July 31, 2004
Sorry for the silence – I just haven’t had much time lately to type. We’ve been busy around the house getting ready for our garage sale this weekend. Of course it’s been a bit rainy, but that hasn’t stopped people from coming by.
Also, Sarah and I have been spending our free time driving around to various locales because we are planning on moving. Ah, the stress of buying and selling houses. We talked and crunched some numbers. Studied maps and figured out where we could move to that would keep our commutes within reason. We finally met with our realtor for her opinion. So far things are looking good and she gave us some realistic numbers to work with.
We haven’t decided 100% to move, but it’s looking like it. Meanwhile, I’ll try to be better about entries.
Update: OK, we’ve decided. Looks like our house will be on the market this week.
July 22, 2004
I finally finished reading Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart. A cross between travelogue and autobiography, he tells his motorcycle journey of 14 months and 55,000 miles that he undertook after losing his daughter (car accident) and wife (cancer) in an 8 month period.
The opening couple of chapters are somber and quite moving. His genuine anger and open honesty are somehow refreshing to read. Likewise, his descriptions of the places he visits (from Toronto to Alaska and Inuvuk to Belize) have made me want to visit many of them.
As the book wears on Neil includes some letters he writes while on the road. While these make for interesting changes in voice and tempo, I feel that he over-uses them. Several middle chapters are made up almost exclusively of letters with virtually no narration in between. While the letters provide a different insight into his feelings “at the moment,” they don’t form as good a narrative as his “regular” prose.
Overall I enjoyed the book, but would have liked the letters to be used more sparingly as interludes and highlights to his journey.
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July 15, 2004
My current software (McAfee) could use an update, but I’m debating between updating or moving to a new product. Anyone have recommendations for a virus scanner?
(I also run ZoneAlarm, but I wouldn’t mind replacing that as well since the latest (free) version has never-ending nag screens. I know that most virus software also offer versions bundled with other security controls like firewalls.)
July 12, 2004
Seven years ago today in Ann Arbor Sarah and I were married.
While it’s hard to remember life before Sarah (we’ve been together for some 10 years now and have known each other for something like 15), it’s still amazing that seven years has gone by.
This has got to be the longest running game of chicken in history…. I love ya babe.
(PS: it is also River’s (our cat) 8th birthday.)
July 6, 2004
Sarah and I spent the 4th of July racing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. My good friend Terry came along as crew chief, providing his invaluable mechanical help (he also owns the tow van and trailer).
The car didn’t handle very well Saturday morning. We got it handling a bit better for the race, but it still didn’t turn very well. But the bigger problem for the race was a wicked vibration. There weren’t any broken-mechanical sounds so I chocked it up to an unbalanced wheel or possible flat-spotted tire.
Turns out I had broken the left drive shaft. Of course, I had just put new drive shafts in the car so neither Terry nor I brought spares. Fortunately, a fellow Dodge racer lives not too far from the track and he had spares for us. It only takes about a half hour to change, so we had no problem getting everything ready for Sunday morning.
Sunday went a lot better. We dialed out more and more of the handling problems so that during the race the car was much better. There is still a ways to go, but we’re pointed in the right direction. I was still towards the back half of the field, but I had a great race with another car the entire time. We were literally nose-to-tail and door-to-door for the entire race – without touching once. I was in front of him for most of the race (we traded places several times), but he pushed me hard enough to get me to overheat my front tires. With grip going away, he finally got around me with only a couple of laps left. The really cool thing – he’s got a digital video system in the car. Hopefully I’ll get a copy before too long and I’ll share it with you all.
Both photos in this post are from this past weekend. (Patrick, you asked, I deliver.) The track at Mid-Ohio is a 2.5 mile circuit, and these photos were taken near the spot labeled 16 on the map.
Finally, I thought I’d share this article that was written about me a couple of years ago and published in the Big Idea magazine.
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