Missed Opportunity

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Yesterday, when leaving Stomping Grounds with my favorite latte in hand as I stepped off the curb to head back to the car, there was an attractive woman walking towards me across the parking lot. We both stopped to let a pickup truck leave its spot, pass between us, and head for the exit.

She was smiling, and as we walked towards each other, she asked, “Is that your Miata?”
“Yes, it is,” I said. “How did you know?”
“Well, you had a smile on your face as you were walking that way.”
(maybe I was smiling just because she was)
“It’s a lovely spring morning, the top is down, I’m going for a drive,” I replied.

We introduced ourselves. I said, “I’m Brian,” and she replied, “I’m Anne.” She said that she used to have a Miata, but it was stolen several years back, and she missed it. We then spent the next few minutes comparing Miata stories and general life stories before she headed into Stomping Grounds and I walked to the Miata.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I thought to myself, I should have asked her if she wanted to go for a Miata drive or even let her drive it. I felt an easy connection, and maybe she did too, but I was too shy/introverted to ask. Now I’m really regretting it. And I didn’t look for a ring on her finger; she could be happily married. She was holding some papers, so maybe she was going into the building to visit the insurance place or Edward Jones and not Stomping Grounds.

I think I’m going to have to try and get my latte purchase next Thursday for around the same time of the morning…

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 34.1%

 

Walking Math

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I have a free pedometer app on my phone, and I use it whenever I remember to. A few weeks ago I found my way to the settings page. The stride length default was set at 27″. Mmm… I wonder what mine is? I brought out the measuring tape, laid it down the 15′ hallway, and walked the plank. I did some cipherin’ and ended up at twenty-three inches per each step.

While walking along the Ch’ak Ch’ak trail, there are spray-painted eagles, through a stencil, all along its length. When I start on the Troutdale end there is an eagle right at the start with the key. This is all leading up to “Who’s right?”

This morning I turned on the pedometer at the start and walked until I found the fourth eagle at the mile mark. I was keeping track as I went. At each eagle I’d check what the pedometer read, and it was uniformly accurate. But it wasn’t showing .25 per; it was showing .20 increments. I kept going to see if there was another eagle in another two-tenths of a mile, and there was! Was the key wrong? Was it supposed to have been 1/5? Was my stride length mismeasured? Is the pedometer whacked? Stay tuned.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 34.8%

 

No Car Day

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Daguerretype Miata


 
When I said “no car day,” I meant I didn’t drive a car today, not no car content day. The photo above was from yesterday morning’s walk. When I finished my loop, I noticed that I had parked in the same spot as the GTI from last Saturday morning. So I gave the Miata the same “photoshop” treatment as I did for the GTI.

Instead of driving to get my morning latte, I walked for it. I’ve done this about 3 or 4 times, and every time I get back, I swear I won’t do it again. Two-thirds of the trip is on fairly busy roads, and along most of that, there are zero sidewalks. Plus, the traffic makes it very noisy for listening to podcasts. This time when I got back, I didn’t swear I’d ever do it again, so maybe this will flip the switch and I just not do it again.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 35.5%

 

Track, Daily, Crush

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Track Daily Crush
1999 Panoz AIV Roadster 2007 Mini Cooper S 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood
Because it has NA Miata side mirrors. I wonder if there are trackable roll bars for these. I want this, even if it does sounds like another old low-mileage car that will cost me a lot of money. The only reason to not crush this is if your father had one and now you are a grandfather, too.

Here is what last week’s cars sold for or were bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Track: Factory Five Mk3 Roadster Bid to USD $37,800 05/14/2026
Daily: 1995 BMW M3 “Touring” Sold for USD $17,000 05/14/2026
Crush: Mazda T2000 Dump Truck Sold for USD $4,954 05/14/2026

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 31.4%

 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

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Today was jam-packed.

Started with my go-to weekend bicycle ride. I changed it up a little in the beginning to try a different bike path heading east. It really didn’t improve anything, and it actually was a downgrade because it is less traveled and as well-kept as the Ch’ak Ch’ak trail. It was a bit chillier of a ride because of yesterday’s rain, and it was still overcast. So instead of my usual dining outside at Stomping Grounds, I sat inside for my latte and muffin.

Sunday is laundry day, when I wash the sheets and towels as one load and then a second one for the clothes that have accumulated since Wednesday. While doing the washing I was watching the Red Sox lose to the Braves 8-0. This afternoon I washed both cars and changed their driveway order. The Miata is up front now because it is supposed to be a mostly sunny week with highs in the 70s. After the car washings I watched the last two episodes of season two of LOST.

My new toy/impulse buy showed up via FedEx, the widescreen FlightWall. After setting it up on the side table and getting it dialed in, I just let it run. I was going to wait until tomorrow to mount it in its permanent spot when I got the flat extension cord from Amazon but couldn’t help myself.

Along in there, I had time to break down the completed jigsaw puzzle and start a new one. plus watch several episodes of The Charismatic Voice. She really breaks down the singing and, to a certain extent, the sound as to how they are so good. I knew these songs were good, but she helped me understand why they are.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 38.5%

 

More Than Words

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Daguerretype GTI

That is a photo of the GTI parked while I squeezed in a couple-mile walk before the day devolved into the random chaos of brief moments of sunshine surrounded and outnumbered by rain, sometimes quite heavy. While killing time until the Red Sox game at 4pm, I caught up on my car-related channels on YouTube. From there I wandered, looking for music to listen to at night to sleep by. I tried white noise and rainfall stuff, but couldn’t adjust to it, so I’ve a playlist of quiet ambient stuff that works.

This led to me finding a segment that I didn’t know existed: “First Reaction to Insert Song” by individual rappers, music teachers, or opera singers. Sometimes there’ll be a couple people doing it together. The first one I listened to was a woman’s reaction to Phil Collins’s “In The Air Tonight.” It was a live version of the song that is 7-1/2 minutes long with that famous drum bit at about 5-1/2 minutes in. She did a little research on the backstory of the song (he was going through a divorce); she would also explain the technical musicy stuff, and seemed to really enjoy what she was listening to. And not gonna lie, she was also attractive to look at.

This led me to her channel, The Charismatic Voice, where I found the one that is the title of this post, “More Than Words” by Extreme. I know this song because I bought their CD just based on hearing this song. I wouldn’t say it was the only song out of the thirteen that is good; there are a couple more worth the listen, but the band really were more hard rock than I liked at that time.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 35.1%

 

I’ve Been Finkled

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One of the ladies that I usually chat with at the CCC 1 invited me out to dinner with her, and we went out for Mongolian BBQ a couple weeks ago. She treated me to dinner, so I told her next time it would be my treat.

She has a favorite hangout called Finkels that is a bar that has karaoke, she likes to go there and sing. I, on the other hand, like to listen. That is where we went tonight. I drove the last time, so this time she did the driving. I ordered a burger and a beer to have as my dinner, and she opted for an app because she had already had dinner. Because she was driving, Trish only had the one beer. I ordered a second one.

Remember about a month ago when I went out with my neighbor and danced in spite of my usual reluctance because I had 2.5 beers? Well, tonight I found out that after a couple of pints of beer I almost might have tried karaoke. Almost. Maybe 2.5 beers would have been enough; who knows. I did have a good time, so maybe we’ll go again in a couple weeks.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 34.3%