The Random Crap Thread 2: It Hits the Fan.

HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Celt Z said:
Li'l Z and I were just at the NY Auto Show, and one of their big things now is you can go for test rides in the EVs at the show. (With one of their vetted drivers, of course.) I hate to say it, but the Chevy Bolt was the least impressive out of all the EVs we rode in, as far as comfort, handling, breaking, etc. And I say this as a person who still drives a "smaller" car, who hates SUVs and big vechiles, and wishes they would make more station wagons.

Sadly, between Li'l Z's...not being so little, and all the sports equipment/DIY projects we do on the regular, we're going to have to get a bigger car soon. Part of the reason I went it to find something slightly bigger than our Matrix, a hybrid at the minimum and....ugh. The field is not great.
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People who own a Matrix are good people.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

And more Americans having regular outdoor stuff to do, too, I will add. You don't need a truck in a city center, if you're in the middle of nowhere and you want to haul horses or boats or stuff that's a different matter.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Celt Z said:
I hate to say it, but the Chevy Bolt was the least impressive out of all the EVs we rode in, as far as comfort, handling, breaking, etc.
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Bet it was the only one under $30k though.

Bubble181 said:
And more Americans having regular outdoor stuff to do, too, I will add. You don't need a truck in a city center, if you're in the middle of nowhere and you want to haul horses or boats or stuff that's a different matter.
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Speaking as a Texan, the doofuses in the city centers all have extended cab pickups too, that never see a drop of mud, and the only horses they've ever parked near were at the rodeo.

There is absolutely a culture that sneers at cars (and not just small cars, ANY car) as weak and womanly and therefor to be abhorred.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
GasBandit said:
I think it's still primarily "AMERICANS WON'T BUY SMALL CARS" whargarbling that's been exponentially ratcheting up over the last couple decades.
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Hmm, if "no one wants to work" translates to "no one wants to be paid poverty wages", does that mean "won't buy small cars" translates to "big vehicles sell for a bigger profit"?

Bubble181 said:
All those brands offer normal and/or mini sized (e-) cars in Europe just fine. It's really just Americans with masculinity compensation issues.
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It's a bit more complicated than dudebros wanting dick-mobiles. There's a lot of that, to be sure, but I think there's also those who:
  • are terrified of the idiots incompetently driving giant vehicles (who then buy something huge for "safety" and become yet another idiot driving something bigger than they can handle),
  • have bought into the "resale value is everything" mindset and buy big because "Americans won't buy small cars" (and also buy one of the currently most popular colors because if they get the color they want they might have trouble selling it),
  • buy big because their car needs to do everything "but what if I suddenly need to go on a cross-country road trip with my 7 closest friends while transporting a couch?"
Granted, some of these are related to masculinity issues, but they often afflict even those people who aren't buying primarily as a status symbol.
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

HCGLNS said:
The matrix got cancelled despite a best seller in Canada, was viewed as small and unsafe in america.
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It makes me sad because we've had our Matrix for almost 13 years and it's been nothing but a great car. You can still (kinda) get one, they're just called the Corolla Hatchback now.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
It's the trend with all cars, even ICEVs. Literally the only car Ford makes anymore is the mustang. Everything else is a truck or SUV.
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Yes, I know. Europe is much denser and therefore small cars sell well. America is BIG and OPEN and WIIIIDE LOOOAD and so it's trucks, trucks, trucks.
Right now, I think my dream vehicle would be a diesel station wagon PHEV (possibly stick or auto-stick) with AWD. Can I get one in Europe? Sure! Heck, it'll even be turbocharged! But in the USA? ha ha no.

--Patrick
 
HCGLNS

HCGLNS

PatrThom said:
Yes, I know. Europe is much denser and therefore small cars sell well. America is BIG and OPEN and WIIIIDE LOOOAD and so it's trucks, trucks, trucks.
Right now, I think my dream vehicle would be a diesel station wagon PHEV (possibly stick or auto-stick) with AWD. Can I get one in Europe? Sure! Heck, it'll even be turbocharged! But in the USA? ha ha no.

