Toshi's ride pics thread

[Toshi]

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/battle%20of%20the%20imports%20-%20august%2027,%202005/Images/IMG_0901.jpg

my car should finally be sorted out this upcoming week: interior detail tomorrow, seatbelt retractor repair on wednesday, stereo install on thursday and friday, prodrive (quiet!) axleback exhaust + hitch + manual boost controller install on saturday, tint + ridiculously loud horn install in the hazy future.

:thumb:

[Acadian]

my car should finally be sorted out by this following monday: interior detail tomorrow, seatbelt retractor repair on wednesday, stereo install on thursday and friday, tint + ridiculously loud horn install on saturday, prodrive (quiet!) axleback exhaust + hitch + manual boost controller install next monday.

:thumb:

<--- jealous. ;)

[Toshi]

but you bought yours new, no? mine needs this work to obtain a baseline level of polish :D . i think i'm going autocrossing on sunday btw :thumb:

[Toshi]

this is kinda amusing: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1723656#post1723656

"what monkies have you ridden with?"

[Toshi]

got the stereo put in yesterday and today, and it sounded awful. :dead:

but note the past tense: a quick look around the settings showed that the installer hadn't set the active crossover up at all, and as a result there were frequency regions that simply weren't being covered by any speakers. 30 minutes with the manual + art of fugue from the snazzilly dash-mounted ipod in a parking lot later and the system sounds swell :thumb:

tim, i ended up going with no rear fill and the following components:

pioneer p9 headunit and eq/crossover
JL audio 300/4 and e-something (their cheap 2 channel) amps, sub driven off 2 bridged channels on the 300/4, mids off the other two channels on the 300/4, tweeters on the e-amp
mb quart reference components in the front doors
JL 10w3 10" sub in a custom wood/mdf box tucked in the corner of the trunk

i don't have a spare tire (to save weight! that's why i have AAA :D) so the amps and eq/crossover are all mounted in the spare tire well. the ipod is on a dashboard mount (proclip, highly recommended :thumb: ).

[prophet6]

If I wasn't worried about reselling my car at some point, there's some other stuff l'd like to do to my ride.

First off, rip out all the sound insulation. Don't need that.
Then the back seat would come out.
I'd strip the rear doors, weld on the skins, and use some pig 'ol pipe to replace what I'd taken out.
Then a roll cage, racing seats, and 5 way harnesses.
Ditch the air conditioning, ditch the radio/speakers.
Carbon hood, front fenders, and rear trunk lid.

But at that point, I'd want a different motor, and it's all a moot point.


anyway.

glad to hear you can bump tunes in your whip.


p6

[Toshi]

autocrossing is quite fun :) . i think i might sell my canfield to this end, even... we'll see later on tonight.

[prophet6]

yeah, I've heard similar things about autocrossing.

If I wasn't so broke, I'd be all about it.



p6

[Toshi]

yeah, I've heard similar things about autocrossing.

If I wasn't so broke, I'd be all about it.

p6
it's a rush. and it's legal, held regularly, and is a lot closer than driving to the shore, whistler, or post canyon (the closest legal dh spots to seattle).

for sale, canfield f1, $2k, complete: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1730945#post1730945

[prophet6]

So if you're selling the canfield, is that to fund goodies for autocrossing?

details, please.



p6

[Toshi]

So if you're selling the canfield, is that to fund goodies for autocrossing?

details, please.

p6
nothing fancy or exorbitant:

- used gold BBS STi wheels from some hypothetical schmoe with an '04 STi who is upgrading their setup. ('04 since '05/'06 STi have a different bolt pattern)
- either the STi-OEM RE-070 tires if they come with the wheels and aren't bald, or probably Falken Azenis. 225 or 245 width on 17"s.
- and i'd replace my slipping exedy 3-puck clutch with something more streetable (no n-puck clutches EVER! again for me) that would also not slip as a side benefit. the clutch wasn't really holding me back at all at yesterday's event since there was only one straightaway long enough to really stomp on it.

given that i'm running 16x7" wheels with 205 "touring" tires it'd be a huge step up in grip. and look nicer. :sneaky:

http://www.subiegal.com/images/events/04%20subaru%20sti/subaru%20sti%20blue%20gold%20wheels.jpg

[prophet6]

since tires are a HUGE step up in performance, consider making one set of wheels your "track" setup, and the other streets.

If you go that route, don't automaticly make the 17's your track wheels- you should use the lighter set. Calculate out the weight including the tires. That'll be the faster set.

Get the absolute stickiest tires you can. If they're just for track, don't even stick to the DOT tires- go with slicks if you like.

have fun!


p6

[ALEXIS_DH]

nothing fancy or exorbitant:

- used gold BBS STi wheels from some hypothetical schmoe with an '04 STi who is upgrading their setup. ('04 since '05/'06 STi have a different bolt pattern)
- either the STi-OEM RE-070 tires if they come with the wheels and aren't bald, or probably Falken Azenis. 225 or 245 width on 17"s.
- and i'd replace my slipping exedy 3-puck clutch with something more streetable (no n-puck clutches EVER! again for me) that would also not slip as a side benefit. the clutch wasn't really holding me back at all at yesterday's event since there was only one straightaway long enough to really stomp on it.

given that i'm running 16x7" wheels with 205 "touring" tires it'd be a huge step up in grip. and look nicer. :sneaky:

http://www.subiegal.com/images/events/04%20subaru%20sti/subaru%20sti%20blue%20gold%20wheels.jpg


have you considered the OZ superleggeras?? they are pretty light. i´ve had them before, and they are pretty nice.
they are probably the most popular wheels for WRXs around here... though not as strong as the record (which are widely used for rallying around here). but they are pretty light and look awesome in the imprezas.

can i suggest kumho slicks? they are pretty cheap when compared to michelins, and they are extremely grippy as well. and seeing how little slick tires last.. might be a good $$$ decision.

[Toshi]

but used STi takeoffs would be cheap :D . i'll consider the whole tire deal: it might make sense if feasible to run street meats on the 17"s and use the lightweight and ugly rotas with dot r compound slicks or whatever.

however, if rules dictate street (non-R compound) tires then i think 17"s with azenis or re-070s would work just fine.

yeah, this page seems to indicate that Street Modified, the class that i would run once i graduate from novice, heh, requires "street" tires with treadwear over 140. that is, no r compound semislicks. back to the falken azenis plan.

DOT race tires

The second group are "R" tires, that is tires which meet the letter of the DOT regulations for street tires, but are really meant for competition use. Goodyear's Eagle VR-S, Yoko A008-RSII, and Hoosier's RS-303 are examples of this breed. These tires have the sidewall stiffened to avoid the tire rolling over on its shoulder during hard use, so using the 25/35 tire pressure is still a good baseline.

Street Modified tires

With the advent of the new SCCA "Street" classes, there are some tires which come very close to the concept of a tire you can drive on the street that will also work at an autocross. The Falken Azenzi and Kumho 712 are examples of this type, with a minimum tread wear rating of 140.
note separate mention of street mod apart from dot race tires.

[Toshi]

lotsa stuff from the long weekend. out on the water:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/blue%20skies,%20red%20robin%20-%20september%205,%202005/Thumbs/IMG_1026.jpg (http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/blue%20skies,%20red%20robin%20-%20september%205,%202005/Pages/IMG_1026.html)

autocrossing: GALLERY LINK (http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/). check out the movies:

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/Movies/toshidriveby.mpg
http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/Movies/toshiautox.mpg
and, for comparison, my buddy around the same section in his stock + prodrive axleback wrx. tires were more limiting on this course than power:
http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/Movies/chrisautox.mpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/Images/IMG_0983.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/Images/IMG_0996.jpg

[Acadian]

wow...you're new car sounds nice!! looks like it's got lots of power too :thumb:

are you really selling the DH bike to get more into auto-x and stuff?

[Toshi]

wow...you're new car sounds nice!! looks like it's got lots of power too :thumb:

are you really selling the DH bike to get more into auto-x and stuff?
if it sells, then yes, that's what i'm doing. i could really use better tires and a different clutch. the 3 puck is a pain to drive and is slipping a bit (altho it "catches back up" to the torque).

plus i only made it to whistler 4 times last summer and didn't really feel like going for more. i've hit a plateau there: i can ride the big box, clean original sin, a-line, but i'm never going to be whipping out big tricks on the huge jumps in the boneyard (or even hitting them) or clearing the triple on the bikercross or whatever.

http://toshiclark.com/images/WRX/Images/CHouliarasDyno.jpg

a dyno chart from the previous owner, who claims that mustang dynos read low (as in 60 whp low) compared to dynojets...

[Toshi]

this is my 10,000th post. cheers to much wasted time on the monkey

:oink:

i'm 12th on the list of top posters (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/memberlist.php?postslower=0&postsupper=0&ausername=&homepage=&icq=&aim=&yahoo=&msn=&joindateafter=&joindatebefore=&lastpostafter=&lastpostbefore=&order=DESC&sort=posts&pp=30&ltr=), btw, altho it really should be 13th behind the pseudo-newb Acadian

[Acadian]

this is my 10,000th post. cheers to much wasted time on the monkey

:oink:

i'm 12th on the list of top posters (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/memberlist.php?postslower=0&postsupper=0&ausername=&homepage=&icq=&aim=&yahoo=&msn=&joindateafter=&joindatebefore=&lastpostafter=&lastpostbefore=&order=DESC&sort=posts&pp=30&ltr=), btw, altho it really should be 13th behind the pseudo-newb Acadian

Congrats! :thumb:

I wish my count would go backwards :evil:

[Barbaton]

Geekery of the day:

Getting OS X to run on the old PC in my office. I think I still like my dual G5 better tho. :)

[Toshi]

for sale, canfield f1, $2k, complete: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1730945#post1730945
it appears that i have a buyer. final deal: $2k shipped via 3 day select, a great deal for them and good for me, too. i bought the frame and wheelset for an awesome price, the monster wasn't that expensive, the avy was only $350 canadian (!), and nothing big has broken. when you divide the use i've gotten out of it in terms of days at whistler and post canyon by the whistler-average rental fee of $75 USD/day then all is peachy keen.

