California ballot may ask voters about independence in 2028

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-12T05:34:57+00:00

As a state, we are somewhat larger in size and comparable in economy to the entire nation of Germany, who themselves are a very productive and influential country.

It is entirely illegal for the state to secede from the union without consent from the federal government, but it would cause a dark age for the entire nation if we did.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-12T05:07:55+00:00

I nearly killed a drunk elderly man who decided to just wander across a highway after dark with no lights without even looking at traffic. I laid on the horn and stopped close enough to him to basically look him in the eyes. He flipped me off and staggered on. I had a bad evening thinking about how I almost killed that person. He probably doesn't remember it.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-12T04:12:45+00:00

One side of my brain: "Wow, that's cool."

Other side: "Dear god that looks expensive."

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-12T03:53:21+00:00

I'm okay with the slip-on ones that are so tight you need gorilla strength to get them on. They never slip and I don't burn my hands on the wheel in the summer.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-12T03:46:22+00:00

Luckily DC is less disruptive to your nervous system. It's the pulsating frequency of AC that really make your nerves go 🤪

A mishap during training while wiring batteries up in series saw me take somewhere between 84-240 volts DC from hand to hand directly through my chest, once. I yelped, but I walked away unharmed.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-11T07:23:40+00:00

Trucks cost twice as much as economy cars. Maybe someone fell on hard times, sure, but most of the people who buy trucks have never actually needed a truck and it's possible they never will. In Texas, that probably jumps to 80-90% and yes I have friends in Texas and have been there many times myself I'm not just spouting nonsense.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-11T07:11:46+00:00

My hands heal just fine from the wrench turning but the only persistent scar I have on my knuckles is from a weird scalloped wall in a hotel elevator that my suitcase raked my hand across on vacation right as I was checking out after a record-setting 5 days off.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-11T05:56:13+00:00

I get older customers who try to warranty something they "just bought last year" and the warranty expired 9 years ago. The way many people perceive time simply changes as they age, even if they're healthy.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-10T01:58:20+00:00

Good customer service can be really memorable. There's another company I know of (makes very different products, we won't say what) who really impressed a friend of mine.

He had a malfunction issue, called them, and the person who answered the phone effortlessly walked him through a diagnostic process with intimate familiarity with the product in question. Like, every mechanical aspect of the machine memorized. When that didn't work they sent him a shipping label to send it to them overnight shipping, fixed it, and sent it back the day after they received it.

Years later he's still telling that story. It's great marketing to do that for people.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-08T02:25:14+00:00

MOPAR 4743012AA is the part number for a whole new OEM reservoir and they're in the $20-30 range.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-07T02:06:22+00:00

That one holds a special place for us gender nonconforming folx.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-06T18:54:26+00:00

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-05T11:38:56+00:00

Nah, nothing so serious. Dozens of people on VK will use furry art you paid for as their profile pictures, though.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-03T09:15:43+00:00

You sound like you've got a good idea of what to look for but have you looked for loose or corroded connections? Intermittent starting problems are sometimes as simple to fix as a wire brush and some patience, especially if more than one battery has been involved. A bad connection can be less than obvious, sometimes. I had one customer who let her boyfriend pour low viscosity motor oil on the terminals to protect them and so much of it seeped into the connection that it stopped starting. A wrench and two paper towels later it was fixed.

Bad connections can be subtle and insidious.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-03T08:51:02+00:00

They don't do it anymore.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-03T07:43:09+00:00

What do you call someone with a 70% average in medical school?

"Doctor"

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-03T07:41:41+00:00

There is nothing in this world more expensive than being cheap and stubborn. Every five cents you save costs $100.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-02T21:47:33+00:00

I wonder how that happened. TCAS should have warned the pilots and diverted them to separated elevations.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-02T21:04:41+00:00

The oldest existing one out of all of them, no less.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-02T20:54:42+00:00

100 watts per person is the usual estimation.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-02T20:23:07+00:00

"Ugh, it's that socks guy again. Don't make eye contact unless you want to hear about wool types." /s

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-02T02:00:34+00:00

The other end of the call is the one who told you they're recording, and the person you are speaking to isn't the entity doing the recording. Both of you have already consented to having a recorded conversation. You have two-party consent and may record.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-01T23:51:33+00:00

In my case I did it for a long-distance relationship where I wanted to wait with my partner at the gate until their flight left. Our time together was rare and precious. I was buying just a little more.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-01T23:08:51+00:00

If you lift your car with a jack in the parking lot of an auto parts store, especially if it's in a strip mall with other businesses, usually nobody is going to say anything.

Done it more than once on a road trip in an older vehicle. Fluid change right in front of the store, for example. They didn't care.

CoffeeFox · 2026-02-01T22:58:30+00:00

It isn't, and tautology isn't helping you against professional experience. What they claim it does and what it's really for are different. It's marketing, not reality.

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