OH NOES!

I am so angry and sad.

For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the dreaded, infamous, hellish, stupid "red ring of death." Think "Blue Screen of Death" on steroids. My X-Box is broken, and if I'm lucky I'll be able to have it repaired for free (plus shipping), but I'm not sure yet. I don't have the original receipt and I can't remember if I've had it for over three years, which is how long the warranty is good for. Even if it is under warranty, I'm going to be minus an X-Box for two months. Dammit! "Race Pro" is coming out on the 27th of January. *sigh* I guess I just have to play board games or something until it's fixed. Or maybe I'll use my (hopefully) Christmas bonus to get a PS3 so I can play GT5. I dunno though, I hate the PS3, the only good games on it are GT5 and Little Big Planet. And that's only good when you play on-line, but I don't have an internet connection at my house. *bleh* I'm running out of steam. I just realised that I'm crying over a video game system.

Anywho, 'nother topic! I went test driving last weekend. I do that from time to time just to see what's available, and this time I drove a couple of great cars. One of the was a 2001 BMW 330ci convertible with 47k miles on it for 18 grand. It wasn't bad, but I was expecting more. The clutch was far too light, I couldn't really tell when it was "biting." The steering, while precise, didn't give enough feedback; It was just too light. Finally, the gear change was simply too vague. The throw was almost 10 inches from first to second, and it just didn't slot well into place. It didn't give me the confidence that I was in the gear I wanted. It was a good car, it seems like I'm being really down on this car, but I had this grand image in my brain of "The Ultimate Driving Machine" and it just wasn't. I'd like to drive a hard top version because they're apparently more sporty... I don't think I'll get my hopes up for that one though.

The other car I drove though blew all my expectations away; and Derek, you're on crack.


This is a Nissan 350Z and it is fantastic! Derek didn't like this car, hence the crack remark. I can understand why someone would choose, say a Mazda RX8, over this car, but not because this is a bad car. Those two extra seats in the RX8 make it very appealing. But that brutal 3.5L V6 is fantastic! In addition to that, the clutch and gearbox are magical! Derek said that this car had too hard a ride, but I disagree. I took it for a long test drive over some pretty sketchy roads and it handled them well. Not only that, but I was able to drive it on the freeway and it was fine there too. The only problems I had with it were seats that were a little bit too small, and the visibility wasn't the best. But it's a sports car! Visibility is supposed to be terrible. I think that this might be my next car. Unless, I'm wearing my "Grown-Up Pants" when I buy my next car, then I'll get a Golf GTi. The practicality of the 350Z is crap. Two seats, and even though there's a fairly large space in the back for luggage, it's full of rear strut bar so only duffel bags can fit.
See what I mean?

Still, I think all the downfalls are worth the upsides. There's a very real possibility that I'm going to buy on of these. Rebecca has her work cut out for her to talk me out of it. Oh, and just in case you all are worried that I'm going to buy this car, like tomorrow, then fear not, it's still a couple of years off. I don't ever want two car payments.

The quote was from "The Thomas Crown Affair." It's a pretty fun movie with Pierce Brosnan. It comes recommended.

"Nirvana is coming! The mystic portal awaits!"

New Quote

I realize that the last quote was rather obscure, and from an obscure movie, so I'll give you an obvious quote from that obscure movie.

"Monet's unknown masterpiece, 'Dogs At Cards'."

I'll try to get in on the weekend to give you all a proper entry.

Bleck... sorry.

I know I asked you guys for advice as to what I should write... then promptly ignored your advice and did nothing (heh, reminds me of a quote). Well, right after (I mean within 60 seconds of hitting publish post) I've been super busy with work. I might get around to writing about the auto show, but not yet.

Anywho... yes Mark, it was Kung Fu Panda. That was a surprisingly good movie.

And the Diesel engine was originally designed to run on peanut oil.

The quote I thought of:
"She will beg you for advice. Your reply will be concise. She'll listen very nicely then go out and do precisely what she wants."

And a bit harder quote:
"The doors welded, just throw a leg over."
(This is a bit obscure... I don't know if either of you has seen it.)

Hey everyone.

I need some feedback... I went to the Sacramento International Auto Show and took a ton of crappy photos (I mean they're all sorts of fuzzy and dark). Do you guys want to see my crappy pics and read my long winded thoughts about the different cars there (seriously, I could easily write 1,000 words on every car there) or would you rather let me leave it at "It was rad"?

Also, here's a trivia question:
The first Diesel engine was designed to be fueled by what?

and here is a quote:
"Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend"

Been a while 'eh?

So, the person I voted for didn't become president.


Keep at it dude! The law of averages has got to catch up with you some time.

Anyway, that's really not what I wanted to write about. Far too many words have been wasted in politics.

=========================================================


I'm proud of myself. I've thought for a long time that I would hate all of those documentaries that are basically propaganda. For example "An Inconvenient Truth" or "Who Killed the Electric Car." I've actually been secretly terrified that if someone made one of these documentaries about a topic that I agree with, I'd give it high praise just like all of the other sheep that love the others. This is not the case. Last night I watched "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" and it was gut wrenchingly terrible. It's presented by Ben Stein ("Anyone? Anyone?") who I admire a great deal, and it was dealing with intelligent design, which I do agree with. I saw Ben Stein on The Late Late show with Craig Ferguson several weeks back and it showed the only part in the film that showed the complexities of a cell to which point one must ask his/herself "Seriously, how can all that happened by accident?" and I was rather excited by it. That kind of documentary I would love. But sadly it was not the case. Maybe I should have just read the title of the movie and analyzed it. It's called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," which should tell me that it's only about people in academics who either publish or teach stuff about ID and get fired for it. The whole film was a goddamn rant. Nearly the entire was about how Darwinists are so dumb... and evil. I mean, the Nazi's were Darwinists. Yep. He brought up the point that Hitler's Reich was partly brought about by the ideas of Darwin. He certainly threw in a couple of (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Now I'm not saying that people who believe strictly in evolution are Nazi's, but..." and it was all I could do to not scream obscenities to the Television. Not only that, but he makes the metaphor of the split between people who don't believe in ID and the people who do is like the Berlin Wall. Near the end of his film, he's giving a speech to a theater half filled with students and it was being cut into with parts of Regan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech. I actually tasted bile watching that.

