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Date: 23 May 2007 10:54:21
From: DanKMTB@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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On May 22, 11:05 pm, R Brickston <rb20170REMOVE.yahoo.com@ > wrote:
> I rode a tricycle at nearly 50 mph when I was 4 or 5 years old down a
> hill and got brought home by the cops in like 1952
>
> I can build a bomb from kitchen cleaning chemicals or even make nerve
> gas without even having to think too much. Phosgene is too easy.
>
> my hearing way beyond that of the normal 56 year old.
>
> 160+ MPH with my Mustang, once racing a CHP at his request
>
> and the one time of way over 160 on a motorcycle. I did get off and
> kiss the ground after that one.
>
> I used to pass cars on the freeway at 65+ while doing a wheelie just
> for the looks on their faces
>
> a race prepped 1973 Kawasaki 750... Wheelied that one once at 120+
>
> I once pegged a 160 MPH speedometer, but only once.
>
> I actually have to agree with you this time.
>
> am very safe and confident and have been riding since 1951. My first
> road trip was in 1953 when I took my trike out on the highway to see
> haw fast I could go down a big hill. About 35, feet off pedals, and
> having a blast. At the bottom a local cop picked me up and took me
> back home, saying I was the youngest rider he had ever seen on the
> road. 4.5 years old.
>
> hat was basically the point since I grew up in Chicago and couldn't
> find hills until I rode North to the Wisconsin border.
>
> That's insane. 50 MPH downhill on pavement is my record and I am
> positively not looking to break that on the side of a mountain.
>
> There will be no convincing people of what I have done since there
> were no witnesses other than myself. The trike speed was purely a
> provocation, the motorcycle getting close to 200 MPH was not, and the
> Mustang I had was taken past 160 by both me and my wife.
>
> he bike had a 160 MPH speedo which pegged at about 170, after which
> the tach continued to gain from that point, about 8,000 RPM to nearly
> 9,000.
>
> I used to be a REAL biker when I rode a motorcycle and rode with the
> gang types on Harleys.
>
> the motorcycle getting close to 200 MPH
>
> Anyway, my need for speed pretty much went away after that, and I have
> kept it under 140 ever since, and that was only once in 1990.
>
> I electrocuted myself once when I was maybe 12, climbing a tree and
> touching a 12,000 volt wire, then getting a jump start hitting the
> ground flat on my back
>
> Doing 130MPH on a vacant road is a lot safer than lane splitting in a
> traffic jam, and no I did not mean to mislead people that I pedaled a
> bicycle that fast.
>
> At one point I dreamed of getting my hands on a surplus F-104 to feed
> my need for speed but the Air Force is kind of tight with surplus
> supersonic jets.
>
> I'm well above MENSA
>
> Bowling 229, wifes bowling 289. 1966 Chrysler Newport with 1968 440
> Police engine, about 152
>
> I have interests in sooo many subjects ranging from sub-atomic to
> trans-universal that it is hard to focus on just one.
>
> In person I am much more sociable than on this group
>
> I am just tired of self proclaimed experts who don't actually know
> something (or have been taught the wrong something) trying to rag on
> everything I say about just about anything.
>
> My usual occupation is analog electronic design engineer, test
> equipment specialist, motion control and stability, programmer when
> needed, and much more when called upon.
>
> My interests, as stated at the beginning, are hugely varied, but
> almost all related to absolute sciences, whether it be math, physics,
> chemistry, or so many more. Magazine subscriptions run the gamut from
> the obvious electronics, to NASA Tech Briefs, Modern Drug
> Discovery/Design, Genomics and Proteomics, and whatever I can get my
> hands on, about 30 in all. I would clog the bandwidth, again, if I
> tried to list them all. Riding gives me the opportunity to interact
> with and observe both nature and new people at random.
>
> In person I am much more sociable than on this group, and have stopped
> to help a stranded 'motorist', comforted an injured child while
> calling for help on my cell phone, and more often than not, just stop
> and talk with strangers I meet on the road. If we ever meet, it will
> be interesting, that much I do know. I don't want to go overboard
> today, so I will leave it there. Good riding to you.
>
> The best wheelie machine I ever had was a race prepped 1973 Kawasaki
> 750 2 stroke triple, just give it too much throttle in first or
> second, no clutch popping required. Wheelied that one once at 120+
> shifting into 5th gear too hard, real eye opener.
