• Vacation spots

    From Diamond Dave #1@131.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to All on Thu Nov 13 08:57:51 2025

    I've lived in Kansas City region, Seattle area, Pittsburgh, and now the Washington, DC region. All of which offer great places to visit. Well, except Kansas. It's flat and boring!

    I spent my early childhood in western Washington state. Highly recommended to go visit. Wouldn't want to live there again for a number of reasons. But great to visit!

    Western PA is a good place to visit. PA as a whole is a nice place to visit. I could live there again if I had to.

    Virginia is quite nice. And very close to the Outer Banks. My wife and I visit there quite frequently.

    We own an Airstream and we've gone from Maine to Florida with it. Great way to visit the many areas of the east coast.

    We haven't gone "out west" very much since we would either have to fly or drive a long ways just to get to our destination. I'm still working (for now) so it's not worth it to spend half of my vacation driving to where we want to go.

    However, we did fly to Alaska in August and took a short cruise out of Juneau. That was quite fun.

    And finally, we did go to Denmark in 2018. Europe is a fun place to visit. Maybe after January 2029 we'll go again. :)

    *** Diamond Dave ***

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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Diamond Dave #1 on Thu Nov 13 19:51:56 2025

    Western PA is a good place to visit. PA as a whole is a nice place to visit. I could live there again if I had to.

    Virginia is quite nice. And very close to the Outer Banks. My wife and I visit there quite frequently.

    We own an Airstream and we've gone from Maine to Florida with it. Great
    way to visit the many areas of the east coast.

    PA is nice, but I don't like the fact they force yearly vehicle inspections. Seems completely insane to me. The areas are very nice - so many cool places. Lehigh Valley, Lancaster and all the Amish (which we visit very often). Very nice, since it is only a 20-30 minute drive for me to get to Lancaster.

    The Airstream sounds very nice. I might have to look into that when I retire. The biggest issue is where to park/store it since they won't allow that in my neighborhood. One of the negatives of living in a neighborhood.

    - Mark

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  • From Jahmas #29@707.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Fri Nov 14 06:26:33 2025

    PA is nice, but I don't like the fact they force yearly vehicle
    inspections. Seems completely insane to me. The areas are very nice -
    so many cool places. Lehigh Valley, Lancaster and all the Amish (which
    we visit very often). Very nice, since it is only a 20-30 minute drive
    for me to get to Lancaster.
    Massachusetts does the same thing with inspections. We also have an annual excise tax on our cars based on the estimated value of your vehical. In Maryland you pay that tax when you buy your car. Here it's annual and it goes towards improving the roads etc. Still there are pot holes. So there is a trend to drive "beaters" like old pickup trucks. You really get screwed if you buy a new car. How's that for a consumer incentive?


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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Jahmas #29 on Fri Nov 14 19:16:32 2025

    Massachusetts does the same thing with inspections. We also have an annual excise tax on our cars based on the estimated value of your vehical. In Maryland you pay that tax when you buy your car. Here it's annual and it goes towards improving the roads etc. Still there are pot holes. So there
    is a trend to drive "beaters" like old pickup trucks. You really get
    screwed if you buy a new car. How's that for a consumer incentive?

    Yeah, there are about 5-10 taxes here in MD that are supposed to go to the roads (property tax, gas tax, tolls, etc). We should be driving on roads made of gold.

    That and all the casinos that were supposed to go to schools - yet some still have no AC. It must be nice working in the government where there is no independent audit of the budget showing where money is really going.

    But yes, buying old beaters gets around lots of those taxes.

    - Mark

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  • From Jahmas #29@707.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Sat Nov 15 05:17:11 2025

    But yes, buying old beaters gets around lots of those taxes.
    Hey! My next retirement project :O


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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Jahmas #29 on Sat Nov 15 18:47:51 2025

    Hey! My next retirement project :O


    I would buy a huge 70s vehicle if I had a place for it. That would be my purchase. Something massive, like an early 70s Monte Carlo, Lincoln, or some other giant boat that took up 3 parking places at the grocery store.

