Thursday, March 20, 2025
a young Sparta Tennessee teen couple disappeared in 2000 when their car missed a corner, went into a river and they died... their car (98 Grand Am) and remains were finally located in 2021, when YouTube diver Jeremy Beau Sides discovered their car
There was no guard rail when the teens went off the road
https://www.facebook.com/jeremybechtelanderinfoster/posts/pfbid0eHnLyfBt2M2btKFsof76EBWJhjscC5LGh3TpgySzjiKFCmQLcosUYWSeH7SkYQfRl
https://www.facebook.com/jeremybechtelanderinfoster
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2022/07/20/erin-foster-jeremy-bechtel-buried-after-youtube-star-finds-car/10068664002/
https://www.facebook.com/jeremybechtelanderinfoster
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2022/07/20/erin-foster-jeremy-bechtel-buried-after-youtube-star-finds-car/10068664002/
it's a little-known fact that there's been a glitch in the tolling system on Washington State Route 167
The highway has never had the technology to scan license plates.
It seems drivers who have no transponder and use the HOT lanes are getting free rides
Indeed, SR 167 is the only toll road that does not have the technology to read license plates. So, drivers who don’t have a Good to Go! transponder can and do ride in the HOT lanes for free.
WSDOT plans to install those license plate reading cameras, but the system won’t be up and running until December 2025.
It seems drivers who have no transponder and use the HOT lanes are getting free rides
Indeed, SR 167 is the only toll road that does not have the technology to read license plates. So, drivers who don’t have a Good to Go! transponder can and do ride in the HOT lanes for free.
WSDOT plans to install those license plate reading cameras, but the system won’t be up and running until December 2025.
Following two days of sometimes violent protests, with blockades that had forced schools and some businesses to close, the Guatemalan President has withdrawn a decree which would have made car insurance compulsory
President Arévalo argued that the new rule was necessary to compensate victims of traffic accidents, but many in Guatemala - where an estimated 55% live in poverty - said they would not be able to afford the extra cost.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, the president said he had been elected to bring about necessary changes in the country, some of which could be difficult.
"I remain convinced that a new general transport law is the right way forward for the wellbeing of our country," he said, adding that traffic accidents were the main cause of death in Guatemala.
He said that after talks with representatives of the protesters, the two sides had agreed to set up a technical committee to come up with a plan on how to introduce compulsory insurance within a year.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, the president said he had been elected to bring about necessary changes in the country, some of which could be difficult.
"I remain convinced that a new general transport law is the right way forward for the wellbeing of our country," he said, adding that traffic accidents were the main cause of death in Guatemala.
He said that after talks with representatives of the protesters, the two sides had agreed to set up a technical committee to come up with a plan on how to introduce compulsory insurance within a year.
Eagle Field, the WW2 airstrip, and recent annual dragstrip, was sold by it's owner Joe Davis because his health was failing. It's been bought by a flying car company CEO
the drag racing moved to Mendota Raceway Park. The new owner asked for too much money, the drag racing organizers talked to the new owner, but said he wouldn't come to terms with the racers.
Trinity Bridge in Crowland, Lincolnshire, about 650 years old!
It was originally built between 1360 and 1390 to replace earlier wooden bridges spanning the junction of the River Welland and a distributary.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122185047836269902&set=a.122108168822269902
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Whoa! I don't think I've ever seen a Jensen built up for Bonneville land speed racing from an autocross car... but then, I've never heard of one autocrossing either!
I haven't looked at Hagerty's website for a long while... and this popped up on my facebook feed...
The car is one of only 500 made
To reduce drag going over the car, the grille was sealed up. Without any air flowing through the radiator, the car now relies on a 45-gallon water tank to keep it cool during its five-mile runs at wide-open throttle.
Thanks to its big turbo and adjustable wastegate, power can be dialed in from 800 to about 1200 horsepower.
The goal is 200 mph, but electrical and mechanical gremlins have kept the car from getting faster than 184
Doug's car in high school was this 1937 Packard 120CD. It was his daily driver, plus made for great road trips. He bought it at age 15 for $240 from a barn in PA. He owned it from 1964-1992.
How great!
