Blog Plug: motoringfun.com

One of the coolest results coming from MINIUSA threatening to sue anyone with "MINI Cooper" in their website name, is that it has fully entrenched the word "motor"- and it's grammatical variations, into the MINI community. Welcome motoringfun.com


When posed with the obvious question, "why another MINI site?" Proprietor Pedro proudly posts:

"...[to] put up a site as sort of a collection of
my personal favorite fun and cool MINI stuff...
and make it easy to find in one place..."

Audio, Video, Images, Cool MINI Ads (my personal favorite), and the only "MINI Chat Room" (that I'm aware of anyway), this may be the next "big thing" in the online MINI Community!

www.motoringfun.com

Do you have an independent, MINI-related blog or website you'd like to link up with BushingferMINI? Click Here!

Head-on Collision, Driver OK?

I found these photos and accompanying dialogue on another site...
As they say, a picture spawns 1,000 words...






A couple comments:
"The engine is hanging out of the bay, and sideways. Ouch. Something that is comforting is that the passenger cabin look almost undisturbed. Except the airbags, of course..."


"Holy #$%@ did that car take a hard hit. Man like everyone else said it's obvious that the person lived and I'm glad to see that but jesus to rip the engine all the way out like that takes a substantial amount of force..."


Looks like this poor chap hit a pole at high speeds. Hope everyone is okay.

Itsy Bitsy...

I was about to wash the MINI this evening when, wouldn't you know it, along comes another stranger wanting to check it out... *sheesh* ...










they never wanna actually help you wash it, do they?

Many MINI banners...

In between homework, working off the clock, and the occasional semblance of a social life, I've taken to creating banners for my signature on NAM*...

Enjoy these and more classy MINI photos on my NAM Gallery*.
(Made using Adobe Photoshop, or, *duck* MS Paint?)


*You mean you've never heard of "NAM"? (northamericanmotoring.com)

MINI MPG Update...

Since gas prices started to go down a few weeks ago*, it is now actually more difficult to track and log my miles per gallon! Before, I could wait til my tank got to E and consistently put in $40. My how the numbers change when varying the actual amount of gas per fill up....


*Right before an election... Imagine that!

Phantom Park Subterranean Garage Lift

Perhaps the coolest garage accessory I've ever seen! I sooo want one!

(wait for it... wait.... it's comin'... no, really...)





All I need is a big house, and an extra $60,000.


aclifts.com

New Toy Inside! New Toy Inside!

they say it's your birthday!
it's my birthday too yeah!...
(In honor of that fateful night...)

I rarely impulse shop, and my latest toy is no exception! Thanks to Internet, I've only been looking at "all-in-one portable GPS navigation devices" for three or four months. Based on anticipated needs, features, and mostly price, I narrowed my selection to the TomTomGO300 and the Garmin StreetPilot C330. Almost identical in features and size, either one would do, and after some pseudo hands-on use (i.e. in the bigbox store), TomTom beat Garmin, by about $100 and a Bluetooth option which will probably never get used... :)


Barely put to the test, I'll just point to the CNET review (TomTomGO 300) for now...



Mounting:
Technically, I shouldn't mount anything on the windshield due to California Vehicle Code something or other... Yet another use for the "American" cup holder.

My prototype "American Cup Holder Nav Mount":

I cut out a piece of plexiglas to fit snugly into the base of the cupholder (I knew I grabbed that piece of plexiglass out the street 2 weeks ago for some reason!); The suction cup sticks to the plexiglas. I've had this for about 5 hours, so we'll see how it goes...

• TomTomGO300
• Plexiglas found in the street

The Call

You should really watch this short film. You should also have a high-speed internet connection.

The Call - PirelliFilm.com

New Wheels! Sorta....

I'd originally had these wheels on my '03 Cooper, then I sold the Cooper. The wheels have been functioning as a coffee table for about three months since. This weekend I finally put them on the new MINI!

loaded and strapped in for the ride to the shoppe...



on the rack...


stylin'...


*and* profilin'...

Tires: Toyo Proxes TPT
Wheels: ICW Racing
Special thanks to Integrity Tires for not screwing it up.

