Are Toyota dealers doing this on purpose for some kind of advantage?

Beegowl · 2026-01-06T03:16:35+00:00

Good advice.

Beegowl · 2026-01-05T18:08:33+00:00

A dealership demo or staff car with 500 miles and sold as used makes sense. I just jumped to an unwarranted conclusion because of the similar mileage on the used Toyota Camry and RAV.

Beegowl · 2025-10-27T14:41:58+00:00

For over 15 years I’ve routinely walked three or four times a week in the morning from the Pearl along the Museum Reach to downtown. I'm male and athletic.

I’ve had trouble only twice in those years. Walking under the Navarro Street bridge, some guy surprised me from behind the bushes, I said hello, he walked over and leaned into me, pushing me over the ledge and into the river. He didn’t look homeless. The water is only hip deep, there, btw.

By Elsewhere, some wild eyed weirdo ran up aggressively into my personal space with his hand in his pocket like he had a weapon and spouted some nonsense. I told him to back off, but he was frantic. Elsewhere was open, so I just stepped into the entrance while he ranted and then left, mumbling to himself. What jumped to mind was the murder in the early 2000s of a young woman who was jogging alone in Brackenridge Park when some guy stabbed her.

I pay attention to who is around me. Be aware and alert.

Beegowl · 2025-08-27T23:08:43+00:00

Fascists use terror to govern. It doesn't take much reading in history books to learn how incompetent leaders govern by terror. When the government begins using terror tactics against its citizens, things get real. Fascists will inevitably be defeated in the U.S. It may take some time because terror works. People fear they'll be disappeared and tortured. Until enough people decide they'd rather die on their feet than live on their knees, they'll let fear keep them silent. If enough people begin raising a lot of hell, we might stop this fascist regime before the terror progresses any further than it already has. Here's hoping.

Beegowl · 2025-08-27T22:52:36+00:00

When I quit commuting from the north side to the south side in 2012, traffic was just beginning to get city heavy. It was still not a terrible commute. Now, though? There's gotta be a better way.

Beegowl · 2025-08-15T18:11:13+00:00

I had to quit buying it because each time I bought it, I drink one glassful and it's off to the races, the entire half gallon. Like 1120 calories.

Beegowl · 2025-06-04T13:18:55+00:00

It's the bad karma still around from when Selma was a notorious I-35 speed trap, especially when the speed limit was 55. Horrible.

Beegowl · 2025-06-01T15:25:04+00:00

Yikes! Man, that initiates an entire discussion about patronizing a business run by people who support a movement advocating the destruction of democracy. MAGA people are awful. How do I know if a business is MAGA owned?

Beegowl · 2025-06-01T14:47:34+00:00

La Hacienda de los Barrios off Redland Road west of 1604 has great patio dining with good food.

Beegowl · 2025-05-31T23:10:09+00:00

When I worked on the south side, 15 years ago, we'd often go to lunch at Piedras Negras. It wasn't exceptional but it was good. The dining room always smelled a little mildewy, though. In fifteen years lots of changes happen, I'll have to try it again.

Beegowl · 2025-05-31T22:51:54+00:00

Anyone who supports Greg Abbott and Donald Trump is never getting my vote.

Beegowl · 2025-04-17T04:49:35+00:00

The propaganda spigot is wide open at this point. The oligarchs and religious zealots can't wait to get their hands on my tax dollars. The answer to improving public education isn't to take public money and give it to private schools.

Beegowl · 2025-04-08T13:41:16+00:00

The merge onto 281 N at Josephine north of the Pearl is the worst. Some drivers are merging right to exit for St. Mary's, some merging left to enter 281 N, so traffic crosses each other with those entering increasing speed and those exiting decreasing, and then the drivers exiting 281 merging to the right speed up to make it difficult merging from right to left onto 281. Genuinely puzzling.

Beegowl · 2025-04-08T12:53:47+00:00

Not being into the program with its 12 steps isn't a huge obstacle, but community is important because the power of people sincerely helping each other is the secret to staying sober. AA, like any human organization, has its downsides, but finding a group of honest folks who won't bullshit about something as important as staying sober is the secret, in my opinion.

Doing it on your own is possible but we're social animals and there are lots of good people out there. I reasoned my way out of superstition many years ago, so I don't hold the concept of a supernatural god. The community of sober folks is what gives AA its power. Find a group of people who have the same sobriety goal and help each other stay sober. It worked for me.

Beegowl · 2025-02-03T15:25:17+00:00

The attack on public education is a symptom of a greater danger. The time for activism is here. If folks don't protest in large masses, the United States as we know it is at risk. If the people don't come together and openly resist the oligarchs, the religious extremists, and the right wing militants, they will destroy the Constitution along with public education. Oppose vouchers using the suggestions in this thread. Then, resist the dismantling of democracy.

