Earlier this week our LG Front Load Washer (WM4270HVA), which we like quite a bit, overfilled with water to the point that the door was forced open and 20-30 gallons of water spilled onto our second floor. Other than some sheetrock damage, it's fine.
The issue is the repair process. Finding a competent repair person is surprisingly difficult. Armchair diagnosis and common sense told me that the washer did not know it was full for some reason. Even googling "LG washer continues to fill with water" yields the somewhat helpful guidance: "The reason your washer will not stop filling could be because the hose has either clogged,>! fallen off!<, or gotten a hole in it. If there is a hole in the hose, it will reduce the pressure and cause the water level switch not to shut off power to the water inlet valve."
I don't usually get into things that I don't know, and I didn't really have the time to troubleshoot. So the repair guy shows up, open the top, looks inside the machine, runs the factory troubleshooting, verifies the valves are working, and can't find anything out of sorts. Concludes it's the main control board and estimates the repair to be $485.40. Yipe. I asked how he determined that, and he said by process of elimination: Valves work. Panel works. Must be the control board. Uh, ok? I paid his trip charge ($69) and said I would need to think about that. Maybe I'll replace the whole thing instead.
Decided to call another repair place, zero help and argumentative about the symptoms. Called a third repair place where a lovely gentleman (the owner) picked up on the third ring and after briefly describing the symptoms he said, "sounds like the pressure hose is disconnected or the switch is bad." Sure does, doesn't it?? Long story short, he couldn't come out today and didn't want to come without the right part, so I re-opened the top to confirm that I was ordering the right part (OEM LG Washer Machine Water Level Pressure Switch) for overnight delivery... and low and behold... the damn hose is not even connected to the switch.
Reattached the hose to the water pressure switch. Trivial repair. Works perfectly.
The guy on the phone provided his guesswork for nothing, and once I confirmed the fix, I insisted on his Venmo/Zelle info and gratefully sent him his regular trip fee of $80. The first trip fee was refunded.

I really like the Miele washers and dryers, but when it came time to buy them, I was concerned about the small load size. The solution was to obviously buy two of each! One thing I had not accounted for is that while you can swap the direction of the dryer door, the washer door is not reversible (officially). It was only after I had stacked and leveled the units and put them side-by-side that I realized this. Being a little crazy, I couldn't stand not having the doors exactly how I had envisioned them.
What was strange was that even though Miele says the door was not reversible, the washer door looked like it should be reversible. It was obvious that I could move the hinge to the opposite side. The part that seemed to cause problems was the latch on the washer. After opening up the washer and investigating a bit, I managed to get the door swapped. The primary issue with moving the latch to the other side is that it has a sensor to detect the door being closed or not and it also has a wire cable that runs to an actuator to lock the door while it's running. The sensor wires have a lot of slack, but the actuator cable is very short. There's also some "crap" in the way on the opposite side of the latch (some plastic clips that don't do much besides hold an ambient pressure sensor in place). I managed to remove the plastic clips, secure the pressure sensor, and finally got the latch in place. I would have taken pictures of the process, but the only access is the small gap between the drum and the housing. You can barely get one hand inside to do all of this. Anyway, it all fit together, and when I ran the washer it worked with no issues. If I have to do a warranty claim, I'm sure I'll have to undo it all, but it was worth it, IMO.
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https://preview.redd.it/lcf7ga3yno3b1.jpg?width=2997&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c5a5bf6eb0cc807c861ec9e7c70b9f4046590a8

Just reaching out to see if anyone here has had any issues with dimensional tolerance issues with and products from Rick's Motorsports.
A couple weeks ago I ordered some parts from them as I had read some very positive reviews about their charging system. The OEM alternator rotor on the spare engine I'm rebuilding was damaged in its previous life from what looks like the starter chain being too worn and grinding against the area of where the alt rotor and starter clutch mate. When I got the parts I went to test fit everything for the engine rebuild I'm doing and the rotor and the clutch starter assembly didn't drop in as expected. I figured this was due to some galling I previously mentioned and went out and got a replacement starter clutch assembly. Per test fitting again the parts do not drop into one another. I even pulled the assembly from my complete bike to find the same results.
The ID of the rotor is smaller than the OD of the OEM starter clutch assembly, and the locating pin hole ID is smaller than the OD of the OEM locating pin. I measured them on calipers and we're talking tenths of a millimeter in these cases. I reached out to Rick's to see if their parts were designed for fitting or were expected drop in replacements so I didn't modify anything to null the warranty on their parts. According to their 'Tech' I spoke to on the phone, the part is an expected drop in part, which was what I thought. The 'Tech' then claimed that the part I ordered wasn't for my model bike and that I can send it back for a refund but they will be charging a 20% restocking fee... First off, the part (Rick's part # 41-100H) is for the right bike, a 1975 Honda CB360T and is the same part for the 74's and 76's. The tech is claiming since the "T" isn't on the model name on their site the product isn't compatible with the bike I ordered this for.
