sandt38

On a positive note, my cousin lives nearby and her husband brews some spectacular stouts! Time for a house crash!

Mercedes training out of town Friday and Saturday... Yay?

Not good! You got lucky. Keep the cage extra humid right now so the new exoskeleton does not split as it dries. Give him a week before you try to feed him. Spiders can go forever without eating.

I found they were comfortable, but they fell apart in no time. For the cost of the rebuild I said fuck it. I wear New Balance 512s (buy them at Sears on sale for ~$40) with Superfeet black insoles. I spend $75 a year and get new shoes, which costs far less then any decent boots, they are comfortable, and they last in a shop environment.

I can't tell you how much these stupid labels piss me off. Conservatives are NOT conservative, and Liberals are NOT liberal. It's the epitome of the hypocrisy that is our entire governmental society. Actually, democraps are not truly liberal and Republicans are not truly conservative

Indeed, my good man.

Other people can answer this better than I, but you'd probably be surprised how much $$$ they are spending on research to get these things to pass the emissions. Correct. Engine design is advancing very quickly. There are currently small diesel engines on the road that are collaborations between US, Asian, and European engineering and design. The dollar amounts and sheer number or engineers involved in the R&D were massive. The new guidelines set forth by the liberal agenda is forcing manufacturers to enhance efficiency, which in turn reduces overall emissions in gasoline engines. However, improved efficiency in a diesel engine has a tendency to boost emissions, primarily NOx emissions as combustion temperatures must rise to complete combustion which obviously enhances performance and efficiency. Improving diesel engine efficiency while reducing emissions is going to be an extremely difficult task. It is not something that is going to occur overnight, which is what the liberal agenda has forced on the manufacturers. Gasoline engines are a great example of design technology taking years to "perfect" in a financially feasible manner. R&D gets passed on to the consumer, and blowing up the price of the vehicle is not a realistic option. Gasoline engine emissions controls have evolved over nearly 50 years now, since the advent of the PCV system. So they need to find a way to meet these standards, which become far more stringent so quickly that they must weigh their options. If they can utilize technology that has proven effective in gasoline engines, they can minimize the cost or R&D and therefore the cost passed on to the consumer. They will improve efficiency at the cost of internal combustion design emissions control, and implement these effective gasoline "add ons". Forcing manufacturers to improve fuel economy on their entire fleet as well as reduce emissions in an exceptionally quick fashion is leading to a ton of questionable designs. The implementation of these systems, and their frightening real world pattern failures is going to cost this country a fucking fortune... and by staying at the top of my field, it is going to make me a ton of money again. Say it: "Thanks Obama." I clarified that for you...

Other people can answer this better than I, but you'd probably be surprised how much $$$ they are spending on research to get these things to pass the emissions. Correct. Engine design is advancing very quickly. There are currently small diesel engines on the road that are collaborations between US, Asian, and European engineering and design. The dollar amounts and sheer number or engineers involved in the R&D were massive. The new guidelines set forth by the liberal agenda is forcing manufacturers to enhance efficiency, which in turn reduces overall emissions in gasoline engines. However, improved efficiency in a diesel engine has a tendency to boost emissions, primarily NOx emissions as combustion temperatures must rise to complete combustion which obviously enhances performance and efficiency. Improving diesel engine efficiency while reducing emissions is going to be an extremely difficult task. It is not something that is going to occur overnight, which is what the liberal agenda has forced on the manufacturers. Gasoline engines are a great example of design technology taking years to "perfect" in a financially feasible manner. R&D gets passed on to the consumer, and blowing up the price of the vehicle is not a realistic option. Gasoline engine emissions controls have evolved over nearly 50 years now, since the advent of the PCV system. So they need to find a way to meet these standards, which become far more stringent so quickly that they must weigh their options. If they can utilize technology that has proven effective in gasoline engines, they can minimize the cost or R&D and therefore the cost passed on to the consumer. They will improve efficiency at the cost of internal combustion design emissions control, and implement these effective gasoline "add ons". Forcing manufacturers to improve fuel economy on their entire fleet as well as reduce emissions in an exceptionally quick fashion is leading to a ton of questionable designs. The implementation of these systems, and their frightening real world pattern failures is going to cost this country a fucking fortune... and by staying at the top of my field, it is going to make me a ton of money again. Say it: "Thanks Obama." I just did, didn't I?

Other people can answer this better than I, but you'd probably be surprised how much $$$ they are spending on research to get these things to pass the emissions. Correct. Engine design is advancing very quickly. There are currently small diesel engines on the road that are collaborations between US, Asian, and European engineering and design. The dollar amounts and sheer number or engineers involved in the R&D were massive. The new guidelines set forth by the liberal agenda is forcing manufacturers to enhance efficiency, which in turn reduces overall emissions in gasoline engines. However, improved efficiency in a diesel engine has a tendency to boost emissions, primarily NOx emissions as combustion temperatures must rise to complete combustion which obviously enhances performance and efficiency. Improving diesel engine efficiency while reducing emissions is going to be an extremely difficult task. It is not something that is going to occur overnight, which is what the liberal agenda has forced on the manufacturers. Gasoline engines are a great example of design technology taking years to "perfect" in a financially feasible manner. R&D gets passed on to the consumer, and blowing up the price of the vehicle is not a realistic option. Gasoline engine emissions controls have evolved over nearly 50 years now, since the advent of the PCV system. So they need to find a way to meet these standards, which become far more stringent so quickly that they must weigh their options. If they can utilize technology that has proven effective in gasoline engines, they can minimize the cost or R&D and therefore the cost passed on to the consumer. They will improve efficiency at the cost of internal combustion design emissions control, and implement these effective gasoline "add ons". Forcing manufacturers to improve fuel economy on their entire fleet as well as reduce emissions in an exceptionally quick fashion is leading to a ton of questionable designs. The implementation of these systems, and their frightening real world pattern failures is going to cost this country a fucking fortune... and by staying at the top of my field, it is going to make me a ton of money again.