Boy, I've really worked myself into a frenzy by writing about this. Anyway, instead of making you read even more of my tedious ranting about a film I don't even like, I'll wrap this up. So, my fear that I would succumb to propaganda if it fit my views is in fact unwarranted. Phew! Now I don't have to worry about having to eat my words any more.

Take it easy everyone.

"You found Jesus yet?"
"I didn't know I was s'posed to be lookin' for him, sir."

Part 2 of the Paris Motor Show.

The boring part.

Well, when I say "boring" I just mean they're not super cars with 200+ mph capabilities. These are cars you might actually see on the road.

First off is the Mini Cooper Crossover. I don't even know where to begin with this one. The pure contradiction of terms of "Mini" and "SUV" makes me want to harm someone. But on the other hand, I think they did an alright job of it. Here's a photo:


It doesn't much look like a mini, but more of a BMW X3 with Mini parts bolted on. I really want to hate this car, because I pretty much hate all "Soft-Roaders." In my mind, those small SUV's or Crossovers are completely pointless; they can't do the off road bit, and a station wagon (like the BMW M5 touring that's on my top 10 garage) do just as good a job at the rest of the stuff. There are a few off roaders that I like though. The one that comes to mind is the Toyota FJ Cruiser. It has a funky design that just pets me in the right way. And y'know, this Mini Crossover does the same thing. I'd never dream of thinking about considering buying one, but it looks pretty good. Soon enough however, the roads with filled with these things and perhaps then I'll start to hate them like I want to.
____________________________________________________________

The next car is quite probably the next car I buy, and the first one I'll buy new. It's the Mark VI VW Golf GTi. Another obligatory photo.

If you can tell the difference between this Mark VI and the previous Mark V, then you've got a keen eye and an unhealthy love of cars on par with mine. The front grill has been slightly altered so it looks a bit more "squinty" and angry. The wheels have been move slightly closer to the corners of the car, and the intake has been widened to improve aerodynamics. At the back, the tail pipes have been moved further to the outside to give it a wider and lower appearance, and as for aesthetics, that's about it. So why on earth would I buy a Mark VI instead of a Mark V. I think you all know that I don't necessarily need the newest thing to get my jollies. Well, it's because of the engine and suspension. That's where the most changes have happened. The suspension has been redesigned from the ground up and is now electronically controlled. This is not new technology (hit a button get stiffer suspension, hit it again get a more supple ride), Mercedes has been doing that for some fifty years, but this is the first time in a small hatchback like this Golf. And then there's the re-mapping of the engine. 35%. That's how much more powerful the Mark VI is than it's predecessor. A staggering 270 bHp from a 2.oL inline 4 cylinder engine. I cannot wait to get in one of these for a test drive. The craziest thing is that it's only going to cost 2% more money. It's absolutely fantastic and I've fallen in love with the Golf for the 3rd time now.
______________________________________________

Anyway, this was my last post about the Paris Motor Show. I know it has been simply thrilling, but alas, I have run out of things to say. I could ramble, or blather, but I would actually say anything about the other cars. Perhaps, if the next motor show (which I believe is the Geneva Motor Show) has some really cool cars I'll write about them.

So until my next post,

"Eddie, if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now."

Paris Motor Show.

There was some really neat cars to be shown at the recent Paris Motor Show.

The first car that I mention completely stole the show. It's the most anticipated and I think the most controversial car there. It's the new Lamborghini Estoque. Well, it's a front engined, four door sedan, and a Lamborghini. Go figure! I guess it's for the super rich who want a Lambo, but also have kids or something. Anyway, here's a picture.

I dunno. Lambo's have always supposed to be super over the top and "Woweeie!" more than anything else, but this one seems a little sedate don't you think? Power train details for now include their 5.2L V10 that produces a little over 550 bHp. But, there are rumors that their 6.2L V12 can fit in the engine bay and that produces a little over 630 bHp. Those both would go great in this car. There is however, one more rumor about the power train, and this is the controversial part: a 4L V8 with an electric motor. That's right, Lamborghini is thinking about going Hybrid with this car. This is stunning to me because if it's one thing that Lambo isn't, it's "green." They've always been about turning heads and going fast no matter the cost. Proof of this point is the Gas Consumption of their Murcielago LP640; it get 8 mpg in the city and 13 on the highway. These are worse consumption numbers than even the Bugatti Veyron when has a larger engine, more cylinders, and 4 turbos... oh, and 1,001 horse power. That's freaking nuts. So, I think that if Lamborghini of all manufactures is thinking that the environment is more important than going fast, then I think we've hit the peak of automotive design. In a very short amount of time, I think the car that can drive in excess of 200 mph will be extinct. Well, that's me on a soap box, and I truly hope I'm wrong.
_______________________________________________________

The next car that I'll write about is a new Citroen: the Citroen GT Concept. Here's a picture (well, a couple of them so you can get a sense of the insanity.)
So this car will never be made. Everyone understands that and truth be told I'm glad of that, I think it's uglier than sin. This car cannot even move under it's own power for it has none. They haven't specified what kind of engine it could possibly have... or even where the engine would go. It could fit up front, but it does look like it would be a mid engined car. Hell, it might have 2 engines who knows? But the reason for building it is what intrigues me the most. The badge on the car looks like this:

Mark might know what this is, but for those of you who aren't a fan of video games, that's the logo for the "Gran Turismo" video game/driving simulator that's available on the Playstation 3. This car was designed specifically to be in this game. I find that very interesting. Car manufactures know that the people who play video games are now growing up and they're the people who are buying cars now. Now instead of Polyphony (the developer of the Gran Turismo) having to spend millions of dollars to licence all of the cars for their video games like they had to got GT1, now some car manufactures are paying Polyphony to get their cars into their game. Frankly, I think that's awesome. Even though the Citroen GT Concept will never be made, millions of Americans will now know the Citroen name which could possibly conjure up enough demand for the French company to sell cars here in America, and it could certainly sell more cars in Europe.
_______________________________________________________

Well, tune in next week when I look at another two cars from the Paris Motor Show. Those cars won't be as exciting as these, but you are certainly more likely to see these cars on the road in the near future.

