u/YamIdoingdis2356

Western MA residents here taking a short trip to Eastern MA next week. Considering going to Salem for one of the days. We like Hocus Pocus and wanted to get a photo of the house and do some general walking around. Looks like there are tons of options for museums and attractions but which ones are really worth seeing? Kids are 4 and 7 so nothing too scary would be good.

Would also love recommendations on good places to eat or get coffee.

Thanks!

My local dealer is technically a Chevy Dealer and doesn’t pop up in the GMC app. I have some work I need done that I think will be warranty. I have no doubt this dealer will do it but will I run into a problem getting it paid for under warranty if they are not a GMC dealer?

I kind of hate LinkedIn but it has its merits for certain things so I keep it around.

I have noticed that since I added “manager” to my title I get a lot more engagement from other users, particularly requests to connect. Most of these end up being either a recruiter trying to sell me on some opportunity or a vendor trying to get me to buy something.

To cut down on the spam and the “no thank you” messages, I’ve taken up a policy of only adding and engaging with people who either I know or have a title that doesn’t imply they would be trying to sell me something (ie: engineer). Its not perfect but it does cut down on the junk.

Anyone else doing something like this?

Picked up a 2023 AT4 not long ago. Haven’t used the heat much since its summer but we have had a couple cooler morning and nights recently so I started using it.

First of all, it takes forever to warm up. I will hit the remote start with the heat set to 75 when its 55 outside and let it run for 10-15 minutes and its still blowing ice cold air when I get in. Then it takes another mile or two of driving before I get heat.

I also don’t seem to be able to actually get heat unless I max out the temp. After a while of driving with that there is a big, liquidy, woosh sound from behind the dash which I assume to be the thermostat or something with the heater core. Right when the happens the heat will kick on and I can dial the setting back to a reasonable temp but it will not kick on unless I put it to “high” for a bit first.

Driving home tonight I also noticed the radiator fans turned on full blast the whole ride home once we turned the heat on.

The truck does have the radiator hose cooling leak issue that I have been meaning to fix but its very minor and the overflow tank always has coolant in it so I haven’t worried about it too much.

What could be going on here? Does this have to do with the coolant leak or is this some kind of stupid software bug or something else? Want to address it now because come winter time I want a toasty warm truck to get into in the morning!

I traded her in recently and I guess I’m just curious how she is doing. Was my favorite truck that I’ve owned do far but I needed something smaller.

34m, literally can’t remember the last time I actually felt really great. If 0 is terrible and 10 is amazing I think I average around a 3 or 4 most days. I am always kind of tired, kind of got a headache, kind of nauseous, kind of sore, kind of stressed. On my best days I feel “just okay”.

I had a bit of nervous breakdown after few years ago after a dam broke in my mind that was holding back a lot of pent up stuff about the pandemic, adjusting to life as a parent, losing some people close to me, career stress, my own mortality, etc. I did a couple years of therapy to help get back on track and have been doing pretty well lately mentally but feeling crappy all the time has definitely got me stressing again. Also, during that time I had alot of tests done as a result of my health anxiety and aside from a very small hiatal hernia (which I am now managing well with meds) it turns out I am extremely healthy.

So why do I feel shitty all the time??

Is anyone out there actually feeling good with any sort of regularity? If so who are you and what do you do? I would love for just a few days a month even where I feel great.

2023 AT4, 23k miles. Just picked it ip a few weeks ago and noticed a small but consistent damp spot just forward for the drivers side tire where ever I park. Appears to be staining inside the wheel well too. Did a little snooping in the engine bay and underneath and there is definitely reddish liquid dripping down from one of the radiator coolant hoses, same color as the coolant in the overflow tank.

Is this a common problem with these and is replacing with another oem hose the fix? Or is there something better that can be done to prevent it from leaking again?

We stayed in the Excellence Club (adults only) at the Finest Punta Cana resort during the first week of June 2026. Overall thought it was a great place and great value for the money and would definitely consider going back. We have been on cruises but not other all inclusives so take my review with a grain of salt I guess but here is some notes I took about our stay there in hopes it helps others with their travel plans.

check in - 9/10. We were handed champagne immediately upon walking in the front door then escorted to a separate check in area for excellence club members. They do take a $500 deposit on your credit card for incidentals so that is something you should be aware of when booking but you get it back after your stay. Its not super obvious when booking though which is the only reason I wont give check in a 10/10. After check in we were brought into a bar/lounge area to wait for our room to be ready. We had some snacks and a cocktail and within 10-15 minutes a bellhop came to get us. He gave us and another couple who checked in at the same time a brief tour of the Excellence area of the resort then dropped us and our bags at our room. All in all the process went very smooth and everyone we dealt with was very friendly and knowledgeable. About 10 minutes after we got into the room the front desk called to make sure everything looked good and to ask if we needed anything which I thought was a nice touch.

