Toshi's ride pics thread

[Toshi]

yeah, the scroll wheel is useful. i don't like the ergonomics of the rebel either -- that's why i chose a D30 way back when. graduating to the 20D was natural.

[narlus]

what's the scroll wheel? is that the back dial?

i've never used another (D)SLR aside from the rebel, so i've got nothing to compare it to.

~1K for the 400 prime isn't a bad price at all, but for a lens that big i'd think they would add IS to it.

i am currently lusting after a 5D...some of my lenses wouldn't be compatible, but having a 1.6x CF body would still be useful.

[Toshi]

me too, but the 5D will have to wait until i get a job :D . and yes, we're talking about the wheel on the back.

[binary visions]

I have absolutely zero interest in a full frame body. I like taking pictures of wildlife and birds, so the 1.6x crop provides significant extra "reach". If the FF megapixel count was high enough that the cropped field of view contained the same amount of data, it'd be more tempting to me, but the 5D's 12mp doesn't do that.

narlus, there just isn't another lens that I know of that provides the level of optical quality & reach that 400mm f/5.6L does for the price. If lack of IS keeps the price at around a grand, I'm all for it. Being a high quality prime, a 1.4x TC isn't going to degrade the optical quality as much either.

I've still got a couple more years at least before I start an investment in a DSLR and good glass, so we'll see where the camera wars are at. I expect good things from Sony in the next few years.

[Barbaton]

So I took part in my first autocross event this weekend. In the mall parking lot in Santa Fe. As a passenger in a Mustang 5.0. Lots of fun, though I'd rather be driving :) . There seemed to be a rediculously large number of modded Miatas.

[narlus]

I have absolutely zero interest in a full frame body. I like taking pictures of wildlife and birds, so the 1.6x crop provides significant extra "reach". If the FF megapixel count was high enough that the cropped field of view contained the same amount of data, it'd be more tempting to me, but the 5D's 12mp doesn't do that.


yeah, i'm not a birder, and the 5D is probably the best lowlight camera around, which is why i'm interested. it'd probably be nice to have two backs (best of both worlds), but a pain to lug them around.

[Toshi]

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/arctic%20circle%20-%20july%2029,%202006/Thumbs/IMG_2688.jpg

sorry for the somewhat poor exposure. this is with a ton of tweaking to the raw file in conversion, too.
and here it is after 2 minutes more photoshop work. meh.

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/arctic%20circle%20-%20july%2029,%202006/Thumbs/IMG_2688_arctic_circle.jpg

also, this is really sweet (stolen from DHS)

http://ueba.net/hosted_pages/Suspended-Honda-F1-Car-20060730

[Toshi]

http://www.robgray.com/motorhomes/12711.jpg
http://www.robgray.com/motorhomes/15721.jpg

cool, eh? :D mad max come to life...

http://www.robgray.com/motorhomes/

[Toshi]

http://tinyurl.com/fcl76

pics from the university museum. only a few more days in alaska so i figured i'd get some stereotypically alaska-y pics, and that i did:

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/university%20of%20alaska%20fairbanks%20museum%20-%20august%205,%202006/Images/IMG_2707.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/university%20of%20alaska%20fairbanks%20museum%20-%20august%205,%202006/Images/IMG_2711.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/university%20of%20alaska%20fairbanks%20museum%20-%20august%205,%202006/Images/IMG_2719.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/university%20of%20alaska%20fairbanks%20museum%20-%20august%205,%202006/Images/IMG_2732.jpg

on a photo-geek note, this represents the first time in a few months that i've busted out the 28/1.8. the first five shots in the gallery are with the 28, at f/1.8 to 2.2 depending on the shot. the others are with the 135/2L.

also of note is that the puffin shot (the last one inlined above) was at iso 3200, then pushed over a stop. saving that shot would have been impossible had it not been in raw -- the color balance was all over the place before conversion, required quite a bit of tweaking after the conversion in photoshop, and then pretty heavy noise reduction was applied. dSLR Tools for the win.

[Toshi]

:eek:

http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/146-467-633-356-9369-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/306-226-145-503-9370-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/180-779-399-280-9378-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/504-822-855-543-9372-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/154-249-667-305-9379-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/838-705-493-197-9374-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/183-731-115-782-9380-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/301-782-692-481-9376-m575.jpg
http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/448-569-183-913-9377-m575.jpg

[Toshi]

today's gallery actually has ride pics, living up to this thread's title! the rides are not bikes, however...

tanana valley fair (http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/tanana%20valley%20fair%20-%20august%206,%202006/)

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/tanana%20valley%20fair%20-%20august%206,%202006/Images/IMG_2766.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/tanana%20valley%20fair%20-%20august%206,%202006/Images/IMG_2756.jpg

[Barbaton]

:eek:

http://media.carster.com/photos/15044/154-249-667-305-9379-m575.jpg


heh. "no fear"

[Toshi]

an alternative to biking? :D

http://www.segway.com/personal-transporter/model_x2.html

http://www.segway.com/images/2006_new/models/x2.jpg

i'm now in pocatello, idaho for 6 weeks btw. brought the xc bike and am going to try to get out in the hills.

[Toshi]

i'm heading to yellowstone for the weekend after ditching clinic at 3 pm today! (the 3 pm early departure was actually suggested by my preceptor/"boss" doc :D)

[Toshi]

i'm heading to yellowstone for the weekend after ditching clinic at 3 pm today! (the 3 pm early departure was actually suggested by my preceptor/"boss" doc :D)
and the pics are up: http://tinyurl.com/qorlh

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/yellowstone%20national%20park%20-%20august%202006/Images/IMG_2802.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/yellowstone%20national%20park%20-%20august%202006/Images/IMG_2827.jpg

more pics at the gallery or in a pic-whoring thread i'm going to go post in the lounge:

pic-whoring thread as promised: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164276

[Toshi]

oh, this shot is a good illustration of why to use a polarizer, even if it's not the most spectacular scene on its own. l/r differ by 90 degrees of polarizer turn (with pushing/pulling in conversion to make the "sand" in the foreground about equal intensity)

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/yellowstone%20national%20park%20-%20august%202006/Images/IMG_2837_2838.jpg

[Toshi]

keith, are you done with your mammoth biking adventure, or is that still off in the near future?

[WTGPhoben]

Yeah, I'm all done. Pics to come soon, but I'm in the middle of editing photos from my first wedding gig.

[narlus]

new canon lenses announced.

70-200L f/4 IS
50L f/1.2

edit - new body, too. 400D/rebel xti

sounds like it's taking over 30D territory w/ a lot of the advances and features...

[Toshi]

new canon lenses announced.

70-200L f/4 IS
50L f/1.2

edit - new body, too. 400D/rebel xti

sounds like it's taking over 30D territory w/ a lot of the advances and features...
those two lenses sound like winners. ring usm and environmental seals :thumb: .

the 30D still has ergonomics, heft, iso 3200. but you're right: it will provide an attractive alternative for many who don't care about such things.

[narlus]

for existing DSLR body owners it's not gonna replace anything; i see it targeted at new purchasers moving from P&S, or as a 2nd body. it's still pretty decked out, but they removed the 2nd LCD screen (not the main one which shows the image).

after reading about some of AF advantages of the 20D/30D in lowlight w/ fast glass, i am having upgrade fever.

my wife will kill me. :rofl:

[Toshi]

yeah, the center cross type sensor with fast lenses is nice... :thumb:

[narlus]

i didn't realize that cross type AF sensor/fast lens thing...would make my life a TON easier for shooting gigs...

anyone want a used rebel XT body? i'm seriously thinking about upgrading now.

[Toshi]

i didn't realize that cross type AF sensor/fast lens thing...would make my life a TON easier for shooting gigs...

anyone want a used rebel XT body? i'm seriously thinking about upgrading now.
you should have listened to me :rofl: :

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2049192&highlight=cross+sensor#post2049192

[narlus]

you should have listened to me :rofl: :

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2049192&highlight=cross+sensor#post2049192

hahaha....what you fail to remember is that the camera was an xmas gift, and as my first SLR of any kind, i really had no idea what i wanted and i think it was the best move. :)

now that i know:

1) that i'll use the camera a lot
2) that i'll use it in low-light situations
3) the capabilities of the body

i'm more well positioned to make an educated purchase. so i guess i'll wait to see what the 400D does to the market price of the 30D; no sense in getting a 20D i would think; hell - the 30D's only been on the market since april, right?

[Toshi]

a new thread:

what car should my parents get? (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164662)

http://toshiclark.com/forsale/parentscar/Images/IMG_0906.jpg

[Toshi]

drove ~230ish miles each way to go autocrossing this weekend. 2 days, 12 runs, and i finished 28th/56 in "PAX", the index system that normalizes for how fast your car should be. this is quite good for me since i was on 400 treadwear all seasons (vs. 40 treadwear racing tires that are de rigeur in my class).

:)

[gastro]

i finished 28th/56 in "PAX"

Well done, esp. on all-season tires!

[Toshi]

why thank you. the biggest highlight was staying ahead in raw time of a SM2 C6 corvette on kumho 710s until the last two runs... of course he pulled 2 seconds on me over those last two, but his index is also tougher. and i still have the tire excuse :D hehe.

good thing ski season is coming. i'll show those R compound folks what's up on the way up the snowy passes... :sneaky:

strange or otherwise novel cars spied this weekend:

- a turbocharged, intercooled Geo Metro on race tires. 1 liter of 3 cylinder fury!
- numerous karts: junior karts, shifter karts, B and F modified "cars", which are basically large karts...
- a couple of Vipers being driven poorly in the novice class
- numerous late model Corvettes of many flavors, including the Z06
- an E30 M3 with a twin-turboed 328i motor in it putting down 400 whp and some quick times
- a Supra with the requisite giant turbo-of-doom-and-slow-spoolage
- Porsches both old and new, from a fiberglass bodied 914 through several 993s
- a couple of AE86 Trueno Corollas that apparently lost their way to the drifting event
- a Dodge Dakota and a Grand Am being run in F Prepared, a class typically frequented by full on race cars: the real race car was overheating so these were the substitutes found in his driveway so as to not forfeit the entry fee
- one super ugly DSM Talon literally bouncing along on the bump stops
- a sweet, caged late 60s Camaro with a 503 (!!) cubic inch mill under the hood
- a VR6 VW Corrado with a turbo slapped on
- a 1993 Impreza L with a complete 1991 jdm Legacy drivetrain swapped in

[narlus]

the temptation was too great, and could not be squelched.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/canon/30d-01.jpg

[binary visions]

:rofl: edit: facking smilies :rant:

Good for you, narlus, never resist your impulses :p

Let us know how it works out for you!

Bigger viewfinders are always worth upgrading for...

[narlus]

after dropping very non-subtle hints for the last week, the wife asked me if she needed to hold my hand so i would just order the damn thing.

;)

i think the timing is ok, because even if the 400D does erode the 30D's price tag (and there's absolutely no reason why it shouldn't), i can still get a good price for my 350D via ebay.

and i'm shooting a bunch of gigs in the next 2+ weeks, so we'll see how it pans out.

[Toshi]

after dropping very non-subtle hints for the last week, the wife asked me if she needed to hold my hand so i would just order the damn thing.

;)

i think the timing is ok, because even if the 400D does erode the 30D's price tag (and there's absolutely no reason why it shouldn't), i can still get a good price for my 350D via ebay.

and i'm shooting a bunch of gigs in the next 2+ weeks, so we'll see how it pans out.
:thumb: <-- why isn't this smilie restored?

i expect absolutely no unfocused shots now! :happydance:

[narlus]

yeah, or else i will egg and TP yr and fraser's house.

if i was rational, i'd have just gotten the 400D...but part of me wanted to differentiate myself from an 'entry-level' camera body.

damn vanity. :bonk:

[splat]

after dropping very non-subtle hints for the last week, the wife asked me if she needed to hold my hand so i would just order the damn thing.

;)

i think the timing is ok, because even if the 400D does erode the 30D's price tag (and there's absolutely no reason why it shouldn't), i can still get a good price for my 350D via ebay.

and i'm shooting a bunch of gigs in the next 2+ weeks, so we'll see how it pans out.


Very Nice !

So how much you want for the 350D's Body ?

[ALEXIS_DH]

why thank you. the biggest highlight was staying ahead in raw time of a SM2 C6 corvette on kumho 710s until the last two runs... of course he pulled 2 seconds on me over those last two, but his index is also tougher. and i still have the tire excuse :D hehe.

good thing ski season is coming. i'll show those R compound folks what's up on the way up the snowy passes... :sneaky:

strange or otherwise novel cars spied this weekend:

- a turbocharged, intercooled Geo Metro on race tires. 1 liter of 3 cylinder fury!
- numerous karts: junior karts, shifter karts, B and F modified "cars", which are basically large karts...
- a couple of Vipers being driven poorly in the novice class
- numerous late model Corvettes of many flavors, including the Z06
- an E30 M3 with a twin-turboed 328i motor in it putting down 400 whp and some quick times
- a Supra with the requisite giant turbo-of-doom-and-slow-spoolage
- Porsches both old and new, from a fiberglass bodied 914 through several 993s
- a couple of AE86 Trueno Corollas that apparently lost their way to the drifting event
- a Dodge Dakota and a Grand Am being run in F Prepared, a class typically frequented by full on race cars: the real race car was overheating so these were the substitutes found in his driveway so as to not forfeit the entry fee
- one super ugly DSM Talon literally bouncing along on the bump stops
- a sweet, caged late 60s Camaro with a 503 (!!) cubic inch mill under the hood
- a VR6 VW Corrado with a turbo slapped on
- a 1993 Impreza L with a complete 1991 jdm Legacy drivetrain swapped in

i haven´t autocrossed in months.

i´m thinking about getting my 68 camaro in the vintage class. i´d need to put better (working) brakes :biggrin: on it for that though and a few other bits.
a few pictures snapped by some guys from tha last autox.
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/8018/autox20agosto2020062028129of4.jpg
almost in 3 wheels.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2992/autox20agosto2020062028229zc6.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5468/autox20agosto2020062028429cf5.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9564/autox20agosto2020062028729wl6.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/217/autox20agosto20200620281329ln2.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/8076/320sti20partida20auto2dxof3.jpg
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3180/91120rodrigo20llegadalr8.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9833/hachiroku20llegada20auto2dxeo7.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1677/gt20blanco20frenandoqr6.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2808/a320partida20auto2dx202hr8.jpg
yes, you can tell imprezas own the local autox.

[Toshi]

"vintage class"? what sort of classes do you have? the usual SCCA Super Stock, A-H Stock, STS/X/U, prepared, modified hierarchy? over here the super stock cars are usually the fastest "real cars", a second or two behind the glorified karts in * Modified.

super stock = Z06 or GT3 depending on the day and level of spending desired, take your pick. :D

[Toshi]

random link of the day:

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/30_St_Mary_Axe.html

The Swiss Re tower, nicknamed the Gherkin for its tall, rounded, pickle-like shape

http://data.GreatBuildings.com/gbc/images/cid_1107570533_London8690f.jpg

:clue:

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/gherkinbuilding.png

[ALEXIS_DH]

"vintage class"? what sort of classes do you have? the usual SCCA Super Stock, A-H Stock, STS/X/U, prepared, modified hierarchy? over here the super stock cars are usually the fastest "real cars", a second or two behind the glorified karts in * Modified.

super stock = Z06 or GT3 depending on the day and level of spending desired, take your pick. :D


its very informal around here, just a bunch of guys get together and rent an air base, until last year, we used to autox in the parking lot of a horsing club.
we have "peruvian" classes. "modified" being mostly the customary definition of "anything you cant replace in less than 5 minutes". :busted:

- 4x4 stock, japanese sti stomp.

- 4x4 modified, older (pre99) turbo imprezas stomp.

- 2wd stock. whoever drives best, lots of different cars.

- 2wd modified.

- vintage (cars 25 yeard old, or older). a real lotus super seven stomps the few times the owner registers.

