thirtysomething...

And why did it take me this long to listen to these guys?


Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism





If I remember correctly Passenger Seat was played on an episode of Californication...


Me Likes.

The Writers Guild of America Strike is driving me crazy. For the past few days it has really been the only topic running through my brain. Last night I started working on this piece in my head and when I woke up it was my first thought. WGA WGA WGA... I don't know why yet, maybe by the end of this piece I'll know, but it has consumed me.

This morning I found an open letter on the Variety WGA Strike Blog from "an anonymous crew member" that comes close to how I feel.

A TV show is not created solely by writers. There is no denying the importance of their creative process, as well as the impact of a truly great script. However, these scripts would never make it to air if crews of people were not dedicated to making it happen...people who put in 15-20 hour days on stage or on grueling locations. These are the people who miss out on time with their families to finish a picture. These are the people who are still devoted to these shows and trying to work right now. These are the people who get paid a small fraction of what the writers do and are going to be unemployed for months during the holidays and beyond in result of this conflict. They have not gotten to make a choice in this matter, yet are somehow being continuously punished.

the full letter

The author goes on to say that he/she is neither on the writers' side nor the studios' side. The author feels for the below the line crew.

That is pretty much how I feel.

Why do I feel that way? Well, you see, in another life I was the infamous Best Boy/Grip/sometimes camera assistant. I was one of the Below The Line Crew.

When one part of the giant circle of motion picture production breaks down, the whole thing falls apart. You NEED a Crew to get everything in place. You NEED a Director (with a vision) to tell the story. You NEED a Producer to find all those people and get them to work together. You NEED Actors to give life to the story. And you MUST HAVE Writers to give us a purpose for being stuck on a plane full of venomous snakes. Take out any of those essential people and the whole plane crashes.

I have NO argument with the WGA demanding residuals from internet distribution. When The Wife and I were living in England, that was the only way we could keep up-to-date on our favorite US shows. We subscribed to their respective series on iTunes Music Store. We didn't download "free" Bit-Torrent versions of the shows. We paid for them. The nice thing about paying those shows is that the iTMS downloads have no commercials. Which on broadcast TV is how those shows make money, and in return pay residuals to the creative members of the production. The new NBC Hulu site will air shows for free, but with advertisements. So, even though the consumer doesn't pay outright for entertaining TV, the studio is still making money off the writers and not kicking any back to the "Team".

A new form of distributing your work is created and you aren't getting revenue from that aspect, where's the equality in that? I for one hope the writers get what they are entitled to and this strike ends soon because even though the Below The Line Crew isn't technically on strike, they are by default or will be in the not so distant future.

This strike may only boil down to 4 cents on the dollar, but in the long run it is worth so much more to a considerable larger group of hard working people.

Think these rims would be too heavy to autocross with?



Too bad there's no Silver 73 to place bets on...

via: TechEBlog

And it's a shame really, because you guys can't read what I'm thinking about most of the time. I literally do it all day, every day. I'm constantly writing commentary or extra dialogue to things going on around me. Usually at work. And most of it is quite sarcastic.

But the bad part is, those stories never make it home with me to be typed out to share with you lot. I'd love to be able to sit down and write them down while I'm at work, but 1. There's no time. 2. I'd probably get fired for sitting around and writing stories all day long. and 3. If I was writing all day long, I'd never have any interaction with customers & life in general to comment on. So you see my predicament?

My boss does it occasionally. Sitting down and writing a small bit. Not for a blog though, she's working on a book of sorts. Crazy stuff customers ask or say. Like asking for "Scream Wire" or wanting to know "Where's yer corkin at?" The latter one really gets me. Number One: It is behind the "at". Numero Duo: The word you're looking for is CAULKING not CORKIN. And C: Look around, the caulk is to your right. NO. Your other right.

And it all leads to THIS STORY, which if you actually know me, you've seen & heard me tell.

