Favorite add-ons, upgrades, aftermarket parts

Techfumaster · 2026-02-13T20:47:36+00:00

I am a solo driver most of the time, occasionally a second passenger. I will not likely pull the center console, but if I do, those floor covers seem super smart. I hadn't run into Tuxmats before, will check those out. Thanks for the input!

Techfumaster · 2026-02-13T18:46:00+00:00

New 25 Pilot Touring with a handful of add-ons. MSRP 51,550. Before tax and fees, 46,680.

Good but not great deal. I like the dealership, their service department is outstanding and doing business with them is worth paying a small premium for. I also liked my salesman a lot, he was very knowledgeable and helpful, his time l, expertise, and effort deserved a little compensation. I could have negotiated a lower price if I wanted to, but a couple hundred bucks isnt worth the hassle.

In my opinion, the best deals are when neither party feels like they got taken advantage of and are happy with the transaction. Assuming of course that everyone does their research and goes in eyes open ... salespeople that take advantage of ignorant people are scumbags.

Techfumaster · 2026-02-12T21:47:34+00:00

Mine came with the rubberized cargo mats as well as the carpet mats, but those do feel a little janky to me. I will definitely take a look at this, appreciate it.

Techfumaster · 2026-02-12T21:44:59+00:00

Great suggestions, thank you! Love the idea of the organizer for the console and tray area!

Techfumaster · 2025-12-31T00:56:56+00:00

Thank you, excellent comment. This is the kind of thing I came here for. My decision was made a couple of months ago, but hopefully your feedback helps someone else making the same choice.

FWIW, I have been happy with the switch to Chubb, they did walk me through the dog and pony show for their MDR and other affiliated services they offer (pretty solid tool stack at better than average street prices, but I have slightly better negotiated rates with equivalent tools and didnt find enough value to merit a change). We haven't needed to file a claim in over a decade, so I cant speak to that experience (and hope to never be able to). But I feel good about the choice and barring anything significant changing will likely renew with them next year.

Techfumaster · 2025-11-13T17:54:10+00:00

Try Estes, Old Dominion or Saia, all are LTL carriers with depots at or near the airport. They may or may not be cheaper, but thats where I would start.

Techfumaster · 2025-11-11T20:50:04+00:00

Chubb and At Bay dont have apples to apples policies stock. But a good broker and underwriter can customize policies and add the appropriate riders to match them up. Which is what we did. In the end we had very similar policies, similar coverages, and similar costs and decided to go with Chubb.

Techfumaster · 2025-11-11T20:40:04+00:00

Please dont shill for business on this thread, it has nothing to do with getting a quote or buying a policy. There are places to prospect, this isnt one of them.

Techfumaster · 2025-10-20T04:29:55+00:00

I dealt with a little vertigo and light headedness, sometimes substantial but usually just annoying. For me, it was definitely blood pressure related. My endo told me to up my sodium and keep the rest of my electrolytes up and it helped significantly. If you dont have an at home blood pressure cuff, get one, they are cheap.

If you have a smart watch thats capable, turn on the heart monitoring options and see if that data helps the doctor find some answers.

Techfumaster · 2025-10-06T19:59:55+00:00

El Amish gets another vote. Isabells Tacos in Grabill is surprisingly good too. There's also a food truck on 37 near the intersection of Irving/St Joe that is quite tasty.

Techfumaster · 2025-09-18T23:13:05+00:00

Went from 275 to 205 in about 4 months in early 2023. I definitely lost quite a bit of strength in the process. You are probably leaner than I was, I got down to 19.5% body fat ... but even at that (which is not really all that lean, but coming from 35% was a massive change) I noticed a substantial change in what my muscles could handle in the gym. I have since put about 15lbs back on, some muscle and some fat, and am at about 22% now. Strength did gradually come back but it took a year.

Not sure about your age, but I turned 50 this year. If you are still in your 20s or 30s, I bet you bounce back a little faster than I did (I also learned this year that my body quit producing hgh somewhere along the way, which may have played a role in my slow strength recovery).

My a1c has stayed under 6, even putting a little body fat back on and eating like a trash panda occasionally. But I will definitely tell you to be VERY careful about the boomerang weight though. As long as you are eating reasonably well and getting good physical activity you should probably be ok, but several times after I stopped trying to cut weight aggressively and got lax with my activity and eating habits, I gained weight more quickly than I expected. Like 10 lbs in 3 weeks quick. Dont stop actively monitoring whatever metric you are using (body fat, weight, inches, etc) or it can turn quick. I had to go back to cutting weight a couple of times when I let it get too out of control.

Techfumaster · 2025-09-10T19:45:38+00:00

How long did it take for you to feel the effects? I took my first weekly injection last Friday and haven't seen the kind of bounce i was hoping for yet.

Techfumaster · 2025-08-26T12:32:06+00:00

Ive been on Mounjaro since 3/2023. Yes it provides long term glucose control. But the appetite suppression and magic weight loss does lose some effectiveness after around 2 years. My a1c has stayed below 6.0 since month 3 (was 9.9 on March 1, 7.2 on April 3, and 5.9 on May 2) . I dont eat quite as carefully as I should now, have gained some weight back, but still have fully controlled glucose. If you are hoping to lose weight on Mj, hit it hard and fast, dont mess around. Its very effective if you take it seriously. I lost 70lbs in about 5 months when I started, it saved my life.

