Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

oldfarmer50

PF_Flyer said:

Pic doesn't quite get it across (phones are NOT cameras ), but I really liked this root beer color on a Subaru next to me in traffic yesterday

Can't really tell from that pic but I've seen some of those root beer metallic paints that I liked even though my mind told me I shouldn't



Is this the color?

qbrozen

Difficult to know what the parents will do, and even more difficult to understand how they may feel. As a father of an 11-yr-old on the autism spectrum who has tremendous difficulty understanding and dealing with his own feelings, this story hits home. Of course, I don't know for sure that is a similar situation here. If it is, I sympathize with the family, both child and parents. So far, my son has not exploded to quite that extent, but it is entirely possible I could be the one in the chase vehicle. It makes me very sad to think about. I hope that boy and his parents can get the proper help they need.

fintail

When the brave "safety" (sarcasm) sector can put up data about their beloved arbitrarily enforced limits being optimal for safety, yeah.

Some like to cry about taxes, many traffic violations are just that, while actual problems are ignored. If crosswalk violations, distracted driving, and turn signal use were enforced in my area, it could probably pay the national debt - even the larger one that's just around the corner.

85 on an open good quality road is fine. 85 in congestion is not.

dino001 said:

Then you will hear from people, some of them here on this board, that how could that be, 85 mph is a very safe speed, at least when they drive it, it's all scam to take your money, no relation to safety, etc....

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

When the brave "safety" (sarcasm) sector can put up data about their beloved arbitrarily enforced limits being optimal for safety, yeah.

Some like to cry about taxes, many traffic violations are just that, while actual problems are ignored. If crosswalk violations, distracted driving, and turn signal use were enforced in my area, it could probably pay the national debt - even the larger one that's just around the corner.

85 on an open good quality road is fine. 85 in congestion is not.

dino001 said:

Then you will hear from people, some of them here on this board, that how could that be, 85 mph is a very safe speed, at least when they drive it, it's all scam to take your money, no relation to safety, etc....

When NYS has to air public service announcements telling the public that it's not a good idea to jay walk in the dark dressed in black, I have little hope for any sense of sanity in traffic enforcement.

fintail

In my area, it isn't jaywalkers so much as "drivers" blindly blundering into crosswalks when the pedestrians have a green signal. I see it virtually every day, and it claimed a life a few blocks from me earlier this year. Seems it would be an easy thing to enforce, but nope.

oldfarmer50 said:

When NYS has to air public service announcements telling the public that it's not a good idea to jay walk in the dark dressed in black, I have little hope for any sense of sanity in traffic enforcement.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

PF_Flyer said:

Pic doesn't quite get it across (phones are NOT cameras ), but I really liked this root beer color on a Subaru next to me in traffic yesterday

Can't really tell from that pic but I've seen some of those root beer metallic paints that I liked even though my mind told me I shouldn't


Is this the color?

Mercedes, BMW, and VW have had that color over the last few years....root beer brown is the perfect description. I like the color a lot, especially with a beige interior....BUT, I just couldn't bring myself around to actually ordering it. My concern would be that I would get tired of it and would have to find a new car soon.

pensfan83

dino001 said:

$58 in the summer? You must be living in a small shack, Mike I have 1600 sf townhome and paying that in winter. My summer bill is usually $110-$120, if I'm not on vacation. We have Teco here, which I believe is now part of Duke.

I think Florida is no longer a "cheap" state to live in. My property tax is low, because the assessed house value drop to a quarter of initial value and this low number was locked in against the future increases (it can only go up by 2 percent a year, I believe), so my bill is less than $1000 per year now. However, insurance costs are certainly high and what's worse they often don't cover you for some things. For example, sinkhole coverage is now a very expensive rider, the basic insurance only covers a collapse. In other words, it's better for you that the house is swallowed completely by a sinkhole than if it opens 100 ft away and the walls and foundations just cracked. For that you're on your own.

When we bought our house we also bought mine subsidence insurance through the state to hedge against damage since regular homeowners will not provide coverage as the result of mine subsidence. The majority of our borough and neighboring ones are almost entirely undermined with mine shafts that have been abandoned for 60-70 years. Back in the late 80's my parents almost built a house in the very neighborhood we now live in but the fear of building over abandoned mines scared them off. Fortunately we have not had any issues, nor have our neighbors who have lived here since the beginning.

driver100

qbrozen said:

Difficult to know what the parents will do, and even more difficult to understand how they may feel. As a father of an 11-yr-old on the autism spectrum who has tremendous difficulty understanding and dealing with his own feelings, this story hits home. Of course, I don't know for sure that is a similar situation here. If it is, I sympathize with the family, both child and parents. So far, my son has not exploded to quite that extent, but it is entirely possible I could be the one in the chase vehicle. It makes me very sad to think about. I hope that boy and his parents can get the proper help they need.

qb, I was thinking more about the parents who will never accept blame....I see them on Judge Judy all the time. They believe what their kids tell them, though the kid rarely tells the truth, and has been in all kinds of trouble before. I once taught school and I thought (probably was wrong) that autism was not so volatile....I thought it was more a communication and socialization problem.
Sorry to hear about your son living with it, that must be a lot for you to contend with. Parents that give so much of their own energy and time to a situation like yours are on the other end of the scale - they deserve a lot of praise for all they do.

driver100

pensfan83 said:

dino001 said:

$58 in the summer? You must be living in a small shack, Mike I have 1600 sf townhome and paying that in winter. My summer bill is usually $110-$120, if I'm not on vacation. We have Teco here, which I believe is now part of Duke.

