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86129squids
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 04:04 pm: | 
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Interesting story...
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/21/148773520/americans- hit-the-brakes-on-nascar |
Notpurples2
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 04:45 pm: |
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I'd jump at the chance to drive one of those cars or even sit and drool over one. Hell the motors alone are just amazing.
However, NASCAR is about as entertaining as watching flies procreate.
This is coming from a southern kid who grew up wrenching on cars and who's first car was a 67 Fairlane that I shoe-horned a 429cj into.
My dad watched the races but I couldn't stand it after about 3 laps. |
Johnnylunchbox
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 05:15 pm: |
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I only watch the road courses. I wish there was more than 4. |
Dwardo
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 02:05 pm: |
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The post from NPR is more a "look under the hood" of NPR than anything else. I don't disagree with it, really, but it is couched in the terminology used by leftists when speaking to other leftists. This month's HOT ROD magazine has an excellent editorial on what has happened to NASCAR that makes the point I was trying to make in a previous post. Also an excellent article about NASCAR "when it mattered". |
86129squids
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 02:20 pm: |
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Oh gawrshh, please pardon me for following NPR.
I'm fully aware that I'm probably the ONLY one here who appreciates their content, but I didn't pick up on the "terminology", only the gist of the article. Somehow I've probably sinned anyway, just by going to their website...
I DO care about NASCAR as a cultural and historical institution, even though I don't personally care for it as a fan- Dwardo, if you can, post up those links you mentioned. (Unless they're only available in meatspace...)
Thanks! |
Guell
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 02:27 pm: |
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I dunno, all my friends and I loved tinkering with our cars, maybe we aren't the norm. I guess its why I dislike new cars so much with al the electrical crap in them.
I've been to a few NASCAR races, and even those get boring. I respect it as a sport but it isn't fun to watch |
Dwardo
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 03:43 pm: |
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I have spent some time looking, and I don't think the editorial is available online. Can't blame them, it's from the latest issue and so still on the newsstands.
Squids, I didn't really mean to step on any toes, but tone and innuendo of the article you posted just hit me the wrong way even if I accept the general premise. What's with the "old white guy" thing? Yes, NASCAR is no doubt 99.999999 percent a white past time. So what? How does that detract from whatever merits it might have? What irritates me is imagining the writer knowingly nodding his head as he wrote it ... surely his audience would know exactly whom he meant. Rubes. Hicks. "Not our kind, dear". In any event, I'm sorry if I offended you. Rant mode off.
Guell, I have myself observed the lack of interest that kids display. Some years ago, my uncle and I were working on our Hudson outdoors and a few feet away from the street. An endless parade of young males were walking, skateboarding, and bicycling past the driveway, and I saw exactly zero interest. If two guys had been working on an old car when I was a kid, you couldn't have beaten me off with a stick. I have several friends whose teenage sons (SONS, mind you) have absolutely no interest in a driver's license. I can't even believe that but it's true. A driver's license not only gave us access to wonderful machines, it meant unparalleled freedom! I don't get it at all. I guess they would rather be in the basement playing video games. Sigh. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 05:00 pm: |
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quote:I have several friends whose teenage sons (SONS, mind you) have absolutely no interest in a driver's license. I can't even believe that but it's true.
Why? Cars are slowly dying out. I've been reading for years how the average American is traveling less and less, and less cars both new and used are being purchased. I'm sure the economy has a bit to do with it, but times are changing, it is easy to live without a car. In 2008, there were 1,751,505 registered cars in NYC. A city where over 8 million people live, and only 1.7 million cars. The rest of NY state, which does not have an elaborate public transport system has 7,220,517 cars with 11,290,064 bodies. Cars just aren't needed as much anymore, I am one of the few among my friends that even has a license, and even fewer have a vehicle. (Hell I still don't own any cars). They are expensive to buy, maintain, register, and insure. The cost makes them not worth the hassle to many, who would rather rent a Zipcar on the rare occasion they would need to benefit from the perks of private transportation.
quote:A driver's license not only gave us access to wonderful machines, it meant unparalleled freedom!