[Toshi]

its very informal around here, just a bunch of guys get together and rent an air base, until last year, we used to autox in the parking lot of a horsing club.
we have "peruvian" classes. "modified" being mostly the customary definition of "anything you cant replace in less than 5 minutes". :busted:

- 4x4 stock, japanese sti stomp.

- 4x4 modified, older (pre99) turbo imprezas stomp.

- 2wd stock. whoever drives best, lots of different cars.

- 2wd modified.

- vintage (cars 25 yeard old, or older). a real lotus super seven stomps the few times the owner registers.
wow. very different from SCCA classing...

http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Lists/2006/stockc.html

class (my pick for the class)
super stock (C5 Z06, C6 Z06 is not eligible)
A stock (S2000, boxster S '04 and older, 993)
B stock (C4 corvette, E36 M3, porsche 968, mr2 turbo)
C stock (mazdaspeed miata, maybe pontiac solstice)
D stock (integra Type R without a doubt, maybe SRT-4)
E stock (normal miata, non-turbo mr2)
F stock (bmw M5)
G stock (mini cooper S, integra non-type R, ford focus SVT)
H stock (mini cooper non-S, civic Si old and new)

and that's just the stock classes...

the astute reader will note a lack of any subaru picks in the above. this is intentional: the subarus have notable shortcomings from the factory that are not addressable given the constraints of stock class rules, which allow for strut replacement, R compound tires, cat back exhaust, and front swaybar. and pretty much nothing else.

the subarus instead do well in the street touring classes, where many common mods are allowed:
STS (2.5RS/2.5i/whatever the normally aspirated impreza is called now)
STX (WRX)
STU (STi or Evo depending on the driver)

then you have my class, Street Modified, where swaps, turbo upgrades, different gearsets, the whole gamut is allowed. the national winning car in SM last year was already posted several months back in the thread, and i can't find a pic, but it's an E36 M3 using a normally aspirated V8, big flares and seriously wide R compounds...

[ALEXIS_DH]

wow. very different from SCCA classing...

http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Lists/2006/stockc.html

class (my pick for the class)
super stock (C5 Z06, C6 Z06 is not eligible)
A stock (S2000, boxster S '04 and older, 993)
B stock (E36 M3, porsche 968, mr2 turbo)
C stock (mazdaspeed miata, maybe pontiac solstice)
D stock (integra Type R without a doubt, maybe SRT-4)
E stock (normal miata, non-turbo mr2)
F stock (bmw M5)
G stock (mini cooper S, integra non-type R, ford focus SVT)
H stock (mini cooper non-S, civic Si old and new)

and that's just the stock classes...

wow, thats a lot.
autox is usually limited to 35 cars. around 20 slots for subarus. otherwise there isnt much time to play around.
so it doesnt make much sense to have more than 5 classes.

i drove an evo 6 in the "modified" class (because of an apexi piggyback and boost controller). the same 4x4 "modified" class included a US sti with a 720hp crawford engine with a huge ass turbo (didnt spool until some crazy rpm, almost 4k), and others will full-on racing suspensions, but everybody was fine with that.... like i said, its pretty informal and laid back, grill and post-beer included.

[Toshi]

be very suspicious of claimed crawford horsepower figures... they are notorious liars.

[ALEXIS_DH]

be very suspicious of claimed crawford horsepower figures... they are notorious liars.

i didnt know that. am gonna bust the guys ball later then.
i´m pretty impressed by the car. 2.7L shortblock, gt35r turbo nonetheless.

i just punched the guys name and crawford on yahoo and it seems his car is in the crawford website.
http://www.crawfordperformance.com/news/article_18.shtml
that was like last year i think, when the crawford dudes came down here to setup his car and sell their stuff.

now that you talk about that, it makes a little bit of sense. the owner is an older dude, so he doesnt hang out with us, the younger blokes. but i clearly remember that only once, a few months ago he took his impreza out one night to drag race next to an empty stadium, and he lost from roll to a low 12s celica (2wd on semi slicks), and he only won by like 2 cars from a dead stop. that made me wonder a lot.

[Toshi]

crawford reports their horsepower in "crawford hp" heh. basically they take their high reading wheel dyno results and multiply them by however much they feel like it. nice cars for sure, but go by trap speeds and results, not by self-reported numbers.

[Toshi]

i was just tipped off to this, but ari has some excellent photos from israel up!

http://shwayder.org/photos/06-06-10%20to%2006-06-19%20Israel%20Outdoors%20Trip/

http://shwayder.org/photos/06-06-10%20to%2006-06-19%20Israel%20Outdoors%20Trip/Images/86.jpg

[Toshi]

went on my first trail ride in a long while:

- 5.2 miles, ~800 vertical feet + much up 'n down: http://www.vbcamps.com/ppCityCreek.htm
- a mostly granny gear + 1 or 2 cogs climb
- lots of anaerobic little bits + hot sun == tough, even tho my aerobic conditioning is pretty good these days
- xc bikes, especially rigid ones with v brakes, do not handle much like dh rigs
- me + rigid fork = 2 rides in a row with a front flat... i think i might be investing in some heavier tubes. already am running 35 psi with conti verticalprotection 2.3 tires
- i found that i say "aiya" instead of swearing when i fear that i'm running off of off-camber corners
- no pics. didn't bring the big or small cameras along
- the self-serve carwash cleans off bikes pretty well! and ck hubs are sealed, no? so no damage done

http://www.vbcamps.com/ppCC3.jpg

[Toshi]

ah, holidays: just spent about 2 hours disassembling and reassembling the dashboard/center console of my wrx.

with all the modding and demodding over the years, especially the battery relocation to the trunk (== big, thick cabling running all over the place), the wiring under the dashboard had become a HUGE mess.

i went in, took everything apart, snipped off all the old cable ties with uncut ends (lazy installers! grr), and then secured everything nicely. no more cables dangling down by my feet or poking out from the edge of trim pieces...

now time to go on a rare daytime drive to enjoy the newfound cleanliness-via-my-own-sweat. once i get back to seattle i'll start the next step, which is to get cheap replacement plastics for the hacked up bits in the interior and swap them out myself...

the side benefit of today's labor is some "new" junk to sell. alexis, buy my pocketlogger software/cable! :D

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15127691#post15127691

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

[ALEXIS_DH]

hmm, interesting.

i dont have any ecu-powered modified car right now, but it looks like a promising toy.
i do have an old palm i actually never got any productive use of (m125? :think:), and this might be a good excuse to dig it from the closet. something tells me if i dont jump on this, i´ll regret it later, at $25 cant be wrong!.

although it seems to have some limitations.
All GM and Ford cars.
1996-97 Toyotas
All Toyota Supras (including 1998)
1996 ISUZU
1998+ Chrysler Intrepid, 300's, and Concord
Dodge SRT4
99 Subaru Impreza
2004+ Subarus (Inc STi)
99 Mazda Millenia S

hmmm...
how big would be the package?

[Toshi]

package would be small. i'd email the software + reg key (keep in mind that if doesn't work it's $25 to the company to migrate the registration -- i don't know if my info would work). the cable itself is small when coiled.

right now it's at 1 cent, with the buy it now gone...

[ALEXIS_DH]

am sheylacheneaux (long story, no crossdresing involved) on ebay.

[Toshi]

am sheylacheneaux (long story, no crossdresing involved) on ebay.
was a scalpel and rubber bands involved?

[ALEXIS_DH]

was a scalpel and rubber bands involved?

worse, my then girlfriend had me by the balls enough to use her name as my ebay id.
so yeah, the neural equivalent of the good ol´vet pliers.

[Toshi]

a new, highly worthwhile thread that i just started:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2276147#post2276147

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/175/im20in20your2011de5.jpg

ehhehhe

[Toshi]

mildly amusing:

http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/game/speedtype/

(i got level 7 on my first/only try)

[Toshi]

new pics from a trip today

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/craters%20of%20the%20moon%20-%20september%209,%202006/Images/IMG_2974.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/q57h4 for the rest

location: craters of the moon national monument (http://www.nps.gov/crmo/)

[WTGPhoben]

At long last I finished editing all the photos from my first wedding gig ever. Overall I was pretty satisfied with the results, but quite dissatisfied with the time it took to get them...

Here are the highlights: http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=521&subs=False

For you sick B$@%!@#s who want to see all the decent ones, they're all nicely organized here (I guess this one is worth looking at for the nifty print proof viewer I wrote...): http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=509&subs=True

pretty:

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_08_19/fullSize/IMG_9376_8x10_100.jpg

Jesus:

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_08_19/fullSize/CRW_8932_5x7_60.jpg

transrockies photos coming soon...

[Toshi]

i like the group photo on porch idea! good work. are you doing this pseudo-sepia conversion manually in photoshop? for ease you might want to try the presets in Adobe Lightroom, saves lots of work.

[WTGPhoben]

i like the group photo on porch idea! good work. are you doing this pseudo-sepia conversion manually in photoshop? for ease you might want to try the presets in Adobe Lightroom, saves lots of work.

the effect in the first image is simply a red photo filter at about 25% and a little desaturation. The second image is pretty much right out of the camera, barring a little extra darkening with the airbrush on the dark edge of the cross.

The thing that took the most time was fixing the really hgh contrast shots of the bridal party. They all looked like crap out of the camera, and as you may have noticed, only one or two actually made it into the summary gallery because in general I wasn't particularly enamored with them.

...I also don't have adobe lightroom.

[WTGPhoben]

i like the group photo on porch idea! good work.

Thanks, btw. It was pretty rediculous to watch me do it. I was standing on this sketchy chair in front of the deck shifting people around and making jokes, while trying not to kill myself and destroy my equipment in the process. The bride's family found my banter much more amusing than the groom's as far as I can tell from the pics.

[Toshi]

adobe lightroom is free for the time being as it's still in beta. try it!

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom/

[WTGPhoben]

Riding pics...

I've got three weeks of stuff. Here's a teaser and a link for each week:

Week 1: RAGBRAI - http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=525&subs=False

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_07_29/fullSize/47.jpg

Week 2: Fruita, Moab, Salt Lake - http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=533&subs=False

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_08_05/fullSize/mtb_20_moab_amy_keith_canyon.jpg

Week 3: TransRockies Challenge - http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=535&subs=False

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_08_12/fullSize/TR_08_Day1_KiethCasualty.jpg

[Toshi]

were all of these shot on film? they have a unique look to them, kinda undersaturated as if they were scanned. not so much any of the linked ones either below or in your post, except for the first ragbrai teaser...

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_08_05/fullSize/mtb_12_Moab_Keith.jpg

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_08_12/fullSize/TR_07_Day1End.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

were all of these shot on film? they have a unique look to them, kinda undersaturated as if they were scanned. not so much any of the linked ones either below or in your post, except for the first ragbrai teaser...


Yeah, nearly all the ones shot by me (as opposed to Amy), were on a P&S Chinon film camera, as the A70 I normally would have brought was unavailable when I left and I was stuck. I was pleasantly surprised at how well a lot of the film shots came out. Film proved to be much more forgiving in harsh light than the digital, but not nearly as sharp.

a lot of the undersaturating I find comes from the conversion in "Save for Web". The film images actually came out quite vivid as I went directly from negatives to the photoCD. I may have been a little overzealous in mellowing the saturation on some of them however.

[Toshi]

for the bored science nerds out there:

a presentation i just whipped up on west nile virus and avian flu (http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/WNVandavianflu.pdf).

it has math in it! and models of the spread of flu. slide 7 is where it gets more interesting – west nile virus only claims the old and infirm so is largely unremarkable.

model of flu spread in thailand:

http://www.nigms.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C6D77065-2D73-4CFE-BCC9-791B3DCCF98A/0/uncontrolledoutbreakstill.jpg

[Toshi]

went autoxing again this weekend. 2 days, 12 runs. ended up 5th out of 14? in a very popular SM class, 76/125 in PAX on day one (ugh). gotta get on some R comps for next season!

[Toshi]

alexis, mark, luc: vote on my poll on autox tire choice at nasioc!

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1092739

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/yellowstone%20national%20park%20-%20august%202006/Images/IMG_2937.jpg

option 1: buy 225/45/17 or 245/40/17 Azenis RT615 tires, mount them on current BBS wheels
advantages: cheap! can drive all summer without wearing them out. would also be suitable for the occasional HPDE.
disadvantages: still bringing the proverbial knife to the gunfight, although the importance of this is up in the air considering the car's inherent heft, suspension design, my inexperience, the fast SM civics in my region, and the fact that i'm still at 2.0 liters.

option 2: bite the bullet and run V710 tires on 17x8+" rotas that i manage to scrounge from the nasioc buy 'n sell.
advantages: it's the tire of choice for autox. two sets of wheels == still use the WRs for what they're good at.
disadvantages: not cheap. left with no good option for HPDE days -- 710s too soft, WRs too slippery. inherent bother of carting around wheels in backseat, changing them (not a big deal but worth mentioning).
if i go with 710s what would be a good width rim and tire to shoot for, assuming ready availability on the nasioc classifieds? 9" and 275s?

option 3: as above but with RA1s: scrounge up dirty 2nd set of wheels, mount with Toyo RA1 meats.
advantages: not as expensive as option 2. decent autox tire, decent HPDE tire. still can use WRs on street.
disadvantages: not cheap, still. not ideal for autox. same deal with regard to changing wheels, storing them.

option 4: buy RA1s (245/40/17?, 100 treadwear version), mount them on my BBS. don't buy extra wheels. run RA1s all summer, street, autox, track alike.
advantages: cheaper than all but option 1. get to play with R comps on the street! don't have to deal with changing wheels. decent autox tire, decent track tire.
disadvantages: inordinate amount of tire wear? stigma of being like the california guys who run R comps on the street. possibility of losing the R compound advantage through hardening the tread/heat cycling tires like mad.

option 5: fix scrapes on BBS, sell them + Nokians after ski season, get two used sets of Rotas/equivalent, one 7.5" for 225 street tires, one 8+" for 710s.
advantages: cheaper than buying another set of wheels if done right. 710s for autox == teh good.
disadvantages: logistics, annoyance, now hunting for 2 sets of wheels.

[WTGPhoben]

Photos from MIT's first ever hosting of an ECCC MTB race. This was a pretty awesome race day: 70-75 deg, sunny, big turnout. No snafus... The women's A winner is supposed to begoing pro in 2008.

Full gallery here:http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/subGals.aspx?albumID=538

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_09_17/fullSize/IMG_9840.jpg

[Toshi]

nice panning shots, keith. i like the ones that aren't cut off at mid-thigh better :D

[WTGPhoben]

nice panning shots, keith. i like the ones that aren't cut off at mid-thigh better :D

Heh, thanks. I got markedly better as the day went on. Hadn't done those panning shots before.

[Toshi]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/kento/denkianma.jpg

yet more evidence why japan is awesome (as if "fast and furious: tokyo drift" was not enough) :D

more explanation: "denki anma", the text at right, or "electric massage", is apparently a real thing.

http://accordionguy.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/7/17/2132614.html

[Toshi]

pocketlogger is back on ebay. winning bidder turned out to be a 0 feedback flake who promptly got his account suspended, prior to paying me, of course.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110036924698

buy. it. now!

[WTGPhoben]

Went up to the UVM race this weekend, and man did it rain. UVM didn't reroute the course despite the soggy conditions and the trails rapidly went to the crapper. It was so slippery, sometimes it was impossible to accelerate even on the flat. On the photofront, I tried using a zoom-blur effect in some of the shots with mixed results. It was hard enough just keeping the camera dry in the rain, let alone do anything creative.

the pics: http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/subGals.aspx?albumID=545

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_09_23/fullSize/IMG_9902.jpg

[Toshi]

that was a zoom-blur one? very nicely done if so.

in my own camera-related news i find the front element of many of my lenses is marked up with dried up rain droplets. gotta get some cleaning junk, methinks... the sigma 12-24 is especially prone to this with its bulging front element and lack of possibility of front filter usage.

in non-camera-related news i got 3rd/10? or so in the Stock AWD at my first rallycross. as you might guess from the Stock class it wasn't in my car, but rather in my buddy's own black 2002 WRX. was 0.5 sec out of 2nd place and 2.5 out of 1st (cumulative out of 3 runs), and one of my counted runs was marred by a 2 sec cone penalty... grrr.

not bad for my first time out tho. :) said car-owning buddy got 5th, 12 seconds back, again with that difference being cumulative over 3 counted runs of 5 undertaken.

