Random Thoughts Thread

[A Horse With No Name]

58 minutes ago, dfelt said:

That looks like a NJ plate on that truck.  

Ummmhmmm....yes...

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ykX said:

Ohio is on the list of highest move out states as well

The top outbound states for 2018 were:

1.     New Jersey

2.     Illinois

3.     Connecticut

4.     New York

5.     Kansas

6.     Ohio

7.     Massachusetts

8.     Iowa

9.     Montana

10. Michigan

Columbus is a great place to live. And people moving out of state means housing is still affordable. 

6 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Yup, good ole IL is #2. I wouldn't live here if finding a job and moving were super easy. 

Illinois is one of the most corrupt states in the union, especially Chicago.

[A Horse With No Name]

Some talented driving there...notice how the Vette pulls ahead on the straights and the type R reels him in during the corners...neat video. 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/us/gm-toledo-racism-lawsuit/index.html

CNN...yes....but a shame this happens inside of a GM plant. 

[Drew Dowdell]

This storm we're supposed to get is all over the place.  Sometimes we're getting 1 inch of snow, other times we're getting 1 foot of snow. Right now its in the 3 - 5 inch range. 

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Illinois is one of the most corrupt states in the union, especially Chicago.

Absolutely. The state is fckd. 

[A Horse With No Name]

8 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

This storm we're supposed to get is all over the place.  Sometimes we're getting 1 inch of snow, other times we're getting 1 foot of snow. Right now its in the 3 - 5 inch range. 

Trying to decide if we are going to make a tournament in Cleveland Saturday. 

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

Absolutely. The state is fckd. 

With a couple of exceptions everyone above me in public office above the local level is pretty much at the bottom of the ethical moral universe in ways that one can't even imagine. You are not alone, brother. 

[Robert Hall]

Not doing anything here outside Cleveland right now...my sister says it's snowing over in Maumee (Toledo area)..she's driving home from work around 5 (weekly back and forth on the Ohio Turnpike).     It's supposed to snow a bit tonight then the big storm Saturday starting around midday and going through Sunday afternoon is what I've heard.  But I'm sure the forecast will change again... 

[Drew Dowdell]

17 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Not doing anything here outside Cleveland right now...my sister says it's snowing over in Maumee (Toledo area)..she's driving home from work around 5 (weekly back and forth on the Ohio Turnpike).     It's supposed to snow a bit tonight then the big storm Saturday starting around midday and going through Sunday afternoon is what I've heard.  But I'm sure the forecast will change again... 

nothing here yet either.

We're moving Albert's parents to a new apartment on Saturday, so we're keeping a very close eye on the weather. 

[ccap41]

A little something to get @dfelt a little excited. 

Ford F-150 EV

Edited January 17, 2019 by ccap41

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

A little something to get @dfelt a little excited. 

Ford F-150 EV

The grille on that illustration reminds me of the early 90s Escort GT...

[ccap41]

5 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

The grille on that illustration reminds me of the early 90s Escort GT...

YUP! I actually think it works,.in a weird way. It's a little obnoxious in that color but I think the off center emblem and "grille" look pretty cool. 

[A Horse With No Name]

7 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

YUP! I actually think it works,.in a weird way. It's a little obnoxious in that color but I think the off center emblem and "grille" look pretty cool. 

Agree completely. And Ford will totally rock an electric F150.

[A Horse With No Name]

Or lets do Gas power and Ford...

 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

A little something to get @dfelt a little excited. 

Ford F-150 EV

 

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

YUP! I actually think it works,.in a weird way. It's a little obnoxious in that color but I think the off center emblem and "grille" look pretty cool. 

Thank you, that is very cool and exciting.

[oldshurst442]

7 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I do like some parts of Florida..having lived in the Keys in middle school and high school.    Not sure where I'm going to retire to eventually, ideally some place w/ mountains and beaches.     My sister plans to retire in about 5 years and winter in Florida.    

The Florida Keys look gorgeous! 

I see you have moved around in your life time. And you aint done yet!  

? 

 

With Montreal weather being frigid the last couple of days and a snow storm to come in the next few, a place with hot, sun kissed beaches sounds good right about now, never you mind when retirement comes!!!

