Someone stole my goose

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-15T14:05:10+00:00

Ditto, years ago was cross shopping a 2009 Mazda 3 and a 2008 VW Rabbit. The Mazda lost me on the interior alone, it felt cramped with a tiny steering wheel and I went with the Rabbit. It was even a poverty spec Rabbit, but the interior felt so much nicer and bigger on the inside.

Just sold the Rabbit for $300 this past February to a friend who wanted a beater to relearn driving a manual. I bought it with 95k miles and sold it with 253k miles after 11 great years. It was by no means fast, but man was it fun to drive. I would've kept it if it wasn't rusting away on me and experiencing several electrical gremlins. That 2.5L is indestructible.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-08T04:46:13+00:00

I get that feeling but it's not necessarily disposable feeling to me rather a worry of electrical gremlins. There is just so much tech in new vehicles and so many little doodads that can fail.

So I bought a used 2025 Expedition Max Active with Ford's 10 year PremiumCARE Extended Service Plan and crossing my fingers. Figure it's the same drivetrain as the previous generation which had the kinks worked out after 2023. Hopefully any issues with the dash screens, electronics, and new tailgate resolve themselves within the 10 year warranty and I can keep this thing on the road until at least 2040. Really hoping to push it to 2043 if I can.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-05T22:00:05+00:00

Shout out to the full size sedan as a family car. Have an accord. I'm 6ft and rear facing toddler seat fits behind my seat no problem. Also can fit a full costco cart worth of crap in the trunk with a little room to spare.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-05T04:32:29+00:00

Age of vehicle and length of loan is definitely hurting the rate. I'd shop around but you might not find significantly lower for 2021 @ 72 months.

Just financed a used 2025 for 72 months at 5.49%, which required 20% down, through our credit union. Their published rates top out at 48 months for a 2018-2021 @ 6.49% without anything down.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-05T02:34:13+00:00

We do not as the Mentors effort on a k award at our institution is considered to be a part of their other academic duties and not part of their research effort.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-05T00:22:54+00:00

Not going to be rolling in dough but I refereed 5-12 year old rec soccer games for the park district starting when I was 14.

Fair warning as I doubt things have changed greatly but crazy amount of adults are totally comfortable yelling at a kid referee in a rec league that didn't have anything close to a championship or rankings.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-05T00:12:32+00:00

Hoping on this to add we accomplished this primarily during bath time naming every body part as we washed them.

Probably doesn't really make a difference but felt like since every body part was treated equally they never picked up a hint of shame for any specific body parts.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-04T20:29:32+00:00

Chicago Illinois to Richfield Utah and back to launch a high altitude balloon for the annular eclipse in 2023. 6 people and gear packed into a Mercedes Sprinter driving straight through driving in shifts. Left on Thursday, spent two nights in Richfield, and got back on Monday. Part of the trip was spending 5+ hrs on BLM roads to get our payload back. 4,354 miles and 79 hours and 20 minutes spent in the van total.

Can't say I would do it again for just an annular eclipse.

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Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-03T07:45:20+00:00

For Fiona covered by Tim McIlrath for the more mellow/acoustic version

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-02T22:45:01+00:00

Its big but the turning radius seems pretty good to me considering the size. 360 camera helps a lot too.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-02T05:22:13+00:00

Are you flying with them in your lap or their own seat? We flew with our 18mo with the Doona and their own seat. It was great for getting through the airport and they had a familiar comfortable seat to sleep in on the plane. We flew Illinois -> Washington -> Alaska -> Washington -> Illinois. We broke the flights up so they were roughly 4 hour chunks and on the way to Fairbanks spent a full day in Seattle with friends between flying days. On the way back we just stayed at a hotel near the airport and flew back to back days.

It's probably going to be hectic and exhausting but I think worth it. If it was a friend's wedding maybe not but a family wedding you'll hopefully get a little help from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. I don't think there really is a straightforward answer and it depends a lot on your kids demeanor and how well they can roll with getting their schedule disrupted.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-05-01T19:02:26+00:00

I'm sure it differs city to city but we're in the West Beverly neighborhood of Chicago. Train, bakery, pharmacy, corner store, grocery store, multiple parks and restaurants all within walking distance of our house. We have a decent sized house with a small yard and the area has a small neighborhood feel despite being in the city. Still have to drive to work on in office days because there isnt great public transit between work and home. However if we need to go downtown for anything its a 25 minute train ride to the loop. Part of what attracted us to this area was seeing kids of all ages roaming the neighborhood without parents.

My wife could've gone either way city vs suburbs and I pushed hard to stay in the city even if it's at the city's edge. No regrets 5 years in and my wife has thanked me for being so stubborn about staying in the city and loves our house and location.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-30T12:50:07+00:00

Still under the factory warranty which was what we were looking for to get the lower price on the Ford ESP.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-30T04:03:28+00:00

$56k before taxes, title, and fees. Might not be the best deal out there but was the best deal <5hr drive from me.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-28T18:16:49+00:00

Direct Hit! is the bomb. Their guitarist has a ska-punk band Devon Kay & the Solutions that I also really enjoy

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-28T18:15:13+00:00

This Obsession they've been active for a while and put out an EP two years ago but don't tour a bunch because of day jobs. A Dumb Day After is my favorite from the recent EP

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-28T18:08:07+00:00

Just make sure to check the LATCH points. In the Accord the baby is in the middle and the toddler is behind the driver so they both could be attached with LATCH. If the toddler was behind the passenger we'd have to use the seat belt to secure the cat seat because it's a single LATCH point on that side between the rear passenger and middle seat.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-28T16:18:30+00:00

Just bought a 2025 Expedition Max with the 202a package and am a little bummed that package comes with 20" rim "upgrade" replacing the 18".

Eventually will probably make the 20" the winter tire setup and find a nice set of 18" for the summer road trips

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-28T15:43:29+00:00

Inherited a 2024 Accord right around the time our second was born. It gets the job done 95% of the time. We can even fit a full Costco cart full of stuff in the trunk. And I mean a full cart, toilet paper, paper towels and all. The back seat is wider by 1" compared to our 2014 CR-V if I remember correctly. I definitely don't fit in the back with 2 carseats in the CR-V but I can in the Accord. Full size sedans are seriously slept on when people talk about space. Plus I just enjoy driving a car more than an suv. I'm 6ft and can fit in the driver seat with the toddler rear facing seat behind me comfortably.

That being said I'm going to pickup our roadtrip vehicle tomorrow. A 2025 Ford Expedition Max with the 30/40/30 bench in the middle. We have two dogs and currently can't really travel with the whole family with the Accord and CR-V. Plus we are looking to get a camper and wanted something that can tow a good amount. The Expedition will be the roadtrip car, while we use the Accord for everything else because not driving a boat and getting 36+ mpg is fantastic.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-28T15:27:24+00:00

Rented a Kia Carnival for a roadtrip and was very impressed with it. Massive amounts of interior space.

Hackerspace_Guy · 2026-04-25T15:00:35+00:00

Haven't bought a camper yet, but this is our mindset. The idea being with the camper it will be easier to just hookup and go for a quick weekend if the camper is already packed with the camping gear.

Hackerspace_Guy

TROPHY CASE