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I think "outside" is losing a lot of its luster for Morrigan.
Friday: Climbed onto the house roof. Absolutely panicked when I showed up the the roof to get her down. Yowled like I was pulling her ears off the entire way down.
Saturday/Sunday: Rain, including an incredibly-rare nearby lightning strike that scared even Mephisto. Even Nefret stirred a little as if to say, "Stop bothering me, I'm napping."
Monday: The backyard neighbors took a weed whacker to the rear of their yard. I can only assume a flying bit of detritus hit her because she went absolutely bonkers, jumping in a panic against her lead and as it tightened and she couldn't escape just went into a deeper and deeper panic until I got her safely inside.
Tuesday: The dryer caught fire. I've never seen any pet react so fundamentally viscerally to smoke. Her pupils dilated and she freaked. She clawed the he** out of my arms when I tried to get her somewhere safe, slipped loose, and then just sat on the ground hunched down and yowling, panicked, while Impus Minor and I rounded her up.
Wednesday: She's sitting on the electric blanket on our bed "late" into the morning, with an attitude of, "Nope. I don't need to go out today."
My wife called to tell me to say that she saw a fox on the way to work. I asked how she knew it was going to work and she hung up on me. I still got it.
Apparently what I still got isn't pants.
I've been waiting for someone to respond to my post from yesterday with, "Wow! Morrigan must to smart to be able to call the fire department on her own!"
And in yet another, "Why I hate landlords SO much" post...
Our back fence is tipping over into the back neighbor's yard. The only thing holding it up is some old rose bushes on the neighbor's side. So I asked the tenants to contact the landlord and let them know I'd be happy to go halvsies on the fence with them. The tenants' response: "Oh, we'll contact them, but they won't do it. They refuse to repair anything on the property until we threaten to withhold rent, and even then they do the cheapest-possible job."
So, northern fence is a rental but the owners used to live there so I know them and contacted them when that fence went bad. Halvsies. Southern fence is our long-term neighbors. Homeowners. Not only did we go halvsies on the fence, but they made all the arrangements so all I had to do was cut a check. Nice. Eastern fence? Classic "investment property" landlord: Since fences are not required by law, heck if they'll pay a penny to fix them.
Hate them SOOOOOOO much...
EDIT: Yes, I'd love to put up a 20' garish Berlin-wall-style edifice completely blocking the view from that property and devaluing by tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the tenants have been perfectly nice so it would be mean to them.
Speaking of things I detest: Punishing the punctual.
From doctors' offices accepting patients 15-20 minutes late to planes refusing to take off until every checked-in passenger has boarded, every day you're reminded that being on time is a form of punishment. "Oh, your appointment was at 11:15? Well, we had a couple of patients run late so the doctor won't be able to see you 'til noon." "Well, the flight was supposed to leave the gate at 10:50, but to accommodate the late passengers we're actually pulling out at 11:05."
Then comes this morning's madness. I'm taking a certification exam. I'm supposed to show up early to provide my I.D., get my computer set up, and verify everything is running correctly. Should take 5-10 minutes. Because they plan for people being late. I'm supposed to check in 30 minutes early. Then not leave my seat once I've checked in. So I'm going to have to sit here doing nothing for a solid 20-25 minutes because other people are late.
If you've set things up so that you punish the punctual, in the immortal words of Uncle Roger, "You f***ed up."
EDIT: OK. Need to rescind this. I was allowed to start check-in at 11:00 am sharp. I was allowed to start the exam the moment I finished check-in. It took me maybe 20 minutes to finish the test. So from start to finish on the 30-minute check-in and 90-minute exam was 30 minutes for me.
It was a hard test, but I got 84% and now have a professional certification.
Which does just kind of scream, "Why don't they ever lay you off again?", doesn't it?
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I've been waiting for someone to respond to my post from yesterday with, "Wow! Morrigan must to smart to be able to call the fire department on her own!"My wife called to tell me to say that she saw a fox on the way to work. I asked how she knew it was going to work and she hung up on me. I still got it.
Apparently what I still got isn't pants.
I thought more of a line.
