You better watch out!

But just in case, you can track Santa on his trip at the following locations!

MSNBC tracker
Norad tracker

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Wedding pics, but not wedding pics

I took a few shots while we were at the beach for the wedding, but I never took any of the wedding except for what came out of my phone. They're not horrible, but I've seen better shots before.














You can see them all here!

Wedding album

Some old pics

I finally got my film developed and ran across a few pics that were interesting. I also discovered that the action settings on the camera are for high speed action, not a soccer game. I also learned that I no longer have a fascination with film as the colors on some of these pictures did not come out correct!!


A young Linus



This can't be comfy



Guests in our backyard





I have never seen one of these before and still don't know exactly what it is. All I know is that it's a lizard.



There's a few other's, but I won't force them on anyone. You can look at them if you want on your own time. =)

All my pics

Few photos from the wedding

I was able to snap a few shots off the phone at Carrie's wedding. I have since discovered that the pics look great on a 1.5 by 2 inch screen. Larger versions of the image look a little grainy though, but they still turned out alright. =) I'll have a few more from the old 35 as soon as I develop the film (how old school is that!)

The new family


Jeremy and Rachel chatting it up


Jeremy and Rachel after they realized they were being shot again

We went to the zoo!

We went to the zoo in Asheboro this past Saturday with one of Jen's cousin's and family. Now, while I didn't take any pictures, I wish I had a camcorder of sorts for one specific event.

We walk into the KidZone, a place where the kids can do a lot of hands on stuff and see some really cool things (for a kid anyway). The first thing that you encounter are two galapagos tortoises. Well apparently it's a very interesting exhibit at the time that we walk up. While we disperse, I notice that one tortoise is climbing on the other. Naturally, I know what is going on, but that's only because I'm paying attention. Jen on the other hand is very excited about the fact that there is something close up that she can shoot. So she's happy and is trying to put papers away and get out her camera.

Jen: "Oh, a turtle!" She only notices the one.
Me: "Are you going to take a picture?"
Jen: "Yeah! Is that it making those grunting noises?"
Me: "Uh, yeah. Do you know why?"
Jen: "No." Then she actually looks at the tortoise and notices that there's not just one but in fact two.
Jen: "Oh my God!" At which point the group of people who are all around bust out laughing harder than they have been at this point.

It was classic and would have been much better on film. :-)

So over 3 months and I finally post again...

And it isn't good news. Nothing has happened to me thankfully, but I just found out that a fellow racer (not that I knew him personally but that doesn't matter) died in a helicopter crash in Scotland.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article2461339.ece

Colin McCrae, one of the world's best Stage Rally drivers is no longer with us.

13 years under Disney's rule

And the Anaheim Ducks finally win a Stanley Cup!!! GO DUCKS!!!

New goodies on site

In case you somehow missed the massive earth shot and moon shot at the top of the page, I just found those and added them.

The earth shot shows the current daylight areas (realtime, very cool) and the moon shot shows how much is currently lit up in the sky (also realtime)

I found these while looking at the "15 alltime scams" (or something like that) story on MSN's website. One of them was similar to the daylight shot and it linked to it. Many other cool gadget's and gizmo's there as well.

If you're interested in checking them out, and maybe adding something to your website (or blog) go here! http://www.google.com/ig/directory?num=24&synd=open

Cya!!

More "Improvements"

Well, I've got a few new things that I've been working on over the past couple of weeks. It was mentioned in the last blog that I may have gove fan crazy. Well, I had actually thought about getting one more and putting it in the garage. But after I saw the fan in person, it just didn't look right, plus it was too small for what I envisioned.

Anyway! More on the garage! It's getting closer to completion finally! I've got the loft completed! This was stage one of the loft.




And here is the finished loft!


Now I just have to organize everything that is on the floor of the garage and put it on top of the loft. Then I can park cars in the garage. What a concept! =)


Of course we had to have a play area for squirt. Well dad and I built her a swingset (not as simple of a task as I had thought, but we came through in the end) This was what we had after we were finished.



Now, that's just not right. I had to have something set up for her that would be better and more fun to play on. Besides, if it rains, it's going to get pretty muddy back there! So, landscape timbers, a few drain pipes, and some playground mulch produce the following masterpiece.



Next, we have the front of the house. Pretty plain and boring, mostly your typical normal (yeah right) house. If you look closely at the front door, you'll see Jen peeking out. Oh, and this was during one of those times when the car was being worked on for something or another, I think it was the deer.




Well, I got it not so boring up front now. Take a good look. See if you can find what I did here. Go on, I'll wait. =)



Well, just to help you out a bit, here's the same shot at night.

