what a morning
Apr 09Yesterday, I got to work on my car… it stopped raining, was pretty favorable. Still a little chilly, at 48-52F, but some long johns and thermal… jeans, t-shirt and jacket, and I was pretty comfy for the most part – ok, so it may sound like overkill, but when you’re tinkering and trying to work in tight spaces, in the wind while trying to be very careful and only weigh 120lbs with a sedentary lifestyle, it helps to be as comfortable as possible… I’m not very good at retaining body heat – though I generate enough of it in my sleep I’ve been told.
I used the car work to test out my camera under various lighting conditions and views and I suppose I’m pretty satisfied with it, considering I got some ATF on it and was able to just wash it with some soap and water (score!), and I could keep it in my pocket as I rolled around under my car – feeling it under my weight. “Yes!” I thought, “i guess this camera IS perfect for me.” Let’s say, practical.
I changed out my radiator, re-modified my cooling fan so it looks EVEN better now especially on the new heftier radiator, and rewired it to use the new thermal switch that came with the radiator (funny how some things long to become upgraded after market, but others long to be stock – the best are improvements to stock, while retaining original parameters) and relay – giving me the simplest solution I’ve used thus far (two adjustable thermostat switches with a probe you had to stab into the radiator fins -ouch- the first of which failed). As it turns out, I couldn’t have started on these things sooner – confirming my fears, half of my radiator inlet tube (where the hose connects) was in fact broken off inside the new hose I’d recently installed. I didn’t notice this until I was about to put the hose back on the new radiator that I looked inside and wondered ‘what is this step in here’… looked at the old radiator *OH DAMN*… it just crumbled out.
Then replaced the heater to block hoses (firewall). One of them… deteriorated to about 1mm thickness on the inside, just waiting for the summer heat to burst or another long trip (baton rouge? miami?) – the threading inside the rubber was frayed inside the hose. I knew it was time for all these things, but I didn’t think it would be THIS bad. Well, I still need to actually install the new hoses. Was waiting until I do the heater core to do this so maybe I can run some fresh water out here.
After that, I replaced my transmission filter/gasket and kickdown cable. The kickdown cable was wasted. The cable itself was still intact, but it’s sleeve and connector to the transmission was trashed, and had the cable binding inside the sleeve – which completely explains my slow shifting (takes forever to shift to 2nd when cold, then won’t downshift to first when hot for the first 10 miles) transmission issues when the weather is very humid. I suspected this one though, because it’s a common issue.
I borrowed devin’s bimmer to get to work… obnoxiously early. Strong eggbutt wagon makes me speed alot. Apparently some people don’t like to be the subject of their own issues (you know, do unto others… etc.) – I got cut off not 2 miles from home, very close nearly clipped me, seeing his speed, I followed him but I quickly realized – HE WAS BRAKE CHECKING ME, for no reason – I guess he got defensive cause he’d cut me off and I gave chase! So I promptly zoomed to the outer lane and returned the favor, he changed lanes as did I to remain in the front and continue rubbing in his face that this hefty 10+ year old BMW WAGON was faster than his brand new (still has temporary registration plaque) Infiniti G35 Coupe – AND that I had better stopping control than apparently he had – not good for his new little car, as I’m sure he’s still breaking in the linings. We reach a light, he GETS OUT OF HIS CAR *gulp* – admittedly, I’m a weakling – runs up to my car and starts yelling – I had the music up so I couldn’t hear him, but he smacked the window really hard – to no avail cause it’s thick. I stared him right in the eyes with a ‘yeah….. what….’ smirk – all the while knowing that the doors are unlocked *gulp again*… the light turned green, he ran back to his car. He was driving slow after that, but I was turning left anyway so as he passed me, I proudly gave him a 1 finger salute – and YES, he was staring into my car as he passed. So, LOL… all’s well that ends well… note to self… start working out, and always lock your doors. HA. Quite an eventful start to my morning. I wondered to myself as I drove off, how can anyone be so angry -and AGGRESSIVELY so- this early in the morning. if he pulled me out of the car, I’d probably have let him beat my ass just cause I’m too tired to bother.
