Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

Actually, there is a good chance the photo is real. The photographer is well known:

This photograph by wildlife photographer Mohan Thomas contains two leopards. The mother leopard is easy to see, but can you find her cub looking into the camera?

Thomas, who’s based in Bangalore, India, captured the photograph in the Kabini Forest Reserve, which is known for animals that include leopards, monkeys, deer, crocodiles, and more.

He was shooting from roughly 300 meters (~980 feet) away with a 600mm lens on a 1.4x teleconverter, giving him a focal length of 840mm and quite a bit of reach.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

You have to see the original to see the squirrel or chipmunk:

So many pictures are photoshopped these days...unless proven otherwise I tend to believe they were PS'd

I would say that unless it's obvious (see below) I take it that it wasn't photoshopped until proven otherwise.

Obviously photo shopped, she is missing her right thumb
(I know, that's just a minor problem)

roadburner

mlevine said:

Thanks for the help. Looked at crutchfield products. No upgrade only replace same type of amp and speakers as I suspect they no longer work. Suspect amp shorted out and speakers burnt out. Going to local place recommended by the owner of another car audio place that did not reopen post covid. I also got positive feedback from scratch and dent guy I know. I guess we will see what happens.

There's a company called Bavsound that sells plug and play speakers and amps for BMWs, Minis, and Supras. Perhaps there's a similar company providing upgrades for the M-B audience.

mlevine

i am hoping the MB C250 only will need rear amp and /or speakers. Should not hopefully need whole new audio system. The car still drives great and has only about 56,000 miles on it. Dealer wanted a lot of money for parts. I hope audio place next week can help with lower cost.

mjfloyd1

Look also at sonicelctronix.com

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/ci466-2014-mercedes-benz-c250-factory-stereo-upgrades.html

abacomike

Well, getting out of hospital today. I am so happy about getting home to my own environs. The results of the catheterization were negative - no major blockage in my coronary arteries. Still have lingering issues with blood pressures being elevated, but I can handle that with proper medication.

sda

abacomike said:

Well, getting out of hospital today. I am so happy about getting home to my own environs. The results of the catheterization were negative - no major blockage in my coronary arteries. Still have lingering issues with blood pressures being elevated, but I can handle that with proper medication.

Great news Mike!

bwia

Never heard of rapper Rick Ross until a Car and Driver article mentioned his 109 car collection including several vintage 1955 to 1957 Chevy Bel Airs. It must be nice to own such an eclectic collection in his 400-acre, 109-room mansion in Georgia. One titbit, Ross saves about $1 million a year by cutting his grass himself, sometimes spending up to 4 hours at a time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wslJovj2PHc&t=191s

driver100

sda said:

abacomike said:

Well, getting out of hospital today. I am so happy about getting home to my own environs. The results of the catheterization were negative - no major blockage in my coronary arteries. Still have lingering issues with blood pressures being elevated, but I can handle that with proper medication.

Great news Mike!

+1

mlevine

Hope you are feeling better Mike. Blood pressure medication should make you feel better. High blood pressure can mimic heart problem.

mjfloyd1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqu57JYp9zg

tjc78

That right there was awesome!

roadburner

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUjr8EVgBg&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2HQ2nXOdMQu2TUKporUR4MclbXaqqqXqIaCn_ULZPImUGH-Cd349ZbA7c

tjc78

Great to hear Mike!

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

Never heard of rapper Rick Ross until a Car and Driver article mentioned his 109 car collection including several vintage 1955 to 1957 Chevy Bel Airs. It must be nice to own such an eclectic collection in his 400-acre, 109-room mansion in Georgia. One titbit, Ross saves about $1 million a year by cutting his grass himself, sometimes spending up to 4 hours at a time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wslJovj2PHc&t=191s

I’d cut it for half that.

ab348

abacomike said:

Well, getting out of hospital today. I am so happy about getting home to my own environs. The results of the catheterization were negative - no major blockage in my coronary arteries. Still have lingering issues with blood pressures being elevated, but I can handle that with proper medication.

I'm glad you're out of there, but I can't keep track any more. I thought you were in there for back problems. Guess that is so last week...

bwia

@abacomike said:
Well, getting out of hospital today. I am so happy about getting home to my own environs. The results of the catheterization were negative - no major blockage in my coronary arteries. Still have lingering issues with blood pressures being elevated, but I can handle that with proper medication.

