Real Life and What's Happening...

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Sharrow said:
And that the computer that runs the critical functions in your car is completely exposed to all the non-essential electronics, and can thus be hacked through any of the interfaces, and even through the connections to the mirrors? Or remotely?
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There was a famous news article where a journalist got to ride in a car that had been hacked by security researchers. Basically the researchers controlled the car, while the journalist was helpless. I think it was in the New York Times.

Makes me want to buy a fully mechanical car.
 
Toadmaster said:
Had my interview today. I wore my suit, and had an extra pleasant surprise of having to add a hole to the belt (the good way meaning my waist is smaller than 6 years ago when I bought the suit).

So I'm guessing that it is a good thing if they ask if I would let them consider me for an adjunct instructor off of this interview as well (pays twice as much as the job I actually applied for). Apparently my Associates degree is worth something after all. That is what led to them wanting to consider me for both jobs. You need an Associates to be an instructor. I hadn't even seen an announcement for the instructor positions.

Fingers crossed that I wasn't a total goon in the interview, but I feel like my answers were pretty solid. Basically why would I be a good fit for the position.
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and a follow up on the follow up. I have been offered and have accepted a part time instructors position.

They specifically want me for my experience as a hazardous materials instructor, but said I will be used for other subjects as well once they have their whole training cadre determined.
 
Giganotosaurus said:
There was a famous news article where a journalist got to ride in a car that had been hacked by security researchers. Basically the researchers controlled the car, while the journalist was helpless. I think it was in the New York Times.

Makes me want to buy a fully mechanical car.
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I have some fully mechanical cars, 1958 Dodge truck (fire engine), a 1969 Toyota Land Cruiser and a 1985 Volvo 240 sedan (aka 244). While I take some pleasure in them or I wouldn't own them, I can tell you I'd much prefer to drive later computer enhanced vehicles when I have to go very far. Comfort, reliability, power, fuel economy are far superior.
I get little pleasure working on later cars (after about 2000), so it is good that they require so little in comparison.

Still when the cyberpocalpse occurs I'll be rocking my refrigerator box styled Volvo like an Iron Curtain communist bigshot while the peasants scamper out of my way. :shade:
 
I mean, if we are going full pie in the sky for full mechanical car, give me an 80s Lamborghini Countach.

A completely unreasonable and impractical car that I fell in love with as a kid and would never actually be able to own barring winning an insane lottery.
 
EmperorNorton said:
I mean, if we are going full pie in the sky for full mechanical car, give me an 80s Lamborghini Countach.

A completely unreasonable and impractical car that I fell in love with as a kid and would never actually be able to own barring winning an insane lottery.
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Sideswipe is pretty cool looking, sure.
 
I wish I had my old 1980 Ford F150, a nice little metal truck that drove decently. However, its three-speed shifter failed a lot until it was eventually fixed for good. Then I moved out of the country and the person I left it with didn't take care of it :sad:
 
Bunch said:
If I were to go full mechanical it would be an old large straight six in a full size pickup truck. That's about the easiest thing to work on and maintain.
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Makes me think of the time my friend had to work on his Chevy Impala (I think) with a straight six. The engine compartment was so large compared to the engine that he could stand IN the engine compartment beside the engine...

Compare that same engine in my Chevy Van... Thought every once in a while, one got to do a repair in the comfort of the interior of the van if you could reach the area through the doghouse.

I did get one benefit of driving such an old vehicle one Labor Day weekend in West Virginia. As I was leaving a weekend (plus) long caving event on Monday, the brakes gave out. I limped my way to the next town and found an open service station. They took a look at it, and sent someone out to the local K-Mart to pick up a new brake cylinder. Some different vehicle and we would have been looking for a ride to a motel to wait until Tuesday...

Another fun adventure was the time a belt broke on my way home from Thanksgiving on Saturday. I managed to find a parts shop that had the belt just before closing time. Then I went in search of shelter from pouring rain to do the repair. I stopped at a gas station that was closing and asked if it was OK if I did the work under their canopy. The guy offered to help and we pulled the van into the garage and soon I was back on my way. That night DID end up a bit scary. Almost home, I needed gas. Now it's late at night. I start pumping gas and the hose has a bad leak. I go inside concerned about spilled gas AND paying for gas I wasn't getting. The clerk thought I was trying some funny business and pulled a gun on me and called the cops. I waited for the cops to arrive and explained the situation and was able to go on my way without paying for gas that was spilled on the ground. I have no idea if they even took the pump out of service...

On the other hand, I got screwed at the end of life with same vehicle. The mounting bracket for the A/C was not very well designed and gave out. They couldn't find a replacement.