[balthazar]

Another Jerseyian here, so I can relate. Wife & I have already (jokingly) started talking about which states are a new possibility (most under the guise of ruling out those that aren't). Standard of living is very high and there's a ton of employment opportunity... but yeah; Jersey has 2 major cons: congestion and taxation. We're good staying until retirement, but the way the [usual politicians] continually crank taxes up on everything, they're bulldozing people to the borders.

Whoever stated that 'economies of scale' lower prices has yet to explain how the most densely-populated state has the highest property taxes in the nation. My town would moan when one of the major corporations left, talking about ratables being down, so they had to raise taxes to compensate. Then a new, bigger corporation would settle in... and they raise taxes to provide services. I guess they assume no one is paying attention- too numb from the 10,000 needles into the vein.

Edited January 19, 2019 by balthazar

[oldshurst442]

You folk bitchin' 'bout taxes?  Something or other 'bout services?

Quebec resident here! 

We take the cake!!!

 

 

Edited January 18, 2019 by oldshurst442

[A Horse With No Name]

4 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

You folk bitchin' 'bout taxes?  Something or other 'bout services?

Quebec resident here! 

We take the cake!!!

 

 

Or more accurately your government takes your cake.

20 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Another Jerseyian here, so I can relate. Wife & I have already (jokingly) started talking about which states are a new possibility (most under the guise of ruling out those that aren't). Standard of living is very high and there's a ton of employment opportunity... but yeah; Jersey has 2 major cons: congestion and taxation. We're good staying until retirement, but the way the [usual politicians] continually crank taxes up on everything, they're bulldozing people to the borders.

Whoever stated that 'economies of scale' lower prices has yet to explain how the most densely-populated state has the highest property taxes in the nation. My town would bemoan when one of the major corporations left, talking about ratables being down, so they had to raise taxes to compensate. Then a new. bigger corporations would settle in... and they raise taxes to provide services. I guess they assume no one is paying attention- too numb from the 10,000 needles into the vein.

Even being of a normally more liberal bent...I think of Corey Booker your senator as a world class idiot. New Jersey can no more elect decent leaders than Hyundai can build exciting cars.

[balthazar]

 

 

Edited January 18, 2019 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

I will see you a GM V18 and raise you a GM V8...and yes I know the V16 is more awesome...but my lust of the moment...

 

[trinacriabob]

On 1/17/2019 at 11:09 AM, Robert Hall said:

I do like some parts of Florida..having lived in the Keys in middle school and high school.    Not sure where I'm going to retire to eventually, ideally some place w/ mountains and beaches.     My sister plans to retire in about 5 years and winter in Florida.    

In the U.S., mountains and beaches mean only 5 states.  If it's beaches you plan to use (to swim without a wet suit), that means only 2 - California and Hawai'i.  If it's beaches you don't plan on using and can settle for just looking at, that would expand the list to Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.

I definitely like California's topography and climate.  And, when I was a kid, it was laid back and people with broken filters got along just fine.  Now, even California suffers from too much political correctness, not to mention exorbitant housing prices, polarization in its demographics, and overpopulation (soon to approach 40 million residents).

Florida's beaches are way better than California's for recreational use.  (Volusia County's beaches, however, are the ones that give me a little bit of apprehension about swimming.) However, Florida's monotonous pancake flat landscape is what I've got some issues with.  I've thought of moving there since the '90s at one time or another and always keep pulling the plug on the idea.  I definitely like vacationing there.

[Robert Hall]

Florida has hurricanes and flooding, the West Coast has wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides and other issues.   I love parts of California, but the cost of living and traffic has long turned me off..I like the PNW also...Oregon's beaches in particular I've enjoyed visiting..

Another region w/ mountains (albeit lower) and beaches that I like is the NE..... I do like Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts quite a bit..the greenery and coast..I could see myself living up there. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

On 1/17/2019 at 10:43 AM, ykX said:

The top outbound states for 2018 were:

1.     New Jersey

2.     Illinois

3.     Connecticut

4.     New York

5.     Kansas

6.     Ohio

7.     Massachusetts

8.     Iowa

9.     Montana

10.   Michigan

The list doesn't surprise me all that much.  You've got some expensive Middle Atlantic and New England states, some of the more isolated Midwestern states, and Montana (?).  I thought people were moving to Montana.  Movie stars and rich Californians were going up there to buy ranches.  It's Wyoming they should be moving out of.  Ever driven across it?

