Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

ateixeira · July 2004

Brenda: if he could keep up with you, you're a match made in heaven!

Pick me for best man, I'm balding so the groom will look better, relatively. ;-)

But I do have a nice tan...

-juice

lilbluewgn02 · July 2004

Well, I finally caught up to all the messages on MTM. Sorry about not being able to get together in DC....couple of reasons
1) Susan recently started taking Femara, which is a post-chemo maintenance drug similar to Tamoxifen...it seems to tire her out, at least at this point...
2) with all the sight-seeing we did during the day, we were all pretty tired by 8:30 (DC is great for walking...we didn't take the Metro once, and left the car at the hotel)...by 9:00 PM, we were all in bed and ready to sleep.

Anyway, we had a great time on the trip...we rented a car here in Coral Springs (Alero), filled the trunk up with all of Michael's stuff for camp, drove up to Orlando, and took the auto-train to Lorton. For those who are nervous or hate driving on I-95, this is the way to go...no need to book a sleeper compartment as the coach seats recline with foot rests....dinner and a movie on the train, and breakfast in the morning. As luck would have it, we were practically the last ones to get our car, but we headed to the new Udvar-Hazy Air/Space Museum at Dulles; what an incredible place; an enormous hangar-like space with an incredible array of flying machines...the Enola Gay, an Air France Concorde, the space shuttle Enterprise, and tons of other stuff...while we were there, SUVS and Cars full of Secret Service Agents came in to do a training exercise (or perhaps a look-see at security weaknesses for a visit by some high-up govt Muckity-muck). interesting to see these guys at work.
As well as the usual sights and memorials, we hit the Holocaust Museum with Michael (he was too young the last time). Always a fascinating place...somber and insightful...I picked up a great educators package that they had...will be useful in class (this year, I did Holocaust education and special presentations re: my parents' experiences in Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz (my dad) and Stutthof (my mom)). We also looked up relatives in the survivors database...Susan found her mom, dad, and some othe relatives. I also found my dad, my uncle, and some possible relatives of my mom...gotta get in touch.

We saw some wonderful exhibits at the various art galeries, including the only Leonardo in the US at the Natl Gallery of Art.
Then on to Jersey to see my Mom, to Suffern to stay with friends...Michael and I went to Rockefeller Plaza to see the Today show, where Michael got Toby Maguire's autograph. We also met with Matt Lauer after the show as his father and Susan's father were at the same hospice in Plam Beach...they died days apart in '97. Matt was happy to meet with us and chat about it...he also autographed Michael's poster...nice gentleman.

We dropped Michael off at Camp in Milford PA...a beautiful area in the Poconos, and made our way locally back to Lorton thru hills and towns of PA. Being in DC and NY made us realize how much we miss living in a real city, and seeing hills and mountains other than the overpasses of the Florida turnpike ! I've been on;ine looking at various school systems in Virginia and Maryland, and will try to find a position up there.

Speak to all soon.

ateixeira · July 2004

Condolences on getting the Alero...LOL.

Sorry we didn't get to meet up, in fact I just e-mailed Bob about that.

Good luck with the job hunt, FWIW I think they need more teachers around here...

-juice

lilbluewgn02 · July 2004

Next time...there is a program called Teach for Virginia...it involves teaching in more rural and inner-city schools, and I'm checking up on that, as well as Alexandria, Fairfax County, and Anne Arundel County schools.

On another note, I took Susan's car in the other day for its 30K service($375). While I was there, I did the test drive for the $25 gift card...a red Legacy GT sedan (auto...it's all they had). I was thoroughly impressed; much nicer interior than Susan's Legacy, enjoyed the smell of leather (the perforated seats are nice looking and very comfortable...they feel like the seats in my wagon). Power delivery was very smooth and I hammered it once...seemed faster than my wagon. Controls are at hand naturally, and I liked the new design.
We also recently got tires for both cars...after a bunch of research on Tire Rack, we settled on Bridgestone Turanza LS's for both cars..400, AA temp, great reviews on Tire Rack. I got the LS-V's, Susan got the LS-H's, both in standard size (205-55). I had the opportunity to test the wet hold yesterday in one of our usual summer afternoon downpours...went around the corner with barely a drop in speed and they held extremely well. They also feel smoother and quieter than the RE92s. When we bought them (from Olsen locally) they were eligible for $50 rebates, which arrived the other day; nothing like getting $100 back from a manufacturer. So far, I also got the Audi Used car test-drive watch, the $25 Home depot card (already spent), and a cool pair of folding sunglasses for driving a BMW X3 (piece of.....).

I'll keep you all up to date.
Serge

rsholland · July 2004

Sounds like you had a great trip. Next time we'll get together.

