As is my custom, I gave away the punchline before telling the story. Whitney and I had an ‘05 MINI Cooper (stock: 115hp), with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) CVT’s fascinate me…imagine two pulleys connected by a belt. If the ratio of the pulleys remains the the same, you get a defined gear ratio. Thing is, in a CVT, the pulleys can vary their diameter, and hence the amount of mechanical advantage they provide. Great technology, but CVT’s are a dead end: No design yet devised can reliably handle much more than 200 ft-lbs of torque, so they’re only good for small cars. ...

Niiiiice new 19" flatscreen here at The BMW Store in Cincy. Well, turns out the fender-bender here is going to cost me a new wheel for the loaner and a new section on the bumper to install, so that’ll probably be $95 in labor + $40 for the bumper section, plus Lord-only-knows for a new 16" allow wheel. Fun times. Plus, I get to drive back to Lex, stay at work until my product is fixed (say, Saturday morning…).

Well, I ran into Mike while taking Patrick to the car dealership, and he said he’d price me the install of a new clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing, lightweight flywheel, AND 4 shocks to replace the worn-out units on my MINI, and only charge me 10 hrs of labor. Plus, he only charges $45/rate-hr for labor. :-) Cars. They giveth, and yet, they taketh away.

Perhaps I bragged on my dealership too much. Perhaps I smiled a bit too much at the autocross when I told them, “The dealer is going to replace my clutch for free!” But, they’re not. Did some reasearch; apparently both clutches in the MC + MCS are total crap, and have been expiring at an alarming rate as the fleet of ‘02 and ‘03 coopers approaches 50k-75k miles. Found a clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing that look nice and sturdy at MiniMania.com ...

Taking a walk along the sprawling, strangely busy throughway beside my apartment, I found myself eaten by bugs, and eaten with thoughts, as though my mind found peace enough to speak to me once again. It’s been a long while, but my brain seems there for the first time in a long while. I’m strangely proud of myself that I was able to convert 40 degrees Celsius to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, applying a touch of 5-th grade arithmetic. In other news, it’s 104 DEGREES IN INDIA. Granted, the 91 here isn’t so temperate. ...

1. Red Sox Win World Series 2. Woodward & Berstein give-up who Deep Throat is 3. Apple switches to an Intel chip REPENT!!!

Muhahahaha: link (WARNING: 15 MB download)

Okay, taking my cue from Natalie Portman, I decided to buzz my head on Saturday: Reaction so far: India: “Perhaps, since it is 40 degrees Centigrade, we can all get haircuts similar to yours.” Padma: “Oh….haircut?” Patrick: (upset) “so, is B.H. your hero or something.?.?!” (B. got his head shaved for the Star Wars premiere.) Serge (Ukranian Accent): “Oh…cool! I like it. I get my head same way” Carl: ..stunned silence…“That is NOT YOU!! I hate clowns, but this ranks right up there..it’s freaking me out” ...

Check out the F-Stock results here Thor crushes the nearest competitor by 2+ seconds on ALL SEASON STREET TIRES :-) Dang, it was fun.

I just paid my last rent check. In 4 weeks, I’m in my house :-D

Technical people respond to questions in three ways: It is technically impossible (meaning: I don’t feel like doing it); It depends (meaning: abandon all hope of a useful answer); The data bits are flexed through a collectimizer which strips the flow-gate arrays into virtual message elements (meaning: I don’t know).

No control, all the responsibility. Everyone complains to you, and you control absolutely nothing. You can’t hire anybody to help out your situation, you can’t fire poor performing team members, and you can’t make a decision that your manager can’t override. And yet, all the downside is yours, because managers make sure to CYA on everything. All the responsibility, no extra pay. I get paid an obscene amount of money for my age, education level, and experience. But when I got this loser position of team lead, did I get any extra scratch for my trouble? Nope. However, unlike my days as a grunt, I can’t take off random days to achieve personal sanity. ...

w00t!! Got a call from my tenants today; Kami said they wanted to sell their stainless-steel fridge after all. hehe.

Pictures here

I’m sitting here tonight, realizing that the first part of my life is over and the second part is beginning. The first part was learning, the second part will be doing. (I’m hoping I get a third part, sitting-on-the-porch-and-watching) Anyway, so I’m working on my mission statement. If this is to be the “doing” portion, I should know what I want to do. GAAAAAAAA…. I’m definitely big on learning, I’m dilligent, and I want to help others. Not big on stuff, really.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy sounds alot like me after going through high school with a certain gal w/initials J.M.–he finds women annoying temptresses whose sensual nature will destroy his church, so he tells them to STFU. woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women[a] will be saved[b] through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. ...

People from Eastern Kentucky pronounce “our” as “air”. Total givaway for someone from East KY.

Lost tonight was an immense waste of time…we learned nothing about what’s really going on, and I’m really ceasing to care about most of these characters.

Why I love my GTO

Nausicaa is one of Miyazaki’s best animes, and it was my pleasure to watch the re-released US version yesterday. The film combines many of miyazaki’s important themes, like environmentalism, the evils of technology, and the general stupidity of humanity about all things environmental. Unlike some other Miyazaki films like “Spirited Away”, this is an action movie, following the princess of the valley of the wind, Nausicaa, as she flies in her glider, dodging bullets and two warring factions from what remains of humanity 1000 years after a nuclear war. ...