Monday, January 31, 2011
Yes, I know I'm at work
This won't be too long and then it's back to work.
No biking today. Snow turning into more snow turning into single digit weather tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll bike Thursday or Friday.
I'm planning on crashing some of the talks at the Colorado Bicycle Summit. I'm crashing it because I don't have $85 to spend on a short conference. Also I would have to cancel class to attend the second day and that isn't going to happen.
I'm really interested to hear what Denver Mayor Bill Vidal (did I miss the Denver mayoral vote somehow? Or is he acting mayor since Hickenlooper is now governor?), Tim Blumenthal, President of Bikes Belong, and Dan Grunig, exec. director of Bicycle Colorado have to say about the future of cycling in Denver. I'm going to try and not take lunch even if presented the opportunity. We'll see if my conscience or stomach win that fight.
That's all Monday and then on Tuesday, there's a ride from the Curtis Hotel down to the Capitol Building. That just sounds like a fun Tuesday morning ride in Denver. I'm always down for a cruise. Even at 8 am.
Now for my other wheeled love, cars. Guess which cars are stupid expensive here and you should buy them in other states and sell them here? Subaru WRXs! Good grief! They're not made of gold people! Have not seen one on Craigslist for under $7900 and that includes the 2002 launch year models. Other Subarus are being given away.
Volvos are wicked cheap and plentiful. I just need to research them a bit more to figure out the easiest way into a RWD wagon.
Yes I want RWD. Yes I know live in Colorado. Yes I know it's snowing outside. After riding in Focus with her super serious and amazing Michelin X-Ice Xi2 tires (my first snow tires and MY GOD! are they amazing) and then in a friend's new 4WD Patriot with all-seasons, I will admit that you do have more traction when accelerating in the snow. I don't know how the Patriot handles while sliding around in the snow because the driver was being boring and needlessly cautious. There was no cars around and not even any parked cars around and he totally could've goosed it a bit, but oh well, he was driving, not me.
If I lived in the mountains and seriously needed 4WD, well it would probably be a truck of some sort. But whilst living in Denver, biking and RTD commuting to work, and driving for fun and the occasional errand; Give me RWD and some snow tires. Oh and a nice open parking lot or deserted never used road.
No biking today. Snow turning into more snow turning into single digit weather tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll bike Thursday or Friday.
I'm planning on crashing some of the talks at the Colorado Bicycle Summit. I'm crashing it because I don't have $85 to spend on a short conference. Also I would have to cancel class to attend the second day and that isn't going to happen.
I'm really interested to hear what Denver Mayor Bill Vidal (did I miss the Denver mayoral vote somehow? Or is he acting mayor since Hickenlooper is now governor?), Tim Blumenthal, President of Bikes Belong, and Dan Grunig, exec. director of Bicycle Colorado have to say about the future of cycling in Denver. I'm going to try and not take lunch even if presented the opportunity. We'll see if my conscience or stomach win that fight.
That's all Monday and then on Tuesday, there's a ride from the Curtis Hotel down to the Capitol Building. That just sounds like a fun Tuesday morning ride in Denver. I'm always down for a cruise. Even at 8 am.
Now for my other wheeled love, cars. Guess which cars are stupid expensive here and you should buy them in other states and sell them here? Subaru WRXs! Good grief! They're not made of gold people! Have not seen one on Craigslist for under $7900 and that includes the 2002 launch year models. Other Subarus are being given away.
Volvos are wicked cheap and plentiful. I just need to research them a bit more to figure out the easiest way into a RWD wagon.
Yes I want RWD. Yes I know live in Colorado. Yes I know it's snowing outside. After riding in Focus with her super serious and amazing Michelin X-Ice Xi2 tires (my first snow tires and MY GOD! are they amazing) and then in a friend's new 4WD Patriot with all-seasons, I will admit that you do have more traction when accelerating in the snow. I don't know how the Patriot handles while sliding around in the snow because the driver was being boring and needlessly cautious. There was no cars around and not even any parked cars around and he totally could've goosed it a bit, but oh well, he was driving, not me.
If I lived in the mountains and seriously needed 4WD, well it would probably be a truck of some sort. But whilst living in Denver, biking and RTD commuting to work, and driving for fun and the occasional errand; Give me RWD and some snow tires. Oh and a nice open parking lot or deserted never used road.
Labels: 4WD, bicycle, conference, Denver, Focus, FWD, RWD, Subaru
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Man is it dusty in here!
I totally need to update ye olde blog, but we all know that would require more effort than I am clearly putting in right now. So we'll deal.
Hello! It's been a while! Last post was, ah, June. Which means that I rode 25 miles in the Subaru Elephant Rock, which is a bicycle ride in Castle Rock, CO (That's the state code for Colorado if you ain't from 'round these parts). They have various lengths of rides from 25 miles to 100 miles (40.6 km - 160.9 km) and some friends, their family and I rode the 25 miler. It was a bright sunny day with the Colorado sun beating down on us, but a lovely breeze was blowing from the Rockies. I completely have no idea how long it took us, but at that point it was the longest I had ever ridden! I stuck around waaaaay too long to see if I would win a door prize. Nope! But I did get a vicious sunburn. On the tops of my legs. Oops, forgot about putting sunscreen there. They also served us a great barbeque lunch that was pretty decent.
Sunscreen is a year round thing in Colorado.
Since then I have been thoroughly exploring Denver's bike paths. I guess I was exploring them before that too. So my longest after the 25 miler was 30 miles from my house near Washington Park (the cool kids call it Wash Park) down to Dartmouth (St? Rd? Ave? Blvd? I don't know, and also does anyone call Dartmouth University D-Mouth cuz that would be incredible, but not if I actually went there) where I hit the Highline Canal Trail. This badboy runs pretty far from Aurora down to Littleton and I caught it somewhere sort of maybe near the middle. I rode it south to the C-470 Trail and then caught the lightrail home (for free(ish)! Thanks eco pass from my employer, my $40, and RTD). The RTD fare checker guy gave my school ID a double-take because my sticker was a different color from the students. I then explained that I taught the students and he left me alone. That's actually the only time I've ever had it truly scrutinized. Most other checkers recognize it as an eco pass instantly.
Let me add some links to the above paragraph real quick. Nice. Man I love all the bike paths and trails and lanes and how bike friendly Denver truly is!
Let's see here. Rode with the Denver Cruisers for Golf Pros and Tennis Hos night. Lots of fun and the "Circle of Death" mid-way was truly a sight to behold. They're mostly shut down for the winter but I know they're out there riding somewhere in (hopefully) very warm clothing.
What inspired this bicycle laced post was I compiled my bike riding stats for 2010 courtesy of my first (awesome) and second (barely counts as a) bicycle computers. The first one wasn't even that fancy but it recorded mileage, average speed, maximum speed and time ridden. #2 does mileage and fastest speed and that's it. So this isn't super accurate data for all you data nerds. Huge errors can be found in the following numbers:
Total miles ridden: 343.2 miles
Average max speed: 28.5 mph (Fast: 47.6! Slow: 19.3)
Average average speed: 10.67 (Highest: 12.7 over 49 miles Lowest: 8.59 over 13 miles)
Total time ridden: 22 hours, 58 minutes and 6 seconds
Very neat! That 47.6 mph was downhill (obviously) after a very long climb and was fantastic and very scary going that fast on some metal and rubber. (I guess motorcycles are bulkier and designed to go that fast which why they're slightly less scary, at least at 47.6 mph on a flat road after a downhill). Almost riding for a full 24 hours. My new longest ride is now 40 miles that took me about 4 hours.
I don't have any super serious road biker spandex except for a helmet and padded shorts of which I won both as door prizes during an cycling talk about training for the Elephant Rock at our flagship REI store near the Platte River in Denver.
I think I'll need a new chain and rear tire before next summer, not that I'm not riding now. Trust me. That 40 miles was on December 18th and I thought I was going to lose a toe or two. I don't really know the symptoms or pre-symptoms of frostbite but I was thinking alot about what they might be the last mile or two. It was in the mid-40's for the high and of course drops like a rock once the sun goes down. Thankfully I remembered my lights for the last mile on streets at dusk.
Also what inspired this was I wiped my computer. Completely factory restored it. It's a bit faster but I love not having all the stupid error messages from defunct programs and losing all the programs I never ever used. Yes I backed up my dissertation and my music first.
Posts to come:
Denver Restaurants
Seth's Bike Riding Tips
Hello! It's been a while! Last post was, ah, June. Which means that I rode 25 miles in the Subaru Elephant Rock, which is a bicycle ride in Castle Rock, CO (That's the state code for Colorado if you ain't from 'round these parts). They have various lengths of rides from 25 miles to 100 miles (40.6 km - 160.9 km) and some friends, their family and I rode the 25 miler. It was a bright sunny day with the Colorado sun beating down on us, but a lovely breeze was blowing from the Rockies. I completely have no idea how long it took us, but at that point it was the longest I had ever ridden! I stuck around waaaaay too long to see if I would win a door prize. Nope! But I did get a vicious sunburn. On the tops of my legs. Oops, forgot about putting sunscreen there. They also served us a great barbeque lunch that was pretty decent.
Sunscreen is a year round thing in Colorado.
Since then I have been thoroughly exploring Denver's bike paths. I guess I was exploring them before that too. So my longest after the 25 miler was 30 miles from my house near Washington Park (the cool kids call it Wash Park) down to Dartmouth (St? Rd? Ave? Blvd? I don't know, and also does anyone call Dartmouth University D-Mouth cuz that would be incredible, but not if I actually went there) where I hit the Highline Canal Trail. This badboy runs pretty far from Aurora down to Littleton and I caught it somewhere sort of maybe near the middle. I rode it south to the C-470 Trail and then caught the lightrail home (for free(ish)! Thanks eco pass from my employer, my $40, and RTD). The RTD fare checker guy gave my school ID a double-take because my sticker was a different color from the students. I then explained that I taught the students and he left me alone. That's actually the only time I've ever had it truly scrutinized. Most other checkers recognize it as an eco pass instantly.
Let me add some links to the above paragraph real quick. Nice. Man I love all the bike paths and trails and lanes and how bike friendly Denver truly is!
Let's see here. Rode with the Denver Cruisers for Golf Pros and Tennis Hos night. Lots of fun and the "Circle of Death" mid-way was truly a sight to behold. They're mostly shut down for the winter but I know they're out there riding somewhere in (hopefully) very warm clothing.
