Cadillac Ranch
Originally uploaded by stephsk8r
Monday, July 09, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Saturday, July 07, 2007
On the road back
After lots of exciting travel, we reached the end of Route 66 yesterday. We walked around Santa Monica Pier for an hour or so and then drove up the coast on the Pacific Coast Highway towards Earl's house. There are parking spaces along the road at some points where people can pull off to visit the beach or surf. We stopped at one and climbed down the rocks to the beach. I had never seen surfers in real life before -- it was really neat to watch. We walked on the sand and waded in the water, and I called my dad to tell him that I was in the Pacific Ocean. (I think he's enjoying hearing about my trip because he took a similar trip with my mom in 1971 in their '67 VW Bus. He has a story from several of the places we've stopped.)
We continued on to the tiny town of Ballard and Earl and Syd's house, which is adorable -- Syd is so creative. After looking at Earl's VW collection and inspecting the travel trailer he insists is his next project, we drove into Solvang and ate at a Danish place. My dinner included cucumber salad and red cabbage, two of my favorite Czech foods from childhood.
This morning as we were leaving the hotel in Lompoc, John pulled up next to us and tried to clear Phoebe's check engine light. The cable between the car and the computer wasn't working, so we drove down to Auto Zone with John and with Rich and Kathie, who happen to live in Lompoc. The machine there read Phoebe's code as P0171, which is a somewhat generic code that may indicate a loose gas cap (which I'm sure is not the problem, as I always tighten it four clicks or more), a vacuum hose, or many other things. John pulled my engine cover off and spotted the worn vacuum hose right away. Auto Zone didn't have any 3.5 mm hoses, but John had some silicone hose in his tool box. It took him all of two minutes to replace it, and Phoebe ran better right away. (Mark G., you were right.) Her light hasn't come back on yet, so I hope everything is fixed now.
I should mention again how wonderful John has been. He not only changed my vacuum hose, changed my flat tire (in 107-degree heat), and replaced my mass air flow sensor, but also worked for an hour and a half in very hot weather to get Earl's car back on the road yesterday after a similar hose problem that ended up melting parts of the spark plugs. I believe he also helped change Rich and Kathie's fuel pump at the VW dealer in the Albuquerque heat. Without John, many of us would still be sitting by the side of the road waiting for AAA and trying to figure out how to find a competent mechanic in a strange town.
Tonight we're in Kingman, AZ. Our goal is to make it to Santa Rosa, NM, tomorrow evening in order to be home on Tuesday at a reasonable hour. We should be able to get on the road earlier tomorrow morning (the vacuum hose took a little time this morning), and the drive will all be on I-40, so we won't have to worry about California traffic. Off to the hot tub....
We continued on to the tiny town of Ballard and Earl and Syd's house, which is adorable -- Syd is so creative. After looking at Earl's VW collection and inspecting the travel trailer he insists is his next project, we drove into Solvang and ate at a Danish place. My dinner included cucumber salad and red cabbage, two of my favorite Czech foods from childhood.
This morning as we were leaving the hotel in Lompoc, John pulled up next to us and tried to clear Phoebe's check engine light. The cable between the car and the computer wasn't working, so we drove down to Auto Zone with John and with Rich and Kathie, who happen to live in Lompoc. The machine there read Phoebe's code as P0171, which is a somewhat generic code that may indicate a loose gas cap (which I'm sure is not the problem, as I always tighten it four clicks or more), a vacuum hose, or many other things. John pulled my engine cover off and spotted the worn vacuum hose right away. Auto Zone didn't have any 3.5 mm hoses, but John had some silicone hose in his tool box. It took him all of two minutes to replace it, and Phoebe ran better right away. (Mark G., you were right.) Her light hasn't come back on yet, so I hope everything is fixed now.
I should mention again how wonderful John has been. He not only changed my vacuum hose, changed my flat tire (in 107-degree heat), and replaced my mass air flow sensor, but also worked for an hour and a half in very hot weather to get Earl's car back on the road yesterday after a similar hose problem that ended up melting parts of the spark plugs. I believe he also helped change Rich and Kathie's fuel pump at the VW dealer in the Albuquerque heat. Without John, many of us would still be sitting by the side of the road waiting for AAA and trying to figure out how to find a competent mechanic in a strange town.
Tonight we're in Kingman, AZ. Our goal is to make it to Santa Rosa, NM, tomorrow evening in order to be home on Tuesday at a reasonable hour. We should be able to get on the road earlier tomorrow morning (the vacuum hose took a little time this morning), and the drive will all be on I-40, so we won't have to worry about California traffic. Off to the hot tub....
Friday, July 06, 2007
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tues. night
After standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ, I ran into a curb (also in Winslow, AZ, although it wasn't featured in any songs, which is probably why I didn't know about it, but I digress), which caused a flat tire. I am planning to get a new tire in the morning before we go to the Grand Canyon.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Monday afternoon
We're at Sue Isley and Aaron's house in Albuquerque this afternoon. They fed us really good food, and we're currently using their wireless connection to upload Flickr photos. My uploads are going significantly faster today, and I may be able to get all of my photos up.
When we got to Albuquerque, we stopped at the dealer and I picked up Phoebe's mass air flow sensor. John might put it in tonight. Her check engine light came back on about half a mile before we got to the dealer.
This morning before we left Roswell, I tried to lower my driver's side window and heard the all-too-familiar crunching sound. Yes, it was another window regulator. Fortunately, this time the window was only open about three inches, and I was able to raise it with the switch. I put tape over the switch so I won't forget and try to use it, and I'll take her to the dealer when I get home. I think they're still covered under some sort of warranty, as VW knows that the part is bad. The last time I had a window regulator go out, they replaced both sides, so I thought they had designed a new part, but maybe not.
Tomorrow we head for Williams, AZ, and the Grand Canyon, which I've never seen.
When we got to Albuquerque, we stopped at the dealer and I picked up Phoebe's mass air flow sensor. John might put it in tonight. Her check engine light came back on about half a mile before we got to the dealer.
This morning before we left Roswell, I tried to lower my driver's side window and heard the all-too-familiar crunching sound. Yes, it was another window regulator. Fortunately, this time the window was only open about three inches, and I was able to raise it with the switch. I put tape over the switch so I won't forget and try to use it, and I'll take her to the dealer when I get home. I think they're still covered under some sort of warranty, as VW knows that the part is bad. The last time I had a window regulator go out, they replaced both sides, so I thought they had designed a new part, but maybe not.
Tomorrow we head for Williams, AZ, and the Grand Canyon, which I've never seen.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Sunday night
Catching up, as we have had very little opportunity to blog. I haven't had a real Internet connection in a couple of days, and Steph has only been able to connect by cell phone/Bluetooth.
The Sky Watch party was a lot of fun. We got to see people I've known for a number of years and meet new people, too. Karen Talley showed us her beautiful new limited edition platinum gray and maroon convertible (complete with stuffed dancing dachshund).
I also ran into Joe, who used to own Firebug. After the first R2K, I drove to Tucson for a few days to visit friends before driving home. On the way home, I stopped on a whim at a Route 66 museum in Elk City, OK. As I drove into the parking lot, I noticed a red NB parked there, and as I parked next to it, I realized that I knew the NB -- it was Firebug, and I'd talked to Joe and his ex-wife for quite a while. I caught up with them on my way through the museum, and they told me that they'd been traveling through Colorado for a few days before returning home to Texas. Over the next year or so, Firebug developed engine problems, and VW ended up buying him back from Joe to investigate what was wrong. Joe no longer had a Bug, and we missed him in Roswell. At the Sky Watch party a few years later, Joe walked up to me and asked if I remembered him. I did, and he said that he missed having a Beetle so much that he came to Roswell. Joe went out and purchased a dark blue TDI upon his return from that trip, and it's a really pretty car. He's added subtle dark blue flames and a bunch of sirens and sound effects for his job as a firefighter. Joe grew up in the Indianapolis area, and we're going to have dinner the next time he comes back to visit family.
