It's cold

It's been very cold here, especially in California. Last night the news reported the temps dropped to 30 degrees Fahrenheit in some places, below freezing! Even in Fremont the temp was as low as 35. I really don't like the weather when it's that cold. I much rather have rain or overcast days but when it's just cold I'm always freezing.

Even worse is riding a motorcycle in this weather. Your hands feel like popsicles and even you’re your nose is numb from the cold. It’s hard to stay warm but it is possible. I found these few links about keeping warm.

Ride in the Winter

Ride my own's Winter tips

AMA's cold weather riding tips

Most of the time when I ride in the winter time I use my textile jacket but this season I think I’ll try a different approach. Wearing my leather suit I’ll also add my rain gear to block out the cold wind. I have a pair of Aerostich three digit glove covers which should block out the wind to my hands as well. Ideally you would have electric gear such as a heating vest running from your motorcycle’s battery. Many people say this is the best way to keep warm but it is more expensive.

I want to ride my motorcycle more often but with the weather being so cold and just not having much free time makes it hard. Also ever try Christmas shopping on a motorcycle? ;)

Disappointed with film?

Last Friday I went to take photos of Treasure Island and Pier 39 in San Francisco. I decided to take my film camera instead of my digital camera to use up some film I had left in the fridge. Now my film camera is a nice, a Canon EOS 3 with a power drive with some lens. Using Kodak 100 Ultra Color at late afternoon/night I was really disappointed in the quality of pictures that came out. I was really unimpressed with the night pictures that appear soft or unfocused correctly. Here’s an example.



Here’s a larger 800 x 600 version for viewing as well.

800 x 600

Compared to my digital camera the image just doesn’t look as sharp. But it could be for many reasons, the tripod might have been shaken or even vibration from my releasing the shutter.

One thing my film camera does very well is depth of field stuff. I love how this looks when using a fast lens like the 50mm f/1.4 lens. Here’s a picture of my Grandma’s kitchen table.



Of course I did have some better photos, I like this one of the Blue Mermaid restaurant.




After developing and film cost I spent about $15 per roll of 36 exposure film. Now that comes out to about $0.42 per picture. It’s much more expensive than I guessed before, even using a cheap photo store like Costco. For now I’m going to stick with my digital camera but next year I’ll purchase a new digital SLR and reuse my lens for the new camera. The primary cost is high, about $1500 for just the body but I think if you start figuring the total cost it’s not too far from taking pictures with a film SLR.

Rob

Hello again!

Sorry for the delay but be working on some stuff for school. Seems like it's never ending for me, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Just hope it's not an oncoming train!

DSBUILDER

Right now I'm working with Vangie of Vancasso.com to produce a new web site. You can check it out here. >> www.dsbuilder.com

So far everything is going smooth but seems like it's going to be harder than I thought. Lots of coding will be needed and some tweaking of coding like PHP and possibly perl.

Last weekend we attending a great meeting at Jubilee Christian Center that had two successful business men talk about gaining wealth. It was pretty good and I came away learning some great facts. One fact was that 95% of new businesses fail. Ok, that was something I didn't want to hear but glad to know what hardships we might face.

The way I look at it is even if this project never gets off the ground at least we have some experience to take to the next project.

I have already figured out my next website in case DSBUILDER failes. It's going to be called Yahooo, www.yahooo.com and will be a portal search engine. :)

Apartment

Just this month I moved out and into a nice small apartment. Already I found out why living in a house is so much better than an apartment. My neighbors upstairs are really loud. I live on the first floor and keep hearing "thud" "stomp-stomp-stomp" all day long. I'm going to let the apartment management know but I don't expect them to help much. Normally I'm not really bothered by the noise but it goes on until 11:30pm.

I'm considering brining over my speakers and playing some loud music one of these nights.

Rob

Work

Today was a hard day at work. I don't think my job is that hard or challenging but today I felt like I was being pulled in different directions. Our department is over worked and understaffed, so that means that I'm usually multi tasking during the job. The only problem with this something simple like setting up a computer will take all day, instead of just 30 mins. While I did get more things done I just felt like the day flew by and not that much got completed. Sometimes I eat lunch at my desk but today I just felt like I needed to get out and relax so I walked to the pizza shop down the street. Good news I had a slice of pizza from Vinny's 2 Go,an little shop down the street.

After work I drove over to Borders to finish up some studying but when I walked through the door the security alarm went off. Thinking nothing of it I just walked to the cafe, but was stopped by a worker asking if I just purchased anything recently.

After telling him that I was carrying nothing purchased recently I asked if he wanted me to leave. He said no but the problem was that after I would leave the alarm would go off again. Normally I'm pretty easy going with store workers over a security issue, anyone who has worked retail knows the systems are not perfect and small things like a cell phone can cause a problem.

Instead of just letting me go sit down in the cafe he continued to stand in front of me while I look in my backpack for the item causing the alarm. My backpack holds my notebook and other items; I really didn't want to empty out everything just to get past the security alarm. Finally I just said I'll leave and went home. I was really tired and hungry too.

