Intrepid Explorers on Jupiter Rocks. Chuck Pace © 2007
Today Jenni and I drove to Jupiter Beach in Jupiter Florida with Meredith and Chris (the kids temporary roommate) and spent a few hours on the Atlantic Ocean. Chris and Meredith tanned, Jenni and I walked the beaches and picked up a few shells (about a hundred pounds is what it felt like in my velcro pocketed swim trunks, (I accused Jenni of trying to drown me with the weight and the waves so she could cash in my insurance and move to Florida with the kids). After the ocean stuff we stopped at Dubois Park in Jupiter and got a two room tour of the Dubois house that overlooks the park, and was built in 1903. Then the twenty mile drive back. to Stuart for our last evening in SoEastFla. Tomorrow morning Jenni and I drive back to Old Town, our staging area for our return drive to Tennessee, which will be our staging area for our return home.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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The drive down was hell. The rain started just before we left. After the first hour the rain turned to freezing rain. Just past Louisville KY., we saw a Ford Taurus facing the wrong way, up against the wall of an overpass. I felt the rear (drive) wheels get a little loose a few times but was able to keep the german girl on the strait and narrow. Everything on the car had a glaze of freezing rain ice over it except the defrosted windshield and front windows, the brakes were tentative when applied, but we made it through the Blue Grass State and in to a more Voluntary State, the on-board computer said 34° and the ice was flaking off in sheets, in another hour we were at Jenni's folks. We spent the night there and got back on the road for the joyous trek through Georgia the next morning just before noon. Just under twelve hours later we were in Old Town Florida at my parents house. After a fitful nights sleep, and a trip to Cheifland FL. with my father for some provisions it was on the road again. We left Old Town at 1:30, and headed for Gainesville and I-75 south to the Florida Turnpike and Stuart. We arrived in Stuart and met up with David at alltel at 6:38, and were quickly ushered out so that David and his understudy The T-bag, the T-master, the T-minator, T-pee could go through the super secret procedures that involves closing a telecommunications outlet (o.k., I just don't remember the other kids name, but I think it might be Trevor or Travis, but since his part is done in the unfolding tale who cares, T-bone? I don think so).
After David gets home and out of his "spy-secret phone agent alltel stuff" we drive around in the Kia until we arrive at Conchy Joe's for a very good meal. Then it was under the Jenson Beach Causeway for playground fun and night sight seeing.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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G-Girl in Tennessee, Dry and ready for 12 hours of highway. Chuck Pace©2007
Since our vacation was already scheduled when Meredith came home for an extended visit it was decided that she would stay an additional couple of weeks on her leave of absence from BestBuy Stuart. That way we could take her back in the "German Girl" when the time came, which is this week. As is usually the case, when the name Pace is involved things get a little convoluted and problems and tempers usually rise.
Originally I wanted to leave Friday right after work, but Jenni and Meredith had different plans, as it turns out that was probably for the best. Since it was decided that an early Saturday morning egress would be best, I decided to run to the Apple Store at the fashion mall Friday after work to but an inverter to power the laptop in the car. I was in and out in ten minutes (including a restroom break after the big purchase, I'd like to see Jen or Meredith accomplish that trick!), and noticed that the right rear tyre was low when I returned with the goods. Being that close to Dreyer & Reinbold I thought I'd pop in and see if they could provide a replacement trunk badge and tire remedy. I got there at 6:34 only to discover that they had closed at 6:00. So back to I-465 and home, I detoured to see if Discount Tire or Tire Barn was open, but they also closed at 6:00, so the next best thing was to get to one of them when the opened today. Thinking that Tire Barn opened at 8:00 I slept in longer and was there at 8:18 but as chuck would have it they open at 9:00 and close at 5:00 on Saturday. Solution? A quick trip to Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up, luckily the drive through line was quite long and I got to lose some of my surplus time before I needed to be at T-Barn. I was the first customer, and told them to check the suspect tire for cause and defect of slow deflation, and fill all tires with Nitrogen for improved tire and cold weather performance. They set to the task, but soon came to me asking for the hex wrench that removes the cover to the lug nuts. I had never had an issue with the tires and assumed that everything was in place, au contraire. Three nitro'ed tires, one slow leaking un-removed later I figure o.k., a quick trip a quarter of the way back around 465 and I'll get the badge and hex wrench, then pop into the Castleton Tire Barn for a fix and Nitro fill.
