Random Thoughts Thread

Drew Dowdell · November 13

1 minute ago, oldshurst442 said:

If I was on wasabi, and I like spicy foods, I dont think Id be able to handle any back-up work. Id be running AWAY daily from wasabi I think.

I guess software programming happens automatically with a touch of wizbang sorcery magic to make those thing happen at all hence the new word of the day: automatigically...for software programmers all OVER the world. 👍 Thumbs up to all of you for keeping our world functioning.

For storage, Wasabi S3 is a competitor to Amazon S3 at significantly lower price. We've been using it here for photo storage for more than a year, but I got the backups copying to it now also.

oldshurst442 · November 13

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

For storage, Wasabi S3 is a competitor to Amazon S3 at significantly lower price. We've been using it here for photo storage for more than a year, but I got the backups copying to it now also.

thanks for the info. I didnt know what wasabi was in website talk, but I was trying to be funny. I HAD the courage to try open mic night but since you didnt laugh at that, it means that I need to hit the drawing board again. Im niot quite there yet...

Oh...you missed the other part of my 'joke'. But I sense it be useless to point it out as it may not be as funny as it was in my head 15 minutes ago.

Drew Dowdell · November 13

10 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Yeah... The Costco parking lot of all places!!! LOL

The 300C is/was more luxury oriented rather than sports sedan-ny not only in general but especially compared to the CTS. I get your feelings. I feels you. In hindsight, it was THE perfect size and especially when one sees what BMW has done to their 3 Series. It has been enlargened to the original CTS' dimension 10 years ago. Cadillac got it right with the 1st and 2nd gen CTS and Cadillac didnt even realize it. They beat BMW at their own game and made BMW copy THEM and not many realize that fact either. To this day, Whether it be car guys and gals or even the automotive journalists, we are ignorant of the fact that BMW 3 Series grew in size and dimensions to BE a 1st and 2nd gen CTS competitor. But Cadillac abandoned that trajectory thinking they lost the battle but indeed, they actually won the war.

All of this. Though the second gen CTS did gain a lot of weight in roughly the same footprint and wasn't as nimble. This is when the CTS started chasing the 5-series more seriously and had the interior to do that. Cadillac did this because they knew the ATS was coming. Unfortunately, the CTS grew in size even more for the 3rd generation, and while it did get some nimbleness back, it is nearly the size of the 300C.

The ATS was a fantastic vehicle for sporty driving and if I were single, I'd look at a Turbo-4 coupe with a manual, but they are just too small for more than 2 people.

trinacriabob · November 13

On 11/8/2024 at 12:55 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

Thank you very much. For my birthday last year I got a gift card for a spa day package which I booked for my birthday this year. So I spent the day yesterday getting a facial and a massage and it was fantastic. Little did I know when I booked it how needed it would be.

It takes something not feeling right (suspected sprain, crick, etc.) to push me to getting to get a massage, so less than a handful of times. The ones that hurt just a little are usually the ones that resolved the issue. (I'm not referring to anything remotely kinky.)

I know baking is something you appreciate. You wouldn't have wanted me to make you a cake. My mom didn't bake many "American" things, so I once decided, as an early teen, that I could make what I wanted and keep it on hand: the marriage of two phenomenal flavors ... orange and chocolate. I'd drool over the boxes in the supermarket aisles with the photos on the cartons. I bought the orange frosting mix and chocolate cake mix. I was salivating in anticipation of the finished product.

I don't know what went wrong. I followed the instructions. The result was kind of hard and dry. The frosting was not moist and shiny. I still ate it over the next few days, but never attempted to bake anything again.

Anymore, people often go to get their cakes made for them.

Robert Hall · November 13

28 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

All of this. Though the second gen CTS did gain a lot of weight in roughly the same footprint and wasn't as nimble. This is when the CTS started chasing the 5-series more seriously and had the interior to do that. Cadillac did this because they knew the ATS was coming. Unfortunately, the CTS grew in size even more for the 3rd generation, and while it did get some nimbleness back, it is nearly the size of the 300C.