Those I'm most happy with. Solar lights that actually work. It's amazing what they come up with as technology advances. These aren't your old school solar lights that power up a cell to run a light all night and hope that it last's through the night. No, these panels charge up an honest to goodness rechargable AA battery. That battery then powers a LED light that is inside those little plastic pieces. So, the combination of the Solar power recharging a battery that will last a good few days anyway with normal draw with the fact that it's powering a light that draws enough energy to completely run down a single AA battery in about a month of constant use makes for one awesome design! What that means is if the batteries ever die, I go buy replacement rechargables from any local store and plug them in place of the existing batteries. I'm real happy with these. =)

Next time, hopefully the garage will be cleared out and at least one car will be parked in there. And, hopefully it won't take that long to get done.

Home Improvements

No, not the Tim Allen sitcom (even though rather hysterical if I do say so myself), but actual work that I've been trying to do to the house. Right now I've got two new addition's to two rooms. They help, and they look pretty good too.

Squirt's room prior to the addition.

And here's her room after! Can you spot the addition?

Ok, the study prior to the new piece.

And after! It may be a little more difficult to see what's new here.

I also figured that I would take a shot of the fan's actually head on. Squirt like's her new fan, and I've got to say, I really like the one for the study. =)

We had another family member who is also officially another year older! Happy birthday mom! Oh, and in case you didn't know, my sister was the one who wanted more content on my blog. I guess I'm actually suppose to talk about things and stuff. ;-) Till next time!

New Installment

Ok, so since nothing bad has really happened to the car lately, and since the way I look at it is that the law of three's has already happened to me, then I should have no issues with the car for a long long time. Anyway, I had someone harping on me for not posting anything new. Some of you may know who that is, for those that don't, I'll leave you in suspense till the next post. Well April's come and is working on going. I'm officially another year older, and last month we went to America's largest house, The Biltmore! Fascinating? Somewhat. Would I go again? If I could actually spend the time there that I intended to spend instead of rushing around to get back early, then maybe.


Jen gave me her drink and then ran to the field to take a picture of me in front of the Biltmore with my hands full. How thoughtful.


As if one picture wasn't enough, she had to take another one just to make me hold her drink longer. Sheesh.


That's a big ass house!


That's us in front of the big ass house. (What a cheesy grin on that guy!)


Anyway, more to come. Doing some work around the house so I'll post a few before and after shots of what's happening. Enjoy!!

Car's back to life

I finally have the short bus back in my possession. Of course, there are running bets as to what is going to happen next, and also when it's going to happen. I'm banking on the fact that nothing else will happen since bad things come in three's, and this last one was my third for the car. That being said, I did have to pay for everything, not unexpected, but I did expect to get my car back when I was told I would receive it the first time. Not after the third date that I was given. Yes, it took them over a week longer to get my car back in working order than what they originally told me. All in all, I'm happy again. After I get the engine broke in (which will be the longest 2,000 miles of my life), then I'll probably be even more happy! Now I just need to replace the transmission sometime and I'll have a brand new car again!

Small update

Well after talking with the dealership and the insurance company and the Subaru contact, I will end up being the one who purchases the replacement engine. Somewhat disappointing, but I expected it. One minor setback though, the engine didn't show up when I was originally told that it would be there. It arrived Wednesday and they didn't get started on the car till Thursday. Now I won't have it till probably Tuesday and it won't be near ready for me on that weekend to go have fun with. Also, because of this, it looks like I won't be doing my transmission swap like I wanted to either. Small price to pay to keep my car on the road for me.

Aside from that, I'm in Cheraw, SC, home to jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie! I didn't know that this small town had such a big influence come from it. The Sandblast rally is still set for tomorrow and is shaping up to look like a lot of fun. The competitors had their shakedown runs today and it was intense! I'm actually surprised that I haven't gone to one of these events before. I may end up doing this more often if time permits! Till next time.

It's been almost a week

I know I've been slacking, but I just couldn't do it this week. So let's dive right in shall we?

The car was picked up Monday morning (a familiar ritual) and taken back to Southern States Subaru (the home away from home). I talked with Ryan about the situation and he was coming up with possibilities as I was talking, but they changed with every detail that I gave him. Eventually he asked me to stop as each piece was making it worse from a guessing standpoint. I did throw out the idea of this being a result from either the deer insident (which I doubted) or the flooding (which I doubted less than the deer) and he said possibly on the flooding but wouldn't know until he dug into it. So, I call the insurance company to let them know the situation just in case and they start prepping to go out and look at the car with Ryan. I hear word on Wednesday about the damage, broke a rod (yeah!) so time for a new engine, and no it wasn't a result from the flooding so it's coming out of my pocket. Time for an upgrade!! Well, almost. Replacing the stock engine with a like engine would give me a warranty in case something were to go wrong again. And lets face it, since this is the third time in 7 months, I could really benefit from that warranty. The 2.5 liter engine would be a very nice little upgrade and is similar in cost and gives me lots of happy time in the car. But is considered a modification from the original and comes with no warranty. Guess which one won out!? No upgrade for me.