Well, once again as chuck would have it, D & R was not open, apparently their winter Saturday hours are 10:00 to 5:00, instead of the 7:30 ones they observed in the summer and fall. It was only 9:20 when I got there and I was not about to waste 40 minutes waiting (in retrospective that would have a bargain in time). I went to the World H.Q., made my Nascar picks and packed my duffle and toilet for the trip. Around 11:40, with trunk packed I thought, maybe the Greenwood D & R would have the required Hex wrench, and Jenni and I both tried several times to get through to their parts guy. After several failed attempts, I tried the Carmel shop but could not get through there either. Eventually I got through to Greenwood, it was 12:45, the guy, the parts guy was not understanding what I was after, after several attempts to illuminate his path about the hex wrench, he says oh, I think I know what you need, (I made a side bet with Jenni that he would not have it). Three minutes later he's telling me that there is not one there, and I pocket two clams. I ask for the direct line to the Carmel parts and he says that they don't have one either since both locations are linked. I thank him, hang up and cogitate for a full minute before finding the parts number on one of the business cards I got when the 86 Bimmer got all shiftless an me and let me down. I called, played the voiced prompt game until option 5 said parts, selected option 5 and got right through to a real live human. It took him less than two minutes to come back and say that there were two options for me and both were in stock. Jenni, Meredith, Charlie-dog and a lot of baggage made the quarter trek again and I affected said purchase, then with the prospect of getting to the in-laws before sundown all but gone we attempted to hit the Castleton Tire Barn. You would think they were giving away autographed Colts SB gear at that store, you couldn't even park. I said screw this, we'll go back to the East Washington T Barn. Jenni said, "Good, drop us off at the house." I say this may take a while, if they are even close to as busy as the Castleton one. Meredith says, "Good I can take a nap!"
I get to the E.Wash T-B at 1:46, they say sure we remember you from 9 o'clock, and it will still be 90 minutes to 2 hours. I say joy of joys, please do and went out for a walk. That's how I ended up at the bar at O'Charley's waiting for a three cheese bacon burger at 2:26 and writing the rough draft for this post in my official BMW Travel Journal. After my breakfast and lunch burger (Meredith and Jenni had break-foods while I was on the first leg of my days adventures a full 5 hours earlier). I finished my chow and returned to the Barn, where I read a chapter in my current book, "Nature Girl" by Carl Hiaasen. Finally at 3:43 they take the Deutsche Madchen into the middle bay at the Barn. At 4:06 the long awaited rains start, at 4:18 I have paid and have the car back. At 4:19 I'm filling her gas tank at 10th and Mithoeffer, and at 4:21 I'm pulling in at the house. At 4:30 we left the neighborhood for the 5 hours of horrendous rain and freezing rain and night driving to get us here in Chapmansboro TN. Where I now complete the telling of the tale. It only took a half tank of gas to get these 321.3 miles since the fill up.
So much for an early morning start.
Sunday. We try again to get on the road at a reasonable hour, there is about a 10 hour trip to Old Town Florida ahead of us now.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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German Idol! She looks good, but can she sing?
