QUESTION: What crazy arguments occur in your other hobbies?

[Talisman]

My pizza just arrived. Behold, Hawaiian on a carbon crust. Add some blue cheese dipping sauce.
Good to go. Glorious!

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This is how I imagine hell... Forced to eat this thing for eternity

 

[EJ3]

a flat6 of 140HP, that is inefficient. The from the same era (1964) Porche Type 771 engine (2.2L flat6) got 270HP and 230nm torque. It was used in a varity of Porche cars of that time and the decade after it and often used to mod VW Beetles also, as their standard engine was also weak.

I don't know, a properly built TYPE IV engine does the trick & fits way better:

This 210HP engine made 196 lb/ft of torque matches the tall gearing in Troutman- Barnes coach built beetle precisely. Watch as Gunnar Jeanette pilots the Revs Beetle in some test laps before handing over the keys to Miles Collier. At Raby’s Aircooled Technology, Jake Raby personally creates each engine himself, to ensure the most complete purchasing experience of a custom, hand built engine possible.

Should you need more, there is this (& it still fit's):

• The 2,913cc engine combination currently holds the Aircooled Technology record for the most “All Motor” street power weighing in at a whopping 284 HP on pump gas!!
• This is a twin plug, EFI equipped engine making huge, reliable power with a power band from 1,500 clear to 6,500 RPM.

 

[mhardy6647]

You should meet people who keep the 1960s Ultra Vans GM made. These were fairly large for their day motorhomes with a Corvair drivetrain. Yes direct from GM that way. You wonder about the pitch meeting for that project. People love them and are fanatical about keeping those few out there on the road.

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So -- wait.
Someone put the headlight trim from a Ford Econoline on a GM "motorohome"!?!?!!?! That's kind of like making sangria with Chateau Petrus, innit?

(ok, this one is technically a "Falcon"... work with me, here! )

PS Not that I am suggesting that the motorhome is the Chateau Petrus.

 

[rdenney]

You should meet people who keep the 1960s Ultra Vans GM made. These were fairly large for their day motorhomes with a Corvair drivetrain. Yes direct from GM that way. You wonder about the pitch meeting for that project. People love them and are fanatical about keeping those few out there on the road.

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Ultra vans are very cool. But they were not designed or made by GM. GM only provided the drivetrain, much like modern motorhomes.

The GMC motorhome, on the other hand, was made by GMC Truck and Coach in their own assembly plant. It was designed in house and managed as GMC’s halo vehicle. It was sold by GM dealers. It remains the only motorhome built by one of the Big Three automakers entirely in house.

A couple of years ago, about a hundred of us took our coaches back to Michigan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the start of production. First-year ‘73 models were on the front row. My blue ‘73 was nearest the camera.

Rick “enough of that” Denney

 

[Jaxjax]

In firearms, just ask about cleaning a rifle and what the right procedure and chemicals are. Or better yet, how should you break in a new barrel?

Yep, that one will evolve into a never ending & sometimes nasty thread . Then if you add in cut vs button vs hammer forged & gosh forbid barrel harmonics etc.. it's all out the window at that point,

 

[Waxx]

I don't know, a properly built TYPE IV engine does the trick & fits way better:
View attachment 435939View attachment 435941View attachment 435940

This 210HP engine made 196 lb/ft of torque matches the tall gearing in Troutman- Barnes coach built beetle precisely. Watch as Gunnar Jeanette pilots the Revs Beetle in some test laps before handing over the keys to Miles Collier. At Raby’s Aircooled Technology, Jake Raby personally creates each engine himself, to ensure the most complete purchasing experience of a custom, hand built engine possible.
View attachment 435936
Should you need more, there is this (& it still fit's):

• The 2,913cc engine combination currently holds the Aircooled Technology record for the most “All Motor” street power weighing in at a whopping 284 HP on pump gas!!
• This is a twin plug, EFI equipped engine making huge, reliable power with a power band from 1,500 clear to 6,500 RPM.

That is a later engine, used mainly by Volkswagen (having the same roots). Porche made a lot of these kind of engines, both for themselves and for Volkswagen, as it was their trademark for decades. Today i would put an M96 engine in such car if it would fit. Those are way more efficient than those older boxer engines. But if you compare both to American V8's, they win both with ease in efficiency and horsepower/fuel consumption.