    - Mark

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  • From Diamond Dave #1@131.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Sun Nov 16 18:07:36 2025


    PA is nice, but I don't like the fact they force yearly vehicle
    inspections. Seems completely insane to me. The areas are very nice -
    so many cool places. Lehigh Valley, Lancaster and all the Amish (which
    we visit very often). Very nice, since it is only a 20-30 minute drive
    for me to get to Lancaster.

    VA has that as well. You get used to it. In fact I got the Airstream inspected last week. Good for another year.

    *** Diamond Dave ***



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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Diamond Dave #1 on Sun Nov 16 19:08:41 2025

    VA has that as well. You get used to it. In fact I got the Airstream inspected last week. Good for another year.

    In MD you can own vehicles that were made before 2000 and not worry about inspection, you can get classic tags, etc.

    I don't recall the details, but I know someone that bought a 1960s vehicle to use as a daily driver. Put a new engine in it, and is exempt from everything. No emissions, no seatbelts, no nothing. That was 100% the reason why he did it. Another reason I would buy a boat from the 70s.

    - Mark

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  • From Bob Worm #81@137.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Mon Nov 17 06:01:10 2025

    Hi, Mark.

    I don't recall the details, but I know someone that bought a 1960s
    vehicle touse as a daily driver. Put a new engine in it, and is exempt
    from everything.No emissions, no seatbelts, no nothing. That was 100%
    the reason why he didit. Another reason I would buy a boat from the
    70s.

    This is not confrontation, I am genuinely confused...

    I imagine keeping a 60s car going wouldn't be cheap. It's going to burn more fuel than a newer model and, having seen the crash tests on cars for that era, it definitely won't be safer, particularly if it never gets inspected. So if it's more expensive to keep and more dangerous to drive where's the win? Is it just nostalgia / love of the older cars?

    I'd still be driving my 2002 car if it hadn't failed its MOT (our equivalent of inspection) quite catastrophically - granted one of the big points was that the cat had rusted through which would not be an issue on a 60s car :) However, it was quick, reasonably fuel efficient and had a Euro NCAP safety rating so the wife would allow me to take our son out in it.

    BobW


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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Bob Worm #81 on Wed Nov 19 07:27:41 2025

    I imagine keeping a 60s car going wouldn't be cheap. It's going to burn more fuel than a newer model and, having seen the crash tests on cars for that era, it definitely won't be safer, particularly if it never gets inspected. So if it's more expensive to keep and more dangerous to drive where's the win? Is it just nostalgia / love of the older cars?

    There are pros and cons of newer and older vechicles. It really boils down to personal preference. No different than why someone would buy a car with 1000HP vs a small engine vehicle. You don't really need the 1000HP and it will burn more gas, but there are lots of people that their preference is the 1000HP.

    One could make a point that older cars are more safe, because they are solid metal and built like a tank. The tiny cars these days could get crushed by large trucks.

    Also, you can't find a vehicle these days that isn't connected to something. Many people hate that and the fact they all look the same. The old vehciles are just engine and transmission and have personality. No extra crap that can break and cause extra issues.

    - Mark

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  • From Bob Worm #81@137.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Thu Nov 20 12:38:22 2025

    Hi, Mark.

    One could make a point that older cars are more safe, because they are solidmetal and built like a tank. The tiny cars these days could get crushed bylarge trucks.

    I'd strongly suggest watching some crash tests on pre-90s cars. It turns out being solid isn't great for the occupants, especially if you don't have any seat belts. Modern cars have *much* stronger A&B pillars if you're worried about rolling / getting crushed by trucks. They're a pain in the ass and block your vision but they are stronger.

    Also, you can't find a vehicle these days that isn't connected to something.Many people hate that and the fact they all look the same.
    The old vehcilesare just engine and transmission and have personality.
    No extra crap that canbreak and cause extra issues.

    We're definitely on the same page here. When we looked at cars for my son there was a checklist of crap we didn't want - keyless entry was a flat no as they get relayed and stolen all the time. Manual handbrake (surprisingly hard to find these days) rather than electric. Annoyingly because we got something recent (like within the last 5 years) it's full of "driver aid" junk nobody wants and just costs a fortune to repair. Currently cars need start-stop (proven to knacker the engine), lane departure warning (great, I really wanted my mirrors to cost 600GBP each and require coding in) and I believe crash warning cameras are required. Either way it has one and after a minor nudge from behind in stationary traffic it needed resetting by a dealer-level computer to get rid of a spurious fault which would make it fail the MOT (inspection equivalent) test. Oh and it's a 3 pot with a wet belt. Thankfully at least not turbo'd up within an inch of its life.

