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Help my Friend Michael :)

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by ViciousSummer, May 31, 2006.

  1. TCR

    TCR Peon

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    #61
    Michael, good luck buddy. You will make it it no time. Gotta love your old school references in your blog. And I know exactly what it means to 'rock you like a hurricane'. hahahha.

    VS, I must say that you are quite smoking. There I said it. Now I can get back to work.
     
    TCR, Jun 9, 2006 IP
  2. mcfox

    mcfox Wind Maker

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    #62
    Yes, that was a pleasant surprise :) (Glad you liked it, Michael)

    Not sure why that might have been. :confused: Your post prompted me to get the finger out with that site so I upgraded the software today -- perhaps you would try again? :)
     
    mcfox, Jun 9, 2006 IP
  3. ViciousSummer

    ViciousSummer Ayn Rand for President! Staff

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    #63
    haha...When I 1st read that I thought, "quit smoking? I don't even smoke!!". Thanks, btw ;).

    It will accept regular links now, but it still says it can't find a reciprocal link at: http://www.viciousstyle.com/friends.php. Maybe because I didn't use the exact code provided? :confused:
     
    ViciousSummer, Jun 9, 2006 IP
  4. axemedia

    axemedia Guest

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    #64
    I see the Van o Meter broke past $10,000. Nice!!!

    Only 4 more stacks of high society to go!
     
    axemedia, Jun 10, 2006 IP
  5. Mia

    Mia R.I.P. STEVE JOBS

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    #65
    About the "Rubix Cube" thing. I noticed a lot of people asking about that pic with all the coloured buttons and thought, hmmm, how many people have taken the time to actually ready through Michael's entire site?

    If you look at Michael's "short version" you will find “Scott System” mentioned at or about the second paragraph. A simple search on the web for “Scott System” may actually land you some place like this:

    http://www.drivingsystems.com/scottsystem.html

    Apparently all those buttons operate every little thing from wipers to windows, etc.. They have a nice close up of the button panel which may make more sense.

    Call me anal, when I am interested in something, I have to know every last detail about the why, where and how!
     

    Attached Files:

    Mia, Jun 10, 2006 IP
  6. ViciousSummer

    ViciousSummer Ayn Rand for President! Staff

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    #66
    Wow, I just got home and hadn't seen that it's already past $10K! SUPER cool! 1/5th of the way there in only NINE days. I have to say that I am totally amazed...:eek:
     
    ViciousSummer, Jun 10, 2006 IP
  7. sji2671

    sji2671 Self Made Mind

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    #67
    Nice one, ten G's and counting!
     
    sji2671, Jun 10, 2006 IP
  8. mcfox

    mcfox Wind Maker

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    #68
    Yeah, that's brilliant news!

    :)
     
    mcfox, Jun 10, 2006 IP
  9. ForgottenCreature

    ForgottenCreature Notable Member

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    #69
    Great job guys! :)
    He'll have his new van in no time.
     
    ForgottenCreature, Jun 11, 2006 IP
  10. oconnellmd

    oconnellmd Peon

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    #70
    Way to use those research skills, Jeremy! You beat me to it!

    Yeah, the "Scott System" is made up of a couple of main parts. Part one, as you've seen, is the whole control box thing. There are buttons on the box attached to the driver's door, and more buttons (most are actually just repeated buttons from the big box, but the most common ones you use while you're driving) in the center of the steering wheel. Yes, those button operate just about everything (and light up real colorfully at night), from the windows to changing gears to the wheelchair lift, the heater, the headlights, everything. They're all in close proximity so you don't have to go reaching for them (which I really can't do, so that's bonus).

    Let's reference the photo and take a look as we go, shall we?

    [​IMG]

    Actually, that control box really makes me drool. Mine's like 20 years older than that, and mine doesn't have certain stuff this one does. I see you can control the heater/AC from this box. Not so on mine. All you can do is turn it on and off. So you have to set it to what you want before you start driving. Same with the radio. Back when my crap A.M. radio still worked (for a while there it was just jumping wildly all over its volume and cutting out, and I had to stop at red lights, undo my seatbelt, lean forward and literally beat on the dashboard to try and get it to cut back in), I could only turn it on and off. Couldn't change the station or change the volume (good thing it would change on its own, then, huh?)...again, would have to set that up before driving, because I can't reach the radio when all strapped in. This was particularly maddening on 9/11/01 when I was driving to work listening to news as the second tower collapsed. The buttons on the steering wheel operate the cruise control, the blinkers, the horn, the shifting...

    Pause for an interesting shifting story. So my gear indicator is gone, as I said somewhere on the page, so I kind of have to "feel" what gear I'm in ("Nothing's wrong, rebel base. I'm switching to manual targetting..."). So sometimes I overshoot a bit, and don't realize it until I'm on the freeway and I notice the engine is just whining and not changing gears like it should. It needs to drop down one gear. So if I carefully give that "left shift" button a tap while driving, I can drop it into the right gear. However, sometimes those buttons stick. So one time this happened, I tried the tap, the button stuck and kept going, and while doing 75-80 miles per hour, my transmission switched right into reverse. I can't quit describe the sound, but I'd liken it to an angry Godzilla attacking Tokyo. Everying locked up, horrible tire screeching, slid off the freeway...and somehow managed to stop without hitting anything or anyone. And then I got it in the right gear, carefully took off again, and it actually drove fine. So, in case you were ever wondering if its possible to throw your car into reverse while driving at high speeds...it is, actually. And that's what happens. Do not attempt. Professional driver, closed course.

