Corvette Club travels to Muscle Car City

Corvette Club traveled this past Saturday to Punta Gorda, Florida, to visit Rick Treworgy's Muscle Car City. Treworgy made his money in the construction business, and his passion for Chevrolet sports and muscle cars is exhibited in this over 150 car collection in a former Wal-Mart alongside US 41. I met Rick, and he shared his comments on the collection, including "I have every year's Corvette except the 1953, and I had one but could never get it restored right after an earlier owner had an accident with it". I reminded him that he also was missing the 1983, and we shared a laugh at that inside joke.

The Club started off at eleven AM, after meeting at the Burger King - we had 40 individuals for this trip, out of our club membership of more than 100. A lot of our "snow birds" had already departed, so a darn fine turnout and we convoyed south the seventy miles on I-75 to the museum, then ended the day at a local seafood restaurant. Our club loves to eat, almost as much as we love our Corvettes. On the trip down, everybody behaved and it took just a bit over an hour to reach the destination. On the way back, I'm not telling how quickly my return was, but suffice to say that car (which had been driven across Alligator Alley from a dealership in Miami) had probably gone faster in it's first 250 miles than I took it when the odometer was rolling over 500 miles. My buddy was impressed by the speedometer that indicated up to 200 MPH - I doubt my Grand Sport would ever see that number on pavement. I can tell you, at 100 you just don't feel like you're going any faster than 50.

The collection was impressive, with so many neat cars from the sixties and seventies. In addition to Corvettes, there were GTO's, Firebirds, Chevelles, Camaros, and many examples of each that showcased various engine sizes and varieties. A whole row of 57 Chevy's also were displayed, an icon of many of our misspent youths. I remember my first car, inherited from my mother - a 57 Chrysler with push-button automatic and tail fins that could impale. For a graduate of the class of 65 in high school, however, this place was nirvana. Oh, for those who don't recognize it, that's the classic 1963 split rear window Vette. Only year it was made - people didn't like it then, but today a valuable collectable.

Yogi, we hardly knew ye

Ripley found a Yogi Bear doll several days ago. It was put out by a neighbor, and placed near the handle of their large green trash container. Ripley routinely checks out all the trash receptacles on Thursdays and Mondays, to see if there is anything of interest. That's why beagles are known as "a nose with toes".

So, we asked the neighbors if Ripley could have this small, bean bag type, toy. They said "of course", as nobody could ever refuse Ripley. Ripley then carried Yogi in his mouth the entire walk, and brought him home. But Ripley can be rough on toys, and Yogi was a toy filled with small plastic beads. After a few days, Ripley had torn a hole in his leg (Yogi's leg, that is), and we had to bid good-bye to Yogi.

We've been known to repair some toys, but this one would have perpetually been "in the shop" so Yogi finally made it to the trash bin - ours, this time - on the following Monday pickup. Yogi, we hardly knew ye, but as to your trips to the curb, it was deja vu all over again.

So Cute When They're Young........

And then they grow up to become a national nuisance, the Canadian Geese. But for now, they're cute and fuzzy, and lack the distinctive markings of the adult goose. When that comes about, they're loud, obnoxious, and prolific in laying down pounds of poop. Unfortunately, they're also protected by our government. So if you're thinking you have half a chance of getting rid of the quickly approaching clone of the Canadian health system, think about the geese - they're here to stay, and apparently so is government managed health care. But in a way, it's fitting - both leave a stinky mess and both are protected by the government. Now, where is that shotgun and recipe for goose liver pate.

Ripley's friend Zoe

This morning, I had my camera along on my walk, to capture some good pictures of the new Canadian geese (goslings) over on the pond, and we ran into Ripley's friend Zoe. Zoe is a Cocker Spaniel, and lives in a high rise over in Grand Bay. From her high perch, she can see the beach and the bay. Therefore, I decided to shoot from my own high perch. Zoe was half-way around on her walk, and was happy to take a break to enjoy a good sniff. Ripley had already been out on his walk, and this picture primarily is the view I have from my office window facing south. Since we hadn't featured Zoe, here was an opportunity. In fact, as I write this, I can see yet another pooch coming up the sidewalk headed north. Lots of dogs left here, as we head into summer. Ripley and I will be sharing our experiences with readers.....remember, you saw it here first.

A bite of the Apple

This is my first blog entry using a new (to me) computer and software. After being loyal for years to Microsh@ft, I finally took a bite out of the Apple. In this case, an Apple MacBook Pro. It is a starter machine, if you can call $1,200 a starter machine. My favorite computer guy, Cort, had been extolling the virtues of Steve Jobs wonder machine for years, while trying to help me sort out successive issues with Windows, then Vista, and finally Windows 7 which I had purchased, and returned after four days. Four days of frustration, trying to adjust to a new laptop that never felt right, starting with the QWERTY keyboard being offset from my familiar hand and finger placement because of a keypad on the right which shifted everything to the left.

