fell outa the sky

[Dobie Ardmore]

Wait, I can't tell if you're kidding! Plentiful, inexpensive parts? Tell that to this guy! Where are you getting those plentiful and inexpensive gimbals? Camera choices? You mean the GoPro, the Go Pro or the Go Pro? Karma/ Mavic too expensive? Solo is around $800 with a case, camera and gimbal. Then you need to add those "easy" upgrades you mentioned for another $200+. I'm here to tell you that the battery life is easily on par with the Karma and far superior with the Mavic. As far as camera goes, I did like the Go Pro Hero 4 Black but I definitely am learning to live without fisheye in my videos! Besides, it's not in question whether or not the Hero 5 is better than the Hero 4... I'm not sure what you're smoking. Drift? Stock Solo vs the Mavic? Are you kidding? I've measured a consistent rth on the Mavic within 2 inches! Dream on with with either the Solo or Karma. The Karma and the Solo use basically the same type of sat system so I'd call that a draw. Customer service? I contacted 3DR months ago and never got any response, ended up talking my spare back to Best Buy. I emailed DJI Aug 19 and received an answer Aug 20th. DJI sold me a warranty for $100 that will replace my drone for $80 if I crash it. I never said that the other companies or products were perfect but I have a long history with 3DR (I've owned several Solos) I've owned Go Pro products since the first camera and the Mavic is my first DJI product,we'll just see who's still happy in 6 months. Besides, you want to talk to me about what you've heard, I'll tell you what I know. View attachment 6955

Geeeeeeeez. Calm down Francis, take a Midol. For some reason you've had a "butthurt" moment with Solo and it shows. You don't like Solo. That's OK. My brother had a few problems with BMW and went back to Lexus. That doesn't mean the BMW is not an excellent car.

In any event, EVERYTHING, I said about Solo remains to be true. And every complaint about Solo is NOT necessarily remedied by a different quad. DJI has a SLEW of pissed of customers! However, that is the nature of the beast. Live with it, or go home and play with your bathtub submarine.

There are MANY reviews out there that SHRED the Karma. It's pretty much being downed by nearly every independent reviews. Dude even the youtube COMMENTS from users are bad! "one of the worst drones I've ever seen...." 80 upvotes "How much did Gopro pay you to push thier recalled piece of S#!t??" Maybe you should do some Karma promos yourself. Here's another, "I love my GoPro camera, I really do... but this quadcopter has to be one of the worst on the market. It drifts constantly, it has horizon tilt issues, the battery life is terrible, the controller loses connection and it has no collision sensors. The technology is far behind it's rivals." And a last one,"The karma is flying garbage. Not even a fair comparison. For the price it's the worst Drone on the market." And on and on and on. With so many deriding Karma and you gushing over it makes one question your objective credibility and blatant bias over Solo. (are you a mainstream media journalist for CNN too?) But that's OK too; you opinions have no sway with me one way or another. Maybe this forum is a way to vent your frustration at a product that seems to work well for the MASS of people here, but can't seem to make you happy.

You bitch and moan about lack of camera choices Solo (and FYI there are MANY more cam choices than gopro that fit and work with Solo, however, mavic has NO CHOICES, and mavic's camera is the MAIN COMPLAINT. More geez.

Furthermore, EVERYONE know how long the turnaround time for DJI is, AND it's NOT free or without shipping costs; and it is 4 to 6 weeks. You like first hand opinions then you should read the OWNERS testimonies about THAT

Everything else you don't like about Solo or the company is ALSO wobbly. And yes parts ARE available for Solo. The fact is you can but an ENTIRE Solo-quad only for less that $200 that comes with EVERY part needed to repair your crashed Solo WITH spares to boot. (Mavic-by itself $750!!!!!!!!) Gimbals are moderately expensive for EVERY craft, so THAT's another lame bitch. AND Mavic gimbal is $100 MORE than Solo. (Mavic battery $90 Solo battery $60)

You like Mavic. By the reviews, it does seems to be a good flyer and people like them (not so much the mediocre camera though) Good for you. Did it come with a box of cookies too? ;-)
BTW. Mavics are flying away AND crashing inexplicably and occasionally too.
You example of the gps landing a couple of inches closer that Solo is tantamount to saying that a Lexus cruise control holds .3mph better than a BMW, and therefore how superior Lexus is to BMW. The fact is that Solo GPS will do every bit as much as Mavic; so no real gain there big boy.

