Yesterday I went with my wife to her hair appointment which usually takes 1 to 2 hours, so I brought my iPAD to keep busy......too much internet time resulted in me taking a little 240 mile detour on the way home, and then having to drive myself home......because I bought a van. Not a new one, just one that's considerably less used.
OK, so my current ride is a 12 year old Honda Element which has been totally reliable for the 11 years I have owned it. But it IS 12 years old, has been used as a junk hauler for 107,000 miles.
Now I have another budget ride that cost me less than the Element did in 2009, and has 90K less miles, a 2015 Ford Transit Connect in empty steel box cargo van trim.
I looked at several used Outbacks….you can't find them cheap here in 4WD country.
Sadly I must now sell my old "toaster." (Internet slang for a Honda Element, common enough to be used in an animated Kia Soul commercial).
Old world stamp and ink pad, toner for the printer and an SD card and CF card adapter - which works fine.
Two Nikon lens', 35 - 70 mm and 70 - 210 mm. Old lens' for an old D200 (also new to me). I find it more enjoyable to use than my Nikon S8000 that has higher resolution. Some day I'll get a 24 megapixel deal, but I can't afford that now.
Two Nikon lens', 35 - 70 mm and 70 - 210 mm. Old lens' for an old D200 (also new to me). I find it more enjoyable to use than my Nikon S8000 that has higher resolution. Some day I'll get a 24 megapixel deal, but I can't afford that now.
I briefly entertained the idea of getting a Ford Transit in 2016 when I got rid of my 14-year old PT Cruiser. It would have been a nice beast for hauling, and actually fairly nice looking in a color other than basic white. However, I opted instead for a used 2015 Scion XB with less than 10k miles (ex-rental, ditched when Toyota ditched the Scion line). It's built on a Corolla chassis, so I expect the same level of boring reliability.
What I bought recently - Friday night, I nailed down a Walabot diy to look around in my 100+ year old walls in preparation for putting up a flat TV mount. Yesterday I got some low ESR caps and some 0.68 ohm metal oxide resistors, as well as a huge, hulking Chinese-made amp "Operetta" with problems. Only 50 bucks, and the chassis, heat sinks, and transformers are worth much more than that. Some of those amps caught fire when plugged in and turned on, so I expect noting but cheap and grungy when I get around to popping the hood. The guts will be dumped and replaced with my own design.
What I bought recently - Friday night, I nailed down a Walabot diy to look around in my 100+ year old walls in preparation for putting up a flat TV mount. Yesterday I got some low ESR caps and some 0.68 ohm metal oxide resistors, as well as a huge, hulking Chinese-made amp "Operetta" with problems. Only 50 bucks, and the chassis, heat sinks, and transformers are worth much more than that. Some of those amps caught fire when plugged in and turned on, so I expect noting but cheap and grungy when I get around to popping the hood. The guts will be dumped and replaced with my own design.
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Stood a decent chance of being made redundant last week but have been accepted for a new roll in the company. Massive relief - so I've had a massive splurge on the credit card.
I've bought a Nativ Wave DAC and Nativ Pulse power supply to go with the Nativ Vita streamer and CD ripper I bought a year ago. Very few reviews on the DAC and power supply but the streamer has been brilliant and the CD ripper is easy to use. Fingers crossed it all turns up before Xmas.
I've bought a Nativ Wave DAC and Nativ Pulse power supply to go with the Nativ Vita streamer and CD ripper I bought a year ago. Very few reviews on the DAC and power supply but the streamer has been brilliant and the CD ripper is easy to use. Fingers crossed it all turns up before Xmas.
Took the plunge on a Massdrop Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee headphone (did consider 6XX for a long time which is essentially a 650), but looking around and reading reviews it seems to for the most part sounding and measuring "better" than 650, more extended deeper bass and attenuated top which is a bit peaky on the 600 series, and compared to 650's 300 Ohm it's instead 150 Ohm, US buyers get it for $150 + another $20 off for new customers, among the best bang for the buck headphones out there, EU buyers get it for $200 through Massdrop's EU delivery network, but that includes shipping and custom fees so buying from US would render pretty much zero gains in the wallet.
Now i have to find a nice DAC..
massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones US
massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones EU
Now i have to find a nice DAC..
massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones US
massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones EU
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That "Operetta" amp I bought yesterday looks to be a Jaton Operetta 2300A, supposedly good for 150W/channel of "ClassA" power/channel into 8 ohms. It's not marked with a model and serial number, but the guts look the same as 2300As that have been reviewed. I suspect the amps get assembled elsewhere and don't get markings unless they pass muster. The local surplus outlet where I bought it had a fair number, which may make sense, as the manufacturer is right up the road from San Jose in Fremont.
Digging through the guts should prove entertaining and diverting. The thing weighs 80 pounds, so it was a chore humping it downstairs into the basement.