Today when I get out of work, since I got here at 7:30a (usually get here around 9), I’m going to do the inside work of removing my seats, dash, ductwork, and carpet (all of which are going to get individual attention and detailing as they come out) with the goal of replacing my heater core, blower motor and related items, and cleaning up all of my patchwork wiring (and splicing out some now unneeded parts of the original harness) in preparation of three new modules I plan on adding – new remote start (ProStar), LaneFX Commuter Edition, and window control modules so I can roll up/down windows and open/close the sunroof using the keyless entry. All of these things bring it, referring to the power options, to very modern european luxury features.
I’m going to post pictures of otto’s progress as soon as I’m done. All the exterior work was pretty straightforward, no real hidden issues, having read up on the kickdown cable replacement really helped (also having a recently purchased pick and hook set was essential).
I’ll probably be posting some more personal issues soon but I’ve just had it all bottled up for a few weeks cause I’ve been too busy to… bother. Everything’s alright though, thankfully so it’s more or less all just stuff recent self discovery.
here’s a note from my myspace profile since I’m taking it off – all part of my new challenge to myself (but nothing new in terms of figuring life out for myself):
just some thoughts… observations… rhetorical questions… I’m tired of talking about myself…
how can so many people feel so entitled to share their opinion concerning issues of which they know so little – in particular, feel compelled and justified to cast judgment over those involved? I don’t understand the audacity.
But then again, how can so many other people actually CARE about those same thoughts coming from such small minds – giving in to the illusion of authority? creating a legend of an apparent ignorant imbecile.
by the same token… how can the very same people who judge others feel deserving of justice when they themselves are not just in their perception of others and their plight. I don’t mean legal justice cast from man to man, but rather a universal justice. I’m tired of the phrase “what did I do to deserve this?” — it doesn’t matter. the fact is that things happen, and whether or not one deserves what he or she is given, it is not WHAT happens but the way one deals with it that makes the difference. All issues we overcome should be a lesson, and for the one last issue we fail to overcome, a lesson to others.
a tip: speak the truth, speak what is necessary, speak with compassion and speak with love.
learn to ask. learn to listen. learn to learn.
learn to love without restraint, and to allow yourself to be loved without hesitation.
The path of least resistance is often overlooked and severely under-appreciated. So many people feel that challenges are what make life worth living — guaranteed, challenges are an inherent part of living, but not a means to an end. Until we learn to live harmoniously with ourselves, our environment, and those around us, we are no greater than a locust, tapeworm, or virus – a parasite.
a little about [me] the choices I make in life… it’s about comfort, not lifestyle.
you don’t know where I’ve been so don’t judge me.
What is this cold?!
Apr 07Today… Pissed me off… nice warm (75-85F) and dry for the past two weeks, for the most part… the weekend I set aside to overhaul my cooling system in Otto, 37Fdegrees and rain. WHAT is this? Aside from the inconvenience, my tropicals, which have just begun to recover from my neglect on colder winter nights won’t like it if this icy front comes through here. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the cold, and rain, but not when I need to work outside.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be a little more pleasant, though more rain is forecast.
I finally bought a new digital camera after much deliberation between the Casio Exilim X1000, the Canon SD800 or SD1000, and the brand new Olympus Stylus 770SW. Each has their virtues. My true driving factor is the trip to Key West, where I wanted a waterproof solution to take well.. underwater. I would have settled for a regular camera and underwater case, because I have always been, and rightfully so, biased toward canon products for superior image quality.
Ultimately, because of its designed ruggedness, the Olympus won. I was won over by the 5 foot drop resistance (MIL-STD-810F Drop Test Compliant just like my bumblebee yellow Nextel phone) from any angle, 32.8ft watertight ( JIS Class 8 ), up to 220lbs crush resistance from any angle. It’s also freeze proof down to 14F, but I don’t anticipate needing that feature anytime soon.
Now I have it, and I can say the image quality is mediocre overall. Daylight shots, are generally somewhat washed out, darker shots (think shade) are grainy BUT neither issue is anything that can’t be fixed in Photoshop – a little bit of color correction to re-saturate the shots, and some de-noising, all the right image data is there, it’s just not perfect without touching up, as I would get (and have) from a Canon. The menu system leaves nothing, really, to be desired. It is intuitive, and thorough. The camera also has a built in manometer, which I can’t wait to try. It’s probably only really useful for knowing when you’re about to get to the camera’s depth limit – the manual says it’s only to be relied on as an approximation and not a true scientific measurement, but I’m sure it’s close. It records that depth in the EXIF data, which should be interesting to see.