What inspired this bicycle laced post was I compiled my bike riding stats for 2010 courtesy of my first (awesome) and second (barely counts as a) bicycle computers. The first one wasn't even that fancy but it recorded mileage, average speed, maximum speed and time ridden. #2 does mileage and fastest speed and that's it. So this isn't super accurate data for all you data nerds. Huge errors can be found in the following numbers:
Total miles ridden: 343.2 miles
Average max speed: 28.5 mph (Fast: 47.6! Slow: 19.3)
Average average speed: 10.67 (Highest: 12.7 over 49 miles Lowest: 8.59 over 13 miles)
Total time ridden: 22 hours, 58 minutes and 6 seconds
Very neat! That 47.6 mph was downhill (obviously) after a very long climb and was fantastic and very scary going that fast on some metal and rubber. (I guess motorcycles are bulkier and designed to go that fast which why they're slightly less scary, at least at 47.6 mph on a flat road after a downhill). Almost riding for a full 24 hours. My new longest ride is now 40 miles that took me about 4 hours.
I don't have any super serious road biker spandex except for a helmet and padded shorts of which I won both as door prizes during an cycling talk about training for the Elephant Rock at our flagship REI store near the Platte River in Denver.
I think I'll need a new chain and rear tire before next summer, not that I'm not riding now. Trust me. That 40 miles was on December 18th and I thought I was going to lose a toe or two. I don't really know the symptoms or pre-symptoms of frostbite but I was thinking alot about what they might be the last mile or two. It was in the mid-40's for the high and of course drops like a rock once the sun goes down. Thankfully I remembered my lights for the last mile on streets at dusk.
Also what inspired this was I wiped my computer. Completely factory restored it. It's a bit faster but I love not having all the stupid error messages from defunct programs and losing all the programs I never ever used. Yes I backed up my dissertation and my music first.
Posts to come:
Denver Restaurants
Seth's Bike Riding Tips
Labels: bicycle, Cruisers, Denver, Elephant Rock, Subaru, Wash Park
Monday, October 26, 2009
Gah! Where does my time go?
Oh yeah, it goes towards exploring Denver by bike and car, grading, getting lesson plans together, cooking and cleaning.
So Denver is very cool. Kinda screwball weather though. For example it was in the high 50s, low 60s on Saturday. Then it snowed on Sunday. The high today is in the 50s again and yes it's snowing on Wednesday. Crazy.
I went to Veloswap, which is a massive bike expo and swap meet, on Saturday. Tickets were $6 beforehand or $8 at the door. What really caught me off guard was the 7 freakin' dollars for parking!?!?! This was nowhere NEAR downtown or any sporting event. Paid more for parking than my ticket, blerg. So next year I think I'll park a tad further away and then walk or bike to the place, which was the National Western Complex. Subaru is the title sponsor and they have some other vendors and what-not but it's mainly a place for bike shops and people to get together and sell some bike stuff. There were also a few tents, packs and clothes, which seemed a little weird. I picked up a more street oriented tire, new seat (saddle), some pedals, a headlight and some nice ergo grips for a grand total of $39, which brought my daily total to $52 with ticket and parking. It's a great place to find some cheap used items, cheap new items and some discounted bikes. I saw complete bikes ranging from $50 to $3000.
My absolute favorite of the day was Panda Bicycles out of Fort Collins, CO. We're growing bikes is their slogan and they are. Bamboo bikes. $1250. Done. Gorgeous bamboo with a 2-part epoxy slipped into metal joints. Really pretty and if I'm spending that much on a bike, it might as well be out of bamboo. I've heard they ride really well to boot.
How cool is that!
So yes I've been bad about maintaing this blog. Still haven't updated it or done a "Best of" series like I've been promising for ages. But I'm still here! I'm still blogging! And I'm out of grad school! And I'm a reluctant teacher who actually cares and wants to get better!
So we'll see what direction the blog takes. Obviously it'll still be in my voice, still about hiking, biking, the outdoors, the environment, cars, Focus, Tercel, J, Leon and Foxy, with the new added twist of being in Denver.
Upcoming posts:
Denver restaurants
Denver neighborhoods
F1 watching in Denver (I'd like to start a group if possible, so please email me if you're interested, my email address should be over there on the left)
Still not having cable but watching TV and sports
Bicycle commuting in Denver
So Denver is very cool. Kinda screwball weather though. For example it was in the high 50s, low 60s on Saturday. Then it snowed on Sunday. The high today is in the 50s again and yes it's snowing on Wednesday. Crazy.
I went to Veloswap, which is a massive bike expo and swap meet, on Saturday. Tickets were $6 beforehand or $8 at the door. What really caught me off guard was the 7 freakin' dollars for parking!?!?! This was nowhere NEAR downtown or any sporting event. Paid more for parking than my ticket, blerg. So next year I think I'll park a tad further away and then walk or bike to the place, which was the National Western Complex. Subaru is the title sponsor and they have some other vendors and what-not but it's mainly a place for bike shops and people to get together and sell some bike stuff. There were also a few tents, packs and clothes, which seemed a little weird. I picked up a more street oriented tire, new seat (saddle), some pedals, a headlight and some nice ergo grips for a grand total of $39, which brought my daily total to $52 with ticket and parking. It's a great place to find some cheap used items, cheap new items and some discounted bikes. I saw complete bikes ranging from $50 to $3000.
My absolute favorite of the day was Panda Bicycles out of Fort Collins, CO. We're growing bikes is their slogan and they are. Bamboo bikes. $1250. Done. Gorgeous bamboo with a 2-part epoxy slipped into metal joints. Really pretty and if I'm spending that much on a bike, it might as well be out of bamboo. I've heard they ride really well to boot.
How cool is that!
So yes I've been bad about maintaing this blog. Still haven't updated it or done a "Best of" series like I've been promising for ages. But I'm still here! I'm still blogging! And I'm out of grad school! And I'm a reluctant teacher who actually cares and wants to get better!
So we'll see what direction the blog takes. Obviously it'll still be in my voice, still about hiking, biking, the outdoors, the environment, cars, Focus, Tercel, J, Leon and Foxy, with the new added twist of being in Denver.
Upcoming posts:
Denver restaurants
Denver neighborhoods
F1 watching in Denver (I'd like to start a group if possible, so please email me if you're interested, my email address should be over there on the left)
Still not having cable but watching TV and sports
Bicycle commuting in Denver
Labels: bicycle, Denver, environment, Subaru
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
New cars!
Hooray! It's that time of year again when all the new cars start popping up in your local dealerships.
So far my short list of new cars to look at are:
Honda Insight
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Nissan Cube
Kia Soul
Now, as you know, I'm still in grad school and will not be purchasing any new anything for a good bit, but these will be slightly used cars by the time I'm in the market, so here we go.
2010 Honda Insight: Honda's new hybrid to compete with the popular Prius made by Toyota. It's cheaper, handles like a Honda (not that most Honda drivers know what that means) and basically looks like a Prius except has a big "H" on the front. BUT it looks like Honda is still not gay friendly, so they just lost their direct link. Ouch.
Actually it turns out that only Nissan is a gay friendly company, so only they will get photos and a direct link, which will make writing this post easier.
Hyundai Genesis Coupe: SuperBowl ad with the fabulous Rhys "Mad Skills" Millen, who is a Kiwi and comes from some amazing rally heritage courtesy of his dad Rod, and it's basically almost my dream car. Rear wheel drive, turbo charged 4 cylinder (with an available V6), and kinda lightweight (at around 3000 pounds, 1360 kgs) and it doesn't look half bad. But the very gay friendly Subaru and Toyota should have their version of that coming out soon and I can't freaking wait!
Kia Soul: Funky looking mini SUV thing that has a really neat red on black interior. And it's a Korean company which J supports for "country of her birth" reasons.
And finally, some pictures and a link to the amazing new Nissan Cube! It's one of those "lifestyle" vehicles that come in a box. 122 hp 1.8 liters of 4 cylinder fury, 6 speed manual, power windows and locks, ABS, 6 air bags, 60/40 fold down seats, and traction control (although I can't imagine why). All standard (peep the trim levels on this pdf) and starting at $14,000. Not too shabby, plus it's so cool looking. If you're looking for a car with tons of cargo space, great interior, and easy driving due to the huge greenhouse, I would highly recommend a Nissan Cube. And look at all the colors!
I seriously have no idea what car I want next. Obviously I want my WRX wagon, my Lotus Elise and a couple motorcycles and bicycles, but in reality I have no clue. I think it depends on where we end up once I get a job.
So far my short list of new cars to look at are:
Honda Insight
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Nissan Cube
Kia Soul
Now, as you know, I'm still in grad school and will not be purchasing any new anything for a good bit, but these will be slightly used cars by the time I'm in the market, so here we go.
2010 Honda Insight: Honda's new hybrid to compete with the popular Prius made by Toyota. It's cheaper, handles like a Honda (not that most Honda drivers know what that means) and basically looks like a Prius except has a big "H" on the front. BUT it looks like Honda is still not gay friendly, so they just lost their direct link. Ouch.
Actually it turns out that only Nissan is a gay friendly company, so only they will get photos and a direct link, which will make writing this post easier.
Hyundai Genesis Coupe: SuperBowl ad with the fabulous Rhys "Mad Skills" Millen, who is a Kiwi and comes from some amazing rally heritage courtesy of his dad Rod, and it's basically almost my dream car. Rear wheel drive, turbo charged 4 cylinder (with an available V6), and kinda lightweight (at around 3000 pounds, 1360 kgs) and it doesn't look half bad. But the very gay friendly Subaru and Toyota should have their version of that coming out soon and I can't freaking wait!
Kia Soul: Funky looking mini SUV thing that has a really neat red on black interior. And it's a Korean company which J supports for "country of her birth" reasons.
And finally, some pictures and a link to the amazing new Nissan Cube! It's one of those "lifestyle" vehicles that come in a box. 122 hp 1.8 liters of 4 cylinder fury, 6 speed manual, power windows and locks, ABS, 6 air bags, 60/40 fold down seats, and traction control (although I can't imagine why). All standard (peep the trim levels on this pdf) and starting at $14,000. Not too shabby, plus it's so cool looking. If you're looking for a car with tons of cargo space, great interior, and easy driving due to the huge greenhouse, I would highly recommend a Nissan Cube. And look at all the colors!
