Leinninger.com

I have a lot of interests. Most people refer to their fringe interests as hobbies. For the moment, let’s just keep calling them… “interests”. I experiment with computers, networks, programming, and web technology. I enjoy wrenching on cars. My wife and I perform in a local rock band. I like to dabble with recording equipment. And, most recently, I’ve begun playing with Legos. Yes. The plastic, inter-locking bricks. More specifically, Lego Mindstorms… programmable, robotics based on the MIT-designed programmable brick. Geek. Say it loud, say it proud.

During the day, I develop web pages for a financial institution. For a long time, my primary hobby was an extension of my “day job” (including this website). I enjoy the challenge of a complicated application embedded in a stark online layout. Tons of functionality, light on the eye-candy, easy to use. However, I found that spending all of my time in front of a computer coding web pages resulted in a light burn out. Although I enjoy coding, too much of it and I became numb… even disconnected from the code. If you have a favorite meal, and it is all you eat for a month, it won’t be your favorite for long. So, I expanded this to home networking, home automation, home theater control, blah… blah… blah… Still too much of the same. Time for something different.

Cars. I’ve always had a strong interest in cars. Yet, I never knew that much about the real inner workings of them. I had a project car with a few bolt-on extras. I didn’t need it to get me to work every day. A perfect opportunity to try something new. I went in elbows-deep. I learned a lot. I got another car. I spent more time (and money) on that one too. Even my daily driver has had it’s share of modifications. This was more like it. My mind was still stimulated, but without the procedural constraints of code. There’s as much sweat as thought in the process. Oh, yes, of course there’s one more benefit. You can go fast. Good times.

An extension of my car hobby snuck up on me rather unexpectedly. A friend invited me to the Waterford Hills Road Racing course. This twisty 1.6 mile track entertains hundreds of SCCA club competitors and spectators. I ended up lending a hand, and eventually started working on the crew of a Spec Racer team. I’ve learned far more than I ever planned about suspension setup, engine internals, and tire choice. The friendships formed at the track have become some of my best. I also, unexpectedly, met the wonderful woman who would later become my wife at the track! (Our driver’s daughter… which means he has crew for life!)

In addition to working on the Spec Racer team, I’ve recently began competing in Detroit-area SCCA Solo 2 events. Although I’m not quite “competitive” yet, I’m having a lot of fun, and of course, learning a lot. When I have a chance, I try to take one of my cars to Milan Dragway. It’s a good quick speed fix while providing a valuable set of metrics the evaluate the modifications I’ve made. The down side to automotive hobbies… er… interests? Cost. Cars and their parts are expensive. Each incremental improvement in performance proves to be more and more addictive. Not a good combination.

Another costly pursuit is music. Not only does performing require having the right equipment, but recording (whether it by in your home studio, or at a professional studio) can cost thousands. Although there is some potential to make a few dollars performing, it’s usually only enough to pay for gas or drinks for the night.

It appeared as though I had a collection of interests that were fighting for funding as well as attention. I tried to solve this with yet another distraction: Lego Mindstorms. I could vent my creative build-up, contain my programming urges, and exercise my engineering interest with a collection of re-usable pieces combined with a flexible, yet relatively simple programming language. Perfect! A relatively small initial investment and I had all of the basic parts I needed to get started. Two more sets later and I have enough parts to keep me going for years without another significant expenditure. I’ve found Legos to be therapeutic… relaxing even. So far, it has proven to be a good compromise.

I still return to my other interests on a regular basis, although with less intensity than before. I have a collection of car parts to be installed, ideas for new music, and websites to maintain. I’m trying to focus on our music and recording until I have room (possibly at a new house) to work on my cars properly. Of course, if we do move, the new house will be our “hobby”, at least momentarily…

I’ve made a hobby of my interests. Until I can focus on one, and only one, I doubt I’ll excel at any one of them. I’m always hungry to learn. That’s the common thread between these diversions. I’m enjoying learning. Although being competitive in Solo 2, mastering the guitar, and exploiting the latest web technology are great aspirations, I’m quite content learning about all of them, rather than limiting myself to only one.

