Even if it's not sustainable as a business venture, ISTM that on a smaller scale it might be a practical addition to existing housing structures -- essentially protected greenhouse space for residents, without having to rent gardening ground elsewhere.
I'm wondering what this does to quality control. ISTM nothing outsourced is ever as carefully monitored as what's made in a company's own back yard... after all, if the outsourced product is crap, it can be blamed on the supplier instead of on one's own company.
You can still hear it with modern records and turntables, tho it's so faint that it's not worth the effort (and has a distinctly tinny and 1920s sound). And older tone arms that lack a counterweight produce a lot more of this "direct" sound than modern ones do.
The other thing is, Ford puts braces in the tailgate and along the sides and bottom of the bed, so it can take a LOT more pounding without getting all bent to shit. Chevy doesn't, so the tailgate gets bowed from use. You can really tell the diff when a truck is used to haul bales, firewood, rocks, etc. My old Ford's tailgate is still straight as the day it left the factory.
That '78 Ford's body metal appears to be some form of stainless steel, not ordinary rolled iron. It doesn't rust even where it's exposed, or at worst gets a faint rust film that rubs right off. Also it has enamel, not paint (and it was Calif-made). You can't paint over it; regular paint just washes away again. But it's been amazingly durable. It's finally got hairline crazing along the doors' top panel and the front of the hood, and it's gotten just plain worn off in the bed, but still looks like new everywhere else. (Not garaged and never polished.) Hasn't even gone bad where it's been majorly dented. (Some fucker hit-and-ran it while it was parked.)
The leak was a little slit (old age failure) in the line -- apparently there was enough suction in the line while running to keep gas from leaving thru the hole. Must have one seriously strong fuel pump.:)
Might be cuz the air being so dry here (spit and it may not hit the ground:) but the water lines (some now 29 years old) have been persistently self-healing. You can see dozens of cracks and small holes, but they're all crusted over and don't leak. Mechanic looked at it and said "I don't believe I'm seeing this".:) Needs to get the core flushed someday Real Soon Now**, I suppose I could break down and replace 'em then. New hoses will probably leak out of sheer perversity.:)
** Adv. (faanish) -- slightly less urgent than "mañana".
Yeah, if you had controlled hot coals and not open flame... tho you'd have to be careful not to get hot spots under rubber stuff, or leaking fuel lines... something like an old-fashioned bedwarmer pan would work pretty well, I'd think.
I once had a fuel line go bad.. leaked only when the truck was =not= running. Mechanics look at you funny when you drive into their lot, turn off the vehicle, jump out, crawl underneath it, apply a pair of vise-grips, and come up with gasoline dripping out of your hair.:)
When I lived in Moorhead MN, we'd get up to Grand Forks once in a while. I remember one year after the Red River had gotten all excited, there were watermarks clear up at the 2nd floor windows of downtown Grand Forks. Did you have much problem with water in the silos? am thinking it must be near the same era (1962ish).
Interesting about the guidance system -- I've sent your post on to someone I know who used to be a Titan missile dude (living down in the hole) and still enjoys the topic.
Back to within ICBM range of the nominal topic... Didn't some of the disused silos get turned into time capsules? I thought I heard about that happening, way back when.
My uncle had an empty silo on his ranch in north central Montana. It eventually filled up with water and got used as a stock tank. Don't think we'll find any time capsules down there!!
Interiors in general don't feel as solid as they used to -- too much air behind plastic.
My neighbour has a 1993ish minivan that we were wondering if pulling out all the plastic innards in the back would give it more cargo room... it LOOKS like it's nothing but air under there, tho hard to tell without removing it. If it is just air, it's about 16 INCHES of wasted lateral space.
Good point. While the SUV has primarily replaced the station wagon as the vehicle for families with kids, there is also the comfort factor -- SUVs have way more headroom and legroom. Drive one for very long and most folks DON'T want to go back to the sardine-can feel of a car.
One might also note that the proliferation of "fannish large" may be a factor -- SUVs have more butt room, too.
One might consider it parallel to the DHS. Originally air raid sirens warned against foreign nuclear attack; now they warn against domestic nuclear meltdowns. Hmmm!!;)
Yeah, I'll bet there were folks a-packin' in a hurry when the siren got the notion to broadcast "the real thing":)
Hmm... I wonder what size of person the modern "curve of the glove box" is designed for. I'm only 5'7", tho on the long-legged side -- and I find that in newer cars, my knees tend to wind up against the glovebox, rather than stretching comfortably underneath it -- in a wreck, I'd get crumpled. -- I suspect the real factor is that the entire passenger compartment has been shortened, so naturally adjuncts, like the glovebox, got shortened too.
