Mitch's Spot

Catching up & predictions

2008-11-06T10:44:00.001-07:00

With the changes in the US political climate, and the election of Barack Obama to the White House I feel that it's time to resurect my blog (and it also seems like a good time to do some catching up).

I spent two weeks in India for work in April. I wasn't sure what to expect as I'd heard of a number of bad experiences from co-workers and family. Thankfully, my visit went very well. I had the opportunity to finally meet some of my Indian coworkers, experience their culture and do a little bit of sight seeing. I'm hoping to have the opportunity to visit again (with a little more time to see the sights). The worst parts of the trip were: 1-all the vaccinations my employer required, and 2-the return flight from Mumbai (fka Bombay) to Frankfurt on Air India (I recommend that any visitors to India avoid the state-run airline at all costs -- which is a challenge becase they are code share partners with Lufthansa). I've got a few of my pictures from the trip posted on my facebook page so look me up there if you have an account.

My oldest cat, Sfuzzy, lost her battle with cancer in August of last year. I still miss her terribly (she's been my companion all of my adult life). On the bright side there are three new kittens in my life (yes, that makes six cats).

I'll be visiting Jamaica (again) for the US Thanksgiving holiday -- I'm really looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to see the friends I've made there.

Andy bought a fish/aquarium store in June, and I've been helping out there as my time allows. My responsibilities include most of the backoffice work (payroll and bookkeeping for the most part).

There's a lot more going on, but the biggest revelation to myself over the last year is that I LOVE politics. I know, you might be thinking "great, someone else that can't get enough of Obama" but that couldn't be further from the truth. I did not support Obama in the 2008 election. I proudly proclaim my support for the McCain/Palin ticket and am very concerned about the current political climate and the changes that are in store for the US under the administration of President Obama (aka Barry the Redistributor).

Here are my predictions for the first year of his presidency:
1. Within six months there will be attacks on the first and second ammendments. Think of the fairness doctrine where liberals in congress will attempt to regulate talk radio the same way pornography is regulated. Obama's record in the Illinois legislature clearly shows that he believes guns should be outlawed.
2. There will be a second terrorist attack inside the US by the end of 2009. This scares me more than anything else.
3. There will be no tax cut -- taxes will go up across the board, including taxes on the 40 million Americans that are not currently paying taxes. Everyone will have less during Obama's presidency.
4. Obama will not lead from the center as he's promissed. Just look at his record -- everytime he's broken with the dems his position has gone even further to the left than his party.
5. I expect buyers remorse to set in within nine months as it becomes apparent that Obama's promise of change was nothing more than a bunch of empty platitudes.

I hope and pray that I am wrong about my predictions, but the writing is on the wall and only time will tell.

With all that said, what do you think is going to happen when President Obama orders a full withdrawl from Iraq? What about the 4000 Americans who have given their lives to bring the Iraqis freedom? The troop surge worked and violence is at its lowest levels since the war started. Iraqis are enjoying freedoms that they've never before had and a full withdrawl will rip those freedoms from their hands and return power to warlords and dictators. What about the cost you say? Couldn't this money be better spent elsewhere? In a word, yes. However, given the investment we've already made it would be a HUGE mistake to take a step back and allow Iraq to return to a despot.

Catching up...

2007-08-11T23:57:00.001-06:00

I joined my friends Joy and Zoot for the Bowling for Soup concert at the Gothic last night. I should have remembered my earplugs as my ears rang for most of the day -- it was much louder than they were last year at the Ogden. I had a great time -- the guys in BFS always put on a good show.

We learned on Friday that my cat Sfuzzy has cancer -- it appears to be Lymphoma. She stopped eating entirely on Wednesday after suffering from a declining appetite. Sfuzzy spent Thursday evening at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital & we brought her home Friday evening. She just started eating again Saturday evening. We elected to not have invasive surgery or pursue chemo because of her age; she's nearly 17 years old and has lived a long and good life. At home she's on some antibiotics to help fight an infection and steriods to help stimulate her appetite. Right now, I'm focusing on the present: she's home and happy (and she's eating again).

I'm a little alarmed that my normal vet appears to have gone out of business. On Thursday I discovered that their phone had been disconnected at the clinic I visit and the voicemail boxes are full at the other two clinics. It's unfortunate -- I really liked Dr. Ikeler and especially his technicians Meisha and Lindsay. Thankfully, the doctor referred us to a specialist for Porsche who's associated with a 24x7 animal hospital who was also able to help us with Sfuzzy.

I'm looking forward to the 311 concert at Red Rocks on Wednesday 8/15 -- I know it's going to be a good show and it'll be nice to get out of the house for the evening.

