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June 29, 2004
Random Spidey Cartoons
Not extremely funny, but very creative and cool.June 28, 2004
Isabel Winter
Congratulations to two of my best friends, John and Kristin, on the birth of their first child, Isabel Winter. Labor began Saturday morning at 6 am. Twenty-five laborious hours later, and several uncomfortable sleeping positions in the waiting room for "yours truly" and half a dozen other close friends, out popped all 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches of beautiful baby girl.
I've known the mother since she was eight years old (16 years) and the father since I was fourteen (11 years). Five years ago, I had the honor of serving as John's Best Man in his and Kristin's wedding. Sunday, this bachelor held their firstborn in his clumsy arms and wept like a baby, as it were.
I'm amazed at their preparedness for parenthood. Knowing two people for the majority of their lives, since they themselves were children, and watching them become parents right before your eyes can be quite a humbling and mind-boggling experience.
John and Kristin, I'll be there for anything you or your beautiful daughter needs. I love you guys . . . all three of you.
June 24, 2004
Bikini Cuts
If I had hair, I'd go here for my haircuts.June 23, 2004
Possible WRX Upgrade Path
One of the main motivations for purchasing a high-performance vehicle is the multitude of upgrades and modifications that become available. I am no exception to this rule when I bought a WRX in February.
Well, after a few months of adjusting to my new budget (which hasn't even existed since I was in college working for minimum wage), which includes my monthly car payment, I am now ready to begin modifying my car. In an effort to keep record of my possible upgrades and modifications, I will maintain and update this page. Listed below is my possible upgrade path.
First of all, I think I'm very lucky to be living in Salt Lake City as one of the best Subaru tuning companies, Cobb, is based here. Not only does Cobb manufacture excellent custom Subaru parts and services, but it does so at an excellent and affordable price.
- As with most upgrade paths, I'm starting mine with the exhaust. I've decided to go with a 3" CatBack exhaust system. A CatBack exhaust begins at the stock catalytic converter and replaces everything "back" to the muffler.
- Wheels and tires will be next. I would like to get the BBS's that come on the STi. They come with pretty good tires from the factory and a lot of STi owners get their car new and want instant customization, so they throw on new rims.
- Next will be the Cobb AccessPort. This has 10 instantly switchable ECU maps and will be a great improvement.
- A downpipe with a high-flow cat and a STi Cat-less Up-pipe. This will eliminate the pre-turbo Cat and reduce total Cats from the stock restrictive three to one high flow.
- Coilovers. To lower the car, give it more aggressive handling and a meaner look.
- Then front and rear sway bars and strut tower braces to improve handling further. As of right now, I have a Cusco adjustable one with Whiteline endlinks.
- Next, I'll probably replace the intercooler and radiator hoses with high-performance Silicone hoses.
While those are my main upgrades, I'll also be spending a few dollars here and there to improve its look.
- » I would like to get matching silver sideskirts, the STi hood scoop, STi splitters, and maybe side spats.
- » Inside the car, I'm going to replace the cheesy factory shift boot and shift knob with leather Momo ones that matches my stock steering wheel.
- » I'll paint the ugly, stock brake calipers a more sporty-looking blue.
- » While, I'm not a big fan of decals, I want to add a windshield banner (at least for a little while) like the WRC Subaru.
High Res Photos
- June 2004 front | side
- August 2004 front | side
- April 2005 front | side
June 22, 2004
September 19, 2001 Quote on Torture
Hmmmm . . . Interesting.June 22, 2004
Little Red Flower
June 21, 2004
Getting Old
I think the hardest part, at least for me, of getting old is accepting the noticeable change in athletic performance. When I was younger, I pushed my body to its very limits on a regular basis, in fact, almost daily. But today, if I try something my body hasn't experienced in a few years, I'm sore within a relatively short period of time. The next day I'm in even more pain.
I bring this up because I have begun to notice this more and more lately. Now I'm in pretty good shape too. Its not that I'm pushing my body beyond what it can take. I run 30-60 minutes 4-6 times a week. I play basketball every Wednesday for two hours. I rock climb. I hike. I do some pilates. I'm very active I think. So I think the hardest part about it is getting used to being sore after excersizing muscles that have been inactive. When I was younger I was hardly ever sore from any sort of physical activity. Now, its a given. Even expected.
For instance, yesterday I played baseball for about 3 hours. The running was easy, as was the throwing. (I can still throw a baseball on a line from the center field fence to the backstop without even a bounce, which is at least 250 feet. Growing up I used to have one of the best arms on my little league and high school baseball teams.) But the hitting, really tired me out. Today, every movement of my left arm is completely strained and pained.
I guess I should be happy with my level of fitness. However, I can't help but feel a little angry about getting old. How about you? Have you noticed these same affects on your athletic prowess? Or lack thereof?
June 18, 2004
Headlight Cooking Friday
June 17, 2004
Anal-Retention
All of the sudden, my boss has become extremely anal. As I said before, I'm getting to work at 6 AM and working until 5 PM. They're long days, but by Friday, I'm loving the three-day weekend. But this morning, while getting coffee at about 6:15 my boss, who is on vacation, called (apparently just to check up on me). I was too far from my phone to hear it, but she left a message where her anger was so obvious it made me afraid to call her back.
When I did, she said she was coming in to talk to me.
"Oh man," I thought. "She thinks I was late and just getting to work."
A couple of hours later, she walked into my office with some papers for me for a special project I'm working on. After discussing this project, she pulled out another paper handing it to me to sign. It was a formal "Employee Discipline" sheet for being tardy. When I told her she had called while I was away from my desk, she knew she had jumped to a conclusion. She tore up the discipline sheet, but then told me that at 6 I was on the clock and that I need to get my coffee before I get to work.
What I don't get is, why is she getting anal all of a sudden? She's always trusted me and now she's decided she needs to check on me. It's pretty frustrating.
June 14, 2004
Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About
Get ready to shoot milk out your nose.June 14, 2004
Long, Early Hours
Every summer for three weeks the entire central office of the school district works four ten-hour days and closes on Friday. This may seem a little odd, however every day that we don't operate saves the district $25,000 in operational costs which comes in handy with the current budget crunch public education is currently enduring.
So, on one hand, the district saves a nice chunk of change without losing any productivity and on the other hand for three weeks in the middle of summer I get three three-day weekends.
Today is the first and hardest day of this schedule.Its almost noon and I've been at work almost six hours.
I'm taking my nap, I mean lunch soon.
ADDENDUM
Do you remember that Seinfeld where George hired a carpenter to build a bed under his desk? I'm honestly contemplating that.
June 09, 2004
Excuses, Excuses!
Well, I've written this entry about five times this week. For some strange reason, the network at my office has been going down several times a day this week. Everytime I think I've got it finished and try to publish it, our computers go down. Anyway, I finally resorted to typing it in Notepad and saving it to my computer until a better time when I could upload it.
For the last three weeks, I have been extremely busy.
- » I climbed the West Slabs of Mt. Olympus, the tallest mountain in the Salt Lake City Valley.
- » I've been battling allergies in so many disgusting ways, I would be a massively unhospitable host to mention them.
- » I've had weddings galore to attend.
- » I've had internet issues at home.
- » Because I've missed so much work lately for being sick, while at work I am so busy I can't justify taking a few minutes to let you know what's going on.
But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, so expect regular posting. I certainly have material. Now, I just need the time and the motivation to get it out.