excell

I'm good. Anyone want to help out the thread-jacking UHaul guy?

Friend in Worthington needs help getting construction debris up a flight of stairs from his basement into a dumpster in his driveway. Small house, so not terrible job. 2-3 hours for one strong dude. He'll pay a nice chunk. No flakes, serious deal. He's already had two guys flake on him. Thanks

Probably about done here, then.

She isn't a kid anymore. She's an adult and it's more than ruffled feathers now.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but come back and update us 12 months from now on how that's working out. 9 months to two years is a whole different ballgame.

I'd lay the ground rules out, but if they break them (and they probably will) I wouldn't really make a big deal out of it. She's 18, do you really want to risk damaging your relationship/family by making a big deal out of something that in the grand scheme of things isn't really that big of a deal?

I'm reminded of another example of this I witnessed a couple years ago. Same situation -- intersection blocked by cars, light changed, other traffic had to wait. In DC it's common for pedestrians to J-walk using the crosswalk on an intersection that's blocked by traffic. If the intersection is gridlocked, people are going to walk it, illegal or not. As a (pedal) biker, you get used to watching not only the cars and making eye contact so you don't get killed, but also for peds J-walking so you don't hit their stupid asses and kill both of you. I was going through the intersection when this dude on a scooter went flying into the intersection and crossed in front of a bus. Coming up the side of the bus was a child -- 5 years old -- who broke free from his parents at the intersection and started running to the other side because he thought it was safe since others were J-walking/crossing. The scooter never saw this little boy coming. He hit the kid at about 25mph, knocked him 50 feet down the street, and killed him instantly. Right there in front of me. Was the boy wrong for going into the intersection? Yes. Were his parents wrong for not keeping a leash on him? Yes. Were the other J-walkers wrong for encouraging his behavior? Yes. Were the cars wrong for blocking the intersection in the first place? Yes. But if that scooter had given even a single fuck to his own safety, let alone the safety of others, that kid wouldn't have died in a pool of his own blood on G street in front of his parents. It's not black and white.

I don't know why I'm posting on this... but... As a bike rider (pedal) in DC, this happens all the time. Traffic backs up into the intersection and the light changes. I entered intersections like this all the time on my bike, but the difference is I proceed slowly, with caution, and I do not cross in front of a vehicle until I make eye contact with the driver. No eye contact, no going in front of a car. I have seen other (pedal) bikers hit in this exact same situation because they barreled into the intersection and didn't make sure they were seen and safe to cross. It doesn't matter if the cars are at fault for being in the intersection -- the motorcycle guy was entitled, careless, and completely disregarded his own safety and the safety of others in the way he barreled into the intersection. It literally wouldn't have killed him to cross with caution and beep at the driver of the white car so he knew he was crossing. For fuck's sake people, the black and white legality doesn't matter. We're all humans, we make mistakes, and we need to be more patient and less omnipotent with each other especially when lives are at stake.

Any comments on Dodge? Seems the overwhelming majority are Chevy/Ford folks, save for the Dakota. Should I just steer clear of Dodge as a "go sit in the corner" truck?

If I buy an S-10 of any kind you know what I'm gonna turn around and do? Put a turbo 3800 SII in it. :gabe: You know, I've always been partial to that generation F2/350. That's why I had a 99. I fucking loved that thing... even if the spark plugs did pull out of the heads. When you drove that down the road, people fucking moved out of the way...

DEFINITELY an option. But they seem to be on the edge/outside of the price range for something that isn't completed ragged out. Also, the more I think about it, the more I'm warming up on the idea of a light truck... other than it feeling like such a sissy move. I'm not planning on towing anything big anymore like a car or a big boat... I do plan to do some long distance driving with it and I'd get better mileage... I could get something in better condition for the money... it's coalescing more and more. I feel dirty. A bike-riding tiny truck driving hipster. :lolguy:

Lots of awesome feedback, thank you. The no SUV thing is because I've owned lots of SUV's and I always missed having a bed when I did. I want something I know I can throw dirty bikes in the back of, muddy outdoor gear, greasy car parts, old Christmas trees, etc. and not give a rats ass. While I could do this with an SUV, I also know me, and I tend to baby everything I own. I won't want to toss a muddy/greasy/dirty bike in the back without a blanket covering everything. Would totally negate the purpose for me. Also, we are planning to buy a minivan when our GTP craps out, so we'll have the same ability then to haul stupid baby shit in comfort. Clay, the compromise with the wife is it must have a backseat. She is very not excited about kids in the front bench until they're like 37 years old because the CDC is full of a bunch of fun hating hippies who love ebola.

Ah, see. This is great advice. Helps me narrow down my criteria. What was the Vortec 350 based on... LT1? If so, did it have Optispark, or was that just the F-cars? I would love a manual, actually. Both my wife and I can drive a manual so it would be a bonus to have a truck with one less large, expensive oil-driven component to fail.

