starlight run

Uncle Joe's 80th

2011-11-27T22:38:00.001-05:00

A very successful party for Joe, was held on Saturday last, to celebrate his 80th birthday. Liam and David as well as Anne and my Dad, made up his sibs. Childers, grandun's and relatives galore trekked up to Cold Spring for the party, organized by his kids.
Some pics are shown below

Nikki + Tara (Kevin behind them)

Nikki and Steve, with Liam and Sean behind

Niall and Joe (opening birthday card "Facebook my Arse")

Trevor and Don

Kyle, Liam, Shannon, Annie, Denis, Joanne

Sean and Kevin monkeying around

Sean and Pauline

Liam and Danny with Trevor, Pete, MK and Caitlin in the background

Pauline, mise agus Nikki

Kyle, Shannon, Danny and MK

Nikki and Liz

Last but not least, for those absent in far off lands ... the speeches (beware - 20 minutes long)

a little tour of nyc

2011-11-22T23:21:00.001-05:00

Went touring around nyc with my parents. We had fun. Went to Soho, with b'fast at b'thzar, and then up to F'iron for lunch at Eat'illy
Started off @ Wash Sq Pk early early ...

Then some hardware stores on Spring street for Dad

Then breakfast @ B'th'Zar

Then a look at britain's best selling butter :-)

Rear of Dean and DeLuca building, while flowers were being delivered, and prepped for resale at outrageous prices inside Dn'DL

Then typical Soho interaction, without the air kissing

Then a look for some greeting cards @ Kate's Paperie

Eataly ended up as being our last stop

Drinking some nice Tuscan stuff

The address is one block away from here and well worth a visit

Reza's Chapulin Grun

2011-11-06T23:45:00.001-05:00

My friend Reza, recently completed a build of his SWB hotrod in Chapulin Grun or Cricket Green. Very tastefully done. He put it through its paces in Monterrey at Rennsport 4, with the help of buddies Lewis and Gytis. Enjoy Reza, and bring her out East so we can all drool.

1,850 miles to bring a '71 SiiA home before the fury of Irene

2011-08-27T17:05:00.000-04:00

Well, no posts in a while, so here goes, to make up for it. I drove back from Boulder, CO to bring home a new member of the family. The moose (328xi) is gone, and replaced by this 71 Series ii A.

Here is a better pic, looking out the front, taken from either Colorado or Nebraska

The weather was glorious .... hi 90's leaving Denver area, 5200 ft above sea level.

Encountered some strange beasts on my travels. I guess with 1,850 miles, my ass is like leather. Well I thought that something sharp touched me at some point. When I got out to get gas, i see that i had squashed a bee. I fought the bee and the bee lost.

And later on, while traveling on I-80, I came across this strange dude. Admittedly I neglected to bring a proper camera, and all these shots are taken with my blackberry, and I missed a front shot of this guy who had crazy goggles on him, but still ... you get the idea ...

Some nice shots too, came from this little phone camera .... and this was Allegheny countryside ... in western PA ..

Almost came a cropper, but AAA came to the rescue with 5 gallons of gas. I now know when the tank empties on the dial :-)

So, here is what she/he (needs a name ... perhaps Felix or Sid, or Archie or something like that or Ella ... who knows) looks like at night ... again the best that a BB camera can do, methinks ..

and in full sunlight .... drives like a dream ... 25mpg ... should be able to get almost anywhere on the planet.

Baby, it's cold outside

2011-03-14T05:22:00.000-04:00

A while back, after snowstorm number 72 this winter, when we had megatons of snow dumped on us, there was a truck that became stuck in the white muck outside my work. The truck proceeded to take its time, blocking 55th street for about an hour. The driver, realizing the futility of the situation, called for help which came in the form of another truck from his company. Funny thing was, the NYC Sanitation Department truck immediately behind him, could not help in any way, shape, form or manner. Here are the best bits as we saw it from our office, that lunchtime.

Porsche Flip out over the mundane

2011-03-12T14:58:00.003-05:00

I got a nice surprise in the mail yesterday

What was Porsche sending me? A Flip camera? What's up here?

The letter would explain all ... they want me to take video's of Porsche's being used in everyday situations ... you know ... taking the pets to the vets, running out for a bottle of milk, driving to jury duty, etc. etc.

So open the box i did, hoping that they had branded it ... yipeee ... they did.

The trouble is, I'm actually not on speaking terms with my Porschy buddies right now after they closed down my selling of a calendar, which was made on zizzle (i won't honor them by spelling their name correctly even if mighty Porsche lawyers threatened them probably with fire and brimstone). The calendar was of my car and my buddies cars, but Porsche objected to my use of their intellectual property. I quote from the zizzler owners "Unfortunately, due to Porsche SE's intellectual property claims we are unable to carry or produce products which violate their rights. All elements including names, car models, logos, and actual cars violate their rights."
Since when can I not sell a calendar of objects that I own and have purchased? My "actual car" is owned by me, but I do not own the intellectual property rights? I don't remember seeing that one on Porsche's website. Buy your car here, but if you take pictures of you car and try to sell it, you cannot.
And the kicker? The calendar's profits all go to raise funds for a life time porsche owner, who worked for Porsche Motorsports in the past, Roger Grago. Roger is battling brain tumors and any (and all) funds can only help.
By the way, Rogers wife set up a site here, and funds info is here "If you would like to donate monetarily, please make checks payable to Calvary Church. In the memo line of the check write,“For Roger Grago”. These should all be mailed to: Roger Non-Profit, 25422 Trabuco Road 105-513, Lake Forest, CA 92630"

So I shall be trying to convince Porsche that the calendar does not violate their intellectual property, and perhaps they will volunteer some little donation to a good cause.

Pat Shortt

2011-01-17T20:39:00.000-05:00

My brother Aidan, sent me this one.
Hilarious. As Aidan would put it, succinctly ;-)

Christmas Concert @ Starlight

2010-12-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

We went to the local Christmas/New Year's concert in Starlight. All I had was the regular camera to record this, and only audio for a short snippet. It's Strauss ---- "Also sprach Zarathustra". Or 2001 A Space Odyssey to you Kubrick fans ...
Enjoy ....

Italian Christmas Eve, part 2

2010-12-25T09:57:00.002-05:00

For the last three courses .... grilled squid .... a little salt pepper olive oil - throw on grill for one, to one and a half minutes each side. Sooo good. Reminds us of great calamari we have had in the past such as at Miss Williamsburg Diner a few years back (highly recommend).

Then some grilled Tuna, following Giorgio Locatelli's advice on keeping it simple.

And lastly was some red snapper, pan seared. Simple. Tasty. Healthy.

Overall, we both felt that the sardines were the highlight. Thanks to Giorgio for the inspiration, and Aidan for the cookbook. It goes to show how much you can get from a good cookbook. For those looking to find it, here it is on Amazon.

