Chris Krueger came out to the track this past Friday and I was glad to have the extra hands. The alternator on the back-up car needed to be changed, piece of cake, not problems, until we went to test it. Chris was "driving" and started the car which ran for about a minute, then died. Cranks over strong won't start. Gas? yeah probably ran out. We threw 2.5 gallons of gas in the tank, same situation cranks strong won't start.
30-45 minutes later with some added brain power it was determined that the gas pick-up was a couple inches above the level of fuel. You're guess is as good as mine as to how it got up there. We pushed it back down into to the gas and she fired right up.
In the race the car died right off of the line. Started it right back up and took off a straight-away behind everyone else. I caught the last car, Jug Hur, who thought he was all alone and was therefore using the whole track. I finaly got up alongside him and the car in front of him Andy Ward spun and collected me. I got back running and caught up with George Wachuta (Wa-koot-ah) when I went around the outside of him he came up the track and hit me unintentionally. That left me in 5th place out of seven cars. Not ideal but, not bad given events. Next Friday I will be back on the pole position, just try to stop me.
7.24.2006
7.18.2006
YouTube.com sued for copyright infringment
Wow, am I timely or what. After I started reading up on the legality of youTube.com as I prepared to upload a production, YouTube.com is being sued for copyright infringement.
7.17.2006
Japanese Game Show Segment - Silent Library
This video was introduced to me in an article discussing the apparently blatant copyright infringement endorsed by the YouTube.com video sharing model.
Trying not to laugh I watched at work but ultimately had to share with my co-workers why I was busting a gut.
Enjoy!
Trying not to laugh I watched at work but ultimately had to share with my co-workers why I was busting a gut.
Enjoy!
What no picture?
CNNSI.com reports via AP that J.R. Todd has become the first African-American to win a NHRA(National Hot Rod Association) Top Fuel Event.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. ;)
All joking aside I find the lack of a photograph with this article silly. Here's a photo of young J.R. Todd from 2004. If I can find a photo why can't the Associate Press?
He caught a break in his semifinal race with Hillary Will, when Will's parachute inadvertently opened in the final 30 yards with Will holding the lead.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. ;)
All joking aside I find the lack of a photograph with this article silly. Here's a photo of young J.R. Todd from 2004. If I can find a photo why can't the Associate Press?
7.16.2006
Columbus 151 Speedway Race Report
From the Columbus 151 Speedway Press Release:
In back up action, Jim Remsik, Jr dominated the field as he drove away from the pack at the drop of the green en route to the impressive win. He was followed by Jug Her in second and Ryan Oetzel in third.
7.15.2006
Racing Results 7/14/06
With starting mid-season I don't have many points in the season standings. Point totals are what determine the starting order which placed me on the front row for my second week of racing.
Earlier in the evening the street tires that came with the car were removed and replaced with eight-inch racing slicks. Officials allowed a couple laps of practice at intermission and the car felt good enough.
The back-up car Dad had inherited started on the front row, was not passed, and finished a half lap ahead of any other competitors. The victory scored me $30 and the most elaborate trophy I have received from Columbus 151 Speedway. The special event that afforded the trophy was the Dick Moore Memorial an homage to the former track owner.
Earlier in the evening the street tires that came with the car were removed and replaced with eight-inch racing slicks. Officials allowed a couple laps of practice at intermission and the car felt good enough.
The back-up car Dad had inherited started on the front row, was not passed, and finished a half lap ahead of any other competitors. The victory scored me $30 and the most elaborate trophy I have received from Columbus 151 Speedway. The special event that afforded the trophy was the Dick Moore Memorial an homage to the former track owner.
7.14.2006
A funny thing happened at lunch ...
We were eating at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, AZ when about 55 people walked in the door. We thought, Tour Bus? No, PT Cruiser Owners Club. There were two more parked behind me in this shot. Jen (my wife) and I noticed that Chrysler seems to be a very popular brand in the Southwest.
7.12.2006
Online Poker Anyone?
I've been playing poker online for play money. Texas Hold'em as you might have guessed. I was turned on to a new site called DoylesRoom.net. This site is endorsed by Doyle Brunson and you can play against him and a few other poker celebrities at the play money tables.
