Random Thoughts Thread

[ocnblu]

Well I want to say leather but if that is the opening, it my be too narrow to fit a piece of leather.  So I'll say metal.

[balthazar]

Want the answer yet?

[ocnblu]

Yessir please

[balthazar]

It's for stamping the initials / name into the 'sweatband' of men's hats. 
A Cummins Hatter's Press. Makes letters like this :

[ocnblu]

So it goes inside the hat, where it meets the skull.  Sweet!

[Suaviloquent]

 

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

Any guesses as to this device's specific purpose?

I thought it was a part of a mould used to make condoms. Really. Like condoms from whichever bygone era that's from.

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, Suaviloquent said:

I thought it was a part of a mould used to make condoms. Really. Like condoms from whichever bygone era that's from.

Funny you should say that; the manufacturer is B. F. Cummins.
Patent dates are 1889-1892. 

[ccap41]

Some inappropriate sexual..things.. 

17 hours ago, balthazar said:

Any guesses as to this device's specific purpose?

 

[G. David Felt]

17 hours ago, Suaviloquent said:

 

I thought it was a part of a mould used to make condoms. Really. Like condoms from whichever bygone era that's from.

Maybe that is from when they used to smack the Willy on the end to make it bulbous!  It could also be taken as a middle ages sex toy! After all the french were sure into kinky things then and now.

 

[ocnblu]

Just wait until you get to the "O".

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Just wait until you get to the "O".

[ccap41]

Does anybody know if a spray paint will dry rot and crack a hose? This is the kind of hose I'm talking about. 

paintball macroline link

[Drew Dowdell]

There are three people who are ruining this site for everyone.... making it miserable for even me to visit..... 

For years I've had a policy of not banning people unless they built up a certain amount of warning points.

I am rethinking that policy now. 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

There are three people who are ruining this site for everyone.... making it miserable for even me to visit..... 

For years I've had a policy of not banning people unless they built up a certain amount of warning points.

I am rethinking that policy now. 

What should the rest of us do to improve the situation?

[Drew Dowdell]

5 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

What should the rest of us do to improve the situation?

Talk about cars not people.

[Stew]

I try to be good Drew

[ccap41]

Just start banning people. If they're causing you headache on your own site, screw it, ban them. If I cause you continuous headache, ban me. This is your place, Drew. Don't let anybody make you not enjoy your own website.

Edited October 26, 2016 by ccap41

[G. David Felt]

Car thief gives up in despair when he can't drive a stick!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/downtime/bumbling-thief-aborts-carjacking-after-realizing-he-cant-drive-stick-shift/vi-AAjeWiG?ocid=UP94DHP

This is too funny, guy holds up another young man and asks for the keys and tells the guy to get out. After a couple minutes trying to figure out how to put the car in drive, gives up and flees. The car was a 5 speed manual. Guess carjackers are not all well versed in driving everything.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

8 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Car thief gives up in despair when he can't drive a stick!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/downtime/bumbling-thief-aborts-carjacking-after-realizing-he-cant-drive-stick-shift/vi-AAjeWiG?ocid=UP94DHP

This is too funny, guy holds up another young man and asks for the keys and tells the guy to get out. After a couple minutes trying to figure out how to put the car in drive, gives up and flees. The car was a 5 speed manual. Guess carjackers are not all well versed in driving everything.

 

It works really well for people not borrowing your car also.

[A Horse With No Name]

 

 

This is worth a watch....she is truly an idiot.

[G. David Felt]

9 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

 

This is worth a watch....she is truly an idiot.

Agreed, she is an idiot that wants to blame everyone else and take no responsibility. One that got her 3 min of fame, next!

Glad I only lost a few min of my life.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, dfelt said:

Agreed, she is an idiot that wants to blame everyone else and take no responsibility. One that got her 3 min of fame, next!

Glad I only lost a few min of my life.

The world is sadly full of them.

[ocnblu]

My bro's brand new 2017 Tahoe at the dealership.  Blue Velvet!

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

15 hours ago, ocnblu said:

My bro's brand new 2017 Tahoe at the dealership.  Blue Velvet!

 

 

 

15 hours ago, ocnblu said:

My bro's brand new 2017 Tahoe at the dealership.  Blue Velvet!

 

 

Heis a lucky man!

[Suaviloquent]

I just watched "Before the Flood"

 

I am utterly convinced that we are all F*****.  Eventually it will all affect us, regardless of who we are and where we come from.

 

And part of me wants to see Musk succeed getting to Mars, part of me doesn't.

For reasons I keep close to my chest. But think deeply enough, you'll realize why I would want for all of us to suffer, every human - especially the biggest polluters per capita, us North Americans.... Regardless of the means...

 

Regardless of the price.... 

 

 

 

 

[ccap41]

14 hours ago, Suaviloquent said:

I just watched "Before the Flood"

 

I am utterly convinced that we are all F*****.  Eventually it will all affect us, regardless of who we are and where we come from.

 

And part of me wants to see Musk succeed getting to Mars, part of me doesn't.

For reasons I keep close to my chest. But think deeply enough, you'll realize why I would want for all of us to suffer, every human - especially the biggest polluters per capita, us North Americans.... Regardless of the means...