Italian Christmas Eve, part one

2010-12-24T17:52:00.000-05:00

So, we arrive at Christmas Eve, once more. A great custom that a friend introduced me to (Joel) is the Seven Fish Italian Christmas Eve meal. We take our own twist, and cook or eat seven fish over the course of the day.
This year we have
1. Smoked salmon with avocado and parmesan chips, a caper or 2, some olive oil and a drop of lemon juice

Next up was a Giorgio Locatelli recipe (thanks to the Locanda Locatelli chef's cookbook we received a few years back from our brother Aidan --- good job Aidan!!)
Sardines on Panzanella. Equally delish!

After that was an old faithful, Scallops cooked in a skillet with some butter and served with a white herb sauce.

Next up were some bluepoint oysters .... mmm ... taste the ocean ...

The beer was not Duvel, but Labatt's (the last of the Duvel was devoured a few days ago). The wines are courtesy of Chambers St Wines. Chablis was green, a little mineraly, but still quite fat or filling for a Chablis. The Puligny was marshmallow meets butterscotch/caramel and they all have their wicked way over and over again !!! mmmm !!!

Last but not least, is the newest addition .... McNulty.
All our male cats are named after Wire characters. And true to his name, what a handful the little rascal is ....
Here he is with his 2 sisters ... he's the little mite at the bottom center of the screen ...

Rubberbandits for Xmas #1 in IRL

2010-12-22T10:16:00.002-05:00

Looks like RB will be #1 in IRL for Xmas. Funny, irreverant, crude video that was filmed in UL. Now of course UL (my ULma mater;-) and Milford parish are objecting.

"Following the massive success of the video for “Horse Outside” the Reverend Koenraad Van Guucht, the chaplain of the contemplative centre in University of the Limerick has said they are “less than happy” about the use of the space in filming the video. He said he “wasn't clear at the time of as to exactly the nature of filming". The video was also raised in the Milford parish newsletter which objected to the filmed of the video outside Milford Church. The parishioners and members of the community are said to be “hurt and offended by the video.” A spokesperson for the ‘Bandits said that no one had been misled about the video shoot. They explained that filming for the video have been carried out by a RTE (Ireland’s national broadcaster) and both the University of Limerick and Milford parish had given permission."

What's it about? That a horse is more of a chick magnet than some of the boyo's cars such as honda or subie. You see, there is car content here after all ;-)
According to IrishCentral (diaspora website), "A CNBCblogger seemed to pick the story up all wrong. They seem to think that due to the financial crisis we’ve all reverted to riding horses. Here’s what they said below:
“Are the Irish already getting accustomed to a more austere life? One of the most popular songs in Ireland at this very moment is about how owning a horse is superior to owning a fancy automobile. It may be that the message is resonating with the Irish people.”
Purrleeeeze. Stop the lights!

Ha Le Lu Ya

2010-12-04T10:35:00.001-05:00

Ok, to get us into the christmas spirit, here is a good start

Pretty cool gift from my darling wife

2010-11-23T06:06:00.001-05:00

I got a cool gift from Nikki, a few months back, and wanted to post it. She found this ceramic artist and asked her to do a custom job ---- integrate my car into a bowl. She sent a pic of my car, and the woman produced this bowl. I now use it to keep my keys etc when I arrive home in the evening. Cool, huh?

The reverse is also cool

Porsche Family Tree

2010-10-07T23:26:00.000-04:00

Remember that I posted several months back about a porsche family tree promo?
Well porsche made a book, and gave it to the family, and send me a copy as they chose my story to be part of the promo. Pretty cool, no?
This was the letter from the VP of marketing

This is the book

A snapshot of the images in the book -- cool to see 356 super carrera with 917

My story also found here

Moussaka (a.k.a. Da Moose)

2010-09-25T07:44:00.000-04:00

You either do it or ya don't
Venus + Mars
Ying + Yang
What I am talking about is the naming of vehicles .... and we already have the Minx, and Gina (the lipstick lollobrigida), so when we replaced the rover (who funnily enough didn;t have a name other than "rovey") we named the car due to its color (surprise). Aubergine or Eggplant were not so favored on our naming charts, but Mossaka -- why not. Short form would be Da Moose, and hopefully she would live up to her name in winter with her AWD prowess. A 2008 328xi CPO car, it was found local to us. I had almost pulled the trigger on a 2008 R32 but it was red .... and i shied away from a red car ;-) Very happy with Da Moose so far.
Here she is on first day we got her .... camera phone pic

And then with Gina .... different colors, made more different by photographing together

Ireland - The Cliffs of Moher

2010-08-16T20:59:00.002-04:00

By now we were headed south of Galway, having picked up my brother Aidan, and on the road to see the Cliffs of Moher, a natural wonder of the gaelic world. Here, Nikki and myself pose with the cliffs in the background.

Next you see myself and Aidan. At all natural wonders of the world (such as Grand Canyon), I have to give Aidan a bearhug. Just goofing around. Wouldn't be the same without it.

Next while i am videotaping the events, someone .... to remain anonymous, is surreptitiously taking my picture ...

And what am I videotaping

Ireland - onward from Connemara

2010-08-16T20:41:00.000-04:00

Here we find some ancestor's ... and this was the last of Connemara

Onward we went, south of Galway, to county Clare ... and headed towards the cliffs of Moher. Traversing Clare, you will cross the Burren, a bare landscape of plants and flowers that dot the rocks, until you reach the coast line where we preen for photo's.

And is it a bird? is it a plane? No. The forlorn figure in the background, is my brother, Aidan, searching for a quiet spot to pee. Remember we are on the coast ... howling wind ... which changes direction !!!

Here is an example of the rocky coastline. So beautiful. You have to go and visit. Really.

Next we see the 2 desperado's ... Aidan and myself.

After this we arrived at the famous Cliffs of Moher !!!

Ireland - more of the same as we head to Connemara

2010-08-16T20:34:00.000-04:00

The local Whole Foods store, or what is left of it, after they ran out of organic eggs. These irish do like their eggs !!!

After a while, some of the locals take an interest ...

Now we start to delve into Connemara country ...

And this leads us to Delphi .... no oracle needed here .... jaw dropping beauty instead.

What more could you ask for, in a savage wilderness

Well perhaps its time to "Eat, Pray, Love"?

The Irish version of an ashram in connemara ... a church for travellers .... "Stop, Pray, Buy-A-Pint"

Ireland - the west continued

2010-08-16T06:18:00.000-04:00

Some local traffic, although for the most part the roads were narrow but quiet

then the odd local castle or tower was visited

then we saw more beautiful and wild coastal views, this time Achill island, I believe

And for some more flavor, traditional cottage or sheds ... sort of like barns

and after all this coastal stuff, we then went to Sligo, where we missed our buddy Leonard (doing Yeats) by one day. Bummer. Sligo is the home of all things Yeats - Yeats festival, Yeats Summer school, yadda yadda yadda. We went to the museum at the Yeats Society in town, which is the red brick building on the left below.