So the engine's on order. It may have shown up today, but if not, then it will be there Monday. After that, Ryan will have it back in running order by Thursday for me. Just in time to park it for about 3 days while I go to Sandblast in Cheraw, SC. This does throw a small wrench in my plans to upgrade the transmission, as that means I won't be doing that. All I'll be doing is rebuilding the existing one and be happy with it.

I did come up with one other scenario that I've put into motion and now need to hear back from the person who would be able to tell me about it. Since the car doesn't have that many miles on it (97k) and I don't abuse the car, I've asked if it's possible that Subaru of America may be able to help me out some with what happened. It's another longshot, but it never hurts to ask (it's taken me almost 33 years to learn that, and I'm using it every chance I can).

Till next time, stay away from puddles, deer, and daily driving. Those seem to be my downfall, everything else is always fine. =)

The next installment...

Friday night, with much agony and other stuff, we were able to complete the rest of the exhaust install for the car. It felt and sounded awesome! Had the race on Saturday and all went well, with the exception that the field was pretty wet and muddy (which really is fun) but there was no traction. Still had no problems and enjoyed the day. After the race was over and I started to head home, I began to hear a noise that I was not to happy with. An annoying tick began. I couldn't do anything with it at the time, so I went on home. The next day I got underneath it and started to check and tighten bolts again just to make sure that the tick wasn't from the exhaust. If it was, then I couldn't tell. Kevin confirmed that it was coming from inside the block as far as he could tell. On our way to dinner, I began to lose power and the tick got louder. The car is currently sitting in the parking lot of the restaurant that we ate at and will be picked up in the morning to be taken once again to the dealership to find out what exactly is wrong and see what the options are for the car. At this point, I truly am beginning to think that this car needs to find a new home. =(

The next "good" thing

Well, after it was all said and done, I dropped the car off this morning for the fixes and got it back this afternoon. But not without more drama to add to the ending. Somehow, with their vast resources, they couldn't locate the correct lightbulb. So I had to drive 2 blocks to pick up the correct bulb and take it back to them to install (reimbursed of course). They fixed the horns, for the most part as I still need to adjust them a little more. They did realign the headlights so that now I can see everything in front of me instead of half and the road itself. They fixed the fender liner, and they looked at the front end alignment. I was afraid of letting them do that, but made it clear that I only wanted them to see if there was anything damaged and not to try to adjust anything. An hour after I dropped the car off they called and told me that the adjustments that I had intentionally made were the only thing that was off and wanted to know if they should fix them. I said no that was all thank you very much, so I'll be adjusting with Kevin sometime in the near future to fix the pull. I go to pick up the car after work and as I'm getting closer am beginning to worry if I would make it there in time because of traffic. I call and let them know and they said they could park the car outside the gate and leave the keys in the console in case I don't make it there before close of business. I show up, check in and am told that everything is ready and I can go as the car is outside with the keys in it. Great! I go to the car, and it's locked......... Needless to say I found it very funny. Luckily though, the dealership still had some people around that were able to cut a new key and 15 minutes later I was on my way home! And as a bonus, I could see where I was going as well. =)
Till next time.

I'm not going to let it stay the way it is

Yeah, it's a bunch of little stuff, but it should have been done right before I picked it up.
There is a very distinct antifreeze smell in and around the car right now. They didn't clean it all off before letting me take it off their hands. Not a problem, but more of a pride in your work thing. Why would you let someone take a car, that just had a broken radiator, out with antifreeze still on the engine? Especially when I got 2 miles down the road and noticed smoke starting to rise from the hood! Inital reaction was I freaked! Then I figured they just left the excess liquid, and I was right.
The alignment is definitely off, the more I think about it, the more I feel I should take it back. If it's something more than just a minor adjustment, I'm not going to be the one to try and make that point. If they monkey with the other settings, then Kevin and I can fix it!

Here's what else is wrong:


Ok. So the fender liner is a little off. No big, but everything add's up to one big pain. And it all started with "Oh your horns are in the wrong spot? Oh well!"
Fix it.


One nice shiny headlight and one not so shiny! Not their fault, just that's what happens with new versus old. Looks like I'll be buying a new headlight soon.


