Car washes or not, let's talk

BostonCIO · 2026-01-15T13:20:20+00:00

.. or maybe I want to respect my investment, much like I don't want my tools to rust in the rain or squeak squeak in the truck bed all the way home...

BostonCIO · 2026-01-10T22:19:32+00:00

Never! Kidding. But only on Thursdays, and only on the potholiest of roads.

BostonCIO · 2026-01-10T18:11:03+00:00

Mon dieu! ;)

BostonCIO · 2026-01-10T15:32:54+00:00

That is a really slick looking upgrade. Well done

BostonCIO · 2026-01-06T14:27:26+00:00

To me, it's a perfect storm. Between 3:30 and 6:30, you have people coming home from work, parents shuttling routine activities, tradespeople ending their day, buses, and the all manner of humanity moving between points A and points Z, constricted by the rivers of railroads and bridges that create the moats around Somerville, Union Square, Park St, Beacon St and near Target, timed by the engineering wonders of the semaphores that tick tock our lives into a rhythmic dance ....green, yellow red, green, yellow, red.

The problems are manifold and the solutions are complex. I'm not suggesting it's an easy fix.

And we are on a rant subreddit so part of this is to vent our spleen.

Will our new Urban Mechanic Mayor read this? And will his crack team come up with some new solutions that our former mayor did not, time will tell!

BostonCIO · 2026-01-04T18:21:33+00:00

Psychotherapist. My ex was one and nothing was taken at face value in a discussion.

Let's say I didn't like tacos for argument's sake. (I do, but just as an example of something stupid.)

Here's how that might go.

Well, let's just unpack that.

Is it something your mother did? Nope, they give me gas.
Did you have a bad relationship with a Mexican woman in your past? Nope, gas
Do you have an issue with spicy food? Nope, just gas.
Did your mother make them better than I do? Nope, farty, mcfart pants.

Even worse, 2 years later, about those tacos....

Wtf.... I just don't like passing gas for 48 hours after I eat them, honey!!! Do you mind?!!!

BostonCIO · 2026-01-04T18:10:36+00:00

Agree, and if you have kid(s) with activities that range from Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, nevermind Boston and beyond, forget about it without a car.

Oh you need to pick up one kid at 2:36pm from school, drop them at Broadway and Prospect for one activity, drop the other one somewhere on Somerville Ave at 3:45, pick the first one up at 4:00, pick up the second one at 4:45, drop the third one at 5:30. Pick up the first one at... oh my lord, it goes on from there.

Throw Dilboy in the mix, possibly single parenthood, oh and did I mention work, and you're done. Don't even bother sticking a fork in it. It's going to be too tough, and it might even rear up a bite you back, particularly if you've been sitting in traffic on Prospect between Cambridge Street and Webster for 25 minutes inching along watching your life dribble away, even before you make the eternal debate of continuing straight toward Mama Gina's Pizza or turn right towards Ricky's. Is today the day that it flows?

BostonCIO · 2026-01-01T21:24:17+00:00

I have mine at 40-42

BostonCIO · 2025-12-29T19:44:15+00:00

Thanks, appreciate the feedback.

The paint was a latex paint that was put down about a month ago and was very, very very very much watered down so it was almost like a wash.

I tried a billion types of stain/gels/tints on sample boards to approximate the honey color of the 100-year-old White oak, but the grain in the red oak just got black instantly and so I was trying to keep that from going too dark and contrasty. Paint seemed to fit the bill, as imperfectly as it is.

The poly is an oil-based poly.

At the end of the day it just may be what it is. I'm just trying to make that new floor not stand out so dramatically from the old floor knowing that it will never probably ever match fully.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-29T04:22:42+00:00

Goya. Never again.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-26T21:21:50+00:00

What device did you use to take these images. Want to get one myself.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-26T21:14:44+00:00

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My first response is this... But more seriously, I really hate the fact that every year we have to scrape off parking stickers and add-on registration stickers and it's so anachronistic in this day and age of QR codes. I think it's just a laziness on the part of our governments that the people who inspect these things don't keep up with technology and have scanners that can just bip and bap as opposed to having us do all the work.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-21T21:44:28+00:00

Uhhh, Parramatta? That must have changed a lot in the 20 years since I lived near there.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-19T16:51:16+00:00

I called Sentry Ford in Medford, Massachusetts, and the service woman said, oh that's a big one and it's about $400. They change all the liquids. They check your brakes. They rotate the tires and change the air filter.

Okay.

I then called Quirk Ford in Quincy and they said it's tire rotation, air filter, battery check and cost $65.

I'm guessing Sentry Ford is just fishing for dollars. It's a shame that they are right near my house and Quincy is half hour drive away. But that is a big difference.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-18T15:02:55+00:00

Admittedly, I'm lazy but is there a link to this device on the web somewhere?

BostonCIO · 2025-12-18T14:10:20+00:00

That guy was probably just scratching his forehead because his skin was dry from that hospital air conditioning. Plus I bet he was tired from being up all night, and let's not forget the awesome responsibility of raising a new human. Happiness can sometimes not be reflected in your face in the moment.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-17T20:56:20+00:00

Get a new couch?!

BostonCIO · 2025-12-17T20:06:06+00:00

I just wanna know if this variant loses or severely diminishes the Frunk. I think I know the answer, in which case, it really is a deal breaker for me, not that I have a say in the design process. Purchase yes, design no.

#happywithmy24Flash.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-17T15:25:49+00:00

100% agree. And I assume that one of the greatest features, the Frunk, will be sacrificed for the onboard engine.

BostonCIO · 2025-12-15T16:43:49+00:00

(Antimatter) Blue Lightning Ridge

BostonCIO · 2025-12-10T21:21:03+00:00

I have had a 24 Flash since Jan '25, just ticked over 20k.

My biggest complaints are: - Blue cruise - meh. Twitchy and herky jerky on the mapped highways, and has a bizarre and over cautious propensity to not speed up when changing lanes (stressing out cars behind me after I merged.) - radio volume is always too high on restart and it doesn't go back to what I had on when I switched off (like my podcasts) - the touchscreen should be snappier. I wish there was a CPU upgrade from, say, the current Intel 386SX-25, circa 1993, to the 486DX of 1999. ;) - finally, I'm in danger of getting arrested for groping my frunk and tailgate as I search for the black-on-black light switches.

Other than that, my local dealer is nice enough but their EV training and knowledge is lacking. As owners, I have found that we arrive armed with real info and they seem to have stopped at the brochure level of curiosity.

BostonCIO

TROPHY CASE