January 16, 2010:
MINI link
I’m sure you’ve all heard about it by now, 
“>MINI USA’s latest release for the iPhone is a possibly-neat-and-useful app that shows MINI related stuff in your area:
I downloaded and tried it this morning. First, it plays a much too loud at 8am sound EVERY time it loads 
but then second, I was pleased that it knew my GP VIN# (GPs have unusual VINs, different to all other MINIs) – and it even displays a GP image on the map!
As you see, it shows a number of local “hotspots”; there’s local dealerships MINI of Peabody and Herb Chambers MINI of Boston, and an assorted list of other places – but no MINIs!
There’s also what seems to be a bug (or maybe a wierd feature?); as you zoom out, instead of getting more and more places listed, you just get ones further away – no use at all for seeing what might be on some route you’re planning!
I decided instead to look down in Florida, where GPMINI actually is – and here I found some MINIs!
There’s even an upcoming event down there (do I need to book flights for next weekend?):
I did try to create an event for MINIsOnTop; the first time the app crashed as I finished creating it (the third crash in 5 minutes of testing), and the second time the event disappeared off the map moments after showing up. Maybe the events are vetted before showing – or maybe the app is just a bit buggy and unreliable.
Either way, it’s not so useful yet …
January 15, 2010:
A secret message from Orlando MINI
Amusing …
What you (and I) can’t read is the information about tires written between “Dear Ian Cull” and “Tire Tips”:
Aside from your engine, your tires are the hardest working components on your car. Make sure to get the most out of your tires by having a 4-wheel alignment performed @ Orlando Mini. An alignment is recommended every 12-15,000 miles or annually. Benefits of an alignment are minimized tire wear, better fuel mileage, increased road handling and a sense of security of knowing that your alignment was performed by a factory trained technician on a state-of-the art laser alignment machine.
Is this secret only in Safari, or only in Gmail, I wonder …
(can’t see it in Chrome/Gmail either)
January 13, 2010:
F-frreezing and f-frozen
A whole lot of nothing going on right now, so I’ll repost an Audi pic from MargaretAndIan!
To see more (15f. and frozen river), visit MargaretAndIan
December 25, 2009:
Merry Christmas everyone
And Christmas greetings from Attitash Grand Summit Hotel too (where MINIsOnTop was held) – this greeting from them appealed to my engineering side too, coming “flat packed” but turning in to a globe …
December 22, 2009:
Virtualization
A huge detour for MINI owners – in the huge=27″ way 
1-1/2 years ago, I got an iPhone; shortly after that, I got my Macbook Pro. While the Macbook Pro was mostly an expensive toy and little more than a photo editor / iTunes repository and web browser, I did use it sometimes for work tasks when I was away. Enough to learn that running Windows is feasible when necessary.
Now, with the 27″ iMac, I’ve chosen to replace my #1 PC at work with a Mac (PC’s #2-#5 remain PC for now); this week I’ve been setting up the Mac to “play nice” at the office, and configuring it to run Windows programs, resulting in …
The screenshot shows Apple Finder and Windows Explorer both viewing the documents directory, our PCB design program which runs fine, and Apple and Windows versions of command line (CMD / DOS prompt, and Terminal). You can click the image for full size 2560×1440.
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