Any Stargate SG-1 fans?

I am a huge fan of Stargate SG-1 but I have not had cable TV since I married Carol in 1998 (long story for another post). Anyway, I can catch occasional reruns on broadcast but cannot get my "fix". I borrowed the first nine seasons on DVD from a friend last year and just recently returned the collection. (BTW, thanks for the loan).

Today, I bought season 1 at Wal-Mart and plan to buy all 10 seasons over the next few months. I don’t watch much TV but I do enjoy certain shows and Stargate SG-1 is one of my favorites. I will be happy when I have all 10 seasons.

I also have the first 3 seasons of Stargate Atlantis, which I like even more, but season 4 is not due out until around October 2008. I hope it runs as long as Stargate SG-1.

Any other fans out there?

Ron

Or Maybe I want one of these Bad Boys?????

I have Muscle Cars on the brain lately. I doubt I will buy one but it sure is fun to look and dream at what is on the way.

-----------------------------

Just to prove that German automakers aren't the only ones who plan products based on what their rivals have done, GM comes out with the Camaro--a retro-styled, two-door coupe with a honking big V-8 that harks back to the glory days of Motown. If that sounds familiar, that's exactly what Ford did with the Mustang. Hot on the heels of the Pony car's success, DaimlerChrysler has dusted off the Challenger and Chevy has produced a new Camaro, a nameplate that was more recently interred. The muscular Camaro concept is pure '69 updated, with the kind of subtle detailing that makes it look up-to-the-minute. The interior is very glitzy, and pays homage to the original, even down to the GM seat belt insignia and the twin instrument pods.
The car is 186.2 inches long and rides on a 110.5-inch wheelbase. The wheels are 21s at the front and 22s at the rear, shod with monster 275/30 front and 305/30 rear tires, which should be able to corral the 400 horses from the LS2 6.0-liter V-8 engine powering through a six-speed manual transmission. The show car has a cobbled together chassis with an all-independent suspension, but if it makes it into production, it will use the so-called Zeta Lite architecture that will be shared with Holden in Australia. The good news for GM is that the architecture--while hardly cutting edge--is far more sophisticated than the live-axle Mustang. Insiders say that a $20,000 base model production car could use an inexpensive V-8 (the LS2 would come in a costlier model), so a V-6 version would be offered only to make the car easier to insure. The real car would have smaller wheels, but the overall diameter of the tires wouldn't be much changed. GM vice-chairman and product czar Bob Lutz apparently loves it and joked on the show stand "all I have to do is persuade this man"--referring to GM CEO Rick Wagoner--"to pay for it."

2008 Dodge Challenger and I want one!!!!!!

Chrysler knows the 2008 Dodge Challenger will be showing up late to the retro pony car party. The company has carefully foreshadowed the second coming of the long-nosed Hemi-powered contender since Ford proved it could sell the 1965 Mustang all over again in 2005.
Standing on the sidelines while Ford took the initial retro risk saved Chrysler the potential embarrassment of making a bad decision, but Dodge has also been using the Challenger's late arrival to tease buyers and build interest in the forthcoming muscle car. Strategically planted rumors and radical orange concept car renderings in 2005 had the public drooling for sheet metal.

First Drive: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
2008 Chicago Auto Show: 2008 Dodge Challenger
New Photo of the 2008 Dodge Challenger Courtesy of AutoWeek
First Photos of the Production 2008 Challenger SRT8
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Heads for eBay
Official Production Number Announced for 2008 Challenger
No Reserve: Challenger SRT8 and Shelby GT500KR To Be Auctioned at Barrett-Jackson
Dodge Takes Orders for More Than 9,000 Challenger SRT8s in First Month
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Spotted in Full Production Trim
Pricing now available
IL Insider: Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro Convertibles in the Pipeline
Chrysler Poised To Cut Off Orders for 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8
Dodge Swamped With Challenger Orders — but Hints at Expanding Production
2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Muscles in to Market at $37,995
Chrysler Planning To Build Only 5,000 2008 Dodge Challengers
Spy photos: 2009 Dodge Challenger prototype
Dodge Challenger Concept
Challenger on Cruise
2006 Detroit Auto Show: Dodge Challenger Concept
Drag Racing the Dodge Challenger Super Stock Concept
Dodge Challenger Future Vehicle Page


