The VonPetrol Pages

and he said, "Why yes, I am Osama bin Laden"

2012-01-23T07:12:00.000-08:00

The other day I was booking airfare and noticed a box next to where I'd type my name. I believe it was called a redress number or something unassuming yet entirely vague. I would have normally found you a link on Homeland Security's website so you could read about the program in detail, but I hate even going to their website to look for one...kind of creeps me out, like they are looking at me sitting here typing.

I thought, "What's that? I don't have one, at least I don't know if I do." So feeling a bit left out and equally curious, I clicked on the little explanation icon next to the box. As it turns out, this is a number is given to passengers who were on some sort of no-fly list or had names the same as folks who were and such - making flying a hassle.

Then it came to me, I thought, "How elated all those OTHER people in the world with the misfortune to be named Osama bin Laden must be now that he is dead." I mean, can you imagine trying to get of a freakin' airplane with that name? Hell, you probably couldn't rent a car, a hotel room, get a credit card...the damned Red Box likely wouldn't even rent you a DVD!

If I was one of those people, I'd have been rooting for Team USA all along to smoke that bastard. I'd be like, "Listen dude, I can't fly, I can't rent movies, they won't even let me have an email account in my name...so, you gotta die!"

No worries now all you other bin Ladens, the one we were after is hopefully wrapped inside a swine carcass and feeding all sorts of little critters at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

bum dogs

2012-01-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

Consider the saying, "it's a dog's life." It doesn't take long to understand what that means - a life of relative ease and luxury. I mean, most dogs, at least those in the civilized world, enjoy the privileges of being fed, petted, walked, played with and getting to lay around and sleep whenever you want, sometimes in their owner's bed even.

Yesterday, I saw a bum pushing his worldly belongings down the sidewalk of a relatively busy thoroughfare and tied to the shopping cart was a wiry looking dog. It struck me that his "dog life" was not the one for us to consider in the aforementioned saying.

If you've ever smelled a dirty, wet dog then you know that canines can stink...but that odor is nothing compared to the wreak of a nasty old bum - and if you've never had the misfortune to sniff one of those ogres you'll just have to take my word for it. Bum stank can be worse than a rotting corpse.

No imagine being tied to one of those stinky bastards all day long, every day for the rest of your miserable life. I almost forgot to mention that a dog's sense of smell is about 100 times better than ours. That ought to be considered some form of cruelty. Now consider that you'd likely have the nagging pangs of hunger while having your olfactory senses assaulted. Hell, the dirty fuck that pulls you around with a shopping cart full of junk can't even feed himself, let alone you.

I think it's time Sarah Mclachlan and her pals at the S.P.C.A. step in and offer up a commercial or two to bring some light to bare on this matter.

So the next time you see a bum dog or hear the saying "It's a dog's life", remember that not all dogs enjoy said dog's life.

the FIRST DAY of the rest of my life

2012-01-17T07:25:00.001-08:00

It began not wish a resounding roar of trumpeting angels, but rather with the annoying electronic chirp of an alarm clock and a not too subtle smashing of the snooze button. 31 minutes later I was limping across the cold travertine floor, thanks to my aching Achilles tendon and creaky right knee, to find myself cranking on the hot water for my morning shower.

Today is not my birthday, nor is it an outwardly important milestone by anyone's estimation. It is however the day that I take control. Control of what is a far more important question. The answer is, "control of me."

I've learned over time that the greatest obstacle in my life is myself. Discipline is necessary.

The greater question is how to apply that discipline in such a manner to achieve greater understanding and awareness. I will utilize disciplinary principles to gain "focus".

My keyword for the year, any maybe beyond, is FOCUS.

What do I want? What is at the core of my dreams and desires? Is it to possess a thing or achieve a goal, to reach a level of education and understanding of a particular matter? This is where the discipline of focus comes into play. I believe that through a focused examination of the inner desires that possess and drive me that I can better see the true goal and thus achieve it. And it is through the achievement of these focused objectives that I believe that the truisms of life will reveal themselves.

Now don't go and expect me to shed all my earthly belongings and head for the mountains of Tibet...at least not yet.

My first goal is physical conditioning. I must be the fittest that I can be. Taking care of the vessel will provide me far greater opportunities and de-limit myself. Furthermore, in theory at least, it should provide me a greater window of time to learn and grow.

And so...I get to running.

the McRib and a tale of two Buicks

2011-11-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I happened across more than a few things that caught my attention enough so that I took the time to snap a picture.

but before I get to them, I cannot must make mention that the McRib is back! Get it while you can. Now, onto the fun...

The first is what I call, "the tale of two Buicks". I took the first shot because I thought it so ridiculous...just look at what those people can do to a perfectly good car. This poor Buick (yup, I looked under the cover) can't even hide in shame because it is all "donked out". Seriously? It's a bit like watching a poor swayback horse being paraded around in bedazzeled saddlery. Then, about 20 minutes later, I happened to be driving past a house that had not one, but two of these wonderful machines hidden (or partially hidden in the case of this one) under a car cover in the driveway. The second pic is the awe-inspiring (at least to a fan of late 80's muscle) 1986 or 87 Buick Grand National. These cars have been parked and covered for at least a decade...I've never seen them moved. I'd sure like to have one in my stable. Want ot know more, check out the Grand National Registry.

On to the next item du jour. This fella in south Sacramento must've gotten tired of people dumping trash and debris in front of his property, so he made a sign to let people know! Or, was he really troubled by the state of our public education? Youz can be da juge...

Just down the street from this guy was a bunch of newer homes. Nothing big, right? Three-story home? Other than the occassional mansion on a hill, you just don't see three stories - I am not sure what to think other than that is a lot of stairs I could fall down and I'm not hanging those Christmas lights or cleaning those gutters. Well, this is south Sac, the lights will get hung once and the gutters never cleaned, no biggie I suppose.

Finally, you know that you're travelling through the ghetto when there is a lemon yellow motorhome parked on the overpass, advertising the for the KING OF CURLS and they do "BRAIDING, WEAVING, LOCKS, CURLS, RELAXERS"...well of course they do - duh. It is difficult to see, but they also specialize in "BI-CULTURAL HAIR"...huh? Oh, they must mean if you're half Irish and half Swiss, right? This Freeport Boulevard landmark has been around for ages so their customers must think they're good at what they do, but you've got to check out their website for some good humor. Go to the photo albums and just scroll on through.

Here are a couple of my favs...as you can see, not only can they fuck up black folks hair, but white folks as well! What in the hell were you thinkin' white people?

SPOOKy pumpkin

2011-10-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the spook that haunts my porch...I call it a "Leroy-O-Lantern".

Scarey, huh...

Baseball award predictions

2011-10-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Every season, I toss out my predictions for the big baseball awards. I usually give the pros and cons for each of the contenders in both leagues and even a few longshots and why they might be worthy. Then back it all up with a slathering of statistics.

Well, due to my seven-day-a-week work schedule as of late, I'm going to cut to the chase...here they are.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

AL

Curtis Granderson, CF
New York Yankees

Simply the biggest impact player in the American League this season. The "Grandy-man" can...and did, to the tune of a 41 homeruns (2nd in AL to Bautista's 43), 119 runs batted in (1st in AL), a respectable .262 batting average and a very strong .552 slugging percentage. Some might argue for Detroit's Miguel Cabrera (.344 avg, 30 HR, 105 RBI, 111 runs, .586 slg) or Boston's Adrian Gonzalez (.338 avg, 27 HR, 117 RBI, 108 runs, .548 slg, 213 hits) or possibly even the two-time reigning home run king, Toronto's Juan Bautista (.302 avg, 43 HR, 103 RBI, 105 runs, .608 slg). And honestly, each of them have a legitimate case, I just happen to believe that Granderson was more impactful...except for maybe his own teammate, Robinson Cano (.302 avg, 28 HR, 118 RBI, 104 runs, .533 slg) who also played a Gold Glove second base.

NL

Matt Kemp, CF
Los Angeles Dodgers

MVP, sure. Hell, he almost had the elusive Triple Crown, placing third in the batting title. But along with that .324 average, Kemp smashed 39 homeruns (1st in NL) and knocked in 126 runs (1st in NL). Kemp also added 115 runs scored, a .588 slugging percentage and oh, by the way, swiped 40 bases along the way. Although the trolley Dodgers were out of the race by mid-season, Kemp's offense kept them going. Other legitimate contenders include Milwaukee's Ryan Braun (.332 avg, 33 HR, 111 RBI, 109 runs, .597 slg), his teammate, the portly Prince Fielder (.299 avg, 38 HR, 120 RBI) and all-world forever MVP contender St.Louis' Albert Pujols (.299 avg, 37 HR, 99 RBI).

CY YOUNG

AL

Justin Verlander, RHP
Detroit Tigers

Verlander simply ran away with the award this season...New York's C.C. Sabathia had a nice run (19-8, 3.00 ERA, 1.23WHIP, 237.1 IP, 230 K) and Los Angeles of Anaheim's Jered Weaver was an early season front runner (18-8, 2.41 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 235.2 IP, 198 K), but let's be super serious, neither was a contender when all was said and done. Verlander was simply awesome in 2011, posting a 24-5 record, 2.40 ERA, and 250 strike outs to win the pitching triple crown. Add to that a ridiculous 0.92 WHIP and 251 innings pitched and Justin is the only choice.

NL

Clayton Kershaw, LHP
Los Angeles Dodgers

Other than Kemp, the only bright spot in manager Don Mattingly's innagural season with the Boys of Summer. Kershaw led the NL in wins, going 21-5 and ERA, 2.28. Add a 0.98 WHIP over 233.1 innings pitched and 248 strike outs (look, over a strike out per inning...) and the young south paw is your man. Arizona's Ian Kennedy pitched out of his mind (21-4, 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 222.0 IP, 198 k) and perennial contender Philadelphia's Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 ERA, 232.2 IP, 220 k) was equally impressive but it's Kershaw's year.

ROOKIE of the YEAR (ROY)

AL

Ivan Nova, RHP
New York Yankees

I know, I'm a bit of a homer for the pinstripers, but Nova was the man, especially down the stretch. Nova had a superbe 16-4 record, 3.70 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 165.1 IP and 98 strikeouts in his rookie campaign. The only other contenders were Kansas City's Eric Hosmer (.293 avg, 19 HR, 78 RBI) and the Los Angeles of Anahiem's Mark Trumbo (.254 avg, 29 HR, 87 RBI).

NL

Freddie Freeman, 1B
Atlanta Braves

After falling apart and not making the playoffs, at least the Braves have something to cheer, their rookie firstbaseman Freeman. He smacked 161 hits for a .282 batting average, smashed 21 balls over the fence and drove in 76 RBI. The senior curcuit didn't have a lot of super exciting rookie talent over the length of the season

10K

2011-10-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

This year, I've undertaken a monumental task, well, maybe not to some, but to me it has been a game changer. As I've grown older, my physical well-being has taken a hit. Age and injuries combined with a sometimes poor attitude and lack of belief in myself lead to sloth.

This past January, I made a concerted effort to change things up, to finally prove to myself that I can be disciplined and in the process become healthier. To that end the solution is simple, reduce intake, increase output. I knew that, so do most all of you. What I needed was the resolve to see it through. A significant growth in my faith cannot be discounted. I'll not bore everyone with a sermon because that is not my nature...find what works for you and hang onto that.

Over the last ten months, I've done exactly that...gained the resolve. Have I backslid on occasion, absolutely. Could I be have worked even harder, done more, and been further along as a result, sure.

I'm not going to preach "diet". Eat what you want, but be smart and learn to moderate the things that you know can be detrimental to your ultimate goals. Do I drink alcohol, yup, eat hamburgers and pizza, damn right. But I make certain to do so in moderation.

The other half of the equation is exercise. My routine has primarily consisted of running. Well, at first it was walking, then "jalking" as I called it - a combination of occasionally jogging interspersed with a walk. Eventually I could jog the entire time. Over a period of months, I increased both distance and intensity. Throw in some swimming, exercycle, stair climbers and I find myself here and now.

I've run a couple of 5K races (3.1 miles) and today did my first 10 K race (6.2 miles). I set up my iPod with a playlist that would take about 52 minutes to complete...my goal was about 52:42, an 8-1/2 minute / mile pace. I figured that when I heard the first song roll over, I had better be sprinting my ass off toward the finish line.

The first mile went great until I attempted to turn up the volume on my iPod and accidentally turned it "OFF". I snatched it from my waistband, fiddled with the touchscreen and reset it to the appropriate song. Only now, the timing was off. Then, about a half mile later my damn left shoe came untied. As I stopped to re-tie, I saw half a dozen people pass me.

Shoe tied, iPod squared away, I soldiered on...back and forth with a couple of guys, but in the end put up a killer sprint for the final 200 yards to finish with a time, far better than I'd ever hoped! 8:02 minute / mile pace. I was able to finish in about the top 20-percentile. Way to go old man...way to go.

Now, I need to prepare for an upcoming half marathon...uhhgh and fuck yeah all at once!

Happy Birthday to my Love

2011-09-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

I made this for my baby's birthday...I'll love you forever.

Below are a couple of stages along the way. First is a rough pencil sketch on the sheet of 1/8" oak plywood. Overall size is 12" W x 16" L. Next, I began filling in with ZIG paint pens. Finally, the end product, more or less. Then I shot some clearcoat on for protection. I'll be making a frame and pinstriping it in the next few days.

Mo fo sho

2011-09-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

If you've read through my blog, you are well aware that I'm a big-time homer for the NY Yankees. In my universe, pinstripes rule! Among the greats of baseball history and in particular Yankee history, Mariano Rivera will certainly go down as one of the ten greatest players ever to grace the Bronx.To look at his card, the 6-2, 185# seems fairly substantial, but seeing him in person, you might think those numbers to be on the generous side. But his slight stature is not the point here, the point is that Mariano "Mo" Rivera has gone head to head with the greatest batters in baseball for the past seventeen seasons and has bested them all to claim the MLB record for most saves in a career (602 and counting), passing Trevor Hoffman just days ago.Oh, and he did it on the most promient stage, for the marque team during pennant drives, playoffs and World Series Championships, racking up saves at a dizzying pace. What is more amazing is that he has done all this primarily with a single pitch, the cut fastball, also known as the "cutter". He throws is with deadly accuracy both front door and back, to righties and lefties alike and in the process has broken more lumber than Paul Bunyon as powerfull batters shatter their bats trying to do something with a 90+ MPH ball running in on their hands.How about his other stats...how about a career 2.22 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, 1,108 strikeouts against only 274 walks. He has allowed a mere 3.8 homeruns on average per season. In the postseason, Mo has recorded 42 saves with a mind blowing 0.71 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP....and the bestest part, he's nowhere near done. At age 41, Rivera is having a freakin' great year with 44 saves (3rd best in MLB behind Valverde - 46 and Kimbrel - 45) and a 1.95 ERA. Mo shows no signs of slowing and good thing, the Yanks need him to be shutdown. I'm hoping for a couple mo' years and maybe 700 saves by the time all is said and done.CONGRATS MARIANO!

Just a miscellaneous rant

2011-09-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I took my eldest son over to have breakfast with my pops. I won't go into the sordid past, but my dad and I have an estranged relationship and have had few words and fewer contacts in the past twenty years. Fact is, he's getting older and having health problems and he contacted me to square away some legal matters if you get my drift. Walking into his place, I was immediately transported back in time by the sights and sounds. Things I hadn't even thought about since I was a kid seemed to materialize right before my eyes...it was surreal.

I'll spare you the details and recollections, but my dad thought it'd be a good idea to go grab some breakfast, and what the hell, he was paying and oatmeal sounded good. As we headed to eat, my dad asked my son, "So, are you leaving a girlfriend behind?" (My son was headed off to Army boot camp in two days and the time away from said girlfriend is a serious issue right now) The kid answers, "Yeah..." and before he can utter another word, grandpa tells him, "ah, it's okay, you'll find lots of new girls where you're goin". I shake my head and say to myself, "Really dad, you had to go there." But it was true.

Soon, my oatmeal had come and gone as were several cups of bad coffee, good memories shared and stories retold and time was passed and even though there was apalpable tension, at least with me, I decided not to interrupt the reminiscing by interjecting the "shitty" reality that coincided with or nearly adjacent to many of the "good times" my dad was speaking of. I collected the documents and the kid and I headed home. When I got home, I opened the envelope and read the note attached to the folded papers, it started out, "If and when I die..." I laughed and thought, "if...no pops, it is when" as if he were some sort of creature of the night that stays immortal unless slain with a mystical weapon.

My dad doesn't have much and in reality, since I've been a teen, I've never asked him for a thing and have never expected anything. He, however, I believe has a feeling of responsibility and in his own way is trying to square things away, a task that can never be fully be achieved...but I'll let him try if it can someway benefit his grandkids. I feel that he wants to give far more than I want to receive...it's complicated.

Driving home in the old F250 camper special, I watched as traffic on Highway 50 zoomed past me at warp speed. I sat comfortably in the right lane and watched the insanity whiz by. I took notice of the Jersey barriers aligned along the median where there seems to be a never ending construction project. There was a set of double locked-wheel skid marks that extended from the #3 lane (third from the center if you didn't know) all the way across to the #1 lane (fast lane), up onto the concrete Jersey barrier at about a 45 degree angle and then up to the top and gone! Seriously, what the fuck? I would have paid money to see what transpired there. Did someone launch themselves into orbit, into oncoming lanes, roll over? Take a look at those barriers next time and observe the skid and skuff marks on them, they make you shake your head.

Just as I was letting out a sigh, my eyes caught sight of the new pedestrian overpasses just constructed over the highway. Before I start into a rant, let me tell you where they are. The first is near the La Riviera area of Sacramento, just east of Watt Avenue and the other connects the Whiterock and South Whiterock areas of Rancho Cordova, midway between Matherfield Rd. and Zinfandel Drive.

Although my rant will concern the Whiterock overpass, much of it also applies to the La Riv overpass too. Having grown up in Rancho Cordova, I can tell you with certainty that Whiterock is a shithole! It was a shithole 30-40 years ago and is even more so today. South Whiterock is situated between the highway and Mather A.F.B. It is even more of a shithole (hardly seems possible) than Whiterock proper. The need to connect these two places is dubious at best. Someone once said, well, what if little kids need to go to school on the other side and can't do the trip down to one of the busy roads over the freeway and then back - decent argument except there is an elementary school directly below each side of the overpass. If you drive this route with any regularity, you'll note that these overpasses are utilized about as frequently as Perez Hilton bangs a chick. Oh, did I forget to mention that there are EXISTING pedestrian overpasses at both of these locations.

