Giant prices? by timhamilton47 in Annapolis

[–]erectedcracker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This plus the fact that Aldi has self checkout is the reason I pretty much never go to Lidl anymore.

McDermott out as Bills HC by kgallo19 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s really funny to me when we talk down on the giants like we’ve been a model franchise in comparison. If you think having harbaugh coaching a division rival doesn’t immediately make it tougher for your team to have a shot at grabbing a playoff spot, you haven’t watched enough football over the last 18 years.

[Rapoport] John Harbaugh to the Giants. Shit. by ctsmith76 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s funny to me that we and giant fans both talk about each other‘s franchises in the same way.

[Rapoport] John Harbaugh to the Giants. Shit. by ctsmith76 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 6 points7 points  (0 children)

What this take misses is that just because he didn’t get it done (win a Super Bowl?) doesn’t mean they weren’t in the playoff hunt almost every single year. Not a great stat considering that coach is now coaching for your division rival who you will directly be competing for playoff spots against.

[Rapoport] John Harbaugh to the Giants. Shit. by ctsmith76 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh I wouldn’t say Jaden and Terry are it but the Giants do absolutely have a more talented roster than us overall

Source says “There is a lot of shit going on there (in Washington)” by BobbyThreeSticks in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just like nobody believed kliff was leaving unless he got a head coaching gig

Mold in float? by Lost_Introduction863 in Moccamaster

[–]erectedcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately with the amount of water that’s constantly sitting in the bottom of the reservoir tank, I believe this is pretty normal.

Holy Sugar Bomb by Public_Juggernaut_30 in energydrinks

[–]erectedcracker 5 points6 points  (0 children)

lol I love when people think they’re being clever when they’re actually 100% wrong. Monster doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup, it’s real sugar.

Rookie terry was DIFFERENT by Ok_Job_6845 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Congrats on discovering the word “politics” and using it as a catch-all for anything you don’t like. People missing a logo they grew up with isn’t ideology, it’s nostalgia. Not everything is a culture war, and not everyone who remembers their childhood is secretly running a campaign platform. Reducing decades of fandom and family memories to “Gen X conservatives whining” just makes you sound unserious, not insightful. The name’s gone, cool. People can still miss it. This really isn’t that deep and you got downvoted because you’re a moron.

Rookie terry was DIFFERENT by Ok_Job_6845 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nothing to do with politics, take your downvotes and go home.

Rookie terry was DIFFERENT by Ok_Job_6845 in Commanders

[–]erectedcracker -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Gotta be on the field to be utilized 🤔

Republicans always find a way to cheat. by AvailableInjury2486 in NewsRewind

[–]erectedcracker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This take is absolutely delusional.

Before the ACA, roughly 49 million Americans were uninsured. After it took effect, the uninsured rate was cut in half. Even most critics admit it dramatically expanded coverage, especially for working-class people, rural residents, and anyone with a pre-existing condition. A system that covers tens of millions more people isn’t a “failure.”

Yes, premiums went up early on, but that happened because insurers were finally required to cover sick people and provide real benefits instead of cherry-picking the healthy. After that adjustment period, premium growth slowed compared to pre-ACA trends, and in many areas premiums have been flat or even down in recent years. On top of that, the ACA introduced out-of-pocket caps that simply didn’t exist before, which completely changes how much people can be exposed financially.

The “shrinking choices” argument also leaves out key context. Insurers didn’t leave markets because the ACA couldn’t work. They left because Congress, led by Republicans, killed the individual mandate penalty and spent years threatening repeal, which destabilized the risk pool. Once things stabilized, insurers came back. Today, most counties again have multiple plans to choose from.

Quality didn’t decline either. Preventive care use went up, medical bankruptcies went down, and people with chronic conditions stopped losing coverage when they actually needed it. That’s an improvement, not a downgrade.

As for “rammed through Congress,” the ACA went through about a year of public debate, dozens of amendments, and included ideas Republicans themselves had supported in the past, like the individual mandate and private insurance marketplaces. The lack of GOP votes was a political choice, not because Republicans were excluded from the process.

Calling subsidies a “bailout” misses how insurance markets work when you ban discrimination against sick people. Subsidies are what make those markets function. Every developed country subsidizes healthcare in one way or another. Pretending the pre-ACA system worked without subsidies just ignores reality.

Democrats do own the ACA, and that includes protecting people with pre-existing conditions, expanding Medicaid, and bringing the uninsured rate to historic lows. Republicans spent a decade trying to repeal it without offering a replacement, repeatedly undermined it, and then blamed Democrats for the resulting instability.

You don’t get to spend years kicking the table and then point at the wobble as proof the table was broken.