Simple, yet intriguing post title.

So, it's been 2 weeks since my last post and I have nothing really to report... maybe a small story or two, but nothing serious because I have have exactly 0 days off since my last post. I have to look into the legality of the bosses making me work 20 straight days which it will be by the time I finally get a day off. I know I won't be getting paid for Saturday either because I'm not actually going to be working. No no, it's better, I'm going to be moving my office. I'm really not looking forward to it. I mean, the office is going to be pretty awesome, but the moving is going to suck. Maybe I'll fake a heart attack or something to get out of moving. God I hate this job... I'm going to look in the Classifieds when I'm in Virginia.

Anywho, a slightly entertaining story. My intimate knowledge of cars, especially my own, has finally done something for me. It saved me 25 bucks. It started out typical enough, I just needed to go to Jiffy Lube to get my oil changed. Every time I do this it ends up costing me about $60 because I always get Full Synthetic oil because I like to baby my car (or save it because I like to rev the piss out of it). I'm sitting down waiting for the guy to call my name so I can tell him what I want. When he finally does I go up there and there's an air filter sitting on the counter and the Jiffy Lube attendant informs me that my air filter needs replacing (what he showed me was rather gunked up) and that if I'd like it done it's going to cost an extra $19.99.

I looked at him quizzically and asked, "You got that filter out of my car? The blue Ford Focus right? The one right there?" and I motioned to my car. He assured me that the air filter on the counter did indeed come from my car.

I then said to him, "Okay, you're going to fill my car with fully synthetic oil, but you're going to charge me for conventional."

The attendant replied, "Why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'm going to report you for trying to cheat me."

"But, look at it sir, it's completely clogged, I don't see how that is trying to cheat you."

"You didn't pull that out of my car. My car doesn't have an air filter, it has an air cleaner and it's good for 100,000 miles. If I'm wrong, please let me watch you put it back in and I'll buy three of them."

"Ah, I'll go ahead and fill your car with Synthetic and charge you for Conventional."

That really made my day. So far as I know, no mechanic has ever tried to cheat me like that. I've had a lot of moments lately where I thought to myself that I know entirely way too much about cars, and perhaps I should cool it, but it finally worked out in my favor! Yay! I am super awesome.


Rilla grabbed the last quote even though she didn't know who Slider was, that was pretty sweet.

New Quote: "You move your left leg, then your right. Your body will follow. They call it walking".

Hello Everyone.

So, how's everyone doing? Me, well, I'm doing pretty OK. I've had some troubles at work, but those are clearing up nicely. We're going to be moving into a new office this month and I'm getting my own office so that's going to be nice. I'm going down there tomorrow to paint it. I'm thinking a light blue. It'll be pretty and quiet.

Here is a basic layout as to what my new office will look like.



I know that looking at someone else's new office is hardly exciting, but it is the most fascinating thing in my life right at this moment.

Other news:
I'm finally taking a proper vacation from work in a little less than a month. I'm going to be flying to Virginia to visit Rilla. I got a ticket via southwest and I rented a car for that week too. I was a little bit worried about the car because I can't stand bad cars. A while back I rented a car when I brought Rebecca's car in for it's 60k tune up. It was a Pontiac G6 and it ruined my whole day. So I dropped some Ducats this time; I rented myself a Ford Mustang. It's nothing super, but it's a lot better than any other Eco-Box I'd rent. Dad knows what I'm talking about; remember that Dodge Caliber you rented a while back? So with the Mustang I at least know what I'm getting myself into and I know what it's limitations are. While Rilla, Derek, Ethan, and Bennett are all out of the house during the week, I think I'm going to take this fantastic drive.

View Larger Map

Whoo doggy that looks like fun. Those poor Hertz people are gonna need to throw on some new tires and brake pads when I return their car.

It is going to be great to get away from work for a while. I'm lookin' forward.

Movie Quote:
"Slider, *sniff* you stink."

Whole bunches of stuff.

So let me start from long ago. Rebecca and I drove to Oregon for the 4th of July weekend to visit a good friend of ours. Perhaps some of you remember Jason Wunschel. Well, he moved up there back in June and I wanted to go visit him like a week after he moved so it would be right before he actually started his new job, but unfortunately my car broke and I couldn't get up there. Well, my car got fixed and we went for the 4th instead. It was a load of fun. We went hiking to a great waterfall. It was very relaxing, and the best part was that it wasn't a hard hike. Only about a half mile so I wasn't huffing and puffing like well... a computer game nerd who never does any exercise. After that we saw the Firework Display. It was a long wait, but people with all sorts of illegal fireworks were starting their own displays with the big mortars as we waited for the actual big display. We also went to an Army Surplus store. I had never been to one of those and it was a blast! Didn't really buy much, even though I wanted all sorts of rad stuff. They had "Ninja Grappling Hooks" and gas masks, and helmets, and all sorts of rad stuff. All I came home with though was a pair of inert .50 cal rounds, and a gun cleaning kit because by .22 kit is empty. The last day I was there I watched the new Indiana Jones movie. I didn't care for it very much, but it was still a good time because of the company. Then we drove back home.

The week I got back was pretty uneventful and rough. I worked for 10 straight days for a total of over 100 hours. It was icky, but I did get the following Thursday and Friday off. I didn't do a whole lot during those days. I took Felice to the Vet (more on that later) and did some test driving, but for the most part I was just taking it easy. I have decided that my next car is going to be a VW. It'll be a Golf, but I'm not sure if it's going to be a regular Rabbit, or if I'm going to save up for longer and get a GTi. I also went to see WALL-E with Mom. It was a good movie, but it finished weak. In that sense it reminded me of The Black Stallion. The first half was excellent and I was thoroughly enjoying myself, but then the second act just became too jumbled and needlessly complicated. But all in all, it was worth the money, which is something I don't say too often. Oh! I also saw Hellboy II with Rebecca that weekend too. It was very pretty and enjoyable in a dumb sort of way. ...I don't know if dumb is quite the correct word... I just mean you didn't have to think about anything that the movie was trying to tell you. It had the subtlety of a 90's Sitcom. But because of how pretty all the different monsters were, I thought again, that it was worth the price of admission. My goodness I've seen a lot of movies this month. I also did the most manly thing I've ever done that weekend. I changed my own spark plugs in my car. It was super awesome to get my hands dirty like that and it also kind of blew my mind. It is cheaper to change my spark plugs with the best that money can buy than it is to fill up with regular unleaded. That realization gave me a slight chuckle.

