Mars on a roll with Joe Satriani

Even though we have Guitar Hero at home the boy can’t get enough. I think I’ll post this on ImHeavyDuty.com as well.

Massive Tree Limb on the Roof

Who can recommend a quality tree service in Asheville? This is not a job for amatuers. We need some pros. This limb is about 45-50 feet off the ground, four storeys, from the basement floor to roof ridge. Thanks for any leads you may have.

Idiotarod Asheville 2009 – How Did I Miss This?

Notice the spelling. This is the “idiot” version of the Iditarod. This happened just down the road from us. I’m so outta the loop!

At least we saw the holiday parade yesterday, which had its own moments of weirdness, albeit less intentional. I may post some videos later.

Amygdala Hijacking

I love this video, and it’s right on time. Feel like the “tiger” is out to get me! Run!

Hot Rods Make Me Happy, Mountaineer Antique Auto Show in Asheville

Hot Rod Roadster Pickup brings a tear to my eye.

Yes, I love this stuff. No, (almost) none of my friends do. What’s wrong with you people?!?

The roadster pickup, or RPU, above is the real deal. This hot rod beauty was built out West in the 1950s. At least that’s what I remember from my conversation with the owner a couple years. He said he attends Bonneville regularly. Awesome.

Now for something completely different…

Hot Rod Model A Phaeton - Perfect for the famliy man.

Next to an RPU a Model A Phaeton is my favorite model to hot rod. This is a rather extreme modern retro monster, it was my favorite at this year’s show, but I would like one someday that is a more conservative rod, late ’40s or ’50s style.

No more typing for me. There are more hot rod pictures over at my Flickr account. Check ‘em out.

Vanilla the Gerbil gets a New Home

We recently inherited this gerbil from some friends. I made simple wood apparatus to give her more to do. I just bought a couple cheap pine boards, sawed them up, drilled some holes for her to climb through, and then glued it together. I was on the verge of turning this into a Bauhaus rodent art project, but quickly came to my senses. She loves climbing the towers and hanging out on the bridge. I also made a couple recessed screens (not shown) for the top. You can buy a kit at the hardware store to make screens to any size you need.

I (and the dog) voted no to bringing another mammal into the house, but we were over-ruled. We already had the 75 fish tank from our last home (didn’t try to move the fish) and I figured we might as well give the little lady more room to run.

Dry Falls Waterfall in Highlands, NC

Another pass from the other side.

We took a trip to Highlands, NC today to visit some friends. On the way back we stopped at this great waterfall called “Dry Falls.” Dry, because you can walk behind the actual waterfall.

Chillaxin' with my crew. Getting wet at Dry Falls.

You can see the path winds behind the waterfall.

Taken from the back side of Dry Walls. Yes, the path goes right under it.

NC Waterfalls has a bunch of great info about Dry Falls.

Bicycle Jousting a LAAFF in Asheville

This is definitely not the highest and best use for bicycles. But it was pretty fun to watch! We saw this yesterday at the Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival in Asheville. And this was hardly the freakiest site at the festival.

Check out how the hub of the rear wheel on these “bikes” is eccentric, i.e. it’s not in the center, and it makes the bike and rider bounce up and down. I’m sure these things were hard to ride, and they were plenty people who fell off before they even made it to the center.

This festival is “all local, all original.” I love living in Asheville.

Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival

AB Tech Business Incubator Reception

AB Tech Business Incubator Reception

They just can’t get my name right. “They” is everyone. Usually it’s “Siegler” or “Zigler” but this time “Siglar.” At least I had a name tag waiting for me and didn’t have to roll my own with a Sharpie!

Glad I went. I’ve been involved with the Incubator in one way or another for the last few years. Recently I started offering pro bono consulting (marketing), along with several other folks including lawyers, accountants, etc. This is consulting for the entrepreneurs in residence. And there are some very cool startups in there.

One of the coolest, and I’m surprised I hadn’t heard about them yet, is Airplanes Direct. That’s right, it’s like Autotrader for planes. In fact, one of the partners founded Autotrader.com, if I heard correctly. They got an award for “fastest launch” or something similar. The guy who spoke for the company said they figured when the economy is bad people will be selling planes and when it’s good people want to buy planes. Makes sense to me.

Another thing I learned is that this business incubator is the largest of its kind on the East coast. Check it out.

Tracy Does the Town Mountain Time Trial

Town Mountain Time Trial in Asheville

This was a painfully fun 24 minutes and 11 seconds. About 60-70 folks participated. My time put me pretty much in the middle of pack for the Men’s Masters class. Like a moron I rode it the night before in about 25 minutes just to get a feel for it. (Amazing how much harder I had to push to shave a minute.) I ride the upper section of this course a couple times a week on my way up the mountain, but I never ride the steep part at the beginning because it’s out of the way. I’ll plan better next year.

Big thanks to the Asheville Women’s Cycling Club for putting on this event. Also thanks to all the volunteers!

Here’s a nice video of the 5 mile Town Mountain Time Trial Hill Climb. It’s hard to get a feel for how steep it is though.