A friend of mine is looking at buying a used E36 M3 (probably a '98) and he found one in pretty good condition locally so we went test driving the other day. The car was extremely well taken care of, although it had close to 80K miles. I was very impressed with the E36 M3 engine, it was very smooth (didn't feel like a 6 year old engine with 80K miles) and extremely free revving. The car was a lot of fun and definitely felt more balanced than some of the newer cars in terms of having an appropriate amount of power/torque for its handling setup (unlike the 350Z). Unfortunately the rear tires on the car were completely worn so it didn't handle as well as it should have, but with a fresh set of rears it could be a very fun car. My only complaint about the car? The clutch felt heavier than any clutch I've ever used. It was a strange sort of heavy feeling though, an almost artificial heavy - although my friend tells me that a simple clutch stop will help a bit as some of the clutch travel on the E36 M3 is apparently unnecessary.
I'm a pretty big car nut (if you haven't been able to tell) and have been lucky enough to at least try a handful of interesting vehicles over the past several years. A couple of months ago I found myself with the opportunity to drive a Cayenne Turbo, and I got a second experience behind the wheel of one a few days ago. I'm not a fan of big cars at all, much less SUVs. I've said before than the new Elise is something I'm definitely looking forward to seeing and I can see the Elise being one of the most fun cars to drive. The Cayenne Turbo is at the exact opposite of the car spectrum from the Elise; weighing in at close to 6,000 pounds it's not exactly my cup of tea. That being said, it is a very impressive car/SUV/brick/whateveryouwanttocallit. The power delivery is extremely smooth, the turbos are laggy but they kick in very smoothly and deliver a well controlled surge of the 450HP that bi-turbo V8 produces. It's not pin-you-in-your-seat acceleration, but it's pass-everyone acceleration that the Cayenne Turbo offers, which is exactly what its target market wants. The peppermobile handles very well for a 2 ton SUV, it's no 911 but it's no Expedition either. The Cayenne seems to be saving Porsche's butt now that their sports cars aren't selling well, hopefully that'll translate into more interesting 911s and Boxsters in the next couple of years.
While Vinney was down here on her Spring Break we went to go see Starsky and Hutch. I'd never seen the original series (not even reruns), but the movie had its moments and made me laugh enough to recommend it. We also used her break to watch a movie that neither of us had seen but both of us had heard a ton about: Scarface.
Now I loved Godfather I & II (not only is it cool to hate Part III, but I also genuinely hate it, go figure) and I thought Pacino did a good job in the entire trilogy so how could we go wrong with Scarface? Believe it or not but I hadn't actually ever heard the story behind Scarface so I went into the movie not knowing anything about it. The quality of the DVD was quite impressive, you'd be hard pressed to tell that it was originally filmed in the 1980s (other than the clear 1980s themes in the movie). The actual movie was pretty bad though. It even had the classic 80s music montage in the middle of the movie, now I did not expect that even though it was made in the 80s (remember future filmmakers: popular doesn't always mean good). The story was interesting but lacked development in so many areas. Manny (good friend since middle school) summarized the movie best: "it's basically Godfather squeezed into one movie." And that's exactly what it is, with definite [negative] influences from the 1980s. There was enough to make fun of about the movie that it was worth watching though.
Scarface and Pirates of the Caribbean were the two movies we bought while she was down here (I've got a ton of Best Buy Reward Zone certificates :)...) and thus starts our DVD collection together. I've made some bad DVD purchases in the past, so hopefully starting with a clean slate will give me a chance to learn from my mistakes :) Care to share your worst DVD titles? I'll start: when I first got my DVD player the only DVDs Best Buy carried were Austin Powers, Double Team and Playboy DVDs. I already had Austin Powers and I'm not big on porn so yes, I bought Double Team. For those of you who don't remember, that's the movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dennis Rodman. Needless to say, Scarface was a better movie :) Now it's your turn.
