Well, we just got done selling Becky’s 1998 600 four wheel drive Grizzly.  We really liked that four wheeler.  Unfortunately life things arise and frankly she is not going to be able to go anywhere on it for quite awhile.  She stills has several months left to her pregnancy and then how do you take two kids on one four wheeler?  So practicality wins yet another victory over luxury. 

Actually it was the easiest vehicle that I have been able to sell.  Not even one ad taken out and little talk to relatives managed to get the ATV sold.  I am quite relieved that it went so smoothly.  And yet, I am still kinda sad to see it go.  This means, however, that some of the money we got from the sell will go to fixing my truck…yea! (if any is left from other expenses)  So it is bittersweet.  But with the holiday symbolizing thanks approaching, I find myself being thankful on the whole.  I decided to post a few pix in memorial of the Grizzly.  Hope you enjoy them.  Don’t look to close or you may get dirty.

         

Well, no television viewing here.  This is all muscle car.  Many people see this car and assume that it is a Road Runner, nope.  Tell them it is a 1971 Satellite Sebring and the usual response I get is “A what?!”.  Usually I get reduced to explaining that it is a Road Runner body style with more comforts and a little less motor.  It has the all the cues of a Road Runner but has all the stuff that makes it ride like a brand new Cadillac.  The shifts are smooth and the ride is quiet and hassle free.  It has a full bench seat (man I wish they would bring those things back in cars) and tons of room.  It is a big car by today’s standards, but has a trunk that you could put a full vacation’s worth of luggage in, all the while still having a full size spare tire with matching rim (something else that today’s cars could use).

This car had only 65,000 original miles on it when I bought it.  As a matter of fact, it still had the original 318 motor and transmission in it.  Come to think of it, it was ALL original.  It was one of those grandma-car-dream-deals.   I am here to tell you they do exist, but are extremely rare and once in a lifetime.  I made little to no modifications to this car throughout many miles of driving.  The biggest ones were raising the rear-end (it sat way too low for a muscle car, covering up ¼ of the rear tires, which was common for cars back then).  The only other change was to put Cherry Bomb glass packs on the exhaust.  Thus the car went from a calm whir to a thump-thump-thump.  Other than that, it stayed all original for another 5,000 miles (or so) until one day as some of my friends and I loaded up to make a trip to Chattanooga, the car made an eerie sound.  First a loud racket and then a massive shaking of the entire vehicle which led to a yet louder thud and the motor shut down.  Drew and Adam said it was one of the coolest things they had ever experienced, but the motor had blown up.  In fact they took great pleasure in demonstrating the entire event to our friends.  Unfortunately I had broke the crank in not one but two places and thrown a rod clean into the oil pan puncturing the pan and causing a liberal oil leak.  (sigh) 

Anyway, now several years later, I have gotten married, had one kid and fixing to have another.  Thus the car was sold to my dad.  This sale was made with the agreement that I would fix the motor at his expense, being reasonable of course.  I have put in one motor to find out that it was locked up and have yet to get another one in. (sigh again)  The car is on my projects list (a most expansive list it is).  I actually look forward to getting the car running again and even look forward to doing the work if only I could find the time. 

This is probably my favorite car that I have ever owned.  I miss driving it terribly.  But at least I know that it has gone to a good owner and will be taken care of.

Well all of the hype has lived up to the results.  The new setup of Xbox live rocks.  All of the old stuff remains (theme downloads, games, and countless videos) while the expansion into a more fun environment has been added.  The new avatar introduction is SO much fun.  I have seen almost all of the people on my friends list go to good lengths to customize their avatars to personalize their online identity.  Some look like the people they are representing, some don’t.  But hey it is all about the gaming experience.  If you are a member of Xbox live you probably already know what I am talking about, if not you need to get the download and check it out.  I will have to say that probably one of the most exciting new features is adding Netflix to the community.  You can now instantly stream “Watch Instantly” videos through your Xbox and onto your TV.  It requires a pretty good internet connection so if yours is ok, expect a little lag and poor picture quality.  All in all the whole concept is pretty cool though.  The only down side of this is I cannot seem to quit comparing the new look and setup to the Nintendo Wii.  Tell me what you think.

Anyway I have made my own avatar and posted it below.  I showed you mine now show me yours.

frost_bitten77@yahoo.com

This is a little email that I got from my cousin years ago.  I find myself referring to it often even after all these years.  I don’t know who the original author was but it is funny and true.

