Year: 2020

Thanks Mazda

A couple of weeks ago, Mazda decided to honor their 100th anniversary and to give us something to keep us indoors and busy during these interesting times, they let loose into the world some paper craft models of their current (and some past) models.

Because I already have, from back in 2006, the instructions to make the first 3 generations of Miatas and this new release included the 4th generation car, I felt compelled to download it. To color it a pleasing blue. And to make one.

This led to my rediscovering a folder full of papercraft stuff I collected back a decade or so ago. Well, I do still have a few sheets of card stock and time on my hands, so I decided to print out a couple of favorites and remake them.


First up is a Java Sparrow last seen here a little over 9 years ago in the post Here Birdie, Birdie. If you would like to make your own Java Sparrow out of paper got to this Livedoor blog page and scroll down a bit to the Marubun Java Sparrow Paper Models where you have several color choices to pick from.

Once More Into The Breech

Trees in Bloom

This is the eighth year that Moss Motors has been doing the Motoring Challenge and this is our 7th year doing it. It is also our last, not because we don’t want to do it anymore, but because they are going to stop running it.

Because of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders we figured we would just wait to start the Challenge once Oregon started easing up on restrictions. But Monday we noticed one challenge that we would have missed out on if we waited any longer, Trees in Bloom. It has been spring here for a couple of weeks and a lot of the trees are already dropping their blossoms for leaves, fortunately whatever kind of trees are, they held out for us.

Well, doing the challenge is sort of like eating Lays Potato Chips, you just can’t eat one, so we went back out today and grabbed a couple more local ones. I hope the Governor understands that driving around with the top down on a nice spring day to do the Motoring Challenge is essential business…

Track, Daily, Crush

As of Monday, April 27, 2020 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Track Daily Crush
1973 Datsun 240Z
Race Car		 1968 Volkswagen Squareback 2003 Mazda MX-5 Miata
5-Speed
This car has it all, really nice livery, Panasport wheels, and it is located in Snohomish, WA the former hometown of my BIL Scott. We had a ’70 Squareback on Guam in the late ’70s and I sort of wished we shipped it back instead of the ’61 VW panel van. I was pretty merciless about this color when we had one as a loner back in 2003. My feelings haven’t changed any since.

Track 12 – If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out

I was always a fan of Cat Stevens and bought four in a row of his early albums, starting with “Tea for the Tillerman.” Because it was the early 70’s they were in fact albums and most likely purchased from the infamous Columbia Record Club. When I sold all my albums in the late 80’s and converted to CDs I purchased his “Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2”.1 This CD included two never released songs that from the cult classic movie Harold and Maude, Don’t Be Shy and this one:

We’re Doing Our Part

Our CARES Act check arrived unceremoniously into our savings account a week ago, exactly 2 weeks after I had the IRS deduct almost half of that to pay for 2019’s taxes. Since then we have been doing our part to stimulate the economy by spending the other half on buying:

  • A battery for the Miata from NAPA – the old one was done it by the car sitting for 2-1/2 months awaiting shipment to Oregon.
  • A 15″ Dell laptop from Amazon – the old one was limping along with a dead battery and was mortally wounded by a liquid spill.
  • A lawnmower, a weed whacker and a leaf blower from Home Depot – the old ones were left behind for the new owner of 778 Boardman Road. The mower and trimmer couldn’t be shipped anyway as they were gas powered…

Track, Happily Daily, Crush

A very special 420 Edition of THC (Track, Happily Daily, Crush.) As of Monday, April 20, 2020 at 9:00 PM pacific time:

Track Daily Crush
Porsche-Powered Chinook Special Project 1961 Volkswagen Beetle 1600 1972 Alvis Sabre
You definitely have to be stoned to think you can make this into a race car. You definitely don’t have to be stoned to drive this Official Hippie Staff Car. You definitely have to be stoned to think you could actually crush this.

Living in the Recent Past

With the 2020 Major League Baseball season on hold, possibly forever, MLBTV has opened up the 2018 & 2019 archives for viewing. Because I am subscribed to MLB Audio and my $20 yearly subscription was automatically renewed on the 1st of March I can watch any of the approximately 4,800 games, regular and post-season, from the last 2 years. From what I can find, this treat is available to all users. You may have to create an MLB account, which if I know these guys they will require a credit card and this will mean that if they do start the season, they will probably hit your card and sign you up for $100 package.

Having exhausted all the Brit TV we could stand, MLBTV becomes a perfect TV time waster in these times of #stayonyourcouchtoflattenthecurveandsavelives. So, I figured it would be cool to watch a Red Sox game a day, on the date the game was played. Well, guess which which season I’m going to pick? A) Last year, 2019, where the Sox finished just 6 games over .500 in third place in the division, 19 games behind the Yankees or B) 2018 when they won the division by 5 games and ended up winning the World Series. No-brainer huh?

Yesterday’s game was the finale of a 3 game shellacking of the Angels in the their home stadium where the FRS outscored them 27 to 3 to move their won/loss record to 16-2. For all of the entire 2019 season, I remember about this April series and the fact that they won the Worlds Series, everything else will be “new” to me.