I thought more of a line.I've been waiting for someone to respond to my post from yesterday with, "Wow! Morrigan must to smart to be able to call the fire department on her own!"My wife called to tell me to say that she saw a fox on the way to work. I asked how she knew it was going to work and she hung up on me. I still got it.
Apparently what I still got isn't pants.
She did! She gets hugs and chicken baby food.
Now I'm reminded of a Kyle Kinane bit.
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She did! She gets hugs and chicken baby food.I thought more of a line.I've been waiting for someone to respond to my post from yesterday with, "Wow! Morrigan must to smart to be able to call the fire department on her own!"My wife called to tell me to say that she saw a fox on the way to work. I asked how she knew it was going to work and she hung up on me. I still got it.
Apparently what I still got isn't pants.
We don't need to worry if Timmy falls down the well A-GAIN, and Lassie's otherwise engaged. Excellent.
I've been waiting for someone to respond to my post from yesterday with, "Wow! Morrigan must to smart to be able to call the fire department on her own!"My wife called to tell me to say that she saw a fox on the way to work. I asked how she knew it was going to work and she hung up on me. I still got it.
Apparently what I still got isn't pants.
I’m just happy that your house didn’t burn down.
I’m just happy that your house didn’t burn down.I've been waiting for someone to respond to my post from yesterday with, "Wow! Morrigan must to smart to be able to call the fire department on her own!"My wife called to tell me to say that she saw a fox on the way to work. I asked how she knew it was going to work and she hung up on me. I still got it.
Apparently what I still got isn't pants.
I'm giving props to Whirlpool on this *and* buying a new Whirlpool washer/dryer set: The entire electrical system was in a steel box. The fire never escaped the box, and after disassembling it I don't think it could have, even if the burning plastic had started melting and flowing downward. Someone with a serious mind for safety designed that box.
So yes, if we hadn't been home it would have been a serious asphyxiation risk for the cats. We dodged a bullet. But the house itself wasn't in danger.
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So my Dad had his peacemaker replaced earlier this year, and apparently he feels better now, being able to go up the stairs (one floor above the ground level) with less hassle than before.
Anyone would like a free Assassin's Creed: Valhalla? I have a key for Steam (?) from this month's Humble Choice. I already have the game on Uplay anyway.
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So my Dad had his peacemaker replaced earlier this year, and apparently he feels better now, being able to go up the stairs (one floor above the ground level) with less hassle than before.I'm assuming you meant pacemaker, which is an easy typo (or autocorrect) to make, but it did make me initially wonder how your Dad found it easier to go up stairs now that he has a new 1873 Colt single-action revolver. Are you sure he isn't American?
I just thought he had John Cena placed into his chest.
Well, the car buying process is easier/harder than I thought it would be. Turns out black Honda Civics are incredibly popular right now; I couldn't find a single one in all of Northern California, and even though Honda of Hollywood has one and GothBard is down there right now, she somehow doesn't feel like ending her work trip with a hassle at the dealership and a 7-hour drive home.
Plus Shiro is an experienced car buyer who's done tons of research and the car's out-the-door no-haggle price in California is $35,900, and Shiro said if I can get it below $34,000 I'm doing really well. I'm at a point in my life where I'm not going to lose sleep over $1900, and with a car that not a single dealership can keep in stock I don't think I'm going to get that $34,000. So now it's just a question of finding a dealership that has one. The local dealership has one coming in May that I can reserve with a deposit, but that involves who-knows-how-many hours haggling with the salesman over final price and whether I can get the deposit back if they try to change the final price. As I said, on MULTIPLE occasions Shiro's agreed to a final price only to have the paperwork come back with a different price, and if I've got a deposit with them suddenly I'm over a barrel and have to sue them to get my money back. Do not like.
Speaking of cars, in one of the "stupidest convenience features ever" category, I'd like to nominate the Saturn Ion: When you shift into Park and turn off the ignition, all the doors automatically unlock for you. So yep. No matter where you're parking, no matter how dangerous of a neighborhood, you turn that ignition off and all your doors are suddenly unlocked.
