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October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween
Halloween did not become a holiday in America until the 19th century, where lingering Puritan tradition meant even Christmas was scarcely observed before the 1800s. North American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries make no mention of Halloween in their lists of holidays. The transatlantic migration of nearly two million Irish following the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1849) brought the holiday and its customs to America. Scottish emigration from the British Isles, primarily to Canada before 1870 and to the United States thereafter, brought that country's own version of the holiday to North America.
When the holiday was observed in 19th-century America, it was generally in three ways. Scottish-American and Irish-American societies held dinners and balls that celebrated their heritages, with perhaps a recitation of Robert Burns' poem "Halloween" or a telling of Irish legends, much as Columbus Day celebrations were more about Italian-American heritage than Columbus. Home parties would center around children's activities, such as bobbing for apples and various divination games, particularly about future romance. And finally, pranks and mischief were common on Halloween.
The commercialization of Halloween in America did not begin until the 20th century, beginning perhaps with Halloween postcards, which were most popular between 1905 and 1915, and featured hundreds of different designs. Dennison Manufacturing Company, which published its first Hallowe'en catalog in 1909, and the Beistle Company were pioneers in commercially made Halloween decorations, particularly die-cut paper items. German manufacturers specialized in Halloween figurines that were exported to America in the period between the two world wars.
There is little primary documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween in America, or elsewhere, before 1900 Mass-produced Halloween costumes did not appear in stores until the 1950s, when trick-or-treating became a fixture of the holiday, although commercially made masks were available earlier.
In the United States, Halloween has become the sixth most profitable holiday (after Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentines Day, Easter, and Father's Day) for retailers. In the 1990s many manufacturers began producing a larger variety of Halloween yard decorations; prior to this a majority of decorations were homemade. Some of the most popular yard decorations are jack-o'-lanterns, scarecrows, witches, orange and purple string lights, inflatable decorations such as spiders, pumpkins, mummies, vampires and other monstrous creatures, and animatronic window and door decorations. Other popular decoration are foam tombstones and gargoyles. The sale of candy and costumes are also extremely important during this time period. Halloween is marketed not just to children but also to adults. According to the National Retail Federation, the most popular Halloween costumes for adults are, in order: witch, pirate, vampire, cat, and clown. On many college campuses, Halloween is a major celebration, with the Friday and Saturday nearest October 31 hosting many costume parties.
The National Confectioners Association reported, in 2005, that 80 percent of adults planned to give out candy to trick-or-treaters, and that 93 percent of children planned to go trick-or-treating.
Anoka, Minnesota, the self-proclaimed "Halloween Capital of the World," celebrates with a large civic parade. Salem, Massachusetts, also has laid claim to the title, though Salem has tried to separate itself from its history of persecuting witchcraft. Despite that, the city does see a great deal of tourism surrounding the Salem witch trials, especially around Halloween. Nearby Keene, New Hampshire, hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest each October which previously held the record for most lit jack-o'-lanterns at one time and place.
New York City hosts the United States' largest Halloween celebration, The Village Halloween Parade. Started by a Greenwich Village mask maker in 1973, the parade now attracts over two million spectators and participants as well as roughly four million television viewers each year. It is the largest participatory parade in the country if not the world, encouraging spectators to march in the parade as well. It is also the largest annual parade held at night.
In the state of Utah and throughout the world where members of the Mormon faith reside, Halloween is an occasion when the trunks of cars are decorated and the cars parked at the church where "trick-or-treaters" go from trunk to trunk and there are prizes for those best decorated, a phenomenon known as "trunk-or-treating" Everyone brings treats such as hot apple cider, popcorn, baked goods, chili and hotdogs, to share. It is seen as an opportunity for the community to socialize.
In many towns and cities, trick-or-treaters are welcomed by lighted porch lights and jack-o'-lanterns. In some large or crime-ridden cities, however, trick-or-treating is discouraged, forbidden, or restricted to staged trick-or-treating events within one or more of the cities' shopping malls, in order to prevent potential acts of violence against trick-or-treaters. Even where crime is not an issue, many towns in the US have established specific hours where trick-or-treating is permitted, e.g. 5-7 pm or 5-8 pm, to discourage late-night trick-or-treating.
Those living in the country may hold Halloween parties, often with a bonfire or, in some years, the older Irish custom of building two bonfires, with the celebrants passing between them. These parties usually involve games (often traditional games like bobbing for apples, searching for candy in a similar manner to Easter egg hunting, or a snipe hunt), a haunted hayride (often accompanied by a scary story and one or more masked and costumed people hiding in the dark to jump out and scare the riders), and treats (usually a bag of candy and/or homemade treats). Scary movies may also be watched. Normally, the children are picked up by their parents at pre-determined times. However, it is not uncommon for these parties to include sleepovers.
