A new game... Post pics from your cel phone V.1.0

[94touring]

Dog heaven huh?  Plenty of squirrels, cats, and cars to chase.

[MiniDave]

We can only hope......

[MPlayle]

My brother sent this when a special dog for my parents passed last year.  It seems appropriate to share along.  (I do not know where he got it or anything of the original author.)

Begin quote:
I have had this for a while, guaranteed to make one cry ....

"Some of you, particularly those who think they have recently lost a dog to 'death', don't really understand this. I've had no desire to explain, but won't be around forever and must.

Dogs never die. They don't know how to. They get tired, and very old, and their bones hurt. Of course they don't die. If they did they would not want to always go for a walk, even long after their old bones say: 'No, no, not a good idea. Let's not go for a walk.' Nope, dogs always want to go for a walk. They might get one step before their aging tendons collapse them into a heap on the floor, but that's what dogs are. They walk.

It's not that they dislike your company. On the contrary, a walk with you is all there is. Their boss, and the cacophonic symphony of odor that the world is. Cat poop, another dog's mark, a rotting chicken bone (exultation), and you. That's what makes their world perfect, and in a perfect world death has no place.

However, dogs get very very sleepy. That's the thing, you see. They don't teach you that at the fancy university where they explain about quarks, gluons, and Keynesian economics. They know so much they forget that dogs never die. It's a shame, really. Dogs have so much to offer and people just talk a lot.

When you think your dog has died, it has just fallen asleep in your heart. And by the way, it is wagging its tail madly, you see, and that's why your chest hurts so much and you cry all the time. Who would not cry with a happy dog wagging its tail in their chest. Ouch! Wap wap wap wap wap, that hurts. But they only wag when they wake up. That's when they say: 'Thanks Boss! Thanks for a warm place to sleep and always next to your heart, the best place.'

When they first fall asleep, they wake up all the time, and that's why, of course, you cry all the time. Wap, wap, wap. After a while they sleep more. (remember, a dog while is not a human while. You take your dog for walk, it's a day full of adventure in an hour. Then you come home and it's a week, well one of your days, but a week, really, before the dog gets another walk. No WONDER they love walks.)

Anyway, like I was saying, they fall asleep in your heart, and when they wake up, they wag their tail. After a few dog years, they sleep for longer naps, and you would too. They were a GOOD DOG all their life, and you both know it. It gets tiring being a good dog all the time, particularly when you get old and your bones hurt and you fall on your face and don't want to go outside to pee when it is raining but do anyway, because you are a good dog. So understand, after they have been sleeping in your heart, they will sleep longer and longer.

But don't get fooled. They are not 'dead.' There's no such thing, really. They are sleeping in your heart, and they will wake up, usually when you're not expecting it. It's just who they are.

I feel sorry for people who don't have dogs sleeping in their heart. You've missed so much. Excuse me, I have to go cry now."

[Jims5543]

It has been a year since we put our 14.5 year old Choc Lab down.  It was the suckiest day I have ever had and I still get pretty choked up thinking about it.

That dog was my best buddy, it sucks Dave, wish I could tell you it gets better. It does, sort of, but the loss will always be felt, I try to take others advice and think of the good times, there were many, it helps some but damn I miss that ol' girl. She was a great dog.

We almost pulled the trigger on 2 different rescues but just are not ready yet for another dog.

Sorry Dave.

[Jims5543]

Its a good day to BBQ. (And drink beer and curse at the mini)

[Jims5543]

Getting close...



Keeping me company:


Got me a new coozie from my favorite bar in Key West.


May not have gone there this year but was delighted to see I could get it online.

[Jims5543]

My favorite growler. Purchased from a German brewery in the Appalachians. It is made in Germany as well.

[Jims5543]

File this one under another first in my life, these people are building a lazy river in their backyard.








I happened to run into the wife, I told her I had never seen anything like that before (especially in Port St. Lucie which is insanely average and not exactly a hotbed of wealth) she laughed and said the permitting department at the city said the same thing.  I told her the kids kids must be excited, she laughed again and said there are no kids this is going to be a grownups playground.

I want to be their friends.

[Jims5543]

Mrs.5543 surprised me with a quiet weekend in St. Pete for our 27th.



Staying in a little boutique hotel downtown no need for car everything is walking distance.

