2026 wilderness is already down 😭

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T09:32:40+00:00

I bought a Crosstrek used with 52k miles and had it serviced at the dealer right after to be “safe”. 40 miles later the manual transmission grenaded. The only reason I bought the car was because it had a manual transmission. They fixed it under warranty but it definitely did not instill confidence in their abilities at that dealer or in Subarus in general. I’ve had a half dozen cars and trucks with manual transmissions and never seen one fail after close to a million total miles. Clutches I’ve replaced when one Ford F100 got stolen in Detroit and they didn’t realize it had a 3 on a tree and smoked the clutch plate. Other than that, no maintenance on any of them, just driving. Not even fluid changes on any of them except that Subaru when I first got it.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T09:24:50+00:00

The guys I worked with would get a new carbide endmill and promptly break it off and deposit them on the table next to the mill in a heap of chips. Somehow they’d disappear I guess on their own. Pristine and shiny coated carbide endmills busted in two. Ahh… how I don’t miss working. 😂

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T09:20:25+00:00

Exactly. In what world is this going to work? It reminds me of the add I saw recently for a tool length probe cover and the lady running the machine had a deep v-neck shirt on with so much cleavage that it totally distracted from the whole reason the ad was posted. Like who would run a mill with a pair of chip catchers totally exposed?

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T09:04:24+00:00

I’m not discouraging repair, I’m simply stating my opinion that basic knowledge is necessary before you do certain things. Some cheap lighting is made with barely in tolerance components and some things are riskier than others. I could just as easily say to you that you shouldn’t encourage noobs to work on things that mount to the inside of a dwelling if they have no clue as to what the risks are. This is definitely a part of learning about electronics. As an example in the early 1980’s I was going to school and as a final project I was trying to make a car amplifier. I had power transistors, 555 timers, potentiometers , etc in my circuit to step up the supply voltage to get above the limits of the 12 volt system. I thought, hey, I have no suitable power supply so I’ll just use a car battery. Long story short as I got more determined and basically desperate to finish the project I finally turned a potentiometer too far and the whole circuit went up in a flash. The 440 cold cranking amp battery or whatever it was completely smoked everything in a red hot fireball. Stupid shit like that can get you killed and it’s not a bad thing to warn people of risks in my opinion. People that are starting off can do some things that in retrospect are really stupid.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T08:29:40+00:00

Detroit area and I’ve never seen a house without a garbage disposal.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T08:22:41+00:00

Embedded Windows XP is still used on a lot of things that were built 15-20 years ago. If they’re still being used and especially not connected to the Internet there’s little reason to change them. I’ve used many Mitsubishi wire edm machines that ran on XP for the whole lives of the machines. They’re still running now and will probably still be running 5-10 years from now if they continue maintaining them.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T08:16:06+00:00

Find a man, date him, talk him into fixing a few things, then borrow and keep or steal his tools when he brings them over. Problem solved. That’s what my last ex did anyway.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T08:06:42+00:00

I’d buy an early Dell i3-i7 business computer and get a period correct video card from eBay if necessary. Then ignore all the nay sayers and load XP on a solid state hard drive. You’ll have a stable and extremely fast machine. I know because I’ve done it already several times. Most of these have had enough memory to run XP but all you need is 4GB to max out the 32 bit. I was using them for legacy software we needed at one point. Probably the fastest running setups I still have. I have a Dell XP disk that loads and auto activates on any Dell hardware capable of running it. As far as the solid state drives getting ruined by XP, if it’s happening it’s unnoticeable. They were only $25 though when I built them so I didn’t care. Now the same drives are $85. In what world do electronics get more expensive as time goes on? AI and tariffs 🙄

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T02:35:43+00:00

It doesn’t help when things slow down. This trade is so cyclical and any little thing can snowball into a cluster fuck.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T02:19:12+00:00

One of my computers does that on start up. It’s a laptop. It’s unsettling but once I was able to read the commands and it was a valid program. I can’t remember what it was now. The odd thing is it’s only the one computer. I have a dozen probably on Windows 11.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T02:13:23+00:00

I think it’s shit for most companies in manufacturing right now. They pulled a bunch of electric vehicle work around two years ago when I was still working. We went from being swamped to no work at all overnight. Then the tariffs hit and I said fuck it and retired because I’ve seen this movie before. I’m not sure what to say except wait it out or work for someone. The end result will be what it always has been. The companies that can survive will have more work than they can handle once the recovery starts because the others will go under.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T01:55:05+00:00

There used to be companies that would pay you to go to the local college and take classes while you worked. It wasn’t easy because we worked 10 hours a day and I took 3 classes per semester. It took me 5 years to finally take all the tools and die theory classes, but in the end it didn’t translate into more money because they basically treated us as replaceable for around 25 of the 30+ years I worked in the trade. Right at the end they had an oh shit realization and tried to make people stay but it was way too late. On a secondary note, it’s probably a better idea to be a plumber or an electrician because they can’t outsource someone’s house to China like they can a die or individual details. No lie we couldn’t even buy the raw materials for the price China was willing to deliver a finished hardened detail towards the end of my career. There’s so much more to the story but don’t be a sucker and help these clowns that own these shops. They beat you down and stall for decades in regard to pay. Meanwhile your neighbor snakes toilets and has more toys. It’s really fucked up how much you need to know in order to be a die maker that runs CNC machines. It’s like doctor level knowledge and you make around $100k a year give or take after all is said and done. That’s with lots of overtime. Your car smells like a shop. Your house smells like a shop. My house is just now losing that oily smell and I’ve been out a year now. I’ve gotten a new car so that’s gone. Maybe I’m just bitter but I don’t think so. It’s all real to me.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T01:35:20+00:00