In areas with a large Mexican population, Halloween has often merged with celebrations of "Dia De Los Muertos", the Day of the Dead. There are many different versions of All Hallows Eve celebrated around the world today by many different cultures. Remember when youre out there is the dark dont look back and walk fast!
Posted by MyChron Mike at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2006
Nicky Hayden
2006 MotoGP World Champion!
How cool is that?
Posted by MyChron Mike at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2006
Happy Birthday MyChron Mike
Posted by Mike Jaynes at 03:07 PM | Comments (3)
October 21, 2006
Holy Burrito Batman
Its a wacky world out there and if you dont believe it read the story below! This actually made the network news in California! Maybe it was a slow news day or no Republican was caught doing who knows what.
It was a simple meal -- a beef and bean burrito.
But the deep fried dish gave one Sacramento woman deep thoughts after she claimed to see an image of Jesus' face burned onto its tortilla wrapping.
Valencia Phillips said she's not crazy, not so religious either. But even though Phillips was quite hungry one evening, she didn't dare bite into what she calls the "holy burrito."
"Right here, I see an emblazoned image of Jesus Christ on a burrito," Phillips said, pointing to the blackened image near the top right corner of the burrito she cooked for dinner. "It was amazing."
Phillips was so excited after seeing the image that she ran to tell her neighbor about it and then told her kids.
She prompty stored the burrito inside a plastic food container, resting on a bed of cotton balls.
Posted by MyChron Mike at 07:46 PM | Comments (1)
Performance Racing Industry Show
AiM Sports is excited to announce that in addition to our booth numbers 3946 and 3948 we will have an additional display booth number 912. This is in what can best be called PRI's karting section with many top manufacturers and importers represented this year.
We will have many new and exciting products for both the automotive and karting enthusiast so be sure and put us on your list of must see's.
The show takes place this year December 14th, 15th and 16th in Orlando Florida.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2006
New Improved Water Sensor and Coupler
AiM is pleased to announce a new improved water sensor. The new thermoresitive sensor which is more accurate at lower temperatures, much stronger and less susceptible to extraneous ingnition noise. This new sensor may be installed directly into the head on TAG motors or used in conjuction with our new in line water adaptor for all other applications. The sensors are available now and may be identified by their black wire and round 4 pin connector. The coupler is also available in our new Titanium color.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 12:53 PM | Comments (1)
Milestones and Missions
AiM Sports, Michael Jaynes, Chrissy Jaynes, Enrico Rosignoli, Olga Garibaldo, Scott Jessup, Chad Brackens, Mario Trujillo, Devan Newman, Delann Hartman, John Jimison and myself are going to celebrate 10 years as a company the last day of October. It was 10 years ago that Michael, Chrissy and myself at the North American Championships in Charlotte NC decided we were going to start the company. It was such a strange twist of fate and maybe the second luckiest day of my life, the first being the afternoon I laid eyes on my now way long time girlfriend Melissa who has like all our familes supported me through all the long days and being gone from home so much. I could go on and on about the challenges we faced and overcame but I wont. I will say that I believe we have some of the best people in business who have open minds and tireless enthusiam for what we do.
I will also tell you that AiM Sports has never had a "Mission Statemet". Mission statements are words meant to persuade you that the company in question is working hard for you. Its a smokescreen. Pardon the pun but we have always AiMed high to put our customers first and treat them as we would want to be treated and go way beyond what people would expect from a business. Along the way we have met and become friends with so many of our dealers and customers. We have seen kids grow from one of the pack to racing in professional series all over the world. It has been the most rewarding 10 years of my life and I have so many great friends and memories and I know that I speak for everyone in the AiM World.
I look forward to the next 10 years and with them the new friends and challenges we shall face!
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:55 AM | Comments (1)
October 19, 2006
They Say A Picture Is Worth A 1000 Words
What was Dani Pedrosa thinking on lap 2 in Estoril when he took the MotoGP points leader and his HRC teammate Nicky Hayden out of the race and the points lead with an out of control attempted pass? I think his ego is so huge that he couldnt bear the thought of Nicky possibly winning the MotoGP world championship and being the first to unseat Valentino Rossi in 5 years. I believe that he would rather have Rossi win again and then take his best shot next year in 2007 and he did his best to insure that scenario. I would bet that Rossi and Yamaha have had a few good laughs at the expense of HRC and Pedrosa in days since.
