Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Rockstar Supernova - Kickin it up and breakin it down
Ok so the band decided it was "bust everyone down a notch" day. If you didn't bring it hard today, you were trashed.
Thank frikken god.
Overall a lot more juice in the performances, but the just don't seem to have "IT" yet.
The Reviews:
Magni Asgiersson - The Who, "My Generation": MUCH MUCH Better this time. He had great stage presence, solid vocals, not QUITE enough ball kicking, but good. The band dug it, the audience dug it, he's a complete pro. He's definitely safe
Jenny Galt - Soft Cell, "Tainted Love": Boring, low energy opening, overly campy, vibrato monster into what was supposed to be a kick ass bridge, but really kinda sucked. American Idol grade performance. I wonder if she can actually hold a note for more than a second or so.
Jill Gioia- Hole, "Violet": Good Courtney love immitation, 'cept Jill can actually sing not just scream. Jason actually looks like he's in terrible pain listening to this. Honestly I HATE this song so I can't fairly judge it; but as far as it goes she performed it well. She had unGODLY stage energy and craziness, but she was creepy in the courtney love impersonation thing.
Zayra Alvarez - The Kinks, "You Really Got Me": Flat, out of key, nasally, screamy, she needs about three dozen cookies dipped in bacon grease... What the HELL was she thinking picking that song. Gilby absolutely trashed her, but she went right back at him. Tommy lee jsut loves her ass (which is I admit, worth loving). Bottom Three, 100%.
Chris Pierson - Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out": He just can't do it. He isn't professional, and he's shouting much more than singing. He ALMOST had it in the speedie section, but no. Really he just doesnt get it. Bottom three without doubt.
Dilana - Johnny Cash, "Ring Of Fire": SACRILIGE!!!!!! Cash mixed with indian hippy music. Thing is, she can DO Johnny Cash well, she should have done a straight version. I dunno... The band seems to have liked it, it was cool, but sooo wrong... Oh and way too much metal in her face.
Josh Logan - Creed, "With Arms Wide Open": Ok, he deserves to be cruicified just for the song choice, but the rest was more than worthy. Honestly, did he think he was on American Idol? Auditioning to be backup singer for Clay Aiken? The boy band refugee syndrome continues. If there was any justice he'd be castrated in public right now.
Phil Ritchie - Tonic, "If you could only see": The opening sucked, he funked it up and used the glissondo way to much. Way too low keyed, way too low tempod. Better than last week, probably kept out of the bottom three, but it's another popstar performance. Overacting a bit. NO ROCK in this boy. Jasons advice "Plant your feet and CRUSH IT" works for me.
Storm Large - Cheap Trick, "Surrender": Ok, that was pretty cool. Started off great, didn't QUITE have the range for it in the middle, but she good energy, and good grunt. They actually speeded this one up, which is saying something because the original is blazing fast. Oh and I should mention once agian the house band kicks ass. Maybe a little too much ham and cheese there. Seriously though, am I the only one who thinks this chick belongs in pro-wrestling... in a thong?
Patrice Pike - Nirvana, "Heart Shaped Box": She blew the opening, but picked it up pretty quick. The arrangement didnt quite work. She got the scream alright, but not loud or loose enough. Honestly just like last year, nirvana is a choice best left alone. The songs just can't be done properly. A competent performance, and she had good energy and she looked like a pro. She's safe.
Lukas Rossi - Coldplay, "Don't Panic":Okay, so he can do Coldplay, unsurprising considering he is an emo bitch boy, but it wasn't bad. Wrong song for the band, but he pulled it off, if a bit weirdly. The messianic wandering around was a bit much. When he picked it up after the bridge it was actually good. I still think the guy has J.D. disease. Oh and Dave really is the Paula Abdul bitch in this show; and Jason really has the good advice.
Ryan Star - The Rolling Stones, "Jumping Jack Flash": Too slow, pitched too low, wasy too country, vibrato monster... This guy needs to pick a Bush tune and jsut ROCK it. I bet if he sang glycerine he'd kick ass. The performance was a little weak, all the way til the end when he finally loosened up and kicked it up. Probably not bottom three, but maybe... I dunno I think he deserves another chance.
Dana Andrews - Steppenwolf, "Born To Be Wild": Ok, for a song that a woman should NEVER sing (unless she's Joan Jett), she did a good job. Still too much country, too smoothe, not "wild" enough, but great swagger, good stage presence, very sexy. She worked the crowd well, especially comin out of the bridge. I'd put her performance here as just under Magnis for quality.
Toby Rand - The Killers, "Somebody Told Me": HARD HARD song. Too nasal, but not BAD energy. Way less boy band, good speed, not quite enough energy, not smoothe enough in the chorus, still a bit wooden. WAY better than last week, enough to keep him safe, good potential to work with maybe, we'll see. Tommy really does not like this guy.
Okay so my picks for bottom three are Zayra, Chris, and Josh. Zayra is frikken nuts, and Chris and Josh just plain SUCK SUCK SUCK.
Josh should be tortured to death by being locked in a small room with Zayra, a large amount of meth, and a dull backscratcher.
Thank frikken god.
Overall a lot more juice in the performances, but the just don't seem to have "IT" yet.
The Reviews:
Magni Asgiersson - The Who, "My Generation": MUCH MUCH Better this time. He had great stage presence, solid vocals, not QUITE enough ball kicking, but good. The band dug it, the audience dug it, he's a complete pro. He's definitely safe
Jenny Galt - Soft Cell, "Tainted Love": Boring, low energy opening, overly campy, vibrato monster into what was supposed to be a kick ass bridge, but really kinda sucked. American Idol grade performance. I wonder if she can actually hold a note for more than a second or so.
Jill Gioia- Hole, "Violet": Good Courtney love immitation, 'cept Jill can actually sing not just scream. Jason actually looks like he's in terrible pain listening to this. Honestly I HATE this song so I can't fairly judge it; but as far as it goes she performed it well. She had unGODLY stage energy and craziness, but she was creepy in the courtney love impersonation thing.
Zayra Alvarez - The Kinks, "You Really Got Me": Flat, out of key, nasally, screamy, she needs about three dozen cookies dipped in bacon grease... What the HELL was she thinking picking that song. Gilby absolutely trashed her, but she went right back at him. Tommy lee jsut loves her ass (which is I admit, worth loving). Bottom Three, 100%.
Chris Pierson - Franz Ferdinand, "Take Me Out": He just can't do it. He isn't professional, and he's shouting much more than singing. He ALMOST had it in the speedie section, but no. Really he just doesnt get it. Bottom three without doubt.
Dilana - Johnny Cash, "Ring Of Fire": SACRILIGE!!!!!! Cash mixed with indian hippy music. Thing is, she can DO Johnny Cash well, she should have done a straight version. I dunno... The band seems to have liked it, it was cool, but sooo wrong... Oh and way too much metal in her face.
Josh Logan - Creed, "With Arms Wide Open": Ok, he deserves to be cruicified just for the song choice, but the rest was more than worthy. Honestly, did he think he was on American Idol? Auditioning to be backup singer for Clay Aiken? The boy band refugee syndrome continues. If there was any justice he'd be castrated in public right now.
Phil Ritchie - Tonic, "If you could only see": The opening sucked, he funked it up and used the glissondo way to much. Way too low keyed, way too low tempod. Better than last week, probably kept out of the bottom three, but it's another popstar performance. Overacting a bit. NO ROCK in this boy. Jasons advice "Plant your feet and CRUSH IT" works for me.
Storm Large - Cheap Trick, "Surrender": Ok, that was pretty cool. Started off great, didn't QUITE have the range for it in the middle, but she good energy, and good grunt. They actually speeded this one up, which is saying something because the original is blazing fast. Oh and I should mention once agian the house band kicks ass. Maybe a little too much ham and cheese there. Seriously though, am I the only one who thinks this chick belongs in pro-wrestling... in a thong?
Patrice Pike - Nirvana, "Heart Shaped Box": She blew the opening, but picked it up pretty quick. The arrangement didnt quite work. She got the scream alright, but not loud or loose enough. Honestly just like last year, nirvana is a choice best left alone. The songs just can't be done properly. A competent performance, and she had good energy and she looked like a pro. She's safe.
Lukas Rossi - Coldplay, "Don't Panic":Okay, so he can do Coldplay, unsurprising considering he is an emo bitch boy, but it wasn't bad. Wrong song for the band, but he pulled it off, if a bit weirdly. The messianic wandering around was a bit much. When he picked it up after the bridge it was actually good. I still think the guy has J.D. disease. Oh and Dave really is the Paula Abdul bitch in this show; and Jason really has the good advice.
Ryan Star - The Rolling Stones, "Jumping Jack Flash": Too slow, pitched too low, wasy too country, vibrato monster... This guy needs to pick a Bush tune and jsut ROCK it. I bet if he sang glycerine he'd kick ass. The performance was a little weak, all the way til the end when he finally loosened up and kicked it up. Probably not bottom three, but maybe... I dunno I think he deserves another chance.
Dana Andrews - Steppenwolf, "Born To Be Wild": Ok, for a song that a woman should NEVER sing (unless she's Joan Jett), she did a good job. Still too much country, too smoothe, not "wild" enough, but great swagger, good stage presence, very sexy. She worked the crowd well, especially comin out of the bridge. I'd put her performance here as just under Magnis for quality.
Toby Rand - The Killers, "Somebody Told Me": HARD HARD song. Too nasal, but not BAD energy. Way less boy band, good speed, not quite enough energy, not smoothe enough in the chorus, still a bit wooden. WAY better than last week, enough to keep him safe, good potential to work with maybe, we'll see. Tommy really does not like this guy.
Okay so my picks for bottom three are Zayra, Chris, and Josh. Zayra is frikken nuts, and Chris and Josh just plain SUCK SUCK SUCK.
Josh should be tortured to death by being locked in a small room with Zayra, a large amount of meth, and a dull backscratcher.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine
Syd Barrett passed on a few days ago, presumably complications from the diabetes he has been suffering from for years; and which because of his schizophrenia, he was sketchy about caring for.