For being 7MP, I can comparatively say that my 3MP canon’s image resolution was much better, in all shooting scenarios. Which is a big reason I haven’t bought into this MORE MEGAPIXELS = BETTER. Because it’s not true, unless we’re talking about a high end SLR camera with a huge imaging chip.
Another thing I can’t get used to is that all good canons, in general, know their orientation, and write this orientation data into the images’ EXIF, so programs that understand it, like ACDSee, automatically rotate the image for you – VERY convenient.
SO FAR, the camera’s design, weight and functionality have pleased me – namely because this is the camera for me in terms of durability – barring that it gets stolen or lost – it’s made to withstand the damage inflicted by people like me to their every day electronics (…RIP, my trusty CLIE TJ37). The battery life is pretty good. It lasted me 2 full days of playing with every possible setting constantly (probably about 100 images, with flash and repeatedly pressing and playing with the autofocus) but I got a spare battery anyway. We’ll see over the next few days how well I can deal with the image quality because right now, realizing that I can edit the images to dazzling quality, I MIGHT want them to come from the camera looking good on their own. Also, the self-orientation… But waterproof cases are damn expensive. Though, justifiable, considering at Fry’s, this little beauty ran me $379 before tax, before the extra battery, before a little neoprene case, and before the 1GB Hi-Speed xD card (which was pretty cheap). This is just more convenient I guess. I’m also planning on getting a Silicone rubber skin for it – it IS shock proof, but that doesn’t mean it won’t get ding-ed up, and I want to be able to sell it later on.
I’ll post up some sample images later, when it’s not so ugly outside!
Candy is a treat…
Nov 02…and should be eaten in moderation.
So says Hershey on the inside of a Payday bar (which I just ravenously consumed) wrapper. Which makes me think.. so many consumable products which require disclaimers, i.e. cigarettes, alcohol, and apparently candy. Just funny that in a world of chronic obesity and childhood diabetes, these things require warnings of moderation. You’d think modern man was a glutton with not enough to do during the day (or conversely, too much to do and unhealthy pocketable foods/products are easier to carry around).
So tomorrow is my birthday, and seems everyone else is more excited than I. it’s a busy week in terms of birthday, there is at least one that I know of on every day from the 1st to the 5th. I will be 23, but for some reason it feels very natural, in terms of remembering that’s my age when asked… When I turned 22, months later I was still saying “21.. uh no 22 I mean…”. But lately even before now, I was already accidentally saying “23″. Weird. Maybe saying 23 just sounds more respectable, I dunno. Everyone has off extra days this week for my or someone else’s birthday, except me – LOL, I guess I could just take the day off with no loss, but I’d rather not a) miss the hours and b) have my work pile up for monday. It’s not so bad, I have weekends off anyway.
So just another uneventful day I think, I may mow the back yard and start working on de-carpeting otto’s trunk (which will be replaced with rubber coating, not unlike Rhino-Lining). I’m at the stage in otto’s life where I want to get rid of as much unnecessary stuff while keeping it comfortable and rattle free, considering that most of the 240′s body panels are cavernous between the actual outer metal and inner frame (but largely innacessible) maybe I’ll fill those spaces with some insulation to make the cabin even more quiet and temperature stable, possibly for whenever I start integrating all the Peltier (thermo-electric) cooling appliances for electrically/liquid cooled seats and instead of a compressed R12 powered AC. This stripping, I think, isn’t really for weight reduction but mostly because being an older car, it naturally didn’t come with most of the plastic padding or cladding (panels) that new cars have – which first I thought ugly, but after doing so much work on the car, I appreciate the open spaces for running wires, and just generally because it’s open space – for saying that it’s such a long car, it definitely has the interior room to show for it, especially in the trunk (and considering that it is from bumper to bumper about 2 inches longer than a camaro, albeit slightly more narrow). Recent polls show that open space good.
