He used his own image in ads and brochures, so by that time my grandfather (ever the self-promoter) had made a name for himself in the industry. To introduce his new product line, he decided to create a marketing campaign based on two generations of our family. The ads would have a double meaning. He chose me to be featured in the ads with him.

With the promise of a new catcher’s mitt upon completion, I had my first (and only) modeling job. It was a neat opportunity and an experience with my grandfather that I’ll always treasure.

The photos were used in brochures and full page ads that were run in all the trade magazines. After that, my grandfather and dad would bring me to tradeshows and have me talk to customers while operating the brake (which I was pretty good at, as long as I was only using 12″ long pieces) in order to demonstrate how easy it was to use. That experience proved to be invaluable when I was much older and working as a Regional Sales Manager for the company. I was able to operate the brake better than any of my sales reps. At 8 years old, in my mind I was famous!

(Click for a lot more detail)

Side Note: When attending a tradeshow or convention, to promote himself, my grandfather would always have himself paged over the loudspeakers, “Windy Marsh from Tapco please pick up a white courtesy phone. Windy Marsh, pick up a white courtesy phone.” To this day, I still think that’s brilliant.

Okay, back on track. As a warning, My Maps is like crack. It’s a simple concept; it just allows you to overlay your own markers on top of Google maps. Between this afternoon and now (2 a.m.), I’ve burned up like 6 hours on this thing. Using the satellite imagery of my hometown in Michigan, I’ve overlayed some (140+) of my childhood memories over it. I tried to be entertaining in my comments and there are some hidden gems about my psyche in there.

Without further adieu, I present to you my hometown map. Use the navigation panel on the left. There are three pages of points of interest.

(Click to Enlarge)

I’ve been trying to locate a Silicon Graphics Indigo for a couple of months now. I’d like to have one as a “show piece” since I used one a decent amount a while ago. I’m sure Joshua remembers it well. I believe the one we had cost more than twenty thousand dollars when it was new (in 1993). I’ve seen some on ebay in pretty poor condition go for like twenty dollars lately. I’d like a nice one, though.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I like ebay’s feature which lets you retrieve a pre-defined search via RSS. It’s helpful.

Group B racing, for better or for worse, was my inspiration to venture across the steet from high school to bomb down Reid Rd. On my trip to Michigan this summer, I was going to take another run down it, but they’ve closed it off apparently since there were a few deaths at the unsignaled train crossing and in the swamps surrounding the tight, curvy, gravel road. But to a seventeen year old like me, it was an automotive playground.

A Group B racing video I found on YouTube:

86 Years Later

(Click to Enlarge)

For as long as I can remember, besides using his own image in brochures and his nickname for product names, my grandfather used the Tapco logo on all sorts of promotional items: watches, pens, pencils, notepads, tape measures, shirts, pants, hats, jackets, money clips, pocket calculators, and pocket knives amongst other things I can’t recall. If you can name it, there was probably a version made adorned with the Tapco logo. For so long, my life was inundated with all things Tapco. It even seemed that my grandfather’s wardrobe was entirely furnished by Tapco. It was both silly and brilliant at the same time.

The Tapco Logo – Known internally as “The dancing letters”

For more than 30 years, at trade shows, he’d wear a bright green sport coat (the company’s color) that he would tell people was “money green”. People began to stop by our booth at shows just to meet him or shake his hand. Because Tapco’s tools were entirely mechanical, we were particularly popular with the Amish.

One time, while I was traveling with the area sales rep in south-eastern Ohio, the rep and I stopped at an Amish bakery which sold hand-made outdoor furniture in addition to baked goods. While he was inside buying a pie, I waited outdoors by the furniture. A salesperson approached me and asked if I needed any help. He noticed the Tapco logo on my shirt (see what I’m saying?) and said, “Tapco, huh?” I said, “Yes, it’s the company I work for.” The salesperson replied, “Do you know Windy Marsh?”

When my grandfather died, I wanted to create the design for his headstone in order to honor his memory in two ways. First, was by having a headstone that would standout amongst the others, like he did in a crowd. Secondly, with the kind of “brand recognition” he had, I wanted to keep his name and his company’s logo linked. The granite has a greenish hue to it, but we couldn’t get anything approching the color of “money green”. I also wanted to make each letter a separate piece, but the headstone company said it would lead to it being vandalized. Here’s the resulting design:

(Click to Enlarge)

It definitely stands out.

(Click to Enlarge)

Jack asked why I’ve never posted about my Geo Storm. The reason is because the Geo brand became the butt of jokes almost from the time it was conceived. So yes, I had a Geo Storm. I had a loud exhaust on it with a custom built header (I was ahead of the curve on the import thing), tinted windows, and I Iiked it. So what. Move along.

So many people came by my office to snack on them, that in addition to buying soda for the office, the receptionist began buying community animal crackers to keep in the kitchen. Ironically, this practiced stopped soon after I left, along with the end of discounted soda. I heard it was due to budget constraints, but I don’t know if that’s true or not since saving $100 in a month or so doesn’t seem like it would have that much impact on the bottom line.