[WTGPhoben]

that was a zoom-blur one? very nicely done if so.


Yeah that was one of them. This is a more extreme (pushing the border of tasteful, IMO) example:

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_09_23/fullSize/IMG_9894.jpg

I find that it looks best when the subject very close up. otherwise you get images like this (which I didn't like so much):

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_09_23/fullSize/IMG_9898.jpg

[Toshi]

agh. feel a seizure coming on :D

[Toshi]

speaking of seizures, this may well be the greatest video ever posted on youtube (faint praise, i suppose :D):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-NLPH8JeM

[Toshi]

oh, here's a real question for y'all:

i want to do video compositing, or at least i think that's the proper term. in particular i have 4 source video files and i want to make one video out of all of them.

the videos would not be played in sequence, as could be done in iMovie, but instead would be going simultaneously, two of them side by side with a small "picture in picture" of the other two at the lower right corner of each. (if it helps to visualize this the videos are footage of in car and outside of car views of the rallycross runs of me and my co-driver, and i want to have them synced to the "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!" of the starter so as to visually show where time was gained and lost.)

my question is what application i need to do this. iMovie won't. i don't think Final Cut Express will. will Final Cut Pro do the trick? how about anything open source? i looked very briefly at jahshaka but couldn't make heads or tails of its interface, let alone how to do what i want to do.

[Barbaton]

Toshi, you see this race vid?

http://thumbs.vidiac.com/comment/183c0a76-aad0-4f98-b60f-9841006c3234.jpg (http://videos.streetfire.net/video/183c0a76-aad0-4f98-b60f-9841006c3234.htm)

[Toshi]

oh, here's a real question for y'all:

i want to do video compositing, or at least i think that's the proper term. in particular i have 4 source video files and i want to make one video out of all of them.

the videos would not be played in sequence, as could be done in iMovie, but instead would be going simultaneously, two of them side by side with a small "picture in picture" of the other two at the lower right corner of each. (if it helps to visualize this the videos are footage of in car and outside of car views of the rallycross runs of me and my co-driver, and i want to have them synced to the "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!" of the starter so as to visually show where time was gained and lost.)

my question is what application i need to do this. iMovie won't. i don't think Final Cut Express will. will Final Cut Pro do the trick? how about anything open source? i looked very briefly at jahshaka but couldn't make heads or tails of its interface, let alone how to do what i want to do.
it turns out that the venerable ol' Quicktime Pro can do this:

QuickTime Pro. Open all the movies, and copy each of 3 in turn, Edit -> Add them to the fourth (moving the playhead back to the beginning before each add). Then open Movie properties, select each track, go to Visual Settings, and go nuts. Very easy and fast.

and here is the result:

http://tinyurl.com/pdmmt (click on fourth thumbnail then on resulting large image)

note that the in- and out-of-car videos are a bit off even tho the initial sync is correct since they are from different runs. i picked up 2 seconds between the out- and in-car recordings, for instance.

[Toshi]

Toshi, you see this race vid?

http://thumbs.vidiac.com/comment/183c0a76-aad0-4f98-b60f-9841006c3234.jpg (http://videos.streetfire.net/video/183c0a76-aad0-4f98-b60f-9841006c3234.htm)
ehhe, 30 seconds of that was enough. horrible cars, worse driving... :D

[Barbaton]

ehhe, 30 seconds of that was enough. horrible cars, worse driving... :D

Oh, you missed them getting hit. and then flagged for aggressive driving after the end of the race, etc. :)

[Barbaton]

it turns out that the venerable ol' Quicktime Pro can do this:



and here is the result:

http://tinyurl.com/pdmmt (click on fourth thumbnail then on resulting large image)

note that the in- and out-of-car videos are a bit off even tho the initial sync is correct since they are from different runs. i picked up 2 seconds between the out- and in-car recordings, for instance.

What, you didn't want to buy Shake? :greedy:

[Toshi]

to celebrate the new page here is a more direct link to the video. i'm on the right.

http://toshiclark.com/images/events%20and%20concerts/prg%20rallycross%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/compilation.jpg (http://homepage.mac.com/toshiclark/compilation.mov)

WARNING: ~140 MB.

my own commentary on the driving:

- i launched harder than chris. perhaps this is him babying his own car and me being a jerk :D

- although we took a similar line around the first left hand cone by the second right hand jog (0:05 into the movie) you can see i'm turned in a whole lot more in anticipation of the upcoming big left hander. you can also see that i touch the brakes here -- this is where left foot braking is totally key, imo.
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_1.jpg

- taking the above line lets me set up a whole lot better for the 70 degree left hander. also note that i'm on the brakes earlier and longer here
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_2.jpg

- you can see that the earlier braking lets chris actually catch up to me by the apex of this turn. however, also note that my car is turned in a good 10 degrees more, is not pushing, and is settled on its suspension
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_3.jpg

- the slower, tighter line on the previous turn let me put down the power more effectively while chris was still pushing wide, scrubbing off speed. this causes him to overshoot the right hand sweeper-into-slalom. note that he is still going straight in this photo.
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_4.jpg

- this in turn sets me up for where i gain most of my time, on the slalom. note being turned in early at the start of the slalom, in the middle of the slalom, and at the end of the slalom
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_5.jpg
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_6.jpg
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_7.jpg

- chris again brakes less and later and goes much faster than me around the turnaround, but as a result goes wide. cutting back over to the left costs more time. images from here on out split since they don't line up.
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_9.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_8.jpg

- we actually take a very similar line through the next left hand sweeper. the only difference perhaps is that i look slower but the car also looks like it's pushing a lot less for me
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_11.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_10.jpg

- chris again goes wide in the next sharp right. this is probably another place where i made up a bunch of time
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_13.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_12.jpg

- in the sharp left i screw up on the videoed run and go wide. chris can be seen with a cleaner, tighter line
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_15.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_14.jpg

- we both turn in at about the same time for the 180 around the tire but i apparently braked a whole lot more as can be seen by the line on exit
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_17.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_16.jpg
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_19.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_18.jpg

- same issue with line choice at the penultimate corner
http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_21.jpghttp://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/prg%20rallycross%20screencaptures%20-%20september%2024,%202006/Images/Picture_20.jpg

the net effect of these choices on line and braking point can be seen in the results:

http://www.pacificrallygroup.com/RC092406.html (link down at time of posting, but iirc this particular run was 57.xx for me, 1:01.xx for chris. my best of the day (in-car vid) was 55.9x, while chris got a 59.18.)

[Toshi]

also, randomly, rion's work today is particularly strong, imo:

http://rion.nu/v5/archive/001283.php

[Toshi]

this is the awesome and a half:

http://www.asahi.com/kansai/news/OSK200609260052.html
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/robots/muratas-seisakukun-rides-bikes-wheelie-capability-unknown-203345.php

http://www.asahi.com/kansai/news/image/OSK200609260066.jpg

the ultimate trials rider, er, riding robot

[Barbaton]

also, randomly, rion's work today is particularly strong, imo:

http://rion.nu/v5/archive/001283.php

mmm. snot bubbles

[Toshi]

hello all faithful readers of this long-lived thread,

i seek advice on what to do with a dishonest seller. please read on (and reply here if you're not registered on nasioc):

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1103330

cliffs notes: seller claims a part he is hawking would work with my car. i go to have it installed and the installers go "what is this?!". seller then revises story to say that with enough fabrication anything would work, and that it's my fault for not seeing through his insistence that it would work.

[Toshi]

my project of the day (link requires facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) account):

http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/newtemperamentgroup.png (http://harvard.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2211980429)

[Toshi]

this is interesting, in contrast to the cars that i picked about a page back for alexis, detailing which cars i thought would be best for each class:

http://www.soloracerblog.com/2006/10/stock_class_par.html

2006 scca solo nationals stock classes, with number of entrants in each class along with the car that won the class (CW).

[ALEXIS_DH]

i thought i´d contribute to the racing spirit...
there was a rally last weekend. went out with some buddies, did not film this, but i was at that spot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ksduWvmJIU

good ol´ city to city racing. like in the 50s. gotta love disregard for safety!.
6 stages, 7 days, 1400 miles. tarmac/gravel. shortest one about 90-100 miles. longest one, about 600-650 miles. all non-stop, besides one stop halfway the 600 miler.
average speed on the last 200 miles, about 160 mph, some cars hitting 170-180mph steadily at times. :eek:

geez, i hope i can at least to race one stage next year. the first one (the one in the vid).
there arent many city-city anymore, and that is something you have to experience at least once..... i just need to sprout a 4th kidney now.

[Toshi]

i thought i´d contribute to the racing spirit...
there was a rally last weekend. went out with some buddies, did not film this, but i was at that spot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ksduWvmJIU

good ol´ city to city racing. like in the 50s. gotta love disregard for safety!.
6 stages, 7 days, 1400 miles. tarmac/gravel. shortest one about 90-100 miles. longest one, about 600-650 miles. all non-stop, besides one stop halfway the 600 miler.
average speed on the last 200 miles, about 160 mph, some cars hitting 170-180mph steadily at times. :eek:
sweet jeebus, no crowd control whatsoever. that kid who darted across the road in front of the third car... :banghead: you sure about this 160 mph average? kph, sure, but that's ridiculously fast for anything but an oval track if in mph.

and, uh, 4th kidney? :D

[Toshi]

hello all faithful readers of this long-lived thread,

i seek advice on what to do with a dishonest seller. please read on (and reply here if you're not registered on nasioc):

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1103330

cliffs notes: seller claims a part he is hawking would work with my car. i go to have it installed and the installers go "what is this?!". seller then revises story to say that with enough fabrication anything would work, and that it's my fault for not seeing through his insistence that it would work.
as an update to this: i am not going to contest the charge, but instead am going to try to sell the reservoir and move on, with the daily bump(s) for the reservoir FS thread serving as more publicity for the whole sordid affair...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1106685

incidentally, i'm also selling a trim piece from the dashboard of my WRX, the upper HVAC surround. if anyone is in need of such a piece then check here :D :

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1106661

the selling of this hacked-up trim piece (with turbo timer-shaped cutout done poorly by dremel by the previous owner...) represents a nice segue into the true topic of this particular post, how my car's interior is now whole :) :

- bought an unmolested upper HVAC trim piece from a subaru junkyard in cali, thus the opportunity to sell the above.

- finally hunted down switch blanks for the 2 holes near the cruise control and the single hole in the center console. these were occupied by switches for fog lights (long gone), ? unknown, and the previous owner's remote mute switch for his non-V1 radar detector.

- bust out the drill, went to the hardware store, with the net result that the backing plates of my hood pins are now securely affixed to the carbon hood with machine screws, a much better arrangement than the flimsy adhesive that had (barely) been holding them on before.

(for the record, the pins themselves hold the plates to the hood when the hood is shut and locked, but the plates would try to escape when the pins were out, as is the case when the hood is opened. the point is that it was never a safety issue, but rather just an annoyance -- "you know your hood pins are falling off, right?" "yeah, yeah...")

[Toshi]

another random youtube video chock full o' coolness, off-roading in an airplane :eek: :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2jKqlbk_U0

and an in-car ride in a ferrari FXX (track-only development edition of the enzo's successor). that thing has some serious top end...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EFR6kdO0hU&mode=related&search=

[ALEXIS_DH]

sweet jeebus, no crowd control whatsoever. that kid who darted across the road in front of the third car... :banghead: you sure about this 160 mph average? kph, sure, but that's ridiculously fast for anything but an oval track if in mph.

and, uh, 4th kidney? :D

the arrival (and whenever cars cross towns) is even more ridiculous.
kinda like the old 70s rallies with cars racing thru the crowd, as the crowd opens to give room.
the stages are so long, there is just no crowd control.

the last stage is 600 miles across the desert, broken in 2 legs on the pan-american highway.

the last 200 miles of the last legs are just:
10km straight, flat out 6th gear bend, another 10km straight and so on. rinse, repeat.. oh yeah, some guys didnt even lift the gas a little to pass thru the 9ft wide toll booths. a road like that is kinda hard to picture. imagine i dunno, a road across death valley were you see 10km of straight in front of you, and 10km behind.
this is actually the highway they race, 200 miles of that is the last stage.
http://pictures.exploitz.com/Pan-American-Highway-at-Nazca-Peru-photo-Nazca-Cuzco--_srcgpx10001x14533x1257d44f6.jpg

wrc cars used to own the last stage (heh, a wrc racing at redline on 6th on long gearing for 200 miles). but they outlawed wrc cars a few years ago (a handful of guys bought those and were in a league on their own miles ahead the next cars). then group n cars were the ruling class. but now, rules allowed for an "suv" class.
foresters are considered suvs. and with a 2.5L engine, no 32mm restrictor and more lax modifications (some dude built a mitsubishi outlander just for the race with a punched out evo9 2.2L engine) they are pushing 450ish hp.... those were hitting the 160mph average only the wrc were doing in the past. hehe, and funnily (and scarily) they draft.

subaru forester goodness. glowing discs. that was friday night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLncB8RwhyM

160mph is like what? 250-260km/h?, thats the correct speed for the last part of the last leg. picture that road, and unrestricted 2.5L turbo (450ish hp) engines drafting flat out on 6th gear for 40-50 minutes. i think its a miracle there´s been only one driver fatality in the last 25 years. (it was on the last stage, and interestingly enough it wasnt a wrc/group n/suv (or any "fast" car)... it was a 200hp S1600 on 1999).
even to me, living here and everything, the fact races like that still exist is incredible. just gotta race one of them before the age of reason arrives to peru or something.
am pretty sure this must be one of the last surviving races of its kinda, and probably the last with cars that fast since fangio raced them...

[Toshi]

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/novelties/opel-antara-flexes-that-ass-saturns-new-vuetobe-sports-techie-bike-rack-goodness-205573.php

hitch rack built into the bumper. kinda neat idea.

http://www.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2006/10/opelbike.jpg

[Toshi]

here's a sobering dyno chart. Stock C6 Z06 overlaid on a really built 2.8L STI mill (limited by fuel system)

2.8L bored and fully built race longblock from GT Motorsports in California
(forged internals, Cosworth cams and ported stage 3 heads, titanium valve springs / retainers, race bearings, custom knife-edged crankshaft, 14mm head studs to allow 60psi of boost, etc. etc.) - supposedly capable of 800awhp
Ultimate Racing GT35R kit (GT35R turbo, custom turboback/uppipe, Tial 44mm wastegate with dumptube)
TurboXS FMIC
4" turbo inlet
Blow-through MAF setup
HKS SSQV BOV
Flow-matched 850cc injectors, single Walbro
Hydra EMS

this probably is more built than the local Crawford fanbois in your region, alexis, yet note how even with all this work it only manages to keep up with the stock Z06 from 4k on up. below that rpm the V8 owns...

