| Author | Message | ||
     Aesquire |
Next time! Oh, I'm home, but I'm going back. A Colorado guy maybe doesn't consider it a mountain if there's trees covering it and rock isn't the primary color.  But the Blue Ridge Parkway nicely shows off cliffs and elevations I'd cheerfully take off from and serious soaring is likely. Running off the road and plummeting for comedic times is a real possibility. So yeah, they're worn down by millennia of weathering, but what's left absolutely qualify as mountain country, especially when you're climbing into and rolling down out of the clouds. A road to a series of balconies designed to show off natural views. As a Depression work program, there weren't environmental impact assessment issues with carving a path just because it's lovely. Comparing it to the Great Wall of China as a project is fair. Weekday is the right time for touristy adventures. I got a $299 hotel room for 107 for tue-thur. Holiday inn Express king suite... Traffic was light, people great. People... met a local with a gorgeous '13 Moto Guzi V7, who couldn't get it started... loaned him a cell to call wife. Hope he got loaded up & home, but I admit to quiet amusement at the overheard bits when volume got louder. Just imagine the conversation... First asking wife for rescue, explaining why it's not your number, then talking her through getting the ramp out of the ceiling of your garage.... Not sure he appreciated the comment it was my fault for praising his bikes looks and giving her an attitude. Funniest thing was folk that looked at our group and were excited by the 1964 Honda. Got 100% of the compliments and nostalgia "I sent to college on one..." On the road, & in camp. Technology, custom paint, not a hint of enthusiasm. The old bike with '68-'72 college parking stickers literally pulled out of a barn, ( no sh$%, an actual barn find ) buried in dirt halfway up the engine, resurrected, but not restored, engine swapped... Won the cool bike award. Second place, the recalcitrant but lovely Guzi.... | ||
| Aesquire |
A combination of good advice and bad... I could be wrong! But braking should stop you faster ( and better! ) than dropping your bike to skid ballistic out of control. Am I ignorant here? | ||
| Ourdee |
Yea, right! Get it any way you want it on the web. | ||
| Ducbsa |
Safety! | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/a6ERGrq | ||
| Tpehak |
But braking on motorcycle you have less steering control than surfing on skidding motorcycle. | ||
| 86129squids |
 Drift much? Obviously no steel-toe. | ||
| Tpehak |
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| Oldog |
But braking on motorcycle you have less steering control than surfing on skidding motorcycle. }Drift much? Obviously no steel-toe. }Nah no skills, and little experience The first statement is obviously in conflict with reality..... not to bright but entertaining .. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/abVn2zr The whole idea that "I had to lay it down" instead of, say, steering around a crash or braking & avoiding has always amused and appalled me. I once was riding my GS1100E on a 6 lane expressway coming into a split in the far left lane ( splitting left ) when the car in front slammed on his brakes, the guy behind me didn't & the guy in the next lane dove for my space. I kicked down 2-3 gears, hammered the throttle and S-turned burning rubber into a wheelie through the closing gap, had to tap the brake to get the front end down to counter steer hard left again, back on the throttle and into the space in front of the panic braking car that had been in front, going over 85 ( how much? No idea ) straightened back out in my original lane, hard on the brakes as I passed a State Trooper in the "no U turn" median cut. Still well over 85. Quite the loud and radical maneuver. He just gave me a thumbs up as I passed. I'd like to claim superior skills but it really was just going for the only holes available and not giving up piloting the machine through. | ||
| Hootowl |
https://www.foxnews.com/us/navy-helicopter-crash-s an-diego-sailors-missing-uss-abraham-lincoln This seems to imply that it crashed onto the ship, likely while landing. I did a westpac/gulf deployment on Lincoln as ship’s company in the aircraft intermediate maintenance department. I hope they find the rest of them. I don’t hold out much hope. Theoretically everyone onboard and everyone on the flight deck were wearing float coats, but it’s 100 feet to the sea from the flight deck. If they didn’t auto-inflate, those folks likely aren’t going to resurface. 60 miles off the socal coast the Pacific is 700-1000 feet already. The folks in the 60 will probably be recovered eventually but the people who fell off the flight deck might be gone. Man overboard on a carrier often results in death. | ||
| Zac4mac |
We lost a CH-53 on a WESTPAC in the early 80’s. Moderate seas, maintenance teams were working on it with blades turning on the forward starboard pad. It was chained down but only 4-point when 6-point should have been used (findings from investigators). Hard starboard roll snapped a chain with the others following with the helo rolling over the side, tearing up a bunch of catwalk and several of my transmitter antennae. We immediately spotted 7 floaters that were 6 aircrew and a flight deck chief. All of the aircrew were recovered except the co-pilot. Flight deck ops are very dangerous. Z Speaking of flight ops, I really enjoy living between Cheyenne and Colorado Springs. Yesterday, I got to watch 4 or 5 pair of F-15s and a chevron of 5 F-16! Afterburners on 2000 feet up, airspeed just subsonic, it was visceral. Best airshow I’ve seen in a long time! (Message edited by zac4mac on September 02, 2021) | ||
| Ourdee |
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| Ourdee |
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| 86129squids |
I've always tried to ride like Gary Nixon, FWIW. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/a9E9ERK future historians are going to look back at us and go, "What the F$%^?!" | ||
| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/agBPoG6 ditto | ||
| Tpehak |
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| Aesquire |
https://9gag.com/gag/apNyKrB I've seen surfers hit the waves with jet skis tow, kites, sails, electric boards, even gasoline engines... but, Damn. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I hate links but this is too good to not pass on. Lawrence Welk doing One Toke Over the Line. https://youtu.be/t8tdmaEhMHE Yay serendipity Z | ||
