Miatatude

Changed the oil and rotated my tires this evening after work. Mazda recommends an oil change at every 7500 miles, which is probably OK for someone who is going to trade in that car after 3 years. I hope to keep the car for a lot longer than that, so in the beginning I decided to double that frequency. I change the oil (and rotate the tires while I’m at it) every 3750 miles. That number is hard to figure in my addled mind, so I now use the valve train clatter as an indication of the need to change the oil. Miatas are known for HLA noise and mine seems to show up after 3,000 miles or so. After a few mornings in a row when it takes to the end of the block for the lifters to quiet, I go buy some oil.

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 288

Put the top up to wash the car and after it was dry, the top went right back down. While I was at it, I waxed the car too. And then I masked off the lower nose of the car and touched up the front lip spoiler with some semi-gloss black. For some reason twice this past week I pulled up a little too close to a curb and scratched it up.

This is the best time of the year for convertibles around here, mid 70’s in the days and upper 50’s overnight. Tonight was a beautiful evening for a drive. The skies were clear, the moon was full and it was just cool enough…. Came up behind another Miata at the start of the drive. Couldn’t tell what color it really was, but my guess is that was Crystal Blue, although it looked gray. Couldn’t have been the Titanium because the seats were tan, not brown/red. He was talking to someone in the passenger seat and only going about 5 MPH below the posted limit, so at the first opportunity I goosed it and went around. Gave a couple of polite toots on the air horns and left him way behind. We both had the same idea, an evening cruise, just had different approaches to it.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 286

Kind of feel like I’m living in the northwest, raining off and on all the time. So the top is down for the ride to work and up during, then down or up for the ride home depending on conditions. Well the 9 hours days are done, tomorrow is why we did it, off at 11:30. We are headed up to Asheville, NC for the weekend. My sister and her husband are going to meet us there and we are perhaps going leaf peeping or if it is raining there, a movie or something.

Started up, went down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 268

Rainy day for a change. We made it to work with the top down, barely, so I put it up on arrival. Still spritzing when we went out to Wally World looking for a light coat for Donna. She lost her last one of the face of the cliff at the Devils’ Courthouse when an unexpected gust of wind sailed it of the ledge she had rested on.

Well Blogging has finally come to the notice of the folks at the newspaper in Augusta. There was a little column in today’s paper quoting one person and citing a couple of vague statistics. I’d link you to it, but they haven’t even added it to their web page yet.

I guess they wait until the next day so the paper’s subscribers don’t feel cheated out of their 50 cents. Here is the article: The blog-o-sphere filled with news, nonsense.

Started down went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 266

Another night on the town! Master’s Miata Club meeting at Bobby’s BBQ out on Highway 1. Usually we get a back room, but they were all booked, so the 15 of us were at a big ol’ table by the wall. Kinda hard to hold a meeting over the really old guy in the corner playing music on a Hammond organ, but then again we usually don’t have much of a meeting. (For all I know that could be Bobby himself.)

Glad I like BBQ as we are having a catered lunch at work tomorrow and that’s what we are having, BBQ.

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 265