I want my car back. I dropped it off at Jeff's (the body shop) this evening. Alas, it sounds like it will take quite some time to repair. In the mean time, I'm back in the old '94, though it's now mostly stock. I've forgotten how fun it is to weave back and forth in my lane in this car. Maybe I'll freak out a few people on the toll road on my way in to work tomorrow.

I'm thinking I'm going to wash and polish the '94 on the Fourth. Yes, I know, lame Fourth plans, but the car really needs it. Anyone else with a car needing a bath want to join me?

Tags: cars, miata

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I bought the Mazda MX-5 that belonged to my mechanic (or, both of my mechanics. Or both of my mechanics and one wife. Or something like that). Just actually going through the process of buying the car was interesting enough, since it was a private party sell, with a lien on the car on their end, and I wanted to take out a loan to buy it.

As a dutiful little ex-UT student, with a tiny savings account that's been there for 8 years now, I went over to UFCU for my loan and for instruction on how to actually manage to buy the car. They politely enough told me everything that was needed. John and Dan (the mechanics) and I agreed on a price for the car, so all that was left to do was fill out all the paperwork.

Oh, the paperwork.

You see, the car, the loan, etc. were all in Dan's wife's name. As a result, she was the one who needed to come to UFCU with me to sign all the paperwork, and she had a great deal of paperwork to bring. It turns out she wasn't able to find all the paperwork, but this was not a major issue because the needed information was available online. Only it turned out John hadn't renewed the registration on the car, and UFCU wouldn't fund a car with expired registration (can't transfer the title, anyway, I think). So Dan's wife and I went and found a Williamson County tax office and paid the needed fees. We returned to the UFCU, finished the paperwork, and I vroomed off to go demand the "keys" to my car from John and Dan. They of course happily obliged.

After I spent a few hours showing off the car at work (and doing some real work, too, I swear!), I returned to the shop to meet nugget who wanted to show off his new 911. I also discussed the autocross that weekend with Dan, and we decided I should leave the MX-5 there. Dan was kind enough to bring the car back to the shop and put the street tires back on after the autocross, so I could have it to drive to work Monday morning. I'm very thankful to him for that.

So I actually got to have my car for a week, and it was great. I love this car. It's an absolute blast to drive. The steering is very responsive and body roll is minimized. The ride can definitely be rough, but that's something I'm happy to accept for the way the car feels around corners. The throttle response is fast and lively, and though the car doesn't have the push the supercharged '94 has, in the "real world" on the street it has enough power to leave me happy. The exhaust is loud - sometimes a bit louder than I wish - but it has a rich sound to it. It turns heads without rattling windows. If I'm driving quietly, it's not noticeable to people indoors behind closed windows.

The second weekend I owned it, the first weekend I had it at the house, I washed the car. It was filthy. The top was covered in cat hair, there was bird poop all over the back, and there was a thick layer of dirt all over the poor thing. It got a bath and I discovered that the paint was in need of some care. During the week, after some googling and reading Autopia, I decided I'd use Zaino on the car. This is not a "wax" but a "polish," since it's artificial rather than from natural ingredients like carnauba wax. It's also supposed to last longer than an application of Zymöl. We still had enough Zymöl Clear for a few washings so I didn't order a car shampoo from Zaino. I did order Z-18 Clay Bar, ZFX Flash Cure Additive, Z-5 Polish, Z-2 Polish, and Z-6 Ultra Clean Spray. That's a lot of stuff. The clay bar was obviously to try to get the paint as clean as possible. The Flash Cure additive was recommended... Apparently there used to be a "Z-1" that was a recommended step in the process that's been replaced with ZFX. Whatever. I obeyed the instructions, even if I didn't understand. The Z-5 polish is supposed to help hide fine lines in the paint, while the Z-2 can highlight lines, but has a better look than the Z-5 (or so the documentation says). The Z-6 is a finishing spray that helps layers of polish bind and helps reduce dust buildup on the final layer of polish.

And so yesterday, in 10°C (50°F) windy weather, I washed the car with the Zymöl Clear. This was remarkably not-bad, given my aversion to cold and the extensive use of cold tap water! But this was followed by the clay bar. The temperature made this torture for me. The clay bar requires the car to be lubricated, which means water with a bit of soap. I found my hand was the best application tool for the water to get exactly the coating needed by the clay. The downside of this? My left hand was constantly wet in cool temperatures with a lot of wind. Even when I warmed the water in the bucket, my hands were still so very cold.

