LoneWolf

I rarely go sockless. I find my feet get cold easily (probably a circulation with long limbs thing; my hands are similar when it gets cold). During the winter, I wear socks to bed because my feet don't stay warm. Only go sockless when I'm wearing Birkenstocks. And then I have to sunblock my feet, like the rest of my Euro-pale skin.

Exactly why I'm not watching. Jeopardy! is supposed to be about facts. Having Dr. Oz host it is an antithesis to that premise.

There is only one appropriate response to this thread.

I'm not watching Jeopardy. It stopped being a real show when they invited Dr. Oz as a guest host.

Hey, piss on y'all, I'm workin' for Mel Brooks!

Scallops. Sauteed with butter in a cast iron skillet. Wrapped in bacon. Add a side of filet mignon or a lobster tail, and...

The model-year CR-Vs you've noted are ones that don't use the 1.5L turbo engine. These have great reliability, and I could recommend them wholeheartedly. Starting 2017, all CR-Vs except the base LX used the 1.5L turbo (the LX used the more reliable 2.0L i-VTEC). The key if you want one that you can drive until the wheels fall off is choosing the right engine. Prior to 2017, the 2.0L was standard across the line. Trust me, I love Hondas. Up until my current car, the last four cars I've owned have been Honda or Acura, I'm a big fan. However, there have been some cracks in the reliability of the brand in the past couple years. I hope they'll resolve that, because their handling is far more precise than the ultra-reliable Toyotas they compete against, and I find their driving position and seats far more comfortable than Toyota as well. The only reason I did not look at a Civic Sport Touring hatch or Civic Si for my most recent car last year is that they use versions of that engine. It's also why, in 2020, we only looked at the CR-V LX as a choice for WoLW's car (we ended up going with a Subaru Impreza hatch instead, her choice). https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safety/honda-appears-weather-quality-issues#:~:text=Honda also has had complaints,owners reported to Consumer Reports.&text=In extreme cases%2C Honda said,result in an engine misfire. As for the new 2020 hybrid, it's not awful; but you're paying more, getting a more complex vehicle in terms of repairs, and you're not getting so much in increased fuel economy that you're going to get your money back on gas savings any time soon. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a31679395/2020-honda-cr-v-hybrid-drive/

Even then, the only reason is if you have an elevator (POTS landlines are required for 911 in elevators, in case of power failure, as copper generates the necessary low voltage to power the ring). Or occasionally, a fax line, though you could also do digital fax (which is e-mail<->fax) instead of the old fashioned way. If I want to do a fax at work, I scan to email with our printer, then send that scan as a PDF attachment to <faxnumber@digitalfaxservice.com> via e-mail, which handles it beautifully. VoIP is your best solution for a business. Good business multiline phone systems have almost entirely evolved to VoIP.

I read the reviews on the most recent one. It said the hybrid gas savings are so minimal you might as well buy the non-hybrid. Then again, the non-hybrid has the 1.5L turbo from the Civic that's known to have gas-in-oil dilution issues, moreso than other GDI engines. When I looked for a slightly sportier car than my Civic (which had the 2.0L i-VTEC) that's the biggest reason I didn't look at a Civic Sport EX hatch or an Si.

It sounds like they're high in iron, magnesium, and zinc. Just what your body needs.

One can definitely have what is called "an emotional affair". No sex, but intimacy you'd normally reserve for any person you're monogamously dating or married to. Now, can one have a friendship, even a close one, with a member of the opposite sex that's platonic and not an emotional affair? Absolutely. It would not only lack that intimacy, but would also involve complete and total transparency with your actual dating/married partner, and they would need to be okay with it. Bottom line? If it feels romantic, and your relationship with said non-partner someone feels romantic to them too? If you feel like you need to hide it from your partner, and can't be transparent about it? It's an emotional affair.

(...All you want is me?) Good, you're probably helping my stock portfolio.

Well, we're definitely one for two at least, so I'd call that good...

I converted my landline number to a VoIP number, but with no phone. I set it to call-forward to my cell. My service charges very low usage rates and gets very few calls. So instead of $50/month, it's max $50 per year. I also changed LWoLW's cell number to VoIP in case there are a few leftover two-factor authentication accounts that need to text to that number. There's a portal where I can look up those texts. By the way...if you want to save even more money, I recommend switching cellular to Red Pocket Mobile. You can get AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon-network SIMs through them. If you pay annually, a 3GB high-speed data (unlimited slow after that) and unlimited talk/text plan comes to $15/month. An 8GB high-speed plan is $20/month. I don't think anyone beats those prices, and while it's a little more difficult to port Verizon numbers (I had to port to an AT&T SIM first, then port back to a Verizon one, now I'm set), the chat support was knowledgeable and courteous, and I've had zero issues on the network, which still says Verizon instead of an alternate carrier, and I saved a ton of green. They also have a 1GB plan for $10/month if you hardly use data services at all.

No, but I hope she's cute and low maintenance.

And me, I figured you went to the co-ed sauna for a Gottinger.

