My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on September 15, 2006

I commented back in July and updated in August, on a solar racing team from the University of Minnesota that was heading to Taiwan for a World Solar Rally. I been monitoring and receiving updates from them regularly as they unpack their equipment and Borealis III entry. (vehicle and team in Taiwan above)

The group seems excited to be traveling in Taiwan and have commented as their concerns, one being some rule interpretations which include drivers must wear a fire retardant suit which the UMN team didn’t have. (haven’t heard final outcome on that) The most recent comment came from a team member who has updated me regularly on their ‘van’ drive of the overall rally route. I’ll include Adem Rudin’s comments below:

Over the past two days, we’ve been driving along the three-day race route in one of our vans. All of us are in agreement that the countryside is beautiful. The first day’s route takes us down the southern coastline almost all day, while the second heads up into some mountainous territory to the north, and the third day descends back down to the northern coast and then back to Kaohsiung University. We had a a great time just taking in the sights and snapping pictures. The changes in terrain means that each day has it’s own special challenges. Day one is mostly uphill on tight, two-lane roads, day two is steep uphills and even steeper downhills on wide open four-lane freeways, and the third day is generally flat.
We can’t wait to get out on the road and see what we (and Borealis III) can do.

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Posted By RichC on September 14, 2006

This week on my trek through the state of Ohio I was driving my ‘thirsty’ (not ‘thrify’ — see previous post) Honda Pilot and started looking for the lowest cost gasoline. The excellent site GasBuddy does a pretty good job and has a great database posting results of dedicated ‘watchers’ in real time to the fuel prices in any given area.

I decided to use the OhioGasPrices.com website today to find the lowest cost fuel in an area that I was driving through (NE Ohio) and was able to filled up this afternoon at $2.02 per gallon. The site also has other interesting tools like the Temperature Map (above) that gives a national view of pricing.

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Posted By RichC on September 14, 2006

BIRDING NEWS — Ramana Athreya, member of India’s Mumbai’s Natural History Society, has detailed a new bird species he calls the Bugun Liocichla. It is a multicolored bird and is located in the remote Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The bird has been named Bugun Liocichla after the Bugun tride which lives in this area and is said to resemble Emei Shan Liocichla, although has many differences in plumage and calls, especially song. The Bugun Liocichla is also about 10% larger in all measurements except for the beak, which is smaller, according to the Indian Birds Volume 2 Number 4 (full 13 page PDF with photos is available here).

Athreya has netted two of the species although released them after photographing and making detailed notes. The bird has a black cap, a bright yellow patch around the eyes and yellow, crimson, black and white patches on the wings according to Athreya’s notes. Ramana Athreya commented that he first spotted the bird in 1995, but it wasn’t until May this year that he was able to document his earlier spottings. Birdlife International described the find as “the most sensational ornithological discovery in India for more than half a century.”

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Posted By RichC on September 13, 2006

Car Buyer’ Notebook reported that there is a new charity auction on Ebay today. I found the story interesting not for the car, but for the questionable vanity plate. The hopeful promotion, which will benefit Girls Inc., is selling Warren Buffett’s 2001 Signature Series Lincoln Town Car and includes the famed investor’s – THRIFTY – vanity plate. Now … all Volkswagen TDI drivers know, this plate does not belong on a Lincoln, but on a popular fuel efficient diesel car built by Volkswagen. All VW TDI models, the Golf, Jetta, New Beetle and Passat, are extraordinarily “thrifty” when compared to the Lincoln Town Car. What other family vehicles are able to set the cruise control and maintain Autobahn speeds while returning 50mpg? (and do it running clean US grown and produced renewable biodiesel!)

Before you place a bid, here’s a little disclosure on a possible ‘reliablity’ issue with this particular Lincoln Town Car: A few years ago Mr. Buffett picked up fellow billionaire Bill Gates for dinner. After paying the $35 “thrifty” dollars for their two dinners, both men returned to Buffett’s car for the drive home. Unfortunately the 3 year old Lincoln wouldn’t start – it seemed the steering wheel lock prevented the key from turning. Considering the combined genius of the nation’s two riches men, neither of them could figure out how to get the key to turn. They ended up calling a cab. (WSJ)
😀

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Posted By RichC on September 13, 2006

In keeping with my desultory theme, I’ll offer a congratulations to my good friend Tim and his wife Julie on the birth of their 3rd child … their first son. Nathan was born on 9/12/2006 at 8:20AM at 6lbs 15oz and 19 3/4″ – long or tall – which is it? Nevertheless both mother and child are doing well while Tim sent me an email with the wrong last name correcting it in a later email with: “I apparently was still delirious when I wrote that email this morning. “. I’m just glad he doesn’t work in the hospital nursery!
🙂 Congratulations again Tim and Julie … I look forward to watching you pull your hair out as your raise your three wonderful children.

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Posted By RichC on September 12, 2006

Apple Computer Inc. had their semi-surprise news shindig today as Steve Jobs announced that they will be selling Disney new releases on their iTunes Store for $14.99 for a full-length download. This alone is probably good news, but then the company also introduced a ‘bigger’ iPod player for $349. (long awaited as timeline as technology goes) Jobs also indicated that they will sell older films for $9.99.

According Mr. Jobs, the new iPods will also have brighter screens and longer battery life than older models and storage of 30 gigabytes and 80 gigabytes. The largest models charged battery will last as much as 6.5 hours according to Apple.

The hot selling iPod Nano models will also get a boost for music and voice lovers with a model boasting up to 8 gigabytes and costing $249. The diminutive iPod Shuffle also gets a bit more flash memory; its at 1 gigabyte and sells for $79.

