In the last 5 years or so, the number of people running studded tires has grown. This is a shame, as traction technology has been improving and more and more cars offer AWD.

I mean really, a ridiculous amount of people run studded tires. And people put them on rigs that just plain don’t need them. Subaru Outbacks, for example (of which there are 3.1723 per licenced driver in Bend). Have any of you that have an Outback tried driving it in the slick without studs? They are completely solid. No problems at all, unless you drive too fast for the conditions, in which case, studs will do little to save you.

SUVs. Brand new 4Runners and Honda Pilots and Xterras and such, running studs! This, my friends, is totally unnecessary. I have a 92 Pathfinder, and if you put that thing into 4WD, it holds the road like a tank. You can drive HARD, and unless it’s solid, thick ice on the roads, it performs admirably. You have to flog it to get it to slide. And as for iced over roads in Bend, it just doesn’t happen often enough to necessitate studded tires. Of course, even in the Pathfinder, you have to be more careful on solid ice, but that thing is extremely capable in all winter conditions.

I have a set of studless winter tires on rims for my Protege. The stock tires are 195/50/16, which is quite an uncommon size, and not a size which lends itself to a wide selection of all-season radials. The Toyo Proxes I have on it in the summertime get really bad really quickly when the temp gets cold. I find my winter tires to be better all-around in winter than studs. I hate driving on studded tires.

The winter tires, a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50s in a 195/55/15 configuration, are really excellent tires. They are unfortunately very soft however, and I wonder how many seasons they will last. I know I’ll get a third year out of them, but I would doubt much more.

Studs, since they actually have metal bits protruding, actually *lessen* traction in dry conditions, and even wet conditions where the temp is above freezing. Bend roads are most often wet, not icy, during winter days. At least that’s what I’ve noticed in the last 12 years or so since I’ve been on the road in wintertime.

Anyway, if you are one of those “OH MY GOD IT’S NOVEMBER I HAVE TO GET MY STUDDED TIRES ON RIGHT NOW OH MY GOD OH MY GOD” people, and you drive a Subaru, or really anything with AWD/4WD, try studless winter tires if you really think you must have another set for the winter. You likely will discover you don’t really need them.

Subaru drivers: Try a set of Toyo Z800 Ultras all year long. They are great tires, and coupled with AWD, you’ll have plenty of traction to get around.

SUV people: Open Country A/Ts. These are conservatively styled but incredibly capable.

Everyone: Winter driving is not anything to get completely freaked out about. Just slow down, and make sure you know what your rig will do when you try to stop quickly in the slick weather. Try it somewhere when no other cars are around. Slow down - that’s the most important part.

I am now the proud admin of a Mac OS X 10.4 web / ftp / wordpress server. My boss can’t go 10 minutes without saying “Podcast” or sending me three emails about the so-called phenomenon and he asked me to set up some space to test the technology.

So I grabbed a G4 533 with 896MB and an 80GB hard drive, wiped the disk, and installed OS X 10.4, followed by Wordpress. That is one hell of a webserver.

No, it’s not live yet - we have absolutely no content to podcast, presently, but when I get the static IP punched through, and the site goes live, I’ll pass along the link.

One more thing about the Portland trip. Gas prices. We are being gouged here in Bend, my friends.

Here’s the deal. On Wednesday evening, (9/7), I went to a Chevron near my house to fuel up my car for the trip to Portland. I paid $3.12/gallon for 87-octane Regular Unleaded. This was not the cheapest nor the most expensive brand-name* gasoline in town. The same day at another Chevron on the north end of town, I saw 87-octane for $3.19/gallon.

Anyway, we start our trip on Thursday. Gas prices had not changed significantly. The first place I noticed a price discrepancy was near Timberline Lodge. That remote little Chevron south of the pass (and this camera) had 87-octane for $3.02. This is usually an expensive gas stop, due to its location. I made a comment about it, and continued on into the city.

Once we were in Portland, I was shocked to see gas in the $2.75-$2.85/gallon range. When we left on Saturday morning, I filled up at $2.74/gal. Bend’s price when we returned was still upwards of $3.10.

So what’s up with that? We don’t get gasoline from the Gulf Coast. Our supply didn’t change. Why is there so much fucking greed here in Bend?

*I can tear your engine apart and tell if you’ve been burning shitty gas.

What a train wreck. I have spent the last week immersed in the tragedy/travesty that is Hurricane Katrina and the bungled recovery/rescue efforts. What a mess. It is a good reminder how insignificant most of our troubles really are.

My biggest question about the whole thing is as follows:

Okay, we knew this was a motherfucker of a storm. In fact, it was predicted to be WORSE when it made landfall. If that was the case, where the fuck were the buses and transport aircraft and such to evacuate people before the storm hit? There were several hours that the news channels were tracking the storm, outlining its severity, et cetera, and so why didn’t we do anything then?

I know that now, the biggest complaints are how the post-storm recovery efforts are being handled. But I think that overlooks what could have been our best defense against catastrophe - foresight. I mean shit - the President is “Mr. Preemptive Strike,” right? So what the fuck were we doing in the hours before?

I know complacency is an issue….people have a hard time believing anything is going to happen directly to them until it does, and this is an area that has been told to evacuate in the past because of impending storms that barely made a mark.

I know, I know, I don’t have any answers….just a lot of questions that no one has a real answer for.

Okay, I post this because of a letter to the editor I read in Automobile Magazine. (note: the letter is talking about an F-16 jet that was featured in the magazine.) The author of the letter was asking about the magazines claim that Mach 2 equated to something like 936MPH. He stated that he believed that since Mach 1 is equivalent to the speed of sound, Mach 2 should equate to about 1500MPH, since the speed of sound is about 761MPH.

That sounded right to me, so the answer given boggled my mind. Paraphrasing, the response read:

“A Naval engineer gave us that figure. Since the speed of sound varies by altitude, the figure given is adjusted.

What!? We have a unit of measure that varies by altitude? Yes, indeed we do. From the US Centennial of Flight Commission’s page:

The Speed of Sound and Mach Numbers

The following breakdowns have been generally accepted to classify speeds:
M less than 0.8 subsonic
M = 0.8 to 1.2 transonic
M - 1.2 to 5.0 supersonic
M greater than 5.0 hypersonic

I think we need a better unit of meaure than the Mach numbering system. I mean, imagine if the “inch” was tied to altitude. It would be completely useless.

What the hell. A unit of measure shouldn’t be tied to a variable.

/rant