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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 17th, 2023

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  • My 98 has the 2.5 Lima/Pinto, the slightly larger version of the 2.3 in your 90s Ranger, and consistently hits 21mpg on 50mph highway with traffic lights. My buddy with a 94 2.3 also gets about 20. However, I’ve read lots of good things about the 2.3 Duratech/Mazda L that started in 01. I just picked up a 2008 in much better condition but have yet to check the fuel economy. It’ll be interesting going from a clapped out long bed to a short bed with a hard tonneau and a bedrug liner. But, realistically, I’m driving empty 95% of the time so I’ll take the cover for a little extra aero.

    I’ve looked at the maverick as well. The price (of any newer car) is the main reason I went with an old ranger. That’s neat about the midgate, I hadn’t heard about that. While the 4ft bed of course reduces cargo space, my main concern is about long lumber. With an adjustable tailgate angle and bed pockets for cross boards giving it 6ft of support, the community seems perfectly happy with it for 8ft goods. That’d be awesome if a midgate fit 4ft wide goods through it, almost containing 8ft from rear seats to tilted tailgate. And a 40mpg hybrid? I’m in… Except for the price right now.



  • I have an older Ranger. I don’t do much truck stuff. The bulk cargo area is the draw, not the weight capacity. The heaviest load I carried was 800lbs of plywood, which was 15 sheets or something. I have a 4x8 trailer that can also help haul bulky household goods for moves, a motorcycle, lumber, or furniture. While the trailer is rated for 1700lbs payload and weighs 300lbs itself, I have never put more than 500lbs on it, despite filling the 4x8 floor stackef 4ft high. I made the trailer before getting the Ranger, so now they’re redundant and never actually hauled together.

    If you’re already towing, this probably isnt the truck for you. If you aren’t towing, it provides an option to tow something if you have to. The reason I chose the Ranger is because it’s cheap, gets good fuel economy, and has the capacity to grab full lumber sheet goods on my commute home. While I could find a 30mpg car for the same price, I’m still in the mid 20s. Maybe I could spend 30k on a new F150 V6 and get similar, but then it costs 10x what I paid. Bulk space and handling scratchy cargo is the main goal. I think of the Slate as being what the Ranger should’ve been now.


  • I don’t take that to mean “no one actually knows what an astronaut actually is” because phrasing it like that floats in the sensationalism territory between click bait headlines and Trump ramblings. What I do take that to mean is that the term is evolving, both from a linguistics standpoint as well as a technological/societal standpoint.

    What’s a phone? The average user here probably at least considers a device that makes telephone calls, but consider what’s actually sold as a phone today and what non-phone devices can communicate in phone-like fashion. The primary usage of my cellular smartphone is far from making phone calls - it’s a handheld computer with information, entertainment, and utility functions. If you argue that it can make phone calls and is therefore still a phone, then so is a modern car. If you expand to strictly internet channels such as FaceTime, zoom, or teams, then that’d include computers as phones. If someone says they’re going to buy a new phone tomorrow, we’re all picturing a smartphone.

    There is no functional difference with the evolution of astronaut definitions. The accessibility is constantly improving. The purpose is expanding. The accessibility is still incredibly limited, on the global scale, so the original term still bears weight.

    This is why Latin is used for sciences. The language is dead and no longer evolving. The rate of change is drastically slower, primarily driven by expanding definitions with discoveries rather than changing scientific properties entirely.

    I wouldn’t call myself an astronaut after such a trip. I’d want to, I’d love to, I’d make jokes about being a spaceman, but I wouldn’t classify myself anywhere near the likes of anyone with a Shuttle or Apollo patch. I’d put it near U2 pilots and tourists




  • It’s typically this and not the particular tech in the headlight. And when it’s not “plug n play” (pnp) bulbs, it’s bad aim because every factory aims them with an empty tank and owners are clueless headlights can be aimed. That A8 had pretty good lights for the time. Sure, the lights do tend to be more intense when you’re in the beam on a hill, curve, etc), and the bluer color isn’t great for human night vision, but that’s a tradeoff for the increased speeds we travel at now.

    The further development of matrix LED lights by the Germans is a great development, really only feasible with LEDs. They turn off individual segments to give a near-high beam experience but specifically without blinding other drivers.

    But blaming it all on LEDs is like blaming gas engines for loud exhaust. There’s supposed to be a system in place that makes it tolerable for everyone around.







  • Same as complaining about modern movies being unoriginal sequels without original IP. It’s a revelation that the commenter isn’t actually diving into anything and is only exposed to advertisements and popular media. Yeah, sequels and existing IP are money grabs. It’s amusing to then see the tangential complaint that the annual award ceremonies are trash because they didn’t pick some excellent original movie. OK, but look at what does win. More than half are original/first-time adaptations and Avengers are nowhere on there. But these commenters, just like the mechanisms that lead to something being popular (but not inherently great), are asking for popular recommendations on better media!

    Agreed, get out of the dump. If you only listen to pop radio or streaming trending, it’s only going to be pop and pop-adjacent. If you only hear about movies from ads and trending topics, it’s only going to be the equivalent of pop. Browse by genre, but new releases, by awards, whatever. But all of them take effort to find, consume thoroughly, and appreciate - exactly why their numbers flounder next to pop in the first place.

    Plus, I’d add, basically every band you forgot about prior to 2010 made a new album in 2020/2021.