Kawasaki Concours Forum

Mish mash => Open Forum => Topic started by: B.D.F. on May 11, 2011, 07:02:44 PM

Title: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 11, 2011, 07:02:44 PM
It had to be done....

Ay, ay, ay, ay! I am dee Frito Bandito. I like Frito's Corn Chips. I love them, I do. I want Frito's corn chips. I'll take them, from you.

Ay, ay, ay, ay, oh, I am the Frito Bandito. Give me Frito Corn chips and I'll be your friend. The Frito Bandito you must not offend.

If you are old enough to remember this I bet you can't get that song out of your head now. If you are not old enough to remember it, it was a classic advertisement for Fritos corn chips and starred the Frito Bandito (a cartoon character).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on May 11, 2011, 08:13:39 PM
Who is Eva Haberman anyhow?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jim_de_hunter on May 12, 2011, 03:30:05 AM
Plop, plop. Fizz, fizz.......
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeboileau on May 12, 2011, 07:42:58 AM
I can't believe I ate the whole thing.......
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 12, 2011, 09:17:13 AM
(http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0912/sgt-schultz-sgt-shultz-knowing-nothing-demotivational-poster-1262241779.jpg)

Sgt Schultz knows nothing, nothing! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzYpADZiv00#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 12, 2011, 09:20:59 AM
It had to be done....

Ay, ay, ay, ay! I am dee Frito Bandito. I like Frito's Corn Chips. I love them, I do. I want Frito's corn chips. I'll take them, from you.

Ay, ay, ay, ay, oh, I am the Frito Bandito. Give me Frito Corn chips and I'll be your friend. The Frito Bandito you must not offend.

If you are old enough to remember this I bet you can't get that song out of your head now. If you are not old enough to remember it, it was a classic advertisement for Fritos corn chips and starred the Frito Bandito (a cartoon character).

Brian

Yep, I remember that lil fella. Not too PC but who cares?

How about Punchy from Hawaiian punch?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 12, 2011, 09:23:12 AM
Gosh durn post hohs!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkingH3r3 on May 12, 2011, 12:05:43 PM
It is quite upsetting to ask to have a specific cut, and then notice afterwards, that not only did the cut not look like the picture you brought it, but it looked badly on you. You do have a few things that you could do, but panicking is not one of them.

(http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/9a/Haircut_265.jpg/250px-Haircut_265.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 12, 2011, 07:43:46 PM
The United States had three different presidents in 1841. The first one, Martin Van Buren, finished his term as president in that year. The second, William Henry Harrison began his term as president but caught a cold and died, thus becoming the president serving the shortest time in office (4 March to 4 April 1841). The third president, John Tyler, then became the first vice president to succeed to the office of the presidency.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jamiemac on May 12, 2011, 09:56:24 PM
I have spent most of the money I had during My life, chasing women, and on guns and liquor. The rest I wasted.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 13, 2011, 05:04:55 AM
It is quite upsetting to ask to have a specific cut, and then notice afterwards, that not only did the cut not look like the picture you brought it, but it looked badly on you. You do have a few things that you could do, but panicking is not one of them.

(http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/9/9a/Haircut_265.jpg/250px-Haircut_265.jpg)


That looks like Tony's shrink from the Sopranos
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 13, 2011, 05:05:33 AM
The United States had three different presidents in 1841. The first one, Martin Van Buren, finished his term as president in that year. The second, William Henry Harrison began his term as president but caught a cold and died, thus becoming the president serving the shortest time in office (4 March to 4 April 1841). The third president, John Tyler, then became the first vice president to succeed to the office of the presidency.

Brian

Talk about a bad cold...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: DarrellB on May 13, 2011, 08:05:25 AM
If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there. Does it still make a noise.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Johnj on May 13, 2011, 08:46:43 AM
No, it doesn't make noise it makes sound
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkingH3r3 on May 13, 2011, 09:22:16 AM
If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there. Does it still make a noise.
But if the Tree had a working Ki-Pass, it never would have fallen and thus make no sound/noise at all.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkingH3r3 on May 13, 2011, 09:24:00 AM
Sounds like beta vs VHS tapes...

Will cheap and light "passive" 3D glasses win the 3DTV eyewear format war?

It seems every new technology comes with the obligatory format war and 3DTV is no exception. Actually there are a few format choices when it comes to displaying 3D content, but the most obvious format choice for shoppers will be between “active” and “passive” 3D glasses. I’ve seen demos of both in the last week and I suspect passive glasses will win people over until glass-less autostereoscopic 3DTVs hit the big time.
The 3D effect relies on your two eyes each seeing a slightly different image, which your brain then combines into a three dimensional picture. Different 3D displays achieve this in different ways.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/active-v-passive-3d-glasses-20110513-1elhb.html#ixzz1MFKuhRyt (http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/active-v-passive-3d-glasses-20110513-1elhb.html#ixzz1MFKuhRyt)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2011, 12:42:33 PM
If a motorcycle falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, is it still the fault of KiPass?

Brian


If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there. Does it still make a noise.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2011, 12:45:17 PM
Nope, I don't remember him (it?).

Brian


Yep, I remember that lil fella. Not too PC but who cares?

How about Punchy from Hawaiian punch?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2011, 12:49:20 PM
Yeah but he only caught it that one time....

Brian


Talk about a bad cold...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkingH3r3 on May 13, 2011, 12:53:10 PM
If a motorcycle falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, is it still the fault of KiPass?

Brian

Corollary to http://zggtr.org/index.php?topic=49.msg1617#msg1617 (http://zggtr.org/index.php?topic=49.msg1617#msg1617)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 13, 2011, 01:22:49 PM
Nope, I don't remember him (it?).

Brian

(http://www.retroplanet.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/Punchy.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 13, 2011, 01:24:15 PM
If a motorcycle falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, is it still the fault of KiPass?

Brian

If it's Bob's FJR it is.    ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 13, 2011, 02:36:31 PM
I forgot what I was going to say.  Something witty for sure.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jim_de_hunter on May 13, 2011, 04:52:27 PM
It is believed that Pythagoras didn't prove the theorem that bears his name because algebra had yet to be invented during his lifetime.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2011, 05:46:32 PM
Either he or one of his students came up with the proof for that theorem. That said, all mathematical theorems remain theorems because they cannot be proven until each and every number or number combination has been tried and the theory continues to work. As there are infinite numbers, no theorem can be proven conclusively.

Brian



It is believed that Pythagoras didn't prove the theorem that bears his name because algebra had yet to be invented during his lifetime.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2011, 06:14:20 PM
I just spilled wine over my desk and keyboard.  Darn mouse cord caught the bottom of the glass.  It was at least a swallows worth.  :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2011, 07:17:32 PM
Was it a pet mouse or a wild one? Kirby trips over stuff now and again but he has never spilled anything that I was drinking.

Brian

I just spilled wine over my desk and keyboard.  Darn mouse cord caught the bottom of the glass.  It was at least a swallows worth.  :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 14, 2011, 05:33:51 AM
I just spilled wine over my desk and keyboard.  Darn mouse cord caught the bottom of the glass.  It was at least a swallows worth.  :banghead:

If you had been drinking a beer that wouldn't have happened! Is it time for a new keyboard yet?

Yeah yeah, blame the sticky keys on the wine...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 14, 2011, 06:14:35 PM
As the story goes….

‘Fighting’ Joe Hooker was a union general during the American Civil war. Some of his characteristics were supposedly that he liked parties, drinking and er, women of ‘negotiable affections’. So much so that there was a group of such women who followed Fighting Joe around as he traveled with the army. These women were called “Hooker’s division” which of course was eventually shortened to just ‘hookers’ and is the origin of the use and meaning of that word. It is a great story; it is not true but it is much more colorful than the truth….

The word ‘hooker’ was used in print with its current meaning at least as early as 1845, many years before the civil war or Joe Hooker’s notoriety. It may be tied to a place called Corlear’s Hook in New York due to the number of houses of ill repute there. It also may have origins as far back as the 16th century when hooks were used to steal items through open windows and when used in that way, their owners were called ‘hookers’; certain women were associated with such fellows because they used similarly nefarious methods to induce customers to visit.

See- I told you the Fighting Joe origin was much better.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 15, 2011, 09:09:35 AM
Water is the only material that 'freezes' from the top down. Other materials change from liquid to solid from the bottom up. Good thing it goes that way with water though, otherwise life would not exist on Earth: freezing at the bottom would kill off the smaller organisms that start the food chain and everything else living in that body of water would die too.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkingH3r3 on May 17, 2011, 07:35:13 AM
http://www.rlmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/index.cgi?page=Riding_Tips.htm&cart_id=1286449051.43130 (http://www.rlmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/index.cgi?page=Riding_Tips.htm&cart_id=1286449051.43130)


STREET RIDING TIPS

34 safety and street riding tips to help reduce injuries and reduce your risk!

1 - Leave your ego at home.
Really, no body cares how good (fast) you can ride.  Only you.
2 - Be considerate in traffic.
Do you really have to pass aggressively and dart in and out of traffic?  Do you like to cut right in front of cars after passing and not use a signal?  This type riding behavior infuriates other drivers and can incite road rage.  Don't think they won't try to knock you down on purpose! 
3 - Be patient.
Look before you leap!  Being impatient makes you do stupid things with your motorcycle.
4 - Assume you are invisible in traffic and motorists will try to kill you!
Ride defensively and use tips #11, #21 and #22.
5 - Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Old saying that rings true for all motorcyclists.  Think in survival mode.
6 - Wear protective riding gear
Yes, we have all heard the arguments about comfort, rights, etc.  This is about YOU so consider this:
No one wants to crash but if you do, do you want to go pavement diving in sneakers, shorts and a T-shirt?  Crash without a helmet on your grape?  You kidding, right?
7 - Don't trust those mirrors 100%.
Never change lanes or direction without using your mirrors AND a head check for hidden danger.
8 - Pay attention to your riding!
At 60mph you are covering 80+ feet a second. Day dreaming or looking elsewhere beside the roadway can get you in big trouble very quickly.
9 - Watch your closing speed.
Give yourself time to react or you better be REAL good at braking and evasion!
10 - Always use the 2 second rule!
Stay 2 seconds behind the traffic ahead.  Make that 4 seconds in the rain.  This is an easy safety check you can make anytime.....just count the time and adjust your distance.  The faster you go the more the distance.  This simple riding rule will allow you to see more of the road and have more time to react to sudden dangers ahead.
11 - Think before you act. 
Goes with #3!
12 - Look where you want to go.
It's the same for riding horses, bicycles, or motorcycles.  You go where you look. Use target fixation to your advantage.  It's a body english thing! 
13 - Keep your eyes scanning ahead for potential trouble.
Ok, this is a big one.  Learn this skill and your chances of avoiding a crash go way up.
The opposite of target fixation!  Keep your eyes moving and scan ahead a reasonable distance.  That 40 feet in front of your bike is already history....
14 - Watch for the wildlife.
Practice #13 to avoid most deer, moose, ground hogs, beavers, or whatever critter frequents your roads.  You MIGHT get a chance to avoid them if you buy yourself some time.
15 - Excessive speed for your riding conditions.
Don't ride over your head.  Slow down to a comfortable 80% of your ability.  If your buddy gets ahead, he'll wait on you (well, if he is a good riding buddy he will).
16 - Danger from behind!
Always keep an eye on your mirrors.  Make this part of your visual scan. Do this especially when you stop or slow down.  This may warn you of fast approaching danger from the rear so you can get out of the way. 
17 - Keep a good position and always have an escape route.
Stay away from commercial trucks, trailers, RVs, etc that can easily kill you if you tangle with one.  Always anticipate problems and watch for a way out if things go bad.
18 - Stay off parts of the roadway where debris gathers.  Both sides!
Now, you would think this would be common sense and not in this list but riders do get hurt running over tires, nails, boards, ladders, etc. that are on the sides of the road and off ramps.
19 - Left turning cars, trucks, ANYTHING!
This one is THE #1 killer of motorcyclists!   Sometimes you never get a chance to react but you can minimize the danger by practicing your scan, eye contact, and other skills mentioned here. Oh, have good front lighting on your bike and use it to your advantage (high beams in the day, MotoLight).
20 - Drivers running red lights.
Do you start into an intersection the moment  your light turns green?  Yes?  You are begging to get run over!  Wait a second or two, look both ways and then proceed.  You will be amazed how many idiots you see come through red lights.
21 - Always cover your front brake.
MSF says no but this can add a full second to your reaction time for braking.
Is that not a good thing?
22 - Learn to use BOTH brakes together for maximum braking.
Very important for threshold braking and escape maneuver.  Practice it!
23 - Come to a full stop at stop signs. 
Yeah, you know you have been rolling them!  Stop this bad habit before you get nailed!
24 - Stop signs and traffic lights on hills.
Use your rear brake to hold you tight and smoothly engage the clutch when you need to ride off.  See, that was easy!
25 - Riding in the rain. 
Hey, it rains.  No big deal, your bike can handle it.  Rain does not = impending doom.  Slow down and and ride smoothly.  Relax and concentrate.  Remember the most  slippery pavement will be at the start of a shower.  Heavy downpours can wash away the road film and improve traction for you.
26 - Master slow speed riding.
You can fall off and get hurt badly at 5 mph.  Learn to steer in tight low speed conditions and use the rear brake to help with smooth weight transfer.  Sound like BS?  Go to your local gas station where motorcycles gather and sit back to watch the show! 
27 - Master the U turn.
You should be able to turn your bike inside a single lane of traffic (12 feet wide) with your feet on the pegs.  It isn't hard, use the clutch, use that outside peg,  and steer smoothly.  Learn this maneuver for clean 180's so you don't end up stopped and struggling in the road or worse, fall off.  Goes with #26.  School parking lots are a good place to practice this and other slow speed riding. 
28 - Keep your bike serviced and keep good tires on it.
Well, that covers that!
29 - Show your intentions to everybody!
Use your turn signals at least 5 seconds before a turn.  Use your brake light to warn of impending stops.  Again, sudden and abrupt changes in your speed or direction can cause you to get knocked down by a car or truck in traffic.  Especially if you don't signal!
30 - At traffic lights or other stops: Don't stop in the middle of the road.
Do you want to be a motorcycle sandwich?  Stop on one side or the other so you can escape easily if a vehicle is bearing down on you from behind.  Watch those mirrors (again).
31 - Leave your bike in 1st gear while stopped in traffic. 
How can you escape if you are sitting there out of gear?
32 - Avoid slippery fluids like transmission fluid, motor oil, anti freeze, Diesel fuel, etc.
These hazards mostly collect in the middle of the road so they pile up at intersections.  See #30
33 - Tire blow outs, other sudden flats, and drive train failures: What to do now?!
Ok, if this is going to be a disaster it usually happens within the first couple of seconds.  So if you have time to realize what is happening and you are not already sliding down the highway, you can probably save it.  Don't panic!  Be smooth with getting off the throttle and begin braking with the good wheel (except you linked ABS folks) as quickly as the situation will allow.  This will probably be ugly but get stopped the best you can.
34 - Always look back when leaving parking.
Have you ever lost anything while riding?  This happens most often right at the motorcycle when loading or unloading.  When you mount up and pull off, get in the habit of looking back where you were parked for anything you may have dropped on the ground.  You may surprised how many times this can save you some grief!

 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 17, 2011, 12:56:30 PM
Ignore #21.  To hell with "What MSF says", I mean, really, what do they know?  When the body/mind goes into panic mode things tense up really quick, which is what you never want to do with the front brake.  #s 13 and 17 will give you that split second needed.  Never rely on ABS, Murphys law dictates that when you need it most it will fail.  Take extra time to practice quick stops, dont just rely on routine riding to keep this most valuable of skills up to par, practice it in all riding situations, wet and dry, it is a skill that just may save your life.  Ever hear that line "I had to lay it down"?  Just how much traction does the side of a motorcycle provide?  Lock up the front brakes and you'll find out.  Only cover the front brake when you have determined the need, NOT on a routine basis.  If you are in forest rat land, slow, and if you are seeking an area you think may have a rat, go ahead, slow, cover, move on, and resume standard riding. 
How many drive with their foot hovering over the brake?  If I grab the brake lever in a panic moment what will happen?
How many cover their clutch?  If I grab my clutch lever in a panic moment, what will happen?
Guys/gals, continue to improve upon your skills, be it MSF or some other school, get another set of eyes to watch and offer advice on technique.  If you dont like what they have to offer, it is still up to you to survive the ride.
YMMV, just my professional opnion, nothing more, nothing less.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 17, 2011, 03:52:31 PM
So if you are in beautiful downtown Detroit and travel south two miles, what country are you in?


Canada.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on May 18, 2011, 09:37:30 AM
The more one knows, the less one believes. 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sherob on May 18, 2011, 09:47:17 AM
So if you are in beautiful downtown Detroit and travel south two miles, what country are you in?


Canada.

Brian

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sherob on May 18, 2011, 09:48:56 AM
#35 Enjoy your ride.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: koval68 on May 18, 2011, 11:02:52 AM
So if you are in beautiful downtown Detroit and travel south two miles, what country are you in?


Canada.

Brian
:stirpot: :chugbeer: :stirpot:

A Canadian and an American are having a beer together, and the conversation turns to who has the better country. After numerous exchanges of boasts, the Yankee says "Sure Canada's nice! But take away your clean air, your friendly people, and your strong beer, and what have you got?".

The Canuck smiles and says "Easy. The USA!".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 18, 2011, 11:08:25 AM
If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there. Does it still make a noise.

Corollary: If a tree falls in the forest and kills a mime, does anyone care?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 18, 2011, 11:34:47 AM
Corollary: If a tree falls in the forest and kills a mime, does anyone care?

What a waste! Only the one mime?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: YoDoc on May 18, 2011, 11:47:11 AM
A crowed elevator smells completely different to a midget.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on May 18, 2011, 12:47:33 PM
Even if you win the rat race.... You're still a rat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 18, 2011, 03:49:00 PM
What a waste! Only the one mime?

Well if its a really big tree and you stack the mimes...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rockstar on May 18, 2011, 05:22:19 PM
If a man speaks in the woods and there is no woman there to hear him, is he still wrong?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeboileau on May 18, 2011, 07:58:48 PM
I've got a loverly coconut......
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 18, 2011, 10:33:34 PM
you meet nice people on a HONDA. Even though these two were nice and not on HONDA, I was on a HONDA and thats why I met them.


(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/shamrocks_TSB/20110518-DSC_0001.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 23, 2011, 10:53:51 PM
a thread about nothing should talk about safety gear (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/badteeth.gif)

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/LR/20110501-DSC_0060.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 24, 2011, 11:48:24 AM
I sneezed in my full face helmet 20 minutes ago :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: WillyP on May 24, 2011, 11:52:12 AM
I had to go listen to this to get the Frito song outa my head:

http://youtu.be/UejelYnVI3U (http://youtu.be/UejelYnVI3U)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on May 24, 2011, 12:01:29 PM
Darjeeling Tea Estates

Most valued Darjeeling tea gardens are located along the sloping hills and valleys of the Himalayan Mountains in Northern India. The high altitude – ranging in elevation between 3000 and 6500 ft - makes the tea leaves special. Here, the tea makers' art is said to be comparable with the art of wine making. Darjeeling teas are known for their intensely aromatic and flavorful character and not least for their characteristic Muscat flavor note. Tea lovers also call teas from Darjeeling the “Champagne of tea".

PS. I hate Tea...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on May 25, 2011, 08:21:18 AM
If the best defense is a good offense the does this mean we should drive as offensively as possible?  :o It seem to be to logic pattern for about 30% of the drivers on the road.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 25, 2011, 08:28:57 AM
If the best defense is a good offense the does this mean we should drive as offensively as possible?  :o It seem to be to logic pattern for about 30% of the drivers on the road.  ;D

And it seems that the other 70% drive clueless. What's that tell ya?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 25, 2011, 09:33:34 AM
Then I would say it is time to give it back to whomever you borrowed it from in the first place.

Brian

I sneezed in my full face helmet 20 minutes ago :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 25, 2011, 09:35:57 AM
With all this Federal money pouring into the states for road construction, it seems we have road work going on about every 10 feet in the northeast at the moment. A common sign at the start of one of these messes is "Grooved pavement ahead" "Motorcycles use caution". The implication is clear- all others should drive with reckless abandon. And it seems that some of them have caught on to this idea....

Brian


And it seems that the other 70% drive clueless. What's that tell ya?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 25, 2011, 09:38:46 AM
Then I would say it is time to give it back to whomever you borrowed it from in the first place.

Brian
Somewhere around the tenth or eleventh of June, right?  The boom mike has a replacement foam cover, but the vents?  Pipe cleaners may remove what the snot rag missed ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on May 25, 2011, 04:16:35 PM
The animal with the highest blood pressure is the giraffe. Seems obvious when you look at 'em, but this question always comes up in Trivial Pursuit and most people get it wrong.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 25, 2011, 06:11:24 PM
Yeah, and don't forget about the special valving in their necks, without which they would not be able to bend down to drink water without all the blood vessels in their heads exploding from excess pressure.

Brian


The animal with the highest blood pressure is the giraffe. Seems obvious when you look at 'em, but this question always comes up in Trivial Pursuit and most people get it wrong.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on May 25, 2011, 07:52:52 PM
Yeah, and don't forget about the special valving in their necks, without which they would not be able to bend down to drink water without all the blood vessels in their heads exploding from excess pressure.

Brian

Nah. They use really long sippy straws. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 26, 2011, 06:51:04 AM
Somewhere around the tenth or eleventh of June, right?  The boom mike has a replacement foam cover, but the vents?  Pipe cleaners may remove what the snot rag missed ;)

A couple of triple digit blasts should clear those vents out
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: YoDoc on May 26, 2011, 10:09:51 AM
Nah. They use really long sippy straws. ;D

I was just at the Dallas Zoo last weekend and can vouch for the veracity of this statement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on May 26, 2011, 10:17:07 AM
(http://usairnet.com/weather/forecast/local/?forecast=contour&config=contour_windspeed&loc=us&i=1&p=us&ploc=nam&usemap=wi_contour_640x480&sn=wi_windspeed&overlay=wi_contour_dropshadow_640x480_overlay.png)

I am in the 23mph zone in the lower SE corner in the last county next to ConraD's state.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: COG-528 on May 26, 2011, 03:41:00 PM
(http://www.videokarma.org/image.php?u=70422&dateline=1298436932)
Do you know who this was?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 26, 2011, 05:15:22 PM
In case anyone was wondering, that 'thing' that plugs the end of the barrel of naval guns is called a 'tampion'.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on May 26, 2011, 05:47:14 PM
Water is the only material that 'freezes' from the top down.

Brian

You haven't met my wife!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 27, 2011, 07:01:22 AM
You haven't met my wife!

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: koval68 on May 27, 2011, 07:11:06 AM
You haven't met my wife!
Good one!  :rotflmao:
(http://blogs.trb.com/entertainment/news/gambling/blog/cupid-valentines-day1.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 27, 2011, 09:40:24 PM
In the early days of blacksmiths forging iron and steel, one of the products they made was nails. As you can imagine, making a handful of nails by hand, from iron ore, using an anvil, hammer and forge would make them tremendously expensive. Only the wealthy could afford nails for any use while common folks used made do with all- wood methods of construction such as post and beam with wooden pins, and mortise and tenon joins just as the Amish people do to this day.

What few nails were around were always re-used if at all possible, again due to their value. One of the more common uses for nails was in the construction of doors of larger houses; nails somewhat longer than the thickness of both pieces of wood to be joined were used and the protruding tip of the nail was hammered over on the inside of the door. This made a very strong and permanent construction method but also guaranteed that nails used in this way could never be used again. Perhaps part of this usage was so that the wealthy could flaunt their affluence amongst the common people. In any event, it did yield a great English expression which is commonly used to this very day: “Dead as a doornail” or “Deader than a doornail”, meaning something that is so completely used up or worn out that it cannot be used any further no matter how much effort is applied.

The roots of this expression are older than modern English; the expression was originally written in Middle English (11th to 15th century) and may possibly even pre- date that period.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 28, 2011, 09:09:05 AM
My brother-in-law the cop is still an idiot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 28, 2011, 09:08:11 PM
So if you have ever been up in the middle of the night fixated over the question: 'How long does honey last?' never fear, I have an answer. Honey lasts forever, at least as far back as human history and the storage of honey is concerned.

Honey has been found as a food source buried with Pharaohs in ancient Egypt, going back more than 3,500 years and perhaps 4,500 years. Even though it was stored in what passed for an impermeable ceramic container of the period, all the water has escaped over the centuries and the honey is in a totally dry state. Not to worry though, add water and heat for a few minutes and 'poof', honey! No bacteria, no mold or any other signs of spoilage. There is a natural preservative in honey and it would seem that it really makes the grade.

Next time, the 'bee dance'.

Brian



My brother-in-law the cop is still an idiot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 28, 2011, 09:39:15 PM
Its bee spit
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 29, 2011, 10:49:29 AM
Starting in the spring and happening at intervals through the active season, a handful of drone bees will leave the hive and move in straight lines away from the hive in search of pollen bearing plants. Each bee travels a few degrees away from the next bee so they cover the maximum area; sort of like the spokes of a wheel. When the find pollen, the return to the hive and while a large portion of the remaining drone bees watch, they do the 'bee dance'. This dance consists of turns to the left, turns to the right and the pauses between turns. Apparently length of the pauses indicate distance and the direction of the turns indicate which way to turn; the bee is literally giving directions to the other drones. At the end of the 'dance', the drones that were watching all fly off directly to the pollen the 'dancing' bee had found.

And we have trouble coordinating five motorcycles all in a group ride. Pathetic.  ;)

Brian


Its bee spit
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: throb on May 30, 2011, 05:39:44 AM
An avacado has he highest fat content of any fruit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Not4Hire on May 30, 2011, 12:58:37 PM
(http://www.videokarma.org/image.php?u=70422&dateline=1298436932)
Do you know who this was?

I wanna say Tom Terrific, but I think he had a funnel for a hat...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 31, 2011, 03:59:43 PM
Crocodiles are found all over the world but alligators are only found in two countries: the US and China. So if you are swimming in the Nile or the Amazon and something clamps on and pulls you under, you can rest easy in the certainty that it was absolutely NOT an alligator.

Brian



I wanna say Tom Terrific, but I think he had a funnel for a hat...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 31, 2011, 04:01:10 PM
Bats have the lowest fat ratio of any mammal. Concours riders seem to rank somewhere in the middle and Hardley Ableson rider 'ring the bell'.

(http://zggtr.org/Smileys/default/ROTFLMAO.gif)

Brian


An avacado has he highest fat content of any fruit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tom J. on May 31, 2011, 04:09:39 PM
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on May 31, 2011, 05:07:07 PM
He'd chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 31, 2011, 05:51:48 PM
Lenin had a beard, Gabby Hayes had whiskers.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on May 31, 2011, 08:18:03 PM
You cannot fold a piece of paper in half seven times. Go ahead and try.




Note that Mythbusters finally found a way to beat this, but it required a sheet of paper half the size of an airplane hanger, a gang of people and a steam roller.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tom J. on June 01, 2011, 08:42:10 AM
It's impossible for anyone to put their elbow in their ear. Don't even try... whoops, you tried it, didn't you-
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 01, 2011, 12:55:25 PM
The United States had three different presidents in 1841. The first one, Martin Van Buren, finished his term as president in that year. The second, William Henry Harrison began his term as president but caught a cold and died, thus becoming the president serving the shortest time in office (4 March to 4 April 1841). The third president, John Tyler, then became the first vice president to succeed to the office of the presidency.

Brian

gerald ford is the only person who was never elected to either vp or president, yet he served as both.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: EpicBadass on June 01, 2011, 01:04:49 PM
Rain still sucks!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 01, 2011, 01:25:40 PM
Rain still sucks!

not if you're in a drought.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on June 01, 2011, 01:37:33 PM
A pig cannot look up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 01, 2011, 07:45:26 PM
From the book 'Anguished English', in the section about parents writing school excuses for their children:

"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He had very loose vowels."

"Please excuse Pedro from being absent yesterday. He had diahre dyrea direthe the $hits." (some letters substituted)

"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak."

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: koval68 on June 01, 2011, 07:59:56 PM
During the Wife Carrying Championship, held annually in Sonkajärvi, Finland, contestants carry a woman -- it needn't be their wife -- over an 832-foot course with various obstacles en route. Dropping the woman incurs a 15-second penalty, and the first team to reach the finish line receives the grand prize -- the weight of the "wife" in beer! This bizarre event traces its origins to the 19th century when a local gang of bandits commonly stole women from neighboring villages.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Assassin 11B3P on June 01, 2011, 08:40:40 PM
a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on June 02, 2011, 01:05:21 PM
a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.

And a peanut is not actually a nut. It's a vegetable.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on June 02, 2011, 01:07:20 PM
Whenever someone tells me that ". . . I'm surrounded by idiots . . ." usually in reference to a work or family situation, my first thought is always:

How dumb are you to end up surrounded by idiots?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tom J. on June 02, 2011, 01:16:43 PM
True... often it IS the one in the middle that is the biggest idiot....
Recently, I took the bottom shelves out of my garage fridge and put in a 16 gallon keg.
This required a one-time deposit (I like to call it an 'investment") of $70... $30 for the keg, and $40 for the tap. 
When the keg was empty, I got my $70 bucks back.  What an idiot!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on June 02, 2011, 01:19:36 PM
True... often it IS the one in the middle that is the biggest idiot....
Recently, I took the bottom shelves out of my garage fridge and put in a 16 gallon keg.
This required a one-time deposit (I like to call it an 'investment") of $70... $30 for the keg, and $40 for the tap. 
When the keg was empty, I got my $70 bucks back.  What an idiot!

No Kiddin', you should have left the deposit and got another keg :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on June 02, 2011, 01:26:43 PM
You cannot fold a piece of paper in half seven times. Go ahead and try.

Note that Mythbusters finally found a way to beat this, but it required a sheet of paper half the size of an airplane hanger, a gang of people and a steam roller.

+1 on MythBusters!  They take a look at really different stories and bust the h___ out of them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on June 02, 2011, 01:34:55 PM
Loud pipes don't save lives... Helmets & heads up riding that saves lives.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 02, 2011, 02:57:26 PM
Why is it that when I drink a beer out of a bottle and take a couple of swigs then set it down look somewhere else and then it bubbles foam out of the top?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 02, 2011, 03:53:04 PM
Why is it that when I drink a beer out of a bottle and take a couple of swigs then set it down look somewhere else and then it bubbles foam out of the top?

Hmmm, sounds like your drinking defective beer Jim. Keep your eye on it next time you set it down.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 02, 2011, 03:58:41 PM
It never does this when I look at the bottle...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tom J. on June 02, 2011, 04:04:36 PM
Yea, like a 'watched' pot never boils...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 02, 2011, 04:35:48 PM
Well, a couple of ideas here Jim- 1) put your fob in the other pocket and 2) use a coaster. Maybe one made out of some kind of wood.... something nice that you would be proud to have your beer sit on. Perhaps something like Amboyna Burl from Southeast Asia?

Kirby suggested using a glass and not drinking like an animal but I told him to quiet down and look after his nuts.

Brian


Why is it that when I drink a beer out of a bottle and take a couple of swigs then set it down look somewhere else and then it bubbles foam out of the top?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tom J. on June 02, 2011, 04:43:15 PM
..or use a straw and don't touch the bottle.... (no blowing bubbles either)!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on June 03, 2011, 06:50:38 AM
The trick is to quickly make more room in the bottle for the bubbles.
For what its worth, I 'm a "bottle baby" too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 07, 2011, 01:35:47 PM
I cannot believe we (the collective 'we') have let this thread die. So just to start it up again....

If you mix raw eggs with hard boiled eggs, how can you tell them apart without breaking or cracking the shell? Easy- spin them on a counter or table top.... raw eggs will not spin well but cooked eggs will spin very well. If the egg makes more than about four turns, it has been boiled.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on November 07, 2011, 01:47:11 PM
This is reply # 100!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 07, 2011, 01:59:59 PM
A chemist goes into a bar with a friend. He orders H2O. The friend says "I'll have H2O too". When the drinks arrive the chemist's thirst is quenched but the friend takes a big swig of his drink and starts to gag. Why?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 07, 2011, 02:13:12 PM
He drank Hydrogen Peroxide.
Silly rabbit; Trix are for kids.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 07, 2011, 02:19:56 PM
Probably should have ordered an H20 also :-)

It is amazing where that stuff has turned up (hydrogen peroxide)- it has been used as a propellant in some really interesting things like rockets and submarines. The stuff is highly reactive and exothermic though and tough to handle, transport and store. Every now and then a container of high purity H2O2 springs a leak and that almost always gets out of control. That is also why the stuff we buy in drug stores is only a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and is always sold in an opaque bottle (usually dark brown); it reacts to light too.

Brian

A chemist goes into a bar with a friend. He orders H2O. The friend says "I'll have H2O too". When the drinks arrive the chemist's thirst is quenched but the friend takes a big swig of his drink and starts to gag. Why?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on November 07, 2011, 02:26:20 PM
A mushroom walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender says "we don't serve your kind in this bar". The mushroom replys "but I'm a fun guy". (fungi) ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 07, 2011, 02:47:21 PM
If I was to decide to reply to this then I would probably reply with nothing at all....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 07, 2011, 03:19:45 PM
I just finished setting up 14 Wyse thin clients that connect to our XenApp 6 servers for retail store training that is happening tomorrow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 07, 2011, 03:35:15 PM
I loaded 7 USMC Small Field Refrigeration Units, onto a 48' flatbed trailer, for a total weight of 24,640 lbs, today, and I'm not a forklift driver. Only 207 more to go.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Outback_Jon on November 07, 2011, 03:50:52 PM
I loaded 7 USMC Small Field Refrigeration Units, onto a 48' flatbed trailer, for a total weight of 24,640 lbs, today, and I'm not a forklift driver. Only 207 more to go.

Leave it to the Marines to need to refrigerate a small field.  Especially since winter is approaching.   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 07, 2011, 03:53:50 PM
I just fired a new hire today(2 days) and he just couldn't understand why I thought not returning customers goods was unacceptable behavior. The person he replaced quit after 2 days saying she could make more on unemployment.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 07, 2011, 04:01:56 PM
The person he replaced quit after 2 days saying she could make more on unemployment.

:O Report that she had a job and was in good standing and that will be enough of her living off our taxes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 07, 2011, 04:04:31 PM
Did. Unem. office said she did not have to take a job for less money.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 08, 2011, 08:36:20 AM
I'm listening to the Beatles 'Martha my dear' on 93XRT....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 08, 2011, 08:45:49 AM
I'm listening to the Beatles 'Martha my dear' on 93XRT....


:thumbs:

Chicago's Finest Rock.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on November 08, 2011, 08:55:58 AM
I am nursing a pulled intercostal with vicodin
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 08, 2011, 09:03:19 AM
guess the nothing.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/LR/20111024-DSC_8200.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on November 08, 2011, 10:09:10 AM
is it bigger than a bread box?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 08, 2011, 10:42:01 AM
guess the nothing.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/LR/20111024-DSC_8200.jpg)

Some sort of plate on a granite counter?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 08, 2011, 10:43:50 AM
I saw my doctor yesterday and had a physical. It was all good news, had my blood tested the week before.

She gave me a prostate exam. I was laying on the table and she had me roll over on my left side and pull my right leg up to my chest.

She says, "now you're going to feel a little pressure".

Holy ****! That's what you call a little pressure?    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on November 08, 2011, 11:02:28 AM
Rutabaga is the common American and Canadian term for the plant. It comes from the old Swedish word Rotabagge, meaning simply "root bag". "Swede" is the preferred term used in England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand and many other parts of the world that use British English as a standard.  In the U.S., the plant is also known as "Swedish turnip" or "yellow turnip", while in Ireland, it is referred to as "turnip". The name turnip is also used in parts of Northern and Midland England, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. In Scots, it is either "tumshie" or "neep", and Brassica rapa var. rapa, termed a "turnip" in southern English usage, instead is called a "white turnip" as in Ireland. Scots will refer to both types by the generic term "neep" (from Old English næp, Latin napus). Some will also refer to both types as just "turnip" (the word is also derived from næp). In North-East England, turnips and swedes are colloquially called "snaggers" (archaic). They should not be confused with the large beet known as a mangelwurzel.

Its common name in Sweden is kålrot (literally "cabbage root"), similarly in Denmark it is known as kålroe, while in Norway it has usurped the name of kålrabi in addition to being known as kålrot. The Finnish term is lanttu, of the same root as English "to plant", since it is usually planted from pre-grown saplings.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 08, 2011, 12:24:53 PM
My wife just called me from work.  She wanted me to print out a mixed drink recipe.  I asked her what show.  She said the cooking show on TV....  Which cooking show, there are billions of them, I said.  She said the one on HGTV.  I said which one on HGTV?  There probably are lots of them there, too, I said.  She started describing the drink she wanted..  I said I need more to go on.  She said nevermind.  I think she overestimates what I can do regarding the Web.  I don't guess that's all bad, though.  This has happened more than once to me.  One time she wanted to look for shoes on the Web....  I asked her what she wanted to search on and she said shoes.  I looked at her and said, I need more to go on than that.  She told me a color.  I said that won't do.  Do you have any thing more to go on like a store or something, I said.   She looked at me and said nevermind.  Sigh.  I feel I'm failing her at times...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 08, 2011, 01:44:14 PM
Damn, I thought I was the only one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 08, 2011, 02:20:07 PM
That about sums up the differences in how I shop and how my wife shops. I decide before I leave the house what I want. I go to the store and buy the items I've already decided on. She goes to a store then proceeds to walk around looking at everything until she see's something that tickles her fancy and buys that. This is the same for the internet. If you know what you are looking for you can put in the proper search terms and find it. If you do not know what you are looking for the nearly infinite selection makes it impossible.

My wife just called me from work.  She wanted me to print out a mixed drink recipe.  I asked her what show.  She said the cooking show on TV....  Which cooking show, there are billions of them, I said.  She said the one on HGTV.  I said which one on HGTV?  There probably are lots of them there, too, I said.  She started describing the drink she wanted..  I said I need more to go on.  She said nevermind.  I think she overestimates what I can do regarding the Web.  I don't guess that's all bad, though.  This has happened more than once to me.  One time she wanted to look for shoes on the Web....  I asked her what she wanted to search on and she said shoes.  I looked at her and said, I need more to go on than that.  She told me a color.  I said that won't do.  Do you have any thing more to go on like a store or something, I said.   She looked at me and said nevermind.  Sigh.  I feel I'm failing her at times...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 08, 2011, 02:38:10 PM
This is precisely what drives me insane when I go shopping with my wife. Then she'll tell me that she's done and we can go to the checkout, I get my hopes up that we may be heading home soon when all of a sudden, it all starts again because she just saw something that she likes. 

 :banghead:
 
That about sums up the differences in how I shop and how my wife shops. I decide before I leave the house what I want. I go to the store and buy the items I've already decided on. She goes to a store then proceeds to walk around looking at everything until she see's something that tickles her fancy and buys that. This is the same for the internet. If you know what you are looking for you can put in the proper search terms and find it. If you do not know what you are looking for the nearly infinite selection makes it impossible.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Outback_Jon on November 08, 2011, 03:14:06 PM
Damn, I thought I was the only one.

You're failing VirginiaJim's wife, too?    :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 08, 2011, 03:22:58 PM
Nothing
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 08, 2011, 03:26:56 PM
You guys are such a disappointment to Jim's wife...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 08, 2011, 03:32:12 PM
And now quite a few of us think you are failing her too Jim....

Why do you have to be so difficult? Can't you just look up shoes like she asked? Here- I did this in less than 10 seconds: http://www.horseshoesandtools.com/farrier-aprons-or-chaps.aspx?gclid=CM-69eeLqKwCFQRShwod9iYH_w (http://www.horseshoesandtools.com/farrier-aprons-or-chaps.aspx?gclid=CM-69eeLqKwCFQRShwod9iYH_w)

Not only did I find the shoes but also the tools and clothes to use them properly. Sheesh.

Brian

My wife just called me from work.  She wanted me to print out a mixed drink recipe.  I asked her what show.  She said the cooking show on TV....  Which cooking show, there are billions of them, I said.  She said the one on HGTV.  I said which one on HGTV?  There probably are lots of them there, too, I said.  She started describing the drink she wanted..  I said I need more to go on.  She said nevermind.  I think she overestimates what I can do regarding the Web.  I don't guess that's all bad, though.  This has happened more than once to me.  One time she wanted to look for shoes on the Web....  I asked her what she wanted to search on and she said shoes.  I looked at her and said, I need more to go on than that.  She told me a color.  I said that won't do.  Do you have any thing more to go on like a store or something, I said.   She looked at me and said nevermind.  Sigh.  I feel I'm failing her at times...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 08, 2011, 03:39:56 PM
And now quite a few of us think you are failing her too Jim....

Why do you have to be so difficult? Can't you just look up shoes like she asked? Here- I did this in less than 10 seconds: http://www.horseshoesandtools.com/farrier-aprons-or-chaps.aspx?gclid=CM-69eeLqKwCFQRShwod9iYH_w (http://www.horseshoesandtools.com/farrier-aprons-or-chaps.aspx?gclid=CM-69eeLqKwCFQRShwod9iYH_w)

Not only did I find the shoes but also the tools and clothes to use them properly. Sheesh.

Brian

Brian!

What are you trying to say about Jim's wife? Have you ever met her?


Are you insinuating that Jim's wife is a...










 

blacksmith?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 08, 2011, 03:47:24 PM
Nothing, no and no.

I was just trying to help Jim a bit. If he would just acquiesce and <help> her with her searches then she would almost surely stop asking him. I mean even if she didn't hate the shoes that he got her outright, I bet she would absolutely hate it when he started to nail them on.... 

Brian


Brian!

What are you trying to say about Jim's wife? Have you ever met her?


Are you insinuating that Jim's wife is a...










 

blacksmith?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 08, 2011, 10:20:11 PM
This is precisely what drives me insane when I go shopping with my wife. Then she'll tell me that she's done and we can go to the checkout, I get my hopes up that we may be heading home soon when all of a sudden, it all starts again because she just saw something that she likes. 

 :banghead:
 

They just opened up a New Seasons grocery store a couple blocks away last month. They have an actual bar counter in there with a couple beers on tap or you can also just grab any beer bottle from the cooler and they'll pour it in a glass for you. I've gone shopping with my wife a half dozen times in the past month, and twice in the 3 years prior to this new store opening up... Now if I could only get them to put a tv on the wall with ESPN I'd be set, I keep working it with the bar host, next step is speaking with the store manager.
  ;D :chugbeer: 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2011, 04:55:15 AM
I'm reading 'Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus' by John Gray on my Kindle adapted PC.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 09, 2011, 05:42:52 AM
Why?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2011, 05:50:05 AM
I'm trying to understand where my wife is coming from these days.  Something is working though, as we've been married 34 years.  I originally thought the book was science fiction....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 09, 2011, 05:56:44 AM
Try this: http://www.theabsolute.net/minefield/bkwife.html (http://www.theabsolute.net/minefield/bkwife.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2011, 06:31:55 AM
Excellent.  Thank you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2011, 06:33:53 AM
I was on the treadmill a few minutes ago and was watching the Blues Brothers (original movie).  I think it has one of the best car chase scenes I've ever seen, especially when the Nazis go airborne.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Outback_Jon on November 09, 2011, 07:31:47 AM
I hate Illinois Nazis.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on November 09, 2011, 07:50:42 AM
D.C. has a new bar, where the beer prices are 'market driven'.  Prices fluctuate in real time based on demand.  If the price of your daily favorite has gone up, make some friends and convince them to switch to your brand to bring the prices back down.

http://thebigboarddc.com/ (http://thebigboarddc.com/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 09, 2011, 07:59:24 AM
nice avatar
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on November 09, 2011, 08:05:51 AM
 :)  Chainmaille bikini I made for her...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 09, 2011, 08:15:52 AM
Chainmaille Bikini... Nice. Definitely one of the nicest attractions at any given renaissance festival. MMMM wenches & grog now that's a thought...  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 09, 2011, 08:32:22 AM
I've got to ask..Doesn't that snag the short hairs?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 09, 2011, 08:33:55 AM
I was on the treadmill a few minutes ago and was watching the Blues Brothers (original movie).  I think it has one of the best car chase scenes I've ever seen, especially when the Nazis go airborne.

What were you doing on the treadmill Jim? Using it as a step stool to change a light bulb perhaps?

It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on November 09, 2011, 08:34:54 AM
I'm in the middle of making another one (well, a whole belly dance outfit) - glows in the dark.  Violet anodized aluminum and rubber rings.  The rubber rings are violet, but glow blue.
what I've got done, so far...

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii78/cdharlach/Mail/2011-08-26_20-34-08_509.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on November 09, 2011, 08:37:54 AM
I've got to ask..Doesn't that snag the short hairs?

Nope, not at all.  Rings are saw cut and tumbled to get rid of the burrs.  Then, just take extra care on closing the rings.  Do it right and you can't even see the closures.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 09, 2011, 08:43:15 AM
my  friend Renee  is thinking about...nothing.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/renee.jpg)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 09, 2011, 09:44:27 AM
my  friend Renee  is thinking about...nothing.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/renee.jpg)

I'm thinking about Renee now...  :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 09, 2011, 09:47:33 AM

I'm thinking about Renee now...  :P

If your wife sees this ZG you'll wish that you said nothing.    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 09, 2011, 09:53:33 AM
If your wife sees this ZG you'll wish that you said nothing.    ;)

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2011, 10:01:52 AM
I See Nothing - Sgt Schultz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ag4nkSh7Q#)

sums up my attitude today....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2011, 10:03:16 AM
What were you doing on the treadmill Jim? Using it was a step stool to change a light bulb perhaps?

It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses.

Hit it.

My favorite quote...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 09, 2011, 10:14:42 AM
I will be using the Alton Brown recipe to brine my turkey again this year:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html)

For the brine:
•   1 cup kosher salt
•   1/2 cup light brown sugar
•   1 gallon vegetable stock
•   1 tablespoon black peppercorns
•   1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
•   1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
•   1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
•   1 red apple, sliced
•   1/2 onion, sliced
•   1 cinnamon stick
•   1 cup water
•   4 sprigs rosemary
•   6 leaves sage
•   Canola oil
Directions
Click here to see how it's done.
2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 10, 2011, 09:28:40 AM
Nuthin' says lovin' like a turkey in the oven.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 10, 2011, 09:55:45 AM
Nuthin' says lovin' like a turkey in the oven.

You say that because because of the lady in your avatar thats cooking.  Bet Spam is good at your house too (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Awaz on November 10, 2011, 02:07:53 PM
Took wife to Bryan Adams bare bones concert on her birthday. After all these years, he is still good!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 10, 2011, 02:18:10 PM
http://www.wavlist.com/movies/300/sthprk-adams.wav (http://www.wavlist.com/movies/300/sthprk-adams.wav)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on November 10, 2011, 09:59:04 PM
http://www.nothing.net/ (http://www.nothing.net/)

I hope this isn't a repeat.  I didn't read the whole thread.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on November 10, 2011, 10:00:37 PM
Alison Krauss - When You Say Nothing At All (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjsjZWlRVvo#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 11, 2011, 11:55:54 AM
I just fired a new hire today(2 days) and he just couldn't understand why I thought not returning customers goods was unacceptable behavior. The person he replaced quit after 2 days saying she could make more on unemployment.
Unemployment just gave her the boot. ;D She called to see if she could come back to work. :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 11, 2011, 12:46:11 PM
Unemployment just gave her the boot. ;D She called to see if she could come back to work. :'(

Did you hire her back, at a pay cut of course?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 11, 2011, 01:21:50 PM
I cut up a fresh ripe pineapple at breakfast this morn, that's good eatin right there!    :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 11, 2011, 01:29:36 PM
Pineapple makes me shudder.  I hates it I does.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 11, 2011, 01:40:02 PM
Darn I want to add to this but I just can't thing of nuthin.
I will say this, I'm with Jim, not a big fan of the pineapple. I'll eat it, but it ain't my first choice.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 11, 2011, 01:46:36 PM
You two need to branch out, fruit wise. What's your first choice then?

I just ate a honey crisp apple, that's good stuff too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 11, 2011, 01:50:42 PM
Potato
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 11, 2011, 01:57:17 PM

What few nails were around were always re-used if at all possible, again due to their value. One of the more common uses for nails was in the construction of doors of larger houses; nails somewhat longer than the thickness of both pieces of wood to be joined were used and the protruding tip of the nail was hammered over on the inside of the door. This made a very strong and permanent construction method but also guaranteed that nails used in this way could never be used again. Perhaps part of this usage was so that the wealthy could flaunt their affluence amongst the common people. In any event, it did yield a great English expression which is commonly used to this very day: “Dead as a doornail” or “Deader than a doornail”, meaning something that is so completely used up or worn out that it cannot be used any further no matter how much effort is applied.


I went to the Alamo last week and they have a door there that the nails are just as described here. I wondered at the time why they were like this. Thanks.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 11, 2011, 01:57:33 PM
Potato

There seems to be some confusion here.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 11, 2011, 02:07:27 PM
Situation normal...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 11, 2011, 02:11:24 PM
...All Fecked Up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 11, 2011, 02:21:28 PM
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... I love honey crisp apples! They remind me of a slightly tart local apple we used to get from Jockey Hollow NJ when I was a kid but could never find in the west.


You two need to branch out, fruit wise. What's your first choice then?

I just ate a honey crisp apple, that's good stuff too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Awaz on November 11, 2011, 02:22:37 PM
Aaah...pineapple....reminds of this tiny town in north eastern corner of India... :'(

Pineapple was like a cent (converted from Rupies)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 11, 2011, 02:31:33 PM
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... I love honey crisp apples! They remind me of a slightly tart local apple we used to get from Jockey Hollow NJ when I was a kid but could never find in the west.

There's a apple orchard near my house and they specialize in honey crisps. They make these great apple doughnuts but the apple dumplings are amazing.

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/06/21/article-2006496-002A89A100000258-114_233x315.jpg)


And Jim? No, they don't make potato dumplings there.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 11, 2011, 02:32:50 PM
Speaking of pineapple, go to this restaurant and order pineapple fried rice. It's so addicting it should be a controlled substance.

http://www.thaitownrestaurants.com/ (http://www.thaitownrestaurants.com/)


(http://www.thaitownrestaurants.com/images/piappleb1.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 11, 2011, 03:03:43 PM
Sartre contends that human existence is a conundrum whereby each of us exists, for as long as we live, within an overall condition of nothingness (no thing-ness)—that ultimately allows for free consciousness. But simultaneously, within our (physical world) being, we are constrained to make continuous, conscious choices.
It is this dichotomy that causes anguish, because choice (subjectivity) represents a limit on freedom within an otherwise unbridled range of thoughts. Subsequently, humans seek to flee our anguish through action-oriented constructs such as escapes, visualizations or visions (dreams) designed to lead us toward some meaningful end, such as necessity, destiny, determinism (God), etc.
Thus, in living our lives, we often become unconscious actors—Bourgeois, Feminist, Worker, Party Member, Frenchman, Canadian or American—each doing as we must to fulfill our chosen characters' destinies.
But again, Sartre contends, our conscious choices, leading to often unconscious actions, run counter to our intellectual freedom. Yet we are bound to the conditioned, physical world—in which some form of action is always required. This leads to failed dreams of completion, as Sartre described them, because inevitably we are unable to bridge the void between the purity and spontaneity of thought and all-too constraining action; between the being and the nothingness that inherently coincide in our self.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Awaz on November 11, 2011, 03:04:24 PM
Ate pineapple fried rice at a local Vietnamese restaurant. It is addicting ! It did not come inside a pineapple though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 11, 2011, 03:15:19 PM
Sartre contends that human existence is a conundrum whereby each of us exists, for as long as we live, within an overall condition of nothingness (no thing-ness)—that ultimately allows for free consciousness. But simultaneously, within our (physical world) being, we are constrained to make continuous, conscious choices.
It is this dichotomy that causes anguish, because choice (subjectivity) represents a limit on freedom within an otherwise unbridled range of thoughts. Subsequently, humans seek to flee our anguish through action-oriented constructs such as escapes, visualizations or visions (dreams) designed to lead us toward some meaningful end, such as necessity, destiny, determinism (God), etc.
Thus, in living our lives, we often become unconscious actors—Bourgeois, Feminist, Worker, Party Member, Frenchman, Canadian or American—each doing as we must to fulfill our chosen characters' destinies.
But again, Sartre contends, our conscious choices, leading to often unconscious actions, run counter to our intellectual freedom. Yet we are bound to the conditioned, physical world—in which some form of action is always required. This leads to failed dreams of completion, as Sartre described them, because inevitably we are unable to bridge the void between the purity and spontaneity of thought and all-too constraining action; between the being and the nothingness that inherently coincide in our self.

Nice post but I became unconscious (fell asleep) about halfway through and dreamt of eating pineapple doughnuts with The Dalai Lama.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 11, 2011, 03:34:53 PM
Nice post but I became unconscious (fell asleep) about halfway through and dreamt of eating pineapple doughnuts with The Dalai Lama.
The nothingness suits you then...
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Outback_Jon on November 11, 2011, 04:15:57 PM
I love the core of the pineapple.  Bite off a chunk and chew on it for 5 minutes or so. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 11, 2011, 04:24:45 PM
I want full credit for not responding to this....

Brian

You two need to branch out, fruit wise. What's your first choice then?

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 11, 2011, 04:26:28 PM
I want full credit for not responding to this....

Brian

You're just slacking off...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 12, 2011, 04:46:40 AM
tested my new Nikon full frame camera last night - it passed  :D

(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/393005_2299413799428_1071635590_2503539_212816620_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 12, 2011, 05:44:30 AM
Credit given.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 12, 2011, 06:22:37 AM
I want full credit for not responding to this....

Brian

Dang, you can lead a horse to water...

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: kdm on November 12, 2011, 05:01:40 PM
(http://www.videokarma.org/image.php?u=70422&dateline=1298436932)
Do you know who this was?

Could it be winky dink .... i dunno ...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: roadie on November 12, 2011, 05:31:26 PM
Nice Farkle day...Signal minder and headlight modulator installed.  Tomorrow will run a line for Gerbing heated gear.  Snuck a new multimeter in the house!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 12, 2011, 10:05:37 PM
Go Ducks!  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 13, 2011, 07:01:49 AM
The nothingness suits you then...

I am at one with it...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 13, 2011, 07:57:47 AM
I was watching a Discovery channel spinnoff called Velocity last night. Interesting programing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 13, 2011, 09:08:08 AM
I was watching a Discovery channel spinnoff called Velocity last night. Interesting programing.

I like Wheeler Dealers and Cafe Racer...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 14, 2011, 03:08:37 PM
top~
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on November 14, 2011, 03:15:35 PM
Is it quitting time yet? (and damnit, I'm the boss!)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on November 14, 2011, 10:50:45 PM
a kolache uses potatoes as an ingredient, and it is a dessert.  Apple pie is a dessert.  Coincidence?  I think not.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Outback_Jon on November 15, 2011, 06:54:56 AM
a kolache uses potatoes as an ingredient, and it is a dessert.  Apple pie is a dessert.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Well, the French name for potato translates literally to "apple of the ground".

Kind of turned me off to French cooking as we used to refer to horse droppings as "road apples"...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 15, 2011, 07:40:15 AM
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/eek.gif) potatoes anything are carb bombs, beware


(http://www.myspaceantics.com/images/myspace-graphics/funny-pictures/fatty-bike.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 15, 2011, 07:45:01 AM
Really, Steve?  You can do much better than that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 15, 2011, 08:03:07 AM
Once again MY EYES!

That's an image that will be burned into my retina for awhile.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 15, 2011, 08:18:39 AM
Really, Steve?  You can do much better than that.

I might could, but personally I try to avoid those type pics and haven't got any of my own. Being a university  photo student I'm still doing "freebies for my gal friends", and we know I try and hang around the little ones  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 15, 2011, 09:49:25 AM
(http://www.myspaceantics.com/images/myspace-graphics/funny-pictures/fatty-bike.jpg)

Mmmm... dual exhaust.  :P ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 15, 2011, 10:39:29 AM
86 today.

 ugh is it ever going to cool down  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 15, 2011, 11:47:06 AM
Does it ever really cool down or does the heat just fail to show up? :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 15, 2011, 12:39:21 PM
Does it ever really cool down or does the heat just fail to show up? :o

 It gets around 90ish-95ish like anywhere else on the eastern seaboard.  I usually stay in the mountains of Asheville, NC in the hot summer and its always 15-20 degrees cooler. But I absolutely HATE cold weather and call FL home base, you won't see me in a cold place for too long.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 15, 2011, 12:53:39 PM
Oh trust me I understand that. Livin' in Houston I know what hot is. The one time we went on vacation to Disney World we kept chuckling at the other people when we were outside. It was in the low to mid 90's at the time.  Lots of people were falling out of the lines. For us it was pretty comfortable, even the kids. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 15, 2011, 01:27:15 PM
Oh trust me I understand that. Livin' in Houston I know what hot is. The one time we went on vacation to Disney World we kept chuckling at the other people when we were outside. It was in the low to mid 90's at the time.  Lots of people were falling out of the lines. For us it was pretty comfortable, even the kids. ;D

It never got below 110 when i rode my bike through TX in July :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on November 15, 2011, 08:57:52 PM
Same for me.  I had to flush the coolant and change the radiator cap and fan thermo switch at a buddy's house in Amarillo so I could leave the state successfully.  The high 70's of the summers here never really tax the coolant system.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 16, 2011, 07:21:54 AM
I got lost in KY once.  I thought those signs to Butcher Holler were fake, till i followed them to Loretta Lynn's childhood home.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/CIMG0080.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 16, 2011, 08:27:37 AM
It never got below 110 when i rode my bike through TX in July :)

Me too! Man it was HOT!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 16, 2011, 08:43:27 AM
It never got below 110 when i rode my bike through TX in July :)

We stopped at a place near Onalaska at the east end of the bridge over Lake Livingston on 190 for lunch and shelter from the heat. When we came out the back tire on my son's bike was flat.  It was just too hot to be able to put the compressor on it to find the leak. The pavement would burn you instantly. Luckily the manager of the place took pity on us and let us put the bikes in the shade on the side of the place. Then I was able to lay on the ground to air up the tire, find the leak and plug it.  Out in the parking lot in the sun at 2pm it was absolutely impossible to do that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 17, 2011, 09:16:22 AM
It never got below 110 when i rode my bike through TX in July :)

And just think I was commuting to & from work in it all summer long. Not bad in the mornings but the ride home could be grueling. As long as the traffic was moving it was do-able. The desire to ride kept overpowering the good sense to drive an air-conditioned cage. Of course the more I did it the more I got used to it. The human body is an amazing machine. Far more adaptable than we know. 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Not4Hire on November 17, 2011, 07:34:25 PM
One of the best things I ever saw was Winnemucca in my rear view mirror...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 18, 2011, 09:31:56 AM
Going to see John Mellencamp in concert tonight. The theater is amazing, I've been there a couple of times before. Nearly perfect acoustics and a very beautiful venue.
 


(http://www.coronadopac.org/events/other/images/john.jpg)

As a reflection of the diversity of styles and material that have been a hallmark of Mellencamp's eclectic career, the No Better Than This concerts are formatted into three segments. These showcase John Mellencamp in an acoustic context, fronting a small combo recalling blues/country and rockabilly roots and with his full rock band. Musicians backing Mellencamp include Michael Wanchic (guitar), Andy York (guitar), Miriam Sturm (violin), John Gunnell (electric and upright bass), Dane Clark (drums and percussion) and Troye Kinnett (accordion/keyboards).

Each of the No Better Than This tour dates will be preceded by a screening of It’s About You, the documentary by filmmakers Kurt and Ian Markus, shot on Super 8, over the course of 2009’s Bob Dylan-John Mellencamp-Willie Nelson tour of minor league baseball stadiums. The hour-long film, both a SXSW Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival selection, chronicles the creation of the No Better Than This album that was recorded on that tour’s off days. The film will be shown at 7 PM at each of the No Better Than This Tour venues so ticket holders are advised to arrive in time to see it.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 18, 2011, 11:18:47 AM
Going to see John Mellencamp in concert tonight. The theater is amazing, I've been there a couple of times before. Nearly perfect acoustics and a very beautiful venue.
 


(http://www.coronadopac.org/events/other/images/john.jpg)

As a reflection of the diversity of styles and material that have been a hallmark of Mellencamp's eclectic career, the No Better Than This concerts are formatted into three segments. These showcase John Mellencamp in an acoustic context, fronting a small combo recalling blues/country and rockabilly roots and with his full rock band. Musicians backing Mellencamp include Michael Wanchic (guitar), Andy York (guitar), Miriam Sturm (violin), John Gunnell (electric and upright bass), Dane Clark (drums and percussion) and Troye Kinnett (accordion/keyboards).

Each of the No Better Than This tour dates will be preceded by a screening of It’s About You, the documentary by filmmakers Kurt and Ian Markus, shot on Super 8, over the course of 2009’s Bob Dylan-John Mellencamp-Willie Nelson tour of minor league baseball stadiums. The hour-long film, both a SXSW Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival selection, chronicles the creation of the No Better Than This album that was recorded on that tour’s off days. The film will be shown at 7 PM at each of the No Better Than This Tour venues so ticket holders are advised to arrive in time to see it.


^^^^^awesome!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 18, 2011, 11:20:11 AM
A thread about nothing and my truck showed all the little 18 wheeler "woker trucks" at the dock who was boss today.

(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297855_2329880961088_1071635590_2516604_422482029_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 18, 2011, 12:25:18 PM
I tried to read 15 pages about nothing at all.  I learned something, I aint sure what it wa though.  What ever did happen with the guy who got his bike from the dealership with no oil?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on November 18, 2011, 01:30:04 PM
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 18, 2011, 02:01:09 PM
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow.

I hate it when that happens.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2011, 02:23:56 PM
Denier!  I suspect you like it.... a lot! In fact, if your bike were to skip one of those things I bet you would be downright cranky.

Brian

I hate it when that happens.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2011, 02:37:32 PM
'And then the defendant shot him in the fracas?'

'No, he shot him just above the fracas.'

-Anguished English
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on November 21, 2011, 01:32:19 PM
I hate it when that happens.

You hate the 4-stroke cycle?  How dare thee.   :o

Denier!  I suspect you like it.... a lot! In fact, if your bike were to skip one of those things I bet you would be downright cranky.

Brian


Hahahahahahahhaa.  Response of the year.   ;D

'And then the defendant shot him in the fracas?'

'No, he shot him just above the fracas.'

-Anguished English


Good book.  "Franklin died on April 17, 1790.  Today, he is still dead."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on November 21, 2011, 01:33:01 PM
MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. It is a piece of software that can emulate the old arcade machines of the 80's and early 90's. Given a ROM file of an old game, it'll reproduce the workings of the arcade game on any PC.

So what a lot of crazy people do is build an entire arcade cabinet and put a computer in it. That way you have the software emulating the game, and you have the hardware of the cabinet, controls, buttons, coin slot, etc filling out the rest of the arcade experience.

I guess I'm now one of those crazy people. Here I've chronicled my adventure as I built a cabinet from scratch, installed the controls, hooked up the computer, and installed it in my basement.
http://myarcadeproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/mame-arcade-idea.html (http://myarcadeproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/mame-arcade-idea.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on November 21, 2011, 01:36:02 PM
Found a goodie:
http://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtml (http://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtml)

One of my favorites:
Lawyer: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
Witness: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
Lawyer: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
Witness: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."


Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 21, 2011, 07:06:02 PM
MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. It is a piece of software that can emulate the old arcade machines of the 80's and early 90's. Given a ROM file of an old game, it'll reproduce the workings of the arcade game on any PC.

So what a lot of crazy people do is build an entire arcade cabinet and put a computer in it. That way you have the software emulating the game, and you have the hardware of the cabinet, controls, buttons, coin slot, etc filling out the rest of the arcade experience.

I guess I'm now one of those crazy people. Here I've chronicled my adventure as I built a cabinet from scratch, installed the controls, hooked up the computer, and installed it in my basement.
http://myarcadeproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/mame-arcade-idea.html (http://myarcadeproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/mame-arcade-idea.html)

You cut MDO in your basement??? You must be single.....

Where do you get the software?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 21, 2011, 10:17:57 PM
Can this thread be in response to the word association thread?  Brian, be aware, Nate doesn't have anything KIPASS activated, so go rub your fob in private ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: soonerstan56 on November 22, 2011, 01:35:34 AM
Don't believe everything you "think"!

Stan
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 22, 2011, 04:39:10 AM
Found a goodie:
http://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtml (http://www.rinkworks.com/said/courtroom.shtml)


Good one.  Sent it on to a lawyer friend of mine...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 22, 2011, 08:00:05 AM
Proposed to my GF over the weekend & (of course) gave her an engagement ring.  8) Let the wedding plans commence.  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 22, 2011, 08:16:57 AM
Proposed to my GF over the weekend & (of course) gave her an engagement ring.  8) Let the wedding plans commence.  :o
FOOLISH SILLY PERSON!  ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 22, 2011, 08:34:16 AM
Proposed to my GF over the weekend & (of course) gave her an engagement ring.  8) Let the wedding plans commence.  :o

Congrats!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 22, 2011, 08:40:08 AM
Oh my..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 22, 2011, 09:50:05 AM
FOOLISH SILLY PERSON!  ::)
I do believe the lobotomy is beginning to affect my actions. :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on November 22, 2011, 11:45:30 AM
Proposed to my GF over the weekend & (of course) gave her an engagement ring.  8) Let the wedding plans commence.  :o

Hope she doesn't find out you posted that in "A thread about nothing at all . . . "
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 22, 2011, 12:36:15 PM
Doh!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 22, 2011, 12:36:36 PM
Hope she doesn't find out you posted that in "A thread about nothing at all . . . "

And that's when the fight started...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 22, 2011, 01:13:02 PM
Dang.... I missed the implications of that completely. I guess after over ten years of being single I'm getting a little rusty. Good thing she never surfs this site. (I hope)  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 22, 2011, 05:24:29 PM
See if the preacher doubles as a lawyer, 2 fer deal ::)  Just dont forget the tip!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 22, 2011, 10:29:17 PM
Changing up - liking the oatmeal stout lately. Actually has some flavor and body.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rick Hall on November 22, 2011, 10:48:24 PM
Proposed to my GF over the weekend & (of course) gave her an engagement ring.  8) Let the wedding plans commence.  :o

That's nice.

I've found that if I want to have a "boys night out" with my married buds, they will frequently say it's "bowling night" to the ball and chain.

I might suggest that if you EVER want another boys night out you learn how to bowl. At the very least, learn the terminology so you don't come across as a total putz.

Rick
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on November 22, 2011, 10:55:38 PM
Hydroplaning is unnerving, I don't care who you are.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 22, 2011, 11:08:35 PM
Proposed to my GF over the weekend & (of course) gave her an engagement ring.  8) Let the wedding plans commence.  :o

Congrats (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/iconhammer.gif)

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/iconGAME-OVER.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 22, 2011, 11:36:35 PM
Ya bin bit once, musta fekt good, on 'slpanation why someone in today age of openess would re enter that trap.  Best wishes to ya none the less.  Prove em wrong, live a long, happy life filled with kids and Grand kids down the road!!  Almost 30 years to ma wonderfull mistress, still my best friend and only lover.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 23, 2011, 05:32:50 AM
I really hate it when someone moves my peanut butter in the pantry.  Can never find it again.  Irritates me to no end.  I don't ask for much but those jars blend in with everything else and I can't find it easily.  I panic when that happens.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 23, 2011, 05:36:04 AM
I really hate it when someone moves my peanut butter in the pantry.  Can never find it again.  Irritates me to no end.  I don't ask for much but those jars blend in with everything else and I can't find it easily.  I panic when that happens.

Why don't you buy two jars, easier to find two Mr Crabby.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 23, 2011, 05:42:00 AM
Just a guess but are you having trouble finding the peanut butter after you have already found the Scotch bottle?

Maybe you could buy another jar of peanut butter and put it in your pocket. Later, when you want peanut butter, it would be right there- next to your fob....

By the way, put it in a front pants pocket 'cause if you put it in a back pants pocket we are going to have to listen to how uncomfortable the couch is.....

Brian

I really hate it when someone moves my peanut butter in the pantry.  Can never find it again.  Irritates me to no end.  I don't ask for much but those jars blend in with everything else and I can't find it easily.  I panic when that happens.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 23, 2011, 05:48:30 AM
Why don't you buy two jars, easier to find two Mr Crabby.

I have two jars, they (family) move them both.  Double the anxiety.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 23, 2011, 05:49:24 AM
Just a guess but are you having trouble finding the peanut butter after you have already found the Scotch bottle?

Brian

Peanut butter during the day...Scotch at night.  The two don't intersect.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on November 23, 2011, 07:02:25 AM
Thanks everyone for the advice & the well wishes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 23, 2011, 07:52:04 AM
C8H10N4O2
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 23, 2011, 08:19:28 AM
Photoshoot today, about nothing at all (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/iconhammer.gif)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 23, 2011, 08:32:21 AM
I have two jars, they (family) move them both.  Double the anxiety.

Well...

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41oCn2rTicL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 23, 2011, 08:34:39 AM
The problem is that I know where they are generally.  Just can't find them in the clutter.  It all looks alike to me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on November 23, 2011, 09:24:44 AM
Dang.... I missed the implications of that completely. I guess after over ten years of being single I'm getting a little rusty. Good thing she never surfs this site. (I hope)  ;D
And once the deed is done, you will have to change your Avatar to show your wife's frontside.

That is her, right?  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on November 23, 2011, 11:42:22 AM
My idiot brother-in-law the cop is still an idiot. Michelle and I are having our Thanksgiving Saturday as I'm working Thursday. Come on over if anybody's in the area of North Olmsted OH., we'll be doing yardwork while the turkey's in the oven, its supposed to be 70F degrees.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 23, 2011, 12:47:32 PM
I cannot put my finger on exactly why but I am sensing a subtle and delicate distaste you may have for your brother- in- law. I apologize in advance if I am incorrect because it is so subtle that I cannot even point out the exact sentence that gives me this idea. Just a feeling I get from reading your post in general.

 ;D

It can be tough to get along with relatives and it does not get any easier when those relatives marry other people and therefore create quasi- relatives. I have heard it said that a relative is a friend given by nature but let’s face it, sometimes it seems more like an enemy given by nature. I mean after all, Joseph Stalin had relatives and in- laws too, right?

Brian


My idiot brother-in-law the cop is still an idiot. Michelle and I are having our Thanksgiving Saturday as I'm working Thursday.

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on November 23, 2011, 12:54:32 PM
Brian, holding ones children hostage and preventing them having any contact with their God Parents and using my wife's parents as knowing and willing accomplices in preventing any and all contact with them is not behavior I'd call stellar from an officer of the law. I'd call this idiotic behavior. True, you are hearing one side of the story, any time you'd like, I'll sit down and I'll present their view, I've kept all e-mails and correspondence. Oh, and you can talk to the Priest too. My idiot brother-in-law the cop is an idiot. So getting back to nothing, how bout those Browns eh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 23, 2011, 01:11:20 PM
So getting back to nothing, how bout those Browns eh?

 :chugbeer:
 
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/sdjhdfy3822.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 23, 2011, 02:13:37 PM
C8H10N4O2
(http://pharmaconcepts.com/caffeine%20molecule.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 23, 2011, 09:57:37 PM
(http://pharmaconcepts.com/caffeine%20molecule.jpg)
And the delivery vehicle.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 24, 2011, 07:39:08 AM
Fireplace crackling. Coffee steaming. Day off work. Dog at my feet. Wife in the kitchen. Turkey in the oven. Oldest son back in country for Thanksgiving this year. Life is good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 24, 2011, 07:54:22 AM
Fireplace crackling. Coffee steaming. Day off work. Dog at my feet. Wife in the kitchen. Turkey in the oven. Oldest son back in country for Thanksgiving this year. Life is good.

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 24, 2011, 08:23:49 AM
Fireplace crackling. Coffee steaming. Day off work. Dog at my feet. Wife in the kitchen. Turkey in the oven. Oldest son back in country for Thanksgiving this year. Life is good.

Good times!  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 24, 2011, 12:01:16 PM
My microwave has melted from all the pots on the oven.  This is a he** of note.  But I don't care at the moment.  Wine and eggnog with moonshine has dulled me senses.  I'll worry about it tomorrow.  Also, sweating like all get out.  I'm sure you wanted to know this....  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 24, 2011, 12:28:40 PM
Why are you drying pot in the oven?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 24, 2011, 12:42:59 PM
'Cause when he did it on top of the (gas) stove it burst into flames....

Brian

Why are you drying pot in the oven?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 24, 2011, 12:59:22 PM
Heading to my mother's place for the traditional bad thanksgiving meal. I hate the holidays, but, enjoy the time away from work...mostly.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on November 24, 2011, 02:50:41 PM
Working today and ejoying thanksgiving with my second (firehouse) family.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 25, 2011, 06:37:28 AM
Heading to my mother's place for the traditional bad thanksgiving meal. I hate the holidays, but, enjoy the time away from work...mostly.

Bah humbug!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 25, 2011, 06:40:44 AM
Bah humbug!
+1
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on November 27, 2011, 04:17:35 PM
Your just waiting for "gravy stain Monday" ;D



+1
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 29, 2011, 06:05:32 AM
I was out yesterday morning and found that both front parking lights were out in my Prius.  Put new ones in this morning and we're good to go now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Outback_Jon on November 29, 2011, 07:25:29 AM
I was out yesterday morning and found that both front parking lights were out in my Prius.  Put new ones in this morning and we're good to go now.

Why didn't Toyota put LEDs in as many lights as possible on those things?  Wouldn't that make sense on a car that uses electricity?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 29, 2011, 07:37:03 AM
Dunno.  I think the rear signal lights are LED but that's about it.  The rest are std lights.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 29, 2011, 09:06:14 AM
My department is having our annual 'Winter Potluck' party today. It used to be called a Christmas party and it was held closer to the holiday. Alas, PC has done in the Christmas title. At home this morn I baked a loaf of my world famous onion soup bread for my contribution. 

The bread isn't quite cool yet so I have to leave it out till it cools. My office smells amazing!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 29, 2011, 09:26:59 AM
If it's too hot you could just blow on it to cool it down.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 29, 2011, 09:42:55 AM
If it's too hot you could just blow on it to cool it down.

Funny man you.

One would have thought that the loaf would have cooled down in my bag on the ride into work this morn since the temp was just below freezing. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 29, 2011, 09:43:46 AM
One never knows, does one?  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 29, 2011, 09:48:02 AM
No, one does not.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 29, 2011, 11:07:30 PM
Here's an old one, how do you pronounce "Concours"?  Using beer brands is acceptable only if it is a brand you would drink in company at a COG function ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on December 01, 2011, 11:36:39 PM
Heart - Nothin' At All (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2lXKZ9Zksg#)

I personally preferred earlier heart.  Dreamboat Annie, Barracuda and such.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on December 01, 2011, 11:47:01 PM
Wow - forum activity after 8 pm?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 02, 2011, 04:51:38 AM


I personally preferred earlier heart.  Dreamboat Annie, Barracuda and such.

We saw the Dreamboat Annie tour back in the day. They played with Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller, and Bob Seger. One of the best concerts ever!

Ooooooooooo Barracuda
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on December 02, 2011, 09:30:06 AM
Wow - forum activity after 8 pm?


 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on December 18, 2011, 06:33:07 PM
I'm watching the new Pirates of the caribbean movie with my wife, and there's not a single motorcycle in it.  What gives?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on December 18, 2011, 06:42:33 PM
I'm watching the new Pirates of the caribbean movie with my wife, and there's not a single motorcycle in it.  What gives?

The pirates left them on the trailer . . .
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on December 18, 2011, 08:38:39 PM
I'm watching the new Pirates of the caribbean movie with my wife, and there's not a single motorcycle in it.  What gives?

Hahahaha, good one!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on December 19, 2011, 07:36:23 AM
My department is having our annual 'Winter Potluck' party today. It used to be called a Christmas party and it was held closer to the holiday. Alas, PC has done in the Christmas title. At home this morn I baked a loaf of my world famous onion soup bread for my contribution. 

The bread isn't quite cool yet so I have to leave it out till it cools. My office smells amazing!

We celebrate our campus-wide smorgasbord tomorrow.  Over in the Administrative building, our department will have Ice Cream Floats available that we are known to provide.
Starting with donut holes from the Bookstore to Lunchtime grazing, I will lose at least one belt notch.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 19, 2011, 08:54:13 AM
I love sourdough bread. Two pieces toasted and lightly buttered and topped with apricot preserves for breakfast is so freakin good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 19, 2011, 05:35:03 PM
Sounds good.  I'm on the way...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 19, 2011, 06:58:22 PM
I think my dog just farted :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Excavator on December 19, 2011, 07:22:52 PM
Can you hear a cat fart?.........I never have.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 19, 2011, 07:56:12 PM
Can you hear a cat fart?.........I never have.

Isn't that called a pussy fart?  ??? :-\  (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/hiding.gif)
 
 
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 19, 2011, 08:29:22 PM
Do farts have lumps :o
Sorry, gotta run ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Excavator on December 19, 2011, 09:21:19 PM
Do farts have lumps :o
Sorry, gotta run ::)

Pucker string broke?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Excavator on December 19, 2011, 09:29:38 PM

Isn't that called a pussy fart?  ??? :-\  (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/hiding.gif)

This one time in high school.........never mind.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 20, 2011, 04:56:21 AM
Can you hear a cat fart?.........I never have.

SBD
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 20, 2011, 05:01:56 AM
Sounds good.  I'm on the way...

I ate your toast Jim, I'll be making more in a couple hours though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 20, 2011, 05:31:24 AM
 :battle:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 20, 2011, 09:18:50 AM
I heard a truck Chicago bound broke down ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 20, 2011, 10:40:35 AM
I heard a truck Chicago bound broke down ;)

stopit!

I wouldn't be surprised Chet.

I'm getting concerned. My salesman swears up and down that my Jetta was loaded on a transport in Houston on 12/8 and the paperwork said that it was to be delivered on 12/19 yet it's still not here! How can it take that damn long?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 20, 2011, 10:47:37 AM
Maybe something like this happened...

http://www.shipanycar.com/auto-transport-accidents.php (http://www.shipanycar.com/auto-transport-accidents.php)

Next time, don't eat my toast.  >:( ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on December 20, 2011, 10:59:45 AM
I just paid $1.19/gal for gasoline. Food for gas scheme at local grocery store, 10 cents off each gallon for every $50.00 spent on food, expires every 3 months. 30 gallons for $37.00USD. I've gotten free gas before with a credit for more, not this time though. My idiot brother-in-law the cop is still an idiot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 20, 2011, 11:13:41 AM
Maybe something like this happened...

http://www.shipanycar.com/auto-transport-accidents.php (http://www.shipanycar.com/auto-transport-accidents.php)

Next time, don't eat my toast.  >:( ;)

Thanks so much Jim, I really feel better now.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 20, 2011, 11:26:12 AM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 20, 2011, 01:16:27 PM
Sometimes things that are commonly accepted seem to make no sense at all. Take shotgun gauges for example: why is a 10 gauge bigger than a 12 gauge? In fact, it seems to work backwards- the larger the number the smaller the bore size (excepting .410 which is really not a gauge at all and is miss- named).

Bore sizes are based on the diameter of the ball that could be made from a given amount of pure lead. A 12 gauge bore is the result of making a perfect sphere out of 1/12 pound of lead; this rule follows and that is why the sizes seem backwards. A 20th of a pound of lead will make a considerably smaller ball than a 12th of a pound of lead will make.

The reasoning behind this method even makes sense; it gives an approximation of how many shots one could get from a single pound of lead. Or as it was actually used, it reflects how many shots could be carried given a fixed load for a soldier or a hunter.... after a fashion, walking around carrying dozens of 'shots' gets tiring.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 20, 2011, 02:09:57 PM
That leads to another question Brian.

Why are wire gauge sizes treated the same way as shotgun gauge sizes? 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 20, 2011, 03:18:51 PM
I believe the original reason was that it took more die drawings to produce smaller wire and the number of draws were counted and attributed to the specific wire size. For example, maybe 10 gauge wire took 10 individual drawings through incrementally smaller dies to make it that size. 20 gauge wire would take an additional 10 drawings to manufacture, and so on. Those "measurements" are long gone and have no bearing on today’s wire sizes other than to have started the general trend which is to name smaller wire with a larger number.

As far as current wire gauge standards- one of my favorite things.....standards. Standards are good but what is great is when you have more than one, and preferably something like wire gauge sizes where there are many standards! Brown and Sharpe (just down the road from me) standardized wire sizes.... first. Then all the others came along and use names like AWG (American wire gauges) which should never be confused with the Imperial measurement (British) called Standard Wire Gauges. There are a pile of 'standards' and so wire sizes are always specified using the 'standard' used (30 gauge AWG for example), and that is usually followed by an inch or millimeter designation.... just to be sure.

We should probably talk about machine tapers next.... Morse, B&S, Cincinnati, NM (National Machine), Hardinge, etc., etc. ad nauseum. None of them interchange and most of them are not even close to another is size / shape except for the ones that are but they still are not interchangeable. It results in a lot of "You cannot stick THAT in THERE." on shop floors. If you hear that anywhere else it means something else.

The world of measurements and quantifications is a mess I tells ya' and the only thing left to do with it is to get a chuckle here and there.

Brian


That leads to another question Brian.

Why are wire gauge sizes treated the same way as shotgun gauge sizes?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 20, 2011, 03:27:14 PM
Interesting- I have never heard Kirby do that either....

Brian


Can you hear a cat fart?.........I never have.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on December 20, 2011, 04:27:40 PM
We're going to see The Fabulous Shpielkehs at the Kimmel Center on friday.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on December 20, 2011, 05:49:43 PM
Sometimes things that are commonly accepted seem to make no sense at all. Take shotgun gauges for example: why is a 10 gauge bigger than a 12 gauge? In fact, it seems to work backwards- the larger the number the smaller the bore size (excepting .410 which is really not a gauge at all and is miss- named).

Bore sizes are based on the diameter of the ball that could be made from a given amount of pure lead. A 12 gauge bore is the result of making a perfect sphere out of 1/12 pound of lead; this rule follows and that is why the sizes seem backwards. A 20th of a pound of lead will make a considerably smaller ball than a 12th of a pound of lead will make.

The reasoning behind this method even makes sense; it gives an approximation of how many shots one could get from a single pound of lead. Or as it was actually used, it reflects how many shots could be carried given a fixed load for a soldier or a hunter.... after a fashion, walking around carrying dozens of 'shots' gets tiring.

Brian

My grandpa taught me that.  :D

A .410 is actually it's bore/caliber.  410 thousands of an inch.  Also learned that from my grandpa.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 20, 2011, 10:23:29 PM
I just watched an infomercial on the chefs basket, they will throw in an automatic stirring tool, just pay S&H.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on December 20, 2011, 10:25:28 PM
My head is 22" around. Had to measure for a fit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 20, 2011, 10:33:32 PM
My grandpa taught me that.  :D

A .410 is actually it's bore/caliber.  410 thousands of an inch.  Also learned that from my grandpa.
If .410 is its bore/caliber why does the Tauras Judge shoot .45LC and .410 shells from the same cylinder and barrel?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 20, 2011, 11:03:10 PM
Because the outside brass diameter must be much larger than the actual bore size of a .410 cartridge. Inside the brass base is the plastic tube, and inside that tube is the projectile(s) sized to the .410 bore. But the brass casing of a .45 LC (and virtually all metallic fixed cartridges for that matter) holds the projectile directly without the intermediate plastic tubing. Thus the actual bore size of the two is quite different even though the brass portion of the cartridges are the same.

In all the world of quantification, I have never seen anything nearly as confused and often outright incorrect as firearm caliber nomenclature. A .38 special is identical in every external measurement when compared to a .357 magnum except the .357 case is 0.100" longer. Even when it is confused it is not consistent; a .44 special and a .44 magnum are actually the same bore diameter but again have the same 0.100 case length difference. And, of course, a .44 special or .44 magnum is actually .429" in diameter, making it a true .42 caliber. A .22 Long Rifle is a very common pistol caliber. Etc., etc. It did start off making some sense at one point but deteriorated; a 45-70 was originally a 45-70-405 or a 45-70-500 which was a bore of .450", the cartridge was loaded with 70 grains of FFg black powder, and the projectile (bullet) was a 405 grain or 500 grain mass. With the advent of smokeless powder, which cannot be loaded using bulk measure as black power was, all of those nomenclature specifics became meaningless.

Brian


Brian

If .410 is its bore/caliber why does the Tauras Judge shoot .45LC and .410 shells from the same cylinder and barrel?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 21, 2011, 05:03:25 AM
Yesterday was my last work day of the year. I'm off, paid, till Jan 3rd. Love it!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 21, 2011, 05:09:44 AM
Hmmm.  I thought you were off...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 21, 2011, 05:15:14 AM
Hmmm.  I thought you were off...

There you go again Jim, what did I tell you about that thinking business? Stop it before you hurt yourself. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 21, 2011, 05:29:30 AM
Absolutely right...it's no good for anyone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 21, 2011, 05:58:25 AM
I pick up my plates for my TDI this Morning ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mr t on December 21, 2011, 07:06:09 AM
I put my bike away for the winter yesterday. I miss it already.

      Tom Taylor COG#7173
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on December 23, 2011, 01:26:19 PM
Rode my Bike to work today. Winter time is ridin' time in Houston.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 24, 2011, 05:24:30 AM
I pick up my plates for my TDI this Morning ;D

I transferred the personalized plates from my Pontiac to the TDI and got new plain Jane plates for the Pontiac. I'm giving the car to my son.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 24, 2011, 06:07:15 AM
You're such a nice guy!   :thumbs:

Have you ever noticed that if you are vacuuming, the noise doesn't bother you, but if you are not the one vacuuming you just want to scream 'Turn that d*** thing off!'
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 24, 2011, 06:16:51 AM
Your C14 don't need no stickin vacuuming!

I told my wife that since we're giving my son the Pontiac that we don't need to get him anything else for Christmas.

That didn't go over as well as I had hoped.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 24, 2011, 06:41:50 AM
For Christmas my oldest son asked for parts for the xs650 cafe project bike and my youngest wants a brake job for his car. How can Santa say no?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 26, 2011, 08:16:03 AM
 :thumbs: to Snap-On tools...   I had a 3/8 ratchet wrench that I bought in the mid-70s whilst working with my future father-in-law.  It started skipping teeth just recently.  Snap-on still had a kit to fix it.  They sent it to me at no charge and I now have a like new ratchet again.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 27, 2011, 05:04:43 AM
:thumbs: to Snap-On tools...   I had a 3/8 ratchet wrench that I bought in the mid-70s whilst working with my future father-in-law.  It started skipping teeth just recently.  Snap-on still had a kit to fix it.  They sent it to me at no charge and I now have a like new ratchet again.

You almost can't beat that!

I found my first Snap-On tool by the side of the road some years back. It's a really nice 3/8" ratchet with a padded handle.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on December 28, 2011, 04:49:02 PM
When you're munching on some pistachios, and you come across one that hasn't been pre-cracked, do you toss it, or do you hunt down the pliers/nutcracker/other device?

Remember when you could get a handful of pistachios out of a bubble gum-type machine? And they were dyed red?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on December 31, 2011, 04:20:05 PM
I always just use my rear teeth.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on December 31, 2011, 09:14:56 PM
the red ones are from mexico.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on January 01, 2012, 04:51:08 PM
It is Jan 1st and the Lexus December to Remember commercials are still running ad nauseum.

Please . . . make . . . it . . . stop . . .
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 01, 2012, 08:05:38 PM
A beautiful weekend for riding around these parts...and I have had nothing short of the plague beset up me. Feh, sneezing, congestion, sore throat, cough, mild fever.
 
The plague cart is waiting patiently for me...
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/wsikorski/cart.jpg)
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 02, 2012, 03:51:50 AM
Ring around the rosy                                               
A pocketful of posies
"Ashes, Ashes"
We all fall down!

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 02, 2012, 06:05:56 AM
 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 03, 2012, 07:01:58 AM
2012 - year of the ammo stock-piling
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2012, 08:06:11 AM
Why?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 08:29:12 AM
Just had my firxt cup of joe.  Still dark outside.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2012, 09:02:54 AM
Just had my firxt cup of joe.  Still dark outside.

Dark at 9:30 in the AM? Did you open the drapes? 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 10:52:35 AM
Dark at 9:30 in the AM? Did you open the drapes?
West coast ;D

Sun is up, clouds are down, least they aint falling :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2012, 11:55:00 AM
West coast ;D

Sun is up, clouds are down, least they aint falling :D

Give 'em time, say about 11 months or so...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2012, 12:44:39 PM
What happens in 11 months?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2012, 12:52:38 PM
What happens in 11 months?

12/12/12

(http://joustthefacts.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/21/simpson_end_near.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2012, 12:58:38 PM
More Mayan BS if you ask me.  The SOA will take care of them big time next season.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2012, 01:11:43 PM
More Mayan BS if you ask me.  The SOA will take care of them big time next season.

That's right! With Jax at the helm we won't have anything to worry about from them Mayans!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 01:43:11 PM
I hate this time of the year, nothing but reruns on.  Oh, BTW, it's raining out.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 03, 2012, 02:09:39 PM
Why?
Pieces on Earth: Christmas 2011 Saw Record Gun Sales
Nearly 30 years later, A Christmas Story is a holiday TV staple. But Americans, heedless of the film's lesson, seem determined to follow in young Ralphie's footsteps: According to the FBI, background checks on gun buyers hit a record single-month figure -- more than 1.5 million (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/27/us/record-gun-sales/?hpt=us_c1) -- in December. On the day before Christmas Eve alone, 102,222 such checks were ordered (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/27/us/record-gun-sales/?hpt=us_c1), making Dec. 23, 2011 the second-busiest day in gun-buying history, after this year's Black Friday.

In all, the six days leading up to Christmas saw 500,000 background check requests.

Most would-be gun-buyers pass their checks. According to CNN, "Only 1.3% of the searches result in people being denied permission to buy a weapon."

And there's no way of knowing how many guns have been sold this holiday season, since people often buy multiple weapons at once.

Fear of Gun Control Leads to Stockpiling

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/03/pieces-on-earth-christmas-2011-saw-record-gun-sales/ (http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/03/pieces-on-earth-christmas-2011-saw-record-gun-sales/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2012, 02:16:22 PM
Pieces on Earth: Christmas 2011 Saw Record Gun Sales
Nearly 30 years later, A Christmas Story is a holiday TV staple. But Americans, heedless of the film's lesson, seem determined to follow in young Ralphie's footsteps: According to the FBI, background checks on gun buyers hit a record single-month figure -- more than 1.5 million (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/27/us/record-gun-sales/?hpt=us_c1) -- in December. On the day before Christmas Eve alone, 102,222 such checks were ordered (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/27/us/record-gun-sales/?hpt=us_c1), making Dec. 23, 2011 the second-busiest day in gun-buying history, after this year's Black Friday.

In all, the six days leading up to Christmas saw 500,000 background check requests.

Most would-be gun-buyers pass their checks. According to CNN, "Only 1.3% of the searches result in people being denied permission to buy a weapon."

And there's no way of knowing how many guns have been sold this holiday season, since people often buy multiple weapons at once.

Fear of Gun Control Leads to Stockpiling

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/03/pieces-on-earth-christmas-2011-saw-record-gun-sales/ (http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/03/pieces-on-earth-christmas-2011-saw-record-gun-sales/)

Any stats on the number of shot out eyes?

(http://silverliningopticians.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/316355152_e19b815bcd3.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2012, 02:21:42 PM
My three grandsons are 8, 10, and 12 and their other grandparents bought each of them Official Red Rider BB guns, compound bows, and poison pet frogs as Christmas gifts.

WTF?    :o

I took the boys out and showed them the proper way to handle a BB gun and their bows. I ain't touching the poison frogs though!!!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 03, 2012, 02:31:17 PM
At least one...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 03, 2012, 02:33:28 PM
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d76/SpeedKing199/funny/1funny.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 03, 2012, 02:41:09 PM
Why?

Zombie day is nearing
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2012, 03:07:25 PM
They best be some big ordinance.  Zombies be hard to stop (notice I didn't say kill).  I've always thought why don't we have exploding bullets?  Is there such a thing?  Even in the future type horror movies with the army fighting giant bugs we're still shooting them with ordinary bullets.  Just doesn't make sense to me.  Swords on the hand are something I can wrap my hands around...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2012, 03:09:52 PM


WTF?    :o


Which festival would that be?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 03, 2012, 03:44:49 PM
Starship Troopers is an excellent book.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tactical_Mik on January 03, 2012, 04:03:08 PM
Zombie day is nearing

A VERY ZOMBIE HOLIDAY (Instructional video) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UqEhUm2B_8#ws)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 05:44:36 PM
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d76/SpeedKing199/funny/1funny.jpg)
Must be steves bike, I think I spotted an early KIPASS prototype antena on the front :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 05:45:49 PM
Oh BTW, it's getting dark again and it's still raining.  I also got my mullet trimmed for the first time in over a year 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on January 03, 2012, 06:15:25 PM
I also got my mullet trimmed for the first time in over a year 8)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 06:19:46 PM

If only my hair were that straight!!  Heck, once my hair grows another foot (length duh) it will only look an inch longer.  I am wondering which conditioner would help stop the curling, any advice?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 03, 2012, 06:48:45 PM
If only my hair were that straight!!  Heck, once my hair grows another foot (length duh) it will only look an inch longer.  I am wondering which conditioner would help stop the curling, any advice?

A buck forty with no helmet will work temporarily SoP...  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 06:52:00 PM

A buck forty with no helmet will work temporarily SoP...  ;D
I tried that back in my youth, all it did was create this funny bald spot I seem to have developed on the back of my head :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 03, 2012, 07:00:26 PM
I tried that back in my youth, all it did was create this funny bald spot I seem to have developed on the back of my head :-[

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 07:57:31 PM
OK, since this is a thread about nothing at all how did my hair "situation"ome up?  If you thought my bald spot in the rear was funny, ya should see my receding hairline :o  I couldnt ride a bike without some kind of protective device on my head if I want to keep what little I have left on the front.  The combover is easy, I just cant seem to get the look I want when I comb everything to the front, can you say Cousin It?
Oh, BTW, it;s finally really dark out and it quit raining.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 03, 2012, 09:58:45 PM
You guys are just going to LOVE electricity! I am tellin' ya', it is good stuff and will push that nasty darkness away.... sorta' like KiPass but it has wires.

Brian

Just had my firxt cup of joe.  Still dark outside.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 03, 2012, 10:00:16 PM
The only state in the United States that has never had a foreign flag flown over it is Idaho.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 03, 2012, 10:21:19 PM
I saw tonight on tv that a butterfly only lives for 14 days, and that they're really only active from noon to 2...  :o
 
No pressure to find some ladies before last call...  :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 03, 2012, 10:31:57 PM
The only state in the United States that has never had a foreign flag flown over it is Idaho.

Brian
Well, not 'zactly, the arian nation has flown a certain nasty flag >:(  But it is true, they have never been ruled by a nation, well, do indians count?
Hey Brian, next time you speak with Kirby, will you ask his/her opinion on cats?   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 04, 2012, 05:00:55 AM

A buck forty with no helmet will work temporarily SoP...  ;D

I tried that back in my youth, all it did was create this funny bald spot I seem to have developed on the back of my head :-[

We're you sitting on the bike backwards?

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aRxPMXDaDxs/S9BAZtRqtlI/AAAAAAAAALI/lm3-IInFqdQ/s1600/TheMullet.png)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 04, 2012, 05:06:40 AM
OK, since this is a thread about nothing at all how did my hair "situation"ome up?  If you thought my bald spot in the rear was funny, ya should see my receding hairline :o  I couldnt ride a bike without some kind of protective device on my head if I want to keep what little I have left on the front.  The combover is easy, I just cant seem to get the look I want when I comb everything to the front, can you say Cousin It?
Oh, BTW, it;s finally really dark out and it quit raining.

Oh, a skullet, why didn't you say so?

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xsXbR1QEGZI/SuQKFDkNdJI/AAAAAAAAF18/ERPboG-ywoo/s400/1skullet.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 04, 2012, 10:13:24 AM
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 04, 2012, 10:27:54 AM
What's so funny?  >:( ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 04, 2012, 10:40:02 AM
Like looking in the mirror Jim?  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 04, 2012, 10:42:44 AM
When they were filming the movie "Christmas Story" in Cleveland, the call went out for extras, we were all at work and thought about going down and being in the movie since pretty much everyone who went down was given a part. We couldn't figure out how we were all going to just walk away from our jobs that day and go down, never did, oh well. BTW, my idiot brother-in-law the cop never went down either.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 04, 2012, 11:03:25 AM
And another thing, you know, the piece "Hallelujah Chorus" is NOT a Christmas song, was never meant to be, its an Easter song. But, it fits and has become a tradition. And tradition goes that when the King first heard it, that he stood, therefore everyone else stood, so from then on, whenever the piece was played, everyone stood. Its a b**ch in a half to play though, but being in the band, we got to sit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 04, 2012, 02:39:24 PM
It stopped raining long enough to start pouring.  I miss the rain :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 04, 2012, 05:32:07 PM
Hitting freezing tonight in South FL  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Excavator on January 04, 2012, 06:05:58 PM
Cover those tender fruits.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 04, 2012, 06:51:03 PM
High tides occur at noontime and midnight on Tahiti, regardless of the position of the moon.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 05, 2012, 07:25:03 AM
Hitting freezing tonight in South FL  :o

Cover those tender fruits.  ;D

Yeah people are panicking, and some taking pics of the frost on their cars. Incredible heh  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sherob on January 05, 2012, 07:49:56 AM
There was frost on my truck's windshield yesterday morning... so I rode my bike in.  Talk about lazy.  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 05, 2012, 09:31:26 AM
It's not raining out and I see some blue sky ;D  I think I'll have a donut with my coffee this morning.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 05, 2012, 09:38:38 AM
Clear here but inside working.  Time for a cup of tea...  A tad early perhaps but what the heck.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on January 05, 2012, 10:05:04 AM
There was frost on my truck's windshield yesterday morning... so I rode my bike in.  Talk about lazy.  :o
Mix 3 parts vinegar with with 1 part water in a spray bottle before misting your truck's windshield the night before frost is expected.  The acetic acid in the vinegar will keep the frost from forming.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 09, 2012, 11:37:13 AM
Snowing here but not sticking to the road.  My kind of snow.  It's 36 degrees....dropped from 38.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 09, 2012, 11:56:49 AM
Overcast and 48 outside.  Puuuuuuuuuuuurfect riding weather.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 09, 2012, 12:54:57 PM
Snowing here but not sticking to the road.  My kind of snow.  It's 36 degrees....dropped from 38.

What's the dew point and wind chill?

See, if you had your own weather station you'd know all that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 09, 2012, 01:29:01 PM
Maybe I know that and I'm just not telling you :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 09, 2012, 01:37:15 PM
Maybe I know that and I'm just not telling you :P

 :'(

That's mean.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 09, 2012, 01:44:00 PM
Ah, but you know better...  I don't have those measurements.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 09, 2012, 02:44:45 PM
What's the dew point and wind chill?

See, if you had your own weather station you'd know all that.
One thing for sure, 36 in that suit it's gotta be chilly dew say the least ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 09, 2012, 02:50:51 PM
At least it's stainless...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 09, 2012, 03:07:42 PM
At least it's stainless...

That's not what your wife said...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 09, 2012, 03:15:57 PM
That helmet and he wonders why he has a crick in his neck.  I wonder if the chainlink undergarments have pulled EVERY hair from his body?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 09, 2012, 03:24:47 PM
  I wonder if the chainlink undergarments have pulled EVERY hair from his body?

I wonder about a lot of things Chet, that's not one of them.  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 09, 2012, 04:02:47 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Kirby on January 12, 2012, 04:22:45 PM
A 'Camel hair' brush is really made from squirrel fur, not camel fur or hair. The name is a corruption of the German inventor's name, Keml.

I personally think it is just one more way in which the human keeps the squirrel down. Squirrel oppression has been going on for centuries….

Kirby
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 12, 2012, 04:36:57 PM
Only good squirrel is a .......  Brian, it seems you have a good squirrel.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on January 12, 2012, 06:10:33 PM
I wonder if the chainlink undergarments have pulled EVERY hair from his body?

Just finished a new pair.  Gots to be well groomed to wear these.   ;D

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii78/cdharlach/Mail/2012-01-08_19-39-32_191.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 12, 2012, 06:15:58 PM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 12, 2012, 06:28:20 PM
Finished up a 10 month USMC project at work today; starting one for the Canuck military next week.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 12, 2012, 06:30:08 PM
Just finished a new pair.  Gots to be well groomed to wear these.   ;D

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii78/cdharlach/Mail/2012-01-08_19-39-32_191.jpg)

OH MY GOD.  Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 12, 2012, 06:40:57 PM
OH MY GOD.  Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Standard protective wear for Nuke Squids... ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 12, 2012, 06:47:45 PM
Just finished a new pair.  Gots to be well groomed to wear these.   ;D

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii78/cdharlach/Mail/2012-01-08_19-39-32_191.jpg)
Hand measured and fit, right?  For discerning knights everywhere ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 12, 2012, 06:53:23 PM
Standard protective wear for Nuke Squids... ;D

Oh God I hope not!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on January 12, 2012, 06:59:29 PM
Hand measured and fit, right?  For discerning knights everywhere ;)

Of course.  The fitting (happening next weekend) is the best part.  Modeled pics is next best.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 12, 2012, 07:02:44 PM
Of course.  The fitting (happening next weekend) is the best part.  Modeled pics is next best.
I have a broken camera that would be PERFECT for the event :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on January 12, 2012, 07:35:35 PM
I have a broken camera that would be PERFECT for the event :o

That would be perfect for the low light shots to show how well they glow in the dark (they glow blue).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 13, 2012, 03:45:11 AM
We expect pics of the photo shoot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 13, 2012, 04:29:34 AM
I hope you guys realize he's not talking about me.  I don't wear anything under the armour.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 13, 2012, 05:10:13 AM
I hope you guys realize he's not talking about me.  I don't wear anything under the armour.

 :yikes:

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 13, 2012, 09:42:31 AM
I hope you guys realize he's not talking about me.  I don't wear anything under the armour.

Ya right Sparky, that's why your avatar is only from the waist up, I think you're wearing em bro...  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 13, 2012, 10:51:29 AM

Ya right Sparky, that's why your avatar is only from the waist up, I think you're wearing em bro...  :)
See how he's quivering?  Maybe he has a few short ones caught in the links?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 13, 2012, 11:14:40 AM
See how he's quivering?  Maybe he has a few short ones caught in the links?

 :rotflmao:

I'll tell you one thing, Ole Sparky would be handy to have around if you're ever caught outside in a thunderstorm. You may want to stand back a bit though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 13, 2012, 12:05:27 PM
It's tea time again...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on January 13, 2012, 09:44:58 PM
I hope you guys realize he's not talking about me.  I don't wear anything under the armour.

You spell "armour" with a "u". Are you a Canuck? English? Your flag is a Scandinavian country, just not sure which....Danish?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 13, 2012, 10:50:35 PM
Scandinavian?  Are you out of your mind?  "Flag of England it is.", he says sipping the nightly wine.  And you, a Canadian, don't know this?  Danish?  Why I oughta....

The Danish flag, whilst having the same colours, is reversed from the English Flag.
(http://www.zggtr.org/data:image/png;base64,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)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 14, 2012, 04:49:19 AM
Scandinavian?  Are you out of your mind?  "Flag of England it is.", he says sipping the nightly wine.  And you, a Canadian, don't know this?  Danish?  Why I oughta....

The Danish flag, whilst having the same colours, is reversed from the English Flag.


I wasn't aware that the Danish had a red X in it?  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on January 14, 2012, 12:20:03 PM
Shoulda googled it first! When I think of the English flag, I think Union Jack - which stopped using in the Trudeau years.!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 14, 2012, 01:26:36 PM
I wasn't aware that the Danish had a red X in it?  :o

It doesn't.  Neither flag has an 'x' in it.  They have a '+'.  It's a small difference, I agree, but it's significant to the respective locals.  For instance, the Scottish flag has a white 'x'.  Consider yourself schooled.. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 14, 2012, 01:46:06 PM
It doesn't.  Neither flag has an 'x' in it.  They have a '+'.  It's a small difference, I agree, but it's significant to the respective locals.  For instance, the Scottish flag has a white 'x'.  Consider yourself schooled.. ;)

But Jim, it is a red X. The red X of broken link fame.

Maybe this is what you were after?

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Dannebrog.jpg/800px-Dannebrog.jpg.png)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 14, 2012, 03:27:13 PM
I don't see an x.  It's a white + albeit offset somewhat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 14, 2012, 04:13:03 PM
See how he's quivering?  Maybe he has a few short ones caught in the links?

I thought he only had one short one?   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 14, 2012, 04:26:50 PM
Mini, have you been peeking?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 14, 2012, 05:27:33 PM
 :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 15, 2012, 12:23:50 PM
Mini, have you been peeking?

Well, at first I was like:
 :yikes:
And then I was like:
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 15, 2012, 12:42:40 PM
clap! clap! clap!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 07:04:35 AM
Time to bump this one back to the forefront.  Can't believe it's gotten three pages back.

I'm sitting watching a computer screen following the progress of a software upgrade in Luray, VA.  The system is slow and I'm using DVDs as the media.  I'm watching a screen that's showing about 55% progress so far.  I've got a feeling I'll be here all day.  Sigh....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 28, 2012, 07:10:52 AM
You don't have the screen saver dancing girls?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 07:16:21 AM
Time to bump this one back to the forefront.  Can't believe it's gotten three pages back.

I'm sitting watching a computer screen following the progress of a software upgrade in Luray, VA.  The system is slow and I'm using DVDs as the media.  I'm watching a screen that's showing about 55% progress so far.  I've got a feeling I'll be here all day.  Sigh....

As long as the progress meter doesn't start going backwards.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 07:22:19 AM
90% now.  What are you doing today?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 07:36:59 AM
90% now.  What are you doing today?

Moi?

Right at the moment I'm getting ready to change out my Comcast supplied rental cable modem (just went up to $7 per month) for a Motorola SURFboard SB6121 DOCSIS 3.0 modem. Gonna do a couple speed tests for a before and after comparison.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 28, 2012, 07:38:40 AM
I don't know about you guys, but, I'll be riding today and tomorrow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 07:41:21 AM
I don't know about you guys, but, I'll be riding today and tomorrow.

20 degrees here with a fresh 2" of snow last night, no riding in sight for me. A little more snow and I can get the sled out at least.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 07:49:23 AM
Moi?

Right at the moment I'm getting ready to change out my Comcast supplied rental cable modem (just went up to $7 per month) for a Motorola SURFboard SB6121 DOCSIS 3.0 modem. Gonna do a couple speed tests for a before and after comparison.

No, the guy next to you.  Make sure you update us with the results.  Can't wait to hear about the difference.  Really.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 07:49:50 AM
I don't know about you guys, but, I'll be riding today and tomorrow.

Sigh...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 07:57:48 AM
No, the guy next to you.  Make sure you update us with the results.  Can't wait to hear about the difference.  Really.

Will do, gonna call Comcast right now and get the new modem set-up on my system and then give 'er a go. Wish me luck.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 07:58:58 AM
 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 08:43:53 AM
Ok Sparky, I'm back. Do I look faster?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 08:50:59 AM
You don't appear to be faster to me but I'm considered slow by my wife's standards.  How did your speed test go?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 08:53:34 AM
I somehow managed to speak with a knowledgeable tech rep from Comcast and the set-up of the new modem was painless. I tested the speed before and after from two different sites, running 5 tests at each site. The average download speed before was ~34 Mbps and ~6.3 Mbps up. The average download speed with the new modem is ~36 Mbps and ~6.2 Mbps up.

That's fast baby!

I bought this modem from Amazon and paid $85, so it'll take me a year to pay for it by not having to pay the $7 to Comcast.

The Motorola SURFboard SB6121 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem gets the Conrad seal of approval.    :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 08:58:44 AM
Doesn't seem that much different to me based on before and after unless I'm reading it wrong.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 09:01:24 AM
Nope, there's not that much difference, if any really. But I won't be paying Comcast for their modem any longer.

Check your speed here and tell me what you get.

http://speedtest.comcast.net/ (http://speedtest.comcast.net/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 09:07:03 AM
32ms/4.07/.59   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 28, 2012, 09:14:25 AM
30 / 2.88 / .75 Not too bad for DSL.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2012, 09:17:12 AM
Nope, those are all good speeds.

Jim, I know that you use Comcast right? Did you see your bill this month? They jacked the price up to $7 for their modem rental.

Time to go get some work done around this place.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 09:24:17 AM
Nope, those are all good speeds.

Jim, I know that you use Comcast right? Did you see your bill this month? They jacked the price up to $7 for their modem rental.

Time to go get some work done around this place.

I don't use Comcast.  I use MetroCast.  My daughter had Comcast and dumped it for Verizon Fios.  She couldn't stand the outages where she lives.  I have a Motorola modem (can't remember the model) and it's not rented either.  It's MetroCast's modem but somehow they forgot they owned it. :nuts:   Their loss is my gain.  I am having issues with it disconnecting at times so I have bought another but just haven't had time to get it installed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 28, 2012, 09:24:54 AM
No, the guy next to you. 

Don't you mean behind him Jim?  :-X   ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 28, 2012, 09:26:10 AM
Ok Sparky, I'm back. Do I look faster?

Slow down C, I can barely keep up with your posts man!!  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 28, 2012, 09:30:58 AM
I'm in to the service pack installations now.  That will take the rest of the day...  sigh

I'm thinking martini tonight.  I had wine last night.  I try to mix it up a bit but not at the same time.  Bad juju to do that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 28, 2012, 11:25:04 AM
I learned once that you shouldn't drink red wine, white wine, beer and whiskey all within a 5 hour period unless you want to feel bad the next morning. I got to say though, the whiskey I drank was very good and real smooth, Forty Creek, ever hear of it? Its Canadian. Got it cheap at the border.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 28, 2012, 11:32:24 AM
Liquor before beer never fear, beer before liquor never sicker, or something like that...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 28, 2012, 11:39:36 AM
Yes, ZG, a military man once told me that. ;D I think it was the wines though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 28, 2012, 11:42:30 AM
Yes, ZG, a military man once told me that. ;D I think it was the wines though.

I remember my Grampa telling it too me when I was in like grade school or something, just always stuck in my head... Sound advice, thanks Gramps, miss ya!!  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 28, 2012, 12:18:22 PM
32ms/4.07/.59
145ms/2.54/.70  I need to get a silver modem, the black is way to slow :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: GeeBeav on January 28, 2012, 10:32:53 PM
I have a back scratcher that looks like a little hand on a stick. It's pretty sweet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2012, 06:27:55 AM
No, the guy next to you. 


Don't you mean behind him Jim?  :-X   ;)

That's no man you goofs, that's my wife.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2012, 06:30:32 AM
145ms/2.54/.70  I need to get a silver modem, the black is way to slow :o

I was a lil worried when I took the new modem out of the box and saw that it was black...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 29, 2012, 06:47:35 AM
Probably thought it was for ZG as well.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 29, 2012, 07:27:13 AM
That's no man you goofs, that's my wife.    :o

My profound apologies and I say that without any sarcasm or innuendo implied or inferred. :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2012, 07:48:43 AM
My profound apologies and I say that without any sarcasm or innuendo implied or inferred. :-[

No worries.    :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 29, 2012, 10:25:51 AM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 29, 2012, 07:38:33 PM
145ms/2.54/.70  I need to get a silver modem, the black is way to slow :o

Paint it red, that's worth 20 MB in itself.   ;)

Ping:  32ms
Download: 11.25 Mbps
Upload:  1.46Mbps
Guess that's alright?  All I know is that the ping is good, no idea what a good down/up speed is.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 29, 2012, 08:25:14 PM
Paint it red, that's worth 20 MB in itself.   ;)

Ping:  32ms
Download: 11.25 Mbps
Upload:  1.46Mbps
Guess that's alright?  All I know is that the ping is good, no idea what a good down/up speed is.
Red?  I may as well use the postal system ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 29, 2012, 08:33:54 PM
Red?  I may as well use the postal system ;D

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 30, 2012, 11:04:39 AM
Red?  I may as well use the postal system ;D

Hahahahahaha, nice!

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46169922#null (http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46169922#null)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 30, 2012, 01:46:14 PM
I was thinking last night at work, you know, some people just need to go away.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on January 30, 2012, 07:09:40 PM
I rode 185 miles yesterday.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 30, 2012, 10:54:13 PM
I'm about to go to bed at a house 75 miles from my house.  Came over to do some work on a buddies bike, gonna finish her up in the morning.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 31, 2012, 04:47:00 AM
I'm about to go to bed at a house 75 miles from my house.  Came over to do some work on a buddies bike, gonna finish her up in the morning.

What happened, you strip a bolt?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 31, 2012, 05:02:56 AM
I didn't.. :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 31, 2012, 05:06:22 AM
I didn't.. :'(

You didn't what?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 31, 2012, 05:13:43 AM
I'm developing a bad habit of replying to things by assuming they're at the bottom of thread.  I blame it on this crack forum I'm addicted to...

I rode 185 miles yesterday.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 31, 2012, 05:21:58 AM
I'm developing a bad habit of replying to things by assuming they're at the bottom of thread.  I blame it on this crack forum I'm addicted to...

Just say no Sparky.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 31, 2012, 05:29:04 AM
I wish I could.  Maybe I need an intervention. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on January 31, 2012, 06:15:48 PM
What happened, you strip a bolt?

How'd you know?

...Yes.  One of the screws on the left side carb was too tight, got an extracting bit and she came off in a jiffy.  I also swapped out the sparkplugs and changed the oil while we were at it. 

The main jet and pilot jet both were clogged up, and there was black crap all over the place that turned yellow and green and was dry if you broke it apart...  Jesus...  Never let a bike sit for 3 months without draining the float bowls... (He was if Afghanistan and on leave for a month, had a guy riding it for him ,then that guy stopped riding said bike.).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 31, 2012, 07:32:10 PM
I wish I could.  Maybe I need an intervention.

Poke keeps telling me I need one too Sparky, so don't feel bad...
 
 :grouphug:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 31, 2012, 08:21:50 PM
My dog just farted.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 31, 2012, 09:04:48 PM
My dog just farted.

 :hitfan:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 31, 2012, 09:39:01 PM
Well, he did it again.  Time to put him to bed, the misses is asleep so no harm no foul :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 01, 2012, 03:12:43 AM
I don't know about that.  My dog was an Olympian in that sport where I'm just an amateur.  He could drive women to cry and small children to run away in his presence.  I miss that dog.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2012, 04:39:55 AM
How'd you know?

...Yes.  One of the screws on the left side carb was too tight, got an extracting bit and she came off in a jiffy.  I also swapped out the sparkplugs and changed the oil while we were at it. 

The main jet and pilot jet both were clogged up, and there was black crap all over the place that turned yellow and green and was dry if you broke it apart...  Jesus...  Never let a bike sit for 3 months without draining the float bowls... (He was if Afghanistan and on leave for a month, had a guy riding it for him ,then that guy stopped riding said bike.).

Seems to be a lot of that going around.   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2012, 04:41:59 AM
My dog just farted.

Sure, blame it on the dog!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on February 01, 2012, 08:39:20 AM
Seems to be a lot of that going around.

Luckily when they redesigned the 250 in 2008, they used the same carbs as the 88-2007 models.  So the carbs are the same.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 02, 2012, 07:23:32 AM
Right around when I was 12 or 13 I discovered the base line of songs. One of those first songs that really struck home was "Aquarious/Let the Sun Shine in" by the 5th Dimension. Another was Three Dog Night's "Black and White". Listen to those songs especially the second half of the 5th Dimension song and see what I mean.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on February 02, 2012, 02:16:33 PM
It was 38º on my ride in to work today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 02, 2012, 03:10:09 PM
It was 38º on my ride in to work today.

33 on my ride in this morning, now it's blue sky and 50, beautiful out!  8)
 
And I'm stuck inside working...  :(   :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2012, 04:49:39 PM
Have a cookie.  You'll feel better.

I went to BJ's club last night to buy disposable shavers.  I looked at their three blade brand and then at Schick.  Schick had the made in USA brand.  BJ's brand had just a distributed by sentence.  I know when I see that it's a made in China deal.  Same number of shavers as Schick.  Schick was 10 dollars higher.  I went with Schick.  Used one of them this morning and it was superb gliding over my three day stubble (work out of the house so I don't handsome up every day).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 02, 2012, 08:21:37 PM
Bought a new mattress today. The old one was only a year old, but didn't work for me. I put the old one on CL for free and had four replies within 30 minutes. Free really works. If I asked a hundred bucks for it (paid $900.00) it would never go.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 02, 2012, 09:15:34 PM
Mmmm... cookie.  :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 05, 2012, 03:28:18 PM
Drinking Scotch and tonic waiting for the Superbowl to start...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on February 05, 2012, 06:25:30 PM
208 miles of riding today over in Pensylvania.  :)
 
I really envy you guys that can ignore the bike's need to be ridden, and just put them away during the cold months.  ::)
 
Edit to add pic:
(http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac179/polarbear638/pb13/SDC11305.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on February 05, 2012, 11:07:55 PM
I won $20 on the superbowl.  Hah.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 09, 2012, 05:21:45 AM
Driving to a client the other day on 301 south through Camp AP Hill in VA..  I saw a very large eagle flying above the left hand lane about 2/3 up to the top of the tree line.  As I passed by and under it I said to myself "This is going to be a wonderful day!".  The sky was blue as well.  Also, thought the eagle should have been in the right hand lane flying as slow as it was, but I think it was cruising for an easy snack (dead deer).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 09, 2012, 08:51:05 AM
Jim's mention of the eagle reminded me of something that happened last year. My brother, my wife, and I took a week long vacation in snowmobile country up in northern Wisconsin. This was in January. We were out on a great groomed trail, my brother in the lead, me next, and my wife last. The trail was lined by trees and it was almost like being in a tunnel becasue of the way the trees hung over the trail, it was beautiful. All of a sudden a bald eagle flew up from behind me and started pacing my brother. The eagle was flying ~3 feet above my bro's head and matched his speed. The eagle did this for 10 mins or so. It was amazing to watch and my bro didn't even know that he was there! All of a sudden the eagle accelerated, pulled up, and landed in one of the trees. My bro saw him at that point but had no idea that the eagle was right above him for so long.
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 09, 2012, 02:58:57 PM
I'm into the Sangria now....all is well.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 09, 2012, 02:59:51 PM
I won $20 on the superbowl.  Hah.

Congratulations!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 09, 2012, 09:09:49 PM
I got a new bed last week. One of those Plasma beds. My back is way better, though not 100%. My wife's back is about 100% now. I sleep better. I better for $2500.00!!!! I'm in the wrong business.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 09, 2012, 09:15:27 PM
(http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac179/polarbear638/pb13/SDC11305.jpg)

Very nice CS!!  8) :thumbs: 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 10, 2012, 04:10:31 AM
Never heard of a Plasma bed.  Is it like an LCD bed?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on February 10, 2012, 09:30:37 AM
Never heard of a Plasma bed.  Is it like an LCD bed?

Could be just really, really hot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 10, 2012, 09:46:06 AM
I think it leaves him with a tingly feeling :D  I hear that is what they are calling them coin operated beds in some roadside hotels ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 10, 2012, 06:15:41 PM
Never heard of a Plasma bed.  Is it like an LCD bed?

It's like a memory foam bed only better. You know, an LED bed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 12, 2012, 05:12:31 PM
Saw an eagle in an unexpected place today coming up i95 south of Richmond.  It was just south of the 288 interchange.  Very industrial area.  Strange to see one there.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: SteveJ. on February 12, 2012, 05:33:49 PM
Jim's mention of the eagle reminded me of something that happened last year. My brother, my wife, and I took a week long vacation in snowmobile country up in northern Wisconsin. This was in January. We were out on a great groomed trail, my brother in the lead, me next, and my wife last. The trail was lined by trees and it was almost like being in a tunnel becasue of the way the trees hung over the trail, it was beautiful. All of a sudden a bald eagle flew up from behind me and started pacing my brother. The eagle was flying ~3 feet above my bro's head and matched his speed. The eagle did this for 10 mins or so. It was amazing to watch and my bro didn't even know that he was there! All of a sudden the eagle accelerated, pulled up, and landed in one of the trees. My bro saw him at that point but had no idea that the eagle was right above him for so long.

I do miss those trails up there... :(

Sledding is fun, no doubt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 13, 2012, 04:30:28 AM
I do miss those trails up there... :(

Sledding is fun, no doubt.

Yep, it sure is! We've only been able to get out once this year so far. Locally we've not had that much snow, only the one time is it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 21, 2012, 10:38:44 AM
Around when I was learning about baselines of songs, I found that if the bass played the same thing as the lead guitar only an octave lower, it made for a powerful song. WHOA!
"Love Stinks"- J. Geils
"Smoke on the Water" Deep Puple
"Back in Black" AC/DC
"I Love Rock & Roll" Joan Jett

This technique isn't new at all
"In the Mood" Glenn Miller Orchestra

Then I learned some bands did't even have a bass player!

Doors
Rush
 Then some songs even featured the bass
"Oya Como Va" Santana
"Bennie and the Jetts" Elton John

When I'd go to church, I'd listen to all the parts of the song when the organ played and pick them out, I wasn't much of a singer but could hum the part exactly in tune,strange huh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 21, 2012, 09:54:02 PM
Around when I was learning about baselines of songs, I found that if the bass played the same thing as the lead guitar only an octave lower, it made for a powerful song. WHOA!
"Love Stinks"- J. Geils
"Smoke on the Water" Deep Puple
"Back in Black" AC/DC
"I Love Rock & Roll" Joan Jett

This technique isn't new at all
"In the Mood" Glenn Miller Orchestra

Then I learned some bands did't even have a bass player!

Doors
Rush
 Then some songs even featured the bass
"Oya Como Va" Santana
"Bennie and the Jetts" Elton John

When I'd go to church, I'd listen to all the parts of the song when the organ played and pick them out, I wasn't much of a singer but could hum the part exactly in tune,strange huh?

I would have sworn Getty Lee plays the bass in Rush........
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 23, 2012, 11:38:08 AM
Then after awhile, like in high school, 1975-79, I heard jazz and improvisation, and I thought, well, thats silly, they just play anything, anybody could do that right? WRONG. You just can't play anything. I learned you have to play in the same key that everyone else is in or it will just sound like, well, anything and wrong. If you play anything as long as its in the same key as everyone else, then it sounds great, but its REALLY difficult, for me it was at least.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on February 23, 2012, 02:32:47 PM
I've been riding to work all week; it's nice out.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 23, 2012, 02:59:08 PM
4 to 8 inches of heavy wet snow predicted for tonight into tomorrow morn, along with the possibility of thundersnow. I may be playing hooky form work tomorrow and taking the snowmobiles out.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 23, 2012, 06:45:04 PM
70 today at the south end of the state.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 24, 2012, 04:41:58 AM
Wah Wooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow day baby! 8 inches of heavy wet snow and it's still coming down. The schools are closed and I'm staying home and getting some sled time in. Oh yeah!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 24, 2012, 08:00:39 AM
Talking snow Sunday.  Good thing the Daytona 500 is on and even better that I have the generator full of gas ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 26, 2012, 01:47:19 PM
Blue skies and 30 degrees to clouds, snow, and 41 degrees.  And to top things off rain delay at the Daytona 500 >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on February 27, 2012, 10:49:49 AM
I missed the Dallas Supercross this year.  I'm used to it being in late March/early April...

I went online to look for tickets and then I realized it was that weekend and I had a full schedule...   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 04, 2012, 08:42:29 PM
What an odd winter, I mowed the grass today for the first time this year and bbq'd some chicken on the grill tonight, beautiful sunny day in the upper 50's, just watched the news and they said snow tomorrow night...
 :o
 
Freakin PNW...  :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 04, 2012, 08:52:45 PM
Snow!! OMG I better fill the cans with gas and buy some supplies for the blizzard ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 04, 2012, 08:56:57 PM
It got down to 68 in Tampa today and people FREEKED.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 04, 2012, 08:58:13 PM
Might be your last chance to get the sled out SoP... (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/smiley_dunno.gif)
 
They said (at least for Portland) it would only be during the night and melt quick Tuesday when the sun comes up.  :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 04, 2012, 08:59:37 PM
It got down to 68 in Tampa today and people FREEKED.

 :battle:
 
Hate you bro...  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 04, 2012, 09:10:47 PM
Yep, mid 50's today, down to a t shirt on the excavator, popped a 3 1/2 foot stump out, big stumps, clay, and lots of moisture make for hard work.  Ran low on fuel, sucked some crap into the fitting just before the fuel filter, so she wouldnt bleed.  Almost killed the battery, buddy drug out the extension cords, charger, and then I found the problem ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 04, 2012, 09:25:17 PM
Hey SoP, how far are you from Lawrence Lake (its around Mt Rainier)? I have a buddy that has a cabin there and I'm looking to maybe be up there over spring break, if the weather isn't total crap I'm gonna take the Connie...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 04, 2012, 10:52:51 PM
I'm about an hour away, awesome ride so I may be able to get an arm twisted :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 04, 2012, 10:56:34 PM
Nice! I'll ping you as it gets closer bro, I was actually thinking come to your fishing pond while in the area bro, not you to his... but either is good! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 04, 2012, 11:04:15 PM
We could meet up and I'll lead ya here!!

PS:  King likes to use black rims as a depository :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 06, 2012, 12:29:21 PM
When I was playing music, I could never really sightread, but, based on what I could do in the way of mimmicing, if I heard it once, I could usually play it, well, then its not really sightreading is it? But most guys I knew played too straight, by the book, playing exactly what was written, not able to "swing" or inflect style or play what the writer wanted played or how it was played by others. I could never sit down and write out what I heard, but given sheet music and hearing it, I found I could play it no problem the way it was meant to be played.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Uglydog56 on March 12, 2012, 01:24:57 PM
Muppet Show - Mahna Mahna...m HD 720p bacco... Original! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_tupPBtWQ#ws)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 12, 2012, 02:55:55 PM
Big wind storm here today, power has been out for about an hour now... Thank goodness for my Blackberry!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 12, 2012, 03:22:14 PM
Cell sites can only stay powered on for so long.
DAMHIK
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 12, 2012, 03:45:43 PM
Big wind storm here today, power has been out for about an hour now... Thank goodness for my Blackberry!

I hope that the beer isn't getting warm?  We can't have that, you know what has to be done right?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 12, 2012, 03:50:42 PM
I hope that the beer isn't getting warm?  We can't have that, you know what has to be done right?

 :rotflmao: :chugbeer: :thumbs:
 
Powers back up now so all is good, I was just about to fill up the sink with ice for my beers like I do in hotel rooms when traveling...  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on March 12, 2012, 09:41:35 PM
Power went out at work today also. The whole complex cleared out because they all need power for machinery. Not me....I got to stay at work! Dang! Computer went down 4 times. Finally gave up and did other stuff.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 13, 2012, 04:54:23 AM
My building has a HUGE diesel generator in the sub-basement. The power never goes out.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on March 13, 2012, 09:28:50 PM
My building has a HUGE diesel generator in the sub-basement. The power never goes out.

You must be government. Or maybe just someone important. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 14, 2012, 04:00:27 AM
He is someone important.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 04:33:59 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 04:46:38 AM
You must be government. Or maybe just someone important. ;D

Why yes, yes I am.     8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 04:52:51 AM
JOHNNY RIVERS - Secret Agent Man 1966 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iaR3WO71j4#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 04:57:30 AM
Zip it Jimmah. Otherwise I'll have a black helicopter sent to dispatch you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 05:10:18 AM
Or a big white balloon like ball.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 05:14:26 AM
#6, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 05:19:30 AM
I know, it's in my sig line....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 14, 2012, 09:56:44 AM
Zip it Jimmah. Otherwise I'll have a black helicopter sent to dispatch you.

The black helicopters are much faster than the silver ones...  :stirpot:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 10:02:48 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 10:46:05 AM
Sigh...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 14, 2012, 11:22:28 AM
Sigh...

sigh nothing... look out the window!  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 12:50:10 PM
I am and it's beautiful in VA at about 80 degrees.  I'm riding today....  And I'm close to helicopters of all sorts here at AP Hill which is just down the street.  Actually saw an Apache following 301.  Scared the you know what out of me. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 01:15:37 PM
I am and it's beautiful in VA at about 80 degrees.  I'm riding today....  And I'm close to helicopters of all sorts here at AP Hill which is just down the street.  Actually saw an Apache following 301.  Scared the you know what out of me.

It sounds like we're having the same beautiful weather Jim. We've smashed the record high temp for today of 74, set back in '95. It's 80 now. More of the same for the rest of the week.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 14, 2012, 01:36:28 PM
I am and it's beautiful in VA at about 80 degrees.  I'm riding today....  And I'm close to helicopters of all sorts here at AP Hill which is just down the street.  Actually saw an Apache following 301.  Scared the you know what out of me. 

It sounds like we're having the same beautiful weather Jim. We've smashed the record high temp for today of 74, set back in '95. It's 80 now. More of the same for the rest of the week.

(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/mad.gif)
 
Snowed here yesterday morning and today is a cold wet windy upper 30's...  :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 01:38:41 PM
 
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/mad.gif)
 
Snowed here yesterday morning and today is a cold wet windy upper 30's...  :'(

You poor thing, did you have to get the snow blower out?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 14, 2012, 01:40:56 PM
You poor thing, did you have to get the snow blower out?

My wife? (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/confused1.gif) (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/idea.gif) (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/smiley_dunno.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2012, 01:42:54 PM
You poor thing, did you have to get the snow blower out?


My wife? (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/confused1.gif) (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/idea.gif) (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/smiley_dunno.gif)

 :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 14, 2012, 02:02:02 PM
Speaking of blowing snow, nah... I'll save you all from that thread.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 14, 2012, 05:08:32 PM
I have been reduced to drinking the last Miller Chill.  There is no beer left in the fridge and it's been there for at least a couple of years.  I don't feel like going out to buy real beer so it's this crap.  And believe me when I say this....it's crap.  But it is fizzy and cool.  Don't like green bottles, like brown bottles.  Another strike against it.  But once it's gone in a few minutes, then that will be it for it.  I think my wife bought this as a chick drink.  Aaaargh!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 14, 2012, 05:11:11 PM
I have been reduced to drinking the last Miller Chill.  There is no beer left in the fridge and it's been there for at least a couple of years.  I don't feel like going out to buy real beer so it's this crap.  And believe me when I say this....it's crap.  But it is fizzy and cool.  Don't like green bottles, like brown bottles.  Another strike against it.  But once it's gone in a few minutes, then that will be it for it.  I think my wife bought this as a chick drink.  Aaaargh!

 :o   :doublepuke:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 15, 2012, 04:32:19 AM
Miller Chill? Oh Sparky, what are we gonna do with you?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 15, 2012, 04:32:54 AM
Totally ashamed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 15, 2012, 04:43:22 AM
Totally ashamed.

It's bad enough that you drank that stuff but then to come out and admit it in front of the whole world?    :o

I'll stock some of that for your visit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 15, 2012, 05:03:41 AM
Aaaargh, a fate worse than death....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 15, 2012, 05:44:42 AM
Hi My name is VirginiaJim and I drank last night. It was a Miller Chill.

HI Jim, welcome to the meeting.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 15, 2012, 06:30:37 AM
Thank you!  I'm remedying that situation today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 15, 2012, 08:06:25 AM
A thread about nothing should at least include a pic of eye and feet protection  ;)

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/LR%20700/SRW_3156-Edit-Edit.jpg)

And Camille is modelling the Converse shoes, and also sporting some major wiminz leg protection

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/LR%20700/SRW_3054-Edit-Edit.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 15, 2012, 08:28:56 AM
Tell Camille that her fashion sense seems to be a bit lacking.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 15, 2012, 08:36:12 AM
Tell Camille that her fashion sense seems to be a bit lacking.    :o

She had on super-high heels, except for that water bank shot. And I wasn't supposed to shoot the shoes then, that was a silly out take pic =)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 15, 2012, 09:30:50 AM
It's raining (still).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 15, 2012, 10:06:23 AM
It's raining (still).

+1...  :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 15, 2012, 01:03:41 PM
sunny in FL, c'mon down (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 15, 2012, 01:17:49 PM
Sunny and 76 beautiful degrees here.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 15, 2012, 01:37:40 PM
Daily car and bikewash continues.  At least it's a warmer rain today, high of 49 ;D  Liquid sunshine ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 15, 2012, 01:45:48 PM
The word sabot is French in origin and refers to a small wooden shoe, typically worn by peasants (not pheasants which normally do not wear shoes). As the story goes, this is the root for the word sabotage, meaning to jam up 'the works' (a machine) by sticking a shoe in there.

Now if that really was the case, don't you think the facility manager (whatever they were called back in 18th century France) would just look around the broken machine for the worker standing there with only one show?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 15, 2012, 01:49:34 PM
Must of been union.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 15, 2012, 01:50:24 PM
Must of been union.

^^^that
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 15, 2012, 01:59:44 PM
The word sabot is French in origin and refers to a small wooden shoe, typically worn by peasants (not pheasants which normally do not wear shoes). As the story goes, this is the root for the word sabotage, meaning to jam up 'the works' (a machine) by sticking a shoe in there.

Now if that really was the case, don't you think the facility manager (whatever they were called back in 18th century France) would just look around the broken machine for the worker standing there with only one show?

Brian

They could have planed ahead and brought in an extra shoe? Maybe even found a shoe on the side of the road on the way into work? You know how you always see one shoe on the side of the road, never two, just the one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 15, 2012, 02:49:24 PM
The word sabot is French in origin and refers to a small wooden shoe, typically worn by peasants (not pheasants which normally do not wear shoes). As the story goes, this is the root for the word sabotage, meaning to jam up 'the works' (a machine) by sticking a shoe in there.

Now if that really was the case, don't you think the facility manager (whatever they were called back in 18th century France) would just look around the broken machine for the worker standing there with only one show?

Brian
Good thing you didn't call it a "Clog", it could easily be mistaken for COG, creating an even bigger divide ;D

I prefer the Weapon version of sabot, I hat new shoes, much less a piece of wood carved out to fit my foot ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 15, 2012, 03:04:31 PM
Now that you mention it, I HAVE noticed that (one shoe on the side of the road). Plus, factories are almost always located on the sides of roads. Add to that the fact that when you see people walking, they too are almost always on the side of the road! It is becoming clear now, the whole thing is a gigantic French conspiracy! An evil plot to build factories and then have them all clogged with.... well, clogs! The root of the conspiracy is the wide spread use of roads.

Speaking of things French: I always liked the story about Napoleon wanting large shade trees lining all the avenues of France so his Grand Armee did not have to march in the hot sun. The response was something like- but General, it will take 20 years to grow trees that large. To which Napoleon responded: Yes, yes, that is why we must start right away!

Brian


They could have planed ahead and brought in an extra shoe? Maybe even found a shoe on the side of the road on the way into work? You know how you always see one shoe on the side of the road, never two, just the one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jim_de_hunter on March 15, 2012, 07:09:29 PM
Got a flyer at work that a local university is looking for papers on "Statistics is Sports".  I developed a hypothesis about Runs vs. Hits vs. Errors (that's baseball) a few years ago.  Might be the time to dust it off and think it through a little more.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 15, 2012, 09:04:24 PM
Now that you mention it, I HAVE noticed that (one shoe on the side of the road). Plus, factories are almost always located on the sides of roads. Add to that the fact that when you see people walking, they too are almost always on the side of the road! It is becoming clear now, the whole thing is a gigantic French conspiracy! An evil plot to build factories and then have them all clogged with.... well, clogs! The root of the conspiracy is the wide spread use of roads.

Speaking of things French: I always liked the story about Napoleon wanting large shade trees lining all the avenues of France so his Grand Armee did not have to march in the hot sun. The response was something like- but General, it will take 20 years to grow trees that large. To which Napoleon responded: Yes, yes, that is why we must start right away!

Brian

Doesn't take them long to produce white flags though =)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on March 15, 2012, 09:06:32 PM
Hit triple digits on the bike today
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 16, 2012, 05:01:20 AM
Got a flyer at work that a local university is looking for papers on "Statistics is Sports".  I developed a hypothesis about Runs vs. Hits vs. Errors (that's baseball) a few years ago.  Might be the time to dust it off and think it through a little more.

How about the Cliff Notes version right quick?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jim_de_hunter on March 16, 2012, 06:15:02 PM
How about the Cliff Notes version right quick?

When I look at the baseball box scores it seems as if the winning team always has at least half as many runs as it does the sum of its hits and the opponents errors and the losing team always has less than half as many runs as the sum of its hits and the opponents errors.  So if a team is not producing a run for every two hits, it's not going to win the ballgame.  Bases on balls give a team the opportunity to add to its run total without affecting its number of hits and double plays take away a hit without producing a run.  There's also a pitcher giving up no hits early in the game but losing game because the opponent scores on a 3 run homer after a couple of walks.

If I can find game numbers, I want to use statistics to see if the hypotheses hold and I can predict winners and losers of ball games.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 17, 2012, 07:56:57 PM
Picked up new vanity, toilet, fixtures, paint, etc  from Lowes (Teressa remodeling my 2nd bathroom as I type), Ordered a Westshore Pizza, great Saturday night indeed. Although I may owe her a dinner next weekend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 18, 2012, 07:21:34 AM
That's funny Steve! I picked up a new toilet from Lowes yesterday too. The Superflush 3000! I'm kidding, it's not called that but I made my wife LOL when I said it.

This toilet can flush 24 golf balls at once! 

Toilet Flushing Demo: Champion 4 Right Height Elongated Toilet - Golf balls, cat litter, and more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tf7Ju9NBdk#)

Gotta install it today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 18, 2012, 07:59:41 AM
That's funny Steve! I picked up a new toilet from Lowes yesterday too. The Superflush 3000! I'm kidding, it's not called that but I made my wife LOL when I said it.

This toilet can flush 24 golf balls at once! 

Toilet Flushing Demo: Champion 4 Right Height Elongated Toilet - Golf balls, cat litter, and more (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tf7Ju9NBdk#)

Gotta install it today.
But, could it flush a Chuck Norris sized log? ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 18, 2012, 08:15:32 AM
But, could it flush a Chuck Norris sized log? ::)

No way! You know the Redwood forests right? Nuf said.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jim_de_hunter on March 18, 2012, 12:21:58 PM
But, could it flush a Chuck Norris sized log? ::)

Chuck Norris doesn't flush.  He scares the sh!t out of it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jim_de_hunter on March 18, 2012, 12:23:44 PM
When I look at the baseball box scores it seems as if the winning team always has at least half as many runs as it does the sum of its hits and the opponents errors and the losing team always has less than half as many runs as the sum of its hits and the opponents errors.  So if a team is not producing a run for every two hits, it's not going to win the ballgame.  Bases on balls give a team the opportunity to add to its run total without affecting its number of hits and double plays take away a hit without producing a run.  There's also a pitcher giving up no hits early in the game but losing game because the opponent scores on a 3 run homer after a couple of walks.

If I can find game numbers, I want to use statistics to see if the hypotheses hold and I can predict winners and losers of ball games.

Did the research.  No one has done a paper on this.  Found the data set free on the web.  This week I'll write the abstract and submit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2012, 04:37:50 AM
Did the research.  No one has done a paper on this.  Found the data set free on the web.  This week I'll write the abstract and submit.

Good luck Jim.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2012, 04:42:42 AM
I had planed on installing the Superflush 3000 yesterday, as I mentioned above. It was SO nice outside and my wife said that maybe we should take a bike ride instead of working, then when we get back maybe have a couple of drinks and fool around.

She's a keeper that one is.    :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 20, 2012, 07:40:07 AM
top~
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2012, 09:37:23 AM
On my daily commute I drive past a Christian Academy school, nice place with great landscaping.

It never fails that someone pulling out of this place will pull RIGHT OUT in front of me, causing me to brake hard. I'm talking EVERY FREAKIN TIME! I even flash my brights and give the bike a lil weave, making sure that they see me. It doesn't make any difference.

That's very un-Christian like wouldn't you say? I would hope that the kids attending this school are learning a better lesson than the parents. Maybe these 'Christians' feel that they have the right-of-way?

Hypocrites!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 20, 2012, 09:38:08 AM
The flash is their OK to go signal.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2012, 09:49:30 AM
The flash is their OK to go signal.

I didn't start out flasing 'em. I just thought I'd try it to see what happens. They pull out in front of me even when I'm in the cage.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 20, 2012, 10:43:14 AM
Do you see someone on some sort of two way radio, signaling them that they see you coming?
I think its a conspiracy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2012, 10:52:43 AM
Now that you mention it, I have noticed someone behind a bush near the entrance to the school. No radio but I think they're using hand signals.

I'll give em a hand signal of my own next time, see how they react to that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 20, 2012, 10:56:55 AM
:O grassy knoll?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2012, 12:29:17 PM
You know, until today I always thought that only guys were stupid enough to wear their pants with the belt line lower than their butts.

I now stand corrected.

Unfortunately you can't unsee something like that.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 20, 2012, 01:22:04 PM
Oh yeah, terrible picture.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VYDmt9gwoeM/TaR_nOKUGOI/AAAAAAAAAGU/VwOZY3OJNeM/s1600/women+low+rise+%252C+low+waist+jeans+fashion922d.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 20, 2012, 01:24:15 PM
Another terrible example.
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00664/wbikinipic_664860c.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2012, 01:29:39 PM
Brent Brent Brent, I would have absolutely NO problems in looking at such a fine looking woman as you've shown in your pic. Even though her belt line is NOT below her butt, even if it was, I wouldn't have any issues.

The problem that I had was that this woman prolly tipped the scales to the tune of at least 230 lbs and she was VERY masculine, if you know what I mean? Not that there's anything wrong with that mind you.

On the plus side, with her pants hanging so low, there wasn't a muffin top in site.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2012, 01:31:59 PM
I'd love to show you a pic similar to what I saw at lunch time, but I won't subject you to such punishment. Besides, I'd have to look at the pics in order to post them and I really don't want to see something like that ever again!   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 20, 2012, 02:47:52 PM
I'd love to show you a pic similar to what I saw at lunch time, but I won't subject you to such punishment. Besides, I'd have to look at the pics in order to post them and I really don't want to see something like that ever again!   :o

Thanks for your good judgement as I just finished lunch C...
 
 :doublepuke:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 22, 2012, 08:31:28 AM
I just found out that I'm getting a 3% pay increase at the end of the month and it's retroactive to the first of the year. Sweet!    8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: snarf on March 22, 2012, 08:41:25 AM
I just found out that I'm getting a 3% pay increase at the end of the month and it's retroactive to the first of the year. Sweet!    8)
You lucky SOB. I havent had a pay raise in six F'n years. I'm thinking about tell'n em to go pound sand.
I can always fall back on Lillie Fabrication and Powder-coating. Work is really picking up at that place. For some strange reason my wife makes more money at said company and does less work  :-\ :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 09:26:14 AM
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/wtf.gif)
 
Ok, it's March 22nd and next week is spring break, so why did I wake up to 3 inches of snow this monring in the PNW??  :o  (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/confused1.gif)
 
What a weird weather year... (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/mad.gif)
 
 
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/IMG00912-20120322-0810.jpg)
 
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 22, 2012, 09:34:53 AM
That's a shame J! We've been setting records daily for high temps around here. I work for a university and since the weathers been so nice, the scenery around campus has improved considerably! I'm not talking about the plants either.   

Thank the good Lord that short shorts are back in!    :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 10:35:46 AM
Yep, it sucks C, so much for picking my Connie up from the shop today, guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow, I miss having her at home...  :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 22, 2012, 10:44:48 AM
Yep, it sucks C, so much for picking my Connie up from the shop today, guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow, I miss having her at home...  :'(

Whacha having done now J?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 11:41:00 AM
Whacha having done now J?

Smoke color braided F&R brake and clutch lines with black banjo's and black banjo bolts...  8) ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 22, 2012, 11:48:56 AM

Smoke color braided F&R brake and clutch lines with black banjo's and black banjo bolts...  8) ;D

More black parts? That bike is still too fast for ya eh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 12:23:36 PM
More black parts? That bike is still too fast for ya eh?

 :battle:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 22, 2012, 12:30:57 PM
 :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 22, 2012, 08:45:03 PM
Looks like Jay lives in a black and white world ;) Yep weird weather, we're the reason they changed it from global warming to climate change, don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change.  I think/hope that I will ride in tomorow, first dry day in quite some time and as I haven't done much in the way of street riding I didn't want to hit the I5 in less then ideal condition.  Dern batt was dead, I now know what them fair weather riders go through every year ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 09:07:17 PM
Looks like Jay lives in a black and white world ;) Yep weird weather, we're the reason they changed it from global warming to climate change, don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change.  I think/hope that I will ride in tomorow, first dry day in quite some time and as I haven't done much in the way of street riding I didn't want to hit the I5 in less then ideal condition.  Dern batt was dead, I now know what them fair weather riders go through every year ;D

Too true Chet, 12 hours later and all the snow is now all gone, the roads are even dry now too!  :o
 
Friday and Saturday are both supposed to be dry here and temps about 60!  :o  Odd weather indeed...  :-\
 
Well since my Connie is now going to have to spend the weekend up at the shop (since I now heard this afternoon my new lines wont arrive until mid next week...  :'( ), looks like I get to show some love to my Gixxer the next couple days!  :)
 
It's nice to have options...  ;D   :thumbs:
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 22, 2012, 09:11:53 PM
Did they make black Gixxers, or is it sprayed with bed liner? ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 09:13:26 PM
When it comes to Gixxers everyone who rides them knows the blue&white ones are the fastest!!  8)
 
(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/yosh1.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 22, 2012, 09:14:34 PM
When it comes to Gixxers everyone who rides them knows the blue&white ones are the fastest!!  8)
Isn't that kinda like Silverdammit? :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 09:22:27 PM
Isn't that kinda like Silverdammit? :o

 :yikes:
 
How so? It's not slow...  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 22, 2012, 09:46:30 PM
What color do you get when you mix white and blue?  Almost Neutron Silver?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 09:55:18 PM
 :battle:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 22, 2012, 10:05:52 PM
:battle:
Hey, he's using a Silver chair ;D ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 22, 2012, 10:33:23 PM
Hey, he's using a Silver chair ;D ;D

At least silver is good for something...  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 23, 2012, 06:22:13 AM
C'mon Chet! You walked right into that one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 23, 2012, 06:30:35 AM
Knocked me out :o  Freezing fog this AM, no ride for me >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 23, 2012, 07:07:00 AM
TGIF

A group of fast Tampa lady sport bike chics hired me for a photo shoot that is happening tomorrow....    things are going well heh if anyone is in historic YBOR City neighborhood partying around 4 PM you should be seeing us =)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: alexx45 on March 23, 2012, 07:53:15 AM
Most impressive gig steve. Most impressive indeed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 23, 2012, 09:38:51 AM
Knocked me out :o  Freezing fog this AM, no ride for me >:(

Freezing fog here too this morning...  :'( 
 
I had the Gixxer all ready to ride into work but had to drive the truck.  :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on March 23, 2012, 10:22:37 AM

Freezing fog here too this morning...  :'( 
 
I had the Gixxer all ready to ride into work but had to drive the truck.  :banghead:

Gotta love that 7mpg  :o

I will work at home until it is warm enough to get on the bike. I need to test out my new bar risers and cup holder  :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 23, 2012, 10:24:18 AM
Gotta love that 7mpg  :o

I will work at home until it is warm enough to get on the bike. I need to test out my new bar risers and cup holder  :P

And what will be the beverage of choice for a Friday in that cup holder Gumbi?  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on March 23, 2012, 10:48:05 AM

And what will be the beverage of choice for a Friday in that cup holder Gumbi?  ;)

Adjust your eyes to the left a few inches..........
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 23, 2012, 10:53:38 AM
 :rotflmao:
 
 
Anything before noon has to be a bloody mary for me unless I'm camping, if camping then it's beer and V8 in the morning, Yummy!  :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on March 23, 2012, 11:20:33 AM
:rotflmao:
 
 
Anything before noon has to be a bloody mary for me unless I'm camping, if camping then it's beer and V8 in the morning, Yummy!  :P

Whoever made that rule obviously did not make their own beer. If I am brewin, I am drinkin, it does not matter what time of the day it is.

Oh crap, we were talking about riding weren't we? I will set the beer down now, it is warm enough to ride.  8) 8) 8) 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 23, 2012, 11:44:06 AM
Whoever made that rule obviously did not make their own beer. If I am brewin, I am drinkin, it does not matter what time of the day it is.

Good point!  ;)
 
I guess I'll need to head over to your place this weekend and hit that kegerator...  :P
 
What batches are on tap right now in Gumbi's garage?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on March 23, 2012, 12:37:05 PM
What batches are on tap right now in Gumbi's garage?

I have a maple ale and a raspberry lemon on tap. Should have an Arrogant Bastard clone ready by Sunday.  :chugbeer:

The sun is out.... I MUST ride now.   :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 23, 2012, 12:47:21 PM
I have a maple ale and a raspberry lemon on tap. Should have an Arrogant Bastard clone ready by Sunday.  :chugbeer:

The sun is out.... I MUST ride now.   :thumbs:

Nice! I really liked that Arrogant Bastard you made before, excellent batch!  :)
 
Yep, I see the sun out the window now, hopefully I can get out of the office early enough to enjoy it today myself...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 24, 2012, 05:37:12 AM
Beer, it's good for what ales you

(http://wyblog.us/images/rule5/jordancarveroktoberfest7s.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 24, 2012, 05:38:05 AM
:rotflmao:
 
 
Anything before noon has to be a bloody mary for me unless I'm camping, if camping then it's beer and V8 in the morning, Yummy!  :P

Beer and V8?

Easy stomach, easy now.

 :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 24, 2012, 09:09:23 AM
I'm thinking this is going to be a martini night.  After I pick up my 'new to me' exhaust system this evening, I'll be heading back to the barn to relax.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 24, 2012, 09:19:24 AM
Photo-shoot this evening with some lovely fast sportbike gals this evening at YBOR City part of town and downtown  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 24, 2012, 09:37:00 AM
Steve, do you post any of these photos on other websites or is it just private type things that you sell back to whomever you shoot?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 24, 2012, 09:45:27 AM
Beer, it's good for what ales you

(http://wyblog.us/images/rule5/jordancarveroktoberfest7s.jpg)

 
Me like!!  :P :-* :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 24, 2012, 09:47:28 AM
Is she going to swallow the whole thing?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 24, 2012, 10:07:00 AM
Is she going to swallow the whole thing?

 :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 24, 2012, 12:45:02 PM
The beer Zg, the beer. We don't have our minds in the gutter aroung here. (where's the smiley with the halo?) ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on March 24, 2012, 12:58:49 PM
Nice jugs, err I mean mugs ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 25, 2012, 06:01:46 AM
The beer Zg, the beer. We don't have our minds in the gutter aroung here. (where's the smiley with the halo?) ;D

We don't?   :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 25, 2012, 06:02:46 AM
I'm thinking this is going to be a martini night.  After I pick up my 'new to me' exhaust system this evening, I'll be heading back to the barn to relax.

How'd it go Jim? Did ya get your new can installed?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 25, 2012, 09:38:38 AM
Not yet, I may get it done this afternoon, though.  No go on the martinis..   My granddaughter had her first sleepover and I was thinking if I got called over to pick her up early it wouldn't be anybodies best interests for me to drive or show up intoxicated.  I got to the point of getting ready to mix them up and stopped cold.   Possibly tonight.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 16, 2012, 10:57:04 AM
Note that the posts on account deletion has been moved to the software board.

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=8175.0 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=8175.0)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 17, 2012, 04:47:01 AM
In the construction of a bacon cheeseburger the error most people make is in the order of assembly.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 17, 2012, 04:54:26 AM
In the construction of a bacon cheeseburger the error most people make is in the order of assembly.

What is the correct order?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 17, 2012, 05:13:31 AM
Remember: B B C
beef, bacon, cheese

If you erroneously install the cheese before the bacon, said bacon will tend to slide unceremoniously off the top due to the lower viscosity of the heated cheese. But, and this is the key, if the cheese is melted on top of the bacon and burger not only will the construction be stabilized it will be more ascetically pleasing.   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 17, 2012, 05:18:51 AM
Ah, food science. I'm hungry now.


Mmmmmmm, bacon.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 17, 2012, 07:11:06 AM
The stadium roof will be closed for tonights game.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 18, 2012, 01:26:54 PM
You would think the first man- made object to reach the stratosphere would have been a plane. And if not one of those, maybe a helicopter, lighter- than- air airship or something that flies in some manner but that is not the case; the very first thing that man managed to get into the stratosphere (~35,000 feet to ~150,000 feet) was an artillery shell. The German 'Paris guns', which were used to shell Paris from a distance of 75 miles away, fired projectiles that reached more than 125,000 feet at their highest point in the ballistic trajectory. At first the Parisians thought they were being bombed by some new type of Zeppelin as they could not hear any artillery being fired.

Tomorrow, the first object to exceed the altitude of the projectiles from the Paris gun....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 18, 2012, 01:52:28 PM
Can't wait!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 19, 2012, 03:56:55 PM
And the thing that finally exceeded the altitude reached by the projectiles from the Paris gun was another German invention: the V2 or Vergeltungswaffe 2 (~ vengeance weapon 2 in English) ballistic rocket. These rockets reached altitudes of over 50 miles (< 250,000 ft.) at the highest points of their trajectories.

Finally there was operation HARP (High Altitude Research Project) which had the lofty goal (pun intended) of putting small objects in Earth orbit using artillery. Using a pair of 16" US naval gun barrels in tandem, they did manage to reach an altitude of 112 miles! While never attaining sufficient velocity to actually achieve orbit, the altitude reached by projectiles from this project remain a record to this day.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 20, 2012, 10:54:30 AM
Why is it that when the time comes that you decide you need to tighten the frames on your reading glasses, that the person that must do the tightening, is the one person that needs to be wearing those glasses to do the tightening.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on April 20, 2012, 01:41:34 PM
Why is it that when the time comes that you decide you need to tighten the frames on your reading glasses, that the person that must do the tightening, is the one person that needs to be wearing those glasses to do the tightening.

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 20, 2012, 02:06:09 PM
Yeah, it is right up there with needing a car to go to the auto parts store (but the car is down getting brakes, for example) or needing some light to see in the darkest corner of the cellar to get to the breaker box... which is why it is dark in the first place.

Brian

Why is it that when the time comes that you decide you need to tighten the frames on your reading glasses, that the person that must do the tightening, is the one person that needs to be wearing those glasses to do the tightening.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 20, 2012, 02:51:10 PM
So how high can people go.... without aircraft? Surprisingly man has been to over 100,000 feet and parachuted back to the surface. The US Gov't put on Project Excelsior to test the ability of humans to escape from high altitudes. Helium balloons were used to bring a man named Joseph Kittinger to extreme altitudes at which point Mr. Kittinger would step out of the balloon's gondola for the free- fall and parachute landing back on Earth (!!!). Perhaps the most amazing part is that he did this more than once, and all for a US Air Force Captain's pay. Amazing. I saw an interview with Col. Kittinger and he mentioned stepping out of the gondola only to experience 'not falling'- no air sounds, no flapping of clothing, absolutely no sensation of traveling through the atmosphere at all. He said his first thought was.... fantastic, they have me so high I am in orbit and cannot get back. Then he turned around and watched the balloon moving away from him at very high speed; it seems Kittinger was falling after all but the atmosphere was so rarefied that there were no associated physical effects from what turned out to be impressively high speeds that he reached before opening his parachute.

Kittinger set several records that still stand:
The highest altitude attained by a human without an aircraft: 102,800 feet.
The longest free- fall: 4 1/2 minutes and 84,800 feet.
The highest velocity reached by man without a craft: 714 MPH.

Col. Kittinger survived all of his high altitude ballooning and went on to finish a career in the Air Force that included three combat tours in Viet Nam flying F4s, and a stretch as a POW in North Viet Nam.

Currently the Red Bull Stratos project is underway to try and break Col. Kittinger's records, as well as produce the first event of a man traveling faster than the speed of sound without a vehicle. Felix Baumgartner will be the person making the jumps on the project. Col. Kittinger is an advisor on the Stratos project.

http://www.redbullstratos.com/# (http://www.redbullstratos.com/#)!lightbox/media1563888061001/

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 20, 2012, 03:17:14 PM
Very interesting.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on April 20, 2012, 05:23:21 PM
Very interesting.

A quote from Schultz????
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 20, 2012, 06:13:29 PM
This isn't the question thread is it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 20, 2012, 08:19:37 PM
No, but this is a thread about nothing....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 23, 2012, 01:45:37 PM
Is it OK to bring up depends?  The OP in the other thread seems, well, discomforted by the topic. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 23, 2012, 01:52:58 PM
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on April 23, 2012, 01:58:44 PM
Can't wait to have two threads about adult diapers.....  ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 23, 2012, 02:06:14 PM
Very interesting.

A quote from Schultz????

That's not right. Sgt Schultz knew nothing. (http://www.statefansnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Sgt1.jpg)

On the other hand, it was Arte Johnson who thought that some things were 'very interesting, but stupid'.

Wolfgang and friend: "Very interesting ... but stupid" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QczyNaIu9Mo#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 23, 2012, 02:30:16 PM
Is it OK to bring up depends?  The OP in the other thread seems, well, discomforted by the topic. ;)

Which thread was that?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 23, 2012, 02:39:18 PM
Which thread was that?
You don't have a clue, do you? :o :-*
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 23, 2012, 02:45:43 PM
You don't have a clue, do you? :o :-*

I think that depends.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 23, 2012, 02:56:14 PM
You don't have a clue, do you? :o :-*

I don't remember what I did a few minutes ago, let alone what happens on this forum.  I seem to recall something but.....hey what's that shiny thing over there?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 23, 2012, 02:56:39 PM
I think that depends.

I guess it would, wouldn't it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 23, 2012, 02:57:11 PM
Still raining in the Mid-Atlantic.  Got no snow, than goodness.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 24, 2012, 05:00:14 AM
I don't remember what I did a few minutes ago, let alone what happens on this forum.  I seem to recall something but.....hey what's that shiny thing over there?

Looks like a bolt, prolly fell off of someone's bike.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 24, 2012, 07:14:35 AM
Should I fertilize my grass?  I have never done that before as after the first cutting it needs to be cut every week till the end of july.  2 acres worth and 1 flat spot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 01, 2012, 04:13:45 AM
I hear it smokes more evenly if you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 01, 2012, 04:25:41 AM
I'm using fluorescent bulbs now and have quite the number of them.  One thing I hate is the 'color' or temp of bulbs.  I can never get the right color bulb again, especially for lamps that have several.  I bought two packs at Lowe's the other week.  Not only do you have to get the right color, you have to get the right base as well.  I figured if I got two packs, I'd have a 50/50 shot.  Wrongo.  The percentage was really 33.3%.  I got perturbed in not having the right color bulb and started investigating.  What I found was you really don't pay any attention to the color description on the packet.  You need to pay attention to the color temp.  I had a mis mash of different temps in the house that were 2700k, 3500k, and 6500k.  This is alright to figure out from the packet but what happens when the packet is gone?  My color temps were on the base of the bulbs in very fine print.  I hate progress.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 01, 2012, 04:49:33 AM
Luddite
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 01, 2012, 04:50:29 AM
Yep.  Just look at the clothes I wear...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 01, 2012, 05:29:46 AM
Yep.  Just look at the clothes I wear...

Well, we weren't going to say anything...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 01, 2012, 05:42:52 AM
Somewhere...over the rainbow...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 01, 2012, 03:26:33 PM
Bill Paxton.... the only one to be killed by a Terminator, an Alien and a Predator.

In order: Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986) and Predator II (1990).

The only other one to appear in all three franchises was Lance Henriksen who was in Terminator (playing an L.E.O.), Aliens and Alien Vs. Predator.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 01, 2012, 06:27:10 PM
What, nothing about florescent bulbs?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 01, 2012, 06:55:01 PM
Well....., er, no. Turn switch, bulb go on.... turn switch again, bulb go off- not much to comment on really.

Well maybe a set of those mid- 1940 fluorescent Christmas lamps would be interesting.

Brian

What, nothing about florescent bulbs?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 02, 2012, 09:05:05 AM
I am at 620 miles on one tank of fuel and I still have an 1/8th of a tank left.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on May 02, 2012, 10:24:12 PM
I am at 620 miles on one tank of fuel and I still have an 1/8th of a tank left.

Diesel VW?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 02, 2012, 10:26:35 PM
Diesel VW?

Chet is always running on an 1/8 of a tank...  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 02, 2012, 11:16:12 PM
Diesel VW?
Yup, Jetta TDI.

Chet is always running on an 1/8 of a tank...  ;)
Full today, I was reading at bingo when I filled up, 657 miles, 14 gallons, just shy of 47 MPG.  Not too shaby.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2012, 04:58:43 AM
Yup, Jetta TDI.Full today, I was reading at bingo when I filled up, 657 miles, 14 gallons, just shy of 47 MPG.  Not too shaby.

(http://www.xpbulletin.de/gfx/smilies/smilie-570.gif)

Nice! With the warm weather I'm getting great mpg numbers in my TDI too, mid 40's in mixed driving.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 03, 2012, 06:30:59 AM

Nice! With the warm weather I'm getting great mpg numbers in my TDI too, mid 40's in mixed driving.

Mixed driving?  Is that with your wife?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2012, 08:19:56 AM
Mixed driving?  Is that with your wife?

Yep, ~60% highway ~40% city. We've been having LOTS of rain lately so I've been taking the cage. I drop my wife off where she works, since it's on the way, and I then take the car to work myself.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 03, 2012, 03:39:43 PM
The differences between soldering and brazing are subtle enough that it is difficult to tell where the line is. So for industrial use, the reference is always to 'hard solder' or 'soft solder' with materials like lead, tin and antimony being in the 'soft' category and materials like bronze, silver and assorted alloys being in the 'hard' category.

Of course when used here, the terms hard and soft have absolutely nothing to do with the hardness or softness of anything involved; it is a reference to the melting temperature of the filler metals being used. If the melting point is below 800 F, it is soft solder while a melting temp. over 800 F is considered hard solder. It all makes perfect sense…. sure it does.

None of that should ever get confused with welding, which is not defined by the hardness of anything nor the melting temperature of anything- welding is defined as joining two materials together with the same filler material. Unless, of course, one is welding two different materials together at which point it is still welding but no longer fits the first rule of welding. But the filler material is still the same as the two parent materials, even though one parent material is different. Hmmm. Well, it is always called welding if electricity is used as the main heat source, even if the filler material is different. Unless of course the filler material is not really weldable with the parent material and then the process (still using electrodes and electricity) is called something else like 'hardfacing'. See.... it is really pretty simple.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 03, 2012, 05:06:40 PM
and then there is forge welding.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 08, 2012, 11:31:32 AM
I haven't said this here for over a month. In case some of you didn't know, my idiot brother-in-law the cop is an idiot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 08, 2012, 11:46:38 AM
I haven't said this here for over a month. In case some of you didn't know, my idiot brother-in-law the cop is an idiot.

How big of an idiot is he Boss?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 08, 2012, 11:58:52 AM
Some brand or product names are so iconic that the very company name is used to (often erroneously) refer to the product itself. Common names like Velcro (Velcro is a company's name, the product is 'hook and loop' fastener), Kleenex (Kleenex is a specific brand name, the actual name of the product is a facial tissue), etc. etc. One such brand is Formica, which in the US is usually used to refer to any laminate (plastic) countertop material, also has an interesting history. While Formica gained rapid fame and widespread use after WW II in the US, the company was actually formed by two men back in 1913, long before the countertop product was thought of. The original product was actually cloth that was covered in resin and then cured to make a thin, light and excellent electrical insulator. In fact, it was originally invented for, and used as an electrical insulator, specifically as a man- made replacement for mica. And there is the key to the company's name.... a company that made a material meant as a substitute for mica. The stuff's insulating properties have not been used for many years and its actual origins generally forgotten but the original intent lives on in its name: Formica.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 08, 2012, 02:14:17 PM
Hoover and Xerox come to mind...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 12, 2012, 09:47:59 PM
top~
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 15, 2012, 02:56:28 PM
Carolyn Davidson- very few people know who she is but the great majority of us are familiar with her work, at least one example. One of her creations would become nothing short of an international icon, easily one of the most recognizeable symbols in the world.

While a graphic design student in the early 70's, Carolyn was approached by an instructor at the university she was attending and asked to create a company logo. Getting paid at the rate of $2 / hour, she charged the gentleman $35 for the design. His response was 'I don't love it but maybe it will grow on me' and did use the logo for his start- up company's logo. Carolyn continued to work for this new company unitl 1983 at which time the founder had a party for her and gave her a diamond ring like the very logo she designed years earlier. At this party he mentioned that while he did agree to pay her that hourly rate, he never thought she would spend 17 1/2 hours on the job. As a token of appreciation, he presented her with a diamond ring engraved with the very logo she created, and 500 shares of company stock; the stock was worth around $1 / share at that time but Davidson held onto the stock through the its ups and downs as well as stock splits; today those shares have become 8,000, and at a price of $100 each, worth well over 3/4 of a million dollars. A nice gesture on the part of the company, and fitting payment for services rendered in my opinion.

The founder's name is Phil Knight.

The company's name is Nike.

The Logo is called the Nike 'swoosh', and this is a photo of Carolyn Davidson and her logo.

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/NikeSwoosh.jpg)
Photo courtesy of the UK daily Mail

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 15, 2012, 03:04:15 PM
Wow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on June 04, 2012, 07:38:37 PM
60 degrees and raining here in the PNW today, I love summer...  :-\   :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on June 04, 2012, 09:13:30 PM
I hear the guys out in the warehouse laughing - loudly.  Walked out of the office to see what was up, but no one would tell me. They just looked over there.  And over there I see what everyone's laughing at.  A customer came in to pick up a transmission.  Guy was probably in his mid 30's and wearing girl jeans (I think that's what they call 'em) and a tight blue T-shirt... with muffin-top.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on June 05, 2012, 12:04:14 PM
Its June, time to say again my idiot brother-in-law the cop is an idiot. I told him he's a cop cause he didn't score high enough on the fire test. He hung up on me. Wonder why?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on June 05, 2012, 02:59:04 PM
Its June, time to say again my idiot brother-in-law the cop is an idiot. I told him he's a cop cause he didn't score high enough on the fire test. He hung up on me. Wonder why?
You hurt his feelings?  He really wanted to ride around with that cute little spotted puppy ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on June 06, 2012, 10:14:09 AM
Thats funny SOP! Naw, he's just a smug small brain wiper of other peoples bottoms who thinks he won a victory on the war of family politics that happens to be married to my wife's sister. Sad.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on June 07, 2012, 03:16:47 PM
Bought a new house (3-car garage!), got a divorce, got a new girlfriend (actually she's the 6th in line of new GFs, but she's okay with that).

Not correct order of things, but it's what's been going on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on June 07, 2012, 04:59:09 PM
I could use a three car garage!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on June 07, 2012, 06:33:10 PM
I could use a three car garage!
The problem with a 3 car garage is eventually you need a 4 car garage ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 08, 2012, 04:29:37 AM
The problem with a 3 car garage is eventually you need a 4 car garage ;)

+1 on that! I have a 3.5 car garage and I could sure use more!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on July 26, 2012, 09:36:20 PM
NFL training camps starting up, so who's gonna win the big dance this year? A big name favorite or a new underdog??
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2012, 04:40:02 AM
NFL training camps starting up, so who's gonna win the big dance this year? A big name favorite or a new underdog??

Bears!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 27, 2012, 04:55:21 AM
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2012, 05:03:43 AM
Hey now, we could now be in that alternate universe that I spoke of a while back.

Hmmm, where's my crown?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: yoman on July 27, 2012, 07:07:42 AM

Hmmm, where's my crown?
[/quote]

As in "Royal"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2012, 07:22:04 AM
Hmmm, where's my crown?


As in "Royal"?

That'll do but I was referring to this. 

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=9473.msg115249#msg115249 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=9473.msg115249#msg115249)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2012, 07:29:09 AM
Hey now, we could now be in that alternate universe that I spoke of a while back.

Hmmm, where's my crown?

I'm wearing it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2012, 07:33:25 AM
I'm wearing it.

That ain't no crown!

(http://shamers.musclesandwebsit.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bucket.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2012, 07:41:50 AM
It is if I say it is.... :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2012, 07:48:07 AM
It is if I say it is.... :)

I tend to agree with a man brandishing a sword.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2012, 07:58:47 AM
 :rotflmao:   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on July 27, 2012, 09:39:15 AM
That ain't no crown!

(http://shamers.musclesandwebsit.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bucket.jpg)

 
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2012, 10:01:12 AM
That ain't no crown!

(http://shamers.musclesandwebsit.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bucket.jpg)

Seems that Quasimodo had a bit of trouble getting the eye holes just right...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2012, 05:01:54 PM
As the story goes (I have never been able to confirm this)....

The most efficient machine known for moving a given amount of weight across a given distance is.... a human riding a bicycle. Nothing else can move as much weight as far at a similar or greater speed for the same amount of fuel used (food in this case).

And in case anyone was wondering the method used for finding out just how much energy is in various foods.... samples of a given food are dried and then burned. If quantity XXX of fuel is used in the retort to completely consume the food product, and quantity YYY is given off by the retort, then YYY - XXX is the energy value of the food being tested. Which is more or less exactly what we do with food- we 'burn' it. Well, some of us burn it and some of us wisely turn it into fat so that we become 'drought and famine resistant' as Homer has said. :-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on August 11, 2012, 10:42:55 PM
Mine is not very efficient.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 12, 2012, 06:49:10 PM
Yeah but at least no one cuts you off while riding that thing, right. Or at least not very often....

My brother's wife got an exercise bike a while back and he went out and bought rear view mirrors, a squeeze bulb horn and tassles for the handlebars and put all that stuff on the bike when she was not around. She didn't even notice and that made it even funnier.

Brian

Mine is not very efficient.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 13, 2012, 04:45:11 AM
Yeah but at least no one cuts you off while riding that thing, right. Or at least not very often....

My brother's wife got an exercise bike a while back and he went out and bought rear view mirrors, a squeeze bulb horn and tassles for the handlebars and put all that stuff on the bike when she was not around. She didn't even notice and that made it even funnier.