When he mentioned it, the vague memory of someone telling me about a cool classic like this being their high school car, and I couldn't recall if it was a conversation I'd had with Doug, or someone else... but when trying to find that story, I did come across the original story... Gary had a 31 Chrysler in high school, he paid 500 for! https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2020/11/in-1961-gary-had-two-cars-to-chose-from.html
The stuffed animal that went viral on local social media channels has been removed from its perch over I-5 just south of Bellingham Washington
An unknown person had mounted the sloth high up on a tree on the east side of the interstate near Lake Samish just around one year ago.
https://mybellinghamnow.com/news/297792-wsdot-crew-removes-large-sloth-stuffed-animal-from-i-5-roadside-near-bellingham/
Funniest thing I read today, from Bam Bam the Trucker
I looked at that high-tech monstrosity and thought, Let’s fuck myself up today. So I did. French vanilla. Seven shots of espresso. Because moderation is for cowards.
First sip? Brilliant mistake. Only idiots and truckers put this much espresso in their coffee, and lucky for me, I qualify as both. The Yeti mug was a necessity because my hands are shaking so bad, the coffee would've just launched itself into orbit. Pretty sure the cream in the fridge turned to butter just from being near me.
Most people in the office just sighed and accepted their fate. But the new hire? She’s clutching her phone, ready to call 911. I gave her a thumbs-up, but I think it came off more like a distress signal.
Effects so far:
✅ Can hear WiFi signals
✅ Can see the future, but only 30 seconds ahead
✅ Floating slightly above the ground—contact is optional now
✅ Office plugged me into the power grid, and I’m currently running half the building
✅ CB radio? Don’t need it. I am the frequency now.
Regrets? None. Next time: 10 shots. Let’s see if I can break the sound barrier before my shift starts.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May will appear on tv once again, despite announcing the end last year... but it's sounding like a "best of series"
The Not Very Grand Tour is set to be released next month (18 April 2025), according to an announcement by Prime Video.
Described as “a motoring comedy documentary series”, one episode titled “The Glory and The Power” is listed on the site. “In this episode, the team celebrate the combustion engine, with a look back at footage from past adventures and test drives,” reads a description.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) goes even further, suggesting this will be a series with multiple episodes.
In other words, it sounds like Amazon is preparing a series of greatest-hits-style clip shows.
https://www.motor1.com/news/753799/the-not-very-grand-tour-amazon/
Ethel Lee.... simply remarkable! She owned a Cafe in South L.A. and she said it was always her destiny to send a man to the moon... so when she found out about NASA/Rockwell was hiring in Downey, she got a job with them! Next year, is her 99th birthday!
She was instrumental in building NASA's first six space shuttles, reading schematics, working with engineers, and troubleshooting at different aerospace sites. She spent 32 years at Rockwell
And now Ethel is being honored. "NASA Life of Ethel Lee" is currently on display at the Columbia Memorial Space Center. It's a Women's History Month exhibit that honors her aerospace career
https://hall.spacewalkoffame.org/workers/ethel-l-lee
the last surviving pilot who flew during the Battle of Britain, has died at the age of 105. (thanks for the news tip Stephen!)
Flight log Aug. 26 1940 : “Shot down in flames.” This time, by a Messerschmitt Bf 109. He was back flying combat missions two days later.
During dogfights with German aircraft in August of 1940, Hemingway was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricane fighter, once landing in sea off the east coast of England, before returning to his squadron to resume the fight, the RAF said. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in 1941.
He was shot down four times during the war.
Those who fought in the three-and-a-half-month battle (the Battle of Britain) came to be known as "The Few" after a speech by the then Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill.
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few," he said of their sacrifices in battle.
Hemingway was just 20 years old when he and his comrades in the Royal Air Force took to the skies to fight off wave after wave of Nazi aircraft that sought to pound Britain into submission during the the summer and autumn of 1940.
The RAF said that Mr Hemingway's passing marked "the end of an era"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2025/03/18/john-paddy-hemingway-battle-britain-dies/
You probably already heard about this "self driving car" test... finding out if the car can tell the difference between a real road, and a picture of a road, in the middle of an actual road... just a flat surface it can not drive through. It's called the Wile E. Coyote Test
Lexus RX-based prototype uses a lidar.
lidars scans the road ahead and detects the wall.
Autopilot’s cameras, on the other hand, rely on what they see, and in this case that’s a road.
But it is noteworthy just how effective the LiDAR system was shown to be in the video, as Tesla has very publicly decided to forgo these sensors in favor of relying entirely on computer vision. The reasoning for this varies depending on who you ask and when, but it usually boils down to LiDAR sensors costing too much, requiring more data processing to use, and ultimately serving as a crutch that slows down the development of computer vision. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gone so far as to call LiDAR a “fool’s errand.”