Just over a month left of my undergraduate career, I'm beginning to see the light at the end of this poorly taught tunnel. I'm going to start blogging about education soon...
Take care and sleep well.
I'm a pretty big car nut (if you haven't been able to tell) and have been lucky enough to at least try a handful of interesting vehicles over the past several years. A couple of months ago I found myself with the opportunity to drive a Cayenne Turbo, and I got a second experience behind the wheel of one a few days ago. I'm not a fan of big cars at all, much less SUVs. I've said before than the new Elise is something I'm definitely looking forward to seeing and I can see the Elise being one of the most fun cars to drive. The Cayenne Turbo is at the exact opposite of the car spectrum from the Elise; weighing in at close to 6,000 pounds it's not exactly my cup of tea. That being said, it is a very impressive car/SUV/brick/whateveryouwanttocallit. The power delivery is extremely smooth, the turbos are laggy but they kick in very smoothly and deliver a well controlled surge of the 450HP that bi-turbo V8 produces. It's not pin-you-in-your-seat acceleration, but it's pass-everyone acceleration that the Cayenne Turbo offers, which is exactly what its target market wants. The peppermobile handles very well for a 2 ton SUV, it's no 911 but it's no Expedition either. The Cayenne seems to be saving Porsche's butt now that their sports cars aren't selling well, hopefully that'll translate into more interesting 911s and Boxsters in the next couple of years.
While Vinney was down here on her Spring Break we went to go see Starsky and Hutch. I'd never seen the original series (not even reruns), but the movie had its moments and made me laugh enough to recommend it. We also used her break to watch a movie that neither of us had seen but both of us had heard a ton about: Scarface.
Now I loved Godfather I & II (not only is it cool to hate Part III, but I also genuinely hate it, go figure) and I thought Pacino did a good job in the entire trilogy so how could we go wrong with Scarface? Believe it or not but I hadn't actually ever heard the story behind Scarface so I went into the movie not knowing anything about it. The quality of the DVD was quite impressive, you'd be hard pressed to tell that it was originally filmed in the 1980s (other than the clear 1980s themes in the movie). The actual movie was pretty bad though. It even had the classic 80s music montage in the middle of the movie, now I did not expect that even though it was made in the 80s (remember future filmmakers: popular doesn't always mean good). The story was interesting but lacked development in so many areas. Manny (good friend since middle school) summarized the movie best: "it's basically Godfather squeezed into one movie." And that's exactly what it is, with definite [negative] influences from the 1980s. There was enough to make fun of about the movie that it was worth watching though.
Scarface and Pirates of the Caribbean were the two movies we bought while she was down here (I've got a ton of Best Buy Reward Zone certificates :)...) and thus starts our DVD collection together. I've made some bad DVD purchases in the past, so hopefully starting with a clean slate will give me a chance to learn from my mistakes :) Care to share your worst DVD titles? I'll start: when I first got my DVD player the only DVDs Best Buy carried were Austin Powers, Double Team and Playboy DVDs. I already had Austin Powers and I'm not big on porn so yes, I bought Double Team. For those of you who don't remember, that's the movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dennis Rodman. Needless to say, Scarface was a better movie :) Now it's your turn.
Just over a month left of my undergraduate career, I'm beginning to see the light at the end of this poorly taught tunnel. I'm going to start blogging about education soon...
Take care and sleep well.
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K1avg - Thursday, March 25, 2004 - link
Sorry, but complaining about a Bimmer's clutch just doesn't get it for me.You don't know a heavy clutch and stiff tranny until you come here and drive my 1993 GMC Sierra. 265K miles - ORIGINAL clutch and transmission.
<MUTTER>Bimmer...You people disgust me. :P</MUTTER>
daniel - Thursday, March 25, 2004 - link
if yer into odd cars that push design...check out smart cars
http://www.smart.com/-snm-0135155096-1079601675-00...