Brian

Maybe she did notice but she's teaching him a lesson?   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 13, 2012, 05:24:13 PM
I ran out of beer this past weekend and haven't been able to restock.  My wife wanted grilled chicken today.  No beer.  I can't grill without a beer, in a bottle, in hand.  I was panicking and had a glass of wine instead.  It's not the same.  I feel dirty.  The chicken turned out well, though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 13, 2012, 05:36:04 PM
I ran out of beer this past weekend and haven't been able to restock.  My wife wanted grilled chicken today. No beer.  I can't grill without a beer, in a bottle, in hand.  I was panicking and had a glass of wine instead.  It's not the same.  I feel dirty.  The chicken turned out well, though.
..and a can up the chickens butt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on August 13, 2012, 06:09:21 PM
I ran out of beer this past weekend and haven't been able to restock. 

 :o :'(   :grouphug:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 14, 2012, 04:39:28 AM
I ran out of beer this past weekend and haven't been able to restock.  My wife wanted grilled chicken today.  No beer.  I can't grill without a beer, in a bottle, in hand.  I was panicking and had a glass of wine instead.  It's not the same.  I feel dirty.  The chicken turned out well, though.

 :yikes:

Are you ok buddy? Do we have to send you a 'care package'?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 14, 2012, 10:17:05 AM
Heres my monthly post to say that my idiot brother-in-law the cop is still an idiot. He's most likely an officer now since he was a Sgt. 6 years ago and rising rapidly, so, if that is the case, he really and truly is an idiot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 20, 2012, 03:31:53 PM
This thread has been dormant awhile.  I'll think I'll wake it up....

Did you know that the 'Esc' key on the PC keyboard was invented by an IBM employee (IBM'r for those in the know) in 1960?  Warms me heart, it does to know that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esc_key (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esc_key)


Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 21, 2012, 06:19:08 AM
This thread has been dormant awhile.  I'll think I'll wake it up....

Did you know that the 'Esc' key on the PC keyboard was invented by an IBM employee (IBM'r for those in the know) in 1960?  Warms me heart, it does to know that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esc_key (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esc_key)

Who invented the 'any key'?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 21, 2012, 07:13:52 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_key (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_key)

Additionally IBM invented the following technologies...

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2012, 04:53:20 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_key (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Any_key)

Additionally IBM invented the following technologies...

  • Magnetic stripe technology
  • Computing scales
  • Lasik eye surgery
  • UPC
  • Time clocks (darn it)
  • Automated test scoring
  • Scanning Tunneling Microscope

Time clocks eh? Booo! Although I haven't had to punch one of them in almost 30 years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: turbojoe78 on October 22, 2012, 02:20:55 PM
I'd like to JUST have a time clock ... I have to hand scan in on the time clock at work ... oh to just have time cards again.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 23, 2012, 10:44:01 AM
You know, riding home to Ohio from Mississippi by way of Tennessee last month at the COG rally, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on many things in my life. And after much pipe munching ruminations, I have concluded that in no uncertain terms that my idiot brother-in-law the cop is still quite an idiot. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 23, 2012, 10:47:30 AM
You know, riding home to Ohio from Mississippi by way of Tennessee last month at the COG rally, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on many things in my life. And after much pipe munching ruminations, I have concluded that in no uncertain terms that my idiot brother-in-law the cop is still quite an idiot.

At least he's consistent, you have to give him that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on October 23, 2012, 10:51:51 AM
It started raining last week.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 23, 2012, 11:02:49 AM
As a caveat, I've also decided that no matter what happens in the future, I never want to speak to him or his wife again. My wife can as its her sister. Nothing can erase his idiocity. But, I've also concluded that a week of regular Soma and Vicodin ingestion along with Bombay Blue Safire gin makes me less inclined to want to put to use an 8lb hammer for things that it was not designed to do. I really don't think the Browns are going to do all that good this year.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 24, 2012, 11:24:35 AM
It started raining last week.

The forcast says it's gonna stop in mid-July though...  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on October 24, 2012, 12:25:57 PM
It rained here in California yesterday.
Its not forecasted to rain again here until next May.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 24, 2012, 12:32:51 PM
I had my house power washed today.  I do the decks, but hired out the rest of the house.  The outside vinyl smells fresh, almost new.  Looks great now that all the moss is off of it.  I think in 20 years I'll do it again.  I'll put it on the same schedule as me washing my bike.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: JetJock on October 24, 2012, 01:01:01 PM
It's in the high 70s and sunny in Cincinnati in late October and why the hell am I working?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 24, 2012, 01:34:16 PM
It's in the high 70s and sunny in Cincinnati in late October and why the hell am I working?

Same here in Illinois. I'm thinking that it's a good day to knock off early and go for a ride.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on October 24, 2012, 09:06:27 PM
Snow melted off on the benches here in northern Utah, but stuck in the mountains.  :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on October 25, 2012, 09:42:30 AM
This is sounds like a thread on the weather. 

Back in the day I was kickin it in the sandbox with Charlie Sheen, he told me, "you hang with me bud and you can have all the girls you want." I asked him if he rode a motorcycle, he told me no they're to dangerous. I told Charlie to take a hike and went and played with ZG on the merry-go-round.

http://youtu.be/ivBs0DAL7Wo (http://youtu.be/ivBs0DAL7Wo)

Maybe I should of stayed with Charlie (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/smiley_dunno.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 25, 2012, 10:38:05 AM
There really is no off topic in this thread....kinda like we're all Bozos on this bus kinda thing...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on October 25, 2012, 11:00:00 AM
There really is no off topic in this thread....kinda like we're all Bozos on this bus kinda thing...
Fixed  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 25, 2012, 11:12:17 AM
I bought a new water heater last week. I'll be installing it this weekend, it's replacing the one that I installed 20 years ago.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 25, 2012, 11:13:29 AM
This is sounds like a thread on the weather. 

Back in the day I was kickin it in the sandbox with Charlie Sheen, he told me, "you hang with me bud and you can have all the girls you want." I asked him if he rode a motorcycle, he told me no they're to dangerous. I told Charlie to take a hike and went and played with ZG on the merry-go-round.

http://youtu.be/ivBs0DAL7Wo (http://youtu.be/ivBs0DAL7Wo)

Maybe I should of stayed with Charlie (http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/smiley_dunno.gif)

 
Ah yes, good times indeed Gumbi!  ;D :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 25, 2012, 11:47:51 AM
I'm going to replace the brake master cylinder on my 91 Dakota this weekend and if I have time will replace the radio in the RAV.  I don't think I'll be riding much as I'm babysitting my grandson (8 years old).  He is good to have around, though.  Really likes to help out a lot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 25, 2012, 11:56:36 AM
I'm going to replace the brake master cylinder on my 91 Dakota this weekend and if I have time will replace the radio in the RAV.  I don't think I'll be riding much as I'm babysitting my grandson (8 years old).  He is good to have around, though.  Really likes to help out a lot.

So who gets to pump the brakes and who gets to lay under the truck?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 25, 2012, 01:55:21 PM
He will be in the truck no matter what.  I'll either use the bleeder I use for the bike, which doesn't require pumping and holding, or the vacuum bleeder I haven't used in several years... ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 26, 2012, 08:35:44 AM
35 degrees on the ride into work this morning. I had to install my Motax air deflectors before I headed out. I had my jacket liners in and I was toasty warm, except for my neck. Gotta dig out my neck warmer.

It's a beautiful morning, clear and crisp.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 26, 2012, 10:31:18 AM
We're bracing for a hurricane Monday/Tuesday time frame.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on October 26, 2012, 10:33:29 AM
We're bracing for a hurricane Monday/Tuesday time frame.

Good luck with it. 

I'd be replacing my FOB battery, insuring its a fresh one (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/iconhammer.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on October 26, 2012, 11:52:31 AM
(http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/431607_10151262948657597_2135306042_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on October 27, 2012, 08:53:15 AM
Nothing
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on October 27, 2012, 08:58:59 AM
The world's thinnest book: "What Men Know About Women."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on October 28, 2012, 07:08:22 PM
The grass is greener where you water it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 28, 2012, 07:20:53 PM
Not where my dog waters it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 05, 2012, 05:23:48 AM
I REALLY dislike the time change! Getting home from work and it's already dark, that sucks. I need to change out the tinted face shield on my helmet before I go to work this morning. Blah!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 05, 2012, 11:26:47 AM
I REALLY dislike the time change! Getting home from work and it's already dark, that sucks. I need to change out the tinted face shield on my helmet before I go to work this morning. Blah!

I like it, now it's light when I go into work.  :)
 
Maybe you just need to go home from work earlier C, leaving at noon seems to work pretty good for me and Gumbi...  ;)   :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 05, 2012, 12:00:04 PM

I like it, now it's light when I go into work.  :)
 
Maybe you just need to go home from work earlier C, leaving at noon seems to work pretty good for me and Gumbi...  ;)   :chugbeer:

I really like the way you think J! Now why didn't I think of this?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 06, 2012, 10:42:58 AM
It's snowing here.    :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 06, 2012, 11:40:40 AM
It's snowing here.    :(

 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 06, 2012, 01:05:38 PM
 :o :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 06, 2012, 01:12:08 PM
Are you sure? Maybe it is just a lot of chads floating around from all the furious voting going on there?

:-)

Brian

It's snowing here.    :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 06, 2012, 01:28:55 PM
Are you sure? Maybe it is just a lot of chads floating around from all the furious voting going on there?

:-)

Brian

I thought that might be the case but then I saw that the sidewalk was getting wet. It could be damp chads I suppose.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 06, 2012, 02:52:14 PM
Why do you hate the Chad?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 06, 2012, 03:02:05 PM
Why do you hate the Chad?

Hang the Chad says me!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 06, 2012, 03:20:48 PM
I never did like that Alltel creep.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 06, 2012, 03:27:50 PM
I never did like that Alltel creep.

(http://i.qkme.me/35r7mn.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 06, 2012, 03:39:44 PM
ok
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 06, 2012, 06:32:04 PM
The Chad is sad.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on November 07, 2012, 09:49:23 AM
(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/emoticons/Joey.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ARS on November 07, 2012, 08:33:13 PM
What's the difference between a Nun kneeling in a church and a hooker kneeling in the bathtub?  you ask . . .
. . .the Nun has hope in her soul.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 09, 2012, 01:47:02 PM
I'm reading 'How to Fix Transistor Radios and Printed Circuits' by Leonard Lane.  Copyrighted 1959 1960  Volume 1.  Oh crap, I'm going to need Volume 2 as well.  I was wondering where the fix it stuff was as Volume 1 appears to be all theory.   Off to look for it....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 10, 2012, 04:16:11 PM
Bacardi rum and Coke....on the second one.  Life is good.  Replaced the shutters in the front of the house today.  Does make a difference and no...I'm not selling the house.  Can't wait for the third one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 10, 2012, 04:59:30 PM
Bacardi rum and Coke....on the second one.  Life is good.  Replaced the shutters in the front of the house today.  Does make a difference and no...I'm not selling the house.  Can't wait for the third one.

Productive day Sparky and nice beverage...  :chugbeer:
 
I watched the roof & gutter guy repelling off our roof today cleaning off the roof moss and clean the gutters, I'm on my 4th beer now and gonna fire up the bbq in a bit, good times indeed...  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on November 12, 2012, 02:20:09 PM
Stay thirsty my friend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on November 14, 2012, 07:10:01 PM
Hazards of making chainmaille... Every so often, a ring will escape the grasp of the pliers, and take flight in a random direction, and travel a random distance.  Sometimes it's path is interrupted by an obstacle (face, drinking vessle, etc.).  These rings are normally easy to find. Other times, the ring flies into space unobstructed, never to be seen again.  Well, almost never. 

About a month ago, I was making a necklace for a customer.  Apparently, sometime during that project, I had lost a sterling silver, 5/64", 24 gauge ring. I found that ring tonight. In my foot. After I stepped on it.

The tweezers couldn't grip tight enough.  My smallest pair of needle nose pliers were not narrow enough to get a bite on the bit of metal that hadn't screwed itself into my flesh.  So, I hobbled my way downstairs, into the garage, and fetch my dremmel.  15 minutes later, my pliers are ground down to a nice, long, narrow point.  Using pain as my guide, in about a half an hour I discovered the right direction to twist, and pull, and I got it out.
 
And the ring is still usable!  Woohoo!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 14, 2012, 07:30:29 PM
Well, I upgraded the cpu in this here PC from a 4 core, to a six core chip; video card is next. Tomorrow...half day of work, then hanging out here while the contractor finishes up the master bath.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 15, 2012, 07:27:48 AM
A few days off and I'm going to Tybee $%#^ing Island on the C14 for friends, seafood and of course teressa is meeting me up there.

If anyone is around , I'll be at Ocean Plaza Resort next few days chillin, look me up 8)

Bring a jacket liner, I hear it may get down to 60 degrees
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on November 15, 2012, 08:12:35 AM
Bring a jacket liner, I hear it may get down to 60 degrees

 :battle:

Enjoy

Low fifties and clear skies here in the PNW, ridin weather  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: turbojoe78 on November 15, 2012, 01:52:35 PM
Low 40's and cloudy here in the Northeast, will be in the low 30's for the ride home tonight.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 15, 2012, 05:49:36 PM
Hazards of making chainmaille... Every so often, a ring will escape the grasp of the pliers, and take flight in a random direction, and travel a random distance.  Sometimes it's path is interrupted by an obstacle (face, drinking vessle, etc.).  These rings are normally easy to find. Other times, the ring flies into space unobstructed, never to be seen again.  Well, almost never. 

About a month ago, I was making a necklace for a customer.  Apparently, sometime during that project, I had lost a sterling silver, 5/64", 24 gauge ring. I found that ring tonight. In my foot. After I stepped on it.

The tweezers couldn't grip tight enough.  My smallest pair of needle nose pliers were not narrow enough to get a bite on the bit of metal that hadn't screwed itself into my flesh.  So, I hobbled my way downstairs, into the garage, and fetch my dremmel.  15 minutes later, my pliers are ground down to a nice, long, narrow point.  Using pain as my guide, in about a half an hour I discovered the right direction to twist, and pull, and I got it out.
 
And the ring is still usable!  Woohoo!!!

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 15, 2012, 05:50:11 PM
Well, I upgraded the cpu in this here PC from a 4 core, to a six core chip; video card is next. Tomorrow...half day of work, then hanging out here while the contractor finishes up the master bath.

Water cooling next?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 17, 2012, 07:20:55 AM
I got my telescope out last night to look at the sliver of the moon hanging in the sky. I sat outside for a bit, looking and drinking my beer. Life is good. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 17, 2012, 09:29:17 AM
I got my telescope out last night to look at the sliver of the moon hanging in the sky. I sat outside for a bit, looking and drinking my beer. Life is good.
I got my umbrella out last night, all I saw was raindrops.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on November 18, 2012, 06:56:05 AM
I'm at work. Till  tomorrow morning at 0800hrs.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: turbojoe78 on November 18, 2012, 02:11:43 PM
Covered my boat today, no more boating till spring ... the bike will be done in the next couple of weeks.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on November 18, 2012, 08:24:45 PM
Rode the 14 up to Sugarloaf, NY today. Polar Bear Grand Tour ride number 4. Got in 275 miles or so.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 19, 2012, 01:46:31 PM
The sensor that controls the air door on my air cleaner (91 Dakota) has given up the ghost.  Chrysler has discontinued it.  I'm a thinking I'm going to have to check junk yards for a working one.

This temp controlled vacuum switch normally allows vacuum at ambient temps so that the air door is closed until it warms up a bit.  The orifices are very small so I decided to see if they were clogged....they were.  Cleaned them out with a wire and the air door is working again.  Don't know if it makes much difference though.  It's been operating with it open for quite awhile.  The gas mileage has deteriorated some so maybe with it working it'll improve an mpg or so.  I feel better, if for nothing else, that it is working and I fixed an obsolete part.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 20, 2012, 09:34:39 AM
Just a thought, www.rockauto.com (http://www.rockauto.com)


The sensor that controls the air door on my air cleaner (91 Dakota) has given up the ghost.  Chrysler has discontinued it.  I'm a thinking I'm going to have to check junk yards for a working one.

This temp controlled vacuum switch normally allows vacuum at ambient temps so that the air door is closed until it warms up a bit.  The orifices are very small so I decided to see if they were clogged....they were.  Cleaned them out with a wire and the air door is working again.  Don't know if it makes much difference though.  It's been operating with it open for quite awhile.  The gas mileage has deteriorated some so maybe with it working it'll improve an mpg or so.  I feel better, if for nothing else, that it is working and I fixed an obsolete part.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: turbojoe78 on November 20, 2012, 01:35:13 PM
My cam chain tensioner finally clicked to the next notch ... wow, what a difference.   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 20, 2012, 02:07:18 PM
I tried Rock Auto and no joy.  They show an air temp sensor but it's the wrong type.  The sensor on the Dodge appears to have been made by one manufacturer and they stopped production in 2005.  If the wire trick hadn't worked I would have had to check junk yards for one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on November 21, 2012, 07:02:50 AM
Looks like I've ridden my last this season. Cold weather and snow comes this weekend, that means salt and calcium chloride in biblical amounts on our streets.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 21, 2012, 07:32:23 AM
Saw a Smart Car pulled over by a Caroline county deputy yesterday.  I laughed for about 5 miles afterwards just thinking about it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 21, 2012, 07:46:43 AM
....from one who drives a Prius.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 21, 2012, 08:49:15 AM
Saw a Smart Car pulled over by a Caroline county deputy yesterday.  I laughed for about 5 miles afterwards just thinking about it.
Jealous?? :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 21, 2012, 08:52:31 AM
Saw a Smart Car pulled over by a Caroline county deputy yesterday.  I laughed for about 5 miles afterwards just thinking about it.

http://youtu.be/f5S1NAMnYKM (http://youtu.be/f5S1NAMnYKM)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 21, 2012, 09:30:25 AM
Jealous?? :P

No, not at all.  I could barely fit in one.  My Prius is gargantuan by comparison and runs on regular fuel and has a suspension.  I get better gas mileage as well.  I just have visions of clowns piling out of that car....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 21, 2012, 09:35:43 AM
No, not at all.  I could barely fit in one.  My Prius is gargantuan by comparison and runs on regular fuel and has a suspension.  I get better gas mileage as well.  I just have visions of clowns piling out of that car....
Dern it.  I actually seriously considered a Prius, but along came the TDi and %0 financing.  Not to mention it is far sportier and maintains speed over any pass, both ways ;D  This last week the MPG has dropped to an average of 42, winter blend maybe?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 23, 2012, 06:23:37 AM
The Haven episode aired last Friday night had a Zenith Transoceanic H500 in one of the scenes.  I nearly fell out of my couch.  My wife thought I was nuts (I am, but that's beside the point).  I am in progress of restoring one of those now.  Unfortunately, I deleted it.  Will be keeping an eye on the SciFi channel for the rerun or I may catch it on directv...

Oh joy, it's on Directv VOD.  Downloading now...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 03, 2012, 11:39:53 AM
We shattered the record high temp for our area on this date. It was 60 set in 1916 and that record fell this morning at 11, it's 67 right at the moment.    :o 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 03, 2012, 01:18:25 PM
www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c7_1354378358 (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1c7_1354378358)
Sorry, I just couldn't help myself ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 03, 2012, 02:47:34 PM
You deleted a complete receiver? Please explain the 'deleted' aspect of this. CERN has been working on 'deleting'  matter for a while now but they can only do it one particle at a time....

 ;D

Brian


<snip>

 I am in progress of restoring one of those now.  Unfortunately, I deleted it. 

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 04, 2012, 04:55:37 AM
Ah yes...I see said the blind man as he stepped off the cliff...  The show, not the receiver.  Actually, just saw another one on Pawn Stars (Putt, Putt, Pawn).  Rick was talking to a woman who wanted to sell a red Pepsi box from the 50's and I saw another Transoceanic (G500 this time) on a shelf.  When it rains it pours.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 04, 2012, 04:56:58 AM
Sorry, I just couldn't help myself ;D

Fortunately, it's not embedding.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 04, 2012, 06:10:13 AM
Fortunately, it's not embedding.
At least I put it in the right spot ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 04, 2012, 06:21:03 AM
Have a cookie. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 04, 2012, 08:58:00 AM
NIU going to the Orange Bowl?   :thumbs:

Whodathunkit?    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 04, 2012, 12:21:26 PM
Redskins beat the Giants..

Whodathunkit?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on December 04, 2012, 04:55:41 PM
cause why not...what's the worst that could happen

skip to 5:20
http://youtu.be/iCbabcxv6MQ?t=5m19s (http://youtu.be/iCbabcxv6MQ?t=5m19s)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 04, 2012, 09:16:27 PM
Wow, nice post, thanks for sharing!
 
That's why I don't have one of those...  ;) ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on December 04, 2012, 10:10:33 PM
Wow, nice post, thanks for sharing!
 
That's why I don't have one of those...  ;) ;D
That's what the GXSR's were for in the early 90's.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 04, 2012, 10:13:42 PM
Wow, nice post, thanks for sharing!
 
That's why I have a black one ...  ;) ;D

FIFY ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on December 04, 2012, 10:21:41 PM
http://youtu.be/Qw9oX-kZ_9k (http://youtu.be/Qw9oX-kZ_9k)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 04, 2012, 10:47:31 PM
That's what the GXSR's were for in the early 90's.

 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MiniCog on December 04, 2012, 11:24:14 PM
At least I put it in the right spot ;D

If I had a dollar for every time I've said that...



If have the same amount of money as I do now.  :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 05, 2012, 12:52:18 PM
Hey!

(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121203041720-pitcairn-fish-eyes-horizontal-gallery.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 14, 2012, 10:21:09 AM
Today is the last Friday that I have to work for the rest of the year!    8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 17, 2012, 06:23:55 PM
Water based mammals are pretty similar to us (motorcycle based mammals) with a couple of really odd exceptions. I think the most amazing difference is that fact that our water based kin are voluntary breathers while all other mammals are reflex based mammals. That means that us land crawlers 'have' to breathe and simply cannot hold our breath indefinitely (try it- betcha' you can't do it either). Creatures like dolphins are voluntary breathers meaning they can hold their breath forever and only actually breathe when they consciously cause that to happen. It all makes sense because only a conscious dolphin would know when its blowhole (easy boys!) is above the surface of the water. But it also causes an interesting problem; if a dolphin falls asleep they will suffocate (unless supported by external means such as a mechanical respirator) and yet as mammals, they need regular, deep sleep. To overcome this they have developed an almost unbelievable ability- they sleep by shutting down one hemisphere of their brains at a time and never both at once.

This brings new meaning to the question 'who was in charge for this mess' as well as bringing new limits to the phrase "I thought YOU were going to stand the next watch."

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 17, 2012, 06:44:01 PM
Today is the last Friday that I have to work for the rest of the year!    8)

I see The Bears are following that philosophy as well.... ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 17, 2012, 06:45:24 PM
they sleep by shutting down one hemisphere of their brains at a time and never both at once.

This brings new meaning to the question 'who was in charge for this mess' as well as bringing new limits to the phrase "I thought YOU were going to stand the next watch."

Brian

Really...?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 17, 2012, 06:45:51 PM
I see The Bears are following that philosophy as well.... ;)

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 18, 2012, 04:42:56 AM
I see The Bears are following that philosophy as well.... ;)

 >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 18, 2012, 04:46:22 AM
To overcome this they have developed an almost unbelievable ability- they sleep by shutting down one hemisphere of their brains at a time and never both at once.

This brings new meaning to the question 'who was in charge for this mess' as well as bringing new limits to the phrase "I thought YOU were going to stand the next watch."

Brian

That's not so different than the way some of our politicians work, except they've learned to shut down their entire brain while appearing to be awake.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 18, 2012, 04:49:04 AM
Excellent description!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 18, 2012, 04:59:54 AM
It must be contagious. They've managed to pass it on to a great many of the electorate in this country.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 18, 2013, 10:12:00 AM
I'm about sick to DEATH of hearing about Lance Armstrong. Who cares?    :o

I guess it is a distraction from the 'real' news though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 18, 2013, 10:55:52 AM
I'm about sick to DEATH of hearing about Lance Armstrong. Who cares?    :o

The guy that landed on the moon??  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 18, 2013, 11:01:15 AM
 :rotflmao:

Yeah, that's the one J!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 18, 2013, 12:04:06 PM
True story, last summer my wife was teacing a class and a woman was complaining about all the hoopla over Armstrong. She went on to say she couldn't see what the big deal was, they gave him a medal in France after he landed on the moon, plus, he just died so why don't they leave him alone. True. My wife had nothing to say. This woman is upper management.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 18, 2013, 12:08:33 PM
Wow, I guess that woman doesn't get out much...

 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 18, 2013, 12:26:25 PM
No, sad commentary on the knowledge of 50% of voters here in the U.S.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 18, 2013, 04:15:31 PM
One thing about grilling in the winter is that the beer doesn't get warm...it stays nice and cold.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on January 18, 2013, 08:52:00 PM
I evicted the rat from my grill. Had to clean it. The wife didn't believe that rat turds would add flavor....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 19, 2013, 05:25:05 AM
I evicted the rat from my grill. Had to clean it. The wife didn't believe that rat turds would add flavor....

I'm sure that the turds would impart a lil extra 'something' to any meat that you would like to grill. Perhaps not the flavors that you were looking for, though.  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 19, 2013, 06:35:38 AM
Wouldn't that depend on what the rat was eating? Was this a grain fed rat or free range?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 25, 2013, 12:54:52 PM
I've been hearing these radio ads for Pearl Vision. They're touting their 'high definition' eyeglass lenses.

My glasses don't have these, does that mean that I'm seeing everything in standard definition or maybe even low def?   :o

Do I need 3-D glasses to see stuff in 3-D too?    8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 26, 2013, 04:02:21 PM
Twit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2013, 04:32:45 AM
minus 5 degrees F here this morn along with a windchill of minus 15.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 01, 2013, 04:43:41 AM
Very cold Twit..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2013, 04:51:38 AM
Not yet, soon though.

I'm going to sit in the hot tub this morn. Ain't nothing like sittin in that 103 degree water when it's that cold out. When it's this cold the entire room fills with steam mist as soon as I open her up. I may have to chip a lil ice off the lid first though.   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 01, 2013, 04:52:16 AM
Very cold Twit..
That's what she said.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2013, 07:18:17 AM
Saw a beautiful sight on the way into work this morning. An ice crystal rainbow. Not a cloud in the sky, the car said that the temp was minus 3F and it looked something like this.

(http://home.comcast.net/~edwelda//pwpimages/.__350_232_Joson%20Images_Solar-halo3.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 01, 2013, 09:49:30 AM
minus 5 degrees F here this morn along with a windchill of minus 15.    :o

Mid 40's and dry here today in the PNW, a very pleasant ride into the office this morning.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2013, 10:19:14 AM

Mid 40's and dry here today in the PNW, a very pleasant ride into the office this morning.  :)

Yabut, did you get to sit in a hot tub with your second cup of coffee?    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 01, 2013, 10:40:19 AM
Yabut, did you get to sit in a hot tub with your second cup of coffee?    :)

Yer mean.  :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2013, 10:46:42 AM

Yer mean.  :(

 :rotflmao:

 :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 01, 2013, 03:53:34 PM
Yabut, did you get to sit in a hot tub with your second cup of coffee?    :)
Must be a Silverdammit thing.  Deadend road, private lake, life is good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 01, 2013, 05:19:21 PM
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axial bearing. The wheel is one of the main components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel and flywheel.
 
Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel greatly reduces friction by facilitating motion by rolling together with the use of axles. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment needs to be applied to the wheel about its axis, either by way of gravity, or by the application of another external force or torque.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 01, 2013, 07:57:45 PM
Wheels are still used as an archaic form of measurement throughout Mid-World and the Borderlands...


Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 01, 2013, 08:52:58 PM
Wheels are still used as an archaic form of measurement throughout Mid-World and the Borderlands...
I have a wheel that is attached to a foot counter and you roll it on the ground to get a measurement. Hardly archaic.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 02, 2013, 06:17:59 AM
Wheels are still used as an archaic form of measurement throughout Mid-World and the Borderlands...

Yes and Roland, along with his Ka-tet, has walked many a wheel in these territories.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on February 02, 2013, 09:09:23 AM
Drinking beer out at a buddy's farm yesterday. Nice view to wake up to everyday huh?

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/IMG_3182.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on February 02, 2013, 09:39:26 AM
Hey, I know that Mountain!
(http://www.mrpepsi.com/razzi/mthood.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 02, 2013, 10:38:49 AM
My wife and I are headed to a remote cabin in SE Ohio for the Superbowl weekend, wine, hot tub, steaks, hot tub, beer, hot tub, snow, hot tub. Did I mention it has a hot tub?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on February 02, 2013, 11:25:05 AM
Hey, I know that Mountain!
(http://www.mrpepsi.com/razzi/mthood.jpg)

Sweet... that reminds me of a ride through Northern AZ a few years ago. I stopped in the middle of the road for a pic op just as you are there, mind you this was out in the middle of no where's ville. I was just about to say 'Cheez' when a semi came rolling around the corner, slammed on the brakes, layed on the horn as I scurried around wondering to myself if it was more important to try and get the bike out of the way or just me. I damn near soiled myself, but luckily he was able to slow down enough and make it safely around my bike and me. I threw my arms in the air saying sorry as he went by. DOH!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2013, 01:54:23 PM
I have a wheel that is attached to a foot counter and you roll it on the ground to get a measurement. Hardly archaic.

Not that kind of wheel, Gsun.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 04, 2013, 04:37:47 AM
We got our snowmobiles out for the first time this year yesterday. There was just barely enough snow, 4-5 inches. But it was still BIG fun!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on February 13, 2013, 07:45:42 PM
Cool Ranch Doritos Tacos.............

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=24063650&nid=151&title=taco-bell-to-launch-cool-ranch-tacos-march-7&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-17 (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=24063650&nid=151&title=taco-bell-to-launch-cool-ranch-tacos-march-7&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-17)
https://www.facebook.com/tacobell (https://www.facebook.com/tacobell)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 14, 2013, 04:27:27 AM
Drinking beer out at a buddy's farm yesterday. Nice view to wake up to everyday huh?

(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/IMG_3182.jpg)

Your buddy wouldn't let you sleep inside?    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 20, 2013, 11:48:08 AM
Surprise! Another Illinois politician heading off to prison.    >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 20, 2013, 12:16:32 PM
Surprise! Another Illinois politician heading off to prison.    >:(
wife too
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 20, 2013, 12:39:42 PM
wife too

At least there's a new twist on the same ole same ole.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 20, 2013, 03:31:59 PM
Surprise! Another Illinois politician heading off to prison.    >:(
The bastion of demcracy has criminal activity?  Shocking I say, shocking.  Next thing you know some community organizer will get it in his mind he can become president.   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 20, 2013, 04:09:40 PM
Did you know that while the 168 and 194 bulbs are similar, the 168 burns brighter and doesn't last as long...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 20, 2013, 08:42:26 PM
Did you know that while the 168 and 194 bulbs are similar, the 168 burns brighter and doesn't last as long...
I've always been told I "Wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree", does this mean I'll be around for a long, really long time?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 20, 2013, 08:51:05 PM
Water doesn't compress.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 20, 2013, 10:04:57 PM
Clark Kent lived in the Standish Arms apartment building.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 21, 2013, 04:02:50 AM
I thought he lived at the Arena.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 21, 2013, 04:44:48 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 21, 2013, 04:50:30 AM
I've always been told I "Wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree", does this mean I'll be around for a long, really long time?

Same with me....and yes, sounds like both of us will be around for awhile.

This bulb issue came up last weekend.  I had a front side marker in the Rav go out.  Research showed that either bulb will work so I went with the 194 long life ones due to the amount of work required to replace them.  You have to remove the front wheel and the well plastic to reach up on the side to pull the darn thing out.  Did both of them.  Also did my daughters license plate lights (used 194LLs again).  They were a tad easier to get to.

I noticed this morning that one of the Prius front markers was out........Da***t!  No telling how hard these will be to get to.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 01, 2013, 07:57:19 PM
The Prius side markers were very easy to get to...

I just broke a tooth.  I hate it when that happens.  So far no pain.  It'll be Monday before I get it looked at....I hope.   That tooth was acting a bit funny for the last 6 months.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 01, 2013, 08:13:24 PM
I just broke a tooth.  I hate it when that happens.  So far no pain.  It'll be Monday before I get it looked at....I hope.   That tooth was acting a bit funny for the last 6 months.

Bummer, that sux Sparky, put some liquor on it, that should help.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on March 01, 2013, 08:17:42 PM
Did somebody say BEER  :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 02, 2013, 05:19:41 AM
The Prius side markers were very easy to get to...

I just broke a tooth.  I hate it when that happens.  So far no pain.  It'll be Monday before I get it looked at....I hope.   That tooth was acting a bit funny for the last 6 months.

Those beer caps twist off you know? No need to get all macho and use your teeth.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 02, 2013, 05:53:52 AM
I got 24 hrs of overtime today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 04, 2013, 09:08:49 AM
During the 1500s, poor families would urinate in a pot and at the end of the day this urine would be sold at the local tannery to tan animal hides. Some families were so poor that they "didn't have a pot to **** in" thus the term.

Fitting for frappy frugal farkeled out connie owners ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 04, 2013, 09:12:20 AM
During the 1500s, poor families would urinate in a pot and at the end of the day this urine would be sold at the local tannery to tan animal hides. Some families were so poor that they "didn't have a pot to **** in" thus the term.

Fitting for frappy frugal farkeled out connie owners ;D

I learn something new every day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 04, 2013, 09:18:57 AM
During the 1500s, poor families would urinate in a pot and at the end of the day this urine would be sold at the local tannery to tan animal hides. Some families were so poor that they "didn't have a pot to **** in" thus the term.

Fitting for frappy frugal farkeled out connie owners ;D
They can sell it to VW owners now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: snarf on March 04, 2013, 09:26:44 AM
Mind your p's and q's comes from English pubs and taverns of the seventeenth century. Bartenders would keep a watch on the alcohol consumption of the patrons; keeping an eye on the pints and quarts that were consumed. As a reminder to the patron :chugbeer:s, the bartender would recommend they "mind their Ps and Qs".
 :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on March 04, 2013, 09:36:35 AM
Mind your p's and q's comes from English pubs and taverns of the seventeenth century. Bartenders would keep a watch on the alcohol consumption of the patrons; keeping an eye on the pints and quarts that were consumed. As a reminder to the patron :chugbeer:s, the bartender would recommend they "mind their Ps and Qs".
 :chugbeer:

Nice, I heard this when I was a kid and always wondered if it was true.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: snarf on March 04, 2013, 09:51:34 AM
After doing a quick search I found that there could be another explenation.

Another origin of the story of "mind your Ps and Qs" comes from early printing presses. Printers placed individual letters on a frame to print a page of text. The letters were reversed, making it easy to mistake lowercase ps and qs in setting the type. A reminder to stay watchful of the details could have come from this time as well.

I like to drink so I will judt stick with the first one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 04, 2013, 10:15:58 AM
My wife and I got our sleds out for two hours of snow drift bustin fun yesterday.

(http://www.zggtr.org/MGalleryItem.php?id=429)

It looks like tomorrow is gonna be a snow day off of work. Time to get those sleds out again!    ;D

...WINTER STORM WITH HEAVY SNOWFALL LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TUESDAY TO MIDNIGHT CST TUESDAY NIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TUESDAY TO
MIDNIGHT CST TUESDAY NIGHT. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION...7 TO 10 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

* IMPACTS...SNOW MAY FALL HEAVILY AT TIMES ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY
  EVENING. ACCUMULATION RATES OF 1 TO 1.5 INCHES PER HOUR ARE
  POSSIBLE AT TIMES MAKING SNOW REMOVAL DIFFICULT AND TRAVEL
  EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THIS WILL POTENTIALLY IMPACT THE MORNING
  RUSH HOUR TUESDAY AND VERY LIKELY WILL IMPACT THE LATE AFTERNOON
  AND EARLY EVENING RUSH HOUR. NORTHERLY WINDS GUSTING TO 30 MPH
  AT TIMES LATER TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT WILL LIKELY CAUSE
  BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN OPEN AREAS.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 05, 2013, 05:08:36 AM
Snow day baby!

Yes sir! No work today and I still get paid.  ;D I'll be out on my sled later, after a leisurely workout and breakfast, maybe a nice soak in the hot tub first.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 05, 2013, 05:39:36 AM
It will be snowing here on Wednesday, so they say.  Since I work out of the house, I won't be taking time off.  I think I'll do that on Friday, though....that is, take off.   Won't be any riding as there will be too much salt and sand on the road.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 05, 2013, 07:16:36 AM
I have a home office also. Snow day for me means I get the ATV out and plow the driveway between conference calls. I'm still outside on an ATV so it's still motorsports right?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 06, 2013, 04:17:26 AM
Snowing here this morning.  Very wet snow.  The wife is in the RAV4 heading to work.  Roads aren't too bad yet....at least for the RAV.  Feds are closed but Dahlgren is open.  Directv doesn't work.  The snow is blocking the signal for now.....drats!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 06, 2013, 04:36:59 AM
I'm beat today! You know that when you're out beating on those snow drifts with your sled that those drift beat back? It was a whole lotta fun though!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 06, 2013, 04:43:45 AM
Directv is back on, thank goodness...  I got kids home today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 06, 2013, 04:47:56 AM
Directv is back on, thank goodness...  I got kids home today.

You dodged a bullet!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 06, 2013, 05:13:48 AM
Directv is back on, thank goodness...  I got kids home today.

Does this mean you don't have to play in the snow?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 06, 2013, 05:26:50 AM
Their mom will do that when she wakes up later this afternoon (she works nights), assuming that the snow is still there.  The temps are rising here, but it's snowing like all get out in the western part of the state.  My armor tends to get rusty in snow and I don't like the cold either anymore.  We're right on the snow/rain line at the moment.  Front Royal is getting plastered and Charlottesville has 20k out of power.  The winds are picking up which doesn't bode well with wet heavy snow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 06, 2013, 05:53:12 AM
Luck to you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 06, 2013, 07:19:31 AM
You too...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 06, 2013, 11:51:59 AM
This is where I park my bike at work. Looks like it'll be a while before I get to do that.

(the sign is ~8' tall)

(http://www.zggtr.org/MGalleryItem.php?id=430)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 06, 2013, 01:38:54 PM
It would make a good you tube video if you tried, though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 07, 2013, 09:54:17 AM
This is where I park my bike at work. Looks like it'll be a while before I get to do that.

(the sign is ~8' tall)

(http://www.zggtr.org/MGalleryItem.php?id=430)

Where's the snowmobile parking?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 07, 2013, 10:09:28 AM
Where's the snowmobile parking?

I could park it at the top of that mountain of snow. I wonder if my MC parking permit would suffice?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 07, 2013, 03:18:08 PM
I could park it at the top of that mountain of snow. I wonder if my MC parking permit would suffice?

If you park at the top, who's going climb up there to give you a ticket? ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 07, 2013, 03:37:17 PM
If you park at the top, who's going climb up there to give you a ticket? ;D

Hey! That's good thinkin man!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 18, 2013, 10:24:25 PM
Sunny and fifty here today.  Got some dirt bike riding in, heading to the trails tomorow ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2013, 08:26:08 AM
Last year on this date the high temp was in the mid 80's. That whole month was warm and I started riding at the end of Feb. Today's high temp is 20 with wind chills near zero all day.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 19, 2013, 10:27:20 AM
Neil Young's "Hey, Hey, My, my" sprung from a guitar riff he played while jamming with the group DEVO after he appeared in one of their videos.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2013, 10:31:19 AM
Keep On Rockin In The Free World came on the radio just as I was reading the above.    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Riverdawg on March 19, 2013, 11:55:24 AM
In parts of Australia, crawdads are called yabby's,  while rutabagas are called swedes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 19, 2013, 12:31:59 PM
HONDA rules the earth. But BMW is a close second  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 19, 2013, 12:37:39 PM
While battling evil, its sometime necessary to suspend accepted values
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2013, 12:47:28 PM
I just ate a clementine, I love those things!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 19, 2013, 12:49:42 PM
Did she like it too?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2013, 12:52:04 PM
Of course!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 19, 2013, 12:55:10 PM
84 degrees today, hope she had her jacket liner out
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Riverdawg on March 19, 2013, 01:36:10 PM
Candy's sweet, but likker's quicker.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 20, 2013, 02:35:25 PM
Happy first day of Spring to one and all!

I saw the first motorcycle of the season this morn, it was 10 degrees.   :o  Guy on a Sportster, helmet, thin leather jacket, gloves, and jeans. He was out on the highway, 55 mph. I can't even imagine what the wind chill must have been like for him. I gotta admire his gumption but holy ****!

The roads around here are white with salt, no way I'm taking my bike out till we get a lil rain.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 20, 2013, 03:12:54 PM
Happy first day of Spring to one and all!

Happy first day of Spring indeed all!  :chugbeer:
 
I can tell it's Spring time, things are turning green around these parts today...  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 22, 2013, 09:38:15 AM
5 inches of lake effect snow on the ground at my house today, upwards of a foot in the snowbelt. Springtime in Cleveland, April is worse.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: turbojoe78 on March 24, 2013, 01:37:41 PM
Put my modified air box and 32mm carbs back on yesterday and took it for a short test ride. (second day of spring)

Today I took it to work for the first of many trips this new season ... nice to be back on two wheels again!   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on March 24, 2013, 03:35:57 PM
Cut my lawn for the first time this year. Gotta pave over it.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 24, 2013, 04:11:45 PM
Drained the hot tub :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 24, 2013, 04:24:04 PM
Watched the freezing rain and snow today.  :(        Didn't stick.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 24, 2013, 04:58:59 PM
Helped sort Legos with my grandson..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 25, 2013, 04:28:16 AM
Cut my lawn for the first time this year. Gotta pave over it.....

In Canada? My lawn is covered in snow.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 25, 2013, 04:29:19 AM
Drained the hot tub :)

Did you fill her back up? My tub is about ready for a good cleaning too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 25, 2013, 08:39:28 AM
Found some previously unknown pics of my dads father from the 30's.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 25, 2013, 08:44:22 AM
Did you fill her back up? My tub is about ready to a good cleaning too.
Not yet, I need a new cover, the old one has become water logged, the wife locked her keys in the house before work a couple of years ago and since we leave the bathroom window open a crack she decided the best way in was to stand on the hot tub >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 25, 2013, 08:48:26 AM
Not yet, I need a new cover, the old one has become water logged, the wife locked her keys in the house before work a couple of years ago and since we leave the bathroom window open a crack she decided the best way in was to stand on the hot tub >:(

That's an expensive step ladder! I'm hoping to get one more year out of my cover. It's not water logged but the hinge is starting to crack.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on March 25, 2013, 08:51:38 AM
I fixed the key problem with a keypad on the front door and as the urban sprawls towards us I have been reduced to locking everything.  FWIW, that really sucks and is part of the reason I chose my place of retirement on the far edge of the grid.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Riverdawg on March 25, 2013, 09:49:34 AM
Small tornado tore the roof off the bin sorter at work this Saturday. Messed up a lot of wiring and flooded a lot of electrical panels.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 03, 2013, 11:52:01 AM
I think that we had better send The Worm back over to North Korea before all hell breaks loose.    ::)

(http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-200907/83c157d67509b3c3a3c326f2aebdc653.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 03, 2013, 12:49:19 PM
Fifth Third Bank. The Curious Bank. What the hell does that mean anyway?    ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 05, 2013, 03:04:34 PM
I am thinking of doing the unthinkable tomorrow or Sunday..........I'm going to wash the bike. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 05, 2013, 03:49:41 PM
Put the hose down and step away from the chamois, Sir.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 06, 2013, 06:00:27 AM
I am thinking of doing the unthinkable tomorrow or Sunday..........I'm going to wash the bike.

What the  :censored: ? Has hell froze over? Have pigs learned to fly? Are monkeys flying out of your butt?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 06, 2013, 07:11:11 AM
North Korea may attack.  I have to be ready.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 06, 2013, 07:16:29 AM
North Korea may attack.  I have to be ready.

There you go! Nothing says ready like a clean Silverdammit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: CigarSki® on April 06, 2013, 08:00:02 AM
The wife is slaving me out to replace some roofing shingles at her mothers house. I haven't touch a shingle in 30 years, this could get interesting, fast.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on April 06, 2013, 11:00:34 AM
Raining here. I have an excuse to do nothing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: connie1 on April 06, 2013, 11:12:59 AM
Snowed here again yesterday.
Been pulling 18 hr days making sure the calves survive so you guys have steaks to devour after your rides.
Snow melt is way behind average, still have 2 feet across the fields and 8 ft drifts behind tree rows.  We had snow about a month early this winter (Oct 18) and there will definitely be snow left on Apr 18, making it 6 months.  Longest winter of my life.  Global warming my  :censored:.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 08, 2013, 09:59:51 AM
Gary Cooper was really tall.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 28, 2013, 09:55:32 AM
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qb7DN3kpl2o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb7DN3kpl2o#ws)

Figured the thread needed a little spicing up ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on April 28, 2013, 10:33:56 AM
Figured the thread needed a little spicing up ;)
:rotflmao:

Surprising how clean they kept that commercial with a product like that.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 28, 2013, 10:38:57 AM
:rotflmao:

Surprising how clean they kept that commercial with a product like that.  ;D
Hey, you gave me a link and I ordered up, your turn ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on April 28, 2013, 11:08:09 AM
Hey, you gave me a link and I ordered up, your turn ;)
Gonna have to pass on Touch over the Internet. That thing could be dangerous while riding.

(http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s63/itnut7/l_c59804d6869b57b495fed52a6636f7fb.jpg) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/itnut7/media/l_c59804d6869b57b495fed52a6636f7fb.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on April 30, 2013, 09:33:43 AM
top~
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 30, 2013, 09:50:02 AM
poem about nothing

 I did everything I could
- which was nothing.
So there’s nothing left to do
- but do nothing.
In the place where you stood
- now there’s nothing.
Where there used to be you
- there’s just nothing.
When I wake up, beside me
- there’s nothing.
To fill up my time
- I’ve got nothing.
In my gut, deep inside me
- there’s nothing
except you. Girl, I tried
- it meant nothing.
When you left me,
you left me with nothing.

Jack Williams
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 30, 2013, 12:46:55 PM
As I was heading back to work after taking the bike out for a ride over my lunch hour some twitchy dude in a riced out WRX pulls up next to me at a in town stop light.

We're the first in line at the light on a 4 lane road and he's giving me the stink eye as he revs his car, begging me to race him. I nod and blip the throttle a couple of times. He hunkers in, waiting for the light to change as he revs a bit more. The light changes and he's off like a bat outta hell, squealing his tires in first and second. I mosey on along at a nice leisurely pace, never even breaking the 40 mph speed limit, laughing my ass off.

Where's a cop when you need one!?

I wasn't about to race this jerk in town. Besides, his car had not one but two spoilers. What chance would Connie have against two spoilers?    ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 30, 2013, 12:52:49 PM
I liked the Plymouth Superbird more than the Dodge Daytona Charger.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on April 30, 2013, 01:11:43 PM
I liked the Plymouth Superbird more than the Dodge Daytona Charger.
I had an Plymouth Superbird Aurora HO scale slot car and one brother had a Daytona Charger.  Both could sail off the track majestically should a liberal amount of speed be applied...
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Orig-Aurora-AFX-HO-Slot-Car-1969-Dodge-Charger-Daytona-EX-Plus-No-Reserve-/00/s/MjY0WDU5Mg==/z/6pIAAOxy79JRfys6/$(KGrHqIOKpcFFymklMR9BRfys6OVyw~~60_3.JPG)(http://www.slotcarsillustrated.com/misterconey_box_group_item/BOX_23_GROUP_10_ITEM_08_TYCO_RICHARD_PETTY_43_PLYMOUTH_SUPERBIRD_SLOT_CAR_RUNNER.JPG)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 30, 2013, 08:02:00 PM
I had AFX cars back in the 70's. Just before I stopped using them, they came out with cars that used the motor magnets to adhere to the steel wires in the track, you could nail the throttle all the way around the track and never come off. No fun, no skill involved. Now, back to nothing. 

I think the slower cyclic rate of the M2 .50 caliber is sexy. I think the MG42 is demonic. I think the M61 Vulcan is a look at hell.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 30, 2013, 10:29:45 PM


I think the slower cyclic rate of the M2 .50 caliber is sexy. I think the MG42 is demonic. I think the M61 Vulcan is a look at hell.
And the M242 Chaingun (the real Bushmaster 25mm) makes the Ma Deuce look like a dehydrated .22 :)  Standard version 1, 100, and 200 RPM, beef up the motor to 5 HP and yuo double that rate.  Incredibly powerfull and with all the gee whiz bang 'lectronic sight and ranging aids deadly accurate at ranges that are mind numbing.  Put in a box of AP DU rounds and nothing rolling within sight is safe...  Imagine sitting on top of a Bradley in an indoor range (Pictinny Arsenal) up on the turret doing 100 RPMs.  Ever see a dog hanging it's head outside a car window at sixty??

And yes, the M2s rate of fire is awesome, but then again so was the M60, when it was properly headspaced, which was seldom due to the rotating locking method used.  If I had a dime for every barrel and bolt I replaced.  I was as happy as said hound dog when the M240B came out.  I was madder than a hornet when the US bowed to NATO pressure and went to the M9, luckily SOCOM kept the 1911 option open, which is still in use today by todays finest, albeit in the form of a Kimber of NM version, but still dropping bad guys over 100 years after it's intro to the world...  And then we have the M3A1 Grease gun (M3 had a failure prone charging lever, A1 variant just cut a large opening on the outside front portion of the bolt).  The M3 took an artist to fire effectively as it had a climbing rate of fire, being as it fired from the open bolt position (massive bolt) the first shot invariably went low, second shot high, and with much control the rounds eventually found there way to the target.  I think it was designed for tankers to convince them to keep their tanks on the tracks and in good working order.  I'll save older machine guns and mortars for later, but in closing, canning the 4.2 was akin to replacing the M60.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 01, 2013, 05:17:44 AM
I like old stuff. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on May 01, 2013, 08:27:27 PM
There is a movie being shot in Vancouver that is huge. They have money to burn. There were 650 extras plus the cast crew up on our local mountain for a shot of some kind. The working title is Nautilus. It is actually a new Godzilla movie. One scene involved a helicopter and I can still hear it going up and down tonight.
The next big one is called Tomorrowland. Disney. Heard it may be the biggest movie ever made here. Scheduled for a 5 month shoot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 03, 2013, 06:46:59 AM
Some wheelbarrow tires are tubeless.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2013, 09:49:01 AM
The guys from the Eagles must be running out of money again...

Starting at over $200 EACH for tickets. This price is with special presale discounts only.     :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: garfield1974 on May 05, 2013, 03:02:51 PM
Safety First  ;D

(http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae220/taz1974/264562_10151593337678330_2118837359_n_zps51bdc2d2.jpg) (http://s973.photobucket.com/user/taz1974/media/264562_10151593337678330_2118837359_n_zps51bdc2d2.jpg.html)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 06, 2013, 01:47:21 PM
It's starting to rain here in King George, VA.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 06, 2013, 04:19:26 PM
92 yesterday in Roy, WA.  I miss the rain :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 09, 2013, 09:23:36 AM
I was riding home yesterday, leaving work and waiting in line to turn right at the light. McDonalds on one side of the street Pizza Hut on the other. I'm on the side of the street with the Hut. I catch some movement out of the corner of mine eye in the grass by the Hut. I turn to look and a red tailed hawk had swooped in and grabbed something out of the grass not 10 feet from me. The hawk flew off just in front of me, almost close enough to touch. I couldn't make out what it had in it's talons but what ever it was got ripped to shreds in the tree near McDonalds. Very cool to see something like this in town!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on May 09, 2013, 08:37:06 PM
One less rat in your town. Send the hawk over to my house.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 10, 2013, 09:13:34 AM
As I was parking the bike this morning in the designated MC parking here at work some kid on a lil Honda parked next to me. He looked over at me and said, "damn, that thing is huge!"

I replied, "that's what she said."

He didn't get it.    ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 10, 2013, 09:22:33 AM
Women who know me call me 'Mr Big'.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 10, 2013, 09:35:59 AM
As I was parking the bike this morning in the designated MC parking here at work some kid on a lil Honda parked next to me. He looked over at me and said, "damn, that thing is huge!"

I replied, "that's what she said."

He didn't get it.    ::)
You offered? :o :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 10, 2013, 09:42:04 AM
You offered? :o :o

 ???

I offered a joke that he didn't get. If you have to 'splain it to Lucy, it ain't funny no more.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 10, 2013, 12:43:07 PM
That's worth  :rotflmao: :rotflmao: .
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 11, 2013, 02:59:51 PM
He didn't get it.    ::)

 You offered "it" ? ;) ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 12, 2013, 05:35:26 AM
You offered "it" ? ;) ;D

(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQsI7LxlkDL_8ZeubzH5wmIOXUKd20vTM-IDCI8b76WoQ7CZzqBHw)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2013, 05:07:54 PM
I asked my grandson to get a beer for me while I was grilling some chicken today.  He went inside, got it from my wife, and brought it to me.  Life is good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 13, 2013, 06:03:28 PM
For your amusement.

http://youtu.be/EiECSoLrDSk (http://youtu.be/EiECSoLrDSk)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 13, 2013, 06:13:08 PM
I asked my grandson to get a beer for me while I was grilling some chicken today.  He went inside, got it from my wife, and brought it to me.  Life is good.

Good times indeed Sparky!  :chugbeer:

How much of it was left when he made it to you?  :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on May 13, 2013, 09:19:32 PM
Good times indeed Sparky!  :chugbeer:

How much of it was left when he made it to you?  :-\
Ya know Jay, some kids aren't like you and I use to be.... :rotflmao: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 13, 2013, 09:55:57 PM
Ya know Jay, some kids aren't like you and I use to be.... :rotflmao: :chugbeer:

True indeed bro, we were even smarter, we would go get the beer, slam half of it real quick, then fill it back to the top with water so that they wouldn't know...  ;) ;D :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 13, 2013, 10:02:33 PM
True indeed bro, we were even smarter, we would go get the beer, slam half of it real quick, then fill it back to the top with water so that they wouldn't know...  ;) ;D :chugbeer:
Nope, the kid actually got 2 beers, stashed one for the road and served the other ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on May 13, 2013, 10:52:07 PM
True indeed bro, we were even smarter, we would go get the beer, slam half of it real quick, then fill it back to the top with water so that they wouldn't know...  ;) ;D :chugbeer:
They must have been used to drinking Bud.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 14, 2013, 04:17:44 AM
Michelob....   and he's not to that age where I wouldn't trust him with that.  He hasn't been subverted by his classmates in third grade yet, either (thank goodness).  He's a good kid.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 14, 2013, 04:32:50 AM
True indeed bro, we were even smarter, we would go get the beer, slam half of it real quick, then fill it back to the top with water so that they wouldn't know...  ;) ;D :chugbeer:

So it was you guys who invented 'lite' beer eh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 14, 2013, 07:58:14 AM
So it was you guys who invented 'lite' beer eh?
Ang Gumby is still brewing off that recipe ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 14, 2013, 08:36:33 AM
65 degrees and sunny on the ride into work this morning. I came thisclose to saying the hell with work and just kept on riding.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 14, 2013, 08:37:31 AM
65 degrees and sunny on the ride into work this morning. I came thisclose to saying the hell with work and just kept on riding.
How many days till retirement?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 14, 2013, 08:46:13 AM
How many days till retirement?

I was planning on retiring on 11/1/13 but after meeting with my advisor he suggested that I wait till 1/1/2014. That's only two more calendar months but since we close up for two weeks here at work (and still get paid) for Christmas, and two days for Thanksgiving, I'll only be working a ~month and a half more. Plus if I do this I'll get ~$70 more per month for the rest of my life.    ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 14, 2013, 09:16:40 AM
I was planning on retiring on 11/1/13 but after meeting with my advisor he suggested that I wait till 1/1/2014. That's only two more calendar months but since we close up for two weeks here at work (and still get paid) for Christmas, and two days for Thanksgiving, I'll only be working a ~month and a half more. Plus if I do this I'll get ~$70 more per month for the rest of my life.    ;D
Food, water, sleep, all over rated.  Retirement?  Way under rated ;D ;D ;D  Lost out on the Lee Parks instructor clinic so I am making up for it by doing the CO Back Country Discovery Route, GS is being trailered there (don't want to toast the knobbies), I fly into CO Springs on the 4th of June, spend a couple days with my oldest daughter and grandbaby, ride the BDR, do/attend a ADV Seminar in Idaho, ride home, shower, head to our last ADV Camp :)  Life is good ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 14, 2013, 09:40:31 AM
Food, water, sleep, all over rated.  Retirement?  Way under rated ;D ;D ;D  Lost out on the Lee Parks instructor clinic so I am making up for it by doing the CO Back Country Discovery Route, GS is being trailered there (don't want to toast the knobbies), I fly into CO Springs on the 4th of June, spend a couple days with my oldest daughter and grandbaby, ride the BDR, do/attend a ADV Seminar in Idaho, ride home, shower, head to our last ADV Camp :)  Life is good ;)

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 14, 2013, 01:53:57 PM
I've had enough of this office! It's too nice outside to be stuck inside, I'm going for a ride.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 15, 2013, 04:30:19 AM
Have fun!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 15, 2013, 04:35:19 AM
I did, thank you!    :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 21, 2013, 11:15:37 AM
There sure are a lot of C14s for sale in the for sale section!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 21, 2013, 11:29:39 AM
There sure are a lot of C14s for sale in the for sale section!
We might be breaking in a bunch of noobs before summer's over.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 21, 2013, 11:44:13 AM
I found some real nice roads in south central PA over the weekend. Hated to come back to Ohio.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 13, 2013, 04:42:05 PM
My wife wanted to know what to do with the little bit of Coke left in the Fridge.  I said I have just the thing.....Bacardi rum!  She said you've already had two beers.  I said, I don't see your point.  The Coke is now gone along with some rum and I've thrown the Coke bottle in with the recylcables.  Everyone wins.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on June 13, 2013, 07:10:12 PM
My wife wanted to know what to do with the little bit of Coke left in the Fridge.  I said I have just the thing.....Bacardi rum!  She said you've already had two beers.  I said, I don't see your point.  The Coke is now gone along with some rum and I've thrown the Coke bottle in with the recylcables.  Everyone wins.

 ;D :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 14, 2013, 04:32:53 AM
And then she brought me a martini down as I was assembling my grandson's xbox.  A typical night at home.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on June 14, 2013, 02:12:34 PM
I spent the better part of an hour repairing my digital weight reloading scale soldering a connection, calibrating it, putting it back together. I figured it wouldn't hurt to confirm my math and powder measure with an old fashioned mechanical scale. The same. Duh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 04, 2013, 07:16:12 AM
Was up on the roof, cleaning out my vent stacks (sounds a bit strange but true nevertheless) and did something to my lower left back.  Thought I was going to have to call the fire dept to get me down but I made it with the help of my wife.. 

Dr. Smith's Pain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKwwcCpa2Ag#)

Jonathan Harris interview (Lost In Space) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbisA4Zw7ko#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 04, 2013, 07:23:56 AM
A slight problem with the local wildlife...

angry elephant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M55wHpPXWF8#ws)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 06, 2013, 11:36:36 AM
I was sorting out some stuff in the basement archives when I came across my old slide rule  (Versalog Teledyne Post 44CA-600) that I used in tech school back in the fall/winter of '74.  It came complete with leather case.  Well, I decided to look up how to use it on the 'net and low and behold I was able to figure out how to multiply 2.3 x 3.4.  You can of course imagine my excitement as I went upstairs to impress my wife with my new found knowledge.  So I came in the bedroom and said 'Guess what this can do?  I can multiply 2.3 x 3.4!'  She looked at me and replied 'I thought you were going to measure something else.'  I had nothing after that....but a good laugh.  Not about the something else, but about the slide ruler itself.'   Let's be totally clear about that.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on July 06, 2013, 11:55:16 AM
Just be carefull, I'd hate to read of a zipper like issue from a slide rule :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 06, 2013, 12:13:11 PM
 :yikes: ouch!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 06, 2013, 05:09:04 PM
GF had a garage sale today which I had to help with. She made $185 and only eight hours of work.
 :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 06, 2013, 07:03:43 PM
I hate it when Yoda dies.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 06, 2013, 09:05:20 PM
Yoda died?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on July 06, 2013, 10:17:53 PM
Rot repair on the house again. Not a lot this year, but I hate it. Every year it's something. Last year was bad. Complete reno 6 years ago. Inside and out. Didn't stop it. Pacific Northwet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 07, 2013, 12:02:32 AM
When 600 years you become... oh forget it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 07, 2013, 05:23:03 AM
900
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 07, 2013, 07:26:31 AM
I was sorting out some stuff in the basement archives when I came across my old slide rule  (Versalog Teledyne Post 44CA-600) that I used in tech school back in the fall/winter of '74.  It came complete with leather case.  Well, I decided to look up how to use it on the 'net and low and behold I was able to figure out how to multiply 2.3 x 3.4.  You can of course imagine my excitement as I went upstairs to impress my wife with my new found knowledge.  So I came in the bedroom and said 'Guess what this can do?  I can multiply 2.3 x 3.4!'  She looked at me and replied 'I thought you were going to measure something else.'  I had nothing after that....but a good laugh.  Not about the something else, but about the slide ruler itself.'   Let's be totally clear about that.

 :rotflmao:

I remember learning how to use a slide rule. Just when I got it figured out, calculators started getting real cheap.   :o

"basement archives". I like that.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 07, 2013, 07:35:14 AM
I was down there again this morning sorting things out.  'Found' some sort of test instrument my father purloined from his AF career.  Can't quite make out what it does, could be a pre-historic battery checker used in the 50's.  Found my old IBM test meter complete with case (no leads though, but does have the IBM logo on the front).  Found a Lansky knife sharpening kit (only used once....too much blood involved).  Found a Garcia-Mitchell 308 spinning reel I used as a teenager.   So many treasures, so little time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 07, 2013, 07:46:39 AM
I was down there again this morning sorting things out.  'Found' some sort of test instrument my father purloined from his AF career.  Can't quite make out what it does, could be a pre-historic battery checker used in the 50's.  Found my old IBM test meter complete with case (no leads though, but does have the IBM logo on the front).  Found a Lansky knife sharpening kit (only used once....too much blood involved).  Found a Garcia-Mitchell 308 spinning reel I used as a teenager.   So many treasures, so little time.

Most of my teen year treasures were thrown out by my mom after I joined the Army and my mom and dad moved. Don't worry, I found them again. My mom and dad, not my treasures.    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on July 07, 2013, 12:04:28 PM
So, Jim, whatcha doing with the Lansky?  Best system ever...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 08, 2013, 05:05:11 AM
It was gathering dust in the archives.  Forgot I even had it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on July 13, 2013, 09:23:19 PM
Water pressure went way down tonight. Walked up the street - main was broken and a crew was putting a clamp on it. Enough excitement.
Geeezzz...my life is boring!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on July 13, 2013, 10:44:22 PM
A thread about nothing at all?   That's really something.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on July 13, 2013, 10:47:48 PM
What is todays "Sum of Nothing"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 14, 2013, 05:27:58 AM
bho
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on July 14, 2013, 08:59:25 AM
I put the stock exhaust on the bike to ship it to Italy, after riding it for a bit and getting used to it, I reinstalled the V&H CS One today. Man what a difference, not annoyingly loud but it does have a nice deep, throaty growl to it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 14, 2013, 10:33:27 AM
Filled out a police form to stop my idiot in-laws from calling my house.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 14, 2013, 07:11:00 PM
The ubiquitous bar code is printed on just about everything these days. In fact, I don't think you could retail items without a bar code- how would one check the item out of the store?

The origins of the bar code system are interesting; they of course started off being used on the sides of railroad cars. Railroad cars? Yep, railroad cars. They were used in an automated system where rail cars carried a steel plate on each side, and on that plate were individual bands of specific colors and patterns. See here: http://www.nakina.net/other/aci/aci.html (http://www.nakina.net/other/aci/aci.html)  The plates were scanned by an automated system as the cars passed, and the data collected. The system was in use as early as the 1960's, which actually predates the microprocessor, but was eventually discarded due to the difficulty in reading dirty, damaged or even missing bar codes.

As to modern bar codes on things like consumer products, well that started with Wrigley's chewing gum, the very first mass produced item to carry a modern bar code- back in 1974, long before there was anything in the way of automated scanning systems to read it.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on July 14, 2013, 10:29:02 PM
Go figure, eh? ;D
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chl=A+thread+about+nothing+at+all%21%21&chs=200x200&cht=qr&chld=H%7C0 (http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chl=A+thread+about+nothing+at+all%21%21&chs=200x200&cht=qr&chld=H%7C0)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 15, 2013, 04:44:51 AM
My neighbor has been putting a new roof on his two story house, he does this for a living. He fell off the roof yesterday, from the second story to the first. I ended up having to call 911 for the ambulance. His wife and son (his son is a trained EMT first responder) were seeing to him on the roof of the first story. He seemed to be unconscious for a little while but came around and climbed down the ladder on his own. The EMTs were checking him out and he seemed to be ok, at first. Then he collapsed and they took him away on a backboard. I really hope that he's going to be ok. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 15, 2013, 05:59:54 AM
He falls off roofs for a living?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on July 15, 2013, 06:49:10 AM
He falls off roofs for a living?

Gotta be a better way to earn a paycheck....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 15, 2013, 08:37:45 AM
He falls off roofs for a living?

Gotta be a better way to earn a paycheck....

He's not all that good at it but he did make a lot of noise on the way down!   :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 15, 2013, 08:45:32 AM
Hopefully he'll pull through, though.  Falling two stories can hurt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 19, 2013, 07:49:31 PM
Doing a software upgrade in Blackstone, VA this evening and tomorrow.  Damn DVD unit up and died.  Reads CDs but not DVDs.  I think it's got snooty.  Called IBM and they're bringing a new unit in tomorrow morning.  Going to set me back a few hours.  I hate it when that happens.  Pisses me right royally.

Before the checkpoint, I passed several signs stating 'Tank Crossing'.  You don't see that every day.  Also got to see some tanks just hanging.  Them suckers are big!  This was going through Camp Pickett...

On the way to the hotel on 40 east I got stopped by a checkpoint manned by Sheriff's deputies (that's right Max, Sheriff's deputies).  They weren't busy and I'm really glad I didn't have a beer with that meal in Blackstone.

Saw a maroon C14 on 360 heading towards Richmond on the way to Blackstone.

Not riding.  Thought it was going to rain.  :doh: :censored:     Just as well, I had too much equipment to tote around.  Needed it too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 23, 2013, 10:01:34 AM
Is there anyone beside me who doesn't give two shits about the new royal baby?

"World awaits first glimpse of Kate and William's royal baby boy"

 ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on July 23, 2013, 10:23:38 AM
did you wave on Friday?  Your picture was being taken.... from a long, long way away.

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68899000/jpg/_68899415_68899414.jpg)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23419543 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23419543)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 23, 2013, 10:43:58 AM
did you wave on Friday?  Your picture was being taken.... from a long, long way away.

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68899000/jpg/_68899415_68899414.jpg)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23419543 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23419543)


I gave Saturn the finger, and not my ring finger either.  ;D

If you squint and look really close at the pic, you can see me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 23, 2013, 10:52:29 AM

If you squint and look really close at the pic, you can see me.

I did, and I gave you the finger.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 23, 2013, 10:56:38 AM
 >:(     :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 23, 2013, 11:01:52 AM
And not my ring finger either. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on July 23, 2013, 02:11:57 PM
Is there anyone beside me who doesn't give two shits about the new royal baby?

 ???

Are you talking about that Fred guy that use to be on here?  :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 23, 2013, 02:40:35 PM
???

Are you talking about that Fred guy that use to be on here?  :-\

 :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:
 :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 23, 2013, 05:36:40 PM
Hey, what's it called when the shower curtain wraps inward around you instead of hanging straight when you are taking a shower? I hate that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 23, 2013, 06:41:28 PM
Is there anyone beside me who doesn't give two shits about the new royal baby?

"World awaits first glimpse of Kate and William's royal baby boy"

 ::)

 >:(   I thought a bit more about this and  :battle:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 23, 2013, 06:44:02 PM
There ya' go- I didn't fix it up for ya' but I did make it more amusing....

Brian


<snip>

....hanging straight when you are taking a shower? I hate that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 23, 2013, 07:38:52 PM
So, I amuse you like a clown? ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 23, 2013, 07:43:04 PM
 :rotflmao:   This is getting good...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 23, 2013, 08:05:30 PM
You wanting to start something here? ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on July 23, 2013, 10:30:00 PM
Looking at a dual flush toilet. Going to try the Toto Rowan. Any comments? Maybe I should rephrase that...anybody have one?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 24, 2013, 04:28:31 AM
>:(   I thought a bit more about this and  :battle:

There's your problem right there...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 24, 2013, 04:30:29 PM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 06, 2013, 04:11:02 AM
I'm watching the Endeavour detective series (Inspector Morse as a young detective constable) on Masterpiece Theatre.  It takes place in early 60's Oxford.  The music is phenomenal as is the cinematography (typical of British TV shows).  It's really making me nostalgic for the mother country as I was there during that time period as a kid at RAF Upper Heyford.  I keep expecting to see contrails and hear the jet noise of SAC Reflex B-47s stationed there during the height of the Cold War.  Heck, I may have even been to Oxford at that time (if so, I don't remember it, unfortunately).  They mentioned Biscester last night.  We used to go there for shopping and to catch the train to Ipswich and London.  Sigh....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 12, 2013, 05:21:04 AM
I was working in the yard yesterday and I found a 1875 Indian Head penny. It's of no great value but it's a cool find none the less.    :)

The one I found doesn't look anywhere near as good as this but you get the idea.

(http://www.coinstudy.com/image-files/1875-indian-head-penny-value-top.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 12, 2013, 06:08:07 AM
My advice....if you found that, the pot of gold could be very nearby.  Get yourself a metal detector and start digging up your yard.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 12, 2013, 08:31:28 AM
My advice....if you found that, the pot of gold could be very nearby.  Get yourself a metal detector and start digging up your yard.

My wife suggested that as a retirement hobby.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 12, 2013, 10:21:27 AM
Why wait?  Those detectors aren't that high...I say do it!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 12, 2013, 10:49:00 AM
Why wait?  Those detectors aren't that high...I say do it!

As long as I can wear black socks with sandals while searching for treasure, I'm in!    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 12, 2013, 10:58:05 AM
Mergers suck. No matter how exciting it seems, I think they just suck.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 12, 2013, 11:20:02 AM
As long as I can wear black socks with sandals while searching for treasure, I'm in!    :o

With all the money you'll find, you can afford to not wear socks!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 12, 2013, 11:28:01 AM
With all the money you'll find, you can afford to not wear socks!

 :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on August 12, 2013, 07:03:40 PM
Mergers suck. No matter how exciting it seems, I think they just suck.

Are Coke and Pepsi merging?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 13, 2013, 04:43:47 AM
Shudder the thought...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 13, 2013, 04:54:06 AM
Are Coke and Pepsi merging?

What would they call it, Poke?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 13, 2013, 05:04:49 AM
That name has been taken.  There can be no other 'Poke'.  I won't allow it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 13, 2013, 05:32:07 AM
Why is it that so many companies are touting their use of sea salt these days, as if it's healthier? Doesn't all salt come from the sea? 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 13, 2013, 05:35:43 AM
I use both sea and Kosher salts...but yes, you're right, they all came from a sea or ocean at some point before they reached the shaker.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on August 13, 2013, 07:01:09 AM
"Salt is generally produced one of three ways: deep-shaft mining, solution mining or solar evaporation."
ref http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/Education%20and%20Fun%20Where%20Salt%20Comes%20From.html (http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/Education%20and%20Fun%20Where%20Salt%20Comes%20From.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 13, 2013, 08:34:43 AM
"Salt is generally produced one of three ways: deep-shaft mining, solution mining or solar evaporation."
ref http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/Education%20and%20Fun%20Where%20Salt%20Comes%20From.html (http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/Education%20and%20Fun%20Where%20Salt%20Comes%20From.html)

I know of the salt mines but originally, that salt came from a ocean. All salt is sea salt.

I took a look at that link and the very first sentence needs some work.

"Salt is one of the few useful and abundant minerals on earth."

So there are only a few useful minerals on earth?     :o

Did you know that under the city of Detroit (and the great lakes) is one of the largest, if not THE largest, salt deposits in the world?

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/anthropology-and-history/news-salt-city-1200-feet-beneath-detroit (http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/anthropology-and-history/news-salt-city-1200-feet-beneath-detroit)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 14, 2013, 11:45:50 AM
Trader Joe's Wasabi Wow trail mix is some damn good stuff!

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iynFOVMUL._SX300_.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on August 15, 2013, 10:19:13 AM
Trader Joe's Wasabi Wow trail mix is some damn good stuff!

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51iynFOVMUL._SX300_.jpg)

Aldi's carries Southern Grove's Trail Mix that is fine snacking too.
(http://aldi.us/us/media/offers/01_10_05_16/051910_5072_TrailMix_D.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 15, 2013, 10:21:33 AM
Aldi's carries Southern Grove's Trail Mix that is fine snacking too.
(http://aldi.us/us/media/offers/01_10_05_16/051910_5072_TrailMix_D.jpg)

I saw that wasabi mix at Aldi's last week when my wife and I were there. I was wondering if it was any good. Thanks for the tip.    :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on August 15, 2013, 12:25:43 PM
Cracker nuts....battered peanuts deep fried in butter...best snack ever.

(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9030/c157bbac1ce1a3025444822.jpg)

(http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/DSC01862v.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 15, 2013, 01:19:59 PM
That sounds good Mac!

I just checked and Amazon sells 'em.

They even have BBQ flavor.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511HnxUETLL._SL500_SS100_.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on August 16, 2013, 11:36:46 AM
Adobo is the best!!!


Used to get them at the little Korean grocer that sold me kimchi and 'cooking' wine (soju) for less than a buck a bag. Now I depend on Amazon for just about everything I can no longer find locally.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on August 16, 2013, 11:43:29 AM
Wish my 20 year old boy would take some of this advice.


Ashton Kutcher Acceptance Speech - Teen Choice Awards 2013 (High Quality) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuBSRC1zpHw#ws)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 16, 2013, 12:04:24 PM
Ain't that the truth.  I wish I had bought stock when they were less well known.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 16, 2013, 12:07:08 PM
Wish my 20 year old boy would take some of this advice.


Ashton Kutcher Acceptance Speech - Teen Choice Awards 2013 (High Quality) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuBSRC1zpHw#ws)

Wait, a Hollywood person giving good real world advice and making sense? Who-duh-thunk-it?     :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on August 16, 2013, 03:12:45 PM
WOW, I always thought he was a tool. I will eat those words cause that is some good advice to throw out, especially at the Teen Choice Awards.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on August 16, 2013, 09:18:05 PM
Very cool. Going to pass that on to my kids.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 23, 2013, 09:18:49 AM
In my little town yesterday my weather station reported that we had 5 inches of rain in less than 6 hours (verified by another weather station) and at 6:20a the rain rate was 4.8 inches/hour. It was flat out pouring man!!!    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 23, 2013, 09:26:46 AM
Aldi's carries Southern Grove's Trail Mix that is fine snacking too.
(http://aldi.us/us/media/offers/01_10_05_16/051910_5072_TrailMix_D.jpg)

I got couple bags of the Aldi stuff. It was less expensive than the Trader Joe's stuff. I haven't tasted it yet though. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 05, 2013, 09:43:29 AM
They're building a new police station across the street from the building I work in, it's near completion.

You'll never guess what else is being built less than a block away.

Dunkin Donuts.    :)

Coincidence? I think not...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2013, 04:52:58 AM
no riding today. Snow and rain for most of the day. No accumulation but the roads are gonna be nasty.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 22, 2013, 04:56:46 AM
the BEARS lost..  And I just figured out how to run my Fujitsu fi-4120C in XP mode on my Win7 PC at home.  I must say that I like it alot!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2013, 05:16:41 AM
the BEARS lost..  And I just figured out how to run my Fujitsu fi-4120C in XP mode on my Win7 PC at home.  I must say that I like it alot!

Yes Jim, thank for that football report, I already knew. I didn't get to watch the game but I did listen to it on the radio while driving back from Door County, Wisconsin. The Fall colors up there were amazing!

[smg id=596]

Why would you want to use XP mode? I just got a new laptop too. Dell 15R w/win7 pro. I like it a lot too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 22, 2013, 07:10:00 AM
No scanner drivers for the Fujitsu on W7...and it's such a nice scanner.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 22, 2013, 11:09:16 AM
no riding today. Snow and rain for most of the day. No accumulation but the roads are gonna be nasty.


Bummer for you C, low 70's blue sky and full sun here in the beautiful PNW.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2013, 11:11:04 AM

Bummer for you C, low 70's blue sky and full sun here in the beautiful PNW.  8)

It's snowing right at the moment and the temp is a balmy 35.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 22, 2013, 11:12:17 AM
It's snowing right at the moment and the temp is a balmy 35.


 :o    :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on October 22, 2013, 11:18:04 AM

Bummer for you C, low 70's blue sky and full sun here in the beautiful PNW.  8)
It is very odd to hear "no rain in the seven day forecast" every morning in October. The bike is going to see lots of pavement this winter if this keeps up.  :thumbs:

I am almost as happy as this girl.

(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y462/staffpicks/Animated_GIFs/so_excited.gif) (http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/staffpicks/media/Animated_GIFs/so_excited.gif.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 22, 2013, 11:25:29 AM
It's snowing right at the moment and the temp is a balmy 35.
65 and sunny down south
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on October 22, 2013, 11:30:53 AM
Cat went in for surgery today. Bladder stones. I can't believe, I'm like a worried father.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2013, 11:43:32 AM
It is very odd to hear "no rain in the seven day forecast" every morning in October. The bike is going to see lots of pavement this winter if this keeps up.  :thumbs:

I am almost as happy as this girl.

(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y462/staffpicks/Animated_GIFs/so_excited.gif) (http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/staffpicks/media/Animated_GIFs/so_excited.gif.html)

Wow, she IS happy!   :P

She must have heard that I only have 40 days left to work till I retire.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2013, 11:44:21 AM
Cat went in for surgery today. Bladder stones. I can't believe, I'm like a worried father.

God luck to your cat B!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on October 22, 2013, 11:52:17 AM
Thanks Conrad.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on October 22, 2013, 02:08:41 PM
Just heard from the doctor. Surgery went well and she is up and alert. I get to pick her up later today, she must be isolated so the other kitties don't try to beat her up like they usually do. :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 22, 2013, 02:16:24 PM
Just heard from the doctor. Surgery went well and she is up and alert. I get to pick her up later today, she must be isolated so the other kitties don't try to beat her up like they usually do. :)

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 22, 2013, 04:46:35 PM
It is very odd to hear "no rain in the seven day forecast" every morning in October. The bike is going to see lots of pavement this winter if this keeps up.  :thumbs:

I am almost as happy as this girl.

(http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/y462/staffpicks/Animated_GIFs/so_excited.gif) (http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/staffpicks/media/Animated_GIFs/so_excited.gif.html)


 :P ;D


She makes me happy.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 22, 2013, 04:47:54 PM
Just heard from the doctor. Surgery went well and she is up and alert. I get to pick her up later today, she must be isolated so the other kitties don't try to beat her up like they usually do. :)


 :thumbs: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 29, 2013, 04:55:16 AM
I just replaced the fan in my Lenovo T60P.  I feel pretty good about it.  Only took two weeks of procrastination which is not bad for me.  There's a bazillion screws of all sizes that you have to take loose and I only had one long left over.  It works and the fan is now silent and operational.  I only wish I could find the external power supply now.. :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on October 29, 2013, 08:57:48 AM
32 degrees and an absolutely gorgeous ride in this morning.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on October 29, 2013, 09:33:13 AM
32 degrees and an absolutely gorgeous ride in this morning.  8)


+1...  :) :thumbs: :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on October 29, 2013, 12:17:02 PM
30 and awesome here ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 29, 2013, 01:28:03 PM
63 here and a beautiful day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2013, 06:49:24 AM
I have no clue why my 3-way fl bulb in my table lamp unscrews enough so that it doesn't work.  I have to keep tightening it up.  What's up with that?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 07, 2013, 08:56:39 AM
Heat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2013, 09:06:25 AM
Heat what?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 07, 2013, 09:20:49 AM
When the lamp turns on, the parts of the bulb base and socket heat up, causing them to expand. However, not all parts heat at the same rate. In addition, the parts are made from different materials which have different expansion charactistics. Thus the parts change size, but not in perfect synchronization, which creates internal stresses that push on the bulb, loosening it or tightening it.
http://windypundit.com/2007/02/the_mystery_of_the_selfunscrew/ (http://windypundit.com/2007/02/the_mystery_of_the_selfunscrew/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2013, 09:25:16 AM
Gotcha..hmmm strange though, it's the only one that does it but it's the only 3-way I use.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on November 07, 2013, 12:23:39 PM
Gotcha..hmmm strange though, it's the only one that does it but it's the only 3-way I use.

Maybe you should use only 2 of the 'ways' from now on.  Less heat that way...     :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 07, 2013, 12:31:41 PM
You don't hear Mrs. VirginiaJim laughing just a little bit everytime you have to tighten that thing? Wake up man, someone is pulling your chain!

Brian

I have no clue why my 3-way fl bulb in my table lamp unscrews enough so that it doesn't work.  I have to keep tightening it up.  What's up with that?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 07, 2013, 12:34:04 PM
Yeah, you'd think physics would be a bit more evenly spread out.... Maybe you've got one of those spots like on 'My Cousin Vinnie' where the laws of physics cease to exist at that top of that particular lamp?

Let's not go any further with the "3 way" thing, OK?

 :rotflmao:

Brian

Gotcha..hmmm strange though, it's the only one that does it but it's the only 3-way I use.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2013, 01:03:54 PM
Twit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 07, 2013, 01:06:47 PM
Yeah, you'd think physics would be a bit more evenly spread out.... Maybe you've got one of those spots like on 'My Cousin Vinnie' where the laws of physics cease to exist at that top of that particular lamp?

Let's not go any further with the "3 way" thing, OK?

 :rotflmao:

Brian

Are you thinking that perhaps there's a quantum bubble around Jim's lamp?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2013, 01:44:14 PM
And this is why I like it here.  I'm surrounded by Twits valued members of the forum.. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 07, 2013, 02:15:10 PM
And this is why I like it here.  I'm surrounded by Twits valued members of the forum.. ;)

Be vewy vewy careful Jim. I'm sure that there's room inside of that bubble for you and the lamp!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2013, 02:25:35 PM
You're probably right.  I sit right next to it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 07, 2013, 09:16:44 PM
Nah, just Jim screwin' around with the bulb.

 ;D

MVI_2713.AVI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZkbtP-t_D8#)

And it is still funny after all these years.

Brian

Are you thinking that perhaps there's a quantum bubble around Jim's lamp?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 12, 2013, 04:41:12 AM
We had our first real snowfall yesterday. The day started out around 45 (I rode) and ended up falling to around 25 by sundown with a BUNCH of snow. It's 15f right now with lots of snow and ice on the roads. No riding today.   :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 12, 2013, 04:47:26 AM
You know, it just feels like this is going to be a snowy winter compared to last year which was about zilch for us.  I've already started getting the snow blower ready...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 12, 2013, 05:10:30 AM
You know, it just feels like this is going to be a snowy winter compared to last year which was about zilch for us.  I've already started getting the snow blower ready...

I hope that you're right Jim. I pulled the snowmobiles out of the garage last weekend and they're both ready to roll.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 12, 2013, 05:14:34 AM
bah humbug
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 12, 2013, 05:34:38 AM
I don't usually get that attitude until just after Thanksgiving..  Bit early for that just yet....but I do appreciate the sentiment.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 12, 2013, 05:39:43 AM
No sense in putting off til tomorrow what you can do today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 12, 2013, 08:31:13 AM
No sense in putting off til tomorrow what you can do today.

Why not? I might be retired tomorrow and have more time. (26 more working days  ;D )
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 12, 2013, 09:04:58 AM
Maybe you can help Jim with those Shelf Cages.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 12, 2013, 09:07:37 AM
Maybe you can help Jim with those Shelf Cages.

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 12, 2013, 03:58:11 PM
I just found an old can of Huberds shoe grease (last used around 1980 on a pair of corks).  Gonna break in a new pair of Aerostitch Combat Lights tomorrow and the grease just works miracles.  Paid $2.30 at a local Ernst store, smells just as good today as it did back then :) 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 12, 2013, 04:08:18 PM
Will need a report on the boots. What sole did you get?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 12, 2013, 04:13:43 PM
Wedge.  Buddy rode down to Socal a few weeks ago, rained on him until he was clear of Orygun (left from Tacoma WA), he was wearing his 'Stitch, Shoei, Hippo Hands on the bars, and the only thing that stayed dry were his boots.  Yep, I'm sold.  Small enough to fit under the pants legs, heavy leather, easy on and off, and they don't make you look like ricky racer.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 12, 2013, 04:24:52 PM
Thanks. Really interested in allday comfort after breakin.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 12, 2013, 09:03:13 PM
Hiring people on CL is a crap shoot. The first one (after looking at several replies from totally unqualified people) worked the first day, said he liked the job and never came back. Lent him a cell phone which I will never see again. The second one (after many replies as above) came in for an interview, said great, see you in the AM. Never showed up. His wife answered the phone and had no idea where he went at 6 AM. Third one is supposed to show up at 9 AM tomorrow. We'll see.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 12, 2013, 09:24:02 PM
It works both ways; I spoke with a gentleman with whom I thought I could do business that would be beneficial to both of us. He set a date to call me back Sat. so we could work on the NDA's and so forth- according to my sundial, Saturday is almost over and in 40 minutes it will be Wednesday. People are same all over; no dignity, no pride, not even close to being forthright. But nevertheless, I will not stoop to their level and continue to conduct business as fairly and evenhandedly as I know how to do.

Brian

Hiring people on CL is a crap shoot. The first one (after looking at several replies from totally unqualified people) worked the first day, said he liked the job and never came back. Lent him a cell phone which I will never see again. The second one (after many replies as above) came in for an interview, said great, see you in the AM. Never showed up. His wife answered the phone and had no idea where he went at 6 AM. Third one is supposed to show up at 9 AM tomorrow. We'll see.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 12, 2013, 10:27:53 PM
It works both ways; I spoke with a gentleman with whom I thought I could do business that would be beneficial to both of us. He set a date to call me back Sat. so we could work on the NDA's and so forth- according to my sundial, Saturday is almost over and in 40 minutes it will be Wednesday. People are same all over; no dignity, no pride, not even close to being forthright. But nevertheless, I will not stoop to their level and continue to conduct business as fairly and evenhandedly as I know how to do.

Brian

Amen. Wanna job?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 13, 2013, 04:31:36 AM
Amen. Wanna job?

 :rotflmao:

Did you try calling the guy who has your phone?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 13, 2013, 06:08:35 AM
Maybe. Are you honest, hard- working, forthright and filled with dignity?

Oh yeah, and are you willing to travel?

Brian

Amen. Wanna job?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 13, 2013, 06:09:12 AM
Sorry Conrad, missed that one....?

Brian

:rotflmao:

Did you try calling the guy who has your phone?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 13, 2013, 08:59:09 AM
Sorry Conrad, missed that one....?

Brian

I was laughing about the job reply and the phone question was for Gsun, see post #1122.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 13, 2013, 10:56:15 PM
:rotflmao:

Did you try calling the guy who has your phone?
Yup. All I got was my own voicemail!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on November 13, 2013, 10:58:12 PM
Hiring people on CL is a crap shoot. The first one (after looking at several replies from totally unqualified people) worked the first day, said he liked the job and never came back. Lent him a cell phone which I will never see again. The second one (after many replies as above) came in for an interview, said great, see you in the AM. Never showed up. His wife answered the phone and had no idea where he went at 6 AM. Third one is supposed to show up at 9 AM tomorrow. We'll see.....
The third guy never showed up.  >:( Called a fourth and he was over for a talk in 20 minutes. See if he shows up in the AM.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 15, 2013, 11:11:40 AM
Earned my first performance award in a long while this morning. Crossing the Bay Bridge in SF this morning in my Mustang. caught me doing 71 in a 50 which is quite common of all traffic crossing the bridge, however that's no excuse. Had to cross all the way to Treasure Island before he had me pull off. Very polite CHP on a BMW Moto. Wrote me up for 71 in a 65. Very nice gesture, sincrerely, thanks officer. Had me back on my way, with my new performance award. Oh well.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 15, 2013, 11:41:28 AM
Will need a report on the boots. What sole did you get?
Working nicely, got called in to cover a BRC class yesterday.  It was wet , feet stayed dry and relatively speaking comfortable.  Ride home I felt a bit of a pinch in the ankle area, but to be expected until they are truly broke in, which these boots really do require.  No instant tennis shoe feeling with these boots.  More to come as I wear them more often, but I think these will become my street boot of choice.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 15, 2013, 12:01:26 PM
Earned my first performance award in a long while this morning. Crossing the Bay Bridge in SF this morning in my Mustang. caught me doing 71 in a 50 which is quite common of all traffic crossing the bridge, however that's no excuse. Had to cross all the way to Treasure Island before he had me pull off. Very polite CHP on a BMW Moto. Wrote me up for 71 in a 65. Very nice gesture, sincrerely, thanks officer. Had me back on my way, with my new performance award. Oh well.

No radar detector for the cage?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 15, 2013, 12:03:18 PM
Yes, but I almost never use it for commuting because everone drives like maniacs here.
Plus he got me from behind on Lidar.
Hard to catch that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 15, 2013, 12:16:34 PM
Oops.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 15, 2013, 02:23:52 PM
Working nicely, got called in to cover a BRC class yesterday.  It was wet , feet stayed dry and relatively speaking comfortable.  Ride home I felt a bit of a pinch in the ankle area, but to be expected until they are truly broke in, which these boots really do require.  No instant tennis shoe feeling with these boots.  More to come as I wear them more often, but I think these will become my street boot of choice.
Thanks for the update.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 15, 2013, 02:25:23 PM
Wait a minute, are there all Canadians you are dealing with? If so then......

 ;D

Brian

The third guy never showed up.  >:( Called a fourth and he was over for a talk in 20 minutes. See if he shows up in the AM.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 24, 2013, 10:46:34 PM
So I was given a book set a while ago; a bit of an American classic: 'The Civil War  A Narrative' by Shelby Foote. It is a three volume, hard cover set (I am in the second book and things are beginning to turn). But the interesting thing is that this American classics, about perhaps the most pivotal event in all of American history, and unique to America..... was printed in China.

Now I understand why that happened- it was cheaper that way and we consumers want the lowest possible prices. So blame aside, I still have to shake my head at the irony of the people who printed this fantastic work could not read any of it.

Things that make you say 'uhmmmmmm'.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 25, 2013, 04:06:46 AM
At least you didn't get the Engrish version.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 25, 2013, 04:05:46 PM
Nope- actually the printing is really quite good, as is the binding and overall workmanship. Hey, not blaming anyone here as we all want everything as inexpensive as possible so that is what drives everything offshore. And not complaining, just pointing out the irony.

Brian

At least you didn't get the Engrish version.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rhhall on November 25, 2013, 05:17:25 PM
Why not? I might be retired tomorrow and have more time. (26 more working days  ;D )
Congrats
I threw in the towel earlier this year :cool:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 26, 2013, 04:30:07 AM
Congrats
I threw in the towel earlier this year :cool:

Thanks!

Congrats to you as well.

16 more working days.    ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 26, 2013, 06:29:14 AM
0.25 more working days if you subtract the forum time....

 :rotflmao:

Brian

Thanks!

Congrats to you as well.

16 more working days.    ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 26, 2013, 08:14:04 AM
0.25 more working days if you subtract the forum time....

 :rotflmao:

Brian

That's because of my incredible efficiency.   :salute:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 26, 2013, 09:20:07 AM
That's because of my incredible efficiency.   :salute:
Just watch, once them works days are gone there will be large gaping holes in your posts on the forum.  I recommend extending your stay at work, say another 5 years?  Yes, that will work.  We have already informed your employers and they concur.  Your retirement papers have already been shredded and the self winding Timex watch has been returned :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 26, 2013, 09:25:07 AM
Totally sucks when Finance says no to purchasing IT items, but who gets to let the requestor know? Oh that would be IT. Who looks bad when I can't buy those items for them. Oh that would be IT.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 26, 2013, 09:58:13 AM
Just watch, once them works days are gone there will be large gaping holes in your posts on the forum.  I recommend extending your stay at work, say another 5 years?  Yes, that will work.  We have already informed your employers and they concur.  Your retirement papers have already been shredded and the self winding Timex watch has been returned :)

Had I known about the free watch I might have retired sooner. You're right about the gaping holes in my posts once I retire. When my time is my own, I'll have better things to do.  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 26, 2013, 09:59:03 AM
Better than us? Including Kirby? He's gonna' be hurt when I tell him you said that....

Brian

Had I known about the free watch I might have retired sooner. You're right about the gaping holes in my posts once I retire. When my time is my own, I'll have better things to do.  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 26, 2013, 10:01:22 AM
Better than us? Including Kirby? He's gonna' be hurt when I tell him you said that....

Brian

Oh crap, don't tell him I said that Brian!

Maybe this will make Kirby feel better?

Kung Fu squirrel?
(http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2013-11/enhanced/webdr01/21/11/anigif_enhanced-buzz-26888-1385050888-30.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 26, 2013, 10:08:58 AM
See? You really didn't mean it.... I knew it!  :grouphug:

And the video is kinda' funny. :-)

Brian

Oh crap, don't tell him I said that Brian!

Maybe this will make Kirby feel better?

Kung Fu squirrel?
(http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2013-11/enhanced/webdr01/21/11/anigif_enhanced-buzz-26888-1385050888-30.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 26, 2013, 12:33:38 PM
I'll be so glad when Saturday rolls around. I'm sick to death of hearing about Black Friday.    :o

We don't take part in this ridiculous feeding frenzy.  ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 26, 2013, 12:45:50 PM
I'll be so glad when Saturday rolls around. I'm sick to death of hearing about Black Friday.    :o

We don't take part in this ridiculous feeding frenzy.  ::)
I'm heading for the trails on Friday, should be void of the masses :) 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 27, 2013, 06:44:10 AM
Be careful out there SOP.

I'm roasting chestnuts (Italian  :_shudder_Emoticon It's all I could find) in order to prep for my Thanksgiving brussel sprouts ala Gordon Ramsey.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 27, 2013, 08:57:00 AM
Be careful out there SOP.

I'm roasting chestnuts (Italian  :_shudder_Emoticon It's all I could find) in order to prep for my Thanksgiving brussel sprouts ala Gordon Ramsey.

I love me some brussel sprouts! Let's see that recipe J.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 27, 2013, 12:20:24 PM
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/531424/brussels-sprouts-with-pancetta (http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/531424/brussels-sprouts-with-pancetta)

Enjoy.  I'm doing his Christmas turkey recipe tomorrow...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 27, 2013, 12:43:19 PM
Hey Jim, I can't see the pic in your signautre any longer.
Red X.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 27, 2013, 12:55:40 PM
Hmmm, I can still see it.  Anyone else have that issue with seeing my pic in the signature line?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 27, 2013, 01:05:56 PM
Hey Jim,

I can't see the message you typed. And your sig. image is gone too.

 :rotflmao:

Nope, image is still there for me.

Brent, pay your internet bill and I betcha' the image comes back.  ;)

Brian

Hmmm, I can still see it.  Anyone else have that issue with seeing my pic in the signature line?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on November 27, 2013, 01:17:29 PM
DOH!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 27, 2013, 01:46:07 PM
No DOH' here....

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/InternetBillPaid.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/InternetBillPaid.jpg.html)

???????

Brian

DOH!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 27, 2013, 01:52:25 PM
Maybe Jim didn't pay HIS internet bill and they are slowly chocking down the  amount of data he can send out?

Brian

DOH!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 28, 2013, 07:09:03 AM
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/531424/brussels-sprouts-with-pancetta (http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/531424/brussels-sprouts-with-pancetta)

Enjoy.  I'm doing his Christmas turkey recipe tomorrow...

Hold on thar!

Ingredients
1kg Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1–2 tsp olive oil
200g pancetta, cut into lardons
200g vacuum-packed chestnuts
2 lemons

WTF is pancetta and how is it cut into lardons? Lardons do not sound appealing at all. Is that anything like a clingon?  :o    :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 28, 2013, 07:30:12 AM
I'll be so glad when Saturday rolls around. I'm sick to death of hearing about Black Friday.    :o

We don't take part in this ridiculous feeding frenzy.  ::)

I said that I wouldn't participate in the feeding frenzy that is black Friday.   :o

Ok, technically I didn't but this is a black Friday deal. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-11-drawer-3-piece-standard-duty-ball/p-009CO53323312B?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2 (http://www.sears.com/craftsman-11-drawer-3-piece-standard-duty-ball/p-009CO53323312B?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2)

$200 
(http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/i/spin/image/spin_prod_821857712?hei=350&wid=350&op_sharpen=1&qlt=100)

Less than half price for a good tool box that I need/want badly. I didn't even have to leave the house or the comfort of my office chair.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 28, 2013, 07:56:56 AM
Hold on thar!

Ingredients
1kg Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1–2 tsp olive oil
200g pancetta, cut into lardons
200g vacuum-packed chestnuts
2 lemons

WTF is pancetta and how is it cut into lardons? Lardons do not sound appealing at all. Is that anything like a clingon?  :o    :pukeface:

Pancetta is a type of bacon and a lardon is cubed, I think.  I bought the pancetta already cubed at one of our finer grocery stores.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 28, 2013, 07:58:04 AM
I said that I wouldn't participate in the feeding frenzy that is black Friday.   :o

Ok, technically I didn't but this is a black Friday deal. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-11-drawer-3-piece-standard-duty-ball/p-009CO53323312B?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2 (http://www.sears.com/craftsman-11-drawer-3-piece-standard-duty-ball/p-009CO53323312B?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2)

$200 
(http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/i/spin/image/spin_prod_821857712?hei=350&wid=350&op_sharpen=1&qlt=100)

Less than half price for a good tool box that I need/want badly. I didn't even have to leave the house or the comfort of my office chair.   :)

That's my kind of shopping.  I wouldn't be caught dead at a mall this Friday which is why I'm riding as far away as I can....at least until I get to the bay.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 28, 2013, 08:41:46 PM
trying to steal my  :censored: ing bike!    ;D   ;D   ;D

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1454691_10200496514168870_985238756_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on November 28, 2013, 08:58:54 PM
trying to steal my  :censored: ing bike!    ;D   ;D   ;D

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1454691_10200496514168870_985238756_n.jpg)
Steve, did you end up getting washed in hot water?? ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on November 28, 2013, 09:31:14 PM
Steve, did you end up getting washed in hot water?? ;)

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/lol.gif) 

no sir!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on November 29, 2013, 09:33:08 AM
trying to steal my  :censored: ing bike!    ;D   ;D   ;D

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1454691_10200496514168870_985238756_n.jpg)


Very cool Steve!  :thumbs:




Is that Max?  ??? :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on December 02, 2013, 08:45:31 AM
Not another oil question:

(http://assets.amuniversal.com/57be8d30374501314779001dd8b71c47)

"Squeaky clean!"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on December 02, 2013, 11:13:02 AM
trying to steal my  :censored: ing bike!    ;D   ;D   ;D

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1454691_10200496514168870_985238756_n.jpg)

Caught my guy dreaming too.....

(Notice the Ottawa Sens Jersey...)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 04, 2013, 01:37:48 PM
My department had a retirement party/lunch for me here today.

They even had a cake with a big full face mc helmet on it, made out of icing of course. The helmet had a mohawk on it, I didn't mind since it was delicious.

 :D

11 more days. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 04, 2013, 01:50:59 PM
 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 04, 2013, 09:59:31 PM
My department had a retirement party/lunch for me here today.

They even had a cake with a big full face mc helmet on it, made out of icing of course. The helmet had a mohawk on it, I didn't mind since it was delicious.

 :D

11 more days.


Nice C!  :finger_fing11: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 05, 2013, 04:38:13 AM

Nice C!  :finger_fing11: :chugbeer:

I know it J! They were all waiting for me when I went upstairs. As I entered the room everyone stood up and gave me a round of applause. I was so touched that I almost didn't know what to say.  :D

They're taking me out for lunch and drinks a couple times before I leave too.    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 11, 2013, 04:45:34 AM
Two local Mensa candidates were arrested for burglarizing cars when LEOs followed their foot prints in the snow from the burglarized vehicles to the geniuses' front door.    ::) 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 11, 2013, 05:29:00 AM
I have met many high IQ people in my lifetime but their lack of common sense amazes me...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 11, 2013, 09:39:17 AM
Actually Jim, I was being facetious (can that be the word of the day?) about the Mensa candidate remark.    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on December 11, 2013, 10:53:04 AM
http://youtu.be/DbrIoPY4nO8 (http://youtu.be/DbrIoPY4nO8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 11, 2013, 12:11:58 PM
Actually Jim, I was being facetious (can that be the word of the day?) about the Mensa candidate remark.    ;)

Sure can C...   I was being truthful about some of the people I've met with very high IQs...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 11, 2013, 03:38:29 PM
Sure can C...   I was being truthful about some of the people I've met with very high IQs...

I know exactly what you mean. I work with a lot of people like that. Highly intelligent but only in a narrow range or field. Get outside of that range and they're lost. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 11, 2013, 03:44:19 PM
So, the deal has been set.  I will no longer be Silverdammit!!! as I have struck a deal for my beloved C14.  Getting a KTM520 that has been Motarded out and a VFR750.  I am also changing my mind about what color is faster, it is obviously somewhere between red and orange, with a touch of white, blue, and black ;D  To help settle the speed discrepancies we will have a run off, I choose the location, you choose the bike you desire to ride 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 11, 2013, 03:50:37 PM
So, the deal has been set.  I will no longer be Silverdammit!!! as I have struck a deal for my beloved C14.  Getting a KTM520 that has been Motarded out and a VFR750.  I am also changing my mind about what color is faster, it is obviously somewhere between red and orange, with a touch of white, blue, and black ;D  To help settle the speed discrepancies we will have a run off, I choose the location, you choose the bike you desire to ride 8)


 :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 11, 2013, 05:31:21 PM
Sigh...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on December 11, 2013, 10:38:21 PM
You can pry my C-14 from my....well you know!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 12, 2013, 04:41:27 AM
So, the deal has been set.  I will no longer be Silverdammit!!! as I have struck a deal for my beloved C14.  Getting a KTM520 that has been Motarded out and a VFR750.  I am also changing my mind about what color is faster, it is obviously somewhere between red and orange, with a touch of white, blue, and black ;D  To help settle the speed discrepancies we will have a run off, I choose the location, you choose the bike you desire to ride 8)

 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 12, 2013, 04:47:11 AM
4 new records were set last night on my two year old weather station.

lowest temp. -10f
lowest wind chill. -25f
lowest apparent temp. -20f
lowest dew point.  -22f

The good news is that it warmed up overnight, it's -5f now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 12, 2013, 06:05:32 AM
You can keep that weather on your side of the Appalachians..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 12, 2013, 08:27:11 AM
I'm sending it your way, Jim. Get ready.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 13, 2013, 04:08:59 AM
I don't want it.  Really, I don't.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 13, 2013, 04:33:07 AM
It's sposed to warm up to just under freezing tomorrow. I guess I should change Connie's oils and get her tucked in for her long winters nap.   :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on December 13, 2013, 06:25:00 AM
4 new records were set last night on my two year old weather station.

lowest temp. -10f
lowest wind chill. -25f
lowest apparent temp. -20f
lowest dew point.  -22f

The good news is that it warmed up overnight, it's -5f now.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/eek.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on December 15, 2013, 08:13:15 PM
2-wheel retro therapy tonight

(https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1509741_10201426288313764_2079176426_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on December 27, 2013, 10:57:28 PM
My sister-in-law makes the BEST pies I have ever had! Two apple pies for Christmas. Having a piece right now. Always thought my mother made a great pie, but nope! Not compared to these. And I get a New York style cheesecake with a shortbread crust for my birthday (Sunday). Mmmmm... ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 27, 2013, 11:41:03 PM
2-wheel retro therapy tonight

(https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1509741_10201426288313764_2079176426_n.jpg)


Mmmm... love the green wheels Steve!  8) :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 27, 2013, 11:41:55 PM
My sister-in-law makes the BEST pies I have ever had! Two apple pies for Christmas. Having a piece right now. Always thought my mother made a great pie, but nope! Not compared to these. And I get a New York style cheesecake with a shortbread crust for my birthday (Sunday). Mmmmm... ;D


Mmmm.... pie.  :P :) :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on December 28, 2013, 08:51:03 AM

Mmmm... love the green wheels Steve!  8) :thumbs:

Thanks  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on December 28, 2013, 08:51:47 AM
I'm starting the New Year with a ride to the Florida Everglades and mailing a letter from here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochopee_Post_Office (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochopee_Post_Office)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 29, 2013, 06:50:41 AM
I'm starting the New Year with a ride to the Florida Everglades and mailing a letter from here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochopee_Post_Office (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochopee_Post_Office)

An exciting day for you eh Steve?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on December 29, 2013, 12:52:48 PM
I am officially a senior today. 60. Looking forward to those discounts! Going to the garage to work on the bike....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on December 29, 2013, 01:00:44 PM
Well, hell, Happy Birthday to ya, I hear walking canes are %75 off for you old senior citizens and that 3 wheeled 'Wings come at a %15 discount ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on December 29, 2013, 02:11:03 PM
I am officially a senior today. 60. Looking forward to those discounts! Going to the garage to work on the bike....


Happy Birthday G!  :chugbeer:




(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/happybday_zps8616ba37.jpeg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/jaywilcox/media/happybday_zps8616ba37.jpeg.html)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on December 29, 2013, 04:06:45 PM

Happy Birthday G!  :chugbeer:




(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/happybday_zps8616ba37.jpeg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/jaywilcox/media/happybday_zps8616ba37.jpeg.html)

Pass the soap! ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 29, 2013, 04:47:58 PM
Drop the soap!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: freebird6 on December 29, 2013, 09:13:21 PM
Heck with soap....it's time for a good  rinse.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 02, 2014, 04:54:48 AM
Cold snap!

A high of 10 today and going down to MINUS 15 tonight. That's a might chilly but...

Monday's 'high' temp is sposed to me MINUS 10 and going down to minus 20 that night.    :o

That's brisk baby!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 02, 2014, 05:13:22 AM
Cold snap!

A high of 10 today and going down to MINUS 15 tonight. That's a might chilly but...

Monday's 'high' temp is sposed to me MINUS 10 and going down to minus 20 that night.    :o

That's brisk baby!
Sounds like snuggle time with the misses to me :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2014, 04:35:37 AM
Sounds like snuggle time with the misses to me :)

That's just about any time.    :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2014, 04:59:08 AM
I stopped off yesterday at my previous place of employment :) to sign some papers and to pick up my new retiree ID card and free retiree parking permit (that will allow me to park anywhere that I like on campus). After I got my parking permit I told that gal at the Parking Services window that I'll be needing a free permit for my bike as well. She says oh no, you'll have to pay for a MC permit, those aren't free.  :o

WTF? I can park my cage for free where ever I like but I can't get a free MC permit? Cheap bastards!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2014, 05:06:54 AM
Today1/3/2014 Hi: 11° Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Areas of blowing snow late in the afternoon. Blustery. Highs 11 to 15. Lowest wind chill readings 20 below to 30 below zero in the morning. South winds 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
 Lo: 11° Windy. Partly cloudy. Areas of blowing snow. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times. Lows 10 to 14. Wind chills as low as zero to 10 below zero. South winds 20 to 30 mph until early morning decreasing to 15 to 25 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph.

Saturday1/4/2014 Hi: 28° Areas of blowing snow with visibility one quarter mile or less at times early in the morning. Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of light snow. Blustery. Highs in the upper 20s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph early in the morning decreasing to 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in the late morning and early afternoon...then shifting to the northwest 10 to 15 mph late in the afternoon.
 Lo: 3° Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Lows zero to 4 above. Wind chills as low as 5 below to 15 below zero. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday1/5/2014 Hi: 7° Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs zero to 4 above. Wind chills as low as 10 below to 20 below zero. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.
 Lo: -14° Partly cloudy. Lows 17 to 21 below.


Monday1/6/2014 Hi: -10° Mostly cloudy. Highs 12 to 16 below.
 Lo: -17° Partly cloudy. Lows 17 to 21 below.


Tuesday1/7/2014 Hi: -3° Partly cloudy. Highs 3 to 7 below. Lows 8 to 12 below.
 Lo: -10° Partly cloudy. Highs 3 to 7 below. Lows 8 to 12 below.


Wednesday1/8/2014 Hi: 15° Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs 13 to 17.
 Lo: 9° Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow. Lows 9 to 13 above. Then temperatures becoming steady or slowly rising.

Thursday1/9/2014 Hi: 27° Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs in the upper 20s.

 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2014, 05:18:49 AM
I stopped off yesterday at my previous place of employment :) to sign some papers and to pick up my new retiree ID card and free retiree parking permit (that will allow me to park anywhere that I like on campus). After I got my parking permit I told that gal at the Parking Services window that I'll be needing a free permit for my bike as well. She says oh no, you'll have to pay for a MC permit, those aren't free.  :o

WTF? I can park my cage for free where ever I like but I can't get a free MC permit? Cheap bastards!

Bugs Bunny: This Means War (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8_GVfPuw4M#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2014, 05:24:00 AM
Bugs Bunny: This Means War (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8_GVfPuw4M#)

Exactly Jim! I'll be writing some letters and e-mails today.   >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 03, 2014, 07:01:53 AM
Wow, Conrad you have been retired, what.... like 2 days and are already suffering from 'old man' crankiness! Now get some pants that come up to your armpits and we'll call you Grandpa Simpson.

 :rotflmao:

It is odd that you cannot get a free pass for the bike but you can for the car. Maybe retirees on motorcycles have not been much of a problem in the past so it has not yet come up?

Brian

I stopped off yesterday at my previous place of employment :) to sign some papers and to pick up my new retiree ID card and free retiree parking permit (that will allow me to park anywhere that I like on campus). After I got my parking permit I told that gal at the Parking Services window that I'll be needing a free permit for my bike as well. She says oh no, you'll have to pay for a MC permit, those aren't free.  :o

WTF? I can park my cage for free where ever I like but I can't get a free MC permit? Cheap bastards!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 03, 2014, 07:55:20 AM
It was 7 F degrees last night, and dropped a bit of snow on us- maybe 5, or 6" of the finest power- it looks like talc and a snowblower turns the area into a 'white out'. It is supposed to go to -7 F tonight, which is about as cold as it gets around here so that might be out low for the year. After spending months using a lot of effort not to have the woodstove overpower the house (I hate having to open the door and chuck that excess heat), now I have to keep flogging it to hold the house at a reasonable temperature. In a week I will probably still be flogging it, the outside temp. will be 40 F and every living thing in the house will be begging for mercy.... :-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2014, 12:52:18 PM
Flogging it, eh?  Hope it holds up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 03, 2014, 03:02:11 PM
Well, not really flogging it as it has a 10 cu. ft. firebox.  :yikes:   But I am having to feet and water it more than usual and I like to preempt the temperature drop. When heating with wood, it is a lousy method to wonder if the stove needs any attention because you feel chilly- if the stove has really died down and is about out of fuel, it can be a long recovery. Much better to tend it first.

These are also the times of the winter where chimney fires become an issue. A lot of casual wood burners have spent a couple of months coating the chimney with creosote, and tonight they will kick the woodstoves in the butt, put some fire into the chimney and occasionally ignite that creosote. I have only seen a couple of them, and only one that got out of the chimney and into the house and none of them were pretty. The one that caught the house on fire was particularly nasty to the people living there because the fire (in the wood of the house) has caught and is burning pretty seriously before there are any symptoms in the house; when the smoke detector(s) go off, it is because the fire has already burned through the chimney well and whatever the walls are made of and is now inside the house. They did not lose the house though, and no one was injured but still, it serves as a reminder to be vigilant. How does it go- fire is a wonderful servant but a terrible master?

By the way, it is just passing 10F and headed lower right now.

Brian

Flogging it, eh?  Hope it holds up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 03, 2014, 06:23:06 PM
It will probably get close to the single digits here tonight.  I hate the winter.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 03, 2014, 10:50:42 PM
Me too - I love winter! Oh, wait.....

It is now officially -1.5 F and dropping. Stove loaded. Inside temp. 73 F. Going to bed and expect to wake up with a big pile of coals in the stove but probably in the high 60's / low 70's tomorrow morning.

Serious wood burners light a fire in November and let it go out in April. Really serious wood burners light one end of a giant tree on fire and just sit near it all winter, moving down the trunk as required.

Brian

It will probably get close to the single digits here tonight.  I hate the winter.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 04, 2014, 06:23:36 AM
Well, not really flogging it as it has a 10 cu. ft. firebox.  :yikes:   But I am having to feet and water it more than usual and I like to preempt the temperature drop. When heating with wood, it is a lousy method to wonder if the stove needs any attention because you feel chilly- if the stove has really died down and is about out of fuel, it can be a long recovery. Much better to tend it first.

These are also the times of the winter where chimney fires become an issue. A lot of casual wood burners have spent a couple of months coating the chimney with creosote, and tonight they will kick the woodstoves in the butt, put some fire into the chimney and occasionally ignite that creosote. I have only seen a couple of them, and only one that got out of the chimney and into the house and none of them were pretty. The one that caught the house on fire was particularly nasty to the people living there because the fire (in the wood of the house) has caught and is burning pretty seriously before there are any symptoms in the house; when the smoke detector(s) go off, it is because the fire has already burned through the chimney well and whatever the walls are made of and is now inside the house. They did not lose the house though, and no one was injured but still, it serves as a reminder to be vigilant. How does it go- fire is a wonderful servant but a terrible master?

By the way, it is just passing 10F and headed lower right now.

Brian

Back when we bought our house in 1986 it was heated with electric baseboard heating only. After finding out what my electric bill looked like over that first winter I decided to buy and install a nice air tight wood stove. I was able to install some ductwork and a few small volume thermostatically controlled fans up in a false ceiling that allowed the heat from the stove to reach the bedrooms and other areas of the house. I heated the house that way for around 10 years. I saved a ton of money since I had a good free source for firewood (It didn't feel free when I was cutting down trees, splitting, and hauling logs). In '96 my brother (he's in the HVAC business) and I installed a gas furnace and the associated ductwork in the house and the 'free' heat days ended. I still have the wood stove and still use it from time to time. It's fantastic to fall back on that stove for heat when/if the power goes out. Heck, you can even cook a full meal on that thing and bake bread too. 

I’ll be firing that stove up for sure on Monday when the forecast highs around here will only reach MINUS 15.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 04, 2014, 07:26:37 AM
When we first got married, we lived in a duplex with electric heat- it still stings now just thinking about it :-( And for the gobs of money it cost, we were always cold.

I had a great source of wood- a local pallet maker sold me the end blocks of the 4X's. But that place was lost in a fire some years ago (no one hurt though). Now I just buy cordwood. The problem with cutting your own in this area is finding a source of standing wood that isn't privately owned and restricted, or publicly owned and restricted.

Brian

Back when we bought our house in 1986 it was heated with electric baseboard heating only. After finding out what my electric bill looked like over that first winter I decided to buy and install a nice air tight wood stove. I was able to install some ductwork and a few small volume thermostatically controlled fans up in a false ceiling that allowed the heat from the stove to reach the bedrooms and other areas of the house. I heated the house that way for around 10 years. I saved a ton of money since I had a good free source for firewood (It didn't feel free when I was cutting down trees, splitting, and hauling logs). In '96 my brother (he's in the HVAC business) and I installed a gas furnace and the associated ductwork in the house and the 'free' heat days ended. I still have the wood stove and still use it from time to time. It's fantastic to fall back on that stove for heat when/if the power goes out. Heck, you can even cook a full meal on that thing and bake bread too. 

I’ll be firing that stove up for sure on Monday when the forecast highs around here will only reach MINUS 15.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 07, 2014, 07:19:54 PM
(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1453413_1432462856973714_898353905_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on January 07, 2014, 09:09:27 PM
(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1453413_1432462856973714_898353905_n.jpg)

I thought you were going to say the mechanics address and phone number!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 08, 2014, 04:11:45 AM
There's lots of old Ford trucks still on the road as are Chevys and Dodges.  I haven't heard anything particularly negative about any of them.  I don't think I would own a GMC or Chevy truck, though, as I'm just not a fan of GM.  Nothing to do with how they are made.  Just don't like the brand that much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on January 08, 2014, 08:00:19 PM
Nothing wrong with Chevrolets.  My wife likes hers.

(http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy281/brucer8/2011-12-26_11-14-53_584-1.jpg) (http://s800.photobucket.com/user/brucer8/media/2011-12-26_11-14-53_584-1.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 13, 2014, 11:48:17 AM
So to answer the burning question of whether deer, or members of the deer family are Kosher or not the answer is...... sorta', kinda' but not likely. Not being Jewish myself, it has never posed a problem but hey, it crosses one's mind on occasion, right?

The animal and its products are, in fact, Kosher. The rule is: any land animal that chews its cud and has cloven hoofs is Kosher. So any member of the deer family is A-OK for Jewish people to eat without fear of a smiting, or being 'smote' which while I am not entirely sure what it is simply cannot be good. Also good to know for us non- Jewish folks sitting close to Jewish people eating a big ole' helping of venison 'cause really, how far does a smiting reach and could we possibly get some on us in the event....?

But wait: just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water for another big helping of moose, something else gets in the way. There are other aspects in Kashrut law that could bite one in the heinie, so to speak. The method of animal slaughter is also quite specific and very much a requirement; that method is to slice the neck through the major blood pathways with a single, painless cut. The animal dies quickly without pain or shock, both of which must be avoided. And therein lies the problem: most members of the deer family that end up available as meat are shot, which is absolutely outside the bounds of OK! So, while the animal itself is Kosher and fine to consume, one cannot consume an animal that was not killed properly!

Oy Vei, look at all the rules! It really is tough to be Jewish I guess.

Next time on "Name that religion", a quick look into why Jehovah's Witnesses will not accept any blood products, including a transfusion.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 13, 2014, 11:52:58 AM
Well, that takes a big bull elk out of the question.  This means Mr Elkhoof isn't kosher :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 13, 2014, 01:59:39 PM
Ah but he is! He is kosher, but kashrut law was not followed to kill him so he remains kosher but uneatable.... for those who follow Jewish dietary laws at least. I, on the other hand, would be free to snack on him without fear of retribution..... other than the probable botulism and definite self- loathing I would end up with.

And 'illegal' methods of death include death from natural causes as well as any form of traumatic death.... there goes anything you find on the side of the road or in the woods too.

 ;)

Brian

Well, that takes a big bull elk out of the question.  This means Mr Elkhoof isn't kosher :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 13, 2014, 02:12:31 PM
So, what you are hinting at is I start using a straight razor for the kill?  Sharpest thing in the house for sure ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 13, 2014, 02:42:26 PM
Well, that would work.... but you are going to have to wear slippers to sneak up on the game so you don't get it worried....

Brian

So, what you are hinting at is I start using a straight razor for the kill?  Sharpest thing in the house for sure ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 13, 2014, 03:04:33 PM
Well, that would work.... but you are going to have to wear slippers to sneak up on the game so you don't get it worried....

Brian
Nah, he's in one of those mariwanna states. Just leave a bud on a stump.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 13, 2014, 05:09:51 PM
Nah, he's in one of those mariwanna states. Just leave a bud on a stump.
Back in the day it was "Getting stoned".  Knowadays it's "Getting baked".  Leaf MJ gets thrown out all in favor of the almighty bud.  I want to try cooking some leaf down for CBD extraction, anyone out there have real life experience doing this?  Zero interest in the head high, but the CBDs work for the back pain, problem is getting good tincture on a regular basis.

PS, moccasins, the original "Slipper" ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 13, 2014, 07:00:44 PM
So way back in 1914, an American inventor got some people to back him, created the first electro- mechanical refrigerators and put them into production. Aptly enough, he named the company the "Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company" but that proved to be a bit clunky for general use. So in 1916, the name of the company was changed to "Kelvinator" in honor of Lord Kelvin, the discoverer of absolute zero. Which of course no Kelvinator could actually reach that low temperature but it was the coldest thing in the average house.... (yep, this is where one inserts the hostile wife jokes).

Brian
Title: Stupid is as stupid does...
Post by: Conrad on January 14, 2014, 05:24:48 AM
 :o

ST. CHARLES, IL TOWNSHIP – Authorities last week told a St. Charles Township resident he could not shoot at icicles from his bathroom window.

According to a Kane County Sheriff’s Office report, police responded Friday morning to the 34W300 block of Fox River Drive in St. Charles Township because a resident saw a neighbor firing a gun out of his window.

The loud gunshots scared her dog, the resident told police.

The man, who lived in the 6N300 block of Essex Avenue, appeared to be shooting at icicles off an overhang at his house – not at anyone, police reported.

The man told police he was indeed shooting his .22-caliber revolver out the bathroom window at icicles. He reportedly claimed he was firing the gun in a safe manner because he was pointing it up and not at anybody.

“He stated that if anybody was hit by the falling round, it would be just like getting hit with a piece of hail,” police reported.

With neighbors nearby and the potential danger for pedestrians, police reportedly told the man he couldn’t shoot out his window. They suggested he use a broomstick or long pole instead, the report said.

“[He] advised that he didn’t know he couldn’t shoot out the window of his residence, and it won’t happen again,” according to the report.


Well, at least hs was shooting in a safe manner.    :censored: idiot!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on January 16, 2014, 09:29:22 AM
NSFW!

http://youtu.be/56duVYLsd4Q (http://youtu.be/56duVYLsd4Q)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 16, 2014, 11:11:11 AM
NSFW!

http://youtu.be/56duVYLsd4Q (http://youtu.be/56duVYLsd4Q)


 ;D :thumbs: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 16, 2014, 11:27:32 AM
DFS updated, no longer in the child domain. Happier days are upon us.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on January 20, 2014, 11:32:32 AM
NSFW!

http://youtu.be/56duVYLsd4Q (http://youtu.be/56duVYLsd4Q)

Brilliant
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 20, 2014, 11:36:48 AM
Ordered something from Amazon at 5pm on Sunday. It arrived at my work address at 10:30am Monday. Did they just anticipate I planned to discover something I would want, and ship it just in case I ended up ordering it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 20, 2014, 12:38:45 PM
Ordered something from Amazon at 5pm on Sunday. It arrived at my work address at 10:30am Monday. Did they just anticipate I planned to discover something I would want, and ship it just in case I ended up ordering it?
They shipped it on Friday.  :rotflmao:


CNET
 News
 
Amazon to ship things before you've even thought of buying them?
 
Amazon files a patent for "anticipatory package shipping." The idea is that the company will know from your buying patterns what you're likely to want next.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57617458-71/amazon-to-ship-things-before-youve-even-thought-of-buying-them/ (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57617458-71/amazon-to-ship-things-before-youve-even-thought-of-buying-them/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 20, 2014, 12:40:56 PM
Amazon files a patent for "anticipatory package shipping."

DOH!  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 20, 2014, 12:48:50 PM
I hope they are not using public forums to decide what people might need....

Brian

They shipped it on Friday.  :rotflmao:


CNET
 News
 
Amazon to ship things before you've even thought of buying them?
 
Amazon files a patent for "anticipatory package shipping." The idea is that the company will know from your buying patterns what you're likely to want next.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57617458-71/amazon-to-ship-things-before-youve-even-thought-of-buying-them/ (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57617458-71/amazon-to-ship-things-before-youve-even-thought-of-buying-them/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 20, 2014, 01:45:18 PM
I think it was Friday night and I decided to drink some The Glenlivet 15 year old Scotch.  I poured it in my commemorative Queen Elizabeth coronation shot glass in order to get the correct amount in the drinking glass and then added just a bit of ginger ale.  I toasted my Mom, Dad, Godmother, and the Queen.  I may start drinking again tonight or not.  Depends how things go.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on January 20, 2014, 01:56:37 PM
On that note I will go have a beer.  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 20, 2014, 02:53:41 PM
Amazon Prime rules almost as much as KiPass (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/blingbling.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 20, 2014, 03:00:23 PM
Total agreement, Steve.  I don't know how I would function without it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 20, 2014, 03:29:58 PM
Again with the Scotch tonight...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 20, 2014, 03:40:57 PM
Did someone say scotch?
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/single-malt-scotch-sells-world-record-686-000-auction-2D11959077 (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/single-malt-scotch-sells-world-record-686-000-auction-2D11959077)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 20, 2014, 03:47:03 PM
Careful Brent, Amazon might be billing you for that scotch as we speak.

Hey that's only $4653 a shot.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 20, 2014, 03:48:54 PM
Careful Brent, Amazon might be billing you for that scotch as we speak.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 20, 2014, 05:04:40 PM
You say that like there was a gap between tonight and the last Scotch time....

 ;D

Isn't it really 'Still with the Scotch tonight.' ?

Brian

Again with the Scotch tonight...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 20, 2014, 06:16:57 PM
Either way, I had two.  I could get to like this.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 21, 2014, 06:54:34 AM
(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/484837_749188941758753_1275669524_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 22, 2014, 08:36:06 AM
(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1510024_659192884136200_1736009335_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 23, 2014, 07:28:48 AM
It was zero (-0-) F here this morning. The woodstove made a valiant effort but did not quite maintain the house overnight; it was stoked and running at 'medium' (for the long burn) last night and this am only a few pounds of charcoal left and the house was down to 65 F. Not bad but not the 73/ 75 it usually runs inside. We've got a week of this to go so there should be some ash in my future :-)

I could maintain the temp. in the house at these or even lower temperatures but it would take a few sticks of wood to be added in the middle of the night and I am not willing to do that.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2014, 07:39:55 AM
It was 6 here.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 23, 2014, 08:11:40 AM
not sayin' nuthing about temps,  but for me it was too cold to change the KTM oil in the garage last night
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2014, 08:37:22 AM
60?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 23, 2014, 08:50:47 AM
60?

oh no we had frost warnings..... 33   (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/eek.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2014, 08:51:43 AM
 :yikes: :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 23, 2014, 10:52:52 AM
Its warmed up to zero here.    :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 23, 2014, 10:59:33 AM
Supposed to be 66 here today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 23, 2014, 11:18:22 AM
18 here- want me to mail you an envelope of 'warm'? Going back down to zero or close to it tonight again.

Brian

Its warmed up to zero here.    :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 23, 2014, 11:52:21 AM
63 high here today, 59 right now. I took one of the ZX9's out that hasn't been ridden for a few weeks.  Had to wear gloves
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on January 23, 2014, 12:20:47 PM
(temps converted to Fahrenheit for your convenience...)

From a low of -33 last night, we've hit almost +5 today (sounds colder in Celcius : -36 last night, -15 today)

(Dreaming of 60F degree days...   Used to laugh when we'd go to Daytona Beach for Spring Break...  You could always tell who the Canadians were... : All the locals were wearing long pants and sweaters, and we wore shorts and t-shirts, and were the only ones in the water - everyone else stayed on the beach or wore wetsuits...  And we were all burnt bright red too...)

Jamie

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2014, 12:23:54 PM
63 high here today, 59 right now. I took one of the ZX9's out that hasn't been ridden for a few weeks.  Had to wear gloves

I totally feel for you, Steve.... :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 24, 2014, 04:52:48 AM
18 here- want me to mail you an envelope of 'warm'? Going back down to zero or close to it tonight again.

Brian

If it's not too much trouble? Better put the 'warm' in one of the padded envelopes.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 24, 2014, 05:46:00 AM
I respectfully retract that offer.... I need all I can get to keep up with our little cold spell. The stove is making the trip but not 'in style'; temps. in the morning are dropping to the mid- 60's in the house after an overnight of around zero. Still, I cannot fault the stove as I am heating the whole house, two floors, with not other heating method (boiler is shut off, and I don't mean the thermostats but the actual boiler). Then again, it is a real problem to use this stove when it is 40 out and keep a continuous fire going so it really cannot be any bigger.

Brian

If it's not too much trouble? Better put the 'warm' in one of the padded envelopes.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 24, 2014, 05:46:14 AM
Or better yet, a box truck.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 24, 2014, 06:02:33 AM
I respectfully retract that offer.... I need all I can get to keep up with our little cold spell. The stove is making the trip but not 'in style'; temps. in the morning are dropping to the mid- 60's in the house after an overnight of around zero. Still, I cannot fault the stove as I am heating the whole house, two floors, with not other heating method (boiler is shut off, and I don't mean the thermostats but the actual boiler). Then again, it is a real problem to use this stove when it is 40 out and keep a continuous fire going so it really cannot be any bigger.

Brian

I've been heating the house with our wood stove too. I pack it full right before bed and it keeps the house toasty all night long. I even have a nice bed of coals in the morning to get her roaring again.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 24, 2014, 09:46:22 AM
I heat exclusively with wood (easy boys!) and have gotten pretty successful at it as well as pretty efficient; we convert the front porch from 'summer mode' to 'winter mode' and drive a trailer full of wood onto the porch, 2,500 lbs. or so at a time- "bringing wood into the house" means opening the front door and picking some up, then turning around and throwing it in the stove. :-)  Big stove too, nearly 10 cu. ft. firebox w/ catalytic combustor which makes a very efficient burner. Normal winter temps. in the house, day or night, are between 73 and 75 F. But when the temp drops to zero and especially if there is any wind at all, I cannot maintain 70 plus for a 9 hour burn.

I have been toying with the idea of going to a wood boiler and hot water storage for years but just don't want to spend the dough or make the effort and the older I get, the less the payback will be. But that would be a slick system: a clean burning wood fire once a day to supply all heat and hot water during the coldest part of the winter. In the summer, maybe as few as 2 or 3 fires a month to provide domestic hot water. Sorely tempting.... but pricey. :-(

Brian

I've been heating the house with our wood stove too. I pack it full right before bed and it keeps the house toasty all night long. I even have a nice bed of coals in the morning to get her roaring again.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 24, 2014, 10:33:55 AM
As I said before, I used to heat our house exclusively with wood too. I've gotten back to that with the cold we've had lately, plus being retired and home all day helps too.   ;D

My stove isn't as large as yours but it also has a catalytic combustor. I don't know how large the firebox is but it'll hold a lot if you pack it right. My stove will also burn coal but since I don't have a source for coal I've never used it.

When it's zero outside, Bosco knows where the best seat in the house can be found.
[smg id=626]
It may not look like it but the top of that stove is 1,000f.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 24, 2014, 12:08:08 PM
As youse guise know, I like to tinker with things a little.... Been burning wood for decades and have never been happy with the way it was being done, the stoves, the maintenance, the 'care and feeding', etc. So I designed and built one:

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Currentstove1.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Currentstove1.jpg.html)

The combustior running at 1,450 degrees. You can barely see the combustor itself but it is the red thing in the view port.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Combustors_at_1500-degrees-1.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Combustors_at_1500-degrees-1.jpg.html)

34" wide (will take 30+ length wood (easy boys!) with ease) X 24 deep X 34 tall. Big stove. Top loader with three doors; I usually only use the small door so no smoke gets into the house but occasionally when something large goes in there, the entire top is also a hinged door. A fire plate 8" above the base plate with a 7" tall ash bucket, also 32" long (needs emptying three times per cord of wood and can be removed / re-installed while the stove is running). The "V" section in the front is a stainless steel water container that holds 2.4 gallons of water to keep the humidity in the house w/in reasonable bounds. It is part of the stove and welded in place. There is a combination draft door / fire staring door under the fire plate on the left hand side of the stove; to light it, I just throw in logs (no kindling needed or wanted) and then roll up newspaper and slide it in the access door (easy again boys!). Light the newspaper and burns length- wise and sends all heat up through a 6" X 6" hole on the other end of the stove directly against the wood. Very fast, easy starts and it sounds like a wind tunnel. The stove is quite user- friendly.

But still, it needs some time to light the combustor, requires some attention and just does not hold enough wood. And come to find out, we are all burning wood upside down. The correct way to burn wood is to pyrolyse it and burn the gas.... who knew? So I designed and built one of those. Looks like this:

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Gassifiercomplete.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Gassifiercomplete.jpg.html)

Two doors on the sides, a draft inducing fan on top and the firebox itself is a stainless steel box with holes cut into it so the fire path is through the stove then down and out the 'basket' that holds the actual fire. The process is called gassification and it is really cool to watch. And it burns about as clean as natural gas; there are NO visible emissions. Once the fire exits the burn pit, it goes up the triangular colums on each side but only for three tubes at which point the passage is blocked and the exhaust gas has to pass through the tubes, go up the other side three tubes and repeat the process. This transfers the exhaust heat into the room and keep the exhaust temps down in the sub- 200 F range.

This is what it looks like running at about 1/2 throttle:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/terry-stove-running.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/terry-stove-running.jpg.html)

Note that the wood is above, the fire is in the middle (in the bottom of the firebox which the wood feeds into) and the exahust, flame and ash are moving straight down.

It all worked pretty well except for one pesky thing: when low on fuel, the box above (which is 60" tall) fills up with smoke and eventually enough oxygen to ignite.... inside the magazine portion of the stove. It does not explode but it most certainly does 'sneeze' in a spectacular way blowing out smoke / flame through every place possible, mostly the chimney which is spectacular if not a little dangerous. I never put it in the house as it never got to the point of having nice 'house manners'. What it needs is a sliding plate to block off the magazine's volume and follow the wood column down as it is consumed. Never got around to that but am kicking around the idea of putting in a plate 1/2 of the way up the magazine to see if that is sufficient to calm the problem down. Of course the stove has to reverse draft (burn 'up') to start a fire so whatever plate goes in there has to have some type of airtight door. All a big pain in the butt.... which is why I have not proceeded with it.

Brian


As I said before, I used to heat our house exclusively with wood too. I've gotten back to that with the cold we've had lately, plus being retired and home all day helps too.   ;D

My stove isn't as large as yours but it also has a catalytic combustor. I don't know how large the firebox is but it'll hold a lot if you pack it right. My stove will also burn coal but since I don't have a source for coal I've never used it.

When it's zero outside, Bosco knows where the best seat in the house can be found.
[smg id=626]
It may not look like it but the top of that stove is 1,000f.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 25, 2014, 12:49:51 AM
I learned how to spell CND.  Simple, CehNehDeh.  I love learning new culture ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 25, 2014, 06:13:42 AM
It's 20 degrees here this morning....heat wave in progress.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 25, 2014, 07:36:13 AM
Agnes couldn't have Bosco hogging all the heat.

[smg id=628]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 25, 2014, 07:37:31 AM
That's an impressive stove Brian, both of them.    :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 27, 2014, 07:37:06 AM
It's minus 10f at the moment, going down to minus 22f tonight (30 to 45 below with the wind tonight). Wind chill warning in effect till Wed morning.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 27, 2014, 07:39:18 AM
 :)  Sunday 55F/sunny 200 mile ride  :)

 :(  Today 15F tonight 0ish  :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 27, 2014, 10:54:47 AM
:)  Sunday 55F/sunny 200 mile ride  :)

 :(  Today 15F tonight 0ish  :(

Me too. Great riding over the weekend and now 7F and blowing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 27, 2014, 11:06:38 AM
Yeah and it is all rolling east: 40+ outside at the moment, going to be 10 tonight and then three more days of cold (unusual cold).

Brian

:)  Sunday 55F/sunny 200 mile ride  :)

 :(  Today 15F tonight 0ish  :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2014, 06:59:18 AM
It's minus 14 at the moment with a wind chill near minus 35    :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 28, 2014, 07:20:21 AM
It's minus 14 at the moment with a wind chill near minus 35    :_shudder_Emoticon


 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2014, 07:34:12 AM

 :o

Exactly J!

My poor dogs can hardly walk when they go outside. Well, two of the three anyways. Sookie has such thick fur, she even has fur growing out from between her toes and covering the bottoms of her feet. So she has no problems in the cold. She wants to play with the other two outside but they just want to come back in and that's it! I had to go out and rescue Bosco. She want deep into the back yard and her feet got so cold that she couldn't/wouldn't walk. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 28, 2014, 09:23:58 AM
So how are you making out with your woodstove in these extreme temps / windchills? I am about at the limit of mine- it will run all night, no problem, but not at a rate that will maintain the house at 70+. After a 9 or 10 hour burn, the house is between 65 and 69 depending on just how cold and windy it was overnight. The photo you put up looks like a Dutchwest, and I would not think it would hold enough wood to maintain an entire house at a comfy temp. overnight? Or do you get up and stoke it during the night?

Brian

It's minus 14 at the moment with a wind chill near minus 35    :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Maille Man on January 28, 2014, 10:02:13 AM
Advice from a friend of mine.  He heats, exclusively, with a wood stove.

1) Temps near freezing, you need to put at least 10 gallons of water per day into the air.
2) Temps near 10F you need near 15 gallons per day.
3) Temps near or below zero, well, you get the idea.

Using his humidifier, as well as pots of water on the stove, he's been able to keep the humidity between 25%-30% and can keep his temps at or above the 70 mark...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 28, 2014, 10:36:05 AM
Yeah, when I built this current stove, I put a 'water pot' inside the front 'V' of the stove- it holds 2.4 gallons of water. The actual water chamber is stainless steel and sits down inside the stove's volume so that no part of it is above the top line of the stove, very important as the stove is a top- load type.

I was just wondering how Conrad was making out with a 3 cu. ft. firebox and such low temps. I can hold a fire overnight (9 hour burn) easily enough (actual wood left, not just warm coals) but cannot do that and have the house maintain 70F or greater if the outside temp. is around -0-.

Brian

Advice from a friend of mine.  He heats, exclusively, with a wood stove.

1) Temps near freezing, you need to put at least 10 gallons of water per day into the air.
2) Temps near 10F you need near 15 gallons per day.
3) Temps near or below zero, well, you get the idea.

Using his humidifier, as well as pots of water on the stove, he's been able to keep the humidity between 25%-30% and can keep his temps at or above the 70 mark...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 28, 2014, 04:19:04 PM
It's minus 14 at the moment with a wind chill near minus 35    :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2014, 06:02:28 PM
So how are you making out with your woodstove in these extreme temps / windchills? I am about at the limit of mine- it will run all night, no problem, but not at a rate that will maintain the house at 70+. After a 9 or 10 hour burn, the house is between 65 and 69 depending on just how cold and windy it was overnight. The photo you put up looks like a Dutchwest, and I would not think it would hold enough wood to maintain an entire house at a comfy temp. overnight? Or do you get up and stoke it during the night?

Brian

Good eye Brian. That is a Consolidated Dutchwest stove, Federal Airtight is the model line.

I've been making out pretty well. During the day the front section of the house stays around 72 -75 with the bedrooms around 60 or so. An hour or so before bedtime I'll be sure to get the stove set-up so that right before bed I'll have a really good bed of coals going. Then at bedtime I'll pack that baby as full of 22" logs as I possibly can. In the morning I'll still have some good coals to get it up to temp again. I normally only need the stove to last 7 hours at night before I feed it. I keep the thermostat for the gas furnace turned down to 60, just in case the stove gets too cool. With the higher than normal winds I have to close up the air dampers a bit otherwise I won't have a good long burn overnight.

I have a cast iron kettle that holds around 2 gals of water that I keep going on top of the stove. It keeps the house around 40% humidity.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 28, 2014, 06:45:44 PM
Weather was just to friggin' nice to take my truck!  Picked up a sweet Michelin "Desert Race" tire for the katOOm  ;D

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/KTM/IMG_20140128_105226173_HDR.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 28, 2014, 06:56:52 PM
Man, my forced air struggles to maintain 66F these past few nights. ;D This is a good old fashioned winter like when we were kids. But funny thing, how come I have no desire at all to go skating outside like we used to for hours at a time and come home with frozen blue jeans?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 28, 2014, 07:06:27 PM
Chilly out tonight.  Currently down to 45.  Rains moving in :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 28, 2014, 07:18:43 PM
2F now, maybe 28F this weekend. I was trying to talk about cold weather to my cousin in Alabama. I said you can tell when its below zero F when the nose hairs stick together when you breath through the nose and your teeth hurt when you breath through your mouth, and the snow is crunchy. No clue.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 28, 2014, 07:27:57 PM
Ft Dix NJ, Jan, 1982, Army BCT.  Wind chills down to -40.  Think that stopped us from learning how to march?  We never needed to shovel snow, we used brooms to get the stuff the wind missed.  Y'all can keep the East Coast (anything East of the Rockies), all of it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 28, 2014, 08:31:32 PM
Weather was just to friggin' nice to take my truck!  Picked up a sweet Michelin "Desert Race" tire for the katOOm  ;D

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/KTM/IMG_20140128_105226173_HDR.jpg)

come join us down here
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on January 28, 2014, 08:51:09 PM
That is the second best thing that bike has ever hauled  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on January 28, 2014, 09:09:50 PM
Y'all can keep the East Coast (anything East of the Rockies), all of it.
:goodpost:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 29, 2014, 04:07:47 AM
I hate  :censored: snow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2014, 04:33:14 AM
2F now, maybe 28F this weekend. I was trying to talk about cold weather to my cousin in Alabama. I said you can tell when its below zero F when the nose hairs stick together when you breath through the nose and your teeth hurt when you breath through your mouth, and the snow is crunchy. No clue.

Yep, you can always tell when it's zero or below because when you walk on the snow it has a squeak to it as it's compressed. It may seem strange that the snow squeaks but if you've never heard it for yourself you won't get it.   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2014, 04:40:37 AM
It seems really strange to read all the stories of folks down south with their highways turning into parking lots because of two inches of snow.

They say that people from the south don't know how to drive in snow?

It's not rocket science, just slow the :censored: down! Oh wait, maybe that is rocket science to some?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 29, 2014, 06:09:52 AM
Y'all can keep the East Coast (anything East of the Rockies), all of it.

:goodpost:

Some of us ride both coasts  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 29, 2014, 06:11:37 AM


They say that people from the south don't know how to drive in snow?


What is this snow you speak of?  ;D

Although I've lived in europe and chicago, the mountains, and really did have to deal with it in the past. I'm not from here
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 30, 2014, 08:09:41 AM
Wow, dinosaurs are everywhere!  ;D

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1/971734_654679327922227_1291680307_n.jpg)

 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 30, 2014, 08:41:12 AM

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1/971734_654679327922227_1291680307_n.jpg)


That pic makes me happy Steve, thank you.  :) :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 30, 2014, 05:35:19 PM

That pic makes me happy Steve, thank you.  :) :chugbeer:

anytime brutha-man (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/icon10.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 31, 2014, 11:03:23 AM
Wow, dinosaurs are everywhere!  ;D

(https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1/971734_654679327922227_1291680307_n.jpg)

I've stared at this pic for a long time and I still don't see a dinosaur. :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on January 31, 2014, 11:26:49 AM
I've stared at this pic for a long time and I still don't see a dinosaur. :P


You don't see the tittiflopalous?  ???

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on January 31, 2014, 08:54:02 PM
I think she's holding two invisible joints.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on January 31, 2014, 09:56:50 PM
Been sick for a week. Off work since Monday PM. What a waste of a week! And TV is crappy.  :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 01, 2014, 09:32:10 AM
Been sick for a week. Off work since Monday PM. What a waste of a week! And TV is crappy.  :-[


That sux G, hope ya feel better soon bro!  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 01, 2014, 12:13:16 PM
Turned the corner yesterday but still not good. What really sucks is that I was supposed to go to my buddies place for the Superbowl. He has a dedicated theater that I built for him and it has state of the art sound as well as a 120 inch screen. I hope I can drag myself off the couch long enough to see that!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 01, 2014, 01:47:12 PM
I've always found that when I am sick to my stomach, all they air on tv is food commercials.  I also stockpile reading supplies but then I feel so bad I can't even do that.

Glad you're on the mend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 01, 2014, 01:53:42 PM
I hate  :censored: plumbing...

Putting a new kitchen faucet.  The cutoffs leak.  Had to go to the hw store to buy washers.  Got that fixed, put everything together and no water.   :censored: :censored: and  :censored: !  That's no water coming out of the faucet.  There's water going in.  Take it all apart and start blowing through the lines.  No air coming out of the spout.   :censored: and this is a brand new 'expensive' faucet!   :censored: quality control...made in Taiwan.  Take it all apart, break some tabs on the cartridge trying to figure it out.  I got air getting to the cartridge but it won't go through......and then I realize I hadn't turned the lever to the correct position.  It now works.  :censored: :censored: and triple  :censored: .  Hopefully it won't leak after I put it all back together.

I hate  :censored: plumbing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 01, 2014, 05:39:46 PM
I hate  :censored: plumbing...

Putting a new kitchen faucet.  The cutoffs leak.  Had to go to the hw store to buy washers.  Got that fixed, put everything together and no water.   :censored: :censored: and  :censored: !  That's no water coming out of the faucet.  There's water going in.  Take it all apart and start blowing through the lines.  No air coming out of the spout.   :censored: and this is a brand new 'expensive' faucet!   :censored: quality control...made in Taiwan.  Take it all apart, break some tabs on the cartridge trying to figure it out.  I got air getting to the cartridge but it won't go through......and then I realize I hadn't turned the lever to the correct position.  It now works.  :censored: :censored: and triple  :censored: .  Hopefully it won't leak after I put it all back together.

I hate  :censored: plumbing.


Oh  :censored:  Sparky, that  :censored:  sux.  :( I too :censored: hate that :censored: :censored: . It usually :censored: results in :censored: going back and :censored: fourth to the :censored: hardware store at least 3 :censored: times to eventually get what I :censored: need... :censored: :censored: :censored:

Glad to hear you think you got that  :censored:  thing figured out though.  :thumbs: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 01, 2014, 09:04:24 PM
It's not over.  I reversed the hot and cold so now I have to pull everything out from the bottom of the sink and reverse the lines.  Dam faucet didn't have anything labeling which one was hot and which one was cold.  I took a chance...I was wrong.  Grrrrrrr.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rick Hall on February 01, 2014, 09:50:50 PM
Flew a DME arc to the ILS 34 approach at GXY the other day.

Not too bad in the grand scheme of things. Once over the VOR, you twist the OBS to outbound, follow it, then twist it to 90* of outbound once the DME jives, and fly 90* until the OBS needle is centered. Then twist the OBS another 10*, bank to the OBS minus 10* on the DG (HI), and fly it until the needle is centered, repeat. When the OBS is 10* from the ILS, bank inbound and keep the needles centered to the MDA. Go missed if you totally forked up. No discussion here, go missed.

Rick
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 01, 2014, 11:00:24 PM
Rick, I entered all that into Google translator and it came back as un recognizable.  So, I'm gonna take a stab at it.  You took off and flew over a Virgin On Rocks, twisted an On Board Stick, turned a hard left, did some Dumb Man Exercises, turned hard right using the On Board Stick to a centered position, twisted the On Board Stick for a slight turn left, did a bit of an s turn with the On Board Stick, hit the Demister Gadget (on HI), and flew using a knitting needle in the middle position.  You did this twice.  You went back to the On Board Stick, did another slight turn right, re centered the knitting needles in the Mighty Dark Area.  I also translated that some how you messed up, maybe you used your crochet needle instead of the knitting needle?

 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 02, 2014, 05:59:30 AM
I hate  :censored: plumbing...

Putting a new kitchen faucet.  The cutoffs leak.  Had to go to the hw store to buy washers.  Got that fixed, put everything together and no water.   :censored: :censored: and  :censored: !  That's no water coming out of the faucet.  There's water going in.  Take it all apart and start blowing through the lines.  No air coming out of the spout.   :censored: and this is a brand new 'expensive' faucet!   :censored: quality control...made in Taiwan.  Take it all apart, break some tabs on the cartridge trying to figure it out.  I got air getting to the cartridge but it won't go through......and then I realize I hadn't turned the lever to the correct position.  It now works.  :censored: :censored: and triple  :censored: .  Hopefully it won't leak after I put it all back together.

I hate  :censored: plumbing.

It's not over.  I reversed the hot and cold so now I have to pull everything out from the bottom of the sink and reverse the lines.  Dam faucet didn't have anything labeling which one was hot and which one was cold.  I took a chance...I was wrong.  Grrrrrrr.

Holy :censored: Jim! Thank goodness you didn't have to break out the torch and sweat on some copper lines! I fear that we would be reading about a tragic house fire instead.     :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 02, 2014, 06:31:07 AM
Jim, leave the canyon cages on the shelf and step away from the bike.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2014, 06:35:07 AM
Makes one think of Haroldo, doesn't it?  Thank goodness I have a decent hw store a few miles away.   They've saved my bacon many a time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on February 02, 2014, 07:14:34 AM
If Pete and re-Pete were sitting on a fence and Pet fell off who was left?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2014, 08:04:58 AM
Ok, I'm confused.  Who is Pet?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2014, 08:08:38 AM
Ok, another project from hell.  I'm redoing a vanity with one of those cabinet paint kits from Rustoleum.  They said to put on two coats of the base paint and then the final gloss coat.  Haven't opened the gloss coat yet but from the amount of work I've had to do so far I think it would be cheaper to buy a vanity already painted.  So far in addition to the vanity, I've painted the following:  the floor, the wall, the toilet, and myself.  I really don't think that there's much more to paint in that bathroom except for the vanity one more time... :banghead:

Jim, leave the canyon cages on the shelf and step away from the bike.

And now you know the rest of the story...
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 02, 2014, 01:34:39 PM
You need to call Mike Holmes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2014, 02:42:29 PM
I'd be scared to death for him to look at anything I've done..

The continuing saga...

Decided to power wash the vehicles and get the salt off...did fine until we got to my truck.  Forgot to totally roll the windows up... :banghead: :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 02, 2014, 03:15:01 PM
You sure you're drinking the "good" Vodka Jim? Ya' know, that stuff does not come in rectangular cans with handles on top, right?

 :rotflmao:

Not time to wash anything here yet- the roads are still pretty white with salt :-(

Brian


<snip>

Decided to power wash the vehicles and get the salt off...did fine until we got to my truck.  Forgot to totally roll the windows up... :banghead: :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 02, 2014, 03:43:11 PM
You really need to learn to like football. Than you could just forget about all that stuff.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 02, 2014, 03:50:53 PM
Aye...he says with 4 beers (maybe 5?...lost count) under his belt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 02, 2014, 10:06:34 PM
Aye...he says with 4 beers (maybe 5?...lost count) under his belt.
Alcohol free here.

Go Seahawks, World Champions and home of the fair weather 12th man ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 03, 2014, 04:45:03 AM
If Pete and re-Pete were sitting on a fence and Pet fell off who was left?

Ok, I'm confused.  Who is Pet?

Not enough info to answer this question...

We're going to have to know where this fence was located, what type of fence, how long these two were sitting on the fence, exactly why did re-Pete fall off, was he geared up for the fall, did he sustain any injuries when he fell, how far was the fall, and what were the ground conditions that he fell on to?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 03, 2014, 05:26:56 AM
Alcohol free here.

Go Seahawks, World Champions and home of the fair weather 12th man ;D

 :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 03, 2014, 08:30:09 AM
Alcohol free here.

Go Seahawks, World Champions and home of the fair weather 12th man ;D

I'm pretty happy to have had plenty of alcohol to dull the pain.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 03, 2014, 03:02:20 PM
I'm pretty happy to have had plenty of alcohol to dull the pain.
We had Skittles galore ;D 
Heard on the Broncos sidlines "Can Eli fit into my helmet and jersey?" ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Glenn on February 04, 2014, 11:58:53 AM
(http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac332/peatreek/Funny%20Stuff/whereisthex_zps0497b370.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 07, 2014, 07:46:05 AM
I was cleaning out my dresser drawers yesterday and I found my old yo-yo. (Yomega Fireball) ;D

Shush, it's sleeping now.  [smg id=629]

I almost forgot how much fun these things are! Back in the day I was pretty good but nowhere near as good and my youngest son. I got him started on yo-yos back when he was 5 or so. He took right to it and for the next 5 or 6 years he carried his yo with him where ever he went. When ever we were out and had to wait in line for something (Disney, bank, groceries, movies...) he would break out his yo and entertain everyone in line. He was damn good and always got a round of applause from the folks.

Damn, thinking about those times really made me smile...   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 07, 2014, 08:11:59 AM
You now have time to become one with the yo-yo, Conrad.  I expect to see a YouTube video of this soon.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 07, 2014, 08:27:07 AM
You now have time to become one with the yo-yo, Conrad.  I expect to see a YouTube video of this soon.

I had better get some new strings before the becoming one thing happens. As old as this string is the yo-yo may become one with a window or the TV while I'm swinging the yo-yo around.   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 07, 2014, 03:21:07 PM
It's Bloody Mary night!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 07, 2014, 03:49:23 PM
Do you use bacon flavored vodka?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 07, 2014, 04:47:58 PM
You know that I don't use flavored vodkas...it's unprofessional.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 07, 2014, 08:22:12 PM
Do you use bacon flavored vodka?


 ??? :-\


(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/bacon-bikini_zps53b8fa45.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/jaywilcox/media/bacon-bikini_zps53b8fa45.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 08, 2014, 06:13:20 AM
You know that I don't use flavored vodkas...it's unprofessional.

How's about a nice crisp piece of bacon as a stir stick?  :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Miss Silvera on February 08, 2014, 06:48:06 AM

 ??? :-\


(http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/jaywilcox/bacon-bikini_zps53b8fa45.jpg) (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/jaywilcox/media/bacon-bikini_zps53b8fa45.jpg.html)

I knew I liked bacon!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 08, 2014, 06:53:04 AM
 :rotflmao:   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 08, 2014, 06:59:21 AM
:rotflmao:

+1
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 08, 2014, 08:00:38 AM
I knew I liked bacon!

Even Martha is getting in on this.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bf2KK5qIMAEn_wP.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on February 08, 2014, 08:47:16 AM
Mood kill!  :'(
Thanks Conrad, you just posted a picture of where boners go to die.... :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 08, 2014, 09:05:52 AM
I don't think she's that bad looking, Martha Stewart that is...  Raw bacon as a bathing suit, however, is quite unsettling.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 08, 2014, 09:29:24 AM
I don't think she's that bad looking, Martha Stewart that is... 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2014, 07:19:18 PM
So we all see these postal vehicle running around, delivering mail.... but what are they? No one else seems to have them. Who makes them?

They were made by Grumman, the same company who brought us such other marvelous vehicles as the F4 Wildcat, the F6 Hellcat (WWII piston engine fighters) the TBF Avenger, the A- 6 Intruder, the F-14 Tomcat (my personal favorite) and the Apollo Lunar Module. But by the 80's, things were slow at the old 'Iron works' (Grumman's nickname for building such tough fighters) and they needed something else to do. Jeep was discontinuing the right hand drive vehicle they had made for the USPS and so Grumman stepped in and manufactured 140,000 of these "LLV" or Long Life Vehicles. They are powered with GM in-line fours, and were built between 1987 and 1994. The original lifespan was to be 24 years (!!) but as the USPS is running so far in the red, the lifespan has been extended to 30 years (!!!). Amazing. So let's all give a round of applause to this uniquely American vehicle which has been bringing us the electric bill and various farkles (my new shaving scuttle arrived today.... via LLV!) for decades.

https://www.google.com/search?q=grumman+llv&tbm=isch&imgil=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRRfykc3_Jee_AgSnx6M0C10RHJoCQc8KfcrwL4N8NMtR5ksk1I4g%253B700%253B393%253BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FGrumman_LLV&source=iu&usg=__iny2i5jRh-opMrF3N3AWDYDLUKc%3D&sa=X&ei=M-X2UrHGLYbhqQHd44G4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAg&biw=1920&bih=1085#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%3BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F3%252F37%252FSmall_USPS_Truck.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FGrumman_LLV%3B700%3B393 (https://www.google.com/search?q=grumman+llv&tbm=isch&imgil=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRRfykc3_Jee_AgSnx6M0C10RHJoCQc8KfcrwL4N8NMtR5ksk1I4g%253B700%253B393%253BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FGrumman_LLV&source=iu&usg=__iny2i5jRh-opMrF3N3AWDYDLUKc%3D&sa=X&ei=M-X2UrHGLYbhqQHd44G4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAg&biw=1920&bih=1085#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%3BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F3%252F37%252FSmall_USPS_Truck.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FGrumman_LLV%3B700%3B393)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 08, 2014, 07:59:14 PM
So we all see these postal vehicle running around, delivering mail.... but what are they? No one else seems to have them. Who makes them?

They were made by Grumman, the same company who brought us such other marvelous vehicles as the F4 Wildcat, the F6 Hellcat (WWII piston engine fighters) the TBF Avenger, the A- 6 Intruder, the F-14 Tomcat (my personal favorite) and the Apollo Lunar Module. But by the 80's, things were slow at the old 'Iron works' (Grumman's nickname for building such tough fighters) and they needed something else to do. Jeep was discontinuing the right hand drive vehicle they had made for the USPS and so Grumman stepped in and manufactured 140,000 of these "LLV" or Long Life Vehicles. They are powered with GM in-line fours, and were built between 1987 and 1994. The original lifespan was to be 24 years (!!) but as the USPS is running so far in the red, the lifespan has been extended to 30 years (!!!). Amazing. So let's all give a round of applause to this uniquely American vehicle which has been bringing us the electric bill and various farkles (my new shaving scuttle arrived today.... via LLV!) for decades.

https://www.google.com/search?q=grumman+llv&tbm=isch&imgil=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRRfykc3_Jee_AgSnx6M0C10RHJoCQc8KfcrwL4N8NMtR5ksk1I4g%253B700%253B393%253BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FGrumman_LLV&source=iu&usg=__iny2i5jRh-opMrF3N3AWDYDLUKc%3D&sa=X&ei=M-X2UrHGLYbhqQHd44G4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAg&biw=1920&bih=1085#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%3BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F3%252F37%252FSmall_USPS_Truck.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FGrumman_LLV%3B700%3B393 (https://www.google.com/search?q=grumman+llv&tbm=isch&imgil=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRRfykc3_Jee_AgSnx6M0C10RHJoCQc8KfcrwL4N8NMtR5ksk1I4g%253B700%253B393%253BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FGrumman_LLV&source=iu&usg=__iny2i5jRh-opMrF3N3AWDYDLUKc%3D&sa=X&ei=M-X2UrHGLYbhqQHd44G4AQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAg&biw=1920&bih=1085#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=uzSIFR_QH9QyJM%253A%3BZVXm0MHdZiYlfM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F3%252F37%252FSmall_USPS_Truck.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FGrumman_LLV%3B700%3B393)

Brian

I hate them things.  My postal "lady" has almost hit me multiple times, I swear, each time she made eye contact with me.  Her I could use a train horn on!!!!!  I think she hates me, she has somehow broke my mailbox door 4 times, must be hooking it with the Grumann mirror >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on February 08, 2014, 10:07:21 PM
Don't forget the Grumman Goose. A real workhorse!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 09, 2014, 06:05:44 AM
Mood kill!  :'(
Thanks Conrad, you just posted a picture of where boners go to die.... :doh:

You don't like bacon?    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on February 09, 2014, 01:32:31 PM
You don't like bacon?    :o
Bacon is fine- Martha Stewart in a pseudo lesbian image applying bacon to mannequins?  Not so much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 09, 2014, 01:37:27 PM
To each his/her own.... ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on February 09, 2014, 02:04:33 PM
IDK, that pic GP posted doesn't look too bad.... I'd hit that and have her make me a bacon sammich.  ;) :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 10, 2014, 04:22:50 AM
To each his/her own.... ;)

IDK, that pic GP posted doesn't look too bad.... I'd hit that and have her make me a bacon sammich.  ;) :P

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 10, 2014, 11:37:44 AM
When replacing a dual voltage electric motor always make sure the internal motor voltage matches your line in voltage.  :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 14, 2014, 04:40:37 AM
I hate  :censored: snow and ice..  Went out this morning to dig the RAV4 out of the snow and ice and the front door was totally frozen shut.  All the other doors could be opened, just not the driver's door.  Then I couldn't find the  :censored: ice scraper and had to use one of those windshield washer squeegee thingys.  Thank goodness the snow wasn't totally frozen to the windows.  Had to crawl over the hump to get to the driver's side, start it up, and then move it over to close to the garage so that I could use my garage hair dryer on the door.  After about 30 minutes I was able to open the door.   Walked back in the garage and there was the ice scraper   :doh: .  I hate  :censored: ice and snow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 14, 2014, 04:45:50 AM
30 second door opener
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 14, 2014, 04:49:38 AM
That's a good idea and I have one of those but the door gap is so tight that it wouldn't work without damaging the door.  I was perfectly willing to wait until the ice melted from the heat of the hair dryer.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 14, 2014, 05:22:50 AM
At 4am and 2 degrees it would refreeze as fast as it melts. That's why I keep an old truck. My wife has a remote start so she defreezes hers from the kitchen.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 14, 2014, 05:30:41 AM
It was above freezing here...  If it was 4am and 2 degrees it would stay frozen.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 14, 2014, 05:38:04 AM
Got to go to work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 15, 2014, 11:46:51 AM
I burned up a belt on the snowblower going through knee deep drifts. Wasn't designed for that. Had to use the shovel especially at the end of the driveway where it was deeper and the snow had a lot more water in it from the salt. Now we can't see out the driveway when we want to pull out the snow is almost 5 feet high.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 15, 2014, 11:52:40 AM
Yeah, you 'middle of the country, flatlanders' are really catching it. We are too but as usual, nothing near your level.

There is about 8" on the ground now, the roads are mostly clear and it has just started snowing again.... pretty hard (easy boys!). The forecast is for 6" to 10" by tomorrow. I am re-arranging the skids on the snowblower now in an effort to get it to bite in and dig a big harder; it is riding up on the hard snow in front of it and I am shooting for more digging. I think I will start a different thread about that 'cause some of you people must know more about blowing snow than us coastal wussies :-)

Brian

I burned up a belt on the snowblower going through knee deep drifts. Wasn't designed for that. Had to use the shovel especially at the end of the driveway where it was deeper and the snow had a lot more water in it from the salt. Now we can't see out the driveway when we want to pull out the snow is almost 5 feet high.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 15, 2014, 12:08:20 PM
We are going up to 60F next week, no rain though, but 60F is just too warm after getting so much snow and it being below freezing for 2 months now. I actually saw bare cement yesterday on the driveway! Too soon.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 16, 2014, 06:53:13 AM
We are going up to 60F next week, no rain though, but 60F is just too warm after getting so much snow and it being below freezing for 2 months now. I actually saw bare cement yesterday on the driveway! Too soon.

Mid 40s for us next week. Warm enough to ride for sure but I'd have to get the bike through the mess below first. That's a 6" base of hard snow and ice with more fresh stuff on top of it, around 18 inches of snow all together.

[smg id=630]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 16, 2014, 06:58:48 AM
Car snow tires..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on February 16, 2014, 08:19:38 AM
Car snow tires..
Sissy.  Why tear up the roads with studded car tires?  Go this route instead and pickup your man card.  (Put on them CCs while you are at it Jim).
http://www.yearroundriders.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6745 (http://www.yearroundriders.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6745)
Title: wind map
Post by: Conrad on February 20, 2014, 05:33:11 AM
Very cool animated map of the winds in the United States.

http://hint.fm/wind/index.html (http://hint.fm/wind/index.html)

Click on the map to zoom, mouse over to see the speed at that location.
Title: Re: wind map
Post by: Rhino on February 20, 2014, 11:05:46 AM
Very cool animated map of the winds in the United States.

http://hint.fm/wind/index.html (http://hint.fm/wind/index.html)

Click on the map to zoom, mouse over to see the speed at that location.

Cool! I'm assuming this is surface winds. Would love to have a map like this for different altitudes. Would be awesome for pilots.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 21, 2014, 04:53:15 AM
We've had well above freezing high temps for the last two days so a large amount of the snow in the pic below has melted. My garage is just to the left as you look at the pic (that's my sled trailer). There's nowhere for the water to go except into my garage. I have at least an inch of slush covering the floor in my garage now!  :o :o

[smg id=630]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 26, 2014, 04:31:55 PM
So I was wondering just how many times Groundhog Day is repeated in the movie 'Groundhog Day'. With a little help from Google, it appears that there were quite a few; at least 3,176 days or 8 years, 8 months, and 16 days according to one website named Worf Gnards. And he even has a graph representing the big portions of how Phil allocated his time..... Learning to sculpture ice and play the piano seem to take up the greatest single portions. This is a link to his site: http://www.wolfgnards.com/index.php/2009/06/16/how-long-does-billy-murray-spend-in-grou (http://www.wolfgnards.com/index.php/2009/06/16/how-long-does-billy-murray-spend-in-grou)

Harold Ramis actually responds to this page and that response is located at the bottom of the page referenced. It seems that Mr. Ramis thought that Worf Gnards.... had too much time on his hands....  ;D

And let's all remember: "Don't drive angry, don't drive angry."

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 27, 2014, 05:06:08 AM
So I was wondering just how many times Groundhog Day is repeated in the movie 'Groundhog Day'. With a little help from Google, it appears that there were quite a few; at least 3,176 days or 8 years, 8 months, and 16 days according to one website named Worf Gnards. And he even has a graph representing the big portions of how Phil allocated his time..... Learning to sculpture ice and play the piano seem to take up the greatest single portions. This is a link to his site: http://www.wolfgnards.com/index.php/2009/06/16/how-long-does-billy-murray-spend-in-grou (http://www.wolfgnards.com/index.php/2009/06/16/how-long-does-billy-murray-spend-in-grou)

Harold Ramis actually responds to this page and that response is located at the bottom of the page referenced. It seems that Mr. Ramis thought that Worf Gnards.... had too much time on his hands....  ;D

And let's all remember: "Don't drive angry, don't drive angry."

Brian

How many times did Phil step in that slush filled pot hole?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on February 27, 2014, 06:24:18 PM
(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/emoticons/icehand.jpg) (http://s286.photobucket.com/user/tomdvaughan/media/emoticons/icehand.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 28, 2014, 04:40:42 PM
Two people down with the stomach flu here.  Doing my best to keep the house disinfected....think Monk...only worse.  Will make the ultimate sacrifice and disinfect my stomach with alcohol..preferably vodka and vermouth..  Hope it works.

Will now go for a second round...feeling the first was not enough.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 01, 2014, 06:42:57 AM
Two people down with the stomach flu here.  Doing my best to keep the house disinfected....think Monk...only worse.  Will make the ultimate sacrifice and disinfect my stomach with alcohol..preferably vodka and vermouth..  Hope it works.

Will now go for a second round...feeling the first was not enough.

One can't be too careful with stomach bugs. I would have recommended at least 4 rounds of treatment at a minimum.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 01, 2014, 06:50:44 AM
So far so good.  Treatment appears to be working, albeit with side affects.   The recommended dosage is at least two.  Unfortunately after taking it I feel like doing nothing and I get somewhat loopy and in the morning I have a slight headache.  However, I am working through it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 01, 2014, 06:56:08 AM
So far so good.  Treatment appears to be working, albeit with side affects.   The recommended dosage is at least two.  Unfortunately after taking it I feel like doing nothing and I get somewhat loopy and in the morning I have a slight headache.  However, I am working through it.

What a trooper!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 09, 2014, 06:31:32 AM
I wonder when the first post asking how to set the clock on a C-14 will show up?  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 09, 2014, 07:20:48 AM
Mine's been off since I put a new battery in 2 years ago. A clock on a bike is as wrong as a radio or telephone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 09, 2014, 07:28:58 AM
Mine's been off since I put a new battery in 2 years ago. A clock on a bike is as wrong as a radio or telephone.

You're right there G. I used to use my bike's clock to see how late I was for work. I won't be needing that info any longer...    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 09, 2014, 07:40:36 AM
You're right there G. I used to use my bike's clock to see how late I was for work. I won't be needing that info any longer...    :)
:thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 09, 2014, 09:34:26 AM
Through some sort of miracle, my clock is now correct..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 09, 2014, 10:05:15 AM
Through some sort of miracle, my clock is now correct..

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 09, 2014, 12:07:32 PM
I can beat that, mine is right for about half a year or so, as is my electric IBM time clock I picked up in a flea market last year.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 09, 2014, 05:15:00 PM
A funny thing happened on the way from the bedroom upstairs to the kitchen downstairs this morning.  Smelled something burning....wood burning to be exact.  Nothing was on, no smoke.  Fire alarms had not activated, so where was it coming from?  On a hunch I opened the dishwasher.   I put some dishes in last night and figured I check that out.  The smell was coming from inside the dishwasher!  I found the culprit, a wooden spatula that was turned into charcoal on the wooden handle end and the rubber end had a scorch mark as well.  Seems it fell from the top rack, through the bottom rack and landed on the heater element.  The perfect storm so to speak.

Unfortunately, I can't get the smell out of the dishwasher.  Any hints?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 09, 2014, 05:37:08 PM
A funny thing happened on the way from the bedroom upstairs to the kitchen downstairs this morning.  Smelled something burning....wood burning to be exact.  Nothing was on, no smoke.  Fire alarms had not activated, so where was it coming from?  On a hunch I opened the dishwasher.   I put some dishes in last night and figured I check that out.  The smell was coming from inside the dishwasher!  I found the culprit, a wooden spatula that was turned into charcoal on the wooden handle end and the rubber end had a scorch mark as well.  Seems it fell from the top rack, through the bottom rack and landed on the heater element.  The perfect storm so to speak.

Unfortunately, I can't get the smell out of the dishwasher.  Any hints?

start with this many cycles:  http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Dishwasher-Cleaner/W10282479/1552531 (http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Dishwasher-Cleaner/W10282479/1552531)

then FYI the more you USE the dishwasher, the less the smell will be there
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 09, 2014, 06:11:23 PM
Well, do you have a wood stove now? Do you want one? If so, consider putting a smokestack in the dishwasher and a small draft hole in the front- viola! The buy a new, non- stenchified dish washer (sans smoke stack and draft hole) and poof- everybody is happy!

Or you could take the coward's way out and do what Steve said: just keep doing dishes in it.

One other thing you might try: when shaving brushes are brand new, they can be quite odorific and it ain't a pleasant odor (both boar and badger brushes can be pretty funky)- the preferred way to de- funk them is by using Oxiclean powder. You could try that in the dishwasher- soak everything inside it with Oxiclean and let is soak for a few minutes then cycle the machine and see if the stench calms down.

Brian

A funny thing happened on the way from the bedroom upstairs to the kitchen downstairs this morning.  Smelled something burning....wood burning to be exact.  Nothing was on, no smoke.  Fire alarms had not activated, so where was it coming from?  On a hunch I opened the dishwasher.   I put some dishes in last night and figured I check that out.  The smell was coming from inside the dishwasher!  I found the culprit, a wooden spatula that was turned into charcoal on the wooden handle end and the rubber end had a scorch mark as well.  Seems it fell from the top rack, through the bottom rack and landed on the heater element.  The perfect storm so to speak.