:)

and today (9/11) i received payment, so the ads have been edited -- it's sold for real.

http://tjclark.ath.cx/images/biking/bikes%20and%20parts/packing%20up%20the%20canfield%20-%20september%2011,%202005/Images/IMG_1154.jpg

[Toshi]

yo keith, need a new mouthpiece? the B2 would be great for you, if you're still playing, that is :D

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZtoshiclarkQQhtZ-1

[Toshi]

any reason _not_ to buy these wheels + tires for $1200 (local pickup)? the tires are 225/45ZR17 Goodyear Eagle F1s, which get good ratings on tire rack, and $1200 is fully in line with what other STi takeoffs have been going for as far as i can tell.

there are two scratches (see the two closeup shots in the gallery) but otherwise they look good, and the tires have less than 3k on them and look the part.

http://toshiclark.com/wheels/

http://toshiclark.com/wheels/Images/IMG_1174.jpg

too bad the brakes don't come with 'em... :D

[narlus]

jeez, life for a med school student is tough, eh? :D

[Toshi]

jeez, life for a med school student is tough, eh? :D
it's a hard knock life, i tell ya. seriously, as long as you don't mind burying your head in books and going to class/lab/the hospital for long hours* then med school is quite the life. i enjoy it much more than my brief, 6 mo stint in the working world, for sure.

* or so i hear about 3rd year. 2nd year is still quite posh and i really have nothing to whine about.

[Toshi]

i kinda went riding yesterday:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/kayaking%20through%20emily's%20eyes%20-%20september%2013,%202005/Images/DSCF3054.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/daily/kayaking%20through%20emily's%20eyes%20-%20september%2013,%202005/Images/DSCF3057.jpg (http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/kayaking%20through%20emily's%20eyes%20-%20september%2013,%202005/)

[Acadian]

makes me want to start racing Auto-X
http://www.uvm.edu/~rchampio/slmp05.mpg

[Toshi]

makes me want to start racing Auto-X
http://www.uvm.edu/~rchampio/slmp05.mpg
sweet. altho those guys were tearing up the grass :nono: :D

[prophet6]

after watching that clip, I'm realizing two things:

1) I'll never get used to the sound that Subi's make.

2) I need to take my car someplace like that.




p6

[Toshi]

mine sounds different :) (mainly because the wastegate and BOV overpower all when it spools up!)

also, it's time to bust out the santa hat avatars by my decree, heh: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130959

[Toshi]

keith/thad/ari, you guys doing any riding lately? big plans for snow season?

[Quadari]

keith/thad/ari, you guys doing any riding lately? big plans for snow season?

I've been doing a bit of road riding lately. It's been tough since moving down to DC, however, since I don't know the routes around as well. It seems that there are a lot of good routes that start outside of the city but not having a car makes this difficult.

I am however, leaving this Friday to go to Provence for a week-long bike trip. I'm very excited about that. We're cycling around the south of France. Taking it pretty easy (~40-50mi/day) and doing a lot of wine drinking and eating along the way. :cool:

[Toshi]

"cycling around the south of France" eh. very slick sounding. :thumb:

[Toshi]

http://www.swrt.com/798146.html

:drool:

[Barbaton]

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/volta.html

:drool:

[Barbaton]

keith/thad/ari, you guys doing any riding lately? big plans for snow season?

Been riding a little. Actually went on the first HUCA road ride of the season this morning. I've been doing a lot of road this summer and I'm at a point that some coaching would do some good...

[Toshi]

woot, got those STi BBS rims mounted today.

next plans: raising it to stock height :dead: to fix suspension geometry issues in lieu of the true fix, coilovers (<--- waiting on restitution from trumpet thief dude for those); tint and hella supertones tomorrow; clutch next week.

[Toshi]

the car has been raised. so it now has the goofy stock-wrx-style large fender gap in front (maybe 4-5 finger widths), with a reasonable gap in the rear (2 fingers). but it rides much nicer: no jumping about over gaps in the pavement on the freeway, and no scraping when i pull into my slightly elevated parking space above a crawl.

shot showing freshly applied tint, and if you squint really hard, the stock height suspension:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/surprising%20viet%20-%20september%2024,%202005/Images/IMG_1236.jpg

[prophet6]

your ride is looking good, man.

I wish I had the time/funds to get some more work done... I'm looking at a new bypass valve, but we'll see when that happens.


p6

[Toshi]

i actually rode a bike today! outside of commuting. imagine that: 30 miles roundtrip, from school with classmates + high school buddy to the columbia winery in woodinville. :thumb: good time, free wine, and just enough riding for my out of shape self. i think i'll start doing this more often, along with my million other hobbies i'm going to devote more time to...

[Toshi]

dude. my car now officially rocks: fresh ACT street disc clutch + formerly externally/atmospherically vented wastegate now piped into the downpipe == no chattering when starting out, no slipping on boost, and a much smoother transition into boost.

my theory is that the external wastegate was causing the turbo to "lurch" and spool up too rapidly when it opened, as the backpressure suddenly went from that of the exhaust system (which is to say non-zero) to zero. now that it's plumbed to the downpipe (the first piece of the exhaust system downstream of the turbo) the opening of the wastegate does not cause such a change in backpressure and both the turbo and i hum along much more contentedly.

:)

next up: brake pads. currently at 30% but that won't last long with a full day of autox school and two autox comps left in the season, not to mention a possible track day on a short road course later in the month that i'm eyeing up...

[Toshi]

ehhehe, train horns + crown victoria + a bunch of jerks = hilarity

http://gregoxsen.com/video/ver4_1000k.wmv

[Acadian]

ehhehe, train horns + crown victoria + a bunch of jerks = hilarity

http://gregoxsen.com/video/ver4_1000k.wmv

can't believe I wasted 3 mins of my life watching that ;)

[Toshi]

http://www.ktrmotorsports.com/carsforsale.html

:drool: <-- a very useful smilie eh

[Quadari]

So I'm back from the bike trip in France. We had beautiful weather almost the entire week. The only exception was on Friday when there was a ridiculous head-wind the entire day. So much so that even on decently steep downhills you had to pedal to even keep moving. Other than that it was a scenery and wine filled week. I'll post pictures as soon as I get around to organizing them. (May be tonight or tomorrow.)

[Barbaton]

http://www.ktrmotorsports.com/carsforsale.html

:drool: <-- a very useful smilie eh

You like that one, here's my favorite dealership in La Jolla:

http://www.symbolicmotors.com/mainpages/inventory.php

[Toshi]

wow...

ari, post pics! now! :D

[WTGPhoben]

BAH. Apparrently I stopped getting email updates again. (missed the last 2 pages of posts).

update on the last 3 wk or so:

Emily came back to town on vacation so I've been hanging out with her for about 3wks (yay not going to work). We did lots of road riding both in ME and here. Hung out in boothbay harbor (ME), near sunday river, and in boston. Went hiking in the Bigelows too (also ME, near rangeley lake). Pics to follow in a few hours I hope.

Haven't been doing much trail riding lately, but I hear Thad is leading the HUCA-HUMBA MTB rides, so I might start waking up early to ride.

anyway... I'll let the photo captions do the rest of the talking when I post them...

[Quadari]

Uh-oh....

NYTimes article on biking and sexual problems (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/nutrition/04bike.html?ex=1286078400&en=8279186616bc0a32&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss)

:dead: :think: :(

[Total Heckler]

These people must be riding down some hardcore trails sitting down.

[Toshi]

Uh-oh....

NYTimes article on biking and sexual problems (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/health/nutrition/04bike.html?ex=1286078400&en=8279186616bc0a32&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss)

:dead: :think: :(
researchers in Austria have found that many mountain bikers experience saddle-related trauma that leads to small calcified masses inside the scrotum
ummmmm

[Toshi]

check it http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3738

that be one big boat

[Toshi]

new "ride" pics: reflected bugeye (http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/reflected%20bugeye%20-%20october%207,%202005/) (bugeyes are the '02-'03 WRXs, named after their headlights)

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/reflected%20bugeye%20-%20october%207,%202005/Images/IMG_1254.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/reflected%20bugeye%20-%20october%207,%202005/Images/IMG_1259.jpg

[Toshi]

woot. did autocross school today, and am going to autox competitions tomorrow and a week from tomorrow, with the second being the last event of the season. i learned that looking REALLY far ahead, like two turns ahead when in twisty, tight sections, smooths out turns greatly. also, when doing slalom sections, looking at the cone at the very end of the section (possibly half a dozen turns away) also somehow leads to a smoother back and forth rhythm and faster times. go figure.

perhaps these lessons can be generalized to bikes? they certainly apply to motorcycles...

oh yeah, my best time of the day was well within the range of the times posted by the instructors in their own cars :) (some of which were directly comparable to mine, like one Evo VIII).

[WTGPhoben]

Photos from my vacation are posted (finally). Locations I bothered to take pics at were Boothbay Harbor (http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=404&type=Date%20Folders&subs=False) and The Bigelow Mountains (http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=406&type=Date%20Folders&subs=False).

