The Monkey Wrench

Going Out of Buisness Sale

2004-01-23T11:31:00.000-05:00

THE MONKEY WRENCH IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING MOVED TO SPANKY RAINBOW!!!!!!!!!! Where the real bloggers post.

So if you want to see further postings go to www.spankyrainbow.com

Remeber that happiness will find you at Spanky Rainbow!

Interesting

2004-01-21T12:54:00.000-05:00

Just got an email from my fellow friends at CARS about an article that explains our organization.... So if you want to read it click here.

Welcome

2004-01-15T10:17:00.000-05:00

I would just like to welcome my cousin Drew to the Blogging ranks. Unfortunately he is using Xanaga, but I won't hold it against him. So go read his blog!

FINALLY A POST

2004-01-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

Well its almost the end of January and I have gone a whole month without posting anything. WOOOOO!!!!!!! A new record for me! I also beat Kyle to the punch this semester. Kyle if your reading this... GET TO BLOGGING! If I blog before you do then there is a serious problem. =P Anyways, I have already started back to school. And so far my teachers are all awesome, except for my ME 202 professor, who, for some reason, hates me. Oh well. Grades have significantly been better. Although I have only done 3 Homework assignments. Also I as a follow up to my last entry, NASCAR has gone to the playoff system. Of course, yours truly thinks they are insane for doing anything like this. I just don't understand what was wrong with the points system to begin with. It gave an accurate account of who was the best driver over all 36 races.

New Paragraph. I have now moved in with the rest of the Spanky Rainbow/90 Day Warranty gang. And I must say it has been fun rooming with them. I am surprised that they even decided to put up with me, but now they are stuck with me. Mwahahahahahaha. I should go ahead and say that our mock band 90 Day Warranty has decided to start recording stuff. The only problem is that we don't know what songs we want to do. So if everyone would be so kind to go to Spanky Rainbow and tell us which songs YOU the fans want to hear. We are going home this weekend to get the recording equipment and will get to recording shortly. So get to requesting! Also I am hoping my Dad has replaced the nut on my guitar by the time I get home. I really really really want to play my guitar. Right now I am using my Dad's old Fender Mexican Strat. It sounds good, but not as good as mine.

Well it seems it is getting close to class time. I guess I had better get to the shower so I can smell good for class. =)
Until Next Time! (hopefully the next time will be soon)

2003-12-10T01:15:00.000-05:00

Ok for some stupid reason Blogger won't put my freaking link up that was supposed to be in the last entry... so if you really care just go to Nascar.com and click on the Last Lap link.

Rules Change

2003-12-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

Ok i would like to personally shoot the person who came up with the proposal of having a "playoff" system in Nascar. Here is the proposal:

"Under the proposed system, the top 10 drivers in the points would be frozen with 10 races to go, with those 10 the only ones to have a chance at winning the championship. Whoever scores the most points of those 10 in the final 10 races - NASCAR's "postseason" - would be the champion." -- Nascar.com

Now this is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Why on God's green earth would anyone want to do such a thing? Some people say they dont want somebody to "runaway" with the Championship like Kenseth did this year. Well just so everyone knows, Kenseth won the Championship by a slim 90 points. Plus look at the Craftsman Truck Series and the Busch Grand National Series final standings. The top 4 in the Busch Series were seperated by only 49 points and the Championship came down to the last lap of the last race. The same thing happened in the Truck Series. So as one can see the Nascar points system can still supply a close finish.

Some people also say that they think that they would rather have a Champion that has won 5 or 6 races than have somebody who won 1 race all season. Well I say that is garbage sister! Having to put up with you is like having to put up with garbage! -- gotta love the Strong Bad Reference. "If you want to look at how the points are awarded, what we need to look at is how do we keep it competitive and how do we keep the point race close," Jeff Burton, driver of the #99 Citgo Ford, said. "Awarding the winner more points doesn't do that. The way to keep the point race close and to keep the point race interesting is to not take so many points away from the guy that has a bad day. That's how you make the point race close." So there, i guess that answers that question... cause i really dont have an answer to that other than I want to stick to tradition and not mess with the systerm.

Here are some notable responses about this system if you care to read them:

Also every driver interviewed about this said they didn't think the system should be changed.

