Month: December 2005

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Oversteer and Understeer

By on Wednesday, December 7, 2005

I’ve always wondered what oversteer and understeer was. My car geek friend Eric “Ayrton” tried to explain it to me: Oversteer is when the vehicle turns much more than was desired by the driver. Understeer is the exact opposite. But I couldn’t quite comprehend. I guess it requires experience. Last saturday, I had a front strut tower bar (STB) installed on the car. Doing this is supposed to improve responsiveness especially when taking corners by slightly increasing oversteer . I didn’t feel any difference. That is until yesterday when I took a turn and was a bit surprised when the car turned more than usual. Oversteer! And I guess everything else before that was understeer. Haha. Now I get it :P I quickly compensated and went on my merry way.

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General

Pi

By on Sunday, December 4, 2005

Pi is about a psychotic mathematician (aren’t they all?) trying to develop a formula for making sense of and predicting the stock market. As he struggles against the problem, he is hindered by painful pyschotic attacks but which seems to lead him closer to the answer. As the solution comes within grasp, he realizes that it’s not just him who wants it.

Through great movie-making, Pi successfully draws you into the pyschotic world of the lead character for a pretty immersive move watching experience, i.e. you will almost feel psychotic too :)) As a bonus, it has a lot of interesting math information (some are inaccurate but still interesting nevertheless). Not for the casual viewer but if you’re a serious buff, it could be for you.

Rating: 3/5

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General

New Trackpoint Cap

By on Thursday, December 1, 2005

Selene has a new trackpoint cap. And it came from a rather unexpected source. There’s this really old busted Thinkpad lying around. It’s been lying in a corner, wrapped in newspaper to absorb the acid from its leaking batteries, and gathering dust for around five years now. There were times when I considered throwing it away but for some reason I did not.

A few days ago, I took a look at Selene’s trackpoint cap and decided it needed replacement. Then, out of the blue, I remembered the old Thinkpad. I picked it up from its corner, peeled away the newspaper wrapping, and lifted open the lid. Lo and behold! An almost unused trackpoint cap! I swapped trackpoint caps and closed the lid, carefully re-wrapped it, and placed it back in its little corner. After all, who knows when it might be able to provide a usable part? I certainly didn’t.

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