November 5, 2007

[Denyer]

Melbourne Cup today! Three hours to gorge myself and goof off while at work. Excellent!

QOTD: Toyota Carolla that we finally got back from the repairers last week. I can sit in it, and it goes, so it is fine for the purposes it is required for.

Oh yeah - the chicks love a Corolla-drivin' man! My first car was a Corolla - and I still have one, 20 years later (different car - better stereo)

Lost on the Cup. Stupid horses

Get your own cups you punks.

[Caravan Ray]

Melbourne Cup today! Three hours to gorge myself and goof off while at work. Excellent!

QOTD: Toyota Carolla that we finally got back from the repairers last week. I can sit in it, and it goes, so it is fine for the purposes it is required for.

Oh yeah - the chicks love a Corolla-drivin' man! My first car was a Corolla - and I still have one, 20 years later (different car - better stereo)

Lost on the Cup. Stupid horses

Get your own cups you punks.

Can't - our horses all have the flu

There were camels racing at Eagle Farm today...or at least they would have it it didn't frikking rain. Stupid drought...stupid equine flu...stupid camels...

I backed "Blue Monday" simply because of the Joy Division/New Order connection...stupid ghost of Ian Curtis - he owes me $20

[sausage boy]

I was randomly given Mahter (sp?) in the work sweeps, and netted myself $6 with third place. Score!

[Caravan Ray]

I was randomly given Mahter (sp?) in the work sweeps, and netted myself $6 with third place. Score!

Looking back to exactly one year ago, there were much happier times...

...- yesterday was MELBOURNE CUP DAY!!!! -
The day everyone becomes a horse expert - and it was a great day for all musically inclined punters having their once-a-year flutter.

I went down the list of starters for any names that caught my fancy - and came up with "POP ROCK" and "DELTA BLUES".

Result:
DELTA BLUES first by a nose ahead POP ROCK!!!!

CARAVAN RAY $158 DOLLARS RICHER! Yeah baby!

8)

ahhhh...those were the days

[Lord of Oats]

QOTD:

2007 Chevrolet HHR - It has a couple of minor problems, which aren't really affecting anything, and should be covered by the warranty. Still running great. Over 13,000 miles, and just getting ready to do the second oil change! (It has a thing in the computer that tells me when to change the oil, since using mileage is a not-so-notoriously inaccurate barometer. It seems analogous to trying to draw meaningful conclusions about your health based solely on your weight. It will only tell you something in extreme cases.)

1993 Ford Tempo - It's hard to believe it's still going. I haven't been able to change the oil since I bought the car, 7000 miles or so ago, because I can't get the damn drain plug off. I have added a pretty good amount of oil, though, as its needed it. The thing also eats transmission fluid like its fuel. I changed the front brake pads this month, and replaced one of the rotors, so it's stopping nicely, despite the brake fluid looking like coffee instead of apple juice. You win some, you lose some, you lose some others, mostly, you lose. Believe it or not, the biggest issue right now is tires. There's basically one good tire on the car, and the bad ones are ruining it. There was another good one, which would have made a lovely companion for that one in the front, but some asshole slashed it. It is now the tire with the most tread, but completely useless, given the sidewall puncture. Fucking asshole. It wasn't anyone I pissed off, or anyone I even knew. I can't believe it. But this was a while ago now. I have one loose (dismounted) tire in the garage, that I was given with the car, (this was in addition to two full size spares on Toyota rims, awesome! one even came with a hubcap!) So that will go on and replace the slashed one, despite the first number being 10 too small. Apparently, you're good, as long as the last number matches up. Also, I found three tires on the side of the road while I was out walking, two dismounted, and one on a rim, and they're all the right size, or close. Unfortunately, the rim is a five lug, and the Tempo is a four (what were they thinking?) so I can't just slap that one on the car. They're a bit weather-beaten, but they've got tread, more than the current ones, anyway, so I'm really hoping they won't crumble as they're being mounted, and these will cover me until the car dies. Speaking of mounting tires, it's expensive as shit to get done, as far as I can tell, and you might as well just by tires somewhere that you get free mounting, in a lot of cases. But I know a fellow who's a mechanic, and I was asked him what the best solution for me would be, and he said he could just do them at work. So, that's cool. If it works, it should add tremendous success to my low-budget automotive endeavor. To put this in perspective, the most expensive thing I've bought for this car is the stereo. It's a Virtual Reality Sound Labs (VR3) horrible piece of garbage (but with a lot of functionality!) that I got at Target for $80.