What I like about Doyle's Room is the nice clean interface, ease of use and overall air of professionalism. I've played on PokerStars.net and PartyPoker.net and both seem to draw an obnoxious bunch who go "all-in" on every hand. The clientele at Doyle's Room just seems to be a step above.
There is also a wealth of information to learn rules, strategies and techniques.
What I like about Doyle's Room is the nice clean interface, ease of use and overall air of professionalism. I've played on PokerStars.net and PartyPoker.net and both seem to draw an obnoxious bunch who go "all-in" on every hand. The clientele at Doyle's Room just seems to be a step above.
There is also a wealth of information to learn rules, strategies and techniques.
7.08.2006
Bloggables ...
An actual conversation:
Jen: Moose crossing next 10 miles (noting the yellow road sign with a picture of moose on it)
Jim: Is that a moose or an elk?
Jim & Jen: DEER! (bolting from under the sign right in front of us)
In this part of Arizona they have elk on the interstate
The Grand Canyon is impressive, we didn't spend alot of time there and the overcast skies made our pre-dawn trip less worthwhile as sunrise was basically behind a big sheet. I would definitely come back and go down into the canyon.
Interstate speed limit in Arizona is 75 MPH. Backroads state highways (like US51/12&18 are 65)
It's surprisingly cold here and still rainy. The high temp has been 75-ish. It was a bad idea to only pack sandals.
Jen: Moose crossing next 10 miles (noting the yellow road sign with a picture of moose on it)
Jim: Is that a moose or an elk?
Jim & Jen: DEER! (bolting from under the sign right in front of us)
In this part of Arizona they have elk on the interstate
The Grand Canyon is impressive, we didn't spend alot of time there and the overcast skies made our pre-dawn trip less worthwhile as sunrise was basically behind a big sheet. I would definitely come back and go down into the canyon.
Interstate speed limit in Arizona is 75 MPH. Backroads state highways (like US51/12&18 are 65)
It's surprisingly cold here and still rainy. The high temp has been 75-ish. It was a bad idea to only pack sandals.
7.07.2006
Good Morning?
We just got up and are on our way to the Grand Canyon's South Rim. I have no idea what time it is, between time zone changes and trying to figure out what time zone Arizona is in we got a little confused. We were up about 2 hours ago and decided that was too early.
It's still dark out. But, that's what we were looking for to capture the canyon at sunrise after missing sunset.
Later.
It's still dark out. But, that's what we were looking for to capture the canyon at sunrise after missing sunset.
Later.
7.06.2006
The southwest is so .... Wet?
We're safe and sound in Flagstaff, AZ. Bonuses on this trip to date:
* Free High Speed Internet at our hotel.
* The path from Las Vegas to Arizona crosses the Hoover Dam, pictured above.
Downsides:
* Rain
* Rain
* Rain
* We missed our stop at the Grand Canyon tonight. We're are going dark and early tomorrow morning.
It's crazy how much rain we've seen, about 4 hours into our drive it finally quit. The only other reprieve we were a party to was just across the Arizona border for about 5 minutes. Might not have internet access the rest of the weekend. We'll see.
7.03.2006
Read GMail Securely
Adam has an interesting article on his A Day In The Life blog on how to secure Gmail/Gtalk from sniffers.
found via Digg
found via Digg
7.01.2006
Racing Results 6/30/2006
There she is, the new Back-Up car. She saw the track for the first time in approximately 10 years last night. I started in the pole position (first car on the front row) and wound up fifth out of nine cars. There is some tweaking to do on the car to make it handle better but, I think the most improvement will come from taking the rust out of the driver. :)
It was definitely fun to be back on the track.
Update:
Ha! I nearly forgot about this... I was filling in as the press release writer this week which meant I had to take notes of the feature events, including the race before the Back-Ups. After that race I ran to the car and started getting buckled in, as I pulled out on to the track I was still putting on my helmet. I drove out forward and assumed my spot on the front row. When the car hit reverse it stalled, I saw the flag man raising the flag to start the race and I turned the ignition. *turn over* *turn over* *turn over* *turn over* The flag fell and the car started at the exact same time. Thank goodness the previous owner had removed the neutral safety switch which allowed the car to start "in gear".
6.30.2006
Practice Last Night, Racing Tonight
We got the car out for practice last night. I only drove forward as we shook it out. It feels like pretty fast but, doesn't handle real well. After some adjustments it started too handle a little better. The radiator overflowed so we had to quit for the night.
