"Drinks well with others"...

Ok I admit it. I'm having a bit of a party binge. In December I had two parties here at my place and I'm only 15 days away from having another one. It's the First Annual Daytona 500 Racing and Backyard Tailgate Party. Hosted by yours truly.
For the first time in 10 years I am not going to the Daytona 500. I know, I know, what am I thinking?? That race has been the one of the things I have looked forward to every long, hard, ugly winter. It sort of marked the coming of Springtime for me. But several things have influenced my decision not to attend, and here they are in no particular order.
1. Ticket prices. Last year I paid almost $500 for my ticket package that included 2 seats for two races. Good seats, but not fantastic seats, and I had to pay for them almost a year in advance. My friend Chuck decided to go about a month before last years race and his tickets were only about $300 and his seats were so close to mine I could almost throw a hot dog at him. Does anyone see something wrong with this?
2. Ticket prices. Over $500 for 2008? WTF?!?!? I'm not made of money.
3. Start time. The race used to start promptly at 12:30pm. By the time the race was over, there was still daylight, it wasn't really cold (most of the time) and you could take your time getting into traffic for the drive home. We used to hang out, have some food, listen to the post race shows on the radio and let traffic thin out. Now the race doesn't start until after 3:30pm, and for the past couple of years, with rain delays and other issues, the race doesnt end until around 8pm or later, which means we have to hustle to the car and get into the traffic queue so we can get home before sun-up so we can get to our jobs the next day. We gotta work to pay for next years tickets, right?
4. Parking. The race starts at 3:45ish as we know. But in order to find a suitable parking space for less than $75.00 that is close enough to the track that you don't require a lunch break during the walk, I have to leave my house before 6am. And all for a dirt lot parking space. I hate tailgating in the dirt.
5. Weather. I understand that it's Florida but out of the last 10 years of attending that race I have sat in the freezing cold and / or rain at least 7 of those years. It seems that the days before and the days after are always nice and balmy. I am betting that since I'm not going this year, race day in Daytona Beach will be 75° and sunny.
6. Rude fans. When I first started going to the race, the fans were all nice, friendly and courteous. We laughed with each other, teased about favorite drivers and shared snacks and beverages with each other. No sense missing some of the race just to get another beer, so have one of mine. Some where along the line that began to change and I can't really put my finger on when that happened , but it seems to coincide with the time when ticket prices began their upward surge. Maybe the richer you are the bigger prick you can be?? Or have we've all just become a bunch of racing snobs?
Anyway, I'm not going and I'm using the money I would have spent for tickets, parking and gas to have a bash for my friends. Want to come???
I bet the weather will be awesome...

Down a new path...

My brother quit his job. Yep. After almost 10 years working for corporate America he balled up and quit. You can check out his blog by clicking here or the button on the left. He does own a small business designing and hosting web sites among other things and I just have this feeling that it’s going to work out for him.

I’m hoping that this blog will eventually be hosted by his company under my own domain name.

Then you’ll see some sizzle…

It's finally done...

Now this is funny...

It's been a few days...

I can't believe how busy I've been lately. I figured that once the holidays were past and I was back to work I would have some down time. Wonder when that starts??
I'm trying to get the kayak finished up in time to paddle among the manatees over at Crystal River. I think I still have a few weeks before they move back out into open water.
I've done most of the trim work on the kayak...got the hatch finished, the tie-down straps are ready to mount and the final coat of epoxy went on the topside tonight.
Next step is painting the hull. I bought the paint already (at $36.00 per quart!!), a nice deep green and I may get the first coat on Thursday night if the weather holds. It can't be applied lower than 50°F and the fumes are highly toxic to breath so I'll need to do it outside. Three coats. Then Urethane for the topside, install the tie-down straps and it's done!!
I'll post up some pictures when it's done...

What we did on our Christmas vacation...

It's not done yet but the inagural barbeque will be in two weeks...

Whew...

Well then. The major portion of the Christmas celebration is behind us for another year. And my what a busy one it's been for me!! I am fortunate that I have had several days off this week and still have a couple more to go. It's nice to be away from the office for a while but, sick as this may sound, I'll be ready to get back to work next Wednesday.
Orin, Linda and the Tallahassee Rug Rats are here visiting for the Holiday. We seem to be playing a lot of X-Box 360 since that's what Miles got from Santa this year. I can't even master regular X-Box. We are also building an entertainment center for Orin's new HDTV. It's nice to have a project to work on together. He's not much for wood tools but he really enjoys sanding and staining, which is great cause that's the part I like the least. We should get it finished before they need to return to Tallahassee.
Speaking of projects, I did manage to get Emily's furniture done in time to give it to her on Christmas morning (And yes David, it's gorgeous). I didn't stain it yet because she's still deciding on the color she wants for her bedroom ( BTW, it's a chest of drawers) so I guess we'll do that next week sometime. I also built a blanket chest for Kristin because Dec 31st is her 14th birthday. I've already given it to her since she will be having a slumber party and she just might want to show it off to her friends.
So I guess you can see that I've been just a little busy. Building furniture for my family and friends is what I'm all about lately. It's how I relax and get centered. It's what makes me happy.
And Charlie likes to hang out in the workshop...

It's over...

I finally got the problem with my computer fixed. IE7 was only a small part of it. Thank goodness I have a brother who can make a computer sing and dance. I'm no computer novice but sometimes it's such a mess I think it might never be the same.
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. I am going to try FireFox at every ones recommendation. I have some other things to post but I am furiously working to complete a piece of furniture for my friend Emily's Christmas gift. I should get it finished on Sunday.
Keep your fingers crossed...

Oh what a horrible mistake...

I made the mistake of downloading Internet Explorer 7 and now I can't do anything. There are so many websites that I can't access including this blog.
What should I do?
I need help ladies and gentlemen...

Sea trials...