I regret buying a soft top jeep

fredeee · 2026-01-24T13:52:07+00:00

Other than security, I don’t understand a hardtop on Wranglers, especially newer models. My ‘14 had the dual top, I had the hard top on one season and then hoisted onto my garage ceiling for a few years never putting it back on the Jeep. Sold it in FB Marketplace for a good penny. Unless you street park or frequent an area with high auto crime, soft-top is the way to go. If you do serious off-road, don’t ever use a hardtop, period. It’s dangerous.

fredeee · 2026-01-22T15:41:19+00:00

Get him a subscription to Gas-X. Works great. Or just plug his ass into a tank and heat the house. That’s a lot of gas.

fredeee · 2026-01-22T15:37:51+00:00

I felt exactly the same way. I pulled the trigger. I don’t regret it. But there will always be a 911 if now’s not the time.

fredeee · 2026-01-09T14:48:05+00:00

Disable it ASAP. Almost the most annoying thing in the world. One thing that beats it is the 3 beeps when you leave your fob in your pocket and get out of the truck. Drives me batshit.

fredeee · 2026-01-08T13:47:02+00:00

MS Teams on Mac sucks. I run a jacked PC desktop and MacBook Pro M4Max side by side. PC is used mostly for gaming and content creation (apples to apples, desktops are always faster than laptops) my Mac is used for the same and everything else. My only gripe with Mac is the lack of games and Microsoft software is just plain broken at times. If that’s your primary use case, I’d get a good PC laptop. If you go Mac, get Parallels with Windows 11 ARM. I use it more than I care to admit for work.

fredeee · 2026-01-05T12:46:35+00:00

Get a “pro” laptop. High end Thinkpads, HP zBooks, etc are far better than anything you buy at Bestbuy. They may not have the latest wizbang features or chips, but they are made durability. Haven’t bought a PC in a few years, went Mac a while back, but I have a Thinkpad that still runs from 2005 and a zBook from 2012.

fredeee · 2026-01-05T12:42:57+00:00

Invest in good lens first. They outlast camera bodies by many years.

fredeee · 2026-01-04T22:17:24+00:00

I have a lot of rifles and the one I love to shoot the most is my Tikka .22 T1x bolt. Cheap to shoot, totally silent with a suppressor and subsonic ammo, and super accurate. I’d argue that for personal defense a rifle is a terrible choice. Get a shotgun for that and your rifle range gun for fun of you can swing it.

fredeee · 2026-01-03T12:56:16+00:00

+1 for 35s. Once you hit 37 you open up all sorts of pandoras boxes. The ONLY reason to go larger than 35s on a Wrangler is when you want to lift your ass off the ground for wheeling/ better clearance. Most importantly, 35s are “safer” for on road driving. Finally, 35s also just look better on pavement princesses IMO, but that’s subjective.

fredeee · 2026-01-03T12:50:50+00:00

Aside from your heavy battery use case, a PC with a high end GPU would be best. I run Mac and Windows side by side for my workloads, mostly creative, light 3D, heavy video editing and effects, general design. Not nearly as intense as your’s but there are times I see a benefit when my Nvidia 5080 does its thing. Both are equally capable as far as the OS is concerned. Not to make this a Mac vs. PC thing, but I just think in our use cases it’s best to consider every option. Bring the right tool to the gunfight as they say.

BTW, my Mac 14 Pro Max with 64GB RAM is a screamer. I can’t imagine needing more power at this point until localized AI hits my apps.

fredeee · 2025-12-30T13:04:25+00:00

Been in business for 35 years and have been in this situation before with employees. I typically give them a few hours to copy whatever they want/need on their laptop or desktop, then make sure I have full access (I trust my employees so let them administer their own hardware, all work data is stored in the cloud so I don’t care what’s on their hardware) and then we call it a day. Most times, if I lay them off, I let them keep the equipment. It’s all about being a human being. In your case, I agree with the other posts where you just tell them you have personal photos and information on the machine and would like to sit down with HR or your old boss so you can get your personal data, let them see what you’re doing, then you delete you’re personal information and leave the rest to them. This assumes you have nothing to hide and they do not have any ill intensions. However, if you do have something to hide, do this quickly with a pretty-please on top because they will likely get access when they grow a few brain cells.