--Patrick
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america was big and wide long before their chicken war with Germany and sedans worked just fine.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

GasBandit said:
Bet it was the only one under $30k though.


Speaking as a Texan, the doofuses in the city centers all have extended cab pickups too, that never see a drop of mud, and the only horses they've ever parked near were at the rodeo.

There is absolutely a culture that sneers at cars (and not just small cars, ANY car) as weak and womanly and therefor to be abhorred.
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Siiiiigh!

When I moved here, I wanted to buy a cheap-ass (but new!) pickup truck as a 2nd vehicle specifically for when I haul stuff. I occasionally have the need. And I could have easily afforded a *cheap* pick-up. The kind I remember in my youth...no big cab, no big bed, no 4 doors, just a regular-ol hauling around truck.

Guess what nobody makes any more? Sure, I could get a Ford Maverick for about 25K, but I lose half of the potential bed because every redneck in Texas who wants a pickup also wants to take Johnny and Susie to their after school activities in it. I just want a small, cheap, utilitarian pickup.

1682451592637.png


I don't need to make some statement about my income, how many wife beaters, cowboy hats, or boots that I own, or how large my dick is. Jesus
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Reading this stuff made me think back to some of my interactions over the years and I thought of two people.

1. There was one girl who often complained that I never asked her out. She was the assistant of the director of my graduate institute, and since I worked closely with the director a lot of the time, I saw a lot of this girl, and she would often say that I should be asking her out.

2. I did a drama production in undergrad, and there was a girl who would often punch me while we were backstage. Like, she'd find any excuse she could to punch me in the arm or chest. Not hard, not like it was assault, but she'd often be like, "I did really bad in an exam today, c'mere and let me punch you."

I was with my then-girlfriend now-wife at the time for both of these periods, and both of these girls knew it, so it never occurred to me that they might be flirting with me. But now that I think about it... huh.
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

One thing that dramatically affects the average is the sexual overperception bias that males have and the reverse that females have. This is the opposite of what @bhamv3 and the tweet posted by @PatrThom indicate! Sure, underperception happens with men too, but it tends to go the other way, where a smile by a pretty cashier or an ambiguous phrase is interpreted to be interest or flirting.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
MindDetective said:
One thing that dramatically affects the average is the sexual overperception bias that males have and the reverse that females have. This is the opposite of what @bhamv3 and the tweet posted by @PatrThom indicate! Sure, underperception happens with men too, but it tends to go the other way, where a smile by a pretty cashier or an ambiguous phrase is interpreted to be interest or flirting.
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I think what it mostly indicates is a lot of guys get everything wrong. People often think they're being flirted with when they're not, and completely fail to catch when they really ARE being flirted with.

Well, I guess that's what Patr was saying, more or less.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

MindDetective said:
One thing that dramatically affects the average is the sexual overperception bias that males have and the reverse that females have. This is the opposite of what @bhamv3 and the tweet posted by @PatrThom indicate! Sure, underperception happens with men too, but it tends to go the other way, where a smile by a pretty cashier or an ambiguous phrase is interpreted to be interest or flirting.
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... Are you coming on to me?
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
In all honesty, the car I probably really wanted was the '23 Prius Prime. Plug in charging, enough battery for my daily commute to not use gasoline, but the range and versatility of gasoline for longer drives.

But the guys at the local Toyota dealership were such pushy assholes I noped out. They straight up told me that they would not sell me a car, ANY car, without the premium package, undercoating and window tint and all.

I know we're supply constrained and suckers would probably line up to buy whatever the heck they could get , but I am not one of those suckers.