 

[EJ3]

You may be right, I do not know the answer but I would be willing to compare the lb. per hour of fuel per HP against one using this 93 octane rated Pontiac engine. (BSFC=Brake Specific Fuel Consumption)

Just so you know, I was born in Salzburg, Austria and worked for the Porsche factory at one time (but have a home in the USA, also) so I am just into performance of all types.

 

[Blumlein 88]

a flat6 of 140HP, that is inefficient. The from the same era (1964) Porche Type 771 engine (2.2L flat6) got 270HP and 230nm torque. It was used in a varity of Porche cars of that time and the decade after it and often used to mod VW Beetles also, as their standard engine was also weak.

Well that whole thing was designed by an air craft engineer so maybe he just wanted an air cooled engine. Considering its size and that it had appliances and a bathroom it is impressive that it only weighted 3100 pounds. I mis-spoke about them being fiberglass they actually are monocoque aluminum. You'll really love this. Originally it used the 80 hp version of that motor. Later they went to 110 hp and finally the 140 hp versions. Those were what were available from Chevrolet so take it up with them. These vans had a two speed Powerglide automatic. My guess is the Porsche engine probably had a torque curve not at all suited for this. Plus most of Porsches other engines back then were less powerful than the one you list. The one you list was only used for racing models I think.

I've flown planes with the Lycoming O-320 which were 150 hp for 5.7 liters. Of course part of that is a large slow turning engine needs no gear reduction so the prop can be directly connected to the crankshaft.

If I had one I probably would be thinking of dropping in a Subaru engine. To a Corvair enthusiast that would be quite the sacrilege.

EDIT to add: As posted actually GM didn't make these just supplied the drivetrain.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I'm active in a number of different areas, and one that springs to mind is films on home media - the arguments about the quality of certain transfers on Blu-ray Disc, 4K UHD, etc., etc., can get 'interesting' at times. BBQ forums, too.

But the most absolutely anal, ridiculous, laughable area is one I don't go to much, and that espresso coffee.

Seriously, for it to be 'proper' espresso it needs to be Xg of means, ground to a particular set texture, the water at a particular temperature, forced through the coffee at a particular pressure, taking a specific amount of time to make a specific amount of espresso. Tolerances of +/- close to zero.

Not only are you not allowed to call anything else espresso, you're an idiot if you like, or even don't mind something with a very slightly different taste.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

By the way, I was (indirectly, but only slightly indirectly) called 'rabid' on national British TV news once, because of discussions on forums.

I'm a big fan of the '80s band The Alarm. They pulled a stunt a few years back, where they felt they weren't getting radio play due to their age, so released a single under a pseudonym, and getting a young local band to front for them in the video. The single went straight into the UK Top 40 on the Sunday, and the following day it as a middling level story on the news.

On SKY News they had their media/arts correspondent being interviewed about it, and he said he'd been on the band's website and looked at the forums, and that the fans were, and I quote, 'rabid'.

I must confess, if you went to the forum members page, I was the member with most posts...and I'd posted twice as many times as the 2nd place person.

 

[Titurel]

But the most absolutely anal, ridiculous, laughable area is one I don't go to much, and that espresso coffee.

Seriously, for it to be 'proper' espresso it needs to be Xg of means, ground to a particular set texture, the water at a particular temperature, forced through the coffee at a particular pressure, taking a specific amount of time to make a specific amount of espresso. Tolerances of +/- close to zero.

BTW, I adjust all the parameters you mentioned as specific, typically between the first and second cup, the first cup being akin to the sacrificial 1st pancake. It's not that different from adjusting eq in large venues to accommodate changes in temperature, humidity, audience, and performers.

Not only are you not allowed to call anything else espresso, you're an idiot if you like, or even don't mind something with a very slightly different taste.

Espresso is a method of brewing coffee, not a particular roast or grind, and though the range of suitable grinds is small, the range of usable roasts is pretty broad, provided you adjust temperature, pressure, and time to accommodate the degree to which the bean's physical structure was degraded by the roast level. That's why it's difficult to do well, but there are rewards for the effort. If you can't appreciate the difference, that fine, but one shouldn't expect others to accept that what come out of Keurig pod or Moka pot is espresso. It's not, any more than what comes out of my espresso machine is French Press or soft serve ice cream. But I will concede that some espresso folk are beyond crazy. I'm tolerant. I wouldn't even condemn you for putting milk in your Earl Grey.

