Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site - Blogs http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php en Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:44:26 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/ver4/misc/rss.jpg Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site - Blogs http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php What is a Nacarato?? http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=82 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:55:33 GMT I often have people ask me..what is a Nacarato? Some people have thought it was a model of a car, or even a city in Japan. Truth is...its my last name! Given my username with Mike in front would give it away on here, but not so much elseware. It is an Italian name that means "keeper of the fig". That is no lie and every one in my family has a fig tree at their house growing too. Try them, they are yummy!

-Mike

:burnrubber: ]]> mikenacarato http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=82 Tell me about your engine? Do you made some changes? http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=81 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:18:00 GMT I am interesting about making changes in my yaris, but not only exterior also engine :) If you have any changes please tell me what is the best? Ho many more power do you get? I am interesting about making changes in my yaris, but not only exterior also engine :) If you have any changes please tell me what is the best? Ho many more power do you get?
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]]> krzysiekhp http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=81 Aggressive Driving http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=80 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:47:19 GMT Disclaimer - In many States in the US "Aggressive Driving" can lead to tickets, auto accidents, road rages, and hurt feelings.

Don't want to hear from you, your lawyer, your spouse, your pastor, your pets and your own whining mouth if you get busted.

Mindset

The first thing with Aggressive Driving, like practically anything else, is "mindset". It's the state of mind you bring to the game.

The Aggressive Driver is ultimately a selfish driver. You are in it to "get ahead" and go as fast as possible. Other drivers are in the way or behind you. They are obstacles in your path. They do not have feelings. Their needs and wants are completely secondary.

They are like furniture. They are in the way. You must pass by them.

You are obligated by law not to do things like run people off of the road, hit their cars, toss things at their cars or in some way disable their cars. Many other options can work for you.

First and foremost you have to get it into your mind that it's about you. You're going to get from here to there as fast as possible and you don't care who you piss off, frighten, annoy, amuse or irritate to get the job done.

Once you've decided that you're going to get ahead, the rest, as they say, is just the execution. Always remember that it's not personal, they're in your path and it's your job to get around them.

Drills for becoming a selfish oaf

1. If you're accustomed to looking at people look "through" or "around" them. Pretend that they're not there. Do this with strangers so that you don't hurt anyone's feelings.
1. Cut through lines of people, or push through crowds of people. Remember, you're treating them like furniture.
2. Interrupt people while they're speaking.
3. Focus on doing one thing at a time. Spend time mediating or doing some other skill that demands focus. In this way you will learn to ignore the needs of others.
4. While driving honk your horn now and then. Hold down on it.
5. Cultivate a dirty mouth. Cussing makes you hostile and annoys others. It's great practice for retorts when angry drivers catch up to you. Cussing and dirty angry talk are also great for building feelings of aggression towards others.

Rules of Aggressive Driving

Rule 0 - Learn to look around you. When I'm in a "hurry" I'm constantly looking forward, to the side and around me. Just pounding along looking forward is a great way to get into an accident or get nailed with tickets.

Rule 1 - Have the right equipment. A sad assed car that hesitates, has crappy brakes and poor acceleration will not do. Your vehicle should be capable of modest acceleration but should have good brakes and good tires. The suspension and steering should be reasonably "tight" though I've accomplished Aggressive Driving with junk cars.

Acceleration is not as critical as agility. The Yaris one of the most anemic accelerators I've ever driven that wasn't in poor condition. I am still able to cut in and out of traffic, get ahead of "pods" and hold my own against Tuners and many others.

Cars that "attract attention" are not as good as "vanilla" cars that blend in with the scenery. The Yaris is a great car since it screams "economy" and not "aggression".

Rule 2 - Be familiar with your car. If you don't know how well the car steers or brakes you're going to have miscalculations. You're going to be sorry. Take the time to drive the car, steering it and braking it.

Rule 3 - Speed, Timing and Appreciation of Distance are key. Much much more so than brute force acceleration.

Rule 4 - Your average driver is safe and snug in their car. They do not really watch the road or most of the world around them. Normally they pay the absolute minimum amount of attention to avoid an accident. Sometimes they're pre-occupied talking to fellow passengers, on a cell phone, or their minds are far away.

To an Aggressive Driver such people are something to get around and put in their rear view mirror. They are "meat on a plate".

Rule 5 - The Man is looking for you. It's a fact of life, Aggressive Drivers can cause accidents. Police love to bust such drivers.

