Random Thoughts Thread

[Robert Hall]

48 minutes ago, David said:

And we are supposed to trust Musk and want to pay him to go there to live and vacation? 🙄

I wouldn't mind if he goes to Mars (on his dime) and stays there. 

[ykX]

8 minutes ago, David said:

I always question everything. Facts and science can be twisted to meet anyone's means, I acknowledge that. With the Billions spent on Nasa and so little to prove for it, one has to ask the hard question in regards to is this real or not?

You can't question something that is an established FACT.  It is like flat earthers questioning if the Earth really a globe.

I am not going to even discuss this.  Honestly, I was of a higher opinion of you.

[regfootball]

 

https://jalopnik.com/the-evos-is-the-future-of-ford-sedans-like-it-or-not-1846721014

 

 

 

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36166446/lincoln-zephyr-concept-revealed-china/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David]

21 minutes ago, ykX said:

You can't question something that is an established FACT.  It is like flat earthers questioning if the Earth really a globe.

I am not going to even discuss this.  Honestly, I was of a higher opinion of you.

Been a crazy Tuesday, so playing devils advocate and yes it is an established FACT, I agree with you on. But still stirring the pot to see what rises!  

[A Horse With No Name]

40 minutes ago, ykX said:

Wow, just wow.  You of all people is a moon landing and NASA  conspiracy theorist???

I am literally in shock.

There are so many effing reasons to believe we actually went. 

 

https://youtu.be/UT23ogeC1nI

[Robert Hall]

 

I'm very much a science and technology guy, and I'm pretty sure space launches and the moon missions, etc have all happened.   But being cynical, I've never seen much point in going to space (beyond launching satellites).. seems like a big money pit...billions and billons of $$$ wasted that could be put to better use to improving life on Earth, IMO.  

 I don't see the value in spreading the scourge of humanity into the solar system, humanity will destroy itself here eventually...better to contain the destruction wrought by humans to Earth.   

 

[ykX]

20 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

 

I'm very much a science and technology guy, and I'm pretty sure space launches and the moon missions, etc have all happened.   But being cynical, I've never seen much point in going to space (beyond launching satellites).. seems like a big money pit...billions and billons of $$$ wasted that could be put to better use to improving life on Earth, IMO.  

 I don't see the value in spreading the scourge of humanity into the solar system, humanity will destroy itself here eventually...better to contain the destruction wrought by humans to Earth.   

 

You can't call yourself "science guy" and then say no point of going to space.  Science has always been about discovery of unknown and pushing the boundaries of known.  If people wouldn't be willing to expand and learn and discover, we still would live in the original caves we came from and hunt with spears.  There are so many innovations that came  out from trying to push the boundaries, exploring.  Exploring space gave a huge amount of things we use daily now.  Take as an example that small helicopter flight that this whole discussion started.  Flying on Mars is an equivalent of flying on Earth at 87000 feet.  Current Earth record for the helicopter flight is about 41000 feet.

I think it is in our nature to be curious, to explore and to expand.  Either it is good or bad is up for discussion. 

[ccap41]

3 minutes ago, ykX said:

Flying on Mars is an equivalent of flying on Earth at 87000 feet.  Current Earth record for the helicopter flight is about 41000 feet.

That's a great reference point and it really puts this flight into a better perspective on how impressive it was. 

[oldshurst442]

@David says:

No Lunar landings

 

@ykX says

What are you buzzin'?  Its true... ALL of it!

 

@Robert Hall says 

The NASA lunar landing is insignificant to the problems we got down here on earth

 

NASA to Musk

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

I really dont see a difference of the sedan FoMoCo is proposing for the future, and the one that FoMoCo just canceled...  (other than the Audi-ish rear treatment)  

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

 

Did Jalopnik say that is a new Ford Evos?

Cool!   👍

But...did Jalopnik say that FoMoCo called THAT a sedan?  (or is that what Jalopnik is calling it?)  

So...are we NOW gonna be calling these types of vehicles sedans?

NOT cool!!!  👎

[daves87rs]

My son is getting the hang of the Wayback Machine page. Maybe having too much fun with it! He found some old school C&G stuff, and found my handle.  He’s like “ Dad, you’ve almost been on that site for 17 years! You like cars that long?” 🙂  Wow, that made me feel old.........