The ATS was a fantastic vehicle for sporty driving and if I were single, I'd look at a Turbo-4 coupe with a manual, but they are just too small for more than 2 people.

3rd gen CTS was about the same size as the last STS...within 2 inches of wheelbase and length.

I can see the appeal of the smaller 1st gen CTS for nimbleness and parking. With the length, long wheelbase, width and AWD of the CT6, I'm becoming accustomed to making 3- and 4- point turns in parking lots. Down the road I'm thinking I wouldn't mind an XLR-V or 2nd gen CTS-V coupe for another fun car...

Drew Dowdell · November 13

2 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

It takes something not feeling right (suspected sprain, crick, etc.) to push me to getting to get a massage, so less than a handful of times. The ones that hurt just a little are usually the ones that resolved the issue. (I'm not referring to anything remotely kinky.)

I know baking is something you appreciate. You wouldn't have wanted me to make you a cake. My mom didn't bake many "American" things, so I once decided, as an early teen, that I could make what I wanted and keep it on hand: the marriage of two phenomenal flavors ... orange and chocolate. I'd drool over the boxes in the supermarket aisles with the photos on the cartons. I bought the orange frosting mix and chocolate cake mix. I was salivating in anticipation of the finished product.

I don't know what went wrong. I followed the instructions. The result was kind of hard and dry. The frosting was not moist and shiny. I still ate it over the next few days, but never attempted to bake anything again.

Anymore, people often go to get their cakes made for them.

Albert made me a checkerboard cake and it was delicious.

trinacriabob · November 13

17 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Anyone have a weird longing for a car they sold or traded a while ago? I don't mean something that got wrecked or stolen, that was out of your control. Just a car that you traded/sold but now regret doing that?

That hit me hard today for my 2004 CTS.

It all comes rushing back when I see one on the road, see it on YouTube, or similar.

I miss what could have been - like influencing my parents on their choices. They could have just as easily gone with buckets - the big, comfortable kind - in that first colonnade coupe. I'm talking the Salon or S/R type buckets. No one ever sat where the armrest was and there were rarely more than 3 occupants in the vehicle.

I miss what was - there was nothing quite like the ravine dash with full instrumention in the '88 to '94 Regal coupes (changed for '95 and '96) that I enjoyed looking into as a daily driver for a good number of years, and in a car with stellar reliability.

In general, I mourn the loss of all the personality and luxurious creature comforts older cars had.

Robert Hall · November 13

I miss the colorful interiors and comfortable seats older cars often had.

oldshurst442 · November 13

53 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Albert made me a checkerboard cake and it was delicious.

Looks dee-licious.

I got jealous and looked at our cupboards to find some sort of dessert to eat. There was none but a jar of Nutella. So I grabbed me a spoon and had a couple of spoonfulls.

Now Im relaxing listening to Pink Floyd. Im bored and having nothing to do, so I decided to do...nothing

I kicked off my Pink Floyd mood with this fitting song

Im also comfortbaly numb right now. But I havent reached that song yet.

PS...no drugs. Just the chocolate and hazelut buzz.

Drew Dowdell · November 13

We now also have a status monitoring page.

https://status.cheersandgears.com/

This is independent of our web server and will let you know if things are out of whack and I can put a status message there if we're down.

There is a link at the bottom right of the page if you ever forget.

A Horse With No Name · November 13

On 11/3/2024 at 4:44 AM, trinacriabob said:

Good morning ...

I understand you are a thinking catholic, but 92 plus percent of religion is just so effing toxic.

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I miss the colorful interiors and comfortable seats older cars often had.

Exactly.

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Albert made me a checkerboard cake and it was delicious.

You two just fit together so well.

