Adventure in Tuscaloosa

Recently, Stephanie and I were bored and went looking for some adventure here in Tuscaloosa. We wound up at a local hunting and fishing superstore. Here are some scenes:

Camo attire and dead animals


Housewares and dead animals


Inspirational tableau of dead animals


Gun room and curious cat


Fake dead animals (to help lure real live animals)


Never too early to get 'em started

Ben Folds covers Dr. Dre

Check it out.
Did everyone know about this? He did it early last year. I just downloaded it; it's awesome. I like the album art too.

Wild Week of Weddings and Wheel Work

Well it's been another wild week around here. Liz's wedding last weekend was great. Hard to believe she's married now! It was great being around her and Van and family, not to mention Dan, T-Boz, Jan, Beth, Lindsey, Parks, and everybody else. Dan should have photos up soon.

Then, I got back here and decided to go get the Explorer's wheel bearings checked as recommended by Rick last week and Trevor over the weekend. Well, my bearings did need replacing - as did my front brake rotors, pads, my radiator, rear axle(!), and some other things. It took all week to get done and cost a pretty penny. Remember last week when we fixed the tranny thinking it was okay to put that much into the car if nothing else big was wrong? But there wasn't a great way to make *sure* there wasn't something else lurking? Well maybe I should have towed it all over town getting everything checked, 'cause between last week's bill and this week's, I think I may have made a different decision had I known. I love my Explorer...it's my tank...but I can't afford to pour this much money into it to preserve it beyond it's natural life. I'm happy to roll with it as long as it wants, but if there had to be an end to the era, and a new beginning, August and the new life in DC seems like a good time for it. Not now...me & the tank will be rollin' for quite some time.

Don't get me wrong...I love the legendary Explorer, I'm just disgruntled about its being a money pit these last couple of weeks. There are limits to what I can afford vs. what would be a better use of resources.

In other news, BarBri continues, and a favorite cheesemonger of mine, Cowgirl Creamery out of Point Reyes Station, CA, just opened a store in DC. I'm looking forward to that.

Finally, check out this new ACLU ad.

Weather Right Now

Tuscaloosa: Sunny, 97 degrees (7:11pm)
Santa Monica: Sunny, 69 degeees (5:11pm)

The Explorer is Back!

This afternoon I called Rick at Rick's Quality Transmission, just for a status report. I expected the Explorer to be ready tomrrow or perhaps next week, so imagine my surprise when Rick said it would be ready in about half an hour! So I got 'er back, with a whole new transmission and a new U-joint. The old one was about to fall out in the street.

Here I am driving joyously away from Rick's:


I've already gotten some road time, as I went to Birmingham this afternoon to pick up my photos from California and go to the good grocery store. Next item on the agenda: head to Mobile tomorrow for the big Liz Hallett wedding. I haven't been home in a long time; it will be good. It's always good to get back to the coast and escape from the damn hinterlands of West Central Alabama.

PS...in case you're wondering, the mileage is now just a hair over 270,000.

Explorer, etc.

The Explorer will ride again! I decided to fix it; shopping for a new car would just be too much of a hassle and distraction right now. Thanks to all who weighed in. The Explorer and I will be back on the road again soon, making you proud.

In other news:

Have you seen the I/O Brush? Look how cool this is.

Also, a recent LA Times article on shopping in London had the following absolutely true passage: "If I'm in the mood, I cross the street to Marks & Spencer, a British institution. The underwear floor is amazing, and Marks & Spencer's basic house-label T-shirts are softer than any I've bought in the U.S." YES! These are the shirts I have loved for 10 years! Article here.

Finally, I recently had the pleasure of meeting the mother of Dawn and Danielle Ripple. She's the secretary of Stephanie's new landlord in Montgomery. You'll be glad to know that the Ripples are doing fine. Danielle just had a baby. Jim...that could have been yours.

Transmission or Retirement?

So bar exam prep classes are well underway. Pretty miserable.

Also, the Explorer diagnosis is: all forward gears are burnt up. So unless I learn to go everywhere in reverse, a decision must be made. Either fix it, for a pretty penny, and hope the beast holds out for a few more years, or accept that the end is here for our glorious 12 1/2 year run. Normally, I would be all for repair, but considering the future, I'm not sure if it isn't time to let him go and downsize for my move to DC. That makes some sense, but then again, I don't know if I can bear letting the Explorer go until it really dies, no coming back. You know...if all we need is a transmission...hey, keep the good times rolling.

And if we did retire it, what would I do with it? Try to get something for it, either whole or in parts? Found the John Haffner Explorer Museum?

Also, I can't get by for two months in Alabama without a car, and looking for a new car during BarBri is not a good idea.

Hmmmm...

Wondering about fractals?

I give you, our old friend, Benoit B. Mandelbrot.

Other news: the Explorer is down, with a broken tranny. Diagnosis tomorrow.