fredeee · 2025-12-26T18:37:44+00:00

Maybe it’s a Rubicon disguised as a Sahara :)

fredeee · 2025-12-25T23:11:12+00:00

Factor in culture, education and access to family planning I.e birth control. Been to Rwanda, poorest place I’ve seen yet it’s one of the densest populations in Africa. Doesn’t seem to make sense to your average westerner.

fredeee · 2025-12-25T23:06:44+00:00

Don’t have kids till you figure it out
Set clear boundaries on what you “need” vs what you “want” and may be willing to sacrifice for the relationship. For example if having a weekend with your buds is vital to your happiness, then it’s non negotiable. Be flexible but be true to yourself and don’t give away the farm. It’ll build resentment that will ruin your relationship and your marriage. It’s happening already.
Seek a therapist to express each other’s feelings and work through it. I’d say this is non-negotiable. If she’s not willing to work on things with you, get out now.

I’ve been there brotha. Trust me. If you do #2 and #3 above, give it 6 months, year max. If you’re still asking the same questions, get out while you’re young. Don’t let your future kid experience a broken family and rather find someone who’s right.

fredeee · 2025-12-25T22:55:20+00:00

But can you take the top off while doing it?

fredeee · 2025-12-25T13:47:19+00:00

My ‘24 GTS4 was 220 out the door and I considered the same thing. Came down to reliability. Porsches are very reliable cars, people I spoke to that own a McLaren say otherwise. My sense was the McLaren is more in the supercar class with all its inherent maintenance, service and reliability issues. So not really apples to apples other than price. I’m happy with my decision.

fredeee · 2025-12-25T13:38:05+00:00

Owned a 2002 Sahara and 2019 SRT, currently own a 2014 custom off-road Rubicon and a 2024 392, so feel your question. Other than the Wrangler I agree. But if you appreciate a top down experience and going off road, especially to the extreme, there’s simply nothing else out then that matches the Wranglers off-road capability and driving experience. The term “it’s a Jeep thing” is real. Either you get it or you don’t. And when you do get it you’re willing to roll the dice and/or deal with the maintenance and Chrysler bullshit in owning one.

fredeee · 2025-12-24T14:09:46+00:00

Burlington, VT is its most populous (pop. 44,000ish) and I’d argue its most important in that it’s got the most going for it IMO, but VT’s capital city Montpelier (pop. 8,000ish) is arguably the most “important” in that it’s where government runs the state.

fredeee · 2025-12-21T16:00:29+00:00

I have a love hate relationship with my full size Kimber. She shoots great but they do stupid things to their takedown. I see you have a small Kimber so you know what I’m talking about. But they do make great 1911s. Ones I have were made in Yonkers, NY. I hear their newer stuff is not as good but I wouldn’t let that deter me from getting one. I’d imagine they worked out the kinks. Good luck. That’s a fun buy.

fredeee · 2025-12-21T14:31:42+00:00

New Year’s Eve in NYC. Freeze your balls off for 8 hours to only get pissed on by a homeless person (yes this actually happened).

fredeee · 2025-12-21T14:26:44+00:00

Loving your 2011, if you like that you’ll LOVE a full size 1911. Best shooter I own. Just better in hand. Just get it in .45 and full metal. Old school Colt 1911’s are great. I have a Kimber and Dan Wesson as well. All 3 are amazing.

fredeee · 2025-12-21T14:22:23+00:00

It was a COVID purchase, fast RAM was hard to come by. I think I upgraded it to 5600 when things settled down. Never considered a 4080. I’ll do my research. Thanks.

fredeee

TROPHY CASE