On 11/3/2024 at 8:40 PM, oldshurst442 said:

Before the start of the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys be like:

We are going to do what they say cant be done. We've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there. Awaiting for a certain someone to sign.

Then he signs. Tremendous signage I might add and then the Cowboys be like

And then for a while, a very SHORT while, they be like

But for the last couple of weeks and today's loss...in more ways than one

I freaking despise the Cowboys.

On 11/7/2024 at 7:29 PM, G. David Felt said:

@oldshurst442 This pretty much sums up just how bad it is going to get.

Trump's economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say | AP News

I so want to renounce my US citizenship. But that is not new, I have felt that way for a decade or so. Would love to retire outside of the United States. Bonus points if I can never see this country again.

A Horse With No Name · November 13

On 11/7/2024 at 7:44 PM, oldshurst442 said:

I say, let it get worse. The people have spoken and this is what the MAJORITY voted for. He even got the popular vote. Therefore the people of America have spoken. This is what they want. This is what they feel comfortable with. But I dont want to hear ANY whining from ANYBODY about what possibly may happen with ~~him~~ Him in power. Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me? Technically this is how that saying goes. But you never know. Maybe it really IS the lefty libtards that are the problem. Hopefully it IS the lefty libtards that are the problem and the Messiah Trump will BE the solution to ALL of our problems.

I will be the first one to apologize if He actually does fix America's and Canada's problems. And unite ALL of the world and the world gets to sing Kumbaya ALL in unison. Hopefully He is the next coming of Christ. Keeping my fingers crossed but I aint holding my breath if you know what I mean.

See my above comment on renouncing US citizenship. Emotionally, I am done supporting the United States. It can literally go f@#k itself.

19 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Anyone have a weird longing for a car they sold or traded a while ago? I don't mean something that got wrecked or stolen, that was out of your control. Just a car that you traded/sold but now regret doing that?

That hit me hard today for my 2004 CTS.

I miss my 1966 Fastback Mustang and my 1955 Chevy. Right now, the only two or three vehicles I find exciting are the Colorado/Canyon, Ranger, and Tacoma. That's it. Like the Subaru Crosstrek from the stand point of a vehicle to get me to hiking trails. But no longing for anything I have owned built post 1966.

Loving this era of Mopar at the moment...

Sad sign of the times at Ohio rest stops.

A Horse With No Name · November 13

Visited this as my last stop on my trip west, it is amazing.

Visiting a bunch of Native American sites, The First Nations Museum in Oklahoma City, a ton of Civil war sites, The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, The high school in Little Rock Arkansas that was at the center of the integration controversy, and realizing so much of our country's troubled past really put the last election into perspective. I think that America is like a grafted tree...the root stock of racism, hate, bigotry, nativism, and misogyny will seemingly always spring back up.

The Mound

From the top of "Monks Mound" you can see St Louis from the top of the mound. The arch should be very visible in this photo.

The whole park feels very much like a sacred space. I really wanted to hike Black Mesa in the far NW corner of Oklahoma but weather prevented that. You can walk to NM and Colorado from the Black Mesa trail, and it is the highest point on Oklahoma.

A Horse With No Name · November 13

Missouri had a surreal beauty all its own...and no that isn't a dig at a member here. The whole experience of hiking in Missouri was wild...I loved it.

More Missouri.

American flag made out of Kansas lic plates.

Route 66 in Kansas....

Robert Hall · November 13

28 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I so want to renounce my US citizenship. But that is not new, I have felt that way for a decade or so. Would love to retire outside of the United States. Bonus points if I can never see this country again.

Alas, I'm too embedded in the US to leave. I like my house and cars, my dogs, my job, my stuff.

If I didn't have any stuff, I'd love to be able to emigrate to either the Yorkshire Dales or Devon coastline of the UK. I love gray, rainy maritime climates. And I am of 99% English ancestry, though going back to the 1700s in the US. Ride the trains around the UK and Europe. Get an old Range Rover and Jaguar XK8 convertible to drive around in.

