Turning Hate into Love

When I was 15, my brother and I got a 1967 Ford Mustang.

Hold your "o's and aw's". It was a piece of crap! It's been a headache, a point of contention in my house, a financial burden, and nearly a death trap for the last 10 years. 

The past 2-3 years it has sat in the driveway of my Mom's house and rusted, and rotted. Any work we put into it has pitted and flaked away, and it's still a piece of crap.

Not that we've not tried to de-crap it. It has the potential to be a really good car! So far, we've:

• rebuilt the motor
  
• rebuilt the transmission
  
• replaced the floor pans
  
• replaced the alternator
• replaced the carburetor with a Holly carb
  
• replaced the radiator and cooling system
  
• added an "H-bar" style exhaust system with dual chrome tips
  
• run a new fuel line
• replaced the gas tank
  
• replaced the interior
• added new chrome pieces
• replaced the trunk liner
  
• replaced the wheels with Magnum 500 wheels and radial tires
• replaced some of the electrical components
  
• added kick panel speakers and Sony X-Plode 6x9 speakers in the back

WOW! Right? 

There's probably more, but I can't really recall it all.

Anyway, it's still a turd on wheels. There are lots of problems still to be addressed, and i

t still has a LOT of work to go. It needs:

• the steering to be adjusted
  
• there is a parasitic drain on the battery I have to track down (it's dead every time I crank it)
  
• full body work (bondo, primer, paint)
  
• there is a hole in the firewall which needs to be patched and a leak needs to be fixed
  
• the carpet needs to be fixed
  
• the window rollers need to be fixed
  
• the driver's side door is stuck closed and needs to be fixed
  
• the seals should be replaced
• the chrome has pitted and should be replaced
  
• one of the lug nut studs needs to be replaced (I cut the stud off one wheel trying to get a rusted out locking lug nut off...)
  
• needs new emblems and lettering
• could use a new set of tires
• engine needs a tuning, it chokes out when it's throttled

I'm sure there is more, but this is all off the top of my head.

Just this month I've started working on it to get it back into shape.

So far I've taken some steps to making it road worthy and maybe even pretty. I've:

1. gotten it insured 
   
2. payed back taxes on it
3. registered it and moved the title from my father's name to mine
4. replaced the fan belt
5. replaced the alternator belt
6. cut off the old rusted out locking lug nuts
7. replaced a dry rotted tire
   
8. started researching HOW to strip, patch, prime and paint.
9. bought some tools to get to working on this thing.

I've cut my fingers all to pieces, I've spent more money than I should have, I've spent more time than I thought I could, and I've spent a lot of my patience... but I am starting to enjoy myself despite the fact that stubbornly I set out not to. Am I turning hate for this car into love? I don't know... I'll keep you guys posted on how it all goes! (All 2 of you who read this...)

Cable Internet

And now, a lesson in internet connectivity, as understood by Paul. 

I have "high-speed" internet from Time Warner, with the "Road Runner" speed package. This costs roughly $55 per month. My expectation is that it should be fast, I am paying for fast. My advertised connection is 10Mbps, which should suffice for downloading the whole internet in about a weeks time.

Funny thing about advertisements... they always have fine print. The download speeds, called "Downstream" are only theoretical thresholds. This means that my speed is "capable" of 10Mbps, while realistically, I only get a fraction of that. Why?

Because, I share my connection with my neighbors. The bandwidth (amount of data that can fit through my connection to the web) available to me is shared by me and all the other internet users in my area who use the same service. My WiFi connection finder on my Macbook shows that JUST within range of my bedroom are at least 8 other connections.

As you can see to the left, I have 8 different neighbors who all have WiFi connections. It should be noted that this does NOT mean that all 8 have Time Warner, but the likelihood is that many do. Time Warner advertises 10.0 connections in an area where 6.0 is the next highest available speed offered by the competition.

The weird thing?

6.0 could actually be faster.

