Modern Vespa

We have a post light in our front yard. When we bought the house in 2013, we had to replace the incandescent bulb in it every 2-3 months, because it kept burning out. In 2014 I got tired of replacing them, so I bought an LED bulb for it. It is on 24 hours per day (the light sensor on the fixture that is supposed to turn it off during the day doesn't work), and it's been working just fine ever since. So I'm at 11 years of constant use on one LED bulb so far. And it's outside in Texas heat during the summer (100°F+).

Bulbs of all sorts (incandescent especially, but all sorts) are merely very, very dim fuses. At some time in their lives they will die.

That said, the first house I bought had an outhouse, with a 40W (?guess, it wasn't marked in any way) bulb in it, on permanently (no switch!). Neighbours told me it hadn't ever been changed to their knowledge, and had been a source of pride to the previous owners.

Incandescent bulbs tend to die when switched on. The moral is NOT to not switch them off...

Reminds me of all the electronic equipment at the various TV stations I've worked at. The monitors, switchers, framestores, mixers, satellite dish controllers... everything just stayed on around the clock. Once in a while something fails, then engineers like jimc swap it out or work magic and patch it together. Usually operators like me are the main problem. I used to get a lot of side-eye from the engineers.

My patio light has got that beat. 24/7 for 12 years.

So far.

I'm wondering if the word outhouse has a different definition in the UK.

Where I come from an outhouse is a small structure that is too close to the house in the summer and too far away in the winter.

Yes the Centennial Light that has been on since 1901 is testament to not turning them off. It is a carbon filament bulb that was originally 60 watts but is now down to 4 watts and still glowing at Fire Station 6 in Livermore CA.

Otherwise known as a shithouse, usually made from sturdy bricks.

An outhouse in my family home was a small attached room at the back of the house that we kept bags of potatoes and garden equipment before we had a shed, and thereafter it became a wine cellar.

Again, more sad, really.

Isabelle was microchipped and I got the renewal for her subscription. I had to write them about why we won't be renewing. Continual reminders.

We brought the camper home to clean it up for a camping trip this coming weekend. The first thing we noticed when we opened the door was her camping leash. And then her camping food and water bowls.

I printed a picture that we framed and hung in the camper so we see it every time we walk in.

Owning my thumbs up on your post.

We lost Jackson to an unknown brain/nervous system issue back in early 2022. He was an absolutely wonderful cat. He bonded to both my wife and me (primarily to me), but also to one of our other cats, Digby. He wanted to be friends with everyone.

Photos of him keep popping up in my Facebook Memories feed. I can understand the sadness that comes from the reminders, but I take solace in the good memories I had with him.

9 months on the bike and the Motone taillight is already acting up, half the tag illumination LEDs are flickering.

Could be worse. Still unhappy it only lasted 9 months.

Ai.
I can't weed out the CVs from people who don't write good no more.

Then you get them for interview and they can't speak proper.

Yesterday we had to severely curtail our campervan tour of Scotland and the North-west of England. One of the four exhaust gaskets had failed, and although the van was drivable, it made a horrible noise when accelerating - wearying to be the driver, and frightening sheep and horses along the way.

Plus it was solid rain forecast for the foreseeable future. So we slogged 450 miles down the motorway system to get home.

Why didn't we get someone to fix it?
1: No-one had the part in stock, and quoted exorbitant (£60!) to supply a £2 part.
2: As soon as they heard what the problem was, they either stated they didn't work on vans, or that they were solidly booked up until the end of October or mid-November. I suspect that nobody wants a job that's fraught with risk of broken studs etc, on an engine that's so shoe-horned in that access is extremely restricted.

So I've ordered the gasket set (£11.25, free delivery by tomorrow) and will attempt to DIY. Fingers crossed!

I asked one of the plausibly well written ones a question and got a rant in gibberish back.

Perhaps you need to use the MILLENNIAL TRANSLATOR.

It allows you to immediately understand millennial-speak, as well as Gen Z!

PBblaster and heat are your friend here. I worked on enough air-cooled VWs to know.