    Everything's a computer, it's awful. One day the blower fans wouldn't work - booked it into the garage, two days later just worked again. Even that's not a direct control :(

    BobW

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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Bob Worm #81 on Sat Nov 22 10:12:44 2025

    We're definitely on the same page here. When we looked at cars for my son there was a checklist of crap we didn't want - keyless entry was a flat
    no as they get relayed and stolen all the time. Manual handbrake (surprisingly hard to find these days) rather than electric. Annoyingly because we got something recent (like within the last 5 years) it's full
    of "driver aid" junk nobody wants and just costs a fortune to repair. Currently cars need start-stop (proven to knacker the engine), lane departure warning (great, I really wanted my mirrors to cost 600GBP each and require coding in) and I believe crash warning cameras are required. Either way it has one and after a minor nudge from behind in stationary traffic it needed resetting by a dealer-level computer to get rid of a spurious fault which would make it fail the MOT (inspection equivalent) test. Oh and it's a 3 pot with a wet belt. Thankfully at least not
    turbo'd up within an inch of its life.

    The rearview cameras and sensors are nice, but I would be fine with manual (non-power) windows and no auto-anything. I don't want the vehicle to decide anything for me - unless I'm driving a Tesla and sleeping.

    My most recent vehicle is a 2022 Ram 1500 Laramie, and I turned off all the auto lane change sensor crap, added the Autostop Eliminator so I could disable to auto-stop and it would remember the setting if I so choose.

    The other thing that I have had countless issues with are the vent door actuators - particularly in the Dodge vehicles. They always break and then your vent doors don't work properly and they are a pain to replace.

    The old school vent doors worked off vacuum and they had zero issues other than if the small rubber hose would get eaten by a rodent or dryrot. Otherwise, they just worked. The powered regulators are junk and also at times break at the actual door itself.

    My neighbor just had to buy a new truck after his 5 year old Chevy Truck's transmission went up. Only 5 years old. GM's quality control has been horrific since Y2k. Their old vechiles were great, but that isn't the case anymore. I'll take a Dodge over GM anyday now - and I own both.

    - Mark

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  • From Bob Worm #81@137.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Mon Nov 24 12:00:45 2025

    Hi, Mark.

    Yeah, in Europe the laws apparently state that stop/start and lane control must default to "on" and reset to "on" each time the ignition is switched on.

    That's not to say it can't be coded out, apparently you can get some cars re-coded to default to "off" but such that you can enable the feature if you want to (ha ha ha).

    Which would be quite tempting...

    BobW


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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Bob Worm #81 on Wed Nov 26 06:57:07 2025

    Yeah, in Europe the laws apparently state that stop/start and lane
    control must default to "on" and reset to "on" each time the ignition is switched on.

    That's not to say it can't be coded out, apparently you can get some cars re-coded to default to "off" but such that you can enable the feature if you want to (ha ha ha).

    Which would be quite tempting...

    In the US, I think there is a federal rule on the auto-stop to default to "on" or the manufacturer doesn't get some type of credit or something. Not exactly sure, but that's what I was told. Nothing on the lane change, though.

    This just opened up a business for a smart person that made the Auto-Stop Eliminator which connects to the factory wireing harness in-line, and will remember the previous setting so you can default it to "on" or "off".

    The site is autostopeliminator.com. I bought and installed it for my truck and it works perfectly.

    - Mark

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  • From R3c0n #1@126.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Weatherman #1 on Wed Nov 26 18:01:51 2025



    What truck do you have? I have a 2021 Z71 Chevy and absolutely can't stand the auto off. I can't imagine it being good for the starter. I always forget to turn the button OFF when I begin my commute. I'd also like to stop the back and forth between 4-8 cylinder. The truck needs "floored" prior to engaging at 8 cylinder at times.

    |08r|153|08c|150|08n


    In the US, I think there is a federal rule on the auto-stop to default
    to "on" or the manufacturer doesn't get some type of credit or
    something. Not exactly sure, but that's what I was told. Nothing on
    the lane change, though.

