Category Archives: car

It’s Finally Saturday

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I percolated some coffee last night.  I’m not positive, but I think that was the first time I’ve ever done so when I wasn’t camping.  While I do love the speed and convenience of my little pod-based coffee machine, there’s something about percolating that I’ve always like; and something nudged me to brew a pot when I got home last night.  It was good.  It’s also good this morning.

Spent some quality time lying in bed with the cats this morning.  5:15 came incredibly early, so I got up to feed the cats (Ocean Whitefish today – Boo was not pleased), then went back to bed for a few hours.  I would dearly love to spend most of the day there – checked my sleep activity yesterday, and I haven’t gotten more than 7 hours in two weeks – but I’ve got a concert with the brass band at Kennesaw State this afternoon.  Next weekend is also booked with band stuff, all NABBA-related rehearsals.  Friday night, Saturday morning, all day Sunday.  I suppose I should be looking forward to that.  To some extent, I am; but I really just want a weekend with nothing planned.  Preferably a sunny one (it’s raining again today and is forecast to do the same tomorrow) so that I could head for the woods and try out the new car-camping setup that I put together several months ago and have yet to try.  I’ve got a new Napier rear-gate cover, similar to the tent that I’ve used for a few years, but without the tent.  It just slips over the back of the car, and provides a screen window and a very shallow awning.  Also picked up a couple of door window condoms – I think they’re supposed to be used to keep sun off of babies or something, but they also function as fast and sturdy door screens (to replace the netting & magnets that I’ve been using).  The only thing I’m still looking for, to have what I think will be the perfect car-camp setup, is a kid-sized memory-foam mattress.  The air mattress that I normally use is great, but I’d like to get something a little firmer and less prone to leaking.

Had a pretty decent day at work yesterday, although I learned in the late afternoon that the client who had previously sent a letter from their lawyer has now sent another.  They’re unhappy.  I get it.  They want to get out of their 5-year contract.  I get that, too.  I really sort of hope that we just let them go.  I’m tired of hearing their complaints, and I’m tired of them blaming me for stuff that I can’t control.  I’m told that I’m not mentioned by name in this second legal missive.  That’s a good thing, I guess.

Still thinking about retirement and how to go about it.  It’s dawning on me that I may have to postpone it for a bit – mainly because of the cats, although if I can put up a big enough shack, they should be fine.  Questions about pooping (mine, not the cats’) have me vexed for the moment.  I know I’m hiking & camping guy, but I really don’t want to just have a composting toilet as my primary john.  I’d be completely happy with a pit toilet in a separate shack, but if I do go to the place in SC that I’ve been thinking about, I don’t know if that would be allowed.  If it would be, I’d have to find out how much it would cost to put it up.  Understand that I don’t want just a hole in the ground with a wooden one-seater over it.  I’d want a cement vault, as you might find in some decent wilderness campgrounds.

I’ve also decided that I want a hot shower, which my friends who’ve retired early have so far forgone.  They’ve been bathing in a tub resembling a small horse trough and heating the water with a huge heating element.  Yeah.  No.  I want hot showers on demand.  Propane could do this, I guess.  Or a tank-less water heater.

It’s basically all coming down to “what am I allowed to do, and what will the start-up costs be?”  I’ll continue to work it out in my head and then start putting things on paper before deciding if and when I can actually take the plunge.  It’s always in the back of my mind.

Today’s featured image, by the way, is – I think – one that I took during a weekend in Waukegan a few years ago.  Amy and I spent a good part of an afternoon at a little coffee shop and took a shot of the wall.  Or maybe it’s a stock photo, but I don’t think so.  I can’t imagine why I would save it if it is.  Nah.  Pretty sure that I took it.

Since mentioning a few weeks ago that I intended to start walking in the mornings again, I have yet to actually do so.  I’m usually dog-tired in the mornings.  I guess that getting out of bed and walking for 45 minutes or so would help with that, but I just don’t have the energy or the desire to bundle up and go out into the (relative) cold.  Maybe next week.

Well, I must do something productive before getting ready for the gig.  Still working on the football site, and I have to figure out why the images from my migration blog aren’t showing up in my media library on this one.

Need to start taking back my guestroom, too.  It’s still full of boxes that got thrown into it when Mary moved in.  Really want to clean that room out and make it usable again. It’s a nice room.

 

cars

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This will have to be a short entry because it’s a little after 8 o’clock and my alarm clock is set for 3:58 tomorrow morning.  Shortly after that time, I’ll hit the road for Waukegan.