While I don't believe anyone has ever exploited this feature for carjacking or other immediate attacks, it still frustrates the he** out of me every time I borrow my mother-in-law's car because I have to carefully re-lock the doors every time I park. And in our neighborhood if you don't lock the doors when you park, your car will be rifled through.
And it really is kind of sad introducing the kids to "obsolete" conveniences.
For their entire lives, the kids have commuted by walking, biking, BART, or car. From kindergarten through high school they could walk. Impus Minor was a bit lazy and biked, but after breaking his arm in a bike crash went back to walking. When they wanted to go to San Francisco they'd walk to the BART station and take BART. Once they started going to DVC, I taught them to drive and they took cars.
So Impus Minor had to get to work yesterday, hasn't gotten his legs in bike shape yet, and didn't have a car. I suggested he take the bus, since it's pretty much a door-to-door trip and ever since a highly-disliked engineer took over AC Transit back in the 20-teens (he got ousted after a single term, I believe), the bus has been pretty darned solid.
He admitted it was his first time ever taking the bus alone.
I was aghast; by the time I was 12 I was routinely taking the bus to downtown Berkeley to the video arcades or catching the Humphrey Go-BART to get up to Lawrence Hall of Science to play on their PDP-11s. The idea that he had never taken a bus alone was... impressive.
NobodysHome: So, how was taking the bus to work?
Impus Minor: I loved it!
(Yeah, it's pretty much door-to-door and he doesn't have to worry about Berkeley's infamously bad parking or finding a place to lock up his bike, so he may be a bus addict from here on out.)
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Speaking of cars, in one of the "stupidest convenience features ever" category, I'd like to nominate the Saturn Ion: When you shift into Park and turn off the ignition, all the doors automatically unlock for you. So yep. No matter where you're parking, no matter how dangerous of a neighborhood, you turn that ignition off and all your doors are suddenly unlocked.
While I don't believe anyone has ever exploited this feature for carjacking or other immediate attacks, it still frustrates the he** out of me every time I borrow my mother-in-law's car because I have to carefully re-lock the doors every time I park. And in our neighborhood if you don't lock the doors when you park, your car will be rifled through.
Sounds like a safety (as in human safety, not property safety) feature.
Better than Tesla locking you in when it burns.
OK. I'll admit; there are some things dogs just plain do better than cats.
Morrigan has had really bad outdoor experiences for days now, to the point that she's hesitant to go out. It doesn't help that a neighbor cat (across the downed fence) is sniffing at the territory, and Morrigan knows she's too small to fight it off.
With a dog, "Fido, watch out for Morrigan!" is surprisingly effective; dogs are instinctually protective of pack members. As I've mentioned, on Younger Brother's property any predator or neighboring pet that weighs under 50 pounds is Food, not Foe because of the resident rottweilers and their insanely protective stance towards their furry family.
With a cat, "Mephisto, watch out for Morrigan!" is nigh-useless. The only protection he provides is that neighboring cats who attempt to impinge on our yard and spot him take an immediate attitude of, "Oh, nuh-uh. Can't pay me enough to mess with that mass!"
So at least I put him out with her and no critters bother her.
But the smoke, construction noises, kids screaming across the fence, and other intangible threats? Mephisto provides no reassurance at all.
I could have sworn we have been posting all day...
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So, car purchasing complete.
Was I ecstatic about the process? Not at all.
Was it far less painful than expected? Mostly.
As I said, finding a black Civic in California was painful. This morning Shiro pointed me to the Autonation dealerships: Both Fremont and Roseville were supposed to have one black Civic each, but by the time I filled out the "express interest" form they'd both been sold. Since I was between projects at work, I Googled the Civic again. Hayward Honda?
I called and it was pretty much, "Hey, do you really have a Civic hybrid on your lot right now?"
"Let me check. Yes. Yes we do."
"If I'm there in an hour and I hand you a check for $x can I have it?"
"Yes, yes you can."
So Impus Minor was going to school anyway, and I got him to leave a bit early and take me to the dealership. Got there around 12:15 pm. The sales guy arrived around 12:17 pm. Showed me the car, we agreed it was the one I wanted. Went in and showed me the price, we shook on it...
