David McNett (Nugget)

Anti-partisan Politics

2008-07-17T19:21:52Z

Larry Hunter writes:

"I'm a lifelong Republican - a supply-side conservative. I worked in the Reagan White House. I was the chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for five years. In 1994, I helped write the Republican Contract with America. I served on Bob Dole's presidential campaign team and was chief economist for Jack Kemp's Empower America.

This November, I'm voting for Barack Obama." (emphasis added)

OK, he's convinced me, gimme my dollar back...

2008-07-13T03:28:14Z

d.net cow Aaron played with all the iPhone social geo-networking apps on the iPhone so we don't have to.

Consequently, I'm on loopt now. We'll see how it goes.

It's a strange feeling...

2008-06-25T01:15:46Z

...but this interview with Adam Carolla is actually making me a little bit optimistic about "American Top Gear."

Previously: NBC To Make American Version Of Top Gear Called “Gear” and Jay Leno hopes we don't ruin Top Gear

Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments

2008-06-10T14:29:47Z

Dr. Porsche or:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Track

It's been almost 16 months since I drove home from the dealership the C2S. In that time I've really been racking up the miles and driving the car every chance I get. For a guy who works from home and has no commute, I'm actually a little bit boggled. In the five years I had my M Roadster I only put 32K miles on it. Last month I realized that the magic 20K mark was staring me in the face on the 911 and I wanted to do something special to commemorate it. It took a little bit of creative dispatch work and a few times where equiraptor got to drive us places in her car, but I managed to hit 20,000 while out on the track at Texas World Speedway this past Sunday. I passed 20,000 coming out of turn 4 and crossed the "finish line" on the front straight with the odometer still reading all those 0s. I can't think of a better way to commemorate the occasion.

The whole weekend was a ridiculous amount of fun. decibel45 was there, a 4th HPDE for him as well. ivo made it out for his first track event ever! I think we've got him hooked. Also, dbaker and karl were there to represent FlightAware. I surprised them by getting some FlightAware car decals to decorate all our cars.

It's true that mileage markers like this are completely arbitrary but our brains are wired to create narratives. When you hit a milestone like this it turns into a great opportunity for reflection. It invites an array of questions: How have the past 16 months been? Was the car worth it? Should I have done anything differently?

I've got to say that this 911 has been the most rewarding car I've ever owned. Full stop. The depreciation has been breathtaking but every time I get behind the wheel those pragmatic thoughts just evaporate. When I buy the next 911 (oh, yeah, did I mention that it's 911s from here on out for me?) It's probably going to be a very similar spec to this one. Sure, I'll skip the silly sport chrono and go for the ceramic brakes, but for the most part I think I got it "right for me" this time around.

On the street the car seems to attract just the right amount of attention (and the right kind).

On the track the handling is sublime and I continue to be amazed by the degree and level of feedback I get from the car. I'm no expert track rat, just a solid intermediate "blue group" driver. Even at my level it's not only possible but quite fun to play around with the limits of traction at the rear end and muscle the car through corners using that rear weight to tighten up the turn. Porsche's experience building these cars is quite evident when an amateur like me can do stuff like that out on the track.

This past weekend was my first time running Texas World Speedway clockwise, so I had to re-qualify to drive solo. I took some video on my third session on Saturday with my instructor in the car with me.

Vroom!

!~

2008-06-02T17:50:44Z

Making a public appearance for for the first time in over 15 years... my chin:

I wasn't feeling nearly as artistic as Ivo, and to be honest I wasn't even sure today was the day until after I passed the point of no return with the razor.

Not sure how I feel yet.

Homeward bound

2008-05-28T16:46:53Z

Kicked ass in NYC -- FlightAware office went from sticky floors to up and running in 6 days flat. Left to sounds of bustling activity and enthusiasm. I do love The City® and our new space within.

COA450 puts me back at "chaos" dinnertime tonight.

Pragmatic Utility

2008-05-23T17:34:36Z

I need one of these. It would be boundlessly useful:

This is about as official as it gets...

2008-05-21T21:10:01Z

I guess it's real now:

Arrived NYC

2008-05-20T20:03:25Z

Arrived in drizzly NYC, but spirits are soaring (track them on flightaware). I'm the first set of boots on the ground for the new office buildout. Paint today, carpet and internet tomorrow. Furniture Thursday. On target for takeoff roll after the holiday weekend.

