Simply random stuff

[barfle]

I had my first helicopter flight up to a glacier on my Alaska cruise back in May. It was amazing seeing the glacier from above with all the lines from where glaciers merge. Also seeing all the ground up rock flour from meltwater in the sea with the cruise ships making patterns in it as they arrived and departed.

I did the same thing in Juneau. A pair of helicopters with rour passengers each, landing on a fairly flat spot. Great fun!

 

[Bruce00]

It certainly was for me!

Concorde entered service in 1976 so not likely in the mid 80s. One takeoff before entry into service the aircraft would have been light, no passengers or luggage and likely a low fuel load for short distance flight so climb could have been very steep.

Kept thinking about this last night, as I remember things and times, on which motorcycles I owned at the time.
I was wrong thinking it was when the Concorde started flight, It was March 1985, when the Concorde started non stop flights from Tampa to London (had to Google it) regardless it was an awesome aircraft. The terminal at Tampa has the parking decks on top, so on a motorcycle we could slip around the toll gates to get on the top deck for a spectacular view.
Just some of the things that stand out in your memories
Be well

 

[Bruce00]

If the chopper is taking off in a hurry, it's not going to gain elevation fast, so it probably is lower and it is louder to you.

No, the air traffic from the small airport flies low over my house all the times because Iam also in the flight path of commercial aircraft in & out of Newark.
Busy airspace, as the local airfield must stay under Newarks flight path.
Was wondering if helicopters can change the pitch of their rotors, because when they are in a hurry, they sure sound different to me. I'll try to snap a Pic next time one flies over, because they are low enough to see the pilot clearly

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Pretty much the entire world used to drive on the left like the UK. It was because with coach and horses the driver sits on the right and uses the whip in their right hand, so driving on the left you could have coaches passing each other in opposite directions with no risk of them accidentally whipping each other. There are similar issues with horse riders wearing their swords on the left, if you pass each other riding on the left your swords cannot clash.

I keep trying to picture this in my head and i keep coming up with the same conclusion.

If a coach driver rides on the left but sits on the right of the coach and uses his right hand to control his whip, he will be whipping toward the center of the two lanes.

If a coach driver rides on the right an sits on the right of the coach and uses his right hand to control his whip, he will be whipping toward the outer edge of the right lane.

Initially i thought there would be less chance of an accidental whipping with the 2nd scenerio. Then i thought that it would all hinge on how the whip travels, wouldant it? If it travels on the diagonal, right to left, it starts to make much more sense.

An Ah-ha moment.

 

[mandrix]

Kept thinking about this last night, as I remember things and times, on which motorcycles I owned at the time.
I was wrong thinking it was when the Concorde started flight, It was March 1985, when the Concorde started non stop flights from Tampa to London (had to Google it) regardless it was an awesome aircraft. The terminal at Tampa has the parking decks on top, so on a motorcycle we could slip around the toll gates to get on the top deck for a spectacular view.
Just some of the things that stand out in your memories
Be well
View attachment 113045

In the late 60's when the Tampa airport was being expanded into a "spoke" design, a few of us slipped over at night and rode the shuttle cars or whatever they were called. By some luck we were not caught by whatever security guards they did/did not have at the time. I went into the service a few years later and only ever had two flights in and two flights out from Tampa, IIRC.
When I got out of the service was the last time I ever visited the airport. I remember falsely telling my wife my arrival time was an hour later than it actually was, so I could sit in a bar at the airport and have some "me" time before getting back in "the world" as we used to call it back then.
My Bud and me had flown to Atlanta together wearing dress greens. We both went to a bathroom and changed into civvies. We had a few drinks at the airport, and he took a flight to Orlando, and I to Tampa. Sadly never heard from him again, and all I remember now is his name was David, a medium height black man with an appealing sense of humor, and we had bonded in Basic Training over a love of Grand Funk.

 

[mandrix]

No, the air traffic from the small airport flies low over my house all the times because Iam also in the flight path of commercial aircraft in & out of Newark.
Busy airspace, as the local airfield must stay under Newarks flight path.
Was wondering if helicopters can change the pitch of their rotors, because when they are in a hurry, they sure sound different to me. I'll try to snap a Pic next time one flies over, because they are low enough to see the pilot clearly

Well yes, the rotors do change pitch (or angle) depending on what is required. But I don't know all the mechanics behind it. Been too many years and not sure how much I actually knew back then.

 

[mandrix]

Contrast is everything. No thank you, Boonie.

The good thing is the C130's I flew on had no insulation, except on the right forward side of the fuselage, which had two stacked bunks, and some insulation on that portion of the aircraft.

So loud inside I wore earplugs. Got on my nerve after a while. But actually very reliable aircraft. I was on one that lost an engine and the pilot came on the com, maybe the crew chief, and said no worries, we still have 3 good engines. lol.
The only windows in the cargo compartment are in the jump doors. There is a button to push to open the jump door, which if active is lit up.
I pushed one anyway. You know, young and dumb. Thankfully me and another guy looking out the little window did not explode into open air. (The door has to be activated from the flight deck)

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

If you're going back to the original multi-tracks for the first time in 40 years just to squeeze out more loudness from a mix you've already brickwalled to death in subsequent remasters, then I'm not sure I can be friends with you.

