Joshua Conner ([info]abunchofrandom) wrote,
@ 2007-03-22 22:33:00
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New car!
The new car!

It's a 2000 Subaru Outback. Don't worry, I took those yellow stickers off.

Also there's a survey inside!

Questions from [info]learntoflyrar:

1. Did I just go there?
Well, the way I asked you to interview me was by saying "Do me!" so I'm pretty sure you did.

2. If I'm baking you cookies, what kind am I making?
Oatmeal chocolate chip, I hope! They're my favorite.

Let me just step back here to mention that even though the cooking world has positively exploded and is evolving in extraordinary ways, some things will never go out of style. One of these things? The Joy of Cooking - don't get the newly updated 75th anniversary JoC, or the original 1931 JoC (which apparently has recipes for cooking, like, weasels and stuff) - I'm talking the standard edition here. While some of the main dish stuff has maybe gone out of style, the desserts (in particular the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and fruit pie recipes, in which she presents separate recipes for making fruit pies with frozen and fresh fruit) and side recipes are excellent.

Okay, moving on. But seriously, that JoC oatmeal chocolate cookie recipe's the best cookie recipe ever. Okay, really, moving on.

3. Who is someone you admire greatly, and why?
Stewart Brand started the Whole Earth Catalog (and the seminal BBS-turned-online community the WELL), jump-started the organic foods movement, wrote one of my favorite books ever, turned me on (when he was guest-editing Kevin Kelly's awesome Cool Tools) to the joys of ultra-light backpacking, and he's trying to make applied history a freaking academic concentration (!!!). This man is amazing. If I could eat dinner with one person, it would be him right after Jesus. 'Nuff said.

4. Would you rather leave an great, lasting impact on the world, or be happy?
I want to say I'd rather leave a lasting impact but if actions speak louder than words it would appear I'd rather be happy, at least at this point. Hopefully I will not have to choose.

5. Congratulations, you are now the mayor of Flagstaff. What's the first law you're going to push? (hypothetical because I know mayors can't just make laws willy nilly)
Oh, man, I'm so painfully ignorant of local politics...I think water is going to be a huge issue in the southwest in the next 25 years and anyone who's not dealing with it now is going to really pay when crunch time comes, so that's what I guess I'd like to see. Also, sustainable energy - not sure how much a city can help/make people do this kind of thing, but at the very least the city buildings could have solar panels on them. Flagstaff is wide open to the south, and lord knows we get enough sun.

Okay, now it's your turn. Post a comment and I'll ask you five questions.

(Post a new comment)


[info]lizzibee
2007-03-23 06:57 am UTC (link)
You lucky dog! Outbacks rule!
(I guess "lucky" isn't the right word-- unless you pulled it out of a Cracker Jack box...)

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:26 pm UTC (link)
Thanks, I'm excited. Should I ask you five questions or not so much?

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[info]lizzibee
2007-03-23 04:49 pm UTC (link)
Not so much, but thanks.

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[info]imacontenda
2007-03-23 07:15 am UTC (link)
Personally, I think the stickers give it an added flare of sorts. At any rate, congrats! And drive safely out there!

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:27 pm UTC (link)
Maybe if they were flames that said "2000" and "extra clean." Honestly, I'm regretting not keeping the "extra clean" one a little. It would have been fun to stick it on my butt or something.

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:48 pm UTC (link)
P.S. Do you want the questions?

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:48 pm UTC (link)
P.P.S. Thanks!

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[info]fontosaurus
2007-03-23 11:25 am UTC (link)
Congrats on the new Outback. :-)

Love my Subaru. Going to replace it with...another Subaru. (When the time comes.)

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:29 pm UTC (link)
Nice. You were doing some aftermarket stuff to your WRX, weren't you?

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[info]fontosaurus
2007-03-23 03:36 pm UTC (link)
Yep...so far, it's just a boost gauge, heated seats, and a catback exhaust. This year, I'm thinking sway bars, a cold-air ram, and improved spark plugs (iridium-tipped) and a new wiring harness. In 2008? Headers to open up the exhaust through the whole system, and sound baffles to reduce the exhaust noise inside the car. (Because holy shit, even the cat back is pretty loud.)

