Doc1647545523

If there's interest, I'd be willing to meet up with some CR folks and take them to a good spot to view the supermoon. Meet at the Polaris Sonic at 7:45 tonight. Drive nearby to Alum Creek. Watch the bad moon rise from the warmth of our cars. Return to the Polaris Red Robin or Wholey Joes, or Five Guys around 8:30 or 9, or whenever we're done with the moon view. Later, turn into werewolves and terrorize some ricers. Interest?

Combine eats with skygazing: http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90692 It could be a CR extreme supermeet

Click for background soundtrack: If it stays clear into the early evening, you may get the chance to see a fairly dramatic moon rise tonight. Look to the east tonight just after sunset (around 8 p.m.) and you'll likely see the largest moon in memory. Tonight is a supermoon, an event which occurs about every 18 years. The moon is at perigee tonight, which means it's about 31,000 miles closer to the earth than it is when at its farthest point (apogee). The moon appears 14% larger and 30% brighter at perigee than at apogee. It's a full moon tonight, and it's also forecast to be clear. Pretty rare event for us. Viewing the moon as it rises (or as it sets) also gives the illusion of it being larger, as it appears against a terrestrial foreground, e.g., buildings and trees. So, get someplace around 8 p.m. tonight where you have an unobstructed view of the east horizon and enjoy.

Good to meet you, too, AJ. Sorry I didn't take more time to talk and show you the car, but it was the first I've seen a lot of the folks for months and I didn't do a good job of keeping up with everyone. Plus, I got cold and had to retreat to the car to warm up for awhile. I thought it was a decent turnout, considering the rain earlier and the wind. Police didn't seem to have any problems when they drove through and there wasn't much ricer nonsense. Seems as though things may be off to a decent start for the year.

Wow, I had no idea. It sounds like regal opulence. I'll no doubt feel like a whore in a 10 dollar dress in my ride. Please don't park near me--it would make my shame unbearable.

Looking dry for now. I guess HD around 9:30 or 10 is where it'll be at.

I feel your pain, bro. Even a drive across time must seem excruciatingly long in an Azera.

Let me know if you decide to go. If so, I'll bring the Century out just for you.

If the weather forecast holds true, it should be warm and dry tonight. Any meetups planned besides Sawmill? Saturday night is supposed to be 10 degrees cooler. Stopping by tonight to heckle Howard's band is an option, but we prolly can't make a whole night out of that.

1019 Mediterranean Avenue, across from The Continent/old French Market, in case someone wasn't familiar with the area. Is there a cover charge, Howard? What time does it kick off?

Waiting too long to pull out has produced some even more expensive mistakes Be thankful this one just cost a few large. After the tech bubble burst and I lost a fortune, I've been strickly with Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit protection on annuities. It cuts into the profits you see when the market rises, but guarantees you don't lose any principal (plus interest) if the market tanks. I didn't lose a cent when the mortage meltdown happened a few years ago. If you're investing your retirement money (or any money you can't afford to lose), it's the best way to go IMHO. I don't pretend to know alot about the market, but I've found this old cliche to be true: Bulls can make money, Bears can make money, but Pigs always lose.

I find that version of the future very scary. For example, what's with the husband getting up first, cooking breakfast, and getting the kids ready for school? Let's hope it never comes to that. And why don't the cars fly? I've been promised flying cars for 50 years. So, where are they? I'm tired of waiting. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/lewis-black.jpg

I'm planning on being there. I'll bring along your Bentley swag in case you make it out.

Welcome, Joe. It sounds as though you're a real enthusiast--owning, working on, flipping cars. Lots of guys here into that and also many of us enjoy shooting and bikes. Although you posted a link to some photos, I'd still suggest you take the photos you have of your rides and host them so that they can appear in your intro thread. I hope to see you at some of our track days and meets. + rep

Just for a little different point of view: Drive something you really enjoy. You're going to pocket some profit on your mileage reimbursement with nearly any car you choose. You're spending hours on the road, so enjoy that time; think of it as your "trip to the spa" numerous times each week. I'm not saying it's got to be in a new Porsche. I enjoy driving my Buick and the 81 diesel Merc as well as my "nicer" cars. I'm sure there are lots of cars you love to drive as well. A year ago I was driving to Kentucky nearly every week. At the end of the day, I looked forward to the 4 hour drive home. My .02

Bingo. :nod: I would just add that it's tempting to begin improving the space, but it makes the most sense to keep it unfinished except for possibly some basic storage and a tornado shelter. It's a very rare basement that doesn't eventually develop moisture issues of some sort. Mold, mildew, and radon gas can cause insidious health problems in any home, but I believe they are more likely to do so in homes with basements.

