It wouldn't be so bad if you could get the attendees to take their yearly bath sometime in the week before the show...

So, I'm continue my acquaintance with US culture. This weekend I visited Rodeo. Didn't expect that many people there. But still it was a nice show.

I'm not a big fan of horses, but it still worth it. Westerns, Louis L'aMoure and other stuff from a childhood.

I'm pretty surprised how long it take to have a drivers license - especially drivers test. It was appointed to a middle of May.
And I didn't expect that much of bikes - it really make me want to have one for myself. I've had a dirt bike back in Russia. And didn't really wanted anything else, due to the driving culture in Russia... It's close to a suicide to drive a 2-wheel something on public roads there. Well, we have reckless enough bikers as well, though.
And that muscle-cars... hell, it's like car can be a pleasure, not just a transport, limited in hp, size and everything else.

I have 4 words for you:

Forced induction big block.

I want to find/build a blower setup for my 6.8 liter v10 engine in my SUV one day.

Cause America

That's what I'm talking about. In Russia taxes on that setup will literally kill me. It would be like 4 month salary to pay for that taxes only. That's why most of the cars there is 1.6 liter and under 150hp.

Well, keep in mind that altering the emissions system of a vehicle isn't necessarily "legal", although MN doesn't check for mods..... But forced induction is actually usually GTG. Besides, my Excursion SUV is only an OBD1 compliant vehicle due to is gross weight rating, so it has much less restrictive standards to meet. It doesn't even have oxygen sensors after the cats to modify the fuel injection for emissions .

Problem is they stopped making the blower kits for my engine, so I have to find a used one. And then upgrade the transmission to handle the power.

What is GTG and OBD1?
Well, I thought that this engines is pretty good as it is. Forced induction is fun but i would like a mechanical supercharger. It may look less cool, but way more efficient, and without a lag at low revs. Screw type, to be precise.

GTG = Good To Go

OBD1 is an emission level rating. It was for older vehicles of higher weight capacity. It is less restrictive than OBD2 or newer requirements.

Supercharger would be forced induction, and screw type is common. Turbos are generally used by manufacturers for factory forced induction engines, I would think because its cheaper? The new Ford Ecoboost engines use turbos, but they have little lag.

About 95% of vehicles in the US for the consumer market are automatic transmissions, so low RPM lag is a non-issue really. If you put your foot in the throttle, they will downshift for more RPM and power.

ETA: You have to remember that the US auto market builds vehicles to what the customers want, not what the government dictates (besides safety and emissions). We get all sorts of technology, performance and upgrades, because that is what Americans want to drive . Only the free market could even give us the Excursion SUV in the first place. No government would allow a MASSIVE, gas guzzling (I average 12.5 mpg) monster SUV if they had the choice . Too bad they stopped making the Excursion years ago. During high oil prices around 2005, nobody wanted to pay the fuel bill to drive them, so sales dropped off.

ETA 2: As impressive as the Ford V10 was for its day, it pales in comparison to the new V8 engines they are putting out, no supercharger needed. The new gasoline V8 engines pull almost as good as the diesel pickups, which are darn near mini semi-trucks at this point.

:P

I don't mind modern automatics for your daily driver.

Drove dirt trucks around the metro for years, had enough shifting in traffic

Heh, it would be nice to import a UAZ "Buhanka" in US. (name is quite ironic, Buhanka - is a brick of a bread (the form of a car resembles it a lot), but also share meaning with Buhat' - verb to 'drink heavily'), and that's for that car is used by hunters and fisherman. Not to mention it's outstanding offroad capabilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY4FNTzUFWA

Speaking about cars. Was at Drag-Races today. A lot of loud cars. That sound, is one of things that make your heart go boom.

A lot of pilots, but somehow - a very few spectators, to my surprise. Anyway, it was really worth visiting.
Compiled a small video as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyX9WZEO6LI

Visited today a Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Made a few family photos. Strange thing for me was a driveway across all park. Like who goes to park to drive through it???

And this enormous speaker on the pole? Is it to warn about incoming missiles from Russia, or to play some hardcore Rock on holidays?

Speaker is a severe weather siren.

If you hear it, head for shelter. Read up on tornadoes and such if you are not familiar with them.

FYI: first Wednesday of every month at 1pm, they sound them as a test. This test is postponed if there is actually a threat of severe weather that day.

Sign up for a weather app on your phone, and leave spyware GPS location on. If you have alerts turned on in the weather app, and you should, it will let you know if there is a severe weather warning in your location. My Fox 9 weather app works, and is free.

ETA: we don't warn the population about incoming anything. If your motherland launched, the first you will know about it (and the last thing you'd see) is the flash

Ah-ha. And how often a severe weather conditions happens here? Is it tornado or something worse?
Well, with ETA about 15-30 minutes, warning is only a 'get ready for a greatest show in your life, folks', anyway.

Some years we are under severe thunderstorm or tornado warnings seems like damn near every day.

Last year, I don't think once.

We are also now in peak severe weather season.

A watch means conditions are favorable for development. Severe thunderstorm warnings can pop up on fresh storm cells with zero lead time, or be out out ahead of an established storm, giving you plenty of time.