And likely if older folks didn't expect to see a glovebox of some sort, it would go away entirely.
AFAIK the console lump replaces the drive train hump. I suppose the theory is that you don't need to be crawling all over the front seat if you're driving, but in fact all it does is make it difficult to shift position as one often needs to do during a long drive (we're talking 8-12 hours at a crack, not mere commuter drives).
Personally, I hate how front wheel drive "feels" to the driver, especially with a load. Kinda like towing a trailer without a sway bar.
An AC says, ======== Wray, Yuma, and Holyoke Colorado all run the 'air raid sirens' at noon everyday as the 'noon whistle' last I knew.
The sirens also funtion to call the volunteer fire department to the station if there is a fire somewhere, and serve as a warning system should a tornado touch down/be seen somewhere in vicinity of town.
Just because something has outlived its designed use, doesn't mean it isn't useful... =======
Excellent point. Sortof "time capsule in everyday life".
My truck does need a block heater to start easily in below-zero weather (whereas my previous vehicle, a '63 Olds F-85, did not). But if you're in a cold climate, that should be part of any vehicle's accessories regardless of make. Way easier on the engine if it only has to warm up from 40 degrees instead of from -45 degrees!!
But my previous comment stems from observing trucks used for real work in farm country. Given the same use and care (or lack of it), the Ford will outlive the Chevy about 2 to 1, and the Ford will still look good after the same level of day-to-day abuse. And both will radically outlive a Dodge.
Modern rear seats also have a weird curvature that forces an adult to kinda arch their whole body -- very tiring and tough on the body if you have to ride there very long (puts a lot of strain on the back and the hip joints). I think (and your complaint goes along with this) the current design theory only expects gradeschool-age children to ride in the back seat. The appalling lack of legroom for adults goes right along with this. (And how are you and that "dame" supposed to get it on during the drive-in movie, with all those lumps in the seat??!:)
And you're very right about all the little "features" -- none of which are worth a tinker's damn compared to having a full-sized glove box.
Actually, that was my first complaint when I went from a '63 Olds F-85 to my '78 Ford pickup -- I could keep hardback books in the Olds' glove box, but the Ford's is nowhere near as roomy. Evidently this sort of shrinkage began a long time ago.
When I finally do have to replace my truck, I'll be looking for another of "pre-modern" design -- so I can stand to actually DRIVE the thing, and so it'll hold up to said use. I need a work truck that is also suitable for long distances, not a hauler for midgets, nor something to impress the neighbours with.
Hmm. Maybe we should find out if any other time vaults include a car. Won't they be surprised when they open 'em and the car is... gone!!;)
I used to think that... but the 1950s cars that I grew up with, and that as a kid I thought were *hideous*, I now find have a symmetry and panache that is just...lacking... in more-modern designs.
And I particularly dislike how the interiors have shrunk. The modern vehicle LOOKS like it should be, if anything, *bigger* on the inside than were the old styles, but in fact there's less legroom, less headroom, and no way to really stretch out the way we could in the old-style cars. It's pretty clear none of them are designed with long-distance driving in mind.
This "shrinking interior" is most obvious in pickup trucks (even fullsized models) -- I swear if I ever catch up with the "designer" who made all the cabs slope inward toward the top, I'm going to bang his head on a window a few dozen times, to make up for all the times I've slammed my head on those inward-sloping windows!! I don't give a shit if it's aerodynamic, or stylish, or whatever, that design still goes against everything pickup trucks are FOR. You can't even wear a cowboy hat in a modern pickup, cuz the window is too close too your head!!
Slashdot Mirror
True re solar panels, but what about fibre-collected and -distributed sunlight? That could use the entire non-glass surface of the building.
Even if it's not sustainable as a business venture, ISTM that on a smaller scale it might be a practical addition to existing housing structures -- essentially protected greenhouse space for residents, without having to rent gardening ground elsewhere.
I'm reminded of the old Army jape:
"Remember, grunts -- your weapon was made by the lowest bidder!"
I had similar thoughts, winding up with "I wonder if this is the beginning of an exit strategy."
