219 mph in Phoenix... Unbelievable!!

If you think I could let this one go, you have another think... And it is coming as fast as this thing was going.

For the first "video in a blog" post I HAVE to put this one up. The only connection to real estate is that I found it posted on Jay Thompson's (The Phoenix Real Estate Guy) blog. If you are looking for real estate in Phoenix, give Jay a shout... or give me a shout and I'll send a referral. Jay is a fellow Active Rainer, as well as a good guy. I know he's going to find this, because I'm on his subscribed list...

So, without further ado, here is the video...

Now that you have seen a Lambo MP640 Murcielago going 219 mph on the streets of Phoenix, AZ, you can see that the video isn't that exciting. But, it is well put together.

Let me make several VERY strong statements.

• This is not responsible behavior. It would not have taken much for this Michael Schumacher wannabe to have wiped out himself and several other people. It would not have been pretty.
  
• There is NO time of the day or night that the roads around Atlanta are that empty. Especially in Gwinnett County.
  
• There ARE places where this feat could be replicated during daylight hours with the police looking on and cheering.
  

Is the Silver State Challenge still going on? There used to be an event on public (but CLOSED!!!) roads in Nevada where regular people could run as fast as they dared over a course that had some seriously long and straight sections.

In summation, I think it is great that this guy took his quarter of a million dollars and is playing with it like it should be... but I'm not nuts about it being done on roads that other people (the ones that didn't sign the waiver) are driving on.

If you are one of this guy's car buddies... and you are in the Atlanta area, give me a call. I can find a house where you can hide this car until it is painted...

GarageHomesUSA

What has been in the Lane stable... Cars I've owned

Ok, most of these were prior to me having a digital camera... or prior to digital cameras at all. But, I having been wanting to sit down and write a list of all of the junk I've owned through the years. I'm looking at getting a film scanner, which will allow me to scan the thousands of rolls of film (I'm not kidding) and use more of my own pictures.

So, in no particular order:

1973 Ford Mustang Coupe, Grande (w/ Mach I hood)
1970 Plymouth Satellite Station Wagon... with a big block... and 2 4vs
1965 Shelby Mustang Fastback
1966 Ford Mustang Fastback (my street racer)
1967 Mercury Cougar (with a stick)
1974 Triumph Spitfire
1979 Triumph Spitfire
1985 Dodge Shelby Charger Turbo (my Autocross car)
1985 Toyota MR2
1955 Willys Jeep M38A1
1971 Kaiser Jeepster Commando
1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
1949 Mercury 2 door (chopped of course)
1974 Ford Mustang II
1977 Ford F250 HiBoy (4x4)
2000 Ford F350 (DRW, CC, 4x4)
1977 Dodge Ramcharger 4x4
1985 Subaru Wagon (Turbo)
1984 Subaru Wagon (not Turbo, but drivable)
1995 Saturn SC2
1984 Nissan Kingcab Truck 4x4
1985 Ford Mustang GT
(Does these count? They are/were my wife's)
2001 Dodge Durango SLT 4x4
2005 Chrysler Town & Country Limited
She had a 2000 Jeep Wrangler when we met

So, if you have cars like these moving in and out of your life, and like to have a bunch of toys around, I AM THE real estate agent that knows exactly what you are doealing with. I'd be happy to help you find the right place for your stable. Hit the new site (still constructing...) and give me a shout.

Lend me your "too cool" garage... ok, just tell me about it!

I was going to call this post "A funny thing happened on my way to the Search Engine Results..." and then start it with... I got hijacked. It was one of them long-tailed searches. They sure are sneaky. But, I got hijacked with a different idea, sooo...

I got hijacked. It was one of them long-tailed searches. They sure are sneaky.

This one was called "cool garage toys". Now, if you take a look at my tags, you'll see that I have around 30 posts that mention garages. I have over 100 that involve real estate. One might think that I would get some search engine lovin' for real estate... but, nope. It's all about garages.

