After several months of hard work I completed the installation of a Mac mini into my car. Well, almost completed, I still have some software and the main bezel to finish up. But the entire process along with pictures and video is documented at:
His name is Hoosier, but his friends call him speed.
Fresh off the heat cycle rack, a new set of Hoosier A6 competition radials with Z06 magnesium wheels arrived this week.
Larger than any race tire I’ve run in the past, these are 295/35/18 in the rear and 275/40/17 in the front.
I continue to be disappointed that Kumho doesn’t make competition tires this large, as they tend to last longer and cost less. I guess we’ll see if these are worth the cash.
The car is at the race shop being prepped for the first track day of the summer, next friday at Thunderhill raceway. The work order this time goes a little something like: new Z51 shocks, new front OE rotors, Hawk HPS front brake pads, steel braided brake lines, lowering ride height, dialing in some additional negative camber, and a loaner 5 point harness until my new one arrives.
Earlier in the week I installed a harness bar and camera mount. Pictures and a review of these in action is forthcoming. If all goes well, next Friday should prove fun.
Someone posted this comment on Google Financial today. I wish he was my broker, he’s probably more accurate than I will ever be.
“I would expect today to be a light volume day with no huge swings either direction, or, the market could completely tank and we’ll all lose $1,000s, or the market could take a big upswing and we could make $1,000s. I predict a closing price of $112.72 based on absolutely nothing.”
Okay so it was more like 7 hours, but after 3 or 4 it all feels the same.
When the system fails
Due to a infuriatingly unexplained “glitch” in the automated e-checkin counter, the 10:20am United flight from Chicago left for San Jose with one less passenger this morning. Currently on my third stand-by attempt, I produced the follow observations for my own wifi starved amusement.
Big Brother uses email too
Chevy ad for Onstar Vehicle Diagnostics: My Chevy Truck blows through mud pits, eats cargo for lunch, and sends a monthly email that says how it’s doing. What does your truck do?
Well if that isn’t a reason for privacy advocates to grab their pitch forks, I don’t know what is. The vehicle will send emails without the users knowledge and with no vehicle based interface to proof the content prior to submission? Sure the point is to inform the user of problems, but who’s to say that’s all it’s sending…and who it’s sending to. We’ve all got small black boxes joining us for our daily drives, able to recall driving dynamics prior to an accident should one occur. Now those same reporting systems are able to transmit information too? Great. In a few years I’ll look forward to getting speeding tickets in the mail because my car ratted me out.
A.I., meet your dumber ancestor
The Lexus LS460 now includes a self-parking system. I’ve seen the TV commercial for a while, but how much is marketing fluff? My Car and Driver article here says it works, basically. Some user input is required to set visual makers on the touch LCD screen, and you must ride the brake to control speed since the system wont operate at full idle. 5-10 minutes later, like magic, you’re parked. For starters, why wouldn’t you just have an auto regulated “park speed”? After all that chances are someone with a Kia stole your spot while you were trying to convince your $70,000 luxury liner to park. BTW, who’s liable if the computer is driving and it hits a parked car? You or some programmer who knocked off early to play World of Warcraft instead of debugging that last bit of code? Like most revolutionary things, v2.0 will undoubtedly be much improved and like all revolutionary things, it will be criticized right up until everyone is doing it. USB on a computer, but why? DB-9 is great!
Bullet proof wheels
Ad for the new Goodyear Eagle tires explaining how carbon fiber and kevlar layers inside the tire make for less noise and a safer, smoother ride. In a year when inflation raised my rent $100, you’re telling me that a tire made with carbon fiber and kevlar isn’t any more expensive than last years model? That’s a good one. Now if only it looked liked carbon fiber instead of ruber, that’d be a sure fire Christmas gift for the Ricer on your list.
Hyundai Quality
Ad: Great things happen when 362 robots put their microchips together. Assuming this is an attempt to notify american consumers that Hyundai has the technical prowess of automated assembly, is this not countered by today’s trend to show that higher quality items are hand made? That new Jag comes with hand stitched leather seats and all the furniture in my South Hampton summer home is hand lathed. The associated cold, mechanical style visual contributes to producing an ad that feels lifeless and uninvolved. Much like their product. Finally, truth in advertising.
On to stand-by attempt #4.