Last weekend was not very eventful. On Saturday I went over to Mike's house and helped him move his big items to the garage or front room so that when he moves to Marks old house next weekend, it'll all be right there to move into the truck. We only had about 2 hours worth of work, but we spent like 5 hours doing it. We spent most of the time just chatting and such. When we were moving his arcade cabinets I noticed that he had Terminator II: Judgement Day and well, we just had to beat it. It was one of my favorite arcade games when I was growing up, but I never had enough quarters to beat it. Also, when we moved his Gun Safe we had to pull 'em all out and talk about them. We just had a good time shootin' the breeze. He also told me about a friend of a friend of his that recently inherited a couple of RC boats and a RC plane. Since Mike knew about the RC car that I have he was hoping I could help him find what a fair price is for them. I can help him with it, but since there is so much price range between different vehicles and parts I'd really have to see them to find out. However, as soon as I do figure out how much they're worth, I think I'm going to give him an offer for one of the boats. I mean for crying out loud, I live on a lake. So, I'll keep y'all posted about that.

Well, my dog isn't doing absolutely wonderful lately. Just before the 4th of July weekend she developed a bald spot on her side so we took her to the Vet. They did a skin scraping and found out she had a bit of a bacteria infection. So they gave us some antibiotics and an antibacterial shampoo and told us to bring her back in two weeks. Well, two weeks later we brought her back and they were satisfied with her progress and told us to keep giving her the meds and baths. Well, later that same week, on her other side she started growing a cyst. At it's worst it was a lump about the size of a large grape! So, we took her back into the Vet for the third time and they weren't terribly worried about it. They just pricked it and some stuff came out so they don't think it's like a tumor or anything. We got some stronger antibiotics for her and the progress seems good. The lump is getting much smaller and the bald patch is (however slowly) getting covered back up with fur. I also want to mention that throughout this whole ordeal Felice wasn't in any discomfort. She was always our happy little puppy that she's always been. I'd have been a lot more worried if she seemed to be in pain, or if she was lethargic or something. Like I said though, she's getting better and I'll keep you guys posted if anything changes.

S'more good news is that I have some vacation time coming up. I'm going to be taking the first full week in September off and I'll be damned if I know what I'm going to do with it. There's just so many options I could do. I could drive back up to Oregon again and visit my friend Jason again, or I could drive or fly down to Phoenix to visit my other friend Jason again, or I might take some sort of trip to the east coast perhaps to see either of my siblings or my dad. Or maybe I'll pocket the grand I'd spend on a trip like that and buy my self a racing suit and helmet. Perhaps I'll just take that money and throw it into a CD and make some money on it (least likely). I am at a complete loss as to what I should do for my birthday week. Any suggestions?

Thanks for checking this blog after so long an absence and for reading so many friggin' words.

-Rob

Sorry Guys.

It's been a really really long time since I've written anything. And well... it's not going to be 'til some time next week when I can make an actual good post about everything. I've been busy as crap here at work. When Wednesday rolls around I'll have worked 103 hours in 10 consecutive days. So, after I take a break from work, and come back on Monday I'll write about how my 4th was and such.

To keep you busy 'til then though, I'll leave you with a Logic Riddle:

You have 2 sand timers, one's a 5 minute, and one's a 2 minute. How do you boil a 3 minute egg?

Hoo-ray

So I haven't written anything in a little over a week because I didn't want to write until I had some good news. It just seems like I've been on a downer for the past month or so.

Anyway, my car. It is fixed! The best part was that my mechanic decided that it wasn't the transmission like he said, but the linkage, like I said. To his credit though, this car has a weird linkage setup. Basically, the linkage goes to a box which then in turn moves some more links around to actually make the transmission change gear. It seems fairly redundant to me too, but whatever. So basically, instead of buying a used transmission for $800, then putting it in for another $900 or so in labor, plus another however much for fluids and washers, it only cost me $500 for the part, and $200 in labor. All in all it only cost me $731.81! That leaves enough money left over for me to get some new rubber for the corners. My front tires are getting pretty worn and my back tires are mismatched from blowing one out on a pot hole a long while back. So, all in all, my day has been goin' pretty OK.

That's about the extent of my news though - OH, I forgot, I saw "Speed Racer" this past weekend. It was friggin' fantastic. Well, maybe not "Friggin' Fantastic" but it was quite enjoyable.

Quotes:
1) "Someone tell the fat lady, she's on in five."

2) "Cinderella Story here at Augusta."

3) "Oh My Dear Little Librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you have nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays."

4) "Moisture is the essence of wetness. Wetness is the essence of beauty."

5) "I've been following my gut since I was 14 years old. I've come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains."

6) "You're not the same man I knew ten years ago."
"It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage."

7) "Don't be lost when your time comes! Because the Day of the Lord cometh, as a thief in the night."

8) "You're a very handsome man."
"Thank you, Mr. President."
"Just get rid of that grin. You look like a schmuck."

9) "Mike broke the Hubble! Mike broke the Hubble"

10) "I bet they've got a lid on every trash can... and a fence around every tree."

Holy Crap

A new update.

So, nothing really new goin' on in my life right now. Still the #1 thing on my mind right now are my car troubles, but those are soon going away. Basically, it was not just the linkage on my Focus that was the problem, it was the transmission itself. It exploded. So they quoted me a $1,400 rebuild, or I could get a used one for $600. So I'm getting a used transmission and a new clutch. The most heinous thing about it is the labor though. 8 friggin' hours at $90 an hour. So the whole ordeal will cost about $2,000. I've enough saved up to get it fixed... well... almost, but Accurate Fire owes me 5 days of vacation pay from the time that I didn't use last year. So they're picking up the rest of what I don't have and call us square. So the mechanic is going to start working on it tomorrow and that's that.