Road Riding in Boothbay was pretty awesome BTW, if you're into that sort of thing.

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_09_23/fullSize/IMG_7122.jpg

I noticed something interesting in this batch of photos too:

Images using sRGB space render color-true on web browsers, but images using adobeRGB1998 do not, even if the profile is embedded. (Ex: try downloading the image I posted and opening it in photoshop [don't convert it to a new color space by accident], then compare it to the one on this page) Do browsers really not support the adobeRGB gamut yet? (note: there is a significant possibility I'm just being insane and seeing things)

[Quadari]

I finally put up pictures from France (http://shwayder.org/photos/05-09-24%20to%2005-10-01%20biking%20in%20provence/)

http://shwayder.org/photos/05-09-24%20to%2005-10-01%20biking%20in%20provence/Images/IMG_0133.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

Images using sRGB space render color-true on web browsers, but images using adobeRGB1998 do not, even if the profile is embedded. (Ex: try downloading the image I posted and opening it in photoshop [don't convert it to a new color space by accident], then compare it to the one on this page) Do browsers really not support the adobeRGB gamut yet? (note: there is a significant possibility I'm just being insane and seeing things)

I'm not crazy (I determined this after considerable experimentation).

Check out the original:

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_09_23/fullSize/IMG_7122.jpg

then compare to the following examples:

http://www.phoben.com/tidbits/color_space_example.jpg

As you can see, the original looks like the one that has the wrong color space imposed upon it (the one on the right) (all three images are from the exact same file). To get the examples, I created a sRGB document under the assumption that the browser would render it correctly. To create the left image I took the original file and converted it to sRGB before pasting it in. To create the right, I assigned the sRGB profile before pasting.

guess this means I have to convert all my images to sRGB before posting to the web.

[Toshi]

keith, you're right about AdobeRGB not displaying properly in anything except for photoshop. use Save for Web instead (or convert to sRGB manually as you figured out).

"Looking toward West Peak from Avery Peak as the sun gets low" is really nice btw.

ari, when did you see mike sha? i play in community orchestra with him these days. (sees later pics. oh, he went. awesome.) tad + bibs = :dead: ... heh. i like your new gallery layout, has the consistent corporate look eh :D

is mike talking to his shoe in this pic?

http://shwayder.org/photos/05-09-24%20to%2005-10-01%20biking%20in%20provence/Images/IMG_0105.jpg

final note: i won my class (novice AM, as in the morning) today. and in doing so posted faster times than a Z06, a CTS-V, and an STi, to name the more colorful entries this morning. as you might guess from the standings it was raining: "the beauty of all wheel drive" indeed. :thumb:

[WTGPhoben]

keith, you're right about AdobeRGB not displaying properly in anything except for photoshop. use Save for Web instead (or convert to sRGB manually as you figured out).

final note: i won my class (novice AM, as in the morning) today. and in doing so posted faster times than a Z06, a CTS-V, and an STi, to name the more colorful entries this morning. as you might guess from the standings it was raining: "the beauty of all wheel drive" indeed. :thumb:

Do not be fooled by saveForWeb. The image that doesn't render properly in the browser was saved with saveForWeb. It renders properly in photoshop and states that its profile is AdobeRGB(1998). I think it tries to keep the profile of the original instead of converting.

I appreciate the complements on the sun photo.

Well done with the driving. I knew you were a born racer.

[Toshi]

huh, i stand corrected. i thought save for web converted. (i just hit F5 in my setup, which calls an action that converts to sRGB, does save for web, closes image.) and thanks. i'll still get beat up when i make the jump to my "real" class, street modified, but i think i might be competitive in the spring with some race rubber on those ugly rotas... :think:

[Quadari]

ari, when did you see mike sha? i play in community orchestra with him these days. (sees later pics. oh, he went. awesome.)

is mike talking to his shoe in this pic?

Yeah - he came on the trip because he was friends with some of the other guys from the Lightweight Crew Team.

Hahaha... No, not his shoe. It was one of those audio tour things that they give you at touristy places. This one was at the Roman ruins.

[WTGPhoben]

huh, i stand corrected. i thought save for web converted. (i just hit F5 in my setup, which calls an action that converts to sRGB, does save for web, closes image.) and thanks. i'll still get beat up when i make the jump to my "real" class, street modified, but i think i might be competitive in the spring with some race rubber on those ugly rotas... :think:


another interesting fun fact. I can only see the difference in the images after my monitor warms up. When I first turn it on they all look the same. Yay 6yr old CRT!

[Toshi]

the descent continues: i'm contemplating selling the dbr and the evil. i still don't have a rack for the car and it's way down on my list of priorities, my bikes are getting old (yet i still think they'd sell quickly at the right price with an honest description), and my mind is most definitely elsewhere these days. just don't feel like grinding out a long xc ride in the muck.

:think:

besides crowing that the prophecy has come true any thoughts on this, keith, ari, thad, others? since i'm contemplating it that probably means that i'm going to do it eh, so feel free to chime in with what you think i should ask for each. keep in mind that both are very scratched up.

dbr: 1996 diamondback racing axis frame: tange prestige, breezer dropouts. full 1996 era XTR including the dreaded rapid rise (which i like, having run on two of my bikes over the years), chris king hubs, headset, thomson post. 2001 Z1 with ECC.

evil: 2001? 2002? frame from the original batch. single speed, squeaky race face north shore ISIS cranks, evil bashring, RF bottom bracket, XT hubs, avid mechs, sun singletrack up front, 5 ride old Sun MTX on the rear. oversize bar/stem setup, lock ons on both.

in other news i have a loaner Legacy GT today, and it is a much more "grown up" car than my WRX. a lot quieter, an interior vastly more cushy and well done (no rattles! and leather), and generally mushy feeling, or "well damped" if you're kinder than i am. long gearing + auto, too.

[WTGPhoben]

the descent continues: i'm contemplating selling the dbr and the evil. i still don't have a rack for the car and it's way down on my list of priorities, my bikes are getting old (yet i still think they'd sell quickly at the right price with an honest description), and my mind is most definitely elsewhere these days. just don't feel like grinding out a long xc ride in the muck.

:think:

besides crowing that the prophecy has come true any thoughts on this, keith, ari, thad, others? since i'm contemplating it that probably means that i'm going to do it eh, so feel free to chime in with what you think i should ask for each. keep in mind that both are very scratched up.

dbr: 1996 diamondback racing axis frame: tange prestige, breezer dropouts. full 1996 era XTR including the dreaded rapid rise (which i like, having run on two of my bikes over the years), chris king hubs, headset, thomson post. 2001 Z1 with ECC.

evil: 2001? 2002? frame from the original batch. single speed, squeaky race face north shore ISIS cranks, evil bashring, RF bottom bracket, XT hubs, avid mechs, sun singletrack up front, 5 ride old Sun MTX on the rear. oversize bar/stem setup, lock ons on both.

in other news i have a loaner Legacy GT today, and it is a much more "grown up" car than my WRX. a lot quieter, an interior vastly more cushy and well done (no rattles! and leather), and generally mushy feeling, or "well damped" if you're kinder than i am. long gearing + auto, too.

If der is rapid-rise, I don't think it can be older than 1998. Anyway, bike is old but tricked out. I'd say $400. It's probly worth a bit more, but it's so out of style that it's going to be hard to find a buyer. It might actually be more profitable to part out. Sell cranks, post, headset, derailleurs, and wheels and you probly have more than $400 easy.

I can't speak for the evil other than to say most of the people that are buying that sort of ride probably don't care if its scratched up, not to mention that those sort of bikes are a hot commodity, so you can probably get more than you think.

[Barbaton]

check it http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3738

that be one big boat

I want it.

[Barbaton]

so this is, um, odd:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/08/wsmurf08.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/08/ixhome.html

[WTGPhoben]

I have a pair of Salomon Streetacer 10 Pilot 175s (with bindings). I bought them last year and used three weekends. They're great skis but I want different ones (Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous 178s). Anyone want to buy them? (MSRP was $1100. I paid around $700)

I'll post pics if anyone is even remotely interested

[WTGPhoben]

so this is, um, odd:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/08/wsmurf08.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/08/ixhome.html

Killing cartoon babies on TV is a liiiiitle bit twisted

[Barbaton]

I have a pair of Salomon Streetacer 10 Pilot 175s (with bindings). I bought them last year and used three weekends. They're great skis but I want different ones (Nordica Hot Rod Nitrous 178s). Anyone want to buy them? (MSRP was $1100. I paid around $700)

I'll post pics if anyone is even remotely interested

You could put them on the slopemonkey classifieds too... :)

[Barbaton]

YAY 1000th post.

[WTGPhoben]

You could put them on the slopemonkey classifieds too... :)

I'll wait until the readership reaches into the triple digits

[Toshi]

thanks for the appraisal on the bikes, keith. i think i'll try to dump them complete...

[narlus]

$400 is pushing it for a '96 hardtail, imo.

what's the fork on the evil? or did i miss that part?

[Toshi]

between the evil and the dbr i have one standard/ghetto rigid fork, one kona dj disc-tab rigid fork, and one 2001 Z1. i think i'll probably sell the dbr with the cheap rigid ($300?) and the evil with both forks thrown in ($400?).

[prophet6]

on a slightly different note:

My car managed to keep up with a WRX at full throttle yesterday.

I've forgotten how much then weigh and how many whp they have, but I'd have guessed I was outgunned. A nice suprise.


p6

[Toshi]

stock WRX: 227 hp, 3085 lbs.