Also during this time, I want to pull all the interior wiring running through the firewall, and clean it up, since I’ve added so many modern electrical devices to the cars features like automatic headlights remote start, thermally switched electric fan, amplifiers, speakers, custom made LED arrays where normal power hungry-heat creating bulbs would be, and hence a need to bypass the light-out sensor for the tail light circuit — all of this splicing and cutting has made a monster of butt and splice connected wires which is a very bad thing as the wiring is exposed to the elements and starts to age. So I’d like to pull all of these things, measure exact final wire lengths and run fresh clean wires for everything, integrated into the cars own wiring harness — I’m thinking . It should be fairly easy considering what I’ve done with the the 2000 Camaro’s harness in the past, I just have to buy the wire, and prepare to diagram the new installations.
I am soooooo ready to go home, I currently (for just this moment) have nothing to do at work, and I wish it were Friday. See, I enjoy working, but only when I actually have work to do. otherwise I feel like I am wasting time – time that I could be spending mowing the lawn or working on otto [oh my how boring I am haha] but it’s paid time that I spend doing nothing but answering phones, so who am I to complain?
I wonder what it is that makes me sincerely not want to have a birthday party. Like most people, they look forward to throwing a party and inviting a bunch of people for drinking and whatever else… it all just seems so pointless to me… I’d rather just go shopping or out to eat for a really big enjoyable meal – at least with shopping I have something that I can say “yep I got this on my 23rd birthday” not “yep… I got hungover for my 23rd birthday” I’m not knocking parties, I just personally don’t feel a need for one, not to sound antisocial at all, but I guess that’s just the type of person I am. Private and reserved.
Although, I do enjoy being an open book with those who care and whenever possible — unlike some people I’ve known… I mean… c’mon I know a little mystery is good but being 95% innaccessible is just detrimental to your own experience (and then they wonder why they have such a hard time finding ‘love’ and why no one cares). Open up a little, let the sun shine in – it is after all one of the most cleansing or catalysing things known to man! I guess some people just feel too vulnerable when they open up. In my experience, it’s true… when you think of it that way — in that case you will be always walking on eggshells to keep people separate rather than accepting a uniting of your friends or being the same true person with everyone you know and meet instead of a custom tailored personality for everyone. Or hiding all personal things altogether. If you think I’m talking about you, let down your ego… far too many people seem to have this problem. I guess that’s why the internet proliferated so well – you can be whoever as much or as little as you want to be, whenever you want. Unhealthy? only slightly. after all, socialization is socialization on any level, even if it’s not personal interaction. what’s unhealthy is your sitting posture as you sit socializing through keyboard and screen. and maybe if a fake online persona (if equipped) takes over your real one. or if you sit at your computer eating junk and soda as a glass of orange juice you had 3 days ago starts to grow a lump of white fuzz in it. BUT now I’m rambling.
Maybe I’ll get my tattoo with this paycheck…
updates…
Oct 24Had fun this past weekend, it was the usual, working on cars, et al. Daniel’s car developed a rupture (from rubbing against the chassis) in his slave cylinder (clutch) line… The dealer said they’d have to have it shipped and wouldn’t be available until later this week, so his brilliant thinking and my knowledge of materials (that I have alot of excess of) came to a quick and effective fix — wrap the hose with split silicon tubing and zip tie it back together — like a splint. Something on the order of 8 zip ties went onto a 2.5 inch length of tubing haha.
Then otto got his belts replaced, which made every chatter he had going completely silent. I now can’t tell when he’s on from outside, that quiet. Goodyear Gatorback belts, so I splurged *chuckle* at $11.99 per belt (times 4). It’s a good thing.
Another thing, I managed to squeeze 272 miles out of 12.5 gallons of gas before I lost my nerve and filled up. I haven’t investigated it yet, but for some reason Otto only holds about 13 gallons of gas in a tank that is supposed to hold 15.8… in any case my fuel economy of about 21.8 MPG is marvelous, considering that the car was rated at 22 MPG brand new in 1990 (1989 mfg) — AND this is taking into account that I have the lead foot. Constantly. Now if only I could fit all 15.8 gallons in the tank I wouldn’t have to refill every 3 days.
