The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Inimitable - not to be confused with inimical.


A Victorian computer.  If only these had been around in Victorian times - just think how much further advanced our society might be.  And no, I did not take the name from him.  He obviously has some similar past influences.  I have had the name for 40 years.

http://steampunkworkshop.com/victorian-all-one-pc

Love the guitar amp, too!

http://steampunkworkshop.com/nathans-guitar-amp

There seem to be a lot of this happening around the country lately.  Is there some vigilantism going on?  (Not necessarily a complaint - just curious.)

http://news.yahoo.com/man-convicted-killing-ga-girl-found-dead-232416627.html

Fancy keyboard anyone?

http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm

These violent crimes have always happened but now they are amplified by the internet.

Actually, we live in less violent times than ever before. There's less killing due to wars. There's an actual drop in victim crimes which may explain the need to incarcerate more victim-less criminals to fill the gap in prison population. >:(

This is a good catch-all Heiron.

Ever think of trying ritalin?  :P

Was not so much commenting on the actual crime as much as how there seem to be a lot of criminals ending up hanging themselves recently.  Always hear about one from time to time, but there seem to be more in the last year or so.

Cannot be accused of thread drift or hijacking - by definition, the drift is inherent and institutionalized if not actually required.

As commented previously....

Roses are red...
Violets are blue...
I'm schizophrenic...
...and so am I!


Feel free to disseminate, dissipate, drift, or otherwise wander aimlessly through the dusty, musty hallways of your mind!

The only problem I have with your drift and hijacking is you do not mention Marshall's beer often enough in your meanderings.

Marshalls!
Marshalls!
Marshalls!


Oh, wait...I left one out - Marshalls!

Be more specific...

Conan, you are gonna have to help me out here on the specificity.  I don't do beer, so not sure how to address this.



And while I'm at it - saw Newt last night blasting the moderator for asking a personal related question.  This from the guy who was commenting sometime back about how politicians must expect to be questioned about their personal life.  Yeah,...that's the Newt.

Hint:  they make more than one type of beer.

Sent from my Atrix4G with fat fingers

And with all the other so-called "bad news" from the RWRE - here we end up with another decreasing deficit.  As opposed to increasing deficits.  Still too big, but definitely better, especially considering the way it WAS headed...

Unfortunately, likely to stay here until the question of revenue is resolved - 2013 at the soonest.

http://news.yahoo.com/us-budget-deficit-dip-1-1t-152358458.html

History;
FY 2012: $1,101 billion
FY 2011: $1,299 billion
FY 2010: $1,293 billion
FY 2009: $1,413 billion  - Bush's last budget
FY 2008: $248 billion
FY 2007: $161 billion

And now for something entirely different.

This is pretty good and just completely entertaining.  And casually related to Oklahoma's own - Sonic!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RzBpTSNLG8


I gotta find a Sonic at lunch!!

Have the craving for cheese on my tots now.

Jeez I miss Sonic. I can remember when tots with chili and cheese wasn't on the menu. (ans yes, I have one of their aluminum trays with the yellow coated window hooks)

All 'ya gotta do is move back.

Souvenir hunter!


For some reason, this little video brings back lots of memories, not just from Sonic, but Pennington's, the Admiral Twin, King's Food Host...all that old good stuff.

We used to love to mess with the cooks at King's by getting on the phones in various booths and calling in all sorts of crazy stuff like fart burgers.  Hillarious to a six year old mentality.

Must have been at age 16.

I loved their hot fudge sundaes!! 

Do you remember when it closed?  Didn't it become a Kip's Big Boy before it finally got mowed for the QT at 31st & Sheridan?

I think it was a Big Boy for a little while.  There was a really bad barbeque place there for a few minutes, too.  Plus a couple other places - pizza maybe??  Not sure.  QT didn't come along for a few years.

Cheese Frenchie!!

Drove past a Bob's Big Boy yesterday, and it reminded me of friends I graduated with that attempted to steal the Big Boy statue from the one on Memorial and the BA back in 1981.

Attempted?  I thought that actually wound up on the front lawn at Hale?

Not sure about the Big Boy, but we put a neighbor's VW Beetle up on his porch one time.  Sideways.

There were some really small Subaru (I think) cars that were easily lifted by a few strong teenage pranksters.  I know of one that was blocked up just to the point of the wheels being just barely off the ground.  It was difficult to see it by just looking.

Took about 10 or so of us.  Mean little f's!

Had another one who 'loaned' his car out from time to time.  Would talk about how some weeks he got worse gas mileage and some it would be really good.  It was really the same all the time - just when it was borrowed, sometimes gas was put in and sometimes not.  It was also fun to get a couple gallons to add from time to time at random just to mess with him a little.  He would fret and stew about how mileage was getting worse.  Then excited about how great it was.

Ok, just finished watching the most important - the only meaningful 40 seconds of the Stupor Bowl!!


Liked seeing Giants win just 'cause I like Eli Manning.

Reminds me of a MASH episode when Hawkeye and BJ were adjusting the size of Winchester's pants.  I think the close was something like "next week he gets shorter".

They got the idea from us.  We did it in 1968 - they were over a decade later...

Finally made it to McNellies this weekend.  Excellent.

Even I have been to McNellies a few times.  What took you so long?

You are much more a "social butterfly" than I am.


We have started a concerted effort to try all the places we can downtown.  Except The Sushi Place.  We tend to get stuck in our rut and go to the same old places when we find something we like.  Looking for new ruts.

Not likely.

I know - we are both engineers, but you don't have kids, so you inherently have more social life.

My squeaky wallet trumps your kids.

Your airplane habit trumps the squeaky wallet claim.

My habits are cheap, like coming up with recipes using tomato paste as a base. (Ketchup, tomato juices, barbeque sauces, pasta sauces, etc).  Or various recipes using dried beans of different types.  Raw material costs of 0.50 per can and $10.00 or so per 50 lb bag.

I used to have money and a potential social life.  Now I have an airplane habit.  No money left for a standard social life.  I'm not complaining, just noting. Your kids probably cost more than my airplane habit. (Especially if you helped put them through college.)  Can you buy preowned kids less expensively than new ones?  I see people in WalMart all the time with kids in the shopping basket.  I haven't really looked but haven't seen kids on any of the shelves.

No.  Even used ones are obscenely expensive.  Never on the shelves - in the back stockroom.  Gotta ask for them.

I think I'll let that opportunity slide by.
 
 ;D

Informative:  4'9" Colombians aren't just for drug mules anymore.  You can feed them to Sea lions.

Shakira Attacked by Sea Lion

(http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/cheats/2012/02/14/shakira-attacked-by-sea-lion.img.204.136.1329239348108.jpg)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/02/14/shakira-attacked-by-sea-lion.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter (http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/02/14/shakira-attacked-by-sea-lion.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)


So if you meet a hungry sea lion, that's how you friend up.  Her hips won't lie.

And once again Newt shows not just how irrelevant he has become, but how completely out of touch with reality he remains....

Gotta get me a Chevy Volt!!

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/chevrolet-volt-owner-shows-newt-gingrich-put-gun-215713371.html

Don't laugh when you see a Bianchi carbon framed bicycle carrying a gun rack.  Just chuckle and say: "CONAN!!!"  I promise, I wave before I shoot.

Interesting concept.  Hand guns or long barrels?  Would you put the barrel of a rifle or shot gun next to the rear wheel opposite the chain side with the stock facing forward so you could easily reach it in an emergency?  I am thinking anything mounted to the front fork would be unwieldy.  Would you make a combination gun rack and water bottle carrier?

I was thinking along the lines of a scabbard

(http://www.hydra-glide.com/pix/1942%20XA-1.jpg)

A free Marshall's to the first person who can correctly identify that motorcycle (manufacturer, year, model).

HD, 1942, WLA

Nope, try again.

HD, 1943, WLC

I'm impressed, but that's strike 2.

WLA

(http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/1942-harley-davidson-wla-and-xa-2.jpg)

WLC

(http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/29029/photos/PHOTO_11550413_29029_2720246_ap.jpg)

I've exhausted my military channel knowledge.

Hint: There used to be one at the 45th Infantry Museum in OKC and I've owned three of them in the past.  They are somewhat rare.

I believe that is one of them scooters.

Do I win?

Not sure of the model, but isn't that an Indian?

I carry the .45 in the front handlebar bag.

Nope.  But Indian had a similar model as a result of a competition for a government contract to develop a motorcycle which would tolerate desert warfare.  The prize was to be an initial order of 25,000 units to the successful design.  The Harley WLA and Indian Scout both had real limitations for that sort of environment with the traditional v-twin layout of one cylinder in front of the other and primary and secondary chain drives which would be chewed to pieces by desert sand.

This is a 1942 Harley-Davidson XA shaft drive. 

It copied the boxer motor of the BMW R-71 which put the cylinders out in to the air stream on both sides of the bike.  The Indian variant was the Indian 841 and it took a configuration similar to Moto Guzzi with an opposed "V" layout rather than a "flat" or "boxer" layout.  Harley produced about 1000 as did Indian.  Reputedly, they never made it to active duty as a contract was awarded for the Jeep in the meantime.  It was obviously a much more stable platform for desert war and could transport more men and equipment.

I guess I get to buy myself a Marshall's ;)

(http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/1942-indian-741-and-841-6.jpg)

Vespa.

Interesting article about factory jobs.  Keeping in mind this is a snapshot of today's situation.  If there is a large movement to vo-tech, the pay will go down, but there is some good stuff happening NOW.

Caveats;
The Baltimore machine shop owner says his TOP guy makes $30 per hour.  That is about $60k for full time work.  To get to 100k, 'ya gotta do a whole lot of overtime.  The 'top guy' equivalent here would be about $22.50 for similar standard of living (using CNN Money cost of living calculator).  Anyone except the 'top guy' would probably be about $10 to $17 per hour here (based on the plants that I have direct experience with).

Not horrible.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/100-000-factory-job-whats-145600750.html

  That "newer stuff" they made in the 40s is ok and all.  But I am more partial to certain items from an earlier time period... especially when they happen to be Art Deco.  8)    And for all those tough guys that say they wouldn't be interested in an Art Deco Museum... oh really?

(http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8993/072610artdecomotorcycle.jpg)

(http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2523/smoothnessbikeweb.jpg)

(http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/1994/killingerfreund.jpg)

(http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/4770/1938phantomcorsairweb.jpg)

(http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/5339/20100507delahayeimage.jpg)

(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/2599/1930mercedesbenz710sskt.jpg)

(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/1673/15585509.png)

(http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7250/bowdenspacelanderbicycl.jpg)

And just for fun.

(http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7844/onewheelmotorcycle1931w.jpg)

Those are freaking awesome pictures.

Wow!  Those are amazing.  I would buy one of those like the black or the red one...



And now for something different.  One of the best renditions of "Over the Rainbow" I have ever heard.  Funeral at end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V1bFr2SWP1I

Found a little place just a little bit north of town.  Well, maybe slightly more than a little bit... Milwaukee.  Ironic, ain't it - go to Milwaukee, birth place of American beer - to drink Irish beer.

Mo's Irish Pub.  Had an amazing Shephard's pie.  Brought to the table in it's own little cast iron kettle.  Just like great, great, great, great, great grandma used to make...

Had a sampler of the Trinity of Irish beer.  Guinness, Harp, Smithwick's.  Wonderful.  I am now inspired to go try Marshall's...
Tomorrow there is live music, so may have to go back.  (See video at end of their page.)  There was a shuttle to a game last night - couldn't even guess who was playing.

http://www.mosirishpub.com/milwaukee/index.html

1942 XA.

Horizontally opposed engine - can see the cylinder there on the side - the case/block has what looks like fins to me.  Can't really see that well - old eyes going bad.


This months HOG magazine shows a pretty cool 1940 WLA (page 9).  Can tell it is well used.


Edit:
Ooops...just read far enough to see you already answered it!  Well, the HOG magazine still has some pretty good pics.

Side note - Helmerich & Paine has the Space Center near 36th, south of the BA expressway - a complex of buildings made using tip up concrete construction.  Would anyone here happen to know who the architect/engineering firm are who designed it?  Maybe they did it in house?  (Yeah, I know...that was 30 years ago or so...)

And now, after self-taxing to the tune of $50 million to buy the GM plant and give it to the Air Force at Tinker, layoffs will occur.

Inhofe made some buzzing insect noise.  Made as much sense as anything he ever says.

Patriot Burger and Grill and propane.

In this weekend's version of "The Travels", found a really good hamburger place in Nowata, OK.  It has been a small abandoned building for years, just north of Cherokee Street, on highway 169, west side of road.  Burns Propane people have fixed this up and turned it into a good little burger place.  Prices were good, and food was very good.  (Fried pies were a bit of a disappointment, but nothing else was.)

Very friendly and great service.

Yum!

Letterman has been displaying magazine covers on a billboard outside his theater, starting with Sports Illustrated and Model Railroading.  Tonight the graphics department didn't quite get the cover finished but it was supposed to be Newt Gingrich on the cover of Double Chin Magazine.  Missed out big time!

Here is an interesting place to go when you really want to know what is going on behind the scenes at your favorite restaurant.  Health Department inspection reports.  Some of my favorite places exist in a state of "I don't wanna know..."  You can find your favorite place, too!


https://www.phin.state.ok.us/Inspections/index.aspx


Joe Momma's
https://www.phin.state.ok.us/Inspections/index.aspx

Top That
https://www.phin.state.ok.us/Inspections/index.aspx

McDonald's
https://www.phin.state.ok.us/Inspections/index.aspx

Compadre's
https://www.phin.state.ok.us/Inspections/index.aspx

I pay close attention to the staff outside the back of a restaurant as I pull in. Then I make note of their bathrooms. Nasty people smoking out by the dumpsters, scratching their butts and flipping their butts is like an anti-billboard for the restaurant. Dirty, stinking bathrooms give an indication as to the condition of their kitchen as well.

Thanks for the links.

Hate to make you shudder, but that’s just about every restaurant in town.

I watched a couple behind the counter at Bueno today playing kissy-face.  

Twas odd.

I always hope against hope that "laves sus manos" isn't just a decoration.

My other half lives by what her Dad taught her.
If the front door glass is clean when you enter the restaurant. That means they care about the rest of the business.  

Great!  Now we'll have a bunch of restaurants only cleaning the front door glass.  Thanks a bunch.
 
 ;D

Oh wow. I hadn't thought about that.

Totally agree....just returned from a week in NYC and was amazed at how clean the city is these days....especially all the restaurants. Tulsa? Beware.

The most impressive thing was what "no smoking" has done for cities and their citizens. You barely see any discarded butts anywhere. And the streets and sidewalks were never in better condition. Kudos to Bloomberg.

Wow...THCcLown had a clean thougt....!

Hell has frozen over.

Now, it's YOUR turn!!

I’ve known BB for over 30 years.

It’ll never happen...

Condolences!

