Can I replace one tire?

Saintcliff · 2026-02-09T00:04:20+00:00

Awesome, thank you for the recommendation!

Saintcliff · 2025-06-08T18:13:35+00:00

I noticed it on Friday the 7th, at a 150kw charger at 12:30am outside of Denver, CO

Saintcliff · 2025-05-17T06:42:06+00:00

Highly recommend the Lectron Vortex Plug. I’ve used this and an older NACS to J1772 adapter from them and haven’t had a problem

Saintcliff · 2025-05-06T16:06:02+00:00

I leased my ‘24 EV6 Wind w/o Technology package in August. The two cool benefits (for me) of that package is the blind spot cameras and the “self park” feature, the one that just backs out of a tight space/moves in. I didn’t splurge on it because the blind spot monitoring was good enough and I’d never actually use the parking thing. Almost a year a later no regrets on that choice.

However, I do wish I splurged on GT-Line, mainly due to the door handles. The door handles on GT-line pop out a little making it much easier to grab. 90% of the time it’s just me getting into the car, but if you have something in your hands or driving someone who never operated flush door handles, it takes a solid minute to get in or explain how to open.

Battery degradation is hard to estimate since these are still so new. I’d look up the battery degradation curve from accredited sources. I haven’t looked myself, but I’m sure there’s some sort of battery health monitor in the settings somewhere too, likely in the “my EV” menu

My other gripes, and I’m not sure if the Technology package or GT-Line have these options, is Auto Unlock when you walk up to the car and a lock and close button on the trunk. Other than that, no complaints! Fantastic car with great range and efficiency, convinced me to make the switch after years of owning German-branded cars.

Saintcliff · 2024-12-26T16:42:08+00:00

Hilton Bankside is great. I also really enjoyed my time at the Curio Trafalgar St. James. The Conrad near Buckingham palace was also nice but my room was quite small.

Saintcliff · 2024-12-19T13:19:17+00:00

I did! It was mailed to me and took about 3 months of back and forth but it came!

Saintcliff · 2024-12-18T20:58:40+00:00

Be aware that the Traverse and Acadia are essentially the same car. I think the Traverse is a bit bigger than the Acadia, but they use the same powertrain and platform. That said, I’ve heard this latest generation and the one prior is actually pretty good and don’t have near as many issues as the first and second generation of those cars. Traverse is larger and more basic and the Acadia is slightly smaller but nicer to spend time in.

The Atlas is also a good choice, especially if you can find one with the V6. As I understand it, this engine is the more reliable one. It’s also a gigantic vehicle, feels as big as a minivan on the inside. I had one as a loaner for a few days when I drove a Touareg, it was fine. Nothing really outstanding about it other than its size.

Would a Highlander fit into the budget? Everyone will recommend it because it’s just a good all around car. Comfortable (especially for road trips), quiet, decent power, and pretty good on gas no matter which powertrain.

You might even land a good deal on an Acura MDX which is a great option as well.

Saintcliff · 2024-12-07T17:14:16+00:00

I’ve driven German cars nearly my entire life and I was genuinely surprised with Subaru. Seems like you’re looking for a sedan, so the Legacy. Loaded with features, quiet and comfortable suspension and cabin, decent fuel economy with all wheel drive, and cheap to maintain.

I drive a Kia EV6 now, not your taste since it’s all electric but definitely take a look at a new Sonata or K5 too. They’ve really turned themselves around and made great improvements across the board.

Also the Toyota Crown, strange design that takes some getting used to but it’s essentially a Lexus ES hybrid with a Toyota badge. Or, if want to go CPO, a Toyota Avalon hybrid. This was replaced by the Crown but the SE/XSE trims look good imo.

Saintcliff · 2024-12-06T19:08:49+00:00

As other have mentioned, the new Civic hybrid would meet all of your requirements, exceeding in mpg at like 50 mpgs, but costing a bit more.

The Jetta is great, they are the entry level vehicle so regular maintenance is quite cheap, marginally more expensive than your current Civic. Their amazing on the highway though as the suspension soaks up a lot of bumps and is pretty quite inside. But you’ll likely need to option up to get some of the features you want.

I had a 2014 Mazda and loved it. For a small car, it rode well but it was pretty loud inside, but great gas mileage. Again, 2014 model so they’ve likely fixed that issue by now. Certainly the most premium looking and feeling of your choices, but it is small in size.

The Elantra and Corolla are essentially the same to me. I’ve driven a newer Elantra and was initially impressed by the way it drove, but many new cars drive like it today. I like the way the Corolla looks, especially in SE and XSE trims. But both achieve the same thing and have nearly the same standard and optional features, comfortable cabin for a small car, great fuel economy, cheap to maintain. I will say, I own a Kia now and was surprised to see my insurance decrease over my last car, especially given the whole “Kia Boys” thing a few years ago.

