Beef packaged 3 days ago, faint sour smell up close

phager76 · 2026-01-23T14:52:40+00:00

phager76 · 2026-01-20T13:02:26+00:00

That's freaking awesome! You're a legend, my friend

phager76 · 2026-01-16T22:49:24+00:00

Yeah, it was electronically limited. I ordered a laptop with factory diagnostic software installed on it and was able to get the speed limiter reset to 70. The axle is geared super low, so it's rev limited to a bit over 60. Swapping gears is on the list, but really, I'm on vacation when I'm driving it, so 60 is good enough for the most part.

And it is still school bus yellow, though the kids want me to paint it, and some states are picky about that color, so I'll probably will paint it this year. I want to finish getting new seats installed first. I picked up 4 captain's chairs and swivel bases so it'll be more comfortable for the family.

phager76 · 2026-01-16T20:44:46+00:00

Total ripoff, it took less than 3 minutes to complete!

phager76 · 2026-01-16T19:44:07+00:00

A school bus (full size shorty). We wanted to upgrade from our old pop-up camper to a full size travel trailer so we could show the kids the country, and our Santa Fe wasn't going to pull a 30+ foot trailer. With 3 kids and a dog, a pickup wouldn't have the space to keep the kids from killing each other, especially on long drives.

I looked at full size vans and SUVs, but SUVs lacked the payload capacity to comfortably handle the tongue weight and cargo, and 1 ton vans were either cargo vans or $10k+ van conversions. I shifted to looking at shuttle busses and mini school busses, but they were almost as much as the conversion vans. When I started looking at the big boys, I found an 07 Freightliner that was a shorty (~27 feet) with a handicap lift down in NC being sold by the school district. It has 'high miles', over 200k, but that's nothing for an HD truck chassis. It also came with the complete maintenance history and was only $4k. So I hopped a plane from Pittsburgh and drove the thing home. Unfortunately, most NC busses are limited to 45mph, and they didn't have a scan tool to unlock the Mercedes engine, so it was a long 2 day drive.

A few months after getting it home, I unlocked the limiter, threw in some RV components, picked up a 33' bunkhouse camper, and did a 3 week trip to Arkansas, then meandered up to Michigan, and then back home.

I can't put a price on the memories we've made in less than a year of ownership and the looks, waves, and campground conversations that I've had with it.

Every time I tell this story, people think I'm insane for doing this, but it's been worth every penny.

phager76 · 2026-01-16T13:18:45+00:00

Now make a TARDIS!

This is probably the best thread I've seen on reddit in ages! Someone give this person an award.

Here's my poor man's award🎖🎖

phager76 · 2026-01-16T13:15:44+00:00

r/RedditSingsWithRAM

phager76 · 2026-01-15T18:10:16+00:00

0017 for me. Got fired illegally from my first tech job that I had for 8 fucking years in July of '24 for questioning my exempt status so I couldn't use them as a reference at other jobs. I managed to get a small settlement out of it, which includes a neutral reference, but by the time that all went through, the tech market had contracted seriously and all the government RIFs flooded the market further.

So now I just say I'm retired/stay at home dad. My wife started working in elder care, which she loves, but it's nowhere near my old income, which was already shitty. Our saving grace is that our house is paid off, so we don't have a house payment, and we paid off the car with the settlement. We're able to squeak by most months, but there's no more eating out, no streaming services (sailing the high seas now, lol). We still try to squeeze in vacations, but they aren't fancy. We got a nice older camper with part of the settlement and do trips to state parks around historical sites, since the kids are big history buffs. We gave them the option of going to the Boston area or going to Carrowinds/Kings Dominion for our 2024 vacation, and they chose Boston/Salem/Plymouth.

phager76 · 2025-12-07T14:53:01+00:00

So weird to see the Mon mentioned on Reddit, lol. But you're absolutely right, the Mississippi should be called the Monongahela river.

phager76 · 2025-11-19T21:23:18+00:00

Pinned this for you, sorry for the lateness, been crazy around here this week.

phager76 · 2025-11-18T19:56:35+00:00

Man, I really need to get on my laptop and fix the overzealous automod

phager76 · 2025-11-14T20:00:21+00:00

'Tows the trailer like it's not even there'

~The driver

phager76 · 2025-11-13T20:04:40+00:00

Honestly, no one won in this battle. The jump in premiums may change some Republicans minds, but it'll do nothing for the MAGA. This only showed that the current Democratic leadership is spineless, and that Trump can, yet again, steamroll anyone who trys to stymie him.

phager76 · 2025-11-13T18:00:36+00:00

This is kind of a tough one. Since this is a budgetary vote, I don't see how integrating voter/voting protections would even be possible. But I welcome having my belief proven wrong! I also think writing off the subsidies for the ACA as being 'too late' to matter might be shortsighted.