Rule 6 - Play the percentages. It's not about each encounter or time that you get ahead, it's the over all combination of passes, movements and opportunities that blend to save you time.

In contrast, if you have to slow down for a police speed trap or get stuck behind a juvenile who is having a fit at you, that's part of the game too.

Rule 7 - Don't get into anything that you cannot get back out of. Always have at least one "go to hell plan" for each maneuver.

Rule 8 - Skills trump equipment most of the time. You get skills from practice and you get practice from doing.

The goal is to grow your responses, build your responses and make them "second nature". This will also help you evade accidents, as I've done twice in the last thirty years. No kidding, they work.

As far as the old "equipment" versus "skills" argument, it's a percentages thing; Could me and my subcompact get blown away by some sixteen year old in a new Charger? Yeap. Could they survive ten high speed trips as well as me? Doubt it very much.

Proverbs of Aggressive Driving

"Never let an opportunity get past you" - This means if you can blow through a yellow light, pass someone or in some way get ahead - even if on average all you gain is a quarter mile of extra distance, do it.

Naturally doing something blatantly unsafe is not recommended. It is very hard to get ahead in your Hospital bed and impossible from your grave.

"Take one step back, two steps forward" - Sometimes you have to chill a bit in order to make your breaks. This could be due to a driver who suddenly takes your tactics personally. So you hang back pretending to be "subdued", until they let up and you slip past them. Other times you encounter speed traps or other obstacles that require you to be a good citizen.

"Don't assume nothing" - You don't know what someone is going to do until they do it. That includes the furniture that might be in your way at this moment.

In the end Isaac Newton and not your State Legislature determines what happens. Laws are guidelines and not rules of natural behavior.

"The Marks aren't watching you, the Man might be" - Your average driver on the road, as far as I can tell, isn't paying attention. This cuts both ways. They won't necessarily stop you from getting ahead but they may do something stupid like cut you off, or run into you.

In contrast the Police have an interest in catching you if you do certain things. If they're paying attention. If they're even there.

"Isaac Newton trumps the Legislature - The laws of acceleration and gravity are stronger than traffic laws. This implies that you have freedom to do what you need to do but only so far. There are limits.

"A well timed punch beats windmilling" - Don't sweat people freaking out at you because you're on their ass. Wait 'em out and pass 'em.

Common Tactics

Passing in the right lane - Hey, it's a road, right?

Driving down the shoulder - Hey, it's a road, right?

Following too closely - Objects that appear too close in your mirror may want you get the hell out of their way.

If it Itches, scratch it - sometimes aggression pays off, like when someone gets out of your way to get you off of their ass.

L'Audace, L'Audace, Tujours L'Audace - Going onto the wrong way on divided highways, sneaking down the shoulder to pass on the right and other audacious plans are last ditch methods that can salvage an otherwise hopeless situation.

Countermeasures

"I'll show you" - the adolescent response of some drivers who feel that they're a role model for civility, civilization and all that is good in the world. In other words they get snippy when they think you're going too fast "up their ass".

Such persons will drive ten miles under the limit, swerve back and forth to discourage passing or even speed up if you try to pass them.

Such persons are best "waited out". Such a process takes at most two to three minutes of time, though in rare cases of road rage people will hold grudges for longer periods of time.

Sometimes "backing off" will help, out of sight, out of mind.

The Man - These guys live to bust you. So far I have not been tagged for speeding or aggressive driving. I pick my days, times and battles carefully.

Usually police are creatures of habit. They have definite jurisdictions and areas to police. As as result these two tendencies combine in police "speed traps" being easy to detect. At least I guess so - I never assume anything, right?


In Conclusion

I drive aggressively to save time so I can get to work on time. Most of the time it's exhilarating to win.

We all have to make our decisions. I'm growing more inclined to leave ten minutes earlier and take my time. Save my ass. ]]> GeneW http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=80 Radar Detectors http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=79 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:20:31 GMT Disclaimers:

1. Radar Detectors are legal in all fifty states but Virginia for personal use. There are also some municipalities which ban the use of detectors.

2. Using Radar Jammers to prevent Law Enforcement from measuring the speed of your car is a Federal crime. Don't bother.

3. Excessive speed reduces reaction time required to respond to on road events. Excessive speed also increases the energy of impact. Excessive speed is probably illegal in your locale.