After that, the only excitement left was seeing a belgian "cinquecento" in Ballina, on the way back to Stella Maris.

And lastly a windswept beach shot, taken outside the hotel, with me wearing my achill island cardigan. I had to buy something as we left 100 degree weather in NY to arrive in 50-70 degree weather in ireland, complete with wind and mist !!!

Ireland continued .... the west is alive !!!

2010-08-14T23:36:00.002-04:00

Well, the focus of our trip now was in touring the west of ireland ... both Connemara, the Mayo coast and Sligo or Yeats country as it is better known (after WB Yeats).
First Mayo coastline .... gorgeous

And a video of the local area

Next we enter the irish speaking area, or "gaeltacht" as it is known. No english spoken here !!

Conversing with the locals in Irish can be difficult, so better use the services of a reputable translator such as our 2 friends below

After that, a visit to the local wise man !!!

Then we see a pocket of resistance to big oil & gas. Apparently Shell is running a pipeline from offshore drilling rigs to land, but at very high pressure (something only done in the Niger Delta i am told, and thus quite risky, from a local point of view).
Here are various pics

After the oil & gas, we need a refill ourselves. Lo and behold, an old friend ....

We saw a Cayman in Ireland, about 10 boxsters (often with English registrations though) and 3 911's. That's more than I saw from coast to coast in the USA, when we made our trip a few years back.

Ireland - "The Vacation" - visiting the "wehshht"

2010-08-14T23:24:00.000-04:00

Well, we just had a marvellous 10 days or so in Ireland. Home to see the folks, for their 40th wedding anniversary (Happy 40th to Denis + Brid), and to see the rest of the family. We also took the opportunity to discover ireland a little, and for me to retrace steps of old haunts on the west coast of ireland (or as we pronounce it, the "wehshht"), while for nikki, to learn something new and discover new places and see new things.
Here is a little bit of rain to start things off .... Ireland would be a great country, it was once said by a wit, if it had a roof.

Next we have green countryside. Oodles of it.

Next a local

Next a local town, perhaps Ballycastle, Co. Mayo.

And where would we be, if we did not include a church or 12 ;-)

After that, all that is left is to visit out accomodation for the next three nights .... a little hotel, on the ocean, on the northern Mayo coast, private and quiet with great food & service, run by an irish woman and her american husband, and a true treasure .... The Stella Maris hotel

From our window, we had an oceanfront view to die for ...

And a nice room to boot

That's about it for the debut to our tour ....

Truro, Cape Cod and Blue Hill, Maine trip

2010-07-11T18:55:00.001-04:00

We went to Cape Cod, for a wedding at the end of June (in Truro, at the Truro Vineyards) and after that, for a week we visited Blue Hill, Maine.
The wedding on Cape Cod was of a friend of Nikki's, Liz, who was marrying her girlfriend, Suze. It was a wonderfully moving ceremony, and we had a great time. Certainly one of the most meaningful weddings I have been to, and in the context of equal rights for lesbian and gay couples, very important. Prior to the wedding, which was on in the evening, we visited Provincetown and found it to be eclectic, quite portugese in flavour (we had a great portugese brunch), and full of life. We stayed at a motel, on a bluff above the beach, and some of the shots in the video, were taken here. Very 60's style motel, but clean and close to the beach as well as the vineyard, thus suiting our needs.
On Sunday, we left early to get past Boston, and head to Maine. Good idea it was, and no traffic was encountered. Over the next week, we appreciated the warm weather (NY was in the middle of a heatwave while we were in the 70's and 80's) and wonderful produce. Our cottage was on the ocean, 20 yards from the water. It was at the bottom of a private road, and at the top of the road was an organic farm selling the best snap peas, greens, raspberries and strawberries. Heavenly. We also met up and become reacquainted with an old high school friend of Nikki's, Louise (a great artist www.louisebourne.com and here is an example of one of her pics ... "from bakeman beach"),

who helped us find this paradise, as well as host us for a great lobster and crab dinner. The photo montage I made starts with a video Nikki shot overlooking Blue Hill with the ocean bay below, and the various islands and inlets nearby. The Orb provide the tune.

a nice 917 video

2010-07-08T22:57:00.001-04:00

I found this nice 917 program video ....
enjoy ... gives a nice overview of the program

Porsche 917 from Mee on Vimeo.

2010-06-15T06:25:00.000-04:00

Jim Garfield, motoring around "the Glen", and being admonished by the pace car for going slow. Jim, ever the cute one, was slowing up so that he could speed around the track (pace cars at front and rear, tried to limit speed to 60mph) at least for a bit.
Old Skool footage !!!

Watkins Glen, Legends of Motorsports with Bobby Rahal - video

2010-06-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Some video of the green fury, which is a replica of the swiss championship winning 1974 RSR, and which you can rent for a cool $12k, not including tires and racefuel. Peter Dawe is the man to contact as he rents it out and provides support. You pay for any damage > $70k, is the deal.
Beautiful car. The real deal was offered by Canepa in SoCal for $695k.

some pics of the car

and another

and again

and more

and lastly

Hershey 2010

2010-04-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

Some pics from the Hershey swap meet. Music is apropos, don't ya think? Great weekend, met lotsa people, had a great drive down with Steven (the Enforcer with his 997 GT3RS) and Eric with his 3.2SS RS clone, complete with special cams .... cars cleaed out of the way when they saw the barely legal GT3RS behind them.

Irish Rally Navigator - Berry Meade for president

2010-04-26T22:14:00.003-04:00

This guy is so funny, he deserves to be president of ireland. My friend Curt Egerer, in Michigan, discovered the comedy genius of Barry Meade here, and I hope i am helping to popularize him, at the same time.

Metro PCA Spring Fling @ Collectors Car Garage

2010-04-11T09:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going to Bedford Hills, NY, to attend Metro PCA's spring fling. Got there early, circa 8am, for a show starting at 9h45am (I know, but I was just checking out the joint and figured I'd grab a bite of breakfast in town). Well they had already started, so I pull up to park. Dude says, you have to turn around and park in town and get the shuttle bus. I say, why can I not park here. So he says "do you want me to ask?". I said sure, please. He gets on the radio and says "O'Donoghue doesn't want to park in town, he wants to park here." What a troublemaker I am. Anyway guy says park in rear as people's choice is in front. No problem. Just an inkling of PCA-itis that annoys people, I think. Anyway, they did put on a good show and credit is due to organiser Lee David Auerbach, who is a great guy. He is in one of the pics, when the 2010 GT3RS arrives ... he has a beard and is of generously stocky proportions. Met Jim Garfield as planned. John Lamorte was there with his viper green 73RS. Oh baby, what a car. Star of the show.

Can you say quack, quack !!! Got a nice ducktail shot ...