From my understanding the difference between the CB360 and CB360T are the front brakes, and per checking the Honda part diagrams and part numbers the part in question that I have not mating to the Rick's part is the same part number... I've reached back out to them, but I have a feeling I'm getting suckered into a lack of dimensional tolerance issue on their machinery/tooling as being my fault and because I ordered a part without confirming the "T" in the model name on their site (even though the parts from Honda on the non T and the T based models are identical) that this product isn't compatible with my model...

Background: I’m in a crazy situation, my bf of 4 months and I are taking about breaking my lease and is living together. I currently lease a very small part of a house( it’s one house that split into 3 separate apartments, we do not have a ability to go into different apartments in the house) I have a bedroom, bathroom and a utility kitchen( sink, mini fridge and 2 burners), no closet, I have no control over the AC, nor a washer or dryer hookup( as if it would fit) or wifi( I would have to buy my own set up. All of this plus utilities would cost more that 50% of my wage. At the time I leased it, I had no other option as I do not want to live in my current situation and didn’t want roommates. The lease doesn’t start till august, to break if I would loose my security deposit, and have to pay one month’s rent( 1,900) and then pay rent for it until it’s leased again. Talking to the landlord on the phone it usually leased within 2 months as it’s a college town. My bf moved here almost 2 year ago and lives with his brother, they gave him a hard deadline to move out by the end of June. He has been looking for houses since we started talking about, but hasn’t found anything in the price range( or doesn’t get out bid on) yet. Moving in together is financially is the smartest situation. Our options are that he buys a house and I move in( he’s yet to find one), we rent a place together( townhouse or house) and last option, I keep my lease and he rent somewhere cheap. We talked about finances and how it would be split, 40/60 roughly, depends on our salaries. We would come up with a contract on what would happen if this doesn’t work out so no one is taken advantage of with a lease.
Question/advice: Now with the background done, here’s the problem. We have only been together for 4 months, we both agree it’s fast. But how can I move in with a guy who doesn’t love me, he shows/ treats me as he does. He say’s everything but I love you. He told me he was close when it was brought into the conversation, he just isn’t ready yet. This is the one reason why I haven’t broken my lease yet when we are 99% going to move in together. How do I bring this up in conversation that I feel secure in the relationship and very okay with move on his timeline, but not having this one aspect in the relationship is giving me concerns. Or should this not be a concern and just take the leap? I think it’s a bit of a red flag, but I asked my friends and they told me to go for it, and it’s not a red flag( due to his prior relationship trauma). My friends and family have met him and like/love him and think he is a great guy. I’m rambling so to reiterate, is him not tell me a cause for concern?
TL:DR My bf and I will most likely move in together but my biggest concern is he hasn’t told me he loves me. Do I bring it up? how do I tell him this in a way that doesn’t pressure him?

I'm seeking some advice and insights regarding a series of strange electrical issues that have been plaguing my 2006 Honda Civic lately. I'm hoping someone here can help shed some light on what might be going on.
It started during a road trip from California to Louisiana. I’m a medical student and I had to be in Louisiana by Monday(I left Friday). Coming out of California, I stopped at a rest stop and when I started my car again after 5 mins the AC wouldn’t work. I thought it might need a a recharge or whatever but looking at it I didn’t see the compressor running. And the pressures were very high when I checked on the low pressure line. It had been working perfectly for the last 4 hours.
When I stopped in Phoenix and started the car the next morning, I noticed that the dreaded "Check Engine" light had decided to make an appearance. I drove it from Phoenix to Tucson with no issues but I knew going into Texas there’s a long stretch with not much on the way so I decided to get it checked. Got the code read at O’Reilly’s and it was “P0507 - Idle Air Control System RPM Higher Than Expected”. Didn’t think the car had been idling any different and there were no real issues but I couldn’t risk it so I showed it to a mechanic nearby. He looked at it and said it needed a new throttle valve/body. I tried to get some more information about what was wrong with it, whether it just needed to be cleaned etc. He kept being vague saying it’s just not working and said maybe an electrical issue when really pressed. Charged me $1300 for parts and labor - felt like I was being ripped off (and also felt there was nothing wrong with the throttle body and don’t think he really did anything) but I didn’t have the luxury of waiting around and other shops were closed. This issue hasn’t reoccurred(maybe they just cleaned it?)
To add to the confusion, the following day, while driving, I noticed that the "Daytime Running Lights" (DRL) light on my dashboard had come on and the daytime running lights were flickering intermittently when I checked. Not a huge issue I thought, I can replace those. However, the issue mysteriously resolved itself the very next day and hasn’t reoccurred.
Fast forward a couple of days, and the left speaker in my car suddenly stopped working. I hadn't made any changes to the audio system, so this was completely unexpected. It seemed like the electrical gremlins were at it again, targeting a different component this time.
Just to provide some additional information, my car's battery was replaced last year, and I haven't noticed any battery-related issues. There's no battery light on, and the car continues to run and start without any problems. The only “new thing” is a CarPlay system that plugs into the DC outlet that I put in a week before I left California.