Unfortunately, I can't get the smell out of the dishwasher.  Any hints?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 09, 2014, 06:15:23 PM
Well, do you have a wood stove now? Do you want one? If so, consider putting a smokestack in the dishwasher and a small draft hole in the front- viola! The buy a new, non- stenchified dish washer (sans smoke stack and draft hole) and poof- everybody is happy!

Or you could take the coward's way out and do what Steve said: just keep doing dishes in it.

One other thing you might try: when shaving brushes are brand new, they can be quite odorific and it ain't a pleasant odor (both boar and badger brushes can be pretty funky)- the preferred way to de- funk them is by using Oxiclean powder. You could try that in the dishwasher- soak everything inside it with Oxiclean and let is soak for a few minutes then cycle the machine and see if the stench calms down.

Brian

uhmmm steve said clean it first with the real purpose cleaner in link provided, then separately FYI'd (no matter what, using/cycling it will diminish the smell).

edit:  I like your Billy Mays oxiclean solution you offer too. I didn't realize people select that cleaner  ;D

(http://content.hollywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/oxiclean.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 10, 2014, 04:42:55 AM
A funny thing happened on the way from the bedroom upstairs to the kitchen downstairs this morning.  Smelled something burning....wood burning to be exact.  Nothing was on, no smoke.  Fire alarms had not activated, so where was it coming from?  On a hunch I opened the dishwasher.   I put some dishes in last night and figured I check that out.  The smell was coming from inside the dishwasher!  I found the culprit, a wooden spatula that was turned into charcoal on the wooden handle end and the rubber end had a scorch mark as well.  Seems it fell from the top rack, through the bottom rack and landed on the heater element.  The perfect storm so to speak.

Unfortunately, I can't get the smell out of the dishwasher.  Any hints?

Yeah, leave the door closed. I'm sure that the dirty dishes won't mind the smell.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 10, 2014, 05:27:58 AM
Unfortunately, the smell comes out of the upper vent in the door.  It's diminished this morning but still there.

Steve, thanks for that link.  I didn't know that Affresh made something for the dishwasher.  I use their cleaners for the front loading washing machine for the last several years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 13, 2014, 02:44:23 PM
(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/p403x403/1173866_10152625475374918_446918047_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 13, 2014, 02:48:37 PM
Odor check: how are the olfactory glands doing at your house Jim?

Brian

Unfortunately, the smell comes out of the upper vent in the door.  It's diminished this morning but still there.

Steve, thanks for that link.  I didn't know that Affresh made something for the dishwasher.  I use their cleaners for the front loading washing machine for the last several years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 13, 2014, 02:49:25 PM
Now that is pretty funny Steve. What would make it perfect would be a yellow painted line down the top of the car to align with the one under it :-)

Brian

(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/p403x403/1173866_10152625475374918_446918047_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 13, 2014, 02:57:08 PM
Love it!  The smell is diminishing especially after I put two of the Affresh tablets in it last night.  Probably going to take some more, though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on March 13, 2014, 06:02:28 PM
(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/p403x403/1173866_10152625475374918_446918047_n.jpg)


 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2014, 04:45:59 AM
(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/p403x403/1173866_10152625475374918_446918047_n.jpg)

Parking skills such as these require a ticket!

http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/ (http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/)

The gallery from the site above is interesting.

http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/gallery2/index.php (http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/gallery2/index.php)

This site is hilarious! You can print out 'tickets' to give to the folks who have issues with their parking 'skills'.

http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/files/notice_1.pdf (http://www.youparklikeanasshole.com/files/notice_1.pdf)

 :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on March 14, 2014, 05:37:12 AM

Happy March 14!   

The mens version of Valentine's Day

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=March%2014th (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=March%2014th)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2014, 05:52:36 AM
Happy March 14!   

The mens version of Valentine's Day

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=March%2014th (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=March%2014th)

I had better mention this to my wife before she leaves for work today. I may pass on the steak though...   :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 18, 2014, 07:14:21 AM
Years and years ago, before modern times, I owned a C20 Macintosh tube pre-amp.  I got it from the guy I was working for back in the mid-70s.  I think I paid about $15 for it.  I used it for quite awhile, in fact for over 20 years and then I had a transformer go.  Being stupid, I threw it away.  I could have fixed the darn thing.  Saw one on ebay for nearly 1200 dollars.  Any tube amplifier these days is very pricey.   :banghead: :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on March 18, 2014, 11:25:47 AM
Years and years ago, before modern times, I owned a C20 Macintosh tube pre-amp.  I got it from the guy I was working for back in the mid-70s.  I think I paid about $15 for it.  I used it for quite awhile, in fact for over 20 years and then I had a transformer go.  Being stupid, I threw it away.  I could have fixed the darn thing.  Saw one on ebay for nearly 1200 dollars.  Any tube amplifier these days is very pricey.   :banghead: :doh:

I was born in the mid-70s.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 18, 2014, 12:31:17 PM
ouch
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 18, 2014, 02:49:23 PM
Well in that case, for Jim's story to make any sense to you, you have to know that he is not talking about the 'cardboard inside the toilet paper roll' kind of tube.

 :rotflmao:

I was born in the mid-70s.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rick Hall on March 18, 2014, 07:52:37 PM
If you file for FL210, your IAS is 225kts and the OAT is -5C at 21,000', what number do you put in block 4 of your flight plan?

Rick
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on March 18, 2014, 08:05:22 PM
125?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 18, 2014, 08:21:34 PM
I was born in the mid-70s.

Too bad you missed the 60's and mid-70's.  Those were pretty good years when I can remember them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 18, 2014, 11:05:00 PM
I miss my 1st of several track bikes. Glad I kept the tag though.

(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/junk1/tractoy1of1.jpg)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 19, 2014, 04:11:36 AM
If you file for FL210, your IAS is 225kts and the OAT is -5C at 21,000', what number do you put in block 4 of your flight plan?

Rick
42
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 19, 2014, 04:53:02 AM
Years and years ago, before modern times, I owned a C20 Macintosh tube pre-amp.  I got it from the guy I was working for back in the mid-70s.  I think I paid about $15 for it.  I used it for quite awhile, in fact for over 20 years and then I had a transformer go.  Being stupid, I threw it away.  I could have fixed the darn thing.  Saw one on ebay for nearly 1200 dollars.  Any tube amplifier these days is very pricey.   :banghead: :doh:

Several years ago I was getting rid of some old equipment at work. The boss said to get rid of a whole bunch of stuff in the room I was working in and he didn't care what I did with the stuff or how I got rid of it. One of the pieces of equipment was a McIntosh mono tube amp is pristine condition. I don't remember the model number but that thing weighed a ton! I put it on the bench and tested it out, it worked perfectly. I was curious to see what that thing was worth so I checked it out on e-bay. I found the exact same model that had just been sold and it went for $750. I contacted the guy (he lived in India) who came in second in the bidding (back then you could do that). I told him what I had and sent him some pics. He told me that he HAD to have that amp and offered me $800 plus shipping. SOLD! He said that he would mail me the money and then I could ship it to him. Fine with me. About a week later I received $900 in the mail, ALL cash wrapped in tin foil. WTF? No matter, the money was real and I shipped the amp thank you very much! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 19, 2014, 06:00:19 PM
First time renting a hamster mobile (Kia Soul).  Pretty good power, nice and roomy and handles decently.  Not much carrying space, though.  Another drawback..I have the insane urge to play loud music and bob my head to it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on March 19, 2014, 10:18:35 PM
I have some stuff from the early 70's. It is the Nakamichi wedge series. (not the real name). It has a pre amp, tuner, power amp, cassette deck, a power center and a rack that holds them one above the other. I got it from a buddy who bought it new. I gave it to a young guy that I know and now he has no room for it (two new kids). So I am getting it back. Googled it and a set like this sells for about a grand! Woo Hoo!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 20, 2014, 11:03:34 AM
Doris Day was originally planned for the part of "Mrs. Robinson" in the film The Graduate. But they were worried that many people seeing her in the way with stockings s and heels would have had an opposite effect at what they wanted to portray and I think she was also worried about adverse effect to her "good girl' persona.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 02, 2014, 10:07:28 AM
Speaking of beer, I had some Crabbies Ginger Beer which is out of the UK.  Most awful stuff I've ever tasted.  I've never had a sweet beer and based on this experience will never ever try one again.  Got three bottles left (thank goodness it only comes in a 4 pack here).  Free for the taking and take it as far away as you can.  :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on April 02, 2014, 10:44:53 AM
Did somebody say beer? If you live in the Portland area you need to check out ABV (http://www.abvpub.com/). 32 beers on tap always rotating new microbeers, meads, wines. Food is good a bit on the pricey side, but you can't beat the beer selection. There websites shows real time how much is left in each keg.  :thumbs: :chugbeer:

http://www.abvpub.com/taps/ (http://www.abvpub.com/taps/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 02, 2014, 11:23:47 AM
Love them Gumby, made it there last summer.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on April 02, 2014, 12:31:47 PM
(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/emoticons/headscratch.gif) (http://s286.photobucket.com/user/tomdvaughan/media/emoticons/headscratch.gif.html) ABV just opened up a month or two ago.

Brent, you must have been in a drunkin slumber at one of the other fine beer establishments we have around here. ;) I love the PNW, tons of places to go get good food and micro beer.  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 02, 2014, 12:32:58 PM
I was drinking so fast, I got the names confused.
:)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 08, 2014, 07:32:01 PM
I bought a new motorcycle.

A Beta Evo 300.  Yawn ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on April 08, 2014, 08:57:13 PM
I bought a new motorcycle.

A Beta Evo 300.  Yawn ;)


2013 Beta Evo Factory 300cc Extreme trial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej5aCCXiJaY#ws)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 14, 2014, 03:59:42 AM
I hate Frontier

http://www.speedtest.net/ (http://www.speedtest.net/)

Download speed=1.12 Mbps
Upload speed    =  .21 Mbps
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 14, 2014, 04:39:06 AM
I hate Frontier

http://www.speedtest.net/ (http://www.speedtest.net/)

Download speed=1.12 Mbps
Upload speed    =  .21 Mbps

I love my Comcast network connection!

Download speed = 57.57 Mbps
Upload speed = 11.67 Mbps
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 14, 2014, 08:43:49 AM
I love my Comcast network connection!

Download speed = 57.57 Mbps
Upload speed = 11.67 Mbps

:O
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 16, 2014, 01:53:44 PM
Doris Day drinks beer. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 16, 2014, 02:08:54 PM
I knew I liked her!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: freebird6 on April 20, 2014, 02:46:56 PM
yeeeeshhhh

I knew my aT &  T was slow but that is anemic. Need to look at my contract to see what I am paying for

DOWNLOAD
3.33Mb/s
UPLOAD
1.70Mb/s

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 20, 2014, 05:31:08 PM
You made me look, and according to Speakeasy:

Download Speed: 32656 kbps (4082 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 7022 kbps (877.8 KB/sec transfer rate)

Cox

Brian

I love my Comcast network connection!

Download speed = 57.57 Mbps
Upload speed = 11.67 Mbps
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 20, 2014, 06:47:20 PM
12.7Mbps download, 1.57Mbps upload
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on April 20, 2014, 09:33:38 PM
You got me curious, so just tested mine, 30.06 mbps download and 11.83 mbps upload... I have Xfinity.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on April 21, 2014, 12:55:18 PM
6.58 download and 0.53 upload, on the best plan available to me in Italy....which is at least twice as fast as the connection at work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on April 21, 2014, 01:02:07 PM
14.68 Down, 2.13 Up with local Cable Service...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on April 21, 2014, 01:06:00 PM
(http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/emoticons/RideFast.jpg) (http://s286.photobucket.com/user/tomdvaughan/media/emoticons/RideFast.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 26, 2014, 05:19:26 AM
I had one of my 17 year old Clown Loaches die last night. He was a big boy at 8" long.  :(

(http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddbal46.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 27, 2014, 07:39:10 AM
Damn! I just found out that my local Kawasaki dealer closed it's doors for good. That's the bad news.

The good news is that the tech they had, who is top notch in my book, has opened his own independent shop across from the HD dealer in town. I stopped by his shop to take a look at his operation. He purchased all of the old equipment from the Kaw shop when they went under and his shop looks to be first class. I'll be going there for my non-warranty work.

http://www.openairpowersports.com/ (http://www.openairpowersports.com/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 28, 2014, 03:39:23 PM
Spent last week in WA State riding in 45 degree rain (street class for the Special Forces Motorcycle Mentors), arrived in NC Sunday Morning to a hottish 80 degrees.  Today?  Muggy, 75ish, and then the rain started.  70 degrees and a real downpour complimented by lightning.  Stopped class early, which was a good call seeing as we are using the airstrip at Camp Mackall :o

Go figure, sun is shining in the PNW.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on April 28, 2014, 04:33:23 PM
Spent last week in WA State riding in 45 degree rain (street class for the Special Forces Motorcycle Mentors), arrived in NC Sunday Morning to a hottish 80 degrees.  Today?  Muggy, 75ish, and then the rain started.  70 degrees and a real downpour complimented by lightning.  Stopped class early, which was a good call seeing as we are using the airstrip at Camp Mackall :o

Go figure, sun is shining in the PNW.


Yep, yer missing out Chet, supposed to be great weather here in the PNW all week, Wednesday n Thursday are looking to be in the mid-80's!  :o   8)


Safe travels bro!  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 28, 2014, 05:12:23 PM
I bought a new razor this past weekend. A Merkur, made in Germany, old style safety razor, long handle, heavyweight, two piece. Should last a lifetime.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 28, 2014, 05:59:51 PM
Which one? I have a couple of Merkurs but the adjustable Progress is my favorite.

The Merkur is on the left:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/MerkurandRedDot.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/MerkurandRedDot.jpg.html)

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/RedDotToggle.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/RedDotToggle.jpg.html)

And that little gem on the right is a genuine Gillette Toggle Red Dot. They were the prototype adjustable razor, only made in one quarter of the year and only two years. The one shown happens to have been made in the same quarter and year (my 'birthyear' razor) as me :-)  A pretty rare razor, especially in that condition.

There has been a tremendous revival in the double edge safety razor industry lately. The prices for fairly common razors are really increasing and for rare razors they are getting downright insane. The joke among users and collectors is that wet shaving is going to save me money: I personally think I will be even sometime in the year 2689 or so. 

Brian

I bought a new razor this past weekend. A Merkur, made in Germany, old style safety razor, long handle, heavyweight, two piece. Should last a lifetime.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 28, 2014, 06:06:21 PM
Its a Merkur 99 "classic heavyweight", long handle, two piece.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on April 28, 2014, 07:12:27 PM

Yep, yer missing out Chet, supposed to be great weather here in the PNW all week, Wednesday n Thursday are looking to be in the mid-80's!  :o   8)


Safe travels bro!  :chugbeer:
Well, some 6,000 miles in the last 30 days I feel safe in saying I am getting some seat time in.  On road, off road, off road racing, and training.  I can hardly wait for "Riding" season to get here :P  I am riding a 2014 Ultra this week so the pace is a bit differant :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on April 28, 2014, 07:49:58 PM
I am riding a 2014 Ultra this week so the pace is a bit differant :-[


 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 29, 2014, 01:54:29 PM
Got six cords of wood (easy boys!) delivered today. Next year's heat is taken care of and there should be at least one, and hopefully two or more, cord left over to season for more than a year.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on April 29, 2014, 03:14:59 PM
(http://static.dudeiwantthat.com/gear/novelty/objects-in-mirror-are-losing-10396.jpg)

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 29, 2014, 03:38:42 PM
Outstanding!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2014, 06:01:58 AM
My brother traded his Allison bass boat for a 2010 FJR w/6,000 miles on it.  :)

Sweet! Now I'll finally have someone to ride with.  :thumbs:

He hasn't owned a bike since he had some woman make a left turn in front of him and he ended up in a coma for two weeks. That must have been 20 years or more ago. He wasn't wearing a helmet at the time. He says that he'll never ride without one now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 03, 2014, 06:04:05 AM
Sigh....and why not a C14?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2014, 06:06:43 AM
Sigh....and why not a C14?

He wanted a C14 but he couldn't find anyone who wanted to trade for his boat. He was a bit bummed that I have the faster bike.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 03, 2014, 07:25:48 AM
Good...and well he should be.  What color is his bike?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 03, 2014, 07:53:58 AM
Was it floating or on the bottom of the lake or river? I mean hey, if you are trying to trade a boat that won't float, you don't think you're going to do better than an FJR, do you?

Good luck to your brother on the new ride and the very best of luck with it- they really are nice bikes of course.

<duckin', grinnin' and runnin'>

Brian

He wanted a C14 but he couldn't find anyone who wanted to trade for his boat. He was a bit bummed that I have the faster bike.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 04, 2014, 05:51:36 AM
Good...and well he should be.  What color is his bike?

 :)

[smg id=632]



Was it floating or on the bottom of the lake or river? I mean hey, if you are trying to trade a boat that won't float, you don't think you're going to do better than an FJR, do you?

Good luck to your brother on the new ride and the very best of luck with it- they really are nice bikes of course.

<duckin', grinnin' and runnin'>

Brian

Thanks Brian! His boat still floated just fine, and looked great, It was his souped-up motor that belonged at the bottom of the river. When it ran, it RAN. I was in it a few years ago, just the two of us, when he reached 125mph (via GPS). That boat sits VERY low in the water and 125 felt crazy fast in that thing! He was spending way too much money keeping that motor running.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 04, 2014, 07:06:56 AM
Well, at least it is one of the faster colors.  Not as fast as our 08s, of course, but still fast.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 04, 2014, 07:17:53 AM
Well, at least it is one of the faster colors.  Not as fast as our 08s, of course, but still fast.

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 04, 2014, 11:16:54 AM
My idiot brother-in-law the cop talks with a Midwestern accent.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 05, 2014, 05:00:40 AM
I have jury duty today.  :(

On the plus side, the county courthouse is 45 mins away, it's a VERY scenic ride, and it's going to be 65 and sunny today.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 05, 2014, 07:42:40 AM
He wanted a C14 but he couldn't find anyone who wanted to trade for his boat. He was a bit bummed that I have the faster bike.   :)

Wow, Allison boats are total bad-*ss too
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 06, 2014, 04:35:57 AM
Wow, Allison boats are total bad-*ss too

His Allison was some kind of limited/special addition too. He had a heck of a time locating that boat when he first bought it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 06, 2014, 04:44:28 AM
I have jury duty today.  :(

On the plus side, the county courthouse is 45 mins away, it's a VERY scenic ride, and it's going to be 65 and sunny today.  :)

I took the long way to the courthouse yesterday, took me an hour. After sitting in the 'jury room' for an hour and a half (with 49 other prospective jurors) the judge came in and told us to go home because the defendant pleaded guilty 'on the courthouse steps' as the judge put it.

Took me three hours to get home.    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 06, 2014, 06:37:10 AM
I went to jury duty once but could not ride my bike :-(  Still, it was quite interesting- there were originally 4 cases coming to trial and a gigantic jury pool. Half of the pool was dismissed the first morning but I got to stay. As the cases were all being settled by plea bargain, the people needed for jurors kept going down but I kept missing the 'go home' selections (name on wrong end of alphabet, standing on wrong side of room, etc.). Actually went back the next day, went through the entire instruction process and was sworn in WHEN SUDDENLY, the last case also reached a plea bargain. It was an interesting experience though and hey, 'cause I got sworn in, I got jury pay for two whole days....  I think it was something like $15 / day, or in C-14 terms, 4% of 1/2 of a cheap farkle.

Brian

I took the long way to the courthouse yesterday, took me an hour. After sitting in the 'jury room' for an hour and a half (with 49 other prospective jurors) the judge came in and told us to go home because the defendant pleaded guilty 'on the courthouse steps' as the judge put it.

Took me three hours to get home.    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 06, 2014, 08:59:45 AM
I was not only selected to be on the Jury, I was selected as Jury Forman. On the first day the case was dismissed because the prosecuting attorney screwed up, but they didn't tell us how.
This was 8-10 years ago. I also went in 2012, and I have another at the end of this month. I sort of hope to make it through one of them someday, but probably not this one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 06, 2014, 09:01:00 AM
I went to jury duty once but could not ride my bike :-(  Still, it was quite interesting- there were originally 4 cases coming to trial and a gigantic jury pool. Half of the pool was dismissed the first morning but I got to stay. As the cases were all being settled by plea bargain, the people needed for jurors kept going down but I kept missing the 'go home' selections (name on wrong end of alphabet, standing on wrong side of room, etc.). Actually went back the next day, went through the entire instruction process and was sworn in WHEN SUDDENLY, the last case also reached a plea bargain. It was an interesting experience though and hey, 'cause I got sworn in, I got jury pay for two whole days....  I think it was something like $15 / day, or in C-14 terms, 4% of 1/2 of a cheap farkle.

Brian

We were all handed a pamphlet On The Importance of Being A Juror and a payment voucher (reimbursement for mileage only) to fill out. The bailiff swore us all in and we got to watch a nifty video On The Importance of Being A Juror, which was taken verbatim from the pamphlet, go figure.

I was so bored I think that I read that pamphlet seven times and then made an airplane outta it. I didn't fly it though, I didn't think that the bailiff would appreciate that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 07, 2014, 10:58:21 AM
I WANT to serve jury duty. I've never been called. But seeing as how I work for the Gov't and a few of my family are police or were, I'm not sure I'll ever be seated.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 07, 2014, 11:06:09 AM
Well, that or your idiot brother- in- law may get in the way :-)

I found the whole process pretty interesting although like most legal matters, they did manage to cram 2 interesting hours into two days :-( 

Brian

I WANT to serve jury duty. I've never been called. But seeing as how I work for the Gov't and a few of my family are police or were, I'm not sure I'll ever be seated.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on May 07, 2014, 12:02:52 PM
Oh yeah, the lawyer will ask, are you or any of your family ever been employed by the Gov't, served in the military, fire, police, medical, nurse, arrested, testified in a court of law, sued, deposed, or otherwise connected to or have bias concerning anything remotely similar to being near or treating, saving, fighting, or defending oneself relating to the defendant. "Uh, yes to all sir". "Naw, we don't want him".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 07, 2014, 12:34:48 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/10300046_10152432923455329_8508080036076921298_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 13, 2014, 11:30:25 AM
Zombis do exist  ;D

(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10365839_10152441065841178_54047946263013152_n.png)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2014, 11:42:24 AM
 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on May 13, 2014, 12:11:22 PM
http://youtu.be/Z7dLU6fk9QY (http://youtu.be/Z7dLU6fk9QY)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 13, 2014, 01:13:57 PM
I gathered this from the  ::) video.  Turn off the phone, close the lid, and ride  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2014, 01:59:42 PM
Wise advice.

I like Earl Grey Bergamot tea.  In fact, I'm drinking it now!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 13, 2014, 02:07:37 PM
Wise advice.

I like Earl Grey Bergamot tea.  In fact, I'm drinking it now!

Which flavor?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 13, 2014, 03:08:49 PM
Domain migrations suck.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2014, 03:15:48 PM
Which flavor?

Black tea is all it says on the envelope.

Domain migrations suck.

I haven't done one as I don't work in that domain but I do feel your pain.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 13, 2014, 05:11:06 PM
Black tea is all it says on the envelope.

Thanks!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 13, 2014, 05:12:18 PM
my addiction is epic.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10320506_10202682119468755_5601604259863202157_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2014, 06:17:43 PM
So I see..  What a way to go, though!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 16, 2014, 05:11:19 AM
WTF?

It's snowing here!!!   :o

May 16th and it's freakin snowing.    ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 16, 2014, 05:38:35 AM
Global cooling?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 16, 2014, 06:22:25 AM
You mock me Sir, you mock me!  I just moved my snowblower back to the back of the garage and never did get a chance to go for a 'test blow' (easy boys!) after the re-work on it. :-(    Now we are on to lawn tractor and leaf vacuum..... sigh.

Brian

WTF?

It's snowing here!!!   :o

May 16th and it's freakin snowing.    ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 16, 2014, 08:02:48 AM
You mock me Sir, you mock me!  I just moved my snowblower back to the back of the garage and never did get a chance to go for a 'test blow' (easy boys!) after the re-work on it. :-(    Now we are on to lawn tractor and leaf vacuum..... sigh.

Brian

Ah ha! So it's your fault then, Brian? Did I not tell you that all you had to do was to put your snowblower away and it would snow? I didn't say that it would snow where you are though, too bad...

My wife's flowers that she just planted ain't gonna be none too happy

[smg id=636]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on May 16, 2014, 09:36:37 AM
... Now we are on to lawn tractor and leaf vacuum..... sigh....

We get much more cold weather, and you may need to use the leaf blower sooner than you'd like...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 19, 2014, 03:05:28 PM
(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/993418_615963948441664_1814850747_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 19, 2014, 05:30:58 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 22, 2014, 11:14:31 AM
Off to get a growler filled in Fredericksburg..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 22, 2014, 09:23:36 PM
Why hasn't Jay posted pictures of his installed headers?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 04:21:03 AM
Growler filled with Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager for the weekend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 23, 2014, 06:06:41 AM
Growler filled with Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager for the weekend.

 :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 06:23:24 AM
And it's all mine! hahahhahahahahaahahahah!  Mine, I tell you, all mine!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 23, 2014, 06:38:35 AM
And it's all mine! hahahhahahahahaahahahah!  Mine, I tell you, all mine!

Daffy Duck mine mine all mine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjB9jlDvUNM#ws)

 :o

You wouldn't share with a thirsty fellow Connie rider?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 06:47:25 AM
Depends.  If they helped me with my project list, I could be persuaded...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 23, 2014, 07:01:35 AM
Depends.  If they helped me with my project list, I could be persuaded...

Like getting those Canyon Cages off the shelf and onto your bike?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 23, 2014, 07:15:57 AM
Why hasn't Jay posted pictures of his installed headers?


Install is on the 29th Chet.  :) :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 23, 2014, 07:24:31 AM

Install is on the 29th Chet.  :) :chugbeer:
You need a dedicated pit crew, or send SWMBO to a mechanics school ;D  I reckon Gumby would do, in a pinch of course, I hear he works for beer ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 07:32:01 AM
Beer good!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 23, 2014, 08:30:00 AM
You need a dedicated pit crew, or send SWMBO to a mechanics school ;D  I reckon Gumby would do, in a pinch of course, I hear he works for beer ;)


 ;D :chugbeer:


Mama could probably handle it, and it would be cheaper than how many beers Gumby can drink...  ;)



Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 08:41:47 AM
While we do appreciate the pic, Jay, it just couldn't stay..... :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 23, 2014, 12:35:46 PM
100 pages of nothing at all.

WIN
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 23, 2014, 12:40:20 PM
at least "stop texting while riding a motorcycle" isn't being suggested here.

(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10245567_751157028257270_6873970232450643438_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 23, 2014, 12:45:24 PM
While we do appreciate the pic, Jay, it just couldn't stay..... :'(


 :(


I thought the rule in the open section was no nipple no foul?  ??? :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on May 23, 2014, 01:56:24 PM
Did somebody say beer?  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 23, 2014, 02:11:54 PM
at least "stop texting while riding a motorcycle" isn't being suggested here.

(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10245567_751157028257270_6873970232450643438_n.jpg)

I didn't know vette's had a back seat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 23, 2014, 02:17:03 PM
Did somebody say beer?  :chugbeer:

^^^  has been known to lead to strange nipples
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 02:50:30 PM

 :(


I thought the rule in the open section was no nipple no foul?  ??? :-\

That was pushing the boundary, Jay, and it was removed. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: DucRider on May 23, 2014, 03:04:52 PM
at least "stop texting while riding a motorcycle" isn't being suggested here.

(https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10245567_751157028257270_6873970232450643438_n.jpg)



Meh...i am pretty sure that on the new season from Fast & Loud, the guys from Gas Monkey garage will get that vette, flip it and make a trillion dollars...Watch!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 23, 2014, 03:54:04 PM
Hopefully minus the head...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 23, 2014, 08:47:51 PM
Hopefully minus the head...
I thought good beer had a little head?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 24, 2014, 05:55:31 AM
I guess it depends....in this case I'm talking about the head in the backseat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 24, 2014, 09:43:19 AM
I guess it depends....in this case I'm talking about the head in the backseat.
Are we back on depends?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 24, 2014, 10:56:26 AM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 24, 2014, 11:50:37 AM
Are we back on depends?
Too much beer?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 24, 2014, 05:08:28 PM
As the story goes....

On 1 July 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, Confederate General John B. Gordon aided the badly wounded Union General Francis Barlow. Due to the severity of the wound, Gordon assumed Barlow did not survive it but did not actually know that Barlow did die from his wounds. In fact, Barlow recovered and survived many years after the Civil war. The two men met again after the war was over at dinner in Washington DC where there were introduced. An account of that later meeting was published in Gordon's book:

"Seated at Clarkson Potter's table, I asked Barlow: "General, are you related to the Barlow who was killed at Gettysburg?" He replied: "Why, I am the man, sir. Are you related to the Gordon who killed me?" "I am the man, sir," I responded. No words of mine can convey any conception of the emotions awakened by those startling announcements. Nothing short of an actual resurrection from the dead could have amazed either of us more. Thenceforward, until his untimely death in 1896, the friendship between us which was born amidst the thunders of Gettysburg was greatly cherished by both."
— John B. Gordon, Reminiscences of the Civil War

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 24, 2014, 05:51:37 PM
The growler has been emptied...a moment of silence please.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 24, 2014, 06:59:32 PM
The growler has been emptied...a moment of silence please.

Reply #1485 on: Yesterday at 05:21:03 am »
Growler filled with Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager for the weekend

Must have been a big growler
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 25, 2014, 07:27:06 AM
I really don't know how much it holds.   More than a bottle, though.  The problem is once opened, you've got to drink it all up otherwise it get's flat pretty fast.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 26, 2014, 03:54:06 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/10367606_10152456487878010_2640596776219893525_n.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 26, 2014, 05:28:02 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/10367606_10152456487878010_2640596776219893525_n.jpg)
Is the kid watching the creation portion or the being pushed out bit?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 26, 2014, 05:38:15 PM
Why would it have to be one or the other? Why not both....with a fading cut between them?

Brian

Is the kid watching the creation portion or the being pushed out bit?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on May 26, 2014, 08:59:33 PM
I've decided I'm not very smart sometimes. Other times, I amaze myself. But the former is taking over....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 27, 2014, 06:46:51 AM
Why would it have to be one or the other? Why not both....with a fading cut between them?

Brian

+1

I suspect the kid saw the whole procedure from drawers being unzipped to the chord being cut (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ZG on May 28, 2014, 06:28:21 PM
California Girls [HD] - David Lee Roth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMoLENWsSk#ws)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on May 28, 2014, 07:24:33 PM
 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 30, 2014, 06:41:17 AM
T-Mobile ad gal wears her gloves.

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/NetJester/Temp/t-mobile-biker_zps73380b06.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 30, 2014, 07:16:42 AM
Oh baby!

Saw these yesterday. There was about 20 of them and man did they sound good!

[smg id=637]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on May 30, 2014, 07:25:32 AM
^^^^nice!   A friend just slammed together a 550 HP cobra kit with a 4K paint job that is off the chain.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 30, 2014, 08:01:09 AM
^^^^nice!   A friend just slammed together a 550 HP cobra kit with a 4K paint job that is off the chain.

We were having a beer (or five) at a brewpub when a swarm of Shelbys pulled into the gas station across the street. Every one of them was being driven by an old geezer. They all had to rev 'em up before they shut down for their fill-up. They sure sounded nice! After they filled up they all met at the harbor parking lot, that's where I got the crappy cellpic.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on May 30, 2014, 08:06:12 AM
2 years ago the wife and I were at Pikes Peak when a large group of Cobras showed up.  After drooling on several I waited for them to leave so I could follow them down.  What a treat..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 30, 2014, 01:22:47 PM
So last night at the supermarket, we got a nasty surprise. Apparently they have now divided the shopping carts into catagories including "Touring", "Sport" and "Cruiser". Honestly, I could not tell them apart right away but anyway, there were only the 'cruiser' models left so we grabbed one and went shopping. Then I discovered what distinguished it from the other models:

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Cruisershoppingcart.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Cruisershoppingcart.jpg.html)

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Cruisershoppingcart2.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Cruisershoppingcart2.jpg.html)

I have to admit, I did feel tougher and more manly pushing that thing around and I had the strangest craving to add tassels to the carriage....?

At the check out, I tried to pull those onions and the bag (easy boys!) off the cart handle but could not break that plastic! It just stretched until my onions almost touched the floor and finally snapped with a bang. I don't know what the woman behind me though but she would not look me in the eye. ?? 

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 25, 2014, 05:52:46 AM
I've added a Lava Lamp to my office decor...blue.  My granddaughter bought it, but my daughter wasn't comfortable with the heat it put out so now I have it.

Darn thing is taking forever to heat up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on June 25, 2014, 09:21:01 PM
Now you have me thinking...where is my lava lamp??? Hmmmm.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 26, 2014, 04:31:32 AM
Now you have me thinking...where is my lava lamp??? Hmmmm.....

In the box with the black light.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 26, 2014, 05:14:16 AM
That's the next purchase.  And then....a poster that uses black light...I'm thinking Easy Rider.  I had one of those in my room when I was in HS.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 26, 2014, 06:25:08 AM
I had a Lamborghini Countach and a Farrah Fawcett poster in my dorm room. Wasn't allowed posters at home in HS.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 26, 2014, 08:16:47 AM
I had a Lamborghini Countach and a Farrah Fawcett poster in my dorm room. Wasn't allowed posters at home in HS.

Didn't we all.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 26, 2014, 08:36:56 AM
That's the next purchase.  And then....a poster that uses black light...I'm thinking Easy Rider.  I had one of those in my room when I was in HS.

You really need a Keep On Truckin poster.

(http://www.trippystore.com/shop/images/items/005743.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 27, 2014, 06:58:39 AM
I went to the local super mall yesterday, first time in YEARS that I've been in any mall (I needed to buy two new batteries for my truck at Sears).

Holy ****! I'm SO glad that my wife and I only have sons and no daughters!

I'm amazed at the way some of these young teenage girls dress!  :o  They look like a bunch of prostitutes!

I would NEVER in a million years let my daughter (if I had one) leave the house looking that way.    >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 27, 2014, 09:11:04 AM
Yeah, I also have two sons (30 and 27) and well remember THEM going to the mall- the girls were impressively dressed (is that really dressed?) back then too.

As our society has become more permissive, the people's overall behavior has become truly impressive. Look at what young female media stars do to get 'ink' (publicity) these days.... the gentlest way I can put it is.... upskirt shots.  ::) :o >:(   Hey, we're old and not with the times to be sure but I do not think I could maintain a decent relationship with a daughter that did some of the things young females are doing today in public, for money. I guess today it is called being 'famous'; when I grew up we had a very different name for that.

Brian

I went to the local super mall yesterday, first time in YEARS that I've been in any mall (I needed to buy two new batteries for my truck at Sears).

Holy ****! I'm SO glad that my wife and I only have sons and no daughters!

I'm amazed at the way some of these young teenage girls dress!  :o  They look like a bunch of prostitutes!

I would NEVER in a million years let my daughter (if I had one) leave the house looking that way.    >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 28, 2014, 10:57:49 AM
To get this thread back OFFTOPIC....

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, up to late 1944, the highest officer's rank in the armed forces of the US was General or Admiral, both 4- star ranks. At the end of 1944, congress passed legislation to create another rank, one with five stars. In most other western countries, this rank is termed 'Marshal', 'Field Marshal' or similar. It was considered in the US but rejected because the first person selected for this new rank was General George C. Marshall and giving him the official title "Marshal Marshall" was thought to be in poor taste. So the rank was named "General of the Army" and "Fleet Admiral" and "General of the Air Force", depending on branch of service of course, instead.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 28, 2014, 02:19:54 PM
That is a cool piece of trivia I never knew. Thanks Brian.

To get this thread back OFFTOPIC....

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, up to late 1944, the highest officer's rank in the armed forces of the US was General or Admiral, both 4- star ranks. At the end of 1944, congress passed legislation to create another rank, one with five stars. In most other western countries, this rank is termed 'Marshal', 'Field Marshal' or similar. It was considered in the US but rejected because the first person selected for this new rank was General George C. Marshall and giving him the official title "Marshal Marshall" was thought to be in poor taste. So the rank was named "General of the Army" and "Fleet Admiral" and "General of the Air Force", depending on branch of service of course, instead.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 29, 2014, 09:43:03 AM
Great- maybe you will like today's useless piece of information.... :-)

So who was the highest ranking officer ever in the US military? The answer is short, the reason for it is a little longer.

Before the 20 century the answer is sketchy due to the various ranks, terms and qualifiers. From 1919 it was John J. Pershing ('Black Jack' Pershing although that was a much- softened version of his nickname and it was quite derogatory). But then in 1976, George Washington became the highest ranking US military officer ever. Kinda' funny, huh?

So it goes like this: after the first World War, Pershing was given the rank "General of the Armies" (note the plural) and it was considered the equivalent of a six- star general. This meant he clearly out- ranked Washington and all that served before himself. Then in 1976, Congress passed a bill making Washington General of the Armies also but given his earlier promotion, he would effective out rank Pershing.

Pershing was given the choice of the what insignia to use- he chose to wear the four stars of a full general but in gold rather than silver to denote the different rank.

Brian

That is a cool piece of trivia I never knew. Thanks Brian.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 29, 2014, 11:18:04 AM
Never knew that.   :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 30, 2014, 07:22:06 AM
So I wonder why they didn't give Pershing the title Field Marshal.

Great- maybe you will like today's useless piece of information.... :-)

So who was the highest ranking officer ever in the US military? The answer is short, the reason for it is a little longer.

Before the 20 century the answer is sketchy due to the various ranks, terms and qualifiers. From 1919 it was John J. Pershing ('Black Jack' Pershing although that was a much- softened version of his nickname and it was quite derogatory). But then in 1976, George Washington became the highest ranking US military officer ever. Kinda' funny, huh?

So it goes like this: after the first World War, Pershing was given the rank "General of the Armies" (note the plural) and it was considered the equivalent of a six- star general. This meant he clearly out- ranked Washington and all that served before himself. Then in 1976, Congress passed a bill making Washington General of the Armies also but given his earlier promotion, he would effective out rank Pershing.

Pershing was given the choice of the what insignia to use- he chose to wear the four stars of a full general but in gold rather than silver to denote the different rank.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 30, 2014, 07:34:06 AM
Update to my post above...

I replaced the original two batteries in my Silverado, they were both 11 years old. One was actually still good but the other was not and it was draining the good battery. The bad battery was the one that was in the hotter of the two locations under the hood.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 30, 2014, 08:37:20 AM
I do not know but I would suspect that it was done right at the end of WWI when all things German fell into disfavor. The term Field Marshal would have been most closely associated with Germans at that time, and even perhaps today.

Hey, that reminds me of more useless trivia:  One of the most popular dog breeds is the German Shepherd Dog (I believe the only dog to actually have the word 'dog' in its name) and it has been since the breed's development at the turn of the 20th century. As already mentioned, after both World Wars, lots of things associated with Germans or Germany fell into disfavor. So the German Shepherd Dog has yet another name- it is also called an Alsatian. This was the conjeured up name to prevent a very popular dog breed from falling out of popularity just because of its name.

Brian



So I wonder why they didn't give Pershing the title Field Marshal.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: wile_e_coyote on June 30, 2014, 10:03:19 AM
I have one more Dog Breed to add.

The American Eskimo Dog is a breed of companion dog originating in Germany. The American Eskimo is a member of the Spitz family. Despite its name and appearance, the American Eskimo dog is not from Alaska; the dog's heritage is traced back to Northern Europe. The breed's progenitors were German Spitz, but due to anti-German prejudice during the First World War, it was renamed "American Eskimo Dog". Although modern American Eskimos have been exported as German Spitz Gross (or Mittel, depending on the dog's height), the breed standards are actually significantly different. In addition to serving as a watchdog and companion, the American Eskimo dog also achieved a high degree of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s United States as a circus performer.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 03, 2014, 07:18:13 AM
Because tomorrow is 4 July, today's trivia is about a Frenchman.... (wait, it turns out OK).

Marquis de Lafayette was an aristocrat born in France to nobility. Despite that, he was very much taken with the American Revolution, the founding fathers and the spirit of the new country. He fought in the revolution as a major general and was a hero of both the American revolution as well as the French revolution shortly afterward. He gained American citizenship while here and when he died he was given the same honors as Washington and Adams had received upon their deaths. Lafeyette was buried in Paris, France, under soil from Bunker Hill, MA, USA (the site of a famous American revolutionary battle, more or less (OK, it was Breed's hill but hey, history is full of 'close enough')).

This bond between the Americans and Lafayette is so great that when some of the first Americans arrived in France upon the US's entry into World War I, at a point when the country of France had been bled nearly white, the American Colonel Charles Stanton (nephew of A. Lincoln's Secratary of War) visited Lafayette's tomb on July 4, 1917, and said:

“America has joined forces with the Allied Powers, and what we have of blood and treasure are yours. Therefore it is that with loving pride we drape the colors in tribute of respect to this citizen of your great republic. And here and now, in the presence of the illustrious dead, we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue. Lafayette, we are here.” 

And placed an American flag at Lafayette's tomb. That flag has been changed daily ever since, always standing over the grave from that day forward, even during the German occupation of Paris from 1940 to 1944.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 03, 2014, 07:04:33 PM
I was going through some old pics the other day and found some of my idiot brother-in-law the cop and myself. These are truly rare indeed and never before seen or published photos. I will try my best to post them this Sunday so mark your calendars, wake the kids and call the neighbors this will be a once in a lifetime experience to see me and him together.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on July 03, 2014, 09:51:44 PM
I was going through some old pics the other day and found some of my idiot brother-in-law the cop and myself. These are truly rare indeed and never before seen or published photos. I will try my best to post them this Sunday so mark your calendars, wake the kids and call the neighbors this will be a once in a lifetime experience to see me and him together.

We are waiting with anticipation for this one. We all have our own ideas of him! Now to put a face to them.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 04, 2014, 07:46:31 AM
I don't know- this could be a bad thing.... I mean, his shear idiocy could overwhelm us. Then again, the build up has been so great that perhaps, just perhaps, his idiocy will not show up all that well in a mere 2D photo?

Nice meeting you in TN Dave!

Brian

I was going through some old pics the other day and found some of my idiot brother-in-law the cop and myself. These are truly rare indeed and never before seen or published photos. I will try my best to post them this Sunday so mark your calendars, wake the kids and call the neighbors this will be a once in a lifetime experience to see me and him together.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 06, 2014, 07:49:41 AM
I also found a video of our wedding in 1992 that he was in, I won't post anything from that. ;D Yes, Brian, idiocity is the key word, however, sometimes putting a face on the enemy helps sear an image into the brain thereby causing one to drink less fretting over what evil looks like.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 07, 2014, 11:10:17 AM
Took a road trip on the C14 last week and found myself at the New Mexico museum of space history in Alamagordo NM. Was looking at the mighty F1 rocket engine used in the Saturn V as well as many other smaller engines including the German V2 engine. All of them are "regenerative" engines where the cones are made of tubes and the fuel (kerosene for most of them) is pumped to the front of the cone and the fuel flows backward up to the combustion chamber. This cools the engine while heating the fuel for better combustion. All of them except the V2 engine used turbo pumps for this purpose as well as pumping liquid O2 into the engine. The V2 engine pre pressurized the fuel and oxidizer tanks with hydrogen peroxide to push the fuel and O2 into the engine. Each F1 engine produced 1,500,000 pounds of thrust and burned 2000 pounds of fuel every second. The Saturn V used 5 of these engines on the first stage. 10,000 pounds of fuel every second.


Was also a personal experience for me because my dad was an engineer for Bell Labs in NJ and worked on the guidance systems for many of the early Army missiles including the Nike series. He would travel to Alamagordo regularly while I was growing up to observe test firings at the White Sands missile range. On display was a Nike Ajax missile that he worked on. He had a tie tack of that missile and I remember him wearing that every day when he went off to work.


I and 3 of my brothers standing by a Nike Ajax missile.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10471376_4309524273051_6894651416803525570_o.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on July 07, 2014, 07:07:34 PM
Surprisingly neat little museum, isn't it?  I used to work on the radars for the HAWK missile system.  Dragged my son up there last summer.  I hope you had time to go by the display at WSMR, and go into White Sands National Monument.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 08, 2014, 05:36:28 AM
We were camping up in Door County Wisconsin for the week of the 4th and watched the fireworks on the beach at Baileys Harbor.

The fireworks display was top notch and I saw a type of firework that I've never seen before.

The rocket blasted off in more of a sideways trajectory and as it did it dropped 30 to 40 'things' in the water. At first I thought that it was a mistake or a dud but then you could see the 'things' in the water glowing (we were right at the water's edge). All at once the 'things' blasted off from the water and shot a smaller 'rocket' up into the air and exploded in a shower of beauty.  :)

The crowd went nuts in appreciation. They launched two of these babies off.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 08, 2014, 07:42:43 AM
Surprisingly neat little museum, isn't it?  I used to work on the radars for the HAWK missile system.  Dragged my son up there last summer.  I hope you had time to go by the display at WSMR, and go into White Sands National Monument.

No I didn't have time to go to WSMR. I wasn't sure there was anything for unauthorized persons to see. Would have loved to see it. The evening before I went to the little park in town and crossed the tracks to the museum bone yard. Among other things, there was a V1 just sitting out there that I was surprised wasn't part of the display at the museum. That's a pretty rare piece of rocket history. Also a Redstone rocket was sitting out in pieces. One of the staff later told us it was sitting in the open from back during the SALT treaty so the soviets could verify it was decommissioned.
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 08, 2014, 05:56:58 PM
Streptomycin, a broad- spectrum antibiotic, was first isolated in 1943 at Rutgers University. After the end of WWII, it was used experimentally to treat lift threatening infections at the military hospital at Battle Creek. The first patient did not survive; the second patient survived but became blind as a side- effect of the treatment. The third patient made a rapid and robust recovery. His name is Robert J. Dole, later US Senator and Presidential candidate.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 09, 2014, 04:42:45 PM
(http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff148/Strawboss50/Img20.jpg)

Happier times- L to R Strawboss, Mrs. Strawboss, brother-in-law, Mrs. brother-in-law



These are never before seen by other humans.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on July 09, 2014, 09:28:12 PM
(http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff148/Strawboss50/Img20.jpg)

Happier times- L to R Strawboss, Mrs. Strawboss, idiot brother-in-law the cop, Mrs. brother-in-law



These are never before seen by other humans.

Fixed it for ya!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 10, 2014, 04:45:24 AM
Fixed it for ya!

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 10, 2014, 08:44:02 AM
Just to be clear, the two women are sisters, is that correct?

He doesn't seem that bad in the photo..... then again, Verbal Kint didn't seem bad until the very end of 'The Usual Suspects' either.

Brian

(http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff148/Strawboss50/Img20.jpg)

Happier times- L to R Strawboss, Mrs. Strawboss, brother-in-law, Mrs. brother-in-law



These are never before seen by other humans.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 12, 2014, 11:59:11 AM
Yes, sisters, my wife is 4 years older. I'm 6 ft, if you notice, he's a bit shorter than me, actually, more than a bit, he must be wearing his elevated shoes as normally he's only a bit taller than my wife and here he looks a lot taller than her. A little man who carries a big pistol, makes him feel better.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 12, 2014, 01:52:07 PM
Unfortunately that state is not uncommon IME, or at least not uncommon enough.

And it looks like your SIL is a little bit.... how should I put this delicately..... "Glowing" in that photo.

Look at the bright side, at least you are not related to him, at least beyond the level we are all related (hey, we ARE all related, right?). So you can freely say 'The gene pool could use a little more chlorine".

Brian

Yes, sisters, my wife is 4 years older. I'm 6 ft, if you notice, he's a bit shorter than me, actually, more than a bit, he must be wearing his elevated shoes as normally he's only a bit taller than my wife and here he looks a lot taller than her. A little man who carries a big pistol, makes him feel better.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 22, 2014, 01:01:44 PM
If you order a car from a dealer in Ohio, to be shipped to that dealer in Ohio, the factory installs the front license plate bracket automatically, for free. A big, honking, ugly, riveted monstrosity that cannot be removed without damaging the bumper.  Not what I ordered.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 22, 2014, 04:33:38 PM
I was in court some years back and the judge had a man up before the bench that was ticketed for not having a front license plate on his Corvette.  VA requires both front and rear.  The man stated it ruined the lines of the vehicle so he didn't put one on the front.  He then showed the judge a picture of the vehicle.  The judge then started pondering out loud why VA has the requirement for two plates.  He thought that it would be cheaper for all involved if it was only one plate.  He sighed and then dismissed the charge.  However, he told the man that regardless of how it made the car look, it had to have two plates, so get the front installed post haste.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 23, 2014, 06:50:03 AM
If you order a car from a dealer in Ohio, to be shipped to that dealer in Ohio, the factory installs the front license plate bracket automatically, for free. A big, honking, ugly, riveted monstrosity that cannot be removed without damaging the bumper.  Not what I ordered.

I was in court some years back and the judge had a man up before the bench that was ticketed for not having a front license plate on his Corvette.  VA requires both front and rear.  The man stated it ruined the lines of the vehicle so he didn't put one on the front.  He then showed the judge a picture of the vehicle.  The judge then started pondering out loud why VA has the requirement for two plates.  He thought that it would be cheaper for all involved if it was only one plate.  He sighed and then dismissed the charge.  However, he told the man that regardless of how it made the car look, it had to have two plates, so get the front installed post haste.

When we ordered our new Jetta back in 2012 I told the salesman that I DO NOT want the front plate bracket installed. He told me that the bracket gets installed by the dealer before the customer takes delivery and that he would make sure that the bracket doesn't get installed even though the front plate is required in Illinois (I've been driving cars/trucks here since 1985 without a front plate and never had an issue). So after about 3 months of waiting for our car it's finally ready to pick up. My wife and I take the train into Chicago to pick up our new car and guess what? As I'm looking the car over I find that the front bracket was installed by the service monkeys, requiring two holes drilled through the plastic bumper skin into the metal underneath. I was VERY unhappy with the dealership at that moment and I let our salesman know about it. What was I to do, refuse the car? He gave me a bunch of VW swag items to try to make up for it, it didn't. The salesman found the monkey who installed the bracket and asked him why he installed it when there was a note on the car saying not to. The monkey said that front plates are required in Illinois so he installed it...

The first thing that I did when I got the car home was to remove the front bracket and plug the holes with color matched plugs. I'm anal, so what! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 23, 2014, 12:34:21 PM
Don't come to San Francisco, you'll get a ticket from a meter maid when its parked on the side of the road for it. :(  DAMHIK
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 08:07:36 AM
Exactly the way I feel Conrad. Ohio was considering removing the front plate but it was halted somewhere in the process, it may come up again in 2015 when the climate for such change will be better. I too have not run a front plate since around 1990. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 27, 2014, 08:19:43 AM
I am really surprised that you guys are getting away without running a front plate (in a state that requires it). We also use 2 plates on a car and you absolutely will get popped for not displaying a front plate.... and it will not take decades either. And on the third of fourth stop for the same thing, some other mechanism will kick in and involve a tow truck.

We also get hit around here for missing or expired inspection stickers (required annually). Any individual LEO on routine traffic duty will do this but there are also roving little groups of LEO and state DOT folks who visually inspect each and every single car passing and pull everybody without a sticker or the incorrect colored one.

Brian

Exactly the way I feel Conrad. Ohio was considering removing the front plate but it was halted somewhere in the process, it may come up again in 2015 when the climate for such change will be better. I too have not run a front plate since around 1990.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2014, 08:51:41 AM
I am really surprised that you guys are getting away without running a front plate (in a state that requires it). We also use 2 plates on a car and you absolutely will get popped for not displaying a front plate.... and it will not take decades either. And on the third of fourth stop for the same thing, some other mechanism will kick in and involve a tow truck.

We also get hit around here for missing or expired inspection stickers (required annually). Any individual LEO on routine traffic duty will do this but there are also roving little groups of LEO and state DOT folks who visually inspect each and every single car passing and pull everybody without a sticker or the incorrect colored one.

Brian

I've received a performance award or two while driving without a front license plate and the LEO didn't say a word about it.

In my area inspections are not required so no stickers.

WAY back when in our 'poor days' while in the Army in Colorado my wife and I couldn't afford to get our old beater (1970 Chevy Caprice) inspected. My wife is an artist so she (allegedly) made a 'duplicate' state inspection sticker that I (allegedly) taped onto the inside of the windshield (I removed it while parked). Never had an issue with that either.   ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 08:52:32 AM
Here in Ohio, the police don't stress a lot of importance to something as trivial as a front license plate, most of the time if you are cited its because the cop is being somewhat of a book follower, or its secondary to something else, kind of like a seat belt violation. This is my experience in Ohio, which is mostly suburban/rural, of course there are exceptions, but Ohio police around my parts seem to be preoccupied with other things. My idiot brother-in-law the cop even commented that cars look better with no front plate. Agreeing with me does not make him better, he still exhibits moronic behavior.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 27, 2014, 09:19:58 AM
Yeah, absolutely a different state of mind between 'there' and 'here'. Once an LEO has someone stopped and his pen all warmed up, there is no way I believe anyone would get away without also being cited for 'no front plate', no inspection sticker and every other blatant violation. Just a different mindset I guess.

Brian

I've received a performance award or two while driving without a front license plate and the LEO didn't say a word about it.

Here in Ohio, the police don't stress a lot of importance to something as trivial as a front license plate, most of the time if you are cited its because the cop is being somewhat of a book follower, or its secondary to something else, kind of like a seat belt violation. This is my experience in Ohio, which is mostly suburban/rural, of course there are exceptions, but Ohio police around my parts seem to be preoccupied with other things. My idiot brother-in-law the cop even commented that cars look better with no front plate. Agreeing with me does not make him better, he still exhibits moronic behavior.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 09:29:15 AM
Police generated income through CS citations is not as important in other areas of the country.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 27, 2014, 09:32:25 AM
Since this is a thread about nothing at all did you know that if you use a bit wd-40 on the little renewal stickers the great state of ILL-inois sells for $101 that it leaves nothing at all?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 09:35:48 AM
If you prune your hydrangeas buds that died over the winter, it won't bloom this summer.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2014, 09:45:06 AM
I didn't know that!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2014, 09:50:42 AM
Since this is a thread about nothing at all did you know that if you use a bit wd-40 on the little renewal stickers the great state of ILL-inois sells for $101 that it leaves nothing at all?

Do you mean that the text on the sticker rubs away to nothingness? You don't even have to use any WD-40 for this to happen, just rubbing the sticker to make sure that it's stuck will rub the damn text off.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 09:52:29 AM
And, there are little pellets you can buy to sprinkle around the plant that will alter the soil acid/base relationship and change the color of the flowers. Blue, white, or pink. I would not spray WD-40 on my hydrangea plant, it would wilt to nothing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2014, 09:57:54 AM
And, there are little pellets you can buy to sprinkle around the plant that will alter the soil acid/base relationship and change the color of the flowers. Blue, white, or pink. I would not spray WD-40 on my hydrangea plant, it would wilt to nothing.

Do you speak from experience on the WD-40 causing wilting? If so, what prompted the spritz of WD, were the flowers squeaking or perhaps rusting a bit?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 27, 2014, 10:22:20 AM
Funny thing here is that while Ohio may be lax about the front plate and inspection stickers, the state is famous (infamous?) for issuing speeding tickets. Seven or eight over works well here in the northeast but most of us are ascairt to do more than about 2 MPH over in Ohio. Unless the whole thing is a gigantic and long- lasting urban legend, Ohio is notorious for low- to- no tolerance for any amount of speeding and amazingly expensive fines for same.

Traveling across the US in '11 and again in '12 (both ways), I went through about, oh, a gazillion highway construction areas. All of them were marked with dire warnings of the penalties for speeding, hitting a road worker (funny but I already thought that that would be bad? ??) etc. but only in Ohio did I ever see any LEOs with speed measuring equipment in any of those destruction....er, I mean construction zones.

Funny how things vary in different areas though. What is touchy in one area (easy boys!) is 'meh' in other places.

Brian

Police generated income through CS citations is not as important in other areas of the country.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 27, 2014, 10:31:39 AM
Snip...

Traveling across the US in '11 and again in '12 (both ways), I went through about, oh, a gazillion highway construction areas, and this was just Illinois! All of them were marked with dire warnings of the penalties for speeding, hitting a road worker (funny but I already thought that that would be bad? ??) etc. but only in Ohio did I ever see any LEOs with speed measuring equipment in any of those destruction....er, I mean construction zones.

Brian

FIFY
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2014, 11:42:35 AM
However, I do understand the WD40 is good for your knees.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 11:59:17 AM
Speeding through a construction zone and getting a citation for it is a bit different than not having a front license plate. But 2 mph over borders on CS, but if you talked to anybody that works on has seen what goes on in a construction zone, maybe 2mph isn't so CS. My beef is in Ohio, the penalties are still in effect even if there is no work going on in a marked zone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 27, 2014, 03:48:34 PM
Agreed- different things. I was merely pointing out that I find it ironic that a given area (any area, not Ohio or any other specific state) finds one minor law to be so different to enforce / notice than some other minor law. I would consider speeding by, say, 6 MPH over on an interstate and missing a front plate to be in the same league for example but here we have two different states (RI and Ohio in this discussion) that treat them very differently.

Virtually all of the construction sites were NOT actually being worked on but the Draconian measures signage was illuminated along with the light flashing (with a sign that said road construction site active when light flashing). And that was everywhere between the two big oceans with no difference I could see in Ohio. The only thing I noticed in Ohio was a couple of LEO's on the side of the construction zones with what I believe were speed measuring radar pistols and they were both outside the vehicle watching on-coming traffic.

Then on the other end of the extreme is Montana with a $20 fine for speeding not more than 15 MPH over the speed limit. And the ticket is payable on the spot. Had I known that when I was passing through, I would have done 89 MPH and taped a few $20s to my helmet.  ;D

Brian

Speeding through a construction zone and getting a citation for it is a bit different than not having a front license plate. But 2 mph over borders on CS, but if you talked to anybody that works on has seen what goes on in a construction zone, maybe 2mph isn't so CS. My beef is in Ohio, the penalties are still in effect even if there is no work going on in a marked zone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 03:57:55 PM
Ask anybody who's worked or responded to a crash or incident in a construction zone how CS a citation is for speeding.......oh, me. Last time I heard nobody ever got killed over not having a front license plate. I travel a bit myself and Ohio does seem to have a lot of police around the borders and interstates, and construction zones as there are only two seasons in Ohio, winter and construction. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 27, 2014, 04:50:14 PM
I am not talking about speeding in a construction zone, other than the fact that the only place I did see any LE in any construction zone was in the state of Ohio and that was merely an observation.

But back to the point: I do not think doing 5 or 6 MPH over the speed limit on a highway (NOT in a construction zone) is any more dangerous than not having a front plate. I think both present the identical amount of danger, which is virtually zero, and both are very minor infractions. Again, my point was and is that I find it interesting how different areas find different infractions to be of such varying likelihood of getting a citation for them.

Hey, if I wanted to squabble about something I would have mentioned Hardleys, helmets, loud pipes or something like that. Not front plate violation citations.  ;) ;D

Brian

Ask anybody who's worked or responded to a crash or incident in a construction zone how CS a citation is for speeding.......oh, me. Last time I heard nobody ever got killed over not having a front license plate. I travel a bit myself and Ohio does seem to have a lot of police around the borders and interstates, and construction zones as there are only two seasons in Ohio, winter and construction. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 27, 2014, 05:51:55 PM
Don't come to Ohio I guess.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2014, 07:08:21 PM
I'm going there in September...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 28, 2014, 06:47:13 AM
Hey, no problem with Ohio for me. Besides, at the moment it is one of the states in-between me and where I sometimes what to get to.

Brian

Don't come to Ohio I guess.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 28, 2014, 02:29:05 PM
On my 22 mile commute into work I saw a CTS-V wagon, blue.
about five miles later into my commute, I saw a second, grey.
I thought that was highly unusual.
I've only seen about 5 ever.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 28, 2014, 05:05:22 PM
OK, time to get this thread back off- track....

On 2 July, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield twice in the back in an attempt to assassinate Garfield. It worked but not quite the way Guiteau had envisioned; Garfield lived eleven agonizing weeks, finally succumbing to massive infections and dying on 19 September, 1881. Being charged with murder, Guiteau pleaded non guilty and used an early version of the 'insanity defense'. At one point in the trial, Guiteau even argued that the bullets did not kill Garfield but rather he was killed by infections caused by careless medical care, which was normal at the time, saying "The doctors killed Garfield, I just shot him". This is almost certainly true and accurate as the actual gun shot wounds were not lethal. Neven the less, Guiteau was found guilty and given an all- expense paid trip through the trap door of a gallows....

The point to all of this is of course is that even though Garfield was born in Ohio, he never had the slightest trouble with any vehicular law enforcement issues at all, including the infamous problems in that state regarding the use of a front license plate, tight enforcement of excessive speed laws or any difficulty whatsoever in any construction zones.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 28, 2014, 09:33:54 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 29, 2014, 06:43:09 AM
OK, time to get this thread back off- track....

On 2 July, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield twice in the back in an attempt to assassinate Garfield. It worked but not quite the way Guiteau had envisioned; Garfield lived eleven agonizing weeks, finally succumbing to massive infections and dying on 19 September, 1881. Being charged with murder, Guiteau pleaded non guilty and used an early version of the 'insanity defense'. At one point in the trial, Guiteau even argued that the bullets did not kill Garfield but rather he was killed by infections caused by careless medical care, which was normal at the time, saying "The doctors killed Garfield, I just shot him". This is almost certainly true and accurate as the actual gun shot wounds were not lethal. Neven the less, Guiteau was found guilty and given an all- expense paid trip through the trap door of a gallows....

The point to all of this is of course is that even though Garfield was born in Ohio, he never had the slightest trouble with any vehicular law enforcement issues at all, including the infamous problems in that state regarding the use of a front license plate, tight enforcement of excessive speed laws or any difficulty whatsoever in any construction zones.

Brian

More trivia associated with this story. Todd Lincoln, who also never got a traffic citation in Ohio, was present when Garfield was shot and probably witnessed it. In fact Todd Lincoln was near 3 presidential assassinations. His father's, although he wasn't at Ford's theater was near by and of course attended his father when he was dying. Garfield and was at the exposition in Buffalo when McKinley was shot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on July 29, 2014, 09:08:16 AM
If I didn't have a forum to hang out at during the work day I would really be bummed. This one is pretty fun  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 29, 2014, 09:17:55 AM
You should see us in person- sometimes we have to put puppy pee- pads down on the furniture....

Brian

If I didn't have a forum to hang out at during the work day I would really be bummed. This one is pretty fun  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 29, 2014, 09:37:22 AM
The Wright brothers, after years of intense research and experimentation, made the first powered flight by a [heavier than air] vehicle on 17 December, 1903 at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. NOT Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as is usually cited: that is merely the closest populated area in NC.

The area was selected for its mile climate, steady and common winds and great stretches of sandy areas, ideal for the softest possible landings for vehicles that were most likely to need a soft landing area. The location was suggested to Wilbur Wright by Octave Chanute but he was only as specific as the mid- Atlantic coast. Wilbur studied US Weather Bureau data, and that section of NC was the closest area deemed viable to Dayton, OH, where the Wright brothers lived and worked.

At least that is the history and recorded data as presented today. Personally, I wonder if there was not a deeper and more sinister reason for the Wright brothers to leave Ohio in the first place: restrictive flight laws in that state? Perhaps there were issues of transporting all of their planes and equipment on the roads in Ohio, especially through construction zones? And finally, perhaps aeroplanes (accepted spelling of airplane at that time) were required to display two license plates, thereby enraging the Wright brothers and totally spoiling the looks of Flyer I? There is no record of any of this but then again, if the whole thing was a gigantic conspiracy in the first place, there would NOT be any records. Coincidence? I think not....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 29, 2014, 10:27:54 AM
Not to mention the extra drag it would cause ;)

The Wright brothers, after years of intense research and experimentation, made the first powered flight by a [heavier than air] vehicle on 17 December, 1903 at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. NOT Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as is usually cited: that is merely the closest populated area in NC.

The area was selected for its mile climate, steady and common winds and great stretches of sandy areas, ideal for the softest possible landings for vehicles that were most likely to need a soft landing area. The location was suggested to Wilbur Wright by Octave Chanute but he was only as specific as the mid- Atlantic coast. Wilbur studied US Weather Bureau data, and that section of NC was the closest area deemed viable to Dayton, OH, where the Wright brothers lived and worked.

At least that is the history and recorded data as presented today. Personally, I wonder if there was not a deeper and more sinister reason for the Wright brothers to leave Ohio in the first place: restrictive flight laws in that state? Perhaps there were issues of transporting all of their planes and equipment on the roads in Ohio, especially through construction zones? And finally, perhaps aeroplanes (accepted spelling of airplane at that time) were required to display two license plates, thereby enraging the Wright brothers and totally spoiling the looks of Flyer I? There is no record of any of this but then again, if the whole thing was a gigantic conspiracy in the first place, there would NOT be any records. Coincidence? I think not....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 30, 2014, 01:33:27 PM
Where's Strawboss? All this witty Ohio based junk and not even a peep out of him.....

 :rotflmao:

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on July 30, 2014, 03:12:27 PM
I rode the Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala on Monday.  What sucks?  I spent some time chatting with Killboy and took a bunch of pics.  Why did that suck???  I had the camera off of auto focus >:( >:( >:(  What was good?  It was Monday and traffic was very light and we got to run it both ways at a good pace.  Cherhola?  Awesome ride with great long sweepers.  We also ran the Rattlesnake on Sunday as well as bits of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Hot and muggy sums up the weather.  1500 miles on a rental Ultra Classic was a challenge, just doesn't fit me and the limited clearance made the fun stuff a challenge.  Been a good year for riding, I have some 16,000 miles logged in so far and 80ish hours on the dirt bikes.  A year of riding I only dreamed of before my back surgery.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 04, 2014, 04:09:13 PM
As the Thing from the Fantastic Four would say 'It's drinking time!'.  I've just installed my Race Tech fork compressor thingy on my workbench so that I can R&R my forks.  Not sure how well it works but if it does, all will be welcome to borrow it assuming they bring beer and possibly steaks.  Also, just started heating up the grill for hamburgers and corn tonight for supper.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 04, 2014, 04:16:44 PM
As the Thing from the Fantastic Four would say 'It's drinking time!'.  I've just installed my Race Tech fork compressor thingy on my workbench so that I can R&R my forks.  Not sure how well it works but if it does, all will be welcome to borrow it assuming they bring beer and possibly steaks.  Also, just started heating up the grill for hamburgers and corn tonight for supper.
Is that thingy mounted below the crash protected shelf?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 04, 2014, 04:17:28 PM
Good luck with the forks- the newfangled upside- down ones are more complicated than the old- fangled rightside- up ones were.

Grill: I got me a new grill a couple of years ago- one of those cheap infrared jobs. It worked well but was slow and did not put much heat to the meat (easy boys!). Then the lower steel plates rotted out and I got a new set of plates / grates / infrared radiators that have a single layer and shazam! it was like sex, only good! Fantastic! Like a great date, it is hot, fast and never flares up. I love this thing! So I have been grilling everything that won't run away and most of it is coming out fantastic. And for the first time in my entire life, I do not suck at grilling- I always though it was just that I suck at grilling but apparently those flame- shooting, grease- laden, rock- spitting things I had in the past were just lousy grills. Hey, I always buy the cheap ones and probably got everything I deserved. But this one is just great. A Char- broil 'Tru Infrared' with the stainelss steel "W" grates. Still a pretty cheap grill but I cannot imagine anything working better. The only problem with it is it is kinda' difficult to clean 'cause nothing will fall through the grate; so I just give it a good scraping with an elk's hoof and vacuum out the carbon.

Brian

As the Thing from the Fantastic Four would say 'It's drinking time!'.  I've just installed my Race Tech fork compressor thingy on my workbench so that I can R&R my forks.  Not sure how well it works but if it does, all will be welcome to borrow it assuming they bring beer and possibly steaks.  Also, just started heating up the grill for hamburgers and corn tonight for supper.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 04, 2014, 04:42:24 PM
Grill: I got me a new grill a couple of years ago- one of those cheap infrared jobs. It worked well but was slow and did not put much heat to the meat (easy boys!). Then the lower steel plates rotted out and I got a new set of plates / grates / infrared radiators that have a single layer and shazam! it was like sex, only good! Fantastic! Like a great date, it is hot, fast and never flares up. I love this thing! So I have been grilling everything that won't run away and most of it is coming out fantastic. And for the first time in my entire life, I do not suck at grilling- I always though it was just that I suck at grilling but apparently those flame- shooting, grease- laden, rock- spitting things I had in the past were just lousy grills. Hey, I always buy the cheap ones and probably got everything I deserved. But this one is just great. A Char- broil 'Tru Infrared' with the stainelss steel "W" grates. Still a pretty cheap grill but I cannot imagine anything working better. The only problem with it is it is kinda' difficult to clean 'cause nothing will fall through the grate; so I just give it a good scraping with an elk's hoof and vacuum out the carbon.

Brian

I have been debating about getting that very grill. $299 or so at Target\Home Depot. Looks like a good grill. Char-Broil Tru Infrared two burner. I read somewhere never to buy these grills on the Internet as they ship with cheaper grates.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 04, 2014, 04:51:56 PM
I was just looking at the Char- Broil Tru Infrared grills last week and they have a different grate than the ones I bought as replacements for my grill. The ones that I saw were stainless steel folded but had porcelain covered cast iron on top of that. Mine are just the one- piece of stainless shaped in a "WWWWW" shape; there are small perforations on the bottom of each groove and you cook directly on the top of them. I think I like the ones I have better because they will transfer more heat to the food than the ones with the 'extra' iron in the way. Just my opinion though as I have not tried the ones with the cast iron plates.

Mine look like the ones shown here: http://homecookingmemories.com/our-new-gas-grill-char-broil-tru-infrared/ (http://homecookingmemories.com/our-new-gas-grill-char-broil-tru-infrared/)   

And that is the grill I have- the two burner least expensive one. More than large enough to cook for 4- 6 people I find anyway.

Brian

I have been debating about getting that very grill. $299 or so at Target\Home Depot. Looks like a good grill. Char-Broil Tru Infrared two burner. I read somewhere never to buy these grills on the Internet as they ship with cheaper grates.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 04, 2014, 05:11:29 PM
Is that thingy mounted below the crash protected shelf?

Mounted to the front of the workbench....it's wall mounted.  I'm seriously thinking about selling those barts bars.

And speaking of bars, I bought a Ducane grill back in the early 90's and still am using it. I've rebuilt it a couple of times but it's still my go to grill for small meals and such.  I've got a Sears shiny grill that I use for large gatherings.  It's ok, but it's no Ducane.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 04, 2014, 05:42:04 PM
How many people can you get in that Sears shiny grill Jim? On average I mean.

Brian


<snip>

 I've got a Sears shiny grill that I use for large gatherings.  It's ok, but it's no Ducane.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 04, 2014, 05:50:05 PM
Probably about a midget's worth...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 04, 2014, 06:13:55 PM
Don't come to Ohio I guess.

I hear there are some cool roller coasters in that state, however I never had any desire to go there until now. I can't wait to see Toledo, a place where boiling the water actually makes it more unsafe (http://time.com/3074318/toledo-water/) for you to drink.

  I've just installed my Race Tech fork compressor thingy on my workbench so that I can R&R my forks. 

I understand that this thread is different by design, but a posting like that without workbench porn pictures to accompany it,....is..is
...just cruel and uncaring to your fellow forum members as well as to all of humanity.  :'(

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 04, 2014, 08:00:52 PM
I'll see what I can do, but if it's mounted upside  down, just don't tell me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 04, 2014, 08:12:45 PM
I'll see what I can do, but if it's mounted upside  down, just don't tell me.
If it is upside down I bet a set of Canyon Cages would come in handy ;)  If the job is too big for ya, just admit it.  I feel certain you won't get any grief around these parts ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 05, 2014, 04:34:02 AM
Truthfully, it may be, Chet.  I'll see how it goes with the forks.  Nothing goes as planned with my projects here of late....

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 05, 2014, 04:56:27 AM
Truthfully, it may be, Chet.  I'll see how it goes with the forks.  Nothing goes as planned with my projects here of late....

Where's the shelf with the CCs on it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 05, 2014, 05:01:10 AM
It's in the garage but not in this picture... ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 05, 2014, 09:30:26 AM
Truthfully, it may be, Chet.  I'll see how it goes with the forks.  Nothing goes as planned with my projects here of late....
Sure wish ya lived a bit closer, we'd have them on in no time. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 05, 2014, 09:33:24 AM
And throw on an auxiliary fuel tank for good measure!

Brian

Sure wish ya lived a bit closer, we'd have them on in no time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 05, 2014, 09:38:21 AM
And throw on an auxiliary fuel tank for good measure!

Brian
Well, I think he has a bit more smarts than that!!  I do have another elk hoof as a gift though ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 05, 2014, 09:39:08 AM
Sure wish ya lived a bit closer, we'd have them on in no time.

Would truly love to take you up on that offer...thanks.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 05, 2014, 09:40:45 AM
Would truly love to take you up on that offer...thanks.
You up to a road trip?  ;D  I hear it only takes 2ish days to get here from the east coast 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 05, 2014, 10:13:20 AM
I've heard that too but then I also heard that sometimes it takes 100 hours, a heart attack and an overnighter in the cardiac ward. Sure I know that sounds like a good time but trust me- the glue on those little probes stings when they pull them off and they use like 130 of them.

Besides, would you even talk to me if I rode in on one of these?

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/VFR1200.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/VFR1200.jpg.html)

Brian

You up to a road trip?  ;D  I hear it only takes 2ish days to get here from the east coast 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 05, 2014, 10:33:18 AM
Snip...

I've heard that too but then I also heard that sometimes it takes 100 hours, a heart attack and an overnighter in the cardiac ward. Sure I know that sounds like a good time but trust me- the glue on those little probes stings when they pull them off and they use like 130 of them.

Brian

You were probed AND they used glue?     :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 05, 2014, 10:46:46 AM
Nope, no probing. I still have places 'Where no man has gone before' and that's the way I likes it.

Methinks while you Ohioites spend all that time worried about putting bungs in your front plate holes, you may not be paying enough attention to what is going on at the other end.....?

 :rotflmao:

A little bit of monitoring, a stress test (wearing motorcycle boots!) but no probing....

Brian

You were probed AND they used glue?     :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 05, 2014, 10:54:02 AM
I'm getting tested for TB tomorrow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 05, 2014, 10:57:40 AM
..the glue on those little probes stings when they pull them off and they use like 130 of them.

The glue isn't so bad, it's when they don't shave you first that causes the pain. :'(

(http://fartymarty.smugmug.com/photos/i-wPj999V/0/L/i-wPj999V-L.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 05, 2014, 11:00:51 AM
Then you should be studying for the test right now.

I did that on my last drug test (studied for two weeks straight) and passed with flying colors!

Brian

I'm getting tested for TB tomorrow.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 05, 2014, 11:02:38 AM
My Eyes! My Eyes!

They shaved me before they stuck on the probes, in fact they sanded down the skin with superfinishing film (like very high- end sandpaper). I had me some beautiful, soft and smooth skin.... in 1/2" blotches all over my chest.

Brian

The glue isn't so bad, it's when they don't shave you first that causes the pain. :'(

(http://fartymarty.smugmug.com/photos/i-wPj999V/0/L/i-wPj999V-L.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 07, 2014, 12:55:56 PM
We can probably file this one under the heading "Just when it could not get any worse.... an odd thing happened."

Betty Lou Oliver got up and went to her usually boring job as an operator attendant in the Empire State Building on Saturday, 28 July, 1945; this was supposed to be her last day on the job. Things took a sudden turn for the 'exciting' when a B-25 bomber crashed into the building on the 79th floor, badly burning Mrs. Oliver. Rescue personal gave first aid, put her on a gurney and put her in an elevator for the trip to the street and the ambulance. What they did not know was that one engine of the plane had greatly weakened the elevator cables, which snapped when the elevator doors closed, allowing the elevator car to plunge more than 1,000 ft. to the bottom of the elevator shaft. Now rescue workers had to dig through the debris to recover the body of course but to everyone's' surprise, Mrs. Oliver survived the fall; in doing so set a Guinness world record that still stands today of the longest elevator fall that anyone survived. It is suspected that the tangle of elevator cable inside the shaft along with the rapidly compressing air in the shaft may have cushioned the impact of the car. She broke both arms and her back in the fall and had to be cut out of the wreckage. Five months later, she returned to that very elevator shaft and rode in it to the top of the building along with an elevator inspector who complimented her on her "guts".

She returned to Ft. Smith, AR, with her husband, had three children and seven grandchildren. She died in 1999 and is buried in Ft. Smith, AR.

Brian

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 07, 2014, 02:02:01 PM
We can probably file this one under the heading "Just when it could not get any worse.... an odd thing happened."

Betty Lou Oliver got up and went to her usually boring job as an operator attendant in the Empire State Building on Saturday, 28 July, 1945; this was supposed to be her last day on the job. Things took a sudden turn for the 'exciting' when a B-25 bomber crashed into the building on the 79th floor, badly burning Mrs. Oliver. Rescue personal gave first aid, put her on a gurney and put her in an elevator for the trip to the street and the ambulance. What they did not know was that one engine of the plane had greatly weakened the elevator cables, which snapped when the elevator doors closed, allowing the elevator car to plunge more than 1,000 ft. to the bottom of the elevator shaft. Now rescue workers had to dig through the debris to recover the body of course but to everyone's' surprise, Mrs. Oliver survived the fall; in doing so set a Guinness world record that still stands today of the longest elevator fall that anyone survived. It is suspected that the tangle of elevator cable inside the shaft along with the rapidly compressing air in the shaft may have cushioned the impact of the car. She broke both arms and her back in the fall and had to be cut out of the wreckage. Five months later, she returned to that very elevator shaft and rode in it to the top of the building along with an elevator inspector who complimented her on her "guts".

She returned to Ft. Smith, AR, with her husband, had three children and seven grandchildren. She died in 1999 and is buried in Ft. Smith, AR.

Brian

Interesting indeed! I wonder why the Otis automatic brake didn't stop the plunge.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 07, 2014, 04:08:14 PM
Excellent question and I wonder the very same thing! As far as I know, the Otis design is 'fail safe' and does not and never has used the car's cables or anything else mechanical to wedge the car in place. ?? Just a guess but perhaps the car itself was damaged?

It certainly does set a new level to the possible answer to the age- old question: "Anything new happen at work today honey?"

Brian

Interesting indeed! I wonder why the Otis automatic brake didn't stop the plunge.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 08, 2014, 01:38:23 PM
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/1280px-USCG_Eagle.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/1280px-USCG_Eagle.jpg.html)

The USCGC Eagle. America's 'Tall Ship'. Beautiful, isn't she? A steel- hulled, three masted Barque; her fore masts are rigged square, her aftermast is rigged fore and aft. She is nearly 300 ft. long and displaces just over 1,800 tons. Her home port is New London, CT and she is a training ship, used to train future officers of the U.S. Coast Guard in the ways of seamanship. She is the only steel hulled sailing vessel commissioned in the US (Government owned). She is the seventh US Navy or Coast Guard vessel to bear the name Eagle in a line that reaches back to 1792.

Even her launch was 'big deal'; far more so than most military vessels. As usual, there were politicians there but in this case, the highest ranking politicians rather than the more usual local sort; in fact, Rudolph Hess gave the speech and even Adolph Hitler was in attendance.

Wait.... what? Why was Hitler attending the launch of a US ship? Well, it wasn't a US ship then, it was German. The USCGC Eagle was built in 1936 by Bloom and Voss shipbuilder of Hamburg, Germany, and christened the Segelschulschiff (SSS) Horst Wessel, after the Nazi martyr of the same name. She was built to be used as a training ship for the Kreigsmarine and her home port was Kiel, Germany. She was even fitted with anti- aircraft guns and is actually credited with shooting down 3 Soviet aircraft.... and one German aircraft (yeah, that was a little oppsie but I digress.....).

So how did a Nazi vessel used to train German naval personal end up as a US Coast Guard Cutter, painted white with the CG's red sash across the bow? Easy- she was a war prize. At the end of WWII, when everybody 'squared up' regarding what went where as payment for what cost who, the US got the Horst Wessel as part of the reparation package. A little paint, a little refitting (got rid of those pesky flak guns, etc.), a new crew (after the German crew and her new American crew sailed her, through a hurricane (!!), to the US from Bremerhaven) and viola! American has herself her very own Tall Ship in June, 1946!

The world is a funny place, ain't it? I wonder if there is any German graffiti left in any of the bathroom stalls....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 08, 2014, 01:42:11 PM
Freaking awesome, thread winner.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 08, 2014, 03:07:11 PM
It's a beautiful ship.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 08, 2014, 08:41:01 PM
Synthetic or dino oil?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 08, 2014, 09:18:55 PM
Don't know but to be honest, she is almost certainly running one of the fleet oils and my bet is on Rotella. 15W-40 if I had to guess; she does not said in cold water enough to make the 5W oil beneficial. She is running a Cat D339 diesel engine, a V-16 four- cycle rates at 1,000 Hp.

If you have ever seen the Tall Ships sail into narrow passages (easy boys!), you will note that they often run a large amount of sheet but to keep the hull speed down, the engine is engaged in reverse.

I got to see the Esmeralda, the Chilean Tall Ship riding at anchor one night in Newport RI. We sailed a mite close to her but I have to say, she was absolutely beautiful. One of the larger Tall Ships, all her rigging is lighted while riding at anchor and with just a touch of sea- mist, she looks like an aberration from a distance. Not sure about that one, perhaps synthetic for her.... :-)

Brian

Synthetic or dino oil?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 09, 2014, 06:59:21 AM
I bought a used MC trailer yesterday (Magneta --- M.P.T. SERIES # UMCT1XHD - low profile). Yes, I know. I should be riding my bike and not trailering it. Some times it can't be helped though, like towing the bike behind the RV...

Anyways, I got a good deal on it. It needs a lil TLC before it's ready to go.

(http://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/reachoomedia/asset_images/original/108/947/830/00T0T_1OlsJAyZFnj_600x450.jpg?2014)

Stores vertically.

(http://magnetatrailers.com/images/140_umct1hhd-2-small.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 09, 2014, 07:07:08 AM
What are the slanted uprights by the fenders?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on August 09, 2014, 07:10:53 AM
What are the slanted uprights by the fenders?
Those must be the legs that come down to store it vertically.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 09, 2014, 07:14:30 AM
What are the slanted uprights by the fenders?

In the top pic? Those are the caster mounting thingies.

(http://magnetatrailers.com/images/230_wk2_-small.jpg)

These slide into the tubular frame at the rear of the trailer and allows the trailer to be tilted up on end and moved around in the garage or where ever. The tongue of the trailer is removable so that the thing can fit inside of the garage if there's not enough room overhead. The whole thing weighs under 300lbs and is very easy to move around.

http://magnetatrailers.com/motorcycletransporttrailers/openmotorcycletrailers.html (http://magnetatrailers.com/motorcycletransporttrailers/openmotorcycletrailers.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 09, 2014, 07:19:05 AM
Looked like a good price too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 09, 2014, 07:21:53 AM
Looked like a good price too.

Did a lil snooping did ya?  ;)

They were asking $825 for it, I paid $600. it's a 2008 model, just like my C14.    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 09, 2014, 07:28:08 AM
You're going to have to paint it Silverdammit or it will drag down the tow vehicle.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 09, 2014, 07:36:26 AM
You're going to have to paint it Silverdammit or it will drag down the tow vehicle.

I know it! It was dragging me down on the way home.  ;)

I wonder if ZG has any of that green paint left? Green fenders might be cool.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 09, 2014, 07:50:49 AM
No.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 09, 2014, 07:56:24 AM
Yeah, that's what my wife said too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 09, 2014, 09:00:18 AM
The sane thinker of the family..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 10, 2014, 06:20:39 AM
That's a scary notion! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 10, 2014, 12:25:08 PM
No.

Yeah, that's what my wife said too.

Yeah my wife too. Wait, are we talking about...OH I see, green fender paint. My wife loves to find stuff for me to paint.
See, at first when I saw "wife" and "no" I thought we were talking abou.......never mind. :-[
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 11, 2014, 04:37:40 AM
Yeah, that's what my wife said too.

Yeah my wife too. Wait, are we talking about...OH I see, green fender paint. My wife loves to find stuff for me to paint.
See, at first when I saw "wife" and "no" I thought we were talking abou.......never mind. :-[

That makes me sad.     ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on August 11, 2014, 07:36:53 AM
Mondays suck!  :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 11, 2014, 07:41:22 AM
Mondays suck!  :(

http://youtu.be/2AB9zPfXqQQ (http://youtu.be/2AB9zPfXqQQ)

http://youtu.be/guv5LUT1AFw (http://youtu.be/guv5LUT1AFw)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 17, 2014, 09:21:09 AM
Aunt Ann died ;D. We just found out 3 weeks after, as if I f***ing care. I'm going to pi$$ on her grave and hope she's doing well in purgatory as hell is too good for her. She was the root cause of my wife's family disowning us, again, as if I f***ing care. We drank a bottle of wine the other night. I feel fine.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 17, 2014, 10:19:38 AM
I am not absolutely sure I am following this- are you saying you were not close with Aunt Ann?

Really though, sorry to hear that your family problems are causing you grief.

It is not a unique situation or even unusual though. I had an older relative that ended up on the bad side of most of the relatives- it is a very small family anyway. I turned away from him fairly early while others were doing their best to 'turn the other cheek'. Anyway, another relative was one of the last to finally have enough of the guy but did not fully vent his anger before the old guy died. So relative #2 spent years (maybe still doing it for all I know) spreading salt on relative #1's grave (the old gentleman) so no grass grows there. It still makes me laugh when I think about it.... :-)  Kind of a 'you may be dead but I ain't done with you yet' situation.

Brian

Aunt Ann died ;D. We just found out 3 weeks after, as if I f***ing care. I'm going to pi$$ on her grave and hope she's doing well in purgatory as hell is too good for her. She was the root cause of my wife's family disowning us, again, as if I f***ing care. We drank a bottle of wine the other night. I feel fine.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 17, 2014, 10:43:48 AM
On 24 February, 1914, Major General <brevet> Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain died from a battle wound. Nothing too surprising there as this was the first year of World War I which would kill millions. But WW I did not start until August and besides, Chamberlain was an American, 85 years of age, and not involved with any conflict at the time of his death.

He received the would that would kill him during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, in April, 1864. He was leading a charge when he was hit by a musket bullet in the hip. The bullet passed out his other hip, damaging his bladder. The wound was considered lethal (which is actually was) and his obituary was published the next day in the newspapers of his home state, Maine. By November of that year, he was again in command of an active force in the Civil War, would serve to the end of that war and eventually sustain six wounds during battle. His final service was to accept the formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia that effectively ended the American Civil War. Chamberlain went on to serve four terms as Governor of Main, serve as the President of Bowdoin college, practice as a lawyer in New York and several other activities. All of this despite having to wear a catheter from the time of his wound at Petersburg and going through another six operations in an unsuccessful effort to repair the damage done by that wound that would cause almost constant pain and repeated infections until his death.

Beside him at his death was Dr. Shaw, one of the two surgeons who had performed the initial wound surgery on Chamberlain 50 years before. Chamberlain is believed to be the last person to die as a result of wounds sustained during the Civil War.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 17, 2014, 11:09:00 AM
Its my wife's family, and I don't care what anybody says, I married HER, not her family, she feels the same. I've moved on, I hope never to see or hear or talk to them ever again in my life after what they did and what they said. Ding dong the witch is dead! ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 17, 2014, 11:12:58 AM
Great to hear you have moved on.

But just in case something happens to alter that, I understand that one standard Morton salt container will prevent anything from growing on a 3' X 6' plot of dirt for an entire year. Iodized or not does not seem to make any difference.

 ;D

Its my wife's family, and I don't care what anybody says, I married HER, not her family, she feels the same. I've moved on, I hope never to see or hear or talk to them ever again in my life after what they did and what they said. Ding dong the witch is dead! ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 17, 2014, 11:22:42 AM
That's good info to know, I'll take it into account, easier than visiting the grave every month ;D.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 17, 2014, 12:29:27 PM
There is salt in P from what I understand plus any number of bad things for grass....just sayin.  I know one person that I'd use that method on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 17, 2014, 01:46:11 PM
Yes Jim you are right, but you'd need an awful lot of urine as the way it is presented naturally tends to "treat" spot areas only. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 17, 2014, 02:01:00 PM
I thought that's what they made beer for?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 17, 2014, 02:13:56 PM
Too much water dilutes the effect. Jeez Jim, come on, what the heck are we doing here talking about, well what we're talking about? ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 17, 2014, 02:27:14 PM
Too much water dilutes the effect. Jeez Jim, come what the heck are we doing here talking about, well what we're talking about? ;D

Nothing, nothing at all... :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 17, 2014, 06:12:32 PM
Don't say it Brian.... don't say it Brian.... don't say it Brian....    ;D  Whew! That was close. Jim, you're killing me here, putting out stuff like 'there is salt in urine'; almost too much for me to avoid commenting on.

The most salt that can be contained in urine is about 1%. That is not enough to damage most plant life, especially something as tough as grass. The thing that causes yellow spots where Rover lifted his leg is urea, basically a high concentration of nitrogen. Now here is the cool part about that- urea is the source of nitrogen in most, if not all fertilizers and yet it is what burns and kills grass.... what's up with that? The answer is amount- too much nitrogen is as deadly to plant life as no nitrogen at all and basically, Rover causes the grass to 'overdose' on urea. If only he could be trained to run and.... uhm..... lift his leg.

This is great though 'cause the next factoid in the thread can be about salt in urine and the ocean....

Brian


There is salt in P from what I understand plus any number of bad things for grass....just sayin.  I know one person that I'd use that method on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 17, 2014, 06:20:33 PM
Everyone knows  that a human (and most, but not all mammals) cannot subsist on seawater because there is too much salt in it. The common expression is that if one drinks seawater exclusively, one will die of dehydration.

What nonsense: suppose one is adrift in the ocean and starts to drink seawater? If that person started to dehydrate, he / she could simply drink more seawater. Hey, you're adrift on the ocean, what else is there to do? You could drink seawater all day! So that idea just does not.... wait for it.... hold water.

The maximum amount of salt a human can excrete in his / her urine, the primary source of purging salt (by far), is about 1%. Seawater is about 3.5% salinity. This means that there is a fairly rapid and very significant buildup of sodium in the human body if that body is being hydrated with seawater. In fairly short order, the blood thickens, the red blood cells begin to fail, and the entire hydraulic system that is our circulatory system begins to fail. Soon enough it DOES fail and the host dies due to a huge and intolerable excess of salt in the blood. But most certainly it is NOT due to dehydration.

Which begs the question, can humans survive on a portion of seawater? Absolutely! As long as that portion is well under 25% of the total water intake.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 17, 2014, 06:29:51 PM
1% is still a percentage of salt.  Whilst not a crazy percentage, still enough to make a point.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 17, 2014, 06:46:45 PM
Just couldn't leave it alone, eh Jim? OK, you win.....

How do you know there is salt in urine? HMMMMMMMMMMM?  We know there is salt in tears 'cause they taste salty.....

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Whilst is not a word in American English BTW.   :rotflmao: again.

Brian

1% is still a percentage of salt.  Whilst not a crazy percentage, still enough to make a point.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 17, 2014, 07:00:58 PM
Its not the salt in the urine that would kill the grass anyhow. I'm still pi$$ing on her grave. She was such a vile, conniving, evil excuse of an oxygen thief that I wouldn't pi$$ in her mouth if she was dying of thirst. Now lets end this infernal pi$$ing match shall we.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 17, 2014, 07:38:00 PM
 :rotflmao: alrighty then..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2014, 06:08:46 PM
On August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris, France. The authorities acted quickly and Pablo Picasso was questioned, and fortunately, Guillaume Apollinaire was apprehended and placed in jail. Of course the bad news is that Mr. Apollinaire did not in fact steal the painting. It was missing for two years before being found when the original thief, a Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia, was caught while trying to sell the painting to a Florentine art gallery. Apparently Mr. Peruggia's motivation was that he felt the Italian master's work should be returned to Italy where it rightfully belonged. After recovery, the Mona Lisa was shown all over Italy for two years before being returned to the Louvre. Mr. Peruggia served a six month jail term and was considered a national hero in Italy.

Art is often lost on my- I simply do not 'get' any of Pollack's work for example. But something in the Mona Lisa forces me to look at it (in photographs, I have never been to France or seen the painting in person). So if DaVinci can appeal even to such a heathen as me, I guess he really was a Master (I love his drawings of horses!).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 21, 2014, 08:27:15 PM
I much prefer Renoir.

I have this one in my bathroom down in the basement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 22, 2014, 08:40:29 AM
On August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris, France. The authorities acted quickly and Pablo Picasso was questioned, and fortunately, Guillaume Apollinaire was apprehended and placed in jail. Of course the bad news is that Mr. Apollinaire did not in fact steal the painting. It was missing for two years before being found when the original thief, a Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia, was caught while trying to sell the painting to a Florentine art gallery. Apparently Mr. Peruggia's motivation was that he felt the Italian master's work should be returned to Italy where it rightfully belonged. After recovery, the Mona Lisa was shown all over Italy for two years before being returned to the Louvre. Mr. Peruggia served a six month jail term and was considered a national hero in Italy.

Art is often lost on my- I simply do not 'get' any of Pollack's work for example. But something in the Mona Lisa forces me to look at it (in photographs, I have never been to France or seen the painting in person). So if DaVinci can appeal even to such a heathen as me, I guess he really was a Master (I love his drawings of horses!).

Brian

I never knew about the theft. I saw the painting for the second time last year. It is displayed much better then the first time I saw it. I never understood why that painting got so famous. Of Da Vinci's body of work this falls somewhere in the "meh" category IMO.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 22, 2014, 08:53:52 AM
Well, as I said, I've never seen it in person. And 'art' is usually wasted on me- it just bounces off. I don't "see" it, especially the abstracts and impressionist works. All of that said, the Mona Lisa draws me to it, makes me look at it and the more I look, the more of it I see. Not sure if that is what "art" is supposed to do but that is the effect that painting has on me. Also quite a few of his drawings- mostly the horses, the horse's butt (I could look at a DaVinci horse's A$$ for three hours I think) and his self- portrait in his later years. Beyond that, he was a fair scientist (OK, he was a great scientist), a skilled inventor, and an excellent all- around thinker. Apparently he was also abrasive, perhaps homosexual, and generally unpleasant to be around. But in the end, the man virtually jump- started the Renaissance single-handedly and started the western world out of the pathetic situation it had been in for a thousand years and pointed us toward the light.

Put me down as a big fan of the gentleman.  :thumbs: :hail:

Brian

I never knew about the theft. I saw the painting for the second time last year. It is displayed much better then the first time I saw it. I never understood why that painting got so famous. Of Da Vinci's body of work this falls somewhere in the "meh" category IMO.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: RFH87_Connie on August 22, 2014, 09:34:09 AM
Maybe 7 years or so ago, me made a day trip with some friends from NoVa to see the DaVinci sketches on display at the NY art museum - my first long-distance art trek.    Well worth it!  What struck me by surprise was how small the actual original works were compared to the size I thought they actually were.  Most were no more than a foot square but had exquisite detail.  I am by no means an art snob but living just outside DC gives me access to some pretty impressive museums of all types.  I find myself visiting them more and more lately.  Some of my favorite artists are Thomas Cole and Salvadore Dali which are on display up here.  I would love to see Dali's works that are on display in St. Pete Florida at some point.  Cole's "Voyage of Life" has always amazed me by it's detail and huge size.  The Van Gogh exhibit in DC was very good also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_Life# (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_Life#)

What is the work thing we speak of - it is Friday isn't it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 22, 2014, 09:48:46 AM
I was at a convention in downtown San Francisco, had some downtime and went into the SF museum of modern art. I found it to be "The Emperors New Clothes" in action. There were 5 or 6 examples of "monochromatic art". I'm not talking about a picture in black and white, that would be "dichromatic art". I'm talking about pieces where the "artist" went down the the Alameda Navy yard, stole a bucket of battle ship grey and slathered it on to a canvas. At least 2 in grey and several in other colors. They had descriptions about how the "artist" brought out the color on canvas. I was waiting for a blank spot on the wall with the exact same description. I guess I'm like the people in the fable that thought the emperor was naked.

Think I'm exaggerating?

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/19534 (http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/19534)

or

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/22933 (http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/22933)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 22, 2014, 09:56:19 AM
And that is a perfect example of what I mean by most art being absolutely lost on my. The art that makes me shake my head with wonder is everything I have seen of Pollack- I mean the guy drizzled paint on the floor and one of them now holds the record of somewhere near 150 million ($, US) as the highest price paid for a painting. I just do not understand. I think I would rather watch the elephants make sculptures out of the coffee beans they ate (other thread).

??

Brian

I was at a convention in downtown San Francisco, had some downtime and went into the SF museum of modern art. I found it to be "The Emperors New Clothes" in action. There were 5 or 6 examples of "monochromatic art". I'm not talking about a picture in black and white, that would be "dichromatic art". I'm talking about pieces where the "artist" went down the the Alameda Navy yard, stole a bucket of battle ship grey and slathered it on to a canvas. At least 2 in grey and several in other colors. They had descriptions about how the "artist" brought out the color on canvas. I was waiting for a blank spot on the wall with the exact same description. I guess I'm like the people in the fable that thought the emperor was naked.

Think I'm exaggerating?

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/19534 (http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/19534)

or

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/22933 (http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/22933)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 22, 2014, 11:23:16 AM
This is my idea of truly great art and it isn't even in a museum. It's a fountain in front of a building in Irving, TX:

(http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f68/98218d1224569744-pic-day-some-may-slightly-nsfw-pic_12055155984559.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 22, 2014, 11:24:34 AM
 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 23, 2014, 04:56:22 AM
This is my idea of truly great art and it isn't even in a museum. It's a fountain in front of a building in Irving, TX:

(http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f68/98218d1224569744-pic-day-some-may-slightly-nsfw-pic_12055155984559.jpg)

VERY cool!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 23, 2014, 10:11:11 PM
Dr. Who has regenerated....I don't like him....yet.  I didn't like the last one either but he eventually grew on me.  Sigh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 24, 2014, 04:40:49 PM
On August 24, 1814, Dolly Madison had dinner prepared for herself and her husband, President James Madison. Nothing unusual about that. What was a bit on the odd side is who actually ate that meal; that was the day that British troops arrived, took the city of Washington and burned almost all of it. After eating the meal left in the White House, of course.

The next day, the head of the British forces there, Read Admiral George Cockburn (Easy Boys!) searched out the offices of a local newspaper, The National Intelligencer, as they had put him in such a bad light and nicknamed him "The Ruffian". He was determined to burn that building too but some local women persuaded him not to do that as it would almost certainly set the nearby houses afire. Instead, he ordered the building be taken down brick by brick, and ordered all the type in the letter 'C' be destroyed "so that the rascals can have no further means of abusing my name."

And by the way, the oft- repeated stories of Dolly Madison personally taking the portrait of George Washington down and removing it from the White House to save it are false: the painting was far too large and heavy for any single person to carry it, never mind remove it from the wall mounting. Servants actually removed the painting.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 25, 2014, 04:04:16 AM
The burning of Washington DC was in retaliation for the incursions and burnings into Canada.  Unfortunately, the locals decided to take advantage of the situation and did some looting.  Not a great time in American history, at least in the DC area.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 25, 2014, 04:30:37 AM
The burning of Washington DC was in retaliation for the incursions and burnings into Canada.  Unfortunately, the locals decided to take advantage of the situation and did some looting.  Not a great time in American history, at least in the DC area.
<sigh> Some things never change.

....and WTF, it was just Canada.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 25, 2014, 05:13:39 AM
King George III and his Prince Regent George the IV were not amused.  George the III was still smarting from the loss in the Revolutionary War.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 25, 2014, 08:13:35 AM
On August 24, 1814, Dolly Madison had dinner prepared for herself and her husband, President James Madison. Nothing unusual about that. What was a bit on the odd side is who actually ate that meal; that was the day that British troops arrived, took the city of Washington and burned almost all of it. After eating the meal left in the White House, of course.

The next day, the head of the British forces there, Read Admiral George Cockburn (Easy Boys!) searched out the offices of a local newspaper, The National Intelligencer, as they had put him in such a bad light and nicknamed him "The Ruffian". He was determined to burn that building too but some local women persuaded him not to do that as it would almost certainly set the nearby houses afire. Instead, he ordered the building be taken down brick by brick, and ordered all the type in the letter 'C' be destroyed "so that the rascals can have no further means of abusing my name."

And by the way, the oft- repeated stories of Dolly Madison personally taking the portrait of George Washington down and removing it from the White House to save it are false: the painting was far too large and heavy for any single person to carry it, never mind remove it from the wall mounting. Servants actually removed the painting.

Brian

And it is not the original painting. In fact has "SATES" misspelling on purpose to differentiate it from the original "Lansdowne" portrait.


(http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/07/Gilbert_Stuart_George_Washington_detail_of_book_labels_Google_Art_Project/55a7c041f.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 25, 2014, 08:48:46 AM
This is my idea of truly great art and it isn't even in a museum. It's a fountain in front of a building in Irving, TX:

(http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/attachments/f68/98218d1224569744-pic-day-some-may-slightly-nsfw-pic_12055155984559.jpg)
They have a really large thing like that out at Cleburne, TX. I like tat kind of art :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on August 25, 2014, 01:00:03 PM
Interesting this drifted to sculpture, I was out playing ADV tag-o-rama today, and shot and posted pictures of this house I worked on for almost 3 years.. it was an interesting group, and the house is apearing empty currently...might have to see how much...
The flintstone house

(http://www.roadarch.com/09/8/flinth2a.jpg)

http://www.roadarch.com/modarch/ohresi.html (http://www.roadarch.com/modarch/ohresi.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on August 25, 2014, 02:54:09 PM
They have a really large thing like that out at Cleburne, TX. I like tat kind of art :)

Here are a few more -
(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-25_zps25d9c9ac.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-25_zps25d9c9ac.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-25-2_zpsc2927675.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-25-2_zpsc2927675.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-3_zpsdd94d905.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-3_zpsdd94d905.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-4_zps0f056406.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-4_zps0f056406.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-5_zpsa1e39559.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-5_zpsa1e39559.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-7_zpsfc73f888.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-7_zpsfc73f888.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-22-1_zps5659d335.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-22-1_zps5659d335.jpg.html)

(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Open/Statues-201_zps44efc66e.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Open/Statues-201_zps44efc66e.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 07:49:17 AM
Jack Kevorkian's lawyer and spokesman was the brother of the lead singer of the 80's group "The Knack".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 26, 2014, 07:51:59 AM
Jack Kevorkian's lawyer and spokesman was the brother of the lead singer of the 80's group "The Knack".

Now that's some deep trivia! Well done!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 08:13:00 AM
Ironic as I've often been called shallow and irrelevant ;D And, there was just an article concerning the woman that the song "My Sharona" was written about as its been 35 years since it was released.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 26, 2014, 09:22:38 AM
Excellent! Now that is the kind of information so badly needed in this thread.

Here is another: What is the gestation period of a Yak? 154 days.

Brian

Jack Kevorkian's lawyer and spokesman was the brother of the lead singer of the 80's group "The Knack".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 26, 2014, 09:24:58 AM
Mind if I take a wild, purely thoughtless guess as to who may have referred to you being that way? Might it have been your idiot- brother- in- law?

By the way, in the future, can we just refer to him as I- bil?

Brian

Ironic as I've often been called shallow and irrelevant .....

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 09:35:58 AM
That's a disservice to all named Bill. I prefer I-diot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 11:10:24 AM
Here is a couple of pics from the plant we are building.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 11:12:47 AM
Here are the Helistats from ground level.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 11:13:46 AM
And here is a heliostat target being shot.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 26, 2014, 11:48:24 AM
Do the Helistats automatically track the sun and aim on the Heliostat?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 26, 2014, 11:55:36 AM
Rocknrod is this NM?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 12:02:46 PM
Rocknrod is this NM?
No.

Do the Helistats automatically track the sun and aim on the Heliostat?
They use camera's and track the sun to aim them on the receiver.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 26, 2014, 12:05:36 PM
My uncle worked in NM at a solar array years back.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 12:21:55 PM
Lets all bow our heads.
Burger King is going to Buy Tim Horton's.
If they screw up Mrs. Horton's little boys breakfast shop I will be very put out.
I loved going there when I was working in Canada.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 12:36:28 PM
How can BK buy TH's? Is that even possible? Couldn't Canada claim national Icon status for TH's and prevent this awful thing? I see no good thing coming from this. Not good. Not good at all.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 26, 2014, 12:45:29 PM
BK buys TH, and is moving the company to Canada to save millions in taxes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 12:52:18 PM
I thought TH's IS a Canadian firm.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 26, 2014, 01:05:01 PM
I read that BK is moving its HQ to Canada. So is BK buying TH or TH buying BK?

And if you combine the BK Wopper with TH donuts we might get this:

(http://2-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.powerlineblog.com/i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/admin/ed-assets/2014/08/Donut-Cheeseburger-copy.jpg,qresize=300,P2C215.pagespeed.ce.z3P-lzP34F.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 01:23:51 PM
"...Investors and tax experts say the main reason for Burger King to move its domicile to Canada is to avoid having to pay double taxation on profits earned abroad, as the company would likely be subject to do if it remained in the United States.

Burger King, however, stressed Miami would remain its global home, while Oakville, Ontario, would will continue to be the worldwide headquarters of Tim Hortons..."
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/26/us-tim-hortons-burger-kg-wld-offer-idINKBN0GQ11L20140826 (http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/26/us-tim-hortons-burger-kg-wld-offer-idINKBN0GQ11L20140826)

Well as long as they don't mess with the great products Tim Horton's has.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on August 26, 2014, 01:24:12 PM
I read that BK is moving its HQ to Canada. So is BK buying TH or TH buying BK?

And if you combine the BK Wopper with TH donuts we might get this:

(http://2-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.powerlineblog.com/i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/admin/ed-assets/2014/08/Donut-Cheeseburger-copy.jpg,qresize=300,P2C215.pagespeed.ce.z3P-lzP34F.jpg)

Oh God
I found my new wallpaper for my phone......
I would KILL for those....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 26, 2014, 01:57:31 PM
Oh God
I found my new wallpaper for my phone......
I would KILL for those....

Maybe you could trade O-rings for Donut Burgers  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 26, 2014, 01:58:26 PM
BK buys TH, and is moving the company to Canada to save millions in taxes.
Nope.  Seems this was another jump to conclusion from the we all know who.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 26, 2014, 02:05:25 PM
Even Burger King is claiming this.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/26/news/companies/burger-king-tim-horton/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 (http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/26/news/companies/burger-king-tim-horton/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 26, 2014, 02:07:37 PM
That is exactly the kind of food they serve in hospitals! Well, almost exactly. Well, other than the donut, the bacon, the cheese, and the hamburger.

Brian

(http://2-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.powerlineblog.com/i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/admin/ed-assets/2014/08/Donut-Cheeseburger-copy.jpg,qresize=300,P2C215.pagespeed.ce.z3P-lzP34F.jpg)

Oh God
I found my new wallpaper for my phone......
I would KILL for those....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 26, 2014, 02:09:54 PM
That is exactly the kind of food they serve right before being admitted to a hospital!


FTFY
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 26, 2014, 02:16:15 PM
Even Burger King is claiming this.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/26/news/companies/burger-king-tim-horton/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 (http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/26/news/companies/burger-king-tim-horton/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/26/burger-king-tim-hortons-deal_n_5714553.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/26/burger-king-tim-hortons-deal_n_5714553.html)
Not about taxes, it's about growth...

I'm all in for the donut/bacon/cheese/burger sandwich :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 26, 2014, 02:22:05 PM
Ah, I see what you mean.
Still moving, but not about saving taxes.
I'm sure saving all that money had nothing to do with it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 26, 2014, 02:33:11 PM
They are keeping their corporate office in the US.  No change in taxes being paid.  FWIW, I still do not understand the tiered tax rates.  What is so wrong about a simple tax rate being flat, across the board?  Make more, pay more, make less pay less.  The current scheme is make more pay WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY more.  Make less, get back more.  Something wrong in that. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 02:55:16 PM
Income redistribution. I think there's a different name for it though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 26, 2014, 05:26:57 PM
They are keeping their corporate office in the US.  No change in taxes being paid.  FWIW, I still do not understand the tiered tax rates.  What is so wrong about a simple tax rate being flat, across the board?  Make more, pay more, make less pay less.  The current scheme is make more pay WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY more.  Make less, get back more.  Something wrong in that.

It will never happen as it's in the Man's best interests to keep it as complex as possible.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 26, 2014, 05:53:47 PM
Bill Paxton..... the only man killed by a Terminator, a Predator and an Alien.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 26, 2014, 05:55:08 PM
It will never happen as it's in the Man's best interests to keep it as complex as possible.
Man's best interest, or those in power?  Want complex?  Try figuring out coffee beans!!  http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/indonesia-and-asia/sumatra/sumatra-lintong-sijamapola.html (http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/indonesia-and-asia/sumatra/sumatra-lintong-sijamapola.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 26, 2014, 05:56:55 PM
SOP, you gonna try those monkey crap beans?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on August 26, 2014, 06:05:32 PM
That is exactly the kind of food they serve in hospitals! Well, almost exactly. Well, other than the donut, the bacon, the cheese, and the hamburger.

Brian

(http://2-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.powerlineblog.com/i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/admin/ed-assets/2014/08/Donut-Cheeseburger-copy.jpg,qresize=300,P2C215.pagespeed.ce.z3P-lzP34F.jpg)

in the last 60 days I have totally reversed my bad to good colesterol levels to "awesome", gotten control of type II diabetes, and my sugar is now @ or below perfect,  every test I had done (14 in total) that had my doctor lecturing me has been verified to be perfect currently, I've lost 40 pounds.... :o
 all thru one medication and simple correct diet...
I deserve cheesy donut burger :'( :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 26, 2014, 06:10:29 PM
SOP, you gonna try those monkey crap beans?
I am actually eyeing the elephant variety :o  The monkey variety may have "run it's course"!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on August 26, 2014, 06:47:13 PM
Evian, as in Evian brand bottled water, spelled backwards is "Naïve". Hmmmm.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on August 26, 2014, 07:16:08 PM
Evian, as in Evian brand bottled water, spelled backwards is "Naïve". Hmmmm.

And it should be. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on August 26, 2014, 08:51:55 PM
in the last 60 days I have totally reversed my bad to good colesterol levels to "awesome", gotten control of type II diabetes, and my sugar is now @ or below perfect,  every test I had done (14 in total) that had my doctor lecturing me has been verified to be perfect currently, I've lost 40 pounds.... :o
 all thru one medication and simple correct diet...
I deserve cheesy donut burger :'( :'(
My cholesterol just went into the tank and they put me on Zocor. Plus Metformin and Januvia (which I have been on for year). Lost about 20 pounds in the past year and I can't afford anymore.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on August 26, 2014, 09:38:48 PM
the only med I had to use was for the blood sugar, Metformin, one @ breakfast, one in evening, and my levels are steady @ 90. My diet controlled everything else...
I basically refused to take meds for all those tertiary issues I knew I could control with diet.
When I went into Docs for a followup she freaked out that I changed all that stuff with diet only, and now I am the model patiant... so to speak... 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 27, 2014, 04:23:00 AM
Man's best interest, or those in power?  Want complex?  Try figuring out coffee beans!!  http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/indonesia-and-asia/sumatra/sumatra-lintong-sijamapola.html (http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/indonesia-and-asia/sumatra/sumatra-lintong-sijamapola.html)

The Man, SOP, the Man. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: RFH87_Connie on August 27, 2014, 05:32:30 AM
Want complex?  Try figuring out coffee beans!!  http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/indonesia-and-asia/sumatra/sumatra-lintong-sijamapola.html (http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/indonesia-and-asia/sumatra/sumatra-lintong-sijamapola.html)

So let me get this straight, there are all of these flavors in it but coffee isn't one of them?

Pine-like
Evergreen
Crème brûlée notes
Torched butter and sugar
Cumin spice
Pineapple juice
Papaya
Jackfruit
Date sugar
Brown rice syrup
Baker's cocoa
Basil
Tarragon

I like to add creamer to my coffee to get a little different flavor, but this?  The price seems fair though.

And congratulations on everyones improving health!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 27, 2014, 08:31:37 AM
in the last 60 days I have totally reversed my bad to good colesterol levels to "awesome", gotten control of type II diabetes, and my sugar is now @ or below perfect,  every test I had done (14 in total) that had my doctor lecturing me has been verified to be perfect currently, I've lost 40 pounds.... :o
 all thru one medication and simple correct diet...
I deserve cheesy donut burger :'( :'(

OK, I won't be posting anymore cheesy donut burger pictures. Don't want to be responsible for you going off your diet. Congrats on losing 40 lbs!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on August 27, 2014, 10:03:27 AM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTsC6JWM0qU#t=328 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTsC6JWM0qU#t=328)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 27, 2014, 12:47:05 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTsC6JWM0qU#t=328 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTsC6JWM0qU#t=328)

I can smell it from here!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 04, 2014, 05:46:11 AM
Rambro!

(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-GBKiGSVDLsch7rwzyK8idm_mjqDK6vQlEH91xVcbuuIPg69f)

He hates everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfLCb4ewDDc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfLCb4ewDDc)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrozutSrdzw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrozutSrdzw)

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/09/03/erin-pkg-moos-angry-ram-takes-down-drone.cnn.html (http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2014/09/03/erin-pkg-moos-angry-ram-takes-down-drone.cnn.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 04, 2014, 02:36:24 PM
So I picked up a new strop (actually a pre- strop) the other day- a Japanese made, canvas strop (the real stuff, made out of hemp). Man, was that thing stiff (Easy Boys!). So I washed it and that didn't make much difference. Beating it up in the clothes dryer did though and at least now it feels like something woven instead of something cast.

It is a really coarse weave though and running a razor up and down it (Easy!) makes a LOT of noise. (this is where the audience asks "How loud is it?" if you are old enough to remember that one) It is SO loud that the other day a couple of Hardley guys stopped by and asked me to go easy on the stropping 'cause the noise was drowning out their open pipes.

Ba Dum Dum

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 04, 2014, 02:46:38 PM
Strop making that noise!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 04, 2014, 04:18:54 PM
So I picked up a new strop (actually a pre- strop) the other day- a Japanese made, canvas strop (the real stuff, made out of hemp). Man, was that thing stiff (Easy Boys!). So I washed it and that didn't make much difference. Beating it up in the clothes dryer did though and at least now it feels like something woven instead of something cast.

It is a really coarse weave though and running a razor up and down it (Easy!) makes a LOT of noise. (this is where the audience asks "How loud is it?" if you are old enough to remember that one) It is SO loud that the other day a couple of Hardley guys stopped by and asked me to go easy on the stropping 'cause the noise was drowning out their open pipes.

Ba Dum Dum

Brian

Never knew a strop could be made out of hemp. (new industry for Colorado?) Always thought they were made from leather.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 04, 2014, 04:35:01 PM
A pre- strop, yep. Canvas is good, linen (real linen from flax, not today's corrupted linen made out of cotton) is excellent. Both are tough to get and expensive (for what it is) when they are found, especially long, wide (Easy Boys!) strops. Strops themselves are always made out of leather although there are vegan strops - yep, straight razor shaving and vegans have found each other :-)

Brian

Never knew a strop could be made out of hemp. (new industry for Colorado?) Always thought they were made from leather.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 10, 2014, 09:25:42 AM
An elephant in the only 4 legged mammal with 4 knees.

An elephant is the only animal that cannot jump.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 10, 2014, 09:44:47 AM
Even if there is a mouse terrorizing it?  They jump in cartoons, you know.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 10, 2014, 09:48:19 AM
Always though the elephant afraid of mouse thing was BS. But Myth Busters did a pretty convincing experiment. Elephant definitely went out of his way to avoid a mouse.

But it didn't jump  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 10, 2014, 03:19:01 PM
Though perhaps not for the lack of wanting to or even trying to.... I've heard that elephants actually cannot jump!

 :rotflmao:

Brian


<snip>

But it didn't jump  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 10, 2014, 03:19:44 PM
No, no Jim, mice can jump in real life too. I was talking about elephants not being able to jump.

:-)

Brian

Even if there is a mouse terrorizing it?  They jump in cartoons, you know.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 10, 2014, 03:20:34 PM
 :) Twit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 10, 2014, 03:22:52 PM
Durf Wad.

(depending on what Steve gets that to mean in the urban dictionary)

 :D

Brian

:) Twit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on September 10, 2014, 03:23:45 PM
Strawberries aren't berries.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 10, 2014, 03:36:21 PM
They may not be able to jump but they can definitely wheelie.

(http://www0.f1online.de/premid/000596000/596591.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 10, 2014, 03:49:29 PM
Durf Wad.

(depending on what Steve gets that to mean in the urban dictionary)

 :D

Brian
Did some searching-"D&*^" is not good, almost as bad as the "F" word, maybe even worser :o  ( Worser is a spin off of "Gooder"  ;) )
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 10, 2014, 07:21:19 PM
Nah, it was on an episode of E.L.R. a bunch of years back on regular 'over the air' TV. It was specifically on the episode about PMS. You guys are making up a new urban legend.

Brian

Did some searching-"D&*^" is not good, almost as bad as the "F" word, maybe even worser :o  ( Worser is a spin off of "Gooder"  ;) )
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Clark Kent on September 10, 2014, 07:29:24 PM
It was announced to day that the word "homosexual" is now a bad word.  It hurt people so we can't use it anymore.

Like Midget, Retarded, Homosexual, Negro, Colored, etc, etc, etc.

Sorry, but where I live little people still, Midgets.  People with diminished  mental capacity are still Retarded.  Homosexuals are still Homosexuals.  Black people are still Negros and Colored people. 

None of those words are used in an offensive way.  To some people those words are just too old to be used.  AND, those people are still ASS HOLES where I live.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now to the word> "DURF" 

http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nl/durf (http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nl/durf)

I am close to a "DURF"  But since Superman is never afraid and never feels pain, I am not.  That being said:  Anyone trying to emulate me is in fact a "DURF"!  :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on September 10, 2014, 10:40:35 PM
 

Sorry, but where I live little people still, Midgets.  People with diminished  mental capacity are still Retarded.  Homosexuals are still Homosexuals.  Black people are still Negros and Colored people. 

None of those words are used in an offensive way.  To some people those words are just too old to be used.  AND, those people are still ASS HOLES where I live.

__________________________________________________________________________________


 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: turbojoe78 on September 11, 2014, 05:24:32 AM
They may not be able to jump but they can definitely wheelie.

(http://www0.f1online.de/premid/000596000/596591.jpg)

Rhino, that is just too funny!!  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 11, 2014, 07:18:24 AM
It was announced to day that the word "homosexual" is now a bad word.  It hurt people so we can't use it anymore.

Like Midget, Retarded, Homosexual, Negro, Colored, etc, etc, etc.

Sorry, but where I live little people still, Midgets.  People with diminished  mental capacity are still Retarded.  Homosexuals are still Homosexuals.  Black people are still Negros and Colored people. 

None of those words are used in an offensive way.  To some people those words are just too old to be used.  AND, those people are still ASS HOLES where I live.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Now to the word> "DURF" 

http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nl/durf (http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nl/durf)

I am close to a "DURF"  But since Superman is never afraid and never feels pain, I am not.  That being said:  Anyone trying to emulate me is in fact a "DURF"!  :finger_fing11:

Now I know why you so rarely venture from the Arena.  ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 11, 2014, 07:23:28 AM
Even if there is a mouse terrorizing it?  They jump in cartoons, you know.

They write songs about elephants jumping too.    :)

Aerosmith - Walkin' the Dog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkK21V5hN2s#ws)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on September 11, 2014, 09:21:13 PM
Followed a Nissan Leaf today across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.
Driver had his window down smoking a cigarette.

Hmmmmm

Then to pile irony on top of irony, he threw his butt onto the ground.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on September 11, 2014, 10:18:20 PM
Yeah, but he did it using no gas! Idiot....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 12, 2014, 07:02:54 AM
Followed a Nissan Leaf today across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.
Driver had his window down smoking a cigarette.

Hmmmmm

Then to pile irony on top of irony, he threw his butt onto the ground.

We need a green bumper sticker that says: "SAVE THE ASHTRAY"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Clark Kent on September 12, 2014, 09:06:21 AM
Yeah, but he did it using no gas! Idiot....

You are correct.  The car used no gas.  But it took about 30% more fossil fuel to product the same amount of energy for the miles with the same weight and shape a car powered with gas could achieve.

In other words,  It takes 30% mores fossil fuel to make an electric car go the same distance a gas powered car go.

The only way an electric car is cheaper is the massive subsidies of the Fed. govt.

(check out solar and wind power sometime)  Pretty cheap, right?  It only cost 10 to 15 times as much to product 1k of power with wind and solar, but with Govt. subsidies it's cheaper.  Why do you think we have an 18T debt?   :banghead:


OH, I forgot to ask:   Did the Leaf make it across the bridge?  (you have to take range into consideration when driving a leaf.)  And that is a long bridge.  For an electric car it might just be:  A Bridge Too Far.  :rotflmao:  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on September 12, 2014, 09:18:30 AM
...(check out solar and wind power sometime)  Pretty cheap, right?  It only cost 10 to 15 times as much to product 1k of power with wind and solar, but with Govt. subsidies it's cheaper.  Why do you think we have an 18T debt?   :banghead:...
You are correct - I am currently building a solar plant in Nevada the end cost will be over 10 times what a natural gas plant costs.
1 Billion Dollars for 100 Mega Watts of electricity. A natural gas plant would cost 100 Million for 100 mega watts.
Also the availability of the power is optimistically 1/3rd that of a natural gas plant due to weather and sunshine availability (night).
But hey, the government is funding it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Clark Kent on September 12, 2014, 11:30:53 AM
You are correct - I am currently building a solar plant in Nevada the end cost will be over 10 times what a natural gas plant costs.
1 Billion Dollars for 100 Mega Watts of electricity. A natural gas plant would cost 100 Million for 100 mega watts.
Also the availability of the power is optimistically 1/3rd that of a natural gas plant due to weather and sunshine availability (night).
But hey, the government is funding it.  YEP,  That's where the 18 T debt comes in!  :banghead:

So the sad fact is:  Driving an Ele. car or Natural Gas powered car may save YOU money (the Fed. Govt is paying for your savings).   That means we are ALL paying for the Ele. and Natural Gas cars.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining about those who buy those kind of cars.  I'm just saying the folks who think they are helping the planet are kidding themselves.  The cars they buy don't help the planet.  They just allow the folks who buy them to feel good about themselves because they think they are helping the planet.   :nuts:  That being said:  They are saving a lot of money on gas.  (so if you want to have teeth marks on your knees, save gas, money (and the Planet  ;) just keep buying those cars.)  Remember, if you have an accident in one and try to crawl out of that car you may just get the "shock" of your life.   :chugbeer:

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on September 12, 2014, 01:15:47 PM
It's all about feeling - No substance needed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rocknrod on September 12, 2014, 01:20:55 PM
Is there a way to block calls on a cell phone?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 12, 2014, 02:17:27 PM
Is there a way to block calls on a cell phone?
Yes.  Remove the battery ;)

There is also a way to block the # after is has called you, each phone is slightly differant.  You can also call the "Do not call " registry, 1-888-382-1222.  31 days after calling any telemarketer that calls you is subject to fines, provided you do the steps to file a complaint.  I just got done re doing this as it is only effective for a couple years, or someone registers for something free in the mall or on the net.  Your number becomes free meat after someone does that...  You must call from each phone to get the registry block.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 12, 2014, 02:30:09 PM
Is there a way to block calls on a cell phone?

There are call blocking apps such as this one for android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flexaspect.android.everycallcontrol&hl=en

Or this for iPhone:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/call-block/id721795292?mt=8
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 13, 2014, 06:35:29 AM
Yes.  Remove the battery ;)

There is also a way to block the # after is has called you, each phone is slightly differant.  You can also call the "Do not call " registry, 1-888-382-1222.  31 days after calling any telemarketer that calls you is subject to fines, provided you do the steps to file a complaint.  I just got done re doing this as it is only effective for a couple years, or someone registers for something free in the mall or on the net.  Your number becomes free meat after someone does that...  You must call from each phone to get the registry block.

Good luck with that! The Do Not Call registry only works for companies who abide by the law. It does not work on 'Heather' from Credit Card Services.  >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 13, 2014, 06:36:55 AM
Is there a way to block calls on a cell phone?

Verizon Wireless will let you block calls for free for a 90 day period. If you need details on how to do this let me know. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on September 13, 2014, 08:12:53 AM
Curious to know how much plastic, which is made with oil, is used to make an electric car weigh less. And by using electricity made by burning coal or oil aren't you just rearranging how you use energy, coal made electricity vs gasoline? What would be a break even point? Kind of like taking over 20 years to break even by driving a hybrid truck, or Porsche SUV. And while I'm at it, why do electric car have to be so goofy looking, as if the owners want everyone to know they are driving an electric car.........oh, never mind. Kind of like charity where celebrities get their photo taken while doling out turkey meals in the morning on Thanksgiving, then get into their Porsche SUV and go back to their million dollar home, while I just give money anonomously.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Clark Kent on September 13, 2014, 09:57:34 AM
Curious to know how much plastic, which is made with oil, is used to make an electric car weigh less. And by using electricity made by burning coal or oil aren't you just rearranging how you use energy, coal made electricity vs gasoline? What would be a break even point? Kind of like taking over 20 years to break even by driving a hybrid truck, or Porsche SUV. And while I'm at it, why do electric car have to be so goofy looking, as if the owners want everyone to know they are driving an electric car.........oh, never mind. Kind of like charity where celebrities get their photo taken while doling out turkey meals in the morning on Thanksgiving, then get into their Porsche SUV and go back to their million dollar home, while I just give money anonomously.

The process of making batteries (mining the materials etc) and disposing of the batteries are much, MUCH, more polluting ie: (harmful to the environment) than all the pollution put of by the internal combustion engine.

In fact---the electric car is the most polluting car on the market.  (but you can't tell that to the Greenie Weenies!)  :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 14, 2014, 08:05:59 AM
We were up in Door County WI last week camping and ended up going to the Sturgeon Bay boat yards.

Palmer Johnson is in the process of finishing up one of the first Super Yachts with a hull made completely from carbon fiber.

For a mere $150 million you too can impress your friends.

(http://www.carbonfibergear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2-palmer-johnson-48m-supersport-yacht.jpg)

(http://www.carbonfibergear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/3-palmer-johnson-48m-supersport-yacht.jpg)

(http://www.carbonfibergear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/4-palmer-johnson-48m-supersport-yacht.jpg)

http://www.palmerjohnson.com/# (http://www.palmerjohnson.com/#)!48m-ss/c1vv9

I almost ordered one till I realized that it didn't have a helipad. I can't go to sea without my helicopter.

I'll have to go with this one instead I guess. It's a bit slower on the max speed but some sacrifices have to be made...

http://www.palmerjohnson.com/# (http://www.palmerjohnson.com/#)!72m-ss/c3or
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 15, 2014, 02:40:10 PM
As the Earth's moon is locked in what is called 'Tidal Locking', the far or dark side of the moon was not seen by any human until December, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. From Earth, only about 59% of the moon's surface is visible although not all of that at any one particular time of course.

Eventually, the Earth may be tidally locked with the moon, at which point 1 Earth day would equal one lunar month.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 15, 2014, 03:19:21 PM
As the Earth's moon is locked in what is called 'Tidal Locking', the far or dark side of the moon was not seen by any human until December, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. From Earth, only about 59% of the moon's surface is visible although not all of that at any one particular time of course.

Eventually, the Earth may be tidally locked with the moon, at which point 1 Earth day would equal one lunar month.

Brian

I'm surprised by this. I always thought it would be 50% or maybe 50.009%. I didn't think the angle difference between a moon rise and moon set and north pole and south pole would be enough to see another 9% of the surface. But after calculating ( cos(7,000/240,000) I used 7,000 since the diameter of the moon is ~1,000 miles and earth is ~8,000 miles ) there is almost 1 degree difference in observation angle.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 15, 2014, 03:42:29 PM
I think the 50% thought is quite intuitive but incorrect because we do not observe from a point but rather the surface of a <relatively> large object and so have varying views of the moon.

But that is not the majority of the reason anyway- most of the increase beyond 50% is due to libration, of which there are three kinds: libration in latitude, libration in longitude and diurnal libration.

There is a pretty good explanation along with a video of how it works here:
http://www.wwu.edu/skywise/lunar_libration.html (http://www.wwu.edu/skywise/lunar_libration.html)

When doing celestial navigation by hand, via a sextant and sight reduction tables, there is an error correcting calculation needed because the Earth does not rotate neatly but rather wobbles slightly and unless compensated for can cause, if memory serves, up to an eight minute error, which would be eight nautical miles at the equator- not an insignificant error. 

Hey, this is not my world, I just happen to live here and so have to compensate all the time for lots' of stuff.  ;)

Brian

I'm surprised by this. I always thought it would be 50% or maybe 50.009%. I didn't think the angle difference between a moon rise and moon set and north pole and south pole would be enough to see another 9% of the surface. But after calculating ( cos(7,000/240,000) I used 7,000 since the diameter of the moon is ~1,000 miles and earth is ~8,000 miles ) there is almost 1 degree difference in observation angle.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 15, 2014, 05:10:30 PM
I think the 50% thought is quite intuitive but incorrect because we do not observe from a point but rather the surface of a <relatively> large object and so have varying views of the moon.

But that is not the majority of the reason anyway- most of the increase beyond 50% is due to libration, of which there are three kinds: libration in latitude, libration in longitude and diurnal libration.

There is a pretty good explanation along with a video of how it works here:
http://www.wwu.edu/skywise/lunar_libration.html (http://www.wwu.edu/skywise/lunar_libration.html)

When doing celestial navigation by hand, via a sextant and sight reduction tables, there is an error correcting calculation needed because the Earth does not rotate neatly but rather wobbles slightly and unless compensated for can cause, if memory serves, up to an eight minute error, which would be eight nautical miles at the equator- not an insignificant error. 

Hey, this is not my world, I just happen to live here and so have to compensate all the time for lots' of stuff.  ;)

Brian

Exactly. 2 people observing the moon on the horizon, one from around the north pole the other the south pole will be seeing it from about a 1 degree angle difference. Now add in this libration wobble thingy and I now see why we can see 59% from the surface of the earth.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 15, 2014, 06:18:33 PM
Add in some libation, a little more wobble and we could probably see at least 75%.

Brian

Exactly. 2 people observing the moon on the horizon, one from around the north pole the other the south pole will be seeing it from about a 1 degree angle difference. Now add in this libration wobble thingy and I now see why we can see 59% from the surface of the earth.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gumby on September 15, 2014, 06:40:06 PM
What would really suck is if you only saw this side of the moon (http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll112/tomdvaughan/emoticons/emoticon-0172-mooning.gif) (http://s286.photobucket.com/user/tomdvaughan/media/emoticons/emoticon-0172-mooning.gif.html)


 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on September 16, 2014, 09:18:11 AM
I was watching an old Burt Reynolds movie, "Sharkey's Machine", and could swear that I saw Jerry Seinfeld in it as a waiter in it. He was uncredited so I can't tell if it was him or not. He looked about 25 give or take a few years, movie was made in 1981, so the age works. Sure looked like him.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 16, 2014, 07:28:19 PM
So we all know there are 52 weeks in a year, and we all know there are 7 days in a week. So obviously there are (7 X 52 =) 364 days in a year.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on September 16, 2014, 07:34:41 PM
Leap year.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 17, 2014, 05:45:02 AM
Which one?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 17, 2014, 05:48:27 AM
Which one?

The 4th from the end.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 17, 2014, 05:52:04 AM
Ah, that explains it all.  The answer to all answers.  I'll have to remember that. :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 17, 2014, 10:06:58 AM
So we all know there are 52 weeks in a year, and we all know there are 7 days in a week. So obviously there are (7 X 52 =) 364 days in a year.

Brian

We all know there are 365 days in a year (except leap years) and 7 days in a week. So obviously there are 52.1428571 weeks in a year, except leap years. We could go round and round all day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 17, 2014, 10:26:15 AM
Yep- in fact, there are NOT 52 weeks in a year. There are not even 365 days in a year- it is closer to 365.25 (hence leap year which you pointed out). Even that is not quite right and there have to be further calendar corrections now and then.

The reason is that an Earth day and an Earth year are not related in any way. But to package it neatly, we try to couple them (Easy Boys!) and they really do not fit together.

Brian

We all know there are 365 days in a year (except leap years) and 7 days in a week. So obviously there are 52.1428571 weeks in a year, except leap years. We could go round and round all day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 17, 2014, 08:17:17 PM
Toasted England and the Queen tonight with my Queen Elizabeth coronation shot glass.  Seeing double at the moment so I have one eye shut as I post this.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 17, 2014, 09:37:59 PM
Sounds as if Scotland may finally free itself of the British Tyranny it has been suffering with ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 18, 2014, 04:35:55 AM
I hope not, but that's my personal opinion.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: T Cro ® on September 18, 2014, 04:55:24 AM
Toasted England and the Queen tonight with my Queen Elizabeth coronation shot glass.  Seeing double at the moment so I have one eye shut as I post this.

I drank so much at my daughters wedding that I was seeing triple; closing one eye only made matters worse. I had to keep both eyes open and fosus on the object in the middle.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 19, 2014, 12:04:02 AM
I hope not, but that's my personal opinion.
Well, the Highlanders aint too happy..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 19, 2014, 04:01:54 AM
55 to 45 to stay with the United Kingdom...and hopefully there will be changes in the way that Scotland is governed to raise less ire.  I heard something saying it would be more federalist but I'm not sure what that means as compared to what is being done now.

In reading a bit more on the subject it sounds as though they're going to need something similar to what we have in the way of govt in that Scotland, Wales and England will have local govts with the ability to deal with their internal issues and have representatives in Parliment for UK issues.  This may be a bit harder to implement with their current style of Parlimentary governance.  I guess we'll see..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 19, 2014, 06:44:17 AM
From far away, and knowing little about the UK's internal (Easy boys!) politics, I think that was the best thing to do. Depending on how independent they actually got, I think it would have been very difficult for Scotland to go solo as an autonomous country simply because it is too small to create a complete economy.

I was also surprised that Sean Connery was not out stumping for this- he has been a big proponent for Scottish independence for decades. Unless he was and it just did not make the news here but that would seem odd.

Brian

55 to 45 to stay with the United Kingdom...and hopefully there will be changes in the way that Scotland is governed to raise less ire.  I heard something saying it would be more federalist but I'm not sure what that means as compared to what is being done now.

In reading a bit more on the subject it sounds as though they're going to need something similar to what we have in the way of govt in that Scotland, Wales and England will have local govts with the ability to deal with their internal issues and have representatives in Parliment for UK issues.  This may be a bit harder to implement with their current style of Parlimentary governance.  I guess we'll see..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 19, 2014, 12:51:51 PM
I find that I enjoy mid to late 60s and early 70's rock the louder it is.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 23, 2014, 06:22:58 PM
Moto Guzzi Stelvio, not your everyday ADV Bike!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on September 23, 2014, 07:25:29 PM
Moto Guzzi Stelvio, not your everyday ADV Bike!

Smoking has been part of the Italian culture since 1492.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 24, 2014, 08:03:52 PM
As a general rule of thumb, the bigger the mammal, the higher the internal temp., the slower the heartbeat and the longer it lives. That means that with nothing but a blindfold and a rectal thermometer, one could tell what one was standing behind all over Africa, for example.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 30, 2014, 04:50:09 PM
"The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States."
- Chicago Times  20 November 1863, as a commentary on what has become known as "The Gettysburg Address" by A. Lincoln

There are five supposedly original copies of that speech, one signed by Lincoln. For that and the speech's fame, the exact words spoken by Lincoln are not known today; all copies of the speech, along with all known reports given from those who were actually heard the speech in person, vary in wording and no two are identical. It is commonly accepted that the closest version is the Bliss version, which is the original signed by Lincoln although he actually did not write it until 1864, long after the reading of the address and so may not be what was actually spoken.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on September 30, 2014, 06:33:49 PM
A president actually wrote his own speech? It was not OK'd by all his staff? Never heard of such a thing....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 30, 2014, 06:45:13 PM
Had to write it down. No power for the teleprompter.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on September 30, 2014, 08:09:52 PM
Had to write it down. No power for the teleprompter.

Some people actually memorised whole speeches back in those days.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Son of Pappy on September 30, 2014, 08:35:41 PM
Heck, they may even have spoken from the heart.  Go figure, eh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 30, 2014, 08:43:13 PM
Lincoln did not, nor did Edward Everett, the main speaker at the dedication of Gettysburg. Both read from the written page. In fact Lincoln did not finish writing that speech until late the evening before the day he actually delivered it.

Lincoln did write his own speeches generally though. Lucky for us too as he is arguably one on, if not perhaps the very best, writers in the English language.... no disrespect to either The Bard or Mr. Churchill. There is some question as to whether or not he actually wrote the famous condolence letter to Mrs. Bixby but there is no evidence either way and the opinions against his being the author are pretty thin IMO. But then I am biased probably and an unabashed fan of the man.

Just as a short example of the man's ability to assemble the same words we all may use and have access to:

"My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell."
-A. Lincoln      Springfield, Illinois (his home town) 11 Feb 1861   before he boarded the train that would take him to Washington, D.C. and the presidency.

Brian

Some people actually memorised whole speeches back in those days.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 30, 2014, 08:50:15 PM
I have to believe that this was so because I can hear his words in my heart, 150 odd years later.

Brian

Heck, they may even have spoken from the heart.  Go figure, eh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on October 01, 2014, 06:37:12 AM
I have to believe that this was so because I can hear his words in my heart, 150 odd years later.

Brian

You might want to visit a cardiologist.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 06, 2014, 05:57:01 PM
So exactly how does a mammal's stomach work- something we have all wondered at one time or another probably.  :o ::)  Certainly William Beaumont wondered but what was a bit unusual about him was that an opportunity was provided, all by accident of course and in the most literal sense.

It seems that Alexis St. Martin was shot in the abdomen with a musket way back on 6 June, 1822. Beaumont was the physician who atteneded him, most of the treatment apparently consisting of bleeding (well what else would he do?). Beaumont did not expect St. Martin to survive but to everyone's surprise not only did he survive but fully recovered..... kinda'. It seems that the stomach had been punctured and instead of closing onto itself, it healed to the opening in St. Martin's abdomen leaving him with a permanent fistula or "port" that lead directly into his stomach. St. Martin could not go back to his regular work so Beaumont hired him to be a general 'handyman' and, of course, perform experiments on him for the next 11 years. Most of these experiments consisted of poking and prodding of but some of them were about hanging various materials on a string into St. Martin's stomach to see what happened. Turns out there is acid in there- who knew?

Eventually they parted ways and of course both men died in due time. But the interesting thing is that Dr. Beaumont died in 1853 as the result of a fall on ice covered steps while St. Martin did not die until 1880.

I take it that the moral of the story is that while muskets are dangerous, they can yield the by- product of interesting hobbies while icy steps are just plain deadly.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 06, 2014, 06:16:58 PM
The alternative moral would be the need for a three day waiting period and and a license to possess deadly steps.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 06, 2014, 06:22:57 PM
Yeah 'cause a "cooling off period" just won't work for ice.

Maybe we need a catchphrase.... perhaps "If slipping on ice is outlawed, only criminals will fall down." ?

Brian

The alternative moral would be the need for a three day waiting period and and a license to possess deadly steps.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 09, 2014, 04:42:34 AM
Strange goings on here last night.  Lots of helos flying low, fast, and noisy.  Something is going on...  I'm thinking attack helicopters by their speed.  Some have lots of lights, some just have a red light flashing.  Traveling in pairs it seems.  I'm sure they're doing some training out of AP Hill.  It's nice to hear the noise, even though it's unexpected.  Reminds me of my childhood on AF bases with the bombers taking off and landing.  I love that noise.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 09, 2014, 06:11:19 AM
Well, my son did just move into the area. Normally a pretty quiet kid but we all have our moments, right? I wonder if he could have screwed up badly enough to generate all of that.....?

 :rotflmao:

Brian

Strange goings on here last night.  Lots of helos flying low, fast, and noisy.  Something is going on...  I'm thinking attack helicopters by their speed.  Some have lots of lights, some just have a red light flashing.  Traveling in pairs it seems.  I'm sure they're doing some training out of AP Hill.  It's nice to hear the noise, even though it's unexpected.  Reminds me of my childhood on AF bases with the bombers taking off and landing.  I love that noise.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on October 10, 2014, 12:34:43 PM
Strange goings on here last night.  Lots of helos flying low, fast, and noisy.  Something is going on...  I'm thinking attack helicopters by their speed.  Some have lots of lights, some just have a red light flashing.  Traveling in pairs it seems.  I'm sure they're doing some training out of AP Hill.  It's nice to hear the noise, even though it's unexpected.  Reminds me of my childhood on AF bases with the bombers taking off and landing.  I love that noise.

Were the helos black?  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 10, 2014, 12:35:46 PM
As far as I could tell, yes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 10, 2014, 03:04:30 PM
The Rolling Stones and its members are legendary for both their performances as well as their outrageous (and excessive) behavior over the years. But the one that I think is most interesting is Charlie Watts: he has been married to the same woman since 1964, apparently does not "partake" of groupies. He did have a drug and alcohol problem but took care of it quietly in his usual manner and has apparently been clean for decades. He is well known for his excellent grooming and dress, things often at odds with the 'rock 'n roll' lifestyle.

As the story goes: one night an intoxicated Mick Jagger called Watts in his hotel room, in the middle of the night, and asked "Where's my drummer". Watts had been asleep but got up, fully dressed including jacket, tie and freshly shined shoes, went down to the room where the others were.... being loud and obnoxious apparently, punched Jagger in the face and exclaimed 'Don't you ever call me 'your drummer' again. You're my XXXXing singer!'

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on October 11, 2014, 01:35:25 PM
Strange goings on here last night.  Lots of helos flying low, fast, and noisy.  Something is going on...  I'm thinking attack helicopters by their speed.  Some have lots of lights, some just have a red light flashing.  Traveling in pairs it seems.  I'm sure they're doing some training out of AP Hill.  It's nice to hear the noise, even though it's unexpected.  Reminds me of my childhood on AF bases with the bombers taking off and landing.  I love that noise.
Where are you located relative to the facility?
When Dona and I lived off 30 north of Hanover, that was the progression that always proceeded the start of the "big booms", eminating from A.P. Hill. They are the worlds largest facility for training our boys in I.E.D destruction, they do a sweep, with I.R. to make sure its an all clear condition prior to holding a major blast a thon. At times it would shake the house, they reported on it a couple times on the local news, that charges up to 40# of C4 were being used to destroy artilliary shells in quantity in bunkers as practice... they backed off somewhat after major complaints, from as far as 30 miles... it has a lot to do with the cieling levels and wind direction as far as how the concussion travels.

Expect big booms come tonight, they always did it around 11 pm on sundays... or whenever they were certain sattelites could not do telemetry or photos of the ops.
This is the time of year they also do really low level troop drops there, and both the choppers and the C130's would fly over our house at about 200 ft, repeatedly.. airfield is short takeoff for sure, it adjacent to 2 and 606,. Seen those big birds swoop down there one day on a ride... freaked me out.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 11, 2014, 02:46:54 PM
They usually boom on rainy days or just before so that the rounds don't burn up everything..  Haven't heard that lately though.  We're a bit north of them in KG.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 15, 2014, 08:07:55 AM
The worlds tallest cow.

Blossom is the newly dubbed tallest cow in the world and she's a pet.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillypets/Illinois-pet-dubbed-worlds-tallest-cow.html (http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillypets/Illinois-pet-dubbed-worlds-tallest-cow.html)

ORANGEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A 6-foot-4-inch (at the shoulder) cow owned by an Illinois woman was recently dubbed the world's tallest.

(http://media.philly.com/images/101514-worlds-tallest-cow-600.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on October 15, 2014, 08:59:22 PM
Looks like they crossed it with a moose.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 17, 2014, 09:17:50 PM
I'm going to have me some Effen vodka and go to bed...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 17, 2014, 10:32:57 PM
Easy there Rich or you may be seeing really, really large pink cows in your sleep.... :-)

Brian

I'm going to have me some Effen vodka and go to bed...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 17, 2014, 11:22:44 PM
"This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries."
-Sir Walter Raleigh  after being shown the ax that would be used to behead him.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 18, 2014, 06:04:40 AM
It was Effen good!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 18, 2014, 09:34:46 PM
Hemp for Victory - Entire Film - US Government asks farmers to grow it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xHCkOnn-A#)

Believe it or not...sigh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 19, 2014, 05:49:39 AM
A lot of industrial hemp was grown in Ill-inois for the war effort. The 'Law' was still trying to eradicate the last of the wild hemp,aka ditch weed, in the late sixties/early seventies.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AlbertaDoug on October 19, 2014, 05:55:20 AM
Hemp for Victory - Entire Film - US Government asks farmers to grow it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0xHCkOnn-A#)

Believe it or not...sigh.
Quite a few links in the comments to look at.  :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 19, 2014, 06:46:17 AM
A lot of industrial hemp was grown in Ill-inois for the war effort. The 'Law' was still trying to eradicate the last of the wild hemp,aka ditch weed, in the late sixties/early seventies.

If I'd known about that I would have volunteered to help the effort with no pay and I'd take the plants off their hands but no such luck.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 19, 2014, 06:49:42 AM
Mexican was $15 for a three finger lid so there wasn't much call for the wild weed except for volume. Or so I heard.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 19, 2014, 07:41:47 AM
I bet... :rotflmao:   


Well that's interesting, he stopped laughing.
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 24, 2014, 04:43:01 AM
Wow!

Halloween 2014 Light Show. Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody. Thomas Halloween House, Naperville IL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vWChPYkuwA#ws)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on October 24, 2014, 06:55:18 AM
Cool1 I wonder how much manual programing goes into that. Or is there some automation with sound recognition? How long would it take to reprogram to another song?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on October 24, 2014, 06:54:16 PM
I bet... :rotflmao:   


Well that's interesting, he stopped laughing.

He's laughing again..... :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 25, 2014, 06:45:19 AM
The quietest room on Earth
http://www.mndaily.com/2012/05/01/quietest-room-earth (http://www.mndaily.com/2012/05/01/quietest-room-earth)

Orfield Laboratories uses its -9 decibel room to conduct audio research.

(http://www.mndaily.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node_image_full/images/photos/2012/04/30/stchamber-p1.jpg)
Steve Orfield stands in the anechoic chamber located inside his research facility, Orfield Laboratories, located on the West Bank . The chamber was awarded a Guinness Book world record for its negative decibel sound and is often referred to as the world’s quietest room. Orfield has long been noted for the testing and research done in his facilities.


By Molly Novak  May 01, 2012

Noise reverberates through one room in Orfield Laboratories. Down the hall, another room is deathly quiet.

Orfield Laboratories Inc., less than two miles from the University of Minnesota’s West Bank, houses the quietest room on earth. The room is used by companies nationwide for audio research.

Its walls absorb 99.99 percent of all sound, and it’s used for testing products like hearing aids, lawn mowers, leaf blowers and heart valves.

The lab’s five employees work to quantify subjective qualities, like how a product sounds to the listener or if a product is visually pleasing to customers.

In 2005, the room received the Guinness world record for being the quietest room in the world. The anechoic chamber, as it is officially called, is measured at -9 decibels. An average person sleeps in a room at 30 decibels, lab owner Steve Orfield said.

Orfield said the room is used to test products to please both the active listener — the one using the product –– and the passive listener — the one who can hear the product without choice.

“We’re not looking at sound,” Orfield said, “We’re looking at the reception of it.”

The room is so quiet that, depending on the individual, a person can begin hallucinating due to sensory deprivation within 45 minutes of entering the chamber, Orfield said.

“We’ve had people walk in and been so disorientated they walk immediately out,” he said.

NASA uses its own anechoic chamber to test how astronauts react to hallucinations, Orfield said.

He said companies like Harley-Davidson, Whirlpool and 3M have used the lab to test the sound quality of their products.

The goal is to make the sounds pleasing to everyone listening while maintaining the quality the company is looking for, Orfield said. In Harley-Davidson’s case, that means helping the company keep the trademark sound of its bikes while also making the noise easy on a person’s ears.

The laboratory also has a room that is the opposite of the anechoic chamber — it reflects 99.99 percent of all sound, Orfield said. The reverberation chamber is used mainly to test walls and windows but has also tested insulators and dampening materials.

The visual aspect of a product can also be tested by the lab. The researchers put up pictures of a product and ask test subjects to rate the quality of the product based on its appearance. They have also done research on the quality of office spaces and office lighting.

“It’s a great facility to teach students about indoor quality of acoustics and lighting and things related to indoor environments,” said Thomas Fisher,  dean of the University’s College of Design.

A few years ago, the University looked into buying or taking over the lab for research but decided against it, Fisher said.

But multiple University departments still make use of the laboratory, Orfield said. Groups of students go on tours of the lab, faculty has used the lab for research and many have attended seminars, he said.

“It’s great to have it so close,” Fisher said. “It’s an exceptional facility.”
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 25, 2014, 06:55:46 AM
Not good. They really don't want me listening to the voices in my head.  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 25, 2014, 06:57:10 AM
Not good. They really don't want me listening to the voices in my head.  :o

Sometimes the voices in my head actually have good ideas...   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 25, 2014, 07:01:35 AM
aaaarrrghhhh.......  :yikes: they've got you too?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 25, 2014, 07:38:06 PM
My brother-in-law got a divorce. I sent him a card. No really, I did.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 25, 2014, 07:48:44 PM
Congrats all around!

Now we can call him your ex-idiot- brother- in- law. No wait, that sounds like he is no longer an idiot, which I assume is NOT the case....? Maybe brackets would be useful here? How about your ex-[idiot brother- in- law]? Maybe with more detail.... My ex- [still an idiot[brother- in- law]]?

Might have to think on this one a bit....

Brian

My brother-in-law got a divorce. I sent him a card. No really, I did.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 25, 2014, 09:53:53 PM
No, he'll still be my idiot brother in law even if the beef we have is with my wife's sister. He was married to her and could have reached out and said something but he drank her Kool-Aid and won't talk to us either. Oh well, I sleep good every night.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on October 27, 2014, 10:18:53 AM
Does this mean you had an idiotectomy?  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AlbertaDoug on October 27, 2014, 09:46:03 PM
Mexican was $15 for a three finger lid so there wasn't much call for the wild weed except for volume. Or so I heard.
???
What's a "lid"?


Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on October 27, 2014, 09:52:56 PM
Quote
???
What's a "lid"?

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AlbertaDoug on October 27, 2014, 09:56:52 PM
:rotflmao:
shhhhhhhhh     Shhhhhhhhhhh
They'll figure it out.  Shhhhhh. 
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 28, 2014, 04:10:08 AM
For the youngsters among us...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lid (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lid)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AlbertaDoug on October 28, 2014, 05:28:42 AM
Haven't been called a youngster for a long time Jim. Thanks.
Haven't herd the the "Lid" term since the early seventies. I'm the youngest of four boys and I'm fifty. Most of the youngins call it a zip up here. Regional dialect I guess  ;D
 :chugbeer: :finger_fing11: chose the thumps up because of the eyes. ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 28, 2014, 05:55:48 AM
You're quite welcome!  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 28, 2014, 07:09:28 AM
Well, it's been a year now since I retired and I'm loving it!    :)

One thing that I've learned about being retired. One needs a good pair of 'house shoes'! I'm not talking about slippers either. Walking around the house bare footed, or with slippers hurts my feet. I have a good pair of New Balance shoes that I only wear in the house.

And since this thread is about nothing. I just got my annual cost of living (3%) raise on my pension for doing nothing! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 28, 2014, 07:45:22 AM
 :thumbs:   The earliest I think I can retire, barring unforeseen circumstances is 65.  I need to talk to a financial person and see what can be worked out.  I don't plan on just vegetating either.  I'll probably do some freelance consulting.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 28, 2014, 08:12:56 AM
What's wrong with vegetating? I plan on doing that for another year and then I'll see what I'm in the mood for. It'll take me that long to get all my projects done around the house anyways.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 28, 2014, 08:35:09 AM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on December 28, 2014, 11:07:36 AM
:chugbeer: :finger_fing11: chose the thumps up because of the eyes. ::)

What's a thum...oh never mind..I found it...Urban Dictionary to the rescue (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Thumps+up)

Nothin' personal Rubberdown, jess messin wit ya.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 06, 2015, 03:25:44 PM
The oldest commissioned warship afloat, anywhere in the world, is the USS Constitution. She was named by George Washington, launched in 1797 in Boston harbor where she berths to this day. She was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" because the British could not 'hull' her (punch a cannonball through the side of the ship) during the War of 1812. She carries a crew of 6 officers and 46 crewmen are all active US Naval personnel and being assigned to serve on her is considered 'special duty'; the crew wears uniforms identical to those that were worn when the ship was commissioned. She has sailed under her own power exclusively as recently as 1997 (to celebrate her 200th birthday) and 2012 (to celebrate the 200th anniversary of her victory over HMS Guerriere).

The oldest commissioned warship anywhere in the world is the HMS Victory; she was launched in 1765 and is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She currently is commanded by her 100th commanding officer, also maintains a crew and is the flagship of the First Lord of the Sea but has been dry docked since 1922. She is currently undergoing a 16 million pound restoration although not expected to be re-floated again.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 07, 2015, 08:50:17 AM
Cool info! I've been on "Old Ironsides" once. Can't imagine what it was like to go to war in a ship like that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 07, 2015, 01:29:08 PM
Back when 'ships were wood and men were iron'? Yeah, I've read a little about that period and way of life and I have to say I just ain't up to it.... The entire way of life was simply awful, and that was when things were going well, the weather nice and all was in order. The deck hands used to take off their shoes when going into battle so they did not slip as easily on the blood soon to be all over the decks :-(    And if an individual was so unfortunate as to be wounded and NOT die, then the ship's surgeon (yeah, that definition is a stretch) would 'tend' to you with a knife and a red iron to close up the would. Good times....

Brian

Cool info! I've been on "Old Ironsides" once. Can't imagine what it was like to go to war in a ship like that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 09, 2015, 12:12:17 PM
It seems that as many as 64 students are being investigated for cheating in an undergraduate class named “Sports, Ethics & Religion.”  Just going by the last couple of decades and the number of sports figures committing serious felonies, up to and including murder, I really do not see the point in making a big deal about this.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/08/dartmouth/GN8oLJcgKj7R1nOoPNiLdL/story.html (https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/08/dartmouth/GN8oLJcgKj7R1nOoPNiLdL/story.html)

Then again, George Washington was so public minded and such a generally spiffy guy that he refused the salary offered to him as President..... and then turned in a bill for 'expenses' that was six time what he was offered in salary in the first place.

The very best comedians have never had to do anything but observe and report....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 09, 2015, 12:20:59 PM
It seems that as many as 64 students are being investigated for cheating in an undergraduate class named “Sports, Ethics & Religion.”  Just going by the last couple of decades and the number of sports figures committing serious felonies, up to and including murder, I really do not see the point in making a big deal about this.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/08/dartmouth/GN8oLJcgKj7R1nOoPNiLdL/story.html (https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/08/dartmouth/GN8oLJcgKj7R1nOoPNiLdL/story.html)

Then again, George Washington was so public minded and such a generally spiffy guy that he refused the salary offered to him as President..... and then turned in a bill for 'expenses' that was six time what he was offered in salary in the first place.

The very best comedians have never had to do anything but observe and report....

Brian

Only 6 times? I watched a documentary regarding Air Force One and they went over everything it takes to plan and execute a trip for the president. This particular trip was for "W" to go to Africa and they estimated the cost around $100,000,000 for just the one trip. Obama had his dog flown out on a V-22 Osprey to Martha's Vineyard. I bet the expense to salary ratio for a modern president these days is 10,000 to 1.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 09, 2015, 01:04:45 PM
All fine and well but these things are all provided for the president, not a choice of the president. Again, the point was not the cost but the fact that in the interest of 'rising to help the fledgling country', Ole' George refused a salary. Then submitted a bill that totally negated his selfless act in the first place.

Brian

Only 6 times? I watched a documentary regarding Air Force One and they went over everything it takes to plan and execute a trip for the president. This particular trip was for "W" to go to Africa and they estimated the cost around $100,000,000 for just the one trip. Obama had his dog flown out on a V-22 Osprey to Martha's Vineyard. I bet the expense to salary ratio for a modern president these days is 10,000 to 1.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 16, 2015, 05:33:37 PM
I've got a problem with alcohol........................................................I've run out.   :rotflmao:   Not really, but I thought it was hilarious.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 20, 2015, 04:11:54 PM
Let the drinking begin!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 20, 2015, 04:13:01 PM
Running late?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 20, 2015, 08:03:23 PM
Quite the opposite...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: RFH87_Connie on January 21, 2015, 05:13:36 AM
Irish joke:

A man walks into an Irish pub and asks for a beer.  The bar keep says "We don't have any".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2015, 06:23:13 AM
At some point Stevie Nicks wanted to join Tom Petty and Heartbreakers.  She asked twice and was refused twice.  Tom Petty's answer (twice) was  'but we're the Hearbreakers.'  No girls allowed (my interpretation).  However, she did collaborate quite heavily with that group and Tom.  That collaboration propelled her solo career to even greater heights.  Gives me goosebumps thinking about that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 23, 2015, 06:59:01 AM
She wrote that song for him too, "hard Advice", per a conversation she had with him.  I didn;t realize how close they are until i heard about that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2015, 07:04:58 AM
He wrote a song or two for her and took them back he liked them so much..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 23, 2015, 08:57:44 AM
He wrote a song or two for her and took them back he liked them so much..

"heartbreaker!"   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on January 23, 2015, 03:01:07 PM
hmmmmmm

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/64541_297570600347245_82877615_n.jpg?oh=bb2bcf6728ad50d25a4209cc9570d539&oe=55631975&__gda__=1429003992_6f2301f2046df84df796e1db0a7c0799)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 23, 2015, 03:01:59 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on January 23, 2015, 08:26:23 PM
Irish joke:

A man walks into an Irish pub and asks for a beer.  The bar keep says "We don't have any".

Another one :

An Irishman walks out of a bar.

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on January 24, 2015, 10:26:54 PM
What do you call a nosy pepper?

Jalapeno business.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 29, 2015, 09:59:37 AM
America is a great country, in part, because each of us wants to out- do the next guy and move on to new heights. Remember when those delivery company employees were chucking packages over fences and kicking them back to the truck? Well, I predict that soon enough, those folks will not only be the start employees of their respective delivery firms but getting the big bonus and all the praise they truly deserve. Wanna' know what will propel them to those lofty heights?

http://consumerist.com/2015/01/28/ups-sorry-about-that-driver-who-peed-on-house-after-throwing-package/ (http://consumerist.com/2015/01/28/ups-sorry-about-that-driver-who-peed-on-house-after-throwing-package/)

Everything is relative.

Now if this is a direct progression, I can get a pretty good idea of what is coming next..... so in the future, when you get a package delivered, might want to watch where you step when going outside to retrieve it.... Juss' sayin'

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 04, 2015, 12:26:06 PM
We all know water has three states, gaseous (water vapor, commonly seen as steam), liquid (water) and solid (ice). And we all know that if ice is left in a warm place, it first goes from the solid to the liquid (it melts), then from the liquid to the gaseous (it evaporates). Always. Well, always except when it does not....

Take snow for example: most snow 'disappears' without leaving any, or not nearly enough liquid water behind. In fact, a lot of snow simply 'disappears' without ever having been water at all. The process is called sublimation and it is when a solid turns into a gas without ever having been a liquid. This is how most snow is lost: the top simply sublimates into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor without ever having been water. What is most interesting about this is that the process happens even when the environment is below freezing in temperature and everything is frozen..... when the outside temp. is in the 10 to 20F range, snow will disappear each and every day until it is gone without ever being water or getting anything wet.

Some compounds do not have a liquid state; carbon dioxide for example. It can be gas or it can be solid but it cannot be liquid. Which makes it a wonderful stuff to keep things cold without ever getting them 'wet' with any liquid. In fact, we commonly call it 'dry ice' exactly because it has no liquid state and will not get anything wet.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 04, 2015, 12:48:02 PM
Hey Brian!

Tell us kids about super cooled water, that's always fun.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 04, 2015, 02:36:38 PM
Young man in the second row, with the bad hair and his hand up, yes, what is your question? You want to know about supercooled liquids? Well, I can give a brief and probably [not quite correct but maybe close] overview....

Super cooling is a condition where a material exists in a state too cold for that material to be in that form. Water is an ever- popular example. We think that when water goes to or a little below 32 degrees F it freezes and turns into ice. Well, that not quite how it works. A couple of things have to happen for water to become ice, and only one is lowering the temperature; the other one is more interesting.... the water has to have a catalyst, usually in the form of a flaw or irregularity in it, to begin to form the crystals that make water a solid. Now in any daily form, this flaw is always present- a speck of dust, a material touching the water of an unusual shape, etc. So somewhere in that glass of water, or that jug of milk that is sitting outside when the temp. drops, something, actually millions of somethings, are available to start the formation of an ice crystal. But in a clean environment, one without dust or anything solid, water is often found at temperatures well below freezing and even well below zero F. Water droplets at very high altitudes are just hanging around, waiting for something to nudge them into 'formation' as crystals WHEN SUDDENLY, an aircraft flies through the air and all the water it touches instantly turns to ice..... on the plane of course.

The other place is in a very clean, still environment such as a laboratory. Coolest thing ever is watching a beaker of water suddenly freeze into a solid block of ice. It happens in less than a second and the ice takes on whatever shape or state it was in when it is nudged, bumped or contaminated. Amazing....

Tomorrow, supersaturated liquids, when liquids hold more material than they can hold....

Brian

Hey Brian!

Tell us kids about super cooled water, that's always fun.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 04, 2015, 02:39:04 PM
Does that apply to alcoholic drinks?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 04, 2015, 02:41:37 PM
Awesome Brian! Far, FAR better than Bill Nye.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 05, 2015, 05:03:41 AM
Young man in the second row, with the bad hair and his hand up, yes, what is your question? You want to know about supercooled liquids? Well, I can give a brief and probably [not quite correct but maybe close] overview....

Super cooling is a condition where a material exists in a state too cold for that material to be in that form. Water is an ever- popular example. We think that when water goes to or a little below 32 degrees F it freezes and turns into ice. Well, that not quite how it works. A couple of things have to happen for water to become ice, and only one is lowering the temperature; the other one is more interesting.... the water has to have a catalyst, usually in the form of a flaw or irregularity in it, to begin to form the crystals that make water a solid. Now in any daily form, this flaw is always present- a speck of dust, a material touching the water of an unusual shape, etc. So somewhere in that glass of water, or that jug of milk that is sitting outside when the temp. drops, something, actually millions of somethings, are available to start the formation of an ice crystal. But in a clean environment, one without dust or anything solid, water is often found at temperatures well below freezing and even well below zero F. Water droplets at very high altitudes are just hanging around, waiting for something to nudge them into 'formation' as crystals WHEN SUDDENLY, an aircraft flies through the air and all the water it touches instantly turns to ice..... on the plane of course.

The other place is in a very clean, still environment such as a laboratory. Coolest thing ever is watching a beaker of water suddenly freeze into a solid block of ice. It happens in less than a second and the ice takes on whatever shape or state it was in when it is nudged, bumped or contaminated. Amazing....

Tomorrow, supersaturated liquids, when liquids hold more material than they can hold....

Brian

 :)

The reason that I mentioned this is because it happened to me yesterday. It was about 10f degrees outside and I had left a bottle of water outside. I could see that the water was still liquid and when I picked it up it instantly froze solid. I've seen this before and I know how it works but thanks for the explanation. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 05, 2015, 06:25:31 AM
Generally not- people who hold alcohol often usually can't hold it steady enough to allow it to super cool. It is the alcohol induced jitters.....

Brian

Does that apply to alcoholic drinks?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 05, 2015, 06:28:48 AM
Yeah, not seen all that often 'in the wild' but if the bottle was clean, and usually they are, and the bottle is still while the temp. drops, then sure.

Sci Fi is all fine and well, and some of it can be excellent but I have always though real life, science and the world as it is is far more interesting.

Brian

:)

The reason that I mentioned this is because it happened to me yesterday. It was about 10f degrees outside and I had left a bottle of water outside. I could see that the water was still liquid and when I picked it up it instantly froze solid. I've seen this before and I know how it works but thanks for the explanation.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 05, 2015, 06:32:36 AM
Aw gee.... thanks. But to be honest, most of that came from Kirby..... he whispers all my best ideas to me. Well, Kirby and Mr. Elkhoof but that guy has a mean streak.

"I know the voices in my head are not real but man do they have some good ideas".

 :rotflmao:  two times, one for each voice.

Brian

Awesome Brian! Far, FAR better than Bill Nye.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on February 05, 2015, 12:56:40 PM
Does that apply to alcoholic drinks?

Generally not- people who hold alcohol often usually can't hold it steady enough to allow it to super cool. It is the alcohol induced jitters.....

I could be wrong, as I frequently am...but I think V'jim's question was about this?

......supersaturated liquids, when liquids hold more material than they can hold....

 :D




 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 05, 2015, 01:55:36 PM
I think you are thinking of a super- saturated C-14 rider, who is holding more than he / she should hold.

:-)

Brian

I could be wrong, as I frequently am...but I think V'jim's question was about this?

 :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 05, 2015, 03:48:16 PM
How much alcohol does it take to "super-saturate" the sword guy?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 05, 2015, 05:31:17 PM
Unknown- no one has been able to collect enough alcohol in one place, at one time, to find out. ??

Brian

How much alcohol does it take to "super-saturate" the sword guy?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 05, 2015, 06:39:44 PM
Bunch of idiots... :rotflmao: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 05, 2015, 06:58:02 PM
So I drink cheap Scotch because I find "good" Scotch to be a bit overwhelming (underdeveloped palate no doubt). Lucky for me, right? I had some single malt Glen Livet at my son's house over Christmas and after the second one, I just could not pretend I liked it anymore.

Well, a rhetorical question: what is worse than trying a better Scotch and not liking it? Trying a better Scotch and liking it.... 'cause now I want to buy it. Dimple Pinch- excellent! Not awful in price though, it is only about twice the price of cheap Scotch (J&B). And the bottle 'show is nice....

Brian

Bunch of idiots... :rotflmao: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 06, 2015, 04:39:59 AM
Thanks for the tip.  I actually like Glen Livet but I'm game to try a new one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 06, 2015, 06:39:07 AM
So I drink cheap Scotch because I find "good" Scotch to be a bit overwhelming (underdeveloped palate no doubt). Lucky for me, right? I had some single malt Glen Livet at my son's house over Christmas and after the second one, I just could not pretend I liked it anymore.

Well, a rhetorical question: what is worse than trying a better Scotch and not liking it? Trying a better Scotch and liking it.... 'cause now I want to buy it. Dimple Pinch- excellent! Not awful in price though, it is only about twice the price of cheap Scotch (J&B). And the bottle 'show is nice....

Brian

That happened to me. I never liked any kind of whiskey. But there is a group here at work that gets together every Friday after work and they have all the high end single malts to try out. I immediately liked the smell of the smokey peat of the Islay scotches but still didn't like the taste at all. Give me a beer please. But unfortunately they started growing on me. Now I really like a finger of Laphroaig 18 now and then. At the super bowl party I just went to, he cracked open a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail and I really enjoyed that. Must resist because it's still way too expensive.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 06, 2015, 09:53:35 AM
Then you may not like this one- it is a bit more mild and..... almost caramely for a Scotch. Not like a burbon but with a bit of the smoothness of burbon. Glen Livet is a bit sharper I find so if you like it, you may not like Pinch.

The good news is that it does come in a small bottle so it is cheap enough to try. Just stop by the liquor store, buy the small bottle, drink it on the way home and then throw the empty bottle out the window.... at least I think that is what Conrad suggests we do (he was ambiguous on that whole window thingy).

By the way, Kirby LOVES the stuff! But of course he does not drink it the regular way, oh no, he dips his nuts in it....  Sometimes that guy acts like an animal.  >:(

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/KirbyandPinch.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/KirbyandPinch.jpg.html)

Brian


Thanks for the tip.  I actually like Glen Livet but I'm game to try a new one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 06, 2015, 11:52:53 AM
If you have a persistent cough that you just cannot get rid of, usually a large dose of laxative will take care of it. Oh you will still have urge to cough but you will be too scared to actually do it anymore.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on February 06, 2015, 11:57:28 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on February 06, 2015, 12:27:19 PM
If you have a persistent cough that you just cannot get rid of, usually a large dose of laxative will take care of it. Oh you will still have urge to cough but you will be too scared to actually do it anymore.

Brian

You, Sir, are NOT right!  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 06, 2015, 12:32:10 PM
I beg to differ and think I am right- next time you get a cold, try the laxative treatment and see if it does not work.... I'll betcha' a 3- pack of BVD's.

Brian

You, Sir, are NOT right!  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on February 06, 2015, 12:51:29 PM
I, too, beg to differ. I am quite sure that you are correct concerning the aforementioned remedy, however, you are still not RIGHT  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 06, 2015, 01:07:07 PM
I think he means  :loco: :nuts: , Brian, which of course, you are.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 06, 2015, 01:24:58 PM
Hey, you may be right Jim. I did not get that right away though and I am absolutely sure I am right about the laxative part.

:-)

And don't forget, you people are getting the filtered results: I have to deal with the raw, initial thoughts which frankly is a little unnerving.

Brian

I think he means  :loco: :nuts: , Brian, which of course, you are.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 06, 2015, 02:06:50 PM
Sound kind of like: "The voices in my head are back.... EXCELLENT!"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 07, 2015, 08:32:51 PM
Today started out a little strange.  Working on a job in Franklin, VA and staying at the Hilton Garden in Suffolk.  Got up this morning early, felt good and decided to stop and eat breakfast at the Ihop there.  Get in try to pour syrup on the pancakes and it doesn't come out of the thingy..  Unscrew the top and it comes out...more than expected.  Nice puddle on the table as it overflows the plate.  Oh my.  Get the bill and get ready to walk out and there's a bedbug on my coat sleeve... :yikes: and  :yikes: .  Promptly kill the blood sucker and then start wondering where the hell did I pick that up.  I'm thinking not at the Hilton Garden with all the white sheets and stuff.  I'm thinking it must have been at the Ihop from the seat I was sitting in as it was outside the coat I was wearing.  Geez...  I then start itching everywhere just thinking about it.

