controlled starting until you mentioned this...now I'm against it.

Yeah, because the ECU stops you from applying 12V directly to the starter/starter wiring through a hand-held push button, which is how it is supposed to be done when adjusting valves/pushrods (which isn't needed on newer vehicles anyway).

Yet again, the GRM Luddites can't see the forest for the trees and are sitting around with their arms crossed, man-pouting instead of just getting on with it.

In reply to Stefan:

I guess they'd rather have high current pass through the ignition switch, so the ignition switch becomes a wear item?

The major, MAJOR benefit to computer-controlled everything is that the switches last more or less forever now, in-cabin wiring is lightweight because you only need 26-22 gauge wire to send signals (and they'd go lighter still, probably) and the heavy gauge wiring runs are short. PCM controlled starter just has the wiring coming out of the main fusebox (where the fuse and relay are) straight down to the starter. Battery/alternator connect directly to underhood fusebox. No high current passing through to cabin, to heavy switch, back out again to starter.

IIRC when Lexus started networking everything, they added some computers but still shaved over 100lb from the LS, just from fewer/thinner wiring going everywhere. Take a look at the footwell junction block of a Porsche 928 and its three-dimensional (!) wiring diagrams, for an idea of how hellish pre-networked stuff was.

Most cars have starter relays so the ignition isn't a wear item. If you have an old-school ignition, your car has a built-in starter bumper, no special tools needed.

If you are going to cancel a doctor appointment maybe be a good egg and tell the patient so that we don't take a day off and trudge down to the office so you can giggle and say it looks like it was cancelled Wednesday but you forgot to call. In the hospital it sounded like the follow up appointment was fairly important so we should be glad you will be able to squeeze us in on the twenty berkeleying first! Thankfully it was just a heart attack and nothing serious. I'll just peruse this handy "you and your stent" pamphlet I found in the waiting room and Google the big words myself. Once someone makes a decent EKG app and I can get a stent kit on Amazon I can avoid you idiots altogether. The only thing that kept me from throwing a desk and the giggling idiot behind it through a window is that I'm trying to behave for my wife.

Good grief. I say if you stopped short of murdering them you did well Wally. Hope your wife is doing better.

In fallout 4, when you take psycho, you shout "berkeleying KILL!"

I was there without the drugs just reading about it, wall-e.

In reply to Wall-e:

Did you charge them a fee for missing the appointment? Seems only fair.

In reply to EastCoastMojo:

She's feeling well but I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Due to the nerve damage from the stroke she didn't feel any indication that something was wrong with her heart. She went because of a severe infection and when she was there the ER doc didn't like how she looked, hooked her to an EKG and saw she was in the middle of a heart attack.

In reply to Appleseed:

I didn't think of asking for a cancelled appointment fee. I was busy trying not to get thrown out in case we needed to go back. Turns out we don't. These guys were in the ER and installed the stent, but the hospital is forwarding everything to a cardiologist in the practice her other docs are in and we will see him Monday morning.

Went to Ruth's Chris for 10th anniversary. Steak was great, everything else was Cracker Barrel-ish. And I hate wait-by-commitee, the waitress at the Waffle House works harder than all those people combined. One lady came to the table 10 seconds after the food came -

her: "Was your porterhouse cooked to your liking?".

me: "I don't know yet."

her: "Oh, well I'll remember to come check later."

Never saw her again.

Also, I shouldn't have to ask for more bread three berkeleying times.

I shouldn't go home hungry after dropping 2 bills for the pair of us.

In reply to Wall-e:

I think you are in the wrong thread. This is the MINOR rant thread. That sounds major rant worthy to me.

I'll take 'things that didn't need to be berkeleyed with' for $500, Alex.

There's a nest of Swallows in my garage that have been living in a box on top of the fridge for weeks? Months? Don't really know, but it's been a while. SWMBO was apparently unaware of this, despite seeing the mother fly in and out of the garage numerous times, until she came home tonight and decided to investigate the chirping. I told her what it was and where the nest was and NOT TO berkeley WITH IT.

What did she do? She berkeleyed with them, just had to have a look for herself. Immediately all the babies, which are seemingly sort of but not quite able to fly, fled the nest and are now scattered around the garage. She made several failed attempts to place them back in the nest, only to have them fly right back out. I am not sure they are capable of flying back up there themselves.

Now the Swallows are making a hell of a racket and I'm in a moral quandary as to whether I should make another rescue attempt or continue about what was previously a productive night working on the car. This is why I told you to leave well enough alone, damnit!

One of my co-workers is a very "needy" person. He always needs somebody around to talk to when working or he falls into a sulk and gets nothing done. He also will not let somebody else work in peace and quiet. If he can tag along, whether or not you want him to, he will. Sadly he is very good at slowing down all progress to a crawl.

Today he came to work sick with some sort of intestinal bug that has him either sweating like a pig or freezing cold. He's hungry, but gets hit with stomach pains when he eats, and claims to have slept 10 hours last night, but can barely keep his eyes open. I had to yell at him today.

I already have intestinal distress due to my Crohn's disease. I do NOT need some sort of intestinal bug on top of it. My gentle proddings to stay in the control room and just rest met with no acknowledgement, so I had to literally yell at him to stay away from me.

It's not that I do not like people, I just do not play well with others.

I berkeleyed up my left knee today. Moving E36 M3 onto the trailer to give away. Its throbbing, im limping, and now cant drive anything with a clutch. I tried. The miata. Lightest clutch i have access to. Hurt so bad i almost cried.

And one week from today we are supposed to be racing the challenge car with what may be the stiffest hydraulic clutch of all time. Not happy.