Out of the frying pan...

Well, I know it has been awhile but I had to finish up another semester of classes before I could come back. I am getting ready to cycle into another semester of engineering internship instead of classes. Count on more posts more often since I don't have to worry about classes or exams until May.

-Jordan

Five Songs Worth a Listen

This is something I have been thinking about for the past few days. I was trying to come up with my five favorite songs of all time, but that proved impossible to determine. So I instead came up with five songs that in my opinion are very good and are worth listening to. Each of these songs comes from a different genre (although two of them are in the super-genre classic rock, they are distinctly different styles of classic rock). If you know me and what type of music I traditionally listen to (classic rock), some of the songs on this list may surprise you. As I stated earlier, these are not my five favorite songs of all time, but some of them do fall on that list. Enjoy.

And these are not in any particular order, just the order that I felt like writing about them.

-- So Small - Carrie Underwood
     Last year, I took my sister to a Carrie Underwood concert because, in spite of not knowing anything about Carrie Underwood myself, I knew that my sister was a pretty huge fan of her and I had heard that her live performances were spectacular. I started listening to her music so I could at least say "hey, I know this song" at the concert instead of just standing there clueless. This song stood out to me immediately the first time I heard it, and after listening to all her other songs and going to the concert, which was awesome by the way, I came to the conclusion that this was my favorite song of hers. Now, I have gradually come to the conclusion that it is, believe it or not, one of my favorite songs of all time. It is hard to explain why this song is so appealing to me. Carrie's voice is amazing and after seeing her perform live, I can attest to the fact she can sing just as good on stage as she can in the studio. Her band is also excellent, featuring a mixture of keys, strings and percussion both electric and acoustic. But of course, these things can only add to a song, not make it great. Greatness comes when all these elements come together with the lyrics to make magic. As I said, it's hard to explain exaxctly what this song means to me, but every time I listen to it, it makes me calm down, stop worrying, and apprecite what I have.

--Desperado - The Eagles
     This song is already a classic, so I don't need to say anything about the musical merits of the song itself. This is another one of those songs that has the ability to calm you down and make you relax. This song has great lyrics throughout, and like all Eagles songs, is very well thought out, from the words to the notes to the rhythms.

--Airplanes - BoB featuring Hayley Williams
     This is, in my opinion, a rare gem in the modern mainstream music scene. It might just be me, but modern rap is pretty much noise to me. Was it just me being a teenager, or was rap way better back when we wre in high school? In any case, if I hear rap on the radio, I usually change stations pretty fast. However, ever since I listened to my first Linkin Park song, I have been a fan of rap used in good ways. Up until Minutes to Midnight, I was a huge fan of Linkin Park because of lyrics that seemed like they actually meant something (even though I didn't know what that something was in most cases) and the musicallity of it all. I also really liked the Rising Tied, Fort Minor's first album (Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park's group). It was a rap album, but there was a huge infusion of keys and other musical instruments, and again, the lyrics were thoughtful. I like "Airplanes" for the same reason that I like T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life". Both these songs talk about how rap has become 'fake'. They actually blend music into the songs, instead of just relying on base rhythms. And the lyrics seem sincere. I chose "Airplanes" over "Live Your Life" for this list because the infusion of Hayley Williams voice adds the perfect finishing touch.

--What it Takes - Aerosmith
     Power ballads were a staple of 80's rock, and I am admittedly a sucker for them. There is something about the blend of a tender love song with electric guitar riffs and power chords that is awesome. There are so many ballads from so many different groups, that it is hard to pick out just one. However, here is one of my favorites from the great American rock band Aerosmith. There's not too much to say about this song. It is what it is. Most power ballads are popped out of cookie cutters, and I still love them, but this one is a little bit different. I was trying to decide between this song and "Cryin", but in the end the vocal harmonies and bluesy feel of this song won out.

--Star Wars Main Theme - John Williams
     First of all, John Williams is a beast. The main theme of Star Wars is one of the most well-known movie themes of all time. It starts off each Star Wars movie (and most Star Wars video games) as the crawler begins to scroll. Hearing this song ivokes the excitement and sense of novelty that comes with seeing a Star Wars movie for the first time and entering into a new world. This is a feeling for me that is aking to being the first one to walk on an untouched lawn full of fresh snow. Although John Williams "Battle of the Heroes" for Episode III came close to emulating the sense of grandeur and majest of the title theme, nothing can beat that old king.

Finals Week is Getting Started

Well, it is the close of another semester at the University. I believe I like the Fall Semesters the most. The crisp air and the drastic changes happening before your eyes. The optimism which is unspoiled by a poorly performed previous semester. I will miss it, however I must get through my exams first and they are being laid on thick. I will have all four of my exams completed by noon on Wednesday. I hope for the best and all I can say is I have many hours of studying ahead of me.

Hope your Autumn was a good one.

-Jordan

Facebook Activists...lol

Remember all those cartoon characters that suddenly popped up on Facebook a couple of days ago, in an effort to somehow end child abuse? Funny article: http://knowyourmeme.com/blog/how-to-troll-online-slacktivists
-Jordan

I/H/E on the Spec V

Well, it happened. Found an amazing deal on a Megan Racing Midpipe and 'Downpipe'. Intake, Header, and Exhaust will be complete on the grocery getter. Next will be, an array of diagnostic gauges, Apex'i SAFC, Mishimoto Radiator, TWM STS, and UR Underdrive Crank Pulley. After that, SPEC Stage 3+ Clutch, SPEC Lightweight Flywheel if it is released by then. Also coming this spring will be a coilover suspension to help hit the corners. Squeezing every bit of Naturally Aspirated Horsepower out of this glorified econo-box as possible. If you can't tell, I am pretty excited.