Talk to the guy I'm working with and he said his wife was attacked by the blighters in a hotel up in Woodbridge.  The ones that advertize they use ultraviolet to sanitize the rooms.  I said your wife must be proud to have started them to do that.

Anyway, on the way home I see a red C14 traveling down 35 heading to south to Courtland.....sigh.

Get home and the grandson says the Internet isn't working.....crap.  Just noticed that the side of the road in front of the house has been tore up for a new cable going to my cable box.  Call the cable company and say no internet, not happy.  They'll send someone out but if it's my fault I'll have to pay.  I bite my lip and say.....really?  Coincidentally there's cable work outside and my internet isn't working...right, it's my fault.

Get all my clothes off (don't even picture it as it will haunt you forever) in a garbage bag to be washed in high pressure steam.  Leave the coat in the garage along with the travel bag and shoes...decontamination on Sunday.  Tech comes out and by golly gee, there's a break in the wire where the cable contractor cut my cable.  Tech fixes it and is going to request a complete rewire to the house as he thinks there are too many splices..

I try this new beer and it sucks...  Devil's backbone IPA.....ugh.  Their Vienna Lager on the other hand  :chugbeer: Life is good.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 07, 2015, 08:54:24 PM
I thought for absolutely sure this was going to end.... "So what was the bedbug's name.". You know, like the bus driver story.

:-)

Brian

Today started out a little strange.  Working on a job in Franklin, VA and staying at the Hilton Garden in Suffolk.  Got up this morning early, felt good and decided to stop and eat breakfast at the Ihop there.  Get in try to pour syrup on the pancakes and it doesn't come out of the thingy..  Unscrew the top and it comes out...more than expected.  Nice puddle on the table as it overflows the plate.  Oh my.  Get the bill and get ready to walk out and there's a bedbug on my coat sleeve... :yikes: and  :yikes: .  Promptly kill the blood sucker and then start wondering where the hell did I pick that up.  I'm thinking not at the Hilton Garden with all the white sheets and stuff.  I'm thinking it must have been at the Ihop from the seat I was sitting in as it was outside the coat I was wearing.  Geez...  I then start itching everywhere just thinking about it.

Talk to the guy I'm working with and he said his wife was attacked by the blighters in a hotel up in Woodbridge.  The ones that advertize they use ultraviolet to sanitize the rooms.  I said your wife must be proud to have started them to do that.

Anyway, on the way home I see a red C14 traveling down 35 heading to south to Courtland.....sigh.

Get home and the grandson says the Internet isn't working.....crap.  Just noticed that the side of the road in front of the house has been tore up for a new cable going to my cable box.  Call the cable company and say no internet, not happy.  They'll send someone out but if it's my fault I'll have to pay.  I bite my lip and say.....really?  Coincidentally there's cable work outside and my internet isn't working...right, it's my fault.

Get all my clothes off (don't even picture it as it will haunt you forever) in a garbage bag to be washed in high pressure steam.  Leave the coat in the garage along with the travel bag and shoes...decontamination on Sunday.  Tech comes out and by golly gee, there's a break in the wire where the cable contractor cut my cable.  Tech fixes it and is going to request a complete rewire to the house as he thinks there are too many splices..

I try this new beer and it sucks...  Devil's backbone IPA.....ugh.  Their Vienna Lager on the other hand  :chugbeer: Life is good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on February 08, 2015, 06:31:43 PM
Jim I've had much better luck lately with the "Hyatt Place" for the same price  over the Hilton.

But anyway, I've been avoiding Marriott and Wingate properties, I'd about rather sleep at the airport
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 12, 2015, 05:30:34 AM
Did you know that Monet developed cataracts late in life that left him struggling to paint?  At age 82 he agreed to have his left eye lens removed and while that did improve his color sense, it enhanced it so that he could see the ultraviolet spectrum.  This 'colored' his paintings from then on...  Monet is one of my favorite artists.

http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html (http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on February 12, 2015, 06:17:30 AM
Did you know that Monet developed cataracts late in life that left him struggling to paint?  At age 82 he agreed to have his left eye lens removed and while that did improve his color sense, it enhanced it so that he could see the ultraviolet spectrum.  This 'colored' his paintings from then on...  Monet is one of my favorite artists.

http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html (http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html)

Who knew?!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on February 12, 2015, 06:20:16 AM
To make the Van Gogh,  step on Degas ?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 12, 2015, 09:24:31 AM
Did you know that Monet developed cataracts late in life that left him struggling to paint?  At age 82 he agreed to have his left eye lens removed and while that did improve his color sense, it enhanced it so that he could see the ultraviolet spectrum.  This 'colored' his paintings from then on...  Monet is one of my favorite artists.

http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html (http://www.downloadtheuniverse.com/dtu/2012/04/monets-ultraviolet-eye.html)

Monet and Degas are my wife's two fav artists.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 12, 2015, 10:56:20 AM
Showing today on TCM, "Lust For Life" a film about Van Gogh and when he meets Gauguin.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 12, 2015, 12:45:02 PM
Ah chemists.... always tinkering around in the lab. But they do conjure up some good stuff, as well as bad but like almost everything in life, most of it is a mixed bag.

In 1897, a chemist working for the then- named company Aktiengesellschaft Farbenfabriken (A.G. Farben- which could be the subject of entirely new threads.... :-(   ), synthesized a new drug meant to replace codeine as a cough suppressant. Now this same drug had been independently discovered decades before in England but it did not progress. But in Germany, Heir Felix Hoffmann went further with the testing and discovered it was extremely effective as a cough suppressant, far better than the current remedy, codeine, and it had other benefits as well: it was not lethal in amounts many times the recommended dosage while codeine could cause death with as little a three- times dosage. Further, it was not habit- forming as codeine was. That alone made it a very useful drug but it turns out that it was also being marketed as an effective 'cure' for morphine addiction. It was cheap, easy to produce and readily available. Great! It was marked for the above listed treatments, widely used in the western world, and had no restrictions from between 1898 and 1910. But during that time, it was found that the drug was actually metabolized into morphine (hence the seeming curative effective for morphine addicts), was addictive in larger doses and absolutely would cause death, especially in the hands of untrained personal.... who were buying quite a bit of it 'over the counter'. One of Farben's biggest blunders but perhaps not the biggest one. Finally, it was made outright illegal in the US in 1914, although still used in some countries as a legal analgesic, yet it continues to be a widely available illicit drug to this day.

The drug was marked in the US by Farben's subsidiary, Bayer. As it was a very potent drug, Farben named is using the German word for 'strong, heroic': Heroin.  Today, the bottles are collector's items though most have been long empty.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 22, 2015, 09:26:37 PM
Tomorrow, 23 Feb., is the anniversary of the day Joe Rosenthal took the iconic photo of the US flag being raised on Iwo Jima, at one time at least, the most reproduced photo in the world. It was a staged photo, and actually shows the raising of the second, larger, flag at the same point on the same day.

The subjects of the photo are commonly believed to be six US Marines raising the flag on Mr. Suribachi but that is not true; the subjects are actually five US Marines and one US Navy Corpsman. As the US Marines does not have 'medics', they use Navy Corpsmen, and while serving in that capacity, the corpsmen wear the standard issue marine uniform; camouflaged fatigues in that photo. The Navy corpsman's name was John Bradley, and he was actually the last surviving member of that six- man group, passing away in 1994.

The interesting part, at least to me, is how he got to be in that place with those Marines. The book 'Flags of our fathers' was written by one of his sons and details what brought Mr. Bradley along that particular journey. It seems his father was in WWI, fighting in the trenches, and strongly suggest his son join the Navy rather than the Army or Marines (there was no Air Force at that time) as he would have a bunk and clean sheets to sleep on each night rather than ending up as a 'ground pounder', stuck in the filth and elements of the battlefield. He took his father's advice, joined the Navy but after the usual aptitude tests, was chosen to be a pharmacists mate and was assigned to the Marines as a corpsman. So by purposely avoiding anything that could lead him into ground combat, he ended up in active ground combat, some of the roughest, most gruesome fighting and conditions the Pacific theater of WWII.

John Bradley survived the war, married and had eight children, and spent the rest of his career as a funeral director and owner of a funeral parlor. He shunned all publicity about the events of WWII, and even his children were not aware of his being awarded the Navy Cross until after his death, when the found the medal in a shoe box in the closet. Unfortunately, Mr. Bradley suffered from what we now know as P.T.S.D. for the rest of his life.

So here is to all of them, all those who landed on those islands and fought their way forward in the face of people absolutely dedicated to die at that place, with their only goal being to take 10 Marines with them. But a special acknowledgement to Mr. Bradley who found himself in the middle of a mud Marine's fight after doing what he could to avoid such circumstance and yet did his job anyway, in spite of the risk, and when he was done desired nothing more than to be left alone and live a quiet and successful (by his measure: a family and a productive place in society, not wealth) life.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on February 22, 2015, 10:15:33 PM
 :salute:  Nicely done, Brian. Thanks.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 23, 2015, 05:31:47 AM
Have you ever noticed, in movies and on TV, that whenever there's loud speakers in the scene/shot that the speaker grills have been removed?

I've often wondered why that is. The only answer that I can come up with is that movie makers must think that us viewers are too dumb to figure out what those boxes, with speaker wire attached, actually are all on our own. They remove the grills so that there is no question. One less thing to think about I guess? 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on February 23, 2015, 11:08:22 AM
Have you ever noticed, in movies and on TV, that whenever there's loud speakers in the scene/shot that the speaker grills have been removed?

I've often wondered why that is. The only answer that I can come up with is that movie makers must think that us viewers are too dumb to figure out what those boxes, with speaker wire attached, actually are all on our own. They remove the grills so that there is no question. One less thing to think about I guess? 

Yeah, it seems the "artsy" folks always use the same props for "dramatic effect" (in their artsy mindset) that just seem to irk the rest of us (me anyway).
City streets at night are always wet, even if in a desert bound city. Warehouse/factory scenes always have a large fan with an unseen light  source behind it spinning at a ridiculously slow speed, florescent bulbs always flicker if it's supposed to be a creepy scene, large industrial abandoned factories always have a loose chain on the gate allowing easy access and all the electric power is still on and available. Any pipe that is hit by a bullet instantly shoots out high pressure steam, unless it's in a submarine in which case there is always a valve available 2 feet away that conveniently shuts it off. At least 50% of all female detectives/Federal agents wear high heels to work. Tires always squeal even if on a dirt road...the list goes on and on.  One thing that seems to have finally died out (it was very popular in the 50s and 60s) sick people no longer require a folded wet towel on their foreheads to let us know they are sick and being cared for by a caring person.  Hollywood seems to think we are all idiots. Then again, after watching people drive, maybe they are right for the most part.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 23, 2015, 11:33:16 AM
What are you saying Marty, city streets are NOT all wet at night? Warehouses do not have slow- spinning fans? Pipes do not spew steam? ?? ??? Now I do not know what to think? Are all of my views of the world wrong?

Nice Marty, in one paragraph you have shattered all of my illusions I have been building up for decades. You must be great to have around on Christmas....

 :rotflmao:

Brian

Yeah, it seems the "artsy" folks always use the same props for "dramatic effect" (in their artsy mindset) that just seem to irk the rest of us (me anyway).
City streets at night are always wet, even if in a desert bound city. Warehouse/factory scenes always have a large fan with an unseen light  source behind it spinning at a ridiculously slow speed, florescent bulbs always flicker if it's supposed to be a creepy scene, large industrial abandoned factories always have a loose chain on the gate allowing easy access and all the electric power is still on and available. Any pipe that is hit by a bullet instantly shoots out high pressure steam, unless it's in a submarine in which case there is always a valve available 2 feet away that conveniently shuts it off. At least 50% of all female detectives/Federal agents wear high heels to work. Tires always squeal even if on a dirt road...the list goes on and on.  One thing that seems to have finally died out (it was very popular in the 50s and 60s) sick people no longer require a folded wet towel on their foreheads to let us know they are sick and being cared for by a caring person.  Hollywood seems to think we are all idiots. Then again, after watching people drive, maybe they are right for the most part.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on February 23, 2015, 12:18:18 PM
What are you saying Marty, .......Are all of my views of the world wrong?

No Brian, I think most of your views on the world are crystal clear accurate, and right on the money. However, there is no doubt in my mind that you
are one warped individual.  ;)
(http://fartymarty.smugmug.com/Other/COG-National-2014/i-vWtzKz4/0/M/20140621_091213_easyHDR-M.jpg)

AND...I'll have you know that I'm a ball to have around at Christmas. Just not sure which one, left or right.

..anyway..talking about nothing at all...

I wish PB&J was known as J&PB, at least at my house. Because of the order, I think most spread the peanut butter first and then (using the same knife) spread the jelly/jam second. Invariably this gets a little peanut butter in the jelly. Now as the jelly level goes down it becomes less clear as to what that mystery stuff is down there. Is it butter? Is it Peanut butter? Is it MOLD? It's unsightly whatever it is. I wouldn't mind a little jelly in with the peanut butter, fairly easy to see what it is and even remove it if needed. Not so with the jelly jar, it moves around and seems to avoid sticking to the knife and then when you do finally get it near the tip of the knife, it splits in two and now only half of it is removed.
They could at least spread the jelly first and then (when no one is looking) carefully lick the knife clean (like I do) before sticking it in the peanut butter jar.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on February 23, 2015, 12:35:36 PM
There are two pieces of bread people. Spread the PB first, then wipe the knife on slice number two before moving on to the Jelly.
Sheesh, rookies
 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 23, 2015, 01:24:24 PM
Well, if my views and observances are correct, and I am not saying they are, that is unfortunate because I do not see life (any life) having the proverbial happy ending..... I am really kinda' hopin' someone else's views were correct here.

But if any of my views are correct, I  would like to think it was my view of the 'Monty Hall problem', which is as follows: the odds of having already chosen the correct door DO NOT and CAN NOT change based on being shown that one of the doors not chosen is a losing choice. C'mon people, how can that possibly be correct that one should change the original choice given absolutely no more information about the door chosen or the door remaining unopened? Another classic application of statistics that simply does not apply and further, can absorb far too much time when the initial thought is correct and only foolish people would dwell on it.

About the peanut butter: this one time, in band camp.... well, actually my kitchen, we had a friend over, sitting at my kitchen table, WHEN SUDDENLY, it was time to re-bait my mouse trapline. So I get the mousetraps (all empty, all 'uncocked'), get a butter knife out of the drawer, grab a big glob of peanut butter and then proceed to fill the bait cup on each trap, one after the other, using that one blob of peanut butter. I put the knife in the sink, put the peanut butter back into the cupboard and our guest says: 'Well, I guess I will not be eating anything with peanut butter in it here!'. Hmmmm. I ask her why and she says that what I did was gross. Fine and well, it may have been gross but how in the world would that make any difference to the peanut butter in the jar? She sticks with her original answer that it is simply gross..... But I put a perfectly clean knife, that anyone of us might have used that very day as an eating utensil, into a perfectly clean, uncontaminated jar of peanut butter and removed some, just as I would have to eat myself. Why in the world did it matter where the peanut butter, on the knife, was then placed, as long as the knife was properly cleaned before re- use? Besides, if she really wanted to avoid something in my house due to 'grossness', would it not be better to avoid butter knives, given the knowledge that I have used at least one to come into contact with a used mouse trap? I tells' ya' people make no sense.

And don't even get me started on Quantum Mechanics! Some of our best and brightest have tripped and fallen down into that trap (and yes, I am talking to you Sax Man!).

And in the background of that disgusting photograph of that man eating what looks like an animal's foot (yech!), is that Greg H. about to pounce on his wife? Sure looks like an evidence picture to me.....  :rotflmao:

Brian

No Brian, I think most of your views on the world are crystal clear accurate, and right on the money. However, there is no doubt in my mind that you
are one warped individual.  ;)
(http://fartymarty.smugmug.com/Other/COG-National-2014/i-vWtzKz4/0/M/20140621_091213_easyHDR-M.jpg)

AND...I'll have you know that I'm a ball to have around at Christmas. Just not sure which one, left or right.

..anyway..talking about nothing at all...

I wish PB&J was known as J&PB, at least at my house. Because of the order, I think most spread the peanut butter first and then (using the same knife) spread the jelly/jam second. Invariably this gets a little peanut butter in the jelly. Now as the jelly level goes down it becomes less clear as to what that mystery stuff is down there. Is it butter? Is it Peanut butter? Is it MOLD? It's unsightly whatever it is. I wouldn't mind a little jelly in with the peanut butter, fairly easy to see what it is and even remove it if needed. Not so with the jelly jar, it moves around and seems to avoid sticking to the knife and then when you do finally get it near the tip of the knife, it splits in two and now only half of it is removed.
They could at least spread the jelly first and then (when no one is looking) carefully lick the knife clean (like I do) before sticking it in the peanut butter jar.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 23, 2015, 01:28:39 PM
Now see that, a man comes along, uses the identical tools and products and yet does not spread mayhem all over the kitchen. Kudos Brent for inventing the better proverbial mousetrap!

My wife eats her PB & J without the PB and instead substitutes cottage cheese. Yep, it draws a crowd when she eats one of those....  Just when you think that would be as strange as it could get, she then eats plain spaghetti covered with cottage cheese and ketchup. A chill just went up my back just thinking about that.

Brian

There are two pieces of bread people. Spread the PB first, then wipe the knife on slice number two before moving on to the Jelly.
Sheesh, rookies
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 23, 2015, 01:32:56 PM
Now see that, a man comes along, uses the identical tools and products and yet does not spread mayhem all over the kitchen. Kudos Brent for inventing the better proverbial mousetrap!

My wife eats her PB & J without the PB and instead substitutes cottage cheese. Yep, it draws a crowd when she eats one of those....  Just when you think that would be as strange as it could get, she then eats plain spaghetti covered with cottage cheese and ketchup. A chill just went up my back just thinking about that.

Brian

The horror... the horror...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on February 27, 2015, 07:22:25 PM
A doughnut without a hole is called a Danish.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on February 28, 2015, 12:49:41 PM
...she then eats plain spaghetti covered with cottage cheese and ketchup. A chill just went up my back just thinking about that.

 :o

Words fail me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on March 02, 2015, 06:25:40 AM
Now see that, a man comes along, uses the identical tools and products and yet does not spread mayhem all over the....

Indeed.

(http://cdn.diply.com/img/ca44ac63-ec02-48dd-ba07-7c7f6f1c8d8a.jpg)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 02, 2015, 07:24:24 AM
Indeed.

(http://cdn.diply.com/img/ca44ac63-ec02-48dd-ba07-7c7f6f1c8d8a.jpg)

Stone cold truth right there!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 02, 2015, 09:11:56 AM
 :thumbs: :goodpost:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 02, 2015, 09:22:54 AM
AND...... the really, really annoying part..... the word shampoo is the one in the smallest font on the entire label. Everything else that I do not care about, most of which is on that chart but also includes, for dry hair, for oily hair, for long hair, for short hair, etc., etc. is written in large, bold letters. The only ones I can read when I am in the shower w/out my reading glasses!!!! Yep, I can see that it is 'New', 'Improved', is in a larger, more convenient container, smells like coconuts and a million other things but I CANNOT TELL if it is shampoo, conditioner or body wash!

So then, as a tool to live with this situation, I turn the conditioner bottle upside down and the shampoo right side up. Ah, blessed happiness..... until my wife uses that shower and does not need 'the system' 'cause she can still read the words (her far sight is lousy but close sight is great).

I feel like Andy Rooney.  ;D

Brian


Indeed.

(http://cdn.diply.com/img/ca44ac63-ec02-48dd-ba07-7c7f6f1c8d8a.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on March 02, 2015, 10:01:04 AM
Ah, blessed happiness..... until my wife uses that shower and does not need 'the system'...

LOL, speaking of systems...the shower at my house is like a hotel...lol. My wife has one of these dispenser jobbies installed:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/6336484/AVIVA-3-Shower-Dispenser-contemporary-bathroom-accessories (http://www.houzz.com/photos/6336484/AVIVA-3-Shower-Dispenser-contemporary-bathroom-accessories)

I can operate it with my eyes closed, and I have no idea what brands or types of products are in them...lol. I can't remember the last time I saw a traditional bar of soap in my house. She puts everything in dispensers...lol.

She's crazy, but I love her for it...LOL.

Rem :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on March 02, 2015, 10:01:50 AM
Oh, and while we're looking at pie charts...

(http://rs1img.memecdn.com/reason-i-update-software_o_279340.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on March 02, 2015, 10:10:35 AM
Haha...I was just a kid at the time, but I remember my friend's parents bought one of those JVC top-loader VCR's way back when...it even had a corded remote control. High tech...lol, I also remember that it cost around $3500 bucks...hahaha. How did we get here from there?

(http://memecrunch.com/meme/BWEU/cell-phone-guy/image.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 02, 2015, 01:26:28 PM
Somehow I tripped over..... this..... a while back. Been having flashbacks ever since. Sometimes it keeps me up at night.

It is a child's skull (human child, homo sapiens sapiens so it is claimed) showing both a set of milk or baby teeth, plus at least what appears to be 300 more, permanent teeth, that have not erupted yet. Though they have fully erupted in my psyche. Supposedly, all of us looked like that at one time but I am absolutely sure that neither myself or anyone I ever knew looked like that. The only thing that ever came close to looking like that was the Predator when he was really pi$$ed at Arnie, opened his mouth wide and screamed. But even that was only the barest resemblance and much, much less scary looking than this....

Shiver me timbers!

Brian

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/childs%20skull%20or%20what%20keeps%20me%20up%20at%20night.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/childs%20skull%20or%20what%20keeps%20me%20up%20at%20night.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 02, 2015, 05:01:34 PM
AND...... the really, really annoying part..... the word shampoo is the one in the smallest font on the entire label. Everything else that I do not care about, most of which is on that chart but also includes, for dry hair, for oily hair, for long hair, for short hair, etc., etc. is written in large, bold letters. The only ones I can read when I am in the shower w/out my reading glasses!!!! Yep, I can see that it is 'New', 'Improved', is in a larger, more convenient container, smells like coconuts and a million other things but I CANNOT TELL if it is shampoo, conditioner or body wash!

So then, as a tool to live with this situation, I turn the conditioner bottle upside down and the shampoo right side up. Ah, blessed happiness..... until my wife uses that shower and does not need 'the system' 'cause she can still read the words (her far sight is lousy but close sight is great).

I feel like Andy Rooney.  ;D

Brian

Another absolute truth! WHY??? My wife leaves 2 or 3 different shampoos and conditioners in the shower. No idea which is which without a microscope.

This is what a shampoo label looks like:

     AWESOMENESS IN A BOTTLE

       BY JAQUE LERTANDEDLO


                                                                                                     shampoo   

NO SEAGULLS OR TURTLES HARMED
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 02, 2015, 05:06:15 PM
Somehow I tripped over..... this..... a while back. Been having flashbacks ever since. Sometimes it keeps me up at night.

It is a child's skull (human child, homo sapiens sapiens so it is claimed) showing both a set of milk or baby teeth, plus at least what appears to be 300 more, permanent teeth, that have not erupted yet. Though they have fully erupted in my psyche. Supposedly, all of us looked like that at one time but I am absolutely sure that neither myself or anyone I ever knew looked like that. The only thing that ever came close to looking like that was the Predator when he was really pi$$ed at Arnie, opened his mouth wide and screamed. But even that was only the barest resemblance and much, much less scary looking than this....

Shiver me timbers!

Brian


 :yikes:  Wish I could un-see that..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 02, 2015, 05:26:13 PM
Another absolute truth! WHY??? My wife leaves 2 or 3 different shampoos and conditioners in the shower. No idea which is which without a microscope.

This is what a shampoo label looks like:

     AWESOMENESS IN A BOTTLE

       BY JAQUE LERTANDEDLO


                                                                                                     shampoo   



NO SEAGULLS OR TURTLES HARMED

I use the stuff enriched with bald eagle eggs that comes in the bottle made from pelt of a baby seal, it works the best.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 02, 2015, 06:12:17 PM
My current shampoo is argan oil of morocco..  It's a unique, precious blend of argan oil of morrocco (WTF is that?) which instantly penetrates the hair shaft restoring shine and softness while strengthening and creating soft, seductive, silky perfection. 

My advice is not to get this  :censored: as the pump in the top doesn't work so well.  I've told my wife to get something else next time.  The sad thing is, if she doesn't like it then I have to finish it off cause I can't stand to have something bought and then thrown away.

So if a biker walks past you and smells of argan oil of morocco, it could be me.  :rotflmao: :nuts:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 02, 2015, 06:24:59 PM

So if a biker walks past you and smells of argan oil of morocco, it could be me.  :rotflmao: :nuts:

Not for nothin', but you may want to avoid San Francisco until you get different shampoo. I"m just sayin......

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 02, 2015, 06:32:57 PM
That may be more than a few of us based on the answers here...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 02, 2015, 06:36:15 PM
Argan oil is an oil made from the pressed kernals of pits that grow from Argan trees. its been used for a long time for many things, hand lotion, an additive to hair products and shampoos. I use it on my hands when they are really dry, it works better than any moisturizing hand lotion I've found. It soaks into the hands over time as it does not evaporate or soak in quickly. Its not cheap and its only sold in certain places. Try it sometime on your hands, it takes a few days, but it really works.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 02, 2015, 06:50:25 PM
I noticed that.    :-X



That may be more than a few of us based on the answers here...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rhhall on March 02, 2015, 09:29:08 PM
At the point in my life where I don't have to worry about shampoo. :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 03, 2015, 04:04:01 AM
Based on Strawboss' explanation, it should help on the bald spots....that's what I'm hoping.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 03, 2015, 04:43:12 AM
I've never seen this before and truthfully, never thought about it. That's bizarre!    :o

Somehow I tripped over..... this..... a while back. Been having flashbacks ever since. Sometimes it keeps me up at night.

It is a child's skull (human child, homo sapiens sapiens so it is claimed) showing both a set of milk or baby teeth, plus at least what appears to be 300 more, permanent teeth, that have not erupted yet. Though they have fully erupted in my psyche. Supposedly, all of us looked like that at one time but I am absolutely sure that neither myself or anyone I ever knew looked like that. The only thing that ever came close to looking like that was the Predator when he was really pi$$ed at Arnie, opened his mouth wide and screamed. But even that was only the barest resemblance and much, much less scary looking than this....

Shiver me timbers!

Brian

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/childs%20skull%20or%20what%20keeps%20me%20up%20at%20night.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/childs%20skull%20or%20what%20keeps%20me%20up%20at%20night.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 03, 2015, 04:47:34 AM
My current shampoo is argan oil of morocco..  It's a unique, precious blend of argan oil of morrocco (WTF is that?) which instantly penetrates the hair shaft restoring shine and softness while strengthening and creating soft, seductive, silky perfection. 

My advice is not to get this  :censored: as the pump in the top doesn't work so well.  I've told my wife to get something else next time.  The sad thing is, if she doesn't like it then I have to finish it off cause I can't stand to have something bought and then thrown away.

So if a biker walks past you and smells of argan oil of morocco, it could be me.  :rotflmao: :nuts:

It shouldn't take long to penetrate all ten of the hair shafts on your head eh Jim?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 03, 2015, 07:43:26 AM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 03, 2015, 02:42:31 PM
Bizarre? Merely Bizarre? ??? More like terrifyingly amazing I think. And now we know why the cuspids are called 'eye teeth'.... 'cause they start off barely below the eyeball.

It gets even worse:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/childs%20skull%201.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/childs%20skull%201.jpg.html)

Same one, but a full view:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/childs%20skull%202.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/childs%20skull%202.jpg.html)

Brian

I've never seen this before and truthfully, never thought about it. That's bizarre!    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 03, 2015, 02:57:08 PM
I think we need a very different subject for the next topic about nothing (my timbers are still shivering).

How about this one: what is the plural of penny (as in the coin)? Well, depends on where you are. In a lot of the English speaking world, it is 'pence'. In  the US and Canada, it is 'pennies' but if value instead of the actual coinage is being referenced, this it is 'cents', again in the US and Canada.

Speaking of pennies, you should all be glad to know that the US got the price of making a penny down to 1.3 cents (pence for you UK et. al folks) each in 2013, a considerable improvement from the cost of 2.41 cents in 2011.  ???  And US pennies have been made out of a number of metals and alloys, starting of course with pure copper in the olden' days and working its way to today's zinc / copper alloy (almost all zinc though) plate with pure copper. By the 1970's, it cost more than a penny to make a penny, and it was proposed to change the material from the then- current material, brass, to aluminum. One and a half million aluminum pennies were actually struck by US mints before the idea (and apparently the pennies themselves) was scrapped for two reasons: the first is that vending machines could not deal with the new material. The second reason is more interesting though, as aluminum does not block X-rays well, and in fact is difficult to detect in human soft tissue such as the lungs or gastrointestinal tract, aluminum pennies posed a problem for the medical community to detect them in little Johnny or Mary (or Jim after a heavy beer night perhaps). Sure, the bottle caps would show up 'in there' but not aluminum pennies. So while we spend a few dozen million dollars a year, at least we can take comfort knowing that our children are safe from X-ray invisible pennies....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on March 03, 2015, 03:03:40 PM
Not to change the subject here, (I guess it is about nothing at all). I just got an email from a vendor we want to do business with. Within this email is the sentence "If you do not receive this email please let me know immediately."
We do not have a smiley/emoticon available that expresses my amazement at that statement. Surely it is not the dancing banana...just sayin'. Suffice it to say we are having second thoughts.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 03, 2015, 03:08:04 PM
Yeah, like the signs sometimes found at the roadways between lanes of a divided highway:

"Access restricted to unauthorized vehicles"

Yeah, it does not mean that though.

Brian

Not to change the subject here, (I guess it is about nothing at all). I just got an email from a vendor we want to do business with. Within this email is the sentence "If you do not receive this email please let me know immediately."
We do not have a smiley/emoticon available that expresses my amazement at that statement. Surely it is not the dancing banana...just sayin'. Suffice it to say we are having second thoughts.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 03, 2015, 03:59:54 PM
. I just got an email from a vendor we want to do business with. Within this email is the sentence "If you do not receive this email please let me know immediately."
We do not have a smiley/emoticon available that expresses my amazement at that statement. Surely it is not the dancing banana...just sayin'. Suffice it to say we are having second thoughts.

Wouldn't  :doh:  be appropriate?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 03, 2015, 05:15:02 PM
Have you ever seen any public figure apologize for something before they were caught?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on March 03, 2015, 05:20:52 PM
Wouldn't  :doh:  be appropriate?
It would, but I would need to use many of those, and I think it prudent to cut down on the amount I use.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on March 03, 2015, 10:36:33 PM
Canada does not use pennies anymore. And it's good because they are a PIA. We still use "cents" when using a debit card, credit card or other forms of payment except cash.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 04, 2015, 07:04:43 AM
Canada does not use pennies anymore. And it's good because they are a PIA. We still use "cents" when using a debit card, credit card or other forms of payment except cash.

I knew Canadian currency made no sense. :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on March 04, 2015, 07:35:59 AM
+1, almost like the gun laws  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on March 05, 2015, 06:40:29 AM
I shot firearms in Canada more than a few times. Rifles AND pistols. And within the city limits of Toronto. Totally legal. It was great fun. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 05, 2015, 10:04:35 AM
I knew Canadian currency made no sense. :)

Makes perfect sense:  ;D


(http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54f6ed6bdd089540488b45c2-602-452/spocknote-1.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 05, 2015, 10:22:55 AM
I had no idea Spock was Canadian. Who knew? I suppose his sense of humor should have been a clue.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on March 05, 2015, 01:57:09 PM
And his intelligence...          :D

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 05, 2015, 02:37:18 PM
Stretching it a bit, eh?  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 05, 2015, 02:41:59 PM
And his intelligence...          :D

Jamie

Nope. It was his intelligence that lead me to believe that he was NOT Canadian.  :stirpot: :rotflmao: :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 05, 2015, 03:03:17 PM
This means war!  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on March 05, 2015, 03:22:57 PM
I knew Canadian currency made no sense. :)

I knew Canadian currency made no cents, either.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 06, 2015, 04:48:26 AM
I had no idea Spock was Canadian. Who knew? I suppose his sense of humor should have been a clue.....

And his green blood.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 12, 2015, 10:21:45 AM
And now for something completely different....

http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2015/03/akron_man_whose_photograph_cau.html (http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2015/03/akron_man_whose_photograph_cau.html)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 12, 2015, 10:28:15 AM
https://youtu.be/oQutUzJvf0M (https://youtu.be/oQutUzJvf0M)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on March 12, 2015, 11:38:14 AM
Nope. It was his intelligence that lead me to believe that he was NOT Canadian.  :stirpot: :rotflmao: :chugbeer:

That's something we hyper-intelligent Canadians have come to expect from people that don't regularly get a good dose of cold enough weather to "clear out the cobwebs..."

We won't hold it against you...   8)

Live Long and Prosper...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 13, 2015, 04:53:52 AM
That's something we hyper-intelligent Canadians have come to expect from people that don't regularly get a good dose of cold enough weather to "clear out the cobwebs..."

We won't hold it against you...   8)

Live Long and Prosper...

Jamie

 ;D

(http://www.zggtr.org/MGalleryItem.php?id=683)

Depends?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 17, 2015, 01:00:55 PM
Anyone who watched the series Breaking Bad will readily remember the 'pizza on the roof' scene, where the main character (protagonist? antagonist? that-does-not-apply-tagonist?) threw a pepperoni pizza onto the roof of his house in a moment of anger. Well, it turns out that the house used in the series really does exist in Albuquerque, NM, and a older couple live there. Of course the locals have known this for years. And something that has become somewhat popular is stopping by.... and throwing a pepperoni pizza on the roof. The creator of Breaking Bad has publicly asked people to stop doing this:  http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/breaking-bad-creator-throw-pizzas-walter-whites-home/story?id=29581137 (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/breaking-bad-creator-throw-pizzas-walter-whites-home/story?id=29581137)

Of course as this is a private house, is owned and lived in by actual people, I can understand where this would be annoying, especially after the 47th time. It is also illegal for several reasons as well as being morally wrong to leave people with this mess on their roof.

All of that said, I think this is hysterical!!! I only wish I had known this when the series was actually on and I lived 1,000 miles closer 'cause I would stop by..... with a pizza. Too funny! Hey, I feel bad for the people who live there and understand why it is not funny to them, and really, I guess it is only funny to me because I just found out about it but c'mon, that HAD to be funny the first time or two. I can only imagine the conversations between the elderly people who live there:

Martha, did you put a pizza on the roof?

What is the weather like outside? Sunny, warm and it smells like pepperoni.

Henry, you really need to clean the pizza out of the gutters before winter!

And so forth....  :rotflmao:  three times!

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 17, 2015, 01:31:30 PM
Business opportunity. Sign outside that says: "Throw a pizza on my roof, only $5"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on March 17, 2015, 11:16:02 PM
The weather is beginning to warm up, the hookers have stopped building camp fires and begun to transition to more revealing outfits. This might not seem like such a bad thing but half of them are men and I have to answer questions about 'what those ladies are doing' from my daughter.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on March 18, 2015, 03:31:26 AM
Anyone who watched the series Breaking Bad will readily remember the 'pizza on the roof' scene, where the main character (protagonist? antagonist? that-does-not-apply-tagonist?) threw a pepperoni pizza onto the roof of his house in a moment of anger. Well, it turns out that the house used in the series really does exist in Albuquerque, NM, and a older couple live there. Of course the locals have known this for years. And something that has become somewhat popular is stopping by.... and throwing a pepperoni pizza on the roof. The creator of Breaking Bad has publicly asked people to stop doing this:  http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/breaking-bad-creator-throw-pizzas-walter-whites-home/story?id=29581137 (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/breaking-bad-creator-throw-pizzas-walter-whites-home/story?id=29581137)

Of course as this is a private house, is owned and lived in by actual people, I can understand where this would be annoying, especially after the 47th time. It is also illegal for several reasons as well as being morally wrong to leave people with this mess on their roof.

All of that said, I think this is hysterical!!! I only wish I had known this when the series was actually on and I lived 1,000 miles closer 'cause I would stop by..... with a pizza. Too funny! Hey, I feel bad for the people who live there and understand why it is not funny to them, and really, I guess it is only funny to me because I just found out about it but c'mon, that HAD to be funny the first time or two. I can only imagine the conversations between the elderly people who live there:

Martha, did you put a pizza on the roof?

What is the weather like outside? Sunny, warm and it smells like pepperoni.

Henry, you really need to clean the pizza out of the gutters before winter!

And so forth....  :rotflmao:  three times!

Brian

They were talking about this on the radio the other day...lol. Great stuff.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 18, 2015, 03:34:34 AM
The weather is beginning to warm up, the hookers have stopped building camp fires and begun to transition to more revealing outfits. This might not seem like such a bad thing but half of them are men and I have to answer questions about 'what those ladies are doing' from my daughter.
That has to be an interesting conversation. Are your hookers also homeless that they need campfires?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 18, 2015, 05:05:10 AM
The weather is beginning to warm up, the hookers have stopped building camp fires and begun to transition to more revealing outfits. This might not seem like such a bad thing but half of them are men and I have to answer questions about 'what those ladies are doing' from my daughter.

Tell her that they're getting ready for Halloween.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on March 18, 2015, 10:59:54 AM
That has to be an interesting conversation. Are your hookers also homeless that they need campfires?

They get dropped off everyday, I see 15-20 during the summertime on my commute to work, usually starting at about 11am. Some of them are high class and have little RVs. It's a weird thing to try to become accustomed to.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on March 18, 2015, 11:02:14 AM
Tell her that they're getting ready for Halloween.

At first we said they we're waiting on the bus, that didn't last long as she goes to a local school, so she corrected me telling me no, they are prostitutes.

When the full bird group cc asked what one was doing, I told him waiting on the bus, it took a minute or two to sink in.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 10, 2015, 02:55:34 PM
Descent Underground just funded on Kickstarter!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 13, 2015, 04:33:33 AM
Went for a ride yesterday.  Got stuck behind a SWIFT transfer truck.....it wasn't.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on April 13, 2015, 07:18:42 AM
Swift and Old Dominion are the worst. With Swift being based out of Phoenix, I can't go anywhere without getting trapped behind on of their rigs
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 16, 2015, 04:14:32 AM
When Gyro's attack....

Not the sandwich.  Gyro copter land on Capital Building grounds is piloted by disgruntled Postal employee (bonus on that for the Postal employee) who is pissed over Congress lack of control over campaign finance laws.  He had 500 some letters he was delivering to each member of Congress.  The copter was painted with the USPS logo.  How it got to the Capitol building without being stopped by a ground to air missile is now being debated.  Drones and Gyro copters can invade the Capitol city, it appears, with impunity (word of the day).

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Small-Helicopter-Lands-on-Capitol-Grounds-299870111.html (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Small-Helicopter-Lands-on-Capitol-Grounds-299870111.html)

That's right folks, you just can't make this stuff up.

We have Transvestites attacking the NSA, drunk Secret Service agents and the DEA having sex club parties.   What excitement we have here.  It's priceless I tell you, priceless.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 16, 2015, 04:26:09 AM
 :rotflmao: the next thing you know we'll elect a marxist president.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 16, 2015, 08:19:17 PM
Seals and Crofts, before they were "Seals and Crofts", were in another band, that band was called "The Champs". and their claim to fame was a little song called "Tequila".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on April 16, 2015, 09:10:06 PM
I'm in Miami. Although I come here often on business, it's still like another country.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 17, 2015, 05:01:50 AM
Seals and Crofts, before they were "Seals and Crofts", were in another band, that band was called "The Champs". and their claim to fame was a little song called "Tequila".

I did not know this! So of course I had to check it out. Looks as if Seals and Crofts came on board after Tequila.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Champs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Champs)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AZ-ZG on April 18, 2015, 06:13:43 PM
Why do waterproof gloves now have the long gauntlet?

Doesn't having the glove opening outside the waterproof, allegedly, jacket allow the gloves to fill with water?

I ask because my *short* waterproofs gave up after several years and need to be replaced.

I have long gloves also and trying to stuff that in under jacket cuffs is damn near impossible, so those are reserved for mostly dry/warmer weather.

 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 19, 2015, 09:26:50 AM
Rick Derringer, of "Rock-N-Roll Hoochtie Coo" fame was in a band before he was famous for that song, the band was "The Mcoys", their song was a little ditty known to many here in Ohio as "Hang On Sloopy", of which I hope never to hear, made mention of, depict with marching band members, spell, sign, whistle, hum, pantomime, vote on, or otherwise used in any commercial venture I may come in contact with ever again in my natural life in any shape, form or iteration.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 19, 2015, 09:33:01 AM
You knew it had to happen....
http://youtu.be/TlTKhPkZSJo (http://youtu.be/TlTKhPkZSJo)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on April 19, 2015, 09:34:48 AM
Beat me to it, gPink.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 19, 2015, 09:44:35 AM
 :rotflmao:   You do realize, Strawboss, that if you say you never want to hear or see something again, the gauntlet has been thrown down..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on April 19, 2015, 09:46:37 AM
Nicely done, g!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 19, 2015, 09:47:30 AM
The future Mrs Derringer was HOT ! ! !
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on April 19, 2015, 09:49:51 AM
May all of my future ex-wives look as good.......
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 19, 2015, 10:05:31 AM
Jim, I live 24 hours at a time in the firehouse with 9 other men, the one thing you learn the first day you work is never, EVER tell anyone about something that bothers you, because if you do, it will never be forgotten and you will rue the day you ever mentioned it as those guys will mercilessly taunt and do that very thing you don't like just because you mentioned it. Nothing I say or do here is ever close to becoming anything near what I live at the firehouse, ever. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 19, 2015, 10:14:29 AM
Good to know..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on April 19, 2015, 11:36:19 AM
Nothing I say or do here is ever close to becoming anything near what I live at the firehouse, ever. ;D
Won't stop us from trying, though. :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 19, 2015, 11:48:13 AM
 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 19, 2015, 12:33:09 PM
Amateurs.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 19, 2015, 01:18:00 PM
We are a bit handicapped due to this being a family forum.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 19, 2015, 01:25:48 PM
Well, I'd say you are already handicapped by admitting you are handicapped. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 19, 2015, 01:40:06 PM
The first step.... ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 19, 2015, 02:11:52 PM
The next step will be for a beer..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 19, 2015, 05:05:49 PM
No fair, can't drink beer anymore at the firehouse. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 19, 2015, 05:48:50 PM
 :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 19, 2015, 07:48:16 PM
So you have to wait until you leave to go to an actual fire?

:-)

Brian

No fair, can't drink beer anymore at the firehouse. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on April 19, 2015, 08:19:48 PM
The future Mrs Derringer was HOT ! ! !

Sloopy really could shake it!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 21, 2015, 11:09:16 AM
At the top of the screens on this forum there is a small section showing how many pages there are to a particular section. After that, there is a blue button that is marked "Go Down". Frankly I have been ascairt to try out said button, anybody else know what it does?

:-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on April 21, 2015, 11:19:53 AM
Just try it one time, if you don't like it I won't make you do it again.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 21, 2015, 11:25:27 AM
At the top of the screens on this forum there is a small section showing how many pages there are to a particular section. After that, there is a blue button that is marked "Go Down". Frankly I have been ascairt to try out said button, anybody else know what it does?

Press this button to see what happened to the last one to try it!

                                    (http://fartymarty.smugmug.com/photos/i-GBbF9TZ/0/O/i-GBbF9TZ.jpg) (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Kirbyshinything.jpg~original)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 24, 2015, 06:24:02 PM
Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jugashvili.

This is a photo of him taken in 1894, when he was 16 years of age, somewhere near the time he entered a Greek Orthodox priesthood school. He did well at the seminary but failed his final exams, and of course had to abandon his hopes to become a priest. Fortunately though, he found another calling in nationalism and politics and after changing his name and a few rocky, lean years, actually rose to a very high position in a neighboring country.

Oh yeah, along the way he changed his name to 'Steel'. But of course steel in Russian, which is Stalin. Joseph Stalin specifically.

Brian

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Ioseb%20Besarionis%20dze%20Jughashvili%201894.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Ioseb%20Besarionis%20dze%20Jughashvili%201894.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AZ-ZG on April 24, 2015, 09:14:45 PM
What are those weird floaty things that sometimes show up in your vision but it's in your eyes?   ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on April 25, 2015, 12:17:35 AM
What are those weird floaty things that sometimes show up in your vision but it's in your eyes?   ???

Floaters. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater) I get these from time to time, always in my right eye too (been glitchy since birth...) Riding with the visor open in really dry areas kills me. Keep visine handy, it can help.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 25, 2015, 05:23:47 AM
I have them in the right eye quite bad...to the point that reading can be an effort at times.  There is a doctor in Northern VA that has a procedure to laser them out but it depends on what kind of floaters you have.  They can also vacuum out the aqueous humor and remove them but that scares the  :censored: t out of me.  Unless it gets much worse I'm just not going there.

I also have this:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_hyalosis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_hyalosis) but none of the associations with it.

What affects me the most are white or beige colored rooms or white screens.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 25, 2015, 03:55:38 PM
It's fugly here.  Raining and cold.  Just did burgers and fries..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Gsun on April 25, 2015, 10:18:58 PM
Rode for coffee today. There was a guy there with a Hayabusa. I said that's a heck of a bike. He said "I only do 10 over". OK.... :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on April 25, 2015, 11:37:47 PM
Cookies and ice cold milk while watching Secret Life of Machines on the couch is the perfect ending to a perfect day.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on April 26, 2015, 09:07:20 AM
D.C. has a new bar, where the beer prices are 'market driven'.  Prices fluctuate in real time based on demand.  If the price of your daily favorite has gone up, make some friends and convince them to switch to your brand to bring the prices back down.

Seems contrary ... As demand rises, supply falls, and price rises   ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on April 26, 2015, 09:09:05 AM
:)  Chainmaille bikini I made for her...

I've got to ask..Doesn't that snag the short hairs?

Modern woman seems to be void of the short hairs.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 26, 2015, 01:38:47 PM
Since we are digging up old posts......
A pig cannot look up.

Really?

(http://oomur.pair.com/wwpotter/images/Babe%20the%20Pig%201.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 26, 2015, 07:30:14 PM
An elephant in the only animal that cannot jump.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: voileauciel on April 26, 2015, 11:03:24 PM
An elephant in the only animal that cannot jump.

Brian

Add rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and sloths to that list, according to #7 here. (http://listverse.com/2009/02/04/top-10-fascinating-facts-that-are-wrong/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 27, 2015, 04:17:27 AM
and me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 27, 2015, 04:44:32 AM
Rode for coffee today. There was a guy there with a Hayabusa. I said that's a heck of a bike. He said "I only do 10 over". OK.... :o


But he gets to that 10 over really really fast. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on April 28, 2015, 03:47:25 AM
An elephant in the only animal that cannot jump.

Brian

Aren't they also the only animal with four knees?...LOL>

Hey BDF, in my half-asleep morning commute to work, I heard "Rhode Island" in the news...

This guy is making the headlines:

http://www.timescolonist.com/rhode-island-man-gets-prison-after-4-drunken-driving-arrests-in-48-hours-he-hit-3-cars-tree-1.1866401 (http://www.timescolonist.com/rhode-island-man-gets-prison-after-4-drunken-driving-arrests-in-48-hours-he-hit-3-cars-tree-1.1866401)

Not only am I not in New England, I'm not even in the USA...lol, and this guy still made the local news here...lol.

That's impressive. Rem.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on April 28, 2015, 04:46:21 AM
Rode for coffee today. There was a guy there with a Hayabusa. I said that's a heck of a bike. He said "I only do 10 over". OK.... :o

But he gets to that 10 over really really fast. 
Never has gotten past 2nd gear.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 28, 2015, 07:07:54 AM
The really great part about that whole article is where the 53 year old guy was released to the custody of his parents. "Mom, Dad, I'm hooooooooooommmmmmmm."  :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian

Aren't they also the only animal with four knees?...LOL>

Hey BDF, in my half-asleep morning commute to work, I heard "Rhode Island" in the news...

This guy is making the headlines:

http://www.timescolonist.com/rhode-island-man-gets-prison-after-4-drunken-driving-arrests-in-48-hours-he-hit-3-cars-tree-1.1866401 (http://www.timescolonist.com/rhode-island-man-gets-prison-after-4-drunken-driving-arrests-in-48-hours-he-hit-3-cars-tree-1.1866401)

Not only am I not in New England, I'm not even in the USA...lol, and this guy still made the local news here...lol.

That's impressive. Rem.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rembrant on April 28, 2015, 07:11:16 AM
The really great part about that whole article is where the 53 year old guy was released to the custody of his parents. "Mom, Dad, I'm hooooooooooommmmmmmm."  :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian

Geeez, talk about failure to launch...LOL.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on April 28, 2015, 08:08:31 AM
Stayed at an inn in Pennsylvania that was built in 1794, it is very nice and swathed in early U.S. history, the area was prominent in the "Whiskey Rebellion" where western PA farmers rebelled against a tax levied in 1791 on distilled spirits by President Washington to help pay for the War of Independence. It cause quite a ruckus and 13,000 troops were dispatched to the area to quell the insurrection. President Thomas Jefferson repealed it in 1801, and pushed forward the ideas of political parties in this country which was already happening but this incident seemed to have helped that movement. Kinda cool sitting in a pub built in 1794, sipping a shot of whiskey with the flag of the rebellion movement on the wall, and the original velum printed deed to the property owner framed above my head.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 01, 2015, 08:31:33 PM
Bat droppings are unique among mammals; they are not solid in form but hollow, made up of a bit of material mixed with dried saliva. Yep, bat guano is hollow and when squeezed (can I get a collective "Ewwwww"?) it will not compress but rather implodes into a small puff of dust. And it has virtually no odor although I am not sure about taste.

 :yikes:

Brian (who is unfortunately learning all about bats though not through my choosing)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 02, 2015, 05:43:37 AM
I have heard it's also an excellent medium for growing mushrooms.  ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 10, 2015, 03:36:53 PM
It has been speculated that William Shakespeare worked on the King James version of the English translation of the bible. History has no record of this but the popular reference is: In the 46th psalm, the 46th word from the beginning is shake and the 46th word from the end is spear. Of course, William Shakespeare was 46 at the time of the King James translation.....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 10, 2015, 03:55:54 PM
I've been to St. James Park in London.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 11, 2015, 01:59:59 PM
Bat droppings are unique among mammals; they are not solid in form but hollow, made up of a bit of material mixed with dried saliva. Yep, bat guano is hollow and when squeezed (can I get a collective "Ewwwww"?) it will not compress but rather implodes into a small puff of dust. And it has virtually no odor although I am not sure about taste.

 :yikes:

Brian (who is unfortunately learning all about bats though not through my choosing)

Isn't also a good source of salt peter?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 13, 2015, 02:03:57 PM
Bat droppings are unique among mammals; they are not solid in form but hollow, made up of a bit of material mixed with dried saliva. Yep, bat guano is hollow and when squeezed (can I get a collective "Ewwwww"?) it will not compress but rather implodes into a small puff of dust. And it has virtually no odor although I am not sure about taste.

 :yikes:

Brian (who is unfortunately learning all about bats though not through my choosing)

OK, it's taken me awhile to think about this, but I can find no info on hollow bat droppings...and just how does the saliva get mixed in with "a bit of material" (digested bugs and perhaps a few bat hairs from grooming) I'm assuming that you aren't referring to digested saliva (could probably find that in my droppings too).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on May 13, 2015, 02:37:55 PM
OK, it's taken me awhile to think about this, but I can find no info on hollow bat droppings...and just how does the saliva get mixed in with "a bit of material" (digested bugs and perhaps a few bat hairs from grooming) I'm assuming that you aren't referring to digested saliva (could probably find that in my droppings too).

I'm glad I haven't spent any time thinking about this one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2015, 03:11:18 PM
I do not know but it is an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium.

I can sell you some cheap if you want to try it out.... :-(

Brian

Isn't also a good source of salt peter?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2015, 03:17:33 PM
Actually, the reason I know about this is a recent infestation of bats, which produce guano (bat droppings in this specific case). A gentleman who came to my house to diagnose the situation and present a solution(s) (read: run! Run for your life!) passed this information along and showed me how the droppings were indeed hollow. He claimed that actual rodent droppings are solid- I have not personally tested this but 1) I believe him as he seemed quite knowledgeable (read: not  10 lbs. of guano in a 5 lb. pound bag) and 2) I have no reason to doubt that he really knows his.... guano. Besides, it makes sense that a bat would produce little in the way of byproducts as they are the only mammal to fly and so must be genetically adapted to reduce both food consumption as well as waste.

I also learned from Batman, as I like to think of him, that bats are not rodents but a different species; the key is that bats have no incisors, which of course makes bat orthodontia so much less expensive than it is for the rest of us....

Brian

OK, it's taken me awhile to think about this, but I can find no info on hollow bat droppings...and just how does the saliva get mixed in with "a bit of material" (digested bugs and perhaps a few bat hairs from grooming) I'm assuming that you aren't referring to digested saliva (could probably find that in my droppings too).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 13, 2015, 03:38:47 PM
Unsinkable Sam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_Sam) (also known as Oskar or Oscar) was the nickname of an alleged German ship's cat who reportedly saw service in both the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy during the Second World War, serving on board three vessels and surviving the sinking of all three
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AlbertaDoug on May 13, 2015, 09:01:13 PM
Unsinkable Sam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_Sam) (also known as Oskar or Oscar) was the nickname of an alleged German ship's cat who reportedly saw service in both the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy during the Second World War, serving on board three vessels and surviving the sinking of all three

 :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Harry on May 13, 2015, 10:01:59 PM
 :popcorn:

Nothing to see here, keep moving.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 14, 2015, 07:41:50 AM
The sinking of the Lusitania happened 100 years ago this month (May 7, 1915). The captain, William Turner, survived despite being on the bridge when it went down in 18 minutes. He went on to captain another ship, the SS Ivernia. The Ivernia was torpedoed and sunk on new years day, 1917. Captain Turner survived that sinking as well. But one of his sons also became a captain of a ship that was torpedoed and did not survive.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 14, 2015, 05:23:51 PM
I am reading a book about that right now. Apparently a woman was in the water when the ship went down and she was sucked into one of the funnels. Normally a steam boiler explosion would be considered "a bad thing" but in this particular case, a boiler explosion caused this woman to be forcibly ejected; she was not seriously injured, was picked up by a passing lifeboat and survived the sinking.

In a lot of ways, it is a more interesting incident than the sinking of the Titanic three years earlier. Apparently it never got the 'ink' that the Titanic did though because by 1915, everyone knew a ship that size could be sunk and so it was much less of a surprise.

The last survivor of the sinking of the ship died on 11 Jan., 2011, aged 95 years.

Brian

The sinking of the Lusitania happened 100 years ago this month (May 7, 1915). The captain, William Turner, survived despite being on the bridge when it went down in 18 minutes. He went on to captain another ship, the SS Ivernia. The Ivernia was torpedoed and sunk on new years day, 1917. Captain Turner survived that sinking as well. But one of his sons also became a captain of a ship that was torpedoed and did not survive.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 15, 2015, 06:41:06 AM
Would that book be "Dead Wake" by Erik Larson by any chance? Just finished it. Great book! Well researched, accurate documentary that reads like a novel.

That survivor must have been an infant.

I am reading a book about that right now. Apparently a woman was in the water when the ship went down and she was sucked into one of the funnels. Normally a steam boiler explosion would be considered "a bad thing" but in this particular case, a boiler explosion caused this woman to be forcibly ejected; she was not seriously injured, was picked up by a passing lifeboat and survived the sinking.

In a lot of ways, it is a more interesting incident than the sinking of the Titanic three years earlier. Apparently it never got the 'ink' that the Titanic did though because by 1915, everyone knew a ship that size could be sunk and so it was much less of a surprise.

The last survivor of the sinking of the ship died on 11 Jan., 2011, aged 95 years.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 16, 2015, 09:35:11 AM
Hey, it is that very book! I am about 3/4 of the way through but don't tell me how it ends.... I want to be surprised. :-)

Agreed, not a bad book but I would love a bit more about the U-boot that sunk the ship. Then again, the title is not "U-20" and it is not about that submarine.

The last survivor of the sinking was three months old when she boarded the ship on its final trip, being born 15 Feb., 1915. Apparently her entire family was on board and while she and her parents survived the sinking but two of her older sisters (both children) did not.

Brian

Would that book be "Dead Wake" by Erik Larson by any chance? Just finished it. Great book! Well researched, accurate documentary that reads like a novel.

That survivor must have been an infant.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 09, 2015, 01:43:04 PM
More about Lusitania: Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the "wireless", although being offered free passage on the Titanic, sailed on the Lusitania 3 days before the Titanic. But he was on the Lusitania on the fateful voyage when it was sunk. He survived. I'm surprised that Erik Larson didn't mention this in his book.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: SteveJ. on June 10, 2015, 06:36:08 PM
Stayed at an inn in Pennsylvania that was built in 1794, it is very nice and swathed in early U.S. history, the area was prominent in the "Whiskey Rebellion" where western PA farmers rebelled against a tax levied in 1791 on distilled spirits by President Washington to help pay for the War of Independence. It cause quite a ruckus and 13,000 troops were dispatched to the area to quell the insurrection. President Thomas Jefferson repealed it in 1801, and pushed forward the ideas of political parties in this country which was already happening but this incident seemed to have helped that movement. Kinda cool sitting in a pub built in 1794, sipping a shot of whiskey with the flag of the rebellion movement on the wall, and the original velum printed deed to the property owner framed above my head.

Where and what's name of this pub? A couple of us are gonna leave Flowriduh a week and a half early to take the scenic route to the RWTW. PA is on the agenda. Having a tap in this tavern/pub sounds way cool.

TIA.

Later.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2015, 07:22:21 PM
I think the most amazing thing I read about that sinking was the case of Frances Stephens, a Canadian passenger on the Lusitania who was killed when the ship sank. Now usually, that would severely limit (read: eliminate) the chances of Mr. Stephens and Capt. Schwieger (commander of U-20, and the man who sunk the Lusitania) ever crossing paths again. But not in this particular case! It seems that some four months later, when Mr. Stephens' body was being transported back to Canada via the Hesperian, he would again have an encounter with Schwieger when Schwieger, again in command of a U-boat, sunk the Hesperian. So oddly enough, the same German sank a ship out from under the same Canadian twice and the unusual part is that while of course the Canadian only died during one of those sinkings, it was the first one and not the second.

Brian

More about Lusitania: Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the "wireless", although being offered free passage on the Titanic, sailed on the Lusitania 3 days before the Titanic. But he was on the Lusitania on the fateful voyage when it was sunk. He survived. I'm surprised that Erik Larson didn't mention this in his book.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2015, 07:23:11 PM
Even wonder what no- good, dastardly bastich of a human put the letter 'S' in the word "lisp"?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 20, 2015, 10:11:38 AM
Italian police, the carabinieri (carbs), sit on the side of the road and when they want to stop a random car, they hold out a little paddle with a red circle on it people call a lollipop. Italian drivers, not all but in my experience most, tend to follow to closely, they also tend to pass at any given opportunity and are unbelievably impatient.

This all came together today when I saw a traffic stop turn into a motorcycle accident.

Carbs are sitting on the side of the road, pretty common spot. A scooter, followed by 4 cars and 2 motorcycles are coming toward them. Carb steps out, lollipops the scooter as car 1 was passing him. Scooter and car 1 hit the brakes and turn on right signals.

Car 2, seeing his opportunity to pass, makes his move then sees carbs and brakes hard. Car 3 and 4 brake hard cause they're all basically driving right up each others asses.

Motorcycle 1, nice shiny Duc 1198, who is directly on car 4's ass, locks it up and dumps his bike in the road while bike 2 slows just in time not to hit car 4.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 22, 2015, 04:38:57 AM
The outside pane of glass in my double paned living room picture window seems to have spontaneously shattered yesterday for no apparent reason.  :o

I was grilling some ribs in the back yard and came into the house for another beer. I looked out the front window and it didn't look right. I couldn't understand why it looked so 'dirty'. I walked up to the window and heard this strange cracking sound. It took me a moment to realize that the cracking sound was the window. Its tempered glass and it was still in the process of cracking into a million pieces. I couldn't find any reason for the glass to break. I looked on the front porch for some evidence of a rock or something that could have caused the breakage but found nothing. It's VERY strange but fortunately I have a lifetime warranty against breakage. I'll be giving the window company a call this morn and see what they have to say. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 22, 2015, 07:46:49 AM
House settling?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 22, 2015, 11:45:01 AM
The outside pane of glass in my double paned living room picture window seems to have spontaneously shattered yesterday for no apparent reason.  :o

I was grilling some ribs in the back yard and came into the house for another beer. I looked out the front window and it didn't look right. I couldn't understand why it looked so 'dirty'. I walked up to the window and heard this strange cracking sound. It took me a moment to realize that the cracking sound was the window. Its tempered glass and it was still in the process of cracking into a million pieces. I couldn't find any reason for the glass to break. I looked on the front porch for some evidence of a rock or something that could have caused the breakage but found nothing. It's VERY strange but fortunately I have a lifetime warranty against breakage. I'll be giving the window company a call this morn and see what they have to say.

Wow, that happened to my beer glass!

Make sure you don't have a sink hole opening up under your house...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: RFH87_Connie on June 22, 2015, 11:53:12 AM
We live on the water and that happened to one of our sliding glass doors twice in 10 years.  They're 9 foot wide and not 6 foot which may have made it easier to tweak.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 22, 2015, 01:57:00 PM
The outside pane of glass in my double paned living room picture window seems to have spontaneously shattered yesterday for no apparent reason.  :o

I was grilling some ribs in the back yard and came into the house for another beer. I looked out the front window and it didn't look right. I couldn't understand why it looked so 'dirty'. I walked up to the window and heard this strange cracking sound. It took me a moment to realize that the cracking sound was the window. Its tempered glass and it was still in the process of cracking into a million pieces. I couldn't find any reason for the glass to break. I looked on the front porch for some evidence of a rock or something that could have caused the breakage but found nothing. It's VERY strange but fortunately I have a lifetime warranty against breakage. I'll be giving the window company a call this morn and see what they have to say.

(http://image.spreadshirtmedia.com/users/1872000/1871883/383555/img/383555_20120312113725.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 22, 2015, 02:33:29 PM
(http://image.spreadshirtmedia.com/users/1872000/1871883/383555/img/383555_20120312113725.jpg)

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 22, 2015, 02:41:01 PM
House settling?

I don't think so but who knows? We have a basement and as far as I can tell there are no cracks in the walls. The broken picture window has double hung windows on either side of it and they both open and close just fine, no binding at all.

I'm thinking that maybe a rock was thrown up by the neighbor's lawnmower (he mowed the day before, delayed breakage?) or maybe a car caught a rock just right and sent it into the window? No rocks on the porch though...

I called the window company this morning and the replacement glass pack has been ordered, so she said...   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on June 22, 2015, 04:49:09 PM
Wow, that happened to my beer glass!

Make sure you don't have a sink hole opening up under your house...
You had a sinkhole under your beer glass, Jim?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 22, 2015, 06:11:56 PM
I refuse to answer that question on grounds it may incriminate me..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 22, 2015, 06:52:40 PM
Ahhh, pleading the fifth?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on June 22, 2015, 07:31:10 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 23, 2015, 04:05:34 AM
Ahhh, pleading the for a fifth?

FIFY....   Always.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 23, 2015, 07:36:49 AM
You had a sinkhole under your beer glass, Jim?

Stomach?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on June 23, 2015, 11:50:41 AM
I don't think so but who knows? We have a basement and as far as I can tell there are no cracks in the walls. The broken picture window has double hung windows on either side of it and they both open and close just fine, no binding at all.

I'm thinking that maybe a rock was thrown up by the neighbor's lawnmower (he mowed the day before, delayed breakage?) or maybe a car caught a rock just right and sent it into the window? No rocks on the porch though...

I called the window company this morning and the replacement glass pack has been ordered, so she said...

We had one of ours go like that - the dealer (who replaced it under warranty) suggested that perhaps the nitrogen "filling" wasn't pure nitrogen (due to contamination or something) and may have been something with a much greater expansion rate - it was a really hot day when it happened.

Sounds dodgy, but possible, I guess...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 23, 2015, 01:12:44 PM
It would not matter if the nitrogen was contaminate by another gas(s) due to the ideal gas law. In other words, all gasses expand equally so the mix is not important.

If it were something like water inside the sealed window, that would be very different and the gas pressure from water vapor would go up with temperature. Still, if the pressure inside the window or door were high enough to actually blow out the tempered glass, I would think it would sort of 'explode' rather than just crazing..... ? Unless the pressure on the glass was pushing it against something like a grain of sand or similar- then it would amount to a high pressure point loading and tempered glass almost never chips, it crazes across the entire pane instead.

Brian

We had one of ours go like that - the dealer (who replaced it under warranty) suggested that perhaps the nitrogen "filling" wasn't pure nitrogen (due to contamination or something) and may have been something with a much greater expansion rate - it was a really hot day when it happened.

Sounds dodgy, but possible, I guess...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 24, 2015, 04:48:10 AM
We had one of ours go like that - the dealer (who replaced it under warranty) suggested that perhaps the nitrogen "filling" wasn't pure nitrogen (due to contamination or something) and may have been something with a much greater expansion rate - it was a really hot day when it happened.

Sounds dodgy, but possible, I guess...

Jamie

Not that it matters (as Brian explained above) but the gas inside the two panes of these windows is Argon. Last year we had several of the double hung windows replaced under warranty because the seal between the two panes of glass failed and allowed 'something' to fog the glass between the two panes. The picture window that broke did not get replaced and it did not have anything visible between the two panes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 24, 2015, 05:46:11 AM
Argon.  I like that word.  Has a good ring to it.  Let's make it the word of the day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on June 24, 2015, 07:49:49 AM
Argon.  I like that word.  Has a good ring to it.  Let's make it the word of the day.

All my friends "are gone".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 24, 2015, 08:34:20 AM
Argon.  I like that word.  Has a good ring to it.  Let's make it the word of the day.

When I finish my breakfast, all my biscuits "argon".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 24, 2015, 10:03:39 AM
What's not to like?  Argon keeps on going..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 24, 2015, 10:19:33 AM
Argon.  I like that word.  Has a good ring to it.  Let's make it the word of the day.

 :thumbs:

Not spelled the same but...

Argonne National Laboratory http://www.anl.gov/ (http://www.anl.gov/)

I did some work for them back in the day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 24, 2015, 10:51:14 AM
Argon.  I like that word.  Has a good ring to it.  Let's make it the word of the day.

There are better uses for Argon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-9_Sidewinder)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 25, 2015, 10:33:48 AM
A brief history of nukes in space: interesting article

http://www.universetoday.com/120950/a-brief-history-of-nukes-in-space/#more-120950 (http://www.universetoday.com/120950/a-brief-history-of-nukes-in-space/#more-120950)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 25, 2015, 04:51:58 PM
Probably because Argon is heavier than air and will tend to settle inside the window channel rather than trying to escape upward. Bigger particle size too, which makes it much less likely to leak- compare this with helium, which will find leaks that no other material can flow though (other than <maybe> hydrogen>).

Argon- one of the noble gasses. It used to be an inert gas as well until 'some idiot found a way to get it to react with fluorine and hydrogen at ridiculously low temperature followed by irradiating it....' as a college professor once said. But for most of us mere mortals, it really IS inert.... mostly all the time.   :rotflmao:

Brian

Not that it matters (as Brian explained above) but the gas inside the two panes of these windows is Argon. Last year we had several of the double hung windows replaced under warranty because the seal between the two panes of glass failed and allowed 'something' to fog the glass between the two panes. The picture window that broke did not get replaced and it did not have anything visible between the two panes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 25, 2015, 05:00:58 PM
Yep, neat word- from the Greek 'a' meaning 'without' and 'ergon', meaning 'work'. This transitions to the word 'argos' (also Greek), meaning 'idle'. It is an idle material because it will not interact or form any bonds with any other element; we use the word inert to describe it in English.

Tomorrow's word should be 'lead' (as in lead pipe) and why it got the chemical symbol Pb..... It is from the Latin word "plumbum", which means liquid silver. It sort of does look like silver when it melts too, unlike silver which does not look like silver at all when molten. Anyway, I think it is an interesting thing that the first big use for lead was to make plumbing..... which is why people who work on plumbing are still called plumbers, meaning he / she who works with lead (plumbum) even though the lead is long- gone from.... well, plumbing. All the time, at least mostly.  ;D
Brian

Argon.  I like that word.  Has a good ring to it.  Let's make it the word of the day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 25, 2015, 05:34:42 PM
Lead is so uninteresting...how about plumbum for tomorrow's word?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 25, 2015, 05:56:36 PM
Liar! Liar I say!!!  ;) ;D

 Lead is fascinating, especially when watching a plumber pour a lead joint or make a wiped lead seam. Also pretty interesting to watch a combination man (or woman) use lead, a set of wooden paddles, beeswax and a torch to fill in low spots (read: dents) on auto body panels. Spray lead (!!!) is even more fascinating but I cannot even imagine the blood / lead level of a person doing THAT (shooting a stream of molten lead out of a gun with compressed air to stick to a car's body panel). All of this is in the great olden' days of course but still.... pretty cool methinks.

Most things are fascinating if one merely puts in the effort to actually look at them rather than letting them slip by....  ;)

Brian

Lead is so uninteresting...how about plumbum for tomorrow's word?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 26, 2015, 05:33:04 AM
I took my middle grandson to see his first major league baseball game yesterday. Cubs vs. Dodgers.

The game was great fun, even though the Cubs got shut out.

I was reminded why I hate driving in the city, the traffic sucked!!! It took us twice as long to get home as it should have. Bumper to bumper in stop and go for nearly an hour and a half on the 290.  :banghead:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 26, 2015, 06:01:36 AM
It's good you're teaching the grandson that winning isn't everything. There's always next year.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 26, 2015, 06:36:42 AM
It's good you're teaching the grandson that winning isn't everything. There's always next year.  ;D

I think that I taught him a few new words too after driving in that :censored: traffic!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on June 26, 2015, 06:37:15 AM
I don't miss the Chicago traffic, but i sure miss the hot dogs and pizza  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on June 26, 2015, 09:39:17 AM
I think that I taught him a few new words too after driving in that :censored: traffic!

I'm sure glad I live where I do. "Traffic" here is when I can see some other vehicles somewhere around me.
I just don't do real traffic well, even in the four wheeled vehicle(s). 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 26, 2015, 10:10:27 AM
Same here..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 27, 2015, 08:00:22 AM
I don't miss the Chicago traffic, but i sure miss the hot dogs and pizza  ;D

We each had a couple of $7 'Chicago dogs' at the game. Damn good but for 7 bucks it had better be!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 27, 2015, 08:02:46 AM
I'm sure glad I live where I do. "Traffic" here is when I can see some other vehicles somewhere around me.
I just don't do real traffic well, even in the four wheeled vehicle(s).

No traffic worries in the little village of 500 that we live in. I hate the city and we VERY rarely go there.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on June 27, 2015, 12:11:09 PM
The outside pane of glass in my double paned living room picture window seems to have spontaneously shattered yesterday for no apparent reason.  :o
 

Could one of your neighbors have been listening to Yoko Ono at high volume?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 28, 2015, 07:09:53 AM
Could one of your neighbors have been listening to Yoko Ono at high volume?

No way, that would have taken both panes of glass out for sure!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 28, 2015, 08:05:31 AM
I've been watching the Roosevelt's documentary on PBS.  It came to an end last week.  Amazing information that I wasn't aware of.  If it weren't for FDR, I may not have been here harassing the membership.  You have him to blame for that.  Quite a few in this country were ambivalent about helping England face down Hitler.  FDR pushed and got through supplying England to hold off Hitler from invading.  At the end of the series I cried like a baby.  Course I had a few beers and I do get sentimental when I drink.

Also, England's women's soccer (football) beat Canada.  It was good to see the flag waving in the stands.  Of course, I do hope that they lose to US eventually.   We play Germany June 30th.  England plays Japan July 1.  Here's hoping both the US and England win their matches.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 28, 2015, 08:31:03 AM
I like working with Play-Doh.  It's relaxing.  You should try it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 28, 2015, 09:07:29 AM
I like working with Play-Doh.  It's relaxing.  You should try it.

I have, what in the grand scheme of things, is a minor issue with my left hand. I use Play-Doh as a tool during physical therapy to build strength and dexterity in my hand. It works, after a year, I can touch my thumb to all but my pinky finger and completely open my hand. When I started I could only touch my thumb, index and middle fingers, extending all 5 fingers out was impossible. Hurts like hell after 15 minutes but I do like working with it. Wish the therapist had a color other than pink though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 28, 2015, 09:34:29 AM
You know, you can probably buy some somewhere in Italy...

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 28, 2015, 11:01:01 AM
Meh. They make me play with some kinda Lite-Brite looking thing and a texture recognition game that I swear came out of some pre-school somewhere. I have 12 days left, I can cope.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 28, 2015, 11:35:56 AM
12 days overseas or in service?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 28, 2015, 11:37:58 AM
Overseas, headed back to NC.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 28, 2015, 11:41:14 AM
 :thumbs: Welcome back home.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 28, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
Indeed!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 28, 2015, 10:29:09 PM
Thank you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Flat-spot on June 29, 2015, 04:23:50 AM
Sgt Mac,  NC is some nice riding to come home to.  Did you have a choice of location?  Oh, and WELCOME BACK!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on June 29, 2015, 08:43:47 AM
I'm headed back under a humanitarian to take care of my dad (lung cancer) who moved to Fayetteville back in the late 90's when I was at Bragg in the Army. Now that I'm in the AF and Pope is no longer an AFB, I'm going to Seymour in Goldsboro, close enough to help with medical issues. Luckily, there was a position for me at Shady J and my replacement was already inbound so this is just an early PCS.

With all that said, let me say that there's no sympathy required, he smoked for 6 decades and this is something we've been expecting for a long time. Though it doesn't make it any less difficult to deal with, accepting the fact early on and preparing accordingly helps to soften the blow. He's lived a good life, knows his family loves him and has left nothing unsaid. Now we'll have the chance to spend some time together, many don't get that opportunity.

I can't say enough about how my command structure has fought to help me in this process and will forever be grateful. I'm leaving a great group of Airmen and Soldiers but I'm sure I'll find a group just as dedicated at my new duty station.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on July 01, 2015, 07:08:32 AM
I'm headed back under a humanitarian to take care of my dad (lung cancer) who moved to Fayetteville back in the late 90's when I was at Bragg in the Army. Now that I'm in the AF and Pope is no longer an AFB, I'm going to Seymour in Goldsboro, close enough to help with medical issues. Luckily, there was a position for me at Shady J and my replacement was already inbound so this is just an early PCS.

With all that said, let me say that there's no sympathy required, he smoked for 6 decades and this is something we've been expecting for a long time. Though it doesn't make it any less difficult to deal with, accepting the fact early on and preparing accordingly helps to soften the blow. He's lived a good life, knows his family loves him and has left nothing unsaid. Now we'll have the chance to spend some time together, many don't get that opportunity.

I can't say enough about how my command structure has fought to help me in this process and will forever be grateful. I'm leaving a great group of Airmen and Soldiers but I'm sure I'll find a group just as dedicated at my new duty station.

^^^glad that is working out for you the best it could under the circumstances.  Thanks for your service. When I was in the AF, I went TDY to Pope several times.  Didn't realize it is no longer an AFB.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 01, 2015, 07:38:28 AM
There's quite a few 'dead' bases around, Steve.  All the ones we were at in the 50/60's are all dead except for Westover, but that's an Air Force Reserve base now.  Not the same as it was way back when.  The only active official base my dad started his career on is Ellsworth.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on July 01, 2015, 08:38:09 AM
Joint basing took Pope, it BRAC'd in 05, was absorbed by Bragg and is now an Army Airfield, much like Simmons. Now home to 440th AW (Reserve), a couple of STS's, 18th ASOG and I think the Combat Control School. Tried to get there, would have been a great job but there just aren't any open positions.

Jim's right, there's a lot of them around. I went to the NTC at Ft Erwin in 99 and we flew into the Southern California Logistics Airport, formerly know as George AFB. Wandering around the base I was like a ghost town, houses sitting empty, playground equipment laying around, just really weird.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 01, 2015, 09:09:05 AM
George is really creepy...  At least at Westover, quite a bit of base housing has been upgraded and re-purposed for civilian usage and is now 'off base'.    Looks better than what I remember.  We visited an open house there back a few years ago and located our old housing unit.  I find that amazing I remembered where it was as it 1967 when we there last.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on July 01, 2015, 07:33:19 PM
has anyone heard from Son of Pappy lately?  Hope he's doing OK.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 11, 2015, 10:50:35 AM
Finished a job in Warrenton and came home via Culpeper.  Stopped at one of the antique stores there and picked up two books...'Messengers of the Lost Battalion'.   551st Parachute Infantry to be exact.  They were thrust into the middle of the Battle of Bulge.

http://www.551stpib.com/newsite/index.html (http://www.551stpib.com/newsite/index.html)

Second book was 'Queen of the Skies'....Everything you wanted to know about the Lockheed Constellation. 

Can't wait to read both books.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 15, 2015, 06:19:32 AM
My back pain is muscular in nature, a good thing really, its because my muscle is in spasms that it hurts, a few days of muscle relaxers, a few beers, or gin & tonics, and my back usually "pops" and I have a soreness, with the muscle spasming, but not sharp pain, some Tylonol and I'm much better, its just aggravating.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 17, 2015, 07:47:42 AM
Piggly Wiggly opened the first self serve grocery store.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 17, 2015, 07:53:09 AM
100 years ago, the SECNAV had a pet squirrel.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 18, 2015, 10:32:15 AM
Squirrels are tasty. ;D We have gray, red, brown, and a few black ones around my place.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 18, 2015, 10:35:35 AM
Squirrels are tasty. ;D We have gray, red, brown, and a few black ones around my place.

Much better than possum but I prefer venison. :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 18, 2015, 11:21:00 AM
Those bushy tailed tree rats are known carriers of the black plague. Enjoy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 18, 2015, 11:32:29 AM
Fire kills everything.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 18, 2015, 11:37:16 AM
Fire kills everything.
;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 18, 2015, 02:58:30 PM
Fire kills everything.

Out of the ashes comes life....Jack Pines are propagated by fire.  It opens the cones.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 18, 2015, 03:00:15 PM
Those bushy tailed tree rats are known carriers of the black plague. Enjoy.


If you cook them in a wok with baby seal fat, they taste almost like California condor. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 18, 2015, 03:28:52 PM
....especially over a fire built with old growth Redwood...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on July 18, 2015, 05:42:18 PM
....and sliced with a knife made with African Elephant ivory handles.......
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on July 20, 2015, 11:49:36 AM
...and a side of scrambled bald Eagle eggs.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 20, 2015, 11:58:36 AM
A meal like that would have me loosening my black rhino hide belt a couple of notches.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 20, 2015, 12:01:31 PM
Of course if this meal were outside in cold climate I'd eat it while wearing a panda bear coat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 20, 2015, 12:48:46 PM
It would need to be served in a bowl made out of a  desert tortoise shell encrusted with blood diamonds.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 20, 2015, 12:56:47 PM
...sitting of course on an elephant foot stool.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 20, 2015, 02:05:38 PM
This is starting to sound like a script from an old Disney movie about some puppies.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 20, 2015, 02:25:44 PM
mmmmm, puppies....slab of Lab, round of Hound, Poodles and noodles....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on July 20, 2015, 03:37:30 PM
Bow Wow Chow
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 11, 2015, 05:50:57 PM
Saw a UNFO (Unidentified Non Flying Object) on a flatbed truck heading into the Tidewater area of VA on 64 East bound.  It was being tailed by a State Trooper with his blue lights on.  Made me look twice it did.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 12, 2015, 07:17:45 AM
Saw a UNFO (Unidentified Non Flying Object) on a flatbed truck heading into the Tidewater area of VA on 64 East bound.  It was being tailed by a State Trooper with his blue lights on.  Made me look twice it did.

Probably headed to the secret black helicopter base  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: ManWorkinghere on August 12, 2015, 01:31:15 PM
Saw a UNFO (Unidentified Non Flying Object) on a flatbed truck heading into the Tidewater area of VA on 64 East bound.  It was being tailed by a State Trooper with his blue lights on.  Made me look twice it did.
Probably headed to the secret black helicopter base  ;D

Just ask the NSA where it is.  I am sure they will contact you, one way or another...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 12, 2015, 01:43:11 PM
Not sure about the NSA but NASA has a testing facility at Langley AFB or there abouts...  Heck it might have been the Mars module for all I know.  They have been testing that there at times.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 20, 2015, 03:10:19 PM
You know, I find it a bit strange listening to modern music (Taylor Swift) coming from a Grundig 2220 tube style radio that only goes from 86 to 100 on it's FM dial.  It's oddly comfortable, though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on August 20, 2015, 04:11:54 PM
You know, I find it a bit strange listening to modern music (Taylor Swift) coming from a Grundig 2220 tube style radio that only goes from 86 to 100 on it's FM dial.  It's oddly comfortable, though.

I find it a bit strange you're listening to Taylor Swift at all.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 20, 2015, 04:52:23 PM
So does my wife.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 21, 2015, 04:34:11 AM
+3
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on August 21, 2015, 07:05:16 PM
I gotta start posting more, I only have 3 square yellow dot thingys under my name. I don't know what they stand for but I know I need more of them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 21, 2015, 07:34:48 PM
Coffee, donuts, and shrubbery go a long way....just sayin.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 22, 2015, 04:57:51 AM
My neighbor, who lives across the street, is SO :censored: dumb!

Garbage pick-up here is every Thursday and the truck comes around 3pm. My neighbor puts their garbage out on Wednesday morning 'so they don't forget'. They don't use garbage cans which means that they just set the plastic garbage bags out on the curb. The neighborhood crows know this and these smart birds have all day Wednesday and most of Thursday to make a mess of things. Plus the raccoons come by at night for their share. So by the time the truck rolls around and takes what's left of the bags away there is a huge mess in front of their house. Yes, they clean up the mess but this has been happening for YEARS, 15 maybe?

Hello? There's a way to avoid the mess you morons!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on August 22, 2015, 05:07:05 AM
Yes, idiots.
The "trash removal technicians" around here won't pick up anything that isn't in the barrel that fits into the automated arm of the truck. They barely stop let alone ever get out of the truck.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 13, 2015, 04:14:46 PM
This is a photograph of containing every single human alive at that moment, as well as everyone who ever lived..... with one exception: Michael Collins.

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Michael%20Collins%20not%20in%20photo.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Michael%20Collins%20not%20in%20photo.jpg.html)

Brian

 (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Michael%20Collins%20not%20in%20photo.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 13, 2015, 04:21:38 PM
That was before selfie photobombing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 13, 2015, 04:36:18 PM
Interesting- if he got in front of the camera, he could have titled it: "Me.... and everyone else.".

Brian

That was before selfie photobombing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 14, 2015, 12:32:35 PM
Are we sure the command module is not reflected in some tiny piece of the LEM?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 14, 2015, 01:38:54 PM
Nope, but then that opens the whole philosophical question of whether or not a reflection is "in" a photograph. I guess it all comes down to "It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement"

Maybe somebody should ask Mr. Collins, and perhaps he would say something like 'I did not have photographic relations with myself while in space!'.  At any rate, heady stuff and beyond my simple powers of deduction.

 ;D

Brian

Are we sure the command module is not reflected in some tiny piece of the LEM?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on September 14, 2015, 01:42:28 PM
If the—if he—if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement"

Brian

You lost me at 'if'.   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 14, 2015, 02:00:29 PM
Not me- that is a quote from someone else. And I think he lost everyone at 'if'. Not so much that they could not impeach him over it though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_and_acquittal_of_Bill_Clinton

Brian

You lost me at 'if'.   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on September 14, 2015, 08:18:23 PM
Not me- that is a quote from someone else. And I think he lost everyone at 'if'. Not so much that they could not impeach him over it though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_and_acquittal_of_Bill_Clinton

Brian

It makes more sense when I read it in a creepy Clinton voice.

(https://thisistwitchy.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bill-clinton-wink.png)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 15, 2015, 04:52:34 AM
It makes more sense when I read it in a creepy Clinton voice.

(https://thisistwitchy.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bill-clinton-wink.png)

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on September 15, 2015, 07:23:07 AM
It makes more sense when I read it in a creepy Clinton voice.

Seems there's a fine line between creepy (your take, and probably Hillary's) and sexy (Monica's take)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 15, 2015, 10:33:16 AM
Seems there's a fine line between creepy (your take, and probably Hillary's) and sexy (Monica's take)
I'd guess she's rethought that by now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 16, 2015, 08:26:14 PM
So there I was, going happily and ignorantly through life, WHEN SUDDENLY I found out I am partially composed of Neanderthal man! Great! I thought my ancestors were tall, svelte, graceful and, perhaps wishfully, a handsome people only to find out that some of them thought it might be a good idea to.... er, 'have relations' with some short, wide, hairy, and I suspect of having questionable hygiene 'people' (and I am using this term loosely). But it has been a while now and I have made peace with the fact that there is a bit of.... less than desirable breeding in my woodpile, as it were. Now I find out that I my ancestors also interbred with another two species along the way, one of whom, the Denisovan seems to be close related to Neanderthal and possibly, just possibly, even shorter, wider, stouter and still having questionable hygiene. I am having trouble with the entire concept, although it most certainly does explain some things I have seen and continue to see..... but that is another discussion.

So let me suggest to anyone, everyone who may read this: if you happen to be out and about, minding your own business when you happen to see a short, hairy, smelly, grunting "human" batting her eyes at you, run! Run immediately! Do not linger and whatever you do, do NOT try to 'get to know her' in any way, shape or form. I am starting to suspect they had (have?) some magical pheromones or something that cause us (Homo Sapiens Sapiens, or 'The Tall Ones') to make terrible decisions regarding.....er, biological acts.

In closing, all I can say is 'Nice Going, great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great- Grandpa!

Brian (mostly)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 17, 2015, 04:35:06 AM
So there I was, going happily and ignorantly through life, WHEN SUDDENLY I found out I am partially composed of Neanderthal man! Great! I thought my ancestors were tall, svelte, graceful and, perhaps wishfully, a handsome people only to find out that some of them thought it might be a good idea to.... er, 'have relations' with some short, wide, hairy, and I suspect of having questionable hygiene 'people' (and I am using this term loosely). But it has been a while now and I have made peace with the fact that there is a bit of.... less than desirable breeding in my woodpile, as it were. Now I find out that I my ancestors also interbred with another two species along the way, one of whom, the Denisovan seems to be close related to Neanderthal and possibly, just possibly, even shorter, wider, stouter and still having questionable hygiene. I am having trouble with the entire concept, although it most certainly does explain some things I have seen and continue to see..... but that is another discussion.

So let me suggest to anyone, everyone who may read this: if you happen to be out and about, minding your own business when you happen to see a short, hairy, smelly, grunting "human" batting her eyes at you, run! Run immediately! Do not linger and whatever you do, do NOT try to 'get to know her' in any way, shape or form. I am starting to suspect they had (have?) some magical pheromones or something that cause us (Homo Sapiens Sapiens, or 'The Tall Ones') to make terrible decisions regarding.....er, biological acts.

In closing, all I can say is 'Nice Going, great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great-great- great- great- great- great- Grandpa!

Brian (mostly)

I'm fairly certain that I saw a couple of your ancestors in Walmart the other day. You're right about that questionable hygiene...  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on September 17, 2015, 05:15:14 AM
I'm fairly certain that I saw a couple of your ancestors in Walmart the other day. You're right about that questionable hygiene...  :o

I shower once a week whether I need it or not.

(http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/9/96749/1768848-pink_2520caveman.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 17, 2015, 05:44:16 AM
So there I was, going happily and ignorantly through life, WHEN SUDDENLY....

There appeared a hole in the oil pan on my Rav...

It was a beautiful day yesterday and I'm coming home from visiting a client west of Roanoke on I64 near Charlottesville when I spy some debris in the road on the center line.  Ah hah I say, wanting no part of said debris, I move over to the left lane as far as I can get.  A pickup truck in the right lane must not have seen it and clipped it throwing said debris right at me.  Oh  :censored: t!  I hear the thudding underneath the vehicle and think this isn't good.  It could have have been worse, it could have been through the windshield and taken me from the land of the living and away from tormenting the membership.  That would be most sad indeed methinks.

I'm continuing down the road and see what looks like smoke coming out of the rear of the vehicle.  It's really wispy so I'm not sure if it there at all.  Get off the interstate at Shadwell and head towards Gordonsville on 22.  The oil light begins to flicker and I'm thinking Oh  :censored: k!  There really isn't anywhere to pull off so I slow down and look for anywhere suitable.  Turn off on a side which has a convenient commercial gravel drive, cut the car off, and look under the car....oil is pouring out of the pan.

Call AAA and ask for a tow to Fredericksburg and they say the wait is nearly two hours.  45 minutes later the tow truck pulls up.  I then spend the next hour and a half enjoying the conversation with the tow operator as we go towards Fredericksburg.  Very professional young man (25).  I enjoyed the ride.  Dropped off at Rosner Toyota where I hear one of service writers talking to someone saying that they are so busy it will be next week before they get to her.....sigh.

I'm thinking it will be next week before they even look at it.  That's ok though, as I have the bike and my truck available.  I get a call later in the afternoon and was told that they were able to get a look at it and the price so far is just for the pan and installation....$510 and if that's all the damage involved it will be ready by this afternoon late.

I'm hoping that there isn't any engine damage.  The engine sounded fine when I cut it off so I'm hoping it's ok.   What a day...

BTW, the debris was one of those large straps that truckers use to tie down those large loads on flat beds.  The buckle is huge.  I daresay if it had bounced higher I'm not sure I'd be here writing this....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 17, 2015, 06:11:42 AM
Take the pan to the local welding shop and have it fixed for $25.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 17, 2015, 06:57:31 AM
I'm not worried about the cost.  I just need it back and operational as soon as possible.  It would be a lot cheaper that way but I just don't have the time futz with it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on September 17, 2015, 09:59:12 AM
Take the pan to the local welding shop and have it fixed for $25.

Lots of them nowdays are cast aluminum. Real thin and easy to break.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 17, 2015, 10:02:05 AM
I don't know on this one.  The tow operator was saying that some Fords have plastic pans.  He also said he's never seen an oil pan holed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on September 17, 2015, 11:06:45 AM
I don't know on this one.  The tow operator was saying that some Fords have plastic pans.  He also said he's never seen an oil pan holed.

It's fairly common to see them (especially the aluminum ones) cracked, maybe not so much as "holed". Often people keep driving until the engine stops from oil starvation despite that RED warning light, thinking its an "oil level advisory" instead of NO OIL PRESSURE warning.
Transverse mounted engines in smaller cars catch a lot of road hazard stuff. I have a "panzer plate" on the VW. It's aluminum, transverse mounted and susceptible especially in the winter here from icebergs off semi-trucks, etc. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 17, 2015, 04:01:39 PM
Now that was a great post- informative, enlightening and funny. And it was funny too. :-)

A few years back, a gentleman used a Feejer (Yamaha FJR) to set a new 'corner to corner of the USA' time record, starting in Deadhorse, AK and ending in Key West, FL in something like 86 hours (not sure of the actual time but it was too short to cover the distance he covered in that amount of time). Apparently the first 300 or 400 miles of road is 'gravel' and it took him three starts to make the trip; one start a tire shredded on the 'gravel', and another time a piece of 'gravel' smashed the bottom of the engine's oil pan away. The third time was the charm. They must have some heroic 'gravel' on that logging road to Deadhorse though....  :yikes:

Brian

It's fairly common to see them (especially the aluminum ones) cracked, maybe not so much as "holed". Often people keep driving until the engine stops from oil starvation despite that RED warning light, thinking its an "oil level advisory" instead of NO OIL PRESSURE warning.
Transverse mounted engines in smaller cars catch a lot of road hazard stuff. I have a "panzer plate" on the VW. It's aluminum, transverse mounted and susceptible especially in the winter here from icebergs off semi-trucks, etc.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 19, 2015, 06:25:27 PM
The last question on a psychology exam at UMD:

"Here you have the opportunity to earn some extra points on your final paper grade. Select whether you want 2 points or 6 points added to your final paper grade. But there is a small catch: if more than 10% of the class selects 6 points, then no one gets any points. Your responses will be anonymous to the rest of the class, only I will be able to see the responses.

[2] Points
[6] Points  "

This is based on the economic (and social science) concept called 'Tragedy of the commons.". It was coined by an English economist in 1833 (the concept, not the professor's question quoted above) and it works as well today as it did then. The results today are the same as they were in 1833.

I did not envision the outcome by a country mile.  ;)
Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 19, 2015, 06:40:37 PM
6  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on September 19, 2015, 08:41:46 PM
4, 2 isn't enough and 6 is too much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 19, 2015, 09:45:07 PM
I originally chose 2, thinking everyone else would also choose 2, thinking that virtually all would do so that everyone would get two free points, guaranteed. Then I re- thought it and if everyone else (or virtually so) was choosing 2, I would choose 6 and still not weight the average choice above 10%

The professor has been giving this test question since 2008. I believe he has awarded points (and 2 at that) to exactly one class of all taking the test from '08 to this last spring.

I believe this same problem, when known as the Prisoner Problem, is part of what got John Nash a Nobel prize in Economics.

Brian

6  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 20, 2015, 06:14:24 AM
Being a greedy, capitalistic American I chose 6 in the event the majority would be of the 'Let's chose two so we all can benefit' mindset. If I'm correct I gain greatly if I'm wrong I lose nothing since there is no punishment for choosing incorrectly.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 20, 2015, 10:39:16 AM
I originally chose 2, for  the obvious reason (I think) that everyone can get 2 points just for the taking. Then I re-thought the situation, figured everyone else would also choose 2, and there was enough room for me to end up in the small group that would choose 6 without running any risk of actually having 10% of the group choose six.

It is the classic economic / ethical test of collusion and more simply, doing what benefits the individual or doing what is best for the group. Exactly as it works in the test, the majority of us (me included apparently) will choose to do what is best for us individuality, even at the expense of the group. It is one of the classic failing points of capitalism or a free- market society (and I am most certainly a capitalist!); without artificial limits, individuals or very small entities (oligopolies) will always press a situation to his / her / their own benefit (as capitalism not only teaches but encourages) at any cost to the larger, outside group, even so far as to end their own business.

That said, I did not see it coming and choose 6.  ;D

Brian

Being a greedy, capitalistic American I chose 6 in the event the majority would be of the 'Let's chose two so we all can benefit' mindset. If I'm correct I gain greatly if I'm wrong I lose nothing since there is no punishment for choosing incorrectly.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 21, 2015, 07:10:15 AM
Being that grades are relative, there is no benefit to anyone if everyone gets an additional 2 points. I choose 6. Now if we are talking something tangible like everyone gets an additional 2 days of vacation or some thing like that, then I would choose 2.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on September 21, 2015, 08:59:30 AM
Being that grades are relative, there is no benefit to anyone if everyone gets an additional 2 points. I choose 6...

Our Stats teacher did the same - with the choices being 1 or 5 marks, and the cutoff being 25%. The class chose 5 almost unanimously - 2 people out of 87 people chose 1.  Discussing it after the fact, we all thought the same : Why not chose 5?  If everyone did, our relative mark stayed the same.  If less than 25% chose it, you got a nice bonus...

Win.  Or Break even at least...  No real downside.

The prof stated that if the bonus marks would've affected our final mark enough to matter enough to spend time agonizing over our choice, then we probably should've been more worried about studying longer than whether we got the bonus marks or not...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 21, 2015, 11:58:28 AM
Grades may be relative but in my experience, they are more often based on actual standing. In other words, the difference of 6 points, especially on a [usually heavily- weighted final exam], could easily be half or even a full letter grade. As this little gem applies, the entire class could perhaps gain a half- letter grade if everyone got those 6 points.

But again, the whole point of the choice is to show how cooperative vs. non- cooperative decisions are reached. It is all part of game theory and if one chases it far enough down the rabbit hole, there are Nobel prizes awaiting.... such as the one John Nash (the focus of the movie 'A Beautiful Mind') received. This situation is well defined as 'The Prisoner dilemma' and some claim is part of what is called 'The Monty Hall problem' although I absolutely disagree with that. The "correct" answer for the entire class is to take the two points; the "most correct" answer for any individual is to vie for the 6 points because, well, we are basically unsatisfiable pigs as was built into us (and every other living thing) by nature and evolution.

Brian



Being that grades are relative, there is no benefit to anyone if everyone gets an additional 2 points. I choose 6. Now if we are talking something tangible like everyone gets an additional 2 days of vacation or some thing like that, then I would choose 2.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on September 21, 2015, 01:24:37 PM
Yeah if everyone gets 2 points, what has been gained? Same question for 6 points.

This reminds me of: Can you imagine the chaos that would occur if everyone was instantly given 1 million dollars??!

... which is basically what the Nazis tried to do to Britain in WWII under Operation Bernhard.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 21, 2015, 02:22:54 PM
Hmmm, only a million, Dr. Evil?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 21, 2015, 03:07:16 PM
Yeah if everyone gets 2 points, what has been gained? Same question for 6 points.

This reminds me of: Can you imagine the chaos that would occur if everyone was instantly given 1 million dollars??!

... which is basically what the Nazis tried to do to Britain in WWII under Operation Bernhard.

you'd have to form a co-op to buy a loaf of bread.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on September 21, 2015, 03:20:26 PM
Hmmm, only a million, Dr. Evil?

Yeah, I think a million would cause a lot of chaos! The new money of course wouldn't affect rich folks, at first, but can you imagine how many people living paycheck-to-paycheck (or no paycheck at all! i.e. gubmint checks) would run right out and spend it all on stupid crap?!

You'd have people running to the (malt) liquor store only to find out others beat 'em to it, and the fact that they've got a million bucks in their pocket to buy all the liquor they want, and now there is none! Man, infuriating!

It's almost as fun to think about as it is to think about winning the lottery  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 01, 2015, 04:02:55 PM
I can just imagine the conversation now: "Hey, let's make a car with the doors on 'the other way'!. No, no, not that other way, the other, other way.... like this:

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f82/BDF08012008/Zundapp%20Janus%20car.jpg) (http://s45.photobucket.com/user/BDF08012008/media/Zundapp%20Janus%20car.jpg.html)

Made in Germany in 1957/1958. A Zundapp Janus. 245 cc motorcycle engine, mid- engine design. A four- passenger car and the passengers in the back faced backwards. It did not catch on.... amazingly.

I can only assume that knob in the center of the side of the vehicle is for the 'hood' to service the engine. Makes perfect sense, yeah, that's it.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 01, 2015, 04:16:34 PM
Did they weld two Isettas together?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on October 01, 2015, 10:18:29 PM
Being that grades are relative, there is no benefit to anyone if everyone gets an additional 2 points.

Yeah if everyone gets 2 points, what has been gained? Same question for 6 points.

If you really mean everyone (like everyone in the world) then yes, but I believe the original question referred to "everyone in the class" and if you think nothing has been gained or that "grades are relative"...then you've been out of school for a very very long while. A 95 is an "A", an 89 is a "B+" an important 6 point distinction in the competitive world today where a 3.5 GPA is only adequate if you also have 5 or 6 time consuming school approved extra curricular activities to back it up to explain why you don't have a 4.0.
 I also have been out of school for a very long time, but the only times grades where relative were when the teacher decided that he had a class of dummies and decided to grade on the curve because the highest score in the class was a 68 or some such.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 10, 2015, 07:41:16 PM
Frank Sinatra was originally supposed to play "Dirty Harry".

Supposedly, Patty Smyth of the group "Scandal" was asked to join "Van Halen" after David Lee Roth left the group. You wonder what they would have sounded like had that happened, sounds too far fetched to me though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc&feature=player_detailpage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc&feature=player_detailpage)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on October 10, 2015, 11:21:39 PM
Frank Sinatra was originally supposed to play "Dirty Harry".

Supposedly, Patty Smyth of the group "Scandal" was asked to join "Van Halen" after David Lee Roth left the group. You wonder what they would have sounded like had that happened, sounds too far fetched to me though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc&feature=player_detailpage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_50-gOeBilc&feature=player_detailpage)

Dare ya to watch that entire video with the audio muted.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 11, 2015, 06:32:42 AM
Tried it both ways...not happening. Maybe if she had a stripper pole.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on October 11, 2015, 09:22:23 AM
Raccoons can be really mean.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 11, 2015, 03:12:30 PM
Yep, they get big (for a pest animal) and are related to the badger.

When I was a kid, I had a friend who had a pet racoon; amazing animal- he could open any door in the house including cupboards and the refrigerator. Smart, cunning and absolutely irresistible with that black mask, he could also be nasty and amazingly fast. They of course had to get rid of him for the usual reason- he got crankier and crankier as he got older (like some pirates I know...., OK, all the pirates I know).

I have never had it happen but I have heard stories about running into one of those things in a confined area such as an attic or garage, especially if the human is between it and the exit- whatever happens, it ain't gonna' be pretty for the human.

Glad to hear it worked out for you and your girlfriend. Not sure about the scratches on her leg though- we are going to need more photos of Kimberly.... lots more photos. And no more photos of your leg, for the love of God, please, no more photos of that.   ;D ;D

Brian

Raccoons can be really mean.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on October 11, 2015, 03:55:18 PM
Cleveland Browns beat the Ravens in Baltimore.....what a historic day it is...wow.... 33 to 30.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 18, 2015, 01:09:50 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n9Ebx-bXLI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n9Ebx-bXLI)

The rifle looks awfully pristine to be an original Henry but even if it is a replica, it represents the first successful repeating firearm mass produced and used by any armed forces. Quite a few Union soldiers had them by the end of the Civil War.... which led to the Confederate lament about 'That damn Yankee rifle that you can load on Sunday and shoot all week long'. It most certainly did give a huge advantage to those armed with them when confronting soldiers armed with 'muzzle stuffers' (muzzle loaders).

The Henry rifle became quite famous but not until the New Haven Repeating Arms Co. was purchased by a wealthy shirt manufacturer named..... wait for it..... Winchester; the company was re-named the Winchester repeating arms Co. and the Henry rifle evolved into the famous Winchester Model 1866.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 27, 2015, 05:24:52 PM
“One of the two most dangerous men in America.”
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

referencing Huey P. Long and General Douglas MacArthur.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 01, 2015, 12:49:43 PM
Alfred Hitchcock appears in almost all of his movies in a small, non- speaking, cameo role. The Hitchcock film 'Lifeboat' is about the survivors of a merchant ship and a U-boat that sunk each other and the entire movie is set at sea, in the lifeboat, with the entire cast present in the boat from the beginning to the end of the film (not everyone survives but what I mean is that the cast is not variable and does not include any incidental people). This provided a problem for Hitchcock's cameo role as there was no way for an additional person to wander into and then out of the movie's setting. He considered floating by as a body but eventually settled on a pretty clever scheme I think: there was a newspaper on board the lifeboat and as Hitchcock had recently lost a great deal of weight, he appeared in an advertisement in the newspaper as both the 'before' and the 'after' photo showing the performance of a weight loss drug.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 01, 2015, 08:15:33 PM
Speaking of subs..

Just as the crisis in Cuba in 1962 could get no worse, Russia decided to send a sub group (diesel) with nuclear torpedoes to Cuba.  They just about got there before they were detected by US Naval forces.  B-59 had three officers that had to agree on the firing of the torpedo.   B-59 had lost contact with Moscow and US Naval forces wanted them to surface.  They did not want to destroy them so they were throwing practice depth charges at them.  They threw 5 thinking that they would understand that they were to surface.  Unfortunately, Russia's subs only knew the code of three charges.  They were hot.  The air was getting bad.  The captain was angry and initiated the loading of the torpedo.  The political officer agreed.  The only hold out was the flotilla commander.  He decided against that action and ordered the sub to surface.  It was of course surrounded by US Naval forces who just shadowed it and the sub was nudged to go home in the opposite direction it came from.

We all have to thank Vasili Arkhipov, the flotilla commander, for being alive today.  If that torpedo had fired a nuclear round we would have retaliated immediately and so would the Russians.  I was on an AF base in England at the time and I remember the lock down that occurred during the Cuban Missile Crises.  General LeMay had moved all kinds of resources to FL in preparation for action and I am quite sure he wouldn't have held anything back should he have got orders from Washington to retaliate.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 02, 2015, 06:51:14 AM
Alfred Hitchcock appears in almost all of his movies in a small, non- speaking, cameo role. The Hitchcock film 'Lifeboat' is about the survivors of a merchant ship and a U-boat that sunk each other and the entire movie is set at sea, in the lifeboat, with the entire cast present in the boat from the beginning to the end of the film (not everyone survives but what I mean is that the cast is not variable and does not include any incidental people). This provided a problem for Hitchcock's cameo role as there was no way for an additional person to wander into and then out of the movie's setting. He considered floating by as a body but eventually settled on a pretty clever scheme I think: there was a newspaper on board the lifeboat and as Hitchcock had recently lost a great deal of weight, he appeared in an advertisement in the newspaper as both the 'before' and the 'after' photo showing the performance of a weight loss drug.

Brian

I never saw that movie, I'll have to see if it's available on netflix or youtube.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 02, 2015, 07:40:02 AM
Not a bad movie as long as you try and remember the time it was made (1944, right in the middle of WWII) and who made it (Hitchcock). The plot has a definite 'point you in 'right thinking' direction' about it but not as bad as, say, Sahara is in that way. Then again, I really like Sahara but I accept it for the period piece it is- there is a very large 'ra- ra' factor in the movie about winning the war (made in 1943).

Brian

I never saw that movie, I'll have to see if it's available on netflix or youtube.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 02, 2015, 02:08:00 PM
I cannot make this stuff up. I cannot even think this stuff up and I have a rather.... lax view of the world and expect little from those of my species. Yet day after day I am simply shocked at the stuff going on 'out there'.

"Woman discovers 'boyfriend' of two years is woman when she removes blindfold during sex"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11851589/Woman-discovers-boyfriend-of-two-years-is-woman-when-she-removes-blindfold-during-sex.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11851589/Woman-discovers-boyfriend-of-two-years-is-woman-when-she-removes-blindfold-during-sex.html)

And just when I thought it could not get any more bizarre, the article claims the 'victim' discovered her 'boyfriend' was a woman the SECOND time they had sex.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 02, 2015, 02:12:40 PM
"Belgian discovers his wife used to be a man after 19 years"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/9703166/Belgian-discovers-his-wife-used-to-be-a-man-after-19-years.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/9703166/Belgian-discovers-his-wife-used-to-be-a-man-after-19-years.html)

Sorry no time to comment on this one, I have to get a subscription to this newspaper....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on November 02, 2015, 02:32:31 PM
I cannot make this stuff up. I cannot even think this stuff up and I have a rather.... lax view of the world and expect little from those of my species. Yet day after day I am simply shocked at the stuff going on 'out there'.

"Woman discovers 'boyfriend' of two years is woman when she removes blindfold during sex"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11851589/Woman-discovers-boyfriend-of-two-years-is-woman-when-she-removes-blindfold-during-sex.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11851589/Woman-discovers-boyfriend-of-two-years-is-woman-when-she-removes-blindfold-during-sex.html)

And just when I thought it could not get any more bizarre, the article claims the 'victim' discovered her 'boyfriend' was a woman the SECOND time they had sex.

Brian

There are a lot of folks out there that just are not very detail oriented.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 02, 2015, 02:46:28 PM
True but this is like walking up to someone and slapping them in the face with 'it'. Well, not actually the face per se but you know what I mean....

Brian

There are a lot of folks out there that just are not very detail oriented.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 02, 2015, 02:54:27 PM
There are a lot of folks out there that just are not very detail oriented.

 :rotflmao: LOL literally. I'm on a conference call and had to mute my phone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 04, 2015, 10:24:36 AM
To this day, they still print $2 bills.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 08, 2015, 08:46:01 AM
Today in San Francisco I needed to get gas and my normal "in the city" gas station was not open yet. So I was forced to get gas closer to the freeway. Because of this I only got $6.00 worth because the cost was $3.57 per gallon. I then drove my 40 miles to work and stopped at Costco in Concord. By filling up at Costco I saved $15 just for one tank of gas. It would have cost me an additional $15 to fill up at the first gas station vs. just getting $6 worth and then stopping again.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 08, 2015, 09:12:57 AM
The other day I bought gas in the Austin TX area for $1.79/gal. Sorry Pepsi :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 08, 2015, 09:38:47 AM
ROFL, Costco is the cheapest in town. $2.29
I am just thankful there is one convenient to me on my way to work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on December 08, 2015, 04:19:42 PM
Saw it today for $1.86, had to do a double take.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 08, 2015, 04:29:41 PM
We've got regular here for $1.71.  I'm sure it's lower elsewhere in the state.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 09, 2015, 04:42:43 AM
I put 50 gallons in the RV yesterday.  :o

$1.75 per
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 09, 2015, 05:17:17 AM
Going somewhere?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 09, 2015, 05:27:15 AM
I had to take the RV up to Huntley for some warranty work on the furnace yesterday, bad flame sensor, part ordered. The tank was low and since gas was relatively cheap, I filled er up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 09, 2015, 05:30:25 AM
Not a bad idea...what's the mpg on that?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 09, 2015, 09:22:57 AM
Not a bad idea...what's the mpg on that?

Depending on which way the wind blows, 8 to 12.   :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 09, 2015, 10:04:18 AM
Depending on which way the wind blows, 8 to 12.   :o

Sounds like you need to drive downhill more ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 09, 2015, 10:20:18 AM
I don't think that's too awful bad until you have to fill up the tank again..  It's better than an Abrams tank which gets about .6mpg, but worse than your VW.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on December 09, 2015, 09:12:32 PM
Depending on which way the wind blows, 8 to 12.   :o

Not only which way it blows, but also how hard it blows.
Hate to admit it, but one trip with the camper trailer into a nasty headwind got no better than 6 mpg out of the old Suburban. Usually average about 10 mpg towing the camper, around 18ish w/o.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 10, 2015, 05:00:47 AM
Not only which way it blows, but also how hard it blows.
Hate to admit it, but one trip with the camper trailer into a nasty headwind got no better than 6 mpg out of the old Suburban. Usually average about 10 mpg towing the camper, around 18ish w/o.

True this. On a recent trip down south I was heading into the wind on the way down and then the wind changed directions and I headed into the wind on the way home as well.   :censored:  :o   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 10, 2015, 05:56:52 AM
Did you have a personal rain cloud, too?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 10, 2015, 07:14:56 AM
We pilots have been experiencing head winds in both directions since the Wright bros. Statistically this is true since a wind directly from the side acts like a head wind since you have to compensate for it. Depending on your airspeed and wind speed it's not until it is a rear quartering wind does it actually help or even be neutral. I would think this is somewhat true with a camper as well.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 10, 2015, 09:14:20 AM
Did you have a personal rain cloud, too?

I used to have one but since I got a C-14 I outran it.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on December 13, 2015, 02:28:09 PM
Just stumbled onto this thread. Stubbed my toe. I think it's busted.

Other than that, I got nothin'.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 13, 2015, 02:36:52 PM
Traveling east - west on I 80 and I 90, everything was going great... getting just over 40 MPG.... then I took I 29N to go from I 80 to I 90 after Chicago, turned left onto I 90 in SD and ran into the most obnoxious headwinds I have ever experienced. Mileage went from in the 40's MPG to 28 MPG in about 10 seconds. Spent the next bunch of hours riding at about a 15 degree lean angle on the bike, with my torso resting on the fuel tank. In addition to the gazillion MPH steady wind, it was gusting up to about three gazillion MPH. I 80 is a fantastic highway, and SD is a beautiful state IMO but I gotta' say, the ride through, three times out of four total, was truly awful.

Brian

Not only which way it blows, but also how hard it blows.
Hate to admit it, but one trip with the camper trailer into a nasty headwind got no better than 6 mpg out of the old Suburban. Usually average about 10 mpg towing the camper, around 18ish w/o.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 13, 2015, 05:09:03 PM
Been there, done that, lost the T-shirt to the wind.. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on December 13, 2015, 08:27:29 PM
Traveling east - west on I 80 and I 90, everything was going great... getting just over 40 MPG.... then I took I 29N to go from I 80 to I 90 after Chicago, turned left onto I 90 in SD and ran into the most obnoxious headwinds I have ever experienced. Mileage went from in the 40's MPG to 28 MPG in about 10 seconds. Spent the next bunch of hours riding at about a 15 degree lean angle on the bike, with my torso resting on the fuel tank. In addition to the gazillion MPH steady wind, it was gusting up to about three gazillion MPH. I 80 is a fantastic highway, and SD is a beautiful state IMO but I gotta' say, the ride through, three times out of four total, was truly awful.

Brian

Reminds me of my trip out to Salt Lake City in 2000 to take a job. Had just bought a new car and driving through Wyoming, I had the wheel cranked over to about 2 o'clock. Thought something was wrong with the steering/suspension. Nope, it was the damned wind.  :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 16, 2015, 04:54:52 PM
Way more than normal military activity around AP Hill, VA.   Lots of aircraft.  Lots of booming to the point I thought it might be another earth quake.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on December 16, 2015, 06:39:36 PM
Way more than normal military activity around AP Hill, VA.   Lots of aircraft.  Lots of booming to the point I thought it might be another earth quake.

Rotary or fixed?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on December 16, 2015, 06:40:45 PM
http://wavy.com/2015/12/15/us-partners-with-french-uk-forces-for-trilateral-exercise/ (http://wavy.com/2015/12/15/us-partners-with-french-uk-forces-for-trilateral-exercise/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 16, 2015, 08:07:18 PM
Rotary or fixed?

They don't do much fixed around here, more rotary.  I've seen a bunch of Marine V-22 Osprey's as well.  It's entirely possible some of those exercises I'm hearing is part of that US-RAF-French goings on but it's not jets I'm hearing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 17, 2015, 11:10:17 AM
I have to admit it- this would not have occurred to me but is pretty slick (pun intended).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 17, 2015, 11:49:51 AM
I have to admit it- this would not have occurred to me but is pretty slick (pun intended).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc)

Brian

He needs a longer bar...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 17, 2015, 12:40:57 PM
Yeah.  I don't think I could bend down for more than a few seconds at best.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 17, 2015, 01:01:17 PM
I have to admit it- this would not have occurred to me but is pretty slick (pun intended).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZSmjxBLIc)

Brian

Interesting, but if a skate snags on something and you trip and fall, where does your face go? Right into the chain saw. I guess that's the reason for the full face helmet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 17, 2015, 01:13:10 PM
What are you saying? That this is dangerous? Hmmmm- never thought of that, you may be right. I am going to take off my skates, shut off the chain saw and think about this for a bit.

Brian

Interesting, but if a skate snags on something and you trip and fall, where does your face go? Right into the chain saw. I guess that's the reason for the full face helmet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 17, 2015, 01:18:17 PM
They aren't hover skates are they?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 17, 2015, 01:43:59 PM
What are you saying? That this is dangerous? Hmmmm- never thought of that, you may be right. I am going to take off my skates, shut off the chain saw and think about this for a bit.

Brian

Well in the grand scheme of things, probably not any more dangerous than riding a C14 at 130+... not that any of us have done that  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 17, 2015, 02:01:31 PM
Well, on a serious note: I think a chain saw is probably the most dangerous thing anyone can buy and use. Really. A fantastic tool (I own two of them and heat my house with wood) but almost certainly the least forgiving (commonly available) tool or device made. And when they are sharp, as I keep mine, they are really grabby which makes it really tough to get nicked by one of them. And the wounds they leave behind are an absolute nightmare- there is little left to sew back together and what is there looks like hamburger. Never been hurt with one myself but have seen a few 'incidents' that I would have been just as happy to miss. Also saw a pretty nasty snowblower accident but really, the operator really contributed to his own accident and it was a very old machine- the ones that had the augers turning whenever they were running; today all of them have two dead- man switches on them to prevent exactly what I witnessed.

Personally, I do not find running a modern motorcycle, in good condition, on decent roads, to be all that dangerous. Speed is not nearly as dangerous as the other 'S' word.... stupid, on a motorcycle IMO.

Now, all of that said, it was still a pretty cool video.  ;) ;D

Brian

Well in the grand scheme of things, probably not any more dangerous than riding a C14 at 130+... not that any of us have done that  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 18, 2015, 04:55:29 AM
Well in the grand scheme of things, probably not any more dangerous than riding a C14 at 130+... not that any of us have done that  ;)

Yeah yeah, but can you juggle chain saws at 130?

He's not juggling chainsaws and not moving at 130, but, damn.

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgl4ORcexyA#)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 18, 2015, 05:14:43 AM
That's on the new test for getting a MC license..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 24, 2015, 07:10:15 AM
Went to turn on my 2 year old Dell desktop yesterday and, nothing. Well, almost nothing. I got a solid amber power LED, not good. After some research and trouble shooting it seems that the motherboard bit the dust.  :o

More research and $90 later a replacement is on it's way. It's been a long time since I replaced a motherboard. At least there's plenty of room inside the case.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 24, 2015, 08:04:33 AM
Went down that same road a couple of weeks ago. Old machine, old OS so I just bought a new box. Middle of the road system from Dell, purchased from Best Buy 'cause they had one in stock. After starting to set it up (and really, does that ever end?) I found out it does NOT support RAID. Back to Best Buy and ordered a workstation from Dell. Could not set up RAID on that one either, even with the help of some fine Indian gentleman. Finally got to a better level of tech. support, got RAID working but wiped out the boot drive in the process.... no problem, they sent me a DVD with the OS on it (no software or paper comes with the new machine at all whatsoever) and have been having fun with this one. Winddoze 10 started off with promise but the first three times it "upgraded" itself and then failed to boot afterwards (three different times) it started getting old.

Thinking fondly back to the bad 'ole days of DOS 5.0......

Brian

Went to turn on my 2 year old Dell desktop yesterday and, nothing. Well, almost nothing. I got a solid amber power LED, not good. After some research and trouble shooting it seems that the motherboard bit the dust.  :o

More research and $90 later a replacement is on it's way. It's been a long time since I replaced a motherboard. At least there's plenty of room inside the case.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 24, 2015, 08:09:18 AM
My Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs have been solid.  Starting to think I don't want to go to 10.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 24, 2015, 09:20:06 AM
I have gone to 10 on all but one PC at home and that's the Wife's laptop. She's stubborn for change.
I love 10.
Even my gaming PC is 10 and I Haven't had any issues.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 24, 2015, 09:30:24 AM
Did you do their online upgrade?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 24, 2015, 10:15:23 AM
So here is my advice.
First, start the online update, and do the method where you can download the entire Image to a flash drive.
Then perform the online update on every machine you want to upgrade.
Once you've done the upgrade on each PC, you can then use your USB drive to install 10 fresh and format the drive.
That way you have a clean install on each PC.
Its a bit of a long process, but its a good idea.
Once you have installed Windows 10 on a PC, Microsoft has the "license" stored, so you can reinstall and activate without an issue.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 24, 2015, 11:14:09 AM
How about just going back to xp?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 24, 2015, 11:41:19 AM
XP was a good OS but not as stable as 7 or even 8.1.  I can't recall the number of blue screens I got with XP.  Glad to be off of it.  As long as you are doing nothing new from about  10 years ago you should be fine with it.

The problem is that the more you want to do or require newer peripherals, you have to keep upgrading the OS at some point or buy a new Intel platform.  The same is true of the IBM systems that I support.  You want to do more things you need to keep up with the OS and fix updates.

However, nothing wrong with being a Luddite, Gary.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 24, 2015, 12:38:59 PM
semi-Luddite.....I do have a c14 after all.  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 24, 2015, 12:56:51 PM
Quite right!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 24, 2015, 08:31:25 PM
That is where I was- and really resistant to moving on. But eventually the system becomes obsolescent and finally, obsolete; no more support, no more drivers and especially, no more new software packages that work with it. And besides all of that, new hardware does not support the old OS's. So once the hardware fries, there is little choice but to change eras regarding both the computer and OS, as well as all the software suites that go with it.

The legend with MS GUI systems is that every other one is OK / terrible, starting with windoze 3 (and 3.1), which was awful. Then some fuddling around and finally XP, which was not bad. Vista (terrible), Windoze 7 (not bad) and then the 8- series (lousy interfaces). Now -10, which seems to be quite nice regarding the interface although a little clunky on actual operation and especially, upgrades. But I have only been using the system for a couple of weeks.... spread across two boxes, several drive systems (RAID finally working) and several re-installs of Windoze. The really nice (kind of) part that goes with all of this is that virtually all of my software packages have to be upgraded as well with SolidWorks being quite radical; they have improved it such that I almost cannot use it :-)

At least this new system comes with a fob....

Brian

How about just going back to xp?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 24, 2015, 09:48:58 PM
Winddoze 10 started off with promise but the first three times it "upgraded" itself and then failed to boot afterwards (three different times) it started getting old.

Thinking fondly back to the bad 'ole days of DOS 5.0......

Time for Linux...  my recommendation is Mageia http://www.mageia.org/en/ (http://www.mageia.org/en/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 25, 2015, 08:55:20 AM
The problem is that the machine and OS are specified by the apps I have to run, and they all come down to Windoze. No choice at all. Some apps are available for Macs but few, if any, high- end modeling and analysis programs are written to run on Linux, DOS or anything of the like. The good news is that at least now there is enough 'horsepower' to run these apps on these bloated, clunky and very inefficient OS's; SmartCam, ORCAD and quite a few others ran faster and more reliably back in the 90's under DOS on 486 / first gen. Pentiums than the same software under, say, XP and a dual core processor from the mid- 2000's. Now at least with i7 or Xeon processors, very high buss speeds (my new machine has 2333 MHz RAM buss) and almost infinite storage, at least we can throw a lot of hardware performance at mediocre software, specifically OS's.

Brian

Time for Linux...  my recommendation is Mageia http://www.mageia.org/en/ (http://www.mageia.org/en/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 29, 2015, 07:09:22 AM
Went to turn on my 2 year old Dell desktop yesterday and, nothing. Well, almost nothing. I got a solid amber power LED, not good. After some research and trouble shooting it seems that the motherboard bit the dust.  :o

More research and $90 later a replacement is on it's way. It's been a long time since I replaced a motherboard. At least there's plenty of room inside the case.

Well :censored: !

The replacement motherboard was delivered yesterday and I replaced the old one. No joy.  :(  I'm not even getting the solid amber power LED now, I'm getting NOTHNG! ****.

I guess I'll put the old one back in and see what happens while I negotiate the replacement of the replacement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 29, 2015, 07:24:43 AM
Attention: Installed electronics are non-returnable.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on December 29, 2015, 07:30:47 AM
 Q. Why are computers are just like significant others?

A. You never really appreciate them till they go down on you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 29, 2015, 07:46:50 AM
Attention: Installed electronics are non-returnable.

No mention of this. 30 money back guarantee is what it says.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 29, 2015, 08:27:38 AM
No mention of this. 30 money back guarantee is what it says.
Unusual but good for you if it stands.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on December 29, 2015, 08:31:22 AM
No mention of this. 30 money back guarantee is what it says.

Maybe you can return it within 30 days if its unused??
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 30, 2015, 07:19:37 AM
Attention: Installed electronics are non-returnable.

No mention of this. 30 money back guarantee is what it says.

Unusual but good for you if it stands.

Maybe you can return it within 30 days if its unused??

I just received the ok from the ebay seller to return the item for a full refund, I have to pay return shipping. What's odd about this is that the seller never charged my card for the purchase...  ???

After checking out some info on my dead PC at the Dell site it looked as if I could renew the warranty on my PC (expired 1/15). I applied for the renewal and for ~$150 I can get another year of onsite warranty coverage (w/unlimited hardware replacement). A brand new motherboard (not refurbished) costs $150 from Dell. This looks like a no-brainer. I'll call Dell up first and tell them that the PC is inop and see if I can still get the warranty.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 30, 2015, 08:24:22 AM
I love DELL.
In the corporate world, they are far superior in support.
I realize in home PC, their support is not quite as good.
Good for you for finding that out, I'm embarrassed I didn't think of it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 30, 2015, 09:41:17 AM
NP Brent!   :)

I just purchased the one year warranty renewal for $151. I'll call in to tech support tomorrow (it takes 24 hours to process the renewal) and get the ball rolling on the MB replacement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 30, 2015, 10:44:10 AM
Have you noticed that Dell's India based support and sales has really improved regarding their English skills? Been in touch with them quite a bit in the last couple- 3 weeks and everyone I have spoken with in perfectly understandable, at least to me and I am easily 1/3 deaf.... :-)

Brian

NP Brent!   :)

I just purchased the one year warranty renewal for $151. I'll call in to tech support tomorrow (it takes 24 hours to process the renewal) and get the ball rolling on the MB replacement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 30, 2015, 02:37:11 PM
Now how about this little gem:

"In 19th and early 20th century medicine and psychology, an "idiot" was a person with a very severe intellectual disability. In the early 1900s, Dr. Henry H. Goddard proposed a classification system for intellectual disability based on the Binet-Simon concept of mental age. Individuals with the lowest mental age level (less than three years) were identified as idiots; imbeciles had a mental age of three to seven years, and morons had a mental age of seven to ten years.[8] The term "idiot" was used to refer to people having an IQ below 30.[9][10] IQ, or intelligence quotient, was originally determined by dividing a person's mental age, as determined by standardized tests, by their actual age. The concept of mental age has fallen into disfavor, though, and IQ is now determined on the basis of statistical distributions.[11]

In current American medical classification, these people are now said to have "profound intellectual disability" but this term is not in use in the United Kingdom."

Which begs the question, are there still idiots in the UK while we have eliminated them entirely in the US? How about morons and imbeciles? Could this finally explain why they drive on the wrong, or 'left' side of the road?

Disclaimer: The above is all in good humor and not in any way meant to demean any individual or country. If I was going to demean an entire country, of course I would have published something about the French like the rest of humanity normally does.

Disclaimer #2: The immediately above is another stab at humor. I do not personally believe it is possible for any entire nationality, including the French, could be made up entirely of.... er..... "people of limited abilities". Certainly even in France there is an able, smart person.

Disclaimer #3: The immediately above was another stab at humor although I freely admit I have used the French exclusively. I have no excuse and cannot determine why this is the case. I will study it further and see what I can come up with.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 30, 2015, 02:56:04 PM
Which begs the question, are there still idiots in the UK while we have eliminated them entirely in the US? How about morons and imbeciles? Could this finally explain why they drive on the wrong, or 'left' side of the road?

This is the thread that keeps on giving :)   Cheerio!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on December 30, 2015, 06:57:40 PM


Certainly even in France there is an able, smart person

Brian

 :rotflmao:

Must be the holiday season, Brian. Personally, I think you are being far too kind.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: stevewfl on December 30, 2015, 09:59:25 PM
the struggle is real living alone!  having to decide every night whether to use the charcoal or gas grill (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)

(https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/1918741_1544158289240790_8213409140492822187_n.jpg?oh=36237e719b4da94c61cf5c05e73d454c&oe=56FDFCC4)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 31, 2015, 03:45:45 AM
the struggle is real living alone!  having to decide every night whether to use the charcoal or gas grill


Ahhh, first world problems....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 31, 2015, 06:32:05 AM
Have you noticed that Dell's India based support and sales has really improved regarding their English skills? Been in touch with them quite a bit in the last couple- 3 weeks and everyone I have spoken with in perfectly understandable, at least to me and I am easily 1/3 deaf.... :-)

Brian

Why yes, Brian. I have noticed this.  They may have some odd names but I can understand them perfectly.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 31, 2015, 06:33:54 AM

Which begs the question, are there still idiots in the UK while we have eliminated them entirely in the US? How about morons and imbeciles? Could this finally explain why they drive on the wrong, or 'left' side of the road?

Brian

Eliminated the idiots in the USA? As if. We elect them to office!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 31, 2015, 07:09:02 AM
Which begs the question, are there still idiots in the UK while we have eliminated them entirely in the US? How about morons and imbeciles? Could this finally explain why they drive on the wrong, or 'left' side of the road?

Brian

 >:( :battle:

Just making sure that the sword stays sharp...

http://youtu.be/4fsH_T6XZ6Y (http://youtu.be/4fsH_T6XZ6Y)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 31, 2015, 08:10:50 AM
Agreed on the names- one gentleman I talked to was named 'Spiney' (however that is spelled).

But I give full credit to Dell: they absolutely had a problem, as did a lot of large US mfg.'s when they started to farm out their tech. support to a nation with relatively inexpensive labor but where the native language is not English. The problem was that the tech. support from India was almost incomprehensible a lot of the time. Some US companies have drawn their tech. support back to the US but apparently Dell went a different way and kept their Indian support system but somehow greatly improved the English skills of those folks- no idea what they did but it worked very well IMO.

Like it or not, we live in a global economy; this last Dell box I bought was made in Mexico, sold from India and shipped from Texas (I assume trucked over the border- it was only a few miles from point of mfg. in Mexico to point of shipping from the US). But if a large company such as Dell is going to provide most telephone services (and sales is also now in India apparently) to the US from a foreign country, they have to make communication at least feasible.

By the way: I am pretty much liking Windoze 10. And the new box is pretty snappy too- an I7 Core @4 GHz, 16 GB of 2333 MHz ram, a RAID 1 system with 2 TB hard drives (each) and a modestly fast Nvidia graphics card; overall performance is, of course, fast but it also chews through some fairly large scale 3D models with over 12K components, all rendered. Pretty impressive as a workstation and not all that expensive.

Brian

Why yes, Brian. I have noticed this.  They may have some odd names but I can understand them perfectly.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 31, 2015, 08:14:41 AM
Possibly Dell has been listening to customer complaints on their customer service.  I have one corporate client that got so frustrated with them (Indian support) that he threatened to throw out all their Dell equipment unless he got someone to talk to over here.  They listened.  He doesn't have Indian CS anymore.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 31, 2015, 11:27:24 AM
Exactly- Dell saw the problem (or was slammed up against the head by it repeatedly, it makes no difference) and fixed it IMO and in my recent experience. I have absolutely no problem with tech. support (or sales or any other dept.) of a company being located in India or wherever else they choose but it is absolutely required that I can communicate with whoever answers the phone. My recent experience has been good to very good- some of the people I spoke to were fluent, had excellent enunciation and relatively minor accents in colloquial US English. Some were not quite as good and I had to ask them to repeat themselves but again, only 2 or 3 times for the entire call so I consider that very good.

We are all odd people as consumers: we demand the lowest possible prices but at the same time, want and expect the best possible product and service. As those two things are just not possible at the same time, I think Dell has done a good job of addressing both issues. And I paid for three years of premium support so I actually spent a few shekels for the phone support I have received and I am still satisfied.

Brian

Possibly Dell has been listening to customer complaints on their customer service.  I have one corporate client that got so frustrated with them (Indian support) that he threatened to throw out all their Dell equipment unless he got someone to talk to over here.  They listened.  He doesn't have Indian CS anymore.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 01, 2016, 05:13:46 AM
We've turned the corner on the New Year. (Not much different than the old year, but I digress.)

Just curious about what you intend to accomplish this year, on and off the bike.

As for me, sale of a house in north-central Missouri is high on the list -- this house has been on the market since April with only a couple of showings. We've dropped the price considerably, but evidently not enough to move it. After that, the challenge will be to figure out how we can move the rest of the contents of a 4400 sf house into a 1400 sf rental house. Something tells me that selling stuff (never an easy thing to do) or incurring storage expenses are in our future.  :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 01, 2016, 12:38:38 PM
Just bought a huge liquor cabinet!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 01, 2016, 01:05:17 PM
Just bought a huge liquor cabinet!

Now all you have to do is buy the liquor. Right?

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=20633.0 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=20633.0)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 01, 2016, 01:06:32 PM
I'm a thinking not....  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 01, 2016, 01:10:31 PM
I'm a thinking not....  ;)

Ah, but an empty liquor cabinet is ... rather ...

forlorn...

 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 01, 2016, 01:23:25 PM
Well, they are delivering it this afternoon and shortly after they leave it will be full.  I've got 'full' bottles all over the house.  It's going to be nice to have them in one place with locks on the door.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 01, 2016, 01:30:11 PM
Well, they are delivering it this afternoon and shortly after they leave it will be full.  I've got 'full' bottles all over the house.  It's going to be nice to have them in one place with locks on the door.

Locks on the door? Protecting those bottles from whom? lol
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 01, 2016, 01:34:11 PM
The grandkids.  Not that they've exhibited any tendency to pilfer but if the temptation is at least partly removed, I think it will help overall.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 01, 2016, 02:06:27 PM
The grandkids.  Not that they've exhibited any tendency to pilfer but if the temptation is at least partly removed, I think it will help overall.

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on January 01, 2016, 05:48:53 PM
We've turned the corner on the New Year. (Not much different than the old year, but I digress.)

Just curious about what you intend to accomplish this year, on and off the bike.

As for me, sale of a house in north-central Missouri is high on the list -- this house has been on the market since April with only a couple of showings. We've dropped the price considerably, but evidently not enough to move it. After that, the challenge will be to figure out how we can move the rest of the contents of a 4400 sf house into a 1400 sf rental house. Something tells me that selling stuff (never an easy thing to do) or incurring storage expenses are in our future.  :P

I just moved, and it became obvious that downsizing was needed. In other words, I learned I'm a lil bit of a hoarder. Maybe more than a lil bit. I dunno what the traffic passing your place is like, but my downsizing method might work for you: Involved setting up a plywood and sawhorse table out by the road, with a big FREE sign stuck in the ground ... and day by day I'd re-load the table with more 'stuff' ... and every bit of that crap was hauled away. Actually quite entertaining to watch it play out. Also liberating.

Oh, I actually had to screw the plywood to the fence and to the sawhorse, cuz my 'customers' were trying to take that, too. I walked out to add more stuff to the table and found a little kid trying to pull the sawhorse over to his lazy mama's car. Finally had to close shop and bring the plywood & 'horse back to the house when I found gashes in the plywood and sawhorses from somebody trying to pry it apart. I guess screwing it all firmly together was not an obvious enough indication that the free stuff did not include those items. We had pretty much run out of treasures to give away anyway.

Now that I think about it, kinda surprised nobody took my FREE sign. I guess scavengers have their limitations.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 01, 2016, 06:14:05 PM
I just moved, and it became obvious that downsizing was needed. In other words, I learned I'm a lil bit of a hoarder. Maybe more than a lil bit. I dunno what the traffic passing your place is like, but my downsizing method might work for you: Involved setting up a plywood and sawhorse table out by the road, with a big FREE sign stuck in the ground ... and day by day I'd re-load the table with more 'stuff' ... and every bit of that crap was hauled away. Actually quite entertaining to watch it play out. Also liberating.

Oh, I actually had to screw the plywood to the fence and to the sawhorse, cuz my 'customers' were trying to take that, too. I walked out to add more stuff to the table and found a little kid trying to pull the sawhorse over to his lazy mama's car. Finally had to close shop and bring the plywood & 'horse back to the house when I found gashes in the plywood and sawhorses from somebody trying to pry it apart. I guess screwing it all firmly together was not an obvious enough indication that the free stuff did not include those items. We had pretty much run out of treasures to give away anyway.

Now that I think about it, kinda surprised nobody took my FREE sign. I guess scavengers have their limitations.

It's a quarter-mile gravel road, ergo not much traffic. And since we've already moved, there isn't a lot of time to hang around and babysit stuff. Actually, we've already purged that junk we all seem to hoard, so everything that is left we want to keep. The company is obligated to reimburse us for packout, so it's a matter of finding a place to store this stuff until we make our final move.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 02, 2016, 05:23:17 PM
Wow, I was just thinking about joining this religion WHEN SUDDENLY: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/01/01/georgia-pastafarian-will-have-to-retake-drivers-license-photo-without-the-colander-on-his-head/ (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/01/01/georgia-pastafarian-will-have-to-retake-drivers-license-photo-without-the-colander-on-his-head/)

Now, I do not live in Georgia so I am not sure if this is of any relevance to me at all or not. ?? And Pastfarism was already my second choice, right behind Kirbyism (the strong inclination toward the desiccated.....).

So many choices..... so little time.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 02, 2016, 06:04:01 PM
Is the pastafarian a disciple of the flying spaghetti monster?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on January 02, 2016, 07:52:21 PM
Is the pastafarian a disciple of the flying spaghetti monster?

 :thumbs:


(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/Touched_by_His_Noodly_Appendage.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 03, 2016, 07:03:01 AM
Wow, I was just thinking about joining this religion WHEN SUDDENLY: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/01/01/georgia-pastafarian-will-have-to-retake-drivers-license-photo-without-the-colander-on-his-head/ (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/01/01/georgia-pastafarian-will-have-to-retake-drivers-license-photo-without-the-colander-on-his-head/)

Now, I do not live in Georgia so I am not sure if this is of any relevance to me at all or not. ?? And Pastfarism was already my second choice, right behind Kirbyism (the strong inclination toward the desiccated.....).

So many choices..... so little time.

Brian

I see the issue. He should have had some cooked (al dente of course) pasta in the colander before placing it on his head.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 06, 2016, 04:53:36 AM
NP Brent!   :)

I just purchased the one year warranty renewal for $151. I'll call in to tech support tomorrow (it takes 24 hours to process the renewal) and get the ball rolling on the MB replacement.

Two Dell (subcontracted) techs came by yesterday with a new motherboard. My PC is back up and running just fine.    :)

I'm actually shocked that Dell would let me renew the warranty on a broken PC.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on January 06, 2016, 06:21:35 AM
Two Dell (subcontracted) techs came by yesterday with a new motherboard. My PC is back up and running just fine.    :)

I'm actually shocked that Dell would let me renew the warranty on a broken PC.

Why not? We renew contracts with broken politicians for years on end...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 06, 2016, 06:36:55 AM
Why not? We renew contracts with broken politicians for years on end...
:)
They're not broken...that would assume they were once alright.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 06, 2016, 06:43:47 AM
For something a bit different... Further proof we, as a species, are DOOMED.
Headline from Drudge early this morning... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/05/vaginal-speaker-foetuses-babypod-music (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/05/vaginal-speaker-foetuses-babypod-music)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 06, 2016, 08:26:45 AM
For something a bit different... Further proof we, as a species, are DOOMED.
Headline from Drudge early this morning... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/05/vaginal-speaker-foetuses-babypod-music (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/05/vaginal-speaker-foetuses-babypod-music)

Butt, butt, butt, where does the subwoofer go?  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 06, 2016, 09:06:22 AM
Butt, butt, butt, where does the subwoofer go?  ;)

Oooh that's a good one.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 06, 2016, 10:35:04 AM
Gives a whole new meaning to 'boom box'.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on January 06, 2016, 11:32:53 AM
Huey Lewis' "Working for a living" could be good. Or perhaps Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jimmymac on January 06, 2016, 11:43:32 AM
Here's a pic of my fast bike, and toolbox.
(http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp236/Jimmymac25/phone%20pics%20140_zpstzm5yojz.jpg) (http://s415.photobucket.com/user/Jimmymac25/media/phone%20pics%20140_zpstzm5yojz.jpg.html)

It's January, and I'm bored. ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 06, 2016, 12:31:32 PM
Huey Lewis' "Working for a living" could be good. Or perhaps Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue".

I wonder if the babe would like this one?

Assholes On Parade
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgH6wOGmOFE#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 09, 2016, 07:42:12 AM
I just bought a new cordless phone set.  Biggest selling point was it's ability to block up to 250 numbers!  I'm having quite the time hitting the block button!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 19, 2016, 10:14:38 AM
The last fatal duel in Scotland took place in a field to the west of Kirkcaldy, Fife, on August 23, 1826. D.M
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 19, 2016, 10:38:51 AM
The last fatal duel in Scotland took place in a field to the west of Kirkcaldy, Fife, on August 23, 1826. D.M

Duels (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_duels), interesting topic.
Amazing how there are so many politicians in the mix. Who knew that politics stirred such passion.  :rotflmao: 
Have there been any arising out of the arena?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 19, 2016, 10:56:20 AM
Not that I'm aware of.   We frown upon the members trying to kill each other.   Bad form, you know.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 19, 2016, 11:18:25 AM
Not that I'm aware of.   We frown upon the members trying to kill each other.   Bad form, you know.

Plus the mess, who's gonna clean that up anyways?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 19, 2016, 01:24:49 PM
Not me, that's for sure.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 19, 2016, 01:59:57 PM
Not really necessary if the dueling is done outside- all the organics just sort of..... dry up and rot.

Say what you want about dueling but 1) it absolutely does end the argument (if done correctly) and 2) makes people a bit more respectful. Why just look at all the jokes that no one made after a while about Andrew Jackson marrying an [already married] woman. He just thinned the herd down a bit. Sure he caught a couple of pistol balls along the way but he did not let that slow him down much (probably why they called him "Old Hickory").

As the story goes: when Andrew Jackson died, there were two house servants present. One turned to the other and asked if she thought General Jackson was in heaven. To which the second servant stated: if General Jackson wants to be in heaven, who could stop him? Not a bad epitaph, true or not.

Brian

Plus the mess, who's gonna clean that up anyways?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 30, 2016, 06:28:59 AM
Brainiac criminal...

A Polo, IL man has been arrested following an armed robbery that took place at a gas station in the village last night.

21-year old Damian Wilson was arrested on the felony offense of aggravated robbery.

Police received word of the hold-up a short time after 9:30. The male subject apparently entered the Shell gas station at 202 Division Avenue and obtained a beverage. As the transaction took place, Wilson told the employee that he wanted all of the money in the cash register. He then placed a handgun on the counter which was later found out by police to be a BB gun.

No one suffered any injuries from the incident.

Reports indicate that Wilson left the store and then returned and placed the money back on the counter as he knew that the worker had called the police. The employee knew  Wilson.    :o

Polo police responded to Wilson's home and he was taken into custody without incident.

Wilson is expected to appear before a judge in Oregon later today when bond will be set on the felony offense.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on February 04, 2016, 10:48:57 AM
I just found out my Amazon Echo can play Pandora.
Apparently it already knew how and I didn't know.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 09:01:10 AM
Looks like winter finally arrived in the Northeast US- yea! Temps. below freezing for the next 10 days and dipping below zero on a couple of nights (this is the normal 'cold' point of our winter). It has been in the 50's / 60's lately and I was worried that we might miss winter entirely.

:-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 08, 2016, 09:21:21 AM
I just found out my Amazon Echo can play Pandora.
Apparently it already knew how and I didn't know.

Amazon must have spent $50,000,000 or more advertising Echo in the Super Bowl with Alec Baldwin.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 12:15:47 PM
Maybe not that much- he screams at and berates his daughter for free, apparently.  ;)

How was the half- time show? I heard some rumblings that it was going to be a bit..... politically biased. Was it?

Brian

Amazon must have spent $50,000,000 or more advertising Echo in the Super Bowl with Alec Baldwin.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 08, 2016, 12:54:31 PM
Maybe not that much- he screams at and berates his daughter for free, apparently.  ;)

How was the half- time show? I heard some rumblings that it was going to be a bit..... politically biased. Was it?

Brian

Not that I saw. Lots of love and rainbows but nothing overtly political IMO. I thought Coldplay did a good job. Bruno Mars is a better dancer than I knew. And Beyonce was... well Beyonce. Just saw an article that Metallica was supposed to do a cameo but backstage James Hetfield and Chris Martin got into a brouhaha over some celery sticks and Metallica left the building. But I have no idea if that was true.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 08, 2016, 01:00:13 PM
Maybe not that much- he screams at and berates his daughter for free, apparently.  ;)

How was the half- time show? I heard some rumblings that it was going to be a bit..... politically biased. Was it?

Brian

Beyonce Kardashian 's new music vid plays to a particular audience but it didn't seem too apparent at halftime. Might be 'cause I have a hard time understanding the words.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 01:54:47 PM
Yep, that is along the idea of what I was told was coming, before the game. Just tripped over this piece of news:

"Rudy Giuliani condemns Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime performance as an 'outrageous' 'platform to attack police officers'"

Brian

Beyonce Kardashian 's new music vid plays to a particular audience but it didn't seem too apparent at halftime. Might be 'cause I have a hard time understanding the words.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 08, 2016, 01:58:44 PM
Yep, that is along the idea of what I was told was coming, before the game. Just tripped over this piece of news:

"Rudy Giuliani condemns Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime performance as an 'outrageous' 'platform to attack police officers'"

Brian

I guess I missed it but like GP, I have no idea what the words were.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 02:08:02 PM
Ah yes, that is called 'lyricosis' and I have it as well, especially with the younger kid's music (or whatever that stuff is). Lycicosis makes it really tough to follow along with some songs, such as 'Rudolph, the red nosed Reindeer", most people do not realize there are actually 10 reindeer in all. You can tell this by the lines: "Olive, the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names." Or, the ever- popular Bruce Springsteen line: 'Revved up like a douche, another rubber in the night.'  Irregardless, it is still pretty amusing.

 ;D

Brian

I guess I missed it but like GP, I have no idea what the words were.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on February 08, 2016, 02:28:35 PM
Or in "God Bless America" the words are ".... stand beside her and guide her, through the night, with a light from a bulb."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 08, 2016, 03:24:27 PM
I've always had a problem with Pink Floyd: "You! Yes you! Stand still laddie!". I've read that's what the lyrics are but it doesn't sound like "laddie" to me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 08, 2016, 03:43:21 PM
Ha...It's not me. Here's a sample of the lyrics from the halftime song...

Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess
Paparazzi, catch my fly, and my cocky fresh
I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin')
I'm so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces
My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana
You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama
I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros
I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils
Earned all this money but they never take the country out me
I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag


There's much more but.... :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on February 08, 2016, 03:52:14 PM
Ah yes, that is called 'lyricosis' and I have it as well, especially with the younger kid's music (or whatever that stuff is). Lycicosis makes it really tough to follow along with some songs, such as 'Rudolph, the red nosed Reindeer", most people do not realize there are actually 10 reindeer in all. You can tell this by the lines: "Olive, the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names." Or, the ever- popular Bruce Springsteen line: 'Revved up like a douche, another rubber in the night.'  Irregardless, it is still pretty amusing.

 ;D

Brian

I don't think those lyrics are from a Springsteen song. It will come to me,  just can't name it at the moment.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 03:52:20 PM
If you run that through Google translator, what do you put in for the parent language? (a really big Easy Boys here....).

Brian

Ha...It's not me. Here's a sample of the lyrics from the halftime song...

Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess
Paparazzi, catch my fly, and my cocky fresh
I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin')
I'm so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces
My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana
You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama
I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros
I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils
Earned all this money but they never take the country out me
I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag


There's much more but.... :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 03:56:26 PM
"Blinded by the Light", Bruce Springsteen, original version 1977.

The second and third lines of the song, when heard by those suffering from lyricosis (like me), sounds like "Revved up like a douche, another rubber in the night."  What the lines actually say is "Revved up like a duce, another runner in the night.", referring to a duce coupe custom rod out street racing at night.

Unless you meant the "Olive, the other reindeer...." at which point I would agree with you, not Bruce Springsteen....  ;D

Brian

I don't think those lyrics are from a Springsteen song. It will come to me,  just can't name it at the moment.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 08, 2016, 03:57:23 PM
I don't think those lyrics are from a Springsteen song. It will come to me,  just can't name it at the moment.
Manfred Mann

Lyrics[edit]
Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song features several changed lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with "revved up like a deuce."[2][3][4] This is commonly misheard as "wrapped up like a douche" (the V sound in "revved" is almost unpronounced, and the S sound in "deuce" comes across as "SH" due to a significant lisp).[5][6] Springsteen himself has joked about the controversy, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular.[7]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on February 08, 2016, 04:28:34 PM
Is this happening anywhere else or is it just the result of inbreeding around here?

(http://www.f150forum.com/attachments/f2/254280d1378687614t-how-bout-carolina-squat-image.jpg)

(http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=89689&stc=1&d=1390745444)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on February 08, 2016, 04:37:19 PM
Idiots. I saw a couple out here too, I wish they would go back home.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 04:51:30 PM
Mann did cover the song but it was written and performed by Springsteen first. From Wikepedia (enough integrity for this subject I think):


Begin quoted text[
"Blinded by the Light" is a song written and originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen, although it is mostly known by its 1977 #1 hit version recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Mann's remake was released in the United Kingdom in August 1976, where it reached No. 6 in the BMRB[1] charts.

Contents  [hide]
1   History
1.1   Lyrics
1.2   Cover versions and reissues
2   Personnel
2.1   Original version
2.2   Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover
3   References
4   External links
History[edit]
The song came about when Columbia president Clive Davis, upon listening to an early version of Greetings from Asbury Park N.J., felt the album lacked a potential single. Springsteen wrote this and "Spirit in the Night" in response.

According to Springsteen, the song came about from going through a rhyming dictionary in search of appropriate words. The first line of the song, "Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summers with a teenage diplomat" is autobiographical—"Madman drummers" is a reference to drummer Vini Lopez, known as "Mad Man" (later changed to "Mad Dog"); "Indians in the summer" refers to the name of Springsteen's old Little League team; "teenage diplomat" refers to himself. The remainder of the song tells of many unrelated events, with the refrain of "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night".

"Blinded by the Light" was the first song on, and first single from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen's version was commercially unsuccessful and did not appear on the music charts.

Lyrics[edit]
Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song features several changed lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with "revved up like a deuce."[2][3][4] This is commonly misheard as "wrapped up like a douche" (the V sound in "revved" is almost unpronounced, and the S sound in "deuce" comes across as "SH" due to a significant lisp).[5][6] Springsteen himself has joked about the controversy, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular.[7]
End quoted text]

Brian

Manfred Mann

Lyrics[edit]
Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song features several changed lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with "revved up like a deuce."[2][3][4] This is commonly misheard as "wrapped up like a douche" (the V sound in "revved" is almost unpronounced, and the S sound in "deuce" comes across as "SH" due to a significant lisp).[5][6] Springsteen himself has joked about the controversy, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular.[7]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 08, 2016, 04:52:47 PM
But what if they ARE ALREADY home?

 :rotflmao:

Clearly the gene pool could use a little more chlorine....

Brian

Idiots. I saw a couple out here too, I wish they would go back home.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on February 08, 2016, 05:01:38 PM
Anything for attention, even if it means lookin' like a tard.

No offense to any tards reading this.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 08, 2016, 05:42:39 PM
Is this happening anywhere else or is it just the result of inbreeding around here?

(http://www.f150forum.com/attachments/f2/254280d1378687614t-how-bout-carolina-squat-image.jpg)

(http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=89689&stc=1&d=1390745444)

One of the more stupid things I've seen.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on February 08, 2016, 10:47:48 PM
Just 'cause I'm a nice guy, ((http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/pinocchio-smiley.gif)) I went searching
and here is what I found on another forum.
Quote from: Schadenfreuda of the AR15.com forum
Well, I used to work for a company called National Spring in San Diego, CA...We did a LOT of off-road suspensions.

So...

When you see a truck higher in the front there are a few reasons.

1) Owner will actually use it as designed, with a softer lift in front to take-up the torture caused by getting air-born and landing on the front suspension first. A softer, yet strong suspension will need to have a lot of travel in the suspension to do both.

2) Owner bought a cheap set of front coils and did not match it to the rear springs. Sometimes the owner will think it looks cool and leave it that way.

3) Owner paid someone in beer to install a lift kit.

4) Owner used longer shackles in back to make truck higher in back...and springs sagged 6 months afterward, never replaced.

5) On two-wheel drive trucks (pre-runners), owner did not want the rear drive-shaft angle to be too extreme, so it was left lower
.

I think the gene pool question might be closer to the truth as neither truck looks like airborne material to me, but admittedly I'm not a truck guy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 09, 2016, 03:33:30 AM
I think someone made a mistake and then another moron said I like this look and there you go.  Only time I've seen trucks like that would be if they were overloaded.  As a look per se, it sucks big time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 09, 2016, 05:10:39 AM
Anything for attention, even if it means lookin' like a tard.

No offense to any tards reading this.

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on February 09, 2016, 04:38:12 PM
I've also come to realize this.

Expecting anyone dumb enough to do this to a truck to adjust their headlights to keep from blinding others with their stupidity would be asking too much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 10, 2016, 04:43:13 AM
I've also come to realize this.

Expecting anyone dumb enough to do this to a truck to adjust their headlights to keep from blinding others with their stupidity would be asking too much.

I'm thinking that with the angle of lift that their headlights are going to go over everyone's head anyways, except maybe big rigs. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 02, 2016, 06:45:44 AM
I just came back from a two week vacation (my wife's vacation not mine since I'm retired  :) ) visiting the Mouse in Florida.  :thumbs:

We drove the RV down. I was really amazed at the number of Jesus Saves (and similar) billboards down south. I have to wonder just how many folks have been 'saved', converted, and/or helped in any way shape or form by these ads? My guess is ZERO.

Why do these churches waste their parishioners money on this? That money would be WAY better served helping folks who really need help instead of these 'feel good' billboards.

Does Jesus really need to be advertised? If so better call Don Draper. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2016, 06:57:19 AM
Who's Don Draper?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 02, 2016, 07:19:17 AM
You don't know Don?

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Don_Draper_Wiki.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on March 02, 2016, 03:09:00 PM
I just came back from a two week vacation (my wife's vacation not mine since I'm retired  :) ) visiting the Mouse in Florida.  :thumbs:

We drove the RV down. I was really amazed at the number of Jesus Saves (and similar) billboards down south. I have to wonder just how many folks have been 'saved', converted, and/or helped in any way shape or form by these ads? My guess is ZERO.

I spoze Florida is one end of the Bible Belt, although I've generally felt like that term was more intended for LA, AR, MS, AL and into GA.

Quote
Why do these churches waste their parishioners money on this? That money would be WAY better served helping folks who really need help instead of these 'feel good' billboards.

Does Jesus really need to be advertised? If so better call Don Draper.

Prob about the same as any advertising: The more you get eyeballs looking at your message, the better you do. Do you see a Coke billboard and think, 'What a waste, that's not going to make anybody drink a Coke'? I'm sure Coke thinks it will  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 02, 2016, 03:24:32 PM
My buddy back in CO was having breakfast this morning when he hears a big thump. He goes outside and there is a burning caracas of an airplane across the street.

http://gazette.com/plane-crash-reported-near-palmer-lake/article/1571266 (http://gazette.com/plane-crash-reported-near-palmer-lake/article/1571266)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2016, 03:32:28 PM
Where were the bodies?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 02, 2016, 03:59:10 PM
He unfortunately saw one. He wished he hadn't.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2016, 04:24:06 PM
Crispy, no doubt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 02, 2016, 04:31:43 PM
He unfortunately saw one. He wished he hadn't.

Something you just can't "unsee"

Although, interestingly, scientists are working on actual (for real) traumatic memory event erasure.  Right now they have it working for certain phobias.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2016, 04:50:11 PM
Something you just can't "unsee"

Although, interestingly, scientists are working on actual (for real) traumatic memory event erasure.  Right now they have it working for certain phobias.

It's called whiskey....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 02, 2016, 05:12:13 PM
It's called whiskey....

I think that is probably only temporary, though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 02, 2016, 05:32:56 PM
I think that is probably only temporary, though.

It's called whiskey....

Vodka and heroin allowed me to bury a lot of memories for several years. I sincerely do NOT recommended that course of action.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2016, 05:39:50 PM
I think that is probably only temporary, though.
Only if you quit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2016, 05:41:00 PM
Vodka and heroin allowed me to bury a lot of memories for several years. I sincerely do NOT recommended that course of action.
That would do it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AlbertaDoug on March 02, 2016, 08:26:27 PM
Vodka and heroin allowed me to bury a lot of memories for several years. I sincerely do NOT recommended that course of action.





Nice.  8).  :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: rhhall on March 02, 2016, 11:43:43 PM
:rotflmao:

Never go full retard
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 08, 2016, 09:14:13 AM
Saw this headline: "Trump defends loyalty pledges at rallies, ‘surprised’ by Hitler comparisons"  and found it pretty amazing. Clearly they are very different- Hitler had a mustache....

 ::) ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 08, 2016, 03:19:16 PM
Saw this headline: "Trump defends loyalty pledges at rallies,

Did he?  He is extremely AGAINST loyalty pledges and was instrumental at getting it taken off the Virginia primaries (which is a good thing).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-gop-drops-plan-for-loyalty-pledge-but-maybe-too-late-for-primary/2016/01/30/2c65d7a8-c799-11e5-a4aa-f25866ba0dc6_story.html (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-gop-drops-plan-for-loyalty-pledge-but-maybe-too-late-for-primary/2016/01/30/2c65d7a8-c799-11e5-a4aa-f25866ba0dc6_story.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 08, 2016, 04:18:04 PM
I guess it depends on who's the pledger and who's the pledgee.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 09, 2016, 04:56:20 AM
Saw this headline: "Trump defends loyalty pledges at rallies, ‘surprised’ by Hitler comparisons"  and found it pretty amazing. Clearly they are very different- Hitler had a mustache....

 ::) ;D

Brian

Speaking of Hitler's mustache. Did you know that the reason he sported such a funky mustache was so he didn't have any leaks in his gas mask? 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 09, 2016, 05:43:03 AM
Yeah, I saw that given as a reason on a TV show not too long ago. Not sure it is correct though because there is a photo of him attending a rally in 1919, well after WWI ended, with a full mustache.

Two things are certain though: that man ruined the toothbrush mustache for all time (have you ever seen one on any person after WWII?) and nobody but nobody names their child Adolph.

He has some relatives apparently living in the US, children of a cousin or something similar. But they use a different last name- not a big surprise there.

Brian

Speaking of Hitler's mustache. Did you know that the reason he sported such a funky mustache was so he didn't have any leaks in his gas mask?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 09, 2016, 06:14:46 AM
If his moustache had to be THAT short for his gas mask to seal, I want to see that gas mask.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 09, 2016, 06:53:03 AM
Yes he totally ruined toothbrush mustaches and nobody will ever use his first or last name again but he did give us thousands of funny youtube parody vids.

http://youtu.be/KSD0Mjt64LQ (http://youtu.be/KSD0Mjt64LQ)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 10, 2016, 06:50:58 PM
The first plan to assassinate Fidel Castro involved poisoning his wetsuit.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tonedeaf1 on March 10, 2016, 08:25:50 PM
Would it be inappropriate in a thread about nothing to note that the thread has over 380,000 views? (In mean, doesn't that sort of make it less about nothing?)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 10, 2016, 09:17:02 PM
Would it be inappropriate in a thread about nothing to note that the thread has over 380,000 views? (In mean, doesn't that sort of make it less about nothing?)

You are implying that a whole lot of nothing is equal to something.  Must be that "new math" I keep hearing about?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: kwakrider on March 11, 2016, 01:55:47 AM
It's called "creative accounting"!  ;D ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 11, 2016, 04:04:08 AM
Would it be inappropriate in a thread about nothing to note that the thread has over 380,000 views? (In mean, doesn't that sort of make it less about nothing?)

It reflects the will of the people...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 11, 2016, 04:13:35 AM
It reflects the will of the people...

Are you running for higher office?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 11, 2016, 04:59:02 AM
Are you running for higher office?

Or just high at the office?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 11, 2016, 05:08:00 AM
I don't think Jim can run being that he's Canadian or something.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 11, 2016, 05:27:55 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 11, 2016, 05:58:55 AM
To the both of you.... :battle: And I mean this in the kindest of ways...   Actually it's England, not Canada.  Slight difference.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 11, 2016, 07:20:48 AM
To the both of you.... :battle: And I mean this in the kindest of ways...   Actually it's England, not Canada.  Slight difference.

Yeah, a little different. The spelling mostly.    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 11, 2016, 07:36:31 AM
Yeah, a little different. The spelling mostly.    ;)
...and maybe that love/hate relationship with the French.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 11, 2016, 02:57:37 PM
Actually it's England, not Canada.  Slight difference.

Oh, you mean Britain...
Or perhaps UK....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 11, 2016, 03:20:48 PM
Oh, you mean Britain...
Or perhaps UK....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10)

Max, did you not notice the mandress with the red cross he's wearing? If that's not ole England.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 11, 2016, 03:31:24 PM
I've never heard of English bacon.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 11, 2016, 03:37:56 PM
Max, did you not notice the mandress with the red cross he's wearing? If that's not ole England.....

You need to watch that video (which is both crazy and yet great).  Someone who is English *is* British!  (Despite that England thinks it is a country, as does Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland, they really aren't by most definitions.  It would be like Virginia claiming it is a country.)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 11, 2016, 03:40:01 PM
What about Texas?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 11, 2016, 05:24:51 PM
You need to watch that video (which is both crazy and yet great).  Someone who is English *is* British!  (Despite that England thinks it is a country, as does Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland, they really aren't by most definitions.  It would be like Virginia claiming it is a country.)

It is a Commonwealth.

Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic". The English noun "commonwealth" in the sense meaning "public welfare; general good or advantage" dates from the 15th century.

My mother was English, my father American.  I was born in England, not Scotland, not Wales, not Northern Ireland.  Look at the flag under my avatar.  It is the St. George's Cross.  It's not Scottish, Welsh, nor Northern Irish. I consider myself both US and English and in fact can claim citizenship to either the US or the United Kingdom depending on how the wind blows.  I identify with England proper, however.

Hope that clears up things.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 12, 2016, 01:00:54 AM
And I was born in Virginia, and hence, a Virginian (and both my parents and all their parents were Virginian too).  And, Virginia is a Commonwealth too.  I like the Virginia flag/seal. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 12, 2016, 06:31:22 AM
What about Texas?

Exactly!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on March 13, 2016, 10:04:55 PM



What about Texas?
Exactly!

fyi: http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php?topic=64396.msg519142#msg519142 (http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php?topic=64396.msg519142#msg519142)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 28, 2016, 05:44:09 PM
I like Scotch.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 28, 2016, 05:58:10 PM
Isn't that like...bourbon gone bad or something?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 28, 2016, 06:12:30 PM
 :battle: :yikes: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on March 28, 2016, 11:44:54 PM
I consider myself both US and English and in fact can claim citizenship to either the US or the United Kingdom depending on how the wind blows.  I identify with England proper, however.
Hope that clears up things.

So you're half U.S. and half French-Norwegian then?   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 29, 2016, 06:49:01 AM
It's funny you should say that...did a dna thing with ancestry and that's basically what it showed.  Makes sense considering the British Isles were invaded by both the Vikings and the French (Normans) at some point, but what I don't understand is why there is just a touch of Polynesian in the mix.  How the heck did that get there unless it was through early exploration (easy boys) in the Pacific by the English?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on March 30, 2016, 06:55:08 AM
It's funny you should say that...did a dna thing with ancestry and that's basically what it showed.  Makes sense considering the British Isles were invaded by both the Vikings and the French (Normans) at some point, but what I don't understand is why there is just a touch of Polynesian in the mix.  How the heck did that get there unless it was through early exploration (easy boys) in the Pacific by the English?

Fairly certain that the Normans already had the Viking in them, that is they were a mix of French and Vikings..."Norman" coming from "Northmen".
Now as for that Polynesian bit...well using the History Channel's "Vikings" show/drama as my source ::)..perhaps that lassie claiming to be the emperor's daughter
is more Hawaiian than Chinese?   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 30, 2016, 07:34:55 AM
I also found out that I had absolutely no American Indian dna as the lore within the family said we did.  When I told my cousin this she wouldn't believe it as the lore (lie) has been passed around for so long that she didn't believe the science.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on March 30, 2016, 07:36:37 AM
Fairly certain that the Normans already had the Viking in them, that is they were a mix of French and Vikings..."Norman" coming from "Northmen".
Now as for that Polynesian bit...well using the History Channel's "Vikings" show/drama as my source ::)..perhaps that lassie claiming to be the emperor's daughter
is more Hawaiian than Chinese?   ;D
Are you implying that Virginia Jim has even MORE royal blood coursing through his veins?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 30, 2016, 11:59:00 AM
I received two calls on my cell yesterday. One with a phone number of 0 and the other 0000000000. I'm pretty sure that the operator isn't calling me since no message was left and I didn't pick up. If the spammers are going to spoof a phone number shouldn't they at least use a 'real' looking phone number? 

I'm pretty sure that it was Rachel.    ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 30, 2016, 12:19:38 PM
I received two calls on my cell yesterday. One with a phone number of 0 and the other 0000000000. I'm pretty sure that the operator isn't calling me since no message was left and I didn't pick up. If the spammers are going to spoof a phone number shouldn't they at least use a 'real' looking phone number? 

I'm pretty sure that it was Rachel.    ::)

My wife has been getting 2 calls a day from Rachel on her cell phone lately. The few times it has happened while I was there, I told her to hand the phone to me but she won't do it because she knows I like talking to Rachel:

Rachel: Am I talking to Betsy?
me in my lowest voice: yes...

or

Rachel: Are you interested in lowering your credit card interest?
me: actually I am concerned I'm not paying enough. How can I get a higher interest rate?

or

Rachel: Are you interested in lowering your credit card interest?
me: hey baby, what are you wearing?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 30, 2016, 12:31:51 PM
Khakis..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 30, 2016, 12:34:53 PM
 :rotflmao: Took me a moment to get it... Jake... from State Farm...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 30, 2016, 04:53:41 PM
 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on March 31, 2016, 08:52:51 AM
Are you implying that Virginia Jim has even MORE royal blood coursing through his veins?

Yes and no, too much royal blood and you get that weak chin inbreeding type limited gene pool problem, so no; however more royal blood from a different royalty strain
like from a Polynesian/Chinese/oriental royal family, well that would be a yes. It would explain a lot of what we see here.    (http://www.allmystery.de/i/t84902c_king-dictator.gif) 


 :P ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on March 31, 2016, 02:20:48 PM
Can we go back to Scotch (whisky) now?

Either that or Jameson's. I'm good either way.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on March 31, 2016, 04:28:26 PM
Can we go back to Scotch (whisky) now?

Either that or Jameson's. I'm good either way.

Bushmills
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on April 01, 2016, 06:22:49 AM
Can we go back to Scotch (whisky) now?

Either that or Jameson's. I'm good either way.

How about Laphroaig 18. I love the smoky aroma. But now this thread is about something. Can't have that.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on April 01, 2016, 12:26:40 PM
Quite.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 27, 2016, 03:23:34 PM
Surprise!

Another Illinois politician on his way to prison.

POS     >:(

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/politics/dennis-hastert-sentencing/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/politics/dennis-hastert-sentencing/index.html)


(CNN) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Wednesday was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 to a victims' fund in a hush money case that revealed he was being accused of sexually abusing young boys as a teacher in Illinois.

He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release once he finishes his prison term.

For the first time, Hastert, 74, admitted to Judge Thomas M. Durkin in open court that he abused at least one boy.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 27, 2016, 04:22:30 PM
Ill-inois politicians retirement system.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on April 28, 2016, 06:33:59 AM
71 years ago on this day, April 28, Benito Mussolini was shot by Italian partisans at the Swiss boarder.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 28, 2016, 06:49:45 AM
71 years ago on this day, April 28, Benito Mussolini was shot by Italian partisans at the Swiss boarder.

Do you think Donaldo Trumpilini will make it past the Berniacs at the Indiana border?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on April 28, 2016, 08:07:07 AM
Not commenting, don't want the sword to fall again.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 28, 2016, 08:18:05 AM
 :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 12, 2016, 05:24:10 AM
My wife and I went camping over this past weekend. As we were relaxing and enjoying an adult beverage or three a young couple took a campsite near us. They proceeded to set-up their tent while their 2 year old son ran around exploring. Once the tent was done they called to their son to come and check it out. They called but no answer. Then the calls turned into shouts and panic set in. The boy was nowhere to be seen! My wife and I joined the search. At this point the parents were in FULL panic mode and frantic. I asked if anyone had checked inside of the tent to see if the boy was hiding or taking a nap? 'Of course we checked the tent' they said. What about the truck I asked? No way he's in there they said. More searching with no results. As the mom was about to call 911 the dad checked the truck at last. The boy had crawled into the back and was asleep in his car seat.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 12, 2016, 07:03:54 AM
Free range children.....  I was a free range child but I lived on AF bases.  Safest places in the world unless nuclear attacked.  Occasionally I would escape to the great out yonder by climbing over or through the fences.  I'd always come back when I was hungry, though.  The APs didn't have any trouble returning me as well.   Ah, the good ole days...sigh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 12, 2016, 07:18:19 AM
Grew up in the country miles outside a town of 1500. Had about a twenty mile range we'd play in. The townies not so much. Range expanded exponentially when I turned 16.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Hooligan on May 12, 2016, 07:21:53 AM
Loved growing up in the country. Largest town I lived in until aged 13, had a population of about 600 people. Then moved to a larger town with about 30 000 people and now living in the city. Unfortunately my kids wont have the freedom that I had as a kid. The telephone system we used, was still the lever swinging type, where you had to ask an operator to patch you through to another number, and every 3 minutes she'd log into your call and tell you how long you've been on  the phone already.

Rules while growing up were:

1 Kids should be heard playing outside, not be seen in the company of grown-ups.
2 When the street light come on at night, your arse better be home.

We used to throw clay missiles with stick, ride our bicycles all over town, get bust stealing the neighbour's fruit off the trees, going bass fishing in the towns' dams and just generally getting up to mischief. Nowadays its smartphones, tablets, internet, X-box or Play station, satellite TV, and F@*k knows what else.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 12, 2016, 07:29:40 AM
"    Nowadays its smartphones, tablets, internet, X-box or Play station, satellite TV, and F@*k knows what else.    "

Not just that but a whole lot of nasty evil people.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Hooligan on May 12, 2016, 07:38:33 AM
"    Nowadays its smartphones, tablets, internet, X-box or Play station, satellite TV, and F@*k knows what else.    "

Not just that but a whole lot of nasty evil people.

You can say that again, especially here in the RSA
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 10, 2016, 08:29:49 AM
Next thing they'll be outlawing large sized pops.

There has been a lot more study on this than I would have imagined.

http://www.popvssoda.com/ (http://www.popvssoda.com/)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HLYe31MBrg&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HLYe31MBrg&feature=youtu.be)


(http://cdn.theatlanticwire.com/img/upload/2012/07/09/popvssodamap.gif)


(https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/food-drink-breakfast-snack-pop-soda-local_dialect-nfkn860_low.jpg)

For a short while as a child I lived just outside St. Louis (Granite City in Illinois). Having learned "pop" in Chicago I was a little out of step with the locals in that the
St. Louis area is a real stronghold for "soda". However, the kids I hung out with all said so-dee instead of so-dah so I'm not sure if that is the way
it is said in that whole area, or just the way the ignorant kids I hung out with said it.

Looking at the map, it is interesting in the differences between Tulsa (pop) and Oklahoma City (Coke) areas, I'm sure the differences between those two cities is another whole study in itself.

