Random Thoughts Thread

[oldshurst442]

Just now, dfelt said:

Diarrhea cha cha cha  

Sorry. Wrong answer, although your answer may be just as disgusting as what Im gonna reveal to you folk tomorrow. 

[76ChevyTrucker]

I guess as long as it's not projectile pea soup vomit of the previous meals contents, it'll be ok.

[David]

[David]

Cool Racing, Damn those Cheetahs are fast!  

 

[balthazar]

From a post on FB from some friends :
Guy 1 : 175K miles on I believe an Ford Explorer.
Me :  175K on '04 Silverado 2500 HD.
Guy 3 : 268K on '98 Expedition
Guy 4 : 241 K on F-150.

[David]

Lots of interesting details: https://hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statistics/auto-mailing-lists-and-marketing

This is from the story above:

[balthazar]

^ The existing fleet of 270 million vehicles is ample numeric evidence that any of these 'sweeping changes' in automobiles, IE: autonomous cars, 'community pods' or EVs, are going to take decades to become commonplace. At 13 million new vehicle sales/year, it'd take 22 years to replace all the existing (except of course it wouldn't) - and that's at 100% production of said configuration.

This is why I've been saying it'll take 50 years for any of the above to truly become 'commonplace'.

Edited December 2, 2017 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

A husband and wife who worked for the circus went to an adoption agency. The social workers there raised doubts about their suitability.

The couple then produced photos of their 50-foot motor home, which was clean and well maintained and equipped with a beautiful nursery.

The social workers then raised concerns about the education a child would receive while in the couple's care.

"We've arranged for a full-time tutor who will teach the child all the usual subjects along with French, Mandarin, and computer skills."

Then the social workers expressed concern about a child being raised in a circus environment.

"Our nanny will be a certified expert in pediatric care, welfare, and diet."

The social workers were finally satisfied.

They asked, "What age child are you hoping to adopt?"

"It doesn't really matter ... as long as the kid fits in the cannon."

[Drew Dowdell]

On 12/1/2017 at 3:42 PM, balthazar said:

From a post on FB from some friends :
Guy 1 : 175K miles on I believe an Ford Explorer.
Me :  175K on '04 Silverado 2500 HD.
Guy 3 : 268K on '98 Expedition
Guy 4 : 241 K on F-150.

You + Guy 3 + Guy 4 = My Mom's F150 + My Dad's F150

[David]

This is awesome 1,103 HP Hennessey Exorcist ZL1. Comes with a 2yr, 24,000 mile warranty. Only 100 to be built a year per year as long as GM continues to build the ZL1.

Freakin SWEET!  

[daves87rs]

On 11/30/2017 at 11:49 AM, dfelt said:

Got wood?

[David]

40 minutes ago, daves87rs said:

Got wood?

The ultimate in Green Transportation and Transformation!  

[A Horse With No Name]

 

Not political in the traditional sense, the rise of the Alt right and what it means...

[Robert Hall]

Yay..stormy night and a power outage.  At least it only lasted about an hour and a half.  I  came back from dinner and the grocery, pull in the garage, garage door shuts..and boom--power out, hadn't even shut off my car or gotten out.  

Fun..good thing I have flashlights plugged in charging in most every room.  

[daves87rs]

22 hours ago, dfelt said:

The ultimate in Green Transportation and Transformation!  

Splinters not included.....

 

 

That said-man it got cold outside!!!!

[Robert Hall]

Insomnia sucks.. 

[ocnblu]

36 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Insomnia sucks.. 

Indeed

[balthazar]

[A Horse With No Name]

9 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Insomnia sucks.. 

Given the state of things, at times, the world you are awake to sucks even worse.

[Robert Hall]

Just now, A Horse With No Name said:

Given the state of things, at times, the world you are awake to sucks even worse.

Slept a bit from 6 am to 9:30 am; took a sick day; lying on my couch covered in warm, dozing terriers binge-watching 'The Orville'... not paying attention to the news or anything else.  Mellow...

[A Horse With No Name]

 

A new Dark ages...thoughtful...

2 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Slept a bit from 6 am to 9:30 am; took a sick day; lying on my couch covered in warm, dozing terriers binge-watching 'The Orville'... not paying attention to the news or anything else.  Mellow...

I thought about doing the same damned thing...

In a uniquely dystopian mood...Hitchens on Orwell...

https://youtu.be/W32BEjvU7QM

[A Horse With No Name]

Odd coming home from work...guy in a whit sonota pulls a high speed Rockford in heavy traffic without hitting anything. 

