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Author: Don

Cyclist, beer drinker, podcaster, learning specialist.

Woofcast 693: Since Todd Already Bought One

Posted on by Don

After a 2 week delay that was 100% my fault, I am proud to deliver the latest episode of White Roof Radio. Getting started with news and MINIUSA on again off again manual transmission status is finally updated, for reals, to no longer offering a manual transmission on any of the models. Of course, details on getting one can be found at MotoringFile.

Gabe also just wrapped up his stint with the worse named MINI in the history of MINI; The Untamed Edition. The short version you hear, for the full review, including video, can also be found at MF. By the way, Untamed is worse than Untold, don’t listen to two weeks ago db, he was wrong.

Moving on, we all agree that the R53 is the G.O.A.T. Chad does school us on some gotchas that can come along with owning an old MINI. Gabe is looking really hard at getting an R53, but that could change. What do you think he should get?

Special thanks to the extra technical info provided by Chad! Are you looking for the sunroof drain fix? Detroit Tuned has your covered!

From the archives, when we talked to Randy Webb during Woofcast 9 when Todd learned what adiabatic expansion was. By following that link, you will find that episode 9 has been restored! And, as mentioned, you really can’t beat watching James May reassemble anything, . This is worth the 45 minutes.

Resuming Control

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As posted sometime on Threads. This particular post was made using the web version, not the app. Because about a week before that post, I finally removed Threads from my phone. Not only Threads, but Instagram, Facebook and Strava. Basically, any app that has a timeline that is driven by an algorithm, I am no longer using it on my personal, mobile device. I’m keeping Linkedin, because you never know when you want to search for a new job, and I’ve gone there for ‘content’ anyway.

This has been a long time coming for me. Facebook, over the years, has become more and more unuseable. I only see posts from the same 2 or 3 people (that I rarely like or comment on), never see posts from family members, eventhough I should get notified when they post, and the experience, in general, is bad. I really haven’t been there since the start of the pandemic.

For the others, while I have been able to tune my algorithm to see the kinds of content that I want to see, I was no longer seeing posts from people I follow, or, in my attempt to see those post, I’d find myself scrolling, forever. Just wasting time. Not just Instagram, but Threads as well, since it’s really nothing but Reels/Tik Tok for words.

You notice that I didn’t mention Twitter. I broke up with that app when Elon took over and haven’t looked back. The amount of trash ads and ultra, super duper right-wing disinformation posting isn’t really a huge draw for me either, so I’m not missing out on anything.

As for Strava, I have many issues with that app, almost all of them internal to me and my anxieties. I am going to be talking about it more, but I’ll save that for the bike show.

This way is better. Better for my time management, better for my overall mental health. Just better. I’ve been complaining about the algorithm for a very long time, I’m glad that I have finally done something about it.

Being Bald is a Pain in the Ass

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Ah, aging. It really sucks. Just ask your folks and they will tell you. Or stick around here because this is probably going to turn into a series of posts, complaining about my experiences. Let’s go ahead and take it from the top.

Just logged my 55th trip around the sun in June. As my wife was cutting my hair, it was looking less and less sparse, and not in a good way. We discussed shaving it off but didn’t do it, until I received an electric shaver as a gift from my wife, ready to go the minute I was. Finally, I just said fuck it and did the deed.

Really, from the front, I couldn’t tell the difference. However, the front 3/4 view was something that I definitely knew was going to take some getting used to. So began the rituals.

For me, to keep it looking, um, bald, I need to shave every other day. I barely shave my face that often! If one does not keep up on the maintenace, bad things can happen. Things like velcro head. This is an actual thing (all the bald fellas, what up!) where the layer of fuzz on your head acts like the sticky side of velcro. Towels stick, shirts and, especially and, sweaty workout clothes. I’ve actually gotten trapped once, flailing away in the closest until my wife came and helped me escape.

Now that I’ve been at it for a few months, including a few weeks without a shaver, I’m still at it, with modifications. I have determined that a good routine is to shave once per week, typically on Sunday. That leaves me a few days to let the 5 o’clock shadow for form, which actually looks better than fully bald. Since there is no way for me to keep that length, weekly shaving is how I will maintain.