Domino Quartz's Delightfully Quaint Random Banter Thread #248

[tomandtish]

Just got news that our car, which broke down on the way to the eclipse ()(Don't worry, we still made it) has been fixed successfully.

The only reason this is noteworthy is because the dealership quoted us $4,000 to replace the hybrid battery, and my mother-in-law knew a guy who was willing to refurbish it for $400. I've always known to expect an upcharge at manufacturer service centers, and I know there's a big difference between brand new and refurbished, but that difference still galls me. I don't know if I've ever seen an actual "knock a zero off" price difference, and until we got news that it was running, I wasn't sure I believed it.

Once a car is out of warranty, NEVER go to the dealer. They tend to be exponentially more expensive than your standard garage mechanic, and that's ASSUMING they aren't trying to get you to replace/fix things that don't need it.

We love our mechanic. First time we used them, we had a car where the clutch stopped working. Car was almost 20 years old, so we assumed the clutch had finally died. Took it to this place that was recommended by friends and asked them to call us when they had an estimate.

They call back 90 minutes later and say the car is ready. I'm a little worried because we asked for a call, but when we got there they said there was no charge. A bolt on the clutch cabvle had come off, and they replaced it no charge. We've been using them ever since.

[Bartmanhomer]

So anyway my Dungeons & Dragons: The Dragoon Family Story Chapter 7 is posted in Wattpad today.

[Ionathus]

Nah, he just wanted friends.

It's a testament to the show's charm that they were able to sell this character moment to me! Because when you think about it, the conclusion of his arc was literally a "the real treasure is the friends we made along the way" realization, being had by the actual personification of greed. Making that work? Now that's good writing!

Had to spend two days sans-lens, and I'm still not sure if my eye is good enough to put it in. Sadly it's at a point where I can't see how red it is until I put the lens in.

I hope so, so dearly that you're talking about a contact lens that you can't wear due to irritation. The idea of a 2-part cataract lens surgery is terrifying to me.

That doesnt sound like an additional point to me, just how theyre justifying charging you the extra digit. Selling people things they didnt ask for and didn't consent to is a time honored tradition in just about every industry with specialized knowledge.

Eh, I don't like dealership service centers and I think they're overpriced, but I don't begrudge their existence.

Some of it is price gouging, but some of it is just serving a different customer profile -- not everyone wants to spend time fiddling around with the equation between cost and consistency. *I* like driving cars until they break down on the side of the road, but to be fair we really lucked out with this breakdown. A different version of that weekend, breaking down in the countryside instead of close to a major city, and we may not have made it to the eclipse. Having a car that's (functionally) guaranteed to work can be worth that price to a lot of people.

Storytime: My dad had a computer repair client once who would call him to do a toner replacement every time his printer threw a "low toner" code. He'd ask my dad to replace all four cartridges, not just the one that was low. This was a professional-grade printer, and the cartridges were at least $100 apiece, so a $500ish replacement plus service call fees each time. And he ran low about three to four times a year.

My dad kept asking him if he was sure about it: "Listen, the black cartridge is the only one below 30%. Magenta is at 65% and Cyan is at 80%. You'll get thousands more pages out of each of them" (these were very big cartridges for a very big printer). Every time, the client's answer was the same: "I don't want to ever have to worry about low toner; replace them all. The cost is worth it to me."

I think everybody has that mentality, in some aspect of life. Calling a repair person instead of trying to DIY every fix. Ordering takeout instead of cooking exclusively at home. I'll never pay full price for a new car for as long as I live, but some people value having a car that's guaranteed to work enough that the upcharge is worth it.

How many cells are in the battery? There would have to be at least 20 for for the 4000 dollar replacement to ever be a good deal

Roughly 30 cells for this type! Though most of the $400 is labor, so it wouldn't scale linearly if he had to do extra.

We asked him "what if it's more than two cells that need replacing?" and he said "it's always only two cells. I've never seen it be more than two cells...I guess if it's more than two...$25 for each extra cell? But it's always two cells."

I love small town hobby mechanics

Once a car is out of warranty, NEVER go to the dealer. They tend to be exponentially more expensive than your standard garage mechanic, and that's ASSUMING they aren't trying to get you to replace/fix things that don't need it.

We love our mechanic. First time we used them, we had a car where the clutch stopped working. Car was almost 20 years old, so we assumed the clutch had finally died. Took it to this place that was recommended by friends and asked them to call us when they had an estimate.

They call back 90 minutes later and say the car is ready. I'm a little worried because we asked for a call, but when we got there they said there was no charge. A bolt on the clutch cabvle had come off, and they replaced it no charge. We've been using them ever since.

Oh, I know. Our hometown mechanic sounds exactly like yours: knowledgeable, honest, and great service.