[balthazar]

The madness of the medical / insurance incestual relationship :

single doctor visit: blood test (well visit). Bill shows 15 line item tests.
• Cost of blood test(s) : $1985
• Insurance company "adjustment" : drop total by $1703
• Insurance "paid" : $241

• Balance due on $1985 blood test : $40

Edited December 7, 2017 by balthazar

[David]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

The madness of the medical / insurance incestual relationship :

single doctor visit: blood test (well visit). Bill shows 15 line item tests.
• Cost of blood test(s) : $1985
• Insurance company "adjustment" : drop total by $1703
• Insurance "paid" : $241

• Balance due on $1985 blood test : $40

I thought it was common sense to not marry your relative, be it first, second or third cousin.

Do some states actually make you get tested before you get married? Did not know this if it is true.

[oldshurst442]

So...you pay the 40 bucks and then you can proceed to marry your cousin?

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!  There is a whole lotta shakin' going on!

 

 

 

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

So...you pay the 40 bucks and then you can proceed to marry your cousin?

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!  There is a whole lotta shakin' going on!

 

 

 

 

 

Indeed....come visit southern Ohio and West Virginia...

[David]

6 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Indeed....come visit southern Ohio and West Virginia...

So it would appear that no state or district requires a blood test to get married any longer except for Montana.

https://www.usmarriagelaws.com/marriage-license/premarital-requirements/blood-test.shtml

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

So it would appear that no state or district requires a blood test to get married any longer except for Montana.

https://www.usmarriagelaws.com/marriage-license/premarital-requirements/blood-test.shtml

I did not have to have one thirty years ago.

[A Horse With No Name]

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2013/12/20/NFS-Stunt-Master-Flips-Agera-R-at-200MPH-7717719/

An amazing stunt, check it out...

A worthy end for a lifted Dodge truck....

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Sorry, got videos reversed....

 

High level of carnage....Pontiac style sadly...

 

Loved seeing this Olds as a Kid...

[A Horse With No Name]

 

Another movie I loved as a kid...

 

Not quite the same seeing a WRX in action but enjoyable...

[Robert Hall]

Haven't seen Hot Rod and Eat My Dust.  I really like Baby Driver, saw it in the theatre last summer. Of the older movies w/ car chases and car scenes, some favorites of mine include Bullitt, Vanishing Point, Duel, French Connection, The Seven Ups, Blues Brothers, Ronin, The Transporter. 

Another recent one I liked is Drive. 

Edited December 7, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[oldshurst442]

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Indeed....come visit southern Ohio and West Virginia...

 

Thank-you for the invite but sadly, I dont have any girl cousins to marry if that is what you are implying. (you know...for me to visit southern Ohio and West Virginia as to marry any of my female cousins...) 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

 

 

Loved seeing this Olds as a Kid...

Yes...cool Olds indeed. I also saw another Oldsmobile in the following scene. A Rocket 88!   

Makes me wanna yearn for one.  Start an Oldsmobile collection garage and fill it up with...Oldsmobiles. 

 

[oldshurst442]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Haven't seen Hot Rod and Eat My Dust.  I really like Baby Driver, saw it in the theatre last summer. Of the older movies w/ car chases and car scenes, some favorites of mine include Bullitt, Vanishing Point, Duel, French Connection, The Seven Ups, Blues Brothers, Ronin, The Transporter. 

Havent seen Hot Rod nor Eat My Dust. Neither Baby Driver not The Transporter.  But the rest yes. 

This movie, although not a car movie at all, remains my favorite car chase scene of all time. So intense. 

I saw this movie on TV one summer night (3:00/4:00 am in the morning after a night out of bar hopping and dancing sometime in the early 1990s.)  It is a French film made in the the mid 1970s.  This scene caught my attention and this too, has got to be one of my all time favorite greats in an ocean of awesome car chase scenes .  Very simplistic in nature. Nothing really going on.  No booms or bangs, but intense non-the-less.

The Borne movies have pretty good intense car chase scenes too. 

The Bond movies....sure, but for me, the Bond movies lack intensity. 

[David]

Transporter series is awesome!   Baby Driver was better than expected.

[A Horse With No Name]

I kind of feel like blowing things up and wrecking them today,

[A Horse With No Name]

[Robert Hall]

50 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Havent seen Hot Rod nor Eat My Dust. Neither Baby Driver not The Transporter.  But the rest yes. 

This movie, although not a car movie at all, remains my favorite car chase scene of all time. So intense. 

I saw this movie on TV one summer night (3:00/4:00 am in the morning after a night out of bar hopping and dancing sometime in the early 1990s.)  It is a French film made in the the mid 1970s.  This scene caught my attention and this too, has got to be one of my all time favorite greats in an ocean of awesome car chase scenes .  Very simplistic in nature. Nothing really going on.  No booms or bangs, but intense non-the-less.

The Borne movies have pretty good intense car chase scenes too. 

