Complaint Thursdays

[Weave]

@WildCard

 

Not gonna lie.  I have a bit of a kitchen knife fetish.  I've spent entirely too much money on kitchen cutlery, but I do love to use it.

Nonetheless, there are good values to be had.  Don't buy cheap knives.  Buy good value knives. 

If you can find Wustoff or Heinkle at TJ Maxx or Homegoods, it's probably a good value.  Buying them at Bed Bath and Beyond isn't.

I've heard that Victorinox chef's knives are really good value.

I have a Chicago Cutlery meat slicer that I bought for $4.99 at a TJ Maxx in Lakewood, NY while on vacation that is scary sharp and very surprisingly nice.  Based on a sample size of 1, I'd seriously consider Chicago Cutlery.

 

Chef's knives.... are you a slicer or chopper?  If you prep your veggies by slicing them get a traditional chef's knife.  8" is a good, all around size.  The curved blade really helps you rock the blade and slice through whatever you're cutting.  If you are more of a chopper, get a Santoku style blade.  Straight edge and rounded front.

You can get by quite readily with just a few knives.  A chef or Santoku, a good paring knife, a good bread knife, and a boning knife.  Those 4 can handle just about everything you'll routinely do.

More important than expensive knives is a good, quality honing set.  I don't own a steel.  I do own a ceramic stick "sharpeing set".  I put sharpening in quotes because you aren't really sharpening with it, you are honing.  I hone my chef's knife about every 5 or 6 uses.  It stays sharp enough to shave the hair on my arm.  Mine is very similar to this one, Lansky Crock Sticks.  I've had it for about 30 years and it works like a champ.

My advise, wait for a Wustoff 8" chef knife to show up at TJ Maxx and nab it.  Add a paring knife and serrated knife for slicing bread and meat.  Get a "sharpening" kit like the ceramic rod one I linked.  And use them for awhile and develop an opinion about what you like/don't like and then buy your upgrades after you have an opinion about the knives you didn't spend a ton of money for.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Weave

[WildCard]

Thanks to all who responded, and especially you we've. I'm gonna go the route you mentioned I think, buy the basics at a decent price but make sure I buy a honing set as well.

[Scottysabres]

My 9nly complaint is rain on Halloween. The kids came, but were soaked. I gave each one triples. Your welcome mom and dad's ?

[ubkev]

Just now, Scottysabres said:

My 9nly complaint is rain on Halloween. The kids came, but were soaked. I gave each one triples. Your welcome mom and dad's ?

60 degrees and clear here. It was without a doubt the nicest Halloween of my lifetime in CNY, and PA.

[WildCard]

Have at it

Just moved into a new office. Have to take 390 north home now. New office is nice, worse traffic is, well, the worst

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Just now, WildCard said:

Have at it

Just moved into a new office. Have to take 390 north home now. New office is nice, worse traffic is, well, the worst

Office?  I thought you were perpetually lost in a supermarket.

[WildCard]

1 minute ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Office?  I thought you were perpetually lost in a supermarket.

Charlie work has no boundaries 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Upcoming merge in ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... GO!!

+++++

Also, STRESS!!

Just a general sort of observation.

Don't worry, I am not going to ... you know.

[darksabre]

I just lost my entire rant because the ***** alternate thread disappeared before I hit post. 

[WildCard]

1 minute ago, darksabre said:

I just lost my entire rant because the ***** alternate thread disappeared before I hit post. 

Two complaints for the price of one

[darksabre]

Okay, let's get this started. 

First things first. Started hearing a noise from the back of my car a few weeks ago. I suspected wheel bearing and was right. My car only has 52k on it, which seemed suspect but okay. So West Herr tells me that what has happened is that the rear brakes have seized in the calipers in such a way that the pads were essentially "on". And this prematurely wore out BOTH rear wheel bearings. So I got to drop $1200 today to get new pads and rotors, and two new wheel bearings. 

What is insane about this is that in the 2 years I've had this car the way it drives has not changed in any way. If the rear brakes were faulty, then they were faulty WHEN I BOUGHT IT. 

Cool. Cool Cool Cool. 

This brings me to my next complaint: Used cars are a bad deal and you shouldn't bother.

Let's break this down.

In December of 2016 I bought my 2014 Impala LT2 from West Herr in OP. 38k on the clock, previous lease. Okay, great.

Purchase price $18,500, with tax: ~$20,026.

Down payment: $3,000
Amount financed: $17,011 at 4.89% APR
Interest: $1,745
Total loan amount: $18756

Repairs through 2 years: $2400

Total real cost after 2 years: $21,156
Estimated cost after 4 years: $23,156

Oustanding repairs: $2,000 for the partially inop infotainment system which GM has no functional way of diagnosing other than "fix one thing, then fix the other thing" aka "get bent lulz".

For that kind of money over 4 years I could buy a brand new Mazda6. Or a Regal Sportback. 

This car has in no way been a good deal. Forget about depreciation. Buy a new car and enjoy it. You'll be glad you did. I will never buy another used car for a daily driver ever again. 


