NorCal (Bay Area) OFF-TOPIC Chat Thread

[My Key]

oh yeah! we have a forum!

[BigFatFlip]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Lmao. That sucks.

I don't have remote start but I do bypass the clutch in my cars. Always have to remember to check the shifter after getting it worked on as many leave it in gear and I have lunged forward a few times. Thankfully nothing has every been right in front of me

Haha, thankfully it just damaged the external wall and didn't punch thru. He just heard a loud bang and lots of reving when hit the remote start lol. My dad does the same and it really annoys me when he drives my car, which is why its a good habit to have both feet in (foot on brake and clutch) when starting a car. I would only do it when parking on a hill or an inclined driveway for peace of mind, but I trust the hand brake enough.

[LittleChuuChuu]

Who’s got a swanky plug for some rs-rr’s?

[FirstWinter]

Originally Posted by LittleChuuChuu

Who’s got a swanky plug for some rs-rr’s?

SpeedSF has a discount. Talk to Gary @ Elite Performance.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

Haha, thankfully it just damaged the external wall and didn't punch thru. He just heard a loud bang and lots of reving when hit the remote start lol. My dad does the same and it really annoys me when he drives my car, which is why its a good habit to have both feet in (foot on brake and clutch) when starting a car. I would only do it when parking on a hill or an inclined driveway for peace of mind, but I trust the hand brake enough.

Yeah, I use it on hills too. I just wiggle the shifter to make sure it's in neutral before starting every time now.

Originally Posted by LittleChuuChuu

Who’s got a swanky plug for some rs-rr’s?

I think Elite does, right @MyRx?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by spike021

Apparently somebody's been camping out at my apartment building's laundry area at night. It's publicly accessible, but down some stairs of a passage to a kind of basement room.

I heard that they disabled the light (which explains why I hadn't seen it on at night since getting back from Vancouver on Sunday night).

I'm not particularly scared about it, but it's still a bit unsettling. My neighborhood is crawling with a rampant homeless problem but it makes me feel uneasy that they're like..right on the property. And they're not all regular people who happen to be homeless; typically lots of druggies, dealers, etc. It could've just been a regular homeless person but it's super hard to judge nowadays.

Anyway, I was told they're putting a temporary barricade with a "No trespassing", etc. sign but I know that some public buildings the next block over had the same issue, did the same thing (chained off with a sign), and resolved it, but only temporarily and ever since (probably at least a year now) the homeless people camp out there anyway and just climb over the chain and sign..

So meh. I don't think it'll accomplish much at my place.. Just disconcerting.

So you thought I left the area eh? If you happen to have a spare ham sandwich and left it on the second machine from the right I would greatly appreciate it.

[FirstWinter]

I put it in gear sometimes but every now and then I'll forget I did and stall the car like an idiot while getting whiplash. Extremely embarrassing with somebody else in the car.

What's more annoying is when I drive an automatic and I realize mid drive that I never let the handbrake down because it's a pedal not an actual lever you pull. All to find out after panicking for no reason I subconsciously did it before setting off otherwise I wouldn't be moving. Gotta love my brain.

[BigFatFlip]

Originally Posted by spike021

So meh. I don't think it'll accomplish much at my place.. Just disconcerting.

My neighborhood has a similar problem. Typically, they would just camp out under the freeway nearby, but as it gets colder and colder at night, I'm sure the body can only take so much and you would just have to try anything to get some form of shelter. Just too bad/sad that homeless shelters are so underfunded.

Originally Posted by FirstWinter

What's more annoying is when I drive an automatic and I realize mid drive that I never let the handbrake down because it's a pedal not an actual lever you pull. All to find out after panicking for no reason I subconsciously did it before setting off otherwise I wouldn't be moving. Gotta love my brain.

Lol, part of the reason I'm glad auto parking brakes (the push button kind) exist. The family CX-9 has one and I never know if its on or off. On one hand I hate using them, and on the other hand, they are nice that they disengage themselves when I'm too stupid to remember.

[spike021]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

So you thought I left the area eh? If you happen to have a spare ham sandwich and left it on the second machine from the right I would greatly appreciate it.

Yeah, my landlady said she thought she saw the person wearing some stupid, conservative gun-related shirt. I suspected it might be you.

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

My neighborhood has a similar problem. Typically, they would just camp out under the freeway nearby, but as it gets colder and colder at night, I'm sure the body can only take so much and you would just have to try anything to get some form of shelter. Just too bad/sad that homeless shelters are so underfunded.

