Calie Gets a new 'Grillz'

Today the new grill for the MINI came in. I had been obsessing over the MINI forums and decided that I wanted to spice up the front end a little bit and start the process of removing the chrome on the car. I bought the John Cooper Works (JCW) and installed it this evening. I also bought a "belt line blackout" kit which replaces the chrome line that separates the top and bottom of the car. Overall it was an easy modification and really changes the look. With the tinted windows, Calie looks more squat than ever.


This is the original grille








This is the new black honeycomb JCW Grille







I also debadged Calie, meaning I took off the "Cooper" logo off the rear of the car. It gives good symmetry and I plan on placing it somewhere else in the near future

This is the original Rear








Rear Debadged








Blacked out beltline, new grille, and stormy skies

Let the Mods begin...

Today Calie (the MINI) got new 'sunglasses. I had been wanting to start doing modifications on the MINI and decided the first would be to tint the windows. Being here in "The Rouge" the summer sun is already out and force, combine that with the simulated leather in the car, can make for some hot rear ends. I decided go to a local shop that was recommended by the MINI dealership.

I went to Auto Images here in "The Rouge" and was happy with the tint job, though the total package was not that desirable. The lady at the help desk was slightly dry and hard to get any information out of her. Then there is the fact that they left my car soaked after the tint job. I had water streaks on EVERYTHING in the car, which really put a sour taste in my mouth.

I know that tinting takes time and liquids, but at least clean up afterwards, is that that hard to ask? Oh well, I love the look and the car is so much cooler now. I did 35% (its the percent of light transmitted into the car) and its dark, but not crazy dark. Did the sunroof in 20% and it is a nice touch. More mods to follow soon...wahoo. Top picture is prior to tinting and the bottom picture is after the tint. Its hard to take pictures of window tint I have found

Spring Is HERE!

Went for a run today and cleaned the ole apartment, that's about it. But I did notice that the apartment complex was truly into spring. Ok, spring has been upon us down here in the south for quiet awhile, but the true sign of spring is the first hatchlings. A few pairs of ducks around the LSU lakes have hatchlings, but the ducks around the lakes here at the apartment complex just showed up this weekend. There were (yesterday) two hatches of 6 hatchlings each, but today, there were only seven babies total. Something must have happened during the evening hours. Anyways, here is a shot of the proud parents!

Today RAC decided to emulate Zachawii and joined the ranks of the car buying fraternity (or sorority I guess, since she is a girl ). Not only did she purchase her new car, she also, like myself, ran a race RIGHT before doing so. So words of advice to anyone wanting to buy a new car. To solidify your decision, run at least 3 miles in a race format, and you WILL drive off in a new car. At least in our experiences you will:-)

RAC is now the proud owner of a silver 2008 Subaru Impreza. She was excited,surprised, and stunned that she overcame the doubts and fears that go through your head when making the decision to purchase your first brand new car. I like it...though I will be honest, Calie, in car terms, is dear to my heart. Awesome job RAC on doing something that you thought you would not do....those are some nice wheels you got there!

Test Driving a 'Webb' of 'Madness'

First Test Drive
Its that time in life in which I need to upgrade the car. The current baby is starting to nickle and dime me every now and then and I should move to something a little more reliable before I am stranded with an expensive hunk of metal.

My tastes are for somethingthat has good gas mileage small, somewhat sporty, and has a nice look. Features are not all that important, but , sunroof, and a manual are a must. These criteria, I have found, limits me drastically in the types of car that appeal to me and are within my price range. All of the cars in my top 5 list are European, which is sad. Our "Big 3" just make ugly small cars that look and (probably) feel cheap, something I do not want. The one car that is "American" on my list is the Saturn Astra, and its even made in Europe. Oh well, its a global economy out there anyway.

I have been walking car lots on Sundays to try and get a feel for what is available, price ranges, and overall physical look. You can only learn so much by doing research online. I have not, however, had the guts to go and test drive a new car. This whole process is new, uncharted territory, but you just got to do it. So today, I drove the Mini pictured above (autotrader.com) and had a blast. I was afraid the Mini would feel small, but it was a lot better ride than I had hoped. I'm hooked. Now, all I need to do is find the one I really want. Wish me luck. If you have a Mini for sale, let me know, I might just be interested!