Bob

bluesubie · July 2004

Glad the trip went well. You were one block from me when you were at the Today show. :-)

-Dennis

dcm61 · July 2004

I guess you don't realize that Brenda's guestroom is the dog house out back. ;-)

Let's do a virtual handshake and call a truce. :-)

DaveM

ateixeira · July 2004

I have that CPO watch from Audi also, though the thing looked brand new to me.

Dog house? At least Hadji will feel at home.

-juice

volkov · July 2004

Back from our vacation - went to visit my family and then up to Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Park in Northern BC. Little known event 250 years ago when an eruption spewed lava over about 70 square kilometres burying 2 native villages and killing approx. 2000 people. I was just fascinating and bizarre at the same time. Think Hawaii meets old growth forest and you get the idea.

Pat - glad the big hump is over, but sorry to hear about the complications. Still in our thoughts.

RE commissions - I've made $200 from my local dealer already for referals that resulted in sales. I'm working on my third, but his wife wants to get horses for his stepdaughters instead. That means a barn, fencing etc etc. As he says, 227 horses would be much cheaper than 3 horses.

Nicholas

lilbluewgn02 · July 2004

The watch was new...the car wasn't! I drove an A4 2.8...didn't do much for me

lilbluewgn02 · July 2004

Keep your chins up! We are with you.

Brenda...Mazel Tov (Good luck and congrats)

hondafriek · July 2004

Hopefully we will know today as to whether the deterioration to her eyes has stopped or is still progressing, she herself thinks it has gotten no worse.

However on the last xray, pressure points on the retina showed up which were not on the earlier xrays, hense the appointment with the retina specialist.

If I have given the impression that she is almost blind,I apologise that is not the case, she does have significant impairment but she can still see, and if it gets no worse, with glasses she will be able to drive during the day but night driving will be out.

Cheers Pat.

ateixeira · July 2004

Serge: I think my packaging said the watch was CPO, FWIW. I thought that was a little bizarre...

I sat in a TT quattro and again realized I'm much too big for it.

-juice

hammerhead · July 2004

Back from our annual pilgrimage to Steamboat Rock State Park. Home to rest up from all the alleged rest & relaxation we got!
Hot weather, cool water, lots of JetSki rides, probably more alcohol than necessary, but we were done driving by then. Saw lots of folks wtih Subies crammed full of camping gear - with the rooftop carrier, I'm continually impressed with how much stuff one can cram in cars the size of ours.

Pat: Continued best wishes & all our hopes for your daughter. Keep the faith.

Cheers!
Paul

salbaby1972 · July 2004

Pat well keep our prayers going.

-sal

nygreg · July 2004

Remember how far she has come already in a short period of time. Still praying for her fully recovery. Hope you and Rita are doing well.

Greg

lilbluewgn02 · July 2004

Packaging?...don'remember...cpo=certified pre-owned...
Dennis...I always loved Rockefeller Center...I took Michael Around to various buildings with Art Deco in it; he especially liked the lobby of the Chrysler Bldg.
As for the Today show, Michael said " Katie is hot"...typical teenage boy!

nygreg · July 2004

Help me Rhonda, help help me Rhonda.........

<greg dancing in his cube>

Greg

fibber2 · July 2004

A handshake it is!

And I agree to split the 'best man' job with you.

Steve

ateixeira · July 2004

Serge: perhaps they had on person put it on for 5 seconds, hence it was pre-worn? LOL

Looked brand new to me.

-juice

tsy · July 2004

Thanks again for all of the welcomes!! I am trying to get to know what's going on with everyone- people getting married (Congratulations Brenda!!!), thoughtful and caring encouragement for those in need, and of course, Subies! It may take a while for me to catch up! Especially since I can't get to a computer everday.

As for who I am, I am happily married (11years!) with two boys, I live in Seattle and am a doctor practicing pain management (Cancer patients especially, but also people who are in the hospital and people with chronic aches and pains). I don't have any pets, although I wish I had time to take care of a dog. I am quite active in my church which ministers mostly to hungry college students. I have always had a fascination with subarus ever since high school when my friend and I deliberately tried to kill his- and couldn't! (I think it was a GL-10 hatchback? does that sound right? It was the early 80s) I used to live in Boston and miss the east coast at times, especially driving in the snow (it only snows a few days a year here).

I think that's a mouthful, perhaps more than you'd like to know!

Six days and I still love taking my car out every morning!

tom

tsy · July 2004

Does anyone know if the new Legacies have a limited slip differential for the front tires? Are they even needed? Is a LSD in the back usefull if there isn't one in the front? I know there's a center diff but does it compensate for a different rotational speed of each of the front tires while cornering?
Does the STi have a front LSD?

