McCafferty Ford 50th anniversary

The above video was created in 2004 to celebrate
the 50th anniversary of the founding of
McCafferty Ford, Langhorne, PA
by my father, Charles F. McCafferty
his brother Joe McCafferty
and Joe Foster,
in 1954.

Fill 'er up!

Sixty One bucks
for a tank of gas?

$3.96 per gallon, premium.

Yikes!

Dad's page

See Dad's page at
http://michaelmccafferty.com/Dad.htm

At home again, in the Fortress of Solitude

After 10 days of sickness, death and burial
in the rain and cold of Philadelphia,
I am home again
in my Fortress of Solitude,
my castle by the sea,
Mikie's Fun House, version 4.0

The weather is perfect,
early Spring, warm sunshine, high scattered clouds,
light winds from the southwest.
The sounds of the surf were far away,
it was a New Moon low tide.

I woke this morning in my own bed,
instead of a hotel.
I had my own food for breakfast.
I got back on the treadmill,
and did the full exercise routine.

My being rejoiced at the relief of stress.

Obituary: The Passing of The Patriarch, my father

McCafferty, Charles F. Sr. "Bud", March 27, 2008, age 92 years, Patriarch of the McCafferty Clan of Philadelphia, with ancestors from Doon Well, County Donegal Ireland. Born in West Philly in Our Lady of Sorrows Parish on August 19, 1915. Graduate of North Catholic High School, class of 1932. Married Verna Marie Meier of Philadelphia on April Fools Day, 1940.

After training at Sheepshead Bay, NY, served during WWII in the United States Merchant Marine, enduring the rigors of the high seas, delivering war materiel in support of the Allies, sailing the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean, from Brazil to Russia, and points in between, in the engine rooms of defenseless cargo ships, hunted by wolf packs of Nazi U-boats, while his bride and two young sons prayed at home for his safe return. The prayers worked. Many were not as fortunate, paying the ultimate price for our freedom. (Can we ever say "Thank You" enough?)

After the war he worked for John B. White Ford and subsequently founded McCafferty Ford in Langhorne in 1954. Attended University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. Recently of Blue Bell, PA and formerly of Glenside, PA.. Beloved Husband of the late Verna M. (nee Meier). Loving father of Charles F.Jr. "Bud" (Linda), F. Michael, Verna Walters, Kathleen Bean (Zenas), James (Barbara) and Eileen Koolpe (the late Harvey) also survived by 15 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Additionally survived by his late model, low mileage Ford Taurus, currently available for purchase (call 856-628-1065 for info). Funeral Mass Monday 11:00 AM Our Lady of Grace Church 225 Bellevue Ave., Penndel. Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing at the church Monday after 10:00 AM. Interment: Our Lady of Grace Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Charles F. and Verna M. McCafferty Memorial Scholarship Fund at the La Salle College High School,. 8605 Cheltenham Ave. Wyndmoor, PA 19038.

Verna and Bud, seen here plotting their next adventures, while on a walk among the trees, near their home. Photo taken during the week of their 84th and 85th birthdays, respectively, August 2000.

Having accepted the mission of securing a banana for the fruit salad, this young (mid twenties), impetuous couple eloped by stepping away from the preparations of a dinner with the parents
and drove through the night in their tired, 60hp '37 Ford coupe to Warrenton, Virginia and were married. The day was Monday, April 1, 1940, April Fools Day. They remained partners in marriage for 64 years, until the passing of Verna on October 19, 2004.

Time Well Spent: Stroke of Insight

Whosoever may happen upon these words
will be rewarded by venturing further
and clicking this link
to view this 15 minute video sponsored by TED
of the experience of a neuroanatomist
who experiences her own stroke,
and how it changed her life,
and how it may also change yours:

Home Improvements: The Wall

One single project has been on my list
for all of the last four years I have lived here.
And today, just this minute,
I put the finishing touches on it.
My work is done.

