ReconRat

dang it, you don't bother eating grey, white, or black squirrels... you want those big red ones... edit: although my "Joy of Cooking" book says use the grey ones, the red ones are small and gamey... dunno, confused...

Do this only if it's fun to see people drive off the road while gawking... I've had the distinct pleasure of going to work on a motorcycle, wearing OD fatigue uniform with an M-16 strapped to my back. Steel pot buckled to the gauge cluster. My only worry was "what if" the M-16 fell off and I had to pay for it...

Squid, now there's something I could never eat, no matter how you cook it... no wait... damn, wrong thread...

In case you are wondering... groundhog is greasy and best in a stew. While beaver is delicious, very tasty...

The neighbor girl used to cry if Dad wouldn't shoot the squirrels in the yard and cook them up... I can see the headlines now, "pizza delivery guy mugged by gang of squirrels"...

True, I'm known for buying 1000 buck vehicles and driving them for as long as I can, 5-10 years or more... I would want to do the clutch myself, and kinda just not in the mood. There are lots of Jeeps for sale at low prices right now. My experience is that trying to get past 20 years old is a mistake. Actually, 18 years is a better limit. Too many things need fixed after that.

I find it hard to pay 30,000 for a car when houses sold for 20,000 when I was a teen... That doesn't make the future look too bright to me. It seems like being cautious is a good thing lately.

yeah, it's easy... zero down, no payments for 6 to 12 months, with a 6 to 7 year loan. Trade it in at 4 years and it's not worth what you owe. Particularly in the current economy, where the value of everything is falling, including the value of the currency. Even worse if the miles are high, the condition less than excellent, etc. Must agree that people often buy over their abilities to repay. Basic greed to own something they can't afford. On the other hand, I'm beginning to see a lot of bargains in used vehicles for sale. So I can't complain too much.

That's the BMW shop that used to be on East Main St. I didn't know they moved to Scarbourgh off of Brice. People were saying they moved up to Easton. Thier address is now out on Scarbourgh. 5936 Scarborough Blvd, Columbus, OH‎ - (614) 759-6686

btw, do you know what the historical response to a debtor used to be? The city would take the worse offender up to the top of the tallest town building, and drop them on their head. It's a traditional European thing, it didn't migrate here.

Just when you thought things wouldn't get economically worse... It seems car dealers are folding up and going under, leaving buyers holding debts they shouldn't. How it happens; you trade in when still owing some over the trade-in value, and the dealer "handles it", or you buy a used car that has been subject to that "handled" trade-in. The dealer fails to clear the debt as they should (they make you pay for it, but don't follow through). So a new car buyer can get stuck with paying off the old car, and the buyer of the used car can wind up repo'd (wasn't a clear title). One fourth of all buyers are typically at risk. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090201/ap_on_bi_ge/dealer_defaults

One more link: The BBC highlights of the 2008 and 2007 races, excellent... http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/nw200/watch/highlights.shtml?year=2008 edit: omg, more than excellent, you have to watch these...

Holy Crap... I've been trying to lay out a trip to Ireland. Maybe I better add this to the list of things to do while there. Last year's event: 2008 Kennedy International North West 200 in the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart, in Northern Ireland. 8 class races, 4 to 6 laps each, 8.938 mile circuit (35.7 to 53.6 mile total) Top Speed record is 201.1mph! (measured on max straight) Record lap speed is around 125mph http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_North_West_200 http://www.northwest200.org/default.aspx http://www.robertdunlopracing.co.uk/ http://www.northwest200.org/nw200_circut_map.aspx And of course, a pic of an Irish gal:

I think there is a distinct difference between motorcycle social clubs and what you might call territorial clubs. The latter is more of a gang who prefers motorcycles, complete with a clubhouse. So a social club of GoldWings can go wherever. Same for the V-Star group I know of. Basically if a local club fails background checks (felons), be very careful starting a club of similar minded riders nearby.

