if money grew on trees...

i would almost sell a kidney for this bow...

Slower Traffic Keep Right...

Driving down to Omaha, NE, Suka turned to me and said that i was one of the few drivers she actually truly trusts. i replied "it's because you know how much i love my car and you know i won't do anything STUPID." Yep, she confirmed that is why. i might be aggressive, but i'm not foolish, and she knows it.

For Treffen, a BIG VW car show in the Chciago area, i spent about five hours just washing and waxing my car in one shot... detailing the exterior plastic was another hour; the interior was another couple hours (would have taken longer if i didn't keep up with it regularly) and THEN when we got to the show, i spent another hour touching up (since my car unfortunately has to be parked in the street. The initial wash & wax was a few days before the show...) Cleanign off road dust, brake dust, bird poop... and then a dusting of the interior... my GOD how good I'D look if i spent that kind of time on ME!

But driving is a joy. Unfortunately right now an EXPENSIVE joy, with premium gas still over $3 a gallon (nothing but 93+ octane in my car, with the GIAC performace chip). My drive to work is about 20 minutes, and that doesn't bother me unless we are crawling because of someone's stupidity...

Back in January i was VERY ill with god-knows-what. Let's just say that my digestive track was emptied in painful ways... i drove to the clinic, and the nurse getting my vitals was asking me standard questions... "Are you dizzy?" was one. Yes, very much so. "How did you get here to the clinic?" i drove. "That wasn't a very good idea driving yourself." well, didn't have much choice.

i thought about that conversation later when i was feeling better. i have driven in less than perfect mental/physical conditions, but picture the wounded cowboy slumped over in the saddle as his trusty horse finds the way home. That's kind of how i felt driving to the clinic. i can't stand, but i can drive, no problem.

But back to Treffen... it was last week, and the VW club that i belong to wanted to drive down together. to do so, we needed to meet at a convenient (and large) place. i don't know how many full members VENOM has, but we rolled down to Treffen with 51 cars. SHITE it was cool.

i grew up with Volkswagens. My dad had three Beetles on his lifetime (two in mine) and my mom had a Type III Squareback. The squareback got traded in for a Buick Century station wagon (i never forgave my mom for that) and in 1983 my dad traded in his 1974 Superbettle for a Honda CVCC. i cried over that one. i learned how to drive stick in his Bug (yeah i was like 11... but he had cut off his finger and i had to shift for him...). When i was 13, after my dad died i had to teach my mom how to drive stick (her car was in the shop so she had to drive the Honda). Ironically i didn't get my own license until i was 25... But i've made up for lost miles...

i've had the Corrado for just two years, but i've driven nearly 40,000 miles. The car is JUST short of 160,000 miles and still runs like a dream. i've been a VW owner for 9 years. i nursed the Rabbit GTI for seven... and that was six and a half more years than it should have lived... but the Corrado. i shall have that 'til i die. hopefully i have days past tomorrow...

oh, i don't know who took the picture of me (at the tpo of the post). it's someone from VENOM... i LOVE IT! i would have only gotten a picture that good (with the sign in the background) with a LOT of luck...

How Old Are YOU?

NEW BELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST LOOKS AT ENTERING COLLEGE STUDENTS, GROWING UP WITH NO SOVIET UNION, ONE GERMANY AND BAR CODES

the extra irony for me is that i remember buying Huber beer out of a GLASS BOTTLE vending machine (meant for Coke) in a frat house on the Beloit College Campus. thirty cents a bottle... and yes, before these kids were born...

QUIT TEASING ME!

this is the latest rendition of the forthcoming VW Scirocco, and i'm getting a little tired of how many different concept pictures there have been.
more here...

Starbucks on a Plane

What's more frightening than Snakes on a Plane? Apparently shampoo, water, coffee, and hair gel.

