Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Michaell

oldfarmer50 said:

https://youtu.be/eyZ94pI-79Y

Guessing that is the C8 Corvette, out for some testing.

thebean

Regarding free stuff from the dealer, when I bought my Accord, the dealer made a big deal of “free wiper inserts as long as you own your car”. Two and a half years in, when I was in for an oil change, I asked them to throw on a new pair of inserts (only my second free pair). They said the program had been discontinued. When I got home, I wrote an email to the dealership GM expressing my dismay. The head of service responded with an email grandfathering me back into the program. Every time I need a new pair of inserts (at least 18 months between changes), I have to pull up the email and show the service advisor. I asked that they put it in their computer, but of course that’s “not possible”. As far as washes, when I get my car serviced there, I specifically tell them not to wash it as it adds at least 30 minutes to the service and is a half-a** job. You have to be careful what free stuff you want to avail yourself of, I think.

PF_Flyer

fezo said:

Changed the cars and still get the same. Hey, sneakers, can you fix this? Should read 2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata, 2004 Toyota Camry.

OK, so you got into Edit Profile, but your changes didn't take. To test something, I'll see if I can make the change. I'm NOT doing this to edit the profile of everyone that needs it. Just seeing what's working for me (at least I HOPE it's working) so i can make a fuller reporting of what's going on

PF_Flyer

@fezo OK, seemed to work. Thanks for reporting and giving me a testing variant

driver100

My dealer does a nice wash if I take it in for service - inside and out. Most dealers seem to do that these days, not bad since repairs can easily cost a few $100s anyway....at least let the owner think his car rides better because it is clean. And a clean car does drive better - for some reason.
I haven't heard back from the president of my MB Dealer yet.

RE the free wipers. Why offer something and then take it away after? Although, sometimes an owner knows he is selling his business, he wants to maximize profits to make the business look good and to haul away as much as possible for himself, then, the new owner is stuck with a program that is a money loser for him.

imidazol97

Re: lifetime wiper replacements

Even TomTom who promised lifetime maps updates with the last GPS I bought is still giving them. They did, HOWEVER, send out emails trying to sell replacement GPS units with larger memories for the maps and making it sound like they were stopping map updates including purchases for ALL earlier GPS units.

If I had not tested to see if mine would update, I might have been fooled by their improper, lying email.

Needless to say, I won't buy a replacement GPS that is TOMTOM brand. I want a US, or North American made unit at least.

PF_Flyer

Everyone have a good 4th? It's been pretty hot and VERY humid in these parts. Makes you want to take a drive with MAX AC on

thebean

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

PF_Flyer

We don't follow it like worrying about who's leading, things like that, but it IS something we tend to watch every year. It is incredible that a human can do that. I can imagine riding a bike 120 miles, maybe even over some hills. Might take me all day, but I can imagine doing it. I CANNOT imagine getting up the next day... and the next... and doing it all over again. And it's very interesting visually with HD television.

It's part of tracking the year... the Masters, Kentucky Derby, Indy, US Open, Tour de France.

pensfan83

Question for everyone, we want to get a smart speaker setup going at the house. Here's what I want it to do:

- Stream music (Sirius, Pandora, iheartradio app) wirelessly to other speakers if possible.
- Be accessible from all 3 levels (basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor). So something like 3 Echo Dots maybe?
- Usual smart speaker stuff (alarms, reminders, turn on lights, etc.)

What's the best setup I can go with to do what I want?

oldfarmer50

PF_Flyer said:

Everyone have a good 4th? It's been pretty hot and VERY humid in these parts. Makes you want to take a drive with MAX AC on

After months of near constant rain I’ll take any temps as long as there’s sun with it.

pensfan83

PF_Flyer said:

Everyone have a good 4th? It's been pretty hot and VERY humid in these parts. Makes you want to take a drive with MAX AC on

The humidity is obnoxious. I like to do my running outside but the past 3 days it's been awful, even at 7AM.

qbrozen

pensfan83 said:

Question for everyone, we want to get a smart speaker setup going at the house. Here's what I want it to do:

- Stream music (Sirius, Pandora, iheartradio app) wirelessly to other speakers if possible.
- Be accessible from all 3 levels (basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor). So something like 3 Echo Dots maybe?
- Usual smart speaker stuff (alarms, reminders, turn on lights, etc.)

What's the best setup I can go with to do what I want?

