Ladies and Gentlemen , Driving and Crying

Eulogy of the little rat in the corner

Last night, when we returned from our trip to Athens and Commerce, Sharon discovered that her hampster "Sweet Pea" had died. She was buried last night at the opening terrace of the green house to the left of the door so that Sharon could have a memorial to her. I know I have always said that she was a pain in the ass, but as I was digging her grave I couldn't help but think that she never bit me as she did Sharon, She always sat up in my hand as I held her, and as Sharon was cleaning her cage she would always come to me while running around in her ball. I'll miss you, you little fuzz ball .

My dear wife and friends

Shelby Cobra

For thoes of you that haven't heard I am in the planning stage of building a replica car. I found this today and thought it would explain why I want to do this.

Driving a Cobra Replica

"If you want to just gas and go, and never have to worry about replacing an alternator, or snuggling down the header bolts, or getting a wet leg driving in a rainstorm, or learning how to set your carb float level, or driving in traffic on a warm winter day with "winter gas" in the tank, get a Corvette. "

With a Cobra Replica you have to remind yourself that you are driving a hand made race car on the street. There is no compromise for anything other than pure speed. These cars are brutal and unforgiving, with all the refinement of a medieval battle ax. Like being in a relationship with an exotic dancer, you can never take anything for granted. These cars don't have millions of miles of testing refinement before you get yours. For any trip longer than an hour, you need earplugs, and goggles, and carry Advil and eye drops. You will need to learn to "read" the clouds for rain in your path, and have experience in unwrapping your frozen fingers from the MotoLita. You will experience lady passengers "wetting" the passenger seat when you merge into traffic from an on ramp, and then nearly burn their calf getting out of the car.

You will have all the invisibility of a burning Hindenburg, and flee from underground parking lots when uncountable car alarms are screaming your departure. When you shop, you will remind yourself that these cars get more attention than a dead body in a parking lot.

With a power to weight ratio better than almost every supercar, you will find your 1/4 mile times traction rather than power limited. On the other hand, when you stage, out of the corner of your helmet's visor you will see almost the entire audience lining up at the fence, most with cameras up. If you track on a road course with a Porsche club, owners of expensive German machines will come to the fence to watch you power out in smoking oversteer. You won't even try to start your engine in the garage, but push it out onto the driveway, else your loyal watch dog will croak from the exhaust fumes. If you idle next to other "sports" cars at a traffic light, by the green, their girlfriend will be coughing green phlegm into her hanky, yelling at her date to just go! When you refuel, you might as well prop the "bonnet" open, because you are going to have to show your motor to just about every other guy there. When you order your wings at Hooters, your waitress will whisper in your ear "take me for a ride." When you stop at the red light, the girl in the convertible next to you will invite you to "take my top off too."

When you slowly pass a troop of Harley riders, they will look over and give you thumbs up. When you want to ease out into traffic, other cars will immediately pause to let you go ahead of them. When your engine has its hot, crackling, intimidating exhaust sidepipe aimed right at the flank of the GTO, or the Z28, your exhaust pulsation's slowly unscrewing his lug nuts, the other car will remain motionless, as if the slightest quiver of his car will cause your car to stomp it dead. When you leave it open in a parking lot, and come back to find your sunglasses and cell phone still sitting on the tunnel, it is because your car has sullenly warned those who came over to admire it "touch me and I will rise up here and kill you dead."

When you put that tiny silver key into the ignition, and begin your start countdown, your car will whisper "take me for granted, and I will kill you."

When other drivers just hop in and snap up their belts while backing out of their parking space, you will still have two more minutes before you even get all the Simpson's properly on and snugged down. Pulling up in a Cobra Replica is like landing an F4U at an ultralite convention.

In summary, very, very few drivers want this kind of attention, or can tolerate all that a formidable Cobra Replica demands. These cars are intolerant mistresses.

But remember, there will come a day when you have to hang up your car keys for the last time. And perhaps you want to say then "I did it."

-author unknown

You know you want one now

....

Hey Folks, Im sorry that we haven't updated lately. We have successfully moved to Cochran GA. Sharon is starting her career at MGC , Im working in Warner Robins at Madison Res, and the house is coming back togther as we like it. So here it is Aug 30th and what is this weekend but DRAGONCON!!! If you don't know what it is, come to Atlanta and visit us, all 30,000 of us.
I'll upload pics from it on tuesday and fill you all in on how it was.