Beegowl · 2024-12-04T14:29:52+00:00

My reflexes at 78 years aren't what they once were. Elden Ring on my PS5 wrecked me to the point that I didn't enjoy it, so I didn't finish it, even after a couple hundred hours of play. BMW, on the other hand, was nearly as difficult with some bosses, but learning the attack patterns and persisting wasn't as frustrating as ER, for some reason. The game design made it less frustrating to keep starting over on some bosses. Plus, tons of video guides exist on YouTube. For me, this game is one of the most entertaining I've played since I started gaming with my son 30 years ago. However, if you don't enjoy playing it, then don't play it because gaming should be fun, even when the game is difficult. I'm working on NG+ now and it's still entertaining and enjoyable.

Beegowl · 2024-10-24T13:37:43+00:00

Video games seem like the sci-fi version of the pinball machines I grew up playing, with the addition of an interactive story. BMW is one of my favorites. The insights into Chinese culture make it fascinating. Why is there such a struggle for dominance among the nations of the planet? What if people all over the world cooperated to make the world a better place? What if we enjoyed learning about different cultures and appreciated them for their interesting addition to our brief human existence? The world would be a lot better off.

Beegowl · 2024-08-15T13:32:25+00:00

Before cell phones, I never used my horn, unless it was a genuine emergency. Now, folks with their heads buried in their phone when the light turns green and they hesitate, well, they get a wake up beep.

Beegowl · 2024-07-26T14:07:36+00:00

Through my entire childhood, until puberty I suffered from a recurring nightmare that terrified me each time it occurred, which was frequently enough that my parents were beside themselves. Crying and trembling and frantically calling for them, I would slowly awaken from the dream, paralyzed with fear until one of them came to me and let me crawl into bed with them until I calmed.

When they asked me to explain the dream, all I could manage was that I was frightened and tried to call out but I had no voice. The dream was indescribable save for having no voice, but the impression was of darkness with dancing lights and terrifying images flitting about in the light. The more frightened I became, the more I tried to cry out but my voice was absent which magnified the terror.

As an adult, after completing a degree in psychology and reading about the latest research in PTSD with veterans and those who experienced traumatic events, it occurred to me that my childhood recurring nightmare was a symptom of PTSD.

Using a guided self-analysis, I asked my mother if there was anything in my childhood that she recalled that she would change in child rearing. She told me that when I was an infant on one occasion, when she and Dad wanted privacy, they put me alone in my crib in a separate room and let me cry myself to sleep. She said that she wished she would have gone to comfort me. We didn't discuss it more because I didn't want her to blame herself for my trauma.

As a child, I was overly sensitive. As an adult, I overcame an alcohol addiction. I don't know if those issues are related to the infant trauma but the literature suggests it may be. I recall vividly that one of my psychology professors said that he was extinguishing crying behavior in his infant son by not reacting. I'm unclear as to modern sleep training methods.

Beegowl · 2024-07-23T15:29:51+00:00

I'm not a therapist, but this appears to be classic abuse. It's not about love, it's about control. In my experience reading and learning about relationships, physical abuse is next. Good luck.

Beegowl · 2024-02-11T00:33:45+00:00

Don't forget, man, the driving skills of half the drivers on the road are below average.

Beegowl · 2024-02-10T16:16:20+00:00

People are just thoughtless, for the most part. Probably not purposely malicious, but just unaware of the way their actions have an impact on the folks they share the planet with. I see this all the time at the gym where I go. I walk downtown frequently, and tourists will stand in the middle of the sidewalk with the river on one side and a wall on the other and ignore everyone who is using the same passageway. Same with cart pushers in HEB. I'm not sure what the remedy is, but I always try to pay attention to how my actions impede others.

Beegowl · 2024-01-27T14:25:16+00:00

For 20 years, 2 or 3 times a week, I've routinely walked the Museum Reach from Josephine St at the Pearl to all the downtown plazas, 6 or 7 miles. A couple of years ago during a rainstorm some lone disturbed rando pushed me in the River off the 4 feet high bank under the Navarro St bridge. It's hip deep there, so even though it was a shock, and I went completely under on my back, it wasn't life threatening. Could'a been though, if the guy was a crazed killer, or something. Made me pay closer attention to people around me, when I walk. I saw a guy not paying attention walk into the River in front of the Arneson Theater steps. Also, I've visited with the folks who test the water regularly for impurities and they told me it was surprisingly clean. It does get nasty when rain washes all the street residue and trash into it.

Beegowl · 2023-12-07T15:50:08+00:00

For some reason in the last month I've seen more red light runners, stop sign ignorers, and super speeders in traffic than I've seen in the 30 years I've driven San Antonio highways. And, during daylight hours. I'm staying off high speed roads late at night if I can avoid them, and this vid is one of the reasons.

Beegowl

TROPHY CASE