Saturday, August 26, 2023
When Lori Lindsey bought a tavern in New Mexico in 2007, she acquired the restaurant, the museum, and a steam locomotive that was parked and abandoned in 1959 when the mine shut down and the town was abandoned
769 was sold off to the Albuquerque & Los Cerrillos Coal Company in 1950 and sent to work at the coal mine at Madrid, NM, located at the end of a 6.7-mile spur extending south from the Santa Fe main at Waldo.
The 769 was never renumbered nor relettered by the coal company, and spent its post-Santa Fe career in full A.T.&S.F. markings.
When the mine shut down amid a declining coal market in 1959, Madrid became a ghost town.
Locomotives 769 and 870 were abandoned on-site and left to rust.
Ex Mopac hopper car used as a scrap truck in Little Rock, Ark. June 1969
Friday, August 25, 2023
a recent study found that an additive in tires called 6PPD, when exposed to oxygen and ozone, morphs into 6PPD-quinone, a toxic chemical that quickly killed 90 percent of young salmon in laboratory tests.
Every day, thousands of cars take to the highways, constantly shedding tiny particles of rubber from their tires, which, when it rains, are washed down into the Bay. That seemed normal until something caught the attention of researchers at the SF Estuary Institute.
"About 5 years ago we learned of this study that was being done up in Washington State that found large quantities of salmon die off as a result of this chemical additive in tires," said Warner Chabot, the Institute's Executive Director.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control agreed and recently put tire manufacturers on notice that they need to find a safer alternative--which currently doesn't exist. The problem is, 6PPD is extremely important as a preservative that keeps tires from drying out and crumbling. Without it, tires could quickly become a safety hazard.
And rather than fight the issue, the US Tire Manufacturers Association is leaning into the challenge. In a statement, they acknowledged the problem and said, "We are committed to collaborating with researchers and regulators in California and Washington to better understand this material, fill knowledge gaps and determine next steps."
"We are dancing on the edge of extinction for salmon in California," said Chabot. "Anything and everything we do is important and urgent and necessary."
The timeline is pretty tight. The State has given manufacturers until March of next year to at least submit a study of possible alternatives or face having their tires taken off the market in California. So, the race is on to find chemicals that can help, rather than harm, the environment.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/tire-additive-could-push-california-salmon-to-extinction-study-says/
"About 5 years ago we learned of this study that was being done up in Washington State that found large quantities of salmon die off as a result of this chemical additive in tires," said Warner Chabot, the Institute's Executive Director.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control agreed and recently put tire manufacturers on notice that they need to find a safer alternative--which currently doesn't exist. The problem is, 6PPD is extremely important as a preservative that keeps tires from drying out and crumbling. Without it, tires could quickly become a safety hazard.
And rather than fight the issue, the US Tire Manufacturers Association is leaning into the challenge. In a statement, they acknowledged the problem and said, "We are committed to collaborating with researchers and regulators in California and Washington to better understand this material, fill knowledge gaps and determine next steps."
"We are dancing on the edge of extinction for salmon in California," said Chabot. "Anything and everything we do is important and urgent and necessary."
The timeline is pretty tight. The State has given manufacturers until March of next year to at least submit a study of possible alternatives or face having their tires taken off the market in California. So, the race is on to find chemicals that can help, rather than harm, the environment.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/tire-additive-could-push-california-salmon-to-extinction-study-says/
Pilot Flying J operates more than 650 retail locations and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America, and today they started shutting down locations run by Mountain Express who just filed for bankruptcy
Mountain Express filed for chapter 11 (restructure) bankruptcy in March, but now, chapter 7 (out of business/liquidation)
This comes about eight days after the retailer requested the court’s permission to cease all operations and terminate its employees after its proposed $49 million sale to Arko Corp. — parent of c-store retailer GPM Investments — failed.
This comes about eight days after the retailer requested the court’s permission to cease all operations and terminate its employees after its proposed $49 million sale to Arko Corp. — parent of c-store retailer GPM Investments — failed.
According to court documents, some of the major retailers whose fuel supply contracts with Mountain Express have ended include Pilot Company, BP, Chevron, Gulf Oil, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66.
Founded in 2000, Alpharetta, Georgia-based Mountain Express Oil formerly distributed fuel to 855 locations around the country, including 27 travel centers, and operated about 171 retail stores.
sorta good news, or at least, not such bad news.... anyway, here's how the day started
I went and got a haircut, then, on the way to the post office, I got a puncture in the middle of my tire's tread face. Dead center.