On the other hand, Law Enforcement agencies have used speed enforcement as a ca$h cow.

I bitterly resent extremely low speed limits which are clearly designed to catch unaware drivers in order to dump fine money into the local treasury. When you're going along a road that is rated at 45 miles an hour and run into a 25 mile an hour area - without children, factory entrances or other reasonable needs for such a speed - you're in a speed trap.

We have them in abundance in my local area since the Steel Mills closed and locale municipalities have turned to speed traps to make up revenue. What these nimrods have done instead is discourage visitors and future business from setting up there.

In addition, our Governor - Ed Rendell - enjoys driving well over 100 miles an hour on the PA Turnpike. Gov. Rendell continues to press the PA State Police to fine proles like myself in order to boost his revenue so he can piss it away on vote buying schemes. Sorry, its one law for everyone, not one for the Governor and one for the common trash.

Buying a radar detector, using it responsibly, and being able to get from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time in a safe manner is part of my Civic Responsibility.

By offering this advice I am not counseling you in how to speed excessively. I may be helping you to free yourself from Tyrants, Greedy Poverty Pimps and vote buying whores like my State's current "governor".

History

Radar is an acronym. It stands for RAdio Detection and Ranging.

Radar was developed during World War II for use in detecting aircraft and ships. Since that time its use has expanded to guiding air craft and missiles, detecting incoming objects, mapping planets, mapping the Earth, detecting intruders, opening "automatic" doors and law enforcement purposes.

We'll be focusing on Law Enforcement purposes though intrusion detection and automatic door opening is VERY important to note because these two latter uses will confuse a radar detector. In my experience my detector has seen dozens of door openers and burglar alarms for every bona fide police radar unit.

Note: Recently Law Enforcement has been using laser range and speed detectors. These devices work great for catching speeders. A good radar detector can also cope with these devices if it is also equipped to detect laser pulses.

First Principles

1. You get what you pay for. Always buy the best detector that you can afford. I use a Beltronics RX-65 detector. I would have purchased an Beltronics STi because of their immunity to current Radar Detector detectors, but I could not afford it.

2. Place the detector in the best location, as advised by the manual or by a reputable authority. I place mine on the left hand side of the windshield just above the instrument cluster. In this location the detector can obtain both radar and laser signals. I can also snatch it off the windshield in a hurry if I am nailed by police in order to reduce their hostility.

3. Use your head! Know the limitations of radar and the realities of radar. Know what your detector can and cannot do. I'll go over these shortly.

I'm not a lawyer nor a police officer. I am an Engineering Technician who has an FCC license with ship's radar endorsement. I also have a minor in Electromagnetism, which means I know a little bit about electromagnetic things such as radar.

The proof is in the eating; since I acquired a radar detector I have not been busted for speeding.

Realities of Radar

In a perfect world radar signals go in straight lines and do not expand in area. In a perfect world the radar is pointed head on at the target and accurately reports the target's speed to the operator.

Change any of these assumptions and things do not work as advertised.

We don't live in a perfect world. We often abstract principles from an ideal world and apply them to the real world. The challenge in life is to know when the ideal assumptions are not working because they are ideal and that you must dig deeper to discover newer and better assumptions.

In the real world Police cannot normally shoot their radars straight at you. Since their job is to catch you they have to be off road or above the road. In either case the beam will strike you "obliquely". Unless compensated for this "oblique" shine will cause a different reported speed from the real speed.

What is nice about this oblique angle is that the radar signals will bounce about, perhaps in the direction where your detector might locate them "early".

In the real world radar signals can scatter, bounce or be reflected off of moving objects. This scattering will be picked up by the detector, resulting in early warning. I've seen signals up to a mile away from the point of use, because of scattering. Forewarned is forearmed.

Your detector may pick up all sorts of signals. I've seen X, Ka and K band signals all within a few hundred yards of one another. You have to discriminate the source based upon your experience with the area, and what you see around you.

In my experience being shined by a police radar is rare. I've been shined about four times since I acquired my RX-65 in the spring of 2008. I've been shined hundreds of times by grocery stores, pharmacies, and those silly "You're going this fast" units that the police put alongside the roads to make you slow down.

Please note that I've seen no consistent signals in my locale from Police - three X band shines and a K band shine.

A radar detector will usually indicate the type of signal and its strength. Some units will also give direction. Since radar scatters I don't concern myself with direction.