The question that remains is? If you don't like Solo, and obviously since the name even triggers a visceral reaction, then what are you doing here????????????

 

[Lon Denard]

Geeeeeeeez. Calm down Francis, take a Midol. For some reason you've had a "butthurt" moment with Solo and it shows. You don't like Solo. That's OK. My brother had a few problems with BMW and went back to Lexus. That doesn't mean the BMW is not an excellent car.

In any event, EVERYTHING, I said about Solo remains to be true. And every complaint about Solo is NOT necessarily remedied by a different quad. DJI has a SLEW of pissed of customers! However, that is the nature of the beast. Live with it, or go home and play with your bathtub submarine.

There are MANY reviews out there that SHRED the Karma. It's pretty much being downed by nearly every independent reviews. Dude even the youtube COMMENTS from users are bad! "one of the worst drones I've ever seen...." 80 upvotes "How much did Gopro pay you to push thier recalled piece of S#!t??" Maybe you should do some Karma promos yourself. Here's another, "I love my GoPro camera, I really do... but this quadcopter has to be one of the worst on the market. It drifts constantly, it has horizon tilt issues, the battery life is terrible, the controller loses connection and it has no collision sensors. The technology is far behind it's rivals." And a last one,"The karma is flying garbage. Not even a fair comparison. For the price it's the worst Drone on the market." And on and on and on. With so many deriding Karma and you gushing over it makes one question your objective credibility and blatant bias over Solo. (are you a mainstream media journalist for CNN too?) But that's OK too; you opinions have no sway with me one way or another. Maybe this forum is a way to vent your frustration at a product that seems to work well for the MASS of people here, but can't seem to make you happy.

You bitch and moan about lack of camera choices Solo (and FYI there are MANY more cam choices than gopro that fit and work with Solo, however, mavic has NO CHOICES, and mavic's camera is the MAIN COMPLAINT. More geez.

Furthermore, EVERYONE know how long the turnaround time for DJI is, AND it's NOT free or without shipping costs; and it is 4 to 6 weeks. You like first hand opinions then you should read the OWNERS testimonies about THAT

Everything else you don't like about Solo or the company is ALSO wobbly. And yes parts ARE available for Solo. The fact is you can but an ENTIRE Solo for less that $200 that comes with EVERY part needed to repair your crashed Solo WITH spares to boot. Gimbals are moderately expensive for EVERY craft, so THAT's another lame bitch.

You like Mavic. By the reviews, it does seems to be a good flyer and people like them (not so much the mediocre camera though) Good for you. Did it come with a box of cookies too? ;-)
BTW. Mavics are flying away AND crashing inexplicably and occasionally too.

The question that remains is? If you don't like Solo, and obviously since the name even triggers a visceral reaction, then what are you doing here????????????

Um I barely mentioned the Karma... Are you being paid by 3DR? Oh nevermind, they don't make drones anymore so why would they pay you? However, the Solo and Karma have a lot in common. If you want to see a bunch of negative/don't buy you tube reviews, search 3DR Solo. Both use standard GPS. Both have short range. Both suggest using 2.7 k video, both have fish eye-although it's less with the Hero 5, both have short flight times, both are big and bulky-although the Karma is less so, both suffer from gps loss, both suffer from signal loss, neither have obstacle avoidance, optical or sonic sensors on the bottom, both have horrible customer service-I've used them both, have you? I didn't have one problem with Solo, I've had several! Hahaha! Check my joined date, I was on my third or fourth Solo when I joined this forum! The Mavic is my first DJI product, so I don't know what their service is like long term but they will ship a new Mavic to me if I crash for $80, I never said it was free. I consider that a feature.