I seriously have no idea what car I want next. Obviously I want my WRX wagon, my Lotus Elise and a couple motorcycles and bicycles, but in reality I have no clue. I think it depends on where we end up once I get a job.
Labels: cars, drift, LGBT, Subaru
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
How would you know if the wheels were gay?
In continuation of my post about Gay Wheels and their gay friendly car companies, I have a slight correction. I stated that VW's Eos was the cheapest hardtop convertible you could buy. I was mistaken and sincerely apologize to Mazda and their unstoppable Miata whose retractable hardtop version starts at $25,115.
I assume that lesbians also check out that website and (quick google) and there is no lesbian wheels.com but gay wheels does say they cater to the whole GLBT crowd, so not just the boys but the girls too and everyone in between.
Along those lines, I was surprised to see there were no Subarus on the list. Why you ask? Product placement. One of the most popular lesbian shows is The L Word on Showtime and Subaru has had a significant portion of several episodes. They did a Subaru Pink Ride for breast cancer (which turns out ISN'T REAL! Shame on you Suby! You should really organize something like that! Edit: and they do) but they paid good money to fake a charity bike ride for breast cancer and in earlier seasons, they sponsored Dana who was the tennis player who tragically died of breast cancer. Here's a recap of that episode from a cycling perspective and in the comments apparently the Subaru/Lesbians connection started when they were the first major non-tennis of Martina Navratalova and they actually sponsor the AIDS Lifecycle event that is 500+ miles in 7 days and raises money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Sorry Subaru, I should've known better.
Ever since I saw my first Subaru do this (Rally Portugal 1998, the masterful Colin Mcrae, RIP, at the wheel) I knew that a turbo and all wheel drive would be in my future. I've been hooked on rally ever since. Subaru is a huge sponsor of rallying internationally, nationally and locally. They sponsor the Leave No Trace program also. They teach you to "leave no trace" while outside, pack out your trash, no new fire rings, don't pick the flowers, etc...
The Impreza is the model line directed towards my demographic with the Subaru Impreza WRX STi being the top. The starting price keeps creeping up but you can get into a turbo AWD Impreza WRX starting at $24,350 for the 4 door sedan, add $500 for the hatchback and the bad boy STi starts at $34,995, only available in the hatchback. Unfortunately all require premium and if you like to feel the boost kick in until redline, you don't get the greatest gas mileage.
So let's say that you want the AWD but are willing to give up the turbo. I can get you into an AWD Impreza 4 door sedan for $16,995 and only $500 more for the hatchback. The Outback sport, whatever that is, starts at $19,995. Oh wait! I figured it out. The Outback sport is exactly like an Impreza hatchback, but it has two tone paint and some more options. Ooooooh, aaaaaaah!
I love the fender flares on the new STi but the lower Imprezas don't have them, therefore I don't like them as much, which doesn't really matter because I can't afford any of them. But if I could, I would personally buy a used WRX wagon because I love them and most wagons and hatchbacks, they are AWD, have a turbo and are much cheaper than new so I could afford all that premium and still have some money left over for suspension and exhaust modifications, and a Cobb Accessport for tuning purposes. I would rallycross the poop out of that car. Why would I do such a thing you ask? Because Subaru has stepped up and provided contingency money (read: prize money) for making the podium at a national level autocross organized by the SCCA. Volkswagen and Team Dynamics (wheel/rim manufacturer) has also stepped up with some money. No you probably won't make much money, but it'll at least cover gas money and entry fee and it's better than getting nothing! So BIG thanks (viele dank, that's German) to Subaru, Volkswagen and Team Dynamics for helping out the rallycrossers!
That's probably enough car talk and Subaru love for today; off to work!
I assume that lesbians also check out that website and (quick google) and there is no lesbian wheels.com but gay wheels does say they cater to the whole GLBT crowd, so not just the boys but the girls too and everyone in between.
Along those lines, I was surprised to see there were no Subarus on the list. Why you ask? Product placement. One of the most popular lesbian shows is The L Word on Showtime and Subaru has had a significant portion of several episodes. They did a Subaru Pink Ride for breast cancer (which turns out ISN'T REAL! Shame on you Suby! You should really organize something like that! Edit: and they do) but they paid good money to fake a charity bike ride for breast cancer and in earlier seasons, they sponsored Dana who was the tennis player who tragically died of breast cancer. Here's a recap of that episode from a cycling perspective and in the comments apparently the Subaru/Lesbians connection started when they were the first major non-tennis of Martina Navratalova and they actually sponsor the AIDS Lifecycle event that is 500+ miles in 7 days and raises money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Sorry Subaru, I should've known better.
Ever since I saw my first Subaru do this (Rally Portugal 1998, the masterful Colin Mcrae, RIP, at the wheel) I knew that a turbo and all wheel drive would be in my future. I've been hooked on rally ever since. Subaru is a huge sponsor of rallying internationally, nationally and locally. They sponsor the Leave No Trace program also. They teach you to "leave no trace" while outside, pack out your trash, no new fire rings, don't pick the flowers, etc...
The Impreza is the model line directed towards my demographic with the Subaru Impreza WRX STi being the top. The starting price keeps creeping up but you can get into a turbo AWD Impreza WRX starting at $24,350 for the 4 door sedan, add $500 for the hatchback and the bad boy STi starts at $34,995, only available in the hatchback. Unfortunately all require premium and if you like to feel the boost kick in until redline, you don't get the greatest gas mileage.
So let's say that you want the AWD but are willing to give up the turbo. I can get you into an AWD Impreza 4 door sedan for $16,995 and only $500 more for the hatchback. The Outback sport, whatever that is, starts at $19,995. Oh wait! I figured it out. The Outback sport is exactly like an Impreza hatchback, but it has two tone paint and some more options. Ooooooh, aaaaaaah!
I love the fender flares on the new STi but the lower Imprezas don't have them, therefore I don't like them as much, which doesn't really matter because I can't afford any of them. But if I could, I would personally buy a used WRX wagon because I love them and most wagons and hatchbacks, they are AWD, have a turbo and are much cheaper than new so I could afford all that premium and still have some money left over for suspension and exhaust modifications, and a Cobb Accessport for tuning purposes. I would rallycross the poop out of that car. Why would I do such a thing you ask? Because Subaru has stepped up and provided contingency money (read: prize money) for making the podium at a national level autocross organized by the SCCA. Volkswagen and Team Dynamics (wheel/rim manufacturer) has also stepped up with some money. No you probably won't make much money, but it'll at least cover gas money and entry fee and it's better than getting nothing! So BIG thanks (viele dank, that's German) to Subaru, Volkswagen and Team Dynamics for helping out the rallycrossers!
That's probably enough car talk and Subaru love for today; off to work!
Labels: cars, rally, Subaru, the L Word
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
MMVIII
Happy 2008! I'm at work because my final seminar is Jan. 18th and we're taking some vacation time next week, so I'm trying to get ahead. Ideally I want it done so I can go over it with the adviser by Friday, so everyday counts. We went over to Subaru's house last night and hung out with them. We played both square Blokus and trigonal Blokus. Personally I think the trigonal is far superior. I won both games and actually got rid of all my pieces for the first time ever! It helped that Subaru's wife hadn't played before and took the fight directly at Subaru when she actually should've been trying to block me. We had some delicious Ballatore sparkling wine. It was sweet and I finally realized why I haven't liked hardly any champagnes. I hate dry champagne. I don't like them. But this was sweet and fruity.
Did anyone catch some of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve? Wow, Dick Clark, I love you and you are a legend but it might be time to call it quits. He looked great but his voice was weak and unsure. Dick, give up the showbiz game. Spend time with your beautiful wife and your kids and grandkids. New Year's Eve won't be the same without you but it'll get by.
Don't worry, I'm tivoing the football games that I'm missing today. In my humble opinion, today is the best bowl game day out of them all. Yesterday was good albeit marred by Clemson's heartwrenching overtime loss to the Auburn Tigers. But today we get the mighty Arkansas Razorbacks fighting the Missouri somebodies. And the Florida Gators taking on the evil Michigan Wolverines. I was raised an SEC fan so my allegiance always goes with the conference except for hated conference rivals, so go Wisconsin Badgers! Beat those stupid Tennessee Volunteers. I don't really have any allegiance to any ACC team besides Clemson, so they're all on their own. The Georgia Bulldogs battle the Mighty Hawaii Fight Rainbows (or whatever they changed their mascot to recently, but the rainbows is better, pbbbbt, they're the "Warriors" now, how about the Rainbow Warriors?) in primetime after we get to see the USC Trojans slaughter the Illinois Fighting Illini. Yes I'm a college football junkie and that'll spill over into the pro league sometimes too. It's such a great system because even if you hate pro football, all your favorite college superstars wind up there so you can at least cheer for the player if you don't like the whole team.
J was asleep with the cats when I left for work this morning. I was awake at 8:45, no alarm. I used to be able to sleep for hours on end like J still can, but I lost it. I think once I realized that if you get up before 9 am on a Saturday, it's almost like having two whole Saturdays because instead of sleeping until 1 or 2, you get another 6 hours to play with.
My New Year's resolution is to eat less and be more active. Hopefully this Christmas present will help once it shows up in the mail.
To work!
Did anyone catch some of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve? Wow, Dick Clark, I love you and you are a legend but it might be time to call it quits. He looked great but his voice was weak and unsure. Dick, give up the showbiz game. Spend time with your beautiful wife and your kids and grandkids. New Year's Eve won't be the same without you but it'll get by.
Don't worry, I'm tivoing the football games that I'm missing today. In my humble opinion, today is the best bowl game day out of them all. Yesterday was good albeit marred by Clemson's heartwrenching overtime loss to the Auburn Tigers. But today we get the mighty Arkansas Razorbacks fighting the Missouri somebodies. And the Florida Gators taking on the evil Michigan Wolverines. I was raised an SEC fan so my allegiance always goes with the conference except for hated conference rivals, so go Wisconsin Badgers! Beat those stupid Tennessee Volunteers. I don't really have any allegiance to any ACC team besides Clemson, so they're all on their own. The Georgia Bulldogs battle the Mighty Hawaii Fight Rainbows (or whatever they changed their mascot to recently, but the rainbows is better, pbbbbt, they're the "Warriors" now, how about the Rainbow Warriors?) in primetime after we get to see the USC Trojans slaughter the Illinois Fighting Illini. Yes I'm a college football junkie and that'll spill over into the pro league sometimes too. It's such a great system because even if you hate pro football, all your favorite college superstars wind up there so you can at least cheer for the player if you don't like the whole team.
