New England B.S. Thread

That's what I have always done. I've always gone to Bristol Glass in Attleboro

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...sas-37’s-alh1-9l-diesel.850571/#post-30387956

Cool build

 

My last experience with them was in March when a truck threw up a rock which cracked my windshield. It was small enough that they could seal it, so the windshield didn't need to be replaced. No issues. Before that they did the windshield back in July of 2020. About three weeks after I got the truck, something on Rte 24 broke it and it had to be replaced. That was at the Brockton shop, no problem. Before that, it was my wife's '07 Highlander. Westwood (I think) and again no problem.

Other than the repair last year that was before all of the complaints started showing up, so I think that their quality control has nose dived.

 

I have to renew my license this year and was starting to panic about the eye exam. I barely pass it every time after several attempts - it feels like I am looking through a hazy yellowed lens. I don't have issues reading any sign at any reasonable distance, but it has me second guessing things.

So, I booked a routine eye exam. Turns out I have 20/20 vision in both eyes and they see no concerns whatsoever. They are filling out the RMV form and I can probably pick it up tomorrow so I won't have to worry about the bogus test there. I am now convinced that the registry's eye machines are just ancient and terrible.

 

You are probably looking through 10 years worth of dust on the lens.

 

My grandson failed his eye test for his learner's permit back in november. He tried twice and could not read the letters. He said it was because the machine was screwed up. My daughter-in-law told him it was because he wasn't doing it right.

As a result he had to go to an optometrist for an eye exam. The doctor signed him off and he got his permit.

I'm going to assume from both of these stories that the I machines used at various DMV offices suck.

 

My dad couldn't renew his license for that reason, though he really is having vision issues so I do believe it's legit in his case.

 

Anyone here a member of the elks?

 

Used to be...not anymore. It started to get to not be worth it.

 

I was curious about that and Freemasonry at one point because they both seem to do good things but the religious belief requirements would disqualify me from both.

 

Shenanigans - i forgot to ask you about this today. Next time.

 

I don't know anything about the Elks, but for Masons only the York Rite requires a religious oath.

The Shriners hospitals do great work and used to be self funding. As you may notice now from the endless TV commercials that is no longer the case.

The reason for that is that the generation that was most interested in that is shrinking.

That started in the 1980s and has accelerated since. I haven't been active in years so don't have current information on membership, but suspect it hasn't improved.

 

I've tried to get involved locally, but tend to strike out.

The town couldn't fill their select board a couple years ago and kept openly saying how they wished younger residents would step up. I considered going for a spot, then I learned the sitting members were completely unwilling to change their meetings back to the evening instead of noon which I could never attend because I work too far away.

I also joined a volunteer unofficial committee to help with school improvements after a school building project got voted down. I thought we'd be trying to tackle the low hanging fruit and donating our time and some materials to do that. It ended up just being a nearly identical conversation every single meeting about lack of funds for big projects, which naturally went nowhere because that sort of thing has to start from the school leadership in the form of capital budget discussions. We could advocate for it later and I'd have been up for that, but couldn't really initiate it.

 

I've found over the years that when volunteer organizations whine that they need more help, they don't really want more help. They want to complain about not having help and how hard they work.
I reluctantly joined the board of the HOA where we live because from the few meetings I attended (on line) when we moved here it was obvious that they needed adult supervision. At first the other members seemed disinterested in listening to me, but I wore them down.

My guess is that your select board is a bunch of retired "townies" or other locals with ties to various town agencies. They absolutely don't want someone with new ideas because their is risk that you'll disrupt whatever scams they have going.

 

My work sent me to Conroe, TX for a couple weeks. The traffic on 45 makes 93 in Boston seem tame. They're salting the over-passes for the (rare?) upcoming winter storm. As soon as there's a slow-down, all 4 lanes make a mad dash to the next exit to the access road that runs along 45 to try to beat the trucks salting. Every traffic report is basically bad accidents that cause lane closures, already witnessed a roll-over, and my first rental was already hit! I returned the car to the rental place, they just gave me another car and barely asked me about the accident. Got a free upgrade on the rental too!

At least the weather has been in the 60s during the day. I still need to try some proper Texas BBQ.

 

Freemasonry is one I know some stuff about.

Freemasonry in the beginning at least only requires a belief in some supreme being, so an atheist truly couldn't join. I don't know more about the Rites, Shriners, etc so can't comment there.

True re the Shriners, it's tough because everything gets more costly.

I do agree re the shrinkage, another thing is that the Freemasons didn't approach people to join. 2B1ASK1 is something you might have seen/heard before. In recent times they've changed that..the old school in me thinks you leave it alone, but as times change sometimes things must change as well. My temple had 4 different Lodges and now it's down to 2 I think..at least 3. My Lodge disbanded a bit ago..I haven't gone in some time so not sure when.

 

I haven't drive out that way in quite some time, but it's no worse than the Austin area. People drove like Kamikaze pilots on the roads out here and like Demolition Derby drivers in the parking lots. Then they go on FB and complain about how expensive car insurance is. It is, but it's a combination of bad drivers and bad drivers without licenses or insurance.

BTW, if you get stopped by the police they want your drivers license and proof of insurance. They don't much car about your registration since the registration and inspection sticker are one on your front windshield. If you insurance and drivers license is current you can drive on an expired registration for up to a year if you don't get stopped for something else.

It's Texas.

 

I will say in my little slice of heaven there the good old boy thing did happen. I was in my late 20s, another brother was about 22 (his grandfather was also involved) and the fellow who brought me in that I'd been friends with who was about 40. Everyone else was retirement age. That was fine with me of course. But in time there was pressure put on us 3 to start stepping up and no real guidance given or help. One of the Masters started getting on me if I couldn't get to a meeting which also bothered me.

In another sense the league I was involved in running until recently had the same issue on the Board of Directors, and some shadiness amongst some of them too. A lot of us showed up at a meeting and were stonewalled on every request, even some that were required by law that the President felt he was exempt from by some holy right he imagined. Some of my friends ran for positions on the executive board and were approved, I myself got in the following year on a director role. We definitely fixed a lot of things that would never have been addressed otherwise..though sadly some of that thinking came back in other people.

 

That's not to much different than when I was active. My lodge was in Revere, then consolidated and moved to Cambridge, and then moved to The Grand Lodge. It's still there, but was only reconstituted in 2003, well after I left.

I remember when they started the 2B1ASK1 campaign, but don't think it really caught on. As I said, it's a generational thing.

 

Not horribly different than my experience. One guy used to brag about how many times he'd been a Master of various lodges and he tried to block a couple of people from that because he thought that they needed more experience.

My experience convinced me that there was more back stabbing than brotherhood, so I stopped going.