Digging through the guts should prove entertaining and diverting. The thing weighs 80 pounds, so it was a chore humping it downstairs into the basement.
I hadn't decided what I wanted since there is nothing out there like the "toaster." I liked it's ability to install or remove the rear seats just by yanking a couple levers.....but don't remember the last time I actually put them in.
When we were looking for Sherri's car about 4 years ago I wandered a large auto mall on Sunday when nobody was there and decided that a Kia Soul, a Scion XB or a Subaru Outback were likely choices, with the first two actually near my budget new. A recent return trip revealed that the XB and the Scion brand was gone, a new Soul was no longer in my budget, and an Outback would have to be quite old and well used to fit the budget, so I did nothing.
A look on Cars.com turned up a 2015 Transit Connect with 18K miles that had been in service for just over a year. It still had 13 months and 18K miles of factory warranty left, so we drove halfway across Pennsylvania to look at it. It's a boring white cargo van with near zero options, in nearly new looking condition except for some paint spatter inside. It was used by a mobile auto dent repair guy until he outgrew it. The price was under $14K, so it fit, and I took it home...….we will stuff it full of kids stuff and Christmas presents and drive it to Florida in about a week.
Damn, affording a new car is quite a struggle as far as I can tell. Still don't have one on my own but I am working on that. Besides, I wanna get something decent as my first ride, been looking towards a range rover evoque, I even rented it once at Rent a Range Rover Evoque in Manhattan to see how it feels and all I have to say the car is awesome. Not the question is how do i get the remaining money for it
Yeah, we’re kind of fortunate in that we each only put 5000-6500 miles on our vehicles per year. (We PROBABLY should consider leasing).
But, then we can either
-trade them in early / sell them early enough and get a GOOD price. -or-
-drive them “into the dirt” and get 12-14 years before they start to “nickel and dime” us too much.
My FAVORITE kind of car = a PAID FOR car
Gas, insurance, and maintenance is usually much easier to stomach than the new car payments and it seems like decent Preventative Maintenance is the key to achieving that.
But, then we can either
-trade them in early / sell them early enough and get a GOOD price. -or-
-drive them “into the dirt” and get 12-14 years before they start to “nickel and dime” us too much.
My FAVORITE kind of car = a PAID FOR car
Gas, insurance, and maintenance is usually much easier to stomach than the new car payments and it seems like decent Preventative Maintenance is the key to achieving that.
We got a Power Air-Fryer Oven Elite a while back and use it almost everyday. A lot of people I know have bought one that's too small and then stuff it so full, it doesn't stand a chance. Out it goes to the garage to slowly fade into oblivion. The one you have looks similar to ours with multiple racks so I am guessing you'll have good luck with it.
I almost had to pay a plumber to fix a water leak at my meter. Fortunately I managed to talk the city into fixing it as they caused the failure when they put a new sewer line in and cut/spliced my water line. The ground settled and pulled the splice apart.
Geeqner, I am interested in what you think of the Outback after you have driven it a while.
I bought the 2019 Outback 3.6R and had considered waiting for the 2020 instead with it's trubo engine (same engine as the Ascent).
I chose the 3.6 due to it's requirement of 87 octane vs hi-test with the turbo. I tow a small camper several times a year and occasionally a trailer so I needed the optional engine over the normally aspirated 2.5.
I am consistently getting 24mpg city and 29mpg highway through the mountains and all.
Geeqner, I am interested in what you think of the Outback after you have driven it a while.
I bought the 2019 Outback 3.6R and had considered waiting for the 2020 instead with it's trubo engine (same engine as the Ascent).
I chose the 3.6 due to it's requirement of 87 octane vs hi-test with the turbo. I tow a small camper several times a year and occasionally a trailer so I needed the optional engine over the normally aspirated 2.5.
I am consistently getting 24mpg city and 29mpg highway through the mountains and all.
I’ll try to update on the Subie in a week or so.
Only had it for the weekend, but so far - it’s MUCH nicer to drive than the 2010 that it replaced (but that car was RELIABLE over 10 years, and it was overdue for new shocks/struts). The 2020 has CONSIDERABLY more in the “giddyup” department, a more quiet ride (don’t hear the transmission whine / less engine noise) and WAY more tech features - I’m usually pretty good at figuring stuff out, but with this one, I’m actually gonna’ have to RTFM.
Only had it for the weekend, but so far - it’s MUCH nicer to drive than the 2010 that it replaced (but that car was RELIABLE over 10 years, and it was overdue for new shocks/struts). The 2020 has CONSIDERABLY more in the “giddyup” department, a more quiet ride (don’t hear the transmission whine / less engine noise) and WAY more tech features - I’m usually pretty good at figuring stuff out, but with this one, I’m actually gonna’ have to RTFM.