At this point, I'm at a loss as to what could be causing these sporadic electrical issues. I haven’t had it parked for a prolonged time and didn’t notice any animals but I haven’t looked at it too closely. I have driven this car in California for a year without issues and all throughout the US before that over the past couple of years. I thought I'd reach out to this community for any insights or suggestions you might have. Has anyone experienced something similar? Any ideas on what might be going on?
I am going to take it mechanic and have them run a diagnostic but I thought I’d gather some ideas before I go.
Any expertise and guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!
TL;DR: My car's electrical issues started with the AC going out at the start of a road trip. Check Engine light came on the next day and I got it fixed(throttle body issue), followed by DRL light flickering, which resolved itself. Days later, the left speaker stopped working. Battery was replaced last year, and the car runs and starts fine. Seeking advice and suggestions on how to diagnose and fix these issues.

Read Chapter 1 Here
Previous Chapter Here
My other SSB story, Writing on the Wall, Here
Buckle in, this is a long one!
*****
"I still can't believe your dad," Ayen huffed as he glared at Elera from his seat next to her. He crossed his arms across his chest and gave his head a little shake, perfectly coiffed hair bouncing in the soft evening light cutting through a nearby window.
"It was pretty hilarious," Marin chimed in. They were staying with her parents at the moment, using it as a sort of neutral ground. Ayen's father, Allis, was in full wedding planner mode and staying there was getting pretty intense. Elera's parents, on the other hand…
"He thought I was some kind of… of…" Ayen's voice dropped to a near whisper, hissing through clenched teeth. "...escort."
"It's not your fault," Elera tried her best to placate the young man. She leaned against him from her spot to his left and wrapped one muscular arm across his shoulders. Despite Ayen's grumpiness he still leaned into her, his head resting against her chest. "I think he just never expected me to actually marry a boy."
"That part was even better." Marin, tall and lanky, stood near the window in their little room, watching the quiet dribbles of rain slip down the glass. It had been a good day, really a good month. Elera's proposal was well received, Ayen was happy, and with Stace on his mission Marin could feel like she actually had some of her husband's attention. It wasn't a particularly attractive or kind thought, but she hadn't quite managed to pull free of the jealousy the Human elicited in her.
"Don't you start," Elera warned with a glare.
"I thought it was kind of sweet!" Marin grinned, watching Elera and Ayen both darken with matching blushes.
The fact that Elera was getting married had come as a surprise to her family. Marin had the impression that Elera was pretty bad at actually communicating with her parents, and it had been nearly a year since Elera’s time in the frozen north. The Heleum clan was large and Elera was seen as being a self-sufficient adult who didn't need much looking after. She also had a bit of a reputation as a partier, so when Elera showed up with Ayen and Marin in tow to announce her engagement, Elera's father had made some assumptions.
Specifically, he had assumed that Elera was marrying Marin and that Ayen was an "entertainer" the pair hired to celebrate.
It made a sort of sense, considering how open Elera was about the time she spent with other girls. At some point, her father just assumed that she had no interest in guys at all. Convincing him that Elera was, in fact, marrying Ayen and that Marin was first wife took some doing. And now, three weeks later, Ayen was still grumbling about it.
Still, it all worked out.
"Think of it this way," Marin added as way of conciliation. "After that whole fiasco, you pretty much have Elera's family wrapped around your finger. They didn't even complain when you suggested a Human-style wedding."
"...as long as we have it here on Shil." Ayen sighed. "Which makes sense, I guess. We can't afford to fly everyone out even if Sam said we can use the Observatory for free."
"I bet if we asked Jel'si she would let us use that cliffside villa the Sams are staying at." Elera turned to look at Ayen as she spoke and Marin tried to hold in a sigh. Her husband's boyfriend's girlfriend was a nice enough person, and having the resources of a Noble House in the family was great, but thinking of Jel'si just made Marin think of Stace again.
There had to be some way for her to get past this funk. The strange Human was part of the family at least as much as the Sams were, and Marin wasn't about to give them up. Spending more time socializing had helped, but now that he was off on his mission and it was clear how much Ayen and Elera missed him, all of Marin's anxiety was flooding back.
Still, she had to be responsible. Their strange and ever-growing family needed to iron out any wrinkles and-
"Marin, dear?" The voice came from the side door and Marin turned to see Mevis, her father, quietly rapping at the door frame to get her attention. The room went silent as Ayen and Elera paused their conversation and glanced towards the doorway. The large, somewhat heavy set woman standing behind him was recognizable but entirely unexpected.
"You have a visitor.”
It took Marin a moment to recall the last time she had seen Colonel Et’tai. It was just after the first attack on the observatory; Marin had been a mess of nerves, having just repelled an invasion of Humans intending to kill her husband and new lovers. That she had to clarify to herself that it was the “first'' attack only made the memory sting more.
