TUSC

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Fitness and Photographs

I'll take Photographs for $200, Alex.

=)

I'm just noticing that I need to bring my digi-cam with me more often. I haven't been taking as many pictures lately and I'm beginning to notice the lack of new wallpapers for XP. Well, I take that back. I have PLENTY of good new wallpapers, but they are mostly of the SL 550, Vanquish S, or Elise that I have on my mind. I just feel the need to do a little more artistic splurging via the virtual shutter. The last things I 'shot' were Mark's old Camaro last week while trying to set up a website ad for the car. Fun as the car is to DRIVE, it is not what I want to stare at off and on all day!

Feet-ness. I'm still doing the bike and am managing to mix in some walking of the neighborhood to boot. Stretching, push-ups, twists, crunches and light dumbell work is the extent of anything else. Not really "working out" in my book, but it's definitely not a form of vegetation. The pounds are staying the same right now, since I persist in eating like a horse. But the overall cardio and limberness are increasing at a steady pace. This is good! Now I just need Shelley to move her junk out of the basement so I can get access to the real tools and bust myself down a few dozen pounds again. Gu-rah!

As someone who grew up with a DEADLY case of asthma and who has never truly had great cardio/pulmonary.... I feel really great right now. Not quite up for sprinting the block yet, LOL, but close. The bike is my best friend lately. w00t!

Oh, and I saw South Park last night for the first time in months. I must have needed a good laugh, because I was cracking up uncontrollably... and it was just goofy humor.... though I'm still smirking today when I think of it. =)

I am all about the simple things in life! LOL

Friday, August 25, 2006

6am Muster, and other joys...

With notable exception to Thursday's 11am roll-out, I have been managing to not only wake up but also pry my corpse out of bed by 6 am this week. Oh my god, what is WRONG with me!?! LOL I guess it is all part of the 'righting of the ship' I am doing. Basically, I have been sitting in front of this computer (this one right here - ::taps monitor:: - hear that?). What that means is that I have been entirely too lethargic AND eating not just bad food, but too much bad food. It's taken me almost 3 weeks of partial effort to be able to get on the bike and keep my heart rate below 160!! LOL That is SAD! Though this morning I managed to keep it to 140, and on the cooldown run I maintained 112. So the old cardiopulmonary system is slowly phasing back into shape. Not that is has EVER been great, but hey, why not try? Following shortly will be the weights again, though Shelley's crap is still blocking the whole area. I mean, where can I stash a whole COUCH? LOL (Shelley, I'll gladly trade you the parking space if you can get the couch out of there!) ;)

Hmmm, so the whole 'let's not be a lazy slob' thing is on track and moving. Since I'ev got some money in my pocket I've gone out and spent a bit. Some basic stuff I needed, as well as a few unnecessary purchases....

...like Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball. A good volleyball game, to be sure. However, the program's merits lie in the abundant eyecandy. Tres entertaining! Now I can't wait to try one of the other games: Playboy, The Mansion. LOL The rest of the list includes HALO 2, Mech Assault, Madden 06, and NCAA Football '06. These are all for the Xbox, and I got them all for under $60. Hard to beat!

That's it for now. Still trying to figure out what to do tonight since Tori's having a Girls' Night Out with Maureen.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

At Her Ladyship's Request....

Her Ladyship, Miss Victoria has requested an update...

