Saturday, December 5, 2015

Number 50

After almost two weeks of hacking, coughing and gagging I'm finally getting back to what passes for normal. I thought I was going to get away without catching anything for the holidays but no such luck. Hopefully, that'll be it at least until the spring installment of colds runs through the area. Between the health issues of the Missus and I, I had plenty of time for reading this year so I should be able to meet my goal of 50 books again this year, however.

The Design and Tuning of Competition Engines  - front cover

The photo shows number 50 and I'm about half way through it. With more than three weeks to go in the year, I should make it without any problems. This one is kind of a slow read - much more technical than much of what I've been reading this year. Takes a little time to digest. Plus it's just darn near over my self imposed 500 page limit. 499 pages of text, 517 with the appendix and index. It's a good book, though. I'm enjoying it even though it's more than a little dated, having been written originally in 1954, with my copy being an updated 1977 edition. The back cover promotes another book by the same publisher, Robert Bentley. Racing Car Design and Development looks like it would be a good one also. It's still available at their website. Might put that one on the Christmas list. I didn't check Amazon or one of the other booksellers for a used version. Might be able to find a cheap copy out there somewhere. Since most of my thinking is stuck in the sixties and seventies anyway, I don't need the latest innovations. If I'm going to build anything around here, it won't be utilizing any carbon fiber or fancy electronics to control the suspension.

The weather is supposed to be unseasonably warm the next week or so. Now that I can function at a reasonable level again, I want to get back out in the shop and pick up where I left off. Last winter was a total write-off. Need to make up for some lost time.

2 comments:

Kevin Kaluf said...

I'm not sure I will get my 50... I'm at about 38 now :-(

Shop Teacher Bob said...

New job, new bride. I can see where that would cut into your reading time.

I'm hoping to get a lot more done on my projects next year - tough to work on motorcycles with my nose in a book. Plus, I'll be a student again. 50 might be a little ambitious next year.