And so I won't be shot down for being totally biased: If this system had been in effect this season, Jimmie Johnson (who is one my favorite drivers) would be crowned Champion.

Anyways, Until Next Time...

Funny Links

2003-12-09T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here is something for all to watch to tide yall over till i make a real blog entry: ;)

Rusty the Narcoleptic Dog

Bush Speech (altered of course to be funny)

2003-11-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!

Troooooooogdooooooor!!!!

2003-11-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

Just found about this yesterday. There will be a Homestar Runner CD next week! When I listened to the demo for the songs on the CD I learned there is a new version of "Trogdor" and "To the Limit." I can't wait to hear more. Hopefully there will be mp3's available for it. hehe

Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Night

2003-11-09T23:48:00.000-05:00

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light

I heard this poem recited at the end of Brave Saint Saturn's song Two-Twenty-Nine. It is an awesome poem. It is even better when heard by the author. I really recomend listening to the recording... oh and the song isn't bad either. I have it on MP3 if anyone is interested in listening to it.

Finally an Update

2003-11-09T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

Sorry it has been such a long time since updating this thing (not that anybody actually reads this but oh well). I have had a lot to do and did not feel like writing, and technically I don't feel like writing right now either. Oh well. Anyways I just wanted to let everyone know that the race car is FINISHED!!!! It was officially unveiled yesterday at 3 o clock in front of Tillman. President Barker (of Clemson University) and Dr Kennedy (the CARS advisor) came by and got pictures taken with the car and the team (of which I am a part of!!! WOOT!). I also finally got to hear the engine crank up for the first time, and I shall say that it was GLORIOUS!!!! Approximately 6 weeks straight of working on this race car in my "spare" time finally paid off. I will hopefully have pictures of the unveiling in a few weeks but for now you can go to the CARS website and look at the process of building this dream machine. ;)

As far as everything else goes, that was pretty much the only bright spot except for when I learned today that Christine is getting baptized today for the very first time after getting saved!! Way to go Christine!! I am proud of yah kid! Oh and by the way thanks for "filling" for me several weeks ago. If anyone wants to go and watch Christine get dunked tonight let me know! It starts at 6!

Classes are going very badly for me right now (I will probably only pass one class out of the 4 that I am taking right now). Much prayer and support is needed since I am doubting about why I am even in college to begin with. Of course I want to work for NASCAR someday but I have no idea how I will get there. I know God has called me to come to Clemson. I know that He wants me to go through with this major but I have failed this entire semester and I am beginning to wonder if I have what it takes to be an engineer. I am very thankful though that I have a family that is very supportive of everything I do (thanks Mom, Dad, Ashley, Ma-Maw, Pa-Paw, Ging-gi, and Papa... I wouldn't survive at all without the support that you guys give me). I am also thankful for friends who care. So I ask that everyone would pray for me that I would get motivated to do better, especially after this semester that has killed me mentally.

Well I guess that is enough whining for one day. I hear enough of that from Rusty Wallace. ;) Anyways I am going to go and watch the race and then off to see Christine get dunked! Later d00ds!

Josh's Random Blog As Told by Christine

2003-10-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

This is Christine, updating Josh's blog for him. He is too slack to do it himself, so I took over for the day. So, what has been going on in Josh's life...

Fall Break just ended. Josh went to Tennessee for his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. I saw the pictures, looks like he had a fun time. His cousin, Drew, went phooning in traffic. They went to a car museum where they took pictures of their dream cars. Hope they make a lot of money in their future careers, because those cars are expensive!!

Josh has an essay due Friday, something about whether or not to build another space shuttle, I'm not exactly sure. He's procrastinating, but hey, that's what college is all about. At least he doesn't have to write an essay on hospice nursing, unlike some other people I know of...

Josh borrowed one of my candles, cinnamon scent of course. It smells yummy in here. Let's just hope his apartment doesn't catch on fire. I mean, if his apartment catches on fire, chances are that mine will as well, considering we are next door neighbors and everything. Don't want my stuff ruined! hehehe.

Lloyd and Josh went to go see "School of Rock" and as Josh puts it, it was "rockin. woot." I have yet to see that movie. I did see "Hollywood Homicide" over the weekend though. It has Harrison Ford of it, which was pretty much the only reason I watched it. Speaking of which, the Indiana Jones DVD set should be out any day now. It has extra, never before seen footage. Should be nice.