My absolute favorite customer story is one that I didn't witness. It actually happened to me. A woman (sorry ladies...) came in asking for an air conditioner filter. 24 inches by 12 inches, or something rectangular like that. I say OK, we've got that. Walk down to the AC filter aisle, grab a 12x24 filter and walk out holding it like this:



I walk up to the counter and she's got this scowl on her face, "No, that's NOT what I asked for. I ASKED for a 24 by 12 filter."

Ok. No Problem.

So I rotate the filter (right infront of her) so it is oriented like this:



"NO. THAT'S NOT RIGHT!"

I walk BACK to the filter aisle. Stand there with the SAME FILTER for about 30 seconds (she can't see me) and walk back out carrying THE SAME FILTER!! "Well, I had to search a bit for it, but we have ONE left!!"



"PERFECT! That's the one I wanted"

Brilliant ad...



via Dark and Scary in Here

The 2 bookcases


The CD case

It is a bit taller that I remembered...

They done blowed up the only flying X-Wing on earf.

via Gizmodo

The authors I recommended while waiting on a new Daniel Silva are the following:

Michael Connelly
Jeffery Deaver
David Morrell
&
Greg Isles

I didn't get jack shit from the knuckle heads in Cary, NC.

Good News:
The wife is flying back to the US tomorrow!! She's been away in Jolly Ole' for the past 3 weeks. :eek3: I sure do miss her!

Bad News:
As of 3 hours ago (give or take) I still had not cleaned up the house. I'd done a bit, but the job wasn't finished. I had already kicked the hookers out, took all the beer cans & bottles to the recycling joint, and returned the 4 kegs to get my deposit back. I kid... there were no kegs.

Anyway, I get home from work today and start straightening up the first floor rooms (I kept them quite nice anyway cause you can see 'em from the street) and run upstairs to get the vacuum. HOLY HELL. The upstairs A/C was out Again. Must have been in the high 80's because it was at least 90 outside. Yes 90. We had close to a record breaking day in the weather department here in Chucktown. So, I call the M-i-L, cause she's picking my Redheaded-Sweetpea up at the airport tomorrow afternoon, to have my Dearest call me when she arrives in CLT. She might not want to drive 3 hours home to sleep in a sweaty house. You never know.

Ok. now cleaning the upstairs is on hold. Dammit.

I go outside to check the disconnect on the condenser. The contacts look like one of Hannibal Lecter's first kills that's been sitting out in the sun for a while. Ok. That's easy to fix. Break out the dremel and remove all the corrosion. Slap it back in, still Nada. Ok, maybe the internals are Fubar. No problem. Lowe's is still open. Jump in the MINI, drive out to Lowe's. Aw Maaan. Is it a 30 Amp box or a 60 Amp box. Back in the MINI, pull in the drive, hop out, check the panel. 60 Amp. Cool. Back to Lowe's. Replace the box. It's now way past dark and I'm getting a tan on one side of my face from the 500 watt halogen work lamp I've got 5 inches away. Box is in, power back on... wait for it, wait for iiiiiit....


Not Jack Shit. Pickles.


It's ok. I'll sleep on the couch downstairs. Now i just have to finish cleaning up in the sweltering dustbunny ridden area of my house known as The Upstairs.

Clean clean clean. Sweep sweep sweep, spray wipe spray wipe. Done.

Take a break. Get something to eat, why don't ya. OK.

While I'm sitting down eating a tasty sandwich and watching reruns of the 2007 World Series of Poker (The Main Event), I have a thought.

The Internets Will Help You with the A/C!! Cool Beans! And ya know what? It DID!

Good News:
I Fixded It!! I now have proper cooling coming from my vents! Google is My Freyends.


Cliff Notes for the reading comprehension impared:
1. Wife is coming home from extended overseas business trip.
2. A/C in the house is broken
3. I fixed the A/C.
4. Pickles is a dirty word.

Yeah yeah yeah. I know. Quit messing with the layout.









You just be quiet an' mind yo own bidniz.



P.S.
Weeds starts in 20 minutes.
Californication will follow directly.

