Reading for Fun

So I'm kinda cheating you guys on this one, I wrote this mini-paper to explain what draws me in when I pick up up a book and wanted to share it. See people are always telling me "'Oh you need to read this classic by Dickens or this by XY, it's a tough read but worth it!" I have enough problems reading through this stuff for school. When I want to read for myself, I'm not going to subject myself to the torture of a book whose vernacular I just can't understand, plot doesn't appeal to me, and has symbols and such that require me to make inferences that are entirely too subjective. When a book appeals to you, you enjoy it. Reading becomes an adventure as opposed to a task. Granted we all have different tastes, cuddling up with a cup of tea and a Shakespearean tragedy might just be your thing and if it is, go for it! There is no right or wrong way to read. Just find what you love, not what other people think you should.

I’ve always felt that when it comes to reading for fun, people should actually be enjoying themselves. The book should make me want to turn the page and if it doesn’t, I shouldn’t have any qualms putting it down. I never really cared for classics that were difficult to read or that didn’t hold my attention. This set of criteria makes the books that I have read on my own time a wonderful and enjoyable experience. The last book I read, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, was my most recent engaging reading experience.

Dan Brown has a reputation for writing amazing thrillers so I decided to give this book a read. His name made me open it, but his words kept me holding it. From the first page the book had a firm, unrelenting grasp on my attention. It starts by saying “The secret is how to die.” What does that mean? Where is he going with this? The questions that popped up desperately needed to be answered; I refused to put the book down until they were. Brown has a style of telling two stories at once, switching back and forth between them until they inevitably come together, and when they do, every preconceived notion of what was supposed to happen is shattered. The plot twists and turns, leads you on a promising road only to say “just kidding!” as you hit the brick wall and find the road goes up rather than left or right. The story alone would’ve been enough to hold my attention but Brown simply completes the reading experience with his words.

His language is not so archaic and complex that it takes a great deal of effort to understand, yet it is not so basic that a third grader could read it. The language has a hidden eloquence, one that you don’t immediately realize because the text is simple and easy to understand. This simplicity didn’t come at the cost of quality however. The imagery Brown creates turns a book of words into a movie that goes on as you continue you reading. You read words but see the action. The intricate plot and simple language combined with vivid imagery makes the novel one that you don’t put down until you finish it. 

What To Do When Your Car Overheats

Before I start this on, my quick thoughts on the game. Injuries sucked, although everyone should be alright in time for Week 1. Penalties are higher than normal but this is the time to work it out. Overall a solid game. Offense under Kirk moved okay, but failed third down conversions held up drives. Rex was decent, maybe more than decent. White looked decent for a 4th stringer and lead a touchdown drive. The defense was fantastic. Solid wall in the run game, forced a ton of turnovers, good defense in the redzone and solid control the entire game. Also Ryan Kerrigan is the man.

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If you see the needle on or near the H, PULL OVER! 

My Acura (completed) project car overheated on the road today and I was able to work it out thanks to my car know-how. If this happens to you here's what to do:

So you're driving down the road and all of the sudden you notice one of two things: steam/smoke coming from the hood, or your temperature gauge is all the way up in the red. What do you do? First off, pull over and shutoff the car immediately. If, for some reason, you are unable to stop immediately turn the heater on full blast and turn the fans all the way up, this will help direct some of the engine's heat into the cabin and buy you some time.

If you continue to drive like this and ignore the temp gauge you risk destroying your radiator, melting the plastic components under the hood, warping and eventually destroying your engine. Overheating is one of the most dangerous things that could happen to your car and ignoring it will lead to either a hefty repair bill or a 2 ton piece of scrap metal.

So once you've pulled over and shut off the car carefully open the hood. If there's steam coming try to isolate where it's specifically coming from, this will help you find the source of your problem. Once it clears up see if you can see any green coolant that may have been burning in the area. Again be careful as everything is obviously really hot. Next check your coolant reservoir. See if it's particularly low. If it is, chances are you're leaking coolant somewhere. Check your owner's manual if you're unsure of where it is. Whatever you do don't open the cap just yet!

