[What's your EDD?]

2006 Tacoma.  This was it two years ago:

 

[Blue Alert issued after one Maryville officer killed, another injured]

2 minutes ago, leroy said:

The more trials n hearings, the more lawyer fees.  This works just fine until ya get a genuine killer like this guy. 

Except they aren’t having many trials, at least around here.  Shelby County held less than 40 criminal trials in 2023.  This is not due to increased plea bargains and such; on the contrary, nothing is getting done and the backlog is getting bigger.  On any given day, you can walk around at 201 and it’s a ghost town.  

[Blue Alert issued after one Maryville officer killed, another injured]

1 hour ago, BigK said:

Maybe I'm also an a-hole, but when I'm asleep in my bed, I am not going to wake up and join the search. Therefore I put my phone on DoNotDisturb on a schedule for 8 hours every night. I'm not offended by them in any way, but I sleep poorly enough as it is, so it can wait til morning. I don't need to add my phone to the list of things that wake me up from a sound sleep.

I check the alerts right away the next morning and throughout the day to see if I need to be on the lookout or not though.

Amen.  Already hard enough to get enough sleep without some alert in the middle of the night about a crime six or seven hours away.  

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

1 minute ago, Erik88 said:

How new? I thought that modern engines are typically more reliable. 30-40 years ago going 150k miles was considered a lot. Most modern vehicles can do that with ease. Plenty of guys on the Toyota forum pushing 300-400k. A few have hit 1 million which is insane. 

 

 

 

He was calling newer cars those that recommend 0w20 or 0w16 vs those whose manuals recommend 5w30, so I’m thinking by “newer” he meant 5-10 years old.  I don’t think he had the cars of yesteryear that used 10w40 or 20w50 in mind.  He didn’t say engines are blowing up, but oil consumption is on the rise. 

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

21 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

I'm sure I could tell the difference holding the two up to one another.  Just saying - it was awfully clean - unlike the 10w-40 back in the day.

I would think the quality of the oil (maybe synthetic vs dino) would be a bigger factor than the viscosity. 
 

21 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Nothing to add other than I'm kind of amazed at some technical advances that make that stuff possible.  I wonder what sort of gas mileage difference can be attributed to using that much lighter weight oil?

Probably barely measurable, but every bit counts when the EPA is sniping at you.  
 

I’m not sure if I buy my mechanic friend’s theory about running thicker oil from the beginning, but I know for certain that an engine that already uses oil will use thinner oil more quickly.  Back in the day, I had a Ford Ranger with bad rings.  It would foul a plug in three months.  I switched to 20-50 and the oil consumption slowed somewhat.  

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

14 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

My local Toyota dealer showed me my oil after my 10k oil change just because I was curious.

It was 0w-10 or some such.  After a full 10,000 miles on a truck with 75k on it - it basically looked like a bottle of water.  It was clean and clear.

 

I’ve always changed my own oil and there is always a definite difference in the appearance of the oil that came out vs. the oil that goes in, whether it’s 10w-40 or 0w-16.  

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

16 hours ago, tercel89 said:

I would not pay it. The Toyota truck was made in Japan in the 80's. The newer ones are now made in Mexico and the reliability and workmanship is not as good. I would pay extra for Toyota's to be made in Japan. I have a 24 year old Mazda made COMPLETELY 100% in Japan. I still have it and it's going on 300,000 miles. It doesn't burn any oil at all . I also have an old Nissan Xterra that's 23 years old  (for sale on here) , and it's running as great as the Toyota because it was made as good as good as the old Nissan Hardbody's before them by the same design and engines. The newer stuff is unreliable. I hate to say it but Americans can't build anything reliable these days. The last few things that I know were built reliable by Americans was the Ford F100 straight six and the Bell "Huey" helicopter. But that's my $.02. 

My Tacoma is American made and it’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned.  My wife has a Canadian made RAV4 that is too new to conclude it will be a long lasting vehicle, but so far, so good, and I have little reason to believe it won’t be reliable.  4Runners are still made in Japan.  
 

A mechanic friend swears that newer vehicle engines generally don’t last as long due to thinner oil being used nowadays, which he believes offers less protection (unless you floor it immediately after starting when it’s 10F outside) and burns easier.  He told me he sees newer vehicles using oil sooner and his solution is to switch to 0W-30 or 5W-30.  The problem often goes away for another 50-100k miles.  He believes if we still used 5W-30 from the get-go, this trend wouldn’t exist.  Older Toyotas (15-20 years ago) used 10w-30 or 5w-30.  My wife’s RAV4 says to use 0W-16.  I didn’t even know such watery oil existed.  

[Blue Alert issued after one Maryville officer killed, another injured]

14 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

I got two. One at 0023 and a second one at 0104. I don't have an option for Blue alerts so I turned off "public safety messages" this morning. 

I got only one.  It took me a few seconds to realize that it wasn’t my alarm.  Then my concern became my wife not waking up and listening to her raise hell because she thought work was calling me in the middle of the night again.

[Blue Alert issued after one Maryville officer killed, another injured]

2 hours ago, Erik88 said:

Side note, am I the only heartless bastard that has amber alerts turned off? I don't have an option to turn the Blue alerts off. 