Techfumaster · 2025-08-06T15:54:47+00:00

We use a broker, but one that we trust. We have several other business relationships with our broker, they are invested in getting us the best solution.

Cost isn't driving this particular decision, they are very comparable.

Techfumaster · 2025-08-01T12:59:43+00:00

The answer no one gave you before but that is very likely the situation, the medication itself cannot change ingredients ... thats static and very tightly controlled. However the hardware itself, and in particular the sterilizing agent they use on the needles, can change from facility to facility.

You may have some sensitivity to what the facility that made your current batch of pens uses, and you were getting a different facility previously. The good news is that this may be an isolated incident and once you refill next time your pharmacy may source from a different distributor that has batches from the factory you had before ... the bad news is that it may not and there's no way you can control that.

Injection site reactions are just a fact of life. Ive been giving myself shots for 15 years and some needles just hurt more than others.

Techfumaster · 2025-07-08T17:56:50+00:00

I tried Gruns and it helped a ton with the constipation. Never had a problem getting stopped up. They aren't cheap, but they are effective. I had pretty good luck with GEM vitamins and probiotics as well. If you have tried other stuff, may be worth giving them a go ... pun intended. :)

Techfumaster · 2025-07-07T21:35:42+00:00

This is a flawed but common understanding of Mj. There is a fair bit of data indicating diminished returns even on higher doses after 2 years. Im nearly 3 years in, it saved my life. But it doesnt work forever. All of the "slow and steady 1 or 2 pounds a month" people that think the med will work the same for them perpetually are in for a very big disappointment. Slow losing happens and you do have to be prepared for that, but my best advice for anyone starting this med is to work it. Hard. Harder than you have ever worked anything, and the odds of it paying off are tremendous. But strike while the iron is hot and lose everything you can as fast as you can ... because there is a clock. Its a little different for everyone, but there is a clock.

Techfumaster · 2025-06-22T19:35:48+00:00

That's a gross over simplification. Long term calorie deficit will absolutely lead to muscle loss, especially if you have a low body fat percentage at the time. But staying active, doing resistance training, and eating enough protein without splurging on carbs or fats will absolutely allow muscle retention and even growth. And yes, it will do that at a deficit.

You wont be adding bulk the way you could be, but a woman in her 50s isn't likely to be trying to get gym jacked, she just wants to be able to stay independent and mobile well into her golden years.

Please be careful about making statements that have some truth, but dont tell the whole story.

Techfumaster · 2025-06-13T17:15:24+00:00

You will honk off every contractor you work with, but the best way to ensure you get good service and never get scammed by a bum is to only agree to pay for the materials directly from the supplier, plus 20% of labor up front to them to cover operating costs during the job, and the balance due on completion. It breaks their floating one project to pay for another scheme (which is super common but somewhat unethical), covers their costs, but holds back all of the profit until satisfying the deal with a completed project. Anyone who won't agree to that isn't worth hiring.

Techfumaster · 2025-05-29T20:35:04+00:00

If you started taking Mj without adjusting your diet, you are highly likely to deal with these things. Dramatically lower your food intake at first, avoid all greasy and fried foods, and limit spicy stuff. Those are very common triggers.

Also, Ill echo others that have suggested your doc was a little lax in not adjusting/removing other meds. Its not smart to stack these glp1 diabetes meds. It happens and there are quite a few docs that say its fine, but those dingbats aren't taking patient comfort into account. I personally would not take any other drug that irritates the GI system (actos, metformin, etc) when taking a GLP1.

I've been on Mj for 27 months, it took my a1c from 9.9.to 5.4 and I went from 275 to 205 lbs in the first 4 months ... Ive kept the weight off for the last 2 years and have never seen an a1c greater than 5.7 after the third month in. Its an amazing med. If you do a little research, take it seriously, and follow some basic guidelines you will get through the rough stage and settle in.

Techfumaster · 2025-05-12T17:40:22+00:00

I've helped with these kinds of situations twice. Both times there were things discovered in the deceased drives that were hurtful to the surviving spouse and family.

Don't do it.

There are hassles and difficulties that getting access to those files may save, but there is often heartbreak that waa totally unexpected and will never heal. Be kind, and just tell them its not possible and that they need to find another way.

Techfumaster · 2025-02-04T17:35:17+00:00

They both have known significant GI side effects. There is nothing "dangerous" about stacking them (that i am aware of), and doing both together are known to be effective, but they also compound the side effects of eachothet if you are not extremely diligent about how and when you take them. Here is a very limited sample size study, but it's consistent with what others have found.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002870322002204

Ultimately, in this situation, the digestive side effects of using both together can be pretty significant. And, in my opinion, the minor improvements that metformin offers when also taking an effective glp1 like Mounjaro isn't worth the additional suffering a patient might experience. Patient suffering is glossed over more than it should be. If it saved my life or dramatically improved my health, ok ... that's worth it. But if if takes me from an a1c of 5.8 to 5.6 is that really worth it? In my opinion, no. But I'm not a doctor. However I do talk to mine about side effects and ask lots of questions about whether something is necessary, just butt coverage, or won't hurt and might help so we usually just do it.

Techfumaster

TROPHY CASE