On the drive home I recalled the incident in the bookstore and felt I did the right thing and left. The guy was really worried that I might steal something, since I was wearing a backpack while entering the store I might have been a suspect. It’s just strange because if I set the alarm off again while exiting he could always ask to search my bag, I would have no problem of that. I was just a bit shocked at the way he dealt with the issue, I have never been asked to not enter a business. Some where in the back of my mind I wonder if he thought I was Hispanic and since the security alarm went off, gave him an excuse to keep me out. I hope it's not true because I hate to think of racial discrimination still going on today.

Excitement

Today I got an e-mail from my friend that she registered a domain name for the business project we are starting. It’s a bit exciting to think of starting a business from the ground up but it’s going to be a big learning experience and hoping that we will succeed. If we don’t then I know in the future what not to do and can make a correction with the next business.

Rob

Moving out

Looks like I found a good place to stay at in Fremont. It's pretty nice and not too far from school or work. Also the apartment complex has a small pool, lots of parking and just across from the park. I can ride my bike around on the weekends, or practice golfing at the driving range.

This should be interesting, I have no furinture or cooking items, but will be moving in on the 15th. So do I buy the basics at Ikea or just visit garage sales for some used stuff. I'm really limited with money this month, so I think I'll just wait until next month before I start buying stuff for my place.

It's strage just saying that, "my place". I'm so used to saying "my parent's home" from living there so long. Instead of telling my Mom where I'm going I will just leave the apartment.

I'm really excited and scared. Will I always make rent? What happends if I lose my job? This is a turning point for my life, another big marker to look back upon. I wonder where the future will take me?

My friend gave me a Bible verse to read that I read when I'm confused on life.

"For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord... "plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Rob

Life

Last night I spoke to a good friend expecting to hear about the weekend and his step sisters wedding. Instead we discussed how he felt like he will never find someone to marry. He started telling me all of his faults, which personally I felt he was being too hard on him self. Each of these faults was another reason for being alone. I could hear myself a year ago with each complaint he made about himself. I used to think the same idea that something was wrong with me, keeping me alone in life. Then I woke up and changed my view of thinking. Not everyone follows the perfect path of life.

It’s hard to go to weddings as a single person approaching the 30’s. People expect you to follow the normal path of life; finish college, find a special person, get married, buy a house then have 1.5 children.

For some people, God has a different path for them. Maybe they will have an unexpected child born before they found someone to marry, or left school to work and never finished college not even high school. Either way I don’t believe just because you took a different path you can not live a great life.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back and start my life over. What would I do differently from what I did the first time? I know I would take my school work more seriously, maybe even finish college on time instead of waiting so long. So many things I would change.

Then I realize that the path I chose gave me all of my friends and experiences that built my character as I am now. I’m thankful that I have awesome friends, family that cares for me and a good job. I wouldn’t trade that for the world. Well maybe a couple of gold plated Ducati motorcycles… ;)

After talking to my friend I told him how I had the same doubts and life is not always going to follow the plans you set out. He agreed, and thanked me for just helping him and talking about his problems.

Just glad to help out.

Rob

Work has been a tad busy this week. Sometimes it's really slow, I can do things like clean my desk or chat with the other workers but other days it's busy, just running around all day.

This week at work I got a task list from my manager and most of the items are done but some needed more details, so I called a meeting with other users from different departments. Now I really dislike meetings. I don't think they are a waste of time but typically you end up spending more time explaining the problem to everyone in the meetings and by the time you are actualy discussing the problem the meeting is almost over.

I just perfer to work on a problem one on one instead of having many people deal with it.

***

Not sure if you know but for the past year I have been looking to move out. I've been living in my parent's house and feel it's time to move on. I get along pretty well with my parents but would like to have my own place, and possibly more space to play my records. :) I just miss having the extra room to lay everything out. For a while I was considering moving to Pleasanton to be closer to work but then I realize that I would still travel to Fremont for my school, family and friends. After discussing it with some of my friends I felt it's better to stay in Fremont. Also it's closer to other big cities.

Another plus is being close to my parent's house in case of anything they need me for and if I need to store my motorcycle I can have a safe place in their garage.

The down side of this is I have little to none furinture. I would need buy a bed, desk, nightstand, dresser, basically the works. While it's going to be a big change for me I feel that it's something for the better.

Saturday I will go looking for an apartment again and hoping to find a nice place. Just want a first floor place with a nice view. :) Also some place that doesn't mind the late night music turned up loud. heee.heee.

***

Also went to service today at Jubilee tonight. I really enjoy the Friday service, a bit relaxed from the Sunday service and less people. Tonight they talked about Acts chapter 7 where the seven were chosen to go among the city and spread the word of God. It's interesting to read about the start of the religion from this point and taking on a new idea.

Here's a picture from the outside.


Here's the inside.


Rob

Ok, so tonight Vangie showed me how to create a simple Flash animation. After a bit of the basics I was really impressed with the easy fo making animation. Even thought it was a bit hard to understand at first, using a basic step of changing two pictures was fun.

I'm going to use some more interesting pictures but for now here's my first flash animation.

http://www.robscomputer.com/car.swf

It's basically four pictures of a car, then each frame is using motion tween.