The food at the Sky Watch party was good this year (for anyone keeping track, potato salad, chips, baked beans, Polish sausage, hot dogs, and barbecued beef sandwiches were served). A mariachi band from the local mariachi school played as we ate, and we made our way outside to light up our cars for the Pod Glow cruise. Some of Phoebe's glow sticks were old and didn't work, but we had enough that I could wind them through both of her front wheels and put them around her mirrors and antenna. At the deglowing spot, John started tinkering with Phoebe's engine and deduced that her check engine light is indeed a mass air flow sensor, so I called the dealer in Albuquerque on Saturday morning and they set aside one for me to pick up when we stop there tomorrow. I also talked to Rich from Colorado, who has a raised off-road yellow TDI (and used to have the same wheels I do). His NB has extra bumpers; they're very cool, and I got some ideas from him about how to implement my dad's bumper idea for Phoebe, which will look quite a bit different from his but will probably be attached the same way.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and watched a couple of episodes of Futurama (including "Roswell That Ends Well") with Britt, Marie, Lisa, and Jason.
On Saturday morning, we drove over to the convention center and set Phoebe up for the car show. She looked pretty good despite being a little streaky from her wash the day before. We created an aliens versus dinosaurs war on the dashboard (no winner has been declared yet) and had an inflatable alien in the back seat. Jason counted 59 cars, which is fewer than in previous years, but the creativity of the owners and variety in the cars is still there. I'm having a lot of trouble with my Flickr uploads right now, but I'll get all my photos up eventually.
After the car show was the parade. I'm always surprised at how many people from Roswell come to see it. Our section of the parade engaged in a little precision Beetle driving (such as doing the wave with an entire line of cars), and we circled the route twice before going back to the motel to rest. We ate at Farley's, which we think might be a chain. The food was good, but it was very loud.
At night we attended a drive-in movie (Herbie the Love Bug) in the convention center parking lot. It was projected on an inflatable screen, which was really neat. We also saw the Car Crazy episode from last year about the Roswell2K show.
This morning we did a bunch of laundry before heading out for the rally. (I should mention that Jerry forgot that his clothes were in the washer -- it was obvious that they were his because his shirt with a patch of his car on it was on top -- and I was kind enough to dry them for him, so I know what kind of underwear he wears, and I can be bribed for the information.) A road rally, for those who haven't been on one, is a kind of scavenger hunt on wheels. You receive a sheet with questions interspersed with directions, and the idea is to answer the questions about various signs and attractions while following the directions correctly. Steph and I won first place in the quiz portion! This rally also compared the distance you drove with the distance the directions actually covered, and we didn't even come close in that portion -- we backtracked for almost 10 miles of the 14.6-mile route -- but we were happy that we'd answered so many of the questions correctly. They were tricky.
Tonight we joined the Head Alien for dinner at a Chinese buffet, and now we're at McDonald's because they have wireless. We leave for Albuquerque at 8 am tomorrow.
The Sky Watch party was a lot of fun. We got to see people I've known for a number of years and meet new people, too. Karen Talley showed us her beautiful new limited edition platinum gray and maroon convertible (complete with stuffed dancing dachshund).
I also ran into Joe, who used to own Firebug. After the first R2K, I drove to Tucson for a few days to visit friends before driving home. On the way home, I stopped on a whim at a Route 66 museum in Elk City, OK. As I drove into the parking lot, I noticed a red NB parked there, and as I parked next to it, I realized that I knew the NB -- it was Firebug, and I'd talked to Joe and his ex-wife for quite a while. I caught up with them on my way through the museum, and they told me that they'd been traveling through Colorado for a few days before returning home to Texas. Over the next year or so, Firebug developed engine problems, and VW ended up buying him back from Joe to investigate what was wrong. Joe no longer had a Bug, and we missed him in Roswell. At the Sky Watch party a few years later, Joe walked up to me and asked if I remembered him. I did, and he said that he missed having a Beetle so much that he came to Roswell. Joe went out and purchased a dark blue TDI upon his return from that trip, and it's a really pretty car. He's added subtle dark blue flames and a bunch of sirens and sound effects for his job as a firefighter. Joe grew up in the Indianapolis area, and we're going to have dinner the next time he comes back to visit family.
The food at the Sky Watch party was good this year (for anyone keeping track, potato salad, chips, baked beans, Polish sausage, hot dogs, and barbecued beef sandwiches were served). A mariachi band from the local mariachi school played as we ate, and we made our way outside to light up our cars for the Pod Glow cruise. Some of Phoebe's glow sticks were old and didn't work, but we had enough that I could wind them through both of her front wheels and put them around her mirrors and antenna. At the deglowing spot, John started tinkering with Phoebe's engine and deduced that her check engine light is indeed a mass air flow sensor, so I called the dealer in Albuquerque on Saturday morning and they set aside one for me to pick up when we stop there tomorrow. I also talked to Rich from Colorado, who has a raised off-road yellow TDI (and used to have the same wheels I do). His NB has extra bumpers; they're very cool, and I got some ideas from him about how to implement my dad's bumper idea for Phoebe, which will look quite a bit different from his but will probably be attached the same way.
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and watched a couple of episodes of Futurama (including "Roswell That Ends Well") with Britt, Marie, Lisa, and Jason.
On Saturday morning, we drove over to the convention center and set Phoebe up for the car show. She looked pretty good despite being a little streaky from her wash the day before. We created an aliens versus dinosaurs war on the dashboard (no winner has been declared yet) and had an inflatable alien in the back seat. Jason counted 59 cars, which is fewer than in previous years, but the creativity of the owners and variety in the cars is still there. I'm having a lot of trouble with my Flickr uploads right now, but I'll get all my photos up eventually.
After the car show was the parade. I'm always surprised at how many people from Roswell come to see it. Our section of the parade engaged in a little precision Beetle driving (such as doing the wave with an entire line of cars), and we circled the route twice before going back to the motel to rest. We ate at Farley's, which we think might be a chain. The food was good, but it was very loud.
At night we attended a drive-in movie (Herbie the Love Bug) in the convention center parking lot. It was projected on an inflatable screen, which was really neat. We also saw the Car Crazy episode from last year about the Roswell2K show.
This morning we did a bunch of laundry before heading out for the rally. (I should mention that Jerry forgot that his clothes were in the washer -- it was obvious that they were his because his shirt with a patch of his car on it was on top -- and I was kind enough to dry them for him, so I know what kind of underwear he wears, and I can be bribed for the information.) A road rally, for those who haven't been on one, is a kind of scavenger hunt on wheels. You receive a sheet with questions interspersed with directions, and the idea is to answer the questions about various signs and attractions while following the directions correctly. Steph and I won first place in the quiz portion! This rally also compared the distance you drove with the distance the directions actually covered, and we didn't even come close in that portion -- we backtracked for almost 10 miles of the 14.6-mile route -- but we were happy that we'd answered so many of the questions correctly. They were tricky.
Tonight we joined the Head Alien for dinner at a Chinese buffet, and now we're at McDonald's because they have wireless. We leave for Albuquerque at 8 am tomorrow.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday afternoon update
We're hanging out at Not of This World Cafe in Roswell this afternoon after going to Target for car wash supplies (couldn't fit them in for the trip out) and washing Phoebe, which is difficult with the water here. She's very streaky -- it's more obvious on a black car.
Last night we arrived in Roswell around 6 pm after driving from Tucumcari. The Blue Swallow Motel was great, and we walked to a little diner for breakfast with Lisa and Jason and then went through the dinosaur museum before getting on the road for Roswell. We had a really nice drive and stopped for a late lunch at a shiny silver diner that resembled a railroad car.
Phoebe got incredible gas mileage on the way here -- if she's completely full, she usually goes 100 miles with the needle on Full, 200 miles at 3/4 tank, 300 miles at 1/2, and 400 miles at 1/4. There are three dots between each quarter of the gauge. Steph snapped a photo at 167 miles and the needle had not even hit the first dot under full. I'm hoping for another 500-mile tank, but we'll be doing a fair amount of in-town driving this weekend, so that may not happen.
We unloaded the car at the motel and walked over to Tia Juana's, a local Mexican place where everyone who arrives on Thursday usually goes for dinner. (I've never arrived on Thursday before; the Eastern caravan traditionally arrives on Friday.) A nice time was had by all. I got almost nine hours of sleep last night, so I've been feeling a lot better today. Tonight is the Sky Watch party and the Pod Glow cruise. I realized today that I might be able to weave a glow necklace or two through the holes in Phoebe's wheels.