I tried to go through this exercise myself. So far, a series of Echo Dots has been working pretty well. Has even more features than I am currently using, but am starting to expand. For example, I just ordered yet another for the kids' game room along with a smart outlet. This way, if they don't hear my "announcement" because they have headsets on or whatever, I can tell the echo to shut off the power to their game systems. Mwuhahahahah!

Of course, if you want good sound for music, they will have to be hooked up to external speakers. My one gripe is that the unit in my bedroom is unable to turn on the bluetooth speaker to which it is connected. According to the instructions, it should be able to. But, as it is, it just tells me it can't find a speaker. I have to manually turn it on before that echo will connect to it. The one in the family room is wired into the surround sound, so never a connection issue there.

driver100

PF_Flyer said:

Everyone have a good 4th? It's been pretty hot and VERY humid in these parts. Makes you want to take a drive with MAX AC on

My July 4th was partly ruined by my 2 hour and 10 minute car wash .....other than that played some tennis and watched some of Wimbledon. Today watched your 15 year old lady win her match and go to the next round.

I worked for a U.S. company for 16 years, so I always took a day off and celebrated U.S. holidays....didn't want to offend my bosses.

pensfan83

qbrozen said:

pensfan83 said:

Question for everyone, we want to get a smart speaker setup going at the house. Here's what I want it to do:

- Stream music (Sirius, Pandora, iheartradio app) wirelessly to other speakers if possible.
- Be accessible from all 3 levels (basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor). So something like 3 Echo Dots maybe?
- Usual smart speaker stuff (alarms, reminders, turn on lights, etc.)

What's the best setup I can go with to do what I want?

I tried to go through this exercise myself. So far, a series of Echo Dots has been working pretty well. Has even more features than I am currently using, but am starting to expand. For example, I just ordered yet another for the kids' game room along with a smart outlet. This way, if they don't hear my "announcement" because they have headsets on or whatever, I can tell the echo to shut off the power to their game systems. Mwuhahahahah!

Of course, if you want good sound for music, they will have to be hooked up to external speakers. My one gripe is that the unit in my bedroom is unable to turn on the bluetooth speaker to which it is connected. According to the instructions, it should be able to. But, as it is, it just tells me it can't find a speaker. I have to manually turn it on before that echo will connect to it. The one in the family room is wired into the surround sound, so never a connection issue there.

So far everyone I've talked with has a similar setup, albeit with varying wireless speakers (JBL, Sony, etc.). Best Buy has Echo Dots for $25 each right now so figure 3 of those plus a pair of decent wireless speakers I can have "float" around the house when music is needed and I should be all in for less than $350.

fezo

The 4th was great.

Let's see if my line with the cars is right now.

fezo

Nope. And I followed the instructions.

fezo

Think I got it finally.

fezo

Yay!

ab348

fezo said:

Yay!

Except there's a stray "1999" floating around at the end.

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

Re: lifetime wiper replacements

Even TomTom who promised lifetime maps updates with the last GPS I bought is still giving them. They did, HOWEVER, send out emails trying to sell replacement GPS units with larger memories for the maps and making it sound like they were stopping map updates including purchases for ALL earlier GPS units.

If I had not tested to see if mine would update, I might have been fooled by their improper, lying email.

Needless to say, I won't buy a replacement GPS that is TOMTOM brand. I want a US, or North American made unit at least.

Remember "lifetime" can mean many things, read the small print to see what they say "lifetime" means. Sometimes "lifetime" means the production run of that particular model so when they stop making that model the upgrades stop. Sometimes it's based on the designed service time of the model. Sometimes other factors are in play. Find out what they mean by "lifetime".

snakeweasel

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

fezo

And on more normal topics, in my absence, our old Kenmore (back when Kenmore was good) finally died. Got a nice LG to replace it.

So we're down to two Kenmores - a vacuum cleaner that, despite being made by Panasonic (which they no longer are) isn't terribly good. I accept canister vacuum recommendations) and our dishwasher, which just continues to soldier on.

ronsteve

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

It really IS the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year! I love to see the one-ness of man and machine and inspire myself to make it look even half that easy when I clip into the pedals of my Cervelo and hit the road. And then there's the bike porn and the occasional jaw drop when I see the watts they're pushing or the speed they're pulling up a hill, knowing how much slower I am.

The Mrs loves the scenery and some of the physiques, even though I'm pretty sure she doesn't want me to ever shave my legs, and I don't want to end up with a reason to shave my legs (crashing, which once you have road rash it's too late).

