chit chat thread

[REKIII]

Do we have any super tin foil hat wearers here?  Anyone up on the '5G caused Coronavirus' thing?  My aunt is going off the deep end on FB about this.  She also things it was a grand scheme by the secret world government to make us all get a vaccine which will also contain a chip so they can track us.  Etc Etc.  She's also highly religious.  It's getting really weird, like weirder than normal.

What say you, wibimmer brethren?

[B C]

I have been reading about this lunacy.

I wont claim to be an expert on this topic, not even an internet expert but this diagram (MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT TO KEEP YOU SHEEPLE BLIND.  Jk) seems to put things into perspective. 5G is still well below visible light on this spectrum.

 

No government is totally ethical, honest, and wonderful, but If anything, this pandemic has demonstrated to me that the government is really trying to watch out for and provide aid for its citizens as much as it can. I am happy with the paycheck protection plan, family leave allowances, and other steps being taken to help out. 

A very jaded and slanted view may propose that the ONLY motive for all

of this is to save the economy so the government can keep collecting taxes. But when things get real like they have been over the last couple months, I find it refreshing to see, in my opinion, genuine attempts to help.

 

 

[straight6pwr]

people are very curious by nature, and need answers to questions. if they cannot see an answer with their own eyes, they have to believe what someone is telling them is the truth. what is hard to explain is why conspiracy theories resonate with people. the simple answer is too boring? they need someone to direct their anger at instead of just accepting that some things are just shitty and that's the way it is? heard mentality (my friend believes it)?

lately, the media and social media aren't helping these conspiracy loons. the loons are able to find other people saying the same things, thereby in their mind, confirming the theory. 50 years ago, there were loonies. but they lived far apart and never found each other so they were just crazy people in their own little worlds. now they have Facebook and can post their bullshit for the world to see.

[gilber33]

1 hour ago, REKIII said:

Do we have any super tin foil hat wearers here?  Anyone up on the '5G caused Coronavirus' thing?  My aunt is going off the deep end on FB about this.  She also things it was a grand scheme by the secret world government to make us all get a vaccine which will also contain a chip so they can track us.  Etc Etc.  She's also highly religious.  It's getting really weird, like weirder than normal.

What say you, wibimmer brethren?

My wife is part of some facebook mom groups. One of which is the "all natural" moms who are anti-vaccines and they have the same sentiment. Saying they would absolutely not get the vaccine because this is all some big pharma conspiracy theory. I will never understand how some people operate on a day-to-day basis. 

 

 

[patsbimmer1]

38 minutes ago, gilber33 said:

My wife is part of some facebook mom groups. One of which is the "all natural" moms who are anti-vaccines and they have the same sentiment. Saying they would absolutely not get the vaccine because this is all some big pharma conspiracy theory. I will never understand how some people operate on a day-to-day basis. 

 

 

When this was all starting I was in a customers waiting room in Appleton and they had Dr. Oz on.  I was waiting for the dealer to finish with a customer so instead of staring at them waiting to finish I listened to the TV.  Oz had another "Dr." on and they were taking audience questions and one was something like "I follow all of your recipes for all natural soaps, sanitizer, cleaning products and was wondering if you would recommend them for the corona virus?".  Both "doctors" came back with a resounding "NO!" and back pedaled on how although they believe using their homemade products is a healthier way of living, during this time they absolutely recommend you buy your own soaps, cleaners and hand sanitizer because they are proven effective.  I fucking laughed, it was too perfect to hear them have to admit their bullshit.

[straight6pwr]

1 hour ago, gilber33 said:

My wife is part of some facebook mom groups. One of which is the "all natural" moms who are anti-vaccines and they have the same sentiment. Saying they would absolutely not get the vaccine because this is all some big pharma conspiracy theory. I will never understand how some people operate on a day-to-day basis. 

these mom's are just looking to blame someone for kids being born with mental deficiencies, instead of accepting that nature and genetics are fickle and some people are going to be born with problems. they ignore the simple answer of evolution. 

[patsbimmer1]

2 hours ago, REKIII said:

Do we have any super tin foil hat wearers here?  Anyone up on the '5G caused Coronavirus' thing?  My aunt is going off the deep end on FB about this.  She also things it was a grand scheme by the secret world government to make us all get a vaccine which will also contain a chip so they can track us.  Etc Etc.  She's also highly religious.  It's getting really weird, like weirder than normal.

