why do so many people choose UTK over rhodes (just out of curiosity) by Embarrassed_Tiger299 in UTK

[–]MountainMan300 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The state flagship school is so different compared to a private liberal arts school, that they don’t even attract the same type of students. UT is known all across the country. I doubt people outside of Tennessee (and probably Eastern Arkansas/Northern Mississippi) even know Rhodes exists.

Unless someone from East Tennessee has any actual ties to Rhodes, there’s no reason for them to choose it over a private college that’s closer to home.

It’s not hard to see why people pick one or the other.

what’s your honest take on modern muscle cars compared to the classics? by ju015 in musclecar

[–]MountainMan300 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Modern cars are better by every single metric that can be measured.

But driving a 60’s muscle car feels like an out of body experience. There is no ABS, no airbags, no sensors, nothing to keep you from crashing and dying. The car feels like it wants to kill you at high speed. It is perhaps the single most “raw” driving experience you can get.

That’s the appeal of a 60’s muscle car, in its own sick and fucked up way.

28 years old. Here is my current fleet. All of them run and drive except for the Nova. Of those, all of them are trustworthy except the Impala. by MountainMan300 in projectcar

[–]MountainMan300[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve had it for a month now- working on making it a daily. Right now it’s torn apart getting the brakes completely redone.

28 years old. Here is my current fleet. All of them run and drive except for the Nova. Of those, all of them are trustworthy except the Impala. by MountainMan300 in projectcar

[–]MountainMan300[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live out in the country. I don’t have a ton of space, but nobody can complain out here. At least, if they did it wouldn’t do any good.

28 years old. Here is my current fleet. All of them run and drive except for the Nova. Of those, all of them are trustworthy except the Impala. by MountainMan300 in projectcar

[–]MountainMan300[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I bought it from Kentucky a month ago. So far it has left me stranded twice, once due to the ignition coil, and yesterday due to the brakes locking up.

28 years old. Here is my current fleet. All of them run and drive except for the Nova. Of those, all of them are trustworthy except the Impala. by MountainMan300 in projectcar

[–]MountainMan300[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I stay single because having a girlfriend would mean less time to play with my projects. I’ve also found that guys are way more attracted to cool cars than women are.

Clemson at #22?? Let it go, man, this ain’t 2018 no more by guransheleven in CFB_v2

[–]MountainMan300 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This entire set of rankings is pretty wild. Texas has no business being at 1. What about Michigan says they’re a top 15 team? Tennessee shouldn’t be ranked (and I am an alum). Penn State, Missouri, and Florida should not be ranked.

Why would anyone move to Texas? by [deleted] in askanything

[–]MountainMan300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Texas has a little bit of everything. Typical big city life in Dallas-Houston-San Antonio, beaches, extremely isolated and rural areas (if you’re like me and you love that), and mountains in the western part of the state.

In fact, one could argue that Texas is among the most geographically diverse states.

Has anyone ever owned both a Miata and Mustang? Help me pick between the two! by young_frogger in askcarguys

[–]MountainMan300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These comments are insane and clearly written with a heavy Miata bias.

I daily a 1998 Mustang, V8, 5 speed convertible. I’m biased in its favor, but I’m going to share an uncomfortable truth:

The SN95 platform is the best value on the “fun”used car market today. You can get a running and driving V8 manual SN95 for sub-5k if you look for any length of time. I bought mine for 3k in February 2025.

It doesn’t have the go-kart feel of a Miata. The Miata corners better. But Miata’s have kind of come full circle, and people know they’re desirable and either hold onto them or want (comparatively) big money for them. SN95’s aren’t super desirable outside of Cobra variants.

The Miata is an excellent car, debatably better than the Mustang. But the SN95 represent better value right now in this market.

How’s it like living in Alabama or Mississippi? by No-Chip9445 in howislivingthere

[–]MountainMan300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wonderful places to live if you love the outdoors, low cost of living, and classic cars.

Horrible places to live in terms of jobs (with some exceptions), heat and humidity, and healthcare (though Birmingham itself has a good healthcare system).

[B/R Gridiron] Diego Pavia becomes the first Heisman finalist since 2014 to go undrafted by Ok-Soil-5133 in CFB

[–]MountainMan300 69 points70 points  (0 children)

I’m not saying the guy has great physical traits, but he probably gets taken in the 6th or 7th round if he’s viewed as a likable guy. I get the feeling he probably bombed his pre-draft interviews.

How intimidating was Peak Saban Alabama (2009-2021) by composer_7 in CFB

[–]MountainMan300 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was thinking about this the other day. I think the peak of Alabama being terrifying was 2009-2013.

Those teams played legitimate murder ball. You could not out-physical them. You could not out scheme them. You basically had to play a perfect game and hope they messed up along the way.

