I noticed after reviewing my archived blog entries, there’s loose ends, minimal details, and just a lack of info. We’ll see if my little experiment of tracking the last 24 hours each day will continue or not as well. Anyway, here’s some updates.
Social networking - I’m not on Myspace much at all any more. I’m pretty much only on Facebook now. About the only thing I use the Myspace account for any longer is to read blog posts from various members of the cast of The Office, mainly Jenna Fischer.
Cars - We traded in the 2007 Malibu on a new 2010 Camaro. It doesn’t get quite the gas mileage that the Malibu did, but it has the V6 engine and 6-speed manual transmission and gets 30 mpg out on the open road and about 20 in town if you don’t abuse the gas pedal too much. Even after having it for about 6 months, we still hear “Bumblebee” all the time when we’re out and about in the car. I think you can see why:
With the 6-speed transmission and 304 horsepower from the V6, it’s fun to drive. The suspension provides a good mix of performance over ride comfort and the seats are maybe some of the most comfortable buckets I’ve sat in including luxury cars and the form-fitting Corvette seats. It’ll take a corner nice and flat and it’s easy to steer with the throttle. Since it’s not a V8 it doesn’t have huge torque off the line though. I tell people it’s like riding a 600cc sportbike…it won’t power wheelie off the line as easy as a liter bike, but it’s no slouch either. The engine is pretty much a pig until you cross 2000 rpm where you can feel a distinct surge of power, followed by another increase just above 5000rpm (redline is just under 7000) To get a good launch from the line without abusing or dumping the clutch, you have to rev it up to about 5500 and give it a good, smooth engagement and it’ll leave the line with just about perfect wheelspin. The 1-2 shift comes between 50-60 mph. Everybody wants to know how fast it is and I don’t know. Magazines say the V6 Camaro will top 150mph, so you’ll just have to go with that. All in all it’s a cool car but sometimes I miss my plain, cheap, roomy Malibu. Sniff, sniff, it was a good car.
Deals gap – I rode the Interceptor the almost 1000 miles to Robbinsville, NC at the end of May to ride the tail of the dragon at Deals Gap with some of my riding buddies. We had a blast up there for a week and even though I had to ride in the rain on the trip up there and back, it was a great experience. It’s about time to start making plans for the trip this year.
Interceptor crash and rebuild – Back in June I took the Interceptor to a trackday. Unfortunately I touched some gravel at the edge of the track in a long sweeping curve and had a massive lowside. I tumbled and slid to a stop with no personal damage (full leather suit) except tore up gear and a bruise or 2 but the bike wasn’t as lucky. It bounced on the nose and tail and slid down the track on both side. All of the body, nose, and tail had some damage, but the main frame, forks, engine, and swingarm were all ok. Since it took place on a track, Progressive wouldn’t cover it so I did the math and looked at my options (rebuild it, part it out, replace it, etc) and decided to rebuild it. To shorten that story, I got it back on the road in November and have put almost 1000 miles on it mainly commuting to work and a couple of short rides. The tail and side panels are still the cracked/rashed parts but the rest has all been repaired. I think I may buy new fairings and tail in a couple of months and it’ll look new again. Still, it’s 100% functional and I guess I did a decent job rebuilding it as it hasn’t give me a single bit of trouble (knocking on wood)
Flying – Well, with all the motorcycle excitement (including the broken bone incidents), raising 2 boys, and just life in general, I still haven’t flown an airplane in over 2 years now. BUT I just recently started studying for a flight review to get back into the air. So, if everything will work out, I should be back into the air in a couple of months. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Oh, and here’s the last 24 hours:
- Made an omelet with onion and jalapeno peppers, American, and pepper jack cheese.
- Played/exercised on Wii Fit Plus.
- Took the kids to the Museum of Natural Science in Sugarland to see the Narnia exhibit.
- Mowed/mulched the fallen leaves in the front yard.
- Broke down a bunch of cardboard boxes in the garage to fit into the recycle bin
- Added some stickers to the VFR:
- Made the kids a knockoff of the IHOP pancake with the brown sugar and chocolate chips in it. I was just winging it but apparently I got it close because they loved them.
- Ran the dishwasher
- Harvested and replanted Farmville.
- Let Melanie harvest and plow Farmtown.
- Read some more of the Prehistoric Life book from the library.
That’s all folks.
