PN:
Joe’s Comment – This GIF pretty well sums up 2018 for me. All in all, I’ll be happy to start January fresh and perky. Only two days to relax……
New Year Redux
This coming year will be our 70th gallivanting orbit of the sun.
How far we have come:
All with little no effort on our part.
We (in all humility and humanity) are riders.
Happy New Year is only two days away.
A toast to 2019.
May it be a year of accomplishment, achievement, good health, and good cheer.
Prager U
Joe and I haven’t as much curiosity about why (?) as we have about what(!).
500 years ago Martin Luther pushed a (metaphoric) rock from the top of a (also metaphoric) mountain, causing an avalanche (ditto) which changed the world (the real world).
This particular “what” caused a paradigm shift that had (and still has) world-wide repercussion – the birth of “the West”.
An appropriate time of the year to reflect on the Protestant Reformation.
Usually called The Reformation.
The following Prager U. video with Stephen Cornils of the Wartburg Theological Seminary gives a brief history of the collision of ideas and inventions that precipitated the blossoming of Western culture:
Geert Wilders
A brave heroic Dutchman.
His big mistake was speaking freely.
That lead to he and his family living in safe houses under constant armed protection.
Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for free societies, he spoke about the blight of Islam in Europe, in the West, and in the World.
This presentation from the David Horowitz Freedom Center’s 2018 Restoration Weekend in November at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.
Joe says his spoken English is getting better every year!:
Joe’s Garage
Holiday Cheer
The original Steve McQueen Bullitt ’68 Mustang GT emerged from the fog of history in 2018.
There were two cars used in the movie. One was destroyed during filming. The car in this video is the original un-restored survivor.
The car was purchased in 1974 by Bob Kiernan of New Jersey. Bob has since passed, but left the vehicle to his son Sean Kiernan.
The car is valued at $4 million USD. Not a bad return on an initial MSRP of $2,712 USD. Using an inflation calculator, we calculate that a 1968 dollar is valued at $7.24 USD in 2018 currency. The original car cost $19,634.88 USD in today’s money (2,724 X 7.24). ROI is $3,980,365.12 USD over 50 years. The average return is $79,607.30 USD per year.
Impressive numbers, but….. what if you had $2,712 USD in December of 1967 and invested it then, re-invested dividends, calculated for inflation….. what would you have?
According to the S&P Return Calculator, after meeting the criteria above, the amount invested would have grown 1,359.548%. That would be $3,687,094.18 USD. The difference is a whopping $293,270.94 USD.
That’s 6 years + salary in our current retirement income.
If we only knew what we know now when we didn’t……
But we digress.
The question being begged is: WTF car can you buy for $19,634.88 USD today that has the same fun factor as the ’68 Mustang had in it’s day?
Which spawns the corollary question: why the hyper inflation? A 2018 Mustang GT with V8 engine and standard transmission starts at $35,000 USD base price (before options, delivery, and prep.) That’s a $15,365.12 USD difference before additional costs (as above calculated ’68 Mustang GT). Joe says the GD (doG damned) government is responsible for plenty, but that is a topic for another discussion at another time.
Note from Joe: Boys and girls, take it from me: vehicles of all types sizes and function ARE NOT GOOD INVESTMENTS. For every Bullitt there are ten million (or more) that didn’t make the cut. Investing in vehicles is as crazy as it gets. You’d have a better chance of winning a lottery or becoming a rock star.
Enjoy the videos.
First up, Jay Leno drives the 2019 Bullitt and the 1968 Bullitt at the Ford test grounds in Dearborn MI:
Next, the car chase that started the entire love-fest, where Bullitt out-drives the professional looking hit man (who sports a 5 o’ clock shadow and horned rim glasses) and his Nazi looking partner (riding shotgun with a …. shotgun!):
If you did that now in San Franwacko there wouldn’t be enough safe spaces or EMT teams to handle all the offended.
Joe says get on with it, for that is a very good idea!
Bicycle Paradigm Shift
Who thought the tried and true mechanics of a bicycle needed improvement?
Take a gander at this video (thanks Daniel J.):
Joe says innovation knows no bound.
Joe also says this will solve the greasy chain problem, but you can still wrap your pant leg in the gear drive without a sprocket guard.
The super tech bicycle has spokeless wheels and tubeless tires and carbon fiber frames and chainless drives and disc brakes and shock absorbers…… What next?
POLITICS, POLITICIANS, WACKJOBBERY, HUMOROUS, STUPID
SUNDAY SERMON
Dr. Dwight Lundell explains the axiom “The Law of the Instrument” (Abraham Kaplan), “Maslow’s Hammer” (Abraham Maslow), and “Birmingham Screwdriver” (old English expression) in terms of his career as a heart surgeon. He progressed from a celebrated successful respected surgeon to a disbarred (disdoctored?)(dislicenced?) “quack” simply by saying cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease.
Summbitch!
Joe and I were put on statins to control cholesterol over a year ago. (We stopped taking the pills after a month, but that is another story). Our doctor was following “best practice”.
The following presentation is an education on the validity of the scientific method. As with “climate change” or “global warming”, the science is NOT settled.
And consensus means diddly-squat.
The good doctor mentions David Feldman’s experimentation on himself to prove his theorized conclusions. Mr. Feldman will give next Sunday’s sermon:
WEATHER (OR NOT)
This week in Vernon BC was real Winter.
There was freezing.
There was cold grey clouds.
There was snow.
And there was Christmas.
What a great Christmas it was.
There are only (only!) 93 days until April 1st.
Joe (chilly) Mekanic
p.s. Ramirez is like Santa Claus –