Finally, in January 2006, Dodge unveiled the Challenger Concept at the same venue that saw the debut of Ford's Concept Mustang three years prior, the North American International Auto Show.
A relatively long hood and Chrysler's characteristic gangster window line flow into widened and raised rear haunches, barely housing giant 21-inch wheels, and black stripes of unpainted carbon fiber run the length of the body. There's no disputing it — the Challenger Concept looked positively boss when the sheet was whisked off.
Soon after the car's unveiling, Inside Line visited Chrysler's Pacifica Design Studio in Carlsbad, California, where the 2008 Dodge Challenger Concept was designed. There we interviewed the two men responsible for the car's look. "Early on, we just tried to capture 'Mopar' in the designs," Mike Castiglione told us during our visit. "We tried to capture the beveled edges that were uniquely Mopar back in the muscle car days. If you look at an old Challenger or Charger, the lines have a snap to them. Once we figured that out, then we got more focused." Mike beat out two other designers for the gig and it's fair to say he was the right man for the job.
Two Challenger Concepts were built, both powered by the famous 6.1-liter Hemi V8. The first was a hot orange Challenger Concept designed to be a street car with 425 horsepower. The second, a 525-hp flat-black Challenger Super-stock concept, is shod with massive Goodyear slicks and is good for one thing — knocking off 11.0-second quarter-mile runs.
The concept cars are based on a shortened Dodge Charger platform and are topped with bodies made entirely of carbon fiber. And both are real runners. In fact, we took the orange Challenger Concept out cruising in Southern California to the famous Donut Derelicts car show. Then we drag-raced the flat-black Challenger Super-Stock Concept at the Mopars at the Strip event in Las Vegas.
The release of the 2009 Dodge Challenger won't be the first time Chrysler introduced a car at the tail end of the muscle-car craze — the original Challenger hit the streets in 1970, six years after the Ford Mustang and four after Chevy's Camaro, which will be getting its own resurgence with the release of the 2009 Chevy Camaro. There's a reason the car is named "Challenger."
Late to the party or not, the 2008 Dodge Challenger is poised to crash it. Big time.
Read more Inside Line Buzz Stations

My Dream car

I love really fast, wicked cars and this one fits the bill. The only reason I don't own one of these bad boys is because I am too practical. If money were no object, I would have one in my garage right now. They have SO MUCH power that the EPA imposed a $2,200 "Gas Guzzler" tax which is included on the window sticker. Did I mention, I love fast cars? Below is one of many reviews on this awesome beast.

--------------------------------------------

I love horsepower. I love the feel of it lingering underfoot, ready to explode into neck-snapping, stomach-churning, tire-shredding violence. I love the sound of it: the blend of Fortissississimo bellowing and heavy metal madness. I love the power of it, the ability to make "ordinary" machines look as if God grabbed their rear bumpers and yanked them backwards. Sure, my passion for accelerative overload is infantile, dangerous and about as politically correct as a 1920's minstrel show. But at least it isn't impractical or expensive. Well, not anymore.

You can now buy a four-door 425hp Chrysler 300C SRT-8 for a nickel under $40k. That's a lot of numbers. And no matter how you look at it– size, performance or style– the 300C SRT-8 is a lot of car. So let's take this road test thing nice and slow… Only we here at TTAC don't do anything "nice". And "slow" is not a word in the SRT-8's vocabulary (I have a hard time understanding it myself). So what the Hell. Let's strap in, mash the go pedal and see where it takes us.

Straight to the brake pedal. We've traveled so far so fast we need to slow down RIGHT NOW, and hope that Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology (SRT) knows as much about brakes as they do about big-bore powerplants. Fo shizzle. When caning a 425hp car weighing 4160lbs., there's no time to ponder the finer points of rotor size, "swept area", ABS, etc. It's strictly press and pray.

Did I mention that the 300C SRT-8 doesn't like to let go of its revs? Lift off the gas and there's no danger of engine braking; starving the 6.1-liter Hemi of dead dinoflagellates has about as much immediate effect as switching off the afterburners on an F15. Not to put too fine a point on it, the 300C SRT-8 is a blat - coast - blat kinda car. Oh, and the five-speed gearbox (a Mercedes E-Class hand-me-down) is as fond of kickdown as the Toyota Prius is of low revs. The big Chrysler can resist anything except acceleration.

