What grinds your gears?

[geo2maz]

- When people say "G" damn.

Which context, like 'waddup G!' or 'damn that cost 2 G's' ?
Or wait, nevermind, meant GD.. Gotcha

[GR-8]

I have looked at the tires, and there isn't much tread depth left. I was driving home from school one day, and the roads were a bit wet from melting snow. I get to a red light and wait for my left turn arrow. I start going, and I just start sliding going through the turn. That was real fun. Same thing happened going into my school parking lot. There are a couple curves and I just start sliding going through them on wet roads. We've had the car for like 6-7 months now, but the tires weren't net when we got it. The car has like 44k miles on it, not sure if they are original tires or if they were replaced at some point or what. But the thing is the car needs new tires and my dad wont buy them. He had the money to go buy himself a new tablet the other week which cost about the same as the two tires he would pay for (minus installation), but still. He also hasn't paid the deposit to the college I got accepted to early decision (binding agreement, I have to go there now that I got in) like he agreed he would after I finished applying to other schools. He's a bit of a miser, and definitely selfish when it comes to spending money to say the very least. He justifies it by saying he goes and works hard every day (which I understand), but that seems to him to be the one and only reason he needs to spend as much money on himself as he wants but not a dime on anyone else.

Sounds like you're just trying to go way too fast. Slow it down or the Subaru might end up like the Mazda. I have had bald tires on the 8 for a year now and what you are describing for an AWD vehicle doesn't fit. I can drive the 8 no problem in wet conditions and it has noooo tread depth. Snow I cant do or ice but wet roads, yes!

He does sounds selfish yet most parents are. I see it as he got a job, he got married, he worked hard to support his wife, he had kids now he works very hard. Whos fault is it for having the kids? But then again it is his money to spend so as long as he feeds you and lets you sleep there why shouldn't he get himself a tablet over spending it on you? I understand it's something you need and your safety should come first but you can last a little longer with the tires. If something happens you have the right to......"I told you so."


As to what grinds my gears is computer games and the folks that want to sell them through digital downloads only. I played a game, (Place Name Here) and the new one is out and I want to buy it but it's only online. I can't get the new one through Best Buy or anywhere even though they sell the old one. So instead of paying $30 for it I decided if I have to download it might as well download it my own way.

I can't see paying for a game and not having a physical copy. If it's an Xbox Live arcade game or some phone app like that a can but for a higher price than $10 and a full game I cant see it happening. Sorry thing is that that is the way things are moving. I want the physical copy damn it!

[speedjunkie]

Uh oh, I think I hear the gentle whine of a possible OWS protestor. LOL!!!

Seriously, if you have the money/have a job, just buy the damn tires yourself. He may be trying to teach you a lesson here. Not because you did something bad, but because everyone needs to learn to fend for themselves at some point. And you are about 18, correct? Time to go out on your own and pave your own path. And if you're 18 already, I believe it's his business what he chooses to spend HIS money on. I didn't even have a car until I bought one with my own money after I had already been in the AF for over 7 months. When I moved to Okinawa, I didn't own a car for the first couple months I was there, I walked everywhere. As your father, he should be concerned about your safety no matter how old you are, yes. But should he have to pay for your tires if you are able to make money and buy them yourself? Nah. Did you guys work out a deal before that he would buy your tires? Do you have a job? Still haven't read the answers to those questions.

[erod550]

A car is a privilege, not a right. The only person putting you in danger by driving on bald tires is you. If the car isn't safe to drive, no one is holding a gun to your head to drive it.

Your dad is already paying for the car itself isn't he? Why can't you chip in some on the maintenance ? It's all part of having a car. I have to buy a headlight motor, find and fix a brake fluid leak, and fix my horn again. Just comes with the territory.

[Learjet45]

Let's see, to respond to each person's comments (not trying to be a douche with that comment, just addressing what people said):

@Alain: Nope, quit King Soopers a couple months ago (was getting to be a bit much to handle with school too, and the work sucked lol). I was supposed to have an interview at a catering company a few weeks ago but the HR lady called and said she wouldn't be able to do it so I am waiting to reschedule. Already left like 3 messages trying to reschedule but she hasn't called back. So I don't have any money to go spend on tires right now.