I don't even have words. Imagine my surprise, maybe things are indeed looking up. So on Sunday last, the day of the Daytona 500, the big party at Rich's the Turkey fry and pitch-in, Jenni and I were fairly late getting there, we got a late start making our contributions to the fooding. By the time we arrived there was no place to park. Rich's driveway was as bad as the streets in the deep snow, nay, worse at the eastern end. I pulled in at a diagonal, but still left the rear of the car in harms way. Ed and John David came out and pulled their respective vehicles up a little and I was able to get almost all the way in straight instead of angled, but still with just a little rear end overhang (I guess it's a middle age thing). Well in all the excitement of parking, and reparking I left the parking and fog lights on. So when it came time to leave almost 6 hours later the pour little german girl was too weak to turn over and we had to jump her. Being that weak she went into crisis mode, and the radio went into anti-theft mode. I had the radio code in the glove-box in the documentation of the car so I was not overly worried. However, after three attempts to resurrect the radio from useless mode I had locked it out. Later at home I read in the owners manual that if three attempts were unsuccessful the radio would be useless until it could be left on for 1 hour, then additional attempts to load the code could be tried. I tried that timing periods of use until an hour of accumulated time was reached, and promptly got the same , Nyah, beep from said portable amphitheater. Luckily the weather was improving, so on one of the mid week days I locked her up with the radio on and every thing else off for a continuous hour of contemplation (plus about 15 minutes of overrun, or 2 hours in Jenni time), the result? She's a no work. I concluded that even I could get the reset code right once, therefore the previous owner, Gretchen (no really her name was Gretchen) must have replaced the radio. Wednesday, I call BMW Mike at Dreyer and Reinbold, he says it is 50 clams to remove and reset the radio, but I can do it myself with the proper tools and know-how. I get the proper tools and remove the head unit (technical jargon for radio) write down the serial number and call it in to Mike for a computer code look-up. The evening comes and goes and I hear as much from him as I do the radio in its current state. Thursday morning. I'm in line at Mikes Car-wash, the blue-tooth headset be-da-doop's in my ear and I answer it. It's Mike. He says he had no luck with the serial number, so I agree to bring the car in on Friday morning (today). I get to work and think to myself (if there was someone else I could think too I would, I tell ya), I've got back in camera land before the flood gates open for a days frantic sales (all wishful thinking in late February) I e-mail Mike that the numbers were the same as I got to him earlier, but I mention the A. I get a call around 2:00 he says he got the e-mail, and plugged the serial with A into the German Database, and got a match. I wrote it down, then grabbed my keys and trotted out as soon as I could take a break. Six digits entered and viola, "There be whales here Captain!" But they were the sweet wails of guitar solos, and little drummer boys. Success is mine. Now Jenni and Meredith don't have to listen to me sing all the way to Stuart Florida, which means we'll make it all the way to Stuart Florida. Yeah.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Scott, Anni and Lex at the store on Tuesday last, Chuck Pace © 2007
So after what seemed like an eternity (9 days) I am partially able to post again. Partially; because there have been some major changes, for one the photo album is gone. For another I've built an archive 05-06 link to make the upload quicker, and less prone to instability. I will revise the photo album soon, with new and old photos alike, and update the stuff as I can. I already had one crash today after my first success in over a week. How was even the marginal victory achieved? I moved everything back to the mobile command center, since tomorrow after work Jenni, Meredith and I will be going mobile. First to Tennessee for a very brief stop and recoup before the long drive to Old Town Florida. I am up too late right now, and there is no way I can catch anybody up in one post anyway, suffice it to say, I've bowled, repaired cars, shoveled an olympic sized pools worth of snow and ice, and enjoyed having my daughter here for almost 5 weeks. David has flown up from Florida for Valentines day and returned, the car has had her hiccups cured, and the Nascar season has returned. There has been one race, and one winner so far, in the race it was Kevin Harvick, in the fantasy league it was me.
There has been two more Pacers in trouble, Anna Nicole has bought the big Air-Head Ranch in the sky, Lost has been found and Smallville continues to be awesome.
Anni Hood has become Mother hood after birthing a very handsome micro Scott (yes even smaller than the original), and Alexander 'Lex' Thomas Scott Proctor has made a visit to the Store and C. Scott has returned to work after a little more than a week off. Life goes on and I go south to retrieve some of my sanity. Wish me luck, I've been without it for quite a long time.
So I have to ask, has the heart grown fonder?
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Come back baby, I promise I'll be good. Chuck Pace © 2007

Listening to ''Frigid Winter Days'', by The Ocean Blue, from The Ocean Blue (Play Count: 1)
Four days? It seems like weeks since I've posted!
Today I'm not sitting in the World headquarters in a sleeveless tee and hawaiian shirt listing to the Summer songs. I have a sweater on, the heat turned up and am hoping to get this posted before the freezing rain pulls the power lines down and kills the 'lectristee. I don't want that to happen, but it could. Today I'm listening to chilly songs, cold songs, winter songs instead of summer songs. Drinkin' coffee and huddled next to the computer for warmth.
