Leinninger.com

I like cars. A lot. I can’t pinpoint the moment I realized this, but I know it happened around the age of 17. A highschool friend of mine had a Chevelle Malibu that he worked on constantly. Dave Damore embodied a calm cool that I rarely encounter these days when it comes to cars. What he had was good enough. He worked on it. He knew it inside and out. He appreciated other people’s work. It didn’t matter who was faster, spent more money, or looked better. It was enough to just be part of it.

I wasn’t really a part of it, but I longed to be. My 1984 Chevrolet Eurosport was the embodiment of everything that was wrong with the American “cookie-cutter” car. The anemic 2.8 liter V6 was disgustingly underpowered. The throttle-body inducted engine hesitated to every command of the accelerator. Dave tried to make me feel better by explaining the lineage of that damned car. The Chevelle became the Malibu, the Malibu became the Celebrity, and the Celebrity was the Eurosport. I have no idea why it was given that name. (Interestingly enough, the Eurosport became the Beretta, which once again became the Malibu… in a sad V6, front-wheel-dive incarnation.) I had what fun I could with my sickly little car. I added a PA system that allowed me to heckle other motorists and torture drive-through attendants at Burger King. I did what I could with the stereo and even replaced the stock exhaust with a real Cherry Bomb muffler. It almost sounded good.

When that car was on it’s last leg I sold it. It wasn’t long for this world and I was sure it couldn’t take the hour and a quarter drive to and from Novi (where I worked at the time) every day. I replaced it with a (used) 1989 Chrysler LeBaron GTC. Not too impressed, eh? That car was amazing. The ride was as smooth as my parent’s LHS with just as many goodies (LH series climate controls and navigation). Let’s not forget the potent little turbocharged 4 banger under the hood. This sleeper could embarrass most stock Fox Bodies found making the rounds on Gratiot every night in the summer. Alas, this car was the victim of overwork and undersleep. Following several 14 hour days and an all night phone/mind game with an ex-girlfriend I began to doze off while driving through a malfunctioning blinking yellow light. The rest is history.

My next car was my first real muscle car… well, at least it looked like one. A co-worker was selling her 1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula. Red, T-tops, V8, 245 rubber on 16-inch wheels. I could tell immediately that it wasn’t as fast as the LeBaron, but I thought it had more potential. If I only knew then what I know now. Like the Eurosport before it, it breathed and drank through TBI, a power-robbing alternative to the less environmentally-friendly carburetor. Apparently, that year there were 3 V8 options for the Firebird. The TPI 350ci Formula 350/Trans Am, the TPI 305ci Formula, and the 305ci TBI Formula. The latter of the three, while still a V8, produced a sad 170 hp! There were so many tree-hugger mods on the thing that it lost 100 hp to the 350! I did what I could over the years and currently have it near an honest 250 hp. I still own it and it continues to run great.

Once I was working full time I was able to afford my first new car. I leased a 1998 Subaru Impreza RS. It was the first import anyone in my immediate family has ever owned. Impressed by the recent World Rally Championship wins and the performance of the 2.5 liter, horizontally opposed, boxer engine (~165 hp, 5 less hp than the Formula’s stock output, and half the size… in both cylinders and displacement) mated to full-time all-wheel-drive. The Impreza is absolutely a thrill to drive while providing a safe means of transport during the dreaded Michigan winters. While researching this car I began to find out more about the import scene… both good and bad. There seemed to be a strong following with a lot of promise. I admit to being pretty old school when it comes to pure power, yet I’m impressed by what some of these guys do with their Civics and Talons. Some of my closest friends are very involved in the import racing scene. We’ve had many discussions about Detroit iron vs. Import technology. Most of us still respect each other at the end of every “discussion.”

My latest endeavor is a 1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28. I firmly believe that I’ve finally done the right thing. The car has plenty of power and unlimited potential. I’d love to install a supercharger, upgrade the suspension, and bolt on bigger wheels and tires. However, for now this is more than I need.