That is no longer the case, as times change, freedoms have changed. The internet and computers today are what the highway system was 50 years ago.
quote: I guess they would rather be in the basement playing video games. Sigh.
Yep, times change, we can go more places and experience more things in our basement than you could ever possibly do with a car. Computers and video games can be a great source of entertainment, education, creativity, and skill improving in ways not possible with an automobile.
Kids might not have an interest in fixing an old Hudson, because it might never be relevant to them in the future. I am a car guy, and honestly I have never heard of Hudson before the movie Cars came out, so take that for what it is worth.
And back on subject, Nascar sucks.  |
Dwardo
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 05:25 pm: |
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Froggy, there is so much about that post that I would like to respond to, but won't, that I'll just say this: Show me an internet or a video game that a dog can stick its head out of to smell the road and feel the wind. I like my internet a lot. If I had to choose between the internet and even one of my vehicles? Easy choice. |
Badlionsfan
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 05:54 pm: |
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Froggy, you're a weird little dude living in a bubble with absolutely no clue how the rest of the world or even country works. NYC is the only city with car ownership percentages like that. Public transportation will never replace the automobile in this country. My commute is 15 miles each way, traveling thru the cuyahoga valley national park. Google it, it's just like being there I'm sure. It'd take hours to get there via bus, if the buses even ran during my commute hrs, which they don't.
The Internet is great, but it should be called Un-social media cuz it's creating a generation of socially retarded hermits that can't communicate in person. I like the Internet as much as the next guy, use facebook to stay in touch with people I know from real life that have moved and such. Ask people here that know me, I'm the same person in real life as I am here. Why? Because I bring my personality from the real world here, and don't portray some persona I created at a keyboard in my mothers basement.
Technology is a great tool, but when it defines who you are, you become the tool. |
Guell
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 06:32 pm: |
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Why? Cars are slowly dying out.
What? Cars arnt needed anymore? I seemed to miss that memo since i put 16k a year on my truck on average.
That is no longer the case, as times change, freedoms have changed. The internet and computers today are what the highway system was 50 years ago
no they arnt, i dont even see how you can make that comparison. How is the internet going to take a date out on a friday night? Maybe kids are just screwed up today and want to stay in their parents house...
Yep, times change, we can go more places and experience more things in our basement than you could ever possibly do with a car
once again, wrong. You wont experience anything in front of a computer, you might view it, but it is not experiencing it. Why do you ever ride a motorcycle when you could have a video game and just take a bus everywhere? And as far as being a car guy... i think it was just recently you bought your first torque wrench. I dont need to expound on that anymore. |
Badlionsfan
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 06:53 pm: |
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no they arnt, i dont even see how you can make that comparison. How is the internet going to take a date out on a friday night?
Guys living Froggy's lifestyle don't have to worry about dates. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 08:50 pm: |
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quote:Show me an internet or a video game that a dog can stick its head out of to smell the road and feel the wind.
One problem with gaming is trying to describe the experience to others. It isn't easy, it is like trying to describe color to someone who cannot see. You would need to experience it for yourself first hand.
quote:If I had to choose between the internet and even one of my vehicles? Easy choice.
Very easy choice indeed, my life can still function like normal if I didn't have any vehicles if I ever wanted to shed the herd.
quote:Froggy, you're a weird little dude living in a bubble with absolutely no clue how the rest of the world or even country works.
Perhaps I am not just blinded by the old way of doing things? Nah, can't be that.
quote:. NYC is the only city with car ownership percentages like that.
Nope. It is the top, but not the only one.