Fresno police recently busted a chop shop ring specializing in Dodge Charger and Challenger Hellcat and Jeep Trackhawk parts. Including 75 vehicles and parts of dozens more there was about 3 million dollars worth
it turns out, a cyclorama has nothing to do with bikes, or wheeled vehicles...
and here's how I learned that
I was looking up Albert Champion (spark plug fame of course) and learned:
a building in Boston was commissioned by Charles F. Willoughby's Boston Cyclorama Company to house the Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg, a 400-by-50 foot cyclorama painting of the Battle of Gettysburg.
The central space is a 127'-diameter steel-trussed dome which, when it was built, was the largest dome in the country after that on the United States Capitol building.
In 1889, a new cyclorama painting, Custer's Last Fight, was installed, but by 1890, the fashion for cycloramas had ended, and the new owner of the building, John Gardner converted it to a venue for popular entertainment, including a carousel, roller skating, boxing tournaments (including an 1894 fight of John L. Sullivan), horseback riding, bicycling, and so on.
By the 1890s, it had become an industrial space, used by the Albert Champion Company. In 1907, Albert Champion developed the Champion spark plug thereSo, in a round about way, it was a fad painting style? Which created a place that eventually became a roller skating rink, and manufacturing/research/experimenting offices for the spark plug company.
A Cyclorama is:
a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make viewers, surrounded by the panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of the place depicted in the image.
Monday, March 17, 2025
Dan is a dude with a dream!
He dreamed of a Bonneville Belly Tanker since he was in grade school.
Recently, he started collecting the parts. First, found a tank, then a V8-60, then a vintage sprint car with a Halibrand 101 quick change, another V8-60 with an in and out, steering, and a lot of other very useful parts
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an engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation” pleaded guilty Monday to importing thousands of counterfeit car airbags into the Raleigh area and selling them both locally and online.
According to a news release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 31-year-old Mateen Mohammad Alinaghian imported around 2,500 counterfeit airbags from a supplier in the United Kingdom into Raleigh between May 2022 and April 2024.
The counterfeit airbags had markings of Honda, Chevrolet, General Motors and Toyota, according to documents and info presented in court.
The steering wheel airbags were then sold “to unsuspecting customers using Facebook Marketplace.” using the profile names of “Matt AutoParts” or “Medo Smith” on Facebook Marketplace to advertise and sell the items.
The steering wheel airbags were then sold “to unsuspecting customers using Facebook Marketplace.” using the profile names of “Matt AutoParts” or “Medo Smith” on Facebook Marketplace to advertise and sell the items.
in the second week of operation, Oahu's speed limit cameras nailed 20,000 drivers a week across the 10 cameras in Honolulu. But that's not resulting in tickets... because Hawaii doesn't have enough employees to issue them and adjudicate them in court
The highest speeds we saw were on Ward Ave going 88 mph through a 35 mph zone.”
“The volumes are the challenge,” State Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said.
Hawaii doesn't have enough manpower to issue citations.
“We have 1,500 red light tickets per month and we need two officers to take care of those,” Sniffen explained.
“If we reduce (the number of tickets) from 80,000 to 40,000, that’s still 20 times the resourcing that we’ll need to address these tickets.”
the Genesis GV60 Crystal Sphere is a shifter when the car is on, a crystal ball when off
Ship to 1:40
and the GV 60 Has 429 HP, but 483 when you press "boost hp" button. 10 seconds of aDDITIONAL 50 HP, Good for getting the GV60 Performance model to 3.4 seconds in 0-60 races https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBf5SYtFpeU
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) director in Michigan has been accused of running a scheme to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency... but that's not the really shocking story
that director, serves as director of CBP’s Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering
Who the hell knew customs and border patrol had a Center for Excellence and Expertise over Automotive and Aerospace Engineering?
https://www.foxnews.com/us/cbp-director-faces-charges-allegedly-defrauding-fema-lying-feds.amp
North Dakota seems ready to allow for more window tint on the front windows of vehicles to lower the amount of light the windows let in from 50% down to 35%.
This law would bring North Dakota into alignment with the window tint laws of 36 other U.S. states, including neighboring states
Supporters of the bill say the increased amount of tint would help cars stay cooler in the summers, protect against the effects of bright days or modern LED headlights, and keep out-of-state travelers from being ticketed.
