Random Thoughts Thread

[Robert Hall]

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Auugggghhhh....I worked for Wells Fargo in Chandler, AZ from 2009 to 2011...what a truly, deeply awful company...absolute sweatshop environment in IT/Software Development.    Too many 70 hr weeks, 5am emergency calls, Friday night implementations...not to mention a 50 mile round trip commute in awful traffic... in 2011, after 3 people in my 25 person department had heart attacks in 6 months (one fatal), I had had enough.  And I went somewhere even worse--McKesson, home of 90hr work weeks... I don't miss any of that.

 

Edited Sunday at 09:55 PM by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Thought this was an interesting drawing of two women, you can't quite tell what is going on, a bit of mystery to the art. So many stories in such a simple hand drawn picture. 

I went into Walmart last night and got a "Pat."  These types are generally not friendly to me because I might appear Republican and conservative, so I am the establishment. (Yeah ... right ... eye roll)  However, this one was nice to me.

[oldshurst442]

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

A violent lass....she seems so full of remorse...

Literally phoque around

and find out

 

I say good on her!!!  That lyin' cheatin' bastehd wont be cheatin' anymore.  Good lookin' too.  Probably smaht as well as she more than likely succesfully calculated on how to convinced him to look at their wedding photos to slam it shut on his nuts. 

[A Horse With No Name]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Auugggghhhh....I worked for Wells Fargo in Chandler, AZ from 2009 to 2011...what a truly, deeply awful company...absolute sweatshop environment in IT/Software Development.    Too many 70 hr weeks, 5am emergency calls, Friday night impelmentations...not to mention a 50 mile round trip commute in awful traffic... in 2011, after 3 people in my 25 person department had heart attacks in 6 months (one fatal), I had had enough.  And I went somewhere even worse--McKesson, home of 90hr work weeks... I don't miss any of that.

 

Its unreal what employers expect

Studying aviation accidents. This was a plane that was destroyed in an accident....wild livery/paint scheme. Kind of a good looking plane in a way. 

https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/318833

[A Horse With No Name]

One of the planes that hit the world trade center. A co worker at the time had his wife planning on taking that flight, she got to the airport late that morning and missed the flight...needless to say he was a bit frantic for a few at work that day.

Lufthansa 747 lost on takeoff in the early 1970's....

[A Horse With No Name]

The Korean Airlines plane lost because navigational errors took them into Russian airspace...

The air cargo 747 destroyed in Afghanistan due to improper flight loading/securing of cargo. 

Love this livery.  Might be one of my favorite 747 liveries. 

Every accident is so interesting in terms of human/mechanical failure of some sort...

The South African accident was one of the most interesting to me. 

[A Horse With No Name]

She is such a pretty girl in this picture, I feel like she is a beautiful woman about to be murdered, given her future...

Memorial to the crew/passengers lost....

Pictures of the plane on the bottom of the ocean....amazing that we can dive deep like that. 

The Iran Air civilian Airbus A 300 our military mistakenly shot down. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Last pic, the A 340 that crashed in Toronto, everyone made it off, amazingly. 

Somebody's thanksgiving dinner, not mine. 

 

The Raisins in concert in Cincinnati. They broke up as a band in 1885, folks convinced them to get back together to do a few shows. 

Went last night, fantastic show. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Woodward, the 1913 theater where they played

Two of my Debate Students, Rinee and Vai, after getting an award...

Last picture-From a hike in Missouri. I urgently need to be back on the road, or trail again. Feeling footloose. 

[G. David Felt]

Have to say that Nissan had every chance to own the EV world and someone fell asleep at the wheel when they launched the LEAF and did not move fast enough to capitalize on the market, the tech, etc.. I can easily see the brand dying by 2030.

'Real reason' for Nissan collapse revealed as finance chief steps down

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Last pic, the A 340 that crashed in Toronto, everyone made it off, amazingly. 

This is the one I remember well.  It went all the way down the runway, kept going, and then down an embankment next to the 401, a 16, +/-, highway/freeway north of Toronto and inboard from Lake Ontario.  Everyone got out.  It was raining heavily as this A340 was landing.

[G. David Felt]

6 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Last pic, the A 340 that crashed in Toronto, everyone made it off, amazingly. 