I read somewhere that roughly 90% of the worlds population believe in a higher power taking the form of one deity or another. Each seems to have a slightly overlapping set of guidelines, goals, and overall sense of purpose for coming together on weekly or daily basis. While I exist in the 10% minority, it appears to me that the regular congregation seems largely to offer one primary purpose—support. Life is sometimes full of strife and would be difficult to overcome some of the challenges without some form of emotional and physical support. Religion in it’s most basic form seems architected to provide that very kind of structure and support to the masses. Many pray on a regular basis offering thanks for what they have, but it seems a natural instinct to look to a higher power in times of dire need. How many times have you seen someone on a TV show or movie “pray to God” that if God will help them _______ they’ll never ______ again. It’s an illustration of human nature, proving that we all need help and sometimes it’s easier to look externally to find strength. Many turn to the Almighty which offers a never ending resource of strength and support. Religion promises to put like minded people in a room together to talk about their times of joy, and their hardships. Beyond the social support dynamic, the religious person is also offered a sense of solace while away from the group and draws upon it when they feel scared, alone, loose self confidence in their ability, or feel that something is totally out of their control. So they turn to their support system, perhaps pray, and in the end they search for aid, for answers, and for the strength to overcome their current obstacle.
But where do the rest of us go to draw upon this kind of support? If not God, who exists in our life to provide the kind of fortitude necessary to endure life’s challenges? Where is our guide? Where is our source of unwavering strength which we can look upon when needed and regain our self confidence and be reassured of victory over difficult times?
To your Ranger Bob, of course. Simplistic in outward appearance Ranger Bob is just that, a park ranger named Bob. But like the religions mentioned above, much more lies beneath the surface. I met Ranger Bob a few years ago. I don’t claim to know him well. But it’s clear from what I’ve seen and from what I’ve been told that he is a person who exudes the things we all need: wisdom, strength, camaraderie, and of course, unquestionable support. More than a single person, Ranger Bob is an idea. A much more earthly concept than Him, it’s an idea that in each of our lives there exists someone who offers aged advice, knows when to listen, and never doubts your ability. Like prayer, used in the right amount this person can offer you hope, return your self confidence, and help to show you the way through life’s sticky situations.
Also like prayer, I think our Ranger Bob’s can be abused. Sometimes we spend too much time drawing on their support and forget to acknowledge all they do for us. So make a mental note and if you haven’t thanked your Ranger Bob lately, it might be due time.
Happy 69th R.B.
So it’s been 5 months since my last post, but don’t worry it’s not what you think. I have a good excuse. Honest. You see, there was this starving puppy and the rain forests are in such need I thought if I just - eh, nevermind.
7 months ago an idea was born, and 3 weeks ago we shared the idea with the rest of the world. 7 months of emails, IMs, phones calls and caffeinated late nights, affectionally remembered as “damn, is that 4 AM?!”. To watch something develop from half thought to a fully developed product is truly an amazing process and I look forward to discussing the past, present, and future of this project, here where the tumbleweed has ruled for far too long. When we neared public launch of the site I had many friends and family ask a series of questions, who’s answers I thought might be an appropriate way to kick things off. In no particular order:
Q: Cute domain name, but what is it?
A: A one of a kind, local product and service directory allowing Corvette owners to find anything they need for their vehicle, right in their own city.
Q: Brilliant. Where did you come up with this idea?
A: It was probably the closest thing to a 50/50 joint idea as I’ve ever had. My partner said “12 free things” (a directory of free things to do in a particular city), I said “sounds neat but it needs spark plugs and a steering wheel.” For some time I had been frustrated that I couldn’t find a good referral for a Corvette mechanic. Mix aggressively for 7 months, stir twice and serve.
Q: How many of you worked on this project?
A: 2.8. If you’re wondering about the .8, consider how DTS sound systems get their .1 or .2 and you’ll start to get the idea. They may not be the source of the primary audio, but they’re just as important.
Q: Your primary partner was 2500 miles away, what complex project management tools did you use to help coordinate your efforts over such a vast distance?
A: No, we did not use Basecamp. We used a little app known as TextEdit. A full featured PM tool with a steep learning curve, but somehow we managed to master it.
Q: I saw you had a page counting down to the launch date of the site. Was it just me or did the counter seem to count to zero and suddenly show a few more days left?
A: It was…um, er…it was a bug in the script, yea, that’s it. It was a bug Dave.
Q: Clearly you didn’t get all of your information about these companies online. It’s so specific and offers so many details about each company, not even Google has done this - how did you get the information about each listing you have?
