Random Thoughts Thread

[Thed]

Had an awesome weekend doing nothing but riding the Ducati. 

 

Too bad it'll be too cold the whole week until Saturday. 

[daves87rs]

3 hours ago, Thed said:

Had an awesome weekend doing nothing but riding the Ducati. 

 

Too bad it'll be too cold the whole week until Saturday. 

Hoping the warm comes back quick!

[G. David Felt]

Sucks when after 233,000 miles your alternator decides to die. Had to finally replace it on my daughters 1999 Durango last night.

Plus why go basic alternator for $127 when for $136 you can have the Heavy Duty version? Even with the couple times a year a trailer is pulled with the Durango, just makes sense to have the little higher output unit.

[ocnblu]

When your tongue is no good and even toast and jelly is a chore.  BLAH.

[Frisky Dingo]

I went for a roughly 100 mile drive on back roads yesterday in the GTI. It was a blast. There were stretches where I was probably pushing 8-9/10ths, which I don't get to do often. These were some rarely traveled roads with great pavement and visibility. There were some 1st gear turns, even!!! No better way to spend a Valentine's Day. She needs a good cleaning now.

There's a few things that never fail to impress me about my car, and yesterday was a great reminder of that. The brakes never lost an iota of stopping power, and the pedal stayed firm. The E-LSD is able to pull the car of bends that just shouldn't be possible. The way the car simply puts the power down even in the tightest of bends is nothing short of amazing. And then there's the just unflappable chassis. Road bumps, heaves, dips, grooves, crests, and the like are just laughed off. There are precious few cars I've been in that I think I could have run down some of these roads at the pace I was going, and especially done so so neatly and drama-free. Certainly almost none that could be pushed as hard consistently and with such confidence.

At one point, some girl in a new Mazda 3 was riding my ass through a residential area, and must have thought she'd pass me when we got out into clear roads. It took me about all of 2 miles to vanish. A while later, a new Mustang GT and I were being held up by an old Impala. After it turned off, the Mustang took off at what I'm sure the driver thought was a decent clip, but he too was holding me up. When we came into town and were side by side in traffic, he looked over with this bewildered look on his face. And that is the beauty of cars like this- the ability to be practical and user friendly, but punch far above their weight class.

There's a track day coming up locally that I plan on attending, and I will report back with my assessment afterwards.

[Robert Hall]

Finally feeling back to normal at work (after 3 weeks in Ohio), the time difference and poor sleep have been plaguing me.  And it's easy to get distracted checking my Ohio home alarm, the motion sensors, cameras inside and out, etc from my phone.  

[Suaviloquent]

I got a new phone recently, the old way past sale date, sitting-on-too-long temporary that became not to temporary flip jobber I had has replaced by a iAte an Apple today 7 times plus. Not my first choice, but the too many Pixels from Googs felt a bit flimsy without a bulky case and lack of any water resistance, heh, my upside on the Crapple was a bigger discount actually and one and done economics of having better resale years down the road.

 

Also, I recognize I have disappeared largely from here. Work has been somewhat taxing and I have not felt tired like this in a long time. I need to rest more, my sleep has been reduced and I go the gym not feeling 100%, but gutting through it, trying to get that mental toughness to the extreme. But I hit my limit, requested a day off today, and I don't really feel that much better.

So I'll see how it goes.

[daves87rs]

33 minutes ago, Suaviloquent said:

I got a new phone recently, the old way past sale date, sitting-on-too-long temporary that became not to temporary flip jobber I had has replaced by a iAte an Apple today 7 times plus. Not my first choice, but the too many Pixels from Googs felt a bit flimsy without a bulky case and lack of any water resistance, heh, my upside on the Crapple was a bigger discount actually and one and done economics of having better resale years down the road.

 

Also, I recognize I have disappeared largely from here. Work has been somewhat taxing and I have not felt tired like this in a long time. I need to rest more, my sleep has been reduced and I go the gym not feeling 100%, but gutting through it, trying to get that mental toughness to the extreme. But I hit my limit, requested a day off today, and I don't really feel that much better.

So I'll see how it goes.

Getting my butt kicked this week too...hope you feel better.....

[G. David Felt]

Feel like a T-Rex today after my killer arm workout yesterday. I can barely lift them so now T-Rex Arms Baby! 

[ccap41]

54 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Feel like a T-Rex today after my killer arm workout yesterday. I can barely lift them so now T-Rex Arms Baby! 

