Stargazer's Garage

Winter Rims Mounted Originally uploaded by istargazer . I put the winter tires back onto our 2007 GMC Yukon Denali XL this morning. It wasn't the ordeal it was last year, but it was snowing/hailing lightly while I was doing it. I don't know if we'll see the record snowfalls again, but the local ski hills and Whistler Mountain have all opened their season early.

Our Duty Done , originally uploaded by istargazer .

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Originally uploaded by istargazer . This is my Halloween costume this year. I made the mask to go with my grim reaper robe so that I could be the Blue Screen of Death. I also made an "Any" button prop that I could dare people to press :0) Of course, after I finished making the costume Thursday morning, I got an email from admin that we wouldn't be allowed to wear masks at work. Bummer.

I'd heard the description before, but the other day was the first time I'd heard in person my R described as "cute". I wasn't at all bothered or anything, merely taken back for half a second, thinking to myself, really? I just don't see it. But that doesn't matter, does it? Cuteness is in the eye of the beholder. I wonder if anyone's described a STI as cute....

2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Originally uploaded by istargazer . I was just looking at the stats on my Flickr account and discovered something interesting. For some reason, this particular picture--out of all the 900+ pictures I've uploaded--has the most views of all. As of this post, it has been viewed 26,787 times (not including myself). I wonder why that is because it hasn't generated as many comments or favorites as some of my other pictures.

Version 2: Was it a dream? Originally uploaded by istargazer . I watched an episode of Test Drive on the Speed channel this afternoon on the new 4-door Porsche Panamera. I've seen it a few times now on different shows and being on the Porsche mailing list I've seen the official literature on it, too. The look is growing on me, although I do like the view mostly either full-frontal or directly from the rear. The side profile has some nice aspects, but the overall look definitely takes some getting used to. For some reason, it made me really, really miss my 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

Thanksgiving Camp Originally uploaded by istargazer . We left home after I got off work on Friday to go RVing in our Tango trailer. It would be our last trip of the year before putting the RV into storage for the winter and would mark the 29th night of camping in 2009. A pretty good number if I say so myself! It took us almost an hour to get over the Port Mann Bridge, but traffic was pretty smooth after that. We got to the campground after dark and I had the hardest time backing the trailer. I could not see a thing back there and because I didn't remove the trunnion bars, I was paranoid about turning too sharply and breaking them off like I did earlier in the summer. It was actually my first time doing it in the dark and after a couple of failed attempts, a couple of neighbors, Mark and Steven, helped guide me into position. Without their help it would have been a very long night for us! The weather for the weekend was clear and sunny but cold because of the arctic air tha...