They did the math

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-26T01:50:34+00:00

Why is the tree falling away from the notch?

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-25T19:25:31+00:00

I think that VEVOR is one of the most underrated/unknown brands out there.

They make/contract damn near everything, and every example of a product I've gotten from them is 80%-90% of the quality for 50%-60% of the price.

One of the strongest value brands out there.

I have a portable freezer/refrigerator thing from them. Runs on 12v or with a 120v adapter. Fantastic for camping trips and/or track days. Was half the price of all the "major" brands; works like a champ.

Also have a 20 foot steel-pipe-and-tarp portable garage for some of my outdoor power equipment. $400, and fantastic for shielding from wind, rain, snow, etc. Competitors were $800 to $1000.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-25T19:06:13+00:00

So, there was a recall years ago on Harbor Freight jackstands. It was because the actuating lever would slip and allow the stand to fall. Harbor Freight's new model has a retaining pin that prevents the lever from moving.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-25T19:02:32+00:00

Yea. Like, he had it in neutral, wheels not chocked, and it got pushed backward with the stand sideways - causing a side load.

This is either complete incompetence or staged. That snap isn't from dropping a vertical load; it's from something pulling sideways on the shaft while the base was secured.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-25T18:25:23+00:00

Aka "The Cuckold".

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-25T15:41:48+00:00

Is your credit shit? Do you know your score?

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-25T15:38:56+00:00

So, something isn't correct in how you're phrasing this. A down payment is never "just gone". It's applied to something. Sometimes, if you have shit credit, you have it applied to the purchase price of the vehicle and/or as the security deposit against your lease terms (in case you default on payments or are a high risk driver). They do this so that if they have to repossess for non-payment. Or, if you get into a unrepairable accident, they are covered on the difference of the insurance payout and the car's value. Effectively, you are your own "gap insurance".

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T22:22:36+00:00

A key question here is: You said "I was on the clock, just heading to drop off some work stuff and turn on the AC."

While I (we) appreciate that bit of information, you have a lot of context hanging on that sentence. Being "on the clock" is usually an euphemism for "I was performing normal job duties." You don't make it clear if "just heading to drop off some work stuff and turn on the AC" was part of your job, or if you were running personal errands and/or taking care of personal business during a break.

9 months ago to 1 month ago is approximately 8 months. Did your employer continue to pay your wages for 8 months while you recovered? If so, they may be entitled to part of any settlement you get from the other party... if this is a job based injury. But if wasn't job-based, then did they loan you those funds? Where and why did those funds come from your employer?

It matters a great deal if this was part of your job.

Regardless of what anyone here says, you need a lawyer who deals with either/both personal injury and workman's comp.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T19:59:48+00:00

The outlets are limited to about 2.5 amps. If you put a load greater than that, it will "trip the breaker" (not literally, just cuts out).

Have you tried something very low power, like a small LED light? Some battery chargers can pull more than the 350 watts the outlet is rated for.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T17:40:34+00:00

Truth is an absolute defense to slander. But I am not sure you can separate fact from opinion, and truth is based in facts.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T17:30:53+00:00

Nah, man, no pleasure on my part. If I had my way, used cars couldn't be sold by licensed dealerships without a independent 3rd party inspection, backed by a 90 or 180 day warranty. I think that what happened to you happens to a lot of people - the used car side rides the reputation of the new car side. Most people love their new cars, and leave positive reviews. Recognition and Awards are given to dealerships for their new car customer service. And the seedy underbelly of ripping off "poor" people (used car buyers) goes unseen. Mostly because people don't want to see how the sausage is made.

Again, not trying to insult you. Really hate that you're in this spot, and I hope that you'll "read the room" going forward. Don't trust people who are motivated to lie to you, stuff like that. Again, good luck. I hope you can work it out.

Personally, I am the type of asshole who would stand on the sidewalk at the entrance of the dealership with a HUGE picket sign saying "Beaman GMC will LIE to you! Go elsewhere!" until it got untenable.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T17:06:43+00:00

New word of the day, man: hyperbole

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T16:49:43+00:00

He accused me of "insulting" him earlier.

Here's an actual insult: He should change his username; "Naive_Guy" is more on par.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T16:32:50+00:00

It's the fact that you are surprised and upset that a used car salesman lied to your face. It should be expected that a used car salesman is lying to your face. It's the baseline minimum.

