Coconut Monkey Cornerclub

[Frag Maniac]

Hooo, my back is still murder this morning. Gonna have to force myself to get out there and finish my job today. At least I have an idea of what I need to do, but I keep waking up last night, all stressed about it.

Here's to hoping I can get this wrapped up quick and easy this morning, then spend the rest of the day resting my back on the couch.

Brakes can be a PITA. I use to do my own brake work on my 79 Corolla. I even rebuilt the calipers, which I was foolishly given confidence to do after having fixed leaks on my 68 Fury's drum cylinders in the middle of a salmon fishing road trip post high school graduation. After spending far too much time trying to rebuild the calipers, I discovered the rebuild doesn't last long if there's a fair bit of rust inside them. Although it may have been I just didn't put enough grease on the float hardware.

It's definitely worth it to just get rebuilt calipers loaded with pads. I mean, they sell little tools you can put in a drill to hone the inside of the calipers, but I doubt they're as precise as the machines the rebuild shops use. I've also often wondered if the rebuild shops use slightly thicker seals after honing them to account for the minute difference in bore.

As far as bleeding goes though, are you using the drill pump method, or old school where you pump the pedal? I used the latter and never had a problem with it. It definitely takes longer though.

 

[BeardyHat]

Brakes can be a PITA. I use to do my own brake work on my 79 Corolla. I even rebuilt the calipers, which I was foolishly given confidence to do after having fixed leaks on my 68 Fury's drum cylinders in the middle of a salmon fishing road trip post high school graduation. After spending far too much time trying to rebuild the calipers, I discovered the rebuild doesn't last long if there's a fair bit of rust inside them. It's definitely worth it to just get rebuilt calipers loaded with pads. I mean, they sell little tools you can put in a drill to hone the inside of the calipers, but I doubt they're as precise as the machines the rebuild shops use. I've also often wondered if the rebuild shops use slightly thicker seals after honing them to account for the minute difference in bore.

Oh, yeah, I don't typically bother rebuilding my own stuff, engine and transfer case excepted.

It's just the bleed job has me all out of sorts, never had any trouble in the past and I could easily do both calipers, rotors and pads in an hour if I hustled.

I'm giving it one last shot today with my new ideas and then if it doesn't work, I'll limp it to the shop if I can and have them do the bleed. But I'm pretty sure I'll get it today, just one final push while my body screams at me. Two days (now three) crawling and contorting myself on my garage floor doesn't agree with me anymore. I could probably get over my back if the arthritis in my knees wasn't also being all aggressive.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I may have told this Easter story before, but a long time ago, about a week after Easter, my sister-in-law and her family were taking a vacation, and they asked us if we would watch the duckling they bought for their child for Easter. My wife said we would, and they brought the duckling over in a low cardboard box with no top on it.

So the duck was already at least a week-and-a-half old, and what we didn't know was that ducks grow very rapidly and can reach full size in less than a month. By the time they got back from their vacation, the duck was running around the house trying to fly.

****

I just got a scam call. I didn't answer it, but they left me a message to call them. Said that I was losing my 50 percent cable discount and to call them immediately before it's processed

I'm still angry about my computer. so I'm thinking about calling them and taking my frustrations out on these lovely scammers. I can sit here all day giving them the run-around while still playing games.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Oh, yeah, I don't typically bother rebuilding my own stuff, engine and transfer case excepted.

It's just the bleed job has me all out of sorts, never had any trouble in the past and I could easily do both calipers, rotors and pads in an hour if I hustled.

I'm giving it one last shot today with my new ideas and then if it doesn't work, I'll limp it to the shop if I can and have them do the bleed. But I'm pretty sure I'll get it today, just one final push while my body screams at me. Two days (now three) crawling and contorting myself on my garage floor doesn't agree with me anymore. I could probably get over my back if the arthritis in my knees wasn't also being all aggressive.

You must have just missed what I edited into that post you quoted. What bleed method are you using, pump or brake pedal?

