Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Why I don't surf forums much anymore

Two posts in a day, woohoo I'm on a roll.

Anyway I don't surf forums much anymore. Mainly because the signal-to-noise ratio has gone to hell and people who don't know any better are contributing their worthless input in a topic they do not have an iota of knowledge about.

In summary, the people who make the most noise get noticed. The undisputed champion is "Big Al", who has got to be the most annoying motherfucker on the planet, bro. I'm not hatin', bro. It's just that if you need to use "bro" in every sentence, you will start to be retarded, bro. Kind of like "Big Al" and how he's always sucking on David Buschur's dick, bro. Maybe he's gay, that's why he likes to use the word "bro", bro. I'm not homophobic by the way, bro.

And talking about David Buschur... I have respect for the man's accomplishments, but not for the things he claim or say. Like claiming 600 whp on a daily driver with pump gas is sensible because there exists an example car that has got "high mileage". Dude, 9000 miles on a car is not high mileage. Thanks to you I now have customers who expect 600 whp on pump gas with high mileage, which usually means about 60,000 miles on the clock in this part of the world.

Long ass post

For the most part, working in the aftermarket tuning industry is rewarding and interesting, not because it is pays well (it doesn't). It is all about putting in one's maximum effort in everything, and when everything comes together as planned, enjoying the fruits of one's labor. Hopefully having some fun along the way.

In a way it's like being a medical practitioner; you visit a doctor when you're ill and seek his medical advice. Most of the time all goes well; you recover from your illness and the doctor goes on to treat other patients. Thus being a doctor is seen as a noble calling because the spirit of medical ethics guides their actions.

A tuner has no such luxury because there is no such thing as a Hippocratic Oath; it is widely perceived to be a shady profession to begin with.

A doctor is allowed to make bona fide mistakes due to illnesses having similar symptoms, but this standard is not applied universally. As long as word gets out that "XYZ did (or did not do, as the case may be) ABC to so-and-so's car" and it "blew up/stalls/causes babies to cry" then it's automatically assumed that the tuner is incompetent and/or negligent.

Whether it was actually a mechanical fault, driver error, a FUBAR engine build from some famous machine shop or the stars in a portentous alignment, are totally incidental to the playing of the blame game.

Whether the intent to propagate such "information" is malicious or not, is beside the point. To a tuner, his integrity is everything. He must absolutely stand by his work because it is a service, not a product that can be held or admired.

That is not to say that the customer isn't allowed to complain. The customer is definitely allowed to complain insofar as he feels that he is not receiving the attention that he deserves, and rightly so. On the other hand it is an entirely different thing altogether when the tuner tries his best yet the customer is planting seeds of FUD in the other customers, friends, even to the employer! As it is, a tuner's work is difficult (yeah I know it looks easy, but that's just because I make it so haha ;) without having to deal with this kind of bullshit.

Anyone who plants FUD, whether intentional or not, cannot be in my circle of trust.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Urinal etiquette

According to Ananova a man has been sentenced to community service after punching another man twice for breaching urinal etiquette. I believe the female judge was mistaken. There is an universal unspoken law among men not to breach urinal etiquette at the risk of bodily harm. It can be described as (courtesy of a poster on digg):

RULE 1: When presented with a row of empty urinals, choose one on either end.

RULE 2: When arriving at a row of urinals with one or more occupants, choose the empty urinal which is furthest from an occupied urinal.

RULE 3: Always make sure to have at least one space between occupants.

RULE 4: When unable to comply with Rule 3, check to see if a stall is available.

RULE 5: If there is no stall available and you must stand next to one or more other occupants, keep eyes forward (or on your own activity) at all times. It is also appropriate to stare up into empty space. In no event should you look toward the other occupants, unless they're suffering from an obvious medical issue that requires immediate attention (such as a heart attack/stroke) or they're on fire. If they are on fire or suffering a medical condition, never make eye contact with their package. Note that it's okay to pee on the distressed occupant in case of fire, but only in the area of the flames. While peeing on the inflamed occupant, be sure to announce that you're doing this for their own good.

RULE 6: Peeing in the sink is NOT acceptable.


For those with a pea for a brain, here is the Flash game that explains everything.