In case you hadn't figured it out from the song above, Syd was one of the founders of Pink Floyd, and their first writer and lead singer. Unfortunately, Syd had both the aforementioned Schizophrenia, and a habit of ingesting every foreign substance within reach, which led to his total collapse, and his near retirement from public life (he did guest on a couple of albums, and while medicated he released two solo albums) in about 1968. Honestly, it amazes me he's made it this far, to die at 60.
Thing is, even though Syd wasn't in the band for their greatest hits, HE WAS their greatest hits. Shine on you crasy diamond, brain damage/eclipse (dark side of the moon), and a bunch of others, were all about Syd. In fact the entire Album "Wish you were here" was a tribute to Syd.
Now MY favorite pink floyd tune, and one I sang on stage and still sing to myself all the time, is the title track from "Wish You Were Here". It may seem morbid but I always thought this would by my funeral song.
So,
So you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade
your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Revised Budgeting
Well well well, it's another post sharing my private financial information, to follow up on "The Cost of Living", "Blown Budgets" and "The Cost of Living Part 2".
Anyway, since we just went and made a major purchase, which not only saddled us with a new car payment, but basically doubled our gasoline costs, and changed our insurance costs, I thought I'd go through the budgeting process again.
This time, I'm going on the actual totals for everything except food, entertainment, and random; rather than estimating, so our numbers are far more accurate.
Our biggest expenses are the same, rent, car (including gas and insurance), food and entertainment, electric etc... but the car has climbed above food as our second biggest monthly expense, broken out roughly like this.
$4150 huh... about what I thought, considering we just added $650 to our monthly expenses with the new vehicle, and I had an estimated $3500 monthly before . I also moved the entertainment and random numbers around a bit, by creating the susbscription services category. Basically I was putting some of that in entertainment and random before, but I stuck it into the new category because they are all direct montly recurring expenses (in fact they are directly debited).
Actually, I don't think I've got enough in entertainment and random. Lets round up to $4500 and add that extra in.
Now here's the problem though. I make a lot more than that. In fact I take HOME a lot more than that.
So why don't we ever have any spare cash?
Again the same complaint as last month, we've got all this uncontrolled discretionary spending; and we've STILL got catchup spending to do from the three months of unemployment, as well as debts to repay.
This is why I didn't want to buy a new car this month yet; I was hoping to use this month to finally catch everything up, and start saving. As it is, most of the discretionary cash for this month is going to be taken up with the car repairs that we do still have to pay for (a couple hundred for work already done), the rental car (about $700), and the direct cash costs of the new truck (about $3000 over and above the part of his debt that my friend paid off).
Oh well, I guess this just proves the theory that expenses expand to consume the available funds.
Anyway, since we just went and made a major purchase, which not only saddled us with a new car payment, but basically doubled our gasoline costs, and changed our insurance costs, I thought I'd go through the budgeting process again.
This time, I'm going on the actual totals for everything except food, entertainment, and random; rather than estimating, so our numbers are far more accurate.
Our biggest expenses are the same, rent, car (including gas and insurance), food and entertainment, electric etc... but the car has climbed above food as our second biggest monthly expense, broken out roughly like this.
| Expense | Cost |
| Rent | $1275 |
| Car and Insurance | $600 |
| Gasoline | $500 |
| Food | $600 |
| Random | $500 |
| Electric | $275 |
| Entertainment (non food) | $250 |
| Subscription Services (netflix, newspaper etc...) | $150 |
| Phone and Cell | $125 |
| Cable and Internet | $125 |
| City water, sewer, and trash | $75 |
| Natural Gas | $25 |
| Subtotal | $4500 |
$4150 huh... about what I thought, considering we just added $650 to our monthly expenses with the new vehicle, and I had an estimated $3500 monthly before . I also moved the entertainment and random numbers around a bit, by creating the susbscription services category. Basically I was putting some of that in entertainment and random before, but I stuck it into the new category because they are all direct montly recurring expenses (in fact they are directly debited).
Actually, I don't think I've got enough in entertainment and random. Lets round up to $4500 and add that extra in.
Now here's the problem though. I make a lot more than that. In fact I take HOME a lot more than that.
So why don't we ever have any spare cash?
Again the same complaint as last month, we've got all this uncontrolled discretionary spending; and we've STILL got catchup spending to do from the three months of unemployment, as well as debts to repay.
This is why I didn't want to buy a new car this month yet; I was hoping to use this month to finally catch everything up, and start saving. As it is, most of the discretionary cash for this month is going to be taken up with the car repairs that we do still have to pay for (a couple hundred for work already done), the rental car (about $700), and the direct cash costs of the new truck (about $3000 over and above the part of his debt that my friend paid off).
Oh well, I guess this just proves the theory that expenses expand to consume the available funds.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
And a Bottle of Rum
So we saw "Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Mans Chest" last night, and let me just say, this movie kicked serious ass.
The action sequences were excellent, the visuals even better, the humor and silliness great.
Only one problem, the movie got MTV-ized. Jump cuts and quick cuts and 12 second long scenes all over the place. The first movie didnt have that problem.
One particular sequence is probably the longest sword fight put on film since the 40s (about 10 minutes). The setup is spectacular, and I'm sure it was intended to top the forge swordfight in the first film (itself the best sword fight on film since '87 and "The Princess Bride), but because of the nature of the scene, the framing of the shots, and the REALLY FRIKKEN IRRITATING editing, it didn't quite match the drama, tension, and realism of the forge scene; though the sheer balls and physicality of the sequence are impressive.
There wasn't a great deal of plot or character developement in this move, pretty much just straightforward adventure; but the story as it was, was a big setup for the third movie where much more promises to be revealed. A HUGE number of plotlines and story arcs were opened up, and pretty much left hanging there; but it wasn't bad writing, it was clearly deliberate. When the third movie comes out ext year (it's filming now), I think we'll see all those nascent plotlines come together.
This is not to say there isn't plenty to watch in this movie. The movie itself was 2 and a half hours long, and it was so packed full of stuff, it makes sense that the story was all a lead in to the next movie; and believe me, from the first few seconds of the movie, til the last, the pace never slows down for one second. They needed every one of those 150 mins just to fit in what they had. More story would have slowed the movie down, and made it even longer.
Depp was excellent, as usual, though he had less to do here than in the original; and unlike her previous outing, Kiera Knightley actually had something to do, and did it reasonably well. Orlando Bloom was less irritating and wooden than usual; and under all the makup and CG, Bill Nighy did a smashing job as Davey Jones.
Overall, the best movie of the summer so far; which may seem a bit like faint praise considering the current crop, but still, a damn fine fantasy adventure comedy.
Oh and for those of you interested in such things, "Dead Mans Chest" has had the highest opening day, and single day grsoses in history at $55 million; and is projected to OPEN to almost 150 million in the first weekend; besting the record set with "Spider Man" by more than 35 million. With an estimated production cost of $225 million, and no major releases set for next weekend, it's a lock the movie will earn out domestically in the opening 10 days, with the expected overseas earnings at least equal to (and more likely far more than) domestic (the original made double domestic grosses overseas).
In contrast, Superman Returns, the other big summer blockbuster, which had a Wednesday Opening (which usually boosts numbers); has only managed $125 million in its first week and a half, and will not earn out it's $260 million production budget in domestic grosses (though it almsot certainly will internationally). The movie will most likely see no profit til the dvd release; and this is in a year with 10 movies over 100 million in the first seven months.
Update: The actual Friday to Sunday number was $132 million, $18 million more than spiderman. It is expected the movie will earn out by the end of next weekend. This brings the combined grosses of the franchise to almost 800 million, and that's just in the sequels first week.
If three hits as big as two, the combination will likely join, or possibly exceed the original star wars trilogy (2.5 billion combined gross without the re-releases, 4 billion with, neither adjusted for inflation which inflates the total to over 6 billion), the second triogy (at 2.5 billion combined gross), and the Lord of the Rings (3 billion combined) , as the top grossing trilogies of all time (depending on how one counts).
Man, what I wouldnt do for a piece of the DVD end eh...
The action sequences were excellent, the visuals even better, the humor and silliness great.
Only one problem, the movie got MTV-ized. Jump cuts and quick cuts and 12 second long scenes all over the place. The first movie didnt have that problem.
One particular sequence is probably the longest sword fight put on film since the 40s (about 10 minutes). The setup is spectacular, and I'm sure it was intended to top the forge swordfight in the first film (itself the best sword fight on film since '87 and "The Princess Bride), but because of the nature of the scene, the framing of the shots, and the REALLY FRIKKEN IRRITATING editing, it didn't quite match the drama, tension, and realism of the forge scene; though the sheer balls and physicality of the sequence are impressive.
There wasn't a great deal of plot or character developement in this move, pretty much just straightforward adventure; but the story as it was, was a big setup for the third movie where much more promises to be revealed. A HUGE number of plotlines and story arcs were opened up, and pretty much left hanging there; but it wasn't bad writing, it was clearly deliberate. When the third movie comes out ext year (it's filming now), I think we'll see all those nascent plotlines come together.
This is not to say there isn't plenty to watch in this movie. The movie itself was 2 and a half hours long, and it was so packed full of stuff, it makes sense that the story was all a lead in to the next movie; and believe me, from the first few seconds of the movie, til the last, the pace never slows down for one second. They needed every one of those 150 mins just to fit in what they had. More story would have slowed the movie down, and made it even longer.
Depp was excellent, as usual, though he had less to do here than in the original; and unlike her previous outing, Kiera Knightley actually had something to do, and did it reasonably well. Orlando Bloom was less irritating and wooden than usual; and under all the makup and CG, Bill Nighy did a smashing job as Davey Jones.
Overall, the best movie of the summer so far; which may seem a bit like faint praise considering the current crop, but still, a damn fine fantasy adventure comedy.