| Ourdee |
Fascist Book is down, LOL | ||
| 86129squids |
Well sheissen and merde. I guess CL is the way to go to sell stuff. FB always creeped me out, anyway. Damn algorithms. Wasn't that rich kid invited into space to stay there...? | ||
| Hootowl |
Damn right. | ||
| Aesquire |
On a lighter note, I've been watching coffee nut videos. After a comparison of grinders ( precision electric ) from $1550-3450 I bought a $25.95 manual one and it's a nice workout as I read the news. After watching multiple conflicting ways to get perfection out of a pour over brewer, ( stir a prime number widershins with a bone spoon made from... ) I came upon the coffee gizmo called the Clever Dripper. It uses a Melita style paper cone, in a plastic cone thing with a valve on the bottom. Basically you put in a filter, a scoop of ground coffee, then add boiling water. Stir, swirl, chant, your choice, wait some magic time over 2.5 minutes, ( I set the stove timer to 3. More doesn't improve or ruin. ) Then pick up the gizmo and set it on your cup. It drains through the filter. Dump filter & used coffee grounds in trash, rinse gizmo, repeat or let dry. James Hoffman, YT coffee freak, Brit, recommends a precision technique involving scales, tenth of a gram accuracy, and arcane ritual. ( I think it's 73rd level Masonic, but I might be wrong ) I just eyeball it, try to get it all wet, and copy his fancy swirl the gizmo move to wash/sweep the grounds off the sides of the filter, 20-30 seconds before I put it on my cup. Pretty much just playing with hot water. It makes good coffee. You get the body of a French press, without the grounds or mud, it's less critical of technique than a pour over, and is Far easier to clean up than a French press. But it's only big enough for 2 smallish cups or one decently big mug. Coffee quality still matters. It will make the best cup of Maxwell House you ever had, but it's still cheap coffee. I've been drinking the BJ's house brand preground Peruvian, ( medium roast ) and like it. But I freely admit fresh ground is better, and a Kenyan or other regional you enjoy is great. Worth a try IMHO. Sure, it's edging into insanity fanaticism or gourmet if you prefer, but it's the easy cheap end of madness, and golly gee it does it well. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Try some Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, and report back on your findings. Ever since I read about it in a Tom Clancy novel, I've been interested in it. | ||
| 86129squids |
There's a great Cuban cafe in Copper Hill that has coffee that they've had brought in by friends... in Miami. Blows Bustelo out of the water. Smuggled in! YUM. The Dominican was pleased.  | ||
| Fireboltwillie |
Brad, i grew up on bustelo and have had more than i care to remember. I lost my taste for espresso roast quite a few years ago, so i won't touch it unless there is nothing else around. i am fortunate that here in the panhandle of florida, my local supermarket carries my favorite (and relatively inexpensive) coffee from puerto rico (I'm biased since pr is the motherland to my family).... yaucono is fabulous and on par with jamaican blue mountain. pr has some impressive coffee's and a long history of production. but i'm biased... | ||
| Aesquire |
I've had Jamaican Blue Mt. A Japanese company bought much of the plantation land decades ago & that's why it's expensive. And I probably can't get & didn't try the best. It's good. My real coffee freak buddies tell me it's a medium everything, a good balance of the flavors and acidity etc. Baseline great. That's Not a knock. I do really like it. Call it the definition of good. PR? Have to try it. I'm not a coffee snob. I wouldn't pay for the cat crap stuff, but I'd try anything. I'm a long term caffeine addict who had to switch from sodas. Kenyan, Ethiopian, Guatemalan, all good, all different. Taste is taste. I prefer a medium roast with some "body" to it, and you can enjoy espresso or turkish, but I don't as much. That's the great thing about this bean soup. We don't have to like the same things and still like the stuff. I find it amazing that the stuff exists. The number of steps from picking to cup, including roasting and grinding... then Throwing It Away evolved over time from the origin myth of shepherds seeing their sheep get hyper after eating these berries... How? Huh? So unlikely. I'm lucky that there are local roasters and even the supermarket chain store brand stuff can be good. BJ's ( Sam's left the area ) house Kona is alright. A buddy calls it "one bean Kona" based on the theory you toss one bean in the truckload and label it. It's actually 50/50 Guatemalan? ( I'd have to go look in the freezer ) Oh, yeah Tip. If you use a blade grinder, your consistency won't be as good as a burr type, but it you shake it as you beat the beans to bits, it's ok for regular filter or French press. Espresso needs finer, which is possible but tedious. ( see https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3y7d-5KWHCU ) The good news is perfectly ground and sorted coffee might not be as good as "ok" ground because of the range of flavors released yadda yadda, so don't sweat it. But... Blade grinders produce enough heat to maybe change the flavor, so store your whole beans in the freezer and that solves that. I'm told you need a serious sub zero ( -40?) freezer to get "perfect" storage, but I just can't care much about stuff I can't afford. I keep mine in the door of a regular one. Enjoy. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I have a 30 year old Braun blade grinder. I get locally roasted French Roast whole beans at wallyworld. Got a Ninja pot with a Melitta brewcup that has 3 brew settings, I like “rich”. Beans live in the freezer until I’m ready to make a pot. I shake the grinder and hold it at, roughly, at a 45 and get consistently smooth joe. Sometimes I paint it with half and half or coffeemate vanilla caramel. I am a coffee snob but I usually keep it to myself. Z | ||
| Hootowl |
I’m a room temperature bean storage guy. Cold beans condensate when you open the bag. This introduces moisture to your very dry (they’ve had all the water driven out of them during roasting) beans, which can cause mold - even if you can’t see it. The idea that beans grind to a more consistent size when cold is true, but the temperatures they demonstrated that phenomenon at were cryogenic. Besides, if you absolutely have to get the perfect grind, get a burr grinder. |
