She bought me this for my 40th birthday:

Of course, I don't have it yet because the global supply chain is broken but hoo boy I'll do a review when I get it! Probably July.

I can't take any credit, but I was told I can drive it. Sometime, anytime, just not today, it's not running quite right and anyway I didn't have the time.

It's NOT THIS ACTUAL ONE, I didn't have my phone for a pic. It is a 1929 Model A Roadster. But it's black, it's got an original-ish engine (no hot-rodding or other modernizations). I know they intend to do some work to it, but it's in great shape overall. She drove it to work, to the grocery store, Agway, basically everywhere for a week or so. I can't wait to drive it! I've never driven something with manual spark advance or any of that kind of stuff.

This weekend wasn't a good one. I had parent conferences for work on Friday and then Saturday morning. I had to cut them short and reschedule because our older dog hadn't eaten in over 24 hours, and has been on a steady decline really since July. She was 11, would have been 12 in June. She most likely had cancer although it was elusive and we didn't want to put her through serious invasive exploratory surgery only to have her never recover. She went with dignity and in peace, on a beautiful winter day.

This dog was with me 24 hours a day for the first 5 years of her life. When we had kids, she was a gentle companion, the best you could ask for with kids who prodded, pulled, and poked her. I'm not sure she ever forgave us for the disruption in her life that the kids created, but the kids started throwing a ball for her and she loved that this past summer.

I know many of you share my love for animals, and many of you have had the same experience we just did, whether recently or long ago. It's still hard. We still have our other dog and we're thankful for her more than ever. And it will be a huge weight off us in this stressful year not to be constantly worried about the older dog. But that relief hasn't overpowered the grief yet.

Our kids handled it pretty well, they're old enough to kind of get it. This is the first pet we've lost where they're old enough to be sad, too.

Rest in peace, Brighton.

@looseonexit said in Were I A More Paranoid Man, I'd Be Thinking Sabotage/Act Of War...:

@skyfire77

I was involved in a situation once requiring six tugs

Sometime around two years ago now, I wrote a post on Old Oppo about biking on my lake in March, on the ice obviously. This time of year the surface has been through some melting, so the texture is grippy and flat, or smooth and very slippery, but still flat. And the ice is still very solid, right up to the shore, which it won't be two weeks from now. The first time, we went out on a full moon night and found ourselves at this feature, pictured here mid-summer:

It's a rock wall built between two small islands, making a causeway. In the summer it's not even completely dry until August or September most years. The water on either side is about 4-5 feet deep. The water tends to be low in winter, though, and this protrudes above the ice by at least a foot, sometimes closer to 3 feet.

The first time we went out, we tried riding across it (naturally) but due to some melting, there was about 12-18" width of open water on either side of the wall, so the consequence of falling was pretty high. None of us made it across in one go, at least without putting a foot down somewhere along the way. But I wanted another shot. That's easier said than done.

Last year, there wasn't a single opportunity where the ice was the right way when I also had friends who were willing and able to accompany me (this isn't something I'd try alone). That's a whole winter with zero attempts. This year the ice has been good but I've been too busy; FINALLY last night, I convinced a couple friends to go out. The conditions were about ideal - the wall was almost snow-free on top, while the ice around it had only melted in a very small area, no more than 12" wide next to the wall. The ice beyond that was very thick and safe to land on, if you had to bail off the top of the wall (I didn't). It took a few tries but I finally made it across one way.

The picture doesn't really do justice to the mental aspect of riding the wobbly top of a rock wall with ice below. There are all kinds of ways this could go badly, so I'm not sure I'll keep trying it. I'm certain no one else has ever done it, and there's a bit of satisfaction in that. Considering one of the guys with me didn't even want to try it, and the other gave up after one attempt that ended with a wet foot, I'm not sure there are a lot of people looking to one-up me here. Every time I didn't make it I just put my feet down and stopped on the wall. I felt reasonably safe, and there were three of us there. We're all experienced in these sorts of things, and in dealing with emergencies if one were to occur. I felt like the risk was above my normal tolerance, but well within what's reasonable, all things considered.

Anyway I'm not here to talk about risk management. I have been thinking about that wall for 2 years and I'm psyched I finally conquered it. Sorry, no pic from last night because it was cloudy and way too dark.

But seriously, this is a good one.

A nice house, not huge, but a good size. Pool in the backyard, okay, bonus. 2-car garage, plus like 7 acres so, lots of room. OH BUT WAIT.

SEVENTY SIX BY FORTY FOOT detached garage. Paved all around. Radiant heated floor, epoxy coated. Lounge upstairs with a bar. A lift, because of course. Also just... look at this place.