Seriously, my top six search terms are all garages. Now, I will say that there is one post I have here that has surpassed all others in contacts... my phone rings twice a week over it, and it is real estate related, but nobody that calls has the $20M to actually do it, and they just want me to tell all of my secrets... but, for the most part, I think that most of my Googling readers are hitting me looking for the grooviest and coolest garage stuff.

Being a tech savvy guy (think Steve Martin's "wild and craaazy guys" line), as well as a garage geek and swift thinking marketer, I have a solution. I want to see YOUR garage. That's right... YOUR garage.

So, being the swifty that I am, after a mere 4 1/2 months, I have figure out that I need to showcase some cool garages. Now, of course this blog isn't the best platform for it, but I do have a real estate and garage website (duh!) that would be perfect.

No charge. No geographical restrictions. No pressure. I'd just like to see some cool garages. I might even be able to put you on the front lines of a cool reward I'm looking to announce in a week or two as well.

The only thing I ask is that they look better than the sad sack I have pictures of here. This is a truly terrible garage. It is clogged with crap, and needs a much better system for storage. I just haven't had the time of money to finish the projects that is clogging it up... Talk to my wife. As soon as she let's me, I will clean it up and turn it into the 26'x24' one car garage it always wanted to be... with attached tool room.

So, comment and send me an email. I'll gladly feature YOUR garage on my website. For the whole world to see. Maybe my wife will stop buying purses long enough for me to do something with my own garage.

Oh yeah... If you need a bigger garage, let me know. I'm in Gwinnett County, GA and also work South Hall and South Forsyth. Furthermore, I have agents all over the country that would love to get a "car people" referral.

Free, Free, FREE... Nifty open source photo editor

So, without getting real wordy about how I came across this (it all has to do with the new website), let me tell you about a cool open source photo-editor I just came across.

It is called the GIMP. That stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. GNU is one of the open source licensing protocols. I guess it would be best summed up as the open source equivalent of PhotoShop.

If you aren't familiar with open source, it is a movement (sorry, but it really is) of mostly software geeks and engineers that create programs and then allow anyone to have them, and anyone that would like to modify the program to pop the hood and dive into the source code. The community makes revisions, as well as hacks and add-ons. (Hacks are modifications). It is really a cool idea, even though the capitalist in me wants to scream "You could be making money".

This isn't my first foray into open source. I use SMF (Simple Machines Forum) to run my real estate forum and the forum for my 4wd club. I also have recently started to use Joomla to build my new website. So far, I have been pretty impressed with each of these products. I will say that many of the open source products don't have the same prettiness as their high dollar counterparts, but they still seem to have the performance.

Floating around this post, you will see the results of a couple of minutes of editing. It didn't take me as long to edit this image as it did to write this post.

Not too bad for something that is free to use, free to upgrade, and I haven't even looked at a manual yet.

Calling one developer... you don't know who you are yet.

I must admit that I was a bit amazed at the reaction to my last post. On Active Rain, it received a Feature within an hour of being posted. It was also one of my most viewed and commented blog entires. I was shocked that the comments weren't closer to the "Are you nuts?" type.

So, just to get one step closer to reality, here is a compromise first step. Let's team up to build houses for a variety of car people. We're out there. There are at least as many of us as there are horse people, maybe even golf people. Ok, maybe there are more people that hit the links on a Saturday than there are building street rods, but you get my point. There are a LOT of folks out here in the world that love cars. Not only do they love cars, but they have more than two or three. Not only do they have more than two or three, but they like to work on them. For many car people, working on the car might involve a lot more than changing the oil in the driveway.

"What can we do with that little nugget, Lane?"

Let me derail you for a moment. Take a look at a couple of posts I tossed out previously.

• First, there is a post about specializing.
  
• Next up, I posted about unique selling propositions.
  
• Lastly, let me once again point out the NAR Buyer's Study saying that over-sized garages place behind only central air-conditioning on buyer's wish lists (sorry, I don't have an NAR link, but here is the post I made about it).