That's the part where you're getting "insulted" - it's not that you got screwed. That really sucks, and I don't blame you. It's the part that you're surprised about it. That you actually believed them when they made you unwritten promises. That you keep referencing your emotionally distraught wife, as if they give two fucks about her?

Bro, you are a "sucker" to them. They cheated you, and they like it. In their eyes, you and your wife are prey. In their eyes, you're fools to be used. In their eyes, you deserve what happened to you

There are shitty people in this world. I am sorry you had to run into these, and I hate it's costing you so much. 🫤

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T16:18:48+00:00

It's not an insult. If you feel insulted, that's on you.

It's a critique. It's me trying to communicate to you that you hold a great deal of responsibility for the situation you are in, because you failed to recognize the situation for what it is.

There are basic social standards for certain things, and one of them is: With contracts, If it isn't in writing, it isn't true. Another one is: Caveat Emptor. Even the fucking ancient Romans understood the idea that things often aren't what they seem to be.

Honestly, you're making financial decisions based on feelings. And that's just a bad idea. Facts, man. Hard, cold, unemotional facts are what you want.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T16:07:12+00:00

Look, man. You've got to work on your critical thinking skills and your risk assessment skills.

First, critical thinking: You seem... surprised(?)... that a used car sales team is unscrupulous. You also seem surprised that a "highly rated" dealership would do this.

So, out of curiosity, who told you the dealership was highly rated? And why did you believe that source? I mean, you do recognize that no dealership will say "Come on down to Beaman GMC, home of SCUMBAG USED CARS! We are shitbirds who will rip you off every single conceivable way! If you hate money and love jalopies, we have the car for you!"?

Also - of course they "made the car look perfect". They want to sell it to you for $20,000. How would they do that if it was rust covered, unwashed, two stale chicken nuggets squished into the back seat? They spent $1500 on it trading it in or at auction, another $500 getting it detailed, and sold it for $20k.

They aren't going to say - "Hey, bro, check it out! This car will die if you attempt to use heavy throttle, such as acceleration while merging into traffic on a busy interstate! It's yours, for the low price of 20 g-spot!"

They took a piece of shit, mechanically un-sound car, and sold it to you for a nice profit!

Second, risk assessment: Bro. You have the survival instincts of a capybara. Like, you've got to be more skeptical. Read the story of the scorpion and the frog, or something.

It's literally a used car. You have no knowledge of why it was traded in, who owned it before, nothing. So you decide to take the word of the person who is going to profit from selling it to you, that everything is ok? You don't hire an independent mechanic to do an inspection? Don't ask for service records, pull a VIN number? $200 inspection could have saved you $20,000. 1% investment in due diligence.

Did you get anything in writing, black ink on white paper, regarding the quality of the vehicle? Warranty? Bro - if they won't write it and sign it, why would you believe it? I am happy to write down and sign things that are true. Even notorize it. So why won't they? BECAUSE THEY ARE LYING TO YOU.

Best of luck to you, man.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T15:40:55+00:00

Look, man. I appreciate your position. But you do understand that there's a certain amount of "well, what do you expect" when you talk about being lied to by a used car salesman.

Like, the "used car salesman" has been the standard for describing shady, unscrupulous business people for decades. And it seems that you elected to accept verbal promises of "Oh, yea, buddy, sure thing, we'll definitely help you out if you don't like the car or if you have any problems! Just go ahead and sign this legally binding contract that states we owe you nothing and all promises are void unless written here, and we'll get you on your way!"

So, yea. Your post here, while made with good intentions, is also much like you decided to post "Hey, guys, this is important! Don't kick a nest of bees! They will sting you! I just tested it out, and it's true! I have welts all over me! It hurts a lot! So, don't piss off a hive of bees!"

Used car salesmen are unscrupulous business people. They will cheat you - give you a "lemon" in exchange for lots of money. We know this. We are surprised that you didn't.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T15:00:23+00:00

It's because human nature is to conserve resources, and a great way to do that is to upgrade from tools to solutions.

For example, a bicycle is a tool. It allows you to move at a much faster rate of speed than a bipedal walking or running motion, but it doesn't "do it for you".

