Aaron's Day Off

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2009-11-14T13:51:00.003-07:00

For the first time in ever, I will spend a whole year without setting foot in England. I think when I first moved over here, I was probably averaging about 4 or 5 trips home per year - great for airmiles I guess, but those weekend trips I tried to fit in were pretty hard to handle, even when I was in my 20's. It's weird looking back - I think these days it would be much harder to move to a new country and start up a life. Back then it just seemed like a big adventure that required a slightly larger suitcase.

Anyway, even though I can't get back as often as I used to, I still get to see pics like the one above - we bought Dad a camera for his birthday while he was over here, and as you can see, he's been putting it to good use (although I'm thinking he's up a little early for my liking ;-)

Signs - Gotta Love Em

2009-11-10T18:33:00.005-07:00

Some targets are too easy, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't fire......

(via 11 Points)

Nieces

2009-11-09T16:10:00.003-07:00

The Thompsons were back in England recently, so the girls all got to hang out. Looking at all the pics, everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, and Abby survived her first visit from the US. We just need to persuade her Mammy and Daddy to bring her on a plane over here for a little holiday ;-)

Paid to not race...

2009-11-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Not sure if this is a good position or not - Kimi Raikkonen is going to 17 million Euros from Ferrari if he doesn't drive for a competing team next season. However, what's way more important is that he's wearing my sunglasses in this photo 8-))

Mo' Money, Fewer Problems: Can Raikkonen earn more by not racing?

BMW M3 GTS

2009-11-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

I guess the flying orange is officially released - plenty of stuff to like (419lbs lighter than the current model, stripped down interior, front splitter etc), and some things that you might not like so much (DSG only gearbox and 115k Euros, which I think works out at $170k in US monies, although that stuff rarely transfers properly - but, if it was the true price, that would get you a brand new GT3 along with a loaded 335xi for daily driving....).

Of course, it's completely pointless getting excited about this just yet, coz I'm guessing that like the E46 CSL, it won't make it across the sea....

BMW M3 GTS unveiled!

Wow (or something)

2009-11-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

Someone thought it was necessary to build a SpongeBob SquarePants car in the first place was weird enough. Why they thought SEMA was the right place to show it is a whole other mystery.......

SEMA 2009: Who lives in an Impala, under the sea?

We had a bit of snow this week

2009-10-30T21:27:00.001-06:00

IMG_4939, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

When I got off the plane, way back in 1997, I had no idea what weather to expect over here. Gareth wore his big jacket, ready for the snow, I had something in between, and Mr Rob Younger showed up in shorts and t-shirt to collect us from the airport (September 30th and 80 degrees). 3 weeks later, the storm of 97 arrived and we were buried in 3 feet of snow. Luckily we had a decent beer supply in the fridge, and plenty of film in the camera as we stared outside and on the news in disbelief.

Of course, after that storm, we just presumed that was how winters would be in Denver - huge storms every couple of weeks. It never quite turned out that way, although in the subsequent years we've had a few that are comparable.

Anyway, this one was nowhere close to the original, but it was a decent storm for so early in the season. I think it took a few people by surprise, but luckily I got the snow tires on just in time. And of course, this early means it will all be melted away by the end of the weekend. I love Colorado weather.

Shiv Gets Married

2009-10-29T11:30:00.001-06:00

Which of course gives the usual suspects the chance to offer some "wise" advice...

(video blatantly stolen from Mr Penn)

Halloween Plans

2009-10-29T06:12:00.000-06:00

Maybe

Oh Yeah Baby!!

2009-10-28T11:13:00.000-06:00

Could it, please, please, please? I spent some of last night "driving" this (Forza 3), and yes, I realize they don't handle as well as a Mini Cooper S, but if I did invest in a daily driver, this is probably up there if the price is reasonable. And it looks like I've got until 2011 to save up.....

REPORT: Fiat 500 to launch in the U.S. with Abarth performance model

Letterman Top 10 - Northwest Pilot Excuses

2009-10-27T12:32:00.000-06:00

Balmer isn't Jobs

2009-10-23T16:25:00.002-06:00

Think we all know that already. What's kinda funny in this tv show spot for the launch of Windows 7 (apart from the fact that they bring up questions about iPhones and Apple in general), is that the graphic behind promoting Windows 7 is actually a Mac.....

Drunk couching

2009-10-22T12:50:00.000-06:00

This is made all the funnier due to the fact that Pete is in Minnesota right now. Wonder if he managed to spot the motorized la-z-boy in a carpark somewhere?