The competition is Windstream, a company that offers DSL. DSL is a technology which offers a dedicated line. What that means for an internet user is that the bandwidth is not shared between the user (me!) and the nearest central office of my ISP. 

DSL does also have the added benefit of being more secure, which is important to most people. (Except for GHNW and Linksys up there, they are giving away free internet right now. Why do I pay $55 per month?)

The one caveat is that DSL is distance sensitive, so my speeds will go down the further I am from my local Windstream office. Since I don't have any clue where that office is, I can only guess that it might be faster.

DSL also often requires a contract. Since I'm not sure if I'll be living here in a year, that is a gamble as to wether or not it is even worth it to sign up. Perhaps I could pay more for the luxury of no contract, but that's not something I want to do. The only reason I still have the internet is to talk to my girlfriend overseas, and to check facebook. I can do one of the two just fine on my iPhone. I used to download a lot of torrents and things, but these days I am so tired when I get home, its sometimes a chore not to just walk right upstairs and go to bed. 

So, while DSL looks like a more attractive option in the future, for now I think I am stuck with cable. This means, Troubleshooting (or as it is often known, "assisted suicide").

I called Time Warner. I talked to a friendly fellow who told me there were outages in my area, "Ashland KY".  A quick look at Google Maps will show you that Ashland is 129 miles away. I told him that, and he stuttered a bit. He looked again, "Oh I see, you are in Richmond, there is an outage there too."  Google Maps says, "39.6 miles away". Closer, but no cigar sir.

He didn't like that I wasn't biting on the paper thin excuses he was handing me. I told him how many connections I saw in my area, and that this speed issue has been consistent for about 2 weeks. He was unwilling to help. He told me to wait an hour, and try again. If I was still having issues, to call back. He also suggested that I power cycle my router (turn it off, then on again). I already did that before calling.  Level 1 tech support is not that smart, and is often intimidated by anyone who actually knows something about computers. I got the run around.

So, tonight, I am blogging from a wireless aircard, which works off cellular technology. It's slower than DSL or Cable... but tonight its faster than Time Warner. I hope they get their act together, and I hope the shared connection isn't my bigger issue. If it continues, I only have about 125 more days until Jenny comes home... I may consider just turning it off all together. 

Technology is supposed to make life easier, to relieve stress... when it becomes a big stress, it might be time to cut the cord and enjoy life unplugged. Right after I check to make sure i don't have any more notifications today on Facebook.

Giant Plush Expression of Love

Did anyone go to Wal-Mart this February and notice the obnoxiously large plush bears they had for sale? 

Men know, the best expression of love is all about quantity, and not about quality. Why buy a girl 10 Godiva chocolates when you can spend that same cash on six bags of peanut M&Ms?

Why make a home made and sentimental card when you can buy one that sings a top 40 song when you open it? 

Why spend money on a nice italian dinner and a bottle of wine when you can rent half a dozen movies at Blockbuster and eat at Fazolis for half that cash?

Tell your woman you love her by making her ride in the middle of your truck bench, right next to you where she belongs. Show her you care by tattooing her name on your neck and wearing wife-beater undershirts everywhere so people can see how much you care.

Show your beloved that you care about her by spending $40 on an obnoxiously oversized, Chinese made, newspaper stuffed novelty teddy bear that is larger than a middle school line backer.

(You better just hope that your true love doesn't sleep in a twin bed.)

Man Babies

Immaturity and Nostalgia

I saw something online about "Top 10 toys for Adult Kids". 

No, it wasn't anything vulgar. It was about a trade show featuring action figures and retro toys from back in the day.

On one hand... I see the appeal. It's kind of cool to look back on the things that brought us joy growing up. I still play video games, and still have some of my favorite childhood games. I am sure everyone hangs onto their old blanket, doll, or favorite toy. (I still have a plush big bird tucked away somewhere).

I Think it's Fine to Have Fun

But, there is a big difference between a fun adult and a man baby. I don't understand the subcultures that celebrate toy collections. I don't understand adults having huge collections of unopened action figures.