Oh and for those of you interested in such things, "Dead Mans Chest" has had the highest opening day, and single day grsoses in history at $55 million; and is projected to OPEN to almost 150 million in the first weekend; besting the record set with "Spider Man" by more than 35 million. With an estimated production cost of $225 million, and no major releases set for next weekend, it's a lock the movie will earn out domestically in the opening 10 days, with the expected overseas earnings at least equal to (and more likely far more than) domestic (the original made double domestic grosses overseas).
In contrast, Superman Returns, the other big summer blockbuster, which had a Wednesday Opening (which usually boosts numbers); has only managed $125 million in its first week and a half, and will not earn out it's $260 million production budget in domestic grosses (though it almsot certainly will internationally). The movie will most likely see no profit til the dvd release; and this is in a year with 10 movies over 100 million in the first seven months.
Update: The actual Friday to Sunday number was $132 million, $18 million more than spiderman. It is expected the movie will earn out by the end of next weekend. This brings the combined grosses of the franchise to almost 800 million, and that's just in the sequels first week.
If three hits as big as two, the combination will likely join, or possibly exceed the original star wars trilogy (2.5 billion combined gross without the re-releases, 4 billion with, neither adjusted for inflation which inflates the total to over 6 billion), the second triogy (at 2.5 billion combined gross), and the Lord of the Rings (3 billion combined) , as the top grossing trilogies of all time (depending on how one counts).
Man, what I wouldnt do for a piece of the DVD end eh...
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Which 1911?
A frequent question I get, and which was jsut asked yet again on Kims forums, is which of the dozens (or maybe hundreds) of brands of 1911 should one buy?
Really the answer is dependent on what features you are looking for, and how much you want to spend.
If you want a very simple 1911 that you are not going to mess with much, get a Springfield Mil-spec. You see them for as little as $399, but most sell them from $450 to $499.
For a slightly more complex and featured up gun that you are not going to mess with too much get a Springfield Loaded. Expect to pay $650 to $950 depending on the exact model, and where you buy it. If you wait a few months for them to get their early production bugs worked out, Taurus is now manufacturing a 1911 with great potential, for under $500; but right now they are having some issues. If you don't mind taking a risk on a relative unknown and/or relatively new 1911 manufacturer pick up a Dan Wesson or an Auto Ordnance, which run in a similar range as the springfield (maybe a bit more for the DW).
For a very featured up gun that you are not going to mess with except maybe a trigger job and some new grips, get either an SW1911, a Kimber, or maybe a SIG GSR. These guns start around $850 and go up to around $1350. Also, Detonics is back in business, in the same price and theoretically the same quality range, or maybe even a bit better (but they've only been back a year or so, so we'll see).
For the top end of factory guns, pick up a Springfield Custom Shop gun like an operator, TRP, or professional; a Kimber Custom shop gun, an SW performance center gun, an STI, a Nighthawk, a Rock River, or an Ed Brown or Wilson production gun. These guns start around $1250 and go up to around $2500.
If you are going to do a lot of custom work on a gun, but don't want an out of the box custom, buy either a Springfield Mil-Spec, a Springfield loaded, or a stripped down Colt (or a used Colt in good mechanical but poor cosmetic condition). The colt will retain more value after customization but you pay a lot more for the name (about $200-300 more than the MilSpec). Many notable gun smiths recommend the springfield Mil-Spec or loaded as a base gun for their custom work including Ted Yost and Clark Custom.
Yost built up my springfield champion for only about $500 (on top of a $900 gun); because all he needed to do was some fine work (the champion is a springfield loaded commander in stainless with a lot of custom features already built in); and I had already bought and fited most of the parts I wanted. I ended up with a fully custom gun for a lot less than a frame up build.
You can also buy frames and slides from Caspian or Rock river, and build up with top quality drop-in or smith fit parts from other manufacturers (Kart barrel, wilson hard parts etc...), then have a gunsmith do final fitting and finishing. The sum total of the parts will run you between $750 and $1250 for top quality custom grade parts, or as little as $500 for bargain parts (which most gun smiths wont want to work on). The final fitting and finishing will run you $250 to $500 for basic stuff, and up to about $1000 for more work intensive stuff.
If you are going to buy an out of the box custom gun, go to Wilson Combat, Les Baer, Nighthawk, STI, Ed Brown, Clark, Yost, Novak, Jardine.. well there are a lot, but that list will start you off. Expect to pay from $1500 for a near prodcution gun to $5000 (or more) for a full custom buildup. I paid $2700 for my fully built Wilson on a frame and slide I provided almost 10 years ago (and it was worth every penny).
I do not recommend going with a bargain basement 1911 (most of which are manufactured in the phillipines). Yes, they are cheap, and some folks have had great experiences, but for $150 more you can be assured of a good gun from Springfield.
In terms of buying used guns, springfield, Kimber, Colt, and any of the custom manufacturers I recommended are good options. Some folks like the old Norinco 1911 copies, some dont. Whatever you do, take someone who knows 1911s with you, and run the pistol through my auto pistol checkout, or something similar.
Really the answer is dependent on what features you are looking for, and how much you want to spend.
If you want a very simple 1911 that you are not going to mess with much, get a Springfield Mil-spec. You see them for as little as $399, but most sell them from $450 to $499.
For a slightly more complex and featured up gun that you are not going to mess with too much get a Springfield Loaded. Expect to pay $650 to $950 depending on the exact model, and where you buy it. If you wait a few months for them to get their early production bugs worked out, Taurus is now manufacturing a 1911 with great potential, for under $500; but right now they are having some issues. If you don't mind taking a risk on a relative unknown and/or relatively new 1911 manufacturer pick up a Dan Wesson or an Auto Ordnance, which run in a similar range as the springfield (maybe a bit more for the DW).
For a very featured up gun that you are not going to mess with except maybe a trigger job and some new grips, get either an SW1911, a Kimber, or maybe a SIG GSR. These guns start around $850 and go up to around $1350. Also, Detonics is back in business, in the same price and theoretically the same quality range, or maybe even a bit better (but they've only been back a year or so, so we'll see).
For the top end of factory guns, pick up a Springfield Custom Shop gun like an operator, TRP, or professional; a Kimber Custom shop gun, an SW performance center gun, an STI, a Nighthawk, a Rock River, or an Ed Brown or Wilson production gun. These guns start around $1250 and go up to around $2500.
If you are going to do a lot of custom work on a gun, but don't want an out of the box custom, buy either a Springfield Mil-Spec, a Springfield loaded, or a stripped down Colt (or a used Colt in good mechanical but poor cosmetic condition). The colt will retain more value after customization but you pay a lot more for the name (about $200-300 more than the MilSpec). Many notable gun smiths recommend the springfield Mil-Spec or loaded as a base gun for their custom work including Ted Yost and Clark Custom.
Yost built up my springfield champion for only about $500 (on top of a $900 gun); because all he needed to do was some fine work (the champion is a springfield loaded commander in stainless with a lot of custom features already built in); and I had already bought and fited most of the parts I wanted. I ended up with a fully custom gun for a lot less than a frame up build.
You can also buy frames and slides from Caspian or Rock river, and build up with top quality drop-in or smith fit parts from other manufacturers (Kart barrel, wilson hard parts etc...), then have a gunsmith do final fitting and finishing. The sum total of the parts will run you between $750 and $1250 for top quality custom grade parts, or as little as $500 for bargain parts (which most gun smiths wont want to work on). The final fitting and finishing will run you $250 to $500 for basic stuff, and up to about $1000 for more work intensive stuff.
If you are going to buy an out of the box custom gun, go to Wilson Combat, Les Baer, Nighthawk, STI, Ed Brown, Clark, Yost, Novak, Jardine.. well there are a lot, but that list will start you off. Expect to pay from $1500 for a near prodcution gun to $5000 (or more) for a full custom buildup. I paid $2700 for my fully built Wilson on a frame and slide I provided almost 10 years ago (and it was worth every penny).
I do not recommend going with a bargain basement 1911 (most of which are manufactured in the phillipines). Yes, they are cheap, and some folks have had great experiences, but for $150 more you can be assured of a good gun from Springfield.
In terms of buying used guns, springfield, Kimber, Colt, and any of the custom manufacturers I recommended are good options. Some folks like the old Norinco 1911 copies, some dont. Whatever you do, take someone who knows 1911s with you, and run the pistol through my auto pistol checkout, or something similar.
Friday, July 07, 2006
A new truck - what should we name it?
So we were looking for various vehicles, and Mel really wanted a third row seat, but every Tahoe we saw was crap, and anything smaller was... too small really; so I convinced her to try out an expedition, and she loved it.
So, we are now the proud owners of a 2001 Ford Expedition XLT. Ours is FULLY optioned out. It literally has every option except 4 wheel drive, and the sunroof. The most important being the full power, heat, and leather packages (including heated seats and mirrors, center and roof consoles, third row seat etc...), the front and rear airbags, front and rear air conditioning, the heavy duty towing package with trans cooler, self leveling suspension, class IV hitch and LSD, the premium sound, and oh yeah, the big 5.4 triton V8 (255hp 350ftlbs).
This is not quite our truck; its a very similar model, but our is a bit better. We've got the larger premium alloy wheels with offroad tires (brand new tires), the lighted running boards, the uprated security and keyless entry system, special paint and mirrors... basically every option there is except the Eddie Bauer package.
The truck has 65,000 miles, and books out as equipped at $18,000 (auto trader has listings as low as $15k and as high as $20k, with trucks equiped like ours with as low mileage on the higher end); and we paid quite a bit less, but our final price including tax, license, title etc... was $19k, and we put $4k down (yes, our friend finally paid us back, by trading in his car for us and taking the difference back as cash. Tomorrow I'm going to help him look for a new car, so HE stays mobile.) with an additional $1500 buydown within the next thirty days for a lower interest rate. Oh ad a six month dealer warranty that matches the factory warranty (which has already expired. Anyone have any experience with an extended auto warranty? Are they worth the money?
Mel is stoked; and honestly I'm quite pleased. It's a great truck, it's powerful, smoothe, quiet, and VERY comfortable. It can haul a TON of stuff (actually 4.25 tons of stuff with the trailer); we got a decent price on it considering our credit; and a decent interest rate considering the same (8.9% with the buy down; and a no penalty buyout). Yeah if we'd put more down and had better credit we could have negotiated a better price, but as it is, we're happy.