I can’t say that I’m surprised by their filing; I saw the writing on the wall ten years ago. That was the same time I stopped buying $25,000 SGI workstations to run Pro/Engineer and began buying $6,000 Pentium Pro 200’s with Elsa OpenGL cards. Granted, RealityEngine2 graphics were still better than that Elsa card at the time, but not so much better that it didn’t warrant saving more than 75% on the workstation.

The long term outlook doesn’t look good for SGI. I can’t imagine where they can position themselves in a market of cheap, powerful computers with amazing graphics. It seems like their niche has evaporated.

One more pic below of their cool Onyx 300 with InfinateReality3 Graphics:

We got the chance to speak to him a little bit after the show and not surprisingly we knew some of the same people. Apparently I went to school grades 3-12 with the girl that he lost his virginity to. I even remember her beating up a male classmate in fifth grade. What a small world.

He’s a great comic. I recommend seeing him when he comes to somewhere by you.

Our family used to own a house in a development not too far from Orlando, just outside the town of Haines City in the Golf and Tennis resort known as Grenelefe. We owned the house from the time I was fifteen (1986) until I was twenty-seven (1998). It was a nice place to spend time with our family and with friends after I graduated high school and as a young adult. I also used it several times as a “home base” during Sprink Break. My wife and I even spent some time there on our honeymoon. In 1997, when I was a Regional Sales Manager, we flew in our sales representatives and had our national sales meeting and a golfing event.

Our house was (and is still) on the fairway of the fifth hole on the “South Course”. In the 70’s and 80’s the development was a booming success, but when I was there in 1997 for the sales meeting, the resort was looking a little tattered and it was evident that the club was on the downward slope. All the new devlopment in the general area was happening in and around Orlando, not 30 miles Southwest of it.

We sold our house in 1997 to the man who had been the CFO of our company for thirty years. He still lives there today and sent us some photos of Grenelefe’s legendary “West Course”. This course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1971. It’s 7,301 yards from the back tees, was formerly used for PGA Tour Qualifying (”Q”) School, and was voted the top Florida golf course six times by Golfweek Magazine. Below are the photos he sent:

The West Course #5 Fairway (Click to Enlarge)

The West Course #18 Fairway (Click to Enlarge)

From what I understand, the courses were damaged after the hurricanes of 2004 and the West and East Courses have since fallen into complete disrepair. They have not yet re-opened for play. After seeing these photos, I don’t think they’ll ever be available to be played again without investing millions of dollars. The conference center and spa facilities were also significantly damaged and left un-repaired. I wonder how long will it be before the South Course closes, also?

There are a lot of houses and condominiums on those three courses; will it just be a ghost town?

I would link Grenelefe’s website, but it seems they couldn’t even afford to keep the domain registration and someone is squatting on the domain.

UPDATE: After some research, it appears that the development’s Japanese owners filed for Chapter 7 in February 2002 and almost everyone was laid off. A timeshare developer (with whom I have a funny story about that I’ll post later) bought it not long after at public auction for $12.75 million, but has yet to renovate anything.

My boys, John and Will.

My grandfather, sport fishing in Aculpulco in December of 1969.

My wife and I at Jimmy’s first wedding.

Our Swiss military Pinzgauer.

My brother and I when we were very little.

My sister.

A saguaro cactus near my house here.

Jimmy with the trademarked I’m so cool^TM look.

Me holding my little girl, Julia when she was first born.

A view across the lake at the ranch.

It’s hard to tell, but there is a snowmobile buried in about three feet of powder here.

The logo of our family business that we sold, where I worked for nine years.

My friend Rob on the bridge of the U.S.S. Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The dirt bike I like to ride when I go to the ranch.

A hood scoop of a 1957 Chevy with dual quads at the Barrett-Jackson auction in 2000.

Do you remember where you were when the verdict was read?

Is O.J. any closer to finding the real killers?

So what kind of amazing vehicle is this, you ask? A 1983 Mustang GT. Go ahead, purge the contents of your stomach if you need to. I understand. Nowadays, I’m not much of a fan of early Fox body Mustangs either, it’s just that this car has a lot of sentimental value. I got the idea for this whole project from my friend, Rob, who suggested that since I talk about it so much, I should buy it and restore it.

I’ve been giving it some real thought. Here are the major obstacles as I see them: The car has been sitting for at least five years, outside, I assume uncovered, in Michigan. Because the car is a post 1967 vehicle, when streetable, in order to be licensed in Arizona, it has to pass emissions. Lastly, just getting it back here may be difficult. I’m assuming I’m going to need to borrow a friend’s 2-axle car trailer, install a winch on it (the car will probably need to be winched onto the trailer) and go retrieve the car.

I had originally thought that maybe I’d buy a Roush 427R small block crate motor. Then I remembered the thing about emissions. The 427R is a carbureted race engine. Even with cats on it, I would be extremely surprised if it would pass emissions. It’s probably not worth gambling with the $14k that the engine costs. I think I’ve decided on try to locate a supercharged 4.6L DOHC motor out of a 2003-2004 Mustang SVT Cobra, rebuilding the bottom end, upgrading the fuel delivery system, cranking up the boost and stuffing it under the hood. It’s been done before. I figure it should be good for 550-600 HP. That will necessitate some extra chassis bracing courtesy of Kenny Brown Performance, in addition to the Wolfe RaceCraft 6-point roll cage that I was already planning.