Hoping to learn more and add some Flash to my site. :)

Rob

Very grrrr!!!

It's 4:30pm and I'm about to leave. Going to Vangie's place to bring over a cake, which I will need to pick up. Not sure but I think I'll buy something of the chocolate family, say chocolate?

I'm hoping to learn some Flash tips, just the basics. In case you are not familiar with Flash it's a cross platform format that can display multimedia within a small bandwidth connection. It's very popular for web sites but has also been used in applications and now in hosting of on-line movies.

Here's a site for more information.

http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/?promoid=home_prod_flash_082403

After I learn some from the pro I hope to make a page better. Now anything can be better than it is now. See for your self!

http://www.robscomputer.com

Oh, btw check out the forum. It's a really simple PHP forum running on MySQL database. Everything is super easy to set up and it's pretty easy to use.

http://www.robscomputer.com/forum

Until next time,
Rob

Ok, I'll be honest. I completely forgot about my Blog. In the middle of canceling my past hosting provider and not backing up my files, I didn't pay attention to the blog folder. Should be seeing more postings here. Possibly even daily!

So what's new?

Well school has been extra hard this season. Felt like I was learning Russian in a class room full of Russians. On the recommendation of my instructor he said I should drop the class and take the self paced class. If this was anything else I wouldn't have such a hard time but math is just hard for me. I think it's all of the numbers and formulas. For some strange reason I can tell you the specs of every motorcycle, car but when it comes to stuff that is actually useful my brain is too full with junk.

Other than that everything is going well. My bike is going well, car is a different story. Every now and then my car alarm will just go off by it's self. It happend around 1AM, just BEE--OOORRR--BEE-OOORRR!!! After that I was driving home and the alarm went off again, this time while driving.

After the second time I decided to just ride the bike, and take the car when I'm carrying my notebook.

Yesterday during lunch I found some good books over at Borders in Pleasanton. A few books on Java, and Windows scripting. Both looked interesting, but the Java books were $80 each.

Rob

Yikes,

I haven't updated with any blogs for a while! My birthday was on Thursday, 29 years old. :) Seems like not too long ago I was just turing 21 and before that it was 18. I read somewhere that after 21 the rest of your birthdays just fly by, how true. One of my friends was surprised to know that I was turing 29, most people think I'm younger by a few years than my actual age. This has it's good and bad points. One of the bad points is getting carded and sometimes at work people don't take you seriously since you look younger. Good point is you don't look older than your age. :) It's funny when I mention my age to people. If you didn't know my age most people would say I look like I'm in my early 20's. It's easy to mistake someone's age, at the local motorcycle meets I remember one rider with a new bike, appeared to be in his late 30's. When reading a local motorcycle page I saw a link for his web site and after reading it, a very nice site by the way, he was actually one year younger than me! Maybe my age guessing skills are off?

For my birthday I went to dinner with my Mom, and got a cholate birthday cake. :) Since it was on a weekday I'm saving for celebrating on a day off or on a sunny day. Also I need to take some time off from work, I'm maxxed out on vacation time. For my vacation I'm planning some fun things. Number one is to visit my buddy in Southern California, San Diego to be exact. I'm planning to ride my bike down and is going to be my longest trip on a motorcycle. So far I have ridden about 350 miles in a day, and for the trip don't expect to go much further. Two choices I have is either follow the coast going down, which will be an awesome view, or take the fast and yet much boring Highway 5.

Another idea for a vacation is to take a train ride some place. I would like to visit the Sacramento train museum by taking Amtrak there. Tickets are bit expensive but it would be fun. When I was in grade school I had a field trip to the state capital and stopped by the train museum but that was years ago. As the summer approaches I'm thinking of more vacation ideas, I'll post them as I find some.

Motorcycle stuff

Here's an update to the Aerostich review. I posted before that I first ordered an 38L one piece which was fitting snug but when wearing my back protector a bit too tight. So I decided to order a two piece in size 40R with a zip in ellipse. A ellipse is a zip in spacer to make the suit easier to lean forward on aggressive sport bikes. After wearing the new two piece suit I think the fitment is a bit different from a one piece. As with my Joe Rocket textile gear, the two piece suit is more snug around the waist area from the addition of a zipper. Also after getting in and out of the two piece suit it feels like the additional zipper in the middle makes the suit harder to wear.

When wearing the two piece it seems better for touring or when your on the bike for hours. The one piece is usually recommend for sport riding and getting to work/school. I'm starting to think about returing the two piece for a one piece, only problem is this will be my third suit and the shipping prices are starting to add up. The last suit I shipped back cost about $20 for USPS and insurance. While it is expensive to keep shipping suits back and forth I think it's worth it to have the correct size. As for the color I'm between black with silver or hi-viz yellow with black. Hi-Viz is that yellow/lime green color fire trucks are painted with. According to stats of safety, Hi-Viz painted fire trucks have 300% less collisions in traffic than the standard red painted trucks. Interesting point but makes me wonder who runs into a 10 ton firetruck painted bright red?

