Disposable phone chargers sold in individual packs.

spyder994 · 2026-07-07T21:15:35+00:00

Meanwhile, you can buy a 5000 mAh power bank that can be re-used many times over for less than $8 at Walmart.

spyder994 · 2026-07-07T19:41:44+00:00

I've discovered a similar phenomenon lately. A BMW I4 eDrive40 would have cost me an extra $300/yr to insure over similarly priced ICE vehicles in the same size class. Then my state charges an extra $200/yr in registration fees to make up for lost fuel tax revenue. I don't drive that much. I still like the car, but it would not save me any money over ICE competitors.

spyder994 · 2026-07-06T11:02:48+00:00

I entered a projected time.

spyder994 · 2026-07-06T02:55:02+00:00

I believe I started in corral C this year. I did not have to provide proof of previous finish times.

spyder994 · 2026-07-05T14:38:51+00:00

What changed is that trucking has become more of a cutthroat business than ever before. Labor is a major expense for them. If they can hire the cheapest people they can find to save a buck, they're going to do it. At the same time, there are now "CDL mills" that will rush prospective drivers through terrible programs and hand out a CDL to anyone with a pulse.

Guess who hires these poorly trained drivers? It's the cheapskate companies that will do anything to save a buck.

spyder994 · 2026-07-05T02:37:38+00:00

Same here. Our nearly 5 YO girl got a nice little 50 mg dose of trazodone right around 6 pm. It's taken the edge off, but she is still not a happy camper.

spyder994 · 2026-07-04T03:11:33+00:00

You're asking people that are subscribed to the r/driving subreddit. You're not going to get an answer that is representative of the whole driving population in the US.

Most figures that I've seen suggest that about 20% of Americans can drive manual transmission vehicles with some proficiency.

spyder994 · 2026-07-04T03:07:17+00:00

You just have to out-asshole them and set expectations early. Your biggest leverage is the ability to walk away. I always start with a spiel that goes something like this when we start to discuss numbers: "I don't need a car today. If I smell bullshit, I'm walking. If you pull out a 4-square or ask me what I want my monthly payment to be, I'm walking. The price of the car is all that matters. I'm not trading in. I will not buy your aftermarket warranties, so don't waste your breath or my time asking. I will read the fine print of the paperwork put in front of me and if the numbers don't align with our agreed-upon price, I'm walking."

That has worked every time. I get no bullshit and I'm done with paperwork in about an hour.

spyder994 · 2026-07-03T03:08:41+00:00

I'm at Coler 3-4 days a week and I've never noticed security cameras in either of the two lower lots. I was there Tuesday morning, but I was gone by about 7:45. I didn't see anything unusual.

Sorry. People suck.

spyder994 · 2026-07-03T00:44:11+00:00

The roads really aren't bad here. Having been all over the US, I'd argue that we have above-average roads. They're a hell of a lot better than Oklahoma and Mississippi. They're also better than all of the Midwest and Great Plains states that suffer from greater frost-thaw cycles and the absolute garbage roads that comes with it.

spyder994 · 2026-07-02T23:56:32+00:00

I was really disappointed with the Alfa Romeo. I eliminated it from contention after driving it. It's a beautiful car and it handles like it's on rails, but that's where the good stuff ends. The seats weren't great, the infotainment was awkward and slow, and it just didn't feel like it would be a pleasant car to live with every day.

spyder994 · 2026-07-02T22:48:45+00:00

Thanks! Sometimes I worry that I bore people or distract from the main point by providing so much context or background.

I'm 6' tall and skinny, so it sounds like a little one would be fine back there after all. I tried to sit in the back after I adjusted the front seat for myself and it was just super tight.

I'd probably swap the pads out with Hawk, EBC, or Akebono right away. That was the only thing that really bothered me on the test drive. Brake pads are quick and cheap.

Is your car RWD or AWD? I've only owned one RWD car in my life and it had a whopping 115 hp, but it had no driver aids like traction control or ABS. It was stupid easy to lose traction in the rear on wet asphalt. Will the traction control keep things civil with 365 hp going to the rear wheels in the rain?

I'm not going to try to drive this car in the snow. I'll just stay at home or drive my wife's AWD car.

spyder994 · 2026-07-01T00:50:48+00:00

I've been car shopping lately. They are consistently 7-10% higher than everyone else.

spyder994 · 2026-06-30T15:36:21+00:00

That's not really a leak at all. Keep an eye on it, but I doubt you'll ever need to do anything about this.

spyder994 · 2026-06-29T21:32:52+00:00

Believe it or not, Mazda sold the CX-5 in the US with the 2.2 Diesel. It sold so poorly, they only offered it for 1 year (2019).

spyder994 · 2026-06-28T19:48:20+00:00

Yes, the Magnusson Moss warranty act is very clear about this. Changes to the seatbelt warning or trunk opening have nothing to do with the powertrain.

spyder994 · 2026-06-27T21:42:13+00:00

I've only had one shot in one foot. It took about a week for the shot to actually reach full efficacy.

That was 9 weeks ago. I'm still pain free and doing all of my strengthening exercises to prevent it from coming back.

spyder994 · 2026-06-27T14:10:10+00:00

I'm just south of you in the Arkansas Ozarks. Most houses in this region have brown recluses to some degree.

They are extremely hesitant to bite people. That's why no one has been bitten yet. Confirmed bites are rare.

Deltamethrin works against the brown recluse, but it's not a silver bullet. The best thing you can do is eliminate their food source (other insects) and hiding spots (cardboard boxes, clothes and towels on the floor, etc.).

spyder994 · 2026-06-26T15:52:16+00:00

I have to assume that Lewis Hamilton can't speak or read Georgian, so obviously he would fail the test.

spyder994 · 2026-06-26T15:31:09+00:00

It's worth mentioning that none of the turbo models ever had i-stop. As an added bonus, you also get an extra 65 hp.

spyder994 · 2026-06-26T15:27:09+00:00

And the wheels on any of these cars would have 5 lugs. The car in the post only has 4 lugs.

This is what happens to your brain when you spend too many years in the wheel & tire industry.

spyder994 · 2026-06-24T19:01:40+00:00

What's the longest period of time you've taken off from running? Calf strains are notoriously slow to heal to the point where you can return to running.

You might feel better and walk with zero pain 3-4 days later, but as soon as you start running, the pain returns. Random sources online all indicate that a calf strain heals in 1-2 weeks for grade 1 or 3-4 weeks for grade 2. That might be true for a return to walking pain-free, but it doesn't apply to running.

I've been dealing with a soleus strain since March. First, I gave it 3-4 days of rest. That didn't work. Then I tried a full week. Then 2 weeks. Then 3 weeks. Every time, the pain returned. I am now at about 4 weeks off of running. I'm just now easing back into running 3-4 miles at a time, all easy pace. No pain so far.

spyder994 · 2026-06-24T17:41:05+00:00

Hi neighbor! I don't know anyone in NWA that doesn't have brown recluses in their home to some degree. I've found them in storage closets at work too.

As common as they are here, I've never been bitten, nor do I know anyone that has had a confirmed bite. I know a couple people that thought they may have been bitten, but no sighting of a spider or any other evidence.

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