I was going to go to Oregon this weekend to visit my friend Jason Wunschel, but because of these expenses I cannot. I think Rebecca and I will go up there the weekend of the 4th though. I should have my car back by then. So that'll be a lot of fun.

Outside of car problems, my life has been almost too ordinary. Nothing really exciting. I did see watch a movie the other day and I can't understand why I keep giving Ridley Scott chances to impress me with his movies, but of all the movies that I've seen, that guy has made only 2 movies that didn't suck, and they weren't that great (Matchstick Men, and G.I. Jane). Anyway, I watched Blade Runner. Ugh, someone needs to give that guy more than just a spelunkers headlamp to light his movies with. The thing that I don't understand the most is not his inability to make good movies, but the public opinion that this guy is an absolute genius movie maker. I have no idea why everyone and their mothers (except me and mine) loved this movie. It was a bad movie. At one time, I had a point by point argument as to why it was a bad movie, but I forgot them because I *thankfully* have forgotten the movie. I just remember that it was bad.

Anyway, I'm at work, just typing on my break, so I better get goin'.

The last quote was from "Starship Troopers"

New Quote... kinda easy, but it made me laugh:
"Aw man, I shot Marvin in the face."

Yet more car troubles.

So, I took Rebecca's car in for the 60,000 mile tune up and I decided to go to the dealer because I simply didn't trust the other guys. Well, as they were draining the fluid from the transmission a few pieces of a washer came out. This is a washer that puts pressure on a plate so that it changes gear smoothly and is apparently rather important. He gave me a quote, and by California state law, he also had to include a new torque converter which came to a total of, are you ready for this, $3,034! He said that I probably wouldn't need a new torque converter so the price would probably be around $1,800. I asked him what would happen if I just didn't do anything, what's so bad about having a hard shift. I mean sure there would be more wear and tear, but we weren't planning on keeping the car that much longer anyway. He told me that not all of the washer had come out, so there's still a piece in there and if it got into the pump it would destroy the whole transmission, which costs $4,500 on it's own without labor. In addition to that, they recommended that I get a new timing belt; price for that: $830. But wait! There's more! The heat plate on the O2 sensor has gone bad so I need a new one of those too; $275. This brings the grand total that I'm going to need to have to get the car fixed up to $4,139.00 or somewhere thereabouts. That's HALF the price of what I could SELL it for. I don't know what I'm going to do. I think I'm just going to do the jackass thing and get the O2 sensor fixed so the "Service Engine Soon" light turns off, then unload the car on some hapless sap. This is precisely why I am always going to buy my cars from a dealer; because of people like me.

I am going to get my Focus in to the shop come Monday. I have about $600 to spend right now and I *hope* that will be enough to get it fixed (please oh please just be the linkage). If it doesn't, I'm pretty sure that Tom & Joel will just let me put it on the Accurate Fire account we have with this guy and I'll just pay them back when I can... probably by having them take it directly out of my pay check. So, with any luck, I'll be back in my Focus by the end of next week.

Other news on the Rob Front... Well, not much to report really. Because of these car troubles I haven't had any spare money for anything fun. However; there is a bit of a silver lining about it. Rebecca and I are actually growing up. We made ourselves a Menu for the next two weeks for both lunch and dinner. We went down to the super market and bought everything we needed and now I'm brown baggin' it every day. It's going to be a super money saver. We spent 'round about $200 on groceries for the next two weeks, which is just about the same amount I spent for eating out just for myself. Yay for not spending money on food so I can spend it on cars.

I'm also getting a new video game today. Before y'all go "The hell?! This fool just spent the entire post bitching about money and he's buying a video game?", let me explain. I pre-bought the game like 7 months ago. The money is spent, and all I can get back is store credit so I might as well just get the game. It's called "Ninja Gaiden II" and it's going to be super awesome! I simply loved the first one, so I have high hopes for this one.

I hope everyone else is having a fantastic week.

"Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center. Sounds charming."

EDIT: Goodness you're too quick Dad...

Alright, here's another one, and I'm pretty sure this one is Dad proof:
"Sir, I don't understand. Who needs a knife in a nuke fight? All you gotta do is push a button... sir."

Car Trouble Update

I talked with the Mechanic that we use here at the office and he told me that it would be $400 to look at it. Basically since my transmission is transversely mounted and underneath the engine block he'll have to remove it to find the problem. He then gave another few breakdowns of price. If it is the linkage, there's no extra cost; it's all right there and he can just re-attach it. If I need a new transmission, it's another $1,150 on top of the $400 and there might more labor cost as well.

I haven't taken it in yet because of Rebecca's car. I'm using it right now which is all wonderful, but it needs it's 60,000 mile tune up. This is not a cheap tune up. The intake plenum is covering the Spark Plugs so that entire assembly needs to be removed to get at those plugs. The dealer said it's an $830 job, but I found another mechanic that specializes in Japanese cars and he quoted me $593.95. So, before I get my car looked at, we're going to get Rebecca's car tuned up so it doesn't break. Then I'm going to save up and get my car looked at. Then either start driving my car, or start saving up for a new transmission and clutch.

I think my next car is going to be easy to work on. I was thinking that my next car was going to be a VW Golf GTi, but I'm not so sure any more. I'm thinking Small Block Chevy... 'sept gas prices suck so hard... *sigh* just can't win can ya'?

P.S. No one got my quote from last post. It was from "Snatch"

New Quote:
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought."

Go ahead Dad,

You get to tell me "I told you so."

My car broke yesterday. Not entirely sure what's wrong with it, but I'm sure taking my car to the track did not help. What really sucked is that it was 11:30 at night at Florin Rd. @ 99. Not exactly the best place to be at the side of the road in the middle of the night.

