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[Apr. 1st, 2008|02:26 am] |
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YAY cold weather, YAY rain and most of all YAY NO DAYLIGHT FREAKING SAVINGS! |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 28th, 2008|01:49 pm] |
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Cross-posted, because I'm lazy and that was a hell of a big effort.
http://community.livejournal.com/motor_furs/959869.html?mode=reply
Oh, and yes. More GT-Rness
http://community.livejournal.com/motor_furs/959477.html
Oh, edit again. I have deemed horses irrelevant. The way I look at it:
= 
= 
So, if you break it down, a horse takes up say...four cubic metres of space? And weighs anything up to a tonne. Compared to the engine, which takes up one cubic metre of space and produced 300-1200 horsepower. That would take an equivalent of 4800 square metres of solid, interlocking, tesselating horses, weighing up to 1,080,000 kilograms, whereas the engine weighs under 200 kilos, to produce the same tractive effort. Horses are thus, very inefficient. Not only that, they have a top speed of around 45-50 mph (I'm giving them the benefit of a prime racing horse). The car has a top speed of over 200 mph. Once again, it uses more weight and space to go slower. They are also hideously expensive to maintain and purchase. The average cost of owning a horse over its lifetime is $45,000 US. And what does it do to show its gratitude at the end of it? It dies. And you can't even recoup your losses by selling it for glue. The car costs just under half that to purchase, but, assuming you look after it, doesn't cost much more per year to maintain and keep running.
Furthermore, when you break it down to power produced per weight and volume, the horse is even further flummoxed. I'll use a nice, round 400 horsepower output for the engine and 200 kilos for the weight. The engine, therefore, manages to squeeze out two horsepower per kilogram of its weight. The horse manages (Based on one horsepower and 900 kilos) 0.001 recurring for power produced per weight unit. So, for every kilogram of horse, you have .001 horsepower. For every kilogram of engine, you have 2 horsepower. How silly is that. The engine can out-horse the horse with just one kilogram.
Moreso, if you break it down into power produced per litre, the horse is made to look even more ridiculous than a barrel on stilts. Taking up approximately four cubic metres of space gives a whopping displacement of 4,000 litres. (Discounting the volume in the nasal cavities and lungs). This gives a power to litre ratio of .00025. For every litre of horse, it is only producing .00025 horsepower. Ridiculous. The engine, displacing 2.6 litres, producing 400 horsepower gives a power to litre ratio of 153 horsepower per litre. Therefore, the engine is a massive 612,000 times more efficient than the horse when power produced by volume displaced is taken into account.
So, quite clearly, the horse is responsible for global warming. It's been merrily traipsing around the world for thousands of years, slowly heating up our climate with its woefully inefficient ways, then snickering as the innocent car cops all the blame. Now, to forward this to Green Peace and make them see that cars are not inherently as evil and climate-changing as horses. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 26th, 2008|11:26 am] |
Good news on the GT-R. Engine is being swapped over currently. Replacement engine has stock turbos (which is good), will get a timing belt change and has some nice little pieces on it. 500cc injectors, instead of the standard 444cc and a Veilside racing tuned ECU (*Drools* It says directly on it 'Track Use Only', so driveability at city speeds should be interesting). All progressing along nicely. Ooh, I even saw it move yesterday. Nomnom. AND FANTASTICALLY, NISMO OR N1 TURBOS. Rated too 500-600 horsepower. Yum.
Reminder for Monday week. Order navel oranges, carrots, orange flowers, orange capsicums and obtain white balloons and wire frame and orange streamers for work. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|10:40 am] |
Yay, car's back. It's so good to be driving something that handles, has crisp responses in braking, accelerating and turning and sound good. Soooo good to be actually sitting in the car, rather than on top of it and so good to have a small steering wheel with a chunky rim; instead of huge and thin. Fuel economy is an issue though. Already down nearly a quarter of a tank, but that's because the novelty of having a tachometre, an engine that's willing to rev and sounds good hasn't worn off yet. But there's no denying it, it kind of feels like the magic has gone. I had a good drive back from dropping off Flye last night too, but christ, the car feels so slow now. And so much bodyroll after GT-R. So yes, up went the for sale signs and that kind of hurt. But it's on the way to something better.