@Tut: My dad likely won't pay for a good portion of my college. The school I got into (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) costs about $60k/year total. I got offered $35,000 in financial aid per year (10k in federal loans which will become my burden to pay back). I doubt my dad will pay any more than $5k/year to cover the rest of the 25k. My grandpa will probably foot the bill for it (as it seems he tends to for most of the expensive things).

@Jimmy: I was accelerating from a stop, which might have been part of it. But seriously, a 2.5i Legacy is slower than a snail (it has like no power, I bet Erod knows that feeling from his wife's Impreza). I was going maybe 10-15 through the turn and I started sliding. It wasn't like serious sliding like what happened in my 6 last winter, but I know that I was sliding. And I'm already using the "I told you so" on him in regards to needing new tires. I told him last winter with the 6 that I needed new tires. He didn't believe me. I hit a curb after sliding on ice. Firestone tells us the car had 4 bald tires. I bring that up to remind him I'm not as clueless as he might think. I said I thought we need new tires, then Firestone tells us, so now I'm telling him that he should listen once in a while. His power steering in his TL hasn't worked since we got it. I keep telling him that, but he won't listen.

@speedjunkie: I don't have a job currently (see above), otherwise I would buy the tires. I've been trying to sell the stereo stuff I have, and if I do, that money will be spent on tires. I'm not expecting him to spend the money on me forever (not gonna go ask him to buy my tires in 10 years or crap like that). But he said he would buy the tires. However, I would be reluctant to spend any money on something like tires is because I know that I won't really get any return on my investment.
The Legacy is supposed to be a "shared" car between me and my sister. Except, when she is home, I don't really get to use it at all (excuse: your sister hasn't driven in months). My parents always tell me it's a shared car. Then my sister comes home, calls it her car, and talks about how she will take it college next fall. If I say a word about how it's supposed to be shared, I basically get told to shut up. I'll put maybe 3k miles on the car between now and next summer when my sister gets home. It'll be at least $300 I'll never get back if my uncle pays for two tires, and then I'll essentially have given my sister that money, and I don't see a reason for me to spend the money in that case. If it was going to be my car exclusively, then sure I'd spend the money. But if I'm gonna lose the car in like 6-7 months, then I can't justify spending that much of my own money on a car that wouldn't be mine for much longer. I'd rather just deal with the bald tires and just drive when the roads aren't bad than spend $300 on what I view as a bad investment.

@erod: He didn't pay for the car. He didn't pay for my mom's car either. My grandpa paid for both. The only car he pays for is his own. I don't have a job anymore (again, see above) so I don't really have any money to spend on maintenance. And I'm actually not even driving it right now. I've driven it once or maybe twice since the 17th. I'm more worried about my sister wrecking it, and it's a safety issue to be driving on bald tires (as if she wasn't a bad enough driver. She's been in an at fault accident in my dad's Acura, my mom's Hyundai, and our old Mazda). I just don't want her to wreck the damn thing in the next 3 weeks she's home and then end up not having a car (I'd be willing to bet my dad would take me off the insurance to keep my sister on if she wrecks it). He didn't take her off after she wrecked his TL. He paid out of pocket to fix my mom's car, and there wasn't major damage to the mazda when he sister got rear ended and then rear ended someone else.

[GR-8]

.......@Jimmy: I was accelerating from a stop, which might have been part of it. But seriously, a 2.5i Legacy is slower than a snail (it has like no power, I bet Erod knows that feeling from his wife's Impreza). I was going maybe 10-15 through the turn and I started sliding. It wasn't like serious sliding like what happened in my 6 last winter, but I know that I was sliding........

So with all that said, were you on wet road, snow packed, Icy? Even a car with good tires would slide on ice. Snow packed ok tires. Wet road you really shouldn't slide at all regardless.

You say from a stop and into your school parking lot. Some lady turning into safeway almost slid into me when I was exiting the parking lot. Why? Because she was going too fast. It wasn't icy but slushy. Looked to me she had good tires. So driver error. I really can't say in you situation for sure cause I wasn't there but from the sounds of it you know you have "baldish" tires so you should drive more cautious.