So, buyers want bigger garages, specialists thrive when generalists fail, and in order to sell in a weak climate a unique selling proposition is one of the key weapons. Builders are choking on inventory in many areas, but other spots are selling like hotcakes. Even in a relatively local area, one development can't keep up, and the next can't keep its head above water.

Of course, pricing is one of the things that can make a difference... but so is value. Building what others don't is one way of creating value. If it is building something desirable, it will separate the leader from the pack.

Instead of building houses and needing to give away TVs and 5%+ commissions, why not build something that will draw buyers. There are some unique (and relatively inexpensive) marketing opportunities. Also, the word of mouth could be amazing. Many people in the car culture community are involved in clubs, and word of a development that was geared towards them would spread like wildfire.

You just need the right type of agent to handle the process and get the ball rolling. Let's team up. Contact me for more info.

Let's build a subdivision that will have the buyers lining up... in their coolest cars.

If you lived here, you'd be rock crawling/drag racing/road racing now...

I just answered a question on another board about marketing a drag racing track that is for sale. I just couldn't help but hit a flight of fancy over it. I started to think of some of the unique, but also fairly popular concepts that I have run across over the years.

There are several road racing communities around the country. The basic concept is to take a private track, with nice views, and instead of trying to make money holding races all of the time, turn it into a private club with residences sprinkled throughout. Throw in a paddock, a nice clubhouse and a few other amenities, and it's a country club for race folks. There are plenty of amatuer racers that have a lot of money to play with... it isn't a cheap hobby. For those that are really into their own racers, factoring in track rentals and transportation costs just for test and tune days, and having access to a track in the neighborhood starts to look great.

Now, people that like to turn the wheel aren't the only ones that would enjoy having a local facility to play. There are at least as many folks that enjoy powering something down the track against the clock. One would need to look into the requirements for private events, but there might be some restrictions that would limit the track to 1/8 mile sprints rather than the traditional 1/4 mile bursts. However, a 1/4 mile track could be set up with lights and timing equipment to run both distances. Just think, Saturday morning and one could pull the dragster out of the garage at home, not even load it up on a trailer, but drive it over to the line... and make a few runs.

The final option would be the most original one. A residential rock crawling club... Rock crawling is one of the fastest growing motor sports in the country. Private off-road parks are popping up all over the country. Unlike drag racing and road course racing, rock crawling happens at VERY slow speeds. While one could argue that there is plenty of carnage in rock crawling, or even its faster cousin rock racing, injuries are pretty rare and pretty mild. So, it might be the safest of the three to host in a private facility without safety crews and emergency transportation. Also, because of the nature of the desirable terrain, it could be hosted in a smaller space, or scaled to larger spaces. It could be done with rolling topography or a fairly flat area with arranged obstacles.

Depending on the desires of each of the communities, events or public days could be hosted to offset some of the costs of the facilities. While the amenities would likely be more expensive than all but the most luxurious traditional clubs (golf, tennis and swimming), the extra income flow, as well as the rarity of the facilities/communities would create good value for the home owner's association.

It sure does make for an interesting group of concepts... and looking at the possible demographics, I think that the right developer could create some VERY popular and unique communities. Free press and publicity would be a breeze, too...

Drop in to my new (as in still under development) website. Take a look. Give me a call.

Ahh, relaxed... ok, sorta relaxed

Some people like to watch baseball. Others think that basketball is what makes life worth living. I like things that involve a little more octane. From Thursday (Oct. 4th) through Sunday (Oct. 7th) my 4 wheel drive club ran registration for the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association.

Sunburned, fried, frozen, tired and glad would all be accurate descriptions of the last few days. Temperatures during the day were in the 80s with wonderful (and burning sunshine) and in the 50s at night. We ran registration from 7:00am (I am NOT a morning person) until as late as 11:00pm. It was a great time.

