October Edition

As we roll up to Halloween, I've got a few things making me happy:

Got to spend a rare weekday hanging out with my dear wife yesterday.  We didn't do much of anything but it was nice anyway.

After a long period of procrastination over buying the parts and another lengthy period of procrastinating over actually doing the work, I have finally installed new front control arms in my car.  The ball joints were worn and the alignment was off so I was wearing out my front tires faster than necessary.
The first drive with the new parts had me spooked as the alignment was now WAY WAY off. I actually crept back to the house and jacked the car up to make triple sure I'd bolted everything back together. But after a trip to the alignment shop WOW does it feel nice to have a car going down the road with all the wheels pointing the right direction.
Now on to the next thing on the list.  Sadly the list is long these days.

Emily's club team seems to be doing pretty well.  They tied the powerhouse team from Savannah and stomped the team from Brunswick last weekend.  This weekend they have to go down to Savannah to play that team again.  Here's hoping for a win. Just one more game after that but it's with then now-bracket leading Troup team. They stomped our team early in the season when it was super-hot and we didn't have a full team of players. Fingers crossed.

I'm glad the super-hot temps have seemed to calm down a bit.  I was hot for a LONG time and I spent a lot more time outside this summer than I usually do.  Fall weather is much better.

Well, that's what's making me happy these days.  What's making YOU happy?

Various

What's making me happy?

Well,  uh... lets see:

Last weekend we took a drive out to Thompson, GA with Thing2's soccer club.  They lost the game in the end but the grit and determination they showed playing the whole game 1 player down due to a couple no-show teammates was really pleasing to see.  They could have won despite the limitations if only a couple more brakes had gone their way.  Good to see they kept their heads in and noses to the grindstone the whole time.

Wednesday was the last in our series of Wednesday outdoor music shows in Centennial Olympic Park.  We did 18 shows over the summer, perspired a LOT and made a lot of people pretty happy, I think. I'm going to miss the shows for a while as I had some fun amidst the hard work. anybody need a decent systems tech for an upcoming gig?

I'm happy our friend's commercial haunted house endeavor seems to be going well.  They've dreamed of doing this for so long and to have it finally up and running is pretty great.

I was really happy that Marquette's Lakeview Arena, the site of many early dates in my relationship with my dear wife, won Kraft's contest and was named 2016's Hockeyville, USA.  They got some much needed funds for upgrades to the arena and were honored to host a fricken NHL preseason game.  How cool is that?

That's it for this time.  What's making YOU happy?



 

Sports and Nostalgia

What's making me happy?

Well, we've made it through the first leg of the last football season at the #DoomedDome. Ten games down and I'm not exactly sure how many games are left. Some of the events later are still a bit murky. But we've survived so far. Sadly, the home teams have both lost their season opener.

When Dan Schipper, my right hand guy on big events at the #DoomedDome,  reached the 200 Falcons game mark at the Dome, I got him a Falcons jersey to celebrate.  Did the same for Doug Stancil last year (and he promptly retired from the league).
 Since they won't do triple digit numbers, the idea was to have the year we started on the back. Think I screwed Dan's up but hey, the thought counts, right?
Anyway, Dan and his fantastic wife Jenny returned the gesture yesterday and, having surpassed the 200th game, I finally have my reward ;)
Here's my new jersey:

After the Falcons game yesterday I had to beat feet out to Carrolton to see Thing2's team play the weekend nightcap.  They'd taken a beating the day before in the hot sun down in Lagrange.
With one sub (vs the opponent's six strong bench) they really never had a chance in those conditions. It only got worse when their talented new keeper went down early with a bad cramp that had her barely able to walk to the car much later.
That whole deal was a drag so I was VERY relieved when they looked a lot stronger against Sunday night's opponent and scored early on.  The game got pretty chippy and we had another couple injuries we can ill afford (the keeper again) but they gutted out a 3-1 win.
Fortunately, most of the other teams in their group have split their first couple games as well so the Georgia Storm Silver 99s are still in a good place in the standings, despite their poor goal differential stat.

One last item:

Brenda found this while cleaning out Thing1's room after she went off to GSU.  I've had this hat a LONG time. I think that one of our customers from the store in Cheboygan brought this back for me from a trip to Detroit. I don't know when but it's mid-80s sometime. There's a LOT of miles on this bad boy and it made me really happy to see that it still existed.

