Leinninger.com

A couple of weekends ago, Gina and I had a last-minute opportunity to spend a few days in Florida. So we did. The weather was awesome and the lodging arrangements were plush to say the least. Then, we came back to Michigan… where it was snowing…

Over the past few weekends, I’ve been able to give my car a little tlc. I installed the Exhaust Gas Temp. gauge (average highway EGTs are ~1300 degrees), replaced the lame nylon boost gauge hose with standard plumbing, and applied ceramic caliper paint while replacing the very aggressive brake pads with fresh, more streetable ones. Someday I might even wash the darn thing!

Gina and I visited the Novi Apple Store on the day of Tiger’s release. We purchased a family pack and won zip at the door. I went back to the store while Gina did some shopping, and turned down another door prize ticket (since I already had my chance)… and the guy behind me was an “instant winner”… so I guess my karma pool gets +1. Tiger is feature rich and smooth. I’ve only upgraded my powerbook as the Cisco VPN client we use at work is not yet compatible with 10.4. So far, the interface is more reponsive and the new features are nice, but that might be attributed to the fresh install. We’ll see what happens when I upgrade my G5.

After completing 2-straight semesters at Wayne State, I’ve decided to take the summer off and regain some sanity. I have 5 classes left and I hope to finish in just over a year. I still stand by my decision to return to school, but dislike it nonetheless.

- Duane

Spring is here in full force. Taking a cue from Brad, I took full advantage of the great weather to get the summer wheels and tires on my WRX, wash the heavily caked brake dust from my calipers, and get the open air filter installed under the hood. I’ve ordered some small exhaust parts to fix a slight exhaust leak as well as some Zaino Brothers car detailing supplies.

This is the final week of the winter semester at Wayne State. I have 2 projects to finish for my “finals,” but they are progressing well. The jury is still out whether or not I’ll be taking classes in the summer… it would help if I could get in contact with my advisor.

- Duane

I’ve long believed that 1984 was a pivotal year… more on that another day. Today I want to mention 1985… or at least the effect of one movie released that year, “Better Off Dead.” Though I didn’t see it until it’s release on video a few years later, one scene in particular has always stuck with me. I call it “the Camaro scene.”

Lane pulls the car out of the garage for the first time while Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” plays (I mistook that for “Hoochie Coochie Man” for the longest time… guess I should watch the movie again soon…) Anyway, I believe that I, at that moment, fell in love with 1.) Camaros and 2.) the blues. Come on, that scene is great… it’s also the reason that Gina loves the Camaro.

I guess I’m a little sleep deprived or something, but I decided that I need to own the version of “Mannish Boy” used during that scene from Waters’ 1977 release Hard Again (re-mastered last year). In looking for more information about that scene, I found a few great websites:

• A site dedicated to “Better Off Dead”
• An entire site dedicated to the car from the film, tracking it down, and restoring it

- Duane

First, let’s start on a happy note. I pimped my G5. For less than a super-sized lunch, I snagged a set of cold cathode lights from ThinkGeek and installed them in my G5. The results are quite stunning.

On Monday, I installed Apple Security Update 2005-003 on my OS X Server. Tuesday night, my father called me to let me know that his email didn’t work. I assumed that it was a hiccup related to rebooting the server following the security update. When I looked into it further, I discovered this was more serious. I rolled back to 10.3.8, with no luck. However, I found this MacFixIt article [google cache], followed the instructions from the Apple Knowledge Base link and viola, Mail is back.

Apparently this is related to an update to the Cyrus mail subsystem. If I’m feeling masochistic tonight, I’ll try re-installing the security update with the cyrus DB fix (above) in place. If it works, I’ll post my success, if it fails, I’ll drown my disappointment in bourbon.

- Duane

One of Gina and my favorite comedians, Mitch Hedberg passed away. Initially, I hoped this was a twisted April Fool’s prank. Gina and I followed Mitch’s career, own a few of his performances on CD, and recorded several of his television appearances. We also had the privilege to see his routine in person a few months ago. The audience was drunk and acting the part. I remember feeling bad that the crowd wasn’t more laid back.

- Duane