Fresh back from Texas
1996 328is, 5MT, 100% stock (see how long that lasts)
23:15, 16 Feb 2008
RIP
1/31/2008
Murdered by a Dodge Ram while unoccupied in a Papa John's parking lot. What a disappointing way to go.
Purchased: 12/22/2006, 155k miles
Totaled: 1/31/2008, 182k miles
Absolutely the best of the four BMWs I've owned thus far. So what's next? ... Wait and see. 20:23, 12 Feb 2008
Site update
I've implemented a new site design for the first time since 2002, so enjoy it. Let me know if you find anything broken; I'm sure I didn't catch all the bugs tonight.
The layout is based on a template from andreasviklund.com, so go check out his stuff. Its good work.
23:00, 17 Dec 2007
Alternate DNS servers
http://www.wildblue.cc/wbforums/archive/index.php/t-1738.html
more... 18:29, 14 Sep 2007
Recent event photos
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Happy Fourth!
"It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government." --Thomas Paine (courtesy of TheAgitator.com)
02:56, 5 Jul 2007
Grenada MS Autocross - Mississippi SCCA - June 16/17
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| Grenada MS Autocross - June 16-17 2007 |
Ron Paul 2008
I'm voting for Ron Paul, Republican candidate for President.
More about Ron Paul:Ron Paul on Wikipedia
Ron Paul on YouTube
Ron Paul on MySpace
Ron Paul on Facebook
more... 01:18, 6 Jun 2007
BMW CCA HPDE/Track Day at Barber Motorsports Park
May 26/27, 2007
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| Barber Motorsport |
Project: Makeshift Racing
On December 22, 2006 I bought a black on black BMW 325is manual coupe to replace my gold 325i manual sedan that was totaled. On February 1, 2007 I got caught in an ice storm and slid off the road, into a ditch, and turned on the roof in the "new" car. State Farm declared that one also a total loss, but it was still in decent condition. Since February it has been an on-going project for David (my brother) and I to repair and convert to a trackable driver.
I'll post more details on the car later, but its due for its first track day at Barber Motorsports Park on Memorial Day weekend, immediately followed by an SCCA National autocross on June 1-2 in Huntsville. On July 17-18 we'll be going to Deal's Gap.
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| 1992 BMW 325is Blk/blk Coupe |
BMW Ultimate Drive - Susan G. Komen for the Cure
While I was in Birmingham on April 24, I joined some fellow members of the Heart of Dixie chapter of the BMW CCA to drive the fleet of Susan G. Komen cars from Birmingham to Knoxville. For every mile driven, BMW donates $1 for breast cancer research. I drove a 2007 Z4 Coupe on this leg.
The BMW Ultimate Drive was also in Huntsville on April 27 so I took Dad down with me, and we were able to test drive the 335i coupe, the 335i sedan, and the new X5 SAV. The 335i has an impressive, wonderful engine, but the car overall leaves me a bit underwhelmed. I'm hoping that powertrain ends up in a 1-series soon.
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| BMW Ultimate Drive - Susan G. Komen for the Cure 2007 |
AMA Superbike Classic - Barber Motorsports Park
April 20-22 saw the AMA Superbike series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. I was at the track on Friday and Saturday. Click below for photos:
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| Barber 2007 - AMA Superbike |
Caster, camber, toe
Pointed the Right Way
Camber, Caster and Toe: What Do They Mean?
The three major alignment parameters on a car are toe, camber, and caster. Most enthusiasts have a good understanding of what these settings are and what they involve, but many may not know why a particular setting is called for, or how it affects performance. Let's take a quick look at this basic aspect of suspension tuning.
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01:31, 26 Jan 2007
End of an era
The gold 1992 BMW 325i sedan is no more. State Farm has declared it a total loss after a front-end altercation in a parking lot (no-fault accident).
I bought this car in March 2005 with 172,000 miles. As of December 2006 it has 233,400 miles, still on the same engine, transmission, clutch, etc. That's 61,400 miles in 20 months, or almost exactly 100 miles per day average.
It made two appearances on track -- Talladega Gran Prix (TGPR) and Barber Motorsports Park, and three trips to Deal's Gap (Tail of the Dragon). I've salvaged the suspension (Bilstein Sports/BavAuto springs) to reuse on the next car, along with my personal additions.
RIP
Accident damage
18:32, 28 Dec 2006
BMW E36 Links
These are mainly for my own reference, as I'm at work and won't have these bookmarks when I get home to work on the car. I bought another BMW today, same as the one I already have -- a 1992 E36 325i sedan, 5 speed manual with 201,000 miles in decent condition. Definitely needs some attention, but that's what this is for.
Installing a Valentine One Radar DetectorE36 electric window fix
E36 back seat removal
Gauges
Other guides
BMW DIY
Understeer.com
Installing gauge cluster trim rings
21:08, 29 Nov 2006 (Updated 18:18, 28 Dec 2006)
WERA Nationals, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL
Saturday, 23 September were the WERA Nationals at Barber Motorsports Park. I was able to watch a couple hours of the Endurace series and grabbed a few pictures. Got a new video camera last week so I can do much better video in the future.