Six or seven states (FL, TX, WA, etc.) have no state income tax.  They are definitely picking up residents.  If a state doesn't have one kind of tax, they clobber you with another one.  While TX does not have a state income tax, it has high property taxes to pay for schools and services.  For a $ 200,000 home in The Woodlands (nice suburb of Houston), the property tax is about $ 5,000.  Then, some states don't have sales taxes (OR, MT, etc.).  Oregon has one of the most steeply ascending income tax situations, essentially taking low(er) income earners toward the top bracket (about 9%) in no time flat.  That's what you get when socialists run the place.  In California, where the top bracket exceeds 10%, the steps up to that bracket are very well spaced apart and low(er) income earners are far from being levied that overall tax rate.

Overall, Florida is a good state when you run the numbers - no personal income tax, their unique homestead exemption, reasonable property taxes, and average sales taxes, but not on groceries and pharma.  They also have some sales tax holidays. They probably have the best combo.  New Jersey is steep all the way around.  I don't think the middle of it feels that crowded.  To me, it's just the areas that cluster around NYC and Philly.  New Jersey also wins the crown every year for having America's most dangerous city - Camden.

8 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Florida has hurricanes and flooding, the West Coast has wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides and other issues.   I love parts of California, but the cost of living and traffic has long turned me off..I like the PNW also...Oregon's beaches in particular I've enjoyed visiting..

Another region w/ mountains (albeit lower) and beaches that I like is the NE..... I do like Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts quite a bit..the greenery and coast..I could see myself living up there. 

Of those, Maine is really nice.  It's not that populous.  The southern part of the state has the more populous cities and the northern part of the state is pretty much empty.  Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are incredible.  The view from Cadillac Mountain is unforgettable.  It also borders Quebec and there's a huge French-Canadian factor in its history and fabric.

[Robert Hall]

I still love Colorado (lived there 12 years), but the parts I like (Denver, Boulder) have become quite expensive since I left. And it's pretty dry and beige, no beaches.  

Ohio has some rather high property tax (Over $4000/yr on my $165k house and about the same on the family farm which is valued around $285k).  and regional income tax (RITA) here in the Cleveland area.

[Robert Hall]

9 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Of those, Maine is really nice.  It's not that populous.  The southern part of the state has the more populous cities and the northern part of the state is pretty much empty.  Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are incredible.  The view from Cadillac Mountain is unforgettable.  It also borders Quebec and there's a huge French-Canadian factor in its history and fabric.

I want to see more of Maine..was up there in the 90s when my sister lived in Boston..drove up to Kennebunkport and Portland...beautiful state w/ some great beaches. 

[surreal1272]

Not sure what is worse. The fact that the driver is a Raiders fan or that well....just take a look.

 

[Robert Hall]

A bit excessive with the stick on stuff...my brother is into stick on aftermarket crap, but not to that level. 

I did have a few back window decals on my old Jeep incl. a Broncos decal.  So far I've been restrained on my second Jeep, just my alma mater and an Apple decal. 

[surreal1272]

16 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

A bit excessive with the stick on stuff...my brother is into stick on aftermarket crap, but not to that level. 

I did have a few back window decals on my old Jeep incl. a Broncos decal.  So far I've been restrained on my second Jeep, just my alma mater and an Apple decal. 

A bunch of stickers is one thing (and too much IMO) but this guy clearly has a hard on for reflectors! They were all over his car. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by surreal1272

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Florida has hurricanes and flooding, the West Coast has wildfires, earthquakes, mudslides and other issues.   I love parts of California, but the cost of living and traffic has long turned me off..I like the PNW also...Oregon's beaches in particular I've enjoyed visiting..

Another region w/ mountains (albeit lower) and beaches that I like is the NE..... I do like Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts quite a bit..the greenery and coast..I could see myself living up there. 

I think pretty much I will die in Columbus unless I can relocate to a scenic part of new Zealand or something...perhaps the wilds of Scotland.