I ♥ NY

2008-05-18T01:12:48Z

I'll be in NYC from the 20th through the 28th, setting up FlightAware's New York office. My schedule looks to be organic and reactionary, mostly arranged around the various delivery and telco install dates that we've lined up. I'm definitely up for drinks and shenanigans with all my local peeps. Let me know your schedules and what nights work best for you.

It sounds like I miss ivo at EWR by about an hour on Tuesday, too. Pity.

My weekend: doubleplusfun

2008-05-06T00:30:39Z

Was lots of this:

Concluded by this.

Tacos tonight!

2008-04-23T14:33:33Z

(Crosspost from nucleartacos)

Just a reminder, we're having our super-special ODD edition nuclear tacos and non-nuclear grillables at my place tonight. Show up any time after six, but we probably won't start cooking until eight or so.

directions here for anyone who hasn't been to my place. All are welcome.

My Ecosystem Rocks!

2008-04-17T02:56:24Z

equiraptor and I skipped out on the world for a few hours during lunch today and headed south of town to check out Harris Hill Road, a new track that's about to open. H2R (as they like to call it) will be an enthusiast-built, privately-owned motor sports park -- a 1.8 mile road course track for eating up tires and wasting prodigious amounts of gasoline.

The finished up all their asphalt work earlier this year and have started opening up the track to small groups and prospective members. I've been considering joining the track as a member and have been trying to find a good time to schedule a visit. At the last minute we sort of realized that today was that day.

We headed down around 11am and I finally got a chance to meet Bo and Eric, the track owners, face-to-face for the first time. We'd been exchanging emails for over a month but had never managed to meet. We hadn't been there 5 minutes and Eric managed to goad us out on the track for some hot laps. We spent 95% of our time driving -- it was great.

The track is fully paved but there's no barriers, no lines painted, and the buildings are just framed in so far. Still very much a work in progress. But -- of course -- the track is drivable. You know how when you move your computer is the last thing you shut down and the first thing you set up at the new place? Well car geeks are that way but with their cars. I'm pretty sure they were more interested in getting the track to a drivable condition than they were with getting port-a-potties set up.

So the driving experience is a bit rough -- there's pointer cones but no lines, no good track edge visual indicators, and the surrounding terrain is in so much flux that there's not much in the way of visual landmarks you can use to set your braking and turn-in points. Still -- it's a blast. And the surface is pristine.

We were in my car, on my street tires. It was equiraptor's first time tracking my car, in fact. We got a good 20 laps each, in both directions. I got some rough video, but the camera setup was plagued with technical problems so the quality isn't what I'd hoped. It'll work much better with the top down and with some better placement of the battery packs. Overall, though, the concept of multi-camera video was a success. I got both bumper and cabin cam stitched together.

Bottom line -- I'm hooked. We're going to join and I'm going to learn that track. It's so much less of a hassle to have a track right here in town instead of driving halfway across texas to TWS or Motorsport Ranch to get in some good track time. decibel45, you'll have to join us next time. It's a great NSX track. :)

Equi posted her thoughts in her journal as well.

Just a Geek

2008-03-31T20:35:42Z

The latest in my mod_rewrite repertoire, for a farker who linked to my feature.jpeg pic:

Sadly the thread where it's employed is TotalFark and I'm a cheapskate so I can't see it.

This is adorable

2008-03-08T02:38:07Z

Following in the tradition of the Gulfstream pilots who wrote GV over several states, Cessna pilots draw the outline of an aircraft over 7 states flying a Citation X. It's adorable:

(previously...)

NTN SXSW'08

2008-03-05T15:32:40Z

You know you want tacos...

Monday night, 6PM. The usual tent.

Choose your social networking pill:
nucleartacos · Upcoming · Facebook

a one point plot

2008-03-05T03:38:12Z

Just a single data point so you can't plot a curve or anything, but...

Texas Precinct 334 (Northwest Austin) Caucus results: 31% Clinton, 69% Obama.

The caucus process was really interesting and I'm very glad I participated. This is the first primary I've ever participated in (mostly because it's the first time I've ever lived somewhere that held a primary that mattered) and it was pretty cool.

I'll be a delegate at the Travis County Democratic convention.

MLP

2008-02-28T03:15:41Z

I'm totally going to buy this book. It's like Tufte meets xkcd.

MLP courtesy the big picture (link with excerpts from book)

I ♥ NY

2008-02-18T20:15:31Z

We're Hiring...

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/mar/578234816.html

Super Tuesday much more important than Super Sunday

2008-02-05T04:44:52Z

Five minutes for your heart and twenty minutes for your head.