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b319/mattr762/STi-vs-Z06_dyno.jpg

[Toshi]

http://www.prodrive.com/up/Cars%20for%20sale.pdf

:drool:

in other news i have 20.7 lbs of boost dialed in + some torco in the tank for tomorrow's autocross. should be a handful since i'm still on the Nokians... :D

and to continue with the car theme of months of late, here's a highly amusing video from top gear illustrating how to build a caterham 7 kit car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1mJgk4STIc

http://www.caterham.com.au/images/testindex200206forweb.gif

[ALEXIS_DH]

http://www.prodrive.com/up/Cars%20for%20sale.pdf

:drool:


so nice toys, so expensive.
barattero is an argentinean builder (they do mostly group n), their cars rule the region, some say they are as good as prodrive´s. and they are much cheaper, like $80k for a new one.
there was a used barattero 2003 impreza spec c group n for sale here for $35k (a few spares included), although it was raced almost every month.

those wrc are awesome machines. i saw an impreza wrc last year on a local rally. there was a peugeot wrc too, but the imprezza owner was not really up to the car, the peugeot was slower than some locally built group n.
the imprezza owner said the car costed $900k (including a truckload of spares and other bits). customs valued the car at $1.1million :eek:
my dad did some legal paperwork many years ago for a couple TTE celica WRC that came to peru. they were $450k for the two of them (tarmac and gravel trims and enough spares for any stage configuration).
they were originally brought to lima by ONE guy who had them as a main and spare.

pretty insane prices. imagine that, beating the crap out of a half million dollar car, jumping it off humps and putting it sideways on gravel.

[Toshi]

i just posted a thread detailing my results from the 4 month nutrition study in which i was a subject this past winter:

my 16 week health odyssey, aka "fun with fish oil" (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2311905)

[WTGPhoben]

Santa Cruz won't answer my question, so maybe RM will...

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167773

[WTGPhoben]

Just took the rebuilt bike for a ride. Feels like a blur without the advantage of VPP.

Full .02 here: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2317059#post2317059

[Toshi]

since last season i've had ski gloves on my "to buy" list, as i managed to rip the palm somehow during my 19 days on the slopes :D . thus i was extremely pleasantly surprised when i won a pair of decent looking hestra gloves at a ski movie premiere tonight. $8 gloves assuming the movie itself was worthless, which it pretty much was, heh

[Toshi]

my wrx is no more:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167981

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/wrecked%20wrx%20-%20october%2015,%202006/Images/DSC03449.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

my wrx is no more:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167981

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/wrecked%20wrx%20-%20october%2015,%202006/Images/DSC03449.jpg

nah, that'll buff right out...

My condolences. Of course I'd feel for you more if I didn't know that this will give you an excuse to get an even faster, more modified car to replace it.:cheers:

[Toshi]

my parents are giving me their '96 expedition -- i just have to take over the tabs and insurance. so i might be able to use the insurance payout (assuming the car is totaled, of course) for something impractical. spec miata?! certainly wouldn't be fast at what, 115 hp to the wheels? :D but would be an amusing ride for sure, especially with another vehicle to daily drive. miata + 700 lb/in springs + racing seat = ouch.

[Toshi]

all yr mods probably add up to more than i spent on my car :D
given the insurance situation i just made up an accurate mod list using MSRP prices (nowhere near what i paid, of course, but fair replacement value nonetheless), and the mod list came out to $16539. that's not including installation and other small/incidental parts...

http://toshiclark.com/forsale/modlist.png

[WTGPhoben]

Got the 5th element back from factory service today. Compared to the fox factory service, 5th's is pretty weak. I got no new bushings (I did from Fox), and they didn't even wipe off the excess grease from the maintenance. They did however give me a "free" t-shirt (that's at least two sizes too big) and if the shock works I won't complain, at least for a while...

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_10_16/fullSize/IMG_9940.jpg

[Toshi]

a t-shirt that's too big for you? just in girth, i suppose? :D

[WTGPhoben]

a t-shirt that's too big for you? just in girth, i suppose? :D

my scrawny mountain-climbing butt is small enough for medium if the cut is long.

[WTGPhoben]

finally all the right pieces back in the right places...

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_10_16/fullSize/IMG_9948.jpg

[Toshi]

not that it's really relevant now that the car is in pieces at the body shop (jury is still out on whether it'll be totaled, but signs are pointing to "yes"), but here's what the car put down on sept 28 when it had the water injection kit installed. yellow is on the 90 octane map, green is 92 octane, both with water injection, of course.

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/wi-dyno.jpg

figures are at the wheels: dynapacks always say "flywheel hp" or torque no matter what the settings are, and this dyno reads like a dynojet (aka, kinda high but not ridiculously high like crawford's dyno).

/end e-penis swinging

[narlus]

what was the outcome of yr water tank/injection retrofit scuffle w/ the seller?

[Toshi]

what was the outcome of yr water tank/injection retrofit scuffle w/ the seller?
i decided to drop the issue and take it as a lesson learned: be RIDICULOUSLY explicit about fitment, labor required when venturing into areas outside one's own area of expertise.

in other news, the car is officially totaled, with the estimate on parts + labor + tax for repair coming to 12,731.66. here's to hoping that the traffic lawyer will keep my insurance rates from rising a commensurate amount :cheers:

[Toshi]

i posted this link earlier in the thread but now it suddenly becomes relevant:

http://www.soloracerblog.com/2006/10/stock_class_par.html

the actual number may jump around +/- insurance, registration, deductible, etc. but let's assume a $10k figure at the moment. given that constraint what car would the peanut gallery pick?

other notes: double wishbone suspension is a HUGE plus in my book, almost mandatory. light weight is also favored. i don't want a F-body or mustang, so no F Stock cars.

ready, set, go!

[ALEXIS_DH]

i posted this link earlier in the thread but now it suddenly becomes relevant:

http://www.soloracerblog.com/2006/10/stock_class_par.html

the actual number may jump around +/- insurance, registration, deductible, etc. but let's assume a $10k figure at the moment. given that constraint what car would the peanut gallery pick?

other notes: double wishbone suspension is a HUGE plus in my book, almost mandatory. light weight is also favored. i don't want a F-body or mustang, so no F Stock cars.

ready, set, go!

i know double wishbones are the way to go, but am not aware of many sports cars with double wishbones at the price range.

have you given thought to an e30 m3. a friend of mine is replacing his 2004 japanese spec sti with an euro e30 m3. and he researched for the best replacement car for quite a while. he says the euro e30 m3 was the best all around bet.
back in the day, another guy i met in high school had this pretty kick ass e30 m3 racecar. with a factory built racing engine, complete with all the warsteiner dtm livery and everything. the car overheated like crazy, had like 13:1 compression, HAD to be run with aviation gas, crushed your kidneys with every pebble if you ever dared to take it to the street, it was a headache, but boy, it was pretty and extremely fast. i dont what in the world makes a parent give a car that fast to a 16yo, but the guy had it.

the fastest tarmac muncher and hillclimber in town for years was an ex euro-champ factory-built e30 m3 racecar (atmospheric engine btw) too. its reign extended well after the wrc-car age arrived.
they can make pretty sweet cars. they are relatively cheap by now, and the stock head and valvetrain are up to the task for a race car.

is it gonna be a track only car? or everyday car?

[Toshi]

E30 has poor suspension geometry. altho it's favored by all the DTM fanbois, i don't think it's so great myself.

(the miata has double wishbones...)

check out these:

http://sccaforums.com/forums/56/ShowForum.aspx

mmmmmm :) . i figure buying a prepped autox car is probably the way to go, Stock class, C Stock or below.

[ALEXIS_DH]

E30 has poor suspension geometry. altho it's favored by all the DTM fanbois, i don't think it's so great myself.

(the miata has double wishbones...)

check out these:

http://sccaforums.com/forums/56/ShowForum.aspx

mmmmmm :) . i figure buying a prepped autox car is probably the way to go, Stock class, C Stock or below.

but its the car with warsteiner livery!! you CAN´T argue against that!!

an already built car is going to be way cheaper and proven. but i just dont get the point of purposely built autox cars. it kinda defeats its own purpose. like allowing pros into the olympics or something.

i´m also toying the idea of building a vintage car, not now though. hopefully next year or whenever sale of buy-options on un-sprouted kidneys are legalized or something.
something like a trans-am barracuda or camaro would be so awesome. it would be cheaper than a fuel injected machine, and way cooler too. and i could keep it for 10 years, and it would still be cool and not loose its coolness when the new trend arrives. (you can see peru is all about trend and we are all a bunch of "fanbois"... one year the euro m3 got trendy, and next year everybody had one.. one year the intense m1 got trendy, next year everybody had one... wrx? half the people into cars has or had one too:biggrin: ). 60s mustang fastbacks and shelby mustangs are the latest trend. a few years ago you could find a fastback for 3k... but now? at least 12k for a running one. damn gone in 60 seconds.

the miata smells like the best bet so far.

[Toshi]

as far as purpose built autox cars, i tend to agree with you. that's why it's the most sane to stick to the Stock classes, where the mods allowed are:

- air filter element (but not swap of a cone for a flat plate, for example)
- front swaybar but not rear
- struts but not springs
- catback
- R comps on stock width wheels.

this would all come in spring or so, of course, but i'm thinking that a 1994 Miata R or 1999 Miata Sport set up for E Stock or C Stock would be fun. buying one as a package with the above mods already done, extra wheels/tires included would seem to make sense.

didn't you already have an old car, a camaro, no? got that itch again?

[ALEXIS_DH]

as far as purpose built autox cars, i tend to agree with you. that's why it's the most sane to stick to the Stock classes, where the mods allowed are:

- air filter element (but not swap of a cone for a flat plate, for example)
- front swaybar but not rear
- struts but not springs
- catback
- R comps on stock width wheels.

this would all come in spring or so, of course, but i'm thinking that a 1994 Miata R or 1999 Miata Sport set up for E Stock or C Stock would be fun. buying one as a package with the above mods already done, extra wheels/tires included would seem to make sense.

didn't you already have an old car, a camaro, no? got that itch again?

yes, a 68 camaro and a 2nd generation charger with a 440.
but the camaro is built to run on peruvian 90oct, the engine is a big block on .060" already, and its an auto and has the original interior re-done. its a rather tame car.
the charger.. i love the car, but it doesnt lend itself to "racing". plus i got a buyer interested in the car. i bought it a few weeks ago and i could make a decent profit from the sale.

i meant i was thinking about getting something like a vintage full-on race-car. like the 60s trans-am. something i could actually take to a track and drive at race speeds with relative safety on. caged 67-69 camaro, with a pumped small block, 4speed, with disc brakes and racing seats. i´d have to find a suitable canditate first though.
something like this (i wish but i doubt it could be a barracuda, those are too expensive and too rare around here to chop).
http://www.historictransam.com/images/_HST3612.jpg
http://www.historictransam.com/images/MHTA1438.jpg

[Toshi]

if you're going to make it a pure race car w/cage and all it'd make MUCH more sense to get a used Spec Miata. not as "manly" at some crude level :sneaky: but readily available, on the verge of being practical, cheap tires, etc.

see the classifieds at www.specmiata.com

[Toshi]

ooh, finally on page 79 -- no more loading millions of images, at least until this page gets clogged up, too.

anyway, my question of the day to the peanut gallery is whether this is a stupid plan:

- buy back WRX assuming reasonable price
- store in garage on stands
- try to part it out by myself whenever i get a spare hour or two

this would require me to a) learn how to take a car apart if not put it back together, and b) acquire some more tools. i guess i'd also need c), the approval of my housemates to take over the garage indefinitely :D .

thoughts on the sanity of this idea?

if i'm going to part the car out, i'm going to part it out COMPLETELY, and if i do the labor myself it'll be much more fruitful financially, plus i'll get better acquainted with the mechnical workings of the modern automobile...

[ALEXIS_DH]

ooh, finally on page 79 -- no more loading millions of images, at least until this page gets clogged up, too.

anyway, my question of the day to the peanut gallery is whether this is a stupid plan:

- buy back WRX assuming reasonable price
- store in garage on stands
- try to part it out by myself whenever i get a spare hour or two

this would require me to a) learn how to take a car apart if not put it back together, and b) acquire some more tools. i guess i'd also need c), the approval of my housemates to take over the garage indefinitely :D .

thoughts on the sanity of this idea?

if i'm going to part the car out, i'm going to part it out COMPLETELY, and if i do the labor myself it'll be much more fruitful financially, plus i'll get better acquainted with the mechnical workings of the modern automobile...

taking out a wrx gearbox is rather complicated, you´d need at least an extra set of hand for that. i´ve personally not dont that kinda thing, but my friends all swear is quite a pain in the ass.
you´d need a crane for the engine too. for other parts, nothing a reciprocating saw cannot fix.
dissambling a car isnt hard, just a bunch of wires and a few bolts. the tricky part if putting it back together. the body is quite easy. 3 bolts and the doors are out. starting with the interiors would be ideal, so you dont rip or dent anything while taking out the other parts.
the suspension is rather tricky (and dangerous if you do it without expert supervision for the first time). besides the gearbox and suspension i dont see why it wouldnt work out.

drop me a line once if you ever decide to sell and have an idea on what kinda price you´d ask. it could make a mean racecar for somebody here.

[Toshi]

i'll let you know when i find out the buyback price. at that time i'll try to figure out how much parting out would net, etc.

now that i think of it the best way to go probably would be to buy the car back at a good price, part out the simple things with high return and comparatively easy removal (water injection, stereo, interior bits, wheels/tires, brake rotors?, coilovers) and then sell the rest of the car to a local wrecking yard such as aaron's auto, which is a subaru-only yard in my neighborhood.

[ALEXIS_DH]

toshi, check this out and die.

a friend of mine snapped this pictures.
1972 challenger r/t spotted in the ghetto. check out the stripes.. looks like it might be the original paint :eek:
friend located and talked to the owner (the guy lives there, according to him, his dad bought the car many many years ago) on the spot, guy not interested in a sale.
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4452/dsc02496ic4.jpg :drool:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5095/dsc02498zi0.jpg

[Toshi]

meh, big american cars aren't my thing. that's awesome that it's in original condition tho.

<-- just got done driving the expedition 400 miles back from oregon. that's a big american vehicle for ya :D . picked up a smelly hitchhiker in salem, oregon and took him up to seattle as my token act of charity for <insert timeframe here>.

[Toshi]

train ride pics from saturday: took a bus to the train station, then a train from seattle-portland, and then two buses from portland-eugene-coos bay. also sorta picked up on a uw freshman on legs 1 and 2 of the journey :D , we'll see how that turns out.

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/window%20frames%20-%20october%2021,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3014.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/window%20frames%20-%20october%2021,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3015_16.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

train ride pics from saturday: took a bus to the train station, then a train from seattle-portland, and then two buses from portland-eugene-coos bay. also sorta picked up on a uw freshman on legs 1 and 2 of the journey :D , we'll see how that turns out.

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/window%20frames%20-%20october%2021,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3014.jpg



Nifty blur effect.

I did some shooting myself over the weekend, taking some (paying) pics for the Boston Bike Film Festival. To make a long story short, it was a study in 1600 ISO (the whole event was in a dark movie theater, even when the movies weren't playing).

http://www.phoben.com/photos/pgal/gallery.aspx?AlbumID=549&subs=False

teaser:

http://www.phoben.com/photos/archive/2006/2006_10_20/fullSize/IMG_0003.jpg

[Toshi]

ooh, that's cool. what's the story?

also, are email notifications broken for everyone else, too?

[Toshi]

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/organists.png

[WTGPhoben]

ooh, that's cool. what's the story?

also, are email notifications broken for everyone else, too?

The event was plagued by a myriad of problems, from not having a DVD player, to then having one but it not working, to there not being enough programs, and most importantly they couldn't find the cleaning lights in the theater, so I had to shoot the whole reception at ISO 1600, guessing at the focus because it was too dark for auto (even with the assist beam) and definitely too dark to see well enough for manual.

I always wondered when I would need that backlight on the little LCD...

I'm still getting email.

[Toshi]

most definitely not in my budget, but the hotness nonetheless:

PONTIAC SOLSTICE CLUB SPORT (Z0K)
Winning in the showrooms and on the racetrack, the Pontiac Solstice is fresh off its first-ever Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Showroom Stock B National Championship, and this fully race-prepared Solstice Club Sport is a shining example of how weekend racers should equip their own Solstice for success in SCCA. All SCCA Club Racing Solstices are equipped with the Z0K Club Sport regular production order option, and this Solstice is no different. Developed by GM Performance Division, the Club Sport option features the standard five-speed manual transmission along with anti-lock brake system (ABS), a limited-slip differential and FE3 suspension. The FE3 suspension is made up of lower control arms with higher-rate bushings, larger stabilizer bars, stiffer stabilizer bar bushings, endlinks and clamps, performance-valved shocks and higher rate springs.