@mike Glad to hear some good news for a change and Happy Fourth

henryn

bwia said:

Never heard of rapper Rick Ross until a Car and Driver article mentioned his 109 car collection including several vintage 1955 to 1957 Chevy Bel Airs. It must be nice to own such an eclectic collection in his 400-acre, 109-room mansion in Georgia. One titbit, Ross saves about $1 million a year by cutting his grass himself, sometimes spending up to 4 hours at a time.

Leon Hale wrote a column for the Houston Chronicle for several decades, and was very well known in this part of the world. He once said that he learned to think while mowing pastures with a tractor back when he was a teenager. Long straight stretches with nothing to do but keep the tractor in a straight line. And think.

abacomike

@ab348 said:
I'm glad you're out of there, but I can't keep track any more. I thought you were in there for back problems. Guess that is so last week...

Had to go back in for chest pains.

henryn

abacomike said:

@ab348 said:

I'm glad you're out of there, but I can't keep track any more. I thought you were in there for back problems. Guess that is so last week...

Had to go back in for chest pains.

Did you get the surgery to (hopefully) fix your back problems?

mjfloyd1

Better safe than sorry

Hope it turns out ok for you.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

You have to see the original to see the squirrel or chipmunk:

So many pictures are photoshopped these days...unless proven otherwise I tend to believe they were PS'd

I would say that unless it's obvious (see below) I take it that it wasn't photoshopped until proven otherwise.

Obviously photo shopped, she is missing her right thumb
(I know, that's just a minor problem)

That’s nothing, unlike the leopard the poor horse doesn’t have a tail.

jmonroe

abacomike

@henryn said:
Did you get the surgery to (hopefully) fix your back problems?

Not yet - have appt with neurosurgeon later this month

snakeweasel

Well I am shopping for a new tire for the bike and this is the same type of tire I have on it now, do you think it's a good sales price?

jmonroe1

snakeweasel said:

Well I am shopping for a new tire for the bike and this is the same type of tire I have on it now, do you think it's a good sales price?

I’d wait until it’s no longer on sale.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

@snakeweasel said:
Well I am shopping for a new tire for the bike and this is the same type of tire I have on it now, do you think it's a good sales price?

Nice. On sale for more than MSRP

roadburner

I dropped by Best Buy yesterday to check with the Geek Squad about the issue with my Panasonic 4K BD player. I didn't have very high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. The befuddled young guy didn't have a shred of a clue but he did suggest I go to the Magnolia "High End" section of the store and ask one of the salespeople there. The sales guy there suggested running an optical cable from the TV to the HTR so I had to explain yet again that I had a 7.1 system. His final bit of advice was to contact a Magnolia "troubleshooter" at the bargain price of $100(!).
So I'm taking the Panasonic back and getting a Sony X800M2; no automatic Dolby Vision detection, but that's a small price to pay for a 4K BD player that works.
Hopefully.

qbrozen

As some of you may or may not know, I have been a landlord to our old house for the past 5+ years. And have wanted to stop being a landlord for approximately five of those. Given the hot market in the area of the house, I decided to give it a shot to sell it as is for cash to an investor. I got quite a bit of interest and met with two of them today. Both want the property. I don’t, however, play the bidding game. Never have and never will. So I am choosing just based on gut instinct. Hopefully I made the right choice. I will be very relieved to have something this big off my plate.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
As some of you may or may not know, I have been a landlord to our old house for the past 5+ years. And have wanted to stop being a landlord for approximately five of those. Given the hot market in the area of the house, I decided to give it a shot to sell it as is for cash to an investor. I got quite a bit of interest and met with two of them today. Both want the property. I don’t, however, play the bidding game. Never have and never will. So I am choosing just based on gut instinct. Hopefully I made the right choice. I will be very relieved to have something this big off my plate.

Super long story involving family, but we got stuck with another property and I absolutely couldn’t wait to unload it. Nothing but headaches.

stickguy

I have absolutely zero desire to be a landlord. Even if the business case makes it look like a good financial move.

28firefighter

I’m planning to buy a vacation property in the next 3-5 years, and intending for it to be a vacation rental help cover costs. Will definitely be using a management company.

mjfloyd1

We don’t rent ours out. The thought of someone dying in my bed or drowning in my pool is off putting

28firefighter

@mjfloyd1 said:
We don’t rent ours out. The thought of someone dying in my bed or drowning in my pool is off putting

I’d love not to, but to be where I want is out of budget without renting it out.