Today the internets showed me a really cool site dedicated to CANDY!!

Man I love candy. :) Don't you??? Well, If you don't you really Should.

The site is called Candy Addict and can be found here or you can click the link in Other Cool Stuff. They've got a brilliant candy quiz that has all 26 letters of the alphabet done in candy wrapper croppings. I got 17 out of 26. :yea:

Here's the Candy Addict Alphabet Quiz How'd you do?

Are you a Yankee or a Dixie??

Yankee or Dixie Dialect Test

According to the test I'm 66% (Dixie). A definitive Southern score!

Ya'll come back, ya hear!

Currently on the iPod's playlist:

[Song - Artist (Original Artist)]

Mad World - Gary Jules (Tears for Fears)
Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash (Depeche Mode)
Running Up That Hill - Placebo (Kate Bush)
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Tori Amos (Nirvana)
Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm (Michael Jackson)
Sweet Dreams - Marilyn Manson (Eurythmics)
This Womans Work - Maxwell (Kate Bush)
Word Up - Willis (Cameo)

Kind of heavy in the '80s, no? Wonder why. :hehe:

That's all I did last night on the playlist. Was up 'till 2 surfing music on The Internets. Haven't really gone through my own library. I stopped when I noticed lots of blue flashing lights outside... Some dude got seriously pulled over for "Speeding" by at least 4 patrol cars. I've got some video, but it is quite dark. I'll see what I can do about cleaning it up and posting it.

Any suggestions for additional songs??

Caught tonight's CSI halfway into the episode. Kid gets decapitated while driving a go-kart on the street... Urban legends and all that. One thing I really like about this show is that they have great music. This season they hyped the first episode every chance they could with Kate Bush's "This Womans Work". Brilliant song. I absolutely love Kate Bush. The really cool thing about CSI is that not only do they have good music, they generally have great cover songs. Like tonight's episode. It ended with a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" by Placebo.

So I'm on iTunes Music Store looking for it and thought, "Ya know, you should put together a playlist of some of your favorite artists doing cool covers, and vice versa." I'm quite fond of 80's music. One band (there are many) that sticks out is Tears for Fears. There was a superb rendition of "Mad World" done by Gary Jules on the Donnie Darko Soundtrack. I thought I had a copy, but no luck. So, I'm off again to iTunes to find it.

Search>Mad World

[FYI, all links go to the iTunes Music Store listings, so if you don't have iTunes installed, don't botha clicking the links. Or you could click HERE to go install it.]

Holy Crap. There must be 20 to 30 different artists with a cover of this song. Some are good, some crap, and some just odd (heavy metal??) Everybody and their folksinger uncle has a version. There's even a version that sounds like some dude screaming into a megaphone that is pointed at the microphone. That's a cool effect and all, but not for this song. IIRC Stone Temple Pilots had a song that had a bit of that in it. The Makeshift Heroes have a SKA version, which I find myself liking in a funky kind of way. Must be the trumpets.

Some of the crappier ones: Mesh. Almost like late 80's/early 90's hip-hop. VERY odd. Maybe if the guy could actually carry a tune and not sing straight through his nose it Might work. Some dude named Kid Moe sounds like he took a try at the college radio station late one night with a girl or two and cranked one out. Pass on that. The spoken word/poetry-esc Kill Switch...Klick makes me want to throw the radio out the window. He's got that damn megaphone thing going as well. The Red Paintings sound like REM if REM was bad enough not to get a record contract. And what's with the country slash rock?

There's even a version that sounds like Helen Ready meets Lounge Lizard. On a side note, Night Bird's album "Thank You" (which this cover is on) was put out by Cheese Records... :hehe: Check out their other covers. Seriously. Omm has a good cover. Close to the original with a bit of electronica/drums thrown in. The Wise Guys have done a barbershop quartet rendition that is on that borderline of really cool, or WTF? They appear to be German, so it's even stranger. Remember when New Order did that whole monk chanting thing? Well Tonus Peregrinus is trying to pull it off again.