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Further information and related links:
Rogerbox. The band mentioned above.
Waterford Hills Race Track
Lego Mindstorms
My First Project Car
My Second Project Car
My Daily Driver
Our Seasonal Race Results
Photos From A Recent Solo 2 Event
Photos From A Recent Waterford Race
Ann Arbor Lego Robotics Group

- Duane

I’ve been wrong about a great many things in my life. However, I’d like to think that I’ve been right about just as many, maybe even more. There are even a few things that I’ve been both right and wrong about. This is one of them. My first experience with Apple computers was in grade school. Around 1983, our sad private school in the middle of Detroit got an Apple II. They strapped it to a cart with an external 5 1/2″ floppy drive and a monochrome green screen, installed Oregon Trail, and called it good. I didn’t care that it was an Apple, I was in awe of the computer’s existence alone. Within a year or two, several friends had Commodore 64 computers and I had all but forgotten that Apple Computer existed. In 1988, a school friend got a hand-me-down Macintosh SE. He was excited to show me his latest game, Shadowgate. I, however, was far more interested in the operating system. There was no command line. No prompt. Just little pictures. A mouse was attached to the left side of the keyboard (Ben was left handed, I am not). The interface was interesting… just not “natural feeling” (later I recognized this was most likely due to the fact I was trying to use the mouse with my left hand). As awkward as that first experience was, it left an impression on me. Something about it “clicked.” Ignorance is bliss. Without trying new things you just continue to believe that what you know and do must be better… by default. In highschool I was exposed to a few “modern” IBM-compatible computers. We used them in our computer art class with Electronic Art’s Deluxe Paint (still one of my favorite apps of all time). In addition to the lab full of 286 and 386 computers, there was a solitary Targa graphics workstation. A specialized system for fractal and 16-bit graphics work. I was hooked. These machines allowed me to do things that only my imagination allowed previously. A year later, windows started to spread from lab to lab. (CG labs were the last to get it since Deluxe Paint was DOS-based.) At first glance, I though that these computers were related to the once that Ben had years earlier. But, something just wasn’t right. Why was there a floating “window” containing all of the icons? What’s with all of the wasted space behind it? Why does every window have a menu of it’s own when you can only use the menu of the active window? Over time, I became used to the non-intuitive interface of Windows. I discovered the Corel suite of applications, but still clung to Deluxe Paint (even when crippled by poor graphic support). Even the games seemed to run slow under the extra load of the interface. Soon, my parents bought their first Intel-based computer. I dealt with Windows for a few months then discovered IBM’s OS/2. It was faster. You could run several applications at the same time! You could run Windows applications! It had an application dock! Huh? A collection of icons on a bar that you could access quickly. What a novel idea! It was great… except… you couldn’t run most of the graphics applications that I had grown so used to. As I began college, I started doing CAD work at Johnson Controls. AutoCAD would not run well under OS/2. Enough of that. Windows returned… kind of. AutoCAD r.11 was still mostly a DOS application. But, I was getting used to all of this. I had even upgraded just about every component of my parent’s aging 386 dx2. Then, I had my first university computer art class… on a Mac. It was so different… and there was only one mouse button! I did everything I could to work on projects at home… on my trusty (well, almost trusty… most of the time… sorta) PC. When it was time to capture photos, I even tried adding a pricey genlock card to keep up with the built-in features of the University Macintosh. I did very well with my projects, however I could no longer afford to keep upgrading my aging home computer. I began to schedule seat time with the school’s Mac. At that time it was pretty high-end. Ergo keyboard, video-in and out, 17″ monitor, and a PowerPC processor. Fast was an understatement. Once I overcame my inexperience with the platform, I was able to do amazing things with the animation and paint software. The mouse was more fluid. It moved how I wanted. I no longer had to think around the interface. A few weeks after my epiphany, I stopped at one of the three million Discover Card booths on campus and got a credit card. O.k., not just a credit card, my first credit card. Using that and a little bit of saved college money, I bought my first Macintosh in the fall of 1995. Fueled by curiosity and the prospect of a fresh interface, I spent days on my new computer. Seriously. Days. Looking back, that’s pretty sick. But I learned a lot. It was a whole new world. I picked up things in days that took months on the PC. Granted, I had a few years of generic computer experience under my belt. But, everything just made more sense. I’m still proud of the art work I created on my new computer. Adobe software opened new creative avenues for me. I was able to expand my web development interests in new directions, too. I guess I was lucky. I came into the Macintosh market after a significant recovery. Just a year earlier, Apple was in dire straits. Now the upswing was apparent. I started to relate with the Mac community. Rumors of big changes were on the horizon. So, I invested in Apple and Motorola. The timing was good, Apple released the iMac, followed shortly by iBook. Wallstreet loved Apple once again. Consumers inhaled anything bondi-colored. When the G4 tower was released, I decided it was time to replace the Franken-Mac that I had kept alive with CPU and storage upgrades. A few years later, I bought the Titanium Powerbook G4. I’ve migrated my Linux-based home servers to a single OS X Server. The man that had once proclaimed “PCs may have bugs, but Apples have worms” was now a complete convert. Bury me with my iPod and Powerbook, this is the life. The OS just make sense. The hardware is bulletproof. What next? How about more power? Never before has such a single generation performance jump occurred. Apple has announce the G5 and I lust for one. Their server hardware is respected by enterprise customers and skeptical media alike. They are still subject of more rumors and speculation than any other company in the industry. More people are switching to Apple than ever before… including many of my friends. While the remaining big PC names are battling a low price war, Apple continues to innovate, inspire, and act. Just a few years ago, I was seen as a Macintosh Evangelist… a zealot. Now, I’m just another fan.

