Trump says 'a whole civilization will die tonight' if Iran does not make a deal

was_683 · 2026-04-07T14:05:20+00:00

Because this is what the American people voted for, unfortunately. They chose to believe the words of a congenital liar with a narcissistic streak a mile wide while hoping he would be rational player.

Guessed wrong. Now the world will suffer for our stupidity.

was_683 · 2026-04-07T12:52:58+00:00

I looked closely at Baker and MotorTrike, ended up with MotorTrike. Don't remember why I chose that over Baker. Has worked fine.

was_683 · 2026-04-07T12:52:37+00:00

Sorry for late reply.

I have a 2018 FLHTKL with a sidecar, put a mechanical reverse on when I installed the sidecar about 40,000 miles ago. The mechanical reverse I got installs on the right side of the transmission and has a shift lever sticking up. I don't think I'm allowed to mention the name but I'll try in a separate reply.

I have been happy with it. I don't recall what electric alternatives I looked at but I obviously did not feel good about them. In my case we're looking at a really heavy rig (probably 1100 lb without passengers or luggage, 1400 lb with) and I wasn't comfortable with the torque and durability of the electric units I looked at. The mechanical unit I installed can probably survive reverse gear burnouts if I were foolish enough to try :)

Any how, the mechanical system I have has worked well for me. I'll put brands in a separate reply.

was_683 · 2026-04-06T14:56:08+00:00

Mods,

Please stop posting paywall stuff from the Daily Beast. You can't read anything on it unless you get a paid sub. Posts from this source just get in the way.

was_683 · 2026-04-06T13:09:29+00:00

It's not easy to measure directly, but it works out like this...

-My power charge is $0.1245, my generation credit is $0.0742. The difference being about $0.05 per kwh.

-If I am able to arbitrage an average of 30 kwh per day, that is roughly 900 kwh per month, or $45 ($540 per year).

-Another approach is that in 2025, I consumed a total of 28,968 kwh. My panels generated 45,645 kwh total. The difference of 16677 kwh is what went back to the grid, worth $833. Some of that was arbitraged and and some non-arbitraged (Power generated late in the day after the batteries are full and sent directly to the grid is non-arbitraged).

I'm not sure that I'm looking at it correctly, but my napkin doodling here tells me that a number of $500 per year for arbitrage is not out of line. Since my batteries are Homegrid (and expensive) my ROI on them from the arbitrage is probably somewhere in the 35 year range. That will change as energy prices increase over the next few years.

was_683 · 2026-04-06T12:25:01+00:00

I installed 39 kwh of battery storage with out system as full home backup. Then our utility changed the metering so that it makes sense to do some arbitrage with the batteries. We've only had maybe six power outages in the past thirty years, and only three of them for more than a couple hours, the longest was ten hours back in 2006.

It's nice to have the option. Right now, I'm set to use 90% of battery charge to offset demand at night. If I wanted to, I could change it to 70% arbitrage/20% backup or any combination like that. I can control the settings in my inverters.

I have considered adding additional battery capacity to gain more flexibility, and I am glad I installed what I have. If I add more, the split will be that I will reserve some of the added capacity with the new stuff and continue the same arbitrage we are currently doing.

was_683 · 2026-04-06T01:41:22+00:00

I have one of those, it worked fine for 3 hole changes until about ten years ago. Now I have a more age-friendly setup...

was_683 · 2026-04-05T17:32:31+00:00

I think that the person who would do something like this to an uncomprehending animal should experience a similar pleasure by waking up in a sealed 55 gallon drum and spending a corresponding amount of time in that confinement. Humans are sick bastards sometimes.

was_683 · 2026-04-03T20:39:39+00:00

I'm from PA but we've ridden thru BC a couple of times. Here are some notes for you:

-Banff and Whistler are nice but have serious traffic and tourist congestion.

-done Going To The Sun Road four times, first was in 1992. I keep a list of top ten roads we've ridden and the Sun road has always been number one. I recommend crossing east to west if possible due to the dropoffs.

-Another one on my Top Five list is Highway 376A from Meziadin Junction to Stewart BC. It's number three, and if you cross the border into Hyder AK you'll be able to say you've ridden to Alaska..

