Saturday, May 31, 2008

U23D

Prepared for U23D. Luckily they let us use our own sunglasses instead of the silly ones they pass out at the theater.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Early Dinner with Steve & Ashlyn

After a great day at the track, I met up with my good friend Steve and his daughter Ashlyn in Pacific Grove where they live. Steve and his wife Jen own the UPS store in Carmel and have an awesome life. I really envy how much peace and balance they've achieved.

I am lucky to be surrounded by great people that give me hope. :-)

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Laguna Seca Lounging

I am hanging out relaxing between sessions at Laguna Seca. Today has been great - as long as you don't count missing the first session to go get my tire repaired. I picked up a nail in the paddock right before my first session, so I had to run to Goodyear to get it patched. Since then, it's been a great day!

In other news... My house is open this whole weekend, so I have to keep away. Stop by and place a bid!

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Here We Go!

View the virtual tour here.

My home of the last 3 1/2 years is about to slip out of my hands. I am both really bummed and excited because I love this place yet really looking forward to a new start.

I need to be closer to work, and I need to move closer to civilization. My current house is just too far from everything... but it is soooo peaceful. I am truly conflicted - but the wheels are in motion and now I'm just a passenger on this wild ride.

Wish me luck!

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day - JC Gauthier


On Memorial Day, we're supposed to take a minute to think about family and friends that have passed... We dig deep and think about all the sad occasions and how those people affected us in our lives. We remember the good times, and hope that someday folks will remember us when we go.

Today I am remembering a good friend, and fellow racing driver, JC Gauthier. What makes this extra sad for me, is that I just found out today that JC is gone. He died after a bout with cancer - just TWO days after I raced with him at Infineon Raceway earlier this month. I didn't even know he had cancer. I have raced against JC for many years and never once did I have any idea that we was sick. He was way too fast to be a cancer patient in that ridiculously fast Ferrari I spent so many laps behind.


Two days before he died, this is him leading a pair of Lotus Exige S's. I'm in 3rd here behind a pair of very fast drivers. :-) According to the posting where I learned of JC's passing, he had his best Infineon lap times ever that day. Good for you, JC. Good for you. Well done.

It was always a pleasure to spend time with JC at the track. He was a very nice - and very fast - man indeed.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Jumping the... er... Flying the Shark

shark1

I have been cleaning out my house preparing to move, and I came across this old helium shark blimp in one of my boxes. It is actually radio controlled, though I have no idea where the controller part is (probably in another box somewhere). I decided to set it free.

I pumped it full of helium from an old helium tank also among the junk in the garage (everyone has a blimp shark and helium tank, right?), then let it sail.

shark2

It seemed to like pointing its nose upwards, I guess because it really wanted to fly as high as possible (swimming up toward the sun). After a bit, it was far enough away that it just looked like some fish flopping around in the sky. Totally normal.

shark3

shark4

shark5

Hopefully the folks in San Jose saw it flopping and flying away - and took it as a symbolic reference to the lost hope of the local hockey team this season.

I Think They're in Love

Okay, I know this might be cheesy, but these little cars are so cute... If you look really close you can see the spaghetti noodle between their grills.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

There Goes The Neighborhood

Carl just showed up with his M3, and now surely the neighbors are disgusted with my white trash lifestyle and my white trash friends. Oh well.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Tor on stage

My good friend and fellow podcaster Tor Norbye is on stage wowing folks with the Ruby support in Netbeans. He has been slaving away at it - and now Javascript support. We sat in the front row to try to make him laugh on stage.

- Joe

(sent from my iTelephone)