stripethree

Labor on Labor Day

Jeff — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:23:15 +0000

New master bedroom color, ‘Fresh Water’ on two walls. Other two are staying white.

Easing into home projects

Jeff — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:25:31 +0000

I had to start somewhere, so why not with paint? All the upstairs doors were the same color as the walls which made for a little too much brown. All that is left is to repaint the master bedroom doors, which were spared the brown treatment by the previous owner, but are showing some wear and could use a freshening.

The work table project served two useful purposes. First, it allowed me to get comfortable with the materials and tools (circular saws are awesome) before I embark on a larger project I want to tackle: an 8 foot bar. Second, it creates a decent work space so I don’t have to do everything on or near the floor or on another piece of furniture. I’m pretty happy with the results, it is stable and sturdy and was great practice. One lesson learned: next time I need to pick my 2×4s more carefully.

Wordpress iPhone app test post

Jeff — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:36:06 +0000

Just trying out the free iPhone app for Wordpress. Perhaps it will result in more activity around here.

More house pictures, now that moving is done

Jeff — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:39:14 +0000

I went through and took more pictures of the house now that it looks lived in. They start here.

Australia Pics

Jeff — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:55:12 +0000

I ended up with over 750 pictures from the trip, and whittled it down to about 300 that I actually posted. So, pick a link depending on what you want to see.

Everything – Adelaide, Canberra, & Sydney

Everything Sydney

Places of interest:

Cleland Wildlife Park in Adelaide

Bondi Beach

Manly Beach

Jonelan Caves outside Sydney

Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney

Sydney Aquarum

From the top of Sydney Tower

Sydney Wildlife World

Landmarks:

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Sydney Opera House

And more…
Cars of Sydney
Streets of Sydney, random street shots including some places we ate
Aussie Signs (they’ve got a good sense of humor)

Third time’s the charm

Jeff — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:10:40 +0000

The first time I submitted my offer on this house, the bank came back and said ‘give us your highest and best’. Pretty typical on a foreclosure with multiple offers.

The second time, with the same offer submitted, they accepted the other buyer’s offer. Apparently it was just a hair better. Two days later though, that buyer changed their mind and pulled their offer.

So my same offer was submitted for a third time.

This morning, it was accepted. =)

I’m still somewhere between disbelief and pure elation. It will probably stay that way until I sign my life away.

Fingers Crossed

Jeff — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:03:30 +0000

I put an offer in on a house today. A ridiculous house. I think I’ve looked at oh, 50 or so thus far. Most of them were to figure out what I liked, and well, given all the discussion and feedback from those outings, my real estate agent found one that I really liked.

Now, we wait.

Well, actually, now we go eat steak. Yum.

January

Jeff — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:23:59 +0000

I can’t believe it’s the end of the month already. It went something like this…

Happy New Year // Watched the Red Wings beat the Coyotes // Ahhh crap, someone stole my credit card… // Tucson SCCA Meeting // Dodgeball // Got a present for the R // New Autocross Tires! // Autocross in Phoenix // Tucson SCCA Meeting // Dodgeball Tournament // TUS -> IAH -> DCA // Sherlock Holmes // Fantastic Lunch with the all the family in VA // Watched the Terps beat up Longwood // Downtown Silver Spring // RJ Bentley’s College Park, hooray Yuegling! // DCA -> IAH -> TUS // Tried to see how much tire I could stuff under the R32 // Autocross in Tucson // Old Chicago //More R32 parts… // New Season of Dodgeball! // Work Deadlines… // Work Annual Reviews // Hooray refunds from CC disputes! // House Hunting!

Whew.

AZBR @ SIR, December 13

Jeff — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:27:58 +0000

That’s what I get for running on crap tires.

Comps: 79.085 (+1), 66.763 (+2), 67.682 (+1), 67.175
TOs: . 68.369 (+1), 67.941, 67.237 (+1), DNS
Street Tire: 2nd of 10, by less than a tenth!
Overall: 18th fastest time out of 50, 20th PAX, 922

First run was a bit sketchy with ABS working overtime and everything locking up. I think it was a combination of the gravel, the cool weather, and the lack of usable tires. I haven’t added it up, but these tires have quite a few runs on them and are long past their sweet spot. Oh well.

I did what I could and focused on applying what I learned last week. It definitely helped. I’m excited for next year – already mapping out car changes, new tires, and what National Tour(s?) I can make. =)

I ended up 2nd in Street Tire for the Fall series with 2789 points, 11 behind first and 27 ahead of third. I’m a little disappointed because it was within reach, even before this event, but instead of dwelling on that, time to build on what’s been learned and go faster.

AZ SCCA @ Firebird December 3 & 4

Jeff — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:15:55 +0000

I didn’t get a chance to comment on this event before taking off to DC for the week. I was up in Phoenix to take their annual driver school Saturday, and got some quality instruction. Usually the school is geared towards novices, but low enrollment allowed them to open it up to more experienced drivers so they could fill slots. Neither of my instructors – Elliot and Clint – were new faces to me and I have ridden along with both of them at prior events. They are two of the fastest driver’s in Arizona, which is interesting because their driving styles have some big differences. Each student got 7 runs in the morning and 7 in the afternoon, but instructors usually took 2 of those runs to drive and instruct from behind the wheel. Adding to the bang for the buck, I was able to ride along with Elliot and Doug (’08 DSP Nat’l Champ) in Elliot’s STX during lunch. Each of them drove my car, then Elliot’s BMW and I could really see differences in braking zones, line, and how they adjusted to the differences the two cars presented.

We also killed some tires.

Sunday it was time to put this new knowledge to work. I ran in Open, partly to try and rain on Dave Webb’s quest for 3000 (I failed, but Doug didn’t) and partly just to try something new since I already wrapped up 1st in ST2 (remember though: big fish, little pond…).

I ran… okay, but had a good breakthrough in TOs. I think, as with Evo School in March, it will take a little time for everything to sink in – we’ll find out tomorrow at the last Tucson event of the year.

Comps: 34.697, 35.292 (+2), 35.438 (+1), 34.510 (+1)
TOs: 35.033, 34.140, 34.566 (+3), 33.795 (+1 cone and a very stupid missed shift…)
DSP Open: 3rd out of 3, 974
Overall: 28th fast time out of 101, 28th PAX also, 931

Now I cross my fingers that these tires can survive one more event, and help me get the points I need to take over 1st within Street Tire in Tucson.