Last Sunday was the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, on the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With a 30 percent chance of isolated thundershowers, we were hoping for the best as we loaded up in the Subaru sunday morning. Traffic was abnormally backed up compared to other races I've attended. It took over an hour to get from the interstate offramp to a $5 parking spot about 5 blocks from the track.
We made our way through the herd of people and got through the main gates and into our seats. We made it just barely in time for the starting ceremonies. The race was shortly underway, and we watched as we listened to the radio broadcast on 97.1 Hank FM. The racing action wasn't as exhilirating as previous years, although there were a few good wrecks. Unfortunately there was no 3-wide racing incidents as the pack pretty much stayed single file. Another major bummer was the addition of new mufflers for the 2009 season. The cars were not nearly as loud as they used to be. I really miss the roaring of the engines that you could feel throughout your body. I had come prepared with earmuff style hearing protection, as I've learned from the past there was no way one could hear their headphones with the loud cars, even with the volume turned up all the way. Well that was not the case this year. The earmuffs were not even used, and I could hear my radio just fine at a normal volume level. That is plain boring! The cars are just too quiet in my opinion.
We had a good time watching the race, and the weather kept nice for a full 200 laps. Can't wait to go again next year, but I'm a little disheartened that its just not quite as exhilirating as it used to be. Congrats to Helio Castroneves for his 3rd Indy 500 win.
Be sure to check out the slideshow to the right, and this cool video below.
Until next time...
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Friday, May 29, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
(18) Wedding Day, Birthday, Lanscaping, and the Historic Artcraft Theatre
Whoa Nellie! Have I got some updating to do here! I've been busy as all get out, and have had some great experiences to share with you folks. Here we go:
April 25th 2009 was a huge day for the family, as little sister Amanda recited her vows and sealed the deal to a Mr. Eric Smith. Eric is an Ensign in the US Navy, and met Mandy at the ROTC program at Purdue University. I got the day off from drill to be in Mandy's wedding. It was a close call as to whether I was even going to be able to attend, as we are still undergoing our 'Yellow Ribbon Reintegration' training from our Iraq deployment, which is a series of mandatory briefings and activities. Fortunately, I was able to spend Saturday with the family at the wedding, and perform my brotherly duties as usher. The wedding was lovely, held at St. James Lutheran Church in Greenfield, Indiana. The reception was held at the Greenfield National Guard Armory. The bride and groom were chauffeured from the church to the reception in a highly polished 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium courtesy of yours truly. We had a good meal catered by Kopper Kettle of Morristown, IN. Lots of pictures were taken, great music and dancing, and a good showing of family for the festivities. Eric and Mandy got spoiled a bit from big bubby, as I funded a honeymoon trip to Chicago for the newlyweds. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to get home and sleep for a very busy Sunday drilling in Fort Wayne. Wake up was at 0200, with departure for Fort Wayne at 0300 and first formation at 0550. Check out the wedding picture slideshow to the right.
April 29th was Amber's 26th birthday, and we went out for a birthday dinner on May 1st at the Oaken Barrel Brewery in Greenwood, IN. They have great food, great home-brewed beverages, and great atmosphere. A couple of my Army buddies that I hadn't seen in a long time showed up to visit as well as Amber's best friend Jeana and her husband Andrew. Amber made out like a bandit with a whole slew of new shirts and sandals from Jeana and Andrew. I got her a tailored birthday book and an oak collectible spoon display case. We had a great meal followed by some birthday cake. I've got a few pictures in a slideshow to the right.
Now to fast forward to today, May 9th 2009! It was a pretty normal Saturday with nothing planned. Its pretty disappointing how my 'normal' weekend has nothing planned, but it has been a continuing trend for all my desired activities to fall on one weekend of the month, all to be stomped out by having guard drill that same weekend. I swear one of these months I will get to attend a race that I paid a whole season membership for! Anyhow, I digress. This particular Saturday kicked off about 8:30am when I rolled out of bed and did my normal routine of walking outside to get a feel for the weather and starting to ponder what I would like to do for the day. As I walked through the garage I caught sight of a Cherokee Princess Dogwood tree and a couple Goldfinger Cinquefoil shrubs that I had picked up at Lowes to replace some dead plants in the yard. The weather was a little windy and chilly, but it wasn't raining. The grass was just getting tall enough to warrant another pass with the Troy-Bilt pushmower. I threw on a sweatshirt, plugged in my Zune MP3 player, and fired up the mower. I mowed the entire yard nice and professional like with the offset lines, all-the-while educating myself with PC Magazine tech podcasts. It was actually quite relaxing. Once the mowing was finished and the grass was all bagged up, I headed back to the garage to trade the gas mower for my 18-volt cordless Black & Decker Bushmaster Weedeater. I trimmed around the house, flowerbeds, mailbox, and other random poles and such in the yard. While Amber was cleaning out the flowerbeds on the side of the house I sprayed the front and side yard with some Weed-B-Gone to kill off the remaining pesky dandelions.
While I was in Iraq one of my trees died. It was some sort of pine or fur tree with needles. Mom had someone tear it out. So I decided I'd replace it with something a little more visually appealing, and less messy. So I dug a hole and made it home to a 6 foot Cherokee Princess Dogwood tree that will someday be 15-20 feet tall and loaded with beautiful white flowers. I also tore out some dead shrubs in the front flowerbed and planted a couple Goldfinger Cinquefoil bushes that will bloom some nice yellow 'Support Our Troops' flowers as I like to call them. All the hard work payed off, as the yard is looking immaculate. I took a few before and after pictures for you to see located just to the right.