Confirmation bias coupled with unfettered access to the internet has allowed people to be confident in believing almost anything they wish to believe.

And we're all the worse off for their delusions.

I came across this very attractive (to me) 1939 Buick Special at a used car lot across the street from the Walmart where I was heading to buy a couple pairs of jeans.

About a half hour later, as I was leaving the store, I couldn't help but go into the lot and look the car over a bit closer.

It's a straight eight cylinder, with a three-speed column shift, has 'suicide' rear doors, and a nearly perfect original(?) interior.

The restored two-tone paint finish is, according to the salesman, in the car's original colors.

The 'Pissing me off' part is that it's listed for only $14,000, ALMOST within my financial grasp....but just enough out of reach that I can't make it happen right now unless I could quickly sell a couple motorcycles, but it's fall, with winter close, and nobody's going to buy a motorcycle right now unless it's seriously undervalued.

I've always loved the automotive styling of the late 1930's and 1940's, and for me, this one hits the mark perfectly.

Killer Buick, but this line is exactly what I'm hoping for in a month or so. Local feller has a CB750F Super Sport (a DOHC version) that needs carb work. Anyone who knows those bikes knows if the weird carbs they put on them ever needs work, you're better off just swapping them out for normal ones lol.

May desire a winter project and a CB750 would be ideal.

I know how you feel. A car lot in Prescott (say Press-Kit to sound like a local) has a 60s Ford Econoline van/pickup. I love the look, but I don't need another car/truck.

I had a 1961 Ford Econoline 'long van' in the early 70's, drove it to Nuevo Laredo Mexico from St. Paul, pulling a U-haul trailer to buy and import Mexican pottery.

I had the van for a year or two, and like a lot of other older guys, would love to have another Econoline van. I rarely see one any more.

Seems to lack cup holders and CarPlay. 14k? Pass.

Yes, but it makes up for it by having a plethora of the cutest little covered ashtrays you've ever seen in a passenger vehicle.

14k plus you'll have to start smoking. Those things are expensive.

Not a problem, I could pick up the habit right where I left it off in 1991, maybe cut it back to half a pack per day to save a little of money.

Some asshole named Mister Cooper is pissin me off massively. To the point I now understand entirely why Brian Thompson is a faded memory and others like him now have substantial personal security detail expenses. (i certainly wouldn't engage in anything related thereto, but i can empathize with those who would have those ideations)

Wells-Fargo sold our home loan to these jackwagons. Without notice, mind you, but of course WF's mentality is "what are they gonna do? real-world, what are they gonna do?" and since the last time they got in major trouble foreclosing on deployed service members who weren't behind a single day in their payments (they just knew it would be unopposed because they were out of the country unable to respond) they paid a bribe to the government in the form of a "fine" (didn't make anyone whole they screwed over, mind you) and the illegality of what they did was suddenly forgotten. everything's legal for a price.

Welp, this Cooper asshole refuses to give me a payoff amount. They refuse to even talk to me at all because my loan is "still being transferred". But not to worry, they assured me that I won't see a single late fee or ding on my credit for 60 days as a result of the transfer.

Nevermind that I'm trying to sell the house and close *TOMORROW* and they still refuse to provide a payoff amount, meaning the buyer's lender won't close until we have that info.

Drag it out a little longer, we lose the buyer and have to start over again.

Well, hearing all that is pissing me off! Hope it all works out for you.

Wells Fargo has never sold our loans, that's bad luck. We bought one house where the loan changed hands four or five times in the first year. Wells got it and kept it so we have used them ever since.

I have the benefit of using a VA loan so it's really just through whomever offers the best terms. WF bought ours within 2 months of closing, and we were with them til last month (apparently).

I'm more peeved they failed to notify far moreso than the actual transfer. Though the company they sold it to I just realized originally appeared in Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park". You may recall the scene where Jeff Goldblum's character says "that is one big pile of shit"? Yep. That's Mr. Cooper!

Anywho. At least we'll be done dealing with them almost as soon as we began, and won't have to worry about it for nearly 2 years.