 

Regardless of the price.... 

 

 

 

 

I've heard that's really good. I'm yet to watch it though.. I heard it's quite eye opening. 

[Suaviloquent]

Well, I'm kinda not being random, so please smash my face... and please, I'm just kinda doing a mind vent to wrap my head around how things simply HAVE to change. We need to adapt, or we're done. And it will happen in our lifetimes. You betcha!

So, in order for the greater good, the car culture/propensity to eat red meat or meat AT ALL/excessive energy intensive use and more, everywhere basically... might need to die.

Hell, my favourite cars, Camaro, Mustang, Cadillac, Lincoln Conti...Tesla. All of it might need to die. To be finished.  

Or we suffer the consequences.

Climate change is a very real thing. What some people don't understand, is that it takes catastrophic events like a giant ass asteroid the size of Mt. Everest to say do so much global cooling (after the big fireball that incinerates everything living on land) over that just over a few decades, all the ash and soot reduces average temperatures by the same amount of degrees as the numbers of fingers we have on both of our hands. That's it.

In a few decades, almost 90% of the Earth's forests will be incinerated, nearly all the coral will be dead, billions of people will be displaced because of the destruction of subsistence farming... the list goes on. It's not as simple as just changing your lightbulbs and buying organic local produce. It helps on an individual basis, but we need a massive shift towards sustainable, renewable energy sources  and consumption patterns. There's never a time not to do it either. We are already headed towards, and have already had significant harm.

I'm a Canadian, and I am torn as to what we should do with tar sands. Still a significant number of people owe their livelihoods to it. But it's so filthy. You never really get to see the extent of the damage, because by now people are used to seeing miles upon miles of wasteland. That used to be primal boreal forest! So much energy is used to get to the tar sands, and then even the extraction and purification processes are even more complex. And it isn't like taking crude oil, filtering it and then using fractional distillation. There's so many more steps in bitumen refining...I'm not an oil expert, but the next best substitute we have to oil is going all out on solar, wind and geothermal.

Hydro will be dead if all the glaciers melt away. Because almost all of the rivers in the world rely on meltwater in the summer to have any flowing water. And think about it again, a lot of fish species in North America spawn inland. If those rivers go dry, how many more fisheries will be extinct?

I'm not trying to have a public service message in this post. But when even a religious person like the Pope throws the entire weight of his message to support the science of climate change, you know it's more than just an inconvenient truth.

Even turning every car that is ICE to EV or hydrogen and sourcing the power from renewable sources is still going to dump a lot of carbon dioxide (but far less than continuing the way we are) and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

But the way we live is fundamentally tied to the problem. The American Dream, as I know it is about a typical citizen working hard enough to one day own a property of a certain size, have a nuclear family, own 2 or more vehicles, and live some kind of dream that involves consumption of plentiful, and vast array of products and services, and then retire in some level of comfort. That simply isn't sustainable, and the developing world wants exactly the same as we do. 

Even the Pentagon has climate change as a national security problem! I didn't know that!

Did any of you? 

I'm not a doom and gloom kind of person, but the reality has already set in for me. I don't think it is worthwhile for me to pursue a personal vehicle now unless there's no other way. But otherwise, I'll still reduce my meat consumption even more and stick with the frugality of cycling.

I will actively pursue alternative employment arrangements where allowed...and try to help out where I can to reduce the footprint. I am very concerned, about this problem.

I think it will also be important to know how to grow food in the future. I am thinking of learning some competency in gardening....

 

 

 

[G. David Felt]

@Suaviloquent

My Friend, BREATH, Yes BREATH, Climate change is real, yes we need to change how we do things, but we do not have to go all radical in just a year or two. 10-20 or 30 years can work too. 

BREATH, Just BREATH, It will be all ok. 

Hands off my meat, I mean it!  

[balthazar]

It's been some years since I participated in H.E.L.P. (the Highway Leafification Program). 

I used to own a long bed pick-up, and man what a load of leaves it could pack in. Now it's merely a 'standard' 6.5-ft bed, and I don't devote the time to the program like I used to, but it was vastly satisfying to take a barren stretch of local highway and scatter nature's multi-colored glitter over the asphalt once one reached 40 MPH.

'No officer- it wasn't intentional, I just park under a solid canopy of very leafy trees. Do you want me to go back & pick them up? Would you mind stopping 3 lanes of morning commute traffic so I can quickly grab 'em?'

[A Horse With No Name]

On 10/19/2016 at 9:15 PM, dfelt said:

Driving a motorcycle is like russian roulette. Why I drive suvs, as much steel around me as possible. I love my bikes, but not willing to risk my life.

Which is why I am glad Ohio has a ton of rail trails and quiet roads around me for me to ride my bicycle. I love to ride my bike!

[A Horse With No Name]

I am not sure that I am quite as pessimistic as Suaviloquent, but not really optimistic on either an environmental or automotive front.

I really dislike the Conti he mentions more than I really want to get into here because I do not want to be thought of as a hater on the forums. I am ready to move on from the Camaro and Mustang also, was into cars as a very young boy and remember when the very first cars were nearly new.