After a long hard day's work in the yard, Amber and I treated ourselves to a trip to the Historic Artcraft Theatre here in Franklin, IN. It has been a stronghold in old downtown Franklin since it was built in 1922. For decades folks have been going to the Artcraft Theatre to witness the fine entertainment that was once called the pictureshow. It is still operated today as a historic tribute to Hollywood's past feature films and filmreel culture. Tonight's feature was a 1962 box office hit called 'The Music Man'. We arrived just in time to get our tickets from the gentleman in the box office window. We were escorted to our seats first-class style by the ushers in the theatre. There were about 60-80 people in attendance ranging from young kids to senior citizens. The theater was quite large and had a nostalgic feel. I love this kinda stuff, plus they have a special rate of $4 for military personnel (regular price is only $5). Before the show they had a little skit put on by the Franklin Historical Society that was themed on the feature film for the night. They even had a raffle for prizes based on your movie ticket number! My favorite part was a quartet of older gentlemen wearing patriotic American flag shirts who sang an old-timey tune while harmonizing. They were damn good, and about had me choked up as they sang 'America The Beautiful'. Next everyone in the audience stood up and sang 'The Star Spangled Banner' along with music and words on the screen. Now that we've payed tribute to our great nation's history, it was time to dim the lights and enjoy some theatrical history. There was even an old 'Merry Melodies' cartoon short with Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny shown before the movie. The movie was pretty good as well, with an outstanding story and plenty of good humor despite being 47 years old. The show was over around 10:30pm, having been a 3 hour production. Now that's a value at $9 for a couple! If you ever get a lazy Saturday, check out the Historic Artcraft Theatre. It's a definate winner!
Click Here for the Artcraft Theatre Website
I've also included some pictures in a slideshow to the right of the screen.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so Happy Mother's day to all your mommas out there!
Until Next Time...
April 25th 2009 was a huge day for the family, as little sister Amanda recited her vows and sealed the deal to a Mr. Eric Smith. Eric is an Ensign in the US Navy, and met Mandy at the ROTC program at Purdue University. I got the day off from drill to be in Mandy's wedding. It was a close call as to whether I was even going to be able to attend, as we are still undergoing our 'Yellow Ribbon Reintegration' training from our Iraq deployment, which is a series of mandatory briefings and activities. Fortunately, I was able to spend Saturday with the family at the wedding, and perform my brotherly duties as usher. The wedding was lovely, held at St. James Lutheran Church in Greenfield, Indiana. The reception was held at the Greenfield National Guard Armory. The bride and groom were chauffeured from the church to the reception in a highly polished 2009 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium courtesy of yours truly. We had a good meal catered by Kopper Kettle of Morristown, IN. Lots of pictures were taken, great music and dancing, and a good showing of family for the festivities. Eric and Mandy got spoiled a bit from big bubby, as I funded a honeymoon trip to Chicago for the newlyweds. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to get home and sleep for a very busy Sunday drilling in Fort Wayne. Wake up was at 0200, with departure for Fort Wayne at 0300 and first formation at 0550. Check out the wedding picture slideshow to the right.
April 29th was Amber's 26th birthday, and we went out for a birthday dinner on May 1st at the Oaken Barrel Brewery in Greenwood, IN. They have great food, great home-brewed beverages, and great atmosphere. A couple of my Army buddies that I hadn't seen in a long time showed up to visit as well as Amber's best friend Jeana and her husband Andrew. Amber made out like a bandit with a whole slew of new shirts and sandals from Jeana and Andrew. I got her a tailored birthday book and an oak collectible spoon display case. We had a great meal followed by some birthday cake. I've got a few pictures in a slideshow to the right.
Now to fast forward to today, May 9th 2009! It was a pretty normal Saturday with nothing planned. Its pretty disappointing how my 'normal' weekend has nothing planned, but it has been a continuing trend for all my desired activities to fall on one weekend of the month, all to be stomped out by having guard drill that same weekend. I swear one of these months I will get to attend a race that I paid a whole season membership for! Anyhow, I digress. This particular Saturday kicked off about 8:30am when I rolled out of bed and did my normal routine of walking outside to get a feel for the weather and starting to ponder what I would like to do for the day. As I walked through the garage I caught sight of a Cherokee Princess Dogwood tree and a couple Goldfinger Cinquefoil shrubs that I had picked up at Lowes to replace some dead plants in the yard. The weather was a little windy and chilly, but it wasn't raining. The grass was just getting tall enough to warrant another pass with the Troy-Bilt pushmower. I threw on a sweatshirt, plugged in my Zune MP3 player, and fired up the mower. I mowed the entire yard nice and professional like with the offset lines, all-the-while educating myself with PC Magazine tech podcasts. It was actually quite relaxing. Once the mowing was finished and the grass was all bagged up, I headed back to the garage to trade the gas mower for my 18-volt cordless Black & Decker Bushmaster Weedeater. I trimmed around the house, flowerbeds, mailbox, and other random poles and such in the yard. While Amber was cleaning out the flowerbeds on the side of the house I sprayed the front and side yard with some Weed-B-Gone to kill off the remaining pesky dandelions.