Edit, post-Tuesday: Here's the bottom line.

It's track time again!

2008-01-28T03:42:31Z

Lots of people asked me to remind them and pester them the next time a Driver's Edge TWS track even came up, and the next one is scheduled and open for registration. Register online for the March 1-2 event in College Station at Texas World Speedway. They're at 25% capacity now, and it filled up fast last time, so don't slack.

It's more fun than you can imagine. Just do it. Really. For a refresher on my thoughts as we got back from the last event in November, I posted about it here on LJ and gushed all about it.

Based on everyone's interest level I think we're well-positioned to have a large group of cows attending this event, which should really amplify the fun we're all able to have. Plus if you haven't met Karl in real life yet you'll get a chance to discover that he really does exist!

Register. You know you want to.

I love his futon

2008-01-21T03:18:55Z

Holy shit, this is just unbelievably cool. Craig Mitchell has dropped back on to the face of the earth recently and promises to finish writing the epic novella "She Hates My Futon." The old myboot site is back online under a new domain famousboot.com. If you didn't catch this thing the first time around then pull up a chair and start reading. It's great stuff...

Seriously, this and that story about the junk cheque guy are two things that nobody on the internet should miss.

Chapter 1: Futons

I picked up a copy of the St. Louis Gutterfrump Times at the restaurant where I had lunch today.

It’s an arts and entertainment rag, comes out once a week. You know, a little politics - but not too much, movie listings and that sort of stuff. Usually I just check out the local music section, read a few futon ads and pitch the thing into a corner of my apartment where it sits for a couple of months until I finally get around to pitching it.

The ads are really the best part. Fly Helicopters, lessons start at $79. The Best in Leather-Rubber-Vinyl. Uncle Timmy’s Boudoir. Sounds Right. Custom Car and Audio Store. Great name for a store, huh? This stereo, it sounds right, it works and it’s probably not stolen. It sounds right and it might even be brand new.

The issue was just brimming with ads for cheap futons and I couldn’t resist turning its newsprint-scummy pages. Futon Paradise Ltd… Futons your girlfriend will hate… Really, really cheaply made Futons… Modern Futons…. Futons that sit so close to the floor that you feel like you’re sleeping on the floor. As per tradition I was about to chuck it in the corner when I noticed a completely different kind of ad nestled between the ones for speed reading classes and the “Abs-master.”

“Girlfriend-Express,’ it read. “We’ll find you Ms. Right.”

They were offering to find me a girlfriend for $19.95. I wondered how they could even make such promises. Why does the Better Business Bureau let someone operate such a scam? Why would the Gutterfrump Times even accept their ad? I thoroughly scanned for the catch. I had no doubt that one was lurking somewhere.

The phone number was a local call. Not a 1-800 number. Not a 1-900 number. Nothing that said $5.95 per minute - just one price. I noted that it even had the same first three digits as my own number.

I made the call.

New Year's MLP

2008-01-02T05:42:01Z

2007: Seven Things We Should Pretend Never Happened.

Christmas ideas: the gift that keeps on giving...

2007-12-10T04:31:44Z

For your friend who has everything... now available at amazon.com:

Uranium Ore

Product Description
Radioactive sample of uranium ore. Useful for testing Geiger Counters. License exempt. Uranium ore sample sizes vary. Shipped in labeled metal container as shown. Shipping Information: We are always in compliance with Section 13 from part 40 of the NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules and regulations and Postal Service regulations specified in 49 CFR 173.421 for activity limits of low level radioactive materials. Item will be shipped in accordance with Postal Service activity limits specified in Publication 52. Radioactive minerals are for educational and scientific use only.

I think what I like best is the customer feedback:

"I bought a can of this about 4.5 billion years ago, give or take a few million years, but when I went to use it today I noticed only half of it was still in the can. I swear I put the lid on tight. I'd give it more stars if it came in a better package." - Jimbo Jones (Chicago)

"Does any one know if this comes on the 3 oz travel size that is TSA approved? " - Rebecca (Seattle)

Screw Clapton. . .

2007-12-07T01:03:50Z

. . .Tufte is God.

Today karl and I attended Edward Tufte's one-day course on presenting data and information. It was tremendously valuable. His talk was compelling and engaging and I think we both left with some tangible and substantive ideas for improving FlightAware and with a much better appreciation for the topics covered in Tufte's excellent books.

It takes a special sort of speaker to get me motivated and inspired by statistics.

He'll be in Austin next Monday and Tuesday. If you can make time I highly recommend the course.