where did the Chinese virus really originate?

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/bulletin-atomic-scientists-opens-wuhan-virus-pandoras-box

Back again

 It is Sunday, March 21, 2021, and I am back in Facebook Jail again for about the 4th or 5th time in the past 6 months.  FB has gotten a bit heavy-handed in their effort to silence the opposition, it seems that the it takes very little to trigger the censor mechanisms now, and I am tired of dealing with it.  This time it was the repost of a "memory" from 5 or 6 years ago that triggered the censor, funny how much things change over time.

I primarily use FB to follow the lives of my friends who are physically distant from me (in these days of COVID that is everybody!) and to allow those interested to follow my life, but since Facebook is no longer an open forum for the sharing of things, I am going to make an effort to move away from the platform for some things.

My blog has been silent for several years now, but this is where I used to primarily post at, and it still exists.  Some of the links have gone dead, some of the pictures are missing, but the story is still here.

I will still be browsing on FB, since I do have many friends that post there.  However, most (if not all) of my future posts will be here.  Until/Unless Google starts censoring Blogger.

Charts in PowerPoint, selecting series on top.

I'm building a PowerPoint Presentation that is full of line graphs, and some of the time, there are overlapping lines.

I'm comparing the activity of a single facility against national 50th percentile and 90th percentile benchmarks, and often, the 90th percentile benchmark is at 100% and our facility is also at 100%.

Excel, as well as the Excel embedded in PowerPoint, puts the last line item on top. In other words, if I have three line items like this:

My facility    100%
50th Pctl       60%
90th Pctl       100%

Then Excel calculates the top line first, then the next row and so on to the last row.

This draws the 90th line over My facilities line.

I could resort the data like so:

50th Pctl       60%
90th Pctl       100%
My facility    100%

and that would put the line for my facility on top, but I don't want to do this because it messes up other aspects of the project.

Here's what I figured out: Plot the "my facility" series on the secondary axis, because that gets calculated after the Primary Axis!

Here are the steps in PowerPoint.

First, enter your data

After you close the spreadsheet, your chart will look something like this:

Click on the series, the little blue tail to the left makes it easy.  On the right side, you should get a formatting option, select "Secondary Axis".  You may need to select "Series Options", then click on the chart symbol.

Now, click on the drop arrow and select "Secondary Vertical Axis Options".  Again, click on the chart symbol.  Set your minimum axis value (in this case, I chose "60" and maximum "100".  Click on the graph and select the primary axis and also set it to the same minimum and maximum values.

Last, click again on the secondary axis, select "Labels" and click "None".

Now, the target series will be on top.

WannaCry

Best info on patching MS products:  http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx

Maltese Falcon  Holy Toledo!

Opening a Spreadsheet inside of a PowerPoint

Thanks to EllenFinkelstein.com for the tips.

I am making PowerPoint Presentation that includes lots of data, and I know that this client will want to see some of the background (detail) data besides just the summary data in the presentation.  Instead of having the Excel workbook open in the background, I decided to put the workbook in the presentation so that if the client wanted to see the data then Click! the data would be available.

Instruction for Office 2013

Create the spreadsheet with the data that you want to display.  Do all of the formatting, etc. needed.  Save it in the same directory as your PowerPoint (not absolutely necessary, but if you are on shared folders at work, it makes things a lot easier: if you can access your presentation then the presentation can access the spreadsheet).

Go to PowerPoint.

While on the slide in which you want the Spreadsheet to appear:
1.  Click on the "Insert" tab.
2.  In the "Text" group, click on "Object".
3.  Select the "Create from file" radio button.
4.  Browse to the spreadsheet you created, select it and click OK.
5.  Select the spreadsheet (in the presentation) go to the "Animations" tab.  In the "Advanced Animation" group, click on "Add Animation".
6.  At the bottom, click on "OLE Action Verbs".
7.  Select "Open" and click "OK".

Test it.

Now, during the presentation, when the client wants to see the detail, click on the spreadsheet and it will pop open in Excel.

Chrysler Falcon Concept

I'm gathering copies of everything I know and putting them all in one place.

Interview with Joe Bortz

Chrysler Idea Cars

Joe Bortz Ghia Collection

Rides with Chuck: Chrysler '44 Thunderbolt and '55 Falcon

From Conceptcarz.com

Virgil Exner left Studebaker in 1949 to head-up Chrysler's Advanced Design Studio. While there, he combined his design excellence with the craftsmanship of Italy's Ghia Coachworks. This combination yielded some of the most beautiful and outrageous concept cars of the era.