[prophet6]

Huh.

My car weighs about 3100, and has (apparently) somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 whp.

I'd recently done a head job on the thing, and had it portmatched while they were in there... but between that and the new exhaust, I guess there's been some improvement.

Now I'm starting to suspect my BPV is leaking... It's pretty old, and I'm running about double the stock boost, so I wouldn't be suprised if it's bleeding some boost at full open throttle.

I guess it'll be time for a new one of those then.



p6

[Toshi]

i won the novice AM class at the autocross this morning... two weeks in a row, and it wasn't raining this time. :D the all-season tires i used this morning definitely are more slippery than the summer tires i was on last weekend, but they got the job done.

next projects: i'm having the whole stereo system that i spent so much time agonizing over not to mention the $$ pulled this upcoming friday. why? it simply isn't audible on the freeway over all the road noise. since the doors, rear seat, and trunk are already dynamatted i'm not going to throw money down that hole, but instead am going to cut my losses, ebay all that equipment (anyone want a pioneer DEX-P9 + DEQ-P9? :oink: ) and then be hard core and go without any stereo at all.

then after that comes coilovers, polyurethane control arm bushings to replace the (illegal) control arm mount relocator bracket currently on the car, installation of the big 24-26mm adjustable front swaybar i picked up used today at the track, and then cheap/ugly/WIDE (8.5" wide? 9"?) 17"s wrapped with 275ish-width R compound meats for the spring...

:drool:

[prophet6]

Man, I gotta get me a job. Money would get my mods done much faster.

I'm going to probably end up doing brakes on my car first- I think I'll have to replace the rotors anyway, so might as well go bigger... and if I've got the loot, I'll run goodridge lines while I'm in there.

Besides that, it'll be a diverter valve (audi's don't like BOV's for some reason....)

and

wait for it...


...snow tires!

Say goodbye to all trace of good handling.


-sigh-


p6

[Toshi]

heh, it took 1:40 from the posting of the ad to receiving payment for the evil. $500 shipped all said and done w/the rigid fork. the interwebbe is a great tool for people like me who buy and sell stuff at a great rate...

:thumb:

[Quadari]

In biking-related news, I went on a training ride with DC Velo (http://www.dcvelo.com/) today. A lot of pretty hard-core people there. The pace of the group was about 4-5mph faster than I'm used to riding so it was pretty quick. I managed to keep up with the group for about the first 25 miles (of a 50 mile ride). Then I got completely dropped out of the back of the peleton.

The fun part about this was that then I was by myself somewhere in Maryland with no real idea of how to get back to DC. Thanks, however, to a friendly lady in a parking lot at a gardening store I managed to find my way back without any mishaps.

[Toshi]

awesome. i'm glad you're still riding at least, ari. :D (in my defense i did commute 4 miles x 2 to school today, and tried to push it on the way back, which probably meant i averaged 14 mph instead of 10 ;) )

two pics of my old, toasted 3 puck clutch:

http://toshiclark.com/forsale/nabisco/Images/IMG_1306.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/forsale/nabisco/Images/IMG_1307.jpg

it's hard to see but in the second the pressure plate has fine, radial cracks. :dead: i suppose that's what i get for buying a car from a drag racer...

[WTGPhoben]

awesome. i'm glad you're still riding at least, ari. :D (in my defense i did commute 4 miles x 2 to school today, and tried to push it on the way back, which probably meant i averaged 14 mph instead of 10 ;) )



I made up for you by riding Long-Res +Prospect Hill with HUCA this morning starting bright and early at 6:45

[ALEXIS_DH]

i won the novice AM class at the autocross this morning... two weeks in a row, and it wasn't raining this time. :D the all-season tires i used this morning definitely are more slippery than the summer tires i was on last weekend, but they got the job done.

next projects: i'm having the whole stereo system that i spent so much time agonizing over not to mention the $$ pulled this upcoming friday. why? it simply isn't audible on the freeway over all the road noise. since the doors, rear seat, and trunk are already dynamatted i'm not going to throw money down that hole, but instead am going to cut my losses, ebay all that equipment (anyone want a pioneer DEX-P9 + DEQ-P9? :oink: ) and then be hard core and go without any stereo at all.

then after that comes coilovers, polyurethane control arm bushings to replace the (illegal) control arm mount relocator bracket currently on the car, installation of the big 24-26mm adjustable front swaybar i picked up used today at the track, and then cheap/ugly/WIDE (8.5" wide? 9"?) 17"s wrapped with 275ish-width R compound meats for the spring...

:drool:


:eek: holy crap 275???? do those fit on the imprezas???

i think you´ll need at least a 9in wheel to fit 275... (just talking from the back of my head, dont quote me)...
from the space i recall on imprezas, i really doubt 17x9 on 275 can fit in there...

what kinda clutch are you getting now???

[Toshi]

:eek: holy crap 275???? do those fit on the imprezas???

i think you´ll need at least a 9in wheel to fit 275... (just talking from the back of my head, dont quote me)...
from the space i recall on imprezas, i really doubt 17x9 on 275 can fit in there...

what kinda clutch are you getting now???
i replaced the 3 puck with an ACT Street Disc. it's holding up great so far: a lot more pedal effort but solid engagement (and no chatter!) and no slip.

here's a STi with 265s: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839588
and here's another with 275s: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7405167&mode=linear#post7405167

looks funny, doesn't it? :D but would be super grippy... i think i'll go with Toyo RA1 tires so that i can get a whole season out of them (vs. half :( with hoosiers or Kumho V710 meats)

http://www.subrew.com/tmp/sti3.jpg

[Toshi]

in reality, next season i'll probably "just" run something like a 17x8" (since they're available used, 9" and 10" are much rarer...) with 245 or 255 section tires.

[Acadian]

Toshi,

On your car - do you do your own mechanical work?

[Toshi]

nope. i swapped the wheels myself, but the exhaust/clutch/stereo has all been left to the pros.

[ALEXIS_DH]

i replaced the 3 puck with an ACT Street Disc. it's holding up great so far: a lot more pedal effort but solid engagement (and no chatter!) and no slip.

here's a STi with 265s: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839588
and here's another with 275s: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7405167&mode=linear#post7405167

looks funny, doesn't it? :D but would be super grippy... i think i'll go with Toyo RA1 tires so that i can get a whole season out of them (vs. half :( with hoosiers or Kumho V710 meats)

http://www.subrew.com/tmp/sti3.jpg


hahahaha, lol, those tires on that impreza look like the ones on a muscle car....

255 is a fat, agressive, yet a sane width for them...

but you know, i was kinda thinking on that impreza with 275.... that car probably have a crapload of sidewall deflection (or whatever you call in english when a wheel wallows horizontally, while the contact patch stays put, due to sheer stress)...
that car must feel very squishy thru tight turns...

kumhos are pretty popular around here in the autox, the tarmac rallies and road racing... best price/grip/longevity in the market. we dont get hoosiers though (they are pretty pricey).

[Toshi]

[cut 'n pasted straight from xanga]

remember when i had my C trumpet and all that other junk stolen from my Pathfinder this summer? i just called the prosecutor's office, and it turns out that he was sentenced to 50 months in prison.

of course, this also means that i probably won't see a penny of restitution until after he gets out of jail, but at least one criminal heroin addict is off the streets of seattle.

also, i'm backing off from my earlier vow to remove and sell off all my car stereo gear. instead i'm just going to pull and sell the head unit and the subwoofer, and run the system directly off the iPod. yep, blank space in dash + a cable running directly from the iPod to the amplifier +/- impedence matching.

lessons learned from the stereo experience:

a) don't buy nice stereo components for loud cars
b) rear fill is nice if you're used to it (on this note i'm having the stock, paper rear door speakers hooked back up after running fronts only with the current setup)
c) don't buy subs for cars you intend to autocross, as you'll just have to pull it out every weekend and curse the trouble it causes

[Toshi]

http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs.html

my computer is far below the minimum specs tho :(

[WTGPhoben]

http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs.html

my computer is far below the minimum specs tho :(

Light table/loupe and filmstrip are nice UI features. I like the color correction toolbox too, but I don't think it's cool enough to spend $4k on a G5 that runs it reasonably.

[Toshi]

in reality, next season i'll probably "just" run something like a 17x8" (since they're available used, 9" and 10" are much rarer...) with 245 or 255 section tires.
and now, after seeing this thread ( http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=392054 ) it looks like i'd be able to run 245/45/16 on the current 16x7" slipstreams that i have. that'd most definitely be the most economical option. i could just throw some Hankook Z212 street tires (like the falken azenis but cheap! $100/tire) in that size on them, and then run street tire classes with a SM time index. yeah, i think i'll do this unless someone snaps up the rotas immediately.

:thumb:

[zane]

http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs.html

my computer is far below the minimum specs tho :(

Ooooh! Ooooh! Get a 4-processor G5!!!!

We priced one out here at school, 21k with a tera-byte of HD space and 16 gigs of ram (I think). That'd be perfect for your photo editing needs........ haha

[Toshi]

my 800 MHz single G4 is still chugging along quite nicely with 1.5 GB of RAM to take the load off the slow (but quiet!) disks. did i mention that i also replaced the fans with special low rpm quiet ones? being anal about such distractions + being a musician means i want SILENCE from my computer :D , and aren't G5s like portable windtunnels?

