Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I absolutely, 100% agree with whoever made that statement. It depresses me horribly to see the sort of fluff that passes for news in my industry.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

you say that until the day some airline loses your virginity and doesn't care less.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

INORITE! It totally happened to me like that once and, like, no one even like cared and stuff.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

So, it turns out that the fiance of the step-brother of my brother-in-law is a convicted sex offender in Florida.

Amy Varnam Mugshot | 08/23/11 Florida Arrest

I'm debating whether to inform my sister of this fact. A very large part of me wants to have no involvement whatsoever in whatever drama would be likely to ensue from said disclosure.

DaveC

Don't keep something like this from family. They're family; ya gotta look out for each other even when others don't. That's assuming that you think of her as family....

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Well, I mean it's the girlfriend of the step-brother of the husband of my sister. It's not like it actually affects us directly.

And the charge was kind of weak- FL statue 794.05, Unlawful sexual activity with certain minors:Basically, she was banging a 17 year old.

(I'm looking at her mugshot here, and she's kind of cute. Definitely doable. 5'6", 133lb, pixie hair...)



What is it with people in my family being convicted of sex crimes? My eldest cousin on my mother's side still has one year of a 3 year sentence left for trafficking in child pornography...

rleete

iTrader: (21)

That's not a crime. It should merit a medal.

Full_Tilt_Boogie

iTrader: (1)

The Engine masters building competition decided to allow OHC 4V engines this year.
Ford Modular engines took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Engine Masters - Racing Engines & Engine Tech - Popular Hot Rodding Magazine

Accufab Inc.



John Mihovetz and the crew from Accufab are well known to fans of the Ford Modular engine. With four-valve engines allowed for the first time at the competition, John seemed like the right guy to showcase the potential. Starting with a 5.4 four cam powerplant, the engine was extensively modified to expand the displacement to 401 cubic inches to meet the minimum requirement for competition. All eyes were on the numbers as the engine buzzed effortlessly through the rev range, making phenomenal torque and power along the way. The power was devastating, with peak horsepower coming in at 736 horsepower, and torque peaking at a lofty 664 ft-lbs. That puts the specific torque at a staggering 1.66 lb-ft per cubic inch! Needless to say the score of 2938.5 points shattered the current standings, putting Accufab in first position by a wide margin.



Jon Kaase Racing



All eyes were glued to the test cell as the outrageous 409 cubic inch Ford four-valve modular engine of Jon Kaase moved in for qualifying eliminations. With 16 header pipes snaking off the split exhaust ports, to the innovative injection system controlled by FAST electronic, this engine was extremely highly developed from top to bottom. The power numbers, especially down at lower rpm’s were unreal, with over 600 lb-ft on tap by 3500 rpm. The engine went on to post peak numbers of 720 horsepower and 666 lb-ft of torque. When the numbers were computed for the final score, Kaase had earned 2916.9 points, enough for second place in the current qualifying standings and well within striking distance of the leader.



B.E.S. Racing Engines



Tony Bischoff also looked to take advantage of the rules change allowing the Ford four-valve modular motor with a 401 cubic inch example. The power production capabilities had already been proven by the other competitors running this engine, and this time the attention was on Bischoff. Unlike the others, BES used a single plane intake manifold with a central throttle body location, which looked like a good choice for top-end power. In qualifying pulls the engine churned out 775 horsepower at peak, while torque peaked at 632 lb-ft. Tony’s MOD motor finished qualifying elimination with a score of 2867 points, putting it in the second spot with two engines left to run.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

Think about what you wrote and why it's generally considered ignorant. Forget for a moment that you might have wanted to bang your mom's friends when you were in high school.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

On the one hand, yes, I acknowledge that it's probably sort of wrong-ish to permit, say, a 50 year old man to have sexual intercourse with a six year old girl. I'm not sure why it's the responsibility of the criminal justice system to regulate this behavior, but I'm not going to argue against it.

On the other hand, I am annoyed by arbitrary boundaries which result in concepts such as "Today, it is OK for these two people to have sex. Tomorrow it will be a felony, and then in two months it will be OK again."

DaveC

The unfortunate thing is that we are forced to make a judgment at some point. We resent someone else making that decision for us, nobody wants that, and I won't argue one way or the other in this particular case, but the fact is lines get drawn. No amount of idealism can chase that away.

triple88a

iTrader: (2)

So my buddy saw a bathroom picture... best drawing ever.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I never realized that, in a traditional diesel-electric submarine, the fuel tanks are literally open to the sea.

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

Huh.

Just did a lot of reading. It makes sense when you think about the various buoyancy problems related to emptying a fuel tank, but yeah...wouldn't have guessed that was the case.

Good reading:

Submarine Main Propulsion Diesels - Chapter 5

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I'm just thinking that if I were handed the responsibility of designing such a fuel system, I'd have probably started by proposing a series of counter-tanks which are initially filled with air and and are automatically allowed to fill with water at a rate equal to the rate at which fuel is consumed (compensating at a predetermined ratio for the differing densities of seawater and diesel fuel.) After that was shot down on the basis of the space consumed by the counter-tanks, I'd then start going down the path of implementing a complex, closed-loop control scheme to automatically adjust both the main ballast tanks and the trim tanks, using a system independent from, but polite to, the primary control systems.

It never would have occurred to me to just say "Screw it. Let the fuel intermix with raw seawater, and we'll just spin out the water (and salt, and rocks, and jellyfish) downstream before it goes into the engine."

hankclaussen

iTrader: (5)

This is the most interesting thing I have learned this week! crazy.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Water is such a common problem in diesel fuel already that separating the two is already a standard function of any diesel fuel system. I am still surprised they did it that way.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I understand that diesel systems traditionally are fitted with water separators. I don't understand why this seems to be uniquely problematic for diesel systems vs. gasoline.

And I'd have thought that scale would also be a concern. E.g. it's one thing to deal with a few ounces of water per hundred gallons, it's another thing entirely to have to filter out the whole Atlantic ocean. (Yes, I'm aware that diesel fuel is lighter than water. I'm also aware that submarines move, and that you can get motor oil to emulsify in water if you change it hard enough.)

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

Why are all of the collapsible hoses garbage? I love the concept, but apparently none of them hold up. Ours now pours more water out of the faucet attachment end than it does out of the nozzle end.

I would gladly pay twice as much if I found one with a reputation for durability. All of the Amazon reviews, including the ones with brass attachments, say the same thing.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

perhaps you should consider why you give a **** if your hose is collapsible or not.

if you have a yard, you have the space for a full size hose of solid quality.