Powered by a 177-hp, 2.4-liter Ecotec engine with a five-speed manual transmission, no other options are available when ordering a Solstice Club Sport, but this SEMA version also features some standard components and safety equipment required by SCCA to make it track ready, including a removable carbon fiber hardtop, rollcage, Hoosier 245/35R18 racing ties, Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. racing brakes, Sparco six-point safety harness and fire suppression system. Racetech racing seats, cat-back exhaust, Sparco racing steering wheel and an Orange Crush paint scheme make this Solstice Club Sport ready to take on all challengers.

Vehicle highlights

Ecotec 2.4-liter I-4 VVT
Five-speed manual transmission
Z0K Club Sport regular production order option package, which includes ABS, limited slip rear differential and FE3 suspension
Custom-painted removable carbon fiber hardtop
Cat-back exhaust system
Racetech racing seats
Hoosier 245/35R18 racing tires
Standard safety equipment, including a roll cage, fire suppression system and Sparco six-point harness
Custom, Orange Crush racing-inspired paint scheme
Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. racing brakes

http://www.autoweek.nl/images/800/0/c2b9b10ec1fd2577d6fef8da290a67e0.jpg

http://www.autoweek.nl/images/800/b/fb1c9475fca426e2266c04d01138c2fb.jpg

[Toshi]

this is also a fun read:

http://www.musketeerracing.com/comparo.html

as is this in some perverse manner:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1333

finally, go search on btjunkie.org for "Too fast to race". it's about the heyday of Group B rallying... mmm. :)

[Toshi]

a tripartite post:

part the first:

i _still_ have not received a valuation from the insurance company. i had a preliminary estimate of $15.5k last thursday, but that was before i submitted any receipts for the modifications. do note that i had $4k in additional coverage for the mods, so might even get $18k for the car? (i know, 18-15.5 is less than 4, but the 15.5 figure included some generic allowances for "aftermarket wheels", "spoiler", "lowered suspension" that will be deprecated/obsoleted by my self-provided mod list.)

$18k would be quite nice: i bought the car for 13, but of course have put quite a bit more into it since then. on the other hand, i've also pulled things and sold them as well. furthermore, 18 is a lot more than i could have realistically gotten for the car as it was before, complete and running.

moral of the story: modifications only add value to resale if you have them insured and total your car. :D

as for reselling the hulk, i'm going to try to do it locally, and this week, for the flat rate of $1k over the buyback price, with the item being sold being the whole, wrecked car. it doesn't help in this endeavour that the insurance company hasn't told me what the buyback price is. :D

also, i found out that the timing belt was broken in the wreck. this is significant because the body shop people tried to crank the car over. the WRX's engine is an interference design: this means that cranking the car with a broken timing belt implies wrecked internals, or at least new valves and pistons. not good for resale values of the wrecked car, as you'd imagine, but further insurance that the car will (remain) totaled.

part the second:

i'm swamped with work. finally school is catching up to its reputation. on the upside, part of this workload is my fault, as i enlisted as cheap grad student labor :D on a research project mapping out cortical structure and volumes using MRI data.

this isn't the specific study i'm contributing to, but is by the same dude/lab: http://www.nida.nih.gov/whatsnew/meetings/pediatric/dager.html

what this means in terms of this thread, besides whiny posts from me, is that i don't anticipate being able to ride, ski, or shoot much until, say, mid-february. might get in some of the latter two activities over winter break, i suppose.

part the third:

i've figured out a little more of what i'll be searching for when i reemerge to the world following my surgery rotation in mid-february:

- 1994-1997 miata. changes over the years (http://www.miata.net/faq/miatachanges.html) for reference. this is because i like the older "NA"/pop-up headlight body style better, not to mention that the cars will be cheaper to buy and insure.

autocross also plays in (reference (http://www.scca.com/_Filelibrary/File/stockcategoryclassificationsbymake.pdf)): the 1999-up miatas are in C Stock, whereas the 1990-1997 miatas are in E Stock, a class with an easier index. there were no 1998 miatas. :)

- this miata must have the Torsen limited slip differential. (this is another reason to go 1994-up, as the 1990-1993 ones had a viscous LSD, which is ineffective and basically no good for autox.)

- it'd be nice if this miata were a R Package: lighter, better shocks, standard LSD. however, i'd certainly settle for just the LSD vs. hunting for a rare car.

- must be low(ish) mileage, appropriate for the year.

- must be local to seattle, and i'll get it checked out at a local miata shop, after finding out which independent garage specializes in them.

- must not be modified. this is both because of my sobering experience with reliability of modded cars with my ex-WRX :D, and also because i want to stay in E Stock for autocross purposes. (again the allowable Stock class mods are front swaybar, struts-of-same-length-but-different-damping-but-not-springs, air filter element [only, not the whole intake], and catback exhaust.)

http://homepage.mac.com/ssven5/Sites/Svensworldofwheels/images/miataphoto.jpg

you can tell the above is an old photo as he's running in B Stock. cars move down the ranks as they get older -- as i wrote above, this generation of miata is now in E Stock, a much softer class.

[Toshi]

http://tjclark.ath.cx/images/miscellaneous/new%20york%20through%20lakewood%20--%201983-1999/Images/33.jpg

[Toshi]

a cool photo from http://rion.nu (no space age bubble things today!)

http://rion.nu/v5/post/110206/CRW_1425lg.jpg

[narlus]

The event was plagued by a myriad of problems, from not having a DVD player, to then having one but it not working, to there not being enough programs, and most importantly they couldn't find the cleaning lights in the theater, so I had to shoot the whole reception at ISO 1600, guessing at the focus because it was too dark for auto (even with the assist beam) and definitely too dark to see well enough for manual.

I always wondered when I would need that backlight on the little LCD...

I'm still getting email.

welcome to my world. :D 3200 can be yr friend too.

[Toshi]

http://www.treeline-designs.com/

http://www.treeline-designs.com/gallery/manitou_table.JPG

[Toshi]

"in our respective elements", the gimmick being that these were shot an hour apart. no, it's not ski season yet, but i had to pack 'em up as i headed out to idaho again yesterday. this particular photo is for a $1k contest at evogear.com, as i bought them from evo last season.

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/in%20our%20respective%20elements%20-%20november%204,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3033.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/in%20our%20respective%20elements%20-%20november%204,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3040.jpg

[Toshi]

this should interest alexis in particular, and many of you who have an eye for a clean layout:

http://windingroad.com/

(and http://windingroad.com/download/)

feel free to enter my junkmail address as a subscriber when it prompts you: spiky_dog . yahoo.com with the appropriate character inserted

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ is also well done, but lacks the feeling of a total package. it's more a blog than anything, not to damn it with too much faint praise.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m22/brm98/formyspaceyah.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

"in our respective elements", the gimmick being that these were shot an hour apart. no, it's not ski season yet, but i had to pack 'em up as i headed out to idaho again yesterday. this particular photo is for a $1k contest at evogear.com, as i bought them from evo last season.

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/in%20our%20respective%20elements%20-%20november%204,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3033.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/in%20our%20respective%20elements%20-%20november%204,%202006%20/Images/IMG_3040.jpg


I don't get it. Who's the attractive woman in the dress? What does she have to do with a picture of you and a pair of skis you submitted to a contest?

[Toshi]

the contrast in style of dress and setting is the point. we're both classmates thus superficially similar yet aren't really

[WTGPhoben]

the contrast in style of dress and setting is the point. we're both classmates thus superficially similar yet aren't really

deep.

Totally unrelated - This car review made me drool. Seriously drool: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2545

"Forget violence, you are now driving war."

how's that for a marketing slogan?

[Barbaton]

deep.

Totally unrelated - This car review made me drool. Seriously drool: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2545

"Forget violence, you are now driving war."

how's that for a marketing slogan?

Los Jalopniks have been reviewing it and weren't that enamoured. They thought its fast but lousy brakes and no good if you have false teeth. :)

Toshi, you'll appreciate this:

http://boingboing.net/images/pelosid00dz.thumbnail.jpg

[WTGPhoben]

Los Jalopniks have been reviewing it and weren't that enamoured. They thought its fast but lousy brakes and no good if you have false teeth. :)


I was most impressed by the writing of the review, and brakes are easily replaced, just like false teeth

[Toshi]

I was most impressed by the writing of the review, and brakes are easily replaced, just like false teeth
you can't argue with physics, tho: the RS4 is heavy, plain and simple.

[Toshi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M11GOVfA50&mode=related&search=

(porsche 956. 6:41 around the nurburgring <-- that's FAST. group C car? <looks it up> yeah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_956)

[Toshi]

so things have changed a lot recently:

- my father is switching practices, from coos bay, oregon to spokane, washington.
- the parents just completed the house, which went significantly over budget.
- the parents just bought a second house in spokane.
- the insurance company seems to have come up with a high valuation for my wrecked WRX: i called for it today as i received word that it was done, but the adjuster couldn't give me the number since it was over some threshold above which she needed to get approval from higher-up beancounters. :clue:

the net result of this is that the parents now want the expedition back, so my grand plan of expedition + miata is now completely out the window.

new plan:

- get paid the big $$ by the insurance company
- return from idaho to seattle at end of rotation in expedition (mid-december -- i have two weeks off for xmas break).
- find and buy a new-to-me car in those two weeks
- drive expedition back down to oregon, fly? train? bus? back empty-handed.

which brings me to the same question, only in the latest iteration: what car to get?

it can't be something quite as totally impractical as a miata, sadly, but i'm not sure that i need or want awd. i don't think i'll go with another subaru, for instance. budget is still indeterminate, and will hinge to a huge degree on what the insurance company ultimately pays out.

stay tuned to this channel for more mind-numbingly boring updates in this neverending saga.

[Toshi]

which brings me to the same question, only in the latest iteration: what car to get?

it can't be something quite as totally impractical as a miata, sadly, but i'm not sure that i need or want awd. i don't think i'll go with another subaru, for instance. budget is still indeterminate, and will hinge to a huge degree on what the insurance company ultimately pays out.
come join the fun on google spreadsheets:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pQ2qLNRonuOUzO5Szqv-wHg

post or PM your gmail address if you want to be able to edit it, too.

:clue:

[ALEXIS_DH]

mini coopers are $11k???? daaaaaaaaamn.. i saw a used S here for $33k a few months ago. my little sister wants one bad. $11k seems a kick ass deal..... for a totally ghey-mobil though.

the 350z is a pretty car with a very nice interior. thats enough to get my vote.

[Toshi]

the 350Z is purdy, yeah.

i think the $11k mini price might be a little low in reality, as i've seen most minis in the paper with higher asking prices, but maybe that's what they end up going for.

http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/10096/nissan-350z-2006-8.jpeg

[ALEXIS_DH]

the 350Z is purdy, yeah.

i think the $11k mini price might be a little low in reality, as i've seen most minis in the paper with higher asking prices, but maybe that's what they end up going for.

http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/10096/nissan-350z-2006-8.jpeg

thats one of the things i envy and miss the most about the US..
cars (and toys) are so ridiculously cheap....

a ´03 350z for $16k!!.
thats less than the retail of my ´06 yaris!!! :disgust:

[Toshi]

at first i thought a 2 seater would be completely impractical as a sole vehicle just by virtue of being small: i do have to move my junk to boise and to jackson in the upcoming months. but i think it might work with a small trailer:

http://www.mainstreet-data.com/trailer/index.htm for instance. about $250 in parts and some labor will yield a great little trailer, which also could be used to carry some (a small bit) of said junk when moving...

http://www.mainstreet-data.com/trailer/images/trailer1.jpg

the equivalent trailer mentioned, only with 12" wheels vs. 8" to be more stable, have less bearing wear:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90153

with a hitch installed all manner of ski and bike racks are possible, too... hmm

:clue:

[ALEXIS_DH]

so, am doing a couple road races this austral summer. yay!
am in the market for a new suit and helmet...

open face helmet is be preferred, as it gets hot.
toshi, recommendations?
preferably a plain white one so i can get it painted jackie stewart style, but instead of scottish motives, a stripe made out of inca decoration or something to look cool like that.

the suit, check this sparco one out. how kickass!! its nomex, but it has the looks of the 60s.
http://www.upr.com/images_products/L_4525.jpg
although it doesnt seem to have the shoulder straps which could prove to be a safety liability... hmmm...
recommendations on suits?

[Toshi]

i actually have no idea about "real" racing gear. i just use my non-nomex driving shoes and 6 yr old Answer M8 motox helmet...

places to look for advice: Motorsports forum on NASIOC, search for "driving suit". or sccaforums.com

[Toshi]

finally found out the insurance company payout: $19300 and change, minus my $1k deductible. the car was actually valued at 21200 but my $4k in mod coverage wasn't enough. still not a bad figure, especially since i bought the car for $13k.

however, i crunched the numbers for the life of the car, and they are not favorable at all: unless i'm missing something this car has cost me something like $8300, independent of operating expenses (gas, registration, insurance). this over 13 months in which i drove ~23,000 miles. that's 36 cents a mile before the actual costs of running it...

so it's been an expensive ride, filled with breakdowns galore but also with plenty of entertainment. will this deter me from buying a modified car next time, or even a subaru? you bet it will...

[WTGPhoben]

finally found out the insurance company payout: $19300 and change, minus my $1k deductible. the car was actually valued at 21200 but my $4k in mod coverage wasn't enough. still not a bad figure, especially since i bought the car for $13k.

however, i crunched the numbers for the life of the car, and they are not favorable at all: unless i'm missing something this car has cost me something like $8300, independent of operating expenses (gas, registration, insurance). this over 13 months in which i drove ~23,000 miles. that's 36 cents a mile before the actual costs of running it...

so it's been an expensive ride, filled with breakdowns galore but also with plenty of entertainment. will this deter me from buying a modified car next time, or even a subaru? you bet it will...

Now let's not be mean to subi. Your recently deceased friend was a known drag racer in its youth. You've gotta expect a little extra wear and tear...

[Toshi]

Now let's not be mean to subi. Your recently deceased friend was a known drag racer in its youth. You've gotta expect a little extra wear and tear...
true. ultimately, the stuff that broke couldn't be directly traced back to drag racing, tho:

- alternator belt, probably due to improper size choice by lazy previous owner.
- fuel pump, which would have been simple were it not for the fact that the mods kept the dealer from working on the car. instead, the tuning shop needed a month to hunt down the problem, and along the way sundry other parts were replaced.

oh well. :banghead: :busted:

[ALEXIS_DH]

this is a rather beautiful picture of a place i´d usually consider among the most sucky-sucky in town.... i´ve actually never seen it like that. not mine btw. just saw it on a website and it really strike me cold.
http://static.flickr.com/115/295084592_1e98d65717_o.jpg

[Toshi]

maybe i'm overreacting, but i've actually been thinking about getting something like this, or one of the other "baby cars" (pictured is kia rio, but also see hyundai accent, honda fit, toyota yaris, nissan versa) :eek:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/tmb/9214_image.jpg

in all honesty, something like this would probably be the most practical choice for me: a good warranty, 10/100 powertrain on the kia (!), cheap to insure, enough room to haul my stuff without a trailer... and i guess i could get another set of steelies, put V710s on, and toss it around in H Stock. i'd get whipped on by the Minis, but it'd be a more useful car than a 2002 Mini.

agh. i don't want to grow up :clue:

[ALEXIS_DH]

maybe i'm overreacting, but i've actually been thinking about getting something like this, or one of the other "baby cars" (pictured is kia rio, but also see hyundai accent, honda fit, toyota yaris, nissan versa) :eek:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/tmb/9214_image.jpg

in all honesty, something like this would probably be the most practical choice for me: a good warranty, 10/100 powertrain on the kia (!), cheap to insure, enough room to haul my stuff without a trailer... and i guess i could get another set of steelies, put V710s on, and toss it around in H Stock. i'd get whipped on by the Minis, but it'd be a more useful car than a 2002 Mini.

agh. i don't want to grow up :clue:

you have seen the light young one (heh,, am 2 years younger than you).

one cheap practical car + toy cars. t3h winning formula.

my choice was yaris. 35+mpg, cheap insurance, abundant parts, not so ugly as the previous yaris (or echo, which i also had). its a brand new toyota too, so i will never have to deal with unreliabilty or constant shop trips.
and it wont hurt as much when it gets scratched, bumped and every other city nuissance.

i reviewed a lot of the economy cars when i got mine (after being very close to buying a 2.5ton turbodiesel SUV, fortunately my dad talked me out of it), and IMO, the yaris was hard to beat at its price range. its surpringly roomy inside. its actually the most practical/best value car i´ve owned.:biggrin:
am quite happy with the purchase.

the only downs i find with it, is the weird sounds of the engine. the electric steering and variable valvetrain makes the engine have a funky tone. the plastic parts in teh interior get scratched easily (i have one deep scratch on my dash from the zipper on my backpack), and the silver plastic parts look like the silver coating will get off in the not so distant future.
the drivers cup holders is in an awkard position. and it lacks the little ashtray drawer. it has removable a cylindrical ashtray that scratches its compartment quite easily. but easy fix, i put it on the rear cup holder and use it as a trash bin, i dont smoke.

the peruvian yaris is a 1.3L. the american yaris is 1.5L, so it would not be as slow.
the corolla seems quite nice too, and its like 3k more, so its still on the same ballpark.

