Month: March 2018

2018 Spring Steeplechase

Action Photography by Brian

Action Photography by Brian

Again Tom Varallo offered the Masters Miata Club the use of his rail side spot at the spring steeplechase. We, along with three other couples, enjoyed a fabulous day at the races on our Club President. One other member ducked in to say hi somewhere around the 5th race.

We had grilled chicken and hot dogs to eat along with veggies, fruit and chips to dip. There were cookies for dessert and a retirement cake to top it all off for the club’s latest non-productive member of society. You would think that with the Club logo on the sign right in front of our Miata that it would have brought a question or two about Miatas and/or the club, but you’d be wrong. The Club vehicle that attracted the most attention was our “pick up truck”, a 1987 GMC Caballero owned by Hal & Trudy from the Club.

Between a couple of the races one of Donna’s gym rat friends showed up to chat a bit. We were standing by the rail looking away from the track into our tent and beyond when she asked, “Whose cool car is that.” I almost instinctively said, “It’s ours.”, because this question usually refers to the Miata, but hesitated. I asked, “Which one? The little convertible sports car or the classic 80’s pick up/car mix?” She replied, “The pickup thing.” Hal fielded loads questions about the Caballero from both us and passers by, as well as at least one offer to buy it from him on the spot.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 27, 2018 when I’ll regale you with stories of the fall steeplechase too, because Tom has said that the offer to share the spot will be good for as long as we want. Until then here are a couple of images from the spring event:

Previously on The West Wing

Just the title of this post has been sitting in the drafts folder since January 9th of this year. This not too long after Donna and I decided that maybe we should give one of our favorite TV shows a re-watch. The phrase comes from the intro of the show before it shows little snippets of past episodes to foreshadow what is coming up and to perhaps remind you of characters or events that will be featured in this show that you might have forgotten.

The phrase also perfectly fits our desire to go back to, even if fictional, a less calamitous presidential administration. We wanted a version of the goings on in The West Wing of the White House that seemed to be filled with smart caring people that selfishly wanted to serve in government to better the lives of everyone in the country, not just the top one percent.

We have been watching an episode a day, with the exception of a couple of two-part episodes we watched back to back, and are now two-thirds of the way through season 4. We are a little more than halfway through the, 155 episode, seven season run.

So, after gathering dust in the drafts folder for the last 2-1/2 months, why have I decided to flesh out the post you ask. Good question. I have been having trouble finding a book I want to read the whole way through and after my failed attempt at audio books I started to widen my passive entertainment search and opted to try some podcasts. Wow, there are as many of these things as there are books and finding one I’m interested in is actually harder than finding a book that works for me. For one here is the whole voice issue, with a book, it is my voice, which I really like1, while with a podcast not only does the subject have to be interesting, but the person(s) have to sound pleasant to me.

Sunday I found a perfect one that will keep myself (and Donna) entertained for a good while, it is called the The West Wing Weekly. Once a week the two hosts watch an episode of the TV show the West Wing and talk about it. One voice is Hrishikesh Hirway a musician and composer, and the second is Josh Molina who played the character Will Bailey on the show from 2002-2006. Because of the continued popularity of The West Wing and possibly because of Mr. Molina’s showbiz connections they will occasionally have actors from the show on as guests.

They are doing one episode per week and started doing the podcast 2 years ago. The trouble with this is that the latest show they did a podcast for, 4-17: Red Haven’s on Fire, is exactly the same episode as Donna and I watched last night2, so we are now perfectly in sync. But with the differing time tables we will be soon be long ahead of the podcast. By the time we have wrapped up watching the entire seven season run of the show the podcast will only five episodes into season five.

We have been going back through some of the earlier episodes of the podcast to listen to some of the TV show’s stars guest appearances and then binge listened to the first few of the first season’s shows. I think now we are at the point where we might just jump back to season one of the TV show, starting over, so we can watch an episode and then right afterwards listen to the relating podcast.

25 Years Ago – Spring 1993

Oh, how far we’ve come Internet-wise in 25 years. At the bottom of the article is a 1-800 number to call and sign up for on-line access, someone please call it and let me know who answers in the comments.

Welcome To Miataville

by Member Gary W. Joseff

Do you know where “Miataville” is located? Well, you won’t find it on any map, and you can’t get there by driving your Miata (or any other car for that matter). Miataville does exist, however, and all you need to get there and enjoy its attractions is a personal computer. Miataville exists inside a giant computer located in Columbus, Ohio at a unique place called CompuServe.