Oh and this is Mels first "New" vehicle, and she keeps making happy kitten noises.
Personally, I'm thinking a lot about camping, range trips, Costco, IKEA, and towing ATV's and boats etc...
Now though, the question remains, what do we name it? Until and unless we come up with a better name I've been calling it "the beast" in my head. Why? well it's big, powerful, massive, can swallow up a lot of stuff, and sucks down a lot of gas.
Of course it will REALLY be the beast when I get my hands on a performance programmer, and an intake kit (+20hp and +40ftlbs at the rears - 20% more on the bare dyno, and MUCH better shifting). I wonder how much a Vortech kit is for the things (looked it up, $4358 +115hp and +95ftlbs at the rear wheels hmmmm over 400bhp gooood)... no, I CAN'T leave well enough alone thank you very much.
Rockstar... the next generation
Supernova...
Okay it's a pretty lame name for a band, but hey, you've got Tommy Lee, Gilby Clark, and Jason Newsted; you've gotta think they are gonna kick some ass.
So for those of you not with us last year, I REALLLLLLLY hate reality TV, BUT I really LOVE hard rock and heavy metal. Rockstar is the only reality game showthat has actual stuff I dig. The music is cool, the people are sometimes cool, and Brooke Burke used to be hot (now she's all scary looking with a bad set of cheek implants, and chin and nose jobs. Ugh).
Plus, it's kind cool watching Dave Navarro turn into an even pussierass (I'm trademarking that word) version of Paula Frikken Abdul.
First, the recap of last years shows:
Alright now, I hate reality TV...
LiveBloggin - Rockstar
Rockstar Update
Rockstar INXS - J.D. Doesnt Suck
Popstar INXS
Rockstar INXS - Surprising Me
Holy CRAP!!! Mig is STRAIGHT???
Late to the party
Rockstar WTF?
Rockstar - Why do I bother watching sundays?
Rockstar INXS -Not what I was expecting
Rockstar - HOLY SHIT!
Rockstar INXS - Reprise and the originals
Rockstar INXS - The Plot Thickens
Rockstar INXS - Doubleshot
Rockstar INXS - Suzy Says So Long
Rockstar INXS - It's Finally Happened
Ok so now, let us begin our season with a listing, my first impressions, and my reviews of their performances:
Chris Pierson - The Police, "Roxanne": Well, he's got the looks for the job. I hated his song choice; or rather I like the song, but his arrangement was crap. He has no range or vocal quality, at least as demonstrated by the song. His performance wasn't bad, but I just didn't dig him. Bottom 3 definitely.
Dana Andrews - Melissa Ethridge, "The Only One": Good looking girl, decent sogn choice for her. Kind of an over the top performance. I'll have to see more, but I get the feeling that this girl grew up singing country, and should still be doing so (as was the case with many fo the famels last season as well). SHe DID look like she was havig a great time which is a plus. She's safe this week, but I don't see a winner there.
Dilana - Nirvana, "Lithium": Ugly, nasty, horrible voice, horrible tats, wooden rigid pseudohardass performance. Is that really a woman? Theres some adams apple there I tell you. Spastic breakouts... this one should at least be interesting in the house
Jenny Galt - Nickleback, "How you remind me": Good last name, kinda cute, too skinny. She sounds like a folk singer, which is apprently what she was back in canada. HORRIBLE song choice for her, flat, wooden performance. No energy, no passion. She finally loosens up and relaxes in the last minute or so, but she can't pull this song off. With better song choice she might do well, but I'm guessing quick elimination.
Jill Gioia- Janice Joplin, "Piece of my heart": Sexy in a trashy kind of way, obvious boob job, but not a bad one, nice energy, not a bad song choice. It takes balls to do ANY Joplin tune, and she does a respectable version. Not quite enough scream (she tried and failed) but passable. Apparently she's been a pro backup singer for a while, and a songwriter, and she has a hit in europe.
Josh Logan - The Black Crowes, "She Talks to Angels": And representing the world of Karaoke... I LOVE this song, and I used to sing it on stage. I think he did a pretty good version. He got the inflection right, and his energy and performance were excellent, but his voice isn't quite the right pitch and timbre for it. That said, assuming he nails his song selection I can see him going into the final few. GREAT personalit and charisma on stage.
Lukas Rossi - Billy Idol, "Rebel Yell": Another canadian, and this one a lameoid emo looking boi, but can he sing? Weellll not not really, but he shouts real good. The ham factor was honestly too high on this performance to judge, but hes got great energy, and stage presence. I'm seeing J.D. disease here though... I'll reserve judgement til I see some real singing out of him.
Magni Asgiersson - The Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction": From Iceland, where he has six albums two of which went gold, and of course no last name (which is common in iceland. They jsut call them selves after their fathers first name). Stones covers can be tough, because they are so Iconic, but this isn't a bad version. More of a shouter here, which given his background in icelandic metal is unsurprising; he does seem like he could actually sing though. Not a bad performance, a little stiff, but there's potential there.
Matt Hoffer- Coldplay, "Yellow": A speed metal guitarist turned emo singer... I'm not impressed. He has pitch and tone issues (he's emo, of course he does), he should have stuck with speed metal. Poor song selection for him, and for the band. Reasonable performance but eh... underwhelming. Not horrible, just not that good.
Patrice Pike - Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love": Very professional. Too much ink, and kinda hard used looking, but she knows what she's doing. Good song selection, with what is not a terribly hard song to sing in terms of range, but a hard one to perform well dynamically, and it needs a real set of PIPES; and she nailed it. Great energy and drive, great charisma and feeling with the band, maybe a BIT forced but its her first time in front of millions so who can fault her. I cant wait to hear her on more vocally challenging songs.
Phil Ritchie - Living Color, "Cult of Personality": Frikken awesome song, and he can't sing it. In fact he cant sing the same note for more than about a second for most of the song. GREAT energy and good performance, jsut no vocal consistency. He got a lot better towards the end of the song; maybe if he can fix it up a bit he can stay, but for now definitely bottom three.
Ryan Star - Goo Goo Dolls, "Iris": Looks like he escaped from 21 jump street, but I wont hold that against him, since apparently he was in a successful punk band. Not a BAD performance, but way too much ham and cheese. REALLY bad song selection for him. Clearly he can sing, but he cant sing that song. Honestly though, you gotta give credit to Johnny Rzeznik, it's a hard ass song to do well. The guy had balls to choose it, but it didnt work.
Storm Large - The Who, "Pinball Wizard": Apparently that IS her real name; and it fits since she's 6 foot tall, beautiful, and energetic. She's got amazing energy (especially since she's 37 - oh and another boob job), and can really work the crowd. She doesnt seem to have much range, but she does have good vocal power. I'm jsut tired of female rockers doing the melissa ethridge voice (and the swaggering elvis voice within it). The song is a tough one (pretty much any who song is) and she did a pretty good job. When I saw her song slection I thought she was dead, but she pulled it off.
Toby Rand - Bob Dylan, "Knockin on Heavens Door": An Australian soap opera refugee, apparently idolizes nickleback and plays with an acoustic trio, so I'm not well disposed towards him to begin with, but hey, he might be good... Then again no. He sounded like a boyband refugee doing this song. He can definitely sing, but he should be on american idol not rockstar. How much you wnat to bet he picks a John Mayer song at some point.
Zayra Alvarez - Evanescence, "Bring Me To Life": A Peurto Rican solo guitarist and songwriter, who looks strikingly like a cross between Salma Hayek and Lucy lawless (only much less buff). She can definitely sing, shes gorgeous, and she's a good performer.... BUT... She picked a song that is essentially impossible for anyone but Amy Lee to sing. I give her credit for trying, and not failing too badly, but she just can't do it. Lets see her pick a better tune for her voice, and THEN we'll see what she can do.
NOTE: I started this post yesterday during the elimination show, bit I couldnt finish the writeup til today (I fell asleep) and I was right on the bottom three; though I think Dilana was just as bad as the others:
Chris Pierson - The Doors, "LA Woman": Ehhhh... not great, too much grunt and growl, and again control issues. Decent performance but not great. Probably enough to keep him alive, but he gone in the next few weeks.
Phil Ritchie - Switchfoot, "Stars": Much better than his first effort, but still crap. Not a good song, and sung not very well, but again, probably enough to stay alive.
Matt Hoffer- Duran Duran, "Planet Earth": Fucking Duran Duran? Ok yes some of their stuff was cool, but you are singing for fucking TOMMY FUCKING LEE and you sing duran duran? Song selection alone killed this kid, but then we warbles and pops his way through it. Go back to the guitar matt. You are gone.
Some general comments... once again, msot of the chicks sound like country singers not rock singers. Also once again, the house band frikken kicks ass. I wonder if they are just session guys, or if they actually tour and release....
Until next week, when I predict Chris, Phil, and Dilana are on the bottom again.
Okay it's a pretty lame name for a band, but hey, you've got Tommy Lee, Gilby Clark, and Jason Newsted; you've gotta think they are gonna kick some ass.
So for those of you not with us last year, I REALLLLLLLY hate reality TV, BUT I really LOVE hard rock and heavy metal. Rockstar is the only reality game showthat has actual stuff I dig. The music is cool, the people are sometimes cool, and Brooke Burke used to be hot (now she's all scary looking with a bad set of cheek implants, and chin and nose jobs. Ugh).
Plus, it's kind cool watching Dave Navarro turn into an even pussierass (I'm trademarking that word) version of Paula Frikken Abdul.
First, the recap of last years shows:
Alright now, I hate reality TV...
LiveBloggin - Rockstar
Rockstar Update
Rockstar INXS - J.D. Doesnt Suck
Popstar INXS
Rockstar INXS - Surprising Me
Holy CRAP!!! Mig is STRAIGHT???
Late to the party
Rockstar WTF?
Rockstar - Why do I bother watching sundays?