I don't much care for Adam Sandler or Will Ferral. Movies where adult men are less mature than I was as a teenager. I just don't like man babies. Adults who act like children are more annoying than adults who act too adult. I guess it's a delicate balance. 

1 Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, i spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."

This doesn't mean you can't take those childish things back out from time to time. Being downright immature can be really fun. I hope this post doesn't come off as pretentious, it's sometimes very hard to set a tone without non verbal communication.

But when you live your life by the Toys R' Us motto, "I don't want to grow up", it's kind of annoying. 

Random Thought of the Day

Here it is, the transition from travel blog, to a waste of bandwidth on the web. If anyone is reading this blog, from here out it'll be used for random ramblings about random things. I had a random thought, comment back if you're interested, or if you disagree.

I don't think this is actually going anywhere, so if you have anything better to do with your time, now is the time to close your internet browser and go do that. (You've been warned).

I Started by Thinking About Guns 

Then I started to think about swords, and artifacts in general from times of war.  Kids often have hollowed out hand grenades they got at gun shows or flea markets. Young boys like to carry knives and play with lighters. I get a sense that this is a gender specific trait, which I'll try to make a case for.

I think the reason we hold on to these relics is because of a sense of transferred power. Transference in the psychological sense that we shift an emotion (specifically the desire for power) to the object at hand. My Dad used to babble about an old economics concept called, "Guns and Butter". Simplified, the concept is that those who have the guns, have any commodities they want to take. 

Psychologically speaking - guns, knives, fire... these are primitive forms of power. In a very barbaric sense, we still attach this type of power to these things, although bound by morality and the constraints of a social justice system most of us choose not to try and exact the power we feel when we have a gun, knife or similar instrument in hand.

I do acknowledge that there also exists an appreciation for history in the collection of certain artifacts, but even in that appreciation I don't doubt that at the very core of an individual there must be something deeper than a love for knowledge. I think it's probably primal, hard wired within us.

I don't think many people would disagree. You see it in literature when it comes to boys, with titles like "The Dangerous Book for Boys". You see it in pop culture, look at movies marketed towards men. While women are targeted with movies like, "Sisterhood of the traveling pants" and "The Notebook", men get "Die Hard" and "The Transporter". This is not to say that some women don't like these movies, or crave power the same as a man would. To polarize and stereotype is foolish, as there are outliers in every study and generalization. 

Evolutionists will argue that this division comes from our primitive history. Men were hunters while women were gatherers. Men killed while women gave life. If that is true, what about those barbaric forefathers? Did they have even more primitive forefathers who were more androgynous? Was this behavior simply a fluke of evolution or a result of traits which had a different purpose when they developed? Surely random evolution didn't see fit to give one gender an advantage over another for the purpose of politicking, warring and bureaucracy. I doubt that it even did so to benefit hunters versus mothers. As a Christian, I think there is a different reason. 

God said so.

Wow, prophetic right? God made man, in His own image. We see that God is a powerful being. We see him victorious in the old testament in wars, we see him bring down plagues when he is hacked off. We see a destructive side when he destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. When He is destructive, he is just. When he is angry, he is just. God's justice, and his power are something, that at the core of our creation, we try to have for ourselves. We are young boys who want to be like Dad, so we try to emulate him in a childish way.

Girls, I don't think are left out in this concept either, but they get a different set of attributes at the heart of their being. God was a creator, he breathed into us life. God is loving, and he is merciful. Again, I don't deny that both genders may possess these qualities in equal measures in many regards. What I am trying to get to is the primitive brain, the hippocampus of our gender, and the driving factor beyond the conscious mind we are able to analyze with any amount of logic. At this core, the androgyny of our existence is boiled away, and the core of who we are as men or women is left without the tuxedo or pretense of society. 

Perhaps, simplified, I am saying that men represent God's justice, while women represent his mercy.

I know, it's a stretch, and a huge deviation from the original thought... but I warned you this was going to be random rambling.