While this Windows 7 machine had four times to memory of my Vista laptop, that was all I felt it had going for it.

My Vista machine had been purchased circa 2007, and had 2 slots for memory of 512MB, for roughly 1GB of RAM (if none of this makes sense, read on). New machines with Windows 7 operating system came standard with 4GB of RAM, and naturally faster processing speed. If you read on, here it is in English - I had run out of memory. My Outlook file had been corrupted in some fashion, and would only offer me an address book and calendar function. Of course the address book was slaved to a non-operable hotmail account (i.e. I could write an email, but couldn't send it), so it was time to bite the bullet and get a new machine.

I had learned from my old CFO, Joe Wood, that "laptops are basically consumables" and Joe had gone through a number of machines in the early days of our business life. IBM portable, Compaq portable, AT&T desktop, IBM PC, IBM PC-XT, IBM PC-AT and on and on from there. Those early days from 1984 to around 1990 were MY formative years, and back then Apple was perceived to be the machine for artists, hobbyists, and geeks. Fifteen years later, I have become a geek, But before succumbing, I had dutifully gone to Best Buy and purchased a 4GB Toshiba with Windows 7. It came with a special deal that the kid basically sold me - another HP printer, normally $79, but specially priced at $59. Never turning down a bargain, I also bit on the kid's claim that I needed Kapersky software. And finally, for another $99 the Geek Squad would back it up and work some other nebulous magic.

Well, it lasted all of four days - and I decided that even though the Apple low end machine was perhaps $400 more, I wasn't happy and took back the Windows 7 machine. I ordered the Apple over the web, and it arrived several days later. Best Buy took back the machine, and refunded full price for all but "Geek Squad" and their $99 fee because it was "labor". I very firmly told the customer service person "THAT is not acceptable" and ultimately they gave me $99 store credit and I went happily on my way. Cort spent the better part of an hour trying to get the HP Printer to recognize the machine (which the sales nerd insisted I needed), told me my "old" printer (only about three years old at most) was not compatible, and the new printer wouldn't work with provided OR downloaded software, Interesting enough, my old HP printer, and "All in One 4300 series" works just fine with the new Apple.

So, now I have a new computer to go with my new car (oh yes, that's the other picture of my 2011 Corvette Grand Sport), also pictured above. It was new toy week, starting on Friday the 13th for the car, with the computer episode apparently became my subsequent brush with bad luck. So, for now, it's transfer those files that can come across, and replicate those which can't. And as for the old Vista machine - well, for about $40 I was able to buy the appropriate 1GB RAM chips, and replaced the two 512GB chips with two newer 1GB chips, doubling the RAM in the Vista machine to 2GB - now it's half the machine of my new Apple, but as you can see Ripley really loves his First Computer. I figure, if the dog has his own FaceBook page, he ought to have his own laptop.

Winding Oaks Pool begins

After considerable delay and even more spousal angst, the pool behind our home, promised to be done by November of 2010 by the agent selling the home, has begun reconstruction.

Criticism aside, it's been three days now since commencement of this long awaited project, and I've taken the liberty to snap a few pictures of the preliminary work. In these two pictures, we see the cement truck (partially hidden) and the most important piece of equipment, the cement "lift" with the ability to move cement from one side of the site to where it's needed. On the day this picture was taken, the task was to fill three "baskets" of cement to form the foundation for the south end of the pool, where a large shade structure will be secured and erected. I found it interesting that the foundation did not use wood forms, but a wire basket (for lack of a better word) which was approximately 36 inches square. There were three of them, but the cement truck ran out of product after two, so these are going to be really sturdy supports. Considering the potential wind load during hurricane season, you have to accept the wisdom.

That was three days ago, and the following day we had dump trucks come to carry away some of the sand which had been there, going nowhere, for many months. I missed my chance, however, to put out a beach umbrella, a beach chair, sand pail and a sign which said "Winding Oaks Beach Club" to share with our homeowners association. Oh well, time marches on and the best news is that (according to the board) now work has commenced, the contractor has 90 days to complete the job.

Over the coming months, I'll probably blog (which apparently has now reached the status of a verb) about progress on the Winding Oaks new and improved pool. Stay tuned.

Computer literate?

Now you might think Ripley is computer literate, but that wouldn't be the real reason he loves to sit here. This is the window on the world seat, where Riplay can see all his canine friends as they are walked on the street outside our corner home.

