Scott's Blog

Week Ending 10/3/2010 by smay28king at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-10-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Week Ending 10/3/2010 by smay28king at Garmin Connect - Details

Busy week...

2010-08-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Click on the post title for a detailed view and player feature...

-Scott

I love this picture..

2010-08-11T12:24:00.001-07:00

It's soooo me...

-Scott

Crazy Week...

2010-08-09T13:47:00.001-07:00

100 plus miles just commuting..
Click on the title..

-Scott

Live Oak Loop.. a little tougher than the RSM..

2010-07-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

Ouch...

RSM Loop by smay28king at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-05-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

RSM Loop by smay28king at Garmin Connect - Details

Footwear...

2010-04-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Just picked these dudes up on clearance.. MSRP $ 179.00

I paid $ 59.99.. Nice..

-Scott

Me Likee !!!

2010-03-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

I want one ...

Name that Dude....

2009-09-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

That's all I'm going to say..

What's it been? 17-18 years?

-Scott

Digital Imaging...

2009-09-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the digital age. MS Digital Imaging isn't PhotoShop, but you can have some fun with it if you're patient...

-Scott

What carbon imprint???

2009-08-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bit the bullet and picked up the Ezip Mountain Trailz electric assist bicycle this week. It's dirt cheap considering some of the brushless hub motor alternatives out there. I needed something to get me to work and back with out breaking the bank or a sweat. My office is air conditioned but who wants to sit there cool but stinky all day. This should fit the bill nicely. The E chart on the Currie website figured it will pay for itself in fuel savings in roughly 12 weeks. I won't miss the pump at Shell or Mobil one little bit. 6-8 hour trickle charge on the battery pack should cost between 2 and 3 cents per charge. That's right .02-.03

In the box...

Haven't tested the range yet but it's advertised as getting between 15 and 22 miles per charge. The variables of course are the riders weight and how you ride the thing. It has 3 modes of operation. Standard pedal power, That's not going to happen as it weighs about 75 lbs. fully loaded. Pedal Assist mode where the rider pedals but the throttle is kissed to assist on hills and such, and TAG mode. TwistAndGo.. No pedal at all. Just crank the throttle and cruise around town. This mode will of course drain the battery in short order.

Really looking forward to seeing how this unit holds up. My work commute is about 5 miles each way so I don't forsee any problems in the range dept. I hope not anyway. I'll have to call a tow truck if it runs out of juice.

Seems to handle well for being so heavy. The weight is an accumulation of the battery and hardware. It's made with a steel frame and steel = heavy. It also = inexpensive. There were quite a few other offerings in lighter weight units but they ranged in price from 900 to 2000 bucks and more.. This unit was a Wally World purchase at $ 299.00. Just couldn't pass it up..

Here are some assembly shots for you. Took about an hour to put together and read up on the charging system. Basic hand tools were included so it was a snap.

Well, I think everything's there...

Charging up the battery pack...

Rollin' down the street smokin' Endo, Riding on Drive and Juice...

Throttle, Mode button and LED charge indicator lights...

Fully assembled and ready to roll...

Just have to source a headlight and a blinking red taillight for the dawn and dusk rides. Already have a sreaming neon windbreaker for visibility. Should also get a cheap cycle computer to track the mileage. I have about 2200 miles on my real bike. The 2003 GT I-drive 1.0 pictured below. Man I wish the ezip had the GT's weight and handling carachteristics... Oh well, if it did I'm sure they'd want 3K or more for one.

My baby a couple of Summers back...

That's about it for now. I'll update the blog if there is a major catastrophic failure somewhere along the way and/or update it with mileage/performance info as it comes in...

Be well all..

-Scott

Sausage Fest III - 2009

2009-06-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Wild good time Saturday at the 3rd annual Woodie Johnson Sausage Fest at the Fender Center for the Performing Arts in Corona. A long lost friend and human metronome, Mike Dauer from back in the day invited me and I decided to take him up on it. It’s a fund raiser/Party/ really cool event that’s been growing in scope for well you guessed it, 3 years now. Carnival like atmosphere with of course tons of music. Six bands in all yesterday. The Fender Center provides FREE music education for kids in the area in light of budget cuts for the same in the public school system. It’s a really classy operation. There’s also a great little museum on site with exhibits covering the history of Fender and it’s relationships with a number of artists. Most impressive. You can find out more about the center HERE where you can check out the profiles for Mark and John Cruz.

The only downside of the day was the traffic that had to be dealt with in getting there. Reminded me immediately why I rarely venture from South County. This trip was well worth it. Friends Glenn and Lisa had just returned from 5 days in Vegas and stopped by the festivities even before heading home. I bet they’re wiped out! Glenn has been playing for while now and I made sure he was invited as I knew he would get a kick out of the place. He was not disappointed. He was especially impressed with the opening act which consisted of students at the center. It’s kind of embarrassing at our advanced ages to see youngsters play so well. It also gives us hope that it’s never too late to learn.

Had to mack on a sausage sandwich from one of the event sponsors and namesake Jody Maroni’ Sausage Kingdom. Yummy!!! This could become a staple in my diet very easily. Toured the warehouse and recital room. Tons of guitars on display just about everywhere you go and the recital room is very casual with a lounge type atmosphere. Pretty cool. You can find a clip of the Igniters playing with supporter Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Co., The Firm, Queen, etc.) yes,…. That Paul Rodgers in that very room HERE. Takes awhile to load so be patient.

Very family and friends oriented event with tons of kids in attendance. It’s all about their exposure to the arts. Mike’s longtime friend and guitarist Mark Kendrick handled the MC’s duties flawlessly between sets and had the kids really into things with the sack race, musical chairs, raffle’s and other games. Good times for sure. The ensemble the Woodie Johnson Band opened things up with 3 tunes before passing off the musical chores to a score of guest artists.
At least two of the band members, Mark, and Cruz are employed at the Fender Custom Shop in Corona. They’ve spent quite a bit of time over the years building and tweaking guitars and consequently are quite accomplished at the playing them. Mark nailed the vocals on the CCR classic Born on the Bayou.

There’s really too much to explain in a blog post so I’m going to throw up some pictures and perhaps a link to the photos once I sort through them… Here’s a few for starters…

Enjoy..

The Showcase Lounge

John "Shreddy" Cruz

Mike "The Clock" Dauer

The Woodie Johnson Band

Mark and Ralph

Axes Galore in the Lobby

Storytelling...

The Killer, Carl Perkins, The Man in Black and The King at the piano

Lenny, SRV Tribute Strat

Poster of EC with Strat Mark built for him

Mark MC'ing with Debbie, Administrative Director of the Center and all around nice gal..

"Ready For Vegas"

Gnarly Stand Up

Very Cool Tex Mex Band

The Tex-Mex band was pretty cool. That guy's stand up bass was painted metalflake gold just like a 60 something Chevy Impala. I love the license plate mounted on it.. Awesome!

Good times for sure !!!!

I'd post some video clips but with this weak butt internet connection up here on the hill

Be well all,

-Scott

10 Megapixels...

2009-06-02T04:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Been really busy with work and life in general and as such don't get a chance to post much anymore. Dealing with a wee bout of insomnia so here I am... No really big news as of late but I did pick up a new camera recently. Again haven't had too much time to play around with it but did get to experiment with the Macro setting the other morning. June gloom and all there was plenty of dew on the backyard foilage. I still have the 2 megapixel unit with the underwater case for goofing around but with the advances in the digital arena and the prices of cameras and memory being very reasonable I went for an upgrade. So I thought I'd post a couple of shots.. Here you go..

As always, click on the pick for the full size version..

Noisy bird at work monitoring the nest nearby.. Check out the yellow feathers on his or her belly...

Some shrubbery on the hill in the backyard...

The morning mist resulted in this shot...

On the whole I'm pretty happy with this camera. I can't see using the 10MP setting unless I was planning on having a poster made but it's nice having the option. The cam shoots video as well, the coolest part is you can be shooting a viddy and take a still at the same time.. What will they come up with next? Oh yeah, in case you were wondering it's a Canon SX10 IS..

That's it for now. Gotta catch a few winks before work...

Cheers,

-Scott

Catch of the Day...

2009-01-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Pop hit the Jack Pot last week at Irvine Lake and was the proud recipient of a write up not only on the Lake’s website but the site at FishRapNews.com. The first picture I received of it was of the beast laying on the floor of his bass boat. Probably taken with a camera phone and it didn’t really give you the perspective to understand how large this fish actually was. The picture of him standing in front of the lake signage is much more impressive and removes all doubt… Moby Trout weighed in at 16 lbs .08 ounces.. I think we’ll dub him Troutzilla!

Here's a screenshot from FishRap.com...

And the full size shot...

Congrats to Pops..

-Scott

Good Night Goliath...

2008-09-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Lost my favorite pup Saturday... Poor little guy had quite a bit of fluid build up in his little lungs... We all knew he wouldn't live forever but we surely wanted him to.. Goliath (Go-Go for short) was a part of the Mikkelsen Herd for the last 13-14 years I believe... I will miss him..

Goliath in his natural state...

RIP little guy...

-Scott

Long Weekend...

2008-09-02T14:07:00.001-07:00

Nothing to exciting to report for the holiday weekend. Business as usual with the exception of half day fishing expedition on the S.S. Woody... Actually his skiff is named "Paddywhack". Not sure about the spelling on that one. I got up about 3am and grabbed the camera and some sunscreen and headed over to Jason's place. From there we hit his Pop's house to pick up the boat. Nice 24footer with lots of deckspace. Then to fuel and off to pick up my Dad. My Pop lives about a mile from the launching ramp at Sunset Aquatic Park in Huntington Beach. We hit the ramp at about 5:15 and were underway by 5:30 or so. Took the long cruise out of Huntington Harbor and then hit the bait station. 3 scoops of chovies and some sardines. Jason had his charts with and of course all of the electronics necessary to find his way about the Pacific and we hit about 4 or 5 areas that he had visited before with success. It was a little slow with the casting at the first spot but Jason rigged a pole with a fat sinker and 4 hooks and let me mind it after he dropped it to about 600 feet. Did that twice and let me tell you it takes a while to reel in 600 feet of line that's running to the ocean floor. Nabbed a Red Grouper both drops! Big bug eyed screaming red fish. Jason got a juvenile halibut too. Cruised through a pod of dolphins on the wayout as well. Those things are hard to time with your camera. I need to upgrade...

Off to the second spot where things were a little slow. Then the 3rd and fourth. Things started to pick up at that point and by the time we had his the last location on his charts everyone was getting hit pretty regular. Pop was really slow until this point. Must have been casting on the wrong side of the boat. The Calico Bass were very active and every so often a mackerel would grad the bait fish. Jason even got a really ugly Sculpin at one point. I wasn't grabbing that thing for anything. Spines all over the damn thing. Mostly Calico throughout the day. They put up a pretty good fight.

Small scare when the boat wouldn't start whilst we were waaaaay out at sea. Turned out the battery cables just needed a little cleaning so it was all good. Put to shore a little after Noon and I was ready for a nap. Good times for sure.

Here are some more snappies of the days excursion...

Leaned alot about knots and hook configurations too. Probably take a little longer to learn to navigate...

-Scott

Finally some time to post...

2008-09-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it’s been awhile since I posted last. I’ve been busy!! Work is somewhat hectic with Customs paperwork and all but I’m settling in and did manage to have some fun the last few months.
Back on the 22nd of October Jason, Melissa and myself attended Walking with Dinosaurs the Live Experience at the Honda Center. It was pretty cool stuff. The Production company drew from the BBC documentary series and then spent 6 years and 20 million dollars putting the road show together. Kinda like attending the opera or a musical but just a little different in that the entire arena floor is the stage. An actor portrays a Paleontologist and narrates the show and describes the dinosaurs, their diet and lives as we would imagine them to have been. The kicker is while he’s doing this some of the most amazingly lifelike puppets and animatronic creatures are roaming the stage and playing out hunting methods and confrontations with other species. Visually stunning. The Brachiosaurus was something like 3 stories high and 57 feet in length. The show was very impressive to say the least. There was a little levity mixed in as well. For instance just before the show began the PA announcer asked that all cell phones be turned off as there wouldn’t be any reception for another 165 million years… Good stuff and I highly recommend attendance should the show hit your area. More info about the show and tour dates can be found at www.dinosaurlive.com ... Here’s a few shots from the show. You can take stills but no video…

Mama T.Rex making her entrance...

And her exit after protecting her offspring from some bully Allosaurus...

Livin' Large...

-Scott

The Office...

2008-06-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Accounts Receivable is happy. And it's not because a pile of checks just came in!!! Those wicked, wicked Wings!!!