So basically, I pull away from a light (not at any great speed, just like normal) then I reach for 2nd gear and it wasn't there. So I decided to reach for 3rd gear, it liked 3rd gear just fine so I thought to myself: "huh, must be a linkage problem if I can grab 1st, 3rd, and 5th, but not 2nd, and 4th. So I pull over into a parking lot to see if the linkage problem was just in the area right around the shift nob, but it wasn't. At this point I think, "no big deal, I'll limp it home and take Rebecca's car tomorrow." However, I tried to pull away and now it wont engage any gear. It wont even slot into any gear... I mean, it'll go to where it's always been, but I can just make big ol' circles with the shift nob without having to slot from 1st to neutral to 3rd or anything like that. I told that to the mechanic that our office does a lot of work with, and he agreed with me that it was probably just the linkage, but it also could have been something else and much more expensive... We'll just have to see when I save up enough money to get it looked at. Shan't take too long. And at least the engine is still strong. AND at least I have alternate transportation. This could have sucked a whole lot more.

Oh well... that's life.

"Why do they call him 'Bullet Dodger'?"
"Because he dodges bullets."

Greetings Everyone

I'm in a bit of a better mood because I accidentally lied in my last post. I was going to come into the office on Saturday, but I was able to finish everything up on Friday night (it was late on Friday, but Friday none the less). I'm also in a good mood because Ferrari just unveiled a new car. And it's actually a new car rather than a replacement for an existing car. It's called the California and it has more than a little resemblance to the 250 GT California Spyder (made famous in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) doesn't it? It's going to be a new Gran Tourer with a 4.3 liter V8 in the front that produces some 460 bHp or so. The main thing about it that I don't really like is that it's a hard top convertible. I've never been a fan of these. They add far too much weight to the car. Convertibles are inherently heaver than hard tops because since you remove the rigid structure of the roof, you need to add strengthening beams to the undercarriage and side panels so the car doesn't break in half. So a hard top convertible has all those strengthening beams, and also the hard folding roof. Not to mention that it also takes up an enormous amount of room so the back end has to be huge! I mean, look at the side view of the car, it's rear end is a good 6" taller than the back of the hood. But hey, this car isn't supposed to be a super hard core racer like the F430 Sculderia, or the Enzo. It's supposed to be a cruiser that can also perform decently at a track. That's what a GT is supposed to do. So, not the Ferrari for me, but still something to get excited about! What are your thoughts?

Why do I let this happen to me?

I am a glutton for punishment. I just don't get it. I make my mind up that I'm simply not going to come in on the weekends any more. There is just too much stress for not enough reimbursement. But lo and behold, here I go again. I think I'm to loyal for my own good. The moment a boss says "I need this by Monday when I come in" to which I reply, "I can't finish it by tonight."
He'll respond with "But then I won't have the pipe ready for when my guys get to the job site," and that's all it takes to get me into the office on my weekends. I even have to break (well bend) plans that I had with a friend of mine.
I don't know why that line works on me so well, but it does. Every god damn time we get behind I have to put in extra hours so the guys in the field don't have to wait for a half of a day and I don't even fight it! I'm not right in the head. *sigh* I bet I'd be like this even if I won the Lotto but still wanted to work so I don't go insane.

That's it, I'm done, I'm not going to complain any more. Good night all.

Hey everyone.

I haven't posted much lately because I have not been staying at work 1 second longer than necessary because of this!



Far too much fun. Far too little sleep.

On other news though, I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend. A friend from high school (who, in a bizarre coincidence, also happens to be the brother of my brother's wife) is getting married, so he is throwing a bachelor party in Vegas and I'm goin' down there tomorrow after work. That'll be fun.

That's about it. I'll be sure to not tell you all the stories from Vegas.

I broke my R/C car.

Here is an extremely boring video of my buggy from about 10 months ago or so. I was playing with it yesterday and my radio went wonky and the car lost the signal and went straight into a curb breaking the front left "A" arm and suspension. I don't know if I'm happy or sad about this. It sucks because I can't play with it now, but on the other hand, I now get to buy a new "A" arm and a better suspension, then I get to take the car apart and fix it. That makes me feel manly when I do stuff like that. Well, I'm going to head out to lunch and stop by the local hobby shop to see how much it's going to cost to replace. Oh yeah, I need to check the costs of speed controllers too because my buggy doesn't like full throttle either.

*New Edit*
Bleh, went down there and did some price checking.

New "A" arm: $6.00
New Suspension: $38.00 ($152.00 if I want to replace all 4!)
New Speed Controller: $80 -$450 depending on how much awesome I want.
New Tires and Wheels: $52.00 for a set of 4
New tools to be able to actually replace everything: $15.00

*sigh* that's too much money. I guess I'll just have to get a new "A" arm, and some how jerry-rig the suspension... I'm pretty much only missing the spring. I'll take a photo tonight of the break and post it tomorrow.

My new project.

Rebecca and I recently started making models. I went to a local Hobby Shop and picked up a few model cars and some supplies to get started and we did. I think I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew though. I started a Ferrari 575M Super America and it is insanely detailed. I had only done model planes when I was much younger and none of them required much painting. The plastic was pretty much the colour it needed to be. This car however is all white plastic with so many detailed parts that need different colours that I don't think I'll be done with it until Saturday or Sunday. I started Wednesday and worked on it for three hours and all I've finished is the engine. In my defence though, there are 18 individual parts on the engine (not including decals which I applied last night) that all needed to be painted, several of which required multiple colours. Here's some photos of it. Sorry for the crappy quality of the pictures, the camera I was using is retarded. I'll keep posting more pictures of the different stages of progress.

So, it's been a while.

I haven't posted anything lately because I really haven't had much goin' in my life. I came back from my vacation, but nothin' really to talk about there... hit an arcade, checked out a hockey game, watched F1, and played tons-o-Xbox 360. But enough about what's going on in my life, it's time to rant... I haven't done that in a while.

I've been trying to spend more time watching shows with Rebecca that she likes, and I have decided that I want to deck the guy who thought of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in the face. Because of him, there are no more game shows that don't make me froth at the mouth. It's a friggin' GAME SHOW, there is NO NEED for it to be as dramatic as it is. The worst of these is the show "The Biggest Loser." For those of you that don't know what this show is, it's basically a show about fat people who join a competition to lose the most weight. While I think the premise is... tolerable, the execution of the show makes me want to throw my TV through the window. They spend about 5 minutes telling the viewers about where they are this week. They then spend another 5 minutes of the hour long program showing what these people did in the past week to lose their weight, and it always boils down to running on a treadmill, and eating half of a 6" sub from Subway. The other 50 minutes of the show is spent "weighing in" and "voting someone off" (y'know what, I'd like to deck the guy who invented Survivor while I'm at it).