I think Florida is no longer a "cheap" state to live in. My property tax is low, because the assessed house value drop to a quarter of initial value and this low number was locked in against the future increases (it can only go up by 2 percent a year, I believe), so my bill is less than $1000 per year now. However, insurance costs are certainly high and what's worse they often don't cover you for some things. For example, sinkhole coverage is now a very expensive rider, the basic insurance only covers a collapse. In other words, it's better for you that the house is swallowed completely by a sinkhole than if it opens 100 ft away and the walls and foundations just cracked. For that you're on your own.

Back in the late 80's my parents almost built a house in the very neighborhood we now live in but the fear of building over abandoned mines scared them off. Fortunately we have not had any issues, nor have our neighbors who have lived here since the beginning.

What about some who may have quietly disappeared over the years?

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Marcothecarguy1986 said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Rh5eMrSIs

I kinda like the looks but needs more power
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@gbrozen: It's that cladding 'round the grill and the rear roof chop that gets me in the wrong way. It needs to be cleaned up. It's messy IMO.

abacomike

I just got a call from my brother. He is on his way to the Orlando area to pick up his new S Class Coupe. The drive from his house is about 100 miles - but from what he told me, he saved a net of $4000.00 over what they offered him for the same car in the Jacksonville dealership including trade values for his 2 BMW's. I guess I would drive 100+ miles if I could save $4000+ on a new car - definitely makes sense.

It's people who will drive hundreds of miles to buy a new car just to save $200 - $300. It makes absolutely no sense. If you use the "driver method of calculating the cost of a new car", I am sure driver would agree that it is foolish to drive a few hundred miles just to save a few hundred dollars.

Driver, next time a buy a new car, I'll take out my slide-rule (iPhone works just as well) in order to determine how far I'll drive for a new car setting up a proportion to determine the best deal - the dealer up the street or the dealer in Orlando.

berri

Slide-Rule? 1960's geek

dino001

fintail said:

When the brave "safety" (sarcasm) sector can put up data about their beloved arbitrarily enforced limits being optimal for safety, yeah.

Some like to cry about taxes, many traffic violations are just that, while actual problems are ignored. If crosswalk violations, distracted driving, and turn signal use were enforced in my area, it could probably pay the national debt - even the larger one that's just around the corner.

85 on an open good quality road is fine. 85 in congestion is not.

dino001 said:

Then you will hear from people, some of them here on this board, that how could that be, 85 mph is a very safe speed, at least when they drive it, it's all scam to take your money, no relation to safety, etc....

Just made my point

Now, seriously, I'm also not exactly for arbitrary speed limits, but it's the reality. I'm a bridge engineer, working closely with roadway engineers. 70 mph is not an arbitrary limit from design standpoint. It is based on sight distance for a low level vehicle going on a limited access motorway profiled in a particular way, combined with other geometric, atmospheric and vehicle size assumptions. What does it mean? It's a design speed, under which applying a set of particular conservative, but not extreme, assumptions, the formulas say that certain vehicle will have a chance to stop safely avoiding running into an obstruction. It means that rested Mr. Fintail having his superior skills in his superior supermobile, may likely by OK going 85 mph on a nice day. However, Mr. Dino driving his 10th hour in a semi-truck on a rainy day better go slower than that. The problem with enforcement is, it's virtually impossible to impose "variable" limit on vehicles, not to mention drivers. So we are all stuck with lower limits than we possibly could have.

Europe actually has those - buses and trucks have much lower limits than lightweight vehicles. Somehow it looks like it's politically impossible to pass something like that here.

stickguy

I have driven 100 to get a pizza (NYC might even know that he place). I certainly would do it for $4k.

murphydog

dino001 said:

fintail said:

When the brave "safety" (sarcasm) sector can put up data about their beloved arbitrarily enforced limits being optimal for safety, yeah.

Some like to cry about taxes, many traffic violations are just that, while actual problems are ignored. If crosswalk violations, distracted driving, and turn signal use were enforced in my area, it could probably pay the national debt - even the larger one that's just around the corner.

85 on an open good quality road is fine. 85 in congestion is not.

dino001 said:

Then you will hear from people, some of them here on this board, that how could that be, 85 mph is a very safe speed, at least when they drive it, it's all scam to take your money, no relation to safety, etc....