Okay, well, I am headin back on over to my apartment, since I have to get up at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Supercalifragilisticexpealodocious. Josh wanted to see if I could spell that word. I guess it's close it enough. lol.

-Christine (aka Belly Jeans)

Screams in the Night!

2003-10-08T19:29:00.000-04:00

Man, I don't know if anyone else has this problem but i sure do. Every time it rains i become even lazier than normal. I just want to sleep. I was lucky that I actually got out of bed and went to all my classes today. Unfortunately for my roommate Lloyd, he wasn't so lucky. He slept till 11:30 today, lucky dog! Oh well, I am surprised I have enough energy to write this since I just got up from taking a 20 minute nap. Oh well.

Oh yeah, since I don't have a comments thingie here on Blogger you can get in touch with me through email: jpchand@clemson.edu or instant messanger: jpcracing24. So until next time!...

The Greatest Band Ever!

2003-10-02T11:15:00.000-04:00

I am just sitting here listening to some albums that I haven't listened to in a while, and I came across one of my favorite ones. A group called Grammatrain. They were really big between the years of 1995 and 1999 when they suddenly broke up. I have no idea why they broke up but it really sucks that they did. They only came out with three albums, one of which was a live album of their last show together. The lead guitar player/lead singer (Pete Stewart) is known for being one of the best rock guitarist in Christian Music genre. Man do I miss hearing him play. Then Stewart did a solo album directly after the break up and then joined another band known as Tait Band, which included Michel Tait from dc Talk. But for some reason Stewart is no longer with Tait and I have no idea where he went.

Oh well I guess bands don't last forever except for of course 90 Day Warranty and Aerosmith!!!!

The Most Boring Blog Entry Ever!!!!

2003-10-01T22:43:00.000-04:00

Just sitting in the library doing nothing. I came at first to meet my engineering group to discuss our design project. Everything seems to be going well with that. We have some good ideas and just need to put them into practice by building this darn contraption. Then I went up to the Fifth floor where I started studying for my Math 206 exam that I have tomorrow. Christine came and joined me after bout 30 minutes or so. I am fully prepared now for my exam and will hopefully do well on it. I seem to understand everything quite well.

As for every thing that happened this weekend... Well it was pretty crazy. Friday me and Jason and Co. went to the Matchbox 20 concert in Greenville. Awesome concert (everything I have never actually listened to them except for the occasional songs played on the radio). Their lead guitar player is awesome and really enjoyed listening to him.

Then Saturday was filled with working on the race car. Had an awesome time working on it (pictures will be posted as soon as I load them on my computer). I helped design a bracket to help connect a motor support frame to the chassis. And it fit perfectly!... I am really going to be sad if this car gets wrecked during the racing season. There is a lot of work going into this car. I am supposed to meet with the gang again on Thursday to put the motor and suspension back in the car.

Saturday evening was spent with Jason, his girlfriend Stephanie (who turned 21 today!!!! Happy Birthday Steph!!!!), her friend Jennifer, Christine, Amy, Vickie and all her friends, Big Ed, Kyle, and Eddie. Whew that was a lot of people to name. We sung Karaokee and I watched them play DDR and finally a game of Cranium where Jason and his team cheated in order to get a huge lead and win the game. ;)

Well now that I have severely bored all of whom read this I am going to go and surf the internet while Christine is finishing up her work. Until Next Time!....

PS

2003-09-25T01:26:00.000-04:00

Oh I just got an idea that we should make a place for a Hartford HellzYeah webpage on Spanky Rainbow with scores, schedules, and standings... just a thought.

St Louis Sings the Blues After OT Loss to Hartford

2003-09-25T01:24:00.000-04:00

Man what a freaking awesome first couple of games. Eddie, Jason, Kyle and I just got through playing NHL 2k4 by EA Sports. We created the Hartford HellzYeah and began a Dynasty mode with them. It looked like a rough first 3 weeks with games facing the Mighty Ducks, Stars, and the Blues. But we played well. Hartford beat Anaheim (Mighty Ducks) 4-3 (correct me if I am wrong) and lost in double OT to the Stars. We picked that OT be played as a shootout and we lost after going through the rotation twice. But hey, it was bound to go one way or another. Then we came back home to Hartford and stomped the Blues in OT (with Eddie making the crucial save! Go Eddie!). I forget who we play next but no doubt we have a lot of momentum heading into the next game.