[Toshi]

my take:

fit - too expensive
yaris - nicer looking but not as sporty, as it were, as the rio
rio - sportier than its stablemate, the hyundai accent. note that the rio/accent totally sucked before its 2006 revision.
versa - a mini-minivan. soft!
scion xa - uninspiring somewhat
scion tc - too expensive, what with feature creep

test driving tomorrow will be enlightening, as there's a kia (and toyota/honda/big brands) dealer in town. i might also take a subie or two for a spin for kicks.

[ALEXIS_DH]

that kia rio sounds good. 110hp isnt that bad.

my 1.3L yaris has 87hp. needless to say, it lacks torque for city driving. gets a bit uncomfortable at times... but its more of a tiny nuissance than anything else actually. hairsplitting actually for a city car.

[Toshi]

the car-hunt spreadsheet has been updated to reflect harsh reality:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pQ2qLNRonuOUzO5Szqv-wHg

http://chronos.stanford.edu/users/lucs/misc/miata2.jpg

http://www.carclub.com/research/sneak_previews/images/02cooper.jpg

http://www.treehugger.com/files/toyota-yaris-sh-02.jpg

[Toshi]

today i test drove the Nissan Versa, Kia Rio, and Mazda 3. my thoughts:

3 - surprisingly large dead spot at center of steering. nice interior, cool dashboard lighting, but didn't feel spritely. did feel nice and solid, however, and the driving position was attractive in that it was low to the ground and sporty feeling.

Rio - notchy manual gearbox. felt very light, as it is: sub-2400 lbs! not a speed demon, but felt well controlled. i could live with this car.

Versa - didn't feel ponderous at its weight of 2700 lbs. not quick either. very nice interior -- mp3 player aux input, available bluetooth phone integration. didn't feel all soft like i expected based on the magazine reviews. i'll have to consider this one seriously, especially since the manual version has a 6-speed gearbox! sweet, eh? (i test drove the CVT, the only one on their lot.)

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media/photo/2005-10/19951308.jpg

[Toshi]

however, i crunched the numbers for the life of the car, and they are not favorable at all: unless i'm missing something this car has cost me something like $8300, independent of operating expenses (gas, registration, insurance).
i found out that my insurance settlement was better than i thought! they cover tax and fees, too, plus i misheard by a couple hundred. this means i'm getting just about an even $20k after my deductible is subtracted. :) this brings the above figure on money-i-lost-with-the-wrx to about $6700. subtract the $3k spent on the freak month in the shop and then the car doesn't look to be as horrible of a deal as it once did. yay.

edit: to clarify, once the repair costs are deducted out the remainder can be accounted for by my insurance plan's $1k deductible and the $2k i found myself short in coverage: i insured for $4k worth of mods but the car was assessed with $6k worth of them. so the math works out. :)

:busted:

(this also means that i could theoretically swing $18k for the replacement car with enough for tax, registration, changeover of insurance. !! looks like i'll have to obsessively pore through the classifieds with a new sparkle in my eye.)

[Toshi]

another update:

today i drove two hondas, an audi, a bmw, a mercedes, two toyotas, a mitsubishi, a mazda, a mercury, and a pontiac. yeah, it was a full day.

2003 Honda Civic LX coupe - nice interior. benign. clean. not particularly fast, and not particularly sharp in response to steering inputs. a practical choice, especially as a certified used vehicle, but that's only a 12mo/12k warranty.

2007 Honda Civic LX sedan - awesome exterior styling, sci-fi! cool concept on two layer dashboard. unfortunately the upper layer of the dashboard would be obscured by the top of the steering wheel if i set it up as i like to do. as it was, it was quicker and sharper feeling than the old civic. a nice car, but there are many other nice cars available for less, particularly since i don't need much interior room.

2003 Audi A4 1.8T quattro sedan - poor throttle response off the line and not much oomph in general. floppy feeling steering/suspension calibration. not impressive despite nice choice of colors and materials on the interior. good seat warmers, heh.

2004 BMW 325ix sedan - an awd bmw, sacrilege. drove nicely, what with sharp throttle response, solid feeling suspension tuning and steering response, and a nice if austere interior. not worth the money imo, however.

2000 Mercedes-Benz SLK230 hardtop convertible - the power retractable hardtop is trés chic, and the salesman didn't know about it! i think i made his day when i showed him how it worked. automatic transmission, unfortunately, which dulled the engine response. feels like a nice car to tool around in with the top down, but again not quite what i'm after.

2007 Toyota Corolla S sedan - driven because annika likes it. :-D unfortunately i didn't really like it myself. the leather steering wheel was a nice touch, but i didn't care for the extra body cladding, the high-ish seating position (i don't have suv envy!), or the safe-but-not-overly-exciting suspension setup. it's a solid car for sure, but i want something with more spunk.

2003 Toyota Celica GT coupe - i really liked this one! low, sporty seating, a similarly nice leather steering wheel, pedals placed well for heel-and-toe downshifting, feels small and light as it is, good visibility, and excellent response to steering inputs. for being front wheel drive it wasn't half bad at all.

(i was going to drive the Toyota Yaris, but the only one on the lot was a rental car, for which the keys are unavailable on weekends. i'll drive it sometime next week.)

2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse coupe - drove a base, 4-cylinder, manual tranny model. ergonomics were BAD: my knee hit the dashboard when the seat was adjusted as i like it; the windshield seemed very far away; the side mirrors were too far back; rear visibility was poor. given that it wasn't that entertaining to drive, less so than the celica for sure, i would not be willing to live with those ergonomic compromises.

2003 Mazda 6 sedan - 4 cyl/5-speed model tested. oddly enough it seemed lighter and narrower than the Mazda 3 i drove last night. better low end grunt, too, although the top end was decidedly anemic. quite a fun car, really!

2000 Mercury Cougar coupe - anemic, ugly interior, softly sprung, bad shifter. just not a good car at all.

2007 Pontiac G5 coupe - as bad as the ergonomics on the Mitsubishi were, the Pontiac was 10x worse: the steering wheel was really far away when the seat-pedal distance was right for me, and the shifter was positioned far back in the cabin. when shifting into 2nd and 4th gears my elbow would hit the seat bolster, and it was physically uncomfortable and distracting. a cheap-feeling steering wheel and fussy clutch sealed the deal. GM products still suck. well, except for the Solstice, but the dealer wanted $28k for theirs, with several thousand of that price just pure markup. ridiculous!

[Toshi]

cliffs notes for the above:

the Celica and the Mazda 6 are nice. (the 6 has double wishbones up front! how cool is that?! answer: very, sheesh.)

the BMW and M-B SLK are both nice but they each have teh big $$$ sticker.

the rest of the cars pretty much suck :D

[Toshi]

w00t: bought the salvaged car and turned it around for a tidy profit in all of 37 minutes. :)

[WTGPhoben]

w00t: bought the salvaged car and turned it around for a tidy profit in all of 37 minutes. :)

details?

[Toshi]

details?
i've been waiting for more than a month now for the salvage price. originally i was told that it was a percentage of the assessed value, and my hopes were low after the assessed value came in so high. however, it turned out that it's an auction style process, and apparently my car looked unattractive to the salvage-lot bidders, what with the front end damage and two popped airbags.

net result: salvage bid was $2160.40. i'd promised to offer the car up in its current state for $1k more than the salvage bid, and had at least 16 subie owners biting at the hook (with many others circling vulture-like for individual parts). i offered it up via PM to the guy who had been the most persistent, and 37 minutes after it was sent got a "Ill take it. !!!"[sic] in response.

:clue:

there's no doubt in my mind that the parts still on the car are worth more than $3160.40, but it's frankly not worth my time. i'm out of the subie game, and the $1k profit from this deal will cover my deductible nicely, bringing down the money-lost-on-wrx figure to $5k and change ($2k if the month o' repairs is left out as before). $2k is not great but not horrible for 13 months of service.

[Toshi]

drove a few cars today: Toyota Yaris, and took another look at the Kia Rio and Nissan Versa.

Yaris - gauges in center console (and none in front of the driver) actually wasn't that annoying. what was annoying is that the windshield is quite far forward from the driver -- i almost couldn't touch it. this places the large rearview mirror prominently in the field of view, blocking out a good part of the next lane over. not cool. the top of the windshield and top of the side glass was also quite low, even for me with the seat ratcheted all the way downwards. claustrophobic feeling + somewhat numb steering == no thanks.

Rio - was as competent as before if not inspiring. feels small and light if not lithe. shifter felt more notchy. if the warranty wasn't so good i wouldn't give this car another thought, but 10 years, 100k miles powertrain warranty is compelling...

Versa - wasn't as enthralled this time. the interior is nice, sure, but the warranty is middling (3 years/36k bumper to bumper, 5/60 powertrain) and the response in sharp cornering less than agile. i think i'll have to pass on this one, especially since the dealer seemed very recalcitrant when i asked if they'll ever have a 6-speed model in stock to test out.

[Toshi]

how does this plan sound to the collective viewing audience?

a) buy a cheap, beater 1993 Subaru Impreza L wagon. awd, 1.8 liters, horribly slow, should be pretty reliable. cheap! drive this through my last rotation in wyoming, which will be ending in june.

b) drive this vehicle to see my big sis get married, etc. return to seattle in it, spend good portion of july recuperating from a year of clinical rotations

c) get a miata or the like in the good summer months.

d) take roadtrip in the new(er), fun vehicle.

i think this will be the easiest to accomplish, as old subarus are everywhere in seattle, and would give me a decently roomy, awd set of wheels to use for moving my stuff to idaho and wyoming, and for going skiing. any flaws in this plan?

an alternate thought, since having two cars really is somewhat silly, is substitute "shifter kart" or other very fun-but-impractical choice for c... an old impreza could tow a kart on a trailer for sure.

[Toshi]

mmm late model land cruiser with unimog portal axles grafted in...

http://tired-iron.mounet.com/Grace4X4/GRBTLC/TLC_87.jpg

[ALEXIS_DH]

Yaris - gauges in center console (and none in front of the driver) actually wasn't that annoying. what was annoying is that the windshield is quite far forward from the driver -- i almost couldn't touch it. this places the large rearview mirror prominently in the field of view, blocking out a good part of the next lane over. not cool. the top of the windshield and top of the side glass was also quite low, even for me with the seat ratcheted all the way downwards. claustrophobic feeling + somewhat numb steering == no thanks.


jeesus, how tall are you?
am not tall at all (1.73m, 5´8"-5¨9"?) and it isnt much of an issue. although it does feel minivan-ish. i find the front side windows huge for a car its size actually. are you talking about the hatchback, or the sedan? i´d assume the first.

the electric steering is rather funky. has a bit of a detached feeling to it. the peculiar sound it makes, gets a bit tiresome after a while (but thats not a problem since i got a bigger stero actually).
i´m a bit of a car nut, to the eyes of my friends and family a bit anal about cars, but i really dont split hairs like that. :biggrin: but then, of course my choices are much more limited compared to the US motor market.
btw, why is 2 cars silly?? you can have a realiable easy people mover in one, and a toy in the 2nd. i think both concepts are mutually exclusive. that is unless you are talking big $$.
imo, on cars its frugal, reliable and fast. but you only get to pick 2.

[Toshi]

i'm also 173 cm actually, but i'm very picky/neurotic :D . it was the sedan. toyota may have tweaked seat height and mirror size for the u.s. market.

two cars becomes an issue later: i'll be done with school in june 2008 and probably won't be in seattle for residency. moving two cars would suck.

[Toshi]

today i drove more cars still: a VW, a Mini, a Volvo, a Scion, and two Mazdas. i think i've now driven most everything on my list o' prospective vehicles.

VW GTI 2.0T with the DSG gearbox - DSG is a sweet, sweet technology, and the 2.0T is a punchy engine! great midrange response. however, the car itself was underwhelming: just the wrong size, not really tossable, and overpriced. it never was really on the list (i just wanted to try out DSG) but off it goes nonetheless.

Mini Cooper non-S - a handy little car. feels small, narrow, yet stable. good visibility, snazzy dashboard. tiny luggage area, high price (even with a dealer that doesnt mark up), and ultimately not that compelling. it's also off the list despite its resounding successes in GS (G Stock) and HS autocross.

Volvo S40 2.4i - the Mazda 3 and the Volvo S40/V50 share the same platform as the European-model Ford Focus. (the U.S. model Focus is the inferior, old model.) despite this shared, humble heritage, i didnt really like the Mazda 3 yet really liked the Volvo S40. the dashboard is simple, elegant, and functional, the shifter is wonderful, and the 2.4 liter naturally aspirated four banger sufficiently responsive in the midrange. i'd totally rock one of these, and insurance is probably super low!

Scion tC - meh. interior isn't that great, doors are long and unwieldy, clutch balky, and shifter rubbery and vague. oh, and the engine sounds very agricultural. no thanks, even with Scion's nifty youth-targeted advertisements.

Mazda Miata, 2004 (so last generation) - surprisingly off my list: i confirmed that convertibles indeed suck in the winter by driving around a bit with the top down in frigid nighttime Salt Lake City weather. also, even at my modest stature i found my view of the road somewhat obscured by the top of the windshield. i don't want to deal with that day in and day out, so the miata is gone from my plans. plonk.

Mazda RX-8 - yes, the dealer let me test drive a RX-8 without raising and eyebrow. and it was sweet indeed. it didn't feel much larger than the Miata while driving around, and the 9k rpm and linear power delivery were very much as depicted in Gran Turismo 4, that is to say, they were great. the driving position was comfortable and suitable for a sports car, the steering well weighted and precise, and the back seat and trunk are even half usable. couple this with the fact that the RX-8 was the B Stock class winner this year at the National autox championship and it will be tough to beat.

insurance may be the factor that sways this decision... time to get quotes next week.

(note that the Volvo S40/V50 was redesigned as a 2004.5 model. the old model had teh suck in spades, while the new one is snazzy and a half.)

http://images.consumerguide.com/autoreview/400x266/2005-Volvo-S40-and-V50-05904101990019.JPG

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedans/0606_x+2005_volvo_s40+interior_cockpit.jpg

[Toshi]

for those of you still trying to keep up at home, the following spreadsheet has the current contenders:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pQ2qLNRonuOUzO5Szqv-wHg

cars that i have test driven, 23 unless i can't count...

