Random Thoughts Thread

[balthazar]

Cute, in a pug dog sort of way, but way overpriced, IMO.
0-60 in 28 seconds !!

[G. David Felt]

Dodge has filed to renew the Trademark on the auto name Hornet while also filing a number of EV patents and a few ICE patents. Makes one wonder what Dodge might be up too.

Hornet ICE or Hornet EV? ?

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/03/nameplate-from-the-past-returns-in-trademark-filings/

 

[balthazar]

Maybe FCA will bring back Hudson, with advanced aerodynamic body construction, safety & strength, and proprietary engineering, excellent handling and a new injected aluminum straight six.

[ocnblu]

27 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Dodge has filed to renew the Trademark on the auto name Hornet while also filing a number of EV patents and a few ICE patents. Makes one wonder what Dodge might be up too.

Hornet ICE or Hornet EV? ?

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/03/nameplate-from-the-past-returns-in-trademark-filings/

 

ICE ICE, baby!  I loved the Hornet concept vehicle back in the day.

[G. David Felt]

2 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

ICE ICE, baby!  I loved the Hornet concept vehicle back in the day.

You talking this Hornet Concept they did?

It would make a nice EV with a large Frunk!  

[ocnblu]

Yup but only with a snarly 4 and a stick.  EV would be too boring.

[G. David Felt]

1 minute ago, ocnblu said:

Yup but only with a snarly 4 and a stick.  EV would be too boring.

Or too fast for you to handle? ?

[ocnblu]

Nah too quiet, too uninvolving to drive, too soulless, too impractical for unlimited use.  All the same stuff as ever. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by ocnblu

[ocnblu]

There's something wrong with my mouse.  It like double clicks on its own.  For example when I try to click the notifications bell on here.

Edited March 14, 2020 by ocnblu

[riviera74]

14 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

There's something wrong with my mouse.  It like double clicks on its own.  For example when I try to click the notifications bell on here.

unplug your mouse, wait about one minute, and then replug it in.  that should work for you.

[G. David Felt]

19 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

There's something wrong with my mouse.  It like double clicks on its own.  For example when I try to click the notifications bell on here.

Maybe your own electronics do not like your attitude towards EVs. After all they are related.  

Washington State just announced we are up to 41 dead due to Coronavirus.

Vail Ski resorts are shutting down globally for the next 2 weeks to allow the Coronavirus to settle down. WOW, good thing I got 14 days in of skiing so I more than broke even.

[ocnblu]

2 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Maybe your own electronics do not like your attitude towards EVs. After all they are related.  

I would be shocked if that were true.

[G. David Felt]

@ocnblu I think you might have accidentally turned on the double click as a single click. This can happen same with keyboard where if you hold down a single key, it thinks you want multiple and sets it up as a hot key which can cause all kinds of weird issues on the keyboard.

Try this:

How to change mouse from double-click to single-click in Windows 10

• Step 1: Open the File Explorer Options. To do that, first, open Control Panel , choose to view by Small icons and then click the File Explorer Options link.
• Step 2: On the File Explorer Options window, select the General tab, select the "Single-click to open an item (point to select)" radio button, and then click Apply followed by OK.

[G. David Felt]

41 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

There's something wrong with my mouse.  It like double clicks on its own.  For example when I try to click the notifications bell on here.

Follow the instructions here to change it back to single click.

https://www.isunshare.com/windows-10/open-item-by-single-click-or-double-clicks-on-windows-10.html

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start/turn-off-double-click-for-single-click/61d104de-e9f9-405c-b9bf-284807193d13

Hope this helps.

[balthazar]

OMG: finally some respect!
237" overall length and look; got like 2 feet in front, like 6 feet in the rear, and there was a good 3' to the line on the other side of the truck. So luxurious!!

[USA-1]

5 hours ago, dfelt said:

While I await the full size EV SUVs, I love to learn about old auto's that we really have never seen here in the states.

Today it is the FORD CONSUL 1953 in outstanding shape for sale for $12,800 dollars.

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/03/rare-rides-a-ford-consul-from-1954-little-beige-bathtub/

Seller site here: https://www.allsportscars.co.uk/vehicle/1953-ford-consul/

And yet another one you wouldn't fit in. Front seat out sit in back...?