Yes, but the women there walk all the time. Easy on the eyes and a thing of beauty. Here, fat took shape.... ;)

This is stuff that Powell has said before - and been demonized by the RWRE over, but sometimes there is an enlightening breath of fresh air to revisit the truth.  Too bad we had to kill all those kids and spend all those trillions just to satisfy Cheney/Murdoch/Rove's desires to play their vicarious game of "cowboys and Indians" with real flesh and blood and resources.
May have to buy his book.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/colin-powell-u-set-war-iraq-u-n-143557873.html

And now we again see how "enlightened self interest" is gonna protect regular people in the stock market - so we really don't need any government oversight...

Facebook may actually be a 'buy' before long...


http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/facebook-bankers-secretly-cut-facebook-revenue-estimates-middle-133648905.html;_ylt=Am0JJkgnEuBUV.XbeK_KMCaiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQzOWJ0djZlBG1pdANGaW5hbmNlIEZQIEp1bWJvdHJvbiBMaXRlBHBrZwNhODFmYmQ5Zi04NWZkLTMxY2ItYjg4MC04YTJmOWVjZmJhOTIEcG9zAzEEc2VjA2p1bWJvdHJvbgR2ZXIDNWI3YTJmMTAtYTQxOC0xMWUxLTk2ZjYtNWExM2IwNWE5MGIy;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Just got off the phone with Windstream concerning internet service for a friend.  They advertise 3, 6, and 12 mbps speeds.  But when I actually got a little further into the discussion, they told me they can only guarantee 65% of the advertised speed.  So, when I challenged them about telling stories about the true speed (65% of 12 is actually about 7.8 - the speed seen at the site), they took umbrage that I would imply they were not telling me the real values.

And then they hung up on me.

This was Customer Lack Of Service - not tech support!  Tech support was very helpful and actually told me the truth. 

Hetre's a random example of bad reporting:

TULSA, Oklahoma - An air and ground chase led to the arrest of a Tulsa man overnight. A Tulsa police helicopter first spotted a Chevrolet Camaro moving at a high rate of speed at about 2 a.m. Saturday and called in ground support.

Officers in patrol cars chased the suspect a short distance, but backed off from the ground chase for safety reasons, according to Corporal Gene Watkins with the Tulsa Police Department.

The air pursuit continued all the way to the suspect's house in the 3000 block of South 137th East Avenue where the driver pulled into his driveway. Ground units responded and arrested Junior A. Vallebravo, 26, on complaints of reckless driving, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, and obstructing or resisting officers.

Fail to yield to a helicopter?
...and having the helicopter INITIATE a ground chase just for a speeder?
Wasnt the helicopter supposed to make ground chases unnecessary?  That's what we were told when they bought them.

Seriously, he drove home.  They could have mailed him a ticket.

I doubt anyone cares about this but me but:

A rate is a change of something with respect to time.  Speed is a change of position with respect to time. A rate of speed is a change of speed with respect to time, often called acceleration.  Basically the helicopter spotted a Camaro accelerating briskly.  Acceleration can be either positive or negative.  The Camaro driver was either on the gas or on the brakes pretty hard.  The statement about a "high rate of speed" actually says nothing about how fast the vehicle was actually traveling.

Note to anyone else who might actually understand what I am talking about.  Speed is not a vector quantity so a change of direction (going around a curve) doesn't enter into this discussion.

Yet it's common boilerplate language that lazy reporters don't bother to address.

Viet Nam in the news again today.  Soldier's letters coming home.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/veteran-letters-home-43-years-death-162103248.html

K-Mart/Sears

I bet corporate is actually wondering why the company is doing so badly... here's an example - they don't keep parts available for clothes dryer for more than about 15 minutes after they ship it out the door.  (Well, maybe a slight exaggeration - 12 or 15 years or so).  But hey, why would anyone want to repair something rather than go buy a new one!!

Hmm...now that I think about it, Samsung and LG are looking pretty good.  (It will never be a Kenmore or Whirlpool ever again.)

And now for something entirely different;

It's a cold, cruel, dog-eat-dog world out there and sometimes I feel like I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear.  But compared to this little lady, I got it pretty easy. 

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/39711/sea+otter+jumps+on+a+boat+to+avoid+getting+eaten+by+killer+whales+video/

Just realized...  Easter and April Fool's on the same day this year!!  This could be great.

Tell the kids to search for eggs you didn't hide!!

You are reckless...and wrong AGAIN!

Curses to those calendars that start on Monday!!

Geez....what's wrong with Lotus Notes..?  Wait... question answered.

Kind of neat little break in the day....

http://www.upworthy.com/the-final-epic-act-of-the-departing-commander-of-the-international-space-station-truly-rocked-2?g=2&c=ufb1

Site's down
here it is on youtube
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo[/youtube]

And for your daily exercise...plus Marshall's!!  This IS the whole package!!  I may have to start a company.....

http://www.ecochunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Pedal-pub.jpg

Now here is a sandwich shop!  As close as Plano and Dallas - dangerously close!!  I wish they would hurry up and move to Tulsa....this competition would be very good for the state!

http://capriottis.com/


Rock Bottom ain't too shabby, either!  And their Dark Angel brew is....well, it's got me drinking beer again, and that takes a LOT!!

http://www.rockbottom.com/

In the ongoing quest for good food, we revisited a place we haven't been to for quite a while.  Silver Dollar Cafe in Collinsville.  In the past, it was for the steak - at the original one north of Pawhuska off of highway 99.

This time we just wanted a burger and had heard they were pretty good.  Turns out they were much better than good!!  They are incredible!  They say they grind the beef in house, and I can believe it.  The burger was about 1/2 lb - and that was the small one!  Glad I did not order large!

Very subtle flavoring - the meat flavor came through marvelously!  I did add a touch of salt and quite a bit of pepper, but I like pepper in a big way!!  Even going so far as to carry a small McCormicks pepper grinder with when go to most restaurants.

If one is looking for a very nice drive in the country, this is a nice place to stop for a great burger along the way!

Along those lines, if you happen to be in Coffeyville, you can pass on Hog Heaven BBQ.  I had lunch there with a buddy yesterday and I can only assume they are doing the "Cookshack shortcut".  Very tender meat, very little smoke signature.  There was literally water left under the pork and brisket when it was finished.  No, not runny fat, literally water.  That tells me they are heavily embalming the meat before it goes "in the cabinet".

Ribs were so-so.

You probably would like their sides.  Potato salad and slaw were the highlights of the meal. That's pretty sad when the sides are more memorable than the meat at a BBQ joint.

Never trust a BBQ place that doesn't have the wonderful smell of smoke either inside or outside the building.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...!  I also was unimpressed.

Now, on the way BACK from that - at the very south edge of Nowata on the west side of the road (Highway 169) is/was a little barbeque trailer that is occasionally open.  Haven't been there this summer, but last year, they were very good.  It is another one of those things where the old guy who started it was amazing, and he retired, left it to the next generation and they try real hard, but aren't quite as good as the original.  This one has maintained better than most in that circumstance....the kids were doing well the last time we were there.

The old people were always set up in the parking lot of Homeland there at the intersection of 169 and Main, but they brought it home about 5 or 6 few years ago.  We've been going there a while...

Dedicated to the unenlightened amongst us...


You may not like guns.  That is your right.

You may not believe in God.  That is your choice.

But if someone breaks into your home, the first two things you ARE going to do is;

1. Call someone with a gun.
1. Pray they get there in time.

Neither of those statements sound right.

You may think of telling that story without the "that is your right" and "that is your choice"

I enjoy your passion but the first thing I will do is whisper to my very protective dog who likes to sleep by my door, "mailman!...squirrel!" and if the intruder doesn't leave post haste he either gets bitten or hit by my baseball bat.

Anyway, I play the percentages.  62 years have gone by and I haven't found use for a gun other than shooting at targets and admiring their workmanship. Thieves have taken my tools, my lawnmowers, my bikes and my yard ornaments, but, praise the Lord, I haven't provided them any guns.

You have the right to like or dislike pretty much anything you want - specifically guns in this case, or frivolous wars fought to salve one's ego - and nobody has the right to try to take that away from you.  Goes to the whole pursuit of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness thing.   

Also, since I happen to believe that we have the right of religious choice (a recognized right - sort of - in this country; not so much in others), then one would have the choice to believe in God...or not.

The rest is kind of self explanatory. 

In other words, you have never had the direct confrontation implied by this story.  Sadly, many do each year.

What if he has a bat and takes out your dog?  Then swings faster than you?  If I cannot run away, then I prefer to deal with it from a slightly longer distance and remain above that fray.


70,000 people a year are injured with lawn mowers every year...

"According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a moving lawn mower blade is powerful. “The energy transferred by a typical lawn mower blade is equivalent to being shot in the hand with a .357 magnum pistol.”

So, since you have "provided" implements of destruction to thieves in the forms of lawn mowers, you are contributing to the destruction in our society..... (lol).

http://svhealthcare.org/newsreleases/2012/06/cutting_the_lawn_dont_become_an_injury_statistic/

So the right to not like guns is written down.

You think faith is a choice?

Great. Now I have stolen lawn mowers on my conscience!

I actually have two loudmouth dogs that spring into action at the sound of a cautious cat crossing my front yard at 3:00am. One would really hurt someone. They know this house in the dark better than a bat wielding burglar though at best they are early warning systems if someone is determined. Then you can tell the reporter that you tried to warn me. ;)

Look, you are wrong about me not having any confrontation with a gun wielding criminal. I walked in on a robbery in progress at a nearby convenience store where my two young kids were busy looking for pop and candy. No big deal really. I opened the door for the guy because his arms were full of cigarette cartons, cash and a pistol. He said thanks. My cool thinking saved us all some additional heartache. He was caught and is serving time. And, I accosted a prick stealing Halloween decorations off my porch whereupon he offered to beat me. I chased him off the porch and knocked him to the street where his accomplice was waiting in a car. No, they aren't true home invasions with wild eyed murderers, but both were accomplished without gun play. I see lesser disagreements all the time end in gunshots and tragedy.

I play the percentages with non gun ownership just I like do with seatbelts. Thousands of homes are broken into out of hundreds of millions. Odds are if you own a gun you are more likely to be injured by it than if you don't. Increases the likelihood of theft as well I would guess.

But I totally affirm those who don't wear helmets and those who carry. I think we can co-exist.

Sure it is - part of the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Some people's pursuit of happiness is to dislike guns.  I absolutely believe they have that right and support their exercise of that right.... up to the point where it interferes with MY right to like guns (and own them and use them in various shooting sports).


Do you feel faith doesn't have an element of choice?  Maybe I am looking at it from the "other end" of the process....belief in a faith comes to me after looking at what is in my heart and mind and then choosing to act accordingly.  

I guess I'm not sure how one could believe something if they didn't choose to do so...??  Like people who hear all evidence showing the age of the earth as dramatically more than 6,000 years, but still choose to not believe its age.  

As well you should...lawn mowers are dangerous!!

Sorry to hear about your events.  If I can avoid violence in any fashion, I am more than willing to run away at a seconds notice - that is always my chosen response.  Sadly, too many times gunshots do occur.  And millions of times a year (if one can believe anything the FBI says), bad people doing bad things are foiled in there nefarious schemes by armed potential victims.  That tired old hack about the owner more likely to be injured than if don't is another one of those "Brady Bunch" urban myths that just isn't real.  Right up there with the "fact" that "everyone knows" that Obama wasn't born in Hawaii, but Kenya.

There are thousands of homes broken into just in Tulsa every year.  Many millions nationwide.

 

We differ in our understanding.

Are you just locked into your belief without the ability to adjust based on additional info?

IMO, liking something or not liking something isn't really a right.  You just do or don't.

As far as a faith goes, I'm not sure you choose to have a faith in something.  You have a faith or you don't.  I've never made a choice to have faith in anything.  I do or don't.

Just couldn't resist this - kind of like "Burning Man" or Sturgis for Goth's...


Hearse Con, be there or accept your role as a bitter failure at life.
http://www.hearseclub.com/hearsecon/hearsecon.htm

And who could possibly ever imagined that retail would be a great place to work...??!!   Costco #2.

Wanna bet WalMart is paying attention and gonna pick up on that?


http://www.glassdoor.com/Top-Companies-for-Compensation-and-Benefits-LST_KQ0,43.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=Comp&Benefits14&utm_content=Comp&Benefits14

Costco is also significantly more expensive for the equivalent (staple) products at Sam's or even Walmart.  Salary and wage costs are simply passed to the consumer.  A Wholesale club's primary market is businesses that use them for basic staple supplies.  

For instance, we buy our printer paper from Sam's for $7.28 a ream.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/14359939035_9eb488ec5a.jpg)

When Costco opens, there is very little chance we are going to buy the same product for $11.89 a ream.  Heck! The savings on one ream pays form my gas to drive to Sam's 20 times over!
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/14380124943_f7f6203998.jpg)

Employee wages are all relative to consumer prices.  If you want to celebrate companies that pay higher wages for similar work, make sure you and the businesses you frequent shop there.  For most of us, who need wholesale products, the Sam's price is far more attractive, and there is no shortage of friendly helpful staff.  It is responsible for us to buy our wholesale supplies from the vendor that offers the best price because we then get to pass that savings to our customers.

Note: McGill's also pays their cooks more than Steak n' Shake.  I don't frequently take the kids to McGills for a burger.

It's wonderful that we will now have these options for wholesale to the public clubs, because they offer some different products.  I'm glad that heiron will now have a place to shop guilt free, but I'm still buying my paper and supplies from Sam's at the best price.  ;D

OUCH!!  Zing, zap, POW!!  Got me!!  Oh, woe is me....  WOE IS ME!!!


Oh, wait.... except for the FACTS, that always seem to get lost in the shuffle....

You are comparing 8" x 11" at Sams.  And 11" x 17" at Costco.

The SAME paper at Sam's is $11.98 - or about what... 9 cents MORE than Costco...??

You are buying the wrong paper.

First of all, you don't need 98 brightness. 92 brightness is great and has a better look with less bleach used to produce. Secondly, you should be buying recycled paper. When you buy recycled, it creates a demand for recyclers to sell their product. It is as important as recycling itself to buy stuff that is recycled content.  

I would recommend this paper. It is comparable with what you buy now and 30% recycled content.

http://www.staples.com/Staples-30-Recycled-Copy-Paper-8-1-2-inch-x-11-inch/product_492071

I have also tried this paper and loved it. It is not made from killing trees but from killing plants (which are easier to grow). It is made from sugar cane.

http://www.staples.com/Sustainable-Earth-by-Staples-Copy-Paper-8-1-2-inch-x-11/product_398457

You are correct.  I'll buy my paper at Costco.  Good catch.  I missed it.  In fact it seems that Costco beats out Sam's in most categories.  I stand corrected.
http://www.businessinsider.com/sams-club-vs-costco-vs-bjs-2013-4

Not always they don't - just like Sam's is NOT always the best buy over WalMart and even Reasor's.  One MUST watch them all; all of the time.  When in OKC area for a few days, I always make it a point to go to Crest - really like the stores - overall, they probably run maybe 10% higher than WallyWorld, but there are a LOT of things where they are the same and sometimes cheaper.  

