Minor Win thread - Life is good!

Despite my Minor Rant on Friday, it quit raining just in time for setup at Saturday's autocross, and didn't rain all day.  The course wasn't even that wet.

My twins farm league baseball team finally played like a team and managed to not get run rules after 4 innings. Still lost 4-2 after a full 6 innings but it's looking alot more positive for next season.

I rode a so-called street tracker on 55 miles of farm road, double track, and single track.  Hopped logs, bounced off rocks, ran through bramble.  All it cost me was a broken clutch lever, a good dent in the expansion chamber, and 2 gallons of ethanol free 92 mixed at 50:1.  Good, good weekend.  

I spent most of the day riding around with an old friend I hadn't seen since high school, then I came home and actually made some decent project on my truck. It's been a damn good day. I still have 3 more days off, I'm going to try to get the 5.9 bolted in before Friday. 

In reply to Burrito :

Is it bad that I instantly said bulltaco when i saw the picture? Used to ride one around the farm as a kid.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

It does appear to say it right there on the side of the engine. 

In reply to Daylan C :

Only saw it after zooming in. On a phone without my glasses, so i consider correct identification a win!

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

I'll allow it.

 Not my win, at least not directly, but I feel like I was winning just for seeing it. Running, driving, Maserati Biturbo moving at a rapid pace under its own power!  I know, I know, pics or it didn't happen. I could not get my camera out fast enough.  Was headed west on 13 mile, turned south on Meadowbrook, Novi Michigan. 

Buying gasoline and instant udon at my favorite gas station, random guy walks up and says "Nice plate, man!"

I thanked him and congratulated him on recognizing 25 year old video game cheat codes.

Walked down to the lake and ended up watching an osprey fishing. He caught one! It was pretty amazing. 

This one's from a while ago, but I finally turned TCS and VDC all the way off in the G35. Not having torque reduced in the lower gears is sweet!

My 10 year-old is mowing grass.  I just pull the cord and 30 minutes later it's done.  I'm going to enjoy the next 8 years I think.

I guess this was a victory— we’re in Flagstaff!

Needed to be in Flagstaff today by 1 to catch bus I to the Grand Canyon to make a 7 pm orientation for a Colorado rafting trip over the next nine days.  Had to book flights the day before because plan was to fly in, and service isn’t exactly frequent. 

Got the message about 2 1/2 hours before departure that our originating flight has been cancelled. Nothing available per the airline as an alternative until the next day per our original itinerary. So, Des Moines is about 2 1/2 hours away and has direct flights to Phoenix.  Airline rebooked us to depart and return us via Des Moines.  No seats available from Phoenix to Flagstaff though.  Ok we’ll deal with that once we get to Des Moines. 

Drive to Des Moines, check in, flight is on time.

Call to get a car for a one way rental from Phoenix to Flagstaff (still departing from Flagstaff on the way home).  First agency, no cars, next agency, no cars, down through the list.   Found a shuttle departing for Flagstaff and booked seats!  Probably cheaper than rental. Victory!

Its about 3 hours on the van to Flagstaff—but wait!  A brush fire has closed I-17, so the trip will take an extra hour and a half!

Arrived eventually. Vacations are relaxing, right?

In reply to Crxpilot :

It truly is a glorious thing when the kids can start mowing.

It’s raining this evening. 

I mowed my lawn yesterday evening. 

I got the mowing done about 30 seconds before the bottom dropped out. 

I officially took over the parish/school Bingo last year in May so last night was the last session of my first whole fiscal year.  Gross revenue is up 30% over last year and the highest that it's been in at least 4 years.  My average number of players each week is up 10% and those players are spending 15% more each.  I've sent home over $750,000 in winnings over the last year which is $100,000 more than the previous year.  And most importantly, all that means that we were able to nearly double the contribution to the school.

My daily driver, a pristine E46 330Ci that I really liked, was rear ended at a red light. I was unhurt. The shiny happy people that hit me took of in a hurry and the cops couldn't find them (they had a stolen tag on their car). My insurance company wouldn't pay a dime, since I didn't have traffic coverage and I can't prove that the car was in fact uninsured, since the cops can't find it.

Time to make lemonade.

I sold the broken 330 (minus the M3-wheels) and bought an unloved Boxster that had been sitting for a looong time and needed some work. Paid $1500 for car, spent $1100 on parts and $150 at the DMV. Worked about 60h-70h on it (New soft top, new rotors, oil, filters, a bunch of little stuff like broken wires in the doors and lifters for trunk/frunk, lots and lots of carpet cleaning, leather treatment and polishing), gave it the 330s tires and sold the M3 rims.

So I have a pretty nice daily driver Boxster and I'm out roughly $700. Not $2018 challenge lever, but I call that a win.

In reply to Aaron_King :

My son is 16months. How much longer do I typically need to wait?

Torkel said:

My daily driver, a pristine E46 330Ci that I really liked, was rear ended at a red light.  My insurance company wouldn't pay a dime, since I didn't have traffic coverage and I can't prove that the car was in fact uninsured, since the cops can't find it.

The Boxster does sound like a win.  But even on my beaters I always carry full coverage.  At least in my case, the required liability insurance is about 85% or more of the premium, and collision / comprehensive are peanuts to add.

In reply to Duke :

Not in my case. Both me and my wife have been driving since 18 back home in Sweden (which I may add is waaayyy more demanding then driving here in NC), but that somehow doesn't count as "experience". I am considered an experienced driver since I used to live in the US earlier (and had a hibernating license when we moved back) but my wife is seen as a 34 year old who just took her license. So adding traffic to my $4500 BMW would cost me an additional(!) fee of half the cars value per year. So... nope.

In reply to Torkel :

Ah, well, that does make a difference.

In reply to Torkel :

I started mine at 10 years old.

In reply to Duke :

When the Mrs realized this, she was absolutely livid.

Taking once driving license in Sweden is typically a 1 year deal, with obligatory lessons, training on a skid-track (yes, they hose down a track with an oil/water mix and make sure you can induce and correct a skid), driving in snow, etc. She had then driven during snowy winters with our manual cars for 16years... but she isn't considered as experienced and safe as the texting soccer moms in NC.

I was sure someone at the DMV was going to get a black eye that day...