While I was in Iraq one of my trees died. It was some sort of pine or fur tree with needles. Mom had someone tear it out. So I decided I'd replace it with something a little more visually appealing, and less messy. So I dug a hole and made it home to a 6 foot Cherokee Princess Dogwood tree that will someday be 15-20 feet tall and loaded with beautiful white flowers. I also tore out some dead shrubs in the front flowerbed and planted a couple Goldfinger Cinquefoil bushes that will bloom some nice yellow 'Support Our Troops' flowers as I like to call them. All the hard work payed off, as the yard is looking immaculate. I took a few before and after pictures for you to see located just to the right.
After a long hard day's work in the yard, Amber and I treated ourselves to a trip to the Historic Artcraft Theatre here in Franklin, IN. It has been a stronghold in old downtown Franklin since it was built in 1922. For decades folks have been going to the Artcraft Theatre to witness the fine entertainment that was once called the pictureshow. It is still operated today as a historic tribute to Hollywood's past feature films and filmreel culture. Tonight's feature was a 1962 box office hit called 'The Music Man'. We arrived just in time to get our tickets from the gentleman in the box office window. We were escorted to our seats first-class style by the ushers in the theatre. There were about 60-80 people in attendance ranging from young kids to senior citizens. The theater was quite large and had a nostalgic feel. I love this kinda stuff, plus they have a special rate of $4 for military personnel (regular price is only $5). Before the show they had a little skit put on by the Franklin Historical Society that was themed on the feature film for the night. They even had a raffle for prizes based on your movie ticket number! My favorite part was a quartet of older gentlemen wearing patriotic American flag shirts who sang an old-timey tune while harmonizing. They were damn good, and about had me choked up as they sang 'America The Beautiful'. Next everyone in the audience stood up and sang 'The Star Spangled Banner' along with music and words on the screen. Now that we've payed tribute to our great nation's history, it was time to dim the lights and enjoy some theatrical history. There was even an old 'Merry Melodies' cartoon short with Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny shown before the movie. The movie was pretty good as well, with an outstanding story and plenty of good humor despite being 47 years old. The show was over around 10:30pm, having been a 3 hour production. Now that's a value at $9 for a couple! If you ever get a lazy Saturday, check out the Historic Artcraft Theatre. It's a definate winner!
Click Here for the Artcraft Theatre Website
I've also included some pictures in a slideshow to the right of the screen.
Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so Happy Mother's day to all your mommas out there!
Until Next Time...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
(17) Happy belated Easter!
Hello everyone! Again I must admit that I have been keeping very busy, and have finally made myself stop and get the blog caught up. Here is the scoop on how my Easter festivities went!
Saturday evening Amber and I colored a dozen eggs with the snazzy camouflage egg coloring kit from Walmart. We had a fun time, and discovered Amber hadn't colored an egg since she was a kid! I can't recall the last time I colored eggs either. We had quite an assortment of eggs, many of which were dedicated to new 2009 acquisitions. We had an egg dedicated to our fish, one for the new Subaru, one for the new Nintendo Wii, and one to commemorate my overseas deployments of course. We did a few abstract art with the camo stickers, and a commemorative 2009 Lucas & Amber egg. I'll showcase a few of the eggs in the slideshow.
Sunday we woke up around 8:30 and exchanged Easter baskets. Amber got me a a big chocolate bunny (the exact same one I got for her oddly enough), some Reese's peanut butter eggs, and some toy cars in little plastic eggs. Amber's blue furry basket basket had recycled paper from my paper shredder for grass. I had picked up this budget tip on the news a few mornings back. I covered it pretty well with a big chocolate bunny, some blue peeps, and some Reese's mini eggs. We were both pleased to indulge the sweet tooth on a Sunday morning.
Next was the family events. Amber had to meet with her family in Shelbyville, while I was heading up to Lafayette for a family Easter Lahrman style. The weather was fairly nice so I decided to ride my motorcycle. After doing some recon of the Post residence, I had determined that I was too early as there were no cars in sight. I then continued on and made my first stop at the Plaspohl residence, where Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sharla, and the triplet cousins were about to load the car up with food and head for the party. Cousin Elizabeth wanted to ride on a motorcycle for the first time, so I had her put on my helmet and jump on back for the 2 mile cruise back to the Post residence.
Once we arrived, there were a good amount of cars there. The best part was the kitchen, teeming with homemade gourmet cuisine. It smelled great, and I was ready to test the tensile strength of my stomach linings. We chatted for a bit in the living room while the little ones (scary how few can be classified as little anymore) made their plates. After making my rounds to visit with everyone and take some pictures, I moved to strike on my prey. The first victim was a large dish of meatballs made by Aunt Sharla, followed by Aunt Shirley's competition chicken noodle soup, Uncle John's deviled eggs, and some taco salad that just looked fantastic. A big cup of sweet tea and I was ready to find a comfortable place to gorge myself. Well, the mission was accomplished. I ate the best meal I've had in months, without any concern for my health or cholesterol. Isn't that what family gatherings are about anyhow? (If not, don't bother to ruin it for me!) We talked for a couple more hours until our bellies stopped hurting, and we all headed back for home. It was a bit chilly on the way home, but not too bad. Overall it was a great time, and it was a blessing to get to see family that I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Such busy lives we all have nowadays.
Until next time...
