u/Blue_Etalon

2021 RAM Cummins with 57k miles. Just got a check engine light. Says "See Dealer for DEF Service". How painful will this be? I assume this could be anything from a DEF injector to and SCR or DPF problem. I'm doubting DPF because I usually drive 60 miles per day when I use it on the highway with little or no idling. Also haul a decent sized RV with it.

Bringing it to the dealer in the AM. We'll see.

I gotta be as generic as possible here because who knows if anyone I know from work might read this.

Leaving my job soon. I agreed to stay on long enough to train the new person since the task is a highly specialized technical one. The new person is certainly smart enough and capable enough to take on the work, but oh boy, what strange egg. The best way I can describe them is like the Progressive Dr Rick Don't be like your parents commercials (search the Progressive Dr Rick waiting room one on YouTube, I don't want this deleted for posting a link). Maybe this person is a bit on the spectrum, I don't know, but they never shut up. Follows me into the bathroom (says Bless You) to people they don't know sneezing in the stall. Randomly butts into conversations people he does not know are having. Just talks endlessly. I really don't dislike this person, but I could never work with them for any prolonged period and I'm fortunate to be able to WFH most of the time.

I was just going to let it ride till I leave, but yesterday two other team members reached out to me to say this person was driving them nuts already. I told them I understand, but we get paid a lot of money to do what we do, and need to find a way to handle this professionally. But I want to help these people and I decided to contact our manager and explain what's going on in a face to face meeting. Maybe they can figure out how to council this new employee in a constructive way. I don't think it's my responsibility to try to fix this since I'm leaving and would not have to deal with any consequences. It's going to be an interesting conversation for sure.

My neighbor just had his concrete tile roof replaced with new metal roofing material. It’s shaped just like the previous roofing tile, but has a textured, stone like finish. It looks really nice. We got a quote on a roof replacement a few years ago for new tile. Would this metal product be about the same? Less than tile but more than asphalt?

We just spent the weekend at a Margaritaville RV resort. Our kid had a sports tournament nearby. My wife got to the campground before me and when I pulled in with the trailer, the place was about 1/2 full, but for some reason they'd put us right next to another camper. This one had a tiki hut and the people already had liquor out. Instead of doing the smart thing, and asking for a different site, we stayed. By afternoon, the site next to us was playing music, drinking and had probably 3 or 4 other couples hanging out. We shrugged and said oh well, too late to move, and besides, this is a party place so what the heck.

That night it got really going (I think it was a birthday celebration). Music, karaoke, lots of loud talking. Mind you, the way this place was set up the bar was less than 15 feet from our bedroom. Normally, we'd have just sucked it up and assumed they'd quiet down around midnight even though "quiet time" was 11. But we had to get up at 5 to get to the field for the tournament, and finally I called the ranger and asked them to remind our neighbor when quiet time was. Eventually, things got quiet.

I feel bad because these seemed like nice people. They weren't super rowdy, just having a good time. I kinda blame us for not reading the situation and moving immediately.

My wife and I are both in our early 70s and in good health. We have a 4300 sq ft home in Central Fl and our last kid will be leaving for college at the end of the coming year. We're trying to figure out what to do. We like the area we live in, our other kids and friends live here. We like the theme parks and the beach. We're both currently in good health. My wife has been retired for 2 years and I'm just about to bail in a few weeks.

We recently stayed in a nice, newer Air B&B. 3 bedrooms, small kitchen, living room, dining area. It really seemed enough for just the two of us. A room for an office and an occasional guest. It got me to thinking about just selling the house after our daughter is gone to school and renting a similar sized place. Simple math tells me we could invest that money and live in a $2500/mo place for at least 15 years. And we also have 401/pension/SSI coming in. And when it's time to move into something else, like assisted living or whatever, all we have do is up and move. Maybe lose a month or two rent to break the lease.