LoL, us old dudes didn't have fuel stabilizers back-in-the-day. We just drained the carbs and tanks to store them or cleaned them later if we forgot. Crazy. I used to drain, hose it out, and store my tanks indoors. (Still see some tanks sitting around here....) And yeah, what Catman said, I've cleaned a lot of carbs, it gets old. And the battery "trinkle" chargers were not automatic, you had to tend them yourself. It wasn't uncommon to screw up and nearly boil a battery dry. Some of us made our own chargers, including the circuits to auto charge the battery without damage. (Yeah, we bought a lot of batteries, but they were cheap back then, and didn't last long in the first place) Btw, fuel is now nasty toxic. It didn't used to be that way. But unleaded fuel has some terrible dangerous additives that will absorb right through your skin. Handle with care. Progress, ain't it wonderful? And Speedfrk39; the most important part is checking the tire pressures in the Spring, before riding.

Please remember: Most any of this gear is re-branded stuff. It's all made by a few factories, and packaged and assembled in another factory with a different name. When I take these apart to try and repair them, I find the same parts over and over. some components impress me more than others, but there isn't any guarantee that they will be there. I might find three different brand components inside identical units. Most everyone's thoughts on the subject are right on track. I've gotten these impressions from trade shows and co-workers: 1. Plasma uses 3 times more power, and produces 3 times more heat. 2. Plasma degrades and burns out sooner than LCD. Figure on a shorter replacement cycle. 3. Huge screens are best with plasma. You can't see the pixels. It's really smooth. 4. Your screen size is based on your viewing area (max distance to screen). A smaller room is better off with a smaller screen. Calculate the size screen you need based on the viewing distance. Use any of the calculators found on line: http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html 5. Brand names are just that, brand names. Pretty much doesn't have anything to do with quality. There are exceptions for brands that have better warranties, better supply of parts, and actually do better engineering and technical stuff. That would be Sony. 6. LG components impress me, but I'm not sure yet about LG selling complete products yet. Mostly I'm sticking with Sony and Samsung for most everything. But a bargain is often hard to resist. 7. I've recently heard and read that most of the plasma factories have given it up, and no longer in production. Whether this is due to lack of sales, competition, or positioning for technology changes in the future is unknown. I got the impression there is only one plasma factory still currently producing screens. If it's a viable technology, new factories will quickly take the place of the ones that are gone. I think most of the plasma screen producers were also doing LCD and LED screen production, and simply decided that the sales were not in the plasma screens.

First up, that sales guy is an idiot. No to Windex! Stolen from WikiHow: Check the manual. It may recommend a particular product or method that is best suited for your particular TV. Turn off the plasma display before cleaning it. Doing this is not necessary, but it's preferred, especially if you're going to use a cleaning solution spray. Some sources suggest unplugging the TV. Use a soft, lint-free cloth to remove fingerprints and smudges. Avoid wood-based products (paper towels, toilet paper, tissues) because they can scratch the screen. If stubborn dirty spots persist, go to the next step. Spray cleaning solution on the cloth (not on the screen). Use either just water or an isopropyl alcohol based PC screen cleaner. Anything stronger (e.g. ammonia-based) can damage the anti-glare coating on the plasma screen display. After wiping the screen gently with the cleaning solution, follow up with a dry cloth. When wiping the screen, be gentle. Don't apply a lot of pressure. Some cleaners made specifically for plasma screens are anti-static so that they prevent dust from adhering to the surface after cleaning. I make my own with half distilled water and half isopropyl (70%, it's cheaper). Using big cheap spray bottles from the hardware. I do the same thing with methanol, but mostly use methanol mix for cleaning plastic and metal parts. Note: motorcycle screens and shields want water only. No chemistry.

lol, thank you... that made my day...

http://easyridersevents.com/ http://easyridersevents.com/BS2009/bs2009_columbus.html February 13-15 @ Veteran's Memorial, Columbus, Ohio One of the guys I rode with last year won this event with a metric custom. A bike he rides all the time, not just for show.

Don't they sell feral cats at the bait shop? 10 bucks for 3 or something?

Dang, that's worth it just for a supply of parts for me...

This will probably never be a street bike. It's a race bike only. Hydrogen for potential street bikes. It's the only way. Electric, like this one, is only capable of short term high energy output. Electrics race very well, for the shorter distances. This bike only weighs 364 pounds claimed, approx 54hp equivalent. But it only gets 20 to 40 miles range. I could ride it back and forth to work, but that's all. Too expensive for that.

Yeah, electrics sneak up on you on the street and parking lots. Creeps me out. Keep fingers crossed for decent hydrogen bikes.