Well, there's not too much to update. The Jehovah's Witnesses hit us up today. I think Shelley knew who they were and dodged them to me while she grabbed the dog. Damn you, Shelley! LOL Actually, I was not rude to them or dismissive. I was polite and engaged them in theological conversation. I didn't push them, raise questions intended to make them question their faith etc or generally cause them hardship as I have in the past. All they spin is marketing and circular logic, it's not too hard to run their brittle vessel aground on a reef... But I was very nice this time. It's THEIR belief after all, who am I to mess with them or play games? Through conversation I got them to discuss "the end times" and offer me quotes, etc. A couple of other topics mixed in. For instance, we were discussing the afterlife. They showed me a quote where it stated clearly that those who are dead are unconscious. Now, granted, you could define the term "unconscious" in many ways - but we didn't go there. They were discussing how this is accepted as a matter of faith. I stated plainly that it was prime evidence as to why I don't choose to believe in the word of man. That is, the words thought up, written down, misunderstood, translated, and then selectively accepted or denied access as verbatim holy scripture. I just don't trust that many people going that far back. While I DO have great faith in there being a God entity, I just don't trust zealots, clergy, or politicians as far as I can throw them. Too many personal motivations and lack of clarity to present a clear picture to modern-day people. Anyway, I said that that line was simply untrue. I have spoken with the deceased, I have seen the deceased and they most definitely retain the ability to reason. And in unrelated topics, I've been struck by lightning, can read people's thoughts (occasionally, and by this I don't mean infer based on intuition), and I've seen my own future many many times. So it was an interesting conversation. Though I daresay it was probably a mistake because now they will want to return in force and hit me up with the single-minded and prepared examples from the Bible they use to influence weaker people's opinions. I'm glad they have faith and feel the need to share the Word.... in basic terms, that is a laudable effort. However, the means by which they propose to accomplish it are those used by brainwashers. Besides, you are supposed to FIND your faith.... faith is not supposed to find YOU while going door to door.

Hmmm, what else? I am wracking my brain doing math on Excel in an attempt to put together some spreadsheets. Pain in the arse, I tell you!

When something more postworthy comes up, I'll post again.
Ciao!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Sold!

Just unloaded the Trans Am to a guy from NY who is into drag racing. Knew what he was looking for and knew the deal this car was. Just like I said, it only took one drive to sell the car.

Sad to see it go, since now I don't have any open top cars..... but it's just as well. My insurance is now reduced by TWO THIRDS and I get a refund check for it, too. Gas costs may be a bit lower. And, of course, the additional funds in my trading account are a big bonus. It feels like I have a downpayment for a big house in there.... probably because I DO have a downpayment for a big house in there. LOL!

Well, they're gone. Guess that's done.

Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Friday, August 11, 2006

Goodbye, RS.....












Sometime tomorrow afternoon the new owner of the RS will be arriving from Virginia to take possession. I'm excited that the car is selling after three months of effort, but also sad to see such a piece of 'Brett' history go. It was my first car, my first project, and there are a lot of memories tied to it through college and beyond. It was on this car that I learned all things mechanical, for better or for worse. I'll miss the car, but mostly for what it represents. In the past few years it just hasn't been the top of my interest. Who could compare it to the Corvette? And later the Trans Am? Good as the engine is, the suspension, brakes and the fact that it had an automatic instead of a stick put it out of competition.

A collection of memories with the car....

Black ice sliding onto the lawn at Albertus Magnus.

Filming of 'The Purple Heart Sword'

Night before I got the new rims and tires installed, Rob and I backed the RS into a parking spot and did the most HELLACIOUS burnout!!! The tires had smooth strips and bubbles, the curb and pavement were melted down, and there was a THICK choking cloud of tire smoke that slowly drifted out over the field staying just 10 feet high. It was awesome!

The next day before getting the new ones put on, I took Adam for a rip behind Domenican and did a rolling smokeshow from the back corner to the basketball court. Everyone in the dorm got a room full of tire smoke!! =)

My first organized drag race for cash.... and winning!

Dell and I scaring the heck out of Joanne and Kerry en route to the haunted cemetary.

Brian, Eric and I taking the car for its first LT1 run around the neighborhood with open headers one January night at 11pm. With no alternator hooked up, the battery died at the top of Valley View and we had to push it. Eric almost got frostbite!

First time I turned the key for the 355 and fuel went everywhere.

Smacking my nose with the torque wrench at 2am under the car. Sequence: smack nose, head goes forward into bottom of car, rust falls into eyes, head goes hard back into pavement, unbridled fury in my head but nothing I could do but sit there, LOL.

Dell, Arden and I going for a top-speed run on Research Parkway. I put the windows up at 110mph. I'm wondering why the passenger window isn't closed yet when a HAND comes scraping past my face. I look over to see Arden, leaning forward from the back seat with his head no trapped between window and T-top like a vice at 110mph. Garrett was doubled over in the passenger seat laughing his ass off. Chris' eyes were a LITTLE bloodshot after that. LOL!