Audi A4 1.8T quattro
BMW 325ix
Honda Civic (x 2: 2003, 2007; we also owned a lackluster 1996 one)
Kia Rio
Mazda 3
Mazda 6
Mazda Miata (x 2: 2001 and 2004)
Mazda RX-8
Mercedes-Benz SLK230 Kompressor
Mercury Cougar
Mini Cooper
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Nissan Sentra
Nissan Versa
Pontiac G5
Scion tC
Toyota Celica GT
Toyota Corolla S
Toyota Yaris sedan
Volkswagen GTI 2.0T DSG
Volvo S40 2.4i

[Toshi]

this is kind of fun, google:

inurl:"ViewerFrame?Mode="

some examples of unsecured webcam/security cameras:

http://66.209.109.2:60006/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&Language=0
http://83.171.69.42:88/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard&Interval=30&Size=STD&
http://216.231.170.182:5903/ViewerFrame?Mode=Motion&Language=0

oh yeah, and pics from Alta/Utah to come soon

:clue:

[Toshi]

pics from Alta/Utah to come soon

:clue:
i ended up going to utah for thanksgiving, but didn't end up staying there very long.

reason #1: i almost froze to death. to save money and be hardcore i decided to sleep in the parking lot of Snowbird, one of the many ski areas local to Salt Lake City. (i skied at Alta, a bit farther up on the road, but they're more militant about kicking out overnight parkers.) later on i found out that the temperature was 15 degrees the next morning, and i assume it was lower during the night. all i know for sure is that even with a sleeping bag, blanket, and my ski jacket on i was so absurdly cold that i idled the car with the heater on full blast on and off for about an hour and a half. i don't think i could have taken another night of that.

reason #2: the snow kind of sucked. yeah, odd that i'd ever say that about utah, which traditionally has lovely, fluffy powder... instead it was washington state getting dumped on, while i skated around on 29" of middling white stuff. there were enough rocks and roots that i put a hefty gouge or two in the base of my skis. ouch. i also broke one of my poles.

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/thanksgiving%20in%20utah%20-%20november%202006%20/Images/IMG_3082.jpg

reason #3: trying to be cheap. it's hard to be frugal when driving a 15 mpg beast to go skiing (lift tickets are no chump change themselves), but i did my best this weekend. no motel, only one ski ticket, and pretty cheap meals, too. incidentally, i probably would have been kicked out from a nice restaurant had i wandered in, as i looked very much like i slept in my car and then skiied all day. i was a mess.

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/thanksgiving%20in%20utah%20-%20november%202006%20/Images/IMG_3072.jpg
(i think i look like an alien in this pic, what with huge goggles + fogged up glasses. also note the broken pole stump.)

reason #4: i test drove one final bunch of cars. in case the string of posts above doesn't make it abundantly clear :D, i've been test driving cars of all varieties. on the same whirlwind day that i went skiing (following the night o' shivering death) i hit up a final group of dealerships. even in my sorry looking state i didn't get turned down when i made the request to test drive some pretty swanky cars, and (as stated in the post two up from this one) i finally have the list of candidate cars realistically pared down to two (Mazda RX-8, Volvo S40 2.4i).

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/thanksgiving%20in%20utah%20-%20november%202006%20/Images/IMG_3083.jpg

although highlander is right in that there can be only one, ultimately, it's nice to have it narrowed down this far, and i felt that i had accomplished enough that i returned to idaho late that night.

pics from the weekend are up here: thanksgiving in utah (http://tinyurl.com/uhnp9 ). the full size image pages have captions that explain why there are rockets in the photos, etc.

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/thanksgiving%20in%20utah%20-%20november%202006%20/Images/IMG_3070.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/thanksgiving%20in%20utah%20-%20november%202006%20/Images/IMG_3062.jpg

:busted:

[ALEXIS_DH]

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/thanksgiving%20in%20utah%20-%20november%202006%20/Images/IMG_3062.jpg

OMG! you shaved!

[Toshi]

OMG! you shaved!
not that day! or the day before. :D the resolution of the posted pic is just not high enough. my (scalp) hair is getting pretty unruly, btw -- i'm trying to look like more of a skier :lighten:

[Toshi]

people: what do we think about this car?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230056825206&fromMakeTrack=true

carfax is clean, seller has good reputation... no leather but who's keeping track? :D . plus they say shipping should be ~$400. renting an auto carrier trailer for the expedition would cost that much alone.
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_DisplayHistoryRpt.cfm?partner=DVW_1&vin=JM1FE173240139716

in other news, i'm abusing the request-quotes-from-dealers-via-email feature, and am stringing along a bunch of volvo dealers for quotes on a new S40. i don't plan to buy one new, but just in case i spring for a used one i want ammo: "uh, i can buy this car new for XX amount more. durr."

[WTGPhoben]

people: what do we think about this car?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230056825206&fromMakeTrack=true

carfax is clean, seller has good reputation... no leather but who's keeping track? :D . plus they say shipping should be ~$400. renting an auto carrier trailer for the expedition would cost that much alone.
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_DisplayHistoryRpt.cfm?partner=DVW_1&vin=JM1FE173240139716

in other news, i'm abusing the request-quotes-from-dealers-via-email feature, and am stringing along a bunch of volvo dealers for quotes on a new S40. i don't plan to buy one new, but just in case i spring for a used one i want ammo: "uh, i can buy this car new for XX amount more. durr."

Looks like a deal to me (It's basically free after insurance, and you can spend your time driving instesad of looking, which has significant value). I'd wager you will (not necessarily should) buy this car or one similar to it. Here's why:

- it's competitive (none of the other cars you're looking at are)
- it's interesting / unusual.
- it whispers throwback to your Z of old.

[Toshi]

ok then, what car should i get?

[WTGPhoben]

ok then, what car should i get?

If you want to spend money on your car but have lots of fun in it (until you have to carry something somewhere), you should get that one (rx8).

If you want to spend money on you car but have less fun (until you have to carry something), get the volvo. Backstory: my dad has a 2000 volvo v70 and all he does is throw money at it. It's real expensive to fix, and super annoying when it's always stupid electrical stuff.

If you don't like spending money on your car (then fun is less of an option), buy one of those little boxy things you were test driving.

my .02, anyway.

[Toshi]

thanks for the input. your dad's volvo was a "real volvo" tho, no? whereas this S40 is a tarted up euro-spec ford focus/mazda 3... i'm not sure whether that heritage would imply greater or lesser reliability. :D

food for thought:

S40 interior volume: 92 cubic feet
RX-8 interior volume: 89 cubic feet

S40 trunk volume: 12.6 cubic feet
RX-8 trunk volume: 7.6 cubic feet

[WTGPhoben]

thanks for the input. your dad's volvo was a "real volvo" tho, no? whereas this S40 is a tarted up euro-spec ford focus/mazda 3... i'm not sure whether that heritage would imply greater or lesser reliability. :D

food for thought:

S40 interior volume: 92 cubic feet
RX-8 interior volume: 89 cubic feet

S40 trunk volume: 12.6 cubic feet
RX-8 trunk volume: 7.6 cubic feet


probably was. It was the original v70 AWD

[Toshi]

so i'm the high bidder on that rx-8 :eek: . reserve is met, 1d 20h left on the auction...

the plan would be to drive the expedition from here (pocatello) to salt lake city, which is about 160 miles, then have the dealer, a trucking company, ship the expedition at their leisure on a car carrier to oregon. i'd drive the rx-8 back up to pokey, back to seattle, etc. assuming all my stuff fits in it...

http://toshiclark.com/images/miscellaneous/random/finchcar.png

[ALEXIS_DH]

heh... tired from the "unreliability" of a modded impreza.. and jumping into rotary engines.. :p

i had one when i was 17. the most unreliable car i´ve ever had (and for a while, i had a kink in buying unreliable cars).

[Toshi]

which rx-? did you have, alexis? the rx-8 is not bad, by all accounts, when you run dino oil, rev it up often to remove carbon deposits :D (woohoo, it's required!), and simply don't run it dry of oil.

also note that there are 3y and 21k miles left on the powertrain warranty, and that if the engine fails mazda's blowby/compression test during that time it'll get a fresh new engine courtesy of mazda. :)

[ALEXIS_DH]

which rx-? did you have, alexis? the rx-8 is not bad, by all accounts, when you run dino oil, rev it up often to remove carbon deposits :D (woohoo, it's required!), and simply don't run it dry of oil.

also note that there are 3y and 21k miles left on the powertrain warranty, and that if the engine fails mazda's blowby/compression test during that time it'll get a fresh new engine courtesy of mazda. :)

i had an rx7. a twin turbo 93, with an hks single turbokit. huuuuuge clouds of black smoke and smell of gasoline out of nothing at times, run lean one day, rich the other. bad o2 sensors, it ate exhausts, apex seal problems, rough idle, extremely crappy mpg (like 6), couldnt run on pump gas.....

worse to keep in tune than a six-pack carb!. and that is a lot to say.

[Toshi]

ah, you can't judge rotaries based on your experience with the last gen RX-7, let alone a (poorly?) modded one...

[ALEXIS_DH]

ah, you can't judge rotaries based on your experience with the last gen RX-7, let alone a (poorly?) modded one...

well, yeah, it was a rather amateurish attempt at modding.
but still, in its pure form, gas mileage is really bad, knowledgable mechanics are scarce, seal problems are plenty and its bad thermal efficiency makes you wonder..... i dont know. i just wouldnt get one for an everyday car out of gut feeling and pavlovian conditioning.

[Toshi]

with regard to mileage, agreed.

about mechanics: i don't intend to mod, and there's that warranty for a bit, at least.

apex seals: the renesis is a different beast. no boost for one, different seals for another. http://rotaryengineillustrated.com/how-a-rotary-engine-works/rx-8-renesis-engine-2.html and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w0p65eETrE&mode=related&search= are a good read, and an empty but entertaining watch, respectively.

thermal efficiency? don't know. is this just bad gas mileage restated?

in exchange for those drawbacks the linearity of its powerband, the packaging, and the smoothness of its operation are excellent. remember how i said a while back that i didn't like my WRX's turbo lag? well, the RX-8's powerband may be felt to be less than exciting by some pundits, but it's about as linear as you could hope for short of electric motors.

http://images.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0403_Road_Test_2004_Honda_S2000_Vs_2004_Mazda_ RX8_Vs_2004_Nissan_350Z_020z_Dyno_Chart.jpg

http://images.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0403_Road_Test_2004_Honda_S2000_Vs_2004_Mazda_ RX8_Vs_2004_Nissan_350Z_021z_Dyno_Chart.jpg

ok, maybe the S2000 has a similar low-torque high-revving powerband, but the packaging of the rotary in the RX-8 lets it actually be a practical car, or at least be a bit less impractical.

[Toshi]

w00t. unless the eBay seller/dealer backs out, i'm now the owner of a 2004 Mazda RX-8 Touring package with 29k miles on it. :)

http://photos.ebizautos.com/5089/1314356_4.jpg

[Tonycalves]

Nice, got your rack for it yet?

[Toshi]

i'm thinking that i won't get a rack for it. most all i do nowadays is road biking/commuting anyways...

it doesn't need a ski rack, either: ski pass through. with snow tires, low torque, and traction control i should be golden.

[Toshi]

stupid bank regulations:

i deposited the insurance settlement check on monday and thought that it'd clear shortly. instead it's going to be held until december 13th. this is awful. now i don't have sufficient funds to write a cashier's check for it as promised... unless the dealer is cool with my idea to charge it to amex :D i'm not sure how this weekend's transaction is going to transpire...

agh.

[ALEXIS_DH]

stupid bank regulations:

i deposited the insurance settlement check on monday and thought that it'd clear shortly. instead it's going to be held until december 13th. this is awful. now i don't have sufficient funds to write a cashier's check for it as promised... unless the dealer is cool with my idea to charge it to amex :D i'm not sure how this weekend's transaction is going to transpire...

agh.

another "alexis in the US" moment.
when i just moved to the US, i paid a car with a credit card.
the dealer was ok with it. after signing the papers and stuff... they raised an eyebrow when they realized the credit card was peruvian and had my peruvian name (2 last names) on it, insted of the name in my drivers license.
the dealer proceeded to offer me a refund. unknowingly i accepted.

they gave me he refund not 15 minutes after charging the card.
the bad part. i lost like $400. when they charged the amount in US dollars (from the balance in peruvian Soles), the peruvian bank sold me dollars. then, when the refund came in, it came in US dollars, so the bank sold me soles in exchange of the dollars i had just buy from them. lost around $400 in the 2 currency exchanges.
the family in lima was not amused. had to get a job deliverying-installing yard fountains to cover my mistake.

[Toshi]

that's pretty awful, losing money into the currency exchange ether. if the dealer accepts amex this actually would work out nicely, since they pay 1% cashback. if they don't then it'll be a headache and a half, and my 100% positive feedback on ebay might be history... :(

[Toshi]

ah, the deal is on: cc is ok, with a slight surcharge offset by the cash back i get from amex. :)

[Toshi]

hmm, just had a thought, assuming the rx-8 has summer tires on it. (the ad said that the tires were "80%" tread remaining, so at 29k miles that would mean a replacement set assuming a non-shady seller. the last part has yet to be proven so it may well be the stock summer tires...)

if i can make it through the pocatello + boise winter on summer tires then instead of getting snow tires i might just get a membership with flexcar:

www.flexcar.com

the rate for current UW students with the bus pass is $40/year, $7.70 a mile. gas/everything is included in that $7.70.

hmmmmm. the problems with this idea are:

1) making it through winter without incident.
2) not being able to ski while away from seattle.

otherwise the cars are bountiful in the seattle/uw campus area (http://www.flexcar.com/default.aspx?tabid=214), and they have an amusing variety, from priuses (priii?) to miatae: http://www.flexcar.com/CarsLocations/VehicleInformation/tabid/71/Default.aspx . needless to say, none of them would have summer tires so would be capable in the hills.

[WTGPhoben]

I'm going disc on the MTB...

Here's the current dilemma:

following the rule that I'm not going to make my bike any heavier, I've decided that I want Magura Marta disc brakes (180mm). It seems that the 180mm rotors are hard to find in the non-SL version, so SL and regular end up being the same price. The question is, which do I choose?:

Regular - heavier with aluminum lever (solid)
SL - lighter with carbon lever (scary)

My gut says mountain bikes shouldn't be made of anything carbon fiber, but the bling junkie in me says I should get the "nicer" one if they're the same price.

Thoughts?

[Toshi]

carbon!

i'd avoid splintering material for seatposts, but the brake levers should remain far from your buttocks, in theory at least...

[ALEXIS_DH]

hmm, just had a thought, assuming the rx-8 has summer tires on it. (the ad said that the tires were "80%" tread remaining, so at 29k miles that would mean a replacement set assuming a non-shady seller. the last part has yet to be proven so it may well be the stock summer tires...)

if i can make it through the pocatello + boise winter on summer tires then instead of getting snow tires i might just get a membership with flexcar:

www.flexcar.com


the rate for current UW students with the bus pass is $40/year, $7.70 a mile. gas/everything is included in that $7.70.

hmmmmm. the problems with this idea are:

1) making it through winter without incident.
2) not being able to ski while away from seattle.

otherwise the cars are bountiful in the seattle/uw campus area (http://www.flexcar.com/default.aspx?tabid=214), and they have an amusing variety, from priuses (priii?) to miatae: http://www.flexcar.com/CarsLocations/VehicleInformation/tabid/71/Default.aspx . needless to say, none of them would have summer tires so would be capable in the hills.

$7.70 a mile? or an hour?
for an hour, seems like an awesome deal.

[Toshi]

whoops, that is per hour, yes

[ALEXIS_DH]

oh **** it.

to make matters worst. i left my car outside of my office for a couple hours last night, and somebody stole the right blinking light (plus they put a huge dash in the quarterpanel with a screwdriver) and they popped the left one, seems they didnt have time to pull it out completely.

now am in travis bickle mode, hoping someday a real rain will come and wash the scum off the streets.
or at least a famine, the plague or something to wipe out a few million delinquents or something. c´mon god, is just one efficient epidemia all am asking for, you killed thousands of your chosen people for much less than this.