So Seth is doing a simple window motor in an Explorer sport toady. I stick a punch into the regulator to hold it in place. I get the last bolt out of the motor and the regulator slips, throwing the punch out of it slamming the regulator into my finger like a pair of scissors, tearing my knuckle to sherds. Lots of blood, and I think I cut a nerve, as I no longer have feeling in my finger. My service writer heard me yell "FUCK!!!" and he comes running over to see what happened. He saw my finger and fainted... it was splurting blood all over. The man literally fell to the ground. Who tapes it up and finishes the job? This guy. /tough guy... this motherfucker is throbbing like a bitch!!!

Less problems in total, far greater cost per failure.

Not sure how I feel about it. We put up nice numbers, but we did it against a shitty team with a depleted secondary. And we barely squeaked by. We need to finish drives, not kick 55 and 58 yard field goals. Glad they are OK.

That's what happens when you let a chick drive your car.

That is my next phone. But I am a cheap ass, and will wait until it comes down below $100. Your avatar represents a woman's hand. It's common for women to have a longer index finger compared to the ring finger. With males it's the other way around, the ring finger is longer. I have heard that males with a longer index fingers tend to be gay too...

Awesometown... I had a 2007 Jeep Liberty with the turbo diesel motor come in yesterday. It has been to 5 shops, and nobody could get it to run. Nobody could get any communication between any computer on the car with the ECM, TCM, ABS, and SRS brains. I got to it today, just too busy. It literally took me less time to get it running then it did to push it into the shop. One blown fuse, a bad battery, and a SKIM key error. Installed the fuse, found a shorted cell in the battery, and programmed the SKIM in under 15 minutes. 5 fucking shops couldn't find simple shit like that? I guess I could see the SKIM being tough, but IMO it was as simple as seeing the red security LED lit in the dash. He has had 2 ECMs, an ignition switch, an ABS module, a clockspring, both the driver's and passenger's door modules, a crank sensor, all 4 glow plugs, a MAF sensor, a cooling fan assembly, a high pressure AC switch, and an AC compressor clutch installed. I can't fathom the amount of money this guy has into this piece of shit. He wanted a guarantee that we could fix the car. I told him to give me 2 hours and I should have something, but it could go beyond that with all the communication issues (they can be a real motherfucker to figure out sometimes, and I am not a diesel mechanic). He insisted on a guarantee, so I guaranteed that I would have an answer for him for 5 hours of labor, or I would not charge him anything. He knew if it took me 5 minutes he would get charged 5 hours... I let him off easy, I did it for 3 after all was said and done, plus .2 hr for battery install and the cost of the battery and fuse. He nearly shit his pants when we called him to pick up his Jeep about an hour and a half after I got approval. Winning!!!

It is a Mazda. Not a big fan, but in the types of shops I work in I don't see a lot of Mazdas.

Just wanted to give that another look-see...

Not uncommon. So many dashes are made of cheap plastic that we do a ton of blend and mode doors that have snapped in the case. Some will even tear up the fuckin' case. FWIW I am referring to cars bought within the last 5 years.

Less effort is buying Folgers Black Silk at Target and pouring the water into my Bunn. I love coffee (particularly Cappuccino), but honestly it isn't worth it to me to work hard for it. Folgers and my Nespresso work well (and simply) for me.

Holy shit... trunk bars... I'll STFU.

Torsion bars have nothing to do with shocks. Torsion bars take the place of springs (albeit leaf or coils). Shocks are simply absorption mechanisms. Springs maintain ride height, and act as a floating coupler between the vehicle and road. But Roadmasters use coil springs front and rear IIRC... What are you calling torsion bars?

Pico Scope DMM (I own an older Fluke 87) Graphing meter J2534 interface (roughly the same interface I have, but mine is SnapOn rebranded Cardaq) Mitchell OnDemand, Alldata, Shopkey (The shop management program and the information systems) I basically incorporate ~$20-30K in equipment, software, and capabilities in one tool. Granted, the factory softwares offer expanded capabilities, but they need to be paid for via annual subscription, or short term subscriptions. For annual software subscriptions you are looking at anywhere from $800-1800 a year. I am figuring several 2-3 day subscriptions (generally from $25-50) in my $20-30K estimate. My updates cost ~$1200 a year, for all 40 manufacturers.

You would need hardware including a 4 channel Pico Scope (the advanced kit is closest to my unit's capabilities and adapters), A DMM, A graphing Meter, and a J2534 communication device (see AES Wave for all devices), Software for ~40 manufacturers, an information system like Mitchell On Demand, Alldata, or Shopkey, and a shop management program.While I truly believe you can buy a better overall component set, I feel for the money it is difficult to beat. For a tech like me, it is really a nice all in one system. I have filled most of the gaps with my Maxidas DS708m which is a really capable scanner with a shitpot full of bi-directional controlls (although the graphing is atrocious).