Carnage photos by OneSlow04GEETEE: http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carnage4.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carnage3.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carnage2.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carnage.jpg http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/carnage5.jpg

Remember, Brian, he can't post to the thread, or even view it, after he's repped-in.

Welcome to CR. Very sharp car. Good luck with the rebuild. Hope to see you a track days/meets once it's finished. The only good thing about a meltdown is that it motivates you to rebuild it right. + rep

I'd say what you need is a nice big, safe, comfortable 4-door Buick LeSabre with a huge trunk and the dependable 3800 Series II motor which consistently delivers 30+ mpg. I happen to know where an unmolested one is available for trade on this highly impractical car you've listed.

I wouldn't say you're "completely off." I think it's a valid observation that the science we're taught in junior high and high school is a simplified version of things (Newtonian physics). Advanced study later on in the educational process shows us that things are actually more complicated (Relativity). But Relativity is counter-intuitive and also is not very useful to the understanding of 99.9% of what we observe and measure. I don't see the advantage of trying to teach that to children who are challenged by abstract reasoning, even though it's a more accurate description of things than is provided by Newtonian physics. A more extreme example: in first and second grade, when we learn subtraction, we are taught we "can't take a big number away from a small number." The teacher proves this to us by saying, "If you only have five apples in the basket, you can't take away ten apples from your five." This helps us understand subtraction at an elementary level. Later on in school you learn that in fact, you can subtract a large number from a small number; if it's five degrees outside and the temperature drops ten degrees, it's then negative five degrees outside. So, did your first grade teacher lie to you? Perhaps, but I would say it was a misrepresentation which helped you understand subtraction until your mind was later ready to grasp the concept of negative numbers. Try teaching negative numbers to someone just trying to learn substraction. I think you'll find the concept is too complex and confusing to grasp at that time. It's much the same in teaching physics in middle school and high school. Students are introduced, in a fairly superficial way, to the concept that time is a dimension and is not absolute. However, they don't have the math skills and generally don't have the sophisticated abstraction needed to fully wrap their minds around Relativity. For the problems of their world, Newtonian physics works fine. For that matter, what physics do we need for the race track or for the drag strip? Newtonian. For driving on an icy street? Newtonian. For throwing a football? Newtonian. You need to switch over to Relativity for improved accuracy in calculations on atomic levels, and for things approaching physical limits (speed of light, huge gravitational fields). I think you'll find that there are many other fields of knowledge that use oversimplifications (which are to some degree inaccurate) in their initial teaching. Is a child's religious understanding the same as an adult's? We talk to a child about the sun "coming up" and "going down" but later teach them that it doesn't really do those things. It seems to me that Relativity is one of those things that you need to learn after you're acquainted with the simpler explanations in physics. Unfortunately, most Americans never even get to the point of being comfortable with even basic physics. Getting back to your cousin's paper that you're "helping" her with, I'm not sure that teaching about Relativity is a very good example of socio/tech lag. Relativity theory goes back over a century--plenty of time for word to spread and for texts to be updated. I think it's more a matter of how our high tech world increasingly is created by a highly specialized science beyond the average person's education or understanding. Just one example of that from my own personal experience: When I was in high school, we did calculations on a slide rule. I could explain to you exactly how that tool worked. I could even make a primitive one if I needed to. Nowadays, I do the same calculations on a handheld calculator. It's faster and more accurate, but I haven't the faintest idea how it works and couldn't make one if my life depended on it.

I appreciate that.

No one here interested in doing this? Anyone you can suggest who will do good work?

One of the best ways we can help children become more culturally aware and considerate is by teaching history, empathy, and tolerance in the schools. It's not the only way to teach these things, but it's an important one. It sounds as though that was exactly what the school was trying to do. According to the quotation, "a parent" took issue with this method. The parent certainly has a right to object, but should one parent's opinion determine the curriculum? If so, if that parent objects to even mentioning slavery, should we delete it from all early American history and the Civil War? If a pacifist parent objects to teaching about wars because they "glorify violence," should we delete the subject of war from history class? Kids have to learn about the low points of human behavior as well as the beautiful ones. If teaching exercises are done in a balanced, interactive way, it should not be a problem. "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." -Winston Churchill (also George Santayana, Edmund Burke)

If you have experience with black piano lacquer wood finishes, I have an unusual project that I'd like to leave with you. It's not a rush job, and I need top quality results. Before I took this to a professional shop, I thought I'd offer it here, possibly save some money for me and help someone make some cash on the side. PM me or post to the thread and we'll talk specifics.