Rockstar INXS -Not what I was expecting
Rockstar - HOLY SHIT!
Rockstar INXS - Reprise and the originals
Rockstar INXS - The Plot Thickens
Rockstar INXS - Doubleshot
Rockstar INXS - Suzy Says So Long
Rockstar INXS - It's Finally Happened
Ok so now, let us begin our season with a listing, my first impressions, and my reviews of their performances:
Chris Pierson - The Police, "Roxanne": Well, he's got the looks for the job. I hated his song choice; or rather I like the song, but his arrangement was crap. He has no range or vocal quality, at least as demonstrated by the song. His performance wasn't bad, but I just didn't dig him. Bottom 3 definitely.
Dana Andrews - Melissa Ethridge, "The Only One": Good looking girl, decent sogn choice for her. Kind of an over the top performance. I'll have to see more, but I get the feeling that this girl grew up singing country, and should still be doing so (as was the case with many fo the famels last season as well). SHe DID look like she was havig a great time which is a plus. She's safe this week, but I don't see a winner there.
Dilana - Nirvana, "Lithium": Ugly, nasty, horrible voice, horrible tats, wooden rigid pseudohardass performance. Is that really a woman? Theres some adams apple there I tell you. Spastic breakouts... this one should at least be interesting in the house
Jenny Galt - Nickleback, "How you remind me": Good last name, kinda cute, too skinny. She sounds like a folk singer, which is apprently what she was back in canada. HORRIBLE song choice for her, flat, wooden performance. No energy, no passion. She finally loosens up and relaxes in the last minute or so, but she can't pull this song off. With better song choice she might do well, but I'm guessing quick elimination.
Jill Gioia- Janice Joplin, "Piece of my heart": Sexy in a trashy kind of way, obvious boob job, but not a bad one, nice energy, not a bad song choice. It takes balls to do ANY Joplin tune, and she does a respectable version. Not quite enough scream (she tried and failed) but passable. Apparently she's been a pro backup singer for a while, and a songwriter, and she has a hit in europe.
Josh Logan - The Black Crowes, "She Talks to Angels": And representing the world of Karaoke... I LOVE this song, and I used to sing it on stage. I think he did a pretty good version. He got the inflection right, and his energy and performance were excellent, but his voice isn't quite the right pitch and timbre for it. That said, assuming he nails his song selection I can see him going into the final few. GREAT personalit and charisma on stage.
Lukas Rossi - Billy Idol, "Rebel Yell": Another canadian, and this one a lameoid emo looking boi, but can he sing? Weellll not not really, but he shouts real good. The ham factor was honestly too high on this performance to judge, but hes got great energy, and stage presence. I'm seeing J.D. disease here though... I'll reserve judgement til I see some real singing out of him.
Magni Asgiersson - The Rolling Stones, "Satisfaction": From Iceland, where he has six albums two of which went gold, and of course no last name (which is common in iceland. They jsut call them selves after their fathers first name). Stones covers can be tough, because they are so Iconic, but this isn't a bad version. More of a shouter here, which given his background in icelandic metal is unsurprising; he does seem like he could actually sing though. Not a bad performance, a little stiff, but there's potential there.
Matt Hoffer- Coldplay, "Yellow": A speed metal guitarist turned emo singer... I'm not impressed. He has pitch and tone issues (he's emo, of course he does), he should have stuck with speed metal. Poor song selection for him, and for the band. Reasonable performance but eh... underwhelming. Not horrible, just not that good.
Patrice Pike - Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love": Very professional. Too much ink, and kinda hard used looking, but she knows what she's doing. Good song selection, with what is not a terribly hard song to sing in terms of range, but a hard one to perform well dynamically, and it needs a real set of PIPES; and she nailed it. Great energy and drive, great charisma and feeling with the band, maybe a BIT forced but its her first time in front of millions so who can fault her. I cant wait to hear her on more vocally challenging songs.
Phil Ritchie - Living Color, "Cult of Personality": Frikken awesome song, and he can't sing it. In fact he cant sing the same note for more than about a second for most of the song. GREAT energy and good performance, jsut no vocal consistency. He got a lot better towards the end of the song; maybe if he can fix it up a bit he can stay, but for now definitely bottom three.
Ryan Star - Goo Goo Dolls, "Iris": Looks like he escaped from 21 jump street, but I wont hold that against him, since apparently he was in a successful punk band. Not a BAD performance, but way too much ham and cheese. REALLY bad song selection for him. Clearly he can sing, but he cant sing that song. Honestly though, you gotta give credit to Johnny Rzeznik, it's a hard ass song to do well. The guy had balls to choose it, but it didnt work.
Storm Large - The Who, "Pinball Wizard": Apparently that IS her real name; and it fits since she's 6 foot tall, beautiful, and energetic. She's got amazing energy (especially since she's 37 - oh and another boob job), and can really work the crowd. She doesnt seem to have much range, but she does have good vocal power. I'm jsut tired of female rockers doing the melissa ethridge voice (and the swaggering elvis voice within it). The song is a tough one (pretty much any who song is) and she did a pretty good job. When I saw her song slection I thought she was dead, but she pulled it off.
Toby Rand - Bob Dylan, "Knockin on Heavens Door": An Australian soap opera refugee, apparently idolizes nickleback and plays with an acoustic trio, so I'm not well disposed towards him to begin with, but hey, he might be good... Then again no. He sounded like a boyband refugee doing this song. He can definitely sing, but he should be on american idol not rockstar. How much you wnat to bet he picks a John Mayer song at some point.
Zayra Alvarez - Evanescence, "Bring Me To Life": A Peurto Rican solo guitarist and songwriter, who looks strikingly like a cross between Salma Hayek and Lucy lawless (only much less buff). She can definitely sing, shes gorgeous, and she's a good performer.... BUT... She picked a song that is essentially impossible for anyone but Amy Lee to sing. I give her credit for trying, and not failing too badly, but she just can't do it. Lets see her pick a better tune for her voice, and THEN we'll see what she can do.
NOTE: I started this post yesterday during the elimination show, bit I couldnt finish the writeup til today (I fell asleep) and I was right on the bottom three; though I think Dilana was just as bad as the others:
Chris Pierson - The Doors, "LA Woman": Ehhhh... not great, too much grunt and growl, and again control issues. Decent performance but not great. Probably enough to keep him alive, but he gone in the next few weeks.
Phil Ritchie - Switchfoot, "Stars": Much better than his first effort, but still crap. Not a good song, and sung not very well, but again, probably enough to stay alive.
Matt Hoffer- Duran Duran, "Planet Earth": Fucking Duran Duran? Ok yes some of their stuff was cool, but you are singing for fucking TOMMY FUCKING LEE and you sing duran duran? Song selection alone killed this kid, but then we warbles and pops his way through it. Go back to the guitar matt. You are gone.
Some general comments... once again, msot of the chicks sound like country singers not rock singers. Also once again, the house band frikken kicks ass. I wonder if they are just session guys, or if they actually tour and release....
Until next week, when I predict Chris, Phil, and Dilana are on the bottom again.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Scenes from a marriage
Excerpt from a conversation...
Mel: What's relaxation?
Chris: It's something you do with your mind
Mel: I don't have a mind right now, I'm a menstruating female
... laughter ensues
Mel: What's relaxation?
Chris: It's something you do with your mind
Mel: I don't have a mind right now, I'm a menstruating female
... laughter ensues
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Goodbye Max
Mel:
So we received a call late today from the mechanic working on our BMW Max. Last Sunday Max suffered from an electrical fire and insurance has refused to pay for the work. Turns out that is no longer an issue. The mechanic can not isolate the electrical problem and the repairs to the car (pretty much all of the wiring at this point) would cost more than the car is worth. The mechanic isn't charging us for the testing he's done (he's ethical and does all he can, a rarity in this profession) so we're only out of pocket for the rental car.
But now we no longer have a car.
Chris and I have been looking for a different vehicle, deciding what we want and getting pre-approved by the various dealerships for a loan. We weren't planning on doing anything for another couple of weeks at least, but we wanted to be ready. We even visited a dealership today to try out vehicles and see what was in inventory. Now we have to step up the pace considerably, as this is AZ and although mass transportation exists it doesn't get the kids to my parents', my groceries bought, or Chris to work in any reasonable amount of time. We MUST have a car, and as soon as possible. Since we don't have car repairs to pay for now we can afford a down payment on this paycheck, we can push for payment of $4K that is currently owed to us, and we can sell the car for parts. It will be tight, but it's doable, and while we might not get exactly what we want we'll get what we need.
That being said, I'm heartbroken.
I love Max. Max is the best vehicle I've ever had, has been a helluva lot of fun to drive, and up until the fire extremely dependable. I've never had a BMW or any kind of sportscar before, but this little 525i made me a believer. I love this car so much, and after 8 months I'm losing him.
I know I'll always have other vehicles, but this is like losing a part of the family, almost like losing a dog. I'll miss Max, just like I miss my black truck and my cat. So in closing, I must say...
Goodbye Max, we're going to miss you. Thanks for everything.
Mel
Just call me Mel, everyone else does.
So we received a call late today from the mechanic working on our BMW Max. Last Sunday Max suffered from an electrical fire and insurance has refused to pay for the work. Turns out that is no longer an issue. The mechanic can not isolate the electrical problem and the repairs to the car (pretty much all of the wiring at this point) would cost more than the car is worth. The mechanic isn't charging us for the testing he's done (he's ethical and does all he can, a rarity in this profession) so we're only out of pocket for the rental car.
But now we no longer have a car.
Chris and I have been looking for a different vehicle, deciding what we want and getting pre-approved by the various dealerships for a loan. We weren't planning on doing anything for another couple of weeks at least, but we wanted to be ready. We even visited a dealership today to try out vehicles and see what was in inventory. Now we have to step up the pace considerably, as this is AZ and although mass transportation exists it doesn't get the kids to my parents', my groceries bought, or Chris to work in any reasonable amount of time. We MUST have a car, and as soon as possible. Since we don't have car repairs to pay for now we can afford a down payment on this paycheck, we can push for payment of $4K that is currently owed to us, and we can sell the car for parts. It will be tight, but it's doable, and while we might not get exactly what we want we'll get what we need.