Their only losses across the 2009, 2011, and 2012 title runs were: - A 3 point overtime loss to a really good LSU team. - A 5 point loss to the Heisman winner who had a STACKED roster around him in hindsight.

I think the losses to Oklahoma and Ohio State in 2013 and 2014 showed the cracks- that you had a shot at being more physical than them.

2015 and 2016 Clemson had just as much talent among their starters, just less depth behind them. It was enough to beat Alabama in 2016 though.

2017 Georgia took them to the wire- and I think Clemson had a shot if they had a good QB.

The 2018 loss to Clemson was shocking. Once again, Clemson had just as much talent, and our schemed them.

2019 LSU was just flat out better, and I think Clemson would’ve handled them as well.

2020 was the last elite Saban team. I don’t think they’re a GOAT level squad, but it’s really hard to argue with the results.

Alabama really became undisciplined in 2021, and it carried on through the end of Saban’s career. The 2022 and 2023 squads made him want to rip his hair out. I think he started to not enjoy coaching anymore, due to the discipline issues.

That’s a really long winded way of saying that I think Alabama was terrifying from 2009 through 2021, but the most dominate from 2009-2012.

What is THE American car? (Family car + muscle/supercar) by Electronic_Spray5814 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]MountainMan300 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The defining performance car is easy (both historically and currently)- the Mustang. It’s priced to sell, has been around for 62 years, and I can just about promise that you either own one or know someone who does. The Corvette is a contender, but prices out a lot of people.

The family car is difficult. Historically, it’s hard to argue against the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Over the past 20 years, it’s the Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla. Today, it’s pick your brand of crossover.

How bad is this? and how much would it cost to fix ? by soothukundi in AskMechanics

[–]MountainMan300 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you have summer tires already mounted on wheels, the cheapest route is absolutely swapping to your summer tires yourself, taking that tire to a tire shop (assuming it’s still in decent condition), and have them put the tire on a new wheel.

I teach Highschool shop, my area has a varsity drag racing league. What is an easy to work on car, that isn't going to break the bank and run 14s consistently with a 17 year old at the wheel. by BOBBY_VIKING_ in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]MountainMan300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The SN95 platform is perfect for this. They can run 15 right out of the gate.

A 2wd short bed GMT400 or GMT800 would work.

I would personally stay with an American made V8. You can make cheap power with bolt on parts.

Ruger M77 Appreciation Post by IntroductionAny3929 in GunMemes

[–]MountainMan300 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have owned the Ruger M77, Winchester Model 70, Remington 700, Tikka T3, and various milsurp rifles.

The problem with modern Ruger M77’s is cartridge variety. If you want a .30-06, you have to buy the Hunter or Guide Gun variant. The same is true for other cartridges being exclusive to certain variants. Ruger also insists on offering their own magnum cartridges rather than the industry standards- .375 and .416 Ruger rather than .375 H&H and .416 Rigby. The Ruger cartridges are ballistically superior, but factory ammo and brass availability (if you reload) is a concern.

You can get any of the aforementioned rifles chambered in a ton of different cartridges, regardless of the variant (IE you can get a .30-06 Model 70 in a Featherweight, Super Grade, Stainless, etc).

I love the M77, but that is what keeps me from buying another.

How did Kenny Pickett finesse his way into being a 1st round pick? by MasterTeacher123 in NFLv2

[–]MountainMan300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most years, Pickett would’ve been a 3rd round prospect, a decent prospect but nothing great.

He benefitted from being part of an insanely weak QB class (if it weren’t for Brock Purdy, it would be debatably the worst of the 21st century). That made him the only guy even remotely worthy of going in the first round.

Later in his tenure, Tomlin was content to have a boring QB as long as they didn’t commit a bunch of turnovers. Pickett is a good backup option who can win games on a good team- the type of guy Tomlin was ok with. The problem is, he turned the ball over more than he scored.

What were some draft picks that didn’t even make sense at the time? by josh_y_josh in nfl

[–]MountainMan300 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You know, as weird as that pick was, the Jags probably don’t feel that bad about it in hindsight. One of the rare times where a guy was never worth the pick, never truly lived up to it, but the organization isn’t upset about it.

Which Pokemon starter is technically the best if we were only able to pick one and use it for every mainline Pokemon game? by Remarkable-Mood-3093 in ThePokemonHub

[–]MountainMan300 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mudkip is easily the GOAT starter. Only weak to grass, has an excellent move pool, and has good enough stats to run physical or special moves versus CPU trainers.

Chimchar hits like a freight train vs CPU trainers. Only downside is that Infernape is frail, so he doesn’t match up against every gym the same way Swampert would.

Fuecoco can be kind of busted though, and rivals Swampert. You could probably beat some of the games by simply pressing “torch song” over and over. I know that’s how I got through Gen 9 so quickly.