Car modding isn't my thing

Perhaps it's simply me getting older, but modifying cars holds zero appeal to me. When I watch Youtube videos of car shows and see people drop many tens of thousands of dollars on top of an already expensive vehicle to personalize it (a set of quality wheels are nearly 5 grand these days), I feel glad to have never fell into that money trap as an adult.

My own car-related money trap is swapping perfectly good cars every three years - variety is indeed the spice of life. In hindsight I should have leased instead of paying full tax which is never recovered when I sell the cars. Taxation is theft, by the way. 

I used to love the thought of tuning cars. The early Gran Turismo games have me dreaming of mega horsepower turbo-kits and racing suspension systems. I absolutely tore into the my first car which the parents kindly purchased, and as my modest college part-time worker's budget allowed I incrementally swapped out the wheels, replaced suspension parts, redid the most of the braking system, put in LED tail-lamps, and various other bits. 

With the modifications the car became a distinct representation of my style, which other than chasing performance numbers is the primary reason why people are so wont to dump money into their vehicles It's why the showy, "Stance Nation" sector of the car culture is magnitudes more popular than true track-rats. A stock vehicle is the blank canvas and the tinkered result is personalized art.

So I completely get the appeal of car modding, because I've been there; but I stopped. Starting with the first car purchased with my own money the decision was made to not modify anything, partly because of the hefty car note and I'd be stretch super thin to afford parts, and secondly I rather put all money and energy towards driving. 

This is mirrored in how I play modern Gran Turismo games: I hardly ever venture to the tuning sections and simply drive the cars as they come from the factory. 

I said in a previous blog post awhile back that I was going to start modding again. Well, the Miata have been sold; mind has changed. I've decided that if I want to better a car, I'll just buy a better car.  

Billy Shakespeare wrote a bunch of sonnets. 

Warriors signing Cousins is a psychological coup

Just when the basketball world is abuzz about LeBron James signing with the Lakers and all its implications, the Warriors sneaks in the following day (yesterday) and drops a bomb by announcing they’ve signed DeMarcus Cousins to a one-year deal at the taxpayer’s exception. 

The same DeMarcus Cousins who before a torn achilles back in January was an All-Star top-10 level player that perennially averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds. He’ll be joining a team that just wrapped up a third championship in four years. The one position found lacking on the Warriors is the center spot and now they’ve finally acquired their long-coveted dynamic scoring big-man.

A team with four All-Stars in the starting lineup just added a fifth (when healthy). LeBron’s move to the Los Angeles is but a blip in a radar. 

I highly appreciate the Cousins move from a psychological perspective. When a team have won consecutive championships, complacency can easily set in. Human nature craves newness and fresh challenges, and the Cousins signing provides just that for the defending champs. The goal of winning it all remains the same but the novelty of fitting and succeeding with Cousins should invigorate the team and prevent the coasting mentality that occurred often this past season.    

The rest of the league - the competition - is psychologically deflated. The Golden State dynasty was already supremely formidable with Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green, and Iguodala on the squad but now they’ve added Cousins? That just might be the mental coup de grace. Players on other teams are tweeting out despair and “why bother”; analysts are facetiously calling for the season to be cancelled. Once again, advantage to the Warriors.

Signing Cousins is a shrewd move that I and many NBA fans did not see coming; the particular circumstances came together perfectly and unexpectedly. indeed there’s an argument against it on the basis of competitive balance, but I think the onus is on the other teams to catch up (Lakers have got to get Kawhi Leonard after this, right?) - even with the recent success the Warriors aren’t going to stand still. 

As well they shouldn’t. 

Photo mode in GT Sport is highly triggering to my wanderlust tendencies. 

Going to stay in my lane

I spent much of the weekend putting together some GoPro footage I took way back during the Colorado trip - in addition to watching World Cup games of course. It was nothing elaborate: just stringing disparate videos together using iMovie into one cohesive timeline, with the appropriate transitions and captions. As someone who is decidedly on the still photography side of things it’s always fun exercise to dabble in moving photos. 

Suffice it to say I won’t be quitting my “day-job”. Video editing is obviously immensely time consuming and while the artistry involved is a natural extension of photography there’s many more dimension to juggle simultaneously - sound editing might be an entirely different art in it of itself. The amount of time spent on production and the resulting output length of the video is heavily skewed towards the former. 

Not to say I don’t enjoy video production, and given enough time investment I’m confident I can become decent at it. At the present however I think I shall as the kids say these days 'stick to my lane' and keep to still photography. I’ve still got much to do in that arena, plus I won’t ever “pivot to video”: written words and beautiful images are my passion.

Besides, it was superbly difficult to concurrently take pictures and film during the Colorado trip. At every place of interest I first took photos with my camera and then repeat with the GoPro for video. I’d nary the time savor the breathtaking views, which ultimately defeats the purpose of traveling in the first place. This is why I haven’t done video since traveling to Denver. 

Photo-journalism is more my speed anyways. 

The first-generation Honda Fit was a great car at the tail-end of Honda's golden era. 