May I present: The Wall



My collection of pool trophies is
displayed at the far right of the line of bookcases,
closest to the chair where the pool opponent sits
and waits for his shot,
with plenty of time to let all those wins sink in...
(I know, it's evil, isn't it... Mwahahahahaha!)
(click for evil laugh)

To the left of the trophies
is the shelf of my favorite billiard books,
but there's lots more in the billiard library
on the shelves out of sight, under the pool table.

It's good to be finished with this key project.
Now I can more fully concentrate on my game.

How is it possible that this project
went undone for four years?
Pool.
It was right after I moved in here
that I took up the game of pool,
and that pretty much put almost everything else
on hold for all this time.
Now, since I hurt my shoulder last summer,
I've had some time to take care of stuff.
And now that all (most) of my stuff is done,
I'm really looking forward to getting back
into the game.

The bookcases are from Levenger.
The paint is 3 coats of Yellow Brick Road by Behr,
with an eggshell finish.

Around the mirror, left to right:
1. First airplane solo, April 17, 1965
2. First glider solo, April 17, 1994
3. Signatures of all who built my first biplane, 1993
4. Second First airplane solo (biplane), Nov 18, 1993
5. Inc 500, 1991
6. Seaplane rating
7. Multi-engine airplane rating
8. Instrument airplane rating
9. Inc 500, 1992
10. Photo of the first biplane, roll out day 1993.
11. Papal Apostolic Blessing, 1992
12. Airshow exemption, Duxford, UK, 1997

Pancake Breakfast Tradition Continues

Alex and Joni showed up in
matching Mikie's Fun House t-shirts
for their special Fun House pancake breakfast.

This photo was taken after the first helping,
and before the second.
That's the sort of smiles you get when
I create my special Fun House pancakes,
with veggie sausage, Amy's ketchup,
Starbucks Gold Coast coffee,
and Naked blueberry juice.

This feast is limited to a maximum of one day per week,
(gotta watch the colorie intake)
either Saturday or Sunday, at 10:30am,
and only 1 or 2 special friends are invited each time
because the chef (me) can't handle more than that.

Here's a list of the pancake breakfast club members, so far:
Joey and Carolina
Sean and Graciella
Tim and Deb and Aviana
Mike and Kendra
David and Carol
Kendra and Debbie
Steve and Cara Lyn
Bonnie and Vince
DeAnn and Olivia
Jim and Gina and Siena
Alex and Joni

Home Improvements: Master Loo

Finally finished the loo area of the master bath
at Mikie's Fun House.
For more details, see web page.

I also updated photos for the Super Shower
and the Sub Zero glass-door refrigerator,
and a wide shot of the kitchen, below.
Again, for more details, see web page.

Home Improvements: Treadmill Project

Today marks a major milestone in the
development of the treadmill project,
which continues to evolve as my secret weapon
(ooops, I guess it ain't so secret now)
for excellence in pool.

Check it out:

30" Dell widescreen TV/monitor
which is connected to the DishTV feed
so I can watch all the pool videos on TV
which are automatically recorded
so I can play back anytime later.
The monitor is also connected to the
Windows Media Center (under Vista)
so I can get any pool videos on the internet too.
And the PC (HP) has DVD, DVD-HD & BlueRay
so I can put up any of the
videos in my pool library.

The treadmill itself is a Vision Fitness T9450HRT.

Overhead is a padded Everlast pull-up bar.
To the right side of the treadmill, on the floor,
are dumbbells of various weights,
and a scale that gives readouts on
bodyfat percentage, metabolic age, etc.

The shelves hold all sorts of remote controls
for lights, heat and fans.
Also, water, telephone and notebook
to record progress.

The frames on either side of the monitor
show the final standings on two of
my undefeated seasons (2005 and 2007)
to serve as additional motivation.
In the frame above the monitor is a
modified quote from Og Mandino's
Greatest Salesman in the World
which I have been an inspiration
for the last 25 years.

The monitor is on a movable arm
which swings out 90 degrees
so I can watch from bed.

I think I'm close to treadmill perfection.
Maybe the next step is to build
a shelf for all my pool trophies.

