Some random thoughts

I haven’t taken the time to put together a decent blog post lately, so I’ll honor that trend with the following:

PowerBars: There are way too many flavors and varieties. I can’t remember which ones I like and my latest purchase resulted in a not so palatable choice. By the time I get through the double box from Sam’s Club and go shopping for more I won’t remember what flavor to avoid.

Tostito’s Baked Scoops: Yum. Totally worth it.

My car: The TT is getting an alignment this week after completing a clutch job that stretched out over the last month. I’ve promised I’ll drive it more this summer. First two events are scheduled – April 25 our local club has a southern Indiana fun run and the end of April sees a 4 day event near Gatlinburg, Tennessee called quattro de Mayo.

Kiva.org: A great place to lend and re-lend money to entrepreneurs looking to improve themselves and their community. Trouble is – Kiva is so popular there are times when there are too many lenders and not enough loans available to fund. “Look, I got money to spend in here.”

HDMI/HDCP: Apparently, my 4 year old DLP TV is outdated. I can’t get my components to display content via HDMI cable because of HDCP issues. It needs to establish a handshake, according to the knowledge base found via Google search. Time for a new TV – awww shucks.

Accomplishment: Screens scrubbed and windows washed on a recent spring-like day. I love clean windows. (Rather, I love the instant gratification that cleaning windows provides.) I also cleaned the glass doors on the fireplace with a nice result.

Letting go: It doesn’t hurt so bad to let some things go and learn how to give. It’s like ripping off a band-aid. After resisting because of an imaginary excrucitating pain, living without that protective cover can actually speed the healing and promise renewal. (OK, so that was a stretch to say the least!)

Honesty: I guess it still exists. Tried to purchase tires for Laura’s Saturn Vue at Tire Barn and the sales guy said I don’t need tires. Well – OK.

Work: I’m trying my best to avoid that point where too much work + putting out fires + contstant distractions = mistakes and decreased quality. When do I ask for help?

And – Did you know a wooden clothes pin can be used as a chip clip?

Car Cache

Haven’t blogged in a while so I thought I’d share the day’s activity. On late notice, a group of about 30 Audi and VW enthusiasts gathered this morning at epWerks, a local tuning shop owned by Ian Baas. Since the weather today was ghastly, we chose to stay inside and socialize, enjoying the goodies on display in the shop lobby and checking out what vehicles were in various states of undress on the shop floor.

The group then proceeded to a non-descript garage on the northwest side of Indianapolis containing a treasure trove of vehicles to drool over. I certaintly don’t know the makes / models / years of these cars, I only know they are enjoyable to look at and have many stories to tell if you could roll back the odometer like a time machine. I think I heard someone say “Is this heaven?” Yes, this place was pretty close. Great to see all the smiles and joy among those participating. All photos here.

I’ve been Damplified! (Sound Deadener added to Audi TT.)

Regarding my last post about taking my time getting this sound deadener installed, I’m happy to report I finished the job this evening. Along with helping another TT owner install a boost gauge over the weekend, we worked on adding the sound absorbing “skin” to the area from just behind the front seats all the way back to the hatch latch. Since we did not finish, I spent the last 3 evenings after work cutting and laying out pieces to fit around the various curves and bends in the sheet metal. Before I put it all back together, I cleaned the rear seat bench and backs and vacuumed the heavy felt underlayment.

Since daylight has been disappearing much earlier lately, I did not take the TT out for a drive, I’ll save the satisfaction of a quiter cabin for another day. Ahh, the great feeling of completing a job well done.

Sound proofing procrastination

Those who know me understand my passion for taking things apart. I try to find excuses to do so any time I can. I especially like to take apart my car (the Audi TT). Thankfully I’ve developed a 95% success rate for being able to put everything back together without any parts left over. 

Most recently, I have taken out the rear seat and seat backs, the spare tire, the trim around the rear hatch . . . well, everything from the front seats back. This in preparation for sound proofing with a special sound-absorbing product called Damplifier from Second Skin Audio. I’m not doing this install because I’m looking to improve the audio quality in the cabin, I’m doing it mainly because there is a certain amount of road noise inherent with any car – and with my TT I have just completed installing a 3″ downpipe to finish off my custom exhaust system. It’s not too loud, I simply want to dampen the road and exhaust noise that does make it into the passenger compartment. 

So I’m done with the fun, taking out all that stuff to get to the bare metal. Now it gets complicated which leads to why I’m procrastinating. It looks daunting from here! I have a box of 12″ x 18″ flat sheets of the Damplifier material looking at me every time I walk through the garage; it has adhesive backing to secure it to the metal. You have to cut it just so, place it and then roll it out with a small wooden or rubber roller in it’s final home. I suppose I’ll create paper templates based on the complex surfaces that I need to cover, then cut the material to size. That’ll test my patience for sure but the payoff is when I get to put everything back together and enjoy my sense of accomplishment.