As we had improved the handling on with tire pressures we measured the tires. It currently has all seasons on the rear and Mud and Snow tires on the front. The tires measured out like this:
That's right 8" of stagger across the front and zero across the back. Of course what we're not seeing in these numbers is the spring work that was done to achieve the desireable 1 1/2" of stagger in the rear. The stagger in the front is just old school thinking of how to put the rubber to the asphalt, at least according to my Dad. I don't get it but, the car didn't feel awful. Even with awful tires...
Pictures coming soon. Forgot to offload them from the compact flash last night.
As we had improved the handling on with tire pressures we measured the tires. It currently has all seasons on the rear and Mud and Snow tires on the front. The tires measured out like this:
| Left | Right | |
| Front | 81 1/4" | 89" |
| Back | 90 1/4" | 90 1/4" |
That's right 8" of stagger across the front and zero across the back. Of course what we're not seeing in these numbers is the spring work that was done to achieve the desireable 1 1/2" of stagger in the rear. The stagger in the front is just old school thinking of how to put the rubber to the asphalt, at least according to my Dad. I don't get it but, the car didn't feel awful. Even with awful tires...
Pictures coming soon. Forgot to offload them from the compact flash last night.
6.27.2006
Inoperable ...
Yesterday dad went in for angioplasty and/or research for why he has been having chest pains. The outcome was not good. His bypass are is fine, upstream from that however is not capable of supplying his heart with enough blood.
From what I understand there is no surgery that can help this situation. They are putting him on time-released nitro pills and he is going to have to slow down and not stress his body. For anyone who knows my father that's going to be hard for him to do.
Update:
I just talked with Dad, he mentioned that he will be going through a cardiac rehab program with excercises designed to help his condition. There is also a more extreme treatment where leg cuffs are placed on the legs and squeezed on and off. This forces blood through the system and hopefully expand those narrowed arteries.
From what I understand there is no surgery that can help this situation. They are putting him on time-released nitro pills and he is going to have to slow down and not stress his body. For anyone who knows my father that's going to be hard for him to do.
Update:
I just talked with Dad, he mentioned that he will be going through a cardiac rehab program with excercises designed to help his condition. There is also a more extreme treatment where leg cuffs are placed on the legs and squeezed on and off. This forces blood through the system and hopefully expand those narrowed arteries.
6.25.2006
Racing Photos From Columbus
Dad came up to the track on Friday but, couldn't stay the whole night. I had hoped to drive a friend's car but, that wasn't available. With not much else to do I played with the Canon 580EX flash that Chris loaned me.
It's going to take a while to get used to shooting flash at the track. I guess that means I'll have to get one.
Deanna was nice enough to let me in the infield where she has an exclusive rights contract with the track. For that reason the pics are only available at an unprintable resolution.
It's going to take a while to get used to shooting flash at the track. I guess that means I'll have to get one.
Deanna was nice enough to let me in the infield where she has an exclusive rights contract with the track. For that reason the pics are only available at an unprintable resolution.
Dad, Al,and I got the car "done" this weekend
We worked on the back-up car Saturday and Sunday and got it to the point that it is track worthy. There are still some things left to button up (window net, tighten exhaust, tie up wires).
Dad was motivated by a stress test last thursday that has him going back in for maintenance on his heart tomorrow (monday) morning. They discovered "new" blockage and think they are going to be able to clear it up with angioplasty. He'll be out of commission until at least Tuesday. Hopefully he'll be able to make it up to the track this Friday to see my compete in the car we just finished. Time will tell...
Dad was motivated by a stress test last thursday that has him going back in for maintenance on his heart tomorrow (monday) morning. They discovered "new" blockage and think they are going to be able to clear it up with angioplasty. He'll be out of commission until at least Tuesday. Hopefully he'll be able to make it up to the track this Friday to see my compete in the car we just finished. Time will tell...
6.19.2006
Race Results - 6/16/2006
For the first time this season I made it out on the track as a driver at the Columbus 151 Speedway. With Rick Verdon absent Friday night I "borrowed" his car to get some laps under my belt. I started in the back, and finished in the back as expected. On lap 6 with the leader close behind I pulled off the track to avoid getting in his way.
