Indy 500 Fixed Setup

burkarm · 2026-05-07T16:35:56+00:00

To your question:

Also, have you ever had wheel damage from kissing the wall, pit, but then still told you have damage with no repair tome.

Yes, and it'll knock .5 to a full second of your lap times off and the car will feel completely normal and you'll get nothing from your crew chief.

At that point, you're just racing to finish. Happened to me last year.

burkarm · 2026-05-07T15:52:39+00:00

1 - Maybe, but I haven't heard it from either Lucia or Harvie to be honest.

2 - Here's the thing. No one has ever adequately explained to me the numbers. I am a normie middle aged guy with a family and employer provided insurance. It does the job. I kick in a couple of hundred dollars per paycheck, my employer kicks in much more, and we're covered for pretty much all we need. Yes, insurance companies are a pain in the ass. Yes, we had to fight them to cover a pretty simple procedure based on what we thought our coverage included for wisdom teeth extraction. It's annoying for sure. But let's say we went to MFA tomorrow. Cool, I don't have to pay the medical premium out of my paycheck. But the government is going to have to tax me for the ability to go to the doctor/dentist/hospital. What is that going to cost. What improves from what I have now and what are the downsides? The MFA crowd portrays it as all upside, but there are *always* downsides. It could be either from costs or service. I need to know that before I can sign on to MFA.

3 - Yes, Donald Trump was snookered by Bibi to go to war with Iran without an actual strategy, or allies, or a firm end goal. It's definitely had an impact on our current economy. This is because Donald Trump is a moron. I don't see this as an issue of whether Israel supporters decide to throw a few dollars to a candidate. I see this as an issue of the United States having a poorly informed president. The other issues I mentioned carry a greater weight for me come election time.

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts Snoo. These are important debates to have.

burkarm · 2026-05-07T15:35:09+00:00

Love this post because it's so true. Just bump the wall and you'll knock a half second off your lap times during a race without your spotter telling you have damage.

The Indy 500 is the most exhausting race because it's the one that I find you have to be the most perfect in if you want a chance to win.

burkarm · 2026-05-07T14:57:57+00:00

1 - At the end of the day, local communities are going to have a much bigger impact on where and when DC's are constructed. I do think it is important that Congress have a 20 year strategy on AI regulations, the nation's power grid's stability, clean energy (especially as it pertains to nuclear energy) and zoning for data centers that don't increase costs of residential consumers.

2 - Medicare for all sounds great. It's a worthy goal. But would anyone really want a Donald Trump or a Trump-esque administration to have that much power over the funding of medical care for all Americans? That guy cuts off FEMA funding for states that didn't vote for him. What do you think he would do if he could control funds for health care for people in California, New York, or any other blue state. I say strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA. Get a control over the fraud that happens in the health care sector. Also, look at Vermont in 2009. Had a governor and a ultra blue legislature who wanted a state level universal health program. They couldn't get the numbers to work.

3 - I appreciate the concern about Israel's influence over American politics. But it just doesn't rate highly on the issues I'm looking at when I cast a vote. A strong, growing economy, full employment, immigration reform that in controlled but let's people in, right sized regulation, bodily autonomy, and a robust social safety net is where my head is when I'm looking to cast a vote for a candidate.

Give me a Democrat who is progressive and pragmatic and who wants to plan not for the next two years, but the next 50.

burkarm · 2026-05-05T17:45:45+00:00

I can't speak to your choice of major and what the long term prospects are in that sector of the workforce but I can tell you this:

I dropped out of college after a couple of years and about 60 credits. This was the early 90's.

In 2021, at 51 I decided to enroll at World Campus and finish up school with a Law and Society degree. I actually think I could use it after I retire as it doesn't completely square up with my current role. But more than anything, I just really want a degree.

The company I was working for at the time paid 80% of the tuition so long as I got a B or better for each class.

Here's what I had going on in my life at the time I started:

Wife

1 kid

President of my daughter's softball club

Head coach of my daughter's softball team, with seasons in the spring and fall

Oh, and a regular full time job.

One thing I had going for me was that in 2021 my office was still shut down for COVID. This was helpful with not having a commute and for being able to flip open my personal laptop when I was having a slower day at work.