Oh my shit. What the hell did I just do? Regardless of whether I had anything else to say about my cars, I will not.

A few words about vehicle donation:

The public radio station in Fort Myers, WGCU, is always asking for cars. I have no idea what they do with them. But I would bet quite a bit that they don't drive them. I've seen some advertising (billboards, I believe) for Goodwill's vehicle donation program. They say something like: Free towing. But we get to keep the car. I assume that means they do want horrible POS cars. But I think that only goes so far. I'll put up pictures of my Tempo. You let me know if you think they'd want it. It is definitely illegal to even think about driving it in at least three ways right now. In any case, in Sarasota, I saw a used car dealership operated by Goodwill, and then it all clicked. People donate cars, they sell them, and money is made! They may have students fix them up, but they may also pay people to do it. One of their big things is creating jobs, you know. They tend to spend most of their budget on labor, since their cost of goods sold is nothing. But there are obviously some expenses like hauling those cars about and, you know, the rent. Anyway, I suppose if your car is a big enough piece of shit, it might be sold for scrap, but charities operate car dealerships. Did nobody know this, seriously? And uh, I've never heard of having to pay to have a car disposed of. I don't know what things are like in other climates, but around here, there are a dozen or so auto salvage places you can call up, that will come get your car, and tow it to their place, and all they want from you is the signed title. They put your car out in a yard, and people can come take parts off of it, and buy them. I've been on both sides of that. It's great for everybody. Whoever has the horrible car that won't run gets rid of it for free. Whoever needs a part to get their car out of that state (including used tires, that's a huge business for these places) can come buy them. And whoever is running the place makes some good money, because, once again, cost of goods sold is zero. I gave my 1988 LeBaron to one of these places after it caught on fire. And they let me go in to their place and take all the parts I wanted off of it for free. I took the alternator, the headlights, the speakers, the rearview mirror, maybe a couple other things. I haven't done a thing with any of it! Although the design for the power-generating stationary bicycle is still in the works! When the alternator went bad on the Tempo, I went to a larger salvage yard, further from home, and in the opposite direction. It also charges admission. Weird? I pulled an alternator out of one of their tempos, paid $15 for it, and was on my way. This one hasn't failed so far, and when I took back the crappy one, I got a $5 core refund. By the way, if it had failed within 30 days, I could have traded it out for a different one. This was not too bad a deal at all, considering Auto Zone wanted like $144 for a remanufactured alternator. I guess southwest Florida does have its advantages. For instance, even if we didn't have junk yards-a-plenty, and for some reason, you were going to have to pay to get rid of your car, you could always just push it into the Gulf! Or make it into a boat! Err...what? But seriously, I was thinking about converting the Tempo into a dune buggy. Anybody know if it's ever been done with this platform? Um, okay, I'm leaving.

[Paco Del Stinko]

Jesus H, Oatsy! At least put a paragraph break in there. I'm getting dizzy.

Happy belated birthday, Niveous. Turning 30 shouldn't bother you, those are some good years.

(yesterdays') QOTD - I drive an '06 Toyota Tacoma pickemup truck. Regular cab, 4 cylinder. I feel bad that I don't get as great mileage as I used to on my previous car, but when I look at Chrispy BLTs' American Muscle Army, I don't feel so bad. Yikes! I'd still be driving my '88 Toyota Tercel hatch-back if the floor didn't rot out, turning it into a Flintstones mobile.

Sunday I raked up 50 giant bags of leaves, about a third of what'll be done eventually, as the town is supposed to pick them up on Mondays. Well, they didn't, and now it's raining. Those fuckers had better come, 'cause I'll leave the bags there all winter to get plowed up and down the street. Yeah. That'll teach'em!

[Paco Del Stinko]

Oops. The guys came and took all the leaves while I wasn't looking. Now I feel bad for calling them fuckers while they're out working in the rain. The poor bastards. Plenty more leaves left though guys, so don't wear yourselves out!

I remember filling endless amounts of sandbags out in the cold rain when in the army, lower back on fire with pain. I'm sure people in flood zones, and elsewhere, can relate to the suckitude of grunt work in cold rain.

[fluffy]

blahblahblah

I keep trying to read that last paragraph to parcel out things to reply to but it's TOO FUCKING LONG. Jesus crap.

[roymond]

Gonna call my local charity and have them come get it.

Cause what the blind child society needs is another car with a locked up wheel.

