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Did I mention I race rally cars? Red Rocket Rally

Sunday, September 9, 2007
Rallycross Second Place
by brian @ 16:15:59 - [perma-link]
I took second in Modified 2-wheel drive today in Hillsboro. Pictures and video later.

The car worked great all morning. We didn't have to fix anything!

Three weeks until Wild West!

Saturday, September 1, 2007
Someone
by ccons @ 16:36:09 - [perma-link]
Please tell me why I am at a sports bar in a mini-mall in Texas... :)

Friday, August 24, 2007
Lots of bugs!
by brian @ 15:47:48 - [perma-link]
Lesley, Suzanne, Pickles and I drove down from Portland on Wednesday. We got in pretty late, so today was the first good look I've had at the front of the vanagon. I haven't measured the Bugs per Square Inch ratio, but I'd guess it ranks somewhere between "Eww gross!" and throwing up a little in the back of your throat.
Now we're in crunch time for Burningman prep. We pick up the RV Sunday. Until then the vanagon is packed with the bar, the quad, and camping supplies that we'll unpack straight into the RV.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Rally Weekend
by brian @ 10:06:54 - [perma-link]
This weekend was a big rally weekend in Portland. We skipped the
Friday night TSD, which eliminated us from the "Triple Threat"
contest. It turned out not to be such a wise choice after Lesley and
I placed 3rd in the "Seat Of Pants" class on Saturday's "Mountains to
the Sea" touring rally from Portland to Astoria.
Josh towed the car to Astoria with his work truck Saturday
afternoon. Having his truck makes everything so much easier. When
we loaded up on Friday, I was gazing around the garage and asked,
"what tools do we need to load?". Josh smiled and replied, "None!
Its all in the truck!"
Saturday night we took Pickles (Suzanne's dog) to the Safeway by the
hotel. She was very good and no one in the store seemed to mind.
Sunday was another rallycross. Josh and I took turns with the FX-16,
and Suzanne raced Lesley's Jeep Cherokee in the morning session. The
first lap in the Toyota revealed the first engine problem I've had
with the car. Up until Saturday, the motor had been the most
reliable part of the car. After sputtering back to the staging area,
we popped the hood. A couple of our competitors said it sounded like
water in the spark plug wires, and they were right! Some water must
have leaked into the valley pan when I washed the car, and rinsed the
engine bay. It was a quick fix with some spray Josh had in his
service truck, and the motor was singing again.
In the afternoon session, the car was trouble free. I ended up
placing 4th (again) in the Modified 2-wheel-drive class. We had the
in-car camera working in the afternoon, so I'll chop up the videos
and post them later.
Lesley hopped in as passenger for a few laps. Now she wants to sign
up for Rally School after Burningman. She was going to take a lap on
the Barbie Quad, but the battery died before she reached the starting
line.

Sunday, August 19, 2007
Let the Burning Man prep begin
by ccons @ 15:16:29 - [perma-link]
[I didn't write anything about this picture.]

Friday, August 17, 2007
La's New Hair
by ccons @ 20:53:16 - [perma-link]
[I didn't write anything about this picture.]

Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Thanks, Nikki!
by brian @ 21:12:43 - [perma-link]
Nikki finished painting the sides of the bar. It looks awesome! I'm
probably going to move the battery box inside so it doesn't block the
art.
I still need to make a sign for up high. I've decided not to mount
the solar panel on the top, after tipping the topless bar on the
slant of the driveway. Fortunately the playa is totally flat, but
the panel would still be a lot of weight up really high on the sharp
turns.

Sunday, August 12, 2007
New Tableware
by ccons @ 02:33:41 - [perma-link]
La, Johnny, and I went to Bloomingdale's today in search of more grown
up accouterments for the table. La and I dropped a bunch on flatware,
dinnerware, and linens for 16. We debated getting enough for 24, given
that's the most we've seated for a meal, but couldn't bring ourselves
to do it. :) Sadly, more than half of the dinnerware won't arrive
until October, but that'll be just in time for the holidays!

For the curious, the dinnerware is Rosenthal Thomas Loft White, and the flatware is Ginkgo Norse.

http://www.int.rosenthal.de/262R2-1-11900-800001/White.htm

http://ginkgoint.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=439

Thursday, August 2, 2007
Roomba
by ccons @ 21:45:00 - [perma-link]
Loves FLOR. :)

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
(not) For the Shorties
by brian @ 18:30:42 - [perma-link]
A few days ago Lesley came up with the idea to build a mobile bar to tow behind our bikes at Burningman. After some brainstorming, I started scrounging craigslist for Powerwheels. Tonight I walked th bar around the block, under its own power.
The front end is the rear half of a Powerwheels Quad. I have it hooked to the front of the cart and it steers like a wagon.
At the stock 6V, its a comfortable, but not leisurely, walk to keep up with it. Boosting it to 12V brings it to a brisk jog, once it regains traction (it totally burns plastic when I shift it to 2nd;). I'm hoping to get a variable speed motor controller on it before Burningman, but I'll mostly be towing it with my bike, so the quick pace won't be a problem, and the power assist (to my electric stingray) will be fun.
I have a regular car battery on the hitch. That should last all day and night on a full charge.

