Random Thoughts Thread

[trinacriabob]

11 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Anyone ever just want to liquidate everything and go live in a cabin in the woods away from everyone?

You fix one thing and break another with this one.

It would be like "Green Acres."

You might get fresh air, scenery, and piece and quiet.  You will give up access to culture, gain neighbors who lost half of their teeth to meth, and not be liked by hicks for being a city slicker.  Add bears and mountain lions. Pick a side of this equation.  I find that the best solution is a good suburb of an urban area. In my world, hipsters gentrifying older neighborhoods does not mean culture.  What they generally change is increasing the availability of nifty coffeehouses and bistros.  Which is fine.  Rents and prices also go up on account of that niftiness.

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

20 hours ago, balthazar said:

Clothing- a necessary evil.

"necessary"?  Not necessarily 

Edited September 20, 2018 by ocnblu

[Robert Hall]

6 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

You fix one thing and break another with this one.

It would be like "Green Acres."

You might get fresh air, scenery, and piece and quiet.  You will give up access to culture, gain neighbors who lost half of their teeth to meth, and not be liked by hicks for being a city slicker.  Add bears and mountain lions. Pick a side of this equation.  I find that the best solution is a good suburb of an urban area. In my world, hipsters gentrifying older neighborhoods does not mean culture.  What they generally change is increasing the availability of nifty coffeehouses and bistros.  Which is fine.  Rents and prices also go up on account of that niftiness.

 I've lived in suburbanish neighborhoods of big cities, a couple small towns, college towns, a resort/fishing town in Florida,  and rural in Ohio...I like my leafy suburb I'm in now.  Very quiet, lots of green and trees, critters, but close to major freeways and the airport, a national park and metro area parks, tons of restaurants around, close to downtown and the symphony, museums, arts, etc.  Second choice would be a college town close to a big city.  I enjoy traveling in rural areas to see the outdoors, but I couldn't live that way again.  

[G. David Felt]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I know that Tommy Bahama exists but I don't know what their stuff is all about.  Is it even slightly Jimmy Buffett like?  I've just passed it by.  My suits are gone or, should I say, I'm down to 4 that I like.  They were bargains on good brands from the Nordstrom Rack.  I love to find bargains in ties, too.  I have both maroon and pale green mono-color ties in bas relief paisley that look sharp.  However, these days, I dress casual and feel too dressed up when I have the suit and tie on.  I certainly wouldn't walk into a car dealer's service department to have a service order written up looking like that. 

Tommy Bahama makes high quality cloths that do cover the Jimmy Buffett style as well as more business casual wear. The company tagline is one swing at a time.

Tommy Bahama website

They cover from swim wear to houseware. It is all about the casual relaxing lifestyle. After all you can go Island Zone in clothes to more city zone in style. They even have a Tommy Bahama NFL collection for Men and Woman. I will say that their Restaurants are awesome. Top notch service and outstanding food. Worth going to if you are in one of the markets that has a place. Stores & Restaurants Locations

Hope you can make it someday as I really love the food.

If nothing else they do deliver some of their food items such as the yummy Pina Colada Cake.

 

[balthazar]

[ccap41]

10 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

required business wear w/ ties in the office from Labor Day through Memorial Day on Mon-Thur...unusual in software engineering, esp. in Arizona which was usually pretty casual.  Eventually dropped the tie requirement.

That is exactly how my current position is/was. When I first started it was the tie from Labor Day through Memorial Day except Fridays and then last year they canceled the tie unless we were meeting with people where business attire was required. I loved losing the tie. 

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I find that the best solution is a good suburb of an urban area.

Perfect, imo. 

[Robert Hall]

5 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

That is exactly how my current position is/was. When I first started it was the tie from Labor Day through Memorial Day except Fridays and then last year they canceled the tie unless we were meeting with people where business attire was required. I loved losing the tie. 

 

What I found funny about my place was is after 17 years in IT (at that time), I'd never had to wear a tie.  

Maybe a cultural thing about being a Caribbean-based insurance company.   I can understand for sales people and execs, but I'm a software consultant in IT working in the bowels of their systems and websites..I don't interact w/ the upper management or sales. 

[ccap41]

6 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

What I found funny about my place was is after 17 years in IT (at that time), I'd never had to wear a tie.  

Maybe a cultural thing about being a Caribbean-based insurance company.   I can understand for sales people and execs, but I'm a software consultant in IT working in the bowels of their systems and websites..I don't interact w/ the upper management or sales. 

Yeah that's kind of how this was. I'm in the back office of a financial institute where we literally aren't even allowed to talk to clients in my department yet everybody had the same dress code, including IT, until they changed it.

