Nine lives, fate, stroke of luck, divine intervention? Here’s a Throwback Thursday #TBT shocker.
One never knows just how “forgetting to put on a safety belt” could be seen as the smartest thing someone would do when racing. On September 17, 2000 it would give racer Nigel Corner another day on this earth. After seeing this Jeff Bloxam photo of these vintage Ferraris wreck in the Goodwood Revival 2000 it is hard to forget – see narrated video below. It is amazing he survived … although he did break 20 bones, including his back, and punctured both lungs – (MotorSport link).
It is disturbing that someone actually tried this, but “for science” (cough, cough) … the result is eye-opening. I don’t think I’ll ever look into the end of pipes when working plumbing projects again. 😮
In trying to look at our divided America in a glass half-full way, the 2020 Presidential election at least gives voters a clear contrast in a candidates or political party’s desired direction for the country.
Obviously symbolism plays a part in painting a picture of political philosophy and the kind of voter each candidate seeks, but I suspect there are a lot of voters stuck in the middle wanting some sort of unity? Of course, these are probably the same voters who once complained that elections really didn’t matter since once a Democrat or Republican gets to Washington DC, they all became part of the swamp.
What triggered this post was seeing a Biden/Harris yard sign with, as the artist stated, “the rainbow colors in “BIDEN” is for inclusivity, the fist in “HARRIS” is for BLM, the star in “HARRIS” is my nod to patriotism and because I think she’s a STAR.” (more…)
Larry and Lin Pardey have been a couple of my sailing idols since I was in high school. Their life adventure, magazine articles and books have been a mainstay in keeping the cruising lifestyle close to my heart and in my dreams. I’ve posted a few times before regarding their philosophy and many skills, but learned last month that Larry had passed away at age 80. Several years ago his Parkinson required him to give up the boat and even his workshop life in New Zealand and then last year Lin messaged that he also had a stroke. Nobody wants live their final lives this way, but nobody will deny that his lived is first 75 years to the fullest. He died in a nursing facility in Auckland on July 27, 2020.
Although he was aware of his diminishing physical abilities, he attributed this all to normal aging, saying, ‘What do you expect after you’ve used your body so hard for 70 years?’” Lin. Pardey said of her husband. “‘Boats wear out. So do people!’”
I shared a question to a few of my automotive friends on a Twitter a few weeks ago … prior tomy WordPress post disappeared due to a mysql crash (grrr!) …
A question for #Millennials: What is this automotive “thing” and how does it work?
So much of what we remember from our youth pops out later in life and well after we realize something is obsolete or no longer relevant. The above photo, for those born after 1980, is an oil can spout kept in my tool cabinet. The one in the photo above was my personal favorite and fit in my back pocket when I worked at a full service Shell gas station at age 16. It was my first real job outside of grass cutting, commercial fishing and farm work. Most oil CAN spouts were of a solid funnel design and held a fair amount of oil in the tube that couldn’t be wiped out easily (see Quaker State can) .. but the one I kept could be kept clean and drip free after each use because the spout was open on the top.
What is this sound?
Back “in the day” cars and truck burned a lot more oil as engine wear and slop caused more crankcase oil to make its way into the cylinders (a lot more cylinders back then too). So checking and adding oil regularly was a job for pump-jockeys. At the Shell Station in Sidney Ohio, we were incentivized with a 25-cent per quart bonus for every “can” of oil we sold … a nice bonus on top of the $2.25/hr wage.
Hopefully by the time I get through this first 600 page book, I’ll be ready for the second and third .. but who knows. The WSJ initial book review in November 2011 by Ronald Spector wasn’t all that positive … but I’m already appreciated the “Mahan to Pearl Harbor” prologue that Spector didn’t like?
“Readers, moreover, would be well advised to skip the portions of Mr. Toll’s long prologue that deal with the prewar U.S. Navy.”
Of course Spector is/was a George Washington University professor of history and likely has far more knowledge on world Naval history?
Although we have "requested" Ohio absentee voting ballots before as a convenience or often for being away from the local polls, this is the first time ballots requests forms are just showing up in the mail. If it were any other "let’s try statewide vote by mail year or election," this might be worth sending out, but trying it just before a critical 2020 presidential election is a questionable idea. The election is two months away, we having even had debates yet and I can already see this is a recipe for disaster or coordinated election fraud by whoever chooses to go down the path. Third-world banana republics or Communist dictators have nothing on the USA in 2020. "May the craftiest cheater win." #sarcasm
My point is that if honest citizens receive three ballot requests (two of us live here now) and one is a leftover for our 31 year old son who hasn’t lived here since he went to college in 2008 (that’s 12 years ago) … then I suspect others who move around more frequently are seeing ballots show up too (and I didn’t even register our dog)? To make matters worse, after college, Taylor spent 3 years working and living in North Dakota and then five years ago moved back to Cincinnati … living in East Walnut Hills. If it were not for it being illegal, I’d love to test this to see just how thorough the checks are in determining who is actually mailing back the ballot? My assumption is that whoever has the absentee ballot request in their hands, and appropriate personal information, they could actually have ballots sent to their address and cast another vote?
How does a poll worker/vote counter handle multiple ballots or possible voter fraud? If someone votes-by-mail "pretending" to be a different person, what happens IF the real voter requests a ballot at a different address or shows up at the local polls to vote?
Do poll workers deny that citizen a right to vote IF someone else sends a ballot in? Do they count all ballots, no ballots or even have the manpower to determine who casts the appropriate legal ballot (Voter ID laws have always made sense to me and make even more sense today.)
