Team USA

[gambit]

Seems to be a trend with the over 50 crowd..you two riding motorcycles and Gomig-21 and I having our Firebirds

When I was stationed at MacDill, I had an '86 IROC-Z. Yup, F-body Camaro. T-top. I rigged it up for SCCA racing. Back then, the rules were simpler. Must have a roll cage, even a pseudo one, and 5-points harness. No direct engine mods allowed, but mods to the intake system was fine, so I modded whatever I could to the TPI system and gained 5 hp on the dyno. I swapped for larger sway bars and dropped one inch height. I raced it so hard it twisted the body to the point that both glass panels for the T-top no longer fit. Each was out of alignment by a couple mm and would require a little force to latch. When it rained, as summer Florida would rain daily, the T-top would leak water a bit.

I also had a lot of fun with that car off the track. One of my most memorable events with that car was shortly after I bought it. Me and a gal was on our way over to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg and took the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The T-top was off. It was summer and the lovebug mating season was on. Big mistake. Once we got on the bridge and under speed, the damn bugs went over the hood, over the windshield, and straight into our laps. My date screamed and pulled the picnic blanket over herself. I could not realistically pulled over on the bridge so we had to suffer. We laughed about the day and I never drove the car with the T-top off during lovebug season again.

The car got stolen from my apartment when I carpooled. One night during one week of late night training sorties, got home around 0300 and found the car gone. About a month later, the po-po found the car parked behind a strip mall in downtown Tampa. The rims were gone and the car was resting on all four brake rotors. Cigarette burns on all seats and stereo gone. The stereo was aftermarket and top of the line. Automatic reverse cassette and more stuff. Installed it meself. The thief left me the Heavy Metal soundtrack tape. It was my favorite driving tune. ♪♪♪"You see me now a veteran of a thousand psychic wars"♪♪♪

The worst part was when we inspected the engine compartment, we found salt water mark half way up the engine and the firewall. Daytona Beach allow driving on the beach so that was the logical explanation. I had an '86 Jeep CJ7 and went to DB many times so I know. The insurance company -- I forget who it was by now -- insisted on repairing the car so I had to accept. I never race it again and eventually donated the car to the Hillsborough high school system so the kids can use it.

Fun times...

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

When I was stationed at MacDill, I had an '86 IROC-Z. Yup, F-body Camaro. T-top. I rigged it up for SCCA racing. Back then, the rules were simpler. Must have a roll cage, even a pseudo one, and 5-points harness. No direct engine mods allowed, but mods to the intake system was fine, so I modded whatever I could to the TPI system and gained 5 hp on the dyno. I swapped for larger sway bars and dropped one inch height. I raced it so hard it twisted the body to the point that both glass panels for the T-top no longer fit. Each was out of alignment by a couple mm and would require a little force to latch. When it rained, as summer Florida would rain daily, the T-top would leak water a bit.

I also had a lot of fun with that car off the track. One of my most memorable events with that car was shortly after I bought it. Me and a gal was on our way over to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg and took the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The T-top was off. It was summer and the lovebug mating season was on. Big mistake. Once we got on the bridge and under speed, the damn bugs went over the hood, over the windshield, and straight into our laps. My date screamed and pulled the picnic blanket over herself. I could not realistically pulled over on the bridge so we had to suffer. We laughed about the day and I never drove the car with the T-top off during lovebug season again.

The car got stolen from my apartment when I carpooled. One night during one week of late night training sorties, got home around 0300 and found the car gone. About a month later, the po-po found the car parked behind a strip mall in downtown Tampa. The rims were gone and the car was resting on all four brake rotors. Cigarette burns on all seats and stereo gone. The stereo was aftermarket and top of the line. Automatic reverse cassette and more stuff. Installed it meself. The thief left me the Heavy Metal soundtrack tape. It was my favorite driving tune. ♪♪♪"You see me now a veteran of a thousand psychic wars"♪♪♪

The worst part was when we inspected the engine compartment, we found salt water mark half way up the engine and the firewall. Daytona Beach allow driving on the beach so that was the logical explanation. I had an '86 Jeep CJ7 and went to DB many times so I know. The insurance company -- I forget who it was by now -- insisted on repairing the car so I had to accept. I never race it again and eventually donated the car to the Hillsborough high school system so the kids can use it.

Fun times...

Yeesh!

I know somebody who hit a large deer within two months of buying his car. It demolished his front end, smashed his windshield, smashed in the roof, and destroyed his back hatch. The insurance company insisted on fixing it. The repair cost came out slightly less than what he bought the car for. After they got the bill they called him up asking why he didn't want it considered totaled. He was like "Are you @#$%^& kidding me!!!"

 

[VCheng]

Here is how I managed to confound people in my 'circle of life', some cannot handle it, some love it, and some are trying to emulate how I view and live my life...

1- You are going to make three lists: A, B, and C.

2- List A will contain all the things you do in life. Obviously, a single male will have a different list A than a married male.

