Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

 

[daves87rs]

On 5/22/2017 at 2:02 PM, dfelt said:

Thought this was funny on an editorial write up about flying.

Well, can't hurt at this point....

[surreal1272]

What I had to deal with last week. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

19 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

What I had to deal with last week. 

 

Ohhhhhhhhh crap what happened?

On 5/31/2017 at 1:53 AM, daves87rs said:

Well, can't hurt at this point....

The whole country has lost its mind...now get off of my grass!

[oldshurst442]

@surreal1272

[A Horse With No Name]

3 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

@surreal1272

Likewise!

[surreal1272]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Ohhhhhhhhh crap what happened?

The whole country has lost its mind...now get off of my grass!

My father passed away from Parkison related complications. 

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

@surreal1272

Thanks Olds. That's why I haven't been on here for the last week or so. Drove across country to NC and back. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Ouch!  You have my deepest sympathy!

[oldshurst442]

@surreal1272

Im sorry to hear about your loss.

Its never easy to lose a parent. I fully understand how you feel right about now and my thoughts are with you and your family.

 

 

 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

What I had to deal with last week. 

 

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, you have my deepest condolences!

Wishing you and your family an awesome celebration of his life and the fond memories he left you all.

[balthazar]

Condolenses, Surreal- hang tough.

[surreal1272]

Thanks all. This was uncharted territory and I am just glad he is no longer suffering. He had advanced dementia on top of the Parkinson's and he wasn't the same man I once knew. 

[daves87rs]

So sorry about your loss....

[G. David Felt]

Rolls Royce Swept tail????? 10 million dollar auto??

Hate to say it, but it looks weird!

 

[A Horse With No Name]

I actually like it.

[oldshurst442]

5 hours ago, dfelt said:

Rolls Royce Swept tail????? 10 million dollar auto??

Hate to say it, but it looks weird!

 

 

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I actually like it.

ME TOO!!!

This is my favorite thing about it. That wood is just CRAZY awesome!!!

It reminds me of that speed boat from Indiana Jones III

Which I think was the inspiration of this Rolls Royce anyhow!!! The wood and the silhouette.

 

I LOVE THIS ANGLE TOO!!!

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

All this to say though that the 1971-1972 Buick Riviera did it better! Well...I think its better!!!

Many highfalutin snobs might not think so. The price tag and the badge throws them off...its what they want to see more than anything else I suppose!

Edited June 10, 2017 by oldshurst442

[A Horse With No Name]

Both the Rolls and the Buick are awesome!

[oldshurst442]

This is why I LOVED 1995-1999 Buick Riviera!

 

No picture captures the boat tail silhouette that this generation Riviera had because the WHOLE car was a boat tail silhouette. It was stunning to me. It still is actually!

Edited June 10, 2017 by oldshurst442

[A Horse With No Name]

21 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

This is why I LOVED 1995-1999 Buick Riviera!

 

No picture captures the boat tail silhouette that this generation Riviera had because the WHOLE car was a boat tail silhouette. It was stunning to me. It still is actually!

Agree...I had a couple worker get drunk and wreck his...was a sad day in mudville...

[G. David Felt]

13 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

All this to say though that the 1971-1972 Buick Riviera did it better! Well...I think its better!!!

Many highfalutin snobs might not think so. The price tag and the badge throws them off...its what they want to see more than anything else I suppose!

OK the Rolls is growing on me, but I have to totally agree with you that the BUICK is way better!

BUICK Rivera ROCKS!  

[balthazar]

Just found out my wife's employer offers her $4K on top of the $7500 the Gov't give you for an EV purchase. $11,500 off sticker- not to shabby.

[A Horse With No Name]

43 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Just found out my wife's employer offers her $4K on top of the $7500 the Gov't give you for an EV purchase. $11,500 off sticker- not to shabby.

Now if every EV didn't depreciate like a banshee as soon as you drove it off of the lot...

[balthazar]

Are there any specific costs out there on battery replacement?  Model S?

[G. David Felt]

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

Are there any specific costs out there on battery replacement?  Model S?

Yes depending on the battery version you have in your Tesla S from 60 to 100 your looking at about 6000-10,000 cost of battery replacement according to the local Tesla store here.

[balthazar]

Edited June 11, 2017 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

Love the pictures!

[G. David Felt]

Just got an email this morning from GM Performance.

T56 Super Magnum Performance 6 Speed Manual Transmission. Designed to handle all of GM Performances most powerful crate motors such as the beast LSX454R.

Showing off in the Following Chevelle Slammer to be on display this year around the country.