Just made my point

Now, seriously, I'm also not exactly for arbitrary speed limits, but it's the reality. I'm a bridge engineer, working closely with roadway engineers. 70 mph is not an arbitrary limit from design standpoint. It is based on sight distance for a low level vehicle going on a limited access motorway profiled in a particular way, combined with other geometric, atmospheric and vehicle size assumptions. What does it mean? It's a design speed, under which applying a set of particular conservative, but not extreme, assumptions, the formulas say that certain vehicle will have a chance to stop safely avoiding running into an obstruction. It means that rested Mr. Fintail having his superior skills in his superior supermobile, may likely by OK going 85 mph on a nice day. However, Mr. Dino driving his 10th hour in a semi-truck on a rainy day better go slower than that. The problem with enforcement is, it's virtually impossible to impose "variable" limit on vehicles, not to mention drivers. So we are all stuck with lower limits than we possibly could have.

Europe actually has those - buses and trucks have much lower limits than lightweight vehicles. Somehow it looks like it's politically impossible to pass something like that here.

The thing that annoys me is the person who is 10-15 MPH under the flow of traffic - I am not talking about rush hour, but when traffic is moving freely and you come across that car that is going too slow - especially if the are in the far left lane, or on a highway with only 1 or 2 lanes. It is easy to blame the faster moving traffic if something happens, but the slow moving bottle neck is really the dangerous issues, and while I don't have the links handy I have seen legitimate studies that point this out. Anecdotally I recall this on I-5 in Seattle a few years back, traffic was free flowing and there was a car going ~ 35 MPH. A group of cars came up on this roadblock and in their attempts to move around a really bad crash occurred.

That and the people who are going ~ 40 MPH as they merge onto a free flowing freeway - just another absolute disaster waiting to happen....

qbrozen

driver100 said:

qb, I was thinking more about the parents who will never accept blame....I see them on Judge Judy all the time. They believe what their kids tell them, though the kid rarely tells the truth, and has been in all kinds of trouble before. I once taught school and I thought (probably was wrong) that autism was not so volatile....I thought it was more a communication and socialization problem.
Sorry to hear about your son living with it, that must be a lot for you to contend with. Parents that give so much of their own energy and time to a situation like yours are on the other end of the scale - they deserve a lot of praise for all they do.

I hear what you are saying (or reading what you are writing). But I also think many folks want to blame the parents when they are really helpless in a large way (in some cases). There are both situations, of course. I have met those parents who are just in denial and it is heartbreaking.

We KNOW our boy lies constantly, so we can never believe anything he says, which is tragic in its own right. You are correct that it is a communication/socialization issue, but that is exactly what causes great frustration and sometimes violent outbursts from such children. Think of a frustrating conversation you have had with someone who just isn't on the same page as you and made you want to pull your hair out. Now multiply that by 10 and imagine having that EVERY DAY and I think maybe then we can start to understand what it may be like for these poor kids.

There are varying degrees, of course, which is why they call it the Autism Spectrum. My child is very high functioning. He is in mainstream classrooms, does OK with grade-appropriate work (B student), has kids he calls friends, etc.... as long as everything is calm and level. Add a bit of stress, sadness, excitement, or any other emotion that changes the balance and it is possible he'll lose his s***.

I know I'm so far off on a tangent here, so my apologies. Anyway, there is a movie that I found SO INTERESTING that touches a tad on autism from this angle. I know it is going to sound crazy, but The Accountant has glimpses in it that resonated with me. They do a pretty darned good job of demonstrating the frustrations of Ben Affleck's character as a child. The father's "solution" was quite an interesting one. Not terribly realistic but the idea is there. My child actually excels at martial arts, but he is way too sensitive to compete (meaning both emotionally and physically -- any kind of sensory input can be magnified in autism). And the character's regimented lifestyle to keep an even keel and his pattern of overstimulating himself each day in a controlled environment so he can function in public are other aspects that is fascinating to me and make alot of damned sense theoretically (although, again, probably unrealistic in practice).

The show The Good Doctor has been pretty good thus far, too. I think it was the 2nd episode where they showed his morning routine and how he has to have an alarm for EVERY little step so he can keep himself on track. That is 100% my son right there.

fintail

Why when one asks "traffic engineers" about showing the specific data behind their numbers, one is usually met with crickets? Or if you ask the reason why a suburban road goes from 40 to 30 to 35 in a mile, you get the same response? And don't dare ask why there's a speedtrap stuck in those changes, some these days no doubt consider questioning a badge to be unpatriotic. I suspect a lot of those numbers are quite conservative, maybe designed for a 1952 double decker bus on a rainy day.

