Just need to vent...

Maybe my age is showing but I have to admit sometimes I really wonder what is going on in some individual's minds.



Doja Cat Covers Her Body In 30,000 Red Swarovski Crystals For Paris Fashion Week: Photos (msn.com)

 

When I was a kid it seemed people tried to look handsome or pretty. Now it seems most people are trying to copy a character from Star Trek.

 

Back to manual trannys.

Some 20 years ago, I insisted on a manual Camry. The dealership said they did not make them. I said, you lie.

They said, well, O.K. they make them, but there are none on the entire West Coast of the USA from Seattle to San Diego. I told them to order one.They were not happy, but they did so.

I have a few medical problems now and a manual would just add to my woes, so my personal rigs are now all auto --
BUT

At work we still have a couple of manual trucks that one other guy and myself are the only ones that can drive the things, which is why they still keep me on the payroll, I think.

BTW, I forced my two kids, now in their 30s, to learn manual -- they hated me for it at the time, but they are older now and STILL wonder why I forced it upon them,

 

I thought our species eliminated smallpox:


Oh, I forgot, we did not eliminate small thinking.

Bob Wilson

 

I grew up on a farm with a mixed assortment, but except for the Prii, I've had only manuals almost forty years. Spouse has had only manuals, ever, and I'll have to pry her cold dead fingers off the last one.

When I bought the household's newest vehicle, a '14 Forester, the dealer had 30-something manual Foresters in their inventory (including in-transit), so there was a very good selection to choose from. But they went fast, and a couple months later, the supply was very skimpy. And remained that way each time I peeked back, until the next generation designed them out completely. I bought just in time.

Same reason my mother had to convert back to an automatic, a couple decades after the 1970's energy crises prompted her to master clutches.

It always seems a bit funny when we hear crime reports of would-be auto thieves foiled by manual transmissions. That is one reason the spouse refuses to give up her antique Integra.

My nieces, early- and mid-20s, are proficient on manuals, thanks to the farm equipment they learned to operate while visiting Grandpa. Their high school 'car' ended up being a former farm pickup, a stick shift F-250 twice their age. While numerous classmates had younger F-150 slushboxes, their's stood out as a classic.

Stick shifts are also somewhat good for getting youngsters to set down their mobile devices.

 

Right!

Of course modern vehicles are trying to put an iPad on the dash. According to some sources, this is just as bad as driving around with a cell phone in your hand. According to some figures, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can increase a driver's reaction time by over 50%, more than driving drunk or using cannabis.

 

I had to look up what Swarovski crystals even are.

I guess I more or less know now, after finding two articles that both read like they were written by some escaped-from-the-lab early ChatGPT, and can't agree on whether Swarovski's name was Daniel or David.

Are Swarovski Crystals Really Valuable or Just an Expensive Gimmick?

https://cateandchloe.com/blogs/bling-buzz/swarovski-jewelry

 

I heard the brand name attached to high end binoculars, from some other amateur astronomers with a lot more money than me, long before I heard it attached to baubles.

 

Yes, according to that first article, major divisions are the Swarovski Crystal Business (baubles), Swarovski Optik (lenses), and Tyrolit (grinding tools for manufacture of same).

 

Yes, indeed! I could easily review and adjust HVAC settings on all my previous cars without looking, because each control had its own distinct shape, direction of motion, and location. In my 3rd-generation Prius, it's possible but tricky to change a setting without looking or accidentally changing something else on a nearby similar control. I understand newer cars with touch-screen controls are worse, in that regard. Worse, it's very difficult to see the settings of my Prius except under rare ideal lighting conditions. If I drive into a tree, it will probably be because I was struggling to see the HVAC settings (or outside temperature).

 

The screens may go away in the future.
https://www.topspeed.com/bmw-is-taking-a-stance-against-massive-displays-and-touchscreens/

 

As long as the hand gesture thing works properly without glitches and phantom gestures and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg (I only need one leg to drive, but I need the other arm for the gestures), I'd be all for it.

But as it is now, I can't get the touchscreen to work properly in my Avalon even after being fixed once at a dealer.

 

<cue angels singing im deutsche>

I was today years old when I became a BMW fan

I guess I can live without turn signals *shrug*

 

I got some friends (a couple) who went and bought their first car. It's a 2017 Ford Escape with nearly 100,000 miles on it for over $15,000. Now the transmission is damaged and needs to be replaced. The cost: $3,500 to $6,000. And they've just barely started to make payments on the thing! Now they got an expensive lawn ornament and still no car.

 

You won’t understand until you’re a senior

 

Back in my day we called it,"get away mode" then it became,"princess parking" now it is ok to just get close. Parking spot lines are just a guideline. People make changes to their morals because they are lazy and do what they want and there is less pushback from society because more and more people agree with the moral climate change. Society has become the,"It's ok." If you double park it's ok. If you cut someone off its ok. if you road rage. it's ok. If you want to do drugs, it's ok. If you want to steal, it's ok. If you want to beat your kids, that is wrong. But it's OK to get high all day and ignore them and not feed them. #Neglectyourkids, #lookatmeimdifferentwithmypiercedseptumandbluehair, #defundeverythingbecauseihavenoselfesteem.

 

Driving classes I have had to take for work tell attendees of all ages to use the pull-through technique for parking. IIRC one of the big points is "seeing pedestrians."

More than one class and more than one instructor.

I don't know, but I assume they know....so...

They also say to park in the farest edges of lots.