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Random Thought Thread

The Amazing Virginian said:
I don't know much about trucks, but last week I ran into a dude at a brewpup, and he had a truck that I thought looked kind of cool, so I asked him about it. He was more than happy to open the hood, let me look around inside, and tell me all about it. He was a real friendly fellow. It was a Shelby Cobra Ford 150 (I think I got that right). It had a supercharged 5 litre engine that pumped out more than 700 HP (I think he said it was 770?). I thought it was pretty badass that you could get that much HP out of a 5 litre engine. And, again, the truck just looked pretty cool to me, although I'm guessing it was probably fairly expensive.

So, Truck People . . . is that a cool truck, or is it fairly pedestrian and I was just easily impressed due to my own ignorance?
Click to expand...

Shelby American Inc.

www.shelby.com www.shelby.com


Truck guy or not, that’s badass
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
So, Truck People . . . is that a cool truck, or is it fairly pedestrian and I was just easily impressed due to my own ignorance?
Click to expand...
I think it is a cool truck. I see one occasionally going/coming to cabin. The guy keeps it sparkly clean and drives the speed limit, but will ‘goose-it’ when I give him a thumbs up. The smile on his face says a lot.

It is crazy how much horsepower some stock trucks/cars are now. I got passed by a new Ram TRX while I was going 75 and he about sucked my doors off🤣
My old Superduty 7.3 bubba-truck with standard tranny is slow, but I can load a ton (literally have done it) in the back and use 4wd low and granny gear with Cooper STT’s and crawl up the steep hills on the trail to my cabin and the scratches from overhanging branches don’t freak me out.
 
sgt1372 said:
A cool video clip that I picked up on Mastodon. Click on the pic to start the clip.

https://imgur.com/5K6xj5Z
Click to expand...
This was the next pic over, titled “Finish Him”. What Sword is that?


oDFkbHY.jpeg
 
BTW, I realized on Thanksgiving week, that this is a month or 2 late, but figured it might be worth considering, for the upcoming Christmas get-togethers (hopefully, no one had a case of a relative/friend doing the, "I'm sick as a dog, but CAN'T miss Thanksgiving! So what if I get EVERYONE else sick, too?")

If anyone hasn't yet gotten their flu shot, but is thinking about it;

For the folks genuinely interested, here's some data: to look through

1a) circulating strains this season

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...0QFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2bF2Pc5irXBPgarYTUYy52

1b) circulating strains in the US
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluviewinteractive.htm

2) vaccine response effectiveness (summary: Sanofi's recombinant flu vaccine 'Flublok' has shown to elicit significantly higher CD4 T-cell response. Walmart is one chain that carries it)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-00227-x#:~:text=By this measure, 78% of,exhibits the highest vaccine efficacy.]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-00227-x#:~:text=By this measure, 78% of,exhibits the highest vaccine efficacy
***
I have no affiliations with any of these companies.
***

P.S.

PCR confirmation is showing that both H3N2 and H1N1-pdm09 are currently circulating in the US, with H3N2 accounting for ~3/4 of confirmed Influenza Type-A subtypes. In my AO, H1N1 has been on the uptick (VE against Type-B influenza is typically very good, but Type-B flu is currently only accounting for <2% of typed cases in the US).

Generally, flu vaccines have demonstrated very good VE (Vaccine Effectiveness) against H1N1-pdm09 variants (typically between 75% to 90+% VE, and have been included in the vaccine every single year since H1N1-pdm09 first emerged in 2009), even when there are some differences (mutations from antigenic drift) between the circulating type vs the CVV (Candidate Vaccine Virus).

Egg-based flu vaccines have shown significantly lower VE against H3N2 (30% - 40% or lower), as the specific mutations known as 'egg-based adaptations' negatively impact the VE against H3N2 significantly more than against H1N1.

For higher VE against H3N2, I would specifically look for either Flublok or Flucelvax (Flublok is a recombinant vaccine. Flucelvax is a cell-based flu vaccine. Neither one produces the egg-based adaptation mutations that have been shown to reduce VE against H3N2).
 
sickpuppy1 said:

Shelby American Inc.

www.shelby.com www.shelby.com


Truck guy or not, that’s badass
Click to expand...
STARTING at $110,625?!? Where the hell does it END?

FWIW, the first house I bought was a nice 2200+ square foot 3 BR / 2BA job with a two-car garage and a screened patio with double French doors on a corner lot in a quiet neighborhood in St. Petersburg, FL. It cost me $74K. So, yes . . . I'm old.
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
STARTING at $110,625?!? Where the hell does it END?

FWIW, the first house I bought was a nice 2200+ square foot 3 BR / 2BA job with a two-car garage and a screened patio with double French doors on a corner lot in a quiet neighborhood in St. Petersburg, FL. It cost me $74K. So, yes . . . I'm old.
Click to expand...
1st house I bought was a 2400 sq foot 3 bedroom with living room and loft, solar heating, 2.5 bath with 2-car attached garage, a gazebo, and RV parking with storage shed on 1 acre for $117K. I’m old.
 
bluemax_1 said:
BTW, I realized on Thanksgiving week, that this is a month or 2 late, but figured it might be worth considering, for the upcoming Christmas get-togethers (hopefully, no one had a case of a relative/friend doing the, "I'm sick as a dog, but CAN'T miss Thanksgiving! So what if I get EVERYONE else sick, too?")

