I tested fate today by leaving the top down. Fate was good to me.

Got Wood
I got another request today from a buddy to make him a piece of furniture. He is looking for a piece he described as similar to a piano stool. Cherry. I am seriously considering this project. I may even bring the entire team in on this one.

Thursday has been rescheduled for Wednesday this week. Besides the usual David, I believe we will be having a guest David this week. I hope to get a fair amount of the sanding complete on the bed. I am ready to move on to the next project.

B4
And lunch today was at Viet Huong. I had B4. Cheaster wanted to meet for lunch to talk wood working. He is thinking about building some panel doors for an island cabinet and was curious about my experience with said topic. I recommended a Jesada bit set.

MX5
It was a Miata kind of day. And speaking of which, last week when I renewed my car tags I requested a personalized tag for the car. Ginger said I had to get an Auburn tag because the car is red. The tag on the Ram and the Tahoe are both Auburn tags. So the new Miata tag will be an Auburn tag and 3 of the 5 letters are MX5. I will post a photo in a few weeks after the tag comes in.

No Comment
And I still haven't gotten the comment section working. I would work on that right now but I think I would rather go sit in the hot tub.

"Theres a Little Black Spot on the Sun Today"
I noticed iMike is now worried about water spots. See his blog for details.

Zoom Zoom Zoom
And I tried to get the zoom-zoom sticker from Brian, see his blog. Zero comments when I read about the give away, but before I could claim it someone else had. Bummer dude.

CDs and MP3s
I have been thinking about getting a new car stereo for a few months now. The current stero in the Miata has a cassette player. I think it is factory. I would like one that would play MP3s on CD-Rs. I considered a cd-changer in the trunk but I have gone that route before. I put one in the 1993 Acura Vigor I bought way back in 1992. It held 5 cds and those 5 cds would stay in there for months at a time. It began to drive me crazy because I never thought about changing the cds while the car was sitting still. I figure with a CD-R full of MP3s I can get more than 5 albums on a single disc. And I can change the disc while driving down the road, talking on the phone, fiddling with my portable etrex GPS, shifting gears, drinking frapuccino, and giving a fellow miata driver the high-five.

But first I need to get the purchase approved by the finance committee. "Honey, can I talk to you for a minute."

Its Hot! In the hot tub
While I was away, the hot tub was delivered and installed. I demo'ed it last night but I was so tired I was really unable to enjoy it. This evening the kids and I gave it another go.

A few months ago we went to Pigeon Forge for most of a week. We rented a cabin with a hot tub. I taught the kids a line from an old SNL skit, James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub. "Its hot! In the hot tub!". This was from back when Eddie Murphy was on the show.

Tonight while we were in the hot tub the kids where yelling "Its hot...in the hot tub" Later tonight when I went to tuck in Brianna, she said "Its hot...in the hot tub"

I noticed someone was driving the Miata while I was away. The back tire on the driver side appears to be low. I hope she didn't pick up a nail.

Jordan's bedroom got mostly painted while I was away. The walls are now mostly blue. A seriously bright without being florescent blue. Jordan picked the color himself.

Chocolate chip cookies are in the house!

I saw a beautiful Miata today in what appeared to be excellent shape. It was a nice yellow so I am assuming it was a 1992 Sunburst Yellow with a black top. The top was up.

I have been considering reviewing {here} the CD's I buy and the books I read. Does that seem like to much effort?

I think it is time to get back in the hot tub. Who are you calling obsessed?

I am back and still in once piece. Trip report to follow soon.

And the answer is no. I am not driving the Miata to NC. All of my camping gear will not fit in the trunk.

I am heading out for a camping trip as soon as I finish this entry. I will be back late Sunday night so don't look for any more blogging until at least Monday.

We are headed for North Carolina. Nine folks in all.
The oven has been disassembled and strapped to my backpack.

The Mother-In-Law is here this week to say with the kids while I am away.

Monday night DE and I made our usual run to Wal-Mart to purchase food and misc camping supplies. I got a strap-on LED head lamp. That should really help with the cooking in the dark. It tends to get dark a little bit earlier in the woods because of the thick tree canopy. I will fill the details of the camp menu after I return.