I keep finding myself going back to the Wise Guys version... I guess it is pretty cool. I know you guys are all thinking, "WTF, mate?" I know I know.


After going through all that (there are PLENTY I didn't mention, like the dance club 180 beats per minute epileptic fit tracks) I ended up finding the Gary Jules/Donnie Darko Soundtrack listing.


Just for reference: The Tears for Fears original.

I'll post my playlist later when I finish it. :)

Seacrest Out.

The Beastie Boys are part of a select few on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shortlist!!

Wanna know why I feel old??

From Josh Grossberg @ E! Online
"An act becomes eligible for induction 25 years after its first release, be it single, EP or album. That means the current contenders had to have issued their inaugural record no later than 1982."

That's why. They've been around for 25 years! :eek:

If you've been following...


From Valleywag

NBC tries to makeup with Apple

NBC is hurt, stunned and confused by Apple's recent bitchslap. Apparently the broadcaster didn't think Apple would call its bluff, and refuse to sell its new fall season on the iTunes Store. Initially balking at iTunes's rigid pricing structure -- NBC executives have deluded themselves into thinking consumers will pay up to $5 per episode -- and allowing its contract to expire, NBC is now "hopeful that we can reach a resolution before the existing contract expires," says spokesperson Cory Shields. Is that like trying to make up with your girlfriend before she moves out?


Makes me wonder if execs at NBC have been reading all the different blog comments that people are leaving around the net. Looks like absolutely NO one would pay the $4.99 fee per episode, much less paying for bundled shows at a probably higher rate. What's real surprising to me is that NBC thought they could strong arm Apple. Did they not watch what happened with the Verizon/iPhone deal?

If you want to play with Apple & make a bit of cash, You've got to play by their rules. No exception. Apple has ALWAYS been this way. Don't see any Apple clones out there anymore, do ya.

I'll admit, I buy Heroes on iTMS. I'd definitely wait on the DVD release before paying 5 Bucks per DRM'd episode. And I only want Heroes when I buy Heroes. I don't need, nor do I want, an episode of Saturday Night Live attached to my purchase. Eating up all my valuable HD space...

Sounds like the dim GE bulb over some NBC exec's head has been changed to a brighter wattage.

One of the tech blogs I read occasionally posts something from the steampunk scene and I've grown quite fond of the stuff. "Jake" von Slatt over at SteampunkWorkshop.com has done some really cool modifications to his computer to make it look like the thing is from the Victorian Age. He also etches Victorian scenes onto Altoids tins. Very Cool. So I'm reading his pages on what he's done in that area and think to myself, "Hey, all that stuff came from a True Value. I work at a True Value. I must be able to do that!"


So, I bought supplies.


I etched my pirate flag onto a brass sheet that was .032 x 4 x 10. Not bad for my first attempt. The brass was a little thick so it took around 20 minutes in the salt solution to get close to what I was shooting for.

The Pirate Flag


Here's my first attempt:
The Nikon is waiting to be sent out for repairs (Don't Ask...). In the scanned image the black bits are the un-etched part. Those areas like polished brass, you can kind of see the shine in the iSight shot.

SCAN




iSight

at 9:58pm...

"This is Best Buy calling to confirm your delivery tomorrow between 8:30am and 11am. If you have any questions please call the Cary (NC) store at 919-xxx-xxxx."



Uh. I don't shop at Best Buy. Especially one that's 290 miles away, when there's one 5 miles from here...

Strange.


Oh. And when the hell am I supposed to call back to re-confirm?

From the "Houston Trip" with Heather's parents & Chris

Graceland


Johnson Space Center

Updates...

I am finally getting pictures back online since the move back to the US. Right now I'm using Google's Picasaweb to share the photos with you guys. Eventually I'll set up a server to host them with real HTML goodness. Eventually. Click one of the links on the left to see what I've added so far. I've also given the links a bit more categorization than before.

Getting tired of the stock Blogger layout. Maybe something custom (again) in the future. I'm also not real set on the blog name... Suggestions?