[G. David Felt]

Seems really stupid for companies to enforce a mandatory tie policy of fancy clothes for everyone especially when the bulk of the employees never interact with the customer.

[Robert Hall]

7 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Yeah that's kind of how this was. I'm in the back office of a financial institute where we literally aren't even allowed to talk to clients in my department yet everybody had the same dress code, including IT, until they changed it.

Yeah, even when I was at Wells Fargo I didn't have to wear a tie... and they really were locked down and IT was in it's own buildings separate from everyone else.. 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Yeah, even when I was at Wells Fargo I didn't have to wear a tie... and they really were locked down and IT was in it's own buildings separate from everyone else.. 

Makes me think of the great movie named "Hidden Figures."  You should see the cars in that movie.

Sometimes, it seems like IT is relegated to the back office and flashy sales people, who I tend to dislike, are front and center.  That tells me of a corporate culture that's a little off.  I was never the biggest fan of marketing majors, fwiw ... way different from the number crunching types who thought in practical ways.  And, hey, since we all like cars, it's proof that people can be creative and practical at the same time.

[G. David Felt]

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/09/18/european-bicycle-speed-record-set-porsche-cayenne/

This story makes me question just how real world records are when you have other devices making special cocoons of air voids or towing to a certain point before said bike can work. These are not real world tests. They are Failures IMHO. No external items should be allowed in attempting to make a world record.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Makes me think of the great movie named "Hidden Figures."  You should see the cars in that movie.

Sometimes, it seems like IT is relegated to the back office and flashy sales people, who I tend to dislike, are front and center.  That tells me of a corporate culture that's a little off.  I was never the biggest fan of marketing majors, fwiw ... way different from the number crunching types who thought in practical ways.  And, hey, since we all like cars, it's proof that people can be creative and practical at the same time.

That movie is on my to-watch list.    It is interesting how IT is handled in different companies..I've worked in several companies where IT was sort of secondary--they weren't software companies--but in verticals like banking, insurance, aviation...and worked at others that were established or startup software companies, and software consulting firms--where the software and technical skill is the product..  cost center vs profile center is how I've heard IT described. 

Edited September 19, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[G. David Felt]

My boss lives in Durham NC and this is the stream behind his house.

Morgan Creek Sept 13th 2018

Morgan Creek Sept 17th 2018

Florence is leaving her mark on that area of the country that will change many things. So much water.

[ccap41]

8 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Morgan Creek Sept 17th 2018

[Drew Dowdell]

SOmething like a trillion gallons of water dropped on the Carolinas in a couple of days.

[G. David Felt]

V12 1940 Lincoln Continental for Sale to a good home.

@balthazar I think this could meet your sizing needs for a spacious car!

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/lincoln/continental/1987481.html

Certain people can crucify me later, but think if you built this car with an electric powertrain and had that front as a Frunk to complement the trunk. Talk about quiet, roomy and who cares how much luggage you wanted to bring. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Me! Me! I have a good home!

5 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Yeah that's kind of how this was. I'm in the back office of a financial institute where we literally aren't even allowed to talk to clients in my department yet everybody had the same dress code, including IT, until they changed it.

 

5 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

What I found funny about my place was is after 17 years in IT (at that time), I'd never had to wear a tie.  

Maybe a cultural thing about being a Caribbean-based insurance company.   I can understand for sales people and execs, but I'm a software consultant in IT working in the bowels of their systems and websites..I don't interact w/ the upper management or sales. 

 

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

Seems really stupid for companies to enforce a mandatory tie policy of fancy clothes for everyone especially when the bulk of the employees never interact with the customer.

 

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Makes me think of the great movie named "Hidden Figures."  You should see the cars in that movie.

Sometimes, it seems like IT is relegated to the back office and flashy sales people, who I tend to dislike, are front and center.  That tells me of a corporate culture that's a little off.  I was never the biggest fan of marketing majors, fwiw ... way different from the number crunching types who thought in practical ways.  And, hey, since we all like cars, it's proof that people can be creative and practical at the same time.

I have a very relaxed dress code where I work.  It's all the other painful bueracrazy that I'm finding I can no longer handle. 

[G. David Felt]

Anyone want a Jaguar Pickup, AKA F150 with a nose job?

http://www.thedrive.com/news/23631/someone-gave-this-ford-f-150-the-strangest-jaguar-s-type-makeover

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

@balthazar I think this could meet your sizing needs for a spacious car!

 

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/lincoln/continental/1987481.html

Certain people can crucify me later, but think if you built this car with an electric powertrain and had that front as a Frunk to complement the trunk. Talk about quiet, roomy and who cares how much luggage you wanted to bring. 