The big ugly tan and black Blazer belongs to a guy named Gabe (a future client). This was during the rock crawl competition. Justin (one of my clients) was his spotter. They did a great job bringing it in 3rd place in the big tire class.

As predicted, I never made it onto the trails... of course, I don't actually have a trail rig right now, while I'm building my Jeepster. However, I did manage to snap a few shots of some interesting hardware. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The "truck" looking thing to the left is an Army M-715. This one is SERIOUSLY beefy, and did quite well in the rock competition.

But, despite the fact that I was busy for the majority of the time, I feel somewhat recharged (I will accept that it isn't the same as a cruise). We talked trucks, travel, and joked with each other. We talked about Tellico (the scene of the trail rides), Moab (the center of the 4wheeling universe) and the Rubicon Trail (the home of the fist Jeepers Jamboree). We talked about friends that couldn't make it up for the weekend, had moved on to other hobbies, or just moved on.

Batteries recharged. Attitude reset. Priorities back to normal. Isn't that what vacations are all about?

X Prize

So, how many of you have heard of this? The X Prize.

Back when I wrote the A-Z series, it was my back up plan for the letter X. Currently, it doesn't have much relevance to real estate, but one day it might.

The original X Prize was $10,000,000 to be awarded to the first entrant to launch a craft in to space, and then turn around and do it again with the same craft within a short period of time. Another current X Prize is for Genomics.

The X Prize that grabbed my attention is the Automotive X Prize. The basics involve developing a car that is capable of at least 100mpg, can carry 4 people, and emit under a certain amount of pollution... and it has to be marketable to real people. No carbon fiber, $1M concept cars that look like a cross between a VW Bus and a bar of soap. Think about something more like an accord that has some evolved technology and can be sold for under $30k. I've even decided how I think it might be possible...

"But, this relates to real estate how?"

I'd love to see an X Prize that involved low cost building designs for developing countries. Of course, I'd like to see this developed in a manner that it could positively impact local economies, providing jobs and profits...

Just a thought... and this isn't what I would do with the money.

It's about the garage!

I just had the opportunity to wander through the October issue of REALTOR(R) magazine. Cars and Cable caught my eye (pg. 14). As I had previously mentioned in a blog post in July, oversized garages made a pretty good showing. Second place.

Now, before you go gloating about second place, keep in mind that first place was central air conditioning... which is pretty tough to beat, and almost everything on the market is already equipped. Also notable is that garages moved up from 5th place in the last survey (2004). And it is a HUGE jump. A full 56% of buyers said they were ready to spend premium money for an oversized garage this year, vs. only 6% in 2004.

Sure, SUVs have contributed to the desire to have a larger garage, but we have a car-centric culture. Americans LOVE their cars. And we love having a lot of them. And... we want to park them inside.

I'm not surprised... I'm just ahead of the curve.

When you are ready to step up to a big garage in Gwinnett County, I am the REALTOR(R) that knows garages AND houses.

Looking forward to a little camping!

You heard it. At the end of the week, I'll be off to the wilds to do a little camping. While it isn't as much of an outdoor experience as some, it is a nice place to get away. That also means that I won't have new posts up Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Southern Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA) has their 21st Annual Dixie Run outside of Murphy, NC in the Tellico OHV area. I don't think I will even get to fourwheel this year (not really that unusual), since I will be spending most of my time in the registration area. However, my phone won't have service, and I won't be reachable from Atlanta for a couple of days.

BTW, that Yellow Jeepster isn't mine. It is cool though. He has a TJ Wrangler suspension under it, and it is quite clean. Quite a few people didn't notice how modified it really was.

So, it will be three days in a tent for me... and several hundred of my "closest personal friends."

However, if someone has a camper they want to loan me from Thursday through Monday, I might be willing to take you up on it. I guess I really am getting old.

Nothing, nothing, nothing... Jet blast!

I used to have a favorite writer named Satch Carlson. He wrote for Autoweek Magazine back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had a statement that I have found to be prophetically true...

