Random Thoughts Thread

[Robert Hall]

Gloomy rainy day makes me sleepy.  Quiet afternoon in the home office, not much action today.  Had a half day Amazon technology seminar/training yesterday and next Tuesday is a company holiday.  Odd to have a day off that Is not a Monday or Friday. 

[surreal1272]

Happy Birthday @Drew Dowdell!

[trinacriabob]

The savings on one auto rental done through Costco Travel can pay for the price of the renewal of a simple individual Costco membership.

[trinacriabob]

15 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

I love both animals, but cats win in the end for me lol. 

This is a tough one.

Growing up, we never had cats and dogs simultaneously.

We had an all black medium coat female and she had a great personality because she grew up with kids handling her and playing with her.

Then we had an Australian Shepherd that lived to between 11 and 12 years. She weighed in somewhere between 35 and 40 pounds. I was her person in the household.  I was spoiled by having such a breed of dog because she was so intelligent and easy to train. It was a blast to be able to take her along in the car to many different places.  She was also very attuned to who was visiting ... she knew when there was an elderly person or a child visiting and would give them a lot of space.  She also had a good read on who the turds were and she was right.

That dog got along with other dogs very well.  I didn't sense that much of a prey drive in her, so I think that she might have been able to coexist with a cat.  Just a hunch.

I know that a cat would be easier to take care of, but I'm a real sucker for Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, and Shetland Sheepdogs.  But then I like those big goofy stray dogs that might have some Anatolian in them that roam the streets of Istanbul and freely interact with people.  I've bought dog treats on occasion and gave them to these dogs.  The most amazing thing is that they were "mannered" in taking the treats, but also careful enough not to hurt your hand and fingers.  Of course you have to study the situation each and every time.

 

[Robert Hall]

I grew up with cats and dogs, we had 'barn cats' that lived in the barn and they'd come around the house occasionally.  We had mostly big dogs when I was growing up (German Shepherds from age 7 onward, Doberman Pinchers when I was very little), and a Miniature Schnauzer when I was very little.

Decades later, my sister had a pair of Siamese cats that got along well with her pair of West Highland White Terriers.  Spending time with her in AZ got me into small terrier breeds--from the Westies to a Silky and an Australian Terrier to a series of Yorkies, with inexplicably a Chi mix and 2 more Australian Terriers over the last ~17 years.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Gloomy rainy day makes me sleepy.  Quiet afternoon in the home office, not much action today.  Had a half day Amazon technology seminar/training yesterday and next Tuesday is a company holiday.  Odd to have a day off that Is not a Monday or Friday. 

We are heading to Virginia to hike, Roanoke to be exact. 

Just now, Robert Hall said:

I grew up with cats and dogs, we had 'barn cats' that lived in the barn and they'd come around the house occasionally.  We had mostly big dogs when I was growing up (German Shepherds from age 7 onward, Doberman Pinchers when I was very little), and a Miniature Schnauzer when I was very little.

Decades later, my sister had a pair of Siamese cats that got along well with her pair of West Highland White Terriers.  Spending time with her in AZ got me into small terrier breeds--from the Westies to a Silky and an Australian Terrier to a series of Yorkies, with inexplicably a Chi mix and 2 more Australian Terriers over the last ~17 years.

I actually really like small dogs!

16 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

This is a tough one.

Growing up, we never had cats and dogs simultaneously.

We had an all black medium coat female and she had a great personality because she grew up with kids handling her and playing with her.

Then we had an Australian Shepherd that lived to between 11 and 12 years. She weighed in somewhere between 35 and 40 pounds. I was her person in the household.  I was spoiled by having such a breed of dog because she was so intelligent and easy to train. It was a blast to be able to take her along in the car to many different places.  She was also very attuned to who was visiting ... she knew when there was an elderly person or a child visiting and would give them a lot of space.  She also had a good read on who the turds were and she was right.

That dog got along with other dogs very well.  I didn't sense that much of a prey drive in her, so I think that she might have been able to coexist with a cat.  Just a hunch.

I know that a cat would be easier to take care of, but I'm a real sucker for Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, and Shetland Sheepdogs.  But then I like those big goofy stray dogs that might have some Anatolian in them that roam the streets of Istanbul and freely interact with people.  I've bought dog treats on occasion and gave them to these dogs.  The most amazing thing is that they were "mannered" in taking the treats, but also careful enough not to hurt your hand and fingers.  Of course you have to study the situation each and every time.

 

Plus one for a Border Collie, kind of a high maintenance dog though. 

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

We are heading to Virginia to hike, Roanoke to be exact. 

I actually really like small dogs!

Yeah, small terriers make me happy. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Chinese winning it all at the moment. 

 

[G. David Felt]

9 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Chinese winning it all at the moment. 

 

Tesla giving a Trillion dollars to Idiot Musk will not fix their sales problem or the fact that the stock is grossly overvalued. Tesla is DEAD EV driving, old tech, dinosaur in the marketplace.

[G. David Felt]

Car fans will be happy with this as long as you do not want AA/CP.

Two New GM Cars Coming To U.S. Based On A RWD Platform

[G. David Felt]

OUCH, this will make some auto nuts cry.