But thanks for those happy thoughts! Lol.

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

We don’t rent ours out. The thought of someone dying in my bed or drowning in my pool is off putting

So, your friends get to stay for free?

qbrozen

We could turn around and buy a vacation home, but honestly would not know where and we like visiting different places every vacation, so I’m not sure it makes sense.
I did have a couple of people suggest owning FL property works well. But aren’t there like a million for rent? So how well could that really work?

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
We could turn around and buy a vacation home, but honestly would not know where and we like visiting different places every vacation, so I’m not sure it makes sense.
I did have a couple of people suggest owning FL property works well. But aren’t there like a million for rent? So how well could that really work?

I keep thinking similarly - here at Indiana University they keep building new apartments but rent keeps going up despite supply going up.

mjfloyd1

@28firefighter said:

@mjfloyd1 said:
We don’t rent ours out. The thought of someone dying in my bed or drowning in my pool is off putting

I’d love not to, but to be where I want is out of budget without renting it out.

But thanks for those happy thoughts! Lol.

I’m here to help, I have the time…

fintail

Too bad it couldn't have been sold as a starter to a new buyer rather than a possible flipper or hoarder, but at the same time, I'd want to get out and not be a landlord as well. That was a brief discussion we had about my grandma's house, and a few of us just laughed at the thought - too much opportunity for drama.

It's still a wild market out there. I might have mentioned it, my mom lives in a small town some distance from the rat race. Her current house of ~30 years has a ton of deferred maintenance issues (probably would require vacating the house for many months to fix, really needs a gut renovation) , and she's in her 70s now - maybe time to just cut it loose and get something that won't have needs for at least the medium term. Aided by some money from grandma, she's house shopping. Not as many shoppers there compared to the urban areas, but a lot less supply - and she has demands.
First house that meets her specs, she likes it, puts in a bid about 10% over ask and some earnest money. No other close bids - but one, apparently just a little over hers. But there's a catch - these buyers have FHA financing that the seller's agent thinks could be a problem (old house), and the seller's agent thinks the house won't appraise high enough, so they tell the owners to take my mom's offer. Nope, they are holding out. Second house - a flip, bought 6 months ago for 100K less than current ask, and put on the market a month ago, price already lowered 10%. Her and my brother tour it, my brother responds with a firm "nope" and the opinion that it'll probably cost 50K to address the cut corners. Seller's agent actually tells my mom's agent that the owner is very motivated to look at lower offers - I get the feeling the flipper got in too deep and couldn't properly finish the job.
Third house - cash only sale, claimed cosmetic fixer, great neighborhood. I like the look of it and tell her for 20K she can probably do interior paint and flooring. She nixes it mostly on the basis of it is on an odd narrow street.

qbrozen said:

As some of you may or may not know, I have been a landlord to our old house for the past 5+ years. And have wanted to stop being a landlord for approximately five of those. Given the hot market in the area of the house, I decided to give it a shot to sell it as is for cash to an investor. I got quite a bit of interest and met with two of them today. Both want the property. I don’t, however, play the bidding game. Never have and never will. So I am choosing just based on gut instinct. Hopefully I made the right choice. I will be very relieved to have something this big off my plate.

snakeweasel

@mjfloyd1 said:

@snakeweasel said:
Well I am shopping for a new tire for the bike and this is the same type of tire I have on it now, do you think it's a good sales price?

Nice. On sale for more than MSRP

Looks like it but no, unless they dropped the price from a few years ago. This is the same tire I got a few years ago and it was more than what they have it listed at. It's just a typo.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

Well I am shopping for a new tire for the bike and this is the same type of tire I have on it now, do you think it's a good sales price?

Are those like training tires stuck together? Or is it $113 for the narrow one and $114 for the wide track?

mjfloyd1

I looked online and that tire was available for $98. IIRC (just googled it). Of course, shipping may kill the deal…

https://www.jpcycles.com/product/44670/continental-motion-sport-touring-motorcycle-tires?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA-Continental-Products&utm_id=google_10878461162_123286372956_525786799173_pla-1301689863252_m__912-583_Cj0KCQjw24qHBhCnARIsAPbdtlLAloAQsY0TlXhQCDKsdAgZjD_KaCzymowYb3MW5ODPHpZHbSEh9AEaAuGBEALw_wcB&utm_term=1301689863252&gclid=Cj0KCQjw24qHBhCnARIsAPbdtlLAloAQsY0TlXhQCDKsdAgZjD_KaCzymowYb3MW5ODPHpZHbSEh9AEaAuGBEALw_wcB?redirectedKeyword=912-585

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

We don’t rent ours out. The thought of someone dying in my bed or drowning in my pool is off putting

So, your friends get to stay for free?