But my FAVORITE memories were my first drive home in this sleek red car with the awesome suicide dash and what was a 'big V8' to me at the time. That was magic.

The other favorite was just being young and driving around with the tops off in the Fall. That cold but warm feeling you have in the breeze, enjoying the shadows on the road and the fresh air. Nothing closer to zen than that.

RS, we'll always remember you fondly.

And who's this young devil?

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Airport by the Beach

I'm never going to St. Martin...

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 1)

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager (episode 2)

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Grandiose Dreams


The hill.

I had gone down to a car show Sunday night to try and market the TA only to find that it was an unremarkable gathering of 10 cars or so. I decided to take the long route home since I had the tops off (and earplugs in, LOL). I'm way out in the woods of eastern CT when I passed a new development and decided to check it out. I have long considered it a great place to plop some houses, and now someone is doing just that. I had no idea just HOW awesome a spot it was until I got to the cul-de-sac. I parked the car and did a little walking. What I found was pretty much the coolest location I could think of to plant a house. In a perfect world, I would love to buy both lots and own the end of the development with 11+ acres. The property includes the entire field and hill beyond the smaller hillock my camera captured. The border towards the other houses to the south and east are conservation areas and can never be cleared (bonus!). Likewise, there is a true chasm between the cul-de-sac and the property. For lack of a cooler term, I call it a Mote. =) A 40-foot high pile of stone perhaps 60 to 80 feet in width at the top spanning a little brooklet. Tres cool.... So you have the 'mote', you plant some pine trees down that way to complete the 'this is my land, stay the frig off' look, and then you plant a 3-story mansion on the crest of the hill with commanding views of the eastern valley, as well as plenty of nice woodland views along the ridge. The house, if planted on the crest, would be visible from the nearby hilltop road and not too many other places except far down across the valley. Standing in that field, its just so nice and quiet. All you hear are the bugs. Talk about perfect. A view, a cool location, plenty of space, decent access to highways, permanent borders/barriers to your neighbors and no possibility of further development on your sides.

Now picture a line of pines along the bottom area, a smooth winding driveway going up to the house and a detached barn (behind the hill), the driveway lined with maples at even spacing and a professionally landscaped yard by the house. ::Droooooooooool::

Anyway, I'm sure it is FAR FAR beyond my meager checkbook at the moment. Still, I would love to somehow grab the property itself. I wouldn't mind waiting to put the house there if I could lock up the land.


The next few are a series of panoramic shots.








The right mote.


The left mote. It doesn't look it, but the water is about 40 feet down from me.


Big sky at dusk.


Mid-property looking down towards the road.


Bottom of the property and the driveway/mote

Monday, August 07, 2006

New Dreams

Over the last two days I have made a point of tarrying in bed in the morning to try and finish up my dreams. They've been somewhat long and fun, but aren't much for reading into the future. Last night I had a pretty strong deja vu while sitting at my computer, too. What made NO sense in a dream setting now makes plenty of sense. I had actually dreamed several phrases and a setting as experienced in the game Oblivion where you meet the Mythic Dawn people and they are talking about the cleansing. I just sat in my chair and was like... whoah. LOL Kinda fun. I never made a point of remembering that dream very well because I had written it off as non-prophetic due to the unreal setting.

Last night's dream was cool, a chain of several unrelated links. The first portion had me in a Star Wars spacecraft (a fighter I didn't recognize) flying down to a planet. I get there are there are many others there, including some lightsaber-wielding droids. It seems we are all seeking the same thing, a sort of power. So, naturally, when you're all competing for the same thing a fight breaks out. Dark Anakin and Obi-wan were there, in fact I may have been Obi-Wan. I heard his voice emanate from me as they went, offering Dark Anakin (pre-leg loss evil, but not overtaken by the Dark Side) advice under pressure as they fought together against the waves of enemies. This part was fun but tense... i.e. - high adrenaline as 'actual' lightsabers are flying around me. We made it into a type of cave of dark stone and that's where that dream seemed to fade out.