First the "Weigh In." I don't see why they need to spend the better part of 4 minutes on each contestant weighing them. It seems to me, that it takes all of 10 seconds to weigh myself, and my scale is one of those retarded electronic ones that gets confused if you're not bare foot. I digress; they have the guy/gal walk up to the scale after talking to them for 2 minutes about what they did that week and where they think they faltered. I don't understand why they don't just ask that of the first contestant and then move on because all of the others always say the same thing, sometimes verbatim, as the person before. It's like a weird version of the Telephone Game that never turns into anything funny. Then, after they finish repeating what the last person said, they walk to this scale and stand on it. It throws out random numbers (215, 103, 453, 283) for far too long, then shuts up and is about to throw out the real weight when it goes to commercial. I am scarcely exaggerating when I say they do that for every contestant. When they come back, they find out how much they lost and they are all, to a person, disappointed with how little they have lost. This whole time there is absolutely no levity. There is nothing positive about this whole segment. People are not rewarded for losing the most weight, they are punished for losing the least. That may seem like the same thing, but it's really just different means to the same end and it's just there to make it that bit more dramatic.

Next comes the part where they have to vote someone off. It's not just like a regular game show where if you lose (or in this care lose the least) you go home. The bottom 30% or something like that all have the chance to get booted off. The entire time they are deciding who gets the boot, they are all (and this is not even slightly exaggerating in the episode I saw) bawling their eyes out to such an extent that if I had just flipped to the channel I'd have thought that they all lost their children in some freak accident. Tears rolling off their cheeks and off their chins. For what?! Just because you have to now vote someone off for losing less than you did? It's just a weight loss program, it's not that important. Not only that, but this is supposed to be a competition, in competitions you are trying to defeat your competitors. The point is to win the quarter million is it not? I think if they had their way, they wouldn't boot anyone and split up the $250k between all 20 of 'em. Simply put, I just don't understand why these people would even want to be on this game show.

The thing that really threw me for a loop from all of this was what Rebecca and I were flipping to during commercials. It was a documentary on KVIE about the Apollo VIII mission. The first manned flight around the moon. This was, in my mind at the time, the complete polar opposite to what the Biggest Loser is. These were Manly Men who were actually accomplishing something. They were doing STUFF. And I don't just mean the Astronauts who actually put their lives on the line, but also the flight crew in Houston. What they did mattered and there was no blubbering about what they had done. They just did it. I was sad whenever Rebecca flipped back to see if Biggest Loser was on, but I was spending time watching what she liked, not the other way around.

This is known as having a bad day.

Woot! Vacation time.

It's time for me to once again make a trek to Arizona to see my friend Jason. This'll be the third time goin' there and I'm lookin' forward to it. I was going to drive like I did the first time I went (however, this time I wasn't planning on taking a 5 and a half hour wrong turn), but an interesting thing happened. My boss was going to go see his family in Arizona, but he totally forgot that this Sunday is Easter and decided that he couldn't make it. So, instead of getting practically nothing for the plane tickets, he sold one to me. I expected spending about $270 on fuel alone to get there and back, but now I get a round trip ticket for $100 less than that! This past week hasn't been all good stuff though... to be able to go, I need to finish a four week project by tomorrow. I worked on it for a week about a month back, so I needed to do 3 weeks of work in the span of four days. So I worked on Sunday... and I worked yesterday for 16 hours, and I'm working today for 16 hours, and I'm still not sure if I'm going to finish everything. Even if I don't though I don't care. It's been rough and I've gotten no support from either of the bosses for this project and I'm going to save my sanity weather this job is done or not. I think it's gettin' to the point where I need to find other employment.

My AAE Video.

I've talked about my Ariel Atom Experience I did last year in detail with you all, but few have actually seen this video... so here it is.

If you want to see it larger, it's also on YouTube:

Here

Awesome Test Drive.

I really should be working right now, but something happened last night as I was coming home and I simply have to brag.

I was driving along Florin road down the seedier sections of used car dealers and I saw something that I had to make a u-turn to check out. It was a DMC DeLorean. I chatted with the simply slimy sales guy and actually bluffed him into thinking that I was actually interested in buying the car (to be fair, if I had the cash I would have bought it right then) and he let me take it out for a spin!! Good Gravy I'd wanted to drive a DeLorean for as long as I can remember. It's right up there with flying an X-Wing fighter. It was fantastic, and I'm glad that I knew a lot about cars because that car is Garbage to drive. The suspension is all wishy washy, and the engine is completely under powered. 88 Miles an hour would be kind of difficult to achieve. For crying out loud, the Speed-o-meter only goes to 95 mph. But I didn't care, it was awesome! Opening that Gullwing and stepping out brought a huge grin to my face. Right up until I stood up and bonked my head on it. I wish I could have said that everyone was looking at the car as I drove by, but I couldn't tell. There is almost no visibility. There is a back window, but you can't see through it, and the side mirrors are so small that they were practically useless, and since I'm so tall, I saw more of the ceiling of the car than the windscreen. But again, I didn't care. My word I want to buy it. I just need to figure out how to make $14,500 in the next 12 hours.

My Top 10 Garage.

I thought I'd explain my Top 10 Garage list because I don't think many people know about most of these cars.


Ariel Atom:
Most of my family already knows about this car because I talked endlessly about it for a while. I will soon write a piece about my Ariel Atom Experience where I drove one on a track in northern California. So, some information about the car: It is a superlight track toy with a seriously powerful engine. It weighs only about 1,200 pounds and at full spec, has close to 300 bHp meaning it has a 0-60mph time of sub 3 seconds. To put that into perspective on how royally fast that really is, it can go from 0 mph, to 100 mph, and back down to 0mph again only 1 second slower than it takes my Focus to go from 0-60.