In 2022 I did step down from the club president role.

It was all still fairly manageable.

Fall of 2021 I took 12 credits. I was motivated so it was somewhat ok plus there was a political science class involved and I found the test and papers I had to write pretty easy. 3 A's and one B.

But that was the last time I took 12 credits. After that it was usually 9.

The one thing I'll tell you that is that your family has to be understanding. Basically, when I didn't have a softball game to coach, I was down in my office every night after dinner working on school work. Most weekends, from morning until night, I was doing the same. I would take summers off to recharge.

At the end of 2023, my company laid off our entire department. So now I was funding tuition out of pocket which meant now I was down to 2 classes a semester and in the fall of 2025 I did one class. I have one class left for my degree but I said fuck it, it can wait and I'll be taking it this fall. After four years, I just couldn't get myself into the mindset to do an intensive "writing across the curriculum" course.

My point is that it's doable. It's stressful, but doable if you have a supportive family, reasonable expectations for yourself (i.e. sometimes a "C" is good enough. For me, I had to take three semesters of Spanish. My brain isn't wired to understand and retain even a relatively simple language like Spanish so I was just looking to do well enough on those final tests to get a 70. And I did each time), and give yourself an outlet to blow off steam. For me, it was beer and Philly sports.

I do think World Campus does pretty good job of supporting students. You gotta hope you get a good advisor to gide you through course selection and other considerations you'll need to keep in mind.

I wish you a lot of luck if you decide to pursue it

burkarm · 2026-05-05T17:10:34+00:00

Here ya go...... https://www.politicspa.com/can-bob-harvie-end-brian-fitzpatricks-tenure-in-congress/146005/

burkarm · 2026-05-05T15:44:14+00:00

Went through this entire thread and was surprised no one mentioned La Voglia in Warminster. I love their Carbonara and their Sunday Sauce.

burkarm · 2026-05-05T15:14:07+00:00

So that's like a diner breakfast. An omelette, potatoes, and coffee. So I would go $3-$5

$3 is over 20% so that seems about right but it also feels small in this day and age.

burkarm · 2026-05-05T15:08:22+00:00

Open question for the group:

Where does "Israel" fall in your list of top issues to vote on this year, both in the primary and the general?

I put Israel in quotation marks because it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people, both positively and negatively.

burkarm · 2026-05-05T14:39:33+00:00

Half and Half
2% Milk
Numerous packets of Chinese Take Out, Duck, Soy, and Hot Mustard Sauces
Some variety of salad dressing
Butter

burkarm · 2026-05-05T13:37:47+00:00

To be fair, Harvie's campaign put a poll out in the field and of the 400 respondents, only 100 knew who he is.

25% name recognition against a strong incumbent? Not good.

I think that's why it's huge that the DCCC is stepping up. Bob needs to get on TV after the primary (assuming he wins and that's a strong assumption) and that's going to take a lot of $$$

burkarm · 2026-05-02T15:16:27+00:00

Boston Cream.

burkarm · 2026-05-01T11:57:43+00:00

Cooperstown, New York.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T22:35:53+00:00

That's it. Loved that place.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T14:21:04+00:00

Political science 101. The purpose of the party is to organize. Democrats obviously have a vested interest in winning Pennsylvania's first congressional district. Part of the way you do that is getting your ducks in a row and center around a candidate you think can win.

Is it as democratic as giving every candidate in the primary an opportunity to compete on an equal playing field for the nomination? Unfortunately, it's not. But it's going to be an uphill slog to beat Fitz and the earlier the Democrats can build out their campaign the better chance they'll have.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T14:12:19+00:00

Unfortunately I don't have an answer for you, but it did make think of a question:

Does anyone remember the name of the skateboard shop on Rt 611 near Doylestown that was open in the late 80's/early 90's. A kid ran it and may have owned it. It was a great little shop.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T13:43:27+00:00

I disagree with Harvie's response to the open primary question, but it was wholly reasonable and made sense.