Know what the hardest part about drinking Single Malt Scotch is for me?


Having to choose between a 16-year-old Lagavulin Special Release, of which the bottle is nearly empty and a brand new bottle of 10-year-old Talisker.

If it's not Scottish, it's Crrrrap!

Decisions, decisions...

So today on one of my "smoke-breaks" I'm sitting outside on the patio at work surrounded by PVC pipes. I start thinking to myself, "Ya know, it would be cool if you could make an organ out of PVC."

Yeah, it would.

So I googled to see if anyone else shared my thoughts. Possibly while outside smoking. It could happen.

Well I came across this. Not really what I want to build, I'm thinking more Pipe Organ than xylophoney thingy, but way cool none-the-less.


Pretty damn good. And I've seen the Blue Man Group here in Charleston. Not a bad cover.

Still Searching.

BTW, If you're not familiar with the Blue Man group, here's how the song goes/looks:

Little Boxes made of Ticky Tacky...

Ok, I had this long piece written out about the Showtime Production shows "Weeds", "Dexter", and "Californication", but it was SHIT. So I deleted it.

Here are the Cliff Notes: They are all Brilliant shows!

SHO Productions > HBO Productions. Period.


I can't believe I'm JUST NOW seeing Dexter. Season 2 starts mid September. Caught an episode last night from last season. Like it so much I ordered the book(s) the show is based on. I can't wait. Serial Killer works for the Police in Forensics trying to arrest other serial killers. If you don't like blood pooled on the ground, don't watch this show.


Weeds is just, well... Weeds. Writing is good. The show is fun. Mary Louise Parker is HOT. Newly widowed (Season 1) Suburbanite mom with no descernable work skills starts selling weed to other suburbanites to make ends meet. If you don't like seeing drugs being grown, don't watch this show.


Californication. David Duchovny is back on the tiny tube. He's playing Hank Moody, a published writer from NYC now living in LA. His bestseller novel has been turned into a crappy movie, he's got writer's block because of this, and he's also separated from his long time girlfriend & mother of his 12-year-old daughter. So he's trying to cope. Sex, Drugs, and rock & roll. Ok, not so much rock and roll. Duchovney's character reminds me alot of Dr Gregory House in the FOX show "House". No Brain to Mouth filter. :rock: Oh yeah, Natasha McElhone is HOT. Even with an american accent. If you don't approve of constant inebriation or bare breasts (no, sadly not Natasha's) then don't watch this show.

Oh yeah, it's cable/satellite. If you don't like cursing, well then you probably aren't reading this blog on a regular basis anyway so you won't see this...

And I'm as surprised as you are that I spelled inebriation correctly without spell-check.

Reading through a couple of blogs on my day off and came across this:

Space Mountain 2 at Disneyworld Paris

Done in Roller Coaster Tycoon:


I've ridden it IRL more than a few times. The RCT version is VERY close to the actual ride. The initial lift is an induction type launch. Not unlike the Aerosmith coaster @ MGM, but on an incline, and being in France it's all done in a Jules Verne theme.


The actual ride:

A few pictures from the Coca-Cola 600 back on Memorial day. Testing out a new photo viewer. If you have problems viewing, just let me know.

Press Play, or you can cycle through the pics manually. Mouse over the image, you'll then see the controls.

Courtesy of (yes, again) LownissanDJ:

One day a guy dies and finds himself in hell. As he is wallowing in despair, he has his first meeting with the devil...

Satan: "Why so glum?"
Guy: "What do you think? I'm in hell!"

Satan: "Hell's not so bad. We actually have a lot of fun down here. You a drinking man?"
Guy: "Sure, I love to drink."
Satan: "Well, you're gonna love Mondays then. On Mondays, that's all we do is drink. Whiskey, tequila, Guinness, wine coolers, Tab, and Fresca. We drink 'til we throw up, and then we drink some more! And you don't have to worry about getting a hangover, because you're dead anyway."
Guy: "Gee that sounds great!"

