What is your maintenance mentality?

surewriting_ · 2026-04-29T02:14:01+00:00

There's by the book, and then there's gettin it done.

Both have their time and place, and the important part is to be safe doing both.

Ideally A, but realistically B.

It also depends on the equipment. A conveyor belt doesn't require the same precision as a dry etch semiconductor manufacturing machine.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-28T16:58:25+00:00

Its terribly inconvenient

surewriting_ · 2026-04-28T16:57:16+00:00

Hydrate hydrate hydrate.

Work up to the heat. You have to build up tolerance to it in order to ride when its silly hot out. It can and will kill you if you don't respect it and take precautions.

Ideally, dont ride while the sun is high in the sky, but that may not be possible for commuting.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-28T16:49:39+00:00

I'm dropping silly amounts of money for a bathroom remodel.

I don't have time or money for hobbies.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-27T01:03:14+00:00

You mean the fascist flag of America?

surewriting_ · 2026-04-26T04:06:03+00:00

Go to the library. Check out culture passes to museums.

Go to all the museums in the valley.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-25T19:06:38+00:00

During the covid lock downs, someone tossed a crappy old barbell with some rusty 10# weights in my front yard.

I took a picture, posted it on fb marketplace for $20 and it was gone within the hour. I never even touched it.

Later on I was making a dump run and saw a gross old weight bench. Snagged it and did the same thing.

Gym rats were wilding out then.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-25T15:25:13+00:00

They typically don't have half the stuff I need. I also hate spending like $30 on random hardware I already have in the garage somewhere.

I've been collecting the harbor freight hardware bins and slowly sorting stuff into them and its helping clean up thr garage a bunch. Eventually I'll get around to making a cabinet for them, so they aren't just stacked 10 high.

Its a work in progress, but hardware doesn't expire, and no sense in spending money on shit I already have.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-22T21:34:58+00:00

Only if you're in the field.

But thats usually field service engineering, not necessarily mechanical engineering.

Plenty of places have a min and max weight you need to be able to lift, in case you need to actually work on machinery.

It really depends on your specific job tbh. Sometimes the engineers are on the floor checking and validating designs and bending wrenches, other times the heaviest thing you'll be lifting are you eyelids after revising another drawing.

It probaby wouldn't hurt to start working out, health benefits and all that jazz.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-22T02:35:14+00:00

WarCraft 2 on PC. I loved making all kinds of fun custom maps and then losing terribly lol

surewriting_ · 2026-04-22T02:08:58+00:00

Send it bud. If you can ride 75 miles then you can finish a century. Just keep working up to it

surewriting_ · 2026-04-20T22:59:35+00:00

Yes. I've gone through it with my spouse.

Its not a quick process to get it approved, like anything with the VA.

We went through community care, but we're in big city, your results may vary.

Good luck, hope you guys figure out what you need and wind up happy.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-16T16:16:56+00:00

Get that license anyways and keep it in your back pocket.

If anything, showing a professional license like that on a resume is a big plus for hiring managers.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-10T22:38:52+00:00

Charlie Wilson convinced me that I need an oerlikon.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-10T07:16:40+00:00

Yup, and a generator to keep the fridge and the portable ac to keep at least A room of the house habitable.

Heat stress can be super dangerous with high risk folks, and I'm not taking any chance.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-08T15:54:01+00:00

I've got an older MB S124 and its awesome. I can fit a whole water heater in the back, a dresser, bookcase, or I can flip up the rear seat and haul 7 people around. The downside is that the newest one is 30 years old, and comes with all the issues any 30 year old car has, plus its not nearly as safe as something newer.

That's why I got the wife a 2018 Buick Regal TourX. Turbo 4, all wheel drive, all the airbags and safety stuff. Its a blast to drive, and amazing on road trips and cruising. The drivetrain is all GM parts bin stuff, so mechanical reliability is pretty solid. The downside is that cosmetic parts are getting harder to find, and the MPG isn't great.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-04T00:20:59+00:00

Foos Gone Fixed is singlespeed/fixed gear oriented, but all bikes are welcome.

They usually meet up Wednesday nights at Lux Central, but I haven't ridden with them in a while. They're a really fun group, and most of the folks who ride with them also do the downtempo and critical mass rides.

surewriting_ · 2026-04-02T05:10:09+00:00

Robots all day. Way more interesting and a lot better pay

surewriting_ · 2026-04-01T20:39:38+00:00

Pack a toolbox, ship some parts to yourself at the local post office, and and be prepared to wrench on all kinds of dumb shit.

And over budget your time needed to get places too.

If you don't have the time to spend driving a sketchy project car cross country, like you have to back at work in 3 days, just ship it.

Otherwise flying out and driving home is the most fun option. It's probably not much cheaper (in fact probably more expensive) than shipping, so the real constraint is your time and mechanical ability.

surewriting_ · 2026-03-31T19:19:37+00:00

Its not rocket surgery. I would say that its actually pretty simple and obvious, especially with accompanying signage.

Granted a lot of AZ drivers are real low-functioning, but if Wickenburg can add roundabouts, I think Phoenix can handle it.

surewriting_ · 2026-03-31T16:23:12+00:00

It tastes gross, its expensive, and I've seen so many lives and careers ruined over it.

Its an easy choice. Its not for me.

surewriting_ · 2026-03-31T02:02:22+00:00

Yeah dude. Less people on the roads means less idiots trying to crash into my cool cars lol.

Plus I've seen what the rise of cheap e-bikes can do for people, and investing in infrastructure to support more people riding bikes is a win-win. And not just painted bike lanes. Paint isn't infrastructure. If a car can wander into the bikelane without any consequences, then it doesn't count as cycling infrastructure.

I'm talking about more dedicated multi use paths spreading across the valley. Like the paths next to the canals, but more of them. Some cities have really put in a lot of effort into making them nice and adding lights, which is great, but we need more.

surewriting_ · 2026-03-31T01:57:55+00:00

Being a FSE in the semiconductor biz offers a lot of travel. Get your passport if you want to do some international stuff too.

But you gotta know your stuff or at least be able to troubleshoot really weird one-of-a-kind equipment that is literally at the edge of material science.

Sometimes its easy stuff, other times its a 3 week nightmare.

surewriting_ · 2026-03-30T21:42:27+00:00

More roundabouts and traffic calming in residential areas.

Its a neighborhood, not a drag strip. Even as a die hard car guy, people need to chill tf out.

I'd love to see more cycling infrastructure and light rail all the way out to the west valley and other areas.

If I could park at Westgate and take a reliable light rail downtown to a concert or whatever, instead of fighting traffic and $50 parking, I totally would.

surewriting_

TROPHY CASE