Random Chit Chat

[Trotter]

I'm not sure if anyone here is interested in spaceflight, but SPX-11 featured some of the best video footage in recent memory—NROL-76 included. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFoOqqSIYpw

One of the mods on Techist works for SpaceX. He has some good stories every now and then, but most he can't share until after the fact.

The fastest I ever got was 130 in my Firebird. The speedo reads up to 160 but couldn't get it over 130.

By the way, that Vega GT is related to the Pontiac Sunbird and my sis had a Sunbird called Hard Rock Live. They both have a 4 cylinder engine known as a Quad Four. Unbelievably powerful engine that has the horsepower of a V8.

Yes they are stupid fast that my friend refused to believe me when I said that this here Sunbird will eat your Mustang GT.

I wasn't clocked on my fastest rides.

The first was in a 1985 DeLorean in 1986. I couldn't see the speedometer due to being plastered back in the seat from the acceleration. The driver floored it for just over a mile, scared me half to death. I walked back instead of riding with him again.

The second was a few months later. I had a 1970 Plymouth Satellite, former unmarked police cruiser out of Virginia. The interceptor carb had been removed and replaced with a two barrel but the motor itself had been bored (never had it checked to see how much). Anyway, I was running late for work and had to take the interstate. I burned 3/4 tank of gas in less than 30 miles and weaved through a convoy of 18-wheelers like they were traffic cones. I was too scared to look down at the speed but it wouldn't have mattered because the needle was buried. I got rid of that car soon after that. My foot never touched the floorboard and I was afraid I would try to see just how fast it would go. I may have been 18 but I wasn't completely stupid.

 

[foothead]

You are just looking at extreme cases. You go from using a 10 year old phone and Lynx to having the latest smartphone and using Chrome.

Priorities.

I do not wish to use a smartphone, so I use a flip phone instead. I actually have an iPhone 4 registered for use as a modem.

I ride a $3000 bicycle. If I'm going to purchase something new, it makes no practical difference from a consumption standpoint whether it's cheap or expensive. The same level of manufacturing is utilized regardless. Short of destroying it in a collision, I fully expect this bike to last longer than a Walmart bike would, thus reducing overall consumption.

 

[Technician1]

You can think yourself happy just as easily as think yourself into depression and misery. The mind has the power if you use it properly.

 

[Smart_Guy]

Guys, bitching is not just in words, it's an attitude. Forums posts can't always imply bitching. Besides, who are we do judge. We don't know how or what everyone feels or gone thru to be harsh and describe them bitching. We have a saying here that translates to "if the reason is known, wonder is gone" (almost rhymes, eh?). We shouldn't judge without knowing 100% how others feels and gone thru, which ultimately we can't (know) so we can't (judge).

Anyway... fastest I drove was ~125mph like 4 years ago and several times. I think I did reach 130mph. No autobahns here and the highways are most of the time crowded so I couldn't go faster at the time even tho there was still room for it and now with speed trap cameras everywhere that's part of the past and I don't even go faster than 81.25mph. It's only 1992 with 180 HP I6 anyway (Mercedes) so let's not give it more credit than it deserves. The Crown Victoria is a 2009 V8 239HP and it's speed controlled to only 112.5mph. What the heck? I don't drive it much anyway and now it's with my brother for losing his car.

Will change ASAP. I was thinking the same.

Who are you again? Just kidding

 

[foothead]

You can think yourself happy just as easily as think yourself into depression and misery. The mind has the power if you use it properly.

Can I also think away my sensory processing disorder? How about the discrimination I regularly face? Can I just choose to no longer have psychotic episodes?

Please, for the good of all mankind, publish your techniques. 200 years of psychiatric research, and one random person on a computer forum holds the key to overthrow it all. Who would have thought?













(I swear to God, if you say 'meditation,' I'm going to lose it.)

 

[AMD_man]

Priorities.

I do not wish to use a smartphone, so I use a flip phone instead. I actually have an iPhone 4 registered for use as a modem.