That said, it was hard to focus on the Colonel. Just like everyone else, her attention was drawn to the briefcase chained to the large woman’s wrist. The Colonel had the perfect posture of career military, but even then the case, a glossy blue rectangle of painted metal, unadorned aside from the seal of the Empress wrought in gold, seemed to have its own gravity.
“I need to speak with Lieutenants Elera and Marin,” she said brusquely. The Colonel’s voice was rough, her face lined with age and a grimace of displeasure. She turned towards where Ayen stood, his eyes fixed on that same case, and her expression softened. “Alone, please. I promise to give them back to you in one piece.”
Ayen started, then nodded. He stepped away as fast as he could without breaking into a run, tucking an arm around Marin’s father and pulling him from the doorway as he slipped past. Marin really couldn’t blame him.
After all, who wanted to share a room with a bomb?
Maximum security cases like the one Colonel Et’tai had strapped to her wrist played prominently in movies, tv shows, video games, really any media where you needed some sort of object to push the story along. What did Sam always call them? A macmuffin? Something like that. The cases were made to only be opened by one particular citizen of the Empire, and if the biometric lock detected the wrong person trying to open it the entire case would detonate, destroying the contents and, depending on the media it was being portrayed in, the entire room, building, or starship around it. Marin had never actually seen one in person.
“May I ask what this is about, ma’am?” Elera’s words helped pull Marin out of her distraction, and she watched as the Colonel stepped to a sideboard cabinet under a window..
“You can ask, but I can’t answer,” Colonel Et’tai replied with a grunt. “Fourteen days ago, I was on Earth doing my job. Then I get a summons back to Shil, a boombox gets strapped to my wrist, and I’m told to meet the two of you.” The Colonel tapped at the case with a fingertip, smirking slightly as Marin and Elera both flinched. “I’m supposed to open it with the two of you present, then follow the directions.”
Colonel Et’tai carefully pushed the various curios and knickknacks decorating the sideboard out of the way, then placed the box onto the cleared surface. Marin found herself frozen in place, unable to do anything but watch as the old soldier pressed a finger to the golden seal in the center of the lid. The crest hinged open with a little click, revealing the dark glass of a camera and a hole just large enough to insert a finger.
“I hate this part,” the Colonel mumbled to herself. Marin tried to keep her distance, but to her chagrin she wasn’t going to be able to. Elera’s rough, strong hand reached out and took hers, dragging Marin closer just as Et’tai inserted her finger into the hole.
“Colonel Liretta Et’tai, nine-seven-twenty-three-six-fourteen-twelve-vector.” As the last word left her mouth, the case made a small ‘snick’ and Et’tai flinched. After a moment that felt like an eternity, a moment when Marin was sure she was about to die, the case made a much louder click and the lid popped open with a hiss of released pressure.
Relief flooded Marin’s body as the threat of imminent death faded. She squeezed Elera’s hand, then released it so she could rub the sweat from her brow. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.
“Oh, fuck me,” Elera whispered, and Marin’s eyes flew back open. The Colonel had begun unpacking the case, and now where there had been only one bomb sitting on the sideboard there were now three. The two new ones were barely large enough to hold more than a few sheets of paper, but they had the same crest and very likely the same security system. The Colonel seemed to be ignoring the boxes, instead reading a piece of paper. Her face was a mix of concern and growing amusement. Finally, she stopped and placed the paper back in the case, removing instead two small boxes made of dark wood.
“Attention!” The word wasn’t loud, but it was direct and Marin felt her back slam straight out of sheer instinct. Next to her, Elera did the same. Neither was in uniform, but that only added to the surreal oddness of the situation. Marin wondered idly if she was dreaming.
“I don’t know what sort of shit you two have gotten yourselves involved in, but it’s not my job to question the wisdom of the Empress, only to serve Her to the best of my ability.” She reached out and handed Marin one of the wooden boxes, Elera the other.
“By order of Empress Tasoo of the Shil’vati Empire, it is my distinct pleasure to promote Elera Heleum and Marin Elbruk to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, effective immediately.” The Colonel gestured and Marin, feeling as if she was sleep walking, popped the lid from the wood box. Laying in a little nest of velvet was her new insignia. Marin didn’t know what to say. She just stood there, staring down at the evidence of a promotion she hadn’t earned. She almost missed the Colonel’s next words.
“Enjoy your retirement.”
Now Marin was sure she was dreaming. She glanced over at Elera, who looked mildly concussed. The moment dragged on, Colonel Et’tai standing in front of the pair, seeming to delight in how awkward the whole situation was for the two other Marines. After another moment of watching the pair, Et’tai turned back to the counter and returned with the pair of smaller cases. She glanced at each one, then held them out.
Marin took the case in a trembling hand, awkwardly tucking the simple wooden box with its Lieutenant Colonel insignia into her pocket. Her name was embossed onto the security case, just below the Imperial Seal. She glanced at Elera, who tried to grin. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, where panic lurked.
“As fun as this is to watch, we don’t have all day, girls. I have an orbital to catch if I want to get back to Earth sometime in the next month.”