List of U.S. cities with most households without a car:
1. New York City, New York 55.7%
2. Newark, New Jersey 44.17%
3. Jersey City, New Jersey 40.67%
4. Washington, D.C. 36.93%
5. Hartford, Connecticut 36.14%
6. Baltimore, Maryland 35.89%
7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 35.74%
8. Boston, Massachusetts 34.91%
9. Buffalo, New York 31.42%
10. New Haven, Connecticut 29.74%
11. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 29.45%
12. Paterson, New Jersey 29.32%
13. Chicago, Illinois 28.85%
14. San Francisco, California 28.56%
15. Cambridge, Massachusetts 27.72%
16. New Orleans, Louisiana 27.32%
17. Yonkers, New York 27.05%
18. Miami, Florida 26.71%
19. Syracuse, New York 26.56%
20. Rochester, New York 25.32%
21. Elizabeth, New Jersey 25.21%
22. St. Louis, Missouri 25.17%
23. Cleveland, Ohio 24.57%
24. Bridgeport, Connecticut 23.77%
25. Atlanta, Georgia 23.58%
26. Cincinnati, Ohio 23.37%
27. Providence, Rhode Island 22.92%
28. Springfield, Massachusetts 22.52%
29. Detroit, Michigan 21.9%
30. Richmond, Virginia 21.63%
31. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 21.36%
32. East Los Angeles, California 21.24%
33. Louisville, Kentucky 20.47%
34. Dayton, Ohio 19.97%
35. Minneapolis, Minnesota 19.7%
36. Oakland, California 19.62%
37. Waterbury, Connecticut 19.46%
38. Gary, Indiana 19.37
39. Honolulu, Hawaii 19.36%
40. Allentown, Pennsylvania 18.84%
41. Erie, Pennsylvania 18.2%
42. Worcester, Massachusetts 18.11%
43. Savannah, Georgia 17.64%
44. Lowell, Massachusetts 17.05%
45. Berkeley, California 17.01%
46. Norfolk, Virginia 17.01%
47. St. Paul, Minnesota 16.83%
48. Birmingham, Alabama 16.77%
49. Los Angeles, California 16.53%
50. Seattle, Washington 16.32%
quote: Public transportation will never replace the automobile in this country.
I never said it would, but you will be seeing an increase demand for trains and buses as gas prices go up and the cost of commuting by car rises.
quote: My commute is 15 miles each way, traveling thru the cuyahoga valley national park. Google it, it's just like being there I'm sure. It'd take hours to get there via bus, if the buses even ran during my commute hrs, which they don't.
Yep I am in the same situation, my commute is about 35 miles each way, and while not impossible by bus/train, it also would take a long while.
quote:The Internet is great, but it should be called Un-social media cuz it's creating a generation of socially retarded hermits that can't communicate in person. I like the Internet as much as the next guy, use facebook to stay in touch with people I know from real life that have moved and such. Ask people here that know me, I'm the same person in real life as I am here. Why? Because I bring my personality from the real world here, and don't portray some persona I created at a keyboard in my mothers basement.
The Internet is about the same as motorcycling when it comes to socializing. It can be inherently social or antisocial depending on how you use it. You can use them to share good times and communicate with others, or you can use them on your own to do your own thing and see things you haven't seen before. By typing this, I am doing the former.
I personally am the same in person an online, but I am just a bit shyer in real life. I didn't post much on here when I first joined, but once I got comfortable and learned some names and faces I opened up, I am the same way in real life too. Ask Fritz and Mike Davidson and the others I went with to Buelltoberfest, thousand miles down in a truck and I didn't say a word till we got there!
quote:Technology is a great tool, but when it defines who you are, you become the tool.
That is a good one, I'll have to remember that for the future
quote:What? Cars arnt needed anymore? I seemed to miss that memo since i put 16k a year on my truck on average.
I never said they aren't needed anymore, but that their overall use is decreasing.
quote:How is the internet going to take a date out on a friday night?
You have never used the internet to assist in planning a date? It sure beats the hell out of calling Moviephone!
quote:once again, wrong. You wont experience anything in front of a computer, you might view it, but it is not experiencing it.
Again like I said earlier, you are still experiencing things, just different things.
quote:Why do you ever ride a motorcycle when you could have a video game and just take a bus everywhere?