Met some other guys ... Gerry Murray with his fab 993 was there. Also met Rich from Long Island, and his lovely wife Elke. Working on him to join us at Hershey in 2 weeks.
After it was all over, myself and Jim headed over to Katonah, to have a beer+burger @ Oliver's pub. Very decent indeed. Guinness for me and Pleasantville Pale Ale for Jim.

Here is some video of all the pics. Hope you enjoy.

Cars n Croissants today

2010-03-28T15:56:00.001-04:00

Went to Cars n' Croissants in Chatham NJ today. Great cars and people. Abi Singh is organizer and kudos' to him for starting this up. For so long, we had serious envy when hearing about similar events in LA or other parts across the nation.
It was my first time, and I met some nice people. I was looking for the owner of the white 964 and only realized who he was, when he was leaving. Oh well, next time, Rob (redcoat) !

Happy Birthday Dad

2010-03-27T16:49:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Dad. Hope you enjoy yourself tonight. Here is a little "Ode to Denis" on behalf of Audrey and a friend of hers, who is on vocals !!

Did you know that your birthday is just 3 days after Steve McQueen !!

Enjoy .... love NnK

Porsche Magnet

2010-03-27T16:20:00.001-04:00

I found this today, courtesy of Art Adams, on Vimeo. Cute ....

Saturday in March --- time for bbq?

2010-03-22T06:05:00.000-04:00

We ate on the porch, Saturday, owing to the wonderful and balmy weather with nary a bug in sight

threw some sausages on the grill

the we walked to see how the sleuss gate was doing at Hempstead Lake. On our way we could see that the beavers had been busy munching on birch trees

Next I tried to clean out a little, any obstructions, around the gate

Looking at the lake, you can see that not all has quite melted yet --- but most of it has ... a film of ice on the surface it about it

You see below the beavers little pad

and then we went to check the flow of water from the lake, in to the stream. All was good.

Vitaloni Sebring - Parth the 2nd

2010-03-22T05:47:00.000-04:00

Finished putting on the vitaloni's .... works great in my own rather humble opinion

so the lower profile mirrors are more in tune with the wheels and the trim. Gives a tighter more streamlined appearance and takes away the dumbo effect that the flags had (big flappy ears)

Vitaloni Sebring - Parth the Furst

2010-03-14T22:09:00.000-04:00

Installed the vitaloni sebring mirror, but only on driver side (i need a little plastic spacer, and i only had one ... i have to get the other this week, and will then complete the set). You can see the flag mirror on the passenger side, so you know what is missing or will soon be changed.

next you see a closeup

and now a side shot from the front

and the sporty shot

and a shot showing both old and new

War Paint

2010-03-07T08:22:00.002-05:00

A little background on some of the painting that goes on with racecars. The 917 short tail pink pig for instance is mentioned. Interesting car, the pink pig.
The story goes that the names of cuts of meat were written in German across it in a similar fashion to a butcher's carcass diagram, earning it the nickname "Der Truffeljäger von Zuffenhausen" (The Truffelhunter of Zuffenhausen) or just plain "Pink Pig". Apparently it was done as a laugh when the body came back after its aerodynamic work had been done (ie. with the short tail - but 5 inches wider and generally much bulkier than its sleeker cousins.
Here is a shot (copied from Porsche 917, The winning Formula by Peter Morgan) from the Le Mans race of 1971.

Essentially when Martini (sponsors) saw the paintwork, they refused to be associated with it. When the factory brought it to Le Mans, the privateers were upset that a more advanced 917 was being run. The needn't have worried as the short tail DNF.
The white #22 Martini-entered 917K (chassis number 053 -see pic above -- to the right of the pig) of Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep, equipped with a magnesium frame, set an overall distance record that still stands today. On the Circuit de la Sarthe, they set a distance record of 5335.313 km (3,107.7 miles) at an average speed of 220.2 km/h (137.6 mph).

video courtesy of gestalten.tv

Dilse, a trad band with my little cousin, Sinead on banjo !!

2010-02-27T15:27:00.001-05:00

Here is Sinead, my little cousin on banjo. She's part of a trad group of 13-18yr olds in Ireland, and they did a gig as part of the Temple Bar Trad Festival in Dublin last month. The kids are from all over, and they meet up in various towns in Ireland in order to practice and play together. Enjoy ;-)

Snowpocalypse Now

2010-02-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

Ran into a bit of a snowstorm, up in these here parts ...
Buried the truck parked outside (not really buried ... bit of friendly hyperbole ;-)

Enjoy the shots

Above is outside, looking up, with the doggy windvane at attention ...
Then looking at bushes by the garage, you see where the snow piles meet the snow on the branches of various flora

Out to the truck we went, and it was well covered

This is the morning snow. Another 6-10 inches perhaps this evening, with 35mph winds.

and then i got to doing a little cleanup

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDAN

2010-01-29T05:48:00.000-05:00

Minny to MB to bring the lipstick gal home

2010-01-24T20:19:00.008-05:00

Minneapolis to Montebello, over 2 days, 1245 miles, and 19 hours on the road. Fun, fun, fun !

Footage of Day One, with Day Two below.

Note : this is the uncut version - if you are sensitive to expletives, pretend they don't exist --- works better.

Day 2 --- the fun continues

and lastly ... the out takes from "the Red Velvet underground"(red velvet being the offical color of the car;-) ... sort of like the White Album .... a singing talent hidden for years .... this is what happens when you sing along to your ipod while driving .... now don't laugh while I destroy Lou Reed, Amy Winehouse, U2, Luke Kelly and the Dubliners, and Les McCann w/Eddie Harris ;-)

Who says you need to know all the words to these songs !!!

and the real "La Lollo"

2010-01-20T09:34:00.002-05:00

the inspiration for the nickname ...

Now that is one groovy couch. Very cool. Would be nice upholstered on sports seats.

Revlon, the lipstick Lollobrigida

2010-01-18T23:02:00.003-05:00

She needs a bit of a cleaning, but the "lipstick lollobrigida" is joining the stable. She replace the tii which has found a good home in Brooklyn. Nicknamed "revlon" first by Nikki, the "lipstick lollobrigida" seemed a more "a propos" term of affection. She is a 1990 C2 with 94k miles. Color is Velvet Red Metallic or Samtrotmetallic. When cleaned up, she looks like this ....

Sideways; Merlot optional

2010-01-18T16:05:00.001-05:00

Don't know what this lad's been drinking, and I daresay its alchol of any sort .... he's just slipsliding his way around. But go ahead, pour yourself a glass of the much maligned Merlot (no thanks to Sideways ;-) and enjoy this

These French guys .... when they have at it, they really do "give it a lash". Fair fucks to Gilles Nantet

The Shark is back

2010-01-17T20:48:00.000-05:00

If you want to see a pretty near perfect restoration of a nice old car, look no further than this E9, a 1973 BMW 3.0 csi, complete with a crate euro 635 3.5 motor (M90) paired with a dogleg close ratio 5 spd and a 3.07 LSD. These cars were nicknamed sharks, and for good reason. Expensive to restore, usually in rusted out condition, seeing one brought back to its crowning glory, is a joy top behold. Hyperbole, yes just a little. But nice photo's all the same.