I guess but we’d have to promise not to croak in his precious bed.

jmonroe

driver100

qbrozen said:

We could turn around and buy a vacation home, but honestly would not know where and we like visiting different places every vacation, so I’m not sure it makes sense.

I did have a couple of people suggest owning FL property works well. But aren’t there like a million for rent? So how well could that really work?

Just somethings to consider:
* When you are young you will probably prefer staying in different places each year, but there may come a time when you just want to be in a warm climate for the winter. We don't think of our Florida place as a vacation home....it is our winter 2nd home that happens to be in a nice climate.
* At one time we rented a place for 3 or 4 weeks in Florida. Problem is it is difficult to stay for much longer as you don't have a network of friends or activities. We found that is you want to stay for 4 or 5 months minimum, you need to have friends and activities you enjoy....hard to do when things and people are temporary.
* I have heard of young people who buy a Florida place, rent it out as much as possible to help pay it off, and they end up with a nice property that will be paid off or will be within reach of paying it off when they retire.
* The advantage of owning is we don't have to lock up our possessions, we are in a place that allows dogs, all our stuff is there and we don't have to take it back and forth.

mjfloyd1

Agreed. We like being able to go when we want and arrive to our bed with clean sheets. If we push through and make it at 2 am, no problem. We sleep in and there is a Carabba’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Publix nearby.

mjfloyd1

@jmonroe1 said:
I guess but we’d have to promise not to croak in his precious bed.

jmonroe

Clearly, payment would have to be made prior to arrival

tjc78

@28firefighter said:

@mjfloyd1 said:
We don’t rent ours out. The thought of someone dying in my bed or drowning in my pool is off putting

I’d love not to, but to be where I want is out of budget without renting it out.

But thanks for those happy thoughts! Lol.

In a couple years when we are done with the campground outside Sea Isle we want a condo in Wildwood Crest. What I would be happy with we wouldn’t have to rent. What my wife wants we would have to rent at least 5-6 prime weeks in the summer to offset the additional costs.

There is always the option of M-F rentals for friends/extended family that can help too. That way you can still use it on the weekends.

Michaell

My sister and I are landlords to my mom's house in my hometown in SoCal. Tough to do from a distance (my sister is in San Diego, 200 miles away), but we manage.

The best part is that my ex-wife, my son and DIL are our tenants. Best? Did I say best? It's going pretty well, so far - like @fintail, my mom's house is 50+ years old, and has some needs. We are addressing them slowly, and my sister did establish a home warranty for major items, which we've had to use a couple of times already.

We figure the investments will pay off when it comes time to sell. It will need interior paint and carpet before it goes on the market.

snakeweasel

@driver100 said:
Are those like training tires stuck together? Or is it $113 for the narrow one and $114 for the wide track?

The wide one is the one on sale at $114,
it's usually around $130. The narrow one is the matching front tire which is smaller and runs around $80.

snakeweasel

@mjfloyd1 said:
I looked online and that tire was available for $98. IIRC (just googled it). Of course, shipping may kill the deal…

https://www.jpcycles.com/product/44670/continental-motion-sport-touring-motorcycle-tires?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA-Continental-Products&utm_id=google_10878461162_123286372956_525786799173_pla-1301689863252_m__912-583_Cj0KCQjw24qHBhCnARIsAPbdtlLAloAQsY0TlXhQCDKsdAgZjD_KaCzymowYb3MW5ODPHpZHbSEh9AEaAuGBEALw_wcB&utm_term=1301689863252&gclid=Cj0KCQjw24qHBhCnARIsAPbdtlLAloAQsY0TlXhQCDKsdAgZjD_KaCzymowYb3MW5ODPHpZHbSEh9AEaAuGBEALw_wcB?redirectedKeyword=912-585

Shipping may kill the deal as I know I can get the tire shipped to the store at least for nothing and the store is 10 minutes away.

snakeweasel

@jmonroe1 said:
I guess but we’d have to promise not to croak in his precious bed.

jmonroe

Just leave the frog 🐸 costume at home.