no turning back

There are points during a project where there is no turning back. When you do something that fully commits your project from where it was, to where it will be. I'm pretty sure I passed that point this weekend.

At the drift, I noticed that almost all the S13s had the rear package shelf and rear sheetmetal that supported the rear seat removed. But, its not just a easy as unfixing a few bolts and removing the offending panels..nope, these panels are spot welded in. Not only that, the hinges for the trunk lid attach to the rear package shelf. You could remove all but the needed metal, but why? But what about the hinges? Well, instead of using hinges, use hood pins. That's what I did. Converted the trunk lid to work with pins, which was pretty easy. And since that was done, I could cut the extra metal out. Break out the torch and grinder. Most of the metal has been removed, just a few more grinds on some spot welds and a little grinding to clean up the cut edges and I'm good to go. Really cleans up the rear end. I'll grab some pics tomorrow when I'm done, 'cause it looks all racy and shit.

thank you sir, can i have another?

Over the past few months I've started probably 5 or 6 different digital car drawings, only to get to the colouring stage, get frustrated and stop. I actually started and finished a new piece, a Bentley Arnage T-SM.

I've had the idea of this car in my mind for a while now, and I only wish I had money enough to make it come true. The basic idea is to take one of the worlds best luxury cars and modify it in such a way to make more power, have more style, and be able to take a turn or two...all without losing all of its luxury appeal, or looking like a loon. Some companies "do-up" Rolls and Bentley models, but to me, they almost ruin them.

So, whats so special about my iteration? Well, other then I did it the way I'd do it, I just think this vehicle would be really, really slick in real life. Onto the 'technical' stuff- Power is increased via front mount intercooler, painted black for stealth, mounted in a slightly modified front bumper. The turbos are sized one-up, and the ECU has been remapped to make the most of the new parts. Exhaust is big-tube mandrel bent stainless, with mufflers that still keep the cabin quiet, but lets loose a nice rumble when needed. Suspension is almost all new with one-off arms and custom-valved magnetic-actuated coilovers. The result is a lowered ride height, but maintained alignment and ride smoothness, that turns into sporty-stiff at the push of a button. For a bit of flair, wheels are sized 22" x 8" up front, 24" x 10" in back. Although large, the multi-piece construction keeps the weight low but strength up. Housed inside the large wheels are equally large brakes, much needed with the impressive weight and power of the Arnage. Wrapping all of the upgrades is a smoothed and cleaned up body with mildly upgraded one-off bumpers and rocker panels sprayed in custom deep candy-red over black. All remaining exterior chrome has been sprayed a transparent black, making it "shadow chrome".

There you have it, not bad, eh? That'd be a super-awesome ride for sure. On the drawing of it, I did get a bit lazy with the wheels and reused the brakes and wheels from the Top Speed Commodore, with a red lip, gloss black bolts, and new brake rotors. I envision a set of spli-five spokes in shadow chrome, maybe I'll redo the wheels later as the ones that are on it now give the car more of a sports car feel then I'd like. The 5-spokes would give a bit more luxurious feel....eh, maybe later.

The pic is found at the link above and in the wallpaper section.

Halo 3 Beta: The Fuck Up

Have you played the Halo 3 Beta yet?

If you answered yes, then you are either a sucker, or lucky.

It seems only those people are getting in.

First, the suckers. All those people who bought Crackdown for a guaranteed Beta invite are suckers. If you bought Crackdown 'cause it looked like a fun game to play, then you are not a sucker. Spending $60 for a Beta invite is suckerish.

Next, the lucky. There were, for numbers sake, lets say around 25,000 people who could get into the Beta without having to buy a thing. There were three ways, being one of the first to sign-up at Halo3.com and being chosen...so-called Phase 1, the Rule of Three (basically playing Halo 2 for three hours, being one of the first 13,333 people to sign up...and something else), and Friends and Family. Out of those three groups, only one could be considered a success, and that's the Friends and Family group. They all, seemingly, got their Beta invite. Even if not all the Friends and Family did get an invite, no one will really know as there wasn't an official sign-up or anything. Meanwhile, there are more then a few Phase 1 and Rule of Three people who are left out in the cold without a Beta invite. So, what gives?