Usain Bolt joins Kerry Team !!!

2010-01-13T23:14:00.002-05:00

As if proof was needed that Usain Bolt had Kerry heritage !!!
Only the greatest play for the greatest team !!!

Porsche family

2010-01-13T22:59:00.004-05:00

Well, looking to get myself a free poster, i enrolled in a Porsche PR campaign, and duly ended up getting myself on their website.
See here.
My claim to fame is here.

Basically, they took a cool video, to try and meld the history of porsche with the panamera, a 4 door sedan that is their newest model. If you cannot sell by association, then failure beckons.

The video is pretty cool though

This one is even cooler ...

Snow light

2009-12-20T16:56:00.000-05:00

Just a few last shots, taken at around 4h35pm, at sundown

and the "shepherds delight" shot

Snow Big Deal, huh?

2009-12-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

Not the 20 inches we were expecting, not even 10 inches ... more like 8 inches .... but its nice to see the white stuff .... around Xmas ... for one day at least. Below is the back yard, and the amount of snow can be seen by looking at the table ...

Next we see the front of the house ... looking toward the driveway

Then turning right toward the front garden ... with route 202 facing us

And lastly the guardian of the snow .... Desdemona, Queen of the Artic surveying her domain

The road home

2009-12-06T14:00:00.003-05:00

As we headed back home, we became ensnarled in Holland tunnel traffic, in freezing temperatures, with snow falling (the first of the year), and New Jersey awaiting us. Here we make our way back from Chambers Street Wines where we had pick up some goodies - pinot noir from Alsace, nice earthy beaujolais from Cote de Brouilly, and others (including a nice port). Great store and nice people. I love the shot Nikki took below, with some color focus only on the lights ahead of us, and a nice B+W effect to the rest.

Next,a nice shot of a downtown bistro, or rather one of the few smoking lounges left in the city, down by Tribeca

Finally the entrance to the Holland Tunnel appeared ...

From there we were set.

Once in NJ, we stopped by Linden to get some Paulo Laureano Singularis portuguese red wine. Stocking up for Xmas as it's only $9.59 a bottle. Got the recommendation from my buddy in Lisbon, Vasco Ricardo, and have been grateful to him ever since, as it is a great wine at a great price.

What Stanley Kowalski really wanted ....

2009-12-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

Saturday with Hockney

2009-12-06T13:44:00.000-05:00

Went down to the city yesterday, to meet Jim Garfield, Peter Nunes and family/friends at the David Hockney exhibition. It's on at 2 venues, but we met at the Pace Wildenstein gallery (32E57th). It's opposite the Fuller building.

There was a great view from the 2nd floor, and despite the terribly sleety cold rain/snow, we had a good time. I'm sure that was not the same case for the cop, directing traffic, below.

"I wonder if his jacket is made out of goretex? hmmmm .. "

Anyway, back to art ...

Vivid colors of outdoor scenes from the English countryside. Below is a happy punter taking in the paintings, in their own time, behind the stairs.

all shots are taken by Nikki on her new LX3 camera;-)

Monday in Paris

2009-11-29T23:10:00.001-05:00

The highlight of the weekend, was eating at the Caves de Petrissans, on Avenue Thiel in the 17th.
They are open Mon-Fri, and have been since 1895. A business passed down from father to son. They are in the business of providing pleasure, and pleasure they do give.

Here is the window made up of bottles or parts of bottles ... pretty cool

Here is the interior, with Nikki taking a shot of the restaurant, the woman at left wondering what we were up to, while her lunch partner is enraptured by her and oblivious to the surroundings

A better view of the locals from our vantage point

A very nice Volnay from Boillot

Entree was a celeriac remoulade for Nikki, and slices of smoked duck breast on a bed of lentils for me

The menu ... and every dish was tempting

The dark and light chocolates with coffee

My muse and darling, beautiful, raison d'etre, Nikki

Sunday Dining in Paris

2009-11-29T22:56:00.001-05:00

Not too much to hope that we would find some decent dining options in Paris? Well, while a lot of places are closed, there are some options. We chose la Grande Cascade ... housed in Napoleon III's hunting lodge (you didn't know that there was a Napoleon the 2nd, not to mind the 3rd, did ya .... but there was ).
Anyway, not to digress, but there is a very very nice restaurant, in an old hunting lodge, in the Bois De Boulogne (large park in western side of Paris where Rupert Everett used to do heroin with tranvestites, and yet he still managed to get up for work in the morning due to his strong naval upbringing --- here ).

Sumptuous surroundings and sensational food .... service was a little lackluster, but they did provide a velveted loofah upon which Nikki could place her handbag. The height of class, that.

The cast of characters that ate here on any one evening was enough to fill a Hunter S Thompson novella.

They have a (surprisingly for Paris) reasonably price menu, the "menu du marche", served lunch and dinner, for 86Euro, which includes 3 courses, plus 2 glasses of wine, water of choice, and lots of little extras such as amuse buches and ameuse geules ...
When you order the menu, you will have to deal with the inevitable sommelier and his "oh ... you are choosing the formula" ... and he manages to modify formula into a word of at least 7 or 8 syllables ... the formula being 2 glasses chosen from several different house wines (none too shabby I might add). All this from a man who probably could not afford to eat there himself normally ... but I guess he was just trying to push his product .... we are all pushers of one sort or another ...

More Pariggi

2009-11-29T20:02:00.000-05:00

Well some assorted shots of wandering around with the locals .... or taking shots of whatever took our fancy. A lot of restaurants are closed on Sundays, so we had to take our chances with that was open. I had already booked us into the Grand Cascade for dinner, and then to an old favorite for lunch on Monday - Caves Petrissans in the 17th. But what to do for lunch. When we came across the Brasserie Lorraine, we felt sure that we would get a quiche here, as well as some soup. It proved to be just what the doctor ordered ... and Donald Sutherland was leaving as we sat down, so if its good enough for him, its good enough for us. Senor Sutherland looked resplendant in his old age, very much a movie star who ages well and has no need of botox or others little aids ... No pic ... sorry ... not really into celeb snapping ... let them eat in peace is what I say.
We had other things to do, such as marvellous Soupe de Poisson and some excellent Quiche Lorraine.

Sometimes, its just nice to sit and relax ...

Then off we went to walk and get some air. Nice street scene below.

some pesky local caught in our lens crossfire

you've got to hand it to the french .... in nyc we put all sorts of crappy posters around construction sites. Whereas here, they let artistic freedoms roll ..

The triumphal arc .... how resplendant she looks bathed in the soft winter light

and a very, very, cute cinquecento (how could I not post about cars ....)

Pariggi ... the city of luv ...