Could have gotten that plugged, but, for the time spent at the tire place, and the remaining life left in my front tires, I got them replaced. They might have been good for another 10 k... so, about this time next year, they would be bald. Right in time for the rainy season.
The stuff I can report that is sorta good news, I got them in sept 2021, and they haven't went up much, just 10%. So, about 1/2 the rate of inflation.
The little compressor in the trunk of my 2015 Hyundai, and the nice little additive can of Dunlop brand fix a flat,
made a very good seal on that puncture. Serious.... not any air leaked while I drove across the city to get to my Tire Depot. I've been going there for about 25 years.
So, new tires, fresh amount of tread and they should last 35000 miles before going bald, didn't wreck the rims driving on tires that would not inflate, I learned the factory compressor and fix a flat is good enough to get you up and running.
And they still, 2 months after learning about the tires I will need for the 69 Dodge, have a dozen in stock around town. I'm still waiting for the rims to get to the USA, and into Summitt's inventory, then shipped out to me.
interesting, might be true, but I doubt it. I can't find images online that verify it
here's what IMCDB shows, and the foot measuring device (Brannock device) isn't on the bike
https://www.imcdb.org/v553168.html
Looks like someone tried to imagine what the bike would have had been, if the show had been big budget
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Barbara Eden in a scene from the Harper Valley PTA TV series... Happy Birthday to her!
In the episode, Clutch Breath, the leader of The Banditoes motorcycle gang falls for Eden's character and refuses to leave town without her
She had one heck of a career in Hollywood, even co-starred with Elvis in a movie... and I just found out that I'm distantly related via our mutual relative, Ben Franklin
Evelyn Hofer, Arteries, New York, 1964
she used a large format 4×5 inch Linhof Technika view camera, unusual for a documentary photographer
When Hofer was eleven her family fled Nazi Germany for Switzerland. She decided she wanted to be a photographer and set about it methodically. She began with an apprenticeship at the Studio Bettina, a portrait studio, and took private lessons with Hans Finsler, one of the pioneers of the "New Objectivity" movement.
Hofer's studies covered everything from photographic technique to art theory. She didn't just learn composition and the underlying theories of aesthetics, she also learned the chemistry involved in producing prints. Beginning in the early 1960s she became one of the first fine art photographers to adopt the use of color film and the complicated dye transfer printing process as a regular practice. Throughout her long career, Hofer continued to shoot in both color and black and white – determining which was the more apt for the picture at hand.
Hofer's studies covered everything from photographic technique to art theory. She didn't just learn composition and the underlying theories of aesthetics, she also learned the chemistry involved in producing prints. Beginning in the early 1960s she became one of the first fine art photographers to adopt the use of color film and the complicated dye transfer printing process as a regular practice. Throughout her long career, Hofer continued to shoot in both color and black and white – determining which was the more apt for the picture at hand.
Congrats to Ridgid for 100 years of business operations in the tool industry!
I've posted about Ridgid a couple of times, they are famous for their pipe wrenches for all time, that was where they got started, but then they went viral for the Petty Pin Up girls using the various pipe thread cutters etc, and have since branched out into a lot of other tools for the plumbing industry
Previous posts at https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=ridgid including the Raquel Welch advertising, Petty pin ups
Or see https://dangerousminds.net/comments/pinups_pvc_pipes_the_vintage_bathing_beauties_of_the_ridgid_tool_company_ca for the 1960s and 70s pinup calendars, or https://www.tumbex.com/higherentity.tumblr/posts?tag=ridgid
in 1956, they even loaded a trailer and went on a road show type tour, probably inspired by the GM FuturLiners of the early 50s
The National Motorcycle Museum (aka personal collection of the late John Parham) in Iowa, will close its doors for the final time this September, it was open for about 34 years, but like most things, when that person dies that made it, it dies too
1918 Harley and side car... very nice
Harley battery tester.
this 1911 with a Gnome engine, caps off just a few things I found interesting
A Smith Motor Wheel on the toboggan
Originally founded back in 1989 and long owned and operated by John and Jill Parham of J&P Cycles fame
This September 6-9, its remaining 300-plus motorcycles, cycle cars, midget racers, servicars and dispatch tow three wheelers, scooters, whizzers, Mini Bikes, motor wheels, streamliners and land speed racers, board track racers, an Ed Roth trike, one airplane, two Von Dutch helmets, out boards, motors, tin toys, pedal cars, posters, and thousands of petroliana items will be at the Mecum auction block at an offering to be held on-site at the Iowa-based museum.