What say you, wibimmer brethren?

I am not a conspiracy theorist although I have worn a tinfoil hat before (haven't we all?).  I haven't heard the 5g caused this yet but I have heard that this was a secret chemical weapon being developed in China and someone fucked up and accidentally let it out.  The great thing about conspiracy theories is they never become a validated fact.  Now, do I think that there are companies that will absolutely profit from this?  100% YES.  I haven't heard of a large company brazen enough yet to make a very public move to take advantage of this situation but there's a sang in politics, never let a crisis go to waste.  Big pharma and their supporting cast will make money off of this one way or another and there is nothing we can do about it.  We're also going to see companies come out of this who figured out how to streamline and successfully cut their largest expenditure, their workforce.  Money will be made by companies after this it's just a matter of who saw an opportunity and took it.  In this case I don't mean to make that a negative either.  In my role I see an opportunity to grow accounts by building a closer relationship with certain dealers because other sales people have been laid off or are making calls from home just the same as I am and they are being lazy.  I've also identified crisis/economy proof markets and working to better support them during this time so they can keep making money and supporting their own customers. 

I had a point when I started typing but i'm not sure I stayed true to the original question lol.

1 hour ago, straight6pwr said:

people are very curious by nature, and need answers to questions. if they cannot see an answer with their own eyes, they have to believe what someone is telling them is the truth. what is hard to explain is why conspiracy theories resonate with people. the simple answer is too boring? they need someone to direct their anger at instead of just accepting that some things are just shitty and that's the way it is? heard mentality (my friend believes it)?

lately, the media and social media aren't helping these conspiracy loons. the loons are able to find other people saying the same things, thereby in their mind, confirming the theory. 50 years ago, there were loonies. but they lived far apart and never found each other so they were just crazy people in their own little worlds. now they have Facebook and can post their bullshit for the world to see.

I agree with all of this.  I think conspiracies exist because people want answers and to accept what somebody else told you is admitting you probably have no recourse.  They can never prove it one way or another so if they can develop a "theory" as to why something happened that their lizard brain can understand and accept then it becomes truth and everyone else is stupid.  I think their is some superiority complex to this as well.  No conspiracy theorist is humble.  They're the smart one because *they* figured it ALL out.  People want to know why and if the answer is too simple or they don't understand then their HAS to be a "bad guy".  It  goes along with people unable and unwilling to accept their own mistakes and issues.  SOMEBODY has to be at fault for their strife.  Can't afford rent? Landlord is greedy.  Got laid off?  Big business is greedy.  Didn't get laid off?  Big business is greedy.  Got cancer?  Big pharma is greedy.

[straight6pwr]

1 hour ago, patsbimmer1 said:

I am not a conspiracy theorist although I have worn a tinfoil hat before (haven't we all?).  I haven't heard the 5g caused this yet but I have heard that this was a secret chemical weapon being developed in China and someone fucked up and accidentally let it out.  The great thing about conspiracy theories is they never become a validated fact.  Now, do I think that there are companies that will absolutely profit from this?  100% YES.  I haven't heard of a large company brazen enough yet to make a very public move to take advantage of this situation but there's a sang in politics, never let a crisis go to waste.  Big pharma and their supporting cast will make money off of this one way or another and there is nothing we can do about it.  We're also going to see companies come out of this who figured out how to streamline and successfully cut their largest expenditure, their workforce.  Money will be made by companies after this it's just a matter of who saw an opportunity and took it.  In this case I don't mean to make that a negative either.  In my role I see an opportunity to grow accounts by building a closer relationship with certain dealers because other sales people have been laid off or are making calls from home just the same as I am and they are being lazy.  I've also identified crisis/economy proof markets and working to better support them during this time so they can keep making money and supporting their own customers. 

I had a point when I started typing but i'm not sure I stayed true to the original question lol.

