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Post by RocDoc on Jul 14, 2008 22:58:34 GMT -5
simultaneous!
egad!
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Post by rocknroller on Jul 15, 2008 5:58:14 GMT -5
Congrats man! (but if that 104 degree temp is right, I doubt you'll be needing those heated seats, huh?) In the winter during an ice storm I will! But for now I'll settle for the great a/c. Oh, did I mention dual a/c? |
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Post by rocknroller on Jul 19, 2008 20:51:55 GMT -5
The segways. Their loads of fun. Gotta have good balance though.  |
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Post by Ampage on Jul 19, 2008 22:29:13 GMT -5
LOL! That's not a Segway - that's a Segway for tards.
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Post by rocknroller on Jul 19, 2008 23:48:47 GMT -5
Theres three of them there...oh! DOI!
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Post by RocDoc on Jul 20, 2008 0:04:49 GMT -5
'oooh, not nice!' my son would say.
~
there's a one wheeled motorcycle version using some of the segway's technology that was invented by a 16 year old einstein here in the usa somwhere's.
badass-looking fairing on it, big tire (one!!) and everything.
sounded fascinating in the writeup the chitribune did a coupla weeks back...
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Post by strat-0 on Jul 31, 2008 19:45:15 GMT -5
One thing that has definitely changed with my new job is the character of my commute. The time is nearly the same, at about 30 to 40 minutes, but man is it different! That is still longer than I’d like, but it’s not too bad in today’s world.
But whereas my old commute was a nerve-wracking exercise in frustration and peril, my commute now is like driving through a dream world. I used to have to travel across the largest part of the Birmingham metro area, from the little city of Fultondale, just north of B’ham, to an overburdened commercial area of the city on the far southeast side. There were several ways to go, but all were bad, consisting of overcrowded interstates, congested and over-regulated highways, thoroughfares and surface streets, and a nightmare of traffic lights and gridlock. It was 18 miles of hell. Something like most people around here have to deal with.
Now, I leave my house and go a half mile or so on neighborhood roads, to a thoroughfare for a couple of blocks and two lights, over the interstate, and then off on a two-lane goat trail into the country, headed north and west, away from the city. The road winds around through pretty country, with tall trees hanging over on either side and big rock formations for several miles, until it drops you at the entrance to a new interstate-grade corridor that runs from Birmingham to Memphis and has hardly any traffic at all. This is where it starts getting really surreal. The country is gorgeous – it is rolling countryside, foothills of the Appalachians, and the highway just rolls right through them. Over-the-road trucks are not even permitted yet, which just makes it all the more surreal. After about eight miles, this drops me onto the old B’ham-to-Jasper highway, which is way clear of Birmingham traffic at this point and has a 65 mph speed limit. It is also very picturesque, passing through beautiful country scenes, and over the lovely Black Warrior River at times, among other things. Just a short trip and I’m at the small town where the school is. There are two traffic lights then. So, there are a total of four lights for the whole trip: two at the start and two at the end, which are usually green. Even though it’s a little farther than my former commute, at about 25 miles, it takes the same or less time, and is so much easier on the head. Man, is it sweet. This is what some people have talked about here, about actually enjoying their commute. Sweet. I wish I could show it to you.
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Post by RocDoc on Jul 31, 2008 22:21:44 GMT -5
i hear the allman brothers playing in the background even now!
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Post by ScottsyII on Aug 3, 2008 0:02:05 GMT -5
Strat, there is nothing I love more than a nice winding, not so busy piece of road - used to breeze about on pointless drives back in Australia through all sorts of roads like that..... just for the hell of it. Every now and again I might just take the long way home from work, the grocwery store, whatever, just for the sheer sake of enjoying driving on certain roads, because I like it...