Today has seen the announcement of yet another foiled Terror Plot, this time in England. The plot had something to do with liquid explosives that were going to be smuggled onto airplanes departing London to the US, and the explosives would be detonated with disposable camers. So because of that, the Terr-O-Meter is at "Red" (whatever that means) and for now all liquids are banned in carry-on luggage for domstic and international flights. The last few times that i have flown, i have taken my bootblack kit as a carry-on, and that would have meant throwing out a huge portion of the contents-- saddle soap, boot grease, dye (even my "fly-safe" water based dye) polish, a Tide-To-go pen, several random sample packets of lube that accumulate from leather event registration packets...

And every time i hear about a "foiled terror plot", i wonder if the "plot" is merely a bogus story with fictional characters to keep us afraid of the world around us. I mean, come on... who does it hurt? No one actually dies, planes don't actually fall from the sky, and the only "victims" are thousands of people across the country who now each have to throw away $5 worth of toiletries before getting on a plane (hopefully without any snakes...) And even though no one dies, the US stays terrified of "terrorists".

Bush talks about the "War on Terror" as if it is a war with a tangible and defeatable opponent, which it isn't... who is he kidding? As long as there are human beings walking the earth, disagreeing about religion, politics, and/or money, there will be terrorism. If this were on the playground, "terrorists" would just be called "bullies".

Star Wars lines improved by substituting the word "Pants"

Star Wars lines improved by substituting the word "Pants"

1) A tremor in the pants. The last time I felt this was in the presence of my old master.

2) You are unwise to lower your pants.

3) We've got to be able to get some reading on those pants, up or down.

4) She must have hidden the plans in her pants. Send a detachment down to
retrieve them. See to it personally Commander.

5) These pants may not look like much, kid, but they've got it where it counts.

6) I find your lack of pants disturbing.

7) These pants contain the ultimate power in the Universe. I suggest we use it.

8) Han will have those pants down. We've got to give him more time!

9) General Veers, prepare your pants for a surface assault.

10) I used to bulls-eye womp-rats in my pants back home.

11) TK-421. . . Why aren't you in your pants?

12) Lock the door. And hope they don't have pants.

13) Governor Tarkin. I recognized your foul pants when I was brought on board.

14) You look strong enough to pull the pants off of a Gundark.

15) Luke. . . Help me take...these pants off.

16) Great, Chewie, great. Always thinking with your pants.

17) That blast came from those pants. That thing's operational!

18) Don't worry. Chewie and I have gotten into a lot pants more heavily guarded than this.

19) Maybe you'd like it back in your pants, your highness.

20) Your pants betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for your sister!

21) Jabba doesn't have time for smugglers who drop their pants at the first sign of an Imperial Cruiser.

22) Yeah, well short pants is better than no pants at all, Chewie.

23) Attention. This is Lando Calrissean. The Empire has taken control of my pants, I advise everyone to leave before more troops arrive.

24) I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants.

25) You came in those pants? You're braver than I thought.

Don't Play Ball in the House...

You Are Bobby Brainy

Ultra competitive, you will do almost anything to win. From pull ups to pool sharking, you're very talented. And while everyone is aware of your victories, they still (affectionately) consider you to be a little brat!

What Brady Are You?

Some Antics with Semantics

so this past weekend i was at Halsted Street Market days. While it's not a gay pride festival, it's held in Chicago's "Boys Town", so it's a gay-friendly event...

so i was thinking about people and words etc, and i've put my finger on why i hate the word "lesbian". Homosexual men are called "gay men" but homosexual women are called "lesbians", not "gay women". So, if you are a "lesbian", it's like you're a whole seperate breed of human being or something... and sorry, i am not some sort of breed apart just because i don't like dick.

my sexual orientation doesn't define me as a person, dictate how i pick my friends, choose my music and hobbies, heck i don't even necessarily prefer the company of women over the company of men... my sexual orientation only describes who i prefer to sleep with... and we all know how often that DOESN'T happen... (the sleeping with someone...)

American English

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% General American English

20% Yankee

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Dixie

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?