Oh, and lest I forget -- no signs of the pesky squirrels. Hopefully we'll make it through the fall and winter without another invasion. I really need to get more insulation and all the damage they've caused more permanently repaired.

Back from Texas

2007-07-09T23:36:00.001-06:00

I flew back today from 5 days in Texas -- it was a great trip!

We flew out on Andy's birthday (7/4) to Austin and rented a Buick Lacrosse. We spent Wednesday and Thursday night in Austin and saw 311 at the Back Yard both evenings. In addition to seeing four 311 concerts, we were also going to try to sample as much Texas BBQ as possible. Wednesday we had to stop in and eat at The County Line BBQ, an old-time favorite for us (there was a County Line out in Littleton for a long time but it closed a couple years ago). Thursday we stopped in and sampled the offerings at Rudy's for lunch. Rudy's is an interesting place: a convenience store and BBQ restaurant in one and the food was very good. After the 311 concert on Thursday we went to Sam's BBQ in a somewhat questionable neighborhood somewhere in Austin -- I had ribs and sausage with potato salad and beans (all very good!).

Friday 7/6 we packed up in Austin, and after lunch at the Salt Lick in Driftwood, we made the trek to Dallas. In Dallas, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Downtown (priceline for $65/night made it a real bargain). After the concert on Friday we went to a Hooters -- mostly because it was the only thing open at 11PM (strange, huh?). Saturday, there was no concert (it was nice to have a night off!). We wandered around downtown for a while and had lunch at Mi Cocina in the West Village. It was really good -- we both had a margarita while Andy had Fajitas and I opted for their combo #57 (56??) and both were excellent. Saturday we had dinner at Peggy Sue BBQ; ribs and sausage for me again.

We packed up in Dallas on Sunday 7/8 -- we headed for Bakers Ribs for lunch on the way out of town. Sunday afternoon we arrived in Houston. Dinner was at the Salt Grass Steak House -- it seemed fitting that the first visit should be in Texas even though the chain has made it's way to Colorado. I really enjoyed the food. The 311 concert Sunday evening in Houston was probably the best I've seen this summer. The sound was great -- not too loud and we had pit tickets so we were right up front. We had pit tickets in Dallas as well, but the pit area was probably 2x the size there so even though we were in front of all the reserved seats we were still a good 20 feet from the stage. In Houston, the pit was maybe 12 feet deep -- probably more like 10. The worst thing about Houston was the humidity and temperature -- it seems like it was 90 degrees and 100% humidity at 10PM (well, maybe the worst thing was the bugs, but the heat was a close second).

Monday morning we checked out of our final hotel, and headed to the final restaurant we wanted to try in Texas: Pappasito's Cantina. If you're familiary with Pappadeaux in the tech center -- Pappasito's is owned by the same company and the restaurants have a familiar sense of style and the service is excellent at both. I had Pappas Grill and Andy tried the lunch Fajitas. Both dishes were excellent, and our waitress bought us desert: A cheesecake whose name escapes me. She told us to just take a bite even though we were both full -- we darn near ate the whole piece! After that we raced to the airport to return the rental car and head home. We drove 750 miles in Texas in 5 days -- I'm glad that we elected to fly down to Texas this year rather than drive like last. We were able to go to the show in Houston -- if we'd done that I imagine that this post would have been composed in a hotel room in Oklahoma City.

I'm really looking forward to the 311 show at Red Rocks in August, but it's great to be home.

While I'm thinking of it -- I think the pest control people got the squirrels taken care of right before the trip. I'll have to listen for the tell-tale sounds early in the next few mornings to know for sure. I've got my fingers crossed.

I hope everyone's doing well!

Squirrels ... AKA Tree Rats

2007-06-26T17:37:00.001-06:00

Anyone who's talked to me in person over the last year has surely heard me recount the endless dealings I've had with squirrels getting into my attic... I dealt with a number of holes in the houses roof line earlier this year -- I had a contractor repair the soffit and fascia which seemed to help for a while.

In early May I heard the familiar sound of a rodent eating away at my house and called the pest control company again to place traps (I'd do it myself except the roof is about 25ft up and I don't have a ladder that's tall enough). They chewed another hole through the fascia board and are back in the attic. We've been trapping for about a month and things have slowed up considerably -- haven't really seen or heard much of them in the last week or so. However, this afternoon I went into my bedroom and discovered one had chewed through the drywall(!!). The hole is temporarily patched with a bit of "hardware cloth"; thankfully it doesn't look like any squirrels came through the hole and there's no sign of any on the inside.

I wonder if this will ever end?