Ferrari 275 GTB/4:
This is my all time favorite classic car. I fell in love with it from the movie "A New Leaf" and still think it's quite possibly the prettiest car ever made... ever. I really don't know too many of the specifications of this car except that the 275 stands for the cubic centimeter displacement of each of the cylinders making it a 3,300 cc V12 which sounds just superb. It is rumored that the film "C'etait Un Rendezvou" by Claude Lelouch (seen HERE) was made by bolting on a gyro stabilized camera to the front of it. Even if he didn't use this car, it is known that the noise is from this car. It is one of the most glorious sounds any car has ever produced.


BMW M5 Touring:
This is by far the fasted practical car in the world. With 507 bHp it has a sub 5 second 0-60mph time and it has room for a family of 5 with whatever junk they want to take with them. It may look kind of boring, and it may have a limited top speed, but very few things can keep up with this car in the real world of traffic, speed bumps, and pot holes. Of my entire list, I think this is the one I'd actually buy without any regrets.


Mercedes CLK DTM AMG:
This car I chose simply because of how awesomely unexpected it was to me. It's based on a normal Mercedes CLK, but it is completely stripped out, the suspension has been totally revamped, and the engine has been tuned to provide 560 bHp. It's a track toy to be sure, and probably not as fast as an Ariel Atom around a track, but at least this one can be used in the rain. Just for a little information on what all the letters mean, here's a break down:
CLK: It's a C-class Mercedes that is sporty.
DTM: Stands for "Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters" which is the German Touring car Championship
AMG: AMG is the high end tuning division for Mercedes.


Porsche 911 Turbo:
This is the best "all rounder" sports car. With its All Wheel Drive system, it has fantastic grip in all circumstances. In the wet, a rear drive car can be really tricky to keep the back wheels from spinning and therefore send the whole car spinning in doughnuts whereas an All Wheel drive car uses the front wheels as well to keep the maximum amount of grip in any conditions. The downside to the All Wheel drive system is that it can sometimes make the car understeer under acceleration out of corners, but that just forces you to slow down rather than to spin out.


Renault Clio Sport V6:
This car is my favorite "Hot Hatchback" of them all. Usually a Hatchback (like my Focus) has a smallish engine in the front that powers the front wheels. However, this one is a bit mental. Instead of having back seats, or any trunk space, this car put a rather large 3 liter V6 in the back. The benefits of this is rather great! It balances the weight of the car, puts the power on the rear wheels so that the front wheels only have to break and turn (instead of break, turn, and handle the acceleration) which makes the car less likely to understeer. And just look at it! It's simply stunning. Those silver side inlets to cool the engine, the flared wheel arches, the lowered side skirts, they just make this car look pissed off.


Ferrari F430:
This is Ferrari's latest small mid engined supercar. The name 430 refers to the capacity of the engine; it's a 4.3 liter V8. Small and poised, and even more powerful than the Ferrari F40 (the first 200+ mph hypercar Ferrari ever made) this car is seriously quick. I really don't have much to say why I like this car... just every little detail all add up to make me love it.


Alfa Romeo Brera Spider:
I put this in here for a few reasons. A: I needed a convertible. Every Dream Garage needs at least one convertible, and B: It's an Alfa Romeo and every petrol head needs to own one at least once in his/her life. This car might break down after the first 50 yards or so, but nothing shouts Italian Passion like this car, except maybe that Ferrari 275 GTB/4 further up my list. This car is front wheel drive, but it does have an All Wheel drive option. Personally I wouldn't go for the AWD option though because I'd drive it too fast. This is more of a car to have people admire than to really go blitzing down a back road. Besides, the harder you drive it, the faster it breaks.


Nissan GT-R:
This car started out a long time ago as the Nissan Skyline GT-R and truth be told, I never liked it. It was completely overhyped and I think that's partly because it was outright Banned in the US (couldn't even have one personally imported) because of emission regulations. I think also, it was over hyped because it was such a "good tuning car" too, and I've never been too much into tuning. I don't understand how people could like a car that they then have to dump thousands of dollars into to make it better. Why don't the manufacturers just make the car the way the customers want it. This one however is different. They didn't start out with a normal car (the Skyline); they just built it up from scratch. And this one is good from the start. It's Twin Turbo V6 delivers power to all 4 wheels and is actually faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo around the infamous Nürburgring Nordschliefe which directly contradicts what I said about the 911 Turbo being the quickest all rounder. I'll still say the Porsche is the fastest until this car has been tested further, I mean for crying out loud, it won't be available for sale in the US until late 2007 to early 2008 therefore, too difficult to tell.


1969 Dodge Dart GTS:
I think I like this American Muscle car the most for a similar reason as to why I like the Ferrari 275; it was imprinted into me at an early age. My mother told me stories about a guy she used to date who owned one and those stories stuck in my head and I did a bunch of research on the Dart. I found out that I really, really liked them. They certainly aren't a Muscle Car you see very often, and growing up in a town filled with classic Mustangs, Firebirds, Cameros, and the like, I don't think I saw more than 1 Dart in all my 4 years in High School. They're exceedingly unpopular and therefore awesome. They didn't even have the popular engines in them from the factory. Instead of the normal 350's 400's 440's and 426's that you'd find in other Dodges, Fords, and Chevy's, the 1969 Dodge Dart had a 318 Cu. In. block or the more powerful 340 Cu. In. 4 barrel unit. This made them a little harder to work on, which is why they probably were not as popular as the Chargers, Challengers, or 'Cudas that Dodge was making at the time. There were tuners that could shoehorn in the 440 Magnum, or the legendary 426 Hemi into this car, which made it the fastest Drag Strip car of the era (it was the lightest) but, I'm not into that. I'd just like to have one that's 2 door, white with a bumble bee stripe, with the 340 engine in it.

So that's about it.
Did I miss anything? Are any of these your favorites too? Do you disagree with me on any particular car? Let me know, I'd love some feedback.

Bleet

I'm a sheep, I made a weblog just like the rest of my family. Mine, I'm sure, will not be nearly as interesting as the rest because I really have very little to say unless it's about cars, racing, or fire sprinklers. I'll try to keep up with this at least once a week, but I can make no promises. I don't have internet access at home, and I have an aweful lot of work to complete. Busy busy busy!