Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

Same in most of Europe.


The previous plans for "all eletric cars by 2030" were pushed back to 2035, and will probably get pushed back again.

Most M96 rebuilds are 20k+ now. Friend of mine is a builder and on average it's around 22-25k. LN is also behind about 6+ months on machining, so you are without the car a while. If you get one from Slakker I think it's around 25k-ish for the motor alone and FSI starts at 35k.

I would've never bought one if I had known about the clusterfuck of issues. The IMSB can be solved with a replacement pretty easily, but the bore scoring in the later motors, head cracking in the earlier ones, water pump failures, bearing failures, etc are all kindof ridiculous. I had a rebuild done and 6 months later the motor spun 3 bearings, no overrevs or anything.

I've had both Caymans and several 911s. My favorite of all of them are the air cooled cars especially from the Carrera 3.0 up to 964. After that, I like the way the 996s drive, but I wouldn't recommend owning one, same with the 997s. The Cayman I had was my favorite of the water cooled generation and the 2.7 in the base models didn't have any of the issues the other motors did. The 996s have more grunt to them and I like the way they drive a lot, but they are more work and a lot bigger feeling.

I'm ditching Porsche land. I can't afford it anymore. The 996 killed it for me (I have a 1982 SC also), but it's just too much work to keep them running. At least on the SC I can do most of it myself, but the head studs are a ticking time bomb and I'm about to pass that off on someone else.

That story! It is an I was young and stupid story.

Some background. Drive away cars. Many auto delivery companies would arrange to drive your car from where it was to where you wanted it to be. Some had drivers on payroll, others would give the first driver who wanted to get from your point A to your point B your keys and their best wishes. If point B was the middle of nowhere they might even pay you!

1967. I was 24 and while I was not God's own drunk I was indeed fearless. I had run out of cash for the flight school with the D - 18s and it was time to get back to Seattle. Enter drive away company and the keys to an Oldsmobile 442. OLDSMOBILE 442!!!!

Nighttime Wisconsin. I was wondering why I was whizzing past all these semis as I was indicating 55, the local nighttime speed limit, when a nice state trooper informed I was actually doing 77. It seems the owner had gotten tired of 8 MPG and changed the dragstrip rear end gears for a cruising gear ratio set and not changed the speedometer gearing to match.

Fast forward to Montana. And I do mean fast. 600 miles, 1,000 km, of "Speed reasonable and proper." My speed actually was neither reasonable nor proper. I never did indicate 100 mph she says innocently blinking her eyes.

I spot a pickup truck about 1.5 miles ahead in a two lane section and closing fast. I tap the brakes and find I have none. All of a sudden my engineering studies came back to me and I realized this car, at this speed, weighed less than 500 lbs, traction was at best 50 MPH in my rearview mirror and there was an oncoming car.

I looked death in the eyeballs at over 130 MPH and he blinked. I threaded that needle and never drove near that fast on a public road again. My pulse rate skyrockets just typing this memory although I didn't have time to be scared then.

When I delivered the car to the owner I complemented him on it and did NOT mention the close call in Montana.

How the nerd's shower works:

null

You cant fool me.

I can smell your stink even countries away.

Remember guys.

Knowledge is powa.

Dear Member,

Thank you for being part of the Disney+ community. We’re so glad you’ve enjoyed everything we have to offer, from blockbuster movies, to original series, and all of your fan-favorite genres.

To keep bringing you the very best in entertainment, we’re investing in the content you love. We’re committed to bringing you the highest quality new productions.

As part of our continued investment in delivering world-class entertainment, the price of your Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (No Ads) will increase to $32.99 per month on November 04, 2025. Your plan will automatically renew at the new price unless you switch plans or cancel via Account Settings before then.

Sounds fair, you pay more for them to keep bringing more quality content.

Why I say that?

Because yesterday my playthrough was going way smoother than usual, scoring like 6 gamedays in matter of 3h, what is insane considering how ***is RNG here.

But then I noticed a very very easy task rewards immensely disproportional rewards for the effort. And if I had done this task back in the very first days, I would speed up a whole lot my progression, what would result in a faster playthrough.

So here Im, erasing the marvelous 6 gamedays I recorded yesterday, and back to day 2 in game, with this new info that can potentially make for a more optimized run.

And this is basically why Ive been struggling this past months trying to find the sweet spot on progression.

You never learn things beforehand, or never noticed how rewarding some detours can be.

Dang, sorry to hear all that. My 986 has been flawless mechanically for the past 3 years and maybe 15k miles. I've been slowly replacing all the suspension and it's been riding better and better.