Crash At Mecum Takes Out Corvettes and Pontiac Trans Am

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Plus one for a Border Collie, kind of a high maintenance dog though. 

A Border Collie requires a lot of time and energy of an owner because it is one agile dog when in its younger years.  

That's why I think a Shetland Sheepdog might be a more likely choice for me.

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of ‘Dead EVs’, I heard on a couple different podcasts that Ford was considering dropping the Lightning, sales are tanking?   Overpriced and overhyped…

[oldshurst442]

 

And the Canadian version

 

[oldshurst442]

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Tesla giving a Trillion dollars to Idiot Musk will not fix their sales problem or the fact that the stock is grossly overvalued. Tesla is DEAD EV driving, old tech, dinosaur in the marketplace.

Just shares. 

And he has to raise Tesla's value in order to cash in on that payout.  The shareholders approved with a 75% approval of yesses.

1. He wont do shyte to improve Tesla's value as the world's consumers has largely put Tesla on the side.

2. Basically because he is a political douchebag on top of his regular douchiness. 

3. Because Tesla EVs are no longer state of the art. In fact, they are even below mid pack.  There is no more advantage to owning a Tesla EV over any other EV from other EV makers on sale for 2026.  The world's consumers of EVs have largely passed up on Tesla EVs in favour for other EVs. 

I do not know what all that means for Tesla stock value...but I do know that Elon will do nothing to improve upon Tesla stock... 

Edited 20 hours ago by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

 

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

 

 

 

 

[G. David Felt]

6 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Speaking of ‘Dead EVs’, I heard on a couple different podcasts that Ford was considering dropping the Lightning, sales are tanking?   Overpriced and overhyped…

Overpriced for sure, from the folks around here who have the Ford Pickup trucks and Mach-e's people who own them love them. Price seems to be the major sticking point, and I can see it getting bad word of mouth due to the price, especially in the Midwest and south where average income levels are way below the average selling price.

Be interesting to see what Ford does as they have announced their commitment to still move forward and build and use the Ford BlueOval EV campus in Tennessee. 

I do not see the F150 Lighting being killed off as they have recently with the base core campus completed said the second generation of the truck which is supposed to move to 800V from the current 400V will start production in 2028 with the battery line at BlueOval City. This is a push back of 1 year as they will slow down production and keep current EVs for now as they build up profits with a renewed focus on ICE.

https://fordauthority.com/2025/09/ford-blueoval-city-construction-completed-despite-ev-pickup-delay/

Ford delays mass production at BlueOval City in TN: What we know

WOW, So much for being the state for Businesses to grow and employe people as they continue to lay folks off, and run a higher unemployment rate than the nation.

Another round of mass layoffs slams Texas workforce

[G. David Felt]

Ugly, big ugly

All the signs of an imminent financial crash in America

ICE and Home Land Security are two departments that now need to be closed due to incompetent leadership and clearly racist and illegal actions. Prosecute all who have broken the law and close these departments. Time to fold both of these duties into the FBI or one of the other agencies.

ICE and CBP's aggressive tactics may have finally gone too far

[trinacriabob]

I took one of those stupid online quizzes to see which was the state that was most suited to me.  I answered a lot of the questions with a good cup of tea, comfort food, a relaxed vibe, road trips, and nothing too gregarious.  I was expecting New England, Washington, or Minnesota.

The results page said:

YOU ARE TEXAS!

WTF?

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I took one of those stupid online quizzes to see which was the state that was most suited to me.  I answered a lot of the questions with a good cup of tea, comfort food, a relaxed vibe, road trips, and nothing too gregarious.  I was expecting New England, Washington, or Minnesota.

The results page said:

YOU ARE TEXAS!

WTF?

Heh heh..I've done a couple of those quizzes... got New York one time, Massachusetts another time...both would be fine for me. 

[oldshurst442]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I took one of those stupid online quizzes to see which was the state that was most suited to me.  I answered a lot of the questions with a good cup of tea, comfort food, a relaxed vibe, road trips, and nothing too gregarious.  I was expecting New England, Washington, or Minnesota.

The results page said:

YOU ARE TEXAS!

WTF?

Well...

You do like to preserve traditional customs and values. (conservatism..) I read enough of your posts over the years to know that you cherish your Italian background. And traditional roles of peoples. The history of your parents and their trials and tribulations in coming to America is also important to you.  You cherish that fondly. 

You also like the Californian beach coast I assume. Texas has nice water fronts as well...  

Texas I assume...like WTF do I know about the US. Im just a Canadian after all...but Texas has very strong traditional values, family values, beautiful scenery...   Maybe Texas is boring in some parts of it, but other parts its quite breathtaking.    

You are also a foodie.

Texas has very strong food culture. Especially now in the modern take as Houston I believe is a world renown culinary hub.  Or is it Dallas. Or both? Probably both. 

 Texas BBQs,  traditional Mexican cuisine as well...  

Its less of a WTF if you actually think about it and analyse why Texas.

I on the other hand...

Well...you folk know how I feels about the USofA as of lately...

I gotta go, Im getting ready for the 10cm of snow that is headed Montreal's way tomorrow. Gotta get the house and cars prepped up for it.

See ya guys later.  

 

Edited 1 hour ago by oldshurst442