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Yay for NJ state government regulating something it has no business regulating!

I’m not talking about cars in general, since government regulations regarding safety and security in vehicles is pretty important in my opinion.  I am, however, talking about the government regulating and controlling how I spend my money.  Once the money enters my wallet, no one, anywhere, anyhow, EXCEPT ME, has a right to tell me how I can or cannot spend MY money (with the exception of blatantly illegal things).

To tell me that I cannot go to Tesla Online and buy a car directly from them is insulting to me and a slap in the face of Tesla directly.

NJ, I am ashamed.  What possible reason could you have for this?  There’s NO logical reason for this.  The only thing I could potentially think of is that Tesla didn’t pay off the right people.  It’s absurd.

I don’t have any plans (nor really the finances) to be able to buy one of these any time soon.  That being said, I still don’t believe the government has ANY right to tell me that I can’t or regulate them to have to be sold through some dealer instead of directly.  Ugh.

New Jersey Becomes Third State To Ban Tesla’s Direct Sales Model | TechCrunch.

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Today we bring you yet another bad driver of NJ, though it appears he’s really from NY.

Please people, remember to check your blind spots. Using the rear view and side view mirrors is not enough. You can seriously injure people and create a backlog of traffic, and no one wants that.

via ▶ December 17th’s Idiot Drivers of New Jersey – You Have Blind Spots! – YouTube.

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▶ December 16ths Idiot Drivers of New Jersey – YouTube.

Today we bring you another edition of Idiot Drivers of New Jersey!

This time we have a school bus driver running a red light to make a left turn.

The lead up (which you can’t see of course because it’s out of frame) is the approaching a yellow light at 35-40mph in order to run the light.

Very safe for the children, don’t you think?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N9pnMbOw0I

So… I just installed my new dashboard mount for my cell phone so I can use it as GPS & Dashboard Camera while driving!  It’s pretty sweet and simple.  It was installed 2 days ago by me and of course Dan because I am an idiot sometimes and break cables. ^_^;

So I’m driving back from a markout at work and BAM what do I see but an idiot run a red light to make an illegal left turn.  He made a left turn while he had a red light, in a no turn on red zone. More traffic follows past him afterwards.

Yeah.

NJ drivers.

CHATHAM drivers, specifically.  Entitled and asshatish.

What a day.

Edit 1: For those who are curious: I am using the DailyRoads Voyager app on my HTC One to record 1080p video.  It records 5 minute video clips (adjustable) whenever I connect it to my car dashboard mount.  It will reach a max file size of ~3 gb before deleting the oldest video file.  You can tell it to keep the video files for an entire trip or delete them all at the end of the trip.  It’s pretty sweet.

-M, out

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So I have finally gotten around to changing the front brakes on my 2008 Ford Escape.

Let me just say: How do places get away with charging ~$125 for this?  I bought high-end brake pads for $60 and installed them with a little guidance AT NIGHT in less than an hour.

… That’s seriously almost $65 an hour for labor, assuming they’re using the same pads I was.  Hint: they won’t be.

But seriously.  I’m not saying I’m pro at this, but I am saying: sometimes it’s better to get your hands dirty and do the job yourself.  You’ll save money, learn something, and maybe have a little bit of fun while you’re at it.

Anyways, here’s the meat and potatoes: pictures!

Thanks again Dan!

Continue reading

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Recently I decided that I wanted to have a backup camera installed in my 2008 Ford Escape.  Much to my disappointment, there wasn’t a factory solution readily available and the other solutions were kind of expensive, so I largely mothballed it in favor of other projects.  Then Dan came along and asked why we hadn’t done the project yet (in late June or early July) and insisted on getting it done, including going as far as to get me a gift card to Amazon to buy the parts (insert Good Guy Dan picture if I had one handy… Oh wait, I do: Linky).

So we purchased the following bits:

Actual Backup Camera – Chillin Special Ford Escape

Rearview Mirror with Integrated Monitor

3 Position Switch

12VDC Relay

Assorted Wiring

Power Taps

Connectors (Insulated Push-On Connectors, Ring Terminals)

—

We roughed out this basic wiring diagram:

Rough Wiring Diagram

The long and short of it is:

If the switch is set to position 1:

  1. Power from the Cigarette Lighter adapter provides power to the relays all the time. The power doesn’t flow through the relay until the car is turned on though!
  2. The relay powers: My GPS and another relay (only when the car is turned on though).  The 2nd relay doesn’t let power flow through it until my car is set to reverse! 😀
  3. The camera and monitor turn on and present me with the video from the backup camera mounted on the rear of my car.

If the switch is set to position 2:

  1. Power from the Cigarette Lighter adapter again provides power to the relays all the time. The power doesn’t flow through the relay until the car is turned on though all the same!
  2. That relay still powers the GPS and another relay.  The 2nd relay now receives power from another source, triggering it to be active again (instead of only when I’m in reverse, just in case I need it).
  3. The camera and monitor turn on and present me with the video from the backup camera mounted on the rear of my car.

So here’s what we’re all waiting for, the pictures!

Thanks very much to Dan for the hard part (the wiring was confusing the hell out of me).  Now all that remains is to clean the fingerprints off the trim and the fabric lining of my roof. 😛