I. LOVE. THAT. FEELING. (with any sore body part)

I was hoping my shoulders would have felt that way today because within my shoulder/calves/abs workout yesterday one of the lifts was lateral dumbbell lifts 5 sets, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10. Freakin BURNIN' !

Edited February 16, 2017 by ccap41

[ccap41]

@FordCosworth (I saw your pic in the other thread and instead thought I'd bring the topic here)

WTF is going on over there? I haven't heard much but I've seen a few pictures and videos.. why?

[FordCosworth]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

@FordCosworth (I saw your pic in the other thread and instead thought I'd bring the topic here)

WTF is going on over there? I haven't heard much but I've seen a few pictures and videos.. why?

Whether its Calais, Paris, Germany, UK or Sweden, it's all the same...ungrateful illegal migrants rioting. They're turning their new host countries into the same lawless ( sharia law..ppfft ) cesspool they fled. 

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/767218/Paris-riots-leaders-cowardly-Marine-Le-Pen-Francois-Fillon

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/767867/PARIS-riots-latest-fighting-barbes-metro-eurostar-gare-du-Nord

 

Its all part of the Kalergi Plan.

 

Ps...

Looks like the Lefties were correct...illiterate, uneducated and unskilled migrants are good for the economy. Look at all the extra law enforcement now needed. All the extra First Responders/Firemen that are getting overtime. And how about all those contractors that'll be hired to rebuild the wastelands...   

 

http://www.therebel.media/paris_riots_mapped_20_no_go_zones_marked_as_violence_spreads_across_france

 

  

Edited February 16, 2017 by FordCosworth

[ocnblu]

People with any shred of honesty, and eyesight, can see clearly what is happening.  Does anyone have the fighting will to stop it?  This will do one thing:  fuel the collapse of the E.U. - NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY MUST BE PRESERVED!

[G. David Felt]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

People with any shred of honesty, and eyesight, can see clearly what is happening.  Does anyone have the fighting will to stop it?  This will do one thing:  fuel the collapse of the E.U. - NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY MUST BE PRESERVED!

Exactly what everyone was saying just before WWI and WWII. Interesting.

[FordCosworth]

13 hours ago, dfelt said:

Exactly what everyone was saying just before WWI and WWII. Interesting.

Neville Chamberlain definitely wasn't saying that. His appeasement of, for example Germany helped lead to WWII. 

Now we have Merkel, Hollande, David Cameron, Trudeau etc etc following in his footsteps of appeasement.  

[G. David Felt]

Gotta love old Photo's of our Auto Past.

Racing on the roof of the Fiat plant in Paris 1923:

1970 Porsche assembly line:

Auto Polo, I want them to bring this back, looks like a hoot to watch:

[Frisky Dingo]

 @dfelt Great pics!!

 

My store is selling a Veyron to one of our best clients, and I. AM. SO. EXCITED. 

[G. David Felt]

34 minutes ago, Frisky Dingo said:

 @dfelt Great pics!!

 

My store is selling a Veyron to one of our best clients, and I. AM. SO. EXCITED. 

Take some pics please and post!

 

[surreal1272]

Trumpflakes.

 

That is all.

[G. David Felt]

I love Chinese food, even when they say no MSG, but it always gives me gas!

[G. David Felt]

@FordCosworth @surreal1272  

Let keep the political in the political section.

In regards to a general race base, if you guys want to debate statistics then also do it there. To help you both have your own opinion on race, go here:

https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=922

This is the Bureau of Justice gov web site with all the PDF's you can review for your own take on who assaults who or hurts who.

Just so you both know, Asian, Pacific Islands, Hawaiian have the least amount of assault, rape, murder, robbery, etc. on each other and on other races.

Middle of the Pack is Black, Hispanic, south american, african in regards to the same issues.

Highest is caucasian for assault, rape, murder, robbery, etc.

Interesting note is that across all religions when broken down the % is pretty even. So no one religion versus another is worse.

Exception is Terrorist and this is also pretty even focused across the various versions but has a spike among HATE GROUPS.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO

RANDOM THOUGHTS THREAD. Leave the politics in the political area please to you BOTH! Debate to your hearts content there. Leave the rest of this to healthy debate about auto's and the industry.

Good News, My Gas seems to be gone!

[surreal1272]

32 minutes ago, dfelt said:

@FordCosworth @surreal1272  

Let keep the political in the political section.

In regards to a general race base, if you guys want to debate statistics then also do it there. To help you both have your own opinion on race, go here:

https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=922

This is the Bureau of Justice gov web site with all the PDF's you can review for your own take on who assaults who or hurts who.

