Lanai repair at 8002

Posted on by Ian C.

Our pool is fully surrounded by a lanai, a metal frame covered in mesh, to keep the insects away – but over the years it’s developed some quite big holes and splits at the bottom (I think mostly caused by lawn maintenance). We decided to try repairing it ourselves, and it turned out successful!

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Pulling out the old mesh is hard, and it’s a little tricky keeping the tension on the new mesh. If the tension is too much, it’s impossible to push the mesh and rubber in to the frame groove – but too little tension leaves the mesh untidy and sagging. Still, we are pleased with the result on this first panel.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Posted on by Ian C.

We spent today at the Kennedy Space Center, to attend the last ever journey of Space Shuttle Atlantis, to it’s future museum/exhibit home – we weren’t the only interested people!

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We started our day on another tour bus – but this time we got closer than ever to the one-time Shuttle launchpad 39A:

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Next stop was a VERY close-up with Atlantis, almost close enough to touch 🙂

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But Atlantis was on a journey, and it continued as the day progressed. It’s destination:

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And as we all lined up to watch, Atlantis slowly (very slowly!) approached …

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And as we leave at the end of the day, Atlantis is close to being pushed in to the new museum/exhibit building …

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A Not Normal Roadster

Posted on by Ian C.

Honestly, any MINI with more than $1000 off it’s MSRP is “not normal”, but that’s what the sign said on this Roadster that I looked at on Saturday at MINI of Peabody. I don’t have much interest in the car, but I’d never sat in one so did so (didn’t drive it though). When I first sat inside, immediately noticeable was how quiet the interior WASN’T; just like the convertible I owned, a thin cloth roof provides little sound (or temperature) insulation. But once the roof was open, the car has a good looking interior, Piano Black and Polar Beige is what I’d choose – but it lacked most upgraded technology (which at least held the price below $30K):

But driving home in Margaret’s Z4, taking the Gloucester rotary at an easy 50+ and realizing that the Z4 handles so much better than any MINI I’ve ever owned; and then I think of the 2013 GP, and how it surely can’t compare with a Z4 that’s within $10K of that excessive $40K GP price … Makes me realize that I’ll probably not be driving a MINI again any time soon …