trinacriabob

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Would have been a pretty car back in the day. 

Gone now!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/450056464120794

The incoming rectangular lamps on many GM cars in that era made them much more attractive.  They made a big difference.

Now, as far the powerplant went, the notion of 500 cubic inches was mindboggling even during the malaise era.  If you want to see someone's jaw drop, tell a European that their engines have 8200 cc or 8.2 liters.  For those who aren't driving the occasional Mustang or Camaro you see, they freak out at anything over 2,500 or 3,000 cc.

5 hours ago, David said:

Usually one does not pull out a desktop HD to transport it but packs and moves the whole desktop computer.

If you are wanting to remove the HD to transport it, you need to ensure it is in an Anti-static bag to prevent electrical discharge that can scramble the data in worse case scenario.

Depending on size HD can weight from just a couple of OZ to 1lb. 

Question for you, are you just thinking of putting these HD into a new computer or just taking them over separate from the existing desktop system and installing them back in again? If your just thinking of transporting the desktop I would recommend keeping the drive in the desktop and packing the whole unit securely in a box with packing material for protection. If your wanting the data on the drives, I would recommend buying a proper USB drive, copy all the data off the drives and then you can wipe the drives and donate the computers to Goodwill for a tax write off.

Thank you for the response.

I want to reinstall them into the computers, especially the "newer" one.  The old one has been a real champ.  

The reason for not leaving them in the desktop is that the basic tower might have to be transported ... and not by me.  That means it will be out of my possession for a while.  Since the HDs would be traveling with me, they'll have to get scanned through airport security a time or two.  I'm guessing that shouldn't mess with the data.  

I've already backed up the C drive on several large 1 TB portable hard drives.  I don't want to touch the basic functions and files on the computers since I don't know how that all works.  I stay away from the drives and files I am not familiar with.

I tend to donate other things to charity.   I did give the Regal I once owned to charity.   A good friend told me that, about a month or two later, he saw it being driven around the city by its new owner and we had a good laugh.

This is what I want to do.  I'm just trying to figure out if the guy or gal at Office Depot can size a case based on looking up the unit and the HD in it.  Any ideas on that part?  Or should I do that and approximate the size and weight of the part to get the cases?

5 hours ago, David said:

WOW, that is crazy, wonder what happened the first time as that was a hard bounce. Need a full inspection on that plane after that hit.

I'm wondering about a lot of things related to this.  I am sure that, sadly, the passengers inside were jolted.  This is way different from a rough landing.

Why was it even necessary to do it?  What was going on at the airport property at that time? 

How does one even pull this off?  I've seen some vids of where they barely touch and then go off again, but this one looks way more complicated.

The site clean-ups on C&G have been nice and look cleaner.

In the process, it appears they even purged that one warning point I got for some heavy handed arguing with ocnblu back in 2009.

This was on my homepage.  

This is possibly the weirdest go-around I've seen on video.  It was Lufthansa's big bird (latest version) at LAX.  (Leave the sound on)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/moment-lufthansa-plane-s-touch-and-go-landing-caught-on-live-stream/vi-AA1nysOo?ocid=socialshare

I was on one major go-around about 20 years and, it too, was on an older Lufthansa 747 going from Munich to SFO to connect up to Portland.

He was still some 200 feet off the ground when he announced it, the engines started purring strongly, the plane started climbing, and the go around from my window showed San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, then on down south next to Stanford, and then back up over San Francisco Bay to land.

Tech help needed prior to going in to Office Depot or other store to inquire ... or conducting research and spinning my wheels:

I have 2 HP Pavilion desktops ... one is circa 2019 and the other is circa 2009, and it still works.  They are boxed up.

Questions:

1.  If I needed to get hard drive carrying cases, how does one go about sizing the one they should buy?

2. I have never seen one before, but I'm assuming the construction of the case is thick and tough enough to protect the hard drive, yes?

3.  How much do hard drives in typical household HP Pavilions weigh and are they easy to remove so they can be transported?

THANK YOU!

This is what I also spotted yesterday.  For a while, I thought that most of America wasn't moving away from Craftsman style housing fast enough.  It lasted for at least 2 decades in areas they don't use the Mediterranean stucco look.

Well, America did move on ... to this.  I don't know what it's called ... American white farmhouse?

There isn't much variety in it at all.  And this is mostly what you see anymore.

Can't we do better?

