Month: May 2007

Stay Smart?

Stay Smart?The adventure begins. After work today we went home and had a quick dinner of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (as Rachel would say, “Yum-O”) and hit the road. I-20 to I-77 to Charlotte in about 3 hours with one pit stop for gas.

Gnorm says he sure hopes he wakes up a lot smarter for staying in this Holiday Inn Express (805 West Arrowood Rd., Charlotte, NC 28217) because right now it isn’t looking like a smart stay. First there was only a half used bottle of shampoo in the bathroom. A walk to the front desk brought a new shampoo and a new conditioner. Wireless connectivity was nearly flat lined, I hooked up, but could only surf at dial up speed. That explained the three people in the lobby area with laptops open as I passed through on my way to the ice machine. After Donna had showered and she peeled back the sheets hop in bed a little black bug hopped out, a flea. A call to the front desk brought the desk clerk to us with a couple of room keys for something on the third floor and a promise of 30% off the charge. It looked OK, so we moved our stuff. Second room has shampoo and conditioner and three out of four bars of wireless signal strength. When Donna got into bed here she only found three black specks in the sheets. They weren’t moving so we figured they were tiny meteorites, so she just brushed them to the floor.

Tomorrow morning it is up and a short drive to the airport. The guy at the front desk said it is about a ten minute drive and then asked what time were we leaving. When we told him 7:00 AM he went uh-oh. Seems traffic is stop and go around here in the mornings because we are close to both I-77 and I-485, he said better leave earlier, about 6. When asked when breakfast starts, his answer was, “6:30 AM.” Whatever the consequences, I’m getting a cinnamon bun for breakfast, so I guess we leave at seven and take an hour to drive what should take 10 minutes.

Started up, went down, back up, down again, up again, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 175

I Can See Still See In The Dark

I Can See Clearly NowToday was Donna and my annual eye exams. Good news is that neither of us have any issues nor have our eyes changed enough to warrant getting new glasses.

We went mid afternoon and some six hours later the drops they put in your eyes to dilate them has not not entirely worn off. I think I could take a book into a closet and read it with the light off. You know your pupils are open wide when the little WinXP screensaver (bouncing logo on black background) has a bright rainbow hued halo around it.

I remember a couple of years ago we went late afternoon and by the time we left the Eye Guy’s place it was dusk. The sun was down but the sky was still light. Most cars were driving with their lights on and both headlights and taillights were giving off these awesome starburst patterns. Even the traffic signals looked like they were being viewed through a starburst filter. Very cool effect, but it was difficult to concentrate on actually driving and not running into anything while looking at all the pretty lights.

We rode the tandem into work again today. I think we are going to try and make it a once a week event from now on. Because we are working our nine hour days this week, this morning’s ride start was way early and it was still dark out. We have a nice powerful light so that was not a real problem. As a matter of fact it was actually nice that time of day, there was almost zero traffic on the road and it was nice and cool (I wore a light jacket and Donna was in long sleeves.)

Right now I’m not sure what is worse, the FRS losing 6-0 to the Yanks in the sixth or having to listen to Chris Berman call the game and Bonnie Bernstein with the sideline commentary.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 171

Who’s the Boss?

Fabrication ManagerOur Fabrication Manager has been gone for a week on vacation and now he is absent for fortnight visiting vendors in Asia. Gnorm moved into his office today in a bloodless coup. Don’t worry, because he is the boss, he’ll be taking next week so he can go to Seattle with us.

I’m still burning my CD collection and I’m almost done with row #5. I just came across a CD I have no recollection buying and I can not even think of what anything on it sounds like: Pourquoi Quebec? by Tony McManus. I may have to give it a listen.

I used to read quite a bit of science fiction as youngster and as I entered my twenties, horror became my choice of escapist “literature.” Used to read a lot of fellow FRS fan, Stephen King’s books, but quit about the time he started writing them thick enough to be used as nightstands. Now I’m into pulp stuff about private eyes and disgraced cops that save the world from criminals ans serial killers. I’m also a sucker for lawyer slash courtroom drama books. My latest read has been a real pleasant surprise, I picked it up thinking I was getting a typical lawyer saves a wrongly accused book, and it is that (at least I think he saves him, I’m not finished yet) but it also mixes in a very convincing horror plot. For the icing on this cake it is also told with some biting humor in places. The following is a snippet from Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper:

The next day is passed by explanations of DNA identification technology delivered by the google-eyed lab rat the Crown has brought up from Toronto. I feel for the poor bastard, though, trying to teach a remedial science lesson to the jury, who look back at him as though auditioning for the chorus in Deliverance: The Musical. It gives me a chance to doze off for five-second hits of sleep. A tricky business that involves holding your head up with one hand and positioning it so that your closed eyes will be hidden from the bench. This part is essential. Judges are universally intolerant of sleeping lawyers, mostly because their own seating arrangement prevents them from indulging in the same pleasure themselves.

Each time my eyelids spring back open it’s with the terrible image of Bert Gederov and Graham Lyle having kittens all over the boardroom floor two hundred miles to the south because I haven’t yet returned their calls. The reason is simple: despite my best efforts I haven’t come up with a resonable explanantion for my remarks to the press of the other day. By the time the court is adjourned in the afternoon (the DNA dweeb having just finished his “introductory remarks”), I know that it can no longer be avoided.

