PIAA silicone windshield wipers (I think many silicone based wipers in general) are as BIFL as can be for windshield wipers. I think I have the same pair on my car from 2016.
I was very disappointed with PIAA wipers when I got a set.
Expensive, and while they did last slightly longer than the 1-1.5 years I usually expect from wipers, from day one, their performance was noticeably worse than all but the cheapest common brands. Basically they never, ever actually cleanly wiped away all the rain. Streaky and leaving trails of water from day one.
So yeah, they lasted longer, but it was at the level of half-worn-out blades anyway, so to me, it was basically a wash on price of one set of PIAA vs two sets of some other brand…and with the other brand, at least I’d get the two honeymoon phases where they were brand new and working fantastically.
Agreed and that was also my one exception to that comment.
If someone’s really worried about having a super compact kit for smaller, light duty jobs, the 12v (and under) options from any major tool manufacturer will fit the bill nicely.
I’m not saying you’re wrong…and as I age, I’m asked more and more about my job hopping history…but I am starting to feel like the negatives of a long history of job hopping are in many ways balanced out by the long history itself.
I’m a CAD drafter with 17 years of experience in 5 different jobs. In interviews it’s more and more common to get questions about my plans for the future and how long I plan to stay with (company that is interviewing me). Each time, I tell them that I’m prepared to retire from their company in a few decades as long as they take care of me and keep a good working environment and competitive compensation.
Whether I’m just in a good market for my skills, or job hopping isn’t the deterrent some people seem to think it is, I have been getting a constant stream of recruiters filling my inbox for the past decade, whether I’ve been looking or not, and I’ve honestly never not gotten an offer for any position I was actually interested in.
If I felt it was a good fit and was interested in talking to them, it has always led to an interview, and if I was still interested after that, an offer. Every time. Granted, often the offer was way less than I was currently making or in the interview we realize it’s not a good fit…but never once has my job history been an issue that comes between a position that’s a good fit and a job offer.
I was about the same age when my mom got my finger in the car door. We were getting ice cream and my dad sent be from the window of the shop to go deliver moms to her. The door closed on it, but thankfully didn’t lock. I just had to knock on the door with my other hand (she was inside) to get her to open it.
Very painful but no permanent injury.
Ever since, when I’ve been in a similar situation, I either pass through the open window or I actually step into the swing path of the door.
Since then, I went back to Bosch, which are consistently great, then two summers ago I had a windshield crack that led to replacement, and the replacement company (Safelite) also recommended new wipers (to avoid any glass reside embedded in the wiper scratching the new windshield) and I took them up on buying their own brand to replace…and they’ve been oddly good.
Not as good as Bosch to start, but better than PIAA, and then they’ve gone on to last almost two years at a pretty good performance level.
While I’ll probably go back to Bosch in the spring, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these Safelite wipers to anyone.
(My luck: it’d turn out that Safelite uses PIAA for their wipers. 😝)
I don’t think any of them really even think Trump will even actually help them, let alone any idea that he cares about them.
The only thing that matters to them is that Trump has normalized open expressions of hate, racism, bigotry, xenophobia, and misogyny…and wrapped it up in a shrink wrap of jingoism, making it as simple as possible for anyone and everyone to get on board with it.
That’s bad enough, but he also bundles fascism as well as the graft that follows trump like a shadow with the package.
Basically he’s weaponized the fear of the unknown to built himself a cult. I would venture to guess that less than half of his supporters would have any clear, concrete, positive (that is, as opposed to the negative “he’d undo this” or “he won’t do that”) response when asked what, specifically, they think Trump will do that will help the country as a whole or them specifically.
And that’s because the thing they want from him they’ve already gotten, and they just want him to keep it up: telling them the most comforting message of all: it’s okay.
“It’s okay you don’t have a nice house or a good job or can’t afford healthcare or can’t put enough good food on the table. It’s okay your family is all fucked up. It’s okay that costs are going up, the rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer.
And it’s okay because it’s not your fault. You’re not responsible for this. It’s bigger than you can control or even affect. So you don’t even have to try. I’m not going to make it better (and in fact I’ll do my best to make it much worse), but that’s okay too because I’m not going to ask you to shoulder any of the blame for any of this!
No, not your fault and I’m not asking you to do anything. Whose fault is it? Why it’s the Democrats and the Mexicans and the Muslims and the women and the liberals and the immigrants and the colleges and the “urban populations” (hint: you can identify them by their skin tone!) and the “woke radical left” and China and Europe and pretty much anyone else that doesn’t look, act, and sound exactly like you. That’s whose fault it is.
And since it’s not your fault and you can’t do anything about it, I give you permission to hate them for it. And I’ll do and say all the horrible, vile, shit that I want you to think and say. And because I did it first, that means it’s okay to just go ahead and say what you’ve been thinking for years. If we all say it together, it’ll become normal.”
Basically he tells them they’re victims, and that he feels sorry for them, and that they should feel sorry for themselves too, and that because they’re the victims here, they’re allowed to do and say whatever they want and it’s okay.
I like to think they all just correctly frowned at the question itself and were too creeped out to reply, so the guy just stood there until the awkward silence was too much to bear, at which point he just thanked them for their time and got back on the boat and left.
It doesn’t cost you a dime to keep your resume up to date and to check Indeed and Linked In one every few weeks for jobs like yours in your area.
Worst case, you look around and find there’s nothing in your area paying much better than you are currently earning. Congrats. You’re in as good a position as you can reasonably expect.
More likely though, you’ll see one or more of a few other trends in your search:
Employers are all looking for a specific skill adjacent to your skill set that you don’t have. Might be time to look into a class or something to pick this skill up and increase your potential.
Employers around you are all willing to pay more than you’re making but want more experience. In this case you can sit tight…or throw your hat into the ring even with less experience. They may take a flier on you, especially in this tight labor market.
Employers around you are willing to pay more for your skills and experience. This is most likely but you now need to check out why, and decide if you’re interested.
Even if you’re not really interested (maybe the specific opening is too far away or not a big pay increase or something) it may still be worth reaching out, even if just for interview practice. Lots of people really struggle with interviews, and being able to do one where you’re not really intent on landing the job may be a valuable experience.