This picture shows just what APR Motorsports will be taking to Daytona. Several classes of cars for two big races are shown. Friday afternoon at 1:30PM it’s the Continental Tire Challenge Grand-Am 200. Qualifying for that race and the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 will take place on Thursday. The newest addition to the APR fleet of rockets is the Audi R-8 (the #51 Car), one of four that are racing in the US this year. It’s a factory built race car version of the street model. Get the street version for about $100,000 and you can get a race car for a cool half million. After the Rolex 24 Hour race begins on Saturday at 3:30PM (end Sunday at 3:30PM) there’s plenty to do for fans along with watching the race. There’s a Chili Cook off, Wine and Cheese Parties, Live Bands and Karaoke till 1AM. The cars continue to race thru the night (the R-8 will have 5 different drivers) and more fun on Sunday beginning at 8:00AM.

You can watch the racing on Speed Channel. The Rolex 24 Hour Races is on Saturday at 1:30PM Central and again Sunday at 8AM Central. The Continental Tire Challenge will actually be rebroadcast on February 4th at 11AM Central

Makita and his gal Kim, got me into NASCAR in a big way. He lives up there in the land of ice and snow and at a recent hockey game, he (Center of first picture) was approached by the squad about hanging out after the game. Lucky for him, he was able to get away and went home with the girl in the second picture. (Love ya Kim)

Just a quick post.  Opelika is working steady on it’s new Fiber to the Home plan with phone, Internet and television service at least a year away.  I just added Charter (yea, I know) Internet at the house. Pretty fast compared to the AT&T which I cancelled today.  If you miss seeing Richard Patton (Eighth & Rail) behind the bar, he’s doing a few night shifts over at Ma Fia’s. It’s Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday I believe. By the way, they are doing domestic beer at $1.50 from 4-6 PM Monday thru Thursday.  Others too, so ask Richard when you see him. My diet continues slow and steady. It’s 40 pounds since October 4th.  More on that later.  And there’s a Winter Brewfest (Beerfest) over at the Event Center Downtown on Friday Night (Details on the event calendar).  [If the photo made it to this post, that the contract crew handing those new fiber cables in front of the house on South 8th on Thursday!

I remember when I first heard about iCloud from Apple. It was then I decided to give in, and move to an Apple centered world of Devices. Not that I wasn’t there already, after I, there’s one of the original Apple TV boxes in my Media Room, not touched for several years. Then, the idea that I could store all my music in Apple’s cloud got me searching for the CD’s around the house. I didn’t have all that stuff in my iTunes on the (work) computer afterall. But now, after putting the songs into ITune and a quick sync with iTunes Match, I can delete the ones I don’t want on the laptop and access them from the iPad or iPhone. Pretty cool. I tagged this with “App”, since I use the Music player on the iPhone and iPad to listen, although, this isn’t really an App!

Here’s what the folks at Apple have to say about Match – With iTunes in the Cloud, the music you buy from the iTunes Store automatically appears on all your devices.1 And for music you haven’t purchased from iTunes, iTunes Match is the perfect solution. iTunes Match is built right into iTunes on your computer and the Music app on your iOS devices.2 It lets you store your entire collection in iCloud, even music you’ve imported from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes. When it’s in iCloud, it’s available on all your devices. So you can enjoy all your music anywhere, anytime — on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, or Apple TV.

Maestro Roman Leontiev leads this large ensemble on its first American tour, and together with award-winning pianist Alexandre Pirozhenko, they are putting it all on the line with a program including Russian block-busters you won’t want to miss! For more information, please visit http://www.facebook.com/eastalabamaarts or buy tickets from Facebook or Twitter http://twitter.com/eastalabamaarts or call (334) 749-8105. The event will be at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts

Few husband-wife musical duos provide audiences with the complete entertainment package that Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart dish out in a live performance. Armed with clever acoustic guitar interplay, autobiographical songwriting, lovely harmonies, and humorous storytelling, this couple captivates your attention from the first moment they come on stage. Based in Tennessee, Stacey and Mark draw from blues, pop, country, rock, and more in their heartfelt music. Years of touring the folk/Americana circuit (playing 170 concerts a year) have given them a knack for reaching out to the audience in an intimate “come in to my living room” fashion. Stacey and Mark own their own record label, Gearle Records, and have made eight CDs over the years. Since meeting in 1992 and marrying in late 1993, they have toured the USA, Canada, and Europe repeatedly. They left the environment of pursuing a major label deal in Nashville in 1998 to target small intimate venue crowds in theaters, coffeehouses, festivals, clubs, and house concerts. This has become their home, and they are a recognized fixture on the folk music trail they’ve blazed. Continue reading…

The Funny but Clean Comedy Tour featuring Henry Cho and Jim Hope. Jim Hope has served as writer/producer for NBC’s “Later”, Fox’s “Titus” and ABC’s “George Lopez”. He is currently producer/writer of Nickolodeon’s hit animated series “Planet Sheen”. Jim is co-executive producer and writer for “The Henry Cho Show” on GAC. Advance tickets $20. Day of Tickets $25. Doors open at 6:00PM. Show at 7:00PM