We went to Wal-Mart in the Miata. It is always a pleasure to drive the car on a warm night with the top down. We were in the store between 2 and 2.5 hours. I don't know how we got all the stuff in the trunk of the Miata for the trip home.

This One Goes to Eleven
Last night I did the 11 minute run. It is amazing how while I am running, I am able to convince myself this is the last time I am doing this. Tomorrow I will fall back to just walking. The next day however when I am full of energy, I can hardly wait to go running again.

This morning the weather rocks! The drive in to work in the Miata, top down, was awesome. Ok, AUsome. Enough already.

Yesterday afternoon, I made the daily trip to Home Depot to buy some PVC. I drove the Miata, top down, and took the PVC pipe cutters with me. I thought I might want to cut the pipe in half before trying to drive back home. Imagine trying to drive home in a Miata with a 10' PVC pipe in one hand a a Frappaccino in the other. I mean somebody has to steer and shift. I also bought the second grill thermometer. The first was donated to the cause by one of the many Davids (DE) roaming around here.

Interesting statistic. A few months ago we noticed that 40 percent of the employees where I worked are named David.

I also made a quick trip to Dicks Sporting Goods while I was out last night. I was hesitant to type that store name for fear of all the hits my blog (or blob as it goes) would get from people looking for pr0n. I did not find what I was looking for at the sporting goods store. If you came here looking for pr0n, you didn't find what you were looking for either.

Sometimes you just feel like linking to anything.

Happy day to eveyone.

Note to iMike - I talked to John D. last night. He is now residing in Arkansas where he is a Preacher. He asked how you were doing. I made up some big fat lies. You can thank me later.

Camp Oven - Version 3.0

Put a fork in it. Its done! Check out photos of my camp oven. And yes that is PVC.

I ain't skeered

Perhaps painting the car yellow is a bad idea. If I keep it red, I can be Rick The Red, but if I paint it yellow I have to be Rick The Yellow.

C2

The local radio station has been heavily pushing C2 for weeks. I decided surely Coke was wasting their marketing money if they were advertising for a product that wasn't yet available. I had yet to see one at the grocery, gas station, or even in a vending machine.

Last night G brought home a bottle of C2 for me. They were giving free samples at Wal-Mart. I decided to save it for the F1 race today.

So what did I think. It is just ok. Not as sweet as regular Coke (I actually prefer Pepsi) and it doesn't have the nasty after taste that Diet Coke leaves you with.

The bottle said 45 calories per serving, with only 2.5 servings in a bottle. Per their own marketing, I expect a can will probably have about 70 calories. I will have to check on that.

I was a bit surprised to discover that C2 contains aspartame, the same nasty stuff in most diet drinks. I had assumed that C2 would simple have half the sugar or rather corn syrup. In my opinion that is a bad thing. First you will still get plenty of empty calories if you consume a few cans a day, and second you will get all the brain altering side effects provided by the artificial sweetener. This is actually all the drawbacks of both regular and diet sodas. Bummer dude!

Obsession De Jour: Formula One

Well the race is now over. My forecast was only 40% correct. I correctly called the first and second place positions. The guys I predicted would take 3rd, 4th, and 5th positions didn't finish the race.

Results
1-M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2-R. Barrichello (Ferrari)
3-T. Sato (BAR-Honda)

Ralf Schumacher(BMW-Williams) totaled his car. He flew it backwards into a concrete wall. Ouch! The last report I heard, he is ok. Button(BAR-Honda) put his car in the garage with engine trouble. Juan Pablo Montoya(BMW-Williams) was black flagged about halfway thru the race. He switched cars just before the start because his car would not start. Apparrently the replacement car was not correctly registered with the FIA so he was disqualified. He was in the top 5 when they pulled him out. Well I suppose I will put this obsession to bed for a few weeks.

How about a PVC obsession?

Gmail
I have a few gmail account invitations to give away. If you want one, email me, and if I have any left, I will send you one.

Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
Thursday night I fired up the outdoor oven again. I baked some banana-nut muffins, samosas, and a two layer chocolate cake. The oven heat up to about 350 degrees F with the propane burner on its lowest setting.

DE was here also. He fixed some pork cutlets and a curry stew. It was awesome. I believe I am actually required by law to spell that 'AUsome'. We will repeat all these dishes on the upcoming camping trip.

Miatapox
The rain last week made the Miata look like it had some sort of pox. The Trunk is almost nothing but white spots. Actually all horizonal surfaces where water can stand look bad. Surprisingly the areas that I have previously wet sanded look better than the rest of the car. I suppose I could do some more sanding. I wouldn't put it past me. It would make the car look better short term.

I talked to a guy at a local premium body shop recently about having it painted. He estimated about $1800 to repaint it red. This would include fixing the dings and replacing the back bumper. He said they use PPG paint exclusively. The paint job would be BC/CC {base coat/clear coat}.

I asked about the cost for using a different color. The cost bumps up to about $2500. I would love sun burst yellow.

I have been told these guys might be a little pricey but they do top notch work. The guy said that about $800 of the $1800 was materials.

I suppose a paint job is not really in the cards this year. Possibly next year. Maybe its time to do a little color sanding again.

"It's Hot! In the Hot Tub.
Supposedly the hot tub will arrive on Wednesday. I will see it when I believe it.

Ten
Last nights ten minute run seemed to last forever. I will probably try to go ahead with the 11 minute run tonight.

2004 US Grand Prix
The race starts in about an hour. On Friday I forecasted the results as:

1. M Schumacher (Ferrari)
2. R. Barrichello (Ferrari)
3. R. Schumacher (Williams-BMW)
4. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
5. J.P. Montoya (Williams-BMW)

Qualify results from yesterday were:
1. R. Barrichello (Ferrari)
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
3. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
4. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
5. J.P. Montoya (Williams-BMW)
6. R. Schumacher (Williams-BMW)
etc.

If the final results look much like the starting lineup I won't be to far off. As you can see, my pick for the first five qualified in the top six positions. I obviously under estimated Honday. The race starts in about an hour.

I have requested my ticket for next year already. I am looking forward to it.

Run, Run, Fast as You Can
I ran again last night. I made my goal as well. It is amazing how a little exercise can make you feel so much better.

I started my new running regime last week. I decided to try it differently this time around hoping it would help me stick with it.

First off, I read that you really shouldn't run every day, but rather every other day. I have been told not to believe everything I read, so instead I just believe everything I read that I want to believe.

Here was my plan. Work up to 30 minutes a day, slowly. When I was in college I ran 30 minutes a day, 7 days a week. Back then I figured if I missed a day, I was very likely to miss a month. It worked well. I was about 165 lbs at 5'6" and I could eat pretty much anything I wanted.

The first year I was married I quit running. I tried off and on but I couldn't stick with it. For the next 8 or 9 years I gained about 5 lbs a year. That doesn't seen like much but it all adds up. One day I woke up and I was 225. I was wearing 38" jeans and it was time to buy a larger size. I didn't want to do it. That was what motivated me to try to lose a little weight. That was 2 years ago this month.

I decided to try the low carb diet. I liked the idea of eating lots of steak. Mmmm. The first week I just cut out soda. I was probably drinking between 4 and 6 a day. The first week I lost 8 lbs. Just by cutting out the soft drinks. The second week I started the low carb diet. I lost another 6 lbs that week. That was 14 lbs in 14 days. {That can't be very healthly, but it sure was motivating.} I continued to do the low carb thing for 10 weeks and lost a total of 35 lbs. Unfortunately, that is not a eating plan I felt like I could live with forever.

During all that I did a lot of reading. I read Atkins book, I read "The Hackers Diet" {available in PDF format free}, I read other stuff too. I learned a lot from the "Hackers Diet". He explained the daily weight fluctuation very well.

Some things I learned from various sources. A pound of fat is roughly the same as 3500 calories. Eat an extra 3500 calories, you gain a pounds, omit 3500 calories by eating less or burn 3500 extra calories by exercising and you lose a pound. Sounds easy enough.