Satan: "You a smoker?"
Guy: "You better believe it!"
Satan: "All right! You're gonna love Tuesdays. We get the finest cigars from all over the world, and smoke our lungs out. If you get cancer - no biggie, you're already dead, remember?"
Guy: "Wow...that's awesome!"

Satan: "I bet you like to gamble."
Guy: "Why, yes, as a matter of fact I do."
Satan: "Good, 'cause Wednesdays you can gamble all you want. Craps, blackjack, roulette, poker, slots, whatever. If you go bankrupt, it doesn't matter, you're dead anyhow."
Guy: "Cool!"

Satan: "What about Drugs?"
Guy: "Are you kidding? Love drugs! You don't mean...?"
Satan: "That's right! Thursday is drug day. Help yourself to a great big bowl of crack or smack. Smoke a doobie the size of a submarine. You can do all the drugs you want. You're dead so who cares."
Guy: "Wow! I never realized Hell was such a cool place!"

Satan: "You gay?"
Guy: "No..."
Satan: "Ooooh, Fridays are gonna be tough..."

Courtesy of LownissanDJ:

One evening a man was at home laying on the sofa watching TV and eating peanuts. He'd toss them in the air, and then catch them in his mouth. In the middle of catching one, his wife asked him a question - and as he turned to answer her, a peanut fell in his ear.

He tried and tried to dig it out but succeeded in only pushing it in deeper. He called his wife for assistance, and after hours of trying they became worried and decided to go to the hospital. As they were ready to go out the door, their daughter came home with her date.

After being informed of the problem, their daughter's date said he could get the peanut out.

The young man told the father to sit down, then proceeded to shove two fingers up the father's nose and told him to blow hard. When the father blew, the peanut flew out of his ear.

The mother and daughter jumped and yelled for joy. The young man insisted that it was nothing. Once he was gone, the mother turned to the father and said, "That's so wonderful! Isn't he smart? What do you think he's going to be when he grows older?"

The father replied, "From the smell of his fingers, our son in-law."

Have I got a good way to get rid of that burning lump of fire...

With an SCCA Hard Card. That's right!

An SCCA Hard Card.

What's an SCCA Hard Card you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.

If you are a member of the Sports Car Club of America (and I am) your membership card & license is printed on 2 pieces of heavy(ish) bond paper, that you must add a photo to, sign, and laminate together. This allows you to get into "hot" areas in SCCA events, and proves you are worthy to your fellow drivers. Ok, well maybe not the last part.

IMHO, the laminated card is Old & Busted. Enter the "New Hotness" The SCCA Hard Card.

Head over to SCCA.COM, click Member Services or Members (I don't remember which), log in with your member number, then click Hard Card & follow the onscreen instructions. Give them your Bank of America card number and in a few days you'll receive one of your very own Hard Cards made from new shiny plastic. No more cutting up photos. No more trying to find a laminator...

And hey, you also get a nifty SCCA lanyard to hang your new Hard Card around your neck at your next event! BONUS!!

The Card.

Apparently, you can upload any kind of picture of yourself that seems relevant.

The Lanyard

Been busy lately. Still moving stuff around in the house, blah blah blah.

Anyway, here's something fun to do if ya want. "Who knows me the best" It's a short 10 question quiz. Ya have to fill out just a little bit of info over at that site, and you can opt out of all the junk at the end. You can even create your own quiz.

Have fun. It's the first block over on the left border of the blog!


D

Everything is packed up! Finally. It seemed to take FOREVER. I think my niece knows exactly how I feel.

Is It Time To Go Yet?

Heather got me a ride & drive kinda thing at Brands Hatch for Christmas, and today I finally got to use it! The weather forecast for today was brutal. High winds, extremely heavy rain. Luckily none of that happened until we were on the way back home.

