Corvette: First Drive

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I picked up my car from Premier today and drove it back to Lehi. Right now the car has a fairly rough base tune. The idle is set high (about 950) and it’s running with zero degrees of timing (there is an issue with the knock sensors being too sensitive).

Noise: I thought the exhaust drone was loud before, but now it’s nearly unbearable on the freeway. I’m going to have to explore a new exhaust system and some sound proofing on the car’s interior (if needed). Don’t get me wrong- the car sounds amazing, but it may just be too much.

Clutch: The pedal feels a little loose when it’s disengaged (up, down and side to side play). Once it’s pressed it actually feel really good. Getting the car moving initially does seem to be an issue (aluminum flywheel), but I think that can be overcome with some practice. The clutch is pretty quiet (although there’s a lot of extra noise coming out of the console- I’ll need to pull that and see about deadening the sound).

Suspension / Drivebility: The car felt a lot different than I remember. I dropped it off at Vince’s to get an alignment done and to tweak some of the shock settings. The car felt a little bouncy and less stable than before. But some of the change probably comes from the added weight in the front of the car (engine). The clutch is going to take some getting used to. Shifting seemed to be good. [Update- it turns out that the one of the steering linkages was loose and this was causing the sloppy feel]

Power: Premier dynoed the car and it put out 630rwhp at 6 PSI (with no timing). That seems pretty good, considering that’s about what I had before with 8 PSI. Driving home I could tell there was a lot of untapped power. I didn’t do anything crazy, but the car pulled hard in 3rd and 4th. Seems to be on par with what I remember with a lot of room to grow.

The Vette needs a serious cleaning. It’s been sitting around for months at this point and the inside and outside are filthy. A dirty car always diminishes some of the enjoyment. Can’t wait to get her back, do some cleaning and get the break in miles (500) put on. Then I can have some real fun.

A Few Thoughts on Opportunity Cost

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Right now I’m in the middle of a bunch of projects- car upgrades, garage reorganization, office makeover and a store expansion. There’s no question that these projects are taking time, resources and causing me more than my fair share of headaches. So the question floating around in my head lately is “Why?” Why am I doing all this stuff?

Clearly it’s because I must believe that after finishing these undertakings I will, ultimately, be better off than I was before. And then I started thinking about opportunity cost….

Obviously any money I put into my car (or any project) is unavailable for other uses. But what about intangibles? While my car is being overhauled I can’t drive it. What is the opportunity cost of three months of enjoyment? If a mathematical formula could be created, would it show that there is a net benefit with regard to my endeavors? Or is it possible that, when factoring things like utility, pleasure, peace of mind and finances I am actually running a deficit and I don’t even know it.

I do know this: On several occasions I have thought “I shouldn’t have done this- I should have left good enough alone.” But hope generally carried me through. I believe people are very good at creating the reality they want. Perhaps a mathematical analysis would be insufficient; how do you account for the illusion of desired outcome? Cognitive dissonance always wins in situations like these.

What could have been will always remain unknown.

Hughes Family: October 29th 2012 – November 4th, 2012

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Yeesh… I have fallen behind this past week. Too much going on. Maybe I should write a post about that. Yes, take some time to write up a nice post about how little time I have because so much is going on.

I am a big fan of Chinese food. I don’t think fried  shrimp qualifies as Chinese food but I love them nonetheless. If you’re ever looking for some good buffet shrimp check out Asian Buffet in American Fork. You have to hit up the dinner (more expensive than lunch) but it’s well worth the cost. And their main courses are good  too. Anyway, that was my point- we went to dinner and I ate a lot of shrimp. That was a good day.

Halloween rolled around and Fran took the kids out while I manned the door. Well, to be more specific the kids took off and Fran spent an hour looking for them. The crowds didn’t seem as thick this year. I would guesstimate we had between 150-200 trick or treaters (last year I think we had about 300). I always find it awkward when parents yell stuff at me from the side walk. I usually have no idea who it is or what they are saying. So if it’s you then stop it.  
I had some fluid build up in my ears this week and I was experiencing pronounced ringing which was aggravated by loud sounds (especially voices). At one point during the night I heard a lot of murmuring outside before the bell rang. When I opened the door about twenty kids screamed “TRICK OR TREAT!” and I felt like someone kicked me in my ear drums. I tried to smile and as I handed out candy to my tiny costumed attackers.