So, in their infinite wisdom and with cash aplenty, the powers that be decided to tear down the existing overpasses and build brand new ones at the exact same spot. No, the old ones were not defective, hell, they'd hardly ever been used, I'd bet less than a 1,000 people ever crossed them in 40 years. The issue, the ramps were not compliant with new ADA rules regarding the maximum slope of a ramp, the need for periodic flat spots so folks in wheelie chairs can rest after rolling up like 10 yards and so on - seriously! So at the cost of millions of dollars, new fancy ramps were constructed...good news to all the wheelchair bound gangmembers who are compelled, nay forced to peddle drugs and violence as the racist forces that wage war against them leave them no options. Now they can take a break, "whewww, dat wuz hard rollin' up dat ramp" in case they get tired going from shithole neighborhood A to B.

I will give someone a hundred bucks for an honest picture of anyone in a wheelchair ever utilizing this pink elephant...ever! And to think, at the same time this waste of tax dollars is being constructed, local governments are closing down firestations and laying off cops...you folks can pat yourselves on the back for a job welldone - fucknuts!

Now that my blood pressure is up, I'll do a bit of decompressing...two wheeled style.

I'm in the process of clearing out some clutter (ahem, I mean motorcycles and parts) from my garage. I need to do so in order to focus! I am getting the CB500-4 and the XLCH ready to sell and some associated parts and bits of z50a bikes as well. I hate parting with stuff I've worked so diligently to collect into one place, but I have to keep my eye on the prize. My buddy Pete and I are going to rebuild this Triumph 650 Bonneville engine to run on the salt next year and I'll need cash and space for this project. I've been collecting parts for this endeavor over the year but didn't get enough done to make a serious run at it. Now is the time...watch here for some cool stuff in the coming months.

Back from Bonneville...

2011-09-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the fastest place on earth

As the title would suggest, I've returned from the fastest place on earth, the Bonneville Salt Flats. I had a great time and the car went fast but encountered some mechanical difficulties and prevented Team Cannarozzi from making a hard run at the record...great thing is, everyone is still way pumped and probably more determined than ever to get past these hurdles and keep going faster. If you're interested in more on the #312 Ford Roadster and racing on the salt, you can check out our team blog "Cannarozzi / Tardel Roadster" ...lots of information, cool pics and vids to watch...oh, and buy a t-shirt while you're at it.

Here are some shots of the fun at Bonneville. You can see about 500 more hi-res shots over on my Flickr site.

At Bonneville, even an old Ford tractor is fast

Ass end of a sweet 1939 Ford truck

Bonneville brings out the innovator in all of us, check out the pop-up tent rig on this Jeep CJ

Menacing, is the best way to describe the chop in this 1933/34 Ford 5-window coupe

Very clean Triumph 650 Bonneville wearing a Harley 45 springer

Something you don't see very often, a stock Willys

Chopped Ford Model A highboy

Nice parking job, almost looks like this GMC is towing this trio of vintage rods

Ford GT40

"Bonneville Baglady", I think a bit of streamlining is in order

Overview of the Cannarozzi / Tardel #312 Ford Roadster

The Mariani boys were at it again, a class operation set a class record over 300 mph in this streamliner

Pure function, super vintage style

Keith Tardel (L) looks on as Pete Cannarozzi (L-center) and Nic Cannarozzi (R) prep for their mom, Chris (center) to race the family '32 Ford Roadster

I love old pickups, this lowered Chevrolet C-10 is just great

old streamliners just have that "look"

Pete Cannarozzi (L), Jered Hampton (center) and Nic Cannarozzi (R) rambleover to the tech area to check on their car

Simply love this 1954 Chevrolet 6400...this is one heavy duty rig

Tyler Malinky (L) checks his Triumph 750cc pre-unit in the impound area after setting a class record

beautiful gold 1932 Ford Roadster

Cab overs are cool, this Ford COE is a perfect example

Gotta love this minature Austin sedan

1939 Ford Standard

Ford flatheads are cool, check out the Edelbrock waterpump adapter

Pete Cannarozzi (L) appreciating the Lowbrow Customs record setting Triumph

view from the finish line

supercharged Packard straight 8

Bonneville is just an awesome backdrop for racing

Tyler Malinky getting ready to run his Triumph again, this time without the fairing

sweet old belly tank lakester in the Monster energy drink hospitality area

station wagons are hot, I can't believe I just said that; however, this Rambler is cool

even bikes on the salt are faster, this one sports a 49cc two stroke engine

there is more than one horse in the Lowbrow Customs stable

Rolling Bones Y-block powered coupe ran 175 mph

Shinya Kimura of Chabbot Engineering and his knucklehead at course #3

Yeah, aren't we all

something just looks right about a '56 Corvette on the salt

Old Age & Trechery Triumph

small block powered Opel GT

classic scalloped paint on this 3-wiindow deuce coupe

I love hammered Fords and drilled dropped axels

another Rolling Bones entry

the aesthetic of vintage rods on the salt cannot be overstated, they just look right

a fleet of Mexican space shuttles

Rolling Bones XF/GR roadster lined up next to the Cannarozzi / Tardel roadster...this would've been a great drrag race

a photographer from the French "Les triplettes deBonneville" team snapping shots of one their entries

detail of the "Retarded Sparks" roadster

I was not the only one taking pics; there are as many cameras on the salt as there are cars

I need say nothing more...

monument to the "Enola Gay", the American B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb. It was hangered in Wendover, UT

a football sized giant salt crystal found out on the salt lake by the proprietor of a local car wash

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yours truly taking time with this killer knucklehead. check out the top end modifications

20x the speed of sound, FUCK china and ohh, I'm headed to Bonneville

2011-08-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a while and thanks to Sammy (you know who you are) for abit of badgering to get me back to the keyboard. Sometimes the inspiration is just not there or I am simply to lazy to sit down and bang out a piece of literary, social and political genius that is my typical entry. So, without further ado...

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is at it again...to think of it, when are they not at it. These guys pump out some of the most awesomest stuff ever created by mankind. Most of the technolocy they are responsible for is not only cutting edge cool, but also is designed to kill off enemies of America, making it even more awesomer!

Currently, DARPA is working on the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2). This unmanned aircraft is launched from a capsul in low orbit and can travel at 20 times the speed of sound (that's 13,000 miles per hour...no need for you to do the math). To give you some perspective, it travels 3.6 miles per second - a car on the freeway travels about 95 feet per second. The Falcon could make the transcontinental trip from Los Angeles to New York in about 12 minutes...not even enough time for the stewardess to bring you a bag of nuts.

So what is the purpose of the Falcon? Other than pushing the technology envelope, which I am a HUGE fan of in and of itself, the Falcon is a bomber. It is designed to put a lethal payload on target anywhere in the world in less than an hour. Think about that...anywhere less than an hour! Damn we are cool.

How about something less than cool...the economy. Mr. Obama and the rest of his cohorts are hard at work destroying the American economy. I know what you're thinking, it started before the muslim even took office...and you're right. The democrats have been punishing us with fiscally shortsighted policies since Clinton...like that big mo Barney Frank requiring Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac to loan money to totally unqualified people so that everyone in the hood can buy a home, never mind that they can't pay for it. In short this caused the prices of real estate to soar, speculators jumped into the market as is human nature and the inflated prices kept going, then people started borrowing money against that artifical equity to buy bling bling and when the payments started going unpaid, because who can afford a $500K 3 bedroom 2 bath abode, then the who damn thing fell like the proverbial house of cards. The real estate and building industries instantly tanked, the financial institutions that financed these endeavors folded and or tightened credit, people couldn't borrow, the banks started to fail, panic set in, nobody bought anything and the economy ground to a halt and then began retreating...

I know...boring, but true. But other nations like china continued to buy U.S. Treasury bonds and allowed the U.S. to try to dig itself out of this quagmire through government intervention (not a great idea most of the time) in the form of additional intrusive fiscal laws and policies, institutional bail outs without adequate reform, ill-placed injections of cash (that's where the bond sell off and chinese come in) and other horrible reforms.

Now, the chinese think that they can influence our polcies because they hold the notes...I say, "FUCK china"! And to hell with the rest of the world for that matter. Why do we spend a red cent on anyone but Americans? "We have a responsibility to help those in need" come the cries..."Well", I say, "What about OUR needs? What about hungry people here, what about our infrastructure, our lands, our resources?"

Take care of our own first, resolve our needs and issues and then and only then do we look beyond our borders. And by borders, I mean the hundred foot tall walls, land mines, razor wire and electrified fences we should contruct around this place. Nobody but nobody should get in here unless invited!

And if china gets a little too lippy, tell 'em to come get the money themselves. What in the hell are they gonna do - load a billion little chinamen on junks and sail them over here to collect? Remember, we've got the bomb...oh, and a little falcon to drop it on them in 60 minutes or less.

I'm getting a stomach ache...

On a happier note, it is that time of year again and I'm headed to Bonneville to help crew the Cannarozzi / Tardel roadster as we take on the vintage gas roadster land speed record. You can follow all the fun on the CANNAROZZI ROADSTER blog...oh, and buy a t-shirt while you're at it.

DJ3K...Jeter goes 5 for 5 and smashes #3,000

2011-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Derek Jeter became not only the 28th player in the history of the game to record 3,000 hits in his career but the first New York Yankee to do so after leading off with a single in his first at bat against Tampa Bay's fireballer David Price to give him 2,999 and then taking Price deep with a 420' bomb to left for the historic 3,000th in the third inning. However, he wasn't finished there, going 5 for 5 on the day as he doubled in the fifth, singled in the sixth and drove in the winning run with an RBI single to center in the eigth.

The Captain has certainly struggled this year (.270 ba, 77 hits, 3 hr) and last(.270 ba, 179 hits, 10 hr), seemingly losing just enough to drop him from the ranks of the elite hitters in baseball, but in true Yankee style, Jeets continues to play with class and pride.

Congratulations Derek Jeter, you have solidified yourself as one of the greatest Yankees of all-time, joining the ranks of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.

At the conclusion of today's 5-4 win over the Rays, Jeter sits in 27th place on the all-time hits list after passing Pirate great and guardian of the 3,000 hit club, Roberto Clemente. I'd love to see him take the positive energy from his accomplishement and keep on truckin' up that list. With the pressure of milestone over, I am hopeful that he will do just that. Give Jeter another 75 hits this year and that'll put him at 3,078 at season's end and move him up to #19 all-time, passing Al Kaline (3,007), Wade Boggs (3,010), Rafael Palmeiro(3,020), Lou Brock (3,023), Rod Carew (3,053), Rickey Henerson (3,055) and Craig Biggio (3,060). He'll have his childhood hero Dave Winfield (3,110) directly in his sights to begin the 2012 season...cool.

Go Jeets Go!

...and whose next in line for 3,000? Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez with 2,842? Omar Vizquel with 2,831? I don't thinks so...my money is on Jeter's teammate Alex Rodriguez who has 2,762 hits...check back toward the end of the next season to see if I'm correct.

the end of era...

2011-07-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

This morning, NASA's Atlantis space shuttle is scheduled to make the final launch of the 30 year shuttle program. I remember fondly the move from the Apollo program to the shuttle program and the promise of an actual "space ship" - something that could lift off, enter space, fly around and land back on earth.

From the Enterprise's maiden voyage in 1977, to the Atlantis' final flight in 2011, 34 years and 135 missions have provided invaluable information and technology. The tragic ends to both the Columbia (disintegrated upon re-entry in 2003) and the Challenger (exploded shortly after launch in 1986) made us weep as a nation. The retired shuttles Enterprise, Discovery, Endeavor and the soon to be retired Atlantis are certainly on my list of things to see.

Now, instead of the next generation coming online to take over for the aging shuttles, we are kinda going backwards...thanks to NASA's far too small budget and a lack of direction...hell, fuckin' Obama thinks that NASA's primary goal should be to make dirty camel fuckin' muslims feel good about their contributions to space flight rather than landing men of Mars - we should be there already! Fuck, the only cool foreigner I can think of in outer space is Khan Noonien Singh.

Well, not to delve too deep into political failures, we should celebrate the shuttle and all of the astronauts who've been a part of it...God speed!

sweet Triumph TR5 on eBay

2011-07-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you find really neat stuff on eBay...in this instance, a 1948 Triumph TR5 500cc Trials bike built by none other than AMA Hall of Famer Dick Mann. Enjoy the pics. Oh, and the price...buy it now for a mere $45,000. I don't think it'll even come close to that, not in this market...killer scoot anyhow.

In an unrelated auction, there is this bitchin' rare Yamaha Works 4LS racing wheel. It is described as having a magnesium hub, WM1 alloy rim and a monsterously large 4 leading shoe drum brake. It was built and used in the mid-to-late Sixties on Yamaha Yamaha GP 350cc bikes. the asking price, a mere $9,600...oh, or you can make an offer.

happy birthday America!

2011-07-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

'nuff said

DJ3K

2011-06-07T13:20:00.001-07:00

Yup, "DJ3K", that is short for "Derek Jeter 3,000"...a milestone that is fast upon us fans of baseball. ESPN even has a dedicated web page to the hunt - check it out here. As of this writing, Jeter has accumulated 2,986 hits, a mere 14 from the magic number as the Yankees take on the rival Red Sox to begin a ten game home stand. I'm rooting hard for Jeets to get it done at "the Stadium".

Last year, Jeter began a marked decline in his production, hitting only .270 with 10 homeruns, too often getting jammed inside and grounding out to short or second. This year has been more of the same as he is only hitting .260 with 2 homeruns. I hate to accept this as fact, but I believe Jeter has lost a fraction of his bat speed thus allowing pitchers to work him hard inside without fear that he'll pull the pitch, something that he used to be able to do. See, Jeter is unorthodox in that he has a swing that dives across the plate and drive balls to the opposite field, but was quick enough with the bat to keep pitchers honest if they threw the ball inside to him. And in a game where reaction time measured in fractions of seconds makes the difference between a Hall of Famer and a guy who gets drummed out of the league, I hate to say that DJ is beginning to lose that fraction. Time does it to all of us.

My hopes for Jeter to challenge the all-time hits record have all but faded away. I do think that he's got enough in him to make a serious run at 3,500 hits or so though...go JEETS!

"Yes boys, he died of gay aids. Good job killing that pimp."

2011-06-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

Two sentences that I uttered tonight, never before and probably never again. But who knows? I was baking some chocolate chip cookies for mi familia and my twelve year old son and his friend were playing Grand Theft Auto. In between the running around, stealing cars and shooting people I heard the unmistakable and incomparable voice of Freddy Mercury coming from a nearby iPod.

"Ah, Queen.." I said, "I've always liked Queen."

Right as I said this, the boys, sitted on the living room floor, leaned in toward each other and muttered something. Our guest said, "should I ask him?" My wife, hearing this said, "Sure you can ask?"

The boy replies, "It's kind of strange...", looks at me and continues, "didn't he die of gay aids?"

It struck me odd that he'd added the "gay" to "aids" as if there were different kinds. I do, however, remember it being called "gay cancer" in the Eighties, so he isn't so far off I suppose.

"Gay aids?" I ponder looking my wife in the eyes. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Yes boys, he died of gay aids...but he sure could sing."

Later I heard some excited chatter coming from the living room, "Oh, a pimp...shoot the pimp, shoot the pimp!"

I walked in to grab a cookie just in time to see said pimp collapse to the pavement. "Good job killing that pimp." I praised their video game prowess or in their lexicon, "skillage".

Just another nite in the casa...

NEW 1978 Triumph Bonneville for sale

2011-05-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

Cruising the Triumphrat.net classifieds, I spotted this, a virtually new 1978 Triumph Bonneville with only 5.8 miles on it. The seller also has it listed on eBay as well...you can check it out here.

The starting bid is $7,500...I'm curious to see where the market is today.

You've got to love these time capsules and appreciate the discipline it took to keep this thing original and not ride it (although part of me thinks it a shame to not take a motorcycle out and give it a good run).

UPDATE
This killer Triumph didn't even get a single bid. I suppose that puts the market for this bike somewhere south of $7,500...

Something old is something new

2011-05-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

This morning I hollered at my 12 year old son to, "get in the truck, let's go!" and shortly we were en route to a motorcycle swap meet held at the old Sacramento 6 drive inn movie theatre on Bradshaw Road and Highway 50. I was searching for a couple of missing bits for this 650 Triumph Bonneville that I am piecing together in an effort to run on the salt at Speed Week this August.

I had visions of a nice set of high shouldered Borrani or Akront aluminum rims, some vintage rearsets, a quick change rear hub and disc brake and maybe a cool old spool hub to run up front. After arriving, dishing out my $6 to get in and looking west at the thundercloud blackened skies, I knew that another damn disappointment was on the horizon.

It wasn't long before my soothsaying abilities proved correct. Crap, crap and then a little more crap...not a single high shouldered rim to be found, no rearsets, no clipons, no cool aluminum tanks or vintage seats, no nothing bitchin'...just a bunch of bloated chrome and billet crap that fell off some 1980's Harleys. Looking for a left side forward control foot peg for your '82 FL...they had dozens. Oh, how about a 280 section tire and accompanying rear fender made from 1/4" steel that weighed about 50 pounds...they had them in both bare metal and chrome...yeah. How about a five speed tranny that won't quite go into 5th "because that spring thing is fuck'd up"? They had that too...

Here is how sad it was, the only thing I even picked up to ask the price of was a Kimtab snowflake mag, "Oh, sorry, that's sold..."

"Whatever, I'm outta here."

I snapped a couple pics of a neat old ironhead and a chrome-tanked panhead on the way out, jumped in my truck and headed home, or rather to the Autozone to get some new windshield wiper blades for my truck.

This brings me to the heading of this piece, "something old is something new". I've been on the prowl for a pre-73 truck, particularly a Ford F250 camper special or something equivalent. Everything I found was too far away, too expensive or required too much to get it into running condition.

Finally, I gave up my search until last Sunday, when I jumped on the Craigslist, typed in "camper special" and the first thing that popped up was a 1971 Ford in nearby Rescue, CA. A phone call was made, a shower had and I was on my way up the hill. A mere thirty minutes later and a thousand dollars lighter and I was the proud new owner of a 1971 Ford F250 Camper Special, sporting a 360 v-8, C6 transmission, original paint (faded and lightly rusted white), dual gas tanks and the cool Sport bed that has the built in tool box on the passenger side.

I used to have a similar 1968 truck many moons back and this one is every bit as good. It runs well, shifts hard and has a heavy duty suspension...papa likes even if the neighbors think it is an eyesore...they can go fuck themselves...old trucks are cool!

