Learned'd VIII: Less Bewbs, Same Nonsense

[Kompresshun]

It's 23 degrees here. I'm uber pissed too, because it was mid 60's in VA until we headed back Tuesday and it was supposed to still be nice here in KY yesterday. Of course it's in the 20's and snowing yesterday

Brian, what city is it you live in now?

There is absolutely no way i'd move to Texas, or even back south at all. I despise heat.

[WDRacing]

I'm in Bloomingdale, Ohio. Bottom right corner of Ohio, on the border of that little chunk of W Virginia where it juts up between Ohio and PA.

As far as down south goes, I lived down in Ft Walton Beach, FL from 93-97. I absolutely love the Gulf Coast. Bath water temps and white beach sand. Houston is also right on the coast...I hope you know that...lol. So for me, the beach is a pretty big attraction. I also love Texas. I love guns and cars, so does Texas. I hate liberals, so does Texas. I like the death penalty, so does Texas. I could go on, but suffice it to say that I agree with the politics of Texas and sadly the politics of a state has become a major issue as of late and I don't see it EVER getting any better.

I wouldn't live in GA or Alabama or Mississippi or anything, but Texas...yup, I like Texas.

Ohio is ok. They have basically no vehicle regulations here. I can drop any motor in anything I want and never worry about any inspections. But they have just recently switched over to Common Core. I don't know if you've experienced this yet, but it's truly horrible. Our Gov also just kicked the Libertarian candidate off of the ballot illegally...because he can. I've become a big proponent of the third party, so seeing the GOP remove my right to vote for someone other than a POS GOP nominee really upsets me.

Anyway...yeah, Texas ftw.

[Kompresshun]

Oh I love everything about Texas aside from the heat. Well I hate the coast too, no matter where it is. I hate sand, ocean water, and ocean wildlife.

That's the one of the few things I love about Lexington - absolutely no vehicle regulations or inspections. We're 99% sure we'll be moving from here next year. I think ideally we'll end up in NC or VA, but we're open to whatever is the best option for us at the time.

Wow, I didn't expect Bloomingdale to be so far from here. Still not a bad haul though - just over 5 hours.

[WDRacing]

Yeah it's a bit of a hike to KY. NC is pretty sweet. I've been there many times with the USAF. We used the mountain ranges near Ashville for mountain training, still do I'm sure. That part of the country is beautiful.

Don't like the ocean aye? Polar opposite of myself. You'd hate Okinawa then...lol. I'd move back there in a second as well.

[Kompresshun]

I've been to NC numerous times and have always loved it. That would be my preference to live, but after this last trip to VA I actually found some areas there I like. Plus moving to VA would put us close to the in-laws, which would mean free childcare. That wouldn't be the only reason we'd move there though - all of the stars would have to align for it to work out.

The only beach i've ever been to that i've liked has been Carolina Beach in Wilmington, NC. Of course I got to see a lot of boobies that day(and it wasn't even spring break), so that's probably one reason

If I could just pick up and move anywhere, I would like to live in England or Italy for a while. Even if it were just for a year or so, I think i'd like to spend an extended time there at some point.

[sx moneypit]

Sup Ben! How's the weather down there? Has to better than mine, it's 8 fcking degree's here.

My wife's work, Precoat Metals, has a branch down in Houston. I'd really like to move there.

Afternoon' Brian!
59 degrees here.

[Bubba1]

Afternoon' Brian!
59 degrees here.

we're in the upper 20's here. I tried to fire up my Z this morning and the battery's dead. I suppose after 5 years it's to be expected.

[Dattebayo]

lol @ Houston. That town has the worst summers I've ever spent working through... The heat is so damn sticky that you have to change your shirt midway through the day or else you'll have to peel it off you later. Anywhere else in Texas is just fine, but for some reason that town just produces so much humidity that I never want to be there ever again. That and the traffic is amazingly bad through most of the day.

[RicerX]

we're in the upper 20's here. I tried to fire up my Z this morning and the battery's dead. I suppose after 5 years it's to be expected.

I would say you didn't do badly at all there

[Bubba1]

[
I would say you didn't do badly at all there

You're right, I shouldn't complain. The latest snow storm missed us, so it's sunny and cold.

[Kompresshun]

I tried to fire up my Z this morning and the battery's dead. I suppose after 5 years it's to be expected.

