The Decision Has Been Made!

President Elect Barack Obama.....

Wow!

Stop and reflect for just a moment on the significance. This truely feels like a handoff of power from the older generation to the youth of America. I am hopeful and confident that they are up to the task presented to them in these historical times.

"a new dawn of American leadership is at hand."

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much
more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to
see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann
Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our
time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our
kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the
American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are
one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and
doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless
creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can."

Yep, change is good.

Can we get back to work now?

Cheers!

Cap'n

VOTE TODAY!!!

Today is the day.

Everyone needs to get out and vote. This is your opportunity to make a difference and have your voice heard. Make sure that you and everyone you know takes part in this historical election. Be a part of it. Be proud to tell everyone around you that you voted.

Never before have we seen the opportunities that are presented to us today in the choices for President. No matter who you choose, now is a time for change. A time for the leaders of our nation to represent US. Let them know how we feel.

Change is good.....

Cheers!

Cap'n

Casa Edmonds!

Three years. That's how long it took us to get building permits to build the new casa in Edmonds. It was a long and trying experience not to mention expensive. At one point, when we lost our variance and had to go through the whole variance process over again, we actually came close to giving up and selling the property. But, we stuck it out and finally received our permits to begin construction in mid July. Woohooo!

The Humble Abode as-designed:

And the property it is to be constructed on:

Since we already had construction funding in place and the contractor lined up, we began construction almost immediately. And, almost immediately, we recognized just how challenging this project was going to be. The home site butts up against a steep slope (yes, we have designed in protection for slide risks) and there is very little room for staging the work. The result of this is that excavation, footings, and foundation work all had to be done in stages and we are now almost a month behind on our schedule. The budget, of course, has taken a big hit also.

The start of excavation:

The house is going to sit on the nice little shelf that the hoe is parked on. Those power lines that you see above the hoe will be dropped and routed underground…. Not cheap, by the way.

Here, they have begun work on the footings and you can see that they have excavated away a large portion of the bench:

I really thought that there would be less cutting into that steep slope. I sure hope the architect and engineers did their calculations right. It is exciting to begin to actually see a structure taking shape after all this time looking at nothing but lines on paper.

In this photo the forms for the foundation walls are going up.

Using the 'Honey Bucket' for reference you can see just how massive the foundation walls are. The walls were designed by a structural engineer to be able to withstand the forces of a slide…. Hopefully that will never be tested.

The foundation walls are all up and the front pillars are being formed:

The workers really look small in this photo and you can see just a part of the view that we will have. This photo was taken from about the finished elevation of the living room.

This is another photo with lots of reference points to give some idea of the massive size of the concrete walls. You see this stuff on paper but until it starts going up you really aren't able to get a feel for the size of things.

The guys on the blue boom are taking out the larger trees on the slope that might pose a falling hazard. All of this work is being done in a manner to minimally impact all of the undergrowth on the slope, hence the boom.

Our views from the living room will be magnificent:

This one is looking straight west just past 'Point No Point' and 'Foul Weather Bluff'.

And another:

Looking southerly down the 'Puget Sound' past the Edmonds ferry dock.

To say we are excited would be an understatement but I am also massively stressed over this whole thing. Between trying to keep the budgets under control, constant 'out of scope' items to take care of, and the time constraints, I feel like I am constantly in a battle with the 'team'. I don't think they believe that we are working with real money. I do!

Until next time, cheers!

Ron

Autumn Series Fun

The weather forecast is calling for cold rain and flukey winds.  Hmmmm..... must be time for Fall sailboat racing in Port Gardner Bay.

Yep, I drug myself out into the morning rain and headed north to the Everett Marina stopping at the grocery store to pick up beer along the way.  The beer is an offering to our overly dominating skipper in an attempt to limit the f-bombs emitted during the inevitable tangled spinnaker sheet.  I think the skipper thinks we (the crew) do this in a thinly veiled attempt at sabotage.  Nope, we're just incompetent, sorry skipper.

When you bring up discussions of sailboat racing most people conjure up images like this:

I wish racing was that sexy.  Nope.  Racing in Port Gardner Bay in the fall and winter series looks much more like this:

It rains a lot, the winds very seldom blow with any authority, and the crews are generally inept.  That's OK though because we all have fun and after the skipper calms down a bit and consumes a few beers we think he does too.

Today we were short handed, expecting a very poor showing, and generally taking things less than serious.  All the makings for a very fine finish, which we had.  I'm sure we corrected up over all the J-boats finishing 1st overall.  Good job crew (Miller and I).  Oh, you did OK too Skipper.

Cheers!

Smart Update - Sue's Smart!

Well, it certainly didn't take long for SuzyQ's little Smart car to get from 'Build' status to 'In Port' status and then to 'Arrived' status. Almost too fast, in fact. We only had the 'Orphan' Smart for about 4 weeks and was barely able to run mileage up to around 1300 before returning her to the dealer.

I did get to drive the 'Orphan' enough to be able to give somewhat of a review of the car and it's characteristics.

First off economy: Sue is a bit of a lead foot and drives the Smart as if it were a little sports car so I was expecting less than stellar fuel economy.  The Smart surprised me though.  So far we are averaging just over 40 MPG in around town driving.  Sue is planning a trip to Leavenworth this week so we will get to evaluate both, highway MPG and power going over a mountain pass.  Should be interesting.... I warned her friend that she might want to be prepared to get out and push to help get the little girl over the top. :-)

Driving: The first thing you will notice is the shifting of the "automatic" transmission. Really sucks at first but it gets better with time. The reason for this is because it is not an automatic transmission but a standard transmission that shifts automatically. Once you realize this, the shifting suddenly feels much more ordinary, like a standard shift with a clutch. Also, as you drive the car, the car 'learns' driving habits and begins to anticipate shifts much better and it gets smoother. Don't ever expect it to shift like the Audi DSG though.