Much like I imagine one would have to reacquaint themselves with wearing a crown, wearing a helmet took a toll on my neck. At least wearing a helmet and craning my neck to look behind me at speed took it's toll. It's still fun though. I am looking forward to having ``my`` car out this Friday.
Stiff Neck Ensues
Much like I imagine one would have to reacquaint themselves with wearing a crown, wearing a helmet took a toll on my neck. At least wearing a helmet and craning my neck to look behind me at speed took it's toll. It's still fun though. I am looking forward to having ``my`` car out this Friday.
6.14.2006
Typo saved me $500+
In September we are taking a trip to Bend, Oregon for my cousin Michael's wedding. We were going to purchase plane tickets back in March but, after talking to the fine folks at AAA Auto Club they recommended that we wait until after Memorial day when prices typically drop.
We had not been able to find tickets less than $340+ for roundtrip from Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago to Portland/Bend/Redmond back in March so, we waited. Sure enough I started looking yesterday and tickets for the same airlines and locations were running about $280+. Good deal, I thought.
I used a fare aggregator called kayak (www.kayak.com) and was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of the search. After a run-in with cheaptickets.com that where the flight at the advertised price was no longer available I chose to go with Orbitz.com. In a hurry to pick-up my wife and get to our evening plans I hastily filled out all of the required information and purchased the tickets.
After arriving home I checked my email and found my confirmation. 4 Tickets, Going through each of our names check, check, check, Waitaminnit??? For some unexplained reason I entered my wife's maiden name. Orbitz customer service made it quite clear that changing the name was not an option, FAA rules and all. The only option available was to cancel the tickets and re-purchase.
No problem, tickets cancelled and flights brought up again, purchase four tickets on same flight ... "We're sorry the price is no longer available." ARGH!!!! *cue Peanuts theme*
Now, I all the same flights are listed at the same price but actually cost $340+.
Back to kayak.com and start from scratch. Flights from Milwaukee to Portland:
"The cheapest option did not exactly match your search criteria. Would you like to include this result in your search?"
$140 from O'Hare to Portland, direct flight. 4 tickets purchased and $500+ dollars saved.
Yay.
We had not been able to find tickets less than $340+ for roundtrip from Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago to Portland/Bend/Redmond back in March so, we waited. Sure enough I started looking yesterday and tickets for the same airlines and locations were running about $280+. Good deal, I thought.
I used a fare aggregator called kayak (www.kayak.com) and was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of the search. After a run-in with cheaptickets.com that where the flight at the advertised price was no longer available I chose to go with Orbitz.com. In a hurry to pick-up my wife and get to our evening plans I hastily filled out all of the required information and purchased the tickets.
After arriving home I checked my email and found my confirmation. 4 Tickets, Going through each of our names check, check, check, Waitaminnit??? For some unexplained reason I entered my wife's maiden name. Orbitz customer service made it quite clear that changing the name was not an option, FAA rules and all. The only option available was to cancel the tickets and re-purchase.
No problem, tickets cancelled and flights brought up again, purchase four tickets on same flight ... "We're sorry the price is no longer available." ARGH!!!! *cue Peanuts theme*
Now, I all the same flights are listed at the same price but actually cost $340+.
Back to kayak.com and start from scratch. Flights from Milwaukee to Portland:
"The cheapest option did not exactly match your search criteria. Would you like to include this result in your search?"
$140 from O'Hare to Portland, direct flight. 4 tickets purchased and $500+ dollars saved.
Yay.
6.03.2006
Jen says I"we should make a note of these...
An admittedly shallow and lazy list of things we would change...
If we build another house:
* Have external water faucets on all four sides of the house.
* Include the landscaping in the price of the house.
* Make the dining room larger (8' x 10' is too small).
* Install Cat5/networking prior to drywall.
* Make sure a trailer can be backed into the driveway/third stall.
* "Rough in" basement right away.
* Add skylights/solatubes to south end of house.
* Front door should have a window.
* More walls painted prior to move-in.
If we build another house:
* Have external water faucets on all four sides of the house.
* Include the landscaping in the price of the house.
* Make the dining room larger (8' x 10' is too small).
* Install Cat5/networking prior to drywall.
* Make sure a trailer can be backed into the driveway/third stall.
* "Rough in" basement right away.
* Add skylights/solatubes to south end of house.
* Front door should have a window.
* More walls painted prior to move-in.
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