Today at work was relatively hectic.  In addition to a training class that’s been going on for the last week – and will continue for three more – (I am constantly interrupted to open the doors for trainees because they don’t have badges and I am the gatekeeper), I was being slammed by the IT department to put together workstations for them, get others fixed for them, and discuss ways that I could keep them informed of workstation problems in the future.  I also had to complete a completely stupid “what did I do last month” spreadsheet for the finance department, which apparently hasn’t figured out what should be counted as a capital expense in our department and so has had us doing this STUPID busywork for the last couple of months (“On February 9th, I spent 3.2 hours reading email…”).  While doing all this stuff, I was also attempting to debug some code for a project I’ve been working on for the last 6 weeks or so, help technicians with installations, and keep one eye on a conversation going on with the rest of my group about next week’s launch of our 24×7 schedule in order to make sure that I don’t get stuck with an 8pm-7am shift of something (and that’s not a joke…15 freaking years in this business and now I’m trying to avoid getting a shit shift that should be worked by somebody 1/3 of my age with 1/10th of my experience).

But I made it through the day.  Got home and got packed for the trip, and am currently sitting in bed thinking about sleep.

So.  Cars that I’ve considered purchasing.  Top of the heap is still the Subaru Outback, but – mainly because I hate the idea of dropping 25 large for that car, I’m leaving the door open for other makes and models.  The Nissan XTerra looks good, and I’ve also eyed the Toyota 4Runner and Sequoia, various flavors of Jeep (Cherokee, Liberty, etc. – not the Wrangler, though that would be a great thing to have in the woods), and a couple of Hondas (Pilot, CRV).

Basically, what I want is a car lets me do all of the following: cruise around the city in relative comfort and quiet – not a lot of road noise, leather seats, decent stereo, Bluetooth, aux in for ipod or phone, etc.  However, I also need a machine that I can take into the woods several times a year.  By that I mean, while not technically off-roading, about as close as one can get.  The places that I go to camp are generally approachable only by hiking or by twisty, rocky, rugged, washed-out, narrow dirt roads.  Yes, I have taken most of my former cars on these roads, but I haven’t enjoyed it.  The Audi particularly makes me cringe every time I hit a washout or drive over a section of corduroy.  I want something that’s close enough to being a truck – and that has enough ground clearance – to make me comfortable on these mountain forays.  Next, I want something that I can sleep in in relative comfort.  I want the back seats to lay down flat, and I’d like the front passenger seat to do likewise.  This was one thing that I really liked about my PT Cruiser.  When the seats were laid flat, I had an 8-foot bed in the car, and I could pull into a campsite during a football weekend, string up a tarp, and not have to bother with a tent.  I also want a car with decent gas mileage – not spectacular, but 30+ – and without a massive cost of ownership (a la the Audi).  Last, it has to be a manual transmission.  I’ve done the automatic bit.  I’m over it.  I want a clutch and a stick shift (actually, I’d love to have a column shifter, but I don’t think anybody makes those anymore).

So, as I continue to wonder if I should or shouldn’t get a new vehicle, I’ll also continue to winnow down the list – or maybe expand it – of potential cars.  I’ve owned a lot of cars – but I want to get it completely right the next time around.

TWD

sleeping well

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Today was supposed to be one of yard work.  Heavy rains (and winds) over the last month finally did in my old flag pole – it’s currently lying next to the driveway – and I thought I’d start things off by hauling it back to my shed or maybe laying it next to the fence to help with erosion or something.  The thing weighs a ton, by the way.

I’d also planned to do some serious pruning on a tree that is encroaching rather aggressively on the side of the garage, maybe clean off the deck (the big T presented me with a new leaf blower for my 15 years of service last week – it’s a piece of junk, but it’s a power toy), and I even gave a few brief thoughts to cleaning out and organizing the shed, as I’m sure that more than one family of mice has probably taken up residence there during the winter.

I can’t remember the term used in photography for putting two
shots that tell a story side-by-side, but this is my tribute to that
process.  Sure to be a hit on paper plates for centuries to come,
this is “Seasons.”

None of these plans came to fruition, of course.  Instead, I went in to work this morning and put in a couple of hours updating some training machines for a class that’s coming in on Monday.  After that, I made my way to the Tires Plus store to get my oil changed in anticipation of driving up to Waukegan next Friday.  While waiting for the oil to be changed, I was informed by the friendly helpful Tires Plus man that I needed four new tires.

I know what you’re thinking, but he’s actually a really decent guy and he’s cut me some amazing deals over the last 8 years or so.  My tires really were pretty shot after nearly 30,000 miles, so I ended up spending about 2 hours at the tire store (and spending $700 instead of $60 – gotta love that Audi).  When I left, it was already 4:30.  Since I have been sneezing and blowing my nose for the last two days, I decided to stop at Target on my way home and pick up some Kleenex.   The Kleenex run naturally evolved into a dinner run (bought some ground beef, ketchup and mustard), a drink run (12 pack of seltzer water) and a cat litter run.  As I watched my basket getting more and more full, I thought to myself, “Aw, hell.  I’ve already dropped over $700 today, and I want some decent sheets.”

