quixoft

4 minutes ago, Michael Bevilacqua said:

I'm fine. How are you?  Again, wrong? Am I?

According to the article where racers and expert riders discuss it as well as everything I've been taught by motorcycle racers and instructors, yes. You need weight on the front. I've had a light front end going into a turn at 120mph. It didn't turn out well and it was 100 percent because I was too far back on the bike and not enough grip on the front. Luckily that only causes a low side and the only damage was torn up leathers and frame sliders.

Article says about what I expected. Try to keep weight balanced on both with a lean toward the front end so you don't wash out. As someone said above, washing out the front is almost a guaranteed crash, you need weight there for grip and tracking purposes. Washing out the back is no big deal and actually a lot of fun!  I sometimes try to get my back wheel sliding and back into some turns. It's damn fun getting that rear end sliding around a corner!

It's hard to do on an MTB without a motor so I end up using the brake to get the skid started. I haven't been been able to fully weight the front and lighten up the back enough to get it sliding on pedal power alone like I would on a motorcycle where I just goose the throttle in a turn to spin up the back end. 

3 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Notice the "excess" at the right end. The CDC cannot explain these, so any number that you believe is lower will not include these.

Clearly those deaths at the end of the graph are April Fools pranks gone wrong just as the Jan 1 deaths are all alcohol and firework related! 2019 New Year was a helluva party! 🙂

44 minutes ago, GFisher said:

That is F'ed up. I wonder how many total people have been infected by this cluster. 

32 infections out of about 1000 players since reopening in mid May? I hardly consider that a cluster. In fact I'd say that's showing that the rules the rinks have enforced are having a positive effect in slowing the spread in our community while still staying open. The only people allowed in the rink are the refs, players, and workers(most of which are also players). It's a 3.2% infection rate over a period of 6 weeks in a sport that is very close contact. I'd say that's pretty darn good at controlling things. Not a single case has been anything but very mild and the rinks are contact tracing heavily with almost daily updates.

* Only players, refs, and staff(usually only 2-3 people) are allowed in the building
* Temps are taken upon entry and no one at 100 or above gets in
* Masks are required at all times even on the ice now which really sucks trying to breath while playing but we're doing it
* Sanitation happens in between each game in the locker rooms and on the benches
* Players are only allowed in the building 20 minutes before game time and must leave within 20 minutes of the game ending to allow for sanitation time
* There is no handshake line post game
* Any team that has a player test positive is having their games pushed out two weeks from the date of the positive test so the team can quarantine. The opposing team as well.

The rules have made for some headaches and wonky scheduling but we're willing to follow the rules in order to keep playing. It's a good system and keeping the leagues up and running. They would fail and we would lose hockey in Austin if they completely shut down again because ice isn't exactly cheap to maintain in Texas and they need a consistent revenue stream from players.

I'm sorry you feel that this "F'ed up". I think we are doing a fantastic job of limiting contact and going above and beyond while still allowing our rinks to stay open and games to continue. Clearly with your response you disagree and that's okay. I respect your opinion and understand your alarm but I feel our efforts are more than responsible enough to continue to play. After all, the goal is to flatten the curve and keeps hospitals from being overloaded, not completely eliminate the virus.

 

37 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

Finally

https://www.kxan.com/news/coronavirus/required-all-texans-must-wear-face-coverings-gov-greg-abbott-orders/

“COVID-19 is not going away. In fact, it’s getting worse.”

wonder why that is?

 

This will be interesting

"Restrictions on outdoor gatherings are also included in the order. Gatherings can no longer be over 10 people and, with certain exceptions, groups over 10 must maintain six feet of social distancing."

 

Hockey is still happening for us. There have been 32 guys in the local beer leagues that have tested positive in the past couple weeks so we've had some changes like no spectators, limited time in the locker room, masks except when on the bench or ice, etc. We get updates from the league every time someone tests positive and which games they played in the past two weeks so we know who was around.

None of the guys that had it were hospitalized, none had any major issues, and all have been fine within a few days.  I've spoken with probably half of them and they said it feels like bad allergies. I'm guessing it's our highly developed immune systems from putting on all the disgusting, bacteria and virus filled gear that smells like death a few times a week!

14 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

I went to Earl Rudder M.S. before my parents moved to the Hobby M.S. area so a lot of my friends went to Marshall (including V.J. Villareal).

He was a few years ahead of me and dated my sister.  

