quote:

---

Originally posted by Tau Zero:
(6 cylinders/24 valves isn't enough for me, I may be adding twin turbochargers as soon as this weekend.)

---

Can you fit turbos into an SHO? Off the top of my head I can think of four other cars available with twin-turbo DOHC sixes: Mitsu 3000 GT VR-4; Toyota Supra Turbo; and my personal faves, the Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo and the Skyline GT-R (and especially the V-Spec model).

Everything but the Skyline can be had for a very reasonable price these days since the bottom fell out of the Japanese sports car market here.

quote:

---

Originally posted by supaboy:
Can you fit turbos into an SHO

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sri Lumpa:

I was reading while walking before, but I stopped when I came in England (too dangerous for pedestrians, they drive like in Paris here).[/B]

---

Back in my Albany youth, I used to jaywalk across the street while reading, sometimes holding my hand up, palm out, to stop cars, sometimes just stopping on the white line to let cars pass me, then continuing. I never looked up, but did flick my eyes sideways. Used to drive my mother wild ...

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tau Zero:
I told myself I could control it and let myself get into paperbacks, but now I've gotten hooked by the hard stuff.  Do you have any idea how EXPENSIVE it is?  I won't even get into signed editions...

---

He he.
Thats why I work for Baker & Taylor.
We are a book Wholeseller that supplies little companies, like Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, Brooklyn Pub Library.

can we say 44% employee discount... I can
Not to mention freebies and uncorrected proofs (that I can get sometime a month before the books release... but thats rare.)

P.S. I need some suggestions on more books to read. I've read every good series/author I can think of.
I like sci-fi/fantasy (go figure)
Picking at random is'nt working (you would be supprised at the number of BAD sci-fi there is out there).

Chris DeBlass

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tau Zero:
[QUOTE]Given that the increased power would require a better clutch, stronger transmission, firmer suspension... I'm doing a somewhat more comprehensive upgrade.

---

Heh... I spent a couple hours on Independence Day installing my new Brembo cryo-treated rotors and Porterfield R4S carbon-kevlar brake pads. Yow! They work fine for regular street use, but get 'em just a little bit warm and they bite like mad dogs! Turbo and non-turbo 300ZXes are built almost identically, so I'm not in immediate danger of overpowering my non-turbo car's chassis.

quote:

---

(And yes, I found something which is more to my liking than a Mitsu 3000 GT.)

---

Porsche 911 Turbo? I didn't know if they were single or twin-turbos. Perfect excuse to surf the web for Porsche tech info & beauty shots.

quote:

---

Originally posted by supaboy:
Porsche 911 Turbo?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by unstable_boy:
P.S. I need some suggestions on more books to read. I've read every good series/author I can think of.
I like sci-fi/fantasy (go figure)
Picking at random is'nt working (you would be supprised at the number of BAD sci-fi there is out there).

Chris DeBlass

---

Favorite sf and fantasy authors and series:

David Weber, I read everything he does automatically. Ditto for Lois McMaster Bujold. The 'friend' who gave me a copy of my first Weber and Bujold books cracked, "First hit is free." They've both addicted me.

Harry Turtledove: his alternate history series, especially. Worldwar, Colonization, The Great War

Niven and Pournelle. I greatly enjoyed The Burning City, their latest, and have liked about everything they've ever written, jointly or seperately.

Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon makes me want to read his other works.

Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio looks interesting, but I haven't read it yet.

Clarke and Baxter's Light of Other Days is much better than I'd hoped ( I gave it five stars at Amazon)

Elizabeth Moon's Once a Hero and Rules of Engagement are outstanding. The other four books in the series, Hunting Party, Sporting Chance, Winning Colors, and Change of Command don't live up to those two, but are OK.

Laurell K. Hamilton's series about Anita Blake, licensed vampire hunter in a society like ours, but with magic working reliably, is very good. Start with Guilty Pleasures, the first, and read them in order, because Blake's life changes considerably during them.