-Jordan

Lab Finals, Why Do They Exist?

The Lab Final Exam is probably the most asinine thing I have ever came across. I'm sure those of you who took a college level chemistry class experienced this as early as your freshman year, however now as a senior in engineering I just completed my first one ever. What a mess, lets ask questions not even pertaining to what was accomplished in lab. This sounds like a good method to alienate students, as opposed to just taking a lab grade from lab attendance, participation, and reports which I slaved my life away on.

-Jordan

When Power is Apparent

Have you ever had the feeling in your car to keep it to the ground? Maybe a little too long...? Well, if you haven't you are a hyper miler, Prius driver, who doesn't know what the accelerator pedal is. Believe it or not the upgraded header made an enormous difference in my little riced out grocery getter. I find myself driving by ear, used to how the car used to perform and getting no where near the upper range of the car's performance. It just has so much more room to run, it comes in so much stronger in the top range it is really amazing. Moral of the story, if I can't get used to it fast I am going to get myself into trouble.

Now only to get my 3000GT Twin Turbo in good running order.

-Jordan

The Problem with Bioshock

It is a good, solid game. Upon first exit of the Bathysphere you are amazed and afraid of the horrors ahead of you. Insanity is a scary thing, especially when an ecosystem the size of a city is involved. However...how did this game win game of the year upon its release? Honestly, the story is good with its twists and turns however, the game play becomes bland and uninspired relatively quick. As far as atmosphere the game nails it exceptionally well, however you know what does atmosphere better? Dead Space.

Bioshock might have been amazing and revolutionary at the time, doubtful due to its general similarity to Systemshock, but it hasn't aged particularly well. And to this day Bobby and I have yet to finish it.

-Jordan

But...

Just so my first entry isn't a complete fail, there is this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQQuL8fCZ-4

Awesome.

-Bobby

... ... ...

Well... I just spent the last 45 minutes analyzing a trailer from Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and writing about it. But when I posted it, there was an error because Jordan had also been writing something from his computer at the same time, and the site become confused. So my post got lost and I am not going to retype it at this time. Hahaha I just got owned.

Maybe another time...

For now, this rather sad little post will be all.

-Bobby

The Good and Bad to Specialized Tools

I'm a guy and I like toys, scratch that, I love toys; so when I go to the hardware store I have to set aside time to look through the toy...um...I mean tool section. I am fairly convinced you can't have too many. The problem arises with more specialized tools. On my recently completed header swap I found myself in the need of an O2 Sensor Wrench, I figured this tool couldn't cost more then $15's or so and I needed one best I could figure. Well it cost me $30's. Seriously, a tool that I am only going to use once or twice a year at the absolute most. However, I got a new toy.

The other time this happened to me I bought a heat gun from Harbor Freight, not many guys my age, living in apartments, in college have heat guns. It is a very minimal use tool. But here is the thing, if one of my friends needs an O2 wrench or a heat gun they know who to call to use one. This increases my chance of a free lunch and beer...so perhaps in the long run I can pay these limited use tools back in free pizza and beer?

I better go and get a fender roller and spring compressors...

-Jordan

Wanting to get back under there again.

Well it was just yesterday that I spent six hours installing a M2 high flow exhaust manifold on my SER SpecV and I am already wanting to get back under the hood again. I have had a Hondata Intake Manifold gasket on my shelf since September. They have worked for other platforms and I figured I would give it a try, http://hondata.com/heatshieldgasket.html, for $50+ shipping how can I lose.

I originally was skeptical about possible gains with already having a resin injected intake manifold over a traditional cast aluminum piece. I work for a tier one OEM parts supplier for Honda and their K24 engine and I see how resin manifolds are made and know how they dissipate heat. However, Hondata makes a gasket for the K24 engine and it sees gains from this. I figure that if I can slow down heat sink from the head to the intake manifold enough to grab a 2 horsepower increase. I suppose we will see, when heat is your enemy you must declare total war.

To further this effort I am going to prop the backside of the hood up at the same time, http://www.importtuner.com/tech/impp_0909_jdm_hood_prop/index.html, gains are doubtful but if I can decrease my under hood operating temperatures by 10 degrees for $5's then count me in.

Next in the battle on under hood temperatures...Mishimoto Radiator and hoses, possibly wrapping my Injen Cold Air Intake (CAI) in gold heat reflective tape, and buying some sheet metal and making my own cooling panel to direct more air through the radiator. Should have wrapped my header with a heat insulating wrap but I decided not to in favor of extending the operating life of my Chinese made header.

-Jordan

Feeling Garage Grim

Well everybody, worked in the garage on my car most of the day. Lots of hard work for a pretty decent pay off. The car will be a little more reliable now and it pulls much better throughout the power band, a high flow exhaust manifold can go a long way. Nissan has always designed some funny quirks into there QR25DE, a primary one is the pre-catalytic converters on the OEM header would tend to break down and be sucked back into the engine, thus causing major problems.

This new unit gives me sound of mind and a very sound gain in power. Hopefully after finals I can rip my Intake Manifold off and install my Hondata Intake Manifold Heat Shield Gasket.

-Jordan

What is this strange new world?

Here we are, trying a new medium. A place to have discussions on most everything. Conservative view points, video games, cars, girls, society, etc. Hopefully we have frequent discussions and rants and in the future include video proof that we actually do exist, video cataloging will begin around the launch of Dead Space 2. Either my associate or I will be posting messages on here so this is a collective effort. Thank you,

-Jordan