I keep one of these hooked up to the Miata whenever it's parked:



http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-XM1-5- ... ery+TENDER

Best $15 i've ever spent. It automatically switches on and off so the battery doesn't get overcharged. Just connect the little harness that comes with it to your battery then plug it up to the charger whenever you're going to park it for a while. It does the rest.

You can pick them up at Wal-mart. I usually buy through Amazon, but it was on backorder when I bought mine too.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Huzzah! I replaced my aging, clunky, unsupported HTC One S with a Nexus 5.

Running the stock ROM with about a dozen Xposed modules giving me the "extras" I like. Very nice compromise...stock rom solidarity with customization options. I've got multirom on it, so I can multiboot and test out other ROMs without having to give up my DD stock ROM.

I love having 2GB of RAM and rarely seeing less than 1GB free. The One S had about 900MB RAM and spent most of its time with about 20MB free. Terrible.

Also, Snapdragon 800 with Adreno 330 blows Tegra 3 out of the damn water.

[Kompresshun]

I tried to go for the Nexus 5 but I just couldn't talk myself into it. It was a really solid phone but just not quite what I wanted. I still ended up with an LG though, just one with more bells and whistles because I like shiny s***.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Ahh, see...I hate shiny s***. I just want a phone with a good processor, lots of RAM, a nice screen (1080x1920 at 4.9 inches looks incredible), and a pocketable form-factor (i.e. not an enormous modern Samsung or Sony abomination that barely fits in my hand).

I love the N5's rubberized body (everyone else bishez endlessly about it) I love the matte finish. I love the basic, clean design.

I'm still adjusting to the left-top power button placement, though. It's not natural for me as I usually hold my phone in my left hand. But, at the same time, even loose-fitting jeans (Gotta have room for your junk to breathe! I don't know how hipsters do skinny jeans!) would unintentionally power wake the One S because the power button was mounted on the rounded top of the frame.

And the One S got me used to right-side volume controls (My G1 and G2 were both left-side like the N5) so I'm recovering from that.

Hilariously, the N5's screen is almost (within 1 or 2mm) as wide as the G1's screen is TALL. And I remember thinking that screen looked damn good back in 2009.

[WDRacing]

lol @ Houston. That town has the worst summers I've ever spent working through... The heat is so damn sticky that you have to change your shirt midway through the day or else you'll have to peel it off you later. Anywhere else in Texas is just fine, but for some reason that town just produces so much humidity that I never want to be there ever again. That and the traffic is amazingly bad through most of the day.

I say Houston mostly because my wifeunit2000 has a branch there we can transfer to. I doubt the humidity is worse than Okinawa or Ft Walton Beach, both places I enjoyed living.

Just found out there is a branch in Wendell, NC as well! Wendell is just east of Raleigh. Not a bad location either.

Morning!

[RicerX]

Yo!

I like the Carolinas. Even though Myrtle Beach is very retirement-centric, I've been and I really enjoyed it. The car scene is pretty awesome too, but I'm coming from an area where the car scene is mostly sporadic.

Now that spring is around the corner, the closest car scene I will be able to hit up is Nashville, so that will be a nice change of pace. There's money in Nashville, so I'll get to see/smell different varieties of things I cannot afford.

I have been to Texas once for business. There wasn't much to it, but I was in the middle of nowhere and didn't visit any of the big cities. I was told Austin is a good place to visit. Haven't been to Houston. I imagine it's much like AL in the summer with the humidity and stuff, except a touch more extreme.

[Dattebayo]

I personally like Charleston, so much in fact that I'm gonna be down there in a couple weeks for some much needed vacation...

And just a quick history check on Houston, apparently they have humidity regularly higher than both places WD mentioned, lol. Not trying to be a d!ck about it or anything though. I just remember the temps and humidity being second only to what I experienced in Qatar a couple of years ago.

[Kompresshun]

Yeah NC is definitely high up on the list for me. My father in law mentioned moving to south GA while we were there and I laughed at him hysterically. I told him if they move there, we won't be coming to visit

I do enjoy cold weather more than crazy humid summer weather, but if there is a good balance between the two i'm fine. The weather here in Lexington is fairly tolerable, but I could do with a little lower temps during the summer. Wisconsin this past summer was perfect. Mid 70's during the day and low to mid 60's at night. Perfect.

