A qualified “Yep!”- I bought a car early in Covid, before things got insane. I did the buying process 99% on line. Like, I knew what I was looking for, searched Carmax, Carvana and the local dealerships, ended up finding one at a local dealership at a good price and then it was just a test drive and the usual hour or…

Um, what do you think folks are doing with the stolen goods? keeping them? they’re selling them for food and shelter. That’s why things like epi-pens get tossed- there’s no way to sell them for enough money to make them worth keeping.

So the federal poverty line is $12,880 for a single person. The FPL doesn’t get adjusted for place with super high CLA like LA. So more than 20% of LA residents make less than that. That’s the kind of numbers that spark revolutions. This isn’t excusing theft, it’s saying that with numbers like that it’s basically…

It’s the maximum horsepower you can get from a single horse!

Your best bet is almost always, “here you go, I’ll call my insurance later”

Before the Hyundai Santa Cruz and the Ford Maverick were released, I would have said non truck people who wan a truck but don’t want a truck that looks like a semi. Regular trucks send a BIG signal of who you are- it’s one of the reasons that the Tacoma still sells- it sends a different message than a Fort, Chivy or…

the 2.5-3k on the freeway led to a range of about 250 miles in good conditions, which suuuuuuuuuucked

The only reason to order something is because you’ve convinced yourself you can’t live without some special feature.

#2- screens are also uncommon in the pacific northwest. Apparently the climate sucks for bugs. I never got used to that when I lived there. 

Oh for fucks sake just buy an outback.

There’s a thousand rational metrics one can use and I’ve used them but the answer for me turns out to be a very Marie Kondo-ish “does it spark joy?”

Yeahhhhhhhhhh but, one could use the same logic to say that police brutality isn’t really a problem because it’s fairly rare.

OK- longtime Resident of the upper midwest, where it’s been in the single digits for like 2 weeks, where the sun sets at 4:30 and we’re on month 22 of work-from-home.

What luxury is non-negotiable for you?

Most people have no idea how close we came to a revolution during that period. I don’t think we’ll be that lucky this time.

That’s the problem that’s always waved off as “oh, the invisible hand/rational consumers will always make the right choice.” It’s also why “regulation is strangling business/competition/whatever” is often a total line of bullshit.

One set of guidelines would be optimal, and in a perfect world, the entire US would…

If you’re a business, the most prudent thing to do is hold yourself to relatively stricter standards so you’re not screwed the second more progressive rules are enacted, as they inevitably will be at some point.

Sad that Wisconsin’s sailing farmer did not make it but otherwise, spot on.

There’s also a Sunrace 12 speed that fits on HG hubs that’s got better gear spacing at the low end so you don’t have the massive jump between 42 and 50.