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Oops. Forgot to get on the diary, din't I? Well, updates will be forthcoming. The holidays have happened. It is January. There is much to say. Like 50 things. I'll just pick a couple from the Big List I jotted down for now.

On the 27th, my father and I are going to the Vette Dyno Day at Speedworks in Lewisville. Should be fun and informative and a good chance for us to meet some of the other Vette owners on Corvette.com Forums. I've finally succeeded in getting my father interested in A) the internet (via Corvette.com Forums), and B) upgrading/modifying his pride & joy.

The 454 site is going oh so slow. More updates to come soon. I've had a blast blasting down the local roads but now the shift linkage is too loose to make the 1st to 2nd shift anything more than a big hassle. So that will be fixed first at the shop. Beyond that, the bike is doing very well, and the various cosmetic mods I've made have the thing looking very sharp and very nice. I also lowered the handlebars to give it a sportier demeanor. No doubt about it, driven fast, this thing is fast, even without the full tuneup it really needs soon. I've popped a couple of wheelies, but I'm going to stop that until the front forks/seals can be looked at and adjusted. It's just a great rush to get on the throttle hard. The engine sound gets serious real fast and things start zooming and in a few seconds 70 mph. Love the wind.

School starts in 9 days. It will actually be a big relief to get into school, whereas, I have to admit (in shame), I felt a little relief when things didn't work out last fall.

I hate my job. Actually, the job is fine. Two things though. The hours (precluding school if I stay) and the coworkers. Mostly the coworkers. I'll tell about Lisa some other day.

The Stealth is in the shop yet again. Having the clutch (yes, the racing clutch) rebuilt. It's a centerforce and it was slipping, although it slipped way differently than the RX-7 clutch does so I wasn't sure what the problem was. In other news, we got the electrical system all fixed last week so it wouldn't strand me anymore. Also, 4 tires for the Stealth will cost over $1000. Also, after the electrical system was fixed, the suspension got a lot more practical. It's still jarring, sometimes nauseating, but it at least doesn't want to rattle your fillings loose like before. You see, the suspension is electrically adjustable, three settings, the softest being "extremely firm and controlled" and the hardest being "completely unforgiving, bone-jarring, ZERO body roll, race car-like". After the electrical system was fixed, I was able to change the setting. But, I was only able to change it one time before it stopped working again... luckily it's on soft now. It's still firmer than every, I mean every other car I've ever ridden in and that includes Dr. Warren's Porsche 911 Turbo. I may have the garage adjust some manual settings while they're fixing the clutch next week. Not sure. This thing is already quickly depleting my financial resources. I will say that when the clutch gets fixed, I think I'll finally have a handle on how to get the most out of the turbochargers. They really do explode once they hit 14 psi, it's just that that's about the point the clutch gives up right now. Also, the steering IS lighter, and IS powered (yuck), but it's also VERY quick. By that I mean not much steering wheel movement is needed to make the car turn. Together with the lightness and the power and the fact that the car doesn't understeer one bit, you can really get into trouble with the steering wheel.

Anyways, I'm back in the RX-7 where I belong. I love that car. It's better in every way. The power is so much more direct and exciting. And you can actually hear the engine rather than just the road and wind noise. Engine noise: good. Tire/road and wind noise: bad.

Okay, enough for this day. More later, I think I got most of the car and bike things out of the way today, hmh, didn't plan it that way...