Having to park my car outside has finally taken an observable toll. Since it’s outside, whatever protection (sealant, wax, etc) is on there is diminished rapidly and since it’s exposed to the elements, I find myself having to wash it at least once a week. Because of this, I guess I didn’t protect the paint well enough as I have a ton of micromarring. Here’s a picture showing a nice selection of spider web scratches and the daps of tree sap I get to deal with:

I just ordered some strong polish so I can remove all those fun scratches, but I decided to add a little protective layer in the mean time:

While that didn’t remove any of the scratches…

…it will keep the paint from getting worse and it did add a little depth:

 

Sweet, I just upgraded my home server to Apache 2.0.39 and PHP 4.0.3 to Apache 2.0.54 and PHP 5.0.4 without a single snag. Supposedly, PHP 5 is much faster than 4 and additionally, I’m now interfacing Apache and PHP using SAPI instead of CGI which is also supposed to be faster. Sadly, none of that will matter since you’re still bottlenecked by my breakneck 25 KBPS max upload! Thanks, Comcast.

Motorola Moto Q

Yes! They have finally announced it! This was code-name Franklin, but Moto is going to market it as the “Q”. Not sure if I approve of the name, but they didn’t ask me to name it, just help design the interface for it!

This is why I will (probably) never have another Chipotle burrito:

Serving Size: Burrito (16oz)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1024

Calories from Fat 392

% Daily Value

Total Fat 44.8g 69%

Saturated Fat 12g 62%

Cholesterol 126mg 42%

Sodium 2948mg 125%

Total Carbohydrate 103.8g 35%

Dietary Fiber 3.8g 16%

Sugars 4g

Protein 51g

Vitamin A 77%

Vitamin C 74%

Calcium 44%

Iron 24%

** Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Ingredients:

Chicken, Burrito, Rice, Peppers, Onions, Green Salsa, Cheese

Testosterone Nation – 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs:

“1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat between 5-8 meals per day.

2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.

3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.

4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals.

5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).

6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea.

7. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks).”

God, I’m never going to get in shape.

Wow, every year of Integra made the list, all in the top 20 even!

Most Stolen Vehicles of 2004

Source: CCC Information Services Inc.

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1 1999 Acura Integra

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2 2002 BMW M Roadster

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3 1998 Acura Integra

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4 1991 GMC V2500

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5 2002 Audi S4

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6 1996 Acura Integra

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7 1995 Acura Integra

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8 2004 Mercury Marauder

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9 1997 Acura Integra

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10 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600

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11 2001 Acura Integra

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12 1989 Chevrolet R25

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13 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood

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14 1994 Acura Integra

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15 1996 Lexus GS

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16 2000 Acura Integra

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17 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL

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18 1996 Lexus SC

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19 2004 Cadillac Escalade

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20 1996 BMW 750″

Let’s be honest, my interest in science has diminished rapidly since I stopped taking classes. I guess that not being immersed in at least some aspect of the field has caused that portion of my brain to atrophy. I used to read New Scientist, Scientific American, Discover, etc every month and now I’ll be lucky to catch a news article about NASA on Google News.

Nevertheless, this article off Fark caught my eye: The 125 big questions that face scientific inquiry over the next quarter-century. Intriguing, really.

The tires that came with my SVT are starting to show serious wear. I did a quick tread depth test (tirerack.com test) about 4-6 months ago (5000 miles ago) and I’m almost positive that every area of every tire had greater than 6/32″ tread depth. Here are the current tread depths:

LF

Inside tread: 4/32″

Middle tread: 5/32″

Outside tread: 4/32″

RF

Inside tread: 3/32″

Middle tread: 6/32″

Outside tread: 3/32″

LR

Inside tread: 4/32″

Middle tread: 6/32″

Outside tread: 3/32″

RR

Inside tread: 4/32″

Middle tread: 4/32″

Outside tread: 4/32″

No part of any of the tires has hit the critical 2/32″ mark, but anything below 4/32″ sucks in the rain. I’m sure I’ll be okay for the next few months, but when the rainy season of Seattle hits (October-ish), I will definitely need new tires. I’m considering picking up a set of Kumho Ecsta MX: great performance, decent tread life, great price. I’m also thinking of picking up a set of Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 wheels (either in black or hi power silver) so that I can have two sets of wheels, one for the street and another for autocrossing. If I have the Ecsta MX for the street, what would I have for autocross? Maybe I’ll just end up saving the stock wheels for when I sell the car and run the Ecsta MX / Pro Race 1 combo full time.

The stock wheel weighs 20.5 pounds, the stock tire only 19 pounds (the lightest tire by far at the stock size). If I move over to the Ecsta MX which weighs 21 pounds, I’m adding unsprung mass, which is always a bad thing, even in such a small quantity. The Pro Race 1s only weigh 16 pounds, so the old combo would be 39.5 pounds per corner and the new combo would be 37 pounds per corner. That isn’t a great savings, but it is something. Now if the Pro Race 1 15″ fit, I could save 7 pounds per corner…