Thursday, September 26, 2024
Corvette vanity plates at Corvettes at Carlisle 2024
grumpy old man who hates yuppies making Harleys crazy loud, wrote a really long article about it (Sample some of them wanted everyone to know their mufflers are broken)
"full disclosure, I do know a little about generating noise. I have an electric wood chipper that can scare off crows and terrify small pets. But I don’t fire it up unless somebody goes first with their leafblower. And I certainly don’t go riding it up and down the street to show off."
"if you need to wallow in the noise, rent Climate Pledge Arena and do it indoors the way nature intended. Instead of forcing your noise on people who just want to get home without feeling like they’re being buzzed by the Blue Angels."
for the full grouch out, https://mynorthwest.com/3990292/ross-enough-of-broken-muffler-noise-motorcycles/
Two juveniles have been arrested after more than 70 vehicles were damaged in the Cheboygan area
from damage to the mirrors to deflated tires to rocks put in the fuel tank
https://x.com/mspnorthernmi/status/1838319865662443893
https://www.wlns.com/news/michigan/damage-to-70-cars-including-rocks-in-fuel-tanks-leads-to-charges-for-two-juveniles/
https://x.com/mspnorthernmi/status/1838319865662443893
https://www.wlns.com/news/michigan/damage-to-70-cars-including-rocks-in-fuel-tanks-leads-to-charges-for-two-juveniles/
the results from the May 2024 International Roadcheck inspection campaign, in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada,
During the 72 hour inspection effort, CMV enforcement personnel conducted a total of 48,761 inspections.
688 drivers had no license
138 had suspended licenses
297 were lying or cheating on their logs
a woman flying Cathay Pacific had just horrible people sitting behind her, who were NOT going to allow her to recline her chair, OR continue with the rest of the trip without extreme harrasment
During a flight from Hong Kong to London, on Sept. 17, a woman had a terrible married couple in the seats behind her
"The lady behind me asked if I could put my seat upright because it was obstructing her husband's view of the TV," the woman recalled, noting in the caption that the plane was flying smoothly at the time. "After I politely refused, she started stretching her feet onto the armrest, kicking my arm and angrily cursing at me."
The the flight attendant came over, and instead of doing the right thing, and getting the couple to lay off, and shut up, had the victim position her seat to THEIR liking.
The couple then started to kick the back of her seat, the passenger said in her post. She said she requested to switch seats but that this was declined by the flight attendant. “Since we are fully booked today, we couldn’t find another seat for you,” the crew member is heard saying in the video.
Surrounding passengers stood up for her, criticizing the couple's disruptive behavior.
The passenger was then offered a new seat.
"The lady behind me asked if I could put my seat upright because it was obstructing her husband's view of the TV," the woman recalled, noting in the caption that the plane was flying smoothly at the time. "After I politely refused, she started stretching her feet onto the armrest, kicking my arm and angrily cursing at me."
The the flight attendant came over, and instead of doing the right thing, and getting the couple to lay off, and shut up, had the victim position her seat to THEIR liking.
The couple then started to kick the back of her seat, the passenger said in her post. She said she requested to switch seats but that this was declined by the flight attendant. “Since we are fully booked today, we couldn’t find another seat for you,” the crew member is heard saying in the video.
Surrounding passengers stood up for her, criticizing the couple's disruptive behavior.
The passenger was then offered a new seat.
Since the economy cabin was fully booked, the crew arranged a seat in premium economy for the passenger, and the couple will be banned from all future flights of the Cathay Pacific airline.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kongs-cathay-pacific-bans-couple-reclining-seat-argument-rcna172387
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kongs-cathay-pacific-bans-couple-reclining-seat-argument-rcna172387
When things escalated to this point, and other passengers stepped up to defend the victim, suddenly there was a seat available. What if no one had spoken up? Was I supposed to just keep tolerating it?
You Tube's "Salvage Adventures" guy was called to "remove an old junk car" from an old lady's yard, because she wanted the yard cleaned up. It's a '66 Pontiac GTO
The problem with high schools, is they don't teach kids what it takes to get a job. But the Opportunity Central, also known as the OC, in Dallas Texas, flipped that. One thing kids get hands on day to day work experience on, OJT, is car mechanics, They also operate a barber shop, florist, coffee shop, etc
here's a question that probably only has one dumb answer (because the govt said so) but I'll ask it anyway
Why is it that the vehicles the govt will not allow Americans to buy and drive (they don't pass crash standards, safety standards) whatever the issues are that prevent Eurospec cars, and cars only sold in Mexico and South America, from being available for American citizens and consumers to purchase and drive and in the USA. (Examples, Buick Century SS, VW Crossfox, Nissan March, Ramirez R-15, Cajoma, Pena, Mago, Tractocasa
Why is it the trucking industry in Mexico is allowed to drive semis that burn fuels that are less expensive and create more smog, with out DEF on diesel engines, and I'm guessing, without catalytic converters, without the crash testing the US DOT requires, etc etc.
