7/10/09

I really thought we’d go to the shop last night. That was why y'all didn’t get a rant yesterday. Well, I've begun the initial stages of moving stuff from the shop to the house. Ok, I guess technically that started when we cleared out the spot and began parking Shichi in the garage, but I'm starting the big project now. Wait, not “starting” as in “the bulldozers are digging up the yard as we speak,” I'm “starting” as in I had Pat’s construction guy come look at the yard to see what pouring a driveway around back is going to cost. I think if we can get rid of the “car storage” aspect of the shop, we can move into a much smaller, and therefore cheaper, location. We could even move to a more convenient place. That “car storage” situation, of course, means that I'd have to park projects at the house and stop bringing home orphans. It may also mean thinning my herd a little. Looking at the cars with an objective eye, it would seem that Barbecue Bob and the Chickenhawk could become available because they are both without engines at this time. The Chickenhawk really only has sentimentality keeping it in the stable. Barbecue Bob has the potential to be an adequate, if not decent even, daily driver with the right engine. Of course I could always admit defeat with George and let him go, but he has a certain sentimental value as well. Lil' Wiggly is just so much fun to drive because, well to be honest, it runs and drives whereas the others do not. Perhaps when another one is running and Lil' Wiggly becomes superfluous… well, we’ll see. Of course Shichi has an indoor spot already, is pretty doggone cool, gets plenty of attention, was built by me, is one of a kind (sort of), and isn't worth nearly what I'd need to get out of it, it is a keeper. “Trixie and the Killer” are… wait, I mean Fifi and the trailer are sort of superfluous if we’re going to enact a “No More Orphans!” policy, but it is nice to have the option of rescuing one of the fleet without resorting to paying a tow truck. I imagine they’ll stay with me for a while. Of course I'll need a daily driver, and for the time being that is Ms. Clio. I'm not looking to replace Ms. Clio, but we all know how fickle I am. Something could catch my eye in the next few years and become the DD. We’ll see. So, does that cover everyone? Let’s see, Barbecue Bob, Chickenhawk, George, Lil' Wiggly, Shichi, Fifi, trailer, and Ms. Clio, yes that looks like all of the “for sure” keepers at this time. Now, I've had a look at my drawings and I think I can semi-unobtrusively park all of them around the side and back of the house. Oh, and while we were looking at the yard, I noticed that the trees and vines and stuff do block a large portion of the view from the Baird’s yard. I think a small decorative fence at the top of the stairs should block the view from the Adams’ house and Van Deman road. A regular fence from the garage to the south should shield the Andrijeski’s and Burkett road view. That would leave the southern view and I don’t see them building in the hundred year flood plain anytime soon. Besides, I'm on a hill a good six feet above the next potential yard to the south. I ain’t skeert. Now, if we ever do decide to abandon the idea of a “remote” shop, I think I could, conceivably, get by with the garage as my shop. I'd need to clear it out of course but there is that alcove area which could be my machine shop with the welder, mill, table, and such and there is still half the garage in front of Shichi. Pat re-suggested making the downstairs room into an extension of the garage. I don’t know, I'd really like to have a Victorian Gentlemen’s Club down there. Then again, opening that wall up would probably be cheaper than the spiral stair I'd want from the master bedroom down to the VGC. I just thought of something, that list totally omits Roku-Hyaku. I guess I'm writing that car off in my mind. Of course it doesn’t take up much space… hang on a minute. Yeah, I think I can make room for it if it stays in the fleet. I just went in and edited the Paint drawing of the most likely configuration of the Burkett shop and I think it’ll work. So, what else is new? Oh! I got “THE” e-mail yesterday! My Linux laptop is in route! I checked its progress this morning and it is in Nashville or between here and Nashville or something. The important thing is: it is on its way to me! They are predicting Wednesday the 15^th for delivery. So it is now less than a week of Windows for me! Bill “Tiny and Flaccid” Gates can eat a bag of dicks! Woo hoo! I'm happy as a little girl! And on that note, I think I'm going to call it a week in the rant. I'll talk to y'all again Monday.