Don’t Tell Mr. Watterson

Forget the Japanese lettering stickers. Nostalgia rules. Way back when, on our first Miata, one of only a couple of mods made to that car, was a red sticker of Calvin and Hobbes in a cardboard box on the back bumper. Stumbled on the sticker in a T-shirt screen printer’s shop and seeing as we both enjoyed C & H we bought it. There was something synergetic about what that box represented to them and what the Miata meant to us, it was perfect. Before trading in the car in 1995 I tried to peel the sticker off carefully in hopes of saving it, but couldn’t. It looked like this:

CnH_Box.gif

We will probably go with that one, but a close second would be this:

CnH_Wagon.gif

Now all I have to do is find an outlaw sticker maker…

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 273

Insect Extermination By Miata

This Saturday is the 6th Annual Master’s Miata Club Bug Splat Rally. We meet at a local restaurant, drive around for about an hour and then end up at an ice cream place for dessert and awards.

Awards are usually, but not limited to, Biggest Bug, Most Bugs, Fewest Bugs and the fan favorite, Closest to the Dot. I give everyone one of those Avery Dots of about 1/2″ in diameter and tell the drivers to put them any where on the front of their car that they want. The one that splats a bug the closest to that dot wins a prize. One year I gave a tube of Close-up toothpaste as a prize for this one. I have used a bottle of Bullseye BBQ sauce too. Other prizes have been a bottle of Mr. Clean to the Fewest Bugs winner and a lot of Dollar Store plastic insects.

When I started running this rally back in 1999, I needed a cool trophy for the Biggest Bug award. I wanted something like the America’s or Stanley Cups that would go home with the winner, but return every year to be given to the next winner. I asked my golfing cubicle mate if he had any old trophies collecting dust in his attic I could have. He said he had the perfect example for me. Tim supplied me with a 3′ tall trophy. I pulled the brass golfer off the top and stuck on a giant rubber bug. I also replaced the year display on the bottom with a Hot Wheels Miata. Beautiful, something any Miata owner would be proud to display on his mantle for a year.

Here is a picture of the 2001 winners and their prizes:
Bug Splat 2001

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 273

Jamaican Holiday

This married couple was on holiday in Jamaica. They were touring around the marketplace looking at the goods and such, when they passed this small sandal shop. From inside they heard the shopkeeper with a Jamaican accent say, “You foreigners! Come in. Come into my humble shop.” So the married couple walked in. The Jamaican said to them, “I have some special sandals I think you would be interested in. Dey make you wild at sex.”

Well, the wife was really interested in buying the sandals after what the man claimed, but her husband felt he really didn’t need them, being the sex god he was. The husband asked the man, “How could sandals make you into a sex freak?”

The Jamaican replied, “Just try dem on, Man.” Well, the husband, after some badgering from his wife, finally gave in, and tried them on.

As soon as he slipped them onto his feet, he got this wild look in his eyes, something his wife hadn’t seen in many years!!

In the blink of an eye, the husband grabbed the Jamaican, bent him violently over a table, yanked down his pants, ripped down his own pants, and grabbed a firm hold of the Jamaican’s hips.

The Jamaican began screaming; ?YOU GOT DEM ON DE WRONG FEET!!!?

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 273

The Emperor’s New Stickers

Emperor

Since the stickers have been on the car we have ran into a couple people we know around town and the first things out of their mouths were, “What are those Chinese letters for?” That confirms my suspicion that they are way too loud (close up view.) Off they’ll come tonight.

Rick, of Obsession fame, just sent me a link that might be just the thing: YourEmblem.com Kind of pricey, but I’m racking up the dollar total with my failed far-eastern mods…

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 271

Right You Are Ken

Watched a couple of episodes of MXC today, can’t believe that show actually exists. It would never get produced in the US, thank heaven for those wacky Japanese.

Speaking of wacky Japanese, my bumper sticker from CafePress arrived last night. The maroon color was nowhere near the car color, so I used an xacto knife and cut out the kanji letters and stuck them on the front small section of the side sills, one set on each side. From my limited (read none) understanding of Japanese kanji one simple character stands for emperor, but it is mostly used to mean the Emperor of Japan. The second symbol represents sovereign, so the combination means sovereign emperor, or The Emperor. Now that I’ve gone to all the trouble I’m not sure it is going to stay on the car. The tan is a tad too bright for the basically dark sided automobile. I may remake the sticker with black characters which should be a little more subtle. I’ll have to get a picture of the car with the tan letters on there first, so I can add it to my Hall of Shame along with the Japanese license plate.

Flan: “It’s in the can.”
Vic: “Next is Flan Peters. He developed the aromatherapy product ‘Zoo in a Can’.”
Kenny: “Yeah, I’ve got ‘Monkey Enclosure’.”
Vic: “Good for you and it looks like he’s got a pretty good run going.”
Kenny: “He’s into a full San Quentin.” (Flan is straddling two timbers with his butt in the air)
Vic: “Right you are. Oh he’s stepping up there … Oh. There he’s into a defrocked bishop. (Flan is straddling two timbers with his butt in the air again.) And I think he might be trying for a dirty nurse. Yes. Oh he can’t quite pull it off.”
Kenny: “Not everyone can do a dirty nurse.”
Vic: “Right you are Ken. And… Flan cannot. It’s over for him.”

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 271

Forced Night Off

Almost.

When I got home from work there was no new email at any of the mr-miata.net accounts. Strange. Especially seeing as I had sent an email from work to one of them. Clicked on Send and Receive All in OE and got nothing. Checked for this web page, 404. Tried to connect via FTP, couldn’t find site. Checked the web host’s forum for a maintenance update announcement, their site was 404 too. Not good. Checked the web host’s parent site (he is just a reseller) and it was alive, at least that is a good sign.

I hope this wasn’t a repeat of my ThatHostingCompany fiasco. After they disappeared with mastersmiataclub.com I swore I would never let the web host register the domain name for me, but here I was again, seduced by the low cost, right in the same pickle again. Wait a minute, that reminds me, a fellow THC exile is also using the same host (ssWebHost.com) maybe I’ll check his site. It appears fine. That’s strange, maybe it is a random hard drive crash and I’m on the wrong platter.

I don’t know how long I was down, last time I looked was last night, but mr-miata.net was back online at around 9:30 tonight. First thing I did was do a back up of the “Life of Brian.” I was long overdue, last one was March.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 271

FRS Have The Night Off

So I’m going to too.

Started up, went down, went up, back down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/05: 270