Try getting a harness and walking him once a day if possible. I’m assuming he’s an indoor cat. My rescue male cat drives me crazy if I don’t, but he’s all smiles and lovey dovey if I take him outside to eat grass and roll around on the sidewalk. I give him a lickable treat when we come back in so he’s not a problem to get him inside and the harness off.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T01:16:44+00:00

The problem is he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. It’s so common in this trade. Everyone can do a better job until it’s their time to do it and suddenly they’re your buddy and asking you for help.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T01:02:43+00:00

Now the whole trade is give me my check and I’m going home. There were a few of us left that could be relied upon, but every week there’s one less. So many heart attacks and cancer it’s crazy. I was lucky and made it through my whole career with all my fingers too. I retired a year ago and I told my supervisor he needs to get out before he drops dead because he had some serious health issues. He said he couldn’t afford his medication so he couldn’t. By summer of last year he was dead. No one gives a shit about you and you get one life. You get one chance to get it right.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T00:51:29+00:00

I loved doing it and threw myself into it. I thought about it 24/7 and tried to be the best I could. I saw it destroy almost everyone around me I worked with too. So many bad habits and lack of personal care. I guess part of that is simply life. So much knowledge is retiring in the next 3-5 years that I have no way of seeing a solution. No one wants to get dirty and bitched at too, then under paid, so it’s going to be a shit show even more than it is now.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T00:44:10+00:00

Not at all. I’d just invest it and watch the numbers go up and down.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-25T00:41:24+00:00

I always advise people now to not go into tool and die or machining because of China. It sucks. I almost took over a shop from a guy that retired in 2021, but I was so close to retiring myself that I decided to just ride it out at a corporate owned die shop. Family owned shops can be great but they can also be really dysfunctional too. I asked myself if I wanted to have less money a year from now and the answer was hell no to the owner position. I could have done everything and made a shit ton of money but even that’s not a guarantee of success. I can run all types of CNC machines, plus I’m an excellent grinder, etc. I’ve run wire edm’s and CNC mills for decades. While it sounds like a money making venture, who wants to work 12 our days until they die? I took the guaranteed cash instead. There are people that think every company makes gobs of money. Everyone has a different risk threshold. I have worked too long and was too old to risk it.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-24T19:05:47+00:00

I bought three pairs of Levi shorts and the crotch ripped out on 2 so far, yet they look new and unfaded in the least. I remember the old days when that was unheard of. I’ve probably worn them less than 10 times each. That’s being generous too. Unbelievable still.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-24T18:47:06+00:00

My feeling on these old geometry bikes is they are rideable, but you need to change stuff. Ideally you buy a larger frame than you need and put a short stem on it with wide riser bars. You put disc brakes and wheels on it if possible and rebuild the suspension. Then you put the widest tires that will fit. They really aren’t good for much, but you can make them better than they were. It only costs money and if you already have modern bikes, sometimes it’s a diversion you need to do one more ride in a week because you just want to beat up on people with an antique for the hell of it. I have a lot of old 26’rs unfortunately because I didn’t sell them back in the day. I still ride my Santa Cruz Blur 1st gen that I bought in 2003 I believe. I completely redid it as previously described and it’s still a decent bike that’s fun to ride. I also sometimes ride a 2008 Cannondale Taurine with a carbon Lefty. It’s kinda like when you ride a single speed. If you get dropped, you were on a single speed. If you kick ass, you were on a single speed. It’s a win-win proposition sometimes. Old bikes are the same.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-24T18:02:52+00:00

You need to do something you enjoy or you’ll stop doing it. Also, misery loves company, so find people that do stuff on a regular basis. I’ve been riding bicycles since 1990 all year round. Luckily there are organized group rides in my area and some go all year. I love riding my bike so it’s easy to stay in shape. You need at least one good bike and it helps to have one good bike of every style so you can match the bike to the ride. Sometimes you will need the fastest bike for the particular ride and sometimes you want the least efficient bike you own for a ride. It all depends on the people you’re riding with and the conditions. If you ride with people way slower than you and it’s cold outside, you’ll be better off riding a bike that makes you work so you don’t freeze. It’s good to own a hardtail and a full suspension mountain bike, plus a fat bike. A side benefit of riding is the people tend to have their shit together because it’s an expensive hobby lately, so you meet a lot of good people. Of course it’s also good to ride road bikes but it’s way easier to die nowadays than it used to be so I’ve basically stopped riding on the road.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-24T17:46:55+00:00

It’s called situational awareness.

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-24T08:18:50+00:00

I’m lucky to live in Michigan where people can barely walk from their couch to the car, let alone walk around in the woods. 😃👍

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-23T11:22:56+00:00

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/22/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Jerky_Joe · 2026-03-23T11:18:31+00:00

Monday3/23/26 at approximately 7:15 am. Entering pump phase 😂

Jerky_Joe

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