Roadwolf's Blog

So I finally purchased an Axixtech Torrent lightbar, and it arrived last week.  The bar is as clean and sleek looking in person as it looks on the web.  The bar is built in a solid manner. It is not easy to open up to gain access to the inside, and I do not recommend trying. Everything is very well sealed and enclosed.

The bar mounted up nicely on my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.  The support plates for the feet were all I needed in order to mount the bar to the rails of my roof rack.

My bar is a fairly standard configuration, full blue bar with dual color blue/amber LED modules at the back for the arrow bar.

The video above is very telling.  In direct sun, you can still make out the led modules.  And they are bright enough to cause lens flare, even in the same frame as the sun.

In the manner which I have mounted this bar, when it is not activated, it looks just like a luggage rack.  You can not tell it is a lightbar until you get right up behind my vehicle.  This is good, as it limits the number of people who ’shadow’ me on the highway, sitting in my blind spot, because they are too afraid of passing me.  I hate when that happens – but since I installed the Torrent, it hasn’t happened very often.

I have already had the chance to use this lightbar twice while responding to a call.  Both times I have had no issues or problems with people in my way.  On both sides of the road, everyone pulled over.  Cars, trucks, semi-trucks, and buses.  A huge improvement to just having a dash light.

In terms of brightness, this lightbar is bright.  Some of the guys at my hall were joking that it could be used as an airport landing strip light.  At night time, I think I need to activate the Dim mode so I don’t blind people.

In the day time this bar is easily visible from at least a mile away – if not more.  At night I imagine this bar would be visible from upwards of 10 miles away at full brightness.

I have dual halogen take downs in my bar.  In terms of lighting up a scene, they work more like floodlights (as opposed to spotlights) which is nice.  That being said, they are still brighter then the headlights when you look at the front of the vehicle.  The alley lights are nice as well.  They do work, but again they are not spotlights, so it is more of a flood light effect.   It is useful for lighting up a dark street or looking for an address.

In Warning Mode 3, the Takedown lights and Alley lights alternate.  There is nothing you can do to really avoid that.  That being said, I think they flash at half power, so they give you the flashing halogen effect from the front and side, but they are not overly blinding at night.  Also of note in Mode 3, you can not turn the Takedowns on fully, nor can you turn on the Arrow Bar.

‘Cruise Mode’ is also very useful.  Who needs scene lights?  Just give yourself White or Amber corner modules and activate cruise mode.  All of the corner lights light up, and stay on.  This is useful at events where you need to be visible for people to approach you through a crowd – or even for when your sitting waiting for calls,  flip it on, and it lights up the area around your vehicle.  I will likely be using this for camping and off roading, where I need to see around the vehicle, to save on flashlight batteries and such.

The lightbar has 3 main warning modes. We have already spoken a bit about Mode 3. Mode 3 is the ‘pursuit mode’ which is to be used while responding to a call, or chasing someone. Each LED module (pair) in Mode 3 is fully programmable as to what flash pattern it will use. In program mode, you can cycle through each set of modules and select various flash patterns. The same holds true in Mode 2.

In Mode 2, the takedown lights and alley lights do not flash automatically. The Arrow bar also functions in Mode 2.  I have set the light heads to alternate is a slower pattern in Mode 2, then I have them set at in mode 3.

In Mode 1, the whole bar alternates as if it was one single light module. You can select various flash patterns, but you have no control over which light heads are selected. I have set my Mode 1 up with Dim, and Front Cutoff, so it acts as a rear warning light. It works well.

You can view the wiring diagram and flash pattern diagram in the User Manual located here: http://www.lightningxproducts.com/pdfs/TORRENT.pdf

So long as the corner modules are all activated, this bar does meet and exceed SAE J845 specs. With the Amber Arrow Bar, this bar also meets and exceeds SAE J595 specs. And when configured properly, this bar can meet part of the SAE J2498 spec.

Buffalo Police Department uses Axixtech Torrents on their newer police cars.  They are very effective and after speaking to a few officers about the bars, I haven’t heard any complaints. Rightfully so, this bar is excellent.  Honestly, the Axixtech line of emergency lighting is easily on par with the big names.  In some cases Axixtech blows the competition out of the water. When I first was getting into LEDs, I was warned to stay away from any LED brand other then Axixtech. And I can totally see why. For the price, and affordability of these products, compared to the effectiveness and dependability of these products, Axixtech are by far the best out there.  I have owned various Axixtech lights over the past few years, and I must say they have never let me down.

I want to thank http://www.lightningxproducts.com for their help in making this project become a reality.  I highly recommend checking them out, as they have been very helpful. In conclusion, this is an amazing lightbar and I would highly recommend it to anyone who does emergency service work. You will not regret it.

Tags: General, Hobbies, Roadwolf's Rants, Volunteer Work by Roadwolf
No Comments »

Well I figured it was about time for me to post an update here.