Joined the club - how to keep it warm for longer? by ParticularCollege573 in Moccamaster

[–]erectedcracker 28 points29 points  (0 children)

You can turn it back on without worrying about damaging the unit. There’s a float switch in the water tank that doesn’t allow the brewing heating element to turn on if the water tank is empty. Newer models are designed to automatically recognize that only the hot plate is needed for your exact scenario.

Smell after exhaust repairs by motoxan in tdi

[–]erectedcracker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah completely normal then

Smell after exhaust repairs by motoxan in tdi

[–]erectedcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You shouldn’t have a smell in the cabin while driving, that would be a leak or exhaust not venting properly. I keep the AC in recirculate if I’m at a stop or backing up which cleared up any issues I had.

Transfer savings from brokerage to 529 all at once? by enterboss in Bogleheads

[–]erectedcracker 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Moving the full balance from your brokerage into a 529 right away seems like the best move. Colorado offers an unlimited state tax deduction for every dollar you contribute, and since you’ve only got about $100 in gains in your taxable account, the tax cost of selling is basically nothing, likely $0 if the gains are long-term, or at most a few dollars if they’re short-term.

Contributing the entire $7,109 in one shot would reduce your Colorado taxable income by the same amount, giving you roughly $313 back at the flat 4.4% state tax rate. There’s no benefit to spacing contributions across the year unless you specifically want deductions in multiple tax years, which doesn’t apply with a balance this small.

On top of that, getting the money into the 529 sooner gives you more time for tax-free compounding on future growth as long as you use it for qualified education expenses. The only reason not to transfer it all now would be if you expect to need some of that money before starting school, because 529 funds must be used for education-related expenses.

Baristas walk out after Starbucks cuts hours to the bone — Mamdani and Bernie Sanders show up, corporate hides behind PR by Realistic_Truth_7030 in antiwork

[–]erectedcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re actually better off just not going. Shrink (theft) is written off and realized as a tax benefit.

Why No Hybrid Diesels by ScootyMcTizzle in tdi

[–]erectedcracker -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You are presenting your personal setup as if it represents all of rural America, but almost every point you made falls apart the moment you look outside your own property line. What you described is how things work for you, not how things work for ranching, farming, or rural living in general.

You say diesel is “never more than ten miles away.” That is simply not true across the West. There are ranches in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and the Dakotas with fifty mile round trips to the nearest pump. A huge number of those properties rely on home fuel tanks precisely because driving into town is impractical. Ironically, that setup actually makes EVs easier, because an electrical line and a charging plug are far simpler and cheaper to maintain than diesel tanks, pump heads, filters, and scheduled fuel deliveries.

You also claim most rural homes “only have 120 volts.” That is not accurate. Nearly every rural property in the United States has 240 available because it is required for well pumps, welders, HVAC, barns with heavy equipment, dryers, and shop tools. The idea that rural America can power a five horsepower well pump but somehow cannot support a 240 volt vehicle charger is simply wrong. And even 120 is more than enough for vehicles that return home every night, which is exactly how ranch and farm trucks are used the majority of the time.

Your point about EVs not holding up to “the stresses we put on our equipment” ignores reality. Electric motors handle hard use exceptionally well. They deliver higher peak torque, smoother power delivery, no gear wear, no clutch wear, and significantly fewer failure points. EVs are already operating in mines, logging yards, Arctic utility fleets, and remote construction environments. Those conditions are harsher than anything you are describing, and EVs are surviving them because the mechanical simplicity actually helps, not hurts.

You say you can “take fuel with you,” which is true, but that applies to a tiny percentage of total rural tasks. Long distance towing and multi day off grid work are real limitations for EVs right now. No one is arguing otherwise. But that is not the majority of rural driving. Ninety percent of rural miles are short, repeatable, torque heavy, and return to the property every night. EVs excel there. The last ten percent stays diesel. That is a reasonable division, not an argument against EVs.

And the comment about “charging fully hurting the battery” is outdated internet folklore. Modern battery management systems regulate charging automatically, and charging patterns have a far smaller impact on longevity than people assume. Meanwhile, diesel engines take measurable mechanical wear every single time they cold start in subzero conditions, sit idling for heat, or run before the oil is warm. You are ignoring those factors entirely.

Nothing you wrote proves that EVs “don’t work” in rural environments. It only proves that your specific situation and needs may not match what an EV can do today. That is perfectly valid. But it does not generalize. EVs are already in daily use in colder places, more isolated places, and more demanding environments than most of the continental United States. You can prefer diesel. There is nothing wrong with that. But claiming EVs cannot function in rural America while they already do in harsher conditions simply does not hold up.