[David]

6 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

 

I'm very much a science and technology guy, and I'm pretty sure space launches and the moon missions, etc have all happened.   But being cynical, I've never seen much point in going to space (beyond launching satellites).. seems like a big money pit...billions and billons of $$$ wasted that could be put to better use to improving life on Earth, IMO.  

 I don't see the value in spreading the scourge of humanity into the solar system, humanity will destroy itself here eventually...better to contain the destruction wrought by humans to Earth.   

 

But, But , But what about Tang? Nasa gave us freeze dried ice-cream, freeze dried stroganoff, etc. etc. etc.  

[David]

WOW, crazy build and no where near done. A guy bought a Silva S15, had issues with it driving it home, strips it down and realizes it needs a ton of work. Now with a custom tube frame and a ton of Dimple Work done to add strength and reduce weight, they are painting it, but still has a way's to go. Pretty cool project if your into custom 2 door cars.

T800OMS - YouTube

 

[Robert Hall]

Not used to snow in late April in Ohio...

[balthazar]

Doing this makes me giggle. 

[Drew Dowdell]

15 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I really dont see a difference of the sedan FoMoCo is proposing for the future, and the one that FoMoCo just canceled...  (other than the Audi-ish rear treatment)  

 

Exactly! I keep seeing the Zephyr all over my Facebook feed and people going gaga over it....  I'm here like "It's just a refreshed Fusion/MKZ".  And really, the only difference in the profile is that instead of flipping the end of the top of the trunk up, they flicked it down so it's "like an A7"... but that's where the similarity to the Audi ends. 

[Robert Hall]

^ the side profile is very much like the Fusion.    I haven't read anything about Ford's plans for Europe, are they getting a new Mondeo?  Thought I saw something about a while back about a CUV-ish wagon version of the Mondeo/Fusion for the US (?) and Europe eventually..

Edit: Found this rendering of a future Mondeo wagon...and a disguised prototype.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Robert Hall

[surreal1272]

Because, you know, people who buy Pick ups buy them for hauling stuff lol. Good thing they have a bed longer than four feet with which to drag their asses on the street. 

[balthazar]

'Hauling ass' counts, you know.
- - - - -
^ it is a bizarre look...
 

Edited April 21, 2021 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

^ 'Carolina Squat' is what I've heard it called.   The people doing it probably don't know about how that kind of stance was used in the 60s for the Gasser drag look. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Dragging their ass like an old Lincoln Continental with blown air springs...... so dumb

[surreal1272]

36 minutes ago, balthazar said:

'Hauling ass' counts, you know.
- - - - -
^ it is a bizarre look...
 

Bizarre? The word we are looking for here is "Horses***".

34 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

^ 'Carolina Squat' is what I've heard it called.   The people doing it probably don't know about how that kind of stance was used in the 60s for the Gasser drag look. 

Carolina squat and the Cali lean. Saw way too many in Arizona and I've seen few here as well. Just dumb beyond words to spend money to ruin a perfectly good pick up.

[A Horse With No Name]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Not used to snow in late April in Ohio...

Beautiful pic though. 

2 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Because, you know, people who buy Pick ups buy them for hauling stuff lol. Good thing they have a bed longer than four feet with which to drag their asses on the street. 

The latest mindless way to make people blow money on vehicles. 

3 hours ago, balthazar said:

Doing this makes me giggle. 

Studebaker!

[trinacriabob]

On 4/19/2021 at 12:51 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

Pics from my sons hiking trip

 

I very much enjoyed the 4 years I spent living in this area.  I never went up to, or near, Mt. Rainier.  What free time I had, I tended to spend it up and down along Puget Sound, and going as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia (a 2 and a half hour drive), which is making me miss that taken for granted ability to cross over into Canada way too much these days.

[trinacriabob]

On 4/19/2021 at 9:38 PM, balthazar said:

All of them.  Definitely love the Toro in the middle - trestle shifter and scrolling speedometer.  Also, come to think of it, Olds did a nice job with the "split grille" treatment and slightly protruding front fender wraparound treatment on both the full size and that Cutlass.

On 4/20/2021 at 8:01 AM, A Horse With No Name said:

This didn't go down as one of Chryslers better ideas. The beginning of the end, actually for Chryco in a way. 