See where this is going? In the USA, the vehicles the govt will allow to be sold, cost more, and must pass crash testing, and smog certs, and we can't import the cars from Mexico... but those cars can drive across the border and into the USA, and those trucking companies that buy and operate less expensive semis in Mexico are allowed to operate in the USA.
I'm wondering why we Americans can't go into Mexico, buy some cheap car, and bring it back into the USA and drive it as a commuter, when someone in Mexico can.
Oh, and this ain't racist, but the USA and Mexico have a very long border, with many border crossings, and different smog and crash standards, but Canada has the same as American. So, since we don't have borders with other countries, and the Eurospec stuff ain't allowed to get imported unless you're a billionaire (Jerry Seinfeld and his Porsches) I'm not discussing those because they can't drive into the USA.
Can American companies buy Mexican trucking companies and bring their fleet into the USA and operate it? Or, can only Mexican trucking companies operate in the USA?
So, I'm also ready with a solution, the vehicles get registered, and smogged, in the USA, and are only allowed to cross into the USA with an American state registration, insurance, and smog test.
That makes sense, and there's legal precedent, truckers used to be required to have a license plate from every state they did business in, am I right?
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
a Los Angeles Metro bus was hijacked last night, around 1 am, and the bus driver reacted calmly and superbly, he hit the silent alarm!
Police said 51-year-old Lamont Campbell hijacked the Line 81 bus, which was traveling southbound and was carrying the driver and two passengers.
Investigators described the incident as a kidnapping situation and said the emergency panic button alerted police. After the driver pushed the silent alarm, the electronic display on the front of the bus read "Call 911," prompting people to call 911.
The bus driver continued traveling at gunpoint as authorities pursued the vehicle for the next hour. It does not appear the suspect was ever behind the wheel.
Officers deployed several spike strips during the chase, which punctured the right tire of the bus.
The bus eventually came to a stop at 6th and Alameda streets in downtown L.A. and the suspect surrendered.
these were created by a full-time pediatric radiologist working at a children’s hospital.
Via Scenic Route by Mobil 1
Reminds me of a similar artists work years ago, Andrew Ritter, so if you like these, try https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2020/08/andrew-ritter-is-having-little-fun-when.html also.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
how did the loudest aircraft ever known get so damn loud that the scream of an engine run-up could be heard 25 miles away?
John M. Leonard of the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust performed extensive research on the aircraft and found that with the T40 turning at 14,300rpm through a 6.8:1 gearbox, the outer sections of the propeller blades were traveling at 1.18 Mach. This hammered anyone in plane with those blades with over one hundred sonic booms per second.
While the XF-84H did demonstrate incredible acceleration, it was plagued with problems. The required 30-minute warm-up time for the Allison made it an impracticable combat aircraft and the propeller caused serious vibrations in the airframe and there were several mechanical failures in the prop pitch gearing.
The two prototypes flew a combined dozen test flights. All, but one ended with an in-flight emergency (IFE).
it never flew over 450 knots indicated, since at that speed, it developed an unhappy practice of ‘snaking’, apparently losing longitudinal stability”. As a matter of fact, so shaken by the flight that Hendrix flatly refused to fly it again. He reportedly told Jim Rust, Republic’s chief engineer who stood six-foot-four and weighed 235 pounds, “You aren’t big enough and there aren’t enough of you to get me in that thing again.”
Nice way to prove your tow truck passes muster
It takes something genuinely shocking to catch people's attention, especially when it comes to cars or trucks and their capabilities.
So, Miller Industries busted out its biggest rotator and picked up two heavy-duty tow trucks at the same time, combined weight, 70,000 pounds
George just told me about a Air Force Blue 1966 396 El Camino used as a U-2 chase vehicle! Thanks George!
Looks like a truckers AC unit on the roof! This picture of one that was in Viet Nam back in the 70's was taken by the guy who took care of the car while he was there with it. They used these up until around 1973 or 74
He was part of the ground crew for the U2 Spy Plane. They had a Camino at the airbase, which served as a "guide dog" for the U2 landing operations.
The U2 had an over 100 ft. wingspan with only a 63 ft. fuselage length. The wing-mounted landing gear dropped off at takeoff and had to be re-inserted in sockets of the wings after landing, just to support the very wide wings while parked or taxiing.
