"If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible." - James Whistler

I used the term "al dente" in a sentence this morning!

The classic VW gathering at the local dealership was outstanding. More cars showed up, thanks to very mild temps compared to last month's cold. One guy arrived in a spotless '67 convertible ("vert" in the VW community), red with wide white walls. Oh my. And some interesting customs.
But the best part was the 30-minute conversation I had near the end with one of the guys there from a shop on the east side that specializes in VW's, including three gorgeous customs they drove over. The dealership had asked them to show up for this gathering. He looked over my car pretty thoroughly and was quite complimentary about my work. Made me feel very good. He also had some helpful suggestions about the little issues I have to sort out, and the name of a shop in Mesa they use for straightening and re-chroming bumpers.
He encouraged me to attend the weekly gathering they have on Saturdays at a McDonald's in Scottsdale. "Your car will show very well." I'll go over once the tranny is rebuilt.
My hat doesn't fit this morning.

It's a great weekend for fans of the NFL. (me)

The Chromecast arrived in today's mail! I'll spend some time this evening figuring out how it works. We might eventually sign up for Hulu or Netflix, but for now I just want to stream Pandora through our adequate sound system.
Or, I could watch football and figure out the gizmo at another time.

We've started a fund for replacing our roof. The last rain covered the patio with an even thicker layer of the fine gavel they imbed in the asphalt shingles, and I was told a year ago that we had another two or three years of life in the thing. We've decided to add a skylight over the living room when we have the roof done. It will add to the cost, but the way our house is designed we need the additional light. And from what I've read they've made big progress in the thermal efficiency of skylights, an important factor here in the desert.

The Marines have temporarily dropped their plan for equal fitness tests for males and females after discovering that fewer than half the females could do the minimum three pull ups.
Turns out I am stronger than a girl.

You're probably heard that our eyeballs stay the same size throughout our life, one of the reasons babies are so cute. (OK, some babies.) And our ears and nose grow throughout our life. This is a real problem for anyone named MacDonald who started life already ahead of the curve on those two fronts.
I looked in the mirror the other day and realized I'm going to be one of those old men who looks like he has a 1/10th scale model of Africa hanging from each side of his head.
Sometime late this year or early next year.