Somebody's thanksgiving dinner, not mine. 

 

The Raisins in concert in Cincinnati. They broke up as a band in 1885, folks convinced them to get back together to do a few shows. 

Went last night, fantastic show. 

Heavy PASS on the Creamed Possum.

Are you sure they broke up in 1885??????????

[ccap41]

On 11/29/2024 at 3:57 PM, oldshurst442 said:

Its true that I havent seen you complain the last 4 years. But I havent seen you LIVID about that little stunt Trump pulled on election night in November 2020 and leading up to January 6 2021.

It's simply because I don't care. I don't care about politics. It is a complete waste of energy to get riled up about politics. It does me no good to worry about them. I live a happier life not worrying about something I have no control over.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

It's simply because I don't care. I don't care about politics. It is a complete waste of energy to get riled up about politics. It does me no good to worry about them. I live a happier life not worrying about something I have no control over.

Right now I am spending lots of time lsitening to music. It's keeping me sane. 

15 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Heavy PASS on the Creamed Possum.

Are you sure they broke up in 1885??????????

1985

17 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

This is the one I remember well.  It went all the way down the runway, kept going, and then down an embankment next to the 401, a 16, +/-, highway/freeway north of Toronto and inboard from Lake Ontario.  Everyone got out.  It was raining heavily as this A340 was landing.

That whole thing was a miracle. 

19 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Have to say that Nissan had every chance to own the EV world and someone fell asleep at the wheel when they launched the LEAF and did not move fast enough to capitalize on the market, the tech, etc.. I can easily see the brand dying by 2030.

'Real reason' for Nissan collapse revealed as finance chief steps down

Survival of the fittest, car market needs to consolidate and change. 

Todays bizzar post....

 

[A Horse With No Name]

So a funny story, was listening to music and decided to watch a short you tube video, and listen through my stereo system.

Changed input on my WiiM from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth. Finished my short video and went upstairs. Was controlling volume through my phone, had the main volume and subwoofer all the way up at the pre amp.

 

My wife was working out in the basement…I decided to watch a couple of airplanes take off on YouTube while I got ready for bed upstairs. Forgot I had set the WiiM input to Bluetooth.

 

Turned the volume all the way up thinking I was just turning up my IPhone…needless to say the takeoff video rattled the windows and nearly vibrated the plates out of the kitchen cabinets.

 

Wife ran upstairs and was like…what happened, sounded like an airplane just took off in our living room….

 

Who knew that an Airbus A350 at full takeoff thrust was NOT a way to endear myself to my wife?

[A Horse With No Name]

 

Few neat old convrtibles in this video.

Music cover for Monday

 

[ccap41]

15 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Right now I am spending lots of time listening to music. It's keeping me sane.

It's a MUCH better way to spend time than worrying about politics. 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

It's a MUCH better way to spend time than worrying about politics. 

Yeah....I have dumped some coin on vinyl, but having the time of my life!

15 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Heavy PASS on the Creamed Possum.

Are you sure they broke up in 1885??????????

They just live like it's 1885, they ar an Amish band....(just kidding!)

[trinacriabob]

14 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Who knew that an Airbus A350 at full takeoff thrust was NOT a way to endear myself to my wife?

I probably already mentioned it.  I got to fly on one RT for the first time this summer.  I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.  In economy, it's better for the operator ($) than it is for the passenger.  My 2 cents.

Also, thank goodness that everyone also made it out of that JAL A350 that got clipped on the runway or taxiway at a major Japanese airport.

[G. David Felt]

This is so true; I expect another market move like this next year. Gonna be interesting to see how it plays out and when.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/the-s-p-500-is-set-for-back-to-back-20-gains-what-history-says-happens-next/ar-AA1v1chk?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=7366086103ae4cc3ba1d0991a4b9b142&ei=71

WOW, International investments in our stock market is up to 70% now, greater than ever before and at a peak that is indicating a giant bubble about to pop.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/an-overhyped-us-market-is-stoking-the-mother-of-all-bubbles-market-expert-says/ar-AA1v87YR?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=7366086103ae4cc3ba1d0991a4b9b142&ei=95

[G. David Felt]

This is interesting and why I do not buy cheap 3rd party parts.