Donna was out at a business dinner with a couple bishops from the Vatican (ASCO HQ in NJ) and some vendors, so I was left to my own devices. A 6″ Italian Sub (Ham, Salami, Pepperoni & Provalone) from Sub Station II that I brought home and ate over the sink pretending I was a bachelor. All that was missing was a bottle of beer to wash it down. I substituted a Sprite Zero.

Meal Cost: $3.60
Tip Jar: 40¢
Spent Today: $4.00
Year to Date: $1151.30
Meals out, 63 of a possible 426.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 170

Damn Yankees

Watching Baseball 2Gnorm and I settled in to watch some more baseball this evening. Yesterday I could handle him rooting for the Braves against my beloved FRS, but tonight I knocked him on his butt when he started to cheer for the dreaded Yankees. (Gno Gnomes were harmed in this stunt.) If Gnorm is still routing for the Bronx Bombers he is now keeping quiet about it.

When Patti gave me Gnorm the other day she also passed along his special gnome bed (the molded styrofoam packing he came in.) It has seen better days and is all right for local trips, but he is going all the way across the country with us. Today at work I modified an existing box to be a little smaller and had a friend on the assembly line make a custom bed using some expandable foam. Gnorm is now ready for the big trip.

But are we ready to fly with Gnorm? We’d like to put him in our carry-on bag, but how are the TSA screeners going to react to a polyresin statue cradled in a custom padded box? Does it look like we are trying to bring a molded and painted chunk of C-4 on board? Could Gnorm’s pointy hat be considered a weapon? I really want to get a shot of him in the terminal for the flight out, but we may just have to put him in the checked bag.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 169

Better Health Plan

A wealthy hospital benefactor was being shown around the hospital. During her tour she passed a room where a male patient was masturbating furiously.

“Oh my GOD!” exclaimed the woman. “That’s disgraceful! Why is he doing that?”

The doctor who was leading the tour calmly explained, “I’m very sorry that you were exposed to that, but this man has a serious condition where his testicles rapidly fill with semen, and if he doesn’t do that at least five times a day, he’ll be in extreme pain and his testicles could easily rupture.”

“Oh, well in that case, I guess it’s okay,” said the woman.

As they passed by the very next room, they saw a male patient laying in bed while a nurse performed oral sex on him. Again, the woman screamed, “Oh my GOD! How can THAT be justified?

Again the doctor spoke very calmly, “Same illness, better health plan.”

There Is Never A Dull Moment…

Watching Baseball…when the FRS are playing baseball. The Sox had a 6 run lead through almost the entire game, somehow the Braves managed to get the tying run to the plate in the top of the 9th (must not have got the memo about Jonathan Papelbon being the most feared closer in the American League.) But he got Andruw Jones to strike out swinging (for the fifth time in the game) to end it. Season series so far: Boston 2 – Atlanta 1. There are three more games to be played in Atlanta in June to settle it for this season.

We started the morning with a nice tandem ride. I had finally measured the wheel circumference and set both cyclecomputers to the same figure, so Donna wouldn’t be riding further than me on these trips. Worked out pretty good, as mine read 14.0 miles at the end of the ride and hers said 13.98.

Lunch out with friends at Zaxby’s where we split a large Wings ‘n’ Things and an order of Carrots & Celery Sticks. One large Coke and one water to drink.

Meal Cost: $11.72
Tip: None
Spent Today: $11.72
Year to Date: $1147.30
Meals out 62 of a possible 420.

I uploaded five new photos to the Enchanted Ceiling site, something I hadn’t done in a while. It started yesterday when I thought I might sort out my sky photos. I had 14 posted EC and I had 34 posted in a gallery here. I have 37 in the directory on my hard drive and about more 40 in a staging directory. I uploaded the 14 to my other Flickr! account and then to make matters somewhat worse I picked the 5 from the staging directory and added them to the Enchanted Ceiling site ( 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 ), then the Flickr account, but not the gallery here. So did I help the organization or hurt it? Who knows.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 168

58,000 Years Old

or They Made Me An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

Gnorm Visits His MumToday was the MMC’s bi-annual Driving Miss Daisys Event at the Elmcroft Assisted Living Center. We had 7 Miatas and a Sebring show up for caravan duty and we had 9 female residents go for a ride up and around Strom Thurmond Dam at Clarks Hill. Their combined ages were nowhere near 58,000, but that is the mile mark the Emperor passed on the trip. We could not have asked for a better day, it was around 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Afterwards all us Miata types went out for lunch. Some one suggested a semi-new Mediterranean restaurant up the road a piece in Evans, GA called Khalid’s Cafe. The service was leisurely (partly because the eleven of us overloaded their Saturday lunch staff), but definitely worth the wait. A return visit is in the offing for a Club meeting at a later date.Donna ordered up a bowl of Lentil Soup, a Greek Salad and Sprite to drink. I went for a Kufta Burger with Iced Tea to drink. We each had a piece of Baklawa for dessert. My mouth is watering just typing this.

Meal Cost: $23.86
Tip: $3.14
Spent Today: $27.00
Year to Date: $1135.58
Meals out, 61 of a possible 417.

Because of my affection for Rudy and Patti’s gnome Gnorm, they asked me to be his Godfather. I readily accepted and my first act was to volunteer to take him with Donna and I on our trip to the northwest starting next week. I sure hope Gnorm’s blue coat is waterproof…

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 167