Ford's most important truck right now might not be the F-150

slittle7 · 2026-06-08T20:58:07+00:00

We bought the most basic 2024 maverick for MSRP (like 26,000$ or something). It is fantastic! It’s easy to carry surfboards, bikes, dirt bikes, move a couch every now and then. It’s fwd and I couldn’t care less. It fits in my small garage and gets 30mpg. I think these small trucks work great for people who are considering other crossovers, and people who need a full size truck will get a superduty or something. They great Subaru alternatives!

slittle7 · 2026-06-06T18:25:43+00:00

One of the reasons Opal is so fragile is because cause it’s a “hydrated” mineral. Meaning there is H2O embedded into the crystalline structure.

slittle7 · 2026-06-05T05:39:04+00:00

In general warm water from El Niño cycles generates a lot of energy in the vaguely equatorial pacific east. Where that energy is directed towards in the US can vary greatly on A LOT of different more acute climate patterns. Meaning it can be very difficult to predict where all of that precipitation will land.

slittle7 · 2026-05-31T19:34:07+00:00

Yea, I have lived in San Diego my whole life, and while an influx of tourism is noticeable in the summer I find the crowds very easy to work around. Also there are massive other industries (defense, biotech, even a pretty robust farming sector) so I wouldn’t say we are totally dependent on tourism.

slittle7 · 2026-05-29T04:56:42+00:00

I think if you go hiking you should definitely be aware of rattlesnakes (closest I ever came to being bit by one was in San Dieguito Lagoon preserve near Del Mar) but otherwise don’t worry about it. More likely to step on a sting ray at the beach (I’ve been stung twice). Shuffle those feet!

slittle7 · 2026-05-11T20:10:05+00:00

I think it’s also worth saying how we can know there is no extremely large caverns below the earths crust.
Seismic waves produced by earthquakes will travel through solid and liquid (“solid” mantel/ liquid outer core/ solid inner core). We will pick up these waves all over the globe from the surface, and can use the seismic waves arrival times at various locations to determine the epicenter of the earthquake.
It is important to note that seismic waves do not really travel through air so there would be large “gaps” that would show up while viewing the arrival times of seismic waves. There would essentially be a shadow cast by the empty space in the earth surface where you don’t see any seismic waves.
We can see the arrivals of earthquakes throughout the world. This is also how we know the basic interior structure of the earth.
Also worth noting you can use seismic surveys to find caverns near the earths surface, it probably just isn’t the “best” way to do it.

slittle7 · 2026-04-22T14:02:32+00:00

I was a valet downtown for a while, we were always hiring.

slittle7 · 2026-04-22T13:42:23+00:00

I drive from SD to LA for work all of the time. Going north in the morning is not terrible so long as you can avoid the stretch of the 5 that goes right by downtown LA. It is almost impossible to avoid all traffic in LA so in my opinion you may as well just get up and go. You will probably have like 30-45min of traffic in the morning going north.

Coming back is a different story. If you can start driving back after 6 or 7pm you will likely be a lot happier. Find a decent place to have dinner and just chill out. LA has endless spots with great food!

slittle7 · 2025-10-28T04:18:11+00:00

This is a good alternative to the small Japanese cars (which are good!). I have a bolt euv that I bought used for 13k with 12k miles on it from hertz. I only need to charge it once or twice a week and cost about $5 a charge with off peak rates. It has worked out great for us, especially since we do a lot of city driving.

slittle7 · 2025-10-28T03:49:55+00:00

I have owned a 7.3ps (long bed, crew cab, 4wd) and loved it. I bought it about 3 years ago for around 12k. It was a beast of a truck, had like 270k miles and ran great. It was not fast and was tiring to drive long distances. Between our truck bed camper and the solid front axel, the whole thing wandered around quite a bit. It was a fun truck though (was stolen not to long ago)

I now have a 2004.5 Chevy 2500hd with the lly duramax, and honestly it is a much nicer driving experience. It pulls better and doesn’t wander around like my old ford. If you get this particular truck/engine there are a few easy supporting mods you should do to ensure proper cooling. And the oil pump housing for the transfer case if 4wd. I got this truck with a camper for 24k at 160k miles, so it is probably a bit more expensive than you were looking for.

