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Dunkin is just flat-out bad. And I live in Massachusetts, where saying that is tantamount to blasphemy. When I was a kid, I remember both their donuts and their coffee being, if not great, at least consistently good. Now, I will drive further down the highway to find a McDonald's for coffee rather than pull into a Dunkin Donuts.

Heiwashin wrote:

My best up front guess, almost certainly pot cleanliness. 10 to 1 they're leaving in old, overheated and burned dehydrated coffee at the bottom when they make a new pot sometimes.

absolutely.

Still, nothing is worse than the cup of coffee I got from Casey's at 11:30 Friday night. I could tell as I poured it that it was old.

Stupid electronics recycling center web site. Web site says open until 4:00, sign on the gate (which was chained and locked when I got there) says 3:00.

At least the boxes of crap are in the back of the van now instead of in the basement. So next time I'm out and about in that vicinity BEFORE 3:00 F*CKING PM, I will drop them off...

Like most auto enthusiasts possessed of a Y chromosome I have long lusted to drive an Italian car. Well, I have been driving an Italian car for the last week (VIN starts with ZA, look it up), and the experience has been sheer unadulterated hell.

Of course, the Italian car in question is a 2018 Jeep Renegade. It's my insurance rental while the Forester is in the shop finally getting the Halloween storm damage (I think I posted pics) fixed. It's built on the Fiat 500X platform and it shows. I have to do my best Frodo to get in the thing as it's designed for young & spry Millennials, all attributes wholly lacking in me. It's painfully uncomfortable and the headlights are useless which, given the time of year, poses a problem. Thankfully, the Forester will be ready tomorrow and I can send this merda-wagon off to the strains of an Adam Sandler tune. Yeah, that one, with the reggae beat.

At least the local Fiat dealer is also the local Alfa Romeo dealer, so I think I'll wait for a sunny day and ask to drive a Giulia Quadrifoglio (or a Stelvio Quadrifoglio if they have one). With luck, that will erase the Renegade memories.

No one will ever retrieve this Renegade for a bounty.

The Egg wrote:

I know I've complained about it before, but I still don't understand how Dunkin coffee can be decent one time, and then complete garbage the next. Same people, same equipment, same beans, same everything --- during peak hours (so it's not sitting). I just don't get it.

I rarely drink the stuff now, and even with a diminishing sample size, their failure rate approaches 50%.

Could a question of how often they properly clean their machines. One thing I learnt when I watched my students doing a barista course was how important regular cleaning is. Dirty machines produce **** coffee.

Captain Ned wrote:

Of course, the Italian car in question is a 2018 Jeep Renegade.

OK, so Italian by marriage only...

Captain Ned wrote:

No one will ever retrieve this Renegade for a bounty.

Heh. Welcome to the '70s.

just brew it! wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

No one will ever retrieve this Renegade for a bounty.

Heh. Welcome to the '70s.

Figured you'd get that one as they are from Chicago.

They even played at the Naperville Ribfest a few years ago.

man I had to google that.

Glorious wrote:

man I had to google that.

Needed something else to spark your memory?

From Chicago or not you'd have to be a real dolt to not get a reference to one of the most famous rock songs released the year I was born (1978). It helps that Styx is one of my favorite bands, like, ever. (edit: Wikipedia says the song wasn't released as a single until 1979, but we all know the album came out in 1978)

Bought a new (to me) car today. Came with two key fobs but only one key, and of course it's chipped and of course nobody else in my town can make the keys except a manufacturer-associated dealer, apparently. Walmart has the supplies and the capabilities but apparently lacks the desire, as the guy at the service counter told me they've made them before but they have never worked for more than opening the door.

OTOH, I really dig the car. First time I've ever been able to pay out of pocket for a vehicle without getting a loan. Seeing the smaller savings account balance kind of made me cry a bit but not having a car payment is awesome. But that meant saying goodbye to my 1998 Ford Contour and its cassette-adapter-connected Bluetooth module.

For the dolts (or the young'uns).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSKuLO4k0Q8

derFunkenstein wrote:

First time I've ever been able to pay out of pocket for a vehicle without getting a loan. Seeing the smaller savings account balance kind of made me cry a bit but not having a car payment is awesome.

While I understand the desire to never have a car payment, my use pattern simply doesn't allow for same. 130K miles in 5 years or so means a new car every 5 years or so. I write them on 60 month loans but always prepay (usually paid in 2-3 years); I just like the cash flow flexibility of that 60 month payment. The GSA mileage reimbursement rate pays for the cars anyways.

My one strong policy is never to have 2 car payments at once. Since the Boss drives far fewer miles, that's usually not an issue.

Captain Ned wrote:

The GSA mileage reimbursement rate pays for the cars anyways.

This would be a big deal if I traveled for work like you do. Definitely understand your purchasing plan. If it pays for the car in 2-3 years and you can drive it for 5 or so, you're actually making money on the car (and that's even considering that some of the money is being poured back into it in gasoline). Our use cases are vastly different. I'll drive it to school two nights a week and my wife might drive it 1-2 days a week, too. I was surprised to find she'd rather drive her van most of the time. She loves that thing.

Main reason we traded away the Contour is that it needs some more work done and that's on top of replacing two brake lines in the last 12 months. Suspension is basically shot (and shocks + springs are surprisingly rare), plus some weird behavior on wet pavement. If you're not driving in a straight line, the car will pull in the direction you're turning, rather than return to 0 naturally.