J was asleep with the cats when I left for work this morning. I was awake at 8:45, no alarm. I used to be able to sleep for hours on end like J still can, but I lost it. I think once I realized that if you get up before 9 am on a Saturday, it's almost like having two whole Saturdays because instead of sleeping until 1 or 2, you get another 6 hours to play with.
My New Year's resolution is to eat less and be more active. Hopefully this Christmas present will help once it shows up in the mail.
To work!
Labels: Blokus, cats, football, J, Subaru
Monday, November 26, 2007
Blame Canada!
I rewatched the South Park movie over Thanksgiving break. Such a great movie and I still can't believe they got to sing "Uncle Fucker" during the Oscars. Nice work Matt and Trey!
I did get some work done but not much from here. It's nice working at home although the cats do get a bit annoying.
We worked concessions and J and I sold popcorn to people who hadn't eaten beforehand or feel its their duty to support Clemson by supporting Aramark and its overpriced food. 20 ounces of bottled soda is now $3.50 at all Clemson sporting events. Yikes. Thank Yahweh I haven't been to a professional sporting event recently cuz I really don't want to know what Aramark charges those poor souls. Go Capitalism!
Speaking of capitalism, we did not partake in the mayhem known as Black Friday. I did see that Wal-Mart had my Kitchen-Aid mixer, usually at least $250, on sale for $140 with a minimum of one per store. Great, so to save some money I would've had to camp in front of that store and then fought people off as I tried to find the one or maybe two mixers that were on sale. No thank you. Instead Mother Nature called, Subaru, his wife and I got up entirely too early (although not as early as you psychotic shoppers) at 6 am and drove up to Crowder's Mountain which is just over the state line in NC. J was supposed to go but chose warmth and sleep over hiking, exercise and climbing.
The hike isn't very long but its the elevation change you have to watch. It was a nice 40ish F degree weather but the wind had a nasty bite to it. We all layered and were mostly warm all day. I was making fashion statements left and right with my new iridescent red helmet, my green thermal shirt, blue thermal long johns and red shorts over the long johns; take that fashion! I had my favorite pair of comfy training pants that I would slip on over my climbing harness in between climbs because layers equals warmth! We didn't feel the effects of the cold until our last climb of the day. The rock had been in the shade all day and it was freezing! I wanted to finish strong so I climbed through the cold fingers and made it to the top. I need to start taking my camera places again. I haven't alot because it's old and we want a new one but that doesn't change the fact that I have one and it's better than nothing.
Huge thanks to Subaru and his wife for inviting me on their trip and for tying the ropes securely and none of us fell off the mountain! Hooray!
Saturday was sleeping and football. Clemson beat our in state rival, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks off a wonderful field goal by soccer star extraordinaire Mark Bucholz. Bucky had a solid soccer season and hopefully will cap his football season off with a bowl game victory. We're ranked 16th in the nation and will probably get a decent bowl. The closer to New Year's Day, the better!
J asked me what we should get the grandparents for Christmas. Ideally I would like to make it ourselves, but other than that, I have no clue.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and don't worry about having to go back to school/work, Christmas is right around the corner!
Oh, you want to know what we (mostly me) made for Thanksgiving? We were in charge of the pumpkin pie (Paula Deen's recipe), the stuffing (Williams & Sonoma recipe, I left out the chestnuts because J doesn't like nuts in foods) and the mashed potatoes (W&S again).
What did YOU make?
I did get some work done but not much from here. It's nice working at home although the cats do get a bit annoying.
We worked concessions and J and I sold popcorn to people who hadn't eaten beforehand or feel its their duty to support Clemson by supporting Aramark and its overpriced food. 20 ounces of bottled soda is now $3.50 at all Clemson sporting events. Yikes. Thank Yahweh I haven't been to a professional sporting event recently cuz I really don't want to know what Aramark charges those poor souls. Go Capitalism!
Speaking of capitalism, we did not partake in the mayhem known as Black Friday. I did see that Wal-Mart had my Kitchen-Aid mixer, usually at least $250, on sale for $140 with a minimum of one per store. Great, so to save some money I would've had to camp in front of that store and then fought people off as I tried to find the one or maybe two mixers that were on sale. No thank you. Instead Mother Nature called, Subaru, his wife and I got up entirely too early (although not as early as you psychotic shoppers) at 6 am and drove up to Crowder's Mountain which is just over the state line in NC. J was supposed to go but chose warmth and sleep over hiking, exercise and climbing.
The hike isn't very long but its the elevation change you have to watch. It was a nice 40ish F degree weather but the wind had a nasty bite to it. We all layered and were mostly warm all day. I was making fashion statements left and right with my new iridescent red helmet, my green thermal shirt, blue thermal long johns and red shorts over the long johns; take that fashion! I had my favorite pair of comfy training pants that I would slip on over my climbing harness in between climbs because layers equals warmth! We didn't feel the effects of the cold until our last climb of the day. The rock had been in the shade all day and it was freezing! I wanted to finish strong so I climbed through the cold fingers and made it to the top. I need to start taking my camera places again. I haven't alot because it's old and we want a new one but that doesn't change the fact that I have one and it's better than nothing.
Huge thanks to Subaru and his wife for inviting me on their trip and for tying the ropes securely and none of us fell off the mountain! Hooray!
Saturday was sleeping and football. Clemson beat our in state rival, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks off a wonderful field goal by soccer star extraordinaire Mark Bucholz. Bucky had a solid soccer season and hopefully will cap his football season off with a bowl game victory. We're ranked 16th in the nation and will probably get a decent bowl. The closer to New Year's Day, the better!
J asked me what we should get the grandparents for Christmas. Ideally I would like to make it ourselves, but other than that, I have no clue.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and don't worry about having to go back to school/work, Christmas is right around the corner!
Oh, you want to know what we (mostly me) made for Thanksgiving? We were in charge of the pumpkin pie (Paula Deen's recipe), the stuffing (Williams & Sonoma recipe, I left out the chestnuts because J doesn't like nuts in foods) and the mashed potatoes (W&S again).
What did YOU make?
Labels: Clemson, climbing, football, Subaru, Thanksgiving
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Subaru!
Big thanks to Subaru for sponsoring the Subaru Challenge this past Saturday, November 17! It was an autocross for Subaru vehicles and their sister cars made by Saab. I think there were 1 or 2 Saabs there. The majority were Subaru WRXs and STis with a few mid 90's Imprezas, a Legacy here and there and one SVX. I of course was co-driving Subaru's Subaru. His fastest time was a 49.576 and mine was a 49.671, so just a hair off his time. Subaru's regular co-driver was having some cone trouble and was a bit further back with a 50.163. We didn't think you could have 3 drivers in the same car in the same class, I moved to a higher class so I would drive in another group. They got 3rd and 4th in ESP and I locked down 4th in SM. RAW time I was 20th out of 99 and the tough SM PAX dropped me to 28. Basically PAX is a system that the SCCA conjures up to "equalize" all the classes. You multiply your raw time by the PAX to get your PAX time. ESP's PAX is 0.834 and SM is 0.856. The toughest class is AM and its PAX is 1.000. No mathematical help in that class. The "easiest" class is HS with a PAX of 0.792.
I was very pleased with my performance but really wanted to get Focus out there to see what she could do.
The course was very fast with some nice offset transitions. The fast parts were really fast, full throttle fast, and the slow stuff was fun with lots of steering input.
Full results by class
RAW time results
PAX time results
We're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving and I'm planning on working most of the time, so I'll see you later!
I was very pleased with my performance but really wanted to get Focus out there to see what she could do.
The course was very fast with some nice offset transitions. The fast parts were really fast, full throttle fast, and the slow stuff was fun with lots of steering input.
Full results by class
RAW time results
PAX time results
We're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving and I'm planning on working most of the time, so I'll see you later!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
My brain goo's coming out all artistical thanks to you!
Moe Syzlak from the Moe'N'Lisa episode, that's the episode where the Simpsons go to the WordLoaf writers' conference in Vermont. Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Franzen and Michael Chabon guest star (and/or voice). WordLoaf is a spoof of the actual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference at Middlebury College in Vermont.
The autocross was lots of fun on Sunday. I was the 3rd car out and spun out like crazy. I was coming off a turn and wasn't looking ahead like I'm supposed to and the first cone of a slalom caught me off guard so I cut the wheel hard to the left and tapped the brakes a bit. The rear end stepped out and there was nothing I could do. I didn't hit any cones though and didn't stall the car (because "in a spin, both feet in", that is both feet on the brake and clutch, or both feet on the brakes for automatic drivers), so pulled away and got a 50 second run. I shaved 9 seconds on my 2nd and 3rd runs down to 41.7 seconds. I figured I could go a bit faster in places and shaved another 0.7 seconds for a 41.0 flat. Good enough for 4th in class out of 13, 35 out of 153 in PAX, and 65 out of 153 in raw time. Not too shabby.
J and I cleaned last night. We've been in our current abode for 6 months now and it's time for a change. We moved the couches around and are getting rid of some things that I was supposed to sell on eBay but never got around to doing, so I will be freecycling them. It did clear up some nice space downstairs though. Of course now our spare bedroom is completely out of control, but we'll tackle that task at a later date.
If anyone likes Subarus, the Subaru Challenge will be coming to an Atlanta near you! We'll be at the Turner Field parking lots (the Green lot I believe) all morning and most of the afternoon this Saturday November 17th. This is an official Subaru event so they'll have examples of the newly redesigned 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX, and I think one is actually in the autocross. I'll be co-driving Subaru's Subaru. I can't wait!
Please click here for a sneak peak at the new Subaru World Rally Championship (WRC) Impreza WRX STi.