3- List B will come from list A. List B will contain all the things that you will 'act your age'.

4- List C will come from list A. List C will contain all the things that you will act half your age.

For example, my ideology and politics will reflect my 56 yrs, but when am on my bike, I will act like am in my mid 20s. Believe it, I have never gotten a speeding ticket on my bike. I just know how to read traffic and be precise with the throttle. If you like fishing, why do you need to 'act your age' when you go fishing? Any man here will act half his age at the beach will all those nearly nekkid women out there.

People continually underestimate my calendar age by at least 10 yrs. The youngest estimate -- despite me pointing out my grey hairs -- was mid 30s. How you behave IMMENSELY affects how people estimate your age. Grey hairs and wrinkles only make it more difficult, not easier. I have the former but not (yet) the latter. I have a desk job but I work out 5 days a week in my little home gym. I do not need to suck in my gut. My waist is 29 in and I do have a hard time buying pants, so I buy 30 then run the pants thru the hot wash and dryer a couple times to shrink it. I watch what I eat but am not fanatical about it. I have no problems with two double cheese burgers from Five Guys at one sitting. Fact -- Spider-Man likes Five Guys, Hawkeye prefers In-and-Out. Look it up. I wear progressive glasses but my eyesight have been stable for past five yrs, that make me a good candidate for lasik, which will make it harder for people to estimate my age.

Having people consistently underestimate your calendar age affects you psychologically as well -- make YOU feel good about yourself. You smile often, walk straighter, and basically gives less and less f*cks on what the hell is going on with other people on what they do and say. Women who underestimated my age then found out am nearly as old as their fathers looks at me differently in a good way -- my G/F said so. I guess women notices such things among themselves. My G/F is nine yrs younger than me and she underestimated my age when we first met.

The point here is that -- If B is longer than C, then you may need to 'lighten' up a bit. If C is longer than B, then you may need to 'grow up' a bit. So the goal is to balance out B and C. As you get older, you will add to A -- the master list -- then you will have to reassess on what thing(s) belongs to which list.

Age is a number and a useful one. Whatever the context of 'act your age' based from whatever cultural impressions, why do you need to 'act' that way all the time for everything? I go crazy with my five yrs old niece and three yrs old nephew. They do not want me and their father to act our age.

@James Jaevid @jhungary @Nilgiri @Hamartia Antidote

Let us take this concept of acting one's age. What is it? It is merely one way of asking us to conform to the expectations of wider society born of tradition and consensus. Only the mediocre are content to abide by it, in my view.

No doubt.

Whenever I said the US is the best country on Earth, people seems to think I have never been anywhere else. I think people believe that more out of their needs to sneer at Americans at any chance they get than out of any objective assessment about the US and Americans in general. The US do not need to be perfect but just better and we do not need to be better at everything. I have been to other 'first world' countries and sure, they do have some things they executes better than US. Medical and health care issues -- we could use their inputs. But when all the nitty-gritty details are added up and averaged out, the US is better than everywhere else.

When I made this thread, even @WebMaster commented, if he/she/it remembers.

USA is a much hated target on PDF these days due to the geopolitical issues, but none of them affect the everlasting strengths of this great melting pot, imperfect as it is. In fact, many of the more vocal attackers themselves have probably tried and failed to enter, which would partly explain their bitterness, I would bet.

...and here I thought I was the old man. You and @VCheng make me feel much better!

Seems to be a trend with the over 50 crowd..you two riding motorcycles and Gomig-21 and I having our Firebirds

When I was stationed at MacDill, I had an '86 IROC-Z. Yup, F-body Camaro. T-top.

Firebirds? IROC-Z? Bah, the Vette is where it's at!

BTW, where are the Mustang guys?

 

[James David]

Same here turned 39 last Sept.

Sorry for the late reply. On my way to work! Big Apple here I come!!!

I am not sure whether or not i am old, I am in my late 30, actually turning 39 last november.

I wish... and so does the missus.

Are you still in your 20s? I'm so jelly!

 

[gambit]

Let us take this concept of acting one's age. What is it? It is merely one way of asking us to conform to the expectations of wider society born of tradition and consensus. Only the mediocre are content to abide by it, in my view.

What is 'act your age' is indeed chained to the current social conventions of wherever one is at. But from my admittedly casual observations of peoples from several countries, there is always a universal expectation of 'act your age' according to local standards and those who chose to defy normal conventions, they are always regarded as exceptions, aka 'oddballs'. Most likely, a person will live his/her entire life under those norms. The funny thing is that all of us have struggled with what I proposed in post 2188. At the risk of being an amateur psychologist, we all have done it wondering how we should behave to 'blend in' and at the same time we admire those who chose to live differently. In the long run, I chose my mental and physical well being over conventional norms.

