Aren't you glad you're not useless? (A brief grassroots rant)

Toyman01 wrote: I don't blame the useless kids as much as I blame their useless parents.

and their useless parents and their useless parents....

Tom_Spangler wrote: The reality, of course, is that there have always been idiots and useless people like the one in the article. It's not a new phenomenon.

The internet, especially facebook/instagram/etc, just gives them a lot more bandwidth to self-promote.

Antihero wrote: Still.....I agree that people aren't able to work on their own stuff anymore. Its kinda sad

And yet, cars last longer now than they ever have. Stunning.

What's really funny is that over on a vape board, they are bitching about people racing around in a pointless car, raising CO2 just for fun, dooming society to a fast ending. Damn street racers.

trigun7469 wrote: I work with coherent adults (30+ years old) that still have mom and dad handling their business.

My favorite was the guy whose mom was calling around for estimates for a starter on his RS6. Really? I can't think of any career that would be lucrative enough to buy a new RS6 that doesn't require the skills necessary to call around to find somebody to repair it...

I got a few things from this. I got a guy that makes terrible decisions. Not so much the car, but the rest. Theres a billion tools out there to help you manage your data. Ive got an old school unlimited plan that even tmobile hasnt seen since at least since 2014. But even my phone tells me when ive used excessive data. The second thing i saw was the kid. Id bet dollars to donuts netflix is the reason he banged off his unlimited data, with his kid. I totally get the letting your kid watch some mickey to get a few minutes. But...what about playing with your kid? There is a whole E36 M3load of nature out there. Kid aint learning E36 M3 sitting in a vape shop. The other thing i get is needing to chill. I get smoking. Ive been quit almost 3 years now. I still feel like a smoke every now and again. I also know that these vapes, especially the high end mods and custom rigs can cost hundreds of dollars. Seems like were pissing a lot of cash away on frivolous things, further compounding the money stress, which means you need stress relief, where the mod comes in...that makes you hroke......

Knurled wrote:

trigun7469 wrote: I work with coherent adults (30+ years old) that still have mom and dad handling their business.

My favorite was the guy whose mom was calling around for estimates for a starter on his RS6. Really? I can't think of any career that would be lucrative enough to buy a new RS6 that doesn't require the skills necessary to call around to find somebody to repair it...

This is a psychological problem. I actually have similar. Between already being introverted, and spending nearly a decade on the phone as a mental health claims specialist, i dont pick up the phone for anything. Plenty of people that can make rs6 money are just like me.

A brief but relevant reference to NAFTA which went into effect... what, 22 years ago. Writing been on the wall, factories are goners, hello service economy and lower wages. Nothing new w/ this story that any part of the country hasn't experienced at least 10 years ago. Trump ain't bringin' nothin' back btw.

Get your education, degree or trades and follow the money. Ain't nobody gonna deliver it to ya.

alfadriver wrote: What's really funny is that over on a vape board, they are bitching about people racing around in a pointless car, raising CO2 just for fun, dooming society to a fast ending. Damn street racers.

Please tell me someone at least posted a link to the definition of "irony" at some point in that thread.

fasted58 wrote: A brief but relevant reference to NAFTA which went into effect... what, 22 years ago. Writing been on the wall, factories are goners, hello service economy and lower wages. Nothing new w/ this story that any part of the country hasn't experienced at least 10 years ago. Trump ain't bringin' nothin' back btw. Get your education, degree or trades and follow the money. Ain't nobody gonna deliver it to ya.

I thought NAFTA screwed Canada more because the companies could move factories to the US and save money.

The one that stands out in my mind was a company that moved its factory from Ontario to Tenessee to save a million dollars per year on heating the building.

I just got called out to an apartment for a dripping shutoff valve for a toilet. New tenant moves in, turns on water, small drip from handle. Calls landlord. Landlord is at a wake, so he calls me. I go in and tighten the packing nut. New tenant is watching so I show him what I'm doing and how to fix it. His reply is "why are you telling me this?" My reply was because you are a guy, you drive a diesel pickup truck, and you shouldn't have to call the landlord every time the littlest thing isn't right...... Nancy. Then I let myself out.

My mom installed new toilet valves and electrical outlets/switches in two of the apartments we lived in. I helped.

It's. Not. Hard.

Yes, she got money back with her security deposit both times - it was negotiated in. Oddly enough, landlords tend to like tenants who actually leave the place in better condition than before they moved in.

Dont tell the GRM forum but I paid a plumber to replace a shower faucet last week.

logdog wrote: Dont tell the GRM forum but I paid a plumber to replace a shower faucet last week.

Did you stand around a vape shop and bitch about you life after he was done?

No? I'll give you a pass.