2009-11-29T19:44:00.000-05:00

Arriving on sunday morning, we took the airfrance bus from CDG to Porte Maillot, where we were staying. The hotel Concorde La Fayette proved to be very central, and very comfortable for our short stay.
The hotel is the tower in the background.

snazzy walls ...

snazzy lobby ...

Le view, from our chambre ....

All in all, a lovely place to stay and get to know the western side of Paris ...

A380 - The Movie

2009-11-29T19:36:00.000-05:00

Here is some film we shot ... the debut is a bit fuzzy as we prepared to shoot the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club singers (charity that benefitted from gifts donated by each A380 passenger on the inaugural flight). Ignore the sneaky banner that that the lufty crew infiltrated into our movie ;-)
The kids were great really, and the flight was a blast. After the kids singing, we see some of my colleagues waiting around the gate area before the kickoff ...
Then the takeoff as seen from the large monitors. Note the mood lighting.
Photographers and documentary makers were marking the occastion for corporate posterity.
Our food was very tasty, with an irish chocolate or two thrown in ....

some more a380 shots

2009-11-29T19:31:00.000-05:00

Here are the other shots we took of the plane, just for the aviation buffs. One thing to note was the engine noise is almost absent on board, the 39 second takeoff was exceedingly smooth, and the mood lighting (despite all my skepticism) really works well.

Here are some more shots

Amazing really ... such a large beast ...

And lastly a gratuitous shot of CDG airport, with its playful daffodil motif

A380 Inaugural flight from JFK 2 CDG

2009-11-29T19:24:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we won 2 seats on the inaugural a380 on airfrance from JFK 2 CDG. Given 2 days notice, what better way to spend a weekend. Off on saturday night, arrive sunday, lunch with Donald Sutherland, dinner at Napoleon III's hunting lodge in the Bois de Boulogne, then a quick calf's head lunch with a spot of Volnay before flying back home. Spending 2 action packed days with your honey in the city of love --- priceless !!!

here is a shot of manhattan on the drive to the airport, with plan in top right hand corner

a quick shot of the worlds fair

'da big bird ... with upper and lower gangways visible on right

there i am at right, waiting for Nikki

a light spot of classical music for breakfast

and everybody (all 500 odd) got off without a spot of bother ... amazing ...

even more pics from Der Klassik

2009-11-08T23:12:00.000-05:00

the multitude of cars ...

all different colors and sizes

all very cute in the fading autumn light

the while gang, almost

Jim Lonsdale, road organizer, extraordinaire, presents ... Quabbin, the Movie !!

Quabbin tower

The view from the tower

Magnificent view we had, from up on top of the tower

more Klassik pics

2009-11-08T23:06:00.000-05:00

Some more pics from the swap meet -- part of the very few German exotics there ... Merc was $5495 while 944 was $2k but had no spark, as well as bubbling etc

For the hard core gamers ... pre xbox

Some british iron for $1400 - $1700

Wooden minilites for sale

Mark Morrissey (sleeps with steering wheels) has to rename his car from 911R to 911M as in 911 Moo !!! nice wheek to compliment his car !!!

Der Fall Klassik pics

2009-11-08T23:01:00.001-05:00

Some pics from the trip ... frosty morning kickoff at 7am

Eric (right) and Lewis, getting prepped

Mark and Paul (background)

The get-together at the Vernon Diner

Mark and Lewis kidding around about the distance to Paul's door, while Judy looks on.

While queuing to get into the swapmeet, traffic was a little slow, allowing me the time to snap this shot of a house in the country, and its cute chimney

The swap meet, a smorgasbord of the exotic domestic parts that bordered on the sublime and even the ridiculous at times

Der Fall Klassik 2009

2009-11-08T22:54:00.001-05:00

Saturday last, was the annual "Der Fall Klassik 2009" - a jaunt through the backroads of NE CT and Southern MA. The aim was to gather local enthusiasts from the tri-state area as well as the northeast, and unite them at a central location .. hence the meeting being in NE CT, in Vernon (near Hartford, CT to be precise). Jim Lonsdale organized the roads, with Paul Ripley managing the afternoon run up to Quabbin Reservoir (which feeds Boston). Here is some video of the trip

I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok ...

2009-11-03T19:49:00.002-05:00

I managed to convince my friend and neighbour, Roy, to finally cut down a dead tree near our house. Roy is the chainsaw wielding warrior shown below.

As you can see, he's having great craic alltogether

I am in a more pensive mood ... how did that ditty go?

He cuts down trees. He skips and jumps. He likes to press wild flowers. He puts on women's clothing And hangs around in bars?! He's a lumberjack, and he's okay. He sleeps all night and he works all day.

Enough silliness .... we had a good time, and the tree is down. I was telling my Dad, and of course he is an old hand at that (the tree cutting and not the wild flower pressing). Listen, he says,

first you cut 'em down

then you cut em up

He thought he'd get some more logs out of it, as the pic shows, dating from 1984.

And below is the bench/horse saw that they used to cut up the wood. This is my Dad looking suspiciously like myself. Now I know where he got his rugged good looks from .... his son ;-)

cue the music .... "i fought the saw and the saw won ... "

Porsche content - rather unexpectedly

2009-11-02T23:08:00.001-05:00

Rented out a film recently, based upon the pedigree of the directors (Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe von Trotte). The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. 1975. An attack on the abuse of power and yellow journalism. Rather prescient really. And then, my darling wife Nikki, says to me ... (she started to watch it ahead of me) "I know why you got this film .... its a porsche movie" ... and I protested my innocence ... as the movie had a good rep (and is very good as well --- worth checking out) but .... upon seeing the beginning .... I could not argue ;-)
What a nice surprise to see a 73 targa in irish green, with an RS front bumper and cibie hoodlights ... as driven by Jurgen Prochnow.

driving in the gunks ...

2009-09-14T22:12:00.001-04:00

We also found time to drive through the gunks ... no navigator for me this time; i was playing all three roles myself --- driver navigator cameraman .... a tall order for even the most accomplished .... i guess doing 2 out of three well, ain't bad ;-)

Note the 5mph suggested speed through the corner !!!

the Gunks .... some video ... beautiful area

2009-09-14T22:09:00.001-04:00

While up in the gunks, we went to Cragmoor ... great view of the area with Ellenville below you ...

Catskills/Orange County/West Point run Sep 14th 2009, the third !!!

2009-09-13T22:16:00.002-04:00

Here are some pics of the other sights that we saw during the day! Is it a bird? Is it a hawk? No ... lots of hangliders above Ellenville. This area attracts hang gliders from all over the country.

Catskills/Orange County/West Point run Sep 14th 2009 redux

2009-09-13T22:10:00.001-04:00

The local countryside ... in this case the Hudson river in the background

Here, you will see an area frequented by hikers, near Bear Mountain.

Next you will see the countryside around Ellenville, NY. This was taken at Cragmoor, well worth a visit by the way.

Catskills/Orange County/West Point run Sep 14th 2009

2009-09-13T22:03:00.001-04:00

I met up with Ron today, and we went all over Orange county, and the Catskills ... and barely noticed time passing. We had a nice lunch at the Brauhaus, which is located at the intersection of Rt 44/55/299.