I'm wondering what this does to quality control. ISTM nothing outsourced is ever as carefully monitored as what's made in a company's own back yard... after all, if the outsourced product is crap, it can be blamed on the supplier instead of on one's own company.
A creative people, those Russians :)
Yeah, that's a problem with diesel -- it wasn't developed with Siberia in mind!
You can still hear it with modern records and turntables, tho it's so faint that it's not worth the effort (and has a distinctly tinny and 1920s sound). And older tone arms that lack a counterweight produce a lot more of this "direct" sound than modern ones do.
The other thing is, Ford puts braces in the tailgate and along the sides and bottom of the bed, so it can take a LOT more pounding without getting all bent to shit. Chevy doesn't, so the tailgate gets bowed from use. You can really tell the diff when a truck is used to haul bales, firewood, rocks, etc. My old Ford's tailgate is still straight as the day it left the factory.
That '78 Ford's body metal appears to be some form of stainless steel, not ordinary rolled iron. It doesn't rust even where it's exposed, or at worst gets a faint rust film that rubs right off. Also it has enamel, not paint (and it was Calif-made). You can't paint over it; regular paint just washes away again. But it's been amazingly durable. It's finally got hairline crazing along the doors' top panel and the front of the hood, and it's gotten just plain worn off in the bed, but still looks like new everywhere else. (Not garaged and never polished.) Hasn't even gone bad where it's been majorly dented. (Some fucker hit-and-ran it while it was parked.)
The leak was a little slit (old age failure) in the line -- apparently there was enough suction in the line while running to keep gas from leaving thru the hole. Must have one seriously strong fuel pump. :)
:) but the water lines (some now 29 years old) have been persistently self-healing. You can see dozens of cracks and small holes, but they're all crusted over and don't leak. Mechanic looked at it and said "I don't believe I'm seeing this". :) Needs to get the core flushed someday Real Soon Now**, I suppose I could break down and replace 'em then. New hoses will probably leak out of sheer perversity. :)
Might be cuz the air being so dry here (spit and it may not hit the ground
** Adv. (faanish) -- slightly less urgent than "mañana".
Yeah, if you had controlled hot coals and not open flame... tho you'd have to be careful not to get hot spots under rubber stuff, or leaking fuel lines... something like an old-fashioned bedwarmer pan would work pretty well, I'd think.
:)
I once had a fuel line go bad.. leaked only when the truck was =not= running. Mechanics look at you funny when you drive into their lot, turn off the vehicle, jump out, crawl underneath it, apply a pair of vise-grips, and come up with gasoline dripping out of your hair.
Heh, ain't that the truth...
:(
BTW, insightful sig you've got there, sad to say
Wow, that is ancient history :)
When I lived in Moorhead MN, we'd get up to Grand Forks once in a while. I remember one year after the Red River had gotten all excited, there were watermarks clear up at the 2nd floor windows of downtown Grand Forks. Did you have much problem with water in the silos? am thinking it must be near the same era (1962ish).
Interesting about the guidance system -- I've sent your post on to someone I know who used to be a Titan missile dude (living down in the hole) and still enjoys the topic.
Back to within ICBM range of the nominal topic... Didn't some of the disused silos get turned into time capsules? I thought I heard about that happening, way back when.
My uncle had an empty silo on his ranch in north central Montana. It eventually filled up with water and got used as a stock tank. Don't think we'll find any time capsules down there!!
[laughing] You gotta wonder about someone who'd warm up their engine by starting a fire underneath :)
[laughing] Oh man, I got that when I moved south too!
:)
:)
In Montana, some hotels have a plugin at each and every parking spot, meant for the block heater. Oughta tell you something.
So where in ND were you? I was hatched in Devil's Lake.
I just had this vision of everyone in the surrounding countries leaping out of their chairs at once, all yelling, "What was THAT??!" :)
Good points all.
Interiors in general don't feel as solid as they used to -- too much air behind plastic.
My neighbour has a 1993ish minivan that we were wondering if pulling out all the plastic innards in the back would give it more cargo room... it LOOKS like it's nothing but air under there, tho hard to tell without removing it. If it is just air, it's about 16 INCHES of wasted lateral space.
Good point. While the SUV has primarily replaced the station wagon as the vehicle for families with kids, there is also the comfort factor -- SUVs have way more headroom and legroom. Drive one for very long and most folks DON'T want to go back to the sardine-can feel of a car.
One might also note that the proliferation of "fannish large" may be a factor -- SUVs have more butt room, too.
