Gina and I spent a few (long) weekends painting our polebarn/shop. The helpful folks at Sherwin Williams, helped us select an oil-based enamel that should last for decades. We rented a sprayer and after days of prepping and priming, we painted the barn. It looks like new!
I’ve been invited to write iPhone-related articles on Get In My iPhone, a new iPhone-centric blog. My most recent contribution details using the iPhone (or iPod touch) as a central control device for an X10 or Insteon-based home automation system. Enjoy!
- Duane
Tags: barn, iPhone, remodeling, shop
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This is my first season away from the comfy land of Spec Neon. Since the class is no longer recognized by NASA, the only place I could have raced in my “real” class was Waterford Hills. It’s a nice, technical track. However, I’ve been touring with my father-in-law Glenn (and his Spec Racer Ford) and it’s easier to tag along, crew for him, and learn as much as possible about racing. So, as mentioned in previous updates, I’ve committed to the improved touring (ITA) class. It’s a regional class with good competition and quite a few Neons. I’m still not as competitively prepared (no coilovers, big wheels, race engine, etc.), but I’ve been able to stay mid-pack.
The mid-pack trend continued last weekend at Nelson Ledges in northeast Ohio. I finished 6th in class and 6th overall both days. I stayed ahead of the other Neons… except for the last lap on Saturday, where I got stuck behind lap traffic (I was prety pissed… and my in-car video shows it…) and was passed 3 turns before the finish. Sunday was better. By mid-race no more Neons were in my mirrors, though the Hondas trounced me handily. Not too bad for my first time at Nelson Ledges. Lap times and positions are here.
Glenn did well, but was kept off pace by his tires. He really showed some amazing car control when it started to rain as he sat on the starting grid. By the 3rd lap it felt like monsoon season. Even though he was on his dry tires and had a spin early in the race (c’mon… it was POURING) he snagged a podium finish.
- Duane
Tags: Chrysler, Dodge, ITA, Nelson Ledges, Neon, Plymouth, racing, spec neon
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Gina’s lab invited me to join them at Cedar Point yesterday. We all packed into the big orange van and made the 2 hour trek to America’s Roller Coast
- Duane
Tags: amusement park, Cedar Point, family, trip
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Last weekend was rough. Our area was hit by a huge storm around 6 am on Friday. Trees were broken and/or uprooted. A pair of large trees fell on our shop and the whole area was without power. We set out to borrow a generator from Gina’s dad, Glenn and helped set them up with digital ofter-the-air tv in their travel trailer (their power was out too, but had a nice camper as a backup). We got some supplies from Costco and headed back home. Around 3, DTE got to our yard and started removing the down trees and lines from the pole barn. I figured it was safe to finally enter the metal building to get my chainsaw. I spent the rest of the afternoon cutting up fallen trees on our property. When the trees and lines were finally cleared, I surveyed the damage to the barn and confirmed that it is, indeed, worse than the tree damage from last year. We were saving up to finish the repair from last year, so at least nothing new was harmed, but this time the insurance company will have to fix the whole roof.
We continued to clean and prepare for our parents’ anniversary celebrations. On Saturday I identified that our router was cooked while trying to set up our recently returned Wii. With about an hour before guests started to arrive, I sped off to Best Buy to get an Airport Extreme to replace our old, toasty Linksys WRT54G. The new router had to be set up and there were a few complications getting our server and other services set up. But I was up and running in time to monitor a major change at work from 11pm to about 2am Sunday. Another couple of hours and our network was back to it’s happy self.
On Saturday my parents came over and Sunday Gina’s parents came over to celebrate their wedding anniversaries and father’s day. Our parents’ anniversaries are bookends to Gina’s birthday (on the day before, the other after) which is on June 18th… exactly one month before my birthday. We feasted on all kind of grilled goodness: fancy chipotle burgers, beer-bbq brats, potatoes, salads, and more. We ended Saturday with a bonfire and s’mores and Sunday with a game of cut-throat Uno.
- Duane
Tags: barn, family, shop
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Chris “Cat Killer” Childs, Glenn “Father-in-law” Gehrke, and I raced at
Grattan last weekend. Since both Glenn and I were racing, Gina was the crew chief. She took care of timing, radio communication, setup, fuel and everything in between. Without her help, I’m pretty sure I would have missed at least one of the sessions. We got out there on Friday to get some practice time in. Chris came through with some wheel spacers that allow me to run Hoosiers and I was able to try out the new setup on the last 2 practice sessions. Unfortunately, Chris also realized that his exhaust was beginning to leak and was cooking the steering rack in his Neon. He ordered a new rack and installed it Saturday morning. Later that day, Glenn qualified second and placed first. Chris qualified first and finished first, and I qualified third and finished third. This was my first podium finish ever. The good news was mixed with bad. Even though Chris finished first, he did so without power steering for the last 7 laps. With no other steering racks available in the area, he was forced to retire for the weekend. The next day resulted in a second place finish for Glenn and a second place finish for me as well. (Since Chris was unable to partipate.) The work on my Neon this spring really paid off. I’d also like to think that I’ve improved as a driver. I recorded by fastest time at Grattan to date (1:36.973) but I still have a long way to go. The fastest guys (including Chris) run in the 1:32 range. I think I have a second or two yet to find in my driving, but the car still has a long way to go too. I still need a coilover suspension, wider front tires, a limited slip diff, and an IT-prepped engine.
- Duane
Tags: Chrysler, Dodge, Grattan, ITA, Neon, Plymouth, racing, spec neon
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Pictures