| Street Racing |
[May. 27th, 2008|05:37 pm] |
Alright so there's this new trend going around certain areas where if you get busted for street racing, they destroy your car... The idea of course being to intimidate people out of racing on the streets and keeping it to the tracks.
Here's the thing... Say you decide to not be intimidated by Jonny Law and instead exercise your freedom of speed by executing a good-old fashioned practical-application dyno run alongside someone else with the same idea.(You race.) Say you see the flashing blueberries behind you. You know you're busted. Now say you're in one of these areas where the government has decided to issue this cruel and unusual punishment upon its racing population. Do you seriously pull over and simply give your best friend (your car) over to the wreckers like a lamb to the slaughter? I don't know about you, but if you have as serious a connection with your vehicle as I do, stopping and submitting to that is the last thing you're gonna do. If you're like me, you'll run. And if you're not like me, you'll probably crash really bad.
Now, same situation. No trauma-inducing punishment threat. Heck I'm stopping, taking my ticket or maybe my night in lockup and moving on with my life after dealing with a suspended license. I mean, you get all those things in both scenarios, even without the wrecker involved.
My point is, this punishment is not only cruel to us racers, but also an escalator of possible damage and death. Its only going to take people (like me) who have a general disregard for the blatant attack on freedom that are road laws, but are otherwise compliant, and turn us harder. It will start making us tweak and tune until we either can't get caught or die trying to escape to save our machines...our friends.
Okay, pre-response number one. "Well if you cared that much about your car you wouldn't put it in danger like that." Shut up. Just, don't even try that one. Keeping a car contained to a dismal 45 is like putting weights on the legs of a horse or a dog. They want to run, they were made to run, and telling them they can only run so fast is just wrong. In fact, it's mean.
Second pre-response. "You should stay on the track anyway...serves you right." I'm getting about sick of this "Pro-Street" higher-than-thou attitude toward street racing. Let me anecdote for you... We had a track here in Savannah. Every Wednesday and Friday we'd go out and run to our hearts content for fifteen bucks. Great time, families came, picnics were had. But guess what? A couple cases of laying drag just outside the gate and the city put pressure on the track, forcing it to close its doors and sell the land, saying it was influencing more street racing. Whoa! Who would have guessed! Well you can't have it both ways people. Do tracks influence more street racing, or offer an outlet for it? We lost our track, and guess what? People are still racing. But now they're doing it on the road, as they always had been. If tracks our your answer, QUIT CLOSING THEM when one jerkoff lays a strip on the exit ramp. There will always be bad eggs. No amount of law or punishment will stop the passionate ones. Racing is also not the same as road rage. Road ragers DO need to be stopped. That's a mental deficiency, same as child abuse and the husband who beats his wife. Anger management needs to be taught, as does the difference between racing and road rage. Racing is a skill...an art. Road rage is you taking out your anger on the poor schlub who took advantage of the car length you left open in front of you during a rush-hour merge.
Third. "Racers kill people." That's true they do. You know who else kills people? Senior citizens. Yet its downright cute when THEY run a stopsign and plaster a toddler into a fence. Slap on the wrist, move along sir. After all, they didn't know what they were doing, right? RIGHT! They didn't! When are these dipshits gonna realize that a vast majority of racers KNOW what they're doing? In fact, most are never caught, never seen for more than a few seconds, and hardly ever, EVER, kill or hurt anyone besides themselves and their own pride now and then? I doubt there's been a study but I'd wager if there was one, they'd find percentage-wise that more old people kill than racers do... Racers pride themselves on their skill and intuition on the road. Many have advanced senses of space and movement and drive as if they themselves were the car. Now granted, some racers mess up. So do moms backing out of parking spaces. So do teenagers driving to McDonalds. You don't destroy their rides "because they should have known better". Hey, they broke the law too. Maybe they didn't yield or maybe they changed lanes into oncoming traffic. My point is its the same thing. Racing is dangerous. So is driving. I don't know about you but I prefer, as a racer, to be ahead of everyone else. More room for error. (See that, I AM thinking of others' safety.) If I mess up while they're way back there, whoa! Check it out, they can avoid me. And what about everyone else's accidents? Heck, I'm in favor of more race-training to the populace...maybe if more people raced there would be more skill on the road and less accidents. Maybe. I'm just sayin. Lord knows driving instructors these days sure don't teach you anything practical...
