Recent content by Carmudgeon

Doing research for new windows and doors. Conditions call for fiberglass/composite, or aluminum clad wood; no vinyl. Not South Florida, but they will have to stand up to strong wind and sun exposure. Hard to tell what actually stands up, and which companies back their warranties if needed...

There will satisfaction and dissatisfaction either way. I'd be satisfied simply by not having to fuss with the clocks bi-annually.

Mass market replacement batteries are commodities, with the good on racks fulfilled by whatever the supply chain can produce and deliver at a certain period in time to a certain place, with Clarios, East Penn, and Stryten (nee Exide) producing, or drawing from their own pool of resources to...

Conti (and General, by extension) runs three or four rebate promos annually, with each one aimed at a specific range of tires. The more performance-oriented tires had their promo during June, and based on past practice, will have another offer in November.

When I bought cheap calipers, I specifically sought out models that employ CR2032 lithium coin cells, instead of the xR44 button cells. 2032s have become cheap, and readily available, due to their widespread adoption in everyday applications.

My Volvo experienced ended after two red blocks, so I have no idea what the silver blocks and after are like. I like to drive, and like cars, so I gravitated toward the Germans (incidentally, so did my old Volvo mechanic/shop owner). The cost of ownership and reliability stuff shouldn't be...

Like other companies, Apple raised their prices last week due to the increased component costs resulting from the MHDA AI industry's appetite for hardware, and storage in particular. The memory maker cartel shifted capacity to making the more profitable product for that industry, leaving others...

Some states have laws that put the onus on the retailer to be vigilant about their price tags -- the price marked must be honored, whether valid or not, in which case the tags should have been updated, or pulled. It can also be a policy that the store maintains on its own volition. Some...

I made a submission just over a month ago, and haven't heard a peep. Given that their terms say to allow for eight weeks, I'll make an inquiry closer to that timeframe if there is no other status update. Otherwise, I suppose I could return the oil to WM in protest if the rebate fails, but the...

Ultimately, eSIM handling, whether conversion of the old SIM card, transfers, and such, are determined by what the carrier supports. Apple has championed the switch to eSIMs, and tries to make it simple for users, but in the end, it will depend on how the carrier handles them. Tracfone appears...

What can make or break the ownership experience for people with niche marques like this is the ability to DIY, and the quality of the local dealer. Fewer sold = fewer dealers, = fewer knowledgeable techs, = smaller parts inventory, etc. Having a history of Italian and French cars in the...

Those are valid points, and you can argue that all you want, but that won't change the fact that a chain like Discount Tire won't touch a spare that's past a certain age as a matter of policy. BTDT, even when asked to do a simple pressure check.

I fixed seepage from a brand new thermostat housing and paper gasket with hylomar, which also holds it in place. Non-setting, acetone cleanup, no scraping in the future.

Nope, that's not abnormal for an expressway-type road with a 45mph speed limit. https://maps.app.goo.gl/vz5ZZ9j2tQoHL4pB6 The signal height is determined by guidelines given the speed and distance factors. The faulty parts are the drivers.

Use it or lose it. A manual gearbox almost doubles the number of primary vehicle inputs the driver must process, and both of them must also be coordinated to successfully drive the vehicle. Second nature or not, those synapses are firing in the brain, unlike in a "point and shoot" veee-hicle...