So I got all my computer taken care of… ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce4), with AMD 64 3500+ (which I plan on upgrading to AMD 64 X2 4200+ *dual core* ASAP), 700GB in 2 SATA and 1 IDE drives, ATI All In Wonder Radeon X1300 (PCI Express), 2GB 3200 RAM, and Antec SmartPower 500W power supply. Those are the important details… The video card is new because my former one (ATI All In Wonder 9600 XT for which I paid $250 just a year ago) because it is AGP, the power supply is also new because the one in the my case, the Raidmax Smilodon which I modified slightly to remove “SMILODON” from the front, and repainted the side cross bar (video card support/puller fan), failed after 2 days and fully died in a week. Though I now have 10 native USB ports, 9 fans in my case – including the two in the power supply, one on mobo chip, and one on the video card (My computer overall is still VERY quiet considering all the air passing through – quieter than any I’ve owned – except the Dell XPS in 1997).
Had great deal of issues getting windows to load/reinstall, turns out the motherboard doesn’t natively like to boot from a single SATA drive like my DFI nforce2 Lanparty mobo did. Problem stumped me for 2 days until I decided to install windows on my IDE, and use the 100GB SATA that would have been as storage and swap disk. Now I’ve got it running almost fully re-customized (but better!) as I had it before, and my load time from cold boot to settled desktop is 15 seconds give or take 3. Wonderful! I wonder how it’ll be when I get the dual core (should at least make a difference because of faster chip speeds and better architecture.).
I also want the Logitech Revolution MX mouse… *drool* … two scroll wheels, one of which (the main one) is weighted for precision and rolls freely or by clicks (like standard mice) depending on the task at hand. It’s wonderful and sexy. Plus the notion that my long history of upgrading from Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer (since they first came out) has been good, but the bluetooth version is garbage – cursor latency, inability to use a mouse during XP setup, etc. – is just exciting… Plus, it’s rechargeable. I’ve been wanting a logitech mouse for a while but they come out with so many great things so fast, that I’ve been waiting for something truly deserving of dropping the cash.
On saturday, Devin, Daniel, Jen, and I went to look at some apartments, for which we applied and put down our deposit. Now I’ve got my fingers crossed. It’s time to experiment with freedom again, which works out both for my parents (because bills will be lower), as well as myself because I will be self reliant and self sufficient while answering to no one. We shall see.
Another thing. I’ve recently come to appreciate having worked for one of my clients (Jolly Properties) and managing their site/emails as I noticed they are building a new development in a very prominent spot off Beltway 8. Strokes my ego a good bit to know that I made the website, and developed with my mother, the corporate ID of this multimillion dollar development firm, now making them my most prominent active client.
So that’s about it for now, a few developments stirring.
Expecting (ready for) the worst but hoping for the best, as always.
le sigh
Oct 17A recurring thought I’ve been having is that you know when you’re already not aging gracefully when the first thing you consider when choosing a chair to sit in or purchase, is whether it has adequate lumbar support. When I was 16 I had no idea what a lumbar was… when I was 18, my chair was so uncomfortable, yet without any distress on my back. Considering that back massages used to feel uncomfortable, I’d say things have changed. These days, if I sit for 2 hours (which is already something health care pro’s advise against) in the wrong chair, my back hurts for the next day or two. Perhaps this is a consequence of not being or having been active for most of my life… C’est la vie, I guess.
The past few days have just been fraught with annoyances. So I bought a new case for my computer last week — it’s sexy (after a few modifications involving automotive paint and some acetone) — 8 days later, the 500 watt power supply that came with the case just stopped working. I take this thing back to Fry’s to exchange it, until I can buy a better power supply not made by Raidmax later this week, only to find that they sold out of this particular case 3 days after putting it out on the shelves (I bought it when they had just been stocked). So now I’m without computer for at least 2 more days, which SUCKS. But I can cope, considering my sporadic computer usage lately. At least I bought the extended warranty on my motherboard and CPU so I can actually go about getting a whole new computer within the next week, at little expense (i’d probably have to buy a new video card, since AGP is phased out of my line of “equivalent exchange” hardware – giving rise to PCI express, which I’d felt no need for since it came out) — but as those warranty contracts that sales people push go — use it or lose it – they do after all sell it to you stating that you can even “shoot a hole through the item and return it for an exchange” – I wonder if they’d really honor that, considering that the contract specifically states “intentional misuse, damage or destruction” as unnacceptable exchange terms but “power surge” is a completely valid reason….excccelent, as Mr. Burns would say.