Hardcore Hockey Accountant!!!

Sup Y'all

-Scott

New Digs...

2008-03-15T02:41:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy... Haven't posted in some time now... New job and residence has been keeping me on the move.. Just thought I'd throw up a few shots of the new place. I'm liking it very much and summer is right around the corner.. Still trying to sort through some of the stuff from the move and get somewhat organized. My room isn't ready for pictures just yet but here's the rest of the place..

Sunken family room and the fireplace are great...

As is the formal living room...

How to beat the summer heat!!!

Courtyard in the back...

Shaded area if things get a little too hot...

I shagged some of the old pallets from some of the freight deliveries at work. Broke out the Ryobi 18V Cordless toys I own, snapped in some freshly charged batteries and starting ripping...

The resulting fire that evening kept my toes nice and toasty...

That's about all to report for now. Hopefully I'll find the time for more frequent entries...

Be well all,

-Scott

Nice Day on the Lake...

2007-12-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

Hit Irvine Lake this morning with the Dad. Gets a little bit cold out there in the morning so I bundled up with the waffle knit, a fleece vest and a top coat. Nice and toasty. Not to mention the skullcap to keep my ears from freezing. We zig zagged all over the lake trolling for a Trout or two but came up empty. Got about 4 hits throughout the day but nothing ever hooked up. Daybreak was kinda nice though and I snapped off some pics... Thanks to the Dad for the breakfast burrito and a fun day on the pond. Better luck next time!!!

Sunrise over the transom...

Saving the ears...

Other lake dwellers...

Prepping for takeoff...

Good seat up front...

We'll have to try this again in the near future...

-Scott

New Template...

2007-11-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

Man, I was getting really tired of the blue background with the polka dot pattern. Playing havoc with my eyes. So I started cruising the web for blogger templates and found this little #. Prashant here at work showed me how to grab the source code and make a few tweaks to the margins and viola... Everything lines up just as it should provided you have a 17" monitor or better...

This is much easier on the eyeballs and I think the colors are pretty snappy...

That's Andy MacDonald all suited up and in game action by the way...

Happy Holidays to all,

-Scott

Winds of Change...

2007-11-21T03:38:00.000-08:00

Changing things up a bit around the first of the year... Moving to Mission Viejo if all goes well. Nice spacious home with plenty of creature comforts and a very nice host... Ms. Winnie Sille (Wendy) and a Pool!!!! No more sweltering summers for me..

Here's a shot of Winnie and Me at Splitz... We were goofing on Fabian and wouldn't you know it, his new ultra hitech IPhone can't even accept pictures.. What's up with that???

Starting a new job as well. December 10th will be my first day. Without going into too much detail it's a local company, (a whopping 2 blocks from my current employer) with a better rate of pay, a benefits package that puts the present one to shame, 10 sick days, 2 personal and a bunch of other incentives that I just couldn't turn down. I'd slag on the place that I'm at but I was always taught... "If you couldn't say anything nice..." Some of you out there in cyber space know exactly what I'm saying here...

Scott chillin' with Winnie Sille...

Well that's about it for now. Have alot of sorting to do before the move. I've managed to accumulate quite a bit of stuff over the years that I have absolutely no use for at present and don't want to move it. Therefore I'll be tossing a good portion of it away or selling odds and ends via Craigslist...

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving... I'm sure I'll have some pictures of the feast at the Mikkelsen residence...

-Scott

This is getting spooky....

2007-10-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is just up the street from us.. Phil, aren't you glad you moved to New Mexico?
This is the Foothill Ranch area. Up by Portola Parkway and Bake Parkway...

Be careful out there Pastor Mark Bagley...

This is not good...

-Scott

Woody gets the ink....

2007-10-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

OMG, JW gets a write up in California Bowling News!!!

Click on article for readable view...

Sweet!!!

-Scott

Yo Jason... Yo Jason....

2007-10-16T14:41:00.003-07:00

Yikes!!!! Guess what Woody did in NFL scratch last night??????

That's right folks, his first sanctioned perfect game... WooHoo!!!

Congrats to JW....

-Scott

My job sucks ass.....

2007-10-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

But,... There always the opportunity to throw a line in the lake at dusk..

Got these two dudes in about 20 minutes as the sun was setting today.. Life was good for about a half hour..

The big guy...

The little guy...

Gutted the second guy but I'm getting pretty adept and removing the hook through the gills with my hemostats... No blood and he swam off just fine...

-Scott

The Road Warrior...

2007-09-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, this should be interesting… As you may or may not know, my brother Darryl is an OTR big rig driver for Covenant Transport. You can find out more about the company here. www.covenanttransport.com I was goofing off with Google Earth the other day and decided to capture the 48 contiguous states and put their names in place as best I could with MS Digital Image Pro. Now the deal is, when Darryl checks in from the road I’m going to add a line from his starting point to his destination. He gets dispatched all over the place so I’ll probably have to color code or insert arrows so everyone can tell which direction he’s going. As always, just click on the picture for the full sized version.

Green lines indicate that his truck is loaded and the white lines indicate that he's running empty enroute to his next pickup. That'll have to do for now... Let me know if anyone has a better system...

Tennessee to Long Island, New York 9/25/07
Long Island back to Memphis, TN 9/27/07

I’ll also bump the posts when there’s an update or possibly even just set up another page. That way anyone who’s interested won’t have to navigate a bunch of posts to find it.. One of these days he’s going to have to replace his missing digicam and get me some shots of his travels..

Be well all,

-Scott

P.S. Just put up a dedicated page for this subject.. See the links section...

I got jobbed...

2007-08-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Ringing 10 pin in the second shot of the 10th frame.... Oh what could have been..
Not sanctioned, just playing with my friend Lisa... Still... How sweet would the 300 have been?....

Ouch!!!! Click on the image to enlarge and then make mad fun of my plight...

The numbers are as follows:

289 personal best..
For the set.. 212, 225, 289...
Scratch series, 726
3 game average, 242

I can live with that...

-Scott

Roboworms Work!

2007-07-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Got a couple more Sunday evening... 1 little guy and then this dude...

Good size fish for this little lake...

Sure beats being at work...

-Scott

4th of July...

2007-07-05T08:02:00.001-07:00

Hello all. Had a great Birthday and 4th of July celebration yesterday. Woke up at dawn as usual and noticed some jumping activity on the lake. So I grabbed my pole and a worm and started teasing some of the fish that were lurking in the weeds. The bass were being somewhat cautious but I managed to dance the worm in front of one of 'em a couple of times and he finally hit it.. Nice hookset in his mouth and after a pretty good little fight I landed him. I knew it was going to be a good day. Got some coffee and kicked around the house for a bit then headed down to Dana Point for a 4th of July gathering. Our gracious hosts were Rob and Adrienne Turner.

Some of you may know them from the Bowl. I had never been to their place before but knowing Rob is a long boarder from back in the day and based on the remodeling stories he had related in the past I was looking forward to it. The house looks like any other on the block from the outside but once you walk through the front door you're transported into what appears to be a beach resort in Hawaii or something. It's really great. Definitely a beach/surf motif thing going on with memorabilia and boards on every wall. Super cozy and comfortable. They were prepping for a bunch of company so we cracked open a couple of cold ones and he gave me the grand tour. Awesome little place with a few antique pieces and lots of fun paint schemes in the rooms. Headed out back and chatted with some of the others in attendance and just enjoyed the sun and conversation. Rob cranked up the BBQ around 3 and everyone macked on burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and a number of other tasty treats.
Goofed off on his mini bike that he takes with him when he goes camping. That was interesting as I haven't been on one of those since I was a kid. Has a few electric scooters as well. Pretty much just sat around talked all evening. It was a great day… I've included a smattering of cell phone pics that I snapped off throughout the day… Thanks for having me down Rob and Adrienne…

Rob "Mr. Miyagi" Turner

Long Board Central

-Scott

Summer BBQ time !!!!!

2007-06-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Got skunked fishing on the lake Saturday but managed to make a day of it anyway. Jason spent mad cash at the grocery store and had some friends over for a BBQ. Summer has officially begun. Had a great time visiting with He and Melissa and of course goofing off with their son Gavin… That kid absolutely loves the water. Even Capone (their dog) went for a swim a couple of times. The food was out of control. Cheryl, Jason's neighbor did the deviled egg boogie and of course the guests laid waste to them pretty quickly. The grilled Mexican green onions were crazy good too. Everyone was sated to say the least. Here's some pics of the goings on… Lots of pool action for sure...

Laura and Mary enjoying the water and a beverage...

Laura, Mary and Melissa keeping cool...

Stan, Cheryl and Rosemary chillin'...

Melissa and the water baby Gavin!

Mary played with Gavin a little too...

A bashful blonde lady and pool noodle warrior princess...

Relaxing at poolside...

Many thanks and mad props to Jason and Melissa for hosting this shindig. It was a great way to spend a summer Saturday...

-Scott

Catch of the Day...

2007-06-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Decided to throw a line in the water after work and had Pat come over to partake. Our little lake is overrun with algae and weeds as I mentioned in a previous post but we fought through it. Cleaning your worm after every cast is a royal PITA! Too hot earlier in the day but when the sun started to set the fish got a little more active. I caught a little tiny one and then it kinda slowed down. Pat saw a very large bass swim past the dock so he started using a little drop line technique with his pole. Snagged the fish about 2 feet from the dock... Good sized dude too...

I took a liking to that style as you didn't have to cast too far and it lessened the chances of your worm coming back covered in ick... I saw a decent fish swim away from the dock to my right so I opened the spool and just pitched my line in the approximate direction I saw him swimming. Tossed it right behind a party boat's pontoon and got hit immediately!!! Nice.. Turned out to be a decent size fish as well. We got in 2.5 to 3 hours.. Lesson learned? Wait until dusk otherwise you're pretty much wasting your time. True at this lake anyway...

Here's the action.. These were taken with the cams in our cell phones so the quality isn't that wonderful. Click on a pic to see the original sizing...

Pretty nice afternoon on the whole...

-Scott

Pop's back ...

2007-06-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Dad just returned from his annual sabbatical to the “Old Country” and land of my birth. This would of course be Springfield, Vermont. And or Perkinsville if you want to get technical. He brought back some pics of the native woodland creatures that roam the area. These were taken at my Aunt’s place… Beautiful no?

Bear passing through...

Moose on the loose!!!

Pretty crazy huh? Any wonder why it's called The Green Mountain State?

-Scott

Sweet....

2007-06-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Man, this is turning into a fishing blog... Wanted to kill an hour or so the other day and decided to throw a line off the dock for giggles. The lake has a preponderance of weeks and algae build up lately due to the warm weather. You end up spending a lot of time cleaning off your lure or worm and less time actually casting. Got lucky on this outing though… Pitched the line out by a moored boat and as soon as I took the slack out of the line I got hit! Not exactly a giant but it put up a good fight. barely hooked him/her and there was no internal damage to the vital areas so it was pretty easy to dislodge the hook and let 'em swim off… Very relaxing… Click on the pic to SuperSize...

-Scott

Nice ...

2007-06-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Wow, another season has come and gone. It seems like it was just a few short months back that I posted a pic of a Carolina player hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. Congrats to the Ducks and especially Teemu for his persistence… I'm still a Kings fan, (since the 70's) but I love that the Disney era is history. This team actually showed signs of being a genuine NHL franchise at the beginning of the season and look what they pulled off… Love it..

Teemu!!!!

Best picture ever. Rob and Scott flanking Mom...

Still the coolest game on earth...

-Scott

Restful Holiday ...

2007-05-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Had a really nice Memorial Day. Somehow managed to shake off the cobwebs enduced by rampant socializing Sunday night and rolled out of bed at 7am. Got a little breakfast and such and received a textie from Jason who had a fishing jones. We had discussed the possibility of hitting the lake the previous evening but neither of us were sure how we'd feel about it in the morning. Decided it was a go so I gathered up my trout pole and tackle box and set out for his place.

We goofed around for a little bit and ran into a logistics problem. We could have taken his truck and towed the boat over to the lake but that would have left Melissa without a vehicle for a number of hours so that wasn't going to work. I backed my truck up to the hitch only to discover that my tow ball was slightly too large for his hitch. Answer? $8.99 at Kragen Auto Parts for a new ball that fit. Dashed over to Kragen and back in about 20 min. Now mind you Jason has a pretty decent set of tools in the garage so I grabbed the required socket and a monster torque wrench and had the existing ball off the bumper almost instantly. Slapped the new one on we were ready to roll. Heck even the trailer lighting set up worked perfectly. Jason picked up this aluminium fishing boat and trailer for the amazing low price of um, let's see... Zero.. from his brother who wasn't using it at all.. Gotta love that deal. Just need to make a few repairs to the seats and maybe beef up the trolling motor situation and it'll be perfect... Maybe get another battery and run dual motors fore and aft and source an aftermarket prop or 2... Those little twin blade props that come stock on the trolling motors just don't cut it...

