Year: 2002

The End of Free

Back earlier this year I signed up for a CD Mix of the Month Club . Cool idea. This guy in Texas creates a mix CD and mails it to you once you have mailed him one. As a bonus, if you mailed 2 CDs he would sent you his and one from somebody else who sent two. All it cost me was some time, a couple of blank CDRs and $2 to mail them off. Well poor Josh on the other end had a few more bucks wrapped up into this as he was mailing out a couple dozen, then 50, then 100 and now the last 2 months nearly 400 CDs. Yikes, that’s a lot of postage! Well today, I got in my email, a note from Josh that if you want to continue to play along in the CD MotM Club you will have to kick in 3 or 4 dollars. I think this may be the end of my ride. I just have this thing for somebody offering me something for free and then latter charging for it. Its a principle thing. You have to stop agreeing to give it away, once you have reached the point where you are no longer comfortable with the total monetary outgo. If you don’t mind spending $100 a month and it costs $1 per, don’t sign up 200 people and then go gee, I’d better charge money to make up the shortfall. Stop at 100.

Look Back With Sadness

Blogging early because it is baby-sitting night. We still call it that even thought the boys are no longer babies. Ten years ago Donna gave as a Christmas gift to another couple in the Bike Club our services as babysitters for one weekend evening a month for the next year. At that time their one son was 2 years old. This gave them to opportunity to go out on a “date,” have dinner out, see a movie, whatever. Four years later we got a year off after their second son was born and he got old enough to leave alone with us. The boys have gone from not wanting to leave our sides and go to their bedrooms until their parents came home to going immediately to their rooms to play Nintendo. One thing that hasn’t changed it they still don’t want to go to sleep.

In January when it is 35 and raining I’ll look back with sadness of today’s missed opportunity. Another perfectly beautiful fall day and the Miata traveled whopping 5 miles today. A morning trip to the grocery store and a lunch time trip to retrieve sandwiches…

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 306

Beth Orton

I just finished listening to Beth Orton’s CD, Central Reservation. There are 12 songs and I’m not to sure they weren’t all the same tune, I don’t think she changed pitch the entire 58:50. I wonder what happened? Her first CD, Trailer Park, was so darn good. She has a new CD out now called, Daybreaker, that I probably won’t buy now because of this listening experience….though I might download from the net and give it a listen, if I remember to.

Shame On You People

It was our half day off Friday, so after work we dropped the top and did a nice long drive on a perfect fall day. While out driving we noticed a slew of convertibles out too. Three Mustangs, a Sebring, a Z3, a Miata and an Audi TT. Only the TT had their top down besides us. WTF? it was 70 and sunny with low humidity, if the top wasn’t down today I doubt it ever goes down. Shame on you people.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 306

13th Anniversary

Went to the Master’s Miata Club meeting in Augusta tonight. Nice turn out, 18 members and one guest. The Creer’s brought along a family friend, Lorraine Page. It was Lorraine’s birthday and we all sung happy birthday to her. Lorraine is famous for this hit song.

Today is also my 13th anniversary as a Miata owner. This is my second Miata, but if you added up the mileage from #1 and #2 I have been in a Miata for 225,000 miles.

Started down, went up, went back down, up again, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 305

Leaf Blowers

Are these worth the price/hassle? I’m not to sure. We bought a small gas blower for like $75 a few weeks ago and really got out and tried on the ol’ driveway this evening. My picked up her rake and did the front yard and I did our 2-car wide driveway. She had about 2 as much square footage to do and still managed to finish slightly ahead of me. She got a nice little workout and I got a numb hand from the vibration, somehow I’m not to sure about this contraption.

Maybe it went so slow because I’m a novice. Wonder if there is a web page of leaf blowing tips? Nope!

Neat Hat

December weather (with a twist of March) in November today. Progress. The sun came out and we hit the 60’s, but the wind came sweeping down the plain. Went out for the monthly Aiken Bicycle Club meeting at the Aiken Brewing Company in downtown Aiken. I had a hamburger that was OK and washed it down with a . . . . coke. Did buy a new Palmetto Cycling Coalition hat for $15 dollars Donated $15 to the Palmetto Cycling Coalition and got a neat hat as a thank you.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 302