Let the car cool down for at least thirty minutes before you try to open the radiator cap. And when you do, try to open it with a rag if you can to keep your hands from burning. Carefully open the cap, if you don't let it cool enough the steam and coolant may rush out and burn your hands/face. If it is low, add coolant until the radiator is full, if you don't have coolant you can add water. Distilled is best, but use whatever you have available. After filling it let it cool some more and start it up. If the temp gauge normalizes go back under the hood and see if you find the coolant leak. If it's serious it's best to get a tow. If it's not that bad, then drive carefully and keep an eye on the temp gauge. If it goes back to H in less than a mile then stop, and get the car towed. If after a longer distance like 3+ miles it happens pull over and add coolant. If topping off coolant doesn't fix it you have a stuck thermostat or a blown headgasket or some other problem that you won't be able to service on the side of the road. Shell out the money and pay for a tow, if you keep driving you risk ruining your engine and a much more expensive repair.

If the gauge settles back to normal (usually half way or below), then drive carefully with the heater on full blast and remember that highway driving is easier on the car than city driving. Just stay close to the shoulder so you can pullover and top off the coolant if the gauge starts to go up again.  Highway driving is easier on the engine and the higher speeds mean more air is going through the radiator which helps keep the car cool. Only drive like this if you don't have that far to go. I was around 6-7 miles away from my house when my car broke down so I filled it up and got on the highway and took it home. Longer distances are dangerous. Is it worth skipping the $100 tow and risking your $2000 engine chances are you'll be fine if you're careful but I wouldn't risk it. Whatever the case may be don't panic, be careful around the scalding temperatures under the hood, and be happy that you learned how to save your car on TheMasterDebater! If you have a question leave a comment!

In summary:
1. Pullover and shut car off ASAP.
2. Check coolant levels.
3. Let car cool and top off coolant until full.
4. Start car and see if gauge settles back to normal.
5. If it does, drive carefully and top off as the gauge goes back up.
5b. If it doesn't, stop now and have the car towed.
6. Get the problem fixed by a mechanic ASAP. 

Football is BACK! Skins 22 Titans 21

First off I want to say happy birthday to my blog. I started TheMasterDebater last year on August 4th. Since then I've wrote 41 articles with an estimated 50,000 words. I've also gotten 4500 page views, yay me! Now then, onto football.

Since it's the preseason I'll keep the articles short, no game summaries, only stuff I found to be of value.

I missed the first three overall scores in the game, but after watching the highlights I got caught up. Baccari Rambo thought he could get big hit in Chris Johnson on his touchdown run, but whiffed. And he REALLY whiffed. He looked like a player on madden when you push the hit stick at the wrong time and they just stumble. Welcome to the NFL rookie.

 Defense was mostly solid, Kerrigan and Orakpo both had a sack. David Amerson had a nice pass knock down and was second in tackles. Phillip Merling, a 4th year player vying for Adam Carriker's spot also notched in a sack. The problem was that the defense wasn't always solid, and got caught out of position on two plays and gave up back-to-back two touchdowns.

Rex looked like Rex, missing deep balls and hitting the third stringers on short routes, nothing special. Roy Helu and Evan Royster led the team in rushing with near identical numbers: 13 for 57 yards and 14 for 62 yards respectively. The story of the day was Pat White; from what I remember from his Dolphin days he mostly ran and threw one pass in a game before getting knocked out by Ike Taylor. He never looked sharp or decisive as a passer and was more of a Mike Vick with no arm.

He came to the Redskins as a training camp body to replicate, or attempt to replicate, RG3 so the offense could still get the reps in for the RG3 zone read plays. He was nothing spectacular in practice so I didn't expect much when he came out to play. I was pleasantly surprised.

His numbers are nothing impressive, 5/8 for 31 yards. That's it, no touchdowns and no interceptions. His

Pat White running after a quarterback keeper

decision making was great however. He had two consecutive drops where his throws were dead on target but simply dropped. Had that drive been extended White could've added to his numbers. He also lead the team down the field at the end of the game and at the goal line, looked at his options and ran in the touchdown. He also ran the option once for a nice gain of 15ish yards. Then came the two point try. With two minutes to go both teams just wanted to end the game so Shanahan eschewed the game tying kick. White rolled out to his left looked, looked, and at the last second threw a strike across his body for the 2 points and the win.

He'll have to do a lot more to have a hope of upsetting Rex as the third stringer but he sure is looking like a nice guy to have waiting on the phone should bad go to worse.

Penalties were horrendous but it was the first preseason game. Give the rookies a break.