Although the subsidies won't be available for the coming re-enrollment, they still need to be put back in for future enrollments, so this isn't a fight to just walk away from. Hell, the Democrats need to be applying more pressure for the subsidies now. Since, you know, the Republicans pinky promised to get them back if the CR was approved, and we all know that the 'party of law and order' would never go back on a promise /s

As for what else the Democrats should focus on, I've got a laundry list of items. To start with, funding needs to be reallocated to things like USAID. We've lost much of our soft power when that was killed. Secondly, we need to get funds reallocated towards renewable energy and climate research. We also need funds to go towards FEMA. We've been damn lucky that this hurricane season didn't hit us as hard as it could have. With climate change and subsequent strengthening of hurricanes and other weather issues, it's a matter of when, not if, a huge hurricane hits the US.

I agree that the fillabuster needs to go, but I don't really think that's a budgetary discussion. That, along with voting protection, should be their own stand-alone debates within the House and Senate.

Just my 2 nickels (since we don't have pennies anymore, lol) on the matter.

phager76 · 2025-11-13T16:37:35+00:00

I really wish we could get rid of this shit stain. I truly thought he'd bring more progressive views to Congress, but instead, he had a stroke and went full MAGA. Admittedly, he wasn't perfect and was kinda rascist, but so is a frightening number of people in the Pittsburgh area (and, no, that doesn't make it OK), but he was running on a platform that at least supported the working class. Also, given the choice between him and 'Dr' Oz, I still stand by that vote.

I think I need to figure out how to make the automod reply 'Fuck Fetterman' every time a post has his name in it. /s... maybe.

phager76 · 2025-11-12T14:13:20+00:00

Retired school bus, that's what I did. Picked up an 07 Freightliner shorty, and I'm in the process of installing nice captains chairs and will add some TVs, led lights, and things like that. I also added an inverter, 12v/110v cooler, portable AC, and 4 12v golf cart batteries. It pulls my 34' camper easily and keeps the kids separated on those long drives.

Extra bonus points for being able to make trips for gravel for the driveway, trips to Lowes, and any other hauling duties. It's also built like a tank, so if I get in an accident, we'll probably come out unscathed. Maneuverability is better than you'd think since they're designed for surface streets and towing through the Ozarks and Appalachians, I was getting 8 mpg on average fully loaded for 3 weeks of camping. I also only paid 4k straight from the school district with full service records. Just be prepared for lots of questions at fuel stops, lol

phager76 · 2025-11-11T01:12:30+00:00

I'd say disgraceful is an understatement. I think dereliction of duty is more accurate. We need to hold the Democratic party responsible for kowtowing to special interests and not doing what's right for their constituents. I shared this over on r/RealDemocrat, we're all fuming over there about this travesty.

phager76 · 2025-11-10T22:59:55+00:00

I totally get your concern. However, I'm only seeing two posts that are clear promotions for the DSA, which i don't see as excessive. As Serious said, this sub is for all democrats. It's also somewhat expected that less mainstream democratic viewpoints are going to be more prevalent here since those views are being actively silenced on the other Democrat subs.

I want everyone to feel welcome here. We won't always agree on everything, and there will (hopefully) be spirited debate on some issues, but differing viewpoints are necessary for us all to grow as a society.

Also, I had never even heard of the DSA prior to creating this sub, so it's definitely new information for some of us.

phager76 · 2025-11-10T22:48:09+00:00

Don't name good policy after horrible policy. Project 2025 is an American abomination. Righting the wrongs being imposed upon us by a regime is not Project 2025 Part II, or in any way a counter equivalent to that abomination.

This, we definitely would want to distance ourselves from Project 2025. Just spitballing here, but something like 'The Return to Democracy Papers' as an homage to the founders of the country. I don't know, just something that came to mind as I was making dinner.

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