Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

The classic car carnage is apparently sadly rather high from these fires. 

Southern California has such an active automotive scene, I hate to think of what is lost. Olds Toranado content warnong for Drew...

As green as I try to be, there is one thing I disagree with on the side of state/county/city government and that is the let them build 6 ft apart building. Building wall to the property line of 3ft and then another 3ft to the wall of the next dwelling. This close building is also a cause and fault of the politicians who favor more property tax over safety and space. As such, the density has allowed these fires to destroy whole sections of LA and it is not over yet. I have plenty of family impacted in the greater LA area with some having lost their homes. SAD  

[A Horse With No Name]

You see the same thing with lumber farms in Oregon, David. Trees planted way to close together, use up all of the available water, and create a huge fire hazard when one starts.

With global warming, a day of reckoning is coming, and it won't be nice.

 

[G. David Felt]

1 minute ago, A Horse With No Name said:

You see the same thing with lumber farms in Oregon, David. Trees planted way to close together, use up all of the available water, and create a huge fire hazard when one starts.

With global warming, a day of reckoning is coming, and it won't be nice.

Yes, Canada also did the stupid thing of allowing tree planting way to close together to maximize tree output and yet the climate change has then ended up killing large sections of the trees, ending in very terrible forest fires as I remember 2019 and all the ash coming down from Canada over Washington.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, G. David Felt said:

Yes, Canada also did the stupid thing of allowing tree planting way to close together to maximize tree output and yet the climate change has then ended up killing large sections of the trees, ending in very terrible forest fires as I remember 2019 and all the ash coming down from Canada over Washington.

My son took a driving test in the middle of the day, had to use his headlights for the test when this happened.

Human stupidity is epic.

[A Horse With No Name]

How modern Americans don't respect each others boundaries....

Three minutes of your time...worth it.

The whole video, actually...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Wood fired pottery is so awesome!

[A Horse With No Name]

Not Just LA with problems...

[A Horse With No Name]

Saab similar to DFelts old trailbalzer.

[G. David Felt]

43 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Saab similar to DFelts old trailbalzer.

I honestly do not know where to begin on the things wrong in that video, but I do agree with him that the best part was the engine to pull out and toss the rest away in the trash.

[A Horse With No Name]

I actually like this era of T bird. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

For Drew, since I have posted for others. 

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

This is an amazing car!

 

[trinacriabob]

On 1/13/2025 at 1:06 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

Not Just LA with problems...

It is a little out of control.  A lot of rich foreign buyers have these units.  They probably don't live there and I wouldn't expect the towers to feel all that neighborly.

I will say that driving down the A1a and Collins Avenue from Lauderdale to Miami Beach is a feast of architectural eye candy.  A lot of it is flashy but a few of the structures, both older and new, are nicely done.  The Fontainebleau is one, for damn sure.  (Think "Goldfinger.") A room at the Fontainebleau set me back $99 before taxes in '99.  Is a pool/ocean view available?  Ha.  Not for that price.  The room looked out onto Collins Avenue and toward the Intracoastal.  No complaints.

The problem with South Florida is also the sprawl, with so many 6-lane boulevards where people drive too fast and endless swaths of soulless office parks.

Then there's San Francisco and its Millennium Tower with its issues.

Miami was once "reasonably" priced.  It has gotten much more expensive, especially in the last 5 to 10 years, yet also far more stressful to live in.  Then, take your pick - plastic people or people who don't speak English ... not much else. Hey, doesn't that sound a lot like the L.A. of today?

[trinacriabob]

The LaX would have been 17 today.

I was trying to have fun with it and eke out a 20 year old car.  With so many 2002 to 2004 Aleros on the road, for example, and in great shape, that tells me it was feasible.

I've moved on, but the memories are fond.

[A Horse With No Name]

48 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

It is a little out of control.  A lot of rich foreign buyers have these units.  They probably don't live there and I wouldn't expect the towers to feel all that neighborly.

I will say that driving down the A1a and Collins Avenue from Lauderdale to Miami Beach is a feast of architectural eye candy.  A lot of it is flashy but a few of the structures, both older and new, are nicely done.  The Fontainebleau is one, for damn sure.  (Think "Goldfinger.") A room at the Fontainebleau set me back $99 before taxes in '99.  Is a pool/ocean view available?  Ha.  Not for that price.  The room looked out onto Collins Avenue and toward the Intracoastal.  No complaints.

The problem with South Florida is also the sprawl, with so many 6-lane boulevards where people drive too fast and endless swaths of soulless office parks.

Then there's San Francisco and its Millennium Tower with its issues.

Miami was once "reasonably" priced.  It has gotten much more expensive, especially in the last 5 to 10 years, yet also far more stressful to live in.  Then, take your pick - plastic people or people who don't speak English ... not much else. Hey, doesn't that sound a lot like the L.A. of today?

I vote for real folks who don't speak English, please. Learning Spanish as rapidly as I can.

[trinacriabob]

Random thought and pet peeve:

Why the f*** do they position ellipticals so you're staring right into a ceiling  height wall of mirrors?  For 20 to 30 minutes?  I wouldn't have wanted that when I was 20 or 30.  It's obnoxious.

I've seen the glass or mirrors be located behind the ellipticals or treadmills.  Maybe they worry that someone getting off them might move too far back and hit the mirrored wall.  That's the only thing I can think of.

There is a lot of crappy design and layout of exercise facilities.

[A Horse With No Name]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Random thought and pet peeve:

Why the f*** do they position ellipticals so you're staring right into a ceiling  height wall of mirrors?  For 20 to 30 minutes?  I wouldn't have wanted that when I was 20 or 30.  It's obnoxious.

I've seen the glass or mirrors be located behind the ellipticals or treadmills.  Maybe they worry that someone getting off them might move too far back and hit the mirrored wall.  That's the only thing I can think of.

There is a lot of crappy design and layout of exercise facilities.

They don't have that at the gym I use.

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]