Mitch

Another 311 Summer :)

2007-06-17T23:06:00.000-06:00

It's going to be another 311 summer:
7/4/07 Austin, TX
7/5/07 Austin, TX
7/6/07 Dallas, TX
7/8/07 Houston, TX
8/15/07 Denver, CO

The only change from last year's trip is we'll be flying into Austin and out of Houston for the Texas shows. Last year, it took us 17 hours to drive from Austin to Denver -- which we did in a day. We decided this year that we'd rather not spend so much time in the car.

I'll try and make another post soon. For now, I'll just add that I'm still not smoking -- it's been a real uphill fight.

Mitch

Fabulous time in Jamaica

2007-02-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone, I wanted to make a quick post now that I'm home.

The trip itself was pretty uneventful. We hauled nearly 4 dozen sets of sheets down to the resort we stayed at -- I never had ANY IDEA that sheets were so heavy! We also hauled several computers down for some Jamaican friends we've made. Between the sheets and the computer it made clearing Customs in Jamaica something of an ordeal. I managed to talk our way out of owing any duty -- not sure exactly how I did it but in the end the Customs officer just waived us through.

We had a total of 8 days in the warm and sun. It seels like the beach has eroded quite a bit since Hurricane Ivan hit in2004. Didn't do a whole lot of site seeing this time -- we did make it up to Alfred's Ocean Palace for a live Reggae show. I managed to escape with little to no sunburn (quite a feat considering the amount of time I spent in the sun). The bugs, however, did have a feast on me. I'd meant to do some postcard writing but failed to get postcards early in the trip and it slipped my mind later on. I didn't do a very good job of getting the camera out, either -- the only pictures from this trip are of sunset on Monday. We went snorkeling at one of the reefs -- lots of beautiful fish to see. Our guide pointed out sea cucumbers I'd have missed and also some sea urchings. It always amazes me how much more colorful salt-water fish are when compared to fresh-water.

The owner (Don Mayer) of Small Dog Electronics were staying at the same resort (Whistling Bird). Any Mac user should be familiar with Small Dog; they have great support and great prices for all Apple products and lots of accessories to go with them. It was really neat to meet Don. I got to play with Don's Mac Book Pro (loaded with core2duo processor and a 12" monitor) -- it'll definately be my next major computer purchase to replace my Mac desktop and IBM notebook.

The trip back was pretty uneventful. Thankfully, we were much lighter on the way out -- even after hitting the duty free shops pretty hard. Because of the TSA restrictions on liquids in carry-on luggage for domestic flights everything had to be placed into checked baggage after clearing customs in Atlanta. Unfortunately, we did loose one bottle that didn't get packed as well as it probably should have. While it's a bummer, nothing else appears to have been damaged other than all our clean clothes were soaked in rum. I'm just glad to have made it home on Saturday -- now I have a full day to get caught back up on life and do laundry before work on Monday.

The only thing I'm kind of bummed out about is Blue October played a show at the Bluebird Theater here in Denver on 2/17.

Ah, well, back to laundry and trying to clear some of the things off my to-do list.

Mitch

Long time no blog...

2007-02-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hello to anyone that actually has my blog still bookmarked or even bothers to check it ocassionally. It seems that I manage to actually complete a post every 3-6 monhts -- even longer this time. I'll blame it on ADD -- I open up the blog console, start typing and then get wrapped up in editing myself or distracted by something else. Usually, by the time I realize I was in the middle of a blog post I've lost my train of thought and give up on it(ok, so it's a lame excuse but I'm sticking to it). Add to that my difficulty opening up to people and I'm not the best blogger in the world. (I will never forget what my friend EWD told me about 10 years ago "I tell you all my problems and cry all over your shoulder and when I ask you how things are you tell me 'I like chocolate chip cookies'"). I guess that about sums it up. :)

Work has been going pretty well -- not a whole lot of drama there (thankfully!). We have been incredibly busy and my team of two has grown to 10 in the last 4 months and the number of customers we support has grown even faster. I've really grown to love my new job; the team is an awesome group of people located around the world. I'm on call 7x24 for the time being -- thankfully the team is good and my cell phone rarely rings; when it does I know that whomever is calling has done everything they know to resolve a problem. For those that have not been filled in on the changes in my job, I am a technical manager. My responsibilities include training and talent selection (hiring) for my direct team and supporting the technical needs of everyone in our entire organization of about 75. I also support about 10 customers at the same time so it really keeps me going and every day is different. I think my favorite part of the job is managing our labs in Coppell and Highlands Ranch.