I think my problem going forward with cars is... I don't like modern cars from a driver experience point of view. I drove a C8 Corvette last year at our annual ride-n-drive event. Amazing car, fast, capable, and the most boring driving experience I've ever had. It feels like playing a PC game on a cheap steering wheel setup. Zero feedback from steering, brakes, or accelleration. I got back into my 986 from that event and the entire drive home thought that not one of those cars gave me a driving experience like this. I drove a C8, CT5-V, Porsche Taycan, Lucid Air, and a bunch of other non-sports car EV stuff. Even when I test drove a 718 Boxster, they just don't have that analog feel anymore.

Same with me. Used to love Alfa Roneos back in the day. Drove the new-ish Giulia and the thing is so packed with electronics it felt more like a Tesla than an Alfa.

Meanwhile companies like Alfetta take the same engine from the Giulia and stuff in in an old GTO body with new suspension and parts and it drives like a dream.

Sad really.

When I was a kid, my barber had one of these. At the time, I had no idea Oldsmobile made a car like that because they were all grandma cars by that point. The idea the 442 existed was mind blowing to me and I have loved them ever since.


Modern cars are dead inside and most car brands have kindof lost the plot. The modern Porsches are just too complicated. Too many buttons, screens, etc and the pricetag is ridiculous. 130k for a base model is just dumb and they wonder why they are losing money. If they were to cut it back to a more reasonable price point and lose all that ***, I think they'd have a better option, but I think those days are over. I feel like Porsche owners have changed too, you see folks with air cooled cars or early water cooled ones, it's a certain demographic of enthusiasts. You see a 991 or a 992 and it's...a different type.

The problem is they have to cater to non-enthusiast buyers who expect all the gadgetry and stuff for the price point. Personally I see all the different PDK modes, etc and just feel overwhelmed, I'd rather it be simple and something enjoyable to drive. Most people can't take advantage of half the power or features in them either, you can only go so fast on public roads. We aren't all driving the ring, there is no point in all that ***. Have you looked at what a brake job costs on a 991 GT3?

The air cooled cars are peak though. No power steering, no ABS, no traction control, it's just a big gokart. I missed the era where these were cheap, now they are costly but it's worth it for the experience IMO. I got a decent deal on mine but it would've cost 1/4th of what I paid 15 years ago. The problem is they can be a lot to maintain and they are terrifying to drive when it rains. I keep tossing the idea around of selling mine but then I go drive it with the top off (it's a Targa) and the heat on when it's cool out, I just can't bring myself to. I've also done a LOT of work to it and SCs are all over the market, although most are rust buckets in need of major work

I feel that today's cars are built for drivers who don't really drive, just aim. This is so that driving will be so boring that we will welcome our L 5 self driving overlords.

People are such incredibly bad drivers these days, I 100% support cars becoming mandatory L5 autonomous on expressways. Obviously there would have to be laws and mandates to get automakers on board, but a system where turn onto an on-ramp and your car takes over until you reach your off-ramp. Expressways have such a limited amount of variables, it shouldn't be hard to create a system that manages all cars that are on that road.

However, I do not support this outside of expressways. It is virtually impossible (currently) to predict and react to every possible eventuality while driving city streets. Plus I have no interest in preventing people from enjoying their old classic cars and I hope 30+ year old cars on the roads will always be a thing.

I am all for freedom and people making their own choices, but if your decision to scroll tik-tok while driving is putting my life, family, and property in jeapordy, F.U.

I got furloughed today with notice that my backpay is guaranteed HAPPINESS REIGNS. South Padre Island here I come.

I dunno about that guarantee, eventually, of course

I have fewer issues on the highway than I do around town. This is one of the harder parts about old cars for me, the brakes aren't as good and people forget that.

I had someone miss their turn today and instead of going up and turning around, they decided to slam on the brakes and swerve to make it, I narrowly avoided putting my bumper in their rear window and thankfully I had given them enough room. This gets really obvious when you are driving older, heavier cars around. It makes me sympathize with truck drivers who have to deal with it constantly.

Maybe truck drivers shouldnt be driving up the *** of the car infront of them to begin with.

Please dont confuse this with scammers break checking truck drivers hoping for an easy payout.


Its the same ***with bikers who *** and moan about how cars are not looking out for them, then lane split at 160 km/hr (~100mph) while doing a wheelie.

Not my first furlough. No reason to listen to the fearmongering.

Booked my hotel room for tomorrow, but damn these deep sea charters are starting at $1,000 for four hours, that is an absolute scam. Guarantee they stay close to the shoreline and catch trash fish like benito and kings. I am going to have to call them each individually until I find the right one.

Not much luck finding a charter captain that is actually willing to go out and catch big game fish. It feels like the South Padre fishery has dropped off a lot. Sad

This is a long maint
I just realized its starting at 10pm est and running for 5.5 hours. Wonder what else they're doing.


Wasnt really sure what thread to throw this in