...and then the waiting began.
...he had to get the car prepped...
...he had to check my insurance...
...he had to gas up the car...
...finance guy has to check my insurance...
...and it was kind of funny because I was obviously impatient and I was loudly making exit plans with Impus Minor and the other sales guys were going over and telling him, "Dude, you're blowing an easy sale!"
But once I got to the finance guy his entire attitude was, "You made MY life dirt simple!" He was honestly happy to see me. Apparently buying a car for cash just isn't done any more. Another of those weird things. My parents paid for every car ever with cash. I paid for every car ever with the exception of the leased Echo with cash. 'Cause "financing is how they screw you."
So, from walking in to the dealership to leaving in the car was just a little over an hour. Lightning fast. But it felt like an eternity.
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I swear, as Mephisto gets older he's going to be the easiest-to-medicate cat in history.
"What's that? You're getting out the pills for grandma? Can I have some? Oh, no need to grind them up. I love the bitter crunchiness."
"What's that? You're giving grandma prescription hydration formula to help with her kidneys? Can I have some? Om nom nom prescription liquids..."
If I'm feeding it to Nefret, he MUST eat it. No matter what.
I'm amused that this morning I get to call up the repair shop and ask, "Dude, where's my car?"
Friday: Dropped off the car. They immediately noticed the broken water pump and had to order a replacement.
Monday: The replacement arrived, they put in the pump, and, "It looks like the engine is making another noise." I assume it was a terrible noise, because he wouldn't commit to anything until the technician looked at it again on Tuesday.
Tuesday: "I'm going to have my master tech take a look to confirm the noise in the Prius."
Dead silence since then, even after I texted on Wednesday to find out what was going on.
My assumption is that the car's beyond repair and they don't want to tell me that because I've been a good, loyal customer for 20+ years, but c'mon, a dead car is a dead car. Nothing (reasonable) you can do will fix that.
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I swear, as Mephisto gets older he's going to be the easiest-to-medicate cat in history.
"What's that? You're getting out the pills for grandma? Can I have some? Oh, no need to grind them up. I love the bitter crunchiness."
"What's that? You're giving grandma prescription hydration formula to help with her kidneys? Can I have some? Om nom nom prescription liquids..."If I'm feeding it to Nefret, he MUST eat it. No matter what.
That's my boy!
Yay for a relatively smooth car purchase. Mine has not gotten to that point yet, though I have decided on what I want to buy.
I may have already messed up the loan part by trying to get a preapproval for the full price of the car rather than what's left after the planned down payment.
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Yay for a relatively smooth car purchase. Mine has not gotten to that point yet, though I have decided on what I want to buy.
I may have already messed up the loan part by trying to get a preapproval for the full price of the car rather than what's left after the planned down payment.
It doesn't hurt to have padding.
Shiro's advice:
(1) Once you know the exact make and model of the car you want, call around and ask, "What's your out-the-door price for this car if I don't do any negotiation at all?" Most dealerships are happy to tell you, and at least for the Honda they were remarkably consistent. Three different dealerships all quoted $35,900.
(2) Modern car dealerships have very thin margins -- 4-5%. All the discounts you get are from the manufacturer. Some dealerships will advertise these discounts; for example, when I was looking at rural California dealerships they had stuff like, "First time college student discount! Veteran discount! Homeowner discount!" If you can find the discounts that apply to you and provide them to the dealership, they're absolutely happy to lower your price for you because you've done the legwork for them and they just need to check some boxes.
(3) If you're financing through the car company, they stand to make $3,000-$4,000 in interest payments from you. They can (and should) take some of that right off the top of the car price. My friend went in with a preapproved bank loan. The car dealership said, "OK, let us see the loan! I bet we can beat that!" It's money in their pocket AND a solid bonus for the sales rep if you finance through the car company, and they'll even discount the car to get you to switch. It's all win-win *except* unscrupulous dealers will try to absolutely hose you with end-of-loan bulk payments, hidden fees, and other stuff. You have to be fairly financially savvy to go through their loan offer in detail to see whether they really do beat the bank. If you don't trust your financial acumen, don't take the car company loan. Too many of them are scumbags to trust them. Read the fine print. It's a high-risk, moderate-reward approach.
