Birthday wishes
Today is my birthday. While I don’t personally care too much about birthdays, I do recognize that people like to celebrate their (or others) successful entry into the world so I’ve decided to break out of my drought of posting to give a little wave to the world.
(Hello world)
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Mediocre has been a little slow since the middle of Februrararary and if it weren’t for Jeff’s post about turbos (see Tuesday’s post, and the incoming conclusional post on Monday) we’d still be a little quiet. I’m sure you’re asking yourself “Why so few posts recently?’ and here’s the quick answer: “We’ve all been busy, and winter sucks around here.”
(This is basically what we see here in Seattle for 9 months straight, except with less blue sky)
Now that’s not to say that we’re done with Mediocre or with working on/racing the cars, I’m just saying that constant rain and clouds takes a surprisingly large amount of energy out of you. What’s planned for the incoming months? Let’s take a look at the quick list for each of MY cars. Jeff and Alex might chime in later if I can convince them to contribute.
(Fix carb, full brake replacement, suspension overhaul, fix rusted floorpan, repair/rechrome bumpers/trim)
Check out the full “photoshoot” here: http://mydigislr.shutterfly.com/celica
(Motor mounts, oil cooler, maybe a new exhaust, maybe a retune…we’ll see)
Now, it’s my birthday so I get to keep the stage for a few more minutes. Who am I kidding, if you suckers read this far you’re going to keep reading anyway…suckers. While this little blog has had some ups and downs, periods of TONS of posts and periods of drought, we’ve always maintained a pretty good audience and some consistent readers. We’ve grown a lot (looking back at my first few posts, I’m a little ashamed at the quality) and we’ve still got a lot of growing left to do. In the end I just really wanted to thank everyone for their support, either in being a reader or being a contributor, and say that I really appreciate you guys taking time out of your days to read our little corner of the interbutts.
Now get off my website, I’ve got work to do.
– It’s Steve’s birthday and he’ll be sappy if he wants to
Mediocre Motoring 
You have birthdays? What, the anniversary of when you landed? Happy birthday then!
Your picture of the Seattle sky does not tell the whole story. Where are the miles of traffic caused by Alka-Seltzer brains? Drivers around here go frothy when wet. Seems like everything is an excuse to drive one mph below the speed limit, be it rain, snow, darkness, low-angle sunlight, or another car within 1000 feet. Yesterday morning I passed two individuals on the way to work (on the two-lane portion, much more on the freeway), and both had an attitude about it. I guess they don’t like being awoken by loud blue noises.
This about sums it up.
What cracks me up about the drivers “in this area,” Jeff, is that everyone I talk to always has something bad to say about those drivers. If everyone is saying the same thing, what does that say about everyone?
Also, that comic nails it. So depressed…
It’s the same phenomenon as everyone rating themselves as a “better than average” driver. Statistically impossible. It’s also the same thing where everyone going faster than you is a maniac and everyone going slower is a moron. Always true. I personally believe you should not drive past about 80% of your ability (and that of the car you’re operating.) With this qualification, everyone could rightly say they are good drivers, and still be a road hazard most of the time, if they’re being asked to something beyond their ability, like use a turn signal, keep right, use judgment regarding speed limits, and not freak the fuck out when I pass them.