And on top of all this, I received a red light camera ticket in the mail this week from Nassau County (a place I've never been) for a Jeep Cherokee (a car I have never owned) for a license plate that I surrendered to the DMV in 2015. So now I have to waste a bunch of time handling THAT because red light cameras should be illegal. 

Screw literally everything. 

[josie]

30 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Screw literally everything. 

Well hey there, handsome 

[Samson's Flow]

37 minutes ago, josie said:

Well hey there, handsome 

Sounds like you are in for a good night ?

 

I too have a car complaint. I bought a car at an auction last month by accompanying my uncle's friend/partner/guy who works in his building to a "dealer only" auction selling used cars. The auction itself was kind of a pain since they wouldn't let me in (not a registered dealer) so I had to play charades through the window to indicate which cars I wanted and the price I was willing to bid. This isn't really the complain because I managed to snag a sweet '09 Subaru Impreza for only $7,800 (only 41k miles ?).

Over a month later and I still can't drive the freaking thing because my uncle's friend/partner/guy who works in his building hasn't gotten it inspected or finished the paperwork to get me the title. I just met with him today which should have been when we did the final transaction when we realized instead of a NYS Inspection w/ sticker the auto shop just did a used car quality inspection - whatever the hell that is. In the meantime my old Pontiac G6 is racking up miles and approaching winter, which should make it a lot of fun to sell on craigslist. At this rate, i'll be meeting with strangers from the internet looking to buy my car with 3 feet of snow.

I guess there's a reason people just pay more to go to a dealer, instead of doing this shady back room deals that are 5x the effort.

[Derrico]

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

[Samson's Flow]

Just now, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

Sorry to hear that my friend. Hopefully the Canadian Health Care system can take care of you.

[WildCard]

19 minutes ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

God dammit. Not sure how to phrase this, but are you...alright?

Edit: Hope you're doing alright man. We'll do our best to make this place as stupid as possible, hope it entertains ya at least ? 

Edited November 8, 2018 by WildCard

[josie]

1 minute ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

Oh no, that's awful. ?
Best of luck, my thoughts are with you. Take care of yourself. 

[darksabre]

5 minutes ago, Samson's Flow said:

Sounds like you are in for a good night ?

 

I too have a car complaint. I bought a car at an auction last month by accompanying my uncle's friend/partner/guy who works in his building to a "dealer only" auction selling used cars. The auction itself was kind of a pain since they wouldn't let me in (not a registered dealer) so I had to play charades through the window to indicate which cars I wanted and the price I was willing to bid. This isn't really the complain because I managed to snag a sweet '09 Subaru Impreza for only $7,800 (only 41k miles ?).

Over a month later and I still can't drive the freaking thing because my uncle's friend/partner/guy who works in his building hasn't gotten it inspected or finished the paperwork to get me the title. I just met with him today which should have been when we did the final transaction when we realized instead of a NYS Inspection w/ sticker the auto shop just did a used car quality inspection - whatever the hell that is. In the meantime my old Pontiac G6 is racking up miles and approaching winter, which should make it a lot of fun to sell on craigslist. At this rate, i'll be meeting with strangers from the internet looking to buy my car with 3 feet of snow.

I guess there's a reason people just pay more to go to a dealer, instead of doing this shady back room deals that are 5x the effort.

I've always wanted to buy a car at auction. But the hassle of it has always deterred me. 

4 minutes ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

Very sorry to hear that man. 

[ubkev]

54 minutes ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

Man, this ***** sucks. I hope for nothing but the best for you.

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

Hang in there friend.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers ... 5 'official' times per day and then some extra.

 

[LTS]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

Was reminded of that yesterday....

Sincerely hope for all the best for you... 

[Derrico]

Thanks everyone.  Some I’ve met in person at the meet ups and some I’ve just spoken to on here.  But I’ve been a member for more than a decade and you guys feel like family.  I appreciate the thoughtful words.  If you could keep me in your prayers the next litttle bit I would appreciate that.

[Weave]

Get well, Derrico.  Hopefully this shall pass. 

 

Dark, regarding used cars.  YDIW.  I don't know how you are picking what you are picking, but YDIW.

I worked in the auto industry for 25 years.  Worked for tier 1 suppliers and directly with the largest automaker in the world.  I've always had an employee discount or supplier discount available to me.  And I've never owned a new car.  Never.  And it's been a couple of decades since my vehicle has stranded me or failed in a way that soured me on the vehicle.

[Taro T]

3 hours ago, Derrico said:

I’ve been diagnosed with a serious health issue. Would like to keep details private but having a tough time right now.  I’ve been posting less as life is taking precedence.  Enjoy life and health and don’t sweat the small stuff.  Hopefully with time things will improve for me.  I love this corner of our internet and will still be popping in from time to time for a welcomed distraction.  

You darn well better get better.  We need as many "scouts" making the inroads into Loaf Land to prepare for the invasion as we can get.  No slacking mister!

More seriously, good luck with it.  Will keep you in our prayers.