After a quick swallow and a deep breath, Marin pressed down on the crest. It popped open with a little click, revealing a camera lens and a finger-sized hole. Biometric test one passed. The inside of the hole felt cool as she slipped a finger in.
“Lieu… Lieutenant Colonel Marin Elbruk, Nineteen-thirty-seven-two-sixteen-one-one-eleven-tangent,” she whispered out. Her ID code was punctuated by a snapping sound and a burst of pain as the little box sank a needle into her finger, far deeper than she expected. Marin let out a little whimper as the needle withdrew, releasing her.
“Fuck that hurt,” grumped Elera. She had finished her own biometric test and was shaking out her hand, apparently not noticing that she was flicking blood onto the floor. Marin was about to reach out and stop her soon to be co-wife but her attention was drawn back to the box by the hiss of released pressure. She unfolded the lid and looked inside.
After all the pomp and ceremony, a few pieces of paper might have been underwhelming. Then again, any Shil’vati could recognize an Imperial Writ.
By order of the Empress,
Lieutenant Colonel Marin Elbruk is called upon to fulfill her obligation as a loyal subject of the Shil’vati Imperium and member of the Armed Forces. She is tasked by the Empress Herself to attend to the following duties:
Protect the persons known as Sammi Painter-Forsythe and Samuel Forsythe-Painter from all enemies of the Imperium, foreign and domestic, even at the cost of her own life.
Ensure the safety and security of the Painter Research Institute and its research even at the cost of her own life. If safety and security is untenable, she is tasked to destroy the Painter Research Institute, its data, and its employees as necessary to prevent their acquisition by enemies of the Imperium.
Prevent any knowledge of the planet Nix, its system, or its people from spreading outside of the Painter Research Institute and the Lone Caribou Survival Company.
This writ supersedes and countermands any orders that run contrary to the abovementioned duties. Its duration is indefinite, and failure to adhere to this Writ is to be met with summary execution.
Marin’s eyes continued to drift down, past the text, past the heavy gilt of the Imperial Seal. Her mind was reeling at the implications, but before she could focus on what she had read she noticed a small, handwritten note. In contrast to the plain text of the document’s body, this was an elegant scrawl.
Don’t fuck this up.
With fingers that felt wooden, Marin pulled the writ forward to flip through the papers behind it. They were far more plain, detailing Marin’s promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, effective three days ago, and her retirement at full pay and benefits, effective today.
She flipped back to the Writ, read it again, then looked at the other paperwork. She felt too stunned, too panicked to actually make the connections. When Colonel Et’tai started speaking again, it came as a relief.
—-
“Before either of you start yammering,” the aged soldier remarked, “I need to make it clear that I am NOT privy to whatever your assignments say. I get the feeling I would be better off not knowing.” She took a moment to lock eyes with each of the women in front of her. Neither one of them looked like they would be up to conversing much.
Liretta Et’tai had spent her entire trip to Shil worried that she had somehow monumentally fucked something up. Was she going to be the sacrifice to the Goddess of Blame for everything that had happened on the “North American” continent? Fear had turned into confusion and guilt when the boombox had been strapped to her wrist and she was sent to find the two Lieutenants in charge of the Painter Research Institute’s security.
Vivid, increasingly unlikely predictions rattled around in her head during the auto-cab ride to the house. The security case would detonate, killing the three of them as soon as Et’tai opened it. She would open it, and it would contain a pistol and orders to kill the two Lieutenants. Or the Lieutenants and their families.
What she had found had been enough of a relief that she was able to roll with the strangeness. Now that all three of the soldiers were on the same page (or at least the same chapter), Et’tai could fill them in on her side of things.
“My orders are simple: If you two get into a crisis and need immediate support with…” She gestured at the two thin boxes in the girls’ hands. “...that, I am to provide it. Maximum force, up to and including an orbital strike. You’ve both been retired at full LC benefits so you can focus on your Writ and not have to worry about providing for your families. Nobody else can order you around, and if you show off your papers it will at least sow enough confusion to buy you some time while I start dropping help from orbit.” At that, Et’tai found herself smirking. Who would believe these two young women who were little better than rank-and-file a year ago were now Lieutenant Colonels?
“Oh, congratulations on the engagement, by the way.” Et’tai paused to collect a slightly slack and confused fist bump from Elera, then another from Marin. When neither of the women had anything else to say, Liretta shrugged, packed up her case, and left.
—
Unpacked, it wasn’t at all what Paitl expected. A glossy black panel as smooth as still water, half a meter wide and a third tall, perched on a post of silver metal. The base was H shaped, designed to prevent the device from tipping if someone accidentally bumped into it or caught it with a tail.
Paitl sat on his little stool in front of the device. Unpacking the case had been a simple thing, and the glossy black panels that formed the inside of the box now lay flat in the sun. A thick, strangely intestinal-feeling hose connected the outdoor component to the panel. Paitl-Tesh had carefully cut a notch in the cave door for the ‘power cable’ to fit through, stuffing the gaps with bits of cloth while Paitl-Cet assembled the rest of it under Paitl’s instruction.