Just because Firestone says they are bald doesn't mean they are completely bald. I was told that several times be the dealer and I still had the same tread months later. Not even near the wear mark. This is just me saying. I have not seen your tires to really judge though.

[Learjet45]

I actually did the whole coin in the tread thing, and it doesn't cover much of the coin at all. That's not to say it couldn't go another month or so without tires, but as you probably know, the longer you wait the more dangerous it becomes. The roads weren't snow packed, but fairly wet. Hell who knows, I could have been hydroplaning. Either way, wasn't fun, and I don't want it to happen again/

[alex_n/a]

Whoa whoa whoa. Not condoning damage to someone else's personal property does not mean I think what the lady did was ok, and certainly doesn't mean I would do the same thing. I don't go the wrong way in parking lots for starters, and I don't steal parking spaces from anyone who is obviously waiting for the spot.
[color="Blue"]
People that do the right thing still get bad karma. my rx7 had so many parking lot dents and NO ONE stuck around to apologize or pay for it. THEY did something bad and got away with it. Yet me doing nothing wrong to those people have to deal with dents and scratches. is that fair? no. I try to make sure people get what they deserve. if you break my window I break two of your windows. Why should people who do good things end up loosing? that's how life is. You do things right and someone who does bad things gets ahead UNLESS people stop them.[/color]

Eric, for someone who raves as much as you do about how much you hate thieves, I'd think you'd have more of a respect for someone else's personal property. Damaging someone's stuff or stealing it, you're still messing with their shit.

Flip her off, go up to her and cuss her out, honk at her excessively, all of those things I would be ok with, but not damaging her car after she leaves it, no matter how much of a piece of shit it is. It's cowardly and I just think it's taking it too far and taking a parking spot WAY too seriously. Sometimes you just need to suck it up and get over it and get a handle on your rage.

she drove the wrong way
she almost crashed into me, even scarred my little sister.
she stole my parking spot
she didn't say sorry and waiting in her car till I left
she probably felt good about it

and you think raising one finger to her is getting back at her? not in my book. saying some english words? uhhh okay that would not make things any different. It wasn't "rage" it is making sure people who are the scum of society get what they deserve.

Look at it this way. Here in the USA when you steal something you get a slap on the wrist and pay a fine. maybe spend a night in jail. but not likely since jails are always over booked. In Mexico if you steal something, the whole town finds you and beats the ####ing shit out of you. men or women. So you tell me, where would you rather steal? here or in Mexico....... I hope you get my point. I am not saying I wish someone would hurt her but if everyone did harm towards her she probably would try to harm others.

I think what people are saying is that, even if she was inconsiderate, there was no lasting harm done to you. POS or not, it's gonna cost her a significant chunk of money to fix the damage done. That's the difference. Hell, even letting the air out of her tires is "free" and easily corrected. It's just a matter of valuation of the incident.

She had body damage on her car. The way she drives only points to her being an idiot driver. and probably cost that accident that left her car damaged. Do you think people that purposely drive reckless on the public street deserve fair treatment? And flat tires are not free. she would have had to call a tow truck because I really don't think she would lift the car. remove the tire and role it to a tire shop. Also it wasn't an "incident" it was on purpose. there is zero percent chance she did it by "accident"

That's what I was saying. The punishment does not fit the "crime."

Look at the big picture, She had no remorse for what she did because she probably does it all the time. I got back at her in the name of everyone she has ever pissed off.

I used to key cars when I was in high school if someone pissed me off, but now I think it's rather extreme and, IMO, immature. I always think "what if" and that applies if someone keyed my FD. I would go BALLISTIC and out of control angry. I wouldn't want to do that to anyone. Keying a car can cause $1000's in damage.

I agree it's a low blow move and there should be a "punishment" to the crime. I will usually let air out of the tires because it's free to fix. If they REALLY pissed me off (and it's happened) I used to remove the valve from the stem with my schrader tool, so there is no valve and the tire has no way of holding air. It's a 0.50 cent piece from a Discount Tire so I wouldn't feel bad. I would even leave the valve piece next the tire; unless they have the tool they aren't putting it back in haha.