The kids all had a fabulous time (how can you not have fun on Halloween?). They came back with their pumpkins filled to the brim. Michael typically sorts out his candy in preparation to trade, sell or eat.

Gabe tends to dig in right away and eat until he gets sick. Claire is usually pretty good about rationing, although this year Fran made a discovery in her bed. This will probably seem totally anti-Halloween, but we always offer to buy the candy from our kids. The amount of treats they end up with on Halloween is staggering (school parties have them on a sugar high long before they even go Trick or Treating). Only Gabe took us up on our offer this year. We pay well, so don’t feel too bad for the kids.

We like to play games, but it can be hard with Gabe and Chloe. The other night the two youngest went to bed early and so we played a few rounds of Jenga. For some reason that night I felt particularly impressed that we had made little people who could now play games with us. I don’t want our kids to grow up too fast, but it will be nice when all six of us can settle into a game together.

I hope one day my kids read these posts and go “They had fried shrimp?”

Hughes Family: October 26th 2012 – October 28th 2012

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This past week we had an outdoor pack meeting for Scouts. Mike had fulfilled all the requirements to get his Wolf and we were all going to attend.  Fran offered to provide the hot chocolate, but after mixing the one can we had bought she realized that it wasn’t going to be enough. We were already a bit late and there was no time to get more. Fran suggested we mix Ovaltine with hot water and condensed milk. It was actually really good.
Once we got on our way it was apparent we were in for a “treat”. Snow was falling.

And as it fell, the snow began to blow. And it blew harder and harder until they called off the award presentation portion of the meeting. Everyone stuck around and drank hot chocolate (we had made just enough). It was cold!

A few days later we all got ready to hit the Sabin’s Halloween party. Mike and Gabe were Ninjas, Claire was Cleopatra, Fran dressed as a leaf, Chloe was a lady bug (Fran and Chloe were a pair) and I dressed as a rapper…. or something. I don’t even know if people realized I dressed up.

The Sabin’s party was delightful, as always. Spooky decorations, crazy costumes, festive food, a Halloween pinata, and tons of crafts and games for the kids! Fran and Chloe won the “Most Creative” award this year and scored a sweet Halloween movie.  Many thank to the Sabins for their exceptional parties.

Here are a few quick pictures of some of the outrageous Halloween decor. You’ll get to see a lot more on Rachel’s blog once she puts up her party post.

And then it was time to carve pumpkins! The cool thing about these pumpkins is that they were all grown in Fran’s garden! And some of the kids even did their own carving this year, which was nice.

From left to right: Gabe, Cam, Claire, Chloe, Fran and Mike. These are the pumpkins in the light…

…and in the dark. How positively terrifying!

Next week is Halloween and the kids are already hard at work building a candy immunity. Will they survive? Stay tuned!

Corvette Project Update

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We’re making slow but steady progress on the Corvette. Nothing is as simple as we expect, but I guess that’s part of the fun!

I mentioned that the CV Boots on the C5 axles rubbed against the new coilovers. After searching online we found a simple and effective solution- just scooch the CV boots back a bit. Presto.

The big delay getting things back together stemmed the turbos. With the APS kit there’s simply not room for larger turbos and that’s really what we needed. In the end we sent my Garrett GT3582Rs to Comp Turbo in California. They overhauled them and added lighter and larger 64mm billet inducers. In theory this will allow us to build more boost at lower RPMs. We shall see…

The Turbo installation went smoothly…

…and everything fit back together pretty well. Installing the AMS-1000 was a bit tricky. Vince and the crew got the boost controller elements hooked up and he felt confident that it was “probably right.”

Here’s everything under the car all put back together. Vince and the guys did a fantastic job and the reinstallation looks really clean.