Notice all that "other" in Virginia and North Carolina...is that Cheerwine?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 10, 2016, 08:44:16 AM
Growing up halfway between St Louis and Chitcago we called it sodapop.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 10, 2016, 08:49:33 AM
And speaking of the Brilliant Minds running Oklahoma, there's this.....

http://www.news9.com/story/32168555/ohp-uses-new-device-to-seize-money-used-during-the-commission-of-a-crime (http://www.news9.com/story/32168555/ohp-uses-new-device-to-seize-money-used-during-the-commission-of-a-crime)

OKLAHOMA CITY - You may have heard of civil asset forfeiture. 
That's where police can seize property and cash without first proving a person committed a crime; without a warrant and without arresting them, as long as they suspect that the property is somehow tied to a crime.

Now, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a device that also allows them to seize money on prepaid cards.

It's called an ERAD, or Electronic Recovery and Access to Data machine, and OHP began using 16 of them last month. 

Here's how it works. If a trooper suspects a person may have money tied to some type of crime, the highway patrol can scan and seize money from prepaid cards.  OHP stresses troopers do not do this during all traffic stops, only situations where they believe there is probable cause.

And the real pisser is.....

News 9 obtained a copy of the contract with the state.

It shows the state is paying ERAD Group Inc., $5,000 for the software and scanners, then 7.7 percent of all the cash forfeited through the courts to the highway patrol. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 10, 2016, 10:12:08 AM
And speaking of the Brilliant Minds running Oklahoma, there's this.....

http://www.news9.com/story/32168555/ohp-uses-new-device-to-seize-money-used-during-the-commission-of-a-crime (http://www.news9.com/story/32168555/ohp-uses-new-device-to-seize-money-used-during-the-commission-of-a-crime)

OKLAHOMA CITY - You may have heard of civil asset forfeiture. 
That's where police can seize property and cash without first proving a person committed a crime; without a warrant and without arresting them, as long as they suspect that the property is somehow tied to a crime.

Now, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has a device that also allows them to seize money on prepaid cards.

It's called an ERAD, or Electronic Recovery and Access to Data machine, and OHP began using 16 of them last month. 

Here's how it works. If a trooper suspects a person may have money tied to some type of crime, the highway patrol can scan and seize money from prepaid cards.  OHP stresses troopers do not do this during all traffic stops, only situations where they believe there is probable cause.

And the real pisser is.....

News 9 obtained a copy of the contract with the state.

It shows the state is paying ERAD Group Inc., $5,000 for the software and scanners, then 7.7 percent of all the cash forfeited through the courts to the highway patrol.

Brilliant!

Maybe ILLinois needs to start doing this. It could solve the budget crisis. Either that or we need to trash all of our politicians and legalize weed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 10, 2016, 10:42:10 AM
Not in the arena... must resist... or sword might fall.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 31, 2016, 08:11:17 AM
I bought a Amazon Echo during Prime day.

I love this thing! It's great fun to 'play' with plus is does a LOT more than just play.

Need to know Pi to 20 digits? Need to know about String Theory? Todays weather? Set a timer or calendar even? Albert Einstein's birthday? The distance to Pluto? What your stocks are doing? Just ask.

Wanna play one of your Pandora stations or hear your Prime music or tune in to your favorite Chicago radio station? Ask.

I asked 'how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood'.

The average woodchuck can chuck about 700 pounds a day with the wind at it's back.   :)

Alexa, beam me up.

Transporters engaged, welcome aboard Captain.    :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 31, 2016, 08:58:01 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 31, 2016, 10:56:33 AM
....but does it work with Windows 10?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 01, 2016, 04:48:07 AM
....but does it work with Windows 10?

Windows shmindows Alexa doesn't need no stinking windoze.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 01, 2016, 06:30:01 AM
Did you ask it for the prime directive?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 01, 2016, 09:16:38 AM
Did you ask it for the prime directive?

I just did. It went on and on! I thought that it was never gonna finish.    ;D

Alexa, what is the Prime Directive?

"As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture. Such interference includes introducing superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Star Fleet personnel may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or their ship, unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 28, 2016, 05:19:57 PM
I had a good hearty laugh on I-295 around the the eastern side of Richmond, today.  Some guy goes by me doing about 80-90 mph and jumps in and out of traffic trying to get ahead of everyone.  He pops over a hill and there's a state trooper looking his way.  This guy is going so fast that the trooper is nearly ready to pull out after him as he passes by him.  He pulls him over in short order.  I hope his speed was enough to get him arrested for reckless driving which is over 80 in VA.  I think quite a few people in the vicinity were having a good laugh at that guy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on September 28, 2016, 07:08:45 PM
It sure feels good to see karma at work, doesn't it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 29, 2016, 05:34:39 AM
Anyone remember me 'coming out of retirement' to take the job in our village as the water meter reader last year?

This was a new position since before the meters were installed we paid a flat rate for water. ~$25 per month.

Anyways, after more than a year of reading the meters this month marks the start of billing people for the amount of water they actually use. Why did it take so long to start billing for actual use? Good question, politics...

I read around 250 meters each month and the average usage per household is 3k to 6k gallons per month. The charge is $8 per thousand gallons used. Some folks will see their bills decreased others will see an increase. Some will see a HUGE increase. Those are the wasteful homes. One in particular has used as much as 220k per month but has trimmed that down to 90k gallons for the first billing month. That's a $720 water bill! I've been telling the folks at this address all year that they have a leak issue and that they're going to see a huge bill once the billing goes live but they ignored me. From $25 per month to $720, how do you like them apples?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on September 29, 2016, 05:59:14 AM
... Some folks will see their bills decreased others will see an increase. Some will see a HUGE increase. Those are the wasteful homes. One in particular has used as much as 220k per month but has trimmed that down to 90k gallons for the first billing month. That's a $720 water bill! I've been telling the folks at this address all year that they have a leak issue and that they're going to see a huge bill once the billing goes live but they ignored me. From $25 per month to $720, how do you like them apples?

That is a lot of water use for a residential home.  Are they running a laundry business or something?  Watering acres of grass?

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 29, 2016, 06:30:47 AM
They could just be very thirsty..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 29, 2016, 09:38:14 AM
less than nothing.

Sunday's high temp here is supposed to max out at minus 4f and the low temp that night minus 16f.  :o   

That's not including the wind-chill   :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 16, 2016, 05:11:04 AM
revised forecast   :o


Today

Snow, mainly after noon. High near 20. Wind chill values as low as -1. South southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of around an inch possible.


Tonight

Snow. Temperature rising to around 25 by 2am. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming east southeast 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.


Saturday

A chance of snow before 7am, then a chance of snow and sleet between 7am and noon, then snow likely after noon. Patchy blowing snow after noon. Cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 16 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow and sleet accumulation of around an inch possible.


Saturday Night

Snow before midnight. Widespread blowing snow. Low around -9. Wind chill values as low as -25. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.


Sunday

Patchy blowing snow before noon. Sunny and cold, with a high near -6. West northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.


Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around -22.


Monday

Sunny, with a high near 11.


Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 8.


Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 25.


Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.


Wednesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 30.


Wednesday Night

A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.


Thursday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 16, 2016, 05:17:36 AM
Try this- I wake up this morning to 19F.
Saturday's high is expected to be 75F.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 16, 2016, 05:21:35 AM
75? Sweet!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on December 16, 2016, 07:53:30 AM
35?  Sweet

It was -33C here this morning (that's -27 in F degrees...)

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 16, 2016, 09:02:15 AM
no matter how many dogs dares are called for don't do this at those temps!

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeJXYhdfR6Q#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on December 18, 2016, 09:21:18 AM
-26*F at home this morning actual temp, no wind chill figured in. The jug of -50* RV antifreeze on the shelf in the shed is frozen solid. Like a bowling pin. Should be interesting mess in the camper trailer next spring....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 18, 2016, 09:33:56 AM
-26*F at home this morning actual temp, no wind chill figured in. The jug of -50* RV antifreeze on the shelf in the shed is frozen solid. Like a bowling pin. Should be interesting mess in the camper trailer next spring....

-50 RV antifreeze frozen solid?  :o  Great! We're at -10 here at the moment. I hope that my RV doesn't have any issues because of this. I have the same antifreeze in it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on December 18, 2016, 10:26:07 AM
I'm not an RV guy, and this is a motorcycle forum...but ...but since we are in a thread about nothing at all (and thus open to everything), why don't they make RVs so you can just drain 'em and blow a little air in the lines and be done with it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 18, 2016, 10:51:12 AM
75? Sweet!!!

Wow- it is 76F right now!  I just came back from a long ride.  Roads were wet, though, so the bike is filthy (it didn't rain to clean the roads, it was just tons of water from the fog last night).  Gonna wash it and then out to try and finish Xmas shopping.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 18, 2016, 02:59:18 PM
I'm not an RV guy, and this is a motorcycle forum...but ...but since we are in a thread about nothing at all (and thus open to everything), why don't they make RVs so you can just drain 'em and blow a little air in the lines and be done with it?

Makes sense to me..and I don't have an rv.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on December 18, 2016, 04:47:58 PM
Makes sense to me..and I don't have an rv.

Blowing out with air isn't very effective sometimes because water droplets don't all blow out and the plastic tubing water lines used in RV construction make some rather unconventional bends/turns/etc. causing lots of potential low spots, not to mention the toilet flush valve. Plus it's sort of inconvienent depending on where the RV may be parked. I can drain and bypass the water heater and then winterize the rest of the system with about a single gallon of the non toxic stuff for $1.99 using the 12 volt on board water pump. IF the stuff works as designed, which it always has before.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 18, 2016, 05:24:17 PM
Makes sense to me and I don't have an rv.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 18, 2016, 05:29:01 PM
Makes sense to me and I don't have an rv.

It makes sense to me that I don't have an RV.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 18, 2016, 05:42:15 PM
Wow- it is 76F right now!  I just came back from a long ride.  Roads were wet, though, so the bike is filthy (it didn't rain to clean the roads, it was just tons of water from the fog last night).  Gonna wash it and then out to try and finish Xmas shopping.

High was 77F!

And now it is suddenly very windy, cold, and raining.  Guess what the *high* temp is for tomorrow...  38F!  What a roller coaster ride this is!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 18, 2016, 06:07:10 PM
Makes sense to me and I don't have an rv.....But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: AZ-ZG on December 18, 2016, 10:23:19 PM
Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care!   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 19, 2016, 04:43:54 AM
I'm not an RV guy, and this is a motorcycle forum...but ...but since we are in a thread about nothing at all (and thus open to everything), why don't they make RVs so you can just drain 'em and blow a little air in the lines and be done with it?

Blowing out with air isn't very effective sometimes because water droplets don't all blow out and the plastic tubing water lines used in RV construction make some rather unconventional bends/turns/etc. causing lots of potential low spots, not to mention the toilet flush valve. Plus it's sort of inconvienent depending on where the RV may be parked. I can drain and bypass the water heater and then winterize the rest of the system with about a single gallon of the non toxic stuff for $1.99 using the 12 volt on board water pump. IF the stuff works as designed, which it always has before.

I have two RVs, a motorhome and a 5th wheel. I do the belt and suspenders thing with them when I prep them for winter. I blow out the lines and then use the onboard system to fill the lines with antifreeze. It takes about 2 gallons each of the pink stuff to do them.

As for Marty's question. Asking why the RV industry does things the way they do is a good question. One that lots of campers have asked many times while shaking their heads..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 19, 2016, 05:15:59 AM
You can buy undiluted propylene glycol to mix with the pink stuff to adjust the freeze point. Or use Fireball whiskey.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 19, 2016, 05:39:16 AM
The Fireball whiskey should be used as antifreeze in humans ONLY!    :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on December 19, 2016, 06:56:45 AM
You can buy undiluted propylene glycol to mix with the pink stuff to adjust the freeze point. Or use Fireball whiskey.


I've never had any whiskey freeze.
Two years ago while ice fishing around an island on the lake we have fished for years in Ontario I was on a firewood detail. Cut a dead tree down and proceeded to start blocking it into short(er) stove length pieces. It was hollow as I got toward the bottom 8 feet or so. Hit something "different" with the chainsaw but tossed the piece onto the snow covered ice with the other pieces to load into the sled. A bottle dislodged from the hollow part and showed up enough to notice as I was loading up. Label was long since gone but it was still sealed and unfrozen. It was a Canadian brand, sort of local but later changed names after a merger and became a larger known brand. (I will have to look at the saved bottle to revive the memory as to the brand). Google indicated by the bottle markings it was from the mid-seventies. Some summertime local camper must have stashed them and never returned or forgot.
The real incredible part is a month later when we went back one of the group members along was asking about where this find was located. Took him over to the general area and located the base of the tree that the one I cut up came from. Inside the broken off trunk was the mate to the first bottle.
"Picnic" island is now known as "Whiskey" island.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 07, 2017, 07:12:41 AM
Some people have WAY more money than brains.

(https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/cache.php?img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.carponents.com%2Fimages%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2FScreen%2520Shot%25202014-11-30%2520at%25205_18_47%2520PM.png)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 07, 2017, 07:20:02 AM
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.......

Yeesh!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 07, 2017, 07:32:43 AM
It'll buff out....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 07, 2017, 08:16:44 AM
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.......

Yeesh!

I am sitting here reading stuff on the computer and listening to music and keep hearing this strange, sorta motorcyclish sound....  There are two people riding two snowmobiles up and down the street.  Not something I would expect around here.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 11, 2017, 12:32:42 PM
Well, it happened- the moment we have all been waiting for. Well, at least the moment I was waiting for. Well, not really waiting, more like expecting. But not quite expecting, it was a surprise.... but I was prepared.

Yep, you guessed it: the great [Cable Company] 'nami of 2017 has arrived!

In this area we have two cable (and phone and high- speed internet) services, Cox and Verizon (Fios). And in the modern world, for some really bad reason, companies in general reward 'new' customers and penalize old, loyal customers by jacking up the prices for existing customers and giving relatively large discounts to new customers. A couple of years ago I finally got tired of the prices charged by my provider, Cox (although perfectly happy with the service) as well as the bombardment of offers from Verizon, and jumped services. I did call Cox and tell them to 'sharpen their pencil' (Easy Boys!) 'cause I was looking at Verizon but I did not yet fully understand how it works now (see above- reward and punish the wrong people). So  I went over to Verizon and have also been perfectly satisfied with their service, just like Cox, at least overall. Well yesterday my Verizon bill shot up almost $100 / month (!!) without warning and..... yep, this in the 25th month of the new service when I 'fall out' of the original package. Just for chuckles, I did call Verizon and they did whittle the price down a little but not nearly as much as Cox will, where I am yet again a virgin and a 'new' customer (apparently virginal status is bestowed on old customers after 90 days, unlike fiance's, which I understand takes one full year.... but I digress). Understanding how the game is played is a huge advantage because it saves time, questions, potential arguments, etc. and we can cut right to the chase: they could not quite match my current Verizon price but they COULD include a gift card (read: money flowing back toward me, read: reduced cost over the next 24 months) which was large enough to cover the difference and just a tad more. So I get newer, faster and better service (the new remotes are voice activated and I cannot wait until I have them 'cause making my own coffee is tedious) for the same price, at least for 24 months, from a new (new? really??) company that now has to come to my house and "install" their service rather than just continuing along with the 'old' company which would have made much better financial sense for all of us. Sigh. It is not my world, I just live here so the best I can do is to play the game as well as possible. But I do think this method of getting 'new' customers is a really foolish and very inefficient method that public vendors seem to be using en masse these days.

Next, insurance! Yep, my old, gray- haired self will become a virgin driver, home- owner and motorcycle rider for the next lucky contestant in this really dumb game of 'Let's get new customers by poaching them from the competition and the entire industry losing a LOT of money in all the additional work of switching'.

So if my posts look different, it is because they will be coming down a different wire.....  ::)

Brian, a loyal Cox customer starting this Saturday!  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 11, 2017, 01:29:02 PM
My daughter switches between Direct TV and Dish for tv as well as between Sprint, T-mobil and Verizon for phone every few years for this exact reason.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 11, 2017, 02:38:36 PM
I'm going to try that tact with auto/home insurance.  I was with Progressive (progressively gets higher for no reason) and then went to SafeCo.  SafeCo is now nearly as high as Progressive was.  So, I'll see what Progressive looks like this coming May.  Probably about time to switch wireless as well.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 11, 2017, 04:01:18 PM
At least you HAVE two providers to switch between.  I MY neighborhood, we only have Cox because I guess Verizon didn't deem us rich enough (although they did a few miles away).  Even still, Cox plays the "oh sign this contract for a special X rate" and every year my bill suddenly explodes up by 30 to 50% and I have to call and threaten to close the account and whatnot until I get the super-special-loyal-customer but TEMPORARY rate for another year.  Which is typically about 10% more than what I was paying.

It gets very tiring.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 14, 2017, 10:48:36 AM
High drama over at the Mazda forum.

One of the guys over there is a real know-it-all. You know the type, whatever it is he's done it and of course he did it better than anyone else. Everything bores him because, of course, he's done it all.

Anyways, my wife suggested that I play nice so I have been.

It seems that others on that forum feel as I do because one of the other forum members had enough of Mr Know-it-all and posted this in reply to one of his posts.

"Been on this forum and several others for quite a while and you are by far the biggest know-it-all I have ever come across.
 Guess if your life is totally centered around cars and posting about them, and you depend on forums for ego enhancement, your plan is working! "

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 14, 2017, 11:59:59 AM
I don't get it...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 14, 2017, 02:14:50 PM
A footnote to the Verizon / Cox (yep, that sounds like the intro. to some kind of joke.....) switch: Cox service (Jordan) was here this AM, strung new cable, installed and set up hardware, gave us a quick overview, got everything working and all in about 2 1/2 hours (strung a new cable from the nearest telephone pole to house, then some wiring inside as well as all hardware install / setup).

Just transferring my telephone number from Verizon to Cox seems to have generated a termination order for my Verizon digital phone service but to make sure I cancelled ALL services, including ISP and TV, I went into my account on the web site. As I figured, no way to terminate service so had to call. Spoke to a nice enough female in [some foreign land but I could not really place the accent] and went through the dog and pony show.... which ended when she informed me there was a pending order (the order to cancel the phone service, generated by Cox 'drawing' the phone number from Verizon) and I could not make any other changes to the account until the existing order had been executed, which will be on 17 Jan. So I then asked if I understood the situation correctly: I could NOT cancel my service now because of a pending action on the account but could on or after 17 Jan.... and that I would have to call back on that date or later to execute any account changes such as closing the account. Outstanding- they are going to bill me, pro- rated, at the new and [not- agreed to by me] amount until such time as I am able to close the account, which they not only cannot do now but cannot accept an order to do on or after 17 Jan.

I am not bit$hing about this because it is petty and really insignificant but I have to say that over the course of a year and a very large number of 'insignificant' charges, I betcha' there is some real money laying around at Verizon. I am also not picking on Verizon because I do not know if Cox does this or not.

BTW- a relatively close speed test does show in excess of the promised 300 Mbps D/L speed delivered. Not so good going through a bunch of nodes and reaching to the other coast but really fast locally. Not that the earlier limit of 50 Mbps that Verizon delivered was in any way a limit or needed improvement for my use, just mentioning that it is as fast, actually faster, than promised and all done with copper wire.... :-) TV picture quality is outstanding and surprisingly, noticeably better than Verizon, at least using the hardware that I had from Verizon (just over 2 years old). Cox also is using new Cisco boxes that use RF remotes (really nice!) with a voice recognition feature that works extremely well (really, really nice!). I hope I am as pleased in two years when I have to do this all over again in reverse and can only imagine what new hardware Verizon will be providing.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sailor_chic on January 14, 2017, 04:04:09 PM
Brian, since you are the main contestant in the dog and pony show, continue the cord cutting with your TV. I recently canceled Direct TV and now watch my shows through Sling TV.  $20 a month plus tax.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 14, 2017, 07:44:34 PM
Yeah, my youngest son is hammering me to drop everything but the 'Net connection and then go on to different ways to use the 'Net to 'watch TV', such as Netflix and so forth. So far though, we still watch a fair amount of TV directly from the sources, and still maintain a house phone (landline); the landline 'cause it is easier to manage than a smart phone (for me anyway) and far less expensive.

And besides all that, I have learned to really like plastic guns (a 1911 is a <real> firearm but I have all the respect in the world for Glocks and have become quite partial to the genuine Croatian plastic that Springfield sells lately) so I cannot change all my spots all at once. But I will look into Sling TV per your suggestion and will consider it for the next interval of TV supplier switching.

Brian

Brian, since you are the main contestant in the dog and pony show, continue the cord cutting with your TV. I recently canceled Direct TV and now watch my shows through Sling TV.  $20 a month plus tax.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on January 15, 2017, 05:29:08 AM
Brian, since you are the main contestant in the dog and pony show, continue the cord cutting with your TV. I recently canceled Direct TV and now watch my shows through Sling TV.  $20 a month plus tax.

+1. Sling+Amazon Prime+OTA digital broadcasts give me all the TV programming I need. Not really suitable if one is big on channel surfing and I dread the day the internet service providers start metering data usage. Saves only about 80 bucks per month for me, but the satisfaction of sticking it to the media giants is priceless. (and the young-at-heart have to keep up with the young uns)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 15, 2017, 05:32:43 AM
I don't get it...

Sorry if I wasn't very clear, try it now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 15, 2017, 06:20:22 AM
The main problem with Sling and other streaming of cable channels is that it forces commercials.  To some of us, that is totally unacceptable.  I know I haven't been forced to watch a commercial in over 15 years and I will NEVER go back.  So yeah, as long as you don't care about commercial-free history channel, science channel, NatGeo, etc,  there are lots of TV-without-cable options.  One of my favorites is Netflix.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on January 15, 2017, 06:38:42 AM
I'm curious about how you get any live programming without being subject to commercials?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 15, 2017, 06:51:05 AM
The main problem with Sling and other streaming of cable channels is that it forces commercials.  To some of us, that is totally unacceptable.  I know I haven't been forced to watch a commercial in over 15 years and I will NEVER go back.  So yeah, as long as you don't care about commercial-free history channel, science channel, NatGeo, etc,  there are lots of TV-without-cable options.  One of my favorites is Netflix.

I'm curious about how you get any live programming without being subject to commercials?

I'm curious as well. If you're DVRing your programs and fast forwarding past the commercials that's one thing, but no commercials at all?

I got rid of Direct TV a while back and we've been streaming all of our programming via Roku. Overall it works fine but it's not without commercials. One of the BIG issues that I have with the commercials is that sometimes the same commercial plays back to back. I've even seen the same :censored: commercial play 4 times in a row!    :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 15, 2017, 06:54:51 AM
Sorry if I wasn't very clear, try it now.
So what's his nefarious plan?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 15, 2017, 07:41:37 AM
Sorry if I wasn't very clear, try it now.

I'm thinking but nothing is happening!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 15, 2017, 07:45:36 AM
I'm curious as well. If you're DVRing your programs and fast forwarding past the commercials that's one thing, but no commercials at all?

I got rid of Direct TV a while back and we've been streaming all of our programming via Roku. Overall it works fine but it's not without commercials. One of the BIG issues that I have with the commercials is that sometimes the same commercial plays back to back. I've even seen the same :censored: commercial play 4 times in a row!    :pukeface:

Ever since I got a Smart TV, I've been thinking about could I ditch Directv.  But I really like being able to store the programs and play then back later.  I tired Hulu some time back and the commercial thing irritated me so much (same one again and again), I said fork this and left them. 

The Smart TV is wonderful, I've watched more Netflix than I have in the past.  Lotsa good stuff there and Amazon as well.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 15, 2017, 07:50:12 AM
I'm curious about how you get any live programming without being subject to commercials?

Without it being on cable or over-the-air?  You pretty much don't (not legally, anyway).  Sometimes you can find some of the shows you like from that network available on Netflix streaming (which is commercial free), but that is a shot in the dark and usually only certain shows.  For example, I have been binge-watching something called "Supernatural" on Netflix streaming, which was and is a show on "The CW" network.  They have 11 seasons but not the 12th which is airing right now on CW.  Another example is The Flash- another CW network program which is on Netflix streaming for the previous 2 seasons but not the current.  And another is Salem from NBC.  But for every one series/show I can find on Netflix streaming, there are hundreds that are not available.

And some networks offer their own commercial-free streaming subscriptions.  For example, "CBS All Access."  But very few networks offer such an option, and even if they did, it would be a HUGELY expensive mess of dozens of subscriptions to different services, all with their own prices and limitations and compatibility issues (which devices will or won't work with them).

Streaming, even without commercials, has issues.  You must have a live network connection, it uses a LOT of bandwidth (which is not good if you have metered or poor Internet).  Sometimes the quality sucks.  Often the UI with whatever device is poor or irritating.  (That said, Netflix is about the best on all those fronts).

Consumers might eventually win this "war", but it will take a lot more time.  Cable companies and content networks (channels) have a huge investment in locking you into traditional models (huge price, hundreds of channels you don't want, forced commercials).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 15, 2017, 08:45:18 AM
So what's his nefarious plan?

Who knows, I've stopped reading his posts.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 15, 2017, 09:10:45 AM
Do they have an Arena?  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on January 15, 2017, 09:29:53 AM
Without it being on cable or over-the-air?  You pretty much don't (not legally, anyway).  Sometimes you can find some of the shows you like from that network available on Netflix streaming (which is commercial free), but that is a shot in the dark and usually only certain shows..........

I'm still puzzled how you can avoid commercials when live programming is involved. Unless you are unsure what live programming refers to.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on January 15, 2017, 09:34:55 AM
So what's his nefarious plan?

World domination by self-professed superior knowledge of Mazda cars? :-)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 15, 2017, 03:36:18 PM
I'm still puzzled how you can avoid commercials when live programming is involved. Unless you are unsure what live programming refers to.

Sorry, it depends on what is meant by "live programming".  Some could read that (as I did) as "broadcast" instead of "streaming."   I see you probably meant "live" like watching something that is happening in real time, such as sports or a concert.  Of course, watching live content "live" but commercial free is impossible if they are interrupting the transmission with commercials.  You can, however, "time shift" it with a DVR.  You record it and estimate how much time will be taken by commercials and then delay playback by the amount of time you estimate; it will continue recording while you are watching.  If you estimate correctly, you will catch up to being "live" at the very end (since you are skipping through the commercials).  About the only reason to even bother with all that is if you are worried about "spoilers" from people giving away what happens before you get a chance to see it.  Otherwise, just record it and watch it whenever.

Personally, I have absolutely zero interest in watching anything "live" or even watching something recorded that was broadcast "live" (since it is almost always sports).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tonedeaf1 on January 15, 2017, 07:36:53 PM
I found it interesting that when I logged on today there was nothing but this thread, which was unread. There was nothing else there -- other than the notice that there was something in the Nothing thread. Nothing to be worried about other than the possibility that only having nothing will result in a quantum collapse of the universe. Cheers.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 15, 2017, 08:03:58 PM
I found it interesting that when I logged on today there was nothing but this thread, which was unread. There was nothing else there -- other than the notice that there was something in the Nothing thread. Nothing to be worried about other than the possibility that only having nothing will result in a quantum collapse of the universe. Cheers.

Hmmm...you sound kinda smart...are you that guy from the Mazda forum I've been hearing about?  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on January 16, 2017, 05:06:56 AM
Hmmm...you sound kinda smart...are you that guy from the Mazda forum I've been hearing about?  :)
Marty, he stayed at a Super 8. :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 16, 2017, 05:09:58 AM
Do they have an Arena?  8)

Are you kidding? That wouldn't be very PC of them would it now?


World domination by self-professed superior knowledge of Mazda cars? :-)

Zoom Zoom...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 16, 2017, 05:11:30 AM
Hmmm...you sound kinda smart...are you that guy from the Mazda forum I've been hearing about?  :)

No way would THAT guy be seen with the likes of us over here. We're much too droll and pedestrian. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tonedeaf1 on January 16, 2017, 08:38:42 PM
I checked the Mazda forum to see if I was the Mazda guy that you are hearing so much about. Nothing there that I could find. Tried the Motel 6 -- nothing there either. So I must be someone else (I don't think I am nothing else). So, do nothing until you hear from me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 16, 2017, 11:23:04 PM
So, do nothing until you hear from me.

In a thread about nothing, we're supposed to do nothing?..until we "hear" from a partially deaf person?......wait for it....wait..for it...

OK, I've got nothing. I thought I was headed somewhere...but no.  :-\ :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 17, 2017, 04:29:24 AM
In a thread about nothing, we're supposed to do nothing?..until we "hear" from a partially deaf person?......wait for it....wait..for it...

OK, I've got nothing. I thought I was headed somewhere...but no.  :-\ :(

I'm still waiting, for nothing...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sailor_chic on January 17, 2017, 08:53:47 AM
I'm still waiting, for nothing...



.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 17, 2017, 09:48:16 AM
Got it!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: BruceR on January 18, 2017, 05:57:41 AM
Thanks for nothing, Nicole.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 18, 2017, 06:00:19 AM
This thread is going nowhere.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 18, 2017, 06:42:29 AM
 :banana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sailor_chic on January 18, 2017, 07:36:21 AM
Thanks for nothing, Nicole.

Your welcome :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 18, 2017, 08:27:30 AM
This thread is going nowhere.

True 'nough, but it took 164 pages to finally get on topic, so we can't say it's going nowhere fast. ::)

Kudos to Nicole for finally getting us on topic. :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 18, 2017, 09:32:07 AM
This thread is going nowhere.

And yet, it has nothing to offer.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on January 18, 2017, 10:41:11 AM
...Seinfeld monetized 'nothing'...

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on January 18, 2017, 10:53:28 AM
http://youtu.be/G_DV54ddNHE (http://youtu.be/G_DV54ddNHE)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 18, 2017, 12:36:03 PM
http://youtu.be/G_DV54ddNHE (http://youtu.be/G_DV54ddNHE)

 :thumbs: Billy Preston! I went to a George Harrison concert in Tucson in about 1975. George had laryngitis and couldn't sing. The concert did not go well. They put Ravi Shankar on. He is a great artist but 5 min was about all I could take. Was thinking of leaving as was much of the crowd. But Billy Preston got up and saved the show! Apparently he had issues like many of his peers but he was an amazing showman.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 21, 2017, 03:28:37 PM
Had to renew my driver's license today and was a bit surprised by the application form- so many more choices that there used to be. The hair and eye color really got me- used to be that humans were basically divided into two eye color groups, brown and blue. Now I know there are other choices but those two were 'close enough'. Now on the form today, the choices were:

Brown
Blue
Green
Black
Gray
Hazel
Dichromatic
Pink

Now by 'dichromatic', I am assuming they simply mean heterochromia, which is when the same mammal has two significantly colored eyes rather than the more rare types (of an already very rare condition) where one iris is different colors in different places.

And Pink? Is that a possibility WRT human eye color? Or is it a polite way to say 'bloodshot' from excessive drinking? Pink? Sure, maybe for albino humans but how many of those are there anyway, about 14? [probably not politically correct term anymore- albino is probably now 'color challenged' or 'color affected disorder' or something]

And the insturctions clearly state "Check One": if one had heterchromia, would one not check 'dichromatic', and then the two eye colors one actually posessed? Does this form need more choices?

Then there is the whole green / gray / hazel thingy..... what are LEO's doing, running around with eye color charts and picking the best match? What's up with this?

The hair colors were a little more sane:

Black
Blonde
Brown
Red
White
Gray
Bald

Frankly this one confused me somewhat: my originally dark (brown, not black) hair is turning white I think but the overall effect is that it looks gray. So I checked gray. I guess I could have checked 'Brown', 'White' and put an arrow indicating that it was changing but again, there was that instruction about checking one box. Hmmmmmmm.

I miss the olden' days when I could just be..... regular. :-)

Brian (blue, gray, no, no, yes, I tried that once but did not like it, I tried that other thing twice to be sure but did not like that either, sometimes, never, and no, that was my evil twin)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 21, 2017, 03:46:34 PM
How many choices did it have for gender?  ;D

Had to renew my driver's license today and was a bit surprised by the application form- so many more choices that there used to be. The hair and eye color really got me- used to be that humans were basically divided into two eye color groups, brown and blue. Now I know there are other choices but those two were 'close enough'. Now on the form today, the choices were:

Brown
Blue
Green
Black
Gray
Hazel
Dichromatic
Pink

Now by 'dichromatic', I am assuming they simply mean heterochromia, which is when the same mammal has two significantly colored eyes rather than the more rare types (of an already very rare condition) where one iris is different colors in different places.

And Pink? Is that a possibility WRT human eye color? Or is it a polite way to say 'bloodshot' from excessive drinking? Pink? Sure, maybe for albino humans but how many of those are there anyway, about 14? [probably not politically correct term anymore- albino is probably now 'color challenged' or 'color affected disorder' or something]

And the insturctions clearly state "Check One": if one had heterchromia, would one not check 'dichromatic', and then the two eye colors one actually posessed? Does this form need more choices?

Then there is the whole green / gray / hazel thingy..... what are LEO's doing, running around with eye color charts and picking the best match? What's up with this?

The hair colors were a little more sane:

Black
Blonde
Brown
Red
White
Gray
Bald

Frankly this one confused me somewhat: my originally dark (brown, not black) hair is turning white I think but the overall effect is that it looks gray. So I checked gray. I guess I could have checked 'Brown', 'White' and put an arrow indicating that it was changing but again, there was that instruction about checking one box. Hmmmmmmm.

I miss the olden' days when I could just be..... regular. :-)

Brian (blue, gray, no, no, yes, I tried that once but did not like it, I tried that other thing twice to be sure but did not like that either, sometimes, never, and no, that was my evil twin)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 21, 2017, 04:11:45 PM
Amazingly enough, just the 'usual' two! That surprised even me 'cause I am in a pretty left- leaning state, although it is also a very Catholic state so I guess some of the tenets of those groups must clash. ??

One time when I was renewing my license at the DMV (today I went to AAA because it was faster and easier than the DMV but sad to say, AAA has caught and perhaps surpassed the DMV regarding [not fast and not easy]), the nice lady on the other side of the counter asked if I wanted my height or weight adjusted: I immediately said yes, I would like to be 25 to 30 lbs. lighter. Of course that one 'flew by' and she said that I had to state a specific weight, not a general area...... sigh, some of my fastest work is again lost.....

:-)

Brian

How many choices did it have for gender?  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 23, 2017, 07:56:33 AM
Pretty interesting design for a skyscraper. Not sure it would be practical but it certainly would be interesting to see and visit.

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4339282/The-incredible-U-shaped-New-York-skyscraper-unveiled.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4339282/The-incredible-U-shaped-New-York-skyscraper-unveiled.html)

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/03/22/15/3E8628AA00000578-0-image-a-34_1490196427652.jpg)

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/03/22/15/3E8628B800000578-0-image-a-35_1490196427682.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 23, 2017, 09:29:27 AM
What a nice target.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on March 23, 2017, 11:34:37 AM
 Who volunteers to be the first one to fly their airplane through it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 23, 2017, 12:50:11 PM
Who volunteers to be the first one to fly their airplane through it?

I'd do that in a heart beat if it was legal. TONS of room for a small single.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 24, 2017, 06:59:06 AM
(http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wnij/files/styles/x_large/public/201703/cannabis1_0.jpg)

It seems that Illinois is looking into legalizing weed. Or at least there's a 'measure' afoot.

http://northernpublicradio.org/post/two-il-lawmakers-push-legalizing-recreational-marijuana-help-fill-budget-deficit (http://northernpublicradio.org/post/two-il-lawmakers-push-legalizing-recreational-marijuana-help-fill-budget-deficit)


 :cool:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 24, 2017, 07:42:36 AM
Hope they do and I hope they make billions on taxes so they leave my **** alone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 24, 2017, 12:20:48 PM
http://youtu.be/kCXqbjo6cb0 (http://youtu.be/kCXqbjo6cb0)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 25, 2017, 05:57:00 AM
Hope they do and I hope they make billions on taxes so they leave my **** alone.

Why, you got some good **** man?   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 25, 2017, 06:11:45 AM
 :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 26, 2017, 12:09:28 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 08, 2017, 12:42:39 PM
And now for one that our English friends (and you too Jim) may appreciate.

In the UK, the only person allowed to and actually does drive without a driver's license is.... The Queen (currently, but any monarch, male or female). The reason is that licenses are issued in the name of the monarch, so it is assumed the human who actually issues driver's licenses would not actually need to issue one to him / her self. Even better, QEII travels anywhere in the world without a passport as she does not need one for the exact same reason stated above. Finally, as all laws, courts and the entire legal process in the UK is done in the monarch's name and by her authority, common law does not apply to her; she is literally 'above the law'. At least that is the theory, one must assume there would have to be some consequences if her majesty were to go on a bank- robbing spree, for example. By the same logic, she owns the Crown Jewels but I betcha' she could, for example, sell them. :-)

And now for the no- cost extra: QEII signs official documents 'Elizabeth R', the 'R' standing for Regina which is not a part of her name but rather her position: Regina means Queen in Latin. So effectively, she is signing as "Elizabeth, Queen". I would have to agree that she is one of the very few people in the world who does not really need a last name, middle initial or any other identifier (she has all of them though, being baptized "Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, and her last name is Windsor, from the House of Windsor while her children's last name is Mountbatten- Windsor).

While I am not the subject of any monarch nor do I have any desire to be one, I do have a great deal of admiration for the Queen and Prince Phillip. They have 'done their duty' diligently and with dignity for basically their entire lives, regardless of what they might or might not prefer themselves. I personally think the office of Monarch is far more of a burden and duty then a luxury myself, and the current Regent has given far more to her nations than she has received. Hell, I would go so far as to suggest they, along with the other prominent members of the royal family, generate far more money than they use simply by attracting foreigners to see them and spend tourist money in the UK, especially Americans!

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 08, 2017, 12:51:21 PM
Have to love Philips "gaffes"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39806145 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39806145)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 08, 2017, 01:42:27 PM
I watched the series "Crown" on Netflix. The show certainly paints her and Philip in a positive light. Regardless I also have a lot of respect for her after watching the first season of the series and then looking up some of the events portrayed in the show for accuracy.

And now for one that our English friends (and you too Jim) may appreciate.

In the UK, the only person allowed to and actually does drive without a driver's license is.... The Queen (currently, but any monarch, male or female). The reason is that licenses are issued in the name of the monarch, so it is assumed the human who actually issues driver's licenses would not actually need to issue one to him / her self. Even better, QEII travels anywhere in the world without a passport as she does not need one for the exact same reason stated above. Finally, as all laws, courts and the entire legal process in the UK is done in the monarch's name and by her authority, common law does not apply to her; she is literally 'above the law'. At least that is the theory, one must assume there would have to be some consequences if her majesty were to go on a bank- robbing spree, for example. By the same logic, she owns the Crown Jewels but I betcha' she could, for example, sell them. :-)

And now for the no- cost extra: QEII signs official documents 'Elizabeth R', the 'R' standing for Regina which is not a part of her name but rather her position: Regina means Queen in Latin. So effectively, she is signing as "Elizabeth, Queen". I would have to agree that she is one of the very few people in the world who does not really need a last name, middle initial or any other identifier (she has all of them though, being baptized "Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, and her last name is Windsor, from the House of Windsor while her children's last name is Mountbatten- Windsor).

While I am not the subject of any monarch nor do I have any desire to be one, I do have a great deal of admiration for the Queen and Prince Phillip. They have 'done their duty' diligently and with dignity for basically their entire lives, regardless of what they might or might not prefer themselves. I personally think the office of Monarch is far more of a burden and duty then a luxury myself, and the current Regent has given far more to her nations than she has received. Hell, I would go so far as to suggest they, along with the other prominent members of the royal family, generate far more money than they use simply by attracting foreigners to see them and spend tourist money in the UK, especially Americans!

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 08, 2017, 02:59:35 PM
And now for one that our English friends (and you too Jim) may appreciate.

In the UK,

But what about the Welsh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 08, 2017, 03:26:55 PM
But what about the Welsh?

Isn't that where grape juice comes from?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 08, 2017, 04:01:17 PM
It's what you do when you don't pay a bet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 08, 2017, 11:03:40 PM
But what about the Welsh?

I'm Welsh (& yes I  do own a pair of wellies)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 09, 2017, 04:01:17 AM
As do I......(wellies)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 18, 2017, 09:28:56 AM
The previous owner of my home put in a fence with an 8 ft. double gate.

Who needs 16' of gate to get in a zero turn? Yard tractor? There's not enough room in the back yard for a semi-truck.

Wouldn't be so bad, but when the POS hinges on that 16' of gate decide to go belly-up, that makes it a PITA. Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr................
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 20, 2017, 09:11:56 AM

Who needs 16' of gate to get in a zero turn? Yard tractor? There's not enough room in the back yard for a semi-truck.

Wouldn't be so bad, but when the POS hinges on that 16' of gate decide to go belly-up, that makes it a PITA. Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr................

Probably some sort of camper/RV and limited backing skills justified it for the P.O., and the hinges lasted as long as he needed them to...so....now you have a choice...farkles, or hinges.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 20, 2017, 02:40:26 PM
Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch? Grrrrrrrrrrrr................

Have you priced a whole new privacy fence?  Mine is almost completely fallen apart now...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on May 21, 2017, 05:46:08 AM
The previous owner of my home put in a fence with an 8 ft. double gate.

Who needs 16' of gate to get in a zero turn? Yard tractor? There's not enough room in the back yard for a semi-truck.

Wouldn't be so bad, but when the POS hinges on that 16' of gate decide to go belly-up, that makes it a PITA. Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr................

What about adding a couple of heavy duty swivel caster wheels under the ends to help support the weight? 

https://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-42485.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-42485.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 21, 2017, 06:24:43 AM
The previous owner of my home put in a fence with an 8 ft. double gate.

Who needs 16' of gate to get in a zero turn? Yard tractor? There's not enough room in the back yard for a semi-truck.

Wouldn't be so bad, but when the POS hinges on that 16' of gate decide to go belly-up, that makes it a PITA. Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr................

What about removing one side of the gate and replacing it with fencing?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 22, 2017, 09:43:50 AM
Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch?

No, not yet. I need more info...wood gate or chain link? As you can see by other's posts we want to help and interfere in your business even if you were only venting and hoping
for us to fall in and criticize the previous owner for his POS hardware selection. That would be close to emoting, we don't do that here. We want to FIX IT.  :thumbs: ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on May 22, 2017, 09:55:29 PM
The previous owner of my home put in a fence with an 8 ft. double gate.

Who needs 16' of gate to get in a zero turn? Yard tractor? There's not enough room in the back yard for a semi-truck.

Wouldn't be so bad, but when the POS hinges on that 16' of gate decide to go belly-up, that makes it a PITA. Have you priced three pairs of heavy-duty galvanized hinges? Gate latch?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr................

How about just quit using one side. Now you have an 8' gate. Or a 16' gate if you ever need one some day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 23, 2017, 08:48:15 AM
RIP James Bond.
(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/jamesbond/images/8/86/Bond_-_Roger_Moore_-_Profile.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130217201358)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 24, 2017, 04:56:39 AM
Probably some sort of camper/RV and limited backing skills justified it for the P.O., and the hinges lasted as long as he needed them to...so....now you have a choice...farkles, or hinges.

Well, given that the entire back yard is grass/weeds on relatively soft Mississippi Delta soil, that idea may have been in the back of the previous owner's mind, but he never followed through with concrete or asphalt on which to park the thing.

Actually, I was able to do both -- farkles and hinges. Canyon Cages arrived yesterday, and I installed the last set of galvanized hinges (18" long) last week. Of course, the credit card bill for the cages hasn't arrived yet....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 24, 2017, 04:58:15 AM
How about just quit using one side. Now you have an 8' gate. Or a 16' gate if you ever need one some day.
That's sorta what happens, except I have a 54" zero turn with a fold-down grass chute that I need to squeeze through one gate. I open both gates only because I'm a bad zero turn driver. :-)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 24, 2017, 04:59:30 AM
Have you priced a whole new privacy fence?  Mine is almost completely fallen apart now...

Nope, and I ain't gonna get started on that idea.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 24, 2017, 05:00:53 AM
What about adding a couple of heavy duty swivel caster wheels under the ends to help support the weight? 

https://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-42485.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-pneumatic-swivel-caster-42485.html)

I don't have a problem with gate sag (at least not a huge problem right now). Of course, I've got to keep filling the holes the dogs dig right at the corner post, which compromises the integrity of that post.  ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 24, 2017, 05:01:55 AM
No, not yet. I need more info...wood gate or chain link? As you can see by other's posts we want to help and interfere in your business even if you were only venting and hoping
for us to fall in and criticize the previous owner for his POS hardware selection. That would be close to emoting, we don't do that here. We want to FIX IT.  :thumbs: ;D

ROFLMAO. Oops, is that emoting?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 25, 2017, 02:21:43 PM
Happy 40th Birthday Star Wars.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Sgt Mac on May 26, 2017, 03:57:51 AM
Attended my first Haka as the New Zealand contingent of the Task Force changed over to a new rotation. Pretty damn cool.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 26, 2017, 06:05:05 AM
Wife came to me and said that a mouse was in her car.  Found shredded tissues in the back.  Put a mouse trap in and within an hour I had the bugger.  I think it got in through boxes my wife picked up at her mom's house.  Haven't found any more evidence of it as I go through vacuuming the entire car.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 26, 2017, 07:26:19 AM
I have been trying to catch moles with two different traps for 2 years now.  Zero success.  I need you to come here and work your magic.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on May 26, 2017, 07:53:34 AM
I have been trying to catch moles with two different traps for 2 years now.  Zero success.  I need you to come here and work your magic.

Mice (there is seldom just one) are easy to trap compared to moles and the other various rodent relatives.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 26, 2017, 08:00:30 AM
Moles are horrible to catch.  I go so incensed with them some years back I actually sat in a chair and waited for them to start digging..  Never caught one.  The best deterrent I've seen is using that white grub killer.   Spread that on the lawn periodically and it seems to keep them away.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 26, 2017, 08:33:56 AM
...just make sure your neighbor doesn't use it and they'll move on...  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 26, 2017, 09:45:25 AM
Yeah, and the mice are proving more than difficult enough for me to catch.

Using a variety of traps and peanut butter for bait, I am getting far more 'visits' than traps being tripped. And the worst part is, when they eat the bait, they tend to leave 'deposits'..... they are mocking me, the little bastiches!

There are some extremely effective traps out there but I cannot quite bring myself to drown the little guys..... yet. But a little more mocking and myhaps.....

Grrrrrrrrr.

Brian

Mice (there is seldom just one) are easy to trap compared to moles and the other various rodent relatives.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 26, 2017, 10:20:35 AM
Moles are horrible to catch.  I go so incensed with them some years back I actually sat in a chair and waited for them to start digging..  Never caught one.

They have torn up my yard and led to the death of at least 6 bushes now.

Quote
The best deterrent I've seen is using that white grub killer.   Spread that on the lawn periodically and it seems to keep them away.

Tried that, didn't seem to help.  My yard has gazillions of worms, so that probably keeps them happy.

...just make sure your neighbor doesn't use it and they'll move on...  8)

Neighbors do nothing, so the moles have free reign.  :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 26, 2017, 11:07:14 AM
if you kill the food the moles eat in your yard (the grubs) they will go elsewhere (the neighbors) to dine.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 26, 2017, 11:20:46 AM
if you kill the food the moles eat in your yard (the grubs) they will go elsewhere (the neighbors) to dine.

I did, with milky spore, supposedly.  But they like worms just as much as grubs and my yard is full of worms.  I don't think I would want to kill those (if there were even a way).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 26, 2017, 01:55:32 PM
I thought the same, but the worm population appears to be going well.  I'm thinking the grub killer makes either the soil or the worms taste bad, not that I have any experience eating dirt or worms...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 26, 2017, 04:55:12 PM
I thought the same, but the worm population appears to be going well.  I'm thinking the grub killer makes either the soil or the worms taste bad, not that I have any experience eating dirt or worms...

Are you talking about milky spore or something else?  Milky spore is a natural bacteria that attacks the grubs and comes in a white power that you put a teaspoon on the lawn every X feet and it takes a season to start working and then continues working for something like 10 years (supposedly).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_spore
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 26, 2017, 05:12:09 PM
Are you talking about milky spore or something else?  Milky spore is a natural bacteria that attacks the grubs and comes in a white power that you put a teaspoon on the lawn every X feet and it takes a season to start working and then continues working for something like 10 years (supposedly).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_spore

Chemicals man....better living through chemistry
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 27, 2017, 02:38:22 PM
I don't know.  It says it kills grubs.  I didn't read the fine print except to what to set the spreader to.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 27, 2017, 03:10:37 PM
I don't know.  It says it kills grubs.  I didn't read the fine print except to what to set the spreader to.

Sounds like it is not milky spore.

Just got another severe thunderstorm watch on my phone, guess I won't be taking the bike out tonight :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 27, 2017, 05:01:23 PM
And not even an (Easy Boys!). Sheesh.

Brian

Sounds like it is not milky spore.

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: O.C. on May 28, 2017, 02:21:28 AM
if you kill the food the moles eat in your yard (the grubs) they will go elsewhere (the neighbors) to dine.


 :rotflmao:  so so true, there are currently a few adult rabbits on our lawn and they seem to be hatching offspring who have taken a great liking to some of the plants on our borders, the little sods are tempting me to open fire with my air rifle  (but don't tell SWMBO)

I guess the alternative is to chase them away with the lawn tractor ....but that could be messy  :o   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 28, 2017, 10:59:54 AM

 ...there are currently a few adult rabbits on our lawn and they seem to be hatching offspring who have taken a great liking to some of the plants on our borders, the little sods are tempting me to open fire with my air rifle 

The Germans have a solution: LINK (http://www.food.com/recipe/hasenpfeffer-329723)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Hooligan on May 28, 2017, 10:42:16 PM
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Loved the recipe:

2x rabbits, preferably wild. If not available, try domestic.......

Imagine going outside and grabbing your kid's pet rabbit, and serving it to your kids for supper...... :yikes: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 29, 2017, 06:44:09 AM
Gross
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on May 29, 2017, 08:44:14 AM
... Imagine going outside and grabbing your kid's pet rabbit, and serving it to your kids for supper...... :yikes: :rotflmao:

And to be EXTRA cruel, don't tell them until after dinner... 

(OK, OK, maybe not so funny to do... probably scar them for life.  But kinda funny to think about...  Quickest way to turn your kids vegan...)

Jamie
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: O.C. on May 29, 2017, 02:06:45 PM
I've eaten Rabbit and it's not to my taste....threatening them with an appearance on my dinner table isn't working BTW  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 30, 2017, 07:00:38 AM
I've eaten Rabbit and it's not to my taste....threatening them with an appearance on my dinner table isn't working BTW  :rotflmao:

Perhaps you're not doing it right?

(http://i.imgur.com/UpLepiX.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 30, 2017, 07:24:04 AM
Perhaps you're not doing it right?
Suffering succotash...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on May 30, 2017, 07:28:06 AM
Suffering succotash...

You watched Cash Cab last night?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 30, 2017, 07:36:45 AM
You watched Cash Cab last night?

No, although I have seen Cash Cab before (years ago).
I grew up on Looney Tunes... best stuff ever!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on May 30, 2017, 08:54:18 AM

Sheesh...   What a maroon !

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 30, 2017, 03:03:00 PM
Looney Tunes with Mel Blanc was the best..  Unfortunately quite a bit was cut out in the later years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 30, 2017, 04:21:57 PM
Ah Mel Blanc. One of a kind.

As the story goes...... when asked if the studio (Warner Bros.) could do anything for him after fifty years of service, and by this they apparently, really, meant anything, Mr. Blanc requested a "new" Edsel. Now this was in the '80's, a full thirty years after the Edsel had gone out of production. Never the less, either a mint- condition or restored Edsel was procured and given to Mr. Blanc at a party thrown by Warner Bros. on their studio lot. He got his Edsel.

He died at 81 yrs. of age and is interned in Hollywood Forever cemetery. Per his request, his headstone is marked  "That's all Folks". And in the scheme of all things, not a bad epitaph IMO and one we could all do well to remember and appreciate. His contribution to humanity may have been small (and maybe not so small after all), but I think he represents a significant piece of Americana, maybe more-so to non- Americans. And if somewhere, in a corner of the world, a person ignorant of virtually all things American, and perhaps with a bit of distance or even hatred of America / Americans, can identity the amusement conveyed by Mel Blanc in SPITE of his being American.... well that is not such a bad thing IMO.

Sorry for waxing philological but I really liked Mel Blanc and I think he has a special place, although perhaps not a big one, is spreading just a bit of American thinking and (dare I say it?) culture to the world.

Brian

Looney Tunes with Mel Blanc was the best..  Unfortunately quite a bit was cut out in the later years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 30, 2017, 07:25:25 PM
Ah Mel Blanc. One of a kind.


Sorry for waxing philological but I really liked Mel Blanc and I think he has a special place, although perhaps not a big one, is spreading just a bit of American thinking and (dare I say it?) culture to the world.

Brian
Mel Brooks expressed it better....

http://youtu.be/jg7LuaKduoA (https://youtu.be/jg7LuaKduoA)


Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 31, 2017, 08:34:03 AM
I never heard that Mel Blanc Edsel story before. Thanks for sharing.

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/485/20416498596_a337c8ef83_b.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 31, 2017, 11:16:04 AM
That's one nice looking car.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on May 31, 2017, 11:21:48 AM
That's one nice looking car.

Yes I like the white '55 Chevy in the background too. At least I assume that's the one you're talking about, not the ugly Edsel.
Granted it is shiny.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 31, 2017, 11:23:31 AM
Nope, I like the Edsel..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 31, 2017, 11:38:01 AM
That explains the buttugly Indian.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 31, 2017, 08:20:17 PM
Of course you know  :battle:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: O.C. on June 01, 2017, 01:33:42 AM
That car reminds me of some model Studebaker of the same period
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 01, 2017, 04:45:14 AM
Another excellent vehicle!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 01, 2017, 06:12:52 AM
Gotta love fins!

(http://wwwcdn.oldcarsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/1957-Silver-Hawk-10.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on June 02, 2017, 06:24:15 AM

I prefer these type of fins.
(http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/Pilgrim32/Fishing/DSCN0856_zpszamhq1dl.jpg) (http://s105.photobucket.com/user/Pilgrim32/media/Fishing/DSCN0856_zpszamhq1dl.jpg.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 02, 2017, 07:42:01 AM
I'm rather partial to these types of fins myself.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d5/09/50/d509500773c7e9dd56d5d653f9a29da9.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 02, 2017, 08:27:18 AM
(http://donutscookiesandcream.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/national-donut-day-2015.jpg)

What else needs to be said?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 02, 2017, 08:52:53 AM
What else needs to be said?

Krispy Kreme vs Dunkin' Donuts?

Donut Thread!

..and just what are Hooligan's thoughts about Koeksisters?

(obviously, I have a cup of coffee, but alas no donut this morning.  :( )
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 02, 2017, 10:48:59 AM
You forgot Voodoo and Psycho donuts.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 03, 2017, 12:03:58 AM
You forgot Voodoo and Psycho donuts.

..or Spudnuts. I've only heard of these, never got to try them in their heyday.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2017, 09:58:31 AM
I probably said this before but..... as an old man, I have a great dose of 'long arm disease' where I cannot focus on anything very close to my eyes. My long vision is good but I need minor corrective lenses to allow me to get closer to anything, such as close enough to a monitor to read it. That is not a problem really either but what is annoying is that it results is a short focal distance; 1.25 diopter lenses are good for perhaps 20" to about 14", any closer and I have to switch to either 1.5 or usually 2.0. That gets me from maybe 12" (Easy Boys!) to about 10" or 9" away at best. To look closer, such as when looking at a PC board, small parts of a firearm, etc., I need 3.0, and they work fine but only for about 2" of focusing range, which is fine for a single task but a few seconds later I end up backing up and needing a lesser power lens again. So normally for any type of changing task, I need 2 and sometimes 3 pair of glasses and have to keep  swapping them. A true PITA.

And now for the pet peeve: I do not wear glasses in the shower (duh), and find that while all the bottles in there have writing from top- to- bottom, the actual word or words saying what they ARE seem to be written in 6 point type. Sure, "Vanilla- Hickory" is gigantic and I can read that but who cares. What I want to (need to) know is WHAT IT IS! I wash my hair and sometimes it seems to get even less clean- yep, that was creme rinse instead of shampoo. Sometimes it gets clean, kinda' but burns..... drain opener. Sometimes it gets a little cleaner and is as fresh as a Summer's Eve.... that was..... well, never-mind. So, why not just put what the product actually IS in bigger, legible letters? I think it is a Soviet conspiracy to ruin the American economy by making us use far too many chemicals in the bathroom!

But I am still hoping it will stop deteriorating and get better. Yep, that's the ticket- it will get better.

Brian (wearing 1.25 diopter lenses so I can type this nonsense in the first place).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 19, 2017, 10:17:44 AM
I probably said this before but..... as an old man, I have a great does of 'long arm disease' where I cannot focus on anything very close to my eyes. My long vision is good but I need minor corrective lenses to allow me to get closer to anything, such as close enough to a monitor to read it. That is not a problem really either but what is annoying is that it results is a short focal distance; 1.25 diopter lenses are good for perhaps 20" to about 14", any closer and I have to switch to either 1.5 or usually 2.0. That gets me from maybe 12" (Easy Boys!) to about 10" or 9" away at best. To look closer, such as when looking at a PC board, small parts of a firearm, etc., I need 3.0, and they work fine but only for about 2" of focusing range, which is fine for a single task but a few seconds later I end up backing up and needing a lesser power lens again. So normally for any type of changing task, I need 2 and sometimes 3 pair of glasses and have to keep  swapping them. A true PITA.

And now for the pet peeve: I do not wear glasses in the shower (duh), and find that while all the bottles in there have writing from top- to- bottom, the actual word or words saying what they ARE seem to be written in 6 point type. Sure, "Vanilla- Hickory" is gigantic and I can read that but who cares. What I want to (need to) know is WHAT IT IS! I wash my hair and sometimes it seems to get even less clean- yep, that was creme rinse instead of shampoo. Sometimes it gets clean, kinda' but burns..... drain opener. Sometimes it gets a little cleaner and is as fresh as a Summer's Eve.... that was..... well, never-mind. So, why not just put what the product actually IS in bigger, legible letters? I think it is a Soviet conspiracy to ruin the American economy by making us use far too many chemicals in the bathroom!

But I am still hoping it will stop deteriorating and get better. Yep, that's the ticket- it will get better.

Brian (wearing 1.25 diopter lenses so I can type this nonsense in the first place).

This has been bugging me for years. It is the second reason I prefer cheaper shampoo's such as Suave. Rhino's shampoo label postulate: Shampoo label point size (that is the actual word shampoo or conditioner) is inversely proportional to the cost of the shampoo or conditioner. But of course my wife makes all the shampoo buying decisions and as a result my bank account is smaller and I have no idea what I'm putting on my hair.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 19, 2017, 10:21:38 AM
ME TOO ME TOO!
Heck, I have issues with the GPS when mounted to the Connie.
I have a pair of glasses with small bifocals for riding.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2017, 12:52:58 PM
Same exact thing on the GPS: if far enough away to focus on it, I cannot read it. If close enough to read, I cannot focus. Same thing is happening with the instruments although they do not require the same fine focus.

I too will be heading for at least one of those stick- on shield lenses for looking down at the reading stuff, and looking over it (them) for the riding stuff.

I think it was George Burns who said that getting old was not for sissies. Probably politically incorrect now but still as true as it was 100 years ago.

And I am not really complaining, just sort of whining about the little garbage that gets in the way as I get older. Overall, I am in good shape as far as I know and can still do everything I want to do so no real complaints; there are lots of people far worse off than me and I fully understand it. And if we live long enough, it is virtually certain that we WILL deteriorate to the point where we cannot do some things, and perhaps are disabled to some degree, perhaps very much so. And the only way out of that that I know of is that 'sudden gust of death'. So really it is all good. Except for the part where they will not print "Shampoo" in big enough letters!!!!!!!!!

 :rotflmao:

Brian

ME TOO ME TOO!
Heck, I have issues with the GPS when mounted to the Connie.
I have a pair of glasses with small bifocals for riding.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 19, 2017, 01:25:18 PM
Darn that hurts.  Just got a brane freeze!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2017, 02:37:15 PM
What is it that hurts, Jim?

Brian

Darn that hurts.  Just got a brane freeze!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 19, 2017, 03:17:15 PM
Me too... I ended up having to put a magnifying glass in the bathroom.  I don't bring/wear my glasses in there, so seeing anything even written in 10 point font seems impossible now.  Getting older sucks, but the alternative sucks even worse.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2017, 03:46:03 PM
Maybe, maybe not: according to some beliefs, both current and past, the other side of the turf might be really great- far nicer than walking around is (or was I guess). But that is a different discussion.

Magnifying glass in the bathroom- HA! I have a wall- mounted 10X mirror so I can shave!!! I cannot easily shave with glasses on but more importantly, I cannot get close enough to the mirror (main, wall mirror) and twist and turn to steer the razor. Now what is really a PITA is that I have a much smaller, suction cup (5X as I remember) mounted mirror for traveling! No mirror, no shavey, or at least not a good shave (read: so the bathroom does not look like a crime scene with me lying in middle of it..... bleeding out).

Brian

Me too... I ended up having to put a magnifying glass in the bathroom.  I don't bring/wear my glasses in there, so seeing anything even written in 10 point font seems impossible now.  Getting older sucks, but the alternative sucks even worse.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 19, 2017, 05:59:35 PM
What is it that hurts, Jim?

Brian

My brane.  I'm better now that I've started the evening drinking...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Hooligan on June 19, 2017, 11:03:32 PM
Krispy Kreme vs Dunkin' Donuts?

Donut Thread!

..and just what are Hooligan's thoughts about Koeksisters?

(obviously, I have a cup of coffee, but alas no donut this morning.  :( )


Koeksisters you say.........?!! :rotflmao:....

Way too sweet for my liking, but thanks for asking..... I'm more of a "Ystervarkie" kind of guy.... The syrup in the koeksisters is just too much, but the coconut in the ystervarkies breaks down the chocolate nicely. It has to be made from fresh sponge cake though, otherwise I'm not interested.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 20, 2017, 03:45:40 AM
I probably said this before but..... as an old man, I have a great dose of 'long arm disease' where I cannot focus on anything very close to my eyes. My long vision is good but I need minor corrective lenses to allow me to get closer to anything, such as close enough to a monitor to read it. That is not a problem really either but what is annoying is that it results is a short focal distance; 1.25 diopter lenses are good for perhaps 20" to about 14", any closer and I have to switch to either 1.5 or usually 2.0. That gets me from maybe 12" (Easy Boys!) to about 10" or 9" away at best. To look closer, such as when looking at a PC board, small parts of a firearm, etc., I need 3.0, and they work fine but only for about 2" of focusing range, which is fine for a single task but a few seconds later I end up backing up and needing a lesser power lens again. So normally for any type of changing task, I need 2 and sometimes 3 pair of glasses and have to keep  swapping them. A true PITA.

And now for the pet peeve: I do not wear glasses in the shower (duh), and find that while all the bottles in there have writing from top- to- bottom, the actual word or words saying what they ARE seem to be written in 6 point type. Sure, "Vanilla- Hickory" is gigantic and I can read that but who cares. What I want to (need to) know is WHAT IT IS! I wash my hair and sometimes it seems to get even less clean- yep, that was creme rinse instead of shampoo. Sometimes it gets clean, kinda' but burns..... drain opener. Sometimes it gets a little cleaner and is as fresh as a Summer's Eve.... that was..... well, never-mind. So, why not just put what the product actually IS in bigger, legible letters? I think it is a Soviet conspiracy to ruin the American economy by making us use far too many chemicals in the bathroom!

But I am still hoping it will stop deteriorating and get better. Yep, that's the ticket- it will get better.

Brian (wearing 1.25 diopter lenses so I can type this nonsense in the first place).

I think that you're on to something Brian! You're a bit late though. It was the Joker and not the Soviets.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/0d/7a/d7/0d7ad7a20042980350b45c4d012f5629.jpg)

If you'll recall, Batman foiled the Jokers plot a few years ago.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 20, 2017, 08:27:41 AM
I had another thought (shocking I know) on this subject.

You have drain cleaner AND Summer's Eve in your shower?  :o

For your wife's sake (and yours) I certainly hope that her eyesight is better than yours...

Someone had to say it, right?   ;D

I probably said this before but..... as an old man, I have a great dose of 'long arm disease' where I cannot focus on anything very close to my eyes. My long vision is good but I need minor corrective lenses to allow me to get closer to anything, such as close enough to a monitor to read it. That is not a problem really either but what is annoying is that it results is a short focal distance; 1.25 diopter lenses are good for perhaps 20" to about 14", any closer and I have to switch to either 1.5 or usually 2.0. That gets me from maybe 12" (Easy Boys!) to about 10" or 9" away at best. To look closer, such as when looking at a PC board, small parts of a firearm, etc., I need 3.0, and they work fine but only for about 2" of focusing range, which is fine for a single task but a few seconds later I end up backing up and needing a lesser power lens again. So normally for any type of changing task, I need 2 and sometimes 3 pair of glasses and have to keep  swapping them. A true PITA.

And now for the pet peeve: I do not wear glasses in the shower (duh), and find that while all the bottles in there have writing from top- to- bottom, the actual word or words saying what they ARE seem to be written in 6 point type. Sure, "Vanilla- Hickory" is gigantic and I can read that but who cares. What I want to (need to) know is WHAT IT IS! I wash my hair and sometimes it seems to get even less clean- yep, that was creme rinse instead of shampoo. Sometimes it gets clean, kinda' but burns..... drain opener. Sometimes it gets a little cleaner and is as fresh as a Summer's Eve.... that was..... well, never-mind. So, why not just put what the product actually IS in bigger, legible letters? I think it is a Soviet conspiracy to ruin the American economy by making us use far too many chemicals in the bathroom!

But I am still hoping it will stop deteriorating and get better. Yep, that's the ticket- it will get better.

Brian (wearing 1.25 diopter lenses so I can type this nonsense in the first place).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 20, 2017, 08:31:02 AM
Me too... I ended up having to put a magnifying glass in the bathroom.  I don't bring/wear my glasses in there, so seeing anything even written in 10 point font seems impossible now.  Getting older sucks, but the alternative sucks even worse.

I suggest getting one of those big fat sharpies and putting a big S or C on those bottles!    ;)

I too have to squint to see what's what, even on the Suave bottles.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 20, 2017, 12:18:09 PM
Well, I may have used some editorial liberty there for illustration value. Those products are not really stored inside my shower enclosure. What is stored there is 115% of all the brands / types / scents of all hair products ever sold on the planet; my wife apparently has a rule about never, ever buying the same product twice. Try some product you like? Well enjoy the hell out of that bottle because you will 1) never see it again and 2) it will be replaced by something you hate at least 3X as much as you liked the last one.

But I do have true story that is even more shocking (and not just to the mind either)!

I know an older person who uses Wet Wipes from one of those pop- up dispensers to clean up after..... certain chores in the bathroom. Now for the twist (and I do not mean in the Wet Wipes but the story); same person also has Clorox brand wipes, in a similar pop- up dispenser, in the same cupboard in the bathroom, for bathroom cleaning chores..... but not THAT one. Now this person is kinda' elderly, a little bit of a 'space shot' and not big on paying too much attention to any event. So this one day, in banned camp, she mixed up the two and guess what- she did NOT try to clean the bathroom with Wet Ones so you know the choice left. Turns out, rather surprisingly I guess, that certain tissues of the human body are fairly sensitive to industrial cleansers containing chlorine. Who woulda' thunk it? Anyway, I was not there (in the dwelling, not speaking of the actual room of the crime of course) but I understand things got kinda' loud for a bit, and the event resulted in something that Monty Python's 'Ministry of Funny Walks' writers would not have seen coming. True story.

Brian (shiver me oh so tender timbers)

I had another thought (shocking I know) on this subject.

You have drain cleaner AND Summer's Eve in your shower?  :o

For your wife's sake (and yours) I certainly hope that her eyesight is better than yours...

Someone had to say it, right?   ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 20, 2017, 02:34:48 PM
Of course I know that you don't store Draino in the shower Brian and that you were just telling an amusing story. I guess my attempt at funny fell short?

I'll work on it.   

Well, I may have used some editorial liberty there for illustration value. Those products are not really stored inside my shower enclosure. What is stored there is 115% of all the brands / types / scents of all hair products ever sold on the planet; my wife apparently has a rule about never, ever buying the same product twice. Try some product you like? Well enjoy the hell out of that bottle because you will 1) never see it again and 2) it will be replaced by something you hate at least 3X as much as you liked the last one.

But I do have true story that is even more shocking (and not just to the mind either)!

I know an older person who uses Wet Wipes from one of those pop- up dispensers to clean up after..... certain chores in the bathroom. Now for the twist (and I do not mean in the Wet Wipes but the story); same person also has Clorox brand wipes, in a similar pop- up dispenser, in the same cupboard in the bathroom, for bathroom cleaning chores..... but not THAT one. Now this person is kinda' elderly, a little bit of a 'space shot' and not big on paying too much attention to any event. So this one day, in banned camp, she mixed up the two and guess what- she did NOT try to clean the bathroom with Wet Ones so you know the choice left. Turns out, rather surprisingly I guess, that certain tissues of the human body are fairly sensitive to industrial cleansers containing chlorine. Who woulda' thunk it? Anyway, I was not there (in the dwelling, not speaking of the actual room of the crime of course) but I understand things got kinda' loud for a bit, and the event resulted in something that Monty Python's 'Ministry of Funny Walks' writers would not have seen coming. True story.

Brian (shiver me oh so tender timbers)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 20, 2017, 02:46:58 PM
Not funny but a true story.

My wife and I stopped at the local supermarket to do some shopping. As I was parking WAY out in BFE (I refuse to park close to the front doors and have my car doors suffer for it) my wife saw a crow chasing a mouse in the open section of the parking lot.

I parked and we watched the struggle unfold. It was like Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins right there at the grocery store. The crow was toying with the mouse. The mouse would make a break for the grassy area and the crow would fly over and cut off his escape route. The mouse would head in the other direction and the crow would head him off again. Being able to fly has it's advantages. This fun went on for a few minutes (I'm sure the mouse wouldn't have called it that) when the crow picked up the mouse and tossed him in the air. The crow caught the mouse by the tail and then bashed him against the pavement a couple of times to soften him up. Lunch was served.

This is the first time that I've seen a crow make a live kill.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 20, 2017, 03:36:23 PM
As I was parking WAY out in BFE (I refuse to park close to the front doors and have my car doors suffer for it)

+1- that's me.  Zero damage and I don't mind walking an extra 50 feet.

Quote
This is the first time that I've seen a crow make a live kill.


Crows are surprisingly [scarily] smart.  Your story makes me think of a cat but with wings...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2017, 02:25:39 PM
My wife claims that I, along with the rest of the male population, cannot multi- task. I respond that she has trouble single- tasking.  ;D  Barbs aside, this is one of the most interesting examples of female multi- tasking I have ever seen.....

Now, THIS is an example of how to multi- task..... at least until the police show up and arrest you. But until that moment, this woman was multi- tasking the hell out of herself and actually including others.... Outstanding!

https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html (https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html)

Brian (I have been living among humans now for decades and they still surprise me every single day)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2017, 03:26:18 PM
I cannot believe this guy riding the bike did not go down!

Someone taught someone else a lesson but I am not sure who is who. Also not sure the authorities know who was riding the bike but if they can identity the rider I bet there will be hell to pay....

https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-motorcyclist-kicks-car-triggers-155759516.html (https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-motorcyclist-kicks-car-triggers-155759516.html)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 22, 2017, 03:43:58 PM
Why in the world does the video not include some time BEFORE the kick?  It looks like it is a single lane and the car entered the lane without looking, forcing the bike to the left.  I can't imagine trying to kick a car while moving at highway speeds (or any speed), insanity!  Crazy chain of events.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 22, 2017, 09:16:24 PM
My wife claims that I, along with the rest of the male population, cannot multi- task. I respond that she has trouble single- tasking.  ;D  Barbs aside, this is one of the most interesting examples of female multi- tasking I have ever seen.....

Now, THIS is an example of how to multi- task..... at least until the police show up and arrest you. But until that moment, this woman was multi- tasking the hell out of herself and actually including others.... Outstanding!

https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html (https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html)

Brian (I have been living among humans now for decades and they still surprise me every single day)

I freely admit I can't multi-task.  Look down at display flashing low fuel....run into the back of a C10.   I'm also simple, according to my wife.  I am what I am.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2017, 09:49:35 PM
Would not reading AND crashing be considered multi- tasking? Hey, we are not grading the multi- tasking here, merely defining it......

:-)

Brian

I freely admit I can't multi-task.  Look down at display flashing low fuel....run into the back of a C10.   I'm also simple, according to my wife.  I am what I am.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 23, 2017, 04:28:43 AM
I can't read and watch/hear tv either.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 23, 2017, 07:22:01 AM
My wife claims that I, along with the rest of the male population, cannot multi- task. I respond that she has trouble single- tasking.  ;D  Barbs aside, this is one of the most interesting examples of female multi- tasking I have ever seen.....

Now, THIS is an example of how to multi- task..... at least until the police show up and arrest you. But until that moment, this woman was multi- tasking the hell out of herself and actually including others.... Outstanding!

https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html (https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html)

Brian (I have been living among humans now for decades and they still surprise me every single day)

I'm going to have to remember that one! Then I can blame Brian when I am in the dog house for a few days.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 23, 2017, 07:53:59 AM
I cannot believe this guy riding the bike did not go down!

Someone taught someone else a lesson but I am not sure who is who. Also not sure the authorities know who was riding the bike but if they can identity the rider I bet there will be hell to pay....

https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-motorcyclist-kicks-car-triggers-155759516.html (https://www.yahoo.com/news/video-motorcyclist-kicks-car-triggers-155759516.html)

Brian

An incredible display of stupidity!

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVuQaPpHXzU#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 23, 2017, 08:25:55 AM
wow,I hope they catch that ass on the bike
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 23, 2017, 08:27:03 AM
wow,I hope they catch that ass on the bike

I thought I had heard they already caught the rider.

WRONG
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 23, 2017, 02:45:03 PM
So a bunch of years ago, the 'bottom feeders' of the US of A decided everyone needed lots of telephone solicitations each and everyday. And it annoyed those of us with telephones, which I suspect is just about everyone. Then the Gummit conjured up the 'Do Not Call' list and things really calmed down for a few years. Then, once all the wires were proverbially twisted together via the 'Net, and it is not legally clear where a phone call really originates from (a call from, say, Maryland, US of A, that is sent through a I.S.P. in, say, Malaysia, becomes difficult to legally determine just where it did originate). Of course the only people who really cared or noticed this were..... yep, the bottom feeders. So the telephone solicitations started again and now they have really ramped things up; I am getting over a dozen a DAY! So I got a new phone (landline w/ message recorder and yes, I know I am the last one in the US using a landline) that has the ole' call blocking feature. But soon it becomes clear that the bottom feeders are not using one number but an entire BLOCK of numbers 'cause they are basically free given the nature of the Internet. Sigh. As fast as I block them, they jump three digits over and hit me again.

I have resorted to turning off all the ringers in my house. All of the phones as well as the base unit light up so if I happen to see that occur, I can take a look at a screen and see if I know who it is. I also have Caller ID announcement but that backfired because even without ringers, I had a mechanical, female voice announce a 9,375 digit phone number along with a city and state name. Oy Vei! So I turned the number of rings down to two and now the answering machine kicks in before 'Bitchin' Betty' can tell me who it is that I do not want to hear from in the first place.

I think this is all a vast conspiracy and I am beginning to see a pattern. First, they forced electronic ignition and fuel injection down our throats. Then KiPass. Next was getting the font on shampoo bottles down to below the recognition threshold. Now it is calling me 43 times a day to sell me hemorrhoid creme or outside air quality insurance or some other foolish thing I do not need. It is getting tougher every single day I tells' ya'!

30 years ago, that would have been a post mocking old people and their endless complaining about nothing. Now it is simply the truth; something here is pathetic but I am not sure if it is 'them' or me.....

:-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on June 23, 2017, 02:47:09 PM
FCC hits robocaller with agency's largest-ever fine of $120 million (https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/06/22/fcc-hits-robocaller-agencys-largest-ever-fine-120-million/103102546/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 23, 2017, 10:07:55 PM
wow,I hope they catch that ass on the bike

I hope not! I want that guy in my gang!!




Seriously, though, wish we could see what led to that kick.

And wonder if they caught the rider.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 24, 2017, 05:21:37 AM
Seriously, though, wish we could see what led to that kick.

Pretty sure the car entered the lane without looking and starting pushing the bike into the barrier.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 24, 2017, 05:37:04 AM
Pretty sure the car entered the lane without looking and starting pushing the bike into the barrier.

...and the 75 year old driver was startled and surprised when the dickhead rider kicked his car causing him to erratically jerk the steering wheel and set a possibly deadly chain reaction in motion. Since the dickhead rider had time to attack the car he had time to drop back and not escalate a bad situation.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 24, 2017, 07:31:41 AM
My wife claims that I, along with the rest of the male population, cannot multi- task. I respond that she has trouble single- tasking.  ;D  Barbs aside, this is one of the most interesting examples of female multi- tasking I have ever seen.....

Now, THIS is an example of how to multi- task..... at least until the police show up and arrest you. But until that moment, this woman was multi- tasking the hell out of herself and actually including others.... Outstanding!

https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html (https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/mom-allegedly-breastfed-her-infant-233859435.html)

Brian (I have been living among humans now for decades and they still surprise me every single day)

I've been told that the reason that I can't multitask is because I'm always thinking about sex. I deigned this of course and said that I do think about other things, I just can't remember what those things are at the moment.    :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 24, 2017, 08:28:48 PM
...and the 75 year old driver was startled and surprised when the dickhead rider kicked his car causing him to erratically jerk the steering wheel and set a possibly deadly chain reaction in motion. Since the dickhead rider had time to attack the car he had time to drop back and not escalate a bad situation.

Extremely true.  The car driver was an idiot in several ways.  But the motorcycle driver was even more of an idiot.  I hope the passengers in the SUV were all wearing seatbelts.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 25, 2017, 01:27:14 PM
...

Seriously, though, wish we could see what led to that kick.

...

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-road-rage-video-santa-clarita-20170623-story.html (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-road-rage-video-santa-clarita-20170623-story.html)

"In an interview with The Times on Friday, Chris Traber, 47, of Santa Clarita, said both men appeared to play a role in the harrowing incident."

...

"They were headed southbound on the 14 Freeway, and driving in the No. 1 lane, when the man on a Harley Davidson-type motorcycle passed them on the left, riding close to the double-yellow lines that separate the general traffic lanes from the HOV lanes.

About 150 feet ahead was a Nissan sedan driving in the HOV lane, Traber said. Just as the motorcyclist was passing the sedan on the right-hand side, the sedan tried to exit the carpool lane and enter the No. 1 lane. That’s when the car bumped the bike.

“I’m sure he didn’t see the motorcyclist,” Traber said of the driver. “He scared the living daylights out of the motorcyclist. He almost went down. That guy can really handle his bike.”

Traber said that after the motorcyclist regained control, he pulled up to the car’s passenger door and began gesturing at the driver. Traber said he appeared to be saying something too, but Traber couldn’t hear him. He said he figured the biker was “saying something like, hey, you almost hit me! Watch out!”

Traber said it looked as though the driver was yelling something back at the biker, and that it didn’t help matters, because that’s when the motorcyclist started kicking the passenger door.

“I said, ‘Wow, man, something’s going to happen. I gotta get this,’” Traber said. “So I grab my phone and started recording.”

The motorcyclist then swooped behind the sedan, pulled up along the driver side and kicked the car again, Traber said. In a flash, the driver of the sedan swerved hard left and sideswiped the motorcyclist, almost sending him barreling into a concrete freeway divider, he said.

“As you can see, he lost control after doing that,” Traber said of the driver.

The video captured the chaos that ensued. After bumping the motorcyclist, the car swerved right, and then left, and collided with the concrete divider in a shower of sparks and flame. The car then ricocheted off the divider, veered across the freeway and slammed into a Cadillac truck, flipping it over onto its roof."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 25, 2017, 01:28:40 PM
I love quoting myself.







! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycu434kkk14#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 25, 2017, 02:58:16 PM
So it turns out to be a case of 'Dumb' and 'Dumber' trying to remove themselves from the gene pool.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 25, 2017, 04:21:55 PM
So it turns out to be a case of 'Dumb' and 'Dumber' trying to remove themselves from the gene pool.

Exactly... and in the process, almost taking others with them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 25, 2017, 07:39:52 PM
Well the first thing that struck me in reading this post was 'What does not belong and why?'. I would choose Harley Davidson, and that guy can really handle that bike....    ;D

The other thing that really impressed me is that a human in a car struck a human on a [sort of] motorcycle and the 'car went down'. A most unusual story, and I have to score this as a win for the rider; most of us cannot knock an auto down with a..... well, two wheeled vehicle. This guy's got tenacity and I always appreciate that- he can hide his bike at my house until this whole thing dies down.  ;D

As far as harrowing, well I guess we would have to see everyones' underwear to make that determination. Well, maybe not actually SEE it but certainly a photo. I have seen 'harrowing' and it is all brown and sticky....

Brian

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-road-rage-video-santa-clarita-20170623-story.html (http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-road-rage-video-santa-clarita-20170623-story.html)

"In an interview with The Times on Friday, Chris Traber, 47, of Santa Clarita, said both men appeared to play a role in the harrowing incident."

...

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 26, 2017, 06:39:34 AM
If I got angry and kicked every cager that didn't see me and moved into my lane, I don't think I'd be here to discuss this right now.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 26, 2017, 02:46:24 PM
Well the first thing that struck me in reading this post was 'What does not belong and why?'. I would choose Harley Davidson, and that guy can really handle that bike....    ;D

The other thing that really impressed me is that a human in a car struck a human on a [sort of] motorcycle and the 'car went down'. A most unusual story, and I have to score this as a win for the rider; most of us cannot knock an auto down with a..... well, two wheeled vehicle. This guy's got tenacity and I always appreciate that- he can hide his bike at my house until this whole thing dies down.  ;D

As far as harrowing, well I guess we would have to see everyones' underwear to make that determination. Well, maybe not actually SEE it but certainly a photo. I have seen 'harrowing' and it is all brown and sticky....

Brian

Actually two cars went down...    This is what happens when road rage escalates.  No one wins...   Not even the mc rider because eventually, he will be known.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 26, 2017, 03:47:52 PM
Not even the mc rider because eventually, he will be known.

Or will end up dead through his own stupid actions.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 28, 2017, 03:28:58 PM
Free flights for life! Well, free flights on Spirit Airlines anyway. And of course only for Christoph Lezcano and one guest flying with him. And of course only on his birthday..... But that is because Christoph Lezcano was born on a Spirit Airline flight, and the airline has extended him this interesting and unusual benifit.

OK, so it is a marketing gimmick. And it is only useful on Spirit Airlines rather than a <real> airline such as Southwest for example. But still, it is kinda' cool I think.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/baby-born-spirit-airlines-plane-235221691.html

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 28, 2017, 04:20:22 PM
Free flights for life! Well, free flights on Spirit Airlines anyway. And of course only for Christoph Lezcano and one guest flying with him. And of course only on his birthday..... But that is because Christoph Lezcano was born on a Spirit Airline flight, and the airline has extended him this interesting and unusual benifit.

OK, so it is a marketing gimmick. And it is only useful on Spirit Airlines rather than a <real> airline such as Southwest for example. But still, it is kinda' cool I think.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/baby-born-spirit-airlines-plane-235221691.html

Brian

And it worked! I have never even heard of Spirit Airlines until now. Now I know if first drive 4 hours to Huston, I could take a Spirit Airlines flight of my choice to someplace, just not Austin or San Antonio.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 28, 2017, 06:20:19 PM
And a happy ending: an amusing story, great marketing, a cool story for mom and especially, the kid, and as you say, it seems to be working.

This whole thing is like sex, only good!

Brian

And it worked! I have never even heard of Spirit Airlines until now. Now I know if first drive 4 hours to Huston, I could take a Spirit Airlines flight of my choice to someplace, just not Austin or San Antonio.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 29, 2017, 11:39:19 AM
Great- I have been hanging around here, missing important stuff going on elsewhere.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/r2-d2-droid-used-star-wars-films-sells-203240651.html (https://www.yahoo.com/movies/r2-d2-droid-used-star-wars-films-sells-203240651.html)

Finally, R2D2 came up for sale and I missed out 'cause I was fiddlin' around here! I was so going to buy that thing- he could have helped me work on the house.

 ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on July 01, 2017, 03:38:56 PM
... he could have helped me work on the house.

Speaking of working on your house...it made me wonder...Why, when we refer to Air Conditioning, do we abbreviate it as A/C instead of A.C.   
..is it so we don't mix it up with Alternating Current? I thought that was AC. No?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 01, 2017, 05:35:38 PM
I dunno'? But air conditioning is always referred to as A/C as far as I know.... and I have been spending a LOT of time studying up on it lately.  ;)  Also referred to as HVAC but that is not air conditioning per se, that is Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning as a general area.

Then again, my preferred on- line vendor of A/C is called AC Warehouse so maybe the slash AND the periods are not needed?

You could always go to Google and try typing in: "Why is Air Conditioning" and see what Google thinks may be the best questions. My suggestions were, in order: "bad, sexist, important, not cooling". ?? So then I typed in: "How do fat people" and I cannot print Google's suggestions for that. So then I typed in "How do.... well, you can imagine.

Back ON NO TOPIC WHATSOEVER: Damn you Marty, you have de- railed me! But I will not be swayed, I am putting A/C in my house and that is final! Well, combination A/C and heating units.... heat pumps to be precise though I will not use them for heat and am also putting in electro- hydronic heating units (six of them) to heat the upstairs.

Brian

Speaking of working on your house...it made me wonder...Why, when we refer to Air Conditioning, do we abbreviate it as A/C instead of A.C.   
..is it so we don't mix it up with Alternating Current? I thought that was AC. No?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 01, 2017, 07:12:54 PM
Speaking of working on your house...it made me wonder...Why, when we refer to Air Conditioning, do we abbreviate it as A/C instead of A.C. 

Why is it called "air conditioning" at all?  Anything done to condition the air, heat it, cool it, filter it, de/humidify it, is air conditioning...

And while we are at it... why is it "refrigerate"?  What is with the "re"?  Was it cold to begin with or something?  "Frigerate" comes from the Latin "frigus" meaning "cold".  Shouldn't it just be called frigerate, frigeration, frigerator, and frigerated?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on July 01, 2017, 07:58:15 PM
Damn you Marty,

Quit imitating my wife!  >:(    ( ;))


And while we are at it... why is it "refrigerate"?  What is with the "re"?  Was it cold to begin with or something? Shouldn't it just be called frigerate, frigeration, frigerator, and frigerated?

I like where this is headed.
 It's...it's...Carlinesque..as in George Carlin.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 01, 2017, 10:08:40 PM
For a while, in the 1950's or so, I think air conditioning meant that the air was conditioned as was needed, meaning that it was heated or cooled as needed. I know that was the thought and venaccular regarding submarines, when they became air conditioned; the system provided both heat as well as cold. I <believe> air conditioning also applied to things such as movie theaters way back when, for the same reason. Then somehow, for some reason, air- condition became a cold- only device. Perhaps it was the rapid introduction of central heating to homes throughout the US but they did not get cooling for decades so the heating was not called air conditioning but cooling was.

Well, I take the re part of refrigerator to mean that it is frigerated the first time it is powered up but then each new cycle RE- refrigerates the unit, again cooling it down to a preset level. ??

Irregardless, that is what we call them and it is probably beyond correction or alteration now, sorta like this thread, there ain't no reintelligenceing it now even if a smot guy comes along....

 :rotflmao:

I have to comment on the fact that my spelling checker thinks I spelled irregardless correctly. New word? If so, when the hell did that slip in there (said in the voice of an Old French w..... er, professional services provider.

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian

Why is it called "air conditioning" at all?  Anything done to condition the air, heat it, cool it, filter it, de/humidify it, is air conditioning...

And while we are at it... why is it "refrigerate"?  What is with the "re"?  Was it cold to begin with or something?  "Frigerate" comes from the Latin "frigus" meaning "cold".  Shouldn't it just be called frigerate, frigeration, frigerator, and frigerated?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 02, 2017, 01:01:26 AM
Air COnditioning was originally invented for the printing industry so that they could print reliably in an environment where the humidity levels especially could be rigidly maintained. AT the time the inks used were very sensitive to changes in humidity.


The cooling effect and subsequent home/ office use was incidental

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 02, 2017, 06:05:10 AM
Irregardless,
<shutter> :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 02, 2017, 06:31:40 AM
<shutter> :o  <shudder>  :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 02, 2017, 07:39:08 AM


LOL!  And you win the prize :)  Or for those in Brittan, where they don't like the letter "z",  perhaps "prise"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on July 02, 2017, 12:11:12 PM
Or for those in Brittan, where they don't like the letter "z",  perhaps "prise"?

That's strange, Brittan's website (http://www.brittan.k12.ca.us/) doesn't mention anything about their aversion to z.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 02, 2017, 02:12:03 PM
That's strange, Brittan's website (http://www.brittan.k12.ca.us/) doesn't mention anything about their aversion to z.

Not THAT Brittan, the one that does this:

initialise
recognise
criticise
organise

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/07/brits-spell-realize-s (http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/07/brits-spell-realize-s)

They really do like the letter "u", though  :)

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/05/america-drop-u-british-spellings/ (http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/05/america-drop-u-british-spellings/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on July 02, 2017, 06:40:24 PM
Not THAT Brittan, the one that does this:

initialise
recognise
criticise
organise

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/07/brits-spell-realize-s (http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/07/brits-spell-realize-s)

They really do like the letter "u", though  :)

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/05/america-drop-u-british-spellings/ (http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/05/america-drop-u-british-spellings/)

OH, you are referring to Britain, short for Great Britain, the ninth largest Island in the world? Well why didn't you say so.  ???  :stirpot:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 02, 2017, 09:44:39 PM
OH, you are referring to Britain, short for Great Britain, the ninth largest Island in the world? Well why didn't you say so.  ???  :stirpot:

Oh wow, like, I am speechless.   :doh:

I just experimented some and realized my browser spell-checker was turning a typo of "Brittain" (with an accidental extra "t" ) into "Brittan" which is quite fascinating, since that doesn't appear to even be a valid word.  I didn't even notice and then it "remembered" it as a preferred selection, quietly replacing my typing of "Britain" with "Brittan"!   I could turn off the autocomplete which helps tremendously, but the kicker is that I can't remove "Brittan" from the built-in dictionary to ensure it doesn't happen again (although I suppose it is unlikely).  I love this quote:

The contents of dictionaries are not maintained by Mozilla. In some cases they are not maintained by anyone. If you think the contents of a dictionary should be updated, you might be able to find out who maintains it by looking in its README file (if it has one).

Oh, I love it when technology "helps" me...  I do so look forward to self-driving cars...  "Sorry sir, I corrected your route to drive us off the cliff because it seemed like you wanted an even faster route down.  If you are still able, please press or say 'feedback' to register a complaint, if necessary.  Your feedback is valuable and will help with development of future products."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 03, 2017, 06:17:01 AM
OH, you are referring to Britain, short for Great Britain, the ninth largest Island in the world? Well why didn't you say so.  ??? :stirpot:

Thank you! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 04, 2017, 02:28:15 PM
It is pretty well known that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the US, starting in 1932 and ending in his fourth term, with his death in office, in 1945 and was the longest serving President in US history. He had been Governor of New York before taking office as President.

What I think is less well known is that F.D.R. ran for the office of Vice President in 1920. He and his presidential running mate lost to Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, elected as President and Vice President respectively, although Coolidge would finish Harding's first term after Harding died in office.

The man who ran for President in 1920 with F.D.R. (for those outside the US: in the US, Presidents and Vice Presidents run for office together, on one 'ticket' and are elected or defeated as a team) was a gentleman named James Cox, the current Governor of Ohio at the time. Some of our Presidents start off on the commercial side of life, often becoming wealthy and well- known from that business while others are basically full- time politicians. Governor Cox was the former and this is the interesting and absolutely useless bit of trivia; Mr. Cox generated his wealth by starting off as a journalist, eventually rising to buy a newspaper, then several newspapers, making all and himself successful and becoming wealthy in the process. After spending several years in politics, he left and returned to the private sector after his failed Presidental bid of 1920, and concentrated on making his newspaper business into an impressive conglomerate which he named.... Cox Enterprises. Today, Cox Enterprises employees ~60,000 people and does 18 billion dollars worth of business annually, and remains a private company, still owned by run by children and grandchildren of James M. Cox with a fourth generation having members sitting on the board of directors. James Cox STILL has a living daughter, Anne Cox, active in the company, who was born in 1919.

And the moral of the story is that it is these old codgers who are getting  in the way and preventing me from using nomorobo service! Maybe I should call Anne Cox 53 times per day and try to sell her things? Life insurance perhaps? I mean, what 98 year old woman does NOT need more life insurance? Then again, she probably uses Verizon and nomorobo so I would not be able to get through to her anyway.....

 :rotflmao:  three times

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 04, 2017, 04:50:12 PM
News media outlets seem to carry a lot of negative news and while that is true, it is because a lot of things that are newsworthy are negative (see thread about phone - book, firearm testing for verification).

But there are occasional stories that are not negative at all and it is nice to find one now and again. And on top of that, nice to see the subject being about the police and the community in a positive light. Now I realize that this may well have been staged as a public relations stunt but if it was, kudos that whatever police dept. put it on.... It kinda' does look staged with a black male and white female senior LEO but still, pretty good. THIS is how you do P.R. IMO. And I especially got a kick out of the female LEO actually riding in the water, sitting inside a large garbage bag to keep her gear dry; again whatever damage might have been done to any of her gear, it  was more than worth it for community relations IMO.

United Airlines: pay attention.  :rotflmao:

And by the way: I found this on Yahoo News first (liberal as then tend to be, I find they cover a pretty wide spectrum of subjects and is something seem suspect, I simply find either a) the 'real' or 'full' story or b) the same story from several sources) and then many other outlets, even the 'Crazy Channel'.  ;D

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/north-carolina-police-respond-call-end-joining-slip/story?id=48437620 (http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/north-carolina-police-respond-call-end-joining-slip/story?id=48437620)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 04, 2017, 07:32:49 PM
As someone greatly disturbed by noise, I feel a bit differently about the story.  A slip-n-slide on the street is probably not legal (or safe), which they ignored.  And they immediately dismissed the noise complaint "It was literally the sound of kids playing".  Kids "playing" can range from insanely loud (screaming at 120dB over and over, blasting stereos, crashing on cooking pots, for example) to no problem at all (laughing, talking, running around).  Now, I wasn't there, so I don't know how much noise it was or for how long, but I know exactly what it is like to be severely annoyed by unnecessary neighborhood noise for long periods.  But I admit I am unusually grumpy.  Bah humbug.  Of course, it is cool that the cops joined in and got wet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 04, 2017, 07:40:46 PM
....and get off my lawn...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 04, 2017, 07:41:09 PM
....and get off my lawn...

Exactly!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 04, 2017, 07:49:29 PM
Yeah, and when Dennis comes over, it is ALWAYS trouble, right?

Certainly we have to live with rules in society, especially a densely packed society. And most of those rules are pretty well defined. Now the Police got a complaint about noise. They have to respond. When they did, they decided that it was kids making 'fun', 'happy' noise and not beyond the law or apparently not too much. I am surmising here. Also, most noise standard in communities are really quite high until nighttime, and it was not night time when this happened. They also mentioned that the uber -long slide, basically in the gutter of the street, was 'in violation', kinda' but there was plenty of room for emergency vehicles. so they let it go and the kids had some fun on 4 July. I am sure it was over by dark or shortly after, and as I said before, the noise limits decrease with time of day so those very same LEO's may have had to come back and shut it down. But during the day, they let it go, which I think was the right thing for many different reasons. And I think we all have to agree, far better this 'social disturbance' than a Chicago shootout, right?

Brian

As someone greatly disturbed by noise, I feel a bit differently about the story.  A slip-n-slide on the street is probably not legal (or safe), which they ignored.  And they immediately dismissed the noise complaint "It was literally the sound of kids playing".  Kids "playing" can range from insanely loud (screaming at 120dB over and over, blasting stereos, crashing on cooking pots, for example) to no problem at all (laughing, talking, running around).  Now, I wasn't there, so I don't know how much noise it was or for how long, but I know exactly what it is like to be severely annoyed by unnecessary neighborhood noise for long periods.  But I admit I am unusually grumpy.  Bah humbug.  Of course, it is cool that the cops joined in and got wet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 04, 2017, 08:15:27 PM
And I think we all have to agree, far better this 'social disturbance' than a Chicago shootout, right?

Certainly- but I prefer neither :)

"I want it all and I want it now"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFDcoX7s6rE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFDcoX7s6rE)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 05, 2017, 09:44:49 AM
Well, I think we all have a better idea of who called in the complaint in the first place now.

 :rotflmao:

I did not see anything that could generate 120 bB in that video but there may have been crashing cooking pots in the background. Hey, it could happen.  ;) ;D

There is no doubt that population density plays a big part in human conflict, at least on the small scale. People packed together does generate friction because someone is always doing something that annoys someone else, and when they are packed tightly together, it greatly exacerbates the problem.

I do understand what you mean I think; urban city noises would get really old with me in short order- and I do not mean the gunfire (gunfire does not bother me, with hearing protection or without) but just the general noise that people and vehicles make. The sound level never drops to zero.

Still, the point of the video was that sometimes LEOs do NOT over- react, or act badly, or help escalate a bad situation.

Brian

As someone greatly disturbed by noise, I feel a bit differently about the story.  A slip-n-slide on the street is probably not legal (or safe), which they ignored.  And they immediately dismissed the noise complaint "It was literally the sound of kids playing".  Kids "playing" can range from insanely loud (screaming at 120dB over and over, blasting stereos, crashing on cooking pots, for example) to no problem at all (laughing, talking, running around).  Now, I wasn't there, so I don't know how much noise it was or for how long, but I know exactly what it is like to be severely annoyed by unnecessary neighborhood noise for long periods.  But I admit I am unusually grumpy.  Bah humbug.  Of course, it is cool that the cops joined in and got wet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 07, 2017, 10:31:06 AM
But United did not pay attention. They continue on, using their own special brand of P.R.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/06/535773208/united-apologizes-as-another-passenger-loses-seat-this-one-a-toddler (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/06/535773208/united-apologizes-as-another-passenger-loses-seat-this-one-a-toddler)

 ::)

Brian


<snip>

 ....THIS is how you do P.R. IMO. And I especially got a kick out of the female LEO actually riding in the water, sitting inside a large garbage bag to keep her gear dry; again whatever damage might have been done to any of her gear, it  was more than worth it for community relations IMO.

United Airlines: pay attention.  :rotflmao:

<snip>

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/north-carolina-police-respond-call-end-joining-slip/story?id=48437620 (http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/north-carolina-police-respond-call-end-joining-slip/story?id=48437620)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on July 07, 2017, 11:09:12 AM
What's funnier is this has been going on for years, it was just brought to the surface with cell phone cameras and the recent "extraction" of the Asian doctor.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 07, 2017, 03:35:44 PM
What's funnier is this has been going on for years, it was just brought to the surface with cell phone cameras and the recent "extraction" of the Asian doctor.

See this is exactly why we now know there are no alien ufo's or big foot. It used to be argued that sightings were rare and most people did not walk around with a camera so no credible pictures. Now the vast majority of people walk around with a camera and still no credible pictures. On the other hand, airlines, cats and bikers misbehaving we have 1000's of videos a day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 07, 2017, 05:23:34 PM
FIFY.  ;)

Brian

See this is exactly why we now know there are no alien ufo's or big foot. It used to be argued that sightings were rare and most people did not walk around with a camera so no credible pictures. Now the vast majority of people walk around with a camera and still no credible pictures. On the other hand, airlines, cats, the police (LEOs, not the group), and bikers misbehaving we have 1000's of videos a day.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 14, 2017, 09:29:59 PM
Islam does not allow the consumption of alcohol. And this explains some other benefits of not drinking any alcohol..... :https://www.yahoo.com/news/emirates-airline-caught-pouring-unused-084824373.html

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 16, 2017, 04:58:39 PM
I tried out a new target sighting system today; it is a very simple combination of a video camera, battery pack, antenna and WiFi hub, all mounted in.... wait for it, a plastic ammunition box (of course). The whole thing is set up near the target, the camera pointed at the target, and a software package on a [smartphone, Ipad, tablet or a laptop] watches and records each strike. Not really all that sophisticated but a fantastic idea for shooters, at least those of us NOT located in big cities such as Chicago and who have to use actual paper targets.  :o

Anyway, here is the odd thing: in addition to normal, visible light, the camera works very well in infrared. In fact, it is superb in infrared and actually has an infrared emitter to 'illuminate' whatever the camera is pointed at with infrared light. And I could not figure out why the mfg. did that- who shoots at targets in the dark? How would one target shoot.... in the dark? Not only is it against all range rules I have ever seen, and a really, really bad idea but how would it work anyway? Then I found the answer: the mfg. is using a security camera and THEY are made to work well in infrared! Aha, that makes sense. Used for the task I purchased it for it is simply ignored, or in some cases seems to confound some buyers but it is only there because the camera is begin used for a different task than it was designed to do.

Brian (always confused and sometimes in the dark)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 17, 2017, 11:21:44 AM
I tried out a new target sighting system today; it is a very simple combination of a video camera, battery pack, antenna and WiFi hub, all mounted in.... wait for it, a plastic ammunition box (of course). The whole thing is set up near the target, the camera pointed at the target, and a software package on a [smartphone, Ipad, tablet or a laptop] watches and records each strike. Not really all that sophisticated but a fantastic idea for shooters, at least those of us NOT located in big cities such as Chicago and who have to use actual paper targets.  :o

Anyway, here is the odd thing: in addition to normal, visible light, the camera works very well in infrared. In fact, it is superb in infrared and actually has an infrared emitter to 'illuminate' whatever the camera is pointed at with infrared light. And I could not figure out why the mfg. did that- who shoots at targets in the dark? How would one target shoot.... in the dark? Not only is it against all range rules I have ever seen, and a really, really bad idea but how would it work anyway? Then I found the answer: the mfg. is using a security camera and THEY are made to work well in infrared! Aha, that makes sense. Used for the task I purchased it for it is simply ignored, or in some cases seems to confound some buyers but it is only there because the camera is begin used for a different task than it was designed to do.

Brian (always confused and sometimes in the dark)

I'm going to have to check these things out. It's been a few years since I've done some long distance shooting and even with a decent sporting scope it was difficult to see some hits. I can guarantee you my eyes haven't exactly gotten better in the last 5 years. I don't know what you paid for this device but I bet it's a lot cheaper than and really good spotting scope.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 17, 2017, 11:47:39 AM
$350, in the range of a decent spotting 'scope that can reliably be used to see .22 sized holes at 200 yds. and 300 yds. given good lighting and target contrast. But I am sending my unit back because it has a couple of serious enough flaws that make it too difficult to actually use. I am looking at another system though and can report on that if you want.

There are several on the market, falling into two very distinct price points; the 'cheap' ones are ~$350 and the 'long range' ones are ~$650. But they will work at better than one- mile and so are the darlings of the long distance shooting community.

This is a video of the same unit I bought and interestingly enough, it was made by a gentleman in Australia.... the authorities must have missed one firearm and one firearm owner in the two big 'roundups'.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2xf30LMFNs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2xf30LMFNs)

The Bullseye software that is used on Android and Apple products has a couple of amazing features though (the Windoze version of the software does NOT have these features). Because the camera is not in- line with the target (you know, w/in the ballistic trajectory, which would be really hard on the camera hardware) but below and off to the side, it does not show a correct projection of the target; squares are not square but oddly shaped, 4 sided objects. The software has a feature where you define the corners of the target and it then compensates for the angle perspective and shows a 'front' view. Even better, you calibrate the target in the software and it will then project a grid overlay that again, you define. This yields two things: the software will not tell you the group size, and if can also instruct you how to zero your sighting system (literally showing how many 'clicks' up / down and left / right to center POI). Neat stuff.

The flaws are 1) the camera resolution is a bit too low. 2) The shooter has to interact with the software between each shot- not a gigantic deal but still, I would rather just record the live video and twiddle with it after a string is over. and 3) the camera is rigidly mounted in a box, so the box must be wedged in the front to point to the correct place and that is pretty clunky and painful IMO and IME. That is the real deal- killer.

It was useful though as I am working up some match- grade loads for a new bull barrelled .223; consecutive strings of stepped loads and two different bullets (Hornady 68 gn. HP Match and Sierra 69 gn. Match Kings) immediately showed me, all while sitting at the bench, what was working better and providing a permanent record.

Still, I think this is the way to go instead of optics, I just want a somewhat different physical system. There are a couple of others out there and of course, the home- made versions because other than the software, the 'system' is really a security camera, battery, and WiFi hub and antenna.

Brian

I'm going to have to check these things out. It's been a few years since I've done some long distance shooting and even with a decent sporting scope it was difficult to see some hits. I can guarantee you my eyes haven't exactly gotten better in the last 5 years. I don't know what you paid for this device but I bet it's a lot cheaper than and really good spotting scope.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 23, 2017, 11:51:38 AM
In honor of the opening of the movie Dunkirk:

There have been a lot of truly gifted writers / speakers native to the English language. My own favorite is an American, the inimitable Mr. A. Lincoln. But everyone has a personality and certain traits, and part of what I think makes Lincoln so wonderful is that he wrote / spoke with a lot of sentiment (not sentimentality, what Hallmark greeting cards uses to shame us into buying cards for Grandam, etc.) and was so very eloquent in expressing that sentiment. And so of course he was never very good at biting, slightly caustic or acerbic language. For that we have Winston Churchill, an altogether different type of person but also simply excellent as a writer and speaker (professional, public speaking) in the English language. One of my favorites:

When accused of occasionally ending his sentences with prepositions, he is supposed to have icily responded: ""This is the type of errant pedantry up with which I will not put."   :rotflmao: :rotflmao:  Way better than that pig story, which I do not believe ever actually happened anyway. But as the story goes: a female MP, Bessie Braddock or the Conservative Lady Astor depending on which story one happens to hear, is supposed to have said to the PM Churchill that he was 'disgustingly drunk'. To which he replied:  'My dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.'

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 24, 2017, 09:00:53 AM
In honor of the opening of the movie Dunkirk:

There have been a lot of truly gifted writers / speakers native to the English language. My own favorite is an American, the inimitable Mr. A. Lincoln. But everyone has a personality and certain traits, and part of what I think makes Lincoln so wonderful is that he wrote / spoke with a lot of sentiment (not sentimentality, what Hallmark greeting cards uses to shame us into buying cards for Grandam, etc.) and was so very eloquent in expressing that sentiment. And so of course he was never very good at biting, slightly caustic or acerbic language. For that we have Winston Churchill, an altogether different type of person but also simply excellent as a writer and speaker (professional, public speaking) in the English language. One of my favorites:

When accused of occasionally ending his sentences with prepositions, he is supposed to have icily responded: ""This is the type of errant pedantry up with which I will not put."   :rotflmao: :rotflmao:  Way better than that pig story, which I do not believe ever actually happened anyway. But as the story goes: a female MP, Bessie Braddock or the Conservative Lady Astor depending on which story one happens to hear, is supposed to have said to the PM Churchill that he was 'disgustingly drunk'. To which he replied:  'My dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.'

Brian

Looking forward to movie "Darkest Hour" about Winston Churchill. The trailer looks great. Funny how movies with similar themes seem to come out at the same time.

http://youtu.be/DH9ZWmizdIc (http://youtu.be/DH9ZWmizdIc)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 24, 2017, 10:01:37 AM
Thanks for posting this- I had not seen anything about it. Looks interesting, especially Gary Oldman playing Churchill.

Brian

Looking forward to movie "Darkest Hour" about Winston Churchill. The trailer looks great. Funny how movies with similar themes seem to come out at the same time.

http://youtu.be/DH9ZWmizdIc (http://youtu.be/DH9ZWmizdIc)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 24, 2017, 10:31:39 AM
Islam does not allow the consumption of alcohol. And this explains some other benefits of not drinking any alcohol..... :https://www.yahoo.com/news/emirates-airline-caught-pouring-unused-084824373.html

Brian

Not strictly true as Islam has as many (if not more)  sub branches as Christianity.

(some ) Turkish Muslims for example are free to drink alcohol  whilst others discourage rather than prohibit.

On the other hand Black Pudding is a definite nono , not only being a pork product but being made of blood
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 25, 2017, 01:02:47 AM
pbooks

You know what an ebook is, right? Well, in the dimwit information age, millennials have been struggling to describe what a book might look like if the text was printed with analogue ink on both sides of multiple sheets of paper that have been bound together in such a way to allow a continuous reading experience by progressively turning the sheets in sequential order.

A pbook is a printed book.

Our forefathers called it a codex. It was a revolutionary invention that helped accelerate the proliferation of literacy throughout the world. Before then, people had to scroll up and down interminably if they wanted to read anything – just imagine!


https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/21/ten_new_tech_terms_i_learnt_this_summer_do_you_know_them_all/ (https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/21/ten_new_tech_terms_i_learnt_this_summer_do_you_know_them_all/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 25, 2017, 01:13:20 AM
I do not disagree with you regarding how things are. But I do question whether or not a 'sub group' that has given up one or more tenants of something based entirely on dogma and rules can still be considered a member of the original group. So are these people really Muslim but a different sub- group or are they simply in violation of a very significant rules (or rules) and therefore actually not Muslim at all but people claiming to be so?

I am really very ignorant of Islam but as far as I know, the consumption of alcohol, as well as pig products and several (many?) other things are strictly forbidden and further, there is no allowance for any circumstances that would allow it. That is the safety valve in, say Judaism, something about a situation being 'life or death' allowing a rule to be suspended. Again, pretty ignorant of Judiasm too but given my poor understanding, if a Muslim and Jewish person were isolated and trapped in, say, some kind of spare, and the only food was bacon, the Jew could, in order to avoid certain death, eat bacon only as long as needed while the Muslim must avoid it even it it results in death. Applied to alcohol, there is no tolerance or allowance.

Brian

Not strictly true as Islam has as many (if not more)  sub branches as Christianity.

(some ) Turkish Muslims for example are free to drink alcohol  whilst others discourage rather than prohibit.

On the other hand Black Pudding is a definite nono , not only being a pork product but being made of blood
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 25, 2017, 01:31:44 AM
The same argument goes for any religion.

Take Christianity as a good example, ie a Top Level Religion (or TLR) in the same way as Islam is or Judaism is

look at the differences in doctrine between even the big players (ie the Anglicans & the Catholics) and thats before you even start going down the road of Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, Baptists, Orthodox Greeks etc etc

NB Islam has the same basic as Judaism, "That which is necessary makes the forbidden permissible." otherwise known as the Law of Necessity under Islam






I do not disagree with you regarding how things are. But I do question whether or not a 'sub group' that has given up one or more tenants of something based entirely on dogma and rules can still be considered a member of the original group. So are these people really Muslim but a different sub- group or are they simply in violation of a very significant rules (or rules) and therefore actually not Muslim at all but people claiming to be so?

I am really very ignorant of Islam but as far as I know, the consumption of alcohol, as well as pig products and several (many?) other things are strictly forbidden and further, there is no allowance for any circumstances that would allow it. That is the safety valve in, say Judaism, something about a situation being 'life or death' allowing a rule to be suspended. Again, pretty ignorant of Judiasm too but given my poor understanding, if a Muslim and Jewish person were isolated and trapped in, say, some kind of spare, and the only food was bacon, the Jew could, in order to avoid certain death, eat bacon only as long as needed while the Muslim must avoid it even it it results in death. Applied to alcohol, there is no tolerance or allowance.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 25, 2017, 01:36:49 AM
Not strictly true as Islam has as many (if not more)  sub branches as Christianity.

(some ) Turkish Muslims for example are free to drink alcohol  whilst others discourage rather than prohibit.

On the other hand Black Pudding is a definite nono , not only being a pork product but being made of blood

Interesting factoid I just discovered, The Alevi Muslims in Turkey (the group who consider alcohol halal [or allowed)] ) consider rabbit haram(or  forbidden) unlike the wider Islamic world

Go figure ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 25, 2017, 01:55:58 AM
Excellent! Just looked and found this: "Allah does not require from a soul more than what it can bear". Followed by a long and detailed description of that 'escape clause' written into the contract (the imaginary contract between the followers and, well, Allah I guess).

Thanks for that Mike, the original information I got was, believe it or not, from a conversation with a Rabbi and simply took it as accurate. But apparently there is that 'safety valve' in Islam as there sometimes is in other, very strict, religions.

It has always been difficult to learn much about Islam here, at least in my part of the US, as it is pretty rare and even passing by the occasional Muslim, that person is usually not familiar enough with Islam (which is true of almost all religions' members) to educate the ignorant. And I have never even seen an Imam as far as I know. Finally, the attitude in the US is.... let us just say, not conducive to assisting people like me, ignorant in this area, to become any more enlightened. So again, thanks for that input because knowledge is the absolute best way to address ignorance. Although it is easier, and often encouraged by society, to replace any learning with hatred. I find with a little effort the hatred can be kept and still learn something.  ;) >:( ;D

Brian

The same argument goes for any religion.

Take Christianity as a good example, ie a Top Level Religion (or TLR) in the same way as Islam is or Judaism is

look at the differences in doctrine between even the big players (ie the Anglicans & the Catholics) and thats before you even start going down the road of Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, Baptists, Orthodox Greeks etc etc

NB Islam has the same basic as Judaism, "That which is necessary makes the forbidden permissible." otherwise known as the Law of Necessity under Islam
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 25, 2017, 02:02:25 AM
A lot does depend on where you live

For example Bolton (where I live) has a Muslim population of 11.7% (compared to 5% for the UK as a whole) and the part I live in is probably higher than that again.


Mind you Bolton also has more Jedi Knights than Satanists (698 to 1) ;)


http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10110940.Census_reveals_town___s_religious_diversity/ (http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10110940.Census_reveals_town___s_religious_diversity/)



Excellent! Just looked and found this: "Allah does not require from a soul more than what it can bear". Followed by a long and detailed description of that 'escape clause' written into the contract (the imaginary contract between the followers and, well, Allah I guess).

Thanks for that Mike, the original information I got was, believe it or not, from a conversation with a Rabbi and simply took it as accurate. But apparently there is that 'safety valve' in Islam as there sometimes is in other, very strict, religions.

It has always been difficult to learn much about Islam here, at least in my part of the US, as it is pretty rare and even passing by the occasional Muslim, that person is usually not familiar enough with Islam (which is true of almost all religions' members) to educate the ignorant. And I have never even seen an Imam as far as I know. Finally, the attitude in the US is.... let us just say, not conducive to assisting people like me, ignorant in this area, to become any more enlightened. So again, thanks for that input because knowledge is the absolute best way to address ignorance. Although it is easier, and often encouraged by society, to replace any learning with hatred. I find with a little effort the hatred can be kept and still learn something.  ;) >:( ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 25, 2017, 02:26:58 AM
Both of those stats. are impressive to me as an American: almost 12% in your community and 5% overall of the population is Muslim. Just looked and the US Muslim population is shown by several sources to be 0.9%. And where I live I suspect it is approaching zero so my chances of running into a learned Muslim are low. I did go to school with a few Muslims from the Middle East, and I did chat with them about Islam but found just like most religions, those practicing them are far more concerned with 'following procedure' than understanding the structure of that religion.

Brian

A lot does depend on where you live

For example Bolton (where I live) has a Muslim population of 11.7% (compared to 5% for the UK as a whole) and the part I live in is probably higher than that again.


Mind you Bolton also has more Jedi Knights than Satanists (698 to 1) ;)


http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10110940.Census_reveals_town___s_religious_diversity/ (http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10110940.Census_reveals_town___s_religious_diversity/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on July 25, 2017, 10:38:43 AM

Brian



Brian


Can't sleep?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 25, 2017, 10:48:30 AM
Nah, I am on Mike's time so we can point / counterpoint faster. I wonder if he knows the line "Mike, you ignorant slut...."?

 ;D

Yeah, stress is a killer. On the other hand, I picked up some new reading glasses and I have to say that I am finding all of you people just a bit sharper, more focused and are able to type faster than you could just this morning.   ;) 

Brian

Can't sleep?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 31, 2017, 06:57:20 AM
http://nypost.com/2017/07/30/desnudas-have-gone-wild-in-times-square/ (http://nypost.com/2017/07/30/desnudas-have-gone-wild-in-times-square/)

Well, I did not see this one coming. Apparently it is a 'thing' in NYC. Kinda' funny 100- odd miles away from NYC, probably not nearly as amusing up close and personal.

My youngest son commutes daily from northern VA. to 'The Belly of the Beast', Washington, DC. Lots of homeless people (or whatever those 'huddled masses' on the streets are) and they can be quite annoying. Of course they have every right to be there, under the Constitution, all of our laws and customs, at least as far as I know, but a small minority are belligerent, aggressive and cross the line of 'acceptable behavior' in my opinion in their interactions with other people.

Things such as this bother me because I cannot see any solution. Or at least not any solution that would not cause more problems, violate our very foundation of laws, or similar. Put simply, no solution that would work given the bigger picture.

But still, nothing exceeds like excess, and these 'Desnudas' are apparently another, fairly recent facet of the excess that makes NYC so..... well, make NYC, NYC. As long as one does not have to live or work there, fascinating places to visit and see things I could not have envisioned or thought of. And I have an active imagination.  ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on July 31, 2017, 09:59:51 AM
http://nypost.com/2017/07/30/desnudas-have-gone-wild-in-times-square/ (http://nypost.com/2017/07/30/desnudas-have-gone-wild-in-times-square/)

Well, I did not see this one coming. Apparently it is a 'thing' in NYC. Kinda' funny 100- odd miles away from NYC, probably not nearly as amusing up close and personal.

My youngest son commutes daily from northern VA. to 'The Belly of the Beast', Washington, DC. Lots of homeless people (or whatever those 'huddled masses' on the streets are) and they can be quite annoying. Of course they have every right to be there, under the Constitution, all of our laws and customs, at least as far as I know, but a small minority are belligerent, aggressive and cross the line of 'acceptable behavior' in my opinion in their interactions with other people.

Things such as this bother me because I cannot see any solution. Or at least not any solution that would not cause more problems, violate our very foundation of laws, or similar. Put simply, no solution that would work given the bigger picture.

But still, nothing exceeds like excess, and these 'Desnudas' are apparently another, fairly recent facet of the excess that makes NYC so..... well, make NYC, NYC. As long as one does not have to live or work there, fascinating places to visit and see things I could not have envisioned or thought of. And I have an active imagination.  ;D

Brian

The older I get, the farther I want to be from population centers.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 31, 2017, 10:07:10 AM
+1
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 31, 2017, 01:51:23 PM
Left coast moving east?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 31, 2017, 02:27:08 PM
Things such as this bother me because I cannot see any solution. Or at least not any solution that would not cause more problems

Quote from article:

A law-enforcement source shrugged that the officers’ hands were tied since most of the costumed panhandlers are illegal — and under the de Blasio administration, it’s a no-no to go after them.

Translation:  These annoying people who are breaking the law are illegal immigrants (not citizens) and we are not allowed to go after them to enforce the laws because it would be politically incorrect and horrify the "Left".
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on July 31, 2017, 05:43:40 PM
No but there are very liberal pockets or bastions here on the east coast, at least the mid- Atlantic and northeast US coasts. General 'rule of thumb', the coasts are liberal, the core of the US is conservative. But that is so simple it is wrong; the left coast is generally liberal and ranges from moderate to hard- left. Moving east, things are generally quite conservative until one gets to 'the rust belt' where they would like to be conservative but there is such a large union presence that it causes conflict with that idea. The southeast is again generally conservative but it is a bit unusual in that a lot of (most?) southern / south eastern states value individual rights in very high regard. Remember, the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments, were a requirement for the southern states to ratify the constitution, which was done INCLUDING the first ten amendments. I am not aware of anything more blatantly American than the Bill of Rights, and it was an afterthought jammed 'in there' by a faction of the struggling new country too big to ignore. And then the <generally> left wing Northeast. But that is too simple too because it is generally the densely populated areas of the northeast that are liberal (NYC, but not the majority of the <area> that is NY state, MA, CT, RI (hey, I am doing what I can do....) are very conservative while NH, VT and ME are.... impossible to gauge, at least from where I sit. The act ultra conservative in many important ways and then elect Bernie Sanders as a US Senator (NH). They are fiercely right- leaning liberal states. Or maybe they are fiercely left leaning conservative states. Either way, they vote blue but are fiercely red in most metrics I care about.

I think Oscar Gamble said it best when he stated: "They don't think it be like it is, but it do". Now Mr. Gamble was not speaking about political events or landscape but hey, when you can articulate your thoughts like that, why restrict a quote to any particular subject?

Brian

Left coast moving east?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 31, 2017, 11:39:54 PM
are very conservative while NH, VT and ME are.... impossible to gauge, at least from where I sit. The act ultra conservative in many important ways and then elect Bernie Sanders as a US Senator (NH). They are fiercely right- leaning liberal states. Or maybe they are fiercely left leaning conservative states. Either way, they vote blue but are fiercely red in most metrics I care about.

The "Left" has taken over what was Liberal and even Progressive.  Now all three are different, but confused.  Here are some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiVQ8vrGA_8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiVQ8vrGA_8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Qg_4zqpDI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Qg_4zqpDI)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWzEL2Mlr-g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWzEL2Mlr-g)

No simple answers.  And especially frustrating when there are only ever really two choices due to the spoiler effect built into our stupid "first past the post" voting system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqblOq8BmgM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqblOq8BmgM)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on July 31, 2017, 11:55:06 PM
random morning thought/

Constitutionally is it theoretically possible for one of the 50 States to "leave" the USA and declare independence if a mandate of that States population were for it?

Ie a Stexit (State exit)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 12:00:27 AM
random morning thought/

Constitutionally is it theoretically possible for one of the 50 States to "leave" the USA and declare independence if a mandate of that States population were for it?

Ie a Stexit (State exit)

Ah Ok 14th Amendment (citizenship of the Union trumps citizenship of an Individual State) says no

Gotta love Google :)


Right morning ponderings over
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 03:37:02 AM
Constitutionally is it possible? Yes. There is nothing in the Constitution that I know of that makes or claims to make leaving the Union illegal or even difficult.

In practice, eleven states did leave the Union at one point, the crescendo a serious argument (one that had been raging for 80 + years) that got quite heated. Four years and 620,000 dead soldiers later, the answer was no.

In practical terms, today: to state it bluntly in what I think is correct British English: Not bloody likely. The States are so interwoven with the Fed. gov't that I cannot see how they can separate. By that I mean actual separation, not instituting local laws, customs and so forth. Some states are large enough to do so, both in area as well as in population and economic terms; California has 40 million people and the sixth largest economy in the world, ranking right behind the UK in fact. With a coastline and both large cities and very rural areas, it <could> be a country as far as I can see. There are more than a few, both inside as well as outside California, who would like to see it become a country. :-)  But I cannot imagine a path that would lead to Californian independence and in the end, I do not believe it would be beneficial, overall, to either the Country or that State to be independent.

All of that said, our system of States united to form a country is an odd one and has significant results. Very serious things may be limited or outright illegal in one state are perfectly legal and common in another state. We are now seeing more and more stages or steps in differing behavior, and a relatively new thing which is States passing laws making certain Federal behavior 'illegal' in those states, the most important, at least in my view, are the laws preventing the seizure of property w/out due process. An interesting and to my knowledge, untried concept and one that is essentially backwards; Federal laws and gov't  override and triumph over State level gov't normally. So it remains to be seen just where the lines will end up, if they even settle at all, regarding State to Federal relationship(s).

Brian


random morning thought/

Constitutionally is it theoretically possible for one of the 50 States to "leave" the USA and declare independence if a mandate of that States population were for it?

Ie a Stexit (State exit)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 03:42:39 AM
Well, went and re- read it (and that is an important amendment, having been the point of quite a few precedent setting cases) and I am not seeing anything preventing state departure from the Union. ?

Brian

Ah Ok 14th Amendment (citizenship of the Union trumps citizenship of an Individual State) says no

Gotta love Google :)


Right morning ponderings over
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 01, 2017, 03:54:16 AM
.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 04:15:18 AM
Well, went and re- read it (and that is an important amendment, having been the point of quite a few precedent setting cases) and I am not seeing anything preventing state departure from the Union. ?

Brian


Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states:  "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

By withdrawing from the Union, a state would effectively be denying someone who is a citizen of the United States their rights except by due process.  The key there is "due process" and in this case, the state would need to find a LEGALLY RECOGNIZED way to withdraw.  This would either be some kind of legislation passed in Congress or an Amendment to the Constitution.  Anything less will ensure a civil war and no state will win such a war.

https://www.quora.com/Can-a-US-state-secede-from-the-Union (https://www.quora.com/Can-a-US-state-secede-from-the-Union)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 05:33:51 AM
Yeah, I guess there is that 'left turn'; a state truly independent from the US Federal 'reach' would deny that person his / her right to Federal oversight and what the law calls remedies (correction(s) put in place through a court's intervention and ruling). So perhaps that is an impediment but not the or even a major one IMO. The far bigger problems would be the mechanics of having been intertwined so deeply and so dependent on the Fed. for so much. All of which a few of the really large states could take over and manage on their own, mostly but at a serious economic cost to that (those) states.

One really odd twist is the problem of border control, which is now handled (for better or worse) by the Federal gov't. Now some states, such as CA, actually get in the way somewhat in enforcing border control or more accurately, immigration control. But if such states were actually independent countries, they would then not only be responsible for their own are regarding immigration control and all that goes with it but would further be saddled with securing a border WITH the US of A itself! Ironic, amusing and I think a real problem, CA's border is 1,000 miles long on the eastern side alone, then a southern CA / Mexico border as well as a northern border with the US also.

Of course California immigration control would be a bit different I think..... I, for example, would probably be required to accompany a Mexican national to enter CA 'the country'.

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao:  and  :yikes:

But on any practical, foreseeable level, no, states seceding from the Union is not going to happen. But the other issue of just how far states can go in independent behavior is rising pretty sharply and many of us are quite interested in where that goes.

Brian


Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states:  "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

By withdrawing from the Union, a state would effectively be denying someone who is a citizen of the United States their rights except by due process.  The key there is "due process" and in this case, the state would need to find a LEGALLY RECOGNIZED way to withdraw.  This would either be some kind of legislation passed in Congress or an Amendment to the Constitution.  Anything less will ensure a civil war and no state will win such a war.

https://www.quora.com/Can-a-US-state-secede-from-the-Union (https://www.quora.com/Can-a-US-state-secede-from-the-Union)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 06:24:58 AM
here's a random one for you  that you probably hadn't thought about

The Union Jack/Flag represents the UK which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales & (Northern Ireland) and although it has the St Georges Cross for England, St Andrews cross for Scotland and St Patricks cross for Ireland on it my home country of Wales is not represented.

This is because at the time of Union with Scotland & later Ireland Wales was already incorporated (via subjugation) as part of the Kingdom of England.

It's also why we have a Prince of Wales as a symbol of the Crowns "power" over the Welsh but not a Prince of Scotland or a Prince of Ireland.


Sidebar, there is one US State has a foreign flag represented on it's State flag.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 01, 2017, 06:35:00 AM
I'm all for cutting Hawaii loose.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 01, 2017, 07:06:41 AM
Guys, this discussion is all well and good but it ought to be it's own thread in Open.  Someone please start it and continue on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 01, 2017, 07:11:47 AM
We kept our 4 year old granddaughter yesterday evening for a few hours and decided to get pizza for dinner.  Made a comment about buying it.   She came back with 'We don't buy pizza, we order it.'.  In fact she went to the front door to open it for the pizza delivery guy.   Since we have a pizza place a less than a quarter mile away we just go pick it up (buying it of course) and then bring it home.  The things children say and think are marvelous.  After that I said she could drive my truck if she could reach the pedals.  Her idea of reaching the pedals was to sit on the floor, take her shoes off and move them about a foot and a half away from her feet.  The she looked at me and said 'This should work.'.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 07:26:59 AM
You are absolutely right Jim. Thanks for doing your usual great job of nudging us the right direction without being harsh- it really does make this forum a pleasure to be a part of, at least for me.

Not interested in starting a thread about the dreaded 'P' word myself, and best of luck to anyone who does :-)  I could be interested in a thread about differences and similarities between the US and UK systems, for example but I am afraid that would also degenerate into po..... well, you know. Probably best left to a more private conversation with Mike.

Brian

Guys, this discussion is all well and good but it ought to be it's own thread in Open.  Someone please start it and continue on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 08:31:53 AM
Guys, this discussion is all well and good but it ought to be it's own thread in Open.  Someone please start it and continue on.

Please can you be more specific about which discussion you're referring too as this is A Thread About Nothing At All and it keeps meandering


:D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 01, 2017, 09:01:56 AM
See Brian's post...just above yours.   He understands.   This thread is about nothing at all with a few posts on whatever subject you want to discuss.  It's not a long running thread on specifics on any subject such as government.  I don't mind the subject matter at all.  I'm just saying it can be a thread all it's own and I think it would be better that way.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 09:05:07 AM
See Brian's post...just above yours.   He understands.   This thread is about nothing at all with a few posts on whatever subject you want to discuss.  It's not a long running thread on specifics on any subject such as government.  I don't mind the subject matter at all.  I'm just saying it can be a thread all it's own and I think it would be better that way.

Well its just that your post came immediately after 2 posts about flags (ok 1 post about flags and one about pizzas)  so it was a little unclear.

after all it had already meandered away from the Stexit posts :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 09:06:08 AM
Well its just that your post came immediately after 2 posts about flags (ok 1 post about flags and one about pizzas)  so it was a little unclear.

after all it had already meandered away from the Stexit posts :D

is there a quota system in place for how many times something can be discussed?

Is it metric or imperial?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 01, 2017, 09:11:19 AM
Is there a major difference between "nothing at all" and "nothing"? Well yes, there are two extra words, but I'm referring to the meaning.

Meanwhile, consider this: https://youtu.be/UemhCsaeGgc (https://youtu.be/UemhCsaeGgc)

is there a quota system in place for how many times something can be discussed?

Is it metric or imperial?

There is no difference between the two systems, 5 posts in metric = 5 posts in imperial. If ever that isn't true, then imperial rules by definition.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 01, 2017, 09:31:31 AM
is there a quota system in place for how many times something can be discussed?

Is it metric or imperial?

As I don't like the metric system at all, I think I'm leaning towards Imperial, but prefer the US system at the moment.   But then again you left out the other system at work here.....Jim. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 09:43:41 AM
As I don't like the metric system at all, I think I'm leaning towards Imperial, but prefer the US system at the moment.   But then again you left out the other system at work here.....Jim. ;)

Besides the US Gallon which is smaller than am Imperial Gallon (which also means our pints are bigger as is anything else linked to the gallon) what other measurement differences are there between Imperial & US?

I think spoon size might be

Cloth sizes certainly are
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 10:02:54 AM
Actually, I think the two systems are pretty close in volume measurements such as fl. ounces, cups until it hits pints: then the big difference is that ours contains 16 ounces while yours contain 20 ounces.

The two systems are similar but there are plenty of differences, mostly small, but also we both use some extra odd units such as your 'stone' weight which is 14 lbs. Also, if I am not mistaken, you (UK) apply specific measurements to specific items being measured, again stones is used to define a human's weight but you do not buy, say, potatoes using 'stones' but rather pounds.

I believe our 'tons' are different too although it might be a matter of semantics. When an American uses the weight term 'ton' we are always referring to 2,000 lb. I believe the UK may use what we call the 'long ton', 2,240 lbs. but am not sure how you refer to it.

Our 'barrel' sizes are different also, although a 'barrel' is not a useful definition without more info.; a barrel of oil is a different size than a barrel of water, or a barrel of wine, or a barrel of whiskey..... I think.

As the story goes: the Mayflower could not wait for correct water barrels and so used wine barrels to store water for the journey to America. After arriving, they assigned UK gallon measurements to the wrong number of divisions coming out of the containers. And so that is where and how 'our' two systems started to part ways. Great story.... incorrect but still a great story.

Hat sizes in the US are something like 3/8" smaller than the UK due to the original hat blocking equipment being miss- calibrated in the US.

Clothes sizes are beyond my ability to comprehend, especially women's sizes (and girls, and junior- miss, ad nauseum) so I have no idea.

After that, most measuring metrics (not metric though) are so odd that I think everyone has to look them up; rods, chains, fathoms, furlongs and so forth are just not anything to most people remember well enough to use conversationally or scientifically.

Brian

Besides the US Gallon which is smaller than am Imperial Gallon (which also means our pints are bigger as is anything else linked to the gallon) what other measurement differences are there between Imperial & US?

I think spoon size might be

Cloth sizes certainly are
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 10:08:37 AM
Right, and it will be ruined if we settle down and discuss anything in detail.  ;D

And as Jim said, anyone is free to start a new thread, using some or all of the posting already in this thread if one chooses to do so. I personally like to talk about what I will call Social Management (some call it politics) but do not care for the usual deterioration of such discussions into the hard- sided venue of political discussion. Start down that path, and I might as well be watching the 'Crazy Channel' on TV. And I have found any discussion started with the best of intentions and efforts about 'Social Management' quickly deteriorates to discussing the method of management, which is politics. Which is why I demurred on breaking this discussion off and into a new thread. Some things just cannot be discussed rationally unfortunately and so I stop before they even get going.... usually. :-)

Brian

Please can you be more specific about which discussion you're referring too as this is A Thread About Nothing At All and it keeps meandering


:D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 10:31:28 AM


Most potatoes are sold by the KG in the UK and have been for many years :)

so is most other food stuff, petrol is also sold in litres although beer is definitely Pints when sold draught although bottles are ml (or occaisonally cl)



Actually, I think the two systems are pretty close in volume measurements such as fl. ounces, cups until it hits pints: then the big difference is that ours contains 16 ounces while yours contain 20 ounces.

The two systems are similar but there are plenty of differences, mostly small, but also we both use some extra odd units such as your 'stone' weight which is 14 lbs. Also, if I am not mistaken, you (UK) apply specific measurements to specific items being measured, again stones is used to define a human's weight but you do not buy, say, potatoes using 'stones' but rather pounds.

I believe our 'tons' are different too although it might be a matter of semantics. When an American uses the weight term 'ton' we are always referring to 2,000 lb. I believe the UK may use what we call the 'long ton', 2,240 lbs. but am not sure how you refer to it.

Our 'barrel' sizes are different also, although a 'barrel' is not a useful definition without more info.; a barrel of oil is a different size than a barrel of water, or a barrel of wine, or a barrel of whiskey..... I think.

As the story goes: the Mayflower could not wait for correct water barrels and so used wine barrels to store water for the journey to America. After arriving, they assigned UK gallon measurements to the wrong number of divisions coming out of the containers. And so that is where and how 'our' two systems started to part ways. Great story.... incorrect but still a great story.

Hat sizes in the US are something like 3/8" smaller than the UK due to the original hat blocking equipment being miss- calibrated in the US.

Clothes sizes are beyond my ability to comprehend, especially women's sizes (and girls, and junior- miss, ad nauseum) so I have no idea.

After that, most measuring metrics (not metric though) are so odd that I think everyone has to look them up; rods, chains, fathoms, furlongs and so forth are just not anything to most people remember well enough to use conversationally or scientifically.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 10:34:51 AM

Most potatoes are sold by the KG in the UK and have been for many years :)

so is most other food stuff, petrol is also sold in litres although beer is definitely Pints when sold draught although bottles are ml (or occaisonally cl)

Fenc panels are a good one as they come in either Imperial 6 ft (which are 1854mm iirc) or metric 6ft (1800mm)

Older houses with the fence posts tend to be the imperial size, newer housing stock generally has the metric size.

Same sort of thing with water pipe size .

Distance though are measure in miles and speedos are in MPH but also show KPH
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 01, 2017, 10:54:20 AM
So far the conversation has been civil.  When they get un-civil (my interpretation) they either get moved to another place (Arena) or they get shut down.  This thread is so big that I would be extremely reluctant to lock it (It would make me very irritable to do so) or censor it.   Mike, for you, the Arena is a place for those discussions that can get not so civil.  Members can ask for Arena access.  In which case we grant it.  There you can discuss whatever, any way you like.  There is no moderation as such.  What you get is what you get.  Threads aren't locked or sanitized. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 01, 2017, 10:57:55 AM
Most vehicles sold over here usually come with metric fasteners.   All of our other measurements such as dealing with roads or infrastructure uses the older English system of measurements.   When people start talking metric with the exception of fasteners, I have no clue on gauging what they are talking about.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 11:04:24 AM
Yeah, well here in the colonies, we have been pretty successful.... hell, outright successful in not mixing up our units (Easy Boys! Not talking about that unit) or altering the landscape of reality due to a new measuring system. Our building supplies have NOT changed in the last 50 years or longer..... copper tubing from 1930 will sweat into new copper tubing purchased today. Same thing with our fences, building panel sizes (plywood, drywall, ad nauseum), which are all 4 X 8' and 4 X 12'.

Then again, we have made almost zero movement toward the metric system. So there is no competition or 'force' to use it. And not to throw stones but it does seem that in the UK you have the worst of all possible systems.... multiple systems.  ;) ;D  I once heard fuel mileage stated in miles per liter or kilometers per gallon or some such mixing of measuring units. Of course that too works but really it is best and simplest I think to stay with one system. If converting, swallow the pill and go over to the 'other' system and be done with the pain.

Now that I have said that, our automotive industry HAS been shifting over to metric, one fastener at a time it seems. For a long time, the standard was still SAE (our 'inch' system) but some components used metric fasteners. The metric fasteners were blue so as to help (yeah, that is helpful). So a mechanic ends up with an auto all apart (broken down to bits in Brit. speak) and a bucket of hardware.... some black,some blue and it he / she cannot remember which went where, it is going to be long and painful to reassemble. Proof that there is no limit to bad ideas.

And one more point on measuring systems: no matter how mangled a system seems to be, it is always more mangled than that when looked at more closely. We have electrical wire gauge sizes, where the smaller the number, the larger the wire, number drill sizes, where the number means nothing regarding measured size, wire gauge sizes for [non electrical] wire which is again an independant measurement. Then some really off- the- wall measurements such as firearm gauge or 'bore' sizes as shotguns use. The smaller the number the bigger the bore, except for the shotgun gauge .410, which in not a guage at all but a caliber, and that caliber is .45 of course (??). Bore sized were orginally based on one lb. of lead, broken down into divisions: a lb. of lead used to make 12 equal spheres of lead would yield a 12 gauge bore (1 /12th of a pound of lead). This is why the bigger the number, the smaller the bore size. Same thing with wire; a fixed amount of material drawn into wire size would yield a length of wire and the smaller the diameter, the longer that length.  Oh yeah, it is truly a mixed bag of insanity to delve into measuring systems, at least those used in the Old World (and the US system is most assuredly based on Old World systems).

Brian

Fenc panels are a good one as they come in either Imperial 6 ft (which are 1854mm iirc) or metric 6ft (1800mm)

Older houses with the fence posts tend to be the imperial size, newer housing stock generally has the metric size.

Same sort of thing with water pipe size .

Distance though are measure in miles and speedos are in MPH but also show KPH
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 11:05:53 AM
So far the conversation has been civil.  When they get un-civil (my interpretation) they either get moved to another place (Arena) or they get shut down.  This thread is so big that I would be extremely reluctant to lock it (It would make me very irritable to do so) or censor it.   Mike, for you, the Arena is a place for those discussions that can get not so civil.  Members can ask for Arena access.  In which case we grant it.  There you can discuss whatever, any way you like.  There is no moderation as such.  What you get is what you get.  Threads aren't locked or sanitized.

I'm always civil , I can't help it if some people are delicate flowers :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 11:11:11 AM
and then we start on British Standard Fine & British Standard Whitworth threads amongst others :)

Oddly although fuel is sold in litres the majority of road users still refer to MPG

Personally I find it quite easy to mix'n'match especially with having Europe on the doorstep

And then again moving into the more modern world, MegaBits or MegaBytes per second?


(is it about time to change the subject before anyone gets touchy??)


Yeah, well here in the colonies, we have been pretty successful.... hell, outright successful in not mixing up our units (Easy Boys! Not talking about that unit) or altering the landscape of reality due to a new measuring system. Our building supplies have NOT changed in the last 50 years or longer..... copper tubing from 1930 will sweat into new copper tubing purchased today. Same thing with our fences, building panel sizes (plywood, drywall, ad nauseum), which are all 4 X 8' and 4 X 12'.

Then again, we have made almost zero movement toward the metric system. So there is no competition or 'force' to use it. And not to throw stones but it does seem that in the UK you have the worst of all possible systems.... multiple systems.  ;) ;D  I once heard fuel mileage stated in miles per liter or kilometers per gallon or some such mixing of measuring units. Of course that too works but really it is best and simplest I think to stay with one system. If converting, swallow the pill and go over to the 'other' system and be done with the pain.

Now that I have said that, our automotive industry HAS been shifting over to metric, one fastener at a time it seems. For a long time, the standard was still SAE (our 'inch' system) but some components used metric fasteners. The metric fasteners were blue so as to help (yeah, that is helpful). So a mechanic ends up with an auto all apart (broken down to bits in Brit. speak) and a bucket of hardware.... some black,some blue and it he / she cannot remember which went where, it is going to be long and painful to reassemble. Proof that there is no limit to bad ideas.

And one more point on measuring systems: no matter how mangled a system seems to be, it is always more mangled than that when looked at more closely. We have electrical wire gauge sizes, where the smaller the number, the larger the wire, number drill sizes, where the number means nothing regarding measured size, wire gauge sizes for [non electrical] wire which is again an independant measurement. Then some really off- the- wall measurements such as firearm gauge or 'bore' sizes as shotguns use. The smaller the number the bigger the bore, except for the shotgun gauge .410, which in not a guage at all but a caliber, and that caliber is .45 of course (??). Bore sized were orginally based on one lb. of lead, broken down into divisions: a lb. of lead used to make 12 equal spheres of lead would yield a 12 gauge bore (1 /12th of a pound of lead). This is why the bigger the number, the smaller the bore size. Same thing with wire; a fixed amount of material drawn into wire size would yield a length of wire and the smaller the diameter, the longer that length.  Oh yeah, it is truly a mixed bag of insanity to delve into measuring systems, at least those used in the Old World (and the US system is most assuredly based on Old World systems).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 01, 2017, 11:12:33 AM
I'm always civil , I can't help it if some people are delicate flowers :D

Sounds kind of girlish..... That must be the British counterpart to our 'special snowflakes'.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 11:26:42 AM
Well, I do not think it is touchy yet. Let's test those waters..... :-)

Ah, the Whitworth system! Yes, a fantastic piece of.... evil. I never did figure out that one but I know I would pick up a [large sized wrench] and it was surprisingly small.  ;D   Probably the same way some people must feel when they see what is actually surrounded by a 'Magnum' sized..... well, you know.

The computer thingy is pretty stable although there was some controversy as to whether a mega was 1,000 X 1,000 or 1,024 X 1,024.

Brian

and then we start on British Standard Fine & British Standard Whitworth threads amongst others :)

Oddly although fuel is sold in litres the majority of road users still refer to MPG

Personally I find it quite easy to mix'n'match especially with having Europe on the doorstep

And then again moving into the more modern world, MegaBits or MegaBytes per second?


(is it about time to change the subject before anyone gets touchy??)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 01, 2017, 01:54:55 PM
I've just remembered. Although most food is now sold in metric weights pizzas are still sold in boxes, sorry I mean Inches :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 02:24:57 PM
Hey, funny 'metric' story: Traveling to Chicago to oversee the installation and setup of my company's slot in the IMTS, I was there with a handful of Germans and a few Americans (I was working for a German firm). Long story but I was the only one there with a car as I drove to Chi- town via upstate NY, and had to stop in NY on the way back. Anyway, traveling around on the edges of Chicago (the north side), I find this terriffic pizza place that does the hardwood fired oven thing, and does the Chicago deep dish pizzas (being a north-easterner, I had never had those before- they are excellent but given a choice, I still prefer plain ole' flat pizza). Anyway, I take a couple of Germans out to this place one night and I suggest they try the deep- dish pizza, I ordered a thin crust pizza. The chow hits the table and the look on the German's faces is priceless: they both speak pretty good English and one of them speaks <almost> perfect English, and one of them says "Damn Inch system!". Apparently, they had no idea what a 12" pizza really was. So after eating maybe 1/4 of their pizzas, they about slithered out of the restaurant and into the car......  :rotflmao:

Brian


I've just remembered. Although most food is now sold in metric weights pizzas are still sold in boxes, sorry I mean Inches :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 01, 2017, 02:49:04 PM
As I don't like the metric system at all, I think I'm leaning towards Imperial, but prefer the US system at the moment.   But then again you left out the other system at work here.....Jim. ;)

Well please don't ask me... I use a MIX!  I only think in Fahrenheit, period.  But for distance, weight, and volume I use "Imperial"/SAE (I suppose it is called) for large units and Metric for small units.  Yes, I know it seems crazy:

I think in miles and feet.  But anything smaller and it is centimeters and millimeters.
I think in gallons, but anything smaller and I think in liters and milliliters.
I think in pounds, but anything smaller and I think in grams and milligrams.

I believe the main reason is that I don't like fractional notation and also the science background, which pushes me metric.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 01, 2017, 02:57:53 PM
Yep, that is kinda' strange. I tried using a Mix once but he did not like it at all.

'Measure it with micrometers, mark it with a crayon, cut it with an axe..... tolerances stack up'.

 ;)

Brian

Well please don't ask me... I use a MIX!  I only think in Fahrenheit, period.  But for distance, weight, and volume I use "Imperial"/SAE (I suppose it is called) for large units and Metric for small units.  Yes, I know it seems crazy:

I think in miles and feet.  But anything smaller and it is centimeters and millimeters.
I think in gallons, but anything smaller and I think in liters and milliliters.
I think in pounds, but anything smaller and I think in grams and milligrams.

I believe the main reason is that I don't like fractional notation and also the science background, which pushes me metric.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 02, 2017, 08:21:34 AM
I really feel this should be a Brit's job but since none seem to want to pick up the ball, and this is information that we desperately need, I will do the best I can. That's right, a colonist doing a subject's job....  ;D

Prince Philip has officially retired at 96 years of age. So from far away and with no connection to the man or his position whatsoever, lets' review:

He is 96 years old and has been married to the Queen for 70 years. He has had 22,219 official engagements since 1952, given 5,496 speeches, participated as a patron or president in 785 organizations. I would be tempted to comment by saying 'not bad' but lets' face it, that is Frickin' spectacular! And of course he had a naval career before beginning these duties. Again, a full and honestly amazing lifetimes' worth for any human IMO.

And just as amazing is that the Queen is 91 and still performing her duties, and while it seems she is cutting back on her schedule, frankly it is amazing she is performing any duties at all, long past anyone's version of a retirement age.

So again, from a place far away, I think the British people (and the entire British Commonwealth) have been more than well and ably served by this couple, and frankly I think they have given far more in the name of duty than most would now, or have had in the past, and more than should be expected in the future. If all of us tried 10% as hard to do the right thing, I think the world would benefit.

The source of the stats. quoted: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40798469 (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40798469)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 02, 2017, 10:04:17 AM
Cheers Brian

Technically he hasn't retired, he's simply withdrawn from doing solo engagements

He was also the first Royal to give a TV interview and behind the scenes completely changed the way Buck Palace was run

Oh ok he may have been a bit politically incorrect on occasion, likely he would have got banned if he was let onto some web forums ;)



I really feel this should be a Brit's job but since none seem to want to pick up the ball, and this is information that we desperately need, I will do the best I can. That's right, a colonist doing a subject's job....  ;D

Prince Philip has officially retired at 96 years of age. So from far away and with no connection to the man or his position whatsoever, lets' review:

He is 96 years old and has been married to the Queen for 70 years. He has had 22,219 official engagements since 1952, given 5,496 speeches, participated as a patron or president in 785 organizations. I would be tempted to comment by saying 'not bad' but lets' face it, that is Frickin' spectacular! And of course he had a naval career before beginning these duties. Again, a full and honestly amazing lifetimes' worth for any human IMO.

And just as amazing is that the Queen is 91 and still performing her duties, and while it seems she is cutting back on her schedule, frankly it is amazing she is performing any duties at all, long past anyone's version of a retirement age.

So again, from a place far away, I think the British people (and the entire British Commonwealth) have been more than well and ably served by this couple, and frankly I think they have given far more in the name of duty than most would now, or have had in the past, and more than should be expected in the future. If all of us tried 10% as hard to do the right thing, I think the world would benefit.

The source of the stats. quoted: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40798469 (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40798469)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 06, 2017, 05:49:10 PM
Thermite.... neat stuff. A mixture of metals and metal oxides, all just itchin' to get to some other state. And they are willing to give up a LOT of energy (in the form of heat) go get there. The neat thing is that this process is relatively cheap, easy to use and can be harnessed to do useful things. Perhaps the most interesting, in day- to- day life is this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig)

Welding railroad tracks together with a thermite core weld. Most impressive. The stuff that falls out into the pans on the sides is the result of the original materials but what is impressive is the link formed between and around the rails; note that mechanical contraption to shear the excess metal off the rails before it cools. Thor and Sven are probably sick and tired of watching this but the first time or three it is quite slick I think.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 07, 2017, 09:06:13 AM
Thermite.... neat stuff. A mixture of metals and metal oxides, all just itchin' to get to some other state. And they are willing to give up a LOT of energy (in the form of heat) go get there. The neat thing is that this process is relatively cheap, easy to use and can be harnessed to do useful things. Perhaps the most interesting, in day- to- day life is this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig)

Welding railroad tracks together with a thermite core weld. Most impressive. The stuff that falls out into the pans on the sides is the result of the original materials but what is impressive is the link formed between and around the rails; note that mechanical contraption to shear the excess metal off the rails before it cools. Thor and Sven are probably sick and tired of watching this but the first time or three it is quite slick I think.

Brian

That's cool stuff! Now I wonder what the trade off is versus a more traditional arc weld process.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 07, 2017, 11:10:57 AM
I do not think anything even close to a conventional arc welding process would apply. Even some unconventional processes (hot wire, submerged arc) would not apply. Not to mention the size of the welder that would have to be present, and the skill of the weldor (not a typo- the 'welder' is the machine, the 'weldor' in the guy with blacklung holding the stinger.... and Easy Boys! Not that kind of a stinger) and the time waiting for the rails to cool enough to hit them with another bead. Honestly, I do not know of a welding process that would allow both the vertical as well as the horizontal portions of a railroad rail to be welded. It could be and may be done but not anywhere near as cheaply, as fast, as fast (yep, said it twice) and not anything any idiot could do. And one of the beautiful parts of it is that both pieces of the parent metal (the rails) as well as the filler are all extremely hot and cool slowly; this prevents thermal shock, 'hot shortness' and a whole host of other problems. Plus because it is all done outside the envelope of the atmosphere, all those considerations are gone too, such as hydrogen embrittlement (that one is a real, cast iron BI!CH too), underbead microcracking, oxidation inclusions and so forth. Really, an ingenious but also excellent process.

If I had to choose an alternate method it would be resistance butt welding. It would take a HUGE weldor but hey, that IS the rail company so.... possible. The biggest downside that I can see is that one track would have to be left loose to be driven into the other rail. Again, not a deal- killer but not as easy as what you saw there either.

In the olden' days, they just terminated them on a tie and left it at that- which is what gave trains their typical, familiar 'click- clack' noise. Higher speed trains have necessitated better rails, better ties, and better roads (the bed the ties or sleepers ride on). And just about everyplace outside the US has a need for these better tracks; our own train system, with few, small and isolated exceptions, is really 1950's technology.

By the way, notice how those 'wooden' railroad ties are concrete? And the 'spikes' holding the rails to the ties are bolts? Trains are like that all over Europe and they are very precise, strong and durable. Riding the ICE in Germany is a fantastic experience in no small way because of the rails and materials under the train.... and of course the trains are pretty cool also. There is an annunciator in each car that shows the speed of the train; starting out in Frankfurt am Main, the tracks (gleis) are right next to and parallel with the Autoban. It starts out looking like the cars are gonna' win but the acceleration is pretty strong and very constant and once the train reaches about 140 MPH, most of the cars are going the wrong way (train passing them). Closing in on 200 MPH, and all the cars I saw were coming at me taillights- first. :-) For anyone in Germany for any reason, if you can find the time, try on an ICE (Inner City Express, these are main lines running between large cities, not the regular Deutch Bahn). The trains in The Netherlands are at least as nice, not as fast but they throw in a fascinating kind of music coming from the phase generators commutating the motors driving the train. It is not intentional of course but a great by- product IMO.

And just because this is a thread about nothing.....

An amazing lesson for me was standing on the siding of a German railroad station. All the usual stuff: find out where you want to go, find the train that gets there (or closer at least) buy a ticket, find the particular track and note which way the train is entering and leaving the station (so you are not on the wrong side). You have 10 minutes until the train time, which is departure time. Smoking a cigarette, killing time and it is 5 minutes until 'train time' WHEN SUDDENLY, a train is coming into your slot. Doors open, people get off and people get on, you get rid of the smoke and are just about to step on the door when you notice the train is showing the wrong city. Confusion, consternation and the fact that you may be about to make a mistake in getting on the wrong train, or you may be making a different mistake in not getting on the right train. Only thing to do is back off and pay attention. Train leaves the station and now there are three minutes until the official 'train time' but you figure, as my wife likes to say, "that train has sailed" and you will soon be looking for another way to wherever you are going. But wait, another train is pulling into the station.... and it has the RIGHT destination showing! People get off, people get on (and now I am one of those people) and..... wait for it..... the train leaves the station at the very minute the ticket and schedule said it would . Bottom line, no screwing around with DB (Deutsche Bahn, literally Germany's Train); they run on time, they run often and they run efficiently. Slick system.

Brian

That's cool stuff! Now I wonder what the trade off is versus a more traditional arc weld process.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 07, 2017, 11:27:03 AM
I was wondering about the ties. I'm surprised concrete can withstand the harmonic vibration.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 07, 2017, 11:46:17 AM
And speaking of things train.... how do they 'plow' the snow off of railroads? With plows and snow blowers, of course. Sure it is a little bigger than what most of us are used to, and maybe it does have a few thousand horsepower but hey, it is just a snowblower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCqEBdjaXpM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCqEBdjaXpM)

If one wants to go faster, chuck the blower and use a V- plow with some horsepower, weight and speed behind it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzZk1cZGQZs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzZk1cZGQZs)

Drifts at 1:45 and a bigger plow and train at 3:10

Of course the problem with any snowplow is that enough snow will defeat them, one way or another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF2ZPRmocs4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF2ZPRmocs4)

Drifts at 0:20, stopped by 0:45 :-(

The other way they get stopped is when the derail.

But when the snowfall is bad enough in the Sierra Nevadas that all the 'normal' train clearing machines just cannot handle it any longer, they bring on the larger, more able snowblower. Only used about once a decade, it is not a blower but an entire train system, using two blowers, each powered its own large diesel, then two locomotives to puss the assembly forward. It looks like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuX4G3znpDE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuX4G3znpDE)

Decent footage of it in use at :45, and how it is assembled starting at 2:30

And for that final cleaning of the ice and packed snow between the rails that could de- rail a train, what could possibly beat a jet engine blowing down on the tracks? Seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md80VPXvYxk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md80VPXvYxk)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 07, 2017, 12:00:19 PM
Steel reinforced concrete is outstanding in compression applications like that. And tensioning the steel inside the concrete makes it almost unbreakable. The steel can be pre- tensioned (steel put under tremendous stress and concrete cast over it) or post tensioned (steel bar put in tensile stress through a piece of concrete). I do not know but suspect those ties are exactly that.

Once a piece or pieces of steel are stressed (and it is a LOT of stress) and pulling on both ends of a piece of concrete, the assembly becomes incredibly strong in all directions, and about impervious to any low cyclical loadings, again from almost any direction. And the slick part is that it combines two very inexpensive, easy to use and produce materials that compliment each other just about perfectly; concrete is strong only in compression while steel is strong in either tension or compression but not practical to use in very large physical blocks. So tension the steel, pour the concrete around it (post tension uses cast and cured concrete, then puts steel thrugh it, pull a large stress on the steel and usually use taper- plugs to capture the steel and prevent it from returning to normal length... that generates the tension) and once it cures, it is strong in compression, tension but also very strong in resisting bending forces as well.

All of that said, I do not know how concrete ties are made but I too would think just cast blocks of concrete would split in normal use.

Brian

I was wondering about the ties. I'm surprised concrete can withstand the harmonic vibration.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 07, 2017, 01:03:20 PM
I noticed that almost all the ties in Europe are concrete. I assumed it was due to 1) more high speed trains 2) less availability of lumber
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 07, 2017, 02:18:12 PM
Concrete vs Wood

Note that concrete overshoes work better than wood overshoes such as those used in the Netherlands.  Less come backs with concrete.

http://precast.org/2010/07/railroadties-precast-concrete-or-wood/ (http://precast.org/2010/07/railroadties-precast-concrete-or-wood/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 07, 2017, 05:44:38 PM
Nah, concrete, or better yet, reinforced concrete (almost certainly what they are using) is stronger than wood, and much more consistent. Wood is 'all over the place' regarding properties and dependent on the very piece in front of you. Plus, there are no concrete consuming bugs of any kind. As far as I know. :-)

Unfortunately, and for better or worse, wood is a lousy material for any structural or physical demanding use. The only way around that that I know of is to chip the wood into smaller pieces and glue it all together (plywood, OSB (better), glue lams, and my personal fav, LVL's: all of these use the best part of a natural product and yield a finished product that can be counted on regarding performance, durability, vermin resistance, etc.).

Brian

I noticed that almost all the ties in Europe are concrete. I assumed it was due to 1) more high speed trains 2) less availability of lumber
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 08, 2017, 02:07:51 PM
"At any rate". A common expression in English, at least American English, but I doubt many know what it means or where it comes from.

The reference and context is regarding the highly flammable (actually inflammable, which not only does not mean 'in- flammable' as in non- flammable but extremely flammable and in a bad way, as infamous means famous with a decidedly negative leaning but I digress.....) gas Acetylene. Acetylene is carbon based, just like all the other flammable fluids but adds the twist that it is a triple- bond, making it extremely energetic, and giving it the distinction of being the highest temperature burning gas. But it is unstable at pressures above 15 PSI, and it does not liquefy readily at room temperatures (as propane does, for example), making it hard to handle, store, ship and use. In fact, all pressure gauges for acetylene gas are marked in red, indicating the danger of even filling the welding hose with that gas at or above 15 PSI as it may well spontaneously breakdown and cause ignition upon contact with oxygen (from the air). Not good. Which is why when one gets a tank of acetylene filled, it is not filled to high pressure such as most welding gasses but 250 PSI. Wait, what? If it is unstable above 15 PSI, how can a tank of the stuff be pressurized to 250 PSI?

Under the heading of it ain't what you think: Acetylene is not stored in tanks as a gas but in solution inside the liquid acetone. Turns out acetone just loves the stuff and if exposed to acetylene and just a little bit of pressure, it will slurp it up like.... well, like one o' dem really impressive paper towel commercial products. So the tank is not full of acetylene but acetone that has absorbed a great deal of acetylene. But that is still not enough to make it safe as there would always be a bubble of acetylene on top of the solution of acetone below. So inside the tank there is a very porous rock fully filling the tank. The acetone is absorbed inside the porous, rigid material, and the acetylene is absorbed in the cells of acetone. And should one pore of the porous material spontaneously decompose.... no problem because the decomposition will not spread and cause an exothermic runaway condition. Whew, that was close and probably much, much more than anyone ever wanted to know about how acetylene is stored, shipped and used. And what in the hell does all this have to do with the expression 'At any rate'? Glad you asked!

Now given this tank, full of rock and the rock being full of acetone, and the acetone having acetylene gas dissolved in it, it would kind of follow that the acetylene bottle or tank must be used upright so that the gas can collect and leave the tank without taking a lot of acetone with it. Oxygen cylinders are typically laid down horizontally (any drunk will tell you, it is IMPOSSIBLE to fall down.... from the floor) so that they are easy to store and cannot fall over. But acetylene tanks MUST be used vertical, with the draw point (the valve) of the gas being the highest point. Also, because the acetone must boil the acetylene out to get the gas, there is a maximum delivery rate on each tank based on the square area of the cross section of the tank; the larger the tank, the higher the rate at which it can deliver acetylene. And the literature, instructions, etc., clearly state this information because it is important. 1) the bottle must remain upright at all times when acetylene is being drawn off and 2) do not exceed a certain rate, based on ambient temperature. Or, as it is often stated by the suppliers:

The maximum rate of acetylene delivery is shown on the chart below.

Chart here:

But, AT ANY RATE, the bottle must remain upright during acetylene delivery.

And there is the source for the expression. Now given all this, is it probably better to use a more simple expression such as 'In any event', which has a much looser meaning and no particular origin or even possibly the single word 'regardless'. Or irregardless if you want to impress your friends too.

At any rate, the world is usually more complex than it would appear at first blush.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 08, 2017, 07:46:41 PM
... is not full of acetylene but acetone that has absorbed a great deal of acetone. ...

 Really?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2017, 08:51:38 AM
Would I kid you? Really? Why would I bother?

The world is such a truly amazing place, full of all sorts of simply fascinating things that there is no need to make anything up. Just pay attention and a single human will be overwhelmed with all the clever, brilliant, tricky and extremely common things that other, usually very intelligent humans have conjured up and we all use and take for granted. C'mon people, put down the tablet (phone, whatever), stop frolicking with the utter nonsense on FaceTwit and the world will reward you one- million times over with truly great things. Quotes. Sayings. Speeches / writings, starting with those who invented written language ("And then he slew them all", Homer, circa 800 to 500 BC and still used in every other book or movie being produced today "You better bury Ned right! Better not cut up nor otherwise harm no whores, or I'll come back and kill every one of you sons of bitches!" - Wiliam Munny, Unforgiven, 1992). The most interesting inventions imaginable: look at a Geneva mechanism and tell me that was invented by a dumb but 'lucky' guy. Celestial navigation, starting with the need to know exactly what time it was (John Harrison, the H1, 1735) and continuing through a relatively complete mapping of the celestial bodies and finally, sight- reduction tables to correct for the Earth' 'wobble'. Archimedes Screw (Easy Boys!) to lift water. The Pythagorean theorem. Relativity.

Given this and so very much more, why would anyone have to make stuff up?

But, AT ANY RATE (see how I slipped that one in there?), if you need a reference:
https://www.rexarc.com/blog/importance-acetoning-dissolving-acetylene-acetone/ (https://www.rexarc.com/blog/importance-acetoning-dissolving-acetylene-acetone/)


Really?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2017, 09:07:13 AM
And since yesterday's topic was how to store a particular welding gas, let's look at how we generate the various welding gasses, at least some of them.

We pressurize and cool air (just plain 'ole air) until it becomes a liquid. The back the pressure off to exactly the right level for the gas desired, and it will boil out of the liquid air. That's it. We do not 'generate' most gasses at all, we merely separate them from the atmosphere. Some, such as nitrogen and oxygen, are plentiful and we get lots of them out of a single liquid air boiling cycle. Some such as neon, argon, helium, not so much. There is enough argon and neon to be the sourced this way but almost no helium, which is strange as it is second most abundant element in the entire universe... but not so much in our atmosphere.

Well, OK, it IS a little more complicated that that sometimes. Helium is not practical to extract from the atmosphere so we drill for it in the ground. When all the personnel around the drilling rig start talking like Donald Duck, they know they hit helium. Well, maybe not quite that.... helium is found in fair concentrations in natural gas so we separate it out.

Now an interesting side- note is that the US kind of has a lock on the natural gas, and therefore the helium, market. Which can lead to hi-jinks and hilarity, or at least some odd and unfortunate situations: when the Germans conjectured up Dirigibles, they needed a liight gas capable of lifting the entire craft. Two come to the fore: hydrogen (the lightest) and helium (second lightest). Hydrogen has more lift but not all that much and it is EXTREMELY flammable. So the Germans wanted to buy helium from the US but for whatever reason that day, we were cranky with them and would not sell them any. So they used hydrogen with the direct result of the Hindenburg blowing up in New Jersey.

All of which leads us to the startling notion that the line "I have gas." might not be such a bad thing.....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 09, 2017, 01:43:14 PM
Brian, I think you missed your typo twice, once when you typed it and then again when it was quoted. Really.
Here's a third chance.
So the tank is not full of acetylene but acetone that has absorbed a great deal of acetone.
Not inaccurate, but probably not what you wanted to type there?

...anyway....you also missed an easy boys here...

(see how I slipped that one in there?)

and then this..
All of which leads us to the startling notion that the line "I have gas." might not be such a bad thing.....

Just for the record, I've never considered it bad, but then mine smell like roses.  :P ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2017, 01:54:37 PM
Just got a new type in: a Target Vision brand. Seems nice enough, linked to both an Android phone as well as an IPad. Planning on taking it, both displays (one is my phone) and some Hornady V-Max loads to the range tomorrow if the hooky gods let me away with it (am on a first- name with those guys so here is hoping). Going to set up at 300 yds. to give it a fair distance test, will bring a camera with me to show the relative setup and distances involved.

Package was $350, all- inclusive. One small case, unit stands on a tripod but otherwise is a sealed box. The only target camera on the market with a high- res. camera, and they have another that is much higher res. yet but it bumps into the bandwidth of WiFi and frame rate. Anyway, nice looking unit, easy to set up and the software looks like it may be adequate. Anyway, it is cheaper than a spotting scope that will find 6mm and smaller holes at 300 yds, and will leave a visual record as well as a 'movie'.

BTW: just got done with something like 2,300 "free" Federal .223 casings. PIA to decap them, bigger PIA to swage the primer pocket crimps out and they only cleaned up to 'very good' instead of 'outstanding'. With the price of ammunition falling, and the fact that I really like PMC brass, I think this will be the last "free" L.E. brass that I pick up. Those folks generate it 1/2 of a 5 gallon bucket at a time but I think I will let some other lucky contestant deal with that stuff. Oh yeah, it is mixed with .40 cal brass (all fired in the same session) and so no matter how careful I have been to separate it, enough .40 cal works through my case feeder to make it annoying. And the occasional 9mm case WELDS itself to the base of a .223, making it virtually impossible to separate them. Again, all part of the 'freeness' of the free brass. :-( 

Brian

I'm going to have to check these things out. It's been a few years since I've done some long distance shooting and even with a decent sporting scope it was difficult to see some hits. I can guarantee you my eyes haven't exactly gotten better in the last 5 years. I don't know what you paid for this device but I bet it's a lot cheaper than and really good spotting scope.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2017, 01:56:54 PM
Yep, typos. And wordos (wrong word but correctly spelled). Hence my very short career as a book editor.  ;D

I will go back and fix what I can (said the contractor just before things already bad took a turn for the worse). Thanks or the corrections Marty!

Brian

Brian, I think you missed your typo twice, once when you typed it and then again when it was quoted. Really.
Here's a third chance.Not inaccurate, but probably not what you wanted to type there?

...anyway....you also missed an easy boys here...

and then this..
Just for the record, I've never considered it bad, but then mine smells like roses.  :P ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2017, 02:02:04 PM
Yep, a mistake and I did not see it even when you quoted it.

Proof that while there are smart people out there, I ain't one o' dem.

Brian

Really?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 09, 2017, 08:45:53 PM
Yep, a mistake and I did not see it even when you quoted it.

Proof that while there are smart people out there, I ain't one o' dem.

Brian

For the record, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time, as a lot of the topic was over my head I was sincerely asking if it was intentional ... i.e. some sort of supersaturation. AT ANY RATE, now I know. Well, sorta.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2017, 11:38:12 PM
Well, no offense taken certainly. A mistake on my part, I just did not catch it when you pointed it out. Marty knows me and so was less subtle. :-)

And the topic was not over your head; if you found it so, I explained it badly.... although I was telling the story like a 1940 film noir 'cause it was amusing.

It is simple: many different liquids absorb many gasses. The most obvious example of this is water and carbon dioxide: water, in the form of soda or beer, will absorb a lot of carbon dioxide. Look at a bottle of beer that is sealed and all you will see is liquid. Now open the bottle and bubbles come to the surface, that is the gas escaping the beer. It happens because the pressure is lowered a little bit on the liquid. Pour it into a glass and it will continue to produce gas for quite a while. Again, the gas (CO2) coming out of the liquid.

Lots of information about this all over the place but this is one source, along with an explanation of how much gas is in a liquid, and how it 'gets out' regarding pressure: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-solubility-water-d_639.html (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-solubility-water-d_639.html)

And BTW, a liquid does not have to be bubbling a gas out of it to actually contain a gas; water contains a lot of oxygen and that is what fish use and absorb via their gills. We put oxygen into water most readily by surface area of exposure; to put oxygen into an aquarium, we just bubble air through the water. This causes the oxygen in the air (about 20 / 21% of air is oxygen) to "seep" into the water and basically stay there so the fish can extract it. A body of water w/out much or any oxygen will 'die', killing all of the living species from plankton on up.

Brian

For the record, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time, as a lot of the topic was over my head I was sincerely asking if it was intentional ... i.e. some sort of supersaturation. AT ANY RATE, now I know. Well, sorta.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 10, 2017, 04:59:52 PM
More than fifty years ago, television in the US was settling into the mechanism and methodology that would last, with little variation,  until the present day. It had gone through the 1950's as 'The Golden Age of Television' with a good deal of hope and promise only to clank into the Sitcoms, [police, medical, law, firefighter / emt] dramas and all the rest of the junk we still have, in a format dotted with commercials to pay for it in the 1960's. The head of FCC at the time, showing extreme disappointment in what television was becoming, or more correctly, was being used to broadcast, gave a speech in which he claimed people tuning in to television at the current time (9 May, 1961) would see a "vast wasteland" among other derogatory observances. As the legend goes, more than 100,000 people called and wrote to the FCC asking the time and network on which "Vast Wasteland" aired. Legend or not, the truth that amuses me is that a particularly successful producer, making a fortune in mindless sitcoms, was offended by those remarks.

The head of the FCC, the man who called Television broadcasts a "Vast Wasteland" was Nelson Minnow (still alive today, coming up on 92 years of age). The man who was offended was Sherwood Schwartz (who died in 2011, at 94 years of age), who brought us such gems as Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch and others of that ilk. As a swipe at Nelson Minnow, and still a bit cranky about the "Vast Wastland" speech, Schwartz named the boat on Gilligan's Island the S.S. Minnow as a gesture toward Mr. Minnow.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 10, 2017, 05:46:22 PM
Fast forward to the early 80's and the new "cable TV" was supposed to rescue us from nonsense, offering lots of channels for additional viewing choices and diversity.  And a model of stations that didn't need to rely on ever longer and frequent, and more annoying commercials to finance it because they would be paid by the cable operator.  We even had a music TV station that, hard to believe, aired music videos.  Man we were the S*** with our 35 channels!