I laugh when you say "I don't typically bother rebuilding my own stuff, engine and transfer case excepted", because I can't imagine rebuilding an engine. I used to adjust my valves on my 79 Corolla though, and was very upset when the shop I hired to do a head job on my 82 Toyota pickup wound up with way too loud valve slap. I had to drive it back in and have them readjust them, and missed a good portion of a Seahawk game as it was rush hr going back. Took 2 hrs to drive 2 miles. That same shop also specced too low a temp thermostat on that job, which made my truck often die for being too cold. I can't believe some of the things even so called reputable shops do anymore.

However I had an uncle, who has passed, that lived in California. He restored antique cars, old model Ts, model As, old Dodge roadsters. He would travel across the country and sometimes trade an entire antique car for a rare grill or something. He also used to balance and blueprint race engines for people, as he lived very near Laguna Seca. My Uncle's house was huge, and they had an antique pedal pump organ in their living room and an antique gun collection behind a glass case in the upstairs hallway.

His son last time I was there as a kid was building a car that looked very much like the body shape of one of the Porsche models, but from scratch. He literally made the entire chassis and body by hand. And speaking of miniatures, he built antique model cars too, making the metal bodies from scratch. They were works of art too, looked better than factory models.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'll have to get my hands dirty tomorrow as well working on my vehicles: both of our bikes have a flat front tire now.

It's probably not going to be that hard on my back, but it's an annoying task nonetheless.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I'll have to get my hands dirty tomorrow as well working on my vehicles: both of our bikes have a flat front tire now.

I told you not to do the Tik Tok "Drive over a pile of nails" challenge.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Excuse me while I ignore my wife.

She's supposed to be figuring out what car she wants to buy. At first she seemed settled on an Aston Martin (the most expensive car she's ever bought was a Chevy Malibu), but now she's leaning toward a Bugatti. I told her that before she drove the Bugatti that I had a few final words I'd like to say to her.

She'll go back to looking at Malibus here in a minute. I tried to convince her a few weeks ago to look at Audis since she liked the one she accidentally got at the rental place that one time, but she said they were too expensive.

 

[Pifanjr]

Excuse me while I ignore my wife.

She's supposed to be figuring out what car she wants to buy. At first she seemed settled on an Aston Martin (the most expensive car she's ever bought was a Chevy Malibu), but now she's leaning toward a Bugatti. I told her that before she drove the Bugatti that I had a few final words I'd like to say to her.

She'll go back to looking at Malibus here in a minute. I tried to convince her a few weeks ago to look at Audis since she liked the one she accidentally got at the rental place that one time, but she said they were too expensive.

I can only hope I'll ever reach the part of my life where my wife gets to be indecisive about which car she wants to buy

 

[Zed Clampet]

Flux won't make pictures of adults crying. The closest it comes is to do a "smiling through the pain" picture, so I decided to fix that:

 

[Zed Clampet]

I can only hope I'll ever reach the part of my life where my wife gets to be indecisive about which car she wants to buy

Just to make sure my writing was clear, she was joking about the Aston Martin and Bugatti. She's always loved Aston Martins, and she's friends with their CEO on LinkedIn, but she always buys cheap cars. In fact, she buys cheap everything. Guido told me she was going to buy him a computer chair for Christmas, and I had to intervene and tell her I'd take care of it, or he would have ended up with the $50 Walmart special.

Anyway, in the US everyone owns cars. Would be great if we had decent public transportation, but few cities do.

 

[BeardyHat]

Just to make sure my writing was clear, she was joking about the Aston Martin and Bugatti. She's always loved Aston Martins, and she's friends with their CEO on LinkedIn, but she always buys cheap cars. In fact, she buys cheap everything. Guido told me she was going to buy him a computer chair for Christmas, and I had to intervene and tell her I'd take care of it, or he would have ended up with the $50 Walmart special.

Anyway, in the US everyone owns cars. Would be great if we had decent public transportation, but few cities do.

