Monthly Archive for December, 2006

Our hands are clean

Published
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Meta
on December 30, 2006
in Current Events
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Statement by the President regarding Saddam Hussein’s execution.

One more day

Published
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Meta
on December 30, 2006
in Home Projects and Projects
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Well, my goal of completing the flooring project by the end of the weekend is about to be missed.

I think earlier I said the rest should go smoothly. I lied. Working around the closet in the bedroom was a major pain and took considerable time. Plus, I pretty much took Friday off to catch up on some other things and recuperate just a little.

Today, though, I spent most of it finishing the second bedroom. I just need to finish one little spot left in the closet then reinstall the trim.

Saddened

Published
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Meta
on December 29, 2006
in Current Events
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I’m watching Drudge Report and others to hear the news. Apparently, Saddam Hussein is to be hanged by 10pm ET, which is just a few minutes away… and will likely pass before I finish writing this entry.

I’m not saddened that Hussein is to going to die… or is right now dying. I’m saddened that we live in a world where people actually justify executions as punishment and feel some sense of righteousness in “serving justice” by murdering another human being. Everyone deserves death, and they should expect it. It’s the price we pay for living. But no man should die at the hand of another man.

UPDATE: MSNBC reports: It’s Done

Of the number of those who died as a result of Saddam Hussein’s existence, now we can add one more… Saddam himself. Now we’re truly vindicated, aren’t we? We all will sleep better tonight knowing such a threat to the United States is a threat-no-more.

Regardless of the attrocities Hussein committed, we, humanity, should be ashamed that we could carry out one more. We haven’t learned a thing.

UPDATE 2: Saddam Hussein executed in Iraq

I love the part where they say, “A US statement is expected. However, the Bush administration will be keen to portray the execution as a matter purely for the Iraqi government and its court system, our correspondent says.” That’s exactly right. The Bush Administration will wash their hands of this and say they had no influence and that it was purely the wishes of the Iraqi people.

And what a paradox to say, “Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him”. If there is a distant future for mankind, I think our descendents will see now as just an extension of what we call the Middle Ages.

Tired

Published
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Meta
on December 28, 2006
in Home Projects and Projects
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This has been quite the productive holiday. I believe I alluded to the fact that I finished flooring under the peninsula and reinstalled the cabinets and sink. Today I made a run to the local hardware store and was quite shocked to find they had the parts I needed to resolve my hot-water-line-not-long-enough problem. They also happened to carry the flooring nails I need, which is cool because I realized I have about half-a-box left, which probably won’t be enough to even finish bedroom #2 that I’m working on now.

Speaking of bedroom #2, I’ve ripped up the carpet, completed the transition and am right now about half-way finished. But now I’ve come to the closet, which is going to be a pain…

And back to the kitchen, I’m still scraping away at the tile. It’s just so tedious!

And while I’m really happy with the way things are turning out, I’m really tired, sore and glad I don’t do this for a living. It’s a combination of lack of physical stamina (I just can’t do this kind of thing for more than 4-5 hours at a time) and a feeling of mental numbness after that same period, when I start to feel withdrawal and have to stop to do something mentally challenging/envigorating.

Did I vote for or against Condi Rice?

Published
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Meta
on December 26, 2006
in Current Events
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Oh, that’s right. She wasn’t on the ballot. I didn’t have an chance for vote for her (or against her) at all.

But when I read shit like this I’m reminded… yes, in fact, I did vote for her.

Well, in fact I didn’t… but anyway…

When an American Citizen votes for a Public Official, and especially the office of President, that voter should keep in mind and consider that it is not the man he/she is voting for, rather the lobby who is paying the candidate the most. In electing any particular President, you’re not just electing some guy who will do his best to serve the interests of the majority while protecting the interests of the minority in this country. No, you are electing a man and his “posse”. That “posse” (aka, the Cabinet) are unelected officials paid by organizations you wouldn’t fathom existed in even the wildest conspiracy theories; but they do.

A simple question that doesn’t necessarily prove it, but makes you wonder… We all know by now that Dubya is a bit of a puppet serving some higher authority. He has no real credentials nor political/personal successes to justify his presidency (aside from eloquent marketing and his family’s association with “big oil”).

The question is: What does an educated woman like Condoleeza Rice have to gain by supporting such insane policies that fly in the face of everything logic and history have shown?

But back to the original question… I don’t give a shit what Condi thinks because, well, I didn’t vote for nor against her. I never had the chance as her role was never up for election. She was appointed by the ‘Primary Puppet’ of the ‘Master Regime’ and I bet is being paid handsomely to say whatever they want her to say. Who the Hell is she to think she can negotiate peace or war on MY behalf? It shouldn’t matter because neither I nor any other voter in this country elected HER to speak for US.