He was talking about the heater controls in an old truck. The fans speeds were "nothing, nothing, nothing and jet blast." How true is that?

I'm not talking about blower motors in old trucks right now, but rather life. Have you noticed that things never move along at an even pace? It seems like things sit for a while and then...

BANG.

But, I kind of like it... I like the slow times. I get to play with my son, and work on the Jeep. I like the frantic times too. I like rushing around, looking for the most efficient path. And then it is back to the slower pace. I can look back at the insanity and see how I can do better next time.

I guess if I just sat around waiting, I'd go crazy. Of course, if it weren't for the lulls... I'd go crazy, too.

My wife thinks I have a little cabin deep in crazy. She thinks she can already send me mail there...

Enjoy things for what they are.

Can I call a moving company for content?

I have taken a step. In a few weeks, I'll be making a big change in my real estate career. I'm not ready to announce it yet, but one of the parts is an all new website. Because of the HUGE amount of content I have created do to blogging... and blogging here, I have a LOT of content to put into a site. So, I decided to jump into the world of CMS. I finally was able to set up a test with Joomla, and I think I am really going to like this.

While I know that I probably should hire someone to handle my website, I'm not going to... :P

I will be hiring a designer to build a custom template, and possibly also to design a new logo and some other portions for the new business plan, I will remain the one responsible for content and implementation. Because I know that I will be updating and adding content frequently (if I migrate my blog to this platform, it will be updated almost daily), I know that I have to learn how to handle some of these responsibilities.

In the mean time, I just realized that I will be migrating a SERIOUS load of content. I have 125 blog posts here. Many of those posts are suitable as articles and content on my new site. That is a LOT of stuff to get set up and categorized on the new site.

Don't worry, updates and progress reports will appear here first.

Shhh... Can you keep a secret?

This is a serious work in progress.

Three days ago, I didn't know anything about Joomla. I got past the installation, and started populating with content. The first thing on the agenda is getting all of the articles and pertinent blog posts migrated (copied) to the new site as well as put meta tags and descriptions on them.

While all of this is going on, I am having to design menus and figure out the best way to organize the content. The organization has to intuitive for a user that doesn't know what might be there. I think that the organization is the toughest part of this.

So, if you want to play along, feel free to drop in. If you are on in the evening, you might even see the site change around you while you are there. Buttons will pop up on menus. Themes will change. Content will show up... and then move.

It certainly isn't "live" for public consumption, but for those that like watching races just to see wrecks... this might be fun... and it will last for weeks.

More Groovy Cool Garage Stuff...

Last week I posted up a couple of entires about cool garage stuff. One of the items was a fridge make-over kit that seems to have disappeared. While trying to find it again, I wandered over to Northern Tool's website. I was pretty sure I had found the fridge kit there previously, but it wasn't there... but there was some more cool stuff I couldn't just pass by.

Need a cool drink? Of course, don't forget a cool opener for your beverages. And, if you need to mix your drinks, don't rely on spotty, weak electrical power... power your blender with GAS.

Of course, no self-respecting garage geek would be proud of an undecorated garage. We decorate the every other room in the house... why not get a little decor for the garage, too. Drag racing Christmas tree lights, or cool neon would be a great addition. Maybe a racing hood would be cool. BTW, Northern Tool has a great series of ads that are all guy-centric. These hoods have the tag lines from some of their ads.

Of course, don't forget that you also need to store things on shelves, as well as have a little hanging room for welding helmets and jackets, as well as some of those other clothes that really don't need to come into the rest of the house.

Enjoy.