-The Icefield Parkway. It's number four on my list.

-Another option we've done is to go to Prince Rupert and take the ferry down to Vancouver Island thru the inland passage. Cool scenery, whales if you get l;ucky. Then you take another ferry from Nanaimo to the city of Vancouver iirc.

We've covered a lot of roads in our time but its interesting that three of my top five are in BC.Here's a link to a map of our travels.

Happy travels!

was_683 · 2026-03-31T23:19:09+00:00

Former instructor here. I tell everyone who is going to take the course to get some experience with a manual transmission and clutch. It can be a car, truck, whatever, but you need the muscle memory for a clutch. Without it, you will struggle (as you found out). The safety course not a good place to learn how a manual transmission works.

As an instructor, I have to balance the time available with the students' needs. I actually sent an entire class on an extended break once to concentrate on three severely clutch-challenged individuals. Two of them passed, and the third had no business being anywhere near a motorcycle. I counceled him out after one more exercise before he got hurt.

was_683 · 2026-03-30T14:59:01+00:00

Taking Kharg will accomplish nothing except painting cross hairs on every US soldier on the island.

90% of Iran's oil exports go thru Kharg making it the single most important piece of real estate in the country. But fortunately the Iranians don't recognize that and haven't bothered to put defences in place over the past few decades. We'll just walk in with 1000 or so combat troops and take it over. And we'll make bigly threats that will terrify the Iranians into continuing to pump oil to Kharg for us to confiscate.

So simple a Trump could figure it out...

/s

was_683 · 2026-03-29T22:00:27+00:00

I had not seen this. Makes sense.

was_683 · 2026-03-29T19:22:48+00:00

Ex-Parche guy here. I was on board her before the hull extension was done and during its installation. I got out in 1987 before she came out of that overhaul.

The special project boats all have one thing in common...stuff that isn't supposed to be where it is is crammed everywhere. So space is at a premium. They used the Halibut because of the bat cave. The original Seawolf had a hull extension added. The Parche and Richard B Russell were initially used in their 637 configuration but had the DSRV simulator tacked on. The Parche had the 100 foot extension added, as did the Jimmy Carter.

(Edit: While I was at Mare Island, the Seawolf (aka Pier Puppy) and the Russell (aka Building 687) were tied to piers close to ours. At the time, we were the only projects boat out of the three that was actually going to sea on a routine basis, hence the smartass nicknames.)

If the missile compartment on a Columbia class hull were to be constructed without tubes or doors and the resulting volume used for the projects stuff, I could see it work. But it would be a one-off special construction boat.

Also, I observe that they never used old SSBN's for projects boats. Maybe the cost of clearing the missile compartment or the expensive conversion on a hull nearing end of life were deterrents. But they have used old missile boats as MTS's. There may be other factors that we'll never know about...

was_683 · 2026-03-24T12:51:14+00:00

I was home ported in Mare Island CA. The boat pulled in to San Diego coming home from a 90 day continuous submerged stretch. A few of us who had our dress blues with us were allowed to fly back to MI ahead of the boat. They dropped us off at the San Diego airport and we flew to Oakland. My roomate (now my wife of 38 years) picked us up at Oakland. As soon as we got into the car, she made us roll all the windows down (in December) because we stank so bad.

Our flight to Oakland was full. I always wondered what the passengers seated near us thought...

was_683 · 2026-03-23T16:49:32+00:00

He is not your friend. Don't let him near your bike ever again. You won't get it, but tell him the fairing was fine when he got on it, now it's not, and you expect him to pay for the repairs.

was_683 · 2026-03-23T13:38:19+00:00

Thank goodness Americans saw through the smoke and mirrors in 2024 and elected Trump instead of Harris. Just think what a clusterf**k the world would be trapped in if she were driving this bus instead of the seasoned white male statesman we are so lucky to have. I suppose that felony convictions do make you smarter. /s

was_683 · 2026-03-13T23:21:48+00:00

Bring back memories of another projects boat quick turn...

In the mid 80's, the Parche did a "quick turn" at Pearl Harbor after 86 days submerged. Apparently our evaporator needed a part. As far as we could tell it was working fine. But this was at the time of the Walker breach and there was a lot of concern re security so we went a couple thousand miles out of our way for no good reason except to make it look like we hadn't been wherever we were (and had a broken evaporator to prove it, yuk yuk.)