I see plenty of differentiated speed limits for trucks, at least here out west. On roads with less traffic density, cars are usually allotted 5-10mph more than trucks. The limits are often debatable, but the differentiation has been there probably since we finally evolved past the bad old days of 55. It's not like more advanced Europe, where cars might be set to 130 kmh, and trucks are at 100, but it is something. It works well enough, barring left lane campers, which are still the real headache of driving in this part of the world.

dino001 said:

Just made my point

Now, seriously, I'm also not exactly for arbitrary speed limits, but it's the reality. I'm a bridge engineer, working closely with roadway engineers. 70 mph is not an arbitrary limit from design standpoint. It is based on sight distance for a low level vehicle going on a limited access motorway profiled in a particular way, combined with other geometric, atmospheric and vehicle size assumptions. What does it mean? It's a design speed, under which applying a set of particular conservative, but not extreme, assumptions, the formulas say that certain vehicle will have a chance to stop safely avoiding running into an obstruction. It means that rested Mr. Fintail having his superior skills in his superior supermobile, may likely by OK going 85 mph on a nice day. However, Mr. Dino driving his 10th hour in a semi-truck on a rainy day better go slower than that. The problem with enforcement is, it's virtually impossible to impose "variable" limit on vehicles, not to mention drivers. So we are all stuck with lower limits than we possibly could have.

Europe actually has those - buses and trucks have much lower limits than lightweight vehicles. Somehow it looks like it's politically impossible to pass something like that here.

fintail

Slowpokes in the wrong lane, and slow mergers are a huge Seattle issue. I've never seen people merge as slow as they do in the Puget Sound area. 90 and 405 in Bellevue are hilarious in this way, if you channel your rage into humor. And with privatized license testing, I wager it will only get worse.

murphydog said:

The thing that annoys me is the person who is 10-15 MPH under the flow of traffic - I am not talking about rush hour, but when traffic is moving freely and you come across that car that is going too slow - especially if the are in the far left lane, or on a highway with only 1 or 2 lanes. It is easy to blame the faster moving traffic if something happens, but the slow moving bottle neck is really the dangerous issues, and while I don't have the links handy I have seen legitimate studies that point this out. Anecdotally I recall this on I-5 in Seattle a few years back, traffic was free flowing and there was a car going ~ 35 MPH. A group of cars came up on this roadblock and in their attempts to move around a really bad crash occurred.

That and the people who are going ~ 40 MPH as they merge onto a free flowing freeway - just another absolute disaster waiting to happen....

graphicguy

IPhone madness....my son texted me just now stating he got up at 3 a.m. this morning to get the iPhone X. I guess he was one of the lucky ones and said he’ll take delivery on 11/3, the first day they’re available.

I just went to the Verizon site, thinking about getting one (not really wanting one), and ended up pre-ordering, and getting an estimated delivery date of 11/12...or about a week and a half after my son.

But, I didn’t get up at godawfulthirty to do it.

I’ll have an iPhone 6 for sale here shortly.

dino001

fintail said:

Why when one asks "traffic engineers" about showing the specific data behind their numbers, one is usually met with crickets? Or if you ask the reason why a suburban road goes from 40 to 30 to 35 in a mile, you get the same response? And don't dare ask why there's a speedtrap stuck in those changes, some these days no doubt consider questioning a badge to be unpatriotic. I suspect a lot of those numbers are quite conservative, maybe designed for a 1952 double decker bus on a rainy day.

Can't speak to being unpatriotic by questioning speed traps. There are manuals for roadway geometry for a particular type of road, interchange, or grade separation feature (bridge, tunnel). You may hear crickets, because those manuals are thousands of pages, not always written in a particularly friendly fashion. If you ask why these manuals use these criteria, not some others (i.e. how those formulas were actually developed), then probably less than 5 percent of traffic engineers could actually intelligently speak about it, so it's smart of them to stay quiet (same goes for any other engineering - most of engineers may now how, but few know why).

Changes for speed limits within "same road" are most likely results in the particular stretch of the road not meeting a particular set of criteria, usually related to the vertical curve, horizontal, drainage slope, or or an obstruction visibility. Those criteria are usually not met due to insufficient right-of-way (historically predesignated strip of land that is currently in government's possession for the road to be built) and inability to purchase more, due to funding shortage, or social limits. One sometimes may kill the speed limit, is presence of driveways within certain stretch of the road, combined with visibility. It goes on. You get crickets, because most likely the answer would have to come from multiple 1000-page manuals that specify particularities and it's sometimes written in such a way that there can be issues with interpretation.

Every decision regarding departure from the standard (dictated by lack of funds, or inability to rebuild the road without impacting the community in major way) has to be approved by higher level officials. Those things are not taken lightly.

So, if you chose so, you can believe in a conspiracy to defraud public from funds. I think it's most likely a decision of the officials based on limited options that are presented to them (coming from funding and social community limitations). I will stipulate that particular individuals or governments may cease the opportunity to get more money from fines rather than attempt a better solution, but that usually happens way down the road, when planners have no influence.

stickguy

I got a 7 just about a year ago. I hope to keep it going a few more steps least. Until the battery loses it. That I hate.

28firefighter

I would want the 256 GB iPhone X and I simply cannot justify $1149+ tax for a phone. I have to draw the line somewhere.

Keeping my iPhone 7 for a while.

pensfan83

I'm in the Android camp and am happy with my Galaxy S7. I've had it a little over a year and have no immediate plans to upgrade. We usually hold onto our phones long enough to skip the even numbered models.