A Dakota isn't a bad idea. Actually, if I were being not-a-dumbass for a minute, it's probably the best idea given that I do live in a city and just need a thing with a bed. The smaller size would certainly make 1) keeping it around, 2) maneuvering it in Pittsburgh, and 3) long trips much easier. But I'm not sure I'm ready to stop considering 1/2 ton trucks yet. I feel like if I get a light truck I'm somehow compromising on my manhood. And for a guy that chooses -- nay prefers -- to ride a bike every day, I need all the manhood I can muster.

And here's a couple examples of the shit I'm looking at: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?doorCodes=4&zip=15201&endYear=2016&vehicleStyleCodes=TRUCKS&sortBy=mileageASC&showcaseOwnerId=74833&startYear=1993&doorCode=4&searchRadius=200&maxPrice=8000&listingId=393948760&Log=0 http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?doorCodes=4&zip=15201&endYear=2016&vehicleStyleCodes=TRUCKS&sortBy=mileageASC&showcaseOwnerId=74833&startYear=1993&doorCode=4&searchRadius=200&maxPrice=8000&listingId=395939950&Log=0

See, I told you yucks that as soon as I moved back from DC I'd fucking buy a vehicle again. On that note, we're discussing buying a truck. Actually, I'm discussing buying a truck and my wife just rolls her eyes, but I digress... I still ride my bike most of the time, so it's going to spend most of it's life sitting on the road feeling lonely and getting shit on by birds. So I have a very specific budget: As little as absolutely possible, not to exceed $6000. And it had better gobble knob :nod: if I spend $6000. So at first I was like: First-gen Lightning, BOING! :fuckyeah: Always wanted one. Then after being reminded yesterday that it's probably not going to be easy to stuff a wife and toddler into it, let alone two of these little loin dumplings for whenever that happens, my single man dream of owning a truck that is built to be stupid at everything it's supposed to do (be a truck, be a race car, get chicks who don't shop at Dollar Tree) deflated like my now flaccid ego. :fuuuu: Lightning: Out. So, with my meager budget :jerkit:, I've started looking at other truck options that meet a base set of criteria: Has a bed (AKA: No SUV's) Has an extended cab, prefer a crew cab 4WD would be nice but not absolutely required... Not a fucking rust bucket Under 150k miles Here's the thing. When it comes to trucks with beds, I've always been a Ford guy. I know them well. I would prefer and love a 1993-1996 F150 with a Windsor V8, but fuck are they hard to find at a reasonable price. For good reason: They were actually built really well, are simple to fix, and generally don't rust. The 1997 generation F150's are fucking rust buckets, and the 5.4 Triton V8 is nothing special. I had one in my '99 F250 and the spark plugs pulled out of the heads. :marc: But see, I know what I'm getting into with an F150. When it comes to Chevy's, GMC (privileged Chevy's :gay:), and Dodge, I don't really know what to expect. So here's the question (see, there is a question in here), given my budget and criteria, late 90's/early 2000's Silverado's, whatever-GMC-is-called, and Ram's are available. I just don't know anything about them. What are the common issues with these trucks I should look for? Should I even bother with my criteria? My end goal is find something in budget, criteria, that wasn't rode hard and put away wet and rusty :pics: which I think I can do if I look long enough and perhaps travel some to get it, but I need to know what I'm dealing with if I decide to buy something that isn't a Ford. Halp. TL;DR: I want to be an upmarket version of Clay. Or at least, Clay 10 years from now.

So we're talking feel and ergonomics, not material quality and fit/finish? I've never logged significant miles in any of them, so genuinely curious. Dodge always struck me as a company with extremely bland and boring interior, but I know nothing of ergonomics. Surprised at Chevy having the most comfortable, but then again, my TrailBlazer was pretty awesome...

Interior compared to: ?

Ah, memories. Hi Eli!

I've got a Meile Kona and it's fucking amazing. Worth every penny. Google "vacuum repair AMA" for the three reddit AMA threads a vacuum repair dude has done. Full of absolutely awesome information.

I never thought you'd sell it. Probably the best loved Audi in the world.

P.S. I later demodded that setup to a stock blower/mild cam/pulley/headers/etc. and made 314 wheel horsepower. With the same stock block at 130k. Last I heard I heard it was still running with over 200k miles. When I was racing that bastard I beat it like it owed me money. Remarkable engines.

I've been around a while. My setup was with an MP112 instead of the stock M90. We had two other cars like it in our group, all made comparable power but the other two had more disposable income than I did and had built bottom ends. Attached a pic. However, I know many folks doing 600+HP with ported M90's/intercooler/heads/cam/headers/LS1 throttle body/etc. Remember, we're talking engine HP here, not wheel. The qualification was cheap and stock bottom end -- 3800 Series II parts can be found really cheap now and all are bolt-ons.

http://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/ the /r/hockey community has a game thread for every game and usually has links to the official high quality NHL streams. There's a little work involved with downloading VLC and getting it set up, but there isn't a better way to get HD streams for nothing. Search around on that subreddit, there's instructions and details. Otherwise, I like bosscast.net lately if free is a requirement.