So I bought some decent sheets.  600 thread count.  I got some of these sheets many years ago and unfortunately they were on the bed in the guest room when Scott first moved in.  I’ve not seen them since.  I don’t know what it is about that particular thread count, but I love the way those sheets feel and I haven’t been sleeping all that well lately.  So I’ll see if the new sheets help.  I can say, since I’m sitting in my freshly-made bed as I type this, that my new sheets definitely feel a lot nicer than the ones I’ve been sleeping on for the last several years.

The cats seem to enjoy them, too.

and you thought i was dead

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It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago that I have all but abandoned this blog – or any other blog – since last July.

Sorry about that.  There hasn’t been a great deal going on, I haven’t seen anything really shiny, and my stupid job has got me exhausted most of the time.  So….let’s just try to pick up where we left off and hit whatever highlights there have been in my life since July (in no particular order.  This will be strictly stream-of-consciousness writing).

For starters (or enders, actually), I’m typing this on my new Microsoft Surface tablet.  Yeah.  I finally joined the tablet generation.  There was no way I was going to get another Apple device, so the iPad family was out; but a lot of my friends have gotten various types of tablets over the last few years and I was growing somewhat fond of the portability of the things.  When Microsoft finally released a tablet that – quite seriously, thanks largely to the fact that it is Microsoft – has the potential to replace my laptop, I took the plunge.  Perhaps I should have waited another month and gotten the Surface Pro, which runs a full-blown instance of Windows 8 (this one runs Windows 8 RT, which is a scaled down version of the Windows 8 OS), but I thought the time was right, so I just got what I got.  If I want to upgrade to the Pro later on, I’ve been told I can do so for a $50 restocking fee.  We shall see.

At any rate, this is quite a nice little computer.  The touch-sensitive keyboard/screen cover had me a bit nervous at first, as I wondered if it would be a complete pain to use.  However, it works very well if it’s on a tabletop (as it is now).  Takes a little getting used to, and I’ll never be able to use it to type as quickly as I do on a mechanical keyboard, but I’m probably cranking out about 40 wpm right now.

The camera on the tablet is not great.  Actually, that’s a lie.  The camera is terrible – my phone’s camera is (literally) about 6 times better; but who really cares?  It’s not like I’m going to be carrying this thing around in the hope of getting a great photograph.  I have a phone – not to mention a couple of professional-grade cameras – for that. 

The biggest complaint I’ve heard about the surface (one which does not bother me, by the way) is that there aren’t as many apps available for it as there are for the iPad.  This is a fact in one sense and a complete red herring in another.  It is true that the Apple app store has a billion apps and the Windows app store does not.  A quick check just now revealed to me that there are around 4000 Windows 8 apps available in the US.  However, let’s think about the apps themselves.  How many different versions of a fart machine does the typical iPad user need to have?  And how many iPads are running full-blown Microsoft Office applications?  I rest my case.  I don’t think of my tablet as a toy – I really don’t.  It’s a tool and a potential replacement for my laptop.  I use it to check email, look up things on the web, work with files, and occasionally edit photos.  I don’t even have any games installed on it.  If I want to play computer games, I’ll use my playstation or I’ll go to an arcade.  Laptop games, by and large, suck.

Bottom line?  I like my new tablet.

Going back now….after I left Ahmic last summer, I drove west across Ontario in order to cross the border at Sault St. Marie, Michigan.  It was an absolutely stunning day and the drive was beautiful.  My border crossing was also, without question, the smoothest ever.  The customs dude, took my passport, asked me what I was doing (“Going home from vacation,” said I), gave my passport back, and waved me through.  Total time at the booth: 10 seconds.

After that, I made my way across Michigan’s upper peninsula, down through Green Bay, WI, and stayed the night at a hotel in Marinette, WI.  The following day, I completed my trip to Waukegan, IL, and set up camp at the Michigan Beach State Park.  I spent the next few days hanging out with Amy, swimming in Lake Michigan (cold, but fantastic), visiting one of America’s foremost renaissance fairs near Kenosha, WI (Amy is one of the court trumpeters), and had the extreme pleasure of sitting in at a rehearsal of the Chicago Brass Band.