Slide Show

Slide Show

Some of my favorite photos on Flickr

Katie Vita, BFFF

Kate popped into town about a week ago,
and we hit the beach for a bit of Frisbee.
Allow me to introduce you...
Katie Vita is so much more than
the assemblage of her many unique talents.
The world knows her as actress and artist.
I know her as one of my best friends forever.
I discovered Frisbee on the beach with Katie,
so long ago that it just doesn't seem possible.
She grew up, married, and moved far away,
but through it all, our paths would cross many times,
each time we marveled at how close we stayed,
and each time we usually found a Frisbee and a beach.

Katie is the author of that most memorable
summation of The Meaning of Life:
"To Fris is to Be".
(Click here for the painting she did for me)

In Defense of Women

I have come across an author who could be British, but isn't.
He is quite American, born in, of all places, Baltimore,
yet he became a most extraordinary writer,
so much so that one might automatically assume that he is British.

As exhibit A-1, may I present
H.L. Mencken's "In Defense of Women"
which is available in the public domain at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/ndwmn11.txt

When you get to this link,
scroll down a bit past the legal mumbo-jumbo
to get to the beginning of the text.

Enjoy!

Del Mar Oceanfront Sunset video

Sunset from a few days ago.
I was doing a video test.

Something Wonderful Is Going to Happen

With the enormous amount of stuff floating around in the internet,
the sheer quantity of data (websites, videos, documents, photos, yadda, yadda, yadda), it just boggles my mind that Google (and other search engines) go and get it, and bring it back on their own computers, so that now they know everything, and they know who else knows anything, and everybody who wants to know anything.

If you're a search engine, it's the most extraordinary business model: it costs next to nothing to take what others are giving away (data bits) and to turn around and give it away (over and over with no limit) for free to anyone who wants it, which is everybody on the planet, and then the search engines sell advertising on the wrapper of the information! It's like selling advertising on the napkin that you get with your meal at a restaurant. In this case, even the meal is free because the advertiser pays for it.

What enormous power to have instantaneous access to all of human knowledge, and all other human beings, businesses, organizations, governments, etc.

We have access to all History, everything that ever was, and the entire Present, everything that is, for free. And not only access, we have an almost unimaginable power in the form of free resources to communicate, analyze, edit, store, broadcast, republish, and in general, take what is free and create some value out of it with our own thinking, and to resell it ourselves!

I believe that the world is at the precipice of a magnificent transformation in civilization. It is a magical moment, and I feel so lucky to be alive to watch it develop and to be able to play along with it, and maybe even to help it along just a little.

In the words from the movie 2001:

"Something's going to happen... Something wonderful."

Christmas Wish List

Just in time for Christmas:

Amazon.com wish list

Thanks!

Google Street View comes to Del Mar

Google Street View comes to Del Mar

click and drag the cursor to get 360 degree views.

Torrey Pines Beach
and the entry to
Del Mar

Powerhouse Park, Del Mar

Del Mar Village Center

Thanksgiving 2007

I am thankful for...

My parents.

The births and continued excellence
of my son and daughter.

Flying.
Landing on grass.
Playing in the sky, with aerobatics.

Playing freestyle frisbee on the beach.
Winning pool tournaments.
Winning auto races.

Flying low and slow
in an open cockpit biplane
over wandering valley streams
and cruising the surf line for hundreds of miles,
landing at the polo field in Del Mar, at sunset.

Graduating from college, against all odds.
Discovering computers, and software.

Flying at twice the speed of sound,
Mach 2 Mikie,
and at 59,000 feet over the Atlantic
while casually standing in the cockpit of the Concorde
havin' a chat with the pilots and engineer.

Living on the oceanfront for 30 years.
Ten thousand sunsets!
A thousand moonsets!
The beach, the fresh air,
the constantly changing moods of the sea
and the seaside weather.

Piloting the P-51 Mustang, and the Spitfire,
the B-17, a float plane, a sea plane, and gliders.

Getting a speeding ticket,
for exceeding the limit, in reverse,
going the wrong way in a one-way street,
while parking,
busted by a foot-cop.

Flying coast to coast and back again
in my own open cockpit biplane,
the loveliest work of art
ever to take to the sky.