And finally to bring it back to cars, there are the team wagons to look at, some with the unfortunate knowledge that we as Americans can't have nice things.

oldfarmer50

fezo said:

And on more normal topics, in my absence, our old Kenmore (back when Kenmore was good) finally died. Got a nice LG to replace it.

So we're down to two Kenmores - a vacuum cleaner that, despite being made by Panasonic (which they no longer are) isn't terribly good. I accept canister vacuum recommendations) and our dishwasher, which just continues to soldier on.

Speaking of appliances, I had a go round with the dryer today. Went to adjust the settings and the dial didn’t make it’s usual clicks. Wouldn’t start when the start switch was turned as well.

I figured the internals of the panel were shot but when I tried to take it off I found some bizarre allen screws which none of my Allen wrenches would fit. I was about to give up and call the repair man when I decided to pull the dial off the spindle. Turns out the plastic was cracked and the dial was just spinning. I used a pair of pliers to set the cycle pending a good glue job. This must be the planned obsolescence I’ve heard about...10 cent dial on a $500 dryer.

abacomike

Well, Geek Squad guy was here and they are approving a credit of $659 + installation + tax for the Vizio 50” TV. So tomorrow morning I will call their offices for a credit voucher number and take it over to the Best Buy Store. They will then back out the purchase for the new TV and credit my credit card. The new TV comes tomorrow afternoon.

So I have to give them an “A” for sticking by their warranty but a “D” for customer service due to the hours I was on hold waiting to speak to someone at Best Buy, Geek Squad, and the local store.

abacomike

Good to see you are back fezo! 😛

driver100

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

driver100

abacomike said:

Well, Geek Squad guy was here and they are approving a credit of $659 + installation + tax for the Vizio 50” TV. So tomorrow morning I will call their offices for a credit voucher number and take it over to the Best Buy Store. They will then back out the purchase for the new TV and credit my credit card. The new TV comes tomorrow afternoon.

So I have to give them an “A” for sticking by their warranty but a “D” for customer service due to the hours I was on hold waiting to speak to someone at Best Buy, Geek Squad, and the local store.

Glad Best Buy came through for you. It doesn't make sense they gave you a hard time - you bought the extended warranty, the TV was not fixable.....why not just resolve the problem so you will have a positive experience, and buy from them without hesitation in the future.

stickguy

after another pretty full day of painting, the 2 spare bedrooms are now freshly painting. What a nightmare walls were all beat up, probably hadn't been painted in 20 years, and were filthy. So lots of scrubbing and repair work, and finally got 2 coats of paint on. Probably added 10K in market value so far just from my painting! Kids appreciate it at least, but man, I am getting too old for cranking out painting in this volume. Normally I try to keep it to 1 room per weekend!

tomorrow going back over to do some non-painting projects. Need a break from that! Taking down some weird curtain bars in the kitchen, and putting up new light fixtures in the hall and dining room. at least, that is the plan. And if i get ambitious, might pull some more baseboards off.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

Yet baseballs get hit all the time.

The Iditarod is a 1,000 mile dog sledding race from just north of Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

after another pretty full day of painting, the 2 spare bedrooms are now freshly painting. What a nightmare walls were all beat up, probably hadn't been painted in 20 years, and were filthy. So lots of scrubbing and repair work, and finally got 2 coats of paint on. Probably added 10K in market value so far just from my painting! Kids appreciate it at least, but man, I am getting too old for cranking out painting in this volume. Normally I try to keep it to 1 room per weekend!

tomorrow going back over to do some non-painting projects. Need a break from that! Taking down some weird curtain bars in the kitchen, and putting up new light fixtures in the hall and dining room. at least, that is the plan. And if i get ambitious, might pull some more baseboards off.

Did some painting myself today, but on the outside of the house. painted the exterior trim and shutters on the front of the house. Having to get to the highest reaches of the trim was no easy task.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

Yet baseballs get hit all the time.

The Iditarod is a 1,000 mile dog sledding race from just north of Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

Lots of lists on this topic, basically the same, no mention of Iditarod. Here is the basic list;
10. The Downhill (Skiiing)
9. Saving a Penalty Kick
8. Tour De France
7. Running a Marathon
6. Landing a Quad (Ice skating)
5. Returning a Serve
4. Hitting a long straight tee shot
3. Pole Vaulting
2. Race Car Driving
1. Hitting a Baseball

Maybe Iditarod is the hardest sport for dogs!

sda

stickguy said:

after another pretty full day of painting, the 2 spare bedrooms are now freshly painting. What a nightmare walls were all beat up, probably hadn't been painted in 20 years, and were filthy. So lots of scrubbing and repair work, and finally got 2 coats of paint on. Probably added 10K in market value so far just from my painting! Kids appreciate it at least, but man, I am getting too old for cranking out painting in this volume. Normally I try to keep it to 1 room per weekend!

tomorrow going back over to do some non-painting projects. Need a break from that! Taking down some weird curtain bars in the kitchen, and putting up new light fixtures in the hall and dining room. at least, that is the plan. And if i get ambitious, might pull some more baseboards off.

