Miscellany and extreme cold

[Jenny Curtis <jenny@physics.spa.umn.edu>]

Hey Q-list:

Well I've been out for X-mas but I've returned to find the list gone mad talking
about what to do with their cars when they're dead and trying to reprogram pole
position.

Tim I think you're right.  We should be buried in our Quattros, although I'm
considering bequeathing mine to the Audi museum in Germany.

Now Kevin.  Did you get a hold of a real full-size pole position game?  That is
so freakin cool.  I used to walk over to the game room in a nearby hotel when I
was in college just because they had that.  Now you know where I learned my
current driving skills.  To mess with such a classic is blasphemy, even to
Audize it.  Would you have Ms. Pacman show up in Wizard of Wor?  I would think
the UrQ would be more suited to the cross country all terrain driving game, Road
Riot 4 WD, anyway.

By the way, the reason for those Subaru Aussie commercials is simple.  People
consider a subaru station wagon a 1/2 step above a mini van in uncoolness.  It
is a stupid attempt to make their cars appear macho and tough.  Actually they
aren't bad cars ( I have friends who have two that are both over 200K in miles
and still trucking the family), but their advertising is a joke.  They also
spend a lot of dough trying to associate themselves with ski teams.  Why?
Haven't they seen Better Off Dead?

Now for serious car content:  There was a terrible cold snap in Minneapolis over
Christmas and the Princess struggled with starting.  (-20 degree wind chills).
She started like a dream in the morning after sitting all night on the street in
the extreme cold, but I found that if I drove her around for an hour and parked
her for about an hour I had a heck of a time restarting.  Has anyone else
experienced this?  Also one night the wind was so cold when I went to check the
oil, I opened the hood and the little tube that carries the wiper fluid snapped
clean in half.  The plastic was not designed for Minnesota.  Now that it's
warmed up and gotten sloppy, I'm off to Axman surplus to find a replacement
rubber tube.

Jenny
4kcsQ (official car of the NE Minneapolis toboggan team)