I'm curious, do you believe the Solo to be superior to the Phantom 4 Pro as well? The Solo actually cost more than the P4P when it was new (Solo $800, gimbal $400, Go Pro Hero 4 Black $500=$1700 vs $1500). I paid almost a grand on sale when I bought my first one including the camera, gimbal and the case.The only reason they are cheaper now is because they aren't being made anymore. The gimbal stocks are getting low and they are already around the same price as the drone. I once bought a gimbal for $43 at Best Buy...ah the good old days! Just give it a few months, it wouldn't surprise me if they hit $300 before they're gone.

The batteries are already failing causing Solos to fall from the sky with 50 or less flights on them. I had a power loss problem with my last one as well, which prompted the return. The batteries are still cheap so I'd get on that too, if I were you.

It is a good thing that it's open source, considering that you won't be able to find 3DR brand parts pretty soon. Just check their website store... Oh and there were only so many produced, you know, so if your plan is to have a bunch of complete units around for parts, I'd start buying them now! Since 3DR has partnered with DJI on Site Scan, it's unlikely that many, if any more will be made.

I actually don't have a problem with the Solo, it had a problem with me! Hahaha! Sure with some mods, it's better than the Karma. I don't care about the Karma, it's a throw away piece as far as I'm concerned. At the price I paid, I wanted a hand held gimbal and a Hero 5. The drone, controller and case was about $200 if you subtract the cost of the camera and the gimbal and even came with a spare battery. However, if you're going to say that it's a superior drone to the Mavic...Or the P4P Hahaha! Right....

 

[Lon Denard]

Oh and if you think for a minute that I'm in any way upset or whatever, you haven't been around much. As most here will agree, I consider these things to be toys for the most part. A hobby, a diversion, I don't take them seriously. I like to argue or debate about it, once again as a diversion but I really don't care what you think about drones, motorcycles or anything else for that matter. I reread my posts and I'm not sure what made you respond that I was in need of medication or of calming. I thought my response was rather light and jocular. I guess not.

Considering my experiences with the Solo, I found everything you said to be quite humorous and I took it that way. I honestly thought you were joking at first. I'm not sure if you've ever owned any other drones, but considering the fact that I own all three drones under discussion, I'm not sure why you think that you know better than I do which is better. Weird. It's funny because you said it yourself, just because you can find someone, or group that dislikes or has had a problem with a product, doesn't mean that it's a bad product. We have a saying in marketing, a happy customer will tell one or two others about their experience, an unhappy one will tell EVERYBODY!!! There's no way that DJI could do the numbers of sales that they do worldwide without some unhappy customers.

 

[Dobie Ardmore]

Oh and if you think for a minute that I'm in any way upset or whatever, you haven't been around much. As most here will agree, I consider these things to be toys for the most part. A hobby, a diversion, I don't take them seriously. I like to argue or debate about it, once again as a diversion but I really don't care what you think about drones, motorcycles or anything else for that matter. I reread my posts and I'm not sure what made you respond that I was in need of medication or of calming. I thought my response was rather light and jocular. I guess not.

Considering my experiences with the Solo, I found everything you said to be quite humorous and I took it that way. I honestly thought you were joking at first. I'm not sure if you've ever owned any other drones, but considering the fact that I own all three drones under discussion, I'm not sure why you think that you know better than I do which is better. Weird. It's funny because you said it yourself, just because you can find someone, or group that dislikes or has had a problem with a product, doesn't mean that it's a bad product. We have a saying in marketing, a happy customer will tell one or two others about their experience, an unhappy one will tell EVERYBODY!!! There's no way that DJI could do the numbers of sales that they do worldwide without some unhappy customers.

