Angie & Jim

Name that Carby Jim

So the other day I was on my way to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. It takes about an hour and we were driving caravan-style with a friend of mine from work (Justin Bradley and his family). We were about 20 minutes from our destination when I saw pulling onto the freeway this red truck with a bright yellow sports car on the bed. I didn’t get a good look at the car because the on-ramp was one of those circle-y ones and the so the front of the truck faced the whole time I drove by. I knew if it was being pulled by a truck, it had to be a nice car, so I got in the right lane and slowed down hoping to let the truck catch up with me so I could get a good look at it. Well, the cars behind me probably didn’t appreciate that and the truck was in the slow lane too, so there was really no courteous way to get the gander I wanted. So, on the next exit, I pulled off and immediately got back on. When we got close enough, I knew my effort had been worth it. Sitting on the bed of this truck was a brand new Lamborghini. I had Angie snap a picture of it on my (old) cell phone camera. Nice, eh? (Click on the image for the full size.) So, anyone recognize this model? Props to whoever can tell me what kind it is.

Money is Expensiveby Jim

Well, first of all I would like to say, “Welcome to our new blog!” I hope you enjoy your stay. A few days ago I downloaded the latest version of WordPress and gave it to Angie to do with as she pleased. I’ve got an account and will post occasionally, and although this blog is for our little family, she is in charge of the everyday upkeep and such. As you can already see, she’s done a great job setting it up, picking a nice theme, etc. So, please have fun and come back often!

So, today I called around to get an estimate on some car repairs we need done. We went to San Francisco with Angie’s sister, Emily, and her roommate Kim. We wanted to go down Lombard Street, so I made the turn and we got in this HUGE line of cars. The problem is we have a manual transmission and sitting on those great big hills is bad for a clutch. After a few minutes of waiting, I started to smell a burning smell and I thought to myself, “this is bad.” We got out of line as soon as we could and drove around to the other side and laughed at all the people driving down Lombard Street who had to wait in line. Well, actually, we didn’t laugh at anyone, but we still did get to see it from the other side — not as cool as driving on it, but we were pressed for time. Well, I’ve noticed the clutch is a little softer than it was before and since both Angie and I learned to drive manual on this car it was due for a clutch replacement. I called one place and they quoted me $720. I thought that was a little high, so I called a couple others: $880 and then $817. Well, this was also on top of the $300 for brakes they were all quoting me on. After consulting with my car consultant (and co-worker Justin Bradley), I decided that until my clutch starts slipping, I don’t need a new one. And for the brakes… well, I’ll wait on those too. Sheesh! Money is expensive!