Random Thoughts Thread

[A Horse With No Name]

Abandoned train

Abandoned train

Abandoned train

Abandoned train

Abandoned train

 

Abandoned train

 

[trinacriabob]

You know how apps - like those of airlines - have a theatrical type lead in ...

I'm wondering if this one's start-up says "Shazam ... shazam ... shazam."  Just a random thought.

I have Flightradar 24 on my phone, which can be both useful and fun, so I'll have to look into this app.

[A Horse With No Name]

Abandoned train

 

1 minute ago, trinacriabob said:

You know how apps - like those of airlines - have a theatrical type lead in ...

I'm wondering if this one's start-up says "Shazam ... shazam ... shazam."  Just a random thought.

I have Flightradar 24 on my phone, which can be both useful and fun, so I'll have to look into this app.

Its helpful as I listen to a ton of different music.

 

Abandoned basketball court...

 

[Robert Hall]

16 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

It's impressive and the way it spans that gorge or canyon is something to see.

There's a viewpoint adjacent to it and you can look over the bridge and the canyon ... great photo op.

 

Nice...in two weeks I'm taking the vacation I planned to take in April but got postponed.  

Assuming tropical storms and hurricanes don't interfere, I'm going to drive down to Myrtle Beach, SC via WV, VA, and NC.   Stay a few days there and explore the beach, nearby towns of Murrells Inlet, Surfside and Georgetown.  Then meander up to Kitty Hawk, NC and check out the Outer Banks for a couple days...then back home through VA, MD, WV, and PA ...  

[A Horse With No Name]

Abandoned warehouse..

Just now, Robert Hall said:

Nice...in two weeks I'm taking the vacation I planned to take in April but got postponed.  

Assuming tropical storms and hurricanes don't interfere, I'm going to drive down to Myrtle Beach, SC via WV, VA, and NC.   Stay a few days there and explore the beach, nearby towns of Murrells Inlet, Surfside and Georgetown.  Then meander up to Kitty Hawk, NC and check out the Outer Banks for a couple days...then back home through VA, MD, WV, and PA ...  

That sounds amazing. Heading back out west in a couple of months. Pics to follow.

[A Horse With No Name]

Last abandoned picture...

[trinacriabob]

Good afternoon ...

... no cheating

Edited August 25 by trinacriabob

[A Horse With No Name]

I am in a Mopar frame of mind...

 

 

Imperial....

Mopar frame of mind...

56 Imperial

[A Horse With No Name]

Last pic, this 65 is just badass Imperial...now back to EV's and the modern milieu

[A Horse With No Name]

I would agree with him, this car is very masculine in its styling and character. 

 

Love this...

 

[trinacriabob]

Ok, so who is that person in the high schol photo?

His parents should have had much more sense than let him out of the house to go get his high school portrait with a Hersey's Kiss-shaped frizz ball on top of his head. 

[Robert Hall]

17 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Ok, so who is that person in the high schol photo?

His parents should have had much more sense than let him out of the house to go get his high school portrait with a Hersey's Kiss-shaped frizz ball on top of his head. 

I'm guessing it is someone that later achieved some level of fame, maybe a singer or actor. I don't recognize them.  Pic looks like it's from the 1970s. 

[A Horse With No Name]

25 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I'm guessing it is someone that later achieved some level of fame, maybe a singer or actor. I don't recognize them.  Pic looks like it's from the 1970s. 

My guess is that it is a clinical photo of someone who will grow up to live in an asylum, or at least post regularly in one on the internet. 

Balthazar hated colorized old film, but this one is cool. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

In a Land yacht frame of mind....my great aunt had a Buick identical to this but with a black vinyl top. Almost ended up being my first car. It's gorgeous. Enjoy. 

 

[G. David Felt]

20 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Nice...in two weeks I'm taking the vacation I planned to take in April but got postponed.  