Fourth (and I love this one). "Change the law if you care so much." Great idea! Too bad as a racer I'm a powerless, voiceless minority and no one will ever repeal street racing laws. Can you imagine the campaign ads? "Joe Schmoe voted to repeal the laws that protect our children, our elderly, and even you. Joe Schmoe voted FOR illegal street racing. Tell Joe Schmoe "no."" Yeah, those laws are so gonna change... Maybe since I'm a minority I could get a special interest group...stand in the way of new legislation...generally be a pissant in Washington. Sounds fun! I want to dedicate my life to that! Idiots.
So what's the solution? I expect you think I have one. Well, I don't. But what I do know is this kind of mean-spirited "keep the population safe from itself" nannying is certainly NOT the answer. |
|
|
| Random People I Can Do Without |
[May. 20th, 2008|11:03 pm] |
And now for another episode of Random People I Can Do Without:
People who refuse to pass school busses, even when they are in motion and its a four lane road. IT'S NOT ILLEGAL TO PASS A SCHOOL BUS PEOPLE... Damn! Just another way common sense is dead in this country. |
|
|
| Need for Speed: Prostreet |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|11:58 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  geeky | ] |
I've been having fun with NFS since Underground came out, and Arty got me hooked again when Most Wanted was released. I didn't like that one as much, but I got used to the whole driving during the day thing. :> Now Prostreet is out and in the last month or two I've been on it pretty hard, learning the little tricks and tips to help meh get ahead.
As of posting this, I'm happy to announce that I'm listed in the top 20 players worldwide according to the Leaderboards, and in the top 10 and top 5 on the drift courses.
If you play the game and have some trouble with it, here's a few tips I've learned:
-The top two or three on the leaderboards are usually cheaters. You can tell by the way their scores DWARF even the best real racers. Use common sense when establishing a score goal for yourself.
-Typical grip scores will max out at 11-13k, rarely higher.
-Typical drag scores will max out at 15-16k, rarely higher.
-Typical speed scores will max out at 12-15k, rarely higher.
-Typical drift scores will max out at 30-35k, depending highly on the track. Some won't go over 15k maximum, it's just not possible. (Short tracks are bad on that issue).
-In drifting, use stock tires, they slide around more.
-Leaving gameplay assists on Casual can help on some tracks and hurt on others.
-Try to find the right angle to scrape the walls where possible to extend your drift longer.
-Make sure the gap during your switchover is as small as possible to maintain one long drift.
-May sound lame, but use the RX-7. The 240SX is okay too, but the RX-7 is the god-car.
-People who get 20000 points or more on some tracks are not cheating. They're just better than you. I used to think that they were cheating too...til I nearly hit 30k on one.
-In drag racing, your fastest cars will be the Camaro SS, the Zonda, and the Supra.
-All three of them can run a sub-six second quarter mile.
-All three CAN run a sub 9-second half mile. My best though is 9.1.
-All cars but the Bugatti top out at 250-251 mph, so get it there as fast as possible to win.
-Zonda can top out in fourth gear if tuned right, shifting to fifth will slow you down.
-Supra can run a 5.1 quarter if tuned right, though I've never managed that.
-Camaro SS should be launched with nitrous from fifth gear, only shift once.
-Tier 2 suspension makes cars easier to control during drag, less likely to drift around.
-To avoid wheelies, set all suspension to soft and raise ride height to max.
-In most cases, body kits don't help in drag racing. You want aero-drag to be high.
-High aero-drag means no wheelies, means more aero. Wheelies are bad for aero. :>
-For wheelie competitions, tune rear suspension to stiff.
-Most cars can do a full 1320ft wheelie.
-More momentum means you could get bonus feet past the finish line (my max is 1337). (lol)
-In speed racing, all wheel drive cars tend to be more stable, but not always.
-Screen shake gets really bad over 215mph.
-Sometimes its best to lay off the gas and just coast to regain control during a turn.
-Nitrous can be used to maintain maximum speed during some turns you'd normally wind down on.
-Soft to mild suspension will soak up a lot of bumps and make your car very stable.
-In drag, grip and speed modes (vs the computer), beating the other drivers isn't the biggest goal. It's more important in most cases (not all cases...) to beat your "target time" by as much as possible. The more you beat your target time by, the more points you get.
-In drag, grip and speed modes, the lower power your car has, the higher the target time will be, and the more possible points you can get for beating it.
-All things being equal, if you race a 1000hp car and a 500hp car, the 1000hp car may beat the 500hp one in time, but the 500hp one will likely still get more points for beating his target time by more than the 1000hp car did.