That said, I'm happy to be driving a modern fuel injected vehicle though I do miss being able to do some work myself.

At least with a modern vehicle, I don't have to worry about the mechanic (at a Chevy dealer no less) putting the carburetor on backwards. Funny, the engine didn't work very well with the carburetor air intake jammed into the doghouse insulation...
 
ffilz said:
That said, I'm happy to be driving a modern fuel injected vehicle though I do miss being able to do some work myself.
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That is the trade off, an incredible decrease in required maintenance and increase in reliability, but when stuff finally breaks it tends to require more expensive parts, special tools and skills than most drivers want to commit to.

I think many forget how labor intensive routine maintenance was on older cars (if they even did it vs waiting for stuff to break or just deal with a poorly running car).
An annual "tune up" was a thing, there were parts that had to be adjusted/ replaced every 10-12,000 miles and car makers used to brag about their cars exceeding 100,000 miles. Today a car with 100,000 miles is just getting broken in.

1969 Volvo Ad

1700248064355.png
 
Toadmaster said:
That is the trade off, an incredible decrease in required maintenance and increase in reliability, but when stuff finally breaks it tends to require more expensive parts, special tools and skills than most drivers want to commit to.

I think many forget how labor intensive routine maintenance was on older cars (if they even did it vs waiting for stuff to break or just deal with a poorly running car).
An annual "tune up" was a thing, there were parts that had to be adjusted/ replaced every 10-12,000 miles and car makers used to brag about their cars exceeding 100,000 miles. Today a car with 100,000 miles is just getting broken in.

1969 Volvo Ad

View attachment 71375
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I had a 75 Volvo at one point in the 00s and that thing was legit a tank and other than the air conditioning not working (which did suck, I do live in the Southeastern US) drove like a champ. They were not joking about the longevity of the car.
 
Toadmaster said:
That is the trade off, an incredible decrease in required maintenance and increase in reliability, but when stuff finally breaks it tends to require more expensive parts, special tools and skills than most drivers want to commit to.

I think many forget how labor intensive routine maintenance was on older cars (if they even did it vs waiting for stuff to break or just deal with a poorly running car).
An annual "tune up" was a thing, there were parts that had to be adjusted/ replaced every 10-12,000 miles and car makers used to brag about their cars exceeding 100,000 miles. Today a car with 100,000 miles is just getting broken in.

1969 Volvo Ad

View attachment 71375
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Uh, don't they mean odometer?
 
EmperorNorton said:
I had a 75 Volvo at one point in the 00s and that thing was legit a tank and other than the air conditioning not working (which did suck, I do live in the Southeastern US) drove like a champ. They were not joking about the longevity of the car.
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I bought my 1985 Volvo in 2014, as an I need a car right now, and I'm not prepared to take on a car payment right now, car.

My Toyota Tacoma had just been wrecked, and I just needed a car to get me to work until I could figure things out. That Volvo was cheap ($1700), not gross (bought it from the second owner who had bought it when just a couple years old), and it had no problems other than having nearly 400,000 miles on the odometer. I knew Volvos had a reputation for reliability and being easy to work on.
Turns out the reputation is well deserved, I ended up using that car as my daily driver until 2019. Still runs fine, but even when reliable there is always a nagging in the back of your head, when you take a trip of a few hundred miles in a 30 year old car with 400,000+ miles. It was time for a car payment.

AC didn't work in mine either, but the claim you could toast bread with the heater in a Volvo, seems legit. That car has quite an amazing heater. Sometimes on a cold morning I'd forget I turned up the heat, and within about 10 minutes of leaving the house I was sweating.

Kind of ironic considering that advertisement, but it is very common to find Volvos with Odometers that quit working. Usually it's somewhere between 200,000-300,000 miles though so still needed that extra digit.

Self Saboteur said:
Uh, don't they mean odometer?
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Well the odometer is usually part of the speedometer, but yes.
 
Toadmaster said:
Kind of ironic considering that advertisement, but it is very common to find Volvos with Odometers that quit working. Usually it's somewhere between 200,000-300,000 miles though so still needed that extra digit.
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Odometer was broken on mine. No idea how many miles it had. But considering it was like, 30 years old when I bought it, I imagine the answer was "a lot".
 
Toadmaster said:
I bought my 1985 Volvo in 2014, as an I need a car right now, and I'm not prepared to take on a car payment right now, car.

My Toyota Tacoma had just been wrecked, and I just needed a car to get me to work until I could figure things out. That Volvo was cheap ($1700), not gross (bought it from the second owner who had bought it when just a couple years old), and it had no problems other than having nearly 400,000 miles on the odometer. I knew Volvos had a reputation for reliability and being easy to work on.
Turns out the reputation is well deserved, I ended up using that car as my daily driver until 2019. Still runs fine, but even when reliable there is always a nagging in the back of your head, when you take a trip of a few hundred miles in a 30 year old car with 400,000+ miles. It was time for a car payment.