I do agree it was immature. but I was not going to let her get away with it. I am not a push over and do not like seeing bad people come out on top, when I had been driving around looking for a parking spot. and I was not taking others parking spot. So she was just asking for it.

If you don't want people ####ing with your very nice fd, then maybe you shouldn't #### around with other people. Then you are just asking to get some bad shit your way. It's like if you don't want to get punched in the face, then maybe you shouldn't punch other people in the face. I think it's pretty simple.

also I am not some douche bag that goes around keying people's car.

[erod550]

Karma doesn't exist. Good and bad things just happen. They are not connected.

Nothing she did justifies your response, and nothing you say can change that. You are not judge and jury to decide who deserves what punishment. No one made you the personality police. But let's say you cut someone off and didn't say you were sorry or wave or whatever and they followed you home and keyed your car outside your house because they felt like you endangered them and you didn't care and you needed to be taught a lesson, you're saying that would be ok? Didn't think so.

also I am not some douche bag that goes around keying people's car.

Except you did.

I'm done arguing because we are all highly opinionated and we dig in and defend our position no matter what and no one is going to change anyone's mind anyway.

[Learjet45]

Can I try to be a voice of reason:

In Alex's defense: From how he tells the story, she did this intentionally with no regard to the safety of others, and had no remorse for her actions. Was she a dickhead about it? Yes. Does it seem like she knew she did something wrong? Yes. Did she care? Not at all. Will she do it again? More than likely. Now, the options were:
1. Ignore it - Likely resulting in her learning nothing of the event. Does she learn anything from her actions? Nope.
2. Minimal Action - Flip her off, cuss her out. Simple stuff, no permanent damage. Does she learn anything from her actions? Nope.
3. Intermediate Action - Flatten her tires. Minimal damage, easily fixed. Does she learn anything? Maybe, but more than likely just pissed off about it.
4. Drastic Action - Do what Alex did. Some permanent damage. Expensive to fix. But if her car is already damaged and she hasn't fixed it, then it doesn't make that much of a difference in the long run. Does she learn something? Probably, and it will likely stick with her when she goes to her car and gets a reminder that her actions have consequences.
Also, it was likely a "heat of the moment" type thing. Anyone, except maybe Gandhi, would have been angered by her actions. Some people wouldn't have done much about it, others like Alex do something.

In the defense of people against Alex's actions:
Alex did permanent, expensive damage to the lady's car, which is wrong. She didn't harm Alex or anyone else with her actions, so there is a strong reason to not do anything to retaliate. She did do something bad, but her actions likely weren't anything too drastic to warrant doing what Alex did.


Now, with that being said, nothing can be done about it now. What's done is done, and there's no changing that. Fact is, she did something stupid, and something bad happened because of it. Hopefully she learned a lesson. But at this point, there's no use arguing about it anymore.


And about karma not existing: It's kinda like Murphy's law idea. It's not exactly proven to exist, but given the right circumstances, it can seem very likely that it does. Like driving on a highway that seems to be more like a parking lot, it seems that if you are in a lane that doesn't move and switch lanes to one that does, that lane stops and your old lane starts moving. Is it proof that Murphy's law exists? Nope. Does it make it seem probable that it does? Yes.
Karma is similar. With regards to Alex's situation: The lady did something stupid and wrong, and because of her bad actions, bad things happened to her. I was driving in my school parking lot one day and I got pissed at one kid who just stopped for no reason other than to piss me off so I sped around him. Bad thing to do, and I overreacted. Well, a security guard saw me, and I ended up losing my parking pass for a few days because I did something bad. But then there are other times where you can do something bad and not get caught, or do something good and get nothing in return. There might not be definitive proof Karma exists, but that doesn't mean the concept is completely false.