I quit smoking in December -- for probably the 4th time. (yes mom, I was a smoker). I'm proud of myself -- it's been over 7 weeks and I've only cheated once. Thank god for commit lozenges, though nothing will ever replace the love I had for a cigarette. I actually miss standing out on my back porch in the freezing weather at night and looking up at the stars (not that you can see many from my location in the city -- it's just too bright out). I don't miss the sound of the hospital helicopters roaring over-head as the come in to land at the helipad down the street. I never realized how much I used smoking to cope with stress or anything that wasn't going my way and it has been difficult learning to cope without cigarettes but I am making it through and every day my resolve is stronger. I guess I just had it when I got sick after the holidays; I was tired of not being able to breathe and tired of not having any energy or stamina. Every day it's a little better; I just have to keep reminding myself that it is worth it.

The car drama ended sometime late in the summer. I'm just glad it's all over. I finally got the title just as I was preparing to sue the previous owner. I still love driving the hell out of it and smile every time I get behind the wheel. I went to the track a few times over the last summer -- just to watch as I still haven't had the courage to actually race. Considering all the previous blog space devoted to my new car I think that's enough said about that. :)

I saw my first concert at Red Rocks Ampitheater this past summer. The headliner was 311 with Pepper and the Wailers opening. It was a fantastic show -- the sound was a bit loud and distorted but the show was awesome. In fact, the concert was so much fun that it was decided that Andy and I should take a road-trip to Dallas and Austin in September for Labor day. We drove from Denver to Dallas in one day -- that wasn't so bad. The concert Saturday night in Dallas was, I think, the best of the three we saw: the sound was excellent and we had tickets in the pit (another first). I also discovered that I really do love the city of Dallas. I think part of it is emotional ties to friends in the city, but it really is an amazing place (if you can deal with the traffic!). We made the trip to Austin on Sunday -- not a bad drive. We ate some of the best BBQ I've ever had in a HUGE restaurant in the middle of nowhere and then headed to the show. The venue in Austin was another outdoor ampitheater (The Backyard). It rained cats and dogs during the show -- Pepper only got to play one song out of their set (which was OK with me) and the Wailers act was cut similarly short (which was a dissapointment). 311 put on another awesome show -- it was a pretty small event with I would guess around 5000 people in the audience. Even without pit tickets we were still close enough to the stage to have an awesome view. On Monday we drove straight through from Austin to Denver. The drive home was a real killer -- we woke up late and it POURED rain from Austin pretty much straight through to OKC. We somehow managed to get off of I70 somewhere in Oklahoma -- apparently we misread a sign and took a leg of I70 that just dumped us into OKC (?) -- that was an adventure. I really wanted to make a couple of stops to say hi to 2 very special friends but neither Andy or I had Tuesday off work so we were forced to press through. Overall, it was an excellent trip and I'm really bummed that 311 has decided to take an extended break because I'd do it all again in a heart beat -- I got to hear all my favorite songs live and there is just nothing like it.

In fact, it does seem to have been the summer of concerts for me -- I think I saw as many concerts this summer as I've seen in my entire life. I also went to see Bowling for Soup with my friends Dancing Star and Girl Zoot. It was a great night at the show and It's always good to see you ladies. :) GZ -- thanks for the postcard it really brightened my day.

I'm headed back to Jamaica on Friday -- technically Saturday morning. We have a 12:55 AM flight to Atlanta. I'm just going to be glad to get away from all of the SNOW here in Denver. Beautiful as the snow may be I am definately over it. I am looking forward to sitting on the beach reading a book and listening to music. Since this isn't the first trip we have no real sight-seeing plans other than to hit some of the live music spots: Alfred's Ocean Palace and Rick's -- both places do live concerts at least one night per week on the beach. As much as I'm looking forward to the trip I already know it will come to an end way too soon.

One of these days I will figure out how to balance my life a bit more. It seems I've either got all my energy focused on work or drama going on with my house (maybe in my next post I will detail my ongoing battle with squirrels).

I feel like there's so much more to add, but it's past midnight and I really ought to be going to bed. Hopefully this post isn't a bunch of rambling nonsense.

Mitch

Car Drama: Nearly Over!

2006-07-12T21:33:00.000-06:00

And all I can say is it's about time! :) Surprisingly enough, the title arrived in MY mail on Tuesday -- for some odd reason the bank sent it to me. I managed to get the seller and got him to download and execute an affidavit so I could transfer the title without his signature on it -- he sent it to me overnight and I received it today. All that's left is to pay the government off. Yay -- I've been holding off on chipping the car so I'm going to have to give that some serious consideration now that it's officially in my name. I've been thinking about the drag stip a lot, too!

Work has been real busy. I think I'll leave it at that for now.

I had a fabulous time in Jamaica over the 4th of July. We hit the duty free shops pretty hard on the way back and brought back some nice coconut rum that's not exported off the island and some Blue Mountain coffee. Hopefully enough of both to last a long while. I spent too much time in the sun on Saturday and ended up with a burn despite the amount of sunscreen I was wearing. I spent most of Sunday and Monday in the shade. It was a great 4 night get away. I think the next time I go back I'm going to go during the winter -- maybe January or February.