Chevrolet Performance’s fleet will be led this year by their Chevelle “Slammer” that was unveiled at last year’s SEMA show. One word that jumps out at us when looking at this car is simply, clean. The black exterior matched with the red interior just works. Under the hood sits the a Chevrolet Performance LT376/535 crate engine(link is external). This engine was designed for use in race vehicles and builds on the LT family’s technologies and takes them to the next level, leveraging CNC-ported heads and the high-lift LT1 Hot Cam bringing 535 naturally aspirated horsepower. Oh, and this engine loves to rev as well, easily towards 6,800 rpm. If you’re on tour and are a fan of Chevelles, or just classic Chevys in general, you’ll want to swing by the Chevrolet Performance booth to peek at one well executed build ready for the “long haul.”

T56 6 speed Manual Transmission designed to handle 700 lb-ft of torque.

2017 HOT ROD Power Tour Preview and Dates

[A Horse With No Name]

Very nice, I have owned two Chevelle's myself.

[G. David Felt]

Busy weekend, decisions, decisions, decisions.

My wife and I have decided that playing on the water and in the sun is no longer an option for me. Friday, I was informed my skin cancer is back and on my back, so July 17th I go in for more surgery.

With that said, I have unpacked from the winter slumber, cleaned and prepped our Yamaha Waverunners for selling to a new home. They are in excellent condition,matched pair. Listed on Boattrader:

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2003-yamaha-fx140-103079495

Hopefully they will find someone soon who is as much into playing as our family was.

[balthazar]

I'm sure it's tough to let them go, but you're putting yourself first, which is the only choice here. Wish U well!

[G. David Felt]

3 hours ago, balthazar said:

I'm sure it's tough to let them go, but you're putting yourself first, which is the only choice here. Wish U well!

Thank you, 

[Drew Dowdell]

Sorry to hear about that @dfelt

Maybe a timely joke to cheer you up?

Quote

 

Jeff Bezos: "Alexa, buy me something from Whole Foods."

Alexa: "Sure Jeff, buying Whole Foods."

JB: "WAAAAI... actually okay, go ahead."

(stolen from Twitter)

 

 

[G. David Felt]

8 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Sorry to hear about that @dfelt

Maybe a timely joke to cheer you up?

 

That is awesome, Amazon seems to be wanting to own everything in Seattle that Paul and Bill do not buy!

[G. David Felt]

Aston Martin has launched their new product line, AM37. A power boat.

http://www.dailymotion.com/f3c135a2-bc3d-4188-a420-a9bede4f56ea 

 

[balthazar]

For sale out of Philly, lots of parts (some lettercar), asking $18.5K. Loads of potential for a road burner.

[A Horse With No Name]

3 hours ago, balthazar said:

For sale out of Philly, lots of parts (some lettercar), asking $18.5K. Loads of potential for a road burner.

Ohhhhhhhhh absolutely yes....!

On 6/12/2017 at 9:41 AM, balthazar said:

I'm sure it's tough to let them go, but you're putting yourself first, which is the only choice here. Wish U well!

Agreed...

My father has skin cancer Also....

[A Horse With No Name]

So I did replace the Jetta I sold back to VW with a CPO 2014 Beetle R line, which essentially has the MK 6 GTI power train and quite a few other up grades.  My wife kind of fell in love with it as did my 16 year old and 21 year old daughter.

I will post up some pics later. I think I will just keep driving my 2003 R53 Cooper S for quite a while as it is paid for and running really well. I am probably going to modify the Cooper at some point and start running autocross again.

Beetle is denim blue which is not a common VW color and very unusual for an R line as most of the R lines were black, red, or white.

[surreal1272]

Found this on Facebook today and it perfectly sums up Phoenix right now. BTW, calling for 119 today.

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

52 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

Found this on Facebook today and it perfectly sums up Phoenix right now. BTW, calling for 119 today.

 

 

Unreal, that would drive me nuts.

[surreal1272]

14 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Unreal, that would drive me nuts.

It can be brutal but if you can handle the three really hot months, the other nine months of much better weather makes it worth it. 

Edited June 20, 2017 by surreal1272

[A Horse With No Name]

1 minute ago, surreal1272 said:

It can be brutal but if you can handle the three really hot months, the other nine months of much better weather makes it worth it. 

If I could I would move to the upper peninsula or perhaps Duluth Minnesota. I love lake Superior, and I would put up with 8 months of cold to have fewer people around, nature, water, and the like.