[Toshi]

what other forums should i post this ad in? (already did here, nasioc)

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1796119#post1796119

http://toshiclark.com/forsale/P9/Images/IMG_1314.jpg
http://toshiclark.com/forsale/P9/Images/IMG_1319.jpg

(my stereo system is now running directly off my iPod, no head unit or DSP needed :thumb: . iPod -> RCA y splitter, with one side going to JL 300/4 set to two channels, running the front tweeters off 2 channels, front and back mids off the other two channels, the other side going to a JL e2125 amp bridged to power a single 10" JL 10w3v2 sub.)

[Barbaton]

my 800 MHz single G4 is still chugging along quite nicely with 1.5 GB of RAM to take the load off the slow (but quiet!) disks. did i mention that i also replaced the fans with special low rpm quiet ones? being anal about such distractions + being a musician means i want SILENCE from my computer :D , and aren't G5s like portable windtunnels?

nope. my dual 1.8 G5 is whisper quiet. much quieter than my dual 867 G4. microprocessor on the MB tracks about 20 temp sensors and spins up whatever of 9 fans are necessary at any given time. if you look through the grating you can see the processor turbines spinning veeerrrryyy slowly. take off the side door and the air dam while it's on and the big red light comes on and you get the jet engine. :)

[Toshi]

ah, but if you actually used that computer for productive work wouldn't the fans spin up? :oink: hehe

[Barbaton]

ah, but if you actually used that computer for productive work wouldn't the fans spin up? :oink: hehe

This machine's actually pushed pretty hard. Processors usually hover around 80% and I've been maxed out on RAM for the last week. Putting in an order for another 2GB...

[WTGPhoben]

This machine's actually pushed pretty hard. Processors usually hover around 80% and I've been maxed out on RAM for the last week. Putting in an order for another 2GB...

It's amazing what 40 or 50 firefox tabs on each of three windows will do to a machine.

[Barbaton]

It's amazing what 40 or 50 firefox tabs on each of three windows will do to a machine.

my window manager is currently the third largest consumer of memory. :help:

[Toshi]

O.M.G.

hehe

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134383

[ALEXIS_DH]

O.M.G.

hehe

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134383


check this out.. this sunday afternoon..
drag racing as usual somewhere 40km south of lima... and this dude (who usually shows up in a ferrari, and probably got tired of having his ferrari spanked) brings a gun to a knife fight...

he built his own dragster, 100% made in a local shop, with a big block bored to god knows how much, he said its putting out 820hp no nitro....
lol, gotta love South America.. not only using slicks year round with no cats or open headers and racing on public roads, and paying cops to close the traffic so we can race... now a kid brings a homemade dragster to the street...

that car was demolishing skylines gtr, 700hp supras (all street driven cars) by several car lenghts on a dirty rd (:eek: for racing on dirty roads with that car)...
lol, one of those racing on the street, that just got ridiculous.......

http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/1650/navarrete5yf.jpg

[Toshi]

i see that he chose to run toyota camry 15" alloys up front for their excellent performance characteristics ;)

edit: make that 15" steel wheels + hubcaps. cool car tho :D

[ALEXIS_DH]

i see that he chose to run toyota camry 15" alloys up front for their excellent performance characteristics ;)

lol, i think stock calipers and discs too... :D

[Toshi]

1/2

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/Mikalswrx/U1139P33T148D95779F2100DT2005070710.jpg

2/2

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=331400&st=0

[Toshi]

ahhhahaha

http://www.filefarmer.com/Nofriends/2.gif

<-- /me is going insane

[Acadian]

ahhhahaha

<-- /me is going insane

holy crap...for some reason I can't stop laughing...hahahah

[Toshi]

http://paultan.org/archives/2005/10/24/renault-v10-engine-sings

update: and i finally updated my favorite pics and friends galleries on http://tjclark.ath.cx/ ...

http://toshiclark.com/images/favorite%20pics/Images/IMG_0657.jpg (http://toshiclark.com/images/favorite%20pics/)

[WTGPhoben]

At long last the ski season has returned. On friday (the 28th) Killington posted the message "Mother nature has spoken, Killington will open october 29th at 8am" (or something along those lines). Mother nature was, of course, referring to the storm that dumped over three feet at the summit over the last week. Since I can't resist a powder day, Thad and I met my friend Mike for some tracks (http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=413&type=Date%20Folders&subs=False).

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_10_29/fullSize/IMG_7172.jpg

[Toshi]

nice :thumb:

(whistler opens nov 24!)

[Toshi]

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1808216#post1808216

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/halloween%20-%20october%2031,%202005/Images/IMG_1335.jpg

uh. blue ninja? (i was supposed to be a peasant or a [japanese] farmer)

[Skookum]

http://paultan.org/archives/2005/10/24/renault-v10-engine-sings

update: and i finally updated my favorite pics and friends galleries on http://tjclark.ath.cx/ ...

http://toshiclark.com/images/favorite%20pics/Images/IMG_0657.jpg (http://toshiclark.com/images/favorite%20pics/)
Cool stuff that's a great shot!

i took this on Halloween... it's a freinds girlfreind, but i didn't sleep with her so i won't worry about my car haha.

Hope to talk you into some more rides this winter, i promise i won't kill you.:D

[Toshi]

that's a cool shot, tim. i was sort of trying for a similar high contrast/washed out look with the halloween pics, but wimped out and did a "normal" treatment, just pushing the exposure a little bit.

i don't even have a bike rack for my new car btw... :dead:

[Acadian]

Happy b-Day bro!!!

[Toshi]

thanks, luc :)

[Toshi]

hmmmm :think:

24 hour Snowfall: 18 in 46 cm
Base at Heather Meadows: 72 in 183 cm
Base at Pan Dome: 88 in 224 cm

[Toshi]

thought of the night:

autocross and especially autox driving school has made me a better GT4 driver

:D

[Toshi]

cut 'n paste from xanga. (it looks like an alternator problem, no?)

my car broke down in a rather interesting fashion today. unfortunately, this happened as i was driving from mt. baker, trying to get back to seattle in time to see the seattle symphony do brahms 1. (i just got back in, so missed my mark by about 4 hours...)

what first happened was that my radar detector started going nuts, turning itself on and off at will and with increasing frequency. i figured that it simply didn't like the cold, and unplugged it. next the dashboard clock started to look a little faint. it has never been a paragon of electronics excellence itself with its high class radio shack roots, so i wrote it off to chance and weather as well. the ABS light then lit up. given that the snow and ice lining the road to baker might lead to some undue variation in wheelspeed i again rationalized its presence. but then the tach and speedometer suddenly swept to 0 (even as i drove down the road at trivially non-zero speeds and rpms), the headlights started to dim and the stereo went out, and i realized something was wrong.

i started to make plans in my head, figuring that i could creep back to seattle with my dim, yellow headlights by judging my speed on the tone of the engine and still make it to the concert in time. but as i calculated the time necessary to return the car made up its mind, and its new found resolve was expressed through the check engine light, whose first, tentative flickers later melded into a continuous, assertive illumination.

at this point the engine died outright and the steering and brakes lost their assist, luckily just as i pulled off the road.

so i was stuck off the side of a mountain highway with darkness rapidly approaching, and with no cell phone reception to boot. luckily i recognized the headlights of one of my friends, and soon i had two cars for company. chris's cell phone worked where mine had failed, and an AAA flatbed was summoned (which eventually towed my car 129 miles back to seattle!). in the time until it arrived, doug, kristel, and reuben were kind enough to stick around and wait with me, and we played travel boggle and made up nonsensical ghost stories in the car. basically, thanks to the help of my friends a possibly very ugly situation was turned into one merely inconvenient.

and just for the record the skiing was good.

[Toshi]

car is back and running :thumb: . was alternator belt but not the alternator itself.

and:

http://www.ducati.com/docs_eng/model06/hypermotard/flash051115/i_02_800.jpg

yum

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105231

[Toshi]

lack of subscription emails has really killed this thread :(

anyway, my "riding" news for this week is that i scored a used set of 245/45/16 kumho v700 victoracers. this. is. awesome. why? this was the size i was hoping to run. and they are FREE. and are R compounds. which means i can have some fun in Street Modified until they wear out...

plus there's a very good chance i'll be doing a nutrition study which will provide me with free food for four months starting in january. (so if i do this i'll certainly be able to afford to replace these with a fresh set of R compounds. :) <-- i'm easy to please eh)

finally, my coilovers will be installed this week. they're D2, taiwanese knockoffs, but with camber plates front and rear and bought for a good price, used. -3.4ish camber up front, -1.0 or so in back, big swaybars front and rear (24 and 22mm) + R compounds is going to be super fun this upcoming season. :thumb:

and a random pic:

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/warren%20miller%2056%20-%20november%2018,%202005/Images/IMG_1428.jpg

[stinkyboy]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/stinkyboy/Garbage/toshi.gif

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136928

[Toshi]

uh. not me.

[Toshi]

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/seattle%20center%20colors%20-%20november%2023,%202005/Images/IMG_1449.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/seattle%20center%20colors%20-%20november%2023,%202005/Images/IMG_1454.jpg

[Toshi]

my car started out slammed, but the wrong way (with too-low lowering springs, completely unadjustable):

http://tjclark.ath.cx/images/events%20and%20concerts/bremerton%20autocross%20-%20september%204,%202005/Images/IMG_0983.jpg

and after the first of two wheel swaps, still on lowering springs, note how the rear tires were actually tucked up inside the fenders. gross, not good for handling at all, and easily scraped on speed bumps and the like

http://tjclark.ath.cx/images/daily/metal%20and%20concrete%20-%20september%2023,%202005/Images/IMG_1208.jpg

so i raised it back up to stock height by swapping in OEM '03 WRX springs. however, by some peculiarity of these springs the front of the car ended up sky high. enter coilovers, height adjustable, and damping adjustable in 36 increments (as opposed to the 4 on the AGXs, not that the number of clicks is really reflective of performance). and after some elbow grease now the car sits as it should, not too high and not too low.