I suppose I should talk a bit about work.  I hate my job, am not fond of my team, despise my company, and am getting incredibly sick of having me schedule radically changed every 5 weeks or so.  When I got back from vacation, I worked M-F, 8-5.  That was changed to M-T, 8-7.  Next week, I’ll be going to M-F, 10-7.  In December, I’ll be switched to S-W, 7-6.  Planning anything outside of work is a nightmare, which is one reason that this blog hasn’t been updated since my vacation.  I get home from work, watch a few minutes of television, and go to bed.  On my days off (like today), I sleep a lot or run errands.

Fortunately, I haven’t had to work on Saturdays yet, so I’ve been able to make all of my planned football games.  I’ve become convinced that my best lenses are badly in need of cleaning and recalibration, however, so have rented lenses for 4 of said games.  Not a particularly cheap arrangement, but hopefully the improved photos will result in increased sales.  So far this season, I’ve sold about $500 worth of pictures, which pretty much offsets the rentals and gas expenses.  This weekend (tomorrow), I’ve also rented a Canon D1-X body, and I’ll need to sell a pantload of prints to pay for that.  I doubt that will happen, but I really want to try out that camera body.  I’ve also been hired by the Greenville News for this game, which is nice.  It’s the first time that a major media outlet has given me a shot, so I’m really hoping to have a good outing and get my name permanently on their stringers list.

My Microsoft Surface Tablet PC

I paid off my car this week!  It was something that I expected to do by the end of the year, but a very nice windfall from Dad allowed me to do it all at once instead of waiting for next month.  As I told Amy, “That puts me one step closer to telling AT&T to get bent.”  I would dearly love to be able to do that on May 10th, 2013; but I don’t see that happening.  Maybe by 5/10/14 – that way they’ll have to give me my 15-year prize, too.  I think I’m up for luggage or something.

I’ve mentioned Amy a few times here, so let’s catch up on her a bit.  Since my first trip to meet her last Spring, I’ve gone back to the Chicago area a total of three times and she’s visited Atlanta three times.  The next time we get together is currently set for the week of Thanksgiving.  I’m looking forward to it.  We send lots of text messages to each other and talk on the phone 4-5 times a week, but being together is just so much nicer.

In September, I attended the NABBA fall board meeting in Cincinnati.  Not much to report on there, except that it was a nice drive, my hotel room was fantastic, and I actually kind of like downtown Cincy.

Now that the car is paid off, I’m going to enjoy not having a car payment for a few months, but I think there’s going to be a new car in the not-too-distant future.  The Audi is closing in on 170,000 miles.  Not a lot, I know, but it does mean that little things are going wrong more frequently than I’d like.  “Little” problems in an Audi usually equate to $1,000 repair bills.  I’ve got my heart set on a Subaru Outback because I want something that comfortable to tool around in in the city and is also something that I can take out into the woods when the opportunities arise,  While the Outback is by far my first choice, however, I’ve also been looking at other 4×4 vehicles that have some promise.  No drop-dead date on that purchase, but it is something that I’m looking into,

It has gotten cooler in Duluth, GA, and I’ve had a raging cold for the last couple of weeks to prove it.  My outdoor cats are quite comfortable, however.  Two of them, Daphne and Buddy, apparently spend most of their time under my deck.  Brooks, who I am 99% sure is the son of Fleck (Fleck died a few months ago, by the way) has taken up residence in the little house that I built for Fleck last summer, and he seems quite content there.  I can count on being stared at by one or all of them every morning now – they’ve become quite tame and they expect their breakfast to be delivered on time.

Walking has gotten more difficult as the year has gone on, largely because of my work schedule.  When I get out of bed, it’s pitch black.  By the time I leave for work, it’s just starting to get light.  By the time I get home, it’s pitch black again.  The schedule change next week should help, as I’ll be able to start walking at 8 in the morning or so and will be able to make it to work by 10.  When the schedule changes back to an 11-hour one, however, the walks will again suffer.  It’s too bad, because I was actually starting to get into shape when I was able to walk every day.  I’ve noticed now that the pain in my calves that I had largely overcome is now back when I try to go for more than a couple of miles.  Back to square one, I guess.

The Georgia Brass Band make actually return to the NABBA championships in 2013.  That was a done deal a month ago, but it’s now up in the air again because we’ve been invited to play at the Great American Brass Band Festival (and we’ll be doing it).  For some members of the band, the idea of playing both events is too daunting.  I don’t really know why, but I’m not going to push it.  I’ll be at NABBA regardless – and if the band doesn’t go, then I’ll have a much easier time doing my duties as NABBA’s secretary.

I guess that’s enough for now.  I was thinking about this blog the other day and I’d really like to write more going forward.  It all comes down to time and topics, however.  If I don’t have much of either, I may disappear for another four months.