The car shouldn’t ding if you do it right – use the turn signal.
Thanks, HM.
Mine doesn’t ding if I do it left either using the turn signal. 
It does when there’s a car in the blindspot (and I have that turn signal on).
LKAS (lane keep assist) and ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) are great. Stop and go freeway traffic is much less aggravating, and I can provide more attention to other vehicles without also micromanaging speed changes. Yes, they can be both optionally turned off.
My previous car that was totaled last year in a hit a run also activated the Emergency Brake Assist, which likely reduced injuries by lessening the collision speed differential. (My back was sore enough for ~6 months as it was).
Now… the backup beeping on the new car is louder than I’d like, not sure why that was mandated. But in parking lots (etc), it is likely useful to pedestrians.
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Another theory about the chicken shortage. BTW We have no problem finding whole chickens in the store. Apparently the shortage is in high demand parts like wings
The financial law of gravity is kicking in.
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According to my AC guy… freon. The old freon was already going up.
Last year it was super-cheap, under $10 per lb. But the “AC guys” were saying “it’s so expensive! Here, $50-$150 /lb plus a service call!”
It does look higher now, though ~$25 /b on eBay.
IMO, most people should be done with the R-22 systems by now. My old unit was so inefficient, as well as the leak that developed… My new system uses about half the energy and that quickly pays back the system in probably only 4-5years only on fuel charge savings (electric) being in a state that needs a lot of AC (even assuming the old one didn’t have to be replaced, which it did…).
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I wonder how much we could save ourselves as a nation if we all upgrade the various inefficient HVAC and major appliances in our homes?
e.g. the typical electric water heater uses around $400 /yr in electricity and a heatpump /hybrid water heater uses only like $100. Thats probably a 4-5 year payback period too.
Yeah, I am starting to think I got hosed. Planning to replace the unit next year. I need to start getting quotes on that…
I got Bosch IDS 2.0. Used my existing ducts though.
5T outdoor/4T indoor booth units variable (~48000 BTU both heating and cooling, 20SEER, 13.5 EER) with 20kW backup heat ran me $9700 plus electrician to add the 240V circuit. $1k utility co rebate, $300 Fed rebate.
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This is a double edged sword. A lot of these older appliances, e.g. hot water tanks, are pretty basic technology that are easy to fix and typically “just work” until they encounter something like a massive leak or anode failure. Tankless units are massively more complicated - I know this because the previous owners of our house installed one. They just put up with it failing intermittently every couple weeks, requiring a reboot, because they couldn’t find a tech that could figure out what was wrong. My wife wasn’t enjoying showers that turned cold at random times. After installing a larger capacity gas meter and calling a couple techs, we found one that could finally figure out what was wrong (a misconfigured gas/air mix).
Newer appliances are usually more efficient, but also typically less reliable than their older counterparts, requiring additional service and more frequent replacement.
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Most of the 1995-2005 (?) Era AC coils are notoriously defective designs. That’s why they all develop leaks.
Now most coils/tubing are fully aluminum and don’t have the corrosion problem.
Yes, though, it usually doesn’t make sense to replace that early. (Though utility may pay you for early replace).
Those rods are supposed to be replaced periodically (I think every 2 to 10 years, depending on how corrosive the water supply is), but I suspect most homeowners do not know this.
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I replaced the rods in mine this past winter after my wife kept complaining about running out of hot water. No change after the replacement. I guess our water just isn’t that corrosive. My conclusion is that she just uses too much hot water in the winter. We have to turn the faucet 50% hotter in the winter than in the summer for the same temperature water. I have to get a bigger tank. I hate replacing a tank that is working fine, but just isn’t big enough for her super hot showers part of the year.
You don’t replace the rod because you’re running out of hot water, you replace it so that the water doesn’t eat away the tank lining and cause a massive leak, which requires replacing the whole tank. And in some cases the hot water may start smelling foul when the metal on the rods is gone. Or so I’ve read.
If the problem is showers, you could try using the newer low flow shower heads. She might not like the low flow, but at least it should stay hot longer 
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I thought you replaced the rods because a significantly corroded rod was won’t heat the water as well. Had my rods been corroded more, I assume I would have noticed a difference after replacement. They weren’t, so I didn’t. . How does replacing the rods keep the tank lining from failing?
Negative, flyboy - The pattern is f̶u̶l̶l̶ different. The anode rod has nothing to do with heating, directly.
As the scripter alluded to above, the anode rod doesn’t really have a direct impact on water temp/volume. Your water heater is, for practical purposes, a steel tank lined with a very thin layer of glass. That very thin layer is imperfect to begin with. Once it’s shipped to the distributor, then shipped to the contractor/home, and then moved again during installation, there are … ahem … a few imperfections in that glass lining. Thus, the water can interact with (rust) the steel at those points of imperfection. The anode rod is like a sacrificial zinc on a sea vessel. The charged electrons in the water will attach to the anode and dissolve it before attacking the steel of the tank.
FYI, most HWTs with longer warranties have longer/multiple anode rods. Although I can’t guarantee that’s the only difference between shorter warrantied/cheaper HWTs, it’s the only difference that I can discern (with only minor research).
My father changed our anode about every ?5? years. I do not recall changing our home HWT during my time at home. His last HWT, lasted ~22+ years and did not fail. He replaced it only while building a new house after hurricane Gustav structurally damaged his home.
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Well then I didn’t replace the anode rod lol. I only replaced the heating elements. Darn. That would have been a good time to replace it too.
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Only tangentially … because you had the pressure released and the water partially drained. Replacing the anode is much easier than the burner/heating element.