Saturday evening Amber and I colored a dozen eggs with the snazzy camouflage egg coloring kit from Walmart. We had a fun time, and discovered Amber hadn't colored an egg since she was a kid! I can't recall the last time I colored eggs either. We had quite an assortment of eggs, many of which were dedicated to new 2009 acquisitions. We had an egg dedicated to our fish, one for the new Subaru, one for the new Nintendo Wii, and one to commemorate my overseas deployments of course. We did a few abstract art with the camo stickers, and a commemorative 2009 Lucas & Amber egg. I'll showcase a few of the eggs in the slideshow.
Sunday we woke up around 8:30 and exchanged Easter baskets. Amber got me a a big chocolate bunny (the exact same one I got for her oddly enough), some Reese's peanut butter eggs, and some toy cars in little plastic eggs. Amber's blue furry basket basket had recycled paper from my paper shredder for grass. I had picked up this budget tip on the news a few mornings back. I covered it pretty well with a big chocolate bunny, some blue peeps, and some Reese's mini eggs. We were both pleased to indulge the sweet tooth on a Sunday morning.
Next was the family events. Amber had to meet with her family in Shelbyville, while I was heading up to Lafayette for a family Easter Lahrman style. The weather was fairly nice so I decided to ride my motorcycle. After doing some recon of the Post residence, I had determined that I was too early as there were no cars in sight. I then continued on and made my first stop at the Plaspohl residence, where Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sharla, and the triplet cousins were about to load the car up with food and head for the party. Cousin Elizabeth wanted to ride on a motorcycle for the first time, so I had her put on my helmet and jump on back for the 2 mile cruise back to the Post residence.
Once we arrived, there were a good amount of cars there. The best part was the kitchen, teeming with homemade gourmet cuisine. It smelled great, and I was ready to test the tensile strength of my stomach linings. We chatted for a bit in the living room while the little ones (scary how few can be classified as little anymore) made their plates. After making my rounds to visit with everyone and take some pictures, I moved to strike on my prey. The first victim was a large dish of meatballs made by Aunt Sharla, followed by Aunt Shirley's competition chicken noodle soup, Uncle John's deviled eggs, and some taco salad that just looked fantastic. A big cup of sweet tea and I was ready to find a comfortable place to gorge myself. Well, the mission was accomplished. I ate the best meal I've had in months, without any concern for my health or cholesterol. Isn't that what family gatherings are about anyhow? (If not, don't bother to ruin it for me!) We talked for a couple more hours until our bellies stopped hurting, and we all headed back for home. It was a bit chilly on the way home, but not too bad. Overall it was a great time, and it was a blessing to get to see family that I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Such busy lives we all have nowadays.
Until next time...
Friday, April 10, 2009
(16) A fond farewell to the M1A1 Abrams
Hello all! I bet you were starting to wonder if I had abandoned my blog. Not so, but I have been keeping busy enough that I've not had much time to blog. I'll make an honest effort to make time to blog, as I've gotten the hint from Google Analytics that my blog visitor activity has been suffering.
Today I want to let you in on what's been happening at my job. As you may or may not know, I am an Electronics Mechanic at the Unit Training Equipment Site (UTES) maintenance shop at Camp Atterbury. We house and maintain hundreds of military vehicles ranging from John Deere backhoes to the almighty M1 Abrams tank. Most of the equipment belongs to the Indiana Army National Guard, and a good bit from Ohio National Guard and other areas.
Ohio Army National Guard is sending their 27 M1A1 Abrams tanks down to Alabama for complete overhaul and reconditioning. Our job this week has been to move them from our compound to rail cars at the nearby railyard. There is a good bit of risk and danger involved in a move this big, requiring a great amount of coordination and caution. These tanks have not been serviced in 2 years due to the funding being cut off in anticipation of the rebuild, and the lack of use by Ohio as they underwent a reorganization of combat structure.
Monday and tuesday were spent inspecting and performing minor repairs to the tanks in preparation for the move. We had to produce as many driveable tanks as possible, and identify any tanks that would have to be towed. After figuring these numbers, we assigned a number of drivers for the mission, ground guides, towbar crew, hazmat response team, communications coordination team, and worked with the post military police for escort and security throughout the movement.
Wednesday was the execution of the mission for the first 17 tanks. It was a bit chilly in the morning with a temp of 37, requiring us to jumpstart several of the tanks. We staged the vehicles, met up with our escorts and moved them out. The movement went smoothly, but we ran into an issue at the gate to the railyard. The gate was supposed to have been open for us, but it was still chained and locked. We contacted the Department of Natural Resources to have it unlocked, but they apparently did not have the correct key. After about 30 minutes of waiting, we were concerned that the M1 tanks on the side of the road idling may run out of fuel. We had someone from our shop bring us the master key, also known as bolt cutters. Once we had cut the locks off, we were in business. We then began to load the tanks onto the rail cars. This was a very difficult task, as the tank tracks overlapped the width of the car by about 6 inches on each side, so we had to slowly and precisely move them onto the cars. The ground guides took great care inching the tanks along the cars, one at a time. We got them all loaded, and the tow bar crew recovered the tow bars and hardware from the tanks that were towed.
Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday for the final 10 tanks. Things went a bit smoother, as there was no hold up at the gate. No catastrophic breakdowns, but we did have one tank that was losing track link components early in the trip. We were a bit concerned that it might throw the track off completely, but luckily it did not.