[balthazar]

Stinking Creek KY 1940 ~

[ocnblu]

7 hours ago, balthazar said:

OMG: finally some respect!
237" overall length and look; got like 2 feet in front, like 6 feet in the rear, and there was a good 3' to the line on the other side of the truck. So luxurious!!

I am surprised you didn't find a Prius parked there, straddling the line.

3 hours ago, balthazar said:

Stinking Creek KY 1940 ~

Has to be before Corona, look where they have their fingers.  Stinking Creek?  Which one of these left a floater?

[ocnblu]

Of course the Consul looks like a scale model of an American Ford of a few years prior.

[ocnblu]

[trinacriabob]

This was my first weekend of grocery shopping after all the shutdowns have been announced.  Water was available while toilet paper and bread had been picked through fairly thoroughly.  People are probably doing the freeze/thaw with the bread.  Any of the more upscale grocery stores where they had self serve deli areas to put artichokes and the like into cartons, make salads, etc. had emptied the containers of ingredients to pick through. The stores were not at all crowded.  People are practicing social distancing.

Restaurants are sparsely populated.  Those random casinos that all seem to have a buffet (and buffet specials during the week) are closed.  Don't even think about the "Costco lunch."

I saw a curve about the pandemic.  If you don't suppress it, it spikes faster and higher, and then cycles through.  If you do suppress it, the spike is much flatter but its duration in the population is longer before cycling through.

We can only hope the health policy gurus have a good grip on this.

 

 

[G. David Felt]

Costco here in the Seattle Area have removed the tables, you can still order food from the food court, but must be eaten outside in your auto or take home. No standing around inside to eat.

Fred Meyers, part of the Krogers family of stores here on the west coast was normal traffic flow I thought when I went to get stuff for my senior parents and drop it off at their house. Yet the produce had areas empty of product, freezer, meats, dairy, etc. all were pretty empty. TP and Paper Towels were gone. Processed foods area like Campbell soup was heavy empty, boxed food stuff was heavy empty. Bread area was decent stocked, but chips, junk food, etc. was all low. Very weird seeing the stores like this, so cold war, depression like.

[trinacriabob]

3 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Costco here in the Seattle Area have removed the tables, you can still order food from the food court, but must be eaten outside in your auto or take home. No standing around inside to eat.

Fred Meyers, part of the Krogers family of stores here on the west coast was normal traffic flow I thought when I went to get stuff for my senior parents and drop it off at their house. Yet the produce had areas empty of product, freezer, meats, dairy, etc. all were pretty empty. TP and Paper Towels were gone. Processed foods area like Campbell soup was heavy empty, boxed food stuff was heavy empty. Bread area was decent stocked, but chips, junk food, etc. was all low. Very weird seeing the stores like this, so cold war, depression like.

I was able to get soup.  The variety was not all there.

Too bad that a person can't do "Cafe 1.50" at Costco, as in eating it there at their picnic tables ... the "simple pleasures" in life that we took for granted.

[Robert Hall]

Strange times.  I haven't been to the grocery lately---Amazon Prime/Whole Foods deliveries have been fine.. though they are out of TP (I have plenty though). 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Strange times.  I haven't been to the grocery lately---Amazon Prime/Whole Foods deliveries have been fine.. though they are out of TP (I have plenty though). 

Amazon just put out a notice that in larger cities, deliveries will be delayed till product comes back in stock on select items and you might only get a partial order delivery.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/real-time-coronavirus-updates/281-b258146d-219a-40a0-8874-cb0fb4f81ec2

Local news here has updated that Washington State has the most cases in the nation. 

• 40 dead
• 642 confirmed cases
• over 4,000 pending results
• over 8,000 negative results
• All local ski resorts, sporting events, convention events, etc. are closed till further notice,
• Supreme court just approved the county purchase of hotels and sites so that King County alone will run 6 different isolation sites from various purchased hotels. These places will have fences erected around them with security and health care workers to insure everyone stays isolated and no one leaves till healed.
  • Kent lost their lawsuit against the county that was wanting to purchase the hotel as a coronavirus site.

Over all ugly, and the stores are just crazy vacated on stuff. People really are acting crazy!

[G. David Felt]

Here are last nights pictures from Fred Meyers. I honestly have never seen our grocery stores this bare of product. Makes me think, Depression era, cold war, Russia, North Korea, etc. etc. etc. ?

