Mark Hayward Is My Hero

I got my new blowgun in the mail this week:

copyright Target Zone Sports, all rights reserved

It’s just what I needed.  In order to fit my old blowgun into my new prop case I had to cut a few inches off the front of it.  I was hoping that 4 inches wouldn’t make much difference in the accuracy, but it made a HUGE difference.  So I bought the good ol’ Extreme Trailblazer so that I could use just one segment and add it on to the front of my performing blowgun, and yet it would still fit in my case when it was disassembled.  Works great.

The weird thing though, was that when I opened the tiny little box that it came in, I was OVERPOWERED by the stench of old cigarette smoke.  It’s no surprise that the people who sell blowguns would smoke, and I have no problem with that, it’s their own business… but seriously… how did they manage to make their product smell so incredibly bad?  I’m starting to think that they must’ve blown smoke directly into the box and then quickly sealed it up, because there is no way a human could survive in that kind of atmosphere.  Even today, 4 days later, the box still reeks.

**Kids: Don’t buy weapons online without your parents approval.  Even a blowgun is a serious, and potentially dangerous weapon.

On Friday Vader and I went to the IMA future sculpture garden for a nice little walk, and there were birds everywhere! The wildlife at the IMA is always pretty good, but there were just SO many birds this time. I am guessing that they must be migrating. I saw the usual Canada Geese, grackels, robins, and ducks, but then there were Coots, Cowbirds, Woodpeckers, and I even saw a Turkey Vulture eating what I think was a snake. That took me off guard. I already knew that they were carrion feeders, so maybe the snake was killed by the mower or something.

It’s starting to look like no one is going to buy the New Kids on the Block Bubblegum I’m selling on ebay. It doesn’t make any sense to me. How could someone not want it? It’s so awesome! It looks like there may not be a buyer for the Garfield Pencils I’m selling either. To me that one is not as hard to believe, but I really thought they would sell. There is still time for both items, but I’m just so surprized that there are no bids on either one yet.

Ok, but here’s the real shocker for me: the Toyota Prius keychain that I almost threw away is now over $20! Who knew? Maybe it’s rare, or maybe there are more keychain collectors out there than I thought… actually that must be it since I didn’t think there were ANY keychain collectors out there.

I’m still firing it up though. I’ll have a Dish Network DVR on sale on Tuesday, and I’m going to put up some vintage Mark Hayward t-shirts later today I think. I’ll post a link when I do.

Vintage Mark Hayward performing t-shirt ebay auction

Astronomers have discovered the most Earth-like planet to date.  Its 50% bigger than Earth, five times heavier, and it’s 20.5 light-years away.  The most fascinating thing is that some astronomers believe that there should be liquid water on Gliese 581c (catchy name I know), and THAT means that there could be life!  My favorite part of the story:

“London bookies duly took note, lowering the odds on extraterrestrial life from 1,000-to-1 to 100-to-1.”

Read the whole thing yourself here.

In other news, I had to bring some poop to the vet today so they could check my dog for worms.  Good times.

That’s right… I just won on ebay. My first ebay auction ended very early this morning, and I got a respectable $6.63 for my 19 year-old Mountain Dew can. While I’m content with the outcome, I was hoping, as all ebay sellers do, that my item would be the envy of all the rich collectors around the world, and that they would stumble over themselves trying to outbid each other. The Mountain Dew can was my trial run, just to see how it all worked… now on to bigger and better things: like Garfield Pencils and New Kids On The Block Bubble Gum. Yeah, you want ’em.

Check out my current auctions:

New Kids on the Block Bubble Gum

Toyota Prius Snazzy Keychain

Set of four Garfield pencils from 1978

I finally got the radiator back on the family Model A Ford. I took it off in the fall to get it cleaned and rodded, and then I didn’t get back to it before winter came. Over the last few days I have managed to spend some time out in the garage, and today I got the car reassembled.