One of the products of that partnership is the 1955 Chrysler Falcon. The Falcon is similar in size to both the Corvette and Thunderbird. The car, often considered one of Exner's best, rides on a shortened Chrysler 300 chassis. Power originally came from a 276 cubic-inch Hemi with 7.5:1 compression, producing 170 horsepower. The interior featured a split bench style seat finished in burgundy leather, with a floor mounted shifter for the two-speed PowerFlite transmission and a Nardi wooden steering wheel.

According to the current owner the Falcon is a completely finished car, as opposed to a cobbled up show car. It drives well, accelerating very strong, but behaving in a very docile and polished manner.

The Chrysler Falcon Concept, a two seat roadster, was designed by Virgil Exner and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The car was never put into production but many of the design and styling elements would later be seen in various other Chrysler vehicles. Many of the ideas would not make it into production for many years, such as the exposed side exhaust pipes on the Dodge Viper in 1992.

The Chrysler Falcon Concept was meant to be a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Corvette. Power was from a cast iron, 276 cubic-inch overhead valve V8 engine offering 170 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque. It had a two-speed automatic transmission and the total package weighed just 3,300 lbs.

The Chrysler Corporation initially intended the Falcon name to be used for the Plymouth Valiant, but the Ford Motor Company released a production car with the name first. Chrysler needed a new name so they designed a contest among their employees to find a new name.

The car had power brakes, electric windows, and power steering. It measured 182 inches long, stood 51 inches tall, and had a 105 inch wheelbase. Inside, there were adjustable bucket seats, leather upholstery, and concave inner door panels. It rode on wire wheels with simulated knock-off hubs.

With the 276 cubic-inch overhead valve Hemi V8 engine, the car had a top speed of about 115 mph. Zero-to-sixty took about 10 seconds.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2014

1955 Chrysler Falcon Concept Specifications

Engine Location Front

Drive Type          Rear Wheel

Body Designer   Exner

Weight 3300 lbs | 1496.855 kg

MPG City             13

MPG Highway   16

Performance

0-60 mph             10 seconds.

Top Speed          115 mph | 185.035 km/h

Engine Type : V8 4523 cc | 276.0 cu in. | 4.5 L.

170 HP (125.12 KW)

255 Ft-Lbs (346 NM)

V8 276

Transmission:

2 Automatic PowerFlite; floor-mounted shifter

Averages

Avg. Car Cost     $1,900

Avg. Household Income                $4,130

Avg. Home          $10,950

Avg. Gallon of Gas           $0.23

Chrysler Falcon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chrysler Falcon was a two-seater roadster concept car designed by Virgil Exner, and built by Chrysler for the 1955 model year. The car was never put into production, but many of the ideas and styling elements used in the Falcon would be used in other Chrysler designs. Some features would not appear for many years, like the exposed side exhaust pipes which would not be used in a Chrysler production car until the Dodge Viper in 1992. The name Falcon was originally intended to be the name of the Plymouth Valiant, but Ford Motor Company released a production car with the name first, after Henry Ford II requested use of the name.[1] Chrysler agreed, scrambling to change it at the last minute with a contest among their employees.[2]

Designed to be the basis for a competitor to the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette, the Falcon had a carbureted, cast iron, 276 cu in (4.52 l) overhead valve V8 engine, rated at 170 hp (127 kW), with 255 lb·ft (346 N·m) of torque, mated to a two-speed automatic transmission. With a weight of 3,300 lb (1,497 kg), it gave the car impressive performance for the time. For long time everybody believed only a single vehicle was produced, which was shown at several autoshows, and eventually it was sold to a private owner, but Ghia really built three copies. One is in the Chrysler Museum and another, originally painted dark blue with white soft top, was sold in the U.S. and sent to Venezuela, where it stayed for long time, after coming back to the United States. [3]

http://www.carnewscafe.com/2013/05/coffee-and-a-concept-1955-chrysler-falcon/

The Chrysler Falcon was a concept that the notorious Virgil Exner conceived of as an “everyman’s car” to compete with the Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Corvette without being an expensive vehicle.  The Falcon was meant to be something in between a sports car and a daily driver.  Exner designed the specifications in 1952-53 and the Italians at Ghia completed the bodywork design in 1954.

When shown in 1955, the Chrysler Falcon was meant to be a pre-production prototype and nothing about the car was fanciful or unrealistic, although it was labeled as the company’s latest in the Forward Look line of show cars.  Everything was ready for the production line, but disagreements between the Design and Engineering departments at Chrysler kept the car from ever entering production.  Management and Engineering argued that they already had the 1956 Chrysler 300 and Dodge D-500 coming, so another sports car would be redundant.  Mostly, however, the issue was about curbing the growing power Exner was exuding over the company’s direction.