Now let's try some cool garage stuff that won't break the bank

In the last post, I highlighted a few really cool items. Now, I'm going to move the other way and look at some cheap (but still cool) stuff. Of course, I think that the most links I've come across have been regarding tool storage. And, tool storage is a biggie. Personally, I have two bottom boxes (rollers). One is a Craftsman box that I've had for years, and the other is a US General (Harbor Freight) box. The Craftsman is a 26" wide box. It has roller bearings and such. The current cost of the box is about $500. The US General box is a 45" wide box. It also has roller bearings. The regular price is $500, it is usually on sale for $400, and you can find coupons on the net to drive the price down by 10%, 15% or even (rarely now) 20%. I paid $320 + tax for mine. I think I will probably pick up a couple more of these in the next year or two, and use them as my primary cabinet.

Another Harbor Freight find is their powder coating oven. The two big options here are to buy a dedicated oven, or renovate your kitchen, and re-utilize some appliances. I would also like to mention that if you are using an oven to powder coat, don't use it for food...

Continuing the thought about renovating the kitchen, I know more than one person with a dedicated dishwasher in the garage... and it isn't for dishes... and if any of the items that ran through them made it into the kitchen, there would be a bigger mess. I don't know what they are using to clean with, but I do know there are things that can be cleaned with water and then (compressed) air dried.

Now, if we are going to have appliances, we can have cool appliances. You might get a small fridge that looks like a tool box, for about $300. For closer to $1000, one might look into a full sized, garage styled and built refrigerator. Whirlpool has their Garageworks Gladiator line. I should mention that they incorporate a few different technologies than what is used for an inside fridge. These are designed to work in a wider range of ambient temperatures. They also look cool with their other GarageWorks stuff.

At this point, I was going to insert another nifty product I ran across from TooCoolKits... but the domain is parked and inactive. They made covers that were attached to an older fridge and made it look like a tool box or old gas pump. They weren't supper cheap, but they were a lot less than the cost of a new fridge... that doesn't look like a tool box or an old gas pump.

So... there is your million dollar idea for the day. Make replacement panels for refrigerators to make them look like tool boxes.

Where is the cool garage stuff?

I need to find more cool garage stuff. So, off to Google I go... hhm..

I try to type in cool garage toys to see if I can come up with... cool garage toys, or at least some websites about cool garage toys. What did I get? Number one was watches. Watches. This is an organic result. Ok, I can move on. Boy, there are a lot of garage sales with cool toys... Poo. I better change it out.

Let's alter the search and try cool garage stuff. I like stuff... especially cool stuff for the garage. Wow. I thought there were a lot of garage sales before. Craigslist seems to own cool garage stuff. The other popular result had to do with garage bands... Cool cars belong in cool garages, not bands.

I did run across Coker Tire. They make new old tires. If you need a period correct tire for your resto project, these are the people to talk to. Whether you need Red Lines for a muscle car, or a set of tires for your Model T, they will have them.

Ok, I guess I need to be more specific. Let's try cool garage tools. Google gave me cool tools: garage sale maps. There was a link to some SERIOUSLY boring stuff that Popular Science was hawking. Oh wait... this isn't a tool, but it involves tools, and would live in a garage (yep, I'm not going to say what it is, just go look). after digging back a few pages, I was able to find a ratcheting breaker bar that can handle 376 lbs/ft of torque. Then I hit another site. While I really like diamond plate... I think this is going a little too far.

But, linking back from there I came across the vendor, car guy garage. There is some pretty cool storage stuff there. The pic at right gives you an idea of what $3200 and change will get you. Of course, if you want to buy more cool, there is always a refrigerator. They have these in several styles for around $3400. Expensive, but cool costs money, right? Of course, a real garage geek will have a LOT of tools that need a home... so, here is a nice option... for about $7500.

Keep in mind that I haven't used these guys (yet). Boy, it look a lot of surfing to find what I was looking for, but I was able to come across some more stuff. I will admit I have found plenty of options for tool storage. I'm always on the lookout for cool stuff for the garage.

U is for Ultimate

Ultimate. There is a loaded word. For me, it brings to mind a 3,000 square foot garage with high performance floor coatings, a pair of lifts, a dedicated welding bay, loads of tool storage, a kicking HVAC system, and compressed air available in each work space. Of course, there would be a trolley system to move heavy junk (I like heavy junk), and workbenches that could handle the weight of Dana 60 axles and engines.