This morning, Ripley saw two of his friends from this "perch", and one of them makes his first appearance here. The little brown dog is T.G., which stands for "Tough Guy" and he really lives up to his name. He's quite playful, but has his own "on and off switch" when it comes to other dogs. One minute, he wants to play, but the next he's off to finish his "business". Of course the other dog is well known to readers as Ripley's girlfriend, Bonnie.

This morning, Stan and Betty were walking T.G., and Barbara was walking Bonnie, and Ripley was doing his best to keep me from reading my email when he became aware of friends outside. He has some form of "doggy RADAR" and is quick to alert when a chance exists to do a bit of friendly sniffing. So, off the desk and to the front door, where some happy dancing in anticipation of the leash begins. Ripley, being a Beagle (a nose with toes) will never go out without a lead. But, once snapped on, we're both off to the races as he rushes to greet his friends. This is Ripley's life, a constant rotation of sleep, walk, eat, poop, sleep, walk, eat.....well, you get my drift. Fortunately my life is a bit more complicated, and the dog also has my wife to take her turn when I'm not on the end of that leash.

Don't get me wrong - retirement is just fine with me, and enhanced by the love of a good Beagle dog. And Ripley is not only a good dog, he's a great dog who shares his love equally with my wife, especially at nap time and in the evening hours. In the mornings, he's his daddy's buddy, reading the paper, doing email, and watching for friends, old and new. He is quick to make friends wherever he meets them, two legged and four legged, short and tall, he loves them all.

Heavy Lift at Cape Canaveral

Several months ago, I visited the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida and snapped a number of shots of various rockets. This one picture is the business end of the no longer needed or used Saturn 5 rocket - LOTS of power.

This was the first stage of the rocket that launched men to the moon, and rivaled the former Soviet Union's heavy lift rockets. We no longer make the Saturn, and soon the shuttle program will close down. The shuttle of course never could take man to the moon, except perhaps in some zany "Airplane" movies. Our current President isn't interested much in the man in the moon, let alone sending men back to the moon, and soon we'll be having to send our own astronauts to the International Space Station on Russian rockets topped by Soyuz capsules.

So, when I visited this center, it was a visit to the American century, when people like Kennedy and Reagan had vision. I don't see anybody on the political horizon who could compare to either of those giants.

Oh, who are those people in the picture? That's our future Obamanauts, waiting for the fearless leader to order another heavy lift rocket. They'll need it.

Another car show, another dream

This was the annual "All Chevy Show" at Cox Chevrolet in Bradenton. Cox is the sponsor of my car club, the Gulf Coast Corvette Club, and every year we organize a car show for charity. This year we benefited In Stride, which uses horses to do therapy for developmentally disabled children. The little horse in the picture was very well behaved, and didn't complain about the heat or the love bugs, and the charity received several thousand dollars from the sales of raffle tickets and entry fees. The car is a Grand Sport, with over 430 horsepower. This is the car I crave, but cannot have until we sell a condominium. There is one problem - I can't decide on color.

Do I want the dark color, or the red one? I know I need to buy the coupe, since we have Ripley now and I'm not certain he (or I) would enjoy driving 1,100 miles to St. Louis with a dog in my lap. That pretty much shoots down the idea of a convertible.Ripley already knows where he goes in the current coupe, and is very confused when he searches for a back seat in my wife's Z-4 BMW. It isn't there....much canine confusion.

So, I was still not sure where I wanted to be, either the red one or the dark gray one, until I considered options. After much consideration, I decided to go with the model having the best seat covers.

Ripley's nemesis

Go get those squirrels, Ripley! Don't let them sit there and mock you, chattering away with those tiny squirrel insults. Tell them "Beagles Rule!"

Act II - Reality sets in. Beagles can climb trees, but not as well as some squirrels. This is a sad lesson to learn, especially when taking a walk on the 20 foot lead and ripping Daddy's arm out of its socket when you spot Mr. Gray Squirrel running across your path. This is the life I lead with Ripley, believe it or not. We go on many walks each day, in a neighborhood full of squirrels.

Act III - A dog has got to know his limitations, and ultimately Ripley WILL learn, but I'm not sure how soon that will be. Much like his experience in chasing the ducks into the pond, then jumping in and swimming toward them until they take to the skies, Ripley learned (or at least admitted) that he cannot fly. This is the season for baby squirrels - some are pictured here - and they may not be as fast as mama squirrel, so for the next month Ripley will be on a shorter lead, and I will be on higher alert for temptations that our beagle will have, but will not yield to as long as we're on the other end of that leash.