Ace-Garageguy

Favorites of mine from that period include just about anything Porsche, the last of the C2 Corvettes, GTOs, the '69 Z-28, Lambo Miuras, and E-type Jags...but there are dozens of others I love too.

Today everybody decided to stay off the interdwerbs and actually accomplish something in reality, like building a model, or going for a long hike, or beginning to learn how to play that guitar that's been sitting patiently in the corner for fifteen years; yeah, right.

That's a popular refrain, and it's simply not true. For instance: You still have a switch. You have to have a high-current-carrying device that functions as a relay, but it's buried in a module. So when the internal relay fails, rather than just replacing a cheap relay, you have to replace an entire module for ten times the cost. The module is also an additional layer of complication between the switch and whatever you want to turn on of off. When its logic fails, or a single non-mission-critical sensor fails, or its connection to the rest of the systems in the car fails, it can brick the entire vehicle. (EDIT: A while back I saw a gas-powered Hyundai that was bricked when the CAN-bus connection to its backup camera failed; how is this possible in a rationally-designed electrical system?) And you still have wires running everywhere, with connectors. Things controlled by modules aren't worked by magic waves. "As for features included in the vehicles today, they still have hundreds of focus groups with actual/potential customers, magazine writers, on-line influencers , and competitive." Yeah, people who know zip about how reality works or have even the foggiest notion of basic engineering principles being consulted as to what should be in cars. Makes perfect sense. "And today's microprocessors have the capability to replace dozens smaller components, thus saving weight while increasing the features that the majority of consumers desire and lower the cost to provide those features." Another popular refrain that's misleading at best, an outright lie at worst. But I see it rebleated constantly. The only things microprocessors need to do in surface vehicles are engine and drivetrain management to achieve mandated fuel efficiency and emissions. Every single other use for them in vehicles is poorly reasoned-out overcomplication. There is simply no need for a microprocessor to run something like...say...windshield wipers. You need a switch that's the driver-interface component. You need a few wires from the switch to the wiper motor. You need a wiper motor. And the simple old delay/multispeed circuits worked forever and were cheap when they failed. All these things are present in a microprocessor-controlled windshield wiper system, PLUS a computer module that costs a lot and only makes the system less reliable and much more costly to repair. But..."muh technology!!!"

Long John Red was Long John Silver's less popular brother.

C'mon, man. Accountability? What time-space continuum are you in, anyway?

Yup. Might be hackable into a funnycar body, but that's about it.

Days of Future Passed is the second studio album by English progressive rock band Moody Blues, released in November 1967, and is one of my all-time favorites.

It depends on what you want to make, what kind of cutters you have, and how familiar you are with machining. In my experience, most commonly available aluminum alloys are machinable. EDIT: I've seen a lot of people blame the material when they're running the lathe too slow, too fast, trying to take too-deep cuts, working with chipped cutting tools, etc.

I get occasional "attempted delivery at such-and-such-a-time" from UPS, FED EX, and USPS on things that need to be signed for. As I can have a grands worth of AN fittings come in, for example, in a smallish box, I can't afford to let it sit on the porch. What's weird is that they almost always happen when I'm at home...because tracking says there will be a delivery requiring a signature...to see in the flesh that nobody actually came to the house. I also usually leave a big printed sign on the door that says "UPS KNOCK LOUD" or something similar. I've been in business for decades, and don't recall delivery problems being as frequent as they are now. But wutchoo gunna doo? It bees wut it bees.

Ball bearings made in space may be rounder.

Laughed so hard I started choking once, I did; turned a nice blue too.

I'm almost finished with the year-end paperwork. It's been a hard slog, but just a couple more hours tonight and a couple in the morning and I'm done. Christmas with a clear conscience? Maybe some real bench time? Too good to be true.

Good man. Building a stash.

"Stranger things are in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio old buddy" isn't exactly what Will Shakespeare wrote, but it gets the gist across.

Interesting thought...however, my local Hobby Town sells used HO scale model railroad stuff so cheap...like $8 for a nicely weathered Kadee-equipped freight car that would list for about $40 new...they must be buying collections for pennies. EDIT: And though I'm not certain, I THINK they specify "AS IS, NO RETURNS", which suits me just fine. I'll take a $30+ saving on the same piece of rolling stock and not whine if it's not perfect any day.