That being said, I'm heartbroken.
I love Max. Max is the best vehicle I've ever had, has been a helluva lot of fun to drive, and up until the fire extremely dependable. I've never had a BMW or any kind of sportscar before, but this little 525i made me a believer. I love this car so much, and after 8 months I'm losing him.
I know I'll always have other vehicles, but this is like losing a part of the family, almost like losing a dog. I'll miss Max, just like I miss my black truck and my cat. So in closing, I must say...
Goodbye Max, we're going to miss you. Thanks for everything.
Mel
Just call me Mel, everyone else does.
A smashing success
Final Tally:
13 adults, 5 children. About half the meat and cheese, less than 1/2 the veggies, chips, beer and soda consumed. Our freezer is groaning right now; but not as much as our bellies were last night.
We scheduled things to get started at 2 so we'd actually be able to get started by 4, but we didnt even start eating til about six. The food went over very very well; for which I am most glad. Unfotunately a couole of our gests had to leave before they ate, but at least good company and good drink was enjoyed by all.
The poker got started around 7. We had two tournaments, at $10 a piece with 10 players in the first, and seven in the second. Mel and I both finished just out of the money (I was third in the first tournament, she was third in the second), and a first time poker player actually took home second place in the first tourney.
The two tourneys finished up around midnight, and most of our guests left except the SERIOUS poker players, and we got down to a cash game. $5 for 5000 chips. Mel went out early and didnt bother rebuying (too tired), and I ended up with one rebuy (pocket jacks, to pocket 10s with a 10 on the turn... what can you do), when I proceeded to mop the floor with the rest of the players. We played til 3, and I ended the night up about $40 overall.
13 adults, 5 children. About half the meat and cheese, less than 1/2 the veggies, chips, beer and soda consumed. Our freezer is groaning right now; but not as much as our bellies were last night.
We scheduled things to get started at 2 so we'd actually be able to get started by 4, but we didnt even start eating til about six. The food went over very very well; for which I am most glad. Unfotunately a couole of our gests had to leave before they ate, but at least good company and good drink was enjoyed by all.
The poker got started around 7. We had two tournaments, at $10 a piece with 10 players in the first, and seven in the second. Mel and I both finished just out of the money (I was third in the first tournament, she was third in the second), and a first time poker player actually took home second place in the first tourney.
The two tourneys finished up around midnight, and most of our guests left except the SERIOUS poker players, and we got down to a cash game. $5 for 5000 chips. Mel went out early and didnt bother rebuying (too tired), and I ended up with one rebuy (pocket jacks, to pocket 10s with a 10 on the turn... what can you do), when I proceeded to mop the floor with the rest of the players. We played til 3, and I ended the night up about $40 overall.
It feels like Boston
Right now, 1:37pm arizona standard time, it's 82 degrees out and 80% relative humidity. It hasnt climbed any higher than that temp all day, though eariler we were at 77 degrees and 92% relative humidity with little speckles of rain.
It rained off an on last night after a MASSIVE series of thundreshowers that convenientyly started up right around the time the fireworks displays were finishing. Incredible lightning displays. Also the wind all night was furious; gusting into the 40 knot range.
I lvoe extreme weather. I grew up in Boston and northern New England, frequently within a mile or less of the north atlantic coast. Today, it almost feels like home.
It rained off an on last night after a MASSIVE series of thundreshowers that convenientyly started up right around the time the fireworks displays were finishing. Incredible lightning displays. Also the wind all night was furious; gusting into the 40 knot range.
I lvoe extreme weather. I grew up in Boston and northern New England, frequently within a mile or less of the north atlantic coast. Today, it almost feels like home.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
It's Grillin Time
Up to 12 adults (8 confirmed)
3 Children
72 12 oz adult beverages
24liters of soda
12lbs of ground sirloin
24 sweet italian sausages
4lbs of Kielbasa
2lbs of hot dogs
5lbs of corn
5lbs of cheese
2lbs of bell peppers
2lbs of veggie sticks
1 quart of olive oil
1 gallon Ketchup
1/2 gallon mustard
20lbs of ice
40lbs of charcoal
12 stacks of 7100 in poker chips, and 4 decks of cards. $20 buyin, no cashout, no rebuys, house gets 25% to cover the beer, second place gets 25%, winner gets 50%.
I think we've got this one covered.
3 Children
72 12 oz adult beverages
24liters of soda
12lbs of ground sirloin
24 sweet italian sausages
4lbs of Kielbasa
2lbs of hot dogs
5lbs of corn
5lbs of cheese
2lbs of bell peppers
2lbs of veggie sticks
1 quart of olive oil
1 gallon Ketchup
1/2 gallon mustard
20lbs of ice
40lbs of charcoal
12 stacks of 7100 in poker chips, and 4 decks of cards. $20 buyin, no cashout, no rebuys, house gets 25% to cover the beer, second place gets 25%, winner gets 50%.
I think we've got this one covered.
Independence Day
The Declaration of Independence
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
--And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Monday, July 03, 2006
"Worst Tech Support Ever..."
I've come to the conclusion that being "The Computer Guy" among your group of friends, and worse, your family; is roughly equivalent to being "Comic Book Guy", combined with the worst aspects of being a doctor and a lawyer.
No-one wants to be comic book guy.
The Geek has expressed his frustrations with being the computer guy today, in a quite artful analogy, that I found quite fitting:
People ask me to fix their computers all the time. Friends, Family, Associates etc... Most often their problem is spyware, or a lack of regular maintenance and de-crufting. The normal stuff that accumulates through using a computer over time and clogs up the pipes as it were (which is really an apt metaphor actually).
In that situation, yes, I'm the hydroelectric dam engineer being asked to unclog a toilet.
The worst part is, though these issues people have arent really all that difficult to fix most of the time, they are extremely TIME CONSUMING, and thus incredibly tedious. It can take me a full eight hour day to disinfect and protect someones computer, and it's mind numbing, ass breaking work (literally, most peoples computer desks and chairs suck). Even worse, it isn't hard, but you have to know a TON about the systems and software involved, and about the core of the operating system, and you need to be patient, and COMPLETELY THOROUGH. You can't miss ANYTHING or else the whole thing will have to be redone.
This need for technical thoroughness, experience, and knowledge means you can't just give the job to some Tech/OpsMonkey type (there are some very good diagnostic engineers in ops, they aren't OpsMonkeys. Most of the guys working the tech counter at comp-usa barely rise to the OpsMonkey level); you actually need a half decent engineer to do the job.
Hell sometimes you just can't fix it at all there's so much crap, and you have to wipe it and start over; and THAT takes even MORE TIME (usually about a full days work, plus a half dozen hours over the next few weeks as they find stuff they need to get woring agian they didnt think of the first day). This puts you in for endless series of phone calls, and side trips and.. ARGH....
Hell, it's become so bad, and commodity class computers hate become so cheap; that is can be chaper to simply go out and buy a new computer, rather than try and fix the old one. Yes, people are actually jsut throwing their comptuers away after a year or two when they become so loaded up with crap they don't run right anymore; or if any components fail.
Which is I suppose a good thing for schools, computer recyclers, and guys like me, who can take the computers off their hands, and ptu int the 8 or more hours of effort required to rebuild them into something useful again.
Of course then they need helpt and support with their NEW computer because it doesnt have all their old programs and settings.. "oooh and all those nice games and screensavers that I downloaded for free from those fun sites with all the colorful animation and such amazingly clever people those russians, now how on earth someone got my credit card number I'll never know I'm so CAREFUL...."
I've got something of a solution for that; works on everyone but my mother.
When someone asks me for technical assitance with their computers, I tell them that if and when I have time, I'd be happy to help them out a bit; and keep them from getting ripped off. Then I tell them "But if it gets to be more than an hour or two, or there's serious work involved, I'm sorry but I don't work for free. I do my work for family and friends at half my lowest rate".
Of course they have no idea what half my lowest rate is. They pretty much always ask.
Then I tell them that half my lowest rate is $40 an hour; and that I usually make three times that for short term stuff like three or four hour jobs... oh and that I usually charge in minimum 1/2 day increments.
Further, I tell them that the shop rate for most computer places will be somewhere between my $40 and $80 an hour, plus extra for housecalls, and they usually have a minimum charge of two hours in the shop and 4 hours for housecalls; and it's likely the shop still won't fix the problem.
I tell them I'm not trying to get their business, I make enough during the week; I just dont want to spend my free time WORKING. I'd rather they took it to someone else, but most places would either rip them off, or do a shitty job for too much money, and I don't want that to happen to them.
Generally speaking when they realize that I make anywhere from $600 to $1000 a day doing this, and that paying a shop could actually cost them a lot MORE than I charge; they actually begin to get some appreciation for the value of the service they are recieving.
Then I usually don't charge them unless it takes up a silly amount of my time; or unless they make me come back a lot for stupid shit; but I absolutely WILL charge them if they take it for granted, if they abuse my hospitality etc...
Oh and I NEVER go out of pocket for friends on computer stuff. It's as bad as loaning a friend money you actually need to get back.
In the last year, other than random little stuff (which I get almost every day, or at least a few times a week) I've only been bothered about this stuff by someone other than my mother (and you pretty much HAVE to do it for your mother) a couple times. Oh I've had lots of people ask, but the second they realized what they were asking, they backed off.
The truth is, I'm happy to help my friends out when I can; I'd do the world for my friends; I just want them to understand and have respect for my time, and for what they are asking.
No-one wants to be comic book guy.
The Geek has expressed his frustrations with being the computer guy today, in a quite artful analogy, that I found quite fitting:
Sigh...You see, I work every day with systems and networks that cost Billions of dollars (with a "B"). In my current position I am one of three people responsible for the overall architecture and design for ALL of the systems which run one of the worlds largest retail banks. Last week I signed off on 5 million dollars worth of projects that I could have given the thumbs down to at any time. I DID give the thumbs down (actually sent back to the drawing board) on about 2 million worth of stuff.