Not really. The average person supposedly needs 2000 calories a day. I think I must have a slow metabolism because I apparrently need fewer than 1800 calories a day. At 1800 calories a day, I do not lose weight. Bummer.

Say your a 2000 calorie per day person. Say you want to lose a pound. You could lose one pound in a week by reducing your input by 500 calories a day for a a week. But thats just one pound. You could try fasting for two days, but your likely to gain it back if you try it that way.

From the time I quit the low carb thing, till the time I started counting calories, I gained about 5 pounds back. My weight now is pretty steady but it does fluctuate by about 3 pounds a week.

When I first started counting calories, I was obsessed with it. Surprise, Rick, obsessed, no way! I wrote down every thing I ate, and added up the calories every day. Its hard work but it is effective. And no cheating, if you eat the Krispy Kreme donut, write it down. {Seems like those little donuts were like 250 or 300 calories.} Using that method I successfully lost 7 lbs in 7 weeks. Not nearly as fast as low carb, but I didn't have near as much to lose either.

While doing the calorie counting, it occurried to me that the reason low carb diets work is two fold. First low carb diets are actually low calorie. Example: A recommended low carb breakfast was 2 scrambled eggs and 2 pieces of bacon. Guess how many calories that is? About 300. If you ate that for 3 meals in one day, that would be only 900, a lot less than the 2000 average.

The second reason is that the low carb diet cuts out sugar. Have you ever noticed how eating something sweet causes you to crave more. If you cut out sweet foods, you will usually cut out food cravings.

The low carb diet works well, but I can't live the rest of my life without bread and pasta! On the other hand this low calorie thing works pretty well. Just think, a ham sandwich on white bread with mustard comes in around 150 or 180 calories depending on what kind of bread you use. Nothing wrong with that, just avoid the chips! A small handful of chips (perhaps about 10 chips) will run you another 200 calories. Perhaps a second sandwich is a better idea.

Enough of that nonsense. As you can tell dieting is/has been a bit of an obsession for me. I do not want to return to the blob that I once was, nor do I wish to remain at the weight I currently am.

So I decided to add a little exercise to my calorie counting. {You will be pleased to know that I no longer feel obligated to write down what I eat. I certainly have a better feel for how many calories I consume now.} I have manged to remain essentially the same weight for the last year. Now about the running.

I decided that surely I was in good enough shape to run for a whole minute. One evening I went out for a walk. I walked a block, and then I ran for what seemed like a minute. That wasn't too bad. And my watch showed it be be 90 seconds. Wow, I am good! It didn't hurt either.

The next time out I figured I would run for three minutes. I mean I practically ran two the first night, and three is only one more. I set the timer on my watch for three minutes. I walked a block, started the timer and ran til it beeped. That wasn't too bad.

The next time out I went for four. Four minutes seemed to take forever. But I ran till the watch beeped! Each time I ran, I ran in a different direction so that I couldn't guage my distance by the prevous nights run. I don't know if this was a good or bad idea, but it was an idea so I did it.

The next time five minutes, and then 6, and then 7, and then 8. On the night of 8, when I started running {perhaps I should be using the word 'jogging' as I am not actually setting any speed records} my pace seemed faster than normal but it felt fine so I just went with it. After what seemed like forever, I had to quit. I only made it 7.5 minutes that night. I was disappointed but I was getting exercise.

The nice thing about it so far is that I haven't been sore at all. Can you believe it? Me either. And I usually feel great after I get out of the shower.

I failed at 8 but I was determined to make 9. And I did. Tomorrow is 10! I am looking forward to it.

I usually run at night. Some time between 9 and 11. I live in a place where I feel safe running at night, so that is good. I have tried running in the morning but my feet don't work in the morning. I have no trouble running at night, coming home, taking a shower, and going right to sleep. Whatever works is what you should do.

More later. The wife just got home from work. I still need to tell you about the evenings events on the back porch.

Pounding Headache and Pounding the Pavement
I managed to do a little bit of running tonight. I didn't reach my goal for the day, but I did get out there.

