April 30, 2004
Don't forget to wear protection

helmet1

For safety reasons, of course, I needed to acquire head protection for my upcoming day at the track. Said protection came in the form of a shiny black "plain" Bell helmet. Plain as in it's screaming out to me like a big blank canvas.

So my customization has begun with full on flames and MINI logos. This of course is just a start. I figure by Sunday I'll be tricking out my skull protection just a little bit more.

Stay tuned.

Posted by todd at 02:17 PM
April 29, 2004
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

MINI on the track.jpg

This Sunday the MINI and I are heading to Heartland Park in Topeka to attend the Phil Wicks Ultimate MINI driving Academy. From 8 AM to 6 PM I'll alternate between classroom sessions and at least a couple of hours on the track pulling G's in the MINI at speeds of 100+ MPH. Heartland Park has a 2.1 mile NASCAR road course with lots of twists and turns to give the MINI a good workout.

And don't worry, I've already checked with my insurance company and not only am I covered during the school time but I get a 5% discount after I complete the classes.

Phil Wicks, the lead facilitator, has raced Minis since the early 60s and did stunt driving for many films and television series. In fact, Phil did the stunt driving for Michael Caine in the original Italian Job movie.

I can hardly contain myself.

Posted by todd at 06:38 PM
April 22, 2004
Sauerkraut

fcan.jpg

Maybe I should have asked this question before lunch but does anyone know how to tell when sauerkraut has gone bad?

Posted by todd at 01:08 PM
April 19, 2004
Red things

redipod.jpgMuch to my excitement, FedEx left a package for me today. Said package contained my final birthday gift from my lovely wife. Pictured here is my two year old iPod fresh with a new clear coated paint job that matches the MINI. I have to say that this is better than getting a new iPod mini. It took a little longer than I would have liked, mostly I didn't like being without my iPod for three and a half weeks, but the fine folks at Color Ware did a great job. You can go here for larger pics and other angles of the shiny red wonder.

Posted by todd at 06:32 PM
April 13, 2004
It's Tuesday

It's Tuesday, time for another warning from Microsoft about not one, not two, but three new "Critical Flaws" in Windows.

Guess I need to iron my "Smug Mac Using Bastard" t-shirt for tomorrow.

And I don't want to hear from any PeeCee users about the recent OS X Trojan Horse that only affects song stealing blokes dumb enough to double click on what appears to be an mp3 file. I've heard it and in a way it serves 'em right.

Posted by todd at 03:59 PM
April 04, 2004
Allow me to gloat a little

mpg.jpg

The chart above comes from a recent Consumer Reports study of the most fuel efficient cars. If you throw out the hybrids and diesel powered VWs and look only at the plain old gasoline powered vehicles, the MINI Cooper is the third most fuel efficient car on the road.

With gas approaching $2.00 a gallon in KC and with apologies to Mr. Hendrix, let me say - excuse me while I kiss this car...

Posted by todd at 09:54 AM
April 01, 2004
It is over

freetunes.jpg So the Pepsi/iTunes giveaway ended last night at 11:59 PM and I managed to cash in on 19 free tunes with the help of my friend Ian who contributed four of his Pepsi caps to my haul. Ian's an unbeliever, in iTunes anyway. He'll come around and see the light someday.

My PeeCee friends are dropping like flies of late buying up elegant hunks of Apple gear that they previously referred to as overpriced toys. First comes the iPod because you can still be a card carrying Wintel user and carry an iPod with dignity while using the PC version of iTunes. This is an example of Apple marketing brilliance. PC users fall in love with their iPods and start thinking, "Hey, that iBook looks pretty nice..." Next thing you know they're buying Cinema Displays and attending Mac User Group meetings standing up and saying, "Hi, my name's __________ and I'm a former PC user."

A recent article linked here puts Apple's market share between 8 and 12 percent instead of the tech industry accepted 2 percent with an estimated 35 million OS X users out there.

Oh yeah, I curse the attachment clicking PC users with my e-mail in their address book every time I get a freaking virus containing e-mail not because I'm vulnerable but because I know it didn't come from a Mac.

STOP CLICKING ON ATTACHMENTS!

Posted by todd at 11:29 AM
Deja vu

dejavu.jpg

No, that's not my car. I didn't strip my Union Jack and get new wheels but I'm no longer the only Chili Red Cooper S in Kansas City with boot stripes. I installed these for a Baron customer last Friday.

Stay tuned for more of the MINI related birthday gift round-up. One item is scheduled to arrive sometime next week... The suspense is killing me.

Posted by todd at 10:43 AM