We got the final 10 tanks loaded on the rail cars, and our mission was successfully complete. Best wishes to these Desert Storm Veteran tanks as they are rejuvinated and sent on for another many years serving our country. The M1 Abrams is such a fascinating fighting vehicle, and a real force to be reckoned with.
Until next time...
Today I want to let you in on what's been happening at my job. As you may or may not know, I am an Electronics Mechanic at the Unit Training Equipment Site (UTES) maintenance shop at Camp Atterbury. We house and maintain hundreds of military vehicles ranging from John Deere backhoes to the almighty M1 Abrams tank. Most of the equipment belongs to the Indiana Army National Guard, and a good bit from Ohio National Guard and other areas.
Ohio Army National Guard is sending their 27 M1A1 Abrams tanks down to Alabama for complete overhaul and reconditioning. Our job this week has been to move them from our compound to rail cars at the nearby railyard. There is a good bit of risk and danger involved in a move this big, requiring a great amount of coordination and caution. These tanks have not been serviced in 2 years due to the funding being cut off in anticipation of the rebuild, and the lack of use by Ohio as they underwent a reorganization of combat structure.
Monday and tuesday were spent inspecting and performing minor repairs to the tanks in preparation for the move. We had to produce as many driveable tanks as possible, and identify any tanks that would have to be towed. After figuring these numbers, we assigned a number of drivers for the mission, ground guides, towbar crew, hazmat response team, communications coordination team, and worked with the post military police for escort and security throughout the movement.
Wednesday was the execution of the mission for the first 17 tanks. It was a bit chilly in the morning with a temp of 37, requiring us to jumpstart several of the tanks. We staged the vehicles, met up with our escorts and moved them out. The movement went smoothly, but we ran into an issue at the gate to the railyard. The gate was supposed to have been open for us, but it was still chained and locked. We contacted the Department of Natural Resources to have it unlocked, but they apparently did not have the correct key. After about 30 minutes of waiting, we were concerned that the M1 tanks on the side of the road idling may run out of fuel. We had someone from our shop bring us the master key, also known as bolt cutters. Once we had cut the locks off, we were in business. We then began to load the tanks onto the rail cars. This was a very difficult task, as the tank tracks overlapped the width of the car by about 6 inches on each side, so we had to slowly and precisely move them onto the cars. The ground guides took great care inching the tanks along the cars, one at a time. We got them all loaded, and the tow bar crew recovered the tow bars and hardware from the tanks that were towed.
Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday for the final 10 tanks. Things went a bit smoother, as there was no hold up at the gate. No catastrophic breakdowns, but we did have one tank that was losing track link components early in the trip. We were a bit concerned that it might throw the track off completely, but luckily it did not.
We got the final 10 tanks loaded on the rail cars, and our mission was successfully complete. Best wishes to these Desert Storm Veteran tanks as they are rejuvinated and sent on for another many years serving our country. The M1 Abrams is such a fascinating fighting vehicle, and a real force to be reckoned with.
Until next time...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
(15) Spring Cleaning, and a sickly Mickey
Another free Sunday with no plans. The weather started out a little chilly, but eventually warmed up into the low 60's around noon. Amber spent the morning in Shelbyville visiting some out-of-state relatives that were in town. I played with the thought of heading across the street for a game of golf or time at the driving range, but I couldn't get a hold of anyone to play with. Probably the biggest reason in dispatching the golf idea was the fact that my garage was looking pretty pitiful. It was bothering me quite a bit so I threw open the garage doors, turned up the radio, and started my spring cleaning ritual. Was certainly a good time to do it since the Neon is at the shop, leaving extra room to sort things out. I changed the layout of my workbench and some shelving to make things a little easier to access when I'm working out in the garage, and to save space. I spent the about the whole day moving, vacuuming, cleaning, and fixing little things around the garage. It's definately looking a lot better, plus I pinned up an American flag on the wall above where the Neon parks.
After finishing up the garage I remembered that the new H3 halogen headlamp for the Firebolt came in the mail on Friday, so I decided I'd fix the burnt out bulb. It was a simple procedure, but one that had to be figured out manually as there is no mention of headlight replacement in the owners manual. What would probably have been a $150 donation to the local Harley dealer turned out to be a 20 minute $40 fix in my garage. It doesn't get much better than that!
Amber and I noticed that one of our Mickey Mouse Platies in the aquarium was acting a bit strange, hiding in the corners of the tank and being pretty inactive. Ironically, it was the same fish that had established dominance of the group when I first brought them home. I named him Mickey since he's the leader of the pack, just like Mickey Mouse is the top icon for Disney. It looks like the other 4 fish must have gotten tired of his crap and finally laid a beating on him. It must have been one good fight, because Mickey seems terrified and would always hide in the corner of the tank behind the filter tubes. I netted him out of the community tank and put him in the quarantine tank to give him a chance to heal without further injury. His tail fin has been nipped off at the top, and his eyes are a bit glazed over. Let's hope for the best for Mickey, and that they can all get along one he's put back in the community tank. Otherwise I'll have to get some bigger fish in there to calm those Platies down. They are getting a little too spoiled being in that huge tank by themselves!
Until next time...
After finishing up the garage I remembered that the new H3 halogen headlamp for the Firebolt came in the mail on Friday, so I decided I'd fix the burnt out bulb. It was a simple procedure, but one that had to be figured out manually as there is no mention of headlight replacement in the owners manual. What would probably have been a $150 donation to the local Harley dealer turned out to be a 20 minute $40 fix in my garage. It doesn't get much better than that!
