28's y0!!@22111 :?: :!: :?: :!:

so here's some pics of it. it's my friends. it has his old 200sx se-r wheels on it now, painted black. he has stuff to lower it, should be soon. i'm trying to get him to join. he's been wantin to auto x also. see him, say HI!

Performed by Stuffed Animals.

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So I'm responding to all the emails from people that are interested in buying that VX hatch I was selling and I get one of the weirdest questions ever:

Could a midget drive a vx without any problems?

I laughed hard. Maybe I should feel bad. meh

SO! anyone know if a midget can drive a VX? :lol:

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Quote:TSA slated for dismantling
White House asks agency's director to step downBy Sara Kehaulani Goo

Updated: 11:32 p.m. ET April 7, 2005The Transportation Security Administration, once the flagship agency in the nation's $20 billion effort to protect air travelers, is now slated for dismantling.

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The latest sign came yesterday when the Bush administration asked David M. Stone, the TSA's director, to step down in June, according to aviation and government sources. Stone is the third top administrator to leave the three-year-old agency, which was swiftly created in the chaos and patriotism following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The TSA absorbed divisions of other agencies such as Federal Aviation Administration only to find itself now the victim of a massive reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security.

The TSA has been plagued by operational missteps, public relations blunders and criticism of its performance from both the public and legislators. Its "No Fly" list has mistakenly snared senators. Its security screeners have been arrested for stealing from luggage, and its passenger pat-downs have set off an outcry from women.


ÔÇó More transportation news

Under provisions of President Bush's 2006 budget proposal favored by Congress, the TSA will lose its signature programs in the reorganization of Homeland Security. The agency will likely become just manager of airport security screeners -- a responsibility that itself could diminish as private screening companies increasingly seek a comeback at U.S. airports. The agency's very existence, in fact, remains an open question, given that the legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security contains a clause permitting the elimination of TSA as "distinct entity" after November 2004."TSA, at the end of the day, is going to look more like the Postal Service," said Paul C. Light, a public service professor at New York University and a Brookings Institution scholar who has tracked the agency since its birth in February 2002. Light calls the TSA "one of the federal government's greatest successes of the past half century," and likens it to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the late 1950s, which was also born amid great public excitement to serve an urgent national need.

More narrow role
But TSA's time in the spotlight is over and it should now step back to serve a more narrow role, Light said. "It's a labor-intensive delivery organization that is not going to be making many public policy decisions. Its basic job is to train and deploy screeners," he said.

Bush administration officials say they don't expect the demise of TSA, adding they will know little about the future of the agency until new Homeland Security Sec. Michael Chertoff completes his review of the department, which will likely prompt a major overhaul.

"TSA has taken significant steps to enhance the nation's transportation and aviation security over the course of the past two years and TSA continues to have the confidence, not only of nation's air travelers, but of departmental leadership, to continue in this important mission," said Homeland Security spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. "Secretary Chertoff is open to adjustments in the way that DHS does business but will not advocate for or against any change until a thorough review of the changes are complete." The review is expected to be completed in May or June. The government has pumped more money into airline security than any other Homeland Security effort. Much of it goes toward salaries for more than 45,000 security screeners at over 400 airports. Travelers know TSA mostly by its operations at the airport security checkpoint, a highly public role that magnifies agency's smallest blunders and often forces it to have to defend itself.

"Republicans didn't want to create this [bureaucracy] in the first place. Democrats see security as an easy target. So you don't have anyone to defend it," said C. Stewart Verdure, Jr., former assistant secretary for policy and planning at Homeland Security's Border and Transportation Security directorate, which includes TSA. "If someone sneaks a knife through an airport, it makes the news. If the Coast Guard misses a drug boat, no one hears about it. "The TSA won early plaudits for swiftly building the first new federal agency in decades and restoring confidence in the nation's aviation system. It achieved 51 goals demanded by Congress under tight deadlines and took over many responsibilities from the Federal Aviation Administration, including the expansion and operation of undercover air marshals. At its peak, it had 66,000 federal employees and met deadlines that were unthinkable by the federal government, installing luggage scanning technology and hiring a new workforce of airport security screeners within a year.

Bit by bit, however, the agency's responsibilities have steadily dwindled amid a succession of directors. Many of its operations have been folded into the Department of Homeland Security, which it joined in 2003. TSA scrapped early plans to create a broad law-enforcement division. The air marshals, who lobbied to leave the agency, were transferred to the department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division -- to the dismay of TSA leaders. Next, the explosives unit left. Now, the agency's high-tech research labs in Atlantic City are also going to another division of the department. Last week, momentum accelerated in the push to replace federal screeners with private contractors at the nation's airports. firstling Transportation Security, a Cleveland private security firm, became the first company to win approval for liability coverage under the SAFETY Act, which means that if the firm takes over checkpoints, claims will be capped in the event of a terrorist attack. The move clears a major hurdle in the return of private screening companies. The law creating TSA allowed for federal screeners to be replaced by private ones after two years.

