Off-topic thread - talk about anything

[Shazam]

I actually liked this AXE commercial with Kiefer Sutherland in it:

[nordwulf]

September always catches me by surprise. It's the transition between summer and fall. August still is hot and full of summer. Swimming in the lake, waking up when the sun got up hours before you, your car toasty hot at the end of a work day and the trees have that vibrant green color.

August quietly ends and September comes along. Labor day is the official end of summer and the towns and parks get very quiet. Kids are back in school, there is frost on your car windows in the morning and the sun gets up when you drive to work. But you don't just want to let go of that summer feeling.

There is one more swim left in the lake, even though it numbs you body. The trees are starting to change color but there is not that feeling of fall just yet. Winter still seems very far away, yet you know it is imminent. Seasonal businesses are slowly shutting down. The wind blowing in from the lake still feels warm and full of that summer smell and feel. Strong lake winds play around with a solitary sailboat in the distance.

There are still so many things to do because the glory of fall with the changing colors is right around the corner. As a matter of fact, autumn seems to start sooner every year. But perhaps that's just my imagination. You should get the warm comforter on the bed again, slowly put away your summer clothes and turn on the heat when you get up in the morning.

But I try to put that off as long as I can. There still are some rays to catch, cook a meal on the grill, sit on the beach in the evening, go for that last camping trip for the weekend, make a campfire, go for a bicycle ride in shorts, hike at a state park and wait to say goodbye to summer for as long as you can. I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Goodbye September, I'll miss you.

[Dave T]

wait to say goodbye to summer for as long as you can. I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Goodbye September, I'll miss you.

These phrases remind me of the time I tried to learn Russian. The phase only lasted a few weeks. That was about 15 years ago. "Goodbye, summer" was one phrase. Russian was too hard to learn but it helped to convert Cyrillic letters into Roman alphabet. "Hockey" is similar in Russian but the Roman "H" becomes Cyrillic "X".

Just now, I was trying to do some calculations about headlights. How fast should one drive on low beams and high beams? I have not come up with the answer yet. If there are street lights, that helps with driving fast. So does cars in front with functioning tail lights.

I did figure that 60 mph (160 km/h) is 88 feet per second and 75 mph is 110 ft/sec. If high beam illuminate 350 and low beams 250 ft., then at 60 mph, the low beams illuminate 2.84 seconds. Of course, there is human reaction time to account for.

Although I haven't figured it out completely, I do conclude that if you are tired and driving in very dark conditions at 75 mph, you could use up half of your 2.27 seconds to reaction time, leaving too little time to stop.

[Hirsch]

Had an interesting weekend. A friend from Redcar, UK came over for a visit, we went down to Gatlinburg, TN to meet up with some other friends and spent the weekend partying.

On Saturday I got a message on Facebook from the 19 year old daughter of an ex-girlfriend. Turns out that it's very possible I'm her father. The ex is 8 years older than me, she was a cougar before they were called cougars. We were bang buddies for about 2 years, then she sort of disappeared for about a year. The next time I saw her she was with another guy and had a new baby. I never really put the times and dates together until recently. The guy she was with turned out to be a real piece of work. He got arrested in a huge FBI/SWAT take down for wire fraud and a host of other crimes. I came back into the picture about 2 months after he went down and we lived together for 2 years until she dumped me for another guy. I haven't seen or spoken to her for 17 years.

So I've been messaging back and forth with a young lady that could very well be my kid. She doesn't really look like me, but neither do Sarah and Erika. I talked to her mom on the phone and I asked her if she could see any of me in Brittney, without hesitation she said yes. The actual quote was "Oh my god, yes!"

I waited until my buddy from Redcar left yesterday to talk to my wife. She was very understanding, said she knew I came with baggage and that I need to do the right thing and that she would support me. I love my wife.

Bought a DNA/Paternity test online last night, I should have it by the end of the week. I'll know in less than 2 weeks if I have another daughter.

Honestly, I believe she is my daughter and I hope the test proves that. She's a smart kid with a good head on her shoulders and she deserves to know who her father is. She graduated from high school last May and is enlisting in the Air Force in December. She's also beautiful! I'm not just saying that because she might be my kid, she really is pretty. Once I know for sure, I'll post a picture of her.

[nordwulf]

Interesting weekend? That's putting it mildly! That must have been quite a surprise (or shock) to learn you have a 19 year old daughter. To make sure she is your daughter, does she drive a Saab?

[Hirsch]

Don't know what she drives. But after talking to her yesterday, she certainly sounds like my kid.

We aren't sure about paternity yet, but I've got a DNA test kit on it's way to me. I could know the results as early as the end of next week.

[Hirsch]

UH-oh.

The local airport has named a new road around it AERO Parkway.

I have never stolen a road sign, but that may change...

[nordwulf]

We have roads named Aero Park Drive and Griffin Road near where I live. Very tempting indeed...!

[Hirsch]

Interesting weekend? That's putting it mildly! That must have been quite a surprise (or shock) to learn you have a 19 year old daughter. To make sure she is your daughter, does she drive a Saab?

Well, she doesn't drive. She doesn't have her license, but the USAF will take care of that. Her boyfriend drives a Monte Carlo(FWDLOL). But while I was in Portsmouth, OH last Tuesday, I didn't see another SAAB.

At this point there is no doubt that she is my daughter, in either of our minds. I spent the day with her last Tuesday and it wasn't like meeting for the first time. It was like meeting again after a long time. The paternity test is a formality.

She said in a text yesterday "You and Karina(my wife) make me feel loved. Ya know, it doesn't feel weird. Like I don't know how to explain it. It just feels natural." My heart melted. I tried to tell her that is how family is supposed to feel about one another. It's natural. Unconditional love.

Since October 4th we've exchanged almost 1500 text messages and I'm the guy who HATES texting, but I've learned so much about her that way.

I promised a picture.

[rpiereck]

That's one hell of a way to find out you have an extra daughter, and I am glad everything is going great with the new daughter. Best wishes for the new, bigger family!