Amber and I noticed that one of our Mickey Mouse Platies in the aquarium was acting a bit strange, hiding in the corners of the tank and being pretty inactive. Ironically, it was the same fish that had established dominance of the group when I first brought them home. I named him Mickey since he's the leader of the pack, just like Mickey Mouse is the top icon for Disney. It looks like the other 4 fish must have gotten tired of his crap and finally laid a beating on him. It must have been one good fight, because Mickey seems terrified and would always hide in the corner of the tank behind the filter tubes. I netted him out of the community tank and put him in the quarantine tank to give him a chance to heal without further injury. His tail fin has been nipped off at the top, and his eyes are a bit glazed over. Let's hope for the best for Mickey, and that they can all get along one he's put back in the community tank. Otherwise I'll have to get some bigger fish in there to calm those Platies down. They are getting a little too spoiled being in that huge tank by themselves!
Until next time...
Saturday, March 21, 2009
(14) SCCA Inspection, Indianapolis Youth Hockey City Championship, and a retirement party...
Today was one heck of a busy day! The Indianapolis region of the 'Sports Car Club of America' (SCCA) is holding their annual Technical Inspection for members before the racing season begins. I had been spending quite some time in the garage preparing for this. I did some upgrading to the suspension, fixed my muffler issue from the last race, and fabricated a better method of securing my battery and battery box to the car. I had a lot of headaches with wheel clearance on the back of the car that had me working all the way into last night to get the car capable of driving to Indy. The hard work paid off, as I had the car ready by 8pm last night, and was able to take Amber to the VFW for a couple celebratory cold ones.
We got up around 6:30 this morning and got cleaned up and ready for the day's events. I did a final check on the Neon, and we set out for Performance Driven in Indianapolis for the tech inspection. We arrived a bit early around 8am, but I guess the activities were not going to be kicking off until 9am. Amber and I just milled about their showroom and looked at their inventory and munched on some donuts. The two fellas who run the shop, Brian and Dave, are both avid racers and very involved in the racing community. They are also both very knowledgeable about Dodge Neons, as they both race the Neons in SCCA and NASA autocross and road racing events. Brian was previously an engineer for Arvin Suspension, and was on the design team for the Neon's suspension and exhaust.
The tech inspection went wonderfully, as my car was found to be within the regulations for my class. They put the sticker in my windshield, and I parked the car on the lift. I'm leaving the car at Performance Driven so that they can align the suspension and perform corner weighting adjustments to balance the car's handling. It should be ready to bring home around Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to driving it with a good alignment, as the trip up today was a bit uneasy with the alignment out of whack.
Around 10:00 we headed to the Pepsi Coliseum for CW's hockey game. It was quite a hassle finding a parking spot since the 'Garden & Patio Show' and 'Gun and Knife Show' were at full swing. After winning a game on wednesday night in Carmel, CW's team went on to the final city championship game today. His team is the Perry Stars, and the opponent is the other Perry team. It was quite a thrilling game, as the Stars got a lead of 2-0 in the first period, but was tied up 2-2 at the end of the first period. The second period was quite shaky as the opponents scored 2 more goals, leaving the Stars behind 4-2. The Stars picked up the pace and were able to score 4 more goals, ending the game victorious with a score of 6-4. There was a scare in the 2nd period as one of the opposing players fell on the ice and slid head first into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Medical personnel on-site evaluated him on the ice, and he eventually was able to get up and skate off the ice. He should be OK for the most part, perhaps a minor concussion, as he did have on a helmet. I've had some experience in the head trauma field, as I sustained a very similar injury (only without a helmet).
After the game ended we waited for CW to come out of the locker room for pictures and a congratulations. We trekked back to the car and headed to Morristown, IN for the retirement party of Amber's Grandfather. It was held at the American Legion and had quite a good turnout. I had a big plate of veggies & dip, cheeseball & crackers, and a couple scoops of yummy crockpot meatballs. We stayed until 4pm and decided we should head home before our fully bellies got the best of our energy resources.
What will happen tomorrow? Who knows! It's going to be another surprise day!
Until next time...
We got up around 6:30 this morning and got cleaned up and ready for the day's events. I did a final check on the Neon, and we set out for Performance Driven in Indianapolis for the tech inspection. We arrived a bit early around 8am, but I guess the activities were not going to be kicking off until 9am. Amber and I just milled about their showroom and looked at their inventory and munched on some donuts. The two fellas who run the shop, Brian and Dave, are both avid racers and very involved in the racing community. They are also both very knowledgeable about Dodge Neons, as they both race the Neons in SCCA and NASA autocross and road racing events. Brian was previously an engineer for Arvin Suspension, and was on the design team for the Neon's suspension and exhaust.
The tech inspection went wonderfully, as my car was found to be within the regulations for my class. They put the sticker in my windshield, and I parked the car on the lift. I'm leaving the car at Performance Driven so that they can align the suspension and perform corner weighting adjustments to balance the car's handling. It should be ready to bring home around Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to driving it with a good alignment, as the trip up today was a bit uneasy with the alignment out of whack.