(H/T to Peugeot) [KARE11]

Minnesota Man Gets DUI On Motorized La-Z-Boy [Daily DUI]

Dancing makes him happy

2009-10-22T12:05:00.000-06:00

The fun starts around 2.30 in

Love the Mini Ads

2009-10-20T12:37:00.000-06:00

Buy a Porsche, get a free USB drive

2009-10-20T08:39:00.000-06:00

Well, a new Panamera to be precise. I'm sure it's more of a nice surprise, rather than a reason to put down all your hard earned cash on a car that has yet to be described as pretty. And don't get it confused with your actual key fob - you might get locked out.....

Porsche Panamera owners rewarded with USB drive shaped like... Panamera

TSA and Humor? Probably not a good idea

2009-10-19T20:40:00.000-06:00

[XKCD via The Daily What]

Techstars Blooper Reel

2009-10-19T17:13:00.001-06:00

If you were following along with the always entertaining Techstars summer video series (and lets face it, why wouldn't you), this should bring a smile or two to your face.

The Founders | Bloopers from Megan Leigh Sweeney on Vimeo.

Strangest 0% APR Offer (ever?)

2009-10-18T18:23:00.000-06:00

I'm not really sure if 0% financing will make or break the deal with someone looking for one of these, but Lambo is trying to seal the deal I guess. You still have to come up with 20% down ($80k) and it will give you a monthly payment of $5333.33 a month for 60 months (that's 5 years to normal people). If you really want to take a gamble on the Audi reliability coming through on these beauties, there is the 5.9% financing over 12 (yes twelve!!!) years with 10% down for only $3500 per month.

Personally, if I'm spending that much money on a car (and I'm not, just for the record), it's going to be red and from Maranello...

(via Autoblog)

Worst Halloween Costumes Ever?

2009-10-16T16:30:00.003-06:00

Face blocked out coz he's just a kid, but really? Suicide bomber for your halloween costume?

There's a few more at this link

Mia Michaels Leaving So You Think You Can Dance?

2009-10-15T17:47:00.000-06:00

That's what she's posting on her twitter feed anyway. She's definitely been one of the highlights of the show for me (especially after Shane Sparks left), but I'm sure the show will survive.

MIA MICHAELS (MMRAW) on Twitter

In other useless news

2009-10-15T17:41:00.000-06:00

If you're tired of the story of the boy flying around northern Colorado in a hot air balloon/spaceship which wasn't quite the story it got made out to be, here's something equally uninteresting. The guy on Jeopardy on Monday actually broke the rules and appeared twice (not allowed unless you're invited back by the producers apparently). Now this isn't really decent news - the big story is the tight bastard couldn't buy a new tie in the 10 years between his appearances.......

Monday's Jeopardy contestant appeared on the show before

My First Fail

2009-10-10T20:24:00.001-06:00

Not your average baby pics

My First Fail: Adorable Funny Baby Photos

Marge Hit's Playboy

2009-10-10T20:09:00.003-06:00

In what has to be the strangest move in the history of soft porn, Playboy has put Marge Simpson on the front cover, in an effort to attract a "younger audience". I'm pretty sure there are other people they could have picked to attract the 20-something crowd, but I'm guessing with the always possible bankruptcy, getting a couple of guys to draw some racy pics was cheaper than persuading Megan Fox she should remove her clothes for the magazine.

Fall Driving School

2009-10-06T20:29:00.003-06:00

Well that's another one in the books. We were back down to Pueblo for the Fall Driving School with the Rocky Mountain chapter of the BMW Car Club, and much fun was had by all.

There were lots of highlights, and the general banter with the gang (as well as before and after on email) was all top notch. Ross made it out without breaking anything, although he was in Franks Elise when Frank decided to go all agricultural at the end of the day. We had a winner in the group for best car of the day (they must have liked the Smurf), and everyone seemed like they were fast and happy by the end of the day (minus a couple of run-ins with the shuffle steer nazi).

Gareth had managed to invest in a set of coilovers, which looking at the laps below, paid dividends. It also makes the A8 lower and meaner, so it looked good in the car park the night before as well as on the track.

Mr Wallace kindly let us borrow his new video camera, and Todd's video is here, while Gareth's is below. I somehow managed to not be able to get the video set up when I put it on my car (obvious user error), but I did get about 800 photos of my drive, which provided the apex hitting evidence at the top there.

Everyone is now looking at whether or not they can get out to the track again before winter sets in - this weekend is meant to be the Audi club at HPR, but snow is forecast for both days so that might be tough. Porsche club the weekend after though 8-)) so there's still a chance, as well as the open lapping days. Stay tuned....