Whether you agree with Condi or not, my only point here is that American voters forget (or were never taught) what their votes really mean. Yes, your vote counts… and it counts so much more than you think.

When you vote for a President, you elect at least 200 other people into jobs that determine your freedoms and choices.

Bad news… mind is drifting

Published
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Meta
on December 26, 2006
in MX5 Turbo and Projects
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I’m not even finished with the current project, and I’m already thinking about the next.

First, a quick update: I have 2 more bedrooms and less-than-half of the kitchen to finish flooring. What I have left is actually relatively easy compared to what I’ve done so far. But I just carried in more wood from outside and it needs a few days to acclimate before I can start nailing it down. The rooms are (as of this morning), stripped of carpet, prep’ed and ready. But I’m at a standstill. Tomorrow I’ll rip out the wall-side cabinets and scrape up the last of the vinyl tile… but overall it’s pretty easy from here out.

Oh, and I reinstalled the kitchen sink today too, and encountered something I wasn’t expecting. Installing the floors under the cabinets, raises everything 3/4 of an inch off the floor. As most everything else (like the dishwasher, which was also reinstalled) is also raised 3/4″ off the floor, it’s not a big deal. But when re-attaching the water feeds to the sink (the height of which is NOT dictated by the floor height because they are connected to plumbing under the floor) I found the hot-water lead is about 3/4″ too short. So I have a sink again, just no hot water there yet. I’ll hit the hardware store tomorrow and fix that pretty easily. I guess I just got lucky that the drain feeds were flexible enough to make up for that 3/4″ difference. But if you decide to do something similar, check it out before-hand.

Anyway… the topic here is that I’m not even finished, but I’m already thinking about the next project.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, while visiting my parents, I accidently left the keys to the Miata there. I finally got them back yesterday. So today I went for a drive. I love that car!

The specs say that the 2003 Mazda MX-5 Miata produces about 142hp. My motorcycle produces about 98hp, but I would never drive it that hard. It’s more than enough for me (ie, quicker/faster that I feel I can safely ride it). I think it’s important to note here that the Miata weighs about 2,000lbs while the motorcycle weights about 450lbs.

But after taking numerous rides recently in a BMW 6-series convertible, the Miata feels weak. I looked it up and the BMW 650i engine generates about 360hp in a vehicle that weighs about 4300lbs. I’m not sure yet (but further research will reveal) how horsepower and vehicle weight relate.

Using the “engine hp” vs weight, these are the figures:

The bike: Weight: 450lbs. HP: 98. = .218hp/lb
The Miata: Weight: 2000lbs. HP: 142 = .071hp/lb
The 6-Series BMW: Weight: 4300lbs. HP: 360 = .084hp/lb

So… in trying to figure out how much I’d have to increase the horsepower in the Miata such that it was at least as quick as the BMW (but not necessarily as quick as the bike) and knowing that most upgrades I’ve researched do not increase the weight (instead typically reduce it slightly) I determined I need a horsepower rating of between 170hp and 400hp for my 2,000lb car.

As I mentioned, I’d never ride the bike that hard. That would scare the crap out of me. So trying for a .2 hp/lb+ ratio in the Miata would be rediculous. But I did find that shooting for a 170hp-250hp (.085-.125 hp/lb) is do-able.

Luckily, I don’t have a garage and therefore won’t be working on the car until Spring/early-Summer when the weather warms up. But between now and then I’ll be learning all about the differences between Super-Charging and Turbo-Charging, intakes, exhausts, engine timing, programming ECU’s and clutch tolerances. Sounds like fun to me!

Apologies to my RSS subscribers

Published
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Meta
on December 23, 2006
in Home Projects and Personal
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Sorry about all the “test” posts. I’m working on something… but I realized those who subscribe were then overwhelmed by my test postings.

I’m going to create a test-environment for this sort of thing so it won’t happen again.

Oh, and Happy Christmas!

A feeling of accomplishment

Published
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Meta
on December 17, 2006
in Home Projects and Projects
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I’m not posting a picture, because well… it’s a private place… but I finished flooring my bedroom yesterday. Not only that, but I was then able to put my bed back together and actually slept there last night instead of on the floor (as I have been the past 2 weeks).

It feels good to walk in there and see the fruits of my labor. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy this stuff so much; not because I really enjoy the work in-itself, but because when it’s done, I enjoy the results and thinking to myself, “Wow… I did this with my own two hands.”

