Covid19 Spare time

KARNUT · August 3, 2022

15 minutes ago, Donstar said:

Often I watch the news and feel overwhelmed by the global crap taking place. The Ukraine situation is deplorable. Last night on YouTube I stumbled upon a WWI training film on taking down a tank. I thought some of the footage resembles the barbaric actions of this current crisis. It was awful a 100 years ago! On a lighter note, I was in a local clinic yesterday waiting to have some blood tests. While sitting, I observed a front desk staff member patiently and compassionately helping an Ukrainian refugee sort through her required paperwork. I can't fathom the struggle this individual has recently gone through and I was overcome with appreciation on the treatment she was receiving. I know you're supposed to respect the privacy of other patients but it was impossible not to see and hear this exchange. When the employee had the patient all sorted out and on her way, I went over to the counter, apologized for eavesdropping, and then thanked her and gave kudos for handling this patient with such care and respect. I hope I made her day a little better because she sure brightened mine!

One of the keys to my family business success was service that was unmatched. More than a few times a customer would call at night for a part. The only way to get it next day was for me to drive it there. I’m still amazed a person would work somewhere they hate and be miserable all day. It would show. The internet has separated the players from the pretenders. Same with camera phones. Bad service should be a rarity today.

customboss · August 4, 2022

In my spare covid time this made my day.......what goes around comes around.....ACME ANVIL with 6 big razor blades at mach 1.3 or 995 mph.

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-veteran-al-qaeda-chief-house/

Edited August 4, 2022 by customboss
appropriate speed listed as we know it

txab · August 4, 2022

Glad to see the veg-o-matic is back in operation. "it slices, it dices"! )

Donstar · August 6, 2022

Prices are nuts! Yesterday I spent much of the day shopping for a few household items and came home with nothing. The items were either out of stock or ridiculously priced. Falling gas prices took away some of the grief but they are still very high! I had no idea that this is what the "new normal" would look like but I'm glad I was shopping for wants and not needs! ...Not a day goes by that I don't take time to appreciate how fortunate I am to be in a position to grumble about such things!

KARNUT · August 6, 2022

My wife’s a good shopper. Before all this I couldn’t believe the prices. It took me awhile before I settled on a back up generator and hook up on the house. She wanted the backup or I wouldn’t have done it. Another byproduct I don’t even attempt to go window shopping at dealerships. As many vehicles I’ve bought they all were deals. There’s not many of those. I want to drive the maverick and Santa cruise. The stinger and G-70 is on the list. The more I drive the CRV the more I appreciate it. It helps knowing the Avalanche is there ready.

shakenfake · August 8, 2022

@KARNUTCoworker has a 2022 Stinger GT1. I have been inside it and it seemed nice. He is not a spirited driver though so it was pretty boring.

Donstar · August 8, 2022

On 8/6/2022 at 8:46 AM, KARNUT said:

I want to drive the maverick and Santa cruise. The stinger and G-70 is on the list. The more I drive the CRV the more I appreciate it. It helps knowing the Avalanche is there ready.

The Maverick is brilliant, imo. I've kicked tires on two of them but didn't bother with a test drive. I know I'd love the nimbleness and want to buy but I need to be patient! Like you, I can't buy vehicles as easily I could during my working days and now have to be very strategic. I plan to keep my '15 Sierra SLE and refresh it with a '25 Silverado EV WT. My current truck is low mileage and in good condition. I think buying a new gas truck in the interim would be a major financial loss. Views on EV's vary geographically and saying my next vehicle will be all electric around here seems almost to be a given. Two days ago, I was following a Tesla and I was impressed by its colour. It was a paint scheme that changed appearance depending on the light. I hadn't seen a Tesla like this before and then noticed it had California plates. EV's and tourists from California are common but I was excited to see them together. Time is addressing initial concerns about range and time required to re-charge.

KARNUT · August 8, 2022

2 minutes ago, Donstar said:

The Maverick is brilliant, imo. I've kicked tires on two of them but didn't bother with a test drive. I know I'd love the nimbleness and want to buy but I need to be patient! Like you, I can't buy vehicles as easily I could during my working days and now have to be very strategic. I plan to keep my '15 Sierra SLE and refresh it with a '25 Silverado EV WT. My current truck is low mileage and in good condition. I think buying a new gas truck in the interim would be a major financial loss. Views on EV's vary geographically and saying my next vehicle will be all electric around here seems almost to be a given. Two days ago, I was following a Tesla and I was impressed by its colour. It was a paint scheme that changed appearance depending on the light. I hadn't seen a Tesla like this before and then noticed it had California plates. EV's and tourists from California are common but I was excited to see them together. Time is addressing initial concerns about range and time required to re-charge.