CompuServe is the world’s biggest OLIS (On-line Information Service) and can be accessed by anyone with a personal computer and a modem over a standard telephone line. CompuServe offers many information services such as investment information, airline schedules, news wire service, shopping services, games, electronic mail (E-Mail), encyclopedias, databases, and even a “CB” channel where you can talk to other people on the channel via your keyboard.

There are also various group “forums” on assorted subjects such as computers, software, hobbies, sports, etc. In this forum there is also a special category called “Miataville,” which is an area specifically for Miata owners to share information, articles, latest happenings and news, problems, and anything at all related to Miatas.

The heart of Miataville is a message board & a library full of articles, news and gossip submitted by Miata owners.

The messages and articles you can read and/or download are all submitted by other Miata owners in the forum, and cover a wide variety of subjects. A random sampling of some of the messages recently covered a full plate of Miata owner interests such as the `93 models, gearbox changes, new accessories and radios, tires, driving schools, rattles, bike racks and hitches, and even advice on how to remove your sun visors.

The fun part of the forum is being able to carry on a dialogue with other Miata owners around the country via the message board. No message ever goes unanswered, and even when someone comes up with an esoteric question or problem, there is always someone with an answer, related experience, or if nothing else, an opinion. Signing up for CompuServe is easy, and their rates are competitive with other on-line services. You can call 1-800-848-8199 to sign up or to get more information.

See you in Miataville!

Copyright 1993, Miata Magazine. Reprinted without permission.

 

19,000 Holes in My Socks

I made it until retirement with two of those three pairs of brown socks intact. What I didn’t plan on is running out of white socks before the weather warmed up.

Around the house in spring, summer or fall I’m barefoot all the time, but in the winter instead of slippers I’ll rock some white calf-high “athletic” socks. I really don’t want a cold breeze hitting my ankles. The six pack of those kinds of socks I bought last year has dwindled down rapidly to one in the last 2 weeks. It seems like every time a load of wash was finished, I’d lose a sock or two because there were holes in the heel. And I’m sure that one this Sunday I’m going to lose my last pair.

Just outside Graniteville the Ladybug flew through its nineteen thousandth mile.

Ailuropoda Velox

Because it was a little after 1:00 PM as we got back to Aiken, after Saturday’s Coffee and Cars we thought maybe we should get something to eat before going home. As we were verbally ticking off places that we might like to eat at, Donna suggested Panda Express as it was about 500 feet right in front of us. I said sure.

The Panda Express is our fair city’s newest dining experience. As with any new restaurant in town, the place is packed for the first two months because everyone in the entire city has to eat there as quickly as possible so they can brag to their friends that they have done so. And true to form, whenever we have been over that way, be it lunch or dinner time, the parking lot has been jammed and the drive-up line practically circled the building.

Neither of us had eaten at a Panda Express before, so we wanted to check out what was meant by Chinese Fast Food. The Aiken store had been open since around the first of the year, so it had been awhile, but we were still surprised to find that there was nearly no one in the drive-up line nor in the dining area.

As it turned out, fast Chinese food is another way to say “controlled portion” buffet style. All the dishes are pre-cooked and sit in warming trays behind a display case and an employee dishes out a measured spoonful of the meal of your choosing. Donna selected chicken and green beans, I picked the Peking beef, we got fried rice as our side and we added one egg roll to split.

Let’s just say, this is the first and last time we will eat at a Panda Express. Our food was dished up by a less than enthusiastic employee and the food matched. Everything tasted like 3 day old leftover take-out where all the flavor had been absorbed by the baking soda at the back of the fridge. It was luke-warm in temperature and the rice was so dry you were lucky to keep more than a dozen grains of it on the fork at a time. The egg roll was hot enough, probably by random chance, but there was no hot mustard or orange sauce packets anywhere to be found.

This probably explains the uncrowdedness of the place on a Saturday at lunchtime. Everyone else in town had already eaten there, had a similar experience as us and discovered that eating here once was more than enough?

Saturday at the Dragstrip

Motorcycle with a Sidecar: As we were leaving the Carolina Dragway we had to wait for incoming traffic to pass first and what should drive by but a motorcycle with a sidecar. If it was worth just a point we would have shrugged and continued home, but for 5 we chased him down. (3/10/18)

The Augusta Coffee and Cars has had several homes in its 4 year history. They outgrew the first one, a shopping center parking lot, after about a year and a half. The second, another shopping center parking lot made it less than a year. The third was a county convention center and while they still had more than enough room, after about a year they wanted a chunk of change to continue using the place. The current home is a local Harley Davidson dealer and the huge grass lot next door that belongs to church.