The autocross was lots of fun on Sunday. I was the 3rd car out and spun out like crazy. I was coming off a turn and wasn't looking ahead like I'm supposed to and the first cone of a slalom caught me off guard so I cut the wheel hard to the left and tapped the brakes a bit. The rear end stepped out and there was nothing I could do. I didn't hit any cones though and didn't stall the car (because "in a spin, both feet in", that is both feet on the brake and clutch, or both feet on the brakes for automatic drivers), so pulled away and got a 50 second run. I shaved 9 seconds on my 2nd and 3rd runs down to 41.7 seconds. I figured I could go a bit faster in places and shaved another 0.7 seconds for a 41.0 flat. Good enough for 4th in class out of 13, 35 out of 153 in PAX, and 65 out of 153 in raw time. Not too shabby.
J and I cleaned last night. We've been in our current abode for 6 months now and it's time for a change. We moved the couches around and are getting rid of some things that I was supposed to sell on eBay but never got around to doing, so I will be freecycling them. It did clear up some nice space downstairs though. Of course now our spare bedroom is completely out of control, but we'll tackle that task at a later date.
If anyone likes Subarus, the Subaru Challenge will be coming to an Atlanta near you! We'll be at the Turner Field parking lots (the Green lot I believe) all morning and most of the afternoon this Saturday November 17th. This is an official Subaru event so they'll have examples of the newly redesigned 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX, and I think one is actually in the autocross. I'll be co-driving Subaru's Subaru. I can't wait!
Please click here for a sneak peak at the new Subaru World Rally Championship (WRC) Impreza WRX STi.
Labels: autocross, Subaru, weekend
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Vile weed!
- Newman's comment about the steamed broccoli he just had to eat, from the Kenny Roger's Rosters episode of Seinfeld, one of my favorites because Mark Roberts plays a character named "Seth", and cuz it's hilarious.
Now for the exciting finish to the Protege/Acura Asheville Wedding Story:
(Need to catch up? Part I and Part II.
J left her dress at Subaru's hotel room on accident so I have to run her over there so she can get ready but it works out cuz I need to pick up Subaru anyway. We get there and everyone is ready to go when I get a call from the friends we're staying with. I forgot my tux shoes on his truck outside. shit. But he and his wife are going out for dinner anyway and can meet us at the entrance to the Biltmore. I was just wearing flip flops to try and stay comfortable but that plan definitely bit me in the ass. They arrive, say hey to Subaru (they met a few times down in Clemson) and then flit off to their sushi dinner. I slap on the shoes and hightail it to the Inn. We arrive just in time but I'm thirsty, crazy thirsty. We snap a few pics and notice that they brought some water and umbrellas down for the wedding guests. I wasn't sure if I wanted to drink that water since it was for the guests and I was an usher/groomsmen, so I ran back up to the Inn and asked the head guy in charge (who was killing me all night because his jacket was too small and the material was straining at the buttons, just waiting for an acceptable target at which to launch itself.) He was very cordial and whipped up a jug of ice water and several cups lickety-split. HUGE thanks to that man! I had a couple glasses of water and felt much much better. Chatted with Protege's mom and dad and sister who I would be recessing with since she was a bridesmaid.
The wedding guests started to arrive and we decided it was showtime. We walked down to the chairs on the Vista and waited to escort the wedding guests to their seats. Someone accidentally reserved 3 rows for family instead of 2 rows so we had to scare up some extra seats real quick but no big deal. The ceremony was gorgeous. Acura came down the aisle unescorted for various reasons and it was a lovely ceremony. They lit the unity candle, exchanged the rings and were officially part of the married couples club. We hung out and took a couple more pictures and then headed off to the reception. I got to see an old roommate whose wife is now pregnant and craving salad, cucumbers and soup. The open bar was wonderful and many drinks were had by all, too many drinks were had by some. Dinner (in order of arrival) was crab cakes, salad, petit filet of beef with herb chicken and mashed potatoes, and wedding cake. Then the DJ upped the volume and the dance floor was open. I wasn't dancing initially but finally got out there. It was fun with lots of people of many ages dancing and flailing about. I took off my tux jacket and eventually rolled up my sleeves because I was sweating up a storm. The funniest (grossest) part was when a certain chemistry faculty member and his wife were dancing near J and I. I caught a whiff of something and seriously thought someone had shit their pants. I wasn't sure what to do so I danced J away from that area. Then I see the faculty member's wife run away from him with a look of pure disgust on her face. Then the stench cleared out a full half of the dance floor. If it hadn't smelled like death, it would've been very funny.
We got shut down at 11 pm and everyone went their respective ways, some in cabs, some in cars and some were fortunate enough to be staying at the Inn and just had a short elevator ride to their hotel room.
J and I made it to our friend's home safely and after I showered, I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up about 9:30 and caught the tail end of the Brazil/Norway women's cup game in full HD. Ah. I can't wait to get one of these. Everyone else woke up and after some Burnout on the 360, we went to brunch at Mayfel's where I had some delicious bacon, biscuits and gravy, grits and some scrambled eggs, just what the doctor ordered. J got the muffuletta sandwich which had too many types of meat and the olive tapenade was not what my stomach wanted at that moment in time. But it was good. We wanted beignets for dessert but our waitress failed to mention that the kitchen was closing so we settled on the key lime tart and our friend's chocolate mousse cake was unbelievable. It was a good mousse on a brownie topped with chocolate. I would highly recommend it.
Then we went back to their house and I loaded up the car and left. We only forgot Protege and Acura's housekey and J's cell phone charger, but we received them in the mail on Tues.
I'll be back tomorrow for the recap of "Mexican Sunrise" and what J left in Birmingham.
Now for the exciting finish to the Protege/Acura Asheville Wedding Story:
(Need to catch up? Part I and Part II.
J left her dress at Subaru's hotel room on accident so I have to run her over there so she can get ready but it works out cuz I need to pick up Subaru anyway. We get there and everyone is ready to go when I get a call from the friends we're staying with. I forgot my tux shoes on his truck outside. shit. But he and his wife are going out for dinner anyway and can meet us at the entrance to the Biltmore. I was just wearing flip flops to try and stay comfortable but that plan definitely bit me in the ass. They arrive, say hey to Subaru (they met a few times down in Clemson) and then flit off to their sushi dinner. I slap on the shoes and hightail it to the Inn. We arrive just in time but I'm thirsty, crazy thirsty. We snap a few pics and notice that they brought some water and umbrellas down for the wedding guests. I wasn't sure if I wanted to drink that water since it was for the guests and I was an usher/groomsmen, so I ran back up to the Inn and asked the head guy in charge (who was killing me all night because his jacket was too small and the material was straining at the buttons, just waiting for an acceptable target at which to launch itself.) He was very cordial and whipped up a jug of ice water and several cups lickety-split. HUGE thanks to that man! I had a couple glasses of water and felt much much better. Chatted with Protege's mom and dad and sister who I would be recessing with since she was a bridesmaid.
The wedding guests started to arrive and we decided it was showtime. We walked down to the chairs on the Vista and waited to escort the wedding guests to their seats. Someone accidentally reserved 3 rows for family instead of 2 rows so we had to scare up some extra seats real quick but no big deal. The ceremony was gorgeous. Acura came down the aisle unescorted for various reasons and it was a lovely ceremony. They lit the unity candle, exchanged the rings and were officially part of the married couples club. We hung out and took a couple more pictures and then headed off to the reception. I got to see an old roommate whose wife is now pregnant and craving salad, cucumbers and soup. The open bar was wonderful and many drinks were had by all, too many drinks were had by some. Dinner (in order of arrival) was crab cakes, salad, petit filet of beef with herb chicken and mashed potatoes, and wedding cake. Then the DJ upped the volume and the dance floor was open. I wasn't dancing initially but finally got out there. It was fun with lots of people of many ages dancing and flailing about. I took off my tux jacket and eventually rolled up my sleeves because I was sweating up a storm. The funniest (grossest) part was when a certain chemistry faculty member and his wife were dancing near J and I. I caught a whiff of something and seriously thought someone had shit their pants. I wasn't sure what to do so I danced J away from that area. Then I see the faculty member's wife run away from him with a look of pure disgust on her face. Then the stench cleared out a full half of the dance floor. If it hadn't smelled like death, it would've been very funny.
We got shut down at 11 pm and everyone went their respective ways, some in cabs, some in cars and some were fortunate enough to be staying at the Inn and just had a short elevator ride to their hotel room.
J and I made it to our friend's home safely and after I showered, I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up about 9:30 and caught the tail end of the Brazil/Norway women's cup game in full HD. Ah. I can't wait to get one of these. Everyone else woke up and after some Burnout on the 360, we went to brunch at Mayfel's where I had some delicious bacon, biscuits and gravy, grits and some scrambled eggs, just what the doctor ordered. J got the muffuletta sandwich which had too many types of meat and the olive tapenade was not what my stomach wanted at that moment in time. But it was good. We wanted beignets for dessert but our waitress failed to mention that the kitchen was closing so we settled on the key lime tart and our friend's chocolate mousse cake was unbelievable. It was a good mousse on a brownie topped with chocolate. I would highly recommend it.
Then we went back to their house and I loaded up the car and left. We only forgot Protege and Acura's housekey and J's cell phone charger, but we received them in the mail on Tues.
I'll be back tomorrow for the recap of "Mexican Sunrise" and what J left in Birmingham.
Labels: Acura, Protege, restaurant reviews, Subaru, wedding, weekend
Monday, July 02, 2007
It's gonna be a scorcher!
This weekend was awesome.
Drive down to the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds (GCF), get a few practice starts with the drag racing style timing lights, (sorry, I was talking with the energy co. to get the power off at our old place, not that you could sense the pause in the typing), get the car teched and ready to race, we also had to have several stickers on our cars since it was a national event, we got around actually sticking them on the cars by putting them on magnets so they're nice and removable.
After that we went over to Fish Lake to camp. The sun was down and it was nice and cool. We hung out, had some beers (Sweet Water Blue which is unavailable in SC) and then it started to rain. Crazy rain with flashes of purplish cracks of light. There were a couple that were definitely too close for comfort. At the start of the rain we huddled under a tree (there were 4 of us, Protege, Subaru, myself and Suby's co-driver) and then it soaked the tree and started really coming down so we ran to the safety of Focus, rolled down the windows and stuck an umbrella out the windows so we could have a breeze. My tent kept me dry for most of the night except for a small pool at the foot of the tent.