I know these are technical questions but I didn't know who else to ask.

tom

twrx · July 2004

the reporter's name is Rhanda but for her "Help Me Rhanda" consumer segment they play the music and show her dancing to it. Cheezy but cool.

ladywclass · July 2004

I don't think anyone's going to think it's too much ... after all, they put up with ME!

ladywclass · July 2004

while at the jewelry store we registered for a drawing ... which included a line for email ... a young woman customer near us was filling one out and told the clerk .. "I don't have an email" ... b/f wondered aloud ... "how can you find your partner online if you don't have an email?"

clerks thought it was funny since we do NOT look like 'that type'

locke2c · July 2004

the STi is the only North American Subaru with a front limited-slip differential. in 2004 I believe it was viscous. in 2005, it is a mechanical helical (torque sensing) type. a helical front LSD gives outstanding tarmac performance but isn't all that great on gravel or snow. the reason for this is that there is very little LSD effect when one of the wheels is in 'infinite slip'. --obviously it's not really "infinite" but it means effectively no traction. a viscous coupling LSD is better for that environment but will overheat and burn up easily if the slip persists. a mechanical clutch-type LSD is the absolute best, especially if aggressively shimmed.

basically, the WRX STi with its DCCD and front helical LSD will perform on tarmac unlike any other Subaru even ignoring its power, suspension and tire advantages.

you have to drive extremely hard-- honestly, just about illegally hard-- on the street to notice and benefit from a helical front LSD. it is quite useful for autocross and track duty, though.

all that wasn't enough to convince me to buy an STi, though. again I thank all of you for keeping me around, anyway. :-D

~Colin

jfl · July 2004

Colin,,,we'd be disappointed if you left. You're family here.

Jim

locke2c · July 2004

thanks!

really I haven't heard too much grief about my latest choice in vehicles, which honestly has surprised me a bit since it's very similar to an STi. when I had an M3, I just got the notion that no one would wonder why I didn't buy a Subaru instead-- nothing comparable.

~c
PS for the profile challenged: it's an Evo.

tsy · July 2004

Colin, thanks for the info. I'm still not sure I understand why having a rear LSD would be much of an advantage if there's not one in front? Or vice versa? It would seem you would need one at both ends to truly be of significant benefit? Or am I missing something here?

By the way, why the Evo over the STi? I had a chance to get an Evo but passed it up (my wife didn't like the rear spoiler)

Thanks for putting up with me! (and for the encouragement Brenda!)

tom

locke2c · July 2004

a rear viscous LSD, as Subaru uses on every model with a rear LSD except the WRX STi, adds a small bit of offroad / gravel / snow ability. it's also inexpensive and unnoticeable in normal driving (the latter is good for general consumer use).

I'm not sure an effective front LSD would be as transparent. and a front helical LSD like the STi has is pretty costly.

STi vs. Evo thoughts in more detail than I've ever previously posted in the SC Cafe are a few hours old here:
locke2c "Serious Machines, Evo vs STi" Jul 8, 2004 1:03am

~c

ateixeira · July 2004

Tom: what's up, doc? ;-)

Colin: he's not a doctor of mechanical engineering! LOL

Non-technical short answer: no, the Legacy has an open front differential. The STi's front diffy is of the limited-slip variety.

The various AWD systems manage the power split front-to-rear. The LSD manages power side-to-side on one particular axle. So yeah, it gives you a little extra traction.

My Forester doesn't have an LSD on either axle, but still, it's great in the snow. So I'd say it's nice to have but not absolutely necessary.

-juice

kens · July 2004

Hi folks. I was away for a couple of days down in the Monterey/Carmel area showing some friends from New York around. We had a great time together as we both have children in the 1-3 year old range. The weather was cool and a bit foggy (normal summertime conditions) but we still managed to spend quite a bit of time outdoors. The two attractions that never cease to impress our out-of-town guests are the Monterey Bay Aquarium and 17-mile Drive.

Anyway, getting back to on-topic, I've been in a situation where a rear LSD helped. A few years ago, my buddy and I were driving the snowy backroads near Lake Tahoe and I accidentaly slid the whole right side of my friend's 2000 Forester S into a drainage ditch. The snow had filled in the ditch and it was completely invisible when I had moved over to the right to let a large snow plow equipped truck drive on the opposite side of the road.

We tried several methods to get ourselves out of the ditch but what eventually worked was giving it steady gas, letting the left tires spin and allowing the rear LSD kick in to give us enough forward momentum to pop back up on the road. I'm convinced that had it been my LSD-less 98 Forester S, I would have been stuck.

Ken

mrk610 · July 2004

hammerhead · July 2004

Tom: Welcome, fellow Washingtonian, from over here on the dry side!

Brenda: You go, girl! Congrats! Let the celebration begin!