The nice thing about electric trucks is you could put a generator in the back to eliminate range concerns. I always was first in line to try new things. My first car was an RX3 Mazda. One of the first diesel Oldsmobile, Ram diesel trucks, Chevy diesel trucks. And ford diesel. I’m not afraid of new things. If I was still working I’d probably be in line for the electric truck with a generator backup. My wife has a hard time getting into a truck so that eliminates it for a main vehicle. She has dibs on the next vehicle as much as she loves her Genesis I don’t see her leaving the brand. Probably a hybrid next. With the passing of the new massive spending bill in our congress. Along with increasing inflation and killing the oil companies. There’s incentives for electric vehicles and the infrastructure for them. With the confidence I have in their ability to handle all that. I put in backup generation to power my home that could also charge a car. I didn’t reach retirement age without learning some things. And being able to cover my as$. When our government decides to experiment on our dime. Well that didn’t work, next!

OnTheReel · August 8, 2022

I am proud to be a ruthless bargainer. Walked away 3 times on my boat before they relented and gave me my price. But these days I’m having a hell of a time getting any kind of deal together on a vehicle for my wife. Dealers are really sticky and I’m just too stubborn. Didn’t pay a markup on my TRX so I damn sure won’t on a stupid Jeep or Chevy Equinox. Was hoping my loyalty to a certain chain of dealers would work a bit more in my favor but this is gonna be a pain any way I cut it. Been at it all day already. Not a good time to buy. No leverage.

Grumpy Bear · August 9, 2022

7 hours ago, OnTheReel said:

I am proud to be a ruthless bargainer. Walked away 3 times on my boat before they relented and gave me my price. But these days I’m having a hell of a time getting any kind of deal together on a vehicle for my wife. Dealers are really sticky and I’m just too stubborn. Didn’t pay a markup on my TRX so I damn sure won’t on a stupid Jeep or Chevy Equinox. Was hoping my loyalty to a certain chain of dealers would work a bit more in my favor but this is gonna be a pain any way I cut it. Been at it all day already. Not a good time to buy. No leverage.

Many think I own too many vehicles. Now we know why. Markets cycle. Having a couple of old low milers bought when the winds were with me is paying out HUGE right now.

OnTheReel · August 9, 2022

37 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Many think I own too many vehicles. Now we know why. Markets cycle. Having a couple of old low milers bought when the winds were with me is paying out HUGE right now.

Definitely a lesson learned on my part. We kicked the can down the road for years on her Kia since she doesn’t drive far at all, and doesn’t care about having anything fancy. Thing only has 55k on it. Unfortunately it’s 13 years old in the salt belt. Some things I just don’t trust on it anymore. Not for another winter.

KARNUT · August 9, 2022

Growing up in New Jersey rust in a few years was a problem with vehicles. You may see faded paint no rust in Texas. Several of my older cars could pass as new.

Edited August 9, 2022 by KARNUT

diyer2 · August 9, 2022

I got out of Michigan due to the weather, cloudy, high humidity and salted roads.

Grumpy Bear · August 9, 2022

10 hours ago, OnTheReel said:

Definitely a lesson learned on my part. We kicked the can down the road for years on her Kia since she doesn’t drive far at all, and doesn’t care about having anything fancy. Thing only has 55k on it. Unfortunately it’s 13 years old in the salt belt. Some things I just don’t trust on it anymore. Not for another winter.

I almost never buy the vehicle. I buy the deal. Looking for the best bang for the buck. Usually this has meant older but really low mile single owner garage kept cars with good long term reporting and personal history. Not brand loyal. Not always cheapest thing that could be bought but not market driven crazy either. Fair market value or below. I run across one or two every two to five years. Dizzy is the only one we have currently that we went looking for. All the others just said 'Hi".

Point shorter....this market is not just nuts...I can't hold. I don't have to buy anything and I don't sell into the market either. Yea, I could make money BUT then what? Can't drive a hundred dollar bill and it wont buy much buss fair.

KARNUT · August 9, 2022

Yea, I actually agree with GB rare I know. That’s why I own a Honda, well that one free. Anyway a Genesis, Acura and a Avalanche. The only difference is I mostly buy CPO or last year’s model.