@graphicguy does your new phone have wireless charging capability? If so you can take advantage of the car's wireless charging pad.

suydam

I still have the 6. It’s a really good phone. I keep them until they wear out or can’t be updated any more.

driver100

Qbrozen, Before I forget, we did see The Accountant and enjoyed it immensely.
I liked reading the information you wrote....I always like learning and trying to understand life better.
It also helps me to appreciate what some people have to go through for their family.
I had no idea autism caused lying and such violent reactions, it can't be easy.

Somtimes somebody says something and it becomes very distorted. Once at work I mentioned I felt sorry for these people who had adopted a child, and they didn't realize how bad this kid became, setting fires to people's homes, seriously threatening the parents, etc. The parents wanted to give him back or disown him, but they couldn't.

So, I talked about it at work and some woman starts yelling about how her daughter adopted a kid and he is the nicest kid in the world and I shouldn't say things like that about adopted kids.

Geez, after that I hardly ever said anything anymore....how do you even begin to explain?

driver100

Dino...I like your explanation about how highways are designed....kind of like with the common man in mind...plus the lowest common denominator as well I suppose.

I think most people drive faster than they are capable of....they have no idea of what could go wrong. They may be great drivers, but, they have to allow for the weaker drivers.

I drive 85 on I-75 because 80% of the people do it and I like to keep up, but, I think it is too fast for most people.

suydam

I don’t feel sorry for parents who would “want to give a child back”. They aren’t disposable items.

abacomike

qbrozen said:

qb, I was thinking more about the parents who will never accept blame....I see them on Judge Judy all the time. They believe what their kids tell them, though the kid rarely tells the truth, and has been in all kinds of trouble before. I once taught school and I thought (probably was wrong) that autism was not so volatile....I thought it was more a communication and socialization problem. Sorry to hear about your son living with it, that must be a lot for you to contend with. Parents that give so much of their own energy and time to a situation like yours are on the other end of the scale - they deserve a lot of praise for all they do.

I hear what you are saying (or reading what you are writing). But I also think many folks want to blame the parents when they are really helpless in a large way (in some cases). There are both situations, of course. I have met those parents who are just in denial and it is heartbreaking. We KNOW our boy lies constantly, so we can never believe anything he says, which is tragic in its own right. You are correct that it is a communication/socialization issue, but that is exactly what causes great frustration and sometimes violent outbursts from such children. Think of a frustrating conversation you have had with someone who just isn't on the same page as you and made you want to pull your hair out. Now multiply that by 10 and imagine having that EVERY DAY and I think maybe then we can start to understand what it may be like for these poor kids. There are varying degrees, of course, which is why they call it the Autism Spectrum. My child is very high functioning. He is in mainstream classrooms, does OK with grade-appropriate work (B student), has kids he calls friends, etc.... as long as everything is calm and level. Add a bit of stress, sadness, excitement, or any other emotion that changes the balance and it is possible he'll lose his s***. I know I'm so far off on a tangent here, so my apologies. Anyway, there is a movie that I found SO INTERESTING that touches a tad on autism from this angle. I know it is going to sound crazy, but The Accountant has glimpses in it that resonated with me. They do a pretty darned good job of demonstrating the frustrations of Ben Affleck's character as a child. The father's "solution" was quite an interesting one. Not terribly realistic but the idea is there. My child actually excels at martial arts, but he is way too sensitive to compete (meaning both emotionally and physically -- any kind of sensory input can be magnified in autism). And the character's regimented lifestyle to keep an even keel and his pattern of overstimulating himself each day in a controlled environment so he can function in public are other aspects that is fascinating to me and make alot of damned sense theoretically (although, again, probably unrealistic in practice). The show The Good Doctor has been pretty good thus far, too. I think it was the 2nd episode where they showed his morning routine and how he has to have an alarm for EVERY little step so he can keep himself on track. That is 100% my son right there.

My younger grandson has autism - aspergers to be exact.  It’s amazing how much he has improved thanks to the schools he has attended.  He has tremendous difficulty appropriately interacting with others due to his inability to use social skills.  His performance IQ (non-verbal) is 147 but his verbal IQ is 87.  In other words, he is extremely gifted in tasks that do not require verbalization (math, science, non-verbal problem solving) but when he needs to use verbalization to solve problems, he is handicapped.

My son is trying to arrange to bring him here to Florida next summer to be with me.  I haven’t seen him in 8 years.  Very difficult on the family, needless to say.

abacomike

28firefighter said:

I would want the 256 GB iPhone X and I simply cannot justify $1149+ tax for a phone. I have to draw the line somewhere. Keeping my iPhone 7 for a while.

Same here - I have the 7+ and it does everything I need in a smartphone.  I usually keep iPhones for 2 years - I take out an extended warranty on my iPhones and Apple is terrific in honoring warranty issues.  I would never spend $1000 on a smartphone. 