Shiro likes to go in, pretend he's financing, have a bank figure in mind, let them come up with their offer based on the idea that they're going to beat the bank loan and pocket a ton of cash, and once they give him the offer in writing and they've agreed to it they say, "OK, now let's talk to the finance guy," and he's like, "Nah, I'll just pay cash."
I'm sure it feels great to beat the car dealership at their own game. I didn't take that approach.
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Speaking of Shiro, his paranoia can be a bit irritating.
I've been going to the same shop (a dealership) for 20 years now. I have a 30-year-old Celica and a 20-year-old Prius to show that they know what they're doing. Yet every time they suggest an expensive repair, Shiro doubts them, Googles the repair, and says that he's sure they're trying to rip me off.
So, the update on the Prius is that there's something wrong with its Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) system. The head mechanic said that either we run some engine cleaner and pray, or it's a complete engine takedown costing thousands of dollars.
Shiro Googled the VVT-i and it's 2 hours of labor and a $100 part to replace. Obviously the shop was trying to rip me off.
So I Googled, "Are there parts of the VVT-I that are inside of the engine?" and the answer came back, "Yes, under the valve and on top of the cylinder."
In short, there are VVT-i parts that are inside of the engine and that would require an engine tear-down.
I just don't see a shop that I've been with for 20 years and that hasn't changed management recently suddenly trying to screw me over.
Impus Major just reminded me of the sheer danger of statistics and power of assumption.
You've probably all heard, "Most Americans can't afford a $400 emergency." I've misquoted it often enough.
But... what does "afford" mean?
Impus Major was asking about our financial state after purchasing the car. It turns out that if you subtract out the bills that are due this month, then include only cash, checking, and savings, it's under $400. So, if we're not allowed to borrow any money nor use credit cards, we're one of the American families that "cannot afford a $400 emergency."
Which is a stupid statement. We have about $55,000 in space on our credit cards, so all of a sudden we can "afford" a $40,000 emergency by putting it on cards. Is that cheating? Does it matter whether or not we could then pay down those cards over time?
Then comes true, life-threatening emergencies. I could cash out retirement accounts and have $400,000 in 3 days. Doing the math I don't think I could hit $4 million, but you get the idea: Depending on the definition of being able to "afford" something, I'm either in dire straits or perfectly comfortable with a temporary financial setback.
Suddenly that statistic seems really, really sus.
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Yeah, all my assets are tied up in Monets, and Titians. It would take a while to liquidate. (An unlikely story.)
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That ain't working, that's the way you do it
Painting guitars kinda Rembrandt-y
Matte tint worked in, that's the way you do it,
Monets for nothing, and your Titians free.
We gotta move those Michelangelos (&c &c)
Yeah, all my assets are tied up in Monets, and Titians. It would take a while to liquidate. (An unlikely story.)
Come on, it would take a moderately sized bonfire at best!
Speaking of Shiro, his paranoia can be a bit irritating.
I've been going to the same shop (a dealership) for 20 years now. I have a 30-year-old Celica and a 20-year-old Prius to show that they know what they're doing. Yet every time they suggest an expensive repair, Shiro doubts them, Googles the repair, and says that he's sure they're trying to rip me off.
So, the update on the Prius is that there's something wrong with its Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) system. The head mechanic said that either we run some engine cleaner and pray, or it's a complete engine takedown costing thousands of dollars.
Shiro Googled the VVT-i and it's 2 hours of labor and a $100 part to replace. Obviously the shop was trying to rip me off.
So I Googled, "Are there parts of the VVT-I that are inside of the engine?" and the answer came back, "Yes, under the valve and on top of the cylinder."
In short, there are VVT-i parts that are inside of the engine and that would require an engine tear-down.
I just don't see a shop that I've been with for 20 years and that hasn't changed management recently suddenly trying to screw me over.
Never trust the dealership.
Speaking of Shiro, his paranoia can be a bit irritating.
