It is officially Spring. I know this because this weekend is Easter and I got my car out of storage. There are many many reasons why I am happy for this event and I am going to list as many as I can possibly think of below. Get excited.
1) Keyless entry. I hate having to put a key in the lock and turn it just to get into my vehicle. All that work just to gain access? This is especially handy when carrying things. Plus my car has a button that pops the trunk. Life is good.
2) Acceleration. The acceleration of my Passport was something on the scale of glacial. My S2000 on the other hand is very quick. It has been months since the vehicle I was driving has thrown me back in my seat. I happen to love this feeling.
3) Gas mileage. My SUV gets something like 17mpg average. That hurts. My car gets almost 30. Sure its premium fuel, but 20 cents a gallon does not put a dent in the savings of an extra ten miles per gallon.
4) Prestige. My SUV was almost fitting in at my apartment complex. My car will not, and that is a good thing. It will have a friend in the BMW Z4 a few doors down though, so I don't look too out of place. It is perfect really. Now there are just two people who give a crap about what they drive living there.
5) Open air. Sure all the windows on the Passport go down, but it still feels very enclosed. That is not the case with the top down on my car. The feeling is just different. With the windows down you just get air blowing on one side of your head, messing up your hair on one side (which looks way worse than just all around messed up hair) and it is just a bother. With the top down, the rushing wind becomes part of the ride rather than something you have to deal with during the ride.
6) Value. This may relate to prestige, but I think of it separately. This car makes me feel like I have accomplished something. It is the only really major purchase I have ever made. It is a personal sign that I may make something of myself yet. Not gonna lie to you, that may be the biggest reason I am excited to have it back. It means a lot more to me than just a quick impractical car. To me it says if you have this now just think of what you will be able to do in the future. And it is really really quick. I can't wait to show it off to the guys at work.
I forgot one thing. Comfort. Sure the SUV is not particularly uncomfortable, but the car hugs you like an old friend in the corners and doesn't smell like an old musty truck.
"Are you still trying to win? You have an overdeveloped sense of vengeance."
Friday, April 6, 2012
Opening Day
Today is a great day. Opening day is the starting line of the greatest sport in the world. Baseball is fantastic. They play a bazillion games every season, but the first one is the most important. If you lose the opener then you can't sell any beer. I love baseball. It makes opening day even better when your team beats a tough opponent. It gets everything started on the right foot. Tigers over Boston on a walk-off single.
Yesterday was pretty great too. The new Viper was revealed at the New York auto show. I like it. You can read about it here. It is pretty nice apparently. As they say in the article, the cow peelings are soft and sumptuous. Cow peelings. I was going to post a picture, but you can all follow the link. I am going to bed.
"I'm sorry Inigo, I did not mean to jog him so hard."
Yesterday was pretty great too. The new Viper was revealed at the New York auto show. I like it. You can read about it here. It is pretty nice apparently. As they say in the article, the cow peelings are soft and sumptuous. Cow peelings. I was going to post a picture, but you can all follow the link. I am going to bed.
"I'm sorry Inigo, I did not mean to jog him so hard."
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Coming Along
I want to meet Bill Nye. I think he would be very fascinating to talk to. We would also have a degree in mechanical engineering in common. I didn't come here to tell you that.
I saw a dead bird on my run today. Right next to the bird was a baseball cap. What a dumb bird wearing a baseball cap while it is flying near a road. I killed a bug with my elbow on my way home. That is debatable actually. Some might say that I killed a bug with my SUV. Regardless, the bug died. I had my arm on the window sill like I usually do when it is nice out and I felt something hit my elbow. A while later I pulled my arm in and noticed a green splat.
My training is starting to show results. I am finally getting up to distances where I get a second wind. That is such a great feeling. I have been getting it around the 4.5 mile mark, just when I think I should be about spent I find myself speeding up. On the one route I take, this even means picking up the pace as I get to an uphill section. Just a few weeks ago I could barely run three miles. Today I hit eight minute pace for over five and a half miles. A few more weeks and I will be ready to meet some real competition.