JM was kind/evil enough to give me a lift out to Midvale on his bike. And well, I'm a bit pressed to think of something in recent memory that I've found more scary and intimidating. It kind of peaked where I climbed on before leaving and just sat there, feeling incredibly vulnerable, realising there's nothing more than two little handles to hold on to to stop myself falling at the same speed when you're entirely encapsulated in a car with seatbelts/harnesses. There's so much more to think about when on a bike too. I've always thought and realised that bikers, when they're not carving up traffic like tools, are mostly far better drivers than people in cars because they have to be so much more aware of everything going on around them. After relaxing slightly, it was kind of enjoyable, but not really as the passenger, not knowing exactly and how much throttle or brake is going to be applied, not to mention the surprisingly abrupt gearchanges. If I was driving and knew what I was going to do, I wouldn't feel so vulnerable. Can see the appeal, but it's not for me. So thankies for the lift Horse, much appreciated.
And it was good to see everyone last night in a casual, relaxed environment. Definitely up for more of that. Now, off to work on Kiel's GT-R. Thinking of it as practice :) |
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| Sicknessss |
[Mar. 13th, 2008|12:15 pm] |
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GT-R got a respray, free of charge, in the same gunmetal grey colour and it looks and feels sooo sexy now. That bootlip spoiler is gone too, thank goodness. It's just so...gah, I almost want to make out with it. Could have it as early as April too. Here's hoping. Can't wait to get the Eunos back, driving the Excel is cringingly bad. Fuel economy is nice but I'd much rather have no economy and a good driver's car. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 12th, 2008|04:36 pm] |
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Any environmentalist that thinks a kangaroo and a brumby cull is bad is an extremely daft person and needs to learn how an ecosystem properly works. Freaking namby-pamby, do good-ing left wingers that have no stupid freaking view of the real world. What honestly goes on in their head... "iF We hUG eVerYTHing iT'lL AlL bE oK". Step aside and let people who actually know what they're doing just do their freaking job. It's called tough love, you morons; not taking the easy way out. Grr. Just...go to an island somewhere and live in your fantasy world there and protest when someone accidentally stands on an ant and let people who have an idea of reality go about their jobs. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 12th, 2008|12:05 pm] |
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A quick favour to ask at short notice, would anyone be available to take me over to Midvale so I can pick up the Eunos either tomorrow (Unlikely) or Friday (More Likely) at around noon? |
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| Sometimes I wonder how I do it. |
[Mar. 4th, 2008|10:27 am] |
It turns out it was the Sunday-Monday shift that screwed me up most, not the 1am finish and the subsequent 8am start. I was up at 7am on Monday, so that's now twenty-five and a half hours on a two hour nap. In that time I've had a foot long subway sandwich (Which I couldn't finish) and a banana. Absolute flat out morning at work, nine and a half-hours without stopping once. And probably the most I've ever lifted too, probably in the vicinity of 5,000 kilos over those hours. And, apart from sore feet due to wearing the wrong shoes, I feel utterly fine. Like I could do it again. Sure, I'm a bit tired but that's nothing unusual. And it's not like this is an irregular thing either, it happens more or less every week. I'd like to know how it's possible to go on for so long like that.
Anyway, the new fridges are in and they look good, barely managed to get enough stock to cover it all but nonetheless, management well pleased again. Only good things going on at work really. Getting irritated at drive-throughs. Usually on the Sunday/Monday shift I'll get McDonald's drive through for a quick breakfast before zonk time, and I have to say that I'm getting really rather frustrated with the people they have operating them. By no means take this as racist, but I would really rather appreciate someone operating the speaker who's fluent in English. I'm getting a little tired of having to speak in loud, slow syllables, pronouncing everything phonetically just to have them still mess up my order when I look in the bag when I get home. Probably happened half a dozen times now. I sure as hell know that if I went to France with my acceptable school boy French 'skills', I wouldn't get a job that's entirely dependent on my ability to converse with strangers. Given the embarrassing feeling for myself, let alone the irritation I'd cause others.