By the way, the pic at the top was taken about a minute after the other truck pics...the rain it came, fast and hard.

God is a bullet...

2011-05-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

...or if you're Osama Bin Laden, God is two bullets to the head. I can hear it now..."One double tap supreme with a dead wife on the side? Would you like fries or a Coke with that?"

I just want to see the pictures...hell, I want HD video in 3D! So I can "get right into the picture and feel like I'm there." And now our gub'ment won't give me the satisfaction that they can so easily deliver...I've got an idea that will both satisfy my blood lust and help the deficit, Pay Per View. That's right, for $49.95 you and your friends can gather around the flat screen and watch Bin Laden's head explode like a watermelon stuffed with an M-80! Seriously, it'd be bigger than the Superbowl...they could sell ads, metric tons of chips, dip, an ocean of beer! What an event it could be. It is about the only thing I can imagine that would help assuage the disgusting images in my head of those medieval shit bags beheading innocent Americans.

Oh, but the muslims would get pissed! Really, like those sun-baked bastards don't already hate us. I don't really give a rat's ass what they or any of the rest of the world think. From this day forward, I will celebrate May 1st as "Happy dead Bin Laden Day". But what will we eat, headcheese anyone?

And what about that "mansion" he was living in? Come on, a mansion in an exclusive Paki suburb looked more like a 3rd world ghetto. Don't they have real masons over there? Or does islam demand that all structures be constructed of cinder blocks and rubble to be topped with corrugated steel roofs...

We've been informed that the place didn't even have telephone or internet service...hell, I doubt it had running water or plumbing for that matter. But I'd bet dollars to donuts it had a plush goat raping room with lovely tapestries and embroidered pillows to lie about on while you wait your turn or just to reflect upon the tenants of islam after blowing your load all over a goats ass! Ahh, good times in the mid-east.

Well, no more suicide bombing masterminding, no more playing on the monkey bars at an extremist training camp, no more hummus and falafel, no more camel rides, no more stoning poor defenseless women to death, no more bestiality under a desert moon...no more nuthin' for you Bin Laden, unless offering your corpse up as a sea creature buffet was on your bucket list, and if it was...you can feel safe in checking that one off!

Big thanks to Seal Team Six and everyone else that helped to get that fucker dead! I just have one more thing to say..."who's next in line?"

Yo mutha' fucka, I be missin' blak histree munf!

2011-03-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

How did the munf of February pass by without me commenting at all on this site...so many important things happened, we learned how to walk like an Egyptian protester, learned that sailing around Somalia is not a good idea and most importantly, we were reminded that a black dude "invented" peanut butter.

It is in the vein of this last historical and cultural hot button that the core of this post rests. Really, it was crammed down my fucking throat everywhere from the Google home page to the display case in the Post Office, "Black History Month". Who really gives a rat's ass?

It is the same ol' same ol' every year...didn't they just have Martin Luther King Day Jr. not two weeks prior. Hell, we can't even celebrate Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays separately anymore, we get "President's Day." I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that one day school kids and state workers will sure as shit get "Barak Obama Day" off. Funny aside, Washington and Lincoln...you never come across a white guy with those last names anymore do you...just like Jefferson and Jackson. If them old white dudes had only known that their modern day namesakes would be every other guy locked up in the pen...hmmm.

In any regard, did George Washington Carver (there's that name again...) really "invent" peanut butter. Didn't every person who ever chewed on a peanut invent peanut butter right then and there in their mouth? Okay, whatever, if that is the giant contribution that an entire race of people want to hang their hat on, that is their prerogative I suppose.

Let's not forget the other celebrated trail blazers, Booker T. Washington (there ya go again) he taught and spoke that blacks should not angrily protest but rather work peaceably with whites for civil rights (NAACP denounced him), Martin Luther King, Jr. a civil rights protester and well known adulterer and self promoter, Louie Armstrong, excelled at playing the trumpet, right on, Jackie Robinson, first black baseball player in the Major Leagues, solid enough. I don't mean to remove the significance of these people and their work, but rather let's at least take a look at it in the proper historical perspective. It is not like they invented the rocket, the computer, gun powder, the telescope, the Mona Lisa or the automobile...they gotta guy who made a nice snack food, a trumpet player and a singles hitter. Please black folk, dig deeper than that...at least put Blue Washington on a stamp.

By the way, that's Blue Washington on the left in the photo above, from the film "Haunted Spooks", 1920. I'm a real fan of Blue...really.

Best rock instrumentals of all-time

2011-01-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

As a lover of classical music, one thing I occassionally miss when listening to "modern" rock is a great instrumental...which got me to thinking. What are the greatest, read "my favorite" rock instrumentals of all-time. Well, without further delay and in no particular order are the five greatest.

Frankenstein, Edgar Winter

Moby Dick, Led Zeppelin

Rebel Rouser, Duane Eddy

Eruption, Van Halen

Wipeout, Surfaris

Hasil the Haze

2011-01-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a good deal of jolking (a sporatic mixture of jogging and walking) as of late as I venture back into the realm of the healthy and as such have been going through my music, making playlists to entertain myself as I jolk. To this end, I've been exploring some of the deep recesses of my mind and pulling up some music not typically associated with exercise...like good psychobilly tunes.

Although my all-time and without a doubt favorite band of this genre is the Cramps, born out of a chance meeting in nearby Sacramento, there was another who sprang forth, "the Haze" as he was known, Hasil Adkins. A true Appalachian hillbilly from Boone County, West Virgina. Hasil (pronounced "hassel") was a rebel and a genius, a bit of living American folk art in his own time.

His one-man band style, crude lyrics and writhing dance style called "the Hunch" have all the subtlety of a snub-nose .357 Magnum.

I've added the Haze to my playlist and only wish that I could jolk with an old school boombox hoisted up on my shoulder so that others could appreciate Hasil Adkins' "She said" too.

She Said

Shake that Thing

...and just for good measure, here are the Cramps performing "She said"

...finally, here is a vid I found on Youtube of this chick named Corina who does this tribute to ol' Hasil Adkins, she's a bit wacky, but you gotta love the enthusiasm.

happy Martin Luther King Day Jr.

2011-01-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

...or at least that's what they always say in the 'hood...whatever

Reflecting on the lack of reflection, or thoughts on a blood moon

2010-12-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

On the night before last, the 20th to be more precise, there was a rare occurrence, a total lunar eclipse on the eve of the winter solstice. And while lunar eclipses are not entirely rare, the last time one occurred on the first day of winter, the shortest day of the year, was December 21, 1638...I don't remember that one. Oh, and the next time we'll have a chance to view this cosmic and calender convergence is December 21, 2094...don't think I'll be around to partake in that one.

This event got me to thinking and waxing sentimental, "I will never get a chance to see this again, ever...my existence here on earth will have been long snuffed out by 2094, my kids, God bless them will either be Methuselah old or will have joined me in the great beyond and even their children will be pensioners.

The eclipse was set to begin around 10:30 in the evening here on the west coast, but our weather was fighting against me seeing this rare event as it had been raining and cloudy for several days. However, as the hour grew near, I was pleased to see that the thick blanket of cloud cover had holes in it and the moon was virtually directly overhead, peaking out and illuminating the earth with it's reflection when those breaks would pass by.

My youngest son and I went outside at the prescribed time to see what we could see as it were and the shadow of the earth was just beginning to overtake the lunar surface. Staring up to the heavens, we watched the eclipse as it occurred. I tried like heck to snap some decent shots with my little Sony camera, holding it still against the top rail of a chair.

After some time, and the cold biting at us, we headed back inside to finish watching a special I'd recorded about the 8th Air Force in World War II, it is important I believe to watch these with your kids, give them a sense of appreciation for the people who made this nation great and the sacrifices they laid forth.

At 11:41 P.M., the prescribed time for the eclipse to be complete, I awoke my wife to "come see". I called my eldest boy and told him to break free of his girlfriend for a minute and look skyward. My daughters came outside as well and we took in the sight of the blood moon. It really was quite red and I reflected in silence for a time. I would never have this chance again with my wife and kids. I love them dearly and it will hurt me to the nth degree to not be with them and enjoy these moments, but time waits for no man, stalking him until the last of his days.

My wife and kids got cold and headed inside. Me, I took the cold in stride as I snapped a few more shots. Really, I was deep in thought and didn't feel the bite of the winter air as thoughts of time eternal, the vast cosmos and the tiny spark that lights my finite mortality.

If you have reached this far, slogged your way through my writing swamp, take a minute for yourself and reflect on the true loves in your life, search out those moments to share with them and let them know how much you love them.

By the way, Methuselah was 969 years old when he died, I'm sure he got to see quite a few eclipses on the winter solstice but did he appreciate them?

More on the "Heater from Van Meter"

2010-12-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

BOB FELLER,
Drawn by Mark Perkins, 1985

Today I happened to be in Rocklin, and as it was, I thought about my good friend Mark and gave him a call to see if he was home. No answer so I left a message...a few minutes later my phone rang while I was cruising the isles of the hardware store and lo and behold, it was Mark. A little chit chat and I told him I'd drop in for a visit since I was in his neighborhood.

After the usual greetings we sat down in the livingroom. He pointed out some pencil sketches of Pete Ham and Tom Evans from the Seventies English pop group Badfinger. The portraits used to reside elsewhere, now they hung prominently in his livingroom. By the way, the Evans portrait is one of my absolute favorite pieces Mark has ever done.

So, out of that moment, comes up the topic of Bob Feller. Mark seemed unaware that Feller had died so after a few moments of reflection on his career and the void created by his passing, I asked him to recount the story of the portrait that he drew of Feller.

Mark Perkins with his portrait drawn for Bob and Annie Feller

Bob Feller in his home, posing with the portrait drawn by Mark Perkins

Mark told me, "In 1985, I drew a picture and sent it to Bob Feller for his autograph. I got it back with a letter from his wife Annie asking for a copy of the portrait. Instead of making a copy and sending it to her, I told her that I would draw a portrait for her instead. She mailed a photograph of Bob taken at an old timers game stating that she wanted a more recent picture as she only knew him after his playing days. I drew the portrait at her request, framed and then mailed it to her. She sent me a letter back with a photograph of Bob posing in what she termed "his billiard trophy room".

As an interesting aside, Mark told me that the other drawing in the background behind Feller, now hangs in the Bob Feller Museum and that his parents, Roger and Sally, happened by the museum while taking a recent road trip and visiting friends across the country. I told Mark, that means that your portrait likely remains hanging in the Feller household. One day, it'll probably be in the museum too.

Here are a couple of pics that Roger Perkins took while visiting the Feller Museum.

Bob the Bullet pitchin' in heaven

2010-12-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

I awoke this morning, jumped on the ESPN to check out any significant moves in the world of baseball only to be met with the sad news that Bob "the Bullet" Feller passed away, a victim of leukemia, at the age of 92. "Rapid Robert" was a true American hero, having voluntarily enlisted in the Navy the day after the Japs attacked America in Pearl Harbor, even though he had a deferment as the sole provider for his family. Feller served as an anti-aircraft gunner aboard the U.S.S. Alabama.

At the age of 16, Feller signed with the Cleveland Indians for a $1 bonus and an autographed baseball. A year later, he made his major league debut. Over the next six seasons, Feller went 107-54 with a 3.18 ERA and recorded 1,233 strikeout. He led the league in wins three times, in strike outs four times and was a four time All-Star. Then the war happened. Feller felt obliged as a true American to take part in the fighting. His sacrifice erased nearly four years of baseball in his prime. However, after serving as a decorated sailor for nearly for years in World War II, Feller returned to major league baseball late in the 1945 season.

The following year, Feller notched a 26-18 record with a ridiculously minuscule 2.18 ERA and 348 strikeouts. Over the remainder of his career, Feller racked up a 266-162 career record (a .621 winning percentage). Had Feller continued to play baseball instead of heading off to war, Feller would have easily added another 100 wins to his record, placing him in the top five wins leaders of all time. Feller was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility.

His contemporaries were quick to say that Feller was one of the most intimidating pitchers to take the mound. What else would you expect from a guy who volunteered to shoot down Japanese dive bombers and kamikaze pilots in the middle of the Pacific.

My good friend Mark Perkins, an avid baseball fan and incredible artist, once drew a portrait of Bob Feller that Feller liked so much that he hung it in his home.

Very opinionated and often blunt, Feller earned the respect of his teammates, competitors, peers and fans alike. He was even called "the Greatest Indian". What else can I say except I admired his exploits from a far and wish his family the best.

To learn more about Bob Feller, check out his official site.

Great white wood chipper shark attack

2010-12-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

This morning my wife tells me, "You know what movie I want to see, something I haven't seen in a while...Fargo."

"Fargo", I say, "I love Fargo, you know my favorite scene..."

"The wood chipper?" she lovingly replies and smiles.

So as I get ready to load Fargo into my Netflix queue I recalled that a worker was killed in a wood chipper accident in nearby Concord, CA about a month ago. That has got to be one of the absolute worst ways to exit this world. Simply horrible.

I fear wood chippers, I cannot see one without noodling over the possibility of getting sucked into one. It is right up there with being eaten alive by a great white shark. Honestly, I don't know which one is worse.

Then, I'm googling "Concord wood chipper death" and find a news piece from TODAY in San Diego where Martimiano Carreon was pulled into a chipper in an avacado orchard. Ahhhhh!

At least ol' Carl Showalter was dead before Gaear Grimsrud stuffs his bits through the chipper in Fargo.

If I were tasked with making a horror film, the villain would, without a doubt, be a great white wood chipper shark capable of wreaking havoc on land or sea. Just let me go quietly in my sleep.

Craigslist is full of mutherfuckers

2010-12-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

So this afternoon I am cruising the local Craigslist and located a guy in nearby Auburn with a couple of Honda Mini Trails and his asking price was very reasonable, $300 for one and $500 for the other. I give ol' Roger a call and chat him up for about ten minutes. I tell him that I am in Folsom and will be up in say an hour. I make certain I've got directions and good contact phone number because he is at work and that he has my number.

When I arrive at his shop I head inside and wait at the front desk...I was eventually greeted by a gal who tells me that Roger is out back and she'll get him for me. After returning from her mission, she has me wait by the counter. About 5 minutes go by and a dirty guy comes strolling up from the back of the shop.

"Roger?", I inquire.

"Nope, he's out back. I'll take you back there." he replies.

We walk out the front door, around the corner of the building and I not a truck with a small trailer sitting there that wasn't there when I pulled up. My guide says, "Roger's the guy in the green jacket." I wondered to myself who the other guy was with him and why the dude had his wallet out. Maybe Roger was selling other stuff.

I stroll up and as I do, I turned back to look in the open back of the trailer; there was a motorcycle wheel chock bolted to the floor. Maybe Roger is selling more motorcycles.

As I get close, ol' Roger turns to me. I ask, "You Roger?" He nods in the affirmative. "I'm Pete from Folsom; I spoke with you on the phone about an hour ago." As he takes the wad of cash from the first guy and begins to count it, he says to me, "You're from Newcastle?"

I said, "Nope, Folsom. We just spoke on the phone about the Mini Trails."

That's when Mr. Wallet butts in and says, "I'm from Newcastle." to both of us I suppose, but more to Roger. He then looks at me and exclaims, "If you're here for the Minis, I just bought them. I'll sell them to you for $1,200."

"Did you just sell BOTH minis to this guy, the ones we talked about?" I ask Roger, ignoring Mr. Wallet. "Yeah." he says sheepishly.

"Well Fuck! I talked to you and drove right up here." I responded.

Mr. Wallet interjects, "I said I'll sell both to your for $1,200." this time with a cat that ate the bird grin.

"Fuck that, I wouldn't give you more than $600 for both." I tell him as I turn to walk away. He stammers, "He's got a 90 in there, maybe you want that?"

"Nope!" I say and walk away. Back to the car and back down the hill.

What a bunch of shit! Most people are pretty decent but then there are the shit eaters who will screw over any and everyone, make and break promises with ease and have no compunction about doing so.

You just don't do people like that...at least I don't.

Turn out the lights, the party's over...

2010-12-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this blog is starting to look like an obituary...but it does spring from my grey matter and so I make no apologies..."Dandy" Don Meredith was one of my favorite announcers of all time. His southern drawl and down home quality made him an eminently likable guy and as a kid, I enjoyed the way he balanced out the Monday Night Football trio of Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford. Like many, I looked forward to that point in a game when Meredith decided that the game was out of hand and the winner a foregone conclusion when he'd break into song and sing the Willie Nelson song, "turn out the lights, the party's over..."

In 1960, Meredith became an inaugural member of the expansion Dallas Cowboys after being traded from the Chicago Bears. In college, Meredith was an All American 3 years starter for SMU. Meredith played until 1969, quarterbacking the Cowboys to their first ever winning season.

It was a couple years later that Meredith put on a blazer and became a broadcaster. He worked for both ABC and NBC during his years behind the mic, but is best known for his work on MNF, being one of the inaugural members of that team too.

Meredith suffered a brain hemorrhage and slipped into a coma before passing away at the age of 72.

To paraphrase a famous Dandy Don moment, "Don, I think you're number 1."

So long Santo, the most beloved Cub

2010-12-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

I know that Ernie Banks is called "Mr. Cub", but I truly doubt there was a more beloved and revered Chicago Cub than Ron Santo, who sadly passed away today at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer and diabetes.

I say sadly, because Santo never received the recognition that he most certainly deserved, admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame. I've heard it stated from his detractors that he was the fourth best player on a shitty team. Okay, those other guys are the aforementioned Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins. To toss Santo behind those guy in line is premature and without proper perspective or reflection I believe.

Santo played 15 seasons, from 1960-1974 (age 20-34) and during that span, had a .277 batting average, had 2,254 hits, 342 homeruns and knocked in 1,331 RBIs, while collecting nice All Star appearences and five consecutive Gold Gloves at the hot corner from 1964-1968. During his career, he was the best defensive thirdbaseman not named Brooks Robinson, and some would even argue that...really.

Ron Santo later went on to have a twenty year career in the broadcast booth covering his beloved Cubs.

Godspeed Ron.

All I want for Christmas is...an XM25

2010-12-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

American troops are now being issued the baddest handheld instrument of war ever, the XM25. This smart grenade launcher, jointly developed by Heckler & Koch (HK) and Alliant Techsystems, will launch a hi-tech 25mm grenade up to half a mile accurately and explode when programed so as to inflict maximum damage (read death) upon enemy target hiding behind cover or even in buildings...WAAHHH FUCKIN' HOOO!

It works like this, the advanced laser ranging and sighting system will determine the distance that the enemy is from the weapon. It then programs a tiny microchip in the grenade with this information. After it is fired, the microchip tells the grenade when to explode. It can be set to detonate in front of, overhead, behind a target or even after penetrating a structure like a house...awesome.

