E30 Engine Troubles

Jesse and I finally got around to cooking more meth taking the cylinder head off the old bimmer to inspect the engine block. What we found was not surprising but saddening nonetheless. The block does have multiple cracks. We suspected at least a blown head gasket based on the coolant present around the camshafts. So, before worrying about the myriad of other items on the to do list which require horsepower on demand in order to enjoy, we are mulling our options for another engine. Source an M10 block, find a whole engine, swap in an M20 or even an M50? Currently we are leaning towards picking up a running parts car with the same engine. In fact, we are planning an offer right now and just waiting to obtain details about the potential donor.

1988 Acura Integra LS

Through great fortune I have recently acquired a 1988 Acura Integra LS with 113,000 miles of use. A colleague bought a newer Honda Fit and bequeathed this classic diamond in the rough to yours truly. It began to overheat in past weeks and, understandably, she did not want to spend any more money on a car of such age. She had recently paid for new brakes pads, rotors and a radiator. I informed her of my suspicion that the thermostat may be stuck but have yet to verify this.

Contained within that pretty blue shell is a four-speed autotragic transmission and a 1.6 liter DOHC engine. Fabricated in 1988, the engine has slight improvements over the original D16A1 including domed pistons and lighter rods. It produces 118 hp at 6500 rpm and 103 lbft of torque at 4300 rpm. Luckily this California car has minimal rust. The top side of the engine looks to be in excellent condition. There were no signs of coolant under the valve cover or on the dipstick. What coolant I could see in the radiator and expansion tank lacked signs of oil. This is all well and good but a compression test is in order.

The moon roof is functional, the windows, seats and mirrors are manual, and the headlights pop up! I love it all. If only there were a manual transmission to be found at the local junkyard…

Project E30

My good friend Jesse recently acquired a 1985 BMW 318i from a coworker. We planned on purchasing it as a joint venture but after procrastination it was given to us for free! It has 145,000 miles on it and plenty of fun issues.

The struts are completely blown, the rotors are rusty as hell and the engine does not idle. The body is in decent enough condition but has some stealthy rust and a few dings, dents and scratches. The interior is in pretty good shape but we could not get the seats to bolt down. I suspect they are from a vert. We decided to first attack the idle issue.

The battery was completely dead when we obtained it. Once replaced, it started but did not idle smoothly and would not stay on without depressing the accelerator. We decided to delete the IACV since it seemed to be a popular modification for the M10 engine. This did not fix the issue so we replaced some vacuum lines with new silicon hose. The issue persists but appears to be the least of our worries. Since this is one of the most accessible and friendly engine bays I have ever seen, I suggested to start taking everything apart for inspection. We removed the air box and MAF in order to gain better access to the intake manifold for more hose replacement. After that, we took off the valve cover to reveal a nasty surprise.

Someone was naughty and neglected to change the oil. Furthermore, we spotted coolant in the mix. This does not bode well. We need to go deeper! Here’s hoping the block is not cracked. We drained the oil and dropped the pan in order to clean it. The sludge was present in the bottom of the engine too. It is looking more and more like a rebuild.

So we have ordered every gasket imaginable from the water pump to the rear crankshaft seal to the oil filter housing. The benefactor was kind enough to supply us with a head gasket as well! Also ordered were new oil, air and fuel filters.

There is much to be done but we shall happily do it.

Lost Letter

Some years ago during my time at UMBC the library was giving away old books. Since it was related to my studies, I grabbed a molecular genetics books published in 1971. While browsing through it I discovered an old envelope with a letter inside. It turned out to be a personal letter sent from a colleague to the former owner of the book, Leonard J Schiff.

I discovered that he passed away in 2007 after a career in microbiology and virology. He was very involved in the research community and even established some cell models for cancer research. He is survived by his wife and two children.

The letter discusses work, family and sports. I guess people were the same back then. Here is the transcription:

“Dear Len,

It was good to hear from you again. I’m rather surprised to hear that you and Mary Ann are no longer in the Denver area. But in light of the situation, as you described it in your letter, I can fully understand. And as you seemed to imply, things seem to be going okay and if you’re happy that’s justification in itself. I hope that trend continues.