Despite the cold, using the clay bar was a very satisfying process. I had read that I'd feel the bar move more easily across the paint as that part of the paint became clean. This absolutely was the case. The bar went from moving easily across the paint to moving like an air hockey puck moves across the air hockey table. I could see the fine particles of dirt it was pulling off of the paint and had to rotate the bar frequently. The flat areas of the car - the hood and the trunk - were actually much more dirty (post-wash, pre-clay-bar) than the sides of the car, even around the wheel wells. Every time I washed the '94 Miata, I felt like I didn't really get the car completely clean. This time? I felt like the car (or at least the paint) was clean.

By this point in time, my left hand was PAINFUL and I was cold so I went inside for a break. When I returned, I washed the car with Clear again (fastest car wash EVER!), dried it very carefully, and prepped the Z-5 for the first application of polish. The ZFX comes in a tiny little dropper, very much like the droppers some liquid food color comes in (a bit smaller than those, though). It also comes with 2oz mixing bottles. One is supposed to mix 1-2oz of the desired polish with 4-5 drops of ZFX per ounce, not exceeding 10 drops in one 2oz mixing bottle. So I filled one of the bottles to just over half full with Z-5 and added five drops of ZFX. The Z-5 is lavender, opaque, and somewhat thick. The ZFX is dark blue and very thin. Shake to combine. This was rubbed onto the paint a few drops at a time leaving a swirled haze on the paint. I left in to dry (Yay INSIDE!). Once dry, I rubbed it off and applied the Z-6. Though all of this was time consuming, it didn't really require a lot of muscle from me, so though my hands hurt from the cold and my back was sore from the bending, I wasn't really all that tired and I avoided sore muscles and joints.

But that was just one coat of Z-5! This polish says it looks better as more coats are applied, and the Z-2's supposed to be the really pretty one! So today, I went back and applied the Z-2. It's a very similar process to the Z-5, except the Z-2 is pink instead of lavender and it took a bit more muscle to rub off the car. I also used the Z-6 to get off what little dust accumulated on the car overnight before applying this next coat of polish. I finished the car with one more go-over with the Z-6, and took it to the sun for some pictures. I still don't have a good picture of the car's color, but there are some interesting pictures of the details of the paint. The painted surfaces of the car are now very, very smooth to the touch, and this polish seems a lot more fingerprint resistant than the Zymöl is.

Though it took a lot of time, the Zaino took less force from me to use than the Zymöl, and so far, I'm quite happy with the results. I'm hoping this will last longer than both the full Zymöl and the Zymöl cleaner-wax.

Even clean and essentially waxless, this "Nordic Green" color got a lot of comments. I'm hoping it looks even better now, with all the work I put into it.

Oh! And I forgot to mention, Mazda has done some very, very nice things with this new MX-5. With the top down but the windows and wind blocker up, there's very little outside airflow in the cabin. This, combined with the powerful heater, means staying warm on cold top-down days is even easier. There are also three stages of vents into the cabin, with an added one between the normal floor and dash levels. This lets me have the wind blowing my hair while keeping my legs and lower body toasty warm without multiple layers of clothing. The top is easier to use, the fancy key is really convenient (unless someone messes with the cables, or so Dan tells me), the steering wheel stereo controls are great, the cruise control is a joy to use... This car is better than my '94 in so many ways. I'm so happy to have it.

Tags: cars, miata

Yesterday, Nugget and I had quite a busy day.

It started with a trip to John and Dan's shop where we got our cars tech'd for autocrossing this year. Mine failed... The battery wasn't fully bolted down. I had been wondering what that clank was. I yelled at Dan about it (Dan had replaced my battery recently), Dan fixed it and then yelled at the guy who failed me (all of us joking about it, of course).