Rita Mae Brown is a 'mainstream' author, but I liked her Riding Shotgun, which deals with a women who goes foxhunting and ends up in colonial times (apparently, the definition of mainstream has changed a bit in recent years). I've liked a couple of others of hers I've read too.

Diana Gabledon's Outlander series are the first books I ever bought from the "Romance" section. Given that they involve time travel, the same comment applies as with Brown.

I intend to read 1632 as soon as the library gets me a copy.

Of course, you are reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, aren't you, and previously devoured the other three books in the series (I must confess I haven't started Goblet, but only because my copy won't arrive till tommorow (Thurs.).

Joan Vinge's The Snow Queen, Gordon Dickson's The Alien Way, L. Sprague De Camp's Lest Darkness Fall, and James H. Scmitz's The Witches of Karres would be on my list of the best sf/fantasy novels ever published, possibly in the top four spots.

That's all I can think of in the sf field now. You like mysteries?

I'm up on you a little; just got a copy of HP4 today. Barnes and Ignoble said they ran the warehouse dry as of 4:30 Saturday, and the usual suspects were bone dry. Today, I stopped by the local children's bookstore, and asked them when they'd be restocked. She didn't answer that question, but they had the bood. List price, I don't mind.

Haven't gotten very far just yet, but it promises to be fun. Dark, but fun.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tau Zero:
My experience with the Yamaha motor in the SHO left me leaning toward the East for drivetrain components.

---

Won't argue there! :-)

quote:

---

Next week, I might be driving a Dodge Stealth R/T AWD Turbo. From the power figures, it should stay ahead of everything American except for late-model Corvettes... and it has 4 seats! The 3000GT sort of offended my practical side that way. Stay tuned.

---

The 3000GT and the Stealth are the same car with different badges, and a couple other plastic bits. They're part of the same agreement between Dodge and Mistubishi (Diamond Star Motors) that also brought us the Mitsu Eclipse, Plymouth Laser, and Eagle Talon, and the Dodge Colt and whatever the Mitsu model of that car was.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Saintonge:
No, I wouldn't be surprised at the number of Bad SF & Fantasy authors. "90% of SF is crap."

---

quote:

---

Favorite sf and fantasy authors and series:
...
Ditto for Lois McMaster Bujold.
...
Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon makes me want to read his other works.
...
Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio looks interesting, but I haven't read it yet.

---

I second the recommendation for Lois McMaster Bujold.  Read anything with Miles Vorkosigan in it.  Start with The Warrior's Apprentice or The Mountains of Mourning and work from there.  You will not be disappointed.

Darwin's Radio is on my shelf, waiting for me to get a couple more round tuits.  Bear's other books have been excellent; he finds great ways to destroy the Earth - in a wonderfully up-beat manner!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Petethelate:
Niven and Pournelle have a new one, eh? Must spend money...

---

The Burning City is set in Niven's "Warlock" universe. A sequel of sorts, The Burning Tower, has been sold, and will be set in Aztec Mexico, where Quetzacoatl and Jaguar rule. If you go to Jerry's website, there's more info, plus a link to Amazon.

I remember the night in about 1981 they came into LASFS (the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society) pumped from having just sold Oath of Fealty.

quote:

---

I'm up on you a little; just got a copy of HP4 today.

---

With any luck, only a little. According to the tracking info, the package arrived at the airport at 5:25 local time, so I expect to get it today (and the library justed e-mailed they have five books on hold for me; thank God reading is legal, 'cause I'm addicted).

------------------
Saintonge

Now I'm a reasonable man ...

along with the stack of other linux related books growing in my room.

But thanks for the suggestions I am placing some orders now (I might be gettting a better job so I need to milk this one while I can)

Chris "Unstable Boy" DeBlass

P.S. Just finish watching Junkyard Wars[1] that I taped off of TLC. Now is that a geeky show or what (I loved it)

quote:

---

Originally posted by Saintonge:
I still say you're a wimp. The little asphalt strips are plenty straight enough, most places, to get considerable reading done, and you check the road between sentences.

