white male consumer

This site should be mothballed

Zeke — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:08:28 +0000

Clearly I don’t have the drive to keep up an all-topics blog these days, between work, play, and my various other interweb commitments. This has been the longest interval between posts since I began this site in January of 2007. I had high hopes of being one of the longest-running irreverent, unnecessary blogs in existence [...]

Springtime MINI work, first track day

Zeke — Sun, 29 May 2011 22:26:18 +0000

The MINI was off the road and up on jackstands for two weeks earlier this month, as I went about replacing the front control arm bushings, front ball joints, header, and added a short shift kit and new gauge faces.

It was an ordeal, but I’m glad to have done each and every item. The [...]

My Belated Huzzah Post

Zeke — Mon, 09 May 2011 04:05:42 +0000

So I caught the live news coverage as it unfolded a week ago Sunday night, as we learned that Osama bin Laden was shot by a team of Navy SEALS. I guess people with better internet connections learned it beforehand, but I got screwed by work and was busy all day, so I watched and [...]

Flickr Frustrations

Zeke — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:41:12 +0000

So I created my account over at Flickr before they were bought by Yahoo!, and naturally I liked the service better when it was independent. When they merged, I had to use an antiquated Yahoo! account, and I go through phases where I’m unable to log into Flickr because I can’t remember the the Yahoo! [...]

Planning for WMC

Zeke — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:24:27 +0000

Given that I let another unused domain name I own expire, and that I do not do as much blawging as I have in years past, and that I have redoubled my efforts in designing and maintaining several additional websites out of the kindness of my heart (and to get something of a portfolio started), [...]

Don’t Tell HTC…

Zeke — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:07:54 +0000

…but my EVO has been rooted around like a dirty pig today.

It was actually a very quick, painless, one-click process, and then I was staring at a boot-up screen on my phone, afraid to touch anything because none of the options were correlating with either of the directions I was following along. I used [...]

Moral Of The Story Is…

Zeke — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:12:27 +0000

I suppose when you get paid for some writing, the other extracurricular sort gets shafted. At least that’s what is happening around here. I’ve missed posting a month or two recently, after updating consistently for years. I plan to keep everything operating and hunky dory – just added some funds to my hosting – and [...]

Scooby Doo Intros

Zeke — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:26:06 +0000

I’ve mentioned purchasing a Subaru before in passing, but consider this posting its interweb premiere.

I was looking for a second vehicle for winter duties and whenever the MINI might be decommissioned. I watched Saabs, BMWs, and Subarus in my price range, and eventually decided that the all-wheel awesomeness of a Scooby would be [...]

The Good And Bad 2010 NY Midterms

Zeke — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:57:25 +0000

Paladino is one tea bagger that no one seems to be talking much about these days, go figure, although Cuomo certainly doesn’t send any thrills up my leg, for better or worse. Both New York Senators are also in clear sailing. Unfortunately, the latest polling shows a tightening race in my congressional district. The Siena [...]

Fortitech autocross and return to Monticello

Zeke — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:22:40 +0000

So despite either off-courses or coned runs on every try, I was having a blast at the new Fortitech site during the September 19 autocross. Until my fifth run when I broke another axle.

I had replaced both driver’s side and passenger’s side axles on the car in the previous week, to “level 0″ axles [...]

Getting prepped for Monticello

Zeke — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:20:17 +0000

September 24 is when I get to drive Monticello Motor Club again. I’m starting to get the MINI ready, by addressing the clickety-clockety passenger side axle.

I had noticed earlier that there was less than a thumbs-width of clearance from that side’s inner CV joint and an integral part of the engine directly above. I [...]

July 25th Autocross at McCarty Ave

Zeke — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:12:54 +0000

I had Sunday morning free, so I made the first heat at the McCarty Ave autocross. My first of my three runs was the fastest, a 37.1 followed by a 37.3 and then a 37.79.

That 37.1 was pretty respectable, the fastest street tire time as far as I can tell and earning me 2nd [...]

But I think Android is where it’s at, phone-wise

Zeke — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:11:07 +0000

I purchased a HTC Evo a few days ago, ostensibly in an attempt to figure out my internet at home issue. But coverage on Sprint is still shoddy at my home.

Still, it can do a lot of cool things when I’m not at home, so… I’ve got 30 days to make up my mind. [...]

Darn, Apple Makes Some Neat Stuff

Zeke — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:57:39 +0000

I owned my 12″ PowerBook G4 since the summer of 2005. I still own it, and it still works, sorta.

But the poor thing finally took one nose dive onto the floor too many. I was working at the kitchen table (coolest room in the house during this mid-90s, heat index in the 100s heat [...]

Camping On Indian Lake

Zeke — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:34:00 +0000

I had planned June 14-15 to be my return to Watkins Glen with Patroon BMWCCA. I was going to camp at the state campground in town with my folks and the two dogs, just like last year. Instead, emergency repaving of turn 1 canceled the track event. So, despite a rotty weather forecast, we still [...]

