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Category Archives: life at home

Cold and dirty… I love my hobby

Pat behind the wheelAlthough at times it was about as comfortable as ice fishing in a muddy pond, the 4wheeling was great this weekend.

Yes, that is why I didn’t get a post out on Friday, and even though this is dated for Saturday, it is happening on Sunday (I need to keep room on Sunday for videos).

So, Friday evening I jumped in the truck with Pat and we headed north toward TN. We were hoping for snow for our annual Winter Madness run. Behind us we dragged Pat’s 85 CJ-7. It is lightlyPat in the Mud hole modified (ok, we call it lightly modified…) with 33″ tires, 4″ suspension lift, shackle reversal, Dana 44 front axle. It is locked front and rear, and is powered by a 4.0L fuel injected engine mated to a NV4500 heavy duty transmission. Of course there are a lot of other little tidbits… Pat is the National Sales Manager for Omix-Ada, owners of the Rugged Ridge line of Jeep accessories.

Chuck approaching the holePat’s Crew Cab El Camino (Chevy Avalanche 2500) is a lot more comfortable than driving up in a Jeep… We’re old, we like comfort..

So, while there was snow in Atlanta… there was no snow in TN. But it was cold. Increasingly cold. By Sunday morning, when we headed back to Atlanta, it was very cold.Brian digging out the wheel

But, on the trail it stayed mostly above freezing. At least just above freezing.

The trail system we were on is a really cool place. While a lot of our club members had been there previously, it was my first trip. I can’t wait to visit during the summer. Aside from the cool waterfall at the end of one of the trails, there is also a cave at the end of another spur. There are also a lot of roWaterfallck gardens, which though the rocks are smaller than economy cars, they do require picking a good line.

There is mud, too. I’m not really a mud fan. This particular mud hole claimed a few casualties. A couple of our folks lost tire beads in the hole. A mud-filled tire is pretty heavy, and not the most fun to change… but it’s better than watching basketball.

This was the main reward. At the end of this spur, there is a really cool waterfall. The cool thing about it is that there is no stream at the top with the water flowing to the falls. And, at the bottom, the water disappears back into the rock again. There is no stream flowing away on the ground.

While driving to the waterfall, the river drops underground regularly. It will be there flowing strongly, and then disappear completely… only to reappear after a few hundred yards.

Anyway, that is why I wasn’t keeping my regular posting schedule.

I love my hobby…

It’s Sunday… must be time for some videos

Since it is the weekend. I figured I’d take it easy and toss up a couple more videos. These are both recreational 4wheeling pictures featuring Jeepsters and Commandos.


Some of you may know that I am in the (entirely too slow) process of building a 71 Kaiser Jeepster Commando. It will be seriously modified from anything even resembling stock. Specs (subject to change):

  • 71 Kaiser Jeepster Commando
  • 92 Jeep YJ front clip
  • 92 Jeep 4.0HO engine
  • Dodge NV4500 5 speed with GM 6.34:1 first gear
  • Jeep NP231 T-case converted with a Mad Rooster kit to aux underdrive
  • STaK flipped Dana 300 T-case with 4:1 low range
  • Front and rear Dana 60 axles with 5.36 gears and Eaton E-lockers
  • Custom built frame
  • 4 link coil suspension front and rear
  • TSL 38.5×12.50 16.5s on Hummer double beadlock wheels.

I’m kicking around an adjustable air suspension idea as well. It would still allow the coils, but I would be able to raise or lower the vehicle from the cab. However, if I lost the air system, the vehicle would still be driveable.

It will have a full cage, and seating for 4. All seating positions will have full 4 or 5 point harnesses for off-road use. Of course, it will have A/C, and other comfort features… although, the goal is to leave the top off and just run a custom bikini top as much as possible.

If there are any equipment sponsors that want to have me test their gear… you know where to find me. 🙂

New Year’s Resolutions

One thing I have learned in my life is that when I publish something, and publicize it, I have to follow through… let’s try it with the least likely to follow through of all events…

New Year’s Resolutions

I just have a couple… in order to make it likely that I will succeed. I can add a few extras for padding if I have to…

  1. I will walk several times per week. A few years ago, Gail and I trained for and participated in a marathon (at Walt Disney World, on the American Stroke Association team). We were walking 3-5 times a week, and worked up to 5 miles for most of the walks, and as much as 20 miles on the weekend. While I don’t know that I want to walk 20 miles on a Saturday, I would like to get to 5 miles, three times a week. I would also like for the time to be about one hour for the 5 miles. (Anyone that wants to join me on the walks, feel free to let me know)
  2. I will explore technology to make my business more efficient. One of the things I spend too much time doing is typing blogs… I’m not fast, and likely won’t be. If I am going to spend several hours a week walking, I will need to multi-task that time in order to not take it away from my family. I will need to explore options like Jott, as well as getting phone calls done and some strategic planning.
  3. I will lose weight. That is the biggie… it’s on everyone’s list. I need to lose 30 pounds… and then re-evaluate and decide to lose 10 more… I hate diets… So, I will be working on burning off the garbage I eat. I’ll leave the garbage eating to another year.
  4. I will increase my business. This is a no-brainer. My production last year sucked. If I can’t beat the hooey out of last year, I have no business in this business…
  5. I will produce more content to separate my blogs and my website. I want to have more varied content on my blogs (here and “outside”) as well as my website. Most of the content is shared right now. I want each to have their own content streams, so there is less sharing.

I also have a few Goals for 2008 that I will have to strive for… since I’m telling you.

  • 20 pounds. At my weight, I will burn about 135 calories in a mile. It takes about 3500 calories to equal a pound of fat. That means that a marathon is about what I need to lose a pound of fat. It would take 518 miles to lose my goal in fat. So, I need to walk ten miles a week… burning only fat… in order to reach my goal. I will also be ramping up some other exercise.
  • Convert my website to a magazine format and produce a new “issue” each month… starting by March. I make a lot of content, and I want to make it more compelling to read. I also want to boost my reach by making the content and delivery more viral. I switched to the Joomla platform for that site specifically for this purpose.
  • Sharpen the focus of both my website and my blogs to rank better with Google. Shocker.

Here are my padding Resolutions…

  • I won’t start to smoke. If I’m smoking, I better be on fire.
  • I will be the best father I can be for my sons. Almost broke that one right there… We have a new boy on the way… due March 5th, but I’m betting February 29th… and I originally wrote son. We will continue to do “Guy Lunch” and “Just Guys Day” as well as new traditions.
  • I will be a good friend.
  • I will work hard to make Mud 4 Blood bigger than last year. If you are anywhere near Atlanta around May 10th, join a few hundred off-road enthusiasts at our blood drive. This year we are trying to get national exposure from the enthusiast media. (just a note, as I write this there is only a placeholder for the M4B website… it’ll be up soon).

There is my list. I will keep everyone updated on how I’m doing… especially when people start bugging me about it while I’m try to change the subject (hint, hint).

Free Thrasher’s tickets for tonight

I know it is seriously last minute…

But, here goes.

I have a pair of 300 level Thrasher’s tickets and a parking pass that are available tonight.  The game starts at 7:30 at Philips Arena.

Obviously you need to be local.   Contact me through my Contact Page

Blog Anthology, Posts 138 – 150

Once again, I have a little discrepancy in the numbers. This time, it’s because of the platform change and now there are actually numbers next to the list on the back end… I must have mis-counted previously. Hopefully that jazz is behind me.

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