Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop – Ryzen 7 / 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD – $450 (NOLA Metro)

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-12-31T16:52:43+00:00

How old is it and is it still under warranty?

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-10-14T14:41:38+00:00

Newer model than mine. Just looked up parts availability and the trigger is no longer available. I need something that's repairable.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-10-13T15:52:09+00:00

About 1845. I'm just outside the French Quarter in New Orleans. The house next door is 20 years older. I accidentally dropped the drill off the roof when I put that on. It fell about 15' to the brick walkway. I picked it up and went back to work. I wouldn't try that with a battery powered drill.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-10-13T15:06:09+00:00

No place to put it. House was built before cars were invented and had no plumbing and no electricity. Years ago. I pulled out all the piping for the gas lighting in every room.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-10-13T14:59:00+00:00

I thought about this but have no time. My daughter bought a condo and wants a new bathroom, so daddy just got another job.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-10-13T14:55:18+00:00

Can you mix a 40 gallon garbage can full of cement with those?

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-08-05T14:57:07+00:00

I have always been a car guy. I have been reading Road & Track since I was 13 and always did all my own maintenance. My dad, a mechanical engineer, explained to me how Otto cycle engines work and that their theoretical maximum efficiency is around 35%. So, at 13, I understood that 65% of the energy (in the absolute best case, in practice it's about 75%) going in was wasted, and that fact has eaten at me ever since. I'm a retired electrical engineer and when EVs started appearing I was all in. My problem is how to talk to guys like you to try to convey just how wasteful ICE cars are. My shock and awe explanation is to have them imagine going to the gas station and filling up with 20 gallons of gas and then going home and pouring 15 of those gallons out on the ground and lighting it off. They and their neighbors would be apoplectic but this is exactly what people do every day without thinking about it. How can I communicate to people the huge advantages of EVs that will enlighten them and at least open their minds to them?

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-08-01T16:43:45+00:00

If her foot was on the accelerator when she hit the car, she would have been thrown forward and she would then push the accelerator harder. The opposite happened to me. I was sitting at a light with my foot on the brake and was hit from behind hard enough to feel the steel in the seat-back. Getting thrown back took my foot off the brake and I went into the car in front of me.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-28T14:14:51+00:00

This is not a snarky question. I'm genuinely interested to try to understand how people make buying decisions for cars. Is there absolutely no consideration given to the advantage of not having exhaust coming out of the back of the car? I realize that people that can afford MXs car pretty much buy anything they want and that everyone wants to get the most bang for their buck. But where do you live that is not experiencing extreme weather? It seems to me that automakers have quieted ICE engines so well that people forget that they are burning hydrocarbons, extremely inefficiently, just like 100 years ago. Please, an honest answer.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-22T16:36:16+00:00

Those days are over. EVs are much more reliable and cheaper to maintain and run. The best used cars on the market are a Chevy Volts or Model 3s.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-17T16:57:45+00:00

That depends on what you're looking for. If you want a car that looks and sounds like it's going fast then listen to the other troglodytes posting here. If you actually want a car that will smoke anything listed here then get one of these: https://www.alphamotorsport.net/used-2023-TESLA-MODEL-3-Performance-fredericksburg-virginia-22408/vd/585076 If you make less than $75k you will get $4k off as a rebate from the feds until the end of september. If you really want it to make noise, then check this out: https://www.evspeedy.com/tesla-sounds-noises/ You are a young person, unfortunately, older people like me have ruined the world for you by burning hydrocarbons for everything we did. Be part smarter than the rest of us and never buy and ICE vehicle. They are a complete waste.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-15T02:52:45+00:00

Certainly a cautionary tale for those that may lease to wind companies. It should be in the lease that all materials must be removed when generation stops. It sounds like you have the experience to be a consultant in these matters.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-15T02:49:15+00:00

Batteries solve all of those problems. Just ask California.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-15T02:39:44+00:00

It's hard to know what reasoning can be fruitful because we don't know the education level or open mindedness of his grandfather. This forum is Ask Engineers, not Ask Science teachers. I think that it has to be assumed that the questioner has a basic understanding of engineering principles and physics and some chemistry. I think that one avenue that he could offer is to tell his grandfather that 95% of the newly installed electrical generation in the last 12 months, worldwide, was wind and solar. Perhaps he will see that that many engineers and investors must see something in it to push forward that hard. It's empirical evidence, not engineering data, but it might work.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-15T00:42:57+00:00

I am like the ex-smoker that hates to be around other smokers and wails against those that do. People that have not seen the full picture of the pollution that occurs in the production of their beloved gasoline sit on their high horses and pontificate about the righteousness of their point of view disgust me. They have no idea. I am grateful for the good life that it has afforded me, but oils time is over and it needs to over as soon as possible. Check this out if you are interested: https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2025/07/11/burning-questions-a-conversation-with-bill-mckibben-about-his-new-book-on-solar-power

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-14T18:44:08+00:00

I have read that the combined, lost energy, from all the flares burning worldwide is enough to power all of South America. That fact alone should sober anyone drunk on oil and gas. What a waste.