Around 10:00 we headed to the Pepsi Coliseum for CW's hockey game. It was quite a hassle finding a parking spot since the 'Garden & Patio Show' and 'Gun and Knife Show' were at full swing. After winning a game on wednesday night in Carmel, CW's team went on to the final city championship game today. His team is the Perry Stars, and the opponent is the other Perry team. It was quite a thrilling game, as the Stars got a lead of 2-0 in the first period, but was tied up 2-2 at the end of the first period. The second period was quite shaky as the opponents scored 2 more goals, leaving the Stars behind 4-2. The Stars picked up the pace and were able to score 4 more goals, ending the game victorious with a score of 6-4. There was a scare in the 2nd period as one of the opposing players fell on the ice and slid head first into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Medical personnel on-site evaluated him on the ice, and he eventually was able to get up and skate off the ice. He should be OK for the most part, perhaps a minor concussion, as he did have on a helmet. I've had some experience in the head trauma field, as I sustained a very similar injury (only without a helmet).
After the game ended we waited for CW to come out of the locker room for pictures and a congratulations. We trekked back to the car and headed to Morristown, IN for the retirement party of Amber's Grandfather. It was held at the American Legion and had quite a good turnout. I had a big plate of veggies & dip, cheeseball & crackers, and a couple scoops of yummy crockpot meatballs. We stayed until 4pm and decided we should head home before our fully bellies got the best of our energy resources.
What will happen tomorrow? Who knows! It's going to be another surprise day!
Until next time...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
(13) Birthday Cookout, Motorcycles, and an update on the aquarium...
This weekend started with no plans at all, which can often lead to some of the most entertaining and exciting weekends. Not to say that this weekend was a thrill ride, but it was fun taking things as they came and riding the waves.
Saturday:
We started off with a trip to Indianapolis for the Harbor Freight sidewalk sale event. Harbor Freight is a dangerous place for a fix-it-yourself kinda guy. It is loaded to the gills with budget tools from a simple hammer to full machining tools. Anything and everything a guy could ever need can be found at Harbor Freight, and usually for a great price! Of course, some products are of inferior quality versus big name tool brands. I had purchased a wall-mountable 50ft retractable electrical extension cord that had stopped reeling itself back in. I decided today I would return it since they were having the annual sidewalk sale. The return was fairly quick and simple despite long lines at the registers due to the event. Amber and I made a trip around the store and checked everything out, but there just wasn't anything I really needed. This is mostly because I've got my garage well stocked in Harbor Freight products. There's not much more I could ever need, so we decided to head back down to Greenwood to scour the pet stores for deals on tropical fish for the aquarium.
We stopped by PetSmart first, and I noticed that they had the Cardinal Tetras that I like, but for $3.99 each! That's highway robbery! Our next stop was Uncle Bill's Pet Store. They had a nice selection of fish in well maintained tanks, but no deals on the fish we were looking for. We did notice some fish that had been 'tatooed' (dyed) with numbers on their sides for the NASCAR fans. I'm not much into NASCAR, but perhaps I should get a fish tatooed with my Autocross number '98'! We'll see I guess, as I should probably wait and figure out which of my fish is the fastest, and award him with my beloved racing number.
It was a little after 3pm, and we had an invitation to a birthday cookout for one of Amber's friends and coworker. The weather was nice, around 53 and sunny, so we headed home to get the Buell Firebolt and ride to the party in Shelbyville. Halfway to Shelbyville the clouds roll in and block the warm sunlight and bring in some cool breezes. It was a bit nippy as we made it into Shelbyville. We hung out at the party for about 45 minutes, and I decided to split and get the motorcycle home before it got unbearably cold. I rode home shivering, jumped in the Subaru, cranked on the heated seat, and headed back to the party. We sat around the campfire socializing and munching on BBQ beef brisket, crackers and cheeseball, and drinking beer. Mine of course was the root beer type since I was driving. We stayed until around 7:30 and headed home. I was digging the campfire so much that I decided to get a fire going in my fireplace and relax with an ice cold glass of Captain Morgan and Coca Cola, and read the new Maximum PC magazine that came in the mail. I got a call from my Dad, who asked me if I could take a look at his Saturn L200 that had developed a shimmy in the steering. He brought the Saturn over and took my Subaru home, so that I could get an early start on the car Sunday morning.
Sunday:
I woke up feeling pretty chipper around 8:15 this morning, so I got up and threw on some garage workin' clothes. I started a pot of coffee and set out to dissect this sickly Saturn L200 in my garage. I got the front end up on jackstands and proceeded to apply the old side-to-side and top-to-bottom shake tests on the tires in hopes of finding a bad tie rod component, or failing wheel bearing. To my surprise, the steering was tight as could be, and there was no signs of bearing failure. I pulled off the wheels to inspect the brakes for perhaps a warped rotor or damaged half-shaft. No problems whatsoever. I decide I had better take a closer look at those wheels and tires that I just pulled of, thinking perhaps a counterweight had fallen off and thrown a wheel out of balance. All the weights were in place, but I took notice that the tires were badly warped and swelling. It looks like I've found the culprit in the case of the steering wheel shimmy. Lucky enough for Dad, as a bad steering component or wheel bearing would have cost a bit of money, and required a new alignment after repair. Luckily he only needs to get new tires mounted and balanced. We found him a good deal on tires for Monday.