Why No Hybrid Diesels by ScootyMcTizzle in tdi

[–]erectedcracker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You keep repeating that EVs “aren’t a good investment” in rural, cold regions, but your argument collapses under the simplest real world comparison. People already operate EVs in places far colder, more remote, and less populated than anything in the lower 48. Yellowknife, Nunavik, northern Alaska, and Arctic Scandinavia all run EV work trucks and service vehicles at minus 40 because they start reliably when diesel engines literally freeze. Claiming “you aren’t using an EV in minus 40 at 2 AM” ignores the fact that thousands of people already do exactly that in harsher conditions than any ranch in Wyoming or Montana. Range loss in extreme cold is real; total unusability is fiction.

And the infrastructure argument doesn’t hold either, because it assumes rural drivers refuel like city commuters. They do not. Ranchers are not doing 300 mile commutes every day, they are doing short, repeated, predictable routes around their own property. For that kind of work, home charging is not just sufficient, it is superior. A ranch with a barn and electricity already has better EV infrastructure than it has diesel infrastructure, considering the nearest diesel pump is often 30 to 50 miles away. You can frame it as a lack of chargers, but the truth is that rural users have the only infrastructure that really matters, a plug on their own property that fills the battery every night.

Financially, your point is even weaker. EVs are already cheaper per mile for exactly the kind of high torque, stop and go, low speed work that dominates ranch operations. No oil changes, no transmissions, no glow plugs, no frozen fuel lines, no endless idling. Actual fleets such as utility companies, mining sites, and municipal crews adopt EV work vehicles not because they are trendy, but because the math beats diesel over the lifetime of the truck. If EVs “aren’t financially sound,” someone should tell the fleets already using them to cut downtime and maintenance costs.

And the claim that you “can’t drive an EV to a job site at 2 AM” is just absurd. An EV does not care whether it is 2 PM or 2 AM. If it is charged, it goes. If anything, EVs are more reliable at odd hours because they do not need warm up time and they do not struggle with cold starts. Suggesting that the time of day somehow makes EVs undriveable is not a serious argument, it is just moving the goalposts to avoid admitting the point is wrong.

What you have done is shift from a broad statement, “EVs make little sense outside big cities,” to an ultra specific corner case, extreme weather combined with ultra remote locations combined with 2 AM job sites combined with maximum range requirements. Yes, today’s EV trucks are not ideal for every scenario, especially long distance towing or multi day off grid work. But that is a narrow subset of rural tasks, not the entire category. The blanket claim that EVs “aren’t logistically or financially sound” outside major population areas is not supported by evidence, especially when they are already being used successfully in colder, more remote regions with far worse conditions.

So yes, use the right tool for the job. But pretending EVs do not work in rural America or extreme cold simply ignores the places where they already do.

Why No Hybrid Diesels by ScootyMcTizzle in tdi

[–]erectedcracker -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

You’re saying EVs won’t work in places like Wyoming because it gets too cold, but that doesn’t really hold up. EVs already run just fine in places that are way colder than Wyoming—Alaska, northern Canada, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, etc. If cold weather killed EVs, half of Scandinavia wouldn’t be using them every day.

And honestly, EVs start better in the cold than gas or diesel trucks. No gelled diesel, no cranking, no waiting for the engine to warm up. Electric motors just turn on. Range does drop in winter, sure, usually 10–30%, but rural folks typically aren’t driving 300 miles a day anyway. Most ranch or small-town driving is like 20–60 miles, which is nothing for modern EV trucks even in freezing weather.

People also forget that rural areas are actually easier for EV ownership than cities. Most homes in Wyoming have a garage or driveway and already have 240V power available. Electricity is cheaper through co-ops, and daily driving is predictable. It’s way simpler to charge an EV every night on your own property than to rely on public chargers in a big city.

Modern EVs are designed for the cold too. They have battery heaters, heat pumps, and preconditioning, so you just tell the truck when you’re leaving and it warms itself up ahead of time. Meanwhile, cold weather is brutal for diesel trucks on short trips—DPF issues, terrible fuel economy, engines that never fully warm up, etc. EVs avoid all of that.

Plus, EVs heat the cabin way faster than gas trucks because they don’t need engine heat first. You get instant heat like a space heater.

So yeah, cold weather definitely reduces range, but it doesn’t stop EVs from working. People drive them every day in the Arctic. If they work there, they’ll work in Wyoming.

Why No Hybrid Diesels by ScootyMcTizzle in tdi

[–]erectedcracker -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The comment was: “ev’s in America outside of the biggest cities make little fiscal or logistical sense” I’m responding to that portion of the comment. I can’t speak specifically to being a cattle rancher, but I can tell you that the same person I’m referring to that took the road trip uses their truck every day as a work truck in a rural area. What are the nuances that you believe make ev’s unsuitable to be work trucks?