Despite it’s “ready to build” design, the Chrysler Falcon was an innovative car for the time.  Sadly, however, the Falcon name was eventually to label a small, boring sedan from Ford instead of a beautiful car from Chrysler.

DESIGN OF THE FALCON

Exner specified the Chrysler Falcon concept would be built on the company’s 105-inch wheelbase (109-inch chassis) using the manufacturer’s A-Bodies line (the “Valiant Family”).  Originally, the Falcon was to be a Plymouth, but management moved the concept to the Chrysler nameplate for marketing reasons.  When clay models arrived at Chrysler HQ, Exner knew he was on to something.

The final design of the Chrysler Falcon stood only 51.2 inches high and was one of the very few concepts Exner worked on that he named himself.  Despite its short height and wheelbase, the Falcon totaled 182 inches in length, giving it a long, low appeal.

The Falcon is beautiful from all angles.  The Alfa-like base-shaped grille with grid lattice work and Chrysler Crown above is beset by the inset headlamp bezels and jutting fender curves.  A simple, European mustachio fender curls across the bottom of the vehicle’s face.

From the side, the fender runs across to begin curving downwards when it meets the door and the belt line follows through to a gentle downward slope underneath the rear quarter.  Simple flares around the wheel wells gives visual note while the seven vertical gill-slits hint at power underneath the beauty.  Exposed exhausts replace running boards across the bottom of the doors.

The hood furthers the European appeal, having the gently rounded look of a classic estate sloop.  The one-piece curved windshield adds more class and its stainless steel edging smooths into the rag top which can fold away out of sight behind the seats.

Everything about the look and feel of the Chrysler Falcon is elegant and sporty.  For 1955, it was a beautiful blend of European styling and American automotive.

UNDER THE HOOD AND BEHIND THE DASH

The Chrysler Falcon was originally billed as having a 331 Hemi, but that changed to a 276 cubic inch overhead valve V8 instead.  Later, it was learned that both engines were actually used.

Still, that smaller 276 engine puts out 170 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque and was mated to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic transmission.  On a vehicle weighing only 3,300 pounds, this meant very impressive performance.

All of the controls, outside of the steering and pedals, were operated using a short series of levers in four instruments on the lower dash.  This made the dashboard very simple and elegant, giving for a sporty feel to the two-seat interior.

WHERE IS IT NOW?

For a long time, it was believed that only one conceptual was built for the Chrysler Falcon.  That contains the 331 Hemi and was owned by Joe Bortz and is now in the Ford Museum, but it is markedly different from the original photographs of the Falcon from its auto show appearances in 1955.  It has wider spacing between the fender louvers, a somewhat different front grille and hood face, and other small points of note.

The Falcon that appears in the 1956 film Four Girls In Town is identical to the photographs from auto shows of the period.

A third was also built, but its whereabouts are not known.  It is known to exist only because a letter from Luigi Serge of Ghia to C.B. Thomas of Chrysler confirms three A-Bodied cars as Chrysler Sports Roadster models (Model A-488), two being identical and the third being a “DeSoto Sports Roadster” (Model A-489).  It’s possible that this third is the Bortz car.  As an interesting note, that letter also confirms the price for Ghia to build the cars: $20,000 plus $2,500 for mechanicals on the first, the same on the second minus 25%, and $16,000 on the third and $15,000 for a monocoque frame.

Regardless, the Chrysler Falcon was and is a beautiful example of form styling, using shape and contour instead of glitz and accouterments to create timeless styling.  It would be as elegant on the road today as it would have been in 1955, something few vehicles can truly claim.

http://www.valiant.org/falcon.html

The 1955 Chrysler Falcon two-seater was a showcase for the new Hemi engines, and came out at around the same time as the Thunderbird and Corvette; it was production-intent but never approved. The Valiant was originally to have been named after that two-seater, but Ford grabbed the name just as it was about to go into production.

by Mark Vaccaro

[The following photos and specifications were provided by Mark Vaccaro, whose father, Fred, worked on restoration of the original Falcon in the 1970s. His father took the photos as well.]

The Falcon had a 276 cubic inch overhead-valve Hemi V8 engine with five main bearings and a cast iron block and heads. It put out 170 gross horsepower with 255 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. The compression ratio was 7.5:1, and a two-barrel downdraft Stromberg carb was fitted. This connected up to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic. The differential had a hypoid final drive (3.54:1 ratio) with semi-floating drive axles. It was, needless to say, rear wheel drive.

The front suspension used individual unequal-length upper and lower control arms, coil springs, and hydraulic shocks — no torsion bars. The rear suspension had the usual rigid axle and leaf springs.

Acceleration was good for the time, with a ten second zero-to-sixty sprint, a 17.5 quarter mile (at 82 mph), and a top speed of 115 mph. Gas mileage was quoted at about 13 city, 16 highway.