Right. Where were we? Oh yes, in dire need of stoppage. And stop we shall. If a car is only as good as its brakes, Chrysler's flagship muscle car is a match for the very best. Both the SRT-8 and BMW's M5 require only 110 feet of pavement to slow themselves from sixty to zero. While the SRT-8's left pedal doesn't offer much in the way of initial feel, the massive anchors are powerful enough to yank you out of the trouble that the steroidal engine can oh-so-easily put you in. Now, let's try a little cornering…

Before tackling the twisties, switch off the ESP traction control. I don't usually recommend thrashing a Nanny-less sedan with 420ft.-lbs. of torque, 20" wheels and three-season tires (Vivaldi would not be pleased with that concept). But the SRT's chassis is so well sorted, the power resevoir so deep, instant and controllable, that you can drive this monster like you stole it without an electronic safety net– and not die. Simply steer with your right foot.

Muscle car aficionados know the drill. When you enter a sharp turn, throw the wheel hard over and floor it. As the rear tires spin and the back end drifts sideways, apply the appropriate amount of opposite lock with the steering wheel. Then ease off the gas, let the back end ease into line and keep on going. If it's good enough for The General Lee, it's good enough for the SRT.

Of course, Chrysler had to sacrifice a significant measure of the donor car's ride comfort. And? The supremely-engined 300C SRT-8 is aimed at G-force junkies and serious stunters. They'd consider it a badge of honor if a pothole knocked a filling loose. Alternatively, you can dismiss a rough section of road by applying max power and dryquaplaning over irregularities.

I don't mean to leave you with the impression that the Chrysler 300C SRT-8 is all about raw power. It's about raw power AND satellite radio. And a 180mph speedo, sports seats, a fearsome front spoiler, an integrated rear wing and the usual trim upgrades and performance badgery. Other than that, the 300C SRT-8 is the same gangsta-style luxobarge that's wowed press and punters alike.

Which is no bad thing. With the addition of a glorious, pumped-up Hemi and vastly improved driving dynamics, the 300C SRT-8 transforms a great car into an instant (though proletariat) classic. If you're a horsepower headcase on a budget, go on. You know you want to.

My apology to Alicia

This has proven to be far more difficult than I originally thought it would be and since this will be the last public writing about you, about us, I didn’t want to screw it up.

On a YWBB thread about "first" relationships you wrote:

" I am no longer in my "first" relationship (or any other) as a widow, but we were together for nearly 2-1/2 years, most of which was very good. Neither of us was looking for a relationship at the time, and we were so grateful when we landed in each other's laps. We helped each other through some of the worst parts of the grief journey, and we showed each other that real happiness and love are indeed possible -- something neither of us had imagined possible."

I posted to the same thread:

"My "first" post-widowed relationship was a huge mistake. Looking back, wish I had taken a pass, but we live, learn and move forward."

I hope to accomplish two things with this blog entry. First, your YWBB post accurately sums up our relationship and mine was made in anger and spite. We did have good times, we did bring each other much needed comfort and love. I really did love you.

Second, and most important I need to apologize to you for every hurtful thing I did and said both privately and publicly. Alicia, I am deeply sorry for hurting you.

I hope you will accept this apology in the spirit it was written. I wish you the very best in your future.

Sincerely,


Ron

Opportunity to improve

Do you ever attempt to hide from your mistakes or pretend they didn't happen? If so, you'll keep making the same ones over and over again.

Instead, quickly recognize and admit your mistakes. And learn to see the value in moving beyond them.

When you've found an error, you've uncovered an opportunity to improve. Take those opportunities and make those improvements.

When you discover a weakness, you've found a way to grow stronger. Overcoming a weakness in one area can make you more effective in all aspects of your life, after that weakness ceases to hold you back.

Accept that there are things you've been mistaken about, things you don't know, and things you have not been able to do.

That puts you in a position to make powerful positive improvements.

Instead of letting your mistakes and shortcomings grow more costly by denying that they exist, choose to see the real value in them.

Decide to confidently deal with them and transform your liabilities into assets.
-- Ralph Marston

---------------------

This post describes perfectly what I am trying to with my life. I will still make mistakes, just not the same ones again. That is my goal anyway.