I left my car at the shop as Nugget and I went to Red's Indoor Range, the north location. Nugget had brought his two Glocks and we rented a gun for me. We tried to rent a Sig P239, but it was behaving oddly. The gun would only fire in double action. So we mentioned it to the range employee standing behind us, and he took it back out and brought me another gun to try. This gun, however, had a grip shaped for a specific size finger, and my fingers are much smaller. This leaves one of my fingers on a ridge and is really uncomfortable. So, he went back, again, and brought out an HK USP Compact that shot 9mm. Nugget says this gun fires more like the Glocks than the Sig does, but, well... This one didn't confuse us. I shot nearly an entire pack of ammo and though I enjoyed it, I think I'd like some instruction.

We finished up at the range and drove into Pflugerville looking for food. We ended up at a little BBQ place on 1825/Pecan Street. I quite enjoyed my brisket sandwich. After this, we headed up to the Pontiac dealership. If I'm gonna buy a new MX-5, I should at least test drive the competition to make sure the MX-5 is the one I want, right?

Well, apparently, the only new Solstice on their lot was an automatic and in the showroom, but there was a 2006, used. So I drove that. The salesperson wouldn't let Nugget come with me - he had to come. Poor Nugget. So, the salesperson and I headed out.

Before we even left the parking lot, I knew I didn't like the shifter. It didn't do well going into gear while the car was stopped. It wasn't enough to be a problem, it just wasn't as nice as the MX-5. We get out of the lot and I play with the gears as we head down a very straight street. I made it up to third before deciding that was fast enough for the roadway, then I shifted back down to second. Since I didn't know the car well, I couldn't rev match effectively, so the downshift was a bit unclean. The salesperson said, "I think you got it in second, there." "Yes, that was intentional." What, has that guy never heard of downshifting? Yeah, ok, I did it poorly, but still. We went down some back roads. Pretty quickly, the salesperson asked me what I thought of it. Really, it's a GM car and I haven't driven many GMs, so I wasn't sure yet, and told him as much. Accelerating away from one stop sign I got the back tires to chirp going into second, but the acceleration was a bit disappointing. I could definitely tell that the engine was fighting against the greater weight of the car, in that regard. Eventually, we finally came upon a sweeping curve where I could try to get a feel for the car's handling. Of course, as soon as I started into the curve at an aggressive pace, the salesperson told me to "take it easy, that's fast enough." Well, no, it wasn't quite fast enough. I could only just barely feel the car talking back to me at this point. Still, it wasn't feeling as fun as the MX-5. On the way back to the dealership I got a chance to feel the car at highway speeds. I'd hate to try and pass on a two lane road in this car. Even downshifting, it wouldn't accelerate well.

So the Solstice was a real disappointment. Not fun to drive slow, I couldn't really try to drive it fast, and what little I did wasn't a lot of fun. I also sat very, very low in the car - I felt like a midget, like I was maybe 4 feet tall, at most. (Insert crack from John here) Not only that, the attitude of the salesperson was entirely different from the attitude of the Mazda salesperson who came with me on one MX-5 test drive. After a fun corner in the MX-5, the salesperson said, "You drive this car the way it's meant to be driven." Talk about a night and day difference.

While I didn't really expect to like the Solstice, I wanted to give it a fair trial. I want to be absolutely certain the MX-5 is the right car, and that drive gave me that certainty.

We finished the drive and headed back by the shop to pick up my car. The guys were still there, so we went in to say hi. I mentioned I'd driven the Solstice and John asked me if I'd driven "his" MX-5 yet. I hadn't. So we went and found the card for it (it has a fancy card instead of a key. Whatever.) and I went out for a drive with Nugget.

Now, this MX-5 isn't exactly stock. If I'm remembering correctly, it has aftermarket intake, exhaust, flywheel (saving 11 pounds), shocks, and springs. It's an absolute blast to drive. Great throttle response, hunches down around corners, growls when you step on the gas pedal... It's just great. And John wants to sell it. But, of course (my life couldn't ever be simple), there's a problem with that. Dan wants to drive the car this autocross season. So, John and Dan and I are talking about the various possibilities. We'll see... Maybe I'll get a Nordic Green MX-5 after all... Maybe it will have to be Stormy Blue Mica.

