I had a 486DX running DOS for writing and editing CAM programs for CNC mills, lathes, pipe bender, and a laser cutter. And for funsies, an even older Macintosh that booted from a 5 1/4" floppy that ran a CMM, (co-ordinate measuring machine). And the software for the CMM ran from another 5 1/4" floppy.

This was about 2017 before I retired as a toolmaker.

That maybe worse to remember and harder to make a habit to do.

So, did you do the monthly maintenance on the generator? Do you run it for 10 or 15 minutes every month to be sure it starts and runs?

An SUV Land Rover, (with all it’s mechanical unreliability), isn’t suitable for long heavy tow loads at high speeds. Nor have I ever seen a Land Rover with a 5th wheel hitch in my life. And there is no dealer within 300+ miles of me.

So Stop trying to get me to buy a Land Rover.

I have no need of one. But I do need to own a heavy duty pickup truck.

Why yes I have. Not available within 800 mile of me. But a Suburban is bigger. Still, a bumper hitch is not as good as a 5th wheel hitch for my 24,000lbs tandem tilt bed trailer…

And I think that’s a good set of regulations for Kei trucks. Particularly the speed. It should keep them off of high speed roadways and more on urban side streets where the speeds are supposed to be slower. They can find a good use in those situations.

Oh, those big pickup trucks do serve a purpose beyond vanity for a lot of us. My big 4-wheel drive Dodge Hemi has to do things no Kei can possibly do. I’ve got a couple of trailers that your Kei couldn’t even begin to move just half loaded. And one that it couldn’t even move empty. So your blind blanket statement shows a serious lack of critical thought on the subject.

If you had seen me in town earlier this week at the clinic with my what you refer to as a “monster drive.tough.mydickisbig” truck, you wouldn’t have seen the oils, greases, and other sundry items that I need to live in the middle of a very rural forest. And they were all things I do not want to haul in the “family” vehicle.

Now while I do sort of agree that many people that don’t need a large pickup, there is no way to tell if they do or don’t unless you know them personally. Perhaps they are a trades person who needs to pull and enclosed trailer filled with tools and supplies or maybe it’s a family that has a fishing boat or pontoon boat they use when the weather is nice, maybe a couple of jet skis or a camper/ice fishing house. (Unless you want to outright ban the existence of such things) If you can tell the difference between someone who owns one for sheer vanity vs a need at a mere glance, then scientists really need to study you in a lab somewhere.

Kei trucks have a niche and reason to exist. And they are a great idea and can solve some issues in dense urban areas most definitely. But my big Hemi also fills a niche and has a reason to exist that no Kei type truck or Tuk Tuk can even start to fill. They both fill two very different types of needs and uses. They are both dangerous in their own ways, (what tool isn’t dangerous). And they can both exist in the same space.

At lower speeds perhaps. But at highway speeds probably not. Remember: You are the crumple zone in those Kei trucks. As an old and now retired Medic and Firefighter, I’m glad I will never need to cut a dead body out of one those things-- I bet it would be a messy and bloody affair. Because while cutting the first one or two wreaks is sort of fun and exciting, it quickly becomes depressing after that and leaves mark that ain’t ever growing back. And I carry enough marks to take to the grave with me.

The acceleration is also poor due to the small low and powered engines. I would not want to try and merge onto a freeway in a metropolitan area in one. And you can bet long money that some suburban weekend warrior Bob Villa wanna be is going to try to do exactly that with the back end loaded with 10 sheets of plywood, 2 dozen 2x4’s, a roll of outdoor carpeting and 8 bags of concrete. And then be super surprised when he becomes a hood ornament for a semi truck rolling along at 60mph or some SUV.

That said, I do think thing such small delivery vehicles have a place in the urban environment. Hell, even a Tuk Tuk, a cheap and popular 3rd world motorcycle taxi/cargo hauler hybrid would be even better yet. They would be excellent for operating on side streets and residential neighborhoods making small deliveries. Just keep them off of high speed roadways. And I’m not sure that’s a solvable problem. Humans being what they are.

This is truer than you know. Well, the killing a polar bear part.

When Eskimos really got modern metallic cartridge firearms post WW2, they for some reason decided that the .223 Remington cartridge, (precursor of the 5.56 NATO round), was the best thing ever to hunt with. And you can be positive more than one polar bear got itself killed by the mommy of the the 5.56 NATO. And a bolt action rifle in .223 remains popular with them to this day.

Close enough that we probably helped bred them out of existence. Neanderthal genetic markers show up with some regularity in certain modern human populations.

Edit to add: While humans didn’t breed them out of existence, we certainly did intermix with them. And that does help to maintain their existence yet today.

There are enough of them that I no longer go in certain areas of the forest unless I’m armed. And I always have 2 arms on me at all times.

In that kind of cold, body mass matters for keeping warm. You need to be bigger to survive and they aren’t really over powered for their environment.

It doesn’t even work for dissolving rusted pistons or valves!

Real men drink Old Granddad BiB. As a bonus it will make the best Old Fashioned you will ever have.

Well, you might be half ways there. And one should never halfass something, always whole ass it.

Yep. the Qt wars were real. And one needed to be careful about reveling your KDE use because you would get flamed with hatred.

Obviously Tarantino was involved. A little foot fetish never hurt nobody-- right? Right???

Do you want to pay for the heating and cooling of a bunch of those tanks out of your pocket? Or even the cost of upkeep to keep the tanks clean?

Yeah, those are going to last at -40F/-40C nights we often experience where I live. Nor do I see them being able to add any cool relief from their shade on a hot day.

That said, it is hard to grow healthy trees in the poisoned soils of a big city. They tend to struggle and be sickly when choked by concrete and asphalt.