Above, you see Ron with his beautiful "Zambesi Green" 73 coupe.

Next we see Ron's car again below ...

Last, is my car ... trying to get my stance correct ... (the color of my car is "Grey Beige")

Glynn's Blog

2009-09-12T21:40:00.006-04:00

My buddy, John Glynn, the accomplished and erudite motoring journalist, has his own blog located here ... http://www.johndglynn.com
You'll find plenty of content related to subjects that we all love, all recounted in a witty and loquacious seeming fashion, by John. He also sells t-shirts amongst other things, and I purchased one. What a t-shirt! Here is John himself doing double duty as model and copy editor

Not wanting to let John starve to death, I figured that I should promote his fine product, the Tissot RSR shirt, and hopefully reach the multitude of vintage racing porsche fans out there. Here goes my homage to the humble t-shirt

But John, a simple homage would not be correct without adding to the triptych (we need three for that at the very least). So here goes ... after John plus grin plus fruit bowl plus flowers plus pictures, and myself plus grin plus fruit bowl plus flowers plus picture, comes myself plus grin plus fruit bowl plus flowers plus picture plus cat (Desdemona)

Plus the cat tries to escape ...

Oh happy days !!!

Next step is for someone to add a prop while modeling the t-shirt?

Actual hill climbing, part the first

2009-08-25T23:12:00.002-04:00

Here is the footage of the actual hill climb, or the starting grid. Enough of the tomfoolery, I hear ye say ...

Equinox - the driver's driver

2009-08-23T22:24:00.004-04:00

An homage to a driver's driver .... Jim G, who was the subject of our video earlier, was also outfitting himself in white RSR over the weekend, and he looked very good in the drivers seat !!

Equinox, racing in anger 2

2009-08-23T12:24:00.004-04:00

pics of the front of the car.
what are 3 things protruding from aluminum, below windshield, on top right of pic? Thanks to Joe Gawlik, who reminded me that they are the tops to the hydraulic reservoirs (2 for the brake master cylinders and 1 for the clutch, remember this has a hydraulic clutch).
Steve showing us the oil tank area
Oil tank filler
apologies for low light grainy shots, I had my camera, the Ricoh Caplio R4, but showing its age in certain scenario's (of course bad workman blames his tools:-). If only I had Nikki's LX3 ... "my kingdom, my kingdom, .... for an LX3"
ready to rock n'roll

Equinox -- the racing in anger part

2009-08-23T12:19:00.003-04:00

some more pics of that RSR type race car
engine moved forward a few inches ... he keeps fan belt a bit loosefront coolin area
tach ...
shot of cooling area up front again
engine shot

2009-08-23T11:43:00.003-04:00

The video we have all been waiting for ...
the Equinox Hill Climb was off and running, but things were running a little behind time.
Time for local RGruppe chaptermeister, Jim Garfield to take over and co-ordinate ..
and co-ordinate he did >:D
Near the end, there is a Nascar fan enquiring if Dale Earnhardt Jr is running ...

Equinox part 5 - video

2009-08-23T11:38:00.002-04:00

Some grainy non-HD video of the bauer car ... flip HD camera had run out of juice, hence using regular digital camera, so as not to miss the magic

Equinox part 4

2009-08-23T11:19:00.002-04:00

same car with hills in background - who says we are not interested in pretty scenery?Joe Gawlik's gorgeous 2002

Equinox part 3

2009-08-23T11:17:00.002-04:00

Jens pointing out something very trick, I am sure - we are all enrapturedJens/Heidi lid badge .. cool
Joe's car ... beautiful color, very rich
Paul managed to let owner try out vintage seats, or so he said
Steve Bauer car

Equinox part 2

2009-08-23T11:13:00.002-04:00

More pics ---
Paul with steering wheel for test driveMark's car - beautiful vintage type racer
Lidless Garfield car
Jim putting on duck, with Heidi supervising
Ta-daaaa .. finished product, for the moment

pics from Equinox Hill Climb, near Manchester, VT

2009-08-23T11:09:00.001-04:00

I had a fantastic time, and got to know a little of the area which I was unfamiliar with. The Manchester area is truly a wonderful destination. Paul Ripley found the German accomodations for us. Owner of motel was german guy - he put on a mean breakfast with homemade german breads, homemade granola and muesli (not the "crap stuff made with sugar you get in supermarkets" as he described it Grin ).
Got up Friday after horrendous downpour. Thunder and Lightning show. It was like a celestial shootout with semi-automatic lightning bolt guns.
Met Jens and Heidi Moller at motel followed by Mark Morrissey and Paul. Jim Garfield arrived "sans whaletail", as he was putting on a ducktail in the parking lot, that Jens had brought down. Once cleaned up, we headed for town to meet Joe Gawlik, for a nice steak dinner.
Sat was hillclimb, then visit to Steve Bauer's place (a local and buddy of Joe's) to see his RSR type race car built on a 64 tub I believe (by a previous owner) but with trick RSR parts, and liteweight balsa panels. Raced in anger, to be sure. Sweet sound.
Then, left for home. My wife's tii was my ride, as my car has a starter issue. And in true fashion, the tii ended up stuck in 3rd. So Joe helped my bring it across town, to the shop of local BMW vermont chapter president. Then Mark Morrissey kindly gave me a ride home in his SC backdated to vintage racer. It has no sound deadening at all. Hence the earplugs necessary. And he thinks he can convince his wife to ride with him to Virginia for Valley Rally :D. Mark I think the muffler change idea you have might be in order !! Mark's car is very impressive, and a credit to him.
Many thanks to Paul and Jim for organizing, and to Joe for helping me out with a car issue, so many miles from home.
Jens and Heidi came a long way just to say hello, and always enjoy meeting and seeing what you have done to your car.
Below are pics of the gathering ...

Jens+Heidi's car with tangerine lid
Mark + Jens with one of the myriad steering wheels that Mark brought
Paul walking past Mark's car
Heidi and her car
Paul + myself

Back to our farm !!