It all comes back to what Dave Damore said. It’s good enough… for now.

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Also available: Part 2

Further information and related links:
The Rice Boy Page
LS-1 Performance
Import Performance
Hot Rod Magazine

- Duane

Today I had a heated discussion with a number of friends about the impending “changes” to the Napster music sharing system. Here is the thread:

Brian:

I kind of hold the same attitude towards music as I do towards PC games. Try it out for free (crack, illegal copying, or otherwise) but if you like it, just buy the damn CD or game. I liked solder of fortune, so I bought it. It was worth $29.95.

Think about it though… even if you like one song on a CD.. for the number of times that you’ll eventually listen to it, it’s worth the $15 bones or whatever you end up paying. I suppose most people just look at the up front cost and don’t realize that they’ll probably own the CD for several years and listen to it hundreds of times. I’ve definitely gotten $18 bones worth out of my Soundgarden CD.

Better yet, rip the mp3’s and send a check directly to the musician. They’ll love you.

Duane:

I have no problem paying a $5-10 fee to subscribe, but don’t cripple it. Most of the stuff that I download is one-hit wonder stuff… the kind of CDs you don’t want to clutter up your shelves. I bought the Crazy Town CD (butterfly) and it sucks… it wasn’t worth the $17 I dished out for it.

With 20 million users on napster with a $5-10 fee per month the record companies would make more than what they currently make from radio station licenses. The only difference is that they wouldn’t be able to control the radio station playlists or manhandle markets based on the per-capita mainstream.

If you’re hardcore, you can still record digital music from your cable box (music channels) and make MP3s, or just borrow a CD from your friend and rip it. This solves nothing, it’s just holding the industry back.

Personally, I plan to frequent IRC and Hotline servers a lot more and fuck the man.

Duane:

I think that streaming MP3s and personal MP3 players in cars, etc. are the next step. First there was AM radio, the FM in stereo. Now we can make personalized music selections and have access to any song any time. Since “satellite radio” has gone nowhere in the past 10 years, despite promises and a billion articles in Popular Science, the music-listening public deserves something better. CDs are over priced (you can get a friggin’ DVD for the price of most CDs!!!!!!), and often contain a handful of songs that you’ll listen to.

I like buying CDs, especially for bands that I can listen to over and over again. Sometimes I’ll download an MP3 and never listen to it again, I just wanted to hear it ONCE!!! Additionally, you can never be guaranteed that you’ll be able to find the CD you want when you want it (like that Damn “Surface” song, right, PG?). What about new releases? When Pearl Jam was at it’s peak, I couldn’t get the CD anywhere in Grosse Pointe because every store was sold out!

Brian:

My theory: The idea of “singles” off of an album is bullshit. I hate radio because they try to cherry pick songs out of a CD to make money. Would you read one chapter of a book and put it down?

I like the Zeppelin way of thought: They created albums, not songs. So what happened? Zeppelin didn’t really make a dent in the single charts at all, but they sold shitloads of records. That’s the way it needs to be done. I don’t know who Crazy Town is, but they don’t sound amicable enough for me to buy the CD, ya know?

I would say that of the CD’s I listen to, I like at least 75% of the songs on each of them. I accomplished this by not listening to songs of the radio and “nitpicking”, but networking within bands. Reading liner notes, finding out who influenced them…etc. Music is a weird thing.. in order to get true enjoyment out of it, you have to put some work into it. If you don’t, you get shallow pop songs by untalented bands that wear thin quick.

Compare it to grabbing a tabloid at the checkout as opposed to reading a good novel. Yea, you can grab the tabloid and skim through it.. easy and quick: But no content. The novel takes some effort and reading time, but I’m sure it’s going to be much more in depth and enjoyable.

Uhm. Yes.

