Boring Programming Stuff

A few weeks ago I rode my Ninja 250 from San Jose, CA to Spokane, WA and back, averaging just over 500 miles a day. The gallery of photos is here. The trip was a ton of fun, although by the second day each way I was a little sore. I should have stopped more often, because there was a lot more scenery than the pictures suggest. It rained a couple of times so I didn’t get any shots from some parts of the trip. On the bright side the rain cleaned all the bug guts off my gear.

Highlights:

Welcome to Oregon

Eastern Oregon

Danger to manifold!

Bugs really like my visor.

Most of the shots are from the return trip, since I had an onboard camera mounted. The onboard camera is pretty cool, but I need to work some kinks out. The mount and the camera body itself aren’t very stiff, so it shakes while recording video. Here’s a clip to illustrate:

After I got the camera recording in HD and in daylight the quality was better but the shakiness was worse:

I recently finished taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s basic rider course and got my M1 endorsement. The next week-end I bought a brand-new (well it’s a year old but it had zero miles on the odometer) 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250R. I got a decent deal since Kawasaki redesigned the bike for 2008. Although considered a beginner bike, it’s a ton of fun to ride. Even going in a straight line on the freeway is entertaining. Keeping up with traffic means the engine revs to almost 10,000 rpm and sounds like it’s about to explode. Still, it’s not exactly slow. The top speed is almost 110mph and it can go from 0-60 in less than six seconds.

Will just got a Canon Rebel XTI and was testing it out today:

Yes, the flames do make it go faster.

Edit: I rode to San Francisco and back today.

Last Saturday I bought a 1997 Mazda Miata. Since I moved to a warmer climate I’ve wanted a convertible of some kind. My requirements were:

1. Convertible, duh.
2. Target price of $5,000. This means used, but I wanted to pay cash instead of financing. More expensive cars also cost more to insure.
3. The car must be reliable enough to be a daily driver.
4. It has to be fun to drive.

Requirement #2 ruled out similar cars such as the S2000 and newer versions of the MR2. Consumer Reports rated the Miata more reliable than the MR2 or pretty much any other sporty car, so I settled on the Miata. Although it’s not a very powerful car (only 140hp), it more than makes up for it with its light weight, short gears, and excellent handling. My only complaint is the cost of insurance. I know 22-year-old males aren’t the safest drivers, but $3,000 a year is pretty ridiculous.

Here’s a picture:

Some of my coworkers mocked me for having a car with such effeminate looks. They’re all jealous since they own practical cars with features such as four doors, rear seats, and a trunk you can actually fit a body in.