The beauty and the beast:

... just seen while running errands 

On 3/22/2024 at 6:44 PM, David said:

Calling all Auto Fans

Any Idea the year? I am pretty sure this is a Toronado, but not sure of the year. My coworker who knows I am into auto's took the picture of his neighbors dads car in their barn and sent it to me.

I love it.  No surprise there.

Sure, an Oregon plate, because they appreciate their Subarus and Volvos more than American iron.

I'm going to say '83 or '84 because we knew someone with an '83 Eldorado in that nice shade of medium to dark metallic blue.  That color also stuck around for '84 Cutlass and its GM stablemates.

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@Drew Dowdell

Some of those photos are interesting, but there are only a few I'd be excited about.

The "problematic" ones have beltlines that are too tall, grilles that are beyond exaggerated (and making the '04 to '08 GP grille look tasteful), bodies that are too long, rear ends that look like rocket fire should be spewing out of them, and even some weird kinks in the simpler volumes.

What I notice is that the experimental renditions are more daring and, then, when the car is released, they take some of that edginess off.

I'm going to say that I like about 3 or 4 of them

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I saw this yesterday ...

I pulled over to get the photo.  The care of the lawn carries over into the care for the car.

When Riv/Toro had their short period of stubbiness, I'd say I liked the Riv (above) more, save the trestle shifter in the Toro.

When they got lengthened in ~1989 (through ~1992), I preferred the Toronado.  Yep ... light driftwood metallic, beige (cloth) bucket seats, vaned alloy wheels, and a 3800 V6 that wasn't quite Series II.

Random thought - word of the day:

smarm(y)

Great word!

19 hours ago, regfootball said:

RENTAL!!!!!

 

Coincidence, telepathy, 6 degrees, or something ...

I've got one right now ... a white one.

MECHANICAL PHOTOS

It's definitely not a N.A. 4 cylinder engine - the V6 with twin turbos takes up a larger part of the engine bay.

There is a very clearly marked compartment for the battery.  I didn't open it up to take a look.

The symmetrically placed brake fluid compartment needs that much room?  One would think they'd also lay out the fuses here.

While the oil dipstick is easy to find, the other lids are sort of ominous and point to something cautionary and under pressure - most likely coolant ... this shows you that the engine bay is fairly maxed out.

INTERIOR PHOTOS

Sweeping view of the interior - and its sweeps - from the driver's door.  I very much like the curved effects on the dashboard and how they make their way onto the front doors.

View of the front of the cabin from the passenger door

An overall view of most of the dashboard and Infiniti has an agreeable enough emblem

While it may hide some other info when this mode is chosen, the old school chronometer - together with the date spelled out, is a nice feature/option

This is straight out of a Nissan Altima ... note that, when assigned to me, it had over 57,000 miles.

Here you see the remote trunk release but I also prefer a remote fuel filler door release instead of pushing on them

All the windows have the automatic up-down feature and it has become a must-have

Even though I wasn't a fan of black bits on interiors in other colors (cream, tan, gray, etc.), it works well here, together with the wood applique and chrome, and is handled in a way to may it look sort of "premium."

Here is the rear seating area of the cabin with all the headrests pushed down.  Its craftsmanship appears to be good.

The rear visibility with the headrests pushed down garners a "thumbs up" from me.

When you have a sunroof, you realize it's sort of nifty, but that you don't exactly want to use it all the time.  I preferred just having the glass sunroof in a closed position with the shade pulled back and open most of the time.

This is an overall view of an empty trunk.  I came to learn that the large rear wheel well humps created some restrictions.

That is a standard piece of luggage at the right and a rollaboard at the left.  While they are both stuffed (in height), the width remains the same and I couldn't place them side by side and pushed against the back of the trunk space.  That made it harder to put in other luggage or store purchases, the latter of which could go in front of them  or at the sides.

EXTERIOR PHOTOS

Side view of the Q50 on America's "First Coast" region and Ponce de Leon seems to approve.

Actually, the grille is somewhat attractive (not as heavy handed as that of a Lexus).  The pearl effect white exterior with very pale cream/tan interior came together well in this vehicle.

These cars in this category seem to converge in terms of styling - I see some Nissan Altima and even some Pontiac G8.  The greenhouse, with all the headrests pushed down, gets a "thumbs up" from me for visibility.

I had never driven an Infiniti Q50 before, let alone ever really looked at them.  I also didn’t know much about these cars.