I would never bring a car to a dealership under normal circumstances. Because we knew the hybrid battery was the problem, we knew that a lot of local mechanics wouldn't want to touch it and would just send us to the manufacturer's dealership anyway. And since we were in the middle of a road trip, not having to risk the logistics of a second tow was worth it.

[tyckspoon]

Roughly 30 cells for this type! Though most of the $400 is labor, so it wouldn't scale linearly if he had to do extra.

We asked him "what if it's more than two cells that need replacing?" and he said "it's always only two cells. I've never seen it be more than two cells...I guess if it's more than two...$25 for each extra cell? But it's always two cells."

I love small town hobby mechanics

Probably one actual bad cell plus the one that is mated to it by the battery controller getting over-used by trying to make up for the bad cell. And then at the point where both of those cells are failing self-checks the controller shuts it down.

Dealership also is potentially restricted by their relationships and contracts with the sponsoring manufacturer(s) - if their service training and rules says 'never swap an individual cell' but does have a procedure for exchanging the entire battery assembly, or possibly the manufacturer only provides the entire assembly as parts and will not provide individual cells.. then 'swap the entire battery' is what they can offer if they want to continue being an Authorized Truly Authentic Certified FordHondaToyotaWhatever Service Provider, even if the mechanic working on it knows full well that they could probably just try to exchange out the actual failed cells.

[Ionathus]

Probably one actual bad cell plus the one that is mated to it by the battery controller getting over-used by trying to make up for the bad cell. And then at the point where both of those cells are failing self-checks the controller shuts it down.

I didn't know that -- that's interesting! Thanks for the extra info.

Dealership also is potentially restricted by their relationships and contracts with the sponsoring manufacturer(s) - if their service training and rules says 'never swap an individual cell' but does have a procedure for exchanging the entire battery assembly, or possibly the manufacturer only provides the entire assembly as parts and will not provide individual cells.. then 'swap the entire battery' is what they can offer if they want to continue being an Authorized Truly Authentic Certified FordHondaToyotaWhatever Service Provider, even if the mechanic working on it knows full well that they could probably just try to exchange out the actual failed cells.

Yep, pretty much exactly what happened. The mechanic *did* tell me that we could get someone else to refurbish it for much cheaper, but they wouldn't be able to do so at the dealership.

[LaZodiac]

Had the funny realization that, the one consequence of me being me is that when I talk about a queer anime, I have to specify that it's actually directly textual and not just heavily implied.

I find this amusing, tbh.

[Rater202]

Had the funny realization that, the one consequence of me being me is that when I talk about a queer anime, I have to specify that it's actually directly textual and not just heavily implied.

I find this amusing, tbh.

Mhmm.

One consequence of being me is a constant obsession, whenever a work establishes a means of combining the powers/biologies of multiple organisms/individuals, in figuring out what a "perfect life form" would be by that method.

Every single time. Unless the setting beats me to it, but even then...

[LaZodiac]

Mhmm.

One consequence of being me is a constant obsession, whenever a work establishes a means of combining the powers/biologies of multiple organisms/individuals, in figuring out what a "perfect life form" would be by that method.

Every single time. Unless the setting beats me to it, but even then...

I think you'd like Bang Brave Bravern (the anime that reminded me of this fact) a lot, but for different reasons I like it a lot, and strongly suggest you watch it for some good brain-thinking re that methodology.

I've mentioned it before but it bares repeating; everyone should watch the gay mecha anime.

RELATED: Celeste and I have started watching Samurai Flamenco, the predecessor of Bravern, and I STRONGLY recommend it. Especially if you like the idea of taking a realistic look at vigilante-ism through the lens of Tokusatsu, sentai style heroes like Kamen Rider and the like. It also features a bisexual magical girl who personally designs a morning star-taser combo who is perhaps the most deranged hero I've ever seen in a show??

[Bartmanhomer]

I feel like that I want to homebrew or create something. Such as using Monster Rancher 2 Monsters as Pokemon.

[TaiLiu]

Greed. Lameness filter bypass.

In addition to greed, the dealership and the refurbishment guy were promising different services.

A hybrid car’s hybrid battery has a bunch of individual cells that can be swapped out. The dealership wanted to replace the whole battery with a brand new one. The refurbishment guy wanted to replace the two most worn-out cells that were causing the problem, but leave the rest of the (16-year-old) cells in the battery. So we’ll probably have another individual cell failure eventually.

We will certainly not get as much life out of the $400 fix as the $4000 replacement. But since this car has already lasted 300k miles, we expect the rest of the vehicle to fall apart *around* this rejuvenated hybrid battery either way.

Thanks for the info.

