ArmyofOne

and well, it did not go well. We really arent interested in a used car this time. Wifey wants new and I learned a long time ago that if she is happy, I am happy. So the criteria was: -No more than 72 months financing, at no more than 5% interest. -Had to be new, or close enough it doesnt matter. -Had to be a small-midsized SUV/Crossover. -AWD a must -prefer 30mpg freeway or as close to it as possible for long trips. -needed to be well equipped, not nessecarily loaded. -Wants a sunroof/moonroof, but not a dealbreaker. -NOTHING resembling, looking like or even trying to be a station wagon (e.g. Subaru) SO immediately the market segment flooded my mind, TONS of stuff for less than 25K that would fit our budget no problem. Well you would think at least... First stop was Lexus, of course. Just for ****s and giggles, I really didnt expect to find anything new on the lexus lot to meet our financing criteria. Their used lot was slim pickin's as well, everything having more than 30k on it already, and even though they were CPO, wifey wanted less than 10k miles. So...NEXT! Across the street to Tacoma Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep. They offered to buy back my truck for $25,000, and put me in a brand new Hemi model, which put the payment right into our budget range;):P:D...but...we would still only have one vehicle. So that was a no-go much to my displeasure, however, I like my truck and am content. So we looked at the new durango's instead. A little bit too big for her liking, but she said she could deal. But my wallet could not. Equipped like we (She) :D wanted it, tag came out to $36,800. No smoke and mirrors, they were honest...$640 a month for 72 months? no thanks. They had some Jeep Patriot's, Compass's and other things there that were in our price range new, but nothing was really calling to me, or her. Too spaceship looking, to this, to that, wrong color. But they were honest with us from the start, which means Chrysler is indeed heading in ALL of the right directions. They will continue to receive my business from that particular dealership. Toyota, Rav4's, love them, but just SLIGHTLY out of budget new. And she hated the colors, they had alot of white/black/tan ones, one green one and a grey one, and the grey and green ones were BASIC as they come. So off we go to hyundai, slim pickins here...hyundai dealership was SOLD THE HELL OUT. I kid you not, they had not one car on the lot except for a new Genesis sedan. I asked them what happened, they said they had a huge sale and we just missed it. Burn. NEXT! On to Honda. Wife loves the CRV, but for some reason the salesman is a pushy moron. Turned us right off, so we left. Tried Ford, they didnt have ANY 4wd escapes new. They had one used one, an 08 with 30k, and it was LOADED. But they wanted 28k for it. Not paying that, at all, ever. She hates the Flex, and the new Explorer is still too spendy. Looked for an Edge...they didnt have one. Not one. So Finally, with much hesitation on my part, we made our way to a KIA dealership (you know, Killed In Action :D) They wanted to put her in a 2011 Sorento EX with the 2.4L and AWD. Cool, no navigation, but did have bluetooth and ipod connection. No sunroof, but had AWD, decent (not great) fuel economy) and that AWESOME warranty. They initially wanted 24k. Then we talked numbers. This is where it gets hilarious. Somehow, someway they came up with $478/month, 31k OTD and 7% interest at NINETY-SIX MONTHS!!!!! I was FLOORED. On my (nearly) perfect credit score?! I am like a few points shy of perfect at all 3 agency's! Can they even do that? Thats a damned mortgage for cryin' out loud! Needless to say I walked away and that was that. So basically, they wanted to rape me for 8 years for a car that doesnt even have everything the customer (my wife) wants. It wasnt a total loss, I got to drive the new turbo Kia Optima...man what a dream. I did things in that car that should only be done in an Evo or Sti... Anyway, moral of the story is:

Well, I'm sure the Diablo chip has something to do with that also.......LOL!! No, the diablochip is performance tuned. I put it on stock tune to get best mileage.

Yah, I am loving it. I avg 18mpg on my commute if I keep my foot out of it. If you have alot of short distance stop sign driving on your commute, forget it, it drops almost immediately to 11-13. but in steady city traffic, outside of downtown where the lights are farther apart, you are looking at around 16-18. thats really quite good for a rig weighing in at 5,520 lbs.

No troubles, Getting 17 city, 22 hwy with a light foot. heavy foot is 11/20. Engine is the 4.7L Powertech, 310HP/330ft-lbs.

I didnt settle, I just didnt need anything aggressive. Usually I use Riccardo ;)

idk if he will get reelected just because of this, and BTW whats up with your quadruple posts LOL. As far as steak...hmm...i was in chitcago @ midway airport about 2 weeks ago. Had I had more than 40 minutes of a layover I woulda called!

Thanks for the hug dude, but I woulda settled for a beer. Too Bad, I wanted to nail the *BLEEP* myself. Dah well, I'll take it!