Motored out around the bend after launching and started dropping poles in the water. Got hit about every other cast all the time we were out there. I would estimate solid fishing from roughly 10 'til 2. and though we got some little ones there were plenty of big bass in between. I've attached a phone cam picture of the largest one which Jason snagged. And of course there was a monster that jumped off of the line at one point. Nothing better than setting the hook, playing with the catch for a little bit and then having them run on you.. My pole was bent below the water level on several occasions. One of the larger ones actually got up to the boat and then took off with a bunch of line. My drag was set relatively lightly and I had a blast watching him take the line... Jason was getting hit pretty regularly and we estimated 20 some odd fish were caught during the course of the day. We made it back to the house around 2:30ish and then just kicked it by the pool for another hour or so and had a couple of beers. Also got to spend a couple of hours with the lovely Miss Lolli Laura in the afternoon. She's always a gracious host and just plain fun to be around. A nice relaxing holiday to be sure...

The largest one to make it to the boat. Nice !!!

Can't wait to do it again...

-Scott

This is sick! ...

2007-05-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

Bugatti Veyron at Top Speed... I'd poop my suit...

That's pretty quick eh?

-Scott

Got one! ...

2007-04-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hit the dock in the backyard before dinner last night. Thought I’d get in some casts before the sun went down. Gave my self a 5pm deadline as I had to be somewhere shortly thereafter. Stood out there for 30 minutes or so getting nothing but weeds off of the bottom. This isn’t a real big lake and I’m actually surprised there’s any but carp and catfish in it… So anyway, I decide to get one more cast in before leaving… Look what happened at 4:59 !!!

Nice little Bass...
Gut hooked her, and unfortunately I don’t think she’s going to make it. I’m sourcing a D-Barb tool so I don’t injure the fish if my hookset is off or a little late. These little guys have no problem wolfing down a 4.5" worm in an instant when they're really hungry. That and discerning a strike or nibble from weed snags on the bottom can be a little tricky. I need a kayak and a trolling motor.

-Scott

Easter Sunday ...

2007-04-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

Had a great Easter Sunday...

Started off oddly enough throwin league with Chase Pearson down at the bowl. Had to call ahead and make sure the schedule hadn't changed due to the Holiday. Made it down there in time no problem. Took 3 of 4 from the "2 Witches".. which used to be quite a feat with their handicap but they're getting better all the time! Sometimes we get lucky...

Was heading for home to do my laundry when Mike Mikkelsen called and said they were having Sunday brunch at his place. Told him I was going home to do some chores and he said to bring the laundry over to his place and do it while we ate. Paddy was kind enough to let me squeeze in a couple of loads inbetween her stuff so I got that knocked out. Erik (youngest son) was busy concocting one of his culinary delights. He loves to experiment in the kitchen. Sunday's creation was Chicken Saltimbocca. I'd list all the ingredients (you've probably figured out the chicken part)but I'm way too lazy.. That's what Google and the Food Network are for... I will say it was mighty tasty and the lemon sauce was killer. Almost as good as sqeezing a lemon over King Crab legs or Lobster... Yum Yum... I've posted a picture of the finished product. Sucked down a few Mimosas as well and he whipped up some deep fried bananas and ice cream for desert.

Chicken Saltimbocca!!!

Once the laundry was dry I dashed over to Laura's where she was patiently waiting with Jason and Melissa Woody. She had a hankerin' for some company that afternoon and invited us all over for a boat ride and some fishing. I got to meet her puppies Schlitz and Guinness,(Dacschunds of course) and play a little tug 'o war with 'em.

They groove on the lake. Especially Schlitzy.. He loves to chill at waters edge and look for fish. Pretty cool little dude. Jason had rigged a couple of poles so I grabbed the spinner and started casting. Laura was skippering the boat and would position us just so and then we'd cast in between moored boats. Jason got hit right away and pulled up a pretty good size fish. They were all bass and they were hitting pretty regularly. That lake is full of the things. We stayed out well after sunset and took the scenic cruise. One house in particular looked like someone had bought at least two lots, bulldozed everything and built a waterfront corner mansion on the property. Gorgeous!!! No flash on my cell camera or I'd have posted a night shot of it. I'll take care of that next time out... I've included a shot of one of the little ones I pulled from the lake. I'm pretty sure I got 4 bass from the 15 or so casts. Plastic worm worked like a charm. The photo inset in this section is our most gracious host and skipper. Capt. Laura Stern... she's the sweetest thing and can drive a boat. Who could ask for more?

Jason with Moby Dick....

Back to the dock and in for dinner. I didn't know we were gonna eat but Laura had whipped up some pasta and salad for us. It was delicious and went down pretty quickly. Got to meet her Mom too. Really nice gal. Very upbeat and jovial. Except when I tried to do the dishes! She wasn't having any of that! Hope to visit with her again sometime. Laura and Mom whipped up some coffee and Bailey's for us too. That really hit the spot. All in all a wonderful Sunday. Great food, great people...
Who could ask for more?

-Scott

Heck, the place is almost finished...

2007-03-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Remember way back when I posted the pics of the Mikkelsen demolition? After numersous expenditures and quite a bit of elbow grease by way of Lon, the remodel is coming together quite nicely. The hardwood floors are killer and the kitchen is nuts cool. Huge island area that could probably sleep two comfortably. Super sweet cabinets with drawer sliders that prohibit slamming. You can shove 'em really hard and they stop at about 2" and then just slide shut ever so gently. Here's some before and after shots...
We'll start with a shot from Thanksgiving that gives you an idea of what the kitchen looked like prior to demolition.

November, 2005

Lon started tearing the place apart right around Xmas.. What a mess!

Looks like the Incredible Hulk was visiting huh?

Tooks these shots just the other day.. 3/7/2007... What a difference eh?

The kitchen in all it's glory...

The sitting room and/or family area...

And lastly the reworked hardwood staircase...

Quite the upgrade wouldn't you say??? All that's really left is to fasten a fixture or two here and there.. Doorknobs etc. Sweet...

-Scott

Oh Yeah . . .

2007-03-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

And the reason I'm sitting is because Mike and Paddy are roughing it out on Kauai... Life's a bitch eh? Here's a typical sunrise taken from the beach. Just outside their room...

Sheesh again!

-Scott

Elvis's disdain ...

2007-03-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

Sitting over at the Mikkelsen residence again. Lots of laundry, TV and sandwiches...
Had to bring the camera this time around much to the chagrin of Elvis who's soooo over getting his picture taken... click the pic for full size...

Sheesh!!!

-Scott

Sunny and Warm Sierra Vista, Arizona...

2007-01-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Remember one of my first entries on this blog way back when? That's right, it was all about the road trip Mike, Erik and I took out to his sisters place in Sierra Vista, Arizona. We visited Tombstone and Bisbee and we picked what we thought was just the right time of year as the temperatures were mild and the sunsets just beautiful. Here's a couple of shots that Mona took earlier this month... Not exactly how you would picture the old west eh?

Hope the horses and hounds are coping with it okay..

So much for the rattlesnake threat...

The front of the house from the driveway

The Birdbath...er skating rink..

Phil, does this look all too familiar?

-Scott

Sunday...

2007-01-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

God I hate doing laundry. Well, at least there's plenty of football on the tube to get me through it. Sorry about Dallas Lisa! Little sore this morning as I spent the afternoon with Jason on the roof over at the Bowl. We ran some pipe to feed gas to the HVAC unit that feeds one of the rooms. Don't know if I'll ever get my hands clean again. Got a late start so as I was waiting I broke out the tools and installed the Delta truckbox I purchased and the retracting bed hooks. It'll be nice not to have to run over to the storage unit everytime I need a pair of pliers or something. Going to try to find some carpet tiles or the like to pad some of the surface area. Figure it might cut down on vibration and keep the tools from sliding around in the box whilst I'm driving. Pretty happy with the installation so far.

Check it out...

Sweeeet !!!

-Scott

Flashback...

2006-12-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a little pic from 1955.. 3 years before I was even here on the earth..

It's the assembled Crew MA-8 from the U.S. Navy..

Can you pick out my Dad?

If you need a little help, here's a solo shot of him in his whites...

Gee, we don't look TOO much alike, eh?

Christmas has come and gone now we're getting ready for the new year.. Have some great shots of Sharen and Toni's place under 2 feet of snow just don't have access to them while I'm dog/house sitting... Hopefully I'll have them up by weeks end..

-Scott

Doyle in Dana Point Tonight ...

2006-11-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

The fingerstyle master returns... Woot!

First'timers Winnie Sille, Lisa Kindsfather and Pat Johnson all get to finally see him live...

I can't wait!!!

Fingerstyle Virtuoso Doyle Dykes

-Scott

Post Show Follow Up...

What can you say but, Wow! He was awesome as was expected. Haley was in fine form as well. Changed it up a bit this time and we actually witnessed "Knebworth Dream" live. Have no idea how one goes about writing stuff like that. Just beautiful. First timers Winnie, Lisa and Pat were blown away by Doyle's skills and Haley's voice. Picked up some swag too and got autographs. Check it...

Click on pic for larger image

I could brag and tell everyone that Haley asked me for my phone #... but then I'd have to confess that it was required on the credit card form ...

Definitely go see this guy play if he's ever in your area.

-Scott

Road Trip ...

2006-10-29T18:37:00.000-08:00

Got up bright and early Saturday morning and hit the road out of town. I had planned earlier in the week to visit my friend Denny Self who has recently relocated to the getaway destination of Salton City, California. For those unfamiliar with the area it’s a little south of Indio. Great big lake with a recreation area and miles of undeveloped desert lands. Pretty desolate but with little communities surrounding it. Sounded like a good opportunity to get out of the city for a day. That and the fact that Denny and his hound Junior are somewhat new to the area and are still getting acclimated. I figured he could stand a familiar face around the place for a day. Being the handy guy that he is he hooked up with a friend of one of his son’s who had a place out there that needed some work. Well, “some” is a relative term and being as the property is more of getaway residence than permanent. It’s in a stage of disrepair and neglect. Additionally since there are only a few permanent residents in the park and it butts up to the desert area, some folks have a tendency to borrow things from the site. The side door entrance to the mobile home for instance. He’s been there a couple of weeks now and has managed to clear almost all of the dead brush from the lot (3/4 acre or so) and has the home in livable condition. Once he gets his tools down there he can get crackin’ on the outside of the home and maybe even do a little landscaping. The lot is prime for a modular home. Salton Sea Beach has quite a few properties closer to the shore that are run down and even some that are burned out. I’m sure there’s a story surrounding that section of the park but I’ll let Denny figure it out through the local network and I’m sure he’ll tell me about another time. May have something to do with the “weekenders” that go out there to ride their bikes, quads and sandrails around the desert. Saw some really nice buggies out there Saturday. Quite a few parasail rigs further down by the boat launching area as well. I saw as many as 6 all up at one time. If that keeps up they’ll be needing and air traffic control center before long.

Truck ran great all the way to and from with no issues whatsoever. Part of the reason for my excursion was to deliver some supplies that had been gathered for Denny by Phyllis and Anton. They’re friends of ours from Lake Forest Lanes. Denny is going to be the live in handyman as it were for the next year or two while he’s whipping the place into shape and until all the utilities and such are up to snuff it’s going to be a somewhat bohemian existence. So Phyllis and Anton were kind enough the throw together a few staples and I ran them out there. Can’t thank them enough for this kind gesture. I’m pretty sure I arrived at about 8:30 or 9am and started unloading the truck. Denny greeted me and lugged the boxes inside. Just sat and chatted for a bit until I could coax him to start opening the boxes. I was probably more excited than him. Felt like Christmas morning to me and couldn’t wait to see his reaction(s) even though I had no clue at all what the contents were. I won’t go into detail as to the contents but will say that he was flabbergasted by Phyllis and Anton’s generosity. He should be set up for months to come.
I think I’m going to get him a wristwatch and maybe some waffle knit shirts or something for the upcoming cold season. I hear it can get pretty nasty out there. He should be okay though as Phyllis and Anton (hereafter referred to as P&A) hooked him up with a nice 20 degree rated sleeping bag. Heck, I use one here in the city when it’s gets colder. I love sleeping in that thing.

"Hey, I know that van!"