Dirt
Ok, I don't really have anything to say about dirt today, but as long as I am being accused of an obsession, lets roll with it.

I drove the truck to work yesterday. It seemed like it had been a long time. I actually drove it once over the weekend, but it had been a long time since I headed out early on a weekday. Twelve days actually, and that day I went to the airport instead of the office, so I guess it had been two weeks since I had driven it to work.

I am pleased to say the tires didn't fall off. You may recall that I rotated them this weekend.

Yesterday's lunch was at Viet Huong. I had A7 and C11. DE had A7 and something described as a vietnamese burrito. It was not on the menu nor did it resemble a burrito.

Note to self: Stop playing foosball. I noticed that Amazon sells more than 50 different foosball tables.

Last night some new weather rolled in. It was raining when I woke up. And my head was hurting big time. Miata to work, top up. Lunch with DM and Troy at the Cracker Barrel. And yes, I did eat the grits. Mmmmm.

I left work early today. I headed home at around 2:00 pm. My head was still hurting. When I got home I fell into bed and remained there unconscious for the next two and a half hours. Oh my head.

The roads are slick and my tires are slicker. Perhaps I should start looking into getting some new tires.

I was suppose to go get the car tags renewed today. I am toying with the idea of getting a personalized tag on the MX-5. Perhaps "MX-5". What are the odds that one is not already taken.

I bet a hot tub would be righteous right now.

The rain looks good on the dirt. I bet there are some new white spots on the car today.

Ginger mentioned that she had heard they tore down Noble Hall at Auburn. Noble was a coed-dorm while I was at AU. My friends Allen and Andy lived there their first year. Can you say Danger Mouse?

I didn't go running last night. Looking back on it, I realize now I was already beginning to feel bad. I really need to get out and pound the pavement tonight or I will have to declare this as another failed attempt at starting an exercise program.

Recently I have had the desire to revive the N-scale railroading hobbie. I have plenty of stuff, I could make time by losing a little sleep, but I need to work out the best location. A spot that is usable but not in the way. Either that or I should e-bay all the stuff. Just kidding.

Queuing Theory
So one of the many Dave's called me from the airport in LA on Wednesday. He mentioned how bad the lines were. Having done a bit of flying lately I knew exactly what he was talking about. I asked, "The line at the ticket counter or the security line?" He said "Starbucks!". The queue was like forty deep. He as lucky not to miss his flight.

Hoser
I rotated the tires on my truck today. I figured it would take less time to do it myself, than to wait for it to be done at the NTB. The tire rotation scheme was the plan I came up with to validate buying an impact wrench. BTW, the impact wrench worked ok after I replaced the 1/4" hose with the 3/8" hose.

Did I mention the dirt?

Dirt and Discretionary Income

The dozer man came this morning. He arrived at about 7:05 am. Fortunately I had already seen my neighbors outside so I didn't have to worry about him waking them up. It only took him a little over 2 hours. That guy really had some skill with that piece of machinery. That back yard looks great. I forgot to ask about driving it! He already had it loaded on the trailer before I remembered. Bummer Dude.

After he left I made a quick trip to the ATM in the Miata, top down. I was really only planning on going to the gas station but I had zero cash. After grabbing some cash I headed to the gas station for a bottled Starbucks Frappucinno coffee drink. My favorite flavor is either Coffee, Mocha, Caramel, or Vanilla. They have a few more flavors but I have never seen them around here. They usually cost around $1.45 to $1.89. A bottle lasts about 12 seconds. I also like the non-bottled Frappuccino that can only be acquired at an actual Starbucks. Again, the caramel is excellent, skip the whipped cream. This stuff runs about $4.00. A grande will fill you up for sure. Need a new addiction? Looking to upgrade from Dr. Pepper? Frappuccino is definitely for you! Guaranteed to improve the airport experience. And reduce your discretionary income.

Google Giveth and Google Taketh Away
A few weeks ago I was getting lots of search hits via Google. Recently I have had none. I suppose it doesn't really matter but it was pretty cool to get some traffic throught here by total strangers. Not that you folks are strange enough.

