TarHeelMinis.org in the mountains _MG_7109, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Spent the weekend driving on the Dragon, Hellbender and the Skyway in west NC & East TN. Seems there was a situation where I needed upgraded everything. Braking was the poorest- I've order brake cooling ducts (rare!) and stainless steel brake lines. The rally lights would have helped but they are just too specialized. I don't do many canyon runs in the dark per year. Still want camber plates and tires next.

24 Hours of Lemons SE Fall _MG_6715, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

The very best of SkyMall, in real life.

And those three dogs started fighting with each other if she stopped pushing.

24 Hours of Lemons SE Fall _MG_6815, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

We took the MINI for a first road trip to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw to see the 24 Hours of Lemons event. You pay to get in, and its sort of a DIY event for getting your ticket price back. We definitely did though. The cars are all $500 junkyard wrecks but the speeds are a lot faster than i realized. There was plenty of carnage:

Thats a pair of backhoe's pulling apart a Mazda RX-7 (wankel) in mid-air. The car had a wheel break free Saturday morning, while in a corner. So it crashed/rolled and ended up on its roof, and was deemed unsafe to continue racing. Ever. So it was destroyed for entertainment. We had a crazy good time watching penalties, the racing and stuff like this.

Oh and the lady above? Shes the "Arc Angel", welding a penalty to a car. The driver was called out by the judges for being an ass on the track, so they welded a rat to the roof of his car. So everyone would know he was an ass.

Rules are pretty strict, simply going off on the grass a bit could earn a penalty where you have to write "I will stop being a bad driver" on the hood of your car 100 times in sharpie.

photo, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

So this is my new truck, to replace the one I had crushed. Its a 94 Explorer that I've been wrenchin' on for several weeks, to get it roadworthy. That's finally over today- it passed inspection on the second pass (after an unscrupulous inspection station made me replace a perfectly good serpentine belt with a new one.)
Shit that got done (so far):
new radial arm bushings, heat shields
new radial arm
replace drivers seat
R&R rear tailgate, glass, wiper, lock
A slew of new bulbs
melted a new driver door handle in
full brake bleed
Mobile 1 oil, new filter
repair vacuum line
Power steering flush
serpentine belt
remove rear seats
remove roof rack
repair tail light lens

I used it to transport a generator to the office today after an extended power outage left my server cabinets quiet. We're finally going to move into a carrier hotel though.

The wedding stuff is moving along. My ring and her shoes came in the mail today, her dress and ring are both being made. December is coming fast.

stripes, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Took a break from fixing the new clunker today to put some stripes on the new daily driver- Dark grey with silver. I was afraid of messing it up, but I did a wet application with window tint spray, and it was fine.

Going to play Magic tonight in Raleigh after a six year long hiatus.

tinted, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Scion tC -sold
Dodge Dakota -sold
MINI Cooper S -home

Cash for clunkers finally worked out for me. I might buy some used autocross wheels once I sell the remaining parts off my Scion.

Went out driving yesterday and today- its like I have my Saab 900 back except its not completely worn out.

I installed the ipod harness yesterday, (tinted it today) but it has to go back to the dealer to turn the software on.

I ordered this particular color because it was the last one I could get in the US with a limited slip differential. Meaning I didn't want black.

BlockParty_MG_6422, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Not dead... not blogging much.

I'm doing lots of neighborhood stuff. And its the busy time at work.

I'm selling my car and getting a Mini Cooper this month. :)

Group 1, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Went to city council last Tuesday. Didn't get the 3 million we asked for... yet. Seems pretty likely though we will get a large chunk somehow.

Tonight was my long run, I forgot my band aids-again for nipples. Sore but no bleeding this time for the 8 mile run.

Oh but the lady on the treadmill row in front of me 'crashed.' She wasn't going that fast (walking) and just lost balance, so it was in super slow motion- like awkward turtle falling off a log. There was a crowd around her giving help but most people just carried on exercising just 2 feet away. She didn't get up until the paramedics lifted off the end of the belt, maybe 20 minutes later. very strange

Group 2, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

• Lawn mowed
  
• Time Warner account closed
  
• Save the date cards printed
  
• College applied for
  
• GMAT studied
  
• Transcripts ordered
  
• Light switch replaced
  
• Costco'ed
  
• Taxes filed
  
• New phone wiring run
  
• Back online with AT&T
  

Group 4, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

I felt pretty good on my run tonight. My nipples starting hurting at 6-7 miles, but I was more distracted when I noticed the digits on the treadmill weren't going in sequential order. I even made the guy next to me look so I was sure it was happening. The seconds indicator would skip numbers and wasn't updating regularly- very strange since we sorted clocks out a long time ago. Anyway, by the time I finished, I had unknowingly bloodied my nipples from rubbing with my shirt and had a pink streaky could. Tall Hotness was not amused.

We made a nice big pizza after.

I hooked my twitter feed up to my runs, to go with my tweets of what I watch on my tv from boxee. I just need a client for my toliet.

stoneboat, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

This is a stoneboat I built, and successfully loaded. Granite weighs 168 lbs per cubic foot- thats a 7-900 lb block- that I can pull with just my gloved hands.

