i wish this were fake

peter

If you don't know who that is, don't bother asking.

these lies have torn my world apart

I've gotta stop quoting obscure song lyrics....dang

Yee-haw...one step closer (damn song lyrics again) to getting the truck all smoothed and shaved out, which I reckon is the next stage for the Ranger. I figure it'll cost be about $600 or so to get everything shaved out, tailgate, fenders, doors (with poppers and remote), antenna (remote hidden antenna), smooth roll pan, stake pockets, fuel filler door, and maybe the third brake light. I'll do some minor body work to the top of the bed rails..they are kinda wavy. Then comes the two-tone paint and pinstriping. When will it all be done? Who knows, by the end of the year I'm hoping. I may also get a fuel cell...but I can do that any time. I wouldn't mind skinning the inside of the bed either..that'd be a nice touch. Then of course, after all of that comes bags....

Assuming, of course, that I do pass all my FireFighter tests and training, and get hired, I'm really looking seriously at getting my own ride (yup, that whole BS again). From my last foray into the world of car buying, I now know what to expect, and what to do. I'm REALLY seriously looking at getting an imported car. Why? Well, why the hell not? I know I'll pay a little more for it, but come on, it'll be obviously a unique vehicle, I'll be sure to have the only one around. What am I looking at getting? My top choice is a 99+ Nissan Silvia S15 Spec R. Of course, you can't talk about importing Japanese autos without mentioning a Skyline. This puppy looks to be a good buy. It's only an R33, and I'd really like an R34, but that's a bit too rich for my blood. Of course, the problem with imports is getting parts, either custom or upkeep. No biggie really. The cost of those two pictured rides isn't as outrageous as you might think, only about $25K for the Silvia, and $30K for the Skyline. Expensive for a use car, yes...but these are being imported, and legal, and are super rare.

Be sure to check out my buddy Jimmy's website. CenterStageCustoms. It's where I'm getting my roll pan from (through him from Grant Kustoms specifically). Not a whole lot on the site right now to buy, but the site just went live a few days ago. Go. Buy. Enjoy.

and then she told me to leave

Updated Forza times for yall. I've gotten all my D-class cars done and most of my C-class. But the bulk of my cars are in B-, A-, and S-class, so I've still got a long, long way to go. Also note that you can SORT the chart by clicking the name of the column you want to sort by....how cool is that? Very, that's how. I've also come up with a easy time submittal form for submitting your own time...but I haven't brought it online yet.

It's kinda interesting to see just how good some cars are...like that completly STOCK Integra Type-R absolutly stomping the other D-class, and most C-class cars, and how some C1 class cars are slow. It's probably just my driving though. All these times are just prelim times, I'll update them as I go faster.

if had had a ball in my sack, i'd do somethign about that

Wow.....this'd be cool...In my father's travels around the area, he stumbled across a '67 Ranchero....in real nice shape. Body is damn near perfectly straight, even the bed, nice interior, although the seat is kinda ripped, V8, auto tranny, real nice and clean. In need of a buff job and chrome shine, but still nice. My parents are seriously considering buying it for my mother. Leave it stock. How cool would that be, a nearly stock '67 Ranchero and then our hot rodded '66 next to it....that'd be badass'd. The only difference between a '66 and a '67 is the front lights, the '66 has a single 7" round headlamp (Falcon style), while the '67 has twin stacked headlights, 4" or so, on each side (Fairlane stlye). The dash is also a bit different, '66 with a Falcon dash, '67 with a Fairlane dash. I'm actaully really hoping we're able to get it. That'd also give us another running vehicle so I won't be afraid to tear the Ranger down all the way. If you're keeping count, that'd give us a total of 6 vehicles, only half of which would run, and only 4 of which would be suitable for everyday driving.

And on another, slightly less exciting note, I've been busy with the HTML mill. No, the site isn't getting it's much needed face lift, but rather I'm making live my test/lap times for Alpine Ring for Forza. I started this list as really nothing more then personal comparison between my garage cars....but I decided to over-code the summabitch and throw it onto the WWW. Laugh at my slow times, marvel at the time wasted in coding. With only 12 or 13 cars on the list currently, and over 100 in my garage, I've got a bit of driving and coding left. The list will be updated damn near everyday, or at least once a week after I get bored, so if you're a Forza fan, check it out...I'll add a dedicated link over on the menu at right

::EDIT::
OK, bitches, the link has been added to the menu. Yes I know that if you expand part of the menu it covers up the Forza link....No, I don't plan of fixing that (although overcoding the position from code based absolute to CSS based relative DOES sound tempting......hmmmmm). Yes, I now see that the freakin' I bar you get when hovering over the menu is annoying. No, I'm not sure how to fix it. Yes, the code is right, and Yes the hand is there is the offline test version. No, I don't know what I'm doing. Yes, I realize that I didn't proof read the Forza page and I sound like an illerate hillbilly. No, I don't care. Yes, I'll fix it. Maybe.

if she was mine, she wouldn't cry so much

List time....Forza 2, what should change, what shouldn't change, and how to make the game better.