Saturday
Tomorrow morning a dozer will be prowling around in my backyard. The dozer man said he would show up at 7:00 am. I bet my neighbors are going to love being awoken early on Sunday morning by the rumbling of a dozer. I bet your glad I don't live next door to you! Originally I was just going to rent a dozer and do it myself but it turns out I can hire someone for less than I can rent the dozer. That doesn't make sense to me.

I watched part of 24 hours of Le Mans today. That seems like it would be a lot of fun. I need to remember to Tivo the US Grand Prix in two weeks.

I replaced the hose on my air compressor with a 50' 3/8" hose today. I got it at Harbor Freight for $10. DM tried to use my new impact wrench on Thursday night. When he put the tires back on the van, it wasn't providing enough torque to tighen up the tire lugs. I thought I was going to have to return it. Then I decided reading the instructions might not be a bad idea. The instructions specified a 3/8" hose. I had been using a rather inexpensive 1/4" hose. The 1/4" hose works fine for a brad nailer. The 3/8" hose made a significant difference with the impact wrench. I guess I won't have to return it after all.

We had dinner at Green Briar tonight. Mmmm, hush puppies and cat fish.

Friday
I went over to DE's house this evening. We decided to put the oven through a trial run. The idea of using a piece of tile as a heat deflector didn't work out. The tile heated up to quickly and cracked into several pieces. We ended up putting the burner at one end and placing the pan at the other. This technique worked out well. We made a small batch of drop biscuits. The biscuits browned to perfection in about 13-15 minutes. The oven will heat to 400 in about 3-4 minutes and it will maintain a temperature of 350F plus with the burner set on it's lowest setting.

We also made a sample batch of ice cream. I believe the ice cream contained only half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. I was working on the grill when Dave mixed it up so I may have overlooked other ingredients. The ice cream mixture is placed in a ziplock bag and then this bag is placed inside a larger ziplock bag along with some ice and rock salt. The larger back is then agitated. We made a small batch. It took just over 10 minute to get it to set up.

I am looking forward to the camping trip. North Carolina here I come. Ok, it is still a few weeks away. I need to begin rounding up my stuff soon.

This was a good week for the Miata. I got to drive it to work every day. The sun is starting to get hot. When I get caught at a long light, I now turn on the A/C. It doesn't providing any real cooling while the car is moving, but it sure feels good while sitting at the light. I turn it off again when the light turns green. You can definitely tell the car is more responsive when the A/C is off.

I drove the Miata to Dave's tonight. I loaded up the burner and grill in the passenger seat. It was a very pleasant drive tonight. The temperature was perfect and I rarely get to open the barn doors.

Thursday
Thursday night the weekly woodworking guild meeting occurred. Things were a bit different this week.

DM brought his wife's mini-van. Instead of working wood, he intended to do a front end brake job. After taking the pads off one side, he decided it didn't need new pads. Checking the otherside showed the same amount of wear. We did learn that not replacing the brake pads takes almost as long as replacing the brake pads.

I was suppose to do some sanding on the headboard/footboard. I have been putting that off. With the upcoming camping trip looming, I decided to do a little work on the camp oven. The time had come to attempt to bring it up to temperature. I put two bricks inside it to provide some thermal mass and fired it up. It heated to 400 very quickly. Looks good so far.

While in San Francisco last week I picked up a couple of inexpensive pipes at a store on Powell street just a few blocks up from Market. DE and I had been considering trying out a pipe this year instead of the usual cigars. Pipes just smell good. I volunteered DM to provide instruction to DE and myself on the proper technique for enjoying a pipe. DE showed around 8:30 and the three of us lit up the pipes and enjoyed a cold one. Two days later the garage still smelled like pipe tobacco. Just for reference, DM had Optimum tobacco which he got at The Humidor. He says it makes a good air freshener it it dries out before you use it up.

The weather has been very good this week. Ok, yesterday the bottom dropped out and I got soaked.