After that wonderful drive, we returned home to get us back down to one car for the rest of the day. After my fun test driving prospective new cars, Nugget wanted his turn. So we headed down to the Porsche dealership. Nugget explained that he didn't know if he wanted the 911 or the Boxster, and so we test drove both. We started in a red 911 Carrera S Cabriolet with black interior. Both Nugget and I drove it around the Allendale neighborhood (pissing off a few residents in the process - oops). I found the 911 a blast to drive. I didn't really notice its weight (unlike in Nugget's ///M Roadster, where the weight makes cornering a lot less playful for me). The car has a lot to give in all areas and a lot to teach about driving well. Next came the Boxster S. Nugget said he felt like this car fit like a glove, while the 911 was something new and different. The Boxster did feel more familiar and I did feel more comfortable in it, but I didn't have nearly as much fun. If it were up to me, I'd want the 911. It was more fun to drive slow, more fun to drive fast, and will be a lot more interesting (entertaining? embarrassing?) to autocross.

The day ended with an extended semi-family Christmas. This is the "semi-family" that is "the people I grew up with who aren't actually related to me." Yes, I know it's February, but we're all busy and some no longer live in Austin, so this was the earliest we could all get together at the same time. It was good to get to see everyone again.

Tags: autocross, cars, miata
Current Mood: vroom

For all those of you in the Austin area who may be interested in autocrossing, the Tech Day for Spokes is this Saturday. It's at John and Dan's shop, JC Automotive Specialists, and starts at 10:00 AM. It's a drop-in-drop-out kind of thing and I'm planning on getting there around 11:00AM.

This is a great chance to get your car "tech'd" if you're thinking about doing any of the autocross runs with Spokes this year. This can save you some time at the first meet of the year. Also, if you're interested in becoming a member, this is a great time to do it. It's $40 for a single person membership, and $55 for a family. Members who register early for autocrosses get a $5 discount.

Also, on Sunday, February 18th, the first Spokes autocross of the year will be held at Burger Center. See the Spokes website for more details about either event.

A map of the shop is on MapQuest (on the north side of that street - I'm sure it will be identifiable by the mass of cars). Oddly enough, Google Maps doesn't seem to have the location.

Tags: autocross, cars

Spokes is hosting another event at San Antonio Raceway this coming Sunday. This event will be a bit different from the previous Spokes events. The organizers are calling it a "divisional in a day" format - two courses, at least three runs on each course.

The cost, location, starting times, etc. will all be the same as with the one course days. Probably the biggest difference will be adjusting to the new course in the afternoon, rather than just getting more runs on the same course. Course maps for the two courses are public, and are here in powerpoint form, and hosted by nugget here, in a 151KB PDF.

Nugget and I are going, along with a friend of Nugget's from California.

Tags: autocross, cars, miata

I want a new MX-5, before mine falls completely apart.

I'm learning why my dad doesn't maintain his old cars. It's a pain. My this needs attention, my that needs fixing, my the other is about to fail. Some of this is caused by the supercharger and related attachments, some of this is caused by my driving, but some of this is just flat out old age.

The new MX-5s are flat out better cars than my old NA, anyway. It's a bit more than 100 pounds fatter than mine (without retractable hardtop), but stiffer, and the weight is better balanced in the body. Both cars have a 50/50 weight distribution, but the weight is better placed in the NC than it was in the NA. The top on the NC works much better - it's a Z-fold, so it doesn't need the boot, and I can actually put it up and down from inside the car (barely), which I can't do with the NA top (yes, I'm a weakling). There are storage nooks and crannies all over the car, it has speed sensitive volume, etc. It's better from both a performance and comfort/usability standpoint. And the aftermarket performance parts in development for it are shaping up very, very nicely so far. Half the development team is a 5 minute drive from my workplace!

I want to build up a large down payment before I get one, though, and there's a lot of talking to do with the mechanics. So I don't really want to put too much into the current Miata if I'm going to end up getting rid of it... But there's so much more it could do. Still, it will never match what a new MX-5 could do with the same mods. I fell in love with that car when I drove it (just like I did with my '94).

Tags: cars, miata

I'm sure this has gone around before, since it was filmed in 1988, but still:

Ballet in 3 acts for SAAB 9000 Turbos. Special appearance SAAB 9000 cabriolet

Yanked from wtf_inc

Edited to add: http://wickedmoon.com/media/video/tvcommercials/saabdemo.asf <-- direct link to video. Please don't abuse this.

Tags: cars

A Toyota truck still runs, after spending four months submerged in an Alaskan river. And this one isn't staged, unlike the Top Gear videos.

