i must be butter, 'cause i'm on a roll

Whipped out a new wallpaper today. Can you guess what it is? An S15 Silvia of course....damn I'm obessed. I'm starting to get lazy in my wallpapers, as this one only took me like an hour, maybe an hour and a half to make, including making the 'spec-R' logo. Either I'm getting lazy, or I'm getting damn good. Check out the 'wallpapers' section to grab your screen rez...



I've got one other wallpaper done (two sizes), but since I don't have absolute permission to use it, even though the original artist liked the changes, I'm hesitating to post it. But then again, I haven't really permission to post any of this stuff I guess. Although I did find all the images in the public domain, so I guess it's all good. Maybe I'll throw those up tomorrow, right now I'm hungry for like only the second time since Thursday (food poisioning, go figure), so I'mma go eat, hopefully fully digest it, then be on my way to the wonderfilled land that lies beyond the veil of sleep.

excuse the diversion

OK, time for some good ol' fashioned speculation and wild theories.....about the Halo universe of course. I choose this outlet because only here do I have complete control over everything, bitches.

So, I was playing a game of Slayer on Burial Mounds last nite...a Warthog is driving straight at me, I'm holding a sniper. A head-on shot is horrible angle to take on any vehicle, but I make due...I snipe at the driver, but it takes maybe three shots to knock the front windscreen out before I can hit flesh. About the time I finally bring the 'Hog defenses' down, a teammate turns it into a roasting party with the SPANKr. Gotta love a good SPANKr-ing.

But, this brought me to my current fixation, why was I able to knock the screen out anyhow? Call me crazy, but shouldn't a military vehicle, an assult vehicle at that, have, I dunno, bullet-proof glass? Granted, the 'Hog already is an open-topped death trap, but leaving the front, usually the strongest area of a vehicle, wide open seems, well, stupid. Even something as weak as the Magnum can pop the screen like a zit in a few shots. With brilliant cost-cutting measures like this (but, really, how expensive can bullet-proof 'glass' be in the year 2525 [2552?]?), it's no wonder the human race is on the verge of extinction by those Covie hoards.

f.o.r.d

I was afraid that the first import of the family would be my fathers, but luckily that's not the case. The purplish Tacoma is back at the dealer, replaced with an '01 F150. It's an XLT, 4-door, bucket seats, 6-disc CD, all that good stuff. It's only got the V6 though, but that's OK, we don't tow or haul much of anything, and espically nothing heavy enough to warrant the V8.

Pics? You want pics?




And it's quite a bit bigger then the Ranger...

like a runaway with no driver

Wowzers, I did not see this one coming. My father has been truck-less for two years, and really, if anyone of us needs a truck, it's him. So today he and I went down to the car dealer to look at some used trucks after we got one of those "pre-approved" deals in the mail. I knew he wanted a truck, but I didn't think he'd be getting one, espically so close to the holidays. Technically, he hasn't got a new one, yet. But the truck that is sitting out in the parking lot right now has a very good chance of replacing the Corsica as my Dad's daily. It's a 2000 ('99?) Toyota Tacoma PreRunner. It's got the TRD offroad package, and it's of the SR5 designation. Nice truck really, has a 3.4 V6, auto-tranny, power locks/windows, keyless entry, extended cab, CD/tape radio, all that good stuff. Perfect for what he needs it for, and perfect for me. Yes, I'm greedy and verge on megelomanicisim at times, but eh....so when the Ranger dives in "non-truck" territory, we'll still have a truck to use. So it's all good. No pics, but I will if we get it.

BTW, yes, I did say PARKING LOT. Why? Well, at this very moment there are no less then 6 cars in the driveway, an '84 Benz, '91 Chevy, '01 Ranger, '93 Lincoln, '88 Chrysler, and a '00 Toyota. Tomorrow there will be no less then 5 more, probably closer to 8. And the best part is, all these cars fit, and so will most of the ones tomorrow. So that's why I called it, it being the driveway, a parking lot.

i ride the short bus to school

I went job huntin' today, down to AllSpeed, an import tuning shop. Not hiring at the moment, but after the first of the year.

Also found some REALLY, UBER, NICE, REAL buckskin that would would perfect in the '66 for the door panels. It's leather, but feels of seude. I'm in love with it. But, it's $450 a hide. So yeah, um, not gonna get that. Maybe for Chri'mas. Maybe if we were rich.

However, I think I have found something that I may just get..."But don't you already have a PSP?" you might be asking. Well, yes, yes I do. It kicks ass, even though I've only got two games for it (I'm hoping Chri'mas will fix that). If the regular PSP gives me a stiffy (no comment) then the white one gives me a stiffy, swallows, cooks me breakfast in the morning, AND doesn't bitch at me for not taking the trash out. Yeah. I really, really doubt I'll actually get it, but man do I want it. My current PSP is a white poser with the white/clear gel cover/case/thing for it.