The first time we tried to start the car it fired right up and seemed to run perfectly. The video below is the second time we tried to start it.

And then there was a little mishap with a transmission cooler line that wasn’t hooked up. Really we were just cleaning out the old fluid.

And then we were finally able to film it with no mishaps while it was running. It sounded really good!

I called Marc hoping he could swing by to give the car a quick tune but he was off at SEMA. And as it turned out there were a couple of small issues to take care of so I sent it up to Premier in West Jordan. And that’s where it is now… hopefully behaving.

Each time we make some progress I get excited. Hopefully I’ll get to drive it a few times before I need to park it for the winter.

Hughes Family: October 15th 2012 – October 25th 2012

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I don’t have time for this, but here’s another Hughes Family Update (HFU, for those of you who are obsessed with turning everything into an acronym). I think I might stop referring to myself in the third person since I moved all the HFUs over to this blog.

Fran and (some of) the kids pruned, pulled and plucked this past week. Winter is coming and now is the best time to batten down the hatches. Mike is a destruction expert so Fran had him rip everything out of the garden boxes. Too bad the kids doesn’t find the same pleasure in pulling weeds as he does ripping out vegetable plants. We will miss the green as winter takes a hold.

Fran started a new laundry initiative. The kids now have to do their own! Maybe this seems cruel, but they have to learn at some point. So far it’s been a struggle. The typical laundry pattern is demonstrated here by Mike. 1) Wait until there are absolutely no clothes left. 2) Beg mom to do your laundry, try to cut a “deal” and  complain about the injustice of life. 3) Finally wash your own clothes. 4) Remove them from the dryer while they are still wet. 5) Take them halfway to their final destination. 6) When there is no other option cram all the clothes into one drawer, wrinkles be damned. Yeah for chores!

Each year we hit up Cornbelly’s at Thanksgiving Point. This year they had a crazy amount of stuff to do and the corn maze was election-themed.

Mom and the kids (along w/ a few other groups) went to Cornbelly’s in the afternoon. The weather was extremely cooperative given the time of year. They rode 55 gallon drum trains, played in corn…

…rekindled old friendships, rode the zip lines, flew down giant slides and had a blast. Fran said there was literally too much to do this year.

That same night the adults met up for a corn filled romp. The temperature was so nice you almost didn’t need a jacket. That made for some big crowds though. Here I am with my yearly corn cob cigar (I pop it in my mouth and turn into an Arnold-Sylvester-esque tough guy who always seems to say the wrong thing at the wrong time).

Despite the crowds there was still a lot to do. We trekked our way though the four foot high corn maze (probably a result of the lack of rain this year). We threw corn at each other and spouted off a bevy of bad corn related jokes (corny jokes, if you will). We shot the corn and pumpkin cannons, worked our way through several mazes, played some volley ball, took a frightening (and bumpy) hay ride, admired the carved pumpkins and conquered the three story slide (I got injured, per my Cornbelly’s tradition). Fran rode the zip line and the mechanical bull too (videos below for your enjoyment).

A grand time was had by all. Each year I think we’re getting too old for Cornbelly’s and each year I remember that I’m wrong.

A few weeks ago I told the kids about how I used to make “guys” out of cardboard when I was their age. Sometimes they’d be ninjas, sometimes robots, but their fate was always the same – I beat them up (in retrospect I probably had some aggression issues). I don’t know if that’s why the kids made these paper people, but they were cute. I think some of them did get beaten up.
And then there was crazy hair day. Claire and Gabe got into it, but Mike was apparently too cool for crazy hair. I wish I had crazy hair.

Fall is a fun time. The leaves drop off the trees and you run outside in your underwear to rake them up the instant you notice. No time to spare when a leaf pile is at stake. I have incredibly fond memories of playing in leaves; I wish my kids had more than one tree for their adventures.
Chloe’s teeth are in full swing now. Two bottom are in and four are working their way out on the top. Babies without teeth are cut. But babies with teeth are cute too.