[Robert Hall]

I did 9 years in Arizona, 9 years too many....too many months where the average day is over 100F, too many days of hazy silver skies, dust everywhere, endless beige.    Some great scenery in the touristy areas and up north (I like Flagstaff, Jerome and Prescott in particular), great restaurant scene in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, solid tech job market, but ultimately too many negatives for me.   And the old it's a 'dry heat' thing gets old--an oven is a dry heat also..try sticking your head in an oven for 6 months...one good thing is I should be able to get a good price for my house there when I sell it. 

I'm happy being back in the Great Lakes region..72 and sunny today, went out twice today w/ the windows down and sunroof open..I think in my heart I'm a cold weather person...the triple digit heat just totally saps my energy and is very depressing/demotivating.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[surreal1272]

42 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I did 9 years in Arizona, 9 years too many....too many months where the average day is over 100F, too many days of hazy silver skies, dust everywhere, endless beige.    Some great scenery in the touristy areas and up north (I like Flagstaff, Jerome and Prescott in particular), great restaurant scene in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, solid tech job market, but ultimately too many negatives for me.   And the old it's a 'dry heat' thing gets old--an oven is a dry heat also..try sticking your head in an oven for 6 months...one good thing is I should be able to get a good price for my house there when I sell it. 

I'm happy being back in the Great Lakes region..72 and sunny today, went out twice today w/ the windows down and sunroof open..I think in my heart I'm a cold weather person...the triple digit heat just totally saps my energy and is very depressing/demotivating.

I can second that. The heat does get old at times. Honestly, if I did not have a pool, I'd probably never have a reason to go out to my backyard this time of the year. The wife and I have been talking of relocating to higher ground and cooler weather but the trade off there is that the prolonged cold of some areas are absolute murder to my joints. I experienced that living in Prescott for five years. It was the opposite of Phoenix in terms of weather. It really is a matter of picking your poison but our poison here lately keeps pointing us to Colorado Srpings.  

53 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

If I could I would move to the upper peninsula or perhaps Duluth Minnesota. I love lake Superior, and I would put up with 8 months of cold to have fewer people around, nature, water, and the like.

That is way too cold for my "raised in the south" blood lol! Beautiful area but those winters would turn me into a hermit. 

[Robert Hall]

Just now, surreal1272 said:

I can second that. The heat does get old at times. Honestly, if I did not have a pool, I'd probably never have a reason to go out to my backyard this time of the year. The wife and I have been talking of relocating to higher ground and cooler weather but the trade off there is that the prolonged cold of some areas are absolute murder to my joints. I experienced that living in Prescott for five years. It was the opposite of Phoenix in terms of weather. It really is a matter of picking your poison but our poison here lately keeps pointing us to Colorado Srpings.  

I miss my pool..weeks like this I would get in it in the evening for a couple hours every night....Colorado Springs has a great climate, IMO..big spring and late fall snows, but dry and sunny...I lived there 5 years, '97-02, then Denver from '02-08.  

[surreal1272]

Just now, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

I miss my pool..weeks like this I would get in it in the evening for a couple hours every night....Colorado Springs has a great climate, IMO..big spring and late fall snows, but dry and sunny...I lived there 5 years, '97-02, then Denver from '02-08.  

Any downsides to that area (Colorado Springs. I already know Denver is expensive as hell lol)?

[Robert Hall]

4 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

Any downsides to that area (Colorado Springs. I already know Denver is expensive as hell lol)?

The main reason I left was during the early '00s tech downturn was the job market seemed too thin compared to Denver and Boulder in the high tech field...so much of the CS job market is dominated by DoD and military-related work.   It's cheaper than the Denver area, and all the amenities of Denver are only an hour away... it's a pretty conservative area politically, but with a strong hippie/leftie angle in Manitou Springs that gives it that funky Colorado mountain town feel...   The close proximity to the mountains was always a plus for me..

Edited June 20, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[surreal1272]

8 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

The main reason I left was during the early '00s tech downturn was the job market seemed too thin compared to Denver and Boulder in the high tech field...so much of the CS job market is dominated by DoD and military-related work.   It's cheaper than the Denver area, and all the amenities of Denver are only an hour away... it's a pretty conservative area politically, but with a strong hippie/leftie angle in Manitou Springs that gives it that funky Colorado mountain town feel...   The close proximity to the mountains was always a plus for me..

Good to know. I figured it leaned a little conservative given the military presence there but I don't have a problem with it one way or the other. It those far fringe folks on both sides that I can do without. 

 

I do have a good friend up there who loves it and the mountains, which I am fan of as well. She pretty much echoes your sentiment. 