Assuming tropical storms and hurricanes don't interfere, I'm going to drive down to Myrtle Beach, SC via WV, VA, and NC.   Stay a few days there and explore the beach, nearby towns of Murrells Inlet, Surfside and Georgetown.  Then meander up to Kitty Hawk, NC and check out the Outer Banks for a couple days...then back home through VA, MD, WV, and PA ...  

Have a great PTO Robert!

[Robert Hall]

32 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

In a Land yacht frame of mind....my great aunt had a Buick identical to this but with a black vinyl top. Almost ended up being my first car. It's gorgeous. Enjoy. 

Neat...a favorite Aunt and Uncle had a tan '73 Buick Centurion 2dr and later a dark red '78 Electra 2dr.   Rode in both as a kid. 

[Drew Dowdell]

As I was coming down onto a bridge this morning on the motorcycle, a black, mint, final-generation Town Car made a long sweeping cloverleaf to come up and merge next to me. I know they were antiquated when new, but they still have a grace and presence that I miss in today's 2-box egg-shaped crossover designs.

[trinacriabob]

@Robert Hall famous enough, and on TV, but not an actor or a singer

@A Horse With No Name no asylums involved ... no to that one, but funny

Meteoroligist Jim Cantore, but probably in the early '80s.

Random linked thinking:  A tornado takes down a sizable VIP yatch off the coast of Sicily.  I didn't know there were tornadoes in the Mediterranean.  Then, is Jim Cantore still on the Weather Channel and putting himself smack in the middle of hurricanes and tornadoes?  Apparently he is.  I used to watch the Weather Channel, but now I just use its app.

[trinacriabob]

In the search, this also came up.  I had forgotten all about this!  He remained so cool through this weird event and his news delivery didn't derail for more than a second!

 

So, they know who the college kid in South Carolina that did this was.  This raises more interesting questions.  Who put him up to it? What did the college do about it?  What does his college transcript look like?  Did/does he produce less testosterone after this event?  And is he living a fairly normal life today?

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

As I was coming down onto a bridge this morning on the motorcycle, a black, mint, final-generation Town Car made a long sweeping cloverleaf to come up and merge next to me. I know they were antiquated when new, but they still have a grace and presence that I miss in today's 2-box egg-shaped crossover designs.

I have been searching the classifieds for these. Kind of actually digging them at the moment. 

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

@Robert Hall famous enough, and on TV, but not an actor or a singer

@A Horse With No Name no asylums involved ... no to that one, but funny

Meteoroligist Jim Cantore, but probably in the early '80s.

Random linked thinking:  A tornado takes down a sizable VIP yatch off the coast of Sicily.  I didn't know there were tornadoes in the Mediterranean.  Then, is Jim Cantore still on the Weather Channel and putting himself smack in the middle of hurricanes and tornadoes?  Apparently he is.  I used to watch the Weather Channel, but now I just use its app.

I didn't know Europe had Tornados. 

Love the patina on this Country Squire. 

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I have been searching the classifieds for these. Kind of actually digging them at the moment. 

A Town Car L would be in my Dream Garage.

[A Horse With No Name]

I would love to do this trip, speaking of Europe. Think I may try to go to Europe in 2016. if the world survives that long. 

If not, cockroaches can dance on my dead body/grave.

Can't worry about the future, just plan. 

1 minute ago, Drew Dowdell said:

A Town Car L would be in my Dream Garage.

Those big Fords kind of have a grace to them. yes, that is me actually saying that....don't faint. 

3 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Have a great PTO Robert!

Absolutely. Can't wait for pics...

Hezbollah and Israel not playing nice, Iran seems to want to fight, common sense is gone. 

Time to buy one of these land yachts I have been posting.....one with a points style ignition so I have something to drive after the inevitable thermonuclear electromagnetic pulse.  

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I would love to do this trip, speaking of Europe. Think I may try to go to Europe in 2016. if the world survives that long. 

You mean 2026, right? 

I know.  Ten to twenty years ago, we didn't have these thoughts.  I can think of a few catalysts responsible for having moved us over to this sort of thinking, but we can't discuss these things here, so I'll let it go.

