Summer Flowers

Anyone know what these are?

Walking the Back Side of Pine Lake

This morning I used my birthday present for the first time. It's a Sony HDR-AS100V action cam. At 3 1/2" x 1 7/8" x 1" and 2.4 oz, it's smaller than a pack of standard Camel cigarettes and nearly as light, yet it takes high resolution photos at a high framerate. It's splashproof, and with the included waterproof case (which is barely bigger than the camera), waterproof to 30 feet. It works well in low-light conditions, can be set to a varriety of NTSC and PAL (European) formats, can do time lapse video, and takes 13.5 mp still photos. It was given to my by my girlfriend, Heather,and I love her for it.

The Sony is an action cam, a point-it-and-forget-it camera like a Go-Pro. It's great for strapping to a car, a surfboard, or a helmet while skydiving-- or in this case, to carry in my hand as I walked around our beautiful lake.

This is my first attempt at editing a video. The music, which is uncredited because I didn't know how to add text at the end, is Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, performed by an unknown orchestra (the CD didn't give a clue).

Laurel Road Library

I just learned a nine-year-old boy's little free library has been shut by the Leawood Kansas City Council. They deemed it an "illegal structure." (C'mon, folks, it's the size of a birdhouse!) Here's the article.

That made me especially delighted when I came across this Laurel Road Library installation over the weekend,

Happily, it seems as if community response to Leawood's actions against little Spencer Collins is embarrassing the city so much officials might back off.

One of the rarest sights in nature is the enchanted circle of bowling balls-- and we have one in Pine Lake!

Way Cool

I've lately realized how very much I would like to have a garage, or at least a carport. Neither is likely, given the size of my parcel, but I am beyond tired of all the crap that winds up on my car.

I've been noticing this apparatus, which shelters two cars on Spring Street. It's simple, yet elegant. I have three built-in anchor points alongside my driveway (a tree at the corners of my gazebo), so with only one post, or perhaps a cantilevered affair like above, I could keep most of the debris off my car.

I believe the Tarnowers used to live in the house. If anyone can tell me who lives there and how to get in touch with them (or if you see this post and recognize your house and choose to contact me), I would be eternally grateful. I'd like to find out the particulars of the triangular cloth that was used. Is it repurposed sails? Was it expensive? Where can I get some!

Polishing Compound to the Rescue

Garages aren't all that common here in Pine Lake. Most of us park our cars out in the open, where they are subject to being blanketed by leaves and pine needles, covered with sap and insect secretions (and  occasional bird poop), and the weathering effects of the sun.

And snow. Let's not forget snow!

Over time a car's finish becomes oxidized and glazed and looks dull. Fortunately, buffing with a light abrasive can bring the paint back to life. It's for this reason the car goddess created polishing compound.

Polishing compound is not the same as rubbing compound, which is more abrasive. It's far more gentle, but even so it's best not to overdo it. A light buffing with a machine or moderate rubbing by hand with a soft, dry cloth will work wonders and won't damage the finish.

In the photo above I had just finished polishing the trunk of my 19-year-old Mazda Miata. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can better see the polished trunk and the untreated fender.

Before polishing I had my car hand-washed for five dollars at the coin-operated car wash across the street from the chiropractor's office. The next morning I washed it again, using detailing clay, which is great for picking up crud.

My car was clean and shiny, but it didn't stay so after an afternoon rain. I had to wash it again the next morning and wait for it to dry before I could apply synthetic wax. The wax must sit for 10-12 hours for the polymers to bond properly, but that didn't happen. I tried again the next day, with the same result. I felt I was going backward.

Fortunately, my next door neighbor Barbara Whitlow told me I could use her carport while she was out of town. It was amazing how much faster things went with the car under cover. I applied two coats of polymer and, after it had cured, followed it with carnuba paste wax. My car looked great!

For about five minutes! With it back in my driveway it gets covered with leaves and gunk. Fortunately, it looks good again after a quick wash, and will until the wax wears away.

Here's my favorite photo of my car. I took it two years ago at Fontana Lake, NC.

The Lake is Looking Summery

Ducks on the March

For years now these ducks have made a daily pilgrimage from the lake to a house just past Dogwood Road. Their route takes them up Pine Drive and past my house. After they cross the intersection at Dogwood (no doubt looking both ways), they take a left and go somewhere behind the house on the corner. It always gives me a kick to see them saunter by.

Geese and Gosling at the Lake

We Protect and Serve

Here are some vintage photos of the Pine Lake Police.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

A group of Miata owners prepare to drive the Chereohala Parkway in close proximity at high speeds. The red car closest to the camera is mine. Fortunately, alcohol was not involved.

I'm a member of the Peachtree Miata Club, which consists of mostly retired men and women with a passion for the little two-seater roadster. It's an active group that sponsors all sorts of drives and get-togethers.

When I told my girlfriend Heather I was sad I wouldn't be able to make the planned Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour in October, she started laughing. "What could possibly go wrong with that?" she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Think about it," she said. "A bunch of senior citizens already half high on prescription medications will be stopping at five distilleries where they'll be given free drinks.They'll buy highly flammable alcohol, which they'll cram into the tiny little trunks of their Miatas before zoom-zooming off to the next distillery on the curviest roads they can find, going as fast as possible while following one another closely. It's a recipe for disaster! And you wish you could go?"

AJC:75-Year-Old Woman Drives Miata Through Front of Liquor Store-- Again. Read it here. 

"I visited the Jack Daniels distillery once," I said, "and nothing bad happened."

"You weren't in a Miata," she said.

"No," I said, "but I was in a 1963 Fiat Cabriolet that looked and drove an awful lot like a Miata."

When I was in college I bought this beautiful 1963 Fiat Cabriolet roadster for $450. It was in mint condition, with only 33,000 miles. The body was designed by Pininfarina; the mechanics included a four-cylinder 1500cc engine featured a Weber downdraft two-barrel carburetor; rack-and-pinion steering, front disk brakes, and radial tyres. People at gas stations had no idea the car was ten years old and many thought it was a Ferrari. Best. Car. Ever.

"Isn't the Jack Daniels distillery in a dry county?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "It's in Moore, the smallest county in Tennessee, and it's dry, which means they couldn't give us a complimentary dr--

"I did get a great woodcut of the Moore County jail," I finished lamely.

"I rest my case," she said.

In the 1970s visitors to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg were mailed a complimentary signed and numbered woodcut by Dan Quest, a local artist. This woodcut from my visit in 1972 or 1973 hangs in my bedroom.

Making Pure Vanilla Extract

Vanilla is the world's second most expensive spice (saffron being the highest-priced), which, I suppose, is why I always find it in tiny little bottles at the grocery store. I use vanilla liberally in baking, so those 1- and 2-oz. bottles of McCormick's or Watson's don't last long.

A bottle lasts a while, but the price always makes me wince. What's that you say? Use imitation vanilla? Do you know what's IN THAT STUFF? Snopes doesn't lie!

"Castrorium, baby!"

This time last year I learned how absurdly easy it is to make vanilla extract-- and for that matter lemon, orange, almond, mint, maple or any other extract one can think of. Of course I had to try it.

I had long seen television chefs scraping vanilla beans when making desserts, but I never actually saw one of the critters until a packet of six arrived from a seller on eBay. The beans seemed a bit decomposed, which is due to the processes of killing, sweating, drying, and conditioning in their processing.

The only other ingredient I needed was liquor at 70-80 proof (35-40% alcohol ABV).