-Use the Corolla AE86 for points, it's faster than you think.
-Use the McLaren F1 for all out speed, it's the best grip car in the game.
-Use the Porsche 911 Turbo (not the GT2 or GT3) for a good balance.
-Use the new Evo for a change.
-The Zonda is also a formidable grip car.
-For grip, try to use "king" assist mode (no assists). It will not slow you down at stupid places and let you take turns faster.
-Casual assist mode will apply to the computer cars too, so if you want them to slow down for you, turn that on. Makes it a lot easier to beat them even with a crappy car. Just remember, it slows you down a bit too.
-(Online tip) Sometimes if you're good enough and the track is long enough, you can beat a sector shootout with 0 points. Say you're up against a few people with AE86s, which are hard to out-score due to their low power rating. All you have to do is beat them by more than 30 seconds and they DNF (Did Not Finish). You win.
-(Online tip) If you're the forementioned AE86 driver, you may want to see what the other players are driving before starting. If you see they can beat you by 30 seconds or more, use the 911. You'll still outscore them if they're using F1s, but you won't be forced to end early as you would have in the AE86. It's all about balance. :>
-The top grip racers use joysticks, keyboards don't have pressure sensitivity. I use a keyboard. :(
-The top grip racers use manual transmission. Auto likes to downshift when its not needed. I use Auto. :(
Hope that helps some aspiring drivers! I'll post some setups if anyone is interested. |
|
|
| Dyno Day |
[Apr. 12th, 2008|06:02 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hyper | ] |
Yay, I had my car run on the dyno today. Best run came in at 148/148 (that's horsepower and torque for non car-folks). About what I was expecting honestly. It was the "weakest" car they ran all day. However, it surprised several people that it went that high...and that surprise is what I like. I want people to think I'm slow, until they try meh. :>
End of the day though, the number doesn't really matter compared to the practical application... For example, I usually beat Mustang GTs (not the new ones, the early 2000s style), Eclipses, Integras, Celicas and Scions. And that puts me in a very comfortable spot...the underdog who usually wins gamblers a lot of money.
Yes, I'm not the top of the food chain. Not even close. But as I surprised myself by saying today while talking to one of the spectators, "I don't have to do it right to have fun." I think that's gonna be my new motto. :> |
|
|
| Cons |
[Feb. 18th, 2008|03:24 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pessimistic | ] |
Yeah I think I'm done with fur cons for now. The magic is gone. I don't go to any events. When I do, I'm bored out of my mind or annoyed to the point of hysteria.
An observation was made that furs at conventions are all running around with their tailfeathers all poofed up and trying to show how much cooler they all are then everyone else. While I do see a lot of fun in that and I too am equally guilty, I think I've discovered my problem: I don't have anything new to fluff.
I've been showin the same feathers for years and it's just no longer fun. From my art to my accessories to my car. Everything that constitutes a typical furry brag-session is just played out on my end. I don't care about anime, I don't care about most new video games, I never learn anything from the panels. The cubhouse is fun when it's there, but that too starts to wear on me after a few hours.
Then there's the problem that most furries are "internet people"; people who rate their lives based on how many "internets" or cool-points they achieve through whatever pointless online portals they choose to express their societally-useless skills. (Note, I don't mean to say those with real artistic talents are among them. I'm talking about the trolls here.) No doubt I'll pick a couple up by calling them out here and they'll probably illustrate my point for me.
I really dislike internet people. Mainly because by definition, in order to be an internet person, they display no respectable, functional, real-world skills. This You-Tube generation has a sickening sense of entitlement and narsicism that is wholey unearned and marginally undeserved. These people run around with their feathers all poofed about things that don't matter in the slightest outside a group of maybe a hundred people, all of whom are convinced of their own superiority for whatever misguided reason.
Lemme speak to that crowd for a second. You are NOT that important. You are NOT that cool. When the lights go out, all your trolling skills will mean is that you'll be the ones to annoy everyone first. And in real life, annoying people has real consequences, not just text ones. In real life, you don't just lose points. You burn bridges. Maybe it's time to brush up those "mundane" skills a little? And maybe, if the whole fandom did that...we might get a little more respect from the people who keep your precious internet online. EVERYONE ELSE. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 29th, 2008|09:17 pm] |
Woo, just had my first home invasion. Brief synopsis, since I'm still shaky.
Most of my lights are out. I hear a voice from downstairs say "Hello?"