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

Difficult to know what the parents will do, and even more difficult to understand how they may feel. As a father of an 11-yr-old on the autism spectrum who has tremendous difficulty understanding and dealing with his own feelings, this story hits home. Of course, I don't know for sure that is a similar situation here. If it is, I sympathize with the family, both child and parents. So far, my son has not exploded to quite that extent, but it is entirely possible I could be the one in the chase vehicle. It makes me very sad to think about. I hope that boy and his parents can get the proper help they need.

qb, I was thinking more about the parents who will never accept blame....I see them on Judge Judy all the time. They believe what their kids tell them, though the kid rarely tells the truth, and has been in all kinds of trouble before. I once taught school and I thought (probably was wrong) that autism was not so volatile....I thought it was more a communication and socialization problem.
Sorry to hear about your son living with it, that must be a lot for you to contend with. Parents that give so much of their own energy and time to a situation like yours are on the other end of the scale - they deserve a lot of praise for all they do.

My 30yo son is also on the autism spectrum and he does have problems with communications and socialization. He took my car (I wouldn't say stole because he had a key) and drove it off a cliff. He wasn't diagnosed until about 8 years later. It never occurred to me that it might be the case with that 10 yo.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

pensfan83 said:

dino001 said:

$58 in the summer? You must be living in a small shack, Mike I have 1600 sf townhome and paying that in winter. My summer bill is usually $110-$120, if I'm not on vacation. We have Teco here, which I believe is now part of Duke.

I think Florida is no longer a "cheap" state to live in. My property tax is low, because the assessed house value drop to a quarter of initial value and this low number was locked in against the future increases (it can only go up by 2 percent a year, I believe), so my bill is less than $1000 per year now. However, insurance costs are certainly high and what's worse they often don't cover you for some things. For example, sinkhole coverage is now a very expensive rider, the basic insurance only covers a collapse. In other words, it's better for you that the house is swallowed completely by a sinkhole than if it opens 100 ft away and the walls and foundations just cracked. For that you're on your own.

Back in the late 80's my parents almost built a house in the very neighborhood we now live in but the fear of building over abandoned mines scared them off. Fortunately we have not had any issues, nor have our neighbors who have lived here since the beginning.

What about some who may have quietly disappeared over the years?

They probably struck gold and have been quietly digging in them basement.

cdnpinhead

roadburner said:

Civic Boy roared past with the usual loser fly-by...

Yup -- seen it many times. What I normally say to myself is: "Does that make your **** swell all up does it?" . . . or not.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

I drive 85 on I-75 because 80% of the people do it and I like to keep up, but, I think it is too fast for most people.

I suspect if drivers were polled, 95% would say their driving skills at higher speeds far above the limit set by the professionals for that road were much better than average.

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

He took my car (I wouldn't say stole because he had a key) and drove it off a cliff. He wasn't diagnosed until about 8 years later. It never occurred to me that it might be the case with that 10 yo.

He literally drove it off a cliff? That's gotta be a JMonroe story...

isellhondas

28firefighter said:

I would want the 256 GB iPhone X and I simply cannot justify $1149+ tax for a phone. I have to draw the line somewhere.

Keeping my iPhone 7 for a while.

I guess I can't understand the desire to constantly upgrade. My basic little iPhone6S with a measly 16 GB does MUCH more than I'll ever ask of it. I don't watch movies on my phone but I do check Facebook and Yahoo Mail etc. What would anyone need or want 256 GB? I'm just curious! I do think they are designed to die after two or three years.

berri

iPhone has too much bureaucracy requiring an Internet account and different passwords, etc. to make changes to it. The local Sprint store can't work on a problem or change because it has to go through the Apple site. Apple genius bars are far apart and usually require appointments. I think I'm going to move over to Android with the next phone. My kids have already done that and don't seem to have any interest in going back to an iPhone. Don't have lots of issues with my iPhone, but you never know down the road.

suydam

Photos. Music. Many people have thousands of both.

stickguy

now that my new car has carplay, I might be more interested in loading up my itunes since will be much easier to use in the car. Need my son for that. I got a ton of music but sitting on my external hard drive, and need it loaded onto my new laptop.

ab348

suydam said:

I still have the 6. It’s a really good phone. I keep them until they wear out or can’t be updated any more.

I'm pretty close to you. I have a 5 and keep hoping it will break so I will have to upgrade. Don't use it enough to justify otherwise.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OkTwDzQpa04

fintail

I have a 64GB Note8 with a 256GB microSD card. That's more combined storage than my laptop (and it cost almost as much). Fantastic phone, you gotta pay to play.

venture

driver100 said:

Qbrozen, Before I forget, we did see The Accountant and enjoyed it immensely.
I liked reading the information you wrote....I always like learning and trying to understand life better.
It also helps me to appreciate what some people have to go through for their family.
I had no idea autism caused lying and such violent reactions, it can't be easy.

Somtimes somebody says something and it becomes very distorted. Once at work I mentioned I felt sorry for these people who had adopted a child, and they didn't realize how bad this kid became, setting fires to people's homes, seriously threatening the parents, etc. The parents wanted to give him back or disown him, but they couldn't.