I ride a $3000 bicycle. If I'm going to purchase something new, it makes no practical difference from a consumption standpoint whether it's cheap or expensive. The same level of manufacturing is utilized regardless. Short of destroying it in a collision, I fully expect this bike to last longer than a Walmart bike would, thus reducing overall consumption.

So you have a phone that can do all the one you are using can do, perhaps even faster and more reliably, and you decide to not use it , because of some principle? Because even if you didn't need the features of an iPhone, you have one and you could choose not to use them. Instead you decide to maintain an old phone, when you could just sell it, make some money and move on.

By the way, how does the iPhone work? Are you paying a data plan to use only as a modem?

Guys, bitching is not just in words, it's an attitude. Forums posts can't always imply bitching. Besides, who are we do judge. We don't know how or what everyone feels or gone thru to be harsh and describe them bitching. We have a saying here that translates to "if the reason is known, wonder is gone" (almost rhymes, eh?). We shouldn't judge without knowing 100% how others feels and gone thru, which ultimately we can't (know) so we can't (judge).

I'm not judging, I just feel he is wasting money and happiness to protest and no one even cares.

Who are you again? Just kidding

You can't ask that anymore!

How about the discrimination I regularly face?

What discrimination? Why?

 

[Dngrsone]

Positive thinking only goes so far. We are each constrained by our biology: much as I desire, and actually believe myself of being able to see into the infrared, my body is not equipped with that capability, and therefore I am still incapable of seeing it.

Speaking for myself, I am dark-adapted. This results in actual pain when my eyes are exposed to bright light (and UV, for some reason). This is why I am very much not a fan of white on web pages (or cell-phone themes): it physically hurts to look at it. Telling me to quit bitchin' and get used to it is only going to exasperate me (at best).

I am partially deaf, but very sensitive to 'sharp' sounds (such as children screeching). I call these sounds sharp because they feel like spikes being driven into my ears. I suppose that after enough exposure to screaming children I would build up a small amount of tolerance for those sounds, but the process of getting there would surely drive me mad(der than I already am), and thus the exercise would be counterintuitive.

Telling my introverted self that I should "smile more and be friendly" totally ignores the fact that being in crowds actually takes energy away from me. I can only handle so much society before I need to go off alone and recharge.

With all of that being said-- things are starting to get a little personal and uncomfortable to certain people (in my opinion), and I am asking everyone to scale back a little, Let's concentrate on more universal truths, like how much it sucks to take apart your laptop only to find that the part you bought to fix it won't fit.

 

[foothead]

So you have a phone that can do all the one you are using can do, perhaps even faster and more reliably, and you decide to not use it , because of some principle? Because even if you didn't need the features of an iPhone, you have one and you could choose not to use them. Instead you decide to maintain an old phone, when you could just sell it, make some money and move on.

I prefer the simplicity of a flip phone. Besides, when I used to have a smartphone, I would use it as a form of escapism—when in situations where my anxiety was high, I would pull out the phone and start web browsing rather than power through whatever situation was causing my anxiety. This did me no good.

By the way, how does the iPhone work? Are you paying a data plan to use only as a modem?

I have it set up on Tello pay-as-you-go. It can make calls and send text messages as well, but I only use it for data tethering. The rate is two cents per megabyte, which sounds steep, but, given my usage, a $10 credit will last several months at the least. My primary online activities are reading long-form articles—which can be done through Lynx browser—and IRC.

I'm not judging, I just feel he is wasting money and happiness to protest and no one even cares.

How exactly am I wasting money? I'm one of the most frugal people you will ever meet.

I am a 'she,' by the way.

What discrimination? Why?

Were you to meet me in person, it would be readily apparent that I have some sort of developmental disability. I'm also highly eccentric (in the autistic sense, not the stereotypical nonconformist one, though I could easily be viewed that way as well.) People very often take advantage of this, as, to them, I appear either intoxicated out of my mind or mentally retarded.