2 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

So both of you went from West TX to San Antonio.  What HS?

Marshall. Lived right next to OP Schnabel park and hacked out a lot of those trails in the 80s.

46 minutes ago, CBaron said:

More coincidences, where'd you grow up?  I lived in Alice TX until I was 15 years old. 

Grew up in San Antonio. Spent summers on my grandparent's farm near Karnes City.  Free daycare for my parents during summer and free labor for my grandparents!

6 minutes ago, bestbike85 said:

The only thing worse than a single issue voter is someone who can’t fathom a person voting on both sides of different issues. If I’m a gun advocate the left thinks I’m a soon to be serial killer, if I’m pro choice the right thinks I want all babies to die. 

The informed independent voter will always be scrutinized by whoever their audience of the moment is. This is 2020. 

Haha, yep! It's extremely rare that I talk politics(or religion) with anyone outside my wife, sister, or parents and a few very close friends. Mostly because of exactly what you said above.

I was actually in this situation buying a new bike a couple months back. I went with Guerrilla Gravity because they are made in Colorado and most MTB frames are made in China. For the components I went with SRAM as it's a US company but their stuff is made in Taiwan. I'm cool with Taiwan as they don't like China either!

I did probably spend about $500 more than if I had gotten something from one of the Chinese manufacturers but I'm okay with that. It comes with the territory.

Rocky and hilly
I struggle on the step ups
Taking the bailout

3 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

that's the idea. makes sense. the question is: how much is fair and when is the company taking advantage (and being given that advantage by elected officials)?

There is definitely a gray area there and room for corruption. That's where local voters come in and kick out the offenders if it happens. I would love to boot out mayor Adler and the entire Austin City Council but I live in Round Rock now. 🙂

On 6/23/2020 at 10:06 AM, mack_turtle said:

word is that Tesla is going to build a factory east of Austin. the proposed site is just outside of 130 between 969 and Hwy 71. My brother is considering moving his family of five from Ohio to here if I could get a job there (he's some sort of manufacturing engineer).

explain it to me like I'm five: why do cities and counties offer incentives to corporations to move here? shouldn't those corporations be paying US for the privilege of operating in our region, with access to our infrastructure (if you can call it that) and our workforce?

 

Let's say Company A wants to bring 1000 high paying jobs to a city. The will offer a tax break to the corporation because the income from those 1000 highly paid folks(and their families) will contribute more to the local economy than the loss of corporate tax revenue. In addition it will attract other places that want to be associated with these corporations(e.g. Amazon or Tesla). These companies make the city more attractive as a whole and improves it.

There are downsides of course(there always are) but this is one area where I'm okay with giving the tax breaks. Usually, there is a stipulation where the amount of tax breaks is directly related to the number of jobs and the pay level of those jobs. I used to work at Schwab and that was the case when the moved 900 jobs to Austin from San Francisco. The city gave a tax break but Schwab was required to create a certain number of jobs at a certain pay level.

That's the idea behind it and I'm 100% happy with giving corporate tax breaks with stipulations for job creation and pay levels. 

On 6/21/2020 at 8:41 AM, AustinBike said:

calling this the "wuflu" is pretty much racist.

Don't let any poultry see this comment. Otherwise chickens everywhere might rise up because of our derogatory term, "The Chickenpox"

I'm the opposite. Born and bred in south Texas and got to work on a dairy farm each summer as a kid. Riding a bike in 100 degree heat is a walk in the park compared to post holing fence lines and baling hay in a 120 degree barn gulf of Mexico humidity and dust everywhere.

I'm all wrapped up in clothing when it gets below 65. We had those days a couple weeks ago with some 65 degree, low humidity mornings and I nearly froze riding at 6am until I warmed up from exercise. I don't know how folks can do it in northern winters. I love snowboarding but I'm wearing about 8 million layers and once it goes below about 15 degrees, I'm out. There aren't enough layers in the world to keep me warm from that crap. I was waiting for the bus from Frisco to Keystone one morning and it was -6 and my fucking eyelashes were freezing. I went to bar and drank all day instead of boarding.

I'll will take Texas heat over a northern winter every single time. Fuck that shit. I'm talking to you Mr. Polar Vortex that makes my life miserable in winter down here every few years.

