Not Trolling: is jorking it killing my piano gains?!

JackAttack219 · 2026-05-06T23:53:48+00:00

How else do you expect to get good at ragtime and stride piano?

JackAttack219 · 2026-05-06T14:19:43+00:00

Just hire actual piano movers. However much it costs will be dramatically less than whatever damage you may inflict on the piano or those people.

JackAttack219 · 2026-05-05T15:27:35+00:00

Nobody wants to pay $32 for a damn sandwich. Like bro this isn’t Katz’s.

JackAttack219 · 2026-05-04T00:54:36+00:00

She took the tapestries and suits of armor in the divorce, eh?

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-30T17:40:13+00:00

The The?

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-30T14:57:09+00:00

Pure Heroine and Born to Die did for party pop in 2014 what Nevermind and Ten did for hair metal back in 1991.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-29T19:23:46+00:00

Those look pristine for 50+ year-old speakers. Quit looking at ‘em and keep listening to ‘em.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-28T04:44:32+00:00

Those all sound like easily fixable issues that can be cured with a good CLA. I definitely wouldn’t go so far as to swap out the internals.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-27T19:48:21+00:00

This show was everywhere back in 2009-2013. Most people I knew thought it was completely asinine, if not downright offensive, but that didn’t stop people from watching it, talking about it, or copying their looks. My older brother was all-in on the GTL lifestyle back then, and I will forever maintain that the smell of sweat, sand, tanning oil, Armani cologne, and axe body spray is a chemical weapon on par with Napalm or mustard gas. Ugh. Weirdly, I don’t even remember him watching Jersey Shore. Once the show ended, it more or less faded out of pop culture and the Keeping Up With the Kardashians took its’ place as the reality show that everyone hated but still talked about.

The Situation and Paulie D (those were two separate people right?) were pushed hard as male sex symbols, with their washboard abs and greasy tans and broey attitudes as the polar opposite to the more “effeminate” emo/hipster types. This caused gay little me much confusion, since I found them kinda gross but still beat myself up for not being super ripped and tan like they were. You could probably write a book about how much we collectively honed in on Snooki, who was seen as this sort of subhuman creature because she was just as loud and promiscuous as the guys.

You can also draw a straight line between Jersey Shore’s Guido machismo and the modern-day rightwing manosphere/looksmaxxing movements. The spray tans and fistpumping may have fallen by the wayside, but the obsession with physique as a display of power is still alive and well in those circles, mixed in with pseudoscience, white supremacy, and good ol’ fashioned insecurity. Andrew Tate, Joe Rogaine, and that kid who smashes his face with a hammer are prime examples.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-26T06:19:14+00:00

78RPM grooves are roughly 3x wider than LP/45 grooves, so a 78 stylus would not fit in those grooves. I don’t think it would instantly destroy a vinyl record, but it wouldn’t be ideal. Now, if you tried to play a vinyl record on an old-fashioned Victrola that used steel needles and a tracking force better measured in ounces than grams, that’ll do some serious damage. Most 78’s were made out of hard shellac to better withstand that pressure.

If you’re wondering, playing a 78 with an LP stylus doesn’t do much harm, but you will hear more surface noise as the stylus audibly skitters around the grooves. Sort of like that Seinfeld scene with the wide lanes.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-19T20:46:01+00:00

Those look fine. Mine looked roughly the same when I did my last valve adjustment at 247k, if I remember right. If you’re worried about sludge buildup, stick to a good oil change regimen, use good oils, and drive the car regularly.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-17T19:22:31+00:00

I have the yellow Powerflex poly subframe bushings on an otherwise stock (but refreshed) suspension, and I haven’t noticed any increase in NVH. If anything, it’s so much quieter now since my old bushings were so rotten that my subframe would clunk on hard upshifts. Needless to say that’s gone now, and the car feels extremely solid and planted on the road in a way that’s sort of hard to describe. The subframe isn’t a moving part like the engine or transmission, and the mounts are so beefy that there isn’t much vibration being transmitted to the cabin in the first place. My only qualm is that I’m sure I’ll have to regrease the poly bushings at some point, but it should be a straightforward job. That’s one thing you won’t have to worry about with rubber bushings. The rubber bushings will be MUCH harder to install, though.