We spent the morning at the Lion’s Den in the park. A little Bar & Grill that the locals run. Great burger and I polished one off along with a beer or two. Met the staff, Darren the day manager and Lindsay our server and just kinda took in the place. Interesting décor. From there we headed south on highway 86 and just cruised some of the more populated areas. Spotted another little pub down the way and decided to check it out as I spied a satellite dish on the roof. Good call as the USC game was on the big screen. I was afraid Denny was going to get shut out on seeing his Trojans. We stayed there for the second half and met some of the staff there as well. Most everyone in the area are pretty nice folks and very hospitable.

"Flying Deskfan"

"Sandrail parked at Capt. Jim's"

"Wide open spaces off of the 86 South?

Denny appears to be networking and getting to know people in the neighborhood just fine. Once his tools are in place I’m sure he will be able to pick up side jobs in and around the park and he’ll always have the current digs to work on. Given his talents in cabinet making and general skills as a craftsman, and given the time and funding I’m sure he can transform the lot into a little oasis. I’ll keep writing him and checking up on him from time to time and I’m sure I’ll get a phone call if anything really exciting happens out there. God help us if they erect a bowling center out there!

"Nice side project for Denny"

In closing I’d like to state that Mr. Self was and is deeply moved by the support from the Lake Forest contingency and in particular his special benefactors P&A. ( I knew I’d get that abbreviation in there!)

That’s it for now all. Back to the grind tomorrow. I have a hankering to live on a ranch now.

-Scott

What a PITA!!!

2006-10-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

So it's like this. I've been riding my Mtn. Bike to and from work and everywhere else for that matter. This because the truck decided to keep throwing the serpentine belt from the pulley system. Now this is really fun because one belt drives every vital external engine component. I heard something funny under the hood last month but couldn't figure out what it was. I found out about two weeks ago as I was driving over to the Bowl for league. I'm cruising around the bend on Aspan over in that area and all of a sudden the following happens in tandem or all at once rather.
"Check Engine" light comes on. "Battery Light" comes on. (not charging) Temperture gauge starts climbing rapidly.(very unusual for this truck) And the power steering ceases to function. Let me tell you it may be a little truck but I really had to put some arm into it at slower speeds. Fortunately I had a pretty good head a steam up and was able to shut down the motor and glide in for a landing in my favorite parking spot at the lanes. Bowled league (average at best) then went out and popped the hood and saw the problem. The serpentine belt has seen better days but wasn't exactly trashed either so I knew it was something else. Managed to limp it home by starting and stopping the engine so I wouldn't overheat and blow it up. Manhandled the steering and parked it on the frontage road at home. Came to find out that the pulley directly behind the fan blades wasn't exactly turning true. This because of the 4 machine bolts that hold in in place were a little askew. As in there were only 2 still there and one of them was backed half way out of the threads. No wonder it threw the belt! Pat Johnson was by that weekend and we cranked down the 2 bolts that were left and it idled okay, but under load it just threw the belt again.

"The Doctor is in"
AutoZone didn't have diddly in the way of these bolts so I had to speacial order them from Ford. Mad props to Martin Huerta in the parts dept. over at Tuttle-Click Ford in Irvine for being able to ID and procure the bolts that were required. He has a wicked cool parts database. Found the time this morning and attacked it. Took a short bike ride over to AutoZone to pick up some loctite and since I was tearing it down anyway I also snagged a new serpentine belt.

Pulled the heat shield and the big tube that runs from the airbox to the intake as it was totally in the way and managed to back off the existing 2 bolts. Didn't pull 'em all the way off but loosened them just enough so I could thread the new ones in the unoccupied holes. I gotta tell you this took some doing as there is little if any space to work with between the fan and the pulley. I had no intention of pulling the radiator shroud and fan for this. Thank goodness I have little girly man hands. Bunch of other stuff in the way as well and with the tight quarters I had to actually use my left hand to start the bolts. I still don't know how I pulled that off. Anyway once they were all in place, (pulled the 2 old ones and replaced) I slapped some loctite on them and torqued them down. Let it set for about 30 min. and slapped the new belt on. Fired it up and everything kicked back in just fine. All my warning lights started behaving again and I didn't have to have Hulk Hogan arms to turn the thing. It was a hassle but 40 bucks in parts and my Saturday morning is nothing compared to what any shop would have dinged me for. Gotta love it.. Here's a shot of the engine compartment stripped of the air hoses and such, followed by the shiny new serp. belt and lastly the reassembled engine compartment.

Noticed a drip from the power steering pump as it was warming up and the fluid is a little low. I think it's time to replace the lines for that unit and the transmission. "Ka'Ching"!! Tires are in the immediate future for sure... Though I've really enjoyed pedaling around town the last couple of weeks I had to get cracking on this with the rainy season about to begin. I like the mini workouts but riding to work in the rain doesn't appeal to me in the least. Have a good weekend all...

-Scott

Check out the kid ...

2006-10-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a great little viddy of my new buddy in the UK... Quite accomplished for a lad of 15 years... and believe me folks there's nothing easy about a Doyle Dykes composition... I give you, well master Philip gives you, Doyle Dyke's "Self Portrait on Acoustic Guitar"... If you don't enjoy this, your probably already dead...

Thanks Phil...

-Scott

Preview for Stevie ...

2006-09-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

Just goofing around with the imaging software on this box. Stevie Ryan is an aspiring actress and all around clever young woman. And is extremely popular with the You Tube crowd. Those that have a sense of humor anyway. Aside from the many characters she portrays on that particular site she also produces, writes and directs her own short films. All of which I have found charming. She has a wonderful way of interpreting and presenting an era long since past and as I was thinking about her style the other day I had a myriad of ideas. So I was looking to kill some time the other day and put this together. Nothing too fancy but she just fits the bill. I'll submit it to her fansite under the "fan art" category.

Hope she doesn't mind.

Satin Doll was the name of one of her short films so this seemed most apropos.

-Scott

Here's another.... I stink at color adjustments but still had fun doing this one.

Whereabouts ????

2006-09-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Vicki Z... Where are you?

The folks down at "The Post" are beginning to worry about you!!

-Scott

A day at the races ...

2006-08-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

So Mike calls me Saturday morning and says hey bud, we have an extra ticket and a table at the Stretch Run area at Del Mar and the ticket is going to waste if you don’t go. Paddy had an appointment in San Diego that morning and when things were wrapped up she would meet us down south. So after all this time in California I’m experiencing two firsts. An Amtrak ride on the train down to Solana Beach and a day at the races. Big fun was to be had. The train ride was surprisingly smooth. Great suspension set up on those cars. Only downside was that apparently a lot of folks ride the train down to Del Mar for the races and there was standing room only all the way down. You pretty much had to board up north say in Valencia if you wanted a shot at a seat. Interesting and fun none the less.
I’ll have to do it again and spend a day at Seaworld or something. Total party train all the way down to Solana Beach. Beers flowing and people moving about. We didn’t drink anything as we were standing the whole trip. Arrived without incident and Paddy picked us up at the SB station and from there a short jaunt over to the track. Great table right by the finish line and super nice crowd in our area. Mike started giving me the primer on how to place bets and I immediately started perusing the program for information on the horses and such. Had a couple of beers and it was off to the betting window.

The first two races I bet a Trifecta boxed and both times only 2 of my 3 horses showed. Dang!!! No big deal, I was only betting a buck or two on each race. The Mikkelsens’ friend Judy George was also in attendance and she saw one fella put 200 bucks on a single horse to win in one race. I’d have put 10 bucks on that horse if I was in that line just to see what might have happened. I did hit one in the 4th race betting on a single horse to win. He was supposed to show according to the scouting reports but I bet “He’s a Trieher” to win. Started out in the middle of the pack but closed in the final turn. Looked like the front runner was going to hang on but my horse nosed him out in the last 20 yards or so. Very, very exciting. Would have been more exciting had I bet 10 bucks. The win paid 20.80 so by my math I would have walked away with $104.00 on that race. The crowd is pretty quiet and controlled when the gates open but when they make the turn for the stretch run the buzz in the stands builds to a fever pitch. It was great. We snacked lightly as Mike pretty much made it clear that we were heading down to Ocean Beach afterwards for dinner at Ortega’s. As usual I ate until I thought I would burst.

Excellent food there but you would die for sure if you had it every day. Rich, filling and tasty for sure. So anyway, what was supposed to be a laundry and belated spring clean Saturday turned into quite the adventure. And aside from the train ticket and dinner I broke even. I can see why people look forward to the season. Very enjoyable pastime if you don’t get too carried away.

"He's a Triehr" by a nose! ...

Took 3 out of 4 in the Sunday morning league at the Bowl and then got roped into the Doubles tourney in the afternoon. Bowled with a nice gal named Carol who loves the game. We didn’t take the tourney but we did win the first side pot. Anytime you can recover part of your entry fee it’s all good.

So all in all it was a great weekend. The only thing that bothers me is that my laundry is still piling up. I’ll have to remedy that this evening.. Many thanks to the Mikkelsens for a nice day out!

For the full photo album of the days events click HERE...

-Scott

I don't think she know's but "Alaska"...

2006-08-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Mike forwarded the first batch of shots from the Alaska trip.. Great stuff..
Perfect timing on the sea otter shot! From what I gather the trip is everything they expected and more. Paddy was chomping at the bit well over a month prior to departure and they're having a great time.

Enjoy the shots…

Hello from Alaska!

-Scott

Weekend Wetness ...

2006-07-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well okay then… Mike and Paddy are off to Alaska for a cruise and mucho sightseeing and as such I’m hanging out at their place keeping the dogs entertained and making sure the house doesn’t burn down. Kinda nice actually as the house is air conditioned unlike my current residence and there’s a pool in the backyard which really helps things out given how humid it’s been lately. Their daybed is 10 times more comfortable than my queen at home so I think I’m going to be shopping a new mattress and such. I’ve been sleeping really good the last couple of days. Probably cuz I’ve bowled my butt off in league and been throwing on the side with Jared and Mary, Pat, Jason and Melissa. Pat and I knocked off the #1 team yesterday. Took 3 out of 4 and just might hang on to second place spot.

Additionally I’ve been taking full advantage of the pool
and finally got a chance to administer the litmus test on the WP-DC200 waterproof case I picked up way back when for my little Canon Powershot A20. I’m pretty happy with the results considering it’s only a 2.0 megapixel camera. The scenery in the pool isn’t all that exotic but hey, wadda’ya’gonna do? I grabbed an odd clay ashtray holder thingy off of the patio table as it had some bulk and probably wouldn’t float. Strange little piece. Something along the lines of Planet of the Apes meets Stonehenge. Not exactly Mayan ruins or the lost city of Atlantis but hey!!!, It’s a backyard pool. Better than just shooting the plaster. Got a great shot of Goliath from about 2 feet under hanging his head over the edge of the coping as he is prone to doing.

Took a few shots of the thing and the bubbles generated by the spa jets then wanted to try something different. Drug the clay piece over to the entry steps at the shallow end and inverted it. Took a few minutes fumbling around with the camera controls (hard to operate in the case without practice) and set it up for a 10 second delay. I pointed the camera toward the deep end and let the clay piece rest on the camera on or about the 2nd step. The case isn’t weighted and would just bob up and down in the water otherwise.
I’ll have to address this later. Worked out pretty well. Erik and I will have to try something at night and see how the flash works in the pool. I did get some backscatter on some of the images but nothing I couldn’t remedy in P-Shop or Elements.

Boy, I’d love to do this for real in Akumal… I’d hit the cenotes first thing. Check out Hidden Worlds if you’re not sure what I’m talking about. Snorkeling is fun…

I was trying out a wetsuit to see how it's buoyancy effected my bottom time while breathholding. It was nearly impossble to stay on the bottom with air in your lungs so I think a weightbelt of somesort is in order. The same was true when just wearing boardshorts and my Rusty rash guard. (UV protection)

Board shorts and my trusty Rusty...
Not quite naked but you didn't want to see that anyway!

I’ll amend the post or put up another one once the night experiment is done..

Oh yeah, and as usual you can just click on any image for the full size view...

-Scott

Hi Cuz!

2006-07-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Had a great day Saturday as one of my cousins was in town for the first time in, well forever. Kathryn Davis of Houston and my cousin on my Mom’s side blew into So. Cal. for a little getaway and to attend a couple of Kenny Loggins shows here in the Southland. She had caught a red eye flight from Texas and arrived Friday evening which turned into Saturday morning with the rent a car and getting to her hotel and all. She set up camp in Hollywood and finally hit the sack in the wee hours.

I woke up as usual at about 4:30 Saturday morning, grabbed some coffee, checked emails and went right back to bed for a couple of hours. The morning malaise wore off about 7:15 or so but I decided not to ring her up until after 8 am or thereabouts. When I did make the call she was up and about and we made plans to hit the County Fair down in San Diego in the early afternoon. I haven’t done the exact math but it should be noted that I haven’t seen her in about 30+ years. Heck, I don’t remember how old I was when I last visited San Antonio. Let’s just say it was quite some time ago.

