Welcome to 2005 and a new weblog

Posted on by Ian C.

I have been maintaining my GBMINI weblog for a year or more now, and it is finally time I used the same format for MargaretAndIan. I use MoveableType and I like the ease with which new entries can be made; integrating pictures from the gallery is not as streamlined as it should be but it is OK. One day I need to experiment with writing some code to make it easier, but I have no urge to spend many days learning php, html, etc. Instead I tweak existing code when I need to, and get on OK …

The weblog format also allows comments, if you wish – please comment and let me know what you think about the new format 🙂

Winter 2004/2005 has been unpredictable so far, with temperatures today, the first day of 2005, reasonably pleasant at 45-50f; in fact Margaret & I drove to the mall & back for lunch in her convertible with the top down!
I don’t know if we will keep the mild winter, or if temperatures will drop to the stupidly cold level they were last year …

What will 2005 bring? No idea … we have a trip to Las Vegas booked for march, and Margaret is planning to do another Masters degree. Las Vegas is I think still my favourite destination and the trip this year is justified by ConExpo for work.

I have been debating replacing my MINI with a new 2005 model (so many improvements to tempt me since 2003) but it is hard to justify …

Happy New Year everyone!

Snow, Wind, Waves, and Snow Tires!

Posted on by Ian C.

Yesterday and overnight we had an impressive “nor’easter” – a storm sitting out over the Atlantic Ocean, spinning moisture off the water back over the land as falling snow. Coupled with high winds, we have perhaps 8″ or more of snow, sculpted into pretty patterns, drifts, etc:


After digging out GBMINI I decided to drive to the nearby coast at Bass Rocks – but Police had closed the road due to dangerous waves – so I headed round to Good Harbor Beach instead (normally a bit more sheltered); normally this footbridge crosses a stream and leads to the sandy beach – today all is inundated with ocean!

Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC
Minolta DSC

During my drive, I experimented as much as possible with the performance of GBMINIs new tires. Most of the roads were plowed but still had a layer of packed & slippery snow; in these conditions, GBMINI performed quite well and very predictably. DSC was kept busy but I found that unless I was very aggressive in braking, ABS did not cut in.
I was not able to drive GBMINI from a standing start up a steep driveway – for that I guess you need snow tires at a minimum.

Overall, I will be confident in these tires through the sort of weather we have here – if the roads are not plowed a MINI is no use anyway (I heard snow against the bottom of GBMINI regularly today), and the tires gave me a useful level of grip today.
This is a summary I sent to a friend a week or so back:
Overall I am happy with the tires.
Their dry performance is probably a little better than the runflats, but I can still trip DSC if I push GBMINI.
Their wet performance is definitely better than the runflats, which often hydro-planed in very wet conditions.
Yesterdays snow performance seemed good. On a test on black ice, I had to brake quite hard before the ABS kicked in, and they never surprised me by letting go unexpectedly on the snow.
They don’t improve the ride massively compared with the runflats, which is my only disappointment. I think they help to smooth out the normal small irregularities on the road, but they don’t do anything with bigger ruts and potholes. I guess in the end the MINIs suspension is just very stiff.
They are definitely quieter than my old runflats – but I don’t know how quiet brand new runflats would be (mine were awfully noisy at 20K+ miles).