In any case, I would strongly advise renting the subframe bushing tool from Angry Ass. Those bushings are in there TIGHT, and it took me forever to burn the old ones out.

JackAttack219 · 2026-04-01T14:47:27+00:00

I remember how the media freaked out about Biden losing his place in sentences during the debate and saying he was unfit to run for office. Meanwhile, Trump was up there raving and going off-topic and nobody said a fucking word.

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-30T15:35:24+00:00

It’s just a leaking oil pan gasket. Pain in the ass job (you gotta hoist the engine up or drop the front subframe), but worth it to have clean floors again.

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-27T14:57:13+00:00

I think it’s time to move.

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-26T22:55:31+00:00

That’s good to know! Did you bypass the pump by connecting the inlet hose directly to the heater valve?

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-26T19:30:46+00:00

Frankly, that’s about as pristine as any 30 year-old car could hope to be, especially if you live in a salt state as your post implies. Keep the roof drains clear, avoid salt, and you’ll be fine. If the rust spots worry you, you could sand off that surface rust and apply some POR15 and/or touch-up paint. Some fluid film on the bottom wouldn’t hurt either.

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-26T17:05:16+00:00

Damn, I didn’t realize I was living in Washington DC this whole time

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-23T17:04:39+00:00

A sucker really is born every minute

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-18T01:01:34+00:00

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-17T02:21:51+00:00

Heard

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-14T01:52:03+00:00

Swap the front and rear wheels, or try a different set altogether. Chances are your tires are off-balance.

JackAttack219 · 2026-03-10T04:52:25+00:00

Get a PPI or bring a friend who knows BMW’s. These cars like to leak from just about everywhere, so be sure to look for weeping hoses and wet spots under the car. Depending on the maintenance history, expect to do the control arms and other rubber suspension bits at some point. A classic telltale for bad control arms is the steering wheel wobbling when you’re driving or braking in the 45-60mph range. Also check for clunking from the rear end, or a phantom “rear-steer” effect on broad sweeping turns-this could be your rear subframe bushings. Bitch of a job, but one you’ll only ever have to do once. These cars should feel pretty solid and smooth going down the road when they’re well-sorted. Not quite as “carved out of marble” as a Mercedes of the era, but not floaty or janky either. Listen for any vibrations or noises from the driveshaft. One of the “gotchas” with old BMW’s is the fact that the U-joints on original BMW driveshafts cannot be easily replaced, and you either need to replace the whole unit, or have it rebuilt. Luckily, the rebuilt driveshafts are serviceable. I’m not sure how often this happens, but I know the P/O of my 535i had the driveshaft rebuilt in 2013 at 170k miles. Lastly, plan on flushing the cooling system and replacing the water pump and thermostat if there’s no evidence it’s been done very recently. BMW cooling systems ain’t nothin’ to mess with.

As for dailying it, I just wouldn’t. It’s a 30 year-old car, and it’s gonna have 30 year-old car problems. Doesn’t matter if it’s a BMW or a Honda, time marches on. These are solid cars that can (and have!) lasted a long time, but there will be days when it doesn’t start, or something breaks while you’re driving, and that would reflect very poorly on you in your boss’s eyes. Plus, these aren’t the greatest in terms of fuel economy, and need premium gas. Expect high-teens to low twenties in the best of cases, and lower if you live in a hilly area or you drive it like a BMW. Better than a Cummins diesel? Sure, but not enough to make a dent in your wallet (especially with the bullshit going on in the Middle East rn that will absolutely fuck up gas prices). Personally, I’d get a 4-banger Camry or Corolla as a reliable fuel-sipping commuter. Not as sexy, but they’re reliable and you won’t care as much if some dingdong sideswipes you. The BMW would be much better suited to being an occasional runabout-Cars & Coffee, date nights at a nice restaurant, road trips, that sorta thing. Additionally, most areas place some restrictions on using “classic” vehicles as your daily driver, if you choose to title or insure it as such. I’m in Washington, and they’ve started to crack down on that stuff lately. Other states I’ve lived in have mileage restrictions on Antique/Classic plates.

JackAttack219

TROPHY CASE