The car scoots around town with grace. It's kind of like having a motorcycle when it comes to parking, you just don't worry about it. Seems there is always a little hole to fit this little girl in. The acceleration is sufficient to keep up with the flow of traffic and hills are not a problem. Freeway driving is far better than one would expect and cruising along at 70 MPH is extremely easy. It has enough acceleration to merge with traffic on the freeway just fine too.

The car is much bigger inside than it's small exterior leads you to believe. Leg and head room is sufficient even for the tallest drivers. Seats are firm but comfortable and controls are easily reached. My only complaint, as far as controls are concerned, is that the hazard flasher is easy to accidentally bump when adjusting the radio. Once I was aware of the problem it was no longer an issue though. The ride is stiff, as would be expected from a car with such a short wheel base, but not excessively.

The Smart attracts a LOT of attention and you feel like a bit of a freak driving it around. Maybe I'm a little sexist but I think where a guy looks like a bit of a dork driving it girls just look plain cute in it. Luckily, I don't have any trouble with looking like a dork. I've kinda gotten used to it and have fun whenever I do drive it.

Back to my story:

Sue seemed a little sad as we headed south to the Smart Center. She had gotten pretty attached to the little black beauty, I even thought she was going to change her mind and keep the 'Orphan'. That all changed once we arrived at the Smart Center and she got to see her new little 'Tux' (the white with black trim kind of looks like a tuxedo) with the bright red interior. 'Tux' even had Sue's name on the window sticker. Sue completely forgot about the 'Orphan'.... abandoning the little black beauty. Kinda' sad, I say.

I did make one last attempt in the dealings to keep the 'Orphan' and buy 'Tux' outright. No go. Only one Smart at a time, it seems. The dealer did treat me right and stood up to their original offer of crediting me everything I had spent on the 'Orphan', including optional add ons, towards the reserved Smart. We actually got money back since we didn't add as much stuff on this one as compared to the 'Orphan'. I was really impressed with how simple the whole thing was.

Sue is really enjoying her new Smart and she looks so cute driving it around. She does seem to have a bit of a 'chihuahua' syndrom driving it around though. She gets aggressive and 'snaps' at other drivers, always racing to get ahead of them. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a tiny car and leaving a small foot print in my opinion. I do believe that I have hit a home run in giving the car to her as a gift though. She sure appreciates it.

Cheers all!

Cap'n Ron

Sexy? Fast? Decisions....

Hmmmm.....

I've got a decision to make.  It seems that in my quest for the perfect motorcycle I may have acquired too many motorcycles.  I am now in the process of eliminating motorcycles that may be redundant or unnecessary.  Two bikes that fall a little into the redundant category are the:

Ducati Paul Smart 1000 Limited Edition -

There were only 2000 of these bikes made and only approximately 200 were shipped to the US.  This bike falls into the category of a 'Sport Classic' and is plenty fast but I mostly just think of it as sexy.  It is an aggressive bike that requires technical skill to ride properly and isn't what I would consider 'forgiving' of mistakes.  The Paul Smart has an aggressive seating position with a long reach to the bars and is uncomfortable for long rides.  But, all of this said, I have never had a bike that garnishes as much attention as the Paul Smart does.

Buell 1125R -

Fast!  Powerful!  Precise handling!  The 1125 is a sport bike pure and simple.  The Buell is an American made bike, the only American made sport bike.  This bike just begs to be ridden hard and fast.  Give the 1125 a twisty section of asphalt and I dare you to try to hold it back.  Acceleration is smooth and unbelievably fast but the 1125 is also comfortable.  The 1125 was designed to be able to ride in a very aggressive, laid out position or in a more relaxed, upright position.  It also does a good job of wind protection and creates a 'quite zone' for the rider.

So the decision I have to make is:

The 1125R which would be able to satisfy my need for speed while giving me a nice comfortable cockpit worthy of multi day rides and would make a great track day bike.

Or:

The Ducati Paul Smart which is fast enough, sexy enough, will hold it's resell value much better, and, with proper riding technique, will make a very capable track bike.

Decisions.... Decisions....

Cheers!

Cap'n Ron

Idiot? Genius?

Woohoo!  Two straight days of doing continuous running for 4 miles!  I think I might be becoming a runner once again.  Hmmmmm, so what's next?

Well..... before you start yelling obscenities and declaring me mentally incapable of caring for myself, I have already entered and paid for the event.  From my April 29 post "I just signed up for the Portland Marathon in October".  Oh, and since I've already paid for the event and can't cancel, I might as well go down and pick up the t-shirt.  Right?  Not enough to convince you yet?  Well, what if I were to say that I was thinking of taking a run/walk approach to the whole thing?  Still not enough?  I've got, like.... 6 whole weeks to train.  Nothing?  Not convinced?  Hmmmmm...... I'll think of some more rationalization later.

Now hear me out - I'm thinking I can work hard to get at least one long run of 18+ miles, taking the run/walk approach, before the marathon.  I'll have to totally skip the taper period, of course. :-)  I tested the pace at the track today.  If I run a 9 minute pace for 8 minutes and then walk for 2 minutes I get a 10 minute mile.  Now, if I just do that 26 times I would get to the finish line with a time of 4:22:00.  Not quite a BQ but, under the circumstances, not a total bust either.

Crazy?  Maybe.

Cheers all,

The Cap'n