Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

[vansmack]

Here's your dilemma:

There's going to be a recall - that's for sure.  In some states with higher emission standards, it could even be a buy back.

Are you going to qualify for any other court awarded mitigations?  Unlikely, as you are purchasing the TDI with it's known defects and thus may not qualify.

So you're banking on buy the TDI low, (I assume you hope that it's fixed at some point and that your comment was about your now situation and not the future) and the value of the car recovering once they are repaired.  I'm not sure that's going to happen depending on what the owners payout is going to be.  I suspect that after the payout happens, they will flood the market and most owners will put them up for sale, thus flooding the market and reducing the value.

I don't think it's a very solid investment as I don't see the values increasing to market vaule of fall 2015.

Lastly, I believe the A8 Diesel is a "Blue Bottle" diesel and does not pollute to the extend of the A3 and the VW models.  It will likely just be a software fix for the model and might not be as damaged in the public eye.   

[vansmack]

So do you think Smakie has stopped driving his polluting car?

I only drive it when I absolutely have to.  I drive the wife's mini cooper as my daily driver as she can now take public transportation from our condo to her office when she's not working from home.

Interestingly, to get my $500 Visa and $500 Audi credit I had to report mileage, which I thought was odd.

Do you think anyone who has heard the news has stopped driving that car

Very few have, and there are many people like you in states with lesser emission standards who are trying to snap these up and NOT put them through the recall.  I won't sell mine until it's been recalled and repaired.

I don't currently own one...and I also was going to go through the extra effort and expense to only use biodiesel...I just don't know if that would make a difference
As for the last few years I've been trying to find a Diesel car to buy for that very reason

I don't think the "blue bottle" models can be converted to bio, but the A3 and the VW Passat can for sure.

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

So you're banking on buy the TDI low,

That's it, not really hoping it would recover it's value...I want to drive it until it dies
(frankly I've NEVER owned a car that wasn't at least 7 years old)

and of course I'd want it fixed if there is a fix

Still didn't answer the BioDiesel question...if you used it, would the pollution thing be negated?
I'm not a scientist and figured I could just ask the question here



I don't care if the market get's flooded, I like the look and reliability of both those cars (minus the massive pollution issue)

I just felt since the outcome is NOT known, there might be some opportunities to get it a lot cheaper than when everyone knows what the deal is

[vansmack]

Still didn't answer the BioDiesel question...if you used it, would the pollution thing be negated?

Yes.  Bet your warranty may be negated as well, but given the years of most cars you would want to purchase, the warranties are likely already expired.

I've never done it, but there's plenty of websites about it.

[vansmack]

A year ago this would have made me so happy.

Audi R8 Superbowl Ad

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

seems like an appropriate thread to post this
hopefully I've not raped the earth so bad with my previous question that I'm persona non grata


I really like to take a few pics every live show I go to (as well as video, if an option)
but I really hate to be that guy holding up my phone to get some shots


I found this device HTC OPG 1100 16.0 Waterproof Digital Camera with x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom http://amzn.com/B00NW3AMY6

most people give it really bad reviews because "why would you get and extra device if you already have a phone with similar features in your pocket"

but haven't seen anyone discuss using it at concerts

but the lack of a screen to bother people behind you is a big plus in my eyes

You can connect it via Bluetooth so you can view the images in real time on your phone too
So that can be at waist height not bothering anyone with the screen too

curious if anyone has one of these or any thoughts (space excluded)

[vansmack]

The RE is great for Video and Time Lapse, but I am less than impressed with it's stills.

The aperture is f/2.8 so it struggles mightily in low-light situations like a concert, and without autofocus, you won't know until you get home if you got the shot or not.

It definitely wasn't worth $200, but I bought mine for $85 and took it to Bora Bora for underwater video and it was awesome.

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

The RE is great for Video and Time Lapse, but I am less than impressed with it's stills.

The aperture is f/2.8 so it struggles mightily in low-light situations like a concert, and without autofocus, you won't know until you get home if you got the shot or not.

It definitely wasn't worth $200, but I bought mine for $85 and took it to Bora Bora for underwater video and it was awesome.

wow so you actually have one?!

Can get it used for $45 with free shipping
auto focus....that's a bummer

But the low light thing is the thing that I was concerned about
I saw that you can connect it to your phone via Bluetooth and use your phone as the view finder

[vansmack]

wow so you actually have one?!

Can get it used for $45 with free shipping
auto focus....that's a bummer

But the low light thing is the thing that I was concerned about
I saw that you can connect it to your phone via Bluetooth and use your phone as the view finder

Had.  I go through tech pretty quickly and it didn't outperform my Fuji Finepix XP80 underwater or LG G4 for casual photography.

If I'm going to go through the hassle of getting out my G4 to use as a view finder, I'm going to use it's OIS, Manual Mode w/ RAW and f1.8 lens over the RE.

But it's a pretty fun toy for $45.  Well worth it for the wide angle and the video, and fairly indestructible if you have kids

I'm not sure about the concert thing, but not much to lose at $45.  I couldn't imagine looking down while trying to take a photo - seems like in your quest to be super considerate to people who aren't returning the favor, you'll be missing the show.  But that's just me.

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

this has some good tips on shooting at a rock concert thought I'd share here while on topic
the Galaxy S6 has a f 1.9 ...but I have really been getting crummy shots, damn shakey hands

[vansmack]

this has some good tips on shooting at a rock concert thought I'd share here while on topic
the Galaxy S6 has a f 1.9 ...but I have really been getting crummy shots, damn shakey hands

Nothing earth shattering there, but good suggestions nonetheless.  I disagree with #8 though - always shoot RAW if you can.

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

Biased source but the numbers are the numbers and this is an interesting read on some things that have come out in the UNC paper classes scandal.

Interested in your opinion as someone in/connected to an AD department on what reasons, other than Ritalin exemptions, would motivate a school to label this many athletes as ADHD/LD? Extra time for tests, etc?

[vansmack]

Biased source but the numbers are the numbers and this is an interesting read on some things that have come out in the UNC paper classes scandal.

Interested in your opinion as someone in/connected to an AD department on what reasons, other than Ritalin exemptions, would motivate a school to label this many athletes as ADHD/LD? Extra time for tests, etc?

Sorry, I won't be able to comment on this publicly.

But I can say this -  Johnny Manziel seemed so normal in college.  I wonder what happened to him...

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

Sorry, I won't be able to comment on this publicly.

I accept PMs/FB messages from unconfirmed throwaway accounts.

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

Johnny Manziel seemed so normal in college. 

I get your point, but, did he, though? Texas A&M does not allow the media access to freshmen athletes. First time we actually heard from Manziel, he was winning the Heisman. Within weeks of that he was instagramming stacks of cash and sitting courtside at games.