I literally laughed all the way to the bank (to get a check printed) when they gave me $1000 on trade for the Contour. I was hoping to negotiate half or two-thirds of that. Confirmed my suspicions when I got home - even "excellent" condition KBB trade value was around $900, and it's not in "excellent" condition.

derFunkenstein wrote:

This would be a big deal if I traveled for work like you do. Definitely understand your purchasing plan. If it pays for the car in 2-3 years and you can drive it for 5 or so, you're actually making money on the car (and that's even considering that some of the money is being poured back into it in gasoline). Our use cases are vastly different. I'll drive it to school two nights a week and my wife might drive it 1-2 days a week, too. I was surprised to find she'd rather drive her van most of the time. She loves that thing.

Making money?? Not so much. I've been driving turbo Subies since 2001, which means premium gas. My analysis is that I just about break even on gas, scheduled maintenance, and depreciation. I go out of pocket if something uninsured & mechanical breaks. When I'm done with a car I will gladly tell a potential private purchaser that, while the outside may have some dings, the innards have been looked after with care. After 130K miles there's no trade-in value, so one needs to sell to a fellow Subie-head (not hard to find in VT) with the service records.

I know I'm an outlier on the use case.

Oh, well, nevermind then.

I'm pretty sure I made money on my 1997 Ford Ranger. I put around 60k on it for work in the five years I traveled (out of 150k or so total that I put on it). Bought it from my cousin for what she owed on it after she had her baby and needed a family vehicle, which was around $8000 in the summer of 2000. She just wanted to get out of the loan, and I was happy to buy it out. Only out-of-pocket repair expenses I ever had were exhaust that I fixed myself with a couple of flanges and a length of pipe, and a rear caliper that gave out.

derFunkenstein wrote:

First time I've ever been able to pay out of pocket for a vehicle without getting a loan. Seeing the smaller savings account balance kind of made me cry a bit but not having a car payment is awesome.

I did the same when I bought my first car. I had a little convincing to do though, because I think they didn't quite know what to make of me. Apparently not many people walk into the dealership with parent in tow wearing a tshirt that says "reverse engineer" backwards on it and offer to pay up front.

derFunkenstein wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

The GSA mileage reimbursement rate pays for the cars anyways.

I literally laughed all the way to the bank (to get a check printed) when they gave me $1000 on trade for the Contour. I was hoping to negotiate half or two-thirds of that. Confirmed my suspicions when I got home - even "excellent" condition KBB trade value was around $900, and it's not in "excellent" condition.

If car dealership laws where you live are similar to Colorado, odds are good the dealer never took possession of the used vehicle you bought; instead they brokered it and collected commission. So here's the accounting trick, as best I understand it: They collect their brokerage fees for selling the vehicle at "full" price; you get a de facto discount folded into the trade-in price of the beater; they transfer your payment to the previous owner plus $1000 from their own cash supply; and finally, they get to claim a $300 loss against taxable income when the Contour brings $700 at auction just before boarding the next flatbed to Ciudad Juarez.

In any case, both of our current vehicles are older and lacking so much as an aux jack or Bluetooth sync button, but both were purchased for cash. The lack of a car payment is indeed nice.

I stayed at a hotel last night and didn't check the forecast so I shut off the truck. The batteries died to the cold and it appears that the fuel gelled in the lines as well. My luck we'll fix that and find out my brake lines are frozen

Oops.

Do any hotels offer outside outlets for winterizqtion plug-in power? Heated fuel lines, block heater, etc.

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

Do any hotels offer outside outlets for winterizqtion plug-in power? Heated fuel lines, block heater, etc.

I've never seen any. The best solution I have seen is a hotel with a parking garage.

Nope, just gotta idle the truck. I think something about the plugs must be expensive or something because even our terminal only has a few.

Heiwashin wrote:

Nope, just gotta idle the truck. I think something about the plugs must be expensive or something because even our terminal only has a few.

Infrastructure (copper wire of suitable ampacity) ain't cheap. I'll guess that a single-plug connection for your truck is a thick 3 or 4 pin twist-lock.

I was just thinking that a lot of guys here could be "the guy to call" for questions about music and other assorted similar trivia pre Google. I'm in the generation that only remembers enough related information to get to things on Google and fill in the blanks there.

There's no point to this, perfect dymt content.

3F this AM. Not looking forward to waiting for the bus today.

We’re forecast to have 1/2 inch of sleet and snow this afternoon with lows in the mid teens the next two nights. It’s unusual to get multiple snowfalls in the same winter on the gulf coast. It did get down to 3 F two years in the early 1980s, but anything below 20 F causes problems.

The worst road conditions I ever dealt with were in Texas during a freak snow a few years back. They pretty much abandoned the roads because of an inch of snow. I almost got hit by people losing control twice that day because if their inexperience I'm sure.

Heiwashin wrote:

I was just thinking that a lot of guys here could be "the guy to call" for questions about music and other assorted similar trivia pre Google. I'm in the generation that only remembers enough related information to get to things on Google and fill in the blanks there.

There's no point to this, perfect dymt content.

Seems like the days of sitting in the bar and arguing over whether that last bit of trivia is true are over. Now we can just look it up on our phones.

RIP Cliff Clavin.

derFunkenstein wrote:

Seems like the days of sitting in the bar and arguing over whether that last bit of trivia is true are over. Now we can just look it up on our phones.

...then argue about the credibility of the web site we found the info on.

just brew it! wrote:

3F this AM. Not looking forward to waiting for the bus today.

Was almost 60 went I went outside this morning. 75% of the year I'm really glad I live in the Mojave.