Another Long Weekend
... has been successfully complete. We made two days trips to visit extended family. Wii played quite a few rounds of bowling, baseball, golf, boxing, and tennis. (My shoulder is sore). And we probably ate too many goodies.

This weekend I managed to get the trailing arms for the GMC sandblasted. Progress is good. Hopefully I will get them painted next weekend.

Back to work tomorrow.

Good Advice

I finally took the advice a college professor gave me 16 years ago. The good doctor's advice was "Learn to weld." Today I signed up for a 15 week, one night per week, welding course.

His motivation was completely different than mine. He was sick of academia. Mine is hobby related. Per Dr. P., welder's make more than college professors. I am not sure if that is entirely true.

Yesterday morning I drove the little Zoom-zoom to work. I left the house, driving with the top down and wearing a jacket. As I drove along, the weather forecast on the radio announced the current temperature was 65. Nice!

About an hour later I decided to raise the door on the loading dock. The weather was still beautiful, though off to the west I could see some dark clouds and a complete semi-circle of a rainbow. At one end was an old Mazda Rx-7. At the other end I am sure there was a McDonald's. The view was fabulous over the light-industrial landscape. Fifteen minutes later a light rain began to fall.

A half hour later, one of my co-workers pressed the button to lower the door. It had gotten freakin' cold outside.

The contraction of the day is 'willn't'. Example usage: He shan't get full credit ifin' he continues to use the word won't when he means the word willn't.

I Have More Friends Now

I have been writing a lot lately, just not for you benefit. The two classes I took this semester required a lot of time writing. I am pleased to announce this evening I attended my final class for the semester. I expect I got decent marks in both classes but I shan't know for a week.

When was the last time you saw that contraction? Yeah, yeah. Shan't, sha'n't, sha'nt.

I have been getting several friend request per week on MySpace. Most days, at least one. I must be very popular. Either that or MySpace is a gigantic generator of pr0n spam. Yes it it true, MySpace is completely worthless.

I received mail today with the Winter/Spring evening class schedule for the local vocational school. It is my intention to sign up for a welding class. Registration begins Monday.

That last post was a lot longer in my head. After hitting publish I realized I left out a lot of details I meant to include. Unfortunately I am not feeling 100% and don't have the patience/fortitude to fill in the details.

We took a trip down to Auburn this weekend for a wedding. After the ceremony, we had the opportunity to walk around campus a little bit. I was amazed at how much had changed.

What did one snowman say to the other snowman?

I drove over to Elgin today to swap rusty parts with a guy from the online truck forums. I enjoyed spending a little time talking to someone who shared a passion for these rusty old trucks.

Tomorrow is Ginger's Birthday. We celebrated it today because she will be working a long day tomorrow. We enjoyed a nice dinner out a Macaroni Grill. Later we will be having Chocolate cake.

Just for the record, I did not see grilled macaroni on the menu anywhere.

Listen Up!

Susie has something to say: ThatsWhatSusieSaid.blogspot.com

The four day weekend is almost over. So far I have accomplished absolutely nothing. Ok, that is not entirely true. I did manage to get a little homework done. Not to much though.

This afternoon we experienced an extreme oddity. Both kids feel asleep. I wouldn't say they took a nap, as neither intended to go to sleep. It was very peaceful around here for about an hour and a half.

Last week I registered for a class for next semister. I learned my lesson this time regarding trying to take two classes at a time. Not again. Two classes requires way to much out of the class room time.

The class I signed up for will be online this time. My experience with online classes in the past has been less than desireable. Unfortunately the available schedule does not really give me any alternatives...

So because I don't actually have to attend a class, I am considering signing up for a welding class also. Whoa there fellow! Didn't I just say I wouldn't take two classes again. Well, sure but this would be completely different. The online class has no "in class" requirements and the welding class has no "homework", so essentially I would be taking two classes but it would seem like only one.

Saturday was test day. Things went ok but they could have gone better. I got flustered on the first question and spent too much time looking at it. I believe I passed it but I certainly could have done better. I didn't get to the last eight questions, so I just guessed 'C' on all of them.

The new camera arrived today. The battery is charging.

Happy 13th Anniversary G!

881

A couple of weeks ago our digital camera called it quits. I was tasked with selection a new one. This turned into another obsession for me. Originally I planned to petition the finance committee for a digital SLR. I have wanted a Canon Rebel XT for a while. After thinking about it thought, I decided that it would not be very practical, what I actually needed was a sub-compact - something that would fit in my pocket. This was also the only requirement provided by the other member of the Obsession A/V club.

I consults with several friends who had recently purchased cameras, Consumer Reports, CNET, and the reviews on Amazon. I made trips to Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy to investigate the cameras in person. I made a spreadsheet and listed several features I felt were important, maximum cost, minimum resolution, maximum size, power up up time, etc. After about a week of investigating I had it narrowed down to one. And then back up to three, and then back down to one again. And then it was time to scour the net for a good price.

Today I placed the order. The new camera should be here in plenty of time for Turkey day.

The Charger had its oil changed yesterday. 10500 Miles

The kids were out of school today. G and I argued over who had to work and who got to stay home with them. I won, so I got to stay home. Today was much like most weekend days with one exception. J wanted to do something special today. They went to a movie on Friday so the easy answer was already taken. I suggested a hike, but B was opposed to this idea. We finally agreed on bowling. Back in college I was pretty good at bowling. The same can not be said today.

This coming Saturday I am taking a test, the Praxis II Mathematics Content Knowledge test. I spent most of the weekend working math problems to prepare for the test. The test includes calculus, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, discrete math, probability, and statistics. That may be all but there could be more. I suppose I am ready for the test. Perhaps.

This week just flew by. Monday is a distant memory. Tuesday morning was the big fire. Wednesday through Friday I spent the day at Sparkman High School. G & B left for Auburn Friday so that they could attend the Homecoming game. Saturday my Father came to visit us and Jordan had pie. Saturday and Sunday I spent an excessive amount of time working math problems practicing for taking Praxis II Mathematical Content test which is a few weeks out.

The three days in high school was a requirement for an education class I am taking. I used my time observing mathematical instruction, helping to answer the students questions, and grading a few tests.

The next couple of weeks are looking pretty busy. I am looking forward to the T-day weekend.

Saturday afternoon the kids and I went to the Fall Festival at their elementary school. Much fun to be had. Ring toss, cake walks, the works.

At first Jordan seemed disinterested, or perhaps concerned that he was too grown up to participate. Eventually he decided we would be involved. I don't know if it was seeing teenagers fishing in the rubber ducky pond or realizing candy was involved.

The kids ate pizza, Bri won a Chocolate-Chip-Cookie-Cake, and then they jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped on the inflatables. Watching all that jumping made me tired.

Thanks to Tammy for watching our stuff while the kids jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped.

If you have ever come to visit me at work, the directions I gave you ended with "turn right at the big blue warehouse". If you had been anywhere in Huntsville this morning, it is very likely you would have noticed the billowing black smoke coming from the big blue warehouse.

There were at least 5 fire trucks present. I could see 5 from our parking lot. Harvest, Monrovia, and Huntsville. There were probably more around the corner too. I was told three of the local TV stations were also around the corner reporting "Live" on the scene.

The buildings were completely destroyed. The rumor mill says the first alarms rang around 6:00 AM. When the first fire truck arrived the gate was locked. This means no one was in the building. Fortunately. When I arrived shortly before 7:00 am the sides of the building were glowing orange.

The firemen did an awesome job. While the building was lost, it did not spread to any surrounding buildings. By lunch most of the smoke had stopped. This was no small feat as there was surely some tar in the building. That stuff burns forever.

Lunch today was at a local Mexican Restaraunt. While waiting on the food to be prepared, it occurred to me I had been having Mexican food a lot lately. I counted them up and discovered I had had Mexican food 7 times in the last 14 days. At dinner this evening, I updated the count to 8 times in 14 days. The count for Chinese food is only 3 meals in the last 4 days. Thai, zero. Maybe tomorrow.

Returned from a weekend camping trip this afternoon. We went to Savage Gorge in TN. AtHomeDaddy drove out from Texas to join us. The weather cooperated nicely. Plenty of Fall color to be seen. And plenty of coyotes to hear.

This weekends F1 race ends the season. I have it on Tivo though I haven't watched it yet. Done tell me who won yet!

Tomorrow I go to a local high school for orientation for field experience. I am looking forward to this. I have enjoyed it the past couple of times.

Terry was in on Thursday. She came to visit iMike and to give Bri her B'day presents.

We are home again but I still need to finish up the beach posts.

Tuesday night we tried a restaurant we had not visited before. The name of the place was Grafittis. The place was Italian and decorated rather eclecticly. While they had pizza on the menu I opted for some pasta. I selected a dish with a rather bland name, Seafood Pasta. The description ended with spicy marinara sauce. The world spicy was my sole reason for selecting it. Spicy turned out to be some red pepper. And it was good. The fresh shrimp and scallops didn't hurt either.