Want to travel a good bit as I get older. Which has changed me vehicular ideas. I still like the idea of a GTI or WRX....or a Gently used Focus ST...but my thinking has become more road car oriented.

Thinking Renegade or Cherokee. Really loving Jeep and all of the customization options and colors and so forth. And a little bit burned out on both the Muscle  car and Sport compact thing.

But hell yes to travel when another year or two has passed. My youngest is graduating High school in 4 months and then I am  a free man when they go off to College.

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

Not sure what is worse. The fact that the driver is a Raiders fan or that well....just take a look.

 

He could be a Cowbowys fan and drive a Hyundai. Lots of room for downward mobility there.

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I want to see more of Maine..was up there in the 90s when my sister lived in Boston..drove up to Kennebunkport and Portland...beautiful state w/ some great beaches. 

Like I said above....my wife...a Jeep....and the open road.

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

In the U.S., mountains and beaches mean only 5 states.  If it's beaches you plan to use (to swim without a wet suit), that means only 2 - California and Hawai'i.  If it's beaches you don't plan on using and can settle for just looking at, that would expand the list to Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.

I definitely like California's topography and climate.  And, when I was a kid, it was laid back and people with broken filters got along just fine.  Now, even California suffers from too much political correctness, not to mention exorbitant housing prices, polarization in its demographics, and overpopulation (soon to approach 40 million residents).

Florida's beaches are way better than California's for recreational use.  (Volusia County's beaches, however, are the ones that give me a little bit of apprehension about swimming.) However, Florida's monotonous pancake flat landscape is what I've got some issues with.  I've thought of moving there since the '90s at one time or another and always keep pulling the plug on the idea.  I definitely like vacationing there.

Do not forget all the shark attacks in Florida and their massive sink holes since the aqueducts are devoid of water so everything is just crumbling into the sea.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, dfelt said:

Do not forget all the shark attacks in Florida and their massive sink holes since the aqueducts are devoid of water so everything is just crumbling into the sea.

Move to Bowling Green Kentucky....they never have sink holes there.

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

Not sure what is worse. The fact that the driver is a Raiders fan or that well....just take a look.

 

Probably old Raiders fan that fears not being seen. Probably drives on the freeway with their hazard lights on thinking it makes them safer. 

24 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

My youngest is graduating High school in 4 months and then I am  a free man when they go off to College.

Free Man? ? College bills, coming home to visit and asking for more. You my friend are never free, Kids are for life! We just get the freedom to finally walk around the house dressed or not however we want as no one is around to be offended by it.

Live Naked and Free we say on the west coast!  

5 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Move to Bowling Green Kentucky....they never have sink holes there.

Just the stench of Horse Manure!  

[A Horse With No Name]

9 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Probably old Raiders fan that fears not being seen. Probably drives on the freeway with their hazard lights on thinking it makes them safer. 

Free Man? ? College bills, coming home to visit and asking for more. You my friend are never free, Kids are for life! We just get the freedom to finally walk around the house dressed or not however we want as no one is around to be offended by it.

Live Naked and Free we say on the west coast!  

Just the stench of Horse Manure!  

Horse manure comes from Dearborn (sorry could not resist...feeling much better about Ford...)

Feeling better about Ford and life in General.

[Robert Hall]

On 1/11/2019 at 4:39 PM, Robert Hall said:

Funny about that.  She drove it this morning, seemed fine.  Got home, a few hours later when we went out to get the Trax noticed it was flat.  Called AAA, they put on the donut spare--it was flat also.  Not sure what happened w/ the tire, didn't see any nails, etc.   Drove it down to the independent shop she uses to have it checked out (they put the tires on new back in September), going to get the shocks, struts, etc replaced, and a few other anomalies checked out (airbag light is on, it's really loud at idle, etc). 

Got the STS back today, tire turned out to be a nail..she got a bunch of other work done the week it was in the shop--new spark plugs, coils, valve cover and intake manifold gaskets, and a bunch of front suspension work--new springs, shocks, struts, stabilizer bar, front end alignment, bushings.  Drives much smoother and quieter now.

Edited January 18, 2019 by Robert Hall

[G. David Felt]

Cracking up laughing on how a rich Dubai Driver who imported his Lamborghini legally for a road trip through the US and Canada schools an idiot Oregon state Patrolman.