Now this is wrong! Sure the one is new, but it shouldn't be that dull! Oh, I know what's wrong! They used the wrong brand headlight!! Even after I told them that the original was undamaged and if they found that it needed to be replaced that they need to use Silverstars!!
Fix it.


All right. Now I know it's a liitle hard to tell from this, but I was trying to get from the center of the car and the camera tilted. Well anyway, it's on level ground and the front of the car if 5 feet from the garage door. Those lights aren't aligned as there is a 2" difference from the top of one to the top of the other. Also, it's very obvious that the bulb they replaced is not nearly as bright as the one they took out.
Fix it.

I'll be making a phone call tomorrow.

Day 9 at the shop

The car is back!!

I've got the call right around noon, and couldn't go anywhere. Had to wait till almost three to go pick it up. Interesting dilemma though. What's wrong with this picture?

I'll give you a hint, What goes beep beep and is very visible?

My horns! That was the first thing I saw when I picked it up. They are in the wrong spot. I mentioned that to the man who gave me my car back and he said "Oh really?" and gave me the keys anyway!! Guess that means that I get to find out what else is wrong and take it back to have it all fixed at once. Like, the fender liner that is partially on, and the possibility that they put the wrong type of headlight in!! Plus my alignment's off, but I don't think I want them to fix that as they'll probably try to fix other things that don't need to be fixed. I'll have to take a look at that this weekend.

Day 8 at the shop

No pics, even though there should be one. They are all done with the exception of the fan that hasn't made it in yet. It should be done on Monday, but worst case now is Tuesday. Hopefully it will be ready by Saturday since that's when I need it back!

Day 7 at the shop

Well, either they did a lot of work this morning, or work was done yesterday and they just didn't take any pictures. Anyway, it's being worked on and it looks really sad now. Also, I noticed all that they had to take away just to be able to do the work. I hope my horns make it back on the car!

Day 5 and 6 at the shop

No work done, apparently still waiting on parts, or are they?

Day 4 at the shop

Well, another day and no pics. I'm guessing that they only take a picture if something has been done to the car. Then again, maybe they only tease you with some images to make you think that's what they're doing then they show you the end result without everything inbetween. I may actually stop in tomorrow to see if there is anything new to report or if they are just waiting for something to happen.

Day 3 at the shop

Well, I don't know if anything happened today or not. Their site wasn't updated, so I didn't get a new picture. This is the end of the third day. =/

Day 2 at the shop

So it looks like there was a little setback in getting anything done today. I guess it figures that when the car is out of commision is when the snow and ice hits. Besides, I think they are still waiting on parts anyway.

Day 1 at the shop

So they started to look at the car, got me the estimate, and are "beginning" the work. Was able to get a pic of the car and got it an interesting way. I was going to actually go there and snap some photos, but was told that they have an online tool that takes pictures for me to show me the progress which means that I don't have to call them up everyday and bug them about what's going on with my car! Very ingenious idea!

Looks kinda sad missing that headlight. =(

So here's the good

I guess I can't have a good and bad blog if all it has in it is bad, so here's the good.

The car is getting fixed! Total damage worth is ~$3200. They claim that's it, but who knows what they'll find when they actually start to dig into it. It may be more or it may be just that. It's scheduled to be back in my possession around the 26th, so that's some good news also. Tonight I have to decide on whether or not I want to spend an extra $2k to get the entire car repainted or let it go with what they are going to do. The other dilemma is going to be whether or not I trade the car in when I get it back or if I continue to drive it till further notice. Decisions, decisions.

The reason for the car

Guess maybe I should have explained a little to those who hadn't actually heard the news. The quick blog setup and posting was mostly to get the pictures out in circulation. Now maybe I should explain to those that don't know. I live in "God's Country" Clayton, NC. This just so happens to be one of the most bountiful areas filled with deer as well. As you've probably concluded, I met one of those deer up close and personal at about 45-50. It was early in the morning and it was out for a leisurely stroll completely ignoring the two cars coming at it from the opposite way till one slams on it's brakes at which point it jumps out right in front of me and I hit it. Next thing I know, the deer is in the air and completely vanishes. I never did see it again. Since it was dark, the damage didn't look that bad (which I thought was all cosmetic), even though I knew that I was not going to like the outcome. It wasn't till I almost made it to work (some 20 miles later) when smoke started to pour out of the hood. That's when I realized that the radiator hadn't survived the impact. I limp to the office and get out and see the carnage that you see below. Now I've got a Grand Prix (boring) while the dealership and body shop hash out some numbers for the insurance company to decide whether or not to fix or destroy. Hopefully news will come tomorrow.

I was told that noone could see these before. So I've decided to start this so the progress can be watched. Yipee!