4 dead, including the gunman, a 28 year police sgt with Ventura PD, and 6 wounded last night following him murdering his wife in a bar. Why? She filed for divorce last Dec, and was probably going to get one of the two homes and 1/2 his retirement.
A witness said that the shooter and his wife were going through a divorce, and she was sitting next to the wife when the gunman used two guns to shoot at his spouse multiple times
not uncommon I expect.
I bet if any reporter can get ahold of their divorce papers, we'll find he was going to lose most of his assets and 1/2 of his retirement check.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/shooting-orange-county-cooks-corner-trabuco-canyon-bar/329163
“We were sitting there listening to the band and all of sudden, from behind us, we hear shooting. A bunch of shooting,” Fruichantie said. “I thought it was just firecrackers, she didn’t say anything.
then, “He walked over to a gray pickup truck, opened his passenger door, and then I saw a couple people walking out. I saw two bodies drop.”
Rosales said about a minute later, two or three deputies pulled up. That’s when he said the shooter "without hesitation just started unloading" on the deputies, who returned fire. The gunman was armed with what appeared to be a rifle, Rosales said.
Senator Min, a moron, can't wrap his head around the fact that he has to "support" law enforcement + decry the gun violence BUT ONLY law enforcement current and former, were shooting.
Allow me to try and work that out... a politician trying to double talk a situation to kiss up to the police union, when the police in the union are shooting at former police from the union, on union benefits?
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
stats, facts, and info on states and driving
Montana has the worst drivers in the country. Although most drivers in the state have car insurance coverage, the state ranked poorly for safe driving habits.
getting ranked as having the worst drivers, is because of factors such as:
Mississippi has the highest percentage of uninsured drivers (30%) of any state.
New Jersey is home to the U.S.’s best drivers, receiving the highest score for Safe Driving Choices and having the highest percentage of drivers with insurance (96.9%). The state also has an above-average Safe Driving Habits score.
Minnesota has the highest score for Safe Driving Habits, meaning it has lower rates of unrestrained and distracted driving fatalities and higher rates of seatbelt use.
getting ranked as having the worst drivers, is because of factors such as:
having higher rates of fatalities related to driving under the influence,
driving while distracted, and speeding,
lower rates of seat belt usage and
lower percentages of insured motorists —
all factors that make roads more dangerous and put other drivers at risk.
New Mexico and South Carolina have the second and third-worst drivers overall, with the former receiving the lowest Safe Driving Habits score and the latter receiving the lowest Safe Driving Choices score in the country.
Mississippi has the highest percentage of uninsured drivers (30%) of any state.
New Jersey is home to the U.S.’s best drivers, receiving the highest score for Safe Driving Choices and having the highest percentage of drivers with insurance (96.9%). The state also has an above-average Safe Driving Habits score.
Minnesota has the highest score for Safe Driving Habits, meaning it has lower rates of unrestrained and distracted driving fatalities and higher rates of seatbelt use.
Sources:
Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Crime Data Explorer." Accessed May 31, 2023.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Fatality Facts 2021 State by State." Accessed May 31, 2023.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Fatality Facts 2021: Males and females." Accessed June 6, 2023.
Insurance Research Council. "Uninsured Motorists, 2021 Edition." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2021." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Seat Belts." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "NHTSA Early Estimates for Traffic Fatalities in 2022." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Safety Council. "Seat Belts." Accessed June 6, 2023.
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. "Highway Statistics 2021." Accessed May 31, 2023.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Crime Data Explorer." Accessed May 31, 2023.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Fatality Facts 2021 State by State." Accessed May 31, 2023.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Fatality Facts 2021: Males and females." Accessed June 6, 2023.
Insurance Research Council. "Uninsured Motorists, 2021 Edition." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2021." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Seat Belts." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "NHTSA Early Estimates for Traffic Fatalities in 2022." Accessed May 31, 2023.
National Safety Council. "Seat Belts." Accessed June 6, 2023.
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. "Highway Statistics 2021." Accessed May 31, 2023.
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