Santa will be dropping these bad ass bastards into the hand of our eager troops fighting the Taliban and other muslim shit fucks over in Afghanistan. I can only hope it works as well in the field as promised and that a way bunch of these camel fuckers get quite literally "fragged" to death.

Zorg would be proud!

Best ever movie motorcycles

2010-11-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

Ever get into one of those "what's the best ever...?" Of course you do. As calculating animals, we catalogue and rank most everything we ever encounter and in short order can recall and recite those things that have made the greatest impression on us. To this end, here is a list, in no particular order or reverance, of my favorite motorcycles ever to appear in motion picture cinema, otherwise plainly known as "the movies".

1951 Harley Davidson FLH Panheads (Easy Rider, 1969)
Both the Captain America bike and the Billy bike riden by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper respectively, these are the first bikes that come to mind when I think of "movie motorcycle". And with a great degree of certainty, I say the same applies to the majority of people, motorcycling enthusiast or not. The Captain America bike in particular is the one that comes to the forefront, with its unmistakable raked front end, tall sissy bar and patriotic stars and stripes paint. However, the Billy bike is quite a nice bike in its own right. It has a much more subtle profile but is set off nicely with a red frame and tank licked by yellow flames, the straight drag bars and low slung pipes. These are, without a shadow of a doubt, the quintessential "choppers" ever to appear on celuloid.

1950 Triumph Thunderbird 6T (The Wild Ones, 1953)
Contrary to what the non-motoring public would believe, Marlon Brando did not ride a Harley Davidson in the forefather of all biker movies, The Wild Ones, he rode a Brit bike, his own personal one at that. During the Fifties, the British motorcycles were the bikes to ride if speed and handling were to be the end product. Triumph brought out the 650cc vertical twin powerplant in the Thunderbird in 1950 and a legend was born.

1961 Triumph TR6 Trophy (The Great Escape, 1963)
Painted in drab Wehrmacht grey-green, the cleverly disguised Triumph played the part of a Nazi motorcycle as well as any of the other characters in the classic WWII movie. Steve McQueen is seen speeding around the countryside during his daring escape attempt while being chased by motocycling Nazis. The trivia in that entire sequence is that McQueen's friend and mentor, Bud Ekins was not only one of the Nazis chasing McQueen, but when it came time to do the famous jump over the barbed wire fence, it was Ekins that doubled as McQueen for the stunt. In actuallity, Ekins was chasing himself.

All of them (On Any Sunday, 1971)
What else can be said; they all rock! This is THE great motorcycle movie replete with every fashion of bitchin' racing motorcycle.

1985 Kawasaki GPz 900R Ninja (Top Gun, 1986)
I recall precisely when I wanted a Ninja, when sitting in a theatre with my high school friend Shawn Crawford watching one of the best flicks of my generation, Top Gun. Tom Cruise ripping down the flight line on his Ninja sold it for me. This was at the beginning of craze that would eventually give rise to the terms "rice rocket", "crotch rocket" or "ninjas" to define an entire style of motorcycle regardless of make.

1920 Indian Scout (The world's fastest Indian, 2005)
Burt Munro's Indian is simply awesome. To think that this old curmudgeon from a dinky town in New Zealand built a land speed record setting bike out in his shed is hard to believe, but true. Sir Anthony Hopkins does the role well and the bike is front and center throughout the film. When I get a little disgruntled in the garage and start to think that "it can't be donw", I find myself recalling this bike and Munro and get my ass back on track.

1974 Kawasaki Z1 900 and 1977 Kawasaki KZ1000 (Mad Max, 1979)
This selection is not for a singular bike, but rather the dozens ridden by Toe Cutter's gang throughout the film as they terrorized the wastelands of Australia and the MFP as they chased them down. Most of the bad guy bikes were K1 900 bikes and the MFP police bike was a KZ1000; they did equal damage to my brain. Stripped down, cafe bars, rearset pegs, rattlecan paint and half fairings, the progenerator of the hooligan bike to be sure.

Lighcycle (Tron, 1982)
I know, I know, it is not a real motorcycle. Don't bust my balls over this one because when you saw the film, you wanted one too. The futuristic styling cues, hubless wheels, enclosed canopy and that death dealing light wall that eminatted from the ass end...too cool. To look at street bikes today, you'd have to conclude that we're making progress toward a Tron bike.

1977 Harley Davidson XLCR (Black Rain, 1989)
The match race between the Darth Vader black XLCR riden by Michael Douglas and the Suzuki GSXR 1000 is hard to believe, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is a bitchin' bike. Maybe I'm supposed to think that the v-twin mill has been massaged to a point that it could take a crotch rocket liter bike. If so, then the bike is even mo' bitchin'.

1996 Ducati 916 (Fled, 1996)
A pair of Ducs racing through the highways and byways of Georgia near Stone Mountain is a good thing, maybe the only good thing about the movie; how are we to even remotely believe that a Lincoln Continental could keep pace with a Ducati. With an aesthetic that is still fresh and contemporary a decade and a half later, the 916 is right atop my list of the most beautiful and desireable sport bikes ever produced, tied with the Honda RC30.

Harley Davidson Aermacchi Z90 (Bad News Bears, 1976)
Who can forget the scene where Jackie Earle Haley disrupts the little league opening day ceremony by ripping all over the diamond on his dirt bike...a Harley none the less; well an Italian Harley made by Aermacchi. And that great pickup line, "I got a Harley Davidson, does that turn you on? Harley Davidson?"

1989 Harley Davidson FXR (Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, 1989)
Another iconic chopper, this one of a later generation and style, the FXR represents the best of Eighties and Nineties custom Harley Davidsons in my opinon. The bike ridden by Mickey Rourke was simply bare bones and bad ass and seeing that it stars in a movie that has Harley Davidson in the title, it better be.

1954 Triumph Thunderbird 6T (The curious case of Benjamin Button, 2008)
I know, I shouldn't have two of the same on here, but the light blue thunderbird ridden by Brad Pitt was just too beautiful to neglect on my list. In fact, it is one of the first things I think of when this movie come up.

Harman or Harman Kardon

2010-11-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

If you are a fan of choppers, real choppers, the kind that they built in the late Sixties and well into the Seventies, then you know the name John Harman of Roseville, CA. He was a chopper builder extraordinare and inventor of the internally sprung girder fork. His forks had that quintessential seventies chopper look, long and narrow, all chromed out with integral handlebars.

These front end setups are still produced by Harman's longtime friend and fellow builder Bill Holland out of his shop Executive Choppers, still in nearby Roseville. (That's where I grabbed these cool pix of John and his chops)

So what is my point? Recently I decided that I'd like to try to score one of these babies so I have begun to scan the chopper classifieds, the Jockey Journal, the Chop Cult, Craigslist and eBay. Just a bit ago, while on the eBay, I typed in "Harman" under the eBay Motors / Motorcycle Parts section and was intially excited to see 14 hits. Really, 14 Harman front ends, or parts or ads or something to do with these too cool setups. I happily and hurriedly scrolled down to see that all the kits were for "Harman Kardon" radios and the like. I sat, stunned for a moment and looked back up to make certain I was in the "Motorcycle" category, because motorcycles don't fuckin' have radios. Yup! Sure was and all of the hits were for Harman Kardon Harley Davidson stereos.

When and where did we lose our way? I know that radios on motorcycles are nothing new, but in my world view, the two don't cross; I never come across audio components when looking for chopper parts...until now. I am a little more sad now than when I awoke...every day it seems that something cool is no longer to be found, replaced by something shitty.

4 for 6 ain't a bad day

2010-11-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Four for six is how I went with my MLB awards predictions, certainly better than my one for six performance last season but quite as impressive as my five for six two seasons ago.

Over in the senior circuit, I was a perfect 3-3 as Joey Votto wrestled Albert Pujols off the top of the mountain to take the MVP award home, Roy Halladay walked away with the Cy Young and the youthfull Buster Posey snatched the ROY from Jason Heyward.

It was over in the American League that I ran into some problems early as Neftali Feliz, fresh from the World Series snuck in and stole the ROY award from Austin Jackson. Okay, I'll concede that Feliz was very impressive, setting the rookie record with 40 saves this season; however, I have difficulty comparing a closer to an everyday player when it comes to overall worth. Unless your name is Mariano Rivera, you have not earned the right to be held up against a day in and day out position player and all Austin Jackson did was go out and knock 181 hits, average nearly .300 (.293 to be exact) and score 103 runs while swiping 27 bases along the way. I am right here folks.

The next one the voters got wrong was the Cy Young...I don't have as much a problem with C.C. Sabathia not winning (although he did come in 3rd, just behind David Price) but rather I take some exception to a guy with a 13-12 record, Felix Hernandez, winning. I had a gut feeling this was going to happen but couldn't throw my support behind him just because I felt others were. I understand all of the arguments in favor of Hernandez, his ERA, his strike outs, his innings, his playing on a shitty team, his lack of run support. But it is precisely some of those arguments for him that, when inspected closer, give reason to not hand him the award.

Hernandez's supporters will tell you that they were looking into the real numbers and that wins are overrated because they depend too much on your offense giving you run support. I get that, however, there are a number of intangibles that are not being taken into account. When teams played the Yankees or even Tampa or Boston for that matter, they know going into it that they are playing against a top-tier team and they "get up" for a game of that magnitude...you always want to beat the best! And the teams I just mentioned were all fighting until the end for a playoff spot, meaning that the games they played had substance, impact, importance. When Seattle took the field, nobody, including their own fans really gave a rat's ass because they were out of it from the starting gun. When you play the Mariners, you get comfortable with your 3 or 4 runs because you know that their anemic offense will have a hard time matching you, however, when you play the Yanks, you know that those same runs can be equaled with a few swings of the bat in a single inning and so you keep up the pressure, trying to manufacture or add runs all game long. See? King Felix pitched in a ZERO pressure situation all season long, Sabathia, Price, Lester and Buchholz had the weight of their teams, their towns, the playoffs and more on them game in and game out.

I get it, we are now in a "what do the traditional numbers really mean" mode...each and every year it seems that the Sabertricians come up with some new measurement, calculation or instrument by which to stand players up against. I appreciate that, I dig stats, baseball is the most statistically driven and measured game in the history of mankind, but in the end, you have to take a look at the team and consider what they would have looked like without the player in question to see their true impact...NY or Tampa might not have made the playoffs without their ace, Seattle would still be dragging up the ass end of the American League with or without Hernandez.

My lone ray or joy in the AL came with the last award handed out, the AL MVP, which I got right with Josh Hamilton...what a great turn around life story he has been.

See ya'll in a few months when the free agents start settling in with their teams and the trade flurry settles down.

The Vikings just hired an alien from Men In Black

2010-11-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

Really...so last night I was watching the news and there was a piece about the Minnesota Vikings firing head coach Brad Childress and naming defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as interim head coach. I had no idea who Frazier was, then comes his press conference and I'm like, "whoa...I just saw that guy working in the post office on Men In Black 2 the other night!"

Keep an eye out for this guy and decide for yourself...

Triumph Bonneville tank for sale

2010-11-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

Gotta get some cash for the holidays. So, to that end, I'm moving a couple of nice Triumph tanks, both are from 650cc unit bikes from the Sixties.

The first is a beautiful red slimline tank. This is a very desirable style found on 1968-70 T120 Bonneville and TR6C Trophy models. It was painted a bright vibrant red and the paint still looks great. In fact, it appears that the tank was painted, completed with all the proper accoutrement and fitted to a bike but never filled with fuel. Someone removed the badges before I bought the tank and there are extremely light lines in the paint where the badge edges met the tank. Once new badges are remounted, you'll see nothing. By the way, the threads for the badge screws are excellent. The tank comes virtually complete as the chrome gas cap, chrome spine trim, black rubber knee pads, twin petcocks and front rubber mounting grommets are included. The tank is currently for sale on eBay...but for $350 you can make it yours.

The second tank I have for sale is also from a 1968-70 model, but could be fitted to an earlier Triumph as well. It is the larger, wide style used on the TR6R Tiger. Many people appreciated the increased fuel capacity over the slim tank and opted to use these tanks on their Bonnevilles too, particularly if they were riding any distance. This particular tank is in great overall shape for its age. I stripped it to bare metal, buffed it with Dico Nyalox brushes and then wet sanded it with 220 and 500 grit sandpaper before rubbing it down with some Gibbs Brand penetrating oil. The inside of the tank is absolutely cherry...you'll be hard pressed to find a nicer tank inside. The exterior has a couple of small dings that can either be metal finished or made to vanish with a skim coat of filler prior to painting. The mounting posts and tabs are excellent, the petcock threads great and this is a solid tank for your restoration, bobber, chopper or cafe bike. It is also currently for sale on eBay...but can be yours for $200.

If you're interested in either...or both, contact me via email at pedrovonpetrol@att.net

1973 Honda CB500 cafe project update

2010-11-19T18:50:00.001-08:00

Just trailered "Alice" back from John Proto's shop, Performance Cycle in Diamond Springs, where the bank of four carburetors had to be gone through...they were all crapped up so John did a rebuild on them before synchronizing them.

The little cafe is making progress, albeit slowly. In short, we removed and preserved the original root beer brown tank and side covers and through a string of parts bikes found suitable donors for customization. We've got a spare seat too that we plan on utilizing the stock pan to build a cafe seat from, that way we can keep the hinges and lock right where they are. The entire front end was swapped with a cherry one from a parts bike, already rebuilt. Just cleaned them up and buffed up the sliders. Tossed on a set of drop bars (no fun running the internal wiring let me tell you) and installed a K&N filter. I've got a chopped down trailer fender and will be mounting it and a Sparto style polished limp dick tail lamp. Also swapped out the gauge cluster simply because we preferred the bright green faces from another bike. Also located some finned bits here and there, Henry Abe tappet covers (go try to find some of those...) and finned side covers for that period look.

She's getting there. I'd love to be able to throw on a set of vintage mags, say KimTab, Abe, Shelby Dowd, Morris, Lester, something like that; got some you want to part with for the cause?

More later...

Getting rid of Bondo...the easy way

2010-11-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

If you're a lover of old cars or motorcycles then you are well familiar with Bondo, the body filler used and often abused in an effort to smooth out the dents and dings that plague sheet metal and on a rare occasion used in a more artistic / fabricator fashion to do cool stuff like "mold" custom chopper frames and such. The quick and dirty on Bondo brand filler is that it is a resin that when mixed with a catalyst (hardener) transforms from a putty-like substance into a hard state that can be sanded, shaped and painted just like the metal it covers.

Resin fillers can be very helpful but are often abused in that they are simply glopped on, sanded and painted over without the benefit of any metal finishing, hiding the mistake that lies underneath. If you've ever had an old motorcycle gas tank, particularly one that sat on a chopper, Harley or Brit bike, you can nearly count on it having some filler in it. In fact, my experiences with Triumph tanks over the years has led me to believe that there must've been a guy at the factory whose only job was to drop newly made tanks and apply "factory dents".

Recently, I snatched up a few Triumph tanks from a source up the hill from me. As with most tanks that come into my possession, I feel compelled to strip them to bare metal unless they have nice paint. Two of the three tanks I had acquired fell into the poor paint job / needs to be stripped category.

Before I started, I gave the tanks a good cleaning and once over to look for potential problem areas, inspect the inside, filler spout, petcock threads and mounting points. Both tanks looked great. I applied the requisite aircraft stripper, gave it time to work and set about stripping it off with a razor.

The first tank I did was an oil in frame "OIF" tank and low and behold there were a few spots of filler, the largest on the front left lobe. After cleaning the tanks again I needed to address the filler. It was then that I realized I might educate a few of you on the method I utilize to get rid of filler.

Many of us have struggled mightily with old Bondo, scraping, filing, sanding, wire brushes and more over and over until the filler is finally gone. I don't know where I stumbled upon my current method, but every once in a while I find myself letting others in on the "secret". No, it is not really a secret...it's simply fire.

Burn it out with a propane torch...super simple, easy, fast and clean.

ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED, A PROPANE TORCH (ALSO KNOWN AS A "BLUE WRENCH") AND A PUTTY KNIFE.

APPLY THE FLAME. FOR SMALL AREAS LIKE THIS, YOU CAN JUST GET IT NICE AND HOT AND LET IT BURN...FOR LARGER AREAS, I WORK THE EDGES AND THEY WILL CRISP AND CURL UP EXPOSING THE UNDERSIDE. LET THE FIRE DO THE WORK.

THE BONDO WILL EASILY SCRAPE FREE.

In just a couple of minutes you'll have a nice Bondo-free surface to work. As always, use caution when using a fire.

update on the Bud Ekins auction!

2010-11-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

So yesterday rolls around and I find myself under the W-X Freeway in downtown Sacramento at the monthly antique fair held every second Sunday of the month. As I was making a deal for a vintage wood police billy (I know it sounds odd, but I collect these things), I looked down at my watch and noted it was the 14th..."FUCK!" I said maybe a little too loud under my breath, "I missed the Bud Ekins auction; it was yesterday."

Once home, I squirreled away my goodies and headed for the laptop to check the auction results for just a few of the items that had drawn my attention.

Ekins' table top lathe, hand striped by none other than Von Dutch sold for a mere $488. That's it, a measly $488...ahhhhh DAMN! I would have driven down to slow Cal no problem for that.

Ekins' bandsaw, also striped and painted by Von Dutch went for only $854.

If you'd like to check out any of the other auction items or what they went for, you can visit the Bonhams Auction #18419 just by following the link.

As a side note, I did score not only that little police billy but also an old (1930's or 1940's) Protectall fireproof lock box safe in cherry condition. Later in the day, I made my way up the hill to just outside Placerville and picked up three vintage Triumph gas tanks, two from the late 60's, a nice red slimline model for a Bonneville or TR6C and a larger tank for a TR6R and one large OIF tank. All of them in great condition. They also came with several chrome 650 unit header pipes and a killer set of 1969-70 TR6C high pipe exhaust complete from header to muffler and with the mounting brackets. The guy also threw in a set of vintage 35mm forks; I'm not certain what they're from as of yet but it looks like an old desert sled or mx bike.

On the way home, I spotted a flea market in Diamond Springs...I couldn't resist. I ended up with a cool Streamlight SL20X flashlight (needs a little work) for $2 and some old US Army trunk, fitted with wood partitions and storage bins and an original makers tag putting it in 1944...cool, vintage WWII stuff and it only set me back a Jackson.

Auctions, antique shows, flea markets, garage sales...I love all these things...