Yeah. SJ used to be better in that it had a huge encampment called "the jungle" or something like that, but 3 or so years ago the city evicted it so since then they just congregate in smaller groups, but pretty much everywhere.

The really sad thing for me is I consistently see a small group a couple blocks from my apartment and probably 2-3 homeless kids with them. It's pretty shitty.

[driggity]

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

Unless your car is a manual

Not something you have to worry about too often with a rental. Although a year ago I did have a RHD, diesel, manual, wagon.

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

Lol, part of the reason I'm glad auto parking brakes (the push button kind) exist. The family CX-9 has one and I never know if its on or off. On one hand I hate using them, and on the other hand, they are nice that they disengage themselves when I'm too stupid to remember.

My current rental has a switch for the parking brake and after two weeks I still try to engage or disengage a foot pedal parking brake about 90% of the time. Which is extra weird because that's not what the FRS has. I guess I just assume that's what an SUV should have.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by spike021

Yeah, my landlady said she thought she saw the person wearing some stupid, conservative gun-related shirt. I suspected it might be you.

And smoking within 20 feet of the window!

[BigFatFlip]

I now want to buy a $2500 Miata and get it Zagato-rebodied for another $25,000 lol

https://www.simpsondesign.net/sd-aston/

[Clipdat]

It seems awfully presumptuous and entitled to be "judging" (your word) and labeling someone as a "regular homeless" person or a "druggie" or "dealer". What exactly is your description of a "regular" homeless person versus a substance user? What preconceived notions and visual indicators are you using in your judgement process?

When you say that your neighborhood is "crawling" with a rampant homeless problem, it almost sounds like you are describing a vermin infestation, like you're talking about pests or parasites. These are just fellow human beings. It's very possible that they're just recently homeless, especially if they have young children. There have been several hundreds of people who lost their apartments due to unlawful evictions from landlords hoping to turn their rentals into an AirBnB, or raise the rent 120% to take advantage of the influx of tech workers who are willing and able to pay an outrageously high monthly rent.

You mentioned that "The really sad thing for me is I consistently see a small group a couple blocks from my apartment and probably 2-3 homeless kids with them. It's pretty shitty.". Stop for a second and think about how "sad" and "shitty" you feel when you see them and then imagine about how much worse it must feel for them to actually be there on the street trying to take care of their family. You can't fix the problem as a whole, but you can do something small to help. Heat up a few cans of chicken noodle soup and take it to the family you saw, along with a blanket or old jacket you aren't using. Go talk to the individual who is in the laundry room and politely let them know that the landlord will probably be trying to kick them out of that area soon. Give them a sandwich and a few bottles of water. A little human compassion goes a long way in these situations and I'm sure would be greatly appreciated.

In regards to shelters being underfunded, that is not the reason why they're underutilized. It's simply not worth being out of the cold for a few nights in exchange for the potential to have all of your personal belongings stolen while you sleep. Physical violence and theft of your property is pretty much a guarantee. It's impossible to rest or sleep when you know that you're going to be assaulted and/or robbed.

The next time you come "home" to a place with a solid roof, a door that locks, and a fridge full of food - take a second to realize that you're incredibly fortunate, and be thankful for what you have.

It's unfortunate that you feel uncomfortable seeing homeless people, but imagine how uncomfortable it is to actually be one.

Originally Posted by spike021

Apparently somebody's been camping out at my apartment building's laundry area at night. It's publicly accessible, but down some stairs of a passage to a kind of basement room.

I heard that they disabled the light (which explains why I hadn't seen it on at night since getting back from Vancouver on Sunday night).

I'm not particularly scared about it, but it's still a bit unsettling. My neighborhood is crawling with a rampant homeless problem but it makes me feel uneasy that they're like..right on the property. And they're not all regular people who happen to be homeless; typically lots of druggies, dealers, etc. It could've just been a regular homeless person but it's super hard to judge nowadays.

Anyway, I was told they're putting a temporary barricade with a "No trespassing", etc. sign but I know that some public buildings the next block over had the same issue, did the same thing (chained off with a sign), and resolved it, but only temporarily and ever since (probably at least a year now) the homeless people camp out there anyway and just climb over the chain and sign..

So meh. I don't think it'll accomplish much at my place.. Just disconcerting.

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

My neighborhood has a similar problem. Typically, they would just camp out under the freeway nearby, but as it gets colder and colder at night, I'm sure the body can only take so much and you would just have to try anything to get some form of shelter. Just too bad/sad that homeless shelters are so underfunded.