The XBOX 360 came out about 3.5 hours ago EST. Have I got one? Um, no, would I be here if I had? Hell no, I'd be playing Project Gotham 3 or that war game. Probably won't be getting one till after I get a job, which would be after the new year. Unless, of course, I doubt, I get one for Chri'mas, or win one of the many, many contests giving one away. Horray for new technology!

my ass, not in gear, needs to be

I found the ordering guide for the '07 Sport Trac....so what does that mean? That I need to get off my lazy posterior and get to gettin' on finishing my ST guide. Now that I've got all the guides, there is no reason for me to not get it done. I've got to get on gathering pics too, since pics really make a big difference.

Oh yeah, I finally finished the gam Need For Speed: Underground II today. Yeah, I know...but I hadn't played it in a long time and picked it back up the other day. I just need to finish Colin McRea rall '05 now....

warp speed, stat

Hmmm, I totally forgot about this...earlier this week, my nephew called me up and asked if I wanted to eat Thanksgiving lunch with him at school. How could I say no? So bright and early I was over at his school. My sister (his momma) and I were there to eat lunch with him. Boy, lemme tell you that we was just super excited. We even got to sit up on stage in front of the whole cafeteria (it was overflow). His little kindergaten friends kept calling his name, he was the king of the moment. It was cool, and a half decent meal. I was glad I was asked and was able to go.

Progress on the S15 aftermarket guide continues...I'm up to a little less then 150 entries. I suppose I have maybe 150 more left to do. With that amount, I'm thinking of spliting the categories up for easier navigation and reading. I dunno, it's not too bad as it is, just a lot on entries is all.

not in a million years...

Hmmm, me thinks I need to rethink my headlight and tail light situation. I'm not stickign with stock tails, or altezzas of any kind, lame and over done. Same for LEDs. And now, I'm not wanting to go with Caddy tails either. I've seen just one too many custom truck with them, so....I gotta find a new light that I like and use it. Similar for the headlights. Now there are probably 10+ Rangers with these headlights, and a whole lot more who want them....that's about 9 too many for my taste. I'll probably keep the basic one piece Brazilians, but modify them so that they are unlike any other. I'm thinking smoked chrome, smoke side marker, projector beam with HIDs. That should do the trick.

Today I bought the new Green Day CD/DVD, Bullet in a Bible. It's a live CD/DVD combo taken from England. Overall, it's pretty good. I'm not a huge punk fan (yes, Green Day isn't "punk" punk, but punk enough), but I love live stuff and this CD/DVD was worth the $15 I spent on it. The only thing I don't really like is how the DVD is edited. Instead of having a concert to watch on DVD, they break in every now and again to show interviews with the band. I like the concept, but I'd like to see the concert in a straight run. I haven't checked out the DVD extras yet, but if you like Green Day, or rock in general, pick it up, you'll like it.

i got 99 problems, but a bitch aint one

For some odd reason, I've been stone, dog-ass'd tired since about 4PM, EST. IT's 2AM right now. I'm not sure why i've been tired, but it's been that way. I originally just tried to stay awake at around 6-9, because I knew if I went to sleep, I wouldn't stay asleep and wake up at like 11 or so, and not get back to sleep till about 6, maybe even 7AM. Yeah, I'm tired.

So what have I been doing? Well, working on the Aftermarket section of the Silvia guide. Damn, that's some intensive work there. I thought it's be no problem, but given that NISMO alone offers maybe 150 parts, I'm in for a long trip. Eh...oh well. Why? Because I want to.

i'll learn one day, but not anytime soon

Not having much to do today, I decided that it was a swell time to get some of the projects that I've been wanting to do to the Ranger, but hadn't as of yet because of the possible downtime, or absence. Today that project was to make my aftermarket wiring look a little less aftermarket. I'd love to rip out all of my wiring and start all over, but really, I don't feel like doing that. Lazy? Perhaps.

I've been having some terrible cases of the corrosion on my battery, so I removed it from the truck altogether to give it a good cleaning, and to get it out of the way. I bundled the wires together, removed some unused wires, reattached the driver's side headlight, although it still sits crooked....damnit, and generally just made things look better. Throw the battery back in, hook everything up, go to crank the truck....nothing. Damn. I tried several things, recleaning the terminals, tightening all connections down, etc. Nothing.

So, when my mother gets home, she suggests a jump start. "Nah, that won't help, battery shows plenty of volts" I say. Father gets home, he says give it a jump start. Fine, we'll try that. Of course it works. One of these days I'll learn to listen to my mother. One day.