Nicky still has a slim chance at the title but it could require some help from Pedrosa but based on past experience that doesnt seem too likely.
UPDATE
Alberto Pig, Dani Pedrosa's manager and mentor now blames Nicky for the crash which took both Repsol riders out of the race. He claims Nicky braked early which forced Pedrosa to crash taking Hayden down in the process. This is after Pedrosa admitted in an HRC press release that he made a grave error in judgement. Again as is so common in todays world no one can assume responsibility for their mistakes. Maybe Pig is planning a career in politics?
Posted by MyChron Mike at 07:16 PM | Comments (2)
October 17, 2006
Save Money
On last minute flights. This is a very cool site which I have personally used a couple of times when I needed to travel on short notice. I have purchased flights along with a car and saved a ton when used within lets say a week of departure.
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
300 Million and Growing
According to the US Census bureau at 7:46AM EDT today the population of the United States of America will reach 300 million. It has taken 39 years to get from 200 to 300 million.
This estimate is based on one birth every 7 seconds, one death every 13 seconds and 1 international migration every 31 seconds. I wonder if this takes into account the number of illegal immigrants pouring across our borders day and night?
No matter what thats a lot of people!
Posted by MyChron Mike at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2006
Andrew Caddell
Sunday October 15th Andrew won the Spec Miata class at the SCCA National Championships at Heartland Park in Topeka Kansas. Andrew who is the son of Roger and Ruth Caddell owners of Victory Lane Data in Graham Washington outlasted a huge field of close to 60 cars to win by a margin of almost six seconds. When reached by phone yesterday afternoon Roger was quite ecstatic after the big win. Teamed with Andrews skill behind the wheel and our AiM MXL DaVid video Roger had several days to analyze the data and video which they had collected in the 4 prior qualifying session to figure out a setup on the car which helped in their victory.
Congratulations to Andrew and the whole crew!
Posted by MyChron Mike at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2006
SCCA Run-off Update and Seminar Info
We've mentioned Andy Caddell before, a talented young Miata driver from the Pacific Northwest. Over the next few days he'll be competing in the SCCA National Championship Run-Offs in Topeka, KS. You can follow the action on his live blog, with reports filed from the track.
Seminar Schedule
Roger Caddell (Andy's Dad) of Victory Lane Data has scheduled a Data Acquisition Seminar for Tuesday, Oct 10 from 1:00 - 2:30 pm in the Mazdaspeed Tent (Heartland Park Paddock). This is a free seminar, contact Roger at 866.328.2629 for more information.
Dave Redszus from Precision Auto Research will be conducting several seminars Oct 8-12 as time and space permit at Heartland. Look for him in the paddock or call him at (630) 766-4402 for more information.
Posted by aimsports || erik at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2006
Busa Madness
Check out this wild ride from McCoy Motorsports as featured on the Metric TV Sportbike Build off. The custom Hayabusa bike features a specially prepped MXL digital dash with translucent red/maroon powder coating. Neel and Joel from Apex Speed handled the wiring and install on this one of a kind beauty.
Apex Speed Technology and McCoy Motorsports have teamed together again to build the most radical custom Suzuki ever imagined. McCoy Motorsports “Turbo Pheonix”, featuring a custom AIM MXL Strada Dash, has been selected as finalist in “Metric TV” biker buildoff.
It will also be on the cover of next month’s Super Streetbike magazine. Aim Sports worked with Apex to provide an MXL Pista in a custom, red-anodized case to match the rest of the bike’s color scheme. The stock Suzuki Hayabusa harness was modified to accept the AIM dash, utilizing all the stock sensors including speed, water temperature, RPM, and boost. Apex Speed Technology also provide the BPD ECU and performed all the fuel injection tuning in one plug & play package.
http://www.tobefast.com/fast_mcbusa.htm
Posted by MyChron Mike at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)
Super SCCA Support
The SCCA National Championships begin this weekend at Heartland Park in Topeka Kansas. AiM Sports will be providing support with two of our brightest young technicians. Chad Brackens from our Virginia office along with Mario Trujillo from our California headquarters will be on hand beginning Saturday for technical support.
They will be joined by two of our dealers, Dave Redzsus of Precision Automotive Research (Chicago, Illinois) along with Roger and Ruth Caddell of Victory Lane Data (Graham, Washington). Besides providing support both will also be presenting seminars during the event so if you've got some extra time be sure to attend.
I would also like to take a moment to wish all of our customers the best of luck in the 2006 National Championships!
MyChron Mike
Posted by MyChron Mike at 06:13 PM | Comments (0)