Last night we arrived in Roswell around 6 pm after driving from Tucumcari. The Blue Swallow Motel was great, and we walked to a little diner for breakfast with Lisa and Jason and then went through the dinosaur museum before getting on the road for Roswell. We had a really nice drive and stopped for a late lunch at a shiny silver diner that resembled a railroad car.
Phoebe got incredible gas mileage on the way here -- if she's completely full, she usually goes 100 miles with the needle on Full, 200 miles at 3/4 tank, 300 miles at 1/2, and 400 miles at 1/4. There are three dots between each quarter of the gauge. Steph snapped a photo at 167 miles and the needle had not even hit the first dot under full. I'm hoping for another 500-mile tank, but we'll be doing a fair amount of in-town driving this weekend, so that may not happen.
We unloaded the car at the motel and walked over to Tia Juana's, a local Mexican place where everyone who arrives on Thursday usually goes for dinner. (I've never arrived on Thursday before; the Eastern caravan traditionally arrives on Friday.) A nice time was had by all. I got almost nine hours of sleep last night, so I've been feeling a lot better today. Tonight is the Sky Watch party and the Pod Glow cruise. I realized today that I might be able to weave a glow necklace or two through the holes in Phoebe's wheels.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday morning
We made it to the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM, late last night after stopping at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX, for dinner. The motel is really cute -- our room has a section with a wood floor and a bathroom with vintage fixtures and tile. There is a garage next to our room for Phoebe, and she's sharing it with Spacepod, as Lisa and Jason are staying next door. Other stops yesterday were the Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK; a collection of Route 66 memorabilia; the Round Barn in Arcadia, OK; and the Route 66 museum in Clinton, OK.
I haven't been getting enough sleep, so we elected to stay here a little longer this morning, sleep in a little, and see the dinosaur museum and some of the other old motels and attractions in Tucumcari. Oh, yes, and breakfast at a diner somewhere. I'm glad we're arriving in Roswell today; having some free time tomorrow and a chance to sleep in a little again will help.
Yesterday I kept ending up near the end of the caravan, which is a difficult place to be. The traffic wave effect that's present in nearly all large traffic formations is much more evident at the end, and often the people at the front can't understand why the people at the back are complaining about trying to catch up all the time. The rain made the drive harder, too. Phoebe needs to have one or both of her wiper arms replaced because the springs don't hold them against the windshield strongly enough, so my wipers skitter around at higher speeds a little more than other people's do.
Today we are traveling with Spacepod and the pumpkin (Britt and Marie's Snap Orange color concept).
I haven't been getting enough sleep, so we elected to stay here a little longer this morning, sleep in a little, and see the dinosaur museum and some of the other old motels and attractions in Tucumcari. Oh, yes, and breakfast at a diner somewhere. I'm glad we're arriving in Roswell today; having some free time tomorrow and a chance to sleep in a little again will help.
Yesterday I kept ending up near the end of the caravan, which is a difficult place to be. The traffic wave effect that's present in nearly all large traffic formations is much more evident at the end, and often the people at the front can't understand why the people at the back are complaining about trying to catch up all the time. The rain made the drive harder, too. Phoebe needs to have one or both of her wiper arms replaced because the springs don't hold them against the windshield strongly enough, so my wipers skitter around at higher speeds a little more than other people's do.
Today we are traveling with Spacepod and the pumpkin (Britt and Marie's Snap Orange color concept).
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday update
Still not able to get online on my own computer for various reasons. I spent an hour on the phone with Bright House last night trying to troubleshoot my dialup connection, which appears not to play well with a certain Windows update.
We started out with 12 NBs yesterday in Joliet, IL, and picked up three more along the way. Lots of photo ops, including the Joliet Historical Museum, which opened especially for us. We also stopped at the Gemini Giant, an old gas station, the Paul Bunyan statue in Atlanta, the Dixie Truck Stop, Cozy Dog (very greasy), Chain of Rocks Bridge, and Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard.
At the motel in the morning, we found out that Howie had a scan tool, and he was able to turn off Phoebe's check engine light. It came back on at the frozen custard place, and Chris thinks it's a mass air flow sensor. It's a part that can be taken out and cleaned to see if it's the problem, and everyone assures me that she'll be fine until we get home unless the light starts blinking. In fact, there are three or four of us with check engine lights on now.
Our 15 NBs: two black, two silver, three red, two white, two bright blue, two orange, one Harvest Moon, and one yellow. Three TDIs. No convertibles. Only one 2006 or later, but four '98s! Highest mileage: 192,000. Phoebe's mileage: 76,4xx.
Today we're off to see Meramac Caverns, the blue whale, and a couple of other things I can't remember at the moment.
We started out with 12 NBs yesterday in Joliet, IL, and picked up three more along the way. Lots of photo ops, including the Joliet Historical Museum, which opened especially for us. We also stopped at the Gemini Giant, an old gas station, the Paul Bunyan statue in Atlanta, the Dixie Truck Stop, Cozy Dog (very greasy), Chain of Rocks Bridge, and Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard.
At the motel in the morning, we found out that Howie had a scan tool, and he was able to turn off Phoebe's check engine light. It came back on at the frozen custard place, and Chris thinks it's a mass air flow sensor. It's a part that can be taken out and cleaned to see if it's the problem, and everyone assures me that she'll be fine until we get home unless the light starts blinking. In fact, there are three or four of us with check engine lights on now.
Our 15 NBs: two black, two silver, three red, two white, two bright blue, two orange, one Harvest Moon, and one yellow. Three TDIs. No convertibles. Only one 2006 or later, but four '98s! Highest mileage: 192,000. Phoebe's mileage: 76,4xx.
Today we're off to see Meramac Caverns, the blue whale, and a couple of other things I can't remember at the moment.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday recap
Apparently I can blog only a certain number of characters from my phone. Anyway...
Lisa and Jason arrived in Indianapolis very late Saturday night, and we had breakfast at the Canary Cafe with them and Britt and Marie. They came to see our house. Lucy was happy to see her Lisa, and she even made friends with Jason. We got on the road to Chicago a little after 3:00, and after lots of traffic, we arrived at Summerfest around 7:45.
Unfortunately, Phoebe's check engine light came on while we were waiting to get on I-90. It had been off since she went to Tune Tech, so I had hoped that the problem that caused it had been solved. I immediately called Susan Hester to see if anyone had a VAG-COM tool, but she didn't know of anyone who'd brought one, so I called the ever-reliable John Steele, who had of course packed his. We'll meet him in St. Louis tonight and see if Phoebe's still throwing the P3191 code. She's had lots of fuel injector cleaner lately, so I don't think it's a clogged fuel injector -- I suspect an oxygen sensor or maybe a mass air flow sensor (though she doesn't feel sluggish at all).
In Chicago, we parked in a garage that had curved ramps going up to each level. I had to turn the wheel almost to the full lock to get up the ramps, and it was only after we got to the top that I learned that the ramps were two-way -- if you meet another car, one of you backs up (!). Coming down was equally scary, as I came close to bottoming out at the end of each ramp. Steph has a picture.
I got to drive a Smart Car! It's much bigger inside than it looks, and I didn't feel like I was driving a tiny little box. You can set the transmission in automatic or manual mode (and even switch between them on the fly). The shifts were a little clunky in automatic mode and somewhat smoother in manual mode. The Smart Car guy who went with me on the test drive said that he treats it like a manual even in automatic mode and lifts his foot off the accelerator when he wants it to shift. This helped. The engine is not particularly powerful at 72 horsepower, but the car could keep up with traffic. It has a small cargo area in back with a tiny pull-out cover.
After having dinner outdoors at a local restaurant that seemed to have every kind of food, we made our way to Joliet. There are 12 NBs here! We start off at 9 am.
Lisa and Jason arrived in Indianapolis very late Saturday night, and we had breakfast at the Canary Cafe with them and Britt and Marie. They came to see our house. Lucy was happy to see her Lisa, and she even made friends with Jason. We got on the road to Chicago a little after 3:00, and after lots of traffic, we arrived at Summerfest around 7:45.