The Bond movies....sure, but for me, the Bond movies lack intensity. 

Lots of good stuff there...I love To Live and Die in LA..great William Friedkin film (who also directed The French Connection).  Great Wang Chung soundtrack (I have the soundtrack CD in my soundtrack collection).    Rendezvous is great also..was a Ferrari of some sort, IIRC. 

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

[balthazar]

Of course; being old, much less safe cars; everyone was killed int he above accidents, right?

Edited December 8, 2017 by balthazar

[oldshurst442]

Seeing wrecked classic American cars makes me sad.

But seeing wrecked exotics, restores that smile right back! 

Nope. After googling to find pics to post, those made me quite sad too.

 

I tried finding wrecked cars to post that made me feel good, but Balthy's post above about people being killed in accidented cars only made me feel the pain even more.  (no joke)

 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Of course; being old, much less safe cars; everyone was killed int he above accidents, right?

Yeah, with those primitive seat belts (or none at all), fixed steering columns with giant steering wheels of death, x-frames, etc hitting a curb at 10mph would be fatal in some of them..

[balthazar]

(^ tin foil hatter )

Most old cars don't have X-frames. My historical fleet of 23 vehicles averages 1966, and only 1 has been an X-frame.
Steering columns being fixed in a full-size car is mitigated by the enormous crumple zones they have.
Hit a full grown deer in a '64 at 100 MPH with no seat belt- not even a scratch (on me- deer didn't come out of it well).

I'd rather drive a '60s vehicle daily (like I used to) than a new car. Would be cool to get a clean vintage full-size, do some minor updates, and drive the wheels off of it.

Edited December 8, 2017 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Heh-heh... I've driven some old cars and ridden in them, but wouldn't want to drive one more once a week or so.  I find I can't get comfortable in them--esp. the models with seats go fore and aft only and giant fixed steering wheels.  The lack of adjustment and ergonomics are awful..  I would never give up the modern amenities and the good cupholders of a modern vehicle for a daily driver.

[David]

Maybe this will make people happy or at least a chuckle.

WOW, talk about Feds Crushing Auto's Search
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=feds crushing autos&qs=n&form=QBIRMH&sp=-1&pq=feds crushing autos&sc=0-19&sk=&cvid=23221C9786D946C3BEFE5C24DA6DAC03

This bing search shows you just how serious the feds are about taking criminal rides and destroying them. OUCH.

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Heh-heh... I've driven some old cars and ridden in them, but wouldn't want to drive one more once a week or so.  I find I can't get comfortable in them--esp. the models with seats go fore and aft only and giant fixed steering wheels.  The lack of adjustment and ergonomics are awful..  I would never give up the modern amenities and the good cupholders of a modern vehicle for a daily driver.

Interesting. I find the huge columns, thick wheels, obtrusive consoles and the over-wraught seating to be less comfortable. I need to be able to shift myself around inside frequently, and modern cars are just too tight inside. The notably poor outward visibility doesn't help the impression, either.

[balthazar]

Am I being a 'mean girl' if I say Lacey is not aging well?
22 yrs old on L, 35 on R :

 

[David]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Am I being a 'mean girl' if I say Lacey is not aging well?
22 yrs old on L, 35 on R :

 

Would not kick her out of my bed, still a lovely lady but is aging older than I think her age is.

[Robert Hall]

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

Interesting. I find the huge columns, thick wheels, obtrusive consoles and the over-wraught seating to be less comfortable. I need to be able to shift myself around inside frequently, and modern cars are just too tight inside. The notably poor outward visibility doesn't help the impression, either.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess...the key for me is adjustability.  I like to get the seat height, seatback rake, steering wheel position, mirror position, etc just right.     I like the smaller, thickly padded wheels w/ tilt & telescope adjustment compared to fixed huge thin rimmed wheels of olden days where the rim of the wheel is rubbing my thighs and I can't adjust anything.  My '69 Mustang--I love the styling but it's so unsatisfying to drive--horrible seating, 2 part seatbelts, horrible outward visibility with tiny non-power mirrors, etc.  My '87 Mustang is better--late 80s adjustability and ergonomics are closer to modern, but it has it's issues.  

I agree that the outward visibility in many modern cars is pretty poor--some worse than others, but mirrors and back up cameras help alleviate that. 

And after getting to used to having all the usual mod cons, I couldn't see going back to a more basic, primitive environment for daily use...just too retrograde. 

I look at old cars like I look at old computers--I might have nostalgic feelings for my old TRS-80, Commodore 64, or Sun Sparc Ultra, but I certainly would not use any of them as my daily--that's what my Mac Book Pro is for.  

(I'm sure this will make no sense to some, but that's ok..just explaining how I see things in my reality context). 

Edited December 8, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar