Shop Time w/T.W. Friends

A car enthusiast knows more than the car dealer in this case!
It is amazing how much I’ve learned about my truck since joined the forum; I have transformed my ‘06 to '15 functions and ....

Spoiler

look

 

Just a minor edit

The value added to TW and other forums is immeasurable..

 

The power has been off for several hours, even my phone internet is seriously super slow.

 

Booo

 

lol, no joke.

the high school i went to has been sending me updates on their new 'invention wing'. 3d printing, full-on metal fab shop/welding classes, and robotics teams that just won their division.

and i just keep screaming, why wasn't any of those things a thing when i was there. even now, i could spend weeks there entertaining myself with all the different facets of the stuff. instead i had to spend my time failing through shakespear and math classes, generally being told that wanting to build anything hands-on made me a useless waste of flesh. i learned more digging through the dumpster on the weekends and taking apart whatever i could find than their tech courses taught me at the time.

i actually WANT to go back to high school now!

 

my '18 tacoma is the most tech-filled vehicle i have to my name. and i'd love to keep it that way indefinitely. only time will tell how well i can keep it that way. my '14 brz only exists in the fleet because it's a literal reincarnation of the 80's toyota coupes--that had major rust issues, and largely don't exist anymore. and i'm still irritated it could only be had with power windows/door locks. would've preferred manual-everything.

it generally confuses everyone that i love basic no-frills stuff so much when i'm basically the family IT guy.

 

Nine hours later... the power is still off.

 

Boo!!!

 

X2

 

Good evening shop, hope everyone had a decent weekend, aside from any power outages and storms. That stuff sounds nasty.

Tomorrow starts week 3 of the new job. 2.5 more months and I will be thru my probation period. They have me fully running the Lube rack now and I'm dipping my toes in the rest of the operations. I've done several quotes in excess of 2k$

My wife has informed me that she needs a weekend trip soon. that quote will be hefty as well

 

Spring break week next week so we hit the road and got outta Dodge up near Atlanta to visit some friends. The guy is an engineer for Lockheed working on the F-35 program. He has some awesome stories about the capabilities of that jet.

He just bought a new Escalade last year- it's a '24. The thing has "super cruise" that is a hands off driving mode. While the mode is engaged, the camera in the dash is looking at you to make sure eyes are open and phone isn't in your hand. If the vehicle senses you not paying good enough attention, you are disallowed from using it until you start the vehicle again.

 

i'm very curious how those systems will age in 10 years. the average vehicle currently lasts 12-16 years depending on who you ask.

i suspect it will age about the same as the imac

 

I almost like the idea of someone watching these people who surely need it.

On the other hand...

Caution ahead:

If one is so busy, bored, tired, distracted, impaired, vacant or whatever that they can't devote their driving time to actually driving perhaps chauffeured transportation would be more suitable.

I prefer a smart driver instead of a smart vehicle.

 

Agree.

Old vehicles like my Fords for example will continue to operate as long as repair parts are obtainable.

I believe we have crossed the technical edge where a modern vehicle will become unsustainable for the lack of a module, software glitch, missing update, whatever - or someone with the tools and experience to work on "legacy models".

The expensive tech loaded machine you purchased will become a shiny driveway ornament just as useful as an old printer.

 

The 18 is less advanced than the 22… I didn’t realize the differences that short period made. Miss my 18…

 

I got an '18 I'll sell ya fer $53.7k.

 

After 11 hours the novelty of living by flashlight is wearing off...

This doesn't sound so promising either:

 

Pending? Additional crews? Complexity?

Ruh roh

 

Mrs Green gets up at 3am for work, hopefully it is back on by then.

We keep 2 six gallon jugs of water on hand, plus a few one gallons and the water left in the pressure tank, the range is propane and the coal stove takes no electric.

Tomorrow morning I will haul out the little generator if needed, it is surprisingly heavy and loud!

I just run an extension cord through the window for the fridge & freezer.