The next dream may be a continuance, but I was now a different character. Myself and another guy are in an installation seemingly underground. The successive rooms that made up a long promenade with doors are all carved from smooth onyx stone. It is cool and dry here. In each successive room or hall along the way there is a door on the left. Behind the doors are all sorts of different things. Me and the guy I'm with finally realize that in this place whatever you imagine is made reality. So I jokingly thought of something, then opened the door and said... "Well, I AM captain of a starship..." LOL ;) If you don't know that reference, ask me. So we laughed and then I gave flying a shot. I hadn't consciously decided how flying would work, so I had to 'figure it out'. It wasn't quite Superman style, it was mostly flying forward at an angle. But when I went flat-out, it did require my hands and arms to control it. Kinda fun. Shortly thereafter I found myself walking back along the 'hallway' with a woman who I felt was in control of the operation. She looked like Judy Dench, and had a no-shit attitude. Very practical and outspoken, mannish for a woman. Perhaps why I thought of Judy Dench? I guess she reminded me a lot of one of my favorite Board Members at Pomperaug. But in this case the person was asking me candidly how I thought she would be able to maintain her position after what she deemed a failure for some reason. I didn't even know what was going on, but I offered her my support and said no one could have expected any better under the circumstances. Again, no idea what we were referencing.

So now we were leaving and it becomes clear that we are part of some Air Force task force. We go to get on the plane, but embark on these little two-person platforms that are linked end-to-end with one another. It appears that they are loading pallettes of a sort for a cargo aircraft. I presumed we would be loaded inside the craft, but suddenly the plane began moving while we're outside behind it. I and my female companion were worried, but then the tail reconfigured as it gained speed and we no longer felt any wind resistance. Cool! So we're flying now, and the plane (with dozens of us attached BEHIND IT) angles back towards a hangar and someone says we have to pick up the mail. Apparently, this involved flying THROUGH the hangar and out to one side through plastic drapes like you might see on a restaraunt freezer door. Weird, but cool. So now we're just flying along and conversation turns to bras and, well, the rest was fun!

The last dream sequence took place in my kitchen. It was nearly pitch black and there was a candle burning on the counter. In the room are an Inuit eskimo complete in furs, some stringy looking guy, his skinny asian or eskimo girlfriend, myself by the dining room door, and Brad Pitt in the corner of the oven and sink. Ok... STRANGE. I've never before had a celebrity appear in a dream. Not sure they belong there! As it turns out, me and this other guy are on some survival tv show. We're to be dropped in the wilderness in freezing weather with only a little food and we must survive and trek out, likewise we are going to be hunted by the Inuit guy. Not cool. To make it worse, when we start out our hands will be bound by these bracer/handcuff things made of what looked like thick chords made of bamboo of all things. A pretty tough thing to get out of! So the other guy starts complaining about it. I'm just upbeat and eager, like... Let's Go! So he keeps being down in the mouth and I make a few comments about the guy, and Brad laughs. Then the guy's girlfriend starts busting his stones, too. Ok, now we get dropped off in some snowy woods with civilization far out of reach. The other guy is off somewhere else. The hunt is on. I have enough food to start with, more than I need. I take a 3-day supply and decide to bury the rest of it when I find a metal Ayleid cask. (Oblivion reference) So I'm trekking out of there. My thought is that I know we're being hunted, so instead of just moving and getting nabbed, I try to circle back after several miles. Meanwhile, the complainer guy gets nabbed by the hunter. He gets put back in the cuffs, has all of his food taken, and is left again in the woods. That just SUCKS. So I thought I was all smart trying to hunt the hunter... turns out, not so smart. I get chased, end up sliding down an icy embankment and into a river. I manage NOT to get caught, but now I'm freezing. Good thing I stashed some food, because what I had is floating downstream. I go back to where I buried everything and am lucky it has not been found or taken. I decide not to try making a fire since that would surely bring the hunter down on me. Since I had already begun a decent hole in the ground, I pull my food out of it and make enough room for myself, then pull as much dirt back in on top of myself as possible. So now I'm in this comfy hole and insulated with plenty of soft dirt (not rocky like at home) and begin warming up. The dirt also helped wick away most of the moisture from the river. I stayed here like this for quite some time, top of the cask over my head like an overturned bowl. I placed it there, which was still 'down' a bit from ground level, and had brought some dirt in around the edges. I was hoping, though I didn't know if it would work, that by putting the dirt there it would break up my exhaled air and not show my warm breath in the crisp air. When I am warmed up and dry enough, and have eaten a bit of my food supply... I climb back out and get moving again. The hunter had searched for me quite a bit but had had no luck, especially since I had sat still instead of moving or lighting a fire. If I had made a fire, he would have found me. And if I had kept moving to get warm, he would have caught a trail eventually. So I lucked out and he moved on, eventually getting the other guy again - which ended the contest for him since getting caught twice meant elimination. Meanwhile, I had not been caught yet and was moving towards our destination again. Since the hunter had caught the other guy, I also had a lot of lead time now to get where I needed to go. So it all looked good, but that was the end as I woke up around that time. I should also note that the hole where the food (and later myself) was buried was at the base of an overturned tree, under the root bulb that had ripped out of the ground. Not only did it provide a wind break, but a break in terms of line of sight from one whole side, a decent dip in the ground to likewise not be seen, and fairly loose dirt for me to dig easily. It just seemed like a good idea. Anyway, that's all I've got for dreams from last night. We'll have to wait and see what comes in the next episode.