1.All telephone numbers in America begin with the digits 555.

2.Most dogs are immortal.

3.If being chased through town, you can usually take cover in a passing St. Patrick's Day parade-at any time of the year.

4.All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets which reach up to the armpit level on a woman but only to the waist level on the man lying beside her.

5.All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French Bread.

6.It’s easy for anyone to land a plane providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.

7.Once applied, lipstick will never rub off-even while scuba diving.

8.The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place.  No-one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty.

9.If you need to reload your gun, you will always have more ammunition-even if you haven’t been carrying any before now.

10.During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.

11.You’re very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.

12.Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language.  A German accent will do.

13.If your town is threatened by an imminent natural disaster or killer beast, the mayor’s first concern will be the tourist trade or his forth coming art exhibition.

14.The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.

15.A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.

16.If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.

17.The Chief of Police is always black.

18.When paying for a taxi, don’t look at your wallet as you take out a bill-just grab one at random and hand it over.  It will always be the exact fare.

19.Interbreeding is genetically possible with any creatures from elsewhere in the universe.

20.Kitchens don’t have light switches.  When entering a kitchen at night, you should open the fridge door and use that light.

21.If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.

22.Word processors never display a cursor on screen but will always say: Enter Password Now.

23.Mothers routinely cook eggs, bacon and waffles for their family every morning even though their husband and children never have time to eat it.

24.Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames.

25.The Chief of Police will always suspend his star detective-or give him 48 hours to finish the job.

26.A single match will be sufficient to light up a room the size of a sports stadium.

27.Medieval peasants have perfect teeth.

28.Although in the 20th century it is possible to fire weapons at an object out of our visual range, people of the 23rd century will have lost this technology.

29.Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.

30.It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.

31.Even when driving down a perfectly straight road it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few minutes.

32.All bombs are fitted with electronic devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they’re going to go off.

33.It is always possible to park directly outside the building you visiting.

34.A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.

35.If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.

36.Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communications of any invading alien civilization.

37.It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts-your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have defeated their predecessors.

38.When a person is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, they will never suffer a concussion or brain-damage.

39.No-one involved in a car chase, hijacking, explosion, volcanic eruption or alien invasion will ever go into shock.

40.Police Departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.

41.When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other.

42.You can always find a chainsaw when you need one.

43.Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds-unless it’s the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.

44.An electric fence, powerful enough to kill a dinosaur will cause no lasting damage to an eight year old child.

45.Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at that precise moment.

Well this was an entry that I have been planning on making for some time.  Several other posts have prevented me from getting to it until now.  I have to admit that Nathan's recent post kinda inspired me to go ahead and get this one out though.  I have never really got into the whole four wheelin’ stuff until I bought this old 1979 GMC truck.  I only paid about $500 dollars for it and man it is worth it.  It’s beat up, rusted, and scratched all to pieces.  It even makes that grinding sound when you put it into some gears.  It has a four speed bull dog transmission, which means that it will go very slow in the lowest gear.  The 350 motor is awesome but knocks and squeaks with the tension of the belts (yep no serpentine belt here…thank God).  The 4 inch lift allows good clearance and several funny incidents for those who have trouble reaching up that high to enter the vehicle.  When this truck is climbing up rough terrain, it will beat it’s passengers to death.  The suspension has no give what so ever.  The exhaust is loud and racks off.  The creaking sounds of the truck climbing sound like that of the grating of some evil monster’s nails against a chalkboard.  It feels like raw power driving over dang near anything that I want to.    I LOVE THIS TRUCK. 

Like I said, I never really got into the four wheelin’ stuff until this purchase.  In fact, even after acquiring it, I still did not delve into this sloppy hobby immediately.  My brother-in-law saw my new purchase as the perfect excuse to get both of our trucks nasty, filthy, dirty however.  After very little haggling by Daniel, I acquiesced.  “Sure”, I said, “but I do not want to get it in too deep though.”  Well, going muddin’ and just getting in a little is like being a little pregnant.  It is all or nothing. I have been stuck several times and pulled even more people out of seemingly bottomless holes.  This activity seems to build congregations though.  First it starts with spectators who are in the same vicinity as you are.  Then if your mud bog is successful, these spectators seem to need to protect their own truck’s dignity by conquering the same event.  If you fail, however, and have to be removed from the pit you have placed yourself in, then this is perfect opportunity for these same people to prove the worthiness of their vehicle for ultimate bragging rights.  The bigger the hole, the bigger the brag.  Then of course there are the sensible ones who only watch.  These people rarely wind up with mud up to their armpits and almost never go home soaking wet.  But what fun is that, right?