I want to make a fast, great handling street-rod type car out of this. I’m not looking to make a drag car like so many Mustang owners. I would like to put 19″ or 20″ diameter wheels on it with something like P315’s (or slightly wider) on the rear. In order to accommodate those large meats on the back, I’m going to have to do a mini-tub. Normally, a tub is performed to fit large drag slicks or drag radials. I’m just trying to get enough room to fit some large low-profile street tires

I also think I may do some body-mods, but I’m not sure what yet. I’d like to get a CAD drawing of the outside of the car so I can experiment.

Lastly, for the suspension. I’m going to put an air suspension on it. No, not the stupid bouncing car type of air suspension. A suspension that let’s me adjust the ride height by application. Air Ride Technologies makes a kit for older Mustangs.

Here is a photo of Jimmy’s Mustang (the grey one) when it was still in good condition (circa 1992). The one on the right was a ‘66 that he also used to own and the one on the left was a rental in which he drove home from Florida at break-neck speed.

(Click to Enlarge)

I stopped by one of the many Starbucks Coffee’s by my house today and amongst some other people who I knew, I saw the former president of the company I work for (he resigned almost a year and half ago). We exchanged greetings and he said “hey, I heard something about you” obviously referencing that he heard that I had resigned. I told him the situation and how I had agreed to stay three additional months to see if things can change. He ended our brief conversation by telling me that if I ever do leave the company to call him because he may have something for me.

That was nice. It’s always nice to feel like you’re in demand. If I do leave, there are some business ideas I’ve been kicking around in my head for the past five years that I’ll probably explore. My Great Grandfather and Grandfather were entrepreneurs and my dad is a great business man who grew the businesses they started into a large empire. It seems the entrepreneurial spirit is in my blood. When I moved to Arizona I got involved with some people who were starting an Internet business that ultimately failed (what a surprise, huh). I took a lot away from that experience related people and myself. Let’s hope #2 is the charm.

• Yes – Owner of a Lonely Heart: Sitting in my bedroom recording Kasey Kasem’s America’s Top 40 Countdown to cassette using my crappy Fisher tape deck.
• Quiet Riot – Cum on Feel the Noize: Standing outside the gymnasium at my junior high ready to go into the dance while wearing my grey parachute pants and a fingerless glove on one hand. God, admitting that is more embarrassing than Shane singing “Honestly” by Stryper.
• Escape Club – Wild Wild West: Dancing with Jamey at her senior homecoming. I still like the blue dress that she wore, but I have lost my fondness for BIG hair since.

I don’t really want to go back to Michigan. I would rather bring people here to visit. You make the call: Detroit or Scottsdale?

Its features weren’t ground breaking from a server OS standpoint, but the way they were implemented was. I was 22, and up until that point I had been dinking around with Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Unix (SGI’s IRIX), and Novell. Here are my memories of each:

• Window for Workgroups – I will always have a special place in my heart for WfWG 3.11. This was the first OS that I setup a network with. I used ThinNet (802.3) for the wiring, which in the end didn’t end up being too scalable. I used the built-in Microsoft Mail for e-mail. I thought that was so cool, but after using it a little more I ended up wishing for a server.
• IRIX 5.1.1 – Ahh, the SGI. When we got these, they were also connected to the network via ThinNet. These machines (Indigo) were amazing for the time. They could spin a shaded and lit CAD model at 1280×1024 in real-time! In 1993! Joshua had some exposure to these machines when we worked together, also. The compiler was extra cost that we didn’t spring for so every time I needed something compiled I would have to e-mail it (not an easy task at the time) to our VAR, Rand Technologies. My disdain for the complexity of Unix-based systems was born from working on these amazing machines.
• Novell – My experience with Novell was pretty limited. It was a very capable OS but I knew there had to be a better way than using the command prompt for everything (sorry Linux users).

With Windows NT, I was amazed at how easy it was to perform what used to be difficult administrative tasks with other OS’s. The criticism from the elites began immediately; all the same crap you hear today from the Linux zealots. I liked the OS a lot. When I was a developer and even now as an admin, I like it when complicated things are made easier (go figure). I ended up uninstalling that first version of Windows NT because it ran just too slow. It wasn’t until Windows NT 3.5 that I became a permanent convert (Joshua and his brother helped me climb all around and under the office to run Cat. 5 around that time, too). Version 3.5 was much better optimized from a performance standpoint than its predecessor.

That OS made a real impression on me as a young man. An impression that still impacts me today. Many improvements have been made in Microsoft’s Server OS over the years, and today I still swear by it. Scott’s right, every year the Linux zealots and their minions in the press declare that now is the time that Linux is going to kick the crap out of Windows. Every year I install Linux to make sure the world isn’t passing me by and prove to myself that it isn’t.