Fast forward another decade and it was apparent that the idea of commercial free TV was never going to happen outside of one or two pay-even-more-to-access-TV channels like HBO, and maybe a PBS.  But look, so many channels, and some are pretty cool!  Perhaps satellite TV would save us...

Fast forward another decade and it was clear that satellite would just be a clone of cable.  Bills get bigger and bigger and bigger every year while more and more nonsense channels are added.  HD added, and used as another excuse to raise prices.  Mindless "reality TV" now starts to take root and displace regular programming.

Fast forward another decade and the wasteland is complete and total.  Several hundred stations of nonsense.  Almost all highly-regarded stations like the so-called "Learning Channel" and "Discovery Channel" and even MTV play nothing but "reality TV" crap.  Prices as high as some people's average monthly electric bills so you have the privilege of access to hundreds of commercial-ridden mediocre channels.  Failed cable cards and SDTV just to make sure you are locked into horrible, expensive, and backwards equipment with no innovation.  But Netflix might help....

And another several years and here we are.  Still pretty much no choice and big fat monopolies.  Even more nonsense channels added to the point it takes an hour to scroll through them all... and they change every few months.  Netflix and Hulu and such broke the mold a while ago and present another possible idea- IPTV.  But you can't get the shows you want, and network after network decide they all want to go build their own IPTV platform and pull things off Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.  So now you have to subscribe to cable for the important few things left, high-speed internet to get IPTV, Netflix to get their good stuff, and a dozen other little platforms, each costing another $10 to $15 a month to get various other stuff.

But hey, at least there are tons of "channels"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 10, 2017, 06:05:03 PM
speaking of nothing....http://youtu.be/YAlDbP4tdqc (http://youtu.be/YAlDbP4tdqc)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 10, 2017, 06:22:13 PM
For the record, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time,....

OH SURE, make me look the bad guy.  :battle: :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 10, 2017, 07:38:55 PM
OH SURE, make me look the bad guy.  :battle: :rotflmao:

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cf/41/e2/cf41e241695ca7b725bd2cd9d395cfbc--stupid-funny-hilarious.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 12:39:10 AM
This side of the Pond you can get both FreeView & Freesat without any sort of monthly subscription.

Both offer around 200 TV channels plus some catch up stuff, the primary difference between them is that Freeview uses a "standard" rooftop aerial whilst FreeSat requires a dish


In fact the vast majority of Tellies (or TVs, not to be confused with TVs) have one or more FreeView tuners built in. Alternatively you can but boxes for as little as about £50

Ok it is a fairly basic list and does not include any of the specialist/dedicated sports or movie channels  but its a lot better than a kick in the teeth. It also includes all the "normal" terrestrial channels (ie BBC1,BBC2,BBC4, ITV,Channel4 (Plus S4C the Welsh variant), & CHannel 5) wth the BBC channels being a commercial free (apart from for their own products/programs lol) zone.

Mind you they are a bit creative with their channel count at times eg I would class Channel 4, Channel 4 + 1 & Channel 4 HD as 1 channel, legally they are allowed to count them as 3 ;)


That said I've got a Sky Q satellite service with movies and sports which also gives me multiroom viewing and the ability to record 5 other channels whilst watching another one. Alos works seamlessly across to my ipad or phone which costs me around £85 per month. Ok I could get a tve service a lot cheaper but IMHO the Sky service over here knocks spots off all the other offering  and I'm more than happy to pay for it :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2017, 06:34:00 AM
But on the 'free' services, as I understand it, there is a television 'tax' or gov't fee involved? And if not, what is the mechanism of payment (there is always a mechanism of payment, the only things that change and the delivery medium and the suitableness, i.e. gov't taxes paying for gov't supplied broadcasts).

Brian


This side of the Pond you can get both FreeView & Freesat without any sort of monthly subscription.

Both offer around 200 TV channels plus some catch up stuff, the primary difference between them is that Freeview uses a "standard" rooftop aerial whilst FreeSat requires a dish


In fact the vast majority of Tellies (or TVs, not to be confused with TVs) have one or more FreeView tuners built in. Alternatively you can but boxes for as little as about £50

Ok it is a fairly basic list and does not include any of the specialist/dedicated sports or movie channels  but its a lot better than a kick in the teeth. It also includes all the "normal" terrestrial channels (ie BBC1,BBC2,BBC4, ITV,Channel4 (Plus S4C the Welsh variant), & CHannel 5) wth the BBC channels being a commercial free (apart from for their own products/programs lol) zone.

Mind you they are a bit creative with their channel count at times eg I would class Channel 4, Channel 4 + 1 & Channel 4 HD as 1 channel, legally they are allowed to count them as 3 ;)


That said I've got a Sky Q satellite service with movies and sports which also gives me multiroom viewing and the ability to record 5 other channels whilst watching another one. Alos works seamlessly across to my ipad or phone which costs me around £85 per month. Ok I could get a tve service a lot cheaper but IMHO the Sky service over here knocks spots off all the other offering  and I'm more than happy to pay for it :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 06:49:46 AM
Almost correct :)

There's a TV licence fee payable by anyone using a TV or other device capable of receiving a signal, doesn't matter whether its BBC/ITV or whatever. If its capable of receiving a signal you need to ave a licence for it.

Or to quote Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom)

"In the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions as they are being broadcast (terrestrial, satellite, cable, or internet) is required to hold a television licence. Businesses, hospitals, schools and a range of other organisations are also required to hold television licences to watch and record live TV broadcasts.[1] A television licence is also required to receive on-demand programme services provided by the BBC, on the iPlayer catch-up service."

In other words even if you don't watch the BBC commercial free channels you still have to pay the licence fee.


Thats currently £147 per year for a Colour TV Licence &  £49.50 for a Black & White TV Licence.

Over 75's get it free and anyone living in a care home pays £7.50

If you're registered blind you get a 50% reduction


http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/tv-licence-types-and-costs-top2 (http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/tv-licence-types-and-costs-top2)


But on the 'free' services, as I understand it, there is a television 'tax' or gov't fee involved? And if not, what is the mechanism of payment (there is always a mechanism of payment, the only things that change and the delivery medium and the suitableness, i.e. gov't taxes paying for gov't supplied broadcasts).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 11, 2017, 06:55:33 AM
"If you're registered blind you get a 50% reduction"

 :o You can get half off the television (a sighted service) fee if you're blind....do you get for free if you're blind and deaf?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 07:08:53 AM
"If you're registered blind you get a 50% reduction"

 :o You can get half off the television (a sighted service) fee if you're blind....do you get for free if you're blind and deaf?

Only if you're 75 & over ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2017, 07:10:36 AM
And of course you actually get a payment if you are blind, deaf, and not too bright.....

 ;D

Hey, everything can be plotted on a curve, and I was just looking at where this curve was going.....

Brian

"If you're registered blind you get a 50% reduction"

 :o You can get half off the television (a sighted service) fee if you're blind....do you get for free if you're blind and deaf?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2017, 07:25:52 AM
Yes, it is that frankly HUGE difference between our two systems: once we get past the facade of 'it is free' and down to brass tacks, the real difference is that in the UK, one basically pays for the ability to watch TV while in the US, at least until recently and probably still the most widely used method has us actually getting TV 'for free' with the actual cost being the commercials buried in all of the shows. I never watch TV in real- time but record it and then watch is so that I can fast- forward through the commercials. Even a show that I am literally waiting to watch; we literally wait 15 minutes and then begging to watch the recording so I can FF through the commercials. So it appears we each have our own, somewhat convoluted systems, with yours I believe being the most honest and open. Although no one here (US) is fibbing in the least that there are commercials, they are in fact commercial in nature to generate income, etc.

As I have been saying for a while now, I believe a 'pay for bandwidth' and then have the provider divide up the income and distribute it to those providing the content that generated parts of that bandwidth usage has a lot of potential merit. Such a system would take some effort to implement and use and in the end it may not work at all but still, I think it could be a good and useful system that would walk right down the center of the road named Capitalism.

Brian

Almost correct :)

There's a TV licence fee payable by anyone using a TV or other device capable of receiving a signal, doesn't matter whether its BBC/ITV or whatever. If its capable of receiving a signal you need to ave a licence for it.

Or to quote Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom)

"In the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions as they are being broadcast (terrestrial, satellite, cable, or internet) is required to hold a television licence. Businesses, hospitals, schools and a range of other organisations are also required to hold television licences to watch and record live TV broadcasts.[1] A television licence is also required to receive on-demand programme services provided by the BBC, on the iPlayer catch-up service."

In other words even if you don't watch the BBC commercial free channels you still have to pay the licence fee.


Thats currently £147 per year for a Colour TV Licence &  £49.50 for a Black & White TV Licence.

Over 75's get it free and anyone living in a care home pays £7.50

If you're registered blind you get a 50% reduction


http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/tv-licence-types-and-costs-top2 (http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/tv-licence-types-and-costs-top2)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on August 11, 2017, 07:56:34 AM
All the 'fees' go to the central Gov.?  Which in turn funds the BBC?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 08:06:15 AM
Another big difference is we don't rearrange our sports programs around the commercials :)

Where football (real football not your version ;o) ) is shown on channels with commercials then there are adverts at half time but that's still 45 minutes into the game.

For longer events such as F1 then yes they may interrupt live coverage briefly but again its typically mid race (although as I watch on SKY F1 then the entire race is commercial/advert free )

I actually quite like the adverts over here, many of them are made to a very high quality and are mini works of art in their own right.


Couple of my favourites from the last 20 years (yes a very small sample)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9znA_dwjHw#)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAL48oz7mPA#)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo#)



Yes, it is that frankly HUGE difference between our two systems: once we get past the facade of 'it is free' and down to brass tacks, the real difference is that in the UK, one basically pays for the ability to watch TV while in the US, at least until recently and probably still the most widely used method has us actually getting TV 'for free' with the actual cost being the commercials buried in all of the shows. I never watch TV in real- time but record it and then watch is so that I can fast- forward through the commercials. Even a show that I am literally waiting to watch; we literally wait 15 minutes and then begging to watch the recording so I can FF through the commercials. So it appears we each have our own, somewhat convoluted systems, with yours I believe being the most honest and open. Although no one here (US) is fibbing in the least that there are commercials, they are in fact commercial in nature to generate income, etc.

As I have been saying for a while now, I believe a 'pay for bandwidth' and then have the provider divide up the income and distribute it to those providing the content that generated parts of that bandwidth usage has a lot of potential merit. Such a system would take some effort to implement and use and in the end it may not work at all but still, I think it could be a good and useful system that would walk right down the center of the road named Capitalism.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 11, 2017, 08:15:23 AM
Thats currently £147 per year for a Colour TV Licence

Ouch!  $190 a year, every year, on top of the VAT and other taxes to buy the TV and the high taxes on the money earned to pay for it all.

At least here we pay nothing for terrestrial (over-the-air) HDTV, typically around 15 stations in rural areas with all the major traditional networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, UPN, Fox, Ion, CW, TBN, etc).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 08:27:51 AM
Ouch!  $190 a year, every year, on top of the VAT and other taxes to buy the TV and the high taxes on the money earned to pay for it all.

At least here we pay nothing for terrestrial (over-the-air) HDTV, typically around 15 stations in rural areas with all the major traditional networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, UPN, Fox, Ion, CW, TBN, etc).

ahh taxes, another good subject for comparison.

I'm 53 now and have never filled out a tax return in my life.

The majority of people on annual salaries, weekly paid etc all pay their income tax through a system known as PAYE, Pay As You Earn. COmes direct out of your wages each time you get paid.


Income Tax rates and bands
Band                           Taxable income            Tax rate
Personal Allowance   Up to £11,500            0%
Basic rate                   £11,501 to £45,000    20%
Higher rate           £45,001 to £150,000    40%
Additional rate           over £150,000            45%


Another big difference is that in shops the price on the shelf is the price you pay, VAT is included. There's no adding of sales tax at the checkout as I believe (& correct me if I'm wrong) happens in most (if not all) of the US.


Rate                      % of VAT   What the rate applies to
Standard              20%            Most goods and services
Reduced rate        5%            Some goods and services, eg children's car seats and home energy
Zero rate                0%            Zero-rated goods and services, eg most food and children's clothes
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2017, 10:47:42 AM
Yes, sports interrupted for commercials, which generate all the money, are an excellent example of our system. When in doubt, capitalism will swoop in and save the day, or at least make a profit :-)

I am neither praising or condemning either of our systems, merely pointing out that your example is an excellent illustration of a very fundamentally different system.

Two points though: there is a commercial in the third video you posted.  :rotflmao: and I believe you are right about some of your commercials but have not chosen the very best.... which are, of course, the Durex ads. Absolutely and utterly brilliant as you would say. I would say outstanding. Easily the equal of our own 'Trunk Monkey' commercials IMO. And if you have not see the Trunk Monkey commercials, I seriously and strongly suggest you stop whatever you are doing, ignore Winston for a few moments, and watch all of them. BTW: trunk monkey is an American slang term for a tire iron, usually when it is used as a weapon or a mechanism to smash and bash something into submission.

The best one of the TM commercials ends with the line: "Because sometimes, getting your car back is simply not enough." Add to that what the monkey (really not a monkey at all but a Chimpanzee, a Great Ape or Hominid, like me) is doing when the door glass is broken and that commercial still slays me years and years after I first watched it.

Brian

Another big difference is we don't rearrange our sports programs around the commercials :)

Where football (real football not your version ;o) ) is shown on channels with commercials then there are adverts at half time but that's still 45 minutes into the game.

For longer events such as F1 then yes they may interrupt live coverage briefly but again its typically mid race (although as I watch on SKY F1 then the entire race is commercial/advert free )

I actually quite like the adverts over here, many of them are made to a very high quality and are mini works of art in their own right.


Couple of my favourites from the last 20 years (yes a very small sample)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9znA_dwjHw#)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAL48oz7mPA#)

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo#)

Edited 13 Aug: To finish last sentence. Duh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2017, 11:15:27 AM
We are getting dangerously close to something, in a thread about nothing but my two cents:

We too have the very same tax on our income, which is withheld and paid to the Dept. of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (affectionately (cough, cough) known as the IRS and other terms, such as 'revenuers' and such). Our system too is weighted and not linear, just as yours is. And while we do have an 'end of the year fixer' upper' known as a tax return, by far the great majority of our income tax is paid in each earner's pay period, just like yours.

In addition to Federal Income Tax, almost all US states also have a State Income Tax, sometimes piggy-backed onto the Federal tax as in MA, sometimes independent as in RI. Remember, the US of A is quite unusual in that we still believe, and in many cases act, as though were were not a country at all but a loose collection of states. This is a major difference between the US and UK, as well as the US and everywhere else.

Yes, almost all states have a state sales tax that one pays at time of sale. Some states do not but they are the rarity, not the norm. You have the VAT system, but it is not as simple as that either. We have excise taxes because the various gov'ts always need more money and spend a great deal of time thinking up new and exciting taxes, many of which are done very quietly.... excise tax on tires sneaks past almost everyone. Gasoline tax (substantial, maybe $0.50 / gal. depending on state), cigarette tax (very substantial, by far the majority of the cost of cigarettes at just over $8 / pack of 20). In the end, each country has a tax structure, built up over decades, and it is not possible to directly compare any one facet of any system with another system because they just do not cross. Our state sales tax (and we also have some sales taxes piggy- backed on in very large cities; those lucky enough to live / work / buy things in NY, NY get to pay the same tax three times: Federal, State and City) does not cross to your VAT, both are part of a larger system. Which is why one has to add up all the taxes an average individual pays to see what a country really costs each citizen.

Then there are all the ways to cheat the tax system but I am sure that only applies to we Colonists; a fine, up-standing subject of Her Majesty would never even think of such a thing.... eh what, Gov?   ;) ;) ;D

Brian

ahh taxes, another good subject for comparison.

I'm 53 now and have never filled out a tax return in my life.

The majority of people on annual salaries, weekly paid etc all pay their income tax through a system known as PAYE, Pay As You Earn. COmes direct out of your wages each time you get paid.


Income Tax rates and bands
Band                           Taxable income            Tax rate
Personal Allowance   Up to £11,500            0%
Basic rate                   £11,501 to £45,000    20%
Higher rate           £45,001 to £150,000    40%
Additional rate           over £150,000            45%


Another big difference is that in shops the price on the shelf is the price you pay, VAT is included. There's no adding of sales tax at the checkout as I believe (& correct me if I'm wrong) happens in most (if not all) of the US.


Rate                      % of VAT   What the rate applies to
Standard              20%            Most goods and services
Reduced rate        5%            Some goods and services, eg children's car seats and home energy
Zero rate                0%            Zero-rated goods and services, eg most food and children's clothes

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 12:53:56 PM
And that was my point.

Yes we have tax on everything, actually petrol (why call a fluid gas lol) there is a 61% Fuel Duty on it plus 20% VAT on top of that (yes they tax the tax) but the price at the pump/shelf is the price you pay. You don't have to do any further calculations.

Same goes for alcohol, there is a alcohol duty added to the price then the whole lot has VAT added

If it says £1.14 per litre on the pump that's what you pay.

If its £26 for a bottle of Jack Daniels thats what you pay

If a telly costs £499 that's what you pay

All nice & simple :)


If you're  a VAT registered business then you can get a VAT receipt and start claiming back on some stuff but thats another whole minefield :)

Ie If I
We are getting dangerously close to something, in a thread about nothing but my two cents:

We too have the very same tax on our income, which is withheld and paid to the Dept. of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (affectionately (cough, cough) known as the IRS and other terms, such as 'revenuers' and such). Our system too is weighted and not linear, just as yours is. And while we do have an 'end of the year fixer' upper' known as a tax return, by far the great majority of our income tax is paid in each earner's pay period, just like yours.

In addition to Federal Income Tax, almost all US states also have a State Income Tax, sometimes piggy-backed onto the Federal tax as in MA, sometimes independent as in RI. Remember, the US of A is quite unusual in that we still believe, and in many cases act, as though were were not a country at all but a loose collection of states. This is a major difference between the US and UK, as well as the US and everywhere else.

Yes, almost all states have a state sales tax that one pays at time of sale. Some states do not but they are the rarity, not the norm. You have the VAT system, but it is not as simple as that either. We have excise taxes because the various gov'ts always need more money and spend a great deal of time thinking up new and exciting taxes, many of which are done very quietly.... excise tax on tires sneaks past almost everyone. Gasoline tax (substantial, maybe $0.50 / gal. depending on state), cigarette tax (very substantial, by far the majority of the cost of cigarettes at just over $8 / pack of 20). In the end, each country has a tax structure, built up over decades, and it is not possible to directly compare any one facet of any system with another system because they just do not cross. Our state sales tax (and we also have some sales taxes piggy- backed on in very large cities; those lucky enough to live / work / buy things in NY, NY get to pay the same tax three times: Federal, State and City) does not cross to your VAT, both are part of a larger system. Which is why one has to add up all the taxes an average individual pays to see what a country really costs each citizen.

Then there are all the ways to cheat the tax system but I am sure that only applies to we Colonists; a fine, up-standing subject of Her Majesty would never even think of such a thing.... eh what, Gov?   ;) ;) ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 11, 2017, 01:38:54 PM
And that was my point.

Yes we have tax on everything, actually petrol (why call a fluid gas lol) there is a 61% Fuel Duty on it plus 20% VAT on top of that (yes they tax the tax) but the price at the pump/shelf is the price you pay. You don't have to do any further calculations.

Same goes for alcohol, there is a alcohol duty added to the price then the whole lot has VAT added

If it says £1.14 per litre on the pump that's what you pay.

If its £26 for a bottle of Jack Daniels thats what you pay

If a telly costs £499 that's what you pay

All nice & simple :)


If you're  a VAT registered business then you can get a VAT receipt and start claiming back on some stuff but thats another whole minefield :)

Ie If I

Makes it easy to forget how much taxes you are really paying. That is the problem with our income tax. Would be better if we had to pay it in cash in person every year. Then no one would ever forget.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 11, 2017, 01:56:48 PM
Yes we have tax on everything, actually petrol (why call a fluid gas lol) there is a 61% Fuel Duty on it plus 20% VAT on top of that (yes they tax the tax) but the price at the pump/shelf is the price you pay. You don't have to do any further calculations.

Here (USA), all taxes are included in gas [petrol] prices- you pay what you see on the pump, same as there.  Most other products you do have to add sales tax at the end, if there is a sales tax.  Sales taxes are typically a flat percent across a whole state (but not always) and usually on all products sold (although there are often exceptions, like a lower sales tax on food and medications).  Here in VA it is generally 5 to 6% with half that for food and medications.   "Sin taxes" on alcohol and tobacco (I think those are the only two product categories) are hidden/included in the shelf price, then you pay sales taxes on top of that.

There is a wide variation in the amount of sales tax depending on which state.  Each state raises money in a variety of ways, those with no or low sales taxes typically have higher personal property, and/or real estate and/or income tax, for example.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 02:01:10 PM
wasn't it Benjamin Franklin who said there are only two certainties in life, death & tax.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 11, 2017, 02:14:04 PM
wasn't it Benjamin Franklin who said there are only two certainties in life, death & tax.

One of them, yes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_taxes_(idiom)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 11, 2017, 03:09:42 PM
Loving Al Gores sense of humour :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 11, 2017, 04:23:47 PM
Yep, I hear you, I just do not think it is a big deal and merely a different mechanism. But I have seen enough Europeans at the cash register and the look on their faces, as well as having numerous conversations with many non- US familiar folks to know that it really is an emotional issue for some. And most unusual for most, if not all, who are used to the system. Still, it is merely a method to generate revenue and not something anyone is trying to hide or minimize. In fact, I believe most if not all advertised prices say 'plus tax' as a way of warning.

Now in a really left- handed way, it can be a benefit over, say, the VAT system: there are cases in which we do not pay sales tax. Many on- line orders are not taxed because the vendor is not required to collect sales tax (you may be amused by one slang term for it: "The Governor's Cut" :-)  ), and then there is the whole question of exactly which state the sale actually took place in (yeah, that is not grammatically correct but you can make a thought out of it). This can be very hard on real 'brick and mortar' vendors with local stores for two reasons: they have to compete with on- line orders that may and often do omit sales tax, plus people end up using their store as the 'shopping floor and display' for a warehouse a thousand miles away. The store owner maintains stock, pays utilities, rent (or had to buy the building), pays help, insurance and a host of other things so a potential customer can look, handle, often get advise and then go home and buy the item on- line and have it delivered.

BTW- more and more on- line sales outfits now DO charge sales tax for the state in which the purchaser resides because they are spreading out (Amazon now has six locations in the US), and the Fed. gov't is considering legislation to plug this 'leak in the tax dyke'.

Our state sales tax system does generate some weird results though: I live in RI, and the sales tax here is 7%. 25 miles north, in MA (you know, Plymouth & The Pilgrims & The Mayflower, Boston and that.... er, 'unpleasantness in the late 1700's, etc.) the sales tax is 5%. So when buying big ticket items such as furniture, a lot of RI residents hop the line, buy stuff in MA and have it delivered. But that makes the Guvnah of RI unhappy 'cause he ain't gettin' his cut so they post agents in the parking lot of the large furniture dealers in MA, look for RI plates, and snoop around for what might have been sold. So occasionally, the state of RI bills its residents for the tax difference on large purchases made in MA.... yep, 2% due and payable to the State of RI. Amazing but true.

Brian

And that was my point.

Yes we have tax on everything, actually petrol (why call a fluid gas lol) there is a 61% Fuel Duty on it plus 20% VAT on top of that (yes they tax the tax) but the price at the pump/shelf is the price you pay. You don't have to do any further calculations.

Same goes for alcohol, there is a alcohol duty added to the price then the whole lot has VAT added

If it says £1.14 per litre on the pump that's what you pay.

If its £26 for a bottle of Jack Daniels thats what you pay

If a telly costs £499 that's what you pay

All nice & simple :)


If you're  a VAT registered business then you can get a VAT receipt and start claiming back on some stuff but thats another whole minefield :)

Ie If I
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 12, 2017, 12:34:22 AM
With the Cross border stuff you've almost touched on something that could prove interesting Post Brexit.

Currently if I buy anything from another EU country as long as the taxes have been paid on it in that country I don't have to pay any further import duties/taxes etc (VAT & other duties do vary across the EU). Technically that only applies if you bring it back in in person , in practice it's applied online as well.




Its one of the reasons why so many people pop over to Belgium as their "sin" tax on tobacco is significantly lower than the UK. Prices are typically 2/3's lower. I know when I used to smoke it made sense for me to pop over the channel, pick up 6 months worth ,and have a weekend away. The total cost including ferry/chunnel, fuel, tobacco , hotel, food etc was still cheaper by a margin than buying the tobacco in the UK as I needed/wanted it. (Honest Guv I never ever made any money by selling a pouch bought in Belgium for £5 to any one at work for £10 where the UK price was £15, everything brought in was for personal consumption only in line with the law)



Nobody really knows yet what the situation will be post Brexit.

Will they just tighten up on the online ordering and keep the physical journeys alone or will their be a hard line imposed by the UK govt and it will be the same (meagre) allowances as already exist  bringing good in from anywhere outside the EU

 l
Yep, I hear you, I just do not think it is a big deal and merely a different mechanism. But I have seen enough Europeans at the cash register and the look on their faces, as well as having numerous conversations with many non- US familiar folks to know that it really is an emotional issue for some. And most unusual for most, if not all, who are used to the system. Still, it is merely a method to generate revenue and not something anyone is trying to hide or minimize. In fact, I believe most if not all advertised prices say 'plus tax' as a way of warning.

Now in a really left- handed way, it can be a benefit over, say, the VAT system: there are cases in which we do not pay sales tax. Many on- line orders are not taxed because the vendor is not required to collect sales tax (you may be amused by one slang term for it: "The Governor's Cut" :-)  ), and then there is the whole question of exactly which state the sale actually took place in (yeah, that is not grammatically correct but you can make a thought out of it). This can be very hard on real 'brick and mortar' vendors with local stores for two reasons: they have to compete with on- line orders that may and often do omit sales tax, plus people end up using their store as the 'shopping floor and display' for a warehouse a thousand miles away. The store owner maintains stock, pays utilities, rent (or had to buy the building), pays help, insurance and a host of other things so a potential customer can look, handle, often get advise and then go home and buy the item on- line and have it delivered.

BTW- more and more on- line sales outfits now DO charge sales tax for the state in which the purchaser resides because they are spreading out (Amazon now has six locations in the US), and the Fed. gov't is considering legislation to plug this 'leak in the tax dyke'.

Our state sales tax system does generate some weird results though: I live in RI, and the sales tax here is 7%. 25 miles north, in MA (you know, Plymouth & The Pilgrims & The Mayflower, Boston and that.... er, 'unpleasantness in the late 1700's, etc.) the sales tax is 5%. So when buying big ticket items such as furniture, a lot of RI residents hop the line, buy stuff in MA and have it delivered. But that makes the Guvnah of RI unhappy 'cause he ain't gettin' his cut so they post agents in the parking lot of the large furniture dealers in MA, look for RI plates, and snoop around for what might have been sold. So occasionally, the state of RI bills its residents for the tax difference on large purchases made in MA.... yep, 2% due and payable to the State of RI. Amazing but true.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 12, 2017, 08:13:24 PM
As the story goes.....

John 'Uncle John' Sedgwick. Born in Connecticut in 1813, graduated West Point in 1837. A Colonel at the start of the Civil War (of the 'War between the States' for my southern brethren) he rose in rank to Major General at the time of his death in VA, 1864. He is really remembered for two things: one is certainly true, the other one is sketchy but makes a great story either way.

First, he was the highest ranking US officer to be killed during the Civil War, or more accurately, was one of two Major Generals to be killed in action during that war (the other was John Reynolds, killed at Gettysburg, 1863).

The other thing that is notable is that during the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, he stood tall and tried to rally his men while they ducked and cowed. He showed frank amazement as there was nothing but occasional rifle fire, no artillery or even concentrated rifle fire aimed anywhere near him or his men and even that being fired from at least 1,000 yards and further away. He berated and bullied them in an effort to get them to stand and man the artillery pieces he commanded without success and finally said: "They could not hit an elephant at this distance!" but never actually finished the final word as a confederate sharp- shooter hit him and killed him where he stood; he was dead before he hit the ground.

As I said, it is a great story. But another version, this one by Gen. Sedgwick's adjutant, who was present when the General was killed, said this:

"    I gave the necessary order to move the troops to the right, and as they rose to execute the movement the enemy opened a sprinkling fire, partly from sharp-shooters. As the bullets whistled by, some of the men dodged. The general said laughingly, "What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A few seconds after, a man who had been separated from his regiment passed directly in front of the general, and at the same moment a sharp-shooter's bullet passed with a long shrill whistle very close, and the soldier, who was then just in front of the general, dodged to the ground. The general touched him gently with his foot, and said, "Why, my man, I am ashamed of you, dodging that way," and repeated the remark, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." The man rose and saluted and said good-naturedly, "General, I dodged a shell once, and if I hadn't, it would have taken my head off. I believe in dodging. "The general laughed and replied, "All right, my man; go to your place."

    For a third time the same shrill whistle, closing with a dull, heavy stroke, interrupted our talk; when, as I was about to resume, the general's face turned slowly to me, the blood spurting from his left cheek under the eye in a steady stream. He fell in my direction ; I was so close to him that my effort to support him failed, and I fell with him.  "

Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/quotes/last-words/john-sedgwick.html (http://www.phrases.org.uk/quotes/last-words/john-sedgwick.html)

I think everyone has to admit, the other version of the story is better even if it is.... er, stretched somewhat.

Brian

Edited to correct a simple mistake regarding what century something may have occurred in.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 13, 2017, 11:39:32 AM
So where's Conniesaki now? Really?

As the story goes.....

John 'Uncle John' Sedgwick. Born in Connecticut in 1813, graduated West Point in 1937. A Colonel at the start of the Civil War (of the 'War between the States' for my southern brethren) he rose in rank to Major General at the time of his death in VA, 1864. He is really remembered for two things: one is certainly true, the other one is sketchy but makes a great story either way.

First, he was the highest ranking US officer to be killed during the Civil War, or more accurately, was one of two Major Generals to be killed in action during that war (the other was John Reynolds, killed at Gettysburg, 1863).

The other thing that is notable is that during the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, he stood tall and tried to rally his men while they ducked and cowed. He showed frank amazement as there was nothing but occasional rifle fire, no artillery or even concentrated rifle fire aimed anywhere near him or his men and even that being fired from at least 1,000 yards and further away. He berated and bullied them in an effort to get them to stand and man the artillery pieces he commanded without success and finally said: "They could not hit an elephant at this distance!" but never actually finished the final word as a confederate sharp- shooter hit him and killed him where he stood; he was dead before he hit the ground.

As I said, it is a great story. But another version, this one by Gen. Sedgwick's adjutant, who was present when the General was killed, said this:

"    I gave the necessary order to move the troops to the right, and as they rose to execute the movement the enemy opened a sprinkling fire, partly from sharp-shooters. As the bullets whistled by, some of the men dodged. The general said laughingly, "What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A few seconds after, a man who had been separated from his regiment passed directly in front of the general, and at the same moment a sharp-shooter's bullet passed with a long shrill whistle very close, and the soldier, who was then just in front of the general, dodged to the ground. The general touched him gently with his foot, and said, "Why, my man, I am ashamed of you, dodging that way," and repeated the remark, "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." The man rose and saluted and said good-naturedly, "General, I dodged a shell once, and if I hadn't, it would have taken my head off. I believe in dodging. "The general laughed and replied, "All right, my man; go to your place."

    For a third time the same shrill whistle, closing with a dull, heavy stroke, interrupted our talk; when, as I was about to resume, the general's face turned slowly to me, the blood spurting from his left cheek under the eye in a steady stream. He fell in my direction ; I was so close to him that my effort to support him failed, and I fell with him.  "

Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/quotes/last-words/john-sedgwick.html (http://www.phrases.org.uk/quotes/last-words/john-sedgwick.html)

I think everyone has to admit, the other version of the story is better even if it is.... er, stretched somewhat.

Brian

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 13, 2017, 12:28:38 PM
Not following this one Marty.....

Brian

So where's Conniesaki now? Really?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 13, 2017, 04:53:08 PM
So where's Conniesaki now? Really?

Aw crap. This feels like a test.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 13, 2017, 04:55:47 PM
Aw crap. This feels like a test.

Don't let them trap you...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 13, 2017, 06:19:18 PM
I hope there is some clever, sophisticated humor behind this 'cause it is absolutely flying by me. ?? ??

Brian

Aw crap. This feels like a test.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 13, 2017, 10:22:53 PM
I hope there is some clever, sophisticated humor behind this 'cause it is absolutely flying by me. ?? ??
Hope springs eternal, but no, nothing clever or sophisticated here, it's pretty much just like the last time. 

HINT: That "Uncle John" guy sure must have been a slow learner.  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 13, 2017, 10:23:49 PM
Uncle John graduated from West Point at age 124.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 13, 2017, 10:25:34 PM
Hey! I answered before reading your post, Marty! Promise!

Damn! I actually got the red bar 'warning' that somebody had posted while I was typing!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 14, 2017, 12:27:30 AM
so why is it we eat a round pizza from a square box and have it cut into triangles?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 14, 2017, 07:46:06 AM
Which clearly explains why he could not duck out of that Minnie ball's way. Are you people not following this? Do I have to type slower? The man was ancient when he got shot!

Well, OK, maybe I do have to type slower. And think a little quicker.  ;D  I guess I am on the slope now, the one that takes most of us from 'normal human' to.... well, a lesser human.

But do not let my bad typing or math get in the way of a cool story, that point of that was that some Confederate sniper took out an enemy from over 1,000 yards away. Long, long way for a shoulder- arm to hit what, a 5" circle or less? Pretty impressive IMO. And that was using a handful of black powder, a cast Minnie ball and iron sights!

And let me throw this one out there: with my better pieces of glass (telescopic sights), on a well- bedded rifle (Easy Boys! not that kind 'o bedding), I can see my own heartbeat as movement between the reticle and the target. Some of the very best long- distance shooters claim they watch the projectile fly.... well, not the actual projectile, but the tube of compressed air around the projectile, and when it is a clean shot, immediately follow it with another (before the wind changes). I would be dubious of this but those people can drop 10 rounds into the bottom of a coffee mug at 5/8 of a mile so that makes me believe it may just be true. The same way Ted Williams claimed it was easy to see what the ball was going to do by watching which way and how fast the stitches were rotating..... again, I would be dubious but the gentleman connected with so very many of the balls thrown at him, at nearly 100 MPH, that maybe he really COULD see the stitching.

Brian

Uncle John graduated from West Point at age 124.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 14, 2017, 10:03:42 AM
so why is it we eat a round pizza from a square box and have it cut into triangles?

Geometry
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 14, 2017, 10:55:42 AM
Geometry
Well, speaking of that....

Question:
so why is it we eat a round pizza from a square box and have it cut into triangles?
Answer: We don't. (typically)
Although I've seen it cut into squares ( the goal was squares but usually trapezoids and 4 wedges in reality), pizzas are mostly cut into sections of a circle. Since a triangle by definition needs three straight sides and one side of a pizza slice is typically curved. Personally, if there is no dipping sauce, I eat only the triangle parts of the sections of a circle and discard the handle.

visual aids:

exception square box rule....(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/510KRXzEhJL._SX342_.jpg)

section of a circle.....(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTA-VQ7HZCvkw8xyCAuCCqSFTO6Lv-afV4p6Y20loBfmLrvvRG3)

trapazoidal slices ... (http://everydaysaratoga.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/thick-crust-pizza-300x225.jpg)
                                (https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0b/a3/d5/42/never-saw-a-round-pizza.jpg)

....after typing all of that, I think I like V'Jim's answer better.
I wish I had a basement too.  :(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 14, 2017, 11:04:43 AM
or you could just eat calzone :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 14, 2017, 11:14:58 AM
You say that as if that would exclude pizza..... you do have two hands, right? A calzone in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other works, just lean over the sink and let any, er, 'drippings' fall as they may.

Brian

or you could just eat calzone :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 19, 2017, 01:28:21 AM
here's one for you Brian.


I think we can both agree that in tennis & squash the item of equipment you use is called (& spelt) a "racket".


SO why do many US clubs spell it "racquet" in their name?


https://www.google.com/search?q=racquet+clubs+usa (https://www.google.com/search?q=racquet+clubs+usa)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 19, 2017, 07:09:17 AM
English borrows a lot of words from other languauges provided they can be spelled and pronounced by English speakers. And at the same time, we reject some parts of a word or the word in its entirety, and there does not seem to be any reason or rhyme to the choices. Totally random as far as I can tell. ??

Your very example: Yes, we use a 'racquet' to play tennis but the same device, now called a 'racket' is used to play badminton. As I said, no reason or rhyme that I can discern at all.

A question that <may> have some root answer would be why some countries drive on the right and some on the left. In my opinion, only a handful of countries would be up for discussion because only a handful 'invented' driving in the first place, the rest just followed one or the other.

There was a fantastic TV series on many years ago, a Brit. production called 'Connections' that showed the common thread that wove through time to get us to where we are now regarding some devices, methods and conventions. Really, a great show because it was absolutely not about one person, one event or anything similar, it was about 'real life' and how things really evolved. Because other than the occasional idea or very specific discovery, things are virtually always the result of a chain of events while we humans like to reduce them all to "poof", and there it was. Electric lighting had been around for a long time before Edison, and his was not useful until many years and many, many changes later but history actually states a date on which the 'electric light' was invented. That show Connections showed that things are indeed far, far more complex and convoluted that that.

Brian

here's one for you Brian.


I think we can both agree that in tennis & squash the item of equipment you use is called (& spelt) a "racket".


SO why do many US clubs spell it "racquet" in their name?


https://www.google.com/search?q=racquet+clubs+usa (https://www.google.com/search?q=racquet+clubs+usa)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 19, 2017, 07:32:41 AM
Originally everyone travelled on the left as that way your sword arm was facing oncoming travellers.

The switch to travelling on he right actually precedes the invention of the car (by some way, talking early 1700's in France & the USA) and can be linked back to the horse & carriage.

When using multiple horses up front it was easier for the carriage driver to sit on the left as that meant his whip arm could be used through the middle of the horses

So that they could see how much clearance they had to passing carriages they started to drive on the right rather than the left




A question that <may> have some root answer would be why some countries drive on the right and some on the left. In my opinion, only a handful of countries would be up for discussion because only a handful 'invented' driving in the first place, the rest just followed one or the other.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 20, 2017, 07:46:06 PM
Never heard any of this before but it makes sense. Thanks for the info.

I have heard (no valid data) that the origin of the military salute was a Knight raising his visor in the middle ages: he would only do so if he were not going to engage the other(s) Knights, and it has morphed into a sign of comradery and respect.

Brian

Originally everyone travelled on the left as that way your sword arm was facing oncoming travellers.

The switch to travelling on he right actually precedes the invention of the car (by some way, talking early 1700's in France & the USA) and can be linked back to the horse & carriage.

When using multiple horses up front it was easier for the carriage driver to sit on the left as that meant his whip arm could be used through the middle of the horses

So that they could see how much clearance they had to passing carriages they started to drive on the right rather than the left
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 20, 2017, 07:57:00 PM
Check this out:

(http://i.imgur.com/vzUqORp.jpg)

One would think there was something like plutonium in that box. Sheesh.

Really just several pounds of smokeless powder and a few (hundred) projectiles. Not even a large order. But the HazMat trigger kicks in and all the rules apply no matter how big the order. And I only included the projectiles because I had already paid for shipping to 48 lbs. anyway.

An aside: going to try some light SMK's to see if they will fly for me. The heavier ones, 69 and 77 grains in .224 dia., and the 168 and 175's in .308 have always been spectacular performers but for shorter ranges, I wanted to give some 53 grain projectiles a try as long range stability is not an issue.

All of which brings up another interesting, at least to me, issue: some states are now restricting the sale of reloading components to in- person purchase, a back ground check, being a state resident, and having an FFL holder transfer the components. The short version is that I cannot buy a pound of smokeless powder in the great state of MA due to their zeal for 'safety'. Has anyone, anywhere, ever committed a crime with reloaded ammunition? Firearms violence does not usually start with the reloading of ammunition methinks. Put another way, I just do not see a bunch of gang- bangers, the root of the problem in the murder capitol of the US (the south side of Chicago), or any other high murder rate area, such as Roxbury, MA, getting together in the 'hood for some old- fashioned reloading before going out on the streets to perform murder.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 06:20:51 AM
I guess it had to happen. Drones, the new flying platform that can be adapted to just about everything. Now they are being used, at least in this one case, to fly methamphetamine from Mexico to CA. This is the fifth or sixth trip and the amount was 13 lbs. though I cannot quite tell if that amount was on this last trip or from a combination. The article claims that this has not been a very popular choice in getting drugs across the border so far due to limited range and weight capacity of drones but that is changing pretty rapidly as drone abilities rise with technology.

Drones are also being used to smuggle contraband into prisons apparently.

I think it was less than a year ago the big deal with drones was them hovering over a residential house and taking video of females in bikinis. Ah, the good old, 'pre- felony' days of drone problems.  :(

All of this is unfortunate because the technology is pretty slick and has a lot of possibilities although clearly some of them were unintended and unforeseen, at least by those of us who do not usually thing in terms of what we might smuggle to where it should not be anyway.

Oh, and BTW: the man charged in this particular smuggling case is a US citizen, for whatever that is worth.

Brian

http://nypost.com/2017/08/19/man-charged-for-using-drone-to-smuggle-13-pounds-of-drugs-from-mexico/ (http://nypost.com/2017/08/19/man-charged-for-using-drone-to-smuggle-13-pounds-of-drugs-from-mexico/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 06:54:18 AM
Another difference that has a lot of tentacles and originated for no reason at all that I can find: You (UK) use 50 cycle power with two legs providing 240 volts (I think it is 240). We (US) use 60 cycle power and also have two legs providing 230 volts but with a twist; we also supply what is called a neutral line, which falls between the two legs (yep, put 'between the two legs' joke here- this one is too easy) and we typically use most of our power by using one of the two legs and neutral to provide 115 volts for general, residential use, but also using 230 volt for items that consume large amounts of power, typically more than 1,500 watts or so: clothes dryers, ranges (electric stoves, I believe you call them 'cookers'?), whole- house water heaters. All of this is for residential and small business use; industrial power use such as anything running machine tools uses three phase power of varying voltage in both countries.

Another big difference is that we current- limit our power as it enters our houses, and all circuits are protected against overload there; after that, we get pretty cavalier about what we plug in where (yep more joke material). As I understand it, and I am certainly no authority on UK wiring, but you pretty freely string circuits around a house and then protect the devices plugged into those circuits by fusing the actual plugs themselves.

But back to the power generation: as I said, your power is 50 cycle, ours is 60 cycle and that results in a whole host of difference by accident. It makes no difference for the original electrical devices, incandescent light bulbs, nor other, simple things such as heating devices. But it makes a huge difference in electric motors and many different types of electronics; our motor base speed is 3,600 RPM due entirely to the cyclic rate of our mains power, yours is 3,000 for the same reason. Our entire analog TV system is built around a 60 Hertz (cycles) rate while yours is based on 50 Hertz, making your TVs, videotape and all related materials not interchangeable with ours (our entire system becomes NTSC, while yours is PAL).

Again, there is absolutely no reason or rhyme to this that I know of, it just worked out that way. And it is not much of a problem given that almost no one packs up, say, a house and moves it to the other country. :-)

Where it did become important though in Japan, where they have the outrageously strange system of using both 50 cycle and 60 cycle power in the same country, divided just about in the middle. A strange way to do things with a bid downside, at least that one time. It seems Japan jumped onto the power grip bandwagon a bit late, after other countries had already had their systems well developed. So they decided to try one of each; one system came from the US, based of course on our 60 cycle system and the other from Germany (Seimens IIRC), based on their 50 cycle system. Both worked and both were expanded until they bumped into each other about in the center of Japan. And the country eventually had two entire, functioning electrical systems that were not compatible with each other. There are some phase converters at the junction but not nearly enough to power up the 'other half' of Japan of course but merely covert enough power to help out the 'other' side if and when they needed it.

All of this results in some really strange things such as some consumer electronics working in one half of the country  but not the other. Not sure what they do about TV or if that crosses the two grids or not. But the whole thing did have a disastrous consequence when that Tsunami and the following tidal wave hit them back in '11; after losing a large portion of the northern grid by losing the reactors at Fukushima, the Japanese could not send a large amount of power north from the southern grid due to the limited size of the phase converters, contributing to the reactor accidents that followed.

The Japanese power system is really something that should be and should have been corrected but as these things always go the cost is so high that it is probably prohibitive to do so now. Re- powering 1/2 of a major, industrialized country would be a monumental task that virtually any economy just could not foot.

Brian

Originally everyone travelled on the left as that way your sword arm was facing oncoming travellers.

The switch to travelling on he right actually precedes the invention of the car (by some way, talking early 1700's in France & the USA) and can be linked back to the horse & carriage.

When using multiple horses up front it was easier for the carriage driver to sit on the left as that meant his whip arm could be used through the middle of the horses

So that they could see how much clearance they had to passing carriages they started to drive on the right rather than the left
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 07:14:41 AM
I'm sure there's a good reason for the voltage difference however it escapes me for the moment

Electrical installations are pretty stringent over here.

You have to either be certified or get a certified electrician in to check any DIY wiring and lately that's also includes things like outdoor security lights


Yes you're right in saying that each individual appliance is fused at the plug however the main fusebox also has to have resettable RCCBs etc and each ring /circuit in the house is also protected by a circuit breaker/fuse.

Looking at he Pic of my main fusebox then from Right to Left I have

A main Siwtch to isolate from the incoming supply.
a 40A circuit for the cooker
a 16A circuit for the water heater (actually mines hooked up to the jauzzi bath as all my water heating is done by a gas combi boiler)
separate 6A circuits for the up and downstairs lighting
a 6A circuit for outside lights
The RCB protecting the Main Rings
separate 32A  circuits for the upstairs & downstairs rings
a 16Amp circuit put in for some extension wiring by the PO that are separate from the downstairs ring main


http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox.jpg (http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox.jpg)




E
Another difference that has a lot of tentacles and originated for no reason at all that I can find: You (UK) use 50 cycle power with two legs providing 240 volts (I think it is 240). We (US) use 60 cycle power and also have two legs providing 230 volts but with a twist; we also supply what is called a neutral line, which falls between the two legs (yep, put 'between the two legs' joke here- this one is too easy) and we typically use most of our power by using one of the two legs and neutral to provide 115 volts for general, residential use, but also using 230 volt for items that consume large amounts of power, typically more than 1,500 watts or so: clothes dryers, ranges (electric stoves, I believe you call them 'cookers'?), whole- house water heaters. All of this is for residential and small business use; industrial power use such as anything running machine tools uses three phase power of varying voltage in both countries.

Another big difference is that we current- limit our power as it enters our houses, and all circuits are protected against overload there; after that, we get pretty cavalier about what we plug in where (yep more joke material). As I understand it, and I am certainly no authority on UK wiring, but you pretty freely string circuits around a house and then protect the devices plugged into those circuits by fusing the actual plugs themselves.

But back to the power generation: as I said, your power is 50 cycle, ours is 60 cycle and that results in a whole host of difference by accident. It makes no difference for the original electrical devices, incandescent light bulbs, nor other, simple things such as heating devices. But it makes a huge difference in electric motors and many different types of electronics; our motor base speed is 3,600 RPM due entirely to the cyclic rate of our mains power, yours is 3,000 for the same reason. Our entire analog TV system is built around a 60 Hertz (cycles) rate while yours is based on 50 Hertz, making your TVs, videotape and all related materials not interchangeable with ours (our entire system becomes NTSC, while yours is PAL).

Again, there is absolutely no reason or rhyme to this that I know of, it just worked out that way. And it is not much of a problem given that almost no one packs up, say, a house and moves it to the other country. :-)

Where it did become important though in Japan, where they have the outrageously strange system of using both 50 cycle and 60 cycle power in the same country, divided just about in the middle. A strange way to do things with a bid downside, at least that one time. It seems Japan jumped onto the power grip bandwagon a bit late, after other countries had already had their systems well developed. So they decided to try one of each; one system came from the US, based of course on our 60 cycle system and the other from Germany (Seimens IIRC), based on their 50 cycle system. Both worked and both were expanded until they bumped into each other about in the center of Japan. And the country eventually had two entire, functioning electrical systems that were not compatible with each other. There are some phase converters at the junction but not nearly enough to power up the 'other half' of Japan of course but merely covert enough power to help out the 'other' side if and when they needed it.

All of this results in some really strange things such as some consumer electronics working in one half of the country  but not the other. Not sure what they do about TV or if that crosses the two grids or not. But the whole thing did have a disastrous consequence when that Tsunami and the following tidal wave hit them back in '11; after losing a large portion of the northern grid by losing the reactors at Fukushima, the Japanese could not send a large amount of power north from the southern grid due to the limited size of the phase converters, contributing to the reactor accidents that followed.

The Japanese power system is really something that should be and should have been corrected but as these things always go the cost is so high that it is probably prohibitive to do so now. Re- powering 1/2 of a major, industrialized country would be a monumental task that virtually any economy just could not foot.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 07:21:53 AM
interesting read on why the difference, blame Thomas Edison lol


http://thednetworks.com/2012/06/10/why-does-ukusa-use-110120v-and-others-use-220240v/ (http://thednetworks.com/2012/06/10/why-does-ukusa-use-110120v-and-others-use-220240v/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 10:48:25 AM
I kind of think that article was written by the gentleman who wrote the article about the C-14 in the 'it is now 10 years old' or similar thread :-)  He misses on both the reason we (US) have a true neutral leg, giving us 115 volts (volts AC, VAC) and 230 VAC all in one circuit.

The power grid was invented in the US and it was a mess for a long time. Edison insisted on using DC because he could use Ohm's Law and figure out how it would work with various devices. He could not figure out how to deal with AC as that takes calculus and there were no simple solutions (for all of his fame and worship in the US and perhaps the world, T.A. Edison was not 'the brightest bulb in the chandelier', nor did he interact with others either very well or at all) until a German named Steinmetz came along and introduced the concept of 'operators' which DID replace the simple parts of DC circuit calculation (this is the part about not working with others; Steinmetz gave Edison what he needed to use AC but Edison would not listen).

So when the very first power plant for public supply went in in NYC, it was DC and a strange voltage (I do not remember but it was not the nominal 120 volt). Edison envisioned a power plant every two miles spread in a true grid (where we get the name used today for electrical distribution, 'the grid') all over the US of A. Unimaginable now but then, well, it did not see so bad. But electric motors using DC require brushes to commutate them, and that was a mess too along with a world of hurt regarding short life, spark generation, the occasional fire, poor performance, poor efficiency and greatly varying speed depending on load. Even Edison saw this was a problem. Enter Mr. Nicola Tesla, a genius, a gifted man, a true visionary and a little bit of a whack- job (well, maybe a medium level whack- job) but as a package, an excellent place to start :-)  He works for Edison and suggests that he can make an electric motor with NO commutation! Edison tells Tesla that he will give him $50,000 if he can do so and Tesla proceeds to do exactly that by producing poly-phase AC and the induction motor. Fantastic! Tesla asks for his money, to which Edison tells Tesla that he, Tesla, does not understand the American sense of humor and there really is not any money coming Tesla's way. Did I mention that Edison was kind of a schmuck too? Anyway, that sealed Edison's fate right there because Tesla quit (no matter really) but then went to work for..... George Westinghouse (a disaster for Edison).

But while all of this is going on, the electrification of the northeast US is also happening, with the worst of all possible standards, even worse than DC.... no standard at all. All different voltages, currents and methods of delivery and usage, no rules, no convention just electrical devices failing all over the place and fires waiting for the right time to start. And then Westinghouse's AC induction motors show up and power plants to power them.... but at all different voltages and frequencies. Not too bad when buying one or five light bulbs but a real PITA if trying to run a refrigerator and your block in NYC does not have the right power for the one you bought.

Finally, Westinghouse sets up large scale dynamos at Niagara Falls (and who does not like 'free' power?) and successfully sends that power to Buffalo, NY, about 20 miles away. That was the death knell for DC, Edison's fall would come shortly thereafter (although he remained a wealthy man while Tesla died penniless after finally having converting the rest of his chips into full- blown whack- jobocity). Westinghouse started powering up the US and chose 60 cycles and I do not know why that was. Not sure that anyone does. Britain, Italy and Germany were all there at the fore- front of the electrification of their own countries around the same time. Italy never really got beyond a good start, Britain had several 'movers and shakers' but included Joseph Lucas, The Prince of Darkness who invented the automobile switch with three settings: dim, flicker and off.  ;D (just for you Mike!). And of course, Germany had Bosch and especially, Siemens, who would go on to set the standard for Germany as well, I suspect, for most if not all of Western Europe. Japan was just a little later but late enough to find other parts of the world well underway in electrification. They must have been confused as to which way to go so they bought some generators from both AEG and GE (General Electric; originally the Edison General Electric Co. but remember the part about Edison being a putz, well that is what the board of EGE thought too so they tossed him and his name), put them in the south and north of Japan respectively and then found out when they twisted the wires together where the two systems met, the wire nuts kept turning white and falling off. A real head- scratcher, that one was....

Not sure why it happened, but I believe we maintain 115 VAC (nominal) for consumer devices for safety. We are also pretty cavalier with our plugs and so forth- it is easy to get a shock using American electrical gear (another tidbit: normally, the solid part of an electrical connector is made part of the structure, machine, whatever, and the spring loaded part is part of the cord so when it wears out, you do not have to replace the house or factory but just the cord. Edison thought of that and invented our ubiquitous two- prong (Easy Boys! they added a third one later) electrical plug.... with the rigid parts sticking out of the wall, and the spring loaded contacts in the device! Fortunately that one did not get out into the public, eh?) while you Brits are over the top regarding plug safety (the insulated prongs, the shutters on the wall outlet, although we have them too now and so forth). Then again, you have more voltage waiting to bite you.

As to the frequency of our two systems, I do not know and suspect that perhaps there is not really a reason, it just worked out that way. Someone picked, and that choice spread.

And now for the part everyone has been waiting for......

(http://i.imgur.com/0N4QSdD.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/JIJvQG5.png)

(http://i.imgur.com/fMzZccm.jpg)

And finally, the answer to the question: what could possibly go wrong?

(http://i.imgur.com/gy6bobB.jpg)

Brian



interesting read on why the difference, blame Thomas Edison lol


http://thednetworks.com/2012/06/10/why-does-ukusa-use-110120v-and-others-use-220240v/ (http://thednetworks.com/2012/06/10/why-does-ukusa-use-110120v-and-others-use-220240v/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 11:21:30 AM
OK, I must have had old information- at any rate, it was clearly wrong, although unless you are running VERY heavy gauge wire, you are not protecting the entire circuit (ring) from the breaker panel. Our individual circuits must be protected by the rating of the thinnest gauge wire used on that circuit although the only two that are commonly used for 115 VAC wiring are 14 gauge wire and a 15 amp breaker or 12 gauge wire and a 20 amp breaker. But once a breaker is installed, nothing can be wired anywhere in that circuit that is smaller than the gauge size required to carry all the current that breaker can supply.

I had to do some translating but your RCB appears to be our GFI (ground fault interrupter; if the power going 'out' one wire is not identical the the power coming 'in' to the other, the breaker trips). Ours are set at a max. of 5 milliamps which is probably a decent guess 'cause it takes ~100 milliamps across one's heart to send it into fibrillation (with almost no other choices, read: death).

Apparently your 'rings' are wiring circuits with multiple taps or devices on them? If so, we call those circuits.

It also sounds like you separate your lighting circuits (rings) from those providing power (outlets) given the very different current ratings; we do not and can and do put lights and outlets on the same circuits.

(http://i.imgur.com/JKFkDfu.jpg)

This is a sub- panel so there are a couple of oddities: the mains are not lug mounted but placed where breakers would normally go, and the lugs and strips for all the other breakers are being back- fed (100 amp mains in top left, covered with masking tape for identification). You can probably see that some breakers are singles and only have one pole, making them 115 VAC, while some are double making them 230 VAC. The plastic covering each wire indicates that wire's size and in this box there are white (14 ga., 15 amp max), yellow (12 ga., 20 amp) and orange (10 ga. 30 amp max.). The box is open and we are probing each breaker so we can label the other end wherever it ends.

And as to the requirement of being a licensed electrician to work on wiring in a house: well, that depends again on the state. There are no federal laws and each state regulates how things are. Most states adopt what is provided as the National Electrical Code (NEC) but they twiddle with it as they desire. Now in my state, the home owner can do any / all of his / her electrical work on that person's place of residence. Any rental properties must have a licensed electrician work on the wiring. In neighboring MA, all electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician. Everywhere in the US, the great majority of electrical work is done inside homes so laws are simply not applied and whoever can do whatever he / she pleases, often resulting in some scary stuff. Really.

Brian

I'm sure there's a good reason for the voltage difference however it escapes me for the moment

Electrical installations are pretty stringent over here.

You have to either be certified or get a certified electrician in to check any DIY wiring and lately that's also includes things like outdoor security lights


Yes you're right in saying that each individual appliance is fused at the plug however the main fusebox also has to have resettable RCCBs etc and each ring /circuit in the house is also protected by a circuit breaker/fuse.

Looking at he Pic of my main fusebox then from Right to Left I have

A main Siwtch to isolate from the incoming supply.
a 40A circuit for the cooker
a 16A circuit for the water heater (actually mines hooked up to the jauzzi bath as all my water heating is done by a gas combi boiler)
separate 6A circuits for the up and downstairs lighting
a 6A circuit for outside lights
The RCB protecting the Main Rings
separate 32A  circuits for the upstairs & downstairs rings
a 16Amp circuit put in for some extension wiring by the PO that are separate from the downstairs ring main


http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox.jpg (http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox.jpg)




E
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 11:58:13 AM
Its called a ring main as there is literally a ring all the way around with unlimited multiple sockets/wall outlets on it all in parallel although you are permitted to run a single outlet from any of the ones on the ring (within certain limits).

Ring main wiring is 2.5mm/14AWG

There are also little things like a ring main should not cover an area greater then 100sq metres.

Also as stated each individual appliance you plug is is also separately fused with anything from a 3A to a 15A fuse


And yes the RCD is the same sort of thing as the GFI

OK, I must have had old information- at any rate, it was clearly wrong, although unless you are running VERY heavy gauge wire, you are not protecting the entire circuit (ring) from the breaker panel. Our individual circuits must be protected by the rating of the thinnest gauge wire used on that circuit although the only two that are commonly used for 115 VAC wiring are 14 gauge wire and a 15 amp breaker or 12 gauge wire and a 20 amp breaker. But once a breaker is installed, nothing can be wired anywhere in that circuit that is smaller than the gauge size required to carry all the current that breaker can supply.

I had to do some translating but your RCB appears to be our GFI (ground fault interrupter; if the power going 'out' one wire is not identical the the power coming 'in' to the other, the breaker trips). Ours are set at a max. of 5 milliamps which is probably a decent guess 'cause it takes ~100 milliamps across one's heart to send it into fibrillation (with almost no other choices, read: death).

Apparently your 'rings' are wiring circuits with multiple taps or devices on them? If so, we call those circuits.

It also sounds like you separate your lighting circuits (rings) from those providing power (outlets) given the very different current ratings; we do not and can and do put lights and outlets on the same circuits.

(http://i.imgur.com/JKFkDfu.jpg)

This is a sub- panel so there are a couple of oddities: the mains are not lug mounted but placed where breakers would normally go, and the lugs and strips for all the other breakers are being back- fed (100 amp mains in top left, covered with masking tape for identification). You can probably see that some breakers are singles and only have one pole, making them 115 VAC, while some are double making them 230 VAC. The plastic covering each wire indicates that wire's size and in this box there are white (14 ga., 15 amp max), yellow (12 ga., 20 amp) and orange (10 ga. 30 amp max.). The box is open and we are probing each breaker so we can label the other end wherever it ends.

And as to the requirement of being a licensed electrician to work on wiring in a house: well, that depends again on the state. There are no federal laws and each state regulates how things are. Most states adopt what is provided as the National Electrical Code (NEC) but they twiddle with it as they desire. Now in my state, the home owner can do any / all of his / her electrical work on that person's place of residence. Any rental properties must have a licensed electrician work on the wiring. In neighboring MA, all electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician. Everywhere in the US, the great majority of electrical work is done inside homes so laws are simply not applied and whoever can do whatever he / she pleases, often resulting in some scary stuff. Really.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 12:09:21 PM
OK, that is why I understood you do not protect your actual circuits, you 'sort of' do not. 32 amps on 14 gauge wire would not fly here (assuming we are using the same gauge, no real reason to think that is correct either). We have limits on how many outlets / lighting receptacles can go on one circuit as well. Overall, it looks like we break our systems down a bit further than you do; we typically have 40 or more breakers in a typical house while it looks like you have more like 10 or 12. Otherwise, about the same.

The only real difference is that our devices have no fuses or protection of any kind. Perhaps that is why small appliances cause so many residential fires here (seriously)?

Brian

Its called a ring main as there is literally a ring all the way around with unlimited multiple sockets/wall outlets on it all in parallel although you are permitted to run a single outlet from any of the ones on the ring (within certain limits).

Ring main wiring is 2.5mm/14AWG

There are also little things like a ring main should not cover an area greater then 100sq metres.

Also as stated each individual appliance you plug is is also separately fused with anything from a 3A to a 15A fuse


And yes the RCD is the same sort of thing as the GFI
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 12:53:52 PM
don't forget though as its a ring then its 32 amps split both ways as both ends of the ring come back into the same fuse

Given that AWG stands for American Wire Gauge  I presume it is the same :)

BTW your Pic  looks like something you might find in a commercial premises here rather than something found in a residential home.

This is my complete setup (bear in mind I live in an older house, built in 1911. A new build install would be the same but quite a bit neater finished(usually) .

Supply comes in/out at the bottom via a Master Fuse, the smaller white box is the electricity meter and at the top is the main fuse box

http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox2.jpg (http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox2.jpg)

OK, that is why I understood you do not protect your actual circuits, you 'sort of' do not. 32 amps on 14 gauge wire would not fly here (assuming we are using the same gauge, no real reason to think that is correct either). We have limits on how many outlets / lighting receptacles can go on one circuit as well. Overall, it looks like we break our systems down a bit further than you do; we typically have 40 or more breakers in a typical house while it looks like you have more like 10 or 12. Otherwise, about the same.

The only real difference is that our devices have no fuses or protection of any kind. Perhaps that is why small appliances cause so many residential fires here (seriously)?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 01:11:17 PM
Ah, hence the term ring :-)  Yeah, I did not get that. We do not do that here, electricity is one- way, out of the box and through the one circuit. But seeing as you use two runs of wire, that is almost the same rating we would get: 32 amps divided by two for two runs of 14 gauge, would be 16 amps. We allow 15 but not enough difference to worry about.

Also interesting on the meter: ours are outside as far as I know. The breaker panel can be inside or outside, and that seems to depend on the area of the country more than anything else; breaker panels are always inside in this area as far as I know and have never seen it done any other way.

Power comes from feeder wires from the nearest telephone pole and run overhead to a high (usually) corner on the house. Those wires are the power company's. Then they attach to the building owner's wires, attach to the building owner's mounting point and run down the building to the meter trough, also owned by the building owner. Another wire leaves the bottom of the trough, goes into the house and the main breaker panel, all owned by the building owner. But the meter is the property of the electric company and is needed to 'jump' the meter trough and power up the house. That is the fast, easy way they cut power- they take their meter away.

My install looks like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/Dbq7CIv.jpg)

same photo much lighter so you can see the weatherhead (the place where the my wiring ends / power co.'s wiring begins)

(http://i.imgur.com/smoKP7W.jpg)

And recently, maybe 20 years ago in this area, new neighborhoods are going in without any overhead wiring at all. Everything is underground and there are service boxes to tap into electrical, phone, cable and other utilities. Much, much neater and far less prone to storm damage, plus no telephone poles to get in the way of cars trying to drive on the sidewalk- a real win- win situation. The power co. suggested I run my new service underground.... which they would be happy to lay the cable in the trench I dug :-(   Not cost effective I am afraid. Poles and wires get out of hand though; look at some place like NYC in the 1920's and there are so many tiers to the poles, and so many wires crossing all over the place that I wonder if someone who jumped off a building could even hit the ground.  :o

Brian

don't forget though as its a ring then its 32 amps split both ways as both ends of the ring come back into the same fuse

Given that AWG stands for American Wire Gauge  I presume it is the same :)

BTW your Pic  looks like something you might find in a commercial premises here rather than something found in a residential home.

This is my complete setup (bear in mind I live in an older house, built in 1911. A new build install would be the same but quite a bit neater finished(usually) .

Supply comes in/out at the bottom via a Master Fuse, the smaller white box is the electricity meter and at the top is the main fuse box

http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox2.jpg (http://sharetheexperience.co.uk/Images/GTR/fusebox2.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 01:17:38 PM
Ah so what you do is run a radial circuit(s)

Other than some rural areas the power in the main (no pun intended) comes in via underground cables.

As for the meter , new properties the electricity ( & gas) meters are typically  accessible from outside the house so they can be read without need to come in. Fuse boxes are pretty much always indoors, usually high up away from kids although mine is at floor level, again due to being an older property.


That said there is a big push at the moment for Smart meters that phone home via short range radio/wifi to local collector points


Ah, hence the term ring :-)  Yeah, I did not get that. We do not do that here, electricity is one- way, out of the box and through the one circuit. But seeing as you use two runs of wire, that is almost the same rating we would get: 32 amps divided by two for two runs of 14 gauge, would be 16 amps. We allow 15 but not enough difference to worry about.

Also interesting on the meter: ours are outside as far as I know. The breaker panel can be inside or outside, and that seems to depend on the area of the country more than anything else; breaker panels are always inside in this area as far as I know and have never seen it done any other way.

Power comes from feeder wires from the nearest telephone pole and run overhead to a high (usually) corner on the house. Those wires are the power company's. Then they attach to the building owner's wires, attach to the building owner's mounting point and run down the building to the meter trough, also owned by the building owner. Another wire leaves the bottom of the trough, goes into the house and the main breaker panel, all owned by the building owner. But the meter is the property of the electric company and is needed to 'jump' the meter trough and power up the house. That is the fast, easy way they cut power- they take their meter away.

My install looks like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/Dbq7CIv.jpg)

same photo much lighter so you can see the weatherhead (the place where the my wiring ends / power co.'s wiring begins)

(http://i.imgur.com/smoKP7W.jpg)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 02:51:26 PM
Sure, I guess that would be a fine term. Like spokes on a wheel, they leave the hub (the breaker panel) and do not come back. In fact, depending on exactly how your wiring is done, it would violate one of the cardinal rules here: only one source of power for any box or containment device. Put another way, suppose there are 5 wires running into a junction box (a box where we join wires, ALL wires MUST be connected in a box with exactly one exception not worth bothering with here): only one can supply power or be 'hot' under any circumstances. That way when you cut power to that box, you know that box is 'cold'. So yeah, one run out of the panel, but that run can have many junction boxes, outlets, switches, lights, etc., etc. on it. There is a limit, and a way to figure that limit (just been through all this for my own house but I think it is 1.2 amps per outlet, so something like a max. of 18? 15? allowable on a 20 amp circuit) but it rarely kicks in. Our electrical code is in a book you could measure in inches.

My water meter is as you describe; in the house but readable via RF from outside. But electrical meters are all outside although I believe the new ones use RF for remote but short range reading also. We have 'meter readers' who walk around and read the meters (water, gas (not THAT gas, what you I believe call methane, electric).

Yeah, non- Americans are surprised to see all the telephone poles and wires here. As I said, it is moving underground but only in newly built communities around here (where I live specifically). In large cities, it all went underground long ago. Hey, it gives us something to bang into with an errant car; no shortage of cars driving into them either. On rare occasions, with enough speed and a sizeable car, it IS possible to snap a pole off and cut off power and communications to entire communities. But as I said, that takes a LOT of effort, mostly the pole does fine and the car has a very distinctive "U" shaped groove in the front, depth depending on the speed of the vehicle (the poles rarely have any velocity at all so everything is up to the determination of the driver).

I am not aware of anything like local data collection centers or the means of how to get the data there. ?? I do know that my landline phones ALWAYS know what the correct time / date is so they must be in contact with something over the phone line without announcing it.

An English friend of many years ago claimed all the clocks in the UK had some type of embedded setting mechanism / link; bring them home,  power them up and after a short while, they would display the correct time. Neat idea. Not happening in the US, again as far as I know. And it would not be shunned either: recently with all the Karate Kid power stuff going on around here (power on / power off / power on / power off) we have had more than enough clock setting. I believe there is only one time zone in the UK so that would really help that system work there; there are four times zones in the continental US, plus some really strange daylight savings time situations (an official date for it to start, then the altered date on which it really starts, usually a few weeks separate).

Brian

Ah so what you do is run a radial circuit(s)

Other than some rural areas the power in the main (no pun intended) comes in via underground cables.

As for the meter , new properties the electricity ( & gas) meters are typically  accessible from outside the house so they can be read without need to come in. Fuse boxes are pretty much always indoors, usually high up away from kids although mine is at floor level, again due to being an older property.


That said there is a big push at the moment for Smart meters that phone home via short range radio/wifi to local collector points
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 03:07:13 PM
The bloody French like hanging everything off (concrete) poles as well :)

Smart Meters:

Yes there are some older ones like your water meters with short range capability (our water meters are the same if you have one) however for the newer generation then "Inside your home, smart meters use their own secure, wireless network using radio waves, just like mobile phones or TVs do. Smart meters don't use the internet to send or receive data and you don't need an internet connection for it to work.

Your smart meters will link to a similar wireless network outside your home. This network is run by the Data Communications Company, which is overseen by the energy regulator Ofgem.

There are strict new regulations and codes of practice to keep smart meter data private, secure and safe."


https://www.smartenergygb.org/en/about-smart-meters/what-is-a-smart-meter?gclid=Cj0KCQjwierMBRCHARIsAHl9i4EljtUzSiWQAAiOZ-Oc-Ef18z55e52B0-Zf9j3EJOwG88yLJ5d3tOIaArmlEALw_wcB (https://www.smartenergygb.org/en/about-smart-meters/what-is-a-smart-meter?gclid=Cj0KCQjwierMBRCHARIsAHl9i4EljtUzSiWQAAiOZ-Oc-Ef18z55e52B0-Zf9j3EJOwG88yLJ5d3tOIaArmlEALw_wcB)



As for your landline knowing the time don't you use a VOIP system rather than a more traditional  POTS (Plain Old Telephone System).


By its very nature that will be able to get its time signal using NTP (Network Time Protocol) same as any other (inter) network connected device can.

We call gas  gas, the stuff used in your car or bike is petrol (unless you're running LPG  in which case it may be referred to as gas)

Sure, I guess that would be a fine term. Like spokes on a wheel, they leave the hub (the breaker panel) and do not come back. In fact, depending on exactly how your wiring is done, it would violate one of the cardinal rules here: only one source of power for any box or containment device. Put another way, suppose there are 5 wires running into a junction box (a box where we join wires, ALL wires MUST be connected in a box with exactly one exception not worth bothering with here): only one can supply power or be 'hot' under any circumstances. That way when you cut power to that box, you know that box is 'cold'. So yeah, one run out of the panel, but that run can have many junction boxes, outlets, switches, lights, etc., etc. on it. There is a limit, and a way to figure that limit (just been through all this for my own house but I think it is 1.2 amps per outlet, so something like a max. of 18? 15? allowable on a 20 amp circuit) but it rarely kicks in. Our electrical code is in a book you could measure in inches.

My water meter is as you describe; in the house but readable via RF from outside. But electrical meters are all outside although I believe the new ones use RF for remote but short range reading also. We have 'meter readers' who walk around and read the meters (water, gas (not THAT gas, what you I believe call methane, electric).

Yeah, non- Americans are surprised to see all the telephone poles and wires here. As I said, it is moving underground but only in newly built communities around here (where I live specifically). In large cities, it all went underground long ago. Hey, it gives us something to bang into with an errant car; no shortage of cars driving into them either. On rare occasions, with enough speed and a sizeable car, it IS possible to snap a pole off and cut off power and communications to entire communities. But as I said, that takes a LOT of effort, mostly the pole does fine and the car has a very distinctive "U" shaped groove in the front, depth depending on the speed of the vehicle (the poles rarely have any velocity at all so everything is up to the determination of the driver).

I am not aware of anything like local data collection centers or the means of how to get the data there. ?? I do know that my landline phones ALWAYS know what the correct time / date is so they must be in contact with something over the phone line without announcing it.

An English friend of many years ago claimed all the clocks in the UK had some type of embedded setting mechanism / link; bring them home,  power them up and after a short while, they would display the correct time. Neat idea. Not happening in the US, again as far as I know. And it would not be shunned either: recently with all the Karate Kid power stuff going on around here (power on / power off / power on / power off) we have had more than enough clock setting. I believe there is only one time zone in the UK so that would really help that system work there; there are four times zones in the continental US, plus some really strange daylight savings time situations (an official date for it to start, then the altered date on which it really starts, usually a few weeks separate).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 03:32:05 PM
Our concrete poles are wood :-) Pressure treated, oozing tar, they last forever and are easy for linemen to climb using a pair of ankle spikes and a sling.

Please do not compare us to the French in any way.  :rotflmao:  It is apparently inherited, exported or whatever but all native English speaking people seem to have inherited your...... distast for the French :-)  I say that mostly in jest but with a little truth mixed in.

Yes, my landline is VOIP but it hardwires into the cable co's box in the cellar (basement- the room under my house) as 24 VAC analog signal so anything making it to the actual telephone is coming over as an analog signal, not digital. It may be digitally encoded up to the box in my house but analog after that. Which I am inferring would work over plain old 24 volt analog landlines though I may be wrong. Your area, not mine.

Gas and the language barrier: "Gas" as a vehicle fuel is usually referring to gasoline, heavier than, say, benzine but still a true solvent, lighter than kerosene, the fist of the oils; what you call petrol, which I believe is short for petroleum, a serious misnomer IMO. But we also use propane, which is liquefied and sold, stored and used from steel cylinders. And we also have natural gas, this is what I think you call methane and pronounce as mee- thane but am not sure. Now natural gas can be liquefied and is then called LNG, or liquefied natural gas. Not normally used in the US; we use our gas in the gaseous state and it is piped into our homes and businesses that way. LNG is shipped via container ship but that is the cause of huge controversy because a ship full of that stuff packs a serious punch and most cities / ports have a serious and sometimes desperate contingent of people trying to keep it OUT of their cities. NIMBY is the acronym: Not In My Back Yard, meaning is is a great idea, just do it some place else where I am outside of the concussion or fallout ring.

Funny story time: Way back in the 1970's, a new nuclear power plant was build in Seebrook, NH, on the coast. The usual suspects showed up to protest. But when it was time to bring in the core and actually power the thing up, the antis showed up in droves. Somehow, the time and place of the convoy moving the reactor core and fuel rods got out and there was a concerted effort to block highways, the power plant, etc., etc. to stop it from being fueled and activated. And it was successful.... sort of. What really happened is that the Gummit leaked the info., and planned on the resistance along the highway, plant entrance, etc. all the while, sending the core to the power plant via barge, after which the plant was cored, fueled and a reaction started. I am not really active in the nuclear debate but that was kind of funny, at least IMO. Seabrook 2 was never completed but Seabrook1 is running today.

Brian

The bloody French like hanging everything off (concrete) poles as well :)

Smart Meters:

Yes there are some older ones like your water meters with short range capability (our water meters are the same if you have one) however for the newer generation then "Inside your home, smart meters use their own secure, wireless network using radio waves, just like mobile phones or TVs do. Smart meters don't use the internet to send or receive data and you don't need an internet connection for it to work.

Your smart meters will link to a similar wireless network outside your home. This network is run by the Data Communications Company, which is overseen by the energy regulator Ofgem.

There are strict new regulations and codes of practice to keep smart meter data private, secure and safe."


https://www.smartenergygb.org/en/about-smart-meters/what-is-a-smart-meter?gclid=Cj0KCQjwierMBRCHARIsAHl9i4EljtUzSiWQAAiOZ-Oc-Ef18z55e52B0-Zf9j3EJOwG88yLJ5d3tOIaArmlEALw_wcB (https://www.smartenergygb.org/en/about-smart-meters/what-is-a-smart-meter?gclid=Cj0KCQjwierMBRCHARIsAHl9i4EljtUzSiWQAAiOZ-Oc-Ef18z55e52B0-Zf9j3EJOwG88yLJ5d3tOIaArmlEALw_wcB)



As for your landline knowing the time don't you use a VOIP system rather than a more traditional  POTS (Plain Old Telephone System).


By its very nature that will be able to get its time signal using NTP (Network Time Protocol) same as any other (inter) network connected device can.

We call gas  gas, the stuff used in your car or bike is petrol (unless you're running LPG  in which case it may be referred to as gas)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 21, 2017, 04:05:16 PM
Nope gas used in the home for cooking or heating is just that , gas(or same as you n, natural gas.

Methane is something that comes out of the arse end of cows ;)

Propane is typically used for camping and (a bit like a hoover) is quite often just referred to coas "calor gas" when in larger containers such as for caravan/campervan use.


In smaller bottles it tends to be referred to as "camping gaz"


Nope if its s VOIP its VOIP not analogue, the clues in the acronym, Voice Over Internet Protocol.

Of course your telco may be providing you with what is effectively a local PBX and its only VOIP from the basement out.

The giveaway usually is if the basestation/handset (as opposed to the NTE (Network Termination Equipment)  in the basement has an RJ45 ethernet cable too it.

If it has it's most definitely a VOIP handset and will (most likely) also be using POE (Power Over Ethernet) to run it. (IIRC POE is about 45V DC)



Our concrete poles are wood :-) Pressure treated, oozing tar, they last forever and are easy for linemen to climb using a pair of ankle spikes and a sling.

Please do not compare us to the French in any way.  :rotflmao:  It is apparently inherited, exported or whatever but all native English speaking people seem to have inherited your...... distast for the French :-)  I say that mostly in jest but with a little truth mixed in.

Yes, my landline is VOIP but it hardwires into the cable co's box in the cellar (basement- the room under my house) as 24 VAC analog signal so anything making it to the actual telephone is coming over as an analog signal, not digital. It may be digitally encoded up to the box in my house but analog after that. Which I am inferring would work over plain old 24 volt analog landlines though I may be wrong. Your area, not mine.

Gas and the language barrier: "Gas" as a vehicle fuel is usually referring to gasoline, heavier than, say, benzine but still a true solvent, lighter than kerosene, the fist of the oils; what you call petrol, which I believe is short for petroleum, a serious misnomer IMO. But we also use propane, which is liquefied and sold, stored and used from steel cylinders. And we also have natural gas, this is what I think you call methane and pronounce as mee- thane but am not sure. Now natural gas can be liquefied and is then called LNG, or liquefied natural gas. Not normally used in the US; we use our gas in the gaseous state and it is piped into our homes and businesses that way. LNG is shipped via container ship but that is the cause of huge controversy because a ship full of that stuff packs a serious punch and most cities / ports have a serious and sometimes desperate contingent of people trying to keep it OUT of their cities. NIMBY is the acronym: Not In My Back Yard, meaning is is a great idea, just do it some place else where I am outside of the concussion or fallout ring.

Funny story time: Way back in the 1970's, a new nuclear power plant was build in Seebrook, NH, on the coast. The usual suspects showed up to protest. But when it was time to bring in the core and actually power the thing up, the antis showed up in droves. Somehow, the time and place of the convoy moving the reactor core and fuel rods got out and there was a concerted effort to block highways, the power plant, etc., etc. to stop it from being fueled and activated. And it was successful.... sort of. What really happened is that the Gummit leaked the info., and planned on the resistance along the highway, plant entrance, etc. all the while, sending the core to the power plant via barge, after which the plant was cored, fueled and a reaction started. I am not really active in the nuclear debate but that was kind of funny, at least IMO. Seabrook 2 was never completed but Seabrook1 is running today.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 21, 2017, 06:13:08 PM
Well, your gas sounds like our gas.  :yikes: Other than we call it propane no matter where it is or how big of a tank it happens to be in.

Phone: my phone is analog, 24 volt, four wire, standard in the US since I was a kid. The digital signal comes into the house via cable, but is broken out in the box in the cellar (basement?), and wired to the telephone connector box. This goes back to the days when I had honest- to- goodness 24 volt analog signal coming from the telephone pole out front, and "Cable TV" ran parallel to the phone wires. So whatever signal may be coming down the coax in digital form is being analog'ed- up (converted to analog) and fed to the phone, actually the phone base (all handsets are cordless 6 MHz), just like in the olden' days.

Now it is possible there is a digital data signal overlayed on top of the analog signal of course. ?? Either way, there is a signal sneaking into the base unit telling it what time it is 'cause it keeps resetting itself in spite of the many (MANY) power outages. And no batteries in the base units. Besides, I have never set the time on this phone from when it was new so again, signal coming from somewhere.... possibly even blanket RF for all I know.

Brian

Nope gas used in the home for cooking or heating is just that , gas(or same as you n, natural gas.

Methane is something that comes out of the arse end of cows ;)

Propane is typically used for camping and (a bit like a hoover) is quite often just referred to coas "calor gas" when in larger containers such as for caravan/campervan use.


In smaller bottles it tends to be referred to as "camping gaz"


Nope if its s VOIP its VOIP not analogue, the clues in the acronym, Voice Over Internet Protocol.

Of course your telco may be providing you with what is effectively a local PBX and its only VOIP from the basement out.

The giveaway usually is if the basestation/handset (as opposed to the NTE (Network Termination Equipment)  in the basement has an RJ45 ethernet cable too it.

If it has it's most definitely a VOIP handset and will (most likely) also be using POE (Power Over Ethernet) to run it. (IIRC POE is about 45V DC)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 22, 2017, 12:30:39 AM
Have you read the handbook for the phone ;)

Well, your gas sounds like our gas.  :yikes: Other than we call it propane no matter where it is or how big of a tank it happens to be in.

Phone: my phone is analog, 24 volt, four wire, standard in the US since I was a kid. The digital signal comes into the house via cable, but is broken out in the box in the cellar (basement?), and wired to the telephone connector box. This goes back to the days when I had honest- to- goodness 24 volt analog signal coming from the telephone pole out front, and "Cable TV" ran parallel to the phone wires. So whatever signal may be coming down the coax in digital form is being analog'ed- up (converted to analog) and fed to the phone, actually the phone base (all handsets are cordless 6 MHz), just like in the olden' days.

Now it is possible there is a digital data signal overlayed on top of the analog signal of course. ?? Either way, there is a signal sneaking into the base unit telling it what time it is 'cause it keeps resetting itself in spite of the many (MANY) power outages. And no batteries in the base units. Besides, I have never set the time on this phone from when it was new so again, signal coming from somewhere.... possibly even blanket RF for all I know.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 22, 2017, 05:49:04 AM
Parts of it but I did not notice that as a feature.  But the time / date thing just sort of happened, to my surprise, so I did not have any need to look up why it was happeneing.

I do have a window of time before a meeting right now though and will take a quick look.

Brian

Edited to add: took a look and nothing other than instructions on how to manually set the time / date. But an on- line search revealed that some Panasonic base units DO get the time from the timestamp buried in the caller ID function. Pretty tricky and slick IMO. A clever programmer's trick that appears to work extremely well, at least on my system.

And that answers the question as to how the information gets to the phone: whatever method caller ID is sent to the phone, analog or digital over an analog connection, the time / date stamp is part of that so is in the same format.



Have you read the handbook for the phone ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 22, 2017, 09:55:18 AM
Well this thread seems to have gone from nothing to Power grids, while it's here I have a question.

Do those cheap Chinese made LED Christmas light strings that blink on and off 30 times per second in the USA only blink on and off in the UK 25 times per second?. The reason I ask, is that at 30 times per second the flicker is noticeable to most as one moves your head or out of the side of your eye but not so much looking straight at the LED. I would think that at 50 cycles the flicker effect would be too noticeable and that the manufacturers would have to provide a bridge rectifier in the LED string. So I guess that is really my question(s), are the LED Christmas lights in the UK rectified or flickering?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 22, 2017, 10:18:34 AM
A bit early for that question don't you think?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 22, 2017, 10:20:37 AM
I haven't actually counted but what I can tell you is that via a process known as REIN (Random Electrical Injected Noise) they mess up peoples DSL connections every year and that fault rates into ISPs always go up at the festive period because of this.


When the (UK) DSL standards were written there was a requirement that they couldn't cause interference to anything else(HAM radio operators were moaning at the time) however there was no requirement to shield them from outside interference.

Wonky microwaves, dodgy electric motors on fridges & freezers & electric fences are other well know sources of REIN

Well this thread seems to have gone from nothing to Power grids, while it's here I have a question.

Do those cheap Chinese made LED Christmas light strings that blink on and off 30 times per second in the USA only blink on and off in the UK 25 times per second?. The reason I ask, is that at 30 times per second the flicker is noticeable to most as one moves your head or out of the side of your eye but not so much looking straight at the LED. I would think that at 50 cycles the flicker effect would be too noticeable and that the manufacturers would have to provide a bridge rectifier in the LED string. So I guess that is really my question(s), are the LED Christmas lights in the UK rectified or flickering?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 22, 2017, 10:27:30 AM
A bit early for that question don't you think?

Have you been to Home Depot or Lowes lately? The ones in my area have the trees up and lit, the inflatables are all fully erect.(Ez Boyz)
...regardless, yes a bit early, but I needed to ask before the thread went back to being about nothing at all....although I guess there isn't
much chance of that now that I think about it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 22, 2017, 12:42:24 PM
I'm thinking you're right..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 22, 2017, 01:40:04 PM
I haven't actually counted but...
;D...Well, I didn't really expect the count..that would be automatic for 50 cycles at 25 on and offs, but I did want to know if they flickered like the ones we get do.
It doesn't seem like it would be that expensive to put a few diodes and a capaciter in there to make a rectifier so they didn't noticeably flicker, but I guess the competition to save a few dimes per string of lights is just too much.

.... what I can tell you is that via a process known as REIN (Random Electrical Injected Noise) they mess up peoples DSL connections every year and that fault rates into ISPs always go up at the festive period because of this.


When the (UK) DSL standards were written there was a requirement that they couldn't cause interference to anything else(HAM radio operators were moaning at the time) however there was no requirement to shield them from outside interference.

Wonky microwaves, dodgy electric motors on fridges & freezers & electric fences are other well know sources of REIN


I think DSL is dying out over here, and for that I'm glad. It was faster than dial up but not as reliable. Frequent outages for me on rainy days. Cable or fiber optics seem the way to go now.
I guess satellite is still viable if you are remotely off the grid, but I've never tried it.
 

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on August 22, 2017, 02:00:55 PM
Over here DSL based technologies are still going strong largely due to the underlying infrastructures.

FTTC (Fibre to tThe Cabinet) is a VDSL implementation where only the last couple of hundred metres are copper, speeds are currently 80mbps downstream and 20mbps upstream although they are working on higher speeds

 
;D...Well, I didn't really expect the count..that would be automatic for 50 cycles at 25 on and offs, but I did want to know if they flickered like the ones we get do.
It doesn't seem like it would be that expensive to put a few diodes and a capaciter in there to make a rectifier so they didn't noticeably flicker, but I guess the competition to save a few dimes per string of lights is just too much.

I think DSL is dying out over here, and for that I'm glad. It was faster than dial up but not as reliable. Frequent outages for me on rainy days. Cable or fiber optics seem the way to go now.
I guess satellite is still viable if you are remotely off the grid, but I've never tried it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 22, 2017, 03:53:34 PM
Well this thread seems to have gone from nothing to Power grids, while it's here I have a question.

Do those cheap Chinese made LED Christmas light strings that blink on and off 30 times per second in the USA only blink on and off in the UK 25 times per second?.

Yes, and I *HATE THEM* because my eyes are so sensitive I can see the flicker not just from peripheral vision, but even straight-on.  But the better made LED ones use a full bridge rectifier, so they flicker at 60 (or 50) Hz and that isn't really visible.  Thankfully I think they are all moving to that, because several years ago, I couldn't stand all these damn flickering lights everywhere and it seems better the last couple of years....  I even had to ask my Mom to turn off the tree so I wouldn't have a headache when I visited!  (I helped her get some sets of decent ones after that year).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 22, 2017, 06:23:24 PM
Well, as far as Christmas LED's, and the idea that they would use a single diode to chop the sine wave into a half or a sine wave with clipped corners at that..... kind of doubtful. The LEDs would not flicker, they would actually strobe and I do not thing anyone is actually doing that. Add to that the fact that a full bridge rectifier is burned into silicon so the price is about the same as a diode anyway.

But even that is not a fix or acceptable because there will still be a significant 'off' band on either side of the zero crossing where no current will flow and the LED's will go out. If we assume the sine wave is transformed to 3 volts, a reasonable expectation to drive LEDs with, the 'no current passing' band of a silicon diode (any  kind- this is controlled by the physics of the material, not man or human design) is ~.7 volts and it is on BOTH sides of the zero crossing, so you can quickly see that merely transforming and rectifying 115 VAC down to ~3 rectified (pulsed DC is what it is) power is still very unacceptable. A capacitor will help, and a resistor- capacitor - inductor would correct it but the better way would be to chop the AC into a much higher, square wave and then transform it, filter it with very small components and Viola! Perfect. And we have a name for those: It is called a power supply.  :rotflmao:  I do not have any of those LED Christmas lights and so have not seen the flicker but I would suggest finding out what they require for power, (to the LED strip, output power, not input power), cut whatever garbage they have in there to make them flicker.... er, I mean light, and buy a wall- wart that powers them up. A few bucks and all should be well. Again, I say this without seeing them; I do have some puck style LEDs inside my glass door cabinets in the kitchen and they use 46 volt DC power supply (he slaps his forehead with his hand). Ain't nobody gonna' find one of those, anywhere.

See what happens when we (and I mean we- me included) make everything about the price? We get it, all the way until it either does not work or does not work right.

It is also possible there are other, better brands of LED Christmas lights that do not do this but again, capitalism (and I am a loyal and firm (Easy Boys) capitalist), I just think it can and will run amok without other restraints.... just like these cheap lights). So maybe even the pretty inexpensive but not the dead- cheapest lights are also gone from the market.

Brian

;D...Well, I didn't really expect the count..that would be automatic for 50 cycles at 25 on and offs, but I did want to know if they flickered like the ones we get do.
It doesn't seem like it would be that expensive to put a few diodes and a capaciter in there to make a rectifier so they didn't noticeably flicker, but I guess the competition to save a few dimes per string of lights is just too much.

I think DSL is dying out over here, and for that I'm glad. It was faster than dial up but not as reliable. Frequent outages for me on rainy days. Cable or fiber optics seem the way to go now.
I guess satellite is still viable if you are remotely off the grid, but I've never tried it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 22, 2017, 07:46:09 PM
Well, as far as Christmas LED's, and the idea that they would use a single diode to chop the sine wave into a half or a sine wave with clipped corners at that..... kind of doubtful. The LEDs would not flicker, they would actually strobe

Flicker/strobe whatever they do, I can see it on some (mostly cheap/older) sets and not others (mostly quality/newer).  Perhaps the better ones are using a capacitor to smooth the voltage and reduce or eliminate the transitions.

Quote
But even that is not a fix or acceptable because there will still be a significant 'off' band on either side of the zero crossing where no current will flow and the LED's will go out.

But it would do it twice as fast.  When something strobes fast enough, the human eye can't tell.

Quote
And we have a name for those: It is called a power supply.  :rotflmao: 

If you examine the sets, they have a tiny plug with no room for a full/typical power supply (like the "wall warts").  I believe they are not reducing the voltage but using all the LED's in series to drop the voltage to the required level.  LED's are diodes, so they can be connected like that straight to the mains if enough are in series; they simply block current when the electrons flow the wrong way.  Insane, but possible.... and I really do think they did just that in some of those sets.  In that case, you would have LED's on less than half the time (roughly), blinking at 30 Hz.  Throw in a simple rectifier and it would be on twice as often and also at 60Hz.

Quote
It is also possible there are other, better brands of LED Christmas lights that do not do this but again, capitalism (and I am a loyal and firm (Easy Boys) capitalist), I just think it can and will run amok without other restraints.... just like these cheap lights). So maybe even the pretty inexpensive but not the dead- cheapest lights are also gone from the market.

I think one of the main problems was that it seems most people couldn't even tell they were flickering/strobing.  I would ask people that had those sets "how can you stand looking at those flickering all the time" and they seemed completely baffled... they couldn't tell!  My mom was one of those "I can't tell" people.

For the LED strips I use in the kitchen and cabinets and curios, etc, I use a "real" power supply... but also a PCM (Pulse Code Modulator) for dimming.  You can't really "dim" an LED, it is pretty much on or off.  The PCM actually varies the frequency/duration of the flashing to make it appear dimmer or brighter.  But [properly designed] it does it so fast that even at its most dim, I still don't notice any flicker.  Pretty cool stuff.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 22, 2017, 08:37:52 PM
But even that is not a fix or acceptable because there will still be a significant 'off' band on either side of the zero crossing where no current will flow and the LED's will go out.
Brian

I will need to re-exam the light strings in November, but it may be that they are actually already rectified and the flickering I'm seeing is the cut off in between the ON bands. They are definitely strobing which you can see when you take the end of the string (max' doesn't need to) and flip it back and forth like a rapidly moving arm on a metronome. You can then easily see the ONs and Offs which appear equal in size to me. I was thinking that since they are already diodes in series that they were just using one side to the cycle, but when you mention the "off" band that would make the LEDs off more than they're on if it wasn't already rectified. Hmmm.....

I wish they had just made the LEDs connected in parallel with a power supply......and max'has posted while I'm typing. Pretty much agree with what he said above. I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't see the flickering when looking straight on at the LEDs.

I guess max' and I should be careful here or a moderator may move our posts over to the crazy and annoyed thread.  :o ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 23, 2017, 08:20:30 AM
Yes, peripheral vision is much more sensitive to 'movement' than central vision; the flickering is perceived as movement ( I guess it is, sort of),

I would hope that someone out there is selling Christmas LED strings that do NOT strobe. Again, unless the lower cost of the ones that do strobe have driven the more expensive ones off of the market. Hey, the cheapest ones do not strobe in the box, at the store, so they have the advantage..... unfortunately.

And you guys might be being a bit negative about the whole strobe thingy anyway, it can be a very useful and cool function:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQL9dpeloc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQL9dpeloc)

Maybe there is a message in that strobing (Easy Boys! I said stroBing)? Perhaps someone has embedded the meaning of life in those strings of lights? How about the secret and elusive formula that controls teh world's financial markets? The whereabouts of Emilia Earhart? The location of Jimmy Hoffa? The location of Blackbeard's buried treasure? The truth about KiPass, and how it does not actually do anything at all but is all part of the larger, nefarious Japanese plot to take over the world while we all fight over it? C'mon guys, go up on the roof and swing those strings around.... see what knowledge and wisdom lurks inside those strings.

PWM: the 'bang- bang' control that fixes all of the faults, failures and limitations of 'bang- bang' control.

As far as the crazy and annoyed thread, I think you may be OK but Max still has that 'when I wear my helmet in my house it confounds the cats' thing following him around. So he was already half- way to the crazy thread. Er, I mean the crazy and annoyed thread.  ;D

Brian

I will need to re-exam the light strings in November, but it may be that they are actually already rectified and the flickering I'm seeing is the cut off in between the ON bands. They are definitely strobing which you can see when you take the end of the string (max' doesn't need to) and flip it back and forth like a rapidly moving arm on a metronome. You can then easily see the ONs and Offs which appear equal in size to me. I was thinking that since they are already diodes in series that they were just using one side to the cycle, but when you mention the "off" band that would make the LEDs off more than they're on if it wasn't already rectified. Hmmm.....

I wish they had just made the LEDs connected in parallel with a power supply......and max'has posted while I'm typing. Pretty much agree with what he said above. I'm one of the lucky ones that doesn't see the flickering when looking straight on at the LEDs.

I guess max' and I should be careful here or a moderator may move our posts over to the crazy and annoyed thread.  :o ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 23, 2017, 02:52:26 PM
As far as the crazy and annoyed thread, I think you may be OK but Max still has that 'when I wear my helmet in my house it confounds the cats' thing following him around. So he was already half- way to the crazy thread. Er, I mean the crazy and annoyed thread.  ;D

At least I only have two cats, so I can't yet be called "that crazy cat man"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 23, 2017, 03:03:39 PM
Well first, I did not call you 'the crazy cat man'.

Second, I do not think there is a minimum number of cats you have to own to be called a crazy cat man.

Third, remember, I am 'pulling your tail' a bit so take it for what it is worth: nothing. All in good fun (for me anyway).

Fourth: nothing wrong with cats. I like 'em myself. I do not own any, and prefer dogs. but would not rule out owning cats. And I can usually 'make nice' with them when found in the semi- wild (someone else's house).

Funny story: up until very recently, a young woman living next to me had a boxer and a cat. Now it took a year 'cause the boxer is really, really timid but eventually it got so I could touch her (Easy Boys! it is a dog for cryin' out loud). She would come w/in about 10' from the front of my garage and watch me work on the bike with her 'stump' wagging at 100 MPH but no closer, and if I moved toward her, she gave ground to maintain that 10 feet. Anyway, finally, we are buds and every night she comes to my house, scratches on the door to be let in, visits, has two bones (I stock Milk Bones for [not my own] dogs), hangs out a while and then leaves. Now the dog's owner's cat is really the dog's cat, and wherever that dog is, the cat is w/in 10'.... except in my house. He comes to the door, clearly wants to come inside (where 'his' dog is) but cannot quite bring himself to step over the threshold. Funny to watch. It usually provided one of my three required 'yucks' per day.

Brian

At least I only have two cats, so I can't yet be called "that crazy cat man"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 23, 2017, 03:05:29 PM
Well first, I did not call you 'the crazy cat man'.

Second, I do not think there is a minimum number of cats you have to own to be called a crazy cat man.

Third, remember, I am 'pulling your tail' a bit so take it for what it is worth: nothing. All in good fun (for me anyway).

Actually, now that I think about it, I have cats, I am a man, and I am a bit crazy... maybe I could be....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 23, 2017, 03:11:29 PM
I have three, and your both Crazy Cat Men.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 23, 2017, 03:23:38 PM
My son and D-I-L have cats but make no mistake, they are his, especially the small one (Chloe). A while back they were staying with us while relocation, and went to the city they were moving to (400 miles from where I live but 3,000 miles from where they were living at the time) and left the cats with us. The cats were pretty cool with me and my wife and would hang around but were not interested in too much interaction (read: do not touch me). But on the third day I think, the small one, Chloe, got 'horny for humans' and jumped up in my lap, insisting I stop everything and cater to her. She actually walked up my chest and just 'let go'; if I did not catch her, she would have fallen to the floor. Still not close enough, she crawled into my neck and laid there for quite a while, eyes closed tight, singing and 'playing piano' (whatever you call it) in my shirt. She showed zero interest in my wife, only me (as I said, she is tight with my son only so apparently likes males).

Of course I tell him his cat is a wh...... er, a 'cat of ill repute' and will 'snuggle' with any human available after he is gone 5 minutes. :-)

But again, whatever floats one's boat regarding pets: dogs, cats, birds, snakes (I guess), whatever. I have a soft- spot for dogs, a big one, and get along with <almost> all of them, even the obnoxious ones.

(http://i.imgur.com/BDZbYzJ.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/74DA5JM.jpg)

Brian

Actually, now that I think about it, I have cats, I am a man, and I am a bit crazy... maybe I could be....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 23, 2017, 03:40:13 PM
jumped up in my lap, insisting I stop everything and cater to her.

Welcome to a cat owner's life. We are only allowed to live, to cater to their every whim, but only when they choose to allow us to be near them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 23, 2017, 05:32:44 PM
Yep, I am familiar with the species but I am not a cat owner. More of a dog person really. I do not own either at the moment though, so I have to have my 'pet live' vicariously through others. Mr. Elkhoof goes a LONG way toward making me new four- legged friends when the stop (on the local beach boardwalk) to smell him and try to get a hold of him :-)  Milk Bones are the usual substitutes but for the real hold- outs, I carry some Beggin' Strips (they have all seen the commercials and realize how much they want them).

:-)

Brian

Welcome to a cat owner's life. We are only allowed to live, to cater to their every whim, but only when they choose to allow us to be near them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on August 23, 2017, 10:54:04 PM
Second, I do not think there is a minimum number of cats you have to own to be called a crazy cat man.

Three. It's three. Two cats, fine ... after all, each one needs a buddy. Any more than that and you're crazy for having that many cats. And BTW I like cats. We have two.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on August 24, 2017, 07:00:31 AM
count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on August 24, 2017, 07:20:49 AM
Makes sense to me!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on August 24, 2017, 09:06:47 AM
Three. It's three. Two cats, fine ... after all, each one needs a buddy. Any more than that and you're crazy for having that many cats. And BTW I like cats. We have two.

Damn, I resemble that statement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on August 24, 2017, 03:55:24 PM
Damn, I resemble that statement.

I love cats a lot.  But two is definitely enough for me (and better than one).  The amount of cat hair everywhere is plenty, and my laziness factor is key.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Tree on August 25, 2017, 10:54:17 AM
count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out!

No cats but I love a Python reference. Bravo!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on September 01, 2017, 11:08:58 AM
The first escalator on the London Underground was installed at Earl's Court in 1911. A one-legged man, "Bumper" Harris, was employed to ride on it and demonstrate its safety. Unlike modern "comb" escalators, the original "shunt" mechanism ended with a diagonal so that the stairway finished sooner for the right foot than for the left.

Anyone not wishing to walk on the escalator was therefore asked to stand to the right to allow others to pass, leading to Britain's unique flouting of escalator etiquette which dictates in most countries that escalators tend to match the rules of the road.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on September 01, 2017, 12:43:47 PM
Anyone not wishing to walk on the escalator was therefore asked to stand to the right to allow others to pass, leading to Britain's unique flouting of escalator etiquette which dictates in most countries that escalators tend to match the rules of the road.

And it does, at least here.  Slow on the right, fast/pass on the left.  But even though in the UK the road travel directions are backwards ( ;) ), you hold the same rules for which lane is passing?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on September 01, 2017, 12:45:30 PM
And it does, at least here.  Slow on the right, fast/pass on the left.  But even though in the UK the road travel directions are backwards ( ;) ), you hold the same rules for which lane is passing?

are you talking escalators or out on the road?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on September 01, 2017, 01:30:20 PM
are you talking escalators or out on the road?

You were talking about both- so was I.  Problem was I misread what you said :)  I thought you meant Britain had pass on the same side on escalators as on the road (like we have here) but you said they "flouted" the standards, meaning it isn't the same.  How confusing for people having to behave differently than when driving!  So which convention is used there for walking in halls or sidewalks (which side to travel and what about passing)?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on September 01, 2017, 02:29:25 PM
You were talking about both- so was I.  Problem was I misread what you said :)  I thought you meant Britain had pass on the same side on escalators as on the road (like we have here) but you said they "flouted" the standards, meaning it isn't the same.  How confusing for people having to behave differently than when driving!  So which convention is used there for walking in halls or sidewalks (which side to travel and what about passing)?

It always used to be keep left but that seems to be changing slowly.

Incidentally on the water you also pass with the oncoming vessel to your right
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on September 01, 2017, 04:36:11 PM
It always used to be keep left but that seems to be changing slowly.

Incidentally on the water you also pass with the oncoming vessel to your right

Yeah, that is the same here- water is pretty much universally backwards ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 02, 2017, 08:38:24 AM
I do not think that is correct Mike: international seafaring rules have ships passing port- to- port, always. Not sure how it works on, say, the Thames but in any waters likely to have ships from different countries mingling, all passing is done on 'the right' unless very specifically communicated between and agreed upon by the two ships passing, beforehand.

Even the Andrea Doria (Italian) and Stockholm (Swedish) were attempting to do that off the coast of Massachusetts, USA before things went awry.

Speaking of which: Initially, the Captain of the Andrea Doria was held most accountable for this incident but further study has led to the Commander of the Stockhold (not the Captain at the time of the collision, the third- officer had the conn.) as the prime human reason for the accident. He miss- read the radar and thought they would be passing starboard- to- starboard and made a small adjustment in the Stockholm's course to widen the distance at which they would pass; this was seen by the Capt. on the A.D. as 'crossing his bow' (correctly- they would have passed port- to- port if nothing was changed) and so altered his course also in response. The Stockholm saw this action as crossing 'her' bow and altered course more abruptly, as did the A.D. until finally the Stockholm struck the Andrea Doria close to mid-ships and at a high speed. This is where some really odd quirks come into play:

The Stockholm's bow was reinforced for ice strikes in Scandinavian waters and this 'helped' her cut nearly to the keel of the Andrea Doria. The Stockholm was at full- reverse power at the moment of the collision and would have been dragged backwards away from the impact site but her anchor lockers were destroyed and so the anchor chains and hawsers fell free and snagged on the bottom (they were in relatively shallow waters), holding her near the Andrea Doria, and after finding out she was not likely to founder, she launched all her lifeboats to assist with rescue of passengers of the Andrea Doria, which was very clearly going to sink. As with anything of such extremes, there were instances of good, bad, and just plain odd. One of the bad things was that the first lifeboats to leave the Andrea Doria contained only three of her crew; these men were later tried, found guilty and sentenced to significant prison sentences. A true oddity of the accident was a girl named Jane Morgan, on the deck of the Stockholm, who could not find her parents nor the cabin she was staying in. After some time passed, it was realized she was NOT a passenger aboard the Stockholm at all but the Andrea Doria; she had been asleep in her cabin (it was the middle of the night when the ships collided) during the collision, and thrown through the wreckage onto the deck of the Stockholm. She had relatively minor injuries, survived the accident though both her parents who were traveling with her were killed in the accident.

As it was 1956, and the ships were close to the coast of the US, rescue efforts were extremely effective, with some injured passengers being airlifted by helicopter to hospitals in the US. Overall, there was little loss of life with 46 dead, a small number considering the number of passengers being carried and the fact that the Andrea Doria capsized and sunk within hours of the collision. The Stockholm survived and in fact, was repaired and put back into service.

The Andrea Doria is 'dive- able', kinda', sorta', although it is a treacherous dive in cold water, and deep enough to require mixed gasses to reach her (I believe her keel is 240 feet down). She continues to collect deaths to this day: since her sinking, 16 divers have lost their lives diving on the wreck.

Brian

It always used to be keep left but that seems to be changing slowly.

Incidentally on the water you also pass with the oncoming vessel to your right
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on September 02, 2017, 09:24:47 AM
you're correct, that is not correct.

Maybe this is why I don't drive a boat lol


port to port it is

I do not think that is correct Mike: international seafaring rules have ships passing port- to- port, always. Not sure how it works on, say, the Thames but in any waters likely to have ships from different countries mingling, all passing is done on 'the right' unless very specifically communicated between and agreed upon by the two ships passing, beforehand.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 02, 2017, 12:00:26 PM
Yeah, the 'rules of the road' become far more important when there is actually no road....  :-)

Little nautical 'memory helpers':

Buoys around harbors / ports: Red Right Returning: means you should be passing red channel marker buoys on your vessel's right when going into harbor.

The three 'shorts' all go together: Port, Left, Red.  The three 'longs' (Easy Boys! This here is nautical speak and there is no innuendo or impolite references of any kind allowed!) are the other way, Starboard, Right, Green.

Trivia:
1) Ear rings for males started with sailors at the time of International travel, say the 15th century. A sailor would wear a gold ring in one ear as payment in the hope that if his body was found by a stranger, it would be properly buried in return for the ring.
2) A long tradition holds that sailors were better off not knowing how to swim because there was really zero chance of rescue or survival, and swimming merely postponed the inevitable death should the ship go down (Boys! Still nautical speak!).
3) British sailors have a long- standing wariness of Fridays, and will try not to begin or end a voyage on that day for example. As the story goes.... The British Gov't wanted to do away with this wasteful superstition and actually built a ship for that very purpose: her keel was laid on a Friday, she was floated on a Friday, Christened on a Friday, named the H.M.S. Friday and set sail on her maiden voyage on a Friday. Neither the ship nor any of her crew were ever seen again..... The truth is that there was never a British ship named Friday and the entire story is fabricated.
4) US military ships are 'dry' while most other navies are 'wet', starting with the British for example. Drinking alcohol is forbidden on US naval ships, while British naval ships for centuries included a ration or 'tot' of rum or grog (rum and water- they did not have cola yet) as part of the daily ration.
5) That 'thing' or plug banged into the end of a ship's cannon, both ancient as well as modern (current) is called a 'tamponade'. Which would seem to indicate what sailors are thinking about on those long sea voyages....

Brian

you're correct, that is not correct.

Maybe this is why I don't drive a boat lol


port to port it is
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on September 02, 2017, 02:39:09 PM
I Always remember Port as being Red because thats what colour it is when you pour it out (plus 12 years in the RAF)  :)

Red & green together, boat/aircraft is coming towards you
Red & White , boat.aircraft is traveling from right to left
Green & White , boat/aircraft travelling from left to right
White, boat /aircraft travelling away from you




The three 'shorts' all go together: Port, Left, Red.  The three 'longs' (Easy Boys! This here is nautical speak and there is no innuendo or impolite references of any kind allowed!) are the other way, Starboard, Right, Green.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 02, 2017, 08:17:15 PM
You said RAF... :thumbs: :salute:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 04, 2017, 12:26:55 PM
And I did not even see it coming.....

We need to go to Home Lowes (one or the other, usually Home Depot), lately we always need to go to Home Lowes. Anyway, as today is a holiday, such as there are holidays anymore, I looked at their site to check on the hours- often their holiday hours are the same as Sunday hours. So went to the site and typed 'store hours' in the search line and hit enter..... Got this for a response:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-8-in-x-12-in-Plastic-Business-Hours-Sign-839888/100115199?keyword=store+hours+today (http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-8-in-x-12-in-Plastic-Business-Hours-Sign-839888/100115199?keyword=store+hours+today)

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

And BTW: they are open 'till 9:00 PM tonight. The commercialization of America continues as we recognize fewer and fewer holidays at all, and even minimize the major ones. Not saying this is good nor bad, it merely is.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on September 04, 2017, 01:25:52 PM
don't know about over there but over here even on Christmas Day you can always find some sort of store open, usually run by people of alternate ethnicity & religious views :)


And I did not even see it coming.....

We need to go to Home Lowes (one or the other, usually Home Depot), lately we always need to go to Home Lowes. Anyway, as today is a holiday, such as there are holidays anymore, I looked at their site to check on the hours- often their holiday hours are the same as Sunday hours. So went to the site and typed 'store hours' in the search line and hit enter..... Got this for a response:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-8-in-x-12-in-Plastic-Business-Hours-Sign-839888/100115199?keyword=store+hours+today (http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-8-in-x-12-in-Plastic-Business-Hours-Sign-839888/100115199?keyword=store+hours+today)

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

And BTW: they are open 'till 9:00 PM tonight. The commercialization of America continues as we recognize fewer and fewer holidays at all, and even minimize the major ones. Not saying this is good nor bad, it merely is.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on September 04, 2017, 03:23:40 PM
I'm assuming that once the auction yards dry out, that very soon after, car carriers will be fanning out across the country in all directions from Houston and Beaumont with too good to be true deals in tow. Many will have less than 50 miles on the odometer, so buyers beware.

fyi:

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+tell+if+a+used+motorcycle+has+been+flooded&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 (https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+tell+if+a+used+motorcycle+has+been+flooded&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8)

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/salvage-used-junkyard-parts/10-ways-to-spot-flood-damaged-car.htm (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/salvage-used-junkyard-parts/10-ways-to-spot-flood-damaged-car.htm)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/how-to-deal-with-flooded-cars-in-harveys-wake/2017/09/03/79c1812c-9098-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html?utm_term=.9d08a979ff49 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/how-to-deal-with-flooded-cars-in-harveys-wake/2017/09/03/79c1812c-9098-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html?utm_term=.9d08a979ff49)

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+tell+if+a+used+car+was+flooded.&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKnMqDuozWAhUY5mMKHQHyBtQQ_AUICSgA&biw=1920&bih=940&dpr=1 (https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+tell+if+a+used+car+was+flooded.&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKnMqDuozWAhUY5mMKHQHyBtQQ_AUICSgA&biw=1920&bih=940&dpr=1)

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on September 05, 2017, 12:55:27 PM
Stare at this (http://www.newopticalillusions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Optical-Illusion-Spiral.gif) for 30-45 seconds
.... and then look at something nothing* else nearby.

*a poor attempt to stay on subject
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on September 05, 2017, 10:36:58 PM
Stare at this (http://www.newopticalillusions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Optical-Illusion-Spiral.gif) for 30-45 seconds
.... and then look at something nothing* else nearby.

*a poor attempt to stay on subject

ACK!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 06, 2017, 03:42:02 AM
ACK!

hairball?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 07, 2017, 11:31:51 AM
Stare at this (http://www.newopticalillusions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Optical-Illusion-Spiral.gif) for 30-45 seconds
.... and then look at something nothing* else nearby.

*a poor attempt to stay on subject

I've seen something similar but only when drunk..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on September 07, 2017, 12:33:23 PM
Just moved to central Arkansas from the dark and brooding Mississippi Delta, where even the bullfrogs have an attitude.

Rather surprised to see homeowner's insurance a good chunk more expensive than in MS. But then again, the New Madrid Fault up in the NE corner of the state - should that fault bust loose, as it did back in 1811 and caused all kinds of mayhem, even then - spawns those things pretty regularly, though they're smallish.

Ditto for up in the Ozarks. Back in June, a large reservoir filled up with water and that caused some spawning (uh....might there be an "Easy Boys!" in there somewhere?). Fracking has been blamed too.

In talking with some locals, there doesn't appear to be much of a risk for earthquakes here, though it is quite hilly.

Blissfully hilly, which means curves to ride. A helluva lot more interesting than the flat-as-a-pancake Delta.

And yes, I have the Connie with me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 07, 2017, 04:13:59 PM
Got a notification that I have been upgraded to include a new service from the USPS called 'Informed Delivery'; they scan all mail (meaning envelopes and similar), then send a digital image of what is or will be delivered to your mailbox to your e-mail address. Pretty slick IMO.

Also have been getting deliveries on Sunday from USPS lately that do not seem to have originated from Fed. Ex.. ?? Not sure what is up with that. Only packages though, not regular postal mail. Or, to put it so it requires an Easy Boys!, they are still not inserting anything into my box on Sundays (Easy Boys!).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 07, 2017, 06:04:17 PM
It would only be slick if you could tell them to don't bother delivering it....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on September 07, 2017, 07:47:00 PM
It would only be slick if you could tell them to don't bother delivering it....

Agree.
Notification (email or otherwise) of what they are going to deliver anyways has no use for me. Sort of like the suspense of what might be in the mailbox and the less that comes thru my "inbox" the better.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 12, 2017, 03:22:08 PM
Yesterday's date always reminds me of the time I took my kids to see the World Trade Centers when they still were kids. They were about 3 hours south / west of where we live but we did not go there from home, we stopped there on the way home from Florida.

We were on a family vacation, having driven to FL, and hit the usual tourist traps as well as all the grandparents, who were living there at the time. My wife's parents live near Tampa and while we were in that city, my father- in- law mentioned that there was a new 'high- rise' building and pointed it out to us. I made what I thought was a mildly amusing reference, calling it a 'skyscraper', which of course both of my kids picked up on and though I was serious (the building was nine stories tall, perhaps tall by FL standards but real skyscrapers have urinals deeper than that). Opps. So I told them if it worked out, we would stop at a place on the way home and I would show them a skyscraper.....

We were headed home, closing in on New York City in the wee early hours of a Sat. morning, and it looked like the timing would work out right for us to be in Battery Park around sunrise. So we woke the kids up and told them we were going to NYC to see a skyscraper. They were around 6 and 9 or so at the time and had never been to NYC or any other large (tall) city. We crossed under the Hudson using one of the tunnels and they were IMMENSELY impressed with that; I guess they had never driven under a river before either :-)  Anyway, after diddling through the bottom of Manhattan for a bit, I pulled up as close as I could get to one of the World Trade Centers (I do not remember which one) and had both kids look out the rear window to look up at the top of the building. Of course they could not see the top of the building as it just sort of fades away into the distance being that close, and it was not full daylight yet anyway. So we all got out of the car and again, I had them look to see the top of the building.... and they still could not do so. Finally, we walked a ways away from the buildings and tried it again and still we could not see the tops of either tower, at which point I said THAT is a SKYSCRAPER! The pups were impressed and both have told me as adults they still remember that visit. We all piled back into the car and they got to see both The Empire State and The Chrysler buildings, as well as being able to see the entire NYC skyline as the sun came up.

Of course we lost those buildings 16 years ago to the day yesterday but no matter what, my kids got to see them and it makes me glad that they still remember the buildings, and the experience of being there. It did not seem like a big deal at that time of course but I am certainly glad we made the detour now.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 14, 2017, 02:04:03 PM
Under the heading of 'but this does not make sense': modern submarines travel faster underwater than when traveling on the surface. No tricks or gimmicks, all else being equal, equal amount of thrust (Easy Boys! Easy Seamen!), same weight (displacement) but less surface area in the water so the logical conclusion is less drag, and that should result in greater speed, not less. But not only does it not work that way, it works very much the opposite way.

This was the major difference in submarine design for their first 50- odd years or so and modern designs; early submarines were really surface vessels that could go underwater for brief periods of time and move very inefficiently. Given any kind of choice, all subs through WWII and into the 1950's would always engage in warfare this way, contrary to common belief, and their underwater abilities were used simply to 1) hide and 2) run away when possible. In fact they were not even true submarines at all but rather submersibles.

It is all about the physics; a modern, cigar- shaped submarine hull is smooth, rounded and has flowing shapes, also called 'faired' in nautical or aircraft terms (that transitions to 'fairing' when used on motorcycles by the way). There are no sharp edges or projections to force the water into making a shock wave, rather the water just sort of moves away as the sub passes and then gently and slowly, closes back in to where it was before the sub got there, without actually accelerating any water in any direction. That does not happen on the surface because the part of the sub's hull that is above the water line is NOT smooth and does NOT make an even transition but rather forces the water out of its way; after passing, the water crashes back into the void left by the subs' passing.

There is a much easier way to prove this though without any mathematics, complex models, testing, modeling or anything else, and can be shown via a quick and simple set of examples: When a modern sub travels on the surface, it makes a bow wake, a stern wake and roils the water it travels through, exactly the same way ALL other surface vessels do. But completely submerged, there are no wakes and there is no roiled water left behind. So it takes the same energy to move the boat forward in either condition but when surfaced, it takes extra power to make those wakes and disturb (which really means accelerate) the water. So submerged, there is little to no water disturbance or acceleration to 'pay for'.

And the exact same thing can be done with craft that move in the air also, and it is not a new or even an 'off' idea, it was the original way to move objects a long way, efficiently, in the early days of air travel: a dirigible or airship. Look at the shape of a dirigible and a cigar- shaped submarine, they are virtually identical and for the very same reasons, a dirigible gently moves the air it is traveling through away and then allows it to again gentle return to where the airship had been without any sharp or sudden acceleration. Airplanes, on the other hand, accelerate a great deal of air downward at very high speed as they pass and that is the best case scenario, in reality, most airplanes, old and the most modern, roils up tremendous amounts of air in passing through the atmosphere and again, it robs power from the engine(s) to make that happen. So believe it or not, a Zeppelin from the 1930's will move the same mass the same distance and use FAR less fuel than any airplane or helicopter in existence, modern or not.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on September 15, 2017, 08:30:22 AM
Dogs have masters, cats have staff.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 15, 2017, 09:02:09 AM
On March 22, 1958 a Lockheed Loadstar belonging to Mike Todd crashed in the mountains in New Mexico on land belonging to my wife's father and now belonging to my wife. All 4 aboard including Mike Todd were killed. Mike Todd was a Hollywood producer best known for the movie "Around the World in 80 days". He was also husband to Elizabeth Taylor at the time. It was rumored that he was carrying a massive diamond ring belonging to Liz. No such ring was ever found despite the fact that for years afterword my father in law would chase off treasure hunters that would sneak on to the property searching for it. Parts of the airplane were removed for investigation but most of the wreckage was buried in place and is still there. I found one of the exhaust stacks sticking out of the ground a few years ago.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 15, 2017, 10:09:13 AM
That is a really interesting story.

Not to be morbid, and of course I assume all human remains have been removed, etc. but too bad the plane itself is buried as it would probably be quite interesting to see.

Brian

On March 22, 1958 a Lockheed Loadstar belonging to Mike Todd crashed in the mountains in New Mexico on land belonging to my wife's father and now belonging to my wife. All 4 aboard including Mike Todd were killed. Mike Todd was a Hollywood producer best known for the movie "Around the World in 80 days". He was also husband to Elizabeth Taylor at the time. It was rumored that he was carrying a massive diamond ring belonging to Liz. No such ring was ever found despite the fact that for years afterword my father in law would chase off treasure hunters that would sneak on to the property searching for it. Parts of the airplane were removed for investigation but most of the wreckage was buried in place and is still there. I found one of the exhaust stacks sticking out of the ground a few years ago.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 15, 2017, 10:15:49 AM
That is a really interesting story.

Not to be morbid, and of course I assume all human remains have been removed, etc. but too bad the plane itself is buried as it would probably be quite interesting to see.

Brian

Tell me about it! I've thought about digging a bit but probably not much to see. It hit hard at night in icing conditions. Not a forced landing but full on impact. Was probably tiny bits. But my father in law told me they brought in a bulldozer to bury it. I'm guessing it gouged out a trench, pushed the wreckage in, then rolled over it to compress it a bit, then filled it in. So probably more aluminum scrap than anything that looks like an airplane. But still wondering if either of the engines survived in any recognizable form. Thought an outside picnic table with a big old radial as a base might make a cool conversation piece. And yes, all human remains we removed and was told was quite gruesome.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 15, 2017, 10:45:50 AM
I had to look 'cause I had never heard of it before but that plane looks to be a 'knock off' of a DC3 and <should> have some really interesting parts at the very least. It does not sound like much in the way of things such as instruments would be intact at all (they could be interesting coffee table pieces perhaps) but one or both engines might still look like an engine. ?? Then again, if it did hit that hard then both could also have snapped off several cylinders. Given the crash, and then the bulldozer compaction / burial, probably nothing worth digging up and too bad is is a nuisance 'idiot' draw on your property.

Thanks for posting that though, as I said, a great story.

Brian

Edited to add: Of course I mean it is a great story regarding how it came to be your property and the history, not the plane crash itself.

Tell me about it! I've thought about digging a bit but probably not much to see. It hit hard at night in icing conditions. Not a forced landing but full on impact. Was probably tiny bits. But my father in law told me they brought in a bulldozer to bury it. I'm guessing it gouged out a trench, pushed the wreckage in, then rolled over it to compress it a bit, then filled it in. So probably more aluminum scrap than anything that looks like an airplane. But still wondering if either of the engines survived in any recognizable form. Thought an outside picnic table with a big old radial as a base might make a cool conversation piece. And yes, all human remains we removed and was told was quite gruesome.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 15, 2017, 10:56:42 AM
A little more to the story. Years later Kirk Douglas claimed Mike Todd had invited him along on that trip and was looking forward to it. But his wife had a bad feeling about it and talked him out of going.

Here is a pic I found online from one of the news papers of the time:

(https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/67c2cdb047d3fd50a5459b463855c0a78e57aa12/c=362-409-2758-2210&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2015/04/07/SNJGroup/Vineland/635640251916314847-AP5803220150.jpg)

As you can see was pretty much tiny bits before they even buried the airplane.

I could be wrong but think the man with a white cowboy hat 2nd from the left is my father in law.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on September 15, 2017, 11:08:54 AM
Also just found this on youtube which shows more of the wreckage and crash site. There was not much left of that airplane.

http://youtu.be/TcCH4AXmZYk (http://youtu.be/TcCH4AXmZYk)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 27, 2017, 03:03:57 PM
Almost all elements as well as compounds (read: virtually all materials) contract when they freeze or turn from a liquid to a solid. Another behavior exibited by <almost> everything is that when materials do solidify from the liquid, they do so from the outside- in. A good example of this is welding; welding can only work because the weld puddle solidifies or 'freezes' from the outside- in, if it did not, the last part of a weld to solidify would be where the weld joins the parent metal and due to size change, it would effectively crack and fall out. Put simply, welding would not work. Luck for us that it does freeze from the outside in, and shrinks as it solidifies so that the weld bead causes all tensile (pulling) stresses in the weld, rather than expanding outwards, which would again cause a weld to fail the moment it solidified.

In the same vein, most materials expand as they are heated.

But there are exceptions, exactly two that I know of: Plutonium and Water. We need not concern ourselves with plutonium too much, mostly 'cause we are not likely to run into any of the stuff in a normal lifetime and even if we did, it is improbably that almost anyone would want to melt the stuff anyway. Water is another matter through and again, lucky for 'us' (read; everything that lives on Earth), it does not follow the rules. Oh sure, water contracts as it gets cold but then when it starts to freeze, it goes through a sudden and significant expansion..... this is why water based liquids in glass containers will break the container if allowed to freeze. So water shrinks as it cools but then suddenly reverses this process and significantly expands as it solidifies. This has a number of odd results, such as water has two points in temperature where it will be the same density, one close to boiling and one at freezing which basically makes no sense at all. Well, it does with a little more information: water forms a crystalline structure when it is a solid (ice), and to 'form up' in that way, the molecules of water actually have to move apart a bit to align with each other and form that crystalline structure. So once slightly below boiling temp. water continues to contract until reaching about 4 degrees C, at which point it begins to expand again as the temperature drops. This is because by 4C, there are enough ice crystals in water to overcome the waters' natural contraction and start to cause the entire quantity to expand, on average, as more and more ice crystals appear IN the water but before it is all frozen.

This has one other really great benefit, at least one that I really like: the reduced density of solid water vs. liquid water causes it to solidify (freeze) from the top down, rather than the bottom up like virtually all, or all other materials. This is why a pond freezes on top and yet leaves the great majority of the pond in the form of water, remember, virtually all other materials would freeze from the bottom up. The big benefit of this is that it allows life to exist wherever there is water. See, you like that too, right?

All food cycles start deep in the water on this planet, with plankton and microscopic organisms living on the bottoms of the world's bodies of water, whether sweet water or salt water. Now, if water froze from the bottom up as it <should>, the first mild freeze of any body of water would kill off these small, simple forms of life, and they are the ones that start the food chain that feeds everything else on the planet. So if water was not such an odd- ball and behaved all wrong, life may have started on Earth but a few freezing cycles would have wiped it out long before those simple forms of life even had a chance to grow in size and complexity. Nothing that moves of its own force anywhere on Earth would have evolved.

Or so science would have us believe.

Yep, Dihydrogen Monoxide: good stuff, no matter what the nay- sayers would have you believe!

http://www.dhmo.org/truth/Dihydrogen-Monoxide.html (http://www.dhmo.org/truth/Dihydrogen-Monoxide.html)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on October 05, 2017, 09:13:39 AM
Next time you see some graph showing correlations, think about these correlations:

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations (http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 05, 2017, 02:57:27 PM
Next time you see some graph showing correlations, think about these correlations:

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations (http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations)

That is just neat
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on October 05, 2017, 03:21:49 PM
Next time you see some graph showing correlations, think about these correlations:

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations (http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations)

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 05, 2017, 03:55:36 PM
Thanks, that is really interesting. Nonsensical, but amusing and it very points out how all of us can and do fall into the trap of dissociated happenings.

Brian

Next time you see some graph showing correlations, think about these correlations:

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations (http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on October 05, 2017, 04:04:34 PM
I hear Nicolas Cage might do 2 movies next year. Sure glad I didn't put in that swimming pool!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on October 05, 2017, 08:19:49 PM
Next time you see some graph showing correlations, think about these correlations:

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations (http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations)

3rd one down, not a surprise. I can totally picture people stuffed with cheese getting tangled in their bedsheets.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 05, 2017, 09:23:19 PM
Everyone who drank milk in 1850 is dead!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 21, 2017, 02:48:34 PM
Clint Eastwood optioned a screenplay named "The Cut- Whore Killings" in the 1980's with the intent of making it into a movie. An associate of his, Sonia Chernus (she wrote the screenplay for 'The Outlaw Josie Wales') read the story and gave Mr. Eastwood the following summation:

"We would have been far better off not to have accepted trash like this piece of inferior work ... I can't think of one good thing to say about it. Except maybe, get rid of it FAST." Mr. Eastwood passed on the screenplay and went along with his life.

Later, while looking for someone to work on an entirely different project, he read 'The Cut- Whore Killings' as a sample of the writer, David Webb Peoples, work, not realizing it was the same script that Ms. Chernus had recommended he not review earlier. He had a very different take on the screenplay, found out he already owned the rights to it, and went on to produce, direct and star in the movie he made using that screenplay. The only major change he made was in the title, which he did not think was very good. He chose to name it..... 'Unforgiven', and it won him his very first Oscars in two catagories, for Best Picture and Best Director as well as an additional Oscar nomination for Best Actor. It also won Gene Hackman an Oscar for Best supporting Actor; in fact, Mr. Hackman had repeatedly turned down this role claiming he did not want to make another western. On the night Mr. Hackman won his Oscar for the role of Little Bill Dagget, supposedly Mr. Eastwood asked him 'How do you feel about making another western now?".

And as an aside, maybe my all- time favorite film.

Brian

Edited to fix 'whore' when it was 'whole'. Duh!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 21, 2017, 04:40:43 PM
 8)

Bill Munny: All right, I'm coming out! Any man I see out there, I'm gonna kill him! Any sonofabitch takes a shot at me.. I'm not only gonna kill him, I'm gonna kill his wife, all his friends, and burn his damn house down!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 22, 2017, 12:26:33 PM
Michael Buckley Jr., (17 May 1902 – 17 August 2006), was the first American POW of WWII. Captured near Tobruk on 23 Nov. 1941, he actually became a POW two weeks before America's entry into that war on 8 Dec. 1941. He was present as an American observer and should have been released as a non- combatant but before that happened, the US DID enter the war and so Mr. Buckley was held in Italy until freed through a prisoner exchange in May, 1942.

Mr. Buckley was also the oldest person to have graduated West Point at the time of his death, being 104 years old.

And as a final odd happenstance, Mr. Buckley was Tom Brady Jr.'s Great- Uncle. Yeah, that Tom Brady.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 25, 2017, 04:05:02 AM
My son just bought a brand new Nissan Rogue with remote start. He can use his Amazon Alexa to start the car and adjust the climate controls. Sweet!

Alexa, start the Rogue and set the temp to 73.   

A nice feature but since he lives in Tennessee he really doesn't need it. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 25, 2017, 04:23:24 AM
So he doesn't mind that every sound, every conversation, every fart is possibly being recorded? Is the tv watching the watchers?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 25, 2017, 04:40:02 AM
So he doesn't mind that every sound, every conversation, every fart is possibly being recorded? Is the tv watching the watchers?

I have three Alexa devices in my house, two upstairs and one down. Love em! If someone wants to listen in I suppose they can. I'm not paranoid and I'm not doing anything illegal (speeding and rolling stops don't count  ;) ) so I don't have anything to hide.

I asked Alexa to tell me a Trump joke. It said that it didn't know any Trump jokes but offered to tell me a political joke instead...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on October 25, 2017, 04:21:27 PM
... offered to tell me a political joke instead...


Aaaaaaannnndddd??
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 26, 2017, 04:44:29 PM
 :popcorn:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 31, 2017, 04:51:43 PM
In watching this latest wave of social bending (as in FaceTwitting "me too, I was sexually abused by XXXX"), it is starting to strike me that it might be faster and easier to just name the one person who has NOT been guilty of sexually molesting (him, her, them, they, it, those, whatever). Sort of like 'To Tell the Truth', will the real 'decent person' please stand up.

Sheesh!

And I kinda' liked 'House of Cards', and that is toast. And I really liked 'The Usual Suspects' but it would seem Mr. Spacey is toast also so no more of that for us.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 01, 2017, 06:02:16 AM
And I kinda' liked 'House of Cards', and that is toast. And I really liked 'The Usual Suspects' but it would seem Mr. Spacey is toast also so no more of that for us.

What? They are not doing another season? And what is up with Mr. Spacey?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 01, 2017, 06:47:13 AM
What? They are not doing another season? And what is up with Mr. SpaceySissy?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 01, 2017, 01:00:50 PM
Well, let's see: Mr. Spacey has been accused of sexually molesting a 14 (I believe) year old boy. So Mr. Spacey took the approach of apologizing, saying all the 'right things' and so forth, and came out as homosexual at the same time. Interestingly enough, while 7/8 of the planet had already turned against him for the sexual misconduct, the remaining 1/8 was outraged because of his using the timing of the molestation accusation to 'come out'. So the 1/8 is even MORE cranky with Mr. Spacey because it seems they believe it will have the effect of having 'being gay' being associated with sexual misconduct. The immediate results were that Netflix announced the cancellation of 'House of Cards'. But the next day (or so) Netflix announced the cancellation of production of the sixth season of House of Cards immediately, which I take as meaning there will probably not even be a sixth season (which is the next season). So, apparently in the current round of 'who stepped in it further' or 'who stepped in more of it for longer', Mr. Spacey seems to be winning because not only has the entertainment community apparently tossed him out like last week's chicken soup, it has reacted within a matter of hours to stop his career and all associated with it in its tracks. By comparison, it took weeks for Mr. Weinstein (sp?) to fall so far down the proverbial flight of stairs.

So it appears we have seen the last of Mr. Spacey, probably in any medium, stage, TV or film. Unless, of course, the FaceTwit crowd decides at some point that forgiveness is the current thing they want to run up the flag pole and wave for all it is worth, at which point the nastiest, most obnoxious people known on the planet will be elevated to new levels of fame and fortune; I predict we will have a special election in the US and somehow end up with Charles Manson as President..... maybe even Dictator.

Now it may seem that I am making fun of people who misbehave or misconduct themselves, and worse, am making light of their victims. That is most certainly not the case. If people act as scumbags, they SHOULD be hung out to dry by the public, and charges brought against them where possible, practical and, of course, warranted. It certainly would seem that there are some scumbags in some positions of authority in the entertainment industry, and all that is happening to them and more is justified if the charges are true, and I have no reason to doubt that they are true.

What I am making fun of is how we, as a society, act like a wild- eyed mob with pitchforks and torches looking for the next thing to get all worked up over and go on a rampage to..... well, rampage. It seems that we have the angry mob already and are just waiting for someone, anyone, to point a finger in a direction for them to.... well, rampage. I believe this is a result of rapid, 'free- for' all' social media (hence 'FaceTwit', which is not what I call it most of the time, I change the last vowel to make it more distasteful, exactly as I think it is- distasteful) combined with one of the very worst aspects of humanity, the urge to act as a pack and embellish our own worst behavior by exercising pack mentality. Fully grown adults acting worse than 8 year olds in a school playground but instead of nasty limericks and rhymes, we now have media, the ability to project the pack onto everyone, everywhere.

So as I said, I have no problem with people getting what they deserve and what they have earned, be it good or bad. But I do have a problem with procedure, law and social organization, as well as simple decent behavior being replaced with 'social vigilanteism', and the worst kind of vigilanteism at that. I think the way things progressed with Bill Cosby was far better, using a process in place, than what is currently being unleashed through FaceTwit.

Back to Kevin Spacey: it seems he is homosexual and has now 'come out' as such. It would seem to be not all that big a deal in today's world but as I said, the particular circumstances and timing of his coming out have raised a storm all in itself. But then again, it has long been suspected anyway and cannot really be that big of a surprise.

Brian

What? They are not doing another season? And what is up with Mr. Spacey?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 01, 2017, 07:23:10 PM
Wow! See what I get to miss by not having cable TV any more? I just assumed he was gay just by some of the scenes in House of Cards. But hadn't heard about any of the molestation stuff. But I really did like the show. Season's 1 and 2 were the best and it went down hill from there. But still one of the shows I would binge watch each season. I would guess Robin Wright is pretty pissed right now. She just got to be president and now she's canceled!  :rotflmao:


Well, let's see: Mr. Spacey has been accused of sexually molesting a 14 (I believe) year old boy. So Mr. Spacey took the approach of apologizing, saying all the 'right things' and so forth, and came out as homosexual at the same time. Interestingly enough, while 7/8 of the planet had already turned against him for the sexual misconduct, the remaining 1/8 was outraged because of his using the timing of the molestation accusation to 'come out'. So the 1/8 is even MORE cranky with Mr. Spacey because it seems they believe it will have the effect of having 'being gay' being associated with sexual misconduct. The immediate results were that Netflix announced the cancellation of 'House of Cards'. But the next day (or so) Netflix announced the cancellation of production of the sixth season of House of Cards immediately, which I take as meaning there will probably not even be a sixth season (which is the next season). So, apparently in the current round of 'who stepped in it further' or 'who stepped in more of it for longer', Mr. Spacey seems to be winning because not only has the entertainment community apparently tossed him out like last week's chicken soup, it has reacted within a matter of hours to stop his career and all associated with it in its tracks. By comparison, it took weeks for Mr. Weinstein (sp?) to fall so far down the proverbial flight of stairs.

So it appears we have seen the last of Mr. Spacey, probably in any medium, stage, TV or film. Unless, of course, the FaceTwit crowd decides at some point that forgiveness is the current thing they want to run up the flag pole and wave for all it is worth, at which point the nastiest, most obnoxious people known on the planet will be elevated to new levels of fame and fortune; I predict we will have a special election in the US and somehow end up with Charles Manson as President..... maybe even Dictator.

Now it may seem that I am making fun of people who misbehave or misconduct themselves, and worse, am making light of their victims. That is most certainly not the case. If people act as scumbags, they SHOULD be hung out to dry by the public, and charges brought against them where possible, practical and, of course, warranted. It certainly would seem that there are some scumbags in some positions of authority in the entertainment industry, and all that is happening to them and more is justified if the charges are true, and I have no reason to doubt that they are true.

What I am making fun of is how we, as a society, act like a wild- eyed mob with pitchforks and torches looking for the next thing to get all worked up over and go on a rampage to..... well, rampage. It seems that we have the angry mob already and are just waiting for someone, anyone, to point a finger in a direction for them to.... well, rampage. I believe this is a result of rapid, 'free- for' all' social media (hence 'FaceTwit', which is not what I call it most of the time, I change the last vowel to make it more distasteful, exactly as I think it is- distasteful) combined with one of the very worst aspects of humanity, the urge to act as a pack and embellish our own worst behavior by exercising pack mentality. Fully grown adults acting worse than 8 year olds in a school playground but instead of nasty limericks and rhymes, we now have media, the ability to project the pack onto everyone, everywhere.

So as I said, I have no problem with people getting what they deserve and what they have earned, be it good or bad. But I do have a problem with procedure, law and social organization, as well as simple decent behavior being replaced with 'social vigilanteism', and the worst kind of vigilanteism at that. I think the way things progressed with Bill Cosby was far better, using a process in place, than what is currently being unleashed through FaceTwit.

Back to Kevin Spacey: it seems he is homosexual and has now 'come out' as such. It would seem to be not all that big a deal in today's world but as I said, the particular circumstances and timing of his coming out have raised a storm all in itself. But then again, it has long been suspected anyway and cannot really be that big of a surprise.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 01, 2017, 08:10:07 PM
Yep, and a whole lot of other people working on the production are also out of work. Some primary actors working for large sums of money, many more non- stars working for wages. Either way, a bad turn for all of them.

And agreed, Seasons 1&2 really were outstanding IMO. It was not so much that the series fell down after Season 2 as the main characters reached their goal and so the main plot and course of the entire show had ended. The series went on but not with the same press or momentum as before I think.

In a better world this would not be a problem as we would just turn to something else to watch but as we have discussed, really good TV and even film is rare so losing one that is still quite entertaining, well- written and has high production values is not easy to replace.

On the bright side, while I suspect Kevin Spacey is now the proverbial toast, we will always have 'The Usual Suspects' and 'Se7en' and 'American Beauty' along with a handful of other films with Mr. Spacey in them. And no matter how bad Mr. Spacey is or is perceived to be, The Usual Suspects will always be a fantastically good flick IMO; it takes about 3 viewings before I even caught on to what question I was trying to answer while watching it but it was more than worth it. One of the few films that actually gets better with repeated viewings IMO.

And of course this is all yesterday's news: Kevin Spacey has already been displaced by some other guy who has now been accused of sexual misconduct in several instances many years ago. The world is busy piling its attention on that guy, at leas the last time I looked (my info. is several hours old and so may well not be the current 'hot item').

Brian

Wow! See what I get to miss by not having cable TV any more? I just assumed he was gay just by some of the scenes in House of Cards. But hadn't heard about any of the molestation stuff. But I really did like the show. Season's 1 and 2 were the best and it went down hill from there. But still one of the shows I would binge watch each season. I would guess Robin Wright is pretty pissed right now. She just got to be president and now she's canceled!  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 07, 2017, 03:19:57 PM
Finally, an arrest for an unusual reason. I find this greatly refreshing because we are living in a world chock- full of unusual and yet this one actually stands out. They met on the plane so maybe this is just the new way of saying 'Howdy Dodie to ya' ' instead of just shaking hands?

"As one passenger wrote in a witness statement: "I felt bad for the guy beside them, but I guess he was sleeping."

What he slept through was an incident that triggered an FBI investigation: A  "highly intoxicated" woman was performing oral sex on a man in Row 26, triggering complaints from nearby passengers in other rows who caught on to what was going on. The woman in particular was less than cooperative, a police report said, noting she  "yelled and screamed" and was "continuously disruptive" after being hauled off to an airport jail cell.

These are some of the details involving the Oct. 29 incident, which was documented in a nine-page police report obtained by the Detroit Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act.  The  Wayne Metro Airport Police Department, which responded to the incident, said both the man and women received citations from the FBI for lewd and lascivious behavior and for disorderly conduct.

<snip>

According to the police report, the 48-year-old California woman and 28-year-old man met on the Delta Air Lines flight between Los Angeles and Detroit. The woman's seat was not in his row, but she switched her seat so that she could be next to him. "

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/07/airplane-oral-sex-case/839021001/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/11/07/airplane-oral-sex-case/839021001/)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 07, 2017, 06:15:53 PM
I would only expect that kind of service in first class.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 07, 2017, 08:17:18 PM
 :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: kwakrider on November 08, 2017, 06:24:10 AM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 08, 2017, 07:29:31 AM
Happy Ending Airlines
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on November 08, 2017, 11:27:06 AM
Happy Ending Airlines

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 08, 2017, 12:32:48 PM
Well, it did not sound like she was too happy what with all the yelling, kicking, handcuffs, arrest and so forth. Of course he may have been happy. Hey, maybe he was exactly as happy as she was unhappy, thereby keeping the entropy of the universe from growing? Sure, that makes sense.

Brian

Happy Ending Airlines
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 08, 2017, 02:10:55 PM
Balance in the Universe.  It's a beautiful thing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 09, 2017, 04:19:01 AM
Well, it did not sound like she was too happy what with all the yelling, kicking, handcuffs, arrest and so forth. Of course he may have been happy. Hey, maybe he was exactly as happy as she was unhappy, thereby keeping the entropy of the universe from growing? Sure, that makes sense.

Brian

I heard that she didn't mind the handcuffs as much and one might expect...    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on November 09, 2017, 08:09:22 AM
C'mon guys. Give the poor lass a break. It may be just her way of coping with an intense fear of flying? And which 28 year old male would decline a BJ on a long flight.  :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 09, 2017, 09:27:44 AM
Yes, as opposed to a short flight where virtually all 28 year old males would refuse it.....

 :rotflmao:

Brian

C'mon guys. Give the poor lass a break. It may be just her way of coping with an intense fear of flying? And which 28 year old male would decline a BJ on a long flight.  :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 09, 2017, 10:04:22 AM
Fly Delta.....where our motto is " You'll be blown away by our service!"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on November 09, 2017, 10:52:15 AM
Delta's running a brothel.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 09, 2017, 05:08:51 PM
Ah, maybe that is what Bill Clinton was going on the tarmac last year during the run- up to the election..... looking to make a 'connection' on a Delta flight?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 10, 2017, 03:51:07 AM
With Lynch?  :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 10, 2017, 08:20:10 AM
Have you seen some of his past..... er, ....... "acquaintances"? He does not seem to be a discerning gentleman in his choices of..... 'personal associates'. Looks like a heartbeat might be the only requirement and hey, maybe that too is negotiable.

Shiver me timbers!

Brian

With Lynch?  :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 10, 2017, 10:11:14 AM
He did like to fly the Lolita Express with Epstein.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 16, 2017, 09:10:48 PM
Speaking of stray girls.....

Couple of months ago, my 'crazy cat lady' next door neighbor got my wife me involved in a mid- day witch hunt..... OK, a mid-day kitten hunt. Seems one of the strays she feeds 'dropped a litter' and was around someplace. Mom (cat Mom) and kittens were holed up on my side of the fence and crazy cat lady succeeded in disturbing them enough that Momma cat took off and kittens scrambled. But they were too small to run and I watched one going around the end of the fence, called to the crazy cat lady (yep, my own fault) and she caught it. Next thing is it shows up in my living room in my wife's arms and she asks me if we want a cat.... Nope, we are in no place or condition to have pets wandering through this mess of a house.

(https://i.imgur.com/8d4G0bg.jpg)

Kitten was about 4 weeks old and not weened, still had blue eyes. Crazy cat lady takes it to two different vets to "drop it off", and of course both vets. explain that that is NOT WHAT they do (duh) and so the crazy cat lady ends up with a kitten, an eye- dropper to feed kitten and a new mission in life (hehehehehehehe).

Flash forward about 2 months:

I picked up my wife tonight (not the first time either), we ran some errands and got something to eat. Got home and I helped Gimpy into the house (had foot surgery two weeks ago, currently wearing a 'boot built for three' and using crutches), then went back to the car to get some of what we bought. Brought in the first load and just pushed the door shut behind me but it did  not close, just swung so it was about a foot open. Put down purchases, turned around and there it is, a half- grown cat (kitten really) standing there looking at me. Hmmmmmm. Dark gray, solid, well- groomed, not wet and perfectly healthy at first glance. Hmmmm. So I say 'hello' to the little fella' and it walks toward me, singing, and rubs my hand. Hmmmmm. OK, not a feral cat and not old enough to hunt and feed on its own so must be a neighbor's cat. Anyway, get rest of purchases, come back in to find cat wandering around, crying and singing like mad. Wife sees kitten, thinks of name and chats with kitten. Hmmmmmmm. So I get a small saucer, pour some half 'n half  in it and put it on the floor- cat sniffs and has zero interest. Must not be hungry. So for next 1/2 hour or so, kitten walks around, singing like mad, occasionally crying and loving both of us up worse than a cheap French Wh......, er, 'Lady of Ill Repute'. If one of us gets up and talks to the kitten, it runs to us (like a dog). I figure this thing MUST be hungry and grab a piece of sliced American cheese..... kitten sniffs it and rips 1/2 of the slice out of my hands. OK, so I feed kitten the rest in small pieces and it eats the cheese, the end of my fingers, and anything else near the front of her head. OK, very hungry but did not want milk / cream. Kitten walks around for a few minutes, climbs up on a couch, makes itself comfortable and does what kittens do best- falls asleep.

(https://i.imgur.com/pnclaqR.jpg)

Took a flashlight and looked.... well, you know, and my wife named her Lola (just in case it is really a boy, the name will still work, at least according to the Kinks).

So now I think it IS a feral cat and maybe Mamma cat has disappeared and kitten could not fend for herself. Not sure what is going to happen but it is 11:00 PM, Andrea is in bed (with door open so kitten can visit), kitten is fast asleep on couch and I need more wine. No cat food (though more cheese and that seemed to go over in a really BIG way) and no litter box (but kitten is confined to tile floored area) at least until tomorrow. I think when she cries, I will let her out and see how it goes...... if she comes back and is again willing to trade "personal favors" for a slice of cheese, we may go buy a litter box.

BTW: beautiful kitten. All very dark gray, light green eyes, a very slight lighter gray mask (sort of like a lion) and fearless or at least hungry enough to overcome any natural fears.

Did not want pet. If forced to take pet, wanted GSD dog. I do not believe in anything not easily explained by physics but it sure does seem like this Kitten picked US, just like my last two (and only two in my entire life) dogs.

Brian

P.S. Oh yeah, kitten already very well versed in the game called 'chase the lump under the blanket'.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 17, 2017, 04:14:20 AM
GSD dog ?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on November 17, 2017, 05:36:23 AM
GSD dog ?
German Sheperd Dog [sic] dog?

Got home and I helped Gimpy into the house (had foot surgery two weeks ago, currently wearing a 'boot built for three' and using crutches),
This info might have been helpful in the mouse trap stories (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=18000.msg284916#msg284916). ....or is this situation because of the bear mouse traps?

Oh yeah, kitten already very well versed in the game called 'chase the lump under the blanket'.
Years ago my wife could play that game, seems to have forgotten how lately.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 17, 2017, 06:55:12 AM
You need a new kitten....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 17, 2017, 07:39:47 AM
Yep, German Shepherd Dog is the actual name of the breed. It is the ONLY dog breed that has the word 'dog' in its name. So it usually just gets shortened to GSD, and I put dog after that to make it easier for everyone to know what I was talking about.

Interesting (I think) side- fact: when all things German fell out of favor for WWI and WWII, but especially WWI, the GSD was co- named the Alsatian, after that region of what was then France (it has been German as well as French over the centuries, depending on who won what most recently). So in the US in, say, 1918, it would have been considered quite poor to have a German Shepherd Dog, it was OK to have an Alsatian. Go figure.

Brian

GSD dog ?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 17, 2017, 07:55:11 AM
Yep on the dog, nope on the traps and a gigantic Easy Boys! on the 'lump' thing. You <may> be able to again show your wife how to play some game or other but careful, she might end up being a #metoo on FaceTwit. Caveat Emptor, Latin for 'let the squeezer beware' I think.

I shoulda' known with youse guize.

This morning, I invited the kitten to go out by opening the door. She walked to and stood on the threshold, looked around, then came back into the house. Guess I am going to have to be tough and throw her scrawny butt out the door! But first..... breakfast. Gave her 1/2 slice of cheese (good), some half 'n half (not good but later it was gone so either the kitten or Andrea drank it (Easy Boys!)) and then I opened a can of tuna and too about 1/3 of it and put it on a plate. Put the plate on top of my chest and hand- fed her; oh yeah, she LIKES tuna! Funny thing happened though.... the kitten was going a bit nuts over the fish and a small piece dropped down my chest.... she chased it, got it and then grabbed onto my nipple. Twice. Two things: I really do think this is a feral cat, not quite weaned. and 2) my nipple hurts. Note to self: put shirt on before dealing with kitten.

Grabbed the spare ash pan from the wood stove, went outside and threw a couple of shovels of dirt in it, came in, put it on the floor. Put the kitten on top of the dirt and guess what she did?

But it was a LOT funnier when she did the same thing last night in my wife's largest potted plant in the bedroom.  :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian

German Sheperd Dog [sic] dog?
This info might have been helpful in the mouse trap stories (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=18000.msg284916#msg284916). ....or is this situation because of the bear mouse traps?
Years ago my wife could play that game, seems to have forgotten how lately.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 17, 2017, 08:02:10 AM
Do not want a new kitten. Had new kitten weasel her way into my house and does not want to leave. No problem- I will toss her sorry butt out..... in a little while. Right now, she has finished breakfast, made a wet spot in the ash pan and is now shaking in terror contemplating the moment when I will bodily eject her from the house.

(https://i.imgur.com/9sIBToh.jpg)

Brian (evil Brian!)

P.S. In wally- world, the pet supplies are just past personal hygene, right?

 :rotflmao:  and a little  :banghead:

You need a new kitten....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on November 17, 2017, 08:55:33 AM
In my experience a cat is a minimum $5,000 'investment' ... and prob more like $10,000+: Food, litter and regular vet checkups are part of it, but also hmmm-whats-wrong-tests by the vet, medicine and surgeries as they age.

Your investment may be lower if you're lucky enough to have a cat that walks away and/or dies before any obvious health problems, or if you're lucky enough that SWMBO allows you to handle its first serious (aka expensive) medical situation with 'alternative medicine' which eliminates any and all future discomfort for the animal. I am not lucky. And therefore I live with two aging cats who have consumed a large portion of my future retirement funds.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 18, 2017, 06:26:54 AM
In my experience a cat is a minimum $5,000 'investment' ... and prob more like $10,000+: Food, litter and regular vet checkups are part of it, but also hmmm-whats-wrong-tests by the vet, medicine and surgeries as they age.

While that is true, it is usually true for ANY pet, especially if comparing to a dog.  Vet, food, medications, toys, boarding, repair of stuff they break, litter, leashes, wear on stuff, etc.  There are a LOT of irresponsible pet owners out there that have no business having a pet.  They think TCO (total cost ownership) is food.  That is like thinking TCO of a motorcycle is just gas.  Lord help us when such people decide to have children.... there goes MY tax money, again.  So that is how we end up with so much suffering due to un-neutered strays and neglected animals.

Anyway, very cute/nice cat!  And cats "coming to you" doesn't make them a dog, it makes them a cat.  Every cat I have owned comes to me, loves on me, talks to me, and interacts regularly (just not every second, which is FINE).  :)

BTW- not a good idea to feed cats [cow] milk products very frequently.  Grab a bag of "Blue Buffalo" (freaky name)- has no grain, no by-products, is high-nutrition, convenient, not smelly, long shelf/floor life... it is a high quality food that is worth the price- less waste, fewer health problems.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on November 18, 2017, 10:11:29 AM
Pet ownership -- yup, that can be expensive.

Mrs. E and I have 4 dogs and a parrot. By far, the costliest pet has been our purebred golden retriever. She's 9 years old now and some of her health issues (allergies, heart murmur, fatty lumps (benign), dew claw-ectomy, and a dozen things I can't even remember right now) have subsided or gone into remission. But the monthly heartworm meds, rabies shots, kennel cough shots, boarding, grooming, and food runs us about $5K per year for all 4 dogs.  :yikes:

The parrot is far easier on the pocketbook as we prepare her food rather than buy it ready-made. Dog food costs us about $140 a month.

Three of the four dogs are getting on in years. The golden is 2nd oldest at 9; our oldest is an Aussie at ~10; and our canine pack leader, a female lab mix, is 8 now. So the meds and vet visits become more frequent.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2017, 10:19:46 AM
Thanks for the tip on the food- we will take a look. Going to the store shortly for litter, litter box, cat- carrier (not the screw- type  ;D) and cat food. This does not mean we  are keeping her of course, she could go to the pound any minute, but the Vet. appointment on Monday kinda' belies that perhaps.....  :o

I grew up with cats and am quite familiar with the species. And I both like as well as respect them; nature has honed them to be outstanding hunters, and a 9 lb. house cat is more or less identical to any of the larger cats (behavior, hunting, stalking and independent behavior, lions excepted as they live cooperatively in prides). But they are quite different from dogs, and <generally> I prefer dogs for a whole bunch of reasons. That said, as I said, I do appreciate cats for what they are, and this one (Phoebe at the moment  ::) ) is a very nice version of one; not wary or retreating at all, and not timid. I hate reaching out to any pet and having it 'duck' or pull back out of fear. This kitten is very forthright, not aggressive but also not in the least fearful or retiring; reaching out to her and she leans in to get to you also. She is now getting a little more independent but not aloof, and still follows me around like a puppy.

Just as an aside, this is NOT a pet thread (I think we have one of those), this one looks like a Chartreux, going by the photos on the 'Net. Really beautiful cat, neutral gray but with a very symmetrical slightly silver 'mask' from her eyes down to her jawline. Kinda' different.

Brian


<snip>

Anyway, very cute/nice cat!  And cats "coming to you" doesn't make them a dog, it makes them a cat.  Every cat I have owned comes to me, loves on me, talks to me, and interacts regularly (just not every second, which is FINE).  :)

BTW- not a good idea to feed cats [cow] milk products very frequently.  Grab a bag of "Blue Buffalo" (freaky name)- has no grain, no by-products, is high-nutrition, convenient, not smelly, long shelf/floor life... it is a high quality food that is worth the price- less waste, fewer health problems.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 18, 2017, 10:26:18 AM
I like rocks.  Low maintenance.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 18, 2017, 10:40:12 AM
Do you talk to your rock, Jim?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2017, 10:47:04 AM
But do they like you back Jim? Do they? Do they really or are they just saying they do?

Brian

I like rocks.  Low maintenance.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 18, 2017, 01:00:47 PM
Of course they talk.  You know I hear voices all the time.  I'm assuming they are telling me the truth, otherwise I'd be paranoid.  I'm pretty sure I'm not paranoid...I'll ask them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2017, 01:45:50 PM
Hey, paranoia is just good thinkin' when everyone is looking at you.... and I guess the 'everyone' could be 'all the rocks'.

A little more gin should take care of all of that, and more.

Brian

Of course they talk.  You know I hear voices all the time.  I'm assuming they are telling me the truth, otherwise I'd be paranoid.  I'm pretty sure I'm not paranoid...I'll ask them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 18, 2017, 03:33:53 PM
Nah, no gin tonight.  It's beer night.  Konig Ludwig for me and the voices, although I do hate to share.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2017, 06:29:10 PM
Look at the bright side; if "someone" was to vomit, at least there are voices to blame, right?

I think tonight I may have a wee dram of The Dimple Pinch. And if I leave the glass out, in the morning it will smell exactly like maple syrup. Very nice stuff IMO.

Not sure yet what the kitten prefers yet but frankly, after watching some of the places she cleans with her tongue, I would think rancid milk would be fine. Shiver me timbers!

Which reminds me, I have an excellent 'tongue' story for this very thread! I will post it later.... (Easy Boys! in advance, get a hold of yourselves (NOT THAT WAY) and be nice or no tongue story for youse guize).

Brian

Nah, no gin tonight.  It's beer night.  Konig Ludwig for me and the voices, although I do hate to share.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 18, 2017, 08:55:06 PM
My Schnauzer preferred good Scotch and high priced wine.  Couldn't drink around him at all.  He'd drool all over the carpet.  Poor guy.  I miss our conversations.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 18, 2017, 09:37:51 PM
Yeah, I miss my last canine as well.

Also found out I was out of Dimple Pinch! So have to turn to the 'comfort food' of Scotches, Balvenie double - wood. Sampling a wee dram of that instead- terrific stuff.

Brian

My Schnauzer preferred good Scotch and high priced wine.  Couldn't drink around him at all.  He'd drool all over the carpet.  Poor guy.  I miss our conversations.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on November 19, 2017, 09:50:33 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/tQ3gIW5.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/9sIBToh.jpg)

Really beautiful cat, neutral gray but with a very symmetrical slightly silver 'mask' from her eyes down to her jawline. Kinda' different.

Is there any chance that this "kitten" (looks kinda large to me for kitten) is any relation to those others?....like maybe a fourth kitten that
only came out at night? She is a good lookin' cat kitten. Congrats at being adopted as her care taker.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 19, 2017, 12:45:37 PM
I do not know but according to my neighbor, who have been eye- balling that litter and momma cat (in the holz haus), no. There were only four kittens in that litter, according to her, and she has taken one, one died and the other two and mom- cat are living in her shed.

Hearsay has it that I have another neighbor who has either one or two cats and they continue to produce kittens. ?? This kitten I have (Phoebe BTW) may have come from that place. But I just do not know. ??

She is still headed to the pound BTW: we do not want a pet and are not in a good place, regarding the condition of the house, to have a pet at this time. But until that happens, we will of course take care of her and last night went out and bought a kitty- box, litter, food, a harness, a cat- carrier, and cat toys. Just to make her comfortable until.... the pound. And she is going to the vet tomorrow morning for the usual- check up, check- over, initial inoculations, tests and the vet's best guess as to her age. Also to see if she is carrying an I.D. RFID 'chip' (usually called being 'chipped') but I seriously doubt that she is. Anyway, will report back on whatever we find out as well as giving a short harness and cage and car ride report (betcha' that does not go over well). We just want to make sure she is healthy..... before going to the pound, of course.

My last dog found me when he was about 6 or 7 weeks old, on a rainy night in Dec., and the temp. was going down to single digits later. So I grabbed him and took him home because he would not have survived that cold outside (people had been feeding him and we knew he was homeless). And then off to the pound. Well, he is STILL going to the pound but he stayed with us for 15 years and I now have his remains in an urn but that does NOT mean he is NOT going to the pound! So this kitten also only has a little time, well, some time, before she also goes to the pound!

Very nice kitten though: fearless, happy, very friendly, loves my wife and me and acts a lot like a dog. I know Max does not agree but cats are cats and dogs are dogs but there is plenty of room in the species for different behavior. This cat is most certainly a cat but her personality leans toward the dog end of the cat spectrum.

Brian

Is there any chance that this "kitten" (looks kinda large to me for kitten) is any relation to those others?....like maybe a fourth kitten that
only came out at night? She is a good lookin' cat kitten. Congrats at being adopted as her care taker.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 19, 2017, 03:20:57 PM
I know Max does not agree but cats are cats and dogs are dogs but there is plenty of room in the species for different behavior. This cat is most certainly a cat but her personality leans toward the dog end of the cat spectrum.

I am not sure I said that I disagree that cats and dogs are different.... just that it is not uncommon for cats to be very friendly, interactive, follow, and come when called.  Cats just don't hang on their human's every word.... and that, by me, is great!  It makes them, in a way, more like us- social and yet also independent.  I believe most cats NOT that way tend to had not been properly socialized and trained when young.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 19, 2017, 04:03:13 PM
Yeah, I think we are both talking about the same thing here but the words are getting in the way.

As a general rule: dogs are more eger to please their human counterparts. Dogs are pack animals, and so fit nicely in with a family unit or even a single human, as long as that human establishes the various positions w/in the pack (family). Because dogs actually become part of the pack (family), they will take an active role  w/in that pack such as guard duties, alerting the rest of the pack to unusual activities, and as an added benefit, they take on the young of the pack (family) as 'wards' to be protected.

And yes, I agree that cats are more like humans (not a pack animal) than dogs. Yet humans and dogs have a symbiotic interaction and like that goes back 20,000 years. It is not by accident that that link was established, nor have modern times erased or even impacted it in any way. It is the very fact that dogs are pack animals and so meld into what we humans have as 'families' that makes the association work so very well. For whatever reason, I often feel like I have made a connection with a complete stranger of a dog in a matter of seconds and we are on the same plane, interacting. Again, I believe this is because humans and dogs have co- evolved to have a symbiotic association that not only survives into modern times, but actually thrives.

Personally, I prefer larger mammals: people, dogs, cats, whatever. Even w/in the dog breed, I prefer large, self- assured dogs. So cats, being smaller, are not as attractive to me, and being somewhat secretive tend to get into / sleep in/ sometimes hang-out in places inaccessible to humans such as under the couch, behind furniture, desks, etc., etc. A 100 lb. dog is ALWAYS present and accounted for and neither can 'hide' nor do they have the interest in hiding. I prefer that behavior.

Now, all of that said, please understand I absolutely do not [not] like cats, just that overall, with no specific examples, I would prefer a big Lab., Golden Retreiver (who does NOT love a big, shaggy, lovable and nearly perfect Golden?), a GSD, Doberman, etc. to the usual house cat. I think I would LOVE a larger cat, at least 50 and preferably 100 lbs. (think King Cheetah) but that is not overly practical nor easily attainable.

Over the years, I have been around some magnificent cats: a girlfriend of long ago had a pair of Siamese and the female (Toyon) was great: loved people, would climb up onto a shoulder, sing and lick my neck, would insist on attention and push anything / everything out of the way to get it. For whatever reason, she picked me as a 'buddy' and we spent a LOT of time together, due entirely to her choice though I would quickly point out that I thought she too was great, and always looked for her as soon as I arrived at 'her' house. A beautiful animal in every way.

All of that said, I do believe Phoebe is going to be an 'in your face' kind of cat. She has not yet for one moment concealed herself behind anything. She runs up to both of us and 'says hello' and interacts. She is not wary, retiring or timid in the least and yet she is not aggressive either. It is very early and yet, I think she is going to be an unusually human- interactive cat. And a wonderful pet.

So I think what you are taking as my criticisms of cats in general is just me stating my personal preferences, not the fact that I do not like cats. And I rather like this cat, and again while we are still quite new to each other and getting acquainted, I believe this cat will prove to be a wonderful member of the family, bearing in mind of course that she is going to the pound..... soon. Oh yeah, off to the pound. But in the meantime, she is helping my wife knit and I must say, doing a far better job of it than my wife usually does. True, the kitten is not really getting much knitting done but it sure is fun to watch her 'help'.  ;D

And BTW: we are in the process of getting her used to the cat box. She will leave wet spots in the box but nothing else. So far, she has left harder, firmer "presents" in the bathtub, as well as a potted plant..... twice. Too cute for words! But now we have the bathtub closed off  and the plants removed from her access and so still hoping to get her to use the box. And so begins the long interactive learning curve where the kitten tries to train us while we try to train her. My experience is that it is a mixed bag with no clear winner :-).

Brian

I am not sure I said that I disagree that cats and dogs are different.... just that it is not uncommon for cats to be very friendly, interactive, follow, and come when called.  Cats just don't hang on their human's every word.... and that, by me, is great!  It makes them, in a way, more like us- social and yet also independent.  I believe most cats NOT that way tend to had not been properly socialized and trained when young.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 19, 2017, 09:40:04 PM
I like dogs, too.  But for me, dogs are just too subservient.  Their affection is far less earned (like cats) than just given.... So I feel like it doesn't mean as much and is often less rewarding.  Like you, just a personal preference.  But there are times I would love to merge the best qualities of cats and dogs into one animal-  a "cog" or a "dat."  No doubt, genetic engineering will make that possible one day, which scares the s*** out of me.  :)

I have always dreamed of what it would be like to have a "large" cat of some type.  But even tame, that would be very dangerous- by size/weight, felines are the strongest, most successful and powerful and dangerous animal, ever.  But wouldn't it be just too cool?

Domestic dogs have a much larger variety of size and shape than domestic cats.  It seems felis catus domestica (the domestic house cat) is genetically resistant to such breeding attempts.   And cross-breeding with other species of larger cats (bobcats, ocelots, desert cat, lynx, etc) is very difficult and has not been terribly successful (the wild tends to take over or the resulting hybrids are left with too many genetic faults or are not viable).  Still, they are trying...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felid_hybrid

The one that holds the most promise is the Savannah cat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_cat  Amazingly, TICA has recently accepted it as an official breed.  Still a work in progress, it is pretty unstable and not genetically diverse enough.  Trying to analyze the breeding data gives me a headache.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 20, 2017, 04:12:27 AM
Hmmm, you disregard dogs, who give their companionship freely but instead grovel at the feet of CAT who deep in their heart would just as soon kill you. That's messed up.   :-\
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 20, 2017, 05:12:55 AM
I like dogs, too.  But for me, dogs are just too subservient.  Their affection is far less earned (like cats) than just given.... So I feel like it doesn't mean as much and is often less rewarding.  Like you, just a personal preference.  But there are times I would love to merge the best qualities of cats and dogs into one animal-  a "cog" or a "dat."  No doubt, genetic engineering will make that possible one day, which scares the s*** out of me.  :)

I have always dreamed of what it would be like to have a "large" cat of some type.  But even tame, that would be very dangerous- by size/weight, felines are the strongest, most successful and powerful and dangerous animal, ever.  But wouldn't it be just too cool?

Domestic dogs have a much larger variety of size and shape than domestic cats.  It seems felis catus domestica (the domestic house cat) is genetically resistant to such breeding attempts.   And cross-breeding with other species of larger cats (bobcats, ocelots, desert cat, lynx, etc) is very difficult and has not been terribly successful (the wild tends to take over or the resulting hybrids are left with too many genetic faults or are not viable).  Still, they are trying...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felid_hybrid

The one that holds the most promise is the Savannah cat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_cat  Amazingly, TICA has recently accepted it as an official breed.  Still a work in progress, it is pretty unstable and not genetically diverse enough.  Trying to analyze the breeding data gives me a headache.

How many dogs have you had as pets Max?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 20, 2017, 05:49:52 AM
How many dogs have you had as pets Max?

I am more allergic to dogs than cats (which is unusual).  Zero.  But growing up and now, my best friends have dogs (and cats), so I am very familiar with them.   I much prefer large dogs over small ones, and QUIET ones over loud ones.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 20, 2017, 10:30:26 AM
I really do not want to turn this into a 'pet' thread but just to kind of close the topic: Phoebe has been to the Vet., pronounced healthy and well. Got first set of inoculations, flea treatments (oral and on her coat), made the Vet. think she was a terror while I thought she was an angle (seriously- she behaved very well I thought but of course did not care for his various pokings and proddings, topped off by grabbing her head, twisting it back until her jaw dropped, pulling the jaw down with his middle finger and tossing a pill into her open throat- I too would have resisted that one). He estimates she is 5 mos. old, weighs 5.7 lb. Definitely a female (I knew that though- I would not have a male cat as they 'mark', so for a cat to get this far into my house I had to know it was a female) and not pregnant.

Overall, she acted better than I thought she would: she actually half- closed her eyes when the car was moving. Met a dog in the waiting room and she was not pleased with that; now I know she can make all the rest of the cat noises, spitting, growling, that low- pitched howl, and all the fur on her tail triples in size :-)  Not the best news about the dog though 'cause that is a definite possibility at my house.... I guess we will have to burn that bridge when we come to it.

And Phoebe LOVES coffee.  :o :rotflmao:

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 20, 2017, 03:35:27 PM
I really do not want to turn this into a 'pet' thread but

Hey, it is a thread about "nothing" :)

Quote
I would not have a male cat as they 'mark'

That is a common misconception when stated without lots of qualifications....

Both male AND female cats will mark (spray) as a natural part of procreation and territory maintenance (dogs do, too, but it is not as concentrated).  Neutered cats (female and male), especially when neutered young (which is much preferred), generally never spray.  Those few that do (after < 6 months neutering) are typically under severe stress, and/or were not socialized properly.

I have had cats all my life (both male and female, both solo and multiple) and none have EVER sprayed, not even once.  And thank GOD, because it is one of the worst smells, ever (it is essentially concentrated urine).   Un-neutered males will typically spray more frequently than un-neutered females, but the smell is the same.

Quote
all the fur on her tail triples in size :-)  Not the best news about the dog though 'cause that is a definite possibility at my house.... I guess we will have to burn that bridge when we come to it.