With increasing frequency, I hate being "the computer guy".
By way of explanation, an analogy would be the guy who designed the hydroelectrics of the Hoover Dam being besieged by his relatives to help them plunge their toilets because they couldn't penetrate the mysteries of household plumbing.
Gah.
People ask me to fix their computers all the time. Friends, Family, Associates etc... Most often their problem is spyware, or a lack of regular maintenance and de-crufting. The normal stuff that accumulates through using a computer over time and clogs up the pipes as it were (which is really an apt metaphor actually).
In that situation, yes, I'm the hydroelectric dam engineer being asked to unclog a toilet.
The worst part is, though these issues people have arent really all that difficult to fix most of the time, they are extremely TIME CONSUMING, and thus incredibly tedious. It can take me a full eight hour day to disinfect and protect someones computer, and it's mind numbing, ass breaking work (literally, most peoples computer desks and chairs suck). Even worse, it isn't hard, but you have to know a TON about the systems and software involved, and about the core of the operating system, and you need to be patient, and COMPLETELY THOROUGH. You can't miss ANYTHING or else the whole thing will have to be redone.
This need for technical thoroughness, experience, and knowledge means you can't just give the job to some Tech/OpsMonkey type (there are some very good diagnostic engineers in ops, they aren't OpsMonkeys. Most of the guys working the tech counter at comp-usa barely rise to the OpsMonkey level); you actually need a half decent engineer to do the job.
Hell sometimes you just can't fix it at all there's so much crap, and you have to wipe it and start over; and THAT takes even MORE TIME (usually about a full days work, plus a half dozen hours over the next few weeks as they find stuff they need to get woring agian they didnt think of the first day). This puts you in for endless series of phone calls, and side trips and.. ARGH....
Hell, it's become so bad, and commodity class computers hate become so cheap; that is can be chaper to simply go out and buy a new computer, rather than try and fix the old one. Yes, people are actually jsut throwing their comptuers away after a year or two when they become so loaded up with crap they don't run right anymore; or if any components fail.
Which is I suppose a good thing for schools, computer recyclers, and guys like me, who can take the computers off their hands, and ptu int the 8 or more hours of effort required to rebuild them into something useful again.
Of course then they need helpt and support with their NEW computer because it doesnt have all their old programs and settings.. "oooh and all those nice games and screensavers that I downloaded for free from those fun sites with all the colorful animation and such amazingly clever people those russians, now how on earth someone got my credit card number I'll never know I'm so CAREFUL...."
I've got something of a solution for that; works on everyone but my mother.
When someone asks me for technical assitance with their computers, I tell them that if and when I have time, I'd be happy to help them out a bit; and keep them from getting ripped off. Then I tell them "But if it gets to be more than an hour or two, or there's serious work involved, I'm sorry but I don't work for free. I do my work for family and friends at half my lowest rate".
Of course they have no idea what half my lowest rate is. They pretty much always ask.
Then I tell them that half my lowest rate is $40 an hour; and that I usually make three times that for short term stuff like three or four hour jobs... oh and that I usually charge in minimum 1/2 day increments.
Further, I tell them that the shop rate for most computer places will be somewhere between my $40 and $80 an hour, plus extra for housecalls, and they usually have a minimum charge of two hours in the shop and 4 hours for housecalls; and it's likely the shop still won't fix the problem.
I tell them I'm not trying to get their business, I make enough during the week; I just dont want to spend my free time WORKING. I'd rather they took it to someone else, but most places would either rip them off, or do a shitty job for too much money, and I don't want that to happen to them.
Generally speaking when they realize that I make anywhere from $600 to $1000 a day doing this, and that paying a shop could actually cost them a lot MORE than I charge; they actually begin to get some appreciation for the value of the service they are recieving.
Then I usually don't charge them unless it takes up a silly amount of my time; or unless they make me come back a lot for stupid shit; but I absolutely WILL charge them if they take it for granted, if they abuse my hospitality etc...
Oh and I NEVER go out of pocket for friends on computer stuff. It's as bad as loaning a friend money you actually need to get back.
In the last year, other than random little stuff (which I get almost every day, or at least a few times a week) I've only been bothered about this stuff by someone other than my mother (and you pretty much HAVE to do it for your mother) a couple times. Oh I've had lots of people ask, but the second they realized what they were asking, they backed off.
The truth is, I'm happy to help my friends out when I can; I'd do the world for my friends; I just want them to understand and have respect for my time, and for what they are asking.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Superman Returns
Mel:
Let me start out as saying that I have never seen the original Superman movies and so I can't gripe about continuity of the story line. I'll let Chris do that, since I'm sure he has much to say on the subject.
As a first-time watcher of Superman movies I liked it quite a bit. The acting was (mostly) good, the graphics were good but didn't distract, and the action was good. The plot line was full of holes but you can't have a Superman movie without a HUGE amount of suspension of belief, because the idea that Clark Kent gets away with his secret identity for SO long without being uncovered is just laughable. That being said, it's necessary for the plot line and this movie didn't have so many plot holes as to be terribly annoying.
Some things the movie does really well, and the writers have to be given credit for:
In the end I liked the movie. It's not something I could watch twenty times, or even three, because there's not much hidden in the plot. But for a once shot deal it was good to go watch in the theaters and get engrossed in.
Chris: Okay so the verdict first... I was disappointed. This wasnt a bad movie, but it certainly wasn't a great one, and was barely an ok one. I could have; should have; been a great movie.
Why wasn't it?
Well, how about every character was so thinly drawn as to be an embarrasment to even comic books? How about lois lane being made out of plastic (I blame Kate Bosworth here; the writing wasnt as bad as she made it. Even in her great emotional scenes all I could think was "ehhh, not so great acting"), and pretty much every other character but Supe getting no depth, exposition growth etc.. Also, I'm certainly willing to go pretty far for suspension of disbelief, but they did a lot of things that just didnt make sense never mind didnt work out with physics. "Why does he do this? Because we need to do this for the story" isn't good writing.
Basically the story was "Yay, supermans back, here's his extened two hour intro so we can make more movies". There was really no effective drama; and the romatic subplots really DID get in the way of the movie a bit. It was trying to straddle the line between romance and action and I dont think it was that successful.
Oh and the editing was horrible. Jump cuts that made no sense, extremely short scenes etc... Also although the film generally LOOKS great, there were scenes where the human faces looked very plastic (on all the characters but the little kid actually).
The good.. well there were a lot of fun little references to the DC comics world, and to the Supe continuity. They left some very good dramatic possiblities to follow for sequels. Kevin spacey was excellent, for the little screen time he had.
Brandon Routh... wow what to say.. He teetered between excellence and utter mediocrity; which oddly enough so did Reeve. There were moments where Routh captured Chris Reeves inflections, tones, and facial expressions so well, it was creepy. Theres a scene near the begining of the move where he smiles and says a line, and I could just see Reeves doing it in the original. There were several of those moments throughout the film actually but that first moment made me say "oh jesus".
Give this kid 10 years and some decent roles, and he's going to be a great actor; but I dont think he has star magnetism; of course I could be wrong, because this is a superman movie, and a shallow one at that. Supe is never give a chance to show any depth here; and lets face it it can be hard to show depth for someone who is effectively an indestructible messianic immortal with near infinite power (and yes there were a bunch of references to that).
Bottom line, lets see what they do with the sequels.
Let me start out as saying that I have never seen the original Superman movies and so I can't gripe about continuity of the story line. I'll let Chris do that, since I'm sure he has much to say on the subject.
As a first-time watcher of Superman movies I liked it quite a bit. The acting was (mostly) good, the graphics were good but didn't distract, and the action was good. The plot line was full of holes but you can't have a Superman movie without a HUGE amount of suspension of belief, because the idea that Clark Kent gets away with his secret identity for SO long without being uncovered is just laughable. That being said, it's necessary for the plot line and this movie didn't have so many plot holes as to be terribly annoying.
Some things the movie does really well, and the writers have to be given credit for:
- The plot doesn't wrap up all American-like. I'm not going to give spoilers here, but suffice it to say it's not the ending that most of us would expect from American cinema.
- There is a MASSIVE surprise in the plot that they SOMEHOW didn't release in the teasers. Most teasers reveal plot twists, and no one saw this twist coming before seeing the movie.
- The story ends in such a way that, unlike X-Men the Last Stand, leaves a huge amount of possibilities for movies to follow. There's not a cliffhanger so you don't know what possibilities they will follow, but we were able to come up with 5 possibilities in about 2 seconds.
- The movie doesn't drag, past the first little bit. Drama in superhero movies always drags, no matter what you do.
In the end I liked the movie. It's not something I could watch twenty times, or even three, because there's not much hidden in the plot. But for a once shot deal it was good to go watch in the theaters and get engrossed in.
Chris: Okay so the verdict first... I was disappointed. This wasnt a bad movie, but it certainly wasn't a great one, and was barely an ok one. I could have; should have; been a great movie.
Why wasn't it?
Well, how about every character was so thinly drawn as to be an embarrasment to even comic books? How about lois lane being made out of plastic (I blame Kate Bosworth here; the writing wasnt as bad as she made it. Even in her great emotional scenes all I could think was "ehhh, not so great acting"), and pretty much every other character but Supe getting no depth, exposition growth etc.. Also, I'm certainly willing to go pretty far for suspension of disbelief, but they did a lot of things that just didnt make sense never mind didnt work out with physics. "Why does he do this? Because we need to do this for the story" isn't good writing.
Basically the story was "Yay, supermans back, here's his extened two hour intro so we can make more movies". There was really no effective drama; and the romatic subplots really DID get in the way of the movie a bit. It was trying to straddle the line between romance and action and I dont think it was that successful.
Oh and the editing was horrible. Jump cuts that made no sense, extremely short scenes etc... Also although the film generally LOOKS great, there were scenes where the human faces looked very plastic (on all the characters but the little kid actually).