I'm just tired of home upkeep. Lawn, pool maintenance for a pool we rarely use anymore, HVAC repairs, will probably need a roof in the next 5 years. Not to mention our AC bill every month for that large house (which we can defiantly cut down on).

We have an RV and store it. We'd keep that until I can't handle it anymore. Then that whole expense just goes away.

So what's wrong with this picture? It hardly seems worth it to buy another place, albeit smaller and then have to fix it up the way we like it, and then face the same home maintenance issues.

We love our pets. We’ve had many dogs and cats over the years. Typically, they’ll live from 12-18 years. But once they go into a severe health crisis and their quality of life is gone, we’ve put them down. We get them reasonable veterinary care. If they get sick or an infection, we have that treated. But if they come down with something like liver cancer, we’re not going to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to prolong their lives. And that’s what I think veterinary health care coverage has done. It’s created a cost incentive for large VCs to buy up local vets and create Big Box health care. The price of everything is gotten insane from shots to just normal exams. And they always offer up the most expensive options without ever considering less complicated procedures or palliative care. It’s gotten to the point where people who do not have pet insurance can’t afford any treatments for their pets. And that’s a crime

I had to sell my beloved Travato. Did not use it enough to justify keeping it and we also have a pretty nice Airstream for when the wife and I go out. I'd still like something just for me (although she'd be welcome to come along anytime). A truck camper is about the only RV I've never owned. I think my RAM 2500 Cummins short bed is fairly limited in what kind of truck camper it can carry. I'm really only interested in the basics. Bed, toilet (wet bath optional), dinette/sitting area, and since I'm in Florida, AC. Looking for something used and my primary want is that it has no leaks (rot). Tech can be bare bones. I already have portable power, stove, starlink, etc. I have a place to store it so that's no issue. I just like the idea of getting in and going for a day or 3 with minimal prep. Something one step above camping in a truck shell.

Ideas, suggestions welcome.

All this nonsense about banning resort hopping is garbage. Disney is trying to enforce people parking for free at Disney Springs and taking the busses to TTC or the parks. Period. If you’re staying at a hotel on premises or just park hopping and want to go to a resort, nothing is stopping you.

I remember when you couldn’t walk from the MK over to the Contemporary for some stupid reason if you did not have a room at the hotel. They’d actually make you take the monorail. This is just about people trying to avoid the (ridiculous) parking fees at the parks.

I have several Lutron dimmer switches for LED light fixtures in my home( these are solid state dimmers, not resistive). I've had these for at least 5 years. My wife had one fixture on low, and then called me saying it was feeling warm. It indeed was warm, so I pulled it out (wires still attached) and while it was a bit warm, it seemed fine with no discoloration or smell. I took the cover off one of the other similar dimmers which was operating another fixture and it seemed perfectly cool. I took my IR thermometer and checked and the "warm" one was about 82 deg F and the other one was around 72. Both switches were operating their respective fixtures at the lowest brightness I can set. I don't recall the wattage of the LED bulbs but they are also similar.

Is this normal or should I pull out the warm unit and replace it?

I bought a 2nd house for my son & his family. It was a flipper with a “new” roof, so maybe 5 years old? Even thought I had it inspected, there are at least 3 spots where the work was so crappy it’s starting to leak and even some of the sheathing in on spot is falling apart. I want to get this fixed, not replaced. I don’t care (and neither does my son) if the shingles don’t match well. I’m not up for a new roof at this point as I’ll probably be selling it in 5 years or more and assume I’ll have to go for a full replacement then. So how do I approach finding a contractor? It’s apps a 2000 sq ft house with a simple roof. Orlando area if that means anything.

Yellowstone was not my kind of show. That said, my wife liked it so I would sit there doomscrolling but more or less follow along. I can't say it was horrible and obviously Costner was pretty good.

Now the spinoffs

Marshalls: Absolute drek. I mean, this is the weakest BS I've seen on TV in a long, long time. I won't even bother to discuss how it stretches believability. The acting is crap. Even my wife can't stand it.