She hit the road on her way down to South County and immediately experienced the joy that is Southland traffic. Southland holiday traffic at that. The text messages started flying but once she hit a break things started to look a little better. When she finally got past the industrial district of LA it was smooth sailing and she was on my doorstep just a little after 11 am. Pleasantries were exchanged and she was afforded the guided tour of the digs despite my abode being in the “Spring Clean Shambles”. Kat seemed to like the neighborhood but as all of you presently residing here know it’s been unseasonably HOT the last few days. KD stated she didn’t remember California being this warm.

We we’re both a little hungry and decided on Schlotsky’s Deli for a sandwich and/or a salad. I pounded a Snapple there and had already made sure we had plenty of bottled water for the Fair. We went over logistics and since the Loggins concert didn’t start until later in the evening I decided to run her over to the Mikkelsen household where she could meet Mike and Paddy as well as the hounds. Paddy was away but Mike was home as were the mutts. Much to my surprise the dogs pounced on me instead of welcoming the newbie!! Kat really liked Mike’s neighborhood as do I. I’d kill for a single story in that tract. Love it. Unfortunately, the going rate over there for a single story dwelling is about 750K…

So we hung out with Mike for about an hour and Kath got to see all the kitchen remodeling as well as the pool replastering project. Felt like jumping in right then and there. Hot, Hot, Hot. It was approaching 1pm when we left Mike’s and headed for the freeway south. Traffic wasn’t all that bad even in the San Juan Cap. area where it usually backs up for a little bit. Nice scenic ride down the coast with a few landmarks that Katarina may or may not have remembered. She had been in the area of Camp Pendleton awhile back but nothing looked really familiar. No matter as we were headed to the Fair to goof off and catch up on one another.

Can’t recall exactly what time we arrived at the Del Mar Fairgrounds but I can tell you it was still hot. The good thing is that the grounds and racetrack are really close to the ocean so you get a little breeze blowing in onshore to cool things down a bit. It was still a little warm but pleasant for the most part. We did the parking thing and started the trek to the ticket booth. We were admitted in short order after a short search for weapons (my keychain box cutter was confiscated) and started cruising the grounds. An obligatory stop at the restrooms and then around to the arena where someone was messing around on a dirt bike. Reached the other side and lo and behold one of my favorite attractions. A BEER STAND… I slugged down two Heiny’s whilst Kat had a light beer and we sat there for about 45min. or so just talking about our lives and family. Great stuff. From there we wandered around some more checking out some of the exhibits and animals in the big halls.

We put a lot of miles on our sneakers that afternoon. Used the bridges to cross over the turf at the racetrack and into the infield area, which was set up as most carnival midways are. Rides and Food all over the place. We just missed a wine tasting session. Dang! We were getting somewhat hungry and spent another half hour or so just going from booth to booth in search of the perfect afternoon snack. We saw a ton of signs that looked like they might have something appetizing but the food didn’t look all that good for the cash most folks were demanding. We did end up finding a reasonable place that was whipping up Gyros. Very tasty and just filling enough to last us the rest of the evening. Saw a little bit of the demolition derby in the small arena but the most fun thing to watch was the Swifty Swine pig races. They had a little 4 lane starting gate and a small track set up with rails.

Then introduced the piglets one by one all with names like “Brad Pig” and “Snoop Hoggy Hogg”. You get the idea. It’s a one lap dash for the treat at the end. They had different categories as well. Pot Belly’s as well as the piglets and a half time show with the tiniest little piglet that dove into a water trough and swam from one end to the other. Pretty funny actually.

We wandered over to the Grandstand to check out the concert seating and found a bunch of art exhibits from schools in the local area. Some great stuff there. Kat’s seating checked out and she had an excellent sight line to the stage. There was some more stuff going on in the courtyard with some bluegrass musicians so we checked that out for a bit as well. Then it was show time. Kat hit the reserved seating (she’s a fan club member) and I headed upstairs to get a decent seat. We agreed to meet after the show at a predetermined area downstairs. I settled in upstairs and enjoyed the show. My only regret is that I couldn’t get on the rail upstairs and try to zoom in for a picture of her in her seat. Very enjoyable set and I must say for a guy that’s 58, he hasn’t lost a thing in the vocal department. His supporting musicians were outstanding as well. Good Times.

When the show let out we met up again and filed our way back to the main gate. It had been a long day and we had a little bit of a drive left to get back to the OC. Traffic heading back up north was non-existent and we pretty much breezed back into town. Made a brief detour through San Juan Cap and then over to Ortega for fuel (broken pump) and then dashed the rest of the way back home. Cuz came upstairs to check out the map one more time before heading up to Hollywood. She wanted to be certain that there was an exit off of the 101 for Hollywood Blvd. I should have put the day bed upstairs down for her but it made more sense for her to hit the hotel. She had a bunch of stuff to do the next morning in preparation for Sunday night’s show and squeezing in some sightseeing on the Boulevard. Plus she was staying at the Roosevelt, which is a little swankier than our place and infinitely more comfortable given the heat and our lack of AC. So I walked her to the car and we said our goodbyes all the while reiterating what a fun day we’d had and how nice it was to get reacquainted after all these years.

Kathryn and Yours Truly

That’s how it went folks and I thoroughly enjoyed my day and her company…..

-Scott

OMG!!! A Star is born...

2006-06-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

PARENTAL ADVISORY

SOME OR ALL OF THE LANGUAGE CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES..

This guy is incredible. He’s the total package. Writer, Editor, Actor, Musician, and the Impressions for the most part are spot on. I’ve never seen or heard a better Walken… Remember the name Dave Coyne. Unless I miss my guess you’ll be hearing a lot more about this guy. Be sure to check out his “Samuel L. Jackson is my Bro” clip. Unbelievable piece of work…

-Scott

Long time coming ...

2006-06-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Carolina Hurricanes (Hartford Whalers) on winning Lord Stanley's Cup. The hardest trophy in sport to capture. Always good to see the 30 something guys get there name on it before retirement. Cam Ward (22 year old rookie) was brilliant in the playoffs and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP) for his efforts. Game 7 of the finals.. There's nothing quite like it..

See you next season fellas ...

-Scott

Barb's Birthday at the Bowl ...

2006-05-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

I'm tired.. I'll elaborate tomorrow...

-Scott

This girl just kills me ...

2006-05-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Came across this vlog a week or so ago and I just can’t get enough of this girl. She has me rolling on the floor laughing with every installment. My sense of decorum and fair play prohibit me from letting you in on her little secret though you will in all likelihood figure it out on your own…

She gets a lot of flack from haters in her comments section from people without a sense of humor… One idiot in particular insists on labeling her a racist. Here’s a little terminology for that goof. “Parody” and/or “Satire”. Ethnicity has always been a platform for humor and always will be. Heck, some of the best jokes I’ve ever heard were from Hispanic friends crackin’ on us white boys. How people can bag on this is amazing as they’ll have no problem at all watching John Leguizamo in drag or watching Dave Chappelle cutting up on everyone. Dave is mad funny by the way. Flip Wilson was doing stereotypical stuff way back when.

Take it how you will but I think this is some of the best work ever posted on the site. Clever, well produced, acted wonderfully. Sure beats some of the other lame journals taking up server space there.

Props to Silent Girl too!

Take care all,

-Scott

Good 'Ole Saturday Night Beatdown ...

2006-05-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful thing.. After running his mouth in the weeks prior to Saturday nights matchup, Ricardo Mayorga gets thumped about a minute into the dukefest. Oscar's getting a little older and his career is winding down but he still has great hand speed and if you have any doubts about the power he's packing in that left hook this should serve to put you at ease...

Just the highlights here. Ricardo actually landed a nice uppercut somewhere in the 3rd round I believe but Oscar shook it off and proceeded to pummel his outclassed opponent.

Can you say "Ass Whipping"?

Lights out shooting...

2006-05-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Pretty uneventful Sunday morning for me. Body was killing me and JimBob was out of town so I bowled solo and not all that well. There was some fun down the way though as Stevie Zimmerman threw a perfect game which Jason Woody promptly followed with a 290... Got tapped in the first frame, picked up the spare and then ran the board..
Pretty cool stuff.. Oh to be young again....

-Scott

Too Good ...

2006-04-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Jdlow77 had another one on "youtube" that's great so I pinched that one as well. Here's one he likes to play at the Opry in honor of Roy Acuff... The guitar sounds a little out of tune but I'd imagine this particular song requires an alternate tuning.

Doyle is just silly good...

No image captured on this one as of yet... I'll fix it when one becomes available...
Trust me, there is a video there...

-Scott

More from Doyle ...

2006-04-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

As most or all of you know I'm a huge fan of this guy... and with not a whole lot else going on I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of his incredible talent with you. You don't even have to attend church regularly to appreciate his music or exactly what he can do with some wood and six strings.. His daughter Haley accompanies him on this piece and she's no slouch in the vocal dept. either... Little sweetheart too...

This is probably the most incredible arrangement of a classic hymn I've ever come across... The video quality isn't all that marvy but that kinda adds to the coolness. A home movie of the master if you know what I mean...

Enjoy and feel free to share with your friends.. and if you're even slightly impressed, leave a comment...

Thanks to "jdlow77" from the youtube.com member listings for sharing it with me.

It's all good!!!

-Scott

Yawn ...

2006-04-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing too eventful to report as it’s pretty much been the same ole’ routine. Work, eat, compute and sleep, then do it all over again. There is some news however. A memorial service was held Saturday morning for my 20” TV which passed away quietly in the night after 15 years of faithful service. As fate would have it she gave up the ghost on the dawn of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A period of mourning was in order but after gathering my composure I hit the net and did some research. Ended up with a Toshiba Flat Tube unit which is pictured below. The built in VCR and DVD player are extremely handy and eliminate the obligatory tangle of cords that accompany separate components. The downside of course is that if something’s on the fritz with the combo, the entire TV has to be dragged in for repair. I think I’ll keep my stand alone units in storage in case something happens.

You’d think something this seemingly fancy would come with a backlit remote as I’ve seen lower end models that included them, but noooooooo… No glow keys here. I’ll survive as long as I have my CNN in the morning whilst preparing for work and Hockey at least until someone is awarded Lord Stanley’s Cup…

NEWSFLASH:

JimBob made it to the “Bowl” just in time for league Sunday morning. I had practice all out of the way and was looking up and down the place the whole time wondering if he was going to show up. I had just begun to punch him in as absent when Pat came running down from the desk saying that he had just seen him pull into the parking lot. He laced ‘em up and proceeded to tell me the story of how he was out clubbin’ most of the night and was not really in any condition to do anything but sleep. Low and behold he bowled over his average in all of his league games. This was something akin to the time I was fighting that lousy lingering 2 week cold awhile back and couldn’t pick up a sock much less a bowling ball, but managed my high scratch series. I actually bettered that yesterday by tossing a 630 scratch series for the 3 game set. You do the math. Adding insult to injury we took 3 of 4 on the score sheet from the 1st place couple. The victory was bittersweet though as said couple was Jason and Melissa Woody who are very, very good friends of ours. Jason would hand me my butt 9 out of 10 games but I just got on a little hot streak which I attribute to being completely amped on 3 large cups of coffee.

Gee, I guess there was more news than I thought…

Be well all,

-Scott

Too much league ...

2006-03-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

My doctors says I have to pull out of the Sunday practice league for awhile... I'm simply throwing too many games during the course of the week.

-Scott

For the Surf Geek who has everything ...

2006-03-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Okay Boys and Girls, tired of slaving away at your keyboard whilst dreaming of that sandy beach in Newport, Hawaii or Akumal ??? Now you can take a piece of paradise with you when doing the 9 to 5 grind…

Introducing the Surf-Drive !!!! Yes that’s right, a USB Flash Drive in 512MB or 1GIG capacities with the coolest enclosure on the planet. Imagine the portability as you transfer your favorite files and images (preferably beach scenes) between machines all the while being reminded that your next opportunity to hang out at Tressels is just around the corner. This is a must have for all Beach Bums that hold down real jobs in the technology field.

It comes in the paint scheme shown here as well as a classic version reminiscent of the good old Robert August graphics that I used to see in my youth in Huntington Beach. It has a nice retro look to it.

A light application of Zogs Sex Wax is of course optional, but might be a nice touch for authenticity’s sake.

Available now at NewEgg dot com.
-Scott

Now that's a Hockey Fight !!!

2006-03-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Given the lackluster performance of both the U.S and Canadian hockey teams at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.. I thought I'd spice things up for you a bit...