AC didn't work in mine either, but the claim you could toast bread with the heater in a Volvo, seems legit. That car has quite an amazing heater. Sometimes on a cold morning I'd forget I turned up the heat, and within about 10 minutes of leaving the house I was sweating.

Kind of ironic considering that advertisement, but it is very common to find Volvos with Odometers that quit working. Usually it's somewhere between 200,000-300,000 miles though so still needed that extra digit.



Well the odometer is usually part of the speedometer, but yes.
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I reject all explanations and mock Volvo for their poorly worded ad. Never heard an odometer called a speedometer. The two are distinct.
 
Started having anxiety attacks when I lay down to sleep Thursday night. Ended up staying up until I couldn't resist sleep and slept. Friday saw the doctor again for my foot. She's worried about the lowest part of the incision since it seems to have been more open than other parts that sealed and have been healing well. The cast I suspect is part of why I am having anxiety, and feeling "trapped" because it limits my movement.

New cast will last until Wednesday next week, she's hoping that will be the last time but told me that I could skip until Friday on the week after U.S. Thanksgiving week, just to be sure, but with the anxiety, I want to go ahead and get out of it ASAP.

Sadly, no gaming with my regular group tonight, one friend had to work so he called it off (it was hosted at his house)

Plus I'm back to being a little whacked out on the pain pills, and feeling like I need to sleep, tried to avoid taking them but hurt too much.
 
So, we just got home from a 4-week vacation/family visit to Mexico and are currently trying to recover from jetlag. Tomorrow evening I get back to work again, starting with a week of night shift.

Last time we went to Mexico was back in 2018. Then corona happened. So it had been quite some time since we last saw my wife's family. It's been good to catch up with her two sisters and cousins in particular. We also managed to meet up with two of her friends.

We took the opportunity to do some travelling as well, spending a couple of days in Morelia and Pátzcuaro, in the state of Michoacán, checking out the surrounding area and then about a week doing the same in Oaxaca, in the state of the same name, which is where my wife was born and spent the first years of her youth.

Took a shitload of photos and videos, some of which may make it onto the Pub.

1700350655437.jpg1700350836641.jpg
 
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This may not be real life, but I've discovered I'm a featured character (with my real name) in a thread on alternatehistory.com--it's the fictional story of a small software company I did some creative work for in the early 1990's (the ORC thread had me googling.)

I've not read closely enough to see if I'm taller or better looking in the thread...best stick to rabbit avatars.
 
Toadmaster said:
AC didn't work in mine either, but the claim you could toast bread with the heater in a Volvo, seems legit. That car has quite an amazing heater. Sometimes on a cold morning I'd forget I turned up the heat, and within about 10 minutes of leaving the house I was sweating.
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Well, they are after all built for chugging along even north of the polar circle, so a reliable heater was kind of a bigger concern than a reliable AC. :tongue:
 
Urdlen's best boy said:
Forgot about it but i guess it's a good story worth a What's happening thread post. And even a title. Fancy fancy.

Terror of the Sheitan GILF
A tale of public transportation and the people you find there. True events with an unncessary amount of exclamation points and vulgarity! For comedic effect!

About a week ago, on monday the 6th of November, year of our Lord Urdlen 2023 I had a very rare random monster spawn as I took the bus. It is the toll, the law of nature : Urdlen rolls 2d6 for you each time you enter one. But this time it was the NPC known as Granny Sheitan, aka The GILF of Sexual Harassment. I was not prepared!

So I'm sat back turned to the bus main door and from the corner of my vision I see a lady 50+ with high heels. UBB pretends to be a tough, vice ridden gnome here in the PUB, but IRL he is a goody-two-shoes of the worst kind, absolute chivalrytard. So I offer her my seat. Grave mistake !

« No, thanks, no, there's some room here… » she sits right next and mutters I don't know what to some kid that was already sat there, some 11-13 yo girl. Seems to know her. Probably a grand-daughter, niece or whatever. Suddenly I hear the combat music starting ! She casts Spell Sequencer ! Greater Malison + Chaos x2 !

She turns to me and looks me right in the eyes ! « Unless I can sit on your lap. Haha »

« Haha » What ? I fail my save horribly ! Noooooooo ! I can only laugh in confusion ! Damnation ! And she insists ! She wants to grind her old ass against youthful UBB cock ! She is ravenous ! She is on the prowl ! On the prowl for cock !