I'm going to see 311 at Red Rocks on July 28th; I've never seen them live so I'm really looking forward to the show! The Wailers are opening; I wonder if they'll play One Love.

Mitch

A pleasant surprise at the DMV this morning

2006-06-28T10:50:00.000-06:00

I just got back from the DMV with a pleasant surprise... They've extended my temporary tags for 45 days, but also given me the ultimatum to either get the title or start the bond process. The clerk at the DMV suggested that I try and sue for the title; I'd have to file in small claims court in Chicago. It'd be a pain, but the clerk at the DMV assured me that the cost to bond the title would be more than the cost of filing a small-claims suit and traveling to Chicago.

And 5 months later...

2006-06-24T11:14:00.000-06:00

Greetings to all -- I did not mean for five months to go by between posts. I did not know that there was anyone actually still reading my blog until I checked in today and saw comments.

There has been a lot going on in my life over the past few months -- work has been incredibly busy. On April 1st, I was promoted to Technical Manager at Avaya. My official title is SRM Engineer. I am supporting one of our new services offerings: Software Release Management. Essentially, my job is to monitor the communications systems of all the customer who have signed up for the SRM offer -- I monitor the software and firmware that is installed and make sure that things are functioning as designed, and apply patches and updates as required. This is the promotion that I was up for late last year, so in the end I got it. The learning curve has been pretty steep -- I've had almost 100 hours of education on Voice over IP; received my CCNA certification and will have my ENA (Extreme Networks) and JNA (Juniper Networks) certifications by the end of the year. I have really enjoyed the challenges of this job -- I finally feel like I've made it to where I want to be.

I sold my Grand Prix in April. As much as I enjoyed the car, and I really did have a great time working on it I decided that it was time to go. After everything I'd done to the car, it was really great at the track, but it was not a lot of fun to drive around-town. It had plenty of power but the suspension was so stiff that every bump and dip was bone jarring. I took the aftermarket suspension off to have a leaking strut replaced and it was then that I decided that it was time to sell the car. I spent a lot of time in late February and March removing all of the aftermarket parts I'd installed: upgraded supercharger, lower intake manifold, cold air intake, custom exhaust, down pipes, etc... The only thing I didn't do was pull the engine and replace the cam with a stock one. I have to admit that I do miss the car a little, but I'm really happy with it's replacement.

My Grand Prix was replaced with a 2001 Audi S4 on 3/28/06. The purchase of this car has been quite an ordeal -- it seems like it will NEVER end! I found the car on eBay -- it was in Chicago being sold by a private party. It was Black with 53k miles, a 6year/100k mile factory warranty, had the sport package and seemed like an all-around good deal.

I flew out to Chicago with a cashier's check and met up with the seller. We went to a Chase bank branch and had the bill of sale notarized and I gave him my check. I had an enjoyable drive back to Denver -- I stopped off in Glendale Heights, IL to see the house we lived in for a year when I was 5. With the exception of a serious rainstorm and getting on to I-35 South towards Dallas the drive itself was pretty uneventful 2 days with a brief stopover in Lincoln, NE for dinner and sleep.

Sometime late in April I got curious about the status of the title; the seller had originally told me he owed about $500 more on the car than what I'd paid; he'd said he would pay the car off ASAP and should have the title to me in a month or so. When I called the seller -- he told me that he'd talked to Audi Financial (AFS) and the payoff had been received and title was being processed. In early May I still hadn't heard anything and called AFS directly, while they wouldn't talk to me directly, they did conference the seller in and it was then I learned that the car had not been paid off; not only that the cashier's check I'd given to the seller had not made it to AFS (thankfully, I had the check made out to them and not the seller). So, I had my bank cancel the original cashiers check and issue another one which I overnighted to AFS. At the end of May I called AFS again to find out what the status was; again, they called the seller who this time simply gave AFS authorization to speak to me about the account. I learned that the check I'd overnighted to them and had been received. However, there was still a balance of just over $1000 remaining on the account so the title still hadn't been released. I called and talked to the seller and he said he was getting it all squared away and he would let me know. I've talked to the seller a couple more times; the last I'd heard was that AFS had mailed the title to the seller and that once he'd received it he would sign it and send it to me. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, my original temporary tags expired mid-May; I've been back to the DMV every two weeks to get new ones and each time it's a bit harder to get them. They're up again on 6/28 -- it will be interesting to see if I'm able to get a renewal on my tags. I did find out from the DMV that I can go through a bond process to receive title; the cost is based on the car's value and an apprailsal is required -- it seems like a real hassle. The mess with the title aside, I love the S4, and I am glad I bought it.