Ahh, see...I hate shiny s***. I just want a phone with a good processor, lots of RAM, a nice screen (1080x1920 at 4.9 inches looks incredible), and a pocketable form-factor (i.e. not an enormous modern Samsung or Sony abomination that barely fits in my hand).

I love the N5's rubberized body (everyone else bishez endlessly about it) I love the matte finish. I love the basic, clean design.

I'm still adjusting to the left-top power button placement, though. It's not natural for me as I usually hold my phone in my left hand. But, at the same time, even loose-fitting jeans (Gotta have room for your junk to breathe! I don't know how hipsters do skinny jeans!) would unintentionally power wake the One S because the power button was mounted on the rounded top of the frame.

And the One S got me used to right-side volume controls (My G1 and G2 were both left-side like the N5) so I'm recovering from that.

Hilariously, the N5's screen is almost (within 1 or 2mm) as wide as the G1's screen is TALL. And I remember thinking that screen looked damn good back in 2009.

See I bought the LG G2 and I wanted a lot of what you were looking for, but I wanted a better camera, better battery life, and a nicer UI. I look at literally everything when I bought a phone and I kept coming back over to the G2 display. It fit perfectly in my hand and I really like the power and volume controls being on the back of the phone. The camera is superb and takes excellent photos(14mp). The battery life is one of the best out there right now - I can use it all day under heavy use and still have plenty of charge when I get home. The display is also one of the best out there at the moment and rivals the N5 in quality, but is slightly larger.

I really tried to make myself like the N5, but every time I picked it up it felt cheap and too stripped down. Coming from a Nexus phone, I didn't want that experience again. The G2 has been the perfect balance for me in an Android phone.

[sx moneypit]

Good afternoon folks!
Busy as s*** today.

[MinisterofDOOM]

It fit perfectly in my hand and I really like the power and volume controls being on the back of the phone...The display is also one of the best out there at the moment and rivals the N5 in quality, but is slightly larger.

The rear controls are pretty polarizing. Some people LOVE them and others can't stand them. I like the idea, but I'm not sure I like the implementation (a little chunkier than I'd prefer). Something flatter, sleeker, and less of a combo switch (so you don't turn the volume down when locking the screen) would be my preference. I also have long fingers and find that the buttons are way too low on the frame to be natural for me to use.

I think most people tend to prefer the G2's display. It's marginally less sharp (lower PPI of course, being the same resolution on a larger display) but they're both still "retina" class so that's really getting way too picky for me. The N5 is a lot less oversaturated than the G2. Most people hate it. I'm the kind of guy whose homescreen is a grayscale background, white-on-black theming (I love the move to white from blue in Android's "Holo" aesthetic), and minimalistic clean layouts, so I'm happier without the candy-colored saturation. Unfortunately the N5's blacks are pretty washed out, especially compared to the PenTile AMOLED I grew accustomed to on my One S. That screen was NOT sharp (I hate PenTile...terrible subpixel layout) but the contrast was fantastic and the blacks (as with all LED displays) were really black.

I really tried to make myself like the N5, but every time I picked it up it felt cheap and too stripped down.

That's it. You've nailed it. I'm looking for a Corvette, not a Porsche. I don't need shinies. Just give me a well-honed base product and I'll make it do what I want. I don't care if the seats are floppy or my choices of leather won't fill a multi-page book. Give me customization-friendly basic capabilities and I'll put them to work doing the stuff I need. That's why I've owned Google Experience/Nexus devices almost exclusively.

[AppleBonker]

Dudes

[AppleBonker]

I'm the kind of guy whose homescreen is a grayscale background, white-on-black theming (I love the move to white from blue in Android's "Holo" aesthetic), and minimalistic clean layouts, so I'm happier without the candy-colored saturation.

Can't say I disagree. Clean/minimal is the best way. Don't mind the ingress icon though, I just can't bring myself to bury that in a folder somewhere...

[sx moneypit]

Adam!!,whats up?How have you and the lady been doing?

[AppleBonker]

Ben, in general we're doing well. Work has been busy as hell and I find myself working from home on the weekends more than I'd prefer. I miss how busy I thought I was a year ago...

