thebear's list of interesting websites

[275 GTB-4]

Seeing as how, you seem to be into Sir Alecs front wheel drive beauties....heres one just for you The Bear....Cheers!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/1133234

[thebear]

Originally Posted by 275 GTB-4

Seeing as how, you seem to be into Sir Alecs front wheel drive beauties....heres one just for you The Bear....Cheers!

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/1133234

Ahh yes, a "Work in Progress".

The avatar is me in my '62 Austin-Cooper , taken at the uphill turn at Limerock Park in Connetictut on 21 OCT 1962. I took delivery in APR '62 and it was one of the first Cooper (998cc) models in the US. The car in the background is a Volvo P-1800 driven by Art Riley who went on to fame as a Volvo racer.

My '62 was pushed off the highway in April of 64 'at 50mph by a careless driver `who didn't see it". I was ok but the car was pranged badly. I sold it "as is" to Floyd Stone who rebuilt it and entered it in the '65 Sebring 12hrs.

I bought a 1275cc Cooper-S Mk II in 1976. It had come from Canada as there were none imported into the US due to emission, crash testing and other various regulatory problems. I sold it in '78 due to a corporate move (I had too many cars and sold the wrong one),

[thebear]

CAR WASH

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by thebear

Ahh yes, a "Work in Progress".
I sold it in '78 due to a corporate move (I had too many cars and sold the wrong one),

Buy another, immediately, if not sooner

[thebear]

Originally Posted by 275 GTB-4

Buy another, immediately, if not sooner

Unfortunately, the real ones have been `out of print' here in the US for some time. The 'new one' leaves me cold.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by thebear

Unfortunately, the real ones have been `out of print' here in the US for some time. The 'new one' leaves me cold.

Step One: import a Heritage shell from UK
Step Two: find a windscreen wiper motor
Step three: build a Mini
Step Four: Register said Mini from date of Wiper Motor!!!!!!!
Step Five: Enjoy the hell out off said Mini !!!!

[thebear]

Want to try DRIFTING ?

[thebear]

Video shows twin propeller engined plane taking off from deck of aircraft carrier. Just as plane leaves the SHIP , a HUGE wave bursts over the bow of the ship, the plane disappears into the wave and reappears a second later, still airborne.

I suppose he was denied a second wave to do the cleaning up after the relief operation. Good thing all orifices would have automatically set to full PSI setting (Prevent Saline Ingress?)

[thebear]

Great for getting rid of the little FRUSTRATIONS that life throws at you with only a few mouse-clicks ...

[thebear]

Prime candidate for the Darwin award … you know it’s going to happen … just when . . . ?

You might have to wait a few seconds and click the ">".

[thebear]

I wouldn't have SEEN it if I didn't believe it!
AND another new "Smiley"

[thebear]

Ever dream about flying cross country in a small plane, low and slow to take in the scenery?

This gentleman flew from California to Wisconsin to attend the Oshkosh Air Venture show. Took some doggone good PHOTOS along the way.

Enjoy.

[thebear]

Want to see an automotive TIME CAPSULE ?

Click on "Tulsarama". and then the other links for more background.

[thebear]

This is not a website but an interesting bit of trivia:

August 25, 1875
Englishman swims the Channel

Matthew Webb, a 27-year-old merchant navy captain, becomes the 1st known person to successfully swim the English Channel. Captain Webb accomplished the grueling 21-mile crossing, which really entailed 39 miles of swimming because of tidal currents, in 21 hours & 45 minutes. During the overnight crossing from Dover, England, to Calais, France, Captain Webb drank brandy, coffee, & beef tea to keep his strength & heat up. He was hailed as a national hero upon his return to England, & a triumphal arch was erected in his honor in his hometown in Shropshire. The Daily Telegraph proclaimed, "At this moment the Captain is probably the best-known & most popular man in the world."

One of 12 children, Webb learned to swim in the Severn River below Ironbridge. At age 12, he joined the mercantile training ship Conway. He was not remembered as a fast swimmer, but his fellow cadets noted his endurance. While traveling the world w/the merchant navy, Webb made his mark w/several brave & dangerous swims. Endurance swimming was popular in the 1870s, & Webb decided to swim the English Channel after reading in a newspaper about an unsuccessful attempt. He trained along England's south coast, swimming distances of 10 to 20 miles & becoming acclimatized to the cold water. In August 1875, his 1st attempt to swim the Channel ended in failure, but he decided to give it another try.

On August 24, 1875, smeared in porpoise fat for insulation & wearing a red swimming costume made of silk, he dove off Dover's Admiralty Pier into the chilly waters of the Channel. He began the race in the late evening because of the tides & kept up a slow & steady pace in the dark, using the breaststroke. Accompanying boats handed him beef tea, brandy, & other liquids to sustain him, & Webb braved stinging jellyfish & patches of seaweed as he plodded on. Seven miles from the French coast, the tide changed, & he appeared to be driven backward, but just after 10 a.m. he approached the French shore. The crew of the outgoing mail ship The Maid of Kent serenaded him w/"Rule Britannia," & shortly before 11 a.m. Webb waded ashore.