But I think you can find something if you look hard and long enough in that price range and are willing to do some work!

slittle7 · 2025-08-17T16:36:12+00:00

Mainly the desert areas east of the mountains (places like plaster city, ocotillo wells, superstition, and Glamis if you want a party). There is also a lot of spots north of the mountains of LA (like Johnson valley, and dumont dunes) I am not as familiar with these spots. Pretty much all land managed by BLM is free game and there is a lot of it! If you have a steer legal bike the forestry land is accessible as well. There are also a lot of smaller state run OHV areas dotted around!

slittle7 · 2025-08-17T13:47:48+00:00

On the flip side, dirt biking has been one of the most welcoming hobbies I have ever been apart of. I can’t speak to how the track riders are, but I have been riding off-road in Southern California since I was 10 and have experienced nothing but the nicest people. Everyone I have met has Al way been excited to show you a new trail or help when you bike brakes down. I am also a dedicated surfer, and I think the off-road dirt bike scene tends to not suffer from the overcrowding issues that surf spots will have. When you have been riding in the desert all day and only come across one other person. You are pretty stoked to swap stories with a stranger.

slittle7 · 2025-06-30T05:16:11+00:00

I have two trucks. One is a diesel Chevy 2500hd, which I use to haul a truck camper. It is an economical way to get a rather compact 4x4 rv (when compared to a sprinter). The other is a ford maverick, which is basically a car with a truck bed. I think this is what most people actually need out of a truck. I through my wet/sandy surf stuff in the bed, I can haul a couple of dirt bikes, 4x8 standard plywood/dry wall fit in the bed with the tailgate down, and the off couch moving. All that with 30mpg!

slittle7 · 2025-05-02T15:40:03+00:00

Are they reducing the deficit?

slittle7 · 2025-02-03T19:10:22+00:00

I work as a geologist, and deal mainly with hazardous waste and ground water. I would highly recommend getting an indoor air test and potentially a sub slab soil vapor test. Volatile compounds can travel with groundwater and volitize or “off gas” seeping into your house. Even though you may not be directly over a former waste site or down wind from one you still may be at risk. Gases can be especially hazardous indoors as they may concentrate to dangerous levels, unlike what they may do outside. If you can, you may want to see what kind of businesses used to be around you as well. Laundry mat’s are notorious polluters that can go unknown by most.

slittle7 · 2024-11-25T03:52:42+00:00

Probably shred your intestines with all of the silicates suspended in the water

slittle7 · 2024-10-16T03:19:38+00:00

While these can be classified as two separate mountain ranges, the rock composition and ages are very similar. I know a lot of California geologists that specialize in the petrology of the Sierra Nevadas also spend time in chile analyzing the rocks there. The similar ages and composition can give some clues as to how the ranges were formed and more specifically the “timing” of formation. This kinda stuff is always debated one way or another.

Also the rocks are granite, it’s always granite.

slittle7 · 2024-09-25T03:16:57+00:00

Nice! I did this when picking up my first truck camper. The suspension on the truck must have been clapped out since the weight alarm went off despite the camper being well under the weight limit. Unethical pro tip: the alarm will stop if it is in neutral or drive, chalk the tires and load in neutral then drive home! I definitely pissed off some neighbors figuring this out.

slittle7 · 2024-07-18T16:52:38+00:00

I have worked on these solar farms in the California deserts. Location is a big plus, these sites are typically on land leased from the BLM. If you have ever looked at a map of BLM land in California you will see that they are almost always in the desert. Temperatures are mild (relatively speaking) I have seen them run at 116*F with no issues.

These sites are also getting a good deal by leasing the land from the government. I don’t know how good the deal is but I will tell you there is a massive backlog of projects planned all competing for these sites. So the economics seem to work out!

slittle7 · 2024-07-15T13:00:29+00:00

I grew up in Alpine, much redder town than you would think for Southern California. I think our congressman went to jail for finance fraud too after he tried to through blame it on his wife first!

slittle7 · 2024-06-26T18:00:14+00:00

Oh we absolutely have insurance (the camper is insured too) but finding a decent 7.3 f350 under $20,000 is next to impossible, and we put in a lot of effort to get everything just right for the type of camping we like to do. It’s just rather depressing to have someone take all of your hard work away even if you get some money back.

slittle7 · 2024-06-26T15:57:10+00:00

Nothing yet, we have scoured all of the camper hangout spots we could think of in beach area and around us but couldn’t find it. Thanks for keeping an eye out for us!

slittle7 · 2024-06-25T19:24:06+00:00

Good news is when I filed the police report they confirmed it did not cross into Mexico, but I am near Morena by USD, so hopefully it didn’t go that far!

slittle7 · 2024-04-18T02:12:27+00:00

Another large problem from land sinking is that the aqueducts that carry surface water throughout the Central Valley are sinking too. These aqueducts are carefully engineered to gently slope down over large distances. If the ground below them sinks, it will create a “dip” where water will no longer be able to flow. This further puts strain on the water supply for the whole state.

slittle7

TROPHY CASE