I think it's fair to say that Forza 2 will be coming to the XBOX: 360, and as such, some of the problems of the current game would hopefully be fixed from the get go, things like pop-ups (seriously, pop-ups this late in the game? on the XBOX no less...), a lack luster physical damage model, and the like. These things aren't on my list, because a more robust system should fix those things.

Changes:
More cars. In this area, Forza is better then GT:4 (or any GT), I mean seriously, who needs 50 different Skyline models? I like how Forza mixes good low-performance cars with high-performance cars, but I'd like to see a few more older cars, and a few more cars in general across the board, like a street McLaren F1, take the car count up 350-375. Still a helluva lot, but with the classes of Forza, it'll be better.

More tracks. You can never have too many tracks. KEEP ROAD ATLANTA...of course, being from Georgia, I'm paritial to that track, and lvoed how the short and long courses are both in the game. More point-to-point tracks would be nice. I'd love to race at the LeMans track in this game (Ls Salle? Sarth? I forget), the old, dangerous track, and the new 'safer' track. I'd also like to see some more classic tracks...the old Sebring, Daytona infield, hell, even the old brick-surfaced Indy would be bad ass.

Deeper customization. I'm not looking for MC:3 DUB Edition depth of customizing the car, but I would like to see more wheels, the ability to choose wheel color, wheel size (within reason, no twanks+4 here), the ability to remove 'factory' decals, and more paint options...the paint selector from MC:3 DUB would be very nice. And the 'Forza' body kits?....lame...make them more then stock with a huge lip and venturi tunnels.

Widebody kits. I'm not really sold on this whole "take-your-stock-car-and-turn-it-into-a-race-car" thing Forza tries to sell us. Just about every proper race car based on a production car has a widebody with big fender flares and such. Not only give us a kit for nearly every car, give us two or three. It'd prevent every car on XBL looking the same, kinda problematic now.

More decals. Rice, rice, baby. The decals that are in Forza now are good, but I'd like to see more, to create some really trick paint jobs. I'd also like to see more decal colors, and the ability to change the colors or the sponsor decals. Again, that whole concept of making a race car from nothing is kinda lost in translation.

Better headlights. While the headlights actually 'work' on this game, I'd like to see different colors and brightnesses. Seeing a '69 Camaro with super bright HID lookin headlights kinda kills it. I don't nessicarily want the ability to change the headlight colors, just more accurate headlights.

Photo mode. Steal it straight from GT: 4, who give a fuck? Here you have BEAUTIFUL tracks with BEAUTIFUL cars, with your own custom paint job and modded to your taste, and no way to easily share it with the world. That sucks.

Backfires. Even Ridge Racer for the PSP has backfires, why can't Forza? Some people think of this effect as cheesy and overdone, but on a game like Forza, the lack of them is almost worse then overusing them. Hell, even the exhuast note burbles and pops on the race cars, match it up with a nice flare up and you've got yourself a winning combination.

Longer races. Thirty to Fourty-Five minute "endurance" races? That's sad. Call me strange, but I LIKE the 12-hour and 24-hour enduro's from GT: 4, and allow the Drivitar to drive a few stints as well. Maybe integrate some B-spec stuff from GT: 4 for even more control. And if the Enduro's were longer, I'd like to see daylight transitions...race from day, into the nite, into the morning, back into the day. Simply badass. If you're gonna do that, add weathering effects to the cars...carbon deposits from the exhuast, rubber build-up, dirt, oil, grease, the whole lot. If you want to put Gran Turismo in it's place, do it proper.


Don't Change:
Rally Mode. Forza doesn't need a rally mode. It doesn't need rally cars. If I want to do some rallying, I'll pop in Colin McRea Rally, or GT...don't fussy up Forza with rally.

Regions. This is kinda cool, don't lose it for Forza 2, rather, beef it up. Make some cars region exclusive, where the only way to get them is buy them online from other racers.