As for climate change also, I am disgusted with a lot more than that here in the USA.  I would eventually like to relocate permanently elsewhere. Part of it is political, part of it is easier to live somewhere completely different.  Thinking of teaching English as a second language when I retire.

Conversely, some English speaking countries offer fairly easy immigration, would love Ireland or New Zealand. Scotland is awesome but harder to move into.

Thinking of buying a very modest car if I sell the Jetta back because even if I don't relocate completely I want to travel a good bit before I leave this rock.

[ccap41]

Happy Birthday @Drew Dowdell!

[A Horse With No Name]

6 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Happy Birthday @Drew Dowdell!

Agreed, Happy Birthday!

[Stew]

10 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Agreed, Happy Birthday!

I third this notion!

[A Horse With No Name]

http://www.statesman.com/news/national/classic-car-wins-award-then-rolls-into-lagoon/JyE4YtBd4eDVa9cmL24apL/    

 

http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2016/11/3/Toyota-Joins-Forces-With-Mazda-To-Work-On-Cheap-Model-3-Alternatives-7736256/

 

Mazda and Toyota to work on Model 3 Alternative...interesting.

[G. David Felt]

12 hours ago, balthazar said:

It's been some years since I participated in H.E.L.P. (the Highway Leafification Program). 

I used to own a long bed pick-up, and man what a load of leaves it could pack in. Now it's merely a 'standard' 6.5-ft bed, and I don't devote the time to the program like I used to, but it was vastly satisfying to take a barren stretch of local highway and scatter nature's multi-colored glitter over the asphalt once one reached 40 MPH.

'No officer- it wasn't intentional, I just park under a solid canopy of very leafy trees. Do you want me to go back & pick them up? Would you mind stopping 3 lanes of morning commute traffic so I can quickly grab 'em?'

 That is way too funny!  

38 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

http://www.statesman.com/news/national/classic-car-wins-award-then-rolls-into-lagoon/JyE4YtBd4eDVa9cmL24apL/    

Wow, the owner must just be killing himself and the cost to clean it up.

 

[FordCosworth]

[ccap41]

EXACTLY what I want.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=62249&endYear=2017&modelCode1=ATS&showcaseOwnerId=570119&makeCode1=CAD&startYear=1981&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=200&maxPrice=22000&showcaseListingId=434571337&trim1=ATS|Performance&mmt=[CAD[ATS[ATS%7CPerformance]][]]&listingId=442375948&Log=0

[daves87rs]

Cool!!!

Get the feeling it's going to be a wild week!!!

[ocnblu]

Maybe a Honda Fit EX manual.  Certainly is a cavernous little beast.  Some ppl are saying the lumbar is too strong.  We have a '16 DX in the shop now, hit in the back and pushed into another car... surprisingly light damage.  Black with CVT though.

 

[Drew Dowdell]

Let it be known that I am likely going to be listing C&G for sale unless I can come up with some arrangement with someone else to manage it while I retain ownership.

[A Horse With No Name]

7 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Let it be known that I am likely going to be listing C&G for sale unless I can come up with some arrangement with someone else to manage it while I retain ownership.

Please see PM sent.

[ccap41]

Awwwww... why..?

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

Awwwww... why..?

After last night, I have started the process of leaving the country. I believe it would be hard to run the site from Europe.   If I can find a way to do so, then I will continue to do so. 

[A Horse With No Name]

16 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

After last night, I have started the process of leaving the country. I believe it would be hard to run the site from Europe.   If I can find a way to do so, then I will continue to do so. 

I would do the same if I at all could.

[Stew]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

After last night, I have started the process of leaving the country. I believe it would be hard to run the site from Europe.   If I can find a way to do so, then I will continue to do so. 

I would do this if I could.  I am literally terrified right now. 

[ccap41]

3 minutes ago, Stew said:

I am literally terrified right now. 

What exactly are you terrified of?

[Stew]

Because I am gay and trump's VP is well known for being anti-lgbt.  I am terrified hard-fought ights will be lost.  i am terrified of an increase in hate crimes. 

[ccap41]

Personally, I feel like the hate crime stuff would have risen regardless of who won.. This was a very angry election by both parties. People tend to no longer listen to each other they just yell and yell and in person people will start fights over differing opinions..and that's ridiculous to me. So we ave different opinions.. state both of your cases..attempt to persuade.. and if it doesn't work both walk away. But nobody does that anymore. People seemingly build barriers and won't let anything in. It's bull$h! how people(in general) act these days.

[Drew Dowdell]

13 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

What exactly are you terrified of?

#MakeAmericaHateAgain

The election of Trump has validated all of the bigotry and xenophobia of his voter base.  Even if not all of them are "deplorables" and just wanted change, the ones who are deplorable now have their feelings validated.  I fully expect a rise in hate crimes. I'm gay (but you know that since you're a friend on facebook).   I was planning on getting married next year in a large ceremony with family and friends.  Instead, I just finished the marriage license application and will likely be married by the end of next week with a couple friends at the courthouse so that I can make it legal before Herr Trumpter can revoke my rights.