It was destiny…
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Rapunzel
I’m terrified of doing certain things in public: Speaking, teaching and even asking a question or making a comment. Being in a play would cause my body so much shock that I could probably power a small city. Not for me. No thank you. Luckily, my little girl didn’t inherit my paralyzing fear. Last month Claire took part in a theatrical production of Rupunzel which the family went to see.
The production was based on the Disney version of Rapunzel with a few twists. The ending is quite different – Rapunzel’s mother sees the error of her ways and they all live happily ever after. But more importantly, with a cast of close to one hundred they had to make some additional script changes so that all the character parts (with the exception of Rapunzel, Mother Gothel and Flynn) were expanded out. I’m not certain, but I think everyone got a speaking line. In addition to the scripted story there was a fair amount of singing and choroeography. While fun, at over two hours the play was a little on the long side.
Claire had two parts. She was cast as one of the green chameleons (I thought she was especially adorable) and also as a green fairy. Even though her roles was small she delivered her lines enthusiastically and flawlessly. She was also a very cute dancer. I’m glad Claire is braver than me (she gets it from her mom, obviously)- I think she’ll enjoy looking back at this experience when she gets older. Watch out Broadway!
Posted by Cam , May 20, 2012
Thanksgiving Point Family 5K & Fun Run
Sometimes it’s super hard to get into the blogging groove. Something cool happens, you’re stoked to blog about it and then time gets away from you. When you finally have a moment to blog you might not be “in the zone” and it’s tricky to write when you’re not really in the mood (brings back horrible memories from college- I was never in the mood to write).
Right before the end of April Fran and I ran the Thanksgiving Point 5K. I think it was the Sabins who suggested it and Fran made sure I actually went. Going in I had one goal: cross the finish line before Fran. I prepared myself by eating many donuts, burgers and chocolate. Probably not a smart move since Fran is such a tough cookie (oh, and cookies- I ate a lot of those too). I did manage to get in a couple good runs before the race so I knew that I could at least run the whole time. But could I run faster than Fran?
At first we both ran at an easy pace. Fran seemed like she was holding back so I told her she could go faster if she wanted. She sped up a bit and I did my best to keep up with her. When we got close to the finish line Fran was about a block ahead and so I put my fat body into high gear and sprinted the last leg. I managed to pass her right before the finish line and ended up one second ahead of her (literally). Pretty exciting. I think if Fran had pushed she would have won- we both ran the race in about 29 mins. Pretty leisurely.
After our 5K the kids ran a one mile “fun run”. Michael and Claire took off like little rockets and I ran with Gabe. He was a trooper and jogged the whole way (even after falling down a few times). He clocked in at about 12 mins. Claire ran the mile in 10 minutes. Michael finished in 8:31.
We stuck around for the awards since Jason had won third place in his age division (his race time for the 5K was a zippy 22:40). After the 5k winners they announced the fun run winners and Claire won second place in her age division!
The event was fairly well organized. No weird surprises. And the 5K course was actually pretty nice and took us through part of the gardens. The fun run went through farm country and was also very enjoyable. If you’re looking for a good 5K I’d recommend Thanksgiving Point. We’ll be headed back next year!
Camaro Aftermarket Subwoofer Install (Part 1)
There are a lot of forum posts trashing the Boston Acoustic system that comes in the Camaro. Personally, I think it’s pretty good for an OEM system. Distortion at high volume (22 for me) is minimal, good sound range and clarity (maybe a hint of muddiness) and I love that they nailed the sound staging- the music comes from right in front of you. The one major element that the BA system lacks is bass.
Chevy offers an OEM subwoofer solution. I checked out their subwoofer but I didn’t feel like it was a good fit for me. I confess that I’m not a big MTX fan and I wasn’t impressed with the specs (200 watts for two 10″ subs isn’t enough for me). I also didn’t like the placement of the MTX sub box (right behind the rear seats- you lose the pass through). Here is a picture of the installed box. It’s really not bad looking at all, but it wasn’t what I wanted. And at $1145 installed I was certain I could put together something that would work better for me.
In the end I decided to go with a JL Audio 10W7AE, a JL Audio JX1000/1D Amplifier and a sub box from subthumb (& their custom Camaro RCA Output T-Harness).
I picked the 10W7 because I have a 10W6 in the Vette and wanted something that could hit the deeper notes with a little more power. I briefly considered the 12″ JL Audio sub but, in my opinion, the 10″ subs produce tighter bass. The weight & cost were also 12″ sub deterrents.
I got the JX1000 because at 3 ohms it puts out 750 watts RMS (the nominal impedance of the 10W7AE is 3 Ω and it can take 750 watts RMS). Compared to some other amps I looked at it seemed like a good value.
And I went with a subthump.com sub box because they are a killer deal for a custom fitted solution. I had the box cut for a 10W7AE, and it came carpeted (super close match to the OEM grey) and was excellently constructed. In the past I have commissioned and helped build my own sub boxes, but I don’t think I could have pulled off this box.
Anyway, here are some install pics (after which I’ll talk about performance):
I dug down to the battery (trunk batteries rock). Measured out the wire (4 gauge for this project). Unclipped the factory amp and…
…plugged in the subthump.com harness. This harness is a lifesaver. It taps right into the preamp audio signal (before it goes into the factory amp) and gives you RCA outs. Then you can just plug in your sub! Got the sub box ready (I like to cut away fabric where the seals hit the box).
Sub ready for install. The W7AE subs have a unique mounting system which looks really cool, but it is a little trickier.
Attached terminal connectors to my wires (power & ground) and then installed the fuse. Here’s a pic of how the connector sits on the battery.
Getting the Subthump box in takes some doing. Had to move a couple wiring harnesses and cut part of the trunk carpet wall (side note: when you buy the box you’ll get a link to installation instructions). Once it’s in, the box fits great. The amplifier wired up. I ended up mounting the amp to the sub box (I do what I want). Moved the wires out of the way to clean up the look. Then cut my Lloyd’s trunk mat so it rested against the sub box.
And here is the finished product. Personally I like being able to see the amp and I especially like having the sub mounted off to the side. For me this is more aesthetically pleasing than the factory sub. Total install time was about five hours (I ran into some unexpected complications) and the total I dropped on this project was a little less than cost of the MTX sub.
That’s it for Part 1. In Part 2 I’ll talk about the sound, tuning, and my late night stereo shoot out.
Premier Parking Spot Corvette Joyride
Premier Parking Spot is supposed to watch your car while you take a cruise. In this case they were taking a cruise in the car while ABC watched. Reminiscent of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” it turns out owner Jay Nieves was taking his customer and his customer’s cars for a ride. If this weren’t bad enough the victim of Jay’s latest joyride was a red Corvette. Check out ABC’s undercover investigation!
Sometimes I wonder if this has happened to my cars. On occasion I have gotten a car back with damage or with what, in my opinion, is an excessive amount of mileage (“We have to test drive them, you know.”). This is one of the reasons I try do all my own work and I never leave the car with anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary. You just never know what people are doing with your car when you’re not there. And then amount of disregard some people have for the property of others is mind blowing.