Ace-Garageguy

Baconator said "Oink'll be back".

Nize. I have something kinda like that in color on one of the drives around here somewhere. Hmmmmm...now what could I have named the file?

Yup. AI's a pretty neat toy...and that's about it at the current level of development. EDIT: When used by capable artists as an adjunct to human emotional drive, AI can augment the creation of absolutely breathtaking visual images and composition of deeply evocative music, in spite of many human 'creators' calling it "AI slop".

At Ga. Tech in the late 1960s, part of the required curriculum for aspiring mechanical engineers was to actually get in the machine shop and make something. Not CNC, but on a manual US-made Bridgeport knee-mill and a Cincinnati screw-cutting lathe. I still have the screw jack I made from a raw iron casting and steel bar stock. Sometimes I even use it. The point, of course, was to familiarize students with machine-shop operations, to give them a feel for what could be machined because of cutting-tool access limitations, the order machining processes should be done in, and how to design for manufacture...and how to effectively communicate with production people. In 1995, when I hired a Tech junior in the ME program as an intern in my consulting company, he told me the hands-on work was no longer required, and that many of the fine old machines were sitting outside in the weather. At the time, I had just bought Chinese clones of the old Bridgeport and a good sized lathe, or I would have gone down to GT to see about buying/rescuing some of what was there. When I see some of the incredibly stupidly designed stuff that comes through the shop on late-model cars, I just shake my head. I saw it coming. CAD/CAE/CAM/CNC-machine-programming are all wonderful tools, but they are NOT a substitute for engineers who know and understand the basics...and it shows.

Interesting idea. Forced lacquer 'blushing'. Only problem is that it will be minimized with handling, and would most likely go away completely if cleared over with lacquer. An enamel or water-based clear or a 2K might hold it. Mo def worth experimenting...

Ms. Porky's kindof a babe if you can get past the nose...which I think I could...seein' as how this is me:

Retriever cows evolved their cuddly cuteness in a survival ploy to avoid becoming steaks or burgers.

Cow pats in the pasture make me happy, cow pats on my shoulders make me cry, and cow pats made of candy are weird.

Make a castle out of Kermit the Frogs.

Dodge was once a brand of cars and trucks made by something called 'Chrysler Corporation', widely renowned for their excellence in 'engineering', which may have had something to do with numbers and steel and other icky things.

NWS got the forecast pretty well right today. Said the rain would be after 4:00 PM, though there was precip showing on live radar...which must have been virga. Actual sprinklege started a few minutes ago as I was getting most of the leaves out of the back gutters, on the part of the roof I recently tarped. Looks like heavyish rain in Birmingham right now, coming this way. Good day to stay in and watch an old movie, maybe even work on a model...

Cuz it be so mo better tech-drived supa dupa stupid-iddy. Don be a luddite.

You can also try a different browser if you're using Chrome. Alphabet/Google/Chrome/YooToob are all the same entity, essentially, and work together to more effectively thwart ad-blockers.

That was the case for a while, but YT has figgered out how to tell if you're running it now. Kinda bait-and-switch on the part of AdBlock...which has doubled it's monthly fee recently too. PS: Ad-blockers really don't give unsupported computers any more "protection". All they do is remove a source of annoyance for those of us who hate the ad's intrusiveness in everything, everywhere. "BUY BUY BUY THIS OVERPRICED THING/SERVICE YOU CAN'T DO WITHOUT...NOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!" What you need now more than ever is a good cost-effective anti-virus that's not bloated with useless garbage and tracking.

^^^ What Bob said. They've been cracking down on ad-blockers for a while now, but it's kinda spotty whether they shut you down or not. I just ponied up the few bucks a month ($13 or so) to see everything on YT ad-free. I hate giving Alphabet any money, but for now, YT is pretty much the only game in town.

^^^ Correct.

Good question.

Well, I guess little Timmy's just going to have to stay stuck in the well. Always thought she was very pretty, in the classic, understated '50s kind of way.

To the best of my recollectory, the panel van was introed first as a custom street-rod truck with a 289ish smallblock and a host of other non-stock features. The pickup was an offshoot of the panel truck tooling, also not at all stock. Bear in mind that these kits have some pretty blatant proportion and line issues with the bodies, the most prominent being the 'forehead' over the windshield, and the height and shape of the hood. EDIT: https://www.sprue.xyz/articles/monograms-1955-ford-trucks

Pretty much my life philosophy, but I haven't always taken heed of a couple other really important directives: 1) Pay attention 2) Never trust anyone else 100%. Though someone may not intend to hurt you, your outcomes are not their primary interest. 3) Develop long-term plans and goals and stick to them. Don't rely on luck for things to just work out. 4) Be willing to change or modify long-term plans and goals as situations change. 5) PAY ATTENTION

Another one's in the books. Great turnout, club and organizational upgrades worked well, lotsa super models, and probably the best vendor turnout ever...one of which was Norm of Replicas and Miniatures, who looks good and seems to be doing very well. Great guy to talk to too. As many photogs as were there, I'm sure the YT coverage will be up in not long. Didn't spend as much as usual, but a few things followed me home. Now to find time to build something...

This is the kind of stuff AI at its current level of development is really good for. Really really good. But it's not ready for prime-time on medical diagnostics or legal work yet, or anything else mission-critical, and every day the news is full of the proof. Nice work, gentlemen.

98% sure I have one. I'll have to do some digging... You have a PM incoming too...