Wooden Warbirds…

In over five years of blogging, I’ve only rarely made product endorsements and I think almost every one of those was for various new toys Created by Apple in California®. Frankly, I don’t generally have enough personal interest in any product to bother writing about it. Lots of other bloggers have a very good handle on the field of endeavor. From time to time, though, something comes along and catches my eye.

In the interests of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that Greg has been a good friend of mine for the better part of the last two decades, but that’s not really the point here. I think the guy’s onto a winning product and has picked a great and innovative way of raising the funds to make it happen. The interesting thing here is that no one is asking you for a donation. By signing on as a project backer of Wooden Warbirds, you’re pre-ordering a product, not just giving away “cash-for-a-cause.” If enough people out there think this is a good opportunity, and Greg reaches his $10,000 goal, there’s one small business that can tool up and start putting together product and making sales. Have you seen the economy lately? How can you not admire a guy who wants to take his passion and make a business out of it, right? I’ve seen Greg’s work, and he’s the real deal.

Look, I know for $1 a day you can feed an orphan in Greater East Dirtbagistan. Charity is great, but how often do you get to help a guy start a business? So seriously, go check out the link have a look around and see if it’s a project you can get behind. For $5 you can get that warm fuzzy feeling you get from doing good (and a fancy laser-cut medallion). Kick it up to $25 and you just covered the Christmas present the historian or aviation buff in your family will covet.

Do me this one favor. Click the link and have a look around. If nothing else, maybe you just discovered the tool you need to generate startup capital for your own great idea.

Gone…

Surprisingly, it wasn’t seeing the Mustang sitting on the dealer’s lot that bothered me. True enough, it was a great car, but we never bonded the way the Jeep and I did. It sounds totally asinine, but I would actually drive out of my way in the mornings just to avoid seeing the Jeep on my way to work. I guess it’s sort of the same feeling as seeing the ex out with someone new. Theoretically, you know it’s going to happen, but that doesn’t mean you want to see it. It’s funny the attachment you form with your vehicle, especially one that’s been around for a while. It must be a little bit like what the cavalry felt like when they handed over the reins to their horses in exchange for the levers of the early tanks. You know it’s a far superior bit of equipment in every way, but you can’t quite shake the nostalgia.

Gimmie Fever…

I’ve got the fever… a disease that only spending $30,000 on treatment can cure.

I want a new car.

I made the mistake of test driving the new Mustang convertible last weekend. It wasn’t my fault. I was going to Best Buy and the dealership was right next door and they had a pretty red number sitting right there out front. I mean, it couldn’t cause any harm just stopping in and kicking the tires, right?

The minute I sat down, I knew I had the bug. A 300 horse V8, enough head room even with the top up, trunk space for golf clubs… and then I took the top down. All I can say is that it is truly a car to be “seen” in. Old people, little kids, guys driving the family minivan, all cast sideways looks. Some are brave enough to actually risk being noticed themselves and actually turn to see things full on.

My salesman had obviously played this game before and egged me to “let it out a little more” in the turns… to see what she could “really do.”

The worst of it is I don’t even want to get rid of the Jeep. This is a pure case of lust… just wanting a taste of a little strange. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?