A: With this. Old school, ain’t it?
Q: It seemed like you had some really late nights/early mornings working on this, what does sleep deprivation feel like?
A: Ever go on an acid trip? Me neither, but I imagine them to be similar.
Q: Are you going to expand to offer similar sites to other car models?
A: Gee, let me think…
Q: What made you choose Corvette as your first car type?
A: Next question please.
Q: If you did expand to other car models, what would they be?
A: Preferably anything with more than 6 cylinders, but that might be a bad business decision.
Q: Did your personal life suffer due to the long work hours?
A: Only mostly. Except for my lovely girlfriend who was patient, understanding, and helped whenever I asked. I’ll hopefully get something neat for that response.
Q: So what’s your revenue stream?
A: We’ll let you know when we have one.
Q: What’s your go-to-market plan?
A: Know anyone who owns a Corvette? It’d be great if you could send them here:
What is it about watching a count down that demands human interest? Perhaps it was NASA with their huge yellow integers descending slowly until a Shuttle launch. But there is definitely something about that simple animation, numbers counting down towards an event that always manages to capture intrigue. At my previous job we had at least one major new software launch per year, and somewhere along the line someone thought more showmanship was needed. So the countdown was posted for all to see, and all who saw stopped, stared, wondered, and for brief moment, we owned them.
This morning at 12:04 PDT (who picked that time anyway?) many late night surfers sat watching a JavaScript countdown that promised to revolutionize high performance transportation. When the counter reached double donut status, we all held our breathe (or was it just me?). Partly because I was excited to see what laid beneath the red tarp, and partly because I feared that nothing would happen at zero hour. As it turns it, it was a combination of both and depended largely on which Internet straw you were sucking. After several hearty attempts by my browser to refresh, it was obvious a few to many people were as interested as I was (it was probably you 3am east-coasters). Somewhere in the dark, an Apache server was dying a slow death.
A few eventually made it in, but I for one was left with with my curiosity unsatisfied as I tugged on a red cover that refused to come off.
Quote of the day (week?), from their Jobs page:
“Without passion, you would find what we’re trying to do too difficult. There are much easier jobs.”
It’s a noble idea initiated by some impressive names. Check them out, but please, not all at once.
Smoke me once, shame on my miss-shift, smoke me twice…well, you might be faster than me.
Revitalized after laying dormant for 30 years, Pontiac’s new GTO continues to be full of surprises. For the second time in two weeks I’ve encountered a black ‘05-’06 GTO on the 280 freeway between 101 and 17. The first athletic encounter brought a shock as I downshifted to 5th gear and passed 4500RPM and raised the needle north of 125mph all while watching the GTO’s lead increase. Being all too familiar with the GTO’s .3 liter, 50hp advantage (making it an even 400hp), and 500lbs disadvantage I chalked up his impressive stamina to him having had a head start on the gas peddle. You know, inertia and all that. Today however I was sure not to let the same thing happen again. Sadly the gas peddle descended no more and the GTO passed me with a rather embarrassing haste. Maybe Sir Isaac forgot to carry the 1. Or maybe it was the Generation IV LS2. Either way it was a dark day for me, having been thoroughly whooped by a car who’s drab styling resembles something your father would drive. Yet another example of a company committing suicide by conservative budget, as sales of the new GTO have been disappointing. Instead of splurging for the brand new look the legend deserved, they seemed to have stapled on a blood relative’s skin, the Australian made Holden.
While my nemesis looked stock, I still wonder (read “hope”) it was the same car both times and he had some level of modification. It seems to me that 500lbs would out way the power advantage and make the two cars very close if not equal (although the stock GTO is rated .1-.2 seconds faster 0-60mph). If nothing else, the exhaust must have been aftermarket because even though it looked stock, it was far too loud for any factory GM product - it sounded great. The General could stand to take a few audio design lessons from Mr. Ford.
It’s clear Pontiac has awakened an authentic athlete, here’s hoping the 2008 model stops at a better plastic surgeon before it arrives.
I tried consoling her, but it’s becoming increasing clear that something has to be done. You can donate to the cause by clicking here.
A necessary evil of our digital content-distributing world is the much discussed Digital Rights Management that attempt to keep the content creators as happy as the content consumers. A tough balance to be sure, it’s often frustrating to both parties and while several content distributors continue to make embarrassing attempts at fair DRM, very few have gotten it right. With so many upsides and an equal number of negatives, it’s hard to be for or against DRM, the safe bet seems to evaluate it on a case by case basis. Here’s a downside though that surprised me but makes complete sense.