This is TOTAL Insanity!!!!

I just saw this on 60 Minutes.

It costs our government two cents to produce a pennie and a dime to produce a nickel. I am not surprised, given all the "other" waste coming out of Washinton, DC today.

They did mention that it illegal to melt them down, lucky I abide by the law. I would start hoarding pennies and nickels for melt down. Looks like the best ROI on the planet. I bet pennies and nickels are being melted down as I write.

Only in America!!!!! When will the madness stop, Ummmm, maybe when pigs fly?

I found this uplifting for my spirit and.....

I hope you do too


What you seek is now

End the battle within yourself and you will know peace. Cease to separate one thing from another and you experience unity.

Enlightenment is not the accumulation of knowledge or wisdom. It is the full realization of what you already are.

Richness has nothing to do with material artifacts or financial transactions. It is the surrender to an abundance that has no limit.

What you seek is not somewhere else, or this or that. What you seek is now
.
The more you look for it, the more it hides from you. Relax, remember the source of your deepest yearnings, and allow yourself to know their fulfillment.
-- Ralph Marston

Job offer of sorts

Yesterday, I received a phone call from a guy that buys and sells investment properties. He has some pretty deep pockets and he wants me to "help him". He is exploiting the foreclosure market, which I have also considered myself.


I have no respect for the man as I think he would cheat his own mother if it meant another dollar in his pocket. I told him I would think about his offer and I did. Upon reflection and a good night of sleep, my answer came very easy. NO!!!!! I will not help him because he lies, cheats and steals for personal gain.


I do want to thank him however for putting my brain in gear. I know some ethical investors that might be in the same boat. Time to make some phone calls.

I hate being right, but I told you so, or warned you!!!!

I am not a "the sky is falling" kind of guy but brace yourself folks, it is falling. I bailed out of the stock market a few weeks ago. My broker advised me to stay with my program and I said NO.

I am not an expert but I do "watch" and my opionion remaims unchanced, the Dow will dip to around 10K and level off. I see recession in our future. When it bottomes out, I will jump back in.

My warning is "watch your money"!!!!!!

Health update

Many, Many friends who have supported me through my illness have been asking how I am doing, so here is an update. I do want those people to know how grateful I am for their concern and support. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I just had a CT scan on my chest and spoke to the radiologist. He said there is a "nodule" in one lung. He said it might be from the pneumonia or something more serious. He will study the films and decide the next step. If he doesn’t like what he sees he will order a PET scan which he said is more definitive than a CT study. I should know something tomorrow.


I also have an Uncle that is a radiologist and was able to get the CT scan and x-rays burned to a CD so he can evaluate the films. I am hoping for best case while bracing for worst case, but it is what it is. I will deal with whatever comes next.

I did the right thing!!!

It was really not a big deal but it made me feel good. I was on my way to see my new love interest Saturday and although the main roads were plowed and clear, I came upon an accident where few would stop and help.

A woman had skidded off the road and was stuck, and the few people that stopped to assist didn't have anything that would help this poor woman. I DID have the one thing she needed, a truck with 4WD. So I provided the "ponies" and with a tow strap, "we" dragged her car from the ditch. I say "we" because there were others that helped.

The other people that stopped to help all had regular cars that would never have pulled her from the ditch but they stopped to help, a minority but they did stop. I was appalled at all the 4 WD's that just drove by.

In the end, I stayed about 30 minutes but ya know what, it felt really good when I drove away knowing I did the right thing. I cannot believe the number of others that "could" have helped just drove by. OK I admit it was fun driving around in 4WL draggin a car outa the ditch, IMA guy, LOL.

I would do it again and again, because it's the right thing. Next time you see someone in need, please do the right thing and help them out. I am sure you will be repaid 20 times over.

Ron

Stop by and say Hi

My counter keeps going up but I have no idea who reads or how they found me. I know a few from their comments but otherwise clueless who reads.

I invite you to introduce yourself, I could use all the friends I can get. I look forward to hearing from you lurkers.

I am going out of town for the weekend and it would be nice to come home and see your comments.

Help wanted!!!!!!

I need someone to shovel snow. I have no idea how much fell but more than enough. It looks like about 10 inches.

I sure hope the snowblower will start.