Granted, SOME Phase 1 and Rule of Three people have gotten an invite and are indeed playing the Beta, but what about the rest?

There was an error in some code somewhere within Crackdown that prevented ALL Crackdown owners from accessing the Beta. Within a few hours that problem was traced, fixed, tested, and made public. So if you paid your $60 for Crackdown, you're in. If you put in a good few hours online trying for Phase 1 or Rule of Three...you're probably shit outta luck. What's up with that?

Bungie isn't really to blame here, this whole Beta invite thing was handled by Microsoft. What does Microsoft have to say about all of this? Not a damn thing so far. Call up Microsoft and complain, plead, and cajole for an Beta invite and they can do nothing for you. Some are reporting that even though they got an email saying they were "in on the Beta", with their gamertag included in the email even, there is no record of that gamertag being linked to the Beta. No record? What type of system has Microsoft got going on where there is no record, even though you inputted your gamertag and email address in the same form? Why is Microsoft being so mum about this situation? Why is Bungie adding to the flames against them by staying mum themselves? In the eyes of many, they are not free from guilt, but are rolled into the one entity that is Microsoft.

How soon will this all be resolved? Probably never unless Microsoft changes its approach. For one, the end-users who are expecting those emails are to blame. The 'accepted' email, and a follow-up email, clearly stated to add two separate email address to the "not spam" list or your own contacts list, just so any future emails would show up in your main folder, not a junk or spam folder. And yet, many people found their Beta invite email sitting in the spam/junk folder like some hot stock tip email. You can't expect Microsoft to go to everyone's house and unblock the email for them. Because the end-user didn't follow directions, some aggressive ISPs have blocked the email from ever even getting to the user...a step further then kicking suspect files to the trash, its kicking suspect files out of the neighbourhood. Ouch.

What will bring salvation to Microsoft and Bungie, and stop, probably, a ten-thousand plus army of disgruntled players from their witch hunt? My guess? A Marketplace download. Forgo this 'code' nonsense and let whomever wants to play the game, play the damn game. Its not as if getting to play in the Beta is really a special treat or anything, its not as if you are sitting with the developers looking over your shoulder notepad in hand jotting down any bugs they spot. Bugs will be found and bugs will be squashed, but this isn't a true Beta in the traditional sense , the Halo 3 Beta is more like an unpolished Demo. It's not a cop-out, mind you, from a polished demo, as behind-the-scene bug-squashing is going on, but at the same time, there is more to do in this "Beta" then in other Demos that were released less then a week before the "Beta" and whose final game is coming out before the end of this month, as opposed to more then three months for Halo 3.

Let the people have their Beta and you will find salvation.

In the end, this whole Beta ordeal is just a minor error somewhere, but the closed lips and hype surrounding the Beta are fanning the flames of hate. Those flames are hot, but not well rooted. However, unless appropriate measures are taken quickly, those flames will root and spread, um...like wild fire, and even if the flames don't getcha, the smoke will. Not many people are hurt from flames, but many are hurt from the smoke.

little to nothing

Not much to say, really. Just been pounding away on that 240. Got the driver's side all de-tar'd and painted black. Looks sexy. Just a bit more to do on the passenger side. Then I gotta do the trunk area, rear wheel wells and a few other parts. It sucks, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.

Went to the local cruise-in today, and, as always, some nice stuff was there. Talked with a guy with a 9-second Mustang (square body notchback) for a while. Talked to some guy and his wife over his sweet '65 GTO. She got real excited when I mentioned drifting and thought it would be the coolest thing. Talked at length with another guy with a nice '56 Ford truck, and yet another old timer with who knows what about all kinds of stuff. Cool people, all.

One thing I love about the local cruise-in is the variety and quality of cars that come in. Nothing really, really outrageous this time 'round, but there was that Chrysler 300 that the guy turned down something like $250,000 for. A new Mustang GT500 in a really nice Tungsten Grey color. A clean 300ZX convertible. A 442 Pace Car. Some real nice original-caliber vintage tin. Even a '63 Lincoln Continental convertible. Yes, please, to all of those. Nice stuff, but nothing really wild like what'll show up most times. A Ferrari 360 did cruise through, so that was nice. I am a sucker for a Ferrari.