Wednesday was "Happy Bri-day". We made a day of it by going out to ride bumper boats, bumper cars, and go-karts. J was tall enough to drive himself this year. G says he fancied himself to be an F1 driver. After the racing we headed on down the street. Bri wanted to get her little ears pierced. It sounded painful to me, but it was what she wanted. I tried to look the other way. Afterwards we hit a few souvie shops and then an early dinner. Since it was HBD, we let her pick the restaurant. She wanted to go back to The Back Porch. We arrived early enough to get a table right away. G has the Grouper Florentine which was excellent. I had another pasta dish whose name eludes me right now. I won't be having it again though. It may have been called a shrimp Alfredo but that is not really what it was. Oh well.

Today we returned home.

I missed two classes this week. Tonight I was supposed to give a speech on the Electoral College. When I arrived at class I discovered the speech was postponed until next week. More time to prepare.

Life's a Beach

It's that time of year again.  We are at the beach.   Okaloosa Island the be a little more precise.  It is the beach front section of Fort Walton and is located just a couple of miles from Destin.   The Condos are located on Santa Rosa, a nice little dead-end road off the beaten path.  We are staying at the Island Princess this year.  One of the three elevators is out of order.  Naturally it is the one closest to our condo, but we are making due.  The stairs work fine, except after a big plate of fried seafood!

 

So far we have dined at The Back Porch and Pompano Joe's.  Both nights I have ordered what some places would call The Captain's Platter, a big plate of fried shrimp, scallops, fish, and oysters, knowing that I wouldn't be able to finish it and would be eating the leftovers for lunch the next day.  Oh the misery of it all.  I think I have gotten my fix of fried seafood and perhaps I will try something more adventurous tonight.

 

Now a few notes on TBP and PJ's.  Even at this time of year, showing up for dinner at 5:30 pm will incur at 30 to 60 minute wait.  Sunday night we arrived at TBP about 5:30.  The wait was just under a half hour.  There is plenty of space for waiting outside.  Our service was good this year and the foot came out fast.

 

Monday night we drove to Pompano Joe's.  PJ's is located a few miles to the other side of Destin which can seem like a considerable drive from Okaloosa Island if the traffic is bad through Destin.  Fortunately, it is the off season and traffic is not bad.  Parking at PJ's is always horrible, even this time of year.  I dropped the fam off at the door and parked the Tahoe a short distant away, less than a quarter of a mile, more than an 1/8th.  The walk not too bad and I took the opportunity to phone up my Father to see if he had any stock tips.  (Buy low, sell high.)   The wait was a little bit longer here, but still less than an hour.  G had the pasta with scallops.  It looked very good.  Both the waiter and the guy delivering the food made a comment about how much they enjoyed it.  Like TPB, PJ's has a row of window tables across the beach side looking out over the gulf.  Actually most of their tables look out to the beach and the windows are open so that you can hear the waves and feel the breeze when there is one.

 

I like both of these places, but one must be prepared to wait.  And don't expect fine dining but if your in the mood for some good seafood either of these will do fine.  Both places have a few picnic tables out on the beach where you can sit while you wait.

 

This evening we will probably try someplace we haven't been before.

 

I took at look back at the blog to see where we dined last year.  Turns out I forgot to do a write up.  No mention of Cafe 331 anywere.  Shame on me.

 

Tomorrow is Brianna's Birthday.  She is so sweet and she is growing up so fast.

 

 

 

 

I drove the old truck in a parade this morning. G and B rode along with me. J didn't. He didn't want the attention.

Tomorrow we head to the beach for a few days.

As they say in Finland, Ji hah!

Tastes Like Chicken

This afternoon while riding his bike in the driveway, J looked up at the sky, spotted a cloud and said "A man-eating fish!". He then looked at me and said do you think I meant a man eating fish or a man-eating fish? I heard man-eating fish when he said man-eating fish so I replied man-eating fish. He announced I was correct.

We quickly moved on to man-eating chickens, though around here it is usually the other way around.

An Opportunity To Forget

I am really good at forgetting things.  This goes way back.  When I really need to remember something I will write myself a note or make a list.  I started this habit in college.  At work I usually have three or four lists.  What I should be doing, what I am doing, what I shouldn't forget to do later, and what I did wrong and need to fix.  Too many lists for sure.  Some are on the computer, some on post-it notes and some are on the computer.

 

A week ago today I had the root canal.  I was given a prescription for an antibiotic.  Four a day for seven days.  That is 28 chances to forget to take a pill.  And it doesn't really make much since to write a note to remind myself to take a pill.  Instead I decided to strategically place the bottle where I would see it when it was antibiotic time.

 

The first one each day is easy.  I kept the bottle in the bathroom and made it part of the morning ritual, just before the mouthwash.  The bottle then goes to work with me.  The next one is taken either just before or just after lunch.  I would take the third in the late afternoon before going home  and then the fourth just before bed.

 

As the week progressed I wondered just how many I had forgotten to take.  It seemed like I was remembering.  By my best recollection, I should only have one left when Thursday rolled back around.  Yesterday afternoon I counted what was left in the bottle and discovered I would actually have two to take on Thursday.  That meant I had only forgotten once.  Pretty amazing. 

 

And then I left the bottle at work, so I missed taking one in the evening.  I ended up with three today.  Still not so bad. 

 

Today when I threw away the empty pill bottle I felt like I had accomplished something.  I am not sure what though.

Today's Blog Entry is Brought to You By the Letter 'P'

Another key on my computer has quit working. It hasn't quit completely but it is very intermittent. I have a backup though. I have a file with the letter 'p' in it. When the key is not working, I just copy/paste from that file. The list of intermittent keys is now [Page Up], [Page Down], [Delete], [Up Arrow], [Down Arrow], [End], and [P].

Monday I went to the Dentist for a scheduled cleaning. This led to another another appointment on Thursday with an Endodontist. Prior to this week I had no idea what an endodonstist did. Now I know. Root canal. The procedure was needed due to an incident in high school. I walked thru a fight and got hit in the mouth. Two broken teeth. The root canal wasn't as bad I expected. Glad it is over.

Today we went to a family reunion for part of G's family. J & B played horse shoes. When we got home Jordan layed down on the couch to rest his eyes. He claims he did not go to sleep. I have photographic proof showing otherwise. He does not know it yet, but he has a predisposition to napping. Both his parents nap, my parents both nap, and my father said he remembers his grandfather napping, everyday. As the story goes, my great-grand-father lived on a farm. Everyday he would stop working around 11:00 am for lunch. After eating he would listen to Paul Harvey and the he would take a short nap before returning to work. This is a genetic explanation for both napping and my desire to eat an early lunch everyday.

Also today I painted some more truck parts I had been busy blasting in the last few weeks. I painted the rear coil springs, the rear shock mounts, and several miscellaneous brackets and two cross members. Next up: the two trailing arms and then the 'new' rear differential I acquired from the junk yard back in July. Good progress!

Today I agreed to drive the turnip truck in a parade.

Lows in the 60s, high in the 80's for a whole week. 'Bout near perfect weather.

I was sitting here trying not to write a paper for class. I turns out I don't have to try very hard to be successful.

This weekend I got some sandblasting done. Unfortunately neither T or J helped out. Three more pieces. That makes nine that need to be painted.

I received my review of my first speech tonight. It must have gone pretty well. I got an 'A'. Areas for improvement: more gestures and more movement. I guess I was stonewalling. I got excellent marks for eye contact, volume, and cadence. So good so far.

I hate to admit I spent almost 6 hours preparing for a 2-3 minute speech, but I did. Can you say obsessive? I actually wrote 5 different speeches, none of which I was particularly happy with but in the end I still had to give a speech. I think I ended up using the second one.

The next speech is supposed to be informative. Who wants to know how to visually identify the model year of all GMC and Chevrolet trucks between the years 1967 and 1972. Ho hum.

TGIF. Doh! Never mind, it's only Tuesday.

Hey, Yesterday evening after work I loaded up the sand blaster and took care of eight small brackets. T & J will be happy this weekend with their lighter work load.

It just occurred to me how fortunate I am that I can touch type. I think that was a glass of red wine speaking.

And another week has flown by. Hopefully we got over a hump at work this week and things will be calm for a while.

I made my first speech this week. I am probably the only person in the class who spent almost six hours preparing for a 2-3 minute speech.

This weekend it was a cool 85. It feels like Fall already. The Italian Grand Prix was today. That would be a nice trip.

Next week my see'ster is coming to visit. I am planning on teacher her and Jordan how to sand blast. Imagine how much we could get done with all three of us working on it.

I think the Miata may have gotten a sunburn today. It spent a little while out in the sun and is looking pretty red.