As far as land yachts go, I like some of them.   I wouldn't want to go too old on such a vehicle.  I'd sure love a '75 or '76 Bonneville Brougham or Grandville Brougham coupe; however, that 400 or 455 would have to go and a 350 would need to go in.  I'd sure love an '82 Delta 88 Royale (Brougham) coupe with the small Olds V8, but same line of thinking.

But, on a more realistic note, the one's I'd come closer to owning would be a 2000+ Grand Marquis 4.6 SOHC V8 that was from one of the years with stellar Consumer Reports dots or a mid-'90s Caprice with the 200 hp (enough for me) Chevy 4.3 V8, Optispark and all - oh well.  I think the Chevy would win because of my (previous) loyalty to GM and my having only owned all cast-iron engines thus far, which says "luddite."  

[Drew Dowdell]

8 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

mid-'90s Caprice with the 200 hp (enough for me) Chevy 4.3 V8, Optispark and all - oh well.  I think the Chevy would win because of my (previous) loyalty to GM and my having only owned all cast-iron engines thus far, which says "luddite."  

Optispark is one of those things that GM got right just before they canceled it.  These days, if you have trouble with it, the modern optispark replacements are rock solid and last forever.  So do it, replace the water pump at the same time (because, why not? you already have to take it off) and drive another 300,000 miles 

[Robert Hall]

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

A Town Car L would be in my Dream Garage.

I wouldn't mind having a '95-97 TC or an '03-11 TC.  They had very comfortable seats.  Or a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from '85-89 or '93-96... 

[trinacriabob]

9 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I wouldn't mind having a '95-97 TC or an '03-11 TC.  They had very comfortable seats.  Or a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from '85-89 or '93-96... 

There was a movie filmed in Pittsburgh that had Anthony La Paglia in it and he was a detective or a cop chasing down a killer vampire snacking on Mafiosos.  It turns out it's a younger lady - a French actress - whose subjects of choice are the bad guys. The movie starts out with a hit on a mobster while parked at a Pittsburgh viewpoint - probably Mt. Washington - and they are warming up to doing the nasty.  That is, until she digs het fangs in.  The camera then pans away from a dark Fleetwood Brougham of that era.

What movie was that?

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

There was a movie filmed in Pittsburgh that had Anthony La Paglia in it and he was a detective or a cop chasing down a killer vampire snacking on Mafiosos.  It turns out it's a younger lady - a French actress - whose subjects of choice are the bad guys. The movie starts out with a hit on a mobster while parked at a Pittsburgh viewpoint - probably Mt. Washington - and they are warming up to doing the nasty.  That is, until she digs het fangs in.  The camera then pans away from a dark Fleetwood Brougham of that era.

What movie was that?

According to IMDB it may be 'Innocent Blood'...I haven't seen it, but recognize many in the cast..a few actors that were in 'The Sopranos' were in it.  And according to IMCDB, there were several '70s and 80s Cadillacs in it. 

The movie I always remember is 'The Color of Money' with Paul Newman driving a white Fleetwood Brougham...

Cadillac-Fleetwood-Brougham-Mecum.avif

[A Horse With No Name]

17 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

You mean 2026, right? 

I know.  Ten to twenty years ago, we didn't have these thoughts.  I can think of a few catalysts responsible for having moved us over to this sort of thinking, but we can't discuss these things here, so I'll let it go.

As far as land yachts go, I like some of them.   I wouldn't want to go too old on such a vehicle.  I'd sure love a '75 or '76 Bonneville Brougham or Grandville Brougham coupe; however, that 400 or 455 would have to go and a 350 would need to go in.  I'd sure love an '82 Delta 88 Royale (Brougham) coupe with the small Olds V8, but same line of thinking.

But, on a more realistic note, the one's I'd come closer to owning would be a 2000+ Grand Marquis 4.6 SOHC V8 that was from one of the years with stellar Consumer Reports dots or a mid-'90s Caprice with the 200 hp (enough for me) Chevy 4.3 V8, Optispark and all - oh well.  I think the Chevy would win because of my (previous) loyalty to GM and my having only owned all cast-iron engines thus far, which says "luddite."  