For someone else, ultimate might mean a darkroom in the basement with a 12 foot sink, and the capability of printing 4x5 negatives to 20x24 prints. Of course there would also be great ventilation and a sound system to let the user jam out while printing.

For our third person, ultimate might mean a play area in the yard that would make both McDonalds and the local county park jealous. There would be a pirate ship and a space ship. Swings, slides and an obstacle course would just have to be there.

Maybe ultimate could be a master bath worthy of a fine spa. Imagine relaxing in the jetted tub with soft music and filtered light. Candles providing a warm atmosphere and wonderful aroma.

Ultimate could also mean a commercial worthy kitchen. High performance refrigeration that keeps temperatures steady with but a single degree of variance, six burner stove and double ovens. Maybe it means a dedicated griddle on the stove for eggs and pancakes in the morning. Granite, stainless steel or even concrete counter tops might also be in the picture.

For yet another person, ultimate might mean a media room that makes all of your friends want you to have a movie night on Saturday, and a football afternoon on Sunday. A wall of video, and a virtual wall of surround sound. More definition that Webster, and recliner for every viewer might be part of that ultimate package.

What is the point of all of these descriptions? I would guess that almost every reader has a slightly different take on "Ultimate" to meet their personal needs. I have one view, my wife another, and my three year old son would have yet another. An Ultimate House will be even more personal than your favorite place to eat.

I'd love to hear about YOUR ultimate house. What makes it the supreme place for you to be (or want to be)? And, when you decide you need to find that ultimate house, let me know. We'll find it for you.

G is for Garage

Could it really be about anything else? I am a garage specialist, so of course not.

First, let's get this out of the way. Single car garages are made to store lawn tools and maybe a motorcycle. Two car garages are the minimum an auto enthusiast would consider. Three car garages are starting to get there. When you have indoor parking suitable for six or more, you are in the zone.

Let's talk about attached vs. detached garages.

I recommend both (why can't I put a smiley here?). But, seriously, having both is great. In fact, I'd call it essential if one is going to do much serious work. From both safety and comfort standpoints, the detached garage is better for hard working spaces. Air compressors and tools make a lot of noise. Welders and grinders make dust and sparks. None of these are things that really belong in the house. Also, there are increased fire hazards from welding, plasma cutting, grinding and using torches.

But, the great thing about an attached garage is the convenience. It's right there. No walking in the rain to get to the garage. So, I recommend that enthusiasts have one of each. The daily drivers and the lawn equipment go in the attached garage, and the play toys go in the real garage. All of the heavy tools and heavy work are kept away from the house.

What about style?

For resale, or to keep from running afoul of the Home Owner's association in some communities, it is generally better to keep the architectural style of the garage similar to the home. While there are some exceptions, having a similar style keeps the flow more natural. This is especially true when the detached garage is close to the house. If they are not close, then it doesn't matter nearly as much. However, a steel building will not add as much value (or cost as much) as a matching brick or sided building.

What does an enthusiast want in the garage?

This is a VERY tough question, because different people will have different usages planned for their space. Here is a list of possibilities:

Lots of power available, both 120V and 220V. If there will be a lot of fab work, 220V might be needed for an air compressor, welder, plasma cutter, lift and other high power consuming tools.

Space. We all need space. Floor space, loft space, attic space, shelf space... getting the idea?

Light... lots of light.

HVAC. It gets hot and cold out there. Insulation, too.

A man door. Opening a large garage door to walk in and out allows a lot of heated or cooled air to escape. (I didn't make up the name, and women are allowed to use the same door... a standard sized door is referred to in the biz as a man door)

Nice floor. For those not welding or torching, an epoxy floor might be perfect. Welding a torching will kill that type of floor, but the concrete should still be sealed.

Air Compressor shed. Those things can be loud. Having the shop plumbed for compressed air is a great bonus.