>
> I actually have to agree with you this time.
>
> I admit to dressing way down when going to a car lot, to the point one
> guy asked me to leave.
>
> I am just tired of self proclaimed experts who don't actually know
> something (or have been taught the wrong something) trying to rag on
> everything I say about just about anything.
>
> I lived in the big city, S.F. Bay area long enough to have 3 cars,
> 3 motorcycles, and even a vintage ten speed stolen from in front
> of my open front door. All were recovered, but 2 cars were totaled,
> 1 bike was undamaged, 1 was stripped down by some kid trying to
> make it into a dirt bike, and one was spotted by the police. The
> kid that stole the last one must have been brain dead since he
> laft the license plate on the bike facing the street. Never had
> anything stolen since I moved to the country, but a whole lot less
> steady employment, and more telecommuting for less money. Still
> worth it though. Buy a junker car/bike for getting the groceries
> and keep the good one under/around you. If my old Mazda gets stolen
> big deal, but if my classic Motobecane bike gets stolen I will be
> out for blood.
>
> Uh Ken, most riding in the city is flat so who cares what the bike
> weighs?
>
> San Francisco is one of the exceptions. I don't even like to drive a
> car there, especially not a stick, because of all those damn stop
> signs right at the top of a hill. Besides, I will stick with a
> mountain bike in S.F. just for the extra low gears. Not that I
> ever plan to bike there. I would still feel safer with a MTB due
> to the trolley rails.
IMHO, most of this stuff is reasonable and possible.
Anyone in my age group has heard of if not read a certain Cookbook,
which is enough to put stock in his kitchen bomb claims.
The tricycle thing, who doesn't have crazy exaggerated memories from a
kid? I've seen Bill claim 25-35 as more accurate. While silly, maybe
not impossible. I've got a few scars from the invincibility of
childhood myself.
All the motorcycle stuff is completely reasonable. He's not even
going near the extents of the possible, just stuff a lot of guys with
fast bikes do. Standing it up without the approval of the girl on the
back is less than cool, but if she's a "biker's chick" she knows the
drill and it happens sometimes. My girl would kill me, a friends girl
loved all that stuff (before the ring & the children). They're both
members of the 200mph club, one as a _passenger_.
What boy hasn't dreamed of an Air Force jet as a toy? Hell, what man
doesn't have that fleeting thought watching one go by? There isn't a
man with a decent income out there that wouldn't at least try to find
a place to keep it if the air force were giving them away, as opposed
to being tight with them as Bill suggested.
Bill, I enjoy your tales, even when they come with a little
exaggeration. Keep them coming.
Dan
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Date: 23 May 2007 21:25:52
From: R Brickston
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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On 23 May 2007 10:54:21 -0700, "DanKMTB@gmail.com" <DanKMTB@gmail.com >
wrote:
>Bill, I enjoy your tales, even when they come with a little
>exaggeration. Keep them coming.
>
>
>Dan
I'm sure you will have every stellar episode of the "life and times of
Bill Baka" reiterated 25 times -each- per month.
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Date: 24 May 2007 02:22:15
From: Bill
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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R Brickston wrote:
> On 23 May 2007 10:54:21 -0700, "DanKMTB@gmail.com" <DanKMTB@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>> Bill, I enjoy your tales, even when they come with a little
>> exaggeration. Keep them coming.
>>
>>
>> Dan
>
> I'm sure you will have every stellar episode of the "life and times of
> Bill Baka" reiterated 25 times -each- per month.
I'm here for the bicycle stuff but you keep trying to ambush me.
Your bad.
Bill Baka
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Date: 23 May 2007 11:32:56
From: Bill
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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DanKMTB@gmail.com wrote:
> On May 22, 11:05 pm, R Brickston <rb20170REMOVE.yahoo.com@> wrote:
>> I rode a tricycle at nearly 50 mph when I was 4 or 5 years old down a
>> hill and got brought home by the cops in like 1952
>>
>> I can build a bomb from kitchen cleaning chemicals or even make nerve
>> gas without even having to think too much. Phosgene is too easy.
>>
>> my hearing way beyond that of the normal 56 year old.
>>
>> 160+ MPH with my Mustang, once racing a CHP at his request
>>
>> and the one time of way over 160 on a motorcycle. I did get off and
>> kiss the ground after that one.
