AndrePope.com

We are working on updating the 803 web site. Here is a a sample of some of the stuff we are playing with.

Posted by Andre at 02:35 PM | Permalink

I am getting really excited about our upcoming vacation to Memphis. So to help kick start the vacation I cooked some baby back ribs in a Memphis style sauce.

It was fun and long over due.

Check out the recipe for the sauce.

1 Quart Crushed Tomatoes
1 Cup Of Water
1/2 Pack Of Light Brown Sugar
1/4 Diced Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Chili Powder (MAIN INGREDIENT)
1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1.5 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
5 Bay Leaves
2 Tablespoons of Chopped Onions
2 Tablespoons of Distilled Vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

In large saucepan, combine ingredients
Bring to boil, reduce to low, simmer for 1 hour
Remove bay leaves
Serve Warm
Refridge left overs for up to three weeks

Enjoy!

Posted by Andre at 02:01 PM | Permalink

For all of those of you out there who are looking at buying a home in the Rock Hill area of South Carolina you should check this house out.

It's my sister in laws first listing. Yea! I am just trying to help and get the word out. So if you know of anybody who may be intrested you should let them know.

Posted by Andre at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On Friday nite I stopped by the tattoo shop to watch my friend Adam get tattooed. It was pretty fun and while I was there I was informed that I should get this truck bed before they take it to the scrap yard. (I was informed that it was a 40's style chevy truck bed, but I am unsure). So I made plans to pick it up on Sat. before going over to Paul's dad car lot. (He just got an El Camino whoes seat may fit into the Nova :) )

But my plans changed somewhat. I got a phone call at 7:30 in the mourning from my sister of all people. Now I know when that side of the family starts calling (not just at 7:30 in the mourning but just calling that something must be up). She stated that my step-father had a heart attach and was on the way to the hospital. Being in no rush I made plans with my grandmother to take her up there as well. It turns out that he had a blood clot (probably complication from a surgery he had earlier in the week on his hip) that moved into his lungs. This in turned caused a heart attack. Its amazing how things change just like that. Luckily Heidi and I have already seen the need in exercising more and taking care of ourselves a little better. Well to make a long story short Ty will be fine.

After yelling at my Mother for never calling (esp. my brother) I took Grandma back home, swung by and picked up the truck bed and headed for the house. I had a nice surprise when I got home. The fly wheel that Heidi and I have been working on getting off magically came off by itself. Not really but that is what I originally thought. Paul and his father came out to drop off some stuff and decided to take if off for me. They basically did what I was planning on doing by putting an extension onto the ratchet, placing the engine on the ground, having one person standing on the engine while the other put force on the ratchet. Now its off and I have some more work to do!

On Sunday i had to take care of a lot of stuff that Heidi and I didn't get to on Saturday. In a nut shell the garage is clean and so is the house. I raked half the yard and took care of some long over due movie watching (Freddy vs. Jason I actually liked a lot). I also picked up this pretty cheesy PEZ over the weekend.

Posted by Andre at 01:48 PM | Permalink

Heidi and I are going to Memphis in a week or so. I want to build a soundtrack for along the way. Any recomendations? We are going to need about 12 Hrs worth of music and our music intrest span all across the board.

Things to consider, Blues, Crunk, It will be over Halloween, SC, NC & Tenn. Graceland, Sun Records, start of the NBA Basketball season (we will be attending Memphis vs. NY), Mississippi River, FedEx, Pyramids, Beale Street, BBQ

Please Copy & Repaste This Post

List Song(s) & Artist

1) It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp - Djay - Hustle & Flow Soundtrack
2) Matchbox - Carl Perkins
3) High School Confidential - Jerry Lee Lewis
4) Milkcow Blues Boogie -Elvis Presley
5) Mean Eyed Cat - Johnny Cash
6) Tennessee - Arrested Development
7) Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight - The Misfits
8) Plymouth Rock Blues - Memphis Minnie
9) Get Low - Memphis Bleek
10) Cocaine Habit Blues - Memphis Jug Band
11) The Chronic-WHAT?!-cles of Narnia - Chris Parnell
12) Let's Stay Together - Al Green
13) The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King
14) SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
15) Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes

Posted by Andre at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Paul sent me a link to a video on YouTube the other day. I know the reason he sent it to me was to check out the stylings of CRUTCH and how he gets around. However, the video was a little more than that to me.

