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

RevRico wrote: I stocked up on cigarettes in July because there was mention of a tax increase, again. I had to buy a carton this morning. $80.26. Holy E36 M3. It might be time to think about quitting, $320/ month would be a Hell of a car payment when my credit gets a little better. I don't want to quit though, because I actually enjoy it. But do I enjoy it as much as I would an STI? Or anything else in the $300/ month category for that matter? I rally haven't shopped "new" cars in a long time, so I'm not sure what all is in that segment these days.

In another thread you talk about making $400/mo. Smoking is bad enough for you as a health behavior, let alone if it's absorbing the vast majority of your income. Would it have to start stabbing you for you to realize you should quit?

EvanR wrote:

dropstep wrote: How hard is it too give two weeks notice. Were already short a part time guy because he went back too school and now the only other full time guy is starting a new job tuesday. Im berkeleyed.

I spent my summer in the Midwest. It seems to be a seller's market for labor. All the people (myself included) that left the area in the downturn makes for an interesting labor market now that the Midwest has somewhat of a rebound. My friend can not even get applicants for essentially unskilled labor jobs that pay $17/hr. Forget finding decent workers - nobody at all is applying. I feel badly for anyone who is hiring right now.

We mostly get applicants that are required too apply to keep unemployment or welfare benefits. Can basically train a monkey too change oil atleast. Doesnt help factorys are so shorthanded there offering alot of money for unskilled labor.

Getting someone whos willing too play with 200-300 degree stuff all day is near impossible. Let alone finding someone who can work the flush machines for the crap starting pay.

People who say 'ATM Machine' or 'PIN Number'
Stahp.

Unrelated, I was accused of being racist and sexist and yelling at a member last week.
Yes ma'am, I singled you out not because you shoved your way behind my register, but because you're an Asian woman, that's totally something I would do.
Management took the time to call her back and apologize, very glad they didn't try to get me to do so... because I wouldn't have.

In reply to dculberson:

I know that I should. I've given it a try in the past too. It wasn't fun for me or those around me. At this point though, seeing it's a car payment, might make it happen. I just legitimately enjoy it, but don't enjoy PA charging ridiculous taxes on it. And everything else for that matter, like our gas taxes putting us 30 cents/gallon over the national average.

And yes, I'm aware that it's essentially an extra tax on the poor, and fairly stupid to pay for cancer at that. My problem now though, is that I can afford it, although the money would be better spent going elsewhere. Which may lead to me getting locked away somewhere for a week away from other people while I get through the withdrawals, because it's not a pretty sight.

I've used the patch, the gum, lozenges, e cigs, all that crap. None of it does any good, particularly the e-cigs everyone swears by as of late, the taste just leaves me wanting a smoke when it's done.

I had almost quit entirely when I lived in Cali, in part because I was broke and homeless for a while, but for me it's the one after a meal and the ones in the bathroom that are the hardest to give up. That at least got me down to 3 a day instead of a pack and a half like I normally smoked.

I did cut my drinking down to a 6 pack a week from 2 cases though, so I'll call that a good step in the right direction.

Yay!! Teammate just took credit for all of the work I've done over the last two years of keeping team afloat.

I'll need to avoid him for a couple days . . . or weeks.

Why does everybody slow down in the rain and go 50 mph on the turnpike like they have never driven in the rain before?

In reply to RevRico:

If it's any help at all I thoroughly enjoyed smoking too and did not really want to quit but my health and finances dictated otherwise. I used a vape with great success. No, it's not the same but it can alleviate the nicotine cravings enough to make me not unbearable to be around most of the time. Good luck!

I have a few bucks lounging around in PayPal from various transactions so I figured it would be a good time to splurge and get those shiny new poly bushings that the Miata so desperately craves. Amazon has by FAR the best price on them.....and doesn't accept PayPal!! What the E36 M3 is that about? I checked some other suppliers but their prices are $50-$100 more for the exact same things. Grumble.

In reply to KyAllroad:

Any chance there's a way to buy an Amazon gift card somewhere with your Paypal monies?

Send paypal money to the bank. Buy off amazon with credit card. Use paypal money to pay off credit card when it gets there.

Done.

Check engine light came on again on my '14 Grand Cherokee. I have two LCD screens and ones a touch screen. I can see how many degrees my front wheels are turned, the tire pressure at each wheel, instantaneous fuel economy, a whole host of critical temperatures and pressures. But the damn thing can't tell me a simple Pxxxxx diagnostic code.

In reply to RossD:

That is a blessing, IMO. Fault codes are not diagnoses, they are a vector. (Cue funny story about angry guy looking to buy a new cylinder #1 because that is what the thingy said his car needed and nobody was taking him seriously) Just last week, I had a car with bad ignition wires setting a MAP correlation error. For whatever reason, it wasn't recognizing the misfire, my guess is someone cleared the computer by disconnecting the battery, which also clears crankwheel learning, and the computer learned the misfire as normal operation. But the MAP/VE tables weren't jibing with MAF readings so clearly it was a MAP fault. A diagnosis-by-code guy would have thrown a MAP sensor at it and wondered why it kept setting the code. Assuming that they got a good sensor to begin with, there's a lot of cheap junk out there!