A random thought: many things in my life seem to be pointing to Dallas, TX right now.

I'm going to Jamaica on Friday -- can't forget that! It's a quick, almost spur of the moment, 5day 4 night adventure to my favorite island in the Carribean. Couldn't pass the opportunity up -- I'm staying at Whistling Bird again and the airfare was as cheap as I've EVER seen it. With the price of gas, it's almost cheaper to fly than take a road-trip anywhere I want to go.

I still have pictures from my Thanksgiving trip that I still want to post. Someday, maybe...

What are the chances...

2006-01-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

That anyone, let alone me still looks at this blog? Three months of no posting will probably do that to a blog. :)

Well, a quick update, and some PICTURES...

I haven't really done anything with my Grand Prix since October -- I seriously considered selling it towards the end of 2005 but decided to keep it. I was planning to buy a 2001 or 2002 Audi S4; a nice German sports sedan powered by a twin-turbo v6 (and all wheel drive).. In the end, I decided to keep my Grand Prix -- It's been a good car; that and I think it got mad at me when I started to think about selling it: I had a blow-out (left front tire) on I-70 while out doing Christmas shopping (which brought me to the untimely realization the my donut spare tire will not fit over the massive brakes I've put on my car)... I'm taking my car to the dyno on Sunday 1/15. I need to get my car ready for that -- hopefully Friday evening or sometime Saturday.

I spent the week of Thanksgiving in Jamaica. I'm going to make a separate post for some pictures and trip details soon. This post has been open on my computer for 2 days now.

I accepted a new position at work last year -- I'm really enjoying the challenge. I was up for a promotion towards the end of 2005 but that fell through for a number of reasons. Oh well, it may still happen at some point down the road -- I'll just have to wait and see how everything works out.

Happy new year to everyone, I hope 2006 is good to everyone.

A great night at the track!

2005-10-06T09:04:00.000-06:00

I am so glad that I made it to Bandimere on Wednesday. I was having a really rough time and almost didn't go. I got 3 pretty good runs in; including an all-time personal best. I was pretty amazed considering the amount of time (not much) I've spent on my car this race season. My first run as 13.714 @ 102.15; #2 was 13.815 @ 102.88 and #3 was 13.988 @ 102.51.

There was a bit of drama between my second and third run -- as I was waiting in the staging lanes I watched a high-power Camaro launch in the left lane and noticed that his rear-end was "really squirrelly" -- he had a hard time keeping it from trying to come around. Sure enough, as soon as I looked away the guy lost control and hit the RIGHT wall head-on, bounced off it and then smacked into the left wall. Thankfully, the other racer was on his toes and managed to get his car stopped in time to avoid a collision. It took about an hour to get the track cleaned up; they had to put the Camaro's rear end on dollies and used a front-end loader to lift the front end off the ground and tow it away. Thankfully, Bandimere does keep emergency personnel on-site during events and medical attention was onsite within 1 minute of the incident.

Long time, no post...

2005-10-05T10:44:00.000-06:00

So it has been a crazy couple of weeks -- I'll try and pickup where I left off mid-September...

It took a while, but I got all the work done on my car and it passed emissions. Needless to say, that made me VERY happy; now that I have valid tags my car will pass tech inspection at the dragstrip. :) SO... Wednesday 9/21 I met up with RMCGP (the local Grand Prix club) at Bandimere Speedway and had a *REAL* good time. I got to run 4 times (mostly because I spent so much time BS'ing with my friends and not in line). My best time on the 21st was 14.021 @ 101.14MPH. This is compared with my best time in 2004 which was 13.834 @ 101.71MPH. I'm not doing too bad this year, but there is definately room for improvement!

I am heading back to Bandimere tonight in pursuit of at least one 13.xxx run -- I know I can do it if everything falls into place. I didn't really put my car into "street trim" after the 21st so there isn't a whole lot to do to get ready -- mostly I need to get rid of as much weight as I can (remove rear seat) and pump the 91 octane fuel out of the gas tank. I need to put race gas in and then do a bit of driving so that the PCM will learn the higher octane fuel and advance my timing. It will be a good time -- no doubt in my mind (even if I don't come home with a 13second slip).

Work has kept me busy; the software management offer that my team is supporting domestically is going to be offered internationally in '06; we've all been working long (and strange) hours trying to coordinate service delivery with our conterparts around the globe. It's been a lot of work, but it's been a great experience and I might get some international travel out of it (got my fingers crossed!).