What a glorious weekend we had. I got the opportunity to sleep late, work on my old trucks, and play with the kids. The only thing missing was perhaps a little bit of fried okra.

With the new week starting, so did classes. This evening I attended my speech class. After agonizing over the topic/object for a week plus I have finally accepted that it is my fate to use a computer as the point of departure. Sounds easy enough, aye? But what does it really say about me?

Whatever I want it to! After a mere hour I have managed to write a 300 word speech. Based on a typical delivery rate of 125 words per minute, this should put me smack dab in the middle of the 2 to 3 minute goal.

Perhaps your wondering about my computer. Perhaps not. Regardless, the computer I will be presenting is one that I designed and built about 15 years ago. Want to see a picture?

The temperature has dropped in the 80's and a little rain has come though. It almost feels like Fall. The new improved weather certainly makes for a pleasant ride in the Miata.

Two weeks of speech and I still haven't had to make a speech. Only one more week. I am supposed to select an object to present to the class and then make a speech about the object and how it relates to myself. G recommended I take a computer to class. After some thought I decided that I could take a computer than I designed and built back in '93. What to say though?

Any other ideas?

I finished the last Harry Potter book last night. The end was a complete surprise to me. I would have never guessed that Harry would end up taking a part time job selling iPhones at Best Buy to pay off all of his gambling debt from betting on quidditch tournaments.

Quiescent Summer

This weekend I accomplished nothing. That seems to be the story of my
entire summer as well. The truck has laid dormant for for several
weeks. I spent some time studying but that knowledge is fleeting.
Even the blog remains untouched for days and weeks at a time. Perhaps
it will cool off soon and I will get busy again.

And in other news, today Jordan and I played chess again. The game
ended in a draw. I guess I will need to try harder in the future.

Tonight was my first class of the Fall semister. Tonights class was speech. It has the potential of being an interesting class. Three speechs are required, a total of 15 minutes between them. Time to start thinking about topics.

The drive home was pleasant. Top down, eighties degrees, moon light, and the Atari's version of "Boys Of Summer" playing on the cd.

Fall Semester starts this week. I am taking two classes this go round. One meets twice a week, the other once. I hope I am not over extending myself. Only time will tell. I do expect the next 15 weeks will fly by. Being busy tends to make time fly.

It has been smokin' hot lately. We have had a streak of triple digit days. And a deficit of rain on top of that.

Yesterday evening we had a rapid drop in temperature. In a relatively short interval we had a storm roll in and the temperature dropped from 3-digits down to about 70 degrees. Lots and thunder, lightning, and buckets and buckets of rain.

A little bit earlier in the evening when I arrived home, one of my neighbors crossed the street to let me know that the water conservation level had changed to level 3. Level 3 means even numbered houses like ours are only allowed to use outside water between 12 AM and 4 AM on Monday and Wednesday nights. No other outside water use of any kind allowed. Good thing my neighbor told me. The new level was announced on the news and in the paper. I don't watch the news nor read the paper.

G had to work today and the kids spent the night at Grandmas. What to do, what to do? I decided to take the turnip truck out. My local okra pusher lives just a few miles away. This was my destination. After purchasing a couple of pounds ok okra, I gave Mr. Lacey a ride around the block. He loved it.

On my way back home I stopped by Joe G's. This gentlemen lives a few miles away. He has a 1932 Ford parked in his garage. I have blogged about him at some point in the past. He also enjoyed giving the truck a once over.

And on my way home, again, I stopped by Tammy's to let her family see the truck. I offered to let Ken drive it and he drove the kids around the block.

And then I actually went home.

The truck now has more dirt on it than it has probably had in the last 15 years. During my journey I drove though a patch of gravel. The gravel dust stuck to everything. Nice white dust on glossy black paint. Great!

You may be wondering how the GMC is coming along. I have not even glanced in its direction in a couple of weeks. For a few weeks I was busy with school and right now it is just too hot. It is time to do more sand blasting and I just can't imagine trying to do that with the current temp and humidity.

Time Keeps On Slipping

Another week has slipped by. I feel like I have been pretty busy, but
looking back on the last week, I can't recall what has kept me so
busy. Ah yes, now I remember. I had that silly Abstract Modern
Algebra final. I put several hours a day into that for most of the
week. Good news I passed.

This weekend I put two 50 lb bags of clay back into the bed of the
'25. With that payload in place, the truck can now be removed from
the garage without any help. Good times.

I also got around to scheduling the next camping trip. October seems
so far away.

MCMXXV

Over the past week or so in my free time, I have been fabricating some new shackles for the rear leaf springs of the old truck. The original shackles are quite long and I hoped that a shorter shackle would allow the truck to enter/exit the garage without first loading up the rear end with Chevrolet enthusiasts.

Today I finished up the 4th shackle and installed them. It definitely dropped the rear end of the truck. Unfortunately it was still not enough. On the positive side, it no longer takes three folks sitting in the bed to get under through the threshold. Now it requires only a single medium sized passenger who weights about 64 lbs. Knowing this, I feel certain I can get the truck out of the garage now by myself with the assistance of 2 fifty pound bags of clay.

The original shackles along with the bolts have been placed in the magic box of original parts. The parts will stay with the truck so that any future owner can restore the truck to the original ride height.

Jordan and I took the truck out for a spin today. After we returned home, we drove up and down the driveway a few times. He was practicing using the brake and shifting gears, first to reverse, and then reverse back to first. Next time he may even get to press the gas pedal.

Procrastination Versus Modern Abstract Algebra

This weekend has been quite a competition between doing some homework and procrastinating against it. Early Saturday I decided to quit pretending and just admit I wasn't going to do it. This certainly made Saturday more enjoyable.

Sunday morning I decided to get right to it when we got home. Two or three distractions later I did. A mere 4.5 hours later I was done. Whew!

This Thursday is the final. I will try to put in three hours of prep time between now and then. All the effort should be worth it in the end. I simply need to pass the final to get an A in the class. Cross your fingers and toes. I already have mine crossed.

The Quest For Perfect Okra (The Never Ending Saga)

Most days when I take my usual route to work, I pass a house which is adjacent to lot which contains a fairly large garden. A garden is so large in fact, that only a retired gentleman would attempt such an undertaking.

The gardener/farmer often has a sign in his yard indicating what veggies he has for sale. Last week okra was added to the list of tomatoes, squash, and peas. As I drove past Friday morning I resolved by swing back by on my way home to acquire some okra.

Friday evening I did stop by. Unfortunately no okra was available. I was informed by the gardener that he cut the okra every morning and that it went pretty fast. I thanked the gardener for his time and promised to return soon, except much earlier in the day. Today I stopped in again. This time at 6:50 AM. The gardener was about half way down one of many rows of okra when he spotted me. He returned to the driveway with a 5 gallon bucket full. He remembered me from Friday and asked if I had returned for some okra. I purchased two pounds which was barely a dent in his bucket. I also bought a greenish-red tomato.

This evening I once again attempted to fry me a mess of okra. And make some corn bread. The cornbread turned out bad. Really bad. The okra was good, but it could have used a little salt. (This weekend we discovered that we were out of salt which probably isn't a bad thing.)

I decided last time I fried of a batch that I needed to use less oil, less heat, and less meal. And so I did. For the two pounds of okra I used 3 heaping tablespoons of cornmeal (mix). This turned out to be just about right. Basically I put the okra in a bowl, poured the meal of the top and agitated it until all the okra was evenly coated. There was no excess meal remaining in the bottom of the bowl.

As for the oil, I put just enough in the skillet to cover the bottom. Barely. I had previously decided that frying okra was not really about frying okra, but rather about cooking out the moisture. With this reasoning, perhaps false reasoning, I decided that the cooking process should be more similar to sauteing.

Wikipedia defines sauteing as a method of cooking food that uses a small amount of oil (or fat) in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. It is my opinion that high heat is not necessary, but that medium heat should suffice. This may be flawed thinking. My reasoning was that turning up the temp would only create a mess as the oil would splatter everywhere. But wait, I didn't have much oil in the pan so perhaps this wouldn't be a problem. Regardless, I stuck with the medium heat.

The okra took quite a while to cook. Perhaps because the heat was too low. Perhaps because I had too much in the skillet. Perhaps both. Next time I will attempt to reconcile this situation.

One other thing to note. I think I 'stirred' the okra to often. This is my opinion because more seeds seemed to be liberated from the pods than I had noticed in the past.

The final result I would call a success. It looked right. It was not burnt. It was not oily. It was not to mealy. It could have used a little salt though. And perhaps some fresh corn meal.

Ssh! Don't tell, I cut up a green tomato and a three pieces of pickled okra and added then to the batch. A little something something.

To be continued.

High Humidity, thou art no friend of mine.
Fall is still six weeks away.
Or so I was told today.
Ok?