In the US, I have thought retiring to the coast of Massachusetts or Maine could be quite nice also. Also thinking about an RV. And figuring out how I can retire in 6 years when I'm 60. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of retirement, but my investments are doing well, so it's definitely doable.

Edited November 13 by Robert Hall

A Horse With No Name · November 13

Robert Hall · November 13

6 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Missouri had a surreal beauty all its own...and no that isn't a dig at a member here. The whole experience of hiking in Missouri was wild...I loved it.

More Missouri.

American flag made out of Kansas lic plates.

Route 66 in Kansas....

Neat pics. I've never been to Kansas, only been through Missouri on I-44 and I-70 a few times, never visited any tourist locations or anything away from the freeways.

Edited November 13 by Robert Hall

A Horse With No Name · November 13

Just now, Robert Hall said:

Alas, I'm too embedded in the US to leave. I like my house and cars, my dogs, my job, my stuff.

If I didn't have any stuff, I'd love to be able to emigrate to either the Yorkshire Dales or Devon coastline of the UK. I love gray, rainy maritime climates. I have thought retiring to the coast of Massachusetts or Maine could be quite nice also.

It would be a few years for us. My wife will get a nice pension when she retires from the state of Ohio, and my investments are doing well.

Would mean giving up my woodworking shop, but for a chance to emigrate, I think it would be worth it.

Wife and I exploring a small Kansas town along Route 66.

Brick in a Kansas museum. IT stands for Indian Territory, so it pre dates Kansas.

Woodworking tools in a Kansas Museum, Baxter Springs Kansas.

Fire Engine from the same museum.

A Horse With No Name · November 13

We hiked a bit, this is from Keystone Ancient Forrest, oldest growth forest in Oklahoma.

Keystone Ancient Forest hike.

I decided to visit Oral Roberts University, where my sister thought of attending. She thankfully chose another school 40 or so years ago. But have always wanted to see it. Came to grips with some of the religious trauma in my life, and everyone there was friendly.

From The First Nations Museum in Oklahoma City.

Neat old roadside Ford Truck, Route 66.

Abandoned gas station, Route 66

A Horse With No Name · November 13

Scene from the model railroad at the Amarillo Railroad Museum.

69 Mustang in Traffic. The traffic light actually works!

oldshurst442 · November 13

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I freaking despise the Cowboys.

I knew you would eventually respond to this and in that way. LOL

57 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

See my above comment on renouncing US citizenship. Emotionally, I am done supporting the United States. It can literally go f@#k itself.

Well... NO!!!

I can understand your feelings as we in Canada are going to go through those very same things next year upon our own elections. Albeit our situation is not as dire as yours but...we are going down that very same path though.

As I was listening to music and looking at your travels and pictures, I was almost shedding a tear. Why? Because of your words of renouncing your US citizenship and all the reasons of why you would want to do that because of the state of politics and idiocy in the US. But also because the US is such a beautiful country and why would you want to throw all that away?

You have to FIGHT for your country. Not just let it die away. TOO much progress was made by the very few people that made your country THE best country in the world. It may not seem that way now, but it still is.

I was inspired to write this to you instead of continuing to cry but a surge of anger but determination hit me. Youtube suggested this long forgotten song and ironically, it popped up as I was listening to Pink Floyd.

You cannot let Trump defeat you. You cannot let the idiots that voted for him torment you. You have to claim back the best country in the world from the sickness that is Trumpism.

Your pictures and travels also inspired me to listen to this song. Your travels reminded me of the movie franchise.

And this song. Im almost an American myself. Not quite. Almost. If I choose to become an American citizen I would be granted. Proud to be Canadian. Proud to be of Greek decent. But ALSO proud to be an almost American!!!

oldshurst442 · November 13

G. David Felt · November 13

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I miss the colorful interiors and comfortable seats older cars often had.

