Notice I don't call it "vacation," and here's why. On the other hand, it sure was a nice break to not have to be "on" for classes all week!

• I've been writing several mornings, every week since mid-December. Completely revised the opening scenes of The Galactic Adventures of Jack & Stella, completely re-envisioned how I'm handling POV (which means ( Read more... )

I've been a big baby about the temperatures lately, so haven't yet tried to start the Hot-Rod Newport since rebuilding the valvetrain. With temps in the teens and single digits, MY digits simply don't want to hold metal tools and parts outside... where the car rests beneath its carport. Last week, though, I made some progress: Finished pulling ( Read more... )

Unfortunate news for getting the Newport ready by Saturday's "Rev It Up" car show: This morning I tore into the valvetrain on the affected side (where I had discovered the bent pushrod), and got some news:

• Turns out not one but two pushrods were bent (both on the affected cylinder) - not surprising, what with nowhere for the expanding gases to go ( Read more... )

Over the past few days, I've spent a bit more time trying to start the newly fuel-injected, digitally programmed, updated Newport than I'd care to admit. No luck. Got a few nice misfires, but nothing remotely resembling "running." Yesterday, my buddy MadMattMax came over to help get it fired up, as I thought I'd reached the point where it'll happen ( Read more... )

I realize that, like many, I've grown lazy about posting cool stuff I find on the internets, using the quick-and-easy Facebook method of sharing instead of posting a proper entry here. So here are a few recent links:


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Okay, so it's 88 degrees Fahrenheit up here in my writing office, so I decided to go work on the Newport a bit. I mean, if you're already boiling to death and can't think straight to write, you might as well go outside where it's even hotter and do some manual labor, right? I think my reasoning went something like that ( Read more... )

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Okay, people have wanted to hear the mechanical music of the two hot-rods dwelling in my garage, so here they are! I apologize for the non-scripted narrations and noise-protection sticking out from my ears; I make no claim to being a pro film-maker. You can hear 'em start up at the end of each vid.

First up, the 1968 Chevelle SS396 drag-racin', ( Read more... )

The rush of paper-critiquing before Finals Week has meant I haven't been online much (well, I've been online ALL THE TIME with grading software), so I'm behind on Crossfit reports. On the plus side, I'm fully caught up on grading BEFORE finals start pouring in. *ROCK*

Here's Monday's workout:

• Warmup: Lunges, then jumping lunges. This means take ( Read more... )

This might not seem like a big deal if you haven't been in my garage before, but if you have you know how much work it was to make room for the new baby. Suffice to say it took a whole weekend's worth of blood and sweat - including building a new shed to store some things - to carve out a spot to work on the new car. Here I'm standing on the ( Read more... )