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Post by Ayinger on Aug 3, 2008 9:27:19 GMT -5
I hear you on the work commute Strat and how it can almost put a new angle on how you feel once you finally reach your destination. My old drive was less than 15 minutes but all in-town roadways -- 4-lanes, stoplights to beat, other half-awake drivers... The new house is farther away from work but still just under the 15 minute mark. I do about a mile of country road, jump onto I-65, pedal down three exits and then fight only a couple miles of state highway to get to the shop. So it's nice to mostly cruise to work rather than the stop/start, "lemme see if I can swerve around this nimrod poking along ahead of me" sort of race I always felt myself in every morning.
In fact it's kind of sweet to get to almost any spot in Lafayette/West Lafayette now even though my new location is several miles out of town as opposed to living on the south side. There's a sole stoplight in between me and W.Laf and I can choose either a 6-7 mile country scenic route to loop around to the shopping areas, or about the same distance on the state highway that winds along the ol' Wabash River (JEFF!) to get to Purdue's "village" section.
For Lafayette desinations, it's a simple hop on the interstate and getting off at whatever exit puts me close where I'm going. Or if I'm going straight downtown there's another shortcut on a couple of backroads to reach one that becomes a main city street after a couple country miles.
I'll miss being able to walk a couple blocks to the grocery or gas station to get my Sunday paper, I'll even miss the sound of traffic or the sirens of emergency vehicles. But right now I've got the buzz of cicada and chirps & calls of several species of birds drifting in through the window....and I can live with that too! Hell, my first night I spent out on the back deck puffing on a stogie and marveling at the amount of stars filling my gaze, I thought of how great it was going to be for viewing the annual meteor shower next week....and in about 60 seconds a nice bright one went shooting across the dark right above my head. A second one flew by about 5 minutes later.
Yeah, I can deal with this.
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Post by strat-0 on Aug 5, 2008 18:42:05 GMT -5
Definitely some Allman's in the queue, Doc. And yeah, Scottsy, driving can still be enjoyable in its own right...
Don, the sights and sounds of nature are indeed better food for the soul. I too can enjoy the city setting, but the therapeutic value of the country scene has nourishing, replenishing, and recharging properties not found in the urban environment.
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Post by strat-0 on Oct 4, 2008 22:57:50 GMT -5
Hello! I’ve written about my new work commute here; now sit back and enjoy a ride home from work with me! Heading out…  Crossing the Black Warrior River (the first time)   Moving out on old US 78  Over the Warrior again… There's no scale here, but this is about 50 ft over ther river.  And now, on to the brand new “Corridor X”  End of the highway here – all traffic must exit… into the hills…  On towards the goat trail across the county…  In the cool, cool shade…  Big trees.  Straightaway.  Crossing another waterway, this one closer to home and smaller.  Here’s the drag strip I ran the Sleeper at.  Getting close to home now.  Passing over the (ugh!) interstate. Glad I don’t have to drive I 65 these days.  …And the little creek right by the house…  So, that’s my ride home! ;-) |
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Post by strat-0 on Oct 26, 2008 19:19:24 GMT -5
OK, please try to keep the commentary about my travelog pics down to a manageable level...
We had a Career Day at my college the other day, and so I cleaned up the Sleeper and used her as an exhibit for my program, even though she's an "everyday driver." The event came off very nicely! Here's the verbiage I used for the Sleeper's info sheet:
“The Sleeper”
1978 Chevy Caprice Sedan
Power Plant:
383 CID V-8 “Stroker”: Four-bolt mains, heavy-duty forged powdered metal connecting rods; ‘4340’ forged crankshaft and hypereutectic pistons. Vortec heads, roller cam, aluminum GM intake topped with a 4-barrel Quadrajet carburetor. Custom dual exhaust with twin Dynomax performance mufflers.
340 horsepower @ 4500 rpm and 435 ft.lbs of torque @ 4,000 rpm.
Transmission:
700R4 Four-speed overdrive transmission built by Monster Transmissions to withstand up to 500 hp. Crisp shift.
Final Drive:
.308 Positraction unit, high-performance steel axles by Superior.
Suspension:
Eibach high performance springs with one-inch lowering. Bilstein racing shocks; upgraded aftermarket front and rear sway bars and links. Lower profile GM alloy wheels (stock for Camaro of the year)
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