The wheelbase was a mere 105 inches (three inches shorter than the eventual Valiant, which would, to be fair, seat four). The length was 182 inches, the width 68 inches, and the height 51 inches. Ground clearance was five inches. The weight was 3,300 lb., not too heavy (again, for the time) partly because of the integrated body/frame construction.

The interior was advanced for the time, with individual, adjustable bucket seats, leather upholstery, and concave inner door panels to reinforce the “cockpit feeling.”  Its “forward look” styling included a wide, sloping windshield, sharply defined, sloping front fenders, “upswept” rear fenders, and fender louvers. The spring-balanced manually-operated convertible top was covered completely by a folding lid. The wire wheels had simulated knock-off hubs. The externally mounted dual side exhausts added detail to the side view.

The interior used red and ivory leather, with individual, adjusting bucket seats. The exterior was done in “Gauntlett Black.”  The interior was similar to the FlightSweep, which debuted in the same year, with some key accessory and styling differences.

Specs: 182 inches long, 68 wide, 51 tall. Tires were 7.60 x 15. The transmission was a PowreFlite two-speed with floor-mounted shifter. The car had power brakes, electric windows, and power steering.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/index.php/2013/12/19/exner-in-excess-chrysler-falcon-1966-duesenberg-to-appear-at-amelia-island/

As disparate as the 1955 Chrysler Falcon and 1966 Duesenberg Model D appear at first glance, the two concept-slash-prototype cars have quite a bit in common. Both result from designs by famed stylist Virgil Exner and feature a number of Exner hallmarks; both were slated to enter production, but missed that goal; and both have been scheduled to appear at next year’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Throughout his career, Exner expressed a fondness for certain classic elements of automobile design, particularly for those that highlighted the mechanical functionality of a car. He liked round, open wheel arches; he liked upright grilles; and he especially liked fast, powerful cars. So by the early to mid-1950s, after Exner became Chrysler’s first director of styling and when he felt it was finally time to design a car for himself, he didn’t design just another sedan or luxury car; instead, he designed a two-seat convertible sports car. As Peter Grist wrote in his biography of the designer, Virgil Exner: Visioneer, Exner wanted “a car that embodied everything that he wanted to see in a classic automobile; sports, thoroughbred styling and power to match.”

With help from designer Maurice Baldwin, Exner came up with a logical, though slightly larger, competitor to Chevrolet’s Corvette and Ford’s Thunderbird. Sitting on a 105-inch wheelbase (in 1955, both Corvette and Thunderbird rode 102-inch wheelbases) and coming in at 182 inches total length (compared to 167 inches for Corvette and 175 inches for Thunderbird), the Falcon used integrated body and frame construction as well as a 276-cu.in. Hemi V-8 backed by a PowerFlite automatic transmission. As with other Exner idea cars, Ghia built the Falcon for Chrysler.

According to Grist, however, Exner envisioned the Falcon as more than an idea car. It borrowed heavily from the Chrysler parts bin and didn’t require any advanced production techniques, so why not develop it as a production car, he reasoned. But Chrysler’s engineering staff, with which Exner fought incessantly, blocked the Falcon from becoming a reality, noting that the company already had a couple of performance vehicles in the Chrysler 300-series cars and Dodge D-500; why would it need another?

Nevertheless, more than one Falcon was built; just how many is up for debate. The original one, finished in black, went to Exner, who competed with it at SCCA races, but a number of sources have pointed to a May 27, 1954, letter from Ghia’s Luigi Segre to Chrysler’s C.B. Thomas mentioning two different Falcons (designated A-488 and called “Chrysler Sports Roadster”) as well as a near-identical De Soto Sports Roadster (designated A-489). Exner’s black Falcon has gone missing and wasn’t recorded as destroyed, and the third one – reportedly painted red – was apparently never photographed, but the second one, a light blue example, wound up in Joe Bortz’s collection in 1987, and will make its way to Amelia in March.

Articles above suggest that the Falcon was based on the 300, so I went looking for specs.  And, What If one were to recreate a modern version of the Falcon based off of the modern 300?

2017 Chrysler 300 RWD Sedan
120.2 Wheelbase
198.6 OA Length
Frnt track 63.4
Rear Track 63.8
Width 75
4380 lbs (V8)

1955 Chrysler C300
126 Wheelbase
218.6 OA Length
Frnt Track 60.2
Rear track 59.6
Width 79.1
4310 lbs

1955 Chrysler Falcon (built on a shortened C300 Chassis)
105 Wheelbase
182 OA Length
Frnt Track
Rear track
Width 68.25
3900 lbs