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Buy A Knockoff NACS To CCS Adapter

[G. David Felt]

Seems GM is extending their battery agreement and yet also unloading their ownership in the battery plants.

GM and LG Energy Solution extend battery technology partnership

GM to sell stake in Lansing battery cell plant to partner LG Energy Solution

Interesting times we live in. Should be very interesting to see who is king of the EV sales at this time next year.

[oldshurst442]

8 hours ago, ccap41 said:

It's simply because I don't care. I don't care about politics. It is a complete waste of energy to get riled up about politics. It does me no good to worry about them. I live a happier life not worrying about something I have no control over.

Common buddy.  (Im saying that with my utmost sincerity)

You know the last statement (the bolded part) you made NOT to be true.  Americans especially, have worked very very hard to earn their rights and freedoms since 1776. (The birth of your country) And along the way, many many battles have been fought  to ensure freedoms for their citizens. And I do NOT mean war battles but those too have been fought to ensure rights and freedoms in your country.  The one good thing about America is that you HAVE freedoms and if you, in general you, dont cherish and continue to fight for those freedoms, you will INSTANTLY lose those freedoms and then you wont be able to live a happier life...   Its one of those things that you dont know what you;ve got until its gone...   Last time I checked, the right to vote and the right to contest and the right to propose and the right to thought right to express an opinion is alive and well in America. And the ONLY way to ensure the survival of said rights is that you HAVE to worry about it and you HAVE to PARTICIPATE in your freedoms to ensure they continue to exist.  This is what is called living in a democratic nation. And in fact, it is your DUTY to particpate...

Yes CCAP, you actually DO have the power to change shyte in YOUR country. American rights and freedoms in your constitution PERMIT you that right.   I wrote a list above on what rights you have.  In the US, you have legal channels that you could go to, to ensure that your rights and freedoms stay alive.

Women burned their bras in the 60s to fortify their equal rights to man. 

Rosa Parks defied a bus driver so she sat wherever the phoque she wanted to sit to ensure black people not be second class citizens.

Just a few examples.  Some battles took a while to win. Some are STILL being fought DESPITE major progress because their is STILL a long ways to go, but the right for RIGHTS is PROTECTED in your country. 

And hopefully you could see what is happening now politically in your country, democracy is at a very fragile place.  And you HAVE to care because if you turn a blind eye to it, it will disappear.  It might not be with Trump. It might be in 2 elections from now with an even MORE brazen politician than Trump. But if too many American citizens have a laisser faire attitude, then start kissing your constitution good-bye.  

 

Edited Monday at 11:14 PM by oldshurst442

[G. David Felt]

49 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Common buddy.  (Im saying that with my utmost sincerity)

You know the last statement (the bolded part) you made NOT to be true.  Americans especially, have worked very very hard to earn their rights and freedoms since 1776. (The birth of your country) And along the way, many many battles have been fought  to ensure freedoms for their citizens. And I do NOT mean war battles but those too have been fought to ensure rights and freedoms in your country.  The one good thing about America is that you HAVE freedoms and if you, in general you, dont cherish and continue to fight for those freedoms, you will INSTANTLY lose those freedoms and then you wont be able to live a happier life...   Its one of those things that you dont know what you;ve got until its gone...   Last time I checked, the right to vote and the right to contest and the right to propose and the right to thought right to express an opinion is alive and well in America. And the ONLY way to ensure the survival of said rights is that you HAVE to worry about it and you HAVE to PARTICIPATE in your freedoms to ensure they continue to exist.  This is what is called living in a democratic nation. And in fact, it is your DUTY to particpate...

Yes CCAP, you actually DO have the power to change shyte in YOUR country. American rights and freedoms in your constitution PERMIT you that right.   I wrote a list above on what rights you have.  In the US, you have legal channels that you could go to, to ensure that your rights and freedoms stay alive.

Women burned their bras in the 60s to fortify their equal rights to man. 

Rosa Parks defied a bus driver so she sat wherever the phoque she wanted to sit to ensure black people not be second class citizens.

Just a few examples.  Some battles took a while to win. Some are STILL being fought DESPITE major progress because their is STILL a long ways to go, but the right for RIGHTS is PROTECTED in your country. 