    Back to the Scott System. The buttons are nice, yes (if they work). But the main thrust of the system is driving...the steering, gas and brakes. As you can see on the photo, the smaller-than-normal steering wheel it set up on a pillar or column, and the whole thing operates much like an airplane. You push forward on the whole thing to give it gas, and you pull back on it to use the brakes. In theory. The brakes on mine have basically quit working as far as the hand part goes. Slows a little but doesn't actually stop you. So I've had to switch to using the foot pedal to brake. Which works okay. I can't really lift my leg all that well, but the foot works pretty good, so I just keep my foot on the pedal when I drive and use it that way. When I get this new van, I'm going to have to learn to drive "normally" all over again and unlearn the foot stuff I'm used to.

    The steering itself is really cool. It's ultra-ULTRA sensitive steering. You move it a hair, and you're turning. I barely move the wheel at all when I'm driving. My stepfather, when I'd first gotten it and moved to Arizona, figured he could drive the thing to me there from Sacramento instead of towing it. He'll never get in that van again. He was terrified, and almost rolled it a couple of times. Takes a lot of training to drive one of these things (I had to have 20 hours of training back in '92 before I could get my license). It takes a lot of practice, being able to accelerate and brake without moving the wheel and swerving all over the road. But I'm quite used to it. However, each of these vans has its own little settings for steering sensitivity, etc, so part of the 4 days I'll be spending in Van Nuys when I get the thing--mainly for measuring and adjusting the whole thing to properly fit me--will be lots of test-driving to get just the right settings for me and for me to get used to the new steering. So I'll be sure to let you know the dates I'll be in Van Nuys, and you'd probably be smart to NOT be on the streets of that city that week...

    So that's how the Scott System works, in a nutshell. Basically, it's designed for people like me, with limited strength and range of motion. Which is why I need this system and can't really use your typical adaptive vehicle. Lucky me, I need the expensive one.

    Oh, and big props, Axe, for quoting one of my favorite movies of all time. Like Papa Wallenda said..."Life is on the wire. The rest is just waiting."

    Back to the site update, and more e-mails...

    Oh, and FYI...got a private note posted on my guest book from a popular reporter here in town from KCRA Channel 3, wanting my phone number and wanting to do a story on the "van quest". So may be some TV coverage coming up pretty quick. They say the camera adds ten pounds. But does it add $40,000? We'll see...
     
    oconnellmd, Jun 11, 2006 IP
  11. mcfox

    mcfox Wind Maker

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    #71
    LOL! We all certainly hope so! That's great news. :)

    Great explanation of the driving system but I will never conceed it is anything else except a big, built-in, rubik cube :p
     
    mcfox, Jun 11, 2006 IP
  12. axemedia

    axemedia Guest

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    #72
    Thank's for the description Michael. Its much more informative than the drivingsystems.com page.

    It's cool how the steering wheel is also the gas and brake. How soon till Formula 1 cars adapt this technology? They already have the ultra sensitive steering and you shift gears from the steering wheel. And other controls and buttons on there. Check this link to see http://www.formula1.com/insight/technicalinfo/11/645.html

    All they need to do now is add the braking and acceleration functions, airplane style, and you have a 300 kp/h Scott System leaving blue flames all over the highway.

    Michael, does the van have a pit-lane speed limiter system? Schumacher's does:D
     
    axemedia, Jun 11, 2006 IP
  13. ViciousSummer

    ViciousSummer Ayn Rand for President! Staff

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    #73
    The van fund is now up to $11,481! So far so good, but we are barely 1/5th of the way there and donations have slowed a bit. McFox has been nice enough to offer up a great domain name for auction, with all proceeds going to the van fund, so if you're in the market for a new domain, or just want to help out, go place a bid:

    http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=98345

    Thanks again for everyones efforts!

    :)
     
    ViciousSummer, Jun 20, 2006 IP
  14. aditya_sfs

    aditya_sfs Peon

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    #74
    Hello

    Well sad to hear that, but my sir is suffering from the same problem. He is a great teacher and known to be the best maths teacher in the country (India). He uses his van for travelling. You can know what actually happened to him and how he choosed teaching a career and also a means to compensate the disease he has - http://www.bansaliitjee.com/bio.htm

    Currently i am a newbie on DP so dont have much funds in paypal... so i will donate that website my link package which is in fact my first business on DP-

    http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=93786

    i will place the links soon

    regards
    aditya
     
    aditya_sfs, Jun 21, 2006 IP
  15. ViciousSummer

    ViciousSummer Ayn Rand for President! Staff

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  16. Mia

    Mia R.I.P. STEVE JOBS

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    #76
    That is awesome! Ironically I was just wondering about the status on this today. This makes my Friday! Cool!
     
    Mia, Jul 28, 2006 IP
  17. sundaybrew

    sundaybrew Numerati

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    #77
    AWESOME !!!!!

    Is he still taking donations?

    I have links on some of my sites,should I change thet link to the new page?
     
    sundaybrew, Jul 28, 2006 IP
  18. BribeMe

    BribeMe Peon

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    #78
    My best congratulations
     
    BribeMe, Jul 28, 2006 IP
  19. mcfox

    mcfox Wind Maker

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    #79
    Waaay to go Grandma! :D

    How about a picture of the good lady? Maybe she doesn't want the publicity? I can understand that.
     
    mcfox, Jul 29, 2006 IP
  20. sji2671

    sji2671 Self Made Mind

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    #80
    Good news indeed!
     
    sji2671, Jul 29, 2006 IP
    Smyrl likes this.