Grounds/facilities - 10/10. The grounds are immaculately kept and the landscaping is beautiful. It looks like they are trying to grow a botanical garden with some walking paths out front too which will look great when its more mature. The entire facility is nicely decorated and features a huge selection of nice lounges and sitting areas both inside and out.

Rooms - 7/10. The room we stayed at was very clean and modern. As part of the Excellence club it came with small selection of premium liquors and restockable mini bar which was nice. Bathroom was spacious with a dual sink and a rain shower. The private pools are perfect too for when you want to get away from the crowd but still want to soak. The landscaping around it gives you a reasonable amount of privacy too. On the negative side though, the bed was not very comfortable. It wasn’t awful but it certainly wasn’t luxurious and we found ourselves tossing and turning quite a bit at night. Honestly the day bed on the private porch was more comfortable and I would have considered sleeping there except you cant shut off the porch light in any of the rooms it appears. There is also a no swimming rule after dark even though the private pool has lights. The climate control for the room only goes down to 68 but it still felt hotter at night which makes sleeping difficult if you like it cool. Finally, it was a bit noisy. The hallways are all open air and seem to carry noise very well.

Pools - 9/10. The pools were very well kept including our private pool. They are all heated too so there was zero shock getting in to any of them. All were just cool enough to be refreshing. The only bummer is they are all closed at dark despite being extremely well lit.

Alcohol/drinks - 8/10. We are not huge drinkers so maybe not in the best position to rate but we enjoyed all the drinks we did get. There is a very limited selection of beer and wine, my wife likes pino grigio (pretty common) and they didn’t have any anywhere. For beer its pretty much the local El Presidente or Heineken. Premium liquors were a bit limited too but they generally had some brand of everything. If you are very picky you might be disappointed but if you just want a drink thats not brand specific you’ll probably be alright. I didn’t think any of them were under or over poured in terms of alcohol either. They’re all included so you can just have another one if you need more buzz. In terms of non alcoholic drinks though the juice bar was 10/10. Some of the shakes and smoothies had amazing flavor combos. I got the wild smoothie almost everyday we were there because I enjoyed it so much. Good coffee was a bit harder to find but the sweet shop does have some good options.

Beach - 6/10 the beach itself was very nice and clean. The reason I give it a low rating is because the beach is technically federal property, not owned by the resort, which means there are all kinds of pushy sales people that are constantly coming up to you trying to sell things like cigars, jewelry, toys, etc. They dont like to take no for an answer either which makes relaxing kind of difficult. They all seem to wear khaki vendor shirts though so its easy to spot and avoid them. There is a lot of nice sitting areas on the beach and the resort offers a lot of free activities like snorkeling, kayaking, boogie boarding, etc. There was a fair bit of seaweed when we stayed in early June but if you waded out about 30’ from the shore it was clear. Snorkeling was kind of underwhelming but we did find some small corals and interesting rocks.

Food - 7/10. None of the food really blew us away but for the most part it was all very tasty. We ate at Gustos, Brass, Surf and Turf, Dukes, Las Dunas, the Market Kitchen (buffet), Domo, and the La Playita food truck. Out of all I think Surf and Turf was our favorite in terms of quality. Brass was very good too but the steak we got there came out raw when we ordered medium rare. The staff was very friendly though and offered us another one. The buffet was just okay, nothing really special but they did have a lot of different options. There was one day where they setup an outdoor Mexican grill in the middle of the big patio that was really good. The one thing to remember is to bring your phone with the resort app. They dont have printed menus at any of the restaurants so you have to rely on the app to order.

Service/staff - 7/10. We did encounter anyone on the staff who was not friendly and helpful. Most spoke very good english too which is helpful if you only know a little spanish. Remember to tip and everyone will take care of you. The only complaints I had was that housekeeping and room service was a little slow. There was one day we had the housekeeping sign on all day and they never came despite actively working in our hall. I eventually put our empty drinks outside the room and we went to bed. We also tried to order room service for lunch one day we didn’t feel like going out. We were told 35 minutes max. After nearly an hour we went to a restaurant because we were starving. It did arrive while we were gone but it just took longer than I expected and was promised.