This comes to us courtesy of Joe Tingle who found it whilst perusing the net, (Internet, not hockey net) and has to be one of the greatest brawls I've ever seen.

Bench clearing, stick weilding mayhem at every turn. How the game resumed is beyond me and if no assault charges were filed it's a miracle. Appears to have taken place somewhere in Romania so only a chosen few of you will understand the commentary but you'll get the idea...

Enjoy ...

HOCKEY DUKEFEST

-Scott

Mikey's hitting the big time ....

2006-02-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

Michael Brindley of the "Dead Cell Zones" and various other projects got some ink in Bass Player Magazine this month. Pretty neat for guy who picked up the instrument just a few short months back...

You know the drill, click for the readable version

He'll be slappin' like Bill Sharpe in no time

Congrats Mikey B.!!!

Someday, I might actually have to crack open that eMedia software I purchased and learn to play my ever so dusty guitar..

-Scott

Mona's Truck Stolen ...

2006-02-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Mona Mikkelsen (USAF retired) had the misfortune of having her big white Ford F-250 diesel crew cab stolen Wednesday night while at dinner. She had locked up after getting something out of the truck and 15 minutes later she leaves the establishment and discovers her truck missing. The police of course file a report and state that these vehicles are favorites for smuggling drugs and/or people with questionable immigration status. The Customs and Border Protection agency was keeping an eye out for it and spotted the truck Thursday trying to cross the border.
The thief or hired driver, (I'm not sure which) apparently tried to run a road block and was unsuccessful. Her truck was recovered and all should be well. Can't say the same for the driver. Insurance will have to fix a couple of bullet holes and clean up some blood, but at least she'll have her hauler back. Comes in handy for picking up feed for her horses and such.

Here's some coverage from the local news ...

-Scott

Protected Species, yeah right..

2006-02-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

This is why Gene and I stayed inside the confines of Mission Bay last summer !!! still want to go out Erik?

Doyle Revisited ...

2006-02-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

Just got back from another enthralling performance by Mr. Doyle Dykes and daughter Haley. Words cannot describe how masterfully this man can play guitar, and it's always fun to see first timers witness his fingerstyle prowess and also discover what a genuine down to earth man he is.

Had Tom Scrivano from work tag along, he enjoyed himself thoroughly. James (JimBob) from the Sunday practice league was in attendance in Angela Romero's stead. (She had a scheduling conflict at work) JimBob can't wait to tell his stepfather about Doyle. The beautiful Susan Wolfe was with us at my behest and actually threw Doyle a curve with a question regarding days gone bye. Doyle however hit it out of the park. Susan can elaborate and I'll post it as an addendum should the opportunity arise.

Gene and Ellen Carter were kind enough to haul us all down there in Ellen's Tahoe, (I need an SUV) and though Gene had told her about Doyle there's nothing like seeing him live for two hours or so. She really enjoyed herself and I picked up a few tips about being aggressive in line. I think I need to borrow her for shopping on the day after Thanksgiving !!! A good time was had by all as is usually the case at a Doyle event.

I'll keep showing up when he's in California. Still haven't heard him close with "It is Well" but we were treated to "Caleb's Report" at the request of an audience member. What a great pull. It was wonderful. Threw in a little "Chet" and of course cranked up "Wabash Cannonball". "White Rose for Heidi" live just slays any recorded version I've heard. I think the version he played in Sept. 2005 just before Heidi's wedding is the best I've ever heard him play it. Mucho thanks to Kevin Michael aka Celtic Cowboy from the Doyle Dykes Web Forum for a masterful authoring of the mini DVD in my possession.

JimBob, Me, Haley, Doyle, Susan, Tom, Ellen and Gene
Did I take my camera? Like you had to ask... Got a group shot that includes Haley!!

She's really busy after most performances working the CD table and such. She's a singer and Roadie and the PR rep. Great multi-tasker. I even caught her packing Doyle's gear at one point. Funniest thing ever happened too. She grabbed her Pop's mint "Brown Sugar DDSM" and when she turned to put it in it's case she banged the headstock on an open mic.. Immediately looked over at Dad who was engaged in conversation and then looked back at us with her index finger over pursed lips giving us the "Sssshhhhuuuuush" signal. That was hilarious!! Enjoy,... We sure did.

-Scott

The Gavinator !!!

2006-01-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

Gavin Woody chillin' at Forest Lanes. Being an honorary team member he's styling in his "Bowling Stones" team shirt. Heck, he might even grow into it some day!

Camera phones are sorely lacking in resolution capabilities but whatta' 'ya gunna do?
Since the last image is kinda fuzzy you can see a crisper version of the logo Here, and/or the Shirt Renderings Here.

-Scott

Tech Toy ...

2006-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Picked up this little # on Ebay the other day. Very nice for handsfree applications.
I highly recommend this unit if you have a high volume of calls and like to multi-task. You just push the button when Bluetooth is enabled on your phone, speak the saved name of the party you wish to contact and your phone dials for you. It's also a perfect match for those of you who are in possession of Black Motorola Razr V3 units. Or any other black phone for that matter.

Cheers,

-Scott

Sharen Update ...

2005-12-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

Ms. Sutton sent me a few pics the other day. The company she works for designs and installs communication systems for the aerospace industry. They just happened to get their hands on a Falcon 2000 for installation and testing purposes and Sharen and some co-workers were afforded the opportunity to access the hangar and the aircraft.

How cool is this? The only thing I can think of to top it would be to take a flight on it and call everyone you know on the com-link!!!

Here's some visuals...

-Scott

Clarence Article ...

2005-12-16T23:27:00.000-08:00

The "Bike for Clarence" story we've been awaiting is in fact the cover story in this month's issue of Riders For Justice. Amazing how word has spread on this. To the best of my knowledge there will be an additional story running perhaps next month in an East Coast publication known as "Dixie Biker". You can view the current article in .pdf format HERE, or just click on the image below. I can't believe it but there's even a link to this blog in the article. Imagine my surprise. If all goes well I'm sure someone at RFJ or the Yamaha Star Riders Group will forward a hardcopy to Clarence. Kudos again to Bonedady, Trainwreck and Brian in Texas for getting this all started, as well as Ron and Gwen Campbell of Riders for Justice for the coverage...

For those who might have trouble navigating this Blog (and I know it can be a pain) just search on these keywords for the original posts and the ensuing Tour..

Oh heck, I'll just put up links..

"A Bike for Clarence"
"Tour de Clarence Part I"
"Tour de Clarence Part II"
"Tour de Clarence Part III"

Cheers,

-Scott

Team Shirts . . .

2005-12-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Finished the layout rendering for the team shirts pertaining to the Monday Night Mega Vegas League. Check 'em out here.

-Scott

Mikkelsen Demolition ...

2005-12-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hi Gang,

Just work, work and more work lately. I'll be spending part of the Xmas holiday over at Mike & Paddy's place watching over the mutts and catching up on movies I haven't seen.. The floors are just about done over there, but Paddy didn't think the kitchen was quite right. So it's gone.. and I mean GONE.. Here's a few shots of the mess..

I'll post some pics of the remodeled staircase and floors when I'm over there next.

Cheers,

-Scott

Wow, I'm stuffed ...

2005-11-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

Just a snippet to mention the Thanksgiving festivities over at Casa Mikkelsen.

Tripp and family came down from Oregon as is the custom. Didn't get to squeeze in any golf this year but chowed down pretty good. There's always a myriad of cooks in the kitchen and appetizers galore. Erik deep fried a turkey in addition to the conventional oven prepared bird. It was great. Corn, Green Bean Casserole, Ham, Taters and Gravy from scratch. Hard to beat this spread. Had to sit on the couch for a couple of hours before I could actually move again. The hounds were in heaven and begging for table scraps at every turn. Too bad this only happens once a year!!

I'll be snagging some recipes if at all possible... Here's some snapshots...

"Three Maids 'a'Cookin", Three Mutts 'a' Moochin'"

A good time was had by all ....

Team Logo ...

2005-11-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

Check out the rough draft of the team logo on the Mega Vegas Sister Blog ...

Cheers,

-Scott

Renata's Progress ...

2005-11-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

Here's one adventuresome lady. Renata Chlumska is circumnavigating the lower 48 states by way of kayak, bike, rollerblades and such. Gene ran into her while on a camping retreat with some other ex scout leaders. You can check out her progress (GPS) and view journal entries and photos here.

Trainwreck's TDC Recap ...

2005-11-02T03:29:00.000-08:00

Here's Trainwreck's wrap up of the events of last weekend. I found it to be most eloquent. Hope to source some spare parts for Clarence and maybe get some prints of the trip pics made for him.

Enjoy TW's literary prowess. I certainly did...

-Scott

Just as the "Mother Road" bore the hopes and dreams of those heading west for a new beginning, so old U.S. Route 66, in the guise of Interstates 44 and 40, carried BoneDaddy and myself across this great land to deliver a tangible expression of the hope of this Yahoo Group for the betterment of one man. And though St. Louis to Tucumcari and back in two days seems exhausting, it wasn't. An opportunity presented itself to get involved in something good and I was happy to do it. I have not been an active member of this group as I no longer ride a Star but I got involved because I am friends and V.P. to BoneDaddy in our riding club, Ronin R.C.

Driving across the plains of western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, I knew we were delivering something extraordinary. In the back of my Ranger was a nice used motorcycle bought with the donations of dozens of people from across the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and even New Zealand. Those people, moved by the story of Clarence were generous and trusting enough to give money to strangers for the benefit of a stranger. In this day of Nigerian lottery scams and other internet phishing schemes, that alone is remarkable. But the fact that the idea to do something nice for Clarence actually progressed from an internet idea (the stage where most such things die), to the donation of real money, to the purchase of the item and finally to the delivery of that item is most remarkable. It is a great thing you all have done.

The measure of the greatness of your deed could be seen in the eyes of Clarence; the gleam when he read and mouthed the words "Clarence's Ride" on the gas tank and the sheer joy when he roared of on his first ride. You have done a generous thing for a nice man, a man well-liked by those with whom he now lives.

I thought it appropriate that we stopped at "Cadillac Ranch" on the way out. This modern day stonehenge has become a must stop for people from all over the world and they leave their signatures and their own artwork on the 10 earthbound Cadillacs there. But on the fence gate on the way in, wrutten very low on the cross brace were written these words: "Looking for the spirit of Tom Joad." That spirit of hope in the future expressed by Tom in the closing sililoquy of The Grapes of Wrath, that he would be present in the laughter of hungry children who know supper is coming, was present in the Honda CM250 strapped into the bed of my truck. Bonedaddy and I signed the rest of the donors names to the tank of Clarence's ride right there on old Route 66 in front of the ranch.

Thanks to all of you at YamahaStarRiders. The spirit of Tom Joad could be seen in the glee of one old veteran on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Tucumcari.

Peace,

Trainwreck ...

Tour de Clarence ... Part III ...

2005-10-31T15:17:00.000-08:00

We said our farewells and departed Tucumcari at about 3:45pm, headed East on Old Route 66 to San Jon (pronounced "Hone"). At San Jon, we headed South on a road that climbed up the side of a mesa atop which there was a large wind farm. Once we had done that though, the roads got very boring and straight. One other thing I have to say about North Texas... ya'll shore got some STRAIGHT roads!

We then headed East through Belleview, New Mexico and into Texas. At about 7pm we loaded the Bonebike back into the truck at a tiny little town called "Bootleg Corner". We then drove into Amarillo and I tried to call Brian again, but again was not able to reach him. We headed back North and got back onto Highway 40 East. We drove all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma and stopped at about 1:45am Central time to overnight at a Motel 6 there. At breakfast at a local eatery we talked to a guy who was riding a Suzuki Burgman scooter. He had ridden it all the way from Albuquerque(SP?), NM to sell it. A future Clarence???

We left Tulsa at about 11am and arrived back in the St. Louis area at 4:30pm. In just over 49 hours we covered 1,750 miles!
This from Trainwreck:

" -total miles driven: 1750
-total time gone just over 49 hour
-total Karma banked-incalculable "

Thanks to all of you who made this possible. We did a good thing. I know Clarence was very moved, even though it was hard for him to express how much. Send me your mail addys and I'll let Clarence tell you himself. Figure about total money raised will be forthcoming. As soon as I can build up my nerve to get the calculator out. There is a reason I never became an accountant.
Thank you all again,

Bonedaddy & Trainwreck

Hope you all enjoyed reading this trip report. I sure had alot of fun following the saga.

Be Well,

-Scott

Tour de Clarence ... Part II ...