 

Another heartless bastard here - as of this morning, I have Amber alerts and public safety alerts turned off.  Do blue alerts fall under public safety alerts?  And what time was that anyway?

[Toby Keith]

1 hour ago, Johnny Rotten said:

 

That song was his masterpiece. 

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

7 minutes ago, BigK said:

 

I think the spirit of what Mike Rowe was saying is that all things being equal will you pay more just to avoid imported goods, right? 

Yes, I think that’s what he was asking, and my answer would be yes. 
 

7 minutes ago, BigK said:

You won't get a skilled US worker with a strong work ethic to build something that's only 10% that it costs to be made in China and shipped halfway around the world, right? 

That is pretty much the point I made earlier - only 10% extra is probably not realistic.  I’ll pay 10% extra all day to buy American if the quality is as good as or better.  

[TISAS PARTNERS WITH CMP]

I think CMP recently announced they are venturing into more conventional gun sales.  This may be part of that. 

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

16 minutes ago, Spiffy said:

Is the item higher quality for the 10% more or is it the same crappy item from Cy-NA! just at a higher price? Not much difference in Ping-Ping sewing  a pair of pants  and Mary Sue sewing a pair of pants out of the same exact material. 

If it is the same quality (assuming both are decent quality), I'm still paying the 10% to help Mary Sue in TN have a job vs. some third grader in Zingzang Factory No. 38.  

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

12 minutes ago, Scotty said:

It’s getting harder to see with tools. Fluke says they’re made in the US but I’m pretty certain my meter is made in Malaysia. For channel locks I’ll give the Germans my money, knipex take a beating daily and are most comfortable in my hands. 
 

I think I’m on the side of BigK where I do care but it’s hard to do the legwork. And unfortunately if it’s a one off tool that I rarely use and need quick I’m going with the cheapest I can find until it breaks and needs replacement/upgrade. 

Channellock claims their pliers and screwdrivers are 100% American made, while they claim their sockets are made in Taiwan and wrenches are Spanish.  I assume they are telling the truth.  I started having problems with Craftsman pliers years ago (while they were still supposedly American made) and got a couple Channellocks.  I never looked back.  All their stuff is affordable (a bit more expensive than the cheap Chinese stuff, but way cheaper than Snap-On etc.).  I am no mechanic and use them for basic stuff (screwdrivers/sockets/pliers/wrenches), but they have held up well.  I think they fill the role of old-school Craftsman tools. 

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

Hand tools are one example - it's easy to flip over the package and see where it's made.  Used to be, there were American made options that were more expensive but still affordable, but now it often comes down to China or sky-high American stuff.  Channellock tools are an exception, but some of their stuff is made in Taiwan.  Some tools in Lowes, Home Depot, etc are made in Taiwan.  I'll take Taiwan made vs. Chinese eight days a week.    

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

I sometimes go out of my way to avoid buying anything Chinese, but sometimes, it's unavoidable.  Occasionally, China makes superior stuff.  

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

16 minutes ago, deerslayer said:

 I bet a lot of Americans would pay 10% extra.  

Except cars lol

[Do you think Mike Rowe is right about US consumers?]

 I bet a lot of Americans would pay 10% extra.  The problem is that American made goods are probably typically much more than 10% extra.  

[Getting Old]

My friend’s father is 88 and still works full time.  Two guys I see at the range a lot are 79 and 84 and can probably do anything I can.  The 84 year old guy told me women over 50 can’t keep up with him.  I didn’t ask for details.  These three fellows all have two things in common - they have always stayed moving or into something and they are not overweight.  On the other hand, my uncle could have lost a pound or 50 and he just flipped channels after he retired.  He ended up with cancer, diabetes, bad knees, heart trouble, and lots of other stuff.  Genetics and injuries often play an uncontrollable part, but as I get older, I plan to keep these observations in mind.  

[Things the next generation simply won't understand]

[Things the next generation simply won't understand]

Speaking of tv…

 

[Things the next generation simply won't understand]

We had two animals (for lack of a better term) at work who got kicked out of the Po Folks on Summer Ave.  I’ve never seen humans eat like those two.  Po Folks had an all-you-can-eat chicken special and after an hour or so, refunded my two co-workers and asked them to leave because there was a church youth group due soon and if the pace continued, there would be no chicken for them.  They may have eventually been single-handedly responsible for the demise of Po Folks.  

[Things the next generation simply won't understand]

39 minutes ago, res308 said:

 

And Western Auto

JB Hunter

Fred P Gattas

Woolworth 

Woolco

TG&Y

And I remember when Target sold guns.  

[UPS Lost Ammo]

Most of the big shipping companies cover loss up to $100 with no extra charge.  Additional coverage incurs a fee.  I don't know how much your ammo was, but SG probably ate the cost of it minus $100.  You may be fortunate that they refunded your money at all.  They could have refunded you only $100, since you didn't purchase additional insurance.  Some smaller companies will tell you it's between you and the shipping company.  Ebay sellers are bad about this.  I'm not saying this is right, but it happens every day.  

[5 Memphis cops fired after suspect killed]

I don’t care to see Nichols getting pummeled, but I would be interested in bodycam or dashcam footage of whatever he was allegedly doing that got him stopped in the first place.  I suspect we will see that on Dateline in 10 or 15 years.