    This just opened up a business for a smart person that made the
    Auto-Stop Eliminator which connects to the factory wireing harness
    in-line, and will remember the previous setting so you can default it to "on" or "off".

    The site is autostopeliminator.com. I bought and installed it for my
    truck and it works perfectly.

    - Mark
    1
    2:.: Weather Station BBS ú
    telnet://bbs.weather-station.org :.:
    3:.: http://www.weather-station.org/bbs ú Bel Air, Maryland
    - USA :.:

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    |08ghostmachine.ddns.net|15:|08 t|151717 |08ssh|157777


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  • From Bob Worm #81@137.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to R3c0n #1 on Thu Nov 27 02:17:16 2025

    Re: stop-start

    I saw the most mundane argument about that on Reddit last week. A load of people saying things like "it wears the engine less to restart it than to idle it", that starter motors never wear out and that people who dislike stop-start are just making noise for no reason.

    I've seen experiments run looking at exactly whether it creates wear doing all the stopping and starting - as expected it definitely does. All the special bearing coatings, sticky oil and modifications to oil pathways help but ultimately it is repeatedly subjecting moving parts to the highest friction part of its cycle.

    Same story with starter motors - OK, they uprated them... because they needed to because they take an absolute kicking. I've certainly had a starter motor die and have seen it happen on my parents' cars as well. All it means is that you run a bigger starter harder, most likely they ran the numbers and spent the minimum they could to keep the MTBF about the same as before, so if you replace one it costs more.

    As a side note I just had to replace the (bigger) battery on my wife's stop-start car, which is 6 years younger than my non-stop-start car which is still going on its original battery. Thanks to all the extra battery management required to make stop-start work I had to have a garage do it because I don't have the BMW-specific tool to code the new battery in.

    And finally, as for making up reasons not to like it - possibly in North America where roundabouts are pretty rare it's less of a nuisance adding half a second or so to your launch time, but in the UK where you hit one every few minutes it is actually dangerous. If you only have a second to join a roundabout in heavy traffic then losing half of that to stop-start is very, very bad.

    BobW


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  • From Phigan #1@137.Wwivnet@11:1/101 to Bob Worm #81 on Thu Nov 27 04:43:25 2025

    join a roundabout in heavy traffic then losing half of that to
    stop-start is very, very bad.

    Electric can help with this ;).

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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to R3c0n #1 on Thu Nov 27 14:06:45 2025

    What truck do you have? I have a 2021 Z71 Chevy and absolutely can't stand the auto off. I can't imagine it being good for the starter. I always
    forget to turn the button OFF when I begin my commute. I'd also like to
    stop the back and forth between 4-8 cylinder. The truck needs "floored" prior to engaging at 8 cylinder at times.

    I have a 2022 Ram 1500 Laramie with the v8-5.7L Hemi eTorque. Search for "AutoStop Eliminator" and you will find the site that sells gadget that will fix that issue for you. I bought one as well, even though the autostop on the Dodge with the eTorque is almost impossible to notice. On the eTorque, the starter is really just the belt on the generator and it is very smooth.

    The AutoStop Eliminator will allow the "saving" of the setting and will not change anything else. It is plug and play - goes right in the factory connectors.

    - Mark

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  • From Weatherman@11:1/101 to Bob Worm #81 on Thu Nov 27 14:10:41 2025


    And finally, as for making up reasons not to like it - possibly in North America where roundabouts are pretty rare it's less of a nuisance adding half a second or so to your launch time, but in the UK where you hit one every few minutes it is actually dangerous. If you only have a second to join a roundabout in heavy traffic then losing half of that to stop-start is very, very bad.

    I can only speak for my Ram 1500 Laramie with the V8-5.7L eTorque, but mine doesn't turn on as easy and is pretty smooth since it is a "belt/generator starting system".

    Regardless, I like the ability to turn it off and leave it off if I want depending on where I'm driving, so I bought the AutoStopEliminator. Mine will "save" the settings so if I disable it, it will stay off unless I toggle the button again.

    - Mark

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