Unfortunately, Phoebe's check engine light came on while we were waiting to get on I-90. It had been off since she went to Tune Tech, so I had hoped that the problem that caused it had been solved. I immediately called Susan Hester to see if anyone had a VAG-COM tool, but she didn't know of anyone who'd brought one, so I called the ever-reliable John Steele, who had of course packed his. We'll meet him in St. Louis tonight and see if Phoebe's still throwing the P3191 code. She's had lots of fuel injector cleaner lately, so I don't think it's a clogged fuel injector -- I suspect an oxygen sensor or maybe a mass air flow sensor (though she doesn't feel sluggish at all).
In Chicago, we parked in a garage that had curved ramps going up to each level. I had to turn the wheel almost to the full lock to get up the ramps, and it was only after we got to the top that I learned that the ramps were two-way -- if you meet another car, one of you backs up (!). Coming down was equally scary, as I came close to bottoming out at the end of each ramp. Steph has a picture.
I got to drive a Smart Car! It's much bigger inside than it looks, and I didn't feel like I was driving a tiny little box. You can set the transmission in automatic or manual mode (and even switch between them on the fly). The shifts were a little clunky in automatic mode and somewhat smoother in manual mode. The Smart Car guy who went with me on the test drive said that he treats it like a manual even in automatic mode and lifts his foot off the accelerator when he wants it to shift. This helped. The engine is not particularly powerful at 72 horsepower, but the car could keep up with traffic. It has a small cargo area in back with a tiny pull-out cover.
After having dinner outdoors at a local restaurant that seemed to have every kind of food, we made our way to Joliet. There are 12 NBs here! We start off at 9 am.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Test drive
I drove a Smart Car! It felt larger inside than it looked. You can shift it manually or let it shift automatically, and you can
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Thursday, June 21, 2007
Blogging on the go
Looks like I have mobileblogging set up too!
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
National Drive Your VW to Work Day
Friday, June 22 is National Drive Your VW to Work Day. Phoebe will be looking pretty, as we washed and waxed her this past weekend with my dad in preparation for our Roswell/Route 66 trip.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Radish serving
The radishes are ready to eat! That's salt in the middle of the plate.
They were the most intense radishes I've ever had. I wonder if they lose their intensity as they're shipped around the country to grocery stores. Seriously, they made my nose run. They were very tasty, though.
They were the most intense radishes I've ever had. I wonder if they lose their intensity as they're shipped around the country to grocery stores. Seriously, they made my nose run. They were very tasty, though.
Radishes!
I pulled six actual radishes from the ground. There are more, but I thought we'd leave them in the ground until we were ready to eat them.
Radish plant
The package said they would have 22 days between planting and harvest, so I thought I'd check them out tonight. Some of the radishes were peeking out of the soil!
Radish plants in garden
We planted radishes for the first time this year. I was hopeful that we would grow a few.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
AfterEllen's Hot 100
After reading the AfterEllen Hot 100 list and Maxine Dangerous's response, I had to blog my favorites. Here, in alphabetical order by filename of the picture, are my top ten from the Hot 100. (Sorry, numbers 11 through 19. You're hot too.) I did not base my choices on the particular photograph AfterEllen had (although those were the ones I used); sometimes I didn't like their photo at all. In any case, here they are.
Kristen Bell
Deanna Casaluce
Guinevere Turner
Jennifer Beals
Lauren Graham
Lucy Liu
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Amelie Mauresmo
Salma Hayek
Tina Fey
I have to say that I'm surprised at some of the choices. Only one athlete? What happened to Annika Sorenstam? Maybe the whole TomKat debacle has prevented Katie Holmes from making the list. And has everyone forgotten Mary Stuart Masterson? I haven't.
Kristen Bell
Deanna Casaluce
Guinevere Turner
Jennifer Beals
Lauren Graham
Lucy Liu
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Amelie Mauresmo
Salma Hayek
Tina Fey
I have to say that I'm surprised at some of the choices. Only one athlete? What happened to Annika Sorenstam? Maybe the whole TomKat debacle has prevented Katie Holmes from making the list. And has everyone forgotten Mary Stuart Masterson? I haven't.
Monday, June 11, 2007
New places to recycle corrugated cardboard in Indy
Recycle Indianapolis has added two dropoff locations for corrugated cardboard:
Sam's Club, 3015 W. 86th St.
Eastgate Consumer Mall, E. Washington St. and Shortridge Rd.
Find more information about places to recycle various items at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
We've found Indianapolis Recycled Fiber at 1775 S. West St. to be the best option for most of our recycling. They take paper and cardboard as well as plastics 1 through 7 (the Keep Indianapolis Beautiful locations only take 1 and 2), and you don't have to separate the plastic anymore! We take glass and steel to the recycling container behind the downtown O'Malia's, and we're still in search of a non-scary scrap metal place to sell our aluminum.
Sam's Club, 3015 W. 86th St.
Eastgate Consumer Mall, E. Washington St. and Shortridge Rd.
Find more information about places to recycle various items at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
We've found Indianapolis Recycled Fiber at 1775 S. West St. to be the best option for most of our recycling. They take paper and cardboard as well as plastics 1 through 7 (the Keep Indianapolis Beautiful locations only take 1 and 2), and you don't have to separate the plastic anymore! We take glass and steel to the recycling container behind the downtown O'Malia's, and we're still in search of a non-scary scrap metal place to sell our aluminum.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Steph's birthday
It's Steph's birthday today! Happy birthday, honey!
If you like, you can visit her blog and wish her a happy birthday. She hasn't decided yet whether she wants to go out to eat or eat at home tonight.
If you like, you can visit her blog and wish her a happy birthday. She hasn't decided yet whether she wants to go out to eat or eat at home tonight.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Caturday; or, I am queen of the chair.
I am queen of the chair. I will push you out.
I am queen of the chair.
OK. I am queen of this chair, then.
I am queen of the chair.
Ha! I am queen of the chair!
I am queen of the loveseat.
No! I am queen of the loveseat!
I am still queen of the chair.
Friday, June 01, 2007
NYR update 6
1. Floss: Still flossing consistently.
2. Lunch: Went out twice this week.
3. On time: I got to work early once this week.
4. Flip: I haven't been skating enough recently. Moving to the new rink has been a challenge because it's farther away from home and work and because the rink is usually really cold.
5. Save: Our upcoming Route 66/Roswell trip is going to put our savings on hold for a little while.
6. Recipes: I haven't tried much in the way of new recipes lately.
7. Trans fat: Doing pretty well. Almost out of microwave popcorn.
8. Perfume: The level in the large bottle is going down fast!
9. Compact: I'm having to buy some new shoes because I have to wear orthotics now and they don't fit in most of my old shoes. It sucks -- I have one pair of shoes I can wear to work in the summertime. I had just gotten to the point where my shoe collection was almost perfect, and now I can't wear most of my shoes most of the time. Unfortunately, I still need to keep most of them for the times when I don't wear my orthotics because otherwise I won't have any shoes that match most of my clothes. I'm supposed to wear the orthotics 90% of the time. It's going to be difficult to find shoes to take to Roswell.
2. Lunch: Went out twice this week.
3. On time: I got to work early once this week.
4. Flip: I haven't been skating enough recently. Moving to the new rink has been a challenge because it's farther away from home and work and because the rink is usually really cold.
5. Save: Our upcoming Route 66/Roswell trip is going to put our savings on hold for a little while.
6. Recipes: I haven't tried much in the way of new recipes lately.
7. Trans fat: Doing pretty well. Almost out of microwave popcorn.
8. Perfume: The level in the large bottle is going down fast!
9. Compact: I'm having to buy some new shoes because I have to wear orthotics now and they don't fit in most of my old shoes. It sucks -- I have one pair of shoes I can wear to work in the summertime. I had just gotten to the point where my shoe collection was almost perfect, and now I can't wear most of my shoes most of the time. Unfortunately, I still need to keep most of them for the times when I don't wear my orthotics because otherwise I won't have any shoes that match most of my clothes. I'm supposed to wear the orthotics 90% of the time. It's going to be difficult to find shoes to take to Roswell.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Electric mower
I have a Ryobi cordless electric mower that has served me well for the past eight years and is still going strong. Unfortunately, they don't make it anymore, but here's another option: the Neuton. It provides only a 14" cut rather than the 18" that my mower has, but it has several desirable features that my mower doesn't have, such as an available extra lift-out battery.