“We don’t want to punish our out-of-state travelers for following their laws but not our law,” Vetter said. “Tourism is the third-largest industry in North Dakota, so let’s not punish these out-of-state travelers.”There has been no opposition testimony submitted online, and the bill received do-pass recommendations from the House and now the Senate transportation committees with votes of 12-2 and 5-0, respectively. It has also passed the full House in an 89-2 vote.
The bill now goes to the Senate floor. If it passes, it will be sent to the governor to be signed into law. If signed, the law would take effect on Aug. 1, 2025.
Paul Rudd's dad was a VP of TWA
Paul Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey, to Michael Rudd, a historical tour guide and former vice-president of Trans World Airlines (TWA).His mother, Gloria Irene Granville, was a sales manager at television station KSMO-TV in Kansas City, Missouri.
Sunday, March 16, 2025
A Michigan judge said requiring walmart shoplifters to wash cars for free would serve the community and possibly discourage others from stealing from the retail giant.
20 to 30 judges across the state who heard about the car wash planned to join him and the shoplifters.
However, that was shot down by his boss, who said that the proposed punishment deviates from the usual and accepted methods, and isn't going to be allowed by the justice dept
The judge said he is now ordering other types of community service in the Walmart shoplifting cases instead of car washes.
Locomotive Engineer KC Hill has been railroading since 1957... and was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis! Thanks Mike!
during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 Hill was in the U.S. Army (1962-1964), serving as a locomotive engineer at Fort Lewis Army Base in Washington state.
“Our railroad switched out two trains of missiles because there was an Army firing range [near the track in Yakima],” Hill recalled.
“When President Kennedy said we needed missiles in Florida, my crew switched out those trains at Fort Lewis and sent them to Florida. I was on duty for 20 hours and had top-secret clearance … The trains were given high priority and had to go through 10 different railroads.”
a masked Trump hater vandalized a Tesla charging station and attempted to burn it down using molotov cocktails in North Charleston, South Carolina, ultimately setting himself on fire in the process. (thanks George)
a masked Trump hater vandalized and attempted to set fire to Tesla charging stations, only to end up setting himself ablaze in the process.
According to witnesses, the masked individual, wearing a gray jacket or hoodie, spray-painted the message “FUCK TRUMP LONG LIVE UKRAINE” near the bank of Tesla charging stations before proceeding with his ill-fated attempt to destroy the electric vehicle chargers.
The man reportedly used beer bottles as makeshift Molotov cocktails, setting them on fire and hurling them at three charging stations. However, during this act of arson, the man inadvertently set himself on fire, with witnesses reporting flames spreading across his back.
According to witnesses, the masked individual, wearing a gray jacket or hoodie, spray-painted the message “FUCK TRUMP LONG LIVE UKRAINE” near the bank of Tesla charging stations before proceeding with his ill-fated attempt to destroy the electric vehicle chargers.
The man reportedly used beer bottles as makeshift Molotov cocktails, setting them on fire and hurling them at three charging stations. However, during this act of arson, the man inadvertently set himself on fire, with witnesses reporting flames spreading across his back.
there was a tank in London... just to piss off a city council who shot down plans to make a high rise building in that spot. The turret points at their city council planning office
After denying the building permit, the developer switched up and asked for a permit to install a tank... they thought he meant a septic tank, and approved that request.
And you already see he put a Soviet WW2 T34 tank there. Well, in 2022 it was removed.
an old 32" diameter Model T tire cover from 1910
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=9094778103967869&set=pcb.1704357633515286
A couple others, because the one above got me wondering if photos were online of others. Not so much I found out.
about a hundred years ago, brass was getting stolen from trains! It's not just a problem of todays theft situation with brass plumbing and copper wiring
chunks of brass brake shoes, bushings and pipe fittings from trains was stolen from the Pacific Northern Railroad in Brainerd.
railroad detectives caught a guy stealing brass and he was fired.
Another guy heard about the bust, and threw his stolen brass into an outhouse hole to hide the crime.
Minneapolis-Moline had created vehicles for the army with their 4 wheel-drive prime movers/artillery tractors entering army testing years before the arrival of the flat fendered 4x4 designed by Bantam.
The M-M products were noted by army soldiers in testing to be able to go anywhere and seemingly clear any brush or obstacle
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What sort of strange items have you seen used by gas stations to attach to the bathroom door keys, to keep people from leaving the station with the bathroom key?
I've seen lug wrenches, squeegees, cement bricks, hubcaps, and clipboards
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