2005-10-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

I had called ahead to the Kiva RV campground ahead of time to let them know we were coming, so they were ready for us when we arrived there at about 1:45pm (Mountain Time) on Saturday. As I rode into the back of the campground I saw skinny guy with gray hair tied in a pony tail next to a parked Harley Sportster waving me in. At first I thought Brian had come down from Amarillo himself, but it turns out this was Earl from Kansas, a snowbird who spends every winter at the campground. I don't even want to think about the significance of the fact that we were joking about the show "My Name is Earl" and karma before we headed down there and then there is Earl in the flesh! LOL

Cadillac Farm marker courtesy of Trainwreck

Bonedaddy getting in some saddle time entering New Mexico

Donna came out too and she and Earl said Clarence was in his camper and that he knew we were coming and had been "chomping at the bit" all day. I think he was a little nervous, because it took him a while to mosey out of the camper.

Brian had described him all too well. Quiet and unassuming, he emerged shortly from the camper dressed in simple blue mechanics overalls and a grungy ball cap.
We were a little concerned that after having driven an automatic moped, he wouldn't be comfortable with a clutch-operated motorcycle, but once I had started it and warmed it up for him, he hopped on it and took off like a bat outta hell! In fact, I was wondering if he was coming back at all for a while!

He did come back though and I presented him with the title to the bike. After shooting the breeze for a while, we asked him if he wanted to go have lunch with us. He did, so we left the campground for the restaurant up the street with Clarence leading on his new bike and me following on the Bonedbike, and Trainwreck bringing up the rear in his truck. Clarence left both of us in the dust travelling up Tucumcari Blvd. He was doing about 50mph on the boulevard where the speed limit was only 35mph. I had a few moments of anxiety as we passed a cop going the other way.

We had lunch at the restaurant and got to chat with Clarence while we ate and learn more about him. It is very sad that his family apparently wants nothing to do with him any more. I offered to hunt them down for him. I told him Trainwreck and I would go talk some sense into them for him, but he didn't seem too willing to take me up on the offer.

He was very grateful for the motorcycle. He kept saying he wished there was something he could do for all of us in return. He did say that he wanted to get everybody's addresses so he could mail out Christmas cards to everybody. So if you want a Christmas card from Clarence, e-mail me your snail mail address at (Bone's email appeared here) and I will forward all of them to Clarence. I know it would make him happy to be able to do that.

I am also going to send an invite to Donna from the RV campground so that she can join this site and she and Clarence can see the photos we have posted, etc.

After lunch we headed back to the campground with Clarence once again far ahead of us. He kept saying how much "zip" the bike has. He said he used to own a 350CC Honda years ago that did not have as much get-up-and-go as this bike did.

Back at the campground we exchanged e-mail addresses and I got Clarence to write down his P.O. Box number for me. We posed for a few pictures, and Brooklyn, a great kid who comes to the campground to visit his grandma took a picture of both Trainwreck and I with Clarence. I have attached that photo to this e-mail, but I will also post all of these in the "Clarence" photo folder.

We asked Earl and Donna whether there were any scenic roads that were not too far off from Highway 40 and we came up with a route back into Texas that wouldn’t add too much to the travel time.

This concludes the second installment...

-Scott

Tour de Clarence 2005 ... Part I ...

2005-10-31T12:25:00.000-08:00

Here's the follow up as promised.

The full roadtrip report straight from Bonedaddy and Trainwreck. Sounds like Clarence was deeply touched by this gift from his friends here and abroad. This is a truely great thing...

Well, Trainwreck came over to my place Friday afternoon after I got home from work and we loaded Clarence's and the Bonebike into the back of his 4 cylinder Ford Ranger pickup truck. This is the same truck we used to get the bikes within striking distance of the Rocky Mountains this summer, so it has seen it's share of mileage and states this summer and fall.

We departed the St. Louis area at about 3:20pm central. We made it to Clare more, Oklahoma by about 8:50pm and got off the turnpike long enough to meet up with Chuck Miles, who got to sign the tank of Clarence's bike himself. It was good meeting you Chuck, and I'm glad that car didn't cream you when you stopped suddenly to make the turn to the parking area where we were waiting.

We got back on the road and by 1:40am we had made it to Elk City, Oklahoma and we stopped at the Bedford Inn to get some sleep before forging onward. We left Elk City at about 9:15am the next morning. We tried to get hold of Brian as we neared Amarillo, TX. He was the one who originally penned the Clarence saga and it was his story about the grizzled Korean War veteran that got this whole thing started, so it would have been great to get his actual signature on the bike. Alas, it was not to be. I couldn't get hold of Brian though I tried about 5 or 6 times. Sorry we missed you Brian. I hope everything is well with you.
Trainwreck wanted to stop and see the "Cadillac Ranch", just West of Amarillo, so we walked out into this desolate, windswept field to see the world famous Cadillacs planted in the ground. We added our signatures to those of travelers from all over the world. Trainwreck signed his "Tour De Clarence - 2005".

We offloaded the Bonebike at this point so that I could do some riding. One thing I can say about Northern Texas and Eastern New Mexico, it shor gits windy, ya'll! I was fighting some nasty crosswinds on the bike and when an 18 wheeler would pass, the air turbulence was nothing short of astonishing! Trainwreck pulled alongside and got some cool "underway" photos of me on the Bonebike................(pics in the next installment) This concludes Part I of the Tour de Clarence post...

More to follow....

-Scott

A Bike for Clarence ...

2005-10-30T20:47:00.000-08:00

I've been completely remiss in posting this but better late than never..

This story is worth posting as it may show that there is still some glimmer of hope that the human spirit and some degree of selflessness actually exists. It's a long post as noted but well worth the read.. I'll follow up once the parties concerned have returned to their respective homes and share the experience of this weekends events...

This is the original post in one of my internet groups on Yahoo..

Bonedaddy, John Anderson and Trainwreck, Eric I believe, should have arrived in New Mexico last night but there haven't been any recent posts on the board.

Pretty interesting story and should get some coverage in the local newspapers and in Dixie Biker magazine's December issue. We'll see what happens.. Then we'll take up a collection so I can pay off my credit card debt. This job has to pick up. Martin is going to be out all of November as well and will be playing December by ear based on his doctors advice. I wouldn't mind a part time second job but I'd prefer it was a night shift. I hate getting up at 4am.

Enjoy

The story is kind of long, but our group has decided to reach out and help a veteran and fellow biker who is down on his luck. This forwarded letter was the start of the drive to help him.
(Steve)

--- Jim wrote:

Subject: [Yamaha Star Riders] Cool story about
Clarence.

Read this in a post in a Honda listserver. Cool story. You might even want to go visit Clarence after reading it. Enjoy.

I won't bore the collective with tales and woes of the Mother Road Rally in Tucumcari NM. What I do want to relate is the story of a fellow I met while at the rally. I pulled into my campsite, and next to me was an older fellow, sitting on a kids picnic table, with an assortment of belongings scattered around. Parked close by was a tiny blue yamaha moped. A brown sleeping bag lay on the bare ground kinda in a pile. No tent.

After we introduced ourselves, and he told me his name was Clarence, and the talk kinda flowed, it turns out he is a veteran with mostly nothing to his name. No home, and not much family anywhere. I dont know all the details,and wouldnt post them if I did,but it turns out he had spent some time in Las Vegas NV, and had most all his belongings stolen.

Clarence enjoying the show...

He took a bus to Albuquerque, stayed at the VA hospital for awhile, also spent some time in the free soup kitchens, and when he got his monthly very meager social (in)security check, he bought a few supplies, and an old 1984 yamaha moped,and hit the road. He carried all his remaining clothing and a few meager possesions, plus a sleeping bag, and a pair of used 'willie and max' saddle bags that he found at a garage sale, on this tiny, 49cc moped, and rode from Albuquerque to Gallup NM. Over 120 miles,in the summer heat, at speeds ranging from 20 to 30 miles an hour, depending on winds,and grades you have to climb. He didnt see much that was to his liking around Gallup, so....

He turned around and headed back east. He was originally from Missouri, so maybe thats the right way to go. Traveling along, getting about 90 to 100 miles per gallon, he told me that his coffee stops cost more than his gas stops. He rode back thru Albuquerque, past all the mountains, climbing grades with that little motor just whizzing along, and mostly coasting down hill when he could. I call this little bike a moped, cuz thats what he called it, but really, it was more of a little scooter, having regular pegs, and not pedals, like a true moped would have. Just so yall have the idea, no pedaling. Only that tiny little 49 cc 'weed eater' motor to flatten the mountain grades with. Traveling along on the shoulder of the interstate, and sometimes on frontage roads, he made reasonably good progress. Only once did an officer stop him. This was kinda in the middle of nowhere,and I suppose the officer was curious. "What the heck are you doing out HERE?" the officer inquired. Clarence said he was riding, sir. Where to? I dunno...east I guess. No tags on the bike huh? Dont need em sir, its a moped. Hmmm...how far you ride from? Albuquerque to Gallup, then back to here. "You got more balls than I do", said the State police officer. Clarence told me he said, and I quote, "No sir, just two of em, they're fuzzy and 72 years old.Can I go now?" After a couple of days on the road, and about 450 miles, the little moped carried him into Tucumcari New Mexico. He found the Kiva RV Park, which had a small grassy area, a few trees for shade, a shower, all for only one hundred dollars a month. He unpacked, rolled out his sleeping bagand set up his new home.

He had been there about a week when I rolled in for the rally. He was writing a letter to his family when I walked up and said hello. He has a coffee maker sitting on the picnic table that he bought cheap, and the owner of the park has run an extension out to the table. He gets the water to make coffee from a garden hose nearby. The hose is black, so in the afternoon the water coming out for 30 seconds or so is REALLY hot! He told me "Where else can ya get electricity and hot and cold running water, plus a place to sleep for a hundred bucks a month? I rode to a few places that day with Clarence. At the watering holes he only drank coffee. It was free, and besides, he said he didnt drink alchohol. That night we sat and talked, and I got to know the old guy. He said that living here in Tucumcari was as cheap as he had found anywhere. He planned to stay. Unless of course, plans changed.

There was a mosquito problem, not to mention all the various bugs buzzing and crawling around, and Clarence had no tent. In the morning, I saw him sprawled out across the bedroll, and I suppose the mosquitos had been having a feast all nite long. Later in the day,I said, "Hey you're a vet, and its fathers day weekend, if I get you a tent, will you sleep in it?" He nodded. That afternoon, I went to get us a couple of hamburgers. He had been eating frozen chicken that he kept in a cooler. I also stopped by the local Alco and bought him a 7 by 7 foot tent. We set it up that evening. He mentioned that it was big enough that he could roll his little putt-putt in there if it started to rain. He slept in it that nite....but never zipped up the door. Hmmm....guess he really likes nature.

I know that Clarence has some money, but he mentioned that he has to be very carefull with it, because if not, he has to eat in the soup kitchens the last week or so of the month, before he gets his check from social security.

We rode around, sometimes me following him at 20 mph, sometimes meeting him somewhere up the road. The town of Tucumcari is not very big, he got around on the moped just fine. I introduced him to several people that I know, who were attending the rally, and he got to tell some new (and old) stories to us all. Parked next to $30,000 customs, the little blue moped looked insignificant. But we told some bikers that he rode from Albuquerque to Gallup and back here to Tucumari, and those big hot shots had NOTHING but respect for the old man. They smiled and shook Clarences old tired but tough hands. I was proud.

The next evening my riding buddies arrived from Amarillo. I introduced them to Clarence. Stories were told, and bonds were formed. Three big expensive Harleys, and one tiny little rattley old moped hit the streets of Tucumcari. We went to the Expo Center where all the festivites were taking place. My freind and I split the fifteen dollar gate fee so Clarence could attend. I think he really enjoyed the Arena show.
They had motorcycle tractor pulls, barstool races, a motorcycle demolition derby, even a wall of fire ride for the final event. I could tell that Clarence enjoyed it all. The rally came and went, and Sunday my buddies and I were breaking camp. As we packed up, Clarence came to each of us with his tattered old notebook, and had us write down our names and addresses. He promised he'd send a postcard now and then and tell us how things are going. During the hot afternoons, as we had enjoyed
what little shade we could find, I once asked him, what are ya gonna do in the winter? He pointed at a really old motorhome that the owners had said didnt run, and theyd sell him for 500 bucks. Maybe one day he'll have a decent little place to stay in. We all rode out to the Expo center for the Sunday morning worship and bike blessing. We all said our goodbyes. We rode off. I felt sad. Like I left a good friend behind. Clarence served our country, and now he's living on the road. He has a picnic table for his furniture, a donated tent for a house, and his ticket to freedom, in the shape of a little blue moped. I thank him and wish him good luck.