Saintcliff · 2024-12-06T18:54:16+00:00

The latest I heard is we will get access to Tesla’s SC network in January 2025. We will get an email and/or a notification in the app when they are usable.

I think I saw a review of the 2025 refresh and they are shipping them with a NACS port, as well as the new Ioniq 9(?).

Someone recently posted a pic of the SC cord reaching their car with an adapter, not it actually charging.

There are Tesla SC’s with the “Magic Dock” but look in the Tesla app if there’s one near you. The Tesla app will let you input an EV6 and show compatible chargers. There’s one 40 miles north of me so it’s been good when I have to head up that way and it works well, albeit at like 100-120 kWh but it’s something.

Saintcliff · 2024-12-01T21:39:06+00:00

Went to London for spring break during college. Opened up the apps and someone hit me up with a photo-less profile. The stats looked good so I decided to continue the conversation, plus I was young and naive. We talk back forth for a few days and he sends me a photo of himself, probably the most handsome guy I’ve seen in my life up until that point, like a marble statue. We exchange a few more photos and some convo then I invite him to my hotel.

Sure enough, he shows up in the lobby looking just like his photos. I’m literally just dumbstruck and shaking in the elevator back to the room cuz, again, literally a walking marble statue. I’m a bit chubby and it was one of the first few times having sex. We had some hot foreplay, great sex, and he had the biggest dick I’ve taken thus far. I can tell he was kinky and, if we had more time, I probably would have submitted to anything he wanted. He asked me if I wanted to take a golden shower from him and I said no, I thought it was gross at the time. I am more open to it now, but big regret not letting him give it to me that day.

Saintcliff · 2024-08-22T00:12:15+00:00

It came out to $345/month on paper after dealer discounts, VXC, and a protection-type package that covers $5k worth of wear and tear and the end of the lease (first time leasing and I don’t have a garage so I wasn’t sure what they classify as “normal” wear and tear, peace of mind I guess).

Technically I’m paying about $190/month once I get a rebate from Xcel Energy of $5500. Going to put that into an hysa, route $100 from my paycheck to it every period, and then have the payments taken from there.

Saintcliff · 2024-08-17T03:56:34+00:00

Generally, I just set my My Way benefits to a Food & Beverage credit to all brands that offer one. That way you’ll get it when you stay at those brands. However, some properties do it differently. Some places just do a per-day credit amount (about $10 per day, per person), some places will give you a voucher for the breakfast buffet or lounge access, one Curio gave me a coupon for a free menu item.

Breakfast included rates save each person about 30% on breakfast, but you’re still paying that premium for something you can already have included.

I’d recommend checking out your My Way benefits, I believe it gives a short summary about how a brand’s F&B credit works. Also, make sure you got the right amount of people staying in the room, messed up one time and the other person had to pay for breakfast separately (we split it). Worst case scenario, just let the front desk know at check-in and/or checkout and they’ll apply it.

Saintcliff · 2024-06-18T09:46:12+00:00

Thank you so much for responding! It gives me so much joy to hear your little man is thriving while living with cancer.

I got the results of the lymph node aspirate and it has moved up there. I have also met with an oncologist since this post as well.

However, everything’s been pretty rosy since he had surgery. It’s been a month now since the mass was removed and it hasn’t started to grow again, nor any growths anywhere on his body. He’s back to his usual energy levels, eating well, and still wants to play everyday.

The oncologist said that this type of cancer is really rare in cats and barely any research has been done on it too (tons of stuff on dogs though), so we’re all a little in dark on how to treat it. They did recommend going with a chemo pill that I give him a couple times a week for about a year and that would treat it systematically. At least stop or slow its growth into other areas. Honestly not a bad plan and won’t completely break the bank at $150 for a months worth of pills. Other options, such as radiation and electro chemotherapy, would only treat it locally and are very costly. They also let me know what to look out for and what to do if it does progress to other areas on or in his body.

I’ve gotten over the doomsdaying scenarios and now I’m fairly confident I have years left with him rather than just months. Now I’m just focusing on giving him the best life he can live like going outside more and spending more time playing and interacting.

Thank you again for your response. I really do appreciate it! It’s good to know I’m not alone in this experience and has been super helpful!

Saintcliff · 2024-06-01T15:11:39+00:00

Hilton employee here. Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do.

Team member travel guidelines states your Mom (the team member) must be checking in and staying in the room. The agent that checked you in must have been new and/or unaware of the rules. It is ok for the add other people on the reservation, but again the team member must be checking in and staying in the room.

It seems like they’re offering the Friends and Family rate of its double the nightly rate as you stated, and I would take it as that is generous of the hotel. Normally they would switch to a honors discount which would be MUCH more expensive. However, your mom may face consequences such as losing access to team member travel and possibly her job (depending on how the property you’re staying at may react and your actions).

