Year: 2006

Birth Announcement

Way back in 1989 when I decided to buy a Miata, it wasn’t as easy as walking into a Mazda dealer and choosing a car off the lot. You can read the story, Brian Buys A Miata some other time, this is the story of what happened once I finally got the car.

I had been keeping some folks appraised of my quest, so when it was finally realized I felt I should let them know that too. I felt like a proud parent, so I thought a cute idea might be a birth announcement. Using what limited tools I had available, AutoCAD and a copy machine, you can see what I made:

Birth Announcement Outside

Birth Announcement Inside

This particular copy was sent to Donna’s mom and came out of yesterday’s dig through the Big Box of Morrison Memories. You can see that Donna wasn’t as thrilled as I was, she modified the outside of the announcement a little.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 25

Just When I Thought That I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In

I thought I was cured. I has been almost two years years since I posted a picture. Actually, when I converted to WordPress I deleted any of those old picture posts. I haven’t been to a GAA meeting in at least a year and a half.

In the January 25th issue of People Magazine there was a familiar face looking out at me from the TV Picks & Pans section. There was the same picture on the cover of the free TV magazine in this morning’s paper. For the next 6 weeks on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater she will be starring in an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s “Bleak House.” Jeez, “Fight the Future” was on FX this morning too.

I guess now I’m going have to check and see when the next local meeting of Gillian Anderson Anonymous is.

I Still Miss Sharona

Donna, Sandy & DogCaught an episode of Monk on the tube this afternoon and the cute little Téa Lenoni look alike just doesn’t cut it. I still miss Sharona.

For tonight’s excitement we dipped into the Big Box of Morrison Memories. I scanned about a dozen photos for Donna to email a cousin that is also doing the whole genealogy thing too. While I was at, it I also scanned a few more photos for a small book we are doing for her brothers and sister that will be filled with pictures from the past. Including the one above showing Donna’s early predilection for riding around in convertibles. From July 1972, her younger sister Sandy (who now also drives a Miata) at the wheel and the family dog in the back seat of a VW Bug, Donna smiles for the camera.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 24

Pay Your Bills

A long time ago in a far away land lived Nicholas the Dragon Slayer who was a member of the King?s court. He had a long-standing obsession to nuzzle the beautiful Queen’s voluptuous breasts, but he knew the penalty for this would be death.

One day he revealed his secret desire to his colleague, Grymbald the Physician, who was the King’s chief doctor. Grymbald the Physician exclaimed that he could arrange for Nicholas the Dragon Slayer to satisfy his desire, but it would cost him 1,000 gold coins to arrange it.

Without pause, Nicholas the Dragon Slayer readily agreed to have Grymbald the Physician arrange it and that he would gladly pay the 1,000 gold coins for the chance to satisfy his desires for the Queen.

The next day, Grymbald the Physician made a batch of itching powder and poured a little bit into the Queen’s brassiere while she was taking a bath. Soon after she dressed, the itching commenced and grew intense.

Upon being summoned to the Royal Chambers to address this incident, Grymbald the Physician informed the King and Queen that only a special saliva, if applied for four hours, would cure this type of itch, and that tests had shown that only the saliva of Nicholas the Dragon Slayer had present the antidote to cure the itch. The King quickly summoned Nicholas the Dragon Slayer.

Grymbald the Physician then slipped Nicholas the Dragon Slayer the antidote for the itching powder, which he quickly put it into his mouth, and for the next four hours, worked passionately on the Queen’s magnificent breasts. The Queen’s itching was eventually relieved, and Nicholas the Dragon Slayer left satisfied and as a hero.

Upon returning to his chamber, Nicholas the Dragon Slayer found Grymbald the Physician demanding his payment of 1,000 gold coins. With his obsession now satisfied, Nicholas the Dragon Slayer couldn’t have cared less, and knowing that Grymbald the Physician could never report this matter to the King – shooed him away with no payment made.

The next day, Grymbald the Physician slipped a massive dose of the same itching powder into The King’s loincloth. The King quickly summoned Nicholas the Dragon Slayer…

Moral of the story – pay your bills!

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 22

Transplant A Success

Transplant A SuccessThe power supply swap went smooth as silk. No more brrraaattttttttttttt. While I had the patient open on the table I went ahead and put the original CPU cooling fan back in. I’d swear that the replacement one Dell sent me was noisier than the 2-1/2 year old original one.

On our way over to the Concord Mills mall on Tuesday afternoon we stopped at the drive-thru convenience store in Albemarle so I could snap a couple of pictures of the Miata on the checkerboard pattern they had painted on the driving lane. I’m guessing this store is no longer in operation because it wasn’t open last Tuesday nor was it open last October when Mark and I visited the parking area next door so I could snap a picture of the giant Rat Fink replica there.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 20

It’s Always Longer Coming Back

What took 4 hours on the way up, with a dinner stop, took 3-1/2 on the way back without.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna change the power supply on this PC. And it beter solve our random ugly noise issue or…I don’t know what.

Started up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 19

Red Hot Pepper

Spent another day learning stuff that we’ll never use at GibbsCAM school. It was not a total waste, although we will never be doing exactly what we covered today, we may see something similar in the future. Plus he more we monkey with the program the better we get with the interface and will feel more comfortable using it. And a dull day at training beats a good day at work anytime.

Tonight after school we headed over to the Concord Mills mall area. After a brief shopping excursion into the Bass Pro Shop we headed over to Razzo’s Cajun Cafe for dinner. The food and atmosphere when we visited in October were so great we just had to make a return trip this time. We asked to sit in Madeline (our waitress from last time’s) section, but were told she didn’t work there anymore. Oh well, we were seated in a booth just two away from where we were seated before. The place was pretty quiet tonight compared to last time and our server turned out to be a red hot little number named Pepper. Mark and I would have enjoyed flirting more, if we were into young men. No kidding, the guy’s name was Pepper. He said he was named after a famous baseball player from St. Louis in the 30’s, Pepper Martin.

Even though our plan of getting Madeline to hold up a “I miss you Mark” sign and having her picture taken with us in the booth, to email back to the other Mark who was with us last time, was foiled, we are still planning a trip back to the restaurant in two weeks when we return for our last training session because the food is that good. We just won’t necessarily be asking to sit in Pepper’s section.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/06: 19