For those waiting for the iPod cellphone … you were probably disappointed, although I don’t think anyone really expected one this month.

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Posted By RichC on September 12, 2006

I’ve been planning my comment regarding the 5 anniversary of 9/11 just like everyone else, but fear there is no way to do it properly. How does one respectfully acknowledge the murder of 3000 ordinary citizens without getting angry and showings one’s bias? Initially I was going to just do a somber reflection, but as the different newspapers, magazines and talking heads conversed on the subject, I realized how much I’ve lost focus on the “War on Terror.” It has only been these last couple of days that has made me remember ‘who our enemy is,’ and that their desire to kill those who do not conform to their ways.
]
A Nation divided over War:
It’s difficult for me to recall the days of Vietnam, but I’ve noticed over the last several years that the homefront has taken a similar flavor. There are those connected and focused on hunting down terrorists and their cells, those protesting the ways in which we do this including governments flirting with our citizens’ liberties (or even those in Guantanamo), and then unfortunately the majority who complacently goes about life in America. Sadly, this group which I find myself slipping into, has forgotten the enemy is still out there waiting to strike again. This enemy is the same group of radical Islamists who struck us on 9/11 … and did it several times before. Wake up … they’re not stopping or going away.

Americans … where is your concern, your support of those being sent to fight an enemy somewhere outside of our borders? Where is that original outrage we all felt when those airliners were slammed into buildings? How often do we need to remember that the enemy is real, is killing every day and is actively plotting against those of us who appreciate freedom. I fear that most of us either don’t believe or have forgotten that there is an enemy plotting to strike the west again.

Tonight I also listened to President Bush. He stressed that our country really does face “a struggle for civilization” in fighting the war on terrorism. He commented that “the war against this enemy is more than a military conflict; [it] is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century and the calling of our generation.” The President compared this “calling” to that of our fathers and grandfathers in Europe and Asia. He commented that “if we do not defeat these enemies now, we will leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons,” and that “we are in a war that will set the course for this new century and determine the destiny of millions across the world.”

Even if one doesn’t believe that the threat from radical Islam will impact our country, one has to realize what will happen in the middle east without the moderate influences from democracies in the world. Regardless of what brought us to Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be little progress if the countries fall back in the hands of militant leaders, dictators and terrorists. We have far more to gain in seeing a democratic rule is in place before we leave, not only to prevent a terrorist breeding ground, but because a positive and productive relationship with the millions of peace-loving people is better for all.

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Tags: 9/11, opinion, patriot day, terror, terrorism, thought

Posted By RichC on September 11, 2006

A picture is worth 1000 words if you are driving a diesel car or truck. This spread is the largest I’ve ever seen. Hopefully we’ll see a little down pressure on diesel fuel too, as some friend traveling in Kentucky spotted diesel fuel priced around $2.50/gallon. (I’m posting from my Palm Treo 700p camera while driving by the ‘normally’ low cost area leader just north of Cincinnati Ohio)

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Posted By RichC on September 11, 2006

In keeping with the VW posts, J.D Power annouced that Volkswagen Ranks Highest in a new Automotive Environmental Index. According to J.D.Power and Associates “2006 Alternative Powertrain Study,” Volkswagen of America is the industry’s most environmentally friendly automaker. Volkswagen placed three products on the list of low emission vehicles which included the Golf, Jetta and New Beetle gasoline, diesel and hybrid powered vehicles.

The study includes EPA data as well as “voice-of-the-customer” information. A quote from Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, chairman of the Volkswagen brand stated that “The ‘Alternative Powertrain Study’ is testament to our intensive and global commitment in the area of economic engines. And this innovative strength continues to have an impact, via our range of TDI vehicles. No other manufacturer has sold more diesel cars in the United States and that upward trend continues.” Volkswagon has in particular lead in the diesel area with its top selling American models that to date have little if any competition from other foriegn or domestic brands. From the economical 1.9 liter TDI 4 cylinder engines to the first SUV with a particule filter, the V10 TDI Touareg — Volkswagen to date pretty much owns the entire US passenger car diesel market.

See full J.D.Power Report.

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Posted By RichC on September 10, 2006

Dan Ball brought both his Volkswagen TDI (above) and his brother’s TDI to the garage today — his brother’s had a power and ‘smoking problem.’ With my uncanny powers of observation, noticing he brought it on a trailer, I recognized that it was in need of some TLC.
😉
Thankfully the CinciTDI mechanical gurus had already assembled, consulted and prepped to make a “How-To” video clip (not available yet) for the CinciTDI website: Replacing a Jetta A4 TDI Turbocharger. Dan and his brother Dustin had already purchased a VNT15 turbocharger from World Impex and installation kit from TDIParts and were prepared lend a hand in documenting this 6 hour procedure.

In preparation, we debated as to exactly what to include in the video procedure since half of the procedure is a duplication of our 2006 club fundraiser: Intake Manifold Cleaning DVD. The brother’s had also removed a few parts and cleaned the intercooler which was as expected … full of oil. The conclusion was that we’ll not show the removal of the intake manifold and recommend that people see the Intake Manifold DVD or TDIClub PDF files for those procedures.

After the installation Dan and his brother started the car to an unwelcomed cloud of smoke from the excess of oil left in the exhaust pipes which was expected. This along with about a pint of oil dribbling on the cardboard that we wisely put under the tailpipe prevented most of the oil from hitting the driveway. The guys were happy and heading for home at about 9PM after thanking Bruce Bowling and Tim Hunter who once again go over and above in volunteering their time and energy to members of our group. (after realizing where Dan works —Reebok — we should have hit him up for Bengals T-shirts! BTW, here’s summary of Sunday’s 23 -10 win against the Kansas City Chiefs)
🙂

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