---

I refer you to a Darwin Award runner-up in 1992 or 1993 (link says 1992, the story says 1993):

Deadly Reading Habits
1993 Darwin Awards Runner-Up
Confirmed True by Darwin

quote:

---

Originally posted by Saintonge:
Lois McMaster Bujold

---

Harry Turtledove
His "Worldwar" series looks very good, but unfortunately I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I haven't seen anything else by him.

(Update: I have now! Didn't get a chance to look at it though.)

Niven and Pournelle
Oh yes. I don't remember anything by these two that I've disliked (although some of their individual efforts are less satisfying).

Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio
Haven't seen that one, but I do like his stuff as a rule. I didn't think Legacy lived up to Eon and Eternity, though (it's set in the same universe). OTOH I thought The Forge of God and The Anvil of Stars (hmmm, is that right? I think so) were quite impressive, although personally I can't imagine a useful mathematics without integers...

Some of my other favourite authors:
Isaac Asimov - I'd have to rate him as my all-time favourite.
Terry Pratchett (of course)
Douglas Adams
Greg Egan - some of the most mind-stretching fiction I've ever read. I particularly loved Diaspora, and Permutation City was pretty good too. But I'll definitely read anything of his... I need to buy a copy of Diaspora one day soon.
Tolkien - not for everyone.
Arthur C. Clarke
Michael Crichton (not too well researched at times, but always an interesting read)
Frederik Pohl
Roger Zelazny (I like some of his stuff, but not all)
Lots with surnames starting with B, for some reason: Benford, Brin, Bova, Baxter and Bear (okay, I mentioned Bear above...).
Harry Harrison

Um... there are probably lots of others I can't think of off-hand. It depends quite a bit on what kind of sf/fantasy you prefer, anyway. There are a couple of authors I've only ever seen one book from - one was Geary Gravel; I can't remember the book's title (this was many years ago now), but I absolutely loved it, and I wish I could find it again, or anything else by him. As I recall it was along the lines of "man is transported to alien culture" but done in a truly excellent fashion. The other was "Primary Inversion" by someone starting with A - I *think* Catherine Attanasio, but ICWBW. (I remember that name, but it might be from a different book.) OK story, nice sf elements, especially the drive (although I think Zelazny's idea of pilots having to construct mathematical proofs and mappings to navigate is the all-time coolest one I've seen). You might also want to check out people like Stanislaw Lem.

Ah, prone to understatement, are we?

I read his first, Andromeda Strain and found it interesting. Terminal Man was OK. Don't recall reading Westworld, but I saw the movie. Lots of holes, but that's Hollywood.

My opinion of him dropped like a rock when I read Congo, which covere topics I know pretty well. A couple of howlers in here: The batteries used at the campsite use some exotic mix of chemicals, including Krylon. Er, that's a paint!

The image manipulation scene used a lot of cute buzzwords, but not much else.

One of the reasons for the trip was to search for diamonds. These were supposed to make absolutely wonderful semiconductors. Er, materials as found haven't been relevant to electronics since the Galena crystal days. Also, diamond isn't that great of a semiconductor. Good insulator, though.

Aside from the fact that natural materials For several months, I was running meetings in a local bookstore. Before and after, got to talk with an older guy who was clerking there. We came to the conclusion that Michael Crichton is great at buzzwords, but that's about it.

Rather spoils the effect for me.

Ian: Hey, guess what guys! Even though I was dead and buried at the end of the last book, they noticed I was still twitching before they nailed the box shut so I'm back!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Section 8:
Ian: Hey, guess what guys! Even though I was dead and buried at the end of the last book, they noticed I was still twitching before they nailed the box shut so I'm back!

Argh. Yeah, right.

---

Lucky for him, I guess; not very good for us though. Following the trend of "it's an OK read if it doesn't go into your area", the mathematical bits he had Malcolm spouting spoiled things quite a bit for me in both Jurassic Park and The Lost World. And yes, I couldn't believe that he brought Malcolm back for the sequel - in such a lame fashion, too. Some people will do anything to avoid having to think up a new character, I guess...