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Further information and related links: Macintosh Museum Apple Website Power Macintosh G5 Info Apple’s History

- Duane

About 15 months ago, I wrote the first part of this article. I had just bought my Camaro and I was in heaven. I had no idea how addictive this could be. Since then, I have bought a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX Sport Wagon, completed a number of modifications on both cars, and driven both of them at various type of race tracks. They’ve seen a little action on the street, but most has been limited to Milan Dragway and Waterford Hills road course. I’ve started attending Impreza Club meetings and install days, and I’ve become more involved with a small group of friends’ local projects. Of course, I’m still working as a crew member of Glenn Gehrke’s Spec Racer Team.

The scene is about the same as I mentioned last time. However, I find fewer five-liters on the road and more sport compacts. Some of them are pretty mean, most of them are all bark and no bite. The people that don’t need to brag still don’t, and those that should not, still do. There are still many people that are happy to be a part of this whole experience. They return to their desk job the next day with dirty fingernails and head to the garage as soon as they get home at night. After a while you need to be in and around a car. Winters can lead to severe withdrawal in this state. Often, you’ll find yourself in the garage, under the hood of your car, just looking. Wanting and waiting for the weather to break.

All in all it’s a rush. Not just the driving of, but the working on cars. Tweaking a few settings just a little… 5 more hp for an hour of work. One step at a time. Recently I helped a friend install a supercharger in his car. It wasn’t easy, but it was fun. It’s more than just talking some trash and peeling out at every red light. It’s about the work that goes into your car and the friends you make while doing it. Everything contributing to this entire experience.

I’m not saying that driving isn’t a rush. Especially when you get out on an actual race track.

My first experience was at a dragstrip. I took my Camaro out to get a feel for it. As I wait in the queue, my heart starts to jackhammer into my throat. My body goes a little limp from the anxiety. Suddenly, my adrenaline reaches it’s redline. The official points me to my lane and I warm up my tires with a long, steady burnout. The smell of liquefied rubber fills the air as smoke billows from the car’s hindquarters. Oddly, this otherwise violent display of torque actually calms me as I lined up at the staging lights. Two pair of pale yellow bulbs greet me. Without warning, the light tree comes to life: Red, yellow, yellow, (lay on the accelerator), green. Tires spinning. Struggling for traction. My right foot lifts for a half-second and suddenly I have grip. I’m pushed deep into my seat and my neck strains against the g-forces. The Camaro pulls hard through second. Entering third, it chirps it’s tires in defiance of Newton’s laws. Just as I reach 100 mph, I shift into fourth and I’m across the finish line. 13.82 seconds at 104 mph. I realize that I’ve just started breathing again and wonder how long I was holding my breath. I pick up the timeslip and verify my time. Good thing there’s a wait before I can run again. Gotta pull myself together. Damn sweet.

Road racing is an entirely different experience. There’s a lot of strategy involved. You have to know the limitations of the track, the car, and yourself. Then, add the chaos of a dozen other cars and mother nature (road racing continues in all conditions). More often than not, you will find yourself pushed into the side of your seat, instead of the back. Lateral G’s are what this is about. Riding the razor’s edge… stay on the track, but just barely.

