Minor things that bother you

[hbelkins]

I used to use Trip A for the fuel tank distance and Trip B for the oil change mileage, but since my present vehicle only has three digits for trip mileage, Trip B is mostly unused.

That's what the little sticker in the upper left corner of your windshield that the service facility places there is for.

Of course these days, cars will automatically tell you when your oil needs changed so I'm not sure why one would need to keep track of mileage between oil changes unless one likes spending money on oil and/or service unnecessarily.

[Max Rockatansky]

I used to use Trip A for the fuel tank distance and Trip B for the oil change mileage, but since my present vehicle only has three digits for trip mileage, Trip B is mostly unused.

That's what the little sticker in the upper left corner of your windshield that the service facility places there is for.

The heat here always causes them to peel off in my cars.  Most stickers are just simple window clings.

[formulanone]

I used to use Trip A for the fuel tank distance and Trip B for the oil change mileage, but since my present vehicle only has three digits for trip mileage, Trip B is mostly unused.

That's what the little sticker in the upper left corner of your windshield that the service facility places there is for.

Of course these days, cars will automatically tell you when your oil needs changed so I'm not sure why one would need to keep track of mileage between oil changes unless one likes spending money on oil and/or service unnecessarily.

Sometimes the ink gets discolored and it's unreadable, or it peels off and disappears, so that was my backup. Not sure why they sometimes fell off or refused to stick.

Usually those maintenance lights come on around 500 miles beforehand so that also works. My present vehicle doesn't have that feature, but I just keep a log with the repair orders.

[kphoger]

Of course these days, cars will automatically tell you when your oil needs changed so I'm not sure why one would need to keep track of mileage between oil changes unless one likes spending money on oil and/or service unnecessarily.

1.  I've never owned a car that automatically tells me when my oil needs to be changed.

2.  My mechanic might recommend a different oil change interval than the car's computer recommends.

[Max Rockatansky]

I keep track of the intervals mainly so they fit into my schedule.  I do a lot driving recreationally and for work.  The last thing I want is to be scrambling to change the oil because the light came on and I was caught unaware.

Also, with four vehicles in my possession it probably is in my to stay on top of required maintenance intervals.  I feel as though sometimes I'm one of the few people that maintains a logbook in the driver's manual and keeps paper copies of all my service receipts.

[Rothman]

Of course these days, cars will automatically tell you when your oil needs changed so I'm not sure why one would need to keep track of mileage between oil changes unless one likes spending money on oil and/or service unnecessarily.

1.  I've never owned a car that automatically tells me when my oil needs to be changed.

2.  My mechanic might recommend a different oil change interval than the car's computer recommends.

If I were a mechanic, I'd tell you to get oil changes more often than the manual says as well.

[vdeane]

Getting lectured by the store employee about the self-checkout lane being 20 items or fewer when I only had 12 items.  Sure, I had three bags (and had to take the time to make them), but that was because I had a thing of toilet paper that takes up a lot of room, not because I had a gazillion items.  Even if the frozen foods I usually buy hadn't been all out, I would have still been below 20 items!  Speaking of that, I would have had enough groceries to use the "$10 off if you spend $75 or more coupon" for this week if they hadn't been out.

For some makes/models, you reset the maintenance light by using the trip odometer switch while holding another button. But...it sounds like they screwed up a little. Might have been a new mechanic.

That feels like the most likely reason.  They must have figured it out, since the maintenance system had been reset by the time they were done.

[kphoger]

Getting lectured by the store employee about the self-checkout lane being 20 items or fewer when I only had 12 items.

That employee was just asking for some hot-tempered shopper to start going off in a tirade, huh?  Good thing it was you instead.

[Rothman]

I've seen many more employees turning a blind eye to item limits than those that enforce them.

I've assumed the store thinks that the fight would be more time-consuming than just checking them out.

[kphoger]

I've seen many more employees turning a blind eye to item limits than those that enforce them.