Sadly, it isn't once you get the bill. I'd be fairly annoyed at the rigmarole for this alone. You must have some good insurance LJ. This seems almost like you went through a clown car of people throwing spaghetti at the wall to get something to stick. As someone who has largely trusted the medical profession (family in it, and I've generally had good experiences), I have to say I'm sorry both for what you went through there, but everything health-wise you have to deal with now. I need to come here more often. It seems everything goes to hell just after I leave. I will add you to my prayer list.

It's an irony how certain officials only look to help out people when their own feet are over the fire...

I loves me my paddle shifters. I just got the 17" wheels with snows off and put the 18s with performance all-seasons back on. Difference is night and day. And I'm contemplating summer tires (just not yet, temperature still isn't guaranteed to stay over 40, though it's been a lovely week). As for the onramp pet peeve, mine too. I find the SUV-craze (or perhaps something else) has made precision driving a lost art. People no longer: Get that on-ramps were made to accelerate to merge at highway speeds Understand that you can actually let off the gas instead of using your brakes! Saves your brakes AND makes others happier Have the knowledge that you don't have to stop before making a turn when you have the right-of-way; you could just slow down a bit Comprehend that hanging out in the passing lane when you shouldn't be and building up a circus parade of cars behind you is a buttclown move Realize that putting your turn signal on doesn't give you the automatic right to change lanes no matter what the traffic situation is. That is, assuming you even use turn signals to turn or signal your lane changes at all. Or realizing that turn signals are to tell people ahead of time that you're making a turn, not at the moment it had already become painfully obvious to everyone. Half the people out there have Bluetooth in their cars, don't realize it, and STILL have their phones up to their ears, eliminating hands-free that is so much safer. Perhaps their children or a clued-in soul should teach them this nifty trick. Someone needs to line these people up so that I can bless them with my clue-by-four.

I was suddenly work-from home. Shortly after, so was my wife. I had a wife. We had four cats. I had a very different life. I have no idea what my life will be like now. While some things haven't changed, it's as if my life is an Etch-A-Sketch that someone shook very hard. You can see the traces of old lines across the screen; but it's largely blank, except I'm a lot higher-mileage than I was when my life was last like this. When I was last like this, I was physically in great shape; I wasn't mature enough to understand my life. Now I'm mature enough, but a big physical piece of me is used up. And I trust persons...but I no longer trust humanity. And I miss Charles Schultz.

Bleh. Don't have a Scion. 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line. 1.6L twin-scroll turbocharger, intercooled. 201hp, 196lb-ft torque.

7-speed DCT in Sport Manual mode for me.

Adding a catch can helps too. It keeps much of the gunk from getting to the valves in the first place; you just have to empty it occasionally. I got my kit from SXTH Element Engineering (so mine has a nice easy way to mount it), but there's other good spots too. I plan to do this to mine once the weather gets better. Already have it here, just waiting, because I have a turbo GDI engine. https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/a27182434/how-oil-catch-can-works/ If you're skilled enough to get to your intake valves (knowing you, I bet you are), CRC Valve Cleaner (soak for 20min with a valve closed) and a brush can work wonders. From what I've read learning from pro mechanic Youtube channels, one of the best poor-man's brushes can be made by tying a handfull of zip-ties together with another zip tie, and putting it on the end of a drill. The zip-ties act like fingers, and are cheap, and clean very well without being abrasive. I've also looked and apparently if you use CRC valve cleaner up to the top of the valve stem guide, then CRC brake cleaner up to the top of the intake port as a first mixture, then the valve cleaner you can get them even cleaner. Personally, I think I'd use a turkey baster to get most of the fluid out of the valve chamber rather than this guy (using all shop towels); less waste.

While it wasn't sunny this morning, it was 46F, and I felt some cabin fever. So I did a 40m drive to a Dutch bakery/breakfast place and had myself some good homemade corned beef hash with eggs over easy on top and toast. Then I dropped off a late (thanks USPS) Christmas present to my nephew (it was only a week late at the time, but the family went on vacation after the holidays and the timing never worked out since. Then I drove back close to home, went through the carwash, detoured over to the folks' house and had lunch with them and went home. I am not Italian; but I do love their method of maintenance.

I'd also bet the customers didn't read everything put in front of them and just went "Cheap electricity? That's WHAT I WANT!" Admittedly, the fine print has gotten so hard to read in this country that we skip a lot of it. However, a lot of people also just skip it because they don't know what they're doing either. It's one of the reasons that while I blame predatory lending for much of the mortgage crisis of the 2000s, I also blame people for buying more house than they could afford, and for not fully researching what adjustable rate mortgages and balloon payments are. This house was bought in 2005; a weekend of reading taught me all about what kinds of financing to avoid, and I had a realtor with principles as well who wouldn't have let me get caught in a predatory loan. Any time you're either putting down a lot of money for something, or making repeat payments for something that's a required part of your life, it's important to read the fine print. It's why when a funky law was passed in Michigan to allow additional utility companies to sell natural gas at least a decade ago, I researched it, and when they called, said "Not interested". It was impossible to tell how the alternate resellers would charge you from month-to-month; sticking with the regulated state utility was far smarter.