Post some before/after pics if the site will cooperate. Your daughter should cook you your favorite meal and give you a big hug.

houdini2

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

Yet baseballs get hit all the time.

The Iditarod is a 1,000 mile dog sledding race from just north of Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

Lots of lists on this topic, basically the same, no mention of Iditarod. Here is the basic list;
10. The Downhill (Skiiing)
9. Saving a Penalty Kick
8. Tour De France
7. Running a Marathon
6. Landing a Quad (Ice skating)
5. Returning a Serve
4. Hitting a long straight tee shot
3. Pole Vaulting
2. Race Car Driving
1. Hitting a Baseball

Maybe Iditarod is the hardest sport for dogs!

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard. Hitting a grand slam off a major league pitcher would make the list. Concerning your list, item #4. Hitting a long straight drive is one of the easier things to do in golf. Making a hole in one is much harder to do, and involves some luck. Probably the hardest thing to do in golf is to consistently "shoot your age". Being so far off on these items makes your entire list suspect.

tjc78

I have a big painting job in my future. Our living/dining room is in need. This includes a 10’ bow window, two other windows and a steel door. I’m thinking of doing it in the fall. I told my wife that she should just take the kids to Zoo for the day with her sister. Would be much easier with the kids out if the house!

Of course she said... well we could use new furniture. My response was new furniture and a new TV. This just got expensive

Her sister is actively looking for a house so when that happens at least there will be a place for all our old stuff.

houdini2

Garmin is introducing a series of new smart watches called Marq. One watch is made specifically for drivers. They look more like Rolex or Omega watches. I would post a pic, but...check them out on line.

driver100

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

Yet baseballs get hit all the time.

The Iditarod is a 1,000 mile dog sledding race from just north of Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

Lots of lists on this topic, basically the same, no mention of Iditarod. Here is the basic list;
10. The Downhill (Skiiing)
9. Saving a Penalty Kick
8. Tour De France
7. Running a Marathon
6. Landing a Quad (Ice skating)
5. Returning a Serve
4. Hitting a long straight tee shot
3. Pole Vaulting
2. Race Car Driving
1. Hitting a Baseball

Maybe Iditarod is the hardest sport for dogs!

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard. Hitting a grand slam off a major league pitcher would make the list. Concerning your list, item #4. Hitting a long straight drive is one of the easier things to do in golf. Making a hole in one is much harder to do, and involves some luck. Probably the hardest thing to do in golf is to consistently "shoot your age". Being so far off on these items makes your entire list suspect.

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard! Oh yeh;
In .1 second, the ball has traveled twelve feet as the batter locates the ball out from the pitcher’s hand. It takes another .07 of a second for the batter to recognize speed, movement, and trajectory. By now, the ball has traveled another ten feet, and it will require .017 of a second for the brain and body to work harmoniously when swinging. This leaves just .09 of a second for the batter to decide to swing or not. The slightest hesitation could be the difference between a home run and a swinging strike.

And that is just part of the exercise. Another aspect is swinging with the right trajectory. Swinging with too steep of a downward trajectory will result in a ground ball. Swinging with too much of an uppercut will result in a pop-up. David Kagan, physics professor at California State University-Chico, plotted all 586 home runs during April 2009 of the MLB season. The plot shows trajectory versus exit velocity off the bat. Kagan found that the average home run was launched at an angle of 29 ± 5 degrees at a speed of 101 ± 4 miles per hour (Kagan). There is not much room for error when swinging with the appropriate trajectory for hitting a home run. In addition, the trajectory at which you must swing varies from pitch-to-pitch. Thus, finding the right path at which to swing is quite difficult since there is not one given trajectory for every pitch under the sun.

It is a miracle that someone can hit a home run. And a good batting average is hitting once every 3 times!

And you think anyone can hit a baseball?

fintail

Looking at the amount of time involved in making it to the show, I'd say becoming an all star level NHL player is at least as difficult as anything on that list. You effectively have to start when you are a toddler, and devote your life to it by the time you are in grade school. For all around athleticism and coordination, I don't know if any major sport comes close.

houdini2

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

Yet baseballs get hit all the time.

