An audiophile and petrolhead's journal: Buckle up!
Jun 9, 2013 at 1:29 PM Post #3,346 of 9,499
Oh, and McLaren contacted me to let me know that if I purchased a new 50th Anniv MP4-12C, they'd put me on the list to be able to buy a P1. Too bad I'm not interested in either one of those cars. Aside from the neat "50th" badging, it's just a 12C with all the CF packages, which I already have (and mine is signed by Jenson Button). Nice try fellas. :p
 
Jun 9, 2013 at 1:36 PM Post #3,347 of 9,499
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Those look really good, much better than OEM.
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Going by sheer population at the time of the building of the great pyramids, there simply weren't enough people in Egypt to build them, going by what we conceive would have been the conventional building methods and the human fossil record of the time. There's a finite amount of work possible with human labor, even with block and tackle or pulleys. A modern example is Coral Castle, and I strongly recommend everyone visit the place if you're ever in south Florida. It was constructed by one man, all by himself, without heavy machinery. No one knows how he lifted some of those 30-40 ton sections of cut coral and balanced them so perfectly (one is a 30 ton door that you can push open with one finger, I know because I did just that). It's absolutely stunning.
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I thought the generally accepted idea was that the Egyptians "imported" slave labour for that.
 
Jun 9, 2013 at 1:48 PM Post #3,348 of 9,499
No,the workers were well looked after judging how the injured were treated and their bones are a testimony of the fact.
Any discussion of the Taj Mahal? Pretty modern to get a good insight of how giant structures were built.
 
Jun 9, 2013 at 2:00 PM Post #3,349 of 9,499
There aren't enough dead Egyptians, or slaves, to account for the workforce needed, not by a long shot. Under such conditions, the avg slave who started working at 13-14 (puberty) would have only lived 5-7 years, accounting for accidents and physical wear and tear. They simply didn't reproduce fast enough. Frankly, there weren't enough people in the world at that time to build those things, given projected mortality rates and lifespans (based off the bones we've unearthed).

If you remove the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, is the answer. Unfortunately we don't have enough data. We're missing a very large piece of the puzzle, probably a construction technique that we haven't conceived of, a technology that's been lost to history. The details of the "process" are said to have been in the Library of Alexandria as late as the 3rd century CE, but the Roman Church made sure we'd never get our hands on any of that information. Thanks guys!
 
Jun 9, 2013 at 4:11 PM Post #3,350 of 9,499
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There aren't enough dead Egyptians, or slaves, to account for the workforce needed, not by a long shot. Under such conditions, the avg slave who started working at 13-14 (puberty) would have only lived 5-7 years, accounting for accidents and physical wear and tear. They simply didn't reproduce fast enough. Frankly, there weren't enough people in the world at that time to build those things, given projected mortality rates and lifespans (based off the bones we've unearthed).

If you remove the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, is the answer. Unfortunately we don't have enough data. We're missing a very large piece of the puzzle, probably a construction technique that we haven't conceived of, a technology that's been lost to history. The details of the "process" are said to have been in the Library of Alexandria as late as the 3rd century CE, but the Roman Church made sure we'd never get our hands on any of that information. Thanks guys!

Conan Doyle's lovely little axiom rises again.
 
I'm voting for the lost technology angle myself. Either that or a workforce that was marched off into the Med after their usefulness ran out. Would not be the first case of genocide and would have left no trace of where they came from.
 
Never underestimate the ability of a Religion to extinct knowledge.
 
As an aside. How come you don't post in the "What book are you reading now?" thread?
 
Jun 9, 2013 at 8:51 PM Post #3,351 of 9,499
Our modern timeframe reference is so vastly different from older civilizations it is scary. This has always confused me - the ancients had much shorter lifespans, yet they were able to have goals that spanned across generations. Today, anything that takes more than 1 quarter (3 months) is considered impossibly long. Just try to get to approval for a corporate infrastructure project that takes 2 years - it will take 2+ years just to get the Executive Team to seriously consider such a "massive" project - and the ROI is never quick enough for them.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Magick on the pyramids. I've seen info with tests that show how the huge blocks could be cut, moved and fit to incredible precision using technology available in the time of the Egyptians - and that the great pyramids could be built with 5000-6000 men over a 20-40 year period. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/who-built-the-pyramids.html