Rob

For the past week I have been coming down with a slight cold, on Thursday I took the say off from work to rest. Today, Saturday I'm feeling much better but my head is still stuffy and didn't feel up to riding to school. Hoping things clear up soon, I want to go riding with the Doc Wong group ride on Sunday! If I don't go riding all is not lost, I can study more on my visual basic. After down loading the Resource Kit I found some great videos, lots of step by step instructions. Should be helpful since I'm so lost in VB .Net and not sure where to start.

Since I was sick and resting on Thursday I called Aerostich to let them know I am returing the Roadcrafter suit for another size. After speaking to the guy over the phone he suggested I go with the 40 regular size. Another change I did was instead of getting the one piece I choose the two piece with the ellipse. A few reasons I decided upon the two piece. First, one zipped together they are just as easy to wear as the one piece but you can take off the jacket when needed. I asked around and many people recommended that the two piece is more useful for everyday riding and the one piece is better for riding to work. I haven't tried on the two piece so I'll make my choice after I receive the suit. All they had in stock was the black/black pants and a red/black jacket. I wanted the black/black pants but not sure about the jacket, really wanted the Hi-Viz/black jacket for city riding. Depends how the red looks but I might just stay with red/black.

Aerostich Roadcrafter, first impressions

I should list some notes about the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit, keep in mind I didn't get a chance to ride with the suit since it was too small, just a test fitment.

First item I noticed is the suit weights more than my Joe Rocket two piece suit. The material is a bit rough, and from what the instructions list, takes a few hundreds miles to break in. Compared to my JR suit the material is thicker and seems more durable. The JR suit and the Aerostich use very similar material for the ballistics portion, I think 1050 codura? The armor is much better in the Aerostich suit, a slightly thick form with hard plastic on the main contact point. From what people have told me about their crashes in the Roadcrafter suits, I have heard very positive feedback about the armor.

My favorite piece of the Aerostich Roadcrafter is the ultrasuede collar. My biggest complaint about my JR jacket is the unadjustable collar. From other reviews I have read about the Roadcrafter this seems to be the biggest complaint area, lots of people say it's too stiff. I did find the material stiff but nothing to the point of causing problems or rashing the chin area. The Aerostich Roadcrafter has lots of pockets but seems like most of them are very shallow, allowing only items such as a thin wallet. It should be noted that the instruction manual does describe the pockets taking a back seat to safety, which is why they are so shallow and thin.

The fitment and sizing of the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit was close to my size except I forgot to size in my back protector. Wearing the suit takes a bit of practice, it's really simple after you understand the method. Just follow these steps, right leg, right arm, left arm, zip up the suit. It's really that easy! Another slight problem I had when zipping the suit was the boots, because of the thick shin protectors the zipper was a bit tight.

The only major problem I had with the suit is the size was too small with my back protector in and the back of the suit was too tight. I ordered the next suit one size larger and then ordered the ellipse which is recommended for sport bikes. Should take care of both problems.

Once I receive my second suit, next week sometime, I'll post a follow up review.

Rob

Name the movie quiz!

First quote, it's pretty easy.

1.

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f***ing big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the f*** you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, f***ed up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose a future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?

2.

How long could we maintain? I wondered. How long until one of us starts raving and jabbering at this boy? What will he think then? This same lonely desert was the last known home of the Manson family; will he make that grim connection when my attorney starts screaming about bats and huge manta rays coming down on the car? If so, well, we'll just have to cut his head off and bury him somewhere, 'cause it goes without saying that we can't turn him loose. He'd report us at once to some kind of outback Nazi law enforcement agency and they'll run us down like dogs. Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?

3.

You fill me with inertia.

4.

I didn't see it.
It's a two f***ing ton van Tyrone. Its not as though its a bag of f***ing peanuts now is it?
It was at a funny angle.
[All three turn and look back at the truck.]
It's behind you Tyrone. When you reverse, things come at you from behind.

Yes, I should be finishing up my homework but I'm taking a break.

Rob

Some more Top Fuel facts.

One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower then the first 8 rows at Daytona.

Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1 ½ gallons of nitro per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully loaded 747, but with 4 times the energy density.

The supercharger takes more power to drive then a stock hemi makes.

With nearly 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into nearly-solid form before ignition.

Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock.

Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.

At stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the flame front of nitro methane measures 7050 degrees F.

Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the exhaust stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After ½ way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F.

The engine can only be shut down by cutting off its fuel flow. If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in those cylinders and then explodes with a force that can blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or blow the block in half.

Dragsters twist the crank (torsionally) so far (20 degrees in the big end of the crank) that sometimes cam lobes are ground offset from front to rear to re-phase the valve timing somewhere closer to synchronization with the pistons.

To exceed 300mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G's. But in reaching 200 mph well before ½ track, launch acceleration is closer to 8G's.

If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs $1000.00 per second.

Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have read this sentence.

Top Fuel Engines ONLY turns 540 revolutions from light to light!

The redline is actually quite high at 9500rpm.

*Note some of these facts might be wrong so don't take them too seriously. When in doubt ask a professional!