Boy I'd love some good public transport. I like cars and working on them can be therapeutic in its own way, but it's certainly a time and money suck, not to mention driving can really suck, especially where I live.

On my way to my parents house today, I saw some jack*** weaving in and out of traffic and using the shoulder to pass people on the right. I always hope I come across them wrecked further down the road.

 

[BeardyHat]

Oh, I gave myself a new project today, which was probably a pretty dumb idea.

Noticed how bad my Wifi was in certain spots in my house, certain spots where I tend to sit a lot. So I did some testing. My connection directly wired to my Server/Gaming machine is over 900Mbps, standing under my Unifi AP, I get 400ish Mbps, but as soon as I lose line of sight to it, it drops dramatically. In the spot in my living room I like to sit, I get 30Mbps. In my bedroom (where we don't really use it much) I get 20, etc, etc.

Figured I should try and fix that, so I looked on eBay and found someone selling three UAP Pro's (What I already have to go with the rest of my Unifi setup) with mounting brackets for $100; normally they go for $150 brand new for one. So, I ended-up buying them and now I'm going to have to figure out how to properly run cables where I want the AP's (with wife's approval. She told me I can't ruin her aesthetic. Which I would definitely do where I want to put at least one. Drat.) and I say properly because the last time I ran a cable for the one we currently have installed, I put multiple holes in the wall and somehow managed to drill up through the floor in our upstairs hallway. Whoops.

Anyway, I'll do more research and really figure it out this time. It's been 7 years since then and I'm mostly better now...

 

[Zed Clampet]

I went to Bojangles (fast food) to get a country ham biscuit, and the orders at the drive-through are now taken by artificial intelligence....and it was much better.

*****

Someone said the photos in my "crying" LoRA looked like people were laughing really hard. This is, of course, true. hard crying and hard laughing look very similar. However, as I explained to him, the pictures used the LoRA's most extreme setting. As you drop that setting, it's easier to see that they are actually crying. Unfortunately, Flux absolutely can't do tears. It makes them blue.

 

[Frag Maniac]

It's been a while since I've seen or heard any news of that FPS project 4A Games did a teaser of some time ago, so I did some checking. Apparently that team (formerly 4A Games Ukraine), is now Reburn. That title will, according to Steam, launch 4/25, and is called La Quimera (The Chimera).

Steam has a trailer video of it. I'm not sure what to think of it. It's quite a departure from Metro, as it has a ton of bot enemies. It's design is made for coop, up to 3 total players, or you can play solo. No word if solo has AI companions, but my guess is solo will be harder to play.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2282350/La_Quimera/

I also found what I thought might be a tasty tidbit about an upcoming 2026 title called Star Wars Zero Company. Only problem for me is it's made by Bit Reactor, whom worked on XCOM, so it will be strategy based, a style of game I don't like.

 

[Pifanjr]

I also found what I thought might be a tasty tidbit about an upcoming 2026 title called Star Wars Zero Company. Only problem for me is it's made by Bit Reactor, whom worked on XCOM, so it will be strategy based, a style of game I don't like.

I for one am very excited for an XCOM style Star Wars game

Yes, Zero Company really is Star Wars XCOM, and it's got the permadeath to prove it

It's ticking all the right boxes.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[BeardyHat]

I for one am very excited for an XCOM style Star Wars game

Yes, Zero Company really is Star Wars XCOM, and it's got the permadeath to prove it

It's ticking all the right boxes.

www.pcgamer.com

Color me skeptical. I've heard entirely too many games described as "XCOM-like" when the only thing that's similar is that it's a turn based game. Nothing seems to really ever have that certain je ne sais quoi that XCOM does.

Trying to get that motivation again today! Need to do work on my other car, that shouldn't take long at all (oil change, filter changes, general inspection), but I don't particularly feel like doing...

 

[Frag Maniac]

Trying to get that motivation again today! Need to do work on my other car, that shouldn't take long at all (oil change, filter changes, general inspection), but I don't particularly feel like doing...