Drove the GT-R again yesterday and fuck it's such a relief to drive a good car again. And it's making yet more power, to a missed solenoid that was duly plugged in. 0-200 k's is now in achieved in around nine seconds. (For your reference Ral, on that short run up to LEEMING SHOPPING CENTRE, that was only about half throttle :p ). The car really is quite hard to keep at the speed limit, especially when it so easily takes off. The problem that faces Kiel now is that he has a car that speeds very easily, that makes 110 feel like 50 and is easily capable of getting away from police, and indeed, even blast through speed cameras so fast they wouldn't recognise him. Bank appointment for mine tomorrowwwww :D
Now snore time |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 29th, 2008|11:46 am] |
Meeting with management today. $45,000 a year and promotion is a distinct possibility in the very near future. Most likely to Warwick store, which is where I wanted to go. David said yes to me continuing to live here, appointment at the bank on Wednesday. GT-R is coming. Eee.
The Subject:
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 28th, 2008|12:44 pm] |
Personal reminder. Working:
10pm - 1am Saturday-Sunday
8am - 2pm Sunday
8am - 12pm Monday
12am - 9:30am Monday-Tuesday.
Have to figure out sleep. But 13 hours of double time and a half and nine and a half time and a half hours never hurt the bank. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 26th, 2008|11:12 am] |
Interesting day at work today, one of the bakery assistants got dropped off, and while her husband got back in the car, he managed to step on the accelerator as he was climbing back into the car and subsequently went through the limestone wall and ploughed into two other cars. He broke his leg and tore off the best part of most of his skin off his right foot. Yours truly did the bandaging, disinfecting, called the ambulance, police, tow truck and Centre Management. Stressful, icky and bloody. It's irritating how all responsibility for this stuff falls to me.
While I wasn't being responsible person today, I was contemplating GT-R again. There's another one that our importer has and has been sitting around for 10 months or so, with only two months to go before compliance before it has to be crushed. So, 10 grand upfront nets me the car, with the other seven later on. And goddamnit, I'm going to do it, no matter what. So I'm thinking meeting with the bank on Friday for the 10 grand upfront; which gets me ownership and registration once it finishes its compliance modifications. Then sell the Eunos to make up the rest and pay off as much of the outstanding loan as I can. So yes, Eunos up for sale for $8,000 or so, anytime between now and May-ish. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 20th, 2008|09:38 am] |
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Looong day at work. More overtime. But good(ish) news. Did such a good job today, when we had a HUGE visit from national supermarket manager, HR representative was so impressed with the job that I did filling and presenting they roped me into a meeting on Thursday, concerning a promotion to management. And they don't even know I can do orders, tickets, pricing and all that. Going to be interesting. Have to see how it goes, but I doubt it'll earn me more money for a long time yet. Now zonk time. So sleepy. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 19th, 2008|02:18 am] |
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I seem to be on a nostalgia trip of late. Been chasing down and watching Home Improvement, Mad About You, Just Shoot Me, Murphy Brown, Roseanne, Seinfeld and Golden Girls. Good TV times. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 18th, 2008|10:28 am] |
Huge delay on the freeway home from work today, turns out a train had hit a person (Whether pushed or jumped I don't know), but if anything, it served the purpose of showing just how long it takes a train to stop. Collision was halfway down the Stirling platform heading South and the train had stopped at least 300 metres further down (Your average car stops from that speed in about 45-50 metres to put it in perspective); so it must have been an express steaming on through at 110 km/h.
I've always quietly pondered the intelligence of having trains thundering through unprotected platforms like that, having sat on the platform many a time as a child and having an express bolt through, most of the time without the required horn on approaching the station. Judging from where the impact was on the train; I'd hazard a guess at someone falling on the tracks, not falling infront of it on purpose, as a suicide. What a horrible way to go. I really hope they introduce some form of barricade or speed limit through the express stations after this. I don't envy the parents that had to explain away the body bag and sheets to their curious children. |
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