I assume its someone I know, I call back, "Hello? Who's here?" My friends have a habit of comin in without me hearing them. No one answers, I flip on the stair lights. No response. So I get freaked a little and look out my window. No one. Either theyre still in here or they're running. I grabbed a knife and my phone, dialed 911 and held my finger over "call". I peeked around my stairs corner into the main room. No one. All the lights are on now, and I call 911. They sent 3 cops, who are still searching the area.
This is entirely my fault. I left my door unlocked, planning to go back out earlier, and I never did. Just forgot to lock it. The cops said I should check the fridge to see if any food was missing. Nothing was. But I mean, hey, I'm a nice guy. If all they wanted was beer or pizza, I'da gladly just let them have some. Probably woulda shared a drink over an interesting conversation... ^.^
"So...invade homes often?"
"Nawh maaaan. I just be like, hongry."
"Cool. Cool."
Meh. I need curtains. Bad. 176 square feet of glass on the first level is a nasty temptation, considering there's only about 380 of total wall frontage. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 3rd, 2008|10:56 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  creative | ] |
Ugh...I wanna play the Sims but I can't find the Glamour Life expansion disc. This sucks, it's the ONLY disc not in it's case. The really sad part is I know I put it somewhere that I could get to it easy and remember where it was (cause I played it all the time at Blair's house), but I don't remember where that easy-to-remember location is.
Not in my disc drive, not in the box, not in another game box, not in my blank CD holders, not in my old binder, not on my desk or keyboard tray, not among my music CDs...
This is gonna suck if I have to buy another one. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 31st, 2007|11:26 am] |
...it helps to know them all alphabetically to music, I guess. :> |
|
|
| Common FUCKING sense is DEAD. |
[Dec. 15th, 2007|09:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
God DAMNIT I'm angry.
So I ordered 2 items from Amazon.com on the 2nd, a board game from a "store" and a book from an individual, I guess. Now its the 15th, no items. Okay, maybe they're slow. So I looked, no, it was delivered on the 10th. Not to me though, so I wonder where it is. So I see that somehow it has sent these 2 items to my OOOOLD dorm address at SCAD which no longer is their mailing address anyway. So I call up Amazon to see what will happen.
To quote Stewie Griffin, "Is there any chance I can speak to someone who didn't come to this country on a floating DOOR?" So besides the fact that the person I talked to was basically a machine, he also had a comprehension delay after everything I said. And I had one for him too, since he had a heavy Latin accent.
But that aside, you'd think, if the items were literally two blocks away from me, I could just get them to forward it or worst case scenario, re-send it from wherever it came from. Yeah, not so much. To skip the frustrating middle, I'll just tell you how it turned out.
They could re-send a new board game from the same store to the other address on my account, Blair's house. Fine, whatever. I wanted it sent here, but since my new address wasn't on my account yet, well...yeah. The guy tried to explain why but I cut him off because he was pissing me off. I get it. Security and all that. I should have just added my new address while he was on the phone with me, then told him to look again, but I didn't feel like trying to explain to him what "refreshing" a screen meant.
The book, since it came from an individual, was "unavailable", even though a simple search showed that it is indeed available, but from another source and at a different price. Why couldn't they send it to me again when it got returned to them? Who the hell knows, they're all machines and that just doesn't meet the parameters. To the guy I bought the book from: sorry bro. Amazon screwed you, but re-list it and I'll buy it again. Maybe do it on ebay this time, I've never had an issue with them, and never had to contact Cuba for assistance.
Common sense would have done this: person at amazon sends to dorm address. Dorm person sends back. Amazon person sees it was sent back, contacts phone number on the account. Conversation is made. Address is changed. SAME ITEM is resent, shipping was free anyway.
Instead we get: person at amazon sends to dorm address. Dorm person is away for holidays, cannot send package back. When it does turn up missing, I call amazon. Conversation is made. Address is changed. COMPLETELY NEW item is sent, and other item CAN'T BE FOUND.
I'm done, I'm just...nevermind. |
|
|
| +1 Internets |
[Nov. 27th, 2007|06:13 pm] |
New Skill Acquired!
Growl: v, the ability to sound really pissed off while singing, commonly used in rock and metal vocalization. Note: drinking water, though it feels nice, is detrimental to the act of growling and prevents proper vocal training in this act. The more your throat hurts, the more pissed off you get, and the more you will growl. Eventually, it feels nice and smooth and even allows the breaking of once unreachable tones.
Next level: recovering from growling and using clear voice in the same song.
Experience required: ugh. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.6){kind=small}
gravis's journal