Either mower (as well as a corded electric mower) will pollute significantly less than a gas mower does. Mowing with a gas mower for an hour produces the same amount of pollution as driving a car 50 miles.
Either mower (as well as a corded electric mower) will pollute significantly less than a gas mower does. Mowing with a gas mower for an hour produces the same amount of pollution as driving a car 50 miles.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Funny discussion
While looking for another article, I came across an MSN discussion board thread on the topic of best and worst wedding gifts. Some of the worst gifts are hilarious, and many of the best gifts are touching. It's adding some levity to the whole wedding planning thing.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Dadblogging: Articles and brochures
Instead of mailing me stuff, my dad brought it with him last weekend.
* Brochure from Anthem on physical activity
* Chicago Tribune article "A lot rides on damaged alloy wheels"
* A diagram he drew of something that may have to do with water pipes
* A printout of a Yahoo article on Constellation Energy Group
* A Jim Mateja review of the 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid
* Some Toyota promotional material from England
* The official guide from the Chicago Auto Show
* A savings card from the auto show for 10% off at Firestone
* A CD sampler from Scion
* A cool metal Scion keychain (mattindy77, it's yours if you want it)
* A GTI pen holder (like the Beetle ones) complete with a set of stickers to customize it
* Honda, Toyota, and Scion promotional material
* Chevy Volt and Corvette promotional material
* Saturn and Chrysler promotional material
* Brochure from Anthem on physical activity
* Chicago Tribune article "A lot rides on damaged alloy wheels"
* A diagram he drew of something that may have to do with water pipes
* A printout of a Yahoo article on Constellation Energy Group
* A Jim Mateja review of the 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid
* Some Toyota promotional material from England
* The official guide from the Chicago Auto Show
* A savings card from the auto show for 10% off at Firestone
* A CD sampler from Scion
* A cool metal Scion keychain (mattindy77, it's yours if you want it)
* A GTI pen holder (like the Beetle ones) complete with a set of stickers to customize it
* Honda, Toyota, and Scion promotional material
* Chevy Volt and Corvette promotional material
* Saturn and Chrysler promotional material
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Sour beef
When I was growing up, my parents would sometimes make traditional Czech foods. One of them that I enjoyed was sour beef and dumplings. We only ate it a couple of times per year because it's pretty time-intensive to make.
My dad came to visit last weekend and brought me a couple of servings that he'd frozen. (He makes it a lot more often now that he's retired again.) I was more than a little concerned that it might be the kind of food that you had to eat while growing up in order to stomach, let alone love, but Steph liked it a lot. I didn't take a picture because, well, it's not the most attractive-looking dinner.
I don't have my dad's recipe yet, but I Googled the phrase last night and found a few, none of which look like they're the one our family uses. I also found information about some restaurants in Baltimore that serve it. The Czech word for dumplings is spelled knedlicky; it's pronounced KLED-neek in my family. Most people seem to make small individual dumplings, whereas we make large ones and then slice them.
My Czech vocabulary is very small, and I have difficulty locating the correct spellings of the few words I do know because they aren't phonetic. A number of years ago my cousins and I compared the Czech words we knew from our dads, and we discovered we knew different ones. They know the word for mashed potatoes, for example, while I know the words for facial hair, pacifier, and tail (as in "dog following you around," not "appendage on the back of animals."
My dad came to visit last weekend and brought me a couple of servings that he'd frozen. (He makes it a lot more often now that he's retired again.) I was more than a little concerned that it might be the kind of food that you had to eat while growing up in order to stomach, let alone love, but Steph liked it a lot. I didn't take a picture because, well, it's not the most attractive-looking dinner.
I don't have my dad's recipe yet, but I Googled the phrase last night and found a few, none of which look like they're the one our family uses. I also found information about some restaurants in Baltimore that serve it. The Czech word for dumplings is spelled knedlicky; it's pronounced KLED-neek in my family. Most people seem to make small individual dumplings, whereas we make large ones and then slice them.
My Czech vocabulary is very small, and I have difficulty locating the correct spellings of the few words I do know because they aren't phonetic. A number of years ago my cousins and I compared the Czech words we knew from our dads, and we discovered we knew different ones. They know the word for mashed potatoes, for example, while I know the words for facial hair, pacifier, and tail (as in "dog following you around," not "appendage on the back of animals."
Monday, May 14, 2007
Art car v2.2
My first and second visions for turning my 1993 Honda Accord into an art car have proven to be unworkable, so I have a new implementation of an old idea: I'm going to decoupage quotes onto the car and seal it with some sort of acrylic or polyurethane sealer to make it waterproof.
My second plan was to use letters cut from bumper stickers to make the quotes, but there just aren't that many free bumper stickers out there, so it finally occurred to me to cut the letters out of magazines, ads, and other found objects and decoupage them onto the car. The background for each quote will be a different piece of colored or patterned paper so that observers can tell the quotes apart. Last night I bought some scrapbooking paper at Costco, and then I came home and started cutting out letters. I'm sorting and storing them in a many-sectioned tool organizer. I've been collecting quotes for some time, although I'll probably need more than I think I will. Feel free to suggest your favorite quotes in the comments.
My second plan was to use letters cut from bumper stickers to make the quotes, but there just aren't that many free bumper stickers out there, so it finally occurred to me to cut the letters out of magazines, ads, and other found objects and decoupage them onto the car. The background for each quote will be a different piece of colored or patterned paper so that observers can tell the quotes apart. Last night I bought some scrapbooking paper at Costco, and then I came home and started cutting out letters. I'm sorting and storing them in a many-sectioned tool organizer. I've been collecting quotes for some time, although I'll probably need more than I think I will. Feel free to suggest your favorite quotes in the comments.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Our tree
Yesterday at Earth Day we were given a free tree. It is a black oak that will grow to between 90 and 100 feet tall. We planted the tree today in front of our house. Here is our tree:
Here is us with our tree:
Yes, it's the tiny little stick-like thing at our feet. Today is our anniversary, so we thought we'd start a tradition of taking our picture with our tree every year as it grows. It's our anniversatree.
Here is us with our tree:
Yes, it's the tiny little stick-like thing at our feet. Today is our anniversary, so we thought we'd start a tradition of taking our picture with our tree every year as it grows. It's our anniversatree.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Earth Day
This afternoon we went to the Earth Day festival in downtown Indianapolis. (Yes, I know it's a week late. I don't know why.)
There were five large tents with many exhibitors in each. I declined many, many brochures because I already knew the information on them, but we picked up quite a few with new information. Specifically, we're going to look into a solar attic fan.
We brought Spike because it was such a nice day and he likes festivals. He got a little overwhelmed in the tents because there were so many people, but he enjoyed himself anyway and got lots of compliments.
After we visited all the exhibitors, we stopped by the row of food vendors for a snack. Steph had a bowl of red beans and rice and I had an alligator sandwich. Yes, it was real alligator. It resembled bratwurst and tasted fairly similar to it.
I was disappointed in some of the displays because they didn't teach me anything new. I know that I'm pretty well informed, but I wanted more. I was very disturbed to hear the Toyota representative giving a couple blatant misinformation about the Prius. I didn't interrupt her, but I should have said something. She told the couple that the Prius runs on electric power up to 50 mph and only turns on its gas engine on the highway. In simple terms, the Prius only has enough battery capacity to run about three miles on electric alone, and the speed cutoff is 42 mph. The gas engine will run whenever the battery needs to be charged and whenever the car needs it to provide extra heat to warm the cabin or the batteries. (Learn more from expert Prius owners at any of the Prius-related Yahoo! groups.)
Now we're heading to Good Earth, the natural food store in Broad Ripple, to go get some natural and organic food.
There were five large tents with many exhibitors in each. I declined many, many brochures because I already knew the information on them, but we picked up quite a few with new information. Specifically, we're going to look into a solar attic fan.
We brought Spike because it was such a nice day and he likes festivals. He got a little overwhelmed in the tents because there were so many people, but he enjoyed himself anyway and got lots of compliments.
After we visited all the exhibitors, we stopped by the row of food vendors for a snack. Steph had a bowl of red beans and rice and I had an alligator sandwich. Yes, it was real alligator. It resembled bratwurst and tasted fairly similar to it.