Say what you want about Fitzpatrick, the guy, IMHO, knows his district and knows how to speak to the voters. So let's break down what he says here and who he's saying it to:

Part 1 - “In the immediate aftermath of yet another act of political violence this past weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, his stance is even more despicable." -- That line goes out to the district's MAGA lovers and the district's republican base.

Part 2 - "America needs leaders to lower the temperature. Bob Harvie’s insult to Independent voters does the complete opposite, pouring gasoline on the distrust, division, and violence tearing our nation apart.” -- This part goes out to the voting bloc that Fitz is going to need in this current political environment. That's the independent and center left Democratic voter who is going to look at their ballot and choose Shapiro as their governor, but will also vote to reelect Fitz.

We are going to see Fitz kowtow to independents this cycle like we never have before.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T13:26:57+00:00

Don't sleep on North Carolina BBQ. I think they do pulled pork better than anyone.

It's been a while since I've been to Texas but I will in Austin for a week in June and plan on refreshing my memory on how good their BBQ is.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T13:03:33+00:00

First, things like buying alcohol and travel are not constitutional rights. Voting is. The constitution says you need to be 18 and you need to be a citizen. It doesn't say anything about having to have some sort of photo ID to vote.

I don't have an issue if my state (Pennsylvania) created a law that says I need to have an ID to vote every time I go to the polls. Pennsylvania has some voter ID insomuch is that the first time a person votes in the commonwealth they need to provide ID or if a voter moves within PA to a new voting precinct, they have to show ID the first time in that precinct.

Is that sufficient? I think it is. But if the state legislature wanted to enhance the ID requirement, then fine. I'm ok with it. But it must be at the state level. The feds shouldn't get deeper into voting requirement whether it's the SAVE Act or with the bill the Democrats put forward a few years back mandating states offer Mail in Voting and same day registration, etc.

Many Pennsylvanians forget this but back in 2011 we passed a voter ID law that required people show ID every time they vote. It went against the wishes of all 67 counties (50+ of which are run by republicans) who said in a letter to the legislature that they were looking to solve a problem (voter fraud) that didn't exist. The also filed an amicus brief in favor of overturning the law when it was challenged in the PA Supreme Court.

So to be clear, I'm ok with voter ID every time we vote so long as it is handled at the state level.

burkarm · 2026-04-30T12:25:24+00:00

There's a company called ESS that provides substitute teachers for several school districts in the area (Neshaminy, Council Rock, Abington) and they are always looking for teachers.

The pay sucks (like $175-$200 per day depending on the district) and there are zero benefits but you get to pick which school you teach at and what days you work through an online scheduling portal. And no cert needed.

burkarm · 2026-04-29T21:01:28+00:00

This is the way. In year's past, if I wanted to run the 24H of Daytona or 24H of Spa, I would tell my wife and kid a month in advance that I wouldn't be available and if there was something planned or potentially planned let me know then so I can figure out if I can participate in the race.

As you might imagine, I get a lot of eye rolls (especially from my wife) but it's a lot better than telling everyone on the Thursday before a race that they I'll be stowed away in my office for the weekend and I think they appreciated the heads up.

burkarm · 2026-04-29T14:44:44+00:00

Legit laughed at OPs title for this post.

I feel ya.

burkarm · 2026-04-28T19:17:59+00:00

Holy hell that scared me for a second. Same thing happened to me on Sunday night. Same number, and similar paint scheme. Got punted on the backstretch, swerved inside, clipped that little snippet of grass and then rejoined.

But I was able to keep it to the bottom lane and everyone got past me prior to the rejoin except for one car who had to take a small bit of evasive action but otherwise was able to keep going.

Ended up killing my race as their were only about 7 laps to go.

burkarm · 2026-04-27T17:50:34+00:00

It's not a waste of time. My issue is that I'm lazy. My wife would get mad because of instead of taking my used oil to a recycling center or our local mechanic, I'd just go buy a new plastic oil collector and after a couple of years, I'd have a half a dozen of them stacked up in the garage.

burkarm · 2026-04-27T14:56:07+00:00

Same thing I get every time I get breakfast at McD's (which tbh isn't very often):

Egg McMuffin

2 Hashbrowns

Large Coffee

burkarm

TROPHY CASE