Tags: cars, toyota

I went by the shop yesterday and talked with Dan and John a bit more about the supercharger install. We also ordered a radiator and gauges. With the fans that will be ordered and that radiator, the engine should stay cool enough on my daily drive. If not, I can go to a cowl hood (rather than the heat extration) and will hopefully be able to keep a mostly-stock appearance, while keeping the engine at acceptable temperatures.

Gauges that will be added include a boost gauge, coolant temperature gauge, and oil temperature gauge. As I talked with John and Dan, they discussed another gauge - I think "wideband"? - used to show if it's running lean or rich. They said this would be important for tuning, but wouldn't really be required for the long term. All of these gauges are white faced, to match the boost gauge that came with the supercharger. They'll be mounted either above or below the aftermarket radio I've purchased - the stock one doesn't leave enough room for the gauges.

I'm still waiting for Dan's engine to be ready. The SCCA Solo II Divisionals are this weekend; the engine should be available soon after. The current plan goes as follows (AFAIK): The engines from each car will be pulled. My engine's head and Dan's entire engine will be sent to the machine shop. The machine shop will use his head as examples for the shims when fitting my head with mechanical lifters. Somewhere in that process, the head will get the camshafts and cutback valves, and they'll make sure it will fit well with the block from Dan's engine. The machined parts will be sent back to John and Dan. They'll reassemble the engine and bolt on the supercharger, and then tune. The machine shop will take at least four days, they'll need two to reassemble the engine and bolt on the supercharger, and then they'll need a few more days for tuning. All in all, the car will probably be down for a solid two weeks. I'll be driving one of those old Camrys in the mean time.

While at the shop, I spotted a beautiful classic Mini Cooper in their storage area. Apparently, the car is getting a little work done to get it in nearly perfect shape, and the owner is planning on selling it. nugget needs a Mini, you know, and it will fit in the garage with the other two cars...

*sigh* My birthday is in two days, and my mother wants advice on what to give me. Nugget suggested I ask for autocross numbers, which is a great idea. When I talked to Dan last night, he said they know a person who can make them for me. All I have to do is pick a font and colors. Oh. Great. I have to actually try to be creative? I suck at this! So, if someone has suggestions for autocross numbers and letters that would look good on a Montego Blue Miata, I'd love to hear them. Currently, I'm number 98, and I'll need SM2, X, L, and maybe a few other things.

Tags: autocross, cars, miata

Today was the fifth annual Texas Independence Day parade. A group of Miatas was registered, and I was one of the nine that went. There were three NBs and six NAs. We started as a nice, packed square of 3x3, but the plans involved changing that rather quickly. A parade travels at a slow walking pace, and frequently stops... Well, what better to do with Miatas than circles, figure 8s, etc.? A group of three of us were designated the "trouble makers" and put in the middle row. When the parade would stop, we'd head off around the front set of cars and do various circles and other movements. After only a time or two, the Miatas in the front row decided they wanted in, quickly followed by the back row. So we'd have a square of nine Miatas that would break into a line, make a few circles, suddenly become a disorganized mass of Miatas, and the quickly back to the square. It was wonderful fun.

Now, I'm sleepy. Pictures are here, and there's a lot of them. Look for the Longhorns that are ridden by people (page 3).

Oh, and my ACT clutch wasn't nearly as much of a pain as I was expecting.

Tags: cars, miata

I learned today, a little after noon, that the first autocross meet of the year is this Sunday. THIS Sunday?!?!?! That's less than a week away and my trunk is FULL! My car is dirty, my passenger seat is full of stuff, my engine bay is dirty, my tires are a little worn, I don't know how to even launch properly for an autocross run...

I am woefully unprepared. And nugget's mom, dmasy, is visiting. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to have her here. It's just that, between preparing for the autocross, going to John's open house at the shop, and autocross on Sunday, I'm not going to have much time to spend with her. She'll just have to come back again soon.

So much to do. I've never been to an autocross meet before, and am feeling somewhat confused and unsure. Dan, one of the mechanics and an experienced crosser, will be there to help me all the way, but I'm still having a brief period of "OMGWTFBBQ" while everything sinks in.