[speedjunkie]

@speedjunkie: I don't have a job currently (see above), otherwise I would buy the tires. I've been trying to sell the stereo stuff I have, and if I do, that money will be spent on tires. I'm not expecting him to spend the money on me forever (not gonna go ask him to buy my tires in 10 years or crap like that). But he said he would buy the tires. However, I would be reluctant to spend any money on something like tires is because I know that I won't really get any return on my investment.
The Legacy is supposed to be a "shared" car between me and my sister. Except, when she is home, I don't really get to use it at all (excuse: your sister hasn't driven in months). My parents always tell me it's a shared car. Then my sister comes home, calls it her car, and talks about how she will take it college next fall. If I say a word about how it's supposed to be shared, I basically get told to shut up. I'll put maybe 3k miles on the car between now and next summer when my sister gets home. It'll be at least $300 I'll never get back if my uncle pays for two tires, and then I'll essentially have given my sister that money, and I don't see a reason for me to spend the money in that case. If it was going to be my car exclusively, then sure I'd spend the money. But if I'm gonna lose the car in like 6-7 months, then I can't justify spending that much of my own money on a car that wouldn't be mine for much longer. I'd rather just deal with the bald tires and just drive when the roads aren't bad than spend $300 on what I view as a bad investment.

Oh OK, I see your point. I wouldn't want to pay for a car that wouldn't be mine either LOL. And from everything you've said, it sounds like your sister is his favorite LOL.

she drove the wrong way
she almost crashed into me, even scarred my little sister.
she stole my parking spot
she didn't say sorry and waiting in her car till I left
she probably felt good about it

and you think raising one finger to her is getting back at her? not in my book. saying some english words? uhhh okay that would not make things any different. It wasn't "rage" it is making sure people who are the scum of society get what they deserve.

Look at it this way. Here in the USA when you steal something you get a slap on the wrist and pay a fine. maybe spend a night in jail. but not likely since jails are always over booked. In Mexico if you steal something, the whole town finds you and beats the ####ing shit out of you. men or women. So you tell me, where would you rather steal? here or in Mexico....... I hope you get my point. I am not saying I wish someone would hurt her but if everyone did harm towards her she probably would try to harm others.

Look at the big picture, She had no remorse for what she did because she probably does it all the time. I got back at her in the name of everyone she has ever pissed off.

I do agree it was immature. but I was not going to let her get away with it. I am not a push over and do not like seeing bad people come out on top, when I had been driving around looking for a parking spot. and I was not taking others parking spot. So she was just asking for it.

If you don't want people ####ing with your very nice fd, then maybe you shouldn't #### around with other people. Then you are just asking to get some bad shit your way. It's like if you don't want to get punched in the face, then maybe you shouldn't punch other people in the face. I think it's pretty simple.

also I am not some douche bag that goes around keying people's car.

Yep.

Also it wasn't an "incident" it was on purpose. there is zero percent chance she did it by "accident"

Incident doesn't mean accident, he's saying "in that situation".

Nothing she did justifies your response, and nothing you say can change that. You are not judge and jury to decide who deserves what punishment.

According to you and some others here, what she did doesn't justify his response. That doesn't make you guys any more right. That's your opinion.

Except you did.

And he did it for a reason. It's not like he just keyed it for the hell of it. He keyed it for a reason. It looks to me like he was saying he doesn't just go around doing it for no reason. That's how I read it anyway.

I'm done arguing because we are all highly opinionated and we dig in and defend our position no matter what and no one is going to change anyone's mind anyway.

I do agree with this though haha. You guys are definitely not swaying me lol. If I did some douchebag move that deserved getting my car keyed, then I deserved it. If someone does it just for the hell of it, then I'd be pissed.

Everyone is acting like she did nothing wrong at all and like he killed her or something. Yeah, she didn't harm him, but he didn't harm her either. He did some damage to her car, not her person. And I agree with about 95% of what Learjet said LOL at least the first few sentences/paragraphs, I didn't read the last one haha.

[Learjet45]

Oh OK, I see your point. I wouldn't want to pay for a car that wouldn't be mine either LOL. And from everything you've said, it sounds like your sister is his favorite LOL.