So, I talked about it at work and some woman starts yelling about how her daughter adopted a kid and he is the nicest kid in the world and I shouldn't say things like that about adopted kids.

Geez, after that I hardly ever said anything anymore....how do you even begin to explain?

I think I mentioned before that I run a baseball program for children with extra needs during the summer. Many of these kids have some form of autism.

I remember the time last summer when two police cars came into our parking lot to help parents with their son who suddenly got violent in their car after a game ended. He played in the game and he seemed fine when they left the field.

Fortunately that's the only time it happened, He was back the next week and played baseball. None of our staff is trained for something like that. Our hope is the parents are. So far they have been.

fintail

I don't know if that really explains why one can ask "Why is X Street x mph?" and receive nothing. Give me some jargon, I can handle it. But you won't even get that, as the party receiving the question doesn't have to act. I believe the bureaucratic manuals, but wouldn't the manuals be documented and cited when setting a limit? To find the reason behind the limit, simply reference the documentation. Another sector that should be audited, hard. If the limit can't be readily defended, something is broken. But I know how it goes, when few answer to anything, well, here we are. I've had issues receiving straight answers about traffic light sequencing and pedestrian infrastructure. Sometimes reminds me of the old Lily Tomlin phone company commercial - and I live in an area that's probably better at management than most of the country.

I believe it's a combination of desire for revenues (no such thing as quotas, but they exist in a de facto way at the very least) by the praetorian sector, lack of accountability (via arrogance and/or skill) on many sides, and lack of resources used for improvements - maybe in varying degrees, depending on the locale.

dino001 said:

Can't speak to being unpatriotic by questioning speed traps. There are manuals for roadway geometry for a particular type of road, interchange, or grade separation feature (bridge, tunnel). You may hear crickets, because those manuals are thousands of pages, not always written in a particularly friendly fashion. If you ask why these manuals use these criteria, not some others (i.e. how those formulas were actually developed), then probably less than 5 percent of traffic engineers could actually intelligently speak about it, so it's smart of them to stay quiet (same goes for any other engineering - most of engineers may now how, but few know why).

Changes for speed limits within "same road" are most likely results in the particular stretch of the road not meeting a particular set of criteria, usually related to the vertical curve, horizontal, drainage slope, or or an obstruction visibility. Those criteria are usually not met due to insufficient right-of-way (historically predesignated strip of land that is currently in government's possession for the road to be built) and inability to purchase more, due to funding shortage, or social limits. One sometimes may kill the speed limit, is presence of driveways within certain stretch of the road, combined with visibility. It goes on. You get crickets, because most likely the answer would have to come from multiple 1000-page manuals that specify particularities and it's sometimes written in such a way that there can be issues with interpretation.

Every decision regarding departure from the standard (dictated by lack of funds, or inability to rebuild the road without impacting the community in major way) has to be approved by higher level officials. Those things are not taken lightly.

So, if you chose so, you can believe in a conspiracy to defraud public from funds. I think it's most likely a decision of the officials based on limited options that are presented to them (coming from funding and social community limitations). I will stipulate that particular individuals or governments may cease the opportunity to get more money from fines rather than attempt a better solution, but that usually happens way down the road, when planners have no influence.

venture

driver100 said:

Dino...I like your explanation about how highways are designed....kind of like with the common man in mind...plus the lowest common denominator as well I suppose.

I think most people drive faster than they are capable of....they have no idea of what could go wrong. They may be great drivers, but, they have to allow for the weaker drivers.

I drive 85 on I-75 because 80% of the people do it and I like to keep up, but, I think it is too fast for most people.

Dino explained a very complex formula very well. It still amazes me how many considerations have to go in to simply rehabbing a road. Actually, designing a new highway is much easier. (...and our Traffic "Engineers" didn't know their behind from third base.)

As I once mentioned - this is one of the reasons (among others) I quit engineering and became a groundskeeper.

stickguy

Fin, local town politics is always a consideration. Oddly placed stop signs, or inappropriately low speed limits, can also be traced to who lives on the street and how much juice they have!

I still think my little neighborhood gets plowed early and well because the mayor lives in the development.

fintail

I suspect that's it. Or if the mayor's niece's dog got hit by a car on a street in 1973, it keeps the low limit forever.

Seattle had a plow issue like that in the snow event of 2008, the mayor's neighborhood was cleared more than most. The handling of that snow event was a big contributor to his defeat in the next election.

Funny thing, it's tough to get real answers about limits here, but if there's a problem with a light, they are very good at fixing it. My city has a fairly advanced system of sensors, and now and then one has a hiccup (probably running on a Windows ME server or something), and a simple email will have it fixed in no time.

stickguy said:

Fin, local town politics is always a consideration. Oddly placed stop signs, or inappropriately low speed limits, can also be traced to who lives on the street and how much juice they have!

I still think my little neighborhood gets plowed early and well because the mayor lives in the development.

qbrozen

My iphone 6+ is still going strong. I'll wait it out. 