Reactions to being shined - Reaction Drills

It's been my experience that the best way to cope with rapid real world physical situations is to have a drill. You should practice these drills until they are second nature.

1. Always be aware of your surroundings. Are there places for the police to stake out for speeders? Any novel places where they might be lurking?

Think like a police officer. Where would you want to be so you can catch someone unawares?

Being aware of your surroundings makes driving faster than a crawl MUCH SAFER than being distracted by cell phones, radio/cd/what have you, passengers, and other stuff.

You might also be intoxicated or high.

A radar detector probably will not make a distracted driver drive better. It can help an alert driver avoid speed traps.

2. When I hear a signal I evaluate it in the context of where I am and who could be shining on me. If I think it's a police officer I take a look ahead and behind, and if there is no one close by I take my foot off of the gas and slowly apply the brakes. If someone is on my ass I get out of their way.

The police, once they have a radar lock, must maintain it for about a second. Your reactions must be rapid, almost instinctive.

3. I become aware of the speed limit. I try to get at least under the speed limit so that the "average" speed is lower.

Speed limit to me is a secondary thing to avoiding a collision with other cars. Tickets are cheaper than my life or automobile repairs.

4. Follow through. I try to hit the speed limit, avoiding other speeding cars by "driving right", and watch for secondary police units. In PA it's called "Operation Centipede" and uses multiple units along a direction of travel.

Conclusion

A radar detector is tool. If you use it properly and drive the car properly, you may be spared speeding tickets.

If you intend to cocoon yourself in your Yaris, flake out with a cell phone, or tune the radio, or listen to music too loud, or hash out your personal problems, or fuss over your kids in the backseat, you're not much better off than if you did not have a detector.

Gene ]]> GeneW http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=79 First Entry http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=78 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:05:33 GMT Personal Goals 1. Maintain Car in good condition. 2. Prepare for winter driving Blog Goals 1. Share insights on winter driving Personal Goals

1. Maintain Car in good condition.

2. Prepare for winter driving

Blog Goals

1. Share insights on winter driving

2. Share insights on effective "aggressive driving".

3. Detail how to properly use a radar detector. ]]> GeneW http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=78 First Entry http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=77 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:03:46 GMT Personal Goals 1. Maintain Car in good condition. 2. Prepare for winter driving Blog Goals 1. Share insights on winter driving Personal Goals

1. Maintain Car in good condition.

2. Prepare for winter driving

Blog Goals

1. Share insights on winter driving

2. Share insights on effective "aggressive driving".

3. Detail how to properly use a radar detector. ]]> GeneW http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=77 Ask Chino 8: For Those About to Rock! http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=76 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:13:25 GMT
Quote:
Dear Chino, where does the term 'rock & roll' come from?

- Shroomster
As you may or may not know, I live in the rock and roll capital of the world... Cleveland, Ohio! That title isn't a fluke, either... the term was coined right here!

Alan Freed was a very popular old radio DJ in the 40's and 50's. He ran the circuit of stations in this area. He worked in Akron, Youngstown, and New Castle, Pennsylvania before landing in Cleveland at WJW-AM radio.

He realized quickly that R&B was sweeping the nation. Hits from the likes of Chuck Berry and Little Richard were catching on, strangely enough, with white teenagers. After getting a tip or two from record store owners that this phenomenon wasn't a fluke, he started playing these songs on his show and his popularity thus skyrocketed. His show, played in the evenings, was called the "Moondog Rock & Roll House Party." This was the first use of the term.

On Marrch 21st, 1952, the Moondog Coronation Ball was held. It is to this day widely accepted as the first true rock and roll concert, featuring many popular R&B acts of the day. Of course, it was also somewhat of a disaster. They sold too many tickets and the venue was bumrushed by fans eager to see the show, yet another testament to how popular the music was. To this day, the Coronation Ball is held every year right here in Cleveland.

Alan Freed would eventually move to New York and get caught up in the infamous payola scandals, for which he was slapped on the wrist and sent on his way. However, he will always have a place in rock history as the man who gave the name to the sound.

