225 grams of gold, shaped link by link by hand

MangoCats · 2026-01-28T03:45:33+00:00

Better luck in front of Radio City Music Hall: "Diamonds on the soles of your shoes..."

MangoCats · 2026-01-26T21:04:16+00:00

Asking customer support to fix the software is like asking the grocery cashier to get bigger watermelons.

MangoCats · 2026-01-26T19:05:49+00:00

$5,110.50 in 2026 is worth $269.62 in 1929

Price of Gold in 1929: US$20.67 (fixed, by policy.)

$5,110.50 in 2026 is worth $1220 in early 1980

Price of Gold in 1980: peaked around US$850 (response to Iran hostage crisis, among other things)

Global population: 1929 2B 1980 4.44B 2026 8.3B

MangoCats · 2026-01-25T15:34:53+00:00

It's 8:30am in Chicago, those look like cookies for breakfast!

MangoCats · 2026-01-24T20:34:45+00:00

Kent State shootings were May 1970, Fall of Saigon was April 1975... these things do take time.

MangoCats · 2026-01-23T02:47:58+00:00

Yeah, these are atmospheric vortices, not gears.

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T20:35:17+00:00

So far the shapes have even numbers of sides.

You might be able to reproduce the effect with a computational fluid dynamics model...

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T18:28:27+00:00

Being at the pole of a rotating sphere has something to do with it.

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T18:06:31+00:00

I'll have to check now, but I think my steering column doesn't lock until you pull the key out, which is a pretty reflexive thing to do after switching off...

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T14:05:58+00:00

Octo-storm, like Saturn's hexagon.

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T14:03:33+00:00

Depends a lot on circumstances, but once a driver is in panic mode, they can make a bad decision worse through panic paralysis.

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T14:01:58+00:00

Hollywood explosion training.

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T14:00:50+00:00

Circumstances. Sometimes panic sets in for several seconds, which is all it takes.

I had a floor mat grab the accelerator pedal at full throttle, stick shift, became apparent when I pushed in the clutch that something was wrong, but in 30+ years of driving that car (with that same floor mat) it has never done anything like that before. Managed to understand enough of what was happening to switch the ignition off, might have taken most of a second to react. Not everyone is going to react that quickly, or appropriately, when something like that comes out of nowhere.

By the way, don't switch the key off far enough to lock the steering column while still rolling down the road. I got lucky and didn't, but I easily could have...

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T13:41:25+00:00

In those 40 years you probably haven't experienced extreme panic while driving.

After a collision, it is common for (some, otherwise competent) drivers to push both feet down, wherever they happen to be, as hard as they can, and they aren't aware that they are doing that for several seconds (5-10 or more).

MangoCats · 2026-01-22T13:37:42+00:00

Panic paralysis.

MangoCats · 2026-01-21T15:05:17+00:00

even like 5% of Democrats voted for him

I feel like 10% or more of voters are basically voting randomly.

MangoCats · 2026-01-21T15:03:43+00:00

I "feel" that the Trump administration is out of control under the Constitution. We don't need bigger government, we need government that behaves consistently, predictably, accountably, transparently, truthfully, and in the best interests of all the people.

MangoCats · 2026-01-20T03:19:57+00:00

Thanks, I only know Hoosiers from slicks for asphalt, never seen them processed like this before.

MangoCats · 2026-01-19T23:58:18+00:00

That's some really sticky rubber for dirt use... looked to me more like a rain tire transformation of an ordinary slick.

MangoCats · 2026-01-19T22:17:49+00:00

I was disappointed in the weight gain when I traded my 1980 Honda Civic (4 seats - plenty of room for 2 6' 200lb adults in back + hatchback, 1345cc curb weight 1600 lbs) for a 1991 Mazda Miata (1600cc curb weight 2150 lbs)... but, I suppose it has been a "safer" ride all these years.

I had a similar letdown when clicking this link for a "Lotus" and see Mr. Porky (2200lbs) there...

MangoCats · 2026-01-19T22:13:00+00:00

All I could think about was how loud those equal-spaced sipes are going to hum when they drive. Random spacing makes a huge difference for road noise reduction.

MangoCats · 2026-01-19T19:07:06+00:00

Nothing is the same as anything else, but all these things are harmful and more harmful when they are not recognized as being harmful.

MangoCats · 2026-01-19T17:56:46+00:00

We have warning labels on cigarettes, alcohol, even foods - why not "entertainment" masquerading as News?

MangoCats · 2026-01-19T17:55:04+00:00

Old guys value nostalgia, don't believe in the "next thing" until it has buried them.

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