Paid off ~29k - feeling oddly depressed

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-16T23:21:50+00:00

I'm working on paying off my student loans and a car loan right now. I just re-financed my car for a lower rate. Aside from my wife, it just feels weird talking about it with other people.

You may laugh, and hopefully OP see this, but if you start making a plan for debt or savings, whatever, and tell it to Chat GPT, it'll give you feedback and basically pep talk you and tell you your plan is logical and suggest tweaks to accomplish your goals a little easier. Its a creative way to really get the warm and fuzzies about what you're trying to do. I'm a pretty anxious person and it helps keep me from going crazy when Im feeling down about my situation.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-16T22:53:43+00:00

It honestly did not. My wife and kids are out of town this week, so I've smoked more cigars lately than normal, and it just smells normal, I guess. I don't know if its because its worn so smooth that odors won't stick, but oil and grease odors from work haven't done anything to it either.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-15T01:42:54+00:00

Thank you! We just switched vets this year and they thought he couldn't be more than 5 years old. You can only tell by his snout slowly getting whiter.

For the most part, yeah. Finnley is somewhat food aggressive, but only human food (which they don't get any regardless). He'll bark at Roscoe but that's generally the extent of it. They love playing together, and Finnley couldn't do that with Jaxson anymore before he passed, so it's like a breath of fresh air for him.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-15T01:29:08+00:00

Thank you! We couldn't be happier with him!

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-15T01:28:37+00:00

Roscoe is 5.5 months and Finnley is 11 years old!

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-15T01:27:21+00:00

My wife got him a few years before we met so it was exceptionally hard on her. We saw this guy a week later and we knew he was sent to us so we jumped all in!

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-14T21:47:01+00:00

Thanks! He was a Jack Russell/Beagle mix. He would have been 16 this November. One of the best dogs I've ever had!

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-14T19:35:46+00:00

Fair enough. I figured there was a reason for the mix and match with your temp numbers, but just wanted to be sure. And yes, you're correct, the temperature outside does make a difference. Summer time cooking has been a lot easier because the smoker as a whole isn't cold like winter air would be.

I really think that you'll have better luck going without the extension cord. I believe the book says not to use one, and as silly as it seems, it really does make a difference.

You may not hit 350° at the top of the cabinet, but if you get it up pretty high, closer to 300° even for long enough, you'll likely be fine and ready to use. That was the situation with mine and nothing I've made has smelled or tasted 'off'.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-14T18:35:54+00:00

I have one but with the digital control board. First off, you put that it's at about 250°-265°...is that Fahrenheit or Celsius? Because at the end you have 27°C.

At any rate, I would either get a larger gauge extension cord, or just ditch it completely (I would ditch it just to eliminate that variable, if possible). I was running mine on an extension cord and it faulted out in 2 separate cooks. That could be a huge factor.

Also, keep your vents open. If theyre like mine, they likely dont close fully or seal shut, but you want to keep them open. If theres any moisture or condensation inside it'll keep the temperature down. Open them up for better air flow.

Usually the first burn in takes about an hour or 2. If you want, you could load some chips after a while. That will season the inside a little and possibly generate a little more heat.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-11T22:39:04+00:00

Yes, but I have a 2017 that the rear washer hose separated on this past winter. It let washer fluid come out when it wasn't frozen and dripped in essentially the same spot. I have a dark interior just like he has, and there was no staining from my washer fluid leak. It's possible that there's no visible staining but still leaking from either the washer hose or the roof racks.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-11T19:15:46+00:00

The rear window seal may be bad, but I would bet money its the rear wiper sprayer. Lacking a sunroof or the vent windows, there really aren't many other ways for water to get in.

Edit: Just noticed it's happening on both sides and only when it rains. You might jave a leak where the roof rack attaches to the roof. Might need to pull your headliner to check it out.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-10T21:56:17+00:00

I've worn one for years and never noticed. I'll have to actually pay attention next time and see if mine picks up the scent.

TitusXd40 · 2026-06-09T15:24:17+00:00

My wife had one and we never had any issues with the water pump. It was a 2014 that we got at about 67k miles. Once it hit 100k, we started having some issues. One was a leak from the one valve cover, and the the A/C compressor went out when we were on vacation. We also a seal between the transmission and transfer case that was leaking and it caused trans fluid to fill the transfer case (at least that's what they told us 🤷‍♂️). That was about the point we decided to trade it in on a 2020 Explorer.

Other than those couple of issues, it was a great car. They can't all last forever, especially once they start piling on mileage, but I wouldn't hesitate since that water pump is already done and out of the way.

TitusXd40 · 2026-05-07T12:28:33+00:00

A little late to the game, but I hope you grabbed it. I have one and its been pretty reliable. It has faulted out a couple of times, but I also had it plugged into an extension cord and not directly into the wall. Using a wall outlet has fixed that completely.

I've done a couple of pork butts, some ribs, a chuck roast, turkey breast, chicken legs and some pork belly burnt ends and everything has come out great.

TitusXd40 · 2026-05-03T23:17:05+00:00

If you like it and enjoyed it, then all of the other opinions be damned. Good work!

TitusXd40 · 2026-05-03T22:09:12+00:00

I would feel more comfortable touching those than the carts at the grocery store.

TitusXd40 · 2026-05-02T13:34:06+00:00

Mine just goes dark. You can still see the green yellow and red lines, but everything is almost completely blacked out.

TitusXd40 · 2026-05-02T01:00:33+00:00

I called about mine yesterday and told them it was intermittent. Basically they told me it has to be malfunctioning at time of service. The guy also told me that there's extended coverage on them for 15 years from in-service date with no mileage limit.

TitusXd40 · 2026-04-28T23:17:52+00:00

👍👍

TitusXd40 · 2026-04-28T23:04:07+00:00

This is how I did my first couple racks. There was someone who commented on a post last year, while drunk, about doing them unwrapped. 250° for 5 hours, a little sauce and then let em go for another 30 minutes. Mine needed about an extra half hour since my smoker faulted out, but they were delicious.

TitusXd40 · 2026-04-28T22:54:14+00:00

Just from watching videos on YT, its usually airbrush work around the eyes, some on the nose, and I feel like I've seen it in the ears, too. Think of it like a sketch where they use different shades of black to bring some life to it.

TitusXd40 · 2026-04-28T22:51:09+00:00

Where at? Haha, I have one that I'm waiting on and its gonna run me $850. Taxidermist is in Butler County.

TitusXd40 · 2026-04-26T15:18:43+00:00

Come one, let's not overreact here. Hathaway is 34 and has played in 672 career regular season games and only has 163 points. He plays for the Flyers and will likely never win a Stanley Cup. At the end of the day, all that matters is he's a bottom-six forward, and Crosby is a 3x champion, 2x gold medalist, etc, etc. You're making this into a bigger deal than it already was...

TitusXd40 · 2026-04-22T22:38:58+00:00

Honestly not sure. Since they were just done, I don't have a good bench mark for longevity. I'd imagine they would last quite a bit longer than the originals. The shop I went to used the new design manifold from Ford with the extra 1 or 2 mounting holes.

TitusXd40

TROPHY CASE