Perhaps I can sneak in to the chat tonight, but then it's Mr. Mom duty the rest of the weekend - mom-in-law is having some surgery dark & early tomorrow morning, and amazingrace goes to Colville for nurse duty.
The call for help you hear will be from me after the kids tie me up with duct tape, or something equally nefarious!

Cheers!
Paul

nygreg · July 2004

Ken - love Carmel, California. I enjoy walking the streets and going to the Hogs Breath Inn. BTW- I live in the town of Carmel, NY. No beach though.

Tom - welcome. Pain management is always welcome here.

BTW- where has Ross been??

Greg

nygreg · July 2004

that's great news. My wife never actually said "YES" when I popped the question, so I always say that we aren't really married, even after 16 years and 3 daughters (& a Subi).

Greg

ateixeira · July 2004

Paul: hurry and lock up the shed! Imagine if they get a hold of the power tools. ;-)

Our vacation in SF was the last big bang before we had kids, and I still remember it fondly.

-juice

lilbluewgn02 · July 2004

Years ago when we were still in Norwalk CT, we had a 100 ft driveway with a 7-degree slope up. Susan had a Camry wagon, and I had a 94 Altima with the ABS/LSD option. In the winter time, with the driveway covered in snow, the Camry would stay at the bottom in the streets while the Altima would simply breeze up the driveway with no slipping or sliding. The first time it happened, we were both amazed.

As for proposals, in 1985, Susan and I had been going out for about a year, and I took her to Italy to visit my friend (I used to live in Bologna, he lived in Imola, sight of the San Marino Grand Prix). Susan and I went to Florence for a few days,and in the gardens of Palzzo Boboli, with a wonderful view of Florence, I proposed to her; she says she accepted because I had the plane tickets home!

Serge...saluti da Florida, dove e sempre caldo e humido

ateixeira · July 2004

When I proposed my wife cried for half an hour before she actually said "yes".

That's good, right? LOL

-juice

tsy · July 2004

Both the technical and simplified versions! I guess the gist of it is, it's better to have one LSD than none, but two is best! I don't plan on racing my car anyway, so I doubt I'll miss the front diff. Although there is a racetrack near here that would be tempting to try once the car is broken in. . .

Paul- thank you, I will have to get over there sometime. I've never been very far east of the mountains.

Ken- I love the bay area- went to school out there- must have been a very nice drive.

Everyone- Thank you thank you for the warm welcome!

tom

c_hunter · July 2004

Yeah, my wife just stared at the ring and was speechless for a few minutes (in a good way). I joked later that I was starting to get worried when she didn't respond... but apparently she just got distracted by the sparkly diamond!

Craig

bat1161 · July 2004

When I went to propose we were in Atlantic City at a show. I wanted to propose outside on the boardwalk, but my wife kept on saying it was too cold to go outside. I practically had to drag her out, where once offering the ring she quickly forgot about the cold:-). She then proceeded to call all her family at 1 AM- her sister thought we had fought and I had left her. The end of this month we will be married 16 years.

Mark

ateixeira · July 2004

We were at a ski cabin (how appropriate for a Subaru owner) and I had to get a fire started without kindling. Took me about 2 hours and she wanted me to quit.

Of course at the time she didn't understand why I so badly wanted to create a romantic setting...

10+ years for us.

-juice

njswamplands · July 2004

my wife would have said your stupid to have not thought it out better ( matches, kindling, paper , whatever ) and said no.

well actually she said no but i gave her dad a nav system and let him do the rest

ateixeira · July 2004

At home I'd have that stuff - but we were in Hidden Valley resort in PA, and apparently fires were quite popular that night so all the kindling was gone.

I ended up calling the front desk and asking them to bring more, which they did. But it took 2 hours by the time we actually had a fire. I had to fight to keep her awake!

-juice

njswamplands · July 2004

fight to keep her awake, LMAO

Hidden Valley is in a dry town right? that was the last time i went there

ateixeira · July 2004

It's right beside Seven Springs resort. I forget the name of the little town it's close to, but they had a really cool ice sculpture competition the day we went. They also had outlets and stuff. Cool place.

-juice

subearu · July 2004

I took my dw to pick the ring out, so she knew she was getting it. I just picked up the ring once it was ready and left it on the table in the pretty bag they gave me. She *knew* what it was, and said yes immediately.

-Brian

ateixeira · July 2004

Like with Goldilocks, the fit of the ring was juuuust right!

-juice

hammerhead · July 2004

Greg: Last I heard, Ross is on the northern end of Vancouver Island, in an internet-challenged area. He might still have an e-mail address - I'll try to remember to look it up at home.

Tom: Wait til I start skiing again next winter. Put your pain management expertise to good use!

Cheers!
Paul

Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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