And in that same beautiful open cockpit biplane,
flying around Europe for 3 months,
wandering the Alps
crossing the English Channel,
at the White Cliffs of Dover,
crossing the North Sea, and the Irish Sea
and landing in Ireland at County Donegal,
the birthplace of my ancestors,
then havin' a pint with the locals.
Aye.

Meeting the pope.
And finding the photo of the moment we met.

My hummingbirds frequent visits.
My hammock.
My home.

Success in business.
Doing it My Way.

Ferrari.

The love of many fine women,
and their eventual acceptance of why
I need to be solo.

For the sweetest gift of all,
and in such wonderful abundance:
Solitude.

The love of many good friends.
For Carol, for the last 22 years.

For all of it,
and more,
I am deeply thankful.

-----------------------------------------

Thanksgiving, 2007

Note:

It's a revealing and benefiical exercise to make a list of all the good things in your life, not just now, but great memories too. Doing this exercise, and frequently reading the list to yourself, creates positive energy in your body, and of course that's a very good thing. Try it.

Another list-making exercise that brings enormous benefits is your To Do list. Not just the normal everyday chores, but the more important ones. See Think-Plan-Do-Repeat for more on this topic.

Free Rice game

If you want to have some free fun,
and do something good for yourself, and others,
click on this banner below:



And then, tell a friend about Free Rice!
Kids love it too.

Register to Vote

For the first time in a long long time,
I have finally been moved to want to vote.

It seems like the USA is in a real mess.
And the only candidate that makes any sense to me is
Ron Paul

But that's just my opinion.
You might favor someone else,
but it doesn't matter if you don't vote,
and you can't vote if you don't register first.

Regardless of which candidate you favor,
here's step one:






Register to vote, and then vote.

Join me in voting for Ron Paul,

or cancel my vote out with your own choice.

But register, then vote.

Ragged Point, looking south

Another meditative video clip.
Enjoy.

(YouTube link to this video)

Sunset

(YouTube link)

Video taped on location at Mikie's Fun House
by Fast Mikie himself.

The hummingbirds make an appearance later in the video.

Turn up the volume on your device to
hear ambient and surf sounds,
or mute and play your own music.

Ragged Point

I was driving along the coast road,
north to Mountain View, CA
(a trip of about 8 hours driving time)
I decided to break it into two parts,
and stay over at Ragged Point,
about halfway up the coast.
It is of one of my favorite places on the planet.

Click here for link to YouTube
Ragged Point Video

or, click the play button, below:





Video of the surf and rocks,
looking south from my room at Ragged Point, CA,
which is about 12 miles north of San Simeon (Hearst Castle),
and just south of Big Sur.
It's a great place for peace and solitude and the sounds of the surf.

There are no phones in the rooms, but there is wireless.

Just outside my room, there is a path of about 15 feet,
then the low chain link fence right at the very edge of the cliff.
I balanced my camcorder on the top of this fence,
and let it capture a few moments of paradise.
I figured it would be good material for those meditative times
back at Mikie's Fun House, in Del Mar, CA.

I put this video on the internet and The Public Domain
as a gift to all who may find this clip,
and also find a moment of tranquility.


There may be more Ragged Point video clips coming soon.
To find them, search YouTube for "Ragged Point FastMikie"

(blog top)

Mandatory Immediate Evacuation!

Two hours after the order to prepare for it,
the call came from the police that
Del Mar residents must evacuate.

I chose to stay.

I drove to the top of Torrey Pines hill.
No fires visible anywhere.
Light winds.
Looked ok to me.

It was more than personal laziness.
The 90+ year old woman next door
had no place to go.
She has trouble breathing.
And since I kinda adopted her as my new mom,
I didn't want to take her out into the smoky night,
and subject her to living in some shelter,
so I decided to hunker down here,
and wait for it to get more urgent,
or for the threat to subside.

We got lucky.
The call came around noon the next day
that it was ok to return to our homes in Del Mar.

A lot of SoCal is still burning,
so I have my Go-bags still packed
and sitting by the door...

Be Prepared to Evacuate

All afternoon I've been watching the fire on TV,
feeling certain that my home is safe.