I've been doing a lot of reading recently -- more than I have in quite some time. I finished the DarkSword trilogy and really loved the series. After that I read The Boys in the Brownstone by Kevin Scott -- I can't believe I actually made it through the book; I just had a hard time following the story as it seemed to jump around a lot. This last weekend I finished reading "The Brothers Bishop" (by Bart Yates) which is about two brothers, their lives, family and coming to terms with the past. I really loved the book, but it was pretty depressing.

I think next on my reading list is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, but I've had a hard time picking that volume up. I received it in August while I was at my friend's funeral -- she was a big fan of Ayn Rand; I remember her carrying around Atlas Shrugged in high school. It's been almost two months and I still can't believe that she's not here anymore. I was cleaning out a couple of old computers last weekend and came across a bunch of e-mails we'd exchanged; plans for our 10 year high school reunion(back in 2001) -- talking about the 15year (next year, if there is one) and already looking forward to 20; talking about life and jobs and a lot of little things. I don't know why it is, but this last week has been tougher for me than any other week since her death. It seems like every time I turn around I'm confronted with a memory from the past; songs I hear on the radio send me back in time to high school and it seems like it was just yesterday that she greeted me with her smile and sparkling blue eyes. I miss her lots, more than I'd imagined possible.

Wanda & Girlzoot, I'll post some pictures (and maybe even a movie) for you soon. I just have to figure out how it works. :)

Mitch

Nothing's every easy....

2005-09-16T15:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I've spent most of the week trying to get over a cold so I haven't really felt much like spending time in the garage.

I finally went out yesterday to swap my supercharger pulley and one of the idlers -- going from the 3.2" pulley to a 3.4" pulley (the stock pulley is 3.8" -- the smaller the pulley on the supercharger the more boost (and heat) it produces). Of course, I forgot that I'd put a phenolic spacer between my supercharger and the lower intake; so my SC belt won't fit with the larger pulley. Figures...

Oh well -- I got a new belt from Advance Auto that's 1" longer. Hopefully that'll go on a bit later this afternoon in addition to 6 new spark plugs. Once that's all done I need to clean my air filter and let my car's PCM re-learn it's calibration data since I uploaded a new program to it today.

As much as I really like my car; there is something to be said for keeping one's daily driver relatively stock...

Car work in progress

2005-09-13T07:23:00.000-06:00

Well, now that I've been home for a couple of days; it's time to think about my car again. Prior to being called away to assist the Red Cross my car had failed it's emissions test. No big surprise considering how heavily modified the engine is. The car didn't fail by a huge margin, but HydroCarbons and Carbon Monoxide are both above the acceptible limits (HC GPM = 1.4138 / limit is 1.2; CO GPM = 25.6146 / limit = 20).

The high HC readings indicate unburned or partially burned fuel; High CO is from a too rich fuel mixture. After spending some time with my scan tool I discovered that my air/fuel mixture is still set to 14.7:1, but I've modified so many parts along the intake that the car's computer is having trouble keeping the mixture in line.

I had no problem with emissions in 2003; but my car was much less modified at the time. This afternoon, I am planning to do a bit of work to hopefully reduce HC and CO emissions: return to stock spark plugs at the stock gap; go to a bigger supercharger pulley, return to stock Fuel Pressure Regulator, clean my air filter and replace my 160 degree thermostat with the stock 190 degree unit. I've also got a special tune for the PCM that will reduce ignition timing to stock levels.

It shouldn't take too long; the larger pulley and hotter plugs should reduce cylinder pressure and burn the charge more thoroughally. We shall see -- I hope to get emissions and registration out of the way today. I really want to get to the racetrack on Wednesday 9/14 and racing depends on having current tags (nothing like waiting to the last minute, eh?)

Mitch

Back home 9/9

2005-09-10T12:29:00.000-06:00

Thursday 9/8 around 4pm my team of four engineers was sent down to the Alabama coast -- we were to perform site surveys for shelters in Mobile and Vancleve. We had been on the road for about an hour and a half; and were about 70 miles from Mobile when we received the call: Network Operations in Dallas had discovered that the shelters we were on the way to survey had all been closed. Not only had the shelters in Mobile and Vancleve been closed, but the other 5 teams were being recalled as well for the same reason.

On the way back to Montgomery we received another call from the NOC: Once we returned to Montgomery we would be released to our normal work assignments; we were to change our return flights to Friday 9/9. We arrived in Montgomer about 7pm; had dinner and returned to our hotels to pack and make travel arrangements.

On Friday the 9th, most of us outprocessed with the Red Cross (which is actually a lenghty process that includes a medical review and mental health checkup).

My flight was at 5:50PM -- on another small jet into Houston. I had enough time in Houston to grab some dinner and then make a mad dash to the C Concourse to catch my flight to Denver.