It can be a huge challenge to socialize cats and dogs together.  Generally, it is important that the cat is exposed to friendly dogs when very young (< 6 months is advised, < 4 months is much better).  If that does not occur, they might never get along.  Often the problem is same for dogs who have not been socialized to cats when young, but it is more of an issue for cats.  Major problems can also occur with bringing in a new cat to a household with an established cat.   I have had that issue more than once, and deal with it now; fortunately my issues now are fairly minor (the younger cat torments the older by wanting to "play" and the older cat takes it all seriously).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 26, 2017, 11:36:03 AM
“In this field, almost everything is already discovered, and all that remains is to fill a few unimportant holes."
-Philipp von Jolly, advice given to Max Planck to avoid physics, when Planck was his student at the University of Munich, sometime in the 1870's or so.

Perhaps one of the most amazing quotes of all time. Fortunately for the rest of us and the world we live in, Max Planck did both get an education in physics and also moved on to fill in a few of those unimportant holes, including sharing Planck's constant and the the theory of quanta (resulting in quantum physics) with the rest of the world. Several others would soon join in an fill in more unimportant holes but their true contribution was to show us just how many more 'holes' existed. It has been more than 100 years since that statement was made and it is starting to look like we may never discover all the 'holes', never mind fill them in.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 26, 2017, 02:35:53 PM
Are the holes round or flat?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on November 26, 2017, 03:49:07 PM
Are the holes round or flat?

It's all relative, relatively speaking.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 26, 2017, 04:58:13 PM
The question does not apply.

A black hole has no external size yet is infinitely large inside. And it is not a hole, it is a 'singularity', occupying only one point in space. So we have a point that is infinitely large and yet has no size at all. And that is the end of the easy part; it gets more complicated where those two things meet, which we call the 'event horizon'. So 'round' does not apply because we are missing three dimensions and 'flat' does not apply because we are still missing two dimensions.

But I think it is important to point out that the line I quoted from Philipp von Jolly was not just one individual's folly, it was the commonly held belief at the time. It was honestly believed that physics as was known at the time, what we now call conventional or Newtonian physics, was very simple, easily understood and nothing of any importance was not already discovered or explained. But then an odd thing happened that caused the physics community a little concern but they ended up explaining that one away too though it was not quite so neat and tidy as it had been.

Brian

Are the holes round or flat?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 26, 2017, 05:50:06 PM
So not only was this von Jolly fella wrong about physics he had no basic understanding of holes. It's a good thing he had a government job or he probably couldn't have found work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 26, 2017, 06:06:19 PM
Yeah, that is probably right. But remember, the "von" in his name indicates nobility and a royal title....  and he held the professorial position once held by Georg Simon Ohm and had Max Planck as a student. I suspect he was not actually 'on the dole'.

:-)

Brian

So not only was this von Jolly fella wrong about physics he had no basic understanding of holes. It's a good thing he had a government job or he probably couldn't have found work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 26, 2017, 06:16:20 PM
 :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 02, 2017, 12:02:43 AM
This little girl's dad is in the middle of installing a Rostra onto a C-14 when mom asked him to help get her ready for daycare.....

(https://i.imgur.com/742rBiY.png)

The 2018 Harley BadAzz rider.....

(https://i.imgur.com/qCGeyUd.png)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 04, 2017, 07:44:12 AM
 :rotflmao: zip ties... is there anything they can't do?

This little girl's dad is in the middle of installing a Rostra onto a C-14 when mom asked him to help get her ready for daycare.....

(https://i.imgur.com/742rBiY.png)

The 2018 Harley BadAzz rider.....

(https://i.imgur.com/qCGeyUd.png)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on December 06, 2017, 11:29:12 AM
Bought a house about 2 months ago.

An all-electric house (save for the range and 2 fireplaces).  :yikes:

Next stop, getting quotes for a 20kW standby generator. Looks like the Kohler guy gets the nod.

And the price.  :yikes: :yikes:

I try to do the more simplistic electrical work, but this is one I ain't touching. And those guys get paid lots and lots of $$$$$$$$$$$.

Well, I can't take it with me, as the saying goes.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 06, 2017, 12:17:41 PM
Do you need 20kw?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 06, 2017, 12:20:09 PM
We all need more power, Gary.  20Kw is minimal as far as I'm concerned if you want to run most of the house like heating/cooling, fridge, freezer, water heater, well pump, rail gun...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 06, 2017, 02:19:48 PM
 Thanks. I'm not familiar with stationary generators.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on December 06, 2017, 03:34:14 PM
The drawback (if there is one) with stationary generators is you have to size it so it will handle whatever loads you may have on in your absence. All electric means electric heat which may or may not be on at the time. If in the country, there's a well pump possibly. Central air in the summer. Lots of things to think about. With my smaller (and less expensive) portable generator, I can shut the breakers off to all but critical loads (furnace, lights, of course the TV) and run the heavier ones individually as the need arises. Of course I have to drag it out of the garage & plug it in, not so with Jim's setup.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 06, 2017, 04:06:18 PM
Bought a house about 2 months ago.

An all-electric house (save for the range and 2 fireplaces).  :yikes:

Next stop, getting quotes for a 20kW standby generator. Looks like the Kohler guy gets the nod.

And the price.  :yikes: :yikes:

I try to do the more simplistic electrical work, but this is one I ain't touching. And those guys get paid lots and lots of $$$$$$$$$$$.

Well, I can't take it with me, as the saying goes.

I determined that a 10KW generator is probably more reasonable for a medium or small house- assuming you don't have to run EVERYTHING at the same time.  But it will vary with what appliances and such.

In any case, the price of such a generator, on the open market, is about $2000 to $2500 *delivered*.  I know this, because even Costo was selling them for that.  But when I tried to find someone to INSTALL such a device, they either won't install a generator bought on the open market, or they give an INSANE quote like $6,000 (including the generator).  Now that is a quote for my SPECIFIC application, in which I ALREADY have a concrete pad.  I have the gas meter RIGHT NEXT to the spot.  And I have the main electric panel also RIGHT NEXT to that spot.  I am very good with electrical wiring and plumbing and performed a lot of such work in the past, but I would avoid such a job at this point in my life.  I estimate it would take 1 hour to unpack/place/setup the generator and later test it, 1 hour to drill a single hole in the wall to run the wiring and mount and connect the transfer panel and controls, less than 1 hour to rewire the mains in the main panel to the transfer panel, and 1 hour to plumb and test the gas and unit.  That is no more than 4 hours of labor... for $3,500 to $4,000???!!!  $1,000 per hour of labor?

Needless to say, I still have no generator because I refuse to put up with such nonsense.  I would gladly pay $1,000 for the installation.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 06, 2017, 04:31:06 PM
Yes, that is one drawback but there are others: an automatic, stand-by generator needs a dedicated main breaker panel and has to be maintained / serviced if one really expects it to truly 'stand by'.

I too go with a portable 5K generator and find it is the best solution for me. It is just a gasoline, portable generator, about $600 new, and it sits in my garage and is wired into the garage sub- panel. So, when power fails I just open the main breakers on the house, start the generator (by hand- no electric start on it) and fuel it as needed, leaving it running inside a closed, detached garage for as long as power is down. It will run the whole house quite comfortably IF one is sane about it: no A/C unless a small room unit. It will run the boiler, refrigerator, freezer and all small appliances, all lights we want to use, and TV's, cable boxes, computers. It will run ONE burner on the electric stove OR one high wattage heating device at a time: coffee maker, toaster oven, microwave, etc. So we can live comfortably but have to be a little bit aware of what we are doing and be reasonable.

I am not willing to 1) spend the money on a stand- by generator and the associated costs (wiring panel, lockouts, etc.) 2) do the annual maintenance to make sure it works (would rather tinker with the portable generator if / when it needs it or when I need it) 3) spend the money to arrange for sufficient fuel, either diesel or propane (no natural gas available here) and if propane, 4) not willing to try and maintain the large fuel tank on the property filled as the days tick off. It is a very significant investment and commitment installing and maintaining a true stand- by generator and the benefits are just not worth it to me.

Brian

The drawback (if there is one) with stationary generators is you have to size it so it will handle whatever loads you may have on in your absence. All electric means electric heat which may or may not be on at the time. If in the country, there's a well pump possibly. Central air in the summer. Lots of things to think about. With my smaller (and less expensive) portable generator, I can shut the breakers off to all but critical loads (furnace, lights, of course the TV) and run the heavier ones individually as the need arises. Of course I have to drag it out of the garage & plug it in, not so with Jim's setup.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 06, 2017, 05:30:36 PM
I too go with a portable 5K generator and find it is the best solution for me. It is just a gasoline, portable generator, about $600 new, and it sits in my garage and is wired into the garage sub- panel. So, when power fails I just open the main breakers on the house, start the generator (by hand- no electric start on it) and fuel it as needed, leaving it running inside a closed, detached garage for as long as power is down. It will run the whole house quite comfortably IF one is sane about it: no A/C unless a small room unit. It will run the boiler, refrigerator, freezer and all small appliances, all lights we want to use, and TV's, cable boxes, computers. It will run ONE burner on the electric stove OR one high wattage heating device at a time: coffee maker, toaster oven, microwave, etc. So we can live comfortably but have to be a little bit aware of what we are doing and be reasonable.

I do almost the exact same thing, but with a more expensive 7kW John Deere portable gas generator, inside an attached garage, but I plumed the exhaust to the outside( using double-walled pipe and insulated with fiberglass) and with sheet metal on the drywall it sits next to.  I turn of the main and back-feed the house using a large 220 volt cable/outlet.  It will run even the central A/C and frig, lighting (all LED now), and all my electronics (huge TV, DVR, computer, modems, routers, mega stereo, phones; all also on UPS).  But I have to be selective about what else is run.  It will only run 8 hours before needing more gas, only holds 10 gal, is a pain to connect/disconnect, makes a ton of noise and heat, I have to leave the garage door at least partially open, run a huge fan on it, and I never know when the power is back on, so that is a pain.  Also don't trust it running when I am asleep or away.  Overall, it works, but it is very inconvenient.  I would gladly upgrade to an automatic 10K natural gas one if I could get a reasonable price.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on December 06, 2017, 10:57:23 PM
Use an auto transfer switch with only the items wired to it that the generator is capable of running.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 07, 2017, 03:10:32 AM
Yes, and in almost all cases, that involves a major sized sub- panel and a major re- wiring of both the main breaker panel (where all those items you want the generator to power are already located) and of course a complete re- wiring of the sub- panel.

Again, a true stand- by generator is expensive, complex and they can work very well indeed. But I am not willing to pay for it and the price difference is huge; there is a motorcycle in the differences in price of a medium sized portable generator that will <meet> needs and provide true comfort (in my opinion of course) and a full- blown, automatic, back- up generator that will basically mimic the grid's power delivery.

By the way, I lost power this fall for 3 days. The last time I lost power before that was nine years ago for something like five days. Calculate the amount a true stand- by generator, and associated fuel storage and maintenance costs would cost for those 8 days of no grid power over nine years vs. the $600 or $700 for a portable generator costs and I think anyone would be amazed. And the last time I lost power before the time nine years ago was almost twenty years ago; add that in and the annual costs of owning and maintaining a stand- by generator are not only staggering, they become, in my opinion, ridiculous. Now if I was in an area that lost power multiple times per year, such as the far north of New England for instance, the entire situation would be extremely different. In fact I know a gentleman on the Canadian border in VT that lost power for 28 days: it was costing him $55 / day to run multiple generators and he had nine (9!!!) extension cords running into the house to spread generator power around. And he suffers a fair amount of power outages; in his place, a diesel powered stand- by generator with, say, (2) 275 gallon fuel tanks would not be ridiculous or even overkill.

I think of it like this: It would be fantastic to have a JD 790 D, brand new, standing by just in case a strong wind blows over a large tree. That machine would be extremely handy to move the tree, help cut it up, then carry the pieces to wherever they would be out of the way. Much nicer than having to wait on a tree service. But that is a $150,000 machine so that <relatively small> bit of convenience is going to cost dearly. Now if you live on a far, a big backhoe gets weekly and often daily work and it not a luxury but a regular 'tool' for general purpose, useful and needed work.

Brian

Use an auto transfer switch with only the items wired to it that the generator is capable of running.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 07, 2017, 04:00:30 AM
I too have a portable generator, it's an Ohman 5k. It's attached to my very portable motor home.  :)

If needed I can run an extension cord to the house. So far no need.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 07, 2017, 04:42:37 AM
Does that make it a 300 hp portable generator?  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 07, 2017, 05:22:37 AM
Yeah, the infamous 'suicide cord'. Looks like a regular electrical cord with plug ends except..... both ends are male (know in some circles as the 'San Francisco' version- yep, I know, politically incorrect but still struck me as funny. Mods do whatever ya' gotta' do to make this post..... appropriate, and then throw me out of the U.S. Senate too boot  :rotflmao: )

I was using two 115 VAC cords, plugged into my generator (each one picks one leg of 230 VAC power so together they provide 230 Volt power to the house) and then wired them into a pair of breakers. It worked fine of course but took a little time to set up, left the breaker panel open and was just not 'slick'. So I finally ordered a 4 prong (Boys!) rotary locking plug (male) for the generator, and a three prong (male) whip normaly used to power an electric stove or range. My welder is set up for 230 VAC, single phase, 70 amp. so all I now have to do it plug in the suicide cord and back- feed teh breaker panel in the garage, which in turn will back- feed the main breaker panel in the house. All fine and well, as long as one remembers that when one end of that thing is plugged in, the other end is 'live' or hot and will make you sorry if you touch it, drop it on anything conductive, etc. It is kind of like a sword with no handle: it may be  a fine tool but it does have a little bit to it.

Getting way back ONTOPIC, which is nothing of course, the normal practice in the electrical / electronic world is to put the spring loaded part of any electrical connection on the disposable part of the device. Now the good Thomas Edison tried to do this very thing and put the spring loaded connectors into the cord, rather than the wall, so when they wore out, one simply replaced the cord, not part of the house. Great idea, except for the part where he would have had a pair of brass prongs sticking out of the walls all over the house and the cords would be female, not male. Yikes! But then again, he envisioned something like 25 volts DC powering up residences so it is kinda' like two cases of moronity cancelling each other out.  At any rate, smarter people prevailed, on both fronts, and now electricity is safely lurking INSIDE outlets in all instances and you have to stick something in there (Easy Boys!) to 'get it'. And of course we use the correct type of power, AC and at much higher and far more sane voltages than ole' Tom could conceive of.

Trivia: Edison was on such a dedicated mission to prevent AC from being used as electrical power anywhere in the US, he called it the "killing current" and personally made the world's first motion picture (using moving frame film, which he also invented) to film an unruly circus elephant being electrocuted to death as an example of just how bad AC really is. The film still exists and is fairly gruesome, just as one would think; the elephant is standing there, with cables attached to both front feet, there is a large stream of smoke and the magnificent pachyderm just falls over.

Brian

I too have a portable generator, it's an Ohman 5k. It's attached to my very portable motor home.  :)

If needed I can run an extension cord to the house. So far no need.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 16, 2017, 06:17:55 AM
Over the millennia, we have found oh so many ways to kill people, some pretty slick, some not so much. But the goals have been 1) Kill the victim (no wounding) and often 2) do it quickly and efficiently. Sometimes there is a third goal in there though: inflict as much pain and anguish along the way as possible.

Two methods are often misunderstood I think, crucifixion and hanging.

Crucifixion was a favored method of both execution as well as making public 'statements' to the public about required behavior w/in the Empire. But the actual method of death in not very well known; most people seem to think that the victim dies of either exposure (not likely in a warm, [not dry] Mediterranean area or blood loss from the wounds made as attachment points, also not the cause. The actual cause of death, while gruesome, is also interesting: the victim suffocates. It would seem that there is nothing impeding the breathing of the victim, that is exactly what happens: the diagram is not a very strong muscle but more than sufficient to expand and contract the torso of a mammal. But when a human is anchored to a flat member along his / her entire back, normal chest or abdomen expansion cannot happen without the front part of the body causing the lower body to be lifted on each inhale. So instead of merely expanding and contracting the abdomen, the diagram now has to lift a fairly heavy portion of the body on each breath and after some time, can no longer do so. So the oxygen levels in the victim drop, the victim loses consciousness but the breathing continues (it is an involuntary muscle movement) until the diaphragm simply cannot lift the lower body enough or at all and the victim suffocates.

Hanging becomes a little confusing because depending on circumstances, and the hangman's skill (or lack of skill) it can go one of two ways: breaking the victim' neck, well up on the spinal cord resulting in instantaneous unconsciousness and death following shortly (moments), or strangulation, which can and does easily last 5 minutes or more, all the while having the victim active and rather resisting the entire process from the end of the rope.

The correct way to hang someone is to snug the rope around the neck, put the noose connection to the side of the victim's head (never in the back), and drop the victim far enough to snap the spinal column WITHOUT ripping the head from the torso, which is considered VERY bad form! To achieve this, the victim is weighed, his / her physical condition evaluated, and the drop length and victim weight carefully calculated. The victim is also 'weighted' as needed to increase the body's weight, usually by attaching weights to the torso or legs. A successful hanging takes a skilled person to set it up, and for centuries, even through the 1950's, there were prized and very well know and respected hangmen in England, who would travel about to exercise their 'craft' as needed, and were well paid to do so.

Of course sometimes, the goal is NOT a quick, merciful death but a tortuous one. In those cases, the victim is not dropped very far at all, and even occasionally only lifted by the noose until his / her feet are just off the ground, at which point 'the dance' begins. It is believed this very thing happened after the Nuremberg trials in Germany in 1946 because many of those hanged were strangled, with reports claiming it took some of them up to 28 minutes to die.

And as a no- cost extra in this thread about nothing, the past tense of 'hang' varies depending on exactly what was..... hung or hanged. The rule is this: if it is an inanimate object, then it is 'hung'. But for any animate (read: living) thing, the word is 'hanged'. Which of course clearly shows that no one can be 'hung like a horse', including an actual horse, who would actually be 'hanged like a horse'..... though probably not fillies or mares.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on December 18, 2017, 10:58:07 AM
Cheerful subject for this time of year Brian!  ;)

I thought the thing regarding the hangings after Nuremberg was retribution because the Nazi's were infamous for using piano wire with the tip of the toes just touching.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 18, 2017, 11:46:59 AM
Yeah, my 'trivia posting calendar' is a bit off- it also has Santa references scheduled for July. Sorry.  ;)

The execution thoughts are more about the mechanics of it than the deed itself. So I kind of view the whole thing as: well, we know it is an execution and so we know it does not have a happy ending (mostly, some exceptions I think) but looking a little deeper and the mechanics are interesting, at least to me.

As far as the Nuremberg hangings being retribution, I do not think that is really known. What is known is that two American G.I. enlisted men did them and they simply were not hangmen so.... we kinda' had unskilled labor doing a skilled- labor task. Some of the people hanged after the war in Germany were done by British hangmen and it was done correctly; we tend to think of the Nuremberg trials as an individual thing but they were actually a series of trials and punishments that went on for nearly two years (the punishments far longer, with Rudolph Hess serving a life sentence in Spandau prison from 1947 until he died in 1987, and he was the only prisoner there for some years at the end, and the prison was closed after he died). Some of the others were 'The Doctor's Trials', 'The Judges Trials' and so forth.

Brian

Cheerful subject for this time of year Brian!  ;)

I thought the thing regarding the hangings after Nuremberg was retribution because the Nazi's were infamous for using piano wire with the tip of the toes just touching.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on December 18, 2017, 12:44:51 PM
Yeah, my 'trivia posting calendar' is a bit off- it also has Santa references scheduled for July. Sorry.  ;)

The execution thoughts are more about the mechanics of it than the deed (EASY, BOYS) itself. So I kind of view the whole thing as: well, we know it is an execution and so we know it does not have a happy ending (EASY, BOYS) (mostly, some exceptions I think) but looking a little deeper (EASY, BOYS) and the mechanics are interesting, at least to me.

As far as the Nuremberg hangings (EASY, BOYS) being retribution, I do not think that is really known.

What is known is that two American G.I. enlisted men did them and they simply were not hangmen so.... we kinda' had unskilled labor doing a skilled- labor task. Some of the people hanged after the war in Germany were done by British hangmen and it was done correctly; ...

Oh I dunno, as long as those deserving to die did indeed end up dead, I'd call it good.

ps Also note 'easy, boys' edits above. Some are a bit of a stretch. (EASY, BOYS)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 18, 2017, 03:24:58 PM
Yeah, see you over- used the Easy Boys!. That ruins it and removes all the humor.

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

'Nothing exceeds like excess'
-Unknown

Brian

Oh I dunno, as long as those deserving to die did indeed end up dead, I'd call it good.

ps Also note 'easy, boys' edits above. Some are a bit of a stretch. (EASY, BOYS)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 18, 2017, 03:49:44 PM
OK, some of you wusses are not happy with execution stories want a post about nothing at all suitable for the holiday season? Fine, try this one on:

As the story goes: Once upon a time, there was a 'starving' young entertainer named Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz who was about to give up show business because he could not support himself in that field. But he was a very pious, very religious man and before giving up, he prayed to the patron saint of lost causes for the ability to make a living (and only a living, not wealth) in the entertainment field and vowed that if he was successful, he would build a shrine to that patron saint.

Well, it turns out that Mr. Kairouz found work immediately after 'cutting the deal' and actually became more than able to support himself and his family finding great success in the entertainment industry. At about the same time, radio was giving way to TV and that is where Mr. Kairouz found even greater success, eventually making him a wealthy man. But he never forgot his vow, and after gaining success, he embarked with his wife on a journey to both gain funds as well as other, wealthy supporters to found that shrine he had promised. And he named it after the patron saint of lost causes, St. Jude, and it became St. Jude Children's Hospital. He fervently believed “no child should die in the dawn of life.” and spent a great deal of his own money, as well as vast amounts of time and effort to found and then support St. Jude's Children's Hospital, which thrives to this day.

You may know him better by his stage name, Danny Thomas. And yes, his daughter is Marlo Thomas, and has carried on the work her father started, spending a great deal of her time supporting and promoting that institution.

I hope everyone enjoys this heart- warming story 'cause tomorrow I am thinking about a post describing a horse's trip through the knackers! With extra emphasis on where the good strop material comes from.

:-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 18, 2017, 03:56:53 PM
I received several notices from different vendors that today is the LAST day that those in California can order ammunition for direct delivery. After 1 Jan 2018, California will have the US's most stringent laws on the purchase, storage, and accumulation of firearm ammunition in the country. All ammunition must be purchased through a licensed dealer, a background check performed for all purchases of ammunition and quantities limited.

My sympathies. You CA folks got some nice weather, and some truly magnificent real estate, capable of growing so much fruit, produce and some other things but man, that liberal curtain is getting close to the floor and normal life is going to become more and more difficult.

Brian (who used to have a number of pistols that were in cases had a gigantic label 'Not legal for sale in the state of California' but unfortunately, they were lost in a horrible boating accident.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 18, 2017, 04:15:46 PM
I received several notices from different vendors that today is the LAST day that those in California can order ammunition for direct delivery. After 1 Jan 2018, California will have the US's most stringent laws on the purchase, storage, and accumulation of firearm ammunition in the country. All ammunition must be purchased through a licensed dealer, a background check performed for all purchases of ammunition and quantities limited.

Which will GREATLY inconvenience the normal, good people and have almost zero effect on the bad people.  Typical USA "gun control" measures- driven by emotions and not logic/fact/reason.   ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 18, 2017, 04:48:03 PM
Chicago is trying to out Kalifonia kalifornia by inviting the U.N. to help stop the so-called 'gun' violence in one of the most gun controlled  cities in the country.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27597-chicago-politician-requests-child-raping-un-troops-in-america (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27597-chicago-politician-requests-child-raping-un-troops-in-america)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 18, 2017, 05:20:48 PM
Unbelievable
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on December 18, 2017, 05:20:58 PM
Yeah, see you over- used the Easy Boys!. That ruins it and removes all the humor.

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

'Nothing exceeds like excess'
-Unknown

Brian

Well, I'm not funny until I'm drunk, and even then it might very well be only me who thinks so. I was totally sober when I liberally dispersed those EASY, BOYS.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 18, 2017, 06:07:15 PM
+1
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 19, 2017, 04:16:23 AM
Chicago is trying to out Kalifonia kalifornia by inviting the U.N. to help stop the so-called 'gun' violence in one of the most gun controlled  cities in the country.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27597-chicago-politician-requests-child-raping-un-troops-in-america (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27597-chicago-politician-requests-child-raping-un-troops-in-america)

Holy ****! Boykin is a moron!    >:(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 19, 2017, 04:22:15 AM
I figure he wants to run for mayor.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 05:15:53 AM
Yep, the usual two effects of 'gun control'. It only hampers law- abiding people while criminals simply do not care what the rules are, how many there are, or how severe the punishment.

Right now, we have a bill working its way through Congress for all- states to recognize all other states' carry permits. Some believe this will greatly increase gun crime. But if anyone, no matter his / her political leanings, stops and thinks about this for a few minutes, how can that possibly be the case? Is a gang- banger from the south side of Chicago really going to go to, say, Virginia, get a carry permit, and then use it in Chicago (Illinois)? Really? Of course not- that gang member will carry a firearm no matter what the penalties and under no circumstances is going to actually LEGALLY APPLY anywhere at all for a CARRY PERMIT!

In fact, isolating groups, CCP holders are some of the least likely people to even become involved in any type of firearm incident, never mind actual commit a crime.

So this ammunition law in CA will have the usual effects; no impact on criminals but a royal PITA for honest, legal firearms users. Other than of course making criminals out of those who refuse to bend to such nonsense and cross the state line to buy a case of ammunition at the correct (read: not ridiculously inflated by restrictions) price and then drive it home.

Brian

Which will GREATLY inconvenience the normal, good people and have almost zero effect on the bad people.  Typical USA "gun control" measures- driven by emotions and not logic/fact/reason.   ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 19, 2017, 05:41:14 AM
I'm thinking that 99.9% of individuals concerned enough to get permits are not the ones we need to worry about.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 09:49:12 AM
Yep. The simple fact is that criminals, even those not yet criminals but thinking in that direction, do NOT want to walk into any LEO office, get fingerprinted, photographed ('mug shot') and background- checked, because all that will come back and bite them on the butt if and when they are accused of committing a crime.

But this is not really a matter where we have to form opinions; statistics speak for themselves. As a group, those who have applied and been cleared to carry a concealed firearm are at the very lowest statistical levels of any group committing criminal activity OR having any negative incidents involving a firearm.

Brian

I'm thinking that 99.9% of individuals concerned enough to get permits are not the ones we need to worry about.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 09:58:28 AM
All members of the 'cat' (genus 'Felis') are almost amazingly similar; the 10 lb. domestic cat walking around in a huge number of homes shares a lot of characteristics and behaviors with the entire cat family, even up to and including the largest African and Asian cats (Siberian Tiger being the biggest member of the cat family).

There is one distinction that separates them into one of two groups though, purring or 'singing' and roaring. All members of the cat family can do one or the other, while NO member of the cat family can do both. And the dividing point is generally based on the size of the cat; those below around 200 lbs. can all sing, while those above that weight can roar.

So the next time running across the path of a cat, consider its size before scratching it affectionately in an effort to hear it sing: a domestic can, a Ocelot and a King Cheetah, absolutely, stroke away (Easy Boys!) and you may just get a song in return. A lion or tiger, forget it- they cannot do that so the whole thing is pointless.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 02:56:42 PM
Yep. The simple fact is that criminals, even those not yet criminals but thinking in that direction, do NOT want to walk into any LEO office, get fingerprinted, photographed ('mug shot') and background- checked

FYI:  In Virginia (I assume it is the same across the whole state), you do not need to go to an LEO office, you are certainly not fingerprinted (which would be VERY unacceptable), nor are you photographed (they already have that anyway with drivers license/ID).   You have to fill out a notarized form, enclose payment, and mail to the court clerk.  They perform the necessary background check and mail back the license.  Why it is only good for 5 years, I have no idea.  If you commit a felony the next day, it is automatically revoked, so what is the point of "renewals"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on December 19, 2017, 03:13:47 PM
Observation about pretty much nothing at all: One member on here, I won't state who but OK it's BDF, seems to be the only member who places his response above the quote he's responding to. This is backwards flow to me, and probably everybody else who posts their response below the quoted part. i.e. I have to scroll to the bottom to see what you're responding to. And since these replies are often quite lengthy, well, my scroll wheel finger gets tired. I suppose I could switch off and scroll with my bird finger for a while.

:P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 03:15:30 PM
There is one distinction that separates them into one of two groups though, purring or 'singing' and roaring. All members of the cat family can do one or the other, while NO member of the cat family can do both. And the dividing point is generally based on the size of the cat; those below around 200 lbs. can all sing, while those above that weight can roar.

Yep, and that separation is called the "lesser cats" vs "greater cats", the greater ones being that of the Panthera genus (4 species) and all others are the lesser (of which there are many).

There is only one species of domestic cat, felis silvestris catus.  Cats are far more genetically resistant to changes in body shape and size than dogs and many other animals.  Breeders have tried to change that by creating hybrids with other non-domestic species, but it has been difficult.  The most successful so far is the Savanna Cat (a cross with a serval).  TICA now recognizes it as an actual breed, although CFA does not [yet].

Many consider the cheetah to be the most outlier of the cats, because they are the only ones that have non-retractable claws and run considerably faster than all others (it is the fastest land animal on earth).

Another interesting variation is that smaller cats are ambush hunters and have vertical slit pupils.  Larger cats are typically chase or group hunters and have round pupils.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 03:30:10 PM
Observation about pretty much nothing at all: One member on here, I won't state who but OK it's BDF, seems to be the only member who places his response above the quote he's responding to. This is backwards flow to me, and probably everybody else who posts their response below the quoted part. i.e. I have to scroll to the bottom to see what you're responding to.

This originated in Email.  The "proper" way to respond to Email was always what is often called "trim and inline/bottom reply", and you will see me do that often... it is a conversational, top-down approach that also can split the original response into sections and reply point-by-point.  Microsoft violated that long standing convention in Outlook many years ago by placing the cursor in replies ABOVE the message, encouraging "top reply".  Not only can it be awkward, but it is also impossible to inline reply-to once corrupted into that format.  But it has the advantages of being "easy", includes all the responses in whole, and the reader doesn't have to scroll to the bottom to see what was written (although that is not the case with in-line replies, which can be throughout the whole text).  Despite the disadvantages, it has now, unfortunately, become "standard" practice.  It is not as common with message boards, though.

Why Brian chooses to post that way, I don't know... probably just a personal preference or habit from Email.  On forums, which don't usually contain compound replies, it probably doesn't matter all that much.  He is not completely alone, I have seen some other members use it, but it is rare.

Generally, most people were never trained much on Email and just post where the cursor is placed.  This is why Microsoft almost single-handedly changed most replies by just putting the cursor at the top, instead of the bottom.  I guarantee if the forum did the same thing, most replies would be at the top (although mine certainly woudn't be).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style)
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-reply-email/ (https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-reply-email/)

Quote
And since these replies are often quite lengthy, well, my scroll wheel finger gets tired. I suppose I could switch off and scroll with my bird finger for a while.

And now you can see how an inline/bottom reply works, because I can talk about just this part of your response, which is about scrolling :)  If the thread then develops into just about scrolling, the reply to THIS message should trim out the previous points, just leaving the relevant parts.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 03:35:26 PM
and since these replies are often quite lengthy, well, my scroll wheel finger gets tired. I suppose I could switch off and scroll with my bird finger for a while.
And now you can see how an inline/bottom reply works, because I can talk about just this part of your response, which is about scrolling :)  If the thread then develops into just about scrolling, the reply to THIS message should trim out the previous points, just leaving the relevant parts.

And this is what a nested, trimmed, inline reply would then look like.  The forum supports it, but it is a little complex AND it requires pasting manually from previous messages because this forum software (like most I have used) will automatically purge out previous quotations.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on December 19, 2017, 04:06:30 PM
and since these replies are often quite lengthy, well, my scroll wheel finger gets tired. I suppose I could switch off and scroll with my bird finger for a while.
And now you can see how an inline/bottom reply works, because I can talk about just this part of your response, which is about scrolling :)  If the thread then develops into just about scrolling, the reply to THIS message should trim out the previous points, just leaving the relevant parts.
And this is what a nested, trimmed, inline reply would then look like.  The forum supports it, but it is a little complex AND it requires pasting manually from previous messages because this forum software (like most I have used) will automatically purge out previous quotations.

10-4
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 19, 2017, 04:07:41 PM
And now you can see how an inline/bottom reply works, because I can talk about just this part of your response, which is about scrolling :)  If the thread then develops into just about scrolling, the reply to THIS message should trim out the previous points, just leaving the relevant parts.


And this is what a nested, trimmed, inline reply would then look like.  The forum supports it, but it is a little complex AND it requires pasting manually from previous messages because this forum software (like most I have used) will automatically purge out previous quotations.


You have officially made my brane hurt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 04:36:56 PM
You have officially made my brane hurt.

My life's work is now complete
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 04:56:33 PM
Well, I never thought about those different facets of the 'quote & post' system but as you lay it out, it does make sense.

The reason I post above is because when I read a thread, I almost never have to read the quoted post because I have already read it. I want to read the current post, which is the response, and so that is how I post in return (because that is how I prefer to read posts in forum threads). Plus my goal in quoting a previous post is only to clarify what I am responding to, not maintain a running mini- thread w/in a thread, that is what forum software is for in the first pace (again, in my opinion, not saying it is the best or even correct way). So, all  of you folks putting your posts below other posts that I have already read makes me have to scroll down to get to the 'actual' message in the current post.  ;) ;D

What I find hurts the content of many posts is that there is no quote at all, someone just posts. Which is fine of course but often makes it hard to follow, especially when someone says something such as 'I do not agree with that at all and do it the other way'. ?? If there are five posts above that, all outlining different ways to do something, and the poster does not quote anything at all, which way is he / she disagreeing with in the first place?

And to save time and bandwidth, I do try to <snip> lots out of previous posts to ease the loads on all of your pointer fingers, respectively.  :P

So, to sum up: Brian is on top, all the rest of you are underneath. And dat's da' way I likes it. Easy Boys!

Brian


<snip>

Why Brian chooses to post that way, I don't know... probably just a personal preference or habit from Email.  On forums, which don't usually contain compound replies, it probably doesn't matter all that much.  He is not completely alone, I have seen some other members use it, but it is rare.

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 05:03:52 PM
Yes, the requirements, as well as the likelihood of issuance, vary greatly by state. In my state, which is a <may issue> state (meaning they will not issue in almost all cases), fingerprints, background check, ID photos (exclusive to the CCW permit) are required, as are three references, notarized and from persons of 'known good character'. Further, there is a qualifying test required and once passed, the person possessing the permit may only carry calibers up to and including the caliber (actually bore size) that person qualified with. So qualify with a .44 magnum and you ARE NOT permitted to carry a .45 ACP because it is a 'larger' caliber. Everyone I know therefore qualifies with a .45, usually a 1911, even if that person has to borrow one to do so.
Brian

FYI:  In Virginia (I assume it is the same across the whole state), you do not need to go to an LEO office, you are certainly not fingerprinted (which would be VERY unacceptable), nor are you photographed (they already have that anyway with drivers license/ID).   You have to fill out a notarized form, enclose payment, and mail to the court clerk.  They perform the necessary background check and mail back the license.  Why it is only good for 5 years, I have no idea.  If you commit a felony the next day, it is automatically revoked, so what is the point of "renewals"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 05:32:14 PM
That is interesting- I did not know it was only four that roared.

And yep, the cheetah is quite different, as you mention, non- retractable claws but also air- filled bones (like birds rather than mammals) and extremely long tails that they use for 'rudders' to change direction quickly. Also supposed to be one of, or the outright best, of the large cats to have as a pet; the other supposedly 'good' pet big cat being a panther or jaguar (same family).

Also very interesting about the eyes, I did not know that either. But the part about ambush hunters, is that more of a rule of thumb than a rule? The reason I ask is because the only cooperative huning cats that I am aware of are lionesses. Tigers are solitary animals at all times other than mating (there is a joke in there but good taste prevents me from posting it) and I believe they too are ambush hunters, yet tigers are bigger than lions.

A very rare but I find interesting variant of 'cats' is the crossing of a tiger and lion, creating a hybrid that is either a Tigon or Liger, depending on which was mom and which was dad. Genetically mutants, they are a fascinating animal and the Liger (but not the Tigon) grows larger than either parent species, on average, making it the largest member of the cat family. Kind of an odd looking animal, sort of a faded tiger print over lion coloring but then again, they probably do not have many people pointing and laughing at them what with the teeth, claws and 500, 600+ pounds of driving muscle behind them.

I happened to catch a TV show about the American cougar and something that surprised me about them was that they have the greatest bite strength of all cats, per their weight, and the typical cougar method of killing is to crush the prey's skulls outright, while other large cats pinch off the windpipe from the throat and suffocate their prey.

I am just now getting re- acquainted with cats, living with my little gray lioness. :-) As always, they are most impressive (all members of this family) with their speed, precision and agility, especially so after 40 years of having only dogs. As an aside, this kitten is the first domestic cat I have ever 'met', and I have known a lot of cats, who will bat while playing without extending her claws. If you did not know better, you would think she was de-clawed because there is not even a hint of any claw when she plays. They most certainly show up when she climbs her cat- scratching post and hanging belt though.  :yikes:  The original plan was to have her de- clawed but our vet. gave us some really useful advice on how to stop misbehavior that seems to be working very well so far; I would rather not de- claw her because it really is a form of maiming, about the equivalent of taking a humans' fingers off at the first joint.

Cheetahs: excellent communicators! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8atqdyfaQY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8atqdyfaQY)  I know exactly what he was saying.  :rotflmao:

Brian

Yep, and that separation is called the "lesser cats" vs "greater cats", the greater ones being that of the Panthera genus (4 species) and all others are the lesser (of which there are many).

There is only one species of domestic cat, felis silvestris catus.  Cats are far more genetically resistant to changes in body shape and size than dogs and many other animals.  Breeders have tried to change that by creating hybrids with other non-domestic species, but it has been difficult.  The most successful so far is the Savanna Cat (a cross with a serval).  TICA now recognizes it as an actual breed, although CFA does not [yet].

Many consider the cheetah to be the most outlier of the cats, because they are the only ones that have non-retractable claws and run considerably faster than all others (it is the fastest land animal on earth).

Another interesting variation is that smaller cats are ambush hunters and have vertical slit pupils.  Larger cats are typically chase or group hunters and have round pupils.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 19, 2017, 05:42:57 PM
And I never, ever noticed this difference before you mentioned it. Just took a look around the forum and you are right, most people top quote, bottom post. I also looked at a different (non motorcycle) forum and there too, most people seem to top quote, bottom post.

Maybe it is unusual enough to get some letters out of this? I mean after the ones in use..... LGBTQIAPK Maybe we should add TPBQ to that list, indicating Top Poster, Bottom Quoter. I do not have any other letters in that list that apply although the list seems to be getting longer all the time. And I have often felt like a lesbian trapped in the body of a man.

Hey, where'd ya' go? Oh, there you are, down there.

 ;D

Brian

Observation about pretty much nothing at all: One member on here, I won't state who but OK it's BDF, seems to be the only member who places his response above the quote he's responding to. This is backwards flow to me, and probably everybody else who posts their response below the quoted part. i.e. I have to scroll to the bottom to see what you're responding to. And since these replies are often quite lengthy, well, my scroll wheel finger gets tired. I suppose I could switch off and scroll with my bird finger for a while.

:P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 05:52:57 PM
A The original plan was to have her de- clawed but our vet. gave us some really useful advice on how to stop misbehavior that seems to be working very well so far; I would rather not de- claw her because it really is a form of maiming, about the equivalent of taking a humans' fingers off at the first joint.

Yes, I consider it inhumane and it is actually illegal in many western countries and even some states and localities.  It is, indeed, maiming, and it permanently ruins the cat's most effective defense and climbing tools and can lead to lots of complications.  It is almost completely unnecessary if the cat is trained correctly AND given proper scratching posts (which should be made of wood, sisal rope, packed cardboard, or carpet BACKING (never carpet).  The best, by far, is wrapped sisal rope.  If the cat was not correctly trained when young, or ends up somehow a-typical, the claw tips can just be cut every month or so.  It is best to get the acclimated to messing with their claws/paws when young, in case that becomes necessary.  One can also use glued-on caps, but I think that is a bit silly.

http://www.declawing.com/ (http://www.declawing.com/)
http://www.declawing.com/countries-that-outlaw-declawing (http://www.declawing.com/countries-that-outlaw-declawing)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 19, 2017, 05:56:43 PM
FYI:  In Virginia [...]You have to fill out a notarized form, enclose payment, and mail to the court clerk.  They perform the necessary background check and mail back the license.
Yes, the requirements, as well as the likelihood of issuance, vary greatly by state. In my state, which is a <may issue> state (meaning they will not issue in almost all cases), fingerprints, background check, ID photos (exclusive to the CCW permit) are required, as are three references, notarized and from persons of 'known good character'. Further, there is a qualifying test

Oops, I did neglect to mention in VA you also need to supply proof of having passed an approved firearm safety course.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 20, 2017, 04:46:52 AM
Yeah, that is my thinking too- I would rather not do it unless absolutely necessary, and as I said,  the vet. gave me some excellent advice on providing alternate scratching places (I have provided two, but she REALLY likes the entrance way carpet ??) and the vet. did trim her claws on the last visit last week.

Even further OFFTOPIC: (if this thread can even go offtopic), we have been amazingly successful in trainer her to be an inside cat. Per the vets' recommendation, we picked up a couple of air horns and gave the shortest blast possible when going to the door to leave, or as soon as the door was cracked upon returning to the house. It only took about 3 days to 100% train her: she is not afraid or wary of the doors in the least but she IS wary of the doors when we approach them. In the olden' days, I have used whisk brooms and water bottles to try and train cats to be inside cats with terrible success but the air- horn thing really works fantastic. Now, as we approach the door, she immediately retreats to a 'safe' distance (usually under the coffee table in the living room) and watches us leave. Not scared but very certain she does not want to be near the door while we enter / exit.

My wife likes it so much she tried it on me but I am un-trainable and just gave her longer blasts from my own air horn.

Brian

Yes, I consider it inhumane and it is actually illegal in many western countries and even some states and localities.  It is, indeed, maiming, and it permanently ruins the cat's most effective defense and climbing tools and can lead to lots of complications.  It is almost completely unnecessary if the cat is trained correctly AND given proper scratching posts (which should be made of wood, sisal rope, packed cardboard, or carpet BACKING (never carpet).  The best, by far, is wrapped sisal rope.  If the cat was not correctly trained when young, or ends up somehow a-typical, the claw tips can just be cut every month or so.  It is best to get the acclimated to messing with their claws/paws when young, in case that becomes necessary.  One can also use glued-on caps, but I think that is a bit silly.

http://www.declawing.com/ (http://www.declawing.com/)
http://www.declawing.com/countries-that-outlaw-declawing (http://www.declawing.com/countries-that-outlaw-declawing)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 20, 2017, 04:48:31 AM
Absolutely no safety course required here, only a very weak proficiency test of actual shooting.

But we DO have to pass a safety test one time to be able to purchase handguns. And that is a written test.

Brian

Yes, the requirements, as well as the likelihood of issuance, vary greatly by state. In my state, which is a <may issue> state (meaning they will not issue in almost all cases), fingerprints, background check, ID photos (exclusive to the CCW permit) are required, as are three references, notarized and from persons of 'known good character'. Further, there is a qualifying test

Oops, I did neglect to mention in VA you also need to supply proof of having passed an approved firearm safety course.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 20, 2017, 07:14:49 PM
I've exhausted my Scotch supply.  I'm not happy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 20, 2017, 07:27:47 PM
Damn...drank all the scotch and still not happy... :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 21, 2017, 05:16:12 AM
Yeah, I was down to a half- bottle of Doublewood and went out to get a bottle of no- name, cheap Scotch in a genuine plastic bottle (for swilling purposes) and a bottle of Dimple Pinch. Damn store stopped carrying the Pinch so I ended up with another bottle of Doublewood (for drinking and tasting purposes). Going to have to hit another store to see if I can find a wee bit 'o the Pinch.

Me too, not happy. :-(

Brian

I've exhausted my Scotch supply.  I'm not happy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 21, 2017, 10:35:46 AM
Decided against the Scotch as I know I'm getting some for Christmas.  Got Jack Daniels #7 instead.  Indian had a special bike made in conjunction with JD#7.


http://youtu.be/a4_IZNR6xqU (http://youtu.be/a4_IZNR6xqU)


All of these were sold as fast as they were manufactured.  Only 100 were built.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 21, 2017, 03:45:13 PM
The group who sounded more like the Beatles than the Beatles..... Badfinger.

The first outside group signed to Apple records, way back in 1968, was Badfinger. A talented group of both songwriters and musicians, they nevertheless failed to gain sufficient 'fame and fortune' to continue for very long in the music business but to this day, the songs they wrote and performed continue to be almost cutting edge.

While formed in 1961, their first hit was not until 1970, when they performed the song 'Come and get it', written by Paul McCartney. Their first hit written and performed by group members, specifically Pete Ham, was 'No matter what', also released in 1970.

They would go on to write and perform two more hits, 'Day after Day' and 'Baby Blue', reaching into 1972. In fact, Day after Day was produced by George Harrison, who also played the slide guitar so prevalent in this song.

Pete Ham committed suicide in 1975, after believing he failed to gain any success in the music industry and further believing that a man named Stan Polley had duped them out of their share of proceeds (this part does seem accurate enough). The band would struggle on with original member Tom Evans trying to hold it together until he too committed suicide in 1983.

Nevertheless, as a group they had talent and this was recognized both during and after the principle members participation. One song they recorded, Without You, was heard by Harry Nilsson and at first he believed to be a Beatles song, but upon realizing it was done by Badfinger, he covered the song and it remains one of Nilsson's biggest hits.

Finally, the group got a huge (and justly deserved IMO) revival in 2013 when their hit 'Baby Blue' was used so very successfully in the final episode of 'Breaking Bad'. Odd how a 2010's TV series came along to revive a great song from 40- odd years before.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on December 22, 2017, 08:20:53 AM
The group who sounded more like the Beatles than the Beatles..... Badfinger.

The first outside group signed to Apple records, way back in 1968, was Badfinger. A talented group of both songwriters and musicians, they nevertheless failed to gain sufficient 'fame and fortune' to continue for very long in the music business but to this day, the songs they wrote and performed continue to be almost cutting edge.

While formed in 1961, their first hit was not until 1970, when they performed the song 'Come and get it', written by Paul McCartney. Their first hit written and performed by group members, specifically Pete Ham, was 'No matter what', also released in 1970.

They would go on to write and perform two more hits, 'Day after Day' and 'Baby Blue', reaching into 1972. In fact, Day after Day was produced by George Harrison, who also played the slide guitar so prevalent in this song.

Pete Ham committed suicide in 1975, after believing he failed to gain any success in the music industry and further believing that a man named Stan Polley had duped them out of their share of proceeds (this part does seem accurate enough). The band would struggle on with original member Tom Evans trying to hold it together until he too committed suicide in 1983.

Nevertheless, as a group they had talent and this was recognized both during and after the principle members participation. One song they recorded, Without You, was heard by Harry Nilsson and at first he believed to be a Beatles song, but upon realizing it was done by Badfinger, he covered the song and it remains one of Nilsson's biggest hits.

Finally, the group got a huge (and justly deserved IMO) revival in 2013 when their hit 'Baby Blue' was used so very successfully in the final episode of 'Breaking Bad'. Odd how a 2010's TV series came along to revive a great song from 40- odd years before.

Brian

Good stuff, I see why they chose it, as the first line is "I guess I got what I deserved"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 22, 2017, 11:04:51 AM
Yeah, I thought it was a perfect fit to a perfect ending to that series.

Another song that could not have been more perfect for that series, used in the season before the last one, was Crystal Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and the Shondells. The music used in seasons 5 and 6 (I know there are supposedly only 5 seasons, but they made me wait an entire year before showing the last half of the episodes from "Season 5" so I think there was a sixth season) matched and worked with the series perfectly IMO. The only other presentation I know of that made such excellent use of the soundtrack synchronized to the video was Scorsese's Good Fellas.

Brian

Good stuff, I see why they chose it, as the first line is "I guess I got what I deserved"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on December 22, 2017, 11:31:14 AM
Do you need 20kw?

Yes. It's an all-electric house, save the gas range and oven and two fake fireplaces.

Not my idea of heaven, necessarily, because I'm a big proponent of gas heat. Much more efficient and less expensive. But if when the SHTF, we're ready.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on December 22, 2017, 11:41:46 AM
Yes, that is one drawback but there are others: an automatic, stand-by generator needs a dedicated main breaker panel and has to be maintained / serviced if one really expects it to truly 'stand by'.

I too go with a portable 5K generator and find it is the best solution for me. It is just a gasoline, portable generator, about $600 new, and it sits in my garage and is wired into the garage sub- panel. So, when power fails I just open the main breakers on the house, start the generator (by hand- no electric start on it) and fuel it as needed, leaving it running inside a closed, detached garage for as long as power is down. It will run the whole house quite comfortably IF one is sane about it: no A/C unless a small room unit. It will run the boiler, refrigerator, freezer and all small appliances, all lights we want to use, and TV's, cable boxes, computers. It will run ONE burner on the electric stove OR one high wattage heating device at a time: coffee maker, toaster oven, microwave, etc. So we can live comfortably but have to be a little bit aware of what we are doing and be reasonable.

I am not willing to 1) spend the money on a stand- by generator and the associated costs (wiring panel, lockouts, etc.) 2) do the annual maintenance to make sure it works (would rather tinker with the portable generator if / when it needs it or when I need it) 3) spend the money to arrange for sufficient fuel, either diesel or propane (no natural gas available here) and if propane, 4) not willing to try and maintain the large fuel tank on the property filled as the days tick off. It is a very significant investment and commitment installing and maintaining a true stand- by generator and the benefits are just not worth it to me.

Brian

To each his own. When Mrs. E and I lived in Salt Lake City, some cretin ran his car into an electric sub-station up in the Pacific NW somewhere, and the resulting fallout put us without power for 9 days.

Never again.

Regarding maintenance, the only maintenance I've had to do with a Kohler 17kW I had in a previous house was an oil change once a year, spark plugs every 3 years, air filter, and a battery over an 8 year period. That's not much more than I'd do with a lawn mower.

The Generac generators do not have self-adjusting valves, so there's that particular hassle. Of course, since we Connie owners love to adjust the valves in our bikes, we have no problem with adjusting valves, right?

The other part to this scenario that I like is the service I get. When/if a problem happens, the Kohler guy is right there. Kohler, as a company, had to acknowledge the business that Generac was taking, so they came down in price significantly AND they upped their customer service to boot.

Money well spent, AFAIC. YMMV.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 23, 2017, 06:33:21 AM
I just received notice of my annual 3% cost of living increase to my retirement pension.

Yep, that's right, a 3% raise for doing nothing (and I'm damn good at it too).   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 23, 2017, 06:50:55 AM
You're welcome.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 23, 2017, 11:45:57 AM
You're welcome.

Yeah, really.  What is a "pension"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 23, 2017, 12:00:31 PM
I've got one from IBM but not going to hit it for a few years more.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 23, 2017, 12:02:19 PM
It is the money you will be paying to Al Franken for the rest of his life....

Brian

Yeah, really.  What is a "pension"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on December 23, 2017, 03:03:28 PM
You're welcome.

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 24, 2017, 07:39:58 AM
Yeah, really.  What is a "pension"?

That's the money the state of Illinois pays me (for the rest of my life) each month for doing nothing (they also pay my health insurance for life). I don't get Social Security because I haven't paid into that system while I worked for the state. I did pay into SS before working for the state and I'm fully vested. So at some point I will be able to draw some benefits from SS but it won't be much. 


Thanks G!   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on December 24, 2017, 08:37:04 AM
That's the money the state of Illinois pays me (for the rest of my life) each month for doing nothing (they also pay my health insurance for life). I don't get Social Security because I haven't paid into that system while I worked for the state. I did pay into SS before working for the state and I'm fully vested. So at some point I will be able to draw some benefits from SS but it won't be much. 


Thanks G!   :)

How does one not pay into Social Security (while also staying out of jail), which is a federal program, no? (I'm assuming one is not an illegal immigrant. If so, I believe it's the case that none of our laws actually apply to you, but all of our benefits do = Sweet deal.)

I wanna do that, too. I trust my investment decisions much more than the government's.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 24, 2017, 08:48:36 AM
It's a government union thing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 24, 2017, 08:49:50 AM
That's the money the state of Illinois pays me (for the rest of my life) each month for doing nothing (they also pay my health insurance for life).

Yeah, I think I read about pensions in a history book a long time ago...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 24, 2017, 08:51:46 AM
Honestly, I am amazed at that- I was not aware anyone was exempt from SS while earning wages. ??

Brian

That's the money the state of Illinois pays me (for the rest of my life) each month for doing nothing (they also pay my health insurance for life). I don't get Social Security because I haven't paid into that system while I worked for the state. I did pay into SS before working for the state and I'm fully vested. So at some point I will be able to draw some benefits from SS but it won't be much. 


Thanks G!   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 24, 2017, 09:16:32 AM
That's the money the state of Illinois pays me (for the rest of my life) each month for doing nothing (they also pay my health insurance for life). I don't get Social Security because I haven't paid into that system while I worked for the state. I did pay into SS before working for the state and I'm fully vested. So at some point I will be able to draw some benefits from SS but it won't be much. 

How does one not pay into Social Security (while also staying out of jail), which is a federal program, no? (I'm assuming one is not an illegal immigrant. If so, I believe it's the case that none of our laws actually apply to you, but all of our benefits do = Sweet deal.)

I wanna do that, too. I trust my investment decisions much more than the government's.

Honestly, I am amazed at that- I was not aware anyone was exempt from SS while earning wages. ??

Brian

Rest assured I am not an illegal immigrant. I worked as a civil servant of the state for 30 years and as such didn't pay into Social Security. What I paid into instead is called SURS (state university retirement system. I paid in 8% towards my pension while the university matched that amount). And yes, it's a very sweet deal. I retired at 55 after 30 years in the system and that meant that I maxed out my benefits. They pay me 80% (for life) of what my highest salary was while I was employed and I also don't have to pay state taxes and my health insurance is also covered for life. When you boil all of that down, I'm actually bringing home just a lil more dough retired than when I was working.   :)   

And if I was so inclined, I can get another job (as long as this job is outside of the SURS system) and it won't affect my pension amount at all. Plus I'm guarantied a 3% annual cost of living increase.

The amount that I paid in, and that the university matched, doesn't really matter. If I live long enough I can easily get paid more through my pension than what was paid in. 

VERY sweet indeed!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 24, 2017, 10:22:34 AM
Yes sweet indeed. Conrad, this is not personal as I realize you and thousands of others in the state just worked under the system as it exists but the result of this system is an insurmountable debt. Depending on who's counting, Illinois' unfunded pension liability is any where from 150 billion to 250 billion. Compare that to the GDP of half or more of the countries in the world. The state can only hope for a congressional bailout. Much like other Democrat controlled states.
We are doomed as a state to eternal debtor status. Enjoy your pension as long as the state can send the check.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 24, 2017, 12:08:47 PM
So the Fed. let you 'out' of SS if you signed on and into that state system? Still amazing IMO. If that door were open to enough people, SS would fail in about 24 minutes, not nearly as long as the 11 years it has left in it with <virtually> all wage earners participating.

That sounds like a joke but it is not; the system is not being adjusted fast enough to keep pace with the changing economy. And now that 'the game is afoot' (now that the Social Security system is embedded into the US economy), it is a gigantic, sideways Ponzi scheme that is failing slowly because the participants are locked into it. If allowed to leave, all sane young people would bail out, leaving the system with a shadow of its former income and all of its former out-go.

Brian

Rest assured I am not an illegal immigrant. I worked as a civil servant of the state for 30 years and as such didn't pay into Social Security. What I paid into instead is called SURS (state university retirement system. I paid in 8% towards my pension while the university matched that amount).

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on December 24, 2017, 01:40:23 PM
I know *I* would have opted out of SS decades ago if I could have.... As it is, I have paid tons of money into a system that will likely not be there (or anywhere near what it should be) when it is MY time.  Of course, knowing this, I have put as much money into my OWN retirement plans as possible for those decades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIKIdE0vYok (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIKIdE0vYok)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 25, 2017, 05:37:24 AM
Yes sweet indeed. Conrad, this is not personal as I realize you and thousands of others in the state just worked under the system as it exists but the result of this system is an insurmountable debt. Depending on who's counting, Illinois' unfunded pension liability is any where from 150 billion to 250 billion. Compare that to the GDP of half or more of the countries in the world. The state can only hope for a congressional bailout. Much like other Democrat controlled states.
We are doomed as a state to eternal debtor status. Enjoy your pension as long as the state can send the check.

This is all true, the system as is is not sustainable but this is what I was guarantied when I started my employment as a civil servant with the state back in 1984. All of this is written into the state's constitution and our benefits can not be diminished. They tried that and failed.

The biggest problem with the SURS system is that in the past governors of our great state illegally 'borrowed' money for pet projects from SURS coffers with a promise to repay those funds and then, guess what? Never did. If the system wasn't mismanaged by our state politicians it certainly wouldn't be the mess it is today.   
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on December 25, 2017, 05:43:04 AM
snip...

So the Fed. let you 'out' of SS if you signed on and into that state system? Still amazing IMO.

Brian

Yes! And guess what? My wife is also in this system, she retires 7/1/2018. What she will receive for her pension is unrelated to what I receive. I believe with SS the two amounts are somewhat related? She wont be maxing out her pension as I did (80%) but she's close.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on December 25, 2017, 06:26:00 AM
This is all true, the system as is is not sustainable but this is what I was guarantied when I started my employment as a civil servant with the state back in 1984. All of this is written into the state's constitution and our benefits can not be diminished. They tried that and failed.

The biggest problem with the SURS system is that in the past governors of our great state illegally 'borrowed' money for pet projects from SURS coffers with a promise to repay those funds and then, guess what? Never did. If the system wasn't mismanaged by our state politicians it certainly wouldn't be the mess it is today.   

Which tells us we don't have politicians in prison.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 25, 2017, 07:06:38 AM
I do not think spouse's SS benefits are in any way related while both are still alive. There is a provision which allows the survivor of a couple to draw either one of the two amounts though, and the way it <usually> works is that the male's amount is larger, and the male <usually> is survived by his spouse, so the female usually chooses to draw 'his' amount rather than 'her' amount. This was put into place back in the days when many or most females did NOT work or work long enough (forty 'quarters', or 10 full years in a lifetime to be vested in S.S.) to have a pension, or at least a livable amount. So the idea was a widow could take over her spouse's pension after he had died.

Brian

Yes! And guess what? My wife is also in this system, she retires 7/1/2018. What she will receive for her pension is unrelated to what I receive. I believe with SS the two amounts are somewhat related? She wont be maxing out her pension as I did (80%) but she's close.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on December 25, 2017, 10:08:47 AM
Everyone drink responsibly.....whilst anyone is looking. :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 25, 2017, 12:17:02 PM
You mean without dribbling, right?

Brian

Everyone drink responsibly.....whilst anyone is looking. :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on December 27, 2017, 01:02:15 PM
Donald Hornig was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1920, was awarded a Ph.D. in chemistry at the age of 23, in 1943, with a dissertation on 'An Investigation of the Shock Wave Produced by an Explosion in Air.'. He went to work at the explosives laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution right out of Harvard. Shortly after getting to W.H.O.I., he was offered a job but was not told what the job would entail or even where it would be located. Initially, he refused but was persuaded to rethink this decision after being told his country needed his particular skills. At which point, he joined the Manhattan District Engineers and went to work on designing the explosive 'lenses' for the plutonium bombs, 'The Gadget' and 'Fat Man'. He was present at the Trinity test in Nevada, when The Gadget was successfully tested and in fact had been sent up to the top of the tower the device was sitting on by a nervous J. Robert Oppenheimer to check on the device.... twice. Mr. Hornig would go on to have a very successful career, including being both President and Dean at Brown University, and later to chair the chemistry dept. of Princeton University.

When Mr. Hornig died in Providence, RI, on 21 January, 2013 at the age of 92, he was the last surviving witness of the Trinity test in 1945, the world's first atomic bomb.

But what may be more interesting is that when he went to Los Alamos, he was accompanied by the woman he had married that same year, Lilli Hornig, and she approached the personnel dept. of Los Alamos with the thought of gaining employment there. She was asked how many words per minute she could type, to which she answered that she could not type at all. But she did have a degree in chemistry and significant scientific skills in her own right and was eventually given a job working on plutonium chemistry. This was later changed and she worked on the explosive lenses used in the plutonium bombs. And this makes Mrs. Hornig one of a very small group; of the approx. 400 scientists working at the top levels of The Manhattan Project, only 10 were women. Mrs. Hornig went on to earn her own Ph.D. from Harvard in 1950, and then go on to become a chemistry professor at Brown, as well as the chairwoman of chemistry dept. of Trinity College. She would also go on to author three books: Climbing the Academic Ladder: Doctoral Women Scientists in Academe, Equal Rites, Unequal Outcomes: Women in American Research Universities, and Women Scientists in Industry and Government: How Much Progress in the 1970s. She would remain married to Donald Hornig for nearly 50 years until his death, and they would have four children together.

Not too shabby for a women who had escaped Berlin after the Nazis took control of that country in 1933.

Lilli Hornig died this past November 2017, the 21st, in Providence, RI, at the age of 96.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 02, 2018, 06:26:56 AM
Minus 17 this morning here. That's 17f degrees below zero!

Wind chill? 35 below zero.    :_shudder_Emoticon

The poor animals! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 02, 2018, 06:51:12 AM
Every freakin deer in the woods was out on the move at 4 this morning.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 02, 2018, 08:53:53 AM
8F here this morning but 0F yesterday..... when my water meter froze solid, and it is located in the cellar! Seems the folks removed some insulation when they put the new electrical service in and it was pouring cold air down the corner of the cellar, right onto the top of the water meter. So no water in the house yesterday morning, followed by a huge leak once I thawed the meter. Water co. was here w/in 2 hours to replace it so all is well. I reinstalled insulation, plus wrapped the meter with heat tape and insulated IT as well as burying a remote thermometer sender on top of the meter so I can see its temp. in the future.

I loaded the trailer with firewood and put it on the front porch yesterday and it looks like I will not have enough seasoned wood to last this winter. I am just pouring through the stuff. Coldest winter on record here and of course it happens to coincide with the time the house is partially open during construction :-(   Oh, well, it is still great to have first- world problems so in the end, nothing to whine about really.

Brian

Minus 17 this morning here. That's 17f degrees below zero!

Wind chill? 35 below zero.    :_shudder_Emoticon

The poor animals!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on January 02, 2018, 09:13:32 AM
8F here this morning but 0F yesterday..... when my water meter froze solid, and it is located in the cellar! Seems the folks removed some insulation when they put the new electrical service in and it was pouring cold air down the corner of the cellar, right onto the top of the water meter. So no water in the house yesterday morning, followed by a huge leak once I thawed the meter. Water co. was here w/in 2 hours to replace it so all is well. I reinstalled insulation, plus wrapped the meter with heat tape and insulated IT as well as burying a remote thermometer sender on top of the meter so I can see its temp. in the future.

I loaded the trailer with firewood and put it on the front porch yesterday and it looks like I will not have enough seasoned wood to last this winter. I am just pouring through the stuff. Coldest winter on record here and of course it happens to coincide with the time the house is partially open during construction :-(   Oh, well, it is still great to have first- world problems so in the end, nothing to whine about really.

Brian

46F this morning in Modesto, CA.  Think I’ll take my Connie out for a ride today!  :banana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 02, 2018, 03:16:13 PM
Minus 17 this morning here. That's 17f degrees below zero!

And I thought I was going to complain about bicycling to work in +17F this morning....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on January 02, 2018, 05:35:16 PM
46F this morning in Modesto, CA.  Think I’ll take my Connie out for a ride today!  :banana

:cannon: :1DeadBanana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on January 03, 2018, 12:02:34 AM
:cannon: :1DeadBanana

Perfect response!  It was an easy shot, so I took it.  :rotflmao:

I lived in Connecticut for four years once upon a time.  I despised those winters.  I don’t know how you do it, but you have my respect.   :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 03, 2018, 07:55:21 AM
I lived in Connecticut Chicago for four years too many decades once upon a time.  I despised those winters.
Modified your post Snake, to fit me. Whenever I hear someone leaving California or some other warm place to go back into the cold country
and they say something like "I missed the changing of the seasons."  I think to myself that what they really missed, was the line for brains.  :nuts:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on January 03, 2018, 09:09:47 AM
I miss the snow. I want to move back to Portland.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Classvino on January 03, 2018, 01:22:41 PM
Thought I'd add a little something to make y'all feel warmer...

Here it was -32C yesterday morning, with the wind chill taking that down to about -41C.

F and C readings meet at -40, so no conversion necessary...

Jamie (in cold Canada)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 03, 2018, 02:29:23 PM
Thought I'd add a little something to make y'all feel warmer...

Here it was -32C yesterday morning, with the wind chill taking that down to about -41C.

F and C readings meet at -40, so no conversion necessary...

Jamie (in cold Canada)

You are all just insane to live there!  That's all I can say!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 04, 2018, 05:05:31 AM
brutal!

Detailed Forecast

Today   Sunny and cold, with a high near 7. Wind chill values as low as -25. North northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Tonight  Mostly clear, with a low around -10. Wind chill values as low as -24. Northwest wind around 5 mph.

Friday  Sunny and cold, with a high near 5. Wind chill values as low as -25. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night  Mostly clear, with a low around -11. Wind chill values as low as -23. North northwest wind around 5 mph.

Saturday  Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 9. North northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Saturday Night  A 20 percent chance of snow after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2.

Sunday  Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 30. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday Night  Snow likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 22.

Monday  Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29.
Monday Night  Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13.

Tuesday  Mostly sunny, with a high near 24.
Tuesday Night  Partly cloudy, with a low around 7.

Wednesday  Partly sunny, with a high near 24.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on January 04, 2018, 05:10:10 AM
Still got your sleds, C? be careful out there.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 04, 2018, 05:13:51 AM
Still got your sleds, C? be careful out there.

No sleds. I sold both of them along with the trailer a couple of years ago. There just wasn't enough snow in my area to make them worthwhile and I got tired of hauling them up north just to use them.

[smg id=429]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on January 04, 2018, 08:10:32 AM
brutal!

Detailed Forecast

Today   Sunny and cold, with a high near 7. Wind chill values as low as -25. North northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Tonight  Mostly clear, with a low around -10. Wind chill values as low as -24. Northwest wind around 5 mph.

{snip}

Get out there and concours those conditions!




Seriously, I don't know how anybody can stand that. Here in FL right now at 10 am wind chill is 22 and even that is enough to ruin my day. Makes me wanna lay in bed all day and night with the electric blanket on, which is just not my thang; I like to do stuff!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 05, 2018, 04:18:22 AM
Get out there and concours those conditions!




Seriously, I don't know how anybody can stand that. Here in FL right now at 10 am wind chill is 22 and even that is enough to ruin my day. Makes me wanna lay in bed all day and night with the electric blanket on, which is just not my thang; I like to do stuff!

I'll be content to stay indoors with the wood stove roaring!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on January 05, 2018, 04:00:24 PM
Thought I'd add a little something to make y'all feel warmer...

Here it was -32C yesterday morning, with the wind chill taking that down to about -41C.

F and C readings meet at -40, so no conversion necessary...

Jamie (in cold Canada)

Well, that's just Celsius. Been that cold in northern MN in good old F'n degrees! My work travel destination was -32F this morning (no silly windchill added) and between there and the northern border posted a -44*F official reading. Going on the third week of it, getting a bit tired of it now.
Not really enough snow to really use the sleds much other than around the property and maybe haul some wood. Never the less, it's just too cold to ride them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Poseidon on January 05, 2018, 06:06:12 PM
With temps that cold you can try this.  :thumbs:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3VHGTQQs-4 (https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3VHGTQQs-4)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 05, 2018, 06:33:47 PM
That is just cool (pun intended). Really, pretty neat. We have what I think of as a 'full' winter here but it only goes sub- zero a couple of times per year and usually only single digits below zero at that. So we never get that -40 and lower stuff.

Brian

With temps that cold you can try this.  :thumbs:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3VHGTQQs-4 (https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3VHGTQQs-4)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on January 05, 2018, 07:30:50 PM
With temps that cold you can try this.  :thumbs:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3VHGTQQs-4 (https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3VHGTQQs-4)

Yeah, pretty "cool", but certainly nothing new or untried by many a local youngster.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 25, 2018, 02:36:18 PM
And now for something completely different..... or 'Here is something you do not see everyday, Martha'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O62ixJsa59g (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O62ixJsa59g)

The police think it may be a drug- deal gone bad. I, on the other hand, am completely sure it went badly.

There is a surprising lack of gun control shown there (a firm hand and a steady eye is always needed for proper gun control) but I do have to give some credit for creative and fast use of one's surroundings; the kid of the left getting out of the car and ducking behind the truck was fast, smooth and clever. The initial shooter, on the other hand, did  a poor job of altogether IMO; he started shooting before he was close enough, was shooting from a moving car (should have stopped) and missed at least two of his intended targets. In fact, no one was shot during that video.

And the car on the left ran a red light too- truly evil people!

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rob9876 on January 25, 2018, 02:49:51 PM
Whoa, lucky for them neither of them can shoot.  Hope nobody on that busy street was hurt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 25, 2018, 03:26:40 PM
There was a little blurb about the video where I picked it up and I do not believe anyone was shot.

Still, pretty nasty to have an 'OK Corral' type of gunfight in the middle of a city, in the middle of an intersection, in the middle of the day. A friend once said 'You know, that projectile is still yours, no matter where it ends up. And if it ends up in someone's chest, someone will be looking for the original owner.....'. Wise words that I never forgot. I do not pretend to be smart enough to know the solution(s) to this problem but it really IS a problem and unfortunately, all too often the victims are those by standers, or those sitting on their porch, or those watching TV in their living rooms, etc. And it is an entirely man- made problem that we are in total control of, not like cancer of forest fires and similar. This is something we inflict on ourselves entirely. And it is getting worse.

OK,  rant over and I will try for something a little bit lighter next time.

Brian

Whoa, lucky for them neither of them can shoot.  Hope nobody on that busy street was hurt.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 25, 2018, 03:34:45 PM
Just watched a TV show about Julius Streicher, and when hanged at Nuremberg, he did not die from snapping his neck but strangled to death. In fact, he was alive 15 minutes after the drop and the hangman went down and actually pulled on his legs to 'finish him'. The reporter Howard K. Smith was the only American reporter to witness the hangings and after Streicher, he found the hangman (who was NOT a professional hangman and merely a US serviceman) and asked what happened. The G.I. replied something to the effect "I strangled the son of a bitch!". So that would lend evidence that some of the 'mishaps' suffered during those hangings were not accidents or the results of incompetence. And Streicher was a particularly bad Nazi, so much so that the other Nazis there on trial could not stand him and he had been ejected out of the Nazi party some years earlier, during the war, due to his being obnoxious. Most of those hanged at Nuremberg did die of a broken neck, as hanging is supposed to cause, not strangling.

Brian

Cheerful subject for this time of year Brian!  ;)

I thought the thing regarding the hangings after Nuremberg was retribution because the Nazi's were infamous for using piano wire with the tip of the toes just touching.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on January 25, 2018, 04:18:18 PM
Just watched a TV show about Julius Streicher, and when hanged at Nuremberg, he did not die from snapping his neck but strangled to death.

I'm OK with that.

In fact, he was alive 15 minutes after the drop and the hangman went down and actually pulled on his legs to 'finish him'.

... and that.

The reporter Howard K. Smith was the only American reporter to witness the hangings and after Streicher, he found the hangman (who was NOT a professional hangman and merely a US serviceman) and asked what happened. The G.I. replied something to the effect "I strangled the son of a bitch!".

... and that.

And Streicher was a particularly bad Nazi, ...

"Bad Nazi"? Ha! Oxymoron? Double negative? Whatever it is, doesn't seem right.

... so much so that the other Nazis there on trial could not stand him and he had been ejected out of the Nazi party some years earlier, during the war, due to his being obnoxious.

It's my understanding that most (or all) Nazis were obnoxious. Well, I suppose even the most obnoxious person has somebody they think is obnoxious.

Most of those hanged at Nuremberg did die of a broken neck, as hanging is supposed to cause, not strangling.

Tomato, tomahto.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 25, 2018, 04:39:52 PM
Particularly bad Nazi. Sort of like how some people in prison (rapists, child molesters, etc.) get killed by other prisoners  because they are considered 'bad' by a group of people all proven to be 'bad'. So yeah, bad Nazi works. There were good Nazis too, at least two of which are honored with the title Righteous among the Nations by the Israelis, and at least one of which is buried in Israel (Oskar Schindler).

Brian


<snip>

"Bad Nazi"? Ha! Oxymoron? Double negative? Whatever it is, doesn't seem right.

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 03, 2018, 09:15:29 AM
and what's wrong with this?    :P


Airline sparks outrage after scantily-clad models put on show

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/02/03/airline-sparks-outrage-after-scantily-clad-models-put-on-show.html (http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/02/03/airline-sparks-outrage-after-scantily-clad-models-put-on-show.html)

(http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/travel/2018/02/03/airline-sparks-outrage-after-scantily-clad-models-put-on-show/_jcr_content/par/featured_image/media-0.img.jpg/931/524/1517662035888.jpg?ve=1&tl=1&text=big-top-image)

A low-budget Vietnamese airline was fined Tuesday by aviation officials after scantily-clad models put on a sexy show for the country’s under-23 soccer team.

Last Sunday, the team was returning from China after losing to Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup but was celebrated with an in-flight lingerie show on a Vietjet Air plane, Reuters reported.

Pictures of the players with the models went viral online, drawing widespread scrutiny from social media users.

“Who let these escaped chimpanzees on the plane welcome home the under-23 team?” somebody wrote on Facebook.

The Vietnamese airline has been in hot water before for making flight attendants wear sexy clothing during a flight, and for risqué advertising.

(http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/travel/2018/02/03/airline-sparks-outrage-after-scantily-clad-models-put-on-show/_jcr_content/article-text/article-par-6/inline_spotlight_ima/image.img.jpg/612/344/1517661940563.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)

The airline’s president Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, who is also the country's first female billionaire, apologized in a statement on the company’s Facebook page and wrote that the show was unplanned.

“This was an improvised performance by the logistics team that was not part of the company’s program,” Thao wrote.

video   https://www.facebook.com/likechovietnam2/videos/412932102494360/ (https://www.facebook.com/likechovietnam2/videos/412932102494360/)

However, Lai Thanh, one of the show’s models, told Reuters Vietjet representatives told her to “grab a photo with the players.”

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam fined the airline $1,761 and Vietjet’s “chief stewardess” $175 for the performance, Reuters reported.

(http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/travel/2018/02/03/airline-sparks-outrage-after-scantily-clad-models-put-on-show/_jcr_content/article-text/article-par-11/inline_spotlight_ima/image.img.jpg/612/344/1517661911838.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)

“Despite the fact the Vietjet event didn’t jeopardize the safety of the flight, it could still have posed a safety risk,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said in a statement.

The New York Post reported social media users asking if the show “perked up the guys.”

“If it did, then the work the girls put into getting all dolled up was worth it for them,” a person wrote.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 03, 2018, 04:17:24 PM
And whilst you were upset about scantily clad women...something of a more serious and insidious design was happening just north west of me....


https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/lego-scam-walmart-uncovered-stafford-police?utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=police%20%26%20fire&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=article-topstories&utm_slot=1 (https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/lego-scam-walmart-uncovered-stafford-police?utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=police%20%26%20fire&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=article-topstories&utm_slot=1)


That's right, Legos.  Is nothing in this world sacred anymore?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 03, 2018, 04:20:42 PM
And under the headline...Goose 1, Hunter 1..


https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-knocked-unconscious-dead-goose-142252976.html (https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-knocked-unconscious-dead-goose-142252976.html)


As a side note, I was nearly knocked off a bike by one of those beasts.....the goose, not the hunter.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 03, 2018, 04:23:23 PM
And to top it all off....we're forecast about an inch of snow on Sunday.   :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on February 03, 2018, 08:37:30 PM
And to top it all off....we're forecast about an inch of snow on Sunday.   :yikes:

Thankfully, where I am, that will just be rain.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 04, 2018, 06:36:37 AM
And whilst you were upset about scantily clad women...something of a more serious and insidious design was happening just north west of me....


https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/lego-scam-walmart-uncovered-stafford-police?utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=police%20%26%20fire&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=article-topstories&utm_slot=1 (https://patch.com/virginia/fredericksburg/lego-scam-walmart-uncovered-stafford-police?utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=police%20%26%20fire&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=article-topstories&utm_slot=1)


That's right, Legos.  Is nothing in this world sacred anymore?

Just to be clear, Jim. I seldom get upset over scantily clad women. Unless, of course, I don't get to see them often enough.    :P

As for the Lego scam, I smell a movie in the works!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 04, 2018, 06:39:52 AM
And to top it all off....we're forecast about an inch of snow on Sunday.   :yikes:

Well, of course it's going to top it all off! Where else would the new snow go, under the old snow?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 04, 2018, 06:41:39 AM
And under the headline...Goose 1, Hunter 1..


https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-knocked-unconscious-dead-goose-142252976.html (https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-knocked-unconscious-dead-goose-142252976.html)


As a side note, I was nearly knocked off a bike by one of those beasts.....the goose, not the hunter.

Some of the comments are amusing.


Bald Eagle14 hours ago
Was he playing “goose, goose, DUCK!!!?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 04, 2018, 07:32:12 AM
Some of the comments are amusing.


Bald Eagle14 hours ago
Was he playing “goose, goose, DUCK!!!?
The meat hating snowflakes came out to comment, too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on February 04, 2018, 07:41:50 AM
As a side note, I was nearly knocked off a bike by one of those beasts.....the goose

I was too, back many years ago.  It was scary.  The goose wasn't flying at the time, it was just standing in the middle of the road AFTER a blind hill.  I had only a few seconds- blasting the horn, slowing down and trying to predict which way it would go.  Of course, it decided to go the same direction I picked but somehow avoided flying into my head by what seemed only several inches.  At that vantage, a goose certainly looks like a LOT of mass.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 04, 2018, 07:45:00 AM
Some years back, one of them flew into my wife's car and managed to shear the mirror off the driver's side. Ford Expedition, all- metal mirror and mount. Big animals. That same incident no doubt would have knocked me or us down if on the bike.

Brian

And under the headline...Goose 1, Hunter 1..


https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-knocked-unconscious-dead-goose-142252976.html (https://www.yahoo.com/news/hunter-knocked-unconscious-dead-goose-142252976.html)


As a side note, I was nearly knocked off a bike by one of those beasts.....the goose, not the hunter.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on February 04, 2018, 08:53:45 AM
Some years back, one of them flew into my wife's car and managed to shear the mirror off the driver's side. Ford Expedition, all- metal mirror and mount. Big animals. That same incident no doubt would have knocked me or us down if on the bike.

It is actually pretty amazing they can get off the ground.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 19, 2018, 08:52:28 AM
Not certain but this may be 'breaking new ground', so to speak.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/18/farty-passenger-forces-flight-to-make-emergency-landing/

I do have to note though that it was not the actual flatulence that caused the emergency landing (that would be truly impressive) but the physical fight that resulted from the flatulence. So it appears that one ....... 'porthole' got another 'porthole' going and the two 'portholes' then fought sufficiently that the captain declared an emergency and landed the plane.

It should also be noted that two women were also taken into custody but they claim they did nothing wrong and just happened to be sitting in the same row as the 'portholes'.

Brian

P.S. Substitute another word that ends in '---hole' wherever you see 'porthole' and it will be more amusing. At least to me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on February 19, 2018, 09:09:45 AM
Not certain but this may be 'breaking new ground', so to speak.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/18/farty-passenger-forces-flight-to-make-emergency-landing/

I do have to note though that it was not the actual flatulence that caused the emergency landing (that would be truly impressive) but the physical fight that resulted from the flatulence. So it appears that one ....... 'porthole' got another 'porthole' going and the two 'portholes' then fought sufficiently that the captain declared an emergency and landed the plane.

It should also be noted that two women were also taken into custody but they claim they did nothing wrong and just happened to be sitting in the same row as the 'portholes'.

Brian

P.S. Substitute another word that ends in '---hole' wherever you see 'porthole' and it will be more amusing. At least to me.

Amusing story indeed! But I bet to the other passengers it was not amusing at all to not only endure a physical altercation on the flight and a serious delay to the destination but also had to endure poison gas.  :rotflmao: Sure glad I wasn't on that flight!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on February 19, 2018, 09:18:50 AM
Not certain but this may be 'breaking new ground', so to speak.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/18/farty-passenger-forces-flight-to-make-emergency-landing/

Brilliant! I had not thought of that as a way to gain more space on a commercial flight.

Now obviously he took it too far ... He was probably trying to get the entire row to himself.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 19, 2018, 10:23:53 AM
And yet, he did not even get a holding cell all to himself.

:-)

Brian

Brilliant! I had not thought of that as a way to gain more space on a commercial flight.

Now obviously he took it too far ... He was probably trying to get the entire row to himself.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 19, 2018, 10:26:49 AM
True but almost all comedy is rooted in some type of suffering, deficiency or similar. In other words, if nothing bad ever happened to anyone, comedy would take a huge hit. So humor, being the better part of valor, is fortunate that this plane load of people, while certainly being inconvenienced, can bask in the glow that can only come from helping others..... in this specific case, causing <I believe> anyone who reads this story to at least chuckle.....

Ladies and Gentlemen of 'Stink Flight' 4928, I thank and salute you!

Brian

Amusing story indeed! But I bet to the other passengers it was not amusing at all to not only endure a physical altercation on the flight and a serious delay to the destination but also had to endure poison gas.  :rotflmao: Sure glad I wasn't on that flight!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 21, 2018, 01:35:55 PM
Finally! After years of getting tremendously poor quality 'Net bait (gentlemen from Nigeria want me to help them move 2.5 gazillion dollars, etc.) I finally got a decent spam in an e-mail! Color me happy! Apparently, I have been selected to participate in study which will provide me 100% free 'cannabidiol'. Now I really do not know what that is but the cannabi aspect makes me think of some derivative of Mary J. Juana or similar, perhaps mixed with some type of PMS symptom reliever. No matter, I do not need any canni.... whatever, free or otherwise, but I am thrilled that someone finally came up with a decent looking, not 'intelligence insulting' grade of scam.

This renews my hope in all of humanity.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on February 21, 2018, 01:52:42 PM
Can you forward the free offer?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 21, 2018, 01:56:39 PM
Sure, shoot me your e-mail.

Brian

Can you forward the free offer?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 21, 2018, 02:19:10 PM
Finally! After years of getting tremendously poor quality 'Net bait (gentlemen from Nigeria want me to help them move 2.5 gazillion dollars, etc.) I finally got a decent spam in an e-mail! Color me happy! Apparently, I have been selected to participate in study which will provide me 100% free 'cannabidiol'. Now I really do not know what that is but the cannabi aspect makes me think of some derivative of Mary J. Juana or similar, perhaps mixed with some type of PMS symptom reliever. No matter, I do not need any canni.... whatever, free or otherwise, but I am thrilled that someone finally came up with a decent looking, not 'intelligence insulting' grade of scam.

This renews my hope in all of humanity.

Brian

What kind are they offering?

(http://manteresting.com/sites/default/files/field/image/nail/2016/Nov/20/cbd_edibles_-_cbd_frog_gummies.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 21, 2018, 02:51:20 PM
Well, I can see I have stirred up a hornet's nest with this.  ;D

I do not know what 'kind' it is.

I will not be receiving any because one has to 'sign up' (which is of course the hook part of the spam in the first place) and I am not going to do that.

I do not need anything to treat my wife because I have long known the secret to dealing with my spouse, which is, basically, 'I will see your 'cranky' and raise you'. I find my 'cranky' is increasing as the world gets older; I am not changing mind you, but the world is steadily becomming a more annoying place as the years go by. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  ;D

You folks have missed the point, which is not the product it (falsely I believe) advertises but the fact that the graphics, logos (got the little medical / serpent thingy in there, correctly and everything!) are all very nicely and professionally done. Much better than the usual miss- spelled, bad Engrish proposals I usually get.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 26, 2018, 10:27:34 AM
He was what is known today as 'a late talker', some sources claiming he did not begin to talk until he was four years old. Of course this led his parents and others to believe he was mentally retarded. It did not help that when he did start to talk he often whispered sentences to himself before saying them out loud to 'see how they sounded'. The family housekeeper called him 'the dopey one'.

So little was, and in many ways still is, understood about how the brain works that we find it impossible to 'classify' people with simple terms such as retarded or advanced or even genius because often times each case, in the same individual, is mixed in with other traits at the other end of  the scale. The classic idiot- savant. "Rainman".

No matter because he did learn to talk and turned out to be gifted..... in some areas, while clearly deficient in others. He would have trouble relating to others socially for his entire life but would also excel so far in some specific areas as to overcome all of his limitations.

Today we choose to remember Albert Einstein as a brilliant physicist, which he most certainly was. But we tend to forget some other aspects about this same man that are nothing short of perplexing. Taken as a whole, I think it makes him even more fascinating; the simple version is that he was just..... really smart.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on February 26, 2018, 02:02:24 PM
... with nice hair.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 27, 2018, 04:44:54 AM
 :thumbs:
Title: Moving House
Post by: mikeyw64 on February 27, 2018, 11:14:00 PM
so following on from a conversation with young Brian yesterday evening.


What does the phrase "moving house" mean to you ?

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on February 27, 2018, 11:19:35 PM
There has been a brilliant series over the last couple of years on the BBC called "The A Word" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_A_Word) about a family learning to cope with an autistic child 

Based on an Israeli drama called "Yellow Peppers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Peppers)"



He was what is known today as 'a late talker', some sources claiming he did not begin to talk until he was four years old. Of course this led his parents and others to believe he was mentally retarded. It did not help that when he did start to talk he often whispered sentences to himself before saying them out loud to 'see how they sounded'. The family housekeeper called him 'the dopey one'.

So little was, and in many ways still is, understood about how the brain works that we find it impossible to 'classify' people with simple terms such as retarded or advanced or even genius because often times each case, in the same individual, is mixed in with other traits at the other end of  the scale. The classic idiot- savant. "Rainman".

No matter because he did learn to talk and turned out to be gifted..... in some areas, while clearly deficient in others. He would have trouble relating to others socially for his entire life but would also excel so far in some specific areas as to overcome all of his limitations.

Today we choose to remember Albert Einstein as a brilliant physicist, which he most certainly was. But we tend to forget some other aspects about this same man that are nothing short of perplexing. Taken as a whole, I think it makes him even more fascinating; the simple version is that he was just..... really smart.

Brian
Title: Re: Moving House
Post by: VirginiaJim on February 28, 2018, 06:21:33 AM
so following on from a conversation with young Brian yesterday evening.


What does the phrase "moving house" mean to you ?


I'd have to see it in context..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on February 28, 2018, 07:40:40 AM
so following on from a conversation with young Brian yesterday evening.


What does the phrase "moving house" mean to you ?

Big Caravan? (http://www.mjweuropean.com/image/mjwhitetrucks.jpg)

Title: Re: Moving House
Post by: B.D.F. on February 28, 2018, 07:48:25 AM
Well, I was sitting in  my office, holding the phone in my right hand..... oh, or are you NOT referring to the phone call?

Brian


I'd have to see it in context..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on February 28, 2018, 07:49:34 AM
It is one of those English- English translation thingies. 'Two great nations, separated by a common language'.

Brian

Big Caravan? (http://www.mjweuropean.com/image/mjwhitetrucks.jpg)
Title: Re: Moving House
Post by: mikeyw64 on February 28, 2018, 08:57:24 AM

I'd have to see it in context..

as in "I'm moving house" :)

Well, I was sitting in  my office, holding the phone in my right hand..... oh, or are you NOT referring to the phone call?

Brian

Possibly :)


Lol
Big Caravan? (http://www.mjweuropean.com/image/mjwhitetrucks.jpg)


Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 01, 2018, 09:27:27 AM
Given our recent discourses on arms and firearms I thought this might be an interesting fact about nothing at all....

Most of the world organizes their arms that fire projectiles, both large and small (artillery, firearms) around bore size. Of course the US usually does it with our usual 'odd' measurements of inches, while the rest of the world does it with meters. So there it is: a 90 mm mortar fires a.... 90 mm projectile. A .30 caliber rifle fires a 0.3 inch projectile. A 16" US battleship main gun fires a 16" projectile (shell). These are not precise measurements of the caliber's power but are 'close enough' for a rough idea.

But along come our British friends and put the 'whammy' on this whole thing and measure their artillery in.... wait for it.... pounds. Pounds? Weight? OK, so they refer to the artillery piece by its nominal weight. But wait (no pun intended), a '17 pounder' is a really large piece of artillery weighing around 6,000 pounds or 3 tons. So why do they call it a '17 pounder'? Because that is the nominal weight of the projectile it fires. Which really makes no sense at all. Until we back up a couple of centuries and then it really comes into its own:

Back in the days of sailing ships, when Britain was 'The Mistress of the Seas', one way to measure the power of an entire ship was to multiple the size of the cannon shot by the number of cannon that could be fired on one side of that ship (called 'a broadside'). So if a frigate had, say, 50 cannons, and they were 18 pounders, that ship was capable of a '900 pound broadside'. This was really  useful information that could be used to quickly layout which ships should engage which enemy ships with the idea of equaling or better, overwhelming each one of them.

As time moved forward, and 'cannon' became breech loading artillery, and 'cannon balls' became specialized artillery shells, the British carried this general type of measurement forward. All fine and well but it does not fit in well with the rest of the world and ends up one of those things that is only obvious to those actually involved. For example, in North Africa in 1943, what would the Brits. use to engage, say, a Tiger tank with an 88mm main gun? Why a 17 pounder, of course (which is really either a 3 inch or a 76.2 mm high velocity artillery piece) because a 6 pounder would not reliably penetrate a Tiger's armor.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 02, 2018, 09:30:43 AM
The whole shotgun "gauge" thing is even worse. A 12 gauge shotgun has a bore such that 12 lead balls of that diameter would weigh 1 pound. Therefor a 20 gauge is smaller than a 12 gauge which is smaller than a 4 gauge (yes I've seen a 4 gauge). Then along comes a .410 shotgun...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 02, 2018, 09:49:36 AM
Yeah, and that does not get better when the word gauge and bore start to cross.... that 4 'gauge' you saw was probably rifled, making it a 4 bore because it was not a shotgun but a rifle. Same thing, different words applied to convey a meaning having absolutely nothing to do with the word.

My favorite is AC servo motors and DC servo motors. The difference is obvious: an AC servo uses a resolver position sensing device while a DC servo motor uses an encoder position sensing device. The position reporting devices are mounted on the back end of the actual motor. What about the actual motor..... oh, they are both AC three phase of course, why, would you think the motors were different somehow?

Brian

The whole shotgun "gauge" thing is even worse. A 12 gauge shotgun has a bore such that 12 lead balls of that diameter would weigh 1 pound. Therefor a 20 gauge is smaller than a 12 gauge which is smaller than a 4 gauge (yes I've seen a 4 gauge). Then along comes a .410 shotgun...
Title: Re: Moving House
Post by: B.D.F. on March 02, 2018, 09:52:36 AM
I guess nobody wants to play 'what does moving house' mean. That is OK, most Americans would not know what it really meant anyway....

In the UK, the term 'moving house' means 'moving'; in context in the US, we would say 'next month I am moving to a new house'. We (US) would never use the words 'moving house' but we might use the words 'moving a house', which is a fascinating thing to see, what with all the hydraulics, crane, flat bed trailers, main pulling truck, etc. Moving a house is no small task and it is not done all that often.

Brian

as in "I'm moving house" :)
Possibly :)
Title: Re: Moving House
Post by: mikeyw64 on March 03, 2018, 05:16:50 AM
which again with your (generic rather than individual)  obsession with shortening/simplifying words why would you use the  longer phrase

 "next month I am moving to a new house" when you can just say " I'm moving house next month"  which is 40% shorter ;)


I guess nobody wants to play 'what does moving house' mean. That is OK, most Americans would not know what it really meant anyway....

In the UK, the term 'moving house' means 'moving'; in context in the US, we would say 'next month I am moving to a new house'. We (US) would never use the words 'moving house' but we might use the words 'moving a house', which is a fascinating thing to see, what with all the hydraulics, crane, flat bed trailers, main pulling truck, etc. Moving a house is no small task and it is not done all that often.

Brian
Title: Re: Moving House
Post by: maxtog on March 03, 2018, 06:48:19 AM
which again with your (generic rather than individual)  obsession with shortening/simplifying words why would you use the  longer phrase

 "next month I am moving to a new house" when you can just say " I'm moving house next month"  which is 40% shorter ;)

And even shorter than that is just "I'm moving next month" which is another 20% shorter :)
Americans do like shorter, perhaps that explains why we also drop all those unnecessary extra "u's"!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 05, 2018, 08:36:39 AM
Yeah, and that does not get better when the word gauge and bore start to cross.... that 4 'gauge' you saw was probably rifled, making it a 4 bore because it was not a shotgun but a rifle. Same thing, different words applied to convey a meaning having absolutely nothing to do with the word.

My favorite is AC servo motors and DC servo motors. The difference is obvious: an AC servo uses a resolver position sensing device while a DC servo motor uses an encoder position sensing device. The position reporting devices are mounted on the back end of the actual motor. What about the actual motor..... oh, they are both AC three phase of course, why, would you think the motors were different somehow?

Brian

The 4 gauge I was referring to was in the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody WY and I'm pretty sure it was a smooth bore shotgun for taking out geese. A "punt" gun I think.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 05, 2018, 09:47:18 AM
Oh, OK. Punt guns were normally used like pieces of artillery and mounted to the boat, if memory serves.

After 10 gauge, most larger (or all?) bore shoulder arms are rifles. And they have been made up to 2 bore though honestly I cannot really imagine firing one. But 8 and 6 bore rifles were used on the largest, thickest skinned game in the world in the short period of time after cartridges were in use but before smokeless powder. Black or 'gunpowder' basically limits a projectile's speed to just above the speed of sound but once smokeless powders were available, that limitation no longer applied and so bore sizes dropped, projectile length increased as did velocity to allow more power to be delivered. Smokeless powder elephant guns are still quite large but limited to the mid- .50 caliber range usually and never above .60 caliber (the errant .70 nitro express excepted as a 'freak' cartridge).

Brian

The 4 gauge I was referring to was in the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody WY and I'm pretty sure it was a smooth bore shotgun for taking out geese. A "punt" gun I think.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 09, 2018, 09:11:33 AM
As most everyone knows, Amelia Earhart was an aviation pioneer that disappeared in the south pacific in 1937 in an attempt to fly around the world. She took off from Papua New Guinea for Howland Island and was never seen again. In 1940 some human bones including a skull, a woman's shoe and a bottle of herbal liqueur Benedictine were found on Nikumaroro island to the south of Howland island. At the time, the bones were analyzed on Fiji and declared to be male due to the size (no DNA at the time). The bones have since disappeared and no DNA analysis can be done. But photographs and measurements of the bones were made and recorded. Now those measurements as well as the documented height of Amelia as well as body proportions from photographs have been analyzed and fed into a forensic program for this exact purpose and the results are a 99% match.  It sure looks like Amelia Earhart was actually found 78 years ago in 1940. One of the great mysteries of the 20th century solved.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43323944# (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43323944#)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on March 09, 2018, 01:29:45 PM
As most everyone knows, Amelia Earhart was an aviation pioneer that disappeared in the south pacific in 1937 in an attempt to fly around the world. She took off from Papua New Guinea for Howland Island and was never seen again. In 1940 some human bones including a skull, a woman's shoe and a bottle of herbal liqueur Benedictine were found on Nikumaroro island to the south of Howland island. At the time, the bones were analyzed on Fiji and declared to be male due to the size (no DNA at the time). The bones have since disappeared and no DNA analysis can be done. But photographs and measurements of the bones were made and recorded. Now those measurements as well as the documented height of Amelia as well as body proportions from photographs have been analyzed and fed into a forensic program for this exact purpose and the results are a 99% match.  It sure looks like Amelia Earhart was actually found 78 years ago in 1940. One of the great mysteries of the 20th century solved.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43323944# (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43323944#)

Hmmm, would be very interesting to identify her, but applying "a 99% match" to the statement, "Until definitive evidence is presented that the remains are not those of Amelia Earhart," Dr Jantz writes in the paper, "the most convincing argument is that they are hers." doesn't seem right. After all, there are billions of people on Earth. Also, what happened to her navigator? Do they speculate that she stayed on the island and starved to death while he decided to swim for it? And until somebody proves otherwise this conclusion is 99% true!  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 10, 2018, 07:24:39 AM
As most everyone knows, Amelia Earhart was an aviation pioneer that disappeared in the south pacific in 1937 in an attempt to fly around the world. She took off from Papua New Guinea for Howland Island and was never seen again. In 1940 some human bones including a skull, a woman's shoe and a bottle of herbal liqueur Benedictine were found on Nikumaroro island to the south of Howland island. At the time, the bones were analyzed on Fiji and declared to be male due to the size (no DNA at the time). The bones have since disappeared and no DNA analysis can be done. But photographs and measurements of the bones were made and recorded. Now those measurements as well as the documented height of Amelia as well as body proportions from photographs have been analyzed and fed into a forensic program for this exact purpose and the results are a 99% match.  It sure looks like Amelia Earhart was actually found 78 years ago in 1940. One of the great mysteries of the 20th century solved.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43323944# (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43323944#)

Hmmm, would be very interesting to identify her, but applying "a 99% match" to the statement, "Until definitive evidence is presented that the remains are not those of Amelia Earhart," Dr Jantz writes in the paper, "the most convincing argument is that they are hers." doesn't seem right. After all, there are billions of people on Earth. Also, what happened to her navigator? Do they speculate that she stayed on the island and starved to death while he decided to swim for it? And until somebody proves otherwise this conclusion is 99% true!  ???

Only 13 bones were found on the island and only 13 bones were analyzed. What became of the other bones? It's logical to assume that animals may have had something to do with the missing bones. Maybe animals had something to do with the missing navigator's remains? Maybe the plane crashed into the water and he was killed and never made landfall? Who knows.

It's interesting to me that those 13 bones disappeared. How could that happen in such a high profile case? More likely those bones are in someone personal collection somewhere...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 11, 2018, 03:02:40 PM
Had to buy a new meat thermometer (Easy Boys!) due to a probe failure (Boys!). Happen to see the same type I already had and liked now available in a dual probe model, so I grabbed one of those.

(https://i.imgur.com/pAwLM24.jpg)

Now the thought has occurred to me that given this hardware, I might finally be able to answer the age- old question 'what is the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer'. And no, the oft- stated answer that one 'tastes bad' is merely a joke with no truth in it (as far as I know). So now I am off to get the definitive answer, as soon as I can find a viable, willing (or at least drunk enough) person to actually test. Tried it on the kitten but found I could not.... er, 'insert' either probe in either orifice. Man are her claws sharp!

BTW: the actual answer to the question is one- degree F. I will let you decide which place is warmer....

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on March 11, 2018, 03:32:07 PM
Had to buy a new meat thermometer (Easy Boys!) due to a probe failure (Boys!). Happen to see the same type I already had and liked now available in a dual probe model, so I grabbed one of those.

(https://i.imgur.com/pAwLM24.jpg)

Now the thought has occurred to me that given this hardware, I might finally be able to answer the age- old question 'what is the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer'. And no, the oft- stated answer that one 'tastes bad' is merely a joke with no truth in it (as far as I know). So now I am off to get the definitive answer, as soon as I can find a viable, willing (or at least drunk enough) person to actually test. Tried it on the kitten but found I could not.... er, 'insert' either probe in either orifice. Man are her claws sharp!

BTW: the actual answer to the question is one- degree F. I will let you decide which place is warmer....

Brian

Let’s assume (for the sake of discussion) you did find a willing person to test this  hypothesis on. Tell me you wouldn’t use it for its intended purpose afterwards.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 11, 2018, 04:22:08 PM
Well now see that would be the 'tastes bad' part. I would continue to use it and for my family and friends, I would buy new probes. Other people, well, maybe not so much.....

Brian

Let’s assume (for the sake of discussion) you did find a willing person to test this  hypothesis on. Tell me you wouldn’t use it for its intended purpose afterwards.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on March 11, 2018, 05:02:11 PM
Oral thermometers have a blue tip and rectal ones a red tip

The bulb is a slightly different shape.

An oral thermometer has a long slender bulb whilst a rectal one is short & stubby, this is to prevent injury during insertion.



Now the thought has occurred to me that given this hardware, I might finally be able to answer the age- old question 'what is the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer'. And no, the oft- stated answer that one 'tastes bad' is merely a joke with no truth in it (as far as I know).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on March 11, 2018, 05:06:47 PM
Oral thermometers have a blue tip and rectal ones a red tip

The bulb is a slightly different shape.

An oral thermometer has a long slender bulb whilst a rectal one is short & stubby, this is to prevent injury during insertion.

That said  some oral thermometers have short stubby bulbs, the important bit is the colour coding so you know where it's been used ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 11, 2018, 05:16:08 PM
Wow, you really know your thermometers Mike. Or the orifi (is that the plural of orifice?) that they are supposed to be stuck in.

:-)

Brian

Oral thermometers have a blue tip and rectal ones a red tip

The bulb is a slightly different shape.

An oral thermometer has a long slender bulb whilst a rectal one is short & stubby, this is to prevent injury during insertion.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on March 11, 2018, 11:15:57 PM
my mum was a nurse :)

Wow, you really know your thermometers Mike. Or the orifi (is that the plural of orifice?) that they are supposed to be stuck in.

:-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 12, 2018, 03:48:19 AM
Had to buy a new meat thermometer (Easy Boys!) due to a probe failure (Boys!). Happen to see the same type I already had and liked now available in a dual probe model, so I grabbed one of those.

(https://i.imgur.com/pAwLM24.jpg)

Now the thought has occurred to me that given this hardware, I might finally be able to answer the age- old question 'what is the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer'. And no, the oft- stated answer that one 'tastes bad' is merely a joke with no truth in it (as far as I know). So now I am off to get the definitive answer, as soon as I can find a viable, willing (or at least drunk enough) person to actually test. Tried it on the kitten but found I could not.... er, 'insert' either probe in either orifice. Man are her claws sharp!

BTW: the actual answer to the question is one- degree F. I will let you decide which place is warmer....

Brian

Soooo, how many drinks did you end up having?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 12, 2018, 09:25:18 AM
Several actually. But what does that have to do with me finding a suitable test subject? Oh wait, you are NOT suggesting..... yeah, that ain't gonna' happen.

 :D

Brian

Soooo, how many drinks did you end up having?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 12, 2018, 10:05:23 AM
How far would you go to maintain or especially, restore good health? Pretty big distance, right? The road to health used to be even longer before the FDA and other groups stopped the manufacturer and sale and use of so many helpful devices and products.

Two come to mind: the first being radioactive water.

(https://i.imgur.com/wO9UqHJ.jpg)

Yep, water laced with Radium and other radioactive materials to 'cure what ailed you'. And you can be sure it was safe, what with the triple distilled water and all. If you are not convinced, just look at the case of Mr. Ebenezer McBurney Byers; Mr. Byers was a athlete and when he fell out of a sleeping car berth and injured his arm, his doctor suggested he take Radithor, a product readily available. Well, Mr. Byers arm healed, proof that the Radithor was good stuff, so he continuted to consume it.... 1,400 bottles in all. This started in 1927, and by the time Mr. Byers stopped taking this magical stuff in 1930, he had accumulated enough Radium in his bones that his jaw had to be removed, his brain was absessed adn there where holes formed in his skull. When Mr. Byers died in 1932, it was attributed to 'radiation poisoning' but that was NOT the cause, various cancers were. See, I told you it was good stuff! He was buried in a lead- lined coffin and when exhumed in 1965 for further stury, his remains were found to be highly radioactive. Ah, the gift that keeps on giving. A WSJ article about this was titled "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off".

Another rather slick device was the ole' Pedoscope.

(https://i.imgur.com/oOaqFJ8.jpg)

This gem was basically a wooden box where a customer and a fitter would observe where the customers toes were w/in a set of shoes he / she was trying on. I mean when you try on shoes, do you really know where the toes end? Well with a Pedoscope shows this clearly by blasting X-rays through the customer's feet onto viewing glass (and all through the customer, the salesperson, any other shoppers, the shoe store and surrounding area), the customer would wiggle his / her toes and Viola! you knew exactly how the shoes fit. Good stuff! They came into use around 1920 but the FDA banned them in 1953. Doom-criers- there is not a single documented case of ANY harm coming to anyone from one of these things..... although there was a significant elevation of certain cancers noted in shoe store employees; I for one am willing to write that off to the poor auto seats used in those days.

So many good ideas sadly no longer available.

Brian

P.S. there are a very few Pedoscopes on display in museums but unfortunately they have all had their radiation sources removed. Further, it took years to de- contaminate them sufficiently to all unprotected persons anywhere near them.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 13, 2018, 03:59:11 AM
Nice story Brian.    :o

Which leads me to post this gem, again.

(https://gajitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/gilbert-atomic-energy-lab.jpg)

Science kits these days don’t contain many items that you couldn’t already find around the house: salt, balloons, magnets and a few odds and ends. But kids who were lucky enough to have wealthy parents in the early 1950s had the unprecedented chance to play with uranium ore in this very cool science kit. The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was only sold from 1951 to 1952, and at the time its $50 price tag was too steep for many families.

(https://gajitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/atomic-energy-science-kit.jpg)

The kit came with four different types of uranium ore, a geiger counter, a miniature cloud chamber, an electroscope, a spinthariscope and an educational comic book called “Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom!” Kids could perform their own experiments at home to discover the secrets of radioactive materials and learn how they made “clean, safe” atomic energy. The kit even included a government manual called “Prospecting for Uranium,” which claimed to be able to help kids discover new sources of uranium and be rewarded with $10,000 from the US government.

(https://gajitz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/atomic-energy.jpg)

Because the radioactive sources only have a finite life, the instruction manual came with a handy re-order form on the back cover. Unfortunately, the product wasn’t on the market long enough for those ores to degrade, much less be re-ordered. There’s no way parents today would let their kids play with radioactive materials, but this science kit has become a much-sought-after collector’s item. Complete sets can sell for more than 100 times the kit’s initial cost.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 13, 2018, 03:59:58 AM
Several actually. But what does that have to do with me finding a suitable test subject? Oh wait, you are NOT suggesting..... yeah, that ain't gonna' happen.

 :D

Brian

Why yes, I was suggesting.    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 13, 2018, 08:54:04 AM
Only 13 bones were found on the island and only 13 bones were analyzed. What became of the other bones? It's logical to assume that animals may have had something to do with the missing bones. Maybe animals had something to do with the missing navigator's remains? Maybe the plane crashed into the water and he was killed and never made landfall? Who knows.

It's interesting to me that those 13 bones disappeared. How could that happen in such a high profile case? More likely those bones are in someone personal collection somewhere...

Agree! But also keep in mind that a year later the world, including the south pacific was embroiled in the worst conflict in history. Anything could have happened to evidence still on the island as well as the bones on Fiji. We are never going to get to 100% certainty.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 13, 2018, 12:46:40 PM
Well you know Conrad, that might be an OK idea after all. Why don't you stop by here and we can have a couple of drinks and discuss it some more..... You are feeling OK, right? No fever or anything like that?

 ;D

Brian

Why yes, I was suggesting.    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 14, 2018, 04:01:08 AM
Well you know Conrad, that might be an OK idea after all. Why don't you stop by here and we can have a couple of drinks and discuss it some more..... You are feeling OK, right? No fever or anything like that?

 ;D

Brian

To tell the truth, I have been feeling a bit under the weather for the last couple of days. I think that my fever broke last night though and I'm feeling better this morn than I have since Saturday. This is the first time that I've been ill since I retired. I haven't missed it.

Thanks for asking and thanks for the invite!  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 14, 2018, 10:35:54 AM
Hey, if you do stop by, we can check on that fever.... and see if it has broken across your entire body.

Brian

To tell the truth, I have been feeling a bit under the weather for the last couple of days. I think that my fever broke last night though and I'm feeling better this morn than I have since Saturday. This is the first time that I've been ill since I retired. I haven't missed it.

Thanks for asking and thanks for the invite!  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 14, 2018, 10:42:07 AM
Back in 1971, Rep. Tom Moore, Jr. of Waco, Texas sponsored a resolution commending Albert de Salvo for his unselfish service to “his county, his state and his community.” That resolution read, in part:

"This compassionate gentleman’s dedication and devotion to his work has enabled the weak and the lonely throughout the nation to achieve and maintain a new degree of concern for their future. He has been officially recognized by the state of Massachusetts for his noted activities and unconventional techniques involving population control and applied psychology."

The bill was passed unanimously. This provided proof to Mr. Moore that his fellow legislatures really did not pay sufficient attention or properly vet the items they were passing.

Albert de Salvo is better known as The Boston Strangler and was convicted and imprisoned on multiple counts of rape, and admitted he also killed 13 of his victims between 1962 and 1964.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on March 14, 2018, 10:49:02 AM
Back in 1971, Rep. Tom Moore, Jr. of Waco, Texas sponsored a resolution commending Albert de Salvo for his unselfish service to “his county, his state and his community.” That resolution read, in part:

"This compassionate gentleman’s dedication and devotion to his work has enabled the weak and the lonely throughout the nation to achieve and maintain a new degree of concern for their future. He has been officially recognized by the state of Massachusetts for his noted activities and unconventional techniques involving population control and applied psychology."

The bill was passed unanimously. This provided proof to Mr. Moore that his fellow legislatures really did not pay sufficient attention or properly vet the items they were passing.

Albert de Salvo is better known as The Boston Strangler and was convicted and imprisoned on multiple counts of rape, and admitted he also killed 13 of his victims between 1962 and 1964.

Brian

Wow! I'm going to have to remember that one. Kind of like the petition to ban dihydrogen monoxide.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 15, 2018, 04:06:56 AM
To tell the truth, I have been feeling a bit under the weather for the last couple of days. I think that my fever broke last night though and I'm feeling better this morn than I have since Saturday. This is the first time that I've been ill since I retired. I haven't missed it.

Thanks for asking and thanks for the invite!  :)

Hey, if you do stop by, we can check on that fever.... and see if it has broken across your entire body.

Brian

You seem very eager to 'check my temp' with your new thermometer.  :o    ;)

I wanted to revise my statement a bit.

"This is the first time that I've been ill since I retired."

Upon further review. This is the second time that I've been ill since I retired in December 2013.

The first time was right after our most recent presidential election...     :-X
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 15, 2018, 04:16:31 AM
 :banana :banana :banana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on March 16, 2018, 05:38:02 PM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on March 16, 2018, 08:20:58 PM
I wanted to revise my statement a bit.

"This is the first time that I've been ill since I retired."

Upon further review. This is the second time that I've been ill since I retired in December 2013.

The first time was right after our most recent presidential election...     :-X

Can you imagine how much sicker you'd have been had Hellary won?!  :'(
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on March 17, 2018, 07:46:58 AM
Can you imagine how much sicker you'd have been had Hellary won?!  :'(

Hey now. I didn't mention any names or why I was sick, now did I? My comment eludes to what made me sick but you're comment is specific and has made it political.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on March 20, 2018, 03:31:34 PM
Tip of the hat to some much maligned govt. agencies. e-filed my Federal & State tax returns on Saturday, 3/10 and the Federal refund was in my bank account on Friday 3/16 and the State refund today, 3/20.
Shouldn't be ecstatic over the return of my own money, but still....... :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on April 22, 2018, 07:35:26 AM
How long can a car run with wooden pistons? Yes, that's right, wood pistons, four of them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=rO-ttUAiVDw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=rO-ttUAiVDw)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on April 22, 2018, 08:44:19 AM
“I love this knife.  It’s an amazing knife...”  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on April 22, 2018, 10:32:48 AM
How long can a car run with wooden pistons? Yes, that's right, wood pistons, four of them.

LOL- and the answer is- a few seconds
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 22, 2018, 02:03:40 PM
I thought it was a little funny but I guess not.....

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23286657/former-nfl-kicker-jay-feely-apologizes-photo-gun (http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23286657/former-nfl-kicker-jay-feely-apologizes-photo-gun)

The second Amendment, then the first Amendment and finally, all sense of reason and humor.

Brian

LOL- and the answer is- a few seconds
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on April 22, 2018, 05:31:06 PM
I thought it was a little funny but I guess not.....

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23286657/former-nfl-kicker-jay-feely-apologizes-photo-gun (http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23286657/former-nfl-kicker-jay-feely-apologizes-photo-gun)

The second Amendment, then the first Amendment and finally, all sense of reason and humor.

Brian

I saw that.  I just shake my head at everyone who wants to overreact to something, especially when it has to do with guns, and make a big fuss. 

Two loiterers, who happen to be African Americans, get arrested for refusing to leave a coffee shop and its front page news:  Outrage, offense, boycotts and a weak CEO apoligizing for a couple of A-holes making something out of nothing. 

Two officers in Fla get gunned down for doing absolutely nothing but having lunch.  Where’s the outrage?  Where’s the news coverage? 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 23, 2018, 12:04:12 AM
I saw that.  I just shake my head at everyone who wants to overreact to something, especially when it has to do with guns, and make a big fuss. 

Two loiterers, who happen to be African Americans, get arrested for refusing to leave a coffee shop and its front page news:  Outrage, offense, boycotts and a weak CEO apoligizing for a couple of A-holes making something out of nothing. 

Two officers in Fla get gunned down for doing absolutely nothing but having lunch.  Where’s the outrage?  Where’s the news coverage? 

Little of that makes sense to me. You say that there is over reaction to something especially having to do with guns. Then you seem outraged that there wasn't outrage about the one of the two stories you mentioned that involved a gun? What would you have us do...boycott all Chinese restaurants until they can properly protect police officers eating there? The "weak" CEO was doing his job, protecting his stock holders, trying to protect his many employees from getting laid off if there was a boycott. Perhaps he was also trying to do the right thing by making sure that the Starbucks establishments don't discriminate against black people. Well maybe he was, but I don't think he was weak. The "weak" CEOs have someone in PR write up a statement and then cower hoping for it to all blow over. As for the "couple of A-holes" that got arrested for doing the exact same thing that white people do all the time at Starbucks, well they didn't seem like A-holes to me, but maybe they might have been on their best behavior when the cameras where there. Then again I didn't see the police that arrested them as being all disheveled and scratched up from any altercations with the two during the arrest.  Now the naked guy that shot people in a Waffle House, there's an A-hole/nut job, where's the outrage? I mean whatever happened to no shirt no service? We should probably boycott Waffle House until we feel safe eating their cardboard waffles without fear that someone is going to walk in there without pants waving his junk around.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on April 23, 2018, 12:16:22 AM
Ok so been watching a selection of car reviews on youtube recently (chap called Doug Demuro (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqjHFMB_JYTaEnf_vmTNqg))

SOmething I find amusing is that its federally mandated that cars over there have to have a "trunk release" in case someone gets trapped in the boot , sorry I mean trunk ;)


Question I have to ask is "how many people have been " accidentally" trapped in the trunk of their car?

Surely if you were planning on deliberately shutting someone in there you would just disable it ivf it ws fitted ?

ALso strikes me as nuts that exotics that have trunks you could barely fit a laptop in also , by the same regs, have to have the same emergency release in!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 23, 2018, 01:29:57 AM
I think it is mainly for children trapped in there.
 I think the release handles also have to glow in the dark.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on April 23, 2018, 05:49:03 AM
Little of that makes sense to me. You say that there is over reaction to something especially having to do with guns. Then you seem outraged that there wasn't outrage about the one of the two stories you mentioned that involved a gun?

What I read was him saying there was ridiculous overreaction to the Starbucks incident and no outrage at all over two officers getting gunned down in a different incident.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on April 23, 2018, 07:28:41 AM
Little of that makes sense to me. You say that there is over reaction to something especially having to do with guns. Then you seem outraged that there wasn't outrage about the one of the two stories you mentioned that involved a gun? What would you have us do...boycott all Chinese restaurants until they can properly protect police officers eating there? The "weak" CEO was doing his job, protecting his stock holders, trying to protect his many employees from getting laid off if there was a boycott. Perhaps he was also trying to do the right thing by making sure that the Starbucks establishments don't discriminate against black people. Well maybe he was, but I don't think he was weak. The "weak" CEOs have someone in PR write up a statement and then cower hoping for it to all blow over. As for the "couple of A-holes" that got arrested for doing the exact same thing that white people do all the time at Starbucks, well they didn't seem like A-holes to me, but maybe they might have been on their best behavior when the cameras where there. Then again I didn't see the police that arrested them as being all disheveled and scratched up from any altercations with the two during the arrest.  Now the naked guy that shot people in a Waffle House, there's an A-hole/nut job, where's the outrage? I mean whatever happened to no shirt no service? We should probably boycott Waffle House until we feel safe eating their cardboard waffles without fear that someone is going to walk in there without pants waving his junk around.

My point, probably poorly made, was to express my frustration with the hyper sensitivity to what was supposed to be a funny picture, as well as the coffee shop incident-perceived racial bias vs. the lack of coverage/concern over two uniformed officers who get murdered for doing nothing but having lunch. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on April 23, 2018, 09:04:38 AM
Ok so been watching a selection of car reviews on youtube recently (chap called Doug Demuro (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqjHFMB_JYTaEnf_vmTNqg))

SOmething I find amusing is that its federally mandated that cars over there have to have a "trunk release" in case someone gets trapped in the boot , sorry I mean trunk ;)


Question I have to ask is "how many people have been " accidentally" trapped in the trunk of their car?

Pretty much none ... since its federally mandated that cars over here have to have a "trunk release" in case someone gets trapped in the trunk, sorry I mean boot.







I suppose we could step back ... get rid of this requirement, have a few deaths, so you can decide, "Hmm, OK, maybe that little pull handle wasn't such a useless idea after all."  ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on April 23, 2018, 09:07:14 AM
Pretty much none ... since its federally mandated that cars over here have to have a "trunk release" in case someone gets trapped in the trunk, sorry I mean boot.







I suppose we could step back ... get rid of this requirement, have a few deaths, so you can decide, "Hmm, OK, maybe that little pull handle wasn't such a useless idea after all."  ;)

Only been mandated since about 2001 :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on April 23, 2018, 09:09:14 AM
Only been mandated since about 2001 :)

"Only"? That was ~16 years ago.

16 years of thousands and thousands of people being able to safely escape a closed trunk that they totally understandably ended up in.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on April 23, 2018, 09:24:55 AM
Now that we no longer have drive in movie theaters, why are people still getting in the trunks (boots) of their cars?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rob9876 on April 23, 2018, 10:04:33 AM
Now that we no longer have drive in movie theaters, why are people still getting in the trunks (boots) of their cars?
I think this was mostly an issue for some of Tony Soprano's friends in New Jersey . . .
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 23, 2018, 10:05:01 AM
Probably to see if the trunk REALLY does go out.

(part of an old refrigerator joke)

Brian

Now that we no longer have drive in movie theaters, why are people still getting in the trunks (boots) of their cars?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 23, 2018, 10:10:32 AM
Unquestionably good logic there: since we have had NO trunk deaths in years, and internal trunk releases have been mandatory for years, it would seem quite obvious that not only are the releases working but they may well have saved up to.... a million? two million? many millions? of accidental and perhaps even some intentional deaths by exposure from 'trunk capture syndrome'.

Hey, maybe someone here could run that up the 'Facetwit' pole and get some of the heat off humorous photos? Maybe a grass- roots movement for MORE trunk safety? Maybe a move to outlaw assault trunks? Maybe outlaw high- capacity trunks (Easy Boys! not that kind of a trunk). Will someone please think of the children?!?!?!?

Brian



"Only"? That was ~16 years ago.

16 years of thousands and thousands of people being able to safely escape a closed trunk that they totally understandably ended up in.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 23, 2018, 01:16:27 PM

ALso strikes me as nuts that exotics that have trunks you could barely fit a laptop in also , by the same regs, have to have the same emergency release in!!

Laptops? Pfftt...American trunks(boot) need to be large enough to accommodate snipers with AR-15 rifles.  :)
Remember the Beltway Snipers from 2002?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 23, 2018, 04:28:06 PM
Will someone please think of the children?!?!?!
They did.
 (Yes, I realize you were making a funny, this response is really more about the original question)
Quote from: Federal Register
During the summer of 1998, eleven children died when they inadvertently trapped themselves in the trunk of a car. This new standard will provide children and others who find themselves trapped inside a passenger car trunk a chance to get out of the trunk alive.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/10/20/00-27038/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-interior-trunk-release (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/10/20/00-27038/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-interior-trunk-release)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My point, probably poorly made, was to express my frustration with the hyper sensitivity to what was supposed to be a funny picture, as well as the coffee shop incident-perceived racial bias vs. the lack of coverage/concern over two uniformed officers who get murdered for doing nothing but having lunch. 

OK, that's better. Yes there is very much an over reaction to many things these days. Humor seems to be harder to interpret by the increasingly polarized masses. Humor generation can involve risk taking and sometimes not only does it not work, it backfires from over reaction. I don't think it's fair to compare the reaction of racial bias in a coffee shop to the death of the police officers reaction.  I felt I was equally informed about both incidents, but since the shooter took his own life, we have little to follow up on in that story other than the officer's funerals. The coffee shop incident has plenty to follow up on, so there continued to be something to report and thus news coverage. I believe if there was more to the police story ...say if the police announced that they would be taking lunch in groups of three from now on, so one can stand guard while the other two eat, (or some other plan) Then there would have been more reporting about the police murders. That is of course, just my opinion, and I suspect we will continue to disagree about the "A-holes" and the "weak CEO" but that's OK by me.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on April 23, 2018, 05:45:52 PM
They did.
 (Yes, I realize you were making a funny, this response is really more about the original question)https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/10/20/00-27038/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-interior-trunk-release (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/10/20/00-27038/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-interior-trunk-release)


Ta,

hmmm I could make a loaded comment about priorities but I won't.

Yes any death is sad but 11 over 12 months is, in the grand scheme of things,(even if you limit it to automobile related events) in a country with the population of the USA not a lot, especially with not knowing how they got in there.

And actually reading that they chose to only highlight the stats from one year ? Is that because that was the highest figure they could find on record?

Added:
Ok just read further it was 11 children within the space of 3 weeks

ALso whats intersting it was first brought up in 1984 by an individual and "Between May 1984 and July 1998, NHTSA received approximately two dozen letters expressing concern about trunk entrapments. In no case was data provided to the agency about the size of this safety problem."
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on April 23, 2018, 06:09:40 PM



OK, that's better. Yes there is very much an over reaction to many things these days. Humor seems to be harder to interpret by the increasingly polarized masses. Humor generation can involve risk taking and sometimes not only does it not work, it backfires from over reaction. I don't think it's fair to compare the reaction of racial bias in a coffee shop to the death of the police officers reaction.  I felt I was equally informed about both incidents, but since the shooter took his own life, we have little to follow up on in that story other than the officer's funerals. The coffee shop incident has plenty to follow up on, so there continued to be something to report and thus news coverage. I believe if there was more to the police story ...say if the police announced that they would be taking lunch in groups of three from now on, so one can stand guard while the other two eat, (or some other plan) Then there would have been more reporting about the police murders. That is of course, just my opinion, and I suspect we will continue to disagree about the "A-holes" and the "weak CEO" but that's OK by me.

And I didn’t have enough info on the coffee shop incident to really refer to them as a-holes.  I should’ve looked into that more before spouting off.  I’ve looked into it further, and by all accounts, if accurate, point to gross racial bias.  I saw their interviews, and they seem like good people who were wronged.  But they also appear to have been more than ready to capitalize on the situation too.  It’s the skeptic in me that wonders if this wasn’t a premeditated event based on previous encounters at this store. 

And although we all have some degree of racial bias, I find that my dislike/distrust of the media makes me always doubt the truth and motivations in their storytelling. 

I still think the idea of closing every store in the U.S. for racial sensitivity training is a huge over-reaction on behalf of the company.  Though employees should have that type of training, closing every store comes off as more of a publicity stunt to appease the angry masses than it does to truly address the problem.  The CEO says he wants to “fix this”, but you can’t “fix” human nature.  You can only educate and become aware of how your own biases affect how you look at and treat people.

If there is any positive out of this coffee shop incident, whether premeditated or not, is that maybe more folks are talking about racial bias and how it effects us all. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 23, 2018, 07:27:34 PM

And I didn’t have enough info on the coffee shop incident to really refer to them as a-holes.  I should’ve looked into that more before spouting off.  I’ve looked into it further, and by all accounts, if accurate, point to gross racial bias.  I saw their interviews, and they seem like good people who were wronged.  But they also appear to have been more than ready to capitalize on the situation too.  It’s the skeptic in me that wonders if this wasn’t a premeditated event based on previous encounters at this store. 

And although we all have some degree of racial bias, I find that my dislike/distrust of the media makes me always doubt the truth and motivations in their storytelling. 

I still think the idea of closing every store in the U.S. for racial sensitivity training is a huge over-reaction on behalf of the company.  Though employees should have that type of training, closing every store comes off as more of a publicity stunt to appease the angry masses than it does to truly address the problem.  The CEO says he wants to “fix this”, but you can’t “fix” human nature.  You can only educate and become aware of how your own biases affect how you look at and treat people.

If there is any positive out of this coffee shop incident, whether premeditated or not, is that maybe more folks are talking about racial bias and how it effects us all. 

 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on April 23, 2018, 09:01:12 PM
And I didn’t have enough info on the coffee shop incident to really refer to them as a-holes.  I should’ve looked into that more before spouting off.  I’ve looked into it further, and by all accounts, if accurate, point to gross racial bias.  I saw their interviews, and they seem like good people who were wronged.  But they also appear to have been more than ready to capitalize on the situation too.  It’s the skeptic in me that wonders if this wasn’t a premeditated event based on previous encounters at this store. 

And although we all have some degree of racial bias,

ALL people, regardless of color/race, probably have some degree of racial bias, and/or gender bias, and/or religion bias, and/or politics bias, and/or hair length bias, and/or language bias, etc.

Quote
I find that my dislike/distrust of the media makes me always doubt the truth and motivations in their storytelling. 

I totally relate.  I finally went ahead and researched it and believe what the manager did was distasteful, unnecessary, and really not professional.  The police did *absolutely* nothing wrong- they did their duty and did it properly.  Whether the manager was right or wrong, when asked to leave and they refused, the two non-customers became illegal trespassers.  They should have just left when asked, then called headquarters and started complaining and asking questions.

Quote
I still think the idea of closing every store in the U.S. for racial sensitivity training is a huge over-reaction on behalf of the company. 

The company's reaction was a huge over-reaction, so was the public's and the sensationalist media.  I also got that "spidey sense" about something not quite right about the whole thing.  Too many people out there are just itching to blow any little thing up to crazy proportions and make a show of it.... I think it often just makes things even worse.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 24, 2018, 05:52:06 AM
ALL people, regardless of color/race, probably have some degree of racial bias, and/or gender bias, and/or religion bias, and/or politics bias, and/or hair length bias, and/or language bias, etc.

I totally relate.  I finally went ahead and researched it and believe what the manager did was distasteful, unnecessary, and really not professional.  The police did *absolutely* nothing wrong- they did their duty and did it properly.  Whether the manager was right or wrong, when asked to leave and they refused, the two non-customers became illegal trespassers.  They should have just left when asked, then called headquarters and started complaining and asking questions.

The company's reaction was a huge over-reaction, so was the public's and the sensationalist media.  I also got that "spidey sense" about something not quite right about the whole thing.  Too many people out there are just itching to blow any little thing up to crazy proportions and make a show of it.... I think it often just makes things even worse.

Once upon a time in a land far away an individual could make a personal decision on what they like, dislike or even chose to care about without being accused of a hate crime.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on April 24, 2018, 10:17:39 AM
http://www.newsweek.com/nra-gun-control-parkland-shooting-898969?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=yahoo_news&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=/rss/yahoous/news (http://www.newsweek.com/nra-gun-control-parkland-shooting-898969?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=yahoo_news&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=/rss/yahoous/news)

Well, the NRA received more donations in March 2018 than it has in any other month in the last 15 years. But that data is not inclusive because there are no records of any months previous so last month may have been the largest donation period inclusively. It is interesting, at least IMO, that most of the donations were from individuals and were less than $200 each; it would be most interesting to compare that data with the funding of the 'other side' where it seems that wealthy individuals, no doubt protected by armed bodyguards, fund their agendas with millions from individual contributors. It all makes one wonder which side is the <real> grass roots movement, no?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 24, 2018, 10:56:47 AM
Once upon a time in a land far away an individual could make a personal decision on what they like, dislike or even chose to care about without being accused of a hate crime.

I know you care deeply about my edification, so which of your recent personal decisions about likes and dislikes led to accusations of hate crime? Enquiring minds want to know.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 25, 2018, 08:08:15 AM
Once upon a time in a land far away an individual could make a personal decision on what they like, dislike or even chose to care about without being accused of a hate crime.
I know you care deeply about my edification, so which of your recent personal decisions about likes and dislikes led to accusations of hate crime? Enquiring minds want to know.  8)
...and in said land a man was taught at an early age to not to concern himself with his neighbor's business unless it directly his personal right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately and obviously, and to the detriment of society, that lesson is no longer taught.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 25, 2018, 03:09:20 PM
...and in said land a man was taught at an early age to not to concern himself with his neighbor's business unless it directly his personal right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately and obviously, and to the detriment of society, that lesson is no longer taught.

Cutting through the verbiage, you're just telling me to disregard all vacuous statements and mind my own cotton pickin' bidness?  :finger_fing11:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 25, 2018, 04:24:05 PM
Cutting through the verbiage, you're just telling me to disregard all vacuous statements and mind my own cotton pickin' bidness?  :finger_fing11:

' vacuous' is such a subjective adjective that it is hardly applicable in this instance but the part about minding our own business is an idea we should all be able to get behind.  :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on April 25, 2018, 05:06:24 PM
.... the part about minding our own business is an idea we should all be able to get behind.

Yes agreed, but it would be a lot easier mind one's own business if other people weren't putting their own business out all over the internet.

Cutting through the verbiage, you're just telling me to disregard all vacuous or not vacuous statements and mind my own cotton pickin' bidness?  :finger_fing11:
  Yeah, that was my take on it as well, but I've been wrong in the past.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 25, 2018, 09:04:46 PM
' vacuous' is such a subjective adjective that it is hardly applicable in this instance but the part about minding our own business is an idea we should all be able to get behind.  :chugbeer:

Sometimes even extremely vacuous statements have the potential to become profound, given the background story and relevant anecdotal evidence.
BTW, one cannot expect to tell a neighbor of the existence of a problem and then expect him or her not to inquire about it. Wouldn't be very neighborly of them now, would it?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 26, 2018, 06:40:02 AM
Good fences make good neighbors.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 26, 2018, 01:11:52 PM
....as Rand Paul discovered, somewhat painfully.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on April 26, 2018, 02:32:06 PM
....as Rand Paul discovered, somewhat painfully.

Just so.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 28, 2018, 06:39:20 AM
Just so.

So, this old-fashioned ass kicking endured by Rand P. was a hate crime or just a simple case of lawn rage?  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on April 28, 2018, 07:03:31 AM
So, this old-fashioned ass kicking endured by Rand P. was a hate crime or just a simple case of lawn rage?  ;D

Not sure there is a difference.  Either way, he is a great man and it was a horrible crime that will hopefully land the assailant in jail for years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on April 28, 2018, 02:18:04 PM
Not sure there is a difference.  Either way, he is a great man and it was a horrible crime that will hopefully land the assailant in jail for years.

Not just great, but the greatest. Off with the interloper's head!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 02, 2018, 04:27:04 AM
Guys, I haven't been monitoring this thread but let's keep it away from Politics, Weapons and such.  That wasn't the intent of this thread.  The other one (and you know which one) got moved to the Arena.  I would not be happy either moving, locking, or sanitizing this one.


Carry on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 02, 2018, 05:39:48 AM
And now for something entirely different...  I was catching up on some threads in the C10 area and I've found that Brian is now Jim.    This is excellent news as I can think of no better name than Jim.....well maybe VirginiaJim but hey, we can't all be from Virginia.  So to keep the confusion to a minimum, I've modified the name Jim for Brian to Jim Dandy as he is always coming to our rescue.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 02, 2018, 05:46:28 AM
wow.. a Black Oak Arkansas fan .. 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 02, 2018, 05:50:07 AM
Yep.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2018, 04:01:00 AM
Jim Dandy to the rescue!     :thumbs: :cool:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 03, 2018, 04:31:36 AM
A new record was set last night.

My weather station has a lightening detector that detects all lightening within a 25 mile radius. Last nights storm produced 2100 strikes! The previous record was 1680.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 03, 2018, 05:56:00 AM
Shocking!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on May 03, 2018, 11:05:55 AM
A new record was set last night.

My weather station has a lightening detector that detects all lightening within a 25 mile radius. Last nights storm produced 2100 strikes! The previous record was 1680.

There's gotta be a joke in there somewhere about this "lightening" you speak of.

Something to do with overweight ladies maybe. Yeah, and this new fangled device you have detects all the chubbies within 25 miles who are eating donuts ... yeah! ... and the device appropriately counts each of those events as a "strike".  8) This should definitely help America's obesity epidemic  :thumbs:


Oh, maybe change the name to a whether station ... as in, whether or not you want to be thin. Drop the donut chubby lady.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 04, 2018, 12:05:39 AM
My weather station has a lightening detector that detects all lightening within a 25 mile radius. Last nights storm produced 2100 strikes! The previous record was 1680.

I'm glad that you and Tree are many states apart. He's had enough of that sort of thing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 04, 2018, 04:04:21 AM
There's gotta be a joke in there somewhere about this "lightening" you speak of.

Something to do with overweight ladies maybe. Yeah, and this new fangled device you have detects all the chubbies within 25 miles who are eating donuts ... yeah! ... and the device appropriately counts each of those events as a "strike".  8) This should definitely help America's obesity epidemic  :thumbs:


Oh, maybe change the name to a whether station ... as in, whether or not you want to be thin. Drop the donut chubby lady.

Um, yeah.   :o   Your joke may need a bit more work.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 04, 2018, 12:31:04 PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5688029/School-superintendent-revealed-high-schools-mystery-pooper.html?mrn_rm=rta-fallback (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5688029/School-superintendent-revealed-high-schools-mystery-pooper.html?mrn_rm=rta-fallback)

You cannot make this stuff up.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 04, 2018, 01:50:39 PM
Made me think of this:

http://youtu.be/zM1P0oc2-es (http://youtu.be/zM1P0oc2-es)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 04, 2018, 02:18:26 PM
For whatever reason, this commercial struck me as hilarious......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_L-TZARjVs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_L-TZARjVs)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 04, 2018, 03:23:49 PM
Finally, something 'meaty' we can all sink our teeth into and yet has no real importance or meaning to get this thread back ONTOPIC (which of course means, having no topic).

So what was the most expensive single project of WWII? Most would certainly guess the Manhattan Project I am sure, as I would have before finding out the actual answer.....

Then answer is: the B-29 Superfortress. Easily the most expensive Allied project of WWII, and very probably the most expensive undertaking by any entity or group of entities during the war. At first it does not make much sense because something such as the Manhattan Project, the V2 project, or even something such as the U-Boat type XXI, the B-29 just does not seem to encompass any kind of new, 'cutting edge', never been done before technology. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The B-29 first and foremost needed a lot of power, more than was nominally available from piston engines. So new engine types, and new technologies were developed to force those horsepower from piston engines. And it was at a great cost, not so much perhaps in development but in practical usage; it was a long time before B-29's had <reasonably> reliable engines capable of powering the air-frame.

Another first was that the B-29 was a pressurized aircraft. That simple had not been done before, and there were a lot of 'hoops' to jump through to make it work..... mostly. Now the entire air-frame was not pressurized but the human containing compartments were, including a crawl-way from the cockpit to the tail gunner's position. That, in and of itself, may have been the greatest engineering feat of the entire aircraft. Not to mention the constant source of fear should the air-frame be damaged while someone was actually IN that pressurized crawl-way.

In the end, the air-frame was a success but only because it was not used as intended; instead of high altitude bombing with relatively large bombs, it was most effective against Japan at lower altitudes with smaller, incendiary bombs. Nevertheless, it inflicted tremendous damage to Japanese cities toward the end of the war, and of course due to its sheer size, was able to carry the less expensive but technologically newer atomic weapons to Japan.

As an aside, there are only two flying examples of B-29's (or the later mod., the B-50) in flyable condition: one is the Fifi, the other is Doc. For the sentimental among us, there is a fantastic instance where Gen. Paul Tibbits Jr. ( the man who flew the Enola Gay and piloted the first atomic weapon to be used to Hiroshima) flying 'Fifi', with the aircraft being co- piloted by the current commander of the 509th bomber group, Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV (yep, his grandson).

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article30103137.html (http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article30103137.html)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 04, 2018, 08:22:47 PM
The B/RB-36 also had that crawl-way.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 05, 2018, 12:19:36 AM
I initially thought that was going to be a UK school given the link but then I remembered :)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5688029/School-superintendent-revealed-high-schools-mystery-pooper.html?mrn_rm=rta-fallback (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5688029/School-superintendent-revealed-high-schools-mystery-pooper.html?mrn_rm=rta-fallback)

You cannot make this stuff up.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 05, 2018, 04:53:36 PM
And just to expand on one amazing facet of the B-29:

Of course one of the huge problems, never fully solved, was to find engines powerful enough to power such a large plane, at high altitudes, at high speeds.

More engines would be the obvious answer but for each engine added to an aircraft (or ship for that matter), the efficiency drops considerably. So four engines was really the practical limit in WWII. Today, the largest Boeings used by US air carriers (passenger service) actually have two engines, all to increase efficiency (Boeing 777).

Technology at that time allowed 2,000 HP from an aircraft engine readily enough, and 2,500 HP with a little tweaking and straining. But Boeing was looking for well over 3,000 HP, which was not only not readily available but even when power levels such as that were reached, the engines were unreliable and subject to catastrophic failure, which brought more than one B-29 down.

During the design phase, Boeing actually gave a great deal of consideration to a very unusual, unproven British engine. It was odd in several ways, not the least of which was it was an "H" engine, or a double plane, horizontally opposed engine of two banks of 12 cylinders each, for a total of 24 cylinders. It was also a sleeve valved engine, something that never gained much traction in the US although very common in the UK at that time. In the end, Boeing abandoned the British Napier Sabre engine and instead went with a Wright cyclone engine, a much more conventional air- cooled, dual row, radial engine that was a proven design although not at the power levels Boeing was looking for for the B-29. So they 'stretched its legs' and squeezed more power out of it, finally reaching 3,500 HP but at the same time making the engine temperamental and subject to catching on fire, something that plagued all B-29's during WWII. Meanwhile, the Napier Sabre went on to be used in some of the fastest British (and anywhere in the world) fighters and eventually produce a record holding output nearing 5,000 HP. The head of the B-29 project later stated he was sorry he had not held out and gone with the Napier engines in the first place.

And as a final footnote: eventually the B-29, long after WWII, would be fitted with Pratt and Whitney Wasp Major engines ( four rows of 9 cylinders to make a 28 cylinder engine, truly massive), they never did escape the engine problems that plagued such a high power output device from a conventional piston engine. Eventually gas turbine or 'turbo- props' would solve the problems but true reliability was never reached with US piston engines operating well above the 3,500 HP level.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 06, 2018, 10:18:52 AM
I don't think Wasp Majors were used on B-29s.   They were used on B-50s which was an upgraded variant of the '29.  Wasp majors were also used on B/RB-36s, C-124's, KC-97s and the XC-99 to name a few other aircraft.  Other than their propensity to catch fire and being a nightmare to maintain, they weren't bad engines.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 06, 2018, 11:55:46 AM
Maybe not but I would kinda' lump the B-50 in as a later mod. version of a B-29 anyway. The Wright engine was dropped in the hope that the Pratt would be better (or at least 'less bad' I guess) but in the end, that did not really work out. I thought that came during the run of B-29's but it may have ended up only being used in B-50's.

As far as the engines being good other than catching on fire and being a nightmare to maintain (as well as start), that is kinda' like saying a corpse is in pretty good shape other than being dead IMO.  ;)  The underlying problem that was never solved was that we were just asking too much from a piston engine with a critical weight restraint. Like the old story about 'good, fast and cheap', where you have to pick two 'cause you ain't gettin' all three (and in truth, you then have  to pick the one you really need 'cause you ain't gettin' two either), they chose power and the other two suffered badly.

I still  think they should have tried the Napier engine. It too was unreliable and very problematic but eventually, most or even all of the wrinkles were ironed out and it became quite reliable and robust while producing upwards of 5,000 HP. I think if a major American manufacturer had taken on the engine, under license, the improvements would have come faster simply because of far greater resources available in the US as compared with the UK at that time. Of course I am partial to sleeve valved engines and actually did my thesis on them, actually various I.C. engine valving designs but in the end, only poppet and sleeve valves have ever been used with great success.

Brian

I don't think Wasp Majors were used on B-29s.   They were used on B-50s which was an upgraded variant of the '29.  Wasp majors were also used on B/RB-36s, C-124's, KC-97s and the XC-99 to name a few other aircraft.  Other than their propensity to catch fire and being a nightmare to maintain, they weren't bad engines.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 06, 2018, 03:21:15 PM
My wife and I were food shopping today WHEN SUDDENLY a woman on my left pulled a U- turn and crashed into me. On my left side, where the broken bones are. Fortunately, I am wearing a hard cast so it all just bounced off with no harm done. But it got me to thinking.... maybe we have been doing it wrong all these years, waiting for a bone to break before putting the cast on it? If I had been wearing the cast when I fell down the stairs, odds are extremely high that I would NOT have broken those bones in first place. Which got me thinking about the entire medical community and how they treat medical problems, which is ALWAYS after there is already a significant, and all too often, nonredeemable problem existing. For example, removing infected tonsils.... why wait for the infection? How about lung cancer- would it not be better to just remove a lobe or even an entire lung BEFORE the tumor starts?

I am going to the orthopedist this Tues. and I am going to ask about 'preventative casts' and see what he thinks of it. While there, I am going to check on various surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation PRE- treatments. I honestly think I just may be able to avoid future uterine cancer entirely by using one or more of the treatments mentioned above before I have any symptoms and long before I am diagnosed.

I have given this a fair amount of thought and the logic seems flawless.

Brian

Disclaimer needed because it is 2018: I am not making fun of anyone or any medical condition other than perhaps my own broken wrist. The above is meant to be humorous and even if you, gentle reader, do not find it to be so, it was still free and no offense was or is intended.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 06, 2018, 03:56:22 PM
My wife and I were food shopping today...
;D
Do you consider elderberry wine to be food?...'cause I think that just might be what you came home with. Judging by the difference between the two previous posts. It might also explain why you are wearing a cast in the first place?  ;D  (http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq209/Tejrinde/Emoticons/Drink/wine.gif~original) ???

Disclaimer needed because it is 2018: I am not making fun of anyone or any medical condition.. The above is meant to be humorous and even if you, gentle reader, do not find it to be so, it was still free and no offense was or is intended. We should probably all put this in our signature line.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 06, 2018, 03:59:51 PM
Your link is not showing up.... maybe you should put a cast on that?

Brian

;D
Do you consider elderberry wine to be food?...'cause I think that just might be what you came home with. Judging by the difference between the two previous posts. It might also explain why you are wearing a cast in the first place?  ;D  (http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq209/Tejrinde/Emoticons/Drink/wine.gif~original) ???

Disclaimer needed because it is 2018: I am not making fun of anyone or any medical condition.. The above is meant to be humorous and even if you, gentle reader, do not find it to be so, it was still free and no offense was or is intended. We should probably all put this in our signature line.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 06, 2018, 04:06:48 PM
A few days ago, I got a request as to how much shipping to Ireland would cost. I used a postal calculator, put in the gentleman's address and the least expensive way was $6 or $7, so that is what I told him the price would be (I do not mark up shipping costs). So he orders product and I went to ship it to him, using the inexpensive method only to have USPS reject my shipping request because I had not filled out the custom's form correctly. ?? After several tries, I finally used the least expensive method that would actually work for about twice the price. What is up with that? Maybe the USPS has found a way of making up some of that forty six billion dollar shortfall using the 'Nigerian Prince' method?

 ???

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 06, 2018, 05:04:57 PM
I have found that in shipping anything through the USPS, they always go with the most expensive option.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on May 06, 2018, 07:57:53 PM
I finally used the least expensive method that would actually work for about twice the price. What is up with that?

Some say it's all Amazon's fault.  :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 07, 2018, 04:28:06 AM
My wife and I were food shopping today WHEN SUDDENLY a woman on my left pulled a U- turn and crashed into me. On my left side, where the broken bones are. Fortunately, I am wearing a hard cast so it all just bounced off with no harm done. But it got me to thinking.... maybe we have been doing it wrong all these years, waiting for a bone to break before putting the cast on it? If I had been wearing the cast when I fell down the stairs, odds are extremely high that I would NOT have broken those bones in first place. Which got me thinking about the entire medical community and how they treat medical problems, which is ALWAYS after there is already a significant, and all too often, nonredeemable problem existing. For example, removing infected tonsils.... why wait for the infection? How about lung cancer- would it not be better to just remove a lobe or even an entire lung BEFORE the tumor starts?

I am going to the orthopedist this Tues. and I am going to ask about 'preventative casts' and see what he thinks of it. While there, I am going to check on various surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation PRE- treatments. I honestly think I just may be able to avoid future uterine cancer entirely by using one or more of the treatments mentioned above before I have any symptoms and long before I am diagnosed.

I have given this a fair amount of thought and the logic seems flawless.

Brian

Disclaimer needed because it is 2018: I am not making fun of anyone or any medical condition other than perhaps my own broken wrist. The above is meant to be humorous and even if you, gentle reader, do not find it to be so, it was still free and no offense was or is intended.

You broke your arm falling down the stairs? I must have missed that, did you post about it on this forum? I'm sorry to hear about your mishap Brian! 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 07, 2018, 06:09:40 AM
Thanks for the sympathies Conrad. My son reacted by sending me this shirt.....

(https://i.imgur.com/LiDjag1.jpg)

Broke a small bone in my wrist but apparently it is more important than I would have thought. Surgeon put a screw in it (Boys!) and I got a 'bone stimulator' (Easy Boys!) to <perhaps> help it heal. Not a big deal but slowing me down on the house a bit.

(https://i.imgur.com/QST19qk.jpg)

Brian

You broke your arm falling down the stairs? I must have missed that, did you post about it on this forum? I'm sorry to hear about your mishap Brian!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on May 07, 2018, 06:43:00 PM
Those "stairs" look pretty steep. Almost a ladder.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 07, 2018, 07:46:44 PM
9" run by 8 1/8" rise (rough). The top tread will end up being 10" when finished. So yeah, they are at the limit of code for stairs. But I am grandfathered and more important, there is just no room downstairs to move or alter the stairwell. The one truly 'unfixable' part of this project: I cut the second floor off of a 24' X 30' house and re-built it as a 24' X 40' second floor but could NOT change the floorplan from the stairs to the south end of the house. So all the extra room went into the MBedroom and associated rooms but the two 'spare' bedrooms in front are relatively small at just under 12' X 12' each. I would have had to destroy the first floor also to move the stairs or even alter them substantially and that was just not possible.

If you think they look steep looking up, you should see them whizzing past while going down (Easy Boys!, although it does lead in nicely to my 'bone stimulator' story).

Brian

Those "stairs" look pretty steep. Almost a ladder.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 07, 2018, 08:28:13 PM
but could NOT change the floorplan from the stairs to the south end of the house. So all the extra room went into the MBedroom and associated rooms but the two 'spare' bedrooms in front are relatively small at just under 12' X 12' each.

I have a similar situation in my house, a 50's ranch.  There is a 25% extension that goes across the back of the house, so it gained more area in the great room (since the kitchen moved back) a quasi dining room (eat-in kitchen), a large kitchen, doubled the master bathroom, and the master bedroom also doubled in size plus gained a walk-in closet.

But the front two bedrooms are still their original, tiny, 1950's size.  But it works out OK (I live alone), since one is just a storage/tool/electronics repair room; and the other is the spare bedroom/exercise/sewing room (twin bed, desk).  Ha- exercise, yeah, right.  There is a treadmill and some free weights.  I do look at them occasionally...

What I really wish was that I had a three car garage instead of a one car garage.  But extending any part of the house is impossible on the lot.  It is what it is!  After 25 years, I guess I am used to it.  I put a hell of a lot of work into this place and learned just about every trade doing it (framing, drywall, painting, electrical, plumping, HVAC, tilework, floor repair, cabinetry, finish carpentry, blah).  Now am I permanently worn out.  Nice to see you still have energy to be productive :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 12, 2018, 02:11:00 AM
Thanks for the sympathies Conrad. My son reacted by sending me this shirt.....

(https://i.imgur.com/LiDjag1.jpg)

Broke a small bone in my wrist but apparently it is more important than I would have thought. Surgeon put a screw in it (Boys!) and I got a 'bone stimulator' (Easy Boys!) to <perhaps> help it heal. Not a big deal but slowing me down on the house a bit.

(https://i.imgur.com/QST19qk.jpg)

Brian

Assuming that is you, Brian, (and I have no option but to believe that), I find it amazing that you can type your *ss off with a cast on your arm. :-)

I had a boxer's fracture on my right arm many years ago with the requisite cast (looked much like yours) and I well remember the difficulty in showering and other stuff associated with a severely right-handed person that I am.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 12, 2018, 05:18:14 AM
a short while ago I mentioned that I was (to some peoples amusement at the phrase) moving house.

Well both my house (https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/46853434) and my girlfriends house (https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/47390572) are both sold subject to contract and we have an offer in on a new home (https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/46714948) for the 2 of s plus dogs & gails mum (well I say new, it was built in 1824).

 Just waiting for all the solicitors. conveyancers, surveyors, mortgage brokers etc to get everything in place to complete the sales and then we can get moved, packing has started :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 12, 2018, 05:35:12 AM
Luck on the move. Is 1.5% mortgage typical?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 12, 2018, 05:39:17 AM
Luck on the move. Is 1.5% mortgage typical?

No idea why the estimator defaults to that, it’s more like between 2.5 & 3% depending on amount /term etc
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 12, 2018, 11:05:50 AM
Excellent, congrats to both of you folks, Mike!

Interesting house- lots of very modern facets (at least by US standards) mixed in with an older home. Looks great in the photos. Best of luck with the sale, the move and then it being your home. Hope Winston likes it :-)

Brian

a short while ago I mentioned that I was (to some peoples amusement at the phrase) moving house.

Well both my house (https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/46853434) and my girlfriends house (https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/47390572) are both sold subject to contract and we have an offer in on a new home (https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/46714948) for the 2 of s plus dogs & gails mum (well I say new, it was built in 1824).

 Just waiting for all the solicitors. conveyancers, surveyors, mortgage brokers etc to get everything in place to complete the sales and then we can get moved, packing has started :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 12, 2018, 11:25:24 AM
Yep, me and the no good, semi- automatic, large capacity stairs that 'bit' me!  ;D

My fingers are totally free from the cast, and have full articulation so typing is not bad other than when I need my left thumb, which is just about never really. Fortunately, it is my left wrist that is broken and I am (strongly) right- handed, so that is about one - gazillion times better than breaking my dominant wrist. Still, even with my fingers and 3/4 of my thumb available, it is frankly amazing what I either cannot do or have huge difficulty doing; eating for example, I have to slide the fork up and under the cast and hold it with fingers only to cut meat. And I cannot chop onions or anything like that. Also I cannot pick up virtually any weight with the left paw unless it is straight up (like a shopping bag) so even moving large pots of water on the stove is impossible.

Funny story: I learned to type when I got my first computer, an Atari 800 (now in museums next to dinosaur bones). I grabbed a piece of typing software (Mavis Becon I think?) but did not have the documentation and so just went at it. Couple of odd things came out of it: "my" home keys are not the real home keys (mine are G and H). I hold my hands curved over the keyboard with all fingers but the first two on the top row of letters. And because I had absolutely no idea when to stop (yep, there is a sex- joke in there) I just kept going on and on in my usual intense way until I could consistently do over 100 WPM, and often 130+. I had no idea that 45 WPM was more like it and 65 was 'fast'. Now my speed is down considerably but still nothing like a 'hunt 'n peck' typist.
Oh, and I did myself a HUGE favor because I came w/in a whisper of learning to type of a Dvorak keyboard. I thought that in the future, if this computer thing caught on, they would most likely be QWERTY keyboards and I might just shoot myself in the foot learning how to use a Dvorak. Glad I did that now because Dvorak keyboards are either rare or non- existent and while the keys could be re-mapped (I do not look at the keyboard when I type anyway), every keyboard on the planet other than mine would be QWERTY.

Brian

Assuming that is you, Brian, (and I have no option but to believe that), I find it amazing that you can type your *ss off with a cast on your arm. :-)

I had a boxer's fracture on my right arm many years ago with the requisite cast (looked much like yours) and I well remember the difficulty in showering and other stuff associated with a severely right-handed person that I am.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 12, 2018, 06:08:05 PM
we do plan on refreshing the kitchen with integrated white goods, a range style cooker and possibly a small island :)

Mustn't forget Amber , Gails dog:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekDKtkYPQU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekDKtkYPQU)

Excellent, congrats to both of you folks, Mike!

Interesting house- lots of very modern facets (at least by US standards) mixed in with an older home. Looks great in the photos. Best of luck with the sale, the move and then it being your home. Hope Winston likes it :-)

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on May 12, 2018, 06:38:33 PM
we do plan on refreshing the kitchen with integrated white goods, a range style cooker and possibly a small island :)

Mustn't forget Amber , Gails dog:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekDKtkYPQU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TekDKtkYPQU)
That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a washing machine in the kitchen!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 12, 2018, 09:46:36 PM
That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a washing machine in the kitchen!

It does look odd, but is apparently pretty common in Europe.  But keep looking to try and find the dryer...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 12, 2018, 10:06:54 PM
Those are easy to find- they are the long, narrow slats that one drapes the wet clothes over..... Clothes driers are rare in Europe and I assume this is true of the UK also (yes, I know the UK is part of Europe but it is.... a different part where the mainland European 'rules and methods' often do not apply).

Brian

It does look odd, but is apparently pretty common in Europe.  But keep looking to try and find the dryer...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 13, 2018, 12:04:03 AM
Clothes (or tumble as they are commonly called) dyiers are commonplace.

Many are combined in the same machine as the washer itself and use a condensing system so no tubing required to vent them.

That said there is something just nice about clothes that have been dried naturally in the sun and breeze on a good old fashioned washing line
Those are easy to find- they are the long, narrow slats that one drapes the wet clothes over..... Clothes driers are rare in Europe and I assume this is true of the UK also (yes, I know the UK is part of Europe but it is.... a different part where the mainland European 'rules and methods' often do not apply).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 13, 2018, 05:29:00 AM
Clothes (or tumble as they are commonly called) dyiers are commonplace.

Many are combined in the same machine as the washer itself and use a condensing system so no tubing required to vent them.

That said there is something just nice about clothes that have been dried naturally in the sun and breeze on a good old fashioned washing line

As long as the local birds don't use the clean clothes for 'target practice'.    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 13, 2018, 06:12:53 AM
Clothes (or tumble as they are commonly called) dryers are commonplace. Many are combined in the same machine as the washer itself and use a condensing system so no tubing required to vent them.

That is pretty neat.  I think I have only seen one "all in one" machine before.  Good for saving space, but doubles the time to do laundry.

Quote
That said there is something just nice about clothes that have been dried naturally in the sun and breeze on a good old fashioned washing line

Eeew.  Towels that are rough and crispy.  Colors faded from UV.  Clothes full of pollen allergens.  Clothesline marks.  Bird mess.  Squirrels running across.  Humidity.

I'll take a dryer :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 13, 2018, 06:30:53 AM
Our first home in South Carolina had the washer/dryer in the kitchen.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 13, 2018, 08:59:51 AM
That is pretty neat.  I think I have only seen one "all in one" machine before.  Good for saving space, but doubles the time to do laundry.




Only if you have a second load to do whilst the first load is drying ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 13, 2018, 09:41:37 AM
Only if you have a second load to do whilst the first load is drying ;)

Very true.  But I suspect most or at least many of us do....
Speaking of which, I am washing three loads this morning.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 13, 2018, 10:18:10 AM
Try to keep up , max.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 13, 2018, 02:20:41 PM
I finally found it..... the reason for the 'face-palm' emoticon. We do not seem to have one around here, which is rather amazing IMO. Anyway, it is used a lot and often fits pretty well but I finally found the absolutely ideal, perfect 'thing' for that emoticon.....

https://www.facebook.com/lchaithesis/videos/364837930674880/ (https://www.facebook.com/lchaithesis/videos/364837930674880/)

What makes it so special is that this happened at Cornell, not Springfield Community College (on the Simpsons) during a night class. Oh no, this happened at a REAL school and as it appears to be a dissertation, it means that this person is a graduate student, having already received a Bachelor's degree and gone on with at least another 1 1/2 years of formal education.

Yep, these are certainly the people I want tinkering around and 'improving' my Constitution. (the next word suggested by my spell- checker after 'constitution' was 'constipation', and I had to think about that for a moment as to which one applied best)

Brian (who is typing this while wearing clothes)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 14, 2018, 09:59:26 AM
I finally found it..... the reason for the 'face-palm' emoticon. We do not seem to have one around here, which is rather amazing IMO. Anyway, it is used a lot and often fits pretty well but I finally found the absolutely ideal, perfect 'thing' for that emoticon.....

https://www.facebook.com/lchaithesis/videos/364837930674880/ (https://www.facebook.com/lchaithesis/videos/364837930674880/)

What makes it so special is that this happened at Cornell, not Springfield Community College (on the Simpsons) during a night class. Oh no, this happened at a REAL school and as it appears to be a dissertation, it means that this person is a graduate student, having already received a Bachelor's degree and gone on with at least another 1 1/2 years of formal education.

Yep, these are certainly the people I want tinkering around and 'improving' my Constitution. (the next word suggested by my spell- checker after 'constitution' was 'constipation', and I had to think about that for a moment as to which one applied best)

Brian (who is typing this while wearing clothes)

Sorry, couldn't get past the 2 minute mark.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on May 14, 2018, 10:05:47 AM
Sorry, couldn't get past the 2 minute mark.
It was painful to watch.

1.  Because she’s a terrible speaker.
2.  Because stripping down to her underwear didn’t help, it was just sad. 

 :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 14, 2018, 01:33:32 PM
That was my point- sad, miss- directed, a foolish response, not much of a point about others criticizing any person's clothing. I think I understand her motivation, I just do not agree that what she did was an effective way to respond. In fact, I think the best response would either be 1) no response, or 2) a quiet (i.e., NOT FaceTwit!!!!!) but firm statement, probably best in writing, to the president of the University.... with all her clothes on.

Some of these newer 'responses' to perceived or perhaps even real insults are strange and again, IMO, not nearly as effective as they could be. I am speaking generally here; no doubt in cases such as Harvey Weinstein, someone had to run the proverbial flag way, way up the flagpole at personal embarrassment, personal criticism and attacks, and very likely damage or even outright loss of the whistle-blower's livelihood.

Makes me wonder if the same person had a stranger visit her domicile and commented on it being too cold there if this woman would set herself on fire to 'teach him a lesson'?

Brian

edited to add words to make the last sentence make sense. :-(

It was painful to watch.

1.  Because she’s a terrible speaker.
2.  Because stripping down to her underwear didn’t help, it was just sad. 

 :_shudder_Emoticon
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 14, 2018, 01:34:15 PM
Jump forward to 2:45 and watch.

Brian

Sorry, couldn't get past the 2 minute mark.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 14, 2018, 02:05:36 PM
Jump forward to 2:45 and watch.

Brian

That poor human being has issues. I suspect primarily caused by disinformation poison disguised as education.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 14, 2018, 03:16:32 PM
Sorry, couldn't get past the 2 minute mark.

Me neither.  I zoomed to see her undress and then aborted.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 15, 2018, 02:51:32 PM
I just read more about this video. Apparently she was presenting her senior thesis at Cornell University. I looked it up and on average, Cornell costs $67,000/year or $280,000 for a 4 year degree. I think she should demand her money back as they obviously didn't teach her anything of value.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 15, 2018, 03:32:05 PM
Sorry, couldn't get past the 2 minute mark.
Me neither.  I zoomed to see her undress and then aborted.

Wow you all missed the pole dance and group thing at the end.  :banana :banana :banana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 15, 2018, 03:49:15 PM
I have absolutely no knowledge about this but she specifically mentioned her relative staying up late in Korea to watch that..... well, whatever it was. So my suspicion is that her Cornell University education did not cost her anywhere near full tuition, if anything at all. But she certainly found out how to gain attention and notoriety, regardless of whether those qualities were positive or negative in her case.

Top US universities have a large number of students, especially grad students, attending the school tuition- free (usually all expenses paid). This is these school's method of 'reaching out' and trying to level the playing field. Actually I think it is a noble concept but in actual practice, if often ends up with people artificially "empowered" to behave any way they want, which is often odd and sometimes badly.

I went to school with an unusually high number of Indian nationals in the physics and engineering colleges of the school I attended. They were quiet, reserved, very much retiring people who worked and studied hard. They were overall excellent students and also very nice, humble people. Their English skills were often lacking but I found it more than worth the effort required to communicate with these people and frankly would rather spend time with many of them than some of the Americans I went to school with.

And for whatever it is worth, I did not find my area of he University to be left- leaning and most certainly not liberal in any way, stretch or form. Then again, I was on the 'hard scienses' part of the campus and so really cannot comment on the institution as a whole. But trust me, engineers tend to be conservative. Please note that this woman's thesis was in 'humanities'..... of course.  ::)

Brian

I just read more about this video. Apparently she was presenting here senior thesis at Cornell University. I looked it up and on average, Cornell costs $67,000/year or $280,000 for a 4 year degree. I think she should demand her money back as they obviously didn't teach her anything or value.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rob9876 on May 15, 2018, 03:55:19 PM
It's incredible that feminism has evolved into women being half-naked and promiscuous.  Yeah, that'll really stick it to the men.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: mikeyw64 on May 16, 2018, 12:40:10 AM
Due to the nature of my job I work a lot with the  "offshore" guys in the various Indian offices over in Mumbai (which is where a lot of the chaps you're referring too probably end up) or when they come over here on "secondment"

They are usally very well educated but depending on their job role many of them are "stifled" by their companies working practices which is a real pity as If you get them in a one to one then they can be most helpful.

It's also noticeable that over the last 15 years there has been a huge increase in the number of (Indian) women  in good roles in these offshore companies


BTW did they go out frequently to play cricket , most of them are obsessed by it:)



I went to school with an unusually high number of Indian nationals in the physics and engineering colleges of the school I attended. They were quiet, reserved, very much retiring people who worked and studied hard. They were overall excellent students and also very nice, humble people. Their English skills were often lacking but I found it more than worth the effort required to communicate with these people and frankly would rather spend time with many of them than some of the Americans I went to school with.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 17, 2018, 06:01:06 PM
OK, to get this thread back off- topic, where it belongs:

The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, and is visited by an estimated 7 to 8 million people every year. Originally built by Shah Jahan to entomb his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction started in 1635 and continued through 1653, at a cost of approx. $827 million dollars (2015 dollar value). A beautiful series of buildings, sitting on 17 acres of land, it is one of the leading tourist attractions in the world today.

There is a common story that the Shaw built this mausoleum in white but planned an identical tomb to be built in all black marble for himself. As the story goes, he died before construction on that next tomb was even started but in truth, no further tombs were planned, and both Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal are entombed in the Taj Mahal.

As a useless piece of trivia, the largest burial tomb in the US is Grant National Memorial, commonly known as Grant's tomb, located just about mid- Manhattan in NYC, NY, USA. Grant was entombed there 12 years after he died, on April 17, 1897, with his wife Julia being interred beside him several years later when she too passed away.

Which also yields the correct answer to the oft- asked question: Who is buried in Grant's tomb? The correct answer being both Ulysses AND Julia (Dent) Grant.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Poseidon on May 17, 2018, 06:49:41 PM
OK, to get this thread back off- topic, where it belongs:

The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, and is visited by an estimated 7 to 8 million people every year. Originally built by Shah Jahan to entomb his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction started in 1635 and continued through 1653, at a cost of approx. $827 million dollars (2015 dollar value). A beautiful series of buildings, sitting on 17 acres of land, it is one of the leading tourist attractions in the world today.

There is a common story that the Shaw built this mausoleum in white but planned an identical tomb to be built in all black marble for himself. As the story goes, he died before construction on that next tomb was even started but in truth, no further tombs were planned, and both Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal are entombed in the Taj Mahal.

As a useless piece of trivia, the largest burial tomb in the US is Grant National Memorial, commonly known as Grant's tomb, located just about mid- Manhattan in NYC, NY, USA. Grant was entombed there 12 years after he died, on April 17, 1897, with his wife Julia being interred beside him several years later when she too passed away.

Which also yields the correct answer to the oft- asked question: Who is buried in Grant's tomb? The correct answer being both Ulysses AND Julia (Dent) Grant.

Brian

So... What is grown on Grant's farm?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on May 17, 2018, 07:16:19 PM
Speaking of the Taj Mahal ... I've been renovating an almost-lost-cause barn for over 5 months now, and it's taking so long I'm starting to get questions about why. I decided today I'm going to start responding that I'm building the Taj Mah-barn.

I'm really starting to think this would've gone waaay faster/better/cheaper/smoother had the rotting version been knocked down and start from scratch. Determining what all is rotten, how rotten is too rotten, spending the time removing said rotten, then replacing with new ... it takes a loooot more time than I would've thought ... and I've constructed quite a few things in my time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 17, 2018, 09:36:05 PM
Theseus's paradox!!   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 18, 2018, 05:49:20 AM
If you're married it could become... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098621/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098621/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 18, 2018, 06:13:56 AM
OK, to get this thread back off- topic, where it belongs:

The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, and is visited by an estimated 7 to 8 million people every year. Originally built by Shah Jahan to entomb his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction started in 1635 and continued through 1653, at a cost of approx. $827 million dollars (2015 dollar value). A beautiful series of buildings, sitting on 17 acres of land, it is one of the leading tourist attractions in the world today.

There is a common story that the Shaw built this mausoleum in white but planned an identical tomb to be built in all black marble for himself. As the story goes, he died before construction on that next tomb was even started but in truth, no further tombs were planned, and both Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal are entombed in the Taj Mahal.

As a useless piece of trivia, the largest burial tomb in the US is Grant National Memorial, commonly known as Grant's tomb, located just about mid- Manhattan in NYC, NY, USA. Grant was entombed there 12 years after he died, on April 17, 1897, with his wife Julia being interred beside him several years later when she too passed away.

Which also yields the correct answer to the oft- asked question: Who is buried in Grant's tomb? The correct answer being both Ulysses AND Julia (Dent) Grant.

Brian

I was at the Taj Mahal 5 or 6 years ago. Some more trivia, the 4 pillars around the building slightly lean away from the building so that in the case of an earthquake they would fall away from the building.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on May 20, 2018, 07:34:29 AM
It's incredible that feminism has evolved into women being half-naked and promiscuous.  Yeah, that'll really stick it to the men.

I think there is more to feminism than being half-naked and promiscuous. Those may be by-products of them rejecting traditional boundaries and norms.
The guy who convinced women that topless protesting is very effective, is pure genius.  ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on May 20, 2018, 07:46:06 AM
IMO, the Cornell lass didn't go far enough. Hope I never reach the state of mind where I get upset by harmless youthful exuberance or by young ladies not closely related to me, shedding their clothes. That level of curmudgeon requires a boneheadedness which can only result from inadvertently placing a bone stimulator contraption on the cranium. To my knowledge, nobody's Constitutional rights were tinkered with or harmed by that senior thesis presentation.
PS. Progressive insurance co. is running ads showing people thinking/behaving like their parents. I think they call it parentamorphosis.  Some of the members here seem to have skipped a generation and are behaving like their grandparents. heh..heh...heh
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on May 20, 2018, 07:50:25 AM
Further evidence of the renaissance of half-witted intolerance : https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/05/17/us/aaron-schlossberg-attorney-racist-rant/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

At the other end of the racial harmony spectrum there was the Brit Royal wedding yesterday which offers some hope for optimism.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 20, 2018, 10:59:32 AM
Further evidence of the renaissance of half-witted intolerance : https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/05/17/us/aaron-schlossberg-attorney-racist-rant/index.html?__twitter_impression=true

At the other end of the racial harmony spectrum there was the Brit Royal wedding yesterday which offers some hope for optimism.

yep.... ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 20, 2018, 11:10:33 AM
So I take it you do not believe the data contained in the book The Bell Curve?

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian

IMO, the Cornell lass didn't go far enough. Hope I never reach the state of mind where I get upset by harmless youthful exuberance or by young ladies not closely related to me, shedding their clothes. That level of curmudgeon requires a boneheadedness which can only result from inadvertently placing a bone stimulator contraption on the cranium. To my knowledge, nobody's Constitutional rights were tinkered with or harmed by that senior thesis presentation.
PS. Progressive insurance co. is running ads showing people thinking/behaving like their parents. I think they call it parentamorphosis.  Some of the members here seem to have skipped a generation and are behaving like their grandparents. heh..heh...heh
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 20, 2018, 11:14:36 AM
I had to go look that up. 'Hardscrabble' farm was what Grant named it and could not make a living there. In fact, once outside the Army, he could not make much of a living at anything. Pretty amazing actually. But it turns out he was only good at two things; interacting with horses and war. Though some disagree with the war part....

Brian

So... What is grown on Grant's farm?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on May 20, 2018, 03:10:45 PM
So I take it you do not believe the data contained in the book The Bell Curve?

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian

That's too vague. Specifically which data are you referring to?  :popcorn:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 21, 2018, 07:56:35 AM
I can only speak for myself but nobody I know of is upset. Disapproval is quite different than upset. I found it quite sad that after 1/4 million dollar education that was the best she could come up with for a senior thesis. I guess she had to strip to distract from the fact her thesis was a rambling, incoherent screed on victim hood and displayed zero scholarship.