Live From The Living Room

...of Terry's apartment that is. We travelled to Georgia to visit my seester today. The trip to the water park was rained out. :) The kids swam in the pool at the hotel (while I napped) and then we went to a movie. We saw Nancy Drew. Woo hooo!

Tomorrow we are going to the aquarium. Did I misspell that? Did I misspell misspell?

Later...

It was a fine weekend

Saturday I took the turnip truck to the the Greater Tennessee Valley Antique Car Show. A stunning 715 vehicles were registered at this show.

My trip to and from the show was unique. I left the house shortly before 7:00 AM. A quick stop to top off the tank and I was on the road. The trip was 25 miles and it took about an hour. I route was mainly 2 lane roads but I did have to get on a 4 lane highway for a couple of miles. No problems though.

Two of my neighbors decided to accompany me to the show. Brian drove his '66 Mustang and Guy his '72 Chevrolet Pickup. We brought a tent, some chairs, and a couple of coolers. The shade was a nice relief from the warm sun.

The truck got a lot of attention. A whole lot of attention. Most were amazed not by its age (1925), but rather by the fact that it was a Chevrolet. It was not the oldest vehicle there. A gentleman from nearby Athens, AL had trailered in a 1925 American LaFrance fire truck.

Great Show.

Bug'n in July 2007

This weekend was also the VW show in Decatur. It was a two day show so I was able to go to it on Sunday. I took quite a few pictures and learned a lot about the little VWs. The cars are fascinating. A good mixture of vintage and newer, original and customized. The entire show is held under a large pavilion which is nice and cool even in July. This is my favorite show to visit. And there is definitely a Beetle in my future, though probably a very distance future. (I have to finish the 1972 GMC first.)

GMC Update

Sunday afternoon I removed a few more rivets from the new/old LWB frame. Only ten more to go and I will have everything off the frame that I need. I can then start the sand blasting process on the rear suspension componenents.

I will eventually need to remove the leaf spring brackets from the old/old SWB frame. This will be a minimum of another 16 rivets I will defer this task for a while.

This weekend was very busy. I think I need another weekend to recover.

It was announced yesterday that there would not be a 2008 F1 USA Grand Prix.

Tomorrow I am taking my oldest truck to a an antique and classic car show.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

The last three days have followed a common recipe for me.

0) A full day of debugging embedded wireless protocol software.
1) A couple of hours in the driveway with a grinder and a power drill removing rivets from an old truck frame.
2) A few more hours doing home work for that crazy abstract modern algebra class.

(I am pleased to be done before 12:00 tonight!)

We have decided that there is no practical application for abstract algebra. None whatsoever! I would go futher and claim there is no use for it at all, but that would be a lie. As far as I can tell though, its only real use is as a prerequisite for another mathematics class needed only by some crazy fool attempting to fetch a masters or phd in mathematics. Not me though.

The dissassembly of the new old new truck frame is coming along nicely. I say new because it recently arrived here so it is new to me. I say old because it is 35 years old and most vehicles won't last that long. And I say new because relative to the '25 pickup, the '72 is still a spring chicken.

Today was the British Grand Prix. This season has been awesome. Go Masa! Go Kimi!

And That Is A Good Thing!

It has been a long weekend and that is a good thing.

This afternoon I didn't get back to the rivets. And that's OK.

This evening I took several trips around the block in the turnip truck so that I could give everyone a ride. Some neighbors came over to look at the truck. I ended up giving them each a ride and then I took a truck load of kids for a round. I let the adults drive. They seem to enjoy it after getting over their initial concern that perhaps the truck is fragile! If it were fragile it would not have lasted since 1925.

Weekend Getaway

Ginger and I made a quick weekend getaway to Nashville Friday & Saturday. We stayed in a hotel near the Opryland Hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner there and took and indoor boat ride. The Opryland Hotel is an amazing place to visit.

Saturday we visited the Lane Motor Museum. Ginger found a few cars she wanted to bring home. Unfortunately we were not in the Tahoe so we didn't have room for them in the back. My favorites were the Fiats (especially the Topolino [think Italian Volkswagen Beetle]), the Austin Minis, the Morris Minis, the MGs. Here is a complete list of their cars. Take a look at the Honda S600 and S800 , and the Datsun 1200. (There is a Datsun 1200 in a junk yard near here.) These are definitely some cool convertibles.

Saturday after returning home I removed 22 rivets from the pieces of rusty metal. No small task. I believe there are another 28 to go. Maybe Sunday.

Saturday was 07/07/07 in case you missed. Were you feeling lucky?

The 4th

I started the 4th with an early more trip to Pitts Salvage yard in Athens. I had arranged to purchase the back half of the frame of a1972 Chevrolet Pickup LWB complete with all the suspension, brackets, and the 12 GM differential. I got a really good price on it too!

I borrowed Lott's trailer and Ginger's Tahoe. David M. rode shotgun. The entire trip took about 2.5 hours. Once home I unloaded the big piece of rusty metal and began planning how to disassemble it as quickly as possible. I am sure my neighbors love looking at it.

I did manage to get the differential, trailing arms, and coil springs separated from the frame and stowed safely in the shop.

I still need to remove 50+ rivets to get all the brackets I want removed from the frame and the frame disassembled. That will be no small task. In the past it has take about 10 minute per rivet. I will need to find a quicker method or this could take forever.

In the Presence of Greatness

We celebrated the 4th by attending a party at the White House. The kids enjoyed playing in the pool and the food was great. BBQ chicken, pork, and ribs. Mmmmm. And fresh corn from the garden.

Rusty Parts Is Rusty Parts

Operation trailing arms is now underway. I spoke with the gentleman at the automobile salvage yard today. He and I came to an agreement on a price for the rear differential, the trailing arms, and all the necessary brackets to attach said parts to a frame. I have also arranged to borrow my neighbors trailer in the morning. And Ginger's Tahoe.

Two friends have expressed an interest in riding along to the junk yard in the morning. The more the merrier. I expect they will both back out in the morning. The 4th of July can be a very busy day.

The junk yard is an amazing place if your interested in automobiles. In some ways it is very sad place. Rows and rows of deteriorating vehicles. It can also be an exciting place. Rows and rows of old trucks and cars. Every make an model you can imagine. For a truck guy there is nothing like discovering an old forgotten Chevrolet Apache in the middle of nowhere. A Mazda guy would be amazed at all the old RX-7s. Another nearby yard has a half dozen VW bugs: A couple of early 60's models with metal dashboards and 6 volt electrical systems, a super bug with a sun roof, etc. And yet another yard has an old '50s Nash Metropolitan (in pretty good shape), a '50's Studebaker Commando (in not so good shape), and the rusty skeleton of a early '50s Ford pickup. Each junk yard is so very unique, almost like a car show, but no one remembered to wash and wax the vehicles. Don't bother going to search for an old muscle car though. Those were all crushed years ago.

Two Bits

Jordans remaining quarter requirements:

1999
Pennsylvania - P
New Jersy - D
Connecticut - D

2000
New Hampshire - D

2001

2002
Ohio - D

2003
Illinois - P
Alabama - D
Maine - D
Missouri - D

2004
Michigan - D
Florida - D
Iowa - D
Wisconson - D

2005
Oregon - D
West Virginia - D

2006
Nevada - D
Nebraska - D
North Dakota - D

2007
Washington - D
Idaho - P
Idaho - D
Wyoming - P
Wyoming - D
Utah - P
Utah - D

2008
Oklahoma - P
Oklahoma - D
New Mexico - P
New Mexico - D
Arizona - P
Arizona - D
Alaska - P
Alaska - D
Hawaii - P
Hawaii - D

Quarters

I have updated my quarter list. Thanks Terry.

Below is a list of the state quarters that Princess Bri still needs. She is not concerned about the mint marks.

1999

2000

2001

2002
Mississippi

2003
Illinois

2004
Michigan

2005
California

2006

2007
Idaho
Wyoming
Utah

2008
Oklahoma
New Mexico
Arizona
Alaska
Hawaii

Leaf Springs, Coils, and Trailing Arms

I made a quick trip to the salvage yard last week to look for a replacement differential. I found several correct for my year model of truck, but they are all intended for trailing arm suspension trucks. Mine has leaf springs. I could convert the brackets from trailing arms to leaf springs but it would be some work.

Last year I started thing about swapping the truck from leaf springs to trailing arms/coil suspension but decided against it for a couple of reason. It would take extra time/effort. The major benefit of making the swap is that the truck will ride smoother, more like a car than a truck.

Now with the differential housing needing to be replaced, I revisited the idea of swapping to the coil suspension. It definitely makes more sense now. Perhaps that is because it is what I wanted to do in the first place. Or perhaps it is because the parts are readily available for a coil truck but not for a leaf truck.

So now the plan is to pick up an old rusty differential housing and some trailing arms at the salvage yard. It's like Christmas in July.