"We need to step back and look at the billions of dollars we spent on the system, which doesn't provide much more protection than we had before 9/11," said Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), referring to tests conducted by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General that gave a "poor" rating to TSA screeners for their ability to catch weapons at the checkpoint. Mica, a key lawmaker who helped write the law that created the agency and chairs the House aviation subcommittee, would like to see private contractors take over screening jobs at airports. "TSA was something we put in place in an emergency, but it needs to evolve. You could whittle TSA down to a very small organization and do a much better job."

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TSA's three leaders each have had distinct management styles and approaches to security, creating a culture of perpetual change. Its first leader, John W. Magaw, was a former head of the U.S. Secret Service who wanted to make TSA into a broad law enforcement agency with cops at every checkpoint and agents directing investigations at airports. After six months of protest from Congress and the airline industry, Magaw was replaced by a popular, industry-friendly former Coast Guard Commandant, James M. Loy. Loy spent much of his first year getting rid of what he called Magaw's "stupid rules" such as the secondary screening at the gates. Loy was so well liked that he was promoted to the No. 2 job at Homeland Security, from which he resigned along with former Sec. Tom Ridge earlier this year.

Stone, TSA's current leader, is new to Washington and has been known for his cautious -- some say near paranoid -- approach to security. He presides over a much slimmer TSA, with 52,000 employees, and said he supports the president's proposed changes and is happy to give up programs -- even large ones. "I'm a big optimist," Stone said in a recent interview in is office, which looks out on the side of the Pentagon hit by a United Airlines jet on Sept. 11, 2001. "I'm not really concerned about turf if that's what is best for the American people. I want to look back 10 years from now and say we did it right at TSA."

TSA and Homeland Security spokesmen declined to comment on Stone's departure. "We don't discuss personnel issues," said Roehrkasse.

Every morning, Stone begins a daily two- to four-hour intelligence meeting, in which he and 40 of his top managers review incident reports from the country's 429 major airports and from train, bus and trucking systems. They comb reports of evacuated terminals, unruly passengers and unattended bags, looking for the next big threat.

Travelers, airport workers and flight crew members involved in incidents are nominated to the government's secret "watch lists," meaning they will be singled out for extra screening the next time they arrive at an airport. So-called "selectees" wind up on the agency's secret list because they disrupted a flight -- not necessarily because they are viewed as terrorists. For at least six months, the selectees will be pulled aside for extra scrutiny every time they fly. Several thousand names are believed to be on the list.

ÔÇÿSelecteeÔÇÖ list
Stone, 52, believes the exercise shows that TSA still serves a critical role in the nation's intelligence network. He has told new Homeland Security Sec. Michael Chertoff that he hopes the agency will keep this role. Airlines have complained that hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent passengers, and even pilots, have been added to TSA's "selectee" list or that some names are confused with those on the "No Fly" list, subjecting travelers to delays and hassles at the airport.

At a February meeting between TSA and 18 major carriers, airline representatives were asked who had crew members on the list and "they all raised their hands," said one airline source who was present. Airline officials said crew members on the list must be stripped of their badges and cannot perform their duties, according to TSA rules.

Stone said "one or two" pilots who are approved to carry guns in the cockpit have been put on the selectee list in the past year. He said he recalls a "handful" of other pilots who have been added to the selectee list because they were involved in "outrageous" incidents. He cited an incident last year in which an intoxicated pilot punched a patron at a restaurant and threatened him.

"We take all of these incidents seriously and we work to resolve them quickly because we know that people's livelihoods are at stake," said TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield.

Going forward, Stone faces the challenge of keeping TSA's workforce motivated. Many screeners took their jobs expecting that the new agency would provide a path to a federal career. At a recent hearing, Stone acknowledged that screeners suffer from low morale. According to an internal survey last year, 35 percent of employees are satisfied with their job.

Stone said security directors around the country sympathize with him, saying: "You've got the toughest job in federal government. You're under the gun for every little thing. You're constantly under the microscope."

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Here is my incredibly unscientific preseason assessment of the 2005 season of Moto GP. My goal is to get everyone up to speed and hopefully people will watch when they can. I'll post race highlight videos up of every race and the odd interview or two when I can.

Moto GP 2005
The championship will consist of 17 rounds at locales all over the world from Japan to South Africa. This year will be the first time in over a decade that there will be a US round, which will be held at the fabled Laguna Seca (Me and Andrew are going ). You have Yamaha to thank for ponying up the money to bring the track of to FIM's standards.

Last year was pretty much a dogfight between Rossi and the Honda riders. This year will probably be much of the same except Rossi now has Colin Edwards as a teammate. This formidable duo could possibly take the Manufacturer's championship away from Honda.