Reflection on my Travel

Things I did wrong

• Packed too much, took too many bags.
  
• Booked my flight too early (probably the first time airline prices actually dropped!)
  
• Booked my flight on Priceline, while I saved about $500... I didn't get flier miles, which would have been substantial given the distance I travelled.
• Bought spray on sunscreen (I had a Zebra pattern sunburn).
• Went hiking without the right equipment. 
• Flew through O'Hare. (15 hour layover on my return!)
• Didn't request off work the right way, made my boss mad.
• Didn't remove the work security settings from my phone, couldn't use WiFi.
• Didn't shop around on airlines. The food and movies weren't the greatest... and I had no way to power my electronics. In the future, i'll look at what is important to me and then book my airline accordingly. 
• Shouldn't have packed a suit jacket or a second pair of shoes. Thats extra weight, and you don't need a jacket in the summer in Australia.
• Borrowed luggage. It was nice of my room mate to loan it to me... but 4 weeks of intercontinental travel beat it up pretty bad... and I ended up having to replace one of the 2 bags I borrowed. 
• Booked a hotel at an airport. I should have booked online before I got to Sydney. Jenny flew in a day after I arrived, and I made no plans for a place to stay the first night when I was there by myself. 

Things I did right

• Stayed in hostels, met some great people, and the cost of staying was about 1/3rd the cost of a hotel.
• Got traveler's checks, and an extra credit card. I never once went anywhere where I worried about cash.
• Saved before I left. I don't owe anything after this trip for any trip related expenses. Planning ahead was crucial!
• Planned lots of options for airplane entertainment, my iPod battery ran low... but I had a good book to read too.
• Got aisle seats. I am fidgety, it was good to get up and move around. This was done with help from my friend Nick. (Thanks man!)
• Went with no expectations. It was an adventure, and a ton of fun! I wasn't disappointed about anything!
• Slept a minimal amount on the plane. I really didn't have a ton of jet lag, certainly nothing worse than the feeling I get after a late night or a long day at work. 
• Drank LOTS of water on the plane. I had maybe 3-4 liters over the course of the flight. The frequent bathroom breaks helped me keep my circulation going, and staying hydrated also helped fend off my jet lag.
• Read all the airline guidelines for travel. I had no trouble at the airport.
• Wore a hoodie and comfortable clothes to travel in. Layers helped me as I changed seasons, and I could draw the hoodie closed to block out light when I did nap on the plane.
• Checked my carry-on for the return. My backpack was considered a "personal item", and held everything I needed for the flight.
• Blogged. I can go back and look at my trip and I have a fairly accurate timeline of what happened. It's great for reflection, and it helps when sharing with family and friends what happened. When you do something of such a grand proportion, a lot gets lost. It's great to refer people to this blog for the details and then give them the highlights in conversation.

There were many other positives, and probably some negatives as well. But, these are some that stuck out in my mind.

If I were to give a summary of travel advice, I'd say:

Travel light, drink lots of bottled water, make sure you have travel power adaptors, tie up your loose ends at home so you have nothing to worry about, and then keep an open mind because no matter how much you plan ahead, crap happens. If you can stay positive and be dynamic, you'll have a lot more fun!

Possible Next Trip

Eventually this won't be a travel blog, but that seems to be what I do right now. Since returning, I spent a few days in Nashville, and will be doing that again shortly. I expect at some point the theme will decay and I'll use this blog to talk about anything I care to.

I should write about what I learned traveling, and provide post-travel tips for anyone considering the backpacker route. Perhaps another time.

As it stands, Sunday night I'll find out about midnight if I have to go to merry old Massachusetts, which I can't really say much less spell without the help of spellcheck. 

I "might" go, with no notice for an undetermined amount of time. Whoever in their right mind thought unionizing was a good idea has their head firmly planted up their butt. 

So, my bags are packed, and I am readying myself to put my life on hold. We'll see if Monday morning I am on an airplane heading north during winter time. Woohoo!