So what's the deal been with YouTube lately? A bunch of videos of concerts for bands that I like have suddenly disappeared.
The funny thing is that these bands are not on major labels and really not on the RIAA's radar. Secondly, many of these bands are old enough now to care little about duplicated intellectual property and enjoy the public's enjoyment of such things. I mean, plenty of other works of theirs are still on there.
What are the recent casualties? The best live version of Einstürzende Neubauten's Befindlichkeit des Landes I've seen and a very thrilling version of Front 242's Red Team. OK. OK. My music tastes are dated. Deal.
Forever lost will these treasures be.
2008-08-04
2008-07-14
Beer Protectionism?
CNN right now has its front page plastered with the story that Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser, will be sold to the Belgian company InBev. And according to the commentary, people are up in arms about this. Up in arms about it to the point of boycotting it!
You've got to be kidding me! What's the big deal here? It's only a manufacturer of fermented latrine water with trace amounts of cheep liquor being changed hands.
If you're going to quit drinking it because of this, good! Take a stroll to your neighborhood liquor store or brew pub and try something new. It's a big, wide world out there, but don't let that scare you.
You know what'd really get me off my chair? I have a hunch that the Congress will pass some simple, non-binding resolution condemning this purchase. What would you say if I was correct?
Well, in all fairness, I'm glad to see people voting with their dollar. It's more effective than institutionalized democracy in this country anyhow.
You've got to be kidding me! What's the big deal here? It's only a manufacturer of fermented latrine water with trace amounts of cheep liquor being changed hands.
If you're going to quit drinking it because of this, good! Take a stroll to your neighborhood liquor store or brew pub and try something new. It's a big, wide world out there, but don't let that scare you.
You know what'd really get me off my chair? I have a hunch that the Congress will pass some simple, non-binding resolution condemning this purchase. What would you say if I was correct?
Well, in all fairness, I'm glad to see people voting with their dollar. It's more effective than institutionalized democracy in this country anyhow.
I'm not one to give up easily, but ...
I need to figure out quickly whether to cut my losses or keep going:
The Datsun had more electrical problems tonight. It stalled on highway 280 in Daly City, leaving me to wait in the cold, misty air for two hours to get a tow truck. I have further hunches as to what's wrong but not a lot of time over the next two weeks to investigate.
More on this later.
The Datsun had more electrical problems tonight. It stalled on highway 280 in Daly City, leaving me to wait in the cold, misty air for two hours to get a tow truck. I have further hunches as to what's wrong but not a lot of time over the next two weeks to investigate.
2008-07-05
I wish this would be your color.
If only I could put into words just how beautiful last night was, ...
You'll likely never know without having been there under the same circumstances, in the same poisoned mental context.
You'll likely never know without having been there under the same circumstances, in the same poisoned mental context.
2008-07-02
Let there be electricity!
Finally! After all of these troubles, I found an internally-regulated alternator for the Datsun. Let this post stand for the record for anyone else out there searching: A Bosch AL236X will fit perfectly and provide about 60 amperes worth of output.
Finding this match would have been impossible had Roy Tucker of R&R Import Auto Parts not been so gracious and knowledgible in the matter. I am so pleased with his level of service that I recommend everyone him to anyone looking for a quality parts source.
Finding this match would have been impossible had Roy Tucker of R&R Import Auto Parts not been so gracious and knowledgible in the matter. I am so pleased with his level of service that I recommend everyone him to anyone looking for a quality parts source.
2008-06-25
Bocce Ball Shenanigans and Otherwise
My team at work had a little outing today, a very odd one at that: We went to a bocce ball hall. Who knew those things even existed? 70-year-old-men?
If so, that makes me all set to be one: Where's the sign-up sheet? Do I get a complimentary box of Depends?
In any case, I can't believe how much I drank today over the course of a few hours. It all started to go downhill when my friend when decided to crack open a bottle of Chimay at least 80 ounces in size. 80 fucking ounces!
Long after we sobered, we had a little get-together at my friend Jason's place. I had worked up the nerve to drive my Datsun 510 over there to get a taste of driving a stick on hills. Everything went well; I didn't even stall it!
Well, everything went well until I decided to leave near midnight. Jason lives on a giant, windy hill in Daly City, so I was able to coast the car down it for the most part. Much to my surprise when I reached the bottom, the engine had stalled. Restarting the engine didn't help, because the starter wasn't getting significant electricity. Luckily I was able to push-start the car, similar to how done in this video:
After one minute of driving, however, this was clearly not enough: The car kept stalling. It became clear that either an electrical short circuit exists or the alternator failed. Thankfully I could still push-start it, so I did; but tragically I would never be able to reach home from there. I ended up driving the car up the hill again, not stopping at any stop signs, parked it out front, and stayed at Jason's for the night.