1925 Chevrolet Superior Pickup

Top Ten Mistakes I Have Made on My Blog

All of them.

I read one of those Top 5 Blog Improvement articles recently that said you should never say "Sorry I haven't posted in a while." It recommended that instead one should say "I am a quitter and this blog will disappear off the face of the Internet any minute now."

This blog will not be disappearing anytime soon (jinx) though you can expect more entries labeled Mundane.

Turnip Truck Update

Monday J, B, and I rolled the '25 out of the garage, cranked her up, and then Bri and I took it for the weekly spin around the neighborhood.

Tuesday J, B, and I rolled it out again. This time so I could take a few photographs. Then Bri and I took it for the weekly spin around the neighborhood again. The photographs were what I hope to be the final step in the paper work for acquiring antique car insurance. The antique tag is already on the truck. Once the insurance is in place, it will be ready for a trip to a car show, or perhaps even better a trip to Sonic for some ice cream. The first trip of course will be to put some gas in the tank. We don't need a repeat of last weeks adventure.

While the truck was in the driveway, I taught Bri how to start it.

1. Set timing advance to starting position.
2. Set had throttle to starting position.
3. Tap foot throttle twice.
4. Press the foot brake.
5. Press in the clutch.
6. Verify the truck is out of gear.
7. Verify the parking brake is engaged.
8. Turn the the switch from Park to Ignition.
9. Pull out the choke knob.
10. Press the starter pedal.
11. Wait for the motor to turn over and begin to run.
12. Release the starter pedal.
13. Relax the choke.
14. Adjust hand throttle to idle position.

She got it to crank on the first try. She had already learned how to turn it off.

Docking Procedures Initiated

The truck sits about 7' 1" at its highest point. My 7' garage door is only 6' 11.5". In order to get the truck into or out of the garage, I load it up will 100 lbs of dry clay, and two little people. Next I give it a push and once it is rolling I hop on the tailgate, the back end of the truck drops about an inch, and if we are rolling fast enough we reach escape velocity.

We don't always reach escape velocity.

Weekend Recap

Yesterday after I finally repaired the exhaust leak on the Miata. The one caused by driving over a volley ball sized rock in the middle of a 5 lane road.

Nothing is ever as simple as it needs to be. I had to remove four bolts to replace a couple of gaskets. Exhaust bolts are always a pain, badly rusted, probably due to the intense heat they experience. I managed to twist one of the bolts in half. Fortunately bolts are fairly cheap. It cost me $0.98 cents to replace the bolts.

No more exhaust leak. Finally.

Saturday we went over to Tuscumbia for the Hellen Keller Festival. Terry ran a 5 mile race. I believe Jordan said she came in 165th overall. It was at least 90 F. We also browsed a car show and had lunch with the entire family.

It has been a busy week. Work alone is enough to generate that hectic feel. Besides that, I have a test tonight in an abstract math class I am taking. I have some how managed to put in a few hours of study time for the last four days. That was rough a couple of the days because it was late and I was tired. My procrastination skills are slipping.

Gone Indy

The Indy trip was fun and it just sped by.

This year I omitted some of my usual trip technology.

First I left my laptop at home. The only place I could find a reasonably priced room (< $150/night) back when I booked it in January was at a 2-star Hotel. I knew they would not be providing free Internet access. (The room turned out to be nicer than the 3-star we had last year, though it did cost a few dollars more.)

Second, I left the camera at home. The camera is took big to carry in a pocket and I didn't want to try to wear it on my belt. That works fine when standing walking, but it is a real nuisance when trying to sit.

I did take the GPS. It is used mostly as a novelty but it is nice know how far from home I am at any given time.

I also took my SanDisk MP3 player. It is small and will easily fit in a pocket. The great benefit here is that it is also an FM radio. The race track broadcasts the announcer on 100.10 FM so having a radio and ear plugs makes it easier to hear what is going on even when the noise level is up. Taking the radio was a good call. It was definitely easier to keep up with what was going on.

I also took my TI calculator. I have a Modern Abstract Algebra test this Thursday so I had some studying to do. Believe it or not, I probably got more homework done than I would have had I stayed at home. Besides the motor sport events and dining out, there were not really too many other things to distract me thus allowing me to procrastinate.

Last night Jordan told me he wanted to be a race car driver. Me too. Unfortunately we are probably both too old to get started now. It seems kids today get started at about the age of 3 or 4.

Perhaps later I will tell you about my hotel bath tub.

Road Trip

I am heading north to Indianapolis today. The main event, the US GP, is not until Sunday. Tomorrow will be full day including F1 qualifying and several other racing events.

If your watching the race on Sunday, look for me in the drivers seat of the car sitting at pole.

Yesterday I acquired a tag for the 1925 Chevy. The tag is an Alabama Vintage Vehicle tag. The great thing about this tag is that it does not need to be renewed. And I only had to stand in line about 20 minutes. Not to bad.

Last night I decided to take it out for a trip around the neighborhood. After a few laps I stopped at a friends house to chat a bit.

When it was time to head home I started it up, drove it about 50 yards and then it sputtered and died. Out of gas!

Fortunately I was at the top of the hill and could coast home. Unfortunately I had to coast home backwards.

Raving's Of A Mad Man

A friend of mine thinks he has something to say. No pressure Danny.

http:\\dannysravings.blogspot.com

Statehood Quarters

Like many other folks, I am collecting one of each mint of the "50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act". Here in the south, we mostly see quarters with the Philadelphia, 'P', mint mark.

If you are collecting quarters as well, let me know what you need. We can work out a quarter swap. If your not collecting but would like to help me out, let me know what you have available and I will gladly send you back cash to cover the quarter and the cost of postage.

Below is a list of quarters that I still need. For completeness, I went ahead and listed the quarters that have not yet been released.

The quarters don't need to be perfect, but I would prefer that they be fairly shiny and mostly scratch free.

2001
Kentucky-D

2002
Ohio-D
Mississippi-D

2004
Michigan-D
Florida-D
Wisconsin-D

2005
California-D
Minnesota-D
West Virginia-D

2006
North Dakota-P
North Dakota-D

2007
Montana-D
Washington-D
Idaho-P
Idaho-D
Wyoming-P
Wyoming-D
Utah-P
Utah-D

2008
Oklahoma-P
Oklahoma-D
New Mexico-P
New Mexico-D
Arizona-P
Arizona-D
Alaska-P
Alaska-D
Hawaii-P
Hawaii-D

2007 US Grand Prix

This coming weekend if the F1 US Grand Prix. I will be heading out Friday for Indy. I am looking forward to the trip. This has been a great season for Formula One. I believe this will be my fourth F1 race.

Friday is a practice session. It is usually on TV before I leave AL so I will definitely miss it. Saturday AM there is typically another practices session followed by qualifying at around 1:00 PM or so. Typically there are several other races that day. And a car show on the back straight away.

Sunday is the F1 race. I think it is at 1:30 PM eastern.

Who wants a T-shirt?

GMC Differential Woes

This evening I decided to clean up the rear differential housing for the GMC. It seems like I have been on the verge of this chore for months but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why I hadn't done it. Then I looked at my blog. Oh yeah, I was working.

The great thing about the blog is that I can forget what I have been doing and still have a record of it.

First I had to beat out the bear chases for the pinion. I used a 24" piece of rebar and a framing hammer. The next step would have been either removing the wheel bearings and seals and then finally I would begin the de-grunging process.

At this point I noticed something that derailed the process. I was looking at the bottom of the differential housing when I noticed what appeared to be a weld. Having never really looked closely at the bottom on the housing, I inspected it further. And then I looked inside.

The differential housing had apparently been broken at one point and the hole was big enough to put a baseball through it. The broken piece had then been welded back into place. I could imagine this had probably been done after dark one fall evening in the front yard of a single-wide.

Perhaps this was the location of the leak resulted in the differential only having about a quart of fluid in it. Perhaps.

Regardless, I think it is time to hit the salvage yards and attempt to locate a replacement GM 12 bolt housing. The complete carrier assembly is fine.

My guess is the 12 both was originally a locker. At some point it "blew up" resulting in a cracked housing and the total annihilation of the carrier. The housing was welded back and a replacement carrier was dropped in.

According to the code stamped on the axle, the differential was originally a 1/2 ton 3.73:1 from a 1972 pickup, so the housing is probably original. The gears I found inside were 3.07:1. I like the 3.07:1 ratio because it will provide better MPG at highway speeds.

It will probably be a few weeks before I can round up another diff housing. I already have plans for the next few weekends.

She's Alive

Yesterday I got the turnip truck running. As was suspected, the carburetor needed to be cleaned. There were three holes that were completely clogged. One being the jet, of course they must all be clear for the Carter RX-O carburetor to function correctly.

After getting the truck going, I gave everyone a ride around the neighbor hood. Everyone who saw the truck, stopped and waved.