Jay wrote: Jesus christ you could cut the judgementalism in this thread with a steak knife.

logdog wrote: Dont tell the GRM forum but I paid a plumber to replace a shower faucet last week.

I had to call a plumber Monday because my toilet shutoff valve started leaking when I was fixing the toilet, and the more I turned the valve, the more it leaked. It was a sweat fitting, and only had ~1/2" of copper out of the wall. I thought about just cutting it off and putting a compression fitting on, but I didn't have a pipe cutter here, a MAP torch, or a hacksaw, because I moved them down to MS already.

Then I went to clean the hair & toothpaste out of the sink drain today, and the whole drain(plastic) broke. I'm not touching any other plumbing. Nope. Nada.

logdog wrote: Dont tell the GRM forum but I paid a plumber to replace a shower faucet last week.

There isn't a damn thing wrong with paying a professional. They have families to feed too, right? And sometimes your time is worth the money it takes to pay them.

Case in point: Our Taurus needed a new tie rod end a few months ago. I bought one with the intention of installing it myself. But then I thought about how I still need to take it to a shop for an alignment afterward, and I decided to just have the shop install the part and then align it. The $30 or whatever I spent was worth not having to deal with it, especially on a DD.

Jay wrote: Jesus christ you could cut the judgementalism in this thread with a steak knife.

That's a pretty judgemental thing to say..

Tom_Spangler wrote:

logdog wrote: Dont tell the GRM forum but I paid a plumber to replace a shower faucet last week.

There isn't a damn thing wrong with paying a professional. They have families to feed too, right? And sometimes your time is worth the money it takes to pay them. Case in point: Our Taurus needed a new tie rod end a few months ago. I bought one with the intention of installing it myself. But then I thought about how I still need to take it to a shop for an alignment afterward, and I decided to just have the shop install the part and then align it. The $30 or whatever I spent was worth not having to deal with it, especially on a DD.

Why do you need a shop to align it? Do you not own jackstands, string, and a tape measure?

Jay wrote: Jesus christ you could cut the judgementalism in this thread with a steak knife.

Truth hurts?

Knurled wrote:

fasted58 wrote: A brief but relevant reference to NAFTA which went into effect... what, 22 years ago. Writing been on the wall, factories are goners, hello service economy and lower wages. Nothing new w/ this story that any part of the country hasn't experienced at least 10 years ago. Trump ain't bringin' nothin' back btw. Get your education, degree or trades and follow the money. Ain't nobody gonna deliver it to ya.

I thought NAFTA screwed Canada more because the companies could move factories to the US and save money. The one that stands out in my mind was a company that moved its factory from Ontario to Tenessee to save a million dollars per year on heating the building.

It did both, first one, then the other. The US was mostly benefiting from NAFTA at the expense of Canada and Mexico for at least the first decade. But it's a sword that cuts both ways, and when it started to cut the other way, suddenly the US didn't like it so much...

novaderrik wrote: Why do you need a shop to align it? Do you not own jackstands, string, and a tape measure?

I can't answer that but if I had a local shop that would install a tie rod and align the car for $30 I would do a hell of a lot less work myself! I would have been looking at 1/2 hr labor ($45 + PB blaster fee + sorry we must supply the parts) and then another $99 for an alignment. "Yes I know it's just toe that needs to be set but we only do full alignments here sir."

It'll seem cheap when you berk up that string alignment and burn up a tire.

novaderrik wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote:

logdog wrote: Dont tell the GRM forum but I paid a plumber to replace a shower faucet last week.

There isn't a damn thing wrong with paying a professional. They have families to feed too, right? And sometimes your time is worth the money it takes to pay them. Case in point: Our Taurus needed a new tie rod end a few months ago. I bought one with the intention of installing it myself. But then I thought about how I still need to take it to a shop for an alignment afterward, and I decided to just have the shop install the part and then align it. The $30 or whatever I spent was worth not having to deal with it, especially on a DD.

Why do you need a shop to align it? Do you not own jackstands, string, and a tape measure?

I knew that was coming.

Yes, I could do it myself. I've done it. Pro tip: it's a pain in the ass, and it's not very accurate. I did it a few times when I was racing, and vowed to never do it again. There's no way I can set the toe with the precision they can do at a real shop with a real alignment rack.

For clarity, the 4-wheel alignment was $99, the $30 was how much extra they charged me for installing the tie rod.

If it requires special equipment (or hacking it can get you killed) I have no issues paying someone else to do it. I pay someone to change the oil on my truck occasionally because disposing oil can be a pain and because they fill all the other fluids and grease stuff (i dont have a grease gun).

I've also changed oil on hundreds of cars. I've earned my ability to sit in Jiffy Lube's waiting area and eat free popcorn and drink a free Coke. Totally makes that $50 worth it.

Meh, I've become pretty useless.