@abacomike, that is really interesting. I was not aware they could break down IQ scores that way. I'm very curious how both my sons would score. The funny thing with my son is that, when he was a toddler, folks were constantly telling us how amazed they were at his communication skills. He has always been much better with adults than kids his own age. He could have full conversations with adults since he was 2 yrs old. It is the emotions he doesn't comprehend. And, as we all know, kids can be cruel. I tell him several times a week that it will only get worse as he gets into his teen years and he needs to get used to it and block it out.

@venture, how old are these kids? Did the parents call the cops or did someone else? I will never do that, personally. Then again, I'm 6'5" and 220lb and well trained, so my child will likely never be too much for me to handle. So I suppose I should be a bit forgiving for those who may not be so lucky.

Also brings up a sore spot in our history. When he was in 1st grade, before the school classified him, the principal of his first public school was a grade A [non-permissible content removed] (I'm being nice) who once called the cops to come get him. A FIRST GRADER!! It took everything in my power not to hurt that man. He is very lucky that the police officer was the nicest and most understanding one possible. He let my son ride up front and play with the lights. Still brings tears to my eyes when I think of that day. Anyway, he was taken to the ER where they evaled him and told us they have no idea why he was sent there because he seems perfectly fine. I of course thanked the policeman but not nearly as much as I wish I had. I was too distraught to think straight though.

@oldfarmer50, what age was he when this happened? Was it a suicide attempt? I'm happy to hear he made it to adulthood. If he likes to read, may I suggest the book? It is not directly about autism but the idea of high-reactive vs low-reactive is applicable and helped me understand more, not only about my son, but about myself, and our interactions with those around us who process stimulation differently.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307352153/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_s7.8zb6FHA4S3

28firefighter

@qbrozen - Quiet is the single most useful book I’ve read since starting my professional career. As an introvert myself, it has helped me understand what I’m feeling, but has also helped me read and understand the people around me.

Thank you for sharing with us about your son. My brother has fairly profound Cerebral Palsy - despite every “expert” telling my family what he would never do, he went on to graduate high school, college, and now works full time. Sometimes the adults in our world can be just as cruel as the kids who teased him every day - the difference is they should know better. 

Your son is lucky to have you as his advocate.

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

He took my car (I wouldn't say stole because he had a key) and drove it off a cliff. He wasn't diagnosed until about 8 years later. It never occurred to me that it might be the case with that 10 yo.

He literally drove it off a cliff? That's gotta be a JMonroe story...

Oh, I've mentioned it a few times. I think most people thought i was making it up. It involved being woken up by police in my bed at 2 am, tracking dogs searching the woods and car headlights being found 300 feet away. Fortunately no one was hurt.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

My iphone 6+ is still going strong. I'll wait it out. 

@abacomike, that is really interesting. I was not aware they could break down IQ scores that way. I'm very curious how both my sons would score. The funny thing with my son is that, when he was a toddler, folks were constantly telling us how amazed they were at his communication skills. He has always been much better with adults than kids his own age. He could have full conversations with adults since he was 2 yrs old. It is the emotions he doesn't comprehend. And, as we all know, kids can be cruel. I tell him several times a week that it will only get worse as he gets into his teen years and he needs to get used to it and block it out.

@venture, how old are these kids? Did the parents call the cops or did someone else? I will never do that, personally. Then again, I'm 6'5" and 220lb and well trained, so my child will likely never be too much for me to handle. So I suppose I should be a bit forgiving for those who may not be so lucky.

Also brings up a sore spot in our history. When he was in 1st grade, before the school classified him, the principal of his first public school was a grade A [non-permissible content removed] (I'm being nice) who once called the cops to come get him. A FIRST GRADER!! It took everything in my power not to hurt that man. He is very lucky that the police officer was the nicest and most understanding one possible. He let my son ride up front and play with the lights. Still brings tears to my eyes when I think of that day. Anyway, he was taken to the ER where they evaled him and told us they have no idea why he was sent there because he seems perfectly fine. I of course thanked the policeman but not nearly as much as I wish I had. I was too distraught to think straight though.

@oldfarmer50, what age was he when this happened? Was it a suicide attempt? I'm happy to hear he made it to adulthood. If he likes to read, may I suggest the book? It is not directly about autism but the idea of high-reactive vs low-reactive is applicable and helped me understand more, not only about my son, but about myself, and our interactions with those around us who process stimulation differently.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307352153/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_s7.8zb6FHA4S3

Don't think it was an attempt as it was a joy ride at the suggestion of a friend. As you know Aspergers kids are very suggestible. They we're moving down an iced road too fast and went right off. Fortunately they hit the tops of trees and slid down rather than dropped. The air bags worked and they ran off in fear. When the police arrived they saw the empty car with airbags deployed and assumed head injured occupants wandering in the woods. Out came the dogs. They were not happy to find out he had run to a friend's house after falling around the woods in Janurary . They wanted to take him back to the scene but I insisted that i do it out of fear of brutality. He got a license suspension for a multitude of overcharges (like running a stop sign as he skidded of the road) but i figured he was best off the road and didn't fight it. He was 20.