Mallard

The dollar is falling because the national debt is skyrocketing. Now other companies are buying up that debt like crazy. It's a scary thought that China is the number one holder and has the potential to have a lot of influence on the US economy.

Finally got a picture of one of them tonight. This was the only one I could get a good shot of and it was curled up. They seem to hide in the wood siding during the day and sit in the midle of their webs at night. Any ideas? http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/mallard1055/Spider.jpg

True, also touch on: *The octane rating (meaning higher compression ratios are possible, thus boosting efficiency of the engine) *The fact that alcohol has a cooling effect when it evaporates (it cools the air charge when it's injected) *It's a slower, more stable burn (it delivers higher AVERAGE cylinder pressures and lower EGT's...Peak combustion pressures are actually lower for ethanol than for gasoline but the cylinder pressures stay higher longer, so you have more (longer) crank angle that is usable by the engine. This lower peak cylinder pressure also helps with detonation control.) *It can be produced from waste (read about cellulosic ethanol). EDIT TO ADD: When you see the benefits of E85 or E100 you can really start to see that it would be an awesome fuel for a direct injection engine. Even higher compression ratios, more boost, and closed loop combustion control would make a very efficient package. http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18304/ - Not E85, but shows benefits of Ethanol. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/10/02/adding-e100-to-the-turbo-direct-injection-mix-could-greatly-impr/

High school or higher: 91.7% Bachelors or higher: 41.5% Median Household Income: $62,484 That's acutally suprising, until I checked a neighboring zip... High school or higher: 97% Bachelors or higher: 59% Median Household Income: $106,828 Gotta love Oakland County.

The other day this chick next to me on the freeway was all over her lane. I thought she was going to plow into the side of me so I sped up to get by her. As I looked over I could see she was too busy texting to be bothered with keeping her car between the lines.

There are a ton of nasty looking spiders on the outside of my g/f's place. They're similar in size and shape to the orb weavers but I think their coloring is different. They hide in the wood/siding on the house during the day and come out into the web at night. I'll have to get some pics this week. We killed about 15-20 of them around her garage door the other week. I bet there's over 100 on the side of the house.

Just to give you an idea of the mentality these people have, here's an article on the Canadian Auto Workers Union from earlier this summer. I quoted some of the 'best' parts. The UAW is just as fanatical, IMO. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=45c3959d-ec56-43b0-9180-2599f71b1589&k=84520

Oh! Yeah, that's about the lowest rating for clarity. On a search I found a 0.30 caret diamond with a higher clarity rating (SI2, the lowest they carry) for ~$370, so a smaller one with an even lower clarity rating would be a bit less. It's not worth that much unless it has sentimental family value.

The stone itself could probably go for $3-500 depending on clarity.

How can you say that when a Viper won a few years ago? Plus 3 of the contenders are GM powered. My opinion: *Subaru WRX aimed at 460whp built w/ his 16 y/o son Sounds promising. We all know the WRX has proven to be a pretty good track car. However, the car will lose points in the fuel economy, gross display of HP, and the granny. If the car is going to be competitive on the track it's going to be a stiff ride and it might be loud while crusing. *BMW 2002 powered by a M20 engine Awesome! I like how they always seem to have a neat classic in the challenge. It's probably going to get beat at all the track events, but depending on how the car is put together it may be a contender in the end. *Audi S4 powered by the Audi V6 BiTurbo claimed 500whp My friend has a 500whp S4 and I think no matter what is done the car will always be too heavy to compete with some of the others on this list. It should have good grip though, and if it's not stripped it will do well in the granny test. *C5 Z06 Supercharged..claiming 500-550whp no internal engine mods The car will be a beat at the track events, it's probably going to be a harsh ride for the granny but not as bad as some others. This car is a contender for the win. *R34 Skyline GTR V-Spec claiming 527whp So far, every Skyline they have had in the competition ended up overrated. Mid-pack finisher. *Infiniti G35TT from the June of 06' issue 400whp track day car Sounds as if the car has been set up specifically for the track events and the power curve should be great for the road course. This car is going to be near the top. *MKIV Supra single GT61 turbo 600whp Dyno queen. It's going to lose in the quarter mile because it's only going to run 12's (there are probably a few 11 sec cars in this field), and it's going to be in the bottom half at the track event. *LS1 300zx Dynoed 440whp no internal mods Interesting swap. I think it will do well overall, but how serious of a contender it is will depend on the setup. It's going to be hard for this car to compete with the Z06. *Ariel Atom 2 "stock" has the SC cobalt SS motor It should rip everyone to shreads on the road course and fuel economy events, but it will suffer with the granny and I'm not sure what they run in the quarter. The technogeeks should love it though. *Acura Integra Midengine RWD H22A N/A I've heard of people doing this but I'm not sure of the motivation. You can make a really good track car out of an Integra, so I hope they didn't screw up the dynamics by putting the engine in the rear. It's going to be hurt by the dyno, granny (it's probably loud inside), and it's not going to be top 5 at the track. It's a mid-pack contender.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/20/video-see-and-hear-the-650-hp-corvette-zr-1-in-action/