And speaking of the work itself… today I made some progress in the kitchen. I chipped up another few rows of the old vinyl tile, and managed to remove the dishwasher (which was a bigger pain-in-the ass than it should have been due to the previous owners bolting it to the floor from underneath). And, regarding electricity to the dishwasher, instead of having it plug into an outlet, it was hard-wired to a socket under the house. I’m going to have to fix that when I put things back together.

What to do?

Published
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Meta
on December 15, 2006
in Home Projects and Projects
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I am perplexed and in a holding-pattern until I come up with a resolution.

The picture you see is the basic floorplan/layout of my kitchen (before I destroyed it… hehe).

I didn’t scale everything perfectly. One thing you can’t see here is that the refrigerator, in its current location, sticks out in front of the doorway about 4 inches. That coupled with the double-wide peninsula… well, as I said before, it just looks dumb and poorly thought out. Since I have to gut the whole thing to get the new flooring down, this is an opportunity to fix it.

After considering several dramatic options like creating an L-shaped kitchen and moving all the appliances, sink, etc, I decided I need to work within some kind of restrictions as this is a serious case of scope-creep and, no matter what I do, is going to put me over budget. So, I decided the appliances that have major “connections” have to stay put or nearby so that I don’t have to relocate things like the plumbing to the kitchen sink and the vent to the stove. I did, however, decide that no matter what, the refrigerator has to move out of the doorway, even though that will require wiring a new electrical outlet and relocating the water-feed for the ice-maker. Shouldn’t be a big deal.

So now I’m really left with two options: 1. An Island, or 2. A Peninsula. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

in common:
Both ideas require some of the same tasks, like moving the fridge. My idea is to knock out the wall that currently creates a closet and put the fridge in there. This gets it out of the doorway, gets it out of sight (unless you’re in the kitchen) and also makes use of this closet that right now sits empty. It also frees up quite a bit of space on the back wall for additional base and wall cabinets. Also, as I’m sure I mentioned before, I’m doing away with the double-wide cabinet/counter-top thing and instead I’m going to build a breakfast-bar on the living room side.

The Island:
Going with a simple island would really open up the space so the kitchen doesn’t seem so confined. Good or bad, the kitchen would really feel like just another area of ‘the great room’. It would also create a pathway from the living/dining area to the other part of the house without having to actually pass “through” the work-area of the kitchen (and possibly interrupting anyone trying to cook).

The downsides: First, there is an A/C-furnace vent right in the middle of what would be the additional passage way. It would look dumb and be an obstacle to step over. This idea also doesn’t get around breaking the “work triangle”, as it breaks a path between the sink and fridge, and between the fridge and stove/oven. It also means shifting the sink and dishwasher down about a foot to create a passage-way big enough (3 ft) for a normal person to comfortably walk through. Finally, it reduces base-cabinet and counter-top space.

The Peninsula:
This idea means substantially less work, as I don’t have to relocate the sink nor dishwasher. It also avoids the A/C-furnace vent issue, because the vent sits right in front of that first cabinet… and no one is going to walk there. It also gives me another cabinet and additional counter-top space.

The downsides: Basically, this is the same layout I started with, which makes the small galley-kitchen a hallway (the only way) to the other part of the house. It also breaks the work-triangle which would definitely interrupt anyone trying to cook in there. Finally, having a breakfast bar extend across the entire thing seems a bit extreme (but I suppose that would come in handy for those serve-yourself/buffet style dinners, huh?)

Conclusion:
Wow… I love our little talks. Whether or not anyone reads this or has an opinion, there’s something about writing it down that makes it much clearer.

Weighing the pros and cons of both, I am going to go with the Peninsula. It’s easier, cheaper and results in more storage/counter space. That was easy, huh?

45 days and counting

Published
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Meta
on December 12, 2006
in Home Projects and Projects
. 0 Comments

I just looked back and realized I started laying the floors in the house back on November 4. Today, almost a month-and-a-half later, some things are coming together, while others are not.

Sidenote: I just looked back to see that I officially started the living room project on October 15… of 2005! Now I’m feeling slightly discouraged.

Anyway… with the living room technically finished (except for furniture) it has become my work and storage area while I do the kitchen.

I got as far as I could with the flooring before I finally had to make more room. Removing the kitchen sink was pretty easy. Removing the counter-top, being a bit heavy, wasn’t so easy, but I managed.

What you see in that pic is the base cabinet that still holds the plumbing and the dishwasher. I’m still debating whether to leave them where they are and just replace the cabinets and countertop, but staying with the “peninsula” concept… or shifting them away from the wall about a foot and turning that into an island. Either way, I still plan to have a breakfast bar on the living room side. But I’m thinking the 3 foot gap between the wall and an island would give an alternate path to the other part of the house, rather than walking through the kitchen. Of course doing so would reduce my cabinet and countertop space too.