So anyway my Dungeons & Dragons: The Dragoon Family Story Chapter 7 is posted in Wattpad today.

Congrats on chapter seven.

[LaZodiac]

I have two lovely things to share!

First off, as it is Lesbian Awareness Week, I've drawn a new lesbian for you all to become aware off. You can read about her here.

Secondly; my Dad is a prankster. A few days ago I asked him to get me some koolaid drink mix to hopefully drink less soda. I asked him to put them somewhere I can get them, since he tends to have mysterious shelves to put **** in.

Due to the before-mentioned point of Being A Prankster, he put one on-top of the doorbell box, and one onto the ceiling fan, since those are places I can get them at.

I've decided to pull a prank on him in return, which is to say "I have left the one on the ceiling fan and am going to keep track of how many days it has been up there.

It is currently April 23, and it has been three days. Will update as appropriate.

[Bartmanhomer]

Congrats on chapter seven.

Thanks friend as always.

[Lord Raziere]

Trust me Zodi, I am well aware! As a roguish internet wanderer, I have acquired knowledge of much content of a lesbian nature and would be happy to share them with those interested, with all my recommendations wholesomeness assured!

as for my own art, well you just inspired me to make a Lumity and in the new art style I'm focusing on, after reading and watching Scott Pilgrim, I find its art style more anime-esque while still being easy:

Spoiler: A Lumity

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[Bohandas]

domo arigato mister roboto

[Rynjin]

domo arigato mister roboto

Now now I'm sure the few hours old account with a generic name is just really enamored by the level of discourse we get up to in this thread.

[Rater202]

as for my own art, well you just inspired me to make a Lumity and in the new art style I'm focusing on, after reading and watching Scott Pilgrim, I find its art style more anime-esque while still being easy:

Spoiler: A Lumity

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*Sees Stringbean*

...You know how in the second episode, Luz says she wants to earn her magic staff the hard way?

She um... She does. More so than anyone else we know of.

[Anonymouswizard]

Had the funny realization that, the one consequence of me being me is that when I talk about a queer anime, I have to specify that it's actually directly textual and not just heavily implied.

I find this amusing, tbh.

I thought that was normal? Heck, I sometimes have to remind myself that Star Trek is not a mlm series.

[LaZodiac]

Trust me Zodi, I am well aware! As a roguish internet wanderer, I have acquired knowledge of much content of a lesbian nature and would be happy to share them with those interested, with all my recommendations wholesomeness assured!

as for my own art, well you just inspired me to make a Lumity and in the new art style I'm focusing on, after reading and watching Scott Pilgrim, I find its art style more anime-esque while still being easy:

Spoiler: A Lumity

Show

Oh right I forgot your art is super cute. They look lovely!!

I thought that was normal? Heck, I sometimes have to remind myself that Star Trek is not a mlm series.

Other way around- I read into queer subtext enough that series that just have queer text are looked at with suspicion by some of my friends!

[Bartmanhomer]

Hey Zodi. Are you still writing your stories or no?

[LaZodiac]

Hey Zodi. Are you still writing your stories or no?

I am, but it's slow going due to a variety of personal reasons. Little snippets/character bios and this art is the most I've got in me at the moment, but I'll get back to finishing some actual writing later.

I've also got a special project in the works... it's nothing too fancy, but I hope everyone who enjoyed Initial Sparks will be able to enjoy it.

[Bartmanhomer]

I am, but it's slow going due to a variety of personal reasons. Little snippets/character bios and this art is the most I've got in me at the moment, but I'll get back to finishing some actual writing later.

I've also got a special project in the works... it's nothing too fancy, but I hope everyone who enjoyed Initial Sparks will be able to enjoy it.

Understandable. I do love your stories by the way.

[LaZodiac]

Understandable. I do love your stories by the way.

I certainly appreciate it.

I'm going to try and do some more drawing and writing today...

[Anonymouswizard]

Other way around- I read into queer subtext enough that series that just have queer text are looked at with suspicion by some of my friends!

The difference between text and subtext is that some people are too blind to see the latter

[LaZodiac]

The difference between text and subtext is that some people are too blind to see the latter

I mean you're RIGHT almost every instance a friend told me "you're reading to into things" I was right and it was actually gay they were just avoiding saying it directly, but the point is because I keep on saying it people see me say **** like "Bravern is about a gay love triangle between a Japanese man, an American mechpilot, and a bio-mechanical mecha" and assume I'm reading into things when no it's directly explicit they're in love.

[Batcathat]

This discussion reminds me of watching the last season of Legend of Korra and people seeing signs of [SPOILER REDACTED. GO WATCH IT, IT'S A GREAT SHOW]. I thought they were reading too much into things or at the very least that it would never be made actual text, but it turned out I was quite wrong on that one. (Okay, so technically it wasn't text until the comics, it was just very, very blatantly implied in the show).