It was only about 10:30 am, and the weather outside was lovely, so we decided we'd saddle up on our iron horses and go for a motorcycle ride. I spent about an hour cleaning up the Firebolt while Dad drove his Saturn home to get his motorcycle. About a dozen Armor-All cleaning wipes and some shop towels had the bike looking nice and clean. We rode down State Road 135 south, took State Road 58 west to Interstate 65, which we followed north to US 31 back home. It was about a 3 hour ride, and we traded bikes once we hit SR 58. The trees are still bare, but the grass is starting to get some green coloring. It should be a breathtaking ride in a couple months.
After we got home, Amber cooked up a special hamburger recipe from the 'Taste of Home' magazine. I snapped some new pictures of the aquarium to share with you guys. Its pretty much completely decorated, and is now home to five 'Mickey Mouse' Platie Fish! They get their name from the Mickey Mouse head shape on their tailfin. They are some active fish, a real hoot to watch!
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Until next time...
Saturday:
We started off with a trip to Indianapolis for the Harbor Freight sidewalk sale event. Harbor Freight is a dangerous place for a fix-it-yourself kinda guy. It is loaded to the gills with budget tools from a simple hammer to full machining tools. Anything and everything a guy could ever need can be found at Harbor Freight, and usually for a great price! Of course, some products are of inferior quality versus big name tool brands. I had purchased a wall-mountable 50ft retractable electrical extension cord that had stopped reeling itself back in. I decided today I would return it since they were having the annual sidewalk sale. The return was fairly quick and simple despite long lines at the registers due to the event. Amber and I made a trip around the store and checked everything out, but there just wasn't anything I really needed. This is mostly because I've got my garage well stocked in Harbor Freight products. There's not much more I could ever need, so we decided to head back down to Greenwood to scour the pet stores for deals on tropical fish for the aquarium.
We stopped by PetSmart first, and I noticed that they had the Cardinal Tetras that I like, but for $3.99 each! That's highway robbery! Our next stop was Uncle Bill's Pet Store. They had a nice selection of fish in well maintained tanks, but no deals on the fish we were looking for. We did notice some fish that had been 'tatooed' (dyed) with numbers on their sides for the NASCAR fans. I'm not much into NASCAR, but perhaps I should get a fish tatooed with my Autocross number '98'! We'll see I guess, as I should probably wait and figure out which of my fish is the fastest, and award him with my beloved racing number.
It was a little after 3pm, and we had an invitation to a birthday cookout for one of Amber's friends and coworker. The weather was nice, around 53 and sunny, so we headed home to get the Buell Firebolt and ride to the party in Shelbyville. Halfway to Shelbyville the clouds roll in and block the warm sunlight and bring in some cool breezes. It was a bit nippy as we made it into Shelbyville. We hung out at the party for about 45 minutes, and I decided to split and get the motorcycle home before it got unbearably cold. I rode home shivering, jumped in the Subaru, cranked on the heated seat, and headed back to the party. We sat around the campfire socializing and munching on BBQ beef brisket, crackers and cheeseball, and drinking beer. Mine of course was the root beer type since I was driving. We stayed until around 7:30 and headed home. I was digging the campfire so much that I decided to get a fire going in my fireplace and relax with an ice cold glass of Captain Morgan and Coca Cola, and read the new Maximum PC magazine that came in the mail. I got a call from my Dad, who asked me if I could take a look at his Saturn L200 that had developed a shimmy in the steering. He brought the Saturn over and took my Subaru home, so that I could get an early start on the car Sunday morning.
Sunday:
I woke up feeling pretty chipper around 8:15 this morning, so I got up and threw on some garage workin' clothes. I started a pot of coffee and set out to dissect this sickly Saturn L200 in my garage. I got the front end up on jackstands and proceeded to apply the old side-to-side and top-to-bottom shake tests on the tires in hopes of finding a bad tie rod component, or failing wheel bearing. To my surprise, the steering was tight as could be, and there was no signs of bearing failure. I pulled off the wheels to inspect the brakes for perhaps a warped rotor or damaged half-shaft. No problems whatsoever. I decide I had better take a closer look at those wheels and tires that I just pulled of, thinking perhaps a counterweight had fallen off and thrown a wheel out of balance. All the weights were in place, but I took notice that the tires were badly warped and swelling. It looks like I've found the culprit in the case of the steering wheel shimmy. Lucky enough for Dad, as a bad steering component or wheel bearing would have cost a bit of money, and required a new alignment after repair. Luckily he only needs to get new tires mounted and balanced. We found him a good deal on tires for Monday.
It was only about 10:30 am, and the weather outside was lovely, so we decided we'd saddle up on our iron horses and go for a motorcycle ride. I spent about an hour cleaning up the Firebolt while Dad drove his Saturn home to get his motorcycle. About a dozen Armor-All cleaning wipes and some shop towels had the bike looking nice and clean. We rode down State Road 135 south, took State Road 58 west to Interstate 65, which we followed north to US 31 back home. It was about a 3 hour ride, and we traded bikes once we hit SR 58. The trees are still bare, but the grass is starting to get some green coloring. It should be a breathtaking ride in a couple months.
After we got home, Amber cooked up a special hamburger recipe from the 'Taste of Home' magazine. I snapped some new pictures of the aquarium to share with you guys. Its pretty much completely decorated, and is now home to five 'Mickey Mouse' Platie Fish! They get their name from the Mickey Mouse head shape on their tailfin. They are some active fish, a real hoot to watch!
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Until next time...
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