I agree with all of this.  I think conspiracies exist because people want answers and to accept what somebody else told you is admitting you probably have no recourse.  They can never prove it one way or another so if they can develop a "theory" as to why something happened that their lizard brain can understand and accept then it becomes truth and everyone else is stupid.  I think their is some superiority complex to this as well.  No conspiracy theorist is humble.  They're the smart one because *they* figured it ALL out.  People want to know why and if the answer is too simple or they don't understand then their HAS to be a "bad guy".  It  goes along with people unable and unwilling to accept their own mistakes and issues.  SOMEBODY has to be at fault for their strife.  Can't afford rent? Landlord is greedy.  Got laid off?  Big business is greedy.  Didn't get laid off?  Big business is greedy.  Got cancer?  Big pharma is greedy.

you're very right that someone almost always profit from disaster, and people see this as motive instead of opportunity.

good point about the superiority/egotistical nature of those people. 

the craziest conspiracy guy i ever met believes the airplane smoke trails were chemicals from the government meant to keep us docile. he also believed when he broke his leg at work, the doctors purposefully didn't fix it right so that he would be trapped by the medical system for his life. what really happened is he didnt do his physical therapy correctly and he had to blame someone else. 

[KaiserRolls]

[REKIII]

My Aunt is all in on all those conspiracy theories.  I usually just ignore it, but sometimes I have to point out the gross fallacy.  For awhile she was spouting about how the government and the mega rich had these super high tech healing machines and posted 'leaked' documents and images of them.  I realized immediately that they were set shots and artists renderings of the machine from the Prometheus movie.  I posted links and such.  She simply said that the images were only representative and that she was sure they existed.

Now she's heavy on the 5G = Covid19 and Bill Gates being evil and selling Alien Technology.

Crazy.

[straight6pwr]

3 hours ago, REKIII said:

My Aunt is all in on all those conspiracy theories.  I usually just ignore it, but sometimes I have to point out the gross fallacy.  For awhile she was spouting about how the government and the mega rich had these super high tech healing machines and posted 'leaked' documents and images of them.  I realized immediately that they were set shots and artists renderings of the machine from the Prometheus movie.  I posted links and such.  She simply said that the images were only representative and that she was sure they existed.

Now she's heavy on the 5G = Covid19 and Bill Gates being evil and selling Alien Technology.

Crazy.

is this a blood aunt, or in-law? if its blood, better get yerself checked. 

[GunMetalGrey]

The aforementioned influx of social media and people just sharing anything because the title says what they agree with has really blown me away. I really enjoyed the large amount of people sharing the "Covid only has a death rate of 3%, don't let the big media fool you." A quick look at the Hopkins site (best source for numbers as far as I can tell) shows that Italy and Spain are up in the 9 to 12% death range. Sure, the US was at a 3% mortality rate at that moment, but we were so early into the spread of it. 
I (to many people's annoyance) have a habit of asking further details and play devils advocate to things that are said that don't line up with what I would consider to be logical. It either leads to frustration from the other person, or leading to believe that the source is logical. 
My roommate lately has been on a "the death numbers are faked or they're classifying all deaths as Covid" or other statements of suspended disbelief. When prompted with further questions it's always an "I think" answer. While having an opinion isn't wrong, it feels ignorant to be making large scale claims as someone that is in an entirely unrelated field.
It does also prompt the question of "Who do you believe?" in this whole thing. What is an unbiased source? Do they truly exist? All of the mainstream media channels will have a skew/bias, be it major or minor. Social media has both helped and hurt in that regard in my opinion, as you at least have the ability to "peer review" other people's sources. 

Who's to say this Dr.  Fauci guy isn't being paid to say certain things? I'd like to assume he isn't, as he has stood as the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease since 1984.
Clearly I have a hard time trusting things I don't / can't verify! 

[REKIII]

3 hours ago, straight6pwr said:

is this a blood aunt, or in-law? if its blood, better get yerself checked. 

Sadly, Dads Sister.  But, my dad is completely disgusted by me so I don't have a relationship there, so I'm, actually closer to this Aunt as weird as she is.

