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Man, fall is here, this morning it was chilly. Not cold enough to make us put the top up, but close. Because this is our 9 hour days week it was still dark on the way in and on the way home it the sun was lower in the sky adding to the end of summer feel.
Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1747.37
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 245
Tacos for supper tonight and as I dumped the h’burger meat into the pan to brown it, I noticed an orange warning label.
“Thoroughly cook meat to 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer.”
I know why this is there, because if you heat the meat to that temperature it will kill the bacteria living there. Didn’t they used to have Steak Tartar on the menus of restaurants? Is the warning label there to alert the one in 10,000 persons who might have a reaction to these bacteria? Or is it the more worrisome reason that the FDA has relaxed their standards at meat processing plants to such that bacteria that will harm everyone getting through?
Doesn’t have a point of view
knows not where he’s going to
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere man please listen
You don’t know what you’re missing
Nowhere man, The world is at your command
Sunday and the Miata went nowhere, man. To bad too, it was a beautiful fall day, 80, sunny with low humidity. We did go for a 25 mile bike ride this morning. It was listed as an East ride, 10-15 mph. We were on the upper edge of that limit by averaging 14.5 for the trip and in spite of the low humidity I worked up a fierce sweat. Then into the MSV for the trip to the Augusta Airport this evening to retrieve Donna’s mom and her friend who are returning from a trip to Seattle.
Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1747.37
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 245
While enjoying our ice cream at Brusters this evening we amused ourselves by making fun of the people already there and the new ones as they pulled up. All in good fun really.
The most fun is watching folks pull in and park, scary. A full size Ford pick up truck pulled into the lot and it looked like he didn’t even try to get in between the lines. Parked at a 60 degree angle to the end of the spots he parked across. The lot wasn’t crowded, so it is not like he was depriving any one of a place to put the car, but what kind of statement was he making? Early to mid 20s couple get out and saunter over to get in line. (Don’t even get me started on the line and the service we received.)
Next in was a Nissan Maxima. Pulled into the side of the lot in front of us and paused. Started to back up and I thought it was to get more centered in the spot. This is like a 5-foot wide car and it was “in” a 10′ wide spot. In is in quotes because the left tires were mostly on the line with the outside of them in the other parking spot. Instead of straightening out, this car backs up across the aisle, where the canted pickup truck is, and stops in the middle of two parking spots. At least she is perpendicular to the lines. Two youngish (late teens?) couples get out and walk across to get some ice-cream.
Brusters in same lot as a Publix grocery store where Donna and I walk over to after eating dessert. We need dish soap as all our silverware is dirty and even though I offered to eat breakfast with my fingers, Donna insisted on buying some Sunlight. It is 9:30 on a Friday night and the store lot is nearly empty. So as not to tire themselves out by having to walk the extra 20 feet to the door another young couple pull right up front of the store, park and get out. At least he was perfectly parallel to the curb (could have been a little closer though.) The guy must have been raised by his mommy and hasn’t got car guy friends, because if he did, they would certainly have told him by now that the loud squealing coming from his brakes, that goes away when they are applied, is telling him he needs new pads.
I got my Redline synthetic oils for the tranny and diff today. Probably have been sitting on my desk since Monday, but they came home today. Now I just have to get together with John (who has the tools) to do the actual changing. Maybe next weekend.
Picked up the second batch of photos for the Drive By Photo Contest another couple of possibles, but we narrowed it down to one from this roll and one from the first. Monday when I get back to work I’ll scan a couple of the more interesting ones. There is a page up that has a half dozen of the entries so far, I don’t think I have a chance. Then again it will all depend on who the judges are and what they are looking for.
Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1733.37
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 243
We were going to leave early morning Thursday and head home, but decided mid-afternoon to just leave around sundown and ride home with the top down in the darkness. Excellent plan. It was a great night for the 2-1/2 hour drive, the sky went from blue to orange to dark blue to black. We even needed our coats after the sun went down. The only fly in the ointment, was literally just that, bugs were coming at us so thick that 2 stops to clean the windshield were required to make a safe trip…At times while driving it looked just like the stock Windows screensaver, Starfield Simulation.
Purchased Today: $6.25 in gas
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1733.37
Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 241
Our friend Jerry Horsman, who we rented the condo from, wanted to take us out on his “boat.” The word boat is in quotes because it is kind of a personal watercraft. What ever you classify it as, it is fast. It is a Sea-Doo Speedster, 220 HP attached to a 16′ fiberglass hull, that really flies (top speed is 55MPH.) We had a lot of fun zipping around the inlets, rivers and shorelines of Hilton Head Island.
We got an unscheduled tour of Horsman Island #2 when Jerry forgot about the fast approaching low tide. We spent a pleasant 2 hours watching the crabs, seagulls and pelicans until the water got up to about 2 feet deep and we could get back underway. It is called Horsman Island #2 because just two weeks ago he pulled the same stunt with his wife in the boat in another location.