Random thoughts, organized and categorized for your consumption.
General
Things so normal as to not fit neatly into any other area.
My First Craigslist sale
Nov 17th
I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, but I sold my first item via Craigslist: the component rack. I got $49 for it, even though I posted the ad at $60. In the end, it was something I wasn’t using so I’m glad to be free of it.
I’ll consider this money towards the new equipment and car, although the scale is off by a little bit.
The C6 Arrives
Nov 13th
I’ve been putting off this purchase for a while, but this year I finally gave in and got a sports car again. It’s not in my hands for another few weeks, but you can see it the same way I did, in pictures.
Don't Tempt Fate
Oct 30th
Today I had one of those moments that I try so hard to avoid, the one where the rational brain and impulsive brain are fighting it out for control. Let me give you the rundown:
- I had two good flights on my largest R/C airplane
- There was no real damage, save for some gear scraping, making it a good day
- The wind was just starting to pick up, so it would had been good to pack it in
- No one around was pushing me to fly again
So with all of this known, my rational brain told me to call it a day and go More >
Two-fer Mess Up
Sep 18th
I combined three things I’m really good at today to great effect:
- Betting on the goodness of technology
- Trying to make things go fast
- Spending money
What I came up with was: an unflyable airplane and a dead hard drive. The airplane won’t fly because its internal wiring is so lengthy as to be its own distortion amplification device (aka an antenna). The hard drive died (less than 6 months old!) for reasons unknown to me, but it was being moved from one PC case to another.
There are a lot of other things worse in the world, but these two events have conspired against More >
Good Weekend / Bad Week
Sep 6th
The labor day weekend was pretty good to me this year. I did as little as I possibly had to, flew one of my R/C planes, did some light work around the house, and generally avoided work email. I was all set to call it a good weekend all around.
Then I sat down and turned on CNN.
I had read about Katrina and the goings ons down in New Orleans, but I just hadn’t seen video of the situation. It certainly put things into perspective for me and reminded me once again just how much things (and people) are taken for More >
Review: Porsche 911
Aug 19th
I had the opportunity to drive a 2001 Porsche 911 today. Actually my boss all but forced me to go drive it, as she knows that I?ve been waiting to get a sports car one of these days. First off I have to comment that there were two noticeable flaws in the car for me: the steering wheel hits my knees with the seat pushed all the way back; the other is a really heavy clutch.
That said, I?m still shaking from the drive. It?s been a good long while since I?ve driven a car that can move that fast, maneuver More >
Jaguar Skills
Aug 17th
A friend of mine has taken to the airwaves for a weekly radio shown in NY. As part of his weekly (or almost so) regiment he has started producing segments called Jaguar Skills. This is seriously funny stuff, well at least to me it is. Its a UK DJ that has “superfly ninja DJ skills” and who battles evil about as well as he combats telemarketers or STDs.
You can find out more at the Jaguar Skills website, or check out the audio episodes below.
- Episode 1
- Episode 2
- Episode 3
Jaguar Skills, ho!
Newer Furniture
Aug 15th
What’s better than existing furniture? Why… new furniture! As I’ve been upgrading to new furniture around the downstairs of the house I’m weeding out the older, less desirable furniture. To my surprise I found this bookcase that looks like it now belongs. Here it is:
It fits so precisely that I’ve lost access to the power plug adjacent to the space. That’s why there are so many power cables running off to the side of the photo. When I get a chance to set my camera up correctly for low light I’ll be able to show you what all of those More >
Walking is rough stuff
Aug 6th
It’s official: I’m a complete klutz. I was walking around today, doing some errands, and while stepping off a curb my ankle twisted and became my heel. The twist was so bad that a woman standing nearby actually cried out “oh my!” when it happened. It was a serious challenge just limping back to the truck and driving home.
Looks like there will be very little exercise for me in the near future and a whole lot more limping around and cold packs. Joy for me.
New Furniture
Jul 10th
I recently added a new set of furniture to the homestead, this time in the form of a dining room table and chairs. They match my living room gear, more or less, and the table expands out to nearly double the size. It was good Scandinavian design and I’m glad to have it. Photos are below.