Listening to ''Faded From The Winter'', by Iron & Wine, from The Creek Drank the Cradle (Play Count: 3)
So what has happened since I posted on Friday morning? Plenty. That's a good answer. Plenty. I found out what was wrong with my German Girl. Thursday the hydraulic clutch master cylinder bought it. I was on the interstate going to work, traffic was congesting as traffic often does, and as I reached down to downshift I noticed that it was terribly hard to get the shifter disengaged from 5th gear. By the second downshift it was clear that it wasn't the cold weather stiffening up the control, there was a new (and ultimately expensive) problem, I was able to exit at Emerson Ave. and begin my exciting journey home through stop lights and traffic. I called Jenni, (using my hands free bluetooth headset of course since my hands and attentions were definitely elsewhere; clutch, cuss, brake, coast, shift, cuss) found out that she was not too close to her work yet either, so I re-routed her to find and follow me back home (or as far as the ailing auto would get me). By the time I got onto Emerson the clutch pedal was going all the way to the floor with little or no consequence to the drive-train itself. Jenni was at 10th and Emerson as I turned back east at 16th and Emerson, since I was only perambulating at 20 MPH in second gear I knew that she'd be behind me soon. By now the clutch pedal was staying down, and I had to use the side of my foot to pull it back up. When I would get to a stop light I could hear a light slipping sound as I held the clutch hard to the floor, it was enough to allow the car to idle and not die so I got lucky there too. Once home I sent Jenni on her way, borrowed the borrowed car from Meredith and drove my keys and to Black Forrest Motors to talk to Keith and Frank about fixing my Girl. I left the keys, asked them to tow her in and waited most of the day to hear from them. After four I call the guys at Black Forest Motors, they picked her up, but wouldn't see her until Friday. Friday after noon I get the call, it's not a busted hydraulic line as I hoped (a cheaper repair) but the clutch master cylinder. They also tell me the lower radiator has a leak, so I o.k. replacing that too. There is bowling on Friday night, there is Bowling on Sunday night, and then there is work on Monday and a call from BFM. She's ready but I can't pick her up yet, because I have pre-bowling on Monday night (so that I can go to the Nascar Turkey Fryer's party for the Daytona 500 on Sunday next. I don't get to pick her up until at least Wednesday now due to the weather. That and I have to rob a bank to et her out of the shop. "Here piggy, piggy I have a hammer I want to show ya!"
During the running diatribe I tracked my iTunes playing but didn't interrupt the flow of consciousness. Here they are now.
Listening to ''Wintertime Blues'', by John Hiatt, from Master of Disaster(Play Count: 2)
Listening to ''Out In The Cold Again'', by Dean Martin, from Season's Greetings (Play Count: 1)
Listening to ''Cold Day In The Sun'', by Foo Fighters, from Skin and Bones (Play Count: 1)
Listening to ''Cold River'', by John Hiatt, from Master of Disaster (Play Count: 1)
Listening to ''Cold'', by Tears For Fears, from Elemental (Play Count: 2)
Listening to ''Cold Water'', by Tom Waits, from Mule Variations (Play Count: 6)

I LOOK 47 but I'm 24
Well they shooed me away
From here the time before
Turned there their backs
And they locked their doors
I'm watching T.V. in
The window of a furniture store
Well I woke up this morning
With the cold water
With the cold water
With the cold water
Woke up this morning
With the cold water
With the cold water
With the cold

Chuck Pace © 2007
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Listening to ''The Chill Air'', by Brian Eno, from Original Masters; Ambient Works (Play Count: 2)

...came blowin' in from across the sea, and lingered there and touched your hair and walked with me...