Here, I'll let Alan say goodbye for this one. :wink:
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/goodbye.asx ]]> ChinoCharles http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=76 ... http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=75 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:16:24 GMT ...what you don't see is sadness... ]]> Kaotic Lazagna http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=75 Happy Friday! http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=74 Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:03:15 GMT This week has been hell for me ...good thing its almost over...:thumbsup: This week has been hell for me ...good thing its almost over...:thumbsup: ]]> nqd http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=74 *sigh* http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=73 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:23:19 GMT "do i have to tell you everything i tell to everyone?" ]]> Kaotic Lazagna http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=73 Ughh... http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=72 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 02:15:06 GMT What the fuck is wrong with America? This morning I was looking forward to the chance to hear Iran's president on rerun after work. Am I the only fucking person that pays attention everyday to world happenings (I note that to do such it helps to hear opinions other than that of Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner) and is seriously pissed? Not only is it not rebroadcasted, I read that at the time Ahmadinejad was to speak they moved it from CSPAN to CSPAN 3. Do any of you folks have CSPAN 3? CIA poisoned cigar sneaky type shit…



I got online to try and watch videos on you tube. There were a few, however, I have yet to find anything in it's entirety. I understand that most people assume Ahmadinejad is a dick, and he might be, but so is Bush. It is scary as hell when our "independent" media censors the words of an "adversary". This is Nazi shit folks.



I can hear it now…"Fuck you Sullivan…9-11…Baby Jesus…blah, blah, blah. Move to Canada..."



My response: "Fuck You!"



Of the excerpts I listened to Ahmadinejad sounded 5,000,000,000 times more intelligent/reasonable than Bush. Not to mention the asshole president of Columbia. If you are hosting a fucking world leader, show him some respect. You do not represent the free world in your gutless jabs, despite what you may say.



I am pissed. It is ridiculous how politics and pop culture have entirely devolved from the ideals of American democracy and turned into a really fucking gay, prescription-fueled xtreme reality Mickey Mouse experience. Wake the fuck up people! ]]> umm_bacon http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=72 <![CDATA[Punk and Runnin']]> http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=71 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:27:42 GMT Listening to MxPx while I'm on the elliptical makes me run really fast.


That is all. :cool: ]]> death is my gift http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=71 I wanna go home :( http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=70 Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:08:52 GMT Oh sometimes i just hate fridays because the days drag on and on. No one is here right now.. which means I can slack a lot but right now there's a project I want to finish ASAP and my boss keeps bugging me about it. They do not realize how long it takes to do a Sharepoint project. There are some things that the customer wants that really cannot be done with this Microsoft product.. it's not SAP, which costs millions of dollars. argh. i just wanna go home and take a long shower. I am looking forward to that. until now.. i'm gonna rock myself back and forth, going crazy. ]]> sherryberry http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=70 some more venting about this heffer professor http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=69 Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:05:36 GMT okay, just out of class...i'm usually a very nice person, don't normally cuss, but damn, this bitch ass professor of mine is fucking pissing me off. she teaches microbio, which is a hard class to begin with. and this bitch makes it so much fucking harder. this fat ass cow just gave us a pop quiz. the pop quiz itself is not what is upsetting me. it's the fact that the questions on it she never covered in class. the bitch even tells the class "there's no way you could have studied for this quiz. i never went over the material." fucking bitch, why the fuck would you do that. it's like this motherfucking bitch wants to fucking fail her class. it's to the point where i have no sympathy for this bitch. i want her to suffer, like how she's making all her students suffer. i want her to feel constant pain! i want this bitch fired! this motherfucker is not even consistent with the fucking book! and she lectures so fucking fast that no one has enough time to get everything down. WHAT THE FUCK! seriously. this bitch NEEDS to fucking suffer. motherfucking heffer. bitch needs to get fucking laid or something. she is pure fucking evil. bitch has no sympathy for her students. fucking bitch ass punk. FUCKING BITCH! if you're not fit to be a teacher, don't motherfucking teach. fuck this bitch! ]]> Kaotic Lazagna http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=69 New Faces, Katrina on my desk, are dogs assholes? http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=68 Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:26:35 GMT I love seeing new faces, er names here on Yaris World. It's such a breath of fresh air.

I dropped the cap to my bottle of Ozarka on the ground so it became tainted. I now have a liter of water sitting on my desk.....without a cap. My clumsy ass better move it soon otherwise my desk is gonna be turned into a cube pool. Yeah, cube pool. I can already see my Wolverine, Spiderman, and Spike action figures floating among the paper clips and tape dispenser.

Breeds. Dogs. Do you believe in breed restrictions? Can a nice breed of dog suddenly snap and become an asshole? Your thoughts? ]]> death is my gift http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/blog.php?b=68