January Chat Thread: The year is dead, long live the year

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > January Chat Thread: The year is dead, long live the year

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

My band is going to Tulsa, OK and the venue we're playing at is down the street from the Hanson Brothers brewery. Their flagship beer is called "Mmmhops". Yes, it's that Hanson. I'm astounded.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2017 18:18

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 04:20

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Wouldn't have believed "Mmmhops" if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. And you get a free song with every bottle you purchase. Dying to know what those Hansons have been up to :allears:

# ¿ Jan 3, 2017 20:00

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

funny Star Wars parody posted:

So how do truck tires work compared to car tires? Are there summer v winter tires, or is it all All-Season? What are good tires to get? What if my penis is small and I want to let the world know?

Generally speaking, truck/light truck and van tires are rated for heavier loads and higher PSI along with higher (taller? bigger?) aspect ratios (meaning their sidewall is taller). Summer and winter tires exist for trucks. Good tires are usually expensive ones but my truck-havin pals have had great luck with Kenda Klever AP or AT tires. If your penis is small, get these BFG All-Terrain KO2s (these are actually really, really good and I want them v badly but can't afford them).

CornHolio posted:

So there's a junkyard about 45 minutes away that has a set of four Goodyear Wrangler tires for $120. Tread looks alright, date code is 02/13. Good deal or pass? I'm looking for cheap tires for my truck, which has four different brand tires in two sizes on it right now, all of which are in awful shape. I don't really need tires until spring, but if these are a good deal I'll get them. Thoughts?

Wranglers are pretty great and that's a good deal for 4 of them if the tread depth is good and there aren't any cords showing :buddy:

Make sure the tires are like ya know not in lovely condition of course.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2017 16:44

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Scored a part-time gig at a friend's family's liquor store :woop:

Add that to cancelling the superfluous DirecTV subscription and I'm nearly in the black every month.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2017 21:16

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Shitpoast bonanza below:

Nothing in IT is rewarding. I want out so bad and I'm not even 3 years into paying off my student loans that got me my IT degree. I can't name a job that I can get that'll pay me what I'm making now and what I'm making now is barely covering my bills.

Fake my own death? :smith:

# ¿ Jan 5, 2017 23:17

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Programming's great because you inevitably get saddled with a bunch of morons who don't know how to do root cause analysis and have just voodooed their way to failure throughout the last two decades.

Then you do new stuff, so the "debugging by guessing" technique has a new target.

I don't know if this is a grass-is-greener argument but at least in programming I'll get to use some part of my creative side. I'm so bored and angry most of my days at the sysadmin desk because it's all so loving boring. My brain did not develop to "just get over it" so I just find ways to distract myself from work while it piles up.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2017 23:26

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Powershift posted:

New roadkill and it is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFdpJKpxGNQ

You're right!

Wasn't expecting a Roadkill episode just a week after the MCM/Roadkill extravaganza, what a treat.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2017 16:40

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Instead of weeping and moaning about my lovely IT career, I've decided that in order to have more money and not be miserable, I need to learn JavaScript, so that's what I'm doing. I'm going to code myself out of poverty, damnit.

Getting up for the gym in the morning is becoming something of a necessity. I go on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and on days where I don't go, I feel lethargic and lazy and unmotivated to do nearly anything. To keep a stick over me about it, I've made this FLC thread with goals and stuff.

OMGVBFLOL posted:

I have mostly cut video games out of my life and it's helped a lot with this sort of malaise.

My recommendation would be to volunteer with a local org. Most places have an SPCA/pound, or a soup kitchen or something. Any kind of nonprofit doing work you believe is important. It's a couple hours a week and it can yield huuuge dividends in terms of mood. I volunteer occasionally with the local bicycle advocacy org, and another that does food prep for homebound folks.

Exercise and music are also good universal sources of goals. Or hell, building that cabin sounds awesome. Just make sure you're actually looking for something satisfying, and not just standing there waiting for it to show up.

Fewer video games is awesome, and to touch on your last point, you can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 20:08

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

BigPaddy posted:

Make sure you throw a bit of Angular, jQuery, Node and Bootstrap in with that JS and you will be able to find a decent dev job. Some people might look down on JS but it is used everywhere on the internet and in cloud applications which is where the wind is blowing right now.

That is the plan! I've mentioned my intentions to many of my dev buds and they're all but throwing books at me. I'm going through https://www.codecademy.com for now, so we'll see how well that goes. I like their site's format :shobon:

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 20:29

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Ether Frenzy posted:

Check out https://screeps.com/ as well if you want to learn js.

My motivation in life is avoiding having to do javascript and having my minions do it instead.

If your minions make $70k/year, sign me up.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 21:38

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Ether Frenzy posted:

Range is $70-95k depending on experience really, the more javascript you know the higher you start. However there's a hitch - The higher you start the more likely you are to get your job outsourced if you're only a javascript jockey - that stuff is very easy to get from offshore resources since understanding of english is not required for it to still function. Learn other stuff and keep your education constant.

