Things that are AWESOME...

[Doohicksie]

https://www.rt.com/usa/355799-satanic-temple-alaska-assembly/

 

This atheist lady led a satanic prayer before some city council or county assembly meeting in Alaska. I love it!

 

I think it belongs in this thread but I can put it in the politics thread as well since any debate about it will likely steer into political discourse.

 

As a Christian, this stuff irks me.  But I like it.  I mean, I realize that this is what happens in a democracy with equal protection under the law.  I don't have a problem with the satanic prayer part as much as I do with the fact that some zealot Christian started having a prayer at the meeting to begin with, and Christianity in general has been dickish enough about it that other groups (rightly) insist on expressing their rights in similar fashion.  If it were up to me I'd keep any invocation at a public gathering as generic as possible and move on. 

 

EDIT:  Oh look:  Jimmy Carter and I are on the same page.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Robin Egg

[Drunkard]

As a Christian, this stuff irks me.  But I like it.  I mean, I realize that this is what happens in a democracy with equal protection under the law.  I don't have a problem with the satanic prayer part as much as I do with the fact that some zealot Christian started having a prayer at the meeting to begin with, and Christianity in general has been dickish enough about it that other groups (rightly) insist on expressing their rights in similar fashion.  If it were up to me I'd keep any invocation at a public gathering as generic as possible and move on. 

 

EDIT:  Oh look:  Jimmy Carter and I are on the same page.

 

I agree too. If most Christians were more like you and Jimmy Carter I don't think I'd have nearly as much problem with religion as I do now.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Drunkard

[WildCard]

Down 9-4 in the last inning, 3 RBI triple to win the championship! A small thing, but I'm excited :beer:

[Doohicksie]

That's a BIG thing!  :worthy:

[ubkev]

 

How have I never seen this music video?!!?

 

Just plain awesome!

[SwampD]

 

How have I never seen this music video?!!?

 

Just plain awesome!

Not my favorite era of Rush. It looks like and SCTV skit. I can totally picture Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, and Catherine O'Hara floating around that studio.

Edited August 18, 2016 by SwampD

[Claude_Verret]

 

How have I never seen this music video?!!?

 

Just plain awesome!

 

Initially this wasn't one of my favorite Rush albums or songs, but now being in my mid-forties it certainly strikes a chord...

 

Summer's going fast

Nights growing colder

Children growing up

Old friends growing older

Freeze this moment

A little bit longer

Make each sensation

A little bit stronger

[WildCard]

That's a BIG thing! :worthy:

Thanks man! I felt pretty stoked about it. The trophies are huge for a rec league

[Weave]

New Metallica release with a serious old school thrash sound to it.

 

 

Better...

[darksabre]

New Metallica release with a serious old school thrash sound to it.

 

 

Better...

I wish I could like Metallica again. But they really broke me with St. Anger. I was the biggest Metallica fan you could find. It might have been all I listened to. I used to close my short lived radio show in college with a vinyl cut. But man...whatever it is that Metallica used to be, they ain't anymore. 

 

I think the problem for Metallica is that everything they do seems contrived. There are so many bands out there now doing Metallica better than Metallica. It's hard to imagine they're connecting with people on an emotional level anymore. They don't do anything for me like they used to. It's actually kind of depressing. 

[Randall Flagg]

Plus Lars is terrible. He makes them so hard for me to listen to even though I REALLY like 20 or so songs of theirs.

[darksabre]

Plus Lars is terrible. He makes them so hard for me to listen to even though I REALLY like 20 or so songs of theirs.

It's not that Lars, or any of them, are terrible. It's almost like they got too good to be Metallica anymore.

 

I blame Hetfield becoming a contented family man and sobering up. They rocked when he was in the .

[Randall Flagg]

It's not that Lars, or any of them, are terrible. It's almost like they got too good to be Metallica anymore.

 

I blame Hetfield becoming a contented family man and sobering up. They rocked when he was in the ######.

Good point about James. But I'll never think Lars is a good drummer. Maybe Peart and Bonzo have made me expect too much

[darksabre]

Good point about James. But I'll never think Lars is a good drummer. Maybe Peart and Bonzo have made me expect too much

I just don't need the drummer of Metallica to be a hero. I don't need Peart. He just needs to kick solid ass.

[Randall Flagg]

I just don't need the drummer of Metallica to be a hero. I don't need Peart. He just needs to kick solid ass.

I'd be fine with that too. But I'll get wrenched out of Orion or Call of Ktulu by his drumming, and I should be lost deeply when I hear those songs.

 

It's just not for me I guess.

[inkman]

I wish I could like Metallica again. But they really broke me with St. Anger. I was the biggest Metallica fan you could find. It might have been all I listened to. I used to close my short lived radio show in college with a vinyl cut. But man...whatever it is that Metallica used to be, they ain't anymore.

 

I think the problem for Metallica is that everything they do seems contrived. There are so many bands out there now doing Metallica better than Metallica. It's hard to imagine they're connecting with people on an emotional level anymore. They don't do anything for me like they used to. It's actually kind of depressing.

This is exactly where I'm at. Master of Puppets was my high school soundtrack. I stopped caring after the black album. Whatever they were to me was gone.