>>
>> I used to pass cars on the freeway at 65+ while doing a wheelie just
>> for the looks on their faces
>>
>> a race prepped 1973 Kawasaki 750... Wheelied that one once at 120+
>>
>> I once pegged a 160 MPH speedometer, but only once.
>>
>> I actually have to agree with you this time.
>>
>> am very safe and confident and have been riding since 1951. My first
>> road trip was in 1953 when I took my trike out on the highway to see
>> haw fast I could go down a big hill. About 35, feet off pedals, and
>> having a blast. At the bottom a local cop picked me up and took me
>> back home, saying I was the youngest rider he had ever seen on the
>> road. 4.5 years old.
>>
>> hat was basically the point since I grew up in Chicago and couldn't
>> find hills until I rode North to the Wisconsin border.
>>
>> That's insane. 50 MPH downhill on pavement is my record and I am
>> positively not looking to break that on the side of a mountain.
>>
>> There will be no convincing people of what I have done since there
>> were no witnesses other than myself. The trike speed was purely a
>> provocation, the motorcycle getting close to 200 MPH was not, and the
>> Mustang I had was taken past 160 by both me and my wife.
>>
>> he bike had a 160 MPH speedo which pegged at about 170, after which
>> the tach continued to gain from that point, about 8,000 RPM to nearly
>> 9,000.
>>
>> I used to be a REAL biker when I rode a motorcycle and rode with the
>> gang types on Harleys.
>>
>> the motorcycle getting close to 200 MPH
>>
>> Anyway, my need for speed pretty much went away after that, and I have
>> kept it under 140 ever since, and that was only once in 1990.
>>
>> I electrocuted myself once when I was maybe 12, climbing a tree and
>> touching a 12,000 volt wire, then getting a jump start hitting the
>> ground flat on my back
>>
>> Doing 130MPH on a vacant road is a lot safer than lane splitting in a
>> traffic jam, and no I did not mean to mislead people that I pedaled a
>> bicycle that fast.
>>
>> At one point I dreamed of getting my hands on a surplus F-104 to feed
>> my need for speed but the Air Force is kind of tight with surplus
>> supersonic jets.
>>
>> I'm well above MENSA
>>
>> Bowling 229, wifes bowling 289. 1966 Chrysler Newport with 1968 440
>> Police engine, about 152
>>
>> I have interests in sooo many subjects ranging from sub-atomic to
>> trans-universal that it is hard to focus on just one.
>>
>> In person I am much more sociable than on this group
>>
>> I am just tired of self proclaimed experts who don't actually know
>> something (or have been taught the wrong something) trying to rag on
>> everything I say about just about anything.
>>
>> My usual occupation is analog electronic design engineer, test
>> equipment specialist, motion control and stability, programmer when
>> needed, and much more when called upon.
>>
>> My interests, as stated at the beginning, are hugely varied, but
>> almost all related to absolute sciences, whether it be math, physics,
>> chemistry, or so many more. Magazine subscriptions run the gamut from
>> the obvious electronics, to NASA Tech Briefs, Modern Drug
>> Discovery/Design, Genomics and Proteomics, and whatever I can get my
>> hands on, about 30 in all. I would clog the bandwidth, again, if I
>> tried to list them all. Riding gives me the opportunity to interact
>> with and observe both nature and new people at random.
>>
>> In person I am much more sociable than on this group, and have stopped
>> to help a stranded 'motorist', comforted an injured child while
>> calling for help on my cell phone, and more often than not, just stop
>> and talk with strangers I meet on the road. If we ever meet, it will
>> be interesting, that much I do know. I don't want to go overboard
>> today, so I will leave it there. Good riding to you.
>>
>> The best wheelie machine I ever had was a race prepped 1973 Kawasaki
>> 750 2 stroke triple, just give it too much throttle in first or
>> second, no clutch popping required. Wheelied that one once at 120+
>> shifting into 5th gear too hard, real eye opener.
>>
>> I actually have to agree with you this time.
>>
>> I admit to dressing way down when going to a car lot, to the point one
>> guy asked me to leave.
>>
>> I am just tired of self proclaimed experts who don't actually know
>> something (or have been taught the wrong something) trying to rag on
>> everything I say about just about anything.
