The Noblesvillain

For my second submission to Ben Scheirman's theme contest I have a second entry.  Inspired by my recent excursion to the Noblesville 4H Fair Grounds, I submit to you Tractor Pull!

Click for full size image

You can see it in action on my test blog (at least for now).

Download the theme: Pulling.zip (44.04 KB)

Download the PhotoShop Template: Pulling_PSD.zip (949.07 KB)

Last evening I celebrated my 11-year wedding anniversary by going to the tractor pull by myself leaving my wife to put the kids to bed.  I guess that's what you call a nice anniversary present.  My last visit to a pulling event was this same 4H fair tractor pull in 2004 two months before Mark was born.  Ok, we all went out for a nice dinner before I abandoned my family...

Watch Mean Machine throw some flames

Dual turbine engines drive Plumber's Nitemare, in the Modified Tractor Class

The loud (incredibly loud) noises of the tractor pull attracted me when I first saw Holy Cow pull in a Tipton tractor pull.  I also enjoy the old farm tractors pulling.  In last night's event, I saw the mini modified class for the first time (are they really under 2000 lbs?).  These are some small tractors with a lot of noise and power!  The event also ran the four-wheel-drive trucks and Super Stock tractors.

The 'modified' tractors are a bit over the top, but I love the noise.  There were three different drive mechanisms in the modified class.

• Aircraft turbine engine (I believe Plumber's Nitemare won the event) with dual intakes and a combined exhaust all pointing straight up.  Plumber's Nitemare has a 4-cylinder Chevy engine to motor around and only turns on the turbines when hooked to the sled.  When pulling in Noblesville, the exhaust blew some phone wires 30 feet straight up as it passed under them.

• Aircraft piston engine Dual 12-cylinder aircraft piston engined drove Bionic Buzzard to a pretty good pull.  Seeing fire erupt from 48 exhaust ports (not a muffler in sight all night) directed straight up made it look like a two-tiered birthday cake.

• Automotive piston engine (ethanol) Using multiple automotive engines, several pullers combined three 8-cylinder engines for their drive (Holy Cow mounts four Oldsmobile V8's but only can run 3 in this class).

While the old farm tractors are so authentic (and the competition seems meaningful) when they pull, I still have to love the noise of the big boys!

Here are some pictures of some of the Mini Modifieds:

 
Brandy's Toy takes on some fuel

Mini Modified

The Patriot getting to weigh in

The Patriot takes off

For the upcoming release of dasBlog, Ben Scheirman announced a theme contest. I have an entry.  I call it Dandelion.

You can see it active on this site (as of this writing at least, who knows what the future holds).

Download the theme: Dandelion.zip (21.83 KB)

It has been tested on IE 6 & 7, FireFox, and Opera.  Loosely based on the Kubrick theme (Michael Heilemann's design ported to dasBlog by John Forsythe), this theme holds an image on the top above two columns and a footer.  I enjoy themes with a replaceable main image.  When I return to the world of fast internet (I'm currently connected at 26kbaud at my in-laws) I will upload the PhotoShop file. Here is the Photoshop file:

Photoshop file: Dandelion_PSD.zip (271.44 KB)

The theme and accompanying Photoshop file are licensed under the GPL.

The design is based on a fixed-width of 900 pixels.  This allows the main column to provide about 600 pixels of blogging space.  I often wish to post pictures 480 pixels wide and previous themes have made that challenging.

The menu area currently holds just the search widget, but would be a fine place to add links to other pages on your site.

Enjoy the theme and let me know what you think!

I got a Google hit for "interpreting mood rings" (where this blog lands in the #1 search position) on last Friday's post quoting lyrics from Relient K

Hope my visitor left with a smile!

Listening to music at lunch today inspired me to blog about my favorite current band, Relient K. 

Relient K has a variety of sounds from a pop punk to other mainstream alternative (am I allowed to create a new genre?) and rock focused tunes.  Here's a snip from "Mood Rings" on their third album:

And I've contrived some sort of a plan
To help my fellow man...

Let's get emotional girls to all wear mood rings
So we'll be tipped off to when they're ticked off
Cause we'll know just what they're thinking,
Just what they're thinking...

Besides their professional sound and good tunes, I enjoy their fun lyrics and good advice.  As a Christian band, their themes are encouraging. You can take a listen by clicking on the album cover above (opens in a new window).  Earlier albums (the one's I've been listening to) have been less melodic than the tracks on the website.  I like their more open, fresh sound from their new album, too, but it isn't this sound that got me hooked.  

I'm tired of Christian bands that don't live up to the musical standards of their secular counterparts.  My guess is that only Christians listen to second-rate religious music.  In order to promote spiritual themes, I think the best way would be to create some incredible music so everyone who enjoys a full, professional sound can enjoy!

Ok, thanks Relient K for giving me good music to listen to!

 

Here's a patriotic picture to commemorate the 231st anniversary the US's independence from the tyranny of British rule.

 

We let Mr. Bob Evans cook our breakfast before Jenny took off for work.

While Adam was in his morning nap, Mark & I explored the newly harvested field behind our house.  We could hear the combine harvester somewhere nearby, but didn't ever see it.  I believe that Mark saw the field getting shorn yesterday, but we only have his word for it.

During Mark's nap, Adam ventured around the house.  When he reached Roomba in the back of the living room, he pressed the flashing button and animated the iRobot.  After Roomba played its chime (which was a happy thing) it then began its cleaning routine (which was not so good).  Now Adam (feeling less adventuresome) is helping me finish this entry.