And I don't mind paying a higher price for the exact same article IF there are offsetting features to the experience that make it worthwhile.  I like the layout and look and feel of the Crest.  Plus the smaller herds of people.

I bought a Linksys router (EA6500) in town rather than saving $20 mail order due to "immediate gratification" considerations, plus, I had a brick and mortar place to return to if there were issues, plus it supports, in my small way, to the employment of a fellow Tulsan.  I also don't do the "self-checkouts" - I HATE those things - because it is just so aggravating to me to do the scanning beyond about 3 items, plus it just means another person possibly out of a job.


As far as Sam's versus....I have kept that membership primarily for tires.  I have enough vehicles that I get to buy tires for, that it pays the membership cost every year PLUS a bunch.  I will certainly be checking Costco, too.  I am very anal about tires - will only use Michelin - and there is one particular type that I have used on all the cars and light trucks for probably 30 years and just have no interest in trying anything else.  When you can consistently get 85,000 to 90,000 miles on a set of 3/4 ton light truck tires with no blowouts, well, why mess with success!!  (Flats are different from blowouts, and those are easily fixed by many shops...)

This is why I prefer Costco over Sam's Club. Costco just has a nicer feel to it, and the people that work there are much friendlier than Sam's.

Not always.  Go to Depot and they have one lane open with one checker and a whole line of people, and 4 self-checkouts with one customer and 4 employees attempting to help that customer figure out why his item won't scan.

Jason's Deli recently put in a self-service kiosk that requires an employee and a manager to help customers figure out how to use.

Until we get RFID tags on everything, there will always be the need for people to pass things over a laser, and push the "credit" button for you.

I hate the self serves at all those places - Home Depot used to be my only "go to" place...the last time I was there was over a year ago - for just that reason!!

I also don't do drive thru's unless literally forced into it!  Makes the family crazy, but 90% of the time we are in and out faster!!  And I point that out to them when they say something to complain about it!

I don't understand why people have so much trouble with the self-checkouts.  I love them, and both of my kids now use them with no trouble.  Sure, every now and then a code won't scan, but then you just do a manual entry and key in the SKU ID off the barcode.  I use the self-checkout anytime it is offered.

As for RFID,  I wouldn't hold your breath.  The price of the tag is still far too high to allow putting one on each small item, and it is those small/cheap items that are the predominant number of items purchased.  The tag providers and industrial printer mfgs are working on direct-printing the tags on the labels using metalic ink, which is pretty cool and should get the cost down, but even then there are numerous form-factor and environment issues to overcome.  And then of course the stores would have to upgrade all the current machines with RFID readers.   It will be double-digit years before (if) RFID is the mainstream product ID at an item level.

 

Puts someone out of a job.  And if anyone thinks that "savings" is gonna hit the price one pays, well, I got some really good swamp land for sale....

Well, I was referring more to why people have so much trouble with the actual operational process, not the greater societal implications.  But fair enough that point. 

I'd suggest though, that same argument ("puts someone out of a job") could be made for just about any/all business improvement enhancements.   I don't always buy lowest-cost, because I put a lot of weight on other criteria such as location, local-owned, style, etc.  But from a business side, I can't fault the low-cost operators for continuing to try to cut more expenses from their supply chain. 

Larger philosophical point that I feel goes to the general ineptitude of management as taught by "Harvard School of Business" (HSB MBA) approach.  Starting at a fixed point in time, say today, and I have 1000 people employed by my company, and I have ongoing productivity improvements to the tune of 2.5 to 3% per year.... does that mean I can/should/desire (to) cut the extra 25 or so people that now exist in the place?  The HSB MBA approach would say yes; cut costs!!  As in no forward thinking at all.  I would propose to use some actual management skill (reference Peter Drucker) and use those people to make the enterprise MORE successful.  Do things better.  Do more things with the same head count.  Invent new things to do/sell/manufacture.   In other words - Thimk!!


Related to the whole minimum wage discussion - if one cannot justify a project/chore/work process to be worth at least $12.00 per hour, one has insufficient imagination and management skills, and the job should actually not be done at all, at least in the fashion currently performed.  At the most basic level, someone hired to sweep the shop floor (my first job) - if that is not worth the money, then a bigger broom is needed, so the job takes less time.  Then keeping the coffee-maker full can be added to the job, causing a dramatic increase of productivity, depending on the shop!  When maximum productivity is achieved there, as in larger coffee machine, perhaps, add another chore - shoveling out the barn where the boss boarded his daughter's horses.  Making donut runs for the shop in the new 1968 Corvette the boss bought the daughter for 16the birthday, but drove to work himself quite a bit.  Add other chores such as; sheet metal work, welding, painting, electrical, as time permits after the basic tasks complete.

This is literally a history of my first job - it was a magical wonderland compared to the fast food stuff all my friends got to do!!  That is how productivity is leveraged.  He did NOT let me go or reduce hours when we changed from a 24" push broom to a 48" sweep, allowing me to complete in about 20 minutes what previously would take about 2+ hours (it was a big shop!).  Oiled sawdust was added as well as the wider sweep, giving a much more effective sweep and dust control, dramatically reducing the times the broom had to be pushed over a certain area.  The additional items were then able to be performed, dramatically raising my value as an employee, PLUS I got the benefit of getting to drive that 1968 Corvette several times a week!!   Plus a half gallon of Jack Daniels as "Christmas Bonus" every year!!  A massive WIN-WIN for both of us!!




Anyone/everyone catch that little thing I left up in there??  First time through?  I know you have all seen the sign!!  Or hope so....

Am wondering if anyone - in particular our Owasso or Collinsville area friends - have had occasion to use the services of Thomason Air Conditioning in Collinsville.  Small company that seems to be under the radar of the big review facilities.  Thanks ahead of time!

...'cause I have no clue where to categorize this:

Law enforcement officials in Prince William County, Va. have come up with a truly creative way to combat the dissemination of child pornography: create more child pornography for comparison! Their first subject could be 17-year-old Manassas City resident Trey Simms, who faces two felony charges for allegedly sexting his 15-year-old girlfriend. Prosecutors intend to prove Simms’s guilt by forcing him to provide police with photos of his erect penis, for which a judge actually granted a search warrant.
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/09/virginia_police_have_a_warrant_to_take_photos_of_a_teenage_boys_erect_penis/

Definitely not what I had in mind when starting this topic, but certainly falls into the category.... all of them, actually.


Geez, just when you start to think the weird can't get any weirder....we jump straight to bizarre!!

But, couldn’t you claim that the prosecutors are now soliciting teen porn from the 17 year old boy?

Creepy perverts.

"Post it to NAMBLA, boys!"

That pretty much is exactly what is happening.   Philosophical question - is breaking the law ok to do to stop someone breaking the law?


Is it ok for the police to shoot someone to stop him from committing suicide?

Sorry,  Porky's Flashback...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9wSOyyKHQU0

The PD just backed down from the warrant due to criticism (those pesky armchair quarterbacks) and conceded the teen penis photos police got during the takedown are sufficient.

Maybe there's going to be some sort of lineup, like a Chat Roulette Dragnet?

First time I saw this story I couldn't help but think of the movie "Porky's".

Random thoughts morning.....more often than not....


http://kitchentabledevotions.com/when-a-nurse-says-goodbye/


Have had as many as many as 5 nurses in the immediate family, and all were this kind of person.

And as always, we can depend on Faux to be at the bottom - in the gutter!

http://news.yahoo.com/video/fox-news-host-apologizes-calling-000006480.html

In watching the segment in which this happened, to his defense, he seemed as if he were thinking out loud.

Shep Smith, as far as I'm concerned, might be the sanest member of the Faux News camp.  I suspect it won't be long until Ailes can't intimidate him much anymore.

Then that just shows how far gone the entire Faux entity is.

This by Business Insider would be comical if it weren't so serious for the economy and safety on the road!  There is no acknowledgement or recognition of the facts of driving a truck for a company... no mention of how many, if not most of the trucking companies steal from the drivers (Can you spell Covenant...)  Push drivers to drive illegally and punish them if they don't.  Provide periodic audits of driving logs, then punish again when the driver has complied with the initial push from their dispatcher to avoid that first punishment.  Pay the equivalent of about $6 an hour IF you don't drive legal.  Less if you do (and don't forget the punishment!) 

3 weeks out - 2 days home.  Any questions?

Local companies in all parts of the country overload trucks dramatically - to the tune of 140,000 to 160,000 lbs - with the legal limit of 80,000, without special permits.  Every one of our small regional companies does that.  Then require drivers to go the back roads to get around weigh stations, which also gets punishment from the highway patrol if caught.  And the overweight ticket....   

3 trailers?  Really???   Probably the single most dangerous affliction besides recaps on the steer tires that the industry inflicts not just one the driver, but others on the road.  Federal generated problem - the Fed allows 3 trailers!  If you have driven the Turner Turnpike more than about twice, you must have seen that kind of mess.   And yeah, recaps on the steers is strictly forbidden - I can give names of 2 companies in Tulsa who do it as standard procedure.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-real-reason-why-trucking-134655908.html

I hope I don't have premonitions - that previous post was only a few days ago!  Well, here is a case of 3 trailers happened this afternoon about 3:00 pm today.  Plus one other truck and an SUV.  Too early to tell exactly what happened, but it certainly wasn't help by having a train of trailers!

Tractor burning at 1 second.  Trailer 1 at 5 seconds.  Trailer two almost hidden in smoke at 12 seconds.  Trailer 3 at 15 seconds.  Other truck at 18 seconds.  SUV in front of second truck.

Wife and two sisters got caught in the traffic about 10 minutes after this happened, getting free of it about 3 hours later.

http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/I-75-in-Campbell-County-shut-down-in-both-directions-for-tanker-crash-272921011.html

Sad.  Stabbed and killed in the line of duty.  OKC K-9.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152663071964169&fref=nf

Gotta buy some lumber.....   Lowe's it is!!

http://www.examiner.com/article/billionaire-threatens-charity-donations-if-pope-continues-support-for-the-poor

I am wondering if anyone here knows of an architect in town doing extreme energy efficiency design?  Heavy on the residential, but with some light commercial experience...?

Keywords;  rockwool,  Swedish platform framing, earth-coil exchangers.



I know a guy who describes it as being able to cool the house with a bowl of ice and a fan.  Being able to heat with a couple of candles.

http://www.1architecture.com/

Thanks!  They look interesting.


Kinda heavy on light commercial, but may do some residential.  (I saw a couple of houses there.)

Wisconsin is enjoying the same kind of nonsense we get to indulge in....  plus, they have their own "Mary Failin'...."  (Scott Walker).


http://action.allianceforsolarchoice.com/page/s/mke-solar-choice

Found this somewhat interesting....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brandan-robertson/4-teachings-of-jesus-that_b_6343320.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

I am told that someone has used my name in vain on the Tulsa World site.... just a note to anyone/everyone - this is the ONLY site I have set up an account with this name and have never posted anything on the Tulsa World site under any name.  So, if you see this name over there, it is not the authentic, genuine me!   Accept NO substitutes!!!

Are you sure it wasn’t heironymouspbroccoli?

Don't know... is there a "spin-off" guy using that?

All hearsay since I don't go to the Whirled site.


Having a "Guy Fawkes-ian" type event/moment...  Cool !!!

So tonight there is a special on bourbon on the Ascend network.... people with money must be getting so bloody bored...paying $5,500 for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle!  Really...??  Give me a break!!

Mila Kunis has her very own dedicated barrel she is gonna pick up in the next few years from the distillery.  Bourbon is becoming one of the latest fads for people with more money than brains....like Harley became in the 90's.

I would bet that all these "new" drinkers could never pick out their favorite in a true blind taste test.  I think the term is "tragically hip"...

Or did you ever think you’d hear of a “magnum of beer”?  Beyond that, paying $35 for said magnum of beer.  Shouldn’t that still be the price for a decent single malt Scotch or a good bourbon?  (less government greed tax)

$35/magnum is about $8.25 for a 12 oz size.  I've seen some craft beer singles in that range.  I think one of Prairie's offerings is in that range.  It's above my price point except for maybe 1 (12 oz) bottle if it is rumored to be reeeeealy good.

Prairie Bomb is quite the...

Would taste great over vanilla ice cream.

It's beer...

And bourbon...


Not a faddish source of all pretensiousness!!  (Is that a word...?)

Didn't see the special, but I've paid over $100 for various bourbons before.  But those were special buys.  I generally drink the stuff in the $40 range.

I read a great article on Pappy Van Winkle (I've never had it), and was very impressed with their marketing.  PVW is made at Buffalo Trace distillery, which makes numerous brands of (varying quality) bourbon.  So it's not like they couldn't make more PVW if they wanted to.  But their marketing position is to intentionally not make enough to fill demand, and thereby keep the price exorbitantly high.   People want it because they can't get it, not because of how good the bourbon is.  (I understand it is good, but my goodness.  I tried to find some, and best I could get was a few hundred for a bottle.)

I’ve bought a few in that range and my satisfaction rate is about 50%.  I generally ignore Prairie’s big releases any more, not worth the artificial shortage they create by sending large amounts of distribution outside the state.  This is one reason I will always be a Marshall loyalist (aside from they make really good beer and Eric is a neat guy) is they take care of the home market first. 

I splurged and bought Anthem’s Festivus, their Christmas beer in a bomber or magnum.  I ended up pouring out over 1/2 the bottle, it had a metallic taste and generally was not a good beer MC and my friend who was over at the time agreed.  You have to understand, the only other thing that would make me drain-pour a beer is if I knew it were laced with cyanide.  It takes a lot to get me to pour one out.

Pappy's is pretty fantastic.  While bourbon is having its day as the trend du jour, the crazy pricing is mainly about supply and demand.  The good bourbons being sold now were put in barrels several years before the bourbon boomlet began. 

We are in the midst of the "bourbon boom" (fad).

This is one of those things where people bored with their last "big thing", spend stupid money responding to propaganda (marketing) and couldn't tell you anything real beyond mouthing the platitudes they hear around them.  Caramel and vanilla in bourbon...yeah, I guess...tastes more like bourbon to me.  I would bet that there aren't more than a few hundred people in the country who could tell you differences between bourbons in a blind taste test....  Fred Noe or Jimmy Russell probably could.  But both of them said in this show that it don't really matter - if it's bourbon, drink it!!  It's all good.

Heaven Hill had a fire and was bottling Beam for a while....so how did all those Heaven Hill aficionados respond to the contamination of their favorite?  They didn't know at the time.  There was an interesting comment about distilleries - either they have had a fire, or they are waiting to have a fire....  Yep.  I can see that.



In other markets;
Louis Vitton
Armani
Rolex
Mercedes/BMW
Prada


Really??  Pretentious nonsense for people with more money than brains.  Travelpro is gonna give better luggage results.  Mens Warehouse has serviceable suits (it's a suit, for crying out loud).  Casio makes a great timekeeping piece of electronics.  Toyota and Honda make better cars.  And Prada?? Geez....