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| Barber 2006 - WERA Nationals |
Live from the BMW Performance Center, Spartanburg, SC
7:50am - Got in around 7:30pm ET yesterday, 6h 15m drive from Pulaski to Greer, SC. Terrible traffic in Atlanta. Got a good night of sleep, woke up early. About to leave hotel and head to the Performance Center. Updates to follow.---
4:45pm - Back at the hotel. Activities today included slalom course, ABS braking exercise, skidpad, another slalom, oval skidpad/mini-race, powerslides, and timed autocross. I had the best autox single run time, but only by a couple tenths. I'm exhausted.
Morning started out slow, classroom session was overly simplistic and nothing new (define apex, etc.) and the first few exercises were easy, but looking back built up both confidence in the car and set some benchmarks for the rest of the day. I'm the youngest in the group by quite a few years. Many in the class don't even own BMWs. One of the instructors does WERA road racing. Going to get dinner and get some sleep. More tomorrow.
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Day 2: Wow! Delayed posting this, I'm back at work, but what an awesome time. Due to special circumstances, we got bumped up to M3s from the 330is we drove on day 1. Amazing cars, and I may be convinced on SMG now. More slalom, skidpad, emergency braking, emergency lane change, just at faster speeds. Also more autox. Then we got to test-drive the Z4M Roadster, M5, M6, 760Li, 650Ci, and X5 4.8L on the autox course. After that we took the X5s out to the off-road course for a bit of fun. Pictures:
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| BMW Performanc |
Video 1
Video 2 06:54, 15 Sep 2006 (Updated 21:00, 1 Oct 2006)
Quotes
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin (attr)
Numquam ponenda est pluritas sine necessitate.
People should not fear their government. Governments should fear their people.
"I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance." -Reuben Blades
"Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." -Ronald Reagan
"I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves." -Ronald Reagan
00:10, 5 Sep 2006
Merritt-Pop
I went with my grandfather today to check out the popcorn crop. We met with a writer/editor for The Furrow magazine (published by John Deere) and he interviewed us about the popcorn and how its grown, etc.
The crop is going to be lean this year, which isn't good, but considering how dry this summer has been it could be worse.
My grandfather (John Merritt) talk with Charles Johnson from The Furrow magazine; grandfather and myself
Full album of pictures from the farm
Merritt-Pop Popcorn
00:00, 5 Sep 2006
BMW Performance Driving School
So it looks like I'm going to the BMW Performance Driving School on September 15-16 (tentative, date subject to change).
I think this will be a bit low-key: emphasis on car control, maybe a bit of skidpad. Not really an advanced track school or anything, but hey, its a(n expensive) freebie.
This is in Spartanburg, SC at the BMW Performance Center. I may try to work in a drive through Deal's Gap on the way there or back. Or I may decide to fly and skip the 8 hour drive there & back.
Update Dates confirmed, hotel reservation made.
00:49, 22 Aug 2006 (Updated 23:52, 4 Sep 2006)
Little of this, little of that.
Some cool stuff I've found lately:
· Qusers.com: Website/forum for Motorola Q· EverythingQ: and another. · RumbleStripRadio: a motorcycle racing podcast, covers MotoGP, WSBK, AMA...
· MotoGPod: another, focus on MotoGP
· Rossi Files: blog of Valentino Rossi news, etc.
Some of you know I recently got a used Powerbook G4. So far, I love it. Here are some Apple links. · Applepedia: Like Wikipedia, but for Apple/Mac stuff.
· VersionTracker: software repository I want to upgrade this blog. Currently I have no way to allow comments -- not that I think many people really read this, or care to comment, but occasionally I would like feedback. I'm either going to have to write an extension myself for this old (and no longer updated) Personal Weblog codebase, or switch to a new format. I've moved everything over to a sample WordPress blog for testing. It is located at: ·
· Barber Motorsports - AMA Superbike Album The AMA Superbike album also has pictures from the awesome museum there. Check it out! 00:09, 19 Aug 2006
Justice and the Government
Some people may prefer a strict application of the law, across the board. Some may prefer a lenient application of the law, across the board. A case can be made for both. I also think a case can be made for strict application of the law as applied to the government, but a lenient application as applied to the people. But the least defensible position, it seems to me, is the one that dominates: Strict justice for the people and leniency for the government.-Tim Lynch, via TheAgitator.com 00:13, 4 Aug 2006
Upcoming Events
28-30 July - The Porsche 250, Barber Motorsports21-23 Sept - Deal's Gap trip (tentative)
23-24 Sept - WERA Nationals, Barber Motorsports
Pictures and such will be posted post-event. Hopefully can work in a track day or two in the fall too. 12:12, 11 Jul 2006
MinuteWatcher
MinuteWatcher.com
From Engadget Mobile:"Three cheers for a free new service that not only alerts you of your cellphone airtime usage, but provides a forecast as well so you can adjust your calling patterns accordingly. Unlike other minute-tracking solutions, MinuteWatcher doesn't require downloading any software to your phone; rather, it automatically signs into your account on your carrier's website, pulls the relevant data, and emails it to you on a preset schedule in graphical or text-only formats. Available immediately for customers of all the major networks, MinuteWatcher seems like a no-brainer to sign up for, unless you're sketchy about giving up some of your personal info like password, phone number, and home address." 22:18, 4 May 2006
Honda AMA Superbike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL
Wow, what a great weekend. Best part was meeting Nicky Hayden, and also got to meet Ben Bostrom and Neil Hodgson.
Click here for pictures!
16:53, 26 Apr 2006
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