I was also happy to hear that you and Mary Ann are not practicing anymore, but are real, genuine parents now. I guess I was wrong about you Len – just because there’s snow on top, doesn’t mean the fire has gone out below. (Tell Mary Ann I said, “Hi”, and “Congratulations!”). However, I must disagree with you. I’m sure he’s much better looking than a “chip off the old block”.

I’ve heard several of the CSU scores – and they did not surprise me any. However, CU seems to be doing rather well.

Speaking of CSU, I saw Tengerdy and Storz at the end of June in Budapest at the Virology Congress. Storz said he would look me up in Geneva in September, but I never heard from him. I also spent one evening with two friends (postdoc’s) of mine and Maurice Green getting smashed. One of them worked once with Green. Hungary is a rather interesting country.

And obviously now I’m in Geneva (disregard the return address on the envelope). I’ve only been here 3 months so far, but everything seems quite reasonable. Research is going slowly, but seems to be picking up now. I should be able to write you more on that next time.

Today marks my 5^th anniversary – 5 years since I got out of the U.S. Army. This is about the only day of the year I think about it.

I have not heard from Tony for about 3 months, so I don’t know what he’s up to. He was back at CSU this summer for awhile.

That’s about it for now. Drop me a line when you find time and let me know how things are going.

Take care, CF”

I like that line about the snow on top and fire down below. I don’t know who CF is but may be able to find out with further investigation. I’m happy that I found this letter. I always enjoy peeking into the past as a way to see how times have changed or remained the same. I’ll have to show this to people at work since we’re all doing research as part of a pathology department.

HK USP .45 Tactical

Being the little brother of the Heckler and Koch Mark 23 offensive handgun designed for USSOCOM, the USP tactical retains many of the lovely features found in that handgun but in a smaller and slightly refined package. It has a threaded barrel, match grade trigger, raised sights, large slide release and an enlarged trigger guard. The threaded barrel allows for attachment of a suppressor. This popular accessory that significantly reduces the audible report of a gunshot is regulated by the ATF and requires an extensive background check, waiting period and $200 tax stamp. The only suppressor approved for use by HK which does not void the factory warranty is make by the Knights Armament Company. Their suppressor will set you back about $1,200. More popular options include the SilencerCo Osprey and SWR HEMS II. Both can be had for about half the price of the KAC. The barrel has a polygonal bore which increases durability and accuracy. The magazine release switch has an ambidextrous lever design in place of a button and is quite large. This, along with the large trigger guard and over-sized slide release, facilitates use while wearing gloves. The USP contains a combination decocker and safety which allows the operator to carry cocked and locked. That is, the pistol can be safely carried with a round in the chamber and the hammer back. The decocker is a modern one and blocks the firing pin when engaged. Unlike the Mark 23 which is only available in .45 ACP, the USP is available in 9 mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. The 9 mm version, USP SD, is becoming harder to find and is very desirable. I recently saw a used one with a price tag of $1,300. This is the MSRP for a brand new in box unit. The .45 version retails for $1,352.

This is a very reliable and accurate handgun. Out of the box shooting is accurate and has yet to offer a failure to feed. It is rated for +P ammunition and is known to fire anything you feed it. I prefer to use brass cased rounds made by Winchester or PMC. As with any firearm, regular cleaning is essential to retain longevity and consistency. This mantra applies to most machines. Cleaning and oiling keeps them happy so that they may serve your needs at a moments notice!

I do not condone firearm usage with alcohol in your system. That is blatantly irresponsible. These items just seemed right at home next to each other.

Battlestation

Since computers are a hobby of mine I feel like I should share my main desktop build. I rarely build a new desktop for myself since I select components that will last not just in terms of lifespan but in terms of power. New chips and cards come out every six months but with careful selection and maybe some healthy overclocking the components can last for years and still provide great performance for cutting edge applications.