One might consider it parallel to the DHS. Originally air raid sirens warned against foreign nuclear attack; now they warn against domestic nuclear meltdowns. Hmmm!! ;)
:)
Yeah, I'll bet there were folks a-packin' in a hurry when the siren got the notion to broadcast "the real thing"
Hmm... I wonder what size of person the modern "curve of the glove box" is designed for. I'm only 5'7", tho on the long-legged side -- and I find that in newer cars, my knees tend to wind up against the glovebox, rather than stretching comfortably underneath it -- in a wreck, I'd get crumpled. -- I suspect the real factor is that the entire passenger compartment has been shortened, so naturally adjuncts, like the glovebox, got shortened too.
And likely if older folks didn't expect to see a glovebox of some sort, it would go away entirely.
AFAIK the console lump replaces the drive train hump. I suppose the theory is that you don't need to be crawling all over the front seat if you're driving, but in fact all it does is make it difficult to shift position as one often needs to do during a long drive (we're talking 8-12 hours at a crack, not mere commuter drives).
Personally, I hate how front wheel drive "feels" to the driver, especially with a load. Kinda like towing a trailer without a sway bar.
An AC says,
========
Wray, Yuma, and Holyoke Colorado all run the 'air raid sirens' at noon everyday as the 'noon whistle' last I knew.
The sirens also funtion to call the volunteer fire department to the station if there is a fire somewhere, and serve as a warning system should a tornado touch down/be seen somewhere in vicinity of town.
Just because something has outlived its designed use, doesn't mean it isn't useful...
=======
Excellent point. Sortof "time capsule in everyday life".
The air raid siren test, you mean? That's kinda cool, in a weird nostalgic way.
I wonder if there's anywhere else that still does it?
Mileage varies indeed :)
My truck does need a block heater to start easily in below-zero weather (whereas my previous vehicle, a '63 Olds F-85, did not). But if you're in a cold climate, that should be part of any vehicle's accessories regardless of make. Way easier on the engine if it only has to warm up from 40 degrees instead of from -45 degrees!!
But my previous comment stems from observing trucks used for real work in farm country. Given the same use and care (or lack of it), the Ford will outlive the Chevy about 2 to 1, and the Ford will still look good after the same level of day-to-day abuse. And both will radically outlive a Dodge.
Modern rear seats also have a weird curvature that forces an adult to kinda arch their whole body -- very tiring and tough on the body if you have to ride there very long (puts a lot of strain on the back and the hip joints). I think (and your complaint goes along with this) the current design theory only expects gradeschool-age children to ride in the back seat. The appalling lack of legroom for adults goes right along with this. (And how are you and that "dame" supposed to get it on during the drive-in movie, with all those lumps in the seat??! :)
... gone!! ;)
And you're very right about all the little "features" -- none of which are worth a tinker's damn compared to having a full-sized glove box.
Actually, that was my first complaint when I went from a '63 Olds F-85 to my '78 Ford pickup -- I could keep hardback books in the Olds' glove box, but the Ford's is nowhere near as roomy. Evidently this sort of shrinkage began a long time ago.
When I finally do have to replace my truck, I'll be looking for another of "pre-modern" design -- so I can stand to actually DRIVE the thing, and so it'll hold up to said use. I need a work truck that is also suitable for long distances, not a hauler for midgets, nor something to impress the neighbours with.
Hmm. Maybe we should find out if any other time vaults include a car. Won't they be surprised when they open 'em and the car is
I used to think that... but the 1950s cars that I grew up with, and that as a kid I thought were *hideous*, I now find have a symmetry and panache that is just ...lacking... in more-modern designs.
And I particularly dislike how the interiors have shrunk. The modern vehicle LOOKS like it should be, if anything, *bigger* on the inside than were the old styles, but in fact there's less legroom, less headroom, and no way to really stretch out the way we could in the old-style cars. It's pretty clear none of them are designed with long-distance driving in mind.
This "shrinking interior" is most obvious in pickup trucks (even fullsized models) -- I swear if I ever catch up with the "designer" who made all the cabs slope inward toward the top, I'm going to bang his head on a window a few dozen times, to make up for all the times I've slammed my head on those inward-sloping windows!! I don't give a shit if it's aerodynamic, or stylish, or whatever, that design still goes against everything pickup trucks are FOR. You can't even wear a cowboy hat in a modern pickup, cuz the window is too close too your head!!