We would arrive the next day and get 6 qualifying runs, 3 from each side (remember it was a Doublecross so there were 2 cars on course with a mutual finish line and different starting lanes) and we wouldn't know how well we did until that evening. I qualified 120 out of 137, Protege was 119, Subaru was 109 and his co-driver was 104. It isn't that we're that bad, it's that everyone else was that good. This was a national event that you can win some decent money at so the good drivers come out of the woodworks. My goal was not last in my class and I was 3rd to last and I was very pleased with how Focus was handling and my driving.
They had a cook-out that evening with brats and hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches and they even provided beer. It was from the Atlanta Brewing Company. Their Peachtree Pale Ale was waaaay too hoppy and bitter for my taste but their Blonde Ale was freakin' phenomenal.
That night we stayed at the Best Western in Lawrenceville. Nice rooms but the guy working the night counter was having a bad day. He didn't tell us any of the features of the hotel (like breakfast would be in the room behind us from 6-9 or that you could get pool towels from the front desk) but was a nice guy besides that.
Woke up at 6 am AGAIN and made our way back to the GCF. I was paired up against a stripped down old Civic in E Prepared, which means it was light and fast and on racing slicks. The point of the drag lights at the start was to make the event more fair. If I would've gone up against that Civic straight up on my street tires in STS (Street Touring Stock) I would've been destroyed, so they offset the lights depending on your class. So I had a few second headstart over the Civic. It was a good run, slow in, fast out, smooth, smooth, smooth, FINISH! Crap, he beat me, but I hear over the PA system that he hit a cone. I won! Then I raced a very fast S2000 and lost by several seconds. It's a double elimination bracket so I get another shot to keep racing that day. I'm up against a new 2007 Mazda MX5 (Miata) that is stock except for race tires. This is gonna be close. We pull up to the line and I get a few tenths of a head start. Coming around to the finish and....I lost. Poo. The one consolation is that it's still early and I can go ahead and changed my tires in the shade and get the car mostly packed before I have to show up for my work assignment.
You have to see this hat I bought for this event. I've always wanted a hat that will keep my face and neck shaded. A baseball cap isn't going to cut it. So I stopped by REI (the one in Buford near the Mall of Georgia) since it was on our way. Sunglasses and a hat on sale and $43 later I'm on the road with eye, head and neck protection from the sun. The other guys teased me about my big hat, saying I looked like an explorer, but they didn't think it was so funny on the second day and I was barely sunburned on my face and neck.
So much fun and I have so much to learn and so much to do to my Focus if I really want to be nationally competitive but that isn't my goal. I'm a rally driver. I want to get sideways in the dirt and fly past trees at 60 mph. Autocross is just a hobby and seat time until I get my rally car. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.
Whoops, almost forgot. My friend Derek was able to come down from his house near Suwanee and watch a few of my qualifying runs on Sat. morning. I hadn't seen him since he was in our wedding last Nov. I had hoped at least one ATL blogger could've made it but I understand that you were busy and had other things to do.
Drive down to the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds (GCF), get a few practice starts with the drag racing style timing lights, (sorry, I was talking with the energy co. to get the power off at our old place, not that you could sense the pause in the typing), get the car teched and ready to race, we also had to have several stickers on our cars since it was a national event, we got around actually sticking them on the cars by putting them on magnets so they're nice and removable.
After that we went over to Fish Lake to camp. The sun was down and it was nice and cool. We hung out, had some beers (Sweet Water Blue which is unavailable in SC) and then it started to rain. Crazy rain with flashes of purplish cracks of light. There were a couple that were definitely too close for comfort. At the start of the rain we huddled under a tree (there were 4 of us, Protege, Subaru, myself and Suby's co-driver) and then it soaked the tree and started really coming down so we ran to the safety of Focus, rolled down the windows and stuck an umbrella out the windows so we could have a breeze. My tent kept me dry for most of the night except for a small pool at the foot of the tent.
We would arrive the next day and get 6 qualifying runs, 3 from each side (remember it was a Doublecross so there were 2 cars on course with a mutual finish line and different starting lanes) and we wouldn't know how well we did until that evening. I qualified 120 out of 137, Protege was 119, Subaru was 109 and his co-driver was 104. It isn't that we're that bad, it's that everyone else was that good. This was a national event that you can win some decent money at so the good drivers come out of the woodworks. My goal was not last in my class and I was 3rd to last and I was very pleased with how Focus was handling and my driving.
They had a cook-out that evening with brats and hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches and they even provided beer. It was from the Atlanta Brewing Company. Their Peachtree Pale Ale was waaaay too hoppy and bitter for my taste but their Blonde Ale was freakin' phenomenal.
That night we stayed at the Best Western in Lawrenceville. Nice rooms but the guy working the night counter was having a bad day. He didn't tell us any of the features of the hotel (like breakfast would be in the room behind us from 6-9 or that you could get pool towels from the front desk) but was a nice guy besides that.
Woke up at 6 am AGAIN and made our way back to the GCF. I was paired up against a stripped down old Civic in E Prepared, which means it was light and fast and on racing slicks. The point of the drag lights at the start was to make the event more fair. If I would've gone up against that Civic straight up on my street tires in STS (Street Touring Stock) I would've been destroyed, so they offset the lights depending on your class. So I had a few second headstart over the Civic. It was a good run, slow in, fast out, smooth, smooth, smooth, FINISH! Crap, he beat me, but I hear over the PA system that he hit a cone. I won! Then I raced a very fast S2000 and lost by several seconds. It's a double elimination bracket so I get another shot to keep racing that day. I'm up against a new 2007 Mazda MX5 (Miata) that is stock except for race tires. This is gonna be close. We pull up to the line and I get a few tenths of a head start. Coming around to the finish and....I lost. Poo. The one consolation is that it's still early and I can go ahead and changed my tires in the shade and get the car mostly packed before I have to show up for my work assignment.
You have to see this hat I bought for this event. I've always wanted a hat that will keep my face and neck shaded. A baseball cap isn't going to cut it. So I stopped by REI (the one in Buford near the Mall of Georgia) since it was on our way. Sunglasses and a hat on sale and $43 later I'm on the road with eye, head and neck protection from the sun. The other guys teased me about my big hat, saying I looked like an explorer, but they didn't think it was so funny on the second day and I was barely sunburned on my face and neck.
So much fun and I have so much to learn and so much to do to my Focus if I really want to be nationally competitive but that isn't my goal. I'm a rally driver. I want to get sideways in the dirt and fly past trees at 60 mph. Autocross is just a hobby and seat time until I get my rally car. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.
Whoops, almost forgot. My friend Derek was able to come down from his house near Suwanee and watch a few of my qualifying runs on Sat. morning. I hadn't seen him since he was in our wedding last Nov. I had hoped at least one ATL blogger could've made it but I understand that you were busy and had other things to do.
Labels: autocross, camping, Doublecross, Drift Atlanta, Focus, Protege, Subaru
Monday, May 14, 2007
Bring it on Monday
It was such a wonderful weekend. J & Co. had a great time at the concert and CL, Protege's fiance, took the bullet for the team and drove there and back with a return time of 5 am. Yeah, that's impressive, big rig impressive even. The Tabernacle is an extremely cool place to catch a show and hopefully, I'll be able to attend the next one. It sounds like my kind of place.
Drift Atlanta 2007 was sick. Chris Forsberg in his truck V8 engined Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z ultimately took the win over Darren McNamara and his Falken Tire turboed Toyota Corrolla. Third went to last year's winner Tanner Foust, who I never did get a chance to talk to, in his AEM Memphis Audio Nissan 350Z. Sorry for all the sponsor talk but it's good practice for when I have to give all my sponsors some post-race love.
Friday, arrive, watch some drifting practice, stroll through the pits, see some friends, watch some more drifting, dinner at Zaxby's, camping out front of Road Atlanta, sleep, arise, go autocross at Turner Field, lunch at Uncle Vito's NY Pizza off Exit 120 on 85 close to the Road Atlanta exit of 129, drifting, pits but missed the autograph session, catch Stephan Verdier as we're leaving the pits and talk about rallying and drifting and his '06 Subaru STI that he converted to rear wheel drive and how he trailered it across the country himself, more drifing, try to leave, we repark the car and then traffic finally starts moving after a half hour and then finally get home at 12:30 am or so on Sunday morning.
Yes it's a blur but I will hopefully have pics before the week is out. I didn't bring my camera so Subaru let me use his.
The autocross was especially fun cuz it's hard to watch all that racing/drifting and not be able to enjoy the action, so it was great to hop in a car and rip some shit up.
My first run was a 54.3. Not bad, smooth, no cones. Then I ride along with Subaru. I'm co-driving Subaru's Subaru this weekend and let me tell you. All wheel drive plus turbo plus big meaty 245/45/16 Hoosier race tires equals one hell of a good time. So I hop in the passenger's seat and hang on for dear life as Subaru rips off a 52.7. Wow, I need to go faster. Oops, go too fast on my 2nd run and get sideways in a slalom and get a 55 something. Suby tears off a 51. Wow, he's fast. But we're talking and there is a small fairly tight section near the beginning of the course and Suby doesn't think we really need to hit the brakes through there and maybe would only need to lift off throttle a little bit. Sounds good, so I give it a shot. I danced that WRX through those cones like the Suby doesn't weigh 3000 pounds. Slow in the slow parts, fast in the fast parts and that turbo just hauling ass up the slight elevation change. Smooth but damn fast. 49.7! WOO-HOO! Needless to say I'm stoked. Shaved almost 4 full seconds off my time. Damn that's a good feeling. Suby hops back in but can only muster a 50.1. Nice. I tell myself I want to go a little faster for my last run but my foot doesn't get the message and go waaay too fast through one section and go to the left of some cones that I'm supposed to go right of because there was no way I was going to be able to slow down enough to make those cones.
I'm fairly certain I won my class and now I want a turbo and all wheel drive just a little bit more. Thanks go to Subaru for letting me co-drive and to Subaru in Japan for making such a kick ass ride.
Drift Atlanta 2007 was sick. Chris Forsberg in his truck V8 engined Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z ultimately took the win over Darren McNamara and his Falken Tire turboed Toyota Corrolla. Third went to last year's winner Tanner Foust, who I never did get a chance to talk to, in his AEM Memphis Audio Nissan 350Z. Sorry for all the sponsor talk but it's good practice for when I have to give all my sponsors some post-race love.