Sweet Sassy Molassy!

2003-09-22T00:54:00.000-04:00

Man Thursday was the bomb! I went to my CARS meeting and I actually got to work on the race car. That's right. Somebody actually had the guts to let me touch a race car and work on it. And what makes it even better is that I actually get to go work on the car again Monday night! How sweet is that?! Dude I can't wait till Monday.

Also a quick NASCAR update: Dale Earnhardt Jr was taken to a local hospital today immediately after the race. He hit the wall with the driver's side and was knocked unconscious for at least 20 minutes. Doctors later concluded that he has a concussion and a bruised right foot. What makes this worse is that he got in a wreck earlier in the year where he got a moderate concussion and it screwed up the way he drove the car in later races. So this could mean that he might sit out a couple of races, which is bad because he is currently third in the points and will probably lose more positions.

Well I am off to bed now. Goodnight! and Until Next Time...

Phooning

2003-09-18T17:53:00.000-04:00

Yeah so Christine and I were sitting in the Library minding our own business when two people came up and asked us, "Are you ready to Phoon?" I was like "What in the world is a Phoon?" And then I was sent to this site.

So after reading and looking at the pictures I said, "Sure!" Too bad though when we went to get our picture taken while phooning, Christine couldn't get the camera to work. Jeez. Oh well at least it was fun while it lasted. Well now I am off to meet with my friends from CARS (Clemson Auto Racing Society) about when we should start working on the car.

Until Next Time...

Oh BTW... The two guys were Jason and Eddie. And Congrats Jason on the move to Spankyrainbow!... Hopefully I too can join the ranks and be on the server as well.

Halloween Costume

2003-09-16T22:31:00.000-04:00

I know that the people who read my blog regularly (or attempt to read my blog regularly) already know my costume for Halloween, but i am going to go ahead and show the world who i plan to be for one night!...

and the polls show that i am going to dress up as Silent Bob for Halloween! For those of you who dont know who Silent Bob is, please click here to find out. He is the one in the middle. Kyle is planning on going with me on this and is going to dress up as Jay (the guy on the left).

Until Next Time!

Good Song

2003-09-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

Just because of the mood i am in, i decided i would put up a song that reflects how i feel right now... enjoy!

Artist: Brave Saint Saturn
Album: The Light Of Things Hoped For
Song: Anastasia

"she's the one who all the boys want
but she's barely breaking stride
when i look and see her standing there
i'm all butterflies inside
her name means "the resurrection"
it's not too far from true
i'm afraid that if i write this song
she might break my heart in two

she hits the mark
the kindled spark
but i'll just drag her down
down

far away in distant skies
i see starlight in your eyes
do you think of miracles
are they only dreams for fools
she's the one who haunts my dreams at night
underneath the bluest moon
she makes hearts skip beats in triplets
the brightest light in any room

she hits the mark
the kindled spark
but i'll just drag her down
down, down, down, down

when anastasia smiles
the world is getting lighter
when anastasia wakes
the lights come on inside her
and stars will light the path for her tonight
and yes, the moon is burning oh so bright
anastasia "

Stupid Me

2003-08-26T14:17:00.000-04:00

Well i posted a very well written and much longer blog just a few moments ago and forgot to hit post. Then when i published it I wondered why my recent post didnt show up on the page. Stupid me. Oh well here is a quick recap of what i had written:

I moved into Clemson on August 18th and started my first semester of Mechanical Engineering courses.

I went to FCA last Thursday night and found it really refreshing since I had not been able to attend my church at home in forever. There was probably over 2500 in attendance so we know we reached a lot for Christ.

I also went to the Sharpie 500 this past weekend. It was a blast but my favorite driver wrecked out at the very end while racing for the win. I guess thats just racing.

Got my 130 dollar speakers yesterday. They sound great and cant wait till i can get a chance to blast them and see how powerfull they are.