Duane:

So, you’re saying that there a no CDs that only have a song or two that you like? Are you also saying that you can go into any RecordTown and find any song you want? I know for a fact that with your “selective” musical tastes that you can’t find what you want everywhere. If you’re paying $10/mo. you can download what you want, when you want it. I can go on napster right now and download a Dwarves song. I bet my left nut that I can’t saunter into Best Buy and do the same. How about those late nights where you coding your ass off until 4 in the morning and you need a little pick me up. Hit napster and get a song or two… any time… 24/7!

Groups don’t make the real money from CDs, they make it from merchandising, guest appearances, and tours. Album sales are designed to recoup the record labels investment in a band. If you have “x” potential, they invest “x” amount in recording, mastering, publicity, and marketing. Then they expect your album sales to pay them back. Most groups don’t meet the estimates, but the 1% that do make up for the rest with a fat price tag of $15-20 a CD. The little guys get pinched out of the sphincter of the big labels.

Record companies need to let go of the old model and incorporate napster and electronic music distribution into their plans. Rather than pressing a billion CDs and giving half of them away, publicize and release music to radio stations electronicly (192k is better than FM radio quality).

’nuff said.

Brian:

(I think everyone’s probably sick of this by now) But I like all the Dwarves songs.

Any CD’s with one or two songs I like? Honesty? There aren’t. I should say “There aren’t that I know of”. If there are, then that band shouldn’t be making a record and I won’t give them my attention or $$$. I buy into bands, not songs. Hopefully the ones I give my $$$ will turn around and make yet another awesome record. It’s worked for Speedealer and Supersuckers, and Ultra Bide, and …well, you get the idea.

I also don’t buy into the “give me convenience or death” way of life. Look how fat it’s got us so far. If you want something to last and be meaningful, put some work into it. It works with web sites, right? Try it with music!

When purchasing CDs however, you just need to know where to look: Repeat the Beat (Plymouth and Royal Oak), Record Collector, Tower Records in AA, Schoolhouse Records, Half Moon Records… that’s just a start.

Most of the time you can get the CD you want used for 1/4 as much as you’d pay for it new. I got that Mazzy Star CD for $5.00!!! Works like a charm too, no scratches at all. I’m sure you remember after the ‘puter show.. I got like 4 CD’s for $20 bucks total!!

I’m all for the digital revolution. I just think that some things are better off not being not being that way. Sure you can shoot off an email, but it’s just sooo much cooler getting a hand-written letter (got one from Dana yesterday, with a “I Love Mullets” sticker in enclosed.. it’s going on the guitar.)

Give me the gadgets, but don’t take away the subtle things. Going around town looking for a CD with a couple friends is pure bliss. I remember running around town with Brad, Mike and Ingrid looking for that Thrall CD (which I like every song on, BTW)–found it at the AA Tower Records. I ran in there and found it and was jumping around… That was so much fun! For some reason, I just don’t think I would have the same memories downloading them from Napster.

I agree with the money shit. Hence my send a check directly to the musician, or stay away from the major labels (which generally don’t inhabit my musical domain much anyway). Once you’re in the band thing for a while, you start to learn how it works.. and why I feel the way I do. Bands & People(r) don’t pick the music they listen to off of FM, the suited-corporate-drone-A&R guys do. How does that single sound now? I’ll pick my own. It’s soma for the masses, baby! (Thrall quote)

Ok, I have to work now 🙂

Brad:

When I grow up I want to be DW.

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All of these are great points. I leave the conclusion of this discussion to you. Can this emerging technology kill new bands and cripple big record companies? Will it allow radio stations to share new music that would otherwise never be heard? Will it cost $9.95 a month and require a contract?