If anyone is going to Vegas and hasn't booked a flight yet, go to http://www.kayak.com right now. The fares out of Detroit are the lowest they've been the last two weeks. I just got non-stop, round trip tickets for $168 a piece, and that's with tax included!!

The C6 Z06 reportedly has a coefficient of drag of 0.31, while the SSC UA TT claims a coefficient of 0.357, and the Veyron has a coefficient of 0.36 when in top speed mode. So technically a boosted Z06 would have a higher calculated top speed in the wind tunnel. And I think that's a distinct possibility considering the engine in the UA TT. I am impressed that such a small shop (or what seems like it) would take on the challenge of producing a car like this. But in my eye's it's more 'kit car' than an actual production car that went through a heavy design, validation, and refinement process. To me, the Veyron wins due to the immense number of hours that were spent to make that car perfect, and the systems that were developed specifically for that car.

They're using a boosted LS series V8, IIRC. It set the top speed record last week, so it is faster than the Veyron, but the Veyron has so much more content that if I had the choice I would be buying that many times over before an Ultimate Aero. The SSC UA is far down on my list of 'must have' cars. I actually like the looks of the Veyron, Konigsegg, Zonda, any Lambo, Ferrari, Porsche, and Corvette ZR-1 over the looks of this car.

Thanks for the tips. Looks like we're going to fly in on Wed morning and leave late Fri or Sat. We'll be staying at the Hilton, but I'm sure we'll make it all over the strip.

Wow, that's really sad. I met him at the last Xgames and he seemed like a really down to earth guy. Not to mention he's a hell of a driver.

Wow, that's a pretty good deal! I'm thinking of staying until Thursday, but I'm running out of vacation days at work. Is it possible to see most of the show (with stopping and talking in booths) in a day? Day and a half?

I have to disagree. Being a nice guy didn't get me anywhere until I met the perfect girl. If the girl didn't want anything to do with a nice guy then at least I didn't waste any time with a dirty slut.

No, no military, just me and my g/f. I'm diamond VIP with Hilton so I thought about staying there, or Luxor and Bally's still have decent rates. I'm trying to book by tonight or tomorrow. Are you going to be there all week? I'm thinking of getting there Sun and leaving Wed.

I should be there. Where are you staying? I'm making my reservations right now.

In a relationship you should treat your partner how you want to be treated. So if you messed around behind her back I wouldn't be suprised she did the same too. I used to think all girls were lying hookers until I met my current g/f. I can honestly say it's been the best ten months I've ever spent with someone. There are still good girls out there, it just takes a while to find them. Cheer up, it's just a dumb girl. If she's going to go around sleeping with other guys she doesn't deserve your time anyway. Get sober and begin to move on.

Me too, but i doubt it. Only 20 of them being built at a million $ a piece and they're already sold out. Pirelli booth maybe?

Yeah, the diesel sounds nice. I haven't seen a new A4 in person yet but I've seen this black A5 twice now (once driving the opposite way and today it was sitting in traffic as I jogged by) and it looks extremely pimp to me. I'll stick to GM for now though...the new CTS in coupe form will be hard to resist (hopefully they bring the diesel over here too)...or maybe a G8.

Off topic, but I was just out for a run and saw an Audi A5. Looks pretty sweet with the LED headlamps that resemble the A8. A+.

That 'off color' is clear coated carbon fiber. You can get it in differnet accent colors.