You obviously missed the C and G thread where I met a guy named Dr. Brown and bought a DeLorean, right? Try to pay attention sir. 

I would like a newer land yacht of sorts, but a smaller one. Like a Cadillac CTS or something. 

 

Interesting video on Audi recycling engineering prototypes. 

13 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I wouldn't mind having a '95-97 TC or an '03-11 TC.  They had very comfortable seats.  Or a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from '85-89 or '93-96... 

Exactly. 

[A Horse With No Name]

More land yacht love...

 

Impressive..

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Sunning himself...

 

Tyrone Allen Quartet

 

Edited August 27 by A Horse With No Name

[A Horse With No Name]

Last picture of the day, old Steam locomotive shot in Iola Wisconsin. Passenger rail service was discontinued here in 1949, Freight in 1958, and the station still exists in good condition. 

The 4-4-0 steam locomotives always seemed to have a great look, and I love this photograph. 

[A Horse With No Name]

OK, I lied on last post...

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Sunning himself...

Very cute.  Looks like there's some Russian Blue in the DNA.

I think I'm the one active member that likes dogs and cats about equally ... there are some great dogs and some great cats ... and their goofiness will steal your heart.

Edited August 27 by trinacriabob

[G. David Felt]

Munro and Associates say the EV9 is one of the best battery packs around.
Kia EV9 Battery Pack Teardown: ’A Wonderful Design’ (insideevs.com)

So impressed with what Kia has done with the battery pack.
 

 

[G. David Felt]

@A Horse With No Name Here is a lovely custom ride!

 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Very cute.  Looks like there's some Russian Blue in the DNA.

I think I'm the one active member that likes dogs and cats about equally ... there are some great dogs and some great cats ... and their goofiness will steal your heart.

Having raised kids, I think every child should idally grow up with both a dog and a cat. Loyalty and boundaries are two of the most important things for anyone to learn IMHO....cats teach boundaries, Dogs teach loyalty. just my two cents. 

1 hour ago, G. David Felt said:

@A Horse With No Name Here is a lovely custom ride!

 

That is killer

1 hour ago, G. David Felt said:

Munro and Associates say the EV9 is one of the best battery packs around.
Kia EV9 Battery Pack Teardown: ’A Wonderful Design’ (insideevs.com)

So impressed with what Kia has done with the battery pack.
 

 

I love the Kia EV's, could see owning one myself. Onward to progress.....!

[trinacriabob]

26 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Having raised kids, I think every child should idally grow up with both a dog and a cat. Loyalty and boundaries are two of the most important things for anyone to learn IMHO....cats teach boundaries, Dogs teach loyalty. just my two cents.

I agree.

We had a cat.  She didn't live too long.  She was all black.  Since she grew up in a household that had boys, we were always handling her and playing with her.  She had no problem intreacting with anyone who came over.  It was sad to see her pass.  I've always had a thing for black cats.

I commuted to college and, in an expensive area, stayed at home after that when I started working for about 3 years before my Atlanta chapter.  Our dog, which I looked for specifically in the L.A. Times, lived between 11 and 12 years.  She was a good guard, quickly figured out who were friends once they were inside the house and would calm down, and was a real morale booster on tough days.  Like all working dogs, they are prone to hip dysplasia and that's what did her in.  I remember when we all took her to the vet.  For one, we took the Olds, with plush seats, when "her" designated car had a vinyl interior.  She knew something was up.  I held her during the ride to the vet and when he administered the shot.  When we got back into the car, you could have heard a pin drop.  That was different from the typical, and stereotypical, arguing that was par for the course.

[G. David Felt]

Some interesting news:
EV charger network doubles under Biden-Harris, $521M in new grants fuel expansion | Electrek

Tesla squeezes victory in court, exposes collusion to keep direct sales out of Louisiana | Electrek

Nissan's Electric GT-R will use solid-state batteries for 1 MW power (electrek.co)

If ya cannot make it work in a tunnel, I doubt any day soon FSD by Tesla will work on our roads.