Same with tornadoes: sometimes they give you "plenty" of warning (5-10 minutes), or it can be a "hey get cover now!" thing. It just so depends.

There are 2 types of tornado warnings: radar indicated or confirmed spotted. Radar indicated is just that: proper tornado type rotation in the storm, could drop a tornado any time, or one (or more) may already be in the ground. Confirmed is just that: eyes on it, it's happening.

Severe thunderstorms can also produce straight line winds, down bursts, and tornadoes all without warning, all of which can easily be deadly, and cause a lot of damage, even to large buildings.

According to my insurance guy, Minnesota has the highest number of house and vehicle  insurance claims in the country for severe storm damage.

Keep an eye on the "spc convective outlook" (Google that) to have an idea if severe weather is expected that day, or the next few days with their forecast.

The hotter and more humid the day, the more likely that any storms still be severe, unless we cap out because it's just to hot. Upper 70's to middle 80's seems to be the butter zones for the worst storms, but not always.

Oh, tornadoes are rated F0 through F5. F0 cause very little to no damage, F5 is "finger of God" level damage. Any of them can kill you though.

Hmm. Never experienced tornadoes before. Is it something that happens often?

All the time. It's just a matter of if the location of the tornado happend to be where you are at .

But yes, it's something to be taken very seriously. Listen to the warnings, they don't put them out for shits and giggles.

There were tornadoes in se Minnesota just today. Luckily, no significant damage or injuries reported.

Just search "MN tornado" on YouTube.

ETA: this video is actually a great example. 15 percent chance of tornadoes, but the storm went from nothing to tornado warning, not even going through severe thunderstorm warning first.

Stay sky aware.

But for your viewing pleasure...

This is a good website to check daily from April to September: Storm Prediction Center

Minnesota is north of what's called "Tornado Alley." We still get them, but not like they do in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. There is a 28+ page thread in General Discussion right now about the constant tornadoes that they've been getting over the last week and a half.

Visited Lake Superior today.

We've had anniversary today with my wife. So, decided to go hiking a little. It was a little cold there, but clear sky and sunny, so - great photos.

Seen several deers on shoulders - someone hunted it with a car. And raccoons as well. Seems that no one likes them too much. :)
I thought it's about time to open shooting season. Is someone going to the range soon and fine with some chat and photo of guns/shooting as well?

Supposedly the central US is home to the most severe weather in the world. The cold arctic air gets funneled down east of the Rocky Mountains where it meets the warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. That collision spawns huge tornadoes in the spring and summer, and deadly blizzards in the winter. As mentioned above, the most damaging tornadoes are more likely in Tornado Alley, where the gulf air still is very warm and full of moisture.

Be aware that Tornado Alley is more likely, but we are certainly not immune to NASTY storms. See the St. Peter F4 tornado in March (wiki link)!! My wife has a lot of family down there, it was a close one for them, but they all made it.

Very accurate. Don't be complacent because it doesn't happen as often. In 1967, I was surrounded by tornadoes. We didn't have any damage, but a few neighbors who lost a lot in 1967 also lost again in 2010.

PDF description.
1967 Black Sunday Tornado Outbreak

2010 tornado outbreak

This is a neat site, select a town, and under environment, select tornado

https://www.geostat.org/data/owatonna-mn-2/tornados

Hyperprapor,  just in case you get surprised about a siren going off, make sure it isn't a Wednesday afternoon.  http://www.startribune.com/the-who-and-why-behind-siren-testing/18175434/

Haven't heard it yet. Supposedly, that's a "bear stepped on my ear" issue. Or, I'm just not paying attention.

Was at MSRA "back to 50's" auto exhibit at Fairgrounds today. The third time I was in that place, but today it was a madness - three parking lots was full. Instead of 30min I spent 1.5 hrs trying to park somewhere. But I've never seen so much old timers before in one place. So many nice cars.
My wife joked about this one: "riding in the trunk is a not all that scary for that..."

And this was my favorite:

Is it Dodge 3/4?
Anyway, that was a good day today. Worth waiting in traffic.
Tomorrow weather forecast isn't nice. Any ideas, where to spend day with family?

https://youtu.be/NV0pBvyzThY
I don't remember who gave me advice to try drive a tank experience. Anyway, that's what I did this weekend. Pretty funny, though. And a bit of air expo oldtimers this Sunday as well.

Hi guys,
Need your advice. Was visiting local dentistry with my daughter, and they gave us estimates for a small fortune. Can you recommend affordable dentist here? Or insurance that has a good coverage? I heard about Minnesota Pediatric University, that they can do it cheaper. Is they good enough?

Dental work in the US can get expensive fast, especially past simple drillings. Malpractice insurance drives up the costs for dentists. You also have to pay for a skilled dentist, and is generally not something to cheap out on.

I've never had anything other than simple drillings, so I don't have anyone to refer you to, someone will be along though.

ETA: there is basically no dental insurance in the US. If you "have" dental insurance, it pays for your 6 month routine check, drillings and extractions, and that is about it.

U of M pediatric dental clinic has good docs, one of my neighbors worked there full time after his residency until recently when he moved to a private clinic. Most dentists do offer cash discounts for those without insurance but care is still pricey especially for any type of invasive or alignment procedure.