:thumb:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/thanksgiving%20coilover%20install%20-%20november%2024,%202005/Images/IMG_1472.jpg

[Acadian]

Nice Toshi!! :thumb:

Are those Prodrive wheels or Rota SDR's? How many set of wheels do you have?

[Toshi]

Nice Toshi!! :thumb:

Are those Prodrive wheels or Rota SDR's? How many set of wheels do you have?
thanks, luc. those are the Prodrive PFF7: 18x8" with 235/40/18 ContiExtremes on them. unfortunately they're also cast and around 21 lbs if not a little more iirc. but that's ok since i still have the black rota slipstreams, which have been verified to be a a svelte 13 and change (and which now have the aforementioned 245/45/16 Victoracers on them :drool: ).

i traded the gold STi BBS wheels/summer tires for the Prodrives/all seasons, so i have two sets of wheels.

[Toshi]

http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/Rainy%20Autocross%20102305.mov

kinda lame, but poor quality footage to start with

[WTGPhoben]

http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/Rainy%20Autocross%20102305.mov

kinda lame, but poor quality footage to start with

at least you didn't hype it and set me up for disappointment :)

[Barbaton]

yay. looks like email notifications are working again...

[narlus]

\
and a random pic:

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/warren%20miller%2056%20-%20november%2018,%202005/Images/IMG_1428.jpg


i wondered what happened to that dude from the spin doctors.

[Toshi]

going skiing in a few minutes. :) 33" of fresh snow over the last 5 days where i'm headed... (crystal mt.)

[Barbaton]

so how was the skiing?

[Toshi]

so how was the skiing?
it was a solid day. unfortunately there were some rocks exposed on one narrow double black run (the only way to get down from one particular lift), but the damage is nothing that rei and some p-tex can't patch up. in a few days/weeks i should have some video footage of me and the rest of the gang. expect quality on par with that of the autox video :dead: :D

[Barbaton]

Keith, I have found you a seasonal decoration (http://www.organicbouquet.com/p_58/pine_wreath_peace.html) for you front door, or the front of the passat, or something:

http://www.organicbouquet.com/images/products/peace-wreath.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

Keith, I have found you a seasonal decoration (http://www.organicbouquet.com/p_58/pine_wreath_peace.html) for you front door, or the front of the passat, or something:

http://www.organicbouquet.com/images/products/peace-wreath.jpg

If I didn't know better, I'd think you were callin' me a hippie.

[Barbaton]

If I didn't know better, I'd think you were callin' me a hippie.

;) :p

[Toshi]

http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/images/square_wheels.jpg

[Toshi]

going back to rigid on the dbr:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1855246#post1855246

[stosh]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/rusty001/107/pic23281.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/rusty001/107/pic02995.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/rusty001/107/pic00491.jpg

[Toshi]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/rusty001/107/pic23281.jpg
very cool! :thumb: those are some wickedly green trees in the lower left, too

[stosh]

very cool! :thumb: those are some wickedly green trees in the lower left, too
I saw them on another website. I don't think I've posted in this thread till now.

[Toshi]

I saw them on another website. I don't think I've posted in this thread till now.
you are correct:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/misc.php?do=whoposted&t=16951
Who Posted?
Total Posts: 2,642
User Name Posts
Toshi 1353
WTGPhoben 447
Quadari 298
Barbaton 244
kingLatency 49
narlus 34
prophet6 27
TWISTED 24
SwisSlesS 19
ALEXIS_DH 19
Acadian 16
zane 16
hans2 11
endtroducing 8
splat 7
BostonBullit 6
Skookum 6
flymybike 3
LoboDelFuego 3
stevew 3
Big_Papa1080 2
crape42 2
jace 2
ohio 2
Gunner 2
Westy 2
Lizard0fthetrai 2
I Are Baboon 2
chicodude 2
stosh 2
k-thug 2
deroyo 2
l008com 2
LOOnatic 1
Tenaciousle0 1
dw 1
stringcheese 1
ruckerz 1
wooglin 1
endoing 1
TickTock 1
Instigator 1
Total Heckler 1
Highlander 1
Mtb_Rob_FL 1
motomike 1
MtnBikerNJ 1
N8 1
Motionboy2 1
Gleeke 1
Mike B. 1
YUSAVAGE 1
Chuckwagon 1
TimeBomb 1
stinkyboy 1
WheelieMan 1

[Toshi]

http://www.orlyowl.com/upload/files/orlmente.jpg

:D

[stevew]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/rusty001/107/pic23281.jpg

My kind of mountain hideaway. Located in Japan?

[Toshi]

i'm off to whistler until sat :cool: . i don't think i'm going to bring the camera tho. going to concentrate on getting as much actual skiing time as possible.

[Toshi]

back from whistler. snow positively sucked, but good times were had by all nevertheless. i took my GS race skis to the terrain park... :D

[Toshi]

this is really cool: a tour of the "transparent factory" in dresden where VW Phaetons are hand built:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1837641

http://www.hostdub.com/albums/PanEuropean/Dresden_7.jpg

[Barbaton]

this is really cool: a tour of the "transparent factory" in dresden where VW Phaetons are hand built:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1837641



I'm glad they spent so much money building an awsome factory to build a car with no market. :)

[Toshi]

I'm glad they spent so much money building an awsome factory to build a car with no market. :)
after spending a good amount of time in modded cars with all sorts of tire, wind, engine, exhaust noise (my old Z, now this WRX) i've decided that my future street cars will be all really quiet, boring vehicles. loud cars will be trailered to the track :oink:

(point being that the phaeton is quiet and solid if nothing else)

sig storage for a year: :D come get your avatars santa hatted up (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1748438)

[Barbaton]

after spending a good amount of time in modded cars with all sorts of tire, wind, engine, exhaust noise (my old Z, now this WRX) i've decided that my future street cars will be all really quiet, boring vehicles. loud cars will be trailered to the track :oink:

(point being that the phaeton is quiet and solid if nothing else)

sig storage for a year: :D come get your avatars santa hatted up (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1748438)

I sat in a Phaeton at the auto show here. Coolest damn hydrolic cup holders I've ever seen. Nice car, but selling it in a price bracket higher than the A8 is dumb.

I never got around to asking you to santa hat my tiger... :(

[Toshi]

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139636

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/a%20four%20legged%20visitor%20-%20december%2023,%202005/Images/IMG_1483_1.jpg (http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/a%20four%20legged%20visitor%20-%20december%2023,%202005/)

(click on pic)

[Toshi]

http://www.smnnews.com/board/images/smilies/eck.gif

it's finally snowing at the west coast mountains! after days of warm rain...

also, any thoughts on full face helmet use on the mountain? i don't want to spend an outrageous sum on a ski/board helmet, and i think my unvented answer m8 might just be warm enough... and might have enough room inside for a hacked up helmet-headphone setup, again without the brand-name surcharge.

[WTGPhoben]

http://www.smnnews.com/board/images/smilies/eck.gif

it's finally snowing at the west coast mountains! after days of warm rain...

also, any thoughts on full face helmet use on the mountain? i don't want to spend an outrageous sum on a ski/board helmet, and i think my unvented answer m8 might just be warm enough... and might have enough room inside for a hacked up helmet-headphone setup, again without the brand-name surcharge.

A friend of mine found a RED helmet for $30 online. I think It has room for a hacked headphone setup too.

[Toshi]

hook me up with a link!

[WTGPhoben]

hook me up with a link!

I'll ask him tomm.

[Barbaton]

http://www.smnnews.com/board/images/smilies/eck.gif

it's finally snowing at the west coast mountains! after days of warm rain...

also, any thoughts on full face helmet use on the mountain? i don't want to spend an outrageous sum on a ski/board helmet, and i think my unvented answer m8 might just be warm enough... and might have enough room inside for a hacked up helmet-headphone setup, again without the brand-name surcharge.

you really need a full-face for skiing? you doing a lot of freestyle jumping? i've got a 3/4 that's plenty warm, could take headphones, and isn't enormous and doesn't look silly.

[chicodude]

I see no "ride pics" Lately.



Get to it, Dammit.

[Toshi]

you really need a full-face for skiing? you doing a lot of freestyle jumping? i've got a 3/4 that's plenty warm, could take headphones, and isn't enormous and doesn't look silly.
but how much did it cost? my full face is free. probably even negative cost, as i should have replaced it a few whistler crashes ago

[Toshi]

I see no "ride pics" Lately.

Get to it, Dammit.
blame keith and thad, not me. i sold my bikes, remember? :dead: maybe i'll bust out the camera on the slopes this friday. we shall see.

[Barbaton]

but how much did it cost? my full face is free. probably even negative cost, as i should have replaced it a few whistler crashes ago

i think it was about $80 at Snowbird in april (so probably was on sale). It's made by Carrera...

[Toshi]

i think it was about $80 at Snowbird in april (so probably was on sale). It's made by Carrera...
$80 could buy a tank of gas and lift ticket... wait a minute :dead:

i think i'll give it a try and see if i can stand the shame for commiting such a fashion faux pas. or maybe i'll be the start of a new trend, wait and see. i could always bust out the dainese and go for the look full bore...

[WTGPhoben]

blame keith and thad, not me. i sold my bikes, remember? :dead: maybe i'll bust out the camera on the slopes this friday. we shall see.