You know what show I actually really like? Only In America With Larry the Cable Guy. It is informative, funny, and surprisingly entertaining. The guy can be dumb as a rock, but when he wants to he can recite some very intelligent lines. It is one of the more palatable shows on History. And that is the shock of the year.
Coupon Suzy freaks me out.
"Are there any rocks ahead?"
"If there are, we'll all be dead!"
I saw a dead bird on my run today. Right next to the bird was a baseball cap. What a dumb bird wearing a baseball cap while it is flying near a road. I killed a bug with my elbow on my way home. That is debatable actually. Some might say that I killed a bug with my SUV. Regardless, the bug died. I had my arm on the window sill like I usually do when it is nice out and I felt something hit my elbow. A while later I pulled my arm in and noticed a green splat.
My training is starting to show results. I am finally getting up to distances where I get a second wind. That is such a great feeling. I have been getting it around the 4.5 mile mark, just when I think I should be about spent I find myself speeding up. On the one route I take, this even means picking up the pace as I get to an uphill section. Just a few weeks ago I could barely run three miles. Today I hit eight minute pace for over five and a half miles. A few more weeks and I will be ready to meet some real competition.
You know what show I actually really like? Only In America With Larry the Cable Guy. It is informative, funny, and surprisingly entertaining. The guy can be dumb as a rock, but when he wants to he can recite some very intelligent lines. It is one of the more palatable shows on History. And that is the shock of the year.
Coupon Suzy freaks me out.
"Are there any rocks ahead?"
"If there are, we'll all be dead!"
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Lazy Days
Today was a long day at work. I was somehow busy and bored at the same time all day long. I was about falling asleep driving home and now all I want to do is sit or go take a nap. Running is about the last thing I feel like doing, but I know I should. What will prolly end up happening is I will manage to procrastinate long enough that I get hungry then I will eat and use that as an excuse to not run. Writing this post should get me a good start on the procrastinating. I could also pay some bills. My twelve dollar electric bill is due in two days. This has got to be the most exciting blog post that has been written in the history of time. Did I tell you what I saw yesterday? It was the weirdest thing I have seen in a while. Are you ready for this? I saw a furry horse. I cuss you not. It looked like any other horse only wearing a form-fitting brown bath mat. I pointed and laughed at it as I went by. Pretty sure it felt foolish after that.
I need to see this Hunger Games movie sometime. People seem to think it is good. I was going to read the books first, but that would likely ruin the movie. I can't believe it. A furry horse is really going to be the highlight of this post. I apologize for this travesty, I will try to do something worth talking about tomorrow. I am not going running.
"Why won't my arms move?"
"You've been mostly dead all day."
I need to see this Hunger Games movie sometime. People seem to think it is good. I was going to read the books first, but that would likely ruin the movie. I can't believe it. A furry horse is really going to be the highlight of this post. I apologize for this travesty, I will try to do something worth talking about tomorrow. I am not going running.
"Why won't my arms move?"
"You've been mostly dead all day."
Monday, April 2, 2012
Hope
There might be hope yet for this town. Sunday morning I saw not one, but two fit ladies out running. The downside to this ray of light in a dark place is that they were numbers one and two all time. Gotta start somewhere I suppose. I did discover Springfield has a running club that meets every Saturday morning. I need to get out for that sometime. It would be nice to find some like-minded people in this town. I ran 5.6 without stopping today on a route that has some pretty serious hills, so I am feeling good. Need to find a race to get into and see what I can really do.
I have heard some grumbling the past few days about not getting a day off for Easter. Well I do get a day off, but I like to think that I get Friday off because it is Good Friday. It is one of the most important days of the year for two simple reasons. Jesus had to die to rise, but He didn't have to die. I think that second fact can be lost in the shuffle for some people. Don't be one of those people! Celebrate for the right reasons then put yourself in a sugar coma.
"You were this colossus. You were this great legendary thing, and yet he gains."
I have heard some grumbling the past few days about not getting a day off for Easter. Well I do get a day off, but I like to think that I get Friday off because it is Good Friday. It is one of the most important days of the year for two simple reasons. Jesus had to die to rise, but He didn't have to die. I think that second fact can be lost in the shuffle for some people. Don't be one of those people! Celebrate for the right reasons then put yourself in a sugar coma.