News from Athens

Well a lot has happened since the last entry to our blog and all of what has happened prevented us from updating the blog but now we have finally some time to sit down and relax and finally update everyone on what all has been going on.
1) Sadly Zach's mother Patty passed away on April 9, 2006. I could not have wished for a better mother-in-law. She treated me with compassion and respect and included me in her family from day one. I know Zach, his brother, his dad and everyone who knew Patty well miss her dearly. She always had time to listen or lend a hand. We miss you Patty.

2. Zach and I started housesitting for my former major professor and his wife in May. Zach and I have sublet before but never housesat for anyone. All I can say is that I like the kitchen but having to weed the brick patio is a real pain. I don't know how David and Jean do it. Anyway, we'll be in the house till the first of August when we move on to our next great adventure......

3. Our next great adventure is that we are moving to Cochran, Ga (40 miles south of Macon, close to Warner Robbins) so that I can start a new position as Assistant Professor of Biology at Middle Georgia College! MGC is a two-year residential college in the University of Georgia System. We found a nice two bedroom/one and a half bath triplex a short walk from the school so I won't have much of a commute. The apartment has a nice back porch so I'm going to get Zach a grill for his birthday. In the meantime, I'm working on setting up lectures for my classes. I 'll be teaching introductory biology to both majors and non-majors. My co-workers seem really nice.

4. Right now I'm working part time at JoAnn Fabric and Crafts in Athens. I get a 15% discount which considering that DragonCon is right around the corner during Labor Day weekend, I can really use the discount to get all of my costumes done.

5. And speaking of DragonCon, Zach is going all four days this year! We both got 4-day passes. We're splitting a room at the Hyatt with Gail and Todd. And there are a ton of SG people coming so I'm definitely saving my nickels and dimes for autographs! And Kevin Sorbo is coming!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so getting my picture with him!

6. At the end of April, I went with my friend Mandy, a self-taught NASCAR fanatic, and her fellow NASCARian Cathy to the race at Talledega in Alabama. They're not kidding when they say it is the largest redneck cocktail party. I had a great time. Since it was my first race I took a ton of pictures. At some point I need to scrapbook the race. After I get done with my costuming and lecturing and everything else.....

I'll post some pics from the last two months when I get some more time!

A few more pics from Klingon PuttPutt

Patty's 51st Birthday Party

In the evening of April 1st, 2006, my mother had a birthday party thrown in her honor by her friends, Jack and Bettylane. When they party, they party! The band played some great country/rock favorites and the food was really good (especially Susan's mini-Cuban sandwiches and the chocolate covered Strawberries). Patty's friends serenaded her as they brought out her cake. She even did a little dancing with Braxton! All in all I think everyone had a great time. Sharon made a cheese dip with Velvetta, Browned Beef, Rotel, Diced Tomatoes and Chopped Olives for the first time. I think it was ok but not the usual. She just need practice.

I miss you mama..

KAG Putt Putt Challenge April 1, 2006

Zach and I went to the KAG PuttPutt Challenge at Malibu Grand Prix in Gwinnett today. We brought 12 can goods as our donation then puttputted our little hearts out! We also rode some really fast go-karts! Mandy beat me once again at PuttPutt. We won't talk about how bad Mearl and Zach beat both Mandy and I (38, 36 to 52, 56). At some point I'd like to break 50. May the Force help me make par next time! The picture above is of our team. We did pretty good. I actually got a hole in one on the last hole.

More pics coming soon. I'm soooo tired........

Noggin!

Braxton is definitely of a different generation. He's only two but already he uses the internet. Noggin is a website geared towards young kids with activities and other things. Thanks to wireless broadband, Noggin can be accessed on the back porch!

Our first days back home in Georgia....

Here we are back in Georgia for a day and what does Zach, his brother and his nephew do? Shooting BB guns! Ok I'll admit. I popped off a few BBs myself. Rather addictive.
Sharon

Back in Georgia

Well Zach and I left our home in Honolulu, Hawaii on Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 to start a new life back in Georgia. Thanks to all we met in Hawaii who helped us during our stay. We will keep this blog going for all who want to check out what we are doing in the next phase of our life. I've attached the last picture I took from our lanai of the Koolau Ridge.

The adventure is just beginning!

Braxton and his ribs

Braxton is Zach's brother's son (Zach's nephew). He is a very precocious and funny 2 year old. The picture above is of Braxton eating ribs during our visit to Georgia at the end of February. Rather good ribs as you can see.

Hey MOO COW!!!
My sister in laws new pet.

I hate to do this!!!!