The other Fathers of the colony grumbled about Paitl being the one in charge, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. It was Paitl’s find, after all. He suspected that much of the complaining had less to do with Paitl being the one in the lead and more to do with him snatching up Paitl-Cet. Apparently he wasn’t the only one looking at her.
On Paitl’s lap sat a book. The paper was white, so clean and bright that it almost hurt to look at and so smooth that it clung to the grip pads on Paitl’s fingers in an unnatural and disconcerting way. It contained over a hundred pages of large print and diagrams, written in simple language. Instructions that he had taken the time to memorize while the rest of Paitl worked.
It was time.
Thirteen of the People surrounded Paitl and the device. Paitl-Tesh and Paitl-Cet flanked him, with three other Fathers and their nests crowding the space behind. As he raised a hand and reached out for the device, silence descended into the hall.
Paitl’s finger found the oddly raised, green colored ridge on the right side of the device and pushed. The ridge snapped down with a dull clunk, tilting so a new section raised in its place. The entire green section began to glow.
That single unnatural green light would have been disconcerting enough, but it was only a precursor. The entire front of the device, the water-smooth panel, lit up. The reflective glass was suddenly gone, perspective shifting.
Paitl wasn’t looking at glass, he was looking through a hole in the world, like looking into a box tipped on its side. The audience gasped as a white dot appeared, swelling larger and larger until the dot became a ball, then a globe. It hovered inside the device, the size of an almost-hatched father-egg. A ball of white and brown, wearing an uneven belt of blue.
His world, as seen from farther away than any of the People had ever been.
Paitl reached out, hand splayed to touch the orb, but his fingertips dully thunked against the glass. On the screen, the image of Nix began to spin slowly.
Only an illusion.
Paitl opened the book on his lap to the section explaining the gestures he could use to control the device. Or, as the book called them, “movements of the hands and fingers that cause actions.” The whole manual was written like that, never using one technical word when a bunch of simpler ones could work. With the fat pad of his finger, Paitl tapped a symbol in the corner of the display. It was a simple green cross with a smaller circle inside it.
As soon as his finger hit the symbol, the ball spun. Nix grew huge, speeding towards Paitl at a frightening pace. He was suddenly falling from a great height towards the frozen earth. He flinched backwards, pulling his finger away while yelping out in pain. The grip pad of his digit felt aflame and he began to shake his hand even as the flare of panic set off a fit of racking coughs.
With his hands and feet freshly cleaned, Paitl could easily climb up any of the walls in the cave his colony called home, wet or dry. The grip pads and their incredibly fine layers of setae let the People cling to nearly any surface with little more than a thought. The surface of this alien machine, however, was far smoother than any cave wall. In his surprised motion, Paitl had nearly managed to rip his grip pad off.
He would have to be more careful, using the less grippy tips of his fingers and peeling them free from the screen instead of just yanking like that. At least he hadn’t tipped over the device.
“Look,” Paitl-Cet remarked, pointing at the screen. “It’s us.”
The strange display was showing an image now, their home as seen from high above. He could recognize the curves of the coast line, the ruins that were once sea-side buildings long since destroyed by storm.
“It’s a thing of the past,” one of the other Fathers commented. A thin, nearly skeletal hand reached past Paitl to point. “We already cut those trees for burning.”
Paitl swung an eye sideways to look at the unnervingly thin Father, Asep, while the other watched the screen. Taking care to only use the very tips of his fingers, Paitl made the “motion to cause larger size” and the image loomed closer. The “motion to cause an area to be most visible” centered the spot in the center of the display.
There was a pile of four logs there, dragged from the dead forest. Those same four logs were now inside the caves, chopped into smaller pieces to keep them warm.
“When did Asep finish that task? We may be able to determine when this was made.” As Paitl watched, attention divided, Asep asked his nest. While he would have no direct knowledge, Paitl figured his nestmates must know. It only took a few moments to get a response.
“Asep-Nak says the last log was chopped four days ago. Asep-Tel believes they were down to four logs six days ago, perhaps seven.” Asep’s eyes, a kaledoscopic mix of blues and greens, swept to both sides to indicate the room. “It is the best they can tell us.”
Paitl smiled. “Your nest should be commended for remembering something so small. Asep’s reputation for studiousness is well-earned.” It was perhaps a bit of a platitude, and Asep knew it, but the males both knew how important it was to keep their nest mates happy. The girls of Asep visibly preened at the compliment. It took some of the sting out of not being the ones to find the treasure.
Carefully, Paitl played with the gestures in the book, manipulating the spinning globe that seemed to float in the air. He quickly found a dot that looked to be exactly where Paitl (or perhaps the device) was standing. It was marked in blue text as:
Receiver 7 - (0.2S,132.4E)
While Paitl-Tesh ran to the colony's library to find an atlas, Paitl found the section in the book that explained the numbers. They indicated latitude and longitude using a system that was slightly different than what the people of Nix had always used. Apparently the designers of this device only used one hundred and eighty major deviations. Converting it in his head was easy enough.
