motorcycle injuries analyzed and racing crashes vs manufactures protective gear,

from information gathered and compiled by Jarno Zaffelli at studiodromo.it 2013 

The study investigated on what is the best leather per class and overall, depending on the injuries occured to their riders. Surprisingly some of the "unknown" leathers performed very well, and some "well known" were a bit disappointing. To be considered also that the classes were leathers are, are different. Maybe some brands invested fully in moto3 and not in MotoGP, so they are not fully comparable. Some got more than 100 crashes, some less than 10, so also this is a factor. The real news for us was that brands involved are more than 20, and only 5 or 6 are known to the public. Later this year I will incorporate also helmets, booths and gloves, and maybe I will release the full report of the past year.
 Jarno Zaffelli

the study of leathers in Moto Gp...

In perhaps the first chart of its kind, Jarno Zaffelli examined all of this crash data to compile the first “unofficial” World Championship Standing for protective device manufacturers.

Found on http://www.studiodromo.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Dromo_MRPE_2013_Public.pdf

what gear shifters look like in a new Durango... a turn knob on the center console

and on the dashboard of a Ram 3500 

the last great railroad fair, the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair

photos found on http://www.railarchive.net/rrfair/rrfair_photos.htm

WW2 mileage ration sticker and info

you received stamps and other various paperwork that had to be filled out in order to get your fuel. An “A” sticker was issued to the general public. The “B” my was if your job was considered vital to the war effort. This meant you would be allotted up to eight gallons a week.

There were six different window stickers and even a “R” one for farm vehicles. These were a part of everyday life. So much so they became part of popular culture, like at the end of this classic Bugs Bunny when his crashing plane doesn’t crash because it runs out of gas. Why, because he only had an “A” sticker.

 An interesting yet lesser known fact is that the rationing wasn’t really created to control fuel consumption, but was there to help save on tires. Gasoline could be made domestically, but rubber trees don’t grow here (at least not in mass quantity). That raw material came from Asia, which of course was controlled by Japan at the time. That’s why if you look closely at the paperwork you’ll see a lot of references to mileage and tire inspections. There was even a national speed limit of 35 MPH put in place to help curb tire wear.

 Found on http://familyephemera.tumblr.com/post/73744494852/rationing-was-a-way-of-life-during-wwii-from

I didn't realize that Petrolicious was also posting about the rationing, but they focused on Canadian and European

found on
http://www.petrolicious.com/wwii-era-gas-ration-coupons-remind-us-how-lucky-we-are

my friend Tris has her parents WW2 ration book, and let me take photos of it:

Had you heard that the Natl Highway and Traffic Safety Admin was trying to discourage bikers from attending Bike Week in Fla, and Rolling Thunder in Va? Yes.

the NHTSA‘s Motorcycle Law Enforcement Demonstration Program provides states with federal funding for traffic checkpoints that stop only motorcyclists. The checkpoints allow law enforcement to inspect motorcycles and determine if they meet state standards ranging such as noise levels, tire conditions and handlebar lengths.

Very focused on discriminating against bikers. Yes, their bikes are too damn loud. Agreed. But so is my 69 R/T. I know it, so do they, yet we still thumbs up each other on the freeway over how damn loud each other are. Yup, I haven't grown up yet.

Good news, a couple senators and house of reps congressmen have gotten bills in place to see if this NHTSA nonsense can be made illegal

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2014/03/07/industry-news/new-bipartisan-senate-bill-ban-funding-motorcycle-checkpoints/

Packard video about getting the word for the body structure... from where I was born and raised, the Upper Penninsula of Michigan

the horses are hitched to the truck... how under powered is the truck engine for that load? I doubt anyone would put that much wood in a new 1500 Dodge, Chevy, or F150 Ford!

Among a treasure trove of 1920's and 30's Packard videos https://www.youtube.com/user/mrpitv/videos?sort=dd&shelf_id=1&view=0

Thanks to George!

Ford Fairlane Hemisfair.... connected to the Ford Sponsorship of the Hemisfair in San Antonio, in 1968

It seems the huge financial success of the New York Worlds Fair 1964 had some investment types thinking they needed to try to cash in on the idea again, quickly. So in 1968 San Antonio was chosen.

It seems that this World’s Fair didn’t have a whole lot to offer in the ways of retrofuturistic design and cool technologies, but one should consider what was going on while this Fair was open elsewhere in the world to appreciate what it was doing. Vietnam was at its highest, man was about to walk on the moon and the Summer of Love was about to begin, so this was a pretty interesting time.

HemisFair ’68 was the first officially designated world’s fair (or international exposition) held in the southwestern United States. San Antonio, Texas hosted the fair from April 6 through October 6, 1968. More than thirty nations hosted pavilions at the fair. The fair was held in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio. The theme of the fair was “The Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas.”



Cultural events at HemisFair included theme exhibits, such as Confluence/Cosmos, which presented space exploration, and "El Encanto de un Pueblo," which displayed 5,000 toys and miniatures from the Alexander Girard Folk Art collection in a series of miniature "views" of Latin-American village life.

The fair sponsored a lavish production of Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo, an exhibit of major art works from the Prado Museum in Madrid sponsored by the government of Spain, touring stage shows, performances by celebrity entertainers, and appearances by such groups as the Ballet Folklórico de México and the Bolshoi Ballet from Russia.

Major corporate exhibitors with individual pavilions included Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Gulf Oil Corporation, Humble Oil (now Exxon Company, U.S.A.), IBM, RCA, and Southwestern Bell. Frito Lay/Pepsi-Cola (see FRITO-LAY CORPORATION) presented a spectacular outdoor event, "Los Voladores de Papantla" (The Flying Indians), and Coca-Cola's pavilion featured the Krofft puppets.

 HemisFair, which opened in the spring of 1968 with an announced start-up cost of $156 million, was financially troubled from the beginning. Attendance never matched expectations, and the fair lost money, a reported $7.5 million, despite Mayor Walter McAllister's pledge that the exposition would not cost San Antonio taxpayers "a thin dime."

 On the other hand the fair attracted more than 6.3 million visitors and focused international attention on the city and state. But the site did not become the permanent unifying element that its planners had envisioned. Instead, multiple uses were found for the permanent structures that were left on HemisFair grounds, such as the Tower of the Americas and the Institute of Texan Cultures

info from http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkh01

is it weird I've never seen or heard of this Fairlane? Have any of you seen or heard of one?

Some images from http://www.worldsfairphotos.com/nywf64/ford.htm
and http://masspanicatomic.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/worlds-fair-68-san-antonio/sanantonio68_1/  and https://masspanicatomic.wordpress.com/page/41/

For more about Worlds Fairs (as I find history amazing, and Worlds Fairs very interesting, but only ever heard of the few in the USA) see http://www.expomuseum.com/1968/

 Above found on http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth66132/m1/1/

Smog in Los Angeles is drastically down from the 1960s

Found on http://goldengeesenews.blogspot.com/2014/03/liberals-are-insane-no-i-mean-it-theyre.html

what became of the 100s of B 17s, B 24s and other warbirds? Flown to Arkansas and Kingman Arizona and cut into pieces, then smelted and turned into aluminum ingots

Found on http://www.planesofthepast.com/b17-flying-fortress-scrapping-after-wwii.htm

Today, a total of only 39 surviving B-17 airframes are located in the United States.

Twelve B-17 are still airworthy today, two F models, and 10 B-17G models. Several are very well known, including "Memphis Belle".
 An additional 18 B-17s are on static display around the United States, including "Virgin's Delight" located at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California, and "I'll Be Around" at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, both shown below.
 In addition, 9 aircraft are undergoing restoration or are in storage.