[G. David Felt]

Amazing video of a parking garage that actually is a multi-floor of auto repair companies and a ton of auto's, some expensive and rare that are not being taken care of. WOW

https://jalopnik.com/5f5593c6-fc77-4988-b48f-115c845ad3de

Love this read on why people need to pay attention to the 4 door Skylines.

https://jalopnik.com/you-should-care-more-about-four-door-skylines-1842334914

Seems Susuki knows there is a market for Mini pickups, so the local Suzuki retailers are doing their own conversions to sell new Mini Jimnys Suzuki Pickups.

https://jalopnik.com/suzuki-new-zealand-converts-jimnys-into-tiny-flatbed-tr-1842341271

Very interesting read on why all new auto's moving forward just needs to go to sliding doors front and rear.

https://jalopnik.com/put-sliding-van-doors-on-all-the-vehicles-1842322962

Have to say it does make sense for ease of getting in and out especially in parking garages.

https://jalopnik.com/put-sliding-van-doors-on-all-the-vehicles-1842322962

Another interesting read on why skateboard platforms are a challange and helps to explain why GM has moved away from them. Interesting......

https://jalopnik.com/skateboards-are-more-challenging-than-they-seem-1842317012

 

[regfootball]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Amazon just put out a notice that in larger cities, deliveries will be delayed till product comes back in stock on select items and you might only get a partial order delivery.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/real-time-coronavirus-updates/281-b258146d-219a-40a0-8874-cb0fb4f81ec2

Local news here has updated that Washington State has the most cases in the nation. 

• 40 dead
• 642 confirmed cases
• over 4,000 pending results
• over 8,000 negative results
• All local ski resorts, sporting events, convention events, etc. are closed till further notice,
• Supreme court just approved the county purchase of hotels and sites so that King County alone will run 6 different isolation sites from various purchased hotels. These places will have fences erected around them with security and health care workers to insure everyone stays isolated and no one leaves till healed.
  • Kent lost their lawsuit against the county that was wanting to purchase the hotel as a coronavirus site.

Over all ugly, and the stores are just crazy vacated on stuff. People really are acting crazy!

aren't most of those dead elderly from one nursing home

[G. David Felt]

10 minutes ago, regfootball said:

aren't most of those dead elderly from one nursing home

31 of what is now 42 confirmed deaths are from the Living Care Nursing facility in Kirkland. The rest are at other facilities or work places. At one hospital in the south end, an Emergency Physician, Age 40 was just quarantined as he has Coronavirus.

[trinacriabob]

Resumption of the "Costco lunch"  (and I'm not talking about their food court - ahem) would be one indicator of a return to normal.

[G. David Felt]

WOW, Reuters just uploaded a ton of news: https://www.reuters.com/subjects/autos

• Volkswagen is suspending production at Bratislava plant.
• Ford is shutting down their Spanish factory for a week
• Germany just shut it borders with Austria, France, Switzerland
• Under UE pressure, Germany has suspended gove agency approval for export of all protective gear such as masks, goggles, and gloves allowing businesses to produce as much as possible and export to any country willing to buy.
• Canada just rushed through ratification of the USMCA trade pact.
• Tesla $2.2 Billion deal trail is postponed due to Coronavirus.
• US Dealers are feeling the hit from the virus as they reduce hours and staff due to reduced traffic of customers.
• Austria ditched their balanced budget as they announced a $4 billion economic aid package to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-austria-deficit/austrian-budget-deficit-will-be-massive-chancellor-kurz-says-idUSV9N286014
• France and Spain have joined Italy in imposing Lock downs on the country with inner country movement restricted to combat the virus that has infected 156,000 and killed 5,800. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/lockdowns-and-entry-bans-imposed-around-the-world-to-fight-coronavirus-idUSKBN21208S
  • Pop will hold Easter service with NO ATTENDANCE by the faithful. Televised only.
  • New Zealand, Austria and Australia have made it a requirement that all arriving  international travelers will be held in isolation for 14 days before release into their country.
  • American Airlines is cutting 75% of their international flights and grounding all wide-body planes.
  • China is transferring all arriving individuals to a central quarantine facility for 14 days observation till further notice as the imported infections surpass locally transmitted cases for the second day in a row.
  • Britain is preparing to isolate all people 70 and older, ban all gatherings for up to 4 months till this is over.
  • Argentina has banned all non-residents from entry into their country.
  • Columbia is expelling all Europeans due to compulsory quarantine of 14 day violations by 4 people. Have closed all borders.
  • South Korea is now also subjecting all visitors to isolation from Europe and china.