I landed in Denver at about 11:30; made it home by 12:30 am.

I meant to get this posted earlier; but I caught a cold somewhere on the return journey and haven't felt up to doing much thinking...

Mitch

2005-09-08T22:58:00.000-06:00

Returning to Denver Friday evening 9/9. More Friday AM.

2005-09-08T13:16:00.000-06:00

Well, maybe we're going to Mobile...

2005-09-08T12:50:00.000-06:00

Maybe we're going to Mobile today....

2005-09-08T11:53:00.000-06:00

We are headed to Mobile, AL this afternoon. More later.

hurry up and wait...

2005-09-07T20:55:00.000-06:00

My previous message was posted Wednesday morning after our arrival at the HQ location. Equipment for three shelters was suppossed to arrive this morning at about 8:30 am. At about 10 am a truck did show up with a bunch of equipment, but none of it was for our project. So, we spent the day unloading trucks and trying to stay out of the way of other workers.

We are expecting (hoping, more like) that Thursday will be a busy day -- we are expecting the original 3 locations to show up as well as equipment for up to 7 more. If that actually happens, we will have enough work for all of our teams, and then some. One of these days, I'm sure the logistics will work themselves out; I just hope it's sooner rather than later.

Life in Montgomery appears to have continued as normal. There is little visible damage to structures but in speaking with residents I learned they did recieve a signifigant amount of rain. There is some water damage visible on the walls of my hotel room and the rooms that others are staying in.

I spoke with my boss today, who is stationed in Baton Rouge. They are staying in a Red Cross staff shelter. Their project territory includes all of Lousiana and everything to the west of the Mississippi River. I have been thinking about their team quite a bit the last couple of days; it was good to hear that they are all doing well and are in good spirits.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Take care,
Mitch

2005-09-07T06:57:00.000-06:00

First assignment is Jackson, MS. 5hrs away.

Registered with the Red Cross

2005-09-06T16:06:00.000-06:00

Today has been a pretty uneventful day; I slept through my alarm which got me off to a great start. I meet up with a few other Avaya associates in the hotel lounge -- one of whom I worked with almost 8 years ago.

After a quick breakfast it was off to Red Cross HQ in Montgomery to get registered as a volunteer. Once registration was complete we attended a Disaster Relief Worker training session and then had a quick orientation on the history of the Red Cross.

Our project is called RTT-Kiosk; my understanding of the operation is this:
Other companies have been deployed teams to Austin, TX. The Austin team's job is to package and pre-configure equipment (PC's, laptops, routers, network switches and IP telephones) for each shelter location on a pallet. Once the equipment is palletized in Austin it will then be shipped to one of two forward staging locations -- Baton Rouge, LA & Montgomery, AL. Once the equipment arrives at the forward location our teams will be responsible for transporting it to and installing it at the shelters throughout the region. The Montgomery team is responsible for shelters and the disaster area east of the Mississippi River. In order to speed the installation process we will be split into teams of two; our goal is that each team will complete two installations per day; we expect to spend most of our time travelling to and from the shelters.

I expect we will get an early start Tuesday morning. Our team is meeting up at HQ in Montgomery at 7am. Hopefully, we will have news from the telecom vendor that there are circuits installed so our work can begin.

Everyone take care,
Mitch

Made it to Montgomery

2005-09-05T23:08:00.000-06:00

Travel was pretty uneventful, and I arrived safely.

We landed 20 minutes early in Houston and waited on the tarmac for 20 minutes for our gate to be cleared. The flight from Houston to Montgomery was packed -- the plane was a tiny business jet that seated 50. We landed in Montgomery about 10pm.

Tonight I am staying at the Holiday Inn East in Montgomery, courtesy of the Red Cross. I have a bed and a TV to watch CNN on (which is a LOT more than I'd hoped and prepared myself for).

It was nice to turn CNN on tonight and see water being pumped out of New Orleans and all of the families being reunited.

Mitch

Headed to Montgomery, AL

2005-09-05T10:54:00.000-06:00

Today, I am headed to Montgomery, AL to assist the Red Cross with their disaster recovery operations from hurricane Katrina. Avaya, true to it's heritage from Bell & AT&T, has devoted a significant amount of resources to the Red Cross. Last week, my boss asked if I was available and I indicated I was.

I am going out with a crew of 12 other Avaya associates to Montgomery; 13 others are being dispatched to Baton Rouge, LA at the same time. We will be stationed at the Red Cross forward staging locations at both locations. Our assignment is to get internet access and telephone service installed and operational at some 400+ sites throughout the region.

I expect to be posting to the blog at least once per day. Family, friends and business associates who have my cell phone should feel free to call.

Mitch