Perma-banned, and the worst part is I’m not even sure why. I logged in while away on vacation, got hit with the ‘you’re logging in from an usual location, please confirm with an e-mail code’, and when I did that, boom, locked with no option to appeal.

I find some humor in that a robot decided I was a robot. Perhaps that will save me when the great robot uprising occurs?

A replacement PCV valve for my car.

Car was around 100,000 miles, figured it was a good time to do a big refresh & replace a bunch of stuff. Spark plugs, belts & hoses, fuel & air filters, fluids, etc etc… While I was at the parts store, guy suggested I also replace the PCV valve. But, it turned out the only one he had in stock was the store brand. $4, sure whatever. Got it home, took the factory one off the car, and sure enough it was gummed up kinda bad. But went to put the new one on, and it just about collapsed in my hands. It was so flimsy, kinda like a drinking straw. Ended up cleaning the factory one & putting it back on, threw the new one away.

I believe it’s a combination of what others here are saying. We live in a world of near instant gratification, getting going on something that requires effort without an immediate payout feels too much like work.

FWIW, I find it helps tremendously to schedule a day / time in advance. For example, I spend the whole week looking forward to “Wrenching Wednesday” so I can go play with my cars. And I actually go do it now, which is something I couldn’t always say before.

“The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.”

I attribute the quote wrong all the time, but today the internet says it’s from Julius Nyerere, who was a prime minister in Africa back in the 1960s.

(America). As a die-hard lover of manual transmissions, I can say that unless you specifically want a manual, the odds of you ever needing to drive one are near zero. Oddly, the big exception would be if your partner drives a manual transmission car, which is true here. Will there ever be a time when your car is in the shop and you need to borrow his car?

That actually happened this year to the Punxsutawney Phil from… Tennessee I believe? Not the main one, but another groundhog event on the same day.

(A few moments later)

Looks like it was Kentucky. Link is pay-walled, but here it is if anyone is curious: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2024/02/05/kentucky-groundhog-dies-groundhog-day-2024-major-second-chances-wildlife-center/72477815007/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CyVi4UzKxE&list=LL&index=8

I realize this link doesn’t directly answer your question, but it was the right technical level for me to better understand what’s the big deal about the bird flu. And it has some comments about the state of healthcare here in the US & what we’re doing (not doing) to prevent another pandemic. I liked it enough that I watched all 40 minutes, so I guess that’s something? lol.