How Shopping has Changed…

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Anyone shop? Yeah… I’ll bet pretty much everyone shops. I know that I do. And I’ve actually had a paradigm shift occur with regard to my shopping pattern that I wanted to share. Up until last year I hated shopping online (which is ironic if you note that I own and make my living from several online retail companies). I was a “buy it in the store” kind of guy even if that meant I had to drive to several locations and pay more to get my item. I wanted it right away and I was willing to pay a premium. Plus I felt more comfortable in a store where I could see and hold the product and, if it was unavailable, easily search for comparable alternatives.

I’ve copied my personal Amazon shopping history below. It might not be that interesting (and I realize it’s “long”), but it shows how my purchase volume has skyrocketed in the last year or so:

I can’t quite explain this shift. Maybe it was Amazon Prime? Getting most items in two days has been exceptionally convenient. Perhaps it’s the fact that things are almost never “out of stock.” There’s always somewhere online to get what I’d like. Maybe I’ve simply gotten more patient as I’ve aged? I don’t feel like I need things right away. Or maybe I realize the importance of saving time and money more than I used to? Shopping online tends to be cheaper and I don’t have to actually go anywhere- my purchase comes to me! I don’t know… but now I shop online.

In some ways the transition has been jarring. The other day I went shopping for a couch and a love seat. I made the sojourn down to R.C. Willey in Orem. As soon as I walked into the store I felt overwhelmed. How was I going to find anything? As I wandered around the floor I literally thought, “I need a search. I can’t sort by color, price, size or anything. I feel really uncomfortable!” Eventually someone offered to help me and he became my “search” and “sort” option. “Blue leather couch” I queried. Off we went around the store. I was able to complete my purchases in about two hours (including commute time). Somehow I was left feeling disappointed and aggravated.

A few days later I needed a second love seat. This time I checked out R.C. Willey’s website. They have (finally) added the option to shop online. I quickly sorted through their love seats, selected the color I wanted and reviewed the physical dimensions. Within three minutes I had concluded my shopping. I did drive down to pick the item up (I guess I still have a hard time waiting), but my online purchase left me feeling much happier. Go figure.

Anyway, I’m on online shopper now. If I switched then maybe other people are switching. People like me must be part of the reason why companies like Amazon are gaining so much ground. Even my “little” company is growing by leaps and bounds.  Customer continue to migrate to the web. I know, I know- that’s not an original idea, and it’s already backed up by tons of survey data. But now you can add my anecdotal experience to the evidence cache.

I can’t figure out why I waited so long. But even stranger is that I really don’t know why this shopping shift occurred or how I became so uncomfortable in physical stores.  Anyone else become an online shopper recently?

Hughes Family: October 8th 2012 – October 14th 2012

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We had a pretty laid back week.  Work is taking up more of my time these days, but hopefully things level out.  Well, come to think of it with the Holidays almost here they will only get more hectic. Ah well…

Chloe took her first steps this past week! Fran had a gut feeling it might happen and so she actually captured it!

Claire lost her second tooth this past week (and the tooth fairy remembered to come this time). More and more often basement access is blocked by giant piled of couch cushions, pillows and blankets. Cam used to do this kind of stuff when he was a kid and this appears to be the much referred to “karma” that his Mom warned him about. Speaking of messes- something things get so bad that we use a snow shovel to scoop up all the crap on the floor (the carpeted portion of the floor) and have “throw away” parties. Yes, this is for real.

Fran picked Saigon Cafe for this week’s meal. Saigon is a little Chinese / Vietnamese restaurant down in Provo. We used to go there each week when we lived by it, but only make it down there every few months or so now. Good food.

Fran and the kids made some pies. It’s hard to figure out how helpful the kids are this point. When Gabe turned on the mixer is was definitely not helpful. The Apple pie is made with apples from our very own tree. Fun!

On Sunday we went to Cam’s parent’s house for dinner. Mom made delicious pulled pork, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and we at the pumpkin pie Fran made. Grandpa & Grandma gave Chloe a cute bear while Claire quickly adopted (as mentioned in another post Chloe doesn’t quite get stuffed animals yet).