>>
>> I lived in the big city, S.F. Bay area long enough to have 3 cars,
>> 3 motorcycles, and even a vintage ten speed stolen from in front
>> of my open front door. All were recovered, but 2 cars were totaled,
>> 1 bike was undamaged, 1 was stripped down by some kid trying to
>> make it into a dirt bike, and one was spotted by the police. The
>> kid that stole the last one must have been brain dead since he
>> laft the license plate on the bike facing the street. Never had
>> anything stolen since I moved to the country, but a whole lot less
>> steady employment, and more telecommuting for less money. Still
>> worth it though. Buy a junker car/bike for getting the groceries
>> and keep the good one under/around you. If my old Mazda gets stolen
>> big deal, but if my classic Motobecane bike gets stolen I will be
>> out for blood.
>>
>> Uh Ken, most riding in the city is flat so who cares what the bike
>> weighs?
>>
>> San Francisco is one of the exceptions. I don't even like to drive a
>> car there, especially not a stick, because of all those damn stop
>> signs right at the top of a hill. Besides, I will stick with a
>> mountain bike in S.F. just for the extra low gears. Not that I
>> ever plan to bike there. I would still feel safer with a MTB due
>> to the trolley rails.
>
> IMHO, most of this stuff is reasonable and possible.
>
> Anyone in my age group has heard of if not read a certain Cookbook,
> which is enough to put stock in his kitchen bomb claims.
Remember the baking soda and vinegar rockets before everything was
illegal 'for our own good'? Plug one up and you have at the very least a
plastic bottle bomb. Housewives were accidentally getting Phosgene gas
by mixing bleach and some other cleaning chemicals.
It was written up some time ago as a common health hazard.
>
> The tricycle thing, who doesn't have crazy exaggerated memories from a
> kid? I've seen Bill claim 25-35 as more accurate. While silly, maybe
> not impossible. I've got a few scars from the invincibility of
> childhood myself.
The absolute truth is that as a 4-5 year old I 'thought' it was fast in
1952-53. When I rolled a car down the same hill in 1993 it hit 25 MPH,
so the trike maybe hit 20 MPH. The police only brought me home because
it was an actual highway and not safe for a kid on a trike.
>
> All the motorcycle stuff is completely reasonable. He's not even
> going near the extents of the possible, just stuff a lot of guys with
> fast bikes do. Standing it up without the approval of the girl on the
> back is less than cool, but if she's a "biker's chick" she knows the
> drill and it happens sometimes.
My girl was wild but not exactly a biker chick. The wheelie around an
uphill corner with the dog chasing us was a reflex, as in not getting
bit, and not to show off. We were both thankful we outran the dog and
glad I didn't dump it.
My girl would kill me, a friends girl
> loved all that stuff (before the ring & the children). They're both
> members of the 200mph club, one as a _passenger_.
My wife used to do tricks on the back and actually had that bike up to
160 herself, but kids changed the priorities. I have had a passenger up
to 140, but he was a hitch hiker and really wanted to get somewhere, so
he wanted to go fast. 140 was my self imposed safety limit on some wide
open mountain country roads that had miles of visibility. That 200 (est)
blast of mine could have only been verified if the CHP had caught me,
and where's the fun in going to jail for ridiculous speeding?
>
> What boy hasn't dreamed of an Air Force jet as a toy? Hell, what man
> doesn't have that fleeting thought watching one go by? There isn't a
> man with a decent income out there that wouldn't at least try to find
> a place to keep it if the air force were giving them away, as opposed
> to being tight with them as Bill suggested.
The one time I found a P-51 for sale was back in 1968 and I just
couldn't cough up the money, about $25,000 back then. It would have been
a great investment considering what a flying one costs these days. The
only F-104 I have found is a shell at the Grass Valley airport, stripped
and rusted out.
If I had about $10 million I would try to buy one still, but alas, I
don't have that much income.
>
> Bill, I enjoy your tales, even when they come with a little
> exaggeration. Keep them coming.
The trike was originally a kids' best guess, then I took the car and
tried it, and, gee, only 25 MPH. Never believe a kids' estimate, even
your own. I did find a picture of me on that bike at about age 4, but I
don't see a need to post it.
>
>
> Dan
>
You don't even want to know about the stuff I didn't post, then. I think
it's adequate to say that I have beaten the Darwin law way more times
than most people still alive. Like spending my 22nd birthday in the
hospital because I rolled a car at 85 and really almost did kill my
self, and achieved some fame for having a higher bail than Charles
Manson due to a clerical error. Manson was $25,000, I was $27,500.