Well let's recap then Youstated: "I personally don't have the patience for Solo. I still have one that's stock, almost brand new. I haven't touched it in months." You then referenced Karma being better, or at least better as in you like flying it whereas SOlo you don't even LIKE flying it "in months."

And THAT"S great My response to THAT ALONE was:

" My Solo has never let me down ever! My GPS capture time is consistently less than a minute and it is ready to fly. It performs as advertised and I am very happy with everything about Solo. By adding some simple mods (mikroTIK, LRFPV antenna, and GPS shield) Solo becomes a STRONG performer with long distance range and fast GPS acquisition for start up. It handles and flies well. Looks great and feels good in the hand. Sturdy. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Self repair is easily done. Plug and play gimbal. Complete ariframe replacement is inexpensive. Easy camera swaps and many camera possibilities. Add a great community for knowledge and troubleshooting and open source coding. (Geez, come to think about it I love Solo even MORE now)

For those reasons, in my way of thinking, make it a hands down stand out and great performing platform that is hard to beat!"

And from that you went zingy with castigations.

Let me wrap this up succinctly. I like Solo. The performancs is good and is reasonably priced. Spares at THIS time are cheap AND plentiful. It has performed well for me, WITH with NO glitiches; zip, nada, nothing. Is it better than others? DEFINITELY. Is it as good as a Mavic or Phantom? From what I understand they both perform like designed and similar to one another. Therefore, one could conclude they are Ford vs Chevy. The only thing Mavic has is a smaller footprint. Furthermore, Solo has advantages that DJI or Mavic doesn't: Open source (IMO a HUGE advantage) and a DIY community.

Will it be obsolete one day? Definitely, it will be obsolete at around the same time the Phantom or Mavic is obsolete. With the advancements of tech ANYTHING will be obsolete in 5 years. And at that time I will be on to the next platform with something VASTLY superior to Solo, Phantom, OR Mavic. Just like I will be on to a more advanced car in 5 years. But for now my 5 year old BMW kicks ass over my brothers Lexus.

 

[Lon Denard]

Hahaha! I didn't say most of that! I haven't flown my Solo or my Karma in months! I said the camera is better on the Karma. Besides, you need to quit giving 3DR the credit for the video quality since it's Go Pro's camera! If anything I said the Solo and Karma are equal! I stated several examples... I literally called the Karma a "throw away drone"! I don't like the Karma either. As I said, it likes to lose signal and GPS with regularity. I got 20% off the bundle with the camera, drone, grip, etc.forr about $900, the camera and grip are worth $700 so I thought why not? But it's definitely not a great drone by any means. I have no idea how you inference that from that sentence you quoted...

Now I do like the Mavic. Over 30 hours and zero lost signal at almost 3 Mikes away. Never a lost GPS warning. Ready to go as fast as I can hook it up. No weird start up routine, I just turn stuff on and go. Heck, I get GPS lock in my house and in my warehouse, no problem. Almost 1/2 hour flight time. I can film in 4k. Close to no props in my shot. No legs in my shot. I agreed that I liked the Hero 4 Black other than the fisheye. That isn't a knock on Solo, that's a knock on Go Pro. If I loved the camera, that wouldn't be praise for 3DR either.

BTW the Solo isn't going to be obsolete, it is very obsolete right now. The company that makes them stopped a year ago. They are selling at 25% of retail. The main retailer for them no longer carries them or parts for them. The camera they use is obsolete, The parent company no longer sells parts for them. I'm not sure what you consider "obsolete" to mean but I think the Solo fits the definition for most.

Well, it's been a slice but I'm out!

 

[Dobie Ardmore]

Hahaha! I didn't say most of that! I haven't flown my Solo or my Karma in months! I said the camera is better on the Karma. Besides, you need to quit giving 3DR the credit for the video quality since it's Go Pro's camera! If anything I said the Solo and Karma are equal! I stated several examples... I literally called the Karma a "throw away drone"! I don't like the Karma either. As I said, it likes to lose signal and GPS with regularity. I got 20% off the bundle with the camera, drone, grip, etc.forr about $900, the camera and grip are worth $700 so I thought why not? But it's definitely not a great drone by any means. I have no idea how you inference that from that sentence you quoted...