Webb Struggles In NYC
Last weekend was the United States 8k Championship that took place in New York City's Central Park. In the men's division, the race was stacked with the likes of Olympic hopefuls Alan Webb, Jorge Torres, and Andrew Carlson. It was supposed to be a battle between the distance guy (Torres) and the miler (Webb). Unfortunately Webb had to battle food poisoning and ended up finishing a dismal 15th.

This will come across as critical of someone with far superior talent than I have, but Webb always seems to come up short when the moment counts. Its hard to be the next mile/1500 superstar when you start at the age of 18, but when the moments of opportunity has arisen, Webb has run poorly. He is the American record holder in the mile (see pic), breaking Steve Scott's decades old record last year. He had the fastest time in the world going into the world championships in Oska, but ran a poor strategy in the finals and got blown out of the water, much like he did in Athens. I just hope that he will get some luck on his side and runs smart and helps end our drought of medals in the distance events this year in Beijing. That's my rant, stickin to it.

March Madness
The Madness continued today in the second round of 'The' Tournament. Kansas is in the Sweet 16, again, after a closer than expected (in my opinion) game against UNLV. In the end, it wasn't much of a game, but with so many stops in play because of fouls, the 'Hawks just could not get into a rhythm. But a win is a win and now its a game against either Villanova or Siena (12 and 13 seeds) I feel the road to Elite 8 is a little easier...hopefully.

The real madness of the day was over in the game with Stanford against Marquette. All you really need to know is that the game went into overtime. Just watch the clip below to get the recap.
Cheers!

Stanford vs Villanova

GOAT Valentines Day

You Fixin My Chocolate Fix?
Today is the "loveliest" day of the year. Romeo's are running around at the last minute making dinner reservations, gathering cards, buying chocolate, and delivering flowers. Most people accept that flower prices will increase dramatically over the weeks leading up to "the big day." But now it appears that the heart shaped box with all those morsels that mama always said "You never know what ya gonna get,"may have been priced artificially high.

There have been recent raids on company headquarters of some of the largest food manufactures in the world. Allegations run that these companies were conspiring with each other to raise the price of chocolate worldwide. I do not doubt that with the rising cost of fuel and dairy products, the cost of chocolate will/should go up to meet these costs. But to conspire with each other to gouge their faithful customers really makes this a bitter bite to follow. It will be interesting to track in the next few days/weeks/months to come.

GOAT is Gone
No, I do not own a goat or did I lose a goat. The plot of grass in front of my apartment could not possibly sustain a goat, nor would the landlords allow such an efficient means of grass control to roam the property. I'm referring to the Greatest of All Time, Maurice Greene of the U.S. who announced he is retiring from track and field.

In a testament to how 3-sport centered the US really is, the passing of one of the greatest sprinters hardly made a blip on the radar screen. None of the major news outlets reported this story up front (that I know of). If someone great like Joe Montana, or Jordan, we would have had news press on this like crazy. But, unlike Europe, track and field is only an afterthought till the Olympics. Then it makes a brief appearance and is again forgotten faster than any sprinter alive.

Sprinters, however, are the diva's of track and field. They are some of the biggest braggers and sorest losers in the sport, modesty need not apply. They usually have a couple of good seasons with a marquee race or two and then, like a good thoroughbred, is put out to pasture. Mo Greene, though boastful at times, was consistent enough to back up his claim as GOAT, or greatest of all time, and I like consistent runners.

Maurice Greene, it can be argued, was one of the greatest sprinters to ever step foot on a track. His resume is impressive, with 5 World Titles, Olympic Gold in 2000, a Bronze in 2004. He also held the 100m world record, the 50m indoor record, and still holds the indoor 60m world record.
He has run under 10 seconds for the 100m 52 times, more than anyone in history. In the end though, it was the nagging injuries, of having legs so powerful and tightly wound, that ended Mo Greene career. Its a shame to see such grace and power succumb to the inevitable results of aging. Only time will tell to see if GOAT (also a tattoo on Mo Greene's arm) really was the greatest of all time!