Rob

Sitting in my Saturday class again, to make things interesting I rode my moto bike today. :)

Not really sure if this is a problem at many schools but here at my school the motorcycle parking is way in the back of campus. It's great if you have a class in the main buildings but problem is at night the parking area does not have any lighting. Great for a thief, bad for a rider. Also the whole parking lot is built on a slight slant! I'm surprised during the windy days my bike didn't fall over. I spoke to the security staff and they informed my that after 5PM motorcycles can park in the staff parking lot, much closer than the normal parking area.

On the motorcycle topic, last night on my way home I was almost hit by a car. Riding down some smaller streets I made a left turn towards some apartment complexs when I noticed a blue RX-7 slowly edging out of the driveway. I slowed down to 20mph when all of the suddent the car jumps out, before I could think my thumb was already on the horn, braked and swerved out of the way. The driver quciky looked my direction and was shocked to see me so close. I usually take the same road home and noticed that this turn has a big blind spot for oncoming traffic. What is intersting is the driver was pulling out of the driveway without even looking for on coming traffic. In this case wearing Hi-Viz gear wouldn't have helped at all. I was a bit upset with the driver but was really glad I reacted quicky and thanks to scanning the road I saw the car before he pulled out. Guess reading those David Houge books was helpful.

Here is a great ride report for another web site, Adventure Riders Forum.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=28614

I would love to ride a dual sport all over for 4 weeks. Just riding around back roads, dirt trails, everywhere. Would be cool to ride on Route 66, not even sure if it's still around?

Ok on to another motorsport!

Indy car facts from another web site

Did you know?

...that the 3.5-liter, methanol-powered engines of IRL IndyCar Series cars produce more than 675 horsepower, more than four times that of the average street car?

...that each of the eight pistons in an IRL IndyCar Series engine travels nearly 1 mile up and down in the cylinder every minute?

...that each of the eight pistons in an IRL IndyCar Series engine is subjected to a maximum acceleration of 70,000 times the force of gravity?

...that the fuel mileage of an IRL IndyCar Series car is less than two miles per gallon? A car burns approximately 1.3 gallons of fuel per lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

...that an IRL IndyCar Series car accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than three seconds, more than nine seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo street car to reach the same speed?

...that the 1,525-pound IRL IndyCar Series cars generate 5,000 pounds of downforce at 220 mph, enough to allow the car to run upside down if that speed is maintained?

...the tread depth of an IRL IndyCar Series tire is 3/32nds of an inch - slightly thicker than a credit card?

...a front tire for the IRL IndyCar Series series weighs in at approximately 18 pounds - slightly less than the average weight of a 1-year-old child?

...at speed, the tread area of the racing tires approaches the temperature of boiling water (212 degrees Fahrenheit)? At those levels, the tread area actually becomes tar-like in consistency to help the tires and car adhere to the track.

...at any given moment on the racetrack, the total area of all four tires that is in contact with the track surface is equal to about 1 square foot? That means that an area not much bigger than a sheet of notebook paper is responsible for transferring all the technology and power generated by IRL IndyCar Series cars into speeds exceeding 220 mph.

...at speeds of 220 mph, the front tires of an IRL IndyCar Series car rotate at a rate of 43 times per second. That means, over the course of a single lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the front tire will experience approximately 1,955 revolutions, and the rear tires will experience 1,800 revolutions. Considering a normal fuel stint is 30 laps or more at Indianapolis, each tire could experience more than 60,000 revolutions before it is changed for a fresh set.

...that the draft (or the "hole" in the air) created by an IRL IndyCar Series car extends 25 feet behind the car?

...that while traveling approximately 220 mph, IRL IndyCar Series cars travel slightly more than the length of a football field in about one second?

...IRL IndyCar Series drivers endure G-forces equal to nearly four times the weight of gravity while going through turns? The space shuttle leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral with approximately the same force.


NHRA Top Fuel facts

http://www.nhra.com/streetlegal/funfacts.html

Top Fuel Dragsters: The fastest-accelerating vehicles in the world, these are the most recognizable of all drag race cars. The 25-foot-long landlocked missiles can cover the quarter-mile in 4.4 seconds at speeds faster than 330 mph. The engine of choice is an aluminum version of the famous Chrysler Hemi. The supercharged, fuel-injected nitromethane-burning engines produce an estimated 8,000 horsepower.



FUN FACTS

Did you know …

… that the nitromethane-powered engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars produce approximately 8,000 horsepower, about 43 times that of the average street car?

… that one cylinder of the eight cylinders of a Top Fuel dragster or a Funny Car produces 750 horsepower, equaling the entire horsepower output of a NASCAR engine?

… that the gasoline-powered engines of NHRA Pro Stock cars produce about 1,200 horsepower, about eight times that of the average street car?

… that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than .8-second, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed?

… that an NHRA Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with a force nearly five times that of gravity, the same force of the space shuttle when it leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral?

… that an NHRA Funny Car is slowed by a reverse force more than seven times that of gravity when both parachutes deploy simultaneously?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars consume between four and five gallons of fuel during a quarter-mile run, which is equivalent to between 16 and 20 gallons per mile?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars use between 10 and 12 gallons of fuel for a complete pass, including the burnout, backup to the starting line, and quarter-mile run?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars travel the length of more than four football fields in less than five seconds?

… that NHRA Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet?

