Dave Ambrose

That might not be on the tablet/mobile view. If it isn't, let me know and I'll add it.

The problem is actually in a rules engine that front-ends the web server. The forum software guards against those attacks just fine.

Well shoot. It means the fix I put in isn't working. There are rules in place to prevent what's called a SQL injection attack. The verbotten words are s-e-l-e-c-t, u-p-d-a-t-e, and maybe d-e-l-e-t-e, especially followed by w-h-e-r-e. (I feel like I'm trying to slip something past a 4-year old here) I'll look at this again later this week.

There have been divers on the Edmund Fitzgerald. If I remember correctly one of the cargo hatches was open. I don't remember if they were able to ascertain why it came loose.

Nice. I like that there are Gundam and Warhammer categories. They're both very popular in the US and most general (IPMS) shows ignore them to their detriment.

Seems like I'll be keeping my Frontier for a long time. I'm surprised by how much smaller it is compared with the current crop of trucks. We take our truck out doing things like surfing, diving, or camping for either astronomy or fishing. Leather seats would be insanity. Our cloth seats have neoprene seat covers to protect against soggy occupants. (and messy grandchildren) Had the hardest time getting what we wanted. We wanted the crew cab with the 6 foot bed in the mid-level trim and painted blue. The local dealer didn't want to talk to us unless we were buying what they had on the lot and they didn't have one in a color we liked. Stonewalled us after I mentioned holdback. Turns out the automobile club has a car buying service. We put them on the job. A week later we had exactly what we wanted and for 10% less too. They had to bring it down from Los Angeles. unsurprisingly, they don't work with the dealer who stiffed us. We had to go 40 miles north to the next county to pick up our truck.

I've been involved with this forum since 2008. I too have a good feel for what will turn political, and have seen lots of ways people do that.* The rules are very explicit, and necessary. We generally don't intervene until it either becomes contentious or heated political discussions seem highly probable. That's regardless of whether we agree with you or not. Most of the time, it doesn't take very long, and there always seems to be enough people who want to discuss politics here. Case in point: During the pandemic, I had to post a standing reminder not to get political about Covid. Seriously, if you really want to discuss politics, try Facebook, or even better, LinkedIn. I don't recommend testing the boundaries here. Reddit and Finescale aren't nearly as much fun as this forum. Operationally, the rule is pretty simple. If you think it might be political, it probably is, and you shouldn't post it. This isn't often a problem, and I truly appreciate everyone keeping it that way. *The most amusing tactic I've encountered: "I'm not trying to make this political <insert divisive political topic>" We've seen most everything at this point, so just don't.

A lot of model car contests, not just NNLs, end because the organizers didn't plan for succession. They get to where they either can't run the show, or don't want to anymore, then there's nobody to step in and take the reins. My understanding is that West Coast NNL ended because they could couldn't find an affordable venue. The Santa Clara Convention Center is just across the street from the '49ers stadium, and it becomes prime real estate during playoff season. The rest of the Bay Area is pricey so the numbers just didn't work out.

That, my friend, is awesome!

I've shot race cars with satin finish to good effect too. Race cars weren't generally polished unless they were there for show.

I thought the Speed Racer slot car set was cool.

Thanks, Peteski. We got it.

Not cheating at all. Thank you for sharing your build.

Send me a PM with your old account name. I can merge the accounts.

IKEA has display cases too. The shelves are generally too far apart for model cars, but you can easily add plexiglass (Perspex) shelves on spacers for additional shelves.

Thank you all for your input. There's a lot of interesting ideas. Regarding search, the forum software supports an improved search engine, but there are technical issues inhibiting its use at the moment. I'm trying to address those. We are due for a major version upgrade, and that will bring new features, and probably a few frustrations as well.

Replaced by profit über alles a long time ago. Our biggest problem here is that it's pathetically easy to game the Google ad system. The same ad will be posted from a bunch of different sources. It reduces the effectiveness of the reporting system. Ironically, Google has the capability to detect this, but doesn't routinely do that. I can get it to do that from the ad control page but I don't necessarily see the same ads that you're reporting.

I'm not at liberty to go into details, but it's well-known that Gregg has severe back pain. He has been through way more surgeries than anyone should ever have to endure. At the moment, Gregg is having some very major health issues and is working hard to resolve them. Unfortunately, I don't have any timelines. The rest of us are in reasonably good shape.

Google is the consummate frenemy. They generate the revenue to keep the server running. They can't always defeat the bad actors that game the system. This has actually gotten better, thanks to AI. It's a bit like a puppy that wants to please you, but sometimes tinkles on the floor. I'm going to suggest something unconventional. Start clicking on the ads that are acceptable, or even better, interesting. That will train the algorithm to your preferences, and should eventually solve the problem. You can also report inappropriate ads. There's usually a little white rectangle in an upper corner that will bring down a menu with several options. Both of these will alleviate the problem.

Be thankful it wasn't Klingon opera. 😁

Buying kits and building them are two different hobbies. Most of us are much better at the former.

This bums us out big-time. Our plans were to attend the Grand Canyon Star party with my daughter and grandson on the north rim next year. Probably not happening now, but we'll just have to see. We might fall back to the south rim.

Google is the archetypical frenemy. On the one hand, the income keeps this site going, on the other, it's way too easy to game the ads. Best bet is to report the inappropriate ads to Google via the little box in the ad.

Here’s my workbench. It’s pathologically clean at the moment as I’m working on a Hasegawa Wright Flyer.

People thinking they can pass on busy 2-lane highways -- when they can't. There's a long stretch of 2 lane highway that goes through the Mojave desert. Terrain varies between pretty flat, gently rolling, and over low mountains. This one pickup truck hangs themselves out on a long like of traffic, not realizing the oncoming traffic is moving at a good clip. We are in the lead. Barely gets back into line and we head to the shoulder. My wife was driving and she handled it well. We both could have done without the adrenaline rush though.