Props: My neighbor helped with getting the truck running and loaned me the use of his parts washer for a couple of hours to clean some varnish out of the carb. Thanks. He has decided that he likes the truck and even offered to buy it from me at a significant loss. Ginger nixed that deal.

Vital Statistics

The truck is a 1925 Superior series. The engine is a 4 cylinder, approximately 120 cubic inches, producing about 20 horse power.

The truck is approximately 13 feet long and 6 feet wide. At its highest point, it is just over 7 foot. My garage door is just under 7 foot. No problem though, just have someone sit in the back while rolling it through the door.

I am the 5th owner.

The truck has been sitting in a warehouse for about 2 years. It rolled in under its own power. It was pushed out. The gas had turned to varnish.

So far the battery has been replaced and the gas tank drained. The plugs look OK. The carburetor needs to be cleaned and it should be good to go.

Get in line for a ride. The queue getting long.

1925 Chevrolet Truck

Look what followed me home.

Today I was asked if I had finished up the timing belt on the Miata yet? By someone who said they read my blog. Didn't I mention that on Sunday? Oh, yeah, there it is. Everything is back together and running fine.

Today I did something a little on the crazy side. More on that tomorrow.

I wish I could add words to Bloggers spell checker dictionary. It doesn't like Miata. Instead it suggests: "Mia Ta", "Mata", "Marta", and "Moat".

I recall sitting down last night to write something for the blog. Where did it go?

I found out today that my sister is famous. Jordan told me so. "Haven't you seen all the billboards and pictures?"

School started back last Thursday. Someone needs to do their homework, tomorrow.

Perfect Timing

Between a couple of hours on Saturday and another four today, the Miata timing belt is now back in place. Woo hoo! Along with the timing belt, I replaced the water pump, and the auxilary belts. I also attempted to repair the radiator mounting brackets using JB Weld.

The car cranked and ran smoothly on the first try. Ok, their was one little problem. I left the alternator belt a little loose and it made a nice squealing noise. That was easily corrected though.

I drove it around the neighborhood to check things out. Everything looks good. Only one thing left to do, the gas tank is empty.

David's is a few hours behind mine. We will probably finish it up tomorrow night.

I did not track how many hours I spent on this project, but I suspect it is approximately 10. Maybe more.

Today was Jordan's last day of school (3rd grade). Tomorrow the kids start summer care. So much for a good old fashioned summer.

Today was also my first day of summer classes. The class meets for 4 hours once a week. I was already brain dead after a mere 18 minutes.

No progress on the Miata timing belt today.

I stopped by the Miata dealership this afternoon to pick up the replacement timing belt crankshaft sprocket. $34.

Later in the evening I spent a couple of hours working on reassembling the car. It took about 20 seconds to put the sprocket back on and another 2 hours to accomplish absolutely nothing. Apparently putting a timing belt back on a Miata is a three handed job, something about valve springs causing the cams to want to rotate a few degrees off of where I want them to be. Fortunately it will all wait until the weekend. End the mean time I will concentrate on growing another arm.


Yesterday the Differential Rebuilding DVD arrived from SmartFlix. I watched it last night. The video was excellent. It answered all my questions and then some. No more mysteries hidden in the differential.


I helped a friend setup his new blog on Tuesday. I am still waiting on that first post Danny!

Today Brianna graduated from kindergarten. She was at the top of her class. Actually, she was the tallest in the class. Tomorrow she begins looking for gainful employment.

The sprinkler didn't take much time. Ginger did most of the digging and I did the electrical work. No plumbing required!

We went to see the 11:00 AM showing of Shrek. Perhaps we should have seen Pirates III instead. Afterwards we went to Casa Blanca for for lunch and then home for a nap.

Later we all played basketball.

And then I watered a dead tree. Ok, mostly dead. Five of them.

I could certainly get use to four day weekends. Today's plans is nothing. Now let me catch you up on the last few days.

I started Friday by rotating the tires on the Charger (7500 miles). I had to replace a few lugs on the front tire. They were deformed and I couldn't get the proper size wrench on them. This was the first tire rotation for the car, but I have had two flats already. My theory on the lugs is that someone had applied the wrong size socket to those lugs using an air gun. Gotta love that.

A simple tire rotation ended up taking almost two hours. That included a parts run for lugs.

Once that was complete, I met G', Bri, and David M. for lunch before heading back home to start work on changing the Miata's timing belt. David parked his Miata nose to nose with mine and we got to work. His car is a 92 with the 1.6L; mine is a 95 with the 1.8L. At first glance they are very similar but as things progress one really starts to notice the differences: Air box, thermostat housing, alternator brackets.

After a few hours I had to call it quits for the day. I estimated we were 30% done, David thought we were closer to 50%. At this point I had drained and removed, the radiator, removed the dual electric fans, the valve cover, the three plates covering the timing belt.

Next up for the day was helping Beth lock up her new house. She needed all the locks changed. First we went to the house to inventory what we needed. Next we dropped David off at his house. He was at our mercy for a lift since he no longer has a functional Miata. Step three involved finding a set of door knobs and dead bolts that matched the others in the house. We managed to find three out of four sets with matching keys. The key dude had already left for the day so she would need to make a return trip to get the remaining set to match the first three. This expedition ended with me be dropped off at home so that Beth could go pick up her son. Yes, his name is David also.

After grabbing a couple of tools, G' and I headed over to Beth's new house. The goal for today was not to replace all the locks, but simply to replace all the dead bolts. This would be good enough for now, because Ginger and I had other plans, we were going out to dinner at Bone Fish Grill.

Saturday morning David and I planned to start working on the Miatas at 7:30 AM. At about 6:30 AM I was in the getting a head start. I called him a few minutes later to ask if he had a socket. I don't recall if it was a 20 or 21 MM socket, but I didn't have it nor did he.

Yes I called David at 6:30 AM. He is an early bird and there was no risk of waking him up. He was sitting on has back porch drinking coffee.

David hit HD, Lowes, and two parts stores before he found the socket we needed. Fortunately it was only $6.

The socket was required to remove the crankshaft bolt. Having the right tool sure makes the job easier. At this point I could described a misadventure involving removing the timing belt and chipping the timing belt sprocket but no good could come from that so I will omit it.

At 9:15 AM we closed up shop again. I was heading for Decatur for a car show and David had to take care of some stuff he had been volunteered to do. The plan was to open the shop back up at 1 or 2.

The car show was nice though a little warm. My neighbor Brian went with me. While a the car show I saw Ginger's Aunt and Uncle. I saw a 1966 VW Beetle that wanted to follow me home, but I had to leave it there.

By noon I was beat. And about that same time David phoned in to say he had been volunteered for even more stuff and would be able to return until 1 on Sunday. Good for me. I think I took a nap. Then I watched some F1 and re-read the instructions for changing the timing belt. And finally I made a trip to the parts store. I knew going in that I probably wouldn't be able to get the sprocket until Tuesday. Unfortunately it was worse than that. They couldn't get it, so now I have to wait until Tuesday and try the Miata dealership.

Sunday AM started early. Beth had dropped off the other lock on Saturday morning. I skipped Church to finish up lock smithing and then returned home to assembled a basket ball goal we got Jordan for his Birthday.

At one I re-opened the Garage. At two David showed up with reinforcements (Bryant). On a Miata the power steering pump has to be removed to swap out the water pump. On a 95 Miata, the alternator must also be disconnected.

My plan for today was to show David how difficult it was going to be to replace the water pump. I would eventually convince him it was not necessary and once he had had made this decision, I would then try to convince him how important it was to change the water pump. Mind games. Ha!

The water pump swap went smoothly. At this point there were a few things I could put back together but basically I am stuck until I get the sprocket. Best case for that is Tuesday.

David has a hose he needs to replace. The parts store was no help on this one either. He needs the OEM part also.

It is looking like neither car will be running again before next weekend.

Today's plan was to do nothing. Ginger thinks the broken sprinkler needs to be fixed. These two plans don't coexist very well. I guess I will look at the sprinkler in hopes of switching back to my plan ASAP.

5...4...3...2...1

And we're back. Ten days since the last post. How did that happen? Here is a quick summary: Work, Work, Work, G's grandfather passed away.

A friend of mine, one of the many Davids that I know, recommended that everytime I have a 3 day weekend, I should burn a vacation day and have a four day weekend. Sounds like a good plan to me. And here I sit staring at a four day weekend.

Here is a partial list of plans for the weekend:

1. Replace two timing belts in two Miatas.

2. Replace all the exterior door locks in a house a friend of ours is closing on today.

3. Classic Car Show at Alabama Jubilee. Maybe the antique tractor show also.

4. Take G' out to dinner without the children.

That is my list for today and tomorrow morning. After that who knows.

the unwanted Miata Mod

I finally got around to putting the Miata up on jack stands. It appears that a plastic shroud got cracked and several nice scrapes run most of the length of the undercarriage. Fortunately nothing so bad as to put the car out of commission.