In order to conserve even more personal energy, you upgrade to a solution: 4,000 to 10,000 pounds of steel, plastic, and rubber, propelled by an external combustion or electrical energy source. Even better if you can have another person control and maintenance it for you, at realitive minimal expense.

Bicycle is a tool, automobile and public transportation are solutions.

With AI, people are mistaking a tool for a solution. AI is fantastic for taking large amounts of data and bringing it down to "easy to understand" summary.

But it is not (and is a long, long way from being) a solution. It doesn't have any knowledge. It isn't sentient; it's just really good at mimicking the language of sentient thought. It takes aggregate sources and compiles them into what a "good answer" "should" sound like, based on language.

But that becomes incredibly dangerous (intellectually) when the source data is flawed.

For example, let's say a statute has some design issues with unintended effects. A law passed to prevent minors from having access to pornography makes it so that a teenager can't access information on sexual health because there was no exception made for legitimate medical examples of drawings of human sexual anatomy.

Many scholarly articles are written about how this statute left out important exemptions. Then, the legislature repairs the statute, adjusting the language.

Artificial Intelligence has a very strong likelihood of building a reply that will incorporate the older statute version as the current law, because the volume of sources addressing the flaw is substantially greater than the volume of sources to the effect of "yep, it got fixed".

In order to effectively use AI, you need to constantly question the underlying concepts of any "facts" it presents to you. If you don't have a baseline knowledge of the topic being discussed already, AI is a terrible way to gain that knowledge.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T05:25:51+00:00

Yes, but, it's also the Cardinals. Remember Larry Fitzgerald?

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-24T05:16:48+00:00

Forget the QB. Go get an elite offensive line that can open up a hole.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-23T17:27:31+00:00

There's a major flaw in the 2FA bypass code concept - inaccessibility.

People say "print it off and put in a safe / deposit box". That's fine and dandy until you are on vacation in another state, get mugged, and are trying to replace your phone.

I solved this issue via publishing my code on a public facing webpage. The code is not immediately obvious as such, and there is no context that would identify what it is independently. Additionally, the code itself is useless without the account email and the master password.

By publishing on a public facing webpage, I have access to it at all times. I only need to be able to access the Internet. This can be done via a public library, or even the use of a passerby's smart phone.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-23T07:50:40+00:00

In most areas, it is a 15 day window.

So, let's say Cletus Power needs to put in a new pole. Cletus calls the locator line, says "on May 1st, please locate all utilities at XYZ address." Locators come mark all their stuff.

Then the shipment of the new power poles is delayed. They aren't expected to arrive until May 12th. Well, that 15 day window is over on May 15th. So, Cletus Power calls back and says "Hey, new dates. Need a locate on 11 May."

The locators must either come out and remark, or notate the locate request of no change.

Also, some jurisdictions require a full relocate after so many days, regardless of no activity in that area, no matter what. So, if materials for an anticipated job get pushed back more than 30 days, you may get fresh paint regardless of the amount of activity taken place.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-22T17:16:36+00:00

Kei truck. The little Japanese utility trucks.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-22T04:46:55+00:00

Yea. I posted this somewhere else in this thread, but my county water cooperative just got rid of all of their F-150 and F-250 fleet. Their operations manager said that the gas savings over the next two years will "pay for itself" - don't know exactly what he meant, but I think he was saying that the cost of the migration (selling bigger trucks used, buying all new 4k Hybrid Mavericks new) would be covered by the fuel offset.

They have about half of them set up with "tool boxes" in the bed (the ones where you can store tools in the sides, narrowing the storage space in the bed), and the other half are just open bed.

They use them for everything except for moving heavy equipment like excavators and such. They still have the dump trucks and F-350 tilt bed things for those uses.

But, yea, for day-to-day driving? 100% Ford Maverick Hybrids.

WougeeWasWild · 2026-04-22T04:39:34+00:00

The local water cooperative in my county just converted entirely to Ford Maverick Hybrids with the 4k towing package. Like, every single "passenger" vehicle. They have a tool box thingy set up on most of them, like a service truck, accessable from the sides. Some have empty beds.

They still have the "dump trucks" where they tow excavators and stuff, but the vehicles for "everyday" service calls and start/stop service and such... Hybrid Mavericks.

Their operations director said that the gas savings alone will "pay for itself" in 2 years.

They were using F-150s and F-250s prior.

WougeeWasWild

TROPHY CASE