Speaking of motivation, I keep worrying I should be out there getting back into more mt biking. We've had 60 degree or better sunny weather here several days on and off. It was a wake up call though when I got in and out of my Escape to grab something I forgot midday, and it was already like an oven, despite being an all white vehicle with a big reflective windshield shade. That made it plain to me I need to stop putting off getting my door window weatherstrips replaced. They've got grit stuck in them from when trees dumped tons of sap on them, which scratches the windows. I've got AC but would rather not have it turn my MPG to crap.

So I stopped hoping for the passenger side front weatherstrip to get in stock, and ordered the front driver side and both rears. It ended up being cheaper than 2 fronts (though still WAY overpriced IMO), and should be as good if not better ventilation. Besides wanting to get this done first, I still have a nagging goal on my daily resistance band workouts. I need to get rid of the damn lady flaps on my tris and traps. I swear I still look a bit like an old person with flabby arms when I shake them. For the most part though, I feel myself getting stronger from the band and spin bike workouts, and the protein powder is helping development and recovery.

I'm trying to rationalize this get back into mt biking approach with a tortoise vs the hare analogy. I need to pace myself and make sure I'm ready for the rides I tackle, vs pushing it and getting so tired at the end of them that I crash badly. The descent after the hard climb is supposed to be the fun reward part, not the potential trip to the hospital regret part. Here's hoping things go well.

 

[BeardyHat]

Speaking of motivation, I keep worrying I should be out there getting back into more mt biking. We've had 60 degree or better sunny weather here several days on and off. It was a wake up call though when I got in and out of my Escape to grab something I forgot midday, and it was already like an oven, despite being an all white vehicle with a big reflective windshield shade. That made it plain to me I need to stop putting off getting my door window weatherstrips replaced. They've got grit stuck in them from when trees dumped tons of sap on them, which scratches the windows. I've got AC but would rather not have it turn my MPG to crap.

So I stopped hoping for the passenger side front weatherstrip to get in stock, and ordered the front driver side and both rears. It ended up being cheaper than 2 fronts (though still WAY overpriced IMO), and should be as good if not better ventilation. Besides wanting to get this done first, I still have a nagging goal on my daily resistance band workouts. I need to get rid of the damn lady flaps on my tris and traps. I swear I still look a bit like an old person with flabby arms when I shake them. For the most part though, I feel myself getting stronger from the band and spin bike workouts, and the protein powder is helping development and recovery.

I'm trying to rationalize this get back into mt biking approach with a tortoise vs the hare analogy. I need to pace myself and make sure I'm ready for the rides I tackle, vs pushing it and getting so tired at the end of them that I crash badly. The descent after the hard climb is supposed to be the fun reward part, not the potential trip to the hospital regret part. Here's hoping things go well.

Definitely better to ease into things, especially as it relates to exercise--not that I know much about that. My wife has started running recently and realized she really needs to do a warm-up before she goes full blast, because she's just getting worn out and making things harder.

Does your MPG take that much of a hit when you run your AC? I haven't seen really any modern cars that it really has a noticeable impact on; even my 2004 Grand Caravan with a 3.3L with 240k miles doesn't show any issues; I really only see MPG's drop when I'm going above 55. At 55 I can get like 24mpg, the faster I go the quicker it drops; last road trip I went on, doing 80 the entire time I got like 18.

I finished up my maintenance on my Honda in an hour and a half, which was nice, given my van took me three days last week. But this was just a simple oil/filter change, engine air filter change, cabin air filter change and general inspection. I was actually pretty surprised at how much carbon was on my engine air filter, as well as baked into my airbox. I had been taking my car for years to the dealership where I bought it and had always felt they'd done a great job with it, so I'm kind of surprised a tech never took the 5-10 minutes it took me to scrub the airbox out.

