Random thoughts thread

[Anthony]

Goodness. You boosting in the future?

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Goodness. You boosting in the future?

Don't know, but I'm going to try and get as much horsepower as possible N/A, and the full 3" setup gives more HP than the 2.5" for a few bucks more, so why not.

[Anthony]

Oh really? Last I saw, it had not been decided whether people were getting anything out of 3 inches or not. I haven't looked into that in a long time though. Once I decided for sure on my exhaust, I pretty much stopped caring.

That is interesting though, that it actually gives more power. And it'll probably sound awesome. Congrats!

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Oh really? Last I saw, it had not been decided whether people were getting anything out of 3 inches or not. I haven't looked into that in a long time though. Once I decided for sure on my exhaust, I pretty much stopped caring.

That is interesting though, that it actually gives more power. And it'll probably sound awesome. Congrats!

3" gives you dat ricer 2mile exhaust doe!

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

Don't know, but I'm going to try and get as much horsepower as possible N/A, and the full 3" setup gives more HP than the 2.5" for a few bucks more, so why not.

How's tq & hp curve difference between 2.5 vs 3?

[Anthony]

I think my setup is going to be a 5 mile exhaust.

Borla UEL - PLM - Tomei front pipe - Tomei 60R

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Anthony

No, haha. That would be ~14 years from now.

I know it.

I was hoping to sneak that past you.

BTW, here's a book that you might enjoy. I read this over 30 years ago and recall finding it very interesting and enjoyable: The Making of a Surgeon, by William A. Nolen, M.D. I think you will find it well worth your time, Anthony.

I like goals, rewards, and not diving irresponsibly into major decisions, but that would just be too much time missed not having the tattoo. Maybe after I get married and a new house? That's still several years away.

That sounds good; I can live with that. (Heh. Like you care. )

You know something that might be nice? Your children add a tattoo every year to "build your sleeve." Now THAT would be special. You and your children would create it over the years... That would be memorable. I don't know, just a thought.

That was a very interesting and thoughtful and reflective piece you wrote.

I read to my wife one of the things you wrote, the thing about refusing to work for people who are "negative." A product of becoming a principled man, you said, a man of ethics and standards. (A man who judges.) You're growing up, you're maturing. This is all a good thing.

Well anyway, my wife burst out laughing. Not AT you, my friend. It was a spontaneous laugh of delight ... at how wonderfully young you are. You are a dear fellow, Anthony, and your thoughts and ideas do you credit.

But, if you were to actually follow through with that, you would discover over time, as you observe and learn and come to understand more and more about Life and people and the Human Condition ... you would be permanently unemployed.

How does one deal with such realities?

It's a problem.

So… when are you coming home? Are you permitted to say?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Porsche

I was hoping to sneak that past you.

Haha well good try, but no beans this time.

Originally Posted by Porsche

I read this over 30 years ago and recall finding it very interesting and enjoyable: The Making of a Surgeon, by William A. Nolen, M.D. I think you will find it well worth your time, Anthony.

Thanks, I'll look into that. Hopefully it's a personal story of exactly what it sounds like.

Originally Posted by Porsche

You know something that might be nice? Your children add a tattoo every year to "build your sleeve." Now THAT would be special. You and your children would create it over the years... That would be memorable. I don't know, just a thought.

Well, neither me nor my girlfriend want kids right now. Although... that could change in the future. I was going to say, "and there's always surprises," but we go to great lengths to make sure we aren't surprised with any little Anthonys. Mississippi has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancies, so... naturally... I know lots of people who got pregnant accidentally. Hell, I was an accident myself. I still have lots items to check off my bucket list that would be exponentially harder with a little mini me to worry about. Ain't tryin'a have all that. At least not yet.