I read somewhere that many boutique brands are being made by larger distilleries who private label for them.

People want to appear prestigious.  Granted there are some products superior to others, but most of it is marketing hype to appeal to the ego.

I used to think expensive cigars were great.  That is until it dawned on me that every cigar left me wondering which of my cats took a dump in my mouth as I slept after smoking one.

You can insert Vodka, Tequila, Rum, Whiskey, and Champagne into that as well. They all have had their time as the got to have, new hot thing. Want to bet Gin is next?

As someone who has been drinking Bourbon since before I was legally old enough to do so this whole trendy Bourbon fad pisses me off. Not only that it has made the price of my favorite type of alcohol increase far too much.

I don’t know about fires and whatnot, but I disagree all bourbons are the same.  You don’t have to be a whiskey aficionado to note differences in sweetness and spice and other flavors between one bourbon and the next.  In fact, I think it is always surprising at a tasting how wide the range of flavors can be between the different brands.

Pappy’s and other premium bourbons have been known as such for a long long time.  It’s only now that there’s a bourbon boomlet has it created the phenomenon of waitlists for the best stuff.  And yes, the Kennedy-type trust funders and newly minted techie billionaires are looking for the next thing to wear/drink as a symbol of their desire to project status.  That said, bourbon is not like vodka and some other spirits, the distillers simply can’t turn up the dial to 11 and crank out more of it for immediate sale.  In the meantime, the market speaks and prices go up for the good stuff.

Life and bourbon selection was so much simpler when I was 15.... we had a guy who would sell you a bottle, either brown or clear booze - your choice.  Guaranteed to be at least 3/4 bottle, depending on supplies, but most of the time full bottles.  $5.00.

Not bad.  If he got several less than full bottles, he would just poor from other bottles to fill them up.

Tasted like bourbon...even when there was some of that nasty Scotch stuff mixed in....

I am going to start a magazine/blog that goes to a different local bar each week and writes about their bourbon selection.

I'm calling it Bourbon Tulsa Weekly.

(http://mlkshk.com/r/HL7Q)

That's a great idea!  Looking forward to it.

I got a gift membership to a "whisky of the month club" from the kids.  Pretty cool.  3 at a time, quarterly.  Don't know what I will do between times - I guess go back to the old standby Wild Turkey.

Old Pulteney - single malt scotch, so I don't hold out much hope...  It says, "Robust, with a delicate hint of sea air".  Mmkay...

Black Dirt
McKenzie

KOCO 5 news in OKC just reported on a couple of losers arrested for stealing mementos from the fence of the OKC bombing memorial...!

Ya just gotta share your head about how truly stupid people are.  Not to mention disgusting low-life scum.

So last night, Sand Springs really caught the brunt of the storms, no doubt.

I happened to be in OKC area and was returning from Norman when stopped in Moore at their community center at 4th street and I-35 to take some pictures of some really beautiful cloud formations sweeping across the road.  Just as I finished the last shot - none of which turned out at all - SWMBO was screaming, "There's a tornado..." over and over.  Five seconds later, the debris cloud hit me.  It is a lot like standing in a sandblaster.  Large limbs blowing by, metal roofing, rocks, dirt, etc.

Got in car and drove south as quickly as possible.

Local news there was saying F0 or F1.  Nope.  At least F2 - many roofs taken off houses, schools.  Luckily, no where near as bad as 2013 or Sand Springs!

Just ran across a video of the stupidest person in California....the gray t-shirt.


http://www.statter911.com/2015/04/04/must-see-video-handling-the-citizen-complaint-on-the-grocery-store-run/

And this was very refreshing.... Failin'....Inhofe....etc....

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1055775911102946&fref=nf

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drug-ceo-will-lower-price-daraprim-after-outrage-n431926


One of this clown's quotes.....

"It's very easy to see a large drug price increase and say 'Gosh, those people must be gouging.' But when you find out that the company is not really making any money, what does that mean?" Shkreli said in a phone interview with NBC News Tuesday. "It's very hard stuff to understand."

Gosh...you mean as CEO he did not do his "due diligence" on the $55 million dollar acquisition of that one drug to verify it was profitable?  Well, that's what hedge funds do, isn't it?  Buy money losing products for tens of millions of dollars....

Not hard to understand at all....it is the logical conclusion of the rush to deregulate we have had in this country since 1981.  All this with the background fact that taxpayer's pay on the order of 1/3 of the research costs that are making this such a money "losing" proposition for him.  So, even with 33% corporate welfare, he still can't make money selling it at only 13 times the total actual cost.... Sounds like corporate malfeasance to me...

The risk in drug manufacturing is the sunk cost of R&D. You spend millions developing a heart pill, and it doesn't have the heart impact you wanted it to have (well, in that case you sell it as a penis pill and make BILLIONS. Bad example, but you get the point). If you develop a product that does work, you have to hope the side effects don't offset the benefits such that it gets FDA approval. You also have to hope that it can compete on the market.

Then, you have 14 years to make your money back and profit before generics come in.

It is a tough industry.

BUT... when the drug is long since established. Is the only product for the job on the market. And requires no marketing... then the formula is easy.  Volume*Price-cost=profit.  Not a lot of variables in there.  Volume has been steady for decades. Certainly you can fudge the cost here or there, but fairly set. And price is whatever you want to set it to such that you make a profit in the short term and discourage market entry in the long term (product out of patent).

In this instance, the idiot got greedy and jacked the prices up suddenly. Certainly he could have wielded a 20% increase and few would have taken note. Double it and several would have been upset, but no news story. But 5000% over night?  Idiot.

Now there will likely be some new market entry and he will cut his price due to pressure in the interim. In the long view, this is fodder for more governmental control of the industry.

I saw the interview with him last night.  He’s a smug little tool.  People’s lives depend on the drug.  You don’t just go in and raise it from $14 to $750 overnight and expect there not to be significant blowback.  Of course, he claims the exorbitant price will end up funding research for a much better drug.  than this one.

This one has been around 60+ years.  It is a treatment for malaria and something for AIDS.  And back when it was developed, Federal research money was a MUCH huger part of the funding to drug companies - WE paid for the development of this drug!  I have a relative who spent several decades at Eli Lilly back then doing the drug development thing...he talks, so I know how that stuff worked at that time.  

This particular one costs pennies to make - ANY development costs were amortized many decades ago.  They were already selling it for $13+ per pill.  This sleaze bag is just the same as the CEO selling tainted peanuts.  The only difference is that he has the real opportunity to kill thousands, where peanut-boy only killed 9.

There should be more government control of the industry, since we are subsidizing it so heavily.  Just like there should have been real reform to banking back when W gave $2.5 trillion to the banks in about two weeks...

Still not hard to understand at all....

Greetings and Salivations!

Am wondering if anyone out there in TV land - perhaps and Architect or Builder - has any experience with Durisol and/or Fab-Form ??   (If one has, one will know what they are...)


Regards,
H

Oldie but very good.



https://www.youtube.com/embed/70Ikj1hZDnw

So amazingly disingenous....Greta this time....her pathetic "crocodile tears" moment about the Carrier people losing their jobs...!!

Due to the policies of the Clown Show she is part of and the path traveled by her group since the Reagan era.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/video/greta-real-reason-1-400-022415589.html


As if she ever gave a hairy rat's a$$ about the workers in this country!!



Next she will be spouting lies like she thinks we should raise the minimum wage!!  Like so much of the extremist right is trying to use to cover their past.

Oh and with the mix that will be made can I make multiple infusions with it or is it going to be just one use per infusion?

Ok.  I'll bite...it is just too obtuse for me today....


Huh??

(https://i.imgflip.com/139xwe.jpg)

Oh and with the mix that will be made can I make multiple infusions with it or is it going to be just one use per infusion?

Smells like spam.

Mmmm...!!  SPAM...fried, with eggs over easy, and home fries!!

Gotta go to Hawaii....soon!!

Resurrecting the old....have a sister who just recently got caught in one of those events.  Don't know what the drug was, but she was at $3.00 per pill.  About 4 months ago, it jumped to about $45 a pill.  



Yeah, Republicontins, there's nothing wrong with healthcare in this country that a little more deregulation won't fix....

Ok...what is the deal with AAON ??   

2015 annual report with a picture of a city skyline on the front cover.  One might think, or at least hope, this hometown company headquartered here would maybe use Tulsa's very nice skyline.....

One would be tragically wrong!   It's Los Angeles.

Is this an omen?  Is Norman getting ready to bail on Tulsa?  What is going on ??

2015 = LA
2014 = Drummers, OMG, they're moving to Drummerville!
2013 = Colorado Mountains,OMG, they're moving to Colorado!
2012 = Snow covered trail, OMG, they're moving to Minnesota!
2011 = "Welcome to the State of Success," OMG, they're moving to an island in the Caribbean!
2010 = tree in a wheat field, OMG, they're moving to Kansas!
2008 = A ginger looking longingly at the sun. Seriously, that's the cover. I assume it means they're moving to Scotland.

Click it, you know you want to:
https://www.aaon.com/Documents/Investors/2008/AAON_2008_AnnualReport.pdf

[edit] I missed a year somewhere...[/edit]

Oh, my geez.....

Have been trying to get in the door there, but maybe not so much now....


Somewhere along the line, they should have Tulsa.  At least every few years in rotation...

Once again, the Supreme Law of the Land is being treated like a piece of toilet paper!  I guess it's no surprise since that is exactly what every single "law and order" candidate - RWRE - has advocated for decades....  And just as Trump and his Clown Show are all about abrogating treaties, they find ample precedent to get away with it once again internationally and internally!  Why don't they just mow down those protestors with machine guns - it always worked before....!!

This is just "backing up" and coming from a different direction.  If they get this one built, then a simple extension to Gulf Coast is easy.  And then it is just a few short miles to connect to the TransCanada line coming from the north!   Anyone out there believe they have given up on that bad idea??

All without the publicity or pesky details of actually following the law!


http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/37222-lakota-lead-native-americans-ranchers-and-farmers-in-fight-against-dakota-access-pipeline

Anyone out there "lucky" enough to need an EpiPen??

There is a long sordid tale of mystery and intrigue surrounding this.  Quick little side trip first for a compare/contrast moment



I have have known for decades about Federal funding - that's US people - of drug research...like the EpiPen.  Exactly the EpiPen.  Invented by a guy named Sheldon Kaplan.  At a place where he started in 1973, creating the device, originally called the ComboPen.  Patented in 1977, which as is typical gained large profits for the company and nothing in particular for the guy who made it happen.  He got to "keep" his job....

The U.S. Patent and Trade­mark Office was so impressed with him that in May inducted him into the National Inven­tors Hall of Fame, in Wash­ington, D.C., - noting that “since its intro­duc­tion in 1980, the EpiPen Auto-​​Injector has saved count­less lives.”  I am sure he was very happy that he was able to contribute so greatly to the advancement of healthcare - it is a noble ambition and goal, even if others are...how to phrase it...??....sleazy?? enough to gain massively from it while freezing out the guy whose back they ride on...?   Is that accurate enough, even if somewhat indelicate??

So let's stop right here for a minute and think about what this short introduction means.  Here is an invention which was patented almost 40 years ago.  Which was able to gain patent protection again in 2006.  WAY after the expiration of any legitimate patent protection.  But wait, there's more!   This just "coincidentally" was a product that was written into Federal law as a required item for schools across the country to buy and have on hand in case of emergency.  A good idea in itself.

The sleazy part of this then starts to surface when one realizes it was pushed hard by Senator Joe Manchin from West VA.  Who just happens to be the father of the CEO of Mylan Pharmaceutical.  The company that somehow managed to get another patent on existing technology.  And raised the price to over $600 for a mature product that SHOULD be in the public domain and absolutely generic by this point.  And was totally funded over 40 years ago by the US taxpayer.  Who is now being raped by a corrupt and paid for government. 

Quaint little side note - Faux News is now starting up their line of BS on a charitable organization that received $6 million for helping set up medical programs due to the fact that John Kerry's daughter is the head of the organization. 

Note the contrast - corporate bad behavior (regardless of political affiliation) gets a pass - is even encouraged in the name of capitalism, since Mylan is probably a component of Faux News buddies portfolio, while deomonization occurs of a program where they cannot skim millions off the top.

George Kaiser and some of his buddies could do a lot worse than fund research into a new EpiPen type device to replace the Mylan product.  And make it open source, so potentially deadly events won't be penalized with monetary raping and pillaging.

Ha!!  I love this...GM is finally coming out with a car design they had back in the early 80's!

New York Times guy is really coming down hard on Tesla since they have taken a measured, well thought out approach to product introduction, including support infrastructure!   He has been paid to push the "goodness" of the GM offering, even to the point of casting aspersions on Tesla quality.  As compared to GM.... yeah...right...!!  

I wonder if GM is gonna provide free 'fuel' for the life of the car, like Tesla is doing??  

And the styling -- geez... it looks like a very poorly copied Prius!!  Bu$$-ugly!!  As we have come to expect from that "Good GM feeling..."  It may well appeal to the great unwashed GM Fanboy masses taste - all of which is in their mouths!

http://www.chevrolet.com/bolt-ev-electric-vehicle.html


GM quote -
“We have 108 years of manufacturing know-how,” Pam Fletcher, G.M.’s chief electric vehicles engineer, told me. “This is what we do.”

NO mention about doing it RIGHT !!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/technology/how-did-gm-create-teslas-dream-car-first.html?WT.mc_id=2016-KWP-AUD_DEV&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVREMARK&kwp_0=228437&kwp_4=871479&kwp_1=426149&_r=0

We should really rename this topic, "Liars, Cheats, Chiselers and Thieves".

We hear it from the people of the town, they call us...

Tramps and thieves. The inimitable Cher. Pretty sure she is 90% plastic by now.

You should see the new Mercedes electric car............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arQ8_PW-RiA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arQ8_PW-RiA)

That's hilarious!!

BMW and VW are moving on this, too, apparently.  This is why Elon has put all of Tesla's patents out there for anyone to use - he is encouraging development of viable EV's by more than just one.  Evangelism at it's best.

Now for the big question.... Coppertop or Energizer?

Coppertop.  The pink bunny is lying!!



I worked at a place one time where we did a lot of battery testing and they were both very close - along with Ray-O-Vac, but coppertop had a tiny edge in power delivery and life....statistically insignificant, but a little.  Geeky, huh?

Now this....



https://gigapixel.panoramas.com/oklahomastate/football/20160917/

In other world news....

http://cityworldnews.com/native-american-amnesty/

Obama's first veto override!!  

I am firm believer in vetoes and overrides.  They are a couple of the core actions of our Republic.  This one should prove to be very interesting - the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act - link below.

