Car Photo of the Day… Quebec!

This shot has a sort of “je ne sais quoi, eh.” 😉

Taken at the 2003 New England 1000 vintage rally as we lined up for a start from the Chateau Frontenac. That space in front of the Aston-Martin became ours shortly afterwards when the official rally photog wanted to shoot the impressive facade of the Chateau looming above the equally impressive nose of the Jaguar XK 120.

I took some other shots that day, as the location was awesome, so look for the scene again in the future in this “CPOTD” location. I picked this one as it has a wonderful “Summer” feel to it.

That day started wonderfully as you can see, but a few hours later we missed a checkpoint and earned a 1 second penalty (after running a perfect rally up to that point) and then to add injury to insult, threw a fan belt, and ended up blowing ourselves completely off the competitive scale. It became a tour after that… but we did stop at a racetrack and had some fun.

–chuck

Technology moves forward, right?

Ten years ago, I spent a year where I was basically “commuting” between Seattle and London. I shed laptop, and desktop computers and made an Apple Newton 2000 my primary computer for that year. I did all my email, systems administration, etc from that little paperback book sized unit. While in Europe I used a GSM card and my Nokia phone for connectivity (via a RAS server in our London office), and in the US I used a Ricochet Wireless Modem, from Metricom (may they Rest In Peace.)

Nowadays I carry around a 15″ G4 powerbook and a PalmOne Treo 600 (yes, I’m always a bit behind the bleeding edge these days!) and I find that in many ways I miss that Newton. I found it funny to see this online today:

Two gadgets, Ten years between them, One fight to the death!

Amusingly enough, the Newton wins.

For all the crap that Apple got for the early versions of the Newt, they did get their feces amalgamated pretty damn fast, and by the time the 130 shipped with NewtonOS 2.0, the damn thing was rock-solid. But, like so many other first-to-market technology, the early stumbles never allowed them to catch on as well as they should. Only those of us that fully took the plunge ever really understood how good a miniature computing device could be. Now were just awash in mediocrity and end up toting a bag full of crap around.

–chuck

“Mr. President, I think you may be missing the point…”

My son, who is angling for permission to purchase this particular game, showed me this link. It is.. Hilarious.

The voice actors do an awesome job of recreating the cadence, inflections, demeanor, and mispronunciations (not to mention the malapropisms!) of their subjects. I love how the “Bush” character goes so well from the “scripted” to the “unscripted” Bush. I love how the Tony Blair one politely, and indirectly (but with that wonderful restrained English disdain) corrects Bush’s abuse of the native tongue.

It is dead-on accurate. Well done.

Having played host to “viral marketing” websites prior to the whole youtube/googlevideo phenomena, I’m a bit familiar with the genre. Unfortunately these things so often fly under the radar of mainstream media. Too bad that the publisher can’t afford airtime on a major network because I’d love to witness the furor that this would generate if aired during “Idol” or even better Fox News.

But then I’ve always been one of those smirking $#!+ stirrers. 😉

–chuck

Car Photo of the Day.

OK, so technically it isn’t a car photo. This is the Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt Drill Team at an appearance at the Arlington 4th of July parade many years ago. These guys are amazing and this photo does not capture how amazing they really are. They are just beginning their performance in this shot, which much much more to come. I like the photo though for the composition.

If you ever get a chance to see them perform, I highly recommend it. They used to be a fixture in the Arlington 4th of July parade, but I haven’t seen them for a few years. They are appearing this weekend at the Evel Knievel Days in Butte, MT. So if you’re in Butte, go.

Here are some more photos of the Cossacks:

Check out their website for more.

Who is 4321GEO and why does he hate me?

eBay Motors: Jaguar XKE Air Cleaner Canister Air Intake Box Series 1 (item 140009373419 end time Jul-24-06 21:36:14 PDT)

“All Of Your XKE Air Cleaner Cannisters Are Belong To 4321Geo”

I’ve been looking for this particular part. It is the last hurdle between me and a stock S1 air cleaner setup for the E-type. I have an eBay search that finds them. I have a BUNCH of people that email me whenever one comes up on eBay.

But EVERY time one comes up, I get out-bid by the 4321Geo person. They have bought literally EVERY one that has come up on eBay in the past several months… except this one for obvious reasons.

Why? Why must you dash my hopes over and over?

This one is probably the grottiest one in a while, but it was hanging in the sub-$30 range up until tonight. Given the latest jump, it should finish above what should be reasonable for such a trashed part. Oh well… I’ll just have to keep looking.