Just like I said, a few days ago, the rule of thumb when you get a bad cold is "three days getting it, three days having it, and three days getting rid of it." Silly me for thinking I was onto a shortcut, but I can say that the Zicam and the other stuff has seemed to lessen the impact. I've not yet had a day where I felt "totally out of commission" but I am also working on day 8 and this sucker just won't go away. Sort of like the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, but that's a different story...

I've felt just lousy enough to make it seem like an entire beautiful fall weekend was wasted, since I never did feel like being out and about much. On the other hand, my lovely and extraordinarily talented (and did I mention hard-working?) wife got something she richly deserved, on Saturday... A new car! I won't go into specifics or details, other than the fact it's a very nice hybrid, but she's been driving and taking great care of her previous car since 2001, and after weeks of exhaustive research, she finally found the make and model she wanted. At that point, the process shifted from exhaustive research to exhaustive negotiating.  I swear, my wife should make herself available as a "Car Buying Consultant" because nobody I have ever met works at it as hard as she does.

Heck, the actual process of buying the car took over a week. She knew exactly what she wanted and what she was going to pay, and in the end even was a little disappointed that the final "back and forth" came a bit too easy. She figured she might have left a couple of hundred bucks on the table, but she got a great deal, a terrific car, and the pleasure of rewarding herself for all the hard work she puts in, day after tiring day. And the thing is so high-tech I'm surprised you don't have to go to school to drive it. The driver's experience is, pretty much, like driving the starship Enterprise. Cool deal!

We also sold her previous car (her beloved Audi A6) rather than trade it in. Who'd we sell it to? Dave and Nichol, next door!  Barb actually had a trade-in worked out with the dealer, but when we came home that night (Friday) knowing the deal was done but we weren't going to take delivery until Saturday, Dave asked if it was possible for them to buy Barb's old car. Badda boom, badda bing, that deal was done in a flash and rather than go through with the trade-in, we simply added that cash to the down payment. Pretty funny to see Barbara's car in their driveway, though... I suspect Dave has to sell something, too, because they now have five vehicles and four drivers in their household...

As referenced above, I did spend a few needlessly tense hours watching the Vikings/Ravens game yesterday. The Vikings' defensive players are all saying the right things this morning, about learning some lessons and needing to find that killer instinct that puts another team away after you have them down, but man that was a sickening 4th quarter. To blow a 17-point lead in the 4th, and then have to actually rally with yet another Brett Favre magic moment (with two minutes left) to go the length of the field and kick a field goal in order to take the lead again, was bad enough, but then to need Baltimore's young kicker to miss a pretty simple field goal of his own, as time expired, turned what should've been a rout into a lousy win. Okay, there are no good losses and no lousy wins, but that sure didn't feel like a win.  The Vikings and their new quarterback (that Favre guy) are now 6-0, but the St. Paul Pioneer-Press got it right with their big headline: "SIX AND... WHOA!"  And the Ravens taught the Minnesota guys that good teams never quit.  Speaking of routs and quitting, though... How 'bout that New England / Tennessee game! "Wow" if you're a Patriots fan, but "Gulp" if you're a Titans backer. Hard to believe a game like that can even happen in the National Football League.

You know what? It seems bizarre that we have another weekend off before we race again. There's stuff to do, and I figure I'll be busy enough, but man... After that non-stop 4-in-a-row string of races, it's kind of jarring to all of a sudden be home for this long, and then in just a few weeks the whole thing is going to be over. If I'm smart, I'll use this week to start the process of putting together all of my post-season wrap-up publications.... Am I smart? Probably not smart enough...

We will have a busy start to the Vegas race, once we all get out there next week. We're once again staying at Mandalay Bay, thanks to the deal Bob Tasca put together before the first Vegas race, so that's a nice thing.

I arrive at around 1:30 on Thursday, and I'm going to have to hustle to get my car, pick up Tim, and take him to a Ford dealership for a one-hour autograph session. We'll be at Gaudin Ford (2121 Sahara Ave) from 5:00 to 6:00 on Thursday evening, along with the aforementioned Mr. Tasca, and then will have to hustle straight from there to the Fremont Street Experience, to attend the NHRA Fan Fest from 6:00 to 8:00.  Since we don't have the capability to instantly tele-transport ourselves from Gaudin Ford to Fremont Street, I suspect we're either going to have to leave one event a little early, or get to the other one a little late. Maybe both...

I must, once again, go on record by stating that the Las Vegas Fan Fest programs are, by far, the best in the sport. We do a lot of these sorts of things, and none are as successful nor as heavily attended as the Fan Fest in Sin City, and that seems to be the case no matter where they hold it. It used to be at ESPN Zone, outside New York / New York, and when we'd arrive for that the line would stretch around the block. Since they moved it to Fremont Street, it's just as good or even better. Plus, it's just such a cool experience to be down there on Fremont with videos and images of Funny Cars and Top Fuel Dragsters zooming around on the canopy over the street. Very neat deal...

On a different subject, let me ask you this... What do you think of the new-look National DRAGSTER???  My first edition of the new format came in the mail late in the week, and I couldn't resist sending Phil Burgess a quick email to tell him how impressed I was, and how fantastic it looks. To flip through a glossy magazine and see page after page of color, after all these years of knowing all of that stuff was going to be in newspaper black and white, was stunning.

I officially toss out a "GREAT JOB!" to Mr. Burgess and the entire staff of the ND. It's gorgeous!

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Fall arrives in Woodbury

 

I leave you with a tiny little photo gallery, which starts with a Pond Cam shot to let you see how the seasons are, finally, changing around here. The green gunk is fighting hard to stay on the pond, but the cool nights are winning out. The only bad thing about this autumn is that we aren't having much of one. It was a very dry summer, a very warm September, and now a pretty chilly October, and all that adds up to lousy colors in the trees. Some of them are turning nicely, but a lot of trees are just dropping their leaves and going dormant, without the fanfare of the brilliant colors.

Also, a couple of additional pics of Da Boyce, who are a lot more lovey-dovey with the chill in the air... 

I'll be appearing here in the Blue Note Lounge, throughout the week. Remember to tip your bartenders and waitresses!

Wilber, out!