Went next door to the Chevrolet Dealership and put in an order for a Bolt instead, for 20% less. Kinda wish they hadn't discontinued the Volt in 2019.
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

MindDetective said:
One thing that dramatically affects the average is the sexual overperception bias that males have and the reverse that females have. This is the opposite of what @bhamv3 and the tweet posted by @PatrThom indicate! Sure, underperception happens with men too, but it tends to go the other way, where a smile by a pretty cashier or an ambiguous phrase is interpreted to be interest or flirting.
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It may be that I overcompensate for the bias you mentioned. I can't tell when people are flirting with me because it feels like everyone's flirting with me, so I default to assuming that no one is flirting with me. I'm also probably not the only guy who does this.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
I think what it mostly indicates is a lot of guys get everything wrong. People often think they're being flirted with when they're not, and completely fail to catch when they really ARE being flirted with.

Well, I guess that's what Patr was saying, more or less.
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I used to manage a gas station/convenience store combo a few years out of college. At one point, while receiving a drop of fresh fuel at something like 5:30am, the driver of the tanker truck (a woman who appeared to be in her mid-30's or early 40's) came into the station and, while we were waiting for her truck to finish filling the tanks, she says, "Hey, can I tell you a joke?"
"...ok," I reply.
"Ok so hold your hands over your head..." <holds up her hands besides her head like she's being arrested> "...like this."
I do so, feeling a bit silly.
She holds her hands up likewise and steps close to me, palms touching mine, her nose touching my chin. "What's this?" she asks, her breath puffing against my Adam's apple.
"Uh...a chance to smell your perm?" I reply, not catching on.
"No, it's a Polish electric blanket," she explains, and then asks, "Do you know why it's not working?"
"No?" I reply, clearly confused by the question.
"Cuz it's not plugged in," she replies coyly.
"Oh hey, that's pretty clever," I reply (or something like that).
I don't know how long it was until I caught on that she was probably flirting with me. Hours? Days? I just remember thinking right after that the joke was indeed clever but that the unavoidable component of awkwardness probably canceled the cleverness out.

Ah, to be young and innocent again.

--Patrick
 
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blotsfan

blotsfan

GasBandit said:
In all honesty, the car I probably really wanted was the '23 Prius Prime. Plug in charging, enough battery for my daily commute to not use gasoline, but the range and versatility of gasoline for longer drives.

But the guys at the local Toyota dealership were such pushy assholes I noped out. They straight up told me that they would not sell me a car, ANY car, without the premium package, undercoating and window tint and all.
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My father-in-law runs a Toyota dealership. My (almost) brother-in-law is a salesman there. They told me if I ordered a new prius now, I’d get it late 2024 to early 2025
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

One of my hot female coworkers got a new hairdo this past weekend and I didn't recognize her when I saw her at work today and I was all like, "Yay, a new hot female coworker!" And then I recognized her and was all like, "Yay, an old hot female coworker!"

But then I realized that this particular hot female coworker has been here for literally years now, almost as long as I have. The only reason why she hasn't advanced to become the head of her department is because her actual department head is an old fogey who refuses to retire or leave. Apparently she's immune to the Bhamv curse. Interesting.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Almost every day I get spam emails from the contact us link at the bottom of every screen. Most are “hey can I post links” kind of emails. Lately, though, they’ve taken quite the turn into racism and transphobia. For example, the two I got today are trying to push people to Twitter profiles. The subject lines were “it’s okay to be white” and “real women aren’t men”.

I deleted these unread just like I did all the others but I swear if this is the direction it’s going to take I might remove the contact is link. It’s only been used a couple of times anyway so I’m not sure what affect it would even have.
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Yeah I'm not sure it's necessary to have a "contact us" link on a forum. If someone did have a legitimate reason to contact us, they could make a post, or they could create a profile and then message one of the admins if needed.

And by "legitimate reason" I mean something like "why does this forum show up when I search for minotaur penis?"
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

bhamv3 said:
Yeah I'm not sure it's necessary to have a "contact us" link on a forum. If someone did have a legitimate reason to contact us, they could make a post, or they could create a profile and then message one of the admins if needed.

And by "legitimate reason" I mean something like "why does this forum show up when I search for minotaur penis?"
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Because it's okay to be a really white woman with a minotaur penis?
 
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