I was supposed to be assigned a medium sized SUV, but remarked I wanted the luggage area to be hidden.  The rental agent told me they could not guarantee the presence of a retractable cover. (Why would they order a car without one or why would someone take one?  eBay?)  They didn’t have any SUVs anyway, and I got put into an Infiniti Q50. 

I checked my phone to verify the cost would be covered by my insurance and the credit card parameters.  It came in at around $43,000.  That’s if new.  That said: “no worries.”  However, this unit would be a much-depreciated 3+ year model with 57,000 miles.  I relaxed.  At any rate, I put less than 500 miles on it over a week. 

As one walks up to it, you can tell its heritage … and rather quickly.  You can instantly see similarities to the Nissan Altima in the instrument panel’s main cluster and in the switches much the same way that a CT6 by Cadillac and a Cruze by Chevrolet share dials and such.  However, the assembly and detailing are nicer in the Q50.  It had leather seating, which I don’t care for in a warm weather location, that was comfortably contoured and nicely finished.  The same could be said for the doors and other trim and fittings. 

Inside, I liked the way that the dash, center stack, and console flowed together.  The scalloped tops of the dash hearken to those of the very last Impala, which had an attractive dashboard on various levels. The center stack is slightly like that of an Olds Aurora.  These comments go along with the often-cited commentary that this car is traditional and old school in a lot of ways, thus not breaking any new ground. The least favorable aspect of the interior is operating the various touch screen and stalk functions.  Some are redundant and confusing.  However, for one, it is possible to pull up a clock that resembles old school chronometer and have it sitting at the top of the center stack.

On the interior's plus side, there are perfectly contoured and angled slots to store water bottles at the base of the front doors.  On the minus side, there is a remote latch release for the trunk, but not one for the fuel cap door.  (The fuel cap door remains closed if the car is locked.)

I figured that this Infiniti would have a V6.  It was no ordinary V6, but 3.7 liters worth of V6 with twin turbochargers.  Rarely does one need this much power and, in one week, I got aggressive with the throttle in one merging situation and one passing situation.  It is up to the task and kicks out a little torque steer.  Its hum is a rather muted purr.  As would be expected in what is supposed to be a premium car, the automatic transmission is a geared unit.  It has 7 speeds.  The first 2 shifts can be felt while the remaining shifts are not.  However, if in stop and go traffic, and alternating speed, those early shifts can be a little less smooth as the transmission seems to hunt.  (It could also be how many miles were on the unit.) Why 7 speeds?  How about 6 … or 8?  I’m talking even numbers!

With the powertrain comes the requirement for premium fuel.  Also, compared to many full-size Japanese cars working with 4 cylinders and turning in commendable gas mileage, this car with its V6 is a little thirsty.

Ride, handling, and noise are related, but different enough.  The ride was supple and controlled, but not much more so than that of an uplevel 4-cylinder sedan.  Handling was better and this Infiniti tracked accurately and nimbly.  Also, the Q50 was fairly hushed, but I might have expected a little more isolation and a higher premium "feel" for the price jump from a Nissan to an Infiniti.

Its exterior features that extra chrome and trim to make it uplevel within the Nissan family tree, yet the greenhouse is an almost familiar one.  This car delivered on one greenhouse dimension I’m fussy about - rearward vision from the driver’s vantage point is very good.

I don’t know how the order sheet was configured when this car was purchased. There was an indicator for forward alerts, but I never got to experience it in action.  Also, whether on the rearview mirrors or inside of the front pillars, there was nothing to warn of side traffic and there weren’t parking assists that kicked in.  Perhaps they were there, but the car was not put in a situation where they’d engage.  On another rental car of a lower price point, those were always at work and perhaps a little too eager.  I almost prefer the latter.

I didn’t read any reviews about this car before beginning the rental or during the rental.  I echo what they have to say.  For its niche, it doesn’t drum up much enthusiasm.  The best point is its more premium handling while the negatives are some difficulties in setting it up when first getting in and its slight thirstiness. If something about this overall package is appealing and a person connects with the Q50, then the consumer will probably go for it.  I don’t know how it will hold up and how much it will cost to service over the long haul.  While there are no Toyota and Nissan dealerships in Beverly Hills, California, as an example, there is a Lexus agency there while the Infiniti dealership seems to have closed.  Infiniti seems to want to ride the same wave that Lexus is riding, though I’d think piggybacking onto Toyota might be a more lauded genealogy.