Hey Joe where you goin' with that gun in your hand?

2010-11-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

So a minor wish has finally been realized and ESPN has shitcanned "Hall of Famer, Joe Morgan" as was required to be announced. As much as I love baseball is as much as I disliked hearing little Joe proselytize all damn game long...going on about how that was the wrong pitch to throw, the batter should just have hit the ball to a different spot in the field, how the defense should have been set differently or how he and his cohorts played the game so much better...really Joe.

This is the same Joe Morgan...oh, I'm sorry, Hall of Famer, Joe Morgan who misremembered his major league call up. He went on to say that he was partially responsible for the infamous collapse of the Philadelphia Phillies that season as they lost ten straight in the last twelve games to lose a 6-1/2 game lead and eventually lose the pennant. Morgan stated that during his debut he hit a game winning RBI to extend the Phillies losing streak during that collapse. However, Morgan made his debut in 1963, going 0-1 and was called up again in 1964 but his Houston Astros team didn't play the Phillies during their end of season troubles and Morgan didn't have an RBI that year...huh. He has misremembered discussions with pitchers on the verge of no-hitters and the sage-like advice he would deliver to them. Morgan has even taken digs at Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks by calling the nets that border the outfield in Wrigley Field "Banks Boulevard" insinuating that Banks got a lot of cheap homeruns into those close nets over his career. Well, the Cubs didn't install those nets until 1970. Mr. Cub hit a grand total of seven of his career 512 homeruns into those nets as he retired in 1971...come on Joe, a little jealous of a real Hall of Famer?

I have to give Joe his props, he did play for 22 seasons and rack up 2,517 hits, five consecutive Gold Gloves (1973-77), ten All Star appearances and a pair of MVP awards. Pretty solid, but Hall of Fame, probably not. In reality, the guy had two standout seasons, 1975 and 1976 when he actually won the NL MVP award playing for the incredibly talented Cincinnati Reds' Big Red Machine alongside real Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Tony Perez and a should be Hall of Famer Pete Rose and All Stars caliber players George Foster, Ken Griffey Sr. and Dave Concepcion, not to mention Hall of Fame Manager Sparky Anderson (R.I.P.) calling the shots...nice to have a supporting cast like that. It should also be pointed out that '75 and '76 were the only two seasons Morgan ever hit over .300.

I cannot even count the number of times Morgan would say something like, "oh, he shouldn't have thown a change up inside like that" only to clearly be contradicted in the slo-mo replay by the low outside fastball that was actually thrown. Morgan is that guy who would stand around the water cooler on Monday morning and tell you how instead of throwing an interception across the middle, he would have just thrown a touchdown deep down the sideline to win the football game...what a douche.

Before I end, I have to say that I will sadly miss his handler, John Miller whom I consider to be one of the best baseball announcers out there...love the guy. How he sat in the booth with a retarded midget for twenty years is beyond me.

And lest you think me wrong on this, I will leave you with one little tidbit that I believe sums up the idocracy that was Joe Morgan when asked to comment on how difficult it is to be a catcher, Morgan disagreed and stated "Catching is putting the fingers down and catching the ball". I dare Joe to go tell that to his former teammate and legitimate Hall of Famer Johnny Bench...

Tim McCarver, you're next!

zardoz has arrived

2010-11-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

for anyone out there fortunate enough to have been a kid in the Seventies or at least a fan of vintage science fiction you'll certainly recall the indelible image of the giant stone head of Zardoz as it floated across the countryside, eventually vomitting guns to its savage blood-thirsty worshippers. Then I awoke this morning, hopped on the net and saw a piece about a giant Jesus statue being errected in Poland. As I made my way through the pictorial slideshow, I was immediately brought to comparison with Zardoz...see for yourself.

Bud Ekins Collection at auction

2010-11-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Famed auctionhouse Bonhams is set to auction off items from the James Sherwin "Bud" Ekins collection on November 13th. The particular auction is #18419 Classic California: Collectors' Motorcycles, Motorcars and Related Memorabilia.

For those not familiar with Bud Ekins, he was a Triumph motorcycle dealer, racer, stuntman and collector located in southern California. Ekins is forever tied to his longtime friend and cohort, Steve McQueen. Ekins and McQueen raced the International Six Day Trial in Europe several times in the Sixties. Furthermore, Ekins was McQueen's stand in and stunt double, having done the famed motorcycle jump in The Great Escape and also drove much of the greatest car chase scene ever, piloting the green '68 Mustang in Bullitt.

Ekins became quite a collector later in his life and an auction with items from his collection has been highly anticipated since his death in 2007 at the age of 77.

Check out some of these items:

Steve McQueen's Waterloo travel toolbox complete with tools and stickers

Bud Ekins shop lathe pinstriped by none other than Von Dutch.

1952 Triumph Thunderbird called "Pretty Boy II" raced by Bobby Sirkegian in 1953 and 54, taking the AMA/NHRA 650cc class championship at Pomona both years.

1915 Harley Davidson 11F with sidecar owned by Bud Ekins and previously by Steve McQueen who bequeathed it to Ekins.

Welcome to Obama Airlines...

2010-11-02T12:25:00.001-07:00

yes, it is true, the kenyans have built their own plane and are now planning their flight paths to America and beyond...I suppose they'll have complimentary slices of watermelon and tiny bottles of malt liquor while you enjoy the inflight movie, Tyler Perry's "Madea goes to Mars".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZt9xSUNJ4M

and on a related note, the McRib is back!

their pain assuaged...

2010-11-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

so the Giants dispatched the Rangers in five games...now with their pain assuaged, the Giants faithful can enjoy the off season with the knowledge that their once in a lifetime championship has come and gone. Instead of an off season full of hope and angst, one in which they collectively yet silently wonder if their team can put together a winner, they will now be forced to think differently...what does it take to remain a winner. Each and every move, free agent acquisition, departure, trade and draft choice will be fed upon by fans, now knowing the taste of victory. They say that a taste of honey is worse than none at all...

Alas the blood lust will remain unsatiated as the year plods by, the Giants front office refusing to pay the bucks to keep their own talent or to sign it away from others. They will soon find themselves commiserating with the fans of Red Sox nation...wondering, "where did the magic go?"

I predict that next season, el Gigantes will have a difficult time stringing together a .500 season as their traditional enemy the Dodgers pass them up as will the Rockies and the Padres...only the Diamondbacks will remain in their rear view mirror. This team of misfits and castoffs will return to their relative obscurity and the talent will vanish. Only Buster will remain, but who will he catch as Lincecum (signed through 2011), Cain (signed through 2012), Sanchez (arbitration eligible this off-season) and even Wilson (signed through 2012) will all depart for richer pastures over the next couple of years.

Getting to the top is hard...staying on top is even harder.

At least we still have the Cubbies, 102 years and counting...

and the GIANTS win the pennant!!!

2010-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so other than a few of the followers of el Gigantes, nobody predicted that the San Francisco Giants would be the team to rip through the Senior Circuit en route to the World Series.

If you find yourself, like many, wondering how a team of maybes, never-wases, usta-bes, cast off guys who'd find themselves playing left bench for most high-powered teams makes it to the pinnacle of baseball excellence, the World freakin' Series, you are not alone. However, let me assuage your angst with the following intrepid insight.

First off, they've got great young starting pitchers. Tim Lincecum-age 26 (2-1, 1.93 ERA, 23.1 Innings 30K, 0.81 WHIP, .171 BAA), Matt Cain-age 26 (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 13.2 Innings, 11K, 1.02 WHIP, 1.84 BAA), Jonathan Sanchez-age 27 (0-1, 2.93 ERA, 15.1 innings, 19K, 1.04 WHIP, 1.82 BAA), and Madison Bumgarner-age 21 (1-0, 3.55 ERA, 12.2 Innings, 12 K, 1.42 WHIP, .306 BAA). These young arms have grown up in the Giants system, one in which the pitchers become quickly accustomed to a lack of run support; one that has unwittingly prepared them for the hardship of competition in closely contested games-like the playoffs. Other than mentioning it for the sake of notice, I won't even delve into the fact that the Giants highest paid player, Barry Zito has not only not thrown a pitch in the post-season, he isn't even on their active roster...

The next thing the Giants have going for them is "the beard", I mean Brian Wilson (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 Saves, 7 appearances, 9.0 innings, 12 K, 0.89 WHIP, .138 BAA). Wilson has quickly made it onto my short list of favored players, why? Because he a character...baseball loves characters and competitors. Brian Wilson is fierce, check that "helter skelter" stare in his narrow set eyes as he stands like a warrior on the mound, seemingly challenging the batter in a manner that says, "Hey fucker, you're lucky that you get to stand 60'6" away or my beard might take you out all on its own!"

"Fear the beard" is the saying, and opposing batters should. In the tradition of intimidating facial hair, Wilson has taken the baton passed by the likes of Rollie Fingers, Luis Tiant, Goose Gossage and Dennis Eckersley. Wilson is different though in that he has adopted not just a long fu-man chu or handlebar style, but a full-on mountain man style beard that would make Jeremiah Johnson proud. But it doesn't end with just the cut, he freakin' dips it in Grecian Formula or rubs in some Kiwi polish to give it a disturbingly unreal appearance. Combined with his one size too small uniform and Wilson is a real baseball folk hero in the making. Awesome. I'm hoping like hell that he grows that thing long like ZZ Top, wouldn't that be a sight.

Other than the men on the mound, the Giants have a fearless leader in Bruce Bochy, a guy who has accomplished more with less this season than any other big league manager.

But to win a game ultimately requires that your team score a run, hopefully a lot of them, something that the Giants struggle mightily with. Hell, this team's 697 runs scored during the regular season ranked #17 out of 30 teams, but on the flip side, they gave up a 2nd best 583 runs giving them a +114 run differential, 4th best behind only the NY Yankees (+166), Tampa Bay Rays (+153) and Philadelphia Phillies (+132). Somehow this team, whose hitters who'd be hard pressed to bat any higher than seventh on any other playoff team, manages to scrape together a run here and there to ultimately get the job done. Aubrey Huff, a ten year veteran with his 5th team led the Giants among qualified players in all the major offensive categories (.290 Average, 165 Hits, 100 Runs, 86 RBI, 26 Homeruns, .385 OBP). Hell, their clean-up hitter is a rookie catcher, a phenom named Buster Posey (.305, 18 Homeruns, 67 RBI).

The rest of the team, to mention their names and struggle through their stats is an exercise in mediocrity at best and in the end, better not done as the Giants are not a team of stars but rather in underwhelming players who have somehow, someway caught "lightning in a bottle".

This is their season, their year. And as much as the Texas Rangers should win on paper, the game is played between the lines and maybe, just maybe the Giants can finally win their hometown a championship.

leaf bug

2010-10-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Found this guy in my backyard the other day...I really did think it was a leaf, great camouflage. I cannot recall ever seeing one like this anywhere around here, must be global warming.

published pics

2010-10-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

For some, having photos published or used by sources other than their own is an everyday occurrence, but for most, like me, it is rather rare.

I was recently contacted by CNBC and my permission was requested to use a shot I took in a piece they were doing...what do I care, "certainly", I replied.

I received a notice today that CNBC had posted their piece, it was entitled, "Alternative Investing: Collectible Motorcycles". Check it out. Mine is a shot of a Harley Davidson Knucklehead on page ten.

This is the second time that I've had shots I've posted on Flickr used. The other time was a shot off the stern of the M.S. Dixie in Lake Tahoe that was used by a travel guide called Schmap.

The funny thing to me is that I don't really think either of these pics are great or anything, no checking the lighting, the composition of the shot, nothing artsy about them, rather they are snapshots of a time and place...

More than anything, it is just nice to get some acknowledgement, some feedback that someone out there sees what you do and they appreciate it.

Pitcher's paradise

2010-10-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

The playoffs have been a pitcher's paradise, at least through the divisional round. There have been some incredible pitching performances to say the least. And I look forward to more in the league championships. Before I sacrifice a chicken, consort with the devil and spit forth my prediction, let's take a glance back at some of those overpowering outings from the mound.

Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
GAME 1 versus Cincinnati Reds

All Halladay did was be perfect, well nearly perfect as Jay Bruce did manage to get a two-out base on balls in the 5th, but that was the best the Reds could manage as Halladay was simply "ON". He struck out eight, threw 79 of his 104 pitches for strikes (76.0%) including 25 of 28 first pitch strikes (89.3%). I am very glad that I took the time to actually watch this game and witness history in the making...thanks Roy.

Cliff Lee, Texas Rangers
GAME 1 versus Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Lee, the Phillies hero from last season, is now doing more of the same for the Rangers. Prior to this game, the Rangers had never ever won a playoff game. Lee punched out ten batters over seven innings allowing only five hits, no walks and a lone run as he secured the Rangers second ever post-season victory.

C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers
GAME 2 versus Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Wilson came out and tried to do his best Cliff Lee impression in game 2 as he struck out seven over six and a third innings, allowing only two hits and giving up a pair of walks as he shut out the Rays.

Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
GAME 1 versus Atlanta Braves

"The Freak" was on in this his inaugural playoff game. The nerves were clearly ramped up as Giants faithful staked everything on the kid and he allowed a leadoff double to Omar Infante. But then, scripted by Hollywood, Lincecum seemingly transformed into a machine, blowing Braves batters out of the box one after another in what I believe was the most dominating performance of batter versus pitcher thus far in the playoffs. Not to take a thing from Halladay and his beautiful no-hitter, but I think Lincecum was fractionally more dominant, striking out 14 of the 30 batters he faced, I believe all but one on swinging strikes...very impressive as there is no judgement call on a marginal strike but pure swing and miss, best on best.

Phil Hughes, New York Yankees
GAME 3 versus Minnesota Twins

Hughes has a breakout season this year and earned his spot in this post-season rotation. The 24 year old Hughes threw seven shut out innings, striking out six while yielding only four hits and a lone walk en route to a series clinching win. Hughes became only the fifth pitcher under the age of 25 to throw seven scoreless innings in a series clinching game...nice.

Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants
GAME 3 versus Atlanta Braves

Sanchez showed the depth of the Giants' arms as he surrendered only two hits and a walk over seven and a third innings while striking out eleven and giving up a solo run to give the Giants an eventual win.

Cole Hammels, Philadelphia Phillies
GAME 3 versus Cincinnati Reds

In the series clincher, Hammels rounded out the Phillies tough rotation by throwing a complete game shutout of the best hitting team in the National League, striking out nine, scattering five hits and walking none as the Fightin' Phils advanced to the NLCS in three straight games.

Cliff Lee, Texas Rangers
GAME 5 versus Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The only pitcher here to throw two games in the divisional series', Lee was even more impressive in his second start than his first. He pitched a complete game, striking out eleven and walking none as the Rays scratched out a lone run on six hits. Combining his two starts, Lee was 2-0, yielding only 2 runs over 16 innings while striking out 21 and walking none. I'm sure glad he is not available for game one against he Yankees in the ALCS.

a real garage sink

2010-10-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

Does your garage sink see front line action?

I really like the second pic; it looks like framed art entitled "grimey sink".

And the award goes to...

2010-10-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

Before I get started on my 2010 MLB award predictions, I've got to give some recognition to Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies. I just watched him pitch a NO HITTER in the playoffs against the Cincinnati Reds. He was amazing and made it look so, so easy in his first ever playoff start!

Now onto the awards. Two seasons ago, I was 5 for 6 in my award predictions. Last season I was only 1 for 6, predicting only Albert Pujols as the NL MVP. Let's see if I can return to my former glory.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

AL

Josh Hamilton, LF
Texas Rangers

This pick has a bit of a "feel good" element to it. Hamilton was the 1st player drafted in 1999 and was deemed a "can't miss" franchise player in the making, but then began a decent into substance abuse and soon he was out of baseball. Then, a few years ago, Hamilton began to rebuild himself physically and emotionally and in the process accomplished the monumental task of making it back to into baseball. Over the last four seasons, Hamilton has been solid and showing off much of what many knew he had and making many others wonder "what if". This season was his best even though he played in only 133 games, having a substantial rib injury that came from his hard scrabble style of play.

Hamilton hit an AL best .359 and in the process, smashed 32 homeruns (tied-5th) and drove in an even 100 RBIs (12th). He also had an incredible 1.044 OPS (1st). Texas' first post season appearance since 1999 was largely achieved on the back of Hamilton, who not only led with his bat but also with his great play in the outfield.

Runners up include Detroit Tiger first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who had the best overall offensive season among all American League players and had it not been for Hamilton's late season injury which preserved his high batting average and Jose Bautista's mysterious new-found ability to mash like Babe Ruth, Cabrera might have had a triple crown. He finished with a .328 batting average (2nd), 38 homeruns (3rd) and 126 RBIs (1st) and a 1.042 OPS (2nd). Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista may receive some consideration as well, but I think he'll receive many more raised eyebrows at his season than serious votes as he smashed 54 homeruns (1st) and 124 RBIs (3rd). Quiet consideration should be given to two other players, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, .319 average (5th), 200 hits (2nd), 29 homeruns (tied-9th), 109 RBIs (7th), 103 runs (tied-6th) and a .914 OPS (6th). Boston Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre had a great season and career resurgence with a .321 average (4th), 189 hits (tied-3rd), 28 homeruns (tied-12th), 102 RBIs (tied-10th) and a .919 OPS (5th) and finally one of my favorites, Texas Ranger right fielder / dh

NL

Joey Votto, 1B
Cincinnati Reds

A triple crown threat all season long, Votto was a major contributor to his club and key to getting the Reds back to the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Votto finished with a batting average of .324 (2nd), 177 hits (6th), 37 homeruns (3rd), 113 RBIs (3rd), 106 runs (tied-4th) and a league leading OPS of 1.024. Votto, like Hamilton in the AL, has a "feel good" factor as well. His club was not expected to achieve like they did and Votto has been improving every season to anchor his over-achieving club.

Serious consideration should rightfully be given to Colorado Rockies center fielder Carlos Gonzales. "CarGo" as he is called, seems to be finally fulfilling his potential and should make the A's management wonder why they traded this guy. Gonzales hit an NL best .336 on 197 hits (1st), 34 homeruns (4th), 117 RBIs (2nd), 111 runs (3rd), and a .974 OPS (3rd). And certainly, no MVP award in the NL can be discussed seriously without St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. All Pujols did was exactly what he does every season and that is just be awesome. Maybe that is why he won't win again, because it seems to be expected. Pujols had a .312 average (6th) on 183 hits (5th), 42 homeruns (1st), 118 RBIs (1st), 115 runs (1st) and 1.011 OPS (2nd). Dang, the guy gets two out of three categories of the triple crown and comes in 6th in the remaining one and doesn't win the MVP? Yup.