[WTGPhoben]

oh **** it.

to make matters worst. i left my car outside of my office for a couple hours last night, and somebody stole the right blinking light (plus they put a huge dash in the quarterpanel with a screwdriver) and they popped the left one, seems they didnt have time to pull it out completely.

now am in travis bickle mode, hoping someday a real rain will come and wash the scum off the streets.
or at least a famine, the plague or something to wipe out a few million delinquents or something. c´mon god, is just one efficient epidemia all am asking for, you killed thousands of your chosen people for much less than this.

That bites. I totally know how you feel, having left my 20D on a plane last week and instead of the stewardess turning it in like she should have, it managed to disappear. Hmm, I wonder if she takes good pictures...

[Toshi]

dang, that sucks, keith. what are you going to do?

[ALEXIS_DH]

That bites. I totally know how you feel, having left my 20D on a plane last week and instead of the stewardess turning it in like she should have, it managed to disappear. Hmm, I wonder if she takes good pictures...

geez.
that sucks even more. we should start a "this has been crappy week support thread" or something.

[WTGPhoben]

dang, that sucks, keith. what are you going to do?

Well, I have them listed on homeowners ins, so hopefully I can get back most of the $$. In the meantime, I'm forgetting about the camera for the moment and going ahead with the wheels and brakes. The final setup:

Rims: Mavic X317 Disc (Black)
Front Hub: Tune King
Rear: Tune Kong with custom Ti freehub (rr) (Anodized Blue)
Spokes: DT supercomp (black)
Nipples: DT Alloy (anodized blue)
Skewers: Control Tech Ti (anodized blue, actually from the early 90s)

Brakes: Magure Marta 180mm

It's too bad I couldn't get the rims and spokes in silver. I really wanted that 1992 look...

They're gonna be super light, I think.

[Toshi]

ah, insurance saving the day, excellent. <segue> sorta like my experience with the WRX. read about it here:

Snowbound (or, "introducing my new car") (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2373564)

[...]

because of the above, i was distraught but not overly so when i crashed my WRX. although it was unpleasant, took up more time and effort than i care to think of, and is not an experience i would care to repeat, it actually worked out pretty well: i had wisely purchased additional insurance coverage for the modifications to the car, and that coverage along with a generous valuation made it possible to recover most of the money i'd put into the car to that point. essentially, i was given a fresh start, which isn't too common in this world of instant depreciation and lowball valuations.

[...]

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/snowbound%20in%20the%20RX-8%20-%20december%203,%202006/Images/IMG_3091.jpg

or skip right to the gallery: http://tinyurl.com/ybcza4

[Toshi]

oh, and here's a depiction by one of my classmates of my car situation, heh

[WTGPhoben]

Toshi, you must have more than two cents to offer on this:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2374464#post2374464

[Toshi]

i bust out the camera for the pediatrics practice christmas party a few days ago:

http://tinyurl.com/vmu5x

the only pics i kept were from an impromptu guitar performance by the resident, dr. jackson.

all were with the 20D, 135/2L at f/2, ISO 3200, and around 1/200.

an example:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/a%20christmas%20performance%20-%20december%207,%202006/Images/IMG_3113.jpg

[Toshi]

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weather/snowreport/index.htm
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weather/forecast/index.htm

mmm fresh snow through thursday, flurries on friday. perfect! (i'd rather ski on a bluebird day and find two day old powder than slog through a whiteout)

[narlus]

i bust out the camera for the pediatrics practice christmas party a few days ago:

http://tinyurl.com/vmu5x

the only pics i kept were from an impromptu guitar performance by the resident, dr. jackson.

all were with the 20D, 135/2L at f/2, ISO 3200, and around 1/200.

an example:

http://toshiclark.com/images/daily/a%20christmas%20performance%20-%20december%207,%202006/Images/IMG_3113.jpg

excellent composition, but why so noisy?

here's my contribution:

50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/2, 1/200th and 1600 ISO

http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/p509707666-4.jpg

[ALEXIS_DH]

iso3200????

[narlus]

thinking toshi could have used 1600 and had a very acceptable shutter speed of 1/125th.

here are a couple of ISO 3200 pics i took, w/ no noise reduction (i think):

http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/p1025703046-4.jpg

http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/p284654797-4.jpg

i definitely didn't push the shadows, but i'd say they are pretty clean.

here's a very interesting noise test among different ISOs, mainly showing that if you get the exposure right, the noise isn't all that different from ISO to ISO (at least w/ a Canon)

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=250056
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=222969

[Toshi]

yeah, i didn't do noise reduction out of laziness, and the exposure was pushed ~0.7 stops in post production as well. with the 135mm lens i find that 1/200 is a much surer bet for sharp photos, even without the crazy hand-shakiness of fraser (transcend) :D

[Toshi]

wow, no posts for 3 weeks almost!

i've been busy. i'll be busier yet in the next 6 weeks :( . life is tough. oh, and i forgot my camera back at ze parents' place in oregon, so y'all will have to wait for california pics for a few more days.

in the meantime, happy new year's eve to all. don't drink too much tonight!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a300/mrn98/best/MotorcycleSave.gif

[Toshi]

good lawd

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7094235620076643101&sourceid=docidfeed&hl=undefined

[WTGPhoben]

good lawd

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7094235620076643101&sourceid=docidfeed&hl=undefined

yeah but he had a perfect transition...:clapping:

[Toshi]

3 galleries from xmastime

christmas dinner and the coast: http://tinyurl.com/vm42p
fort ross state historic park: http://tinyurl.com/yyljqg
jackson state redwood forest: http://tinyurl.com/y4a4ej

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/fort%20ross%20state%20historic%20park%20-%20december%2024,%202006/Images/IMG_3145.jpg

http://toshiclark.com/images/trips/jackson%20state%20redwood%20forest%20-%20december%2024,%202006/Images/IMG_3120.jpg

[SpankMyMunkey]

That bites. I totally know how you feel, having left my 20D on a plane last week and instead of the stewardess turning it in like she should have, it managed to disappear. Hmm, I wonder if she takes good pictures...

now THAT sucks. Sorry to hear about that.

[narlus]

cool photos...i like the mossy lushness of the redwoods, and the photo of the barn is pretty neat.

[Toshi]

yum

http://images.apple.com/iphone/images/indexhero20070109.jpg

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

[narlus]

cingular?

verizon is bad enough, and they have by far the best network coverage in this area (and it still sucks).

[Toshi]

seattle has the benefit of having pretty good coverage by everyone. we get all the high speed data networks in the first round, etc. (t-mobile is based here, too). maybe if i lived in the posh suburbs my tune would be different... :D

[narlus]

seattle has the benefit of having pretty good coverage by everyone. we get all the high speed data networks in the first round, etc. (t-mobile is based here, too). maybe if i lived in the posh suburbs my tune would be different... :D

posh suburbs? the 20+ year old houses in my neighborhood are probably less than the condos in the yr area.

you must be confusing my house w/ yr parents new domicile. :D

[Toshi]

fine, deny it. :D my parents' house is in the sticks, literally, btw. their neighbors are a gravel road and empty space.

[narlus]

i'm sure there are plans right now for that Dunkin' Donuts franchise around the corner.

[Toshi]

here is my fine artistic depiction of my day

http://toshiclark.com/transfer/MSPaintyourday.png

that's 3 in the morning if you're wondering, bub. grr. actually last night wasn't that late in reality at 1:30 -- it's just that i had to be up again at 4:30...

[Toshi]

slow day on call today. here's something for y'all to read, about robots! doing surgery. woohoo, they're going to take over the world and kill us all! :D

Literature Review
Surgery 665
Student Name: Toshimasa Clark
Faculty Name: Carlos Pelligrini, MD
Hospital Name: UWMC
Date: January 14, 2007



Takavoli M, Aziminejad A, Patel RV, Moallem M. Methods and mechanisms for contact feedback in a robot-assisted minimally invasive environment. Surgical Endoscopy 2006(20):10;1570-1579.



Endoscopic surgery has become the surgical technique of choice for selected procedures in fields ranging from neurosurgery to urology. Robot-assisted endoscopic surgery offers a number of potential benefits over current, conventional endoscopic surgery, namely the reduction of fatigue and physiologic tremor in the surgeon; the circumventional of human physical constraints that limit the maneuvering of the camera and instruments; and the ability to amplify or dampen the surgeon's movements at the instruments in procedures in which extraordinary precision is necessary. A significant current shortcoming of robot-assisted endoscopic surgery at this time is the lack of haptic, or kinesthetic/force, feedback. Haptic feedback (HF) is crucial to the surgeon, not only for the basic ability to palpate tissues but also for its role in avoiding the accidental penetration or perforation of adjacent structures.



In their paper, Takavoli et al present a prototype of a master-slave system designed from the outset rather than retrofitted to provide HF. The master controls are modeled after the standard endoscope layout, can provide up to 14N of maximum force against the surgeon's hand in the three Cartesian axes, and utilize the force feedback motors in such a manner that the instrument feels weightless to the surgeon when the slave instrument tip that it is controlling is not in contact with any object. The slave instrument effector is designed with the practical constraints of the operating room itself in mind: the diameter of the instrument, including force sensors and the actuator, is less than 10mm so as to fit within a standard 10mm trocar; the force sensors are proximal to the instrument's tip for greater accuracy of measurement, rather than being located outside the abdomen; and despite their proximity the force sensors are not integrated into the tip, thus allowing the tip itself to be removed for sterilization between procedures without undue difficulty. Communication between the master and the slave is at a rate of 1000 Hz, thereby improving the transparency of the system by minimizing the distraction of latency.



In addition to describing their prototype system, the authors also describe a series of experiments comparing HF to an alternative form of feedback, in which users' performance on a task of localizing a rigid lump within a soft rubber sheet is evaluated for positional accuracy, mean exploration time, and mean energy supplied to the tissue. The alternate form of feedback is visual force feedback (VFF), in which the forces sensed at the effector tip are displayed as a bar graph to the user rather than transmitted to their hands through the controls. The results were of no significant differences in the accuracy of lump localization or in the energy supplied to the tissue between HF and VFF, but with a considerably longer exploration time for VFF as compared to HF.



This article represents fundamental research in the field of robot-assisted endoscopic surgery. It is significant both for the authors' accomplishment of building a functional master-slave prototype with HF and for its demonstration that VFF can produce results on par with HF in terms of positional accuracy and energy delivered to target tissue, albeit at the price of increased time to accomplish a given task. This latter result may become significant in the interim since VFF systems are considerably less complex and less expensive than those using HF. Robot-assisted endoscopic surgery with VFF instruments may represent a way to improve patient outcomes through reduced inadvertent tissue damage, at least until true HF master-slave systems are available widely at a reasonable cost. The limitations of this study are manifold: the sample size for their trial of VFF versus HF was very small; the operators received only cursory training on each system; both systems were crude prototypes; and the task the users were asked to accomplish was arbitrary and possibly inherently biased towards one or another of the feedback methods. As such, this study should be viewed as a seminal work rather than a definitive guide around which future HF systems should be designed.

here's a current version of an operating robot that's actually used here at UW. it doesn't have this fancy-pants haptic feedback that i write about above.

http://www.lua.co.uk/resources/images/robot6.jpg

[Toshi]

happy bday (at least on eastern time), keith.

:)

here's your present, the gift of words! http://youtube.com/watch?v=s_PuAqRQLKA heh

[WTGPhoben]

slow day on call today. here's something for y'all to read, about robots! doing surgery. woohoo, they're going to take over the world and kill us all! :D



here's a current version of an operating robot that's actually used here at UW. it doesn't have this fancy-pants haptic feedback that i write about above.

http://www.lua.co.uk/resources/images/robot6.jpg


Thanks for the birthday wishes!

I think that robot is made by the company Amy K is going to work for in feb www.intuitivesurgical.com

[Toshi]

tokyo in HDR!

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/01/322152193_f1ab23b927_b.jpg

[Toshi]

this is pretty sweet, a 720p resolution video with good camera and mic work + gear indicator overlay of a track-prepped subie lapping at buttonwillow.

http://download.hspn.com/download.php?hspn_racecar_buttonwillow07.wmv
or http://www.subie.tv/player/?videoid=123&catid=1 and the 720p link at the middle-right of the page if that doesn't work

[ALEXIS_DH]

hey toshi.. did you evaluate/drive/dissected the mercedes slk (pre 02 200k/320) while on your car search??? what about the <99 porsche boxster??

the crazy idea of trading my 4k miles old yaris for one of those as a one and only car has been roaming my mind lately.... whats your take on those 2 cars?

[Toshi]

i never drove a boxster, but i did drive a SLK. it was amusing, but not a liveable car for sure: really small interior, a dashboard that rose straight up from the ground in proud defiance of modern ergonomics, a nice, beefy, traditional mercedes steering wheel, a very slow steering ratio, a power hardtop that was slower yet (did i mention it was claustrophobic when up?), and a stately but not spritely automatic drivetrain.

stay away.

[Toshi]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=15bwhVxw-Bg

[Barbaton]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=15bwhVxw-Bg

that's so wrong.:poster_oops:

[Toshi]

admit it: you laughed. :D

[Barbaton]

admit it: you laughed. :D

oh yes.

esp since that looks just like one of my girls.

[Toshi]

i just bought one of these...

http://i16.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/88/9e/f208_1.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mooninite-Suspected-Terrorist-Shirt-adult-swim_W0QQitemZ200074980758QQihZ010QQcategoryZ15687 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

also see this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/01/boston.bombscare/index.html

At a news conference after the hearing, Stevens and Berdovsky stepped to the microphones and said they were taking questions only about 1970s hairstyles.

When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, "We're taking it very seriously." Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously.

Reporters did not relent and as they continued, Berdovsky disregarded their queries, saying, "That's not a hair question. I'm sorry."

[Toshi]

a haiku for tonight

i am not bitter
but i feel like forgetting
titrate to effect

[Toshi]

woohoo

i took my rx-8 in for service today. it had warped brake rotors and worn brake pads, fixed through remachining and free/warrantied pads, respectively.

another, more subtle, issue than vibration on braking that's been bugging my neurotic self is a hissing sound that comes from the center speaker at all times when the key isn't in the "off" position (as in, it happens even when the car is off with the key in Acc and the engine off). it's sort of like the noise that TVs make when turned on with no signal, only not as high frequency. in any case, i'd reported the problem before but they'd been unable to hear it. today, i got the service manager to stick his head right up against the offending speaker with the key in Acc, which is no mean feat since it's a center channel way up at the base of the windshield, and he heard it.

(all external validations that i'm not crazy after all please me, even small ones such as this event today. :D)

((oh, and i'm done with all except for the exam on my surgery rotation. i don't think i've ever worked this hard in terms of hours and energy expended over a period of 6 weeks in my life.))

[mastercycleman]

woohoo

i took my rx-8 in for service today. it had warped brake rotors and worn brake pads, fixed through remachining and free/warrantied pads, respectively.

another, more subtle, issue than vibration on braking that's been bugging my neurotic self is a hissing sound that comes from the center speaker at all times when the key isn't in the "off" position (as in, it happens even when the car is off with the key in Acc and the engine off). it's sort of like the noise that TVs make when turned on with no signal, only not as high frequency. in any case, i'd reported the problem before but they'd been unable to hear it. today, i got the service manager to stick his head right up against the offending speaker with the key in Acc, which is no mean feat since it's a center channel way up at the base of the windshield, and he heard it.

(all external validations that i'm not crazy after all please me, even small ones such as this event today. :D)

((oh, and i'm done with all except for the exam on my surgery rotation. i don't think i've ever worked this hard in terms of hours and energy expended over a period of 6 weeks in my life.))

They should have replaced the brake rotors, remachining seems like BS, I would complain.....

[Toshi]

They should have replaced the brake rotors, remachining seems like BS, I would complain.....
there was sufficient material left to remachine them, and the problem is fixed. i don't see the issue. (it was also cheaper.)

[binary visions]

You ever use any monopods, Toshi?