Jason Powell - Church IT and Other Musings

2009 Corvette ZR1 hits 205mph

The bar keeps getting raised by auto manufactures.  It wasn't that long ago that 200mph was uber exotic supercar territory ... and now you'll soon be able to walk into a Chevy dealer and get an American made 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1 off the showroom floor and push it OVER 200mph! [assuming you can find a stretch of asphalt long enough to do so legally]

638 HP and 604 ft-lb Torque ... OH MY sweetness!

Here the GM video clip of the 205mph run ... watch the digital speedo climb effortlessly from 100mph ... drool!

 

Auto mechanic meets network admin?

It's very tough to find an electronic gadget these days that doesn't have a way to access your home/work network.  Sitting in my living room here are the networked items within eye's view: xbox, Wii, Roku, Tivo, Treo, 2 laptops.  At GCC we continue to see more and more Audio/Video/Lighting gear on the network along with our HVAC and Phone system ... truly the need for basic networking skills is becoming more and more prevalent in both workplace and home.

Well, BMW is bringing this same IP (internet protocol) technology ... to your car.  And no we're not talking about trendy bluetooth connectivity stuff ... this is hard core mission critical "your car won't work without it" stuff.

There's a variety of flavors of in-car networking standards that corral the large number of embedded computers and nodes present in the modern automobile. BMW Research and Technology, an R&D division of BMW, has found Internet Protocol up to the tasks that the other standards currently perform. BMW engineers used a standard PC and connected it up to the expected gear -- ECUs, engine and chassis control systems, even a multimedia server for the entertainment system. The reasoning behind using IP versus the more specialized protocols is to anticipate future needs and requirements, as well as reducing costs. Costs drop because fewer specialized components are needed, and the new version of IPv6 is even better than the more than fine performance from IPv4. It's a little spooky to think that your fly-by-wire throttle could be trying to chat with the engine using the same technology that we use to send instant messages, but IP proved itself capable enough even for critical safety functions.  - via AutoBlog

So it may not be long before your auto mechanic will be telling you the problem with your car is the result of a bad subnet mask.

Guess the Tire Change Winner!

Congrats to John Stark for the closest guess on when I'd change to my snow tires ... Actual time was Monday 8:03am and he guessed Saturday 10:37am.

John now joins an elite group of humans who have been blessed by Bonus Points :-)

So the snow tires are on once again ... this makes the 4th season on the same set.  The fronts are still in great shape, but this is the last year for the rears ... they are almost to the wear bars (courtesy of exuberant driving).  And yes, snow tires make such a huge difference over even the best all-season tires.  I actually look forward to driving in snow.

The tire on the left is one of my sweet-o max performance Falken Azenis RT-615's (on 17x9 rims) for daily commute and occasional racing (autox) ... tire on the right is a 4 year old Blizzak WS-50 snow tire on an OEM front rim (17x7).  Back when I used to race a lot I had yet another set of rims just for non-street racing tires :-)

... and here's the racing tires I used to get ... Mmm Mmm sticky!

Snow Tires go on

Snow on the road this morning = me changing tires at 8am

Guess the Date

Wow!  It's been forever since I've offered up any bonus points ... that changes today.

Here's your challenge - guess the date and time that I will swap my max performance summer tires for snow tires on my car.  You get only 1 guess ... make it a good one ... and you have to submit your guess by noon Friday.

Hint (well, sorta): I always wait until I anticipate/hear there will be snow accumulation on the road the next day.  Any accumulation and I literally can't drive my car without changing tires.

What's up for grabs?  1000 Bonus points, your name listed on my blog for the world to see and thus the envy of all your peeps!  You know you want 'em.  Don't pretend you don't.  Consult your nearest weather oracle and submit your guess ASAP!

Current Leader Board:
Marcus Monroe 3000 (2000+1000)
Chris Marsden 1000
Shelley Templin 1000
Mike Utech 1000
Dave Marks 1000
Steve Lavey 500
Darrell Jordan 500

Void where prohibited by law.  Bonus points are bogus and will remain the property of jpowell.blogs.com and may not be used in conjunction with bonus points, bogus or non, from any other website, product, vendor, or individual.  Cash value of bonus points = $0.00  Any attempt to counterfeit bonus points is punishable by death or mostly death to be determined by casting lots during the next harvest moon.  Odds of wining are 1 chance in some large numerical term.

Great day to test a car's cooling system

Yup, the car is back together and running better than ever. A day of over 90deg temps will certainly uncover any cooling issues a car might have :-)
It's 7pm and still over 90!

This Weekend ...

Here's what I'll be doing this weekend ...

All this stuff ...

Goes in here ...

Race Weekend Part I

Well, I was planning to race my car last Sat and Sun until the night before my radiator decided for no particular reason to fail ... grrrr!  The pic below shows the radiator upper elbow ... most of it is just gone.

MUCHO THANKS to Ed and Mark T for coming to my rescue late Friday night to help get the car towed back home.  She's now sitting in my garage waiting for a slew of parts to arrive.  I figured this was a great time to do some preventative maint work as well since all the cooling junk is out of the engine bay ... on the way: radiator, water pump, aluminum thermostat housing, lower temp thermostat, belts, idler/tensioner pullies, and hoses.  I was saving $$ for much needed performance shocks ... or maybe even a sweet coil-over kit (drool!), but that'll have to wait for now.

EXTREME THANKS to Al K for letting me co-drive his car both days ... and not being too upset when I beat him with his own ride ;-)

More deets in part II ... for now I'm heading back to the garage

24 Hours of Le Mans

Since I have only basic cable I can't watch any of the 24 Hours of Le Mans ... or can I ??

With the internet ... all things are possible :-)

Poking around on AutoBlog I found a comment leading me to TVUPlayer ...

TVU networks offers a free global live TV service that you can watch on your Windows PC over a broadband Internet connection.  This service is dedicated to bringing you TV that you can't get from cable or satellite, such as news and sports from around the world. 

Download TVUPlayer and select channel 53060 Wheels ... and bam I'm watching Le Mans :-)

Race end is 9am EDT.

Last year was the first time a diesel, yes, diesel car won the prototype LMP1 class ... the Audi R10.  This year both Audi and Peugot have entered diesels ... and again this year both cars are running at the top of the field.  650+hp with 800+ft-lbs torque ... tasty!!

What is it?

Ok, so you didn't get any bonus points from the last "Guess the SAN" contest?  Here's you next opportunity!

Guess what the heck this thing is ... and no, it's not some medieval weapon ...

1000 bonus points up for grabs people!  Don't delay ... cast your vote now! 

You may enter as many entries as you feel inclined to do so.  Employees of the Granger Community Church IT Department are ineligible.  Void where prohibited by law.  Bonus points are bogus and will remain the property of jpowell.blogs.com and may not be used in conjunction with bonus points, bogus or non, from any other website, product, vendor, or individual.  Cash value of bonus points = $0.00  Any attempt to counterfeit bonus points is punishable by death or mostly death to be determined by casting lots during the next harvest moon.