[wjag]

Scuba diving in Turks and Caicos. The water is so clear you can see down 60 feet or more. The colors of the fish are fantastic.

[JJFIVEOH]

Scuba diving in Turks and Caicos. The water is so clear you can see down 60 feet or more. The colors of the fish are fantastic.

 

Psst......

 

http://forums.sabrespace.com/topic/24128-photography-thread/

[pastajoe]

Bought a certified vehicle yesterday, a 2015 Grand Caravan Blacktop edition with 9k miles.  All black with aluminum wheels.  About as cool as a van can look.  Traded in my 2006 van that I've had for 10 years that had parts of it literally taped up with duct tape and no working A/C.  It will take awhile to get use to it.  Now I'm going to be paranoid about people scratching it in the parking lots.

[josie]

I'm going to try autocross for the first time Sunday. 

 

I'm kinda terrified, mostly of looking like a total idiot ( which I realize is unavoidable). But I like driving, so... why the hell not. 

 

All these years making fun of miatas, and here I go, driving my friend's miata... 

[Doohicksie]

http://tinyurl.com/raccoonharp

[MattPie]

I'm going to try autocross for the first time Sunday. 

 

I'm kinda terrified, mostly of looking like a total idiot ( which I realize is unavoidable). But I like driving, so... why the hell not. 

 

All these years making fun of miatas, and here I go, driving my friend's miata... 

 

I haven't driven a Miata in a long time, but it was a hoot when I did.

 

The best piece of advice I can think of is a quote from a tire person I once read: "most people would rather crash into a tree than corner at more than 0.4g". Most even slightly sporty cars (especially a Miata) can corner past 0.8g on street tires. The point is the car can generally corner way faster than most people think, so if you're not sliding all over the place you should be going faster. :)

 

The other one is get all your braking done before the corner and be somewhat on the gas through the corner. It's more critical on motorcycles, but you only have so much traction per tire so you don't want to be turning an braking at the same time. You want to be a bit on the gas though the corner as a turn naturally puts more weight on on the front tires, especially the outside tire. Being on the gas a bit lifts the front end and keeps more weight on the back tires.

[Samson's Flow]

I haven't driven a Miata in a long time, but it was a hoot when I did.

 

The best piece of advice I can think of is a quote from a tire person I once read: "most people would rather crash into a tree than corner at more than 0.4g". Most even slightly sporty cars (especially a Miata) can corner past 0.8g on street tires. The point is the car can generally corner way faster than most people think, so if you're not sliding all over the place you should be going faster. :)

 

The other one is get all your braking done before the corner and be somewhat on the gas through the corner. It's more critical on motorcycles, but you only have so much traction per tire so you don't want to be turning an braking at the same time. You want to be a bit on the gas though the corner as a turn naturally puts more weight on on the front tires, especially the outside tire. Being on the gas a bit lifts the front end and keeps more weight on the back tires.

Is it sad that I learned all of the things you mentioned by playing hours of Gran Tourismo as a kid? Made me a much better (?) driver by understanding the dynamics of optimized braking/acceleration. 

[josie]

I haven't driven a Miata in a long time, but it was a hoot when I did.

 

The best piece of advice I can think of is a quote from a tire person I once read: "most people would rather crash into a tree than corner at more than 0.4g". Most even slightly sporty cars (especially a Miata) can corner past 0.8g on street tires. The point is the car can generally corner way faster than most people think, so if you're not sliding all over the place you should be going faster. :)

 

The other one is get all your braking done before the corner and be somewhat on the gas through the corner. It's more critical on motorcycles, but you only have so much traction per tire so you don't want to be turning an braking at the same time. You want to be a bit on the gas though the corner as a turn naturally puts more weight on on the front tires, especially the outside tire. Being on the gas a bit lifts the front end and keeps more weight on the back tires.

:thumbsup:

 

I didn't get to participate Sunday- nasty storms were forecast and I didn't want to pay money to race and then have it cancelled. So I'll be trying at the Ralph (sorry, new era...) in Buffalo on 9/11 instead. 

 

I got to test drive the car a bit on Saturday, and yeah, I'm definitely not used to just diving into it and squealing those tires. His car has a ton of body roll too, so I end up using a lot more of my abs to keep full control than I anticipated. I'm ace at gokarts, so it's just like a big ol' go kart! Drove a bit in the rain and the a$$ was kicking out all over. Decided I'd wait until I'm more experienced to race in the rain. 

 

Thanks for the advice! I hope to drive it a bit more before I actually race. My friend can just throw it into curves without fear and I'm still getting used not expecting to roll haha 

 

It was pretty hilarious to get back into my car (stock subaru impreza) and have it feel like a giant squishy land yacht! 

[SwampD]

I signed up for Tidal yesterday. It seems like a lot of money at 20 bucks a month, but for the amount of music I listen to and the amount that they actually pay the artists, I figure it's worth it (if only Karmically). The sound quality is way better than all the rest too.

 

I only found out about it when we did this story. You can see me at 1:38 when he says "professional audio engineers." They don't have me talking because I actually got it right so it didn't fit their narrative.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000540997

 

I admit that listening to 10 or 20 second clips, it's quite difficult to hear a difference, especially depending on the program material. But after an hour or so of listening, my ears are way less fatigued.

 

Just say no to YouTube!