My first experience with road racing was at this year’s Waterford Hills fun run. I drove my Camaro as well as a purpose built race car (Spec Racer Renault). The two cars are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. The Camaro has great power out of the hole. It corners well, but you are quite aware of the car’s yaw as you shred around a hairpin turn. The Spec Racer accelerates better than I expected (4-banger, 4-speed), but nothing frightening. However it sticks to the track like velcro. It’s the most unnatural sensation I’ve yet felt in a car. I found myself in disbelief of the endless available grip. Sadly, constant stopping (due to the lap policy) and degrading track conditions hurt my best times. But, I learned a lot about different set ups. There is very little shared between a race car and road car. A difference of five degrees of camber is HUGE. Acceleration isn’t everything (even though I turned much better times in my Camaro, taking first place in my group), technique IS.

After all of this, my greatest realization is that talk is nothing. Get out there and do it. Work on a car, even your parent’s minivan. Get your hands dirty. Change your own oil. Learn how things work. If you break something fix it. Think about what you’re doing. If you loose traction, don’t just assume you need new tires. Think about your suspension and chassis rigidity. If you’re a few tenths slower than you would like. Think about your technique before blowing a fat “G” on performance mods. Are you launching right? Are you shifting right?

Most importantly, think. If you’re lining up with somebody at a school crossing, you’re looking for trouble. Laws are there for a reason. I know that part of the excitement of the culture is to “get away with it,” but be safe. Research your mods. A 3″ exhaust with no cats might sound cool and up your horsepower, but you will loose low-end torque (in most cases). You won’t realize any benefit until you ride it to the redline in every gear at the strip. Before you talk trash, consider who you’re talking to. Why make an enemy when you have a chance to meet somebody that could teach you something?

Learning something new and trying something new will always be more interesting than doing the same thing and pretending to know everything.

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Also Available: Part I

Further information and related links:
Milan Dragway
Waterford Hills Road Racing
Import Performance
Hot Rod Magazine

- Duane

One year ago, June 1^st, Gina and I went on our first date. Neither of us thought that it would work. (Our first conversation a year earlier ended up in disagreement over online music sharing… we’ve reconciled since…) In all honesty, I only planned a simple dinner at a popular restaurant because I thought we would have nothing to talk about… nothing in common.

When I’m wrong I’m REALLY wrong! We barely touched our food, we talked the entire time. Since we were in the middle of our conversation, I had to think fast to extend our date (the restaurant was closing). We hopped in the car and drove into Royal Oak. We had a drink at Memphis Smoke, then had some coffee at Comet Burger. We didn’t stop talking the entire time. It was amazing! We had EVERYTHING in common. At the end of the night we decided that we should watch a movie that had come up in our conversation some time. The next day, we were doing just that. Things just kept getting better from there.

Last Friday Gina and I went out to recreate our first date for our anniversary. She didn’t know what we were doing, but a few minutes into the drive, I think she had it pretty well figured out. Apart from a not-so-friendly visit with the local law enforcement (it was a prom night, so we were pulled over and harassed for no reason, then I was given a b.s. ticket for not having my vehicle registration signed), the entire night went wonderfully.

We had dinner at Benihana, then a quick stop at Memphis Smoke, followed by a Boston Cooler at Comet Burger. The entire evening I was preoccupied with the time. Which I dismissed as concern over a production file push at work. I explained that I was expecting a call to tell me if things were o.k. or not. We left for home.

In all truth I was incredibly nervous. Two of my close friends and coworkers agreed to help me set up the evening. While we were enjoying dinner and drinks, Joy, Brad and his girlfriend, Melissa were busy preparing the next scene…

About 2 miles from the house I got a text message on my phone. About a minute later the phone rang. Again, I kept calm, completed my discussion, and continued driving. We parked in the back and walked into the house.

Kacey was barking wildly in her crate downstairs, so Gina offered to let her out, but I suggested that she not worry about that for the moment. Then, pointing at the kitchen floor, I said, “What’s this?” Gina asked me what was going on, I told her to follow them and we’ll find out.

We walked through the kitchen, then the hall, and into the living room. Looking around the room, Gina gasped, “Oh my goodne… OH MY GOD!”, as tears welled up in her eyes, she waved her hands nervously in front of her face. With that I picked up the ring, got down on my left knee, took her hand and said:

On Saturday, June 1^st, at 12:05 am, I asked Gina to marry me. She said yes. I’ve never been so happy… scared… nervous… and relieved in my life.