I stumbled back in here because I was doing some research on the next potential car purchase. Her xA is dying; I can't reproduce the issues consistently, but I think torque convertor. I pushed for a CX-5, but the seats don't fit her. She drove a '14 Rogue and liked it, so that might be the direction we go even though I'm not a huge fan of the CVT (understatement of the century).

And since I've been MIA for a long time, I've missed a lot and I know I'm way late, but sorry to read about your wife.

[sx moneypit]

Ben, in general we're doing well. Work has been busy as hell and I find myself working from home on the weekends more than I'd prefer. I miss how busy I thought I was a year ago...

I stumbled back in here because I was doing some research on the next potential car purchase. Her xA is dying; I can't reproduce the issues consistently, but I think torque convertor. I pushed for a CX-5, but the seats don't fit her. She drove a '14 Rogue and liked it, so that might be the direction we go even though I'm not a huge fan of the CVT (understatement of the century).

And since I've been MIA for a long time, I've missed a lot and I know I'm way late, but sorry to read about your wife.

I've been really busy myself right now.Been working every Saturday for about a year.

I like the Rogue too as do some of my customers.I have driven them and although i prefer a regular automatic the CVT does a pretty good job.

Thanks for the condolences,i sure do miss her,she was my soul mate and best friend for almost 16 years.

Glad to hear every thing is good on your end!

Have you heard from Chad lately??

[AppleBonker]

Though I may complain, I'd certainly rather be busy than slow.

The Rogue is ok. I really liked the CX-5, but the seats are a deal-breaker for her (seat bottom is too long and digs into the back of her knee making her legs go numb). There really aren't too many good options in the CUV segment. For the lack of plowing that happens near the house, something with AWD and ground clearance is essentially a must for her. Going too big to get an actual SUV, especially one that is BOF and, ideally, based on a truck platform adds too much cost in terms of gas mileage. She logs a lot of miles. Pretty much either leaves a CR-V with an old auto (why they didn't use a newer trans in the current gen is beyond me) or a Rogue with a CVT. She likes the Rogue better. And while the CVT is improved over some of Nissan's first CVTs, it's still a CVT. I supposed I can't hold out too long for normal auto transmissions as everyone seems to be going to CVTs to improve mileage.

And before someone mentions it, an older car is mostly out of the question. I've now got an '03 Accord for a daily (yay better mileage) that I'm sure I'll be wrenching on. I don't want two cars I have to work on. Her old xA needs to go as I've sunk too much money (and time) into it in the recent past. Belt went and killed the battery. Also overheated the engine and I'm not too confident in the condition of the head gasket. Then she blew up a wheel on a pothole (fix the damn roads!). Replacing that, a lug stud got screwed so I had to replace that as well. Then shortly thereafter the transmission started slipping (though I don't think she explained it so eloquently). I topped off ATF and drove it and the trans felt fine. From what little I've been able to reproduce, it feels highly sporadic and I'm guessing torque convertor but not entirely sure. With 170k on the clock, it's not worth fixing. She needs a car she can drive for 5+ years without me having to spend every other weekend keeping it running. And I need my daily back so I can reduce fuel consumption.

Haven't heard from Chad in ages. I think he fell off the face of the earth moreso than I did.

When did Ray become a mod? I don't remember that happening, but maybe I'm just being slow.

[sx moneypit]

I agree with you on being busy(since i work on commission ).

I think she will be happy with the Rogue.The CVTs are a lot better now IMO.

Ray became a mod a few months ago.

The Learned'd is just a shell of it's old self since you and most of the OGs left.Tito still checks in every now and then though.

Glad to see you back!!

[Dattebayo]

Sup Adam.

Just helped a friend get his stupid Jetta back on the road, all those damn problem coming from a bad battery? YUP- must be German engineering. Why build something simple when it can be complex!

[AppleBonker]

The Learned'd is just a shell of it's old self since you and most of the OGs left.Tito still checks in every now and then though.

Glad to see you back!!

Does look a bit slow. But traffic to NICO as a whole seems to be a bit slow compared to a couple of years ago. Or is that just me?

I'll try to make more frequent visits. Now that I've got a daily this summer might be a good opportunity to actually work on the truck since I don't need it every day. Plus I may need to pop in to the Rogue formus.

Sup Adam.

Long time no talk. How's life treating you lately, Dave?

[Dattebayo]

Life is just day-to-day around here. Waiting for work to kick in...