Leinninger.com

A few days ago I had to wipe my windows computer due to a nasty trojan horse (that’s what happens when you don’t boot/update your computer for 2 months and check your email while downloading updates). I took the oportunity to install Ubuntu with the Compiz XGL enhancements (see video below, warning: cheezy loud music when you hit play). I haven’t tinkered with a computer at the os level in some time. I used to spend hours at night customizing the appearance of my OS… every OS: Macintosh, Windows, and Linux. The first really crazy window manager I tried for Linux was Enlightenment. Ubutnu with compiz and XGL blows it out of the water. I’m still going to install Windows on another partition so I can test code and play games occasionally, but I think I’ll be using Ubuntu for a while. It’s by far the easiest desktop Linux install I’ve every tried (yes, even easier than Knoppix). Check it out if you have a chance!

- Duane

The line that Chris showed me last race weekend helped a lot. Joe (#33), the other driver from my driver’s school class with a first-year race car, had a little more horsepower this weekend thanks to his newly unrestricted exhaust and under-drive pulleys. During the Saturday race another driver decided to dive bomb us in turn one on during the start and we went 3 wide into the corner! He took most of my mirror off in the process, but I fared better than the next guy he tries to pass: he punted the left-rear of that car, breaking a tail light and crunching the quarter panel. That same driver held up a handful of us during the Sunday race, when he refused to let anyone by. He was given furled black flags three laps in a row, and did not acknowledge the caution. The Sunday feature race was exciting, I had the lowest “best time” of the weekend in my group, so I started last. I moved up pretty quickly after the first few turns due to some attrition and a better starting position (the inside line). With only a lap and a quarter to go, I got by Matt (#9, also from driver’s school) when he got a few wheels off going into turn 6.

- Duane

I’ve always built my web site frameworks from scratch. Most of the time it was because I needed specific solutions for personal projects that just didn’t fit. However, I recently had an idea for a site that I wanted to get up quickly and not worry about maintaining it.

I guess I’ve been feeling a bit sentimental recently. I wanted to build a site to catalog my memories of growing up in a great neighborhood with great friends. A journal/blog site would work well for this, so I checked out TextPattern. I’ve looked at it in the past, but it didn’t fit my needs at the time. However for my new site it fits quite well.

I’m hoping that my childhood friends find it through serendipity or word-of-mouth and make article and comment contributions. I’ve found it to be far less stressful than building a framework from scratch… I even used a public design template so I don’t have to build the UI either! I’m getting lazy in my old age! Etcetera (this site) was built about 6 years ago and is due for a major overhaul. Maybe I’ll move it to textpattern too…

- Duane

Last weekend I spent 3 days racing in 90+ degree heat at Waterford Hill Road Racing Course. I got 3 practice sessions on Friday, qualifying and a race on Saturday, and 3 HPDE sessions on Saturday. On Sunday I had 2 races. I learned a ton. Chris Childs (bass player, racer extraordinaire) let me follow him around the course a few times on Friday to see a better line, then he rode shotgun (we installed a passenger race seat a week ago) during the HPDE and told me what not to do as well as some of what I should do. This new line yielded consistent low 1’25” – high 1’24” laps in the intense heat of the weekend. On Sunday, Chris drove my car in the ITA feature and squeezed a 1’23″9 out of the poor thing. His diagnosis: The car needs some work to be better than a mid-pack contender. Regardless, there’s another second to be found in the car as is. Next, I’ll open up the exhaust, stiffen the engine mounts, and remove some weight. The air cleaner could do with a good cleaning, too.

I’ve put some racing pictures on Flickr, too. If you’re really lazy, you can check them out in the moblog, locally.

- Duane