The Iditarod is a 1,000 mile dog sledding race from just north of Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

Lots of lists on this topic, basically the same, no mention of Iditarod. Here is the basic list;
10. The Downhill (Skiiing)
9. Saving a Penalty Kick
8. Tour De France
7. Running a Marathon
6. Landing a Quad (Ice skating)
5. Returning a Serve
4. Hitting a long straight tee shot
3. Pole Vaulting
2. Race Car Driving
1. Hitting a Baseball

Maybe Iditarod is the hardest sport for dogs!

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard. Hitting a grand slam off a major league pitcher would make the list. Concerning your list, item #4. Hitting a long straight drive is one of the easier things to do in golf. Making a hole in one is much harder to do, and involves some luck. Probably the hardest thing to do in golf is to consistently "shoot your age". Being so far off on these items makes your entire list suspect.

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard! Oh yeh;
In .1 second, the ball has traveled twelve feet as the batter locates the ball out from the pitcher’s hand. It takes another .07 of a second for the batter to recognize speed, movement, and trajectory. By now, the ball has traveled another ten feet, and it will require .017 of a second for the brain and body to work harmoniously when swinging. This leaves just .09 of a second for the batter to decide to swing or not. The slightest hesitation could be the difference between a home run and a swinging strike.

And that is just part of the exercise. Another aspect is swinging with the right trajectory. Swinging with too steep of a downward trajectory will result in a ground ball. Swinging with too much of an uppercut will result in a pop-up. David Kagan, physics professor at California State University-Chico, plotted all 586 home runs during April 2009 of the MLB season. The plot shows trajectory versus exit velocity off the bat. Kagan found that the average home run was launched at an angle of 29 ± 5 degrees at a speed of 101 ± 4 miles per hour (Kagan). There is not much room for error when swinging with the appropriate trajectory for hitting a home run. In addition, the trajectory at which you must swing varies from pitch-to-pitch. Thus, finding the right path at which to swing is quite difficult since there is not one given trajectory for every pitch under the sun.

It is a miracle that someone can hit a home run. And a good batting average is hitting once every 3 times!

And you think anyone can hit a baseball?

Yes, I have seen 5 year olds hit a baseball. Your first list didn't mention all the qualifications you just added.

qbrozen

Rank of difficulty varies from person to person. A top-ranked racecar driver might find it impossible to hit a major league fastball, for example.

So, likewise, observers would be impressed by different skills depending on their own skillset.

houdini2

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

thebean said:

Does anyone follow the Tour de France bike race, which starts tomorrow? I think it’s the most difficult event in sports. Three weeks of relentless pain and pressure. The lovely Mrs Bean loves to watch it also, primarily for the scenery in France and surrounding areas. I look forward to it every year.

I usually dont follow it. Bike racing is a tough sport due to it requiring a consistent high level of effort to be of any good at it.

However I would say the Iditarod would be the most difficult event in sports due to the fact that you are racing through some of the most unforgiving remote areas in weather that can be brutal.

Not sure what an Iditarod is but the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball. If you measure the distance from the pitchers hand to the strike zone the ball is in the strike zone faster than you can think and react, so hitter has to be practically swinging by the time the ball leaves the pitchers hand.

Yet baseballs get hit all the time.

The Iditarod is a 1,000 mile dog sledding race from just north of Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

Lots of lists on this topic, basically the same, no mention of Iditarod. Here is the basic list;
10. The Downhill (Skiiing)
9. Saving a Penalty Kick
8. Tour De France
7. Running a Marathon
6. Landing a Quad (Ice skating)
5. Returning a Serve
4. Hitting a long straight tee shot
3. Pole Vaulting
2. Race Car Driving
1. Hitting a Baseball

Maybe Iditarod is the hardest sport for dogs!

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard. Hitting a grand slam off a major league pitcher would make the list. Concerning your list, item #4. Hitting a long straight drive is one of the easier things to do in golf. Making a hole in one is much harder to do, and involves some luck. Probably the hardest thing to do in golf is to consistently "shoot your age". Being so far off on these items makes your entire list suspect.

Simply hitting a baseball is not that hard! Oh yeh;
In .1 second, the ball has traveled twelve feet as the batter locates the ball out from the pitcher’s hand. It takes another .07 of a second for the batter to recognize speed, movement, and trajectory. By now, the ball has traveled another ten feet, and it will require .017 of a second for the brain and body to work harmoniously when swinging. This leaves just .09 of a second for the batter to decide to swing or not. The slightest hesitation could be the difference between a home run and a swinging strike.