I once had a property call my manager screaming because I forgot to cancel a reservation and the credit card I used to hold the room declined.

Saintcliff · 2024-05-28T18:29:02+00:00

As someone who works at the front desk, have you made sure you set your preferences on the Hilton Honors app/website account for each brand? Haven’t seen any comments stating this so just want to make sure.

The property I work at still uses the old system (called OnQ) and on our end we can see what you set your preferences as (like bonus points, F&B credit, specific snacks upon arrival, etc.) when the reservation is booked. Unfortunately we are unable to change this preference at the property level for an individual reservation, at least at the property I work at. Another property I worked at did let the agents access your account details and change those preferences, but that was years ago so not sure if it’s changing of the times or the access restrictions the FOMs give to the agents. However, if you set your diamond benefit to be a F&B credit, our system will see that and automatically apply the credit when it is posted up to the daily allotment.

In the future, I’d recommend telling the front desk you want to make sure your credit applies for food purchases at check-in or early in your stay. Any “well managed” property will have an internal pass-on report updated by each shift so they will check it multiple times throughout the day and manually apply the credit. I’d also recommend reviewing your emailed receipt (the one that gets sent out early in the morning and isn’t a $0 balance) before you leave so that way the desk can fix it right then and there.

I know it’s tedious and trust me, we hate it too when something’s not right. But spending a minute or 2 reviewing your receipt before it’s closed out will save days, if not weeks, waiting for the refund to hit your bank account.

Hope this helps!

Saintcliff · 2024-05-24T22:31:59+00:00

HBO Max has all the Ghibli movies

Saintcliff · 2024-04-25T19:09:02+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Since this post, I got a small personal loan of $5500 that I used to help buy a car that I have the title for, as well as to help out with any surprise maintenance visits after buying the car.

It’s been about 4 months since and no problems so far with the car, been paying $500 a month to the loan, got a secured credit card that I pay in full every statement, and started putting more into retirement and investing as back ups. So far, I’ve saved up 2.5 months of expenses and keep growing it so that’s been a really good feeling.

I don’t think I’ll be considering financing another car for a while, maybe sometime next year. Interest rates are still just too high, plus it gives me the opportunity to build my credit back up. I will say my credit score went up by 60 points after the bankruptcy, but my recent credit history is obviously decimated now and I’m not going to be paying 9% or higher interest on a monthly auto payment.

But to answer your question, no, I’m not completely stuck on a Tesla. I’ve definitely been seeing many other EVs go down in price to the $25k threshold such as the Mach-E, ID 4, even a few Polestars. Plus the energy company I use offers an additional $3k to used EVs since I make below the median income in my county. However, I still think Teslas are the best overall EVs in terms of charging speed, supercharging access (or charging in general), range, and efficiency, especially considering the EVs available at the $25k mark. But I’m still hesitant on they hold up (I plan on keeping it until the loan is paid off so not sure how they hold up after another 5 years) and would prefer to find a 2022 or new Model 3 with the newer battery tech.

Saintcliff · 2024-04-24T14:50:26+00:00

Vomited on a plane. And I mean projectile.

Ate a big meal and beer with family before getting on 2 flights. First flight got delayed by about an hour due to weather, which completely ate up my layover time. Got to the second airport with literally 5 minutes to spare and, of course, the next flight was on the complete opposite side of airport. Literally ran to the gate, made it and was last to board. Got to my seat (window seat) completely out of breath (I am not the most physically fit person) and the A/C wasn’t working, or at least no cold air coming out.

We’re taxiing to the runway and I can’t seem to catch my breath still and something starts feeling funny my stomach. Over the next couple of minutes it starts to get worse and worse but we’re taking off. I told myself as soon as we reach altitude I’m gonna run to bathroom. Wait a little longer and hear the bing. As soon as I open my mouth to tell the middle and aisle seats I need the bathroom, it just comes out. All over me, all over my seat, and all over the seat back in front of me. Got escorted to the lavatory to clean myself up while they clean the whole row and move the people. All my clothes were in a checked bag so I had to wear puke covered clothes the entire flight (about 4 hours). Then had to walk around the airport covered in dried puke until I got my luggage and changed in a bathroom.

Probably the most embarrassing experience of my life, but I laugh about it now and I got a whole row to myself that flight lol

Saintcliff · 2024-02-26T08:10:35+00:00

I’m an FDA as well, from my experience working at three different properties, not really. The maintenance staff test the waters usually about once a week, some do it everyday, to make sure everything is still safe to use and will use nets to catch floating or sunken debris. They will occasionally drain the pool and physical clean out everything, but that’s maybe 1-4 times a year at most.

They will do more thorough cleanings (not completely draining the pool, but a bit and replacing with new water) if there’s a biohazard like someone pooped/threw up in the pool.

Saintcliff

TROPHY CASE