When landing, the ultra- wide wingspan was so unstable that the driver of the El Camino chased the U2 down the tarmac, in constant radio communication with the pilot, to help him keep the wings somewhat level.
The lower height of the Camino was more suited to the low profile of the U2, in case it went under a wing."
There is an article in the current Motor Trend magazine about how the USAF bought a bunch of 396 El Caminos for chase cars during the 1960's
the 1973 oil crisis, emissions regulations and rising insurance rates killed off the El Camino
and in 'Strategic Reconnaissance 1956-1976' issued by the 100th SRW
Rick Schaefer writes that at U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand between 1972 and 1973, there was a U-2 reconnaissance outfit stationed.
And there were U2s on the Andersen AFB, Guam flight line in 1972 and 1973
Monday, September 23, 2024
the volunteer fire department of Calhoun, Missouri was just rescued from bankruptcy by a million dollar donation from 91 year old Sam Sloan. That's the coolest thing I've seen in a while!
When Mark took over as chief of the volunteer fire dept in 2021, there was just one volunteer and none of the trucks worked. After Mark used his own money to fix one up and get it running, he put out a call on Facebook for more volunteers; now there’s 29
Mark and other volunteers had already been using their own money to fix two of their five broken trucks. With their gear, from the 1980s and 1990s, desperately needing to be replaced, Mark figured he’d be going into his pocket again. There was only $169 in the bank account
Then he met Sam, and Sam handed him a check for a 1/2 mil, Sam had owned and sold seed companies, cattle ranches, car dealerships and property, earned a lot of money over his life but lives simply.
He’d been saving for decades with the idea to give back, and he’d always admired firefighters and decided his local fire department would make the perfect beneficiary. He had no idea they were down to their last dollar.
Sam donated an additional $330,000 to purchase a larger building for their second firehouse, which they plan to name the Samuel A. Sloan, Jr. Fire Station—and another $200,000 for remodeling.
Mark and other volunteers had already been using their own money to fix two of their five broken trucks. With their gear, from the 1980s and 1990s, desperately needing to be replaced, Mark figured he’d be going into his pocket again. There was only $169 in the bank account
Then he met Sam, and Sam handed him a check for a 1/2 mil, Sam had owned and sold seed companies, cattle ranches, car dealerships and property, earned a lot of money over his life but lives simply.
He’d been saving for decades with the idea to give back, and he’d always admired firefighters and decided his local fire department would make the perfect beneficiary. He had no idea they were down to their last dollar.
Sam donated an additional $330,000 to purchase a larger building for their second firehouse, which they plan to name the Samuel A. Sloan, Jr. Fire Station—and another $200,000 for remodeling.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Goldfinger, was released 60 years ago, when the storyline of a movie was so simple, just a villain smuggling gold disguised as car parts on his Rolls Royce.
Goldfinger used a 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville with coachwork made from actual gold to smuggle the metal from England to Switzerland, where the body of the car is melted down and voila—he avoided some kind of banking-schmanking regulation. Once the body of the car was melted down, the original coachwork went back on and he'd return to England to repeat the operation.
Humanity Showers, founded by Jordan Verdin, is doing a damn fine thing, helping the homeless (because in spite of billions of dollars, the state of California isn't)
From these interactions, Jordan identified two critical needs among the homeless population: the need to be seen and the need to be clean. To address these needs, Jordan began sharing the stories of those he met to combat invisibility and provided hand washing stations and wet wipes to combat the lack of hygiene. This eventually evolved into establishing Humanity Showers, a 100% volunteer mobile shower project that now provides over 2,000 showers per month in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties.
in 2018, police shot a Silver Lake Trader Joe's assistant manager, as they pursued a suspect who ran into the store. Last month, Los Angeles formally reached a $9.5 million settlement with the family
the $9.5 million payout is the "largest pre-trial settlement" ever paid by the city over a Los Angeles Police Department shooting.
"We are pleased that the city has acknowledged their wrongdoing and taken responsibility for causing Mely's death," plaintiffs' attorney John Taylor said in a statement. "After six years of fighting for justice for Mely, the Corado family's persistence and demands for accountability were finally recognized."
It only took 6 years to wait out the process of the city fighting to absolve itself, and the police, of the shooting.
Charcoal lighter fluid, known as LF-1, was used in the Pratt & Whitney J57 engine, which powered the Lockheed U-2 aircraft.
Charcoal lighter fluid is made of Benzene, naphthalene, petroleum distillates, toluene, xylene