And that is just part of the exercise. Another aspect is swinging with the right trajectory. Swinging with too steep of a downward trajectory will result in a ground ball. Swinging with too much of an uppercut will result in a pop-up. David Kagan, physics professor at California State University-Chico, plotted all 586 home runs during April 2009 of the MLB season. The plot shows trajectory versus exit velocity off the bat. Kagan found that the average home run was launched at an angle of 29 ± 5 degrees at a speed of 101 ± 4 miles per hour (Kagan). There is not much room for error when swinging with the appropriate trajectory for hitting a home run. In addition, the trajectory at which you must swing varies from pitch-to-pitch. Thus, finding the right path at which to swing is quite difficult since there is not one given trajectory for every pitch under the sun.

It is a miracle that someone can hit a home run. And a good batting average is hitting once every 3 times!

And you think anyone can hit a baseball?

Yes, I have seen 5 year olds hit a baseball. Your first list didn't mention all the qualifications you just added. If you read my post I mentioned that major league pitching would make the list.

driver100

The list takes the top athletes in their fields, and then compares what is the hardest thing to do....this is in a professional sports game. If you count speed, accuracy, time to react, everything, then you create the list. Hitting a hole in one for example is hard to do, but if you consider the time a baseball travelling over 100 mph takes to get to the batter, and how fast the batters mind has to calculate whether to swing the bat and where to swing it and time it right and at the right angle.....hitting a baseball in a professional baseball game is not as easy as it looks.

houdini2

qbrozen said:

Rank of difficulty varies from person to person. A top-ranked racecar driver might find it impossible to hit a major league fastball, for example.

So, likewise, observers would be impressed by different skills depending on their own skillset.

Yep.

stickguy

I think I got some pictures of the before. after will be easy.

tomorrow 2nd coat will go on in the hallway, LR/DR, and kitchen. Happy happy, joy joy.

did non-paint projects today. Put up a new overhead like in the hallway. New towel bars in the bathroom. Took some old curtain bars and brackets down (this house had a lot of weird fixtures). And my favorite, I ripped up more flooring in the corner of the kitchen, releasing another waft of cat pee odor. I already took the engineered wood out (really bad idea in a kitchen anyway, and these pieces were soggy and flacid from residual cat pee). That help, along with scraping the wall and some Kilz spray. but, still had an odor. They had installed the wood right over the old sheet vinyl, so I peeled that back. Which unleashed the stink. Turns out that vinyl does not absorb moisture, but the paper backing sure does! just ripping that out helped (after we sprayed with bleach and nature's miracle).

ran out of time, but tomorrow will scrape it down to bare subfloor, and probably have to cut out a small section to get back to untainted solid wood. Patch that, another can of Kilz, and the house might finally not have the aroma of cat pee.

next discussion with the homeowners is what they want to do in there. Sadly she already got new fridge and gas range because my vote is to rip the crappy floor out, address the problem area (thankfully just a small section in one corner), they put down fresh Luann and a new floor of vinyl snap together planks. We can DIY that for not too much money next weekend. only hassle is getting the appliances out of the way. Might get lucky and can do around the stove without removing it and worrying about the gas line (go up to it, then pull it out to get behind it).

I did take a piece of (slightly stinky) wood to a few flooring places, and of course, not something that still exists. even if you don't care about color, nothing made in the right style/size. so I only have a few spare board to play with to patch back in, then the corner will be "put a big potted plant over the gap" territory. But better to replace now, because in a few weeks, the guy that is redoing all the hardwood is also putting all new baseboards in.

this project, might kill me off, but has actually been kind of fun. I just am really tired of painting.

imidazol97

stickguy said:

I think I got some pictures of the before. after will be easy.

tomorrow 2nd coat will go on in the hallway, LR/DR, and kitchen. Happy happy, joy joy.

did non-paint projects today. Put up a new overhead like in the hallway. New towel bars in the bathroom. Took some old curtain bars and brackets down (this house had a lot of weird fixtures). And my favorite, I ripped up more flooring in the corner of the kitchen, releasing another waft of cat pee odor. I already took the engineered wood out (really bad idea in a kitchen anyway, and these pieces were soggy and flacid from residual cat pee). That help, along with scraping the wall and some Kilz spray. but, still had an odor. They had installed the wood right over the old sheet vinyl, so I peeled that back. Which unleashed the stink. Turns out that vinyl does not absorb moisture, but the paper backing sure does! just ripping that out helped (after we sprayed with bleach and nature's miracle).