WOW, the world has gone crazy!!!! ?

 

2 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Resumption of the "Costco lunch"  (and I'm not talking about their food court - ahem) would be one indicator of a return to normal.

Got it, when they finally return to all the food taste test to get ya to buy. That Costco Lunch does indicate a return to normal. Sadly, Costco HQ here says they do not see the food court tables that have been removed or the food samples returning till end of April at the earliest.

Crazy

[trinacriabob]

@dfelt and everyone else

We should try to stay calm.  Fauci or someone else important mentioned 'hunker down.' I got an extra 24 pack of bottled water and an extra 12 pack of TP.  I don't want to hoard ... other people need that stuff, too.

I'd like to be a able to get a box of N95 masks. No such luck. I have some of those you'd use for sanding, but I'd like the N95 label.  Also, there's no sense in traveling.  Even though warm weather tends to call.

[ocnblu]

I washed my hands

[G. David Felt]

13 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

@dfelt and everyone else

We should try to stay calm.  Fauci or someone else important mentioned 'hunker down.' I got an extra 24 pack of bottled water and an extra 12 pack of TP.  I don't want to hoard ... other people need that stuff, too.

I'd like to be a able to get a box of N95 masks. No such luck. I have some of those you'd use for sanding, but I'd like the N95 label.  Also, there's no sense in traveling.  Even though warm weather tends to call.

Would agree with you that always good to have a week or two of food and necessities, but DO NOT panic.

I honestly would ASK ALL to NOT buy masks, leave them for the medical community who needs them to help the sick.

As proven, those with Healthy Immune systems do recover fine. Those with diminished immune systems are the one that need to be extra cautious. 

Wishing you all, all the best on being safe, healthy and loving family, friends and neighbors. Help out where you can, but stay vigilant. Looks like we will need to hunker down and hold off on enjoyment of life till this passes.

1 minute ago, ocnblu said:

I washed my hands

Might as well take the time to start spring cleaning of ones house and clean everything. Nothing wrong with that. Alcohol 70% or higher kills coronavirus as well as all other germs.

Make sure to drink some too.  

[riviera74]

3 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Would agree with you that always good to have a week or two of food and necessities, but DO NOT panic.

I honestly would ASK ALL to NOT buy masks, leave them for the medical community who needs them to help the sick.

As proven, those with Healthy Immune systems do recover fine. Those with diminished immune systems are the one that need to be extra cautious. 

Wishing you all, all the best on being safe, healthy and loving family, friends and neighbors. Help out where you can, but stay vigilant. Looks like we will need to hunker down and hold off on enjoyment of life till this passes.

Might as well take the time to start spring cleaning of ones house and clean everything. Nothing wrong with that. Alcohol 70% or higher kills coronavirus as well as all other germs.

Make sure to drink some too.  

You are assuming that 70% isopropyl alcohol is actually available to buy.  In a lot of places, it is not.

[G. David Felt]

Very cool metal work by this Teen, to bad BS rules were made and kept her from winning and getting a scholarship.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/32591/this-high-schoolers-incredible-metal-sculpture-of-a-chevy-pickup-shouldve-won-first-place

She has some mad skills!

Amazing the stupid people in Camaro's and the waste of such lovely high end rides when they crash.

https://www.thedrive.com/video/32588/showboating-chevrolet-camaro-crashes-while-fleeing-police-on-angeles-crest-highway

Very cool, Hyundai and Genesis just announced they will cover up to 6 months of payments if you loose your job due to Coronavirus. COOL  

https://www.thedrive.com/news/32590/hyundai-and-genesis-will-cover-6-months-of-car-payments-if-you-lose-your-job-to-coronavirus

WOW, Teens in Daddies / Mommies SUV drag racing and crashing big time. WOW ? 

 

 

7 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

You are assuming that 70% isopropyl alcohol is actually available to buy.  In a lot of places, it is not.