BTW, my new espresso machine's arriving Monday morning.

 

[mhardy6647]

Ultra vans are very cool. But they were not designed or made by GM. GM only provided the drivetrain, much like modern motorhomes.

ahhh -- that explains the Econoline accoutrements.
As an aside, but not altogether irrelevant (which is a pretty positive statement, for me!) -- there is a person at (ahem) audiokarma working his way through a restoration of one of the early 1970s GMC Canyonlands RVs. This might be of interest to... well... someone.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/vintage-1973-gmc-canyon-lands-motorhome.862346/
36 pages of dedication.

 

[JoetheLion]

Data visualization. Not so dissimilar to audio science. It is a combination of scientific principles and aesthetics / art. There are a lot of controversies.

Visualizing A New, New York Times

An instrumental part of New York Times and how this acclaimed media platforms visualises its news, Amanda Cox is one of the most prominent infographers in the business. Delve into her career and legacy as told through Visual Journalism.

gestalten.com

 

[mhardy6647]

I am still kind of a Tufte fan.
FWIW, I don't like heat maps -- at least per se.

 

[MattHooper]

I'm active in a number of different areas, and one that springs to mind is films on home media - the arguments about the quality of certain transfers on Blu-ray Disc, 4K UHD, etc., etc., can get 'interesting' at times.

I was an avid participant on the AVSForum for many years, and I remember well the Blu-ray versus HD DVD wars. (I still have a sizeable HD DVD collection and HD DVD player God help me.)

As well as LCD vs Plasma flat panels. And further back, CRT vs DLP vs LCoS for rear projection TVs.
Same with all the arguments over those technologies for projectors.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Thinking about weird beliefs in other hobbies...

I'd describe myself as a "gamer" in the same way as being an "audiophile" (ie I love video games but have no patience for gaming 'culture'). Over the last seven or eight years there's been a huge rise in the popularity of high refresh rate monitors - First 120Hz, then 144Hz, then 240Hz, and now there are models that refresh at 360 or 480Hz.

Any time these come up I always ask for the evidence that the difference leads to better performance in games - particularly when they're mentioned on ArsTechnica, which is a fairly science/evidence-oriented community, and get boo'd out of the room. "Of course it makes a difference" people say, "it's obvious if you try it yourself and if you can't tell the difference you're a dummy".

"Yeah but that's exactly what people say about all kinds of audio hokum too - this should be easy to test in a study. Just have a sample of people play games without knowing whether the monitor's set to 60Hz or 120Hz or 240Hz or 480Hz and see if there's a difference in their performance". Much hand-wringing ensues.

I think there's almost certainly a difference between 60Hz and 120Hz, but based on my (admittedly limited) understanding of human reflexes and visual acuity, I'm extremely skeptical that 240 or 360 or 480Hz makes any actual difference.

 

[rdenney]

ahhh -- that explains the Econoline accoutrements.
As an aside, but not altogether irrelevant (which is a pretty positive statement, for me!) -- there is a person at (ahem) audiokarma working his way through a restoration of one of the early 1970s GMC Canyonlands RVs. This might be of interest to... well... someone.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/vintage-1973-gmc-canyon-lands-motorhome.862346/
36 pages of dedication.
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I might have posted in that thread, not that the ad-disaster and user hostility that is AK will actually allow me to log in so that I can search the thread.

Rick “haven’t logged in there in a long time ” Denney

 

[Dimitri]

In the photography realm, arguing or discounting a shot someone else took and kept.
Or pictures of sunsets with no theme or context ....

 

[A Surfer]

In the photography realm, arguing or discounting a shot someone else took and kept.
Or pictures of sunsets with no theme or context ....

A sunset is content, the theme is time.

 

[EJ3]

A sunset is content, the theme is time.

Yes, I have many from a boat at sea. Water & sun & as the sun goes down And the changes in the sunset as the sun goes further down the horizon.