It's cold and snowy out here this time of year. I'm working on somewhere in the vicinity of 100 piccs from my europe trip. When I post them you can imagine me riding my skis to the matterhorn before I took pictures of it. :)

[Toshi]

When I post them you can imagine me riding my skis to the matterhorn before I took pictures of it. :)
:confused:

what am i supposed to be imagining here? heh

[WTGPhoben]

:confused:

what am i supposed to be imagining here? heh

be creative... I could be sitting on them like a sled. Holding them upright and standing on the backs of the bindings to use them like stilts... the point was I don't think there are any pics of me actually skiing, as I took all the pics.

[Toshi]

while driving back home: my precious, it froze!
this wouldn't be that strange... ipods fail, i suppose
(but three of them died on me just this year, oh n0es!)

ok, enough of that, heh. long story short: ipod photo #3 failed on me today. #1 was purchased in august (!), so going through 3 in this period is quite horrendous. i asked for a refund, and was denied. however, speaking up did me some good, and my 30 GB ipod photo is going to be replaced by apple with a lovely black 30 GB ipod video, gratis (as were the other replacements, of course).

[Toshi]

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/snow%20at%20crystal%20-%20december%2030,%202005/Images/IMG_1517.jpg

12" overnight! too bad it was heavy powder.

[Toshi]

http://www.hom.com.ru/wallpapers/stupid_sexy_flanders.jpg

just put in my 7th day on the slopes today. 8th planned for tomorrow :)

[narlus]

while driving back home: my precious, it froze!
this wouldn't be that strange... ipods fail, i suppose
(but three of them died on me just this year, oh n0es!)

ok, enough of that, heh. long story short: ipod photo #3 failed on me today. #1 was purchased in august (!), so going through 3 in this period is quite horrendous. i asked for a refund, and was denied. however, speaking up did me some good, and my 30 GB ipod photo is going to be replaced by apple with a lovely black 30 GB ipod video, gratis (as were the other replacements, of course).

wow, that's a horrendous streak...you still an iPod apologist? :D

[Toshi]

show me something else that works with my mac, has an intelligent system for organizing my 20 gb of music (which pales in comparison to yours, sure, but is still enough to be a handful :D), and has good local support... i had a choice of 4 or 5? apple stores within 20 miles, one within 3 miles, at which the faulty ipods could be swapped on the spot for fresh ones.

i do hope that the ipod video is more reliable than the ipod photo, however. hmph.

[Barbaton]

show me something else that works with my mac, has an intelligent system for organizing my 20 gb of music (which pales in comparison to yours, sure, but is still enough to be a handful :D), and has good local support... i had a choice of 4 or 5? apple stores within 20 miles, one within 3 miles, at which the faulty ipods could be swapped on the spot for fresh ones.

i do hope that the ipod video is more reliable than the ipod photo, however. hmph.

so far my 30gb vid is doing great. I use it to and from work and on the subway every day and only have to charge it once a week or so. Make sure you keep it in the little sleeve tho because the acrylic body scratches easier than the old material.

[narlus]

i finally got a case for my wife's 20GB iPod as an xmas present...about 6 months too late. oh well.

i do like iTunes as an organizer; i use it to catalog my 450GB of stuff.

[Barbaton]

From a friend's blog:


The iPod is an electronic gadget, but is consumed like a luxury sedan: once you have one, you keep upgrading, each time buying the most expensive one you can then afford. This is why, instead of stores, Apple has "showrooms." And soon, they'll start encrusting them with precious metals and stones-- they've already done this with cellular phones.

And, as with luxury cars, you have to keep bringing the iPod back to this dealer for service, because the rechargeable inevitably dies.

Apple has basically emulated Hewlett-Packard's ink jet printer business model.

The price of battery replacement has been empirically found to be the point where you'll think long and hard about forgoing it in favor of just getting a new, more advanced and more expensive iPod altogther. After all, that's how the Japanese do, and they're pretty smart. And you're already at the showroom, so the newer models are right there in front of you to tempt you.

And the people I know who do own iPods are so addicted to them that they end up going the new one route, if only to have something to which to listen while the battery on the old iPod is being replaced.

Owning an iPod is kind of like owning a Jaguar.

[Toshi]

that's bs. battery replacement is the same for every DAP out there, and my ipods (all four of them, including my 1G) suffered a cumulative failure of 1 battery, and that was after 3+ years of continuous use.

[narlus]

hey Toshi, my Karma will turn 3 years old late next month, and the battery's still fine so far. it gets a lot of use, as well.

on a different subject, when you shoot low-light concert settings, are you using a prime lens? or a zoom?

[Toshi]

also keep in mind that i bought my first ipod on march 26, 2002, so your karma had 13 months of improved battery technology behind it (presumably, with timing from the ipod's birth date in nov 2001). :D <--- ever the apologist

i shoot all primes except for my super wide, the sigma 12-24. at f/4.5-5.6 and not sharp below f/9 or so, the 12-24 doesn't see indoor use without a flash. otherwise it's up to the 28/1.8, 50/1.4, 135/2, or, rarely, the 180/3.5 macro. the 28, 50, and 135 have all seen extensive indoor use without flash, and for concert purposes i'd consider the 135 the most useful.

28/1.8 = (Canon unless noted) 28mm f/1.8 USM
50/1.4 = 50mm f/1.4 USM
135/2 = 135mm f/2L USM
180/3.5 = Sigma 180mm f/3.5 HSM Macro

[narlus]

cool, thanks for the info.

my 50mm f/1.8 should arrive tuesday, and my 2GB flash card tomorrow.

[Toshi]

tim, get the 135mm f/2L next... :D

f/2. ISO 3200 (!):

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/faces%20and%20trivia%20-%20january%2010,%202006/Images/IMG_1528.jpg

[narlus]

wow, that was taken @ ISO 3200!!

here are some shots w/ the new lense that you may not have seen:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c196/narlus/IMG_2932.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c196/narlus/IMG_2940.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c196/narlus/IMG_2899.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c196/narlus/IMG_2862.jpg

[Toshi]

BV's comment was spot on, those shots really "pop". :thumb: the iso 3200 shot did get noise reduction, of course: http://actions.home.att.net/dSLR_Tools.html

("lens" -e)

[narlus]

("lens" -e)

smartarse.

my spelling is usually spot-on; that would qualify as a typo. :mumble:

[narlus]

btw, when i did reply w/ quote, the color code came up as grey. on my screen, it most definitely looks green. is my screen FUBAR or what?

[Toshi]

you might just have it adjusted horribly wrong? :D it definitely is supposed to be grey, and shows up as such here.

[narlus]

yeah, my work monitor must be arsed. it's fine here

[Toshi]

http://toshiclark.com/macbookorder.png

i bit the bullet... (and am taking out the school's "laptop loan")

[Toshi]

http://www.autocrossscorekeeper.com/register/wwscc/viewentries.asp

woohoo! autox season starts soon. plus i'm the only person currently entered in my category, so i might "win" it! :D

[Toshi]

For auction: 1 M-Audio Delta 1010LT PCI Virtual Studio, and Digidesign Pro Tools M-Powered 6.8.

(The 1010LT is a PCI audio card with 8 in/8 out analog, 2 XLR mic inputs with built in preamps, S/PDIF digital in/out. And Pro Tools is, well, Pro Tools. Except M-Powered only works with particular M-audio cards, this one included.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7382381714

http://toshiclark.com/forsale/delta_1010_lt.jpg

[narlus]

Also note that these products are educational versions, and as such you should only bid on this auction if you're a student, a faculty member, or otherwise associated with an elementary, middle, high school, or university.

so are you gonna ask for a scan of their current ID? :D

[Toshi]

i did that on an auction long ago, and the guy sent in an overexposed photo of his id, sized about 150x100 pixels. i couldn't make out ANYTHING on it. i deemed it sufficient. :D

[Toshi]

have you all seen this?

http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/

talented guy.

[skinny mike]

have you all seen this?

http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/

talented guy.
wow, those are some good pics.

[Toshi]

http://videos.skipass.com/TAW/CharlesGagnier_HQ.mov

watch the last trick. weird! and very cool, of course

[Toshi]

no longer will i be able to answer "yes" when annoying little groms ask whether my car has "got nawwssss?"

:(

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12393774#post12393774

:D

[Toshi]

i won my class at the autocross today, so now have two novice victories and one in modified B under my belt. :) got a free t-shirt for this win, even.

on the other hand, i spun on my first run and hit the reflector for the timing light. while going backwards. :dead: oops.

[Toshi]

video of me and kutta (a ms ski buddy, drives an STI -- good taste :D) from way back when, dec 12 at crystal mountain. since then i've donned the full face helmet and changed my style to be not so "pretty", with a wider stance, more aggressive edging, and more power in general.

http://toshiclark.com/CrystalDec12.m4v

and photos from that day, not shot by me but rather by another ski buddy, c.h.:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/crystal%20from%20the%20hancamera%20-%20december%2012,%202005/

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/crystal%20from%20the%20hancamera%20-%20december%2012,%202005/Images/IMG_0414.jpg

[Barbaton]

video of me and kutta (a ms ski buddy, drives an STI -- good taste :D) from way back when, dec 12 at crystal mountain. since then i've donned the full face helmet and changed my style to be not so "pretty", with a wider stance, more aggressive edging, and more power in general.

i don't see no dem dere darn full face

[Toshi]

note the key phrase "since then" in the above-quoted passage

[Barbaton]

note the key phrase "since then" in the above-quoted passage

aah. had not noted in my cursory inspection. :)

[Toshi]

woohoo, went sailing for the first time since high school, on a laser. the winds were 10-20 kts today, and were quite a handful at times. because they were (and are going to be tomorrow) so strong as compared to the 7 kt novice windspeed limit i think i'll be allowed to jump right up to the intermediate rating. :)

[Toshi]

no intermediate rating for me :( , as the winds died down. we didn't even sail in the afternoon, just sat around and listened to old sea tales and discussed the merits of different kinds of knots, etc.

the "highlight" of the day was my wet capsize test. i need a wetsuit or a drysuit: it's fine when you stay dry but once you get in the water you get really cold immediately. :dead:

on the upside i went straight from that (after derigging) to a hot shower, and now i officially have a novice single handed rating, so can go out alone on days with wimpy wind and can go out with a chief or instructor on more worthy days to earn higher ratings.