I've assumed the store thinks that the fight would be more time-consuming than just checking them out.

Scenarios:

1.  The checkout lines aren't very crowded.  In this case, it doesn't really matter if the shopper has more than x-number of items, because the lines are short.

2.  The checkout lines are crowded.  In this case, it might actually help the overall situation, because otherwise the shopper would be clogging up one of the other lines even worse.

[JayhawkCO]

I have no problem going over 20 items in the self-checkout because my natural speed and efficiency in doing the checkout means I could do 30 items while someone else does 10. And, when they only have one regular lane open and there are three full carts waiting in that line, it's fairly unreasonable to expect someone to wait 10 minutes when I could knock the whole thing out in 3 myself.

[kphoger]

There was a power outage at the water treatment plant in Wichita (the older one), so there's a boil notice in effect.  I found out first thing this morning at work, so I called my wife right away.  But my office is in Park City, not Wichita.  So I've been drinking tea all morning.  Now I find out that the notice covers several surrounding towns as well.  So, I guess, if I get sick later...

[kphoger]

There was a power outage at the water treatment plant in Wichita (the older one), so there's a boil notice in effect.  I found out first thing this morning at work, so I called my wife right away.  But my office is in Park City, not Wichita.  So I've been drinking tea all morning.  Now I find out that the notice covers several surrounding towns as well.  So, I guess, if I get sick later...

pffft.  OK, never mind.

The City of Wichita is under a boil water advisory, and Park City is included in this advisory. This is due to a lack of pressure in Wichita and not Park City, but that KDHE is being overly cautious.

Back to business as usual, folks...

[Rothman]

I have no problem going over 20 items in the self-checkout because my natural speed and efficiency in doing the checkout means I could do 30 items while someone else does 10. And, when they only have one regular lane open and there are three full carts waiting in that line, it's fairly unreasonable to expect someone to wait 10 minutes when I could knock the whole thing out in 3 myself.

It's always helpful when the problem self-identifies.

[kphoger]

I have no problem going over 20 items in the self-checkout because my natural speed and efficiency in doing the checkout means I could do 30 items while someone else does 10. And, when they only have one regular lane open and there are three full carts waiting in that line, it's fairly unreasonable to expect someone to wait 10 minutes when I could knock the whole thing out in 3 myself.

It's always helpful when the problem self-identifies.

I identified the problem.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I have a shared computer at work. I try to tape down hanging cords so my foot doesn't catch them and send the mouse and keyboard flying off the tray, and someone keeps ripping out the tape jobs. Unless they're basically entirely rearranging the setup for their own purposes, there's no reason they should need to do that.

[kphoger]

I have a shared computer at work. I try to tape down hanging cords so my foot doesn't catch them and send the mouse and keyboard flying off the tray, and someone keeps ripping out the tape jobs. Unless they're basically entirely rearranging the setup for their own purposes, there's no reason they should need to do that.

I spent probably three hours setting up my computer station, which is an L of two office desks.  Each desk has purpose-built holes in the corners to route cables down through.  I have the cables Velcro-taped into bundles over to those holes to make it as little of a spider's web as possible.  Under my desks, I have the power strips for everything to plug into, propped out of my feet's way on upside-down parts trays.  Everything looks neat, and nothing gets in the way.

For reference, I have the following cords:

desktop PC power supply
desktop PC speakers
desktop PC keyboard
desktop PC mouse
desktop PC DVI to monitor 2
laptop PC power supply
laptop PC to dock
laptop PC to keyboard
dock to VGA-to-HDMI adapter (monitor 1)
dock to VGA-to-HDMI adapter (monitor 2)
VGA from dock to monitor 1
VGA from dock to monitor 2
VoIP desk phone power supply
VoIP desk phone to phone jack
VoIP desk phone to headset
VoIP desk phone to handset lifter
VoIP desk phone Ethernet to desktop PC
monitor 1 power supply
monitor 2 power supply
Scentsy wax warmer

I probably missed a couple.