I've been going to the same shop (a dealership) for 20 years now. I have a 30-year-old Celica and a 20-year-old Prius to show that they know what they're doing. Yet every time they suggest an expensive repair, Shiro doubts them, Googles the repair, and says that he's sure they're trying to rip me off.
So, the update on the Prius is that there's something wrong with its Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i) system. The head mechanic said that either we run some engine cleaner and pray, or it's a complete engine takedown costing thousands of dollars.
Shiro Googled the VVT-i and it's 2 hours of labor and a $100 part to replace. Obviously the shop was trying to rip me off.
So I Googled, "Are there parts of the VVT-I that are inside of the engine?" and the answer came back, "Yes, under the valve and on top of the cylinder."
In short, there are VVT-i parts that are inside of the engine and that would require an engine tear-down.
I just don't see a shop that I've been with for 20 years and that hasn't changed management recently suddenly trying to screw me over.
It's 2026 and you live in an extremely high market city with extremely high rent, that shit changes people.
Financial stress is a hell of an embezzlement motivator.
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And there you go. R.I.P. Prius.
The shop called and said, "Yeah, you need a replacement engine. We found one with 110k miles on it but it would still be $5,000 and we know you don't want to do that. We can't give you service credit for the car and the sales group will only give you $150 for it."
"Sold."
"No, I'm not gonna let you do that. You can donate it to one of those car charities and say it's worth $1000 and you'll get more money that way. Or the state of California will give you $1200 to get an old car off the road if it qualifies. So you should come by and pick it up and get the extra cash."
Yet again I feel better about my dealership.
But Shiro will get his wish -- since I'm going to try to sell it to the state, it's going to come home and darken the driveway for a bit and he'll get to listen to the engine and give me his opinion. (He literally worked on a Detroit auto line in his youth and did the whole, "Build your street racer out of salvaged vehicle parts and then race your friends," so he knows a bit about engines.)
EDIT: We kind of want to give it a Viking funeral -- float it out to sea on a raft and then shoot it with flaming arrows, but we think that might break an environmental law or three. GothBard suggested shooting flaming arrows after the tow truck that drags it away, but again, some people might misinterpret this as a hostile act.
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And there you go. R.I.P. Prius.
The shop called and said, "Yeah, you need a replacement engine. We found one with 110k miles on it but it would still be $5,000 and we know you don't want to do that. We can't give you service credit for the car and the sales group will only give you $150 for it."
"Sold."
"No, I'm not gonna let you do that. You can donate it to one of those car charities and say it's worth $1000 and you'll get more money that way. Or the state of California will give you $1200 to get an old car off the road if it qualifies. So you should come by and pick it up and get the extra cash."Yet again I feel better about my dealership.
But Shiro will get his wish -- since I'm going to try to sell it to the state, it's going to come home and darken the driveway for a bit and he'll get to listen to the engine and give me his opinion. (He literally worked on a Detroit auto line in his youth and did the whole, "Build your street racer out of salvaged vehicle parts and then race your friends," so he knows a bit about engines.)
EDIT: We kind of want to give it a Viking funeral -- float it out to sea on a raft and then shoot it with flaming arrows, but we think that might break an environmental law or three. GothBard suggested shooting flaming arrows after the tow truck that drags it away, but again, some people might misinterpret this as a hostile act.
We'd always take it out in a field and see how long it took before it was inoperable and then drag it back with a tractor, but i suppose you gotta go with what you have at hand.
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And there you go. R.I.P. Prius.
The shop called and said, "Yeah, you need a replacement engine. We found one with 110k miles on it but it would still be $5,000 and we know you don't want to do that. We can't give you service credit for the car and the sales group will only give you $150 for it."
"Sold."
"No, I'm not gonna let you do that. You can donate it to one of those car charities and say it's worth $1000 and you'll get more money that way. Or the state of California will give you $1200 to get an old car off the road if it qualifies. So you should come by and pick it up and get the extra cash."Yet again I feel better about my dealership.