… that from a standing start, NHRA Top Fuel dragsters accelerate faster than a jumbo jet, a fighter jet, and a Formula One race car?

… that a fuel pump for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car delivers 65 gallons of fuel per minute, equivalent to eight bathroom showers running at the same time?

… that the fuel-line pressure for NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars is between 400 and 500 pounds, about 20 times greater than the pressure on passenger-car fuel pumps?

… that depending on size and angle, the large rear wing on an NHRA Top Fuel dragster develops between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of downforce?

… that the 17-inch rear tires used on NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars wear out after four to six runs, or about two miles? Some brands of passenger-car tires are guaranteed for 80,000 miles.

… that it takes just 15/100ths of a second for all 8,000 horsepower of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels?

… that it's desirable for an NHRA Top Fuel dragster to race with its front wheels inches off the ground for about the first 200 feet of the run? This ensures proper weight transfer to the rear wheels, a crucial part of a good launch and quick run.

… that the nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $30 per gallon?

Sources: NHRA Communications and Technical Departments, NHRA race teams, motorsports equipment manufacturers

Very cool!

Rob

Yesterday I finally ordered my Aerostich Roadcrafter suit. I been saving my money for a while, really torn between the Aerostich and a leather 2 piece suit. Not really sure what to expect from Aerostich but I'm hoping for a higher quality textile suit that is easy to put on and keeps me warm. My current 2 piece suit is my Joe Rocket and it's pretty good but there are some problems. One item is the neck collar is too tight, so I end up keeping the top unbuttoned and wearing a fleece neck warmer. Also the pants are not breathable, very hot in the summer. I really don't have much to complain because the jacket was on sale for $150 from New Enough and the pants were $120. Not a bad price for a complete touring suit! I might return the Aerostich depending how the construction and differences between my current suit.

If I do return the Aerostich I'll look into either Alpinestar track pants to match my Alpinestar jacket or going with Helimot for their suits. I'm not really a big fan of my Alpinestar jacket, the sleeves are too short, and feels too tight on my back. With the leather gear fitment is more important since the fabric does not allow much movement.

If your shopping for your next set of riding gear and are deciding between leather or textile gear here are some points to consider.

1. Riding to work/school?
   
   Wearing overpants and a jacket offer the ability to wear work clothes and change faster. With leathers you will need to bring additional clothes.
   
   
2. Waterproof or rainsuit?
   
   The biggest advantage of textiles is the all weather ability over leathers. If your riding in the rain often you might want to consider textiles over leathers. Here in California rain season is very short and not much trouble to bring a light rain jacket with you.
   
   
3. Protection?
   
   This is a hard topic to discuss since there are pro's and con's but I feel leather is the best protection against abrasions. In a recent Motorcycle Consumer News article, textiles had a higher resistance to tearing than leathers. Not really sure how this is compared to street riding but you don't see many motorcycle racers wearing textiles. If your going to do trackdays it's hands down leathers, maybe even a 1 piece.
   
   
4. Fitment?
   
   Personally I like the fitment of leathers better, you don't feel so puffy and it's easier to move around on the bike. Also big advantage is you can grip the tank better with leather pants than textile pants.
   
   
5. Venting/cooling?
   
   I wore my Alpinestar Stunt jacket all last summer and can say the jacket was very hot. The jacket has venting near the shoulders and helps a bit but still the nature of leather makes for a hot jacket. With textile jackets you have more options for venting. Another tip is not wear black leathers in the summer, choose a lighter color such as gray or yellow (my favorite color).
   
   
6. How easy is it to wear?
   
   I know this sounds funny but when it came down to deciding which gear I based my choice on what would I wear more. Once item I really like about the Aerostich is it's very easy to zip up, which would make it easier to put on when riding to a friend's house. With my current gear they were harder to wear and I ended up not wearing the gear sometimes when taking short rides. You could have the best gear in the world but it won't help you sitting in the garage! Just keep in mind that if you don't like changing out of your street clothes you might not like wearing a leather suit.
   
   

As you can see it's a tough choice, many pro's and con's to both sides. My suggestion is to try on both and go from there. Just remember to wear the gear when you ride as with either textile or leather will greatly protect you better than nothing.

Rob

Last night in my Visual Basic .Net class I was really getting lost on the coding and steps. I had a basic understanding of version 6 but the new version was different. So while I was trying to figure out my program which takes 5 class averages and displays the results, I found out that the example code is on the teacher's web site! Man, I was looking for that and would have been so helpful. Then to top it off I found the Microsoft Visual Basic web page, tons of information. I downloaded a package of 100 sample codes, very helpful and also the Resource Kit for .Net.

This weekend I'm going to work more on my homework, the instructor gave us another week to complete it. Things are looking up. :)

Going back to my motorcycle, I received the GSXR-1000 turn signals last night. Good news is the pattern is the same for the SV650 and looks like even the plug connector will fit. I lucked out and bought the rear fender, two signals for $25 on eBay. Right after I bought the item the seller jumped his price to $50! I really wanted to buy another set but didn't want to pay that much, they are $30 each brand new. Overall the GSXR signals are cleaner looking and personally look better than the stock SV signals. I know most people just replace the turn signals with flush mounts but I ride in traffic and need all the help I can get. Also I just never liked the quality of LP or any of those flush mount/short stalk signals, they are almost disposable.