I'm also undertaking a daunting self-appointed task, gathering as much info as I can about aftermarket parts for the S15. Why? Well, it started as a simple blurb in my Silvia guide about the NISMO R-Tune S15, which turned into a curiosity as to which parts are out there for the S15 by NISMO. Of course, this info is in Japanese, which lead to translation. Well, compound that with my search for parts for my future S15 (yes, I'm still hoping and dreaming....what about the GTO? Still love the shit out of that car, but damn if it isn't expensive, although after I'm done with the Silvia, it'll be more expensive then the GTO, but you know me, I wouldn't leave the GTO stock, so the total cost of the GTO would still be higher. Wow that was a long parathesized statement), and I've got myself an "Aftermarket" page for the S15 Silvia. I know I'm crazy, but eventaully, going at this rate, I'll have a damn comprehensive collection of info for the S15, no matter what you want. As for the ST guide? Yeah....you guessed it, still unfinished and unworked on. I think I write better when I'm stone tired, as I am know. Although my backspace key sees more action.

delving into average geekery

Recently, I was thinking it's been far to long since I made a new wallpaper. Today, while browsing over at HBO, I found a great little image by Gruntsbane. The use of color, or lack thereof, produces a very striking image that says alot without doing alot. Well, I thought it to be a good oppurtunity to do some creating. Not to take anything away from ol' Gruntsbane, but I took some artistic libierties in my version. Cortana is slimmer, not a busty, has a shorter neck, thinner hair, and a less of a scowl on her face. I like the result, and not because it's a naked chick, but because I was able to make the changes I wanted, and still keep it looking realistic and in harmony with the original style. I don't like the simple gradient background, but I couldn't get my other idea to flesh-out quite like I wanted...eh.

picachicalicadic

As promised, the picikes of the new car. The pics don't really do the paint color justice, it's called Opal Frost, and it looks just like an opal stone. Anywho, less talk, mroe pics:

An attempt to showcase the pearl paint:	Front 3/4:	Rear 3/4:
Front split bench:	Rear Bench:	Auto A/C, radio, clock:
Electronic Gauges:	Glamour Grille, *bling bling* (yes, I'm lame)

one down, 19,999 to go

Ah....not that feels good. Now my mother has her very own vehicle. I must say, it's not a bad little ride. It's a Lincoln, and by default, it's an older persons car, but perfect for her. It's a '93 Continential. Yeah, so it's not brand new, or from the highest escelon of autos, but it's still a nice ride. The car has 93,000 miles, which is low considering the year, but it looks damn near new. The paint is a very nice looking silver pearl, and is mostly blemish free. Only a handful of rock chips, and one strange instance of what looks like a piss-poor blend job, but otehrwise nice. Striaght body outside of a few dings in the trunk lid from an errant limb. It's gor grey leather, all power, a decent (for stock) AM/FM radio with powre antenna, auto lights with auto dim, 3.8L V6, FWD (eck...), overall just pretty nice. I'll grab some pics tomorrow. I'm gonna give a good detailing. Oh, and the saddest (but cool) aspect of it....4 wheel air bag control system. My mom's car has bags before I do. Damn. They aren't the showing off kind though, they are the auto-leveling type. But, the best part is my mom is tickled pink and happy as a cat in a yarn factory with it. She loves the color, the features, the price ($1000), everything really, which is good. Her old LeBarron wasn't the safest of cars, but this one actually has saftey stuff in it, so I'm not so afriad for her to drive it.

Bestest of all....the truck is now free for my biddings.

just two men squeezing the crap outta some chicks

As if I didn't know I wasn't hillbilly enough...I just got a shocking confirmation. Instead of fixing the car that needs fixing, just buy a whole nother one...but this one needs fixing as well. Car 1 needs new pistons and to be rebuilt. Car 2, unknown, although rod bearing most likely. But, this is good for me and the truck....it means it'll see a lot less miles again, a lot less wear, tear, and neglect. I'm quite satisfied about that. That also means that I most likely won't need to buy a daily truck, as when the Ranger is down getting worked on, there is still at least one other vehicle to be driven. So what are we gonna do with Car 1? I'm not sure...may still fix it, as my mom loves that car, and fix it good with a turbo motor.

BTW, I learned that all those prices on all those parts for my S15 are in Aussie Dollars, so $30,000 worth of stuff is "only" ~$22,000 USD. Expensive, yes, but better.

what were those lotto numbers again??

Ouch....So I'm window shopping for my (nonexistant) S15. Buying just about all the performance stuff I could want, except new cams and possibly a new fuel pump, the grand total was......$27,000. That doesn't include tax, shipping, wheels, tires, body kit, seats, roll bar, harness, good brakes, or any of those other things you always need but forget about. Scary. Even just the the things I really want, the cost is $13,000, again, no tax, shipping, wheels, tires, body kit, brakes, or any of the other things not included above. Ouch again. What is it that costs so much? A big ol' turbo kit, a big ol' front mount intercooler, suspension, clutch, and fuel delivery. Hmmmm....