Anyway, nice and clean now, so I'm hoping for a small increase in MPG's on that and should idle a little better. Not that it was rough before, though there was a little bit of that when it was cold, so I'm hoping it'll be smoother now.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Definitely better to ease into things, especially as it relates to exercise--not that I know much about that. My wife has started running recently and realized she really needs to do a warm-up before she goes full blast, because she's just getting worn out and making things harder.

Does your MPG take that much of a hit when you run your AC? I haven't seen really any modern cars that it really has a noticeable impact on; even my 2004 Grand Caravan with a 3.3L with 240k miles doesn't show any issues; I really only see MPG's drop when I'm going above 55. At 55 I can get like 24mpg, the faster I go the quicker it drops; last road trip I went on, doing 80 the entire time I got like 18.

Yeah I learned the hard way that despite track and field being my sport in school, running anymore for me can really cause problems with my left ham. It has a knot in it from a mid school early track season test the coach did to pick his sprinters for an event. I was running around the block every other day here where I live. Mind you, it's a minimum of 1.3 mi due to a lake that's right behind our apt building. Had I gone the clockwise direction though, it would have probably been easier on my ham, as counterclockwise I was tackling the two long stretches on the rectangular-ish route as long uphill grades. I've been toying with the idea of giving it another go, once a week to start, in the clockwise direction with better shoes, but the distance running shoes these days are very expensive, more than my spin bike cost, and wouldn't likely last as long.

That's the rub with my vehicle, the Hybrid motor kicks on in the city, turning off the engine at stop lights, powering you along flats when you're under 40 MPH, and giving assist between 3000-4000 RPM when passing on the freeway, but the faster you go, the worse the mileage gets, especially with wind. So yeah, the AC makes the MPG even worse. On top of that gas is more expensive in the months people use it the most, so I try to make it last as best I can, which is not easy on the freeway.

 

[Zloth]

On my way to my parents house today, I saw some jack*** weaving in and out of traffic and using the shoulder to pass people on the right. I always hope I come across them wrecked further down the road.

(Think I might have told this story before?)

Back in college, my roommate said he would drive me up to the airport about 90 miles away. It was starting to get past time to head out, so I started bugging him to go, but wanted to watch some TV show and said there would be plenty of time.

We left pretty late, and some other friends happened to leave a little before us in another car. As soon as we hit the highway, he takes off at HIGH speed. 80mph when the limit was 55mph? We soon pass the other friends.

Then he gets caught. The other friends drive right on by while he's getting a ticket, laughing.

As soon as the cop is out of sight, ZOOM! Off he goes again, trying to make up for time. We pass the other friends again. He gets caught again. They pass us again. This time they are laughing VERY hard!

I did catch my flight somehow.

 

[neogunhero]

Got a few new gadgets recently. Needed some good wireless earbuds but didn't want to pay too much, so I picked up the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds. So far they are very impressive but I have a few gripes. Starting with the good, it's got an incredible battery life, especially if you only use them for max 2-3 hours a day like I do, often under 2 hours per day. The sound quality is amazing for $100 earbuds as well. Touch controls are generally easy to understand and easy to avoid accidental presses.

The bad, I think my ears aren't shaped for these. They often become loose, I start to feel them slightly come loose from my ear, so I'm constantly having to readjust. It also kind of hurt my ear a bit at first but haven't had that pain since. I think originally I was putting them in incorrectly.

Overall, I really want to like them, but the constant coming out of my ear, and occasional random pausing of music is making me consider returning them. The battery life and audio quality are among the most important things to me next to comfort, so it's 2 out of 3 on that scale, but I want something that isn't going to give me any issue at all. Also, minor inconvenience but they were designed to work better on Android than iOS, they take a little long to connect to my phone unlike Apple AirPods which connect instantly, but then again you'll only get that with AirPods. I'll give them a bit longer before deciding if I will return it or not.

Second thing I bought was a rechargeable air duster from TikTok shop of all places. I never ordered anything from there, but they got me with a 50% off coupon. The air duster ended up being only $9.01 with shipping and everything included. The cheapest one I could find on Amazon was around $20 I think. It came in yesterday and man, this thing rocks. It has three power settings and it gets really strong. I haven't tried it when it's fully charged so maybe it will be even stronger, but at the highest level it's more powerful than a can of compressed air. Highly recommended to everyone as it makes cleaning your desk and computer extremely easy.