--------------------------------------------
The main reason I wanted to tell this story, is so if anyone on the digest is riding I-40 this summer, please think about stopping by and visiting Clarence.
He is staying at the KIVA RV park in Tucumcari, New Mexico. He is at the very back of that park, near the brown mobile home. This park is on the main road, Tucumcari Blvd, that runs east and west. Its on the east end of town, about 1/2 mile WEST
of the K-MART store. Big green sign. Tell him Brian said "Hi".

Thanks for letting me tell Clarences story.

---Brian
Republic of Texas

Steve again here. The follow up is, a storm (or
age)hurt his moped, and he was without wheels and far
from any veterans affairs center for help. His Social
Security $$ was not coming in, and he was living in a
tent. Jodi went the extra 300 miles and went to visit
Clarence and see his situation. She has posted
pictures, and there are others posted also.

The group has looked for a long time to find a ride
that would fill his needs, reliable and light enough
for someone of his age or stature.

Bonedaddy has located a bike, and now we are looking
for those who pledged, and anyone else who wishes to
help to donate any amount to finish the deal and get
this bike to Clarence. The bike seems a great fit,
small, a 250 Honda, with low miles.

Delivered! Saturday 10/29/2005

More to come once the Yamaha Star Riders fill everyone in and the press gets through with Clarence.. This is just great!

Thank you all.
Scott (Another Scott)

-Scott

Paper Craft ...

2005-10-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Ran across this whilst surfing the net today. Very Impressive. Might take a stab at the Cruiser someday.

Cheers,

-Scott

Yawn...

2005-10-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Nothing terribly eventful to report this weekend. Hooked up with Robert who has an amazing workbench in his garage and a boatload of spare parts in an attempt to resurrect Winnie’s computer.

No.. Not that Winnie...

Plugged it in, hooked up all the basic input devices and pushed the button. Zilch!!! Nada !!! Nothing!! Opened her up and pulled the power supply. Robert knew just where to go. Into his magic cabinet and Voila… A slightly used power supply which by chance came from my old Compaq that was retired. Mounted it plugged in all the Molex connectors and tried again. Good news… we have juice and everything appears to be running. Optical drive trays etc. Bad news.. No viddy.. Couldn’t get anything to pop up on the monitor. Gotta’ feeling that in the course of the power supply getting chazzed the motherboard also self destructed. Tried a separate video card and still nothing. It’s out of our hands at this point as we don’t have another motherboard lying around. Morbid curiosity inspired us to run the system recovery disc in hopes that it might restore the video drivers.. NOT!!!

We did what we set out to do by pulling the hard drive, jumpering it as a slave and hooking it up to another functioning system. Worked like a charm. From there we ended up copying all of her vital information to disc for installation on her new box.. That’s about all we could do at that point.

Tried to limber up for Monday night league by tossing a few games Sunday afternoon. Experimented quite a bit with angles and releases which wasn’t going well. Made some adjustments to my delivery and started doing much better towards the end. I think I have to get down, bend my knees more and get the ball on the lane a little sooner. We’ll see what happens tonight.

Hope everyone had a good weekend…

-Scott

Ass Handing...

2005-10-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sheets up from Week 5... Jason's on fire!

Possible Connection?

2005-10-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

Watching some of the DVD collection again this weekend and this popped into my mind.
There has to be some reason I throw the occasional 200+ game. I think I've figured it out. LOL!!!

Nah.. Can't be anything to it..

-Scott

News from Colorado ...

2005-09-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Got another update from Sharen in Colorado. She and some family members jumped on the bikes for a road trip. I would love to do this someday. I’ve always wanted to roll out on a hog for an extended adventure. South Dakota and Mount Rushmore just happen to be one of my prime targets as well. Looks like someone beat me to it! Here are some shots from the trip that she was kind enough to forward. Guess who wants a Yamaha V Star Silverado now! Hey Tony, what kind of mileage does that RoadStar get around town?

Traffic could be hell at times...

-Scott

Fingerstyle ...

2005-09-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Taylor Guitars has posted some new streaming video of fingerstyle virtuoso Doyle Dykes. This to commemorate his tenth anniversary as a Taylor clinician. There’s a retrospective piece which encompasses his last decade of service and another little jewel showing him putting the new DDAE (Doyle Dykes Anniversary Edition) model through its paces. This fella is one heck of a guitar player and a fine example of what we should strive to be as human beings. Nicest guy you could ever meet, and I’m proud to say I have. (See the “Oh my Aching Arms" post in the August archives)

Don’t believe me?.. Here’s the link … Enjoy!!!

Nice Avatar...

2005-09-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Found this .gif file while perusing one of the many forums I frequent. It was just too funny not to post. All my cat lover friends will appreciate this one.

Machine Gun Kitty
This is what happens when your 4 Rat Terriers and 1 Dachshund pick on the cat too much...

-Scott

Ty: "What's wrong with lumber? I own two lumberyards."
Danny: "I notice you don't spend too much time there."
Ty: "I'm not quite sure where they are."

Chevy Chase and Michael O'Keefe - "Caddyshack"

Week 3...

2005-09-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

The Monday Vegas results for last weeks round have been posted on the Mega Vegas sister page. I'm jones'n for next weeks installment. I had a very good evening with the marble. Must have something to do with the lightning show tonight.

Jason and Pat polishing the stones...

-Scott

Phil Green vacation update . . .

2005-09-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Phil has updated his blog with pics of his vacation and Pismo trip..

Feel free to visit and comment... Phil's Blog

Jarod chillin' at the pond

-Scott

Mega Vegas...

2005-09-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Got the results from week two and it's not pretty.. Week 3 was even worse but I'll post those #'s at a later date. Man I HATE freshly oiled lanes. Takes 2 games to figure out the pattern. Had a good time with the exception of having to remind Sal it was his turn to bowl every time he was up. Christine's daughter is more disciplined. I'm all for having a good time but when you're not watching what's going on, you mess up things for everyone else. Secondly, you don't give instructional tips to a gal in the next lane who just handed you your ass on the scoreboard. Especially when someone on the next lane is waiting on you. Embarrassing to be sure. Anyway, enough of the Sal rant. Christine started off very well. She's getting the hang of her new ball. Her Mom Charlie however squeaked out a one pin advantage in both of the first two games. Handicaps are a wonderful thing. The pics that follow are of Christine, (center) her daughter Cassandra and of her Mom Charlie (Charlene).. Photogenic bunch eh? Mom hangs in there and is the catalyst of the bunch. The voice of reason. Maybe she'll be able to get Sal to slow down on the beers every so often.. NOT!!! I'm doing Iced Tea and stinking the place up so I have to go to Plan B.

I'll let you know when I figure out exactly what that may be. Second shot is of Christine throwing the marble in her opening game. All apologies for the poor lighting but my camera doesn't do well indoors and I didn't want to distract her witn the flash. And lastly a scan of the league report. We have a really small league as we're connected to larger groups that bowl at other houses under the same ownership. Kinda neat actually. Forest needs to look into another web host where you can post league results from your existing scoring software. I know of one really good one that's dirt cheap. As you have probably surmised at this point we're not going to set any scoring records but it's all good. Getting a little excercise and socializing on a Monday night. We'll get 'em next week. Put up a link on the main page that will take you to the Mega Vegas Monday Results blog as well. This so we can look back and reflect on how poorly we throw...

Click on this or any other image to Super Size!

-Scott

Hangin' with the Hounds...

2005-09-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend wasn’t too terribly eventful as I was looking after the Mikkelsen hounds. Always good to visit the dogs. They were true to form with Hank and Elvis wanting nothing more than for me to break out the laser pointer and run them up and down the stairs. Natasha is either getting smart or lazy as she’ll just wait downstairs for the laser to come to her. Della gets a kick out of it too but isn’t anywhere near as aggressive as the others in her pursuit of the elusive red dot. 300 plus channels on the big screen and wouldn’t you know it, Goliath jumps from the couch to the adjoining chair and lands directly on the remote. Thus killing all signal to the TV. Took me 30 minutes of button pushing and by process of elimination I finally got the thing back up again. I therefore missed a good chunk of “Collateral”. No harm though, it was on again in the morning. The other downer is that there I was with the house all to myself and access to a swimming pool and what happens? It’s mostly overcast all weekend. This after a blistering heat wave in the preceding weeks. I can’t win!!

Hank can sleep in any position necessary!

The Mikkelsen clan spent the weekend in Vegas for Eric’s 21st birthday. They returned with some pretty good stories about some of Eric’s antics, bodily functions and strange choices in the way of sleeping arrangements. (Closets, bathtub, etc.) Sounds like everyone had a pretty good time and everyone got back safe and sound. Steaks and some Lamb chops concluded the evening with chicken Caesar salad on the side. It was all great. Back to the grind this morning so we’ll see how the week unfolds. . . . .

-Scott

Kayak News . . .

2005-09-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Pinched a couple of shots from my friends over at Cobra Kayaks. Ric has a running thread in the community and from time to time there’s a post regarding the Redneck Inventor. Here’s a shot of his latest creation. The Ultimate Fishing Platform..

And of course his version of the Riding Lawnmower…
Watch out John Deere!!!

Ric is the lead man in design and marketing at Cobra and has outdone himself with the release of the Mariner-XF. Looks like a hybrid cross of the Navigator and Tourer models. Somewhere in between in regard to length. Stable and from what people are saying surprisingly fast. Hatches and storage galore. Hope I get to paddle one in the near future..

-Scott

Tamiya TCS, 8/27/2005

2005-09-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

Way late with this one but I’ve just gotten around to touching up the pictures. Sunday last at Phil’s behest I decided to head over to Tamiya America’s headquarters in Aliso Viejo to check out the TCS series. Very quick little RC cars that are quite fun to watch race. Tamiya’s facility there in South County is very nice and they have an excellent racing facility. The day was a little hot for my liking but there was plenty of bottled water and sodas on hand as well as hot dogs, chips and burgers. All at incredibly reasonable prices. Ran into Phil after about 30 min. of watching the GT qualifying rounds and we BS’d for a little while before he had to get back to the Tech tent. His duties for the day consisted of inspecting the entrants cars for rule conformity. The rules listed on the Tamiya site are longer than those I would expect from NASCAR. He was looking for parts violations, banned hop ups and such. I got to see a couple of GT races.. All of the early round Mini Cooper races and the ones I really wanted to see the open wheel F1 class races. With the open wheels I thought there would be a bigger potential for crashes but the drivers were so good and clean it was amazing. That was a really fun class to watch especially since I like the F1 and Indy car circuits in full scale.

Phil Green inspects an entrants chasis...

Had to hit the onsite company outlet store to escape the heat and looked over their showroom. The A/C was wonderful and they had quite the collection of toys in there.
RC and scale modeling stuff. This company has an outstanding reputation for their attention to detail. After perusing the store and getting my body temperature back to a normal level I headed back out for some of the F1 qualifying and grabbed another bottled water. Did I mention is was hot out there that day? This would make for interesting tire strategies on the cars as they were all running on the hot asphalt track. Click on any of the pictures for a larger image or visit the entire album by clicking HERE.

The Paddock and Pit area was unbelievable. I couldn't believe how many tools these guys had for their cars and how many tweaks were actually possible. The chasis and suspensions on the cars were very interesting and highly adjustable. Very close to the real thing in fact, just smaller.

Here's a shot of the Pit area followed by one of the snazzier paint schemes I spotted in the course of the day. Lots of wild colors on some of the GT class cars but every so often I'd spot one with an immaculate paint job and stickers.There was another one with a Nissan body that looked awesome with it's 3 color scheme and even the color of the wheels worked into the overall theme. With the right background I'll bet you couldn't tell it wasn't a full scale car.

Great day on the whole and sure beat sitting in my room sweating and surfing the net. I'd go back in a second. Those little cars can really scream around the road course and seeing all the gear the racers bring for tweaks was really something. One of my favorites was the little portable fans the fellas used. They would point them straight up and set their battery packs on them whilst charging hence cutting down on some of the heat. Great idea.

All in all a most entertaining event with the 3 class winners receiving expense paid trips to Japan for the worlds. Hard to beat that..

-Scott

League...

2005-08-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

Damn!.. Started off the night with a 4 bagger.. All downhill after that.. Mucho oil out there on the planks this evening.. Average dropped to 153.5.. I'll have to remedy this somehow.. Melissa Woody was the big surprise tonight.. Opened with a rousing 211.. Mad props to Mel..!! She and Jason are a fun lot... Time to hit the Advil bottle and the hay!! This early morning stuff is taking it's toll..

-Scott

Practice.........

2005-08-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

185.5 average in practice tonight... Missing quite a few spares..

It's all about Iced Tea during league play...

Ten pin taps suck.!!!!!!!!