I was disappointed in some of the displays because they didn't teach me anything new. I know that I'm pretty well informed, but I wanted more. I was very disturbed to hear the Toyota representative giving a couple blatant misinformation about the Prius. I didn't interrupt her, but I should have said something. She told the couple that the Prius runs on electric power up to 50 mph and only turns on its gas engine on the highway. In simple terms, the Prius only has enough battery capacity to run about three miles on electric alone, and the speed cutoff is 42 mph. The gas engine will run whenever the battery needs to be charged and whenever the car needs it to provide extra heat to warm the cabin or the batteries. (Learn more from expert Prius owners at any of the Prius-related Yahoo! groups.)
Now we're heading to Good Earth, the natural food store in Broad Ripple, to go get some natural and organic food.
Friday, April 27, 2007
NYR update 5
1. Floss: Still flossing consistently. I think it's become a habit by now.
2. Lunch: Slowly making progress on last year's deficit.
3. On time: I'm leaving the house a little earlier these days. Moving to our new building at work will help, as my commute will probably be a little shorter.
4. Flip: It felt like I got good height in my flip attempts this week, but I'm not getting the rotation, so I'm landing forward on two feet with a three turn to backward.
5. Save: Selling Steph's old house helped a lot in this department.
6. Recipes: The leg of lamb I made for Easter turned out well. I'm going to figure out something to do with ahi tuna this week.
7. Trans fat: Doing much better.
8. Perfume: One bottle down, two to go. I'm working on the larger bottle now, and I can see the level going down. I'm glad I like all of these scents -- this would be no fun at all if I didn't.
9. Compact: Doing okay. We bought a new vacuum and air purifier with a gift card recently.
2. Lunch: Slowly making progress on last year's deficit.
3. On time: I'm leaving the house a little earlier these days. Moving to our new building at work will help, as my commute will probably be a little shorter.
4. Flip: It felt like I got good height in my flip attempts this week, but I'm not getting the rotation, so I'm landing forward on two feet with a three turn to backward.
5. Save: Selling Steph's old house helped a lot in this department.
6. Recipes: The leg of lamb I made for Easter turned out well. I'm going to figure out something to do with ahi tuna this week.
7. Trans fat: Doing much better.
8. Perfume: One bottle down, two to go. I'm working on the larger bottle now, and I can see the level going down. I'm glad I like all of these scents -- this would be no fun at all if I didn't.
9. Compact: Doing okay. We bought a new vacuum and air purifier with a gift card recently.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Weekend update
On Friday night, we grilled out for the first time this year. Yummy!
Saturday morning we took a load of cardboard boxes to the recycling center. We purchased 800 lbs. of top soil (in 40-lb. bags) at Indiana Mulch on the way back. After all that work, we had lunch at BW3s and played trivia. Later, Steph learned that things like playing trivia keep your brain active and help prevent senility and Alzheimer's later in life. When we got home, we painted the rest of the balcony railings and post. One more coat on the floor and we're done! The rest of the afternoon and evening we spent organizing my music in preparation for moving it onto the server. We also started watching The Muppet Show, which I've never seen before, on DVD.
On Sunday, we got the wheelbarrow out and unloaded the 800 lbs. of top soil into it and moved them all to the deck in the back. Steph planted some flowers we'd started indoors, and we sat on the porch and read for a while before taking the dog for a w-a-l-k. After several false starts, I managed to move my music over to the server, and then we went over to Elizabeth's for dinner because Joe was in town.
Saturday morning we took a load of cardboard boxes to the recycling center. We purchased 800 lbs. of top soil (in 40-lb. bags) at Indiana Mulch on the way back. After all that work, we had lunch at BW3s and played trivia. Later, Steph learned that things like playing trivia keep your brain active and help prevent senility and Alzheimer's later in life. When we got home, we painted the rest of the balcony railings and post. One more coat on the floor and we're done! The rest of the afternoon and evening we spent organizing my music in preparation for moving it onto the server. We also started watching The Muppet Show, which I've never seen before, on DVD.
On Sunday, we got the wheelbarrow out and unloaded the 800 lbs. of top soil into it and moved them all to the deck in the back. Steph planted some flowers we'd started indoors, and we sat on the porch and read for a while before taking the dog for a w-a-l-k. After several false starts, I managed to move my music over to the server, and then we went over to Elizabeth's for dinner because Joe was in town.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Cucumber salad recipe
When my mom gave me her cucumber salad recipe, I didn't have any paper at hand, so it's scrawled on the back of a fast-food napkin. I thought I'd blog it because that way the dog can't chew it up.
Cucumber Salad
cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. water
Pepper to taste
Combine wet ingredients. Add cucumber. Adjust proportions to taste.
Cucumber Salad
cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. water
Pepper to taste
Combine wet ingredients. Add cucumber. Adjust proportions to taste.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
My next car
I just put a deposit down on a Smart car. I've wanted one since I went to Europe in the summer of 2000 and saw them everywhere. (My friends were taking pictures of architecture and I was photographing Smart cars.) I chose the base model in yellow with black trim, and the only option for the interior color was gray. It will have a 5-speed automated manual transmission, which appears to be very much like the old VW Autostick. (I hope it will work better than the Autostick did.) I'm going to miss the clutch, but I'll still have one in Phoebe. It will probably arrive in the spring of 2008, several months after my Honda turns over 200,000 miles (my goal).
The gas mileage is estimated at 40 city/60 highway, which is not that much lower than a Prius. The Smart car costs about half as much as a Prius, and I expect it to hold its value well. I may decide to sell it in a few years and buy a Prius when I get tired of not having a back seat.
Hey Elizabeth, it comes in a convertible -- you should get one, too!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
PoshPoints
I found an interesting online shopping/barter site. It's called PoshPoints. You sell things for points and then buy other things with your points. You can buy extra points if you need them, and you get 15 free points to start out with. Plus if you join through my referral link, I get 10 points when you list your first item for sale. Most of the stuff is little (say, the value of a DVD or a pair of jeans or less), but I've sold several books that weren't worth much at half.com and a little giveaway pedometer so far, and I've bought a shirt, a lot of something like 10 pairs of shoelaces (necessary in this house, where Dru is always looking for shoelaces to chew), a pair of jeans, and a tea bag squeezer/holder thing (difficult to explain).
Here's my referral link.
Here's my referral link.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Lucy in my lap
Tonight Lucy kept trying to come into the living room with us (we were watching The Muppet Movie) and Spike repeatedly chased her back to the stairs. We put Spike in bed so he couldn't bother her, and for the first time since we moved here, Lucy came over and jumped onto my lap on the couch. I've missed having her curled up on my lap as I watch TV, and I hope Spike mellows out a little so she can do that more often.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Fortune cookies
I brought Chinese food home for dinner after my haircut tonight. I grabbbed four fortune cookies for us. My two were weird, and yes, I typed them accurately:
Your talents will be recognized and suitable rewarded.
I trust they're talkng about my editing talents.
Your dearest Wish will come true.
The one about eliminating all random capital letters, perhaps?
Your talents will be recognized and suitable rewarded.
I trust they're talkng about my editing talents.
Your dearest Wish will come true.
The one about eliminating all random capital letters, perhaps?
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The sock hop tape
Playlist of the sock hop tape, dated 12/87 on side A and 2/88 on side B.