The elevatorwas a wild ride. Decided to use stairs.



Thought this was cool.

[MPlayle]

Back when I was in college, I worked a night security position at a newspaper.  It was at the old "San Antonio Light" newspaper offices in downtown San Antonio.  It had an old manual elevator and one of the early morning duties of the security was to be the elevator operator.  Even the doors were manual - the open iron-work style that let you watch the floors go by.

[Jims5543]

Back when I was in college, I worked a night security position at a newspaper.  It was at the old "San Antonio Light" newspaper offices in downtown San Antonio.  It had an old manual elevator and one of the early morning duties of the security was to be the elevator operator.  Even the doors were manual - the open iron-work style that let you watch the floors go by.

I vaguely remember riding one of those when I was a kid it was in New York City.  I remember the iron gate and the walls going by most.

[MiniDave]

Club run to Lawrence today with some KC MINI Club members......the young lady's 5 y/o son is in my driver's seat.

[Jims5543]

Looks like a fund day Dave.  Hows the car running?   Is that the Honda powered Pickup I saw with you at another meet?


And sorry if I piss anyone off, those Mini's look like trucks next to your cars.  They are uuuuuuuge.....

[MiniDave]

The car is running really well, I haven't really done any tuning on it save adding some oil to the dashpot and adjusting the idle a bit.

With the aluminum radiator it runs right where I want it to even on hot days and at highway speeds, so I'm happy with that.

I'm ready to start changing out the suspension bits and I'm anxious to see if the coilovers ride better than the old cones. I have a ton of things I want to do....nothing major.....just little things like swapping the final drive and adding gauges to the dash and stuff.

That is indeed the Vtec P'up, he's done well over 25K now and it just runs great, once we got some of the "hillbilly engineering" (his term for MiniTec) fixed it's really been dependable. His next move is to change the final drive in it too...we'll do that this winter.

[Jims5543]

A neighbor of my BIL was moving and gave this old drafting table to him, he has no place to put it, so he gave it to me.

I made some room today in my office for it.

I am not sure how old it is, I found a paper in it with a 1940's date on it.

[Willie_B]

Looks heavy and well built. Treasure from the past.

[MiniGene]

Dude! That drafting table is a score!  I'm jelly!

[MiniDave]

Great turnout at our club's big event, a lot of money raised for the Harvester's and the KC Pet Project......

[Jims5543]

1. The guy in the purple shirt has sexy legs.

2. Parking along that building is a huge score and perfect photo op. Love the pics.

3. Kudos to the club for the fundraising.

[94touring]

1. The guy in the purple shirt has sexy legs.

I laughed out loud and my first officer asked what was so funny.

[BruceK]

Looks like it was a blast!   

Love the DC-3 static display.  Very cool.   Occasionally my wife puts up with me running out of the house and staring up at the sky.   She's gotten used to it.  The Commemorative Air Force is based nearby and sometimes they fly WWII bombers such as a B-17 or a C-47 over my house.   I hear the very distinct roar of the old multi-engine aircraft and run out to get a glimpse of them.   

[MiniDave]

We limited the event to 50 Mini/MINIs, but I think there was room for about15-20 more. Still that was a record participant turnout for this event, and I haven't heard the totals but I know some major coin was raised thru the raffle - the dealer provided some terrific stuff, a MINI bicycle ($600?), one of the little electric MINI cars, some sunglasses, watches - really expensive stuff.

I won a hat, and a British Flag sweater for my dog that was hand knit by local artist.

They had a band that was really enjoyable playing music all day, and the food trucks served some terrific ethnic food as well as the usual pizzas and such. Of course the Roasterie had tours of their operation and their coffee bar was open all day along with restrooms and such. The coffee bar has wifi and a hundred places you can plug your stuff in to charge it up while havin a cuppa.....great event.

We had 8 classics show up, and two couldn't make it - I didn't even know there were 10 classics in town!

[94touring]

View from my hotel on a Newark overnight.  Prison life. 

[MiniDave]

A quick vid of the MINI event this weekend......

[MiniDave]

The amount raised this year was $2565, a 50% increase over last year and a substantial amount for only 50 cars attending, distributed approx. $1000 to Harvesters and $1500 to the no-kill pet rescue operation.