I kinda enjoyed last year's "2024 Year in Review" so I figured I'd try a 2025 version...
Life: Well, I stayed "pre-tired" in 2025; hell, I didn't even look for work at all. It's kind of boring - I do need to get out and be more productive - but it seems I work hardest at trying not to work hard...
Again, though, if something juicy pops up then I'll certainly consider it, but I don't have any motivation to go looking for it.
In January, the VITA tax prep thing started up again and this time they not only made me a site coordinator they also put me on their steering committee..."no good deed" and all that. Fantastic program, well worth the time and effort. Volunteer to assist, if you're so inclined (you'll get trained).
In May we both enjoyed a nice week in Cancun, courtesy of a German fraternal organization I belong to (its annual convention and I am a delegate). Cancun is neat but I think we enjoyed Aruba more two years ago as more historically and geographically interesting (though I did like Cancun's caves and "cenote").
I switched us over to Frontier fiber (much faster and a lot less money) and installed a Ubiquiti gateway and access points to improve internal coverage and speeds. Ubiquiti has some pretty neat products and I even used their stuff to build a better network at our German Club in West Haven (including bridging to the detached pavilion across the parking lot from the main building). Good stuff.
Seth and I brewed a few beers this year but nothing really stood out. One experiment, a bit-of-this/bit-of-that "Frankenstein" designed to use up a lot of leftover ingredients, didn't work out...but it was a nice idea.
JeremyB talked me into upgrading the solar panels and inverters on my detached garage. This is a the last year for the Federal financial credits so it kinda made financial sense, even though the original system has not yet paid for itself...but it was a fun project. The updates have only been online since October so we'll see how well it improves the output once the sun is higher.
On the family side of things, I am still managing my mother's estate while also managing her widow's finances. His stuff is easy, he isn't a profligate spender and Andree is down there helping him out. It looks like we might be able to sell some of the estate's property (and my four acres) to a neighbor so we have that cash flow.
I did manage to spend a little time down there to take care of business after the New Orleans Super Tour. I'll probably do that again in '26.
An interesting life twist is I was asked to instruct as part of Southern CT University's Drone Academy program. They had a short program in the Fall to teach young adults about career opportunities in drones, and I was an instructor. We flew the university's drones and did classroom instruction on laws and FAA requirements to get the FAA Part 107 commercial license (which I have) and those students actually even got a Potensic Atom 2 UAS to take home. I ended up buying one of those, to complement my current 3D Robotics Solo UAV (sadly, no longer in production).
Another useful thing that happened is I decided to get tested for my proclaimed allergy to Penicillin. I had some light hives one time in the 80s when I used it and the doctor declared I was allergic and to never use it again. But then I read that most of the time that diagnosis wasn't correct, so I got tested...and found that I didn't have a Penicillin allergy. So that will be a useful tool in the future.
And at the end of the year, Thea and I took a nice week-plus trip to Germany to visit her family. Flew from Bradley to Amsterdam via Dublin, then a five-ish-hour train ride to Hamburg. We stayed with a couple of her cousins in two different towns and visited Christmas markets in Denmark and northern Germany, then spent a night in Amsterdam on the way home (interesting city). A really nice week though the time change killed us for a couple days. She posted a ton of photos and video on social media.
Racing: Hey, got the rebuilt 914 engine back (thanks, mate) and I got it installed and running. We even added a little bit more camshaft to it. I was lucky in that the damage wasn't incredibly bad. Torched bearings, of course (it was locked up on the nose main bearing) but everything else was in rebuildable shape. I am going to remember to never do that again...
I only raced three weekends in it this year, all at Lime Rock, the first one being with the Empire Club (used to be the Jaguar Club). That is a great group of people to run with, I'll definitely run with them again. I also drove at NER's Paddock Crawl regional weekend, another great time, and of course at Lime Rock's annual Labor Day weekend Historics (fantastic event). The car was very competitive in its group this year: I had a win, a second place, but unfortunately also two DNFs due to contact (in vintage/historics racing, with any contact at all your session/race is over and you have to immediately report in). The first time was due to a light side-to-side with another car that I think did not know I was there, and another due to a spin in someone else's oil (same car) resulting in minor contact with the tire wall at the Bridge. But I still had a great time and the weather was fantastic all weekend.
That minor bodywork was repaired by Z2 Motorsports in New Britain (Marc is a good buddy and fellow racer) and the car is ready to go for 2026. I'm thinking Empire Club and surely LRP Historics again, probably SCCA Paddock Crawl, and maybe the Thompson Historics.
The other big racing news is that I recovered the Civic from Ed and brought it to a fellow racer in New Hampshire to get the bodywork damage from the 2023 Runoffs crash repaired. I'm not clear if that car will come out this year, or what will happen to it after repairs, but we'll see.
I once again traveled with the SCCA Super Tour series as Class Ambassador, attending the events at Sebring, Buttonwillow (first time there), Road Atlanta, VIR, Hallett (OK), New Orleans, Road America, Watkins Glen, and back to Road America for the SCCA Runoffs.
Thea and the dogs joined me for the Watkins Glen event and we took the RV trailer up there. Then we spent a short week afterward touring upstate New York (and got a flat on the truck from running over a 10mm socket!) We hit a few wineries and followed the Erie and Delaware & Hudson Canals (the latter I wasn't familiar with at the time).
The SCCA Runoffs week was also memorable. After my problem in '24 with the RV's side canopy that caused it to get destroyed, and having to deal with such a long and stressful tow, I decided for '25 that I would rent an RV trailer on site at the track and take a nice leisurely drive to Wisconsin in the GTI (instead of flying so I'd have transportation there without the expense of a rental). But The Fates had other ideas and I was hit by an RV bus as I was driving above the Finger Lakes on Interstate 90. That was one heck of a ride...their insurance company has been easy to work with and the car's bodywork is getting repaired, so I'll have it back soon.
And of course I stewarded for SCCA again this year, at Thompson, Lime Rock, and Palmer. One weekend was for the Thompson Majors, after which I trailered the RV across the state to join Pat at Lime Rock for the Gridlife Saturday evening party and the car show the next day. Man, that group knows how to party...
I didn't attend many other events as a spectator except the Thompson Vintage Festival. That was a big event (the car show was HUGE) and I really should drive it in '26 (I would have done it in '25 but I was chasing a persistent carb problem that turned out to be a leaking intake manifold gasket...) I was also a guest of a stewarding buddy at Lime Rock's Trans Am/SVRA weekend so I could observe their officiating. Looks like fun, I could see doing that.
Music: good shows this year; heads above all the others in '25 was Dream Theater's 40th Anniversary tour at Oakdale. Man, those guys can play! Three solid hours of really good music, I need to go see them again soon.
But then Thea bought one ticket for me for Christmas to see them at Mohegan in November so I'm going. Hope to get Seth to join me.
And that about covers 2025 pretty well (until I remember something else and add it). 2026 is looking to be more of the same as '25, which is really OK, I had a good year. I don't foresee we'll do another international trip this year but I do expect we'll take one or two RV trailer trips with the dogs. Schatzi will be fourteen this year (yowza, yet she still looks great) so we'll see how that works out.
I also don't expect any employment opportunities to drop in my lap so it's time to get motivated to do some other things and be productive (and find a way to get Thea to retire, too).
So here's to 2026: meet the new boss, same as the old boss. See ya around. - GA
1/3/26 Addendum. A buddy read this from FB and commented, "damn, that’s a lot of words...I asked chat gpt to summarize it into an image for you."
It's not wrong...
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