It's 100 grand- no one is going to buy a $100 grand car, spend $25000 to convert it over and make it worth maybe $20K. Just get a clean Ford Transit Connect and EV that if a silent ride is Priority One.

[G. David Felt]

18 minutes ago, balthazar said:

It's 100 grand- no one is going to buy a $100 grand car, spend $25000 to convert it over and make it worth maybe $20K. Just get a clean Ford Transit Connect and EV that if a silent ride is Priority One.

 For you I figure you would want the car as is. For me, if I found an old car cheaply that looked like this, restoring would be with a modern powertrain. 

[balthazar]

"old car cheap that looked like this" - good luck with that!!

[ocnblu]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

"old car cheap that looked like this" - good luck with that!!

Amazing isn't it?  Must be radiation from Japan.

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

*very limited delivery area

[Robert Hall]

13 hours ago, dfelt said:

Anyone want a Jaguar Pickup, AKA F150 with a nose job?

 

http://www.thedrive.com/news/23631/someone-gave-this-ford-f-150-the-strangest-jaguar-s-type-makeover

LoL...well, Ford did own Jaguar back then...so it's not so preposterous...if Ford still owned Jag, there would no doubt be a Jag F150 variation, a Jag Expedition variation, etc...

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/florence-nightmare-aftermath-rivers-keep-rising-in-carolinas-as-trump-surveys-damage/ar-BBNxMx3?li=BBnb7Kz#image=BBN9nAX|38

WOW, the pictures of the Carolina's is just amazing, especially the one of the homes on what was a lake before the earth dam broke and is now just a tree stump mud field.

[G. David Felt]

Love the pictures and history on this story of the fastest cars Car and Driver has ever reviewed. Starts with the 1958 Chevrolet Corvette.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-sports/the-quickest-cars-car-and-driver-has-ever-tested/ss-BBNfnC7?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

 

[ykX]

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/lightning-lap-2018

2018 Ford Mustang GT (performance pack 2) ($45k) – 2:53.8

2018 BMW M5 ($115k) – 2:55.2

2018 Porsche Cayman GTS ($93k) – 2:56.7

[ocnblu]

It's the weekend

time to rest

relax

and recharge your batteries

 

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

Now that is a cool bus.....

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

Yoda please tell us what this is? Totally confused by the design? ?

[Robert Hall]

The rear of some finny '50s concept car?

[balthazar]

Ya : '55 Ghia Gilda Streamline
https://jalopnik.com/5235553/ghia-gilda-streamline-x-coupe-coolest-chrysler-ever-made

Edited September 22, 2018 by balthazar

[daves87rs]

Reminds me of a rocket....

[G. David Felt]

16 hours ago, balthazar said:

Ya : '55 Ghia Gilda Streamline
https://jalopnik.com/5235553/ghia-gilda-streamline-x-coupe-coolest-chrysler-ever-made

Very Cool, Thanks  for posting!

[ocnblu]

15 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Reminds me of a rocket....

Indeed, a shiny red rocket

[balthazar]

Pretty much the only Packard reboot I've found I've liked :

[ocnblu]

Base Price	$37,406	$39,500
Destination	$1,495	$1,495
Total Base Price	$38,901	$40,995
Options (change)
Engine, 5.3L EcoTec3 V8	$1,269	$1,395
Chevytec Spray-On Bedliner, Black With Chevrolet Logo	$450	$495
Price with Options	$40,620	$42,885 - 2019 Silverado Custom Trail Boss

Edited September 23, 2018 by ocnblu

[balthazar]

Will be at the dealership tomm, will be drooling over the pair of '19s they have- didn't go check out the dark red one. Hope to get inside.

- - - - -
Hmmm :

[daves87rs]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

Will be at the dealership tomm, will be drooling over the pair of '19s they have- didn't go check out the dark red one. Hope to get inside.

- - - - -
Hmmm :

Just saw one today.....

[balthazar]

A Dalek ????

- - - - -
Big Merc Estate ~

[ocnblu]

6 hours ago, balthazar said:

A Dalek ????

- - - - -
Big Merc Estate ~

I like how they integrated the parking sensors around the perimeter of the woodgrain panels.  A beauty!

[balthazar]

I like how they put chrome trim OVER the 'wood' applique.
Always thought these were fairly ugly. Not sure I've seen a '60 Merc in person; their survival rate must be relatively low for this era.

[G. David Felt]

17 hours ago, balthazar said:

Pretty much the only Packard reboot I've found I've liked :

Totally sex on Wheels!

That is an awesome looking car!

[G. David Felt]

Just learned about this, Chevrolet Cheetah developed to fight the Ford Cobra. Talk about a sexy car!

Love barn finds! :D