I do enjoy motorcycling, but I do ask myself that on occasion, especially when I just paid a $2500 insurance bill, $700 for tires, and $200 for registration for the year. I do enjoy it, but is it really worth the cost? Gaming is quite a bit cheaper for sure!
quote:And as far as being a car guy... i think it was just recently you bought your first torque wrench. I dont need to expound on that anymore.
I don't see what that has to do with anything. I wasn't born with a socket set in my mouth. I want to save money by working on my own bikes, so I bought some tools to do so. The cash I spent on that torque wrench could of bought me a new mouse pad and some other goodies.
quote:Guys living Froggy's lifestyle don't have to worry about dates.
Being a trucker I doubt you do much dating outside of highway rest stops too  |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 09:06 pm: |
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But he doesnt live in Mommas basement with pink pony bedding.
I know the worlds dangerous but when momma moves to Fla Condos have no basements!
Reality will really bite when you finally meet it
Public transportation has reached it zenith outside of the areas that presently use it. Its a dead end the density of population required to fund it with ridership is not there.
Florida had the good sense to send the money back. All of the passenger rail out side of the NE is subsidized by local taxes.
So Froggy stay in Ny we are not willing to fund your CHEAP rides in Florida.
About 4 years in the Marines would help out a little. Boot camp You ll love it.
(Message edited by kenm123t on March 22, 2012) |
Boltrider
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 09:14 pm: |
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Froggy, your insurance bill, tire cost and such is spread over 3 or 4 bikes, yes? You gotta pay to play, but you know that already.
I stopped buying video games because of what they were doing to me. My addictive personality would have me dive right in, turning me into a bum after getting the latest title. Wasting eight solid hours in front of the tube with controller in hand wasn't uncommon.
Now I have a more healthy addiction in motorcycles. So far, I like it. NASCAR? I just can't get there. I've tried and I don't like it. |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 09:24 pm: |
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LOL remember that guy that died playing video games over the net.
Now we know how Froggy goes found in chair all dried up LOL Mom passed away he didnt notice she did'nt feed him now he's gone lol I can see the news report.  |
86129squids
| | Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 10:39 pm: |
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Thanks Dwardo- I'll try to find that mag. |
Griffmeister
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 12:10 am: |
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Wow, $2500 for a single rider? What, do they think you can hop on all four at the same time? One hell of a circus act, though. |
Griffmeister
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 12:12 am: |
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Oh yeah, the title of the thread. It's just WWE on rubber and asphalt. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 10:45 am: |
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Ken, I've had funtime with my girlfriend in my pony bed, so apparently I am doing something right!
As gas prices continue to rise as they are, it will become more economical to take public transportation, you will see ridership increase resulting in less need for tax subsidies. As demand increases you will see more routes added to further expand your travels. It is a bit of a chicken and egg thing, but it will happen sooner or later.
I doubt I am cut out for boot camp, I am too out of shape.
quote:Froggy, your insurance bill, tire cost and such is spread over 3 or 4 bikes, yes? You gotta pay to play, but you know that already.
Yep currently 4, soon to be 5. I don't know why I keep doing it to myself! 
I hear you on the addictive personality thing, I don't get addicted but it is easy to see how it happens. Hell I've sunk many 20+ hour sessions in WoW back in the day.
quote:LOL remember that guy that died playing video games over the net.
Which one? I know of at least a dozen cases, mostly in China and Korea of people dying at internet cafes. Hell I've even heard about people literally killing others over stealing in game items! Sometimes people get a little overboard.
Just and FYI, while my mother still cooks for me, I am capable of making Hot Pockets on my own. |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 12:50 pm: |
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Hot pockets lol fake food
So you Gf is 12 she probably has Barbie bedding. Women a challenge for you ? |
Strokizator
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 01:07 pm: |
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Yep, times change, we can go more places and experience more things in our basement than you could ever possibly do with a car.
Yeah, and my virtual dates are way hotter than anybody who would go out with me in real life.
Bad news though, Froggy, nobody "experiences" anything on a computer. You can see the Grand Canyon but you can't experience it. You can see a picture of the General Grant giant sequoia but will have no perspective on its magnitude. The Great Barrier Reef looks like an aquarium on your computer. How does skydiving feel on the computer? Does it hurt when a ninja cuts you in half with his sword? You can do stunts on a flight simulator but they don't give you the sensation of negative G's or make you want to hurl.
