Canada, F*ck Yea!

I have finally left the country for the first time. I am staying in Windsor during the Society of Automotive Engineering conference. I had originally booked a hotel in Detroit, but I was told by one of our suppliers that the place I was going to stay, most Detroit citizens wouldn't go to in the daytime, much less stay the night, and I was better off in Canada. My room looks over the Detroit River at Detroit, per the picture.

The conference has been good. I caught the end of the World Congress, and had a chance to walk through the booths during our extended lunch break. BMW was showing off the new M5 V10 engine, as well as their 335 diesel, and the new 335i convertible. The diesel was very interesting. All aluminum block and head, 2 turbos, and urea injection. One turbo is extremely small, to eliminate turbo lag, and the second is about the size of a T3, with a valve to direct exhaust gasses between the two. Cummins uses a Variable Geometry Turbocharger to get around this, but we are playing with the idea for some applications. I suppose it is possible to use two conventional turbos to save cost.

The seminar I am attending on Diesel Particulate Filters has been EXTREMELY informative. I can't wait to get back and present on this material, only so that I can blow certain jackasses out of the water with information that I have tried to get out of them, as its their job, for the past 6 months. The main instructor for the seminar is Athanasios Konstandopoulus, who is the founder and head of the Aerosols and Particles Laboratory in Thessaloniki, Greece. He knows his stuff. After being in this one, I really want to come back and do some seminars on topics that I find interesting, such as combustion, engine design, airflow, etc. rather than the stuff I am forced to do because no one at work can pull their weight.

As for now, I think I am going to go grab something to eat. Everyone says that the only thing to do in Windsor is gamble and strip clubs. I am really not looking to do either, so I will probably just get something and come back here to relax. My brain needs to rest after being loaded down with filter information.