Now I do like the Mavic. Over 30 hours and zero lost signal at almost 3 Mikes away. Never a lost GPS warning. Ready to go as fast as I can hook it up. No weird start up routine, I just turn stuff on and go. Heck, I get GPS lock in my house and in my warehouse, no problem. Almost 1/2 hour flight time. I can film in 4k. Close to no props in my shot. No legs in my shot. I agreed that I liked the Hero 4 Black other than the fisheye. That isn't a knock on Solo, that's a knock on Go Pro. If I loved the camera, that wouldn't be praise for 3DR either.

BTW the Solo isn't going to be obsolete, it is very obsolete right now. The company that makes them stopped a year ago. They are selling at 25% of retail. The main retailer for them no longer carries them or parts for them. The camera they use is obsolete, The parent company no longer sells parts for them. I'm not sure what you consider "obsolete" to mean but I think the Solo fits the definition for most.

Well, it's been a slice but I'm out!

I appreciate all that you are saying. At one time Solo was cutting edge as was the first Phantom. Like all tech things though, newer is better.

For now I like the Solo. It does what I want it to do.

Without a doubt Mavic is a great quad, and it does have a power house company behind it. The $80 warranty that you eluded to it makes it even better.

Perhaps next year I will decide, like you, to move on to a more advanced platform. At that time the Mavic II will be out, and then I can tell you how much better that one is over your old and obsolete Mavic. (just teasin' ya ;-)
Stay flyin' high.

 

[Mauiwind]

Well I have a 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 that has never had any major work done, still has the stock clutch with over 100,000 miles on it.

I personally don't have the patience for Solo. I still have one that's stock, almost brand new. I haven't touched it in months. I did a quick Gear 360 test, during which it tried to take off after gps loss, and parked it ever since. Been flying my Karma and then my Mavic almost daily. I paid less than $200 for the Solo, so I couldn't care less what happens to it but I don't want to lose a camera! It's a bit like owning a Harley back in the day vs a Japanese cruiser. The Jap bike was always ready to go while the Harley was more problematic...

The what bike? (Not a Harley)

 

[pyrate]

I appreciate all that you are saying. At one time Solo was cutting edge as was the first Phantom. Like all tech things though, newer is better.

For now I like the Solo. It does what I want it to do.

Without a doubt Mavic is a great quad, and it does have a power house company behind it. The $80 warranty that you eluded to it makes it even better.

Perhaps next year I will decide, like you, to move on to a more advanced platform. At that time the Mavic II will be out, and then I can tell you how much better that one is over your old and obsolete Mavic. (just teasin' ya ;-)
Stay flyin' high.

LOL more advanced. Maybe that you can buy in a nice shiny box. Solo just opened to almost limitless possibilities, Lets see and DJI do that two years after its launch

 

[Lon Denard]

The what bike? (Not a Harley)

Jap bike, after I finally gave up on Harley in the mid 80s, I've owned several Japanese bikes cruisers and sport bikes. I started out on a few small displacement Jap cruisers. I owned a few Yamaha Maxims and Secas. Even a couple Suziki GS models. I then got my "dream" bike, a brand new Sportster 883! That was when AMF owned Harley...piece of crap! I traded it for the Sportster 1200 because the dealership felt I "wanted more than the 883 could provide", yea like reliability! The 1200 was also a constant maint nightmare! My uncle passed away and my aunt gave me his '88 VMax and it was over! I've never looked back. I went from constant tinkering, frequent breakdowns and wondering if it was going to start, to complete confidence, superior performance and minimal maint. A rather parallel experience to this one...