I wont bother you with the before pix, but I will throw up the results of a very hard day. Step 1: Wash with Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo Step 2: Clay with Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay kit (Did not need a very aggressive clay) Step 3: Wash again with Shampoo Step 4: Polish with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound Step 5: Glaze with Meguiar's #7 Show Car Mirror Glaze Step 6: Seal with JetSeal 109 Step 7: Wax with Meguiar's #26 Yellow Carnuba Wax ^the prep

OK, to all who are waiting, the big one is 24 oz top sirloin, the small one is 20 oz of the same: ^Marinated overnight in smooth hickory. ^wife likes hers well, so I started hers first. I am a medium-rare to medium kinda guy. ^mine (24 oz) almost done! ^plated and ready to eat! Complete with sauteed mushrooms/onions, pasta salad and a loaded baked potato! and OMG it was so frickin good. First steak I have ever cooked that dissolved in my mouth before I could chew it. Oh and the flavor...do yourselves the favor and tenderize/marinate your steaks in the fridge the night before you cook 'em. Takes a bit of planning, but you will not regret it.

Here is the old grill in for cleanup: As you can see it was BADLY wearing. The Burner hats were done. As soon as I touched them they started falling apart. This grill lasted 6 years, through many thousands of burgers and steaks (15 company Barbecue's) and being transported several times, once all the way across country. She served us well. I was cleaning it up to see if I could give it to my neighbor, but seeing this, I think it might be time to throw it out. On to better news, a close up of the Gas and Charcoal/wood sections: ^gas ^charcoal/wood as of last night, seems to be pretty durable.

anyone in the country is welcome to join me, if you are making a trip to seattle anytime soon. Where is Jchrome? havent seen him on here much anymore, he lives in port angeles WA.

So last night, the wife came home from sears with a surprise for me, a late birthday gift, I guess. She likes charcoal/wood, and I like gas, its the best of both worlds!I love having a truck, it enables my wife to go places and buy me large, expensive, and relatively kickass items, all by herself :D. Starting on assembly, Marv is always eager to help (err...uh...play). After shooing the dog, we have to start putting it together. With the aid of a friend, of course :D : Final assembly: Charcoal, wood and gas capable: All in all, great way to spend a saturday afternoon, and now after a 5 mile jog, I'm going to cook and mow down on some Mesquite Grilled Chicken.

The wife will be in charge of it while I am gone. LOL. I hope I dont regret that.

Thats right, just got orders today. My unit is going to southern Afghanistan sometime in July. Thats about all I can tell you because of Operational Security. Looks like its right around the corner guys. I can tell you that this one is not gonna be a picnic. War never is, but I am restricted this trip to taking only what I can carry, which means no amenities like a computer, internet or even plumbing and electricity. To put it bluntly, my Commanding Officer told us: (P.S.-of course I will pack some soap , just in case, but from the sounds of things I wont be using it for quite some time).

The title is Army Talk for: Heavy Equipment/Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, with Additional Skill Identifier Hotel 8 Alpha. Finally, after 6 years of dedicated service...I get to attend one of the most sought after Military Training Certificates in my Job. I am leaving tomorrow to attend the US Army's Heavy Equipment Recovery School, or HERS for short. I know the acronym is funny, but anyone who has been a mechanic in the Army knows how hard this course is to get. Not just any mechanic can go. It is reserved for the ones who show the most promise, and demonstrate the most skill. My brigade (555th Engineer Brigade, AKA "The Triple Nickel"), is only sending 4 people. 4, out of about 300 mechanics. Not very good odds. The ins and outs are the school are pretty easy to understand, but the training is anything but easy. Learning to use winches, snatch-blocks, chains, straps and self recovery methods safely, and correctly, is no easy task. Neither is recovering a 77-ton tank, or a 150,000 lb fully laden fuel tanker. There are foot marches, each succesively longer, carrying heavy equipment, hands on exercises, expertise demonstration, and a heavy-fire hookup. That means you are getting shot at (with blanks of course), while you are trying to recover a truck. Sounds fun, at least to me. I have waited 6 years to get this chance, and I am gonna take it and run. Just thought I would let my friends on LOC know whats going on in my career, and how I am progressing. My thoughts are, Heavy Equipment Recovery is a very valuable skill. Not many people out there on the civilian side can do it, and probably even fewer can do it well.

Truck is fixed, the trans was serviced a month ago, and a tech decided not to put the torx screw that holds the filter up, back in place. Soooo...my tranny filter fell into the pan. Nice.

So yesterday, I drove my ram to work, like any other normal day. Of course it would be a monday too. I park it at work, which it drove dutifully there. Parked just fine. Drove it at lunch, again, not a single issue. I get in it to go home (at 645pm) and fire it up...it rumbles to life. I shift the trans from "P" to "D", and.... nothing. Engine just revs. WHAT THE FUDGESICKLE! I *BLEEP* a complete brick. Let me tell you, I looked like a complete !Removed! in front of all my coworkers. "oh you should have bought a ford!" To all the dodge haters at work: The tranny is NOT gone! I called my Insurance company (geico), and the roadside assistance covered the tow. When the tow truck got there and lifted it from the back, he was putting the dollys on the front wheels, and I started it, got underneath it and played with the linkage. I moved the linkage from the Neutral position to the Reverse position and it engaged the trans. I shifted it back through neutral to Drive and it worked fine. I had the tow truck driver set it down a second, and I drove it 10 ft forward. Then I shifted into reverse to go back towards the tow truck...and NOTHING. So, it appears that the "linkage" is broken somewhere. It looks like an electronic linkage, so I am guessing the servo went out at the trans. I can shift the trans by moving the mechanism with my hand, but other than that, nothing. Its at the dealership awaiting further inspection today. The tow truck driver and myself didnt even get it to the dealer till 9pm yesterday night. Way to spend a monday huh? OH! And to top it all off my HID's came yesterday. Great, so I have a Ram thats allergic to mods. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I borrowed my neighbor's 92 ford escort to get to/from work till the truck is fixed. Her husband is deployed, and she cant drive standard. The car has been sitting almost a year. I am driving in to work this morning, and the R/R tire explodes. Of course I will offer to pay for it, but I don't think she will take it. and I am kind of worried about tarnishing our friendship.