 

[MidiMagic]

Pretty much the entire world used to drive on the left like the UK. It was because with coach and horses the driver sits on the right and uses the whip in their right hand, so driving on the left you could have coaches passing each other in opposite directions with no risk of them accidentally whipping each other. There are similar issues with horse riders wearing their swords on the left, if you pass each other riding on the left your swords cannot clash.

Then Napolean decided he want to prove how big a deal he was by ordering the entire of his empire to change which side people drove on. After Napolean was defeated no-one reversed this so the entire world ended up driving on the right apart from the British Empire and Sweden (which was still a major military power at the time of Napolean) and Japan (I'm sure there are some I've forgotten). Sweden changed in the 1950s. It's too late for the UK to change now.

So if it weren't for Napolean's ego the entire world would drive on the left and nobody would be confused. And there I go with the history lesson again!

Sweden changed on Sep 3 1967. They changed because all bordering countries drove on the right.

Driving on the wrong side is driving on the side not approved where you are.

 

[MidiMagic]

And, let’s not forget that a gallon is an “Imperial” unit of measurement, just like a mile and a pound.

The US gallon is an avoirdupois unit of measure.

 

[Owen Smith]

Initially i thought there would be less chance of an accidental whipping with the 2nd scenerio. Then i thought that it would all hinge on how the whip travels, wouldant it? If it travels on the diagonal, right to left, it starts to make much more sense.

Yes the whip travels diagonally, right to left.

 

[Bruce00]

In the late 60's when the Tampa airport was being expanded into a "spoke" design, a few of us slipped over at night and rode the shuttle cars or whatever they were called. By some luck we were not caught by whatever security guards they did/did not have at the time. I went into the service a few years later and only ever had two flights in and two flights out from Tampa, IIRC.
When I got out of the service was the last time I ever visited the airport. I remember falsely telling my wife my arrival time was an hour later than it actually was, so I could sit in a bar at the airport and have some "me" time before getting back in "the world" as we used to call it back then.
My Bud and me had flown to Atlanta together wearing dress greens. We both went to a bathroom and changed into civvies. We had a few drinks at the airport, and he took a flight to Orlando, and I to Tampa. Sadly never heard from him again, and all I remember now is his name was David, a medium height black man with an appealing sense of humor, and we had bonded in Basic Training over a love of Grand Funk.

Welcome home brother
Myself and a few others rode those shuttle cars too.....wonder if by chance we were in the same car back then, as that's was our amusement park

 

[marpow]

Thought you might like a car thing I did. For drag racing I wanted a scoop, more air, I designed my mock up today out of cardboard.
Now I can take this to the metal fabricator.
Last year I ran a pretty consistent 11.5 seconds in the quarter mile.
This year I hope to shave that half second and hit 10.9 or 11. The scoop and will change rear wheels to 17" Bead Locks with Drag radials.
Maybe Nitrous is in the future, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
The bottom pic is the engine bay, that's over a year to create. Working on this car of mine is a very slow process. But I love it.

 

[mandrix]

Thought you might like a car thing I did. For drag racing I wanted a scoop, more air, I designed my mock up today out of cardboard.
Now I can take this to the metal fabricator.
Last year I ran a pretty consistent 11.5 seconds in the quarter mile.
This year I hope to shave that half second and hit 10.9 or 11. The scoop and will change rear wheels to 17" Bead Locks with Drag radials.
Maybe Nitrous is in the future, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
The bottom pic is the engine bay, that's over a year to create. Working on this car of mine is a very slow process. But I love it.
View attachment 113140
View attachment 113141
View attachment 113144

Looking good!

Do you have a roll cage?
Is that a turbo?
I guess the same there but below 11's you have to have a roll cage. Could be 12's, been too many years now to remember.
Once I broke 12 they started checking me out closer, way they do when you run at the same strip all the time. Gainesville, FL mostly for me back then. Usually just "test and tune" Tuesday nights I think. Get a few hot laps in.

I finally gave it up as I had a weak ass 10 bolt rear on the Z28 and the ET Drags (borrowed for the strip) would about pull the front end off the ground with that 3500 stall converter.
Ran Nitto's for a while but since I had a long daily commute was not the ideal tire on a rainy day.
No dedicated strip car, daily driver. Drag cars are like boats. Take your money and flush it because you just want more!

PS, LS engines forever! lol. Yeah I'm a GM guy.