[LaZodiac]

This discussion reminds me of watching the last season of Legend of Korra and people seeing signs of [SPOILER REDACTED. GO WATCH IT, IT'S A GREAT SHOW]. I thought they were reading too much into things or at the very least that it would never be made actual text, but it turned out I was quite wrong on that one. (Okay, so technically it wasn't text until the comics, it was just very, very blatantly implied in the show).

This is the exact show that incited said friend to be like "you know not everything is going to be gay right?"

That sure was egg on his face. Also while it wasn't explicit text till the comics, they literally, LITERALLY, had a wedding scene that was calling back to Aang and Katara's final romantic moment and then called back to those with our two female leads in that exact same episode not even like five minutes later it's so blatantly Clear And True and aaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I'm gonna go draw another lesbian (well she's bisexual actually but she doesn't know that yet).

[Lord Raziere]

I think the best example of "implied queer" I've seen in a show is Amphibia. like you can't tell me that Anne, Sasha and Marcy aren't a sapphic polycule or one waiting to happen, even though they never explicitly say it. like there's being good friends and then there

Spoiler

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is your friends wanting to stay together forever so much, they both do extreme things to make it happen: that one is willing to become a toad-leading conqueror and the other fiddled with forces She Did Not Understand just so she doesn't have to move away so she can be on magical adventures in other dimensions just so they don't have to go back their previous sucky lives of divorced parents and being put on the academic fast track in some other town. like Sasha, what does conquering people with armies have to do with getting home? it doesn't, you just want to live the warrior-queen dream of ruling from a palace while your two wives actually improve the realm while you go out and slay monsters to protect them, and honestly slay queen if you can do it without the evil go for it. and Marcy, your plan sounds more like an elopement with Anne and Sasha into an infinity of isekais, I've had real life friends in school, I remember them, but I didn't feel so strongly about that I had to do something as extreme as this to stay with them forever, your clearly just in love with them since you've been given the means to realize every nerd's innermost desire of exploring an endless number of worlds and figuring out their rules but can't imagine doing that without them being by your side, like how more obvious can you get?

[Rater202]

Had my 3-month diabetes checkup this morning.

The bad news is that I somehow gained about 21 pounds since my last checkkup three months ago and I'm not sure how.

The good news is that, even though my A1c is slightly higher than it was, probably due to the weight gain, its still within the "this would be considered normal and healthy for somoene who did not have diabetes" range so the plan to ween myself of the insulin is progressing as nromal, doc wants me to try and get down to ten units a day(currently 15)

They had a chronic care consultant come in and give me some stuff to help manage weight... but most of it is really basic stuff and was more focused on avoiding added sugar/general diabetes care that I'm already doing...

...Real talk, do that many people not know how to read a nutrition label or is this that thing where people just assume that anyone who is fat is also stupid?

They also gave me a flyer for their in-house weight loss clinic but they are in a location two towns over and I'm also wary of things like "diets" and "weight loss medication" since um... Once you're on a "diet" or "weight loss medication" you're just sort of stuck with it forever if you want to keep the weight off.

Talking with my mom and the consultant, however, we realized that while I haven't made any significant changes in my diet, my diet over time has shifted somewhat since I was first diagnosed and also that the weight gain started about a year ago around the time that high fiber crackers, low sugar cookies, and vegan food options started getting expensive again and over time those have just sort of disappeared from our grocery lists so we're thinking I might lose some of the weight again if we start buying those again.

[Anonymouswizard]

I mean you're RIGHT almost every instance a friend told me "you're reading to into things" I was right and it was actually gay they were just avoiding saying it directly, but the point is because I keep on saying it people see me say **** like "Bravern is about a gay love triangle between a Japanese man, an American mechpilot, and a bio-mechanical mecha" and assume I'm reading into things when no it's directly explicit they're in love.

Oh no, I get it. I've talked with Girl Genius fans who don't realize that Gil and Tarvek have definitely done it.

More seriously, I tend to find it goes hand in hand with assuming everyone is straight. 'Oh you were totally wrong about [totes canon gay couple X], how can I believe you here?'

This is the exact show that incited said friend to be like "you know not everything is going to be gay right?"

They LIE. It is ALL gay, especially the supposed straightness. We took over media decades ago and still aren't sure how they fail to catch on.

...or maybe I just wish media was the Tingleverse.

[LaZodiac]

I was asked by upwards of at least two people to draw Yomi so I have drawn Yomi

You can read about her here.

I'll also just post arm of her (and Carmen) here for people to react to if they don't wanna read.

Spoiler: Art!

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