Spinning the ball around with increasing confidence, Paitl found at least a dozen other receivers marked on the sphere of Nix. They formed a belt around the equator, and referencing the ancient atlas Paitl-Tesh brought showed that many, like his own settlement, were near where small coastal towns once stood.
“What’s that?”
Paitl swung an eye up from the atlas and towards the display, his other looking for the speaker. A rather young woman stood there, her head crest still flat but twitching nervously. Paitl did not know her name, but the notches along the underside of her left ear marked her as recently brought into Tineh. Tineh himself was resting in his nest, his health increasingly poor as of late.
What the woman had noticed was a new blip, its latitude up in the 40s. Receiver 4’s text was blinking a dull red. Paitl reached for it, meaning to zoom in, but his first control finger tapped the words and a large, dark box suddenly appeared to block out the white orb of the planet.
CONNECTING…
After a moment, the text was gone and Paitl found himself looking somewhere else.
The five women peering through the screen were haggard, their skin rough and broken with weeping sores. They seemed just as surprised as Paitl was, stretching to full height and flaring their head crests in panic.
Paitl gasped as he was pulled backwards, stool and all. Paitl-Tesh and Paitl-Cet interposed themselves between him and the women, hissing and raising their own crests in challenge. He wanted to say something, to calm everyone down, but the sudden surprise had induced another coughing fit. He could do nothing.
“There shall be no violence here.” Asep’s voice cut through the panic, and tensions immediately began to ease. A quick eye flick toward Paitl conveyed concern and comfort; he would aid while Paitl tried to get his breathing under control.
More words were exchanged, but Paitl couldn’t make them out. His world was swimming, motes of light filling his vision even as blood seeped from between his teeth. Paitl-Cet brought him water to drink and a fresh handkerchief to wipe his face while Paitl-Tesh continued to interpose herself between him and any potential danger.
By the time his breathing was under control, Paitl did not have much strength left to continue his work. He received a quick summary from Aesp; the women were the only survivors of a nest living in volcanic caves far to the north. Their last Father had died months ago, and until their box had fallen from the sky they had assumed none of the People lived but them. Seeing multiple new Fathers appear in their midst had been a shock.
The other Fathers had a suggestion for Paitl, one he agreed to wholeheartedly. Even if the device was rightfully Paitl’s, it was too important to be left to just one nest. Instead, they would create a roster and ensure that at least one Father (or, at the least, an older juvenile male) would be near the “Receiver” at all times. The instruction manual would be shared and read by all.
As Paitl-Tesh carried Paitl back to their nest, he noticed the odd change in the air. Everyone was louder, more boisterous. He even saw a few glimpses of frill peeking out on the necks of the younger Fathers.
For the first time that Paitl could remember, there was hope.
*****
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This is a fanfic that takes place in the “Between Worlds” universe (aka Sexy Space Babes), created and owned by u/BlueFishcake. No ownership of the settings or core concepts is expressed or implied by myself.
This is for fun. Can’t you just have fun?

I posted this in 4runners.com have yet to get a response hoping for better luck here. thank you for your time
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MAF senser has already been cleaned, no significant vacuum leaks,
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Hello I'm currently working on finding the cause of this code. I believe that knowing the proper values for these sensors would help me pinpoint the problem.
*oxygen sensor bank 1 sensor 2 is reading 0-1v, which I believe is functioning as it should. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
*O2FT / Oxygen Fuel Trim bank 1 sensor 2 reads 99.15% at what I what I believe is at idle(I as of now only have information to work with now, not the physical scanner and vehicle.
*AF FT / Air Fuel Fuel Trim bank 1 sensor 1 reads a value of 1 with no unit. I believe this is the fault of the scanner not being completely compatible with the 4runner. If you know what the proper vale should be please let me know.
* AFS / Air Fuel Ratio Sensor bank 1 sensor 1 reads between 2.8 - 3.8v which I also believe is the proper value for this sensor.
I plan to use these values to help me go over these steps presented in another forum.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/141851-p0171-lean-bank-1-question.html
1999 Toyota 4Runner 3.4L, Eng Cfg V6, Eng Des 5VZFE, USA/Canada
Hotline Archive With OEM Direct diagrams, components, TSBs, and R&R procedures
Number: 482996 Vehicle Application: 1998 4Runner 3.4 1999 Tacoma 3.4 1999 4Runner 3.4 2000 Tacoma 3.4 2000 4Runner 3.4 2000 Tundra 3.4
Customer Concern: Has a check engine light on and a code P0171.
Tests/Procedures: 1. Monitor the fuel trim readings at idle and at 55 MPH driving down the road. If the numbers are low at idle but climb on a part throttle cruise, the airflow meter could be reading low or it may also have low fuel pressure. The mass air flow sensor grams per second should be 3.3-4.7 at idle and 12.9-18.3 at 2500 RPMs no load, if the readings are low the sensor could be bad.

1. Monitor the calculated load reading on a wide-open throttle acceleration. The reading should go to 85% or more. If not, then the airflow meter could be faulty.