That is one thing I love about my 2006 Escalade, Gen 3 Escalades and everyone since have slab hard seats and seem more for performance and short-term driving than road trips. This is why at 200,000 miles I still have my Escalade, but after my experience with the EV9 and comfy road trips in it, the days of the Escalade are limited as Genesis has the GV90 EV coming out plus there is also the EV9 Pickup coming out next year too, so one of them will replace the Escalade.

G. David Felt · November 13

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Alas, I'm too embedded in the US to leave. I like my house and cars, my dogs, my job, my stuff.

If I didn't have any stuff, I'd love to be able to emigrate to either the Yorkshire Dales or Devon coastline of the UK. I love gray, rainy maritime climates. And I am of 99% English ancestry, though going back to the 1700s in the US. Ride the trains around the UK and Europe. Get an old Range Rover and Jaguar XK8 convertible to drive around in.

In the US, I have thought retiring to the coast of Massachusetts or Maine could be quite nice also. Also thinking about an RV. And figuring out how I can retire in 6 years when I'm 60. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of retirement, but my investments are doing well, so it's definitely doable.

Like you, I am very embedded in the PNW with two kids, the grandkids, etc. While I think I will be fine to retire at 70, I am pretty much figure due to the cost of living in the US, going to work till I die. Plus, I like Tech and with my love of winter sports, technology and home movie system with big screen, yes currently at LG 77" C4 OLED TV, but have seen the new 83 and 97 inch OLED TVs that would pretty much make the whole wall a TV. Talk about TOTAL IMMERSION in a Home Theater setup.

Yup, I think I will always work unless I move to the Philippians. I have a friend that retired at 60 and moved there, his $8,000 a month goes so far, beautiful house on the beach, easy sway style lifestyle.

But then I have Grandkids. Latest edition this year is my Cutiepie Kai, he loves tech too.

A Horse With No Name · November 14

1 hour ago, G. David Felt said:

Like you, I am very embedded in the PNW with two kids, the grandkids, etc. While I think I will be fine to retire at 70, I am pretty much figure due to the cost of living in the US, going to work till I die. Plus, I like Tech and with my love of winter sports, technology and home movie system with big screen, yes currently at LG 77" C4 OLED TV, but have seen the new 83 and 97 inch OLED TVs that would pretty much make the whole wall a TV. Talk about TOTAL IMMERSION in a Home Theater setup.

Yup, I think I will always work unless I move to the Philippians. I have a friend that retired at 60 and moved there, his $8,000 a month goes so far, beautiful house on the beach, easy sway style lifestyle.

But then I have Grandkids. Latest edition this year is my Cutiepie Kai, he loves tech too.

Awesome

1 hour ago, G. David Felt said:

That is one thing I love about my 2006 Escalade, Gen 3 Escalades and everyone since have slab hard seats and seem more for performance and short-term driving than road trips. This is why at 200,000 miles I still have my Escalade, but after my experience with the EV9 and comfy road trips in it, the days of the Escalade are limited as Genesis has the GV90 EV coming out plus there is also the EV9 Pickup coming out next year too, so one of them will replace the Escalade.

That sound like a rational option

2 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I knew you would eventually respond to this and in that way. LOL

Well... NO!!!

I can understand your feelings as we in Canada are going to go through those very same things next year upon our own elections. Albeit our situation is not as dire as yours but...we are going down that very same path though.

As I was listening to music and looking at your travels and pictures, I was almost shedding a tear. Why? Because of your words of renouncing your US citizenship and all the reasons of why you would want to do that because of the state of politics and idiocy in the US. But also because the US is such a beautiful country and why would you want to throw all that away?

You have to FIGHT for your country. Not just let it die away. TOO much progress was made by the very few people that made your country THE best country in the world. It may not seem that way now, but it still is.

I was inspired to write this to you instead of continuing to cry but a surge of anger but determination hit me. Youtube suggested this long forgotten song and ironically, it popped up as I was listening to Pink Floyd.