Dutton Ranch: If you were a huge Yellowstone fan and want to see Rip and whatever her name is again, this show is not horrible. No idea why they had to move to Texas, I guess they are saving money by eliminating the amazing scenery. From what I've seen so far, this is the least terrible Dutton fix you can get.

*Not seeking legal advice* Trying to figure out who to seek out for proper guidance.

My son is turning his BBQ business from a hobby to a small business. I think he needs to protect himself since he’s making money on this venture, but don’t know who to tell him to go to for advice. What kind of a lawyer should he consult, maybe to form an LLC or whatever?

Hope this fits the sub. There are lot's of old warbirds out there flying. P-51s, B-29's, F-86s, F-104s etc. At what point do you think it becomes impossible for private individuals, or even large warbird associations to restore and maintain more modern aircraft?

F-4s were built in the thousands and there's a world wide supply system most likely still in place for them. The A-10 is a maybe, because it's such a dead simple aircraft at its heart. Maybe even F-16s, if only because so many of them are out there and there are lot's of parts available.

Note: I realize that some aircraft like the A-10, F-4, and F-16 may be in the too hard pile for private ownership because even though they are old, they are still of high military value for many nations.

I've always liked Subarus, but never bought one. I'm thinking of getting a new car this year or next. and I see the new line of Subaru EVs We'll aways have an ICE car, but the new EV Forester looks pretty good. The ~300mile range is nice (I know, in real life it's less than that), I already have a 50Amp outlet to charge with and it looks like they are compatible with the Tesla charging stations. Comments? Yea or Nay?

The pilot/first episode of TWD will always stand out in my mind as one of the best episodes of TV in any show I’ve ever watched. I decided to rewatch it the other day. My 17 year old, who has never seen the show or even heard of it, came in the room and started watching it. Next thing you know, we’re binging the show for 3 days now. It’s all she wants to watch.

Probably the wrong sub for this, but every time I post something in r/retirement, the post gets removed for reasons the mods never explain.

Anyway, retirement date is end of July. I have 6 weeks of PTO. I can make my last day mid June, and just burn the PTO still getting medial insurance and whatnot, or, I can work to the last day and get the full 6 weeks paid out. It seems like an easy choice, just work to the end and take the money. But no one ever seems to do that. They go on terminal leave with PTO.

I don't hate my job, it's pretty stress free as of late, and with ZF to give, I'm not worried about performance reviews or whatever. I can even WFH most of the time.

So what am I missing? Why not phone it in for the last 6 weeks (spoiler alert, I've been phoning it in for a lot longer already) and take the payout?

I bought a fresh bag of of Jealous Devil lump charcoal for my Mother’s Day standing rib roast. Just as I’m getting ready to fire up the egg, I look at the package and realize it’s not lump, but extra large briquettes. I was on a timeline and did not have the time to run out for another bag. So I left the larger pieces from my last cook in there, took the remaking lump at the bottom of my last bag, and then used the briquettes to make up the rest.

I gotta say, the results were fine. Couldn’t tell the difference, at least taste wise. I did have some apple smoke chunks in there too. Seemed like a normal cook.

So I’m retiring in a couple of months and it’s time to figure out where to move my 401. My wife has been with Edward Jones for 2 years and they’ve done fine during that time. I’m thinking of doing the same, but but I thought I’d throw the idea out here to the haters here to tell me why this is a horrible idea and what I should really do.
We had a meeting with the Edward Jones guy yesterday and we’re pretty solid thru our anticipated lifetimes at our current lifestyle even with inflation, travel, budget for major home repairs, end of life medical costs and would still have significant money remaining after we die.

FWIW, I’ve been pretty laissez-faire in my investing ( currently handled by Empower by my employer). I realize EJ is a for fee planning service, but what’s the alternative? A fiduciary? I’m certainly not a DIYer when it comes to this.