Ah, I see it now! I was an idiot and only looking at the menu above it for interface language. Got it. Thanks for the help!

On mine, there’s a dropdown to select your language. There is no option to add an additional one.

Oh wow, so if I want to see English AND Spanish content, I would need to add both languages? Neat. TIL!

Oh, looks like that’s not an option for me (lemmy.zip). Are you able to add multiple languages on other instances?

I carry like $2 in change in my right front pocket, and have for as long as I can remember. I cannot leave the house without it anymore - it feels like something is wrong. I also would struggle to tell you the last time I ever NEEDED physical change. It’s more of a novelty than anything at this point, but it’s part of my routine.

For me, what has sort of worked it pointing out that both sides of the news are getting basic facts wrong - things where there shouldn’t even be a debate. If the news was true, you could watch any channel - it would all be the same. Instead, we get things like one side claiming murders are up and the other claiming murders are down. Our current journalism is a failure of a system designed to drive engagement/viewership/clicks rather than convey knowledge.

I also find it helps to remind them that we’re Americans first, party second. The other side isn’t stupid, they’re just getting a completely different set of ‘news’.

I’m a bit surprised I’ve never heard of LONGTIME. Seems like they’re doing exactly what I’ve wanted - searching out products designed to last.

https://longtimelabel.com/en/

That said, not sure I need a Buy It For Life cable. Far more interested in BIFL appliances.

As others have said, search YouTube for brake pad changes on your make/model of car. If that still leaves you with questions, you can also find a self help book specific to your car (Chilton or Haynes).

Good news, based on how you’re describing your own technical level, I think you’re going to find this is pretty easy actually. Only concern is if you live where they salt the roads, then some of these things will be rusted together. So, good to watch the video again & see how it’s supposed to come apart.

Once the calipers are off, you need to support them somehow so they don’t hang on the brake lines. I usually just slide a cinder block underneath them, but others like using bungie cords / zip ties & tying them to spring/strut. (Depending on the car, you may not even need to fully remove the caliper - many of them pivot upwards).

Probably worth mentioning, the pads themselves are cheap, but you should also resurface or replace the rotors. One of the important steps to making sure they last is having a clean & smooth surface when they’re new, so that they will mate together smoothly. There’s a lot of neat stuff going on with the transfer of pad material to the rotor itself, I can’t pretend to cover it all, but “bedding” the pad material to the rotor properly ensures long life. And the short-short answer is that to accomplish that, you need new rotors or you need to have the rotors machined smooth when you replace the pads. I find it’s usually more cost effective to just buy cheap rotors from Rock Auto online.

Lastly, you may want to watch a video on brake bleeding (getting the air out of the brake lines). In theory you might not need to even open the brake lines, but often you need to do so in order to get the caliper pistons to retract far enough for the new brake pads. (I like to bleed the brakes on every pad change just to have fresh fluid in there). I mention this because brake bleeding is usually a 2 person job. There are special tools to work around that, but you need to know in advance if you’re going to need them.

Mildly interesting, as I just did nearly the same, going from a GTX970 to a Radeon 8570. Did not have the same “it just works” experience however. But I blame that more on my lack of Linux knowledge than the video card.

As others have noted, you have a single “the car is good” note, and the rest is all about entertainment & comfort. That’s cool, but it tells me you’re not very handy. I see lots of folks recommending tools, but I think you’d be better served by a AAA membership or similar. If your car does break down, what’s your plan? Also, don’t 100% count on having cell coverage.

Second note - I drive home to check on my elderly parents every month. It’s a 6 hours drive that I used to do in a straight shot. Now I take a break every 2 hours & get out & walk around a bit. Yes, the drive now takes an extra hour, but it is so fucking worth it. I strongly encourage planned breaks.

Start by planning for an emergency. Smoke detectors & a fire extinguisher. Tools to turn off the water main (find that valve before you need it). Get your neighbors’ phone numbers. Get the after-hour/emergency contact numbers for all your utility providers - make sure you can contact the power company when there’s no power.

After that, it’s largely up to you. If you’re handy, you probably already have most of the tools you need. If you’re not, start asking around for good repairmen. Look around for any signs of neglect that the home inspector might have missed. My gutters were clogged full of leaves for example, wasn’t obvious until it rained hard.

If you have a yard, decide now if you’re going to maintain it yourself or if you’re going to hire a service. If you decide to do it yourself, it’s fall right now, those tools are about to be on clearance.