Just so you both know, Asian, Pacific Islands, Hawaiian have the least amount of assault, rape, murder, robbery, etc. on each other and on other races.

Middle of the Pack is Black, Hispanic, south american, african in regards to the same issues.

Highest is caucasian for assault, rape, murder, robbery, etc.

Interesting note is that across all religions when broken down the % is pretty even. So no one religion versus another is worse.

Exception is Terrorist and this is also pretty even focused across the various versions but has a spike among HATE GROUPS.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO

RANDOM THOUGHTS THREAD. Leave the politics in the political area please to you BOTH! Debate to your hearts content there. Leave the rest of this to healthy debate about auto's and the industry.

Good News, My Gas seems to be gone!

Not a problem on my end. He has now made this an issue on two unrelated threads so I offered a simple rebuttal. Someone needs therapy me thinks. 

[surreal1272]

@dfelt--Very good information btw and glad to see that the gas has subsided lol. 

[surreal1272]

Well, I get to see if I can do a little creative installation by putting in a double DIN stereo in my little RAV4 since the 21 year old factory radio finally took a dump on me. 

[G. David Felt]

58 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

Well, I get to see if I can do a little creative installation by putting in a double DIN stereo in my little RAV4 since the 21 year old factory radio finally took a dump on me. 

Cool, let us know how the install goes and take a pic and post it of what it now looks like.

[surreal1272]

14 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Cool, let us know how the install goes and take a pic and post it of what it now looks like.

I plan on it. I was looking for a single DIN with Bluetooth but we didn't have anything I like at the shop and then we pulled a nice double DIN pioneer and it had me curious. I pulled the factory CD player out (which is a detached unit from the main deck if you ever seen an old RAV4) and noticed that it had plenty of space behind it. I have to take the plastic trim off and cut it out to accommodate the radio but I have to figure out what to do with the cig lighter attached to it and relocate it somewhere else. Looking forward to seeing if I can do this without trashing it lol. 

[surreal1272]

Phase one: installation complete

 

Next up: Custom cut the plastic I had to take off, in order to install a double DIN, and hopefully have a nice new fit around it. 

[G. David Felt]

Very cool Surreal1272, looking forward to the finished look.

Remember to measure twice, cut once!  

[surreal1272]

39 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Very cool Surreal1272, looking forward to the finished look.

Remember to measure twice, cut once!  

Yeah, just got done with the plastic trim and I'm going to plead the fifth on the cutting part . It is not my strongest suit and I did shank a corner. Hopefully with a little sanding and finding the right trim bezel, I can cover that mess up. Now I need to check eBay for a storage pocket to put in place of the original stereo. 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Yeah, just got done with the plastic trim and I'm going to plead the fifth on the cutting part . It is not my strongest suit and I did shank a corner. Hopefully with a little sanding and finding the right trim bezel, I can cover that mess up. Now I need to check eBay for a storage pocket to put in place of the original stereo. 

Very Cool, as my grandparents and dad always said, we never stop learning and get better with each try.

Just doing what you did is far more than most would do. Way to go!  

[surreal1272]

28 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Very Cool, as my grandparents and dad always said, we never stop learning and get better with each try.

Just doing what you did is far more than most would do. Way to go!  

Thanks. I have it on there now but I need to find a trim bezel to cover my little cutting mistake, which was done with a reciprocating saw (really should have used a Drexel with a grinder disc but I do not have one of those at home). I also discovered I will have to replace the entire antenna due to Toyotas insistence on hardwiring theirs straight into the head unit instead of a simple plug like everyone else on the planet uses. The lessons learned.

[balthazar]

Bleeding brakes: blah.

[G. David Felt]

Sunday Skiing on freshies!  

[Suaviloquent]

It was 12 C or like 54 F here today. All the snow has melted. All the dreams of snowboarding have melted along with it.

[Robert Hall]

Rainy and cool here in the desert..

[daves87rs]

Going to need lots of struts.....

[balthazar]

My dreams are so fucked up. 
Last night I was wading out into this serene lake at dusk, pushing an inflated 'funeral raft' ahead of me, with an upright inflated 'tombstone' at the head. On it was a boy about 2 years old, blonde hair/blue eyes, dead. Yes, his eyes were open, staring upward. He was dressed in a simple white gown. As I waded out, I did what I was 'supposed to', which is push downward slightly to allow the water to spill into the raft. As I watched -and I knew it was coming- and the dark water rose around the boy, when it rose up the sides of his face, the dead child closed his eyes and slipped under. I could see the raft gliding lower and farther out under the water. 