Side A
1. Shake Your Love -- Debbie Gibson
2. I Think We're Alone Now -- Tiffany
3. You Give Love a Bad Name -- Bon Jovi
4. Living on a Prayer -- Bon Jovi
5. You Give Good Love -- Whitney Houston
6. Always -- Atlantic Starr
7. You Be Illin' -- Run DMC
8. I Want Your Sex -- George Michael
9. Fight For Your Right (To Party) -- Beastie Boys
10. Secret Lovers -- Atlantic Starr
11. Pour Some Sugar On Me -- Def Leppard
12. Armageddon It -- Def Leppard
Side B
1. Jam On It -- Newcleus
2. Pop Goes the World -- Men Without Hats
3. It Should've Been Me -- Tiffany
4. The Lion Sleeps Tonight -- The Tokens
5. With You All the Way -- New Edition
6. Anything For You -- Gloria Estefan
7. Make It Real -- The Jets
8. Rush Hour -- Jane Wiedlin
9. Hands to Heaven -- Breathe
10. Let It Be -- The Beatles
11. The Promise -- When In Rome
Side A
1. Shake Your Love -- Debbie Gibson
2. I Think We're Alone Now -- Tiffany
3. You Give Love a Bad Name -- Bon Jovi
4. Living on a Prayer -- Bon Jovi
5. You Give Good Love -- Whitney Houston
6. Always -- Atlantic Starr
7. You Be Illin' -- Run DMC
8. I Want Your Sex -- George Michael
9. Fight For Your Right (To Party) -- Beastie Boys
10. Secret Lovers -- Atlantic Starr
11. Pour Some Sugar On Me -- Def Leppard
12. Armageddon It -- Def Leppard
Side B
1. Jam On It -- Newcleus
2. Pop Goes the World -- Men Without Hats
3. It Should've Been Me -- Tiffany
4. The Lion Sleeps Tonight -- The Tokens
5. With You All the Way -- New Edition
6. Anything For You -- Gloria Estefan
7. Make It Real -- The Jets
8. Rush Hour -- Jane Wiedlin
9. Hands to Heaven -- Breathe
10. Let It Be -- The Beatles
11. The Promise -- When In Rome
Saturday, March 24, 2007
In my dreams
Last night I had strange dreams. It was hot, and our bedroom was rearranged because the roofers were in the middle of having it painted. In one of the dreams, I went into a store, which had ice instead of a floor. I expected to go in and skate a program, but I was able to skate a little on the way in.
The first thing I did was try a backspin, and I held it for five revolutions. I was excited when I got to two, and although the spin slowed down, I hung onto it, and I was so happy that I screamed at the end of it. In real life, I've never gotten past just under two revolutions, and the dream was really great because I could finally feel what the spin is supposed to feel like. I dreamed about my one-foot spin before I was able to do it, so I hope this is a good sign.
We worked on my backspin in my lesson this week, and my coach had me keep my free foot behind my skating foot on the entrance, which helped a lot. I did one that felt really good on Thursday night, and I hope it continues to improve.
The first thing I did was try a backspin, and I held it for five revolutions. I was excited when I got to two, and although the spin slowed down, I hung onto it, and I was so happy that I screamed at the end of it. In real life, I've never gotten past just under two revolutions, and the dream was really great because I could finally feel what the spin is supposed to feel like. I dreamed about my one-foot spin before I was able to do it, so I hope this is a good sign.
We worked on my backspin in my lesson this week, and my coach had me keep my free foot behind my skating foot on the entrance, which helped a lot. I did one that felt really good on Thursday night, and I hope it continues to improve.
Songs on the Abba tape
Abba Arrival, Abba the Album, 2/1/81
Side A
1. When I Kissed the Teacher
2. Dancing Queen
3. My Love, My Life
4. Dum Dum Diddle
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You
6. Money, Money, Money
7. That's Me
8. Why Did It Have to Be Me?
9. Tiger
10. Arrival
11. Eagle
12. Take a Chance on Me
13. People Need Love
The Album cont'd, Abba Greatest Hits
Side B
1. The Name of the Game
2. Move On
3. Hole In Your Soul
4. Thank You for the Music
5. I Wonder
6. I'm a Marionette
7. SOS
8. Honey, Honey
9. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
10. Waterloo
11. Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)
12. Fernando
13. Bang-a-Boomerang
Side A
1. When I Kissed the Teacher
2. Dancing Queen
3. My Love, My Life
4. Dum Dum Diddle
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You
6. Money, Money, Money
7. That's Me
8. Why Did It Have to Be Me?
9. Tiger
10. Arrival
11. Eagle
12. Take a Chance on Me
13. People Need Love
The Album cont'd, Abba Greatest Hits
Side B
1. The Name of the Game
2. Move On
3. Hole In Your Soul
4. Thank You for the Music
5. I Wonder
6. I'm a Marionette
7. SOS
8. Honey, Honey
9. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
10. Waterloo
11. Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)
12. Fernando
13. Bang-a-Boomerang
Friday, March 23, 2007
Sold!
Steph just called to tell me that she left the closing a few minutes ago and she no longer owns her old house. Yay! We have one fewer mortgage!
Seriously, the sale of Steph's house will free up many hundreds of dollars per month, money that we will use to replenish the emergency fund, work on our new house, and save for the future. Oh, and we might go out for a celebratory dinner at some point as well.
Seriously, the sale of Steph's house will free up many hundreds of dollars per month, money that we will use to replenish the emergency fund, work on our new house, and save for the future. Oh, and we might go out for a celebratory dinner at some point as well.
The Abba tape
A few weeks ago, we were going through some stuff, and I found something I'd misplaced several years ago: the Abba tape. My dad made the tape from some of his Abba records back in the early days of cassettes (it's dated 2/1/81), and we listened to it often. I used to put it on the stereo and roller skate to it in the hallway -- I had those skates that went over your shoes. The tape also accompanied us on almost every vacation, and we'd listen to it in the car. This, to me, was the definitive Abba, so some of the songs on Abba Gold and More Abba Gold (their greatest hits discs from the 90s) were new to me. Now I have quite a bit of Abba music on CD and MP3, but I know I'm missing a few songs that were on this tape, including one about an ocean that I haven't heard in years and never knew the actual title of. It sounds better than I expected it to after 26 years -- not great, of course, but not bad for a very old and heavily used tape.
I've been planning to recreate it as a playlist in iTunes, and this morning I rewound it, stuck it in the tape player, and started to write down the song titles as they played. (I also located a blank tape to make a copy of it at the same time.) I'll post it when the tape finishes.
In the same drawer as the Abba tape was the sock hop tape, which is a topic for another post. I promise to post that playlist too so you can make fun of the questionable musical taste I had in high school.
I've been planning to recreate it as a playlist in iTunes, and this morning I rewound it, stuck it in the tape player, and started to write down the song titles as they played. (I also located a blank tape to make a copy of it at the same time.) I'll post it when the tape finishes.
In the same drawer as the Abba tape was the sock hop tape, which is a topic for another post. I promise to post that playlist too so you can make fun of the questionable musical taste I had in high school.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
NYR update 4
1. Floss: Still flossing consistently. My dentist was happy with my teeth two weeks ago.
2. Lunch: I have gone out for lunch less than one time per week so far this year. However, I did go out three times last week for stress relief and co-worker bonding.
3. On time: Not doing so well.
4. Flip: Started working on flip with new coach this morning. I'm happy with the exercise she showed me and with my progress today.
5. Save: I can't complain -- we've not been buying much.
6. Recipes: Last night I made rosemary-peach chicken, which turned out well. It was supposed to be rosemary-orange marmalade chicken, but we didn't have any orange marmalade.
7. Trans fat: I'm still making a good effort. Except for the french fries on Sunday.
8. Perfume: Almost done with the bottle I'd been concentrating on. Second bottle (small) is just over half full, and third bottle (large) is about three-quarters full. I may not finish all three this year, but I'm reasonably certain that I'll come close.
9. Compact: Doing okay but not perfect. I did buy my loop a shirt on Saturday, after all.
2. Lunch: I have gone out for lunch less than one time per week so far this year. However, I did go out three times last week for stress relief and co-worker bonding.
3. On time: Not doing so well.
4. Flip: Started working on flip with new coach this morning. I'm happy with the exercise she showed me and with my progress today.
5. Save: I can't complain -- we've not been buying much.
6. Recipes: Last night I made rosemary-peach chicken, which turned out well. It was supposed to be rosemary-orange marmalade chicken, but we didn't have any orange marmalade.
7. Trans fat: I'm still making a good effort. Except for the french fries on Sunday.
8. Perfume: Almost done with the bottle I'd been concentrating on. Second bottle (small) is just over half full, and third bottle (large) is about three-quarters full. I may not finish all three this year, but I'm reasonably certain that I'll come close.
9. Compact: Doing okay but not perfect. I did buy my loop a shirt on Saturday, after all.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Apparently it can be bribed.
So yesterday on the way to the competition, I told my loop that if it showed up, I'd buy it a shirt.
I forgot that it likes clothes.