A few minutes after sunset, the phone rings:
"This is the San Diego Sheriff's Department,
with a message to all Del Mar residents to
be prepared to evacuate...
and drive north to El Toro Marine base
in Orange County..."

"Be Prepared to Evacuate"
(always good advice)

Before this fire's first spark,
several months ago, in fact,
I began disaster preparedness planning.
I have 3 bags already packed,
with clothes, provisions, emergency equipment,
supplies, communications equipment,
and more...

But even with such focused planning,
I'm realizing that the plan is missing some essentials.
And there needs to be a "Fast List"
which is stuff you grab when
you need to get out NOW.

It's an interesting exercise.
What do you take
when everything else may vaporize?
What do you need to survive
when your home,
and even your community,
and the homes of your friends and family,
are gone?

Heavy thoughts.

Fire!

For the last 24 hours
fire has raged through the hills east of San Diego,
and they are already calling this the
worst fire in San Diego history.
A quarter of a million people
have evacuated.

Now the smoke in the air is thick,
and ash is accumulating on the balcony.

Solana Beach, the town just north of here,
has told selected residents to prepare to evacuate.

Winds are strong and gusting,
blowing the fire this way,
and the forecast conditions are more of the same
for at least another day, maybe two.

All my windows are closed,
but still the air inside is bad enough
to irritate my eyes.
Light smoke is coming in under the front door,
so I blocked the space with a towel,
and that seemed to help.

I have a couple of breathing masks,
and gave one to my next door neighbor,
a 90+ year old saint of a woman,
who has trouble breathing,
and she will be my personal responsibility
to help her get to safety
if things get to that point.

I've taken a video of all my stuff
inside Mikie's Fun House,
for insurance purposes,
just in case.

And I have bags packed with essentials,
ready to evacuate if/when the call comes.

My children are safe.

We are lucky.
Many have lost their homes,
and worse.

Doing the Apple Thing

My last Apple computer was the Apple IIe
a little over a quarter century ago,
so I figure it was time to revisit
and see what's going on with them.

Actually, I want to do some video editing,
and I hear Mac is the hot ticket for that.
So I got a MacBook Pro, 17" screen
and added a wireless keyboard & mouse.

Nice hardware, nice software,
but lots of incompatibilities,
and general weirdness
when compared to the PC world.
Of course that's to be expected.

Maybe I'll be able to edit a video tomorrow...

The Flag Goes Home

This flag last flew at the Kennedy inauguration,
January 20, 1961
when I "liberated" it as a souvenir of the occasion.
(see original blog entry)

After several months hanging on the wall of the Fun House,
I had some time to consider its ultimate and proper fate...

I sent the flag back home to Washington, D.C.
Read the letter from the Mayor of the city
expressing his thanks for returning this relic.

Pool Vacation

After a week or so of pool vacation
a big change I have noticed is that
I'm getting a lot of stuff done.

In just the last couple of days I have
re-wired the desk computer system
(that big wad of wires under the desk)
dealt with iPod "touch" service issues
(several hours on the phone, and more off the phone)
major improvements to the computer systems
eliminating some software and hardware
and other simplifications,
redesigned the vestibule area
new layout for desk area,
new furniture ordered for both areas,
an update to the draft of the pool book
a couple of walks to the beach,
car wash,
visited friends,
entertained friends at the Fun House,
enjoyed several meals at local spots,
(actually ventured out in public!)
read a couple of books,
and the list goes on...

All these things would have gone undone
if I were still shooting some serious pool.

Serious pool requires serious Time.
Pool is a demanding mate.

But I'm on pool vacation,
and looking forward to all the stuff I'll do...

Thank Heavens For Little Girls

A few weeks ago
Jim and Gina and their daughter Siena
visited the Fun House for one of
my world famous pancake breakfasts.

What a sweetie little Siena is!
Reminds me how much I enjoyed
my own daughter at that age.

Today, Gina gave me this photo,
in a real nice frame,
and a note from Siena
saying how much she enjoyed the pancakes.

In the photo she is holding a model of the Concorde
which she chose as her gift
from my collection of miniature aircraft.

Needless to say,
this is now one of my favorite photos!