Anyway I have posted some pics of several ventures that I have made in the past, most of them feature me stuck.  I don’t have many of my successful runs due to the fact that I am the picture taker and it is near impossible to drive and snap a third person pic at the same time.  Some of these are poor quality but hey it was a cold day and a camera phone.  Hope this gets a good chuckle for some of you.

 

And now the worst I have ever been stuck!

This last big stickin’ caused me to be stuck in the mud over night and until lunch the next day.  It took 2 four wheel drive trucks pulling at the same time to get me out.  It also, alas, broke my ring gear and pinion gear. 

Remember when birthdays were that magical time of sweets, friends and family visiting, and presents were NEVER clothes.  Well, my daughter is going through that now.  I had thought that I could “re-live” these past experiences with her…well…not so much.  Sure all of the elements are still here, but somehow my chasing of balloons around the living room may seem just plain creepy.  We just had Rory’s third birthday party and it was all the festivities that a three year old’s party should be.  Yea we had balloons.  Yea we had cake and ice cream.  And of course, we had presents.  We actually broke her party between our two families and had two parties….what more could a kid want, right?  There were no major breakages or fights amongst the younguns.  In fact both parties went pretty well.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially after the toys were opened.  Presents ranged from toy digging utensils to the V-Smile video game system.  After all of the smoked cleared, traditional toys that were hands on got the most attention.  Funny how values of toys are so much different and more simple than we like to make it.  Becky and I bought Rory the V-Smile system, which she liked for oh say, ten minutes.  Rory is still however, playing with a baby doll.  As a matter of fact, she seemed to really like the wrapping paper just as much.  Next year we are going to get her a box of paper and wrap it.  There you have all the unwrapping of the gift and the paper to spread about the house.  The cats even enjoy that.  Balloons will have to be incorporated of course.  Maybe put a balloon with the paper…hmm.  Anyway, this like any major event will be cherished just the way it should be.  Memories of events, conversations, and fun will far outweigh the presents given.  The bonding and sharing of the event makes it that much more special, not just to the little girl who has aged one more year, but to all who witness it.  All in all a perfect event for family members to recall.  It kind of shows just what is important about the whole ordeal doesn’t it?

(Hover the mouse over the pix for little additions to the pictures.)

   

Well, Halloween came this year with some surprisingly warm weather.  I honestly cannot remember such a warm Halloween.  We were at least in the fifties if not the sixties this evening.  I can remember past times of me fighting my parents saying that it was not snowing too much to go get tricks or treats.  This warmth was quite a shock to me.  As I am now a father, several things seem to draw to my attention about the evolution that this holiday of candy, candy, candy has taken. 

Is it just me, or are costumes (especially for girls) getting skimpy.  Yea I know this makes me sound old, but this is the dilemma that I face in years to come.  No little girl should be wearing an outfit that just barely covers her butt and exposes the most of her chest.  That is not even to mention the lack of a mid-area in their shirts.  It is no wonder that pedophiles exist when we are marketing our children this way. 

On a lighter, sadder note.  The days of kids walking from house to house to say trick or treat, has passed.  Now we have battalions of mini-vans going from one house to the next.  Parents using a speculative eye as to whether this person is to be trusted with the giving of candy to their children.  All the while the van rocks with the noise of sugar high children screaming at the top of their lungs.  A quick glance at the parent shows fatigue beyond their time.  Society has definitely changed.

Also it has occurred to me, that kids (in a drone voice) exclaiming “Trick or Treat”, have no idea of the bargain that they are proposing.  It is not that hard to figure out, but would some person not be quite surprised to find their house rolled for not giving the proper candy.  We have lost touch with it all.  This is a tradition that I would have loved to re-kindle in my Halloween days.  For now, I am quite happy that this tradition has been lost and not enacted upon my house.  I mean, there are still house rollings, but not usually for improper candy dispersion. 

One facet of Halloween remains quite strong, however.  CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!, and lots of it.  Stores dedicate two or more isles to this product of sugar and pure energy that will inevitably force parents to stay up much later than they wanted after a hard night of neighborhood judgment and driving.  As