Blog Plug: minicooperinfo.com

I'm happy to add Steve @ minicooperinfo.com to my list of "pre-screened", "Bushfinger-approved" MINI-related sites.
Steve's site features plenty of high quality, semi-official info on the "new"/BMW MINI, including, news, official photos and media clips- including the commercial that made me want a MINI! (pssst- he's a Motoring Advisor too!)

www.minicooperinfo.com



Do you have an independent, non-commercial MINI-related blog or website you'd like to link up with BushingferMINI? Click Here!

UFO Sighting in '07 MINI Ads...

The adverts for the 2007 (a.k.a. "R56") MINI Cooper are surfacing on the web (and on TVs if you're not in the U.S.)... I immediately noticed an Unidentified Flashing Object not seen in any photos in any official (or unofficial) photos...

From the "WooHoo" spot (crappy YouTube version):


A slightly better shot...


What is this shiny red thingy?!?!
See the spot...
cast your vote...

MINI Mileage Update

So I thought I'd take a couple minutes to update my MINI Mileage Chart. It'sa getting a bit harder to track this since gas prices finally went down and it's not as simple as putting 2 $20's into the bill reader to fill er up...

Flickr (Yahoo) Terms Of Service Update

I'm not necessarily a big fan of Flickr a.k.a. "Yahoo!" I believe their Terms of Service says "we own your photos". But who reads the fine print?



"...with respect to Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service, you grant Yahoo! the following worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license(s), as applicable:

• With respect to photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service other than Yahoo! Groups, the license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the Service solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available. This license exists only for as long as you elect to continue to include such Content on the Service and will terminate at the time you remove or Yahoo! removes such Content from the Service.
  

• With respect to Content other than photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service other than Yahoo! Groups, the perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed."

hmmm....

Flickr Gallery Update

See more photos-i-don't-necessarily-own-anymore on my Flickr Gallery

All hail "OctaneGuy"- Professional Auto Detailer/Restorer

One of my biggest real-life heroes, is auto detailer/restorer, OctaneGuy (shallow, I know).

"...if you want to learn how to take care of your paint, and keep it looking showroom shiny day in and day out, that's what you'll learn from my detailing session. Think of it as a combined class and interactive professional detailing session..." MINIniM.com

Mustangs, Vettes, SUVs, and his latest trick, a MINI!

before:

after:


http://www.showcargarage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447
www.showcardetailing.com

NAM Upgrade??

aaah... feeling frisky are we?

It appears North American Motoring.com is going through a software upgrade. Oh- the excitement! What ever could it be?! Web 2.0 wowness? A digg.com ish rating system? More better faster servers? Movie/video support? Chat rooms? Oh- the antici... pation!

Meanwhile, as the link says, buy stuff!

S.O.T.*: A Novel Mutation in Human PAX9 Causes Molar Oligodontia

*So off-topic! (nothing to see here... testing the go ogle b o t... )

A Novel Mutation in Human PAX9 Causes Molar Oligodontia

Abstract
Experimental and animal studies, as well as genetic mutations in man, have indicated that the development of dentition is under the control of several genes. So far, mutations in MSX1 and PAX9 have been associated with dominantly inherited forms of human tooth agenesis that mainly involve posterior teeth. We identified a large kindred with several individuals affected with molar oligodontia that was transmitted as an isolated autosomal-dominant trait. Two-point linkage analysis using DNA from the family and polymorphic marker D14S288 in chromosome 14q12 produced a maximum lod score of 2.29 at {Theta} = 0.1. Direct sequencing of exons 2 to 4 of PAX9revealed a cytosine insertion mutation at nucleotide 793, leading to a premature termination of translation at aa 315. Our results support the conclusion that molar oligodontia is due to allelic heterogeneity in PAX9, and these data further corroborate the role of PAX9 as an important regulator of molar development.
http://jdr.iadrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/81/2/129


(yeah, that's abstract alright! )

Not Just For Grills Anymore*...

I was sportin' the Motoringfile.com Badge at the Sept. 9 BMWCCA Auto-cross...

(crappy cellphone pic)

*"motoringbadges.com magnetic grille badges are specifically produced and recommended for use with official MINI grille badge holders only and are not warranted, expressly or implicitly, for application on any other automotive surface, including but not limited to exterior paint or applied graphics, vinyl or otherwise." (Emphasis added)

What's White and Black and Holds 21 People?

Yep! You guess it!

MCS "User Review"

Not every MINI owner is a "MINIac"...



(Watch Now)