There is one other reason, which I would prefer not to share. This one is not readily apparent to outsiders, but it leads to discrimination among those who have been told about it. Apart from my brother and parents, I cannot even have contact with other family members because of this. Even my brother and father went through a multi-year period of treating me like absolute garbage. My brother wouldn't even look at me—When I entered the room, he would use his hand to block me from his vision. Fortunately, he has matured, and we now have a decent relationship.

My father, on the other hand, remains questionable. I get the feeling that he's suppressing things just so I will speak to him. On occasion, his true feelings slip out, and they are not pretty.

 

[foothead]

Speaking for myself, I am dark-adapted. This results in actual pain when my eyes are exposed to bright light (and UV, for some reason). This is why I am very much not a fan of white on web pages (or cell-phone themes): it physically hurts to look at it. Telling me to quit bitchin' and get used to it is only going to exasperate me (at best).

I am partially deaf, but very sensitive to 'sharp' sounds (such as children screeching). I call these sounds sharp because they feel like spikes being driven into my ears. I suppose that after enough exposure to screaming children I would build up a small amount of tolerance for those sounds, but the process of getting there would surely drive me mad(der than I already am), and thus the exercise would be counterintuitive.

Telling my introverted self that I should "smile more and be friendly" totally ignores the fact that being in crowds actually takes energy away from me. I can only handle so much society before I need to go off alone and recharge.

Thank you.

What you just described is a less severe form of what I experience. My sensory issues run so deep that, on occasion, I completely lose emotional control and start compulsively doing things such as bashing my head on the floor in a desperate attempt to make the pain stop.

Children screeching drives me mad as well. So does the sound of dishes touching each other. I have to eat with either plastic utensils or chopsticks because the sound of the fork touching the plate causes me to feel as if an icepick is being driven into my ear. Other significantly disturbing sounds include two-stroke engines, the sound of many people talking at once, basically every live-action show on television (The ubiquitous background noise—why??), the sound of motorcycles and cars with debaffled mufflers, high frequency whining noises—often from completely bizarre sources such as lightbulbs, and many, many more.

Flickering lights are even worse. PWM control of LEDs is a disease. Just about every current electronic device utilizes it. I can barely leave the house at night during December because every house is covered in multicolored strobelights. Oh, and the streetlamps noticeably flicker as well, but in the "annoying as hell" sense, rather than the "physical pain" one.

With all of that being said-- things are starting to get a little personal and uncomfortable to certain people (in my opinion), and I am asking everyone to scale back a little, Let's concentrate on more universal truths, like how much it sucks to take apart your laptop only to find that the part you bought to fix it won't fit.

Fair enough. If you like, I'll send you an IRC invite where we can further discuss such topics. Smart_Guy and iPwn have already been on it.

 

[AMD_man]

I prefer the simplicity of a flip phone. Besides, when I used to have a smartphone, I would use it as a form of escapism—when in situations where my anxiety was high, I would pull out the phone and start web browsing rather than power through whatever situation was causing my anxiety. This did me no good.

Well... Everyone does that. Some others decide to smoke. If you don't have some sort of "suspension" when you fall into those situations, the experience can get too traumatic and stop you from trying again all together.

How exactly am I wasting money? I'm one of the most frugal people you will ever meet.

I am a 'she,' by the way.

You are maintaining two phones, when you could just sell one and use the other one, without any repercussions.

And I didn't know. I just assumed everyone here was male. I hope no one here is an extreme feminist or I'm roasted.

Were you to meet me in person, it would be readily apparent that I have some sort of developmental disability. I'm also highly eccentric (in the autistic sense, not the stereotypical nonconformist one, though I could easily be viewed that way as well.) People very often take advantage of this, as, to them, I appear either intoxicated out of my mind or mentally retarded.

Yeah I know what you mean.

I think we should stop this. I'm no one to tell you what your principles should be. I'm sorry, I just got carried away.