[Toshi]

mad drifting action!

http://www.wimp.com/rcdrifting/

hehe

[Barbaton]

mad drifting action!

http://www.wimp.com/rcdrifting/

hehe

Those guys are pretty good r/c drivers

[Barbaton]

So, as you may or may not know, in addition to work I am also putting in some time at MGH. Here's some cool stuff i did today with an imaging tool I'm evaluating for them.

http://people.deas.harvard.edu/~tsze/images/slicer-0006-web.jpg

And here's a movie I made too. The video gets a little choppy when I move the slices since this process challenges the dual 1.8, 3GB machine to do volumetric selection and encode and run everything else I'm running at the same time. Should be much smoother when my 12-proc SGI gets up and running...

http://people.deas.harvard.edu/~tsze/video/BrainModel3.mov

[Toshi]

that's awesome! i'd love to work on that, and indeed would have, had i not been rejected by the md/phd folks (as of last thursday)

:dead:

[Toshi]

you might just have it adjusted horribly wrong? :D it definitely is supposed to be grey, and shows up as such here.
weird. i'm on a school lab computer (so windows/ie) and the grey is most definitely a vivid green here as well. bizarre. maybe it is a ie bug? colors in general look kind of wack, however -- the grey in the toolbar looks to have a yellowish tinge to it, for instance.

for those of you who scan this thread hoping for actual ride pics i can offer no solace. however, there will be more sporting videos in the future, as i ordered up the following from b&h:

- sony dcr-hc32 minidv camcorder (it's the bottom of the line sony, which should be more than sufficient for making little web-size movies)
http://www.sonycenter.lu/images/camera/dcr-hc32.jpg

- sony spk-hcr "sport pak". it's a case for the camcorder that is waterproof down to 5m yet allows for microphone and control useage. i pretty much chose the camcorder around this case, as at $130 it is a lot cheaper than other waterproof cases.
http://www.priceshop.ch/images/spk-hca

- stickypod suction cup mount. rated up to 110 mph useage!
http://www.redferret.net/Images/stickypod2_small.jpg

possible applications for this setup:

1) skiing videos, aided by the water- and shock-resistance of the case. i am positive that the video quality will be far superior than that of the compact point 'n shoot digicam that is responsible for the previous videos.

2) car videos, whether autocross, country roads (i found a nifty backroads loop here near town), or track days. in particular i'm doing a driving school/high performance driver education class on march 11, so expect footage from that. oh, i'm also hoping to make it to a few rallycrosses (autocrosses on dirt basically), and that could be really fun to watch. or really boring. we shall see.

3) sailing videos. probably won't be interesting to watch for anyone except myself, but if the suction cups will stick to the laser's deck i'll grab footage on a windy day or three.

i guess it could be used for biking as well, but i don't seem to be doing much of that lately apart from riding the 4 mi to class, and that's about as boring as it gets.

[WTGPhoben]

i guess it could be used for biking as well, but i don't seem to be doing much of that lately apart from riding the 4 mi to class, and that's about as boring as it gets.

You could suction cup that mount plate to your back and point the camera over your head for some nice road bike commuter street racing vids.:D

[narlus]

sailing videos...toshi, do you have yr application into the exclusive yacht clubs yet? :D

[Toshi]

sailing videos...toshi, do you have yr application into the exclusive yacht clubs yet? :D
uw actually has its own yacht club. $110 yearly dues, and in return you get to check out any boat for which you have an appropriate rating, and take lessons, both for free.

[Toshi]

new pics from a conference that i returned from earlier today:

http://tinyurl.com/b72g3

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/carmel%20-%20february%202006/Images/IMG_1600.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/carmel%20-%20february%202006/Images/IMG_1685.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/carmel%20-%20february%202006/Images/IMG_1622.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/carmel%20-%20february%202006/Images/IMG_1725.jpg

[Barbaton]

dudes this is creepy

http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=8996&display=photoshop#entries

[Toshi]

ugh. some have the manga look, but most are just strange!

[Barbaton]

today's adventures in neuroscience:

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/iacoboni06/iacoboni06_index.html

dude did fMRI while folks watched the superbowl ads. Findings are cool.

[Toshi]

photos from china. a bit overdone as far as saturation imo, but still a beautiful series nonetheless:

http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7301

[WTGPhoben]

It only took two months, but I finally got around to posting my Vacation pics from Italy and Switzerland.

Teaser:
http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_21/fullSize/Img_7476.jpg

The rest. (http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/subGals.aspx?albumID=416)

[Toshi]

for those of you who scan this thread hoping for actual ride pics i can offer no solace. however, there will be more sporting videos in the future, as i ordered up the following from b&h:
ugh. stupid sony camcorder (or stupid imovie HD): somehow the camcorder was recognized, could be controlled (as in play, rewind, etc.) but could not actually send the video to the computer via firewire. it worked exactly once, out of innumerable attempts, and that was only in ichat -- it never imported video into imovie successfully.

i thought apple was supposed to be good at this kind of thing? :think: the sad part is that these troubles cropped up only with the latest generation of sony camcorders and the latest iteration of quicktime + imovie HD. too bad that's exactly what i wanted to run.

disillusioned by this experience i'm going to return the whole setup. no chintzy shots of the yacht club, sorry.

:dead:

[Toshi]

It only took two months, but I finally got around to posting my Vacation pics from Italy and Switzerland.

Teaser:
http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_21/fullSize/Img_7476.jpg

The rest. (http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/subGals.aspx?albumID=416)
ooh, purdy :thumb: . your left-hand-pane-scrolling script sucks, btw :D. or safari sucks. one or the other: after clicking the down arrow then the up arrow it just jitters around about 10 pixels, and i can't figure out how to make it stop.

ones i particularly like/time to kill your server :devil:

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_13/fullSize/IMG_7307.jpg

phallic mountain?
http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_15/fullSize/IMG_7319.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_15/fullSize/IMG_7346.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_17/fullSize/IMG_7414.jpg

too bad about the sign. and the poles. and that rope-fence thing. hehe
http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_19/fullSize/Picture%20140.jpg

interesting idea
http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_21/fullSize/Img_7499.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_21/fullSize/Img_7514.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_21/fullSize/Picture%20186.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_21/fullSize/Img_7521.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2005/2005_12_22/fullSize/IMG_7568.jpg

[Toshi]

pics from my tune/dyno day to come in a bit, btw :thumb: . the car put down 283 whp / 262 wtk (on a dynojet, a conservative reading dyno generally speaking)...

[WTGPhoben]

ooh, purdy :thumb: . your left-hand-pane-scrolling script sucks, btw :D. or safari sucks. one or the other: after clicking the down arrow then the up arrow it just jitters around about 10 pixels, and i can't figure out how to make it stop.


I'd vote for safari sucking, but I think I might have figured out why it's screwing up on you. It works on thad's Safari, but it did before... Try it now.

[narlus]

hey - cameras are not allowed in the Sistine Chapel. :P

[narlus]

phoben, sweet shots (at least the ones toshi cross-linked). i'll be in Rome in a few months...what lens should i buy to maximize my photographic joy? at this point i've only got the 18-55mm kit lens, and a 50mm prime for my rebel xt.

[WTGPhoben]

phoben, sweet shots (at least the ones toshi cross-linked). i'll be in Rome in a few months...what lens should i buy to maximize my photographic joy? at this point i've only got the 18-55mm kit lens, and a 50mm prime for my rebel xt.

I suppose it depends on the type of stuff you like to shoot. I was often trying to capture the immenseness and grandeur of things, and would have loved a fisheye. A lot of those big ancient buildings and such would look really ccool with the distortion and it would have saved me a lot of time pasting images together. I've only played with Toshi's sigma tho, so I can't really suggest a specific model.

The other thing that would be really helpful is a lens with IS type I, as there are lots of places where the light is not so good, but a flash is either useless or not allowed. I was using the canon 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM exclusively while I was there, and found myself regularly shooting ISO 800 at speeds of 1/15 or so. With IS this is totally reasonable, but without it you're just gonig to get garbage. If you want to upgrade your zoom, this lens is a pretty awesome all-purpose lens and it almost never comes off my camera. I find it makes especially nice images with a polarizer, but the 2-stop hit you take limits where you can use it effectively.

If it weren't for the light issue, I'd suggest the 70-200 f/4L USM as a nice addition too, but unless you plan on using it outside exclusively, you're going to have to hump around a tripod to make pictures that don't suck. If you have the $$, the 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM is the perfect range with all the features you need, but man is it pricey.

finally, get hoods for your lenses. I had a lot of trouble with nasty flare while shooting outside. I don't know if the smog had some effect, but it seemed that every time I had sky in a picture I had huge flare splotches that could have been avoided if I simply had a hood.

[narlus]

awesome, thanks for the info.