Its had its own webcam and I have upgraded it highly but I unfortunately have to sell my eclipse aquarium.
Its a 12 gallon with 26 watts of AH lights, a whisper 10 filter, and I'll throw in a DIY CO2 setup.
Unfortunately, I am in hawaii and shipping would be a killer so this might have to be a locals only.
I am selling it for 100$.

Eleanor

Ok this is for anyone who is a fan of "Gone in 60 Seconds." Zach and I were on our way back home after driving up the Waianae Coast when we decided to take Farrington Hwy and tool around near Barber's Point. There are a lot of manufacturers and one junkyard in the area. The junkyard just happened to have a striped 1967 GT 500E with weeds growing in and out of it. So of course that is the one thing Zach wanted me to take a picture of after being out all afternoon. Fans of Eleanor enjoy.

Clock in Chinatown

Zach and I went to Chinatown on Saturday morning (2-11-2006) to get some vegetables, shrimp, and fresh pasta from the farmer's market and I noticed that the clock in the courtyard has Chinese characters in place of Arabic numerals. Zach bought some really hot chili peppers and limes that made for a nice centerpiece on the bar in the kitchen. The chili peppers are called Kgin Ped Dai Mai and reach 70,000 Schofield units. Not as hot as a Habanero but close. We then went home and had shrimp pasta for lunch. Really, really good! And then I made Zach go interview clothes shopping with me to Sears at Ala Moana. Found a really nice outfit for $50 and Zach was very patient. I owe him fishing trip for that. On Sunday we went to Waikiki for the afternoon. Our reason for going was to see if we could bargin for some nice aloha style luggage. No luck with that but we did enjoy some Cheesecake Factory cheesecake by the beach. I had the Key Lime cheesecake while Zach got the Tiramisu cheesecake. Good stuff in small quantities but too powerful to eat all the time. While walking around Waikiki, I took pictures of random things like a view down the Ala Wai canal looking towards Diamond Head, a WWII memorial, and the staircase of a trendy clothing store, 88 T-Shirts, with license plates from all over the US.

Valentine's Day Party

We hosted a "Welcome to the Lab/Valentine's Day" party today and welcomed Lifang Zhang (research assistant) and ------ (lab assistant) to the lab. Thanks to people for bringing some really good plum sauce chicken wings and fried rice. Anna made a really great salad and introduced us to Papaya Seed salad dressing. Thanks to Mingxiao for the pizzas. Zach liked the mexican one. Zach's fried chicken was a hit that we'll definitely have to have again sometime soon! And of course because we had the party before Valentine's Day the pictures have a V-day theme to them. Thanks to everyone who came!

The Waianae Coast

Zach and I went up the Waianae Coast on Sunday afternoon two weekends ago. We went as far as Makua Sands Beach before we had to turn around. The surf was so high that a part of the road had been covered by sand and waves further up. The Waianae Coast is the least visited part of the island by tourists. We stuck out like a sore thumb with our rental car and cameras. We also garnered more than a few unhappy looks by the locals. Friendliness is not their forte. There are also large homeless tent camps in the beach parks along the coast so if you ever visit use common sense and caution. But the views are amazing and when the surf's up the waves are huge!

North Shore and around Oahu in February

Zach had drills weekend before last so we had a rental car and went on a tour of Oahu on Saturday afternoon. Usually we start by going down H1 to Kalanianaole Hwy. around the southern point of Oahu and up the Windward side but this time we went north and started with Haleiwa on North Shore. Before we got to Haleiwa we stopped at the Dole Plantation where I got a pineapple float that I highly recommend and Zach got a chili pineapple hotdog that I do not recommend. Then we moved on to Haleiwa. We got shave ice from Matsumoto's and stopped to take a few requisite beach pictures. Zach got a Chik-O-Stick which I'd never heard of before and tasted like a butterfinger with coconut to me. Then we were off to the Windwind side of Oahu! We stopped at one of the many shrimp shacks along Kamehameha Hwy to check out the prices. Sticker shock made us take a picture of the nice shack, get back into our car and continue our afternoon drive. We spent the rest of our time taking pictures of the shoreline as the sun went down: old sugar plantation ruins, a horse farm, surfers, the sun on a part of the Koolau Ridge and old cars on the highway. Then we went home and had dinner but I don't remember as it was two weekends ago and I should have made this entry back then. Such is life.

Just try to say you can't find our place!

Last week, if you didn't know it, Honolulu had its picture taken. Here we are in the pic.