Sorry bout my stupidity... my post would have been more intersting if i hadnt been so forgetful... oh well...

Until Next Time!...

Everyone's Doing a Brand New Dance Now!

2003-08-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

Come on Ed!! Do the Blogomotion!!!... Congradulations to Ed for following suit with making his own Blog!... I knew it was just a matter of time before the big guy did it.

Well i have just gotten back from my trip to Tennessee (the best state in America). It was a fun trip and throughly enjoyed being with my cousin and his family. The wedding was went smoothly. The bride and groom got picked up in a streched Hummer. How cool is that? I want to be picked up now in a streched DeLorean! Although I doubt there is such a thing. All in all it was a fun trip. I shall post pictures sometime in the future of it.

Are you sure that's the right way?

2003-07-24T10:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, First things first. Kyle CAPTIAN Jack Sparrow said "Savy" and not Sawy (i have never heard of that word before). Now that that is taken of, i am just letting the entire world know that my cousin Angela is getting married tommorrow!... Congrats Angela! So i am going to Murfreesboro, TN for a while to see the wedding and to hang out with my other cousin Drew. We should be departing in about 10 - 15 min. The only thing about this trip that i hate is that we are taking the motorhome. Even though it may seem luxurious it is far from it (from my point of view). Although nice to live in it is a pain to travel in. since i am a big guy and since the motorhome is very cramped when in driving mode, it doesnt make for a good time for me. Especially during a 14 hour trip (maybe longer depending on traffic). I cant find a comfortable place to sit the entire ride. So, anyways i had better go before i get yelled at for prolonging the take off time.

Until next time!....

Welcome Back

2003-07-20T12:48:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to say "Welcome back Jerry Nadeau!!!" Jerry Nadeau was severly injured in a practice crash May 2nd at the Richmond International Raceway. He had a severe head injury and had several broken ribs. Today he is making his first public appearance at a race track since the crash. If anyone cares to read more about the matter just click here.

Losers say "What?"

2003-07-17T17:20:00.000-04:00

Are you happy Kyle?... huh... i changed the stupid spelling of weird for you so i hope that you are happy!! And i didnt appreciate the name calling :P Anyways i just got in from work and thought i would try this blogging thing again.

Lately i have been screwed with getting hours in at work. And it freaking annoys me. For those of you who care to know, i work at Mr Mark's Fun Park. It's a great job and not very hard work. But i think that he has over hired and now i am getting screwed with getting some hours in. i told Mark that i needed the hours because the money i make goes directly to my college "fund." and right now i barely have 400 dollars in the bank to go to that. Before July i was working almost every day but then as soon as July came i have started only working 2 or 3 days a week. This sucks because i am barely making 100 dollars a week. Oh well i guess i shall have to hope that my parents will bale me out during the following semester.

Until next time...

One of the Guys

2003-07-15T18:04:00.000-04:00

Well i am now truly apart of the guys... haha hear that Jason, Eddie, and Kyle... I have my own blog!!!... Too bad i have writer's block right now... i guess it will get easier and easier to write stuff the more i do it. Oh well... i hope no one shall think i am stupid for trying this but if Kyle can do it then i guess i can ;)

Well here goes anything... Since i am new to this i guess i shall start at introducing myself. My name as you can tell is Josh Chandler. I am 20 years old and attend Clemson University. GO TIGERS!!! I am currently studying Mechanical Engineering. I hope to get a Masters Degree in Automotive Engineering and use it to become an engineer on a NASCAR team. My home is Florence, SC. It's not a perfect place, and there isn't a whole lot to do, but when you hang out with the right people even the dullest places are fun. Thanks to Jason, Eddie, and Kyle i am never bored. I am a Christian and i enjoy listening to music (of all kinds), and love cars especially American Muscle Cars.

As for my family... well my dad is a doctor (OB/GYN) and my mom is a 1st grade teacher at the school from which i graduated (The King's Academy). I have a sister who is going into her senior year. I also have 2 dogs. A Miniature Schanuzar and a Toy Phantom Poodle (yes there is such a breed) whose names are Willie and Bear respectively.

I guess that is about it... ok i am going to quit for now until i come up with something else to talk about.

2003-07-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

Wow... my own blog... who would have thunk it... this is just a test to see if this thing actually works.