Much of anything. This game is great...wonderful in fact. It's the only game that distracts my attention enough from Halo: 2 to get anywhere in. Don't destroy what makes this game so damn good, realisim, great looks, great sound, great feel, etc, etc. Don't reinvent the wheel, simply make it ride on self-lubricating ball bearings and super nice tires, in other words, fix what needs to be fixed, add what needs to be added, but don't disrupt the core. I'd rather see Forza 2 as less of a revamp, but more as a make over. You've got a good foundation, run with it.


Rant #2....when did DVD makers stop putting the run time on the back of DVD boxes? Hard to tell how much time to set aside to watch a movie when you've got no idea how long it is? Bullshit I tell you! Bah...back to my movie...

show a woman you can care for her roses, and she'll open her tulips

If you're not watching the show "Top Gear" on the Discovery Channel....you should be. This show used to, although it may still, come on the Speed Channel, but at seemingly odd hours of the nite. But on DC, it's 10 pm EST, on Wednesdays. This show is great...a couple of ordinary looking British guys driving all the cars you dream about, and even a few you've never head of. They always have some strange "contest" between a car and something else...like an Evo vs a bobsled...or a Sport Ka vs a flock of racing pigeons....or A Lotus Exige vs an Apache helicopter. And unlike many American car journalists who are almost always smitten with rare exotics, these guys have no problem ripping into even the most elite cars. They also have no problem doing what we all want to do....massive tire smoking burnouts and donuts in ridculously expensive cars. Watch it. Now. You'll love it. Guarenteed.

dennis be GONE!

From what I hear, most people headed the warnings and got the hell out of the area of Dennis' landfall and human damages have been on the low side. I guess everyone learned their lesson from Ivan. Good thing, no need to be in the path of something like that if you don't have to be.

Meanwhile, i've been busy with the Photoshop again...This time converting my old Ford Territory wallpaper (note there are two links in there...). Really not a whole lot of changes (espically compared to some other conversions), just an enlargement and some background tweaks. I'm sure I'll notice some things that I don't like or forgot to change that I wanted, so keep an eye out on the wallpaper section for the latest version. I know I really like this chop, always have, hope you do too....changes, in case you can't spot them, are a shave job, smoothed front bumper, smaller side mirror, new "speed" grille, dropped to the ground (with proper camber, although I'm not sure if it's supposed to have 4-wheel camber or not...hmmmm.....), Nissan Skyline R-34 HID headlights, tint, and some this-and-that's as is the norm. Want it? Here it is....Enjoy!

cindy + dennis = the suxx0rs

Hurricane Cindy kicked my ass on Wednesday nite....LOTs and LOTs of rain, the driveway was flooded, the yards were flooded, the sidewalks looked like rivers, it really wasn't very fun. Then the power went out at about 9:30PM, didn't get it back until 5:30AM. Hell, even a tornado went through, tore all kinds of trees down behind my bro's house (about 2 miles away as the crow flies).

Although I've got nothign to complain about, the people on the Gulf Coast of Flordia in the Panhandle have got it bad today...my cousin lives in Pensacola, I hope he, and everyone else in the area of Dennis' landfall are safe and sound. I haven't seen any news reports since about 2 hours after Dennis came ashore, but I hope everyone is okie-dokie down in the Sunshine State. We're getting more rain..although it's not as heavy and spread out across a few hours, not the super heavy rain in a very short time of Wednesday. Rain kinda sucks sometimes.

d'oh...i'm a 'tard

Hmm, this is old new to me, but new news to you...otherwise it wouldn't be news, it'd be history. Semantics aside, the wheel tubs are INSTALLED on the '66. Not only that, the passenger side door is 'DONE'. The tubs were quite a bit more work then anticipated, there was a lot of material that had to be removed, most of it was hidden until you cut away the outer skin. I'd still like to box in the very front of the wheel well, there is a kinda ugly cut line and it looks unfinished, but I have to keep in mind that this isn't a $150,000+ hot rod, that is beyod the scope (and abilities) of either me or my father. This is instead a nice unique project with a mix of old and new.

The tubs were welded in along the top side, then bolted to the floor on the rear and sides...the bolt heads won't be seen when done, I'm not letting you know why, but they won't detract from the appearance of the truck. These tubs are unique for the fact that they are not round, they increase in radius after the longitudinal centerline, they were made to match the existing body lines. All that's needed on them now is a little bit of body putty to really blend to into the bed sides to make it look like one piece, and a bit of TLC with a file on the corner.