ran out of time, but tomorrow will scrape it down to bare subfloor, and probably have to cut out a small section to get back to untainted solid wood. Patch that, another can of Kilz, and the house might finally not have the aroma of cat pee.

next discussion with the homeowners is what they want to do in there. Sadly she already got new fridge and gas range because my vote is to rip the crappy floor out, address the problem area (thankfully just a small section in one corner), they put down fresh Luann and a new floor of vinyl snap together planks. We can DIY that for not too much money next weekend. only hassle is getting the appliances out of the way. Might get lucky and can do around the stove without removing it and worrying about the gas line (go up to it, then pull it out to get behind it).

I did take a piece of (slightly stinky) wood to a few flooring places, and of course, not something that still exists. even if you don't care about color, nothing made in the right style/size. so I only have a few spare board to play with to patch back in, then the corner will be "put a big potted plant over the gap" territory. But better to replace now, because in a few weeks, the guy that is redoing all the hardwood is also putting all new baseboards in.

this project, might kill me off, but has actually been kind of fun. I just am really tired of painting.

All that talk about work is wearing me out. And I'm not even doing it. Anymore, I dread starting projects because something always goes wrong, requiring multiple visits to the home stores and asking questions of folks there for advice.

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

stickguy said:

I think I got some pictures of the before. after will be easy.

tomorrow 2nd coat will go on in the hallway, LR/DR, and kitchen. Happy happy, joy joy.

did non-paint projects today. Put up a new overhead like in the hallway. New towel bars in the bathroom. Took some old curtain bars and brackets down (this house had a lot of weird fixtures). And my favorite, I ripped up more flooring in the corner of the kitchen, releasing another waft of cat pee odor. I already took the engineered wood out (really bad idea in a kitchen anyway, and these pieces were soggy and flacid from residual cat pee). That help, along with scraping the wall and some Kilz spray. but, still had an odor. They had installed the wood right over the old sheet vinyl, so I peeled that back. Which unleashed the stink. Turns out that vinyl does not absorb moisture, but the paper backing sure does! just ripping that out helped (after we sprayed with bleach and nature's miracle).

ran out of time, but tomorrow will scrape it down to bare subfloor, and probably have to cut out a small section to get back to untainted solid wood. Patch that, another can of Kilz, and the house might finally not have the aroma of cat pee.

next discussion with the homeowners is what they want to do in there. Sadly she already got new fridge and gas range because my vote is to rip the crappy floor out, address the problem area (thankfully just a small section in one corner), they put down fresh Luann and a new floor of vinyl snap together planks. We can DIY that for not too much money next weekend. only hassle is getting the appliances out of the way. Might get lucky and can do around the stove without removing it and worrying about the gas line (go up to it, then pull it out to get behind it).

I did take a piece of (slightly stinky) wood to a few flooring places, and of course, not something that still exists. even if you don't care about color, nothing made in the right style/size. so I only have a few spare board to play with to patch back in, then the corner will be "put a big potted plant over the gap" territory. But better to replace now, because in a few weeks, the guy that is redoing all the hardwood is also putting all new baseboards in.

this project, might kill me off, but has actually been kind of fun. I just am really tired of painting.

All that talk about work is wearing me out. And I'm not even doing it. Anymore, I dread starting projects because something always goes wrong, requiring multiple visits to the home stores and asking questions of folks there for advice.

I just write checks, and then complain to the people I hire, until they get it right. It’s exhausting, but I’m usually better, after a nap.

suydam

kyfdx said:

imidazol97 said:

stickguy said:

I think I got some pictures of the before. after will be easy.

tomorrow 2nd coat will go on in the hallway, LR/DR, and kitchen. Happy happy, joy joy.

did non-paint projects today. Put up a new overhead like in the hallway. New towel bars in the bathroom. Took some old curtain bars and brackets down (this house had a lot of weird fixtures). And my favorite, I ripped up more flooring in the corner of the kitchen, releasing another waft of cat pee odor. I already took the engineered wood out (really bad idea in a kitchen anyway, and these pieces were soggy and flacid from residual cat pee). That help, along with scraping the wall and some Kilz spray. but, still had an odor. They had installed the wood right over the old sheet vinyl, so I peeled that back. Which unleashed the stink. Turns out that vinyl does not absorb moisture, but the paper backing sure does! just ripping that out helped (after we sprayed with bleach and nature's miracle).