 

It rode a very short and shallow crest of popularity, most likely because opera windowed stuff sold like hotcakes.  For a while, some people thought they were clever to have bought one. Beyond the Cordoba's few initial years, it really started to sputter when they began messing with new, overwrought grilles, different geometries in opera windows, and scabbing other Dodge/Plymouth nameplates onto this chassis and body style.

It is downright hilarious that, in the commercial, it is referred to as a "small Chrysler."

Edited April 22, 2021 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Definitely love the Toro in the middle - trestle shifter and scrolling speedometer.

Tho there was a consolette for the Toro, I believe they were all column-shift. Pics of cars with consoles seem to pnly show that configuration. ‘Horseshoe’ shifter was found in the Riviera in this era.

Edited April 22, 2021 by balthazar

[balthazar]

Looks like major league fun : 

[A Horse With No Name]

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

Looks like major league fun : 

We could get lost for days. 

I love her voice. 

[Robert Hall]

A lot of the snow melted yesterday, but overnight got a bunch of fresh snow and ice.  Sunny, icy and cold this morning--supposed to get to 45 today, so will get melty....the big dogs out enjoying the yard earlier:

 

[A Horse With No Name]

More music for Thursday. 

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

Truth for Thursday.....

 

 

Back to cars....this Ford just has the look!

[A Horse With No Name]

Neat vintage pic....

 

[balthazar]

^ That very pic is buried somewhere else in this thread.

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

This goes right along with one of my favorite expressions:

"Some people don't know how much they don't know."

[oldshurst442]

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Back to cars....this Ford just has the look!

Apparently, so does this Pepsi can!

 Its be-uooou-tefull! 

 

[balthazar]

 

'A nice cruiser but those old cars are slow compared to modern cars!'

- - - - - 
 

Edited April 23, 2021 by balthazar

[ykX]

SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing.

"It's the third crewed launch for Elon Musk's company in less than 12 months.

Crew-2's launch was one for the history books. It marked several firsts, including the first time that people have flown on a used Crew Dragon and with a used Falcon 9 first stage, and the first time that two different international astronauts have ridden in the capsule.

The Crew Dragon vehicle that launched this morning, known as Endeavour, also lifted off in May of 2020, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS on the Demo-2 test flight, SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission. In a nice bit of additional symmetry, Behnken is McArthur's husband."

SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing | Space

[trinacriabob]

WTF?  Potentially governing a state with almost 40 million inhabitants, and where about 1 in 8 Americans live?

Check this out

 

[David]

1 hour ago, ykX said:

SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing.

"It's the third crewed launch for Elon Musk's company in less than 12 months.

Crew-2's launch was one for the history books. It marked several firsts, including the first time that people have flown on a used Crew Dragon and with a used Falcon 9 first stage, and the first time that two different international astronauts have ridden in the capsule.

The Crew Dragon vehicle that launched this morning, known as Endeavour, also lifted off in May of 2020, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS on the Demo-2 test flight, SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission. In a nice bit of additional symmetry, Behnken is McArthur's husband."

SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing | Space

Awesome!!!

[ykX]

53 minutes ago, David said:

Awesome!!!

And the best part - it really happened!

[Robert Hall]

19 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

WTF?  Potentially governing a state with almost 40 million inhabitants, and where about 1 in 8 Americans live?

Check this out

 

Well, they have had elected actors at least twice before...could happen again

[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

^ hmmm. ‘61 full-size styling study? I’m guessing Olds going by the rear quarter

[David]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

WOW, talk about a styling mess! Is it coming or going???? 🤔

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

^ hmmm. ‘61 full-size styling study? I’m guessing Olds going by the rear quarter

Pontiac badged.

[trinacriabob]

7 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Well, they have had elected actors at least twice before...could happen again

This is what I'm talking about.  For some people - stupid people - someone's being an entertainment figure automatically has pull.  They think it gives them credibility and competence.  It shouldn't be automatic.

If you're going to be a key elected official, let's see that law degree, which is usually preceded by a degree in political science or economics.  This is how people who want to make policy and who know they may shift from law to being public servants prepare themselves for that treadmill from their late teens.  It's not a cut and dried rule, but it's a starting point in putting them under the microscope to see if you want them as your elected official.  If they're douchebags, then they don't deserve your vote.

It was somewhat hard (and unhealthy) to grow up in an area where "everyone wants to be a star!"   That they now want to be our governors and presidents is even more difficult to accept.

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

let's see that law degree,

Hmmmm.... that doesn't place as high on my list.