1 hour ago, ATXZJ said:

I think whats really depressing is the reality that lies beyond COVID. Regardless where you fall on the issue of masks or COVID, the right cannot deny that the economy is in a freefall  that will easily surpass depression level poverty and disparity. The left has to acknowledge that poverty and the virus is spreading like wildfire and their proclaimed leaders have done little more than virtue signal. It's a sad reality that we as a country have allowed ourselves to fail each other. We have managed to not only crash the economy, but also explode the virus as well. I used to quote a friend who said  "only the russians could fuck something up this much" and now I feel like it's our turn to be the great disappointment. There are more than a few parallels to be found in the collapse of empires and it's not encouraging.

To nobodies surprise, the one thing we have achieved during this crisis, is a massive redistribution of wealth upward without any accountability. That was the first priority, not people. Now we as people sit and argue semantics while rome burns. That is the cruelty that we seem to refuse to acknowledge. 

To me, this is the strangest thing and why I have hostility.

 

The biggest issue that I see is that Democrats and Republicans are simply two sides of the same coin and that coin is controlled by Wall Street and corporate lobbyists. In general, both parties are only worried about keeping the super rich happy and above everything.  While we get hostile with each other in discussions about the party differences like gun control, abortion, immigration, etc, both parties continue to further expand the division of wealth.

Nothing will change until people start voting out BOTH parties to enact change. But that won't happen because most people choose a hill to die on whether that's abortion or gun control. If I'm pro abortion, I'm going to vote a straight blue ticket. If I like guns, I'm going to vote a straight red ticket. Forget everything else, those are my hills and I'm either winning or going down in a blaze of glory.

People are too damn lazy to actually research the entire platforms of the people for whom they are voting. My election ballot every election cycle consists of some red, some blue, some libertarian, and even some green every so often! I vote for the person and their ideas, not their party. But I always spend a weekend or two researching every single candidate, especially the local elections. I still can't fathom why people don't vote locally. Your local folks have much more impact on your life and situation than say the president. But people just don't care and that is why we in the state we are in. 

So until people get their heads out of the sand and actually start exercising their rights, we'll continue down the path we are. Getting hostile doesn't work. People need to research and vote these assholes out of office and that means both Democrats and Republicans. Don't get me wrong, I believe there are some good folks on both sides but I think there are far more that are just in it to win it for themselves and their corporate handlers.

Just got my COVID test back. It's negative so I'm free and clear!

19 hours ago, jcarneytx said:

A bit out of date. This information is a bit more relevant: 

"Now that serology tests are available, which test for antibodies, the estimates we have right now show about 10 times more people have antibodies in the jurisdictions tested than had documented infections."

https://time.com/5859790/cdc-coronavirus-estimates/

If that holds true, then the death rate is an entire order of magnitude lower than the data show. I'm of the opinion that it's most likely true.

7 hours ago, throet said:

If there's any argument against wearing masks, I think it should be simply over whether or not we as a society are OK culling our population. Instead, certain people want to hide behind a position of this being a media frenzy that is blown out of proportion or a world-wide plot to oust Trump. Seriously I would be much more accepting of somebody just stepping up and saying overpopulation is a problem, spending the majority of our healthcare dollars on old people and people with chronic health conditions is a problem, and this pandemic is the solution to those problems so let it run its course, i.e. "Survival of the Fittest". Even if I didn't agree with that position, I would be more accepting of it than the lame excuses that have been thrown around on this thread. It's easier though for folks to just politicize it. 

 

This is actually a topic that I'm very interested in. Unfortunately it's one that is difficult to discuss because many people are unable to step back from their emotions and treat the subject as a scientific study. If you mention Darwinism or "survival of the fittest" to improve the herd survivability as a whole, you will get absolutely destroyed in most cases because people think you just want to murder the old and sick or are into eugenics a la Brave New World. In reality, it's just a thought exercise for most.

It's an interesting discussion. We use our definition of being a "civilized" species with compassion as the main reason for trying to save everyone when nature would have killed off millions if not billions over the years had we not intervened with medical technology. I've always wondered, are we actually inhibiting our own evolution by doing our best to help and save those who nature would normally eliminate? My logical brain says yes we are inhibiting our evolution as a species but my emotional brain says fuck nature, let's save whomever we can!

Viruses do a couple things in nature to improve species in general. They make a species more robust and hardy by eliminating those who can't withstand their attack. They also evolve us via genetic mutation, some good which survive and reproduce and some bad which generally die off. At least for non humans that's the case. This article claims that 30% of our genetic mutations since our divergence from chimpanzees are a result of viruses modifying or mutating our genetic code. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160713100911.htm

I'm always both amazed and horrified by the pride we take in trying to tame nature and that includes our efforts to actively prevent natural selection.