I don't know that I would say my sister is his favorite, but my parents don't exactly treat us the same. I don't know that they ever once checked my sister's grades, but they check often. They never cared what my sister did or what she was doing with her friends (obviously neither my sister or I are ones to go and drink or smoke or anything, but my sister drinks at parties at her school and my parents know and don't mind), but they want like a minute by minute breakdown of what I'm going to be doing with my friends if I say I'm going out, or if I don't know they want me to call them as soon as I do. My sister was putting ridiculous amounts of miles on our car this past summer (like 250+ miles in 3-4 days), and when I would mention it because of the fact that it was expensive to keep filling up the car twice a week and there's no reason to be driving that much (my dad doesn't even fill up that often and he commutes 40 miles a day, plus any extra driving he has to do for work), I would just get told not to worry about what my sister is doing. But if I want to go to Colorado Springs once, just once (when I went to the Friday night meet the one and only time I went lol), I never heard the end of it.

I don't know that my sister is my dad's favorite. More like my mom's favorite (she seems to hate anybody with a Y chromosome simply because it makes them male anymore, or at least she goes on and on about how men screw things up and make bad choices), and my dad (as much as he says he doesn't care what my mom thinks like if he goes out and buys yet another shirt or stupid technology toy he doesn't need), he refuses to disagree with her if it's about anything like the car.




And it's not just the tires that are pissing me off. Like I was talking about back here:
http://www.coloradomazdaclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=138225&postcount=1481
It's his actions compared to his words. He makes a deal with me that if I applied to 4 other schools, he would pay my deposit to enroll at RPI. Well, a week and a half after I finished applying, the deposit still hasn't been paid. Then he goes and talks about not having enough money to pay all the bills in full every month and how we can't spend money frivolously. So his way of doing this involves spending $250 on an Android Tablet at Best Buy (which keep in mind, he also used Chase Rewards Points to get a $100 best buy gift card instead of something useful like cash back into the account for groceries or bills). For someone supposedly cash strapped, he finds money to spend on himself for "toys" (did I mention he bought himself a MacBook Pro which he knew nothing about and had no idea how to use, along with an iPod Touch last winter when our situation was no different money-wise), but then he can't pay my deposit to enroll in college or get new tires for any car but his own. I finally told him the other day when he asked me to add a printer to his laptop (yes ladies and gentlemen, a printer, something that involves 4-6 clicks and that's it) to look it up himself because if he found the money to spend on it, he could find the time to learn how to use it without asking me how to do something half the time.

[erod550]

Karma is similar. With regards to Alex's situation: The lady did something stupid and wrong, and because of her bad actions, bad things happened to her. I was driving in my school parking lot one day and I got pissed at one kid who just stopped for no reason other than to piss me off so I sped around him. Bad thing to do, and I overreacted. Well, a security guard saw me, and I ended up losing my parking pass for a few days because I did something bad. But then there are other times where you can do something bad and not get caught, or do something good and get nothing in return. There might not be definitive proof Karma exists, but that doesn't mean the concept is completely false.

LOL, that's not karma. That's directly related consequences to your actions. If I rob someone and get caught and go to jail, that's not karma. Karma is I steal from someone and get away with it, and several days later I slip and fall on some ice and break my leg or something. People who believe in karma think the universe is getting even for the bad thing I did before. But really, they are just completely unrelated events.

[Learjet45]

I can see your point, but I think you're oversimplifying karma. It isn't necessarily do bad and you personally get punished. Wiki explains it well with the idea of "what goes around comes around" and it's inherent that if you do something bad, bad things happen to you in return. That doesn't necessarily mean something like you steal and then you fall and break your leg, but more along the line of you steal and then maybe your car breaks down on your or something more like you get hurt.

It actually is (from a broad perspective) partly cause and effect. You do something bad, so you cause something bad to happen that affects you. In Alex's case: the lady did something bad, so her bad karma led to Alex keying her car. Especially if you argue that what Alex did was unnecessary and excessive, it's all the more proof that she did something bad, so something bad happened. Well, even if it was excessive, it was bound to happen because she f'd up.

I'm not saying karma exists. I'm saying the general concept can apply in many cases. It's like God. Do people believe there is a God? Yes. Is there definitive proof he does or doesn't exist? Nope, not for either side of the argument. Can you prove karma exists? Nope. Can you disprove it based on how people define it? Not really.

[Huzer]

On Saturday I went to walmart...

Someone driving badly and someone keying a car at Walmart is not surprising in the least.