CY YOUNG

AL

C.C. Sabathia, LHP
New York Yankees

Carsten Charles Sabathia was the winningest pitcher in the American League this season with 21 wins. His 21-7 record was great and combine that with his 3.18 ERA (7th), 237.2 innings (2nd), 197 strikeouts (6th) and 1.19 WHIP (10th) should give him a narrow victory for the award. The big lefty was the horse and backbone of the Yankees season and the only "sure thing" in a rotation that was chaotic all season long. He's the Yankees MVP for certain this year.

However, if last season taught me anything it was that the voters are starting to look inside the numbers and past the traditional indicators in an attempt to determine who was really the best. And where I though Seattle Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez was clearly deserving last season when he went 19-5 to lead the AL, the voters gave it to 16-8 Zack Greinke citing his other numbers and the fact that he played for an anemic team. Well, this season, the voters will get a chance to apply the same logic to an even greater degree as Hernandez was a mediocre 13-12 on the season. His 13 wins was tied for 18th in the AL...18th! However, his 2.27 ERA was tops in the AL. Furthermore, his 249.2 innings pitched (1st), 232 strikeouts (2nd) and 1.07 WHIP (3rd) show that indeed, he was a great pitcher on a poor team this season. I'd also like to give consideration to Tampa Bay Devil Rays LHP David Price. His 19 wins (tied-2nd) and 2.72 ERA (3rd) were excellent, especially combined with 208.2 innings (15th), 188 strikeouts (8th) and 1.19 WHIP (11th) were super solid as well. Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester 19 wins (tied-2nd), 3.25 ERA (9th), 208.0 innings (19th), 225 strikeouts (3rd) and 1.20 WHIP (13th) was great as was teammate Clay Buchholz, 17 wins (tied-7th), 2.33 ERA (2nd) and 1.20 WHIP (14th) get some thought as well.

NL

Roy Halladay, RHP
Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies pulled off a coup when they landed Halladay in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays over the off-season. Halladay has been nothing short of spectacular this season, his first in the NL. "Doc" was 21-10 in a season he led the NL in wins and threw a perfect game to boot. His 2.44 ERA (3rd), 250.2 innings (1st), 219 strikeouts (2nd) and 1.04 WHIP (2nd) are impressive. And I know that post season performance should not be taken into consideration, but the guy just threw a no-hitter in his 1st playoff game, the second no-hitter this season...need I say more?

The vote should be close if you look at the stats, but in the end I believe Halladay will win in a decisive manner. Others to get serious consideration include Colorado Rockies RHP Ubaldo Jimenez. If not for a 2nd half collapse in which he went 4-7, Jimenez had a serious shot at not only 20 wins but 30 as he was an awe-inspiring 15-1 including a no-hitter at the All Star break. At the close of the season, Jimenez had 19 wins (3rd), 2.88 ERA (8th), 221.2 innings (7th), 214 strikeouts (3rd) and a 1.15 WHIP (10th). St. Louis Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright is right in there as one of the top 3 pitchers this season once again. His 20 wins (2nd) and 2.42 ERA (2nd) were great, especially combined with 230.1 innings (3rd), 213 strikeouts (4th) and 1.05 WHIP (3rd) may bump him into second place in the voting.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

AL
Austin Jackson, CF
Detroit Tigers

Acquired in an off-season trade with the New York Yankees in exchange for Curtis Granderson, Jackson has proved to be everything he was promised to be. He hit .293 (tops among rookies, 16th in AL) on 181 hits (9th), scored 103 runs (tied-6th) and swiped 27 bases (13th)...if he ever develops any power, watch out. Jackson looks to be the real deal and the Yanks may eventually regret trading this kid.

The only other rookie to garner consideration was Jackson's teammate, left fielder Brennan Boesch. He batted .256, 14 homeruns and had 67 RBIs.

NL
Buster Posey, C
San Francisco Giants

Over the the senior circuit, the race for ROY was much tighter. Early on it looked to me as if Jason Heyward would run away with it, but as the season progressed, Posey became a star. He not only showed he has the tools to be an every day stud behind the plate, but he is that rare combination of catcher with both glove and bat. Posey hit .305 0n 124 hits and had 18 homeruns and 67 RBIs in only 108 games. That would project him to be a 25 HR/100 RBI guy, and with superbe defense, wow. This guy will stay and anchor this staff for a long time.

Atlanta Branves right fielder Jason Heyward burst onto the scene with all the subtlety of a cannonshot. Then teams started to play him like a legitimate threat, not just some other rookie and his numbers came back to earth. Heyward looks to have all the tools to be an All Star caliber player in a few years and like Posey, could anchor his team into the future. Heyward hit .277 on 144 hits with 18 homeruns and 72 RBIs.

The other NL rookie to have a killer rookie season was Florida Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez. This rookie fish probably had the best offensive season of all NL rookies, batting .273 on 156 hits, 19 homeruns and 85 RBIs. Hard to argue with those numbers, but at age 27, he's a a chunk older than most rookies.

That's it for the Awards, however, I'd like to take a moment to point out some other great seasons and milestones.

And then there were these guys...

Ken Griffey, Jr., OF
Seattle Mariners

Griffey concluded a Hall of Fame caliber career early this season with his first team, the Seattle Mariners. Back home in Seattle, Griffey was that positve roll model to a young and struggling franchise but when he couldn't catch up to high 80's fastball any longer, he knew it was time to hang up the spikes, and did so with class.

Griffey played 21 seasons with primarily two teams, the Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds, if you don't count those 41 games at the end of 2008 with the Chicago White Sox. During his tenure, Griffey played outstanding baseball, winning 10 Gold Gloves for his acrobatics in the outfield, the 1997 AL MVP Award and was named to the 1999 All Century team. His stats at the plate are impressive to boot: .284 batting average, 2,781 hits (48th alltime), 524 doubles (37th alltime), 630 homeruns (5th alltime), 1,836 RBIs (14th alltime), 1,662 runs (31st alltime) and a career .907 OPS.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B
New York Yankees

A-Rod not only hit 30 homeruns (8th) and 125 RBIs (2nd), his 14th such season with 30 HR/100 RBI (the most in major league history), but he passed the magical 600 homerun plateau, finishing with 613 for the season (6th alltime). He also has 1,831 RBIs (17th alltime), 1,757 runs (19th alltime) and 2,672 hits (64th alltime). With a fat contract in place, a World Series ring on his finger and the Yankees front office keeping him surrounded by talented players, Rodriguez should have many more productive years in front of him en route to the Hall of Fame.

Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Seattle Mariners

Wow! Can this guy plain hit. Ichiro had his 10th straight season of 200+ hits this year as he once again led all of baseball in hits with 214. With 2,244 hits, he ranks 158th alltime, which doesn't in itself seem overly impresseive until you realize he has done it in ten seasons and if you count his 1,278 hits during eight seasons in Japan, the guy has 3,522 hits for his career! At age 36, I'm certain that this slap hitter still has at least four more very productive years left in him as he'll pass 3,000 in the majors.

Derek Jeter, SS
New York Yankees

During what was easily his least productive offensive season, batting only .270 on 179 hits with 111 runs, 10 homeruns and 67 RBIs, Jeets passed many a milestone in this his 15th season. He passed Griffey to become the active hits leader early in the season and finished with 2,926 hits (36th alltime). Next season, assuming good health and a reasonable 175 hits, Jeter will not only become only the 27th player in the history of the game to amass 3,000 hits, he should have somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,100 hits, moving him up 17 spots into 19th alltime.

I have heard that many consider him over the hill now, and with his contract expriring at the close of the season, what will the Yanks do with a 36 year old shortstop...well, they better pay the guy lots of money! Hell, he is the face of the franchise and certainly on the Yankee Mount Rushmore. I believe that during the offseason, Jeter will work on pulling the ball and driving it with authority, as he got jammed inside a lot this season and grounded out far too many times.

I still hold that he has 3,500 hits in his career...maybe more.

Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, C
Washington Nationals

I thought Pudge was done last year...I guess not. He put together a solid season for a 38 year old catcher, hitting .266 on 106 hits, with 18 doubles, 4 homers and 49 RBIs. And, he became the active player with the 2nd most hits, sitting behind the aforementioned Jeter. Rodriguez now has 2,817 hits (45th alltime) to go along with 309 homeruns. Will he become the first catcher with 3,000 hits, that'd be cool. Two more seasons, Go Pudge Go!

Chipper Jones, 3B
Atlanta Braves

I think Larry is calling it a career, and what a career it has been. He is certainly the greatest Atlanta Brave (Hank was a Milwaukee Brave for much of his career). In 16 seasons, Jones batted .306 and had 2,490 hits (94th alltime), 436 homeruns (37th alltime), scored 1,505 runs (68th alltime) and drove in 1,491 RBIs (52nd alltime) and had an outstanding .941 OPS.

Trevor Hoffman, RHP
Milwaukee Brewers

To begin the season, the Hoff had 591 saves and was the alltime saves leader, by the end of the season, Hoffman had added ten more to his total, increasing his evergrowing alltime total to 601 and with a career ERA of 2.87. Hoffman has been a machine over the years and has racked up incredible numbers on more often than not mediocre teams all without the benefit of an overpowering pitch; Hoffman's successcame on his amazing change-up. By all accounts, Hoffman has probably pitched his last game and should begin his five year purgatory until he becomes a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Mariano Rivera, RHP
New York Yankees

No discussion of saves can be had without bringing up "Mr. Automatic", Mariano Rivera, who sits directly behind Hoffman with 559 saves, but has a markedly superior ERA of 2.23. Rivera showed signs of mortality this season as he posted 33 saves and 5 blown saves, but still had a miniscule 1.80 ERA. The 40 year old still breaks enough bats to make a lumberjack proud and looks to have enough in him for a couple more seasons, surely enough to eclipse Hoffman...maybe at the close of next season if he has a strong year.

Jim Thome, DH
Minnesota Twins

Speaking of lumberjacks, Thome is right at home in the land of Paul Bunyon. He continues on and on and at age 40, Thome had a very productive season, batting .283 with 25 homeruns and 59 RBIs. His career total of 589 homeruns (8th alltime), his production this season and his relative bargain salary of $1,500,000 means he should be around another season or two, certainly enough to pass the 600 homerun mark.

Battle of the winningest

2010-10-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

With the close of the baseball regular season just two days away with the Yankees in the playoffs and Boston out, you have to look for things to get excited about as nearly all the season drama has been played out...I said "nearly all". With New York in Boston for the final series of the season to play out the latest chapter in the greatest rivalry in all of sports and homefield advantage still up for grabs as the Yanks and the Rays try to capture the division, meaning every last win matters. However, something else caught my attention when reading the lineups for today's Yankee vs. Red Soxdouble-header...the starting pitchers.

The Yankees' champion will be Andy Pettitte while the Red Sox will counter with Tim Wakefield. Both are long time veterans of the baseball game and fixtures with their respective teams and both are past their prime. However, I got to thinking that they've got to be the two winningest pitchers still active in the game, so to the stats I went searching. Damn I'm good!

Pettitte, surprisingly enough, is the active wins leaders in baseball with 240. Wakefield is second with 193. I know that over the years, they've had to have faced eachother but this time, they are the two granddads of the game.

Pettitte will power the ball from the left side and Wakefield will float that knuckler from the right.

With the Yanks trying to hold onto the division lead, the Red Sox trying to play spoiler and all of the usual drama and passion these two storied clubs always bring to the field, adding in this pitching match-up should be the cherry on the sundae.

Go YANKS!!!

retro lunch

2010-09-29T10:11:00.001-07:00

Simple pleasures. The older I get, the more pleasure I derive from the simple things in life. Recently I wrote about the invigorating feeling that I associate with getting a new pair of sneakers. Today, it's lunch meat.

Not any ol' lunch meat, no turkey, roast beef or pastrami, not even the kid's favorite standby bologna. Today I'm talking about olive loaf. For the uninitiated, olive load appears on the surface to be bologna with some pimento stuffed green olives embedded throughout. Bite into it and you'll find it to be far more complex and enjoyable than just that.

I had a hankering for some old school lunch today; not the standard peanut butter and jelly or bologna and American cheese, but something just a few degrees off. Olive loaf would assuage that hunger. Three slices of olive loaf on white bread with mustard and a chunk of sharp cheddar cheese. I'd pour a tall ice-filled glass with root beer and round the whole meal out with a couple of hard Snyder's sourdough pretzels.

I'm not sure where this lunch came from, somewhere in the dark recesses of my own history, a recollection from a past life or maybe just fanciful but false memories.

In the end, however, nobody really cares much about the spark, just the fire, and in this case, the fire was delicious. Even my steadfast wife, joshin' me about my olive loaf, couldn't resist a bite. I peered up from my frothy root beer and confidently proclaimed, "It's good, huh?" Her non-reply was enough confirmation for me.

We need to take time to step away from the now, the common and get back to where we were. Re-discover those simple pleasures somewhere off the beaten path.

I bought a half-pound of the loaf, so I've probably got two more delicious sandwiches to go over the next day or two...but then what. As good as it was, I'm not going to start eating olive loaf every day, or every week, or even once a month for that matter. However, I can tell you this, it won't be nearly as long before the next one as it was from the last one.

Say, "so long" to the grand ol' man of football

2010-09-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

As a kid growin' up in the Seventies, I, like a great many kids, collected football cards. My favorite team was the Oakland Raiders, although I'm not entirely sure why because my dad was a die hard Minnesota Vikings fan. In any regard, to this day, I still remember a card in my collection that I had no idea how I acquired, it was a 1973 George Blanda card, the one with the green and yellow ribbon running along the left side causing me to incorrectly associate Blanda with the Green Bay Packers. Why not have a black and silver ribbon I always thought.

Anyway, George Blanda was rapidly approaching his final years as I became a Raider fan...my quarterback was Ken "the Snake" Stabler. Blanda was some old kicker / qb from a past generation. But he was a Raider and that was plenty cool enough in my book.

Mr. Blanda passed away yesterday.

I was in the garage working on a little Honda when I heard the news over the radio. My mind instantly recalled that '73 Topps card with the green and yellow ribbon. I still have it.

So I say, "so long George." and another great goes away.

Deuces Wild

2010-09-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

As I was cruisin' "the List" this morning, I heard an approaching rumble and then it grew quiet for just a moment before a loud blip of the throttle indicated its presence in front of my house. I leaned over, flipped one of the blinds up and peered out to see what I could see.

There, just over the top of the bushes, I spotted a burgundy deuce coupe...cool. Then I thunked, "who is that?". I executed the CONTROL F feature in my onboard CPU and came up with no hits. Then, just as I was about to give up, I stood up, took up another vantage and spotted the driver, my neighbor Jerry...or is it Gerry, frankly I'm not sure.

Either way, made my way down the hall, out to the garage, slipped on some Jap flaps and walked out only to find Jerry at my front door. I called out, "Hey neighbor." Jerry turned, smiled and said, "Here's my '32. I was just out for a drive and thought I'd stop by and show you. My speedo isn't working though...hmmm".

As we walked down to his car, he told me how he was headed down to Los Angeles (or there abouts because anything south of Bakersfield and north of Mexico is "L.A." to us in northern California) to get his "tuck 'n' roll" done next week.

We combed over his car and he told me about his next project, a Boss 302 powered, original bodied '32 3-window.

Over the years, Jerry has stopped by to talk, taking my open garage door as an invitation as many people do. Really, I don't mind. I enjoy chatting about cars, motorcycles or the town over a beer with strangers...you have to open yourself up to the world sometimes.

Other than cruising past his house and catching a rare glimpse of this deuce underway, I've never seen it on the road...so this was cool. But then again, any time someone pulls up at your place in a 1932 Ford is a good time.

Appreciate the moments, open yourself up to the occasional stranger and they just might stop by in a cool old car.

new kicks

2010-09-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

Whether you call them sneaks, teni-shoes, kick, what have you, doesn't everyone love getting a new pair? I know that I do.

The other day my wife was headed to the Vans store to buy some new shoes for my youngest son and I offered up that I too was in need of a new pair. My current Vans, black Omar Hassans, are getting long in the tooth, thin in the sole and shredded of the laces...plus they are starting to stink. I asked her to grab me a pair of plain old "original" Vans, size 11 1/2.

When she returned, that same feeling, that same smell, that same whatever washed over me like I was ten again. I laced them up, slipped them on and for a moment was transported back. Here I was walking though the kitchen and hall way, intent on absorbing all of the "feel". Did they fit, was the right just like the left, could I run faster and jump higher now with my new shoes? In a haze, I nearly found myself searching for that little mirror on the floor so I could check out my new shoes from another vantage.

One day these shoes too will become old and need replaced and I'll repeat the same routine I've done for four decades...I'm glad that I've finally realized that it is one of those "things" that I really appreciate and once again, it is the little things, the routine things, the mundane, but I love my new shoes.

neat stuff in them thar hills, part 2

2010-09-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, I went back to further inspect the 1970 Triumph Bonneville T120RT. I ended up opening up three large Rubbermade totes full of parts, inspecting them and photographing them. Everything was pretty squared away and in good condition with the exception of the original Sonny Routt 750cc cylinder...which had gone missing.

Say what, the singular piece, part or component that defines this bike and it is missing!

Still a nice bike, no sale at this time, but I'll keep at it although for a considerably less sum.

Then yesterday, I went to visit another collector and trader of vintage motorcycle parts and in a small room off of a detached garage, what did I spy? The motorless frame of an OIF Brit Bike. OIF = Oil In Frame, a design incorporated in 1971 that effectively made an enlarged frame backbone into an oil tank.

I asked, "are you restoring that Triumph?". He replied, "It's not a Triumph, it's a BSA." I squinted and tried to see better through past the other bikes in the way and said, "Cool."

He asked me if I knew what model it was. I felt like I was back it school and he was clearly testing my knowledge after my initial misidentification. "A65", I said fairly confidently. "Nope, it's an A70." he said as I saw a smile escape. Before I could even say that I'd not really heard of an A70, he went on to tell me that it was "one of only 200 ever built so that Dick Mann could race a 750 that season." He also told me that he bought it from the original owner and that he had all of the original paperwork, bill of sale and a letter from the dealer indicating the nature of the bike.

After completing a deal for a pair of 1969 Honda z50 Mini Trails, I began a bit of banter about the BSA. He let me in on his "off the top of his head" price if someone wanted to buy it...I'm not going to say, but it was reasonable...I'll definitely keep it in mind.