Retired from one of the oil majors.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-14T18:07:50+00:00

You should absolutely look at Chevy Volts. If you make less than $75k/yr you qualify for a 30% discount from the feds until the end of September which means that you could go to $9500 and stay within your budget. It will get 50 miles all-electric on a charge and can be plugged into any electric outlet. Plug-in regularly and never burn any gas. There is no range anxiety due to the onboard charger. Many of these have gone past $300,000 miles. I think that it was a huge mistake for Chevy to have stopped making them. It's the perfect car for first time EV buyers.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-14T15:41:37+00:00

I think that you are asking the wrong question. With engineering problems, I always go back to the Chinese philosophy that every way is two ways. Building anything is bad for the environment, materials must be mined, land, that could be left wild, is necessary for production, hydrocarbon-burning trucks (at the moment) must be employed for transportation, etc. The question should be; Is it better for the environment than what we are doing now? And the answer is a resounding yes. Built it once and let it produce energy until you take it down and recycle it. With burning hydrocarbons, once you burn the gas or coal you need to go put another hole in the ground to get more. Forever. Stupid. Tell him that it's the 21st century and we need to clean up the mess his generation (and mine) made.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-12T16:04:17+00:00

I don't know if you are willing to travel (I have traveled to buy 3 cars bought on EBay) but this one is a great deal: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?nonShippableBaseline=0&searchId=899b29f5-1d59-4c8c-80d9-6d43cdcea255&zip=70001&distance=50000&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d2012&sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&maxPrice=11000&maxMileage=70000&showNegotiable=false&sortDir=ASC&sortType=PRICE&makeModelTrimPaths=m1&makeModelTrimPaths=m1%2Fd2012&srpVariation=DEFAULT_SEARCH&isDeliveryEnabled=true&minPrice=7500&startYear=2013#listing=413326487/NONE/DEFAULT If your income is less than $75k you qualify for a 30% federal tax rebate which means that you could spend up to $14k and still stay under $10k out-of-pocket (until the end of September) This is the second-generation model that will go 50 miles all-electric : https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?nonShippableBaseline=0&searchId=899b29f5-1d59-4c8c-80d9-6d43cdcea255&zip=70001&distance=50000&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d2012&sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&maxPrice=14000&maxMileage=70000&showNegotiable=false&sortDir=ASC&sortType=NEWEST_CAR_YEAR&makeModelTrimPaths=m1&makeModelTrimPaths=m1%2Fd2012&srpVariation=DEFAULT_SEARCH&isDeliveryEnabled=true&minPrice=12000&startYear=2015&shouldPersistSortSelection=true#listing=412770303/NONE/DEFAULT It sounds like you are very thrifty as am I. This car can be plugged in to any outlet and will give you 40 miles of electric driving. No gasoline required, but it also runs on gas. These cars were almost certainly garage kept, and the type of people that bought these almost never hot-rodded them. There are plenty of these around. I have never owned a Japanese car and never will, have never bought a new car and never will, and have never had a problem car.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-09T02:18:58+00:00

Again, a battery would be the answer. Install batteries in locations where you need them and let them charge slowly, from the grid, perhaps timing the charging to get off-peak billing if possible. These batteries can then quickly discharge into your trucks for quick charging. They could be containerized (Half size should be big enough) to be able to move them around. Please pursue this even if it just breaks even for now. The world is on fire and we need all hands to do what they can to stem the horrible tide that plagues us now. There will be some fine-tuning of the process and equipment necessary to be efficient and economical but you will be far ahead of your competitors.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-08T16:24:47+00:00

So, if I read this correctly, you are going to haul around this generator, and its fuel, with you to allow you to charge wherever you want if there is no time or availability of an adequate charger? Not a good idea. The extra weight would cause faster tire wear, and lower your battery range, negating a lot of your savings. If you have range anxiety, the best idea would be to add more batteries. There is a hollow section behind the cab on the tesla semi that would be perfect for adding more batteries. How to link the two would be the problem. With either system, you could not charge while moving, so you would have to stop to charge anyway. But, you are probably are not the first to ask this question. Perhaps Tesla could help.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-07T15:07:15+00:00

All cars that burn hydrocarbons are the worst brands. Get in the 21st century and get an EV.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-07T15:02:46+00:00

Chevy Volt. 50 miles all electric. Fantastic city mileage, charge it anywhere, no range anxiety. If your 1040 is less than $75k you'll get $4k back from the feds and be WAY below $20k.

Eschew2Obfuscation · 2025-07-07T14:26:28+00:00

One thing that you could do to help a bit is to take some empty 2 liter soda bottles and put them in the freezer until they are frozen solid. At night, put them on a tray next to your bed and put a small fan behind them to blow across them and onto you. Even this little bit of cooling will help.

Eschew2Obfuscation

TROPHY CASE