IMO, the Cornell lass didn't go far enough. Hope I never reach the state of mind where I get upset by harmless youthful exuberance or by young ladies not closely related to me, shedding their clothes. That level of curmudgeon requires a boneheadedness which can only result from inadvertently placing a bone stimulator contraption on the cranium. To my knowledge, nobody's Constitutional rights were tinkered with or harmed by that senior thesis presentation.
PS. Progressive insurance co. is running ads showing people thinking/behaving like their parents. I think they call it parentamorphosis.  Some of the members here seem to have skipped a generation and are behaving like their grandparents. heh..heh...heh
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on May 21, 2018, 10:27:27 AM
A pole dance might have helped.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 21, 2018, 01:12:59 PM
A pole dance might have helped.

Can't hurt!   :P
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on May 21, 2018, 02:09:30 PM
Can't hurt!   :P

You sure?

! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD92a5eebYg#)

... although it ended up working out pretty well for him  :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on May 21, 2018, 06:53:22 PM
I can only speak for myself but nobody I know of is upset.

Contradictory statement.

Quote
Disapproval is quite different than upset.

Disapproval is usually the starting point for being upset. Given the following post from you earlier, it appears that you are way past just disapproval.  ;D

[/quote]
That poor human being has issues. I suspect primarily caused by disinformation poison disguised as education.

Quote
I found it quite sad that after 1/4 million dollar education that was the best she could come up with for a senior thesis.

That is a dramatic departure from the libertarian attitude of not judging how people spend their money. Her parents may have been happy spending a million dollars for her to learn basket-weaving at an Ivy league school. Who are we to condemn that?

Quote
I guess she had to strip to distract from the fact her thesis was a rambling, incoherent screed on victim hood and displayed zero scholarship.

I trust that you have sat through many senior theses by 22 year olds in the Humanities or Social Sciences to be able to trash her effort so casually. I have no idea what caused all the angst at the beginning of the presentation, but the clothes shedding by her and at least some of the audience was some sort of solidarity, perhaps to show that under the veneer of clothing we all belong to the same species? C'mon now, if she had stripped to pasties and butt-floss thongs then your distraction would be justified.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on May 21, 2018, 08:00:21 PM


 C'mon now, if she had stripped to pasties and butt-floss thongs then your distraction would be justified.


 :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: sanmo on May 23, 2018, 05:13:48 AM
:pukeface:

Poor chap was on the verge of posting something interesting about pasties and thongs when the bad sushi from dinner demanded an emergency exit. He was barely able to get to the hurling emoticon to signal his distress. Hope he's feeling better now.  :)
Disclaimer: This is my own personal interpretation of events. May bear no resemblance to reality.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on May 23, 2018, 06:41:58 PM
May bear no resemblance to reality.
In that we can agree on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 28, 2018, 08:29:03 AM
Well, that time has rolled around and once again, it is the 28th of May, of course better known as Menstrual Hygene Day:  http://menstrualhygieneday.org/ (http://menstrualhygieneday.org/)  This year, the newest member of the Royal Family is on hand to support this cause, Megan Markle : https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/meghan-markle-voice-issue-menstrual-hygiene-care/story?id=55409921 (https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/meghan-markle-voice-issue-menstrual-hygiene-care/story?id=55409921)

So let's not forget to menstruate hygienically, as well as sending out those cards to loved ones on this special day.

Of course I am excited not only because this special day kicks off summer but is also the 'crotch days' including the upcoming National Hemorrhoid Day and of course, Foreskin Day (subtitled 'Keep it or Klip it?").

Now if we can just get Abscess Day on the map, along with cards so themed by Hallmark and American Greeting, we will have made substantial progress IMO. Well, not progress but change. When I was a kid, no one could ever actually show a toilet on TV (remember the little guy in the rowboat advertising for the toilet cleaner? You never saw the bowl, only the top of the tank). Ah yes, the 'bad old days' of a little dignity and decorum. Boy, have we come a long way or what, huh?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on May 29, 2018, 09:57:01 AM
Went to visit my daughter in Oklahoma City this last weekend and visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial. The chairs at the site representing each victim is very moving. Small chairs for the children, larger for the adults.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 03, 2018, 08:50:09 AM
Going to dump my land line finally.  Can't stand the robo calls.  I was holding up doing it and then was wondering if I could still use my phone set somehow.  Verizon has a device where you can port your number to it and use it via cell but that's still using the old landline number which I want to get rid of.  There's also a monthly fee.  So just found this out today that the newer handsets (I'm looking a Pansonic) can have blue tooth built in.  You sync your phone to the main set and then the calls can route through all the sets.  Your phone has to be within blue tooth range of the main unit but I don't see a problem with that.  Panasonic calls that link2cell.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 03, 2018, 09:11:55 AM
Let me see if I understand this. So instead of just keeping your cell handy you can spend more money on new 'not land line' home phones so you can sit in the lazy boy and pretend your not talking on your cell phone. Have I got that right?  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 03, 2018, 09:32:31 AM
In a nutshell, yes.  I make lots of calls (non-robo) to clients during the day.  The cell phone is awkward and radiates cosmic rays to my brane.  I feel this is the safer solution overall.  I could wear the helmet but then I can't hear very much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 03, 2018, 09:44:40 AM
In a nutshell, yes.  I make lots of calls (non-robo) to clients during the day.  The cell phone is awkward and radiates cosmic rays to my brane.  I feel this is the safer solution overall.  I could wear the helmet but then I can't hear very much.

Forget the 'not land line' new phone and get you a nice blutoof ear piece. The better devices sound and work great plus you can wear one inside of your helmet.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 03, 2018, 09:45:04 AM
Going to dump my land line finally.  Can't stand the robo calls.  I was holding up doing it and then was wondering if I could still use my phone set somehow. 

You can, but it requires a device that kinda screens calls.  We posted extensively about that here.  Plus and minuses though.

Quote
So just found this out today that the newer handsets (I'm looking a Pansonic) can have blue tooth built in.  You sync your phone to the main set and then the calls can route through all the sets.  Your phone has to be within blue tooth range of the main unit but I don't see a problem with that.  Panasonic calls that link2cell.

I thought I posted about that at least once, but search shows nothing.  I have been using those for many years now.  Sound quality is poorer than both native cell and land line, but it is extremely convenient.  Will also bleep notifications with text message/etc from cell.  I hate talking on cell phones.  They are hard to hold, hard to use, inconvenient, and prone to being dropped.  With the Panasonic, a cell ring will go to 5 easy-to-hold and use handsets throughout the house, with seemingly unlimited battery life (and uses standard AAA NiMH batteries to boot).  Highly recommend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 03, 2018, 09:48:48 AM
Forget the 'not land line' new phone and get you a nice blutoof ear piece. The better devices sound and work great plus you can wear one inside of your helmet.


blutoof?   Never heard of that one. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 03, 2018, 09:50:46 AM

blutoof?   Never heard of that one. ;)

Issues with your hearing? That's another device you need. http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=23388.0 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=23388.0)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 05, 2018, 03:27:52 PM
Now this one is destined to be a classic:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/06/03/an-fbi-agent-did-a-backflip-in-a-club-dropped-his-gun-and-accidentally-shot-someone-police-say/?utm_term=.296e52f4469c (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/06/03/an-fbi-agent-did-a-backflip-in-a-club-dropped-his-gun-and-accidentally-shot-someone-police-say/?utm_term=.296e52f4469c)

It will be interesting to see how this one turns out. There were several phases of this that were more than 'bad enough', starting off with dropping a firearm while dancing, but the coup de grace is that the agent just walked away from the person he shot without rendering aid or even accessing the situation. ?!?!?!?!?!?!

C'mon Jim, we really need that face- palm emoticon..... please? It is not so much me asking as it is the world demanding it..... over and over again.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 05, 2018, 03:43:31 PM
All modern pistols have anti-drop safeties, so that would have had to fail, too.

"He landed and as he picked up his gun from the floor, it fired."

And there you have it, *HE* fired it, accidentally, by having his finger in the trigger guard area when he picked it up.  Almost even visible in the video.  It didn't go off from being dropped.

"Denver police spokesman Marika Putnam said she does not know what type of gun the agent was carrying."

So we also don't know what it was- old, new, service or what.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 05, 2018, 03:44:47 PM
C'mon Jim, we really need that face- palm emoticon..... please? It is not so much me asking as it is the world demanding it..... over and over again.

This one?     :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 05, 2018, 03:48:07 PM
No. That is a forehead slap. A face- palm is one where the hand comes up, covers the face, and usually the combination shake from side- to- side a little. The forehead slap indicates, at least to me, stupid while the face- palm indicates F.U.B.A.R. visually very, very well, again at least to me.

Brian

This one?     :doh:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 05, 2018, 03:54:26 PM
The pistol did NOT fire from being dropped, the agent picked it up by putting his finger in the trigger guard and pulling the trigger. You can see it in the video. It is just one in an entire series of mistakes, accidents and just bad behavior in that video.  Then there are the lapses in judgement BEFORE he drops the pistol: why was the pistol not in a holster? Why was he doing that extreme gymnastics foolishness while carrying a pistol? Was that in a bar or nightclub? If so, another behavioral question along with did he consume alcohol?

Methinks he may not be an FBI agent much longer. I can be pretty imaginative but I cannot think of a story or series of stories that would explain away that series of events to anything even close to satisfactory. Beyond that, he might also face criminal or civil charges over the incident.

Nothing exceeds like excess, and that video is excessive..... squared IMO.

And the link to the video I posted does NOT show the agent putting his hands up in the air and walking away to the left. He made absolutely zero effort to provide any emergency first aid to the person he shot nor did he even make any effort to see the person he shot nor that person's condition.

Brian

All modern pistols have anti-drop safeties, so that would have had to fail, too.

"He landed and as he picked up his gun from the floor, it fired."

And there you have it, *HE* fired it, accidentally, by having his finger in the trigger guard area when he picked it up.  Almost even visible in the video.  It didn't go off from being dropped.

"Denver police spokesman Marika Putnam said she does not know what type of gun the agent was carrying."

So we also don't know what it was- old, new, service or what.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 06, 2018, 04:13:11 AM
Now this one is destined to be a classic:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/06/03/an-fbi-agent-did-a-backflip-in-a-club-dropped-his-gun-and-accidentally-shot-someone-police-say/?utm_term=.296e52f4469c (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/06/03/an-fbi-agent-did-a-backflip-in-a-club-dropped-his-gun-and-accidentally-shot-someone-police-say/?utm_term=.296e52f4469c)

It will be interesting to see how this one turns out. There were several phases of this that were more than 'bad enough', starting off with dropping a firearm while dancing, but the coup de grace is that the agent just walked away from the person he shot without rendering aid or even accessing the situation. ?!?!?!?!?!?!

C'mon Jim, we really need that face- palm emoticon..... please? It is not so much me asking as it is the world demanding it..... over and over again.

Brian


Jeeze Brian! It was the FBI's agent's turn 'in the box' and he wasn't done with his lil dance. Anyone can see that.    ::)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 06, 2018, 05:35:10 AM
And now for something entirely different.  Some years (more than I can count) ago I misplaced my primary fob (the one with the key).  I know I hadn't lost it because I had got home on the bike and the bike wasn't complaining about fob out of range.   Looked over and over for it in the garage and in the house and no luck.  I had thought I had put it down somewhere and it slid into a box that got thrown out.   So not wanting to lose the second one, I attached a chain to it and always clipped that to my belt loop.  Only way I could lose it now was to lose my pants.  Fast forward to day before evening...   Wife comes down the stairs and asks me what is this in her hand.  Oh heck yes, I need that.  It's the primary fob to the C14.  Where was it?  It was in a drawer she was cleaning out.  I felt so good I went out and rode the Indian 200 miles yesterday.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 06, 2018, 06:26:31 AM
I felt so good I went out and rode the Indian 200 miles yesterday.

????  What a horrible ending...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 06, 2018, 06:40:49 AM
????  What a horrible ending...

 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 06, 2018, 07:54:51 AM
 ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 06, 2018, 03:42:46 PM
The last surviving 'Munchkin' from The Wizard of Oz died last month, at age 98. Jerry Maren was one of the 'little people' in that movie, standing 4'3" tall.

And according to Mr. Maren, the Munchkins were paid $50 per week to work on that movie..... while Toto the dog was paid $200 per week. I honestly do not know what to make of that, nor can I find a 'moral in the story' anywhere, unless it is as simple there were far more Munchkins than there were dogs in that movie?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 06, 2018, 03:46:10 PM
unless it is as simple there were far more Munchkins than there were dogs in that movie?

That is probably it.  All the dwarfs were, essentially, "extras" and mostly anonymous (through costume) and mostly with only tiny exposure.  Toto had a larger role and much more screen time.  It does seem kinda funny, though.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 07, 2018, 04:01:33 AM
And now for something entirely different.  Some years (more than I can count) ago I misplaced my primary fob (the one with the key).  I know I hadn't lost it because I had got home on the bike and the bike wasn't complaining about fob out of range.   Looked over and over for it in the garage and in the house and no luck.  I had thought I had put it down somewhere and it slid into a box that got thrown out.   So not wanting to lose the second one, I attached a chain to it and always clipped that to my belt loop.  Only way I could lose it now was to lose my pants.  Fast forward to day before evening...   Wife comes down the stairs and asks me what is this in her hand.  Oh heck yes, I need that.  It's the primary fob to the C14.  Where was it?  It was in a drawer she was cleaning out.  I felt so good I went out and rode the Indian 200 miles yesterday.

What? You have a 2008 C14 right? Both of your fobs are the same, like mine. What's primary about one fob over the other? Both of my fobs have keys.

And after being on this message board for how many years? You've seen folks here who have lost their last fob and have spent a LOT of money replacing fobs and ECUs to get their bikes back up and running and you've been with one fob for how many years?    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 07, 2018, 05:06:52 AM
Well, I don't remember if I had two keys.   I think I only had 1.   You remember how spotty the dealers were at that time.  Yep, I know about lost fobs and the issues therein.  However, being the eternal pessimistic optimist, I knew that the other fob would show up at some time or another or not.  It was either in the house or thrown out inadvertently, hence the chain and fastening to the belt loop.  If that fob got lost then I was going to get lost with it. ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 07, 2018, 09:52:46 AM
...  It was either in the house or thrown out inadvertently, hence the chain and fastening to the belt loop.  If that fob got lost then I was going to get lost with it. ;)

You got lost, all right ... at an Indian dealership.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 07, 2018, 11:45:41 AM
Snip...

  However, being the eternal pessimistic optimist, I knew that the other fob would show up at some time or another or not. 

That's a pretty safe bet I'd say.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 07, 2018, 02:04:42 PM
Yep..   And I got found at an Indian Dealership.  Probably the best experience I've ever had buying a motorcycle. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 07, 2018, 05:57:07 PM
Did they have a bone stimulator there? We know it could not have been the bike......

 ;D ;)

Brian

Yep..   And I got found at an Indian Dealership.  Probably the best experience I've ever had buying a motorcycle.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 07, 2018, 05:58:54 PM
And now it is not just the entire human race that has had its' 'cheese slide off its' cracker' a bit: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/07/bison-gores-california-woman-at-yellowstone-national-park-officials-say.html (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/07/bison-gores-california-woman-at-yellowstone-national-park-officials-say.html)

Now the animals are going over to the dark, inexplicably out- of- control side too. I am starting to think it is something in the solar wind or we have passed through a comets' tail or something. Sheesh!

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 07, 2018, 07:38:50 PM
“The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly flat dishwatery utterances of a man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States.”
-Chicago Times, editorial.

It was written in response to The Gettysburg Address, given some days earlier, by A. Lincoln.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 07, 2018, 08:23:11 PM
Did they have a bone stimulator there? We know it could not have been the bike......

 ;D ;)

Brian


Have you ever been in an Indian only dealer?  Quite a few bone simulators in stock and ready to go.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 08, 2018, 05:08:28 AM
I find it quite interesting that when your phone goes missing all heck breaks loose.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 08, 2018, 07:30:12 AM
I find it quite interesting that when your phone goes missing all heck breaks loose.

Something I did without for the majority of my life now is a 3 alarm full panic when it goes missing. How did that happen? "Find my iPhone" is the best app on the thing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 08, 2018, 10:55:52 AM
Because the 'new' becomes the 'norm' is the proverbial blink of an eye. We are old enough to remember when the 'remote control' was getting up and turning the channel dial or the volume knob. Now, if a remote has dead batteries or we lose one (we all have more than one, right?) it is an apocalypse and life stops until it is fixed. I cannot imagine walking WAY over to my TV and making any changes adjustments at all- it would be more horrible than death and besides, I do not think any of my TV's are controllable from the actual TV anyway.

So I hear you with the cell phone: for decades, we drove around without them and were perfectly fine. Now if we go somewhere and actually forget the phone, the shock is tremendous and it is like being in public without any clothes. Plus all the things one might need a cell phone for run through the mind at light- speed, entirely forgetting we used to cross the country without one at all.

The same is unfortunately true for negative things as well; we become accustomed to such bad behavior from our species that that too is shrugged off and in some cases, we even have thoughts that 'gee, that was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be". I remember reading about someone plowing into a crowd of people, with a car of course, at really pretty high speed. The first thing that struck me while reading the article was that only one person was killed (though many were injured). The second thought was that the first thought was amazing! I have been so conditioned to truly amazing feats of bad, excessive behavior that I am not unconsciously judging them by the damage they cause vs. what I would have thought and found myself surprise that "only one" person was killed in the idiotic event. A couple of decades ago, I would have been amazed that anyone would even do that.

Brian

Something I did without for the majority of my life now is a 3 alarm full panic when it goes missing. How did that happen? "Find my iPhone" is the best app on the thing.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 09, 2018, 05:39:42 AM
Something I did without for the majority of my life now is a 3 alarm full panic when it goes missing. How did that happen? "Find my iPhone" is the best app on the thing.


Perfect storm..  low battery and it died before I knew it was missing.  I was a passenger in my wife's car (coming back from our favorite eating place in Fredericksburg, had the phone on my knee and in a corner it slid off and went under the seat and I promptly forgot where it was.   Looked all over the house and couldn't find it.  Was talking with a client the day after and she mentioned the word 'seats' and it instantly came back where it had gone.  Amazing how that trigger word worked.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 09, 2018, 09:12:47 AM

Perfect storm..  low battery and it died before I knew it was missing.  I was a passenger in my wife's car (coming back from our favorite eating place in Fredericksburg, had the phone on my knee and in a corner it slid off and went under the seat and I promptly forgot where it was.   Looked all over the house and couldn't find it.  Was talking with a client the day after and she mentioned the word 'seats' and it instantly came back where it had gone.  Amazing how that trigger word worked.

What ever you do, don't play solitaire! And for God's sake don't look at the Queen of Diamonds playing card!!!    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 09, 2018, 01:31:36 PM
Been doing an experiment lately.... back in Nov., a female kitten walked into my house and would not go away. I would say we adopted her but it was the other way around. Anyway, she is about a year old now, full grown and generating a surprisingly amount of....., er, 'product' in the litter box.

Now where I live, we have two 'garbage' containers, one for <real> garbage, and one for recycle. Normally, we have been putting Phoebe's..... output into the trash container. But a while ago, i started to put it into the recycle container out of curiosity as to whether or not they could recycle that stuff. I expect it to be turned back into cat food.

Has anyone noticed any recycled cat food for sale anywhere? Just wondering if it was working or not, assuming of course that those no good garbage men (or whatever the P.C. term is for those folks) are not stealing it for their own gain.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on June 09, 2018, 02:24:02 PM
so that's why my bottled water tastes like crap lately...argggg...

Kenny started the trend, wayyyy back, it was called 'cheesing'...
I think the garbage men 'refuse collectors' have been distilling the soaked cat litter... and selling raw product on the streets... for people to get high on...

https://youtu.be/muTQthqfn40

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Boobage

Nancy Reagan always said... "just say no..."
 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :hitfan:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 09, 2018, 03:00:18 PM
Normally, we have been putting Phoebe's..... output into the trash container. But a while ago, i started to put it into the recycle container out of curiosity as to whether or not they could recycle that stuff.

Are you serious?  You didn't really put cat litter in the recycle bin...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on June 09, 2018, 05:19:13 PM
Are you serious?  You didn't really put cat litter in the recycle bin...

sure he is...

funny stuff... some pics I stumbled on from 14 years ago...
cats and dog hated the rooster... it ate the catfood... the chicken flavored catfood...
so, the cats lured the rooster... to the fryer pot... viola.. problem solved...

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 09, 2018, 05:38:22 PM
And this is why we need a face-palm emoticon.....

Watson, the point of the story is humor. It does not matter where I put anything (Easy Boys!), it is the concept that is funny. I believe mammals eating and, er, evacuating, is what is called an irreversible process. So the idea of throwing 'droppings' into any part of a recycle loop becomes humorous because 'it just don't work thata- way'. Sort of like you cannot stuff kittens back where they came from and get sperm and eggs as a result. Again, it just don't a-work that way. But amusing when it passes through one's mind.....

And no, I did not put cat litter in the recycle bin, at least not much, just the removed cat leavins'.  ;) ;D

And there are far worse things I can think of to put in a recycle bin than a sealed bag of cat 'leavings'.   :rotflmao:

Brian



Are you serious?  You didn't really put cat litter in the recycle bin...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 09, 2018, 07:59:05 PM
And speaking of the things that generate cat leavings, I have more of them now. Went out to see the four feral kittens living in my garage and Mama cat moved them yet again but when I found them, I only found Mama and three kittens, not four. But the kittens were scattered so I think I might have interrupted Mama moving them. ?? Anyway, the kittens are just 4 weeks old, we planned on grabbing them tomorrow and bringing them into the house but tonight I found out they can run. So I made the decision and caught them, or two of them anyway, and they are now in my laundry room. The third ran behind some stored wood where I could not get to it and I have not seen the fourth. I will go out there several times tomorrow and see if I can round up the other one, or hopefully, two kittens. The two I have are not interested in kitten kibble (soaked in water to make it 'mush') so we might have to go out and get a bottle and formula or one of us will have to get a set of breasts working (again in my wife's case, mine have never been used). Probably the bottle I suppose....

I am fairly large (6'2", 240+) and it was all I could do to hang onto that second kitten; it spit the whole time I was trying to pick it up, scratched and bit me continuously and jumped out of my hands several time (I caught it mid- air repeatedly) until I finally got the little fella under control. Must be a Tasmanian Devil breed of domestic cat.

(https://i.imgur.com/FnzZN7O.jpg)

The fierce one is the smaller one toward the right.  :rotflmao:

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 09, 2018, 09:01:48 PM
And no, I did not put cat litter in the recycle bin

https://www.wral.com/your-recycling-gets-recycled-right-maybe-or-maybe-not/17589391/?comment_order=forward (https://www.wral.com/your-recycling-gets-recycled-right-maybe-or-maybe-not/17589391/?comment_order=forward)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 10, 2018, 07:36:09 AM
MOB's story above reminds me...

5 years or so ago my wife and I went to visit my oldest son in Tennessee. My son has a very large fenced in backyard and he was keeping chickens back there. I think that he had around 12 chickens. We had our 3 small dogs with us and they had never seen chickens before. My son wanted to see how our dogs would react to the chickens and he wanted me to turn them loose in the backyard and see what happened.

I suggested that we turn the dogs loose one at a time instead. My son has two large dogs and they never bothered the chickens and the chickens were used to the dogs.

Bosco, our mini Dachshund, was first. I thought for sure that she would go after the chickens but all she did was walk over to them and gave 'em a sniff, that was it.

Agnes, half Dachshund half Yorky, was next. She charged the chickens at top speed but when the chickens didn't run or show any fear she lost interest.

Sookie, Agnes' sister, was last. Sookie took one look at the chickens and made a bee line for the largest chicken. She grabbed that chicken by the neck and shook it for all she was worth. The chicken was screaming and feathers were flying everywhere. Sookie was having a BIG time! My son yelled out, "oh no, my chickens!" and ran to his chicken's rescue. I was laughing but ran along and pulled Sookie off of his chicken. The chicken was ok but we had to keep Sookie away from them after that.    :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 12, 2018, 06:00:33 AM
Hedy Lamarr, not to be confused with Hedley Lamarr, had an invention that revolutionized communications and here I thought that she was just good to look at.


Her invention (WWII) helped enable Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth.   It all started in WWII and torpedoes not hitting their targets.   She wanted to help and thought that radio guided torpedoes would help the US have a better hit rate than the normal ones which were shoot and forget.  She thought that if you could steer them to their targets using radio frequencies that changed in sync with a receiver in the torpedo could eliminate the enemy being able to jam.  It was kinda like a player piano tape in that the notes changed via the holes.


Eventually her invention got to be used by the military in the 50's and from there, that idea has been applied to current communications today.


She also thought that airplanes were too slow and came up with some designs to fix that.  Howard Hughes thought that she was a genius.


Unfortunately for Hedy, she neither received any money nor recognition for what she came up with until very late in life. The recognition, that is.   She never received any money for those inventions.


Thank you, Hedy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 12, 2018, 03:14:43 PM
Unfortunately for Hedy, she neither received any money nor recognition for what she came up with until very late in life. The recognition, that is.   She never received any money for those inventions.

Unfortunately, that seems to happen a lot with innovators and inventors.  Tesla and Touring both immediately come to mind.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 12, 2018, 04:04:26 PM
She was also quite a looker!

(https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdailyentertainmentnews.com%2Fwpgo%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F11%2Fhedy-lamarr-bio-husbands-children-7.jpg&f=1)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 12, 2018, 04:14:57 PM
Yes, a beautiful woman. And her claim is that that got in the way of her life for most of her life. She would have preferred to be more intellectual but her physical beauty prevented anyone from taking her seriously.

Then again, her heyday was a very different time and generation. One of the most intelligent, if not THE most intelligent peers I have had the pleasure to work with was a young woman. We used to work quite closely together; I could provide some design, conceptual help to her and she would handle all of those nasty, obnoxious math problems involving identities in trigonometry; I can remember about four of them while I think she knew ALL of them (not possible but I never saw a problem that stumped her either). But I have no doubt that she too would have been minimized if she happened to be born in the 1910's as well as Hedy Lamar.

Brian

She was also quite a looker!

(https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdailyentertainmentnews.com%2Fwpgo%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F11%2Fhedy-lamarr-bio-husbands-children-7.jpg&f=1)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 13, 2018, 04:34:13 AM
Dancing FBI agent who accidentally shot someone is arrested

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/us/dancing-fbi-agent-arrest/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/us/dancing-fbi-agent-arrest/index.html)

(CNN)The FBI agent who unintentionally shot someone while dancing in a Denver bar turned himself in to police on Tuesday and is awaiting charges.

The agent, identified as 29-year-old Chase Bishop, is being held at a Denver detention center for investigation of second degree assault, pending formal charges from the District Attorney's Office, according to Denver Police Department spokesman Jay Casillas.

Bishop was showing off his moves in the center of a dance circle at Mile High Spirits bar on June 2 when he launched into a back handspring. During the move, a firearm fell out of his waistband holster and onto the floor, Denver police said.

He moved to pick the weapon up and unintentionally fired one shot, police said. Bishop then put the gun back in his pants and walked away with his hands up.

One person was struck in the lower leg and was expected to survive, police said.

The arrest comes a week after video of the incident went viral and raised questions as to why Bishop was not initially taken into custody.

An attorney for the victim told CNN affiliate KMGH that the bullet hit the victim's main artery and that he could have bled to death, if not for a person who applied a tourniquet to the victim's leg.

The District Attorney's Office as well as Denver FBI did not comment on the incident, citing a pending investigation.

Authorities did not initially identify the FBI agent because he was not arrested at the time, Denver police community resource officer Marika Putnam said. Denver police said last week that the agent could face possible charges pending the results of lab testing to determine if alcohol was a factor.

Last week, the Mile High Spirits team released a statement on Facebook saying they looked forward to speaking with the FBI to learn more about why the agent was armed in the bar.

"It is shocking that the only shooting to ever occur at our establishment came about as a result of an FBI agent entering our distillery tasting room carrying a loaded firearm without our knowledge, in violation of our rules," the bar said.

The bar also said the patron who was shot is welcome to complimentary drinks forever at the bar.

Retired FBI supervisory special agent James A. Gagliano wrote for CNN that he understood the need for a young agent to blow off steam. Still, he wrote that he was shocked at the agent's poor judgment.

"This agent should have taken better care to conceal and secure his weapon," Gagliano wrote. "Even before he lost control of it, you can clearly see the weapon's outline against his shirt in the video. That's an egregiously unacceptable concealment effort.

"And knowing he was armed, he may have elected to avoid the dance-off."



Looks like Chase will be pursuing another carrier path.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 13, 2018, 07:23:46 AM
I saw that. What a dumb series of mistakes.

1) does not use a proper holster to secure a loaded weapon with no safety or safety off
   not sure what it was but if something like a Glock, carry with a holster that covers the trigger guard
   and does not accidentally release the weapon

2) decides on the back flip dancing move while carrying

3) when he picks it up, puts his finger on the trigger.

I expect more from and FBI agent that is supposed to be a pro.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 13, 2018, 07:26:15 AM
Must be on a leadership track.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on June 13, 2018, 08:57:12 AM
The list of errors goes on and on.

If that was one of us, we would have been in jail that night and still be in jail today. After we got thumped on be the local police.

The sad part is, none of this is terribly surprising. Stupidity and ineptitude is pervasive in society today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 13, 2018, 02:35:19 PM
So in this insane world where it seems everyone is tripping over his / her feet to hurt, insult or molest someone else, let us look toward that kindly, gentle animal species that has real manners for a better example: yep, Kodiak bears, the largest carnivore in the western hemisphere and possibly, the world. Let us take a very quick look at how they interact with another mammal during a casual interaction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Xo21L0ybE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Xo21L0ybE)

OK, as I watch the video I counted:

0 Shootings
0 Incidents of rage, (road or other)
0 Incidents of group or 'pack' behavior

Perhaps we can learn something from our furry 'friends'. Remember, humans are the ONLY mammals that kills for sport.....

Oh yeah, and  :rotflmao:  'cause the video is funny!

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on June 13, 2018, 07:58:44 PM
Why am I thinking that the interaction would have been much different had the people approached bear to "get a closer look"?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 14, 2018, 03:06:13 PM
Charles Proteus Steinmetz (born Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz, 1865 in Prussia).

He was many things: a truly gifted genius, a man suffering from dwarfism (he stood just 4 feet tall), hunchback, and hip dysplasia, an odd man who lived an unusual but apparently successful life and lifestyle, and one of the inventor / engineer greats of the early period of the use of electricity. He was called the "Wizard" of Schenectady for his ground-breaking work at GE, was quite famous as a brilliant and able inventor and problem- solver, and knew and was friendly with many of 'the greats' of that era including T.A. Edison and Henry Ford. He is probably best known today as the man who conjured up Steinmetz's formula, still used everyday to deal with magnetic hysteresis losses, as well as the 'operators' he came up with so that calculus is not needed to deal with simple AC circuits and instead they can be treated as the far simpler DC circuits. It has been speculated many times that the reason Thomas Edison was so opposed to AC current was that he did not have the education or mathematical abilities to do even simple calculations on AC circuits; Steinmetz generated his 'operators' to allow Edison to work with AC as easily as he could deal with DC current. They are still in widespread, common use today because even if one can do the actual integration, it is far, far easier to just use Steinmetz's 'operators' and skip all the tedious mathematics.

As the story goes:  During the construction of the Ford Rouge River plant (by far the largest manufacturing plant in the world when completed in 1928; it measured 1 1/2 miles wide and 1 mile long), the engineers could not get the huge generator to work correctly. This is supposedly how it was solved:

(quote taken directly from Smithsonian.com' website)

"Ford, whose electrical engineers couldn’t solve some problems they were having with a gigantic generator, called Steinmetz in to the plant. Upon arriving, Steinmetz rejected all assistance and asked only for a notebook, pencil and cot. According to Scott, Steinmetz listened to the generator and scribbled computations on the notepad for two straight days and nights. On the second night, he asked for a ladder, climbed up the generator and made a chalk mark on its side. Then he told Ford’s skeptical engineers to remove a plate at the mark and replace sixteen windings from the field coil. They did, and the generator performed to perfection.

Henry Ford was thrilled until he got an invoice from General Electric in the amount of $10,000. Ford acknowledged Steinmetz’s success but balked at the figure. He asked for an itemized bill.

Steinmetz, Scott wrote, responded personally to Ford’s request with the following:

Making chalk mark on generator $1.

Knowing where to make mark $9,999.

Ford paid the bill."

One of my favorite stories. I really do not know or even care if it is actually true, it is still a great story about a fascinating person IMO.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 18, 2018, 06:23:18 PM
The 'cylinder' wars between Chevrolet and Chrysler go back almost to the beginning of production automobiles in the US.

By the 1920's, both of those companies, as well as most auto companies in total, were making four- cylinder cars (luxury and limited production vehicles excepted). Ford's Model T, made from 1909 until 1927, was by far the most produced car in the world, and would remain so until the 1980's when the Volkswagen Beetle finally surpassed it in production numbers. Still, by the end of the run, the T was badly dated and sales were dwindling, so Henry Ford decided to bring out the next model, a particular favorite of his and actually called "Henry's Lady", the Model A. This new and very popular model was introduced in 1928 and was expected to have a long run, as the Model T did but everything changed when Chevrolet came out with the in-line six and the advertising slogan 'a six for the price of a four', and that was the first year that Chevrolet ever out- sold Ford (1929). As the story goes, an enraged Henry Fork remarked 'If it is cylinders they want, it is cylinders they will get!' and immediately began work on what we know today as the Ford Flathead V-8 that would go on to power Ford autos for decades. Of course Chevrolet responded much, much later, in 1955, with their own V-8, the 265 cu. in. 'small block', which was again a modern engine with overhead valves. In fact, most people will say that this was Chevrolet's first V-8 but that is not the case.....

Chevrolet actually introduced a V-8 in 1917 to compete with the other, higher- end manufacturers of the day. In fact, this engine, in the 'Model D', was actually very advanced and unlike the 1933 Ford V-8, it had overhead valves, a direct drive rotary distributor and several other futuristic facets. By all accounts, it was a very good design, very robust and reliable and was basically well ahead of its time. Unfortunately, it was also expensive and the bottom line was that people simply would not pay Cadillac, Pierce- Arrow, Packard, et al. prices for the pedestrian moniker 'Chevrolet'. So the original Chevrolet quietly died a quick death after only two years. Today they are rare and extremely sought- after collector cars.

So the "brand new for Chevrolet" V-8 of 1955 was actually almost 40 years later than Chevrolet's real 'first' V-8.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 19, 2018, 10:55:07 AM
And now for an excellent story about a very good LEO doing his job.

http://time.com/5315805/indiana-state-trooper-pulled-over-slow-driver-left-lane/ (http://time.com/5315805/indiana-state-trooper-pulled-over-slow-driver-left-lane/)

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana State Police trooper who tweeted a photo of a vehicle he stopped for driving too slowly in the left lane says he’s overwhelmed by the widespread praise he’s receiving online.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles stopped the driver Saturday on Interstate 65 about 35 miles south of Indianapolis after about 20 vehicles had slowed behind her. Wheeles says she was traveling under the 70 mph speed limit. Indiana law requires drivers to move to the right lane to allow faster traffic to pass. 

The post has been retweeted by IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, who said, “This guy is my hero,” and Fox NFL announcer and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. Others suggested he win a Nobel Prize or asked him to relocate to their states.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Df1WJcIX0AEJMom.jpg:large)

"I stopped this vehicle today for a left lane violation on I-65.  The driver had approximately 20 cars slowed behind her because she would not move back to the right lane.

Again...if there are vehicles behind you, you must move to the right lane to allow them to pass."

https://twitter.com/ISPVersailles/status/1008056619622690817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw (https://twitter.com/ISPVersailles/status/1008056619622690817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2018, 12:15:26 PM
Yeah, I saw that story. Brought a tear to my eye, it did.

I saw something absolutely amazing in Wyokodatana (one of those big, western states) on my ride to the other coast in '11. There is miles and miles of nothing but prairie with a ribbon that in Interstate I-90 running through the middle of it. Seriously, on a small rise, I think you can see for 30, 40 miles in either direction. Anyway, riding along a few MPH above the speed limit, I came upon a car and a truck driving much slower..... but RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! I got behind the person in the left lane, waited a bit and then flashed my brights at the driver. After a few flashes, he / she sped up and started to pull ahead but only did so until about 10 feet in front of the truck in the right lane, and then settled back down to the original cruising speed. Still not able to get by them (only a 2- lane highway), I finally had to resort to more drastic passing measures. I did not and still do not believe they were acting maliciously and it was simply ignorance, and idiocy causing this.

And then some time later, I saw the exact same thing happen a few more times! The very definition of F.U.B.A.R. in my opinion.

Brian

And now for an excellent story about a very good LEO doing his job.

http://time.com/5315805/indiana-state-trooper-pulled-over-slow-driver-left-lane/ (http://time.com/5315805/indiana-state-trooper-pulled-over-slow-driver-left-lane/)

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana State Police trooper who tweeted a photo of a vehicle he stopped for driving too slowly in the left lane says he’s overwhelmed by the widespread praise he’s receiving online.

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 19, 2018, 01:02:59 PM
 :goodpost: Gives me hope for mankind!

And now for an excellent story about a very good LEO doing his job.

http://time.com/5315805/indiana-state-trooper-pulled-over-slow-driver-left-lane/ (http://time.com/5315805/indiana-state-trooper-pulled-over-slow-driver-left-lane/)

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana State Police trooper who tweeted a photo of a vehicle he stopped for driving too slowly in the left lane says he’s overwhelmed by the widespread praise he’s receiving online.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles stopped the driver Saturday on Interstate 65 about 35 miles south of Indianapolis after about 20 vehicles had slowed behind her. Wheeles says she was traveling under the 70 mph speed limit. Indiana law requires drivers to move to the right lane to allow faster traffic to pass. 

The post has been retweeted by IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, who said, “This guy is my hero,” and Fox NFL announcer and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. Others suggested he win a Nobel Prize or asked him to relocate to their states.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Df1WJcIX0AEJMom.jpg:large)

"I stopped this vehicle today for a left lane violation on I-65.  The driver had approximately 20 cars slowed behind her because she would not move back to the right lane.

Again...if there are vehicles behind you, you must move to the right lane to allow them to pass."

https://twitter.com/ISPVersailles/status/1008056619622690817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw (https://twitter.com/ISPVersailles/status/1008056619622690817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 19, 2018, 01:09:41 PM
Years ago, my brother got a velocity award and instead of accepting the award he choose to attend a safety driving class (an option in the state of TX if your record is otherwise clean). This was before the online classes and had to be attended in person. The class was taught by a LEO and one of the students bragged how they loved to find someone going slow in the right land and cruise along side in the left lane to slow everyone down. This a$$hole actually thought he was doing the world a favor. The instructor told the a$$hole that what he was doing was illegal and that if he ever caught him doing that he would be getting another citation.

Yeah, I saw that story. Brought a tear to my eye, it did.

I saw something absolutely amazing in Wyokodatana (one of those big, western states) on my ride to the other coast in '11. There is miles and miles of nothing but prairie with a ribbon that in Interstate I-90 running through the middle of it. Seriously, on a small rise, I think you can see for 30, 40 miles in either direction. Anyway, riding along a few MPH above the speed limit, I came upon a car and a truck driving much slower..... but RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! I got behind the person in the left lane, waited a bit and then flashed my brights at the driver. After a few flashes, he / she sped up and started to pull ahead but only did so until about 10 feet in front of the truck in the right lane, and then settled back down to the original cruising speed. Still not able to get by them (only a 2- lane highway), I finally had to resort to more drastic passing measures. I did not and still do not believe they were acting maliciously and it was simply ignorance, and idiocy causing this.

And then some time later, I saw the exact same thing happen a few more times! The very definition of F.U.B.A.R. in my opinion.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2018, 02:20:11 PM
And now, as a comparison to stupid people, please permit me to introduce some smart kittens :-)

(https://i.imgur.com/WNmxK2q.jpg)

A couple of days past 5 weeks old and they know exactly how to 'chow down'. Lots' o' purrin' going on in that lap (and yep, there are several Easy Boys! jokes in there but the kittens are far too young for that kind of 'R' rated material).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 19, 2018, 02:25:55 PM
And now for something on the lighter side.

https://nypost.com/2018/06/19/man-crushed-to-death-by-moms-coffin-during-funeral/

I am actually surprised there was an accident during that..... affair. Everything looks pretty safe and robust, from the bamboo ladders with the rope fastenings, right on through the careful, coordinated effort by people wearing the proper attire, especially footwear, and working in a carefully orchestrated, safe manner.

Yeah I know it is a tragedy but seriously, how can anyone look at that video and not think "Really?..... REALLY?".... at what point did any of that seem like a good idea?

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 19, 2018, 06:48:33 PM
Good argument for cremation.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on June 19, 2018, 07:50:05 PM
Good argument for cremation.

There are a lot of good arguments for cremation.... like

1) Lower cost
2) No space
3) More logical
4) Less work
5) Easier planning
6) More environmental friendly
7) Less conceited
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on June 21, 2018, 07:07:32 AM
8)  Can stay at home and keep an eye on things
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 21, 2018, 08:47:02 AM
There are a lot of good arguments for cremation.... like

1) Lower cost
2) No space
3) More logical
4) Less work
5) Easier planning
6) More environmental friendly
7) Less conceited

 
8)  Can stay at home and keep an eye on things
...and up close at that.  8)

9) Bigger...become the man in death that you never were in life (https://www.boredpanda.com/cremation-ashe-dildo-21-grams-mark-sturkenboom/).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on June 21, 2018, 09:42:29 AM
  ...and up close at that.  8)

9) Bigger...become the man in death that you never were in life (https://www.boredpanda.com/cremation-ashe-dildo-21-grams-mark-sturkenboom/).

 :o  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 21, 2018, 02:53:56 PM
I really hate to put this in a Thread about nothing at all because I really think this IS something.... but here goes:

Koko the gorilla died last Tuesday at the age of 46. For those not familiar with her or that story, Koko was a female lowland gorilla, adopted and raised by Francine Patterson as part of her PhD thesis which was based on the idea of actually getting a great ape to 'talk' with humans. This project started in 1972 and has been basically on-going ever since.

There had been many trials to teach some of the great apes to 'talk' in the past but almost all involved trying to teach Chimpanzees to use vocal speech. All were failures, in a large part due apparently to the fact that the other apes (besides us on this forum) just do not have the mental speech center development to actually 'talk'. They emitted a few screeching words but as far as a conversation or exchange of ideas, that never happened.

Ms. Patterson choose a different route; first she chose a gorilla, believing them more intelligent than chimpanzees. But the big break- through was that she taught Koko ASL, American Sign Language rather than vocal speech. And Koko learned..... far beyond anyone's expectations. Beyond her actual language abilities, she gave great insight into her cognitive and reasoning abilities including making up her own compound words ('cookie- rocks' for stale cookies, 'water- birds' for seagulls and other instances) and the truly fascinating ability to lie in order to deflect blame for something she had done. Lying is an extremely high- order action that takes a lot of raw reasoning power to figure out how to paint a false 'picture' to mislead others and actually have them think that what they perceive as reality is not really correct. A few years after getting Koko, Ms. Patterson also procured a young male gorilla (as an infant, just as Koko was when this experiment was started) and to everyone's amazement, Koko started teaching Michael (the male gorilla) sign language. Koko was also given many different tests including I.Q. standardized tests for young humans and actually scored above 100, which is average for humans.

Another story I remember from many years ago is that Koko loved Coca- cola but was normally not allowed to have it because of tooth decay. But every now and again, she would get loose on campus (again, this was a research project) and run up to anyone / everyone, signing that she wanted money. Of course most people did not know what she wanted but some did and they gave her change; once Koko had enough (could she actually count it??) she would go to a vending machine, insert the money and have herself a refreshing Coke.  :rotflmao:  Smarter than a lot of people who do not know enough to come in out of the rain IMO.  ;) ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 21, 2018, 03:14:55 PM
That begs the question how much money do you give to a begging 500 lbs gorilla? As much as she wants!

I really hate to put this in a Thread about nothing at all because I really think this IS something.... but here goes:

Koko the gorilla died last Tuesday at the age of 46. For those not familiar with her or that story, Koko was a female lowland gorilla, adopted and raised by Francine Patterson as part of her PhD thesis which was based on the idea of actually getting a great ape to 'talk' with humans. This project started in 1972 and has been basically on-going ever since.

There had been many trials to teach some of the great apes to 'talk' in the past but almost all involved trying to teach Chimpanzees to use vocal speech. All were failures, in a large part due apparently to the fact that the other apes (besides us on this forum) just do not have the mental speech center development to actually 'talk'. They emitted a few screeching words but as far as a conversation or exchange of ideas, that never happened.

Ms. Patterson choose a different route; first she chose a gorilla, believing them more intelligent than chimpanzees. But the big break- through was that she taught Koko ASL, American Sign Language rather than vocal speech. And Koko learned..... far beyond anyone's expectations. Beyond her actual language abilities, she gave great insight into her cognitive and reasoning abilities including making up her own compound words ('cookie- rocks' for stale cookies, 'water- birds' for seagulls and other instances) and the truly fascinating ability to lie in order to deflect blame for something she had done. Lying is an extremely high- order action that takes a lot of raw reasoning power to figure out how to paint a false 'picture' to mislead others and actually have them think that what they perceive as reality is not really correct. A few years after getting Koko, Ms. Patterson also procured a young male gorilla (as an infant, just as Koko was when this experiment was started) and to everyone's amazement, Koko started teaching Michael (the male gorilla) sign language. Koko was also given many different tests including I.Q. standardized tests for young humans and actually scored above 100, which is average for humans.

Another story I remember from many years ago is that Koko loved Coca- cola but was normally not allowed to have it because of tooth decay. But every now and again, she would get loose on campus (again, this was a research project) and run up to anyone / everyone, signing that she wanted money. Of course most people did not know what she wanted but some did and they gave her change; once Koko had enough (could she actually count it??) she would go to a vending machine, insert the money and have herself a refreshing Coke.  :rotflmao:  Smarter than a lot of people who do not know enough to come in out of the rain IMO.  ;) ;D

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on June 22, 2018, 06:02:59 AM
  ...and up close at that.  8)

9) Bigger...become the man in death that you never were in life (https://www.boredpanda.com/cremation-ashe-dildo-21-grams-mark-sturkenboom/).

I told my wife about this. I didn't know that her eyes could roll back that far!    :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 22, 2018, 10:12:18 AM
I told my wife about this. I didn't know that her eyes could roll back that far!    :rotflmao:
You mean in ecstatic anticipation of your demise and growth in the afterlife?   ;D

With my luck, my wife would enjoy the new me a few times and then remember something I did in the past that ticked her off really good
and she would probably take the new me and leave me on the curb outside of a gay bar.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 22, 2018, 02:07:34 PM
You mean in ecstatic anticipation of your demise and growth in the afterlife?   ;D

With my luck, my wife would enjoy the new me a few times and then remember something I did in the past that ticked her off really good
and she would probably take the new me and leave me on the curb outside of a gay bar.

Oh boy, I don't think anybody's gonna be able to hear you screaming inside your new jar.

Assuming you actually are screaming.



Man, this is one sick forum.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2018, 02:22:31 PM
Look at the bright side, he may get new and exciting experiences..... well, maybe at least new.

 :rotflmao:

If you posted something like this on FaceTwit Marty, there would be seven million protests (hates, whatever FaceTwit does to punish those with an opinion..... that does not flow in the correct direction of the moment) and probably be banned from the US by now. But that might actually work out OK for you 'cause if you were declared a non- citizen, you could just stay where you are and get free college.

But that sure is an..... unusual 'accessory', how did you find it? Were you searching or did it just 'pop up' in your normal shopping? Hmmmmm?   ;) ;D

Brian

Oh boy, I don't think anybody's gonna be able to hear you screaming inside your new jar.

Assuming you actually are screaming.



Man, this is one sick forum.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 22, 2018, 03:07:59 PM
Assuming you actually are screaming.

You Assensitive lout!  ;D

disclaimer: Although the rules of this forum and the sword wielder in chief frown on name calling, I would point out that
I'm not really calling Conniesaki a name, but rather assknowl-- acknowledging his pun-ish play on words through a joke name calling.


Man, this is one sick forum.

Well  DUH!, are you just now finding that out?
Still things being relative, we aren't that bad really. I mean it was Mrs Conrad that rolled her eyes back
in her head in ecstasy thinking about a bigger Mr C.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 22, 2018, 03:22:50 PM
But that sure is an..... unusual 'accessory', how did you find it? Were you searching or did it just 'pop up' in your normal shopping? Hmmmmm?   ;) ;D

 :-X  :banana

Don't get jealous Brian, you're still the only man that's ever 'popped up' and hugged me.
Only now you are starting to worry that I enjoyed it. :stirpot:

Bone stimulator indeed.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on June 22, 2018, 03:26:08 PM
 For 217 pages this thread was going so well and with in short order has gone to HE double toothpicks. LOL
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on June 22, 2018, 03:36:20 PM
For 217 pages this thread was going so well and with in short order has gone to HE double toothpicks. LOL

Well OK, sorry. But it was Brian that brought up FaceTwit and ruined the whole thing.  ;)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That Koko what a great story, I'm sorry she is gone. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2018, 04:20:05 PM
Yeah, it was not you planting a photo of that..... 'thing' and then mentioning leaving it at a gay bar.....  ::)   Man, do we ever NEED that face- palm emoticon or what?

I found Koko fascinating; I think I read about the story way back when (before she had reached adulthood) in Nat. Geo. or similar. Then there were the occasional TV show or spotlight on her and I was always fascinated at how much and how fast she learned. The whole event gave me, and I think most of us, new insight into just how smart our ape brethren really are. Koko reasoned, deduced, concluded and then executed some really high- level mental abilities.

The lying incident was especially illuminating IMO: Koko was acting like a gorilla and broke the sink in her quarters. when Penny found the broken sink, she asked Koko what happened. Now Koko has had several assistants over the years and so was quite familiar with quite a few people who worked with her and were part of her life and space. Now for the clever part: Koko blamed one of these assistants for breaking the sink. When pressed, Koko expanded by using more words to describe the event, always careful to point out it was a particular assistant. Now that simply shows an extremely high level of mental ability that was thought to belong to man only but Koko was able to lie effectively, with purpose and an obvious understanding that she was deliberately misleading Penny and 'shifting the blame'. We know cats and dogs often know when they make a mistake and get caught but this would be like a dog backing up and pointing to the other dog next to it when the 'deed' was found. And I just do not believe our four- legged friends can reason on that level. But Koko could.

It would be a shame if this work is not continued with other great apes. Who knows, maybe an Orangutan is even smarter yet? There are four great apes, Chimps, Gorillas, Orangutans and Humans. Personally, I would like to know just how smart our distant 'cousins' really are.

BTW: this is just my personal view and I am not foisting it on anyone; for those who do not believe in evolution, a fair wind and a safe harbor, I have no conflict with that view at all. In fact, when anthropologists come up with new 'facts' and state them with no uncertainty, I find it a bit annoying because while there could be the strongest suspicion, believe and seemingly overwhelming evidence, in the end there are too many holes in our understanding of evolution to state very many things as absolute facts IMO. I would rather hear something such as 'the current thinking is that.......' or similar.

Brian (who may have evolved beyond the other apes but I have to wonder if any of them would have fallen down the stairs....?)

Well OK, sorry. But it was Brian that brought up FaceTwit and ruined the whole thing.  ;)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That Koko what a great story, I'm sorry she is gone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2018, 04:21:06 PM
<shrugs shoulders> With a little effort, we can knock this thread back off track where it belongs.

Brian

For 217 pages this thread was going so well and with in short order has gone to HE double toothpicks. LOL
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2018, 04:23:40 PM
Oh no, do not try to hand that on ME. I was hugging Mary Ann, it was you who jumped in the way.

hehehehehe   That 'capture hug' is kinda' funny. At least one out of three 'group huggers' thinks so but I think Mary Ann finds it amusing also. Fun is where you find it.....

Brian

:-X  :banana

Don't get jealous Brian, you're still the only man that's ever 'popped up' and hugged me.
Only now you are starting to worry that I enjoyed it. :stirpot:

Bone stimulator indeed.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 22, 2018, 07:26:10 PM
Today is the anniversary of the first day of Operation Barbarosa (22 June, 1941). Big day in Soviet history, big day in German history.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 24, 2018, 05:24:33 PM
I think most people know the story of the German battleship Bismark; she engaged some British ships, most notably the HMS Hood, sinking the Hood in a matter of minutes (to everyone's amazement) but then was cornered by a large portion of the British fleet and sunk in the Atlantic. This occurred in 1941.

But I believe few people know of the fate of her escort ship on that voyage, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen (pronounced Oy- gen with a hard 'g'). She survived the encounter with the British fleet and in fact, survived the entire war, finally being given to the US as a war prize. She was sailed to Boston with a combination of German and US sailors (the vast majority being German) where she was given the designation USS Prinz Eugen, and was thoroughly examined by US Naval personnel, especially her sonar equipment. Once her German crew left the ship, 11 out of 12 of her boilers failed, probably due to the lack of knowledge and experience with them given her new American crew.  Eventually, she was towed to the Pacific where she was anchored and became a 'test mule' for atomic tests by the US. She developed a relatively small leak but due to radiation contamination, she was not repaired and was eventually left to capsize and sink at the Kwajalein Atoll.

If one looks closely at the film taken before the atomic tests Able and Baker, the first two atomic tests done after the end of WWII, she can be seen anchored with several other ships awaiting the detonation of both above ground as well as below surface atomic bomb tests in 1946.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 25, 2018, 08:03:52 AM
I think most people know the story of the German battleship Bismark; she engaged some British ships, most notably the HMS Hood, sinking the Hood in a matter of minutes (to everyone's amazement) but then was cornered by a large portion of the British fleet and sunk in the Atlantic. This occurred in 1941.

But I believe few people know of the fate of her escort ship on that voyage, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen (pronounced Oy- gen with a hard 'g'). She survived the encounter with the British fleet and in fact, survived the entire war, finally being given to the US as a war prize. She was sailed to Boston with a combination of German and US sailors (the vast majority being German) where she was given the designation USS Prinz Eugen, and was thoroughly examined by US Naval personnel, especially her sonar equipment. Once her German crew left the ship, 11 out of 12 of her boilers failed, probably due to the lack of knowledge and experience with them given her new American crew.  Eventually, she was towed to the Pacific where she was anchored and became a 'test mule' for atomic tests by the US. She developed a relatively small leak but due to radiation contamination, she was not repaired and was eventually left to capsize and sink at the Kwajalein Atoll.

If one looks closely at the film taken before the atomic tests Able and Baker, the first two atomic tests done after the end of WWII, she can be seen anchored with several other ships awaiting the detonation of both above ground as well as below surface atomic bomb tests in 1946.

Brian

There is now a SCUBA live aboard that goes from Majuro to Bikini. It also includes a stop at Kwajalein to dive the Prinz Eugen as well as an aircraft graveyard. My son and I went to Truk Lagoon last January and now we are saving up to make the trip to Bikini. Hopefully in the next 2 years I intend to see the Prinz Eugen.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 25, 2018, 11:20:29 AM
Excellent!  I assume she is in good overall shape as she was not blast- damaged but rather had a slow leak and simply sunk.

I am sort of surprised there is not an exclusion zone around those ships due to radiation. Of course I am sure they have purged a LOT of the radiation that prevented personnel from coming into contact with her back in '46 and so well may be perfectly safe now. Certainly diving on her will protect you from 100% of the really dangerous part of radioactive fallout anyway; inhaling alpha- emitting particles.  ;)

A real treat would be to see the Bismark but she is a bit too deep for an open dive. She, and I believe the HMS Hood were found recently by submersible. They are both on the floor of the Atlantic, a couple of miles down. The Tirpitz, Bismark's sister- ship, is partly visible at low tides and rests in shallow water but is so dilapidated that it cannot even be seen as a ship anymore.

There is a U-boat just off Block Island in Rhode Island that is not too deep, something like 120 feet down. I have never tried to dive on her due to the current between the island and the mainland, as well as the fact that visibility this far north is just not very good usually. But if I remember correctly, that boat is the last U-boat sunk during WWII, and at the very end of the war also.

Brian

There is now a SCUBA live aboard that goes from Majuro to Bikini. It also includes a stop at Kwajalein to dive the Prinz Eugen as well as an aircraft graveyard. My son and I went to Truk Lagoon last January and now we are saving up to make the trip to Bikini. Hopefully in the next 2 years I intend to see the Prinz Eugen.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 25, 2018, 12:51:17 PM
Excellent!  I assume she is in good overall shape as she was not blast- damaged but rather had a slow leak and simply sunk.

I am sort of surprised there is not an exclusion zone around those ships due to radiation. Of course I am sure they have purged a LOT of the radiation that prevented personnel from coming into contact with her back in '46 and so well may be perfectly safe now. Certainly diving on her will protect you from 100% of the really dangerous part of radioactive fallout anyway; inhaling alpha- emitting particles.  ;)

A real treat would be to see the Bismark but she is a bit too deep for an open dive. She, and I believe the HMS Hood were found recently by submersible. They are both on the floor of the Atlantic, a couple of miles down. The Tirpitz, Bismark's sister- ship, is partly visible at low tides and rests in shallow water but is so dilapidated that it cannot even be seen as a ship anymore.

There is a U-boat just off Block Island in Rhode Island that is not too deep, something like 120 feet down. I have never tried to dive on her due to the current between the island and the mainland, as well as the fact that visibility this far north is just not very good usually. But if I remember correctly, that boat is the last U-boat sunk during WWII, and at the very end of the war also.

Brian

I don't know about Prinz Eugen but Bikini and all the wrecks were mostly off limits since WWII. Actually Kawajalein itself is still off limits unless you have security clearance and a reason to be there. So the only way there would be by boat and you don't make land fall. The Truk Master trip https://www.masterliveaboards.com/truk_lagoon/ (https://www.masterliveaboards.com/truk_lagoon/) to Bikini is very recent. Been told there is no radiation danger just being there. The danger is consuming anything from the atoll (assuming that includes fish). The live aboard will bring all food and drink with it. Diving Truk was an absolutely amazing experience. Now looking forward to diving on the Saratoga and other wrecks at Bikini.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 25, 2018, 02:22:55 PM
That makes sense; all of the highly energetic radiation should have been over a long time ago now (gamma radiation). The slower types, alpha and beta, are really only dangerous if actually taken into the body, most seriously by inhalation and secondly by consumption. Diving would preclude taking on radiation either way. :-)

Someplace 'out there' (an atomic weapons testing site in the Pacific) is still highly radioactive, at least when actually being on dry land, unprotected. I <think> it is part of the Bikini Atoll but am not sure.

Just as an aside, wreck diving is typically fairly dangerous. Something like 80% of the experienced divers who die while diving are 'in' something when an accident occurs or emergency occurs. I make it a point to always stay outside of everything, no matter how interesting the inside may appear (Easy Boys!- talking about diving here and Easy again Boys!, water diving).

Most of my diving has been commercial, not particularly fun, and nothing like sport diving, starting off with visibility- it is often about as clear as a cup of coffee and then gets worse. Some jobs I just would not do, others that really freak people out are really not that bad and pay extraordinarily well.... like oil rig diving without all those people and the elements trying to kill you. Diving in a sewage treatment plant is interesting, depending on where in the treatment process you happen to be. That first tank is both slippery and has a lot of..... er, solids in it. But it has gotten so I cannot even think straight with a bit in my mouth and an eyes / nose mask; I typically use an Aga or a hard- hat. The Aga really spoils a person for any other system because it is positive- pressure and makes it both extremely easy to breathe as well as never, ever leaking anything 'in' (if they leak, they leak air out, not water or other 'materials' in, ever). The leaking thing is a big plus on the sewage dives.

And now for the part 'about nothing': Plutonium oxide dust has been called the world's most toxic substance. It has been speculated that as small an amount as 80 milligrams, the size of a small medical pill, could kill the world's population of humans. Uranium is also extremely toxic. The interesting thing is that both of these yield Alpha radiation, the least energetic form of radiation, and all of the particles are easily stopped by  a piece of paper. These materials present absolutely no hazard being handled with no radiation shielding or protection at all. It is the inhalation of the dust that is so lethal- the bombardment of lung tissue by continuous Alpha particles causes lung cancer, something that was not known until well after the end of WWII when both bombs dropped on Japan produced large 'fallout' clouds of this very material (Uranium from Little Boy, Hiroshima and Plutonium from Fat Man, Nagasaki).

Brian

I don't know about Prinz Eugen but Bikini and all the wrecks were mostly off limits since WWII. Actually Kawajalein itself is still off limits unless you have security clearance and a reason to be there. So the only way there would be by boat and you don't make land fall. The Truk Master trip https://www.masterliveaboards.com/truk_lagoon/ (https://www.masterliveaboards.com/truk_lagoon/) to Bikini is very recent. Been told there is no radiation danger just being there. The danger is consuming anything from the atoll (assuming that includes fish). The live aboard will bring all food and drink with it. Diving Truk was an absolutely amazing experience. Now looking forward to diving on the Saratoga and other wrecks at Bikini.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on June 25, 2018, 05:05:53 PM
I have to admit I've spent a lot of time inside a lot of wrecks. BTW: if I do visit the Prinz Eugen, I do not plan to penetrate (easy boys) as it is upside down.

This is a picture I took from inside a wreck (the Heian Maru I believe) looking out through the hole made by the torpedo from an Avenger.

(https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/26232874_10203856550090907_7642748572621734985_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=d789b6ac4fcaaca35cb891dfdf58f295&oe=5BE8C18A)

Just as an aside, wreck diving is typically fairly dangerous. Something like 80% of the experienced divers who die while diving are 'in' something when an accident occurs or emergency occurs. I make it a point to always stay outside of everything, no matter how interesting the inside may appear (Easy Boys!- talking about diving here and Easy again Boys!, water diving).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 26, 2018, 04:07:44 PM
And now for something completely different:

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/why-retailers-installing-blue-lights-223046256.html (https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/why-retailers-installing-blue-lights-223046256.html)

Seems some large retailers have chosen to address our opioid problem by installing blue lights in their restrooms. A very interesting method of attack IMO; this does nothing in any way to address drug use but they claim it makes it harder to inject intravenous drugs because they are blue and therefore less visible under blue light. Ingenious if you ask me.

Of course this will not stop a truly dedicated opioid user because as we all know, 'real' men and women will just inject it under the tongue, under toenails, into the perineum (shiver me timbers on all of those!) but hey, it may address the 'Mary Jane Tinklepants' versions of mainlining opioid users.  ::) :o :yikes:

Real life has things no comic or fiction writer could even think of IME.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 26, 2018, 04:56:21 PM
Meh ... they'll give their best shot (duh-duh, chiiiish (snare drum, cymbal)), inject anyway, miss, collapse and then we'll all get to pay for an ambulance and medical care.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conniesaki on June 26, 2018, 05:00:45 PM
Comments can be entertaining / astute:

"Strangely, we're also seeing a surge in flashlight and lantern sales at this same store."

"ATTENTION we have a BLUE LIGHT special in the bathroom."

"I'm curious how the effectiveness is determined. "Excuse me, we're doing a survey. Do you use IV drugs? Did the blue light in the bathroom make you decide not to inject today? Thanks for your participation!""

"They will just use the light on their phone."

"Couldn't they just find track marks from previous injections?"
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on June 27, 2018, 09:44:35 AM
But whatever happened to Francis Gary Powers, the man flying the U-2 over the Soviet Union, supposedly above the reach of any weapons available at that time (over 70,000 ft.) when he was shot down by a Soviet missile in 1960?

He was sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison but served less than two before he was released in a prisoner exchange. He then continued to work for the CIA until 1970, when he published a book that rubbed 'management' the wrong way and was terminated. Then an interesting turn; he became a helicopter pilot for a local news channel in Los Angeles reporting on traffic. It was while doing that job that his helicopter crashed after running out of fuel in 1977. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery as an Air Force veteran.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 07, 2018, 04:07:04 PM
Rented a car to go to TN to do a job.  Got to the rental place and they 'upgraded' me to a new RAV4.   Didn't really like that as it would not get as good a gas mileage as the car I was supposed to get (Altima, Camry or something similar).   After driving it for a few hundred miles I realized that they hadn't fixed the seats and my back was killing me by the time I got to my destination.  I had previously owned a RAV4 for 11 years and it killed my back as well on long trips.


This RAV had radar in the front and lane awareness.  It also had a key.  I can't tell you how many times I went to unlock it by touching the door handle with the key in my pocket.   No vehichle I have I have uses a key anymore.  It's all fobs.  In fact at the Indian dealer a month or so back I went on a demo ride on a Scout and couldn't figure out how to start it.  They had to point out the key on the left side for me.....sigh.


Now to the advanced feature starting with the radar in the front.   Comes on with cruise control.  Not sure I liked it much.  It wanted way more following distance than I thought necessary and would slow the vehicle to match speeds with the slower one in front.  Couldn't get used to it.    I also had a car pull out in front of me.   I saw it, but just as I was reacting the car strongly applied the brakes to my 'WTF!'.  That was unnerving as well.


The lane awareness was interesting, seems I be wobbling a bit going down the road and if I didn't correct quickly enough the steering did a nudge all by itself in the opposite direction....  That happened a couple of times...and no, I wasn't drinking.  I found a button to turn that off but didn't see anything to turn the front radar off.  New fangled stuff....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on July 07, 2018, 04:30:20 PM
Rented a car to go to TN to do a job.  Got to the rental place and they 'upgraded' me to a new RAV4.   Didn't really like that as it would not get as good a gas mileage as the car I was supposed to get (Altima, Camry or something similar).   After driving it for a few hundred miles I realized that they hadn't fixed the seats and my back was killing me by the time I got to my destination.  I had previously owned a RAV4 for 11 years and it killed my back as well on long trips.


This RAV had radar in the front and lane awareness.  It also had a key.  I can't tell you how many times I went to unlock it by touching the door handle with the key in my pocket.   No vehichle I have I have uses a key anymore.  It's all fobs.  In fact at the Indian dealer a month or so back I went on a demo ride on a Scout and couldn't figure out how to start it.  They had to point out the key on the left side for me.....sigh.


Now to the advanced feature starting with the radar in the front.   Comes on with cruise control.  Not sure I liked it much.  It wanted way more following distance than I thought necessary and would slow the vehicle to match speeds with the slower one in front.  Couldn't get used to it.    I also had a car pull out in front of me.   I saw it, but just as I was reacting the car strongly applied the brakes to my 'WTF!'.  That was unnerving as well.


The lane awareness was interesting, seems I be wobbling a bit going down the road and if I didn't correct quickly enough the steering did a nudge all by itself in the opposite direction....  That happened a couple of times...and no, I wasn't drinking.  I found a button to turn that off but didn't see anything to turn the front radar off.  New fangled stuff....
All this new fangled stuff is making people worse drivers.  Cars that park themselves, warn you of stopped traffic ahead, or a vehicle occupying a lane next to you, etc. and etc. just makes people lazy.  Drivers stop using good defensive driving techniques and rely on technology to do it for them.  The result is a disconnect from the task at hand:  Paying attention.  I was so happy to be done with my career after witnessing so many drivers texting and crashing. 

Get off my lawn!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 07, 2018, 04:56:36 PM
Now to the advanced feature starting with the radar in the front.   Comes on with cruise control.  Not sure I liked it much.  It wanted way more following distance than I thought necessary and would slow the vehicle to match speeds with the slower one in front.  Couldn't get used to it.    I also had a car pull out in front of me.   I saw it, but just as I was reacting the car strongly applied the brakes to my 'WTF!'.  That was unnerving as well.

I have one of the first cars with "adaptive" cruise control.  I try it every couple of years and then remember why I HATE it and switch back to "normal" cruise control (no lasers, no adjustments, no auto-braking).  I simply can't deal to the car trying to adjust.  Most importantly, it "disengages" me just enough from driving that it then becomes dangerous because my mind wanders too far from what is going on.

Either drive FOR me COMPLETELY, or let me drive.  I don't like this inbetween crap.  I know I am not alone.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on July 08, 2018, 07:53:17 AM
All this new fangled stuff is making people worse drivers.  Cars that park themselves, warn you of stopped traffic ahead, or a vehicle occupying a lane next to you, etc. and etc. just makes people lazy.  Drivers stop using good defensive driving techniques and rely on technology to do it for them.  The result is a disconnect from the task at hand:  Paying attention.  I was so happy to be done with my career after witnessing so many drivers texting and crashing. 

Get off my lawn!

For the bad and marginal drivers all this stuff is going to make them more dangerous on the roads. For the folks who are good and attentive drivers, I don't think that the new fangled doodads will change the way they drive much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on July 08, 2018, 11:29:26 AM
Either drive FOR me COMPLETELY, or let me drive.  I don't like this inbetween crap.  I know I am not alone.

I agree, accept for cruise control. I want it to set and work the throttle for me right were I set it. I don't want it moving up or down to the next 5 mph increment and
I especially don't want it with radar slowing down to the same speed as the car in front of me.  I also grow tired of all the crap CC radar and bumper sensors setting off my radar detector.
Other than that, I agree with you 'max. --->  Kinda scary eh?  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 08, 2018, 12:02:10 PM
I agree, accept for cruise control.

Yeah, I am fine with just normal cruise control.  It frees me from the tedium of having to constantly check and correct speed.  Yet I am still "engaged", perhaps even more so- I can spend that attention looking up more and planning for passes and other such stuff.

I think the line at which enough of the brain "disengages" dangerously from driving will vary greatly from person to person.  But I know my own limits- adaptive cruise control makes me TOO passive.  And although I might be OK with an *OPTIONAL* warning from lane departure detection or whatnot (full control to turn it on, off and what parameters), don't dare touch my steering or brakes....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on July 08, 2018, 12:41:34 PM
Gives all the idiots more time to read and/or send their texts/emails and ignore what's happening around them as they are speeding down life's hiway. Getting in my way or just another irritation waiting to cause an accident. I'm beginning to think "self driving" vehicles may just be better for most than actually driving themselves.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on July 08, 2018, 01:02:20 PM
Gives all the idiots more time to read and/or send their texts/emails and ignore what's happening around them as they are speeding down life's hiway. Getting in my way or just another irritation waiting to cause an accident. I'm beginning to think "self driving" vehicles may just be better for most than actually driving themselves.
yeah,right!
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/21/595941015/police-in-arizona-release-dashcam-video-of-fatal-crash-involving-self-driving-ca (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/21/595941015/police-in-arizona-release-dashcam-video-of-fatal-crash-involving-self-driving-ca)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on July 08, 2018, 02:33:37 PM
We are a long way away from "real" self-driving cars.  What they do now is nowhere near what is needed.  Highway driving is one thing- complex city driving is orders of magnitude more challenging.  They are coming, and will be here at some point.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 08, 2018, 04:52:44 PM
Well, as I was coming home in said vehicle a message came up on the front display wondering if I needed a rest.  How convenient as I was just pulling in to the rest area near Charlottesville.  I don't know what generates that message.  I'm thinking mileage at the moment.  That took me quite off guard as I'd already come to the same conclusion.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on July 20, 2018, 05:39:09 PM
Forgive me, because I'm a musician. Specifically, a brass player.

Strength and power come from two sources. First, the muscles around the mouth, euphemistically called "chops" and second, air.

I have always practiced my instruments (I play euphonium, bass trombone, tuba, and tenor trombone) with the idea that strength is borne of chop strength, i.e., the muscles around the mouth.

I am reminded after today's practice session that that is indeed the case.  8)

(BTW, I'm really glad to be here for the bike I ride. I've learned a ton and it has nothing to do with chops.)  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 23, 2018, 07:18:58 AM
Because of the dark and intense nature of the film Suicide Squad, director David Ayer hired an on-set therapist for the cast.

I would like to think that spending time around Margot Robbie dressed like that would be enough to distract me from all the "darkness". Just sayin'....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 23, 2018, 05:44:16 PM
I really liked that movie and have watched it multiple times..


On a sadder note, I've been reduced to drinking Cognac out of a wine glass.   Oh the pain!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Deziner on July 23, 2018, 10:46:47 PM

On a sadder note, I've been reduced to drinking Cognac out of a wine glass.   Oh the pain!

July is a bit early to be dropping Christmas hints isn't it, Jim?  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 24, 2018, 08:22:41 PM
And now for something completely different..... https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disney-theme-parks-happiest-place-ashiest-place-earth-010652755.html (https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/disney-theme-parks-happiest-place-ashiest-place-earth-010652755.html)

And the park employees call this 'situation' a "Code Grandma". Well, at least that is not as scary as, say, 'Clean-up on aisle six!'

 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 19, 2018, 08:50:48 PM
Check out this little gem..... : https://www.myshreddies.com/flatulence/mens/mens-flatulence-jeans (https://www.myshreddies.com/flatulence/mens/mens-flatulence-jeans)  Think about that the next time the U.S.S. Growler leaves port.... (or U.S.S. Trumpet, or U.S.S. Sheet Ripper, etc. ad nauseum)

I wonder if they have optional 'silencer' liners? Oh wait, I forgot, silencers are on the N.F.A. list and not readily available to everyone..... (that is a firearm related amusement because 'silencers' for firearms are illegal in much of the US and heavily regulated in the parts of the US where they are legal).

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 20, 2018, 05:06:58 AM
Firearms are noise suppressed, knives are silent.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 20, 2018, 05:35:13 AM
Firearms are noise suppressed, knives are silent.

I was waiting for that :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 20, 2018, 08:38:20 PM
SBD..
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 21, 2018, 03:14:59 PM
...fart?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 21, 2018, 08:19:41 PM
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=81.8985 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=81.8985)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 07, 2019, 04:51:05 AM
I must be getting old.  Did a localized trip (about 300 miles) with the wife on the Roadmaster and man I was beat afterwards.  I'm wondering if it's the loud pipes that save lives ( :rotflmao: ) that's causing it.  Next time I'll try it with ear plugs and see if that helps  Used to be I could do 500 mile+ days without any issues.  A little sore perhaps, well maybe a lot sore but never felt beat.  The Indian is a pleasure to ride and I'm not sore afterwards.  Just got that feeling of weariness. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on January 07, 2019, 09:42:04 AM
I must be getting old.  Did a localized trip (about 300 miles) with the wife on the Roadmaster and man I was beat afterwards.  I'm wondering if it's the loud pipes that save lives ( :rotflmao: ) that's causing it.  Next time I'll try it with ear plugs and see if that helps  Used to be I could do 500 mile+ days without any issues.  A little sore perhaps, well maybe a lot sore but never felt beat.  The Indian is a pleasure to ride and I'm not sore afterwards.  Just got that feeling of weariness.
When our department switched to from BMW to HD, after a day’s work on that thing, my head would be pounding from the exhaust.  I don’t think it was the noise, since the stock pipes aren’t that loud, but, rather the slight concussive effect from those big cyclinders.  All of the constant accelerating from a stop to freeway speeds took its toll. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 07, 2019, 10:09:11 AM
There are only two of us who actually like the stock exhaust on a C-14 (and I cannot remember the other guy's name.....) and the reason is because it is QUIET. Even then, I wear earplugs under a full face helmet; constant, droning noise, even if it is not overly loud, is very tiring. Putting in a full day on a motorcycle with earplugs in makes a tremendous difference in how worn out I am at the end of the day, and riding much more than 6 to 8 hours continuously almost would not be possible..... at least for me without severe exhaustion.

Brian

I must be getting old.  Did a localized trip (about 300 miles) with the wife on the Roadmaster and man I was beat afterwards.  I'm wondering if it's the loud pipes that save lives ( :rotflmao: ) that's causing it.  Next time I'll try it with ear plugs and see if that helps  Used to be I could do 500 mile+ days without any issues.  A little sore perhaps, well maybe a lot sore but never felt beat.  The Indian is a pleasure to ride and I'm not sore afterwards.  Just got that feeling of weariness.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 07, 2019, 10:13:32 AM
Well, earplugs it is for the next outing and we'll see how that goes.  It's not an issue for those rides between bars, though....lol.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 07, 2019, 03:40:54 PM
There are only two of us who actually like the stock exhaust on a C-14 (and I cannot remember the other guy's name.....) and the reason is because it is QUIET.

Who could that be?  :)

V twins aren't just typically loud, but very annoyingly vibrational, as well as "concussive" as Rubber_Snake pointed out.

Quote
Even then, I wear earplugs under a full face helmet; constant, droning noise, even if it is not overly loud, is very tiring.

Agreed.  I always wear earplugs.  Even though the C14 is quiet and pretty wind-streamed, there is still enough noise to be tiring, especially at speed, and it is mostly wind noise.... that type of noise WILL accumulate to cause hearing damage.  Doesn't have to be that loud for a constant noise to be damaging, unfortunately.

Of course, there ARE quieter helmets.  I even own one.  But I can't wear it due to pain/shape.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MtnRider on January 07, 2019, 04:10:20 PM
Alright! Three of us that like the stock exhaust because it is quiet.    :) 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on January 08, 2019, 10:35:51 AM
Alright! Three of us that like the stock exhaust because it is quiet.    :) 8)

I can't believe you guys forgot me.  :'( :'(   I feel so ....so...insignificant..so... :'(....unvalidated...
.....so much like...Johnnie here:https://youtu.be/-fxGNKxS8J0 (https://youtu.be/-fxGNKxS8J0)

 ;D hmmm...I'm kinda weepy this morning..sniff..sniff....I must need to go for a nice very quiet (yet very fast) ride.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite it's size, I actually also think the stock muffler (especially the newer ones) looks better than most of the replacements as well.
So many of the replacements look like polished car mufflers welded on the end of a pipe. Most just look clunky, however the CS1 looks pretty good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on January 08, 2019, 10:51:36 AM
Yeah, some of the aftermarket exhausts often have some really nice touches too, such as pop rivets, just like that really great jr. high school project you saw once.

 :yikes: :rotflmao:

After my ride across the country in '11, I was (of course) off the bike for a few days. Then when I did get back on it, it sounded 'funny' and 'not right' when on the highway. But it did not sound 'wrong', just odd. I stumbled onto the cause by accident; I was so accustomed to hearing that engine drone on at one fixed speed, for so long, the bike sounded odd for a while at any other speed on the highway. It was like the needle was not in the groove on a turntable. :-) And that was with a 10" taller windshield, a FF helmet and wearing earplugs the entire time. Motorcycles generate a lot of noise, most of it white noise, even when we think they are very quiet.

As to the other part, it kind of sounds like Mary Jane Tinklepants is paying a visit to your house Marty.... :-)

Brian

I can't believe you guys forgot me.  :'( :'(   I feel so ....so...insignificant..so... :'(....unvalidated...
.....so much like...Johnnie here:https://youtu.be/-fxGNKxS8J0 (https://youtu.be/-fxGNKxS8J0)

 ;D hmmm...I'm kinda weepy this morning..sniff..sniff....I must need to go for a nice very quiet (yet very fast) ride.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite it's size, I actually also think the stock muffler (especially the newer ones) looks better than most of the replacements as well.
So many of the replacements look like polished car mufflers welded on the end of a pipe. Most just look clunky, however the CS1 looks pretty good.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 08, 2019, 03:26:16 PM
I can't believe you guys forgot me.

OK, you can join the club

Quote
Despite it's size, I actually also think the stock muffler (especially the newer ones) looks better than most of the replacements as well.

Indeed.  The only time the stock C14 muffler looks strange (to me, anyway) is with the bags off.  THEN it is kinda odd.  But I never take the bags off, so I don't care :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 13, 2019, 10:50:22 AM
Received the annual 3% COLA (cost of living allowance) increase on my pension for doing what I do best, nothing.   :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 14, 2019, 05:36:28 AM
Excellent work!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 14, 2019, 06:30:05 AM
Excellent work!

Thank you Jim! I'm hoping that I can do as fine a job this year as I did the last.    :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on January 23, 2019, 06:09:33 AM
Thank you Jim! I'm hoping that I can do as fine a job this year as I did the last.    :chugbeer:

Don't put any effort into trying. There is no incentive pay increase.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 28, 2019, 07:01:55 AM
less than zero/noting.   (fyi, we have around 2 feet of snow on the ground already)

Today
A chance of snow and freezing drizzle before 11am, then a chance of snow. Patchy blowing snow after 1pm. Cloudy, with a temperature rising to near 29 by 9am, then falling to around 18 during the remainder of the day. Blustery, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Tonight
A chance of snow before 8pm, then a chance of flurries between 8pm and 10pm. Patchy blowing snow before 8pm. Cloudy, with a low around -5. Wind chill values as low as -21. Blustery, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday
Patchy blowing snow between noon and 5pm. Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 1. Wind chill values as low as -28. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around -26. Wind chill values as low as -50. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -16. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around -30.   :o

Thursday
Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -4.

Thursday Night
A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on January 28, 2019, 12:50:12 PM
less than zero/noting.   (fyi, we have around 2 feet of snow on the ground already)

Today
A chance of snow and freezing drizzle before 11am, then a chance of snow. Patchy blowing snow after 1pm. Cloudy, with a temperature rising to near 29 by 9am, then falling to around 18 during the remainder of the day. Blustery, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Tonight
A chance of snow before 8pm, then a chance of flurries between 8pm and 10pm. Patchy blowing snow before 8pm. Cloudy, with a low around -5. Wind chill values as low as -21. Blustery, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday
Patchy blowing snow between noon and 5pm. Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 1. Wind chill values as low as -28. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around -26. Wind chill values as low as -50. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -16. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around -30.   :o

Thursday
Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -4.

Thursday Night
A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7.
I'm not that far from you across the river in NE Iowa.
Time to put the cold weather gear on, huh?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on January 28, 2019, 08:52:14 PM
I'm not that far from you across the river in NE Iowa.
Time to put the cold weather gear on, huh?

Yes, all of it. All the gear you have.

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=47.23507040000004&lon=-93.52352509999997#.XE_NmNFMGhB

Two nights in a row forecast for -38*F actual low temps. Add in a nice breeze for some windchill factor for good measure. Week number two of it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2019, 07:09:42 AM
Yes, all of it. All the gear you have.

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=47.23507040000004&lon=-93.52352509999997#.XE_NmNFMGhB

Two nights in a row forecast for -38*F actual low temps. Add in a nice breeze for some windchill factor for good measure. Week number two of it.

Ouch!!!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 29, 2019, 07:10:40 AM
I'm not that far from you across the river in NE Iowa.
Time to put the cold weather gear on, huh?

Cold weather gear? I'm retired man! I just won't be going outside is all.    :)

The poor animals though...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on January 29, 2019, 09:41:49 AM
Cold weather gear? I'm retired man! I just won't be going outside is all.    :)

The poor animals though...
I hear you Conrad. This just happens to be the week I’m doing livestock chores for a buddy. I’m not as concerned for the cattle. They have protection and are doing fine. I’m hoping the waterers don’t freeze up! They can be a huge PIA.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on January 29, 2019, 01:41:09 PM
Alright! Three of us that like the stock exhaust because it is quiet.    :) 8)

I guess I'm still a member of that group, always like the lack of sound.

but I do think clipping a bit of it's length, makes a nice compromise... no real loud difference, just the slightest pleasant tone, while still virtually as quiet as prior...

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MtnRider on January 29, 2019, 01:51:09 PM
I guess I'm still a member of that group, always like the lack of sound.

but I do think clipping a bit of it's length, makes a nice compromise... no real loud difference, just the slightest pleasant tone, while still virtually as quiet as prior...

MoB, is there a thread describing how you did this? Think I might be interested. Winter project to keep my out of the wife's way err, busy. Thanks.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on January 29, 2019, 03:43:20 PM
MoB, is there a thread describing how you did this? Think I might be interested. Winter project to keep my out of the wife's way err, busy. Thanks.

Shortening the factory muffler:

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=5541 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=5541)
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=5666 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=5666)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MtnRider on January 29, 2019, 05:45:45 PM
Thanks, Max. I'll take a look but don't have a welder so it may have to wait. I'll check with a couple guys at work to see if they have one.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 30, 2019, 07:03:05 AM
I hear you Conrad. This just happens to be the week I’m doing livestock chores for a buddy. I’m not as concerned for the cattle. They have protection and are doing fine. I’m hoping the waterers don’t freeze up! They can be a huge PIA.

Good luck with those chores!

Minus 26 here this morn with a wind chill of 45 below!   :o

My dogs don't spend much time outside doing their 'business'. 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on January 30, 2019, 06:04:35 PM
Appears to be the coldest night so far in the current cold stretch. Weather service predicts -43*F actual temp tonight, but the winds have calmed down. So, we've got that going for us....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 31, 2019, 07:25:53 AM
Appears to be the coldest night so far in the current cold stretch. Weather service predicts -43*F actual temp tonight, but the winds have calmed down. So, we've got that going for us....

-29*F here this morn with a wind chill of -56*F.

Today's high temp is -4*F but that's supposed to happen just before midnight tonight.

That's brisk baby!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on January 31, 2019, 10:19:16 AM
Good luck with those chores!

Minus 26 here this morn with a wind chill of 45 below!   :o

My dogs don't spend much time outside doing their 'business'. 
Made it through the coldest temps without waterers freezing up. I call that a success. :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rhino on January 31, 2019, 04:06:01 PM
-29*F here this morn with a wind chill of -56*F.

Today's high temp is -4*F but that's supposed to happen just before midnight tonight.

That's brisk baby!

YOWSA!!! I've seen -20 a few times in Colorado but never -29. Stay warm my friend!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: jettawreck on January 31, 2019, 04:27:40 PM
Made it through the coldest temps without waterers freezing up. I call that a success. :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Yep, same here too. Made it through the worst of it (-42*F this morning) this week w/o any issues the cold was responsible for. Had to replace a battery in the daughters car yesterday and spent most of yesterday fixing a failed copper water supply pipe at my parents house. It didn't freeze (somehow) but it just corroded thru the pipe wall. Built in the mid-60's it's been one of several copper pipe failures there. But why they always have to be in an impossible to access area is amazing. Plenty of burns from solder droplets getting down my sleeve. Drying out walls and floors today.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on February 01, 2019, 07:29:43 AM
And now on Money it's supposed to reach almost 50*F here. That's one hell of a temp swing!

I have around three feet of snow in my yard at the moment. I really hope that it doesn't melt too fast because a lot of that melt water will end up in my garage.  :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on March 02, 2019, 04:39:08 PM
From the 'Now I've heard everything' department.....https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/madhya-pradesh-opium-addicted-parrots-flying-away-with-poppy-pods-in-neemuch-1999471 (https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/madhya-pradesh-opium-addicted-parrots-flying-away-with-poppy-pods-in-neemuch-1999471)

"Opium-Addicted" Parrots Affecting Poppy Cultivation In Madhya Pradesh

But a large group of parrots feed on poppy plants around 30-40 times a day and some even fly away with poppy pods, said a farmer from Madhya Pradesh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on March 03, 2019, 02:11:29 PM
Methinks those parrots may be members of a cartel.......

Brian

From the 'Now I've heard everything' department.....https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/madhya-pradesh-opium-addicted-parrots-flying-away-with-poppy-pods-in-neemuch-1999471 (https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/madhya-pradesh-opium-addicted-parrots-flying-away-with-poppy-pods-in-neemuch-1999471)

"Opium-Addicted" Parrots Affecting Poppy Cultivation In Madhya Pradesh

But a large group of parrots feed on poppy plants around 30-40 times a day and some even fly away with poppy pods, said a farmer from Madhya Pradesh.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on March 06, 2019, 04:05:10 PM

Daylight Savings time change this weekend.   I don't think it saves anything.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on March 06, 2019, 06:55:35 PM
Daylight Savings time change this weekend.   I don't think it saves anything.

It saves my mood and sanity to actually have sunlight when I can use it- after work!  Yay!  Now, if we can just STAY on it and never change back, then I would remain happy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on May 25, 2019, 04:07:03 PM
Seeing as this thread kinda' died.....

Today is the 53rd anniversary of operation 'Upshot-Knothole Grable', the one and only test of an artillery launched 'atomic' (or fission) shell. And it was successful, depending on your definition of success, meaning that they did  indeed launch and detonate a fission weapon from a piece of towed artillery: specifically, a 280mm howitzer specifically built for this purpose and nicknamed 'Atomic Annie'. Part of that nickname comes from the artillery's original source, a 240mm rail gun designed, built and used by the Germans in WWII, two of which were used to devastating effect during the allied invasion of Anzio and given the nickname 'Anzio Annie' and 'the Anzio Express' but also called 'Robert' and 'Leopold' by their German users.

This was also a somewhat unusual fission device as it was a 'cannon' type weapon rather than an implosion weapon; only four cannon type fission weapons have ever been tested or used: Little Boy, dropped on Hiroshima, this specific artillery shell and two more W33 artillery shells although neither one was actually fired from a piece of artillery but rather detonated as a static, or 'in- place' test.

Of course this all took place during the time when it was still though nuclear arms could be used in an actual war that would be considered 'winnable'. Later on, nuclear devices got so big that the new philosophy M.A.D (mutuality assured destruction- meaning all combatants and likely everyone else would simply lose and there was no possibility of a winner). 

So here is to clever American engineers and scientists..... they actually made this thing work. I do not know if it had any particular use but it may have been a viable deterrent in a close- order battle between the eastern and western forces in Europe. ?? No matter, it was still quite the feat to get a fission weapon to withstand the fantastic forces of an actual artillery piece launch and then still detonate and function afterward.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 25, 2019, 05:02:37 PM
The Atomic Museum in Albuquerque has one complete with two 'prime movers'.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 09, 2019, 12:29:05 PM
https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisiana-woman-meth-vagina-not-hers (https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisiana-woman-meth-vagina-not-hers)

And now for something completely different....  A woman was arrested, searched (you know, the 'intensive' kind of searching) and after the 'searcher' found $6,233 in case and roughly one gram of meth in her vagina..... and claimed that it was not hers. Perhaps she rents out her body cavitie(s) for short and / or long term storage? Maybe on a 'no- name' basis? Gives new meaning to the term 'security box'.

Reality is far, far more interesting than even the best fiction IME.

Brian (carefully keeping track of what is.... well, in some special places)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 10, 2019, 08:20:53 AM
https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisiana-woman-meth-vagina-not-hers (https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisiana-woman-meth-vagina-not-hers)

And now for something completely different....  A woman was arrested, searched (you know, the 'intensive' kind of searching) and after the 'searcher' found $6,233 in case and roughly one gram of meth in her vagina..... and claimed that it was not hers. Perhaps she rents out her body cavitie(s) for short and / or long term storage? Maybe on a 'no- name' basis? Gives new meaning to the term 'security box'.

Reality is far, far more interesting than even the best fiction IME.

Brian (carefully keeping track of what is.... well, in some special places)

"Honestly Judge, I don't know how that meth got inside me. Maybe I accidently sat on it in the public bathroom?"      :pukeface:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on August 11, 2019, 04:05:11 PM
https://youtu.be/kx3sOqW5zj4 (https://youtu.be/kx3sOqW5zj4)
http://youtu.be/kx3sOqW5zj4 (http://youtu.be/kx3sOqW5zj4)

https://youtu.be/DTQ5nJmSaOI (https://youtu.be/DTQ5nJmSaOI)
http://youtu.be/DTQ5nJmSaOI (http://youtu.be/DTQ5nJmSaOI)

https://youtu.be/vSQ8pvwVvJM (https://youtu.be/vSQ8pvwVvJM)
http://youtu.be/vSQ8pvwVvJM (http://youtu.be/vSQ8pvwVvJM)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on August 20, 2019, 07:28:50 AM
Damn this place is dead!!!

I may have to take up slamming POTUS again in the Arena just to liven this place up...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on August 20, 2019, 08:40:06 AM
Damn this place is dead!!!

I may have to take up slamming POTUS again in the Arena just to liven this place up...

Is it dead in there too?

OK, what new bold colors and graphics will we see on the 2020 Concours 14....if there is a Concours 14 or 15 or 16 in 2020. I wonder what the sales numbers are for it's "replacement" the Ninja H2 SX SE+ ?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 20, 2019, 06:47:37 AM
Went car shopping in the big city and came home with this lil thing.

[smg id=847]
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 20, 2019, 02:08:10 PM
Buy a car for the Mrs ?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on September 20, 2019, 02:56:26 PM
Buy a car for the Mrs ?
Aw man.  That’s harsh,

but funny!   :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on September 21, 2019, 10:50:59 AM
My sister in law bought the fastback, they are fun as hell.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on September 21, 2019, 01:15:28 PM
Went car shopping in the big city and came home with this lil thing.

[smg id=847]

Congrats!  Looks like fun.  What is it?  A Nissan or Mazda?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on September 21, 2019, 09:20:38 PM
Congrats!  Looks like fun.  What is it?  A Nissan or Mazda?
Maybe Fiat?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on September 22, 2019, 05:34:44 AM
Maybe Fiat?

It is a Mazda Miata

https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/izmo/i107294098/2019_mazda_mx_5_rf_angularfront.jpg
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 22, 2019, 07:53:31 AM
Buy a car for the Mrs ?

Aw man.  That’s harsh,

but funny!   :rotflmao:

 :rotflmao:

No doubt, that Gary is a funny man alright.

Tell you what G, the first time that I have the pleasure of rowing through the gears of that sweet six speed in my girly car, with the top down, while my wife and I are enjoying the views of a coastal highway somewhere, I'll put on some Beatles, or maybe The Traveling Wilburys (Tweeter and The Monkey Man of course), on the stereo, chuckle a bit, and think of just how funny you are...

 :chugbeer:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 22, 2019, 07:56:15 AM
It is a Mazda Miata

https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/izmo/i107294098/2019_mazda_mx_5_rf_angularfront.jpg

Yes sir, that's a 2016 Miata Club.  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Rubber_Snake on September 22, 2019, 08:32:34 AM
:rotflmao:

No doubt, that Gary is a funny man alright.

Tell you what G, the first time that I have the pleasure of rowing through the gears of that sweet six speed in my girly car, with the top down, while my wife and I are enjoying the views of a coastal highway somewhere, I'll put on some Beatles, or maybe The Traveling Wilburys (Tweeter and The Monkey Man of course), on the stereo, chuckle a bit, and think of just how funny you are...

 :chugbeer:

I had an MBenz SKS for a time.  Tons of fun to drive with the top down.  Plus, Miatas don’t look so girly in racing livery going around the Thunderhill Raceway track in Willows, CA.  Fun car!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on September 22, 2019, 11:33:40 AM

A rental bicycle that is in a peculiar place.  Spotted first on Sat. 9/8 along riverbank. 
One week later on 9/15, I took pictures Bike & 2, and a screen shot of my phone in map mode so the location is recorded.
One week later on 9/21, I took pictures 3 & 4.  That is an old railroad bridge support in the river.
I did notify the rental company to make them aware of it.  I bet it’s going to be there for a while.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 22, 2019, 04:30:50 PM
:rotflmao:

No doubt, that Gary is a funny man alright.

Tell you what G, the first time that I have the pleasure of rowing through the gears of that sweet six speed in my girly car, with the top down, while my wife and I are enjoying the views of a coastal highway somewhere, I'll put on some Beatles, or maybe The Traveling Wilburys (Tweeter and The Monkey Man of course), on the stereo, chuckle a bit, and think of just how funny you are...

 :chugbeer:

You misunderstand me, Sir. I wish you and the Missus many happy and safe miles before your activity is deemed unhealthy and uncaring for the environment and becomes socially unacceptable and therefore illegal. The Left Coast may suit you til that occurs. (and I'm ok with the Wilburys)  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 23, 2019, 09:35:45 AM
You misunderstand me, Sir. I wish you and the Missus many happy and safe miles before your activity is deemed unhealthy and uncaring for the environment and becomes socially unacceptable and therefore illegal. The Left Coast may suit you til that occurs. (and I'm ok with the Wilburys)  :rotflmao:

Ok then, The Beatles it is.

Leave it to you to somehow politicize this...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MrPepsi on September 23, 2019, 09:49:07 AM
WTF just happened. (Again by the way)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on September 23, 2019, 11:14:37 AM
WTF just happened. (Again by the way)

You mean between pinkie and Mr C.? Oh don't mind that, it's just the usual outside the arena banter, it's like foreplay that leads up to an argument instead of sex.

Now as for the bicycle stuff, well I think that is going to be determined to be some sort of a kinetic art display done by either a new art student or just a crazy person that thinks they are an artist, when in fact they are a future episode of hoarders.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on September 23, 2019, 03:31:34 PM
You mean between pinkie and Mr C.? Oh don't mind that, it's just the usual outside the arena banter, it's like foreplay that leads up to an argument instead of sex.

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 23, 2019, 04:18:58 PM
Damn this place is dead!!!

I may have to take up slamming POTUS again in the Arena just to liven this place up...

Ok then, The Beatles it is.

Leave it to you to somehow politicize this...

By the post above I thought you were looking for some fun. My bad.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on September 23, 2019, 05:13:49 PM
OK then, now on to something completely different.

 This question sort of fits here in "A thread about nothing at all..." because 1) it's about a thread, as in a thread of a machine screw; and 2) I'm finding almost nothing at all when I try to research it.

What is a 5/32-32 thread size used for?  ???

Is it British?   Specialty automotive?  A special size for Helicoil usage?  Perhaps an old obsolete size? I've search through many online charts of screw sizes, zooming in on many photos of thread checker kits and fixtures. I even searched through my old high school copy of Machinery's Handbook which I thought for sure would have the answer.  No. So far the only thing I've found is that there are both taps, dies, and screws of that size available, but for what I don't know.  I have found both NS and UNS designators on some of the taps and dies available, but I don't know if the s stands for special or superfine or neither.

I ask this here because some of you are a lot more experienced than I, and also have knowledge of and access to references that I don't even know exist. If I can't find it in Machinery's Handbook then I assume it doesn't exist, at least until now.

edit: Why do I ask?..short story is I purchased a set of steel nut rivets or threaded inserts if you prefer, and I noticed that it included 80 5/32-32 inserts that I had never seen before and didn't fit any of my thread checkers, neither metric or SAE so it got me to wondering why it was included and what was it used for?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 23, 2019, 05:50:33 PM
this might help?...https://www.gewinde-normen.de/en/me-thread.html (https://www.gewinde-normen.de/en/me-thread.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on September 23, 2019, 09:09:23 PM
Well it says the S in UNS stands for Special, but I can't find 5/32-32 on there...I'm not saying it isn't there but so far no luck finding it.

Thanks pinkie.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 24, 2019, 04:35:27 AM
What rivet nut kit did you buy, Marty?


About 6 months ago I went outside to lock up two vehicles with my spare fobs.  After that I couldn't find them anymore.  Looked in the garage, looked everywhere in the house, looked in all my pants pockets....no luck.  I knew I had brought them back in because as a lazy sob I never took them out of my pocket.  Fast forward to last night.  Wife dropped her fob on the tile floor and it separated into all of it's pieces.  Took me an hour and a half to put it back together as she would have no way to get to work except via my truck.  I went into overdrive again looking for the spares and was sitting on the couch and thought...I wonder if they fell down into the right side?  Put my hand down there and found not only the two fobs but two USB sticks I've been missing and thought that I had lost.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 24, 2019, 07:07:48 AM
By the post above I thought you were looking for some fun. My bad.

Are we not having fun?    ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 24, 2019, 03:56:26 PM
Hey, I'm good. Seems like we might have worried other folks though.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 24, 2019, 06:33:56 PM
Convert the fractional dimension to a US standard screw diameter and you get a number 8. So what you really have is an 8-32, common as the day is long. Readily available from virtually anywhere that sells screws (Easy Boys!) such as Homely Despot and Lows, etc, et. al.. Same thing as a 3/16" diameter screw major diameter- convert it to the much more common standard #10 and you have one of the most common small screw sizes used in the US.

Brian

OK then, now on to something completely different.

 This question sort of fits here in "A thread about nothing at all..." because 1) it's about a thread, as in a thread of a machine screw; and 2) I'm finding almost nothing at all when I try to research it.

What is a 5/32-32 thread size used for?  ???

Is it British?   Specialty automotive?  A special size for Helicoil usage?  Perhaps an old obsolete size? I've search through many online charts of screw sizes, zooming in on many photos of thread checker kits and fixtures. I even searched through my old high school copy of Machinery's Handbook which I thought for sure would have the answer.  No. So far the only thing I've found is that there are both taps, dies, and screws of that size available, but for what I don't know.  I have found both NS and UNS designators on some of the taps and dies available, but I don't know if the s stands for special or superfine or neither.

I ask this here because some of you are a lot more experienced than I, and also have knowledge of and access to references that I don't even know exist. If I can't find it in Machinery's Handbook then I assume it doesn't exist, at least until now.

edit: Why do I ask?..short story is I purchased a set of steel nut rivets or threaded inserts if you prefer, and I noticed that it included 80 5/32-32 inserts that I had never seen before and didn't fit any of my thread checkers, neither metric or SAE so it got me to wondering why it was included and what was it used for?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on September 25, 2019, 04:48:10 AM
What rivet nut kit did you buy, Marty?


About 6 months ago I went outside to lock up two vehicles with my spare fobs.  After that I couldn't find them anymore.  Looked in the garage, looked everywhere in the house, looked in all my pants pockets....no luck.  I knew I had brought them back in because as a lazy sob I never took them out of my pocket.  Fast forward to last night.  Wife dropped her fob on the tile floor and it separated into all of it's pieces.  Took me an hour and a half to put it back together as she would have no way to get to work except via my truck.  I went into overdrive again looking for the spares and was sitting on the couch and thought...I wonder if they fell down into the right side?  Put my hand down there and found not only the two fobs but two USB sticks I've been missing and thought that I had lost.

Careful Jim, or the wife will soon start looking for a care home to put you in <LOL>
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 25, 2019, 06:12:24 AM
Too late... :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on September 25, 2019, 06:57:57 AM
Hey, I'm good. Seems like we might have worried other folks though.  :rotflmao:

They'll get over it.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on September 25, 2019, 10:09:46 AM
Convert the fractional dimension to a US standard screw diameter and you get a number 8. So what you really have is an 8-32, common as the day is long.


No, the set I purchased had those (#8) as well, and using a thread checker, the 5/32-32 would go loosely onto a 6-32 and only just start on a 8-32 but not go all the way on it.
I also found it strange that the rivet size for the 5/32"-32 was larger than for the 8-32 even thought the major diameter would be smaller. ???


What rivet nut kit did you buy, Marty?

This one-->  [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL45TFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL45TFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL45TFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)[/url]

I'm beginning to think that the 5/32-32 is a Whitworth cap screw size possibly out dated, as I'm told it's listed in a 1957 version of Machinery's Handbook, but I couldn't find it in my '66 edition. Maybe if I reach down into the cushions of my sofa I'll find an earlier edition?

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71OaLUiuC0L._SL1100_.jpg) (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71OaLUiuC0L._SL1100_.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 25, 2019, 03:10:58 PM
I believe there is a mistake in that selection in that I cannot find any reference to a "UNC" (Unified National Coarse standardized thread) measuring any fraction less than 1/4" or 0.250" diameter. I believe it is some foreign (meaning some company that is not following the standards) invention that does not really exist.

From Wikipedia:

"Designation
The standard designation for a UTS thread is a number indicating the nominal (major) diameter of the thread, followed by the pitch measured in threads per inch. For diameters smaller than ​1⁄4 inch, the diameter is indicated by an integer number defined in the standard; for all other diameters, the inch figure is given.

This number pair is optionally followed by the letters UNC, UNF or UNEF (Unified National) if the diameter-pitch combination is from the coarse, fine, or extra fine series, and may also be followed by a tolerance class.

Example: #6-32 UNC 2B (major diameter: 0.1380 inch, pitch: 32 tpi)"
<end quote>

This has also been my experience over years of actually working in the fastener industry.

Put more simply, I thinks whats ya' gots dere is 'some guy's' imaginary version of a "standard" thread that is neither standard or even in use anywhere.  ;D :o :o  Brown and Sharpe (machine tool and measuring instrument Co. located in RI and an industry leader) used to make up their own threads, such as 17 1/2 TPI, but they were not standardized threads, rather a deviation from <any> standard to force a machine owner to purchase ONLY B&S hardware going forward. As you spec. sheet calls out "UNC", this would indicate a true, unified, standardized thread but I can not find any reference to any such thread. Such my thought that it is either some type of linguistic translation mistake, or a thread made up on the fly from someone's fertile imagination. At any rate, I betcha' you have several life- time supplies of rivets for screws you will never actually see and / or find. :-)

Brian

No, the set I purchased had those (#8) as well, and using a thread checker, the 5/32-32 would go loosely onto a 6-32 and only just start on a 8-32 but not go all the way on it.
I also found it strange that the rivet size for the 5/32"-32 was larger than for the 8-32 even thought the major diameter would be smaller. ???

This one-->  [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL45TFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL45TFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL45TFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1)[/url]

I'm beginning to think that the 5/32-32 is a Whitworth cap screw size possibly out dated, as I'm told it's listed in a 1957 version of Machinery's Handbook, but I couldn't find it in my '66 edition. Maybe if I reach down into the cushions of my sofa I'll find an earlier edition?

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71OaLUiuC0L._SL1100_.jpg) (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71OaLUiuC0L._SL1100_.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on September 25, 2019, 05:59:16 PM
I really have to laugh a bit, and remind folks that screw threads are very specific to certain "markets"... and having speant 45 years in designing "stuff", and having to be able to adapt, and supply the standards, I'll share this "tidbit"..

sewing machine screws.

altogether different and various obsurd sizes existed, as did the elusive 5/32-32 (its not a "UNS", or "UNCS") and does not "convert" to a modern series at all.
(I worked for a few years for a company designing multi head computer controlled embroidery machine... it was a nightmare of data to "re-absorb" in that industry, to adapt ancient to modern tech)

here, scroll down to the bottom.. you will see the tap data, and specific number.
https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/screw_threads/ (https://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/screw_threads/)

iirc it's also a 55* thread form, not a 60*.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on September 26, 2019, 04:35:56 AM
5/32"-32 is a British Standard Whitworth size/thread. 5/32" diameter and 32 Threads per Inch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth)
The size is listed in the table (4th row from the top).

The most common usage was and still is for Meccano screws.
https://www.usmeccano.com/pdf/newmeccanoscrew.pdf (https://www.usmeccano.com/pdf/newmeccanoscrew.pdf)

This thread ain't about nothing,.... it's a thread about threads.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 26, 2019, 05:37:11 AM
I still have one of those kits!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 26, 2019, 10:33:28 AM
That may well be so but if you go to the link, the page displays the specific contents of that package and it says:

"【Package Details:】:
Thread -------------- Drill Hole Size --------- Quantity
8-32UNC ---------------- 0.23'' ---------------- 80pcs
10-24UNC -------------- 0.27'' ---------------- 70pcs
5/32"-32UNC ---------- 0.27'' ----------------- 60pcs
1/4"-20UNC ------------ 0.35'' ---------------- 40pcs
5/16"-18UNC ---------- 0.43'' ---------------- 30pcs
3/8"-16UNC ------------ 0.52'' ---------------- 20pcs
1/2"-13UNC ------------ 0.67'' ---------------- 20pcs
Total Quantity: 320pcs  "

They clearly list 5/32 as UNC, which is an American designation for a Unified National thread. And there just ain't no suchofa' thing.

Of course this could well be a misprint but I can only base my thoughts on the information available. And Marty went through the Machinery Handbook (an excellent, perhaps the best available, for machine and precision specifications) and could not find anything about a 5/32 thread in the Whitworth or any other section, per our conversation yesterday.

Whatever it is, I do not have anything I could fit into that thing.....   ;) ;D

Brian

5/32"-32 is a British Standard Whitworth size/thread. 5/32" diameter and 32 Threads per Inch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth)
The size is listed in the table (4th row from the top).

The most common usage was and still is for Meccano screws.
https://www.usmeccano.com/pdf/newmeccanoscrew.pdf (https://www.usmeccano.com/pdf/newmeccanoscrew.pdf)

This thread ain't about nothing,.... it's a thread about threads.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 03, 2019, 03:51:51 PM
So this one is new and sort of interesting: I am one of the last three people on the planet to have an actual wired phone (a landline) and it has been pesky with bottom- feeder calls. With the blocking feature on the phone itself as well as nomorobo, the problem is down to an acceptable if not great level. But I have been getting a new one lately that is pretty attention- getting: quite a few (multiple times per day) phone calls from..... wait for it..... me. Yep, Caller ID identifies the caller as me, by name, along with the phone's 10 digit phone number. As I have VOIP, I looked this up on my account and sure enough, I have been calling myself a lot. This just started a week ago or so.

I know Caller ID can be 'faked' in that an incorrect name and / or phone number will show but I cannot imagine why anyone would want to try spoofing me by pretending to be... me? I mean, I KNOW it is not me calling, right?

This is actually more interesting than annoying and the first really different type of phone scam I have seen in years.

I have also been getting threatening spam e-mails from somewhere accusing me of doing disgusting (matter of opinion, right?) things with underage fe- persons, and having video of same, along with my entire contact list. The threat of course is that unless I send (usually around $5,000) via BitCoin w/in two weeks, they will send said videos to everyone on my contact list. I have even gotten repeat threats from the same entity reiterating that they are not kidding, I will suffer, etc., etc.. Hey, it beats being badly wooed by a Nigerian businessman, right? Although frankly, I personally would alter the threat just because I do not find it all that threatening and not at all imaginative but hey, that is just content, not the actual idea, which I found refreshing.... the first couple times anyway.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 04, 2019, 04:38:33 AM
Have you tried answering those calls from yourself?


About one minute in...


http://youtu.be/jMyD3TSXyUc (http://youtu.be/jMyD3TSXyUc)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 04, 2019, 05:41:57 AM
So this one is new and sort of interesting: I am one of the last three people on the planet to have an actual wired phone (a landline) and it has been pesky with bottom- feeder calls. With the blocking feature on the phone itself as well as nomorobo, the problem is down to an acceptable if not great level. But I have been getting a new one lately that is pretty attention- getting: quite a few (multiple times per day) phone calls from..... wait for it..... me. Yep, Caller ID identifies the caller as me, by name, along with the phone's 10 digit phone number. As I have VOIP, I looked this up on my account and sure enough, I have been calling myself a lot. This just started a week ago or so.

I know Caller ID can be 'faked' in that an incorrect name and / or phone number will show but I cannot imagine why anyone would want to try spoofing me by pretending to be... me? I mean, I KNOW it is not me calling, right?

This is actually more interesting than annoying and the first really different type of phone scam I have seen in years.

I have also been getting threatening spam e-mails from somewhere accusing me of doing disgusting (matter of opinion, right?) things with underage fe- persons, and having video of same, along with my entire contact list. The threat of course is that unless I send (usually around $5,000) via BitCoin w/in two weeks, they will send said videos to everyone on my contact list. I have even gotten repeat threats from the same entity reiterating that they are not kidding, I will suffer, etc., etc.. Hey, it beats being badly wooed by a Nigerian businessman, right? Although frankly, I personally would alter the threat just because I do not find it all that threatening and not at all imaginative but hey, that is just content, not the actual idea, which I found refreshing.... the first couple times anyway.

Brian

Don't answer those calls from yourself!!!

The call is coming from INSIDE the house!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkcGm-pWwsQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkcGm-pWwsQ)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 04, 2019, 07:34:48 AM
Of course, I would love to talk with myself. But alas, when I do answer (before the second ring), I am never there. I guess I really do not want to talk to me or perhaps I get distracted and am doing something else when I answer. ??

Brian

Have you tried answering those calls from yourself?


About one minute in...


http://youtu.be/jMyD3TSXyUc (http://youtu.be/jMyD3TSXyUc)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 04, 2019, 07:35:29 AM
 ;D

Don't answer those calls from yourself!!!

The call is coming from INSIDE the house!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkcGm-pWwsQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkcGm-pWwsQ)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 04, 2019, 10:28:11 AM
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/publications/CallsFromYourOwnPhone.asp (https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/publications/CallsFromYourOwnPhone.asp)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 05, 2019, 04:18:15 PM
"A fifth of British teenagers believe Sir Winston Churchill was a fictional character, while many think Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur and Eleanor Rigby were real, a survey shows."

".... The study also shows a marked change in how people acquire their historical knowledge these days. More than three-quarters of those polled (77 per cent) admitted they did not read history books, and 61 per cent said that they changed channels rather than watch historical programmes on television." 

This according to a Telegraph poll on 4 Feb 2008.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577511/Winston-Churchill-didnt-really-exist-say-teens.html (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577511/Winston-Churchill-didnt-really-exist-say-teens.html)

But I bet these folks are right up to speed on FaceTwit, and these same people get to vote.... over and over again.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 05, 2019, 05:10:42 PM
A propagandists dream.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 06, 2019, 06:41:38 AM
Yeah, well it's probably the same over here with kids too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 06, 2019, 07:02:41 AM
"A fifth of British teenagers believe Sir Winston Churchill was a fictional character, while many think Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur and Eleanor Rigby were real, a survey shows."

".... The study also shows a marked change in how people acquire their historical knowledge these days. More than three-quarters of those polled (77 per cent) admitted they did not read history books, and 61 per cent said that they changed channels rather than watch historical programmes on television." 

This according to a Telegraph poll on 4 Feb 2008.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577511/Winston-Churchill-didnt-really-exist-say-teens.html (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577511/Winston-Churchill-didnt-really-exist-say-teens.html)

But I bet these folks are right up to speed on FaceTwit, and these same people get to vote.... over and over again.

Brian

We're doomed. Just look at what all this stupidity equates to...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on October 06, 2019, 11:35:04 AM
Yeah, well it's probably the same over here with kids too.

I found that somewhat reassuring at first, that it wasn't just us (USA). However, I realized that it was just my nationalistic side being reassured. My logical side (not as large as I wished it would be) knew that wide spread stupidity isn't better than local stupidity.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 06, 2019, 12:54:04 PM
Yeah, the first, somewhat comforting thought is that this is outside the US.... then the realization that a larger group of 'us' are losing ground, and badly, is even more depressing. If you have a stupid dog and find you neighbor's dog is even stupider, the overall situation is not getting better.

I think a huge part of the root problem is the spread of the Internet, both is size and scope, as well as availability; I think a very large part of the population took a really big hit when the 'Net moved to mobile devices, wireless linked, so the sheeple could be more fully absorbed into the glowing orb continuously rather than in spurts, limited to when at home. I honestly believe that today, cell phones cause more "misadventure" on the nation's roads than drunk drivers do (seriously).

All old people start off too many sentences with the words 'Kids today......' but I honestly think the young folks (say, under 30, 35) are hugely handicapped by having the real world being displaced by the digital one. Then again, I am old and I could have started that sentence with 'Kids today' so maybe it is just me. But I do not think so, just like all the other old people never did either.  ;) ;D

I found that somewhat reassuring at first, that it wasn't just us (USA). However, I realized that it was just my nationalistic side being reassured. My logical side (not as large as I wished it would be) knew that wide spread stupidity isn't better than local stupidity.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 07, 2019, 02:22:24 AM
Stupids, like assholes, are a standard percentage of the population, wherever you go.
We have just as many as a percentage of the population as you do, but because of Farcebook, Twatter, and other Social Moron-media the Stupids now have a global audience with which to share their Stupidity.
Do I worry that these people get to vote,.... yes.
Do I want to do anything about it,.... yes, I want to teach them to think for themselves, to research the facts and make up their own minds, but far too many of them just can't be bothered to do any of that and seem quite happy letting power hungry demagogues and vapid self-serving "Influencers" make their decisions for them.
Then later on, when the sh!t has hit the fan because of their lack of involvement, they will claim that they were duped and conned and that we can't blame them for it. A large part of the population of Germany did EXACTLY that in the 1930s, and they are still trying to crawl out from under that burden of guilt 90 years on.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 07, 2019, 04:54:41 AM
The Internet has assisted me in expanding my knowledge of everything but then I've always been the inquisitive sort.  I don't use social media that much.  Before there was the Internet I used Britannica and the library.  The Internet as a tool was the next step.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on October 07, 2019, 05:34:16 AM
Stupids, like assholes, are a standard percentage of the population, wherever you go.
We have just as many as a percentage of the population as you do, but because of Farcebook, Twatter, and other Social Moron-media the Stupids now have a global audience with which to share their Stupidity.
Do I worry that these people get to vote,.... yes.
Do I want to do anything about it,.... yes, I want to teach them to think for themselves, to research the facts and make up their own minds, but far too many of them just can't be bothered to do any of that and seem quite happy letting power hungry demagogues and vapid self-serving "Influencers" make their decisions for them.
Then later on, when the sh!t has hit the fan because of their lack of involvement, they will claim that they were duped and conned and that we can't blame them for it. A large part of the population of Germany did EXACTLY that in the 1930s, and they are still trying to crawl out from under that burden of guilt 90 years on.

Spot on (unfortunately) and well said.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 07, 2019, 03:01:12 PM
BTW- that was not any kind of knock to you Brits or anyone else- I just happened to catch that article and it happened to be about a poll taken in the UK about a very famous (although perhaps not famous enough  ::) :o  ) Brit.. I am sure the same or worse would / does happen in the US. Although I have to say it was particularly disappointing that the subject was Winnie.....

After a while, the electronic 'pipeline' into people's minds starts to suppress real sources of information. For example, one of the cornerstones of journalism (real journalism, 'the news') has always been large, independent newspapers. But with so many getting their "information" for "free" via the 'Net, subscriptions are falling off badly, which in turn causes those very pinnacles of news to erode and produce less news. About 18 times around the circle and eventually either the only thing left or at least the majority of "information" is the garbage from sites that have no credentials, experience or even desire to report real information and instead put out garbage.... and a lot of people, far too many, either do not notice or they do not care.

The same has happened with cable TV, which is yet another tentacle of the pipeline: it deteriorates to the lowest possible point until what used to be real bearers of information, such as The History Channel, no longer contains any real or useful information but garbage 'reality' shows not only do not contain any content but are not even 'real' but staged abortions. I am not quite willing to say that we are watching the decay of western society (and perhaps the entire globe) but I am very sure we are on what will no doubt be a dip in the curve regarding humans' long, slow climb to better places.

Brian

Stupids, like assholes, are a standard percentage of the population, wherever you go.

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 07, 2019, 03:44:03 PM
The same has happened with cable TV, which is yet another tentacle of the pipeline: it deteriorates to the lowest possible point until what used to be real bearers of information, such as The History Channel, no longer contains any real or useful information but garbage 'reality' shows not only do not contain any content but are not even 'real' but staged abortions.

Exactly, what used to be my favorite channel.... now crap.  Which is exactly what happened to the "Learning Channel" and "Discovery Channel", both were excellent many years ago.  Now they are full of reality crap.  I am so pissed I have to pay over $100/mo to get what few shows left I watch.  And they wonder why people are dropping cable left and right.  I am sure the Science Channel is going to go the same way.... just waiting...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 07, 2019, 03:57:17 PM
Ah, I think it is the other way.... it is not the television networks driving garbage up our..... er, down our throats, it is the public demanding the garbage in the first place. The networks are just following the source of the money, which is the numbers of viewers. So the general tendency for everything to reach the same low level is simply what the majority of the people want, apparently.

This is the wrong thread but just to add a thought to the above, I find myself watching a lot of YouTube lately, again due to content. Up until recently I thought it was basically old people taking videos of their cats but after stumbling around for a bit, there are some really  excellent 'channels' on YouTube if one looks for them. For example Applied Science, where a guy tinkers around in his garage and studies thing and conjures up things. Just like a lot of us.... except this guy builds things like Scanning Electron Microscopes that actually work.

Brian

Exactly, what used to be my favorite channel.... now crap.  Which is exactly what happened to the "Learning Channel" and "Discovery Channel", both were excellent many years ago.  Now they are full of reality crap.  I am so pissed I have to pay over $100/mo to get what few shows left I watch.  And they wonder why people are dropping cable left and right.  I am sure the Science Channel is going to go the same way.... just waiting...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 07, 2019, 06:03:59 PM
This is the wrong thread but just to add a thought to the above

It is a thread about nothing, so anything is not nothing, so it really isn't any kind of thread :)

Quote
I find myself watching a lot of YouTube lately, again due to content.

Ditto!  I am actually watching about an hour a day or more now.... a lot of it political, since we can't get accurate political news and commentary on TV anymore (because almost all of it is so heavily slanted in one direction).  But also reviews of products, how-to's, history blurbs, etc.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 08, 2019, 06:49:17 AM
I'm watching a heck of a lot of Youtube lately as well...  Once my contract with Dish is over, I'm ditching it and going completely broadband for access to tv shows.

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on October 17, 2019, 03:29:40 PM

Running on generator power now.  That rain & wind storm that just ripped through New England has done quite a bit of tree damage.     
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on November 17, 2019, 09:22:13 AM

It's another 'mast' year for the oak trees in my yard.   Lots and lots of acorns for the animals. 

Amazing Acorn Facts
- There are about 90 species of oak in North America. All oaks produce acorns.
- Acorns belonging to trees in the red oak group take two growing seasons to mature; acorns in the white oak group mature in one season.
- Oak trees have greenish, inconspicuous female flowers and are wind pollinated.
- Oak trees of North America annually produce more nuts than all the region’s other nut trees together, wild and cultivated.
- One huge oak can drop up to 10,000 acorns in a mast year!
- Masting takes a lot of energy! Oak trees grow slowly in a mast year and grow well the year after.

http://libanswers.nybg.org/faq/222824 (http://libanswers.nybg.org/faq/222824)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on November 25, 2019, 07:16:15 AM
Can someone explain to me how and why Ford would call this thing a 'Mustang'?

(https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/GwNVb/s3/ford-mach-e-rendering.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: MtnRider on November 25, 2019, 09:35:57 AM
Marketing guys got to it first???    :o
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on November 25, 2019, 11:23:12 AM
Same committee that called this a Mustang....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 25, 2019, 01:57:48 PM
Could be the sons and daughters of the engineers that designed the Mustang II.  Total piece of crap.  I know, I drove one around for awhile.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on November 25, 2019, 03:19:26 PM
Can someone explain to me how and why Ford would call this thing a 'Mustang'?

At first I thought the same thing, but remember that Ford is supposedly going to drop ALL cars soon, except the Mustang.  Personally, I think it is stupid to call it that, they should have just stuck with "Mach E."  It is really nice that choices in decent electric vehicles are starting to appear.  As much as I want a model S, it is still waaaay too expensive (and the model 3 sucks).
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on November 25, 2019, 06:46:18 PM
Can someone explain to me how and why Ford would call this thing a 'Mustang'?

Well, 459 horsepower and 612 pound-feet of torque might have something to do with it? That's only 13 pound-feet of torque
less than the Shelby GT500. As for looks...well you've got me there.  ???
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on May 13, 2020, 05:29:00 AM
Earworms - you know, those songs/melodies that run through your head at all hours of the day and night. No, I'm not talking about the Star Trek kind of ear worm.

As a musician, I am cursed with them. But that curse isn't necessarily unpleasant.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on May 13, 2020, 05:42:20 AM
Earworms - you know, those songs/melodies that run through your head at all hours of the day and night. No, I'm not talking about the Star Trek kind of ear worm.

I have both.  I have been binge-watching the different Star Trek series on Netflix for months and have each series' theme song firmly rattling around in my brain, continuously.

Quote
As a musician, I am cursed with them. But that curse isn't necessarily unpleasant.

I can relate.  I have the same problem.  The only thing that helps is to HEAR (not imagine) some other tune.  Preferably something not catchy.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on May 13, 2020, 07:09:50 AM
Earworms - you know, those songs/melodies that run through your head at all hours of the day and night. No, I'm not talking about the Star Trek kind of ear worm.

As a musician, I am cursed with them. But that curse isn't necessarily unpleasant.

I'm not a musician but I'm certainly a music lover and music is always playing around me in one way or another.

I know what you mean about the ear worm! I wake up every day with an ear worm. Sometimes it's a song I heard the day before and sometimes it's totally out of the blue. This morning it's Paul Young - Come Back and Stay. 

An oldie but a goodie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeJhEpeUfc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeJhEpeUfc)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on May 13, 2020, 08:25:40 AM
For those struggling with the Star Trek themes try this for an ear-worm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asE)
 :rotflmao::deadhorse: :banana :banana :banana
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on May 17, 2020, 09:49:19 AM
I've banned people for less, Boomer....LOL
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on May 18, 2020, 03:59:46 AM
I've banned people for less, Boomer....LOL
:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
Ya can't say I didn't warn ya!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: zgirl on July 27, 2020, 05:17:27 PM
For some reason, the past 4 months or so I have this ear-worm......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4jf6rtyuw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4jf6rtyuw)

And I like this more recent version at least as much if not better..... just got to get past youtube ad first, but IMHO worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxmtQvrWUps (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxmtQvrWUps)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on July 27, 2020, 05:55:10 PM
Both excellent!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: zgirl on July 27, 2020, 07:22:58 PM
Thanks!  Hope all enjoy.  It's a fun song to be crazy to????   8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 27, 2020, 01:21:07 PM
Been pretty dead around here so.....

I think most people are familiar with the battle and results of the HMS Hood and the German ship Bismark. But the other ships in the fight seem to have been forgotten entirely. They were: The HMS Prince of Wales, a battleship accompanying the Hood, and the Prinz Eugen, a heavy cruiser sailing with the Bismark.

The Prince of Wales survived the engagement with the Bismark only to be sunk by Japanese air attack the following year in the Pacific. The Prinz Eugen has a more unusual story: she was sunk by atomic weapons which is odd because no atomic weapons were ever used in Europe, and the Prinz Eugen was not in Japan in 1945.

In a convoluted series of events, the Prinz Eugen survived the war (one of only two large German warships to do so) as an operational and functioning warship and was turned over to the British at the end of the way. In turn, the British gave her to the US as a war prize sometime later. She was actually made part of the US navy for a time, being renamed the USS Prinz Eugen. Her advanced radar and fire direction control systems were studied in great detail and then the ship was assigned to Operation Crossroads, the first post- war atomic weapons testing done by the US. She was towed to the Bikini Atoll and exposed to the atomic tests named Able and Baker (obviously the first two tests). While she actually survived the atomic weapons, more or less intact, she was so radioactive that she was abandoned after being moved to the Kwajalein Atoll. After developing a small hull leak, the ship continued to deteriorate as repairing her was impossible, again due to the high radiation from the ship. Eventually, she capsized and sank, leaving a good portion of the hull above the water line.

But that was not the end of her story: in 1974 the hull began leaking oil and there was concern that a storm could cause the fuel tanks to empty creating a major oil spill. Holes were cut in her hull and almost one million liters of fuel were pumped out in an operation ending in 2018. Her hull was again sealed and she rests in the same spot she sunk in back in 1946, with part of her hull visible still.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on August 27, 2020, 05:48:21 PM
Does the aquatic life to live in that area glow?
I’m just asking for a friend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 27, 2020, 07:10:08 PM
Do not know about the ship today. Bikini atoll is so 'hot' that it was evacuated (again) in the 1980's due to excessive radioactive materials.

If one is going to 'make the neutrons dance, one must live with the results. There have been some incidents far worse than merely contaminating ships close to atomic test sites. That could be a topic for yet another post about nothing at all....

Just to be clear: I am not opposed to nuclear power or even nuclear weapons. And I am most certainly not making any kind of statement in this or the last post. But I am opposed to idiots using either one, and unfortunately even the able and prepared people sometimes have nuclear devices get away from them. There is no excuse for Chernobyl but fukushima daiichi is a very different story. Not sure if anyone made any serious errors immediately after the diesel generators were flooded or not but that was a very well prepared installation and operation that was simply overwhelmed by natural events on a scale unexpected.

Brian



Does the aquatic life to live in that area glow?
I’m just asking for a friend.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on August 28, 2020, 02:07:49 AM
Interesting  ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TihHZAaop2o (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TihHZAaop2o)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Kwajalein/@8.7527949,167.6835561,465m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x65aeba1bdf4fcbd9:0xa428045186f42c97!8m2!3d8.7226625!4d167.7351935 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Kwajalein/@8.7527949,167.6835561,465m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x65aeba1bdf4fcbd9:0xa428045186f42c97!8m2!3d8.7226625!4d167.7351935)

Not going to be very radioactive after being washed by the sea for the last 74 years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 28, 2020, 08:45:39 AM
Beats me? I do not know how long steel can stay radioactive? Certainly most or all of the radioactive materials that would have been on the ship are gone as you say and I <suspect> that is the bulk of radioactive contamination, the materials liberated in the blast actually coating things.

Brian

Interesting  ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TihHZAaop2o (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TihHZAaop2o)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Kwajalein/@8.7527949,167.6835561,465m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x65aeba1bdf4fcbd9:0xa428045186f42c97!8m2!3d8.7226625!4d167.7351935 (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Kwajalein/@8.7527949,167.6835561,465m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x65aeba1bdf4fcbd9:0xa428045186f42c97!8m2!3d8.7226625!4d167.7351935)

Not going to be very radioactive after being washed by the sea for the last 74 years.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 28, 2020, 03:40:17 PM
And speaking of the Bikini Atoll.....

So once the US learned how to make atomic weapons, and especially atomic weapon fuel (the really hard part), the only thing left was to make them 'better'. This includes making them smaller in size / weight, larger in output and if possible, cleaner.

The first efforts were to refine the relatively straight- forward weapons developed during WWII of course. But before too long it was time to take the next step and move from fission (where very heavy elements are split into two or more lighter elements) to fusion (where two light elements are fused into one single, heavier element). The theory was developed at the same time the first atomic weapons were being designed but it was considered the proverbial bridge too far and was basically ignored for a few years. But the key person in the development of 'Da Zuper' as Edward Teller called it (he was from Hungary and spoke with a significant accent in English). Together Edward Teller and Adam Ulam conjectured up the Teller- Ulam design for a hydrogen fusion weapon. The first hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb was absolutely huge in size and weight, and used a form of hydrogen called deuterium in liquid form. It was only liquid because it was kept extremely cold. This thing was gigantic and required all kinds of external hardware to allow it to work; in short, it was simply not practical as any kind of deliverable weapon. But it did fuse and that was more than enough at the time. Work continued with the goal of making thermonuclear weapons portable; this meant not requiring any external support equipment as well as reducing the overall size and weight (the first ones were truly massive) and that entailed using different fuels so that the products could be carried in airplanes.

Eventually, a test of a new fusion weapon that was self- contained and unsupported by external devices was built and tested starting with a test- firing of Castle- Bravo, again at the Bikini Atoll. It worked great..... kind of. Mostly. Well, actually a little too good. The designers used the third element, Lithium, as the fuel to allow the bomb to be made with relatively stable parts that would not require extreme cold, extreme pressure or anything else. Now Lithium is usually found in two forms, Lithium 6 and Lithium 7, the difference being L-7 has an additional neutron over L-6. Lithium 6 is fusible while Lithium 7 is not, or so it was thought. So the fusion fuel was a little under 40% L-6 with the balance of the Lithium being -7, an 'inert' type.

As usual, targets were set up, markers placed where the weapon's limits would be, very accurate estimates of output, radiation and so forth calculated and finally someone too Wiley Coyote's job and lit the fuse on the damned thing. It was supposed to have a yield of 6 megatons of TNT, relatively huge compared to earlier fission weapons. But what the scientists did not yet know was that L-7 spits a neutron (technical term) when heated sufficiently and BECOMES Lithium 6. Yep, more fuel. So the yield was not the expected 6 megatons of TNT but 15 megatons of TNT. All the calculations as to yield, damage radius and radiation output were off- way, way off. The radiation swept all the way around Earth eventually and poisoned quite a few people and a vast section of the Pacific and islands there. It also literally vaporized a significant area of the Bikini Atoll, and the resulting crater can be seen to this day. Yep, them managed to leave a divot in the planet we live on. As a result of the Castle Bravo test, the Atoll had to be evacuated of its native population and remains uninhabited, at least continuously, to this day. Opps! This remains the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated by the US, and current nuclear testing bans pretty much guarantee that it will remain the largest.

Of course the Soviets figured out how to make both fission and fusion weapons too. Well, if not figured out, then stolen but at any rate, they eventually had both. US weapons testing reached its heyday (was it really a heyday?) in the 1950's, with the Castle Bravo test being in 1954. The Soviets would plow ahead and eventually design and build a three- stage nuclear device (the US's were all two stage) that they called the Tsar Bomba, or King Bomb. And it really was- dropped from a plane just to prove it was deliverable, it had a nominal yield of 50 megatons of TNT. Detonated above an island in the far north of the Soviet Union in 1961, scientists the world over watched the shock wave circle the Earth three times. If it was not obvious before, this was clear the symbol for M.A.D. or mutually assured destruction in the event of any nuclear exchange by the super powers. Theoretically, one side could 'win' but only at the expense of the reality of both sides losing; no nation would have survived a full- on delivery of our combined stocks of nuclear weapons. And I guess in a sort of left- handed way it worked as there have not been any major wars since WWII.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on August 28, 2020, 03:44:34 PM
And to go along with the last post:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-releases-1961-footage-nuclear-165719017.html (https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-releases-1961-footage-nuclear-165719017.html)

Tsar Bomba, as filmed by the people who built and deployed it.

Brian
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 01, 2020, 02:19:46 PM

He thought his speech was poorly received and did not make a good impression on the audience. There was only a smattering of applause not only because, he believed, it was not well received but also because it was so short. While the main speaker for that event, a renowned orator named Edward Everett had spoken for two full hours, his remarks barely lasted three minutes; even his invitation to speak at all was something of an afterthought.

Other sources felt it was a poor oration as well, with one newspaper opining: “We pass over the silly remarks ….” Oramel Barrett wrote in his newspaper. “For the credit of the nation, we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated or thought of.”  Chicago Times printed “The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly flat dishwatery utterances…..”

In fact, the author of the speech himself stated in that very speech “The world will little note nor long remember what was said here….”.
All of this proved to be false and the speech would soon be famous and a little later accepted as one of the greatest pieces of oration in the history of English. The author and speaker, a man with relatively modest formal education and coming from the very bottom of society, would eventually gain lasting notoriety for his speeches and this one would be seen as among his best.
The author and speaker was Abraham Lincoln of course, and his ‘few remarks’ would become known as the Gettysburg Address. Accounts vary and there is no agreed- upon version of the speech that is known to be the actual version delivered in Pennsylvania that day but all of the different versions are close enough to allow us to appreciate it, at least in my opinion.

Delivered Thursday, 19 November, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

[this is the last known version to be written by Lincoln, and the only one A. Lincoln signed that survives]

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln

In a letter written to Lincoln the following day, E. Everett sums up his own thoughts on Lincoln’s speech: "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." Lincoln replied that he was glad to know the speech was not a "total failure".

Not a total failure indeed.....
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 07, 2020, 01:29:14 PM
This is a pretty well known logo for the band Crosby, Stills and Nash.



What is surprising about it is who designed it- Phil Hartman. Yep, Phil Hartman of SNL and The Simpsons fame ('You may remember me from such films as.....'). Mr. Hartman had a successful career as a graphic artist before he started to experiment with comedy and improv.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on September 07, 2020, 02:10:21 PM
Wow!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on September 07, 2020, 04:02:04 PM
I don't think I've seen that logo....must not have made it to flyover country.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on September 07, 2020, 05:28:20 PM
This is a pretty well known logo for the band Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Funny you should mention them- I like lots of their songs.  Just last weekend, I decided to listen to everything that Stephen Stills did, solo (99% of it for the first time; thanks, Spotify).  His earlier stuff was "OK" but nothing I would really want to listen to.  His later stuff was even less interesting.

I will give David Crosby solo stuff a chance next, although I am not expecting much.

Let's not forget about Neil Young.  His solo work was far more interesting, and I did seek out a good amount of his work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on September 07, 2020, 05:47:41 PM
All of them did both solo work as well as fronting for other, pretty popular and well known groups. Check out Stills in Buffalo Springfield.

That said, I personally like their work together the best, especially CS&Y (Neil is optional with me). Like Simon & Garfunkel, they simply harmonize together fantastically well.

Neil Young is probably my personal favorite as a solo act though still not all that wonderful IMO. But he is extremely skilled and best approaches the fabled one- man band.

Funny you should mention them- I like lots of their songs.  Just last weekend, I decided to listen to everything that Stephen Stills did, solo (99% of it for the first time; thanks, Spotify).  His earlier stuff was "OK" but nothing I would really want to listen to.  His later stuff was even less interesting.

I will give David Crosby solo stuff a chance next, although I am not expecting much.

Let's not forget about Neil Young.  His solo work was far more interesting, and I did seek out a good amount of his work.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 01, 2020, 08:13:17 PM
Advil slows your kidney function.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 02, 2020, 08:00:45 AM
Didn't know that.  Good thing I don't use it all the time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 02, 2020, 01:50:13 PM
Most of us have associations between certain groups of people and certain things. For example: Native Americans and horses, Italians and tomatoes (tomato sauce), Irish and potatoes. And these are pretty deep seated ideas in that we tend to think these items originated with these people.

Horses, tomatoes and potatoes may not have the origins we associate with them.... Tomatoes and potatoes are a New World plant and did not appear in Europe until the first Europeans visited North America and brought them back to Europe. OK, the second Europeans to visit North America after the Vikings vacationing in Canada back around 1,000 AD. And horses are not indigenous to the New World but came over with the European explorers again from Europe. Which is all find and well but it does make a person wonder 1) What did the Irish eat for the preceding centuries? 2) What the hell did the Italians spread over their pasta? I guess American Indians just sort of walked around.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 02, 2020, 05:09:30 PM
1) Oatcakes and a lot of dairy.
2) Beans, olive oil, pesto, carbonara.
As for the Native Americans, mostly shanks pony.  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 02, 2020, 05:24:45 PM
Sorry but none of this post is making it to Colloquial English. ?? ?? ??

1) I do not know what 'Outcakes' are (or is). Dairy I follow.
2) No idea about this reference. ??
3) Shanks pony has no meaning to me. ??

I am reminded of the famous quote: (which I paraphrase because I cannot remember the actual quote) 'Two countries separated by a common language'.

Brian (Colonist, perhaps too far removed from the Crown)

1) Oatcakes and a lot of dairy.
2) Beans, olive oil, pesto, carbonara.
As for the Native Americans, mostly shanks pony.  :D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: tweeter55 on October 02, 2020, 06:38:32 PM

Noun. shanks' pony (uncountable) (idiomatic, Britain, Australia, New Zealand)
One's feet or legs, regarded as a means of transport.

I cheated. Had to look it up.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 02, 2020, 07:59:50 PM
That's only the Plains Indians.  I don't think the ones on the East or West coasts used horses...much.  I associate Indians with bows and arrows and sneaking up on you.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 02, 2020, 08:15:48 PM
I associate Indians with bows and arrows and sneaking up on you.

I associate Indians with turbans and Hinduism.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 03, 2020, 05:38:11 AM
That's interesting as when I hear the work Indians, I think of our indigenous populations, not the ones external to our country.  Yet another word's meaning that has morphed somewhat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 03, 2020, 06:04:53 AM
The Irish ate oatcakes (pancakes made from oats) as their staple carbohydrate prior to potatoes.
They also ate a lot of dairy produce, cheese, butter, sour milk.

Prior to tomatoes the Italians put beans, olive oil, pesto (basil) and carbonara on their pasta.

Shank - a person's leg, especially the part from the knee to the ankle.
Riding "Shanks pony" means to walk. 😁
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 03, 2020, 06:56:40 AM
That's interesting as when I hear the work Indians, I think of our indigenous populations, not the ones external to our country.  Yet another word's meaning that has morphed somewhat.

That one should be morphed, though.  Indians are from India :)  If you say "Indian" out of context, one will not know what was meant in the USA.  And everywhere else in the world, they would rightfully assume you mean Indian and not Native American.  I have never met a Native American, but I have met many Indians.

Of course, Native Americans are actually from Asia.  And if you go back far enough, everyone is from Africa.

Meanwhile, if one uses ANY term with a hyphenated (or unhyphentated) "[Area]-American" (African-American, Asian-American, Native-American, Hispanic-American, Arab-American, etc), I *insist* they call me "European-American" and not "White."  (I actually don't care what you call me, I only care that terms are at least roughly equal and like to point out the hypocrisy, PC, and virtue signaling).

Of course, eventually, all this obsession with "race" and its description and nomenclature will hopefully die, because it really doesn't make any sense.  If you are 1/8 this and 1/4 that and 2/3 who knows or cares, no term works, anyway.  Your skin color, eye shape/color, hair type/color, height, nose size, etc, say absolutely nothing about who you really are, what you value, or how you think or act.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 03, 2020, 08:18:52 AM
That's only the Plains Indians.  I don't think the ones on the East or West coasts used horses...much.  I associate Indians with bows and arrows and sneaking up on you.

Really?...I'd think you would associate Indians with an overpriced motorcycle company.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 03, 2020, 08:20:58 AM
That one should be morphed, though.  Indians are from India :)  If you say "Indian" out of context, one will not know what was meant in the USA.  And everywhere else in the world, they would rightfully assume you mean Indian and not Native American.  I have never met a Native American, but I have met many Indians.

Of course, Native Americans are actually from Asia.  And if you go back far enough, everyone is from Africa.

Meanwhile, if one uses ANY term with a hyphenated (or unhyphentated) "[Area]-American" (African-American, Asian-American, Native-American, Hispanic-American, Arab-American, etc), I *insist* they call me "European-American" and not "White."  (I actually don't care what you call me, I only care that terms are at least roughly equal and like to point out the hypocrisy, PC, and virtue signaling).

Of course, eventually, all this obsession with "race" and its description and nomenclature will hopefully die, because it really doesn't make any sense.  If you are 1/8 this and 1/4 that and 2/3 who knows or cares, no term works, anyway.  Your skin color, eye shape/color, hair type/color, height, nose size, etc, say absolutely nothing about who you really are, what you value, or how you think or act.

blah...blah...blah    Didn't you ever watch The Lone Ranger?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 03, 2020, 08:25:23 AM
Really?...I'd think you would associate Indians with an overpriced motorcycle company.

ooooh...  "oh no you didn't!!!"

blah...blah...blah    Didn't you ever watch The Lone Ranger?

No.  I found "Westerns" completely uninteresting.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Pilgrim on October 03, 2020, 01:46:42 PM
Really?...I'd think you would associate Indians with an overpriced motorcycle company.

 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 03, 2020, 04:02:15 PM
There have been and still are many religious groups and sects throughout the world. A pretty common tenant of at least some religions is to 'be fruitful and multiply', which basically means that group will be expanding. One particular group went the opposite way though and actually did it quite well.

The Quaker Shakers, or just the Shakers, are a religious group that preaches and practices, among other things, celibacy. And they practice celibacy regardless of gender or even married state.... many Shakers were married but all were celebate. Of course when done properly (read: done) it is a very effective means of population control, unlike some methods practiced by some of our own members (shiver me timbers!). Of course this has had the easily predictable result, there are fewer and fewer Shakers around. Founded in England in the mid 18th century, the settled in America right around the time of the American revolution. Reaching a peak population in the mid- 19th century, they 'celebated' (which sounds like celebrated but is missing both the 'R' as well as sex) their way down to a single community of what appears to be two members, a male and a female though the female is far beyond child bearing years, assuming they even tried to rearrange some of their beliefs before it is too late.

Just about everything all living species do is designed to first survive and then expand that species' numbers. The Shakers went the other way and apparently were successful.

See Marty, this ^^^^ is an effective way to prevent people.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on October 03, 2020, 05:58:15 PM
See Marty, this ^^^^ is an effective way to prevent people.

I'm no Shaker. Well maybe at the urinal I am, but that's off topic..Oh wait, no it isn't. 8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 03, 2020, 06:58:42 PM
Really?...I'd think you would associate Indians with an overpriced motorcycle company.


Well, for an over priced company they're doing pretty damn well (in fact, the best year ever), unlike the other one with one foot in the grave.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 03, 2020, 07:25:11 PM
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" 
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 04, 2020, 06:47:15 AM
My Indians were eliminated from the playoffs by the overpaid Yankees this past week. :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 04, 2020, 09:02:11 AM
 :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 06, 2020, 10:20:00 AM
I always laugh out loud when I hear someone saying "I'm pure English".
What the  :censored: does that mean really?
What it means is that you are an uneducated, narrow minded, nationalistic bore.

What you actually are is ?% Celt, ?% Pict, ?% Briton, ?% Roman (and they sent troops from every part of the Empire to England), ?% Saxon, ?% Angle , ?% Jute,  ?% Viking, ?% French, and probably ?% African/Caribbean, ?% Middle-eastern, ?% Asian, etc. so you are in fact a mongrel, just like the rest of us.
Only the percentages change.

"Pure" blood only comes from inbreeding, which come to think of it would explain a lot.  :rotflmao:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 06, 2020, 01:41:55 PM
I'm certainly not pure English.  Strong roots in East Anglia, but 52% England and Northwestern Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Northern France, and Luxembourg with maybe a scoche of Swiss), Scotland 16%, Norway and Wales 12%, Germanic Europe 5%, Sweden 2% and Finland 1%.  Hey Boomer, maybe we're related LOL! The British Isles have been successfully invaded many times.  I guess that people forget that fact.


I really don't understand this as my wife is more 'English' than I am and I had an English mother!  She's 65% England and Northwestern Europe and 28% Scottish!  I can only assume that the Vikings didn't get their hands on her very distant relatives unlike mine.

Over here the big thing in both mine and my wife's family are the rumours of Indian (not the ones in India) DNA...   Well ha ha to both our families in that there is none.  DNA don't lie.  Family members on both sides refused to believe the DNA results.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 06, 2020, 02:45:03 PM
We are ALL related, no matter if you believe in evolution or creationism (I think it is called 'intelligent design' these days?). The lines back into our past converge, if not down to one couple then down to a handful of couples that were related. That makes all of us related. Even when you meet someone and really, really, really do not want to believe that.....  :rotflmao:


<snip>

 Hey Boomer, maybe we're related LOL!

<snip>

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 06, 2020, 03:40:33 PM
Quite!
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 07, 2020, 01:26:27 AM
We are ALL related, no matter if you believe in evolution or creationism (I think it is called 'intelligent design' these days?). The lines back into our past converge, if not down to one couple then down to a handful of couples that were related. That makes all of us related. Even when you meet someone and really, really, really do not want to believe that.....  :rotflmao:
Oh no, now I feel dirty!  :rotflmao:
Not over anyone on here (put that sword down Jim!) but quite a few people I can think of.
I'm off for a shower,..... in Chlorox.  :yikes:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 23, 2020, 02:18:47 AM
The material that is most recycled on Earth is asphalt. Yep, old roads are ground up, mixed with a new binder and then put back in place as new roads.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 23, 2020, 08:32:37 AM
The material that is most recycled on Earth is asphalt. Yep, old roads are ground up, mixed with a new binder and then put back in place as new roads.
They are now also padding out the asphalt with waste plastics for an asphalt that is more flexible and resistant to water/potholes as well as reusing waste plastics.
https://www.macrebur.com/ (https://www.macrebur.com/)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 23, 2020, 03:29:41 PM
And now one for all you orthodox, observant Jewish Concours riders out there: are deer and other members of the deer family kosher? Well, kinda' but practically not likely. Yeah, it is one of those subjects that I figured would be great to show the difference between kashrut law (Jewish dietary law) and the US voting system because voting is so clear and precise.....

The family of animals in the deer group are kosher (meaning OK to eat... and Easy Boys!!!). But the rub is, and I do not mean a deer BBQ rub here, you cannot shoot the animal to kill it not take it with an arrow or bolt. Kashrut law states that the animal must not be traumatized or shocked just before or when it is killed 'cause that would cause a large dose of adrenaline to be introduced into the animal's body. You have to cut the jugular vein, carotid artery, windpipe and trachea in one stroke so the animal dies without pain. Not many hunters take game animals that way 'cause it is tough what with all the sneaking up on them, cutting their throats without them noticing you and so forth. Theoretically meat from a deer farm could be consumed but again, it is not likely they kill or butcher the animals according to kashrut law.

So with less than two weeks to go, most Americans can bask in the fact that voting is so simple and straightforward. Just pick a candidate and go vote. Or vote from home. Hey, how about both?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 26, 2020, 12:18:32 PM
Speaking of meat, what is corned beef? How about pastrami?

Both start with the same cut of meat, and that is a primal cut called the brisket. The pectoral muscles between the steer's front legs. This is a rough, tough cut of meat with a lot of connective tissue in it so unless really beaten down with heat, it is almost inedible. The brisket (called a packer brisket when it is still whole) is a large piece, made of two sub cuts, the 'flat' and the 'point'; the flat is relatively lean while the point has quite a lot of intramuscular fat. The whole brisket or packer cut briskets are almost exclusively used for BBQ where they are both smoked and cooked for a long time at very low temperatures so the connective tissue is broken down. Brisket can be an excellent piece of beef but it does not forgive lousy technique. It is also a large cut, weighing in the range of 12 to over 20 lbs.

Corned beef is a piece of beef, almost always the brisket, that is brined and cured in both table salt as well as 'curing' salt or sodium nitrite. The table salt used a long time ago was in the form of very large crystals or "corns" of salt, hence the name corned beef (there is no corn used in the process). The sodium nitrite is pink in color and gives the corned beef its dark pink color. The brining / curing process takes around 8 days and at the end you have a piece of brisket, usually the flat or point alone as they are separated before curing, that is cured, salted and still raw. It is typically cooked by boiling for a long time and has a unique taste.

Pastrami is a little more involved and starts off with a piece of brisket, usually the flat, that has already been 'corned'. So to make pastrami, one needs corned beef rather than a raw piece of beef as it was butchered. The corned beef cut is covered in spices (no salt- it is already quite salty) which are almost always pepper based. Then the beef is smoked at low temps., perhaps 225 to 275F for at least several hours and often closer to a full day. It can be consumed right out of the smoker but it is more commonly left to cool completely and then sliced cold and either eaten that way or re- heated by steam if done in a restaurant that specializes in that type of product. Again, it has the pink color from curing but is somewhat darker than the original corned beef and again is a unique flavor not really similar to anything else including the corned beef it was made from.

Barbeque started in the Caribbean and maybe also in Florida. Europeans picked it up in a big way when they got to the new world. As old world people moved west in America, they took barbeque with them. But it was done using pork and when BBQ got to Texas it started to include beef, again usually the rougher, tough, other wise pretty useless cuts such as brisket. BBQ'ing beef came with its own problem though in that the meat did not have enough fat to fully cook without tending to dry out so they started to use what is called the 'Texas crutch', which is smoking the meat until it reaches between 150F and 170F internal temp. and then wrapping it in foil or paper and putting it back on the pit to finish cooking without smoking as it is now covered. Most cuts of meat are brought up to just over 200F but they slow way down in temp. rise around 160F, which is called the 'stall' and wrapping it pushes it through this stall to the final temperature. So brisket is a long, two step process to smoke, and that does not include prepping the meat which takes a lot of trimming or injecting and / or seasoning the outside (called the 'rub').

All three ways to use a brisket can result in some really desirable end products but none are quick or easy like, say, a piece of sirloin is to prep. and cook. And the full packer brisket looks like someone cut it out of the steer's carcass with a dull chainsaw. But given the time and a bit of learning, it does make a very nice finished meal that is not really like any other cut or process type of beef.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 26, 2020, 04:05:55 PM
Speaking of meat, what is corned beef? How about pastrami?

It is meat :)
Meat is the flesh of a mammal.  Pig and cow certainly fit that bill.

I use the traditional and culinary definition of "meat."  Check a typical menu next time- you are likely to see "Meat, Poultry, Seafood" as entrees.  If asked if I eat meat, I say "no, I don't."  Then comes "So you are a vegetarian?"  To which I respond, "No, I do eat poultry and occasionally some fish, but no other seafood, so I am not a vegetarian."  Then, of course, the last question, "why?" which is easy "because I don't like it."

At some point during my life, it seemed many have redefined "meat" as "flesh of an animal" instead of "flesh of a mammal."  Kinda like people keep trying to redefine "castration" as "neuter", which it is not (I am sure you have heard "spay or neuter your pet" which makes no sense, it should be "spay or castrate your pet" or better yet, just "neuter your pet").

I will ignore the rest of your post because.... gross :) ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 26, 2020, 05:21:26 PM
Well, if you were to happen to be at my home and a meal was going to be served, be assured that I would do what was needed to provide you with a reasonable (read: not just 'eat the vegetables and bread stuffing that we are already having') meal not containing any meat or meat products. That would include of course looking up recipes and going to a food store or two if practical, such as we had some warning. Without warning, we would do whatever we could to provide what non- meat containing foods as we had available and of course ask you what you may want of the choices available. I live in a world where such simple difference can and should be accommodated, and it would not occur to me to try and 'convert' you or even mock you for your beliefs, at least not beyond the obvious joking but in pure fun, without any agenda. Your beliefs and choices in areas such as eating preferences do not effect me in any way and they are certainly anything that should serve as a basis to distance ourselves. Far from it- a couple of posts ago I spoke about Kashrut law (Jewish dietary law) and know a surprising amount about that as I am not Jewish, I merely find it absolutely fascinating as a way of life and so have payed attention when in the company of those who may educate me on their practices. I would love to study Islam in the same way but have not found myself in the company of anyone learned in those practices, and 'rank and file' Muslims that I do know are really pretty ignorant of their religion's tenants, just as most Christians are ignorant of theirs.

I wish you a fair wind and a safe harbor in your journey (seriously, not sarcastically).

Brian

It is meat :)

I will ignore the rest of your post because.... gross :) ;)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 28, 2020, 06:55:00 AM
The aircraft carrier USS Midway (CV-41, the full sized carrier, NOT the escort carrier of the same name that was sunk in WWII, CVE-63) was the first aircraft carrier that could not transit the Panama canal because she was too wide. It is interesting to note that the Iowa class battleships, the largest built by the US, had a max. beam of 108.5 ft. to allow them to transit the Panama canal, which has a vessel width limit of 110 ft. Betcha' they needed some touch-up paint after the trip though.

Because of this limitation, the US has basically built a 'two ocean' navy, built around aircraft carriers that remain on the east or west sides of the US for their entire lives. They can and do travel to the 'other' ocean on occasion but this is a long and costly voyage, with an entire carrier group of ships, around the tip of South America.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 28, 2020, 12:25:41 PM
The Suez canal is an option that's been taken many times by US Naval forces.  The USS Nimitz is one such warship.   There are size limitations of course and some naval craft have to go the long way around.  This limitation does not affect our long range bombers, however.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 28, 2020, 03:17:40 PM
And with said bombers, could we not widen the canal?  8)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 28, 2020, 03:27:42 PM
And with said bombers, could we not widen the canal?  8)

That solution wouldn't help the locks very much.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 28, 2020, 03:34:24 PM
That solution wouldn't help the locks very much.

Locks...we don't need no stinkin locks. How long would it take the oceans to balance?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 28, 2020, 04:41:48 PM
I'm sure there is a mathematical solution to that question, even though I work with math all day at work, that's a bit far advanced for me. :)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on October 28, 2020, 05:44:22 PM
Locks...we don't need no stinkin locks. How long would it take the oceans to balance?
I'm sure there is a mathematical solution to that question, even though I work with math all day at work, that's a bit far advanced for me. :)

Especially since the orbit of the moon would have some affect on the balancing which would probably never end.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 28, 2020, 05:47:37 PM
And with said bombers, could we not widen the canal?  8)


Significantly I would think...LOL especially in carpet bombing mode.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 28, 2020, 05:51:35 PM
I've been thinking, could bombs really be the solution to many of our problems? ;D
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 28, 2020, 06:37:59 PM
Give that man a cheroot. Any east / west canal open to both oceans would never 'balance' but instead create tremendous velocities due to tidal action. Especially on any planet where its satallites are locked into 'tidal lock' as our moon is in relationship to Earth.

Especially since the orbit of the moon would have some affect on the balancing which would probably never end.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: gPink on October 28, 2020, 07:47:42 PM
Seems like it would work out as long as you could finish the passage before the tide turned.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: maxtog on October 28, 2020, 09:57:39 PM
Give that man a cheroot. Any east / west canal open to both oceans would never 'balance' but instead create tremendous velocities due to tidal action.

So just bomb the locks and allow nature to scour out the rest to whatever size you need!  Would make for some fast transport, too- as long as you are going the "correct" direction at the time.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Boomer on October 29, 2020, 02:44:11 AM
Why not use your 7000 nukes to carve a channel from Houston to LA?
That would work. If you do it on the Mexican border it could replace Trumps wall with a nice radioactive moat.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 29, 2020, 05:53:39 AM
Believe it or not...Operation Plowshare.  Peaceful uses of nuclear explosions.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 29, 2020, 06:07:30 AM
The Panama canal is a fee based method of passage. The fee, or toll, is based on the weight of the object transiting. The greatest fee paid to date was for the MOL Benefactor, a ship with a nominal 113,042 gross ton displacement. The lowest fee ever paid was ever paid was $0.36 in 1928. The lowest toll was for Richard Halliburton, an American, who swam the canal.

Privately owned vessels can and do transit the canal. The toll for a small vessel is typically between $800 and $3,200 and those vessels share lock spare with a larger vessel as operating the canal exclusively for such small vessels is not affordable.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on October 29, 2020, 10:19:41 AM
The lowest toll was for Richard Halliburton, an American, who swam the canal.

Ewwwww....makes me wonder what the sewage discharge requirements are (if any) for ships going through the canal. I guess they'd empty the tanks before entering just to lower the cost
of passage but some of it must get in. Like swimming in a oil fouled toilet bowl I'd imagine.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 29, 2020, 02:57:12 PM
Man swims the Panama canal and Marty wonders how much e coli was in there with him.  ;D  I doubt any ships empty waste in the canal, it is not a long trip time- wise and making the water toxic along the way would be horrible for the locals, or at least I would think. Panama is in the tropics so.....  Cruise ships treat their waste and are have specific places where that stuff goes, and most working ships have so few crew, for the tonnage of the ship, that it just should not be a problem to [not dump] the holding tank(s). I think the only thing to leave any toxic waste in the canal might have been Mr. Halliburton himself and he was always kinda' moving away from said waste so not too much of a problem.

Gee Marty, would you ask Edmund Hillary if he ran into any bird droppings up there?    :rotflmao: two times

Ewwwww....makes me wonder what the sewage discharge requirements are (if any) for ships going through the canal. I guess they'd empty the tanks before entering just to lower the cost
of passage but some of it must get in. Like swimming in a oil fouled toilet bowl I'd imagine.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 29, 2020, 04:23:50 PM
Man swims the Panama canal and Marty wonders how much e coli was in there with him.  ;D  I doubt any ships empty waste in the canal, it is not a long trip time- wise and making the water toxic along the way would be horrible for the locals, or at least I would think. Panama is in the tropics so..... 


Trusting ships and crews to do the right thing....LOL.  I guess they're so clean that they dump before they get to the canal..  Hmm I wonder where that overabundance of oil came from on the Delaware and MD beaches came from....Space Aliens!  Most likely.  Either that or law abiding ships I guess.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 29, 2020, 04:47:44 PM
Youse guize have me thinking that your toilets end in a 4 inch pipe hanging out of the sides of your houses and are shooting turds onto the lawn..... ?  ;) :o

First of all, sea going vessels have holding tanks and do not just drop their waste into the body of water they sail in. Second there are laws preventing the dumping of waste close to the shore, and especially when in port or a harbor. When tied up, they off- load that waste to a processing facility.

But now that you have steered the thread into the proverbial cesspool, how about some colon- related trivia?

Two towns over, there is a sewage treatment plant for a reasonably large city. They treat the waste until there is nothing but dry, odorless material left over, which they layer in holding fields to dry. The public is let into these areas and lots of people pick up this dried material and use it for fertilizer. As fertilizer this material is excellent with one caveat: there is only one organic thing that makes its way entirely through our systems as well as entirely through the treatment facility's system without being affected..... tomato seeds. In the springtime one can tell who is using this stuff for lawn fertilizer 'cause the entire lawn turns into baby tomato plants. Seriously. Although amusing at the same time. It is not really a problem though 'cause the first two times the lawn is mowed the tomato plants go away. And before you ask, no, I do not use the stuff myself. I use liquid fertilizer and an electric bar sprayer to both feed the stuff I want and kill the stuff I do not, and sometimes kill the stuff I want but now where it has chosen to grow.


Trusting ships and crews to do the right thing....LOL.  I guess they're so clean that they dump before they get to the canal..  Hmm I wonder where that overabundance of oil came from on the Delaware and MD beaches came from....Space Aliens!  Most likely.  Either that or law abiding ships I guess.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on October 30, 2020, 05:45:04 AM
There's many farm fields in my area that use the 'organic' waste from sewage plants.  They post signs when it is applied.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: just gone on October 30, 2020, 12:29:09 PM


But now that you have steered the thread into the proverbial cesspool, .....




 :hitfan:

I guess my work here is done.  8) ;D

Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on October 31, 2020, 06:04:12 AM
Are you saying Jim that human waste is being used on farm fields? The farms around here have waste ponds from the animal areas that are pumped out a few times a year and sprayed on fields with huge sprayers as opposed to older method of mechanical spreading of solids, do NOT fall into that pond. But, back in the 80's I started seeing tanker trucks marked "Agri-Sludge" smeared with nasty looking stuff and smelling awful and leaving horrible, slippery, nasty looking stuff on the street.......
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on October 31, 2020, 08:39:02 PM
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, a very well- known person, is probably better known by his nickname, The Red Baron due to him painting his plane red so he could be recognized in combat by the enemy. A fighter pilot in WWI, he is credited with 80 air victories before being shot down himself and killed in 1918. He won much acclaim and many decorations, including the Prussian Pour le Mérite, better known to English speakers as The Blue Max. He was the commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 1, again better known to English speakers as The Flying Circus.

Most casual accounts and I think memories of the man and the squadron end with Richthofen but he was not the last, or even the next- to- last commander of that squadron. He was simply the last famous commander, at least in his own time. As Richthofen died in April 1918, and the war did not end until Nov. 1918, there would be time for two more officers to command that group, both aces in their own rights with 20 kills each. But it is the second and final commander that I think surprises most people- he started WWI in the infantry and did not even learn to fly until 1916 and was then wounded so badly that he was hospitalized for nearly a year before again returning to the war. He would be awarded the Iron Cross, First Class as well as the coveted Blue Max in addition to gaining 20 air victories. He survived the war and went onto.... oh, I guess politics, broadly speaking. His name was Herman Goering, eventually Reichsmarschall of the Luftwaffe, a morphine addict after 1923, second in the command structure only to Adolf Hitler and would end up being the highest ranking Nazi to be tried at Nuremberg for war crimes. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death by hanging but cheated the hangman by committing suicide using cyanide the night before his scheduled execution. Goering was instrumental in bringing the National Socialist or Nazi party to power, as well as moving Hitler from the chancellor of a republic to the dictator of the nation.

At least this provides us a small break from the hectic political discussions going on now, Sat., 31 Oct. 2020..... three days before the US election.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 01, 2020, 06:35:15 AM
Are you saying Jim that human waste is being used on farm fields? The farms around here have waste ponds from the animal areas that are pumped out a few times a year and sprayed on fields with huge sprayers as opposed to older method of mechanical spreading of solids, do NOT fall into that pond. But, back in the 80's I started seeing tanker trucks marked "Agri-Sludge" smeared with nasty looking stuff and smelling awful and leaving horrible, slippery, nasty looking stuff on the street.......


Indeed, I am.  But this is not spread as slippery sludge farm waste (however, as far as I know that is still used by some farmers).


http://www.virginiaplaces.org/waste/biosolids.html (http://www.virginiaplaces.org/waste/biosolids.html)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 01, 2020, 06:36:05 AM
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, a very well- known person, is probably better known by his nickname, The Red Baron due to him painting his plane red so he could be recognized in combat by the enemy. A fighter pilot in WWI, he is credited with 80 air victories before being shot down himself and killed in 1918. He won much acclaim and many decorations, including the Prussian Pour le Mérite, better known to English speakers as The Blue Max. He was the commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 1, again better known to English speakers as The Flying Circus.

Most casual accounts and I think memories of the man and the squadron end with Richthofen but he was not the last, or even the next- to- last commander of that squadron. He was simply the last famous commander, at least in his own time. As Richthofen died in April 1918, and the war did not end until Nov. 1918, there would be time for two more officers to command that group, both aces in their own rights with 20 kills each. But it is the second and final commander that I think surprises most people- he started WWI in the infantry and did not even learn to fly until 1916 and was then wounded so badly that he was hospitalized for nearly a year before again returning to the war. He would be awarded the Iron Cross, First Class as well as the coveted Blue Max in addition to gaining 20 air victories. He survived the war and went onto.... oh, I guess politics, broadly speaking. His name was Herman Goering, eventually Reichsmarschall of the Luftwaffe, a morphine addict after 1923, second in the command structure only to Adolf Hitler and would end up being the highest ranking Nazi to be tried at Nuremberg for war crimes. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death by hanging but cheated the hangman by committing suicide using cyanide the night before his scheduled execution. Goering was instrumental in bringing the National Socialist or Nazi party to power, as well as moving Hitler from the chancellor of a republic to the dictator of the nation.

At least this provides us a small break from the hectic political discussions going on now, Sat., 31 Oct. 2020..... three days before the US election.


 :thumbs:
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: B.D.F. on November 02, 2020, 07:48:16 PM
But whatever happened to Gary Powers? Everybody must know of Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the 'untouchable' U2 on a weather mission, or spying on Soviet nuclear missle sites, when a Soviet missle struck and shot down the aircraft, which the US then denied existed, only to have the Soviets produce the aircraft wreckage but then stick to their 'he was off course by mistake on a weather observation mission' only to find the Soviets also had the camera and film of their launch bases, only to have the US keep denying it until the Soviets brought Gary Powers in front of a Soviet court. Yeah, that 'he is alive and has been captured' part was hard to deny..... So of course they tried him, found him guilty and sentenced him to ten years in a Soviet prison after he admitted guilt and threw himself on the mercy of the court. Yeah.....

Well, after a couple of years, he was traded for a Soviet spy, across a bridge in Berlin, real cold- war stuff and was brought back to the US. Met with a cool reception, the US gov't went on a hard campaign to bring him back into the good graces of Joe Q. Public and was pretty successful really. He then went to work for Lockheed, the manufacturer of the U2 that he flew but was really working for the CIA of course and things went along pretty well for quite a while. But then he wrote a book, Operation Overflight, than rubbed some fur the wrong way and was fired. So what is a ejected (moderate pun intended) CIA pilot to do once out of the gov't's good graces? Why learn to fly helicopters and get a job flying one for a Los Angeles television station of course. And it was doing that, in 1975, that Francis Gary Powers suffered a major failure in a helicopter and died in the resulting crash. Well not quite.... he was actually successfully autorotating back to the ground when he saw children playing in the area he was going to land in and it was his turning sharply to avoid them that most probably caused the crash. So really Mr. Powers died doing what he loved, flying, and doing what he was supposed to have done way back in 1960 and sacrificed his life for others. That was the cause of his poor character view in the US when he returned- he was supposed to commit suicide using the CIA supplied 'coin' containing a needle and poison instead of being captured. I find it amazing how many people have told me he was evil personified for not doing that and how they would have done so instantly.... while lounging in their favorite chair in the living room. And yeah, the Soviets captured his suicide 'coin' also.

And it was not only Mr. Powers the Soviets shot down that day. They also managed to hit a MIG 19, sent to intercept Powers but unable to do so. The pilot of the MIG ejected the plane wreckage but died of injuries sustained.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on November 03, 2020, 03:49:07 AM
And that's the rest of the story...
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 23, 2021, 09:25:12 AM
For those of you dating Barbie dolls....


Looking just above the butt on the back of the torso, there is a date stamp.  Most of the Barbies we have at the house have 1966 on that.  That is not an indicator of when it was produced.  Look at the back of the head or around the neck for the true date of manufacture.  Mattel has used the 1966 torsos for many years after that.


This has been a Word to the Wise Public Service Announcement.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 23, 2021, 11:43:29 AM
All my wife's Barbie stuff was left at her parents house when they sold it a few years ago. She was heartbroken as there were some really nice things and it was her childhood toys and memories. It's a long story. I went on a mission this past Christmas to find a few dolls to cheer her a bit. Forget Goodwill, Salvation Army, and most all second hand stores unless you want to pay outrageous money for essentially used junk. It is impossible to find a basic, run of the mill, no frills, Barbie only item. Anyway, I found a couple and gave them to her on Christmas Day, it was nice. Thanks for the info too.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Conrad on January 24, 2021, 07:43:33 AM
For those of you dating Barbie dolls....


Looking just above the butt on the back of the torso, there is a date stamp.  Most of the Barbies we have at the house have 1966 on that.  That is not an indicator of when it was produced.  Look at the back of the head or around the neck for the true date of manufacture.  Mattel has used the 1966 torsos for many years after that.


This has been a Word to the Wise Public Service Announcement.

Dating a Barbie doll? What if one marries one?   lol

https://www.gq.com/story/valeria-lukyanova-human-barbie-doll

(https://media.gq.com/photos/5591b723838c214c3f48bf1f/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/human-barbie-doll-01.jpg)
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Eupher on January 24, 2021, 06:24:10 PM

Well, after a couple of years, he [Francis Gary Powers] was traded for a Soviet spy, across a bridge in Berlin, real cold- war stuff ...


Ah-yup. That bridge you mentioned (it's located on the way out to Potsdam from the former West Berlin, where I was stationed from 1983-91) was the scene of several spy/prisoner exchanges throughout the Cold War. Commonly called "Freedom Bridge" for obvious reasons, the Germans call it Glienicke Brücke. Powers was one, I think actually the first, of the spy transfers though technically he was a prisoner.

Greville Wynne in April 1964,  Marian Zacharski in June 1985, Anatoly Shcharansky in February 1986. These were spy exchanges.

Another exchange wasn't prisoner or spy at all. The remains of Major Arthur Nicholson were released to U.S. custody also via Freedom Bridge. Major Nicholson was shot and allowed to bleed to death while he was conducting observations in association with his position as an officer with the U.S. Military Liaison Mission, stationed in Potsdam.

I was in Berlin at that time and as a member of the 298th Army Band, was called on several times to play funerals and dedications under his name; we also performed while his body was loaded on an aircraft to take him first to Frankfurt, and then to the U.S. for interment at Arlington National Cemetery. I can tell you that things were very tense from a Cold War perspective at that time. Nicholson was shot by a trigger-happy Soviet sentry which was bad enough, but medical care to him was refused and he bled to death. He was arguably the last Cold War casualty on that date in March 1985.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 26, 2021, 11:33:09 AM
I got a flat tire yesterday, I think we picked it up at a lumber yard we went to. A wood screw in the tread causing a slow leak. I was amazed when I took it to the local Goodyear distributor that they patched/plugged it from inside and rebalanced it for free. I didn't think anybody did that anymore, especially on a snow tire with 2000 miles on it that cost $75 originally.
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: VirginiaJim on January 26, 2021, 11:48:43 AM
Why would they do that for free?  Did you have road hazard ins?
Title: Re: A thread about nothing at all....
Post by: Strawboss on January 26, 2021, 12:06:18 PM
Oh yeah, sorry, yes, roadhazard insurance which I never had use of before, well, like a gun, you don't need it till you need it. But what amazed me was the fact they did it at all with what I would have thought to be a big liability, I know, different on bike tires, but still...