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Is it all performance stuff, or does some of it kick up the gas mileage too? I know next-to-nothing about pimping rides, but I've heard my Outback only gets like 20 mpg, which is pretty rough.

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[info]fontosaurus
2007-03-23 03:48 pm UTC (link)
The best way to improve mileage is to do two things:

1. Improve fuel burning.
2. Improve exhaust.

The more exhaust you can clear out, the cleaner a burn you'll get. The catback has bumped me almost 20% on MPG and has added about 20hp. Downside to it, though, is that it's fucking loud.

To improve fuel burning, you'll want hotter, more efficient spark plugs, and more air going into the engine. A cold-air intake is one of the cheapest mods you can make (~$200) and will improve your power by 5-10hp and will bump gas mileage up a bit. (I've heard quotes around 10%.) Not sure about the effects of iridium-tipped spark plugs, but I'm sure it'll tweak it a bit.

Also? The most important thing you can do for MPG? Make sure your tire pressure is set to the range specified in the owners' manual. (Can also be found on the doorframe on the driver's side of your Subaru.)

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[info]learntoflyrar
2007-03-23 01:37 pm UTC (link)
Congratulations! Subarus are great cars I've heard.

I read a memoir of sorts about a girl who made it her goal to pretty much cook everything in The Joy Of Cooking in a year. Aside from her pretty much shoving politics down your throat towards the end, it's a pretty good read. Let me just say though, it's pretty crazy because a lot of recipes called for bone marrow. (I think, something from inside a bone)

Also, go ahead and ask me some questions, I'm a big girl now.

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-23 03:47 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! and I think you're thinking about this book, which is about cooking every recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Anyway, questions!

1. What's one thing you wish everyone knew about interior design?

2. You're stuck on a desert island with 5 CD's. Which ones are they?

3. Everyone has 15 minutes of fame. When was yours?

4. Everyone's annoying sometimes. Why are you?

5. What's your favorite body part and why?

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[info]learntoflyrar
2007-03-23 04:56 pm UTC (link)
That's the book, I get confused about stuff all the time. :(

1. What's one thing you wish everyone knew about interior design?

Most people tend to think it's all about just picking colors and that's it. They don't seem to get that a designer has to work with just about everyone involved in the project in order to create an effective design (especially for an office area). Also, there's a good chance that the designer is the one to get blamed if something doesn't work out. If it's a wall in a wrong area it most certainly isn't the architects because all architects seem to think they are god and can do no wrong. (Disclaimer: this could just be the ones I know)

2. You're stuck on a desert island with 5 CD's. Which ones are they?

Consent to treatment- Blue October
Sam's town- the killers
celebrity
continuum- john mayer
and then a mixed cd with all the other random favorites of mine.

3. Everyone has 15 minutes of fame. When was yours?

I was six, at the time we were living in Sacremento and the elementary school I went to had this afterschool program, it might have been for gifted kids I don't know. (it was like school after school). Anyways, one day the teacher made up write short stories and I wrote about our cat who had just gotten spayed. Apparently she submitted the stories to this contest thing, and it was published in a book. That book is somewhere in a footlocker my mom has filled with just about everything from mine and my brother's childhood. (I FOUND TEETH ONCE OMG)

4. Everyone's annoying sometimes. Why are you?

I'm forgetful. And sometimes I'll go along with a joke too much and then it's not really funny anymore. I'll say completely random things at times, don't know why, they tend to just pop out. Occasionally I act like I'm twelve.

5. What's your favorite body part and why?

My own or someone elses? Anyways, I like shoulders on people. They're a small part of the body but they can be so strong, and you see people using their shoulder to open blocked doors and whatnot.

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(Anonymous)
2007-03-23 04:05 pm UTC (link)
Nice Car. Nice Questions.
--Kevin

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[info]abunchofrandom
2007-03-24 03:57 pm UTC (link)
Thank you, and thank YOU!

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[info]jamesaach
2007-03-24 08:05 pm UTC (link)
FYI: Stewart Brand has also recently endorsed the book Rad Decision: http://RadDecision.blogspot.com . It's sort of an outgrowth of his article "Environmental Heresies" ( http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/14406/ )

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