This -in it's utter strangeness to me personally- is completely typical.

[ocnblu]

One of my dreams last night was this:  I had taken a base model white Cummins Ram from the dealer for a test drive because everyone expected me to.  During the test drive I had custom wheels and tires put on it and a lift kit, plus I had the bed taken off.  Everyone thought it was cool at the mobile home service business I took it to, and I was going along with it, but then I realized I would never be able to afford it and I would need to return the truck to the dealer in stock condition... but how in the hell was I going to do that by myself within the allowed time?

[G. David Felt]

 Interesting that people dream, being narcoleptic and having extreme sleep apnea, I am on a cpap and even then I never get into rem sleep. Been this way my entire life. 

I would not know how to respond if I did dream probably.

Dreaming is weird, 

[Robert Hall]

Having always been a light sleeper and prone to insomnia for at least 25 years, and on strong prescription sleeping pills for over 20 years, I'm never sure if I'm dreaming in a sleep or a semi-awake state...one thing I crave but don't often get are solid, uninterrupted nights of sleep without getting awoken...

[G. David Felt]

Woke up yesterday with a cough, running nose but everything clear as water. This winter is playing games as I was also very tired. Thank goodness I can work from home.

[Stew]

So, go m first gym membership, working on giving up the diet Dew, Energy drinks, and cigarettes.  THis is gonna be a bumpy right for the start haha. 

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, Stew said:

So, go m first gym membership, working on giving up the diet Dew, Energy drinks, and cigarettes.  THis is gonna be a bumpy right for the start haha. 

Diet soda is so hard for me to give up.. we have free fountain soda at work.

I've done good with the energy drink thing. I used to drink one a day pretty religiously. Now I drink one every 2-3 weeks. I'm cheap so that one was relatively easy to cut back on, lol.

Edited February 23, 2017 by ccap41

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, Stew said:

So, go m first gym membership, working on giving up the diet Dew, Energy drinks, and cigarettes.  THis is gonna be a bumpy right for the start haha. 

You can do it, a much better life to be had by giving up those things. YOU CAN DO IT! 

[G. David Felt]

43 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Diet soda is so hard for me to give up.. we have free fountain soda at work.

I've done good with the energy drink thing. I used to drink one a day pretty religiously. Now I drink one every 2-3 weeks. I'm cheap so that one was relatively easy to cut back on, lol.

Yea, my work has free soda / energy drinks. I gave up soda, but hard to give up a morning Energy Drink. Since I live in Seattle and Hate Coffee, Energy drinks are my morning cup of joe.

Course I expect Seattle to drop soda consumption big time as the city just did the stupid thing of taxing Soda. 2 cents per ounce of soda is the new tax to pay for homelessness support.

That means your basic 16 ounce can of Soda is now 32 cents more. This is most stupid thing I have ever heard. I expect soda sales to get reduced by 50% when this goes into affect this spring.

[Stew]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

Diet soda is so hard for me to give up.. we have free fountain soda at work.

I've done good with the energy drink thing. I used to drink one a day pretty religiously. Now I drink one every 2-3 weeks. I'm cheap so that one was relatively easy to cut back on, lol.

I am a fanatic for the Diet Dew, I am not even going into how much I drink a day.  And I usually drink 2 to 3 starbucks energy drinks a day, yeah i think I have a slight caffeine addiction.  So far today i did have 1 energy drink and drunk of a 20 once dew and downing some 75 oz of water haha

41 minutes ago, dfelt said:

You can do it, a much better life to be had by giving up those things. YOU CAN DO IT! 

I am working towards.  no energy and getting rid of the man-boobs are good motivators.......

[balthazar]

Got some short wheel time in this today- thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Robert Hall]

Hmm...looks like a '66 Chrysler 300..

[balthazar]

Yessir! 4bbl 383, A/C, bucket, 4-dr hardtop. A bit worn but all there. I would prefer a '65 300-L hardtop coupe, but hey.
 

[surreal1272]

@dfelt--Phase two (part one) complete. Replaced the old instrument gauge lights with much brighter leds ( one was out making it necessary to replace them all). Still need to replace the HVAC lights with the same leds (hence part one lol). Still trying to locate the proper trim bezel for the radio to cover up my cutting mistake but I am at least a few more steps closer to getting this turtle to my liking (which is now at 257k miles).

 

Edited February 24, 2017 by surreal1272