Double Dipping

This is a 2 part post tonight, hence the title.

First part, really quickly. I'm starting another blog. One for my favorite pastime (or addiction, or obsession, etc...depending on who you ask). It'll be themed for the outdoors, mainly hunting. I need some help with a cool looking template for it. I've looked at dozens of the template sites and can't seem to come up with anything I like.
So... come on, all you blog-savvy, HTML-understanding, color-coordinating, template tweaking people out there. Could you toss a begging dog a bone? I need some decent links to templates, HTML sites and anything else that would help in this. Google nor Yahoo turned up diddly-squat. I've seen some pretty wicked looking blogs and even if you didn't do it all yourself, just point me down the right trail to someone who can help a newbie out. It doesn't have to be really fancy. I just want it to remotely eye-catching. You know...the kind that makes you at least want to look at the first couple of posts before moving on. Any tips, hints or charity will be greatly appreciated. My email is on my profile if you'd rather use it than the comments.
Alrighty, the pleading is over. Thank you for sticking it out this far.

Now..... Let's move on the a more masculine topic....Shall we?

How many times must it be said?

Rubbing is racing.
Push, pass or get the hell off the track.
Drive the first 400 miles and race the last 100.

If these cliche's sound familiar to you...chances are you already know I'm talking about racing...more specifically, NASCAR.

Well, here's a new one that you might want to jot down, memorize and get used to:

DO NOT FUCK WITH TONY STEWART!!

Tony Stewart is quickly becoming the new "Intimidator". Now before all you Earnhardt fans start throwing the 3's and calling me sacriligious and loading up to come hunt down the "Sorry SOB that thinks there'll EVER be another Dale Earnhardt, Sr."...hear me out.
For the sake of driving home the above point (no pun intended)...let's just say that it WAS Dale Sr. that Matt Kenseth bumped in the rear during Sunday's Daytona 500. And he did it while rolling along at a spry little clip of about 185 MPH. We'll even save for later the fact that he did it on Lap 20 of a 200 lap race AND in the middle of Turn 2 where the cars are already teetering along the edge of control AND the fact that had it been a rookie driver, he probably would not have driven what was essentially a wrecked car waiting to hit something out of the corner sideways and back into line, thus avoiding "The Big One".
Do you actually think that Dale would have put up with this kind of behavior for a second? Sure he would....for about as long as it took him to get in a position to "encourage" Kenseth to drive smarter and to "remind" him that there are prices to pay for such things. Then he would have done the same thing Stewart did...make him pay.
I've had the priviledge to see Dale, Sr. race several times. Yes, I said priviledge. I'm from the South. We have the starting grids for the week's race printed on the last page of the church programs down here. It's THAT important. He was truly one of the greatest drivers to ever take the green flag. The man could drive an ocean liner thru a shopping mall at 160MPH and never mar the tile!! He had that touch. But a large part of his success stemmed from the fact that when you pulled up behind him, beside him or anywhere near him...you respected him. Respected him to the point of almost being scared of him. Because you knew that if you traded paint with "The Intimidator," he would pay you back...and most times with interest. Maybe not that day. Maybe not even for the next several races. But it was coming. And you knew it. A month later, halfway across the country...you're leading 42 other drivers down the final straightaway...the checkered flag is raised and ready to wave. You feel a slight tap from the rear. You look in the mirror and the first thing you see are the mirrored goggles. And that bushy moustache turns up on the ends and uncovers a smile. It's not a "Hello. You certainly are driving a fine race today. I'm so very proud of you" smile. It's that "Well, would you looky what we have here? Remember me? Turn 2? Daytona? Yeah, now you remember me. It's time to pay up... bitch" kind of smile. You announce to your crew over the radio, "Hold on, boys and girls. It's fixin' to get interesting." But you think to yourself, "Maybe if I just slip up a little and give him the bottom line through the corner...he'll just go on by." You do. He does. You start breathing again. Congratulations. You have just been intimidated by a reputation of not taking any shit from anyone. Your mom would be proud. The stronger man walks away. Even it meant being a loser that day. I think now is a good time to mention that Earnhardt won over 40 MILLION dollars by letting "Momma's boys" off easy. I hate to tell you this but...your daddy secretly wanted a son like him.
Tony Stewart has been racing his entire life. He knows what it takes to win. He's proven it many times. He will continue to prove it. He has an aggressive style that is almost a mirror-image of a younger Dale Earnhardt. You push me, I push you. You wreck me today, I'll wreck you later. Twice, if I feel I need to make my point crystal clear. And the fact that he can drive like few others, past or present, is just a bonus. And just like ol' #3, he has pissed a lot of people off in the past. He will piss a lot more people off. And he will keep winning. 2 champinships in 4 years is a helluva feat in the Nextel Cup Series. Earnhardt won 7 in 14 years, with the last 6 coming within 8 years of each other. Stewart has more Top-10 finishes than any other driver since his Nextel Cup career began. He's on a good roll. Let's chack back in 10 years and compare the 2 again. The greatest of all-time has handed his torch down. And I think he handed to #20.

It was said this morning that he started the season "with a flashing neon bullseye on his back". Well folks, if it's on his back. And you can see it, you're on the way to being one of the losers today. Pass him if you can...just pass cleanly and with care. Because unless you have good credit, the price could be in the millions.