Pimp my car - Stage 1

Having my first car with a V engine it bothered me very much, that I only have exhaust pipe. As a European even a V6 engine counts as luxury and you need to show off!

But Dodge decided that for the 2.7L V6 on the Charger one tail pipe will be enough. I guess they thought that not many people will buy this edition, and they didn't even bother to get a separate bumper for this one. So I ended up with a missing left pipe, and to remind me constantly there was the cut out for the missing pipe on the bumper.

I was looking for a solution, and I found Blastin' Bob where I not only found a problem of my missing exhaust pipe but I could also show off my car a little. The Charger (just like the 300C that was I think meant to be somewhat elegant) is asking for modification. And the possibilities are countless. So I got my first upgrade:

These simply put a Y pipe after the resonator and eliminate the muffler, giving a nice V8 sound to the 'tiny' V6 engine. I went with the 10dB version. I was hesitating between the 12dB and the 10dB and I ended up with the quieter one.

Luckily! It's loud enough! It has a nice deep calming drone around 2000rpm in 2nd and 3rd gear, but otherwise not loud much. At least this is how I hear from the cockpit. I bet from outside the experience is a bit different. I realize when I roll down the window :D

I was lazy to make videos, there's already a lot on YouTube. This one is pretty much sums up the driver's experience:


A couple of things I don't have to worry about any more:

• Blind people accidentally trying to cross the road in front of me.
• Children running after their balls not checking if a car comes.
• Blind spots of other vehicles.
• Let my neighbors oversleep.
• When I tailgate a slow vehicle in the left lane and the driver doesn't recognize me because of not checking the rear view mirror.
• There's nothing good on the radio and being bored of all my CDs.

Now I can start saving money for having my windows tinted and get some nice shiny black and chrome rims :D

Table tennis is a loud sport

Why would you think that software engineers

• are playful creatures and they enjoy all kind of fun activities while working (paradox: either you work or you enjoy fun activities :D)?
• don't need a nice quite environment to do their work?

Apparently the interior designer who designed the new building our team was transferred into a couple of weeks ago, thought so. As a result there's a couple of ping pong tables in the middle of the building in a two story high hall.

Right next to the kitchen, full with coffee grinder, espresso machine, hot water machine, refrigerators filled with soda, coffee and snacks. So nobody would ever want to go there... Ever...

As I was moved from my office to a cube and I happen to sit very close to this recreational area, I happen to have my headphones on the whole day, but at least around noon and after 5pm... Can I sue the company years later if I develop hearing damage? ;-)

I understand that tech companies would like to tempt engineers with everything they've got, and many of them come up with the stupidest recreational solution, but at least separate these fun areas from the working quarters and yet have them still easily accessible. That would work.

Thank you!

Sunday at the Ocean

Ever since my wife has her bright red Mustang convertible we never really took it out for a spin. So this Sunday the weather was nice, so she planned a one day trip along the shore line. On the way to the beach we avoided all the highways, so we can cruse nice with the roof open.

Our first stop was Gray Whale Cove State Beach. It's a bit far, norther from Half Moon Bay, but really nice and protected from the wind. I should really stop going to the ocean wearing a tank top. It's more like a turtle neck with a hoodie on top... And a hat.... Down at the water it was very nice. There's some porta potty on the top, if someone would like to know. This is the view from Hwy 1:

When we were leaving I threw a last glance at the water and I saw two probably baby gray whales right on the beach. Approximately in the middle where the water is white on the picture above. I was so excited! The beach lived up to its name! I bet you must be lucky to spot such a thing. And it was our first time!

Our next stop was J V Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. We had luck again. Just a couple of minutes before we arrived a herd of seals came to shore playing, resting and nursing the babies:

 
There were some beautiful flowers blooming at the entrance of the beach:

On the way down to our last stop to Half Moon Bay State Beach, we passed by the airport. It turns out that a classic car and airplane show was on this weekend, the Dream Machines. If only I knew... But our day was perfect anyways. 

 
We took a walk on the beach, but both of us started to be hungry, so after taking some pictures we continued down to Santa Cruz, where we had our shrimp, prawn, fish, seafood fried dinner.

None of that rap cr*p

Yesterday somehow I've found this song:


And I was listening to it all afternoon while working. On the way home it came to my mind that this song is on GTA San Andreas radio station K-DST The Dust (my favorite), and the OST mp3 CD is in my car. But I had to realize that this song is not on the album for some reason.

The funny thing is that KDST is a real radio station in the middle of bacon country and last year when I was in Dubuque I could have listened to it live! Well this chance is now gone as I doubt I'll need to go to Debuque in the future...

Car chase

I didn't really have anything to say lately. Days are passing by, the weather gets warmer...

I'm watching the show Alcatraz on Fox and I really like it. I hope it won't turn into some mystic bullshit as Lost though. So far it's excellent. This Monday, the season finale was aired, and they recreated a famous San Francisco car chase movie piece from Bullit. And I think it was excellent. A 2013 Ford Mustang GT vs. a 2010 Dodge Charger Pursuit (judged by the rims, I think it was a Pursuit).

Enjoy!



And the original scene (with some music. I couldn't find one on youtube that doesn't have some custom music... The original scene has no music but exclusively tire screech sounds!):


P.S.: If anybody knows a driving school here in the Bay Area where they teach how to drive like that, I'd like to sign up!

People of Walmart

Everybody knows the pictures of people of Walmart... And the song about those pictures, too. Fact, that Walmart seems to be a portal to another America that is hidden from most of us. This retail giant offers great prices on everything. It's a one stop shop. And it attracts all kind of people from middle class to the less fortunate.

Well, the quality of certain items they carry can be questioned. Especially on the food isle. It mostly offers cheap processed foods. You do the math, but you cannot expect anything good from powdered, frozen, sugared, salted etc. food (by)products.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered some picture frames online to be shipped to their Mountain View store. The price was better than anybody else's, but it was not available in store. Walmart ships to store for free. At first I waited at the wrong place, customer service... And that's how I've seen things I couldn't imagine before. People apparently return shower gels, detergents, cosmetic products etc. The reason for return was most of the time that they've spent more they could allow that month, so they need to return these items. And they did. I bet those products make it back onto the shelves.

From one side it is very sad that there're people living from day to day and they have to re-think their everyday purchases and need to return even a couple of dollars worth of goods to get back that $5-$10 they need to survive. On the other hand I'm not sure I want to use shower gel that might be used by someone else before. I definitely reconsider the next time I want to buy something a dollar less in that store.

Hi, how are you doing?

Apparently I'm not alone with the weird feeling you get when someone asks you that question instead of just saying 'Hello':