Articles written by xe - Page 11

Where Knowledge Rules

What is Helium

About me - xe

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Autos > Auto Repair (Other) Ancient rhetoric and auto repair: 2 of 2
The wisdom of the ages can be used to enhance your relationship with your car or truck, Grasshopper! Persig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" lives today as a timeless classic analysis on the subject of the application of ageless wisdom and epherical oneness in concert with the mechanical world in which we reside... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Military Aircraft Military aviation pilotless jet fighters?: 2 of 2
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles, or UCAV's, are in use today as ground-attack aircraft. Predator UAV's equipped with Hellfire missiles are well-documented as operational ground-pounding platforms in use in Iraq and Afghanistan. When we expand the conversation to include 'jet fighters' we then include not only "ground-pounder... More..
Autos > Engine Repair High performance parts: How to increase horsepower: 2 of 2
Horsepower is something that we all need more of! If you do not agree, then this article is not for you. As an automotive engineer and life-long hot rodder and car nut, I have spent more then a few hours and dollars trying to find more horsepower in everything from riding lawn mowers to a Shelby 427 AC Cobra. Cams, pistons, ... More..
Autos > Cars How to customize your car's dash: 2 of 2
Your car's dash is the piece of sheetmetal that divides the engine compartment from the passenger compartment. It is very difficult and pretty much pointless to try to customize your car's dash, unless you are doing an engine swap and need extra space. The instrument panel is where the redio, speedometer, gas guage etc. are ... More..
Creative Writing > Novel Excerpts Novel excerpts: War in Iraq: 2 of 2
We roll through the gate just outside of Baghdad; it is mid-morning so the temperature lingers under 120 degrees F. My armored, overloaded and vulnerablee HMMWWV, weighing in at over 16,000 pounds - five tons more than it was designed to weigh - groans along as the third vehicle in the convoy. The leading Caiman MRAP is usin... More..
Autos > Gas & Oil Servicing Commentary on the oil consumption of the Saturn SL1: 2 of 2
Oil consumption has been an ongoing issue for the early Saturn models. The original Saturn SL & SC models utilized an engine block cast from aluminum using the 'lost foam' process. Foam models of the block were molded, coated and treated; and the packed in a sand mixture. Molten aluminum was then poured in, melting away ... More..
Autos > Classic Cars Classic car reviews: 1965 Shelby Cobra: 2 of 2
During 1967 and 1968 I had a good friend who owned a new 427 AC Cobra - $7,400 at the Ford dealership and it was yours. This car was a beast in almost every manner imaginable, and by most accounts Carroll Shelby was amazed when he learned that people were actually driving them on the street. The car lacked a heater (among ot... More..
Health & Fitness > Substance Abuse & Addiction (Other) Performing an intervention for addiction: 2 of 2
Intervention - such a pleasant word for such a potentially cataclysmic event. My experience with intervention into the lives of heroin and crack addicts has resulted in a number of stark vignettes; from warm and rewarding to hard, cruel and dangerous. An adult with a drug problem is still protected by the same laws regarding... More..
Health & Fitness > Alternative Exercise Faradic exercise: what it can do for you: 2 of 2
I am automatically skeptical of an exercise method which, based upon my research, seems to be popular with beauticians and not athletes or trainers. Faradic stimulation - pulsating electric shock by another name - is touted as having benefit of convulsing muscles quickly and repeatedly to offer accelerated muscle toning with... More..
Health & Fitness > Exercise (Other) The link between weight lifting and rheumatoid arthritis: 2 of 2
Four decades ago a doctor told me that based upon my family history of rheumatoid arthritis and symptoms, I should move away from the cold climate of Michigan or face being crippled in my thirties. I headed for the gym instead. Last year (at age 61) I had physical therapy to address a 1980's softball injury, and the X-rays (... More..