Today's rant: Honda Insight. Lovely little car, needs fuel and brake lines. 4 of the 5 in the line rack are available, and not shockingly expensive, so we order them. Fuel lines came in the other day, brake lines came in today, car goes on lift, fuel tank comes out, line rack carefully removed. I like to install new line racks one at a time, outside-in, and then put the mountings in place. Install one brake line, install other brake line, carefully duplicate unavailable line while original rack is on the ground, go to install the first fuel line...

Uh.

Honda, or whoever makes the lines for Honda, made a perfect mirror-image fuel line. I set it up next to the old line rack. Exact mirror copy, every bend and angle is inverted. Just great if I were working on a Thgisni. Offer to duplicate old line, consult car owner, would greatly prefer OEM if at all possible. New line ordered, won't see it until the middle of next week, now have another dead car waiting for parts in the way-too-crowded parking lot...

And let's hope that we don't get an exact copy of the first line we got, IE another mirror-image.

dropstep wrote: Can basically train a monkey too change oil

You might have something here - I might go to an oil change place that had monkeys changing my oil. Sounds entertaining.

92dxman wrote: Why does everybody slow down in the rain and go 50 mph on the turnpike like they have never driven in the rain before?

I wish they would slow down around here.. rain seems like an invitation to go faster.. with the resulting wrecks involving cars off in the marshes to slow everyone to a crawl

The RaceCapture kickstarter is now a full six months behind schedule.
Should have gone with the known quantity and bought SoloStorm.
berkeley.

I'm pretty sure at least one wheel on this train is square. It makes doing a crossword puzzle very difficult.

I got an uncomfortable feeling in the back of my throat. A cold is on its way. This is not a good time to be sick. Well, there never is a good time. But this is really not a good time.

In reply to mtn

You're berkeleyed. That's how what I have started. Actually called in to work today. I need every dollar. This hurts in so many ways.

Buy gallons of Vapo-rub.

Knurled wrote: In reply to RossD: That is a blessing, IMO. Fault codes are not diagnoses, they are a vector.

Quoted for being the bloody truth. I need this on a T-Shirt.

neighbor has a car that has been throwing P2107 code will not clear, reader says its a throttle position sensor. It never is that its the freaking coils. I tell him pull the coils and check them with a voltmeter. Nope goes out and pays 600$ for the part that the reader tells him it is. Does not work, guess what they don;t take that part as a return. So now he is angry. Tell him coils.

Takes it dealership, 10 minutes with a real tech and coil 8 is intermittent. 53$ in aprts and its fixed.

Just remember folks, "exposure" doesn't pay the bills. If I'm going to work for free, it will be on my own projects.

wearymicrobe wrote:

Knurled wrote: In reply to RossD: That is a blessing, IMO. Fault codes are not diagnoses, they are a vector.

Quoted for being the bloody truth. I need this on a T-Shirt. neighbor has a car that has been throwing P2107 code will not clear, reader says its a throttle position sensor. It never is that its the freaking coils. I tell him pull the coils and check them with a voltmeter. Nope goes out and pays 600$ for the part that the reader tells him it is. Does not work, guess what they don;t take that part as a return. So now he is angry. Tell him coils. Takes it dealership, 10 minutes with a real tech and coil 8 is intermittent. 53$ in aprts and its fixed.

My trucks throwing a generic MAF circut fault code, the guy at the parts store swears i just need too throw a new sensor on it. Theres so many people who just assume a code has the cure. Glad im not one of them. Makes the parts store money.

mad_machine wrote:

92dxman wrote: Why does everybody slow down in the rain and go 50 mph on the turnpike like they have never driven in the rain before?

I wish they would slow down around here.. rain seems like an invitation to go faster.. with the resulting wrecks involving cars off in the marshes to slow everyone to a crawl

It depends how hard it is raining. If it's not much things aren't bad with other drivers, but if it decides to pour then I'm in the slow lane taking it easy because my new tires for the miata aren't here yet. Meanwhile all the large trucks are blasting by doing 70+ in the dumping rain.

You'd think when it's raining so hard that you can barely see the tail lights of the guy 50 feet in front of you, you might slow down?

In reply to wearymicrobe: Holy E36 M3!! What berkeleying car requires a $600 TPS???? The last one I bought was $12.

Right ear is clogged up with ear wax worse than it ever has been before. Finally gave in and picked up some drops that are supposed to help, one thing the box they are in mentions is they may make it temporarily worse. They did. Hopefully it starts working, because this has caused my tinnitus to be way worse than usual and its during me crazy.

I got all of the "crappy" short and soggy fries with my lunch today...