I was driving along and it started to rain a little bit. I leaned in toward the windshield to get out of the rain. All was fine. It ended very quickly. Looking up I could tell I was on the edge of the cloud. After driving a bit further, it started raining very hard. I made a U-turn and back tracked about a half a block to get out of the rain. At this point I stopped and put the top up. My passenger, DM, was thoroughly soaked but he was pretty good natured out it. After dropping him off, I headed back to work.

On the way back, I turned on the A/C. I am happy to say the A/C works very well. I had not really given it a good test so I was very pleased.

Upon arriving back at work, I looked up at the sky and said to myself, "Self, it looks clear, put the top down." Before I could finish speaking, it began to thunder. I left the top up.

The sky was clear again by the time I was heading home. While putting the top down, I noticed a plethora of new water spots on the trunk and hood. Something is seriously wrong with the paint job! :(

We took a dip in the neighbors pool after work.

I have started looking for a guy with a dozer to take care of the dirt. It turns out that it will probably be cheaper to hire a guy with a dozer than to try to rent just the dozer. Maybe I can get the dozer guy to let me give it a try.

I took another short walk last night. Three nights in a row, each night including a little bit of running. I sure need the exercise but how long can I keep this up. Maybe one more day!

The weather is glorious and I get to drive the Miata everyday this week.

Ok, yesterday morning it was sprinkling just a little bit, but maintaining a speed of 30+ mph keep it out of the car with the top down.

I am currently searching for a bull dozer to rent at a reasonable price. I estimate I need it for probably 4-6 hours. Those things are expensive. The well read will remember that I have twenty piles of dirt in my back yard that need to be smoothed out.

Imaginary Mike now has a blog.

The oven design is moving along slowly. I really need to pick up the pace. T-minus 15 days.

This week sure few by.

Wednesday I flew to San Francisco. We stayed at the Crown Plaza in Union Square. I road BART, the local subway, from the airport to Powell Street and then hiked up the hill to the hotel. Lots of freaky people hang out near the Powell street station. (I think this is on Market Street, but I am not certain.)

The afternoon appointed had been cancel so we (SC) walked toward the Fisherman's Wharf. We intended to eat at the wharf but were unable to make a decision as to where. On the way down we had passed several Italian places so we decided to try one of them, the thought being to choose a local place which would surely have some fresh fish on the menu. The fish special of the day was sole. I didn't bother to remember the name of the place as it was unremarkable.

While out walking we also stopped in a pub that feature Rogue beer. I don't recall how many taps they had but there were quite a few. The place was fairly old, lots of windows and brick. Very nice. I tried a beer sampler which included 4 samples of my choice: Honey Cream Ale, Yellow Snow, Hazelnut Brown, and Mocha Porter. I also had an Imperial Stout. A few of the local favorites that I didn't try were the Chocolate Stout, Rogue Smoke, and Dead Guy Ale. Everything I tried was good. I really enjoyed the Honey Cream and the Stout. The Hazelnut was flavorful but I wouldn't want to drink it all the time. The bar tender said the girls like it. He also gave me a sample of one, the name of which I forgot. It had a hot pepper taste.

Thursday was work, work, work. Lunch at a nearby Italian place. This one was really good. I have already forgotten its name but I have a receipt so I can look it up. Finished up work just after 3:00. It seemed much later to me, but that's just because it was Pacific time. Headed back to the hotel to catch up on email, etc.

Thursday evening we had dinner at a nice Indian restaurant. New Delhi @ 160 Ellis St (between Powell & Mason,near Union Square). We ordered pokoras and samosas for an appetizer. For dinner we had chicken marsala, and a roasted lamb dish the name of which I have also forgotten. We also enjoyed some basmati rice and naan. It was very good. I will definitely return there on my next trip to San Francisco. This one gets two thumbs up.

Friday was all about traveling back to Bama. Early to rise. Walked to BART, rode BART to the airport, Delta to Atlanta. While waiting in the San Fran airport I indulged myself with a Star Bucks caramel frappuccino. My Atlanta to HSV flight had been canceled, fortunately I was able to catch another flight that was leaving an hour earlier. I made it with a few minutes to spare.

Glad to be home.

Today we just bummed about the house.