And hopefully you could see what is happening now politically in your country, democracy is at a very fragile place.  And you HAVE to care because if you turn a blind eye to it, it will disappear.  It might not be with Trump. It might be in 2 elections from now with an even MORE brazen politician than Trump. But if too many American citizens have a laisser faire attitude, then start kissing your constitution good-bye.  

 

Freedom is never free, both of my grandfathers who fought in WWII and were drill sergeants at camp Pendelton till they retired always told me that every man has the responsibility to stand up to people who wish to take away the freedom of our fellow citizens. One must never give up defending the constitution of our country and the rights for equality for all humans.

I will always do my best to defend everyone and fight against the Narcissistic fascist individuals who wish to belittle those they do not consider human. All humans have a right to live free and without fear of persecution by hate filled racist thinking. Hopefully Idiot47 will go six feet under sooner rather than later.

[oldshurst442]

Im wondering how on earth can 1 ceo be paid 56 billon dollars?  Im having trouble understanding a 56 million dollar salary so Im having quite the time right now trying to figure out a 56 billion dollar one.  

A judge refused to let the company pay him that much and he, the ceo in question, through a tantrum. 

I guess he threw a tantrum because his plan to feed the hungry with that 56 billion dollar salary was thwarted. Not even with the help of open source accounting  could he ever do anything to help...  Like there is nothing he could do... 

And Christmas is...JUST around the corner.  Poor little Tiny Tim.  And poor ole ceo.  He might just get a visit from the Ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.  

Sad story. Sad sad story indeed.  

 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

Im wondering how on earth can 1 ceo be paid 56 billon dollars?  Im having trouble understanding a 56 million dollar salary so Im having quite the time right now trying to figure out a 56 billion dollar one.  

A judge refused to let the company pay him that much and he, the ceo in question, through a tantrum. 

I guess he threw a tantrum because his plan to feed the hungry with that 56 billion dollar salary was thwarted. Not even with the help of open source accounting  could he ever do anything to help...  Like there is nothing he could do... 

And Christmas is...JUST around the corner.  Poor little Tiny Tim.  And poor ole ceo.  He might just get a visit from the Ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.  

Sad story. Sad sad story indeed.  

 

Yes, I read the story and am so happy that he shot himself in the foot and will not get his $56 Billion dollar pay day that he feels he deserves as he created Tesla, WRONG, he did not, He Created everything as the God he believes he is in his little mind. According to the web, he created X.com a online digital pay system that predated Google transactions but was struggling due to people feeling the X.com was an adult web site. You can read the whole story here, if it was not growing up in a wealthy family in south africa and then coming to america illegally and getting help to stay and start his company, he would never have been what he is now and yet he hates illegals. Go figure.

Here is how he got started.

Did Elon Musk Create PayPal? Remembering His Fintech History

Here is the news story on the pay package failure.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-loses-bid-to-get-56-billion-pay-package-reinstated/ar-AA1v9clp?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=9ca0fe8f80d34fea9f9b2a429fa07658&ei=69

 

[ccap41]

15 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

Common buddy.  (Im saying that with my utmost sincerity)

You know the last statement (the bolded part) you made NOT to be true.  Americans especially, have worked very very hard to earn their rights and freedoms since 1776. (The birth of your country) And along the way, many many battles have been fought  to ensure freedoms for their citizens. And I do NOT mean war battles but those too have been fought to ensure rights and freedoms in your country.  The one good thing about America is that you HAVE freedoms and if you, in general you, dont cherish and continue to fight for those freedoms, you will INSTANTLY lose those freedoms and then you wont be able to live a happier life...   Its one of those things that you dont know what you;ve got until its gone...   Last time I checked, the right to vote and the right to contest and the right to propose and the right to thought right to express an opinion is alive and well in America. And the ONLY way to ensure the survival of said rights is that you HAVE to worry about it and you HAVE to PARTICIPATE in your freedoms to ensure they continue to exist.  This is what is called living in a democratic nation. And in fact, it is your DUTY to particpate...