Occam's Razor is sharp... :wink:
 
Jun 9, 2013 at 11:08 PM Post #3,352 of 9,499
Our modern timeframe reference is so vastly different from older civilizations it is scary. This has always confused me - the ancients had much shorter lifespans, yet they were able to have goals that spanned across generations. Today, anything that takes more than 1 quarter (3 months) is considered impossibly long. Just try to get to approval for a corporate infrastructure project that takes 2 years - it will take 2+ years just to get the Executive Team to seriously consider such a "massive" project - and the ROI is never quick enough for them.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Magick on the pyramids. I've seen info with tests that show how the huge blocks could be cut, moved and fit to incredible precision using technology available in the time of the Egyptians - and that the great pyramids could be built with 5000-6000 men over a 20-40 year period. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/who-built-the-pyramids.html

Occam's Razor is sharp... :wink:


I've seen them, but that's not even close to the scale (they move a block 200 meters and stack them two blocks high), or block size (5 ton stone compared to 40-60). I'm just not convinced by their explanation, at all. :xf_eek:

As an aside. How come you don't post in the "What book are you reading now?" thread?


Because I read 8-12 /wk and that's a lot to keep up with.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 2:35 AM Post #3,353 of 9,499
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Will we see a diesel-electric road car or truck at some point, where a small diesel exists solely to generate power to keep the batteries charged?

 
Doesn't the Volt do that?
 
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Does Huggy Bear know someone stole his ride? Hey Billy, it's for sale in Santa Monica, hop down there and pick it up for me.
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Holy crap, that's like VERY BLUE!
 
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So, to whoever designed the shape of those barricades, I thank you! You are a genius!
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LOL, I think the shape is probably more for stability than driver mishap...
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That guy's really proud of that Montreal, he wants $50k for it. No way it's worth that much in that condition. I floated him 42k as my best offer, we'll see what happens.

 
Based on past history, he'll probably take it.  Billy, might need to arrange for some time off?
 
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My minion

 
LOL! 
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Some pictures. 
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HEY!  That's lookin' pretty good there!
 
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Oh, and McLaren contacted me to let me know that if I purchased a new 50th Anniv MP4-12C, they'd put me on the list to be able to buy a P1. Too bad I'm not interested in either one of those cars. Aside from the neat "50th" badging, it's just a 12C with all the CF packages, which I already have (and mine is signed by Jenson Button). Nice try fellas.
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Flip 'em.  Surely there must be some bloke who wants them and can't get on the list?  Might make a friend while you're at it?
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 3:04 AM Post #3,354 of 9,499
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Doesn't the Volt do that?
 

Most of the time, its engine does indeed run only as a generator when needed to recharge the battery pack, but occasionally, the gas engine is drawn on to assist in the actual propulsion.
I believe sometime this year they are planning an E85-enabled engine option, so Magick can run out and add one to his fleet. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (yeah, I know....snowball's chance in hell Magick would be buying a hybrid of any sort. Couldn't resist posting it, but I was chuckling aloud as I typed it.) 
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Jun 10, 2013 at 3:24 AM Post #3,355 of 9,499
I am getting a hybrid, and it's flex-fuel too. I'm told it'll arrive middle of next year.
 
Jun 10, 2013 at 5:10 AM Post #3,357 of 9,499
Jun 10, 2013 at 5:13 AM Post #3,358 of 9,499
Jun 10, 2013 at 5:14 AM Post #3,359 of 9,499
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Doesn't the Volt do that?

 
Most of the time, its engine does indeed run only as a generator when needed to recharge the battery pack, but occasionally, the gas engine is drawn on to assist in the actual propulsion.

 
I think that - for most commutes - people probably won't see that happening right?
 
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I am getting a hybrid, and it's flex-fuel too. I'm told it'll arrive middle of next year.

 
OMGWTFWHY?!?! 
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  Now you're just bored... 
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Jun 10, 2013 at 6:50 AM Post #3,360 of 9,499
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The 918 Magick or the LaFerrari?

That's my guess, too.....one of those two. While technically they are indeed hybrids, they weren't exactly what I had in mind when I joked about Magick getting a hybrid. I was thinking more along the lines of a Prius, Volt, Honda Insight, that type of thing...lol.
 

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