This month was the 4th Anniversary of the event and for the second time the folks at the Carolina Dragway have opened their doors to Coffee and Cars and the crowds was huge. There is plenty of parking, think 8-10 rows deep and a quarter mile long, but the big draw is of course the two long straight lanes that you can test your car and nerves on for a mere $20. This is a bargain because for your money you can run as many times as you can fit it in, getting there early helps as it is first, come first serve. There was a very eclectic mix of cars, from a brand new Acura NSX to a front bumperless 90’s Honda Civic, to the usual Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros and Cadillac CTSVs. Plus plenty of two wheeled sport bikes.

We stuck around for the first three hours before having enough of looking at static cars and the folks taking their cars out and drag racing a 1/4 mile. We also weren’t having much luck with our ulterior motive for attending, Motoring Challenge points. In amongst the hundreds of cars we found two vehicles that had flames, worth 3 points, but both were very subtle and there was no way to get a good photograph of them because of where they were parked. We did manage to get the last two vanity plates we needed, but we had our best luck when we went to leave.

Waiting to cross the road to the exit, what should drive right in front of us, but a motorcycle with a sidecar on its way in, that’s five points! I had to wait for a couple more entering cars, before I could get going on pursuing the target. We lost him for a second, but managed to see him drive right into area up front cordoned off for motorcycles and the vendor tents. Drat. We tried circling around looking to see if we could get somewhere where the motorcycle might be visible in the background, with no luck. After careful negotiations between us, we decided to leave and catch that photo at another Coffee and Cars as there were going to be 9 more this year.

Once more we headed towards the exit. The way out led right by a sign for the racetrack. So even though we plan on passing right by the Darlington NASCAR track later this month, we stopped for the one point as insurance. As we passed through the exit gate we both simultaneously noticed a car back inside that was covered in flames with an open parking spot next to it. I pulled a u-turn and entered the gates to the dragstrip once more.

Since we were parked, we decided to walk over to the motorcycle/vendor area and see if we can find the motorcycle with sidecar’s owner and ask if we can get together and take a picture. There was no one standing right next to the bike, so we were out of luck. And because neither one of us got a good look at the driver there was no way to track him down in the crowd, so we opted for Plan B. Since our target was the last in a long line, if we could find someone in charge, we’d ask for permission to move an orange cone and drive over next to it to take the photo. Donna went off in search of someone official and didn’t have much luck. We were about to leave when I said let me ask in here. There was a back door open on one of the concession stands, so I asked a woman inside. She asked someone else where so and so was. No one knew, so they made a front-line decision, whether they were authorized to or not, and told us go ahead. So I ran back and got the car and drove in like I belonged there, so we could get our five point Motorcycle with a Sidecar picture.

What looked like a measly 2 point day turned into a dozen pointer. Not bad.

Huh? Snort! What?!?

Last Saturday Donna and I went over to the annual Book Fair put on by the local AAUW. In years past this was one of our main suppliers of cheap reads, but now that we both have been Kindlized(TM) we still go to hunt for a gem or two and a few books for the nieces and nephew in Washington state.

For as long as we can remember they have found a local space that at one time was a large open retail shopping place. This year they couldn’t find something like that so they settled for a three story office building that used to be the home of a Bomb Plant sub-contractor. All the office cubical walls were still standing in the four large rooms on each floor and they had printed maps directing shoppers to which cubicals housed which category of books. I was both awkwarder and easier than the typical one large room with straight rows of tables.

They were only allowed to set up on the first and third floors, so the button for the second floor was taped over. They had also deactivated it, so when the curious among us pressed it, the elevator would just pass right by on the way up or down. This led to speculation as to just what was left behind on the the 2nd floor. A couple of lead lined boxes with nuclear waste, where the original paper X-Files were moved after they where closed down or alien artifacts previously held in Area 51. More likely though it was all the phones, chairs, chair mats, pencils, pencil sharpeners, desk lamps, etc. left behind from floors numbers 1 & 3.

Donna picked out a few books to send off to the west coast and I, for a total change of pace, picked out a couple of audio books. One was a book I remember hearing about a decade or so earlier and wanted to read, but never did, The Art of Racing in the Rain and the other was a book I did read about a couple of decades ago, The Trials of Rumpole3.

I have talked to people who swear by audio books while driving long distances, but I can’t do it. I would be listening to the first chapter and the next thing I knew we were in the middle of chapter three and I couldn’t tell you what happened. Maybe it is because I like like to pay attention to the driving part of the trip, unlike them. My plan for these was to just sit back on the couch, close my eyes and enjoy someone reading to me. I started listening to chapter one of The Art of Racing in the Rain and the next thing I knew was I was in chapter three with no recollection on how I got there. I must have reverted to my 6-year old self and fell asleep while being read to. So much for that. I wonder how much the two audio books would go for on eBay?