I thought I'd return to my blog even though I have Facebook to keep people updated. But first things first. I need to show my "new" car.


The only thing different about this car is that it's from 1991 instead of 1987. And it's red, has A/C and power steering. I've been working with photoshop to experiment with the looks of various wheels I'm interested in buying. Facebook doesn't allow pictures over a certain size, so I'll post them here so you can see them full size.

I'm probably less likely to get these wheels than the others.


These I like better, but....


I like these too, and they're less expensive.



Here's a different color.



Rota RB in gunmetal grey.

I really like my car. In fact, I think so much of it that I thought I'd brag a bit. It handles extremely well. It has an incredible amount of potential for huge performance. Here's a picture for those of you who haven't seen it yet-->


I hope I'm not boasting too much when I say that this car, once finished, will have the ability to show up nearly every other car that doesn't have the label "supercar".

Consider this possibility-->



I'd like to give the folks who put this car together proper credit, so HERE's the link to their site.

Here's another example of what my beauty could look like-->



Oh, and don't worry, these aren't just daydreams. I have plans in motion, hehe....

Here's an afterthought for ya: should I try to find a name?

Cool.

O.K. Maybe I should change the title of my blog. Seeing as how it doesn't match up very well with these results.

To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?

Numenorean
Take this quiz!

OK, so I have read the Silmarillion

Big deal.






Actually, this comes in response to Mark's LOTR quiz results. 'Course when I see something about a Tolkein quiz I gotta take it, right?






Oh, and I corrected their spelling of the "Silmarilian".

LOTR Master You scored 98 LOTR knowledge!

You've read the Silmarillion, haven't you?

This test tracked 1 variable. How the score compared to the other people's:

Higher than 88% on LOTR knowledge

Link: The LOTR Test written by graphx on Ok Cupid

So that's that.

And like Mark, I think signing up with a dating website is a lousy way to prove one's "Tolkein scholarship".

Cologne

It smelled fine, but it looked absolutely incredible. No joke. Seriously, it looked great. Ya do know I'm talking about the city of Cologne, Germany, not the odorant type, right?

Yeah well, anyway, it was fantastic! The trip was organized by my squadron's booster club as a Christmas shopping trip. Many cities in Germany (I don't know about the rest of Europe) have their own Christmas Market in around the center of town. But I'm afraid I went mainly to do the tourist thing. So I didn't buy many gifts. : ( But that also means that I saved money, right? : D

Here are some pictures. Mostly of the famous Cathedral. By the way, in German, it's spelled K^öln. Pronounced kinda like Koln and Kurln put together.

On the approach:

A little closer...


At the door--


Looking up:



An example of the stained glass windows=


Quite expansive, huh?


Looking toward the front of the cathedral...


Here's the proof that I was there:


The other side of this guy's sign is written in German. No, I didn't take the offer. =P


Starbuck's, McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC I can understand, but Dunkin' Donuts? Dunno. I was surprised.

Cause and Effect

Alright folks, I'll try not to be too gory in my description of how my finger achieved that horrific state so vividly displayed in those photographs.

One bright day, in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up.....WAIT A SECOND!!!

Sorry.

Wrong story.

*Cough*

[Imagine a deep, gravelly voice narrating]

Latitude: 49° 58' 0N Longitude: 6° 31' 60E Elevation: 328 meters
Monday. October 23, 2006. 0900 hours. I'd received my assignment without saying a word. I was getting 65 percent payment up-front. I decided an axe would be my tool of choice for this particular job. Being an independent operative with quite a bit of experience, I had the option to use whatever methods I thought "appropriate". Having a record of 100% termination tends to convince whoever's my employer that they should give me leeway in terms of Modus Operandi.
Well, my personal S.O.P. states that there's no excuse for leaving witnesses. But I guess that morning I didn't eat my Wheaties. Or maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed. Do you see where this is going?.....

Maybe I should dispense with the morbid fiction-story-telling and get to the point of the matter.

It really was Monday, 23 OCT 2006. It really was 0900 hours. And the axe was intended as a prop, nothing more. I was a member of OPFOR (opposing forces) for my squadron's Combat Readiness Course, or: mobility school. The first scenario of the week-long exercise called for about five farmers to occupy the CRC students' campsite. Soon, I decided to use my axe to cut some kindling for a "simulated" campfire. I'd cut a couple of pieces already when the next stroke got too close to my left index finger and cut the tip almost all the way off. I immediately put my thumb on the wound to slow the already minimal bleeding. (actually I think I only lost a tablespoon or so) Unfortunately, I had to withdraw from the scenario. So I walked back to our OPFOR camp and they drove me to the Bitburg emergency room. They took a look at it and we pondered together whether to sew it up or just cut the flap off. Because it would fall off anyway(and has). Anyway, they went and gave me my first six stitches. And this past Thursday was the ten day mark, so I went ahead and took the stitches out. Yesterday, Saturday, the little cap of skin kind of caught on my jacket as I was putting it on. So now, the tip of my finger is somewhat bare. Here's some pictures.





Well, that's pretty much it. Many thanks to Mike McQ. for taking the photos of my finger.

My First Stitches

Hey, hey! I'm back!



Actually they were an early birthday present, having been presented on the 23rd. I thought it was pretty cool, actually. Too bad I didn't have my camera on hand at the time to record the historical event.

I had to use someone else's camera to take these shots cuz mine's being borrowed. So the pics of my place will have to wait a little bit longer.