Autocross #1 & #2 for 2010

Zeke — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:00:44 +0000

Going back to street tires has been an adjustment I’m still working on. I’ve found myself seriously blowing some corners, and I believe it’s my expectations of instant turn-in from the r-comps clouding my judgement. The XS have high levels of grip, evidenced by the times I can still post, but they can’t be pitched [...]

First Outing At Monticello Motor Club

Zeke — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:19:07 +0000

As par for the course, this post is coming several weeks after the fact. As hinted to in various other posts and Twitter, I was able to make it down to Monticello recently to drive the fairly new track there. Billed on their website as “a luxury automotive lifestyle resort and track located 90 minutes [...]

WMC Now Ad-Free!

Zeke — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:05:02 +0000

Last Friday I received an e-mail from Google stating that my website was in violation of the terms of service for its AdSense advertising service. They flagged a post from five years ago, where I linked to an interview with the creator of “Real Dolls” and complained that a great deal of my site traffic [...]

Motor Mount Swap-out

Zeke — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:56:17 +0000

I’ve complained previously about the hydraulic upper motor mounts found on 2004-2006 MINIs. They fail pretty quickly, leaking oil over the passenger-side frame rail, allowing the motor to buck around. Consequently you get worse shifting, additional stress on associated attachments, and more drama all around in demanding driving situations. But it’s one of those maintenance items [...]

Tax Day Hyperbole

Zeke — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:59:20 +0000

The fact that “47% of Americans paid no federal income tax in 2009″ made the rounds recently as Americans geared up to pay their taxes again and rich white people picketed on the deadline to file, April 15th. My first reaction was, “Well, yeah, but seems like that burden is being shifted downward to the [...]

MINI Maintenance 2010

Zeke — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:52:23 +0000

I’ve been looking the MINI over in preparation for the upcoming (autox / track / general driving) season and have compiled quite the list. The odometer has been sitting under 70k miles for awhile – but not much longer. Now it’s time to figure out what gets priority and what can hold off. Here’s my [...]

It’s Tick & Spam Season!

Zeke — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:13:59 +0000

The warmer weather has definitely brought out the ticks already, as so far I’ve picked a big juicy sucker off of each dog. I’ve already dosed them both with Frontline – which typically works for about 3 weeks in our experience, not the month claimed – but our stuff might be out of date. Both [...]

Murphy Came Through On The Healthcare Vote

Zeke — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:32:30 +0000

So while things have been quiet around here, I’ve been following the healthcare debate closely. Kucinich’s change of heart mid last week coincided with mine, and so I was pleased with Representative Scott Murphy’s decision to vote in favor – and relieved when the final tallies were announced late last night.

My line of thinking [...]

Retrospective: My Weekend In Amsterdam, Part 2

Zeke — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:20:42 +0000

This is an account of my weekend trip to the Netherlands the last available weekend during my semester abroad in Freiburg, Germany, fall semester of 2005. I’m able to piece together that it was December 9th through the 12th, although additional details beyond that get hazy. This is the second part. Here’s the first part. [...]

Tired Of The Tea Baggers?

Zeke — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:20:24 +0000

Fatigued by the tea? Looking for a movement named after a drink popular with 21st century Americans? Look no further than the Coffee Party, a sorta-lame-at-first-glance rejoinder with a lot more going for it once you skim the surface:

Many of us had the same thought: the tactics being employed by the Tea Party movement [...]

Guess I Don’t Keep Up With Vinyl

Zeke — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:24:35 +0000

Apparently Last Vestige in Saratoga closed end of January? After a wee bit of googling, however, I discover that apparently a new store is opened in its place, DIVINYL Revolution, which bought much of the old store’s wares (whatever wasn’t trucked down to the Albany Last Vestige location) and which is running sales this weekend. [...]

Retrospective: My Weekend In Amsterdam

Zeke — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:36:21 +0000

This is an account of my weekend trip to the Netherlands the last available weekend during my semester abroad in Freiburg, Germany, fall semester of 2005. I’m able to piece together that it was December 9th through the 12th, although additional details beyond that get hazy. The retelling got long so it’s split into two [...]

Activities Behind The Scenes

Zeke — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:52:03 +0000

I’ve been actively plugging away with both this site and other projects in the past few days. The employment side of things is also looking rosy, so while posts might come slow over the foreseeable future, rest assured it’s not for lack of time in front of the computer!

I completed the promised site redesign [...]

Conan Got Boned

Zeke — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:15:28 +0000

It’s hard to believe I’ve been silent on this issue for this long. I’ve been a fan of Conan for years and his move to the Tonight Show was a dream come true. Well, I got to enjoy it for all of seven months.

Taste in comedy is just about as subjective as you can [...]

Eroded Democracy

Zeke — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:59:20 +0000

Thursday’s decision, in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, “is going to flip the existing campaign order on its head,” said Benjamin L. Ginsberg, a Republican campaign lawyer at the law-and-lobbying firm Patton Boggs who has represented both candidates and outside groups, including Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group formed to oppose Senator [...]