It really wasn’t that hard a project, but I was being cautious so I could be sure that I was doing things right. After getting everything back together, I just had to close the petcock (the little valve at the bottom that you open in order to drain the fluid) so I could fill the radiator, but when I grabbed it I found that the little spring that held it together was broken. Since it was Sunday evening, all the hardware stores were closed so I couldn’t even look for a replacement spring, but lo and behold… Grandpa Mac came through again! In with the tools and parts that came with the car was a very dirty replacement petcock! I was amazed. After I cleaned it I found that it was in great shape, so I just switched out the broken one and I was back in business.

I got the car running so I could check for leaks in the radiator hose connections (found some), messed with the horn for a bit, and called it a day. I was hoping to actually get out and drive today, but the timing seems to be way off, so I have to adjust that first. There may also be a problem with the generator, but I don’t know. After I connected the battery, the generator started getting hot before I even started the engine. I have to ask around because I don’t even know if that is out of the ordinary. I would be LOST without my Model A Ford Mechanic’s Handbook.

I have a gig in Chicago tomorrow, so I won’t be able to work on the car again until at least Tuesday.

I’ve been slowly getting going on working on the Model A Ford again this season. I had big plans to put in a plastic liner and heat the garage this last winter so I could work out there despite the temperature, but the prospect of putting that much work into a garage that we will leave in a few months to a year was too much for me. I’ve only had a couple of 2-3 hours stints so far, but I’ve gotten a little bit done this week.

Last fall one of the guys at the neighborhood auto-mechanic shop told me about a salvage yard just out of town that has Model A Ford parts, so tomorrow my buddy Devin and I are going to go out there and see what they have. For all you Indianans who are in need of Model A Ford parts (I know there are a lot of you out there, and that you spend a lot of time online) here’s the info: Carter’s Salvage, 700 E Jackson St, Veedersburg IN 47987

After sitting on a box of stuff for a year and a half, I have finally started selling things on ebay.  My first auction is for a Mountain Dew can (that I drank) from 1988 or so that I think is a rare design, but we’ll see if the collectors are into it.

I got my first bid today, and they matched my starting price of 99 cents. So far I am GUARANTEED to make 45 cents for my trouble.  That’s right… I’m a high roller….

Woke up late today at around 10:00.  Listened to a little Within Temptation (metal band with a female lead singer) on YouTube.  Took Lenore to work.  Walked the dog.  Had a light lunch consisting of a yogurt and some Ass-Kickin’ Snack Mix which says right on it that it is “Kick Yo Ass Hot!”  And, as it turns out, it is.  Went out to the garage and got my tools organized to put the radiator back on my family’s 1930 Model A Ford.  Had to cut short workin’ on the car to go to a event for the artistic community that is trying to get established in Indianapolis called “Culturati”.  Came home, walked the dog, ate dinner, made juggilng balls out of old tennis balls to use tomorrow at a gig where I will be teaching race-car drivers how to juggle in order to improve their hand-eye coordination and reaction time.  Got a call from a buddy telling me that his dogs might have given my dog Whip Worms.  Ick.  Ate Brittish candy bar that I bought in San Francisco called “Toffee Crisp”.  It was yummy.

One morning a few months ago, when I let my dog out, there was a hawk in my backyard eating a freshly killed pigeon. It was awesome. There was a big circle of feathers, and bright red blood in the snow. As Vader ran out to see what was going on the hawk tried to fly off with its prey, but couldn’t manage it, so it had to drop the pigeon in the yard. Although it came back later, it couldn’t find the carcass in the snow. I felt bad for it. I am VERY much in favor of anything that will kill and eat pigeons… especially if it’ll do it with such style. After a misidentification by me in the bird book, my wife Lenore looked it up, and we both agree that it must’ve been a juvenile Northern Goshawk.

thanks to www.birdchick.com for the image

Today, I think I spotted its nest in a tree a few houses down the street from ours. I love raptors, so I’m excited about having the chance to watch this one more often. The leaves are just starting to come out, so in another week or so I won’t be able to see its nest, but at least I know where it is now so I can watch for it better.

I also saw a pretty big owl in the neighborhood last week, but it was far away and silouetted, so I really couldn’t see enough to try to identify it. I have seen very few owls in my life, so I hope I can get a better view of it.