The million dollars test

If you’re suddenly a million dollar richer (or whatever sum that would free you from your current place of employ), what would you then be doing everyday? 

That would your passion. 

If I were to be gifted a million dollars, I’d buy a car and get on the road. I’d take photographs wherever I go, and write about it on this website. Monetization will come from said writing and photography, plus perhaps posting videos on Youtube. 

That doesn’t sound like it would need a million dollars; if anything I can go do that right now. So why don’t I? What makes the additional million dollars so special if it’s financial value isn’t necessarily required to chase my passion? 

These are good questions. 

Quitting our day-job to follow our passion is a highly risky move, at least in our minds. The extra million dollars provides the safety cushion that eliminates the perceived risk. If the passion project fails, there’s the bundle of money to fall back on. 

Great outcomes come from taking great risks. What if we didn’t wait for the cash windfall and just set off anyways? Because let’s not delude ourselves: the million dollars won’t ever come, and each of us will have to contend with forsaking our passion for the comforts of a regular job. 

I grapple with that quandary almost everyday. 

Are you getting on or off?

Harvard gets sued by Asians

Harvard getting sued for discrimination against Asian applicants is interesting to me because why now? Since the advent of affirmative action and ethnic quotas in schools, us Asians have always gotten the short end of the stick. When you adjust for “equality” based on results then there’s going to be an aggrieved party and unfortunately that’s us. A casualty of success. 

From the time when Asian people first stepped foot on this continent up until now we’ve been discriminated against one way or another (Chinese exclusion act, Japanese internment, you name it). All we’ve ever done in response is put our nose to the grindstone, work hard, and get after success like water dripping on stone. Even if it’s only a penny saved per day, given enough time to compound we got there. 

Asians aren’t vocal complainers and troublemakers. We take the situations and framework as they are work around and with them. Didn’t get into Harvard? We’d just kick ass at another school. Barriers didn’t stop and aren’t going to stop Asians from achieving financial success.

Because up until recent decades, Asians (immigrants) were predominantly poor so the prime objective was to make money - we didn’t have time for political games. Now that we’ve reached those goals and by many metrics are the most affluent ethnic group on average, Asians have the leisure to pursue other arenas of life, like suing Harvard (and other institutions) for blatant racial discrimination.

The political capital of Asian Americans is growing quite quickly. 

Commuting with the morning clouds at Balboa Park station. 

Trump threatens Germany with car tariffs

People in the car forums I frequent are up in arms about President Trump potentially slapping a 20% tariff on German-made vehicles. Rightfully so because who would want to pay 20% more on already expensive German cars. Though I think if tariffs were enacted the situation won’t be that simple. 

Contrary to popular conjecture, people who can afford luxury vehicles are highly price sensitive. They haggle just the same as buyers of Toyota Camrys. Even the super rich would setup LLCs in Montana, register their vehicles under the company to avoid paying hefty license fees in their home State. Bottom line is that nobody wants to pay a penny more for a car than absolute necessary. 

Therefore if Trump imposes the 20% tariff, automakers like Mercedes, Audi, and BMW aren’t going to suddenly raise the MSRP of their cars by equal measure - doing so would crater sales (simple price elasticity). Not only will higher prices be a deterrent, but consumers know that it’s because of tariffs so one they aren’t going to pay extra for the President’s stupid trade-war and two they will simply wait it out until the two sides come to an agreement. 

I think the manufactures will raise the prices a bit just below what people are sensitive to, and then eat the rest of the costs for the time being - they’ve certainly made enough profits from selling SUVs the last few years to cover. Nevertheless it’s going to negatively affect the bottom line and the German government will be lobbied heavily to mediate. 

One thing is for sure: more people aren’t going to start buying Cadillac or Lincoln. 

A certified G, and a bona fide stud. 

Momentum car as lesson for life

In car enthusiasts parlance we have what we call a “momentum car”. It’s a type car that hasn’t got enough power to pull itself out of corners, therefore to preserve good forward momentum the driver must scrub off as little speed as possible during braking and turning. Newton’s law of motion acted out: objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and friction is enemy to a car that lacks huge amounts of horsepower to hide it.  

The ND Miata I just sold is a momentum car: 155 horsepower is just enough be fun but if the roadster gets needlessly bogged down in the middle of a turn it takes considerable time to get back to proper speed. On a tight course the next string of corners are effectively compromised because they arrive before the car can fully recover.   

Momentum cars are excellent teachers of drivers. 

It’s also a good metaphor for life. Maintaining momentum is crucial in achieving success. Laziness or extra off-days may feel awesome in the present but the days proceeding will be heavily undermined. If I haven’t written on this website for awhile it’s extra difficult to pick it back up. Skip a scheduled exercise day because I didn’t feel like it? The stress of the one after that just got unnecessarily raised.

Consistency compounds into forward progress: when I finish a blog post the tiny dose of satisfaction I get turns into eagerness and I already start to think about what to write for the next one. Like a momentum car it’s about smooth continued progress and avoid needlessly slowing down. 

Don't skip a day; get after it. 

Sometimes you get lucky and mother nature frames things up nicely for you.