Now Roymond, you have gotten to the heart of why I haven't actually made the call. However, I am assured that they end up selling the thing to some high school auto mechanics class for cheap, and some lucky kid ends up getting the opportunity to diagnose and fix the problem, setting him up with a good income for life. O.K.?

Yeah, I know. And I am an organ donor (well, not quite yet), though I don't guarantee my parts will work. But the needs outweigh the concern on that front.

[Rabid Garfunkel]

QOTD: '99 Hyundai Accent, gumdrop purple. Just turned 100. It's a clown car, esp. when being used to haul gear and Albatross to shows Seriously, he's a brilliant giant of a man (6'8"? Correct me here, dude) and he's got to fold into a little ball just to ride in the thing.

Still, it's a more comfortable ride than the old bouncy Jeep which made everyone (but me) nauseous to road trip in.

[jimtyrrell]

Rabid: For some reason your post makes me wish there was a video game where I could select and name cars, and then have a big SF Demolition Derby. Something like Interstate '76. But better.

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Heh, just make sure mine has a big wind-up key on the trunk.

[Hoblit]

Gonna call my local charity and have them come get it.

Cause what the blind child society needs is another car with a locked up wheel.

Now Roymond, you have gotten to the heart of why I haven't actually made the call. However, I am assured that they end up selling the thing to some high school auto mechanics class for cheap, and some lucky kid ends up getting the opportunity to diagnose and fix the problem, setting him up with a good income for life. O.K.?

YEAH, we can't ALL be in tech support. *nods with deluded grandure

My friend, right before she moved to Phoenix was going to donate her other vehicle to charity. A somethingstar minivan. We were moving the rest of the stuff out of her house to my apartment the night before she was to drop it off. It broke down. A very significant part to the engine blew. (And for those of you familiar with the Bay area... YES right there on the Howard Frankland bridge. I swear that bridge is cursed)

We had it towed to my house and then the mechanics the next day to learn of the fateful news. Boy that charity would have been PO'd if it had made it one more day.

[Billy's Little Trip]

and ordered a <a href="http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Pro ... e">folding bike</a> which I can take on the train.

Dude, you seriously need to get a bicycle helmet with flames and skulls. If you do, take a picture of yourself riding your new bike, and I promise that I'll make it my desktop pic......possibly forever.

[Albatross]

QOTD: '99 Hyundai Accent, gumdrop purple. Just turned 100. It's a clown car, esp. when being used to haul gear and Albatross to shows Seriously, he's a brilliant giant of a man (6'8"? Correct me here, dude) and he's got to fold into a little ball just to ride in the thing.

Still, it's a more comfortable ride than the old bouncy Jeep which made everyone (but me) nauseous to road trip in.

6'7", methinks. Actually, riding in that Accent isn't so bad. The Jeep was worse, no doubt. And my brother's Porsche? Forget it.

This should help explain why I bought a nice and roomy '04 Maxima.

Rabid: For some reason your post makes me wish there was a video game where I could select and name cars, and then have a big SF Demolition Derby. Something like Interstate '76. But better.

Oh man, now I wanna go listen to that soundtrack. I'76 had some awesome music.

[fluffy]

I have the bike now. It's pretty cool. Looks much better in person. Also much smaller.

[Caravan Ray]

Yeah, I know. And I am an organ donor (well, not quite yet), though I don't guarantee my parts will work. But the needs outweigh the concern on that front.

Hello ladies, I've got an organ to donate that I guarantee will work everytime and outweigh any needs or concerns you might have up front or anywhere else you care to nominate.

[HeuristicsInc]

When I got the Prius I attempted to donate my old car, 1997 Plymouth Breeze (this was a year and a half ago). I offered it to a charity that gives cars to single parents needing transportation to work, but they said "a car that old, we'd just sell it and use the money to outfit better cars" - and this car was working just fine, mind you. So I figured I'd just take the trade-in at the dealer since the tags transfer was easier, and then donate the money to that charity. Oops, the charity has no online form for donating money, only cars. Heh.

So anyway, the point here is that if you give them a junker they're likely to sell it for small amounts, I think to auction houses or whatnot. Also, the IRS changed the rules and you can no longer deduct as much for the donation as you used to be able to. Check their FAQs, I believe.
-bill

[Hoblit]

oh oh oh...I should mention that when my Mazda die just few miles from home... I donated it to charity! I nearly forgot. However, it was only to get the free tow out of the parking lot it was stuck in.