We’ll see…

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Further information and related links:

Napster
Speak out against restricting Napster
Artists Agains Piracy
Make Lars happy, he needs the money…

- Duane

Every summer when I was growing up, Joey Ford came out to my neighborhood to visit his grandparents from Milpitas, California, located in the heart of blossoming Silicon Valley. He told me unbelievable things like his elementary school locker was outside of all places, and he only wore a light sweater or a windbreaker in December. When his mom came out to visit I asked her if it was true, she assured me that he was telling the truth. She worked for a new software company. I’m sure she’s quite wealthy now. If I had kept in touch with Joey, I would have tried to look him up…

I’ve spent the past week in Silicon Valley. It’s been a bit of a pilgrimage for me. I’ve heard so many things… both good and bad… I wanted to see for myself. The following things are true:

• My house would cost about $500k in the bay area.
• Technology is everywhere… especially Sun (the “dot” in dot-com).
• Startups are everywhere… so are a lot of unemployed entrepreneurs 😉
• Apple headquarters is as cool as everyone says.
• Living expenses are really THAT high.

The following things are false:

• Everyone in Silicon Valley is/looks cool.
• Everyone earns six figures a year.
• Everyone is happy.
• It never rains.

I learned a lot while I was out there (more than just the user data that we were collecting). There is a great need to fill positions in the bay area, but there’s nowhere to live within an hour’s drive… at least not at what those positions will pay. I’m sure there are more six figure salaries out there than here, but that money won’t stay in the bank for very long. Rent, food, gas, and entertainment costs are through the roof.

A few nights the weather was great… mid-fifties with clear skies. However that doesn’t justify the inflated cost. The views are nice… if you can deal with the traffic to get to them. The culture is unique… if you can deal with the eccentricities of it. The cars don’t rust and stay clean longer, but there’s nowhere to drive in the city.

I hate to say it, but Silicon Valley isn’t what I expected. It was dirty more often than hip. It’s more expensive than Southern California and not as nice. There’s a huge cluster of hi-tech opportunities but there’s a plethora of low-tech complications and problems. Maybe I’m used to the mid-west. Maybe I’m just a boring Michigander (gawd, I hate that word… it sounds like we should all be laying eggs), but this state isn’t that bad.

For now I guess my future will be here… unless prices on the coast plummet or I win the lottery.

- Duane

No, seriously, it is!

You may be saying, “It’s boring. There’s nothing good on AM!” or, quite possibly, “It’s all talk, that doesn’t interest me.”

Well, I beg to differ! Please, pull up your eyelids and let me explain.

FM for the most part is music, right? I’m a fairly serious musician, and I really appreciate listening to other music. I find it a good way to expand my influences while writing my own songs. Well, I really mean steal riffs for my own songs. That’s really what musicians mean when they say “influence”…puts a new spin on things, eh? Anyway, to get back on topic.

It didn’t take long to realize that the few stations in Detroit that play modern music really don’t play much music! Yep, they don’t play much at all. At least in terms of actual content.

Most stations have a 40-or-so long track loop. I found this out from a friend-of-a-friend who happens to work at 101.1 WRIF. He told me that every week, the station sets a playlist partially determined by the Top 40 charts, and they run with it. He’s worked at a few stations in Detroit, and also a few out of town in different states. According to him, just about all stations work this way. Don’t believe me? Try listening to 101.1 for a few hours and not hear Billy Idol.

Well, so much for variety, eh? Just a little thinking comes up with the fact that the whole country is listening to roughly the same 40 songs. Booooreeee-iinnng. Granted, there is the occasional good program, like Big Sonic Heaven on 96.3 Sunday nights, but shows like that are few and far between.

Now, I can’t speak for you. But personally I couldn’t eat the same food every day, or wear the same clothes every day. I certainly couldn’t the say same thing to the same people and perform the exact same routine every day. I’d go crazy. I guess it’s the same with the music I listen to. So, how do I rectify the problem? With a CD player of course!

But lately my CD player has been acting funny. Most of the music I like to listen to is from local bands, and they make stuff on CD-R’s. I don’t think my car CD player likes CD-R’s because it skips when I hit the gas. Not, bumps–but the gas. Go figure.