 

[Mauiwind]

Jap bike, after I finally gave up on Harley in the mid 80s, I've owned several Japanese bikes cruisers and sport bikes. I started out on a few small displacement Jap cruisers. I owned a few Yamaha Maxims and Secas. Even a couple Suziki GS models. I then got my "dream" bike, a brand new Sportster 883! That was when AMF owned Harley...piece of crap! I traded it for the Sportster 1200 because the dealership felt I "wanted more than the 883 could provide", yea like reliability! The 1200 was also a constant maint nightmare! My uncle passed away and my aunt gave me his '88 VMax and it was over! I've never looked back. I went from constant tinkering, frequent breakdowns and wondering if it was going to start, to complete confidence, superior performance and minimal maint. A rather parallel experience to this one...

Nice,but I was making a reference to your term, "Jap". You must be younger than me so perhaps you don't make the connection. But even today, the term "jap" is demeaning to Japanese. Keep in mind that we're no longer at war with Japan so it isn't helpful to refer to Japanese with the incredibly insulting term, "Jap." It was a term that helped Americans pull so many Japanese Americans into concentration camps during WWII. If you're a Japanese American, that term still stings.

(I'm an Asian/American ((Filipino)) and certainly if there were any bones to pick with Japanese, Filipinos would be afforded much latitude. But the war is over. Racism in all its flavors sucks.)

 

[Lon Denard]

Nice,but I was making a reference to your term, "Jap". You must be younger than me so perhaps you don't make the connection. But even today, the term "jap" is demeaning to Japanese. Keep in mind that we're no longer at war with Japan so it isn't helpful to refer to Japanese with the incredibly insulting term, "Jap." It was a term that helped Americans pull so many Japanese Americans into concentration camps during WWII. If you're a Japanese American, that term still stings.

(I'm an Asian/American ((Filipino)) and certainly if there were any bones to pick with Japanese, Filipinos would be afforded much latitude. But the war is over. Racism in all its flavors sucks.)

Meh, I'm a half breed and I don't get upset when someone refers to someone else as anything. To be offended if someone uses a term that you think another nationality might find offensive-you did realize that being Japanese is a nationality and not a race, per se'. When I lived in Asia, I was often referred to as a Yankee, and in Hawaii my brother was referred to as a "howlie" but I'm sure an enlightened person such as yourself has never used such a term, right? Apparently, racism extends to nationality these days and it's completely irrelevant if used against white people! When I lived on the Mexico border, they constantly referred to white guys as whetos. Seriously, like every day...

In any case, I don't waste effort concerning myself about what someone else might be offended by. Heck, even if I did belong to that group, it's not like you're talking about me. The best part is, I'm referring to a motorcycle and not even a person. That motorBIKE was made in JAPan hence Jap Bike. Don't even get me started on all the hated of China I've seen on this forum. I don't remember you sticking up for the Chinese when their products were referred to as garbage, junk, etc. Hmmm...? Are you selective in your moral outrage? Would that be a racial bias?

I'm 52 and my father fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. I was in Grenada and Dessert Storm. He wasn't fond of Asians and I'm not to keen on Arabs. It is what it is.

 

[Learning2Fly]

Lon you have mail !

 

[Mauiwind]

Meh, I'm a half breed and I don't get upset when someone refers to someone else as anything. To be offended if someone uses a term that you think another nationality might find offensive-you did realize that being Japanese is a nationality and not a race, per se'. When I lived in Asia, I was often referred to as a Yankee, and in Hawaii my brother was referred to as a "howlie" but I'm sure an enlightened person such as yourself has never used such a term, right? Apparently, racism extends to nationality these days and it's completely irrelevant if used against white people! When I lived on the Mexico border, they constantly referred to white guys as whetos. Seriously, like every day...

