Category Archives: General

Things so normal as to not fit neatly into any other area.

Home at last

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I pushed on through and drove direct from San Diego to San Jose tonight (or today). It took longer than I had hoped, starting at around 7pm or so, and ending at 12:45am. The car is finally in a home garage again, extremely wet, and slightly dinged, but in pretty good shape all things considered.

It was 4 days and 2000 miles of driving, but I’m glad to finally be home. Next time I will definitely take the plane. When I wake up sometime today I’ll try to post some new pictures of the ride in the gallery area.

California Drivers are the Weakest Link

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I had always believed that Californians were poorer drivers than the rest of the country since moving here 10 years ago. However, I now have definitive proof that they are the worst. Take this sampling of data, for instance:

  • States travelled through: 5 (OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA)
  • Worst roads encountered: New Mexico (washboard consistency)
  • Fastest speed limits: Arizona (75 MPH most freeways)
  • Least traffic encountered: New Mexico (desolate in most places)
  • Dead wildlife leader: Texas (nearly every 10 miles something was toast)
  • Most stop and go traffic: California (starts at the border near Interstate -8)
  • Most police on road: California (from mile 3 onward)
  • Largest percentage of slow left lane drivers: California (if people pass you on the right its time to move over a lane)
  • Greatest speed drop in short distance: California (one stretch went from 70 to 45 in less than 10 miles)
  • The only site where I used brakes/downshifted on the highway: California (if traffic is moving too fast for you, or you really must see that abandoned vehicle, get in the right lane)

This is but a small sampling of the frustration happening near the end of this trip. I’m only to San Diego and I’m tired of the driving here. If I don’t find a route around LA I may have to revise this post and add all the pain of sitting in traffic for hours and hours going nowhere.

My First Craigslist sale

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I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, but I sold my first item via Craigslist: the component rack. I got $49 for it, even though I posted the ad at $60. In the end, it was something I wasn’t using so I’m glad to be free of it.

I’ll consider this money towards the new equipment and car, although the scale is off by a little bit.

Don't Tempt Fate

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Today I had one of those moments that I try so hard to avoid, the one where the rational brain and impulsive brain are fighting it out for control. Let me give you the rundown:

  • I had two good flights on my largest R/C airplane
  • There was no real damage, save for some gear scraping, making it a good day
  • The wind was just starting to pick up, so it would had been good to pack it in
  • No one around was pushing me to fly again

So with all of this known, my rational brain told me to call it a day and go home. My impulsive brain said “wait, you can squeeze in one more flight on your own.” So armed with this information I took the plane up again. The takeoff roll was good, the circuits around the field are fine, even the wind buffeting isn’t a big deal.

And then I land. Or I should say I hit the runway.

Now I have a broken rudder, a crunched wing, and a lot of work ahead of me (or someone who fixes things for me) before its flight-worthy again. Sometimes fate is a cruel master, and this time it reminded me that its not always smart to listen to the impulsive thoughts in my head. Doh.

Two-fer Mess Up

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I combined three things I’m really good at today to great effect:

  • Betting on the goodness of technology
  • Trying to make things go fast
  • Spending money

What I came up with was: an unflyable airplane and a dead hard drive. The airplane won’t fly because its internal wiring is so lengthy as to be its own distortion amplification device (aka an antenna). The hard drive died (less than 6 months old!) for reasons unknown to me, but it was being moved from one PC case to another.

There are a lot of other things worse in the world, but these two events have conspired against my state of zen today.

Good Weekend / Bad Week

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The labor day weekend was pretty good to me this year. I did as little as I possibly had to, flew one of my R/C planes, did some light work around the house, and generally avoided work email. I was all set to call it a good weekend all around.

Then I sat down and turned on CNN.

I had read about Katrina and the goings ons down in New Orleans, but I just hadn’t seen video of the situation. It certainly put things into perspective for me and reminded me once again just how much things (and people) are taken for granted. Thinking back to a year or two ago when I was in the French Quarter its hard to imagine that much of the area I’ve seen before is now utterly ruined, with many lives taken along with it.

I plan to donate shortly, but something nagging at me says that just won’t be enough. I really do feel for the displaced folks out there and I am reminded once again about what a complete inept government we have elected in recent years. Dumb.

Review: Porsche 911

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I had the opportunity to drive a 2001 Porsche 911 today. Actually my boss all but forced me to go drive it, as she knows that I?ve been waiting to get a sports car one of these days. First off I have to comment that there were two noticeable flaws in the car for me: the steering wheel hits my knees with the seat pushed all the way back; the other is a really heavy clutch.

That said, I?m still shaking from the drive. It?s been a good long while since I?ve driven a car that can move that fast, maneuver so deliberately, and stop so assuredly. It does feel like it rides on rails, even if that ride is a bit tight and tough. And when the car is driven right, when ?you drive it like you stole it? the car rewards you by leaving everything in the rear view mirror right quick. Shifts, though heavy, come fast and deliberate. Power builds very quickly and linearly. It?s not the same kick I?ve gotten from my old twin turbo 300zx, but when you hammer the gas this car moves.

At the end of the drive which happened all too quickly I was practically giddy from the experience. A guy on the highway sped away from me and with next to no effort I stuck right to him, well past the century mark on the dial. It?s been a long time since I could do that and I still have the stupid grin on my face because of it. Man, I need a sports car again.

Jaguar Skills

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A friend of mine has taken to the airwaves for a weekly radio shown in NY. As part of his weekly (or almost so) regiment he has started producing segments called Jaguar Skills. This is seriously funny stuff, well at least to me it is. Its a UK DJ that has “superfly ninja DJ skills” and who battles evil about as well as he combats telemarketers or STDs.

You can find out more at the Jaguar Skills website, or check out the audio episodes below.

  • Episode 1
  • Episode 2
  • Episode 3

Jaguar Skills, ho!

Newer Furniture

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What’s better than existing furniture? Why… new furniture! As I’ve been upgrading to new furniture around the downstairs of the house I’m weeding out the older, less desirable furniture. To my surprise I found this bookcase that looks like it now belongs. Here it is:

It fits so precisely that I’ve lost access to the power plug adjacent to the space. That’s why there are so many power cables running off to the side of the photo. When I get a chance to set my camera up correctly for low light I’ll be able to show you what all of those cables are for.