Much to my chagrin, I attempted to replace the alternator in the morning, but that didn't work: The previous owner had gutted and redid the car's electrical system and replaced the original alternator with a internally-regulated one, one from a 1988 Eagle Medallion, which is really a rebadged French car. None of the replacements integrated with the electrical system properly!
This situation left me with no choice but to take my chances: I charged the battery for the day and drove it home with no alternator, something I would dissuade others from. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't scared of having the battery drain completely resulting in the car's stalling somewhere inopportune. Thankfully I made it home. The car's in the driveway, awaiting a new alternator. We'll see what happens next.
Ugh. :-/
If so, that makes me all set to be one: Where's the sign-up sheet? Do I get a complimentary box of Depends?
In any case, I can't believe how much I drank today over the course of a few hours. It all started to go downhill when my friend when decided to crack open a bottle of Chimay at least 80 ounces in size. 80 fucking ounces!
Long after we sobered, we had a little get-together at my friend Jason's place. I had worked up the nerve to drive my Datsun 510 over there to get a taste of driving a stick on hills. Everything went well; I didn't even stall it!
Well, everything went well until I decided to leave near midnight. Jason lives on a giant, windy hill in Daly City, so I was able to coast the car down it for the most part. Much to my surprise when I reached the bottom, the engine had stalled. Restarting the engine didn't help, because the starter wasn't getting significant electricity. Luckily I was able to push-start the car, similar to how done in this video:
After one minute of driving, however, this was clearly not enough: The car kept stalling. It became clear that either an electrical short circuit exists or the alternator failed. Thankfully I could still push-start it, so I did; but tragically I would never be able to reach home from there. I ended up driving the car up the hill again, not stopping at any stop signs, parked it out front, and stayed at Jason's for the night.
Much to my chagrin, I attempted to replace the alternator in the morning, but that didn't work: The previous owner had gutted and redid the car's electrical system and replaced the original alternator with a internally-regulated one, one from a 1988 Eagle Medallion, which is really a rebadged French car. None of the replacements integrated with the electrical system properly!
This situation left me with no choice but to take my chances: I charged the battery for the day and drove it home with no alternator, something I would dissuade others from. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't scared of having the battery drain completely resulting in the car's stalling somewhere inopportune. Thankfully I made it home. The car's in the driveway, awaiting a new alternator. We'll see what happens next.
Ugh. :-/
2008-06-21
This is going to be a small challenge.
Mid-May this year I bought a semi-classic car for three purposes: Restoring, having something that I could maintain myself without understanding modern electronics, and forcing me to learn---once and for all---how to drive a standard shift transmission. The third goal is most important to me, actually. I don't feel right having staved off driving a stick shift car for so long.So what did I buy? A 1972 Datsun 510 coupe, very similar to the one pictured above. For those who are unfamiliar with the brand Datsun, it is a former naming of Nissan that was dropped in the early-1980s.
So what made this type of car so compelling? For starters, it is not much larger than a modern Mini Cooper. It has a superb turning radius, so it beats my 2001 Accord, which I hope to get rid of once the the Datsun's new and happy. Plus, when tuned properly, it gets exceptional gas mileage.
As for pending work, I need to ...
- Flush fluids,
- Tune the carburetors,
- Rewire some of the electronics,
- Wire temperature and fuel gauges,
- Wire the backup-lights,
- Wire the windshield washers,
- Install a sound dampening kit (Ordered),
- Install front and rear bumpers (Ordered),
- Install air filters (Ordered),
- Install interior fabric kit,
- Install grommets in the firewall, and
- Get the climate control system working,
Given just how simple this car is by today's standards, the important tasks are insanely easy. Plus, a ten-year-old could practically buy all of the replacement parts for this car with his weekly allowance.
In any case, last night tweaked me out a bit, because it was the first time that I have driven that car on my own for any appreciable duration. Learning to drive a stick shift is unnerving as it is, so I did not want to compound it with stop-and-go traffic, major traffic, and hills. My plan had been to drive the car at 0100 in the morning from Mountain View, where my employer is located and the car had been parked, to San Francisco and park it in my driveway to begin repairs in the coming days. The result: I made it home just fine with stalling the car only once, and that stall happened when I was parking it.
This is going to be a small challenge, but it will be worth it: I have a love-hate relationship with trial-by-fire situations, so I am looking forward to this project of mine keeping me on my toes. It is one of those things that in now + two months I will look back upon and wonder why I had been fretting.
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