USA is a much hated target on PDF these days due to the geopolitical issues, but none of them affect the everlasting strengths of this great melting pot, imperfect as it is. In fact, many of the more vocal attackers themselves have probably tried and failed to enter, which would partly explain their bitterness, I would bet.

As I have said it many times, the flaws of US serves as nothing more than a temporary escape from their current situations.

 

[Nilgiri]

BTW, where are the Mustang guys?

Still crying coz us Camaro boys put a real hurting on em....in the era that mattered.

Same here turned 39 last Sept.

Sorry for the late reply. On my way to work! Big Apple here I come!!!



I wish... and so does the missus.

OK then I'm the youngest (32)....I'm honorary team USA aint I? (I'm just your friendly neighbourhood igloo dwelling canuck...when we get mad at you, we just call you hosers-eh!...and maybe if we're feeling super impolite...even chuck a few snowballs atcha...thats about it!...honest!). There's no Team Canada thread here, neither a canadian flag emoji....so I have to be that awkward "North America is kinda America rite?" person.

 

[VCheng]

Still crying coz us Camaro boys put a real hurting on em....in the era that mattered.

Lately though Mustang is beating the Camaro. I wanted to like the ZL1 but the slit like windows and the poor visibility was a huge disadvantage compared to the Ford.

OK then I'm the youngest (32)....I'm honorary team USA aint I? (I'm just your friendly neighbourhood igloo dwelling canuck...when we get mad at you, we just call you hosers-eh!...and maybe if we're feeling super impolite...even chuck a few snowballs atcha...thats about it!...honest!). There's no Team Canada thread here, neither a canadian flag emoji....so I have to be that awkward "North America is kinda America rite?" person.

You are hereby granted honorary membership of Team USA from the OP of this thread.

 

[Nilgiri]

Lately though

in the era that mattered.

You are hereby granted honorary membership of Team USA from the OP of this thread.

Scha-weet...didn't even check to see who started it heh. He sure sounds like a nice chap:

All that is great about USA will be in this thread.

and right after it....NBA.com....NBA cheerleader gallery lol. @T-123456

I have to get around to reading the earlier phases of this thread heh.

 

[James David]

Still crying coz us Camaro boys put a real hurting on em....in the era that mattered.



OK then I'm the youngest (32)....I'm honorary team USA aint I? (I'm just your friendly neighbourhood igloo dwelling canuck...when we get mad at you, we just call you hosers-eh!...and maybe if we're feeling super impolite...even chuck a few snowballs atcha...thats about it!...honest!). There's no Team Canada thread here, neither a canadian flag emoji....so I have to be that awkward "North America is kinda America rite?" person.

so Canada eh!? Sorry buddy can't help it! it's 1am about to sleep. I planned to just read some PDF stuff now it took me 2 hours.

one more @Nilgiri hahahahahahaha! Goodnight Team USA!!!

 

[Nilgiri]

so Canada eh!?

Psh....you yanks may make fun of our eccentric ways and frigid weather....but lets face it, deep down y'all fear what Canada has lurking in its depths (products of that sustained eccentricity and frigidness)....in its natural habitat of maple trees and cedar forests, just waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting interlopers and baddies:

They'd make Wolverine piss his pants!

@waz @Vibrio @RabzonKhan @WAJsal @Vergennes @Hell hound @Desert Fox @Tps43 @Mentee

 

[Tps43]

Psh....you yanks may make fun of our eccentric ways and frigid weather....but lets face it, deep down y'all fear what Canada has lurking in its depths (products of that sustained eccentricity and frigidness)....in its natural habitat of maple trees and cedar forests, just waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting interlopers and baddies:

They'd make Wolverine piss his pants!

@waz @Vibrio @RabzonKhan @WAJsal @Vergennes @Hell hound @Desert Fox @Tps43 @Mentee

And due to some lovely circumstances I can't say even a single negative point against canadians loool

 

[waz]

Psh....you yanks may make fun of our eccentric ways and frigid weather....but lets face it, deep down y'all fear what Canada has lurking in its depths (products of that sustained eccentricity and frigidness)....in its natural habitat of maple trees and cedar forests, just waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting interlopers and baddies:

They'd make Wolverine piss his pants!

@waz @Vibrio @RabzonKhan @WAJsal @Vergennes @Hell hound @Desert Fox @Tps43 @Mentee

Canada are bros, yankees are traitors. We have plans soon after Brexit to put them in-line again.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Canada are bros, yankees are traitors. We have plans soon after Brexit to put them in-line again.

Just don't export us anymore "Absolutely Fabulous" episodes...Patsy is a guy in drag even if the actress is a woman.

 

[Mentee]

Yankees can count on me if the English ever made it to D. C.

BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE PEOPLE

 

[VCheng]

Canada are bros, yankees are traitors. We have plans soon after Brexit to put them in-line again.

I must have missed the memo burdening USA to act patriotically towards other countries instead of only their own, just like all other countries do. Only the naive, confused or malignant (or any combination thereof) make such claims of treason.