This is very much a personal decision and you’re on your own.  I was going to turn in the Q50 after a day to see if I could get something more familiar to me but decided to keep it.  Exchanging cars is a hassle.  Once past the learning curve and adjustments, it’s fairly easy to live with, but it’s neither a remarkable nor compelling vehicle.

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PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

Random thoughts:

In looking at 270 to Win, nothing has changed since 4 years ago - the states are shaded the same way and the swing states are also the same - MI, WI, PA, GA, AZ, and NV.  This is and isn't about politics since I'm a huge geography and demographics buff.

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I hate being in places that don't recycle.  

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I was next to a late model Mazda 6 last night.  While I hate its dash and its big upright touch screen, I feel that this sedan nailed the exterior looks department at its time better than did the Camry, Altima, Accord ... and probably even the Malibu and the Fusion.

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How do you deal with someone who texts in dribbles a good part of the day  ... on many days?  I might text someone I know once every week to 2 weeks.  And it has some critical mass to it.  Actually, if you have a lengthy phone conversation, then you don't need to communicate with a person for a long time, so it's more efficient.  Since this individual does not like the voice aspect of the phone, this is what I have to deal with.  I want to fix this, but I don't want to be rude.

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I feel that, with each passing day and with all the villains around, I/(we) am/(are) living in a bad 007 movie.

Good morning ...

Clearly I jest.

Does this elation come from witnessing the eclipse?

Happy Tax Day

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whew

6 hours ago, David said:

It is definitely not a western country, but a Muslim one that is trying to project for tourist dollars a western way, but still very strict.

This is definitely true.  That's why I'm interested, but not exactly compelled.

On the other hand, Turkiey is a secular Muslim country.  They actually chose the Latin alphabet over an Arabic (type) alphabet.  Istanbul is also sprouting condo towers, but it conducts itself in mostly western ways.  I don't think being disrespectful of the main religion would be too smart, though.  However, it's not much different from some European capitals or major cities.  A couple of their other big cities are supposed to be okay, but I wouldn't know.  My understanding is that the further east you go into Anatolia, the more backwaters it will be.  Not interested.

- - - - -

What I was really going to say:  the subject matter of "if it does not fit, you must acquit" is gone.  Yesterday.

He got off the hook.  He must have had "survivor's guilt" because he couldn't stay out of trouble and got himself locked up.  They never found the person who committed the crime.  Even though I never cared for Amanda Knox - don't like her vibe - they ultimately found the culprit in that mess.

I am somewhat interested in visiting Dubai someday.  It looks sort of like a beachside Las Vegas in a rich Middle Eastern locale.

11 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Everything is up. I thought about buying a new Ranger since my Ranger is at 86k. Keeping my Ranger. 

Religion continues to go the way of the DODO bird...

 

Interesting take on things. 

I'm very mixed on all of this.  I have a  religion - the one I was raised in - but I'm not a religious fanatic.  There's somewhat of a compass that comes with being part of a religious community.

On the other hand, my religion, and others, have been criticized for their inability to stay out of people's bedrooms.  Now they're overreaching for wanting into the polling booth with folks.

People are steamed with all this.

FICTION:

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FACT:

The Griffith Observatory does NOT sit right above downtown.  LOL.  Far from it.

We have someone with the handle "Los Angeles" having a birthday today.

That said, I had to look up the city of Los Angeles's birthday - it's April 4, 1850.  As a native, I should have known that.  So, a birthday of April 10 (today) isn't too far off.

Admission Day for California is September 9, 1850 .... actually AFTER that of the city of Los Angeles ... and both 1 year after the most likely year for the Gold Rush - 1849.  Depending on where you went to school and/or worked, Admission Day could be a day off.

2 hours ago, David said:

One very evil and unattractive woman.

Well, materialistic, shallow, and would do whatever it takes to get somewhere.  That worked. 

Overdone - at this point - for sure, and a rather ordinary looking Slavic girl when younger.

I wouldn't care one way or the other if people like this stayed in the private sector.  They'd get a pass ... maybe.

What I was really going to say ... I was doing some surfing last night and was reading some biographical stuff and landed here.

Ok, she's fine where she is with the deep pockets she has access to.

However, had she not accessed those, she could have been quite successful if cast as a recurring foreign villainess in the 007 franchise.