True, Costco has a two bottle limit in place as it is used by many to build home made hand sanitizer.

https://www.diynatural.com/homemade-hand-sanitizer/

[ocnblu]

[Robert Hall]

Amazon Prime/Whole Foods is having issues..tried to place an grocery order and they couldn't schedule a delivery time tomorrow (or any other day this week).   So I went to the local Giant Eagle (NE Ohio/W Pa chain) this afternoon, no more crowded than usual for a Sunday (worst day to go grocery shopping), they were pretty much out of bread and meat, no TP or paper towels either.  But I found pretty much everything on my list.

I'm not sure if someone has a sense of humor or what, but back by the empty meat counters there was a shopping cart chock full of packages of condoms with a 20% off discount sign. 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Robert Hall

[G. David Felt]

23 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

Poor Comet/Maverick, needs some TLC! Love the dog!   

[Robert Hall]

1 minute ago, dfelt said:

Poor Comet, needs some TLC! Love the dog!   

Maverick

[oldshurst442]

If @Robert Hall says its a Maverick,  then its a Maverick...

PS: Tom Cruise approves! 

Cue in the music! 

 

[Robert Hall]

Just now, oldshurst442 said:

If @Robert Hall says its a Maverick,  then its a Maverick...

 

 

They really were the same except for minor trim differences and the front and taillights.  The Comet had a bulging hood/grille/bumper center section. 

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, dfelt said:

Would agree with you that always good to have a week or two of food and necessities, but DO NOT panic.

I honestly would ASK ALL to NOT buy masks, leave them for the medical community who needs them to help the sick.

As proven, those with Healthy Immune systems do recover fine. Those with diminished immune systems are the one that need to be extra cautious. 

Probably right about the masks.  I wanted some in case I had to board a plane.  I sit in "steerage," so there's none of that personal distance factor.

I once got tickets for the deep discount inaugural period for the nonstop Lufthansa Portland to Frankfurt service.  The outbound is always better ... jet stream.  On the way back, the trip is longer and you're tired from the traveling.  I saw this one person in the boarding area at Frankfurt and thought, 'anyone but him.'  It was a 400 pound + Greek Orthodox priest, dressed in the traditional black robes and with the helicopter landing pad shaped hat, and, sure enough, I got stuck out in the 2 seats on the Airbus 340 on a full flight with him in the adjacent seat.  I had the aisle.  He literally spilled over into my seating space.  As he ate his food, some of the crumbs fell into his beard.  He also ordered quite a few of those small bottles of liquor.  I leaned into the aisle for the entire 10 hours, risking that the carts would hit me.  I did not sleep a wink.

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I'm not sure if someone has a sense of humor or what, but back by the empty meat counters there was a shopping cart chock full of packages of condoms with a 20% off discount sign. 

That's funny.  I guess those would be a less relevant staple in these times.

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

That Maverick and that dog just seem to go together.

[G. David Felt]

For those that want the latest statistics on Covid19, John Hopkins is leading the US charge and keeping track.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/

[balthazar]

^ I wish the graphics had been a lot better, more intuitively constructed.

Here's another site :
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by balthazar

[daves87rs]

So much crazy right now.....

[G. David Felt]

13 minutes ago, balthazar said:

^ I wish the graphics had been a lot better, more intuitively constructed.

Here's another site :
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

 

How do you mean intuitively, I found the John Hopkins site to be more detailed. You can click on one of the counteries, get it broken down by region, county, etc. zoom in and out of the mape to get very fine details. Crazy how much details is there.

Is it the spreadsheet approach that the worldometers has that you like over the map integrated into a spreadsheet?

I am just curious to understand your approach to the web page.

FYI, Washington State has just by government order closed all bars, restaurants and any place like a winery, brewery, etc. places that people can gather. Grocery stores will remain open but under management direction to allow people in sparse numbers to shop. Fast food places or restaurants can remain open but only for drive through and take out.

All ski resorts are closed, all tourist areas are closed. Pretty much the state is closed down. This is so going to hurt especially those that are hourly paid in the service industry.

[ocnblu]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

That Maverick and that dog just seem to go together.

Yeah, I thought it was a great photo, showing what is important in life.

[ocnblu]

Pocono Raceway

[balthazar]

Ford Maverick : forgettable RWD, longitudinal-engine generic appliance. ?
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