the coolest nerd

I’m in Memphis.  10% of the trip has been completed.  It’s 6:40am, local time.  4:40, my time.  I’m never up this early.

It’s hella cold.  30f.  I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this.  Ever.

I haven’t seen a single Corolla, Prius, or Lexus.  No need to worry about someone suddenly accelerating into me!  There are more SUVs here than in the Bay Area.  Tons of Jeeps.  The most common brand seems to be Nissan.  I’ve seen more new Maximas here in one day than I’ve seen ever.

People look at me funny.  Friendly though.  I haven’t seen a single other Asian person on the trip so far.  (Well, besides at SFO)

There have been emergency road signs on the freeway “ROUGH ROAD AHEAD” which seems unnecessary to me, the road is still nicer than a typical street or freeway in San Francisco.

Everyone is giving me different suggestions for food — the universal truth is do not go to Waffle House.

I went to Sonic for the first time.  I’ll definitely have to exercise and diet twice as hard when I get back.

It’s been a while since I’ve gone on a trip — the last one I can remember is flying out to Texas to buy a 1991 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II.  I really regret selling that car, and I’m tempted to get another, but they’re so rare to find now in good condition.  The biggest regret from that trip was sampling a steak — every one I’ve eaten from then on just hasn’t compared.

In a similar vain, I’m flying out to Tennessee to pickup a 2009 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring.  In calendar year 2009, Mazda only sold 2,217 of them.  Who knows how many in Crystal White Pearl Mica — and who knows how many Grand Touring models were made without the Premium Package.  Finding a GT without a moon roof seemed to be an impossibility, but I found one and I sit here in the airport ready to drive it back in a few hours.  Maybe I’ll find out they only made 13.   Sure.  I’m insane.  At least I know I am.

I just like rare things, and white cars.  Combined, that’s a potent combination for me.  Imagine when I found my Chaste White 1995 RX-7 one of thirteen (out of five hundred)!

It’s 4:50am PST, I’m going to take a nap before my flight at 6:15.  Going to Denver first.

By the way, I forgot the usb cable for my camera.  I’ll have to add photos post trip.

I left work early today as I’m not feeling well — it took me an hour to get home, and this is why.

Normally I don’t bother uploading my photos, but I’m still in awe.  Seeing an accident in person like this makes a real impact.  This happened on Manor @ Palmetto — just a handful of blocks from my house.

From what I gathered, the dump truck was half way up Manor, lost it’s brakes and careened into the intersection.

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Driving a convertible car can seriously damage your ears, experts have warned.

Cruising with the top down at speeds of 50-70mph (80-112km/h) exposes the ears to sound levels sometimes nearing those made by a pneumatic drill, they argue.

Long or repeated exposure to this noise of the engine, road, traffic and wind could cause permanent hearing loss, a US meeting of ENT experts was told.

Researchers said convertible drivers should consider wearing some form of ear protection, as motorcyclists do.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8292089.stm

As I postipulated (yes I know its not a real word) a year ago in this previous post — I had (have?) a problem with being obsessed with rotary powered sports cars and this fact was captured for the world to see by Google Earth.  Unfortunately I sold the two older cars before I moved to Pacifica.  I’ve since moved on, but I find myself craving another FC3S.  Hopefully I have enough willpower to resist.

It’s been  a long time since I’ve posted — even longer since I’ve been to the track.. any track.  Even though I didn’t get any seat time, I still had a lot of fun fooling around with my camera and just watching the action unfold at the base of the Corkscrew.

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On Facebook, I found an app that lets you list your past and present cars — I thought that’d be fun, so I dug through my old photos and came up with the long list below.  I couldn’t find photos of my 1990 RX-7 Convertible, so that isn’t listed in there.

I figured my 10th rotary powered car would be an RX-8, and I had decided that I was done with RX-7s, FCs in particular, but here I am posting that I want another.  Though I can claim that it really isn’t all for me..

Someone help me. Oo;;

According to this US News and World Report article, I have a sunny disposition but have lower confidence.  Then again I also have a white car and that means average too.

Red supposedly connotes an aggressive, high-speed personality, while yellow, theoretically, is for folks with sunny dispositions. But survey data show that people who drive red or yellow cars have below-average confidence. And black cars, supposedly a sign of power and elegance, are driven by the most downbeat drivers of all.

read more here.

I thought long and hard about what kind of wheels would really go on a yellow Miata. It was a long and tough decision but I think I found the *perfect* ones.

Ronal Bear wheels! What do you think? Super pimp right?

Well, I did it. The streak is over. I picked up a 2002 Blazing Yellow Mica MX-5 Miata. Seven Mazda RX-7s have come and gone over the past ten or so years. I am keeping the 1995 RX-7 that was owned the original CEO of Napster; Shawn Fanning — so I’m not completely giving up on them. I do still want an RX-8 though.

To preempt any further comments like the one below, I’ve attached a video review that explains why I picked a Miata. It even touches on the stereotype portrayed in the chat log below. Photos are at the very bottom.

7:39:29 PM Me: anyway, im getting a miata
7:39:58 PM Not Me: miatas are cool
7:40:00 PM Not Me: what year?
7:40:11 PM Me: 02
7:40:23 PM Node: nice, what does your boyfriend think about it?
7:40:33 PM Me: harhar

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