I can’t bear to listen to FM anymore, so I began to listen to AM radio. At first, I listened to AM 950, which in Detroit is a superb news/traffic/weather station. If you’re in your car, it’s great to hear traffic updates ever 10 minutes. After a while I got a little bored started venturing around the dial. There is some truly horrible stuff, like country.. but then I found the “holy grail”, so to speak:

Christian Radio.

Damn, is this stuff cool. Have you ever really listened to it? These people are nuts! It reminds me of milita propaganda. Some of the stuff they talk about is amusing. Some examples:

• “…so I was wondering why we–as Catholics–can’t eat animals with split hooves?” And then the show’s host then goes on to a 10-minute explanation, following with an argument whether pigs have split hooves or not. Awesome!
• “…we as Chrisitans, must realize that Jesus and God are the bridegroom. They are one in holy spirit.” I don’t want to know about that one.

And, besides where else can you hear cool words like “eucharist”, “rapture”, and “condemned” all the time?

Well, maybe Christian radio isn’t your thing. There’s plenty more stuff to listen to, it just takes some looking! I’ve got most of these programmed into my car radio, so I don’t remember the frequencies.. but here’s some shows I found that are awesome:

• A show that works with callers to contact their dead pets.
• Conspiracy radio, specializing in cow mutilations, ufo’s and Area 51.
• Art Bell… the guy is psycho.

Besides, half the fun is finding stuff by accident.

So, next time you’re in your car… give it a shot. Go head, punch that “AM/FM” button and start slowly crusing around the dial. I found out most of the shows get even better at night. You won’t be missing much on FM, other than maybe another Korn-clone band bitchin’ about cookies.

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Further information and related links:

WWJ News Radio 950 (Michigan)
Radio show about dead pets, UFOs, etc.

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Please, send all spams, flames and complaints to billg@msn.com. Seriously, please understand that this is a personal point of view (not necesarily yours or mine). However, I must admit that I am an AM Radio addict now, too.

 

- Brian Downey

We live in a high-tech world where information moves at the speed of light. If we don’t move fast we miss out… or worse. We depend on a myriad of fancy gadgets and devices to make this complicated and challenging life a little easier. I admit that I am one of the worst offenders. I love my Palm Pilot… well… maybe not love… but I really like it. Without out my Palm I can’t remember more than a handful of phone numbers, let alone meetings or important tasks. However, there is an alternative. We can throw it all away and become forest rangers! Imagine being surrounded by nature. The nearest human being is hours away. You’re all alone in a tall watch tower. You pass the hours by betting yourself that you can hock a loogie on “that big leaf over there” when suddenly… a squirrel runs across the clearing. Whew! That was a close one! Day in and day out you monitor the moisture levels in the area. As spring ends and summer begins the forest starts to dry out. Uh-oh… you’d better release a flash fire warning! As you walk back to your office you hear a rustle in the trees behind you. Shrugging the noise off you continue onward… it’s just another squirrel, right? Wrong! An eight foot grizzly bear lunges at you from the brush. You think to yourself, “That’s awfully uncharacteristic of a bear…” as you simultaneously wet yourself. You turn and take two steps before you remember what you learned in ranger school… play dead. Your body goes limp and you fall to the ground. Slowly, you look around you and see no sign of the bear. A quick scan of the area indicates that the bear must have been just as frightened as you… a trail has been cleared by the fleeing animal. Whew… another story to share with the others… when you see them. Finally, you arrive at your post. After changing you pants, you settle down to write your report and issue the flash fire watch. You boot your computer and check your e-mail to make sure there are no other outstanding issues. The weather forecast is promising with a strong storm front moving in for the weekend. After finishing your report you e-mail it to the district office and submit your warning. Before you forget, enter a reminder into your Palm Pilot to remind you to order a book from Amazon.com about bear behavior. As your day ends you sit in front of a small campfire and sip hot cocoa. Isn’t it nice to not have to deal with all of the technology of the digital age… hey, wait a minute!

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Further information and related links: Forest Ranger Job Overview
Forest Ranger School

- Duane