2 hours ago, GunMetalGrey said:

The aforementioned influx of social media and people just sharing anything because the title says what they agree with has really blown me away. I really enjoyed the large amount of people sharing the "Covid only has a death rate of 3%, don't let the big media fool you." A quick look at the Hopkins site (best source for numbers as far as I can tell) shows that Italy and Spain are up in the 9 to 12% death range. Sure, the US was at a 3% mortality rate at that moment, but we were so early into the spread of it. 
I (to many people's annoyance) have a habit of asking further details and play devils advocate to things that are said that don't line up with what I would consider to be logical. It either leads to frustration from the other person, or leading to believe that the source is logical. 
My roommate lately has been on a "the death numbers are faked or they're classifying all deaths as Covid" or other statements of suspended disbelief. When prompted with further questions it's always an "I think" answer. While having an opinion isn't wrong, it feels ignorant to be making large scale claims as someone that is in an entirely unrelated field.
It does also prompt the question of "Who do you believe?" in this whole thing. What is an unbiased source? Do they truly exist? All of the mainstream media channels will have a skew/bias, be it major or minor. Social media has both helped and hurt in that regard in my opinion, as you at least have the ability to "peer review" other people's sources. 

Who's to say this Dr.  Fauci guy isn't being paid to say certain things? I'd like to assume he isn't, as he has stood as the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease since 1984.
Clearly I have a hard time trusting things I don't / can't verify! 

I think a lot of it has to do with what your personal agenda is (and this can be an agenda whether you realize it or not).  If you generally do not trust something, say the government, you immediately latch on to any bit of info that confirms such. and with the plethora of (mis)information out there, it is easy to get the same confirmation from multiple sources.

I just always try to take a step back and get as much of the picture as I can.  Then add my own sense of realism to it all.  Does the government really want to control us all and become socialist? (sure, but that's besides the point) Would they kill the economy to do it?  That I doubt.

Still, I love talking about it all and getting peoples opinions, some very smart people I know have wildly different views on things.  I always keep in mind, that I could be wrong, and that just because we differ in opinion, doesn't mean I have to hate them.  I can't discuss things with people that go off the deep end though.  I can't discuss any of this with said Aunt, because she 'knows' she is right, and there is no discussion.

[GunMetalGrey]

19 hours ago, REKIII said:

Still, I love talking about it all and getting peoples opinions, some very smart people I know have wildly different views on things.  I always keep in mind, that I could be wrong, and that just because we differ in opinion, doesn't mean I have to hate them.  I can't discuss things with people that go off the deep end though.  I can't discuss any of this with said Aunt, because she 'knows' she is right, and there is no discussion.

This reminds me of why I enjoyed working with the group of engineers I did when I worked out of our office.
We could sit and calmly discuss / debate things that we had completely opposing opinions on. No one stormed out, no one refused to talk to someone because of their opinion (well, shy of one guy) it was just good clean discussion. 
It seems like that is becoming less common, and the polarizing of sides isn't helping us out at all. 

[m42b32]

Alright who put their summer tires on... Its snowing in Milwaukee right now. 

[jc43089]

I like to find information from sources rather than news garbage, all news is biased.

CDC guidelines right from the source about classifying deaths:  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/coronavirus/Alert-2-New-ICD-code-introduced-for-COVID-19-deaths.pdf

  Excerpt: "Will COVID-19 be the underlying cause? The underlying cause depends upon what and where conditions are reported on the death certificate. However, the rules for coding and selection of the underlying cause of death are expected to result in COVID19 being the underlying cause more often than not."

 

A personal example of how I see the numbers not being accurate.  My Father in Law was working in Chicago, he and my Mother in law did not leave their house after he returned just in case.  He became sick and was tested positive for COVID-19 at his employers request because they wanted him back if possible.  My mother in law also got it but was refused a test for whatever reason.  They are both fine now.  So there were 2 cases that were only recorded as one because she didn't actually get tested and have a positive result.  Also oddly he can go back to normal 72 hours after fever is gone.  But she has an order to stay quarantined for 14 more days because she was around him, even though they were sick at the same time and recovered now.

 

Am I saying we should just ignore it all?  No, but killing small businesses while so many "essential" things are excluded is BS.  If they tried to shut down big business with money to fight back they know there would be push back.  But the little guy doesn't have resources to fight back.

 

Do I wear a tinfoil hat and think the earth is flat?  No,  Do I trust the government to act in my best interest?  Also no.

[REKIII]

2 hours ago, m42b32 said:

Alright who put their summer tires on... Its snowing in Milwaukee right now. 