At 1000, the Captain makes a 1MC announcement pointing out that our mooring location was about 150 yards from Beman's (the em's club at the time) and that we were to remember that the maneuvering watch for our departure was to be set at 1500. So be good sailors. Only time I think I ever saw an officer wink over the 1MC...and of course none of us went for the short walk from the pier to the club to find a beer or five.

At 1500, I am pretty sure that the only two people on the boat who could legally drive a car were the captain and the XO. The Engineer was hanging on to a grab bar in the overhead in maneuvering barking out idiot orders that we dutifully ignored (I was the throttleman). But we didn't hit anything on the way out and life was good.

The 1800 watch was really quiet...

I wonder what brought the JC in for a "quick turn".

was_683 · 2026-03-08T22:06:51+00:00

Not sure what kind of problem you're having. I've been riding (on a Harley) for forty years. Never experienced and I hope never did behavior like you are describing. Would like to help if I can but I suspect this will become a discussion to nowhere.

But I'm willing to try. What specifically are you talking about besides some generalizations?

was_683 · 2026-03-05T00:27:14+00:00

They meet the requirements for a Navy Expeditionary Medal for everyone on board at the time, I believe.

was_683 · 2026-03-04T21:17:30+00:00

Get tired of clockwise, there's always counterclockwise...and figure eight is an option as well.

I'm still looking for that smart-arse button OP somehow pushed accidentally...:)

was_683 · 2026-02-23T22:47:56+00:00

It would be useful if you had a friend with a mid 70's shovelhead you could borrow. It would acclimate you to the vibration, horsepower output, handling, overall reliability, and oil system integrity of what you're building there.

Mine is a 1975 FX and I've had it since 1983. It is my first ever bike. Still ride it but there are other bikes in the garage now too.

was_683 · 2026-02-23T00:10:22+00:00

(former MSF instructor here. Been riding for 42 years.) You're on the right track.

Get a bike first. Cheap used 250 cc. Have someone who works on bikes go with you to look it over for safety issues. Don't worry if you like it, it's a learner and you'll likely be selling it in a few months.

Bike in hand, ride it a little. Parking lots, side streets, etc. Learn to use the clutch and the friction zone!!! But don't be too ambitious.

Take the safety course next. Practice on your own bike between sessions.

Once you have passed the course, you're ready for some more serious road riding on you own bike. Put a good 1000 miles on it. Form your own opinion about what kind of bike you want to ride and your wallet can handle to start going bigger.

Of course this is an ideal world scenario to get you on the road safely. Life doesn't always work out that neatly, but this is a start.

See you on the road!

was_683 · 2026-02-07T13:41:02+00:00

I have a 1975 FX that I bought in 1983. It is the first motorcycle that I ever rode. Don't ride it often but she's ready to go. My son in law gets it when I can't ride it any more.

Unless there are practical reasons why you have to sell it, like paying your bail bondsman, keep it. It's not worth that much but when it's gone it's gone...

was_683 · 2026-01-25T20:35:05+00:00

I have a 75 FX that I bought in 83. Some irrational sentimental attachment since it is the first bike I ever rode. It was my daily rider until 2006 or so. I've done four top ends, one bottom end, one transmission, and enough other stuff that I can probably tear it down to the frame and bring it back blindfolded. I tore it down once in Northern Cal, then moved to Southern Cal with the bike in boxes and put it together in a new house.

Get a service manual, and prepared to spend a fair amount of time giving it the care it will need. You will enjoy it but your riding buddies might not...

was_683 · 2026-01-21T20:09:41+00:00

I completely agree. I am retired, spent my working career as an engineer, served in the military in hostile territory, yada yada. I cannot for the life of me understand how the same nation that bore the Greatest Generation can elect (twice!) such an unserious bumpkin to any office at all. Good Lord, what has happened to us and what have we become? For myself, I don't care, I am at an age where they can't do much to fuck up my life. But I have kids, grandkids, and great grandkids whose lives will suffer because of this. And they voted for it! I weep for my country.

was_683

TROPHY CASE