2009-08-16T23:44:00.003-04:00

Pete, the man .. the legend .... cutting everyry blade as efficiently as any good german would do. It was tough to get him away from the machine

This is Pete's calendar shot for 2009-10Pete busy at work, mowing the lawn

The clematis climbing to their hers content
The clematis in full bloom.

farm info and other stuff

2009-08-16T23:40:00.004-04:00

down at the farm ...
a local store, but far away from the chickens ... and what's the deal with the moistuirized chicken? Does the chicken have dry skin? Does the chicken have an interest in Oil of Olay?
Desdemona, relaxing in the sunlight

Them cute chicks !!!

more farm info

2009-08-16T23:37:00.002-04:00

more farm pics .. this time of the chickens. These are the best tasting chickens you have ever eaten !!!
Yet oh so cute !!!
Chickens taking a break
Some of the many soaps and other items that they sell at the farm
The colors and presentation are top shelf

Weekend of Aug 15th, farm stands etc

2009-08-16T23:32:00.001-04:00

This is the farm of Alice and Neal Fitzgerald, in Cochecton NY. I think its called river brook farm. Organic produce, of their own, plus produce of friends of theirs, and local suppliers of good sustainable foods. Alice has her back to me, at bottom right. My cousin Annie, and her husband Pete, are in the background, as they stayed with us for the weekend.
Some of the wonderful produce on offer
These purple potatoes are just wonderful
The greens are stupendous .... 21 separate varieties of veg in each bag

garlic lovers delight

thunder and lightning show from starlight

2009-08-11T21:11:00.004-04:00

While up at starlight last weekend, we were treated to a marvelous show ... low light conditions are not the best for the flip, but you get the point. Mood music supplied by WJFF Radio

Deirdre @ U2

2009-07-28T06:39:00.007-04:00

Deirdre, and Dean, as well as Aidan, went to see U2. Deirdre, being hardcore, queued up for hours to get up front, and here are some pics that they took
Here's Deirdre. Of course DnD had to go to each of the 3 gigs
Up close and comfortable with they boyz
Ze Edge, doing his thing

Bono and Adam at Croker (Croke Park)

La Peira en Damaisela

2009-07-14T22:00:00.003-04:00

While visiting the folkeens, I had come across an article in the FT about wine and a wine buyer. Nicholas Lander (restaurant critic for FT and husband of Jancis Robinson, FT wine guru and Master of Wine as well as my favorite wine writer), was interviewing a restaurant wine buyer, and discussing what he does in general. The wine that he was drinking, and that both liked, was Les Obriers de La Peira.
My curiosity spiked, I decided to google it, seeing what we would be in the Languedoc and this winery was located there. Lo and behold, it would be only about 90 minutes away. Worth the drive as they say. So I rang them up and got the wine maker, Jeremie Depierre. We fixed a time and day, and off we went. We arrived at about 4h30pm, met Jeremie, a lovely chap and he drove over to the winery and we followed along the dusty backroads.
5 minutes later we were outside a new building that had all the trappings of an old church. It could pass for an old building from a distance, if you could get over the lack of windows. Sort of like if Sergey Brin and Larry Page decided to make wine but couldn't reign in their paranoia of people watching what they are doing.
Anyway, off inside we went, and Jeremie explained what they did, how they made the wines, the grapes involved such as syrah, mourvedre, cinsault and carignan; the barrels they use (wood with Bordeaux and Burgundy style barrels); their philosophy on corks (they like them) etcetera.
Then he started the step by step program. The Tasting.
Step one was Les Obriers de La Peira. Mmmm.
Step two is Las Flors de la Peira. Mmmmmmmm.
Step 3 was their $100 wine ... La Peira. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
He poured some of each and then after we had finished tasting, he said "I cannot drink the rest of the (opened )bottles myself, so you might as well finish the wine".
Would you look a gift horse in the mouth? ;-) Noooooo.
A wonderful 2 hours and we bought a few cases, that my father promises will remain untouched in his safe care ;-)
The picture above is of the winery when we arrived, and Jeremie Depierre is behind Nikki.

4th of July, 2009 bbq in France

2009-07-05T05:08:00.003-04:00

Celebrated the 4th with family in France, at parents place. Mam n' Dad, Deirdre+Dean, Roy, Nikki +myself.
Nikki Roy and myself were the 3 american citizens there and everyone had decked out the patio with balloons and decorations in red white and blue.

some more video of the weekend

2009-05-23T23:12:00.003-04:00

ex Derek Daly car spins like a top .... other guys veer around him.
Guinness Rizla is the car.

Lime Rock, Memorial Weekend, 2009

2009-05-23T23:08:00.002-04:00

Went to Lime Rock, for Saturday May 23rd, for the vintage racing up there. Went to meet Paul Ripley and Jim Garfield. As well as Ron Schaefer and his wife Stacy.
The vintage races centered around formula one cars of the 60's and 70's.
Great day, and great racing. Met Scott of Connecticut. He had a just restored polat silver 72. Very tasty.
Here are some videos to while away the time :-)

2009-05-23T23:04:00.002-04:00

the guesthouse, BnB, where we stayed
some visitors took our pic for posterity .... and looks like the person taking the pic is over 90 years old, has had the last 10 minutes to take the pic, and still reckons that he is supremely talented in the realm of photography .... just take the pic, you old coot!!!
falling water, the arty shot
falling water, the magnificant

Me and my baby

falling water pics

2009-05-23T22:54:00.003-04:00

some more falling water shots. Above is a view of the guesthouse.
On a path from the guesthouse to the main house, is a statue of ...
the main part of the house ... the living room
part of the art collection, of which central and south american art is most prominent
One of the classic house poses

Falling Water

2009-05-13T06:41:00.002-04:00

Falling Water - what a beautiful place. This is the first of some videos and pics ...

Indiana breakfast and more

2009-05-13T06:15:00.003-04:00

Above is bridge leaving Chicago ...

An absolutely massive, breakfast burrito, with tons of gravy on it, at Elkhart IN. We split this as it was just huge. I see where those Indiana farm boys get so massive.

In Elkhart, IN, a period and beautiful VW van. What a great porsche support vehicle it would make!
Entering Indiana

After Badlands; thru Minnesota, Wisonsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

2009-05-13T06:02:00.004-04:00

My beautiful co-driver, spelling me for a while
Entering Minnesota and its crappy roads
Lovely Wisconsin
Entering Chicago

Comiskey Park, home of White Sox

Badlands National Park and other sundry stiff

2009-05-13T00:39:00.004-04:00

more badlands areas
beautiful open terrain
blue skies everywhere.

Below is some video of the area

leaving Custer SD

2009-05-13T00:35:00.004-04:00

Local landscape so that he can have space and house ...
Typcial Badlands shot
More money shots
Some more shots

Passing 2,999 miles for the trip in SD and about to hit 3,000 .... another milestone

Badlands National Park

2009-05-13T00:28:00.004-04:00

a truly amazing place .... other world type stuff, redolent of Mars
See what I mean?

View of the badlands .... from different angles
Babes, at viewing point

Leaving Custer, SD for Beloit, WI

2009-05-13T00:22:00.002-04:00

Frost ..... what teh f*&^ is going on here folks?
Pretty, pretty cold, as Larry David would say ;-)
Scraping ice ... who would thunk !!!
Behold the Black Hills of South Dakota

Crazy Horse, the movie

2009-05-13T00:13:00.002-04:00

To save time, this is an inkling of what the movie is about ...

Crazy Horse park

2009-05-13T00:09:00.002-04:00

The gates at Crazy Horse park
The 50th anniversary of work starting on the Crazy Horse memorial, with the head finished.
a native tent, inside the museum, at the crazy horse site
Beads at the gift shop