Originally Posted by Porsche

That was a very interesting and thoughtful and reflective piece you wrote.
I read to my wife one of the things you wrote, the thing about refusing to work for people who are "negative." A product of becoming a principled man, you said, a man of ethics and standards. (A man who judges.) You're growing up, you're maturing. This is all a good thing.
Well anyway, my wife burst out laughing. Not AT you, my friend. It was a spontaneous laugh of delight ... at how wonderfully young you are. You are a dear fellow, Anthony, and your thoughts and ideas do you credit.

Thank you, sir. You always say the kindest things.

Originally Posted by Porsche

But, if you were to actually follow through with that, you would discover over time, as you observe and learn and come to understand more and more about Life and people and the Human Condition ... you would be permanently unemployed.
How does one deal with such realities?
It's a problem.

I don't think so. I would be limited on my options, but it wouldn't be that I couldn't get a job. Theoretically, you're not supposed to have more than 1/4 of the exposed body part tattooed to be in the Air Force. I've seen plenty of people here with full sleeves on both arms, which is 4/4. So even in the military, the most unreasonably nit picky organization of all, it's becoming more accepted.

At my civilian job, they couldn't give two shits if I had full body tattoo. The place I've given a little consideration into potentially transferring to in order to learn to weld and get school paid for, they don't care either. And if I was a doctor, especially if I was working for myself, it shouldn't be a problem. As a matter of fact, the guy who put my shoulder back together was always wearing a white coat when I talked to him, but I could see what looked like the end of a big tattoo peeking out from underneath his watch and sleeve. And he was an Air Force captain and orthopedic surgeon.

It's not the occupational suicide it used to be, even just 10 years ago. Another indication of how mainstream it is, just look up models online. 10 years ago, if you saw a model with a tattoo, it was just little bitty stamp of thing. Nowadays it seems like over half of the girls have at least one tattoo, and probably 10% of them are heavily covered.

Originally Posted by Porsche

So… when are you coming home? Are you permitted to say?

I am not. But! I can say that it will be soon. Like... within the next few weeks. I'm actually organizing an FR-S/BRZ meet in Biloxi for December 8th, so I should be home well before that.

[serialk11r]

@Dimman I discovered maraging steel (stands for martensitic aging). 18%

This stuff is awesome. 180GPa bulk modulus, up to 2300MPa yield strength for grade 350, 760MPa fatigue limit. By comparison 300M/high silicon 4340 is a wimpy 150GPa bulk modulus, 1200MPa yield strength, 600MPa fatigue limit (supposedly there exists a version with 800MPa fatigue limit but I haven't seen it) I found a paper from 2000 that said the fatigue strength can be increased further by tweaking the composition a little. Unfortunately it costs more than titanium

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Thanks, I'll look into that. Hopefully it's a personal story of exactly what it sounds like.

That's exactly what it is; one man's odyssey from med student to accomplished surgeon. It is engaging and fascinating, and I think you'll be motivated and inspired.

Thank you, sir. You always say the kindest things.

And thank you for putting it that way, for it is exactly how I think; I try to be kind whenever possible. The older I get, the more important it becomes to me. Loving kindness matters...

Like you, I am increasingly intolerant of rudeness and worse. Obviously, I am ill-suited to the Internet. LOL!

I don't think so. I would be limited on my options, but it wouldn't be that I couldn't get a job.

Whoa. No, no... I must not have made myself clear. I'm not talking about your tattoo, I'm talking about your determination to reject any employment with "negative" owners and management.

Go back and re-read it from that perspective. It is a very "young" perspective, as though there are only a handful of "negative" people. You could spend the remainder of your days trying to find someone in upper management who is NOT "negative," as you call them.

And since you've declared F 'em, you won't work for them ... you're likely to be unemployed. Nothing to do with tattoos.

Basically, you said that you'll only work for a firm run by genuinely good people who are not guilty of one or more of the sins on your list.

Let me know if you find such a firm. People in positions of power are unlikely to EVER meet your current standards.

That's why my wife laughed, as did I. Your views imply a youthful optimism that is not borne out in reality.

Thus the problem.