This has been my gadget review column, subscribe for more.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I think I may have figured out at least part of my motivation/depression problem. I went to the doctor on Monday and asked him to check my testosterone levels, and they came back 1/3 what they should be, so I'll be starting testosterone therapy in a few weeks. Also, maybe then I won't be moved to tears listening to Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Just kidding, but it's almost that bad.

Got a few new gadgets recently. Needed some good wireless earbuds but didn't want to pay too much, so I picked up the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds. So far they are very impressive but I have a few gripes. Starting with the good, it's got an incredible battery life, especially if you only use them for max 2-3 hours a day like I do, often under 2 hours per day. The sound quality is amazing for $100 earbuds as well. Touch controls are generally easy to understand and easy to avoid accidental presses.

The bad, I think my ears aren't shaped for these. They often become loose, I start to feel them slightly come loose from my ear, so I'm constantly having to readjust. It also kind of hurt my ear a bit at first but haven't had that pain since. I think originally I was putting them in incorrectly.

Overall, I really want to like them, but the constant coming out of my ear, and occasional random pausing of music is making me consider returning them. The battery life and audio quality are among the most important things to me next to comfort, so it's 2 out of 3 on that scale, but I want something that isn't going to give me any issue at all. Also, minor inconvenience but they were designed to work better on Android than iOS, they take a little long to connect to my phone unlike Apple AirPods which connect instantly, but then again you'll only get that with AirPods. I'll give them a bit longer before deciding if I will return it or not.

Second thing I bought was a rechargeable air duster from TikTok shop of all places. I never ordered anything from there, but they got me with a 50% off coupon. The air duster ended up being only $9.01 with shipping and everything included. The cheapest one I could find on Amazon was around $20 I think. It came in yesterday and man, this thing rocks. It has three power settings and it gets really strong. I haven't tried it when it's fully charged so maybe it will be even stronger, but at the highest level it's more powerful than a can of compressed air. Highly recommended to everyone as it makes cleaning your desk and computer extremely easy.

This has been my gadget review column, subscribe for more.

Do they have to be wireless? If not, I know some fantastic $40 earbuds that sound like $200 headphones.

 

[neogunhero]

Do they have to be wireless? If not, I know some fantastic $40 earbuds that sound like $200 headphones.

Yes, I've used a cheap wired set for the past two years and it's gotten to the point where the cable is too annoying to deal with anymore. Cooking dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry, any time I'm listening to music while doing something, that dang cable gets snagged or something equally annoying happens.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Yes, I've used a cheap wired set for the past two years and it's gotten to the point where the cable is too annoying to deal with anymore. Cooking dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry, any time I'm listening to music while doing something, that dang cable gets snagged or something equally annoying happens.

Ah, I never move, so I don't have that problem.

@Colif do you have any recommendations? This isn't really in your $600 to $3000 price scale, but I thought you might have come across something.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yes, I've used a cheap wired set for the past two years and it's gotten to the point where the cable is too annoying to deal with anymore. Cooking dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry, any time I'm listening to music while doing something, that dang cable gets snagged or something equally annoying happens.

I'm really old school I guess with music. I either listen to it on my desktop with wired headphones, or in my car with my phone wired to the dash. The closest any of that comes to wireless is when I get a call on my phone while driving and I tap the screen to answer it, then the song automatically mutes and I can hear the caller on my car speakers hands free. I swear it sounds a TON better than straight through my phone too.

Since I'm officially retired I also spend so much time with screens and PCs that I have committed to dedicating meal prep, eating, and cleaning up time as being void of any of that. During those times my audio is the sizzle of what's cooking, the chime when my Breville grill is up to temp, or my Flavor Wave oven indicating it's cooking cycle has ended.