My programming/coding pals have mentioned similar things, so I plan on leveraging my experience as a sysadmin and my Supreme Customer Service Abilities to make me the total package. Planning on doing a lot with Angular and jQuery, too. Oh, and I have friends who work for dev houses like nuts which are all in the metro area where I live so :buddy:

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 22:54

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

CommieGIR posted:

Most developers are not actually all that computer hardware Savvy most the developers I work with know nothing about operation systems Administration or Hardware

Also insert obligatory the cloud is just someone else's computer

Not sure, but I'm thinking that my experience as a Windows sysadmin might help on my resume or whatever. I have a very broad education base and can do many, many things, just none lucrative at the moment.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2017 23:49

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Elephanthead posted:

I buy off lease laptops for the kids for $150 from dell all the time. I look for the ones the IT guys ordered for themselves or a jerk boss with stupid specs when all they run is outlook.

This is absolutely 100% the way to go. HP EliteBooks are the best, imo.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2017 22:16

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Grumpwagon posted:

Where can you do that? I could use a beater laptop.

Right here, my friend.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2017 22:28

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

My craigslist searches are now restricted by year: 1980-1989 :smug:

# ¿ Jan 19, 2017 02:49

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Adiabatic posted:

What's everybody's favorite thing they're in the middle of right now?

e: this isnt a joke or whatever I'm curious

Started a thread in the fitness log cabin, been making OK progress towards gym goals, so that's fun. Teaching myself JavaScript so that I JavaScript myself out of my lovely IT job. The band just finished a weekend-long stint through OK/AR/MO. I'm still running the local men's roller derby league and while it can be very stressful, it can also be rewarding.

What about you, what're you in the middle of?

# ¿ Jan 24, 2017 18:10

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Adiabatic posted:

What kind of band?

My favorite activity currently is learning guitar. Been doing justinguitar.com stuff and learning chords and it's really neat demystifying the instrument.

Anybody out there play? Gimme tips!

It's this band! I'm the bass player

I tell folks that we're kinda like if Roger Miller and Merle Haggard hung out at CBGB instead of around Memphis.

The way I learned bass was to tab out, by ear, my favorite songs. Technique is easy enough to learn because there's usually a correct/incorrect way to do it but playing your favorite songs is the bestest.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2017 18:32

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Passed a first-gen Dodge Grand Caravan on the highway and now I want one. I don't even have kids! :downs:

Nobody on craigslist has one for sale and ebay has two up for auction: one out of my price range, another garbage. Is there a secret mopar corner of the internet where someone with brain damage like myself could at least peruse to find one?

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 22:01

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Powershift posted:

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?81033-Clean-low-mileage-unmolested-turbo-caravan-(Ohio)

edit: this one runs 13s! http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?79692-1989-Plymouth-Voyager-a523-Hybrid-turbo-in-Great-Condition

You... MONSTER!! One of them is even BROWN!!

BraveUlysses posted:

not kinkshaming but we dont really want to know about your turd fetish

turns out this is true sorry all

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 22:27

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Powershift posted:

Well, you mentioned not having kids, those vans will help you keep it that way.

And by having kids, i mean producing them, you'd obviously be free to collect as many as you wish off the street.

My girlfriend and I have agreed: since I wouldn't push a watermelon out of my dixie cup, I wouldn't expect her to.

She's an elementary school teacher, she has enough of kids all day.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 22:36

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

But that one's BROWN!!

Oh, and now I've joined a Facebook Mopar Van group and found this loving thing so my life is over now, I guess.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 22:53

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

I'm so sorry to have subjected you all to my turd fetish.

Wait, Aerostars were rear-wheel drive? Amazing.

IOwnCalculus posted:

It's kinda funny, because if you see a vehicle effectively completely disappear from Arizona roads, you know it's poo poo because it's not due to rust. I can count on one hand the number of first and second generation Mopar minivans I've seen on the road in the last five years. Hell, you could probably add the Aerostar to that and still not need a sixth finger.

Oddly enough, the Astro seems to be much more prevalent still, but that's probably also because the second gen is not that massively visually different than the first.

Huh, that's fairly damning.

InitialDave posted:

You know that bit at the end of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where they buy plane tickets to go and beat up idiots posting on the internet?

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 23:12

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Hey CommieGIR, you're a guy who's a VAG-addict, can you tell me whether it's possible to remove the pistons with the block in the car? I have to re-ring the pistons in my 2002 Golf 2.0L (engine code AVH) and don't have an engine lift or a stand. I have replacement gaskets and head bolts so I'm ready for that inevitability.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2017 17:53

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

CommieGIR posted:

Transverse? Yes. You can drop the pan in the car and just pull the connecting rod caps and push them out the top.

If your motor has that god forsaken motor mount that mounts to the head on the passenger side, just throw a jack stand under the block somewhere.

You can do it in the inline 5 Audis too, but you have to drop the subframe which crosses under the back of the oil pan.

Rad, that was my plan. Thankfully no, no motor mount on the head. I should definitely hone out those cylinders, though...

# ¿ Jan 30, 2017 18:04

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Coredump posted:

gently caress. Man. That is terrible. My heart goes out to you. How did you find out?

Unless I'm mistaken, Adiabatic's "missus" is his heterolifemate and cohabitant, not a romantic partner.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2017 21:29

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 04:20

scuz: Aug 29, 2003; You can't be angry ALL the time!; Fun Shoe

Coredump posted:

Waaaiiittt. I thought he had two missuses at this point. The "wife" who is Mrs. Adiabatic and then an actual woman friend. If this is Mrs. Adiabatic who hooked up with an ex then party time. Unless Adiabatic is feeling some type of way and honestly, who could blame him with a Mrs. like that.

now I'm confused. Butting out and spectating for now heh

# ¿ Jan 30, 2017 21:36

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > January Chat Thread: The year is dead, long live the year