On the spot


By Nathan Tafoya
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, March 25, 2004

Engineering sophomore tries to trap sounds in a metal pipe used on a race car he's building

Wildcat: Hi, my name's Nathan and you're on the spot. (pointing to a metal tube) What were you talking into? What is this metal thing?

Liu: This is the intake manifold for the formula (Society of Automotive Engineers) car. You know that racecar that we do?

Wildcat: No.

Liu: The UA has two race cars. It has the solar power and the formula car. It's like a little F1 Indy car. This is the intake manifold. The three of us designed it and now we're finishing it up.

Wildcat: So you guys are really smart?

Liu: We're engineers.

Wildcat: You looked like a slacker to me, talking into your pipe and asking other people to talk into it.

Liu: (putting his hand over the end) I was trying to trap the sound in here but it didn't work out.

Wildcat: Where are you guys going right now?

Liu: I'm going to Chipotle.

Wildcat: Good burritos. You know you get a free drink?

Liu: Yeah that's my favorite thing. I've got this $6 budget, you know. Anything that goes over 6 bucks, I don't want to do that for dinner. Chipotle fits right in. Everyone else is too expensive.

Wildcat: You can either do that or McDonald's, the value menu.

Liu: Yeah, there's this Chinese place upstairs over there, for $3, but it's really disgusting though.

Liu's friend: You're recording this?

Liu: I know. I was like, "Shouldn't he be writing this down?"

Wildcat: I've had a few people think it was a gun when I do my drive-by "On the Spots." I'm like, "Don't worry. It's just my recorder." I'll be doing this and people will be walking by and looking at whoever I'm interviewing. I've tried to get the interviewee to stick up their hands like I'm holding them up but no one will do it. They're like, "No man. It's too dangerous. What if they like, tackle you?"

÷ Interview by Nathan Tafoya