You cannot let Trump defeat you. You cannot let the idiots that voted for him torment you. You have to claim back the best country in the world from the sickness that is Trumpism.

Your pictures and travels also inspired me to listen to this song. Your travels reminded me of the movie franchise.

And this song. Im almost an American myself. Not quite. Almost. If I choose to become an American citizen I would be granted. Proud to be Canadian. Proud to be of Greek decent. But ALSO proud to be an almost American!!!

I really think that America is a good place to eventually be from.

That being said, I love American music. Music is Americas gift to the world. Of at least that much I am proud.

G. David Felt · November 14

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

That being said, I love American music. Music is Americas gift to the world. Of at least that much I am proud.

Just as Europe was to Music in the last few centuries, America topped Europe from the mid 1900's to now, but sadly in the last 4-5 ish years, I would say America has lost talent / folks worthy to listen to and Korea seems to be coming up strong. Yes, it was K-Pop with a few English words, now you have Black Pink, Aliee, Rain and others that are starting to really dominate the world of Music.

Lucky is that we still have the diversity of Music that the Asian Rim has not hit upon. PNW of course has contributed a number of types of Music such as Indie, Grunge, Alternative, Folk, Modern, Jazz, Rock, pretty impressive when you look at what has come from here: Music of the Pacific Northwest - Wikipedia

Will be interesting to see how Music evolves over the coming years due to changes of society in North America due to repressive idiots.

trinacriabob · November 14

With all this discourse, I need some input.

I have put off ... and forgetting about ... my election for the Google Timeline, which is about to sunset. People seem to say it's phasing out for desktop, but will stay on phones. Like others have said, they get more mileage out of it on their desktop/laptop than other their phone ... ditto for me.

Who really benefits from the Timeline? I've looked at it a few times, mostly to be amused.

What election are you or people you know making? What is/will be salvageable? What do you recommend?

Robert Hall · November 14

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

With all this discourse, I need some input.

I have put off ... and forgetting about ... my election for the Google Timeline, which is about to sunset. People seem to say it's phasing out for desktop, but will stay on phones. Like others have said, they get more mileage out of it on their desktop/laptop than other their phone ... ditto for me.

Who really benefits from the Timeline? I've looked at it a few times, mostly to be amused.

What election are you or people you know making? What is/will be salvageable? What do you recommend?

Had to look up what Google Timeline was... apparently a feature of Google Maps. I think I've used it, but several years ago...not something I actively use. I mostly use Waze for navigation. I use Google Maps at home on my laptop when exploring an area/planning a trip then Waze when I'm in the car.

trinacriabob · November 14

59 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Had to look up what Google Timeline was... apparently a feature of Google Maps. I think I've used it, but several years ago...not something I actively use. I mostly use Waze for navigation. I use Google Maps at home on my laptop when exploring an area/planning a trip then Waze when I'm in the car.

Ok, thanks, but what would be the gain or loss related to the Timeline as a specific feature? Why they made a bifurcated yes/no decision on desktop versus phone is weird.

I will continue to use Google Maps. Remember Mapquest? Yikes.

Not to digress, but I use the Moovit app with great success when it comes to planning rides on transit. It resets itself to the metro area you are in and seems to do a slightly better job than Google Maps.

Robert Hall · November 14

4 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Ok, thanks, but what would be the gain or loss related to the Timeline as a specific feature? Why they made a bifurcated yes/no decision on desktop versus phone is weird.

Not sure...I'm not using it, so apparently it wasn't that useful to me...wherever I've gone, I've been there. Having on the phone only makes sense because you have to have location services turned on for it to gather data, and your phone is always with you, so...

A Horse With No Name · November 14

Music for Thursday.

Elon Musk is a moron of biblical proportions.

I so want to visit Europe next year.

My German Thorens TD 160 turntable, still spinning fine after almost 50 years.

An actual soup can from the 1960's,,,

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