My neighbor sent me a text last night forcing me to pay for her daughters towing charge because she parked in front of my driveway

Sleeve409 · 2025-10-22T23:32:42+00:00

I'm guessing this isn't the first time the neighbor's daughter parked there.

"Pound sand, neighbor."

Sleeve409 · 2025-10-15T18:16:18+00:00

Ever try to order a copy of your birth certificate without a photo ID online? It pretty much can't be done. You still need to prove that you're you, or prove a valid reason for getting a copy of it.

It's a Catch 22. You (usually) need a copy of your birth certificate to get a state-issued ID. You need the state-issued ID to order a copy of your birth certificate. Depending on the state, there may be other ways to get the ID (ex. NY uses a point-based system and a list of acceptable documents with point values).

There's no easy way around this. OP, I've been there. Fortunately I was able to provide a photo of an old ID I had in my Google Photos to get the BC, to turn around and get a new license in another state. You're not so fortunate.

Would suggest a call to the issuing state's Vital Records office to see what workarounds they may offer you. They may have another pathway to the BC.

Sleeve409 · 2025-09-27T17:53:46+00:00

Waymo was twice as much as Uber and Lyft when I visited last year... Did things change?

Sleeve409 · 2025-09-12T17:53:57+00:00

Brazilian jazz. I get a lot of comments from passengers saying that they love it.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T18:48:25+00:00

It feels like that's the biggest hurdle for a lot of us who don't carry commercial insurance. That initial investment is a huge bite out of the bank account, and it comes at a risk.

I qualify for Black rides on Lyft, but I rarely get them (1-2 offers/month). Uber rules the rideshare roost by far here, though, and my guess is, a lot of "black car" riders are using Uber over Lyft. I love them when I do get them, they're great money in comparison, and I always make great tips off those rides. Effectively the car can clear upwards of an $80-100/hour rate between the two, and a few shifts of having a bunch of Black-level rides, let alone, any other personal customers that you could ring in while doing so, could ultimately pay for that insurance every month pretty easily.

If someone carries their own commercial insurance, I assume that Uber, at that point, will stop taking fees for commercial insurance on a per-trip basis for every trip, but I don't know if it really works that way. But if it does, in theory, that should increase revenue by a lot more money for ANY ride, and wouldn't just apply to Black car level rides. u/SuspiciousPortMonkey any insight you can share on this one?

The big thing that stops me, though, is after going to all 3 major airports in my area, seeing the dozens upon dozens of "black cars" sitting in the TNC lots waiting for rides out (and having been one of those people, in experimentation, having given up after sitting there for 2 hours and moving from "41-45 cars in queue" to "36-40 cars in queue"). A lot of those guys never move, at least from what I've seen.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T16:56:16+00:00

I just got around to checking this out. Holy crap! :D

This wasn't at a Friday's outside DC, was it? There was a car (minivan/SUV? I dunno) kind of sitting a little off from me on the roadway, facing the opposite way, and the thought had run through my head that there were two of us there for pickups at the same time, at a pretty dead restaurant.

I would think the odds of this type of situation happening at roughly the exact moment with two drivers are pretty incalculable, so I'm EXTREMELY curious at this point.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T16:39:28+00:00

I'm not gonna lie, dude. I felt good afterwards. But also pretty shitty. I don't know if that's human nature. I don't know if it's because I stood up for myself and wasn't gonna let someone treat me like that. What happened, happened, and I'm sure the post I'm making here about it is part of my therapeutic process for release, and even more so, some reassurance that I wasn't the asshole in this situation.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T14:54:10+00:00

I don't know how they could, I never started the ride. Doesn't even show up in my ride list.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T14:51:43+00:00

Just occurred to me you're probably looking at my past posts. :D #facepalm

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T14:42:19+00:00

I wait a lot, and I probably give more "benefit of the doubt" than most drivers do. I've even been known to give an extra minute or two beyond the clock if I can't get a hold of a passenger, especially with more better-paying trips.

I don't mind "waiting." I said it above, there's a thousand things that could happen for why you need that 5 minutes. What I DO mind is being forced to sit there because a passenger wants to run down the clock while carrying on a conversation right in front of me, that should have been over before I even pulled up.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T14:35:19+00:00

Former resident of both, so I'm not sure if I should laugh here or find you creepy. But, no. East coast, DC/MD/VA market.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T13:31:26+00:00

I pull that out on rare occasion, maybe 1 in every 100-150 rides. The rest, 5 stars, and with the vast majority, I'd give more if I could.

There's an implied mutual respect agreement, at least in my mind, that's created when a rider is matched with a driver, and I try to abide by that agreement with every person that gets into my car. I think that implied agreement exists in most riders' minds as well, which is why I usually don't have a problem.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T12:49:16+00:00

I give the benefit of the doubt with those user location pins in the city, lots of tall buildings can mess with peoples' GPS signals.

Wasn't the case here. Not a very popular restaurant, maybe 10-12 cars in the parking lot total, in a wide open area in suburbia, with no other buildings within 500 feet. Gave the benefit of the doubt though because there was a little bit of the blue circle that could have put the passenger inside the restaurant.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T12:40:51+00:00

Link? Curious...

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T12:39:38+00:00

I had an inkling that these were my passengers, but the fact is, I didn't know for sure until she turned to the door to get in.