But, then I took it for a drive. And something was different. The car was louder. Yes, it now has an exhaust leak. It sounded pretty cool for about 12 seconds then it got old.

Next step: track down the noise and nip it in the bud.

Morning Break

I was hoping to be caught up by now so I could take the weekend off. No such luck.

I am currently camping out at the kitchen table with a laptop and a coffee cup that says "Dad" and has a picture of a 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible on it. I believe that is as close as I will be getting to either of the car shows today.

I have been remiss about posting for the last little something something. Several topics have crossed my mind though I have lost most of them. C'est la vie! One did pop into my mind a few minutes ago though so here we are.

One day this week, I believe it was Wednesday, I was heading back to work after having lunch at Vinnie's Indian Cuisine. I was cruzin' up Jordan Lane behind a over sized 4x4 pickup. I was probably too close to the truck ahead of me and there was a Caddy in the right lane next to me. Quicker than you can shake a stick (What does that mean anyway?)... Before I can brake, I have run over a large rock that the pickup ahead of me went over. Fortunately for him, he had plenty of ground clearance. The Miata however does not have much clearance. This rock was fairly large. I would describe it as roughly the size of a shoe box. I saw it but did not have time to react. The rock went right under the car. I felt the car rise on its suspension. It was quite a bump and I heard the sound of rock rubbing on metal as it went from the front all the way to the back.

This provided a very queasy feeling to the driver of the car, yours truly. I watched in the rear view mirror as the rock rolled down the street and the Accord behind me swerved into the lane of oncoming traffic to avoid it. Fortunately for him there was no actual oncoming traffic.

At this point I started nervously looking for smoke or any signs of fluid loss on the gauges or in the road behind me. My instinct was to go back and get the rock out of the road but there was not a good place to turn around. Also I felt I needed to get the little red car home before it quit, just in case. Hopefully one of the guys working road construction retrieved the rock before it caused any damage to anyone else's car.

Once the car was parked, I looked underneath for any drips. Nothing to be seen. The car has moved since then. I don't really feel good about driving it until I inspect it underneath. I want to make sure I don't have a cracked oil pan or a damaged fuel line, etc.

I have high hopes that there is no real damage other than a few minor scrapes on the underside. High hopes aside, I am not going to drive it again until I have verified this to be true. Three days later and there are still no leaks so I would take that as a good sign.

The Spanish Grand Prix is this weekend. Speed Channel, 6:30 AM on Sunday. My Tivo is ready to go.

Gotta get back to the code now.

Gravy Train

Not to be confused with Crazy Train.

Have a Cigar - Pink Floyd

Come in here, Dear boy, have a cigar.
You're gonna go far,
You're gonna fly high,
You're never gonna die,
You're gonna make it, if you try;
They're gonna love you.
Well I've always had a deep respect,
And I mean that most sincer.
The band is just fantastic,
that is really what I think.
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?

And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it Riding the Gravy Train.

We're just knocked out.
We heard about the sell out.
You gotta get an album out.
You owe it to the people.
We're so happy we can hardly count.
Everybody else is just green,
Have you seen the chart?
It's a hell of a start,
It could be made into a monster
If we all pull together as a team.

And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it Riding the Gravy Train.

Thirteen

...days ago I received an email announcing that my bentonite and clay had arrived and was ready for pickup. I was pretty busy at the time so it took me a week to get "a round tuit". The clay has now been waiting patiently in my garage for about a week. I suspect it has a few more weeks of waiting.

The diff has been in pieces for a few weeks. My next goal is to clean, paint, and reassemble it. I ordered/rented a video on diff rebuilding to get a few pointers so that I will at least have an idea what I am doing before I start the rebuilding process. A little knowledge can go a long way. Who knows when it will show up. They have a limited supply of DVDs and I am apparrently not first in the queue.

In the mean time, I can begin the de-grundging work on the housing. This is a pretty nasty job, but on the plus side, my list of greasy-grimey-grundgy pieces is getting pretty short. Good vibrations there.

In case your just tuning in, the clay is for making a furnace to do back yard metal casting with an end goal of building a metal lathe. The differential is off a 1972 GMC pickup that I am restoring.

Time to go wake up the kids.

Weekend Update

I have been working a lot lately. Last weekend alone was 22+ hours. Actually that describes several weekends in the last month or so. I promised myself I wouldn't do that again this weekend. I put a maximum limit on this weekend of 12 hours. I was successful if only ever so slightly!

The main reason I was successful was because earlier in the week, my neighbor volunteered to my wife to help me remove some shrubs from our flower bed. I didn't know I needed help, because I didn't know I was going to be doing it.

Yesterday afternoon, during the heat of the day we got started. Using a chain and a Tahoe, we pulled the shrubs from the ground. After egressing from the ground, the root ball had to be attacked with a shovel, pick, hoe, or whatever else was handy to remove the dirt from the roots. This is were we could have used a 50 gallon drum of elbow grease.

In all we removed more than 20 bushes and shrubs. Two of them were 10 feet tall. At this point there is a huge pile of greenery on the curb in front of our house. Luckily the monthly pickup of big stuff is this week, the first full week of the month.

Hopefully next week, I can get back on to the normal schedule and get some work done on the truck. BTW, I found a pretty cool web site called smartflix.com They rent how-to/instructional videos. I found several I would like to see, but the first on my list is "Differential Rebuilding". Yes, that thing is still in the bucket!

It has been 8 days since I gave up aspartame and it has not been easy. Yesterday was the worst. I wanted something to drink and I didn't want water. So I had a bottle of water anyway. Woo hoo was not what I was thinking.

I think it is the caffiene that I miss the most.

Car Season

Well it has certainly been a long weekend. That can only mean one thing. I spent most of it working.

This evening when I got home, my neighbor dropped by to talk about a car show we went to yesterday. Yes, it is car show season again. This summer I hope to visit of a few of them:

1. Cullman - May 13th.
2. Jubilee Ballon Festival. (Cars and Tractors!)
3. The big one at the Delphi Plant. (Several hundred vehicles!)
4. The air cooled VW show. (My favorite show in 2006)
5. WBC

Anymore ?

Warning

The next post was written while watching Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest.

That probably means it is full of lies, misspellings, and bad grammar.

Avast yea matey.

Test Drive

Yesterday was indeed a success. I managed to get the Miata's oil changed. Something weird happened in the process.

For some reason, the oil changing guy sprayed brake cleaner under the hood in the approximate location of the oil filter. A few minutes later he sprayed some water in the same location. I would have suspected they simply washed the filter instead of replacing it, but the mark I put on the filter with a Sharpie was no longer there afterwards. For that reason I think they actually replaced the filter.

Yes, very odd.

I left work Friday about a half hour early to go drive the beamers at the Century BMW Ultimate Drive charity event. I didn't have much time so I only got to drive 3 cars.

1. BMW 328XI - All wheel drive. I drove this one first because when I first got in line the line was about 50 folks long. Because I had just arrived they offered it to me no waiting. I had wanted to drive a 335XI last year, when I drove the 335 but they didn't have one one the lot. The loop was 7.4 miles long. The sun roof was open. I improved the environment by dropping the front windows and turning off the radio. And I pressed the Sport button for the transmission. Zoom-a-zoom-a-zoom. This car was OK, but not for me. It has always been my impression that BMWs are geared fairly low with very responsive brakes. This car matched my previous impression.

2. BMW Z4 Coupe - I took this car next again because it was offered to me while I was still pretty far back in line. I would have preferred the convertible, but all the convertibles were in high demand. The Z4 Couple seemed like a tight fit for little ole me. I again drove with the radio off and the windows down. Unfortunately it had no sun roof. While merging onto I565 I was passed two lanes out by a guy in a 328. Later he told me he hit 135 during this sprint. This part of the loop was essentially an on ramp, about a quarter mile, and then an on ramp. During this drive I was very fortunate not to get hit by some crazy guy driving an older gray Century with a couple of dents in it. For some reason this guy started to swerve over in front of me before realizing I was there. He then swerved back into his lane and locked up his brakes momentarily. The guy behind him nearly rear ended the century. This all happened in a matter of a couple of seconds. All this time I was driving at a constant law abiding speed, sticking to lane 3 of 4. Honest.

Back in line again, I decided to wait for my choice of cars this time. The girl passing out the cars continued to remind us we had time for one more loop. A woman who had been driving all day, literally 7 hours, recommended I go for the 650 convertible. Brian had recommended this car also. I was ready, I was at the front of the line, and the car was driving into the parking lot. Pay dirt! Not so fast. At precisely this moment, a dude walked up that had pre-registered to drive this car. The pre-registered folks had priority. Doh!

They offered me a 750 at this point. I had been eyeing the 750 just because it was so big and I had not been in a car of this magnitude. But I decided to stick to my guns. I was waiting on the 650. And wait I did. At the front of the line. About 15 minutes later the 650 was back. It was mine this time.