"You were this colossus. You were this great legendary thing, and yet he gains."
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Palm Sunday
Its Palm Sunday. You know what that means? Only 4 more days until I get my car! And it also means that we should prolly start getting excited for that whole Easter thing. Its a big deal. Candy up people. Just kidding. Palm Sunday is the time to realize that you better stop slacking on your Lent goals because you have one week to do enough penance to deserve someone dying for you. No pressure. Well better get to it, times a-wasting. Fast and pray. In other news, Palm Sunday mass is about three years long. I love the 1.5 mass feel with the two gospels. A lot of parishes do an outdoor procession too, that is a nice touch. Gets the parish out into the neighborhood a little bit.
"You just shook your head! Doesn't that make you happy?"
"You just shook your head! Doesn't that make you happy?"
USAF Museum
I got a rare treat this weekend. I got to go to the USAF Museum on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This is actually not a rare feat at all. The darn thing is free to get into. It is a little tough to find though. The way my phone took me sent me half way around the base (which is huge) on a road that only has a 35mph speed limit. This served to build anticipation. The museum is very cool. They have it divided up into sections by era, so if you only want to see one time period you just have to go to that hangar. Or you can make a marathon out of it and see the whole shebang. I went with the marathon shebang. I highly recommend going yourself sometime, but I will relate some of the things I can remember here. Some of the designs of early aircraft were pretty wild. They put together any combination of engine and fuselage design they thought might work better than previous iterations. Airplane design has really progressed right along with engine advancements. The Wright bros were pretty awesome, but a big reason they were able to fly was the development of a small gasoline engine.
One thing that was very cool to see was the stuff that is currently in service. They have an F-22 Raptor the latest and greatest air superiority fighter. They also have a Global Hawk, an unmanned recon drone. Some of the most impressive planes in the collection are the bombers. Several of these planes are so big that two or three smaller planes are displayed under the wings. Speaking of bombers and wings, they have a B-2 stealth bomber on display. It is an actual fuselage, but it has never flown. It was used in testing wing loads. One of its wings was broken off during testing, so it was no longer fight capable. It was donated to the museum, where the wing was reattached using steel plates. You can barely tell the difference... The highlight of the afternoon was getting to see my personal favorite plane and the best plane in the world. The Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird.
Record holder for fastest and highest fixed-wing jet. Cussing awesome.
One bummer of the day was not knowing that there is another two galleries on the controlled access portion of the base. These two areas house the presidential aircraft section and the R&D section. There is a good reason why these planes are not out for just anyone to see. These are the priceless, one-of-a-kind examples of cutting edge aircraft. These include the only surviving North American XB-70 Valkyrie (the other one crashed during a publicity display. not good for business) and one of two surviving X-15 rocket planes. I am going to have to go back and see these areas. Too awesome to pass up.
"Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"
One thing that was very cool to see was the stuff that is currently in service. They have an F-22 Raptor the latest and greatest air superiority fighter. They also have a Global Hawk, an unmanned recon drone. Some of the most impressive planes in the collection are the bombers. Several of these planes are so big that two or three smaller planes are displayed under the wings. Speaking of bombers and wings, they have a B-2 stealth bomber on display. It is an actual fuselage, but it has never flown. It was used in testing wing loads. One of its wings was broken off during testing, so it was no longer fight capable. It was donated to the museum, where the wing was reattached using steel plates. You can barely tell the difference... The highlight of the afternoon was getting to see my personal favorite plane and the best plane in the world. The Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird.
One bummer of the day was not knowing that there is another two galleries on the controlled access portion of the base. These two areas house the presidential aircraft section and the R&D section. There is a good reason why these planes are not out for just anyone to see. These are the priceless, one-of-a-kind examples of cutting edge aircraft. These include the only surviving North American XB-70 Valkyrie (the other one crashed during a publicity display. not good for business) and one of two surviving X-15 rocket planes. I am going to have to go back and see these areas. Too awesome to pass up.
"Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"
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