In any case, I don't waste effort concerning myself about what someone else might be offended by. Heck, even if I did belong to that group, it's not like you're talking about me. The best part is, I'm referring to a motorcycle and not even a person. That motorBIKE was made in JAPan hence Jap Bike. Don't even get me started on all the hated of China I've seen on this forum. I don't remember you sticking up for the Chinese when their products were referred to as garbage, junk, etc. Hmmm...? Are you selective in your moral outrage? Would that be a racial bias?

I'm 52 and my father fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. I was in Grenada and Dessert Storm. He wasn't fond of Asians and I'm not to keen on Arabs. It is what it is.

Mahalo for getting back to me (I'm in Hawaii, we recognize our multiple differences, we just don't refer to one another disparagingly behind their backs. btw, Haole simply means, "breathless". Hawaiian language spoken in an english accent is sans the breathe of the language.Hence english speakers were termed, Haole. Its not a derogatory term, simply a local way of identifying, "Caucasian". Chinese are, "Pake'", Filipinos=" Pinoi", Japanese= "Japanee", Portuguese= "Portogee", African Americans="Papolo" )

ie:
"Hey brah, you sound like one Haole guy on the phone, but you one local boy, hows dat?"
"Ha, you buggah you. Funny kine coming from one Portogee."

(No negativity expressed or taken... Just identification with a shared sense of mutual respect "wink" for each other's unique identity.)
Around here, you hear someone call a rice burner a "Jap" bike. That bike might quickly be a reef starter. Perhaps chucked in the ocean by a 350lb Sumo kine guy ha... but I get it.... everyplace is different

Seriously though, mahalo for your service, young man. many mahalos... Military vets are held in highest regard around here.

 

[Lon Denard]

Mahalo for getting back to me (I'm in Hawaii, we recognize our multiple differences, we just don't refer to one another disparagingly behind their backs. btw, Haole simply means, "breathless". Hawaiian language spoken in an english accent is sans the breathe of the language.Hence english speakers were termed, Haole. Its not a derogatory term, simply a local way of identifying, "Caucasian". Chinese are, "Pake'", Filipinos=" Pinoi", Japanese= "Japanee", Portuguese= "Portogee", African Americans="Papolo" )

ie:
"Hey brah, you sound like one Haole guy on the phone, but you one local boy, hows dat?"
"Ha, you buggah you. Funny kine coming from one Portogee."

(No negativity expressed or taken... Just identification with a shared sense of mutual respect "wink" for each other's unique identity.)
Around here, you hear someone call a rice burner a "Jap" bike. That bike might quickly be a reef starter. Perhaps chucked in the ocean by a 350lb Sumo kine guy ha... but I get it.... everyplace is different

Seriously though, mahalo for your service, young man. many mahalos... Military vets are held in highest regard around here.

Cool, yea we'll agree to disagree on whether or not howlie is derogatory or not. In my understanding, I agree it means breathless in definition but it is used to denote that someone is "other", "strange" or not one of "us". Like "gaijin" in Japanese. Often when you separate "us" from "them", it's not in a nice way.

However, this is why I don't take offense for other people because if you called me a howlie, considering what my interpretation of the term is, I could take offense. You, on the other hand, wouldn't think anything of it either hearing it or saying it. Like, sensitive territory here, me and my friends call each other the "n" word or variations of it all the time. I can guarantee you a punch in the mouth if you call me that within my reach. Technically, I'm a mulatto, part black, American Indian and white. It gives me a unique perspective on this kind of stuff. People can find offense in anything if they try hard enough. I admit to not liking it when random white people call me "bro"...it kind of irritates me. My general rule is, if you're referring to someone else, I really don't care. If you're speaking to me, I'd advise sticking to using my name.

Oh and it was my honor to serve this country. I've lived on 5 different continents. That would have never been the case otherwise. My dad became a raging alcoholic after he retired from service and my mom split early. I give credit to any success I've had in this life to the military. It was the best decision I've ever made.

 

[Lon Denard]

Lon you have mail !

I've seen it. I didn't answer because I made it clear that I don't want to sell my Solo or anything else. Thanks.