Make a journal for your house where you record everything you’ve done. I like to write down the date I replace anything, and also note the make & model numbers. So, for example I know that my last hot water heater lasted 10 years, because I have that in my notes. If you are handy, having the model numbers is super-useful. For example, I’ve learned to keep a replacement ignitor for my furnace - it’s a 15 minute job once you know to do it.

tunai firefly ldac

Ah, cool, I figured there must be a device out there. Sadly it doesn’t help me directly, as I’m already using a cassette adapter just to get up to a 3.5mm jack. Still bookmarking this though, never know when I’ll need it. Thanks!

Since you asked, the lack of the headphone jack is the exact reason I have not upgraded my phone. I use my phone for music in my two cars and my home gym. None of those currently have Bluetooth.

Upgrading all 3 is just a matter of money of course - throw everything I have away & buy new. I see no reason to do that.

Oddly, the wake-up call that made me realize I needed to step back from cars was at a racetrack. I was standing on pit lane with our race about to start, and was looking up & down pit road. There must have been 1000 gallons of gas all stored in 5 gallon jugs (100+ teams, each with 20-30 gallons, so probably closer to 2500 gallons in hindsight). And it made me realize we were all going to burn it all just for fun.

I do not regret my time racing at all, in fact I still encourage new folks to get out there & actually do it (check out ChampCar & 24 hours of Lemons!). I learned so much, had way too much fun, and made some simply irreplaceable memories. But I also feel it’s an irresponsible use of a limited resource. Still haven’t found a way to balance that equation in my head. For now, I’ve hung up the helmet.

I’d probably just buy the next size up at the closer store if I wanted that much. I usually buy the smallest size & end up throwing about 1/4 of it away.

Still, when I go for ice cream(*), I’m going because it’s a treat. Getting one overstuffed like the one on the right would certainly trigger more dopamine.

So, I guess it’s a coin flip depending whether or not it’s a nice day for a drive.

I love cars. I also love this planet. Cars are bad for the planet.

Serious upvote here. This is a game changer, it’s right in front of our noses, and it’s free.

Hardest part is figuring out how to make yourself actually sleep - just lying down in the bed isn’t enough.

Being able to communicate effectively is critical in a public speaking role. Sadly, I learned this in the inverse - class was taught by a TA who didn’t speak English, professor was never available, whole class failed, no one cared. Still fills me with rage to this day. But, it did make me a better public speaker, so I guess that’s something.

Normally no. However, I do own a 1968 Chrysler station wagon that I’ve taken to calling “the Duchess of Rustess”. No, it doesn’t even rhyme, but it does makes me smile.

I’ll try to keep these both short.

Magic the Gathering - the “Power Nine”

There’s 9 cards from the first few printings that were simply deemed too powerful. Once they were out in the real world, the folks in charge realized they weren’t fun to play against, and resulted in wildly uneven games. In extreme cases, the opponent could lose without even getting a single turn. They’ve been banned from every format*, and have never been reprinted*. *Except of course when they are. https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Nine

Model railroading (O-gauge). Lionel 770e Hudson

For O gauge size, the train everyone wishes they had in their collection is the 1937-1941 Lionel 770E. This was a super-unusual toy for its day, pretty much everything else had been aimed at younger children and a lower price point. Lionel decided to take a gamble and build a hyper realistic scale model that was aimed at young adults. It was honestly not a great seller in its day due to the high price point and the looming threat of WW2. But it was, and still is, considered one of the highpoints of the industry. You could argue that the current Lionel company is founded on this concept, as their VisionLine products are focused on ultra-realistic toys for grown ups (which will always be funny, as yes, our track has 3 rails). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOdDw0-Tflg

Obviously we don’t learn about unions at all. But the one that strikes me the most is the omission of the Battle of Blair Mountain, where the US government sent the army after the coal miners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain

The Wilmington 1989 coup: After the Civil War, Wilmington North Carolina had a mostly black government. That didn’t sit right with the whites, so they staged and successfully completed a Coup & overthrew the government. Only officially successful Coup to occur in the USA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/when-white-supremacists-overthrew-government/

9/11 - The much lesser known 9/11 occurs in Chili in on 9/11/1973. During a US sponsored coup, the revolutionaries smash an airplane into the capitol building. My not-so-conspiracy theory is there’s a reason the US event happened on 9/11 as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d’état