This weekend I'm going to install the signals on my rear, still waiting for the front replacement from Oneida Suzuki and the brake lever. Both items broken from dropping the bike.

If you own a Suzuki you should look at Oneida Suzuki for your parts. They are the cheapest I have found. Just as an example, oil filter for the SV is $6 from Oneida, $12 at my local dealer. Even factory parts like the seat cowl is $25 cheaper than retail. The shipping is a bit slow but I ordered a few times from them and I always been happy.

With my classes I haven't had much time to ride, I really need to get out. I miss riding and taking photos, so relaxing. This summer I'm planning a trip down south. Going to visit my friend who I used to ride with here in the Bay Area. Need to make a map of the area and plan it out. I always get confused when I go riding and some how end up home every time. Kinda like those messenger pigeons.

Rob

Tonight is my Visual Basic .Net class. I actually like programming but this class I'm having some difficultly. The last time I took Visual Basic the current version was version 6. Well now .Net is the standard version and seems very different from version 6. Also keep in mind I'm taking the advanced class and you can see my problem. I'm purchased a few extra books but seems like they are either too simple or too advanced for me. I'm really a visual person and if I could see the example code I could understand it much better but most of the books just show you a few lines and not all of the code. All is not lost! This just means a better challenge and with some extra lab time I should over come the hill. :)

Today I found a very cool idea for keeping my finger warm while riding. From another site I read about installing handguards on the SV from a Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport. Now I know it's going to look tacky but if my fingers stay warm it's worth it! I think my fingers just don't like the cold weather, they get so cold even with my extra thick gloves. The other night I dropped my bike from stalling in a turn and really think that if I was wearing my regular gloves I could have caught the bike. Instead I was wearing my moto-mittens and could feel my Precious fall from my hands almost in slow motion! D'Oh! If the handguards work I'm going back to my Helimot 365 gloves.

Here's the site where I found the info, also lots of motorcycle trips she has detailed. Good site!
www.bluepoof.com

On a side note, found a few books I want to buy at Borders today. Mostly about personal finance and how to save your money. The past two years I been cutting down my spending and cutting back my debt. Wondering if these books have any other ideas for saving money other than the basics such as "don't use credit cards" and "spend what you have". I just read over a few very quickly and saw some of the same topics repeated, "spend cash, not credit". Makes sense since most credit cards are charging you 10~20%. Doesn't sound like much when your charged $15 finance but over the year it adds up.

Speaking of books, have to link my favorite book store.Amazon, and for tech/computer books I visit Bookpool, both have great prices and fast shipping.

Rob

As everyone knows riding a motorcycle is more of a risk than driving. One tip to stay safe is not wearing black or dark colored gear. There are many other ideas but my favorite is riding like no one see's you.

Here's some great links:

Web Bike World's Safety page

Staying Safe

Keep in mind these are not special items to keep you from crashing, just use them in additional to safe riding.

Rob

Back at work, 7AM this morning. My daily duties include Backups for Window servers, monitoring Exchange 2000, building servers, basic network trouble shooting, and Active Directory administration. I have been working here for a little over 3 years, lots of great people and learned so much more than in my tech classes. I found out that things can go down for no reason, data circuits will be disconnected at any time, and your backups will fail the same time you need to have a restore done ASAP. Murphy's Law is in effect.

On another note I was driving into work this morning passing by my old high school. I was approaching the crosswalk right in front of the highschool when I saw the opposing car come to a complete stop. I slowed down too and just barley noticed a young girl wearing all black walking quickly across the street, a 4 lane road. Lucky I was paying attention and noticed the car. After I drove away I was really thinking how hard it was to see her. Usually people have a least some white or silver color on their shoes or clothing but she was decked out in all black, going for the Robert Smith look. Maybe I'm just too safe when riding my motorcycle but wearing some reflective gear would have made a huge difference for the girl walking across the street. I also like the industrial look of emergency worker gear, just seems more function than fashion.

If you really want to be seen on a motorcycle there is nothing less bright than a Hi-Viz Aerostich Roadcrafter!
Aerostich Roadcrafter review
I have the Aerostich swatch samples at home, this color is just too bright even for me! I could deal with Hi-Viz accents but not the whole suit.

Oh BTW my friend Kevin is a big fan of military weapons, mostly the M-16 and M4 rifles, the current firearms they are using in the Iraqi war. Well since they are banned in California the only other way to really buy one is a air soft replica. Air soft is replica markers that look like real firearms. Most of the time they are made out of plastic but are weighted to feel real, some use compressed air for power, others use batteries. The typical cost is starting around $50 for a spring powered handgun and about $300 for a full sized rifle. Now that seems like a lot of money but considering these are very realistic models and they do not have the dangers of real firearms, I think it's a win/win. I would like to buy one to set in a display, or even have every famous movie weapon! The M60 from Rambo, Mac-10 from Boys from the Hood, MP5 from Matrix, Beretta 93R from Underworld, PSG-1 from Sniper, Barrnet .50 BMG from Navy Seals, .44 Mag from Dirty Harry. lol Man that would be a big list.

