Occam’s Racer Discord Server

I’m going through a change that I don’t understand yet, but is affecting this website and the content I write.

It started a few years ago after two heavy bouts with Lyme disease, a couple surgeries, pain meds, and PT. Since then I’ve had and a loss of balance and focus, and I felt I could no longer trust myself wheel to wheel racing. I’ve only done one race since then, but it was a fine one to end on.

Last Spring I quit drinking. I wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with, but I love the taste of beer, especially strong stouts and big IPAs. I don’t know why I quit, but I’ve been drinking N/A beer since May, and while the taste is worse, life is better.

Then in June I quit my job at Google. Partly this was because I didn’t want to work with AI. I think making something smarter than you are is the route to extinction. Maybe not of the species, but of original thought, and what it means to be human. I won’t be a part of that.

This week I am leaving social media. My Facebook feed is largely ads and suggestions to follow people or groups I don’t care about. I could just ignore and scroll, but leaving social media is like quitting drinking; it’s something I don’t understand yet, but a necessary part of a larger change.

As of today I’m unlocking all of the password protected articles. It’s not like I was making a lot of money from this site, and I think it’s more important to support the small number people who still read and think than it is to try and squeeze money from them. The previously locked articles are the following:

• DIY Miata Fastback
• What Miatas Can Learn from a Porsche 914
• Tracks That Favor Power vs Grip vs Aero
• 86 Cup and Aero Options
• Where Drag Comes From on a Miata
• Car Wings for Low Speed
• Wing Efficiency Doesn’t Matter
• DIY Wing – S1223 RTL
• DIY Wing End Plates
• 2D vs 3D Wings
• DIY Veloster Splitter
• Testing Spoilers and Wings on a FWD Hatchback
• Testing Wings on a FWD Hatchback, Part Duh

I have a lot of new articles, but I can’t seem to finish them because I have a conflict of purpose. I used to believe it was important to be a shit disturber; to disrupt the status quo with data and facts. Now I feel like it’s more important to simply be kind and help people. You may see some of that old type of article as I finish up existing drafts, but new content will be of a different sort.

Without social media it will be more of a challenge to learn from others, so today I started up a Discord server to discuss car aerodynamics. Please join the community: https://discord.gg/bhDAe57e3m

Welp, here’s to change in 2025 (as I raise a glass of thin and disappointing N/A beer trying to pass itself off as an IPA). Let’s see how this Discord thing works out, and maybe we can create a respectful, helpful, and fun community. See you there!

PS – after posting this, a couple friends have reached out to enquire if I’m OK. Yes, everything is fine; there is a significant life change on the horizon, but I can’t see it yet. Just like I would when racing, I’m discarding all the heavy parts, so I can get there as quickly as possible.