 

[marpow]

Thanks for asking.
I think NHRA is under 10 a roll cage. I'm not interested in going that low, it's about 3-5 thousand dollars for every 1/2 second at this point.
My engine is what they tech as a modified street, meaning the headers and Pro Charger make it modified stock. I have to wear helmet and fire jacket.
Yeah, the money is well, you know, especially trying things and then not using them.
My car is not trailered it's not a daily, but I do take it out on joy rides occasionally.
I drive up to Sonoma, about an hour north. Two years ago they had Test and Tune 4:30-7:00 and bracket racing 7:00-10:00. Last year and this year it is down to once a month March through Oct. Some Bracket Drag Days on Monday holidays and random weekends, the big boys come out for those, 6-9 second cars, fast man.
My new Mickey Thompson Drag Radials I ordered last week, probably arrive this week. Mickey Thompson

Feb 17th, if not raining and I get my blank together they have a full day of Bracket Racing, I'll go just to get some runs in as long as I can, for tuning. My tuner is remote out of El Paso. I send him a file (data log) via the HPTune TDN app, and he corrects and sends back if needed.
Currently I still have some shift problems, with my Automatic 8 speed, but it gets less and less each time. In the summer I run E85 Ethanol, 560 HP to the rear wheels and 545 torque.

It is a little nerve racking sometimes coming home at night from Sonoma, these tires are basically slicks, sometimes at night the fog blows in wet through the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge, I get in the slow lane and drive slow, to avoid a spin out.

The only reason Sonoma keeps armature drag racing alive, from what I have been told, if you have a NHRA event, they have one a year, you have to offer armature drag racing to keep the sport alive. Otherwise tracks are closing all over the US.

 

[mandrix]

Thanks for asking.
I think NHRA is under 10 a roll cage. I'm not interested in going that low, it's about 3-5 thousand dollars for every 1/2 second at this point.
My engine is what they tech as a modified street, meaning the headers and Pro Charger make it modified stock. I have to wear helmet and fire jacket.
Yeah, the money is well, you know, especially trying things and then not using them.
My car is not trailered it's not a daily, but I do take it out on joy rides occasionally.
I drive up to Sonoma, about an hour north. Two years ago they had Test and Tune 4:30-7:00 and bracket racing 7:00-10:00. Last year and this year it is down to once a month March through Oct. Some Bracket Drag Days on Monday holidays and random weekends, the big boys come out for those, 6-9 second cars, fast man.
My new Mickey Thompson Drag Radials I ordered last week, probably arrive this week. Mickey Thompson

Feb 17th, if not raining and I get my blank together they have a full day of Bracket Racing, I'll go just to get some runs in as long as I can, for tuning. My tuner is remote out of El Paso. I send him a file (data log) via the HPTune TDN app, and he corrects and sends back if needed.
Currently I still have some shift problems, with my Automatic 8 speed, but it gets less and less each time. In the summer I run E85 Ethanol, 560 HP to the rear wheels and 545 torque.

It is a little nerve racking sometimes coming home at night from Sonoma, these tires are basically slicks, sometimes at night the fog blows in wet through the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge, I get in the slow lane and drive slow, to avoid a spin out.

The only reason Sonoma keeps armature drag racing alive, from what I have been told, if you have a NHRA event, they have one a year, you have to offer armature drag racing to keep the sport alive. Otherwise tracks are closing all over the US.

There used to be so many backcountry tracks here where you could run anything for a dare. Not especially safe, though.
When you're young and dumb you just go for it, but I would not ever want to see anyone hurt for not having proper equipment.

In the early days I ran a '65 Buick Gran Sport at the old Tampa Drags, which was a portion of old Highway 92 that got bypassed and turned into a strip. I saw Art Arfons run there once in the Green Monster.
A few times I ran down in Bradenton, FL. The main problem was no posi. You would have to to mod the axles/rear and do some welding I think. I used to run a big slick on the right side and street tire on the left.

I doubt/don't remember if the '65 Gran Sport ever made it into the 14's, but was hella fast on the highway. 401ci. Where I lived the local town had a brand new 428/429 Ford I smoked on the highway.
But anyway in '66 Buick went to the newly designed 400ci, IIRC.

All the engines I built in my young days were small block Chevy's. My fave was my '68 Chevelle with a 327 I built that was pulled from a 'vette. The old 30/30 Duntoff cam, high lift/short duration that made people look when you fired it up. lol. Not drag fast but would rip on the highway.

Jeez I miss those days. Lot's of work but very satisfying to build stuff with your own hands.

 

[Owen Smith]

I saw Art Arfons run there once in the Green Monster.

Art called all his cars Green Monster, there were several very different ones. The last one was the jet powered world land speed record car.

 

[Dynamic Editor]

I recently came across this animator, who makes a lot of jokes involving music. I can't get enough of this video, involving Billy Corgan (of Smashing Pumpkins):


There's also this spectacular video, which portrays the characters of Super Smash Bros as people from the Bronx at a record store, and it's loaded with puns:

 

[marpow]

Not especially safe, though.

That and where I live, cops everywhere. There are no back roads in the Bay Area.
I would just love to have some back road some where I could do tuning without going to the track, so when I get to track, I'm just focusing on the run instead of what little hiccup I run into.

 

[marpow]

Well I finished my music closet cleaning. All this was 2024 purchase, fn' ridiculous. This does not count random CD's, downloads and SACD's.
So when I say I want to cool it in 2025, now you know why.
There is a couple 7" Piano Man, ones a replacement I think?
I am on my 3rd external 8TB hard drive for safe storage in case the NAS goes poop.