   
2. Monitor the oxygen sensor inputs, both front and rear oxygen sensor signals. The oxygen sensor should not stay high or low voltage for extended periods of time. If the oxygen sensor shows low voltage and the fuel trim readings climb, check the performance of the oxygen sensor.
   
3. Check the vehicle for a vacuum leak by spraying carburetor spray around the intake manifold while watching the fuel trim readings. If the readings change, there is a vacuum leak. Tech Tips: If fuel trim readings are high at idle and go down on a free rev, there is a vacuum leak. If the fuel trim readings are high at idle and at cruise, suspect fuel injectors.
   

Diagnostic Codes P0171
Confirmed Fix 225 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor 9 - Engine Air Filter, Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor 4 - Oxygen (O2) Sensor(s) 2 - Fuel Pump 2 - Heated Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) Bank 1 Sensor 2 (B1S2) 2 - Heated Oxygen Sensor (HO2S) Bank 1 Sensor 1 (B1S1) 1 - Front Oxygen (O2) Sensor 1 - Vacuum Leak 1 - Fuel Injector(s), Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor 1 - Cruise Control Vacuum Line 1 - Intake Manifold, Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor 1 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor, Throttle Body Cleaning Procedure 1 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor, Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor O-Ring 1 - Exhaust Pipe, Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor 1 - Air Intake Tube 1 - Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor, Throttle Body 1 - Air Fuel Ratio (AFR) Sensor 1 - Engine Vacuum 1 - Oxygen (O2) Sensor, Bank 1 Sensor 2

TL;DR: I traded in a 2020 rav4 XLE for a 2023 Subaru Outback touring for the extra legroom and cargo space. The salesman and finance guy were both a delight and it was a great experience.
I bought a CPO 2020 Toyota RAV4 in January 2021. It was an okay experience. The salesman was nice enough, but they did try to sneak the fees in twice (included in the online price, which I knew about, and then tacked on to the OTD price as well). The finance guy really, really pissed me off though, and I’ve always regretted not just walking away. The experience left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Fast forward a couple years, and I now have a toddler and a baby on the way. The rav4 wasn’t working for us because my husband and I are both too tall. I couldn’t sit in the passenger seat comfortably because of the rear facing car seat behind it. Once the new baby is here, we’ll have 2 rear facing car seats… time to upsize!
We knew all we needed was more legroom, not necessarily more seating capacity. I considered the Toyota hybrid highlander, Toyota sienna, Honda odyssey, Honda accord, and Honda pilot. But after reading here and talking to Toyota, we realized the wait for the Highlander and sienna might be more than we were willing to deal with.
So, I broadened my search to include Subarus, and so I had to start a spreadsheet, of course ;). After comparing the combined legroom at all of the aforementioned models and the Subaru outback, we decided on the outback.
We went and test drove a 2023 Subaru Outback touring—which was the trim I specifically wanted because of the nappa leather and ventilated front seats.
We both loved it and it felt like a real upgrade from my rav4. Since they only had three 2023s in that trim, we went ahead and put down a 5k deposit with plans to return the next day (we had to go pick up our daughter).
Our original plan was to pay cash, but we hadn’t moved the money around and it was Memorial Day weekend. The money was in the market, so it wasn’t going to be quick to have the cash in hand. Our sales guy said we could write a check and fill out a finance application as a backup, and they would hold the check until we called to say the money was in the account, or we could just decide to finance. We originally planned on doing the check, but we got approved for a 3.9% interest rate, which is lower than what the money is making in the market currently. We ended up financing.
There was zero pressure, at any point, from the salesman or finance guy. Or, if there was, it was subtle enough lol. I’m sure you all have your methods of persuasion.
We got a $1200 discount off MSRP. I received 28k for my rav4 trade-in (it only had 20k miles and was in excellent condition). Overall, we were thrilled with the car, happy with the price, and happy with everyone we encountered at the dealership.
I just wanted to share my experience because I know there are many who think every car buying experience is as painful as a root canal. But this experience was pretty delightful for me, compared to my experience at Toyota a couple years back (part of me wonders if it went so poorly last time because I was without my husband? But maybe the finance guy just sucked).
Edit: anyone know why so many of the comments are deleted and locked? I saw them as notifications on my phone and they were all pretty standard, harmless comments (I.e. you’ll love the car, the rav4 is a better ride, etc.)
Edit 2: never mind! I just saw the pinned post about only flavored users being able to make top level comments.

I was really hoping I could troubleshoot this on my own, but a month in I'm still struggling. No matter what I try (washers, plumbers tape, new parts) I still have a pretty steady leak between my filter and [10psi] pressure regulator. I have now gone through 2 different types of filters (plastic vs metallic threading) and 2 different pressure regulators after thinking the first was stripped.
Here's my entire chain: faucet > timer > backflow preventer > filter > pressure regulator > hose thread adapter > mainline
Anyone have an idea as to why this is happening and how I can resolve it? Thanks!