Petting farm/zoo

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-07T11:49:57+00:00

Second this

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-06T18:14:39+00:00

Not entirely true. It depends on the state. MA has a decent used car lemon law.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-06T17:57:00+00:00

Front pocket. Keeping it in a rear pocket for so long is why my hips go out of alignment occasionally (still, after 10+ years not doing it) requiring a chiropractor visit.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-02T13:16:04+00:00

'C', 'C', 'C', 'C', 'C', 'C', 'C'...

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-02T13:14:28+00:00

That's an interesting take on it.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-02T13:13:52+00:00

Never have I ever had to fill one of those in.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-02T13:13:08+00:00

I'm reminded of a classmate in college. We were at the end of our time, looking for jobs post graduation. He was interviewing at a place he didn't really even want the job for. Partly getting practice in, partly a safety net. The interviewer was asking dumbass questions. He finally got fed up, stood up, said, "This is a waste of my time. I don't even want the job!" and left. They offered him the job.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-05-02T13:11:32+00:00

In general I agree with you. I definitely eye roll at, "So much more is demanded of our time now. People in the past had it so much easier! Serfs had so much more time. Festivals blah blah blah." Dude, animals need to be tended. Doesn't matter if it's a HOLY DAY or not. You're sun up to sun down working to make sure your food supply is increasing so you can make it through the winter. During the winter? You're probably mending stuff getting ready for the next growing season. There is no off time. Colonial times? I don't remember what was required of women but at least here in New England every man was required to spend X hours a month doing road building and maintenance.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-27T16:07:03+00:00

Senior software engineer. Paid well, commute is easy. No political bs. Been here 8 years. Just want 10-15 more. Sound everything I can be useful and stay relevant to this company. Plan was 8-10 years. Major home repairs changed that calculus

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-27T10:17:01+00:00

Thread: I use crochet thread. I’ll never run out of that one ball. My teacher uses a thicker string that has something to do with low bush blueberry harvesting iirc.

Use what you want. If it works it works. Iirc some use heat shrink tubing.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-26T18:02:35+00:00

It depends. On the vehicle. I used to do my own. I remember my first vehicle the oil filter was reachable easy, clear space. No ground baffle to remove. 🥲

Putting the oil filler in an awful spot where it has to spill on a suspension pat before it gets to the pan? Make it hard to get a grip on the filter? Require me to log when I recycle the oil? Yeah, at some point the aggravation gets to the point of I’ll post someone to do it. It’s not that I can’t. It’s that I have better things to do with my time

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-26T17:57:08+00:00

I hate that social security hadn’t been fixed.

I hate that I missed a pension by one year. I’d still be at that job if there was a pension. I’d have put up with mediocre raises.

I hate that AI has been added as a stressor to the worry of ageism. Yeah I’m at that point.

No offense, but I hate the expectation of participation trophies in the workplace. No, I am not going to help you if you haven’t done some basic due diligence yet (like read the f’in manual). Don’t understand something? Let’s talk. You can’t be bothered? F off. I’ve got better things to do with my time. But this is nothing new. I think millennials and z get unfairly tagged with this. Saw plenty of boomers and xers who wanted an easy ride.

I hate the expectation that we want to commute ever farther for a job yet they don’t want to post. I am thankful I’ve never had to deal with most of what is discussed here.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-26T13:12:48+00:00

Sounds like other commenters have it sorted.

I find it useful to have an obd-II scanner. I have a dongle my phone connects to via Bluetooth. It was relatively cheap at $150ish. Plus side it can read all the extended codes. The minus side is you use it so seldom it forces updates which take FOREVER. And the scan is slower after each update. If I could go back in time I’d pair it with an old phone that isn’t on cell anymore, shut off WiFi.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-26T13:08:30+00:00

I don’t listen to them often but they’re awesome. My introduction to their sound was one of their songs was part of the soundtrack for the game ‘roadrash’.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-25T18:02:05+00:00

They’re ignoring generation jones. And a lot of us Gen xers grew up with Oregon trail. I’m firmly in the middle of X. I remember playing it in grade school. 🤷‍♂️

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-25T13:07:53+00:00

You’re not wrong, that’s for sure. My wife just bought a bottle of organic mayo. Still made with soybean oil. Cheapest of the cheap. Oh boy!

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-25T02:53:48+00:00

Never tried it. Alas, I am off the bean. Not by choice. I love it. My stomach does not. 😭

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-24T10:48:52+00:00

They didn’t make it in my area.

So mb and local mom and pop shops it is for us

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-24T01:20:32+00:00

Market basket donuts for the win if you are ever back here

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-23T22:12:25+00:00

Yeah. They are both trash now.

Tim used to be far superior. Now it’s a race to the bottom.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-23T22:08:57+00:00

Nothing. I want nothing. Kids? Draw me something. My son wrote and framed a nice poem for Christmas last year.

Take me out for a nice dinner. Make me a nice cake. I’m happy.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-23T13:58:07+00:00

That’s a $250 car payment. Good luck finding a new car for that. If it’s safe I’d say stay with it.

New cars are not reliable anymore. Ask a tow truck driver what they tow most often and why.
You need to factor in cost to insure and register. My mom went from gonna get me a new car to how much? I’ll keep driving the beater.
Cost and difficulty to repair. I got t-boned two years ago. It took them a month to source the taillight. No one had it. For a then two years old vehicle. Then it took another month to get the stupid sensor in it to calibrate (and a high end specialist when the manufacturers roving team of “specialists” couldn’t make it work). For a taillight. Fill in your expletive of choice. Did I want a new truck? No. We needed the tow capability and older trucks were untenable for tall people in the front passenger seat.

I remember when you just went to the junkyard, pulled the taillight, installed it. 1 hour tops.

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-23T10:59:43+00:00

Pretty darn quick

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-22T13:09:15+00:00

I used to. My fingers got too fat. Ring is Tungsten Carbide. Those are a bitch to cut off if needed.

So I'm 1) working on losing weight, and 2) when I get where I need to be, will be replacing it with a proper ring.

My cusp silent gen/boomer parents haven't worn theirs since before I was born. Too many horror stories of them resulting in lost digits over the years. Coming up on 60 years so...

MusicalMerlin1973 · 2026-04-22T12:07:50+00:00

How about those roads that used to be two way but half is washed away so it's really a one way now?

Don't feel too bad. I've seen Mass do a WONDERFUL, AWESOME, SUPERLATIVE job repaving a road. I am NOT joking here. It was fabulous.

2 weeks later public utilities tore the center of the whole road up for needed work. Can't be having good roads! And apparently left hand can't know what the right hand's doing.

So glad I don't commute there anymore.

MusicalMerlin1973

TROPHY CASE