CoastalTiger83

Seems like $75-$100 is the general consensus here. That definitely seems reasonable and something I can do. I do live away from my nieces but we're still decently close considering we live 700 miles apart and I only see them a few times a year.

In terms of my other question, do you think it would be appropriate to ask the other uncle and other aunt what amount they are giving?

Obviously still a few months away but my oldest niece is graduating high school this year (wow that makes me feel not young, lol). As I live away from the rest of my family I was looking at some flights today and thought about the topic of the expected "Monetary Gift".

Two sites I looked at gave a range of $50-$75. For those of you who have nieces and/or nephews how much money did you give them at their high school graduation?

As my nieces have another uncle and another aunt would it be appropriate for me to ask them what amount of money they are giving? I don't want to give too much or (more likely considering I'm the youngest uncle/aunt so I have the least money) come off as the "cheap uncle".

I play tennis and love to watch tennis when I can. The Australian Open is down there in a few weeks. I wonder if these fires will affect the tournament or even cause it to be cancelled.

Looks like all of Melbourne is essentially on fire right now. Plus I can only imagine the horrible air quality.

A lot of people are bringing up LSU and I do agree that LSU is a big reason why I think a lot of fans aren't as upset. We still have LSU who will be playing for a National Title.

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Well, that’s not depressing at all.

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But it's true though. Sure Brees might be disappointed but he has a pretty awesome life. Part of me can't blame him for not being in a fetal position after losing a game. Just saying nowadays the fans care about winning more than a lot of the players.

That's something I noticed years ago. As fans were mad at losses, these players are out there laughing and hugging each other. It's because at the end of the day they are filthy rich playing a game knowing they get to live a life that vast majority of us can only dream of.

Drew in a week or two will be in San Diego or on some tropical island on vacation with his family while us fans will be back at work. The jokes on us.

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100% in agreement. The no call broke me. I’m somewhere between a casual and die hard fan now. Idk what you call that. But I’m moving on with my day now. Just don’t care enough to sulk

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Same here. Maybe it's being more mature but it's just not worth losing it anymore and being pissed for at least a week.

I would categorize myself the same way. I still think I'm more into it than a casual fan but I'm definitely not the crazy die hard I used to be.

Like you it's over, move on with my day.

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An aftermarket catalytic converter is around $150 plus installation. $250ish at a muffler shop

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Worse case scenario this is probably the route I'll go. I take my vehicle to an import shop and they've always done a good job and are usually half of what any stealership would charge for the same service.

Figured I would get some car advice from members on the forum. Sadly there isn't any type of car forum so I decided to post it here.

I have a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder 190 hp 2011 Accord EX-L. I'm the original owner and the vehicle has 158,000. Vehicle has been spectacular up to this point, never any major issues besides the occasional battery going dead.

Always on top of oil changes and fluid changes. Coolant was changed at 100,000 miles as recommended. Valves were adjusted last year with a new valve cover gasket. Serpentine belt was replaced 2 years ago. Essentially I've always been on top of getting maintenance done.

I noticed on Friday that my engine performance seemed down (I know my car very well and could just feel that something wasn't right). Last night while driving my check engine light comes on for the first time ever.

I go to Advance Auto Parts today and they pull the code. P0420 was the code. After looking it up it indicates an issue with the Catalytic Converter. I'm guessing the Catalytic Converter has gone bad and will need to be replaced.

Of course we all know this is a bad repair. Probably looking at $1500-$2000 and after a medical issue late last year causing me to miss a few weeks of work I honestly don't have that type of money to spend.

So I wanted to ask you all this, lets assume for this scenario I don't care about polluting the environment (I do but maybe not at $2000). My state doesn't do emissions testing so I don't have to worry about it failing that. Besides the environmental issues would this cause me to destroy my engine? Again I will say I notice decreased engine performance and not as much responsiveness in acceleration (both tell tale signs of the converter) but it still drives smooth. Is there a reason to replace it soon besides environmental reasons? Will a bad converter eventually hurt my engine and cause even more expensive repairs?

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An 8pm start time in New Orleans is perfect for visiting fans. Quit crying.

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Except Bowl Games are more about ratings and fans watching on TV than they are about the crowd at the game. That's true for all sports.

Are you saying a 7 p.m. start time in New Orleans would somehow make the visiting fan experience horrible? Does an hour really matter for fans at the game? Heck I think it'd be better, more time after the game for fans to get hammered, lol.