I put the summers on the trackhawk.  Had to buy new ones too because the old summers were bald. 

[B C]

The curse can be reversed if enough unfinished project cars unfold their mirrors in unison.

[Rekpoint]

5 hours ago, m42b32 said:

Alright who put their summer tires on... Its snowing in Milwaukee right now. 

I put my summers on yesterday. It snowed here for a bit but its all gone now. NOT ME

[Boris3]

Snow tires still on, but I was thinking yesterday about a set of Hoosier R7s for the race car should there ever be a season this year so maybe...

[HipMF]

4 hours ago, Rekpoint said:

The denial is strong with this one.

 

 

[Rekpoint]

3 hours ago, HipMF said:

The denial is strong with this one.

 

 

Wasn't guilty last year. Not guilty this year  

[P_Roloff]

Though I’m aware this isn’t WIBoaters, thought a few of you might get a kick out of this. 

Pulled the engine on the boat today and stripped it down, and in addition to having no compression on cylinder 4 we found a massive crack in the side of the block that was previously hidden by the intake manifold. We knew the engine was likely toast due to two freeze plugs being popped out, but this certainly sealed it (or rather, didn’t). Not sure if any of you are into boats at all, but this is example A of why winterizing properly by opening block drains, removing the thermostat and pouring antifreeze straight in as well as pumping it through the cooling system is so important. 
 

Another “known running” long block will go in tomorrow and/or Sunday, pending results of a compression test.
 

Edit: This group has such poor luck with compression tests I don’t know why I even bothered. No compression in cyls. 2 and 3, so pulled the head and found a blown head gasket and a crack between the cylinders. What fun. 

[YoungCR]

What kind of boat/motor? I'd fancy an old boat project someday

[P_Roloff]

57 minutes ago, YoungCR said:

What kind of boat/motor? I'd fancy an old boat project someday

It's a 1988 Sea Ray Seville, 18ft bowrider. It has the 3.0L Mercruiser four banger/alpha one inboard/outboard combo, it's a pretty common setup for older pleasure/runabout boats. They're torquey and fast enough for what they are (35mph with a ski propeller with just me in it, still can break 30 with the boat loaded down). No hour meter, but guessing it's well below 500. It was used sparingly in the last two decades, and the first decade of its life it sat for awhile, so mechanically it's pretty fresh. There wasn't even detectable wear on the pushrods when we pulled them. Here's some pics:

It's a pretty tough and long-lived combo as long as maintenance was done, but from personal experience and observation of classified listings it usually isn't. Winterizing correctly is crucial, and it only takes one mistake to ruin a motor. Parts are dirt cheap though and they're stupid simple so for anyone handy with a wrench they're really cheap to run provided the basic stuff like the block and outdrive unit are good.

The boat itself that we have is a decent platform to start with, Sea Ray's are reasonably well made boats and have been around a long time, so finding specific parts for them is a little easier than for some of the other smaller manufacturers. They have wooden stringers and transoms though (structure of the boat), and this can cause obvious issues to the extent that if your boat has these parts rotted, you're better off throwing it away than trying to repair it generally.

If it was me, I'd look for a boat with fiberglass stringers and transom or one with known good wood ones that has been well-maintained and ideally stored inside. If you're looking for a project, something with a bad motor or drive is a much easier thing to tackle than anything else. Upholstery and carpet is ridiculously expensive to have done, so buying a "good" boat with a trashed interior is as much of a money pit or often more of one than one with a bad motor or drive.

I know this was way more long-winded than it needed to be haha, but that's the best top-level rundown I have. Finding the right project boat is a bit difficult sometimes but worth the wait and definitely worth the extra cost and time savings.

For what it's worth, the next boat I look at will be an inboard Mastercraft ski boat, either a 1983+ Stars & Stripes or a Prostar 190. All-fiberglass construction, Ford 351w power, no outdrive to worry about water intrusion into, and perfect for what I do, which is skiing. Not as practical for cruising or fishing, but it all depends on your intended use case. Being on a competitive water ski team, having an inboard ski boat to practice on is useful. This is what a Stars & Stripes looks like:

Early Prostar 190:

And a later Prostar 190: