As my followers may have noticed the site has not been updated in quite some time. The reasons for that are many and varied but primarily it’s because nothing particularly noteworthy has been happening on the technology front for me that has any kind of general applicability to the world at large. The secondary reasons are all related to the amount of time I’ve been spending on other pursuits. However, I believe the time has come to resurrect the Tech Empire with a slightly new direction.
I am the owner of a 1988 Honda CRX HF 1500. This car is one of the most fuel efficient cars ever made. It gets better gas mileage in its stock configuration than most hybrids do. I am about to embark on a vehicle restoration project.
Current Issue: Seized Engine. That’s right, the engine is seized from having sat unused for something like 2 years. However it seems that with the application of a little PB Blaster to the engine it is highly likely that I will be able to un-seize it with a few days of patient application.
Once the engine issue is resolved I will begin the rest of the Fuel Economy transformation. The first step will be to purchase and install an MPGuino in order to measure my current fuel economy. Next up will come the basic bodywork, as the car requires a new front bumper cover and front fenders. I’ll be going with fiberclass to keep the weight down.
At that point I will begin the Aerodynamic Modifications. These include installed a grill block, covering the under carriage, and installing a Kammback, and front and rear wheel covers. I’ll also be removing the side mirrors and relocating them to the interior of the car (legal and easy).
At that point there are several mods I wish to install that I will have to start scheduling. The projected modifications include a variable Hot/Warm/Cold intake, lighter flywheel, lighter rims (might not be possible, my rims are pretty light already), replacement of hood, rear fenders, and rear bumper with fiberglass, lightening of doors, lightening of seats, replacement of rear hatchback glass with lightweight plexy.
The final mod will be the removal of the alternator, the installation of 3 Optima Batteries inside the rear compartment area of the car, and the installation of a solar panel on the Kammbak to help trickle charge the batteries.
My goal is to be getting 65mpg or better out of the car without sacrificing performance. Once that’s done I’ll be painting the car Cobalt Blue. Estimated time to completion of the entire project is two years.
I removed the forums because I forgot they existed and they turned into some kind of haven for all manner of shenanigans.
So Apple has decided in a fit of pique that its users have TOO MUCH freedom. That’s right, your ability to remove the screws and open up that iPhone is just not acceptable. So they’ve gone and replaced the normal screws with Pentalobular screws in their new devices, and what’s more if you take your current device in for repair they will stealthily swap out THOSE screws as well! What can you do about it you ask? Well let me just tell you….
Have you ever wished you could just LEARN about something? Wanted to take a college level course on philosophy without dumping $30,000 for a full course load? Are you a student that would love a preview of the course you are taking next fall to help you get an edge? Or are you like me and just enjoy immersing your self in knowledge? Well if you fall into any of those categories I have a series of absolutely fantastic options for you today.
One of my favorite network discovery tools Look@LAN underwent a massive recreation last year and morphed from an extremely slick GUI tool into an equally slick but slightly less user friendly CLI tool named FING. Some nice new features of FING are multi-OS support now including Linux, and MacOS. It’s a heck of a lot FASTER than Look@LAN, which is nice when you’re in a hurry, and it’s a lot better about picking up MAC addresses. If you’re anti CLI and just HAVE to have a GUI there’s one in the works, but that’s been the case for the last year and change so I’ve almost lost hope on it. Either way FING is an excellent successor to Look@LAN and I highly recommend it as a network discovery tool.
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