"Never fight an inanimate object." - P.J. O'Rourke

For the life of me I can't figure out why GM's sales are up 13% this quarter and their stock continues to recover, even after today's admissions. OK, maybe not malfeasance, but certainly misfeasance. People who wouldn't buy a toaster from a company with this many safety recalls will buy a GM vehicle and drive it down the road at 70 mph with their kids in the back. If GM is just now firing 15 engineers and managers who are responsible for issues dating back nearly a decade how can anyone think a) problems don't exist with cars on the lot today, and b) there aren't 15 more of these yahoos making equivalent decisions right now?

The PGA's U.S. Open, one of the four majors, will be played at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst N.C. next weekend. Fifteen years ago Payne Stewart beat Phil Mickelson in the final round of the U.S. Open, played at the same course that year. It was Stewart's second victory at that event, after a total collapse to finish second the year before. Four months later he died in a freak aircraft accident when the private jet he and five others were on apparently lost cabin pressure shortly after takeoff from Florida and flew for hours on autopilot before running out of fuel and crashing in North Dakota.

Payne Stewart was one-of-a-kind, a real personality. He was funny, the life of the party, but often rubbed people the wrong way with his brash, uncensored wit and sometimes surely manner. He could be almost cruel in his sarcasm and he was also known for his heavy partying after tournaments. Oh, and he always wore knickers and a tam-'o-shanter hat in honor of his Scottish heritage.

Then things changed. The last year of Stewart's shortened life everyone agreed something had changed. He was still a joker, but suddenly gracious, pleasant, and softer. He became one of his fellow-golfers' favorites. That made his sudden death so soon after winning the U.S. Open all the more poignant. Why, when he had somehow found an inner peace and joy, would his life come to an end. And what accounted for the change?
You can read the answer here.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It's a shot of the scene moments after Stewart beat out Phil Mickelson with whom he was paired for the the final round. Phil's wife, Amy, was 9 months pregnant back in AZ, and though she didn't tell her husband when they talked on the phone before that final round began, she was already having contractions. After a moment of pure elation, with a classic fist pump now memorialized in a bronze statue at Pinehurst, he went over to a dejected Mickelson and took Phil's head in his hands. Reporters asked Phil afterward what Payne said to him. Phil replied, "He said, 'You're going to be a father, and there's nothing greater in the world. You and Amy are going to make wonderful parents.'"
That was Father's Day, 1999.
Phil went from the course to the airport and flew home to Phoenix. Their first child, Amanda, was born the next day.

Four months later Payne was dead, leaving behind his own wife and children.
See that bracelet on his wrist. A few months earlier, seeing the change in his dad, Payne's young son suggested he wear that.

I got the truck cab back from Spencer today. His welder is gooooood! I'm impressed, and his skill means minimal work for me cleaning up his welds (I said I'd do that part in order to save some money) and very little body filler. The first two layers of coating are in sight. Maybe in a week? It depends on the weather. This morning I was out there working at 5:30, right at sunrise, when it was still fairly cool (mid-70's) and worked for about two hours. Soon overnight lows will be high 80's or low 90's, so I may be taking a hiatus for a couple of months.
Hit 108 again this afternoon. Definitely warmish.