After sleeping 12 hours in France, Webb returned to England by boat, saying, "the sensation in my limbs is similar to that after the 1st day of the cricket season." He was honored at a welcoming banquet in Dover, where the mayor proclaimed, "In the future history of the world, I don't believe that any such feat will be performed by anyone else." The London Stock Exchange set up a testimonial fund for him. He toured the country, lecturing & swimming.

Within a few years, interest in Captain Webb began to wane. Overexposed on the lecture circuit & having spent or given away most of the money he earned as a result of his Channel swim, he agreed to a series of degrading exhibitions. In March 1880, he floated for 60 hours in the whale tank of the Royal Aquarium in Westminster, & in October he agreed to an extended swim in the freezing waters of Lancashire Lake. He was pulled from the water exhausted & hypothermic, & those close to him said his constitution never recovered. Seeking an alternate form of income, he prided himself on being an inventor, but few ever saw his bicycle, swimming apparatus, or flying machine, which had flapping seagull-like wings. Reportedly, he broke his nose testing the flying machine.

Eventually, Captain Webb traveled to America w/his wife & two children & staged swimming exhibitions that attracted varying degrees of attention. Hearing of the exploits of Emile Blondin, a French daredevil who crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope, Captain Webb came up w/a new plan to restore his fame & fortune. He would travel to the Falls & swim a particularly treacherous stretch of the Niagara River that was feared for its lethal rapids & whirlpool.

Upon his arrival in Niagara Falls, he called a press conference to outline what he believed would be his greatest exploit since swimming the English Channel. He would embark in a small boat to a point below the Falls. He would then jump out & float down thru the rapids. If it was too difficult to stay on the surface, he would dive down, coming up occasionally to breathe & show off his swimming ability. Then he would make his way around the whirlpool, estimating that it would take him 2 or 3 hours to extricate himself from its pull. Once beyond it, he would swim to the shore on the Canadian side.

Locals advised Webb that his plan was suicide, noting that 80 people had died in the rapids in recent memory. Webb ignored them & estimated that he would receive $10,000 from the RR companies, which he assumed would profit greatly from throngs of spectators traveling to Niagara for the event. Ultimately, the railroads refused to sponsor him, & he was rowed out into the river at 4 p.m. on July 24, 1883, intending to risk his life for what he called the credit of his good name. Clad in the same red swimming suit he wore when he swam the Channel, he dove bravely into the water. A cheer went up from the thousands of spectators gathered along the shore.

At 1st he was swimming powerfully & looked untroubled, but then the river narrowed, & he was gripped by the rapids. Three times he was pulled under & then came up hundreds of feet from where he was seen last. He was no longer in control & was pulled downstream at a furious pace. As he came upon the whirlpool, he threw up his right arm & then went under. Seconds, minutes, & hours passed, & he didn't come up.

Five days later, his gashed, bruised, & bloated body was found by a fisherman downstream. It had been held by the whirlpool for sometime before being expelled. The body had a huge head wound, exposing the skull, but an autopsy concluded that Webb probably was crushed by the force of the whirlpool & suffered the gash later.

Webb was given a pauper's burial in the Oakwood cemetery at the edge of the Falls, in a small plot known as "The Strangers' Rest." In 1908, in what would have been his 60th year, the Webb Memorial was erected at his birthplace in England. Its simple inscription reads, "Nothing Great Is Easy."

[thebear]

If you are among the mathematically disinclined, can't remember your High School science or are looking for a very good convert program HERE is a good one and it is free. It will convert most any thing to anything in units of measure. Check out his web page for yourself. Free down load and only 500k or so in size.

[thebear]

VW's Jetta in various "Scenarios" .

[thebear]

Desktop Missile Systems:

WHERE to buy.

In ACTION

[thebear]

Just in case you need a place to PARK park your car . . . .

[thebear]

In case you need a reminder, save THIS link.

[thebear]

Are you a FAMOUS ARTIST ?

Right click to change settings.

[thebear]

The Dream of an R/C airplane that can be piloted in the livingroom has been realized.

THIS is the world's lightest and smallest ready to fly R/C Model

Fly "missions" during TV Commercials, Indoors, In ANY WEATHER!

Full Proportional radio control enables you to fly with precision in any room 12' X 16'.

Just add 4-AA batteries to the combination transmitter/charger and you'll be ready for action anytime

Take the Butterfly with you ANYWHERE in it's own protective aluminum briefcase (included!) You can safely take your Butterfly with you to work, school, holidays - anywhere.

Drive your cat or dog insane!

[thebear]

This is a "Wrap-up" of the Enzo crash in California earlier this year:

The MAN and the CHRONOLOGY .

Rest in `pieces'.

[thebear]

Forget the Audi A-10. THIS is the fastest diesel engined car in the world!

Additional facts and pictures HERE

[thebear]

A feeling of INSIGNIFICANCE?

[thebear]

Just a `slide show' of interesting PICTURES .