This is about 25 minutes from me, but is on the same road where my kids have swim lessons. I noticed it last year, probably posted about it on old Oppo, but it sold recently for a cool 1.5 million.

I remember last year being impressed with the guy's taste in cars, he appears to daily the E46 - probably a ZHP - although his plate on the [sorry I don't know my muscle cars] 69SRFUN ?! How did he get that past the DMV (a) and (b) wtf?

Whatever, I want this house.

Some local person totally doesn't have a problem and can definitely stop anytime. They just don't want to right now. There have been two for quite a while but the count is now up to 4.

But wait there's more:

That one's an M, I'm pretty sure.

I know that Things are not Great overall, but personally I turned a corner this week. My parents have both gotten their first vaccine shots, and I found out Tuesday that I'd be getting mine on Friday, which I did. More than that, my wife was able to jump into our pool because of logistics and vials and whatever, so she's on her way to being vaccinated too. Lots of our friends are teachers or medical staff in some capacity, so we're like, just a few weeks out from being able to just hang out with our friends. Some of them, anyway. And all of my colleagues and their families, many of which are close friends too.

I know we're a long way from normal AND the economic and social ramifications of COVID are generational in scale, but still. I just kinda wanna share a meal with friends! And now we're on that track, it's known date instead of a distant dream.

Hallelujah, where's the Tylenol?!

Here's a my dirty Volvo for your time. This picture just doesn't really do justice to the many layers of dirt on it. The ruts today were frame deep, I tell ya. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MA4hAbPBOuNqtWbi5FuehGFpBSVy_nu0W5Bs41-bciAlOitNprMQkJ4cMlN9ZN9ATszyyq_LyrshI2-ALrm06PMRGk0yuczkqWKCUwuq9vnss5wDqXa-pXwKezLsL-Nvkl-41o7DWJ4p2sz4NdZhOhu4cXQkufpbDeO5-P2wJtwDtBvkJb-WPJWiomYC8bDmwdVTNfKut4XAVUDO4AaT-P8jJ2F6hn04W9iyATuu0oaWaCPc0bwdQbcQbwstanl8esHWwUrf8171MIFLSka97JM7gKcwOuV3jkHd3j66HkeGSURMZ8FUKwyNP7_nV-9ysIVHHEaSEwkzBCr342b-ug3KjMuEZ1q4Ta9cLp_GgAr5s0lXoLdCYhIMNffEvDGTc0ReT-ZlMlNGjRdPc8EYd31XgoC7Bhv2-k0KZksrRHcKfEEWHu77VC0PHPoK9JJP_3b7BaiEtFHd8RdxCXrMF9KPPWy848We_6P7JtryqMyKPWolhT8PFatiep48kSB8iiGWRSJ11g0e_zWfuBfv9i3_EfS0iUViItgvO2I72pquc-26bz86JLmEVH6sT3kJ31CRjLYO5H01A1wflWpnlKixH6YU9lb0orCJeqmjHY3vyN_6g30I8_aRGwC6b_J47zFysESzVqhDWK0z-JD2cz2cN1PWzNO00-idlX3eL-wi1uOEcagIkk0PL4R3Bvp9d_YyWxsmd2a-QGgTObsZKhrKxw=w1908-h1430-no?authuser=0

I realized something today, while using my truck to collect firewood from my school's woods with a group of 9th graders.

When I was in high school, if a teacher had been driving a 60-year-old truck around, it would have been from the late 1930's.

And on that note, my "new" truck is a 1999, which makes it just 4 years shy of being classifiable as an Antique here in New Hampshire.

I guess that makes me old, or something.

This picture was on my parents' fridge recently, I think it was taken circa 2000 when I graduated high school. All of these vehicles were then currently registered and inspected with my 4-member family.

Left to right:

1985 Ford F-150 - 4 speed manual, I6-300. Very hard life BEFORE it became our plow truck.
1979 Ford F-100 - 4 speed manual, I6-300. Nearly rust-free from CA, never driven in the salt. Looks about the same today, my father still has it
2000 Subaru Outback - 5 speed manual - 2.5L 4 cyl. - the second new car my mother ever purchased (fall of '99).
1990 Honda Civic - 5 speed manual (or was it 4?) - tiny I-4 - my car for senior year of HS and into college.
1996 Honda Civic - 4 speed auto (sad trombone) - My grandmother's last car, then my sister's college car.
1993 Plymouth Voyager - 5 speed manual. My grandfather's last new car purchase, special-ordered with a manual.
1990(?) Dodge Caravan. Almost the same as the '93 but automatic. I put my left foot hard down on the brake more than once.