So, what's making YOU happy today?

Back

It's been a while since I updated this blog.  Just got lazy and let it slide. Not unusual in my life for things that are probably good for me.
Today I saw that it was the anniversary of the first time I posted a WMMH on Facebook so...

Here goes:

I'm glad that, after some initial concern, Thing1 seems to be enjoying her stay in the dorms at Georgia State University.  Classes start tomorrow though so lets see how that goes :)

I'm glad that Thing2s new club soccer team seems to have some potential. She seems to be happy with the group.

The Wednesday Wind Down shows that we've been working this summer have been interesting.  I'm happy that they have gone as well as they have so far.  It's been challenging, and that's a good thing for me.  To much chilling and coasting these last couple years at the Dome.

That's it for me for now,

What's making you happy?

Just Some Things

What's making me happy?

Well, Uh... At least the Wings didn't get swept out of the playoffs.  I do hope they can get over this transformation period sooner rather than later though.

The AHS Male and Female soccer teams both won their round of 32 playoff games. Next-up for Em's team is the Sweet 16 game on Wednesday.  Go Cougars!!!

Thing1 seems to be navigating the whole college entrance thing pretty well.

And, for whatever reason, the front grass seems to be looking pretty good this year.  Not likely to be something I did.  Probably just dumb luck.

  What's making you happy?

Quick One

What's making me happy?

Well, right this moment I'm happy that the Red Wings have managed to claw their way back into a playoff spot.  They have three games left, all against good teams, and need to win all of them to stay in without help from others so it's still a nervous time but hope is bolstered by their recent play.

I'm pleased that Thing2 seems to be safe and having a great time in NYC with her choir group.  They fly back late tonight after three really busy days.

I got to sit and watch a movie with my wife last night.  The picture didn't thrill either of us but it was nice to have the time to just veg-out with my best friend.

After a few years in a row of having the good fortune of being away on the beach over spring break, we're staying home this time.  While I can't help feeling we're meant to be moving into our rooms on Amelia Island, I am still looking forward to a couple extra days off next week with my girls.

So, What's making you happy?

Photography and Racing

What's making me happy right now?

Well, This weekend brings a couple big races that I'm excited to watch.
The sports cars return for the second huge event in a row with the 12 Hours of Sebring.  The track there is mostly made of really old concrete from a disused airbase so it's quite punishing for the cars and drivers. I've heard it said that cars are in worse shape after the 12 Hours than after the 24 at Daytona.
And this weekend marks the return of Formula 1 for the 2016 season with the Australian Grand Prix.  For the first time in thirty years, there's an American team on the grid and I'm really excited to see how they do.  I hope, against hope, that they're not terrible. Or, at least, not all the time.   Last year, Honda and McLaren, who have both had impressive glory days in the sport and should have known better, proved how incredibly hard it is to get enough of your program right to not look like a basket case.  The image of their star driver sitting out on course in a borrowed lawn chair with his multi-million dollar pile of crap race car smoking nearby certainly is the one memorable image from that effort.  I hope Haas F1 has a somewhat better outing this weekend.

And then there's photography.
It's always fun to get a new lens.  Especially if you've been lusting after it for a LONG time and it's BIG and SEXY. Please meet my new friend, the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 Di LD IF Macro lens in Pentax mount.

As you all know by now, I've been taking photos of Emily's soccer games for years.
This lens, with it's f2.8 maximum aperture, will allow me to have a shallower depth of field. For sports shots, it means the players are in focus (hopefully) but the background is progressively blurrier. Makes for less distracting backgrounds and better pictures.
F2.8 is two full stops bigger than the lens I was using. The heck does that mean? Well, It lets in more light so, in dark football stadiums, I can either shoot with a faster shutter speed to freeze the action a bit better OR I can use a lower ISO setting and get photos that are less full of yucky digital "grain".
But wait, there's MORE!  Also pictured above is my Pentax F 1.7X AF adapter which multiplies the focal length of the lens by 1.7.  With this little beast, the 70-210mm lens becomes a 119-340mm lens (at f4.5).

Alright, nerd lesson over.  Here's a shot from the first game with this bad boy:

And that's what's making me happy.  What's making YOU happy?