Listening to ''Summer Wind'', by Lyle Lovett , Smile-Songs From the Movies(Play Count: 3)
I'm sitting in the World headquarters in a sleeveless tee and hawaiian shirt listing to the Summer wind by Lyle Lovett, I'm as far away from the cold and nasty winter as I can get if only in my mind. After that "Delius (Song of Summer)", by Kate Bush, from Never for Ever (Play Count: 4) comes up from the playlist. I typed in Summer and hit the random button. I figure turn about is fair play, the random button has been hitting me pretty hard lately. My thoughts are taking their sweet time getting from fingertips to CRT and now 'Summer Breeze'', by Jason Mraz , album unknown (Play Count: 5) is both center stage and stereo eaves. Last summer I took time off from bowling. I built an arbor-trellis yard ornamentation structure, I gardened. I wish it was summer again, I'd not be bowling (well, technically I'm not really bowling now, so...). I wouldn't be cold. My car wouldn't be cold. My hydraulic clutch would not have burst a line, or worse. The German Girl is in the Black Forrest again, she's learning to deal with clutch situations. I'm struggling with the same problems. Clutch Cargo? No Clutch, no Car go. Listening to ''Summer...It's Gone'', by Grandaddy, from Just like the Fambly Cat (Play Count: 1).
So , how did you bowl? What happened with the secret weapon? The secret weapon was not discharged, there had not been a chance to test the secret weapon, so the secret part is safe, as it the team it would have been used against. Lat Night Team Chatterbox One was just two. We knew that Melissa was harping at somebody else, but we still expected some jewels from the Hoffmeister. Listening to ''Summertime Killer'', by Luis E. Bacalov, from Kill Bill (vol. 2)(Play Count: 0) But nay! Brandon did not appear, and just Mr. DiNicola and I face the rowdy rabble alone. We lost them all. Travis did well, and over his handicap, but I failed to come in from the cold streak, never got hot and let both ghost down as well as Mr. T. D.
Well suck is as suck does. Maybe the cabana boy will bring me another drink with an umbrella in it. Looks like I've come full circle...

Listening to ''The Summer Wind'', by Madeleine Peyroux from Half the Perfect World (Play Count: 2).
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Listening to ''It Must Be Summer'', by Fountains of Wayne, from Utopia Parkway (Play Count: 1)

Fire and Ice, the Sun also Rises. Chuck Pace © 2007
Severe Cold. Over 5 inches of snow.
I left work before 3:30 yesterday. I picked Jenni up at her work and we finally arrived home at 5:45. The streets were awful. The drivers were awful. In fact for several miles there was a grey Chevy Speck behind me worrying me worse than what was ahead. The driver of this can, er car had been in at least one accident (probably two) and was driving on a bent rim and flat left front tire. The right side of the car showed deep gouges and red paint, and the left corner where the tire was gone hade a broken fender and bumper, and steam and antifreeze was spraying onto his windshield. The problem for me was that he'd surge forward to very near (too near) the back end of the German girl and his windshield was glazed with the continous spray from his fractured cooling system. Eventually he turned off on Emerson and I breathed eaiser, but I doubt that he got much farther, he was gunning the engine, and limping along at 10 or 15 mph as he made it around the corner and out of my concern. I do still wonder what the other items he pinballed off of looked like, and if they got his liscense plate number. I did not. Once we got home it was time to watch Scrubs, The Office, Earl, Smallville and Heros off the DVR and catch up on the missed programming of the previous week.