Friday, August 04, 2006

=( Lost a Neighbor



The neighbors lost their massive old willow tree to yesterday's extreme winds. I had been in the basement when the storm began to pick up, and when I looked out the pillbox windows from the basement all I could see were treetops dancing like they were drunk. I'm glad I ran out and got soaked so I could move my cars next to the garage! We can see a few trees along the ridge and in the woods that have also capitulated, but seeing the willow blocking the road was a sad sight to wake up to. It's hard to explain, but the tree just 'fit' there. Those neighbors have a thing for Gone With the Wind and it seemed to make their well-kept lawn feel like an old plantation. Even the house's subtle cream color and warmer green accents went with the tree. It had fallen over once before many years ago and had survived being strung back up, but not this time. Seeing the shallow root system (not even as deep as pine roots!) I'm surprised it lasted as long as it has standing alone out in the breeze. It's really sad though. It was such a nice tree.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Amazing - No more drama! =Þ





Tori's in Seattle/Alaska for ONE day and I am already completely relaxed. This is the life!

I'm kidding. But it does feel nice to have a truly open schedule to burn as I wish, as well as no new apartment drama for some time. I got up a little early this morning and walked the driveway with the dogs to get the paper. A beautiful morning, though it was already hitting 80 by breakfast. I decided to set the AC way low for a little while to try and bring the house cooler and make it less taxing on the system later when it is supposed to breach the 100 line on it's way to 104. Tonight will be a good evening to spend in the pool.

I think I've been overworking the mind lately, and totally ignoring the body. Spending a full day sitting at the desk here involves almost no physical activity and far too many opportunities to snack. While I've been using the bike sporadically over the past three weeks, I have also been pretty tense over Tori's situation at home and have managed to pack a few pounds back on. This ends today. I see no reason why I can't get in some light exercise in the space behind my desk while trading is slow. And boy has it been slow! I've seen the market trade down to a range of 10 points with zero volume, and I have seen it trade down to a range of 3 points with passable volume. Both scenarios are the order of the day this summer, and you can definitely watch paint peel. Meanwhile, still waiting to sell my cars. Same amount of interest coming in, just no firm buyers. And it's the end of summer... =/ Ah well, best to just decimate the asking price and let them go for a steal than stay shackled to them, right?

Going to try to spend the next two weeks catching up with friends if I can. Everyone is busy these days, but we'll see what we can make happen.

Oh, and damn Rob for getting me hooked on the game Oblivion. LOL The pictures above are actual screenshots. The scenery and the architecture in the game are very impressive.