If anyone hasn't yet gotten their flu shot, but is thinking about it;

For the folks genuinely interested, here's some data: to look through

1a) circulating strains this season
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/influenza/who-influenza-recommendations/vcm-southern-hemisphere-recommendation-2023/202209_recommendation.pdf?sfvrsn=83a26d50_3&download=true&ved=2ahUKEwjjq5OE2sT7AhVjATQIHVi4BZ0QFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2bF2Pc5irXBPgarYTUYy52]https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/influenza/who-influenza-recommendations/vcm-southern-hemisphere-recommendation-2023/202209_recommendation.pdf?sfvrsn=83a26d50_3&download=true&ved=2ahUKEwjjq5OE2sT7AhVjATQIHVi4BZ0QFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2bF2Pc5irXBPgarYTUYy52
1b) circulating strains in the US
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluv...www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluviewinteractive.htm

2) vaccine response effectiveness (summary: Sanofi's recombinant flu vaccine 'Flublok' has shown to elicit significantly higher CD4 T-cell response. Walmart is one chain that carries it)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-00227-x#:~:text=By this measure, 78% of,exhibits the highest vaccine efficacy.]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-00227-x#:~:text=By this measure, 78% of,exhibits the highest vaccine efficacy
***
I have no affiliations with any of these companies.
***

P.S.

PCR confirmation is showing that both H3N2 and H1N1-pdm09 are currently circulating in the US, with H3N2 accounting for ~3/4 of confirmed Influenza Type-A subtypes. In my AO, H1N1 has been on the uptick (VE against Type-B influenza is typically very good, but Type-B flu is currently only accounting for <2% of typed cases in the US).

Generally, flu vaccines have demonstrated very good VE (Vaccine Effectiveness) against H1N1-pdm09 variants (typically between 75% to 90+% VE, and have been included in the vaccine every single year since H1N1-pdm09 first emerged in 2009), even when there are some differences (mutations from antigenic drift) between the circulating type vs the CVV (Candidate Vaccine Virus).

Egg-based flu vaccines have shown significantly lower VE against H3N2 (30% - 40% or lower), as the specific mutations known as 'egg-based adaptations' negatively impact the VE against H3N2 significantly more than against H1N1.

For higher VE against H3N2, I would specifically look for either Flublok or Flucelvax (Flublok is a recombinant vaccine. Flucelvax is a cell-based flu vaccine. Neither one produces the egg-based adaptation mutations that have been shown to reduce VE against H3N2).
Click to expand...
Thanks! I got whatever they give you for free at Costco about six weeks ago. Hope it was a good one?
 
Over 100 grand and plastic bumpers! I know the crash technology has been incredible, but trucks need real bumpers. I have a huge Ranchand ‘moose guard’ bumper and guard with winch on the bubba truck and a nicer one on my yukon.

House and vehicle prices are nuts. It is funny and sad at the same time to think whst either cost back when…
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
I don't know much about trucks, but last week I ran into a dude at a brewpup, and he had a truck that I thought looked kind of cool, so I asked him about it. He was more than happy to open the hood, let me look around inside, and tell me all about it. He was a real friendly fellow. It was a Shelby Cobra Ford 150 (I think I got that right). It had a supercharged 5 litre engine that pumped out more than 700 HP (I think he said it was 770?). I thought it was pretty badass that you could get that much HP out of a 5 litre engine. And, again, the truck just looked pretty cool to me, although I'm guessing it was probably fairly expensive.

So, Truck People . . . is that a cool truck, or is it fairly pedestrian and I was just easily impressed due to my own ignorance?
Click to expand...
Oh it’s a cool truck for sure, but it’s a rolling death trap in the wrong hands.
I’m a huge advocate of higher horsepower and torque in most applications, but 700+ horsepower in a vehicle with a high center of gravity, off-road tires and barely any weight over the rear axle is a recipe for destruction unless the driver really knows what they’re doing.
Now with all of my doubts layed out on the table, I’d definitely want one if I had money to piss away just because I’m a moron gearhead that has the utmost respect for Carroll Shelby, but that damn truck would scare the hell out of me because I know first hand that his Shelby Mustangs handle and perform like nobody’s business and they’re low to the ground with sticky tires and great suspension.
Try to get a ride next time you see him because I bet it’ll be a ride you’ll never forget.
 
beeinak said:
Over 100 grand and plastic bumpers! I know the crash technology has been incredible, but trucks need real bumpers. I have a huge Ranchand ‘moose guard’ bumper and guard with winch on the bubba truck and a nicer one on my yukon.

House and vehicle prices are nuts. It is funny and sad at the same time to think whst either cost back when…
Click to expand...

Some vehicle prices had remained somewhat stable until the past 4-5 years they went nuts. In 2000 I bought a new Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS fully loaded for $20,000, and in 2016 bought my daughter a similar Subaru Impreza sport for $23,000 with all the same features.

In 2004, my Subaru WRX STI with optional stereo added was $34,000 (no factory radio or sunroof option), and my 2017 WRX LTD with almost the same power/handling, and fully loaded with GPS, was $32,500. I do think that my 2017 is a better car than my OG WRX STi.

Now a WRX GT is $43K, and a similarly configured Impreza to the others we had is $31,500. Bigger increases in 6 years than in the 12-16 years between previous models.
 
Autoimmunity is down from social distancing and precautions for quite a while, so folks are going to be getting the flu pretty easily. I won’t waste time discussing vaccines, but for those of you who do get true influenza confirmed by swab, taking Tamiflu within 72 (48 preferred) hours of onset can really help with bouncing back. Many people claim to have the flu when it is another viral illness- the flu sucks and needs to be confirmed. Stay hydrated, rest as possible, and stay well!
 
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