Most of the 'boat is 6 2x4s, three carriage bolts and a piece of chain. More than half the cost was for the chain because 2x4s are cheap. The ends of the runners are angle cut to help it slide on the rough surface. Usually stone boats are shorter and wider, but I built mine specifically to move the larger slab in the background. So far I have only moved the first block. It takes a lot of time to load and unload using a San Angelos Bar and a fulcrum.

key_3, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Today has just been a shit day. I think the internet should just close on April 1.


So I went to the oil change place a couple weeks back, and when I get in the car, my key looks like this, with no warning or explanation:

The car is running but my key is borked. They of course deny responsibility- that part isn't resolved yet. But Toyota is open, and only a block away so I go to see about getting a key cut or just a new key frame. Sadly they want $160 to replace my key. I decide to just use my spare for the time being and pursue other options.

About a week later, I see that dealextreme.com carries the exact key shell I need. Two weeks later my new key arrives, for $6

My car does have an engine immobilizer, which is really just a small RFID chip in the plastic housing of my old keys. When the car starts, it checks for the chip, and only gives the engine fuel if the right chip was there. I take a chip out of the broken key and move it to the new shell along with the door lock remote. So now the new key is complete except for being cut to fit the ignition. I head to home depot after work for a simple cut.

Except its anything but simple. The employees heads explode at the idea of cutting a CHIPPED KEY. "We can't do that, your key wont work because it won't have the chip!" I explain about 5 times why it does have the chip and it will work- now won't you please cut my goddam key.
Next they can't do it because the blank key isn't one of theirs, so when the machine fucks up the cut, there wont be another blank to try again. I finally convince them to cut me a regular normal key (with no chip) to "try out the cut" before we cut the real key. I even agree to pay for this useless key. Next, they are convinced the machine won't start because my master key has a chip in it. I find this highly unlikely, but possible, as a DRM restriction or agreement between the key cutting machine manufacturer and the car manufacturers. I insist they proceed anyway:

Out pops a key. They (the key cutting operators) are surprised. I try in in my car and it fits the lock fine. Except the part about no fuel going in the engine, but that was expected. So I go back in the store to get the real key (with the chip) cut. This time the machine just beeps but won't start. It could tell there was an RFID chip in my new key and refused to power on. Color me seriously annoyed now... but its just a POS chinese key, and I only transferred the chip over this morning. I start tearing down my new key to remove the RFID chip. Finally it comes out, and they try to make the cut. And it fails. The machine only cuts one side, and getting another blank will take two weeks.
I'm thinking my new blank key is already ruined, so there is no harm in trying again. I again insist they put it back in and cut it some more. It can't get any more ruined. After three more rounds in the machine, the blade finally looks right. I pay $3 and go start my car (success) thinking what a pain it was to transfer a RFID software license to a new key. I saved $150 though. FUCK YOU toyota.

Group 2, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

I'm trying to not fall off the running program. My legs ache all the time now though. I was rather busy today and i forgot to check the training program before I left the office. I thought it was a 4 mile day and the training had scheduled 6.
The harsh thing is that I got credit for running 0 miles when I synced tonight.

Still working on my grad school admission essay, its getting there though.

Excellent Gimmick, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

The nike+ for ipod is better than expected. It was fairly accurate with what the treadmill said. If you carry your ipod around all day anyway, and walk a lot, it might be worth it just for kicks.

The training program on the nike web site is pretty nice too. This was an unadvertised bonus, and will help a lot since I was planning to run every day like an idiot.


I started applying for grad school today. I put together my first resume since maybe 2000 (required), and part of the online questions. As soon as I knock out the personal statement essay, Its time to start preparing for the GMAT test around April. One of the questions was 'How did you hear about UNCG?' and I have absolutely no idea anymore.

_MG_5991, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

found a place to get married this week, right around this bush

We finally got the TV up. Its really nice. The wall mount is from Monoprice.com and it was $18. That is a lot cheaper than anywhere else by a long shot, and I completely recommend it- its super sturdy and no hassle to hang. We got a whole mess of cables in the wall so we won't have to pull the tv down for a long time.

So the real reason I'm posting. Tomorrow I finish college. One final exam in Mr Gantt's class. This is a really big deal since its been 12.5 years since I started in 1996 and I never thought I would get here. Sadly I'm old, but I made it. I can't get my head around it, so I'm going to make a joke about doing an 8 ball of tall Hotness's' ass to celebrate. If only...

group 7, originally uploaded by blitzcat.

Happy turkey day. I'm cheap like white on rice.

Tall hotness & I have been wanting a flatscreen to hang on the bedroom wall, for more than 6 months. I thought I might have to get up for black friday tomorrow- but I already won the game.

The TV in question would only be available for a few minutes tomorrow at 5 am, for $747.93. Better than $1090 but meh....

Same Tv on Ebay: $793, free shipping.
Paypal 10% off coupon: -$79.30
Microsoft Live cashback: -$198.25
Pay with Costco Amex, -$7.14, extends warranty additional year
Total: $508.31 delivered
Not going to the store: Priceless!

The paypal coupons were sent to everyones ebay account, but they expire Nov 30.
The live search cash back part is tricky... follow the instructions here.