The Captain's Log
Ambient Mafia is Co-hosting Burnlesque! on January 24th
*If you went last year, you know not to sleep on this one. If you missed out, here's the latest iteration for you. Pre-sales are highly encouraged due to limited tickets.*Saturday, January 24th
Odd But True presents:
Burnlesque!
Burnlesque is back! Feathered Burlesque Beauties will heat up the night while Bay Area DJs shake the dance floor until the wee hours of the morning. Throw on your finest top hat, slip into your sexiest skirt, and come into Oakland to help raise funds for San Francisco Sex Information. 21+, don't forget your ID.
Visual Treats:
Cheese Puffs
Les Moquettes Coquettes
sarah. bowman.
Audio Beats:
Squelchy
Schwa
Bam
The Fingermonsters
Faye Valentine
Mariposa
Redstickman
Chill Room hosted by: Ambient Mafia
Big Sloppy
Harken
Olde Nasty
Seventh Swami
Hickory
The Captain
Boomerang Fidget
Solid Sound provided by: Know Audio
Sexy Lighting by: Radiant Atmospheres
Doors open @ 10pm
21+, don't forget your ID.
Location TBA on website, day of event.
Cheap Pre-sales: $10
Limited Door: $15
Tickets, Info and Directions: www.odd-but-true.com
The new baby is here!
Well after much fretting I finally got up the nerve and headed down to Audi Stevens Creek and bought the car. I am very happy since I hit most, if not all of the objectives I had - Pre-certified, AWD, 2005 or later and under $13K cash after trade-in. Well I nailed it. The A4 is a 2.0 Litre Turbo engine with 200hp and 207ft/lbs of torque, manual 6 speed transmission, all leather interior, Bose audio package with satellite radio, new tires all round, few scratches and relatively low miles (62,400) with one owner who took good care of her. I only managed to get $7500 for the Boxster (sigh) but that was ok since I wasn't out of pocket for more than $13K (my real goal). All told, this car drives like a rocket! I can even have Audi chip it to 265hp if I want (yes, under warranty if the dealer does it), but that would mean taking a big hit on the gas economy which is pretty good at around 30MPG hwy. If I am really crazy I can chip it to 300hp from a 3rd party, but Audi frowns on this. Well, right now the car is fast enough off the line for me, but who knows... Zooom Zooooom!
All gussied up
Well I've spent the last two days getting the Boxster ready for trade in. I must admit though that looking at her all clean and sparkling does make me wonder if I am doing the right thing. For an 8 year old, she doesn't look a day over 2. I've done my best to take good care of her and she has (until recently) rewarded me by being a very good car with very few problems. I know its silly of me to grow so attached to a machine, but I can't deny either the pure diving joy this car has brought me over the years. Alas, now we must part. She will now enter into that special place in my heart right along side my '83 944, and '89 944 S2 that just like the Boxster, gave me years of good service and indescribable driving pleasure.My dear friend you will be sorely missed...
The search is on!
So I test drove the Audi A4 2.0T today. Nice handling, the ride was firm (just how I like it) and the tiptronic transmission did a nice job, especially in Sport mode. Even with 200HP, I still found the engine to be a little sluggish off the mark, but once it got into 2nd gear it really took off. Much to my surprise the dealer told me that I could have Audi "chip" the car to 265HP for $1500 and still be under full warranty! That's pretty cool considering the 2001 S4 my ex-wife owned was about the same amount of horse power. Next I need to go drive a BMW 330i and see how it rides. Can't say I feel the love for a BMW quite in the same way I feel it for Porsche or Audi, but I am willing to give it a fair shake. The only problem I have with the cars are that they are about as common as Honda Accords in the bay area.The slow death of my beloved car
Well its' been quite a week. After having my Boxster towed from Belmont early last Saturday morning, I finally got it back Thursday with a new air/oil separator installed. Good you would think, and normally I would agree with you. However with the repair came the news that in changing the oil filter they found small gold flakes of metal in the oil. Not good, not good at all.The metal flakes are from a bearing deep inside the engine block that is wearing and will eventually fail, ceasing the engine for good. The
only cure is a new engine (about $13K) and that isn't an option. Even an 8 year old boxster in good condition isn't worth more that $12K blue book, so it doesn't make sense to replace the engine.
So why is this happening? Well its a design flaw, pure and simple. These types of failure don't normally show themselves until 200-250K miles on an engine, but because of a design flaw that started in the 97' boxster and wasn't apparently fully cured until the 2003/04 model
year for those who are unlucky to own a 97-2002 model boxster or boxster S, you live with a ticking time bomb. If your lucky to still have a warranty when this happens (typically at 60K miles in a Boxster S 3.0 & 3.2 litre engine) Porsche will replace it for free. For the rest of us poor saps, we are dead in the water. I am only surprised there wasn't a class action lawsuit over this, there should have been.
So now I ponder what to do. To make matters worse I still haven't found a new job. So whatever I do means spending the money I need
to live on in order to buy something different, otherwise I'd just get an auto loan. sigh. I figure if I am lucky I will get about $11K trade-in value on my $65K car (my don't they lose value fast!). Oddly, the best solution might be to trade it in on another boxster like a 2004. Well now it just means I've got another thing to worry about and deal with I didn't need.
A job would really be nice right about now...
-M
On with the Job Search!
Anyone looking for a 20 year board-level hardware designer with a BS in Business Administration Management? Let me
know and I will send you my resume!
-Marc
Happy 2008!
Yay!
A new year, and an even numbered one at that! Well, let see how fun this one plays out, yes? Personally
I am betting its going to be a good one, but we'll see what happens eh?
Regardless, everyone have a Happy New Year!
-Captain
No B-man again this year
Schools in secession for fall already and I have a full class load. No time to play in the dust and heat. But on the
up-side I graduate in May so I can get my B-man on next year. Assuming I have a job and don't live under the
i880/i280 overpass and push a shopping basket.
;-)
-Marc