[oldshurst442]

Montreal!

Summer is just great! Sure its humid. Its not the 'dry heat' thing I always hear about when people reference Nevada, Arizona, some parts of California, mainland Greece (the islands are humid, but Greek beaches tend to make you forget the humidity). But, honestly....who cares about the humidity???!!!

After a long hard winter (which no longer is THAT hard due to 'climate change'-whether you believe it to be true or not, whether its human-kind influenced or just a natural flow of occurrence of billions of years in the making, but make no mistake about it, it is real and there is a difference that Ive personally seen and experienced just based on the fact that 40 years ago as a child, winters in Montreal had literally more snow storms and snow falls and  more  -40F  degree weather than what Im experiencing as an adult for the last 20 years!)  we really ANTICIPATE AND GREET SUMMER WITH OPEN ARMS!

Its like XMAS and Birthdays! We await summer like we await to open our gifts!

The problem with winter is, it is too long....the definition of lasting tooo long is that the transition between winter and spring to lead into the warmer temperatures is long.  Spring in Montreal is nice....but the weather is in between. Some days the weather is your typical spring warmish weather, but sometimes it is very wintery! Freezing weather and snow and slush!

It really is not that cold....but the ANTICIPATION for the real warmth is overwhelming!

Autumn...what a BEAUTIFUL time of the year in the Atlantic east board or if you prefer North AmericanNorth East!  Leaves are changing with the nice colours, the temperature is still hot, not scorching humid hot like in July, but very very comfy, like June and August nice.  Indian Summer gets you that additional July weather but with a nice cool breeze!

This is where things fell apart. Winter started again in the last week of October in Montreal in little bursts and as November drew to a close, winter had already set in...but that is not the case anymore....winter does really start in mid December so we enjoy the Fall nowadays!

No...Montreal does not have the Pacific Ocean California beaches, or the South Atlantic Ocean South Carolina beaches or the Caribbean near South Atlantic Florida beaches or the Gulf of Mexico beaches of America's Southlands! But Montreal does have nice lakes and calm enough rivers for our water fun. We get by just good enough thank-you very much!

And what we lack from those party-on ocean beach life styles, we more than make-up for it and then some with our LIVE ET LET LIVE and JOIE DE VIVRE!!!

 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

Montreal!

Summer is just great! Sure its humid. Its not the 'dry heat' thing I always hear about when people reference Nevada, Arizona, some parts of California, mainland Greece (the islands are humid, but Greek beaches tend to make you forget the humidity). But, honestly....who cares about the humidity???!!!

After a long hard winter (which no longer is THAT hard due to 'climate change'-whether you believe it to be true or not, whether its human-kind influenced or just a natural flow of occurrence of billions of years in the making, but make no mistake about it, it is real and there is a difference that Ive personally seen and experienced just based on the fact that 40 years ago as a child, winters in Montreal had literally more snow storms and snow falls and  more  -40F  degree weather than what Im experiencing as an adult for the last 20 years!)  we really ANTICIPATE AND GREET SUMMER WITH OPEN ARMS!

Its like XMAS and Birthdays! We await summer like we await to open our gifts!

The problem with winter is, it is too long....the definition of lasting tooo long is that the transition between winter and spring to lead into the warmer temperatures is long.  Spring in Montreal is nice....but the weather is in between. Some days the weather is your typical spring warmish weather, but sometimes it is very wintery! Freezing weather and snow and slush!

It really is not that cold....but the ANTICIPATION for the real warmth is overwhelming!

Autumn...what a BEAUTIFUL time of the year in the Atlantic east board or if you prefer North AmericanNorth East!  Leaves are changing with the nice colours, the temperature is still hot, not scorching humid hot like in July, but very very comfy, like June and August nice.  Indian Summer gets you that additional July weather but with a nice cool breeze!

This is where things fell apart. Winter started again in the last week of October in Montreal in little bursts and as November drew to a close, winter had already set in...but that is not the case anymore....winter does really start in mid December so we enjoy the Fall nowadays!

No...Montreal does not have the Pacific Ocean California beaches, or the South Atlantic Ocean South Carolina beaches or the Caribbean near South Atlantic Florida beaches or the Gulf of Mexico beaches of America's Southlands! But Montreal does have nice lakes and calm enough rivers for our water fun. We get by just good enough thank-you very much!

And what we lack from those party-on ocean beach life styles, we more than make-up for it and then some with our LIVE ET LET LIVE and JOIE DE VIVRE!!!

 

I would take Montreal over any city on the continent....you are the gluiest man to live there...