Friday, arrive, watch some drifting practice, stroll through the pits, see some friends, watch some more drifting, dinner at Zaxby's, camping out front of Road Atlanta, sleep, arise, go autocross at Turner Field, lunch at Uncle Vito's NY Pizza off Exit 120 on 85 close to the Road Atlanta exit of 129, drifting, pits but missed the autograph session, catch Stephan Verdier as we're leaving the pits and talk about rallying and drifting and his '06 Subaru STI that he converted to rear wheel drive and how he trailered it across the country himself, more drifing, try to leave, we repark the car and then traffic finally starts moving after a half hour and then finally get home at 12:30 am or so on Sunday morning.
Yes it's a blur but I will hopefully have pics before the week is out. I didn't bring my camera so Subaru let me use his.
The autocross was especially fun cuz it's hard to watch all that racing/drifting and not be able to enjoy the action, so it was great to hop in a car and rip some shit up.
My first run was a 54.3. Not bad, smooth, no cones. Then I ride along with Subaru. I'm co-driving Subaru's Subaru this weekend and let me tell you. All wheel drive plus turbo plus big meaty 245/45/16 Hoosier race tires equals one hell of a good time. So I hop in the passenger's seat and hang on for dear life as Subaru rips off a 52.7. Wow, I need to go faster. Oops, go too fast on my 2nd run and get sideways in a slalom and get a 55 something. Suby tears off a 51. Wow, he's fast. But we're talking and there is a small fairly tight section near the beginning of the course and Suby doesn't think we really need to hit the brakes through there and maybe would only need to lift off throttle a little bit. Sounds good, so I give it a shot. I danced that WRX through those cones like the Suby doesn't weigh 3000 pounds. Slow in the slow parts, fast in the fast parts and that turbo just hauling ass up the slight elevation change. Smooth but damn fast. 49.7! WOO-HOO! Needless to say I'm stoked. Shaved almost 4 full seconds off my time. Damn that's a good feeling. Suby hops back in but can only muster a 50.1. Nice. I tell myself I want to go a little faster for my last run but my foot doesn't get the message and go waaay too fast through one section and go to the left of some cones that I'm supposed to go right of because there was no way I was going to be able to slow down enough to make those cones.
I'm fairly certain I won my class and now I want a turbo and all wheel drive just a little bit more. Thanks go to Subaru for letting me co-drive and to Subaru in Japan for making such a kick ass ride.
Labels: camping, drift, Drift Atlanta, Subaru
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Ever notice how.....
Nope, wasn't going anywhere at all with that title. Sorry.
There's only 2 of us in lab today. One guy's parents are in town for gradamation and the other's boyfriend is in town from her native US territory (it's the most well known one), so I doubt they'll be coming in today. So a nice quiet day in lab. Actually since the majority of students are now gone, it's going to be a nice quiet summer. Occasionally we'll get an undergrad working in our lab for the summer, but we're not even getting one of those, so lots of quality lab time that I will try and use to its fullest cuz it's only going to get more hectic.
Excellent additions by Tom to my last post. Definitely make sure all the wheels are round and not egg-shaped (wheel shop can take care of that if you can't tell visually), and if they are super fancy and you're concerned about their finish, make your concerns known to the shop owner and the guy mounting the tires on your wheels. Some places, I'm looking at you Wal-Mart, don't really give a shit if they scratch up your nice shiny wheels, so yet another reason to never set foot in Wal-Mart.
This weekend is going to be great! J is going with Protege and his fiance, we'll call her CL for Acura reasons, to a concert (is it still a concert if its a DJ and not a band?) at the Tabernacle in ATL on Fri. night and since CL is super hardcore like that, they'll be driving home that night. At least they'll have J's doctor prescribed uppers, just in case someone gets sleepy. Ah-ha! I knew the Tabernacle was a multi-level venue! I have personally never been there but I hear it's a great place to catch a show in ATL; much more cozy than a large arena show.
The DJ spinning is Paul Van Dyk of international fame, so it should be a very sick show.
I, on the other hand, will be traveling back to Fish Lake in Nowheresville, GA with Subaru after getting to Road Atlanta around 3 pm on Friday to catch practice and qualifying for Drift Atlanta! I'm sure it will prove to be a tire shredding, rip roaring good time. I missed it the first year it was down there but never again! The control those guys have over those cars is almost unbelievable. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing Tanner Foust, who is probably still in his AEM Memphis Audio 350Z, Rhys Millen in the Red Bull Pontiac Solstice and Samuel Hubinette in the new Mopar Drift Charger. Everyone puts on a good show but those are some of the more high profile guys. The word on the street is that there is also going to be a drift Porsche out there too, so that should be exciting and piss off lots of old rich guys too. I'm not sure how Jerry Seinfeld would feel about, but I think as long as its on a track and exposing the Porsche name to a different demographic, he'd be all for it. Oh yeah, Stephan Verdier will be there too. He's another amazing rally driver who is trying his hand at some hot slideways action action action.
Here's a link to the driver's page. Lots of skilled athletes in that bunch. Hopefully I'll get some pictures with some of them and if I can find something cool for them to autograph that isn't too heavy to carry around, maybe I'll get a few John Hancocks as well.
And that's just Friday! So leave Road ATL, go to Fish Lake, eat, hang out, sleep, wake up and then head down to Turner Field and autocross! Last year they had some really cool racing in the morning before Drift Atlanta (the drifting starts at 3 pm on Fri. and Sat.) but this year it's only a bunch of Spec Panoz race cars, which are cool the first couple times you see them, but if you go to Road Atlanta for any race series, odds are you're gonna see some Panoz cars flying around the track. So we'll be skipping that and autocrossing with the Atlanta region SCCA. I haven't driven Subaru's Suby since we installed the clutch and he got the tuning chip for it, so I'm EXTREMELY EXCITED! I like driving fast cars, what can I say.
I still remember the first time I autocrossed the Suby, I was still using Focus braking points in my head and didn't factor in the all wheel drive, AWD, or the turbo, so I was going way too fast for my late braking point and took a few cones down with me. So now in the back of my head the little guy is whispering "this car is alot faster than Focus, you'll have to brake sooner and maybe more often" which is true but with all the differentials and all 4 tires being driven by the engine, you can get on the power alot sooner than in Focus. Just remember that the car has to be pointed the right way before you punch it. Slow in, fast out is definitely the Subaru mantra, and it's also true for basically any car you're trying to drive fast.
I'll be in tomorrow morning and then on Monday we'll have a weekend recap! And maybe even a few pictures!
There's only 2 of us in lab today. One guy's parents are in town for gradamation and the other's boyfriend is in town from her native US territory (it's the most well known one), so I doubt they'll be coming in today. So a nice quiet day in lab. Actually since the majority of students are now gone, it's going to be a nice quiet summer. Occasionally we'll get an undergrad working in our lab for the summer, but we're not even getting one of those, so lots of quality lab time that I will try and use to its fullest cuz it's only going to get more hectic.
Excellent additions by Tom to my last post. Definitely make sure all the wheels are round and not egg-shaped (wheel shop can take care of that if you can't tell visually), and if they are super fancy and you're concerned about their finish, make your concerns known to the shop owner and the guy mounting the tires on your wheels. Some places, I'm looking at you Wal-Mart, don't really give a shit if they scratch up your nice shiny wheels, so yet another reason to never set foot in Wal-Mart.
This weekend is going to be great! J is going with Protege and his fiance, we'll call her CL for Acura reasons, to a concert (is it still a concert if its a DJ and not a band?) at the Tabernacle in ATL on Fri. night and since CL is super hardcore like that, they'll be driving home that night. At least they'll have J's doctor prescribed uppers, just in case someone gets sleepy. Ah-ha! I knew the Tabernacle was a multi-level venue! I have personally never been there but I hear it's a great place to catch a show in ATL; much more cozy than a large arena show.
The DJ spinning is Paul Van Dyk of international fame, so it should be a very sick show.
I, on the other hand, will be traveling back to Fish Lake in Nowheresville, GA with Subaru after getting to Road Atlanta around 3 pm on Friday to catch practice and qualifying for Drift Atlanta! I'm sure it will prove to be a tire shredding, rip roaring good time. I missed it the first year it was down there but never again! The control those guys have over those cars is almost unbelievable. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing Tanner Foust, who is probably still in his AEM Memphis Audio 350Z, Rhys Millen in the Red Bull Pontiac Solstice and Samuel Hubinette in the new Mopar Drift Charger. Everyone puts on a good show but those are some of the more high profile guys. The word on the street is that there is also going to be a drift Porsche out there too, so that should be exciting and piss off lots of old rich guys too. I'm not sure how Jerry Seinfeld would feel about, but I think as long as its on a track and exposing the Porsche name to a different demographic, he'd be all for it. Oh yeah, Stephan Verdier will be there too. He's another amazing rally driver who is trying his hand at some hot slideways action action action.
Here's a link to the driver's page. Lots of skilled athletes in that bunch. Hopefully I'll get some pictures with some of them and if I can find something cool for them to autograph that isn't too heavy to carry around, maybe I'll get a few John Hancocks as well.
And that's just Friday! So leave Road ATL, go to Fish Lake, eat, hang out, sleep, wake up and then head down to Turner Field and autocross! Last year they had some really cool racing in the morning before Drift Atlanta (the drifting starts at 3 pm on Fri. and Sat.) but this year it's only a bunch of Spec Panoz race cars, which are cool the first couple times you see them, but if you go to Road Atlanta for any race series, odds are you're gonna see some Panoz cars flying around the track. So we'll be skipping that and autocrossing with the Atlanta region SCCA. I haven't driven Subaru's Suby since we installed the clutch and he got the tuning chip for it, so I'm EXTREMELY EXCITED! I like driving fast cars, what can I say.
I still remember the first time I autocrossed the Suby, I was still using Focus braking points in my head and didn't factor in the all wheel drive, AWD, or the turbo, so I was going way too fast for my late braking point and took a few cones down with me. So now in the back of my head the little guy is whispering "this car is alot faster than Focus, you'll have to brake sooner and maybe more often" which is true but with all the differentials and all 4 tires being driven by the engine, you can get on the power alot sooner than in Focus. Just remember that the car has to be pointed the right way before you punch it. Slow in, fast out is definitely the Subaru mantra, and it's also true for basically any car you're trying to drive fast.