Originally Posted by spike021

Yeah. SJ used to be better in that it had a huge encampment called "the jungle" or something like that, but 3 or so years ago the city evicted it so since then they just congregate in smaller groups, but pretty much everywhere.

The really sad thing for me is I consistently see a small group a couple blocks from my apartment and probably 2-3 homeless kids with them. It's pretty shitty.

[spike021]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

It seems awfully presumptuous and entitled to be "judging" (your word) and labeling someone as a "regular homeless" person or a "druggie" or "dealer". What exactly is your description of a "regular" homeless person versus a substance user? What preconceived notions and visual indicators are you using in your judgement process?

Originally Posted by spike021

It could've just been a regular homeless person but it's super hard to judge nowadays.

I actually said it's hard to judge, implying I don't know all the factors aside from the history of my neighborhood, such as stabbings/murders in the middle of the night just a block away at a park due to drug-related activities. Or perhaps the shooting literally behind my apartment where someone got killed, again for the same kind of issue.

It's impossible for me to classify one any more than another. But that doesn't mean we don't have those types here, and the neighborhood has had issues with it often in the past.

Originally Posted by Clipdat

When you say that your neighborhood is "crawling" with a rampant homeless problem, it almost sounds like you are describing a vermin infestation, like you're talking about pests or parasites. These are just fellow human beings. It's very possible that they're just recently homeless, especially if they have young children. There have been several hundreds of people who lost their apartments due to unlawful evictions from landlords hoping to turn their rentals into an AirBnB, or raise the rent 120% to take advantage of the influx of tech workers who are willing and able to pay an outrageously high monthly rent.

Sorry that you thought I meant "crawling" in a dehumanizing way. I meant crawling more in the frame of there being enough to see often in daily life.

I totally feel for people who are homeless because of some (possibly recent) circumstance that they were unfortunate to land. I've known friends where such things happened to them. I don't see them as some blight on the street that needs to be shoved away to some place where I won't see them anymore.

My issue is with those who could be problematic. And no it might not be "druggies", though sure I will admit I leaned that way with my earlier post because of, as mentioned earlier, my neighborhood having this issue many times in the past.

Originally Posted by Clipdat

You mentioned that "The really sad thing for me is I consistently see a small group a couple blocks from my apartment and probably 2-3 homeless kids with them. It's pretty shitty.". Stop for a second and think about how "sad" and "shitty" you feel when you see them and then imagine about how much worse it must feel for them to actually be there on the street trying to take care of their family. You can't fix the problem as a whole, but you can do something small to help. Heat up a few cans of chicken noodle soup and take it to the family you saw, along with a blanket or old jacket you aren't using. Go talk to the individual who is in the laundry room and politely let them know that the landlord will probably be trying to kick them out of that area soon. Give them a sandwich and a few bottles of water. A little human compassion goes a long way in these situations and I'm sure would be greatly appreciated.

That's a great idea, except I don't always see the same people, and to be quite honest the place where I _do_ see them is already often being served by multiple religious organizations and social groups that provide food/blankets/clothes; this is actually the main reason why homeless people hang out here (as well as it being a bit further away from the public since it's at a park).

Originally Posted by Clipdat

The next time you come "home" to a place with a solid roof, a door that locks, and a fridge full of food - take a second to realize that you're incredibly fortunate, and be thankful for what you have.

I honestly wish everyone had equal access to those kinds of resources, but certainly don't take my own for granted.

Originally Posted by Clipdat

It's unfortunate that you feel uncomfortable seeing homeless people, but imagine how uncomfortable it is to actually be one.

Unfortunately, I think you misinterpreted my point here. I never said I feel uncomfortable seeing homeless people in general. My issue was the fact that a relatively unknown entity is camping out on the property where I rent, in a small hallway/stairwell with no lighting. Because of the historical issues in my neighborhood, it's not wrong for me to be a bit unsettled that said person could be a homeless drug addict or even just a homeless person with PTSD.. but if said person _is_ someone suffering from PTSD, dementia, or similar.. well, what if they have a knife? What if I'm trying to get to my storage cabinet and I accidentally don't see this person and step on them or something at the bottom of the steps, and they do something in their defense?

That doesn't mean all homeless people make me uncomfortable.

Anyway, sorry that you got the wrong idea about some of the things I said, but I'm glad we've had this conversation because I think the topic of homeless populations is far too often marginalized.