We now are allowed to sue Saudi Arabia and try to prove them responsible for 9/11 on a personal basis.  And I see no mention of a statute of limitations, so presumably we could sue for the Beirut bombing that killed so many Marines!  Or any of many different actions occurring over the past... how many years?   We...well at least us Irish...could presumably go back and sue England for terrorism in their actions during the potato famine where the UK confiscated - stole - enough food out of Ireland in the worst couple of years of the famine to feed the entire population of Irish.  The ones that survived as well as all who died and emigrated!  Four times over!   If that isn't terrorism - intentional extermination by starvation, then what is??  I gotta find a lawyer...!!

But.  And there is always a but.  Now that the veil of sovereign immunity has been blasted out of existence, that most likely means at least some other countries will respond in kind.  We just gave them the keys to the kingdom.  Which means that now Palestinians can sue over the US role of support for Israel during the late 40's when we helped Israel come into being...and every event since.  

Iran can sue for the US CIA role in deposing the elected government and installing the Shah of Iran.  

Panama could sue over the US role in getting rid of their leader and putting in Manuel Noriega - that was George H W Bush when he was head of the CIA in the 70's.  Incidentally, George had to go back a few years later as President and "fire" Noriega from the position.  Wouldn't be surprised if a variety of people sued the US over the use of drones for the last few years, for the death of all those civilians.

Would using torture in violation of US and International law be considered terrorism?  Wonder how many ex Guantanamo residents are gonna hop on the bandwagon?

And what about all those descendants of the First Nations people??  Native Americans.  I got a feeling that the entire last 400 years could yield some things that could be considered terrorism.  And since they are, by definition, sovereign nations, well, what is to stop each individual from suing?

This was a stupid bill.  It IS a really BIG ole can of worms.  It is gonna get messy.   CIA Director John Brennan released a statement on Wednesday also opposing the bill, saying;

"The most damaging consequence would be for those U.S. Government officials who dutifully work overseas on behalf of our country," he said in the statement. "The principle of sovereign immunity protects US officials every day, and is rooted in reciprocity. If we fail to uphold this standard for other countries, we place our own nation's officials in danger. No country has more to lose from undermining that principle than the United States—and few institutions would be at greater risk than CIA."

Yeah....about that...I think he may be right.


Be sure to read the latest law of the land....!

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2040/text

Well, yeah, but Obama was against it. So, they had to override it. The people demanded it didn't they? I was most surprised it was a 97-1 vote in the Senate.

I thought there was more than 3 Democrats in the Senate.
 
 ;D

I am not surprised at all.  If I had been there, I would have voted override, too!  It had to be done to cover their butts.  As it stands, I am betting it doesn't really mean anything until the Senate takes some action on treaties...??  There is a policy of sovereign immunity that must be disassembled...and I have no clue how 'formal' the situation is, but there must be something more than just a handshake.  That would be a surprise - if there are not formal words.

One situation that I know is formal is our status of forces agreements - we have written arrangements, presumably that rise to the level of treaties - that keep our soldiers 'out of reach' of foreign governments.  If we really act on this, then those agreements will quite probably be abrogated, leaving our military personnel open to prosecution in the country they are stationed.  And given the history, particularly in Okinawa, of military rape and violence, we should be very cautious going forward.

Look for preemptive lawsuits from other countries!  I would be willing to bet that 9/11 survivors won't be the first to file.  I bet people from somewhere else will start filing suits in their countries first.   Not sure if this allows them to file here, but that would also be on my list of attempted things to do....

I haven't been keeping up on this (thought it was quit superfulous but whatever). Is this not the second time he vetoed this legislation, or a similar iteration of it?

And another thing, how do we think we can effectively legislate our standing in another country? Do the trials take place here? This all just seemed so out there. I mean it's just been in the news about the Tribunal with Iran, which seemed to work as well as I assume you could hope considering the parties involved. Is that not the best tool for something like this?

Stupid idea. This bill is sold as targeting Saudi Arabia, but it really targets any country that supports "terrorism." It sets the precedent that the citizens of a nation get to define what terrorism is, decide which nations are guilty of supporting it, decide if that support led to an attack on US soil, and then take the assets of that nation.

Guess which country has the most assets in foreign nations. Go on. Guess.  I'll wait...

RIGHT! The USA. We have air bases, embassies, ports, enclaves, and all sorts of equipment all over the world. While the USA is the home of tons of sovereign investment from foreign countries (that is to say, nations who have excess cash invest it here), our government owns assets we consider vital to our national interest. Oh, and guess what... other countries aren't as careful about declaring the property of US companies or US individuals to be fair game and "nationalizing it" to satisfy what they see as a "debt." What's that Exxon? You want your oil platform back? Excuse me John Deere, but that factory has gone to pay your nations debts.

Now, guess which country goes around the world pissing people off more often than any other nation. Go on. Guess. I'll wait...

RIGHT! The USA. Since the end of WWII the US has averaged as many as 260,000 foreign nationals killed each and every year. We've invaded more countries since the end of WWII than anyone else. We carpet bombed major urban centers as recently as the 1970s. We still fire missiles from drones about 10 times a month that occasionally hit wedding parties. We have troops in as many as 130 countries. In many instances, even our allies consider the bad actions of a few of our troops to be terrorist activity. Certainly it would be possible to find a group of 9 out of 12 Okinawans to agree on that. And its their perspective that matters.

Now, I'm not saying we are a horrible country and that we don't do more than any other country to avoid collateral damage --- but that's a matter of perspective. I suppose the Vietnamese would probably say we never should have been there. Same with many Afghans and Iraqis. Certainly most Yemenies and Pakistanis would stand up and say they don't give a crap about how careful we are, we shouldn't be killing any of their citizens from 10,000 feet.

We also tend to support insurgent groups against countries we don't like. To us, the Kurds fighting in the middle east are rebels fighting for freedom. To the Syrians, the Turks, and even the Iraqis - they are terrorists trying to destroy their country.  Same with groups we support in Yemen. Or Afghanistan. And on and on an on. More often than not, I think the US argument is the right one. But that doesn't matter when its some foreign countries citizens deciding if they should take US assets and given them to one of their own.

And hey, what do we have to lose other than trillions in over seas assets? Oh, that's right, trillions in foreign investment in the United States. I'm sure Kind Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will just hand over a check for a zillion dollars when a group of pissed off New Yorkers tells him to. Or, maybe they just divest and take their money elsewhere. And you don't think clever people will find other instances they can use to sue foreign countries in the US? Don't forget, diplomatic installations, military bases, territories, there are many places that count as US soil...

Will the US Courts be responsible and stop "truthers" from running amok? Probably. Will a Bahrain court be as careful? Doubtful. And the only assets we have there to lose are a major airforce base, the home of the Fifth Fleet, and Central Command. No big deal.  Oh, but they wouldn't do that to us. We are too important. Why should our own logic and laws apply to us? It probably won't, as long as we remain the most powerful country and there is no other option but...

There's a reason Bush said no and Obama said no. Oh well. Sovereign immunity has only worked for the US for 240 years.

Again, I think the US does a good job of being careful with our power. But under this precedent, its not going to matter what the US people say.

Panama

Libya

Egypt

Venzuela

Phillipines

Iraq

Iran

Palestine

Afghanistan

Nigeria

Congo

Japan

Vietnam

Laos

Cambodia

Germany  (remember the firestorm bombings of Dresden?  They do.)


Maybe we can start a pool predicting which country will sue us first!!??

The elections are coming!! The elections are coming!!

IMO that's the only reason this is such a (Trump voice) HUGE deal.

I have been doing a bit of reading, yes hard to believe, and please correct me if I am wrong, but don't we already have mostly the exact same thing on the books?

Title 28 USC 1605: General exceptions to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state, and Sec. 1605A. Terrorism exception to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state   Tunnel through all of it and you find an amendment passed in 2008.

http://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim@title28/part4/chapter97&edition=prelim

Apparently this is mostly for show in an election year. The original bill was pretty tough, but the one passed over the veto is not going to do what 911 families thought it would do. Thus 97-1 vote. It looks good but legally, like H pointed out, will be hard if not impossible to collect on. Each verdict won would require Congress to approve the seizure of assets, ours or theirs. Other countries of course will want our assets but have to balance off the support they receive from us. Both political parties and their candidates can claim victory but no one comes out ahead. Except maybe that a country may think twice and make more computations of benefit/loss before they support nefarious activities. You think we will?

On the other hand, the families of the Murrah building domestic terror bombing haven't received much help according to many of the survivor families. Nowhere near the payouts to 911 families. Go figure.

Its the 29th of September and Lowes already has Christmas lights in stock.

But the selection now is really good.  If I could get away with putting them up in this weather...

/distraction

Ever been to Hobby Lobby. Will BLOW YOUR MIND!!!

Seriously, their calendar must move up slightly every year. Pretty soon they are going to be rolling out the fall decoration in March, Halloween in April & Christmas in May.

Whoa whoa whoa guys...What's up with the WAR ON CHRISTMAS?

(http://media.salon.com/2015/07/bill_oreilly8.jpg)

I have driven around the country quite a bit and have told friends and family that "Okie Driving" is not just an Oklahoma phenomenon.  Most are skeptical.

Well, now I have proof!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tSwJ8zesOM

This is why BMW drivers get the reputation as doosh rockets.

It's every type of car...  Used to be Cadillacs and Continentals.... Land Rover drivers seem to be wanting in on the action, too.

It seems to me the chances of someone using a turn signal or driving courteously seems to be the inverse of the sticker price of the car they drive.

That makes me the best and nicest driver in the state - mine don't ever have stickers...the current ones all cost less than $3,000....

But do you signal with your middle finger often?

Not as much as you might think.  I am very calm driver.

I carried about 7000lbs of amped up football players to a football game Friday. As I made a left out of the school parking lot, a car a block away started to honk and wave their fingers furiously at me for having the temerity to turn in front of them. I remarked to the coach, that they must be friends of his trying to get his attention. "Should we stop and be friendly?" He seemed to consider it but simply cursed and said they weren't friends of his but he sure liked the way I drive.

You just never know what's waiting behind the doors of the car you just fingered. :)

That's why I am always a polite driver.  I can make mistakes and others can be counted on to make them.  Not worth the high blood pressure.

Had a guy got so pissed one time 'cause I was only doing the speed limit - he wanted to go faster, I guess...even though he had another lane to go to...he got out of his car at a stop light with a very large wrench and came toward me yelling, screaming, threatening - all the typical 'entitled' fancy expensive car guy stuff...  He got within about 20 feet of me and I simply, quietly asked him, "Are you sure...?"  Only words I said.  While making sure he saw the 1911  .45 automatic I carry.  He said no problem, he was just leaving....

True story.

Anybody know anything about W. L. Walker, Co in Tulsa?   I thought I had heard of most of the smaller manufacturing shops around, but that one is new to me... some interesting products...

In particular for William the Artist... but others may appreciate it too!


http://www.boredpanda.com/artists-work-for-free-ryan-estrada-emmie-tsumura/

Good day to post about Tesla.


This is for anyone interested in 'geeky', 'how it's made' stuff.  Tesla factory front to end.  I particularly liked the motor section and the inverter section.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVCCroN7vS0

I may have posted this before...if so, it's worth repeating...

Since one of the big controversies in the nation today revolves around the flag, I thought this might be of some small interest.  And I'm gonna make a sweeping comment/bet here - that nobody has heard this version before.

Click on the link - a bar just below the program title has an arrow to click to listen. Then, one can listen to the entire show, worthwhile but the part of interest here is at 1:50:00. Click on the grey bar across the bottom of that small window - over on the right side, almost directly under the vertical bar between elapsed time and total time - bar shown as red in this example;

1:50:00 | 1:59:15


Worth the effort....

https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/57219

Is the current statewide beer shortage retaliation by liquor distributors?

http://www.newson6.com/story/38420188/retailers-blame-statewide-beer-shortage-on-new-liquor-law

...and does 6-point make your pee glow under black light?  Things we want to know.

Why, yes...yes, it does!

You're welcome!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-ivig_aVDY

DETROIT – Given that the best way to store your car keys at night is by putting them in a coffee can, what's an ex-FBI agent's advice to protect cars from theft during the day?  Wrap car fobs in aluminum foil.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/07/08/wrap-car-key-fob-foil/762338002/

The story implies that thieves can copy the radio signal coming from your car key fob, but doesnt mention that the signal is only transmitted when you manually push the buttons on the fob.
Nor does it mention that a coffee can with an open (or plastic) top doesnt really block radio signals.

As for putting credit cards in foil sleeves, that went out when credit cards went to chips.

Modern car keys, however, have RFIDs that work like a pet microchip where you can send it a radio signal and it will answer back with an ID number, but the range is inches and without the physical key to open the door, pretty useless.

Geek out.

Of course, the OTHER anti-theft device is something called a manual transmission.

Have seen pics of signs on cars with that.  One of the kids put it on her drivers window, too. 

Almost 10 full years, and the old folks that have to deal with Windstream continue to have EXACTLY the same problem as always - yesterday was the most recent outage and I called for them.  Phone does not work at all.  Internet is intermittently on about 5-10% of the time.  Also last Dec., 2021.  April, 2021.  Twice in 2020.  Once, IIRC, in 2019.  Repeatedly since this post.  About every 6-8 months since way before this post. 

Worst phone service in this country!   (Family that is WAY out in the boonies - miles from town - in Tennessee gets better service than Broken Arrow!  They even had fiber installed about 3 years ago!)

There is a 12 year old tree growing through the box where the neighborhood connections spread from that has broken the pedestal allowing anything to get in, from rain, snow, small animals looking for nesting places.  And Windstream knows about and ignores this continuously!   The fix is very straightforward, such that if I was running the 3 man/woman crew needed to fix it, we would have it done in about 2 to 2.5 hours! 

And as always, the problem is NEVER the workers doing the job - the techs and customer service people have always been very good and tried hard to be as helpful as possible.  This is a direct failure of the same management structure that put that company into bankruptcy a few years ago.  Of course.  And now doing all their blathering about how 'Kinetic' is such a great thing!   It is not.  It is the same ole half-baked corporate BS propaganda machine from 20 years ago with new logos.

This time, I called the OK Corporation Commission and was told that although Windstream is required by law to provide that land line service, there is not much they can really do other than call them and tell them to clean up their act.  Another fail of the Oklahoma Legislature in letting these failures have the monopoly but not requiring them to work to even a minimal level standard of performance!   OCC did let it be known that they do get a lot of calls about Windstream.   I asked them about my soon to be phone company, Totah Communications (who already has fiber in their boonies areas, since last summer!), and they said it is generally known to be ok.  None of this messaging was outright words, just getting the info across without literally saying it. 

I have told these people it is way past time to sell that place and move somewhere that has real phone service!  (They insist on having landline - illusion of safety for 911 calls.  And phone availability when cell doesn't work.)   They may follow us up to the land of Totah...


Bottom line - if you are thinking about moving to Broken Arrow, and you place great, or any value on land line phone service, look elsewhere!   It ain't gonna happen there!

