The General Chat Thread (2023)

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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
If you look logically at what would happen to the car if I sold then I don't think it's a problem for someone like me who hardly ever uses it to have it.
But moving away from logic to feelings (and lets be honest vehicles are at least in part an emotional interaction) I don't enjoy driving around in something that makes me look like one of those prats that has a 4x4 to go to the supermarket and back on smooth tarmac 😆
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I have a 15 gallon fuel tank, and I fill it once a month. I don't lose any sleep over that. If I drove to downtown Dallas five days a week for work, I'd most likely be driving a Tesla instead of my Audi. EVs are ideal for urban commuting.*

BTW, this will surprise people, but Texas gets 38% of its electricity from wind and solar generation. Our conservative governot is trying his hardest to fight it, because he is owned by the oil and gas industry -- and the science denying MAGA cult. But so far, he's losing. Texas has the perfect conditions for wind and solar. We have more wind turbines than any other state, and more than many countries.

CD

* We don't have any good mass transportation options where I live.
 
caseydog said:
I have a 15 gallon fuel tank, and I fill it once a month. I don't lose any sleep over that. If I drove to downtown Dallas five days a week for work, I'd most likely be driving a Tesla instead of my Audi. EVs are ideal for urban commuting.*

BTW, this will surprise people, but Texas gets 38% of its electricity from wind and solar generation. Our conservative governot is trying his hardest to fight it, because he is owned by the oil and gas industry -- and the science denying MAGA cult. But so far, he's losing. Texas has the perfect conditions for wind and solar. We have more wind turbines than any other state, and more than many countries.

CD

* We don't have any good mass transportation options where I live.
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38% is outstanding.
The UK is ideally positioned to take advantage of wind power as it's where weather fronts from the atlantic and the continent collide and also has another strong north south weather front at play. The solar power thats fed from the south for no reason other than big business interference has a limit on it and is shutdown if it overproduces.
Like Texas the industry has a strangle hold on the government, taking tax payers money, price gouging while people struggle to pay bills and yet still announce record profits.
The whole thing is shameful.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
That's funny because Toyota makes the Tundra. And yeah, a little more than half of its parts are made in America, but it's still a Japanese company.
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The Tundra (and Sequoia SUV) factory is in San Antonio, Texas, the only Tundra factory in the world. Oh, Toyota's North American Headquarters is in Plano, Texas.

BTW, 65% of Tundra parts are made in the USA. 58% of RAM 1500 parts are made in the USA. 50% of Ford F150 parts are made in the USA. 46% of Chevrolet Silverado parts are made in the USA.

CD
 
caseydog said:
The Tundra (and Sequoia SUV) factory is in San Antonio, Texas, the only Tundra factory in the world. Oh, Toyota's North American Headquarters is in Plano, Texas.

BTW, 65% of Tundra parts are made in the USA. 58% of RAM 1500 parts are made in the USA. 50% of Ford F150 parts are made in the USA. 46% of Chevrolet Silverado parts are made in the USA.

CD
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I know.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
A family member asked if I'd like the Indiana Jones watch for my birthday even though it's over two months away! 😆
I had a look and decided as its a mid range gold plated job I'd rather not.
But I read the original Hamilton it's based on were 'gold filled' (a new concept to me) which is apparently superior and their mechanical watches have stood the test of time so I now have serviced 1948 Hamilton wrist watch with warrantee winging it's way to Blighty 👏👏 👏

I really should have asked this question BEFORE pulling the trigger (but it's a vintage watch that looks better reconditioned than most so I just went with it) my question is did I guess right that old Hamiltons are pleasant watched worth having or have I wasted cash?!!



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Yes, those old Hamilton watches are iconic. That's a cool watch. Lizard band? I can't see enough of it.

I'm a watch aficionado -- my maternal grandfather was a watchmaker/clockmaker. I wish I had learned his skills before he died. I could be making good money part time in my semi-retirement. People who can fix old watches and clocks are hard to find today.

CD
 
caseydog said:
Yes, those old Hamilton watches are iconic. That's a cool watch. Lizard band? I can't see enough of it.

I'm a watch aficionado -- my maternal grandfather was a watchmaker/clockmaker. I wish I had learned his skills before he died. I could be making good money part time in my semi-retirement. People who can fix old watches and clocks are hard to find today.

CD
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Crocodile I believe.

That would have been a lovely pastime. I've considered the same thing.
The British Horological Institute runs courses which are tempting. I feel sure there must be more than one of those type of institutions in Merica?

I love horology and cartography but think I'm drawn to these two things due to being hopelessly poor at being orientated to time and space 😆 I get round these gaping deficiencies by working hard at it which I'm told makes me a really good navigator. People are happy when I'm doing the logistics 😂
When I got my knickers in a twist about going to the Himalayas and never being seen again I did some training with a military adventure expedition man. Strange that I always end up in charge of the thing I'm naturally really bad at 😆

This watch guy does a really good job, much better than average, his work looks meticulous. Sadly he emailed this morning to say he's cancelled the transaction and is very sorry but that watch has already sold. He has offered $50 off anything else I'd like but I think I'll take my time for one of his more exceptional pieces to appear.
Here's a link to some of his other gems.

If you faff about checking out (as I did reading about gold fill) you'll get sent a 'comeback 10% off' voucher 👍

TickTockWatchCo - Etsy UK

This page has a nice list of the places to study in the USA at the bottom of it.

https://www.great-british-watch.co.uk/watchmaker-training-and-education-how-to-become-a-watchmaker/#:~:text=Full%2Dtime%20Watchmaking%20Education,-Often%20the%20best&text=1800%20hour%20course%20(1%20year,micro%20mechanics%20–%20making%20watch%20parts
 
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PabloLerntKochen said:
Just wanted to remind everybody that EV's are by no means the solution. There're numerous studies how bad the batteries are and many "experts" already speak out warnings on how there is no ideal way to recycle them.
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I think most everyone already knows that but thanks.

They do use a lot of energy to recharge, and if someone is traveling through an area with few or no charging stations, what then? In southern and eastern states of the US, what would one do if a large hurricane came through and cars were lined up to evacuate? What if something else knocked out the power grid in a region (in any country)? Those are only a few reasons I don't want one. I would consider a hybrid, however.
 
Sorry to sound like a know-it-all, I'm frustrated because we can build super efficient batteries and then we've such a big bottleneck, that could make things worse. To recycle batteries is definitely a future proof profession
 
PabloLerntKochen said:
Just wanted to remind everybody that EV's are by no means the solution. There're numerous studies how bad the batteries are and many "experts" already speak out warnings on how there is no ideal way to recycle them.
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JAS_OH1 said:
I think most everyone already knows that but thanks.

They do use a lot of energy to recharge, and if someone is traveling through an area with few or no charging stations, what then? In southern and eastern states of the US, what would one do if a large hurricane came through and cars were lined up to evacuate? What if something else knocked out the power grid in a region (in any country)? Those are only a few reasons I don't want one. I would consider a hybrid, however.
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Not long after the last hurricane hit SW Florida with all the salt and brackish water flooding, there were lots of fires involving EVs that were due to the batteries.
 
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