My Syma S107 Helicopter Video Hack

Some time ago I got one of those awesome little IR controlled helicopters, a Syma S107.Then, I saw a guy on eBay selling keychain video recorders, similar to this one. Of course, I thought I maybe could mount the guts of the micro video camera under the helicopter, and record my flights.First, I dis-assembled the video camera. It isn't hard, there are 4 screws, 2 on the outside and 2 on the inside....

Free Motor Oil Coupon: G-Oil

I was offered a chance to give away a free mail-in rebate good for a 5 qt. jug of G-Oil motor oil, so here it is.Link.G-Oil is an interesting new product from Green Earth Technologies. It is billed as a superior motor oil, as good as any synthetic or crude based product, however G-Oil is made from cattle. It comes in 5w-30 weight or racing formula. Yes, beef.G-Oil "recycles" beef tallow into motor oil, which is also bio-degradable. It is made...

Politics: Gas Pump Activism

A bit if gas-pump pinup activism, a blogger is advocating pasting up these fliers at gas pumps, to blame Obama for rising gas prices.http://disruptthenarrative.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/gas-pump-activism/ To be fair, Obama was talking about his hypothetical (and never enacted) cap and trade plan, and I think he was talking about electricity, not oil.  See http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/06/27/flashback_obama_says_cap_and_trade_makes_electricity_rates_skyrocket.html...

CU burned by Leaf

Consumer Reports bought a Leaf.Thinking that a range estimate of 30 miles meant close to 30 miles, Jon Linkov left home with a kid to drop off at daycare and a commute to the office. 17 miles later, he was in turtle mode. About 17 miles from startup, the potential range indicator had become three blinking dashes. I realized I was not going to make it to work, and decided to get off the highway. As I exited the Leaf entered "Turtle" mode, complete...

Best Performance Values

Over at Forbes, there is a post listing the ten fastest vehicles under $30,000.  The results are interesting, but they are sorted by 0-60 times. What if we resort the list based on "value"?  I'll define value as the number of dollars it takes to get incrementally better from 10s 0-60 (in other words, price/(10-T60))? Here is the value ranking:1.) Ford Mustang V6 5.6 $22,145 $5,032.95  2.) Subaru Impreza WRX 5.2 $25,495 $5,311.46 ...

Chevy HD Video Fishiness

A guy at work pointed this out to me.  If you watch closely, in video #5 of Chevrolet's HD truck HD2HD video series, the Ram truck changes from a single mirror model to a dual mirror model.  Which means that Chevrolet isn't showing just vidoe of the official test, but is also showing video of another vehicle. The single mirror shot can be seen at around 3:30, the dual mirror can be seen...

Saab, Beats Porsche, Still In Trouble?

Interesting nugget in the just released sales numbers... Saab sold 830 cars in March, compared to Porsche's 771. However, Saab is having trouble paying suppliers, and needs to come up with a new infusion of cash soon, or sell itself off aga...

Bally's, D.O.E. and GM Collaborate

Breaking news! Exclusive to Autopophet:Bally's, the U.S. Department of Energy, and GM are announcing today that they are forming a collaborative joint venture called "Sweat-n-Volt(tm)". Sweat-n-Volt will be installed in several Bally's Fitness locations to show the feasibility of recovering exercise energy as usable transportation fuel. Treadmills, stair-steppers, and stationary bicycles will be modified to generate 12v DC current using left...

I4 Is The New V6

I have written it before, and more confirmation today, the V6 is dying out as America's engine of choice.  According to Ward's, GM will be installing only I4 engines it the new 2013 Malibu.  The current Malibu is one of the top selling mid-size sedans in the U.S. market.    By offering direct injection and possibly turbocharging, the Malibu I4 will no doubt make V6 like power numbers while getting better fuel economy.  This...