I'll be in tomorrow morning and then on Monday we'll have a weekend recap! And maybe even a few pictures!
Labels: autocross, camping, concert, drift, Drift Atlanta, Subaru, wheels
Monday, February 26, 2007
Zzub Racso
I haven't done a reverse title in a while.
Scorsese finally won for best director and also picked up best picture. Nice, congrats Marty. It's been a long time coming. The Lives of Others beat out Pan's Labyrinth for best foreign film, which means I will wait until I see Lives of Others to make any judgements, but I really like Pan's Labyrinth. We picked up Flags of Our Fathers at the local mega chain rental place last night. I hear the other side of the story, Letters from Iwo Jima, is better, but that one isn't out on DVD yet. It took me a while to get into Clint Eastwood, but I think around 12 or 13 I finally caught on. He's a badass and is probably one of the coolest grandpas in the world. The same can be said for Scorsese.
Just added a few past foreign film winners to my Queue. I still can't believe J has never seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And has anyone not seen Life is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella)? It is one of the few movies that has been able to draw a tear from my stone soul. So amazing.
Well, we finally got Subaru's Subaru back together! Hooray! Go Team! The problem turned out to be that we couldn't get the throw out bearing onto the pressure plate. So we pulled the tranny off some and we put the bearing into the plate. Then as we slowly moved the tranny back into position, we dropped the clutch fork (that moves the bearing in and out when you press on the clutch pedal) onto the bearing and made super sure that it was in the right position. We started throwing everything back together but I was so confident that the problem was fixed that I left before we had a running/moving car. But I knew it was fixed and an email this morning confirmed it.
So it's official, we're at least intermediate auto mechanics. The next biggest jobs would be wiring (which I equate to black magic) and a complete engine overhaul. That and actually opening a differential or tranny and fixing gears, but most people trust guys with lots of experience for jobs as important as those. It feels good to have overcome our difficulties. And we saved Subaru at least $500 doing the clutch install ourselves.
Scorsese finally won for best director and also picked up best picture. Nice, congrats Marty. It's been a long time coming. The Lives of Others beat out Pan's Labyrinth for best foreign film, which means I will wait until I see Lives of Others to make any judgements, but I really like Pan's Labyrinth. We picked up Flags of Our Fathers at the local mega chain rental place last night. I hear the other side of the story, Letters from Iwo Jima, is better, but that one isn't out on DVD yet. It took me a while to get into Clint Eastwood, but I think around 12 or 13 I finally caught on. He's a badass and is probably one of the coolest grandpas in the world. The same can be said for Scorsese.
Just added a few past foreign film winners to my Queue. I still can't believe J has never seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And has anyone not seen Life is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella)? It is one of the few movies that has been able to draw a tear from my stone soul. So amazing.
Well, we finally got Subaru's Subaru back together! Hooray! Go Team! The problem turned out to be that we couldn't get the throw out bearing onto the pressure plate. So we pulled the tranny off some and we put the bearing into the plate. Then as we slowly moved the tranny back into position, we dropped the clutch fork (that moves the bearing in and out when you press on the clutch pedal) onto the bearing and made super sure that it was in the right position. We started throwing everything back together but I was so confident that the problem was fixed that I left before we had a running/moving car. But I knew it was fixed and an email this morning confirmed it.
So it's official, we're at least intermediate auto mechanics. The next biggest jobs would be wiring (which I equate to black magic) and a complete engine overhaul. That and actually opening a differential or tranny and fixing gears, but most people trust guys with lots of experience for jobs as important as those. It feels good to have overcome our difficulties. And we saved Subaru at least $500 doing the clutch install ourselves.
Labels: clutch, Martin Scorsese, Subaru
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Tranny woes
I try and support transgendered people but I don't really know how. I am a good listener though so that's a start. I knew if I was trapped in a woman's body I would a) want out, and b) play with myself way too much.
We were helping Subaru out with installing a new clutch. On the way back from Sandblast whenever he got on the throttle and the turbo spooled up, the clutch would slip for a few seconds and then engage. Not good. So he decided that he would try and install a clutch this week, and hopefully get it done, before the autocross on Saturday. So he overnighted a new clutch and all the components that go with that. He talked to another Suby guy who said that 3 guys could do it in about 3 hours. Right. But we were fairly confident that we could get it done. Since he's on sabbatical for the week, he had pretty much everything taken apart, all that was needed was a 10mm hex wrench (which I stole from another group at the research park, I'll bring it back, don't worry) and then to take the transmission out, replace the clutch, put tranny back in and then he could finish up the rest by himself today. Good plan but of course we ran into a few issues.
First issue, that transmission is a behemoth. At least 3 feet long and a good 150-200 lbs. So not something one person can really handle. Second issue, we had some trouble getting the clutch out, but we finally did. Third issue, there was something called a pilot bearing that is right in the middle of the flywheel. The new clutch came with a new one so Subaru wanted to replace it but we could not get it out. Couldn't even get it to budge. I would've said fuck it and put the new clutch on and start wiggling that tranny back into place. He likes to be thorough and wants it replaced, so we call it a night and all head our separate ways.
I felt so down-trodden. I hate doing multi-day installs. Protege's turbo install we knew would be a multi-day job right from the start and we weren't on any deadlines, so no biggie. But we "need" to get Suby back together so that it can race on Saturday. It's tough for us to do mid-week installs because of work and familial obligations, but hopefully we can get it done in the very small window we have tonight. Theoretically Subaru should be able to install the clutch and that stupid pilot bearing today so all we have to do is show up and throw the tranny in there. I just wish it was that easy.
So today the first thing I searched for was transmission jacks. I plan to still work on cars in the future and am not sure if I'll always have an extra set of hands to help out, so I'll have to rely on better tools.
Ooooh, that's nice. And only $180 + shipping. Here's one for $150 + shipping. Not bad and would help out immensely. I foresee one being in my garage in the future, assuming there is a garage in my future.
Another search was for Renegade Hybrids. They're some crazy guys that jam strange engines into a variety of Porsches in search for more power and reliability. In this month's Sport Compact Car (magazine), they featured a Porsche 914, this one actually:
It's a 914 with a nice widebody kit on it. I'm a sucker for widebodies if you were wondering. But it's powered by the exact same engine we were wrenching near last night, the Subaru WRX's turbocharged EJ20.
Turns out the power to weight ratio is better than the Lotus Exige S, which is the big brother to my current dream car, the Lotus Elise.
So of course I went to Renegade and priced their conversion kit. It's right at $7500. Then went over to ebay and priced some Porsche 914s, $2000 - $7000. And then all you would need is an engine from a Subaru WRX which I can't imagine is more than $3000. So even if we take the higher end of the 914 range, and add in a few thousand for incidentals, we're only at around $20,000, a full $12-15 thousand less than a used Elise, and a much faster and more unique car. Hmmmmm. Sounds like a definite possibility. Assuming I have a garage and 20k laying around that I can blow on a car.
Here is a video of the Porscharu in action. It's an .avi file so it will probably open in Quicktime.
I'll let you know if we got Subaru's Subaru back together tomorrow.
We were helping Subaru out with installing a new clutch. On the way back from Sandblast whenever he got on the throttle and the turbo spooled up, the clutch would slip for a few seconds and then engage. Not good. So he decided that he would try and install a clutch this week, and hopefully get it done, before the autocross on Saturday. So he overnighted a new clutch and all the components that go with that. He talked to another Suby guy who said that 3 guys could do it in about 3 hours. Right. But we were fairly confident that we could get it done. Since he's on sabbatical for the week, he had pretty much everything taken apart, all that was needed was a 10mm hex wrench (which I stole from another group at the research park, I'll bring it back, don't worry) and then to take the transmission out, replace the clutch, put tranny back in and then he could finish up the rest by himself today. Good plan but of course we ran into a few issues.
First issue, that transmission is a behemoth. At least 3 feet long and a good 150-200 lbs. So not something one person can really handle. Second issue, we had some trouble getting the clutch out, but we finally did. Third issue, there was something called a pilot bearing that is right in the middle of the flywheel. The new clutch came with a new one so Subaru wanted to replace it but we could not get it out. Couldn't even get it to budge. I would've said fuck it and put the new clutch on and start wiggling that tranny back into place. He likes to be thorough and wants it replaced, so we call it a night and all head our separate ways.
I felt so down-trodden. I hate doing multi-day installs. Protege's turbo install we knew would be a multi-day job right from the start and we weren't on any deadlines, so no biggie. But we "need" to get Suby back together so that it can race on Saturday. It's tough for us to do mid-week installs because of work and familial obligations, but hopefully we can get it done in the very small window we have tonight. Theoretically Subaru should be able to install the clutch and that stupid pilot bearing today so all we have to do is show up and throw the tranny in there. I just wish it was that easy.
So today the first thing I searched for was transmission jacks. I plan to still work on cars in the future and am not sure if I'll always have an extra set of hands to help out, so I'll have to rely on better tools.
Ooooh, that's nice. And only $180 + shipping. Here's one for $150 + shipping. Not bad and would help out immensely. I foresee one being in my garage in the future, assuming there is a garage in my future.
Another search was for Renegade Hybrids. They're some crazy guys that jam strange engines into a variety of Porsches in search for more power and reliability. In this month's Sport Compact Car (magazine), they featured a Porsche 914, this one actually:
It's a 914 with a nice widebody kit on it. I'm a sucker for widebodies if you were wondering. But it's powered by the exact same engine we were wrenching near last night, the Subaru WRX's turbocharged EJ20.
Turns out the power to weight ratio is better than the Lotus Exige S, which is the big brother to my current dream car, the Lotus Elise.
So of course I went to Renegade and priced their conversion kit. It's right at $7500. Then went over to ebay and priced some Porsche 914s, $2000 - $7000. And then all you would need is an engine from a Subaru WRX which I can't imagine is more than $3000. So even if we take the higher end of the 914 range, and add in a few thousand for incidentals, we're only at around $20,000, a full $12-15 thousand less than a used Elise, and a much faster and more unique car. Hmmmmm. Sounds like a definite possibility. Assuming I have a garage and 20k laying around that I can blow on a car.
Here is a video of the Porscharu in action. It's an .avi file so it will probably open in Quicktime.
I'll let you know if we got Subaru's Subaru back together tomorrow.
Labels: clutch, Porsche, Subaru, tranny, transmission jack
Who Links Here