 

[ocnblu]

22 hours ago, balthazar said:

 

 

What's cool is... he is not afraid to use the throttle!

[balthazar]

6 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

While TX does not have a state income tax, it has high property taxes to pay for schools and services.  For a $ 200,000 home in The Woodlands (nice suburb of Houston), the property tax is about $ 5,000.

I'LL TAKE IT !!!

Edited January 19, 2019 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

16 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I'LL TAKE IT !!!

LOL, I would too if I was in NJ, Last time when I worked for a company in Princeton, an engineer had a simple 2 story house of 2000 sq ft and was paying according to him $12,000 a year in taxes and this was in 2011.

I have that same size house here in Washington and pay only $4000 in 2018. I can only imagine what the taxes are now 8 years later.

[riviera74]

Highest property taxes in the nation have plagued NJ for years.  No wonder those who can leave the Garden State do.

[balthazar]

Yep, and no one in politics on any level in the state gives a shit.

 - - - - -

Edited January 19, 2019 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

I have to say I really like this SNOW BUNNY!

It does have some stance for Car lovers.

[balthazar]

[Drew Dowdell]

Some trivia for y'all

 

 

[balthazar]

"He was a Nazi"
"He was a grotesque man, absolutely nothing nice whatsoever to say about Henry Ford."
"Hitler only read 2 books while he was in prison, one of them was Henry Ford's. Horrible horrible man."

Like Henry Ford's book made Hitler a genocidal Nazi.

What a group of raging, do-nothing, hyperbolic douches.

[oldshurst442]

@Drew Dowdell

The downvote was for the video. Not for you posting it, but for the vid itself. 

This pic reminded  me of Star Wars.

 

-"Star Wars???!!!   What are you, drunk?  "

-Nah man!  Check this out!

Dex's Diner from the Prequels, dudes and dudettes!  You know, a 1950s vibe to it all...

 

(tries to leave the room quietly without anybody noticing...) 

[ocnblu]

Just now, oldshurst442 said:

(tries to leave the room quietly without anybody noticing...) 

TOO LATE

[Drew Dowdell]

wow, and here I thought somebody would find it interesting about the old quote of "you can have a model t in any color as long as it's black".  Way to fixate on the 10% of the video that was not about the trivia.

[oldshurst442]

23 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

wow, and here I thought somebody would find it interesting about the old quote of "you can have a model t in any color as long as it's black"

As with Balthy, I did not like the fact that these English asshats were critical, unnecessarily,  on an American icon. 

Henry Ford had his issues. But his issues never concerned England, or Europe.  Those English asshats want to revise history, I guess, but 'twas England and France that made Hitler into a monster...if those English asshats really want to suggest something about WW2 and Hitler...

This is why I never like Jeremy Clarkson. Although some shticks of his were funny, I never liked the way his "humour" portrayed American cars and America in general, in his programs.  One could say it was jokes for TV viewing pleasure, but I always sensed there was some sort of truth to his "jokes" on how he really felt about American cars and worse, for American people.  He is one uncouth, smarmy, blowhard  English limey...

I wasnt surprised at all when the news broke out that he hit one of his TV's shows assistant and he got fired for it.

And if you guys do not believe me he is an uncouth bastard, just listen to what he said and how he handled his firing. Not once did he take ownership of his actions. And he blamed the assistant and the BBC for killing a good thing that he had on TV...

The ONLY thing that he ever did that I applaud him for, is that he also punched Piers Morgan on the nose. A worse uncouth, smarmy, blowhard  English limey than himself!!! 

Edited January 19, 2019 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

This is pretty cool...not my pics..saw these posted on a Facebook group..there was this display of vintage Cadillac dealer promo models (1/25th scale, old Johan promos) at the Detroit Auto Show.    Don't know where at the show it was (wasn't there).   I have several of these in my promo collection.   Wish I'd been there to see them. 

[oldshurst442]

On 1/18/2019 at 12:31 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

I will see you a GM V18 and raise you a GM V8...and yes I know the V16 is more awesome...but my lust of the moment...

 

Quoted for pure sheer AWESOMENESS!!!