I have been hard at work lately, as well as balancing my time with trying to get my TF2 servers organised.  My previous gaming clan, the FastLaneCrew decided they could no longer support the servers, so they handed them back to me, and I thusly had to build up a small clan to support them.  So far things are going well, and I am working on getting everything running smoothly.

My Green Cheek Conure, “Paddy” is doing well.  He has started a molt, likely because of this hot weather we have been having.  But otherwise is doing fine.  The wart on his eye is gone that’s to some anti-biotic the vet provided for him.  Paddy has been a joy for me to have around.  While he is kind of like having a child in some respects, he is generally easier to take care of.  Paddy has attached himself to me, and he will often ask me to scratch behind his ears and enjoys cuddling under my hand when I am trying to type (which can get annoying…).  Him and Beryl generally get along okay, and I have let both out of the cages at the same time, and they both like to fly around together.  ‘Little Bird’ however is still a mean bitch towards Paddy..  She however has not gotten her wings yet, so we don’t let her out.  I have tried to convince Nightbird to start training the Parakeets again, but I don’t think that is going to happen.

Work is going well.  I am on night shifts now, which is interesting.  The job involves walking long underground tunnels…  I can’t really go into the specifics of it, as it is heavily monitored by DHS, but its pretty neat.

I have had a craving to go hiking lately – perhaps even to Zoar Valley again, so I can relax in the nude for a bit… lol  Meh, what can I say, it feels very liberating to do that…

I was kicked out of the firehall as my work schedule interfered with my drills which I was required to attend.  I did get permission to get excused from those drills from my chief, however apparently that fact was forgotten when the board of directors meeting took place and they were like… oh hes been missing drills…   no shit…   its called earning a living.

Not to worry, I am likely moving out of Buffalo within a year or so.  That hall was fairly boring, and I am not missing much.  In my opinion, they have some serious problems there, which should be sorted out.  But they won’t be, and eventually the hall will get shit-canned, and they will sit there scratching their heads wondering why.  Likely for the best I am no longer involved.

I shall try to post more often now that I am kinda getting settled into my new schedule.

Tags: Beryl, Buffalo Life, Flying Circus, Paddy, Roadwolf's Rants by Roadwolf
No Comments »

A few weeks ago I got into a discussion with a friend about urban planning.  The topic at hand was related to mass transit, and the concept of Subways vs Commuter Train service.

The idea of Subways of course is to easily move from one part of a high density city to another part without impacting surface transportation or requiring a lot of land, which is likely expensive to purchase.  Where as the idea of Commuter Train Service is to bring daily commuters in from the suburbs in order to work and do business in the city.

The conversation came about as my friend had asked my opinion on a graphic of the TTC subway system with a proposed expansion he was working on for a college project.

At some point it was suggested that suburban commuters were not needed in the city, and thus services like the commuter train server were not as desired as subway services.  He went on to claim that a city such as Toronto should be completely self sustaining.

Okay, I may not have gone to college for urban planning, however studying urban sprawl and such aspects of how cities develop has been a hobby of mine since grade school.  So I do have some knowledge on how cities function.

Cities do not develop because people ‘like the location’ or because a town wants to ‘become a city’.  They develop based on several factors including transportation, access to resources, climate, and the overall need for such a development.  Cities don’t develop because of the attraction of the city, with the possible exception of Los Angeles.   Nor can a city sustain itself with the resources found within that city.   No city is self sufficient.  All cities rely on outside resources in some form.

For example.; Calgary, Alberta is a city which was formed as a Railway town by the CP Railway.  It was chosen as a main yard and maintance location on CP’s Main line west through the Rockies.  The farming and cattle industries, combined with the nearby tourist and resort industries helped contribute to its growth from a simple railway town into a city.  Without the railroad, Without the cattle ranches, and wheat fields, and without the nearby resorts in the wilderness, Calgary would not be the city it is today, and it would dwindle and fail quickly if those were suddenly removed from the city.

Most cities develop as central marketplaces and gathering places.  In my opinion there are 2 major types of cities.  The first type is the Industrial City.  Focused on production and industries, these cities function through the support and population encouraged by large factories and processing plants.   Hamilton, Ontario, or Detroit, MI would be good examples of such a cities.  The weak point for these cities is that, if a plant closes, half your population is now unemployed and the need for the services that a large city demands, diminishes as people move away in search of better jobs.

The other type of city is the Financial City.   Toronto, Ontario,  or New York, NY or Chicago, IL are good examples of such.   These cities started out as industrial cities, but quickly became centers of finance.  While some people would like to elieve that such centers of finance are immune to outside influences, and can survive without them, they would be vastly mistaken.  Such cities are often more dependent on outside influences then industrial cities, in that financial cities aralso effected by situations in industrial cities.  A strike as a major plant in an industrial city, will likely cause millions or billions of dollars in lost revenue at that plants headquarters in a financial city.  Not to mention financial cities usually have a more well established commercial and service industry to serve its more affluent citizens.  All of these shops and services depend on goods shipped in from outside the city.