“Often forgotten are factors such as equalization, file size, file format, and yes, DRM all of which can decrease battery life. If a circuit is active, it’s using power. If the processing is more complex, as it would be in the case of DRM, the circuit uses more power. So how much power is lost to DRM? link
So along with many other horror stories DRM brings us, now we have millions of computers and portable music players using more power and in the end soaking up more natural resources, all to ensure they get their cut.
Next time someone accuses you of “acquiring” a few songs, tell ‘em you did it for rainforest.
In the continuing quest for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, a friend and I have an ongoing conversation about how your job, the thing you spend most of your life doing, should make you happy. The debate typically has two sides: you find work that makes your life enjoyable; or you work to make money so that the rest of your life is enjoyable. He emailed a recent experience that perfectly illustrates the idea.
The punch-line of their financial pictures was…impactful.
During a recent business trip I had the pleasure of meeting two Johns. I spent about 5 hours with each of them, but certainly had no more than 30 minutes of one on one conversation with either. Their reputation’s preceded both of them, and they both lived up to the hype. Two very smart guys, and we had a blast as we worked through the week. But now that I’m back in home, I realize there was a lesson to be learned.
John #1
At first glance, you’d think this first John was homeless. His age showed even more when he pulled back his long gray hair into a scruffy ponytail and revealed the lines age had carved in his face. Under his 4 layers of denim, I could tell he barely weighed a buck and a quarter. To call him a hippie would be right on the mark, although he may be more laid back than most hippies. After wandering around for his younger years, this John bought a pottery supply store in the 70’s and now runs it with his wife. He’s a potter by trade, and he sells clay to other potters. I was in awe of the mutual respect he had with the potters in the community, truly an important man to the industry. These days, someone else runs his store, and he networks with other potters.A few years ago, a customer had questions on how to fire a 25 year old kiln, but had no money to bring in a consultant for help. John came to the rescue and he did it in style. He drove his fully restored 1969 Triumph Convertible across Texas, fired that kiln like it was a day old and didn’t charge the lady a dime.
At Thursday’s dinner John drew an amazing map of Texas during the first course to help us visually follow along with one of his more entertaining stories (involving a kiln, a dust storm and of course, his Triumph). The map, complete with a little sail boat in the Gulf and fires to the north, was done in pencil and ball point pen. When John stood up to go to the restroom, a fellow “artist” sitting nearby ran over and begged for the map, offering $50 on the spot. John let the map go for nothing, but this speaks volumes about his talent. In his spare time, he runs a charitable organization to raise money for the hungry and tries to share his knowledge with local students. He’s loving life more than ever right now, and the twinkle in his eye when he talks proves it.
John #2
Now, the other John graduated from a prominent university, passed the Bar Exam, and started practicing law before he was 25. This John might have ADD. First to talk, quick to laugh, and last one to tap out for the night. Most certainly near 40, he could be mistaken for a college frat boy slightly overdue for graduation.A few years ago, his dad wanted to retire from the family business and with a little persuasion, this John became president of the a large manufacturer in the US. Now, in between supervising 50+ factory workers and various engineers, John also travels the country promoting his product. Of course, he’ll let you know about the over the top vacation he lives for every year. Like his African safari when he shot the wild boar that now graces the wall in his living room, or the fishing expedition for tuna off the coast of Costa Rica. And even though it finances his trips, he isn’t a big fan of the industry he’s in. He’s never even used his product for anything more than a customer demo. When he travels to network, he tends to drown his disdain for the industry in a beer…or twenty. Usually until he can’t walk back to his hotel room. On Tuesday night, at a local brewery, I’m fairly certain he succeeded in trying each of the 25 beers brewed on site.
At the end of the week, the second John couldn’t leave fast enough. Our meeting was over at 5:00 and his flight was 7:15. Meanwhile the first John was considering taking his wife dancing downtown. The gap between these fellas couldn’t have been wider.
Oh, I forgot to mention, both have a net worth over $10 million.
So as I flew home, I thought of these guys. Is one of the Johns happier than the other? Is the second suffering from contentment, afraid to leave the security of the family business? Is his dislike keeping him from bigger success? Is the first considered more successful because he is passionate?
Which John do I want to be and how do I get there?