Yes CCAP, you actually DO have the power to change shyte in YOUR country. American rights and freedoms in your constitution PERMIT you that right.   I wrote a list above on what rights you have.  In the US, you have legal channels that you could go to, to ensure that your rights and freedoms stay alive.

Women burned their bras in the 60s to fortify their equal rights to man. 

Rosa Parks defied a bus driver so she sat wherever the phoque she wanted to sit to ensure black people not be second class citizens.

Just a few examples.  Some battles took a while to win. Some are STILL being fought DESPITE major progress because their is STILL a long ways to go, but the right for RIGHTS is PROTECTED in your country. 

And hopefully you could see what is happening now politically in your country, democracy is at a very fragile place.  And you HAVE to care because if you turn a blind eye to it, it will disappear.  It might not be with Trump. It might be in 2 elections from now with an even MORE brazen politician than Trump. But if too many American citizens have a laisser faire attitude, then start kissing your constitution good-bye.  

 

I do my research on the candidates and vote. That's it. I won't throw a fit whether party B or party A wins. Just because I don't let it bother me, doesn't mean I don't "participate". 

15 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

And you HAVE to care because if you turn a blind eye to it, it will disappear. 

I'll let you do that for me, because I don't want to. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I"m getting the Avalanche inspected today at the dealer where @HoLottaBuicks works and he let me test drive the Denali EV on a short jaunt. I came away very impressed... as I should since the sticker is $102k. 

But beyond all the stats we know of about the EV drivetrain, the interior was very nicely made with nice materials and finishes. The exception being parts of the door panels felt a bit plasticy.   It rides like a luxury sedan, though I didn't put it into sport mode or anything to see if the suspension firms up.  I would need more time to explore the screens. It's a bit hard to navigate the main screen because a lot of the icons are the same color, so you have to actually read what the app does.   The back seat is much roomier than my truck. 

I still object to having to buy a separate data plan just to use the apps I already use on my phone. 

Overall it is a great truck, but $102k is a bit steep. 

[oldshurst442]

27 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

 

I'll let you do that for me, because I don't want to. 

Unfortunately, that is how democracy fails.  When you dont want to worry about…well…about your rights. 
It takes EVERYBODY in the village to protect democracy.

I understand where you stand. But that kind of attitude and you will be kissing your freedoms away. This is what happens when too many dont worry about it and one nefarious individual with minions attempts to steal several rights away. 



 

 

[ccap41]

21 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I"m getting the Avalanche inspected today at the dealer where @HoLottaBuicks works and he let me test drive the Denali EV on a short jaunt. I came away very impressed... as I should since the sticker is $102k. 

But beyond all the stats we know of about the EV drivetrain, the interior was very nicely made with nice materials and finishes. The exception being parts of the door panels felt a bit plasticy.   It rides like a luxury sedan, though I didn't put it into sport mode or anything to see if the suspension firms up.  I would need more time to explore the screens. It's a bit hard to navigate the main screen because a lot of the icons are the same color, so you have to actually read what the app does.   The back seat is much roomier than my truck. 

I still object to having to buy a separate data plan just to use the apps I already use on my phone. 

Overall it is a great truck, but $102k is a bit steep. 

Those new Sierra EVs seem like one heck of a vehicle overall. 

The price (obviously) and the app situation are really the only two downsides I see in that truck. 

8 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Unfortunately, that is how democracy fails.  When you dont want to worry about…well…about your rights. 
It takes EVERYBODY in the village to protect democracy.

I understand where you stand. But that kind of attitude and you will be kissing your freedoms away. This is what happens when too many dont worry about it and one nefarious individual with minions attempts to steal several rights away. 
 

Well, bye bye freedoms! I'll see them on the other side! Hopefully they only make one trip to my house for my freedoms and guns. No point in making two trips. 

[G. David Felt]

@oldshurst442 This story would imply that China just Bought Trump!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/crypto-mogul-who-ate-a-6-2-million-banana-gives-trump-an-18-million-payday/ar-AA1vchzY?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=b60e3238d38c4360c2bbcb1e2f148b2b&ei=45

[G. David Felt]

This has me cracking up today. He did a great job on pushing back against the MAGA Morons.

 

[G. David Felt]

Interesting read on what could happen next year here in the U.S.

South Korea’s Warning for Washington