So in the span of 72 hours, I've come across two rare Brit bikes, a 1970 Triumph T120RT and a 1971 BSA A70, both were one of 200 and both were essentially 650cc bikes knocked out to 750cc to qualify them to race. The Triumph went with a larger bore, same stroke and the BSA kept the same bore, but lengthened the stroke...I'd love to have them both. Only time and money will tell.

neat stuff in them thar hills

2010-09-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I packed up my daughter and headed up through historic gold country to check out an old Triumph that I'd heard a guy had for sale. I had to be quick though because the owner told me that another potential buyer was headed up from the bay area and would be there in two hours...see what happens when you sit on a lead.

Anyway, when I arrived, I found the bike to be a bit rougher than I'd hoped and was miss matched in terms of chassis and engine. However, I spotted another Triumph next to a dirt bike near a shed. Rather it was part of an old Triumph. Upon inspection, I noted that it was a 1970 model and looked as though it was in the middle of a restoration.

I asked, "you restoring this one?". "Nope", he replied, "I got it along with some other bikes and I'm going to sell it.". I asked if he had the motor and such around. "In the garage, wanna take a look?".

Don't have to ask me twice; we headed to the garage and in three big Rubbermade totes were what appeared to be all of the parts of this bike, including the motor. We made a little chit chat, looked at some of his other toys but my mind kept going back to the Triumph in the totes.

On my way back out to the highway, I spotted a deer by the road, as I grabbed my camera, it made its getaway...but not before I shot it...with the camera, duh!

On the way out, I grabbed a few more shots and then recalled an old World War II warbird that a local farmer had and decided to grab a shot of it too. I've always meant to get a pic of it, but either never had a camera or always slipped my mind.

The bird is an old Chance Vought F4U Corsair, you know, the planes that U.S. Marine Pappy Boyington flew over the Pacific and was immortalized in the television show "Baa Baa Black Sheep" when I was a kid. I've always loved the inverted gullwing design of these planes...that and the fact that they blew so many Jap Zeros out of the skies!

One day I should stop and ask about this warbird in a barn, I bet it is a great story.

I'm not done with that Triumph yet though...more to follow.

A rare breed

2010-09-20T18:32:00.001-07:00

In baseball today, a "lifer" is something that has become increasingly rare. By lifer, I mean a player who spends their entire career with one team. It got me to thinking, who are the life long players of today?

I wanted to consider only players who've been in the game long enough to actually have a career, I've arbitrarily defined it as "at least a decade"...fair enough. So here is a list of players I've compiled with a minimum of ten years service, all with one team...it is fairly short and yet diverse list.

Larry "Chipper" Jones, Atlanta Braves (3B)
16 Seasons

Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (SS)
15 Seasons

Jorge Posada, New York Yankees (C)
15 Seasons

Mariano Riviera, New York Yankees (P)
15 Seasons

Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies (1B)
13 Seasons

Jason Veritek, Boston Red Sox (C)
13 Seasons

Erik Chavez, Oakland Athletics (3B)
12 Seasons

Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays (OF)
11 Seasons

Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox (P)
10 Seasons

Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (2B)
10 Seasons

Michael Young, Texas Rangers (SS)
10 Seasons

Only eleven players in all of Major League Baseball fit the bill. I thought that there would be at least twice that many considering that I went down to ten years of service. This doesn't bode well for seeing lifers much in the future...I'm certain that within the next generation, there will not be a single player who classifies as a lifer.

Fantastic Forty Ford

2010-09-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

As a kid growing up in a "Chevy" household, it was rare to hear my old man sing the praises of the Blue Oval. After all, he drove a series of Chevrolet trucks and later a Corvette all while telling stories of his '55 and '57 Chevys owned and hotrodded in the early Sixties. Grandma was the owner of a '58 Impala until she later bought a Nova that lasted until her final days.

Our favorite family racer was local legend Bob Bunker, the notorious "Folsom Flash", whom my dad followed from his early years until his retirement, all while racing the absolute baddest steel bodied 1955 Chevy you'd ever seen. When my dad told stories about the early years at Sacramento Raceway out on Excelsior Road, Bunker was driving his '55 powered by a 409 engine and a Lenco transmission. And of course, whenever we watched American Graffiti, it was always Bob Falfa's black '55 that we rooted for somehow believing that in the end, it would beat the '32 Ford.

There was one exception to all of the bowtie love in our family, the 1940 Ford. My dad always said that if he could have one car, one hot rod, it would be a 1940 Ford Coupe...I heard this year after year growing up, while working around the house, pulling weeds, bleeding brakes, going for a ride in the summer while listening to the Beach Boys, Duane Eddy and Johnny Cash on the 8 track. But always the talk came back around to the 1940 Ford...I don't know why and I never asked my dad where his love of this particular car came from and honestly I'll probably never know since we don't talk anymore, but it was always the 40.

Flash forward to age 17 and I got a job running errands and the like for an engineering company. There in the parking lot was a cool looking burgundy and black 1941 Ford truck. Now, as an aside, Ford trucks were usually a year or so behind the curve as they related to aesthetic designs found on their automobile counterparts, meaning that a '40 and '41 truck had similar design as a '39 and '40 car...got it.

In any regard, I was drawn to the truck. I soon became friends with its owner, Mark Perkins, and over the nearly 24 years since, we've long remained friends. The '41 truck is long gone, but I found that Mark too always had a passion for the 1940 Ford coupe. Then, some number of years back, he found just what he was looking for, a 1940 Ford standard coupe, and pulled the trigger.

MARK AND HIS 1940 FORD STANDARD COUPE

SEAN and TYLER PERKINS HANGING OUT WITH THEIR OLD MAN'S COUPE

Mark had the original 239 cubic inch flathead rebuilt to its stock configuration and then Mark went through and made all the right touches to finish off the car. It has original 1940 license plates, skinny bias ply tires, a cool AAA license plate topper, the headlamp bezels are painted body color as they should be on a standard model and he gave it just a bit of flair with the red painted steel wheels. Mark has a great eye for detail and seems to know what "looks right". I like to think that the fact that I key into these details and appreciate them means that I too have that "eye" for correctness...maybe it is because the two of us both are artists at heart and lean toward the "correct aesthetic" as I like to call it.

Now is probably a good time for a quick and dirty guide to the 1939/40 Ford. Assuming that the cars are in their original fit and trim, a 1939 Standard does not look so much like a 1939 Deluxe...the headlamps and grill are all wrong. However, the 1939 Deluxe looks virtually identical to a 1940 Standard, save the following distinctions. The '39 wears "wide five wheels", meaning the bolt pattern is very wide and the lugs are situated way out on the edge of the drum where as the '40 is a more standard bolt pattern. The '39 has thin chrome headlamp bezels and tear drop shaped tail lamps where as the '40 has wider headlamp bezels and chevron shaped tail lamps. The grills are virtually identical and run vertical. The differences between a '40 Standard and Deluxe are that the standard had body color painted headlamp bezels and the deluxe has chrome. The Standard has but a lone single sided tail lamp and the deluxe has both a left and right tail lamp. The deluxe has a 3-piece grill with slats that run horizontally and the standard a 1-piece grill with vertical slats. There are some other differences but those are the easy to spot ones.

Most '40's you see out there are deluxe models or standard models refitted with deluxe grills and twin tail lamps. A true standard is rather hard to find. In my opinion it is better looking because of it's simplicity. Honestly, and in a hushed voice, I have to admit that I prefer the '39 deluxe because of its even more simplified trim. That not withstanding, when Mark rolls up in his '40 coupe it always brings a smile to my face. I used to love just showing up at work to see it parked in the lot.

Mark drives his car, he drives it frequently...and when he is not driving it, he tools around in his only other car or truck rather, a 1960 Chevrolet C-10.

I love the old Forty Ford and even though my dad never told me why, I can see for myself why he loved it so...it is simply a beautiful car even 70 years after it first hit the streets.

Oh, and for us being a Chevy family...my first car was a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach I and I've primarily been a Ford guy ever since...sorry dad. Maybe one day I'll make up by getting my own '40 Ford (or '39 deluxe...shhh).

2010 California Capitol Air Show

2010-09-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I somehow managed to wrangle the entire family to the California Capitol Air Show over at Mather Air Force Base in Rancho Cordova. As a point of clarification, I do understand that it is no longer an Air Force Base and has not been since 1993, but growing up as a kid in Rancho, I always knew it as a base and will always think of it in that way...whatever.

In any regard, packed up the family, headed west and enjoyed an afternoon on the tarmac.

First on the scene was the gaping maw of the C-5 Galaxy, cargo jet extraordinare. Got the kids all up inside for a quick shot.

Later checked out a pair of F-15 Eagle fighters and an F-18 Hornet fighter. Cruised through a few helicopters and made our way over to the warbirds, easily my favorite part of any air show.

There were four P-38 Lightning airplanes but you had to pay even more to check them out up close...I didn't understand that and wasn't about to crack open the wallet on principle alone.

I enjoyed the B-24 Liberator and a couple of cool P-51 Mustangs en route to the far east end of the show area where, behind barricades and a contingent of armed guards, sat a pair of F-22 Raptors. I had wanted to watch these birds in action but we missed their display...I don't know if we were early or late or if it was held the previous day because they don't publish an exact schedule for security reasons. They were cool looking nonetheless.

As we made our way back along the runway, a booming noise erupted and the monster that is Robosaurus came to life, screaming and howling as it snorted 20 foot flames and ate a car...Bella, my 4 year old daughter, wanted nothing to do with Robosaurus and we beat feet to a "safe" distance.

As we headed out, I took time to really admire an old Boeing Stearman biplane outfitted with a killer cool Pratt & Whitney R-954 engine.

Making our way to the gates, an F/A-18 Hornet put on a great aerial display, something that the kids really enjoyed, including a "near sonic" flyby.

Watching a display like this and understanding that we possess even far greater capabilities in terms of the F-22, stealth and drone technology makes it easy to feel that the United States cannot be beaten militarily. God bless the U.S.

Want to check out some high resolution pics, visit my Flickr site.

good eatin' at the South Pine Cafe

2010-09-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Business and pleasure...good combination that rarely goes together. However, this past Saturday, that was exactly how my morning turned out.

I had recently sold a vintage Honda dirt bike wheel to a guy named George and we'd agreed that I'd deliver it to him. Normally, delivering parts goes beyond how far I'm willing to extend myself to complete a deal, but this deal was a little different. George told me that he owned a little restaurant in Auburn called the South Pine Cafe and that if I were willing to deliver it to him there, that he'd take care of lunch for me and a guest.

I thought, "what the hell, why not?" and agreed. The price of the wheel was rather insignificant in this deal and in the end, the cash he'd left me in the envelope was later recycled in the form of a nice tip for our waitress.

I took the opportunity for the rare "morning date" with my wife. With a fistfull of kids, the times we get out with just the two of us are few and far between, in the morning even more so.

Just after 11:00 am, I tossed the old Honda wheel in the back of the car and made the short jaunt up Folsom Auburn Road (side note: in Sacramento County it is called Folsom Auburn Road and after you pass the county line into Placer County, it changes to Auburn Folsom Road...take a look for yourself). Just before pullng into Auburn proper, we spotted the little cafe, tucked inside a larger business complex at the southeast corner of Auburn Folsom Road and Herdal Drive.

After parking up front, I withdrew the part and with wheel in one hand and wife on the other, walked into the cafe. Upon spotting the waitress, I asked in a serious tone, "I hear you take old motorcycle parts as payment for meals?" She seemed to take a moment to collect her thoughts and then lit up, "Oh, you must be Pete?".

We had a quick exchange and she pointed to a spot near the bar where I placed the wheel and then escorted my wife and I to a nice little table. You have a choice here of inside or outside tables. We chose inside, the atmosphere is very pleasant and there is a laid back artsy vibe accentuated by the way cool photographs on all the walls, shots of the goldrush era downtown Auburn, shots of the river and surrounding landscapes, all with dramatic lighting and coloring.

I was surprised at the menu, not your average bacon and eggs breakfasts and hamburger lunches. Now, certainly if that is what you want, they have them, but they also feature some slightly upscale fare as well. While we waited on our order, I endulged in a Pabst Blue Ribbon out of the bottle. Not too often you find the old PBR at a restaurant, so I had to partake and "let the devil in my mouth" so to speak.

Our food soon found its way to our table. My wife had the Lobster Benedict, poached eggs, spinach, tomatoes and lobster on english muffins with jalapeño hollandaise and avocado. To wash it down, she had an Ollaliberry Lemonade. I had the Cajun Scamble, eggs with prawns, Louisiana hot sausage, mushrooms, red onions, corn salsa and marinara, topped with jalapeño hollandaise. It had a great spicey kick and went perfect with a cold beer. Both meals came with a side of country potatoes and toast.

Everything was great, portions were solid, food very tasty, service excellent and atmosphere relaxing and inviting. I was more than pleasantly surprised...and the kicker, no bill.

If you're ever looking for a cool little place to grab a bite, don't mind a little scenic drive, I highly recommend the South Pine Cafe. Oh, and they have two other locations, one in Grass Valley and one in Nevada City, but only the Auburn location has the brunch menu.

May we have a Triple Crown winner...puuh-leez

2010-09-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

I've never seen a Triple Crown winner during my life...no, I'm not talking about a midget whipping a poor horse around a track, I'm talking about baseball where the Triple Crown has not been achieved since American Leaguer Carl Yastrzemski (.326 avg, 44 HR, 121 RBI) did so with the Boston Red Sox in 1967, that's 43 seasons ago folks. And if you think that is a while ago, over in the Senior Circuit, the year showed 1937 on the calender when Cardinal's left fielder Joe Medwick took the honors (.374 avg, 31 HR, 154 RBI).

In a season where balance finally seems to have been largely achieved, a season in which pitching excellence has matched offensive production, I believe that a Triple Crown winner would be icing on the cake.

Okay, before I go further, I should make sure that we're all on the same page here. Baseball's Triple Crown is when a batter leads his league in batting average, runs batted in and homeruns. There are some that talk of a pitching Triple Crown, but I don't buy it...what's next, the fielding triple crown? Anyway, I digress.

It seems that every season, there is at least some mention of a Triple Crown, but it usually fades about 100 games into the season and at best we end up with someone grabbing two of the brass rings, usually homeruns and RBIs. In recent memory, it seems that the batting average third of the equation is left out, primarily because players focus on hitting homeruns to the detriment of their average, meaning sometimes they are so preoccupied with trying to pull the ball over the foul pole that they refuse to try to hit the ball the opposite way for a single and thus they increase their homer totals and reduce their average. In the end, the game is all about scoring runs and homers are much sexier than singles or doubles.

This season, there is no one player in contention for the Triple Crown in either league, there are several. Honestly, this morning I was checking through the box scores and scanning through the stats and if you take a close look, meaning players in the top 5 of the offensive categories, there are a few that warrant discussion. I'll only take a look at players who are in the top 5 of at least two of the three categories...let's go.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (1B)
.333 Average (2nd)
33 Homeruns (tied-2nd)
110 RBIs (1st)

Cabrera has the best shot in the AL because he regularly hits for average and power (.314 BA /33 HR average over 162 games for career). Unfortunately, with Hamilton out for a good chunk of the remainder of the season, Cabrera will have a heck of a time adding nearly 30 points to his average, and with Bautista pulling the ball over the left field fence at a prodigious rate, his 2nd place is a staggering 10 homers behind 1st. Sorry Miguel, MVP, quite possibly, Triple Crown, no.

Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers (RF)
.361 Average (1st)
31 Homeruns (4th)
97 RBIs (tied-7th)

Currently Hamilton's ribs are keeping him out of the lineup, which may be good for his stats actually, because his average cannot sink while not playing. Hamilton's .361 average is the best in all of baseball by over 20 points and far better than his previous season high of .304 (2008). Hamilton will have to be happy with top 10 finishes in lots of categories and some serious MVP consideration, but no Triple Crown.

Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox (1B)
.318 Average (tied-5th)
33 Homeruns (tied-2nd)
98 RBIs (6th)

Konerko is a career .280 hitter, never finishing better than .313 (2006), but he has always had pop in his bat and while his average is very respectable now, I doubt he'll ever do much better...swing for the fences Paul.

Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (RF)
.263 Average (46th)
43 Homeruns (1st)
105 RBIs (2nd)

Bautusta is the enigma of this entire season. How does a light hitting 29 year old journeyman player (6 teams in 6 seasons) lead all of baseball in homeruns. Consider that Jose has never had more than 16 dingers in any season, he now has 43, nearly triple his career average. Yes, he has finally received more consistent playing time, yes he is hitting in the middle of a powerful lineup, yes, he has some sort of timing mechanism in his swing, but 43 homers and he's on pace to top 50 this season. Maybe he went to the Big Pappy school of how to be a power hitter late in your career. He'll easily lead in homeruns this year, challenge for the RBI title, but that average will keep him far from a Triple Crown.

Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees (1B)
.266 Average (43rd)
30 Homeruns (5th)
99 RBIs (5th)

Tex is the kind of guy who I believe "could" win a Triple Crown. He is an excellent switch hitter, consistently hits for power and drives in runs, especially in that talented Yankee lineup it is just the average that keeps him away. Teixeira always seems to start the season very cold and then by the All Star break, he is smashing away and climbing the leader boards. If he could ever get a hot start, Tex could produce a Crown in his career.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Joey Votto, Cincinnatti Reds (1B)
.321 Average (2nd)
32 Homeruns (tied-3rd)
98 RBIs (2nd)

Like his team, the Reds, Votto has emerged from the shadows and into the bright lights of a national stage. I believe that Votto will emerge the MVP of his league, but the Triple Crown will just barely elude him. He certainly has the ability to jump into the lead for homers and RBIs but climbing 20 points in average so late in the season is nearly unheard of.

Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies (CF)
.340 Average (1st)
32 Homeruns (tied-3rd)
100 RBIs (1st)

Statistically, Gonzalez is closest to the Triple Crown this season. His high average is nearly 20 points above the second place contender and that is hard to overcome so late in the season. His lead in RBI's is good and he is just 3 homers behind in the homerun category. This 3rd year player is improving every year and could very well challenge Pujols for NL supremacy in the near future. I'd give him nearly even odds to win a triple crown this season.

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (1B)
.308 Average (7th)
35 Homerun (1st)
97 RBIs (3rd)

Arguably the best offensive player of his generation, Pujols seems to have it all in spades. He hits for great average and power and in a strong lineup, drives in a lot of runs to boot. Over an average 162 game season, for his career, Pujols has averaged a .331 batting average, 42 homeruns and 128 RBIs. Those numbers alone show his incredible potential to win a Triple Crown. This season will be close, but I think he will be just a bit shy, but he will be a serious contender for MVP once again.