That gave me an amazing amount of fame among the jail crowd, and yet it
was just a traffic ticket that the cops wrote while I was in the back of
an ambulance. It was a "Failure to appear" because I was in intensive
care and the police forgot to tell the judge. They got to pay the 6
months hospital bill since I was a "Ward of the state.".
That one worked out nicely for me, except for the shattered right leg
and ruptured kidney.
Like I try to say "Live your life and don't cower.", and if you live
then you have won.
For the doubters I was in Valley Medical Center in Santa Clara medical
Center in 1970 from July 21 until around New Year 1971.
I limped out of court on crutches a free man and with the bill taken
care of.
Now I have a bike calling me.
Bill Baka
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Date: 23 May 2007 18:16:11
From: still me
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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On 23 May 2007 10:54:21 -0700, "DanKMTB@gmail.com" <DanKMTB@gmail.com >
wrote:
> There isn't a
>man with a decent income out there that wouldn't at least try to find
>a place to keep it if the air force were giving them away, as opposed
>to being tight with them as Bill suggested.
You missed your chance.There was a Saab Gripen that sold on Ebay a few
months ago complete with dummy weaponry for short money. Upkeep and
fuel costs were a little steep.
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Date: 23 May 2007 19:05:32
From: Bill
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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still me wrote:
> On 23 May 2007 10:54:21 -0700, "DanKMTB@gmail.com" <DanKMTB@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> There isn't a
>> man with a decent income out there that wouldn't at least try to find
>> a place to keep it if the air force were giving them away, as opposed
>> to being tight with them as Bill suggested.
>
>
> You missed your chance.There was a Saab Gripen that sold on Ebay a few
> months ago complete with dummy weaponry for short money. Upkeep and
> fuel costs were a little steep.
>
>
F-104G's were being flown by the German Air Force as late as the '70's
but sell one to a civilian?
Fat chance.
As to that Saab, they do take real money to hangar and maintain, and
aviation gas is not cheap. We have a local guy who has an original
(minus guns) P-80 straight wing with the tip tanks and he flies over my
house about once a month. I'll bet it takes $500 worth of jet fuel just
to take off and fly for a half hour or so.
Until I win the lottery I can only want.
Ebay?????
Wow.
Bill Baka
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Date: 24 May 2007 01:05:40
From: still me
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
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On Wed, 23 May 2007 19:05:32 GMT, Bill <bbaka@comcast.net > wrote:
>As to that Saab, they do take real money to hangar and maintain, and
>aviation gas is not cheap. We have a local guy who has an original
>(minus guns) P-80 straight wing with the tip tanks and he flies over my
>house about once a month. I'll bet it takes $500 worth of jet fuel just
>to take off and fly for a half hour or so.
The calculations I saw were way beyond that for fuel. Keeping it
airworthy is also very expensive.
>Until I win the lottery I can only want.
>Ebay?????
Yep. It wasn't all that much, maybe a couple million. I mean,
considering the original cost. It was in private ownership
(obviously).
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Date: 24 May 2007 02:40:55
From: Bill
Subject: Re: Bill Baka -- Selected Quotes from a Genius
|
still me wrote:
> On Wed, 23 May 2007 19:05:32 GMT, Bill <bbaka@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> As to that Saab, they do take real money to hangar and maintain, and
>> aviation gas is not cheap. We have a local guy who has an original
>> (minus guns) P-80 straight wing with the tip tanks and he flies over my
>> house about once a month. I'll bet it takes $500 worth of jet fuel just
>> to take off and fly for a half hour or so.
>
> The calculations I saw were way beyond that for fuel. Keeping it
> airworthy is also very expensive.
No argument from me, but I think it would be licensed as 'Experimental'.
Parts replacement must be a real pain. Since it was one of the very
first jets around 1946 the engine can't be all that fuel efficient.
I have only seen him take it to about 300 MPH at about 1,000 feet even
though they were supposed to do 500+, so he must be watching the fuel.
>
>> Until I win the lottery I can only want.
>> Ebay?????
>
> Yep. It wasn't all that much, maybe a couple million. I mean,
> considering the original cost. It was in private ownership
> (obviously).
>
Look at the planes in the Reno air races. There are $10 million Mustangs
there, and lots of super hot rodded ones, like turbo-prop, twin 5 blade
props, and all that stuff I drool over.
Sometimes it makes me wish I had concentrated on making money over
having fun.
Bill Baka
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