Brands Hatch is a very cool track. Lots of elevation changes with a few blind turns. The at the end of Brabham Straight the track has a dip right at the turn-in point for Paddock Hill Bend, which is just that. A somewhat blind hill into a right hander. It upset the Megane just a bit, but it really made the Formula 3 twitchy. Everything else is nice and fast. :) The single seater has only 4 gears and is rev-limited to 4000rpm. Which kept me down to below 90 mph for most of the track except the straights where I was bouncing off the limiter all the way down (~95mph). I could have gone faster in the Renault, (6 gears & no imposed limiter) but the instructors said No. Only use 4 gears to "prepare" us for the single seaters.

I was a bit nervous about driving the single seater. Never done that before. Once I got the car off pit lane (after 3 near stalls :noes: ) and past the first turn, it was such a natural feeling driving like that. Essentially you're laying down with your head sticking up. F***ing Brilliant. I felt more at home on the track in the Formula 3 that has no power steering, ABS, a suspension that barely moves, etc. than I did in the somewhat brand new, road legal Renault.

The Jag in one shot was driven by a track employee, giving "Hot Laps" for £35 to people wanting just to ride on the track. Only got passed by him once during each session. I passed at least 3 cars in each session, and lapped 2 cars in the Forumla 3 session. Go Me.

I'd SO give up autocross to do club racing in a formula. Brilliant. Just Brilliant.

Oh, BTW, I had the 2nd fastest lap of the day, and came in 1st out of my group of 25. :yea:


Clicking the photos will show a larger version. Special thanks to Chris Brier for shooting the pics!!!

Brands Hatch




The Track Layout


My Renault Megane Sport




Waiting in line on the pit lane




Coming out of Graham Hill Bend into Cooper Straight, about to pass on the straight.




Leaving Surtees going into McLaren then on to pass #7 on the entering Brabham Straight




My Formula 3. I happened to be #3 in both cars. :)




Me stalling the car.




Graham Hill Bend




Cooper Straight




Cooper Straight




More Cooper Straight




And again...




Entering Surtees getting held up by lap traffic. (Just got passed by the track's Jag)




Aaaand I'm done. It's much easier getting into the car than out of it.

Appropriate title, no? The Final Countdown by Europe... :hehe:

Yes, I've started counting the days. And the timer is counting down the seconds...

Oo Oo Oooo Guess What Guess What??


It's my grandfather's birthday!!


Happy Birthday, Papa!!

Yeah, I know. Slack.

I'm guessing you noticed the name change. :) March 15th and we're back in the US, back in the US, back in the US of A. I for one can't wait. Not that I haven't enjoyed living in England for the past 13 months. It's been cool. Cold & wet, too. I've seen a TON of stuff that I probably would never have seen on just a week holiday to the UK. Tons of photos. Yeah I know. You haven't seen them all. See the first line in the post. I'm planning on printing a few books when I get back. We've met a great group of people here in Headcorn, and will be sorry to leave them. They have definitely made our stay here MUCH more enjoyable and sane.

I've started packing up what I can. Mainly spring/summer clothing, books, toys, basically anything I can get away without having for the next few weeks. When we moved over we had 15 boxes shipped. When it's all said and done, 25 to 30 are going back.

I'm guessing you've also noticed the new blog layout. All of my photgraphs, css files, essentially everything that gave the AAViE version it's "Look" are stored on a local UK server which I'm having to discontinue soon. Once I get the Internets set back up in Charleston, I'll get the photojournals back up. :)

The house in CHS looks GREAT! I'll do a full write-up and before-during-after photo session once we get all settled in. Heather has had some trepidation during the whole renovation until the last few sets of pictures filtered in through email. Now she can't wait to get home and into the house! :whew: I'm glad we (read: she) weren't in the US when the renovation was going on. Just thinking about seeing the house day after day in such a state of disrepair gives me the chills. Progress is definitely more visible if you can cut to the next scene without seeing all the minor dull bits in between. It's almost finished. Down to a punch list now. :yea:


So, if there were too many words to read, here's the Cliff Notes:
Blog Name Change
Blog Layout Change
Moving to US March 15th
House is just about complete.