http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1011PSIENDVD/6PSIM300/PR Speaks for itself, I think.

Its worth every penny in gas to have this beautiful truck. Its nice to know you have one of the nicest trucks in the neighborhood. My neighbors think I am nuts... Because I was fighting this all day: So I just took shots of the end result. Enjoy! ^Engine Bay with 10,000 miles of nastiness... ^All Clean!! And now, the money shots... ^oh yeah, work it baby, work it! ^OH thats hawt! ^Show me that moneymaker! Annnnd last but not least... ^the obligatory fur shot... For those curious, all I did was wash and wax today, I clayed polished glazed sealed and waxed 2 weeks ago, so all it needed was a refresh using Meguiars NXT.

Actually, pulling the tanker is more expensive than just having the Pump installed in my front yard. Think I am gonna go that route.

3.55 for regular here. @ 25 gallons a fill, thats about $90 to fill the Ram from E. I usually fill from 1/4 tank though.

More Pix of Marv in his element... Sorry for the mess, we are still settling in from the move, everything hasnt found its place yet.

He is turning out to be a pain. Not his fault though. Turns out, he is allergic to corn...anything corn. Cornmeal, corn starch, corn syrup or just plain corn. The vet says its what is causing his chronic ear infections. Problem is, EVERY dog food that isnt $60 for a 35lb bag, has Corn as the first ingredient on their list. I bought a bag of Purina Dog Chow, before we knew this. I look at the main ingedient on the bag, and its Corn. WTF do I do with 50lbs of open dog food I cant use?

I would like everyone to meet the newest member of the Morrison family...LOC, meet Marv. Marv, LOC. We adopted him from the Tacoma Humane Society today. He was $106. He is 94lbs, four year old Chesapeake Bay/Golden Retriever Mix. He is house trained, neutered, and very fun to have around. He was surrendered to the Humane Society shelter by his previous owners. They left a letter with him. He was left because the couple had a baby that was crawling, and they were scared because of Marv's immense size, compared to a crawling infant. But more importantly than that, they were on military reassignment to Germany, and you cant take household pets there anymore without a 3 month quarantine in the US and then another 3 upon arrival in Germany, at the expense of the owners (about $4,000). Therefore, they had to give him up. We pick him up tomorrow at 9am, and then we are making a trip to PetCo. Dog Food Reccomendations anyone?

So, on friday, it was a RARE partly sunny winter day in Seattle. My mother was in town. Her company (Raytheon) had put her in an Executive Suite at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Seattle, literally a few blocks from the space needle. She came to the base and got us in her Buick Lucerne rental (Eww), and drove us to the hotel, where we spent presidents day weekend in the lap of luxury. It was quite fun. We paid our share, because we wanted to make sure when she filed her expense report, she didnt get our expenses and hers mixed up. Cost about $400 on our end, but not bad for 4 days of fun! Here are the pix of Seattle from the sky! I have high-res images, PM me if interested, otherwise the resized ones from my 12.5mp point and shoot will have to do! Space needle from 1 block away: ^up close with Valet Parking. We walked, it was only 6 blocks...if that. Now, I (and my acrophobia...or fear of heights), couldn't bring myself to take pix in the elevator on the way up. it was completely made of glass and all I could do was hold on to the railing and hope I didn't die. I did not, and I emerged at the top just fine. Thankfully. ^Alki Beach and West Seattle, Olympic Mountains in the background. ^facing North, the mountains of Beautiful, British Columbia, Canada. ^Due East, Downtown Seattle, best city ever. ^and facing due South, the Port of Seattle, Piers, Seattle aquarium, Boeing's Museum of Flight, the Alaskan Way Viaduct. ^a random direction (cant remember). We each purchased a City Pass, and for $59.95 a person got into up to 6 of the Major attractions (avg admission was $20 per person, so with three people, you could spend $60 in one location, just on admissions). So, for the $180 for 3 city passes, we saved at least $100 in admissions fees. We went to the Boeing Museum of Flight. They have the Boeing 707 that was Air Force One there, as well as Concorde, and one of the few surviving SR-71 Blackbird's on display. About the only thing the city has to offer tourism-wise that we did not do, was the Aquarium, and thats because it was PACKED. Pike Place Market was fun as well, if not a little bit scare. Seattle is a very...well..."progressive" town. ;)