But Shiro will get his wish -- since I'm going to try to sell it to the state, it's going to come home and darken the driveway for a bit and he'll get to listen to the engine and give me his opinion. (He literally worked on a Detroit auto line in his youth and did the whole, "Build your street racer out of salvaged vehicle parts and then race your friends," so he knows a bit about engines.)
EDIT: We kind of want to give it a Viking funeral -- float it out to sea on a raft and then shoot it with flaming arrows, but we think that might break an environmental law or three. GothBard suggested shooting flaming arrows after the tow truck that drags it away, but again, some people might misinterpret this as a hostile act.
Shame. I'd be interested to find out what flaming arrows did to a Prius.
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We kind of want to give it a Viking funeral -- float it out to sea on a raft and then shoot it with flaming arrows, but we think that might break an environmental law or three. GothBard suggested shooting flaming arrows after the tow truck that drags it away, but again, some people might misinterpret this as a hostile act.
Might I suggest shooting it with one of those toy bows with suction cup arrows instead?
So here's a question for people who buy a new car more than once a generation: Does color matter to you?
When we were shopping for the Celica in 1996, I'll never forget one interaction GothBard had with a sales guy:
"What can I do to take you to buy this car off my lot right now?"
"Paint it purple."
So in 1996 we went to multiple dealerships to find a purple (technically "bright iris pearl") Celica. Salesmen were universally baffled that we cared so much about the color of the car we were buying that we wouldn't even negotiate with them for a different color.
Fast forward 30 years. The *one* sales guy we started the whole process with understood and worked on getting us a black Civic. Every other salesperson had the same attitude 30 years later. "But we have them in grey, and blue, and white. What the heck is wrong with you?"
Even the Costco auto program couldn't comprehend why I was unhappy with their service when they let me select a black Civic and they sent me to a dealer who wouldn't have one for at least a month.
Maybe it's because we plan on keeping our cars for 20+ years. But we're willing to take the time to get the color we want. And it really surprises me that that concept is so difficult for salespeople to comprehend. Are we really so different in caring about the color of the car we're about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on?
Neat. And apparently there is a colors called "Toyota Bright Iris Pearl 8K9"...
Next time tell the dealer that Mother Russia would be proud of them.
No, seriously, during the communist years you were happy if you could have a car at all so you bought whatever was offered. You might try to paint it yourself, though it was unlikely.
My father painted a (bought from someone else) Mercedes a color that I can only describe as... Eye-gouging blue, similar to grabber blue but more... Unsuitable for car? I am not sure if the paint was actually car paint or something else.
Next time tell the dealer that Mother Russia would be proud of them.
No, seriously, during the communist years you were happy if you could have a car at all so you bought whatever was offered. You might try to paint it yourself, though it was unlikely.
My father painted a (bought from someone else) Mercedes a color that I can only describe as... Eye-gouging blue, similar to grabber blue but more... Unsuitable for car? I am not sure if the paint was actually car paint or something else.
I always wonder whether the people driving the barf-brown cars around here chose the color intentionally, or whether they got a fantastic deal from the dealer to get the hideousity off their lot.
Fantasy Monster: Crackling Lasher
It was supposed to be a storm wraith, but ended being something else, though still storm-related.
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There's a guy that drives around in a Cybertruck wrapped in shit brown.
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Interesting... After adding a word in Russian during the translation again, ChatGPT instead of continuing immediately ended the paragraphs with words "wait, no."
Was that a moment of reflection and noticing its error?
Interesting. Something similar happened again, where it stopped erroneous operation and something like internal "thought" process spilt into the output.
Poland’s Armament Agency announced the start of contract التنفيذ? Wait avoid Arabic. Need proper final.
Then it returned the properly translated paragraph.
Interesting... After adding a word in Russian during the translation again, ChatGPT instead of continuing immediately ended the paragraphs with words "wait, no."
Was that a moment of reflection and noticing its error?
Interesting. Something similar happened again, where it stopped erroneous operation and something like internal "thought" process spilt into the output.
Poland’s Armament Agency announced the start of contract التنفيذ? Wait avoid Arabic. Need proper final.Then it returned the properly translated paragraph.
That's really quite interesting...