Then, after 3 days of rain, Otto decides he doesn’t want to start up, which would have made me very late for work, but he finally cranked and since one thing always leads to another with Otto, I ended up doing some body repair work after finding that rain (and likely carwash) water has been making its way into my trunk (and into the right tail light — which I just replaced for the resultant reason) from a rusty pit where the right rear quarter panel is welded together. I proceeded to peel paint and sealant only to find horror underneath, more rust. luckily, it is isolated to a piece of the panel which is hidden by the trunk lid, so I treated the rust, and as a somewhat temporary fix, sealed the areas with marine epoxy putty, which I molded to the proper shape. Though the epoxy is still white, I plan on painting it at least to match the surrounding area within the next few days. Since I will be getting Otto painted soon, I figure I’ll deal with this issue more directly when the time comes to have to let otto go for a week to get painted. Back the the no-start problem, devin and I surmised that this was probably caused by wet drive/timing belts or possibly some humidity in the distributor that needed to burn off, since it happened over night, and I’ve already known that my belts are glazed and need to be replaced to quiet them – and an occasionally squeeling timing belt, which as far as I know, was replaced only 40,000 miles ago (including the 14,000 miles I’ve already put on him this year).
One good thing, which is perhaps the reason I was paying such close attention to Otto’s rear, is that I have successfully performed a custom conversion of otto’s tail lights from 21 watt bulbs to cool running 6 watts LED arrays, including the high mount. It looks real nice and is sufficiently bright during the day to meet DOT specs, since after all, these arrays are after market replacements for truck trailer light fixtures, which I reverse engineered (cut, spliced and expanded) to work for my situation – I even used aluminum foil which I epoxied to stiffen it as a light amplification medium – since it got somewhat crumpled as I was maneuvering it into place it makes for a really neat effect on the light as it reflects off the creases and is magnified by the pattern in the taillight lens. This is a project that I’ve been trying to get to (and partially have) for at least 4 months. The net result after all that is that I no longer get a power drop when I hit the brakes and my tail light fixtures should last MUCH longer without the constant heat of the 5/21 watt bulbs in the tail/brake light sockets. Although now that the lights pull much less power from the car the Light-Out indicator doesn’t know what to do, and randomly indicated that I have a light out. Since I’ve re-wired my headlights to run on relays for max output, and the tail lights have been re-done, I plan on bypassing the sensor for at least those circuits which is mostly all the car has (so I may just remove the sensor altogether and splice the wires together).
Ultimately, in order to eliminate the unsightly and probably damage prone clutter of the wires and modules I’ve added/spliced to the car, I plan to pull them all, lay them out to make best use of the positioning (using the car’s available space) and re-install everything as a part of a brand new harness which will make it more like OEM, and should anything ever happen to otto, I can pull it and reinstall it elsewhere. Not to mention allowing for easier replacement should something fail.
That’s what’s been going on with Otto.
Today, marks a year since my grandma’s death, and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t really had much time to think about it. I guess after this long, I’ve come to terms with it, and it’s gone from unbelievable to a fact of life. Also memories fade a little, like the sound of her voice, which sadly, makes it all easier to bear. I guess it’s such a big deal for me since I’ve never in my life had someone close to me die, which unfortunately I can’t say for most people I know. One thing is for sure though, that this year, unlike so many previous years, I haven’t gotten my usual autumn depression. It’s both relieving and creates a greater feeling of nostalgia, which has been pleasantly satisfied this year by first becoming better friends with Daniel and meeting his then new girlfriend Jen, further making amends with friends like Brandie, Tara, and Paul, whom have come to feel the brunt of my neglectful personality, as well as recently getting back in contact with Jonathan (my best friend from the age of 10-15) whom I’ve missed dearly for 6 years since we got separated by my move to Houston.
Plus, having a job and thus steady income has opened up opportunities to enjoy my free time rather than sit in my room and do nothing all day with a list of stuff I’d like to do but can’t.
So in spite of rarely updating here the days, while moving slowly, are passing so fast, taking with them the memories of times past and new memories and feelings of closure and renewal.
Though work is about to get stressful, and really I’m not going anywhere in life at the moment, I have to admit, I’m perfectly content I guess you could say.