I think a lot of the mindset here is that city dwellers get tired of paying taxes toward the city in order to improve infrastructure for commuters to use to come into the city to do business.   What a lot of people may not understand however, is that the city also taxes businesses and industries just as it taxes residents.  So while a 400 million dollar project to revamp the highways heading into the city may seem like a lot to taxpayers, chances are that money is mostly coming from the industrial and commercial sector.

But as usual, city dwellers will think they are the most important people in the world, and they will bitch and complain like they always have.  The job of a good urban planner is not to try to trap people in the city, but to encourage growth in the city in all forms, be it residential, commercial, or industrial.  As well as ensuring the infrastructure is capable of handling the traffic in and out of the city.

Some cities will never develop into high density cities like New York City.  New York is a special case in that Manhattan is on an Island, and thus that encouraged high density as everyone wanted to avoid ferries and bridge tolls.  Cities like Toronto and Chicago will develop away from their financial centers.   Usually remaining fairly high in density along major transportation corridors, but as you move further away, the density will decrease.   The cheap land that suburbia provides within an hours commute from major cities, often prevents density from creeping too high in most cities.

So in most cases the dream of creating super dense cities is a pipe dream.  It will likely not happen.  And if urban planners are blindly working towards such a pipe dream without taking into consideration the infrastructure and ability for people to commute in and out of their city, then they are doing more harm them good.

Tags: General, Roadwolf's Rants by Roadwolf
1 Comment »

So it took me a while to get around to seeing Avatar.  My wife and I happened to want to watch a movie at the theater this weekend.  After reviewing the movies which were playing, I picked Avatar – as it seemed to be the most interesting and intellectual movie available.

The reviews I have heard about the movie were always fairly negative.

Granted I did not know too much about the movie, even after it having been out for several months.  I had not read any teasers nor have I really studied it.   Plus the fact that I do not have a TV and therefore I suppose I missed a lot of television commercials for the movie?

None the less, for me the movie was very well done.   The graphics were mind blowing.  The plot line was pretty decent.  I wouldn’t say that the plotline was overly predictable at all times.  There were many twists and turns I did not expect.

The main character was an interesting choice.  I am unsure if he is handicapped in real life, but it really looks like he is.  I think that is amazing, not only to include a handicapped person as a main character, but also to hire a handicapped actor.

I think the military aspect of the movie was very overdone, and almost GI Joe-ish.  You would think in a hundred and fifty years from now we would of learn’t better ways to fight then using conventional ammunition…

I am not going to describe the plot line here, as I really do not want to classify it under another film.  It does have a unique plot line, which is similar to a few other films, but unique enough to define itself.

When I went into the movie theater, I thought for sure the movie was going to be bad, from everything people have said.  I came out of the theater refreshingly impressed.  Just goes to show you that you shouldn’t take other peoples advice all of the time

Tags: Roadwolf's Rants, Uncategorized by Roadwolf
No Comments »

Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

Tags: Roadwolf's Rants by Roadwolf
1 Comment »

I generally do not take notice of mass hysteria type predictions such as this one.  I simply try to go about my normal life and do my own thing – while maintaining a natural degree of alertness to the world around me.  December 21st, 2012 or December 23rd, 2012 will hopefully be similar for me.

I normally wouldn’t write such an article, prolonging and expanding the discussion of such events.  This is especially true now that web crawlers like Web Bot scanning for keywords into such events, which will be used to make very false predictions based on human fear.

This is very much like terrorism.  While I must agree that many intelligent people I converse with all believe that these theories are full of shit.  The uneducated population might not be able to figure that out.  I imagine there will be some people that will be scared for their lives on this day.

This brings me to my next point.  The influx of popular culture into this prediction, has all but eliminated the possibility that ‘SOMETHING’ will happen.  In fact, the more people discuss this, the more likely that something will happen.  Will it be a comet? or Planet X?  Or a black hole?  No…  It will likely be the work of terrorists, who would use this event to fuel their reign of terror.

Think about it.  What better time to strike?  Millions of people will believe the world is coming to an end if someone were to strike targets on this day.  The chaos, and terror this would cause would be far greater then the Sept 11 attacks.

Personally, I plan on being in Central Ontario, Canada, at a cottage, spending time with the family on these dates.  However, I will suggest bringing extra food, water, and fuel to the members of my extended family.  I do plan to have my ham radio set up for communication as well.  Will I be scared?  No…  I will be ready however for any human made disaster.

I suggest that people stop laying importance on these dates…  The more they do, the more likely something will happen.

Tags: Roadwolf's Rants by Roadwolf
No Comments »