I wonder if I can sneak a clause into the loan documentation that says they agree never to sell it to Mr. Cooper, and that anyone who purchases the loan in perpetuity must be held to the same terms.....

Thanks to the new tariffs, the country of origin of a product has to be on the invoice if it comes here via UPS. So I've learned that the complete Piaggio water pump for the GTS is not made in Italy, and when I buy them, I get charged the 15% EU tariff, the 50+% tariff on Chinese made goods, and an additional 50% tariff because it's made out of aluminum. That's 115%. I have been working over the past couple of years to build the market for YSS shocks in the US. I get them in Italy. 15% EU, 34% Thailand and 50% steel tariffs.

It would be interesting to order one of those genuine Pontedera 310 engines right about now. That's one way to find out where they are made.

As far as I can recall, every home loan we have had has been sold by the original lender. One of them was to Mr. Cooper. I don't recall any particular problem we had with them, but somehow the name raises a bad feeling that I am barely conscious of.

You work with a lender, maybe even have a nice interaction with the person handling your loan. Then it gets sold and you realize that you are just a commodity.

Our last refinance (to build an ADU) was the worst. I chose a company that looked good. They apprised our property. They locked in a rate. And then we waited. And waited. Months went by. I didn't want to change lenders because rates were going up and ours was locked in.

Or so we thought.

They finally came through with the final agreement at the current, higher, interest rate. It turned out that the original rate was good for just one month!

I canceled the deal.

I'm sure that they were not happy - after all, they had gone to a great deal of trouble and expense keeping us on the hook for so long and now they were getting nothing.

I quickly did what I should have done in the first place. I found a new lender through a Costco referral program. I told them the story and said that I was only interested in working with them if they could expedite the loan. They agreed.

It took four days, including the assessment.

Oh, they sold the loan. But there haven't been any issues.

That is a beautiful automobile.

My Dad always laughs at me when we go to car shows. I love the old Buicks. I'm more partial to the early '50s. I love it when they put the chrome on with a trowel.



You might like this video.

I would love it if someone could make modern versions of cars like this - in their original sizes (or close to it). The PT Cruiser and Chevy HHR were good tries, but too small. I absolutely would have wanted the HHR if it were on a mid-sized SUV chassis.

Volkswagen has been trying, with some success, to do this with their Beetle and the new Electric Van.

And what's with Jaguar? They always made a superbly performing (albeit somewhat unreliable) sedan. But what set it apart was its styling. It's too bad they gave up on that.

Elon Musk could have done this, but he made the Cybertruck instead.

Maybe I'm just old and nostalgic (OK, I am), but wouldn't it be cool?

Or how about an updated version of a Heinkel scooter?

Yeah, Michael, dream on...

This has been pissing me off for a while, I just thought I'd take the time now to post about it.

My truck has Apple CarPlay (and Android Auto, for that matter).

When I first start up the truck, a warning screen pops up advising me to drive safely and try to not be distracted by the infotainment screen, plus some other info. I have to touch the Confirm button to continue (or I could touch the Language button and change the language of the system).

This is fine.

But then my phone connects via CarPlay, and another warning screen pops up, advising me that CarPlay content is from the iPhone, and not Hyundai, and to not complain to Hyundai if I'm not happy, plus some other stuff. I have to either click Cancel or OK to continue.

This is where we get to what pisses me off.

The Confirm button on the first popup is on the left.
The OK button on the second popup is on the right.

If my muscle memory takes over, I'll end up clicking Confirm then Cancel.

They should have put the OK button in the same place as the Confirm button.

Touch screens in general, in cars, piss me off.

Norm Cook (Fatboy Slim) has a new book out.

The autographed version is north of 3 benjamins.

This pisses me off because OBVIOUSLY I have to get it so it sets back a couple other wishlist items.

This. My front yard. The church next door will not secure their property to restrict people from driving over our lawn.

I'm contacting a fencing company today. I'm thinking something ugly with razor wire.

Stop strip.

OFG