Like previous years when there has been snow, the far east side here in Cumberland has historically gotten more. When we get any, the plowers in my edition like to pile it up in front of my mailbox, a few years ago we got snow for several days, and I didn't get any mail for a week and a half. When it thawed, the mailbox post had been boken by the plow. I'm not hoping for a repeat. Now it's time to take to the roads again.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Becky sat in the Window, proud of her ballons. Chuck Pace ©2007
Grid-lock, parking problems, sub-zero windchills, crowds and more crowds. There is a Championship team in Indianapolis. Between 45,000 and 52,000 rabid fans stormed downtown Indianapolis yesterday from 2:00 to 6:00 to celebrate with the Colts who stand at the pinnicle of their sport. They returned from Disneyland and Miami, where delayed by a trip to the Colts complex at 56th, then paraded around the Circle (the entire path lined by fans who stood outside as long as three hours waiting for the victors to come by) and back to the Dome Sweet Home. After work a trip to the Chatterbox was in order. There I caught up with Jenni, Rich, Ed, John David, Kay, Brad Griffith, Sue Hobbs, Travis, DeAnne and David. David had a problem, that was going to break his streak of filling all of his seats for Pacers games. Namely Darrell Spurlock and Jane, who were well into their cups on Sunday while watching the big game, had agreed to accompany David to the Pacer Game against the Warriors of Golden State. Yet, they were nowhere to be seen, and game time was almost arrived I had plans to watch Heroes with the family, Ed had things to do, John David was booked, and nobody else was able to fix the breakable streak. Then Jenni said, "I could DVR the episode and you could go." Rich then said, "you should go, we should go." So we told David that the streak was intact. He called a cab, then he called another cab, and eventually we got a cab. We didn't get to our seats until 5 miutes had expired in the game. The Warriors never trailed, and former Pacer Stephen Jackson had his best game in the Fieldhouse in many tries with a 34 point outing. I stated from the seats that Jackson, who has had multiple problems with the rules and boundries of our society, and had to get a judges approval before he could even move to Oakland to be a Warrior, was playing with convicton. He did, they did, we didn't. Back to the box after round ball debacle, Rich and I talked with Cathy Morris and Nicci. Cathy has a new ('91) Miata and took me out to see it, on the condition that I never move it. I promised. (Of course I could never move it anyway without a key, not by myself). But a promise is a promise.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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I know I don't have to ask if you saw that! I would venture to guess that everybody in Indianapolis saw that. I expected to be horse, but I'm not. After the second half started it became more and more evident that we would win. I Predicted 34-24 at work on Thursday. I also said that Devin Hester was going to be a problem, but if we hadn't spotted Chicago that opening kick-off TD it probably would have been a boring blow-out. I have to find the hat and shirt tomorrow. I have to get my 12 year old horseshoe tattoo updated. I have to get to bed.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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I started my brilliant Saturday Post, about bowling frustrations, about sports, about my Friday about 40 minutes ago. Rarely had the words flowed from my penny pencil with such feverish fluidity (-Jean Shepherd). I spoke of the upcoming game in Miami (I can still say Miami, can't I?), A Game that starts in 35 hours and 22 minutes from the re-try of this post to be exact. But due to the length of time involved in the first "Auto-Abourte" effort thank to the miracle of modern programming, I no longer have time to enumerate all those salient points again, and flow the brilliant prose about the dull and murky miasma of my own reality, and my failures at the kegling arena on the eve most prior. Time abandons me, and affords me not the chance too re-group that so whispy collection of thoughts and remembrances again for another attempt to illuminate from the keyboard and monitor.
No longer do I have the luxury of ample chronometric flow to reposit my previous fleeting embers of imagination, I must finish now even as I am just starting for time the avenger has again gotten back at me. I go and attempt to up-load these nuggets of pyrite, instead ot the golden moments previously lost. But you can bet your ass I'm going to copy this to my word documents before I try another save and post.
Go Colts! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!!
Chuck Pace © 2007
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Yesterday was a great day. The kind of day that one remembers for a lifetime. I spent half of it with my darling daughter. I gave her some pool lessons, I also schooled her in darts, I played her some of my favorite songs on the Mac, then I went back into sports mode and bowled in the Pizza and Beer league. This time we had our secret weapon with us. Travis ended the evening with a 117 average. And had a 137 high. But he's not the secret weapon. Melissa G., The Harpist, the "Wobbler" continues to get better each week, and had a 136 in the final game of the evenings sport (17 pins over her previous high, and 34 pins over her average). But she was not our secret weapon either. Brandon Hoffman is still struggling a bit but has pushed his average up to 82 for next week, a net gain of 7 pins per game, but hardly a weapon or a secret. No, our secret weapon was not me, I failed to hit my average on any game last evening, and will drop from 154 down to 149 in averageness for next weeks competition. No secret there. So I think I'll keep the "weapon" a secret until next week.
I just have so much to talk about, but I fear that every attempt will be lost in the upload. I will try again tomorrow.
Oh yes.
Go Colts! 2 more days to wait and see.
Chuck Pace © 2007
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