ran out of time, but tomorrow will scrape it down to bare subfloor, and probably have to cut out a small section to get back to untainted solid wood. Patch that, another can of Kilz, and the house might finally not have the aroma of cat pee.

next discussion with the homeowners is what they want to do in there. Sadly she already got new fridge and gas range because my vote is to rip the crappy floor out, address the problem area (thankfully just a small section in one corner), they put down fresh Luann and a new floor of vinyl snap together planks. We can DIY that for not too much money next weekend. only hassle is getting the appliances out of the way. Might get lucky and can do around the stove without removing it and worrying about the gas line (go up to it, then pull it out to get behind it).

I did take a piece of (slightly stinky) wood to a few flooring places, and of course, not something that still exists. even if you don't care about color, nothing made in the right style/size. so I only have a few spare board to play with to patch back in, then the corner will be "put a big potted plant over the gap" territory. But better to replace now, because in a few weeks, the guy that is redoing all the hardwood is also putting all new baseboards in.

this project, might kill me off, but has actually been kind of fun. I just am really tired of painting.

All that talk about work is wearing me out. And I'm not even doing it. Anymore, I dread starting projects because something always goes wrong, requiring multiple visits to the home stores and asking questions of folks there for advice.

I just write checks, and then complain to the people I hire, until they get it right. It’s exhausting, but I’m usually better, after a nap.

+1.

Michaell

suydam said:

kyfdx said:

imidazol97 said:

stickguy said:

I think I got some pictures of the before. after will be easy.

tomorrow 2nd coat will go on in the hallway, LR/DR, and kitchen. Happy happy, joy joy.

did non-paint projects today. Put up a new overhead like in the hallway. New towel bars in the bathroom. Took some old curtain bars and brackets down (this house had a lot of weird fixtures). And my favorite, I ripped up more flooring in the corner of the kitchen, releasing another waft of cat pee odor. I already took the engineered wood out (really bad idea in a kitchen anyway, and these pieces were soggy and flacid from residual cat pee). That help, along with scraping the wall and some Kilz spray. but, still had an odor. They had installed the wood right over the old sheet vinyl, so I peeled that back. Which unleashed the stink. Turns out that vinyl does not absorb moisture, but the paper backing sure does! just ripping that out helped (after we sprayed with bleach and nature's miracle).

ran out of time, but tomorrow will scrape it down to bare subfloor, and probably have to cut out a small section to get back to untainted solid wood. Patch that, another can of Kilz, and the house might finally not have the aroma of cat pee.

next discussion with the homeowners is what they want to do in there. Sadly she already got new fridge and gas range because my vote is to rip the crappy floor out, address the problem area (thankfully just a small section in one corner), they put down fresh Luann and a new floor of vinyl snap together planks. We can DIY that for not too much money next weekend. only hassle is getting the appliances out of the way. Might get lucky and can do around the stove without removing it and worrying about the gas line (go up to it, then pull it out to get behind it).

I did take a piece of (slightly stinky) wood to a few flooring places, and of course, not something that still exists. even if you don't care about color, nothing made in the right style/size. so I only have a few spare board to play with to patch back in, then the corner will be "put a big potted plant over the gap" territory. But better to replace now, because in a few weeks, the guy that is redoing all the hardwood is also putting all new baseboards in.

this project, might kill me off, but has actually been kind of fun. I just am really tired of painting.

All that talk about work is wearing me out. And I'm not even doing it. Anymore, I dread starting projects because something always goes wrong, requiring multiple visits to the home stores and asking questions of folks there for advice.

I just write checks, and then complain to the people I hire, until they get it right. It’s exhausting, but I’m usually better, after a nap.

+1.

+2, unless we can get our kids to do it.

stickguy

daughter arrived home so we hashed out floor options. decided to go ahead and get the vinyl product, and take a shot at it. so next weekend, looks like the 2 of us are going to see how good we are at a DIY flooring system. One of the click together deals, but a waterproof vinyl engineered product. Should be pretty simple. make sure old floor is smooth, roll out the underlayment and tape the seams, then start snapping pieces into place until you are done. Years ago I did that with a wood product in our dining room, and it was pretty easy. this is a smaller room and won't require 2 layers of plywood first. I think we can just use the underlayment roll, then the floor. if so, super easy. The baseboards are already removed, which was probably the worst part of the job!

I can't wait until they finally move in, and all the rush to get stuff done is over!