It's a really cool topic to study but as I said, a lot of folks can't handle the subject.

17 minutes ago, jcarneytx said:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201811/why-certain-people-will-never-admit-they-were-wrong

I don't care if someone has a difference of opinion. That's fine. I have a problem with those that are too selfish and self-centered to care about anyone else. Arguing with them will not ever change their mind, simply because they are incapable of change. Their world-view consists of "ME and ONLY ME" and they are NEVER wrong. They believe the earth is flat in spite of overwhelming evidence it is not. They believe astronauts did not land on the moon, in spite of evidence they did and that with a big enough telescope you can see the marks on the moon where they landed. They believe the entirety of the world is conspiring and making up a chinese flu that isn't any different than any other disease in spite of the fact there are over half a million dead from it. They believe that wearing a mask is indicative of being a "sheep" when it is simply a self-less act of trying to prevent it's spread. The only thing, if that is even possible in some cases, that would change the minds of people like this is experience. In this specific case, that would mean the death of someone they care about due to their own actions which could have been prevented by simple preventative measures, like wearing a mask. 

I don't disagree with any of that. There are quite a few of those people around and I vehemently disagree with them. But I try my best to do it respectfully and nicely even if they are attacking me with hate and name calling. I used to get angry and make hateful posts but I decided many years ago that I didn't like being angry as it was exhausting and it didn't accomplish a damn thing. Not once.

So I try my best to be kind to everyone and that includes those who treat me like shit. I don't want to be the asshole who intentionally tries to hurt people(I was that guy at one time) even though I know for a fact they are flat out wrong. I'm not always successful but I've found it feels much better to be nice.

I have zero issue with anything you've said outside of the name calling and anger toward others. Honestly, I'm willing to bet quite a bit that you're a good person and that you don't intentionally try to hurt people with words. I know all too well how easy it is to attack folks over the interwebz. It felt good and righteous when I used to do it but it feels much better now when I try to be nice. 

I hope you have a good night my friend.

1 hour ago, notyal said:

Great! Only the fire and brimstone to worry about now.

Take the $9.99 upgrade to get asbestos lined mosquito netting with the life preserver. Perhaps include some copper wiring for a mobile Faraday cage to withstand lightning strikes. 

I think I need to start an End of the World business.

7 hours ago, notyal said:

It'll be worse riding through the swarms of locusts whenever they get here. 

Bring an inflatable life preserver with an integrated bug net. That way you're protected from the locusts and the floods.

40 minutes ago, jcarneytx said:

This is completely worthless argument. Humans have been living with the the flu for a LONG TIME...we've built up immunities, our bodies know how to fight it, we have fucking vaccines for it. There is a reason it's called NOVEL coronavirus...because it's fucking NEW. Our bodies have no defense against it, we don't have vaccines for it. Fucking hell the ignorance displayed in this thread all because of MUH FREEEDOMS1111!!!

When people disagree with you, do you always immediately treat them like shit with cussing and name calling? Your response is part of the problem as people tend to get defensive when they get called fucking ignorant and instead of changing their minds, your attacks just make them dig in their heels even more. From your post, you strike me as a person that cannot have a civil conversation with anyone who might disagree with your views. Perhaps I'm wrong but I only have that post to go on.

Instead of attacking, why not try to actually understand WHY people disagree with you? Don't you think it would be easier to change someone's opinion if you understood their point of view? Also, not attacking with vitriol and hate would probably help as well. Empathy goes a long way in life even if you completely disagree with a person's perspective. 

I'm all for mask wearing and helping prevent spread. But I also understand why others don't want to and I don't hate them for it or feel the need to call them fucking ignorant. It just isn't necessary and is not helpful one iota. But these are the days of social media where it's evidently acceptable to be a complete asshole to strangers and treat them like shit. Getting rid of my facebook and twitter account were two of my better decisions in life a couple years ago.

39 minutes ago, jcarneytx said:

This is completely worthless argument. Humans have been living with the the flu for a LONG TIME...we've built up immunities, our bodies know how to fight it, we have fucking vaccines for it. There is a reason it's called NOVEL coronavirus...because it's fucking NEW. Our bodies have no defense against it, we don't have vaccines for it. Fucking hell the ignorance displayed in this thread all because of MUH FREEEDOMS1111!!!