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Sunday, September 9, 2007
	Rallycross Second Place by brian @ 16:15:59 - [perma-link] I took second in Modified 2-wheel drive today in Hillsboro. Pictures and video later. The car worked great all morning. We didn't have to fix anything! Three weeks until Wild West!


Saturday, September 1, 2007
	Someone by ccons @ 16:36:09 - [perma-link] Please tell me why I am at a sports bar in a mini-mall in Texas... :)

Friday, August 24, 2007
	Lots of bugs! by brian @ 15:47:48 - [perma-link] Lesley, Suzanne, Pickles and I drove down from Portland on Wednesday. We got in pretty late, so today was the first good look I've had at the front of the vanagon. I haven't measured the Bugs per Square Inch ratio, but I'd guess it ranks somewhere between "Eww gross!" and throwing up a little in the back of your throat. Now we're in crunch time for Burningman prep. We pick up the RV Sunday. Until then the vanagon is packed with the bar, the quad, and camping supplies that we'll unpack straight into the RV.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
	Rally Weekend by brian @ 10:06:54 - [perma-link] This weekend was a big rally weekend in Portland. We skipped the Friday night TSD, which eliminated us from the "Triple Threat" contest. It turned out not to be such a wise choice after Lesley and I placed 3rd in the "Seat Of Pants" class on Saturday's "Mountains to the Sea" touring rally from Portland to Astoria. Josh towed the car to Astoria with his work truck Saturday afternoon. Having his truck makes everything so much easier. When we loaded up on Friday, I was gazing around the garage and asked, "what tools do we need to load?". Josh smiled and replied, "None! Its all in the truck!" Saturday night we took Pickles (Suzanne's dog) to the Safeway by the hotel. She was very good and no one in the store seemed to mind. Sunday was another rallycross. Josh and I took turns with the FX-16, and Suzanne raced Lesley's Jeep Cherokee in the morning session. The first lap in the Toyota revealed the first engine problem I've had with the car. Up until Saturday, the motor had been the most reliable part of the car. After sputtering back to the staging area, we popped the hood. A couple of our competitors said it sounded like water in the spark plug wires, and they were right! Some water must have leaked into the valley pan when I washed the car, and rinsed the engine bay. It was a quick fix with some spray Josh had in his service truck, and the motor was singing again. In the afternoon session, the car was trouble free. I ended up placing 4th (again) in the Modified 2-wheel-drive class. We had the in-car camera working in the afternoon, so I'll chop up the videos and post them later. Lesley hopped in as passenger for a few laps. Now she wants to sign up for Rally School after Burningman. She was going to take a lap on the Barbie Quad, but the battery died before she reached the starting line.


Sunday, August 19, 2007
	Let the Burning Man prep begin by ccons @ 15:16:29 - [perma-link] [I didn't write anything about this picture.]

Friday, August 17, 2007
	La's New Hair by ccons @ 20:53:16 - [perma-link] [I didn't write anything about this picture.]

Wednesday, August 15, 2007
	Thanks, Nikki! by brian @ 21:12:43 - [perma-link] Nikki finished painting the sides of the bar. It looks awesome! I'm probably going to move the battery box inside so it doesn't block the art. I still need to make a sign for up high. I've decided not to mount the solar panel on the top, after tipping the topless bar on the slant of the driveway. Fortunately the playa is totally flat, but the panel would still be a lot of weight up really high on the sharp turns.


Sunday, August 12, 2007
	New Tableware by ccons @ 02:33:41 - [perma-link] La, Johnny, and I went to Bloomingdale's today in search of more grown up accouterments for the table. La and I dropped a bunch on flatware, dinnerware, and linens for 16. We debated getting enough for 24, given that's the most we've seated for a meal, but couldn't bring ourselves to do it. :) Sadly, more than half of the dinnerware won't arrive until October, but that'll be just in time for the holidays! For the curious, the dinnerware is Rosenthal Thomas Loft White, and the flatware is Ginkgo Norse. http://www.int.rosenthal.de/262R2-1-11900-800001/White.htm http://ginkgoint.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=439

Thursday, August 2, 2007
	Roomba by ccons @ 21:45:00 - [perma-link] Loves FLOR. :)

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
	(not) For the Shorties by brian @ 18:30:42 - [perma-link] A few days ago Lesley came up with the idea to build a mobile bar to tow behind our bikes at Burningman. After some brainstorming, I started scrounging craigslist for Powerwheels. Tonight I walked th bar around the block, under its own power. The front end is the rear half of a Powerwheels Quad. I have it hooked to the front of the cart and it steers like a wagon. At the stock 6V, its a comfortable, but not leisurely, walk to keep up with it. Boosting it to 12V brings it to a brisk jog, once it regains traction (it totally burns plastic when I shift it to 2nd;). I'm hoping to get a variable speed motor controller on it before Burningman, but I'll mostly be towing it with my bike, so the quick pace won't be a problem, and the power assist (to my electric stingray) will be fun. I have a regular car battery on the hitch. That should last all day and night on a full charge.

previous