Now the disgusting sickos among you might think what's the matter, it's like a compliment – was she hot ? Not ugly I guess. And yes it usually feels good to know the mojo's still there, even if I've got to decline. Usually. But did I mention the litteral child there ? Looking at me, looking at gran gran, giggling like a little imp at mamy's cock haggling antics ! Doesn't even seem phazed ! What madness is this and how many time was she exposed to this nonsense ! And she insists like 4 times ! She gives arguments ! I am getting wisdom drained from the psionic onslaught ! She even tells the kid how she wants to sit on « le monsieur »'s lap ! That's not good mojo ! That's cursed mojo of evil ! Nightmare mojo of bleak desolation !

Urdlen save me from this demon-cringe I do not deserve this fate !

Thankfully Urdlen, seeing his champion defeated by the succubus witch, answered with a divine intervention and she got off the bus not to long after. But she didnt stop for like 10 minutes and was still eyeing me with lustful old whore eyes trying to cast charm person or something as she walked off ! And I was there sitting like a moron with the akwardest laugh of my adult years ! Nooooooo ! Defeat ! Defeat at the hands of the Sheitan GILF !

But I have learned my lesson. Next time some old lady enters the bus I will not take chances. I will not offer my place. I will cast Time Stop from a scroll and behead all GILFs in sight with dual katanas. She is obviously a high level wizard/psionicist instead of the typical level 3 Thief/Alcoholics that randomly spawn at the back of the bus. I just cannot take chances. It has to be done.
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Well dude this particular Mrs Robinson doesn't sound old enough to be a Boomer, so I guess this is pretty much usual Gen X behaviour, which should be applauded, heh heh
Every opportunity was/is an excuse for sexual inuendo, and so it should be
No time for Wallflowers, it's bonk or be bonked
Rock on Gen X I reckon, heh heh !!!
Beware the Sheitan GILF!!! :grin:
 
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Perverts! I am surrounded by perverts! This is why the old people all have gonorrhea! Syphilis! Chlamydia! Itchy balls disease! This licentious behaviour! No limits! Swingers! Pornography! That's it! I will write a letter to the President!

Mister President,

The old people are too horny they need to be contained! Collapse of civilization! Ruin! Ruin and itchy balls upon us for this reckless fornication! AND THEY COMMERCE WITH SHEITAN SORCERY!!!!!

This requires your solemn undivided attention!
UBB, Deep Crawler of Urdlen
 
Urdlen's best boy said:
Perverts! I am surrounded by perverts! This is why the old people all have gonorrhea! Syphilis! Chlamydia! Itchy balls disease! This licentious behaviour! No limits! Swingers! Pornography! That's it! I will write a letter to the President!

Mister President,

The old people are too horny they need to be contained! Collapse of civilization! Ruin! Ruin and itchy balls upon us for this reckless fornication! AND THEY COMMERCE WITH SHEITAN SORCERY!!!!!

This requires your solemn undivided attention!
UBB, Deep Crawler of Urdlen
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Bitch bitch bitch. What’re you gonna say when you’re an old people!?
 
Mosker said:
This may not be real life, but I've discovered I'm a featured character (with my real name) in a thread on alternatehistory.com--it's the fictional story of a small software company I did some creative work for in the early 1990's (the ORC thread had me googling.)

I've not read closely enough to see if I'm taller or better looking in the thread...best stick to rabbit avatars.
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One of my more bizarre pseudo-accomplishments is having my name* used for a character on a skit for Saturday Night Live in the early '80s. The writer was a friend--well, his sister was, really. I didn't hear anything about it until it was well along the pipeline, when his mother made him ask my permission.

*Real name, obviously.
 
Lofgeornost said:
One of my more bizarre pseudo-accomplishments is having my name* used for a character on a skit for Saturday Night Live in the early '80s. The writer was a friend--well, his sister was, really. I didn't hear anything about it until it was well along the pipeline, when his mother made him ask my permission.

*Real name, obviously.
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You're name's Matt Foley?! How's livin' in a van down by the river workin' out for you?
 
Fenris-77 said:
Are you possibly a wild and crazy guy? Asking for a friend...
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Alas, no, though that's closer to the era. I did once eat at the joint that inspired the "Cheesburger Pepsi" skit but that had nothing to do with anything either. Frankly, the skit with my name is now long forgotten, except by me and the author. Actually, I doubt he remembers it, since he went on to work on The Simpsons and must have a lot of credits to his name by now. I've not seen him since the mid-80s, I guess...
 
Probably a little sad that if you asked me about my 'dream car', I'd answer that I want a small fleet-- between 4-6-- of Ford Crown Vics, just retired from public service. And a school bus with a wheelchair lift refitted as a cargo/sleeper van.
 
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