My previous rig was assembled in 2006 and lasted until 2011 at which point I decided to take advantage of the various employee purchase benefits during my time at Best Buy. The core parts from 2006 still work by the way. I am considering getting another power supply and hard drive to awaken it once more. It was built around an AMD Opteron 144 CPU. That was a server processor line which was very easy to overclock. Apparently the silicon was of great quality because I was able to bump it up to a stable 2.4GHz from 1.8GHz on the stock heat sink fan (HSF) with ease. That build originally contained an ATI X800 XT Platinum Edition graphics card. I have since replaced it with an AMD 6950 2GB reference card. This is one of the reasons I need a new power supply unit (PSU). Modern graphics cards are power-hungry beasts. The original hard drive died last year but this is okay. Five years is a decent life span for a traditional magnetic storage based hard drive. The case is made by Lian Li and is of very high quality. It has an interesting design which mounts the motherboard upside down.

On to my current rig. At the heart is an Intel i7 2600K. The K denotes an unlocked processor which allows for complete freedom when overclocking. I decided not to do liquid cooling and opted for a Noctua NH-D14 HSF which is massive! If I ever decide to overclock I know that I will not have an overheating issue. Honestly, I have not felt the need to overclock this CPU. It handles anything I throw at it without hesitation. The ASUS P8P67 motherboard contains a UEFI interface which replaces the older BIOS. It is very clean and user friendly. It even supports a mouse! It was quite a leap for me. The hard drive containing the OS and games is an Intel 320 series 120GB hard drive. It is fast as hell but obviously has limited space. With current games often using upwards of 8GB of space it is hard to have the entire games library installed. I do have a 2TB Western Digital Caviar drive inside for additional media storage.

I recently acquired the nVidia GTX 660 OEM card. It has much better performance than the previous AMD card with the original build and definitely gives gaming a nice boost. I am able to run any game at 1080p. The anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering settings vary based on the game but are generally set at 2X and 8X, respectively.

The case is by NZXT and is nicely complimented by a white power supply and white braided cables of the same brand. I also installed three additional fans since the case only came with two that are in front. The cooling is more than adequate and the 750W PSU handles all the components with ease.

Did I mention all of this computing takes place on a 46″ LED 3DTV? The Samsung UN46D6900 is the first flat screen TV I have owned. Having this hooked up to the computer makes it easy to view multiple documents and web pages simultaneously. It also provides a nice experience for games such as Borderlands 2 and Battlefield 3. I can stream Netflix, see a life-sized friend on Skype and have a photo slideshow all in HD. I have my PS2 and PS3 plugged in also. This is an all-in-one entertainment solution. The PS3 serves mainly as a Blu-ray player but has been seeing a lot of Ni No Kuni lately. If you are a fan of Studio Ghibli work I highly recommend that game. It feels as if you are playing through one of their films. The music, which accounts for half of a game or movie experience in my opinion, is astounding.

Happy gaming!

Moar Camera Gear! (also Micro Center is awesome)

I went to the new local Micro Center to look around and I must say the store is amazing! It feels like what Newegg.com would be if they had a brick and mortar store. You can go there and pick out everything you would need to build a computer. They have a large selection of items to satisfy the nerdiest of nerds. There is nothing else like it! I could almost spend a whole day in there wandering around and playing with demo models.

I actually navigated straight to the digital imaging section once I stepped foot inside this technological haven. I was invited to photograph a small wedding and wanted to grab a better flash for my NEX-5N. I got the HVLF20S flash which is a great step up from the kit flash. I also picked up a Manfrotto MK394-H tripod and a 32GB SD card. I am happy with the build quality of the tripod and am anxious to use it to capture some slow shutter speed night shots.

All of these items put a hurt on my wallet but I consider them to be investments. I really enjoy this hobby and at some point hope to make some money putting my budding photography skills to good use. Here are a few shots from the wedding!

Sony NEX-5N Lens Addition

I picked up the SEL50F18 lens for my NEX-5N tonight and am anxious to try it out. The capabilities of this lens for portraits is supposed to be amazing. I’m sure I will find that it is much better than the SEL1855 kit lens. I’m sure to exclude that kit lens from my carrying case in the near future.

While employed by Best Buy I figured it would be a good time to get a DSLR on the cheap. It was a great idea. I have had the best time learning and sharpening photography skills with this camera. It is a well-reviewed model which receives high marks from most of the community. I also managed to get the SEL55210 lens, SEL16F28 lens and ECM-SST1 stereo microphone. I am amazed at the video quality of this camera and thought it would be a good idea to grab a nicer mic. The only accessories I have yet to obtain include an upgraded flash and tripod.