The good.. well there were a lot of fun little references to the DC comics world, and to the Supe continuity. They left some very good dramatic possiblities to follow for sequels. Kevin spacey was excellent, for the little screen time he had.
Brandon Routh... wow what to say.. He teetered between excellence and utter mediocrity; which oddly enough so did Reeve. There were moments where Routh captured Chris Reeves inflections, tones, and facial expressions so well, it was creepy. Theres a scene near the begining of the move where he smiles and says a line, and I could just see Reeves doing it in the original. There were several of those moments throughout the film actually but that first moment made me say "oh jesus".
Give this kid 10 years and some decent roles, and he's going to be a great actor; but I dont think he has star magnetism; of course I could be wrong, because this is a superman movie, and a shallow one at that. Supe is never give a chance to show any depth here; and lets face it it can be hard to show depth for someone who is effectively an indestructible messianic immortal with near infinite power (and yes there were a bunch of references to that).
Bottom line, lets see what they do with the sequels.
Teething issues in a finicky market
So, the new Taurus PT1911s are finally starting to (very slowly) hit store shelves, almost a year after they started accepting pre-orders. The big buzz of course is that this is a $450 1911 from a major manufacturer with a lifetime warranty.
Gun writers have generally given the gun excelent reviews, on their pre-production samples anyway; but the ONE person I know of who has recieved his so far (and I'm sure more will over the next few weeks) has had some issues with the gun.
Firstly, the grip screws were either glued or threadlocked in. This is a BIG no-no in 1911 land, as one of the first modifications a 1911 owner frequently makes, even if they are otherwise leaving a gun stock, is to change the grips. Also the grip bushings were of too soft a metal, and the screwdriver slots stripped out. He determined this was due to an overaplication of wither glue or thread locking compound on the bushings (which IS correct unlike on the screws), and he had to dremel them off and replace them with standard grip bushings.
The next problem he enconutered is that the magazines supplied with the gun didnt work with all of his other 1911s (hsa has about a dozen). Some of them worked OK, some didnt. Basically the tighter the gun, and the tighter the production tolerances, the worse it worked. This indicates a magazine that is either at maximum GI mag spec for length, or even very slightly over; and is an interference of tolerances issue.
This is a common production issue, where parts at the extreme ends of standard tolerances causes clearances between moving parts to fall to unacceptable closeness or in fact to actually interfere with each other (the opposite problem, the accretion of tolerances, is when the gaps become too large by parts being at the extremely small end of their tolerances).
Honestly though, these are really all standard early production run teething issues. Every manufactured item has them, guns are no exception; and are in fact especially sensitive too them since they involved closely fitted components moving at high speed and pressure.
Taurus as a manufacturer is famous for having their early production run guns be “not quite right”, but they also always fix the problems within a few months, and then they’ll fix the guns for free (as they should), under their lifetime warrant.
Not only that, but Taurus is also used to doing things the Taurus way. Now that they are in the 1911 world, they are going to have to do things the 1911 way, or they wont sell many 1911’s.
1911 buyers are finicky. They are choosing a 97 year old (it was actually designed in 1909) pistol design for a reason; and they dont want it changed very much.
A 1911 MUST be functionally and physically interchangable with other 1911’s or it will just be a tiny niche player in the market. They must strip, assemble, and disassemble the same way; and they must be modifiable in the same ways. 1911 buyers arent looking for a Taurus gun that happens to be a 1911, they are looking for a 1911 that happens to be made by Taurus; and if Taurus wants to be successful in this market, they need to learn the difference.
Now some SMALL differences are acceptable, IF and only if, they are for an innovative and useful new feature, AND they don't substantially impact the parts interchangeability of the gun. Smith and Wesson for example use a propietary firing pin safety system connected to the grip safety that works better than the colt series 80 style; because it doesn't adversely effect trigger pull, and only very slightly effects parts swapping - the only problem with it is that it complicates reassembely, especially after detail stripping. Several manufacturers, including S&W, Kimber, SIG, and many race gun makers, use external extractors on their 1911's, to avoid the issues with the internal tension spring extractor (of course the externals have their own issues). Para-Ordnance uses a hybrid design combinng features of the external extractore in and internal extractor package.
The important part however, is that these changes didnt substantially impact the processes surroundign the gun from the perspective of a standard 1911; or substantially impact the parts buying or gunsmithing processes. If this were not the case, market failure would soon nhave followed.
Even Smith and Wesson and SIG had to learn this lesson the hard way. S&W only had a few smalll issues when they brought out their SW1911 series, which they fixed right away; and the SW19111s have become S&Ws best selling auto pistols. In afact S&W is now third in volume of new 1911 sales behind Springfield and Kimber (Colt sells every unit they manufacture, but they don't make many). SIG on the other hand introduced the GSR series of 1911s with major variances from the standard 1911, and they didnt resolve the issues with the GSR until this new series of revolution released a couple months ago.
That’s THREE full YEARS of production with major issues; but SIG was so used to doing it their way (and being sucessful at it) they ignored the problems, until they had a major bottom line impact; and only then did they fix things. Plesae note, the original GSRs werent BAD guns; indeed they were excellent guns (very tightly fitted, with great accuracy, but some reliablity issues); but they weren't fully compliant to the 1911 standard, and thus other than the initial buying rush (oooh look, a new 1911, and its from SIG wow!) 1911 buyers stayed away in droves; and gunsmiths wouldn't work on the guns (in fact, even with the very small differences cause by the S&W firing pin safety for example, some gunsmiths wont work on those guns)
Gun buyers are an inherently conservative lot (not just politically), and they DO NOT WANT THEIR FAVORITE DESIGNS MESSED WITH. Do so at your peril.
Gun writers have generally given the gun excelent reviews, on their pre-production samples anyway; but the ONE person I know of who has recieved his so far (and I'm sure more will over the next few weeks) has had some issues with the gun.
Firstly, the grip screws were either glued or threadlocked in. This is a BIG no-no in 1911 land, as one of the first modifications a 1911 owner frequently makes, even if they are otherwise leaving a gun stock, is to change the grips. Also the grip bushings were of too soft a metal, and the screwdriver slots stripped out. He determined this was due to an overaplication of wither glue or thread locking compound on the bushings (which IS correct unlike on the screws), and he had to dremel them off and replace them with standard grip bushings.
The next problem he enconutered is that the magazines supplied with the gun didnt work with all of his other 1911s (hsa has about a dozen). Some of them worked OK, some didnt. Basically the tighter the gun, and the tighter the production tolerances, the worse it worked. This indicates a magazine that is either at maximum GI mag spec for length, or even very slightly over; and is an interference of tolerances issue.
This is a common production issue, where parts at the extreme ends of standard tolerances causes clearances between moving parts to fall to unacceptable closeness or in fact to actually interfere with each other (the opposite problem, the accretion of tolerances, is when the gaps become too large by parts being at the extremely small end of their tolerances).
Honestly though, these are really all standard early production run teething issues. Every manufactured item has them, guns are no exception; and are in fact especially sensitive too them since they involved closely fitted components moving at high speed and pressure.
Taurus as a manufacturer is famous for having their early production run guns be “not quite right”, but they also always fix the problems within a few months, and then they’ll fix the guns for free (as they should), under their lifetime warrant.
Not only that, but Taurus is also used to doing things the Taurus way. Now that they are in the 1911 world, they are going to have to do things the 1911 way, or they wont sell many 1911’s.
1911 buyers are finicky. They are choosing a 97 year old (it was actually designed in 1909) pistol design for a reason; and they dont want it changed very much.
A 1911 MUST be functionally and physically interchangable with other 1911’s or it will just be a tiny niche player in the market. They must strip, assemble, and disassemble the same way; and they must be modifiable in the same ways. 1911 buyers arent looking for a Taurus gun that happens to be a 1911, they are looking for a 1911 that happens to be made by Taurus; and if Taurus wants to be successful in this market, they need to learn the difference.
Now some SMALL differences are acceptable, IF and only if, they are for an innovative and useful new feature, AND they don't substantially impact the parts interchangeability of the gun. Smith and Wesson for example use a propietary firing pin safety system connected to the grip safety that works better than the colt series 80 style; because it doesn't adversely effect trigger pull, and only very slightly effects parts swapping - the only problem with it is that it complicates reassembely, especially after detail stripping. Several manufacturers, including S&W, Kimber, SIG, and many race gun makers, use external extractors on their 1911's, to avoid the issues with the internal tension spring extractor (of course the externals have their own issues). Para-Ordnance uses a hybrid design combinng features of the external extractore in and internal extractor package.
The important part however, is that these changes didnt substantially impact the processes surroundign the gun from the perspective of a standard 1911; or substantially impact the parts buying or gunsmithing processes. If this were not the case, market failure would soon nhave followed.
Even Smith and Wesson and SIG had to learn this lesson the hard way. S&W only had a few smalll issues when they brought out their SW1911 series, which they fixed right away; and the SW19111s have become S&Ws best selling auto pistols. In afact S&W is now third in volume of new 1911 sales behind Springfield and Kimber (Colt sells every unit they manufacture, but they don't make many). SIG on the other hand introduced the GSR series of 1911s with major variances from the standard 1911, and they didnt resolve the issues with the GSR until this new series of revolution released a couple months ago.
That’s THREE full YEARS of production with major issues; but SIG was so used to doing it their way (and being sucessful at it) they ignored the problems, until they had a major bottom line impact; and only then did they fix things. Plesae note, the original GSRs werent BAD guns; indeed they were excellent guns (very tightly fitted, with great accuracy, but some reliablity issues); but they weren't fully compliant to the 1911 standard, and thus other than the initial buying rush (oooh look, a new 1911, and its from SIG wow!) 1911 buyers stayed away in droves; and gunsmiths wouldn't work on the guns (in fact, even with the very small differences cause by the S&W firing pin safety for example, some gunsmiths wont work on those guns)
Gun buyers are an inherently conservative lot (not just politically), and they DO NOT WANT THEIR FAVORITE DESIGNS MESSED WITH. Do so at your peril.
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