I have had similar problems with BTC (formerly Bixby Telephone Company).  Several times a year the land line phone and/or internet is inop.  There is almost always static on the land line phone.  Last July when the phone went out, the field tech said the lines in my area are terrible but there is no plan to replace them in the near future due to cost.  Probably has something to do with 1+ acre lot size.  A few blocks south of me, the lots are about 1/2 acre and fibre is available.  Yesterday (Thursday) the internet was inop and for a while the phone was inop too.Tech Support was nice but couldn't guarantee anything.  My only beef with tech support is the protocol to try and establish that the problem is within my house (so they can charge a service fee).  It has never been. The copper around here is 50+ years old.   Tech Support asks questions about the cable routing from the DSL to the router to the computer that has worked for for quite a while.  I did have a problematic router that the field tech replaced July in spite of higher up policy that the existing (junk) router was OK.  Worked a lot better from last July until yesterday when "emergency maintenance" was required.  I am not happy with BTC but COX is even worse from reports of neighbors.  I want to keep the land line (number) since all of the friends and relatives have known it for 50+years. I know I could transfer it to a cell but I never have to charge the battery on the land line and (false or not) I believe the 911 service for an old guy living alone is better with a land line than a cell phone that isn't always on.

The slow death of traditional phone companies. I remember when BA was GTE, Tulsa was SW Bell, Bixby was their own, and I think Owasso was someone else. If you were in BA you could call Tulsa with no charge, but if you called Owasso it was a $0.50 charge. Tulsa to Skiatook was a $0.50 charge call.

From what I remember, BA with GTE went to AlTel, which was bought up by Verizon and then spun off to Windstar.

When I moved to AZ, it was US West, which had been Mountain Bell prior to and for a few years after the Ma Bell break up, and then it became Qwest and is now Century Link.

The cable companies were the first big blow to the phone companies because they were building all new infrastructure and constantly upgrading while all the phone companies sat on their collective asses. Digital and VoIP from the cable companies was the next, and then with the advancements in cell phones and networks going digital is probably one of the last nails.

As for 911 services, when the first home VoIP services came out in the mid 2000's they didn't transmit any address information because their were using internet services and it wasn't required and cell phones couldn't because they were in the infancy of digital.

Now with software from cellphone providers and GPS locating in phones, if you call 911 they can get your location using tower info and GPS and get within 50 feet or less of your location regardless of your phone number and provider.

The traditional phone providers just don't have the users to pay for the personnel to maintain their infrastructure, and even with all the money coming for DC in the infrastructure bill, traditional phone providers are getting very little money.

Cable companies practically give away phone service because they make more off of other services. And with the cable companies now providing VoIP and voice mail to small and large business even companies like AVAYA, Siemens, and other traditional PBX phone systems and T1 type connections provided by phone companies are dying off as well. You don't need a dedicated digital connection like a T1 to connect business with multiple office locations regardless of physical locations are being phased out. Add in dual mode smart phones and even the desk phone is in danger of going away. You can put an app on a smart phone that allows someone to have both their personal and business number on the same phone.

Going back to the home use and rural areas for phone/internet/TV services, I think the next leap is going to be Elon Musk's Starlink satellite service.
Here is a link to site that show real time Starlink/One Web/GPS satellite coverage. https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink (https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink)

The cable companies are even making their way into 911 dispatch centers. When I left working as a Telecom Admin with the Town Of Gilbert I handed off a proposal from Cox Communications to take over all of the phone service for the town which included all of the phone numbers for the town which was at the time two blocks of 1000 phone numbers each for the town and included a proposal for transferring 911 service from Century Link to Cox.

I think in a few years, all the thousands of miles of phone company lines underground and on poles will be relegated to just sitting there like the old Western Union Telegraph lines that paralleled the BA Expressway until they are finally taken down.

ETA: With the roll out of 5G cellular and the deactivation of 2G and now 3G, the frequencies that 2G & 3G used will be reallocated for other wireless communication services. 5G is using a portion of the spectrum that was used by the old C-Band satellite services like the old giant satellite TV dishes, and I understand the issues that the FAA had with 5G because of the close proximity to ILS/Approach Radar systems for aircraft, but the FAA moves at glacial speed in some areas, and yes I know there was a cost to the airlines to modify their equipment, but the announcement of 5G was in 2015 or 2016 IIRC so there was a lot of time for the FAA to work out the issues. Just my $0.10 ($0.02 adjusted for inflation  ;D)

I have a question for any mechanical types who might have leanings toward aerodynamics...

Ran across this a few years ago while in OKC area a lot and it really looks interesting.  Drove by their place a couple times and saw the crew version sitting on the lot.

Question;  their premise sounds reasonable and I know those things weigh enough they could almost handle the winds as is, BUT is the vacuum theory plausible?   Would the be enough downward lift to actually hold it tighter the faster the wind??

Their trailer version looks promising, too.  Could make that to look a lot like an Airstream and have a great RV!!


https://www.reddogshelters.com/models.html#towdog


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4OPfBvq87Y

The theory is sound, an inverted wing shape/ground effect has been used in racing for many years in Formula One and Indy Car racing very effectively.

The vacuum tube idea works as well. After Hurricane Andrew there were a lot of videos that showed where the wind speed over the top of plumbing vent pipes was enough to draw the water out of a toilet bowl and if you held a tissue over the bowl and let go of it, it would get sucked through the vent pipe.

However, I think that at some point the wind against the side of the trailer could exceed the aerodynamics of the design..

Need to take one and place it in the exhaust stream of a 737/757/767 and run the throttle up to simulate the straight line windspeed to see how stable it is.

But what happens when something major hits the side and causes that air pressure to equalize. Like as long as that thing is sucked to the ground, it becomes really hard to tip. But throw a tree and knock it loose and I feel like you may have some really weird pressure effects.

It does sound interesting. I've sent it along to aero friends and will let people know if anybody has anything more than "seems interesting"

On the towable one that is my thought. If something hits it on the leading edge side (the side the wind is coming from) with enough force to tip it slightly air would get underneath it and roll it over. It will never create enough of a vacuum/low pressure to keep it sucked to the ground, and it would need fairly level smooth ground to sit on to begin with.

I would guess that just outside the tornados path it would work quite well, but we have all seen the actual debris that takes flight in one. It would increase your chance of survival.

I remember this photo from the Easter 1981 tornado that hit near 51st and Mingo. That is a moving company trailer that was fully loaded on top of the building.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/history/throwback-tulsa-sky-lit-up-green-as-bixby-tornado-killed-5-in-1981/article_37b16a2c-766c-58ba-acdb-925787bdc8d0.html (https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/history/throwback-tulsa-sky-lit-up-green-as-bixby-tornado-killed-5-in-1981/article_37b16a2c-766c-58ba-acdb-925787bdc8d0.html)

(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/12/b1272069-0dca-5ecc-bc9f-4afc627bc819/552d8e39721ce.image.jpg)

dbacksfan has covered most of my thoughts.  Results in the "lab" often differ from real world.  Sealing the bottom of the unit to the ground would be a big issue on most constructions sites.  Wind direction is a possible concern.  The big unit would probably be OK with a wind from the end but flow over the top would probably not do much to help create vacuum.  I'm not so sure about the little one.  Flow separation could be an issue in creating enough vacuum through the vacuum tube (mechanical tube, not electronic vacuum tube.) shown.  Maybe if they dimpled then top like a golf ball it would have a better chance to create some vacuum.  The round top is better for not tipping over than a flat top.  Both units would be better than the average construction site tin trailer.  I agree that weight alone for something strong enough to take impacts is probably enough to remain standing for some pretty strong winds.

Let's see if buffalo dan's aero friends have any thoughts.

They mention a 1,000 lb drill string section of pipe landing on it from 100 ft up.  Prediction is that it could move 5".  Am guessing they tested it...??  That's why they said do not sit on the bench, but stand up and hold the grab rail.

It is intriguing.  The 500lb explosive blast 75' away was pretty massive, too.


We had friends in that 51st Mingo area.  Got to help with some debris removal, cleanup.  Gawd awful mess!

It must be Oklahoma when these are the headlines on the same day:

David Ware Sentenced To Death For Murder Of Tulsa Police Officer
https://www.newson6.com/story/6269dc2290d382070fc87ba6/david-ware-sentenced-to-death-for-murder-of-tulsa-police-officer-


Stitt OKs parole for ex-Tulsa officer convicted in 1982 crossbow murder of Michele Powers
https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/stitt-oks-parole-for-ex-tulsa-officer-convicted-in-1982-crossbow-murder-of-michele-powers/article_d253d7dc-c5c6-11ec-a2f2-f3cbd606f0ef.html

And lookie - Michele Powers' twin sister says in the article “I’m just sick, absolutely sick. I voted for him. How could a governor do that?”. Gee - I wonder... you voted for a guy whose business was listed as 'one of the 15 shadiest lenders in the government-backed mortgage industry' and had absolutely zero experience working in government probably only because he had an (R) next to his name on the ballot.  ::)

Just shows the depths of ignorance that too many people in this state plumb!


See that big ole sh$t eating grin that guy has in his mug shot?   He knows something good is gonna happen when Stitt got elected.

In a letter dated Thursday, Stitt’s general counsel Trevor Pemberton said the governor reconsidered his parole decision after receiving material from the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office “that was not previously available to this office.”

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler told Public Radio Tulsa on Friday he was "at a loss" as to what that supposed "new information" might be.

"The same information that we argued in front of the parole board was the exact same information that we presented to the governor's office" in a Thursday letter, Kunzweiler said.
https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2022-04-29/stitt-does-about-face-approving-then-revoking-ex-cops-parole-in-tulsa-murder-case

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And now for a horse of a different kettle of fish....

Ran across a new version of a favorite song.  And it is pretty amazing!

The Weight.  Ringo Starr and friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ


And THEN, ran across this one, too!   Also great!  If ya like Aretha....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKhuEkYCN4s


Lost my best friend this time last year.  Known since 11 years old.  This all brings it all up all over again.  Luckily, I realize that no matter how long I live, it will be just an 'instant in time' before we get to visit again.

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Wow!   I am at a loss today.  I have been using Moog front end parts for cars since he very first tie rod end replacement I made in 1969.  They have always been the 'go to' part, and until the last few years I have NEVER EVER had to go back and change out one of theirs - even with couple hundred thousand miles on them.  My 1970 Cutlass still has good Moog parts that I put on in the mid 1970's to replace that "good GM feeling" of the OEM part!

This last week has seen a tsunami of change!   First, the replacement Moog pitman arm I installed on my truck in 2006 has failed!  WHAT???  And I have been to two different stores and Amazon online to get a  replacement.  And EVERY single one of the replacements was missing the rubber boot that seals dirt and water out of the joint and keeps the grease in!   ALL of them!!   Careless handling MIGHT account for one...maybe even two.  But not three!
  
So this morning I called Moog Customer Non-Service.  They said, "Huh...that shouldn't happen..."   Really??  And when I asked why they don't just supply extra boots, the reply was that if I took the joint apart properly, it should not be a problem...!!
  
I could not believe the smart a$$, condescending way this clown was talking!   First, I do use pickle forks - the wrong tool if you care about the part, but fast and easy to get them apart  - when taking apart a joint to replace with a new one.  But I ALWAYS use the correct puller when taking apart a joint I need/want to reinstall!  They still get torn up!   No matter what, you will mess one up from time to time regardless of the tool.!   But this clown has obviously never changed one or even held a tool!
  
As said, I am at a loss...I hate changing the parts streams I use to try to find something else that may or may not work, but they have pretty much shoved me out the Moog door!

Side note;  one of the parts I got last week - Wednesday - was from O'Reilly's.  When I started to install it on Friday and noticed the part missing, I called them to find which store to go to for exchange.  In that two days, they had stopped selling Moog in the stores.   They had removed all the stock, and replaced it with Precision Chassis brand.   Unbelievable!  Something very serious has happened with Moog to make that happen - I have been buying M from O'R since they first got here in the 80's!

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I'm not doubting Moog is having subcontractor issues and is being forced to use lesser quality ones to keep stock but I've also heard for a while of them not including boots. What make is your truck - we have an auto parts store so I can check the warehouses if you'd like.

As for OR moving to the "Precision Chassis" brand - I'm pretty sure that's a MOOG sub-brand - they're both Federal-Mogul.

We are all getting older.  Sorry for your loss.

I too am at a total loss to MOOG's quality.

I haven't bought Moog parts in at least 15 years. I'm refreshing the suspension on my Miata and fortunately OE parts are readily available through several Miata specific vendors going back to the first year of production in 1989.

For other vehicles I have had a lot of success with NAPA, O'Reilly and Auto Zone with their mid to top level parts.

Moog has really been off their game for a long time, so it's not just you noticing it.

Thanks!   Will get to visit with him again soon enough....

K7238 pitman arm.

I see it available in MOOG (of course), Mevotech, Delphi, TRW and a few off-brands. I know on our Jeep I'm going with Mevotech overall as they get really good reviews on the forums and usually about half the price (that being said Mevotech will also get crap reviews here and there so it depends on the part really - of course few people go online bragging about parts that work but everyone will pop up complaining about parts that don't). I will have to check with our sales rep when he gets back on Monday on the Mevotech price but at Amazon it's $37.44 (#MK7238) - I'll gather the price I could get you would be about the same as most places sell it for $45-50. I couldn't find the boot available separately anywhere from anyone.

For your reference - that part number from other manufacturers is:
Delphi - TA2212 - prob about $60
TRW - 52038587 (same # as Mopar) or JPA167 - about $100 but you can prob find it for $90-ish if you look around.

I've had no issues with Delphi and TRW tends to always be excellent.

Thanks for the info!   I have been finding similar stuff surrounding this.  Don't really care about occasional bad reviews - I always throw out the top 10% and the bottom 10% so can get the real story!

Mevotech seems to be the one to go with for now, so I will experiment.


And O'Reilly's sent me an email yesterday asking for a review, so I did that.  I was told it did not meet their guidelines....  I guess telling the truth about Moog and agreeing with O'Reilly about changing vendors is against their guidelines...

Surprise!.....  Well, maybe not.

You can also check out Summit Racing for parts as well. I use them instead of Rock Auto, because while Rock Auto may have a lower price they nail you on shipping. I bought a couple of air filters for a Ford Expedition and the cost of shipping was more than the cost of the filters.

Summit example:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mog-k7238 (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mog-k7238)

Rockauto is just a drop-shipper so they simply put the warehouses they have access to online and add a few % to the price. This is good and bad - you can get good prices but you also can get returned parts, damaged parts, poor packaging and shipping, wrong parts, wrong brands and so on. We deal with a lot of the same warehouses - we have to QC everything that comes in and reject a lot of stuff - when you order from a drop-shipper this now becomes your problem. Some of the warehouses we deal with actually keep Rockauto logo'd tape to use on boxes they ship out for them so Rockauto can create an illusion about what they are. Summit and JEGS are similar as 90% of the stuff on their site is a drop-ship BUT they aren't as bad as Rockauto primarily because they're more picky on who they deal with and more responsive if things go sideways on an order. Amazon is useful for auto parts too if you have part numbers.

