Category Archives: friends

Mar 8 2012

Life.

It’s funny actually.  Funny as in odd.

Every day we push through the clock.

Every week, every year.

But every now and then we ponder where the time goes.

Did I do all the things I wanted to do. Go the places I wanted to go.

Spend time with the people I wanted to spend time with.

This is just life.

Every now and then we are forced to ponder.

That thing totally opposite of life , an event that hits you like a ton of bricks.

Stops the clock. Freezes your brain. Makes you think.

“I have some sad news…”, it begins.

For minutes, maybe hours – the sound disappears from your ears.

Urgencies from your brain, the pen from your fingers.

The weight of the day gone, and you stare.

Unexplainable vacuum consumes thought as if a forced silent tribute to life is upon you.

Mountains become superfluous. Glimpses of time flash forward for reflection.

Answers sought. Precious are the moments.

This is just death.

—-

A tribute to a friend I could say I barely knew. We both push through the clock, his chose to stop.

Ramsey – Rest in Peace my friend.

Feb 19 2012

Race Day at Chicago Indoor Racing

Today I joined some neighbors to Chicago Indoor Racing.  It was my first chance to drive these carts.  First, these aren’t the same go-karts you find at the local adventure spot, but they are also not professional-level carts.  So if you were ever considering the excitement of higher speed cart racing don’t hesitate, its a blast!

These carts capable of 35 MPH (or more) and remember, you are sitting a few inches off the ground.  To make it feel even more thrilling they suit you up in racing garbs (a one-peice suit with lots of cool sponsorship embroidery) and a full-face helmet. The cart is lightweight, using chrome-moly tubing and alloy wheels. A 200CC Honda 4-stroke motor can rev up to 5500 RPM.  They scoot you right along!

If you’re competitive then it will take some finesse to get this thing around the track at top speeds without spinning out.  The trick, it seems is to master the speed into each corner to avoid sliding as much as possible – keeping your average time around each lap to a minimum. Of course that won’t be enough the get you to a top finishing spot.  Since the race is based on finish position you’ll need to figure out how to pass those in front of you.  That may actually be where most the fun is and by the way bumping each other like you do at the local adventure go-carts doesn’t help – either you’ll spin out with them or worse you could end up in Sin-bin ( a penalty box that’ll cost you a position or two). Once you get the corners figured out you can actually drift right through the corner, but off by just a bit and you spin out or bounce the wall and it costs you speed that you need to recover.

This is a first class facility with two tracks 700 feet long that can be combined into one that is 1400 feet.  A great place for groups and corporate events it has a bar and food with an observation deck overlooking the track.  Oh – no drinking and driving, they take it very seriously and allegedly keep breathalyzers on hand.

Lastly, each cart is equipped with monitoring so every lap is measured and you get a very nice print out (or go online as well) of your race results.

CLICK HERE to see some pictures of our outing or visit their site for more info.  Just click on the logo above and it’ll take you there.

Feb 6 2010

Creating Cool Variations from One Picture

I took a series of photos for a neighbor, capturing her son at the local skate park.  Later I used Photoshop to create some variations. First I was able to spin a “Red, White, and Blue” series.  More interesting is when you crop the background out and use the image to create new variations of him in the air.  Enjoy…