What about the passenger side door then? Well it's 'done' too. I use the quotes here because although I'm probably done fuckin' around with it and it's all primered and ready to go, I know it's still not perfect. I can run my fingers over a few areas and find the imperfections. Whether this is because I know where they are already, or just extreme analness, I'm not sure, but the door LOOKs flat and smooth, which is all that really matter I guess.

I've also gotten the passenger side front fender about 85% done, and the rest of the passenger side is real close as well. I just have to keep reminding myself the scope and goal of the project, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these things, but my skills and money and desire to get the damn thing done outweigh my pursuit of perfection sometimes.


In other, non Ranchero related news, the truck will be getting a fairly drastic make-over, perhaps within the month. I'm still on the fence a bit to if I'm gonna get this particular roll pan, it's a good deal, but I don't want an ugly flat metal stock peice of shit, I want something that looks like it belongs. Luckily the sale is for weld-in smooth roll pans, just what I wanted. So out goes the ugly stock bumper and in comes the creamy smooth lines of a rollpan, molded in to perfection.

You ask yourself though, "That's not a drastic make-over, what gives?" A valid question indeed. Hopefully, not only will I be getting a rollpan, but also get the front fenders shaved as well, and maybe the tailgate. But that's not all.....the truck will become an "official" minitruck, I'll be giving it a two tone paint job, flat black on top, gloss red (stock) on bottom. The color combo really pops, should look spectacularo. I'm gonna try to do it right by wrapping the paint job to the door jambs and everything......BUT, that's not it...I"m also more then likely gonna pinstripe the seperation line with some silver paint, perhaps with a bit of ol' skool pinstriping panache. Nothing overdone or gaudy, jsut something other then a straight line. I'll be doing all the striping, lets hope it tuns out as well as the pictures in my mind...

Done reading yet? Damn that was long.

i think 'close to nothing' said it best...

"When I sleep I dream of you,
And when I'm thinking I think of you.
There is nothing I'd rather do,
Then leave this place to be with you.

So what are we waiting for?
What are we waiting for?
Why don't we leave today?
Just you and I to getaway.

To getaway.
To getaway.

And our troubles fade away,
As you and I embrace for days.
You and I will be together,
And we getaway forever.

When I sleep I dream of you,
And when I'm thinking I think of you.
There is nothing I'd rather do,
Then leave this place to be be with you.

So what are we waiting for?
What are we waiting for?
Why don't we leave today?
Just you and I to getaway.

To getaway.
To getaway."

But then again, 'One Side Zero' has something with this:

Secrets out unfold,
Whispered words be warned.
Falling into one, its you I still believe.
Felt, so alive,
Wish I could hold,
It's already full,
So phase me out of your life.
It's all, it's all, its already full.

Treat the son our own.
Haven't seen him grow,
Held hand we lost,
It's you I can't recall,
Felt, so alive,
Wish I could hold.
It's already full,
So phase me out of your life.
It's all, it's all, it's already full.

Secrets out unfold,
Whispered words be warned.
Falling into one, its you I still believe.

And I still believe,
All that we couldn't see.
And it seems so wrong,
But I wish I could,
Never will.

It's already full,
It's already full,
It's all, it's all,
It's already,
FULL

mmmmm, carshow goodness

The first Saturday from March to September there is a cruise-in at a local strip mall. Some really nice stuff shows up. There are some trophies to be won, but it's mostly just a fun little thing.

Cars that show up run the range from this '27 ('24?) Model T-


To a brand new Ford GT-


Even a new International CXT (note, I'm 6' tall....)-


And of course a show wouldn't be a show with out a T-bucket-


Or a '41 Willys-


Everything in between is there too just about....even though most of the hot rods are fiberglass bodies (the Willys included), still some really nice stuff. For anyone in the Atlanta area, the show in the first Saturday on the corner of Highway 85 and Highway 314/Stonewall Ave, 5pm-9pm.

For more pics, follow the link below...a total of about 78 pics.

And of course, a gratuitous truck shot....

newness bitches

I operate on a different clock then you do, your noon is my midnight, your midnight is my noon....so by my clock, the update isn't late.

If you buy that, I've got some primo land I'll sell ya...A bit under an hour overdue, but I've got the wallpapers section updated. Added a smaller Eldorado, and the two new Freestar and Ram chops. Even though the large Freestar is the WRONG FRIGGIN' one...I forgot an additional text overlay on the background to help make it look a bit better. Eh, I'll change it later when I give a damn.