Activities - I would give this a number rating because we didn’t participate in enough to judge. There definitely seemed like a huge selection of both group and self led activities though ranging from crafting to fitness classes to sail boating. Most were included and only a few cost extra. Be wary of any excursions outside the resort. We went horseback riding and while it ended up being a lot of fun it was a bit sketchy to say the least!

Outside hotel - 3/10. Would not recommend venturing outside the resort other than on the beach. The main road coming in had a lot of sketchy looking areas and I would not feel safe walking around.

Check out - 10/10. Completely smooth, no complaints. They brought our bags up in plenty of time and they even let us head back into the resort for lunch while we waited for our car to arrive.

Anyone visiting an all inclusive in the Dominican try to bring home small bits of rock, shells, or coral they found at the brach back to the US? I know its probably frowned upon, maybe illegal. Would just be nice to have a small souvenir. Just curious if you would be likely to be stopped for something small like the size of tube of chapstick and if this is like a slap on the wrist offense or a detain you offense…

We are staying at Finest Punta Cana next week and I have been trying to contact the resort directly to book airport transportation, excursions, and extras like massages. Each time I try they seem to have no record of my booking. I read on Expedia that they dont give names to hotels until 7 days before arrival but we are <1 week out now and still nothing. Looking for advice on what to do here. I want this to be a relaxing trip and unfortunately I’m the type of person who needs things squared away ahead of time in order to relax.

EDIT: Found a number and called the resort directly. They confirmed they had my name on file even though its not showing up online so thats a bit of a relief. Will look into the advice in comments about booking my own transport. Thanks!

Was all set up to go buy a 2023 Canyon this weekend with 26k on it. Dealer just called to push pickup out a week because the shop was looking at it and decided they need to replace the torque converter. My first thought was obviously, what un-abused vehicle needs a torque converter at 2.5 years old and 26k miles? I have not driven this truck yet. I have been hunting for a specific color/trim/price combo and this was the closest one but its 2hrs away. Do I back out and keep looking? Or take the risk?

My department has been tasked with setting up a tool control program at a mid sized manufacturing facility. Would not be surprised if our tool count was in the tens of thousands and it ranges from common screw drivers, to calibrated test equipment, to totally custom made fixtures. We are not an aerospace shop or subject to AS9100 so its really up to us how we implement. Even so, its a bit of a daunting task and we have been struggling.

Right now tools are stored everywhere. Shadow boards, shelves and cabinets, people’s desks and boxes, on random carts, you name it. They go missing all the time though and there is no accountability for maintenance or tracking. Techs spend tons of time looking for tools and often times we dont learn they are broken or worn out until there is a stop work on the floor.

Our initial plan was inventory everything, assign a location (ideally locked up), and audit regularly. There is so much stuff though we have not been able to make much headway while keeping up with our daily jobs too. Alot of the struggle has been tools moving after you have audited them and assigned a location because the program hasn’t been finalized and trained with the end users yet.

Looking for some advice on abetted way to eat this elephant. We dont have budget or space for a tool crib and attendant unfortunately.

Shopping around for a Colorado or Canyon, probably used. I drove a brand new one the other day with the turbo 4 and really like it. A used 2nd gen would be alot easier on the wallet though. I was wondering how the v6 of that generation compares to the new ones from those that have had both?

Haven’t been on this sub lately but wanted to come back to share a milestone I’m pretty proud of. I have been doing better for a while now and after nearly three years my therapist and I decided it was time to take a break. I still get anxiety and I don’t want to give the false pretense that I believe I am “cured” of a normal human sensation but I have done so much work to understand myself better, develop healthy coping strategies and outlets for stress. I haven’t had a panic attack in a long time and I am genuinely enjoying life more. Closing out this last appointment felt like closing the door on an unpleasant but necessary chapter of my life. I have learned so much and just feel really good about how far I’ve come. Just wanted to share to maybe inspire some others who are still in the thick of it. Change is possible friends.

For those that achieved success in writing, (lets call that comfortable financial independence for the purpose of this discussion), what’s it like? Do you have as much free time to work on creative projects and just live as I like to imagine? How did you get to where you are? I have always dreamed about getting into writing but with kids and full time job it feels like a tall order, especially with no prior experience.