I have always had a problem with people feeling as if the world owes them something. Sitting back expecting they should get some kind of handout because they were raised in a single family, their mother/father left, got laid off from work, etc. I see and hear about it everyday.

The world doesn't owe me shit.

I figure by working hard, setting goals and having a positive outlook I can pretty much accomplish anything. I know you have to have a few lucky breaks here and there to help you along your way, but I also feel as if you have to make luck come to you. My father instilled this work ethic in me and I am super appreciative to him for that.

Through my father's recent marriage, I now have a step-brother. He is one of the most head strong, good willed, positive kids you will ever met. He lives in Tennessee, is the starting quarterback for the high-school football team, and one of the most liked kids in his high school. By the way, did I mention he is also deaf? I don't ever look at things that really don't matter. Him being deaf doesn't matter that much to me, nor do I think it really matters that much to him, at least in the sense of us communicating back and forth to each other. He has what some people would call a disability, but to him more like a small communication barrier. He has found ways to overcome this and is moving on. College is next for him and I wish him luck. But then again I am sure he will make his own luck.

Now Google has made their own luck as well. Google is pushing along and becoming the most dominate force in the web today. But how did they get here? Was it all by chance? No! They had a game plan, worked hard at it, surrounded themselves with like minded individuals and had fun. With the recent purchase of YouTube, Google has set itself up to continue on the right path. Moving forward, working hard, pushing the limits of conventional thinking.

So what does this have to do with my step-brother, work ethics, Google, YouTube? A simple idea that stems by combining all of these things together. I would love to share the link that Paul sent to me with my step-brother. However, he will never get the full gist of it because of a communication barrier. Now I know that work ethics and ethical work are two different things, but Google has the power to help bridge the communication barrier that my step-brother, Google/YouTube and I have by creating closed captioning services for all of the YouTube videos. A simple API that would allow some individual or group of individuals (my step-brother's school, for instance) to type into, by using a translator, and translate all of YouTube's videos. Maybe even a notification of some sort that shows when a new approved YouTube video has been posted. In my mind this is pretty simple stuff. But I am not a programmer, so what do I know? Google could even partner with deaf schools all around the country for this service. It would help instill a good strong work ethic in the students, give them pride in what they were doing, help build a skill set for future work and be beneficial to Google/YouTube all in one.

Now does anyone have Google's phone number?

Posted by Andre at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yep thats right folks the chassis if finally done! I got to spend some time with the 71 over the weekend and me and her had a great time.

From the beginning I could tell that Sat. was going to be a great day. It was beautiful around the Pope's household and the weather was perfect. The arrival of Mr. Paul Renyolds capped it off that Sat. was going to be a mighty progressive day for working on the cars.

And work on them we did.

The first order of business was to finish up the work we had already started on the chassis. The set-up consisted of our 71 on its side with the pans welded in, the seam sealer applied and the rust converter converted. With the addition of a few tore-up trash bags, to protect the wheels and the transmission, we were ready to paint.

The new paint-gun set-up from Eastwood that Paul had recently purchased was a great addition to the learning experience. What better way to learn the ins and outs of painting than with the under belly of the car.

After applying a few coats of chassis black paint we moved over to pulling the engine from the 72 parts VW. Upon inspection we determined that only 4 simple bolts stood in our way. One - two - three bolts down. We were good to go. But the Pope's have a rule that always seems to apply. "Nothing is ever simple." This was ever so true when it came to the fourth and final bolt.

We applied heat, degreaser, WD40, a crowbar, a wedge, some rebar and even a little help from my Uncle David: all to no avail. After a quick re-group paul and I decided that a little elbow grease and plain brute force was needed. But before we hooked up the tractor, we simply tried a little rocker motion. Presto engine removed.

Now my farther, at one time or another, said that he lifted a VW engine by himself. I have to call him out on this one cause the VW engine that we had was a little heaver than Paul or I expected. However we lifted the engine up and placed in on the back of the Unicorn Truck and drove it around to the shed.

Now it all up to Heidi to take it all apart and rebuild it to pristine condition. :)

Posted by Andre at 02:01 PM | Permalink