Summit and JEGS are really good. Most people think of them as just hot rod parts, but I have found things from them quite often for regular vehicles. The other thing I like them for is specialty tools that I would never buy from Harbor Freight. Every now and then if I happen to be in the garage and UPS shows up with something from either Summit or JEGS and I'm working on something on the Miata they give me a funny look thinking that I had a hot rod and not a sports car.

Amazon has been pretty good as well. I have purchased a starter and an alternator there and the thing I liked was I didn't have to have a core to return and I found a shop here to rebuild the old ones and then put them on the shelf so if I have a problem again I can do a quick change and not have to chase parts.

Growing up in Tulsa I miss the days of Fairway Auto Mall, Whitlock and Guy Henshall parts stores because when you went there, the people behind the counter actually knew what the hell they were selling, and a lot of them could cross reference things without looking it up.

There was NAPA store on Memorial between 41st and 51st that was pretty good too.

I keep forgetting about NAPA. I've used them quite a bit as well because the people there do seem to know what they're doing.

Kind of a one note reply to several comments;

O'Reilly and NAPA are probably the two I use most, but I have a long list of warrantee-able parts at most of the local ones.  I do as much of my own work as possible, and have old cars, and family cars, that are always having some kind of little thing go wrong, plus I do a LOT of pre-emptive, preventative maintenance - just keep the headaches to a minimum!  Just wish I had my 61 Beetle again...could support some locals....

Rockauto is oddball place - I was able to find a couple of window regulators a few weeks ago, and even with shipping, save more than half!   Then there was the steering gear that would have cost 25% more with shipping...lol.

Amazon has been stellar for select items, like Cummins.  If local Cummins doesn't have it, can mostly get it on Amzn with free shipping!  Like ALL things, gotta know what you are looking at!

Fairway Auto Mall on 21st was my go to place for quite a while.  IIRC, they were one of the places bought out by O'Reilly's when they first came to town.  My Cutlass file has several Fairway receipts, then transitions to O'Reilly...when they used the large format green receipt.  Then a bunch of small format green receipts...    My Sears Lifetime Warranty on the shocks is toast!  Should have tried to get it in for new shocks before they bellied up!

Harvard Auto Parts was Green Light dealer I went to quite a bit too - have several of theirs for the Cutlass...


So, I have been moaning and groaning a little bit about O'Reilly, but still no truly big problem with them  Went and got the Precision Chassis pitman arm yesterday.  Mevotech.

I do need to get some time to turn attention back to the Cutlass, though.  Last time I started it a couple years ago there was a very loud banging sound from deep inside the engine!   Rod bearing maybe??   Will have to see...  I can and will get the engine running.  And I found a guy, Precision Transmission, in Amarillo who definitely can do a TH-350 correctly, if I mess it up, so those are the only 'problem areas' that I would like to have backup if needed.   Amarillo guy has some great yourube videos if you are into auto mechanic-ing stuff.   It's like an ASMR event for transmission teardown...!


And if anyone ends up with a Dodge and/or Cummins diesel, there are several very good places for parts!   Geno's Garage (TurboDieselRegister, too.)   Thoroughbred Diesel (any diesel pickup), and Cummins online and store in town - Cummins price, but they are helpful.


So my latest project - and I will stop after this, I promise!  Twenty year old Buick 3.8L I just got a couple months ago.  So far, this just reinforces why the entire family stopped buying GM in 1987!   It runs ok, I guess, but as with SO many GM empty promises, it is NOT a Buick!!   If that design clown show they are now wants to know what a Buick is, go find an old 1968 Buick Electra 225.  Drive it around.  Then go hang your head in shame for the wholesale sellout you have become!   Even as complainy as I am about the Grand Marquis, they are still better than the slop GM is slinging around today!  I will drive this for a while, just cause it was cheap enough to put up with for a while.  Direct comparison after hundreds of miles driving so far;  Buick 3.8 liter, V-6;  17 mpg, overall.  As compared to 27 yr old and a 15 yr old, Grand Marquis, 4.6 liter, V-8, that run rings around the smaller, lighter Buick, 19 mpg overall.  And that is SWMBO mileage - I get 2 mpg better always!   Pathetic.

I was never a fan of the early Beetle's suspension.  Super Beetle was OK. Both were reasonably reliable if the prescribed maintenance was performed.  Americans that treated them like American cars soon found they weren't. I believe the engine valves needed frequent attention.


I had a '98 Buick Regal GS with the Supercharged (not Turbocharged) 3.8 L engine.  It was peppy for a '98 and handled OK with the Touring Suspension.  Mixed driving and staying near the speed limit, it usually got mid 20s for gas mileage.  The tranny died at 205K miles in 2015.  I inherited a 2003 Chevy Astro from my mom which I still have.  Electra 225 is a bigger car than I want(ed).   If you like the L O N G wheelbase, there are some 2022s out there.  BMW 7, Audi 8, and Mercedes S.  BMW and Mercedes are both a fraction of an inch longer than the 225.

The early link pin / swing-axle cars are certainly not the best riding but the short wheelbase doesn't help. Our 57 Beetle putts along fine with it's 36hp engine and isn't an uncomfortable ride all things considered. Daily is a 68 Single Cab - gotta love sitting on the front axle!

I secretly loved the newer Buicks that were just rebadged Opels. I thought way too long about getting a Regal TourX. Don't tell anyone - I have to keep my street cred up.

Suspension was HORRIBLE!!!   

The rusted out floor pan didn't help either, especially when trying to cross small creeks in winter.   But mine had GREAT heat!   Just had to learn how to wire those two flaps closed that never worked from the knob inside....

The Buick is '01 Regal.  It's ok so far.  At least I don't have the intake coolant leak....yet!

 

I was a passenger in a non-Super Beetle on a weekend trip with college friends.  The guy driving wasn't doing anything crazy but I was concerned for my safety.  I don't remember the exact excursions from controlled "flight", it was a long time ago.  A few years later, I rode with some friends in a Super Beetle. It was fine.


36 HP is OK for around town on surface streets.  Please stay off the expressway/ramps.  The key to merging into traffic is to be going somewhere near the same speed as traffic.  Too many drivers around here think the Yield sign facing entering traffic means thru traffic will yield to entering traffic.  (I have no idea if that applies to you.)


I used to check out the Buicks at the Tulsa Car Show.  One of the last generations of Regal had the hood slope down so much I couldn't see it past the bottom of the windshield. I am 5' 10".  The last generation of Regals were made in China and Korea.  One, maybe both, on display were hatchbacks.  I was not interested.  Somewhere in those years, Buick tried to revive the GS. I didn't care for the interior styling and they didn't put in a more powerful engine.  Again, not interested.  Buick seems to be selling a fair amount of SUVs.  Not interested.


OK   ;D

36hp? Good lord, does it go up hills?

My car has 328hp.

My Astro has 4.3 L V6 with 190 HP, 250 LB-FT torque.  Old school RPMs.

My nice weather car has 320 HP, 330 LB-FT torque.

No kill like overkill!


Sad thing is you can't even get close to going like a Tesla Roadster!

With 7375 lb-ft torque and a 0 - 60 time of 1.9 sec, it would be difficult with street legal internal combustion engine vehicle.

However, around 5 sec for 0 - 60 is available for a LOT less than the $200,000 to $250,000 MSRP for the 2022 Tesla Roadster.

Yeah....I won't ever be buying any of them.  I don't mind going slow if I can do that for a long, long, time!   


Having said that, my bus (got one) is geared so that I can literally beat ANY production car made in the history of cars for about the first 6-7" off the line!   About 59:1, low-low gear.  Rev it up, drop the clutch and it leaps into action!  For just an instant or two.  Can't do over about 58 mph at the other end, and it is one of those 0-58...eventually...

Long ago, my brother had a Triumph TR-3A (car, not motorcycle) that could beat a 427 Vette off the line, but only for 20 feet or so.  TR-3A had no problem getting to highway speeds.  It was fun to drive too.

I don't mind if a driver doesn't get to 65 mph in the first quarter of an entrance ramp as long as they keep accelerating.  Drivers that accelerate to about 35 or 40 and hold that speed while trying to merge with 65 mph traffic are a traffic hazard.  If I get around them, they usually pass me a half mile later like I'm standing still.  Must be they finished texting.

Blast from the past...always liked the Buicks but a Hemi works, too!

Alcohol to nitro.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK9_u1k0SNQ

Old drag racer wisdom:

Gasoline is for cleaning parts

Alcohol is for drinking

Nitromethane is for drag racing

I don't drive some super sports car. I drive an Infinity Q50, a mid-level kinda luxury sports sedan. It's fun to drive, but nothing really high end. Many cars today have that much power or more. Much more.

The entry level Tesla, Model 3, is way, way faster than my Q50. I've thought about buying a Model 3 to replace my car, but my car is paid for and it's in perfect shape since I hardly drive anymore working from home. it's six years old with 50k miles and has never needed a single repair. It's kinda hard to justify the cost of buying a new car that will just sit in the garage most of the time in my situation. I just wish it had Apple CarPlay.

Q50 is a nice car.  It was just a bit bigger than I wanted in 2016.  I had/have the Astro for bad weather and parking lots.  I got a BMW 340i. I also looked at Lexus IS 350.  I liked the feel of the BMW around cloverleafs a bit more than the Lexus.  Audi S4 was another consideration but I was ignored at the dealership and no one could explain the start from 0 mph of the dual clutch auto tranny.  I didn't want a manual for around town.  I also didn't want a CVT from some other brands.

Tough to beat the torque of an electric drive.  All depends on the design goals.

Nissan Leaf is also electric.  2011 - 2016 models were ~10 sec for 0 - 60.  Newer models are mid 6s.  https://www.0-60specs.com/nissan/leaf-0-60-times/

Technology marches onward.

My sister has a 2009 BMW 328xi with a manual 6 speed.  She will probably never forgive me for getting an automatic tranny.  Our brother taught her to drive manual tranny in his Triumph TR-3A. She's good.

If you want to drive something insanely stupid, go rent a 2022 900HP Shelby Mustang GT 500H from Hertz.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a39956119/shelby-hertz-mustang-gt500h-rental-car/ (https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a39956119/shelby-hertz-mustang-gt500h-rental-car/)

I saw that, a bit too insane for me.  Now, if I were a SCCA racer, it might be an interesting rental.  Most people will probably just get in trouble, if not dead.

A former co-worker (we are both retired) bought a new C7 Vette.  He went to driving school for the C7.  At a local autocross, he thought he could beat the computer until about half way through the course.  He didn't hurt the car but he did hit a few cones.

Retired too?  Corvette???  Isn't he a little bit old for the mid-life crisis - trying to find a 20-something trophy wife??  Lol... yeah, I know... cliche'.  But too often true!

Maybe his first Vette was mid-life crisis.  He has several Corvettes.

Autocross, SCCA, and Oil Capital Auto Club bring back a lot of memories and a connection to the current Tulsa International Dragway, Hallett Motor Speedway.

I started running autocross and road rally with Oil Capital Auto Club in 1980 and actually won the overall club championship for 1980 at age 17. Through a whole tangled web I found myself involved with SCCA racers at Hallett and the owner of Hallett Toly Arutunoff, Alf Gebhardt of BMW Racing, the current owners of the drag strip in Tulsa and the current owners of Hallett.

I went to my first autocross that was held in a parking lot north of the Assembly Center in 1972. The people that I knew then were Donnie Hale of Hale Plumbing, Mike Stephens who's son I played hockey with, and Ernie James that my dad worked with at McDonnell Douglas.

In 1980 a friend in high school's mother and father were involved with SCCA, the mother was the registrar for SCCA and his father raced worked for and raced a Lotus Europa for Automobiles International. Mike Stephens raced a bugeyed sprite at Hallett, and my dad's coworker raced a Triumph Spitfire.

In the early 80's, I teamed up with a guy by the name of Dan Guterman for autocrossing. Dan's family owned Fabricut Industries. Now, Dan Guterman and Scott and his brother Chris own Hallett, and if I'm not mistaken Dan still owns Tulsa International Drag Strip.

As for Alf Gebhardt, there is a very non descript building in west Tulsa next to a go cart track that holds a treasure trove of BMW racing history.

https://g.page/jrpspeedway?share (https://g.page/jrpspeedway?share)

Excellent article about Alf Gebhardt

https://petrolicious.com/articles/a-chat-with-alf-gebhardt-spans-bmw-batmobiles-to-go-karting-with-kids-in-that-order (https://petrolicious.com/articles/a-chat-with-alf-gebhardt-spans-bmw-batmobiles-to-go-karting-with-kids-in-that-order)

And here is a link to when we ran autocross events on the parking lot for the old Tulsa Speedway at the fairgrounds before Big Splash and Fair Meadows.

https://kevinallsop.smugmug.com/Old-Auto-Cross/n-b8d2Xm (https://kevinallsop.smugmug.com/Old-Auto-Cross/n-b8d2Xm)

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Wow!   If one needs further evidence of how the Republicontin party has NO shame, just check out the ads by their latest Pathological Liar, T W Shannon!  About Margaret Sanger.   What this low life wants you to believe is exactly the opposite of what she worked for her entire life.  But hey, when you got nothing else, I guess lies are all ya got....

I hope the Democrats nominate someone acceptable Republican voters tired of the crap.

I commend you for being a Republican without blinders on but you're in the overwhelming minority. Most polls show over 70% of Republicans believe the election was rigged and Trump actually won plus over 50% of Republicans believe Dems are involved in child sex rings. It's not a few crazies spouting crap here and there - it's the Republican party full stop. Heck 20% of the party believes freeing slaves was a BAD idea. You're at best a RINO to the party.

Just a very few years ago, Nevada Assemblyman Jim Wheeler told his buddies that he would vote for slavery if that is what his people wanted.... literally!


https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/2013/10/29/nevada-republican-says-he-would-vote-slavery/13295599007/

I wish we had a better choice of parties... sadly, I have just had to work with what we got for decades!

Born from far-right nationalism, the extremist ideology expounding the view that immigration will ultimately destroy white values and western civilization has found favor not only with media figures, such as the conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson, but a host of elected politicians and others seeking office.

Those who have convinced themselves Democrats are operating an open-door immigration policy to “replace” Republican voters with people of color and keep themselves in power permanently include Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, chair of her party’s House conference, and JD Vance, the Donald Trump-approved Republican nominee to represent Ohio in the US Senate.

After the Buffalo shooting, the pair are among those receiving blowback for embracing the conspiracy theory that the killer referred to repeatedly in an online manifesto authorities believe he posted to justify the attack.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/16/buffalo-massacre-great-replacement-theory-republicans

Whiplash moment....


I am curious - why has the tulsanow website never been changed over to https://    ??

We like to party like it's 1999 here yo.

I feel like I should be making posts about the inane insanity of the political world, but the embarrassment of riches leaves me at a loss where to start!
I have touched on a few AZ points, so maybe will just go there while getting all my ducks in a row...