Yamaha aka "Yammy" or "Yamahaha"
Rossi became only the second rider to ever win back to back championships on different bikes (Honda to Yamaha) joining Eddie Lawson (Yamaha to Honda, 88-89). If Rossi wins the championship this year he will join the elite cadre of 5 time winners including the Australian Mick Doohan (Honda 94-98 ) and fellow Italian Giacomo Agostini (66-72).

The Yamaha YZR-M1 has benefitted from another year and development and should show further improvements in braking (one of its strong points over the Honda) and handling. During preseason testing it hasn't consistently topped the Hondas but it looks like Rossi and company were focused on developing a sustainable race pace not clicking off fast laps.

The development duties thus far have been split up between Rossi and American Colin Edwards (2-time WSBK champion). Rossi has headed up the chassis development and Edwards has done the tire tests. Since the riders have the same riding style this method may prove to be quite effective.

Honda aka "Honduh"
Honda has been the 800 lbs gorilla in GP racing for some time and this year they'll be out for blood after losing to Rossi last season. In the offseason there was a bit of a shake up in management as well as the rider lineup.

The Repsol Honda team is the factory unit that gets all of the updates first. This year Max Biaggi has joined that team alongside American Nicky Hayden. Many of the former GP champions have expressed their lack of confidence in Biaggi in the number 1 spot for Honda. In preseason tests Nicky Hayden has been faster than Biaggi in 5 out of the 6 test weekends. I predict this trend to continue.

Here is the configuration of the other Honda teams

Telefonica Movistar Honda
Sete Gibernau (2004 2nd place overall)
Marco Melandri (2004 12th from Yamaha)

Camel Honda
Troy Bayliss (2004 14th from Ducati)
Alex Barros (2004 4th place from Repsol Honda)

Konica Minolta Honda
Makoto Tamada (2004 6th from Camel Honda)

One may look at the lineup and wonder why Sete Gibernau is not the number 1 Honda rider. Well, behind the scenes supposedly he is getting all of the factory updates. The only reason he didn't move to Repsol was his contract with his Spanish sponsor Telefonica Movistar.

Of the rest of the Honda riders look for Makoto Tamada and Marco Melandri to make the most noise this year. Tamada won 2 races last season and many think the only thing holding him back was the wildly inconsistent Bridgestone tires (he was the only Honda rider to use them).

Ducati
After a brilliant debut in 2003 Ducati failed to make a dent last season. Loris Capirossi returns as the number 1 rider with Carlos Checa backing him up. Many disagree with the choice of Checa since he is known as a frequent crasher.

The Desmosedici GP5 hasn't proven to be much faster than the GP4 (relative to the competition) during the preseason tests. Ducati has introduce some new technologies on the bike such as launch control and a new engine braking system but apparently they have not amounted to much more speed. They've also switched to the much maligned Bridgestones in hopes of finding an edge over the Michelin shod front runners but to date they have not achieved a breakthrough. It looks like the Italian squad will have their work cut out for them.

Suzuki "Zuke"
The Suzuki Moto GP team has not experienced much success since American Kenny Roberts Jr. won the championship back in 2000. This year it will be him and fellow countryman John Hopkins having another go with the Suzuki GSV-R. In preseason tests there have been a few glimmers of hope with the bike that was terrible last year (and the year before). I predict that "Hopper" will get a few top 5 finishes this year. Not sure if Kenny Jr. still has it in him.

Kawasaki aka "Kwak"
Kawasaki like Suzuki was a non-factor last season. The most publicity they got was over the 190 mph+ blowout Shinya Nakano had at Mugello from a rear Bridgestone tire failure. The the 2005 ZX-RR features an all-new 'big-bang- engine. Big bang refers to a revised firing order whereby the explosions are spaced further are part in order to allow the rear tire more time to regain traction. The Honda and Yamaha already utilize this technology.

Favorites
Who are my early picks? Well I've got them in four groups. Frontrunners, possible surprises, mid-pack, and all the rest.

Frontrunners
Gibernau and Rossi are definitely going to be battling it out throughout the year. I also think we'll see Nicky Hayden and Tamada in this group.

Surprises
John Hopkins and Marco Melandri. These two young guys have a lot of fire and I think Hopper will be more consistent this year.

Mid-pack
Biaggi, the rest of the Honda riders, the Ducati team, and Kawasaki. They'll swap places furiously and I think Biaggi will sneak on the podium or even get a win or two. But his pace in the preseason has been pretty uninspiring (and I don't like him).

The rest
Who cares. Team Blata is sponsored by Ludacris but they'll be lucky to get a top 15 finish. Kenny Roberts Sr.'s team (Team KR) will also be lucky to break into the top 15. Life is hard at the back of the pack...

I thought this one was cool...

They seem to be pretty popular and GRM's civic had some. Are they alright for track use? There's gotta be a catch, right?

Bring the box o' tshirts next time please.

I wanna trade my black one for a yellow one.

(I live with a buncha girls and a questionable guy... they say black is a horrendous tshirt color that only dorks wear... and I have to listen to them or else they'll nag me to death).

thank you
gimme a hat