Tesla's self-driving is still not working in Boring Company's one-way tunnels | Electrek

Totally agree with this that there is no need for fake shifts in an EV.

Porsche says no to fake EV shifting as electric engines are better (electrek.co)

[A Horse With No Name]

Land yacht fever continues. 

 

Good to know about the Biden-Harris expansion of the electrical vehicle charging network. I know which way I am voting in November.

Cannot see myself buying a Tesla. like their cars, Musk is off the chain. 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[Drew Dowdell]

On 8/26/2024 at 7:34 PM, Robert Hall said:

I wouldn't mind having a '95-97 TC or an '03-11 TC.  They had very comfortable seats.  Or a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham from '85-89 or '93-96... 

I'd pick the '96 Fleetwood or the '92 Brougham with the 350 over the Town Car, but I'd still like a Town Car. 

[Robert Hall]

25 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I'd pick the '96 Fleetwood or the '92 Brougham with the 350 over the Town Car, but I'd still like a Town Car. 

I don't like the '90-92 Brougham because of the door-mounted seatbelts and composite headlights. An '80s one w/ a LS swap would be nice. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

I don't like the '90-92 Brougham because of the door-mounted seatbelts and composite headlights. An '80s one w/ a LS swap would be nice. 

Fair about the door-mounted belts, but I'd survive.  I don't mind the composites, I think they look decent for the era. 

[A Horse With No Name]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I don't like the '90-92 Brougham because of the door-mounted seatbelts and composite headlights. An '80s one w/ a LS swap would be nice. 

LS swap would be huge. 

 

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I'd pick the '96 Fleetwood or the '92 Brougham with the 350 over the Town Car, but I'd still like a Town Car. 

I am trying to talk myself into or out of, depending on the day, buying a big old 4 door American beast as a second car. These are all on my surfing list at the moment. 

Epic road trip....minus the Road!

 

[trinacriabob]

The overuse of the word "iconic" has become ridiculous.

[A Horse With No Name]

Todays land yacht....

 

15 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

The overuse of the word "iconic" has become ridiculous.

"It's a tremendous word, a big word, no one uses big words like I do, and grown men, macular men with tears in their eyes, come to me saying, sir, you are Iconic and we want you back....some say that I am Iconic...I am the most Iconic Iconic man ever...or so they say..."

22 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Fair about the door-mounted belts, but I'd survive.  I don't mind the composites, I think they look decent for the era. 

IF I had to have a vintage car right now...an Olds Vista cruiser with a455 dumped in it...preferably in some 1970's color like green, brown, gold, yellow or something. And a 442 hood...

[A Horse With No Name]

Older Olds jet Fire wagon...

Rare and wicked cool...

[A Horse With No Name]

Hemi!

 

[G. David Felt]

Great Read, and an interesting note of Info:EVs are involved in approximately 25 fires for every 100,000 vehicles sold, according to National Transportation Safety Board data compiled by AutoinsuranceEZ. That's compared to 1,530 gasoline-powered vehicles and 3,475 hybrid vehicles for every 100,000 sold.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-blaze-in-rivian-parking-lot-local-fire-dep[…]=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b29a4735336a43968cdb81253bca41c1&ei=54

Gas vs. Electric Car Fires [2024 Findings] | AutoinsuranceEZ.com

[A Horse With No Name]

19 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Great Read, and an interesting note of Info:EVs are involved in approximately 25 fires for every 100,000 vehicles sold, according to National Transportation Safety Board data compiled by AutoinsuranceEZ. That's compared to 1,530 gasoline-powered vehicles and 3,475 hybrid vehicles for every 100,000 sold.https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-blaze-in-rivian-parking-lot-local-fire-dep[…]=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=b29a4735336a43968cdb81253bca41c1&ei=54

Gas vs. Electric Car Fires [2024 Findings] | AutoinsuranceEZ.com

Facts don't matter to previous posters here, so this will of course go un responded to....Thanks for posting this though. 

Neat paint job, great car, fine interview.