More to come.    Yeah, I know....inane post about inane topics!   Ironic, isn't it?

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I am looking at various large garage door options and have seen airplane hangar doors that are a bifold arrangement, leaving a kind of 'awning' over the front when opened.   Is there a company in Tulsa area that does that type door?   I know there has to be as many aircraft hangars as are around - I just can't seem to find one.  Obviously looking in all the wrong places! 

There are also hangar doors that open by tilting the bottom outward and the top inward then lifting the entire door without folding.  They seem to leave more vertical clearance than the bifold door since the door remains in a single plane.  They also leave about 1/2 the door outward as an awning.  I don't know right now who is building them.

I see people building their own for small structures...kinda want something a little more "designed" than I would make it...by someone who has done it before.  But I may take a shot at it - maybe on a small shed just to see what happens.

.

The usual configuration is to put a set of rollers at mid height and another set near the top of the door. Regular overhead door channel guides are used.  I believe the actual lift and cable attach methods may be patented but several cables are attached to the outside of the door near mid-height. Power source to pull the cables is at one end of the door, inside the structure.

Thanks for the info - here and there!   As for patents, well, all patents are designed to be gotten around!  Make better/different/improved.  Spent a career doing that!  (Successfully!)

Plus, they are probably getting old enough to expire by now, too.

Patents probably have expired.  I just felt obligated to mention them.

I worked on several projects that were improvements, etc., to patented items too. Part of the territory being an engineer.

Probably one of the most fun parts!

I heard about this company through a friend and thought I'd pass it along. They do all kinds of vertical bifold and canopy garage doors from residential to commercial. Here is the residential section.

https://www.bifold.com/designer-doors-residential.php#category (https://www.bifold.com/designer-doors-residential.php#category)

Thanks!   I like the one piece, too!  Less stuff to break!

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I haven’t had a good rant lately.  I think it is time!  Come join me for the ride!  It will be fun!

French truckers went on strike and picketed because the government wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64!  What could they possibly be complaining about??  The US retirement age is death!!  At age 85, they strap you to a post to hold you up at the front door of Walmart to be a greeter!  (Retirement scenario from Stephen Colbert.  The rest is me with info from US govt sources.)

Instead of actually fixing the issues - which would require that the richest not get that extra 13% tax cut they have today - that the bottom 97% of us don’t get - on a few thousand more dollars per year.  Some of the following numbers do have some rounding error, but they are much closer to reality than not!

Some ballpark numbers - SS takes in about $1 Trillion a year.  Medicare/Medicaid is ballpark 1/2 that.  SS pays out about $1 Trillion a year so it is close to even - there are some other incomes, like interest on trust fund but smaller numbers.  And the payout is starting to tap into the trust fund in US Treasuries. 

All of that is paid in by everyone who makes under $165,000 a year!  Above that point, you get a 13% cut - half thru you, half thru company as part of "total compensation" package.  That’s great for the richest 3% in the country!  As it always is.  Of course.

IF that number was raised to that 'magical' $400,000 I hear thrown around as the threshold of being rich, SS income would be about $2.4 Trillion per year - while still paying out only about $1 Trillion with slow increases over time.  IF done properly, that extra from the $2.4 Trillion (and growing!) would do 2 things!  1. Guarantee instantly that SS would never have a problem again forever.  2. Would have an extra $1.5 Trillion every year to start paying down the debt!  And if the multi-trillion dollar Bush/T**** tax cuts were to expire, the entire debt would be paid off in probably less than 8-10 years!   ALL of it!  Paid in full!  And richest 1-2% still get to keep yet another one of their big tax cuts, so they should stay happy!

IF we could keep the Republicans from starting more unjustified, unfunded wars!

And the extra hundreds of billions of dollars interest we pay now could then go into developing our country.  Think infrastructure, education, healthcare to start.  Maybe we could actually lower the retirement age!  Imagine a place where you didn’t have to die to retire!

Imagine doing something right!!  If only there was no Republican Obstructionism to actually fixing problems!!

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OK.  Bumpy but somewhat fun.

The people who were happy with only a burger flipping skill set and some other unfortunate folks don't get to retire. For many folks not getting to retire is bad planning or choosing a lifestyle they cannot afford.  A better education would be a good start to remedy this.  Sometimes job opportunities can limit where one lives and works though.

I believe if you are self employed, your 13% might be accurate.

Social Security benefits are based on how much one contributed while working.  I cannot imaging you not complaining if benefits were adjusted upward based on the amount contributed on the difference between $160,200 for 2023 (but I'm not going to fuss over the difference to $165,000) and any larger number such as $400,000.
Maximum Taxable Earnings (Social Security): https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/maxtax.html

People on Medicare with high incomes pay increased premiums on their Part B (Doctor's office visits etc) and Part D (prescription medicine): 
Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA):    https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/medicare-premiums.html
Brackets are not as smoothly incorporated as on Income Tax.  $1.00 annual income into the next bracket can increase your premium tens to hundreds of dollars per month.

There are some tax advantages to being retired.   First off, you are not paying Social Security/Medicare Tax, unless you are only partially retired and still have earned income.  Depending on your total income, some or most of your Social Security income will not be taxed on your Federal Income Tax.  Oklahoma does not tax Social Security income and allows the first $10,000 of qualified retirement pension/income to not be taxed.  Many other states offer something similar.

My numbers are just ballpark for this.  Will be up to $165,000 sometime soon, I am sure - I was going from memory and knew it was above $160k, so just rounded up to next one.


Education;
Would be nice, and better lifestyles great,  IF education opportunities and choice were more consistent.   But we have a system designed to make most people starting down the post high school path into prey!   By institutionalized predators!   Fixing that major snafu - in the literal meaning of the acronym - would make a world of difference at leveling the playing field.

13% - a W-2 wage is half coming directly out of the paycheck every pay period.  The other half is a pass through made by the company, which ALWAYS includes that as part of "total compensation", which literally means the employee is the one paying that tax!  By definition.  If the employee was not there, no tax would be paid, so it really has no direct expense to the company - it totally derives from the employee and their work.

And yeah, being self-employed now, when I get a paycheck, it is the 13% (approx).


Benefits are based on total pay in as it should be.  If someone pays full amount on $400k, then their benefit would be higher than someone paying on the $160k.  I was told by someone close who usually gets to that "no more SS tax" point about November that their tentative SS is going to be "around" $3,500 a month based on full age, this year.  I think it is a touch higher than that, but this was a little over a year ago, so...???

If someone pays on $400k,then the benefit would be higher, too.  And should be.

Yep, big IF.  We need to fix our public schools.  Funding is not the only issue and throwing more $ that way will help but not fix everything.


Yeah, I get the "total compensation" thing as it applies to an employer's pocket book.  If someone goes over the max, I find it highly unlikely the company will kick in the company's half to the employee.  At least I don't remember my dad seeing anything like that.

I have gone over a couple times in the deep, dark, past.  Am sure by accident.  No, the company does not give you the total compensation they blather about so strongly!

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Ooohhhhh.... so NOW she doesn't want to nit-pik what the Bible says...   Got it!  Good to know!

Fascism - alive and well in the USA!


https://www.yahoo.com/news/lauren-boebert-whose-teen-son-080037314.html

People like her need to be deported to Afghanistan, Iran ...  to see what religious rule looks like.

We are getting to see it unfold right here, right now!   What these fascists are doing IS implementing Sharia Law.  And they know it.


Guys going to jail because they wear a dress??   Come on...what happens when a Scotsman comes to visit and has his formal attire with him?   Gonna put him in jail???

These guys "get it"....

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/vandoliers-perform-in-drag-tennessee-law-1234690309/

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Whew!   Sometimes I wish I had chosen a shorter, easier to type, name!

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It's a shame Elon is traveling down the same d bag path of Trumpists everywhere!  Lumping NPR in with Russia and China propaganda outlets.   That is disgusting.  But then he is a Republican, so there's that....

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/npr-quits-elon-musk-s-twitter-over-government-funded-label/ar-AA19M480?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=77f3ff39e2734425a17db78820ab1524&ei=37

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Well, at least they are consistent...the half dozen or so in the US House that show all the characteristics of working directly for Putin.  Just like T****!

Today attacking the US Military.  Again.  Showing how these clowns really are just haters of the military, while gaslighting people stupid enough to actually vote for them!

One has been blocking promotions and position placements.  This one today wants to cut the pay of the Secretary of Defense to $1 a year.  When in truth, she should be making much less than that!



https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-approves-amendment-marjorie-taylor-192539636.html

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Can hardly wait to see the wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Republicontins when Biden hits back at the ones who most recently killed our soldiers.   They are all into Putin so you know it's gonna happen!

"We shall respond" Biden says.  Lot of raw material in that area - turn it into a field of glass!  Two of the grands were in Iraq for about a year and received several of those rocket attacks...one got his bells rung pretty good.  Still ringing, I think.  Make the people doing this evaporate!

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https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-01-29-24/index.html

And once again, Oklahoma showing why large corporations should all be just flocking to the state in droves!

Owasso Public Schools.   16 year old kid killed in a hate crime attack by having their head bashed on the concrete floor over and over again.  And the school couldn't even be bothered to call the parents to tell them about it.  About what we have come to expect from that school system.

But being where this all took place, my bet is on no hate crime charges.  And no murder charges.  Because,....well, we all know why...this is what our Piece of Stitt and Ryan Walters are promoting in the state.   No doubt they are still celebrating one less "different" person among us.

"You're doing fine Oklahoma...!   Oklahoma, ok...!"       --Rogers and Hammerstein

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/nonbinary-teen-nex-benedict-dies-184426914.html

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Owasso cops say that little girl did not die from trauma....  Oh.  Good to know they have the medical degrees and background to know a subdural hematoma could not possibly hurt some one...!   Glad they are there to protect us.

https://ktul.com/news/local/preliminary-autopsy-information-shows-owasso-students-death-not-a-result-of-trauma-16-year-old-died-feb-8-owasso-police-department-investigation-physical-altercation-in-bathroom-teen-died# (https://ktul.com/news/local/preliminary-autopsy-information-shows-owasso-students-death-not-a-result-of-trauma-16-year-old-died-feb-8-owasso-police-department-investigation-physical-altercation-in-bathroom-teen-died#)

Released to whom???   Not to the public.   And anyone believe for a second there won't be some 'changes' along the way?   Yeah.  Little girl gets her head bashed against a concrete floor several times.   No damage gonna occur from that.

This is prime candidate to be white-washed and swept under the rug.

This was first and foremost a hate crime - NO MATTER WHAT the other things get defined as.


And then to top it all off, they suspended the girl who got her brains bashed in for two weeks!   And nothing reported so far for the criminals who assaulted her!

The real story here about this autopsy report is going to be who these 3 criminals are connected to in the county power structure.

From my experience working for a local gov't, usually the ME releases the preliminary findings to the local PD investigating the case. The local PD through it's public information office releases the info to the media. The ME usually doesn't want to release info to the press because there may be info the PD don't want released that could be critical to the case. Preliminary physical exams take just a few days to cut open the skull and examine the brain, as well as cut open the chest cavity to examine, weigh, cut tissue samples from the internals. Those initial exams are rarely conclusive without toxicology and tissue testing of all the organs.

From what I have read this is a tragic case and justice needs to be served. As for Owasso's handling of things, I'm not surprised in the least.

Young girl, using the girl's restroom.  Targeted by MAGAt fascist pigs just because she isn't an entitled white snowflake like them (Choctaw Native American).  I still bet this will be swept under the rug.  Like so many hate crimes are.

No doubt something will be found to excuse them and get them off the hook with Tulsa County DA office.   School already did that when they suspended the girl - starting the coverup and white-washing process by blaming the victim!  Of course.

This is obscenity at its worst.

This is an old fashion, Bible thumping, real life abomination!

Your rhetoric is so ridiculous that it reads like satire. Owasso public schools and police department have been very transparent so far given the circumstances. The facts they've released so far:

1. A fight broke out that was swiftly ended. All students involved were able to walk themselves to the nurse's office.
2. The RN determined none of them needed an ambulance, but recommended Dagny be examined by a doctor.
3. Dagny was checked out at Bailey Medical and cleared to go home.
4. She went back the next day with some issue that led to her death.
5. The ME, a third party, determined cause of death was not trauma. They are awaiting a toxicology report.
6. The death doesn't appear to be natural nor caused by the fight. Suicide looks like a possibility at this point.
7. "They" is a she.
8. Her name is Dagny, as the obituary written by her family indicates. This nonbinary nonsense is disrespectful to her parents that lost their child.

OWASSO — Police are examining evidence they collected from a search warrant served at Owasso High School during an ongoing investigation into the high-profile death of a student.

Nex Benedict, 16, who identified as nonbinary and used gender-neutral pronouns, died Feb. 8, one day after being involved in a fight inside an Owasso High School restroom.

“We are investigating a crime,” Owasso Police Lt. Nick Boatman told the Owasso Reporter. “The investigator in this case suspected foul play … in reference to the reported assault and battery.”

Citing a longstanding policy, the FBI said it could neither confirm nor deny that a federal investigation is underway.
https://tulsaworld.com/news/community/owasso/search-warrant-served-at-owasso-high-school-in-investigation-of-nex-benedicts-death/article_6194975c-d1d1-11ee-b4f8-b7d7834a449d.html

Got this message when trying to log on today;

Sorry Guest, you are banned from using this forum!


Any insights?  From same computer have been using for years.  Same internet connection.

Had to go to another computer to do this...

Sometimes bans are based on a dynamic IP address. If yours recently changed you might have fallen into a hole.
Some things you can try are restarting your modem after its been off for a couple minutes to see if it changes again.

Done a bunch of those kind of things - on another computer now, so expect to be banned here, too.   They have remained as insecure site for years, so maybe that is what tagged me.  Anyway, it has been nice talking to everyone if the Admin can't get their act together and fix the site problems!   Will try to drop in from time to time to see what is going on....

I think that since you can login from another IP means the address is really the issue.
The problem with blocking dynamic IP addresses is sooner or later an innocent party will inherit the blocked address.
Sometimes unplugging your modem for several minutes will flush the problem broadband address.
Have you sent your blocked IP address to the moderator?

Changes.  I use a VPN sometimes and sometimes don't.   And it looks like internet supplier allocates different ones on occasion.  Windstream and Cox cable...  So far just chasing my tail.  Gonna start a log on addresses!

Have sent a couple messages to Admin.   No reply.  Profile says that Admin has not been on since mid-Jan, so whoever it is has not seen either message.

I did this last login a couple days ago and clicked the box that says never logout.  Apparently that is a key.  Same two IP address.  The key to what triggers system message is my user name.  3 different computers, 3 browsers.  Some say Guest, most say my name.  If I were to logout on this session, I would be banned again with this computer and browser.  This computer and a different browser appear to have been banned.  May be combo of IP and name - can logon once, but next time, banned.

I understand Admin is volunteer around here.  Is there another way to catch their attention?  Do they check in the postings?  Maybe just tired of seeing me hanging around.  I asked in messages.