Name:Loren Country:United States State:California Metro:Los Angeles Birthday:6/26/1981 Gender:Male
Interests:God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Automobiles (Subaru, BMW, Chevrolet), Motorsports (Formula 1, World Rally Championship, Indy Racing League, sports car racing), Sports (Baseball - San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, USC Trojans, Football - USC Trojans), TV (The Simpsons, ESPNEWS and SportsCenter, SPEED channel), Aviation (fighters mostly - F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet), Contemporary Christian Music/Praise & Worship (GEOFF MOORE!, Steven Curtis Chapman, Nichole Nordeman, Newsboys, Third Day, Chris Tomlin) Expertise:Whatever God allows me to do well for His glory! Occupation:God follower Industry:Fishing
On Friday, June 20, 2008, an odd thing happened to my car's odometer. Its backlight (see the lower right corner of the photo above) stopped working! My thoughts ranged from, "<sarcasm>Great</sarcasm>. Now I'll have to spend more money on the car. Replacing this will be a pain, too, because the replacement instrument cluster will have to be turned to my car's current mileage," to "Upgrade time! " after thinking a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi instrument cluster (seen below) retrofit could work. The problem with retrofitting a STi instrument cluster is that my car doesn't have the driver-controlled center differential (DCCD) or an outside temperature sensor. Retrofitting the STi cluster would require modifying the cluster itself to make it work well with my car and getting it turned to my car's mileage.
I don't know what caused the odometer backlight to go out. My car's left side headlight bulb went out the previous night. Perhaps that had something to do with it. I replaced both headlight bulbs with European-spec Philips Vision Plus +50 H1 headlight bulbs (which are amazing by the way - I'd say their light output is better than the Euro-spec Osram Silverstar bulbs) on Saturday morning. I took the car for a quick spin to Wal-Mart and back on Saturday afternoon, but didn't notice if the odometer backlight was on or not (it should be on anytime the ignition is in the on position). It wasn't until I was leaving church on Sunday afternoon that I noticed the odometer backlight was fully functional again. Seeing it illuminated again was a relief!
For kicks, here's a shot of my car's instrument cluster using my camera's nightvision mode and flash. That's right, folks! With it, I can see you, but you might not be able to see me! j/k
You, too, can be like Tom Magnum. All you have to do is purchase Edmunds.com's Long-Term 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi Quattrovalvole. Sure, it would get smoked by a 2007 or later Toyota Camry with a 3.5L V6, but it would sound awesome while being served a slice of humble pie.
Sail Among the Stars is the name of the first album of a young singer/songwriter named Kyle Lardner. I met her at the end of March at the airport in Las Vegas. I was waiting for my Southwest Airlines flight from Vegas to LA after I had flown the red-eye from Honolulu to Vegas. When I got to the seats at the gate, I sat across from where she was sleeping hoping I could get some shut-eye as well. A bit later she awoke from her slumber, stepped away, bought some breakfast, and returned. While she was eating, I noticed she was left-handed like me. That prompted me to initiate a conversation with her in which she shared about herself in a real down-to-earth manner. It's been cool to keep in touch with her here and there since then over Facebook. I give her a lot of credit and admire and respect her for pursuing a dream career in music.
Kyle turned 21 yesterday. I figured it'd be a good time to plug her music on my Xanga. Before turning to music, she was quite a basketball player in high school and even played one year at the University of New Mexico. To find out more about her, you can check out www.kylemusic.biz and www.myspace.com/kylelardnertunes. If anyone out there has some good connections in the music industry, you're more than welcome to try to help her!
Below is the music video of her "Blanket" song. Enjoy!
Here's another clip of her appearing on a local NY television show - MSGNY TV Appearance
Although I never knew him, I was greatly saddened to learn on Tuesday morning that Joe Drey, 75, had succumbed to injuries sustained in a horrific crash at Willow Springs International Raceway, a.k.a. "Big Willow," over the weekend. When I read that he was driving a MINI Cooper, I put two and two together and realized he was the same person I had been on the track with when I was running at the Streets of Willow Springs in mid-April.
The realization went like this. I read Joe was driving a MINI Cooper. After the fun I had on the track with him at Streets, I looked for him in the paddock that day to no avail. The people setup next to him said that the driver of the MINI Cooper was an older gentleman. Another piece of the puzzle was the fact that Edmunds.com Associate Editor Josh Sadlier said he had seen the same MINI Cooper in my photos at Streets when he attended driving school. He also mentioned the driver was an older fellow. I then looked up the driver list from the track day I attended in April and saw his name. Seeing his name helped me remember his license plate said, "JD MINI," or something like that. After hearing of the incident, my friend Louis shared he chatted with Joe when we were at the track in April, too.
This entry is dedicated to him and his family. At least he left us doing the very thing he loved most. May God be with him and all who knew him.
The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) regretfully announces that Joe Drey of San Juan Capistrano, CA has succumbed to injuries suffered in an accident on May 24, 2008 at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, CA. Joe was participating in a NASA event behind the wheel of his beloved Mini Cooper S and despite the best efforts of the rescue team onsite and the medical teams at the hospital, he has now left us.
Joe started racing at 15 enjoying street drags with his friends. He got into formal track racing with an early 60's Corvette when he was in his early 20's. He eventually transitioned into Porsches, owning several over 3 decades and racing them all over California with a trailer and his own crew consisting of his two sons. As he got older he pulled away from the sport and it wasn't until the new Mini came out and he got the 9th one off the boat that his passion welled up in him again. He began immediately modifying the car and loading up on gear while frequenting his favorite track Willow Springs and taking courses including two trainings with Bob Bondurant.
Joe's family has asked that donations be made to the Mission San Juan Capistrano Preservation Fund in lieu of flowers. Donations can be made at http://www.missionsjc.com/donations.html
Don't you hate it when people drive at night with their headlights...
Set to the high beam setting for normal night driving
Off
Off and only the daytime running lights (DRLs) are on
My question for all of you in Xanga-land is:
How do people who are driving not notice any of the above? If a person is driving at night in any of the above situations, it should be obvious that the road isn't being adequately illuminated.
If drivers aren't observant enough to notice these situations, perhaps they may be a risk to fellow motorists and pedestrians.
Does anyone have any ideas how we can combat this? I will usually get behind the person and flash my high beams. Half the time, people still don't get a clue. The other night, I saw a Lexus ES (I think) without its headlights on. I moved in front of it and had to turn my blinkers on twice (the first time was unsuccessful so I tried again 10 seconds later) to get its driver to realize I was trying to tell him or her the headlights weren't on.
We can say good-bye with hope
Please keep the Chapman family in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve the loss of their daughter, Maria Sue (pictured in her father's arms).
True
" after thinking a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi instrument cluster (seen below) retrofit could work. The problem with retrofitting a STi instrument cluster is that my car doesn't have the driver-controlled center differential (DCCD) or an outside temperature sensor. Retrofitting the STi cluster would require modifying the cluster itself to make it work well with my car and getting it turned to my car's mileage.