[hbelkins]

Of course these days, cars will automatically tell you when your oil needs changed so I'm not sure why one would need to keep track of mileage between oil changes unless one likes spending money on oil and/or service unnecessarily.

1.  I've never owned a car that automatically tells me when my oil needs to be changed.

2.  My mechanic might recommend a different oil change interval than the car's computer recommends.

If I were a mechanic, I'd tell you to get oil changes more often than the manual says as well.

Yep. That's how they make their money. It's odd that no matter what the owner's manual says about oil change intervals, Valvoline Instant Oil Change pushes the "every 3,000 miles" narrative. For some vehicles, that's accurate, but for others, it's not.

[Rothman]

Of course these days, cars will automatically tell you when your oil needs changed so I'm not sure why one would need to keep track of mileage between oil changes unless one likes spending money on oil and/or service unnecessarily.

1.  I've never owned a car that automatically tells me when my oil needs to be changed.

2.  My mechanic might recommend a different oil change interval than the car's computer recommends.

If I were a mechanic, I'd tell you to get oil changes more often than the manual says as well.

Yep. That's how they make their money. It's odd that no matter what the owner's manual says about oil change intervals, Valvoline Instant Oil Change pushes the "every 3,000 miles" narrative. For some vehicles, that's accurate, but for others, it's not.

I doubt kphoger takes his car to Valvoline.  Calling Valvoline or Jiffy Lube "my mechanic" is like calling a McDonald's employee a maitre d'.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

My dealer recommends every 5K, but the digital oil life meter in my car goes 10K. I follow the latter unless I know I have a major trip coming.

[Rothman]

My dealer recommends every 5K, but the digital oil life meter in my car goes 10K. I follow the latter unless I know I have a major trip coming.

Digital oil meters are totally customizable in my experience.  I go by my owner's manual.

[Max Rockatansky]

I just go by the manual.  Dealers and oil change places recommend all sorts of unnecessary things.  Dealers can be handy for getting a cheap oil change but you're probably going to get a sales pitch on "preventative maintenance."  I tend to get away from dealerships in favor of quick lube places once my power train warranty is expired. 

I probably ought to start changing the oil in the Challenger myself again.  I never rotate the tires on that car, and I would save myself a decent chuck of change given it takes seven quarts or oil. 

[kphoger]

I go by my owner's manual.

I just checked my owner's manual.  Everywhere it mentions checking/changing the oil, it says 'Refer to the "Scheduled Maintenance Guide" for the appropriate intervals for checking the engine oil.'  Of course, there is no "Scheduled Maintenance Guide" listed in the table of contents, nor in the index, nor can I locate any such thing anywhere in the manual.  Apparently, that's a separate document.

Also...  Here's another minor thing that bothers me...  The thing I'm looking for in the owner's manual is never listed in the index under the wording I first expect.  For example, there's no entry for "oil", just "engine oil";  would it kill them to list it as "oil - engine"?  Similarly, there is no entry for "coolant" or "antifreeze", just "engine coolant".  When I'm looking for info about oil or coolant, my first instinct is NOT to look in the E section.

[kphoger]

I've lived in Wichita for 18 years, and I didn't notice this till yesterday.  But now it's a minor thing that's going to bother me every day, because this is part of my usual route home from both work and church.

Look at the first and third lines on this interchange sequence sign.

This is north of the baseline, heading south, so street numbers are counting down in the direction of travel.  The first line (8th - 9th Streets) is written in numerical order, whereas the third line (2nd - 1st Streets) is written in geographical order.

[PColumbus73]

Developed a habit of taking my car to the Toyota dealership for oil change / service. The last couple times, they mentioned that my front axles are slinging grease and would need to be replaced soon. At my last oil change, I went to a local shop (closer to home, easier to leave the car overnight if needed), and they said they didn't see any leaking at the axles. I have a little suspicion that they may have not wanted to bother with replacing axles.