Of course, since it is made by Sony, the lenses are pricier and it has a proprietary E mount system. I don’t really mind that at this point. It does not have a built-in viewfinder or flash but has a much smaller form factor than a traditional DSLR while retaining power and features.

I am still yearning for the SEL30M35 macro lens and VCL-ECF1 fisheye converter… They would be a ton of fun!

Call me a Sony fan boy if you wish but they make great stuff. My laptop, cameras, eReader and gaming consoles are all made by Sony. I have had zero problems with them so far. Hell, I even bought one of their voice recorders that still works to this day. Customer loyalty achieved!

Obama’s Gun Control Executive Orders

There are 23 in all and I have to say that I am fairly satisfied with them disregarding the loose language and possible privacy issues. These orders make genuine efforts to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who may be mentally unstable, increase safety around ownership and spearhead initiatives which keep tabs on gun owners. Privacy issue much?

Anyway, I am happy that no outright bans were part of the executive orders. He left that up to Congress and essentially tried to guilt trip them into passing laws. Of course children want something done. We all want something done. We all want safety especially for our children. Children can be smarter than we think but they probably do not understand the complexities of the 2A issue. The executive orders could be helpful in solving the safety and responsibility issue surrounding gun ownership. A ban on weapons would not be effective. Criminals do not follow laws. New York recently passed legislation which, among other things, limited the magazine capacity to 7 rounds of ammunition instead of 10. Do you think all the criminals will follow this? Do you think all the ‘high’ capacity magazines will disappear? To think so is quite foolish.

Passing laws which limit the availability of firearms to law-abiding citizens gives those who do not follow the laws (criminals) an extreme advantage when robbing, raping, murdering or otherwise threatening life and liberty while their victims wait for the law to aid them. The way I see it, giving up your powerful and often equally met tool of protection from crime is to place complete trust that humanity will not harm you and that your government and police will immediately protect you when required. Does that sound reasonable?

Please read and consider the list of executive orders signed today:

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

Guns guns guns!

I like guns. I believe that people should be able to own them for protection, sport or hobby. They are a tool not unlike hammers, knives, drills and cars. While I will admit that guns are designed to inflict harm upon other living things there is one point that some people can not comprehend. Whether guns are used offensively or defensively is based solely on the user. Hammers can kill people in the wrong hands. Knives can kill. Drills and cars can kill. It is the responsibility of the user to operate tools safely and responsibly. In the case of a gun, a responsible user will discern whether or not it should be used on another individual. Did someone badmouth you at the mall? Do not use a gun. Mechanic inform you that your car engine is blown? Do not use a gun. Arguing with your spouse? Do not use a gun. Someone broke into your house holding a hammer/knife/drill/bat/gun and is threatening you? Use a gun.

Good judgement is not difficult for those responsible enough to own a gun. I am not against regulation. Some law-abiding citizens that own guns are mentally unstable or dangerous. An outright ban is not the answer. For all those who argue that people don’t need high capacity (actually normal/standard capacity) magazines for hunting I will say this. Do you really think the founders thought about hunting when they crafted the second amendment? The reason many people own guns, besides personal protection, is explained clearly by Ben Shapiro in a recent interview with Piers Morgan. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Shapiro.

I spotted an anti-gun comment on the HK fan page on Facebook which read:

“You are selling weapons to kill PEOPLE!!!! How can someone want to work for this company? SHAME ON YOU!!!!”

I had to comment. My response:

“There are evil people in this world that would do you harm provided the opportunity. HK makes quality products which save lives. They provide the opportunity for defense of good people. No one wants to take a life but sometimes it is necessary for self preservation. I hope I never have to use my handgun on a person but if I do I am comforted by the fact I have a powerful and reliable tool of defense. In a world of compromise, some don’t… I am proud to own a HK firearm!”

Shortly after posting, the original comment along with my response was removed or hidden from the page. I can’t tell whether it was the poster or the HK administrator but I have faith that HK would agree with me.