Plumbing. At the very least, there needs to be a sink. A bathroom with a toilet is also handy for a detached garage. A shower would also be nice.

A seriously beefy workbench. And if it has enclosed storage, that is a HUGE bonus. It makes clean-up a breeze.

A little more Moab, with a few friends...

Meet Pat Johnson of the blue CJ. This poor guy is often my road trip companion. This particular picture was on one of our Moab trips. If you look at the Moab, My Happy Place post, you'll see the tow rig dragging our toys out there. Here is Pat playing in the "Wedgie" on the Poison Spider Mesa trail. It started as a great day, and ended as a great story.

Poison Spider Mesa leads to a trail called the Golden Spike. That connects to a trail called Gold Bar Rim. That combo is generally an all day affair. It took us a little longer.

As I mentioned, everything started out great, but then we started having a few problems. We had five Jeeps in the morning. The first Jeep exploded a lock-out. He had a spare and was soon on his way again. The second Jeep had a serious case of angle issues with the carb. It kept getting worse, and he decided to turn back. The driver of the Jeep with the previously blown hub agreed to accompany him out. I wish I had a transcript of the CB conversation between those two on the way out. We could hear them all of the way into town.

Next up is Patrick Bennett of the olive CJ. He has built a VERY cool Jeep, but this day was not to be great for the Jeep. A short while after this picture, the power steering pump gave up its long fight. And then, an over-extended driveshaft caused further delay. In both cases, we were able to get everything back together and moving along.

Because of the delays, we hit on if the more famous obstacles on the Golden Spike at the most beautiful time of day, that golden light just before sunset. The problem is that it takes about five hours to drive back out to paved roads. That means that four hours is done after dark... and it was REALLY dark. Even with extra lighting, finding the trail markers became a challenge on the slickrock. In fact, it was enough of a challenge that our only passenger, Pat Johnson's wife Helen, had to walk in front of out little three Jeep caravan with a flashlight, searching for the trail markers. These faded markers were painted every few hundred feet, but were difficult to see with headlights. A wrong turn could lead to a disaster. At one point, we were on the end of a point. One way lead down a series of steps along the trail. The other lead over a 300 foot cliff. They looked the same from the driver's seat by headlight. Add an extra hour to only drive at walking speed.

We seriously considered camping for the night. Despite the daytime temperatures in the 90s and higher, nighttime temperatures were in the 50s. We took an inventory of our stores... several bottles of water, tarps, and a single "Lunchable" left over from lunch. We also had a few small bags of chips, and a couple of granola bars.

We decided to keep going.

After a little hiking at an intersection, we were soon on our way down the Gold Bar Rim trail. We were almost home free. The one problem we still faced was that Gold Bar Rim empties out into a valley that is criss-crossed with sand wash roads. It is also still 15 miles or so from pavement. It was dark. there were no signs, and none of us had run this particular trail before.

Referencing a map and a GPS, we determined the general direction to the exit of the canyon. I had run another trail in the area three years before on a previous trip.

We managed to find our way back to the pavement, and eventually to the condo. We had started on the trail around 10am, and finished the day at 2am. It was rough. But, all in all, it has been a great story to re-live every so often around a campfire. I've been back since then, and plan on going again before too long.

Atlanta Area Motosports Calendar

We have recently set up a Motorsports Calendar for Atlanta area events. Not only do we have big events like the NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor speedway and the NHRA Nationals at Commerce, but we also have local SCCA events, as well as Legends races and other amateur events at various venues around town.

Here is a direct link to the calendar.

If you or your club host an event that you would like included, such as a competition event, show and shine or even a club meeting, please feel free to let us know. We'll happily post your event on our Atlanta area Motorsports Calendar.

Mud Bogs, Drags, Solos, etc. are all welcome to be posted.

We do ask that you send a short blurb about the event, which we will post, along with any relevant contact info, in a link from the calendar entry.