My freestyle program went well, although I didn't land the loop. The ice was hard, but I coped with it pretty well. After my second spin, I looked up and saw my friends Patti and Kurt from synchro standing by the boards watching me -- I didn't expect them to be there, but they had a lesson nearby in the morning and decided to stop in and see some of the competition. I skated clean except for the loop. I placed second out of three, which I'm happy with.
My showcase program went well, too. I attempted the loop in the warmup, but it wasn't happening, so I moved on. I had to get off a minute early because I was the first skater in my group, but I was ready. My old synchro coach, Susan, was standing by the boards cheering for me and holding the Wicked monkey I'd brought as my mascot. (I considered skating with the monkey, but I thought it might throw me off because I hadn't done that before, so I let her hold it.) I skated the program much better than I did in Wyandotte. It was faster, and I felt more comfortable with the changes we'd made. I landed my loop and was so surprised that I wasn't sure how to get into my next element -- I'm used to landing (incorrectly) on my left foot. I placed second after Rhonda's very cool program as Daphne from Scooby Doo.
I had to buy the competition shirt for my loop -- I was afraid that if I didn't, it would never show up at a competition again!
I forgot that it likes clothes.
My freestyle program went well, although I didn't land the loop. The ice was hard, but I coped with it pretty well. After my second spin, I looked up and saw my friends Patti and Kurt from synchro standing by the boards watching me -- I didn't expect them to be there, but they had a lesson nearby in the morning and decided to stop in and see some of the competition. I skated clean except for the loop. I placed second out of three, which I'm happy with.
My showcase program went well, too. I attempted the loop in the warmup, but it wasn't happening, so I moved on. I had to get off a minute early because I was the first skater in my group, but I was ready. My old synchro coach, Susan, was standing by the boards cheering for me and holding the Wicked monkey I'd brought as my mascot. (I considered skating with the monkey, but I thought it might throw me off because I hadn't done that before, so I let her hold it.) I skated the program much better than I did in Wyandotte. It was faster, and I felt more comfortable with the changes we'd made. I landed my loop and was so surprised that I wasn't sure how to get into my next element -- I'm used to landing (incorrectly) on my left foot. I placed second after Rhonda's very cool program as Daphne from Scooby Doo.
I had to buy the competition shirt for my loop -- I was afraid that if I didn't, it would never show up at a competition again!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Three loops
Tonight at practice I managed to land three loops. They weren't pretty, but they were on my right foot. It's been several weeks since I landed one -- lately they've been few and far between.
I'm competing at Skate Cincinnati on Saturday, and I had two good program run-throughs tonight. My loop even showed up in one of them. I probably shouldn't even suggest this, but if my loop wanted to accompany me to Cincinnati and show itself off in front of a bunch of people, I wouldn't argue.
I'm competing at Skate Cincinnati on Saturday, and I had two good program run-throughs tonight. My loop even showed up in one of them. I probably shouldn't even suggest this, but if my loop wanted to accompany me to Cincinnati and show itself off in front of a bunch of people, I wouldn't argue.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Fish craving
On the way home I had the most incredible craving for fish. Not healthy, good-for-you salmon or tilapia, not expensive shrimp or orange roughy, but that fish from elementary school that's breaded and shaped like a plank. (My craving may have been precipitated by a Filet-O-Fish commercial I heard on the radio.)
So I went to Kroger on the way home in search of this fish. I was happy to find that Gorton's makes it. It comes six to a package (a serving is two pieces) and you bake it in the oven. Even better, it contains no trans fat.
I purchased a box of fish (and various other things -- honey, I got you a twelve-pack of diet Dr. Kroger or whatever they call their Dr. Pepper knockoff; I also scored two jars of pizza sauce for 35 cents each). I came home and preheated the oven while I let the dog out, and now, if you'll excuse me, I have some fish to eat.
ETA: Yes, yes, I know, no one cares what I had for dinner.
So I went to Kroger on the way home in search of this fish. I was happy to find that Gorton's makes it. It comes six to a package (a serving is two pieces) and you bake it in the oven. Even better, it contains no trans fat.
I purchased a box of fish (and various other things -- honey, I got you a twelve-pack of diet Dr. Kroger or whatever they call their Dr. Pepper knockoff; I also scored two jars of pizza sauce for 35 cents each). I came home and preheated the oven while I let the dog out, and now, if you'll excuse me, I have some fish to eat.
ETA: Yes, yes, I know, no one cares what I had for dinner.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Weekend update
Steph's in Austin, TX, for SXSW this weekend, having a fabulous time. I'm keeping busy.
Friday evening I hung out with some co-workers at Alan's house and then came home and watched a little TV.
Yesterday I met with the roofer, who's finally finished with the gutters; took Lucy to the vet (just a checkup, though today she wouldn't eat -- she might be feeling bad from the shot they gave her. She just peeked downstairs, so I hope that's a sign she's feeling better); checked on my house; took Spike for a walk around the neighborhood, during which I picked up a bag's worth of garbage and one of recycling and Spike peed on everything and made friends with a few neighbors; took Steph's truck to get an oil change and filled it up with gas; went to Best Buy; and attended Douglas's birthday party.
Today I remembered about daylight savings time when I woke up, so I changed most of the clocks. Then I called my mom, gave the dog and cats special food, skated, and got out on the roof to finish priming the balcony railing.
While I was on the roof, my dad called to say that he won a European vacation and he doesn't want it, so he's giving it to me. (Yeah, I know, he must be crazy.) I almost fell off the roof. Fortunately I didn't, because broken limbs would make it uncomfortable to walk around Europe.
Friday evening I hung out with some co-workers at Alan's house and then came home and watched a little TV.
Yesterday I met with the roofer, who's finally finished with the gutters; took Lucy to the vet (just a checkup, though today she wouldn't eat -- she might be feeling bad from the shot they gave her. She just peeked downstairs, so I hope that's a sign she's feeling better); checked on my house; took Spike for a walk around the neighborhood, during which I picked up a bag's worth of garbage and one of recycling and Spike peed on everything and made friends with a few neighbors; took Steph's truck to get an oil change and filled it up with gas; went to Best Buy; and attended Douglas's birthday party.
Today I remembered about daylight savings time when I woke up, so I changed most of the clocks. Then I called my mom, gave the dog and cats special food, skated, and got out on the roof to finish priming the balcony railing.
While I was on the roof, my dad called to say that he won a European vacation and he doesn't want it, so he's giving it to me. (Yeah, I know, he must be crazy.) I almost fell off the roof. Fortunately I didn't, because broken limbs would make it uncomfortable to walk around Europe.
Interesting site on traffic jams
A physicist has figured out all sorts of stuff about traffic jams, complete with animations to illustrate his points. Years ago I looked at a book that explained why traffic jams occur, and I've been using parts of this guy's technique ever since.
Friday, March 02, 2007
The difficulties of making coffee
We have three coffeepots at work, one each for stronger coffee, weaker coffee, and decaf. They don't have a window to show the level of coffee remaining, but you can tell how much is left by the resistance of the lever you press to dispense the coffee. When there is no coffee left, pressing the lever causes the pot to dispense an unfocused squirt of coffee that sprays all over the place.
Several of my co-workers do not make coffee when they take the last of a pot. The rest of us can tell when the person before us knows they have depleted the pot; it's apparent. A few individuals (all, coincidentally, of the male persuasion) have remarked to me upon walking away from a coffeepot they emptied that they do not know how to make coffee and are afraid to screw it up. It's as if their time is worth more than mine -- or that of any of the other people who make coffee when they run the pot out.
There are directions posted on the wall next to the coffee bar. It's not hard. If you are capable of holding down a professional job -- which you obviously do -- then certainly you can make coffee. I'm sure your penis is not large enough to get in the way.
Several of my co-workers do not make coffee when they take the last of a pot. The rest of us can tell when the person before us knows they have depleted the pot; it's apparent. A few individuals (all, coincidentally, of the male persuasion) have remarked to me upon walking away from a coffeepot they emptied that they do not know how to make coffee and are afraid to screw it up. It's as if their time is worth more than mine -- or that of any of the other people who make coffee when they run the pot out.
There are directions posted on the wall next to the coffee bar. It's not hard. If you are capable of holding down a professional job -- which you obviously do -- then certainly you can make coffee. I'm sure your penis is not large enough to get in the way.
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