I can't imagine we had 7 cars for very long, but this was a funny pic.

The only one still around is the '79 Ford. I think the '85 Ford was the next closest, but only because it was used for plowing LONG after it should have been.

That is all.

Drove E46 for 10 years, then went to a modern Volvo without a temp gauge. Cured me pretty quick I guess!

@ttyymmnn said in I'm Venting:

@functionoverfashion said in I'm Venting:

But what can I do when I say "ok 5 minutes... ok now it's time... ok now it's Really time... ok it's been 10 minutes since I asked you to get ready now it's REALLY TIME...."

That's why I always start leaving 15-20 minutes before we actually have to leave. My boys are teenagers and I still do this.

Exactly, and this morning it still almost wasn't enough time. As the time to leave approached, the cooperation level decreased.

@chariotoflove said in I'm Venting:

@functionoverfashion
Some days there’s just nothing you can do, and all the wisdom in all the parenting books in the world just mocks you. Those are the days you just hang in and get through with love.

They’ll never know how lucky they were you let them live.

Thanks, man, it's true. Last thing I said to him at drop off was "I love you" and he said "I love you too"

Should be ok in the middle of the tread like that. My parents have a screw in the sidewall of their tire and were told it couldn't be patched. It's not leaking yet, I told them to leave it for now.

@mr-ontop said in night oppo:

@functionoverfashion I met someone wanting to sell a 78 Trail 90 last night. Are in or near SoCal?

Ugh, couldn't really be farther, at least in the US. New Hampshire.

There have been a few up here but I can't jump in my car and drive 3 hours at a moment's notice. I'm actually trying to buy a new one, which isn't any easier.

@misterbuttercup said in I'm Venting:

@functionoverfashion Dad solidarity here as well. It's hard when you give them warnings and they seem to just disregard them or say let me finish again and again. At least it's just the one week.

I swear I can feel my blood pressure go up when I hear "Ok just one more thing real quick" even though I anticipate it as a response.

This tells me we're going to have to get up very early this fall, when they're due on the school but at 7:40 am. They can't be sleeping until 7 anymore, and I can't probably sleep until 6:15 either. That's gonna be a struggle.

It's been impossible to find myself a Honda Trail, this might be a decent option. Range would be plenty, and I love how it looks. Hmmm

@baconsandwich said in I'm Venting:

@functionoverfashion this morning I had trouble getting my 4 year old to do something. I sometimes have some success in counting down. As in "You need to be done X by the time I count down. Five.... Four....". I'll sometimes slow down at the end of I see they are legitimately trying to finish whatever it is they are doing.

That can work, but lately my kids just get anxious when I say I'm going to do that. This morning, for example, when I asked for the third time if he was coming downstairs, my son said "just one more piece" which is almost never true. Then he broke the lego thing he was building and decided he had to fix all of it, all of which happened because he rushed.

I think it's just hard on these days where they don't have much time at home. They got up at 7 (I had to wake them up) and we have to leave the house by 8. I didn't want to get them up any earlier, but maybe I will tomorrow. They have a hard time going from having literally all day, to having like 10 minutes of free time in the morning.

It was an ugly morning. My kids are in camp 8:30 - 4:00 and I'm in a class 9:30 to 4:30. I picked this week for my class so I wouldn't miss kid time, but I gave up a week where I would have been free to do what I want, get a ton done, etc. but instead I'm doing this class during this week, so I didn't create child care conflicts and so I maximized my time with my kids this summer.

One of my kids was absolutely horrendous this morning, not getting ready despite me asking repeatedly and only building my frustration and his. PLENTY of notice was given, I know how he works. But what can I do when I say "ok 5 minutes... ok now it's time... ok now it's Really time... ok it's been 10 minutes since I asked you to get ready now it's REALLY TIME...." and still nothing.

I have a million things to do and I gave up my free week for this class because it was camp week. I get it that my kids want to hang out with me and do whatever, but we did that the last 2 weeks and for the next 4 weeks... just not this one. OK? I hate when I get upset at my kids, but my son really pushed me to my limit this morning. I told him I was going to call my work and tell them I can't go today because I can't go if he doesn't go to camp and he freaked out, of course. I was just... done. I didn't know what else to say. I explained everything to him because he definitely understands, but yet he just kind of didn't want to cooperate, for whatever reason. He likes camp, I know that. He just would rather play with legos, which, again, fine, just not today. Ugh. Thanks for reading, if you made it this far.

At least it's sunny out so I'm sitting outside for class.