Rob

I was watching the movie Johnny Englishstarting Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame and I noticed the co-star, the bright blue eyes and dark hair seem so familiar. Acting as a secret spy with Rowan Atkinson was Natalie Imbruglia, actress, composer and singer. Bounus points since she was riding a Triumph Speed Triple!

I have her Left in the Middle cd and one of my favorite songs is track no.4, Leave me Alone. Hard to describe her music but it's down tempo and is almost like a Nelly Furtado sound. I haven't paid much attention to her since I bought the cd in a used music bin but it's nice to see her acting in a large role. Hopefully she's star in some more movies or release a new cd, she is gifted in both area.

Here's a few links of Natalie Imbruglia sites
www.14natalie.com
www.natalie-imbruglia.co.uk << offical site

I also watched an older horror movie, American Werewolf in London. I seen it before but didn't remember the ending or most of the story. So I rented this from Netflix and checked it out, recently I been on a vampire movie interest since watching Underworld. I'm not sure maybe I was expecting more but the movie didn't seem too great. I did enjoy the strange humor, my favorite part was the in the theater when the camera turns to the screen's dialog between the lady and the intruding man. Other than that the movie really didn't stand out, just felt like something was missing. Story line wasn't bad, liked the added detail about werewolves and how the victims don't die but are in a state of limbo between dead.

If you haven't already you might notice I watch a lot of horror movies. If you watch more than 4 movies a month I highly recommend to start a Netflix account. You pay $21 a month and can rent as many DVD's as you like, only limit is you can have 3 DVD's out at a time. From where I live, Fremont it takes about 1 day for the DVD's to arrive from their shipping center in San Jose. Also they come with a pack that is prepaid for return postage. The selection is great, even out of print DVD's are made just for Netflix's rental, an example was Dawn of the Dead. So far I haven't had any problems with my account and either have my friends. A much better choice than going to Blockbuster every Friday night.



Rob

Here's a motorcycle topic that has been on my mind for a while. Leather vs. Textiles for riding. My riding style is mellow, I'm not racing around the hills or dragging knee so I'm really open to both types of gear. They both have different qualities, one is better for wet weather, another is better for track days. If I had to make a choice based upon my experience I would pick the Textile suit, really it's a Aerostich Roadcrafter suit. From my experience wearing my leather jacket in the summer was exteremly hot, with my textile jacket I could open up the vents for air flow. The up side is leather fits better, you can hold the tank with your legs easier, also it's more protection. Also the leathers are custom and that's another plus, it's hard to fit my thin body.

Right now I have a textile jacket/pants from Joe Rocket but the pant's zipper is wearing out and the jacket isn't very good when it rains. I might just buy a leather suit for my riding then use the textiles for riding to work/school. Only problems I would like to place the order soon before the rush for the riding season starts.

Here's my links to both places.

Aerostich Roadcrafter suit

Helimot custom leathers

Rob

Last night I picked up the new Fangoria magazine.

Few interesting movies are coming out this summer. First is a remake of Dawn of the Dead, from George Romero in 1978. Horror fans will remember this film as one of the greatest zombie films, and my personal favorite. Deals with 4 people running from the zombies and holding up in a large shopping mall. My biggest consern is will the zombies act like the "post-Return of the Living Dead" zombies or the classic George Romero style zombies. Personally I like the slower style zombies of Romero films. There is something scary about the fact they are dead but still walking towards you. With the newer films such as 28 Days Later the film is making the zombies more scary you from surprise, like a old slasher film.

Here's the web site for Dawn of the Dead 2004
www.DawnoftheDeadmovie.net

Also seems like Steven Sommers is releasing a new film titled, "Van Helsing" about the famed vampire hunter. Starting as Van Helsing is Hugh Jackman of X-Men fame, and also has Kate Beckinsale aka Selene from the Underworld movie. Should be a really good movie, I love the Mummy series and Kate Beckinsale's role in Underworld. Personally I'm expecting lots of CG special effects and lots of action, much like the Mummy films.

Here's the web site for Van Helsing:
www.vanhelsing.net


Rob

Note to self:

Try not to take any classes on the weekend unless it's necessary.

Right now I'm sitting in my Saturday afternoon class for Perl, starting at the most inconvenient time, 1pm to 4pm. While the class is run pretty good, instruction is nice it's just right in the middle of my favorite day! Oh, I could be out doing a hundred different things.

Here's some examples:
Riding my motorcycle
Taking photos
Reading
Meeting up with friends
Driving my car

Well you get the idea. :) On the plus side only a year more and I'm done with school for the first degree.

Rob

Great site about the A-Team, the 4 man team from the 80's.

http://www.ateamresource.net

"I love it when a plan comes together!"



Rob

Just looked at some apartments today at lunch, found out why the rent was so cheap. Not that it was a bad area but for $50 more you can have much better place. Will check out some more places this weekend, before school.

Rob

Just made a change to the blog page, wanted to tone down the white back ground. Just testing to see if it works.

Rob

Hi,

Just testing my first posting to my blogger page.

Rob