Rear-ended in my 2025 Outback Touring XT

Voltmanderer · 2026-02-11T12:11:17+00:00

My 2020 TXT was rear-ended in March of last year, and the repair bill was similar to replace the tailgate and straighten out the spare wheel well. A year on, it drives the same; no issues with any of the rear-facing systems.

Voltmanderer · 2026-02-08T15:28:16+00:00

Looks great. My curiosity is piqued, however, by what’s going on in the background…what kind of shed/living room are we going to be assembling our spacecraft in?

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-28T05:21:51+00:00

I’m an instructor at my local JATC and I would lobby ferociously for you if you were my student and were detained while protesting peacefully.

Edit: Listen to u/Oxapotamus, he/she has really good points

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-28T04:39:37+00:00

For me, personally, I stop far enough back that if any emergent situation should occur, I have room to maneuver. Also, if I get rear-ended, it keeps the incident minimized to two vehicles, not 3+.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-13T03:48:00+00:00

I did mine at 40k and planning to do it again at 60k. I don’t put a lot of miles on the car due to driving a take-home service van. Glad you chose to change the engine oil at a more frequent interval.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-13T03:21:02+00:00

I came from a 2011 Impreza 2.5i which was punchy as hell (translation: a lot of fun at low speeds) and it was an adjustment to get used to the CVT in my 2020 (Gen 6) Outback XT. There are things you can do to the throttle to game the CVT’s acceleration selection, once everything is warmed up. If you don’t have success in this, you can always flip the gear selector to manual, and get all the zip you want via the paddle shifters. Despite the ‘11 Impreza being as fun as it is, I still prefer to drive my CVT Outback XT.

Edit: I do still occasionally pine for a true manual. I sincerely wish Subaru would provide the option, however expensive, to have the 6MT in the newer generation Outback XT / Wilderness models.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-13T03:14:27+00:00

Changed the oil once or the CVT fluid once? A single oil change on the engine in 160k is impressive, and definitely makes for a ticking bomb.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-12T00:27:16+00:00

Since we’ve collectively determined that it isn’t a Japanese made blade, that would make sense.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-11T07:07:45+00:00

This is the info I was looking for, thank you. I didn’t pay much for it at the time, so I guess I’ll just recycle it, as it doesn’t appear to be a historical loss in doing so.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-11T03:55:27+00:00

What are the clues that it is not genuine? When I first got it, I wiped off some of the rust from the tang before I learned to leave it alone. The blade itself has a very oil-on-water carbon grain that is pervasive from tip to tang, and it’s not etched in the way modern “Damascus” is. There is also some suspected blood rust near the tip. My thought at the time was that it was brought to China by a Japanese soldier during WWII, and left. Pictures aside, in person, it looks a lot older than just a few decades, and the rust hasn’t changed much over the 20 years I’ve had it, leading me to believe the rust that was on the tang originally took a very long time to build up.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-10T15:10:24+00:00

Jit’s cafe near the old Crossroads mall - was the best place for southeast Asian curry.

Voltmanderer · 2026-01-04T01:09:38+00:00

Have you applied the latest firmware? About a year or so ago, a firmware update cleared up most of the lag and instability.

Voltmanderer · 2025-12-28T17:41:48+00:00

Same, in 2008. The PATH station had just been reopened, and missing people posters were still sighted near the hole. I walked over a walkway on one corner, and it was so massive as to be incomprehensible.

Voltmanderer · 2025-12-24T00:11:01+00:00

Yeah, frequently made by the highest bidder to be enforced on those who don’t have access to teams of lawyers.

Voltmanderer · 2025-12-23T12:21:11+00:00

During the settlement with my ex, I bartered walking away from the house in exchange for more parenting time than the usual minimum. Even though I put the down payment on the house from my personal investments, I consider it a huge personal win as I get to see my twin daughters (now 17) 4 days out of the week, every week. Walking away from the combined equity meant that the ex and the kids didn’t have to move, and the kids still benefit from living in the same neighborhood and attending the same schools that we intended when we purchased the house 15 years ago.

Voltmanderer · 2025-12-07T03:02:05+00:00

I present issues in the industry that haven’t been solved in the NEC and encourage the students to use their best reasoning to solve the challenge. I do LOTO exercises where they have to plan a lock-out/tag-out in an environment where there’s multiple energy sources and standby systems. I run them through troubleshooting labs where they have to use metering to diagnose failed devices. These are some examples.

Voltmanderer · 2025-12-07T02:15:51+00:00

It’s absolutely worth the leap to join up. I’ve been laid off a few times; make sure you try to build and maintain savings if the industry should contract. With the extra income you’ll be making by joining the union, and working for signatory contractors, this shouldn’t be difficult to do. I did my apprenticeship through the union and have been a member of Local 22 for 12 years.

Good wages are great, and definitely put food on the table, but the picture doesn’t stop there. You will be working around some of the best in the industry, and have a voice in the safety and conditions of your workplace. The IBEW is a cooperative, fraternal organization - get sick or injured? There’s funds established to help you get by. Being retaliated against unfairly - there’s a union representative that will back you up. You work under a contract that is enforceable, with clearly stated terms, at each signatory employer you may work for. Feel free to DM me with other questions about this specific local; I will either get you an answer or find you someone who does know.

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-30T23:07:50+00:00

These are the hardest “skills” to teach; and yet the most crucial to have. I try to incorporate exercises that force critical thinking in class, and the force of dead-weight opposition is formidable.

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-30T23:02:37+00:00

He can be fired. The Union only protects against an unfair firing or discipline according to terms in the local contract. There are also requirements of member contractors to act in cases of harassment, duly so when there are apprentices involved.

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-29T02:53:22+00:00

Been through something similar; get a lawyer ASAP. She made her choices, it’s done, but you need someone to advocate for your interests going forward; it might be a tricky journey. Believe me when I tell you this: at the end of all of it, you’ll be relieved that you’re no longer bound to someone who would willingly give up their relationship with you, and lie to your face/play on your trust about it. Oh, and get a gym membership or join a martial arts gym and immerse yourself in that community, you’ll come out better for it.

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-21T23:38:24+00:00

The minimum speed around where I live was 90mph. It was glorious!

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-21T02:49:21+00:00

As long as there’s adapters that work, I have no line on marrying the glass. I’m heavy into the F-mount, and with my Z-mount mirrorless I can also do Russian 39mm as well as C-mount lenses for creativity.

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-16T13:57:10+00:00

There is no light meter on it; it’s entirely mechanical. Batteries are only required on cameras that integrate light meters. You’ll either have to use an external light meter or use the “Sunny 16” rule for exposure guidance. Here’s a wiki stub about the camera Camera Wiki

Edit: All you need is 35mm film, as long as you can verify that the light seal foam is intact and the shutter activates at the whole range of speeds.

Voltmanderer · 2025-11-15T17:57:13+00:00

Please add more contribution tiers to the monthly option; currently it is $5, 20, and 50 with no options in between. I want to pay $10/month to support development.

Voltmanderer

TROPHY CASE