Any day I can spend outside, that's where I'll be. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 01:08 pm: |
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Actually she is a cougar, and indeed she is a challenge, but a fun one at that! I got her watching ponies, she isn't going to be a full on brony like me but she does enjoy the show. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 01:16 pm: |
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quote:Bad news though, Froggy, nobody "experiences" anything on a computer.
I am sorry, but that is flat out not true. Like I said before, it is a different set of things you experience. Video games can immerse you similar to how television, movies, and books can, but to a whole new level. There are many things you can experience in games that you could never possibly come close to in real life, be it interacting with alien life forms, commanding large armies, or the thrill of winning a race by a hair. (That last one is a bit more possible in real life though). |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 01:29 pm: |
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"Computer games" is playing Guitar Hero. Real life is learning to play guitar. There is little comparison. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 01:35 pm: |
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Right, which is why nobody mentioned anything about Guitar Hero being anything related to playing a real guitar, but you can get a guitar with software that listens and evaluates you, allowing you to learn how to play and improve your skills. Similar to Rosetta Stone. |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 01:43 pm: |
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FROGGY leave your MOMS friends alone!
LOL Shopping for a new basement lol |
Darth_villar
| | Posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 - 05:25 pm: |
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I play video games well enough to win money on occasion.
I also served in the Infantry.
Stereotypes are just that.
By the way, I play Rocksmith. It is like guitar hero, except that you use a REAL guitar, and it teaches you REAL songs, chords, scales, etc. |
86129squids
| | Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2012 - 02:57 am: |
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I think Froggy groks OK.
(Simulacron/Panopticon ON, just in time to hit my pillow, in 3, 2, 1........)
 |
86129squids
| | Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2012 - 02:59 am: |
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Dang.
Gotta go look for some used sci-fi novels now.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2012 - 09:39 am: |
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DArth we are talking about Froggy We have computer games but they do not take the place of real life.
I remember a Sci Fi short story that detailed folks like Froggy. bsically they hooked you up to the computer directly and the goal in life was to work only long enough to make retirement where you were grafted into a computer interface and lived in the VR world
When the computer world becomes more important in your life than reality you have a problem. The only difference is your hooked on silicon rather than external meds. |
Firebolt020283
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 02:00 pm: |
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You know I kinda do understand were that NPR article is going...has anyone watched the new 21 jump street movie? It is basically about 2 cops that are from my generation (i am only 29) going back to school with todays kids and they are shocked that today being cool is not the kid with the cool car who is a bad ass...but the geek who worries about the environment and knows about computers. so what NPR and froggy is saying is kinda true.
To me it sucks for us motor heads as we seem to be a dying breed.
I mean look at all of the selling points of new cars...they can interact with your smart phone, they have so many mpgs, they have this many tv screens or airbags ect. it is no longer they have this many hp and they look cool. Hell the charger once known for being The muscle car is now just a 4 door family car, and the impala doesn't even deserve its name. Yes they still have a few cars for us motor heads but not as many as once before. and there is less and less 2 door coups today then say 10 years ago.
(Message edited by firebolt020283 on March 28, 2012) |
Kenm123t
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 07:10 pm: |
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The problem is thses kids need a testosterone test they running a little low
I wonder if its from eating hormone dosed Chicken it seems the only food they eat is chicken or like froggy Hot pockets. Biggest bunch of Sissy boys and As Arnold said Girly men I have ever witnessed.
My stepson is scared of Motorcycles No problem keeping him off he wont even ride two up. Scared of every thing! Sad to think Guys like Froggy will never really live. Froggy what video game is on your bucket list LOLOL |
Gixxer86g
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 07:20 pm: |
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Froggy lists thre NJ cities that compare to NYC. Newark, Jersey City and Paterson. Reason? Everyone is either too poor for a car, they all use the same car, or somebody stole the car. |
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