Posts by Doc&Ruby

  • The Dunning Kruger Effect

    I tell folks that there are three kinds of victory in my classroom.

    1. The shiny, happy kind: "I love Doc! This class is great! I'm so thrilled I'm gonna be a teacher!!"

    2. The self-enlightenment kind: "Thanks, Doc. Great class and all, but I've realized that this teaching gig isn't for me - I'm changing my major tomorrow."

    3. The Dunning-Kruger kind: "You $#@&! Why did you flunk me!"

    "Because you're not competent to do the job, and 4th graders don't have a choice, or get a do-over when you screw up."

    ...and then the arguing and tearful begging, alternating with threats, begins in earnest.

    THAT'S what I mean by D-K interventions.

  • Photo Competition #9 - The Slingshot And Your Road To Recovery

    This is my entry.

    This is Ruby parked on our front lawn looking over the valley at our little ranch in the Ozarks. I used to teach in southern California, in a barrio school, 260+ students, 7 hours a day. I've been punched, stabbed, shot at, spat on, and insulted in every way imaginable on the job by both kids and parents.

    Then one day I find myself lying naked on a gurney after a massive heart attack, and the surgeon says: You wanna watch while I do this?

    I say "Sure" and I watch on TV as a wire snakes into my heart to place 4 stents.... and then I went back to teach another year in the same madhouse before I wised up and said F-this!

    I'm still teaching, trainng new teachers now... 75-80 or so a semester for 3 hours a week. People listen when I talk to them, nobody swears at or spits on me, and I get waved at when I ride Ruby around campus.

    I cut my pension in half by retiring after 36 years instead of 38, because of that, I'm kinda on the "work till you die" plan, but I'm here to spend it, and I get to smile behind the wheel a lot more.

  • Wanting to do upgrades but is it worth it?

    Yeah, first world problems, lads.

    I save up for mods by doing all the grocery shopping and tacking $10 cash back each trip and stuffing it into the mattress until I can afford something for cash.

    The Captain knows this trick of course, but the bleed off is so slow it's like the mosquito and the ox... not noticed.

    If you wonder how I got the sling in the first place? I held my breath until I turned blue...

    It took about 7 months.

  • Skrewball whiskey

    I was shocked, SHOCKED! to find out the Captain likes my second choice single malt (Glen Fiditch)


    If I wanna keep a bottle around, I'm gonna have to pony up for The Macalan again! :D

  • Tires...what are you running?

    I have the Cooper Zeon RS3-S on my SLR. I think I paid rather a bit more than the $135 quoted above, but this was the bigger tire for my 315/20/R35 rear end. YMMV

    After about 3,000 miles this summer, I gotta say I'm very pleased. A good balance between launch grip, spinning fun, and corners very well (much better than the stock Kenda.)

    I think I will put Coopers on the front end when those OEM Kendas wear out...

  • H3 lighting deal

    Quote from Bigdog

    Just don’t push it on the whole way.


    What year is your SS


    I had to cut a small “x” in the back of the boot to pass the wires through. As per the slingmods installation instructions. You could watch that video.

    Yeah, I watched the slingmods video, but it seemed clear to me that the fan needed more air - and the manufacturer claims full immersion waterproofing (I'm NEVER driving in THAT much water!) I was also concerned that any water that DID get in the boot was never getting out - it would be trapped in there and the unit would never dry out.


    Overall, I know that heat kills electronics and shortens the life of LEDs and their circuitry, so I decided to eliminate the boot entirely.

    Some may call this a gamble, but the manufacturer (or Amazon) will warranty for water immersion - but I KNOW that heat will kill my lights - and killing 'em would be my fault if I obstructed the fan.

    Judgement call, yeah?

  • H3 lighting deal

    Quote from Rick Roth

    Arrived today and installed in about 20min.


    I put the boot on based on instructions other companies have and just left a gap between the boot and fan

    Let me know how having the boot on works for you.

    Couldn't see a way to do it without blocking the fan.

    Can you post a couple of photos?

  • H3 lighting deal

    These work great - I installed them in Ruby about 2 months ago - great lighting and no problems. I did cut out the rubber boots on the outboard lights - the LED's are IP68 waterproof and the little turbo fan needs free air to work properly. I figure that heat will kill these babies lots faster than a little wet - and I don't ride much in the rain anyway.

    Good choice! I paid about $35 a pair for my H3 and H9 lights - got 'em from different companies, though both from Amazon.

  • Riding season

    Quote from Boomer

    How do you do with riding in heat?

    I don't have a problem with heat, 30 years in the SoCal desert and I was fine. My wife is a more delicate flower, she has a quite narrow comfort range... below 70 or over 80 & she gets very uncomfortable!

  • Is the Slingshot always an "extra" vehicle?

    Mine is a daily driver (25 miles round trip) - providing the weather cooperates. I don't drive to work in the rain or the snow. Cold weather isn't a problem, down to about 20 degrees anyway.

    We tend to have a serious temp fluxuation here, 30 degrees isn't uncommon, so even if it is 30 degrees when I go to work, the drive home can be a comfortable 60.

    I figure I've saved 8500 expensive miles on my SUV, and I've had a lot more fun!

  • Riding season

    Riding season in the Ozarks is year round - if you're tough enough and have the right all-weather gear. Heated gloves help in the cold months - gotta get me a pair of those for this winter.

    I grew up snowmobiling in Wisconsin, so cold weather riding doesn't bother me much. I've found I'm pretty comfortable down to 35 degrees for almost any length ride, and for shorter rides less than an hour, I've gone out as cold as 15 degrees.

    No snow riding though! LoL!

  • Theft protection


    Found this little beauty hovering above the shift lever on my tractor this morning.

    Tried to move her to the slingshot cabin - figured she would be MUCH better than a shift lock or handcuff on the steering wheel.

    Sadly, when I tried to coax her onto my sleeve for a ride, she said: NO! ||

    Arachnid pets are so fickle! 8o

  • Performance Exhaust

    Quote from bigred

    Thanks Kyle & gearhead!

    Kyle, I talked to Chris at CBM Motorsports last night and he said to give ZZP a call about a new tune, or not. I did not realize that you guys were here in GR.

    I will stop in this afternoon and see you (If your in the office) and we can determine the next step. Thanks again guys!

    If you're going to Eureka Springs, look me up.

    Ruby has a ZZP header, exhaust, and tune.

    🤠:!:

  • Post your milage data!

    Polaris recommends premium gas for your sling, but what you can get varies from state to state.

    We get 91 octane here in AR, but you can also get no ethanol if you shop around.