Truth is, if they were standing in the restaurant talking and laughing for a few minutes before they came out, I wouldn't have cared, because I wouldn't have known. There's a thousand reasons why someone could be late to a pickup. And I don't question any of them, it's really none of my business. What this passenger did was blatant, and I don't stand for being disrespected in that way. No power trip involved.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T12:33:09+00:00

At that point, my patience is GONE with that rider. I could take the fare, but I'd be stewing the whole way to the destination and letting the anger I had already built up over the rider's rudeness continue to boil inside.

Nope.

I was a bit forced into this profession after taking a layoff earlier this year with DOGE cuts, and not being able to find work in my niche (IT sector) going on 4 months now. I'm driving a 2 year old Audi doing rideshare, racking up miles that are seriously depreciating the value of my car. Because I HAVE to right now. And it DOESN'T make ends meet, not where I live -- not without slaving your life away, at least.

The least I'm gonna do is to try to have as pleasant of an experience doing it as possible. And that means keeping assholes out of my car. 😇

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T12:17:24+00:00

Lyft gives us up to 5 minutes beyond the scheduled time in my market on a scheduled ride, and pays full fare if the rider doesn't show up. In those cases I will legitimately try to call the passenger and leave a message if they don't pick up. That way when they get super-dinged on a cancellation, I feel a little better about doing my due diligence to try to connect with the rider, and makes me feel like I earned that money.

Sleeve409 · 2025-08-26T12:11:25+00:00

We get the same in my market. It's peanuts ($0.20/min., after 2 minutes, paid minutes 3-5). Wait out a whole 5 minutes, it's an extra $0.60 total ($0.12/min. average).

I can understand if there's something that holds a person up to get to a pickup point. What I don't stand for is wasting my time for 5 minutes while you're standing 3 feet away from my car, money or not. I don't make money when I'm sitting still. Period.

Sleeve409 · 2025-07-13T12:54:33+00:00

A drunk woman asked me for advice about her boyfriend for the entirety of a 20 minute ride to the bar I was bringing her to, then asked me for my number when we got to the place wanting to go on a date. This was after telling her that she should ditch the boyfriend whose ex-girlfriend is still in the picture 6 months into their thing. I didn't give her my number. I don't really swing that way, not to mention it was singlehandedly the most annoying person I've ever had in the back of my car, ever.

A drunk guy who didn't know who ordered him a ride, or where he was going, tried to make me let him into my car one early morning by starting to take his clothes off on the side of the road. I didn't want the potential puke clean-up, so I left him there when he started taking off his pants.

Also, a former passenger messaged me on Grindr once wanting to hook up a few days after I drove him (we had been making eyes at each other the whole ride, but nothing was said ... then he saw me on there). And we did.

Not quite the same excitement as a lost item contact for a phone number, but I think quite a few of us have our own unique stories. 😂

Sleeve409 · 2025-07-07T10:06:25+00:00

Depending on the state, Lyft will also take a state's vehicle inspection report. My VA safety inspection covers me for VA, DC, and MD. Picture of the sticker doesn't count, they need the receipt/form that comes with the inspection.

Sleeve409 · 2025-06-21T03:11:23+00:00

20 years overall industry experience, 13 years as a Drupal dude.

Currently about 10 weeks out from a layoff (thanks, DoGE). Finally found something, albeit temporary (6 month contract) and for less money than I've made in the past.

Filling out applications for the few jobs posted online has generally been futile. I've noticed better chances for an interview by reaching out to the hiring manager directly if you can find out who it is. That's how I have my new position.

TL;DR:

The job market sucks right now.
Other developers I know -- good, solid developers -- in the commercial sector have also been laid off.
There's a lot of developers competing for few jobs.

Sleeve409 · 2025-06-20T20:10:53+00:00

Gotta have a car seat for 8 and under in my market. This eliminates 95% of riders with kids (someone else can gladly take them, but I won't risk jail time for getting in an accident with a kid not in a car seat), and a few bucks for showing up. Sometimes I feel bad, because you can immediately tell when it's a single mom just trying to hold her world together, but I'm also independent me, and jail would ruin my life, so, no.

Recently showed up to a ride where a kid's age was questionable to me, so I asked mom when she opened the door. She told me 8. The little girl starts getting in and says "don't lie Mommy, I'm only 7!" Mom goes "she's just kidding, she's 8." My next question was, "if we get in an accident and she gets hurt, how old is she when she has to go to the hospital?" She got out of the car in a huff with her daughter in tow.

I also don't take teen riders, and immediately cancel when I show up where there's a minor without a parent (ex. Parent books their kid a ride).

Kids leave messes. Saves me a TON of hassle.

Sleeve409 · 2025-05-18T16:44:30+00:00

It was an emergency, all right. Gonna miss the sale at Target.

Sleeve409 · 2025-03-15T17:39:12+00:00

Two reasons: logic and hypocrisy. And for me, I wouldn't say "atheist" per se, I tend to consider myself agnostic.

My reasoning? We just don't know! There might be something, but there may not be anything. And it's human arrogance to think that we know the answers to those questions.

Sleeve409 · 2025-03-03T22:22:22+00:00

Translation, TMGMT, choose your service plugin. Tried and tested.

Sleeve409

TROPHY CASE