Re: The joy of FORTRAN

On 3/3/25 12:13 AM, rbowman wrote:

On Sun, 2 Mar 2025 22:43:05 -0500, c186282 wrote:
 

    "Sales-speak" and objective reality are two different things
>
    Esp if selling to males, "bigger"/"stronger" is what you want to
    convey to the rube ... er ... customer.

 Works every time. The .38 Special has a bullet diameter of .357 but .38
sounded better when selling it to the military. The later .357 Magnum went
back to truth in advertising with a case 0.10 longer so you can't fire it
in a .38. 9 mm is .356 so it's about the same although the ballistics of
the three vary widely.

   The 'original' .38 - the .38-S&W - WAS a bit closer, .361,
   bullet. It remained popular in Britain - personal defense
   and military officers pistols (usually Webley break-tops)
   until after WW2 (Troopers got .455 Webley instead).
   Typical load was a 200gr bullet at about 620fps. It's
   annoying to collectors that you can't really use the
   now-ubiquitous .357 bullets lest they 'rattle down the
   barrel'. NOT sure why the .38 Spl went to the slightly
   smaller bullet. A ".36" was a popular ball size
   for some early cap-n-ball revolvers and "squirrel rifles"
   even before.
   Accuracy was kinda dismal - but they were intended for
   close-quarters last-ditch combat.
   .38 Spl is still a very good defense cartridge and
   the revolvers can be smaller and lighter than for
   the .357 mag. However, these days, go for the
   lighter (~130gr) plated or jacketed bullets. For
   US police agencies, the .38 Spl was nearly a
   nationwide standard for a LONG time. Some "State
   Troopers" favored the .44 Spl however. They typically
   worked alone and outdoors.
   A problem with low-vel loadings in urban areas was
   the increased chance of ricochet off of stonework.
   Once the vel reaches maybe 950fps the bullets tend
   to fragment instead of bounce.

I had a Yamaha Seca 400 that was a hair under 400 cc to meet the European
tiered licensing breakpoints. It didn't sell in the US because it was too
small. I put a lot of miles on that too small bike, including a trip up to
a trailhead on a road designed for goats.

   NOTHING wrong with 350-400cc bikes ! The 2-stroke
   oil-injected Yammies were GREAT. Had enough pep but
   weren't bulky. Around town, 250cc is quite adequate.
   However MOST of the bikes I owned were big cruisers,
   Magic Carpets.

https://vividness.live/riding-solo-to-the-top-of-the-world
 Great movie. At one point he's up around 18000' pushing the bike because
it won't run. He's not running very well either but he made it. It
definitely isn't a Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman trip with expensive
BMWs and a film crew.

   Had a 200cc Honda once - in a mountain state. By the
   time you got to 10000' there really was NOT much
   power left ... you'd have to climb in 1st gear  :-)
   Hyper-RELIABLE bike though ! Took it many places
   it was never meant to go, and never a problem.