Adam Dunn, Washington Nationals (1B)
.268 Average (43rd)
34 Homeruns (2nd)
91 RBIs (4th)

Unlike the other Triple Crown candidates, Dunn will never be a threat to win a batting title; his career .251 average is evidence of that. In fact, this season's .268 is his best ever. Dunn, however, is always a contender for the homerun title and if he ever played on a team with a few table setters would rack up substantially more RBIs.

When all is said and done, will we see a Triple Crown? Only time will tell, but in a season that has produced so many great achievements, I'd love to see at least one, but wouldn't two be awesome?

By the way, for what it is worth, there are three NL pitchers, Roy Halladay (17 wins-2nd, 2.36 ERA-5th, 196 SO-3rd), Adam Wainwright (17 wins-2nd, 2.34 ERA-3rd, 184 SO-5th) and Ubaldo Jimenez (18 wins-1st, 2.79 ERA-7th, 178 SO-7th) but no AL pitchers with a legitimate shot at a pitching triple crown.

I heard a noise, looked out and found a goat in front of my house

2010-09-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

File under the catagory of "sometimes cool shit shows up in front of your pad". Today, while wrenching in the garage, I heard a roar and felt a rumble, you know the low frequency kind that reverberates through your core. I put down the socket wrench, wiped my brow on my greasy shirt and wandered between the string of motorcycles and my old Ford and out into my driveway.

With one final rev of the motor for good measure, the owner shut off the ignition and got out of his beautiful Pontiac GTO. He wasn't here to see me or anything cool like that, but rather to scope out a spot in the adjacent park for a bar-b-que.

After he had departed, I grabbed a quick shot for the files...

I wanted to chat him up and maybe get a few better shots but he and his crew seemed occupied with their picnic plans. I figured maybe later, when he was coming back, I could snag him for a minute. However, he ended up leaving while I was in the middle of some grinding and scooted off.

My kid told me that the guy lives a few streets down and rarely drives the car as he sees it in the garage. He also said the guy has a new GTOas well, you know, the Australian Holden inspired cars...anyway, it is nice to take a moment out of the day for such a fine car...GRRRRR!

Coffee, doughnut, bourbon and beer...the real breakfast of champions!

2010-08-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning, just before 6 in the morning, I hear a knocking on my front door. My buddy Mark is waiting for me with an empty hip flask in hand. He head to the kitchen where I reach into the liquor cabinet and withdraw a bottle of Wild Turkey, "Try not to spill too much, I can't find a funnel." I say as I gather my wallet, cell phone and sunglasses. "No problem." Mark replies, pulling the cork top on the bottle and artfully pouring the bourbon from the bottle to the waiting stainless steel flask.

I tie up my Vans and we head out the door.

Every year, we make this pilgrimage to Pleasanton for the Goodguys West Coast Nationals car show. This year was no different. And no matter what is going on in our lives, we take this morning and afternoon for ourselves.

With dawn still nearly an hour away, we cruise up to Starbucks for a cup-a-joe. Normally I'm a simple coffee black kind of guy who appreciates brew from Chevron, AM PM or some shitty diner but on this trip we always stop at Starbucks. Mark has an affinity for some Breve triple shot something-something and I'm quite certain Bubba at the gas station can't pull that one off. Anyway, I order up my large house coffee black and to my surprise so does Marko. He asks if i want something to eat, "yeah, but not from here. I want to go get a doughnut." He nods his head in agreement.

After departing 'bucks, I drive over to the ubiquitous doughnut shop and grab a pair of fresh ones...a maple bar and a cinnamon roll. Along with the strong coffee, this is beginning to be a great day. Once on Highway 50 and cruising, Mark asks me if I'm ready for "some Turkey".

"Absolutely."

He reveals the flask, unscrews the top and grabs a long snort for himself, passes it to me and I take a pull as well. Before I can say anything, due to my vocal cords being in shock, Mark lets out a sighful, "smooooth."

"Yup..." I reply, "...smooth."

We make a bit of small talk, then tackle the weighty issues of family, work and recall funny events in our collective pasts. Some stories never ever get old and bring a chuckle no matter how many times you hear or tell it...Mark and I have a lot of those stories and the laughs are always genuine.

After we pull into the parking lot of the Alameda County Fairgrounds, we grab another snort from the flask.

It was unseasonably cold and quite windy, I suppose you could call it "blustery". We paid our $18 and headed for the swap meet. We'd decided to make a break with tradition and instead of heading straight to the beer stand to ensure that we got the first beer sold, we decided to let the Turkey soak in and enjoy the swap meet. It was a good choice.

Among all the project cars in the corral, we spied this long black torpedo of a car; it was a 1925 Buick Roadster. The lack of hood sides revealed a 1946 Buick straight eight motor running dual Weber carburetors. The tiny split windshields were laid down flat on the cowl and the cockpit, while spartan, looked well functional and probably fairly comfortable as well. As we walked around back, I spotted this old guy in a lawn chair, "Your car?"

"Yup." he replies. The three of us get to talking and learn that Bruce Wyman built this car with skill and pride. He told me that it cruises "at 80 all day long". I don't doubt him for a moment, plus the car runs a Borg Warner T5 with overdrive.

After a nice chat, we move on, up and down the aisles until I spot this neat 1940 Ford standard coupe. I tell Mark, "remember that cool '40 I saw in Bonneville, this looks a lot like it except the other one was weathered more." Understand that Mark has one of the most beautiful 1940 Ford standard coupes I've ever seen, maybe the most beautiful. If you were to have taken Mark's car, sat it in the Arizona sun for a dozen or more years, and lowered it 8 inches, this is what it would've looked like...maybe not. But as a fan of original patina, primered cars and the like, I totally dug this ride.

Then I noticed movement in the car. The driver was still behind the wheel, and when I looked close, I could see him slipping a small handwritten note onto the dash, "Not For Sale" it said. He then tipped a box of granola cereal into a bowl and began to have a little breakfast. As I walked to the passenger side to give the car a proper once over, I hollered at Mark, "This is the car from Bonneville. This is the side I saw it from."

The car was even more weathered on the passenger side, particularly the rear quarter panel. I snapped a couple of pics and the driver withdrew himself. I instantly inquired, "this car was at Bonneville a couple weeks ago, huh?" The eclectic looking owner with the grey beard, shorts, black socks and Chuck Taylors says, "Yes, that was me." in a distinctly cool accent. "Now I'm taking her home in a cargo container to New Zealand."

Introductions all around and Mark and I met Mark from New Zealand. As we admired his car, he popped the hood and showed us the 324 cubic inch Oldsmobile Rocket motor that resided in the engine bay. Cool...

NZ Mark went on to tell us that there were no 1940 Ford imported to New Zealand...the boat full of Fords was en route when the war broke out and it was promptly turned around. Either that or it was sunk as another story goes says Mark.

I absolutely loved this car, just as it was. NZ Mark tolerated me for another pic with his car and we moved on.

In and out of the swap meet..."Like that rug?" Mark jokingly asks. I change my gaze from a yellow roadster to what appears to be a grey cat perched on top of this oldsters head. I snap a quick pic...it was even worse from the front. Mark has an uncanny ability to spot hairpieces...the boy has skills. If spotting store bought hair could stop crime, Mark would certainly be a superhero.

As we moved among the sea of 30's, 40's and 50's era cars, I snapped pic after pic as usual. I don't know why, I'm sick that way I suppose.

Here is my favorite ride of the show, a slammed bare metal '34 Ford truck.

We finally hit the beer stand and grabbed a couple of overpriced but necessary cold beers. I had a Bud Light, you know, "One Nation, One Beer" or at least that was the caption on the Oakland Raiders / Bud Light billboard. I used to love the Raiders as a kid, Kenny Stabler, Dave Casper, Fred Biletnikoff, John Matuszak, Jack Tatum...

After that beer, we had another and then the last of the bourbon. We sat on a bench and had a great talk, taking a break from the cars and the people around us.

Getting our sea legs underneath us, we set out again to finish off the show, and our beers.

We met a great old Armenian guy named Phil Garo from Fresno. During our talk about his killer '32 Ford coupe that still wears its original black paint, although beautifully worn and weathered, Phil told us how he spotted the car in 1960 as a young man in Fresno and eventually bought it from the original owner for $700. He still cringes a little and admits that he "overpaid" for it by about $200.

As much as the car appears totally original, as Phil says, he polished it once, back in 1960. He put some larger Lincoln brakes on it and shoehorned a big block Oldsmobile power plant into the engine bay without cutting any metal...it was a super tight fit though.

Later, we chatted up a guy from San Jose with a neat ol' Chevy wagon, complete with a "Mexican air conditioner"...we may see this dude again as he invited Mark to some old school cruise that ends up at an old drive in theatre.

In the end, it was about the best time I've ever had at this car show. Our hunger escorted us out the gates and we hit up Woodstock's Pizza in Davis on the way home. There were more cars than I ever saw there before, the people were way cool and we took the time to hear their stories. Maybe this was why it was such a great day, but maybe it was the breakfast of champions, strong coffee, a doughnut, bourbon and beer and time spent with a good friend.

If you'd like to check out any of the nearly 200 pics I snapped at the show, click the link to my FLICKR site.

Adieu to Sweet Lou...

2010-08-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

Lou Piniella was one of my earliest favorite players...as a kid growing up in the seventies, I was a die hard Yankee fan, what can I say, it was genetic as my old man was a born and bred New Yorker. Anyway, I can recall watching this guy getting boo'd while batting for the Yankees in New York. I asked, "Why are they booing their own guy?", to which I was informed that the fans were not saying "Booo", but rather "Lou". Ahhh.

Anyway, something about that and the fire that Piniella seemed to have inside him made me like the guy and I always did from then on.

Lou was a pretty dang good player and was fiercely competetive...that is probably what I liked most about him.

Later Lou went on to have a solid career as a player (1969 Rookie of the Year, 18 seasons, .291 batting average and 1705 hits) but it was as a manager that I believe that Piniella became a Hall of Famer (23 seasons, 1835-1713 record, 14th most wins all time, 11 seasons finished 1st or 2nd in division, Manager of the Year 3 times, 1995, 2001, 2008 and World Series Champion 1990) and is only one of two player-managers to have 1,700+ hits as a player and 1,700+ wins as a manager (the other is Joe Torre).

Now, due to family matters and the need to care for his ailing mother, Piniella is hanging up his spikes.

I will always remember him for his locker room brawl with his closer Rob Dibble and for the way he rocketed out of the dugouts and his signature hat kick...

After 40 years as a player and manager all I can say is God bless Lou, you were a great one.

so Precious murdered her kids...

2010-08-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

I am taking my daughter to school this morning and hear a story about some bitch back east who choked her two toddlers to death, strapped them in their car seats and then pushed the car into a river. Really? Then I come home and see a picture of this monster and ohh, a monster she be. Shaquan Duley looks every bit the part of that fat black chick "Precious" from some recent movie...either that or Eddie Murphy is reprising his role as one of the Klumps.

Honestly, now we are going to hear years of bitchin' and complaining about how she wasn't raised right, her daddy abandoned her, her mamma was on welfare, she got pregnant and dropped out of school, little education, no job, no sympathy, the baby daddies (I'm sure there are more than one) are either in the pen or roaming the streets making more illegitimate babies for the guv'ment to pay for and in the end, somehow, it'll be whities fault...I cannot wait.

Seriously, someone should just put a cattle bolt up against her huge noggin' and pull the trigger and let's all be done with this waste. At least she can do is to donate her enormous corpse to a rendering company so as to make paste for the kids at local schools...someone should come out ahead on this deal and it ought to be kids.

I'm sick of shit like this...kill all these fucks!

Bonneville 2010, part 4

2010-08-17T19:24:00.001-07:00

okay, this is it...there were so many pics, hard to choose just a few as my favorites. Really, go to my Flickr site and check them out...and I'll see you in Bonneville next year.

Bonneville 2010, part 3

2010-08-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

and a few more of my favorites...

Bonneville 2010, part 2

2010-08-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

a few more of my favorite pics...

Bonneville 2010

2010-08-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

It was my first trip to Bonneville and when all was said and done I could only ask myself one question, "Why in the hell did I wait so long to attend Speed Week at Bonneville?"

Bonneville and racing on the salt is simply freakin' awesome!

Major thanks goes out to the Cannarozzi crew, Randy, Pete, Nick and Jered Hampton for inviting me to come with and making me feel as if I were a part of the team all along. Great guys all. I cannot barely wait until 2011 as they campaign the Cannarozzi / Tardel 1932 Ford Roadster in the in the Vintage Roadster class.

When it is distilled, Bonneville is all about the cars, not the scene. The harsh remote location is perfect as it keeps out the scensters...too damn far to drive and in all honesty, whatever you drive out there has been seen before and probably executed even better by some driver or crew member in the past.

In all, I took about 500 pics and a dozen or so videos from the starting line. As soon as I figure out Youtube, I'll post the videos. Until then, enjoy walking through the pics on my Flickr site.

the Wolfman commeth, or the rise of Mr. Heatmiser...

2010-08-08T16:32:00.001-07:00

I realized, after showering and while drying my hair, that it is getting quite high. Notice I said "high" and not long. I say that because if I am being a bit lazy and decide not to run some pomade through it and slick it back, then I usually just dry it and let it go where it damn well pleases. In this instance, it was "up".

I thought to myself that I appeared to be undergoing a transformation into a lycanthrope of sort...

For those of you who've known me for any period of time, this "look" is quite a departure as I've kept my head shaved for about 15 years or so.

To make a short story long, I've only been to say four barbers in my life, at least that I recall. One from say no memory to about age ten, one from ten until teens and one from late teens until mid twenties. The fourth is from say 6 months ago to now.

After my last barber retired his scissors and razor from the art of barbering, I decided to just shave my head. Finding a good barber is not the easiest thing to do (something for another post). So, being lazy and cheap on the matter, I bought some Wahl shears and set about shaving my own dome for the next decade and a half. Then, around my 40th birthday, I decided to let it grow out...reality check and see what kind of hair I might actually have left.

Low and behold, I not only had hair, but thick and wavy or kinda curly hair. My hair, with the exception of some grey here and there, has actually become darker, going from walnut to midnight and has gone from being arrow straight to curly...what the hell?

Now, graced with a head laden with hair, I've got to tend to it. Lately I've been frequenting Tom's Barber Shop at 93 Natoma Street right here in Folsom, right where a barber shop should be, between a coin-op car wash and a Circle K and just spitting distance from a bar and the tattoo shop.

I've been greasing my way through various brands and types of pomade to keep my growth under control. So far, my favorite is Murray's Pomade, an old school favorite from the Motor City. When I'm lazy, like in the pics and just want to jump and run out of the shower, a dollop of Murray's Super Light is great. When I want to grease it all back into a proper slick, I mix about half and half, Original Murray's and the Super Light.

In any regard, here I am, head full of high hair...

a few more of my favorites from Midnight Mass 2010

2010-08-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

The "Vagabond" top fuel dragster. This late Sixties slingshot bodied, blown hemi powered dragster was the first to top 200 M.P.H. at the Sacramento Raceway out on Excelsior Road. It has been meticulously restored and is simply "bad ass".

Stovebolt straight sixes were great little motors, powering Chevrolet through the Fourties and early Fifties. This fantastic looking model wearing a classic polished finned Wayne valve cover sits in a beautiful 1949 Chevrolet deLuxe Coupe from Antioch, CA.

I'm a pushover for A-bombs no doubt. This little light green 1930 is owned by Craig Owens of Santa Rosa, CA. It has just the right mix of paint, patina, polish and wear. The stance is great and it is hard to fault.

Metal flake paint, flames and a long, low finned Cadillac go great. This slammed 1961 Coupe deVille has a fantastic paint job.

Acme Beer...a chopped and channeled Model A with a suicide front end and a nicely appointed small block Chevy motor fits the bill nicely. Also nice to see that it is casual enough to have kids sittin' on the wheel and not behind velvet ropes.

As always, if you want to see high resolution pics, I shot 200+ (4 meg) pics and you can check them out at my Flickr site...just click the link.

Midnight Mass 2010

2010-08-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

New year, new venue, same show...sort of. It seems that the Poor Boys move their annual Midnight Mass show around like a gypsy bazaar...from Vintage Ford to the Sheraton Hotel, the Radisson Hotel to Cal Expo and now the Placer County Fairgrounds. And as much as things stay the same, they also seem to change by significant degrees. It seems to me that the success of the show will also eventually be its demise. What was once a small gathering of true hot rod aficionados and genuine traditional hot rids has become a mass gathering of anything pre-1965 regardless of hotroditude.

While certainly there were a number of legitimate rods from chopped Model A's to cool old trucks, chopped lead sleds and the high finned Cadillacs there were also far too many beat ass more doors, Falcon wagons and ugliness on wheels rolled in under the guise of a "rat rod", a term that I am hating more as time goes by. What was once an endearing term for a low-buck home built but still legitimate hot rod has been taken by larcenous means and applied to any piece of shit, rusted out, purposefully mismatched junker.

At least this year the late model low-riders were gone...not to say there were not any low riders, however, the ones that were present were legitimate old school-styled early Chevy's with cactus coolers, etched glass, twice pipes, pinstriping and the like.

There was a plethora of Betties roaming everywhere in all sorts of garb, some with professional photos trailing behind and snapping pics, some hanging out at the kissing booth or roaming Bettie Boulevard (my name for the isle of pinup related booths in the vendor area).

There was live music belting out bar tunes from ZZ Top, Bad Company and like. The crowd seemed well behaved, at least while the sun was up...hell, there were even little kids roaming the grounds some on foot and others riding chopped out Schwinns...cool.

I grew hot and tired after roaming the pasture of cars, snapping pics and downing a couple of ice cold lemonades I gave my friend Pete a call. He had landed at his brother Nick's house just a couple blocks away. Landis and I rolled on over, had a cold beer or two and shot the shit for a while. Pete, Nick, Jared and the crew headed out under the setting sun to check out the show and the kid and I headed on home...

Next year, the ol' grey lady will be rollin' hard with a couple of chops in the bed...I promise.

...and like the song says, "here are a few of my favorite things..."

the Kid, checking out this long, low, bare metal vision of a real "lead sled"

this is perfection in my book, I love the stance, the chop, the level of finish, the original flathead, damn I love me a Ford Model A.

Jared Hampton of Roseville built this clean 1939 Chevrolet truck with the suicide front end. The metal work is killer. to see the handbuilt aluminum bomber seats and suspension bits, check out my Flickr site.

Chopped, dropped primered and flamed, hard to go wrong there.

Blowers are cool, pinstripes are cool, pinstriped blower belts are cool to the nth degree.