3. 650 Convertible. Sweet. Topless, 2 doors, and four seats. This was a very drivable car. At this point Friday afternoons rush hour traffic was in full force.
At every light along the loop I got to sit through one more more light cycles. No worries though, I was stylin' in the big-ole-beamer with the top down and it was a very pleasant 70 F. Again the radio was off. I preferred the peace and quiet over top-forty commercials on the radio. When I returned to the dealer ship, I passed the car to the next guy, who was also the last guy to go out in a car that day. I really enjoyed driving this car.

Had I had the opportunity to drive one more car, I thing I would have gone with the 750 over the other convertibles.

After finishing up the drive, they sent me inside to grab a t-shirt and sign the SUV. They only had L sized shirts remaining. I took one anyway thinking I could give it to Ginger. I also signed the SUV. I looked for Mr. Miata's signature but I didn't find it.

And then I drove home in my shiney red Miata with white racing stripes.

I know you must be concerned that I left work early yesterday. Don't worry about it. I made up for it by putting in a full day today. And tomorrow.

I just saw a link on Digg titled How To Live Comfortably in 96 Sq Ft Of Space (Pics).

And here is a link to the guys web site.

I think these houses all need a tiny garage with a (older) Mini parked inside.

Posts have been somewhat scarce around here lately. I would blame it on work, but work is not the direct cause, it is merely an indirect cause.

The increased amount of work time recently has decreased my extra-curricular activities.

No truck time means no posts about the GMC.

No cruising time, no rambling about the Miata.

No call from the pottery supply store, means no write up about back yard metal casting.

Tomorrow is looking like 70 and a mere 20 percent chance of rain.

Perhaps tomorrow I will write about an oil change for the Miata, or a test drive in a beamer convertible. And the Charger still needs to have the tires rotated.

Four days and counting, No diet drinks. This afternoon I tried a cup of hot peach flavored green tea. How is that for different?

The First Day Is The Hardest

At least I hope so. Having unsweetened tea with lunch was no big deal, but water throughout the day is boring. Sometimes you just want something with a little umph, the Jim Beam burn that you can only get from an ice cold Coca Cola. Unfortunately I don't really recall what that is like. It has been several years since I had a regular cola, and on that occasional is was a little flat. (I don't think you can actually get the Jim Beam burn from Jim Beam.)

Mike mentioned in a comment that he has been hitting the juice bottle. Don't do it man! Fruit juice has more calories per ounce than soda. Sure it is supposed to be good for you too, but if you strictly swap 12 oz. of DP for 12 oz. of juice, you net savings is no good. Now if you swap 6 cans of DP for 5 glasses of water and one bottle of juice your doing OK, but why would anyone want to do that? {End of rhetorical Question}

Back to the water torture. And it's raining today to. That makes my Miata sad.

Aspartame

This morning I decided to give up aspartame. Why? It just seemed like a good idea. Perhaps this will force me to drink more water.

Yesterday I read another one of those scary articles recently that talks about the possible side effects. Basically it said the stuff will make you stupid. Does one need another reason?

Several years ago I gave up regular sodas because I decided I didn't need the extra calories. I generally avoid fruit juice for the same reason. Milk, beer, and wine all belong here also but I occassionaly make exceptions. Actually, I have been having a glass of red wine every night, but it is purely medicinal.

So to recap, no regular sodas, no diet sodas, skip the juice, etc. What does that leave?

Water, coffee, tea. I usually limit myself to two cups of coffee a day, otherwise I get the jitters.

Now it is just water and tea. Unsweetened of course. Unless I am Thomas Pitt BBQ, then one must definitely have the sweet tea, on the rare occassion.

H20. Pretty exciting.

More tea sir? Yes, definitely.

More work.

Work, work, work. Work has been keeping me very busy. Not much else to say. Work, work, work.

Some how I overlooked this one so I will mention it now. I have now had the Charger 1 year, 1 week, and four days.

After a year of driving it, I would say I like it as much or more as I did when I first got it.

The odometer is currently just over 7000 miles.

I have had the Miata for 3 years, and 4 days shy of a month.

I would tell you how long I have had the GMC pickup but Ginger says it does not count as a vehicle simply because it is undriveable. Perhaps I should count the number of truck pieces I have instead.

GMC Update: Last Wednesday I receive a rebuild kit for the rear differential. Hopefully I can get those parts out of the bucket soon.

Summary For iMike

I am home again. The camping trip went well though the weather tried not to co-operate.

For Fridays hike it, we had temperatures in the low 60s. Almost perfect. The hike in was uneventful, except for a broken bottle of pepper sauce at the parking lot.

Friday evenings meal was the traditional ribeye. That was 5 pounds we were definitely willing to hike in.

Saturday we had a thunderstorm. At one point I heard a thunder clap that lasted no less than 30 continous seconds.

A couple guys (David and Alan) went for a hike Saturday morning. They were out when the bottom fell out. Even with parkas, they were totally drenched. The rest of us (myself, Billy, and Chad) hung around camp and kept the fire burning. This was a bit of a challenge at times.

Saturday during the rain storm I had a drip in the tent and a small puddle accumlated. This was resolved by simply tensioning up the rain fly. This is a rookie mistake, so I had no excuse. Chad had a drip problem also. His sleeping bag ended up getting wet. I think he came pretty close to burning the tent instead of packing it out.

Sunday mornings was cold. How cold? Don't know. But it warmed up some before the snow started to fall. The snow changed to sleet and then back to a very heavy wet snow. The view over the gorge was pretty awesome with the heavy snow.

Sunday morning we heard a wild Turkey call. Didn't see it though. Actually other than a few ants, we didn't see any creatures.

We saw one other group of campers. They were hiking in Saturday afternoon during the rain. They were headed for one of the other primitive camp sites. Their destination had been undersireable to us. It did not allow campfires. What is camping without a campfire?

The oven got put to good use. We baked bread, muffins, CC cookies, and brownies. Saturday night we had Jambo and red beans and rice.

The cold weather from this morning stuck with me all day. This evening I was still chilled when we went out for dinner, even though it was a warmer 55 degrees outside.

I had a good weekend and I am glad to be home. I enjoyed a warm shower and a nice nap this afternoon. I bet I will sleep good tonight also.

Three Day Weekend

Yesterday went by very fast. I had a full day for sure. I believe I ace'd the final and as far as I can tell, I managed to acquire everything at Wal-Mart that I needed for the camping trip. I also remembered to purchase the mandatory civil war re-enactment supplies.

At this point everything is packed and I am waiting for my ride.

Camp Oven 3.0 is making the trip again. Check it out. I suppose I should post another picture of it packed down. Don't hold your breathe.

That is all.

Thoughtless

I hadn't put much thought into what I might muse about tonight.

I have a final tomorrow and I just assumed I would procrastinate for a while and then eventually do a little bit of studying eventually giving up and going to be because it was my bedtime, not so much because I was actually done.

I did procrastinate for a while. I could have started the study session when I got home. Looking back on it, had I done so I would have been done by dinner.

I think that perhaps I use my finely honed skill of procrastinating to keep from over doing the studying.

I did finally get out the books around 8:00 PM. By 10:00 I decided I had done enough.

And so here I sit, trying not to use the phrase bloggers block, when it was really just poor planning on my part. I assumed that I simply wouldn't have time to wax poetic tonight. As you can see I was both right and wrong. I had the time but there is nothing poetic about this, eh? [Note to self, look up the etymology of the term 'wax poetic'.]

Tomorrow will be a busy day indeed. Lunch will be a magical mystery tour for sure. After work, I will be heading to Athens to take the final. Following the final will be the traditional after-the-final-Mexican-food dinner. And after filling up on refried beans it is off Wal-Mart for the traditional pre-camping-trip-trip-to-Wal-Mart-gosh-I-can't-believe-it's-midnight-already I need some stuff for the camping trip shopping spree.

And then Friday morning I will venture into the dark recesses of the attic to retrieve my gear so that I can begin packing.

There is only a 40% chance of Thunderstorms on Saturday.

Winter Wonderland

This past week I decided it was time to turn on the sprinkler system. The grass is turning green and I didn't want to be left out.

My neighbor has been reading again. He told me that one long "rain" would be better for the roots than three or four shorter "rain" showers.

Armed with this information, I decided to to reprogram the sprinkler to run one day a week, instead of three. I decided Sundays would be a good day.

Yesterday morning as we were heading out, I noticed the sprinkler had run for the first time. The driveway was wet around the edges. The grass, flowers, shrubs, and some of the lower tree branches were covered with ice. By the time we got back home, the ice had all melted and the water had all dried up. It is a shame I didn't get a pictures of the last freeze of the year.

For the record, it was about 80 the day I reprogrammed the sprinkler.