One of the things on my mind is my tires. They're far from new... Toyo Proxes T1-S, and they were put on in spring, and are getting somewhat worn. I thought the back tires were worn noticeably more than the front, and I mentioned it to Dan in passing. He said that it wasn't a problem. I could stop by on lunch one day and he could rotate them for me. Well, I checked, and the difference in treadwear is minute - a few millimeters at most (I tried using a penny and a nickel to measure. Not the most precise tools, but they can still give me an idea). That makes me think it's not really worth the effort to rotate the tires. But, an autocross meet could take a good deal more tread off of those tires, especially the back ones, since I'm likely to slip when I start each run. So, with the soft compound on the tires and the apparent ease of rotating them, does it become worth it again? I'm sure Dan can tell me. :)

And I get to act as translator for my mother when one of her cars goes into the shop... She won't take the cars in, so Dad does, but Dad gives only a very brief description of the problem, and it can be really helpful to have a more thorough description, so I end up giving it. Then, Dad picks up the car and gives Mom an abbreviated version of what was wrong, so I get to give her the extended story. In case you're wondering, a car went in last night, and came home tonight.

So much to do, so much to worry about. Good thing most of it is fun stuff. :)

Tags: autocross, cars

There's a Dr Pepper commercial that's been on for a bit... I don't really know how long. It has Leann Rhymes driving an Unkown Convertible, picking up Reba McEntire, singing, and drinking Dr Pepper. I've been wondering what vehicle it was - it wasn't easily recognizable. While watching the Simpsons today, I saw the commercial, and thanks to the Tivo, saw many angles of the car. nugget and I agreed the car looked very "Ford"ish, but it didn't have any Ford symbols. So, Nugget starts Google searches, while I turn to one of my new favorite car web pages - fast-autos.net. I look at all the likely sounding Fords, and find nothing similar. I know Shelby modifies many Fords, and there was the Shelby Cobra, so I head down to the "S" section. There, I find the 2000 Shelby Series 1. It has the side grills. It has the same front, with the same swooping headlights and the same front grill. It has the same back and the same rims. However, the one on fast-autos.net doesn't have the rollbar seen in the Dr. Pepper commercial. However, that's something that could be added. I think it's pretty safe to say Leann Rhymes was driving a Shelby Series 1.

Tags: cars
Current Mood: curious

The Tejas Miata group had a drive this past Saturday, out to a drive-in movie theater is Gatesville. An MG club had scheduled a run to the same theater on the same day, but from a different area, so we didn't see them until in the theater.

The Austin Miata group was supposed to meet at 3:00pm at it's normal meeting place: the "NE" corner of 183 and 1431 in Cedar Park. Nugget and I didn't get there until about 3:10, and didn't see the group, so we figured they'd already left. Fortunately, there was a second meeting place, at 4:00pm, at a gas station in Briggs. This was also a typical meeting place for the Tejas Miata group, and we'd been there with them before, so Nugget and I took the Miata up there. I drove quickly, hoping to catch the group. We finally made it to the second meeting place (a little before 3:30) and saw absolutely no one else. Well, at least no other Miatas. We stuck around for a few minutes, but then decided we had mis-read the instructions, and turned back. Right as we entered 183, we saw Barry, the run leader, in his Laguna Blue Miata. A quick U-turn on 183, and we were back in the gas station. Heh... Miatas are good at U-turns.

We talk with Barry and his son for a bit, and another group shows up... a red 240SX, a silver late-model Mustang, and an Ivory 300ZX. Ummm, ok, so now we're two Miatas and three non-Miatas? That can't be the run... We wait for a bit, hoping Nugget and I had managed to miss the Austin group, and low and behold, right at 4:00pm, about 9 Miatas and Dodge Stratus show up. We got ready for the run. After the routes were explained to the drivers, we learned that the Stratus was not intended to be part of the run. It was going to be left in Briggs, and picked up later. But the route made that highly impractical, so, for our run, we were ~11 Miatas, two Nissans, a Ford, and a Dodge.

The Miatas on the run included a 10AE, my 94M, and Dan's Ubercharger test car. It was a great run, through beautiful, small, twisty roads, up to a good, but slow restaurant in Briggs, and out to the theater. We arrived at the theater early and got very good spots. Two Triumphs showed up after a while, and finally a set of 4 or 5 MG's arrived. One interesting note: It took two Triumphs and an MGB to fill the space of two pickup trucks, with similar sized padding around each vehicle. Those cars really are tiny.

