Today I lost a great companion and friend, one of the best dogs I have ever known.  "Bear" Ch. Stone Ridge Fairewood Flyer, C.D. was a show dog and a champion in his early days before he lived with me.  Then he went on to become a stud dog and sired 37 litters, many of these dogs also became champions.  My ex-wife and I acquired "Bear" when he was age 6, shortly after our Airedale "Hecky" succumbed to cancer.  We thought about a new puppy, but renowned Airedale breeder Janet Framke introduced us to "Bear" and wanted him to go to a home that was comfortable with Airedales, and would allow him to retire comfortably in style.  It was a perfect match and he made a place for himself instantly with us.  He did retire in style, he had a fenced in backyard that he could patrol at will for rabbits and give chase, he enjoyed a one hour walk around the neighborhood nightly regardless of the weather, always the first to greet me at the door after work with a steady bark, ready to go.  He lived a healthy, enjoyable life and was an intelligent and very happy dog.  Sadly, "Bear's" liver failed on Memorial Day and although we did everything we could for him, there was no way for him to recover from this.  His suffering was minimal, he was a perfectly healthy dog just a week ago.  Right to the very end, he shared his love with us and always wanted to make us happy.

I am truly heartbroken from this loss.

The next picture was sent to me by Rhonda, this was her all time favorite picture taken just after we got Bear.  Janet Framke asked her to brush his face show style and take a picture for her records.  Bear just closed his eyes and showed his attitude.

Here's a club members car I photographed last year at the track.  The engine sound was raw, pure Ferrari... this car is magnificent!

Well the day started off with a light dusting of snow, and since I worked today I didn't head out to the track.  I did hear there was one brave soul out driving today, I hope to get out there this weekend.  I am really anxious to drive the track, it's been a long winter.  By the way, the Autobahn CC has updated their web site for 2008.   http://www.drivefastbesafe.com/

I have to admit I got a chuckle or two looking at this web site:  http://faildogs.com/

Personally I don't watch that much TV, but this web site might be interesting to those of you that do...   http://www.hulu.com/

Bear my Airedale always enjoys getting outside as soon as it snows, getting covered in it while chasing rabbits and playing in it!

I attended my annual TSO concert ritual with a small group of friends including Collin and Raina.  I think this was the third time I have seen them, each time it gets better, the show gets constantly tweaked and improved from year to year, and you notice things that you didn't notice before...  a lot of action is going on and off the stage.  This year I had front row seats, I am totally spoiled now, best seats in the arena.  If you have a chance to see this Christmas concert in your city, by all means go see it.  It is a family friendly, but has the feel of rock opera with over the top light show and pyrotechnics, they even make it snow indoors! 

I was able to shoot some fairly good pictures with my iPhone, enjoy!

The first time I ever drove on a race track my instructor was Shane Lewis, Daytona Prototype pro-driver.  I first met Shane April 20, 2005 in Savannah, Georgia at a High Performance Driving School named Sports Car Driving Experience.  The entire experience of high performance driving on a road course changed my life, I have since driven on race tracks hundreds of times and become a very confident track driver, in fact I do some instruction myself. 

I had the opportunity to get some private instruction with Shane again two years later, it was fun to get to drive again with my first instructor.  After my first session with him not saying much, the first thing he said to me was "Wow, I can't say to much, you were always looking where you should be, your hand position on the wheel was good, your line was good, your braking was good."  I said there is always more to learn, I am sure you can give me some hints.  We had a great time during the day, he pushed me hard around the track (I need that) and we had this little moment which I caught on video... enjoy!

This is a video of a test drive on the full circuit at the Autobahn Country Club with Mike Davero in the right seat. This is just after I got my L.G. Motorsports C5 Z06 back from their shop in Texas.  Mike is a good friend who also owned a C5 Z06 at the time, we have driven together many times.  The car as stock was impressive, with all these modifications it's absolutely hard core!