MaDMaXX - Thursday, March 25, 2004 - link
20-30k miles?!!? - you guys need more corners :Pum, thats loads :)
By the very nature of the beast, a rear wheel drive car will always wear the drive tyres out faster, its to be expected.
Anonymous - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
T-Rex????Anonymous - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
Raptor????msva123 - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
I downloaded Gigli, luckily I had the foresight to burn it to a rewriteable DVD. I still haven't watched it yet.As for the modern educational system, I am so disgusted with it that I dropped out of college last month. Spare me the lectures please, I know I am taking a big risk.
I am planning to make a web site about my disdain for the system as a way to encourage more dialogue about it. Unfortunately right now I am too busy trying to develop a steady source of income to get it started. But I promise when I do put it up that it will be very professional and well-researched, not just an "I hate school" type deal.
Maybe such a site already exists? So far I've only done a quick search and found nothing.
lb - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
I had an '95 M3 for some time. The rear tires wear regardless of how well you treat it, particularly if they are the OEM Michelins. Expect 20k to 30k miles per set even if you NEVER drive it hard. This car has an oddball size so your replacement options are a little more limited than usual. The E36 M3s were great cars -- I have very little negative to say about them. Expect some maintenance costs as you approach 100k miles.Regarding education... it all depends on the school and the attitude of the individual. I have a graduate degree from one of the top 5 electrical engineering schools in the US and that education was top notch. I learned an amazing amount of information, but I also burned out and ended up with a bad attitude before it was all over. After several years of retrospect I realize that the problem was me, not the educational process. My undergrad degree was in physics, which I also believe to be a very worthwhile undertaking although of little practical value on the job market. There isn't a lot of "busywork" in a physics program or an EE graduate program. There is no shortcut to learning physics or engineering, so that may be part of why I think it to be more rewarding than some other fields.
Lately I have been considering trying something new and going into a medical field -- life is too short to only have one career isn't it?
Anand - What are you studying?
Anonymous - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
As for artificially heavy clutched, most e36's have a heavy clutch, including my lowly 93 318i (more than likely have a 95-97 m3 by the end of the year) and even though the worn rear tires may indicated heavy use, check what tires they are, I had a set of yokohama AVS sports go on me in about 12-14,000 kms with spirited driving, anyways, do your research, they are beautiful cars :), and yes, the trannies are great, so great you can put it in any gear you want whenever, just don't make the mistake and over rev the engine into oblivion (it's happened, take a look around the good ol' net :))good luck to your friend, and I would also be interested in knowing what car you drive Anand
me - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
I am looking foward to your thoughts on education. As one who has gone through two schools with two different undergrad degrees, I came out of the experience pretty down on the whole process. Too much wasted time. Too many disinterested people (teachers and students). Anyone who thinks the information revolution has happened has never been to college or most companys. It's a real eye opener. So much information and very few ways to make connections and sift through it all. Therefore everyone is left redoing things that have been thought and done many times before. I thought education was quickly getting up to speed with what has come before than expanding and adding to the body of knowledge. There is so much info that this literally becomes impossible. Time is spent and wasted regurgitating what has already been done and discussed countless times before. As a critical thinking exercise...great. But 4+ years of critical thinking? Or even further...if you get a Phd...25-30 years of education just to get you (maybe) to a point where you can put that knowledge to some applied use. Big picture it's all very lame. Short of jacking in like the Lawnmower Man or Neo, there has to be a better way. I'm not sure what it is, but it will definately involve computers and data processing on a such scale that our constant FPS discussions will seem very quaint in comparison ;-) As you can see I am very down on the whole thing and it depresses me. I think humans beings are capable of great things but we are being bogged down with detail overload. I don't know. Macro/Micro. You could argue both ways equally well. Oh well...my brain hurts...time to go expand my brain with UT2K4Haha </BABBLE>
GhandiInstinct - Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - link
Any bashing of the two sequels can only be directed at WB for being cheap jews.