Eventually, darkness settled over the theater, and the previews started. After the previews, during the beginning of The Day After Tomorrow, some people came and sat behind us, and some came and sat in front of us. You'd think they could have done this during the previews, at least. The Day After Tomorrow was okay... Good special effects, what felt like an incomplete look at the weather phenomena, and an okay storyline. Shrek 2 was the second movie shown that day, and Nugget and I were one of the few Miatas to stick around. The movie had its entertaining moments, and it did manage to keep me awake, but it was not a great movie. Though maybe I was just distracted by the kids behind us who seemed incapable of staying quiet.

So, for the rest of the weekend, and into this week. Im doing a test. A very imprecise test, pitting FreeBSD against Gentoo Linux. Gentoo has been running my desktop for over two years now, but FreeBSD impressed me, both on the server and the laptop, so I thought I'd give it a try. I used my current Gentoo install, and added a FreeBSD install on recently added hard drive. A full review will come later, once I've had some time using each system.

Tags: cars, geek
Current Mood: content

The laptop I'm currently using appears to be dying. When I attempt to install FreeBSD, many packages fail, claiming they cannot find libssl. The Gentoo boot CD fails to boot... /sbin/modprobe binfmt fails.

A while ago, ghewgill gave me his old digital camera. I've been wanting one for a while, for spur-of-the-moment pictures (a Pentax K-1000 isn't too great with those) and for the ease of adding digital pictures to my gallery. I've been slow about actually using the camera, partially because the battery doesn't hold much of a charge anymore, and partially because I don't have a cardreader. Nugget has one that will work with a laptop however, so I thought I'd give that a try.

Now, we have a problem. The laptop doesn't have ssh installed. It seems unwilling to install anything, because it cannot find libssl. My Gentoo live CD fails. Tonight, it finally dawns on me that I could try a Knoppix CD. I'd rather have a boot CD that didn't head strait into X with all the bells and whistles, but booting is booting, right?

Not only did the Knoppix CD boot, it autodetected everything, is running the console in framebuffer and X at appropriate settings, and it even talked to me. I've never bothered to try to get a sound out of the laptop, and now it's making noises just from booting. Yipe! I'm glad it booted, but I don't really want the boot CD to do everything. I don't mind a minimal system. O well, it works.

So, I snatch nugget's CF-cardbus adapter and throw in the card from the camera. I plug it into the laptop, and it gives a reassuring little *beep* as an icon appears on the KDE desktop - /mnt/hde1. I swear, Knoppix does more than Windows. I now have my data off the card, and am happy enough with the world. I just wish Knoppix were a little bit faster.

Now, on to the car portion of the story.

Not long after purchasing my Miata, I noticed a few other Miatas at work. There's a black one that's a '95... I was considering purchasing that vehicle, but the owner changed his mind about selling. I definitely understand. There's a red one as well, and a blue one. I've managed to meet the owner of the black and red, but the owner of the blue one remains a mystery. One day, all of the Miatas ended up in a row, so I decided to take a few pictures. I've finally been inspired to get them off the card. I just might create a web page for the work intranet...

Tags: cars, geek
Current Mood: accomplished

School is only a few weeks away from finishing. My major projects are done. I have to finish up a Power Point presentation for my Wednesday class, and we have to present on it. There will be a few more things to do in the Friday class as well, but the tough class this quarter is done - the Monday class, Telecommunications. I now know more about the phone system than I ever wanted to know.

I changed a few of my CFLAGS on the desktop. Changed from -O3 to -Os, and added -ftracer and -ffast-math. I'm now rebuilding everything (emerge -e world). The compile is on package 218 out of 281. FireFox and Mozilla are in the list of not-yet compiled, XFree is compiled, and it's working on the various GNOME packages now. I suspect the compile will still be a while.

The Miata is the funnest car that they've made over 700,000 of. Eww, bad grammar. Anyway, I'm really enjoying the car. It doesn't have an easy life, but I suspect it likes it that way (if it were capable of liking, yes I personify my car, leave me alone).

Like I said, I'm a nut. Package 220 of 281.

Tags: cars, geek, school
Current Mood: cheerful