Does that make sense?

[6-Shift]

The amount of options out there for exhaust is simply mind blowing. Every time I decide I like one setup or another, something new comes out or I change my mind on what style I want. The only things I know for sure is that I want an EL header and large exhaust tips (4.5" is about optimal IMO). Everything between that is a big stainless steel/titanium clusterfuck. I've recently decided that I'm over the single exit design, but I like the sound of single exits a lot better...If the Invidia N1 had straight cut tips it'd for sure be my choice. However, header choice is a clusterfuck, same with overpipe/downpipe options. All I know is that I want loud but little to no rasp. I think with an EL header, overpipe, resonated frontpipe, and a decent catback (god I wish the perrin had better exhaust tips) I'd be right where I want sound wise. But then again what if I go turbo? What if I spent that money on a body kit or wheels/tires? How much SHOULD I spend to get a decent exhaust to begin with?!? AGHGHGHGGHGH. Back to the vendor forums I guess for more daydreaming....

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Porsche

Does that make sense?

Ooooh! Haha man, I totally missed that. Ok yes, that makes sense. And yes, I know I'll never find a perfect company like that. But I will steer clear of ones that are blatantly... unpleasant, I guess? I can't even think of an example right now, other than any company that has it written into their policy that they won't hire people with tattoos. I would say the military, since they were anti-gay, but they recently changed their minds, so I can't even use them as an example anymore.

I think you should always hire the best person for the job and be done with it. For example, if you're a small business owner with say... 10 employees, all of whom happen to be white, and you're hiring for one position, and only two people apply for it: a white guy and a black guy, don't hire the black guy simply because he's black and it will make your company "more diverse," hire him because he's the better person for the job! Unless he's not the better person for the job. In which case, fuck that guy, and hire the white guy. It shouldn't even be considered a case of hiring "the white guy" or "the black guy." It should be a case of hiring "the better guy" and not hiring "the worse guy," whoever each may be.

Sometimes there are good reasons to hire people on shallow details. Like if you own a Mexican restaurant, it seems perfectly reasonable to me for the owner to want to have a wait staff of purely Mexicans, regardless of who's in the kitchen, just to keep up the theme of the restaurant. But not hiring the better person for a job because of superficial nonsense, and then turning around and hiring someone who isn't nearly as good just because they conform to some archaic policy in a stupid little handbook somewhere is just bad all around.

If I had an arm completely engulfed in a tattoo, I could just wear long sleeves. Problem solved. I know there isn't a single company out there that is totally free from corruption, but hell... I'm corrupt myself. I just farted in the tent a little while ago and didn't even warn anybody. But if a company is going to be that bad on the surface, then they can just hire the guy behind me to build their perfect little Aryan staff.

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Anthony

And if I was a doctor, especially if I was working for myself...

Time for a reality check.

The independent doctor is fast fading from the landscape.

My cardiologist, who owns a group practice, must work in a hospital as an employee in order to make ends meet.

He told me that small groups like his will be all but gone within a few short years ... and that was before Obamacare was passed into law. He suggested that if Obamacare passed, life as a doctor would change forever and for the worse. His manner suggested that it would be unimaginable.

Now, my cardiologist is an orthodox Jew, and a genuine towering intellect. The man's a genius with multiple certs. He provides expert testimony in trials. If his IQ is less than 170, I would be surprised. He's one of those special guys, God's gift to the profession. Very few can "compete" with this man.

He's in his 50's, and he told me recently that he doesn't think he will be able to retire. He said he prays to God that he keeps his health, so that he might continue working.

Before you go down this road, Anthony, you need to carefully examine the way things are now -- not good -- and the way things may be when you are finally licensed to practice medicine. The future is not bright.

Work for yourself? Like a modern day Marcus Welby, maybe?

I don't see how.

[Anthony]

Oh yeah, I'm not counting on it at all, believe me haha. But in any profession, if I was working for myself, I could write my own dress code.