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Further information and related links:

Benihana Restaurants
Memphis Smoke
Photos of the Setup and Reaction

- Duane

Jackass. It’s a great show. Usually a group of twenty-somethings run around hitting their heads and getting smacked in the genitals. Brilliant. Every straight male on the planet worshiped that crap. Including me. It was fun to watch, but I’d never try anything they did on that show, except one thing…

The Gumball 3000 is a 3000 mile road rally across Europe (traditionally). In 2001, the participants traveled from Great Britain to Russia and back in 5 days. It’s a giant party with no sleep, little food, a lot of caffeine, and a shitload of adrenaline. Immediately I wanted to participate.

I knew immediately that most of those people lived lives far different than mine. They were playboys, entrepreneurs, movie stars, and rich daddy’s boys with six-digit weekly allowances. It had to be expensive. As soon as the hour-long special ended I began my research. In a few days I had created a promotional website, composed an introduction letter/request to participate, and began looking for funding.

We initially anticipated the cost to be around $7,000 USD. After a little more digging and research we adjusted that to $10,000 USD. Pricey, but still possible with a little financial help. Why the cost increase? We initially discovered the Gumball 3000 through MTV’s Jackass series. So did 30,000 other people. Part of the cost increase may have been designed to thin out the initial flood of entries. (There are only 100 grid spots.)

We did a little prep on the car and some additional sponsorship research, but heard nothing from the Gumball committee. Several months after our initial and follow-up e-mails to the committee we were contacted by some of the Gumball message board members. Somebody had stumbled onto our site and filled out a contact form. The initial response was VERY positive. A few more e-mails from confirmed participants trickled in, but we had no official word yet.

A couple of months later we received another contact e-mail from a message board member that was, at best, depressing. He stated that he thought we were trying to get money from outside sources too vigorously, that it was very expensive (hint: we couldn’t afford it), and that if we didn’t have an entry form yet we wouldn’t be getting one (i.e. GIVE UP). That was a lot to stomach at once. I figured that he was probably right on at least the last point. So, I posted a simple update on the site:

About a week later (Christmas Eve, actually…), a shiny, over-sized, silver envelope arrived in my mail. I set it aside as I rushed to get ready for the holidays at my parent’s house. When we returned that evening, I went though my mail. Normally I would have just tossed such an obvious piece of junkmail, but I opened it anyway. To my shock, a brightly colored entry form and sticker fell to the floor. I turned over the small circular sticker to see the Gumball 3000 logo stare back at me. A cold sweat instantly covered my body. Could it be?

I read the brochure/entry form several times in disbelief. We made the final round of selection. The first 100 entry forms back to the committee were in! (I knew that over 70 grid spots had already been claimed.) A million thoughts ran through my head at once. Where would we find the cash? Would we get the form back in time? Could the car withstand seven-thousand miles in 2 weeks (we would have to drive to New York to begin the rally and back from L.A. after the close of the event)? I also noticed that the final entry fee had increased to 7,050 Pounds Sterling (~$15,000)… ouch. It was possible that we would could afford this if we had a large sponsor (that would have to be approved by the Gumball committee before the event).

Obstacles steadily began to pile into the path of our participation. The cost was greater than we anticipated, our work schedules began to threaten our timeline, and we were given the run around by the few large companies that might have an interest in our participation in such an event.

There is still a small chance that we will still be able to take part in the Gumball 3000. The greatest issue is the cost. For that fact alone, the increased cost has proven effective… consider us filtered out. (The buzz hints that the inflated entry fee is to skim the best of the best from the possible entrants. A movie is being planned based on the Gumball rally, and they want to ensure the most interesting people possible take part. Apparently, we couldn’t afford to be interesting enough.

However, we propose an alternative to this rich man’s race. It is not our intention to compete with the Gumball. There’s no way we could possibly hope to do that. We just want to have fun without blowing $15k. Contemplate this:

• < $100 entry fee
• 500 mile route
• 2 stops along the way to make asses of ourselves
• Anything that’s highway legal is allowed
• No pretentious aspirations
• Fun for fun’s sake

I’m working on this possibility now. Many details need to be worked out. The event would most likely happen at the end of the summer (late August?). Expect more updates soon.

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Further information and related links:

Gumball 3000 Homepage
Our promotional site
Sports Car Club of America
MTV’s Jackass

- Duane