Track, Daily, Crush

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Track Daily Crush
2018 Ferrari 488 2000 Honda Prelude 1983 Chrysler LeBaron
This is the Challenge Race Car version of the car. Used to own a 1st gen Prelude back in the day. Third Chrysler in a row, you’d think I have a type.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for or were bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Track: Backdraft Racing RT4B Sold for USD $109,000 08/06/2026
Daily: 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata Sold for USD $6,600 08/06/2026
Crush: 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser Sold for USD $7,000 08/04/2026

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 87.5%

 

New Jigsaw Puzzle Supplier Maybe

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Having sort of run out of my usual suppliers of jigsaw puzzles, I thought for the heck of it, why don’t I try Walmart? They had all four tiers of one section against the back wall just full of puzzles. I spent about a half hour looking at every 1000-piece puzzle they had. Didn’t really find too much I liked. I did end up with a couple of Pink Sky puzzles. Never heard of them; they are only sold at Walmart, so that explains that. But after starting the Nashville one, it seems like a nice-quality puzzle. And like most puzzles nowadays, it had a poster inside so you didn’t have to rely on the box art, but this one is full-size. It’s like they just took a copy of what they make the puzzle out of, without the cardboard backing, and folded it up and put it in the box.

Mahalo

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I normally stay away from the community’s monthly potluck dinners, but for whatever reason I opted in for today’s luau-themed one. Maybe just so I could wear the one Hawaiian shirt I kept from my “collection” of them that I used for “Hawaiian Shirt Friday” in my ASCO days.

I spent an extra $14 at Fred Meyer on Friday for the dish I was going to do. One can of Spam, one container of chopped pineapple, and some skewers. I managed to make 10 skewers of 4 squares of Spam, 4 chunks of pineapple, and 4 squares of a sweet onion layer. I cooked them on my little gas grill after lunch and then stuck them in the oven at 170° until it was time to go up to the community center.

At first I was worried that there might be too few, then I worried the opposite way: what if nobody took one? I had one at the cookout even though I had eaten the equivalent of one with the number of pieces that tore while being skewered. As it turned out, there was only one left sitting there when I bailed after an hour.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 79.2%

 

Nothing To See Here

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I got nothing. Latte and a walk. Worked on a puzzle a bit. Miata is still at the Mazda Doctors Hospital. I’m waiting on a cost estimate to have the whole turn signal/light switch replaced to cure the intermittent turn signal issue. I’m not sure exactly how much it would have to be for me to say no. I’m one of those weirdos who use their signals, so it is annoying, but if it is in the high 3 figures, I might just live with it.

So, no Instagram posts anymore; I’ll just have to post here. Yesterday’s lunch at Lolo’s was August’s Farm-to-Pizza: Heirloom Margherita and I finished off the whole 10″ pie.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 79.7%

 

What’s My Miata Worth?

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I can remember back in the day when I’d do my own oil change and tire rotation in the driveway, but today I took the Miata into the dealer to have them do it. I also want to see if they can fix the turn signals; about every third time when turning right, it wouldn’t start blinking. A quick jiggle and it starts up. I also asked them to look into why the car sometimes is hard to restart after a quick stop on a hot day.

About 10 minutes after I dropped off the car at the dealer, I received a text:
Hi Brian, this is Jessica, from Tonkin Mazda of Portland. We are actively looking to buy vehicles like the 2001 MAZDA MX-5 Miata you brought in for service. Can I text you my offer? Reply YES to see it. It’s worth considering! By texting YES you accept our terms of service (text TERMS for full details). Msg/data rates may apply. HELP for help. STOP to opt-out.

Wow! I wonder if they send that text to everyone who drops off their car for service? I get the intent; the dealer wants used cars to move, and if your current car is in for a repair, you just might take that offer. For funsies, I replied YES. They then asked for the trim (LS) and I added the optional 6-speed to the list. About an hour later:
Great, looking at current market values, we are thinking $6,800 to $7,600, assuming it’s in good condition. Is that something you’d be interested in?

I politely declined. I do wonder if they would actually cut a check or make it so it can only be used on a new vehicle… I do not wonder if Jessica is an AI agent; I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that she is.

For just a bit of more fun, I headed over to the Carvana website and entered my VIN. Then I answered a bunch of questions about the car. Five seconds later they offered me $8,600.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 81